new blog

Over the next month I'll be posting quite a bit on my new blog, Atlanta Without Oil. It's part of an internet game called World Without Oil, and I should tell you that it is fiction. Nothing on it is real. Well, most of it isn't, anyway. But it could be. Maybe even soon.

you are what you eat

I love the Grist.

This article raises an issue that I've harped on a lot already, but it was actually one of the comments that really drew my attention. Jabailo writes:

People eat junk. It's cheap and they like it. Yes, you could offer them high quality organic food from local farms but they wouldn't want to pay for it and they don't want to cook it either.

It's sad and often inexplicable to me, but this is very true. Most people would rather live in a big house, drive a new car, and subsist on McDonald's. Somehow, the quality of the things around them is more important than what goes inside them.

But it's not what's on the outside of a dish that makes it dirty, but what's on the inside...

We started talking about the sizes of our houses today at work (an inexcusable conversation, I know, and the only mitigating factor I can offer is that our energy-conscious boasting centered around the smallness and not the largeness of our respective homes), and I was somewhat surprised to discover that my house was definitely the smallest. The next smallest was about 200 square feet larger--and only one person lives there to our two. Everyone said I must be saving lots of money, and, well, I hope we will. But in fact a large proportion of our money goes to food. Growing food is cheap, of course, but we haven't yet become successful enough as gardeners to provide ourselves with anything more than occasional meals that do little to offset the cost. Sevananda, the local food coop, sells local food pretty cheaply, but it's still a lot more expensive than the average grocery store. The farmer's market is usually a little more, and Whole Foods, of course, is by far the most expensive. We've been eating out a lot more since I started working, as I've had less time to cook, but all our groceries are still coming from one of those sources, and we try to eat at restaurants that are at least locally owned if not locally sourced. The upshot of which is, as I already said, we spend a lot of money on food.

But the truth is that we like it that way. Everyone has priorities, I guess. I've never been big for enjoying food--I have too many food allergies for my dining experience to ever become too focused on pleasure--but despite that (or maybe because of it), I would much rather spend most of my money on food than on, say, clothes or furniture. True, food doesn't last long. But it becomes a part of you. It shapes how you feel, what you do, even, to an extent, who you are. You are what you eat, right? And I'd so much rather be local organic vegetables than a McDonald's hamburger. If nothing else, they're prettier, and much more crunchy.

china's greenhouse gas

Should we be happy about this?

On the one hand, it'd be nice to see the U.S. finally give up its first place position in this inglorious category. There's a part of me that can't help but feel a bit proud at the thought, as though it had some connection to something good we did instead of being a mere byproduct of something bad that someone else did. On the other hand, it's discouraging to see anybody in first place in this particular competition. Although I suppose that someone has to do it.

And on the third hand, this--if it happens--will just give us Americans yet another excuse to pass the blame to someone else. Which, though I sometimes think (in my pessimistic moments) is a rather American attitude to take, can't possibly be a Christian one.

vegetarianism

Cool post on the subversive Christianity blog. I'm not a 100% vegetarian, although most of the time I would like to be. I just don't enjoy meat that much. But one of the things I most appreciate about the Orthodox church is its tradition of fasting from meat--anyone who follows the guidelines of the church fast eats vegan for more than half the year. While I've often thought that humans ought to be vegetarians (we were in Eden, right? and, I mean, look at our teeth), I think that a guideline that requires everyone to do it at least some of the time is a great idea. It's not asking more of anyone than they can handle, but it challenges everyone to eat less than they otherwise would.

One other piece that the above post mentions only indirectly is the fact that the amount of energy required to supply people with meat is far greater than that required to supply vegetarian diets. The lower you eat on the food chain, the less energy you're using. (Which is why my husband keeps trying to convince me to eat bugs.) And in a world of increasingly lower energy supply, there are few better things you can do for the environment or for society.

GM supports ethanol

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz says we should make a wholesale switch to ethanol. It's laudable that he's promoting renewable fuels, but come on...ethanol?!? Let's feed our hungry cars all our corn while people starve to death.

But maybe he meant cellulosic ethanol. Except that the technology for that definitely isn't ready yet for a wholesale switch. Sigh. Honestly, I'd rather sit around reading by candlelight than waste the world's food on getting to work. It's almost enough to make me support the five-day weekend.

80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050

Last weekend, as I was recruiting signatures for postcards to be sent to this commission in preparation for the hearings next Tuesday, a lot of people asked me exactly how we were asking for Georgia to accomplish the goal of 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. They were worried about crazy environmentalist rules, taxes, subsidies, and general government interference. And a part of me, as a closet libertarian, fully understands their fear. I don't like the idea of the government telling people what to do--who does? But I do think there's a role for government (preferably local government) in extreme times.

Possibly one of the best ideas I've heard so far for accomplishing this goal--or something like it--was the proposal suggested in Capitalism 3.0: make the environment--the "commons"--a player in the economic scene. Place a tax on pollution, and--here's the kicker--pay that tax, not to the government, but to the people who really own the commons: everyone. Give every American citizen a kickback--a "pain and suffering" retribution, if you will--as payment for the pollution that right now is deliberately, painfully harming everyone in a way that is hardly even noticed. Give children even more of a benefit, because they have to deal with the pollution that's been left them by our generation. And of course, don't just charge businesses for their careless environmental practices; charge individuals too. And increase that tax by 2% a year. Then, as Grist's David Roberts says, just sit back and get out of the way.

wheat and other allergies

Over the past few months, my struggle to pin down the source of some chronic stomach problems I've had for years has been gradually narrowing down to gluten as the likely culprit. In light of the gluten-free (i.e., wheat-free, barley-free, malt-free, oat-free, pretty-much-everything-I-like-to-eat-free) diet I've been struggling to maintain, I found this article encouraging. I've never felt much doubt that my stomach issues were in some way related to humanity's destruction of the planet. I mean, it just doesn't make sense, for a healthy person in a healthy society, for food to always make you sick.

ethanol: definitely not the answer

In addition to pushing up the price of food corn, a new study shows that ethanol may actually cause more pollutants harmful to human health. Right now, pollution is blamed for 10,000 deaths a year in the U.S., but ethanol, according to this study, could raise that number.

Bicycles, anyone?

stepping it up at last

This weekend was so inspiring. Perhaps the best part was knowing that we really weren't alone--there were other people all over the country, all doing different things but sending the same message. But here in Atlanta, the most inspiring part to me was the effort to show the connection between climate change and social justice. It's much easier to explain the necessity of Christian action on social issues (especially since Dr. King already did it for me) than to explain the necessity of Christian action on the environment. But in my mind, they are indivisible. We are all dependent on our environment--and the poorest among us are the most dependent, and the least culpable for the changes.

We heard speakers and workshops on this topic, but I think few things were as powerful for me in seeing that connection than simply the meeting place we chose. We rallied at King Chapel on Morehouse College campus, and sitting in the shadow of this larger-than-life statue of Martin Luther King Jr., I kept wondering what he would be preaching now, if he were still alive. He has always been someone whom I admired, and more so the more I've learned about him. He understood the need to act on faith, and he was driven by love. His message was in many ways always the same, but toward the end of his life it was beginning to shift, extending across racial issues to the multi-colored face of poverty, which in our country today is even more pronounced and dangerous than it was then. He cared about the poor. But we, so often still, blithely leave the poor behind in a trail of SUV emissions. When sea levels rise, when food is harder to grow, when the cost of staying warm is more expensive--it will be the poor who are hit hardest. The rich will always be able to drive. But can we in conscience keep driving cars, we who say that we, too, are driven by love?

three levels to reducing your carbon footprint

This was sent to me by Edward McNally, founder of Above the Fold and one of the leaders of Inspiring Futures. I thought it was too good not to share.

Level I. LOW HANGING FRUIT:

Things that anyone can do tomorrow w/o significant changes in their lifestyle.

Buy in bulk to cut down on packaging.
Drive the speed limit and coast to stops.
Do your laundry in cold water.
Don’t run the water when you brush your teeth or shave.
Eat less meat.
Hang your clothes out to dry.
Lower the temperature setting on your hot water heater.
Shop and Pay bills online.
Shut the lights off when you leave a room.
Switch to CFC light bulbs! (aka CFLs)
Turn off your computer and other appliances before you go to bed.
Use environmentally safe cleaning products.
Walk. Walk. And walk some more.


Level II. AHAA! IDEAS:

These things require a bit more effort, but they have more positive and longer lasting impact.

Bike or Carpool to work at least once a week. (187-Ridefind)
Blog or Write letters to the editor of local and national publications….on a weekly basis.
Buy from “carbon-friendly” companies.
Buy energy from green power companies. (SACE)
Compost your household organic matter.
Integrate green building ideas into all your home renovations and repairs. (Southface)
Join a CSA (community sustained agriculture program). (Georgia Organics)
Join a carsharing program. (Flexcar)
Practice vermiculture. (Georgia Organics)
Purchase local and/or organic foods. (Georgia Organics)
Recycle.
Take the bus or the train. (Marta)
Travel by train instead of by plane. (Amtrak)
Start a vegetable garden.
Stop getting junk mail.
Use a reel lawn mower.


Level III. COMMITMENT AND BEYOND:

These steps require a more consistent effort or a real change in your lifestyle, but they offer the biggest payback and enduring impacts.

Advertise in, or contribute to, locally-owned media inc. radio, TV and newspapers.
Attend Public Service Commission meetings and speak up for cleaner energy production. (Georgia Interfaith Power and Light)
Buy undeveloped land and don’t develop it. (Trust for Public Land)
Campaign for progressive candidates.
Commit to buying local as often as you possibly can.
Contribute to NGOs working toward sustainable goals.
Drive a hybrid or bio-fueled car. (Toyota)
Get off the power grid (as much as you can) by installing solar panels, private wind mill, etc. (SACE)
Host local forums, screenings and town meetings on progressive or environmental issues. (Meetup)
Install a roof garden.
Invest in alternative energy companies. (SACE)
Mentor a child or student to consider sustainable choices in their life.
Run for office on a sustainable platform.
Participate in a community garden project. (Georgia Organics)
Partner with decision makers in your workplace to incorporate sustainable business practices.
Travel as an eco-tourist.
Volunteer regularly for a social justice or environmental organization. (Earth Share Georgia)

the joys of commuting

Here's an interesting national trend. But when it comes to commuting, I still like my bike best.

step it up atlanta!

It's this weekend! I'm excited...if you're not coming out, then you need to be. RSVP now for the biggest day of citizen action on climate change in U.S. history.

small changes

I thought this was a great op-ed in the Boston Herald this morning. You hear a lot of complaint from people who don't want to do anything about global warming--or any other environmental woe--that those who are saying we need to do something aren't doing enough themselves. The messenger isn't perfect, so let's ignore the message--even if it means destroying ourselves in the process. But most frustrating about this insistence on "needing more research" is the simple fact that individually doing something to protect the planet really isn't that hard. It isn't rocket science, and you don't have to destoy your life or your standard of living to try it.

But you do have to be humble, and you do have to be open to new ideas, and you do have to be willing to change at least a little. You have to acknowledge the possibility that there might be something good out there that's outside of your current way of living. You have to consider the idea that there might be benefits in things you haven't tried yet. You have to be open to the chance that you might not be quite perfect just yet.

But what have you go to lose? Will it really hurt so much to change a lightbulb? To buy a new (cheap!) water-saving showerhead? To ride your bike every once in a while when you would have driven? Maybe to join a carpool or a vanpool to get to work? Everyone can't do everything. But everyone can do something.

Which is why I don't see any point in shooting messengers like Al Gore. Of course he's not doing as much as he should--nobody is. But at least he's trying. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt: maybe he's doing as much as he can, and trying to make it a little more every day, every month, every year. Are you doing as much? Am I?

latest ipcc report

The International Governmental Panel on Climate Change is releasing a new report today. The summary for policy makers is already available. A few highlights:

Projected climate-change related exposures are likely to affect the health status of millions of people, particularly those with low adaptative capacity, through:
* increases in malnutrition and consequent disorders, with implications for child growth and development;
* increased deaths, disease, and injury due to heat waves, floods, storms, fires, and droughts;
* the increased burden of diarrhoeal disease;
* the increased frequency of cardio-respiratory diseases due to higher concentrations of ground level ozone related to climate change; and
* the altered spatial distribution of some infectious disease vectors.

...Warming in western mountains [in North America] is projected to cause decreased snowpack, more winter flooding, and reduced summer flows, exacerbating competition for over-allocated water resources. Disturbances from pests, diseases, and fire are projected to have increasing impacts on forests, with an extended period of high fire risk and large increases in area burned. Cities that currently experience heat waves are expected to be further challenged by an increased number, intensity, and duration of heat waves during the course of the century, with potential for adverse health impacts. The growing number of the elderly population is most at risk...

Many impacts can be avoided, reduced, or delayed by mitigation.

The most depressing part about all this to me is the fact that those who are doing least to cause it will be the hardest hit, while those who are doing most to cause it are least willing to make even the smallest mitigating changes. Does it have to be a basic characteristic of humanity that we can't see beyond our own noses?

This morning I was reading Collapse by Jared Diamond, a fascinated book that examines the environmental causes behind the destruction of various past civilizations. "What," Diamond wonders, "did the Easter Islander who cut down the last palm tree say while he was doing it? Like modern loggers, did he shout 'Jobs, not trees!' Or: 'Technology will solve our problems, never fear, we'll find a substitute for wood'? Or: 'We don't have proof that there aren't palms somewhere else on Easter, we need more research, your proposed ban on logging is premature and driven by fear-mongering'?"

Never fear, we'll find substitutes for water, for oil, for agriculture, for air...

Then all we'll have to do is adapt ourselves to eat, drink, and breathe something different.

sun blamed for global warming

Although I tend to be suspicious of articles that try to mitigate the human component of global warming, I couldn't help but laugh at the title of this article. We're blaming the sun for global warming. Good job, Einstein.

I was not surprised to see, on reading through the article, scientific agreement on the likelihood that changes in the sun are not enough to explain the dramatic climate changes we're seeing on earth and that most of the changes are probably attributable to human activity. However, I was intrigued to read that Mars is experiencing a warming trend as well. Maybe, if Mars warms up enough, we can all just move there? That's what John Travolta says, anyway.