Archive for April, 2008

US Energy Policy - Incredibly stupid

Published
by
Paul
on April 30, 2008
in action, energy, government and politics
. 1 Comment

america-in-flames.jpg Thomas Friedman’s got a great editorial in today’s NY Times that is definitely worth reading - although don’t read it if you are in a zen-like mood and don’t feel like losing your buzz, because it’s infuriating.

First, he talks about the stupidity of a gas tax repeal for the summer, (which McCain and Clinton support, but which Obama does not) which basically solves nothing, while increasing the amount of money we send to the Middle East, reducing our ability to pay for things like road repairs, bridges that don’t collapse while people are driving over them, and prevents us from investing in better sources of energy.

Speaking of what we invest in, second, he talks about how our government has completely failed us, and how we continue to under-invest in clean technologies. Germany has a 20-year solar incentive program; Japan 12 years. Ours will expire at the end of the year.

Finally, he points out the somewhat obvious fact that investing in clean technologies is a smart way to create new jobs. Duh. Even I knew that. And yet we don’t do it, and don’t invest, all the while bemoaning the lack of manufacturing jobs here.

Here’s the money quote:

Peter Schwartz of Global Business Network describes as the true American energy policy today: “Maximize demand, minimize supply and buy the rest from the people who hate us the most.

Sad but true. If you want to change this, don’t forget to get involved.

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Where have the bees gone? Colony Collapse Disorder, and what you can do about it.

Published
by
Paul
on April 29, 2008
in action, gardening and pollution
. 0 Comments

As many of you, our well educated readers undoubtedly know, starting in 2006, many beekeepers started reporting mysterious disappearance of huge numbers of their bees. One day they would fly off, with 30- 70% never returning again. These losses, caused by a poorly understood malady called Colony Collapse Disorder, have been so severe that 23% of beekeepers in 2006-2007 were effected.

This problem proves yet again how dependent we are with nature, and how our lives are truly intertwined with the well being of the planet. After all, one-third of the food we eat is pollinated by the honeybee. According to The Independent, 90 or so crops they pollinate each year are worth over $14.6 billion dollars in the U.S. alone.

Since the 1980s, our destruction of habitat and misuse of pesticides have caused bee (and other insect populations to decline). But nothing like this, which is killing bees at such a scale that it may actually threaten our food supply.

Luckily, there is some good news. First, a team of scientists from the Columbia University , Pennsylvania State University, the USDA Agricultural Research Service, University of Arizona, and 454 Life Sciences has found a significant connection between the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) and colony collapse disorder. This is a great breakthrough, although the findings are not yet conclusive, from what I could tell.

Secondly, organizations of all types are pitching in to help. From Burt’s Bees, to Häagen-Das
 to the USDA, many different groups are working to ensure that honeybees keep on pollinating, and so too can you!

What can you do? Here are a few ideas:

  1. Don’t pesticides indiscriminately. Honey bees are out mid-day foraging for nectar, and that’s the worst time to use them.
  2. Plant good nectar sources such as red clover, foxglove, bee balm, and joe-pye weed. Choose flowers that bloom successively over the spring, summer, and fall seasons such as coreopsis, Russian sage, or germander. For more info, the USDA recommends www.nappc.org.
  3. You can actually raise your own bees! Actually, as it turns out, and much to my surprise, beekeeping as a hobby is alive and well. The best way to get started is to visit a local beekeeping association, which you may be able to find through a simple Google search.

Thanks to Scarlett at feedcompany.com for the great post suggestion!

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Are Cars Driving Slower?

Published
by
greenhl
on April 28, 2008
in conservation and transportation
. 3 Comments

speedometer

I’ve noticed cars have been driving more slowly, both on freeways and surface streets. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that I’ve noticed cars driving more slowly as gas prices increase. Where I live (in the San Francisco Bay Area), gas prices have already broken the $4.00 per gallon mark in nearly every station I drive by. I never thought I’d get excited for $3.00 gas so soon. If you’re unlucky enough to need supreme, gas prices are starting to approach $4.50 per gallon. What’s even scarier is that we haven’t even reached the infamous summer gas price spike.

I remember not too long ago when you would see people driving like maniacs. Don’t get me wrong, I still see some crazy drivers on the road, but I’ve noticed there are fewer and fewer with increasing gas prices. People are accelerating more slowly, and they aren’t racing down the roads and freeways like they once were. I read that driving a car more conservatively can increase gas mileage as much as 20 percent to 30 percent. Can you imagine getting four to six miles more per gallon? In a 20 gallon tank, that equates to 80 to 120 miles more of driving before filling up. At $4.00 per gallon, that’s a pretty substantial savings.

With people driving more slowly (and hopefully saver), I wonder if accident rates have improved at all.

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Clothes drying - au naturel…

Published
by
JB
on April 27, 2008
in carbon, energy and global warming
. 3 Comments

Whenever I think of drying clothes on a line, I picture this…

Clothes Line

It’s not always the most aesthetically pleasing to look at, and hey, let’s be honest, with modern technology, it’s often easier (and faster) to just dry your clothes in a dryer.

Unfortunately, the conveniences of using a dryer have negative environmental effects. Did you know that the average electric clothes dryer consumes about 6% of a household’s total electricity usage, emitting approximately one ton of carbon dioxide per household a year? ONE TON!!

Reading that statistic the first time made me sick. I realize that not everyone is afforded good weather year round - but even if we all line-dried our clothes a few times a year, that would still make a big difference!

Here are some other benefits of line drying:

  • It’s good for your wallet - as I mentioned above, your dryer is an electric-consuming monster! Using your dryer less = reduced electric bill each month.
  • Your clothes will last longer! The dryer is not kind to your clothes - it causes a lot of stress.
  • Exposing your clothes to sunlight will keep them nice and bright - think of the sun as a natural bleach.
  • The sun’s UV rays kill bacteria and other nasty germs.

If you are interested in learning more, check out this new site which just launched:  www.LineDryIt.com

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Imported vegetables causing global warming? Well they’re not helping.

Published
by
Paul
on April 26, 2008
in energy, gardening and global warming
. 1 Comment

When you go to the grocery store, do you know where your vegetables come from? It used to be that once upon a time, we used to know what vegetables were in season, when you could get what at the grocery, and perhaps more importantly, what you could not get. Today, thanks to our super-effective global procurement and logistics network, you no-longer need to know. You can basically get anything you want, any time of the year - which is great in some ways - hey, sometimes you just want a strawberry - but it’s not exactly helpful to our global warming.

As they discuss in today’s New York Times the issue of how we all get our food is becoming increasingly important as concern over global warming and consumer demands both increase. 90% of produce in the UK, for instance, is imported. But what can be done about it?

One solution the article discusses is taxing imports - something that might work, except for the fact that, as some grocers argue, it might advantage vegetables grown closer, but which take alot more power to grow. Another solution is educating consumers about the environmental impact of imported vegetables and other goods. Good luck with that. Many people at my work can’t even bother to distinguish between the garbage and recycling bins when one is a totally different color and is readily available.

I happen to think that the only solution to this problem is make sure the costs of carbon pollution is built in to the costs of the energy that we all use. Instead of taxing vegetables or imports, we should tax the carbon content of energy. That way, the price will percolate into everything we do - whether it is hydroponic tomatoes, or whether it’s shipping kiwis from Italy. And maybe we’ll reacquaint ourselves with the natural cycles of the foods we eat.

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