Two months ago, I wrote how high gas prices may actually be good in that we are beginning to change our often wasteful habits. As a nation, gas consumption is noticeably decreasing. We’re carpooling more, we consolidate errands, we avoid unnecessary trips, and we’re buying smaller cars. I can’t remember the last time larger, more powerful vehicles were out of vogue!
I just read a Time magazine article that discusses things we can like about $4 gas. It’s a great article which not only discusses the sacrifices we have to make, but also looks at the silver lining in terms of the positive adjustments we’ve made to accommodate high gas prices.
So, what can we possible like about $4 gas you ask? According to Amanda:
- As shipping costs increase, more jobs are coming back to the U.S.
- With increasing transportation costs, urban sprawl has dramatically decreased
- JB wrote about this – 4 day workweeks are reality in some companies and governments
- Decreased pollution
- We are more frugal – we check tire pressure more often and are buying smaller cars
- People are driving slower to save gas, which has resulted in fewer traffic deaths
- Insurance rates for some are decreasing as they drive less and qualify for lower mileage rates
- There is less traffic as people drive less, carpool more, and increase their use of public transportation
- With skyrocketing gas bills, police are walking and bicycling more, which means more police spending time in communities
- As people eat out less, obesity decreases
You may not agree with all these points, but Amanda does offer a fairly compelling perspective. We all hate to see people making sacrifices, especially when putting gas in the tank means being unable to put food on the table. However, as Amanda writes, “The suffering will go on. But the story, like any good tragedy, is not without redemption. “
See this receipt? For the first time, I broke the $70 mark a few days ago which kind of surprised me, but didn’t… On the one hand, $70 is a lot of money and do I really want this money to go towards gas? But on the other hand, it’s not like I’ve been living under a rock - news of rising oil prices is pretty hard to avoid if you read/watch the news.
Anyway, with the recent July 4th holiday, I’ve started hearing a lot more about people who are taking “staycations.” In case you haven’t already heard about this, a staycation is a vacation that is spent close to home.
Instead of taking a road trip, for example, a growing number of people are opting to spend their vacation time at home, enjoying their local surroundings.
Personally, I think this is a fabulous idea. You can relax in the comfort of your own home, check out the local attractions (how many of you have visited the museums in your city on the “free” day?), save money on transportation and food costs, etc.
I wonder, how many of you are doing the same this year? I have to admit, the thought of a staycation has crossed my mind. But, I guess it’s not worth worrying about as I have very few vacation days left that I can take at work!
Hey there, it’s me sounding the environmental alarm bells. Yesterday, a distressing article was posted online about the declining coral population.
So what’s the big deal, you might ask? Well, did you know…
- 25 percent of all marine species need coral reefs to live and grow.
- 40 percent of fish caught commercially use reefs to breed.
- They have medicinal value! Some produce compounds active against many common health problems, such as astham, heart disease, and leukemia.
- Coral reefs provide economic benefits via tourism.
So these tropical rainforests are pretty important… and in the US only, almost 50% of all coral reefs are in poor or fair condition, due to rising ocean temperatures, coastal development, land based pollution (e.g. sewage) and overfishing.Sadly, I read that worldwide,
- 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate prospects of recovery.
- 24% of the world’s reefs are under imminent risk of collapse through human pressures; and a further 26% are under a longer term threat of collapse. [Source]
If there are any silver linings here, I would point to the growing mass of scientific documentation, and increased awareness from the population at large - hopefully this will spawn an uptick in efforts to save our coral reefs. If you want to get into the action, check out this very excellent list on 25 things you can do to help.
While many companies are striving to become carbon neutral, Coca-Cola is seeking to become water neutral, meaning all the water used to produce its line of beverages will either be returned directly to the earth or reclaimed through recycling and conservation. This is a lofty goal, and Coca-Cola hasn’t actually set a timeframe. However, the company is aware that water is a precious resource which it needs to make beverages and which it needs for the company’s survival. For Coca-Cola, increasing population numbers and increasing demands on water make their goal more critical than ever.
For each liter of beverage bottled, Coca-Cola uses approximately two and a half liters of water. This amounts to nearly 100 billion gallons of water used annually, equivalent to about 20 percent of total U.S. water consumption. The water used includes water that goes directly into its beverages as well as water that is used for cleaning, lubricating machines, and growing sugar and corn (for corn syrup).
Recently, Coca-Cola has been an environmental target. In 2002, a Southern Indian village accused a Coca-Cola bottling facility of polluting and depleting groundwater, leading not only to a PR mess, but also forcing the bottler to shut down and leave the village. The last thing Coca-Cola wants is poor press, especially as corporate environmental responsibility is become more critical than ever. Also, imagine if Coca-Cola is banned from all or parts of burgeoning countries such as India or China. Being shut off from huge populations and areas for growth would be disastrous for the company.
Coca-Cola has taken some steps as it recognizes the potential PR mess that may be caused by a lack of significant proactive corporate responsibility. In some facilities, waste water is captured, treated, and used for street cleaning and car washing. Coca-Cola is also taking simple steps such as fixing leaking pipes and using less water intensive lubricants for its machines. Coca-Cola can probably take a chapter out of Wal-Mart’s book and create low-water consumption facilities with devices such as waterless urinals. Coca-Cola realizes the importance of water in its supply chain and the need to preserve as much of this natural resource as possible. If real water shortages come about, forcing bottling facilities to shut down will be the least of Coca-Cola’s worries.
JB and I just got back from seeing Wall-E, and was inspired to write a post. It’s a good movie, with a really strong environmental theme, but what really inspired me was not so much the movie itself, but the amazing credits, which used animation inspired by artwork through ages to provide an epilogue for the film. It starts with cave drawings, Egyptian Hiroglyphics moves through impressionism, all the way through video game art from the 80’s.What was so inspiring to me about the credits is that it reminded me of the journey we in the human race have been through these past few thousand years - all the way from struggling to survive, hunting mammoths during the ice age, to the present day, where we have the skill and technology to build amazing worlds like the ones in Wall-E with computers. Watching the movie and the credits together reminded me that while we have these huge challenges ahead, that we’ve made it so far, through famines and disease, through wars and all manner of natural disasters. It’s in us to succeed, and we just need to put our minds to it in order to do it. Let’s get to work!
