ENVIRONMENT
OIl Spill Got you Down?
Don't fret, seize the opportunity
In 1968, when I learned about the population bomb in biology class, I was overwhelmed. The planet was heading for disaster and there was nothing I could do to stop it. In the 70s, it was nuclear weapons; in the 80s, the ozone hole. This spring, it's the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But these days I know something I didn't know then. There is always something I/you/we can do.
I don't mean we can erase the disaster that has already occurred. That's oil under the bridge—and if we're unlucky, into the Gulf Stream. What we can do is help prevent recurrence. For recurrence is not only likely but inevitable as long as we allow offshore drilling, depend on oil and, indeed, continue to consume energy as if there were an unlimited supply.
Therefore, this is the time—when we are sick at the thought of the workers killed, sea turtles and other endangered species harmed, fisheries ruined, coastline polluted and coral reefs destroyed—to change our lives.
To begin, we must change our mindset.
We are running on borrowed energy. Oil is just one part of the problem—and oil spills just one of the risks. The trouble is our whole fossil fuel driven way of life. There is not a big enough store of fossil fuels on earth to sustain it, and if there were, it would only make matters worse. Prices would go down and use would go up. The environmental costs of extraction would rise and the climate would be wrecked that much sooner and more completely, perhaps irretrievably so.
We who care need to follow Gandhi's dictum and "be the change we wish to see in the world."
Here's how.
Step 1: Drive less. Do you hop in the car whenever you need something? Zigzag across the landscape to perform errands in opposite directions? Drive where you could easily walk? Join the club.
Americans burn up gas so freely because it hardly seems to cost them anything. The price at the pump is deceptively low and the true price—environmental destruction—is hard to recognize.
But for this brief moment in time, thanks to the oil spill, we can connect the dots. Use the opportunity to change the way—and amount—you drive. Plan your trips. Carpool. Walk. Bike. Give public transportation a chance.
Step 2: Care and repair. Cars and appliances, along with virtually everything else in our consumer culture, are considered more or less disposable nowadays. Since we expect to replace them, we don't keep them in good working order. Thus, they continue to operate, but grow less and less efficient, eating up energy unnecessarily when they run.
So take your car for regular tune-ups, keep the tires inflated, change your air conditioner filters, lubricate the moving parts of motors and do all those other pesky maintenance tasks recommended in the manuals.
Step 3: Get energy-efficient equipment. The difference between conventional products and energy-efficient ones can be quite staggering. For instance, an incandescent bulb uses four times as much energy to produce a given quantity of light as a compact fluorescent bulb—and 10 times as much as an LED. Yes, the energy-efficient alternatives cost more to buy, but they also cost less to operate. Besides, becoming the change you want to see in the world includes paying more for a cleaner, safer future. So, shop for Energy Star appliances and factor fuel economy into your choice of car.
Step 4: Go local—and not just with food. It's simple: goods need to be transported to market. The shorter the distance, the less energy required. Therefore, look for products made close to home.
Step 5: Change your habits. Today's norm is to live wastefully, but you don' t have to go along. To save energy:
• Turn off lights when not in use.
• Wash full loads of dishes and laundry.
• Air dry both.
• Change your clothes before the thermostat.
• Unplug chargers and always-on appliances.
• Reuse and recycle.
• Eat less meat.
Step 6: Buy less stuff. It takes energy to produce goods. Think twice before you throw it away on things you do not need.Whatever you do, don't let this moment pass without some step toward change.
Sheryl eisenberg is a writer, web developer and long-time advisor to nrdc. With her firm, mixit productions (mixitproductions.Com), she brought nrdc online in 1996, designed nrdc’s first websites, and continues to develop special web features for nrdc. She created and, for several years, wrote the union of concerned scientists’ green living column, greentips, and has designed and contributed content to many nonprofit sites. Sheryl makes her home in tribeca (nyc), where—along with her children, sophie and gabe, and husband, peter—she tries to put her environmental principles into practice. No fooling.
In Light Of the Recent Oil Spill Living Well Magazine wants to know what you think about the new offshore drilling proposals?
As I started researching for this article I thought I knew where I would stand. However, when I found myself unwilling to sign a petition to ban offshore oil drilling, I realized my emotions had reached a boiling point.
The scale of environmental damages from the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion along with the destruction of our ocean’s wildlife is alarming. While researchers have identified the immediate impact, we may never know how long this oil spill will transcend through time. In order to restore the damages to the ocean, the wildlife and the fish, a staggering amount of money and work must be devoted to the clean up process. We can only hope that time is matched with resources and manpower. If we are lucky, the deep gash in Mother Earth will begin to heal.
However this leads me to more questions than answers…
Have we reached a point where we can halt deep water oil drilling and new exploration? Was this a fluke or can we drill using safer methods? Do we continue to rely on foreign oil, until we can supply our own clean-energy alternatives? If we do not explore for new oil resources will it cause a greater reliance on coal?
Where does natural gas fit in? BioFuels? Solar? Wind? How long will it take for the “Clean Energy Alternatives” to become mainstream?
All industries, including the clean energy industries will have accidents; and with each accident-- hopefully we learn a little more on ways to prevent and safeguard them
The industrial revolution defined America and set precedent for other countries to follow. With that being said, it is fair to note that the bad habits of American industrial life were adopted. Have we reached the point where it is unacceptable to keep relying on natural resources? Is it time for the human race to end the widespread deterioration of our natural habitat? or is there an acceptable balance?
Can Goats Prevent Forest Fires ?
As wildfires consume parts of California larger than some smaller states, everyone is talking about how we can prevent such disasters from getting going in the first place. One novel approach is to enlist goats. Not as firefighters—although their surefootedness and determination would probably serve them well in such situations—but as grazers to keep the forest underbrush clear of the tinder-like grasses, bushes and small trees that allow flames to jump to the higher forest canopy and get further spread by the wind.
“Goats help prevent forest fires…by eating the dry stuff before the fire season strikes,” says Lani Malmberg, owner of Colorado-based Ewe4ic (pronounced “u-for-ik”) Ecological Services, which uses goats to gradually and naturally remove weeds and return lands to a healthier more natural state.
Recycle Your Old Mattress
A typical mattress is a 23 cubic foot assembly of steel, wood, cotton and polyurethane foam. Given this wide range of materials, mattresses have typically been difficult to recycle—and still most municipal recycling facilities won’t offer to do it for you. But along with increasing public concerns about the environment—and a greater desire to recycle everything we can—has come a handful of private companies and nonprofit groups that want to make sure your old bed doesn’t end up in a landfill.
Can Sunspots and Solar winds be the cause of Global Warming?
Some scientists point to sunspots and solar wind as having more impact on climate change than human industrial activity?
Sunspots are storms on the sun’s surface that are marked by intense magnetic activity and play host to solar flares and hot gassy ejections from the sun’s corona. Scientists believe that the number of spots on the sun cycles over time, reaching a peak—the so-called Solar Maximum—every 11 years or so. Some studies indicate that sunspot activity overall has doubled in the last century. The apparent result down here on Earth is that the sun glows brighter by about 0.1 percent now than it did 100 years ago.
GLOBAL WARMING: Can Sunspots and Solar winds be the cause of Global Warming?
Greening the Future
The smart fortwo is produced at "smartville" in Hambach, France. Protecting the environment, energy efficiency and preservation of natural resources are hallmarks of smart brand. Only water-soluble paints are used for the smart's three basic colors which are black, white and red. Painting the tridion safety cell is done by the powder-coating process. This removes the need for solvents. The body panels with molded-in color are fully recyclable. The smart fortwo is also classified as an Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) due to its extremely low exhaust emissions. The catalytic converter is positioned close to the engine for a quick response. An electric pump blows fresh air into the exhaust port when the engine is cold to almost completely oxidize the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) and render them harmless.
ENVIRONMENT