Monday Confessional
you “What did you do today?”
me “I spent the day killing trees.”
you “Why the hell would you do that!? I thought you loved the environment?”
me “I do, sometimes killing trees is the right thing to do.”
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Majority Of Americans Think Action Must Be Taken Now To Stop Global Warming
The New York Times and CBS have released a very interesting new poll (pdf) showing among other things that the vast majority of Americans regardless of political party think that immediate action should be taken to combat global warming. Watch a video about the poll here, see the summary by the NY Times here.
Ninety percent of Democrats, 80 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans said immediate action was required to curb the warming of the atmosphere and deal with its effects on the global climate. Nineteen percent said it was not necessary to act now, and 1 percent said no steps were needed.(via)
This after another recent poll showed global warming and terrorism of equal concern in the minds of most Americans. Its really rather fascinating as it has trend data, sometimes spanning 20 or more years. Here are a few highlights.
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The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth
I feel like such a geek sometimes - a complete nerd - when it comes to nature. I spend my time on my property kneeling down to get eye to eye with tortoises and slugs and caterpillars. When I am wandering around, binoculars in hand, scanning the tree tops in search of some elusive bird that I hear but can’t quite see, it often makes me chuckle, thinking of what the teenage me would have thought about what a nerd the adult me has turned out to be. I am a birdwatcher, for Heaven’s sake. I am the strange neighbor that lives down the road that tries to get people to keep their pet cats out of my yard so the wildlife stands a fighting chance. I am the crazy lady who stops my car in the middle of a heavily trafficked road to play crossing guard to a mother duck and her young.
I think of all the time I spent as a teenager whining about how bored I was. About how I had nothing to do. And now, doing nothing but spending time in nature is all I really want.But to protect my own little piece of Paradise, I know that I have to encourage other people to feel the same things that I feel about nature. I can’t just protect my share of the planet. Not until more people learn to protect theirs.So I spend way too much of my time inside, at a computer, working on websites to educate others, writing articles to inspires the masses, circulating petitions and contacting politicians to try to get their help in educating their citizens to Take Care of Their Share.
It’s hard work. Not the actual writing and web-page coding and research and correspondence. What’s hard is staying inside. I have a corner office with windows on two sides. There are hummingbirds and butterflies out the front and warblers and hawks and rabbits and snakes out the side and I do NOT want to be inside. But darn it, I keep writing articles to tell people that Wonders Never Cease. I’ve got to stay in here at this keyboard and do my best to make sure that they never do.
Early Morning Solar Gadget - USB Enabled Solar Charging Devices
The nice thing about solar panels is that they team up well with rechargeable batteries. Allowing for the storage of that good sunshine for later. In this age of rampant crap production, where most of that crap needs batteries, and those batteries need energy, having a bit of sunshine in your pocket for a quick recharge might come in handy. For anything that can be charged via USB (the Ipod to name a few) here is a handy little device.
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The New Shopping Order
I’ve been busy writing again - well, mainly thinking and then writing when what I’ve thought of feels right. This article feels right.
We were in Southend-on-Sea (a bit like Cape Cod but without the cod) yesterday, walking up the main shopping street, and realised how much we had changed from 10 years ago, when it just seemed normal to buy things new, and not think about the consequences.
This week I received a pre-owned stapler and a multi-gym from users on eBay (both things we needed but had nothing equivalent to) and gave away an old dining table and chairs to someone on Freecycle. They seemed such natural things to do…
This article starts with a simple tale about shopping. It is set in the UK, but could be set anywhere where manufactured goods are heavily used. The situations and dilemmas are common enough, but in a nation like the UK where, on average, every single person spends £2400 per year on consumer items (electrical goods, clothing, books, furniture, etc.), the outcomes may be a bit different from what you might expect…
Leon kicks the back of his old Nike training shoes against the upturned storage box he is sitting on. The repetitive “thump” of rubber against the green plastic, temporarily distracts him from the rush of brands and logos he picks out as they move past his view. The classroom is a rush of noise, banging and shouting with end-of-term excitement, but Leon is sullen, envious of the shiny black swooshes and sharp, clean, double-banded Reebok announcements that the shoes of his classmates make in front of him. 12 months is, like, well old. He needs new trainers.
(full article at http://earth-blog.bravejournal.com/entry/21397)
Bush Administration To Push For More Oil Drilling Off Coast Of Alaska And Virgina
In what may become the next in a series of knuckle-headed moves, Bush’s Interior Department has finalized a plan to expand the areas that oil companies are allowed to drill. Areas off of Alaska, Florida and Virgina, some of them fishing regions, are to be opened up to massive oil exploration in the hungry attempt to maintain our “addiction to oil”.
Drilling had been banned in most of these areas previously, but in January, Bush lifted the bans in the central Gulf of Mexico and in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The removal of the ban makes most of the Gulf south of the Florida panhandle open for drilling.
The 5.6 million acres opened up in Alaska is the home of endangered whales and the worlds largest sockeye salmon run. Estimates put the oil under these federal waters are about 200 million barrels of oil, and about 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The US currently uses about 20 MILLION barrels of oil A DAY, in 1998 (last numbers I could find) we used 21.34 tcf/year (that’s trillion cubic feet) of natural gas. Meaning that this reserve would have less than half a years worth of oil, and natural gas.
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James Hansen On Climate Change
NASA Chief Scientist James Hansen talks about climate change.
You might remember hearing about him and his problems with the Bush administration trying to keep him from telling the world about the science behind global warming.
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Earthrace Calls It Quits
We have covered the Earthrace and its attempt to break the around the world speed record for a diesel boat. They had hoped to break the record using biodiesel to promote renewable fuels. Instead they had one bad break after another, including having their props fall apart on them, and a horrible accident that resulted in the death of a fisherman. It was a good idea, perhaps they will try again.
It seems a lack of parts is going to keep them from beating the record.
Even if we had a perfect run from here there’s no way we’d get the record by Barbados.
…
There’s also one other thing that’s been gnawing at me since last evening. Sharyn had phoned up from New Zealand in tears, annoyed at the lack of contact with me, stressing over a $400 bill from the vet for our cat Honey, and no doubt pissed off at how long I’ve been away. All fair enough really. Maybe I should just flag all this and get home where I belong, I think to myself. I was asked the other day on a TV show what I miss the most. I’d replied a typical Friday evening with Sharyn, involving “Rum n Coke, Spag Bog and a shag on the bean bag”. I’m not sure if they included it but it was funny how that sprang into my mind.
I wander back to the boat and pickup the Iridium sat phone to call home. After five failed attempts I give up and go back to the Internet room to send an email instead. Then the connection drops out just before I’ve finished it. I look up at the clock and its just gone 9am. Not for the first time I think what a difficult journey this is. (via)
Dutch Propose Regulations To Ensure Sustainable Biofuel
In yet another example of Europe getting farther out ahead of the US when it comes to renewable energy. The Dutch are already thinking about sustainable biofuels. They want to make sure that we don’t chop the rain forest down, or starve people in Africa so that the developed world can power their cars.
“We all know that biomass potentially can play an important role in sustainable energy production,” said Environment Minister Jacqueline Cramer. “But the question is: How do you do that in a way that is truly sustainable?”
The scheme makes the Netherlands a front-runner among nations seeking to tackle the new climate change dilemma. Other European countries are working along similar lines and are closely watching the Dutch initiative - the first to reach the level of government consideration.
The Dutch panel, called the Cramer Commission because the environment minister chaired it before being appointed to the Cabinet, has drawn up a framework which companies can use to measure the sustainability of crops used for biofuels.
The framework evaluates emission reduction compared with fossil fuels and whether the crops supplant other land uses such as food production. It also looks at whether the crops reduce biodiversity, damage the environment or use pesticides.
Dutch companies can check some of the criteria, but the government and independent monitoring also will have to ensure they are being met, said Cramer.(via)
Without a system like this in place world wide biofuels will continue to be produced at the expense of habitat and food supplies. The only good biofuel is a sustainable one.
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Early Morning Solar Gadget - XP03 Solar ‘Pulsar’ Christmas And Party Light String
Why bother spending more money on electricity next winter just to display Christmas lights. Santa does not approve of more energy being wasted for you to light up your house like the sun. However Santa does approve of holiday cheer. Can we solve this energy dilemma? Sure we can, with a little thinking and a little solar technology we get the Solar String Light, an idea that is long overdue.
From the website
104 LED bulbs.
Select a set for your desired color choice.
Sets available as all white OR white & blue OR green, amber & red.
Several selectable lighting modes/programs.
Modes include flashing, continuous, alternating, twinkling etc.
Built-in photocell ensures automatic operation at night time only.
Very easy to install, no electricity required.
High quality Crystalline solar cell panel.
Solar cell is built into the front of the control panel for outdoor siting.
Integral 6 volt 4 A/hr rechargeable battery (included) housed inside the controller.
Battery is replaceable (recommended every 2-3 years or so).
Battery is housed inside (ABS construction) weatherproof controller.
Illumination time is typically dusk to dawn.
A 6″ (15cm) pole and a 4″ (9cm) ground spike is included.
Light output is not a bright as conventional electric light bulbs therefore best installed in dark locations for better effects.
Approximately 37′ (11 metres) of LED lights on cable.
Lead in (length of wire to first LED bulb) is approximately 6′ (2 metres).
Each LED bulb is spaced approximately 4″ (10cm) apart.
Dimensions of control panel are approximately 7″ x 4″ x 2.5″ (18cm x 11cm x 6cm) LxWxD.
You can also find similar models on Amazon for much less.
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