We’re doing a lousy job of fighting global warming, despite science giving us a pretty good understanding of the impacts continuing along this current path. Rather than cut emissions, global CO2 emissions in 2011 increased by 2.5% to a new record of 34 billion metric tons, according to Scientific American. It’s depressing that we can’t solve this problem…but the reality is, people are more worried about themselves than future generations. Or at least, that’ll be the case until those future generations grow up and realize who’s to blame for the mess they face.
GMO labeling law fails in CA
California failed to pass Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients. This came as a surprise given the initial public support, though the money raised by the opposition managed to sway voters in the end. For a law that would not have outlawed anything, just required labeling, it’s really sad California couldn’t get this passed.
I feel it’s inevitable that laws like this will come to be…and until then, if this is an issue you care about, shop for organic fruits and vegetables, and check out the Non-GMO Shopping Guide for more shopping advice. In general, unless labeled as being Non-GMO (see label above), avoid corn, soybeans, canola, cottonseed, sugar beets, Hawaiian papaya, and ingredients derived from these (like ‘sugar’, instead of ‘pure cane sugar’, as it is likely to have some GM sugar beets in it).
A quick GMO summary
Check out the Huffington Post for a great, short summary of what you should know about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). I’m quoting the key points below, but read the full article for the explanations, details, and supporting facts:
- GMOs have never undergone standard testing or regulation for human safety.
- But we know that GMOs have proven harmful in animal studies.
- And the most widely used GMOs are paired with an herbicide linked to serious health risks.
- The consequences of GMO technology are inherently unpredictable.
- GMO makers intimidate and silence farmers and scientists.
- GMOs undermine our food security.
- GMOs aren’t needed in the first place, so why would we take on these risks and harms?
Voters in California have the opportunity this year to force companies to indicate if the food they produce contains GMOs. If CA votes to implement that, it’s likely to start a nationwide movement not to ban GMOs, but to at least let people know whether or not they’re consuming GMOs so they can make the choice for themselves.
Natural Disaster Preparedness
Like most of the world, I’ve been watching the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy with interest and amazement. This was a storm predicted far in advance, and followed pretty much the path predicted (slightly south but close enough for weather predictions), and yet…wow, just look at the chaos it has created. People had ample time to prepare, and while I’m sure many did, news reports are full of stories of people needing food, water, gas, etc. My takeaway from all this is this:
Food. This is actually an easy one. Get freeze-dried food in cans; my choices there are Mountain House and Backpacker’s Panty. It can be a little pricey, but start stocking up now…buy a can or two a month and build up a reserve food supply that way. When you see a good sale on canned goods or dry foods like breakfast cereals, stock up…you’ll use them eventually, but if there IS a disaster, this food can last you quite a while. If you lose power, feast on ice cream and other cold perishables, for they won’t last long.
Water. I don’t believe water can be stored well long term, so my focus is on gathering, short term storage, and water safety. For gathering, educate yourself about local water sources (rivers and reservoirs, for example). For storage, you can buy water jugs, but there are other options too. We save old plastic juice bottles (wash them first) for this purpose (they also work great to fill and freeze for ice in coolers when camping). Your water heater is a huge water storage tank that you can tap into if needed (use the drain plug at the bottom). Rainwater can be collected in barrels. To treat the water, use tablets for short term use, but long term (when the tablets run out), you’ll need to boil the water to make it safe to drink.
Heat. What you do for heat really depends on where you live. Plan on having a way to stay warm enough to survive if your electricity and natural gas are not working. Solar can be good for this if your system is truly off-grid or can run on a backup power supply.
Power. Or rather, electricity. It’s not something we really NEED, but is nice to have to keep cell phones recharged, power a refrigerator, or even power some heat sources (like the electric fan and auger in a wood pellet stove). Many people buy generators for this, but then face problems when they need more gas and the gas stations are out of fuel (like what’s happening in New York these days). A solar based solution is worth considering, such as the Goal Zero Yeti system. It gives you enough power to run a refrigerator or other devices, and comes with solar panels to charge it. Another short-term option is a DC-AC inverter that you can plug into your car’s cigarette lighter to provide power to low-power devices like cell phone chargers. You’ll be draining your car battery by doing so, but if you have a full tank of gas and don’t use much electricity, this can be OK.
Gas. If you’re lucky enough to have advance warning of a natural disaster (like a hurricane heading your way), fill all your cars with gas beforehand. You won’t want to deal with the inevitable lines and crowds in the days immediately after the disaster.
Defense. In a bad disaster, emergency services will be overwhelmed. Be prepared to protect your family, for as the days go by, people will grow increasingly desperate if they haven’t prepared for this.
Remember, some people just aren’t going to take the steps needed to prepare for natural disasters. With that in mind, it would be wise to not only have enough supplies for your own family, but some to share with your neighbors in their times of need.
Global warming is real, and will increase the potential severity of storms in the future. Hurricane Sandy should be the benchmark for the new norm that everyone should be prepared for.
Presidential Debates avoid climate change
It’s sad, but for the first time in 24 years, climate change wasn’t mentioned in the presidential debates. This is an issue of growing concern to our national security and well-being, yet it’s become so incredibly polarized and political in this country that we can’t even talk about it. That’s just plain wrong. We need to set aside the politics and look at the facts, for this is an issue that will be harder to deal with the longer we wait.
(more on this issue here)
UPDATE: The New York Times has a great article on this subject here, too.
Growing strain on our water supply
With an increasing population tapping depleting aquifers, much of this country (and the world) is on an unsustainable path that is going to lead to water shortages at some point in our lifetimes. We will adapt, it’s what we’re good at, but we need to be aware of how water is being used in our lives to know what to change. I’ve seen a few topics in the news lately that might not be obvious water hogs.
The first is fracking, for which the debate seems to focus on threats to our water supply, caused by leaking fracking fluids which threatens our groundwater supplies. While that’s being debated endlessly, there’s another water issue being overlooked. That is, the water that is used by the fracking process. According to Frack Free Colorado, each well requires 2-8 million gallons of water to create, and may require additional water over its lifetime if it needs to be re-fracked.
Biofuel is talked about as one solution to our energy problems, providing both a local fuel source, and a lower carbon liquid fuel option. Well, notice that word, ‘liquid’? You guessed it, biofuel production uses large amounts of water. The world consumes about 32 billion barrels of oil per year…that’s about 1.34 trillion gallons. One gallon of biofuel takes about 3.25 gallons of water to produce…the math just doesn’t add up here. When water shortages occur, the priority will have to be water for people and crops…there just won’t be enough water left to use for fracking or biofuel production.
Lastly, there’s the issue of groundwater pollution…which isn’t something most people really think about. However, check out the EPA’s How’s My Waterway website to get the scoop on water quality of streams and rivers near you. It’ll tell you about water tests for metals, pathogens, pesticides, etc. You might be surprised by what you find…I know I was!
Crowdsourcing medical research
Researchers in Sweden have developed a genetically engineered virus that they believe may be able to fight some forms of cancer. While that sounds great, they ran into a reality check when they looked at doing clinical trials…what they need to do to truly test this virus is going to cost one heck of a lot of money, and finding backers for that is not easy. So, they’ve turned to the internet for help, hoping to raise around three million dollars to allow them to tackle the first phase of the clinical trials. If that test is successful, the hope is that it would spur enough interest from big companies to foot the bill for continuation and completion of testing. You can read more about it here, or check out the video below.
Making fuel from air
A company in England, Air Fuel Synthesis, has demonstrated a method of making a liquid hydrocarbon fuel from nothing more than air. Well, more specifically, they say the process:
“captures carbon dioxide and water from the air, electrolyzes the water to make hydrogen, and reacts the carbon dioxide and hydrogen together to make hydrocarbon fuels”
Naturally, they believe it is a scalable process but is so far confined to laboratory volumes – they’ve produced five liters since August, which is fantastic but they have a ways to go. What’s key here, too, is how much energy is consumed in this process, something that so far I can’t find details of. If powered by solar or wind, though, a process like this could theoretically be nearly carbon neutral, yet still provide fuel to power cars and trucks. Or, if coupled with a utility-scale solar panel installation, some excess solar energy could be funneled to this process during the day, producing fuel which can power generators during the night when the panels aren’t producing.
A quick video primer on Dark Energy
If you’re curious about dark energy, check out this short video giving a high-level overview of what dark energy is (well, at least what we know about it, that is…we don’t really KNOW what it is), and how scientists are working to learn more about it. There’s also a great FAQ on the subject at Discover Magazine’s website…it’s really long, but then, dark energy is a complicated subject!
Amazon launches Vine, an eco-friendly shopping site
Amazon has started a new e-commerce site, Vine.com, where they’re focused on selling environmentally-friendly products. Vine offers free two day shipping on orders over $49, 95% recycled shipping boxes, and supposedly intelligent shipping software to ensure an appropriate box size (without all the wasted space I often find in Amazon packages). They have a pretty broad selection of green products, such as seeds from Seeds of Change, organic catnip for your cats (really), recycled toilet paper, yoga supplies, and, well, you get the idea.
It’s always best to BUY LESS STUFF…but when you do need something, buy eco-smart…and websites like Vine help out there.