In this season of giving it may seem trite to reiterate the simple fact that we are all connected. Many of us use the holiday season to express this connection through an exchange of gifts and sharing in each other’s presence, but this is also a good time to contemplate the often overlooked facet of human interconnectedness: that our every action has an impact on the people whose lives we share and the world in which we live, and in ways that far surpass cookies, carols, and presents.
Shift the Tide is a project devoted to reminding us to be mindful of this connection in our daily lives. We must remember that even the smallest of daily strides can help to alleviate the burden we lay on our crowded planet. We can each make a difference as one person, and we can absolutely make a difference as many acting as one. The challenge ahead of us is daunting but the little changes we make can ensure that we give one another the best gift of all, the promise of a healthy future.
Happy holidays from Shift the Tide.
21 December 2008
17 December 2008
Meat Consumption and Climate Change
Below is a wonderful article from the New York Times about the direct link between meat consumption and the climate crisis. Everyone should read this article when they get a chance. Reducing meat consumption in your diet reduces more greenhouse gases than changing your car to a Toyota Prius!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/science/earth/04meat.html?_r=1&as%20more%20eat%20meat&st=cse
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/science/earth/04meat.html?_r=1&as%20more%20eat%20meat&st=cse
05 November 2008
Sometimes you just have to eat a banana
Submitted by Meredith Epstein
Ah, the banana: that mellow yellow crescent of tropical sweetness. Pan-fried in a bath of butter and brown sugar. Serving as a vessel for mounds of frozen cream, lattices of chocolaty syrup, and a sprinkling of nuts and cherries. Simmered in a deep pot of black beans with a hint of ginger and cocoa. Overripe, mashed into a cellulosic goo, baked with allspice into a warm loaf. Or simply smothered in peanut butter. You really can’t go wrong.
Oh, the banana: the most environmentally destructive human rights infringement in a peel. You would be hard-pressed to find a productive banana tree pushing soil anywhere from Maine to California, yet it is a regular on the American grocery list. It is the most widely cultivated fruit crop in the world, grown in well over one hundred countries and ringing up four billion dollars annually in export trade. Seventy-two and a half million metric tons of the sunny fruits were produced worldwide in 2005, with India, Brazil, China, Ecuador, and the Philippines rounding out the top five growers. In the United States bananas are a luxury commodity that we grab for a breakfast on-the-go. For millions of people in developing nations who depend on them for daily calorie intake and wage, they are a matter of life or death.
The industrial plantations where most bananas are grown in Latin America, South America, Africa, and Asia are a nightmare. Critical spans of forest are clear-cut to make way for monolithic monocultures of hybrid crops that are doused with petrochemical biocides and fertilizers. Planes sweep over the rows of trees, hawk-like, dusting both plants and workers with Organochlorines. Chemical exposure has been linked to higher cancer rates among banana workers than the general population. Lack of genetic diversity in the fields makes the crop extremely susceptible to diseases and bacteria that can wipe out entire regions’ yields. This threatens the livelihoods of both workers and regional consumers.
The banana industry, like most others, is dominated by a handful of multinational corporations—Dole and Chiquita own over half of all banana cultivation in the world. Their plantations are ridden with child labor, disregard for pesticide regulations, and wages below half the legal minimum. Most employment with these companies is through contractors, so workers have no job security, do not receive benefits, cannot form unions, and are often relocated with no say in the matter. In effect, these people become migrant workers on their own land.
In March 2007, the United States Justice Department fined Chiquita Brands International $25 million for funding terrorist organizations in Latin and South America—specifically Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), among other rebel groups in the volatile nation’s countryside. This right-wing paramilitary group is responsible for most of the country’s brutal civilian slaughters and cocaine exports. Chiquita paid AUC millions of dollars in cash over an eight-year span in exchange for armed patrol of their banana plantations. That same month on her nationally syndicated public radio show Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman discussed a 1998 exposé in the Cincinnati Enquirer that revealed how “…Chiquita exposed entire communities to dangerous U.S.-banned pesticides, forced the eviction of an entire Honduran village at gunpoint and its subsequent bulldozing, suppressed unions, unwittingly allowed the use of Chiquita transport ships to move cocaine internationally, and paid a fortune to U.S. politicians to influence trade policy.”
Not such an everyday fruit, now is it?
Equipped with these banana facts, am I morally obligated to give up one of my favorite fruits? I’d say that I eat roughly one banana per week, which means 52 bananas per year. I will probably have consumed well over one thousand by the time I turn 25! How do I deal with the realization that that may as well be considered a crime?
Over the last five years I have been working to embrace the responsibility of conscientious consumption. Some of the changes I have been compelled to make have been easily incorporated into my daily life. Others, not so much. Sometimes I cheat. But ultimately, no matter what I am “giving up,” it seldom brings a sense of deprivation when I get into the swing of it. On the contrary, the adjustment brings greater feelings of fulfillment in the sense that I am sparing someone or something, somewhere, some suffering.
Nowadays it seems as if these are straightforward solutions that are becoming common knowledge and practice. The ultimate purpose of such customs is to be aware of the complexity of supply chains and to examine the social, economic, moral and environmental consequences of goods all the way from production to consumption to disposal. The difficulty in gaining awareness lies in the sheer extent of that complexity over the entire lifecycle of a product, be it an apple, a steak, or a sedan. Industries devote billions of dollars every year to covering up the pathway of suffering that begins with the cotton seed in the ground and ends not with the shirt on your back but in the landfill where that shirt ends up once you’ve worn it out. Even the “simplest” of goods—a banana—is not simple at all.
Some bananas are obviously better than others. Goodman concludes her article by saying, “That next organic, fair-trade banana you buy just might save a life.” But even if I make sure that the bunch is organic and fair trade certified, it is still shipped thousands of miles, emitting tons of carbon dioxide. The only justification I can find for purchasing the damn things is this: I love them. I love their slick, sticky meatiness. I love them in pancakes, over cereal, in trail mix, as pudding, covered in chocolate, or just as is.
I have become so hyper-conscientious and downright fearful about the smallest shred of consumption that every now and then I wonder if some therapy wouldn’t do me some good. I’m getting burned out and I’m only 21 years old. I eat, sleep, and drink sustainability—except I do not have time to eat or sleep because of it. My life is organic farming and dumpster diving and cooperative housing; committee meetings and conference calls and trainings; lobbying and education and direct action. When I told a seasoned anti-nuclear activist that I was too burned out to host an event for him, he responded, “Of course you’re burned out! We’re all burned out! And that’s not going to change because the Earth is burned out! So get used to it.”
There are many vital components to a successful sustainability movement, but if you ask me, the key point is this: it must be a sustainable sustainability movement. Surely no one can stay strong after ten, twenty, thirty years of burnout! How do we sustain ourselves? There are species to save and solar panels to install; organic vegetables to harvest and policies to pass through Congress! There are forests to protect and mountains of trash to pick up; children to teach and rights to defend! How am I going to keep up?
Environmentalism encompasses every aspect of existence. I am learning to devote my energy to one main struggle—which is?-- because each of our struggles is part of the greater whole.
The world has evolved into such a tangle of globe-spanning systems that it seems impossible to do absolutely everything right. The entire way our society is structured is wrong but we have to live in it the way it is. We can’t fix it all this instant, but we can acknowledge our roles in the process and act. Joni Mitchell said it right – we are stardust, billion year old carbon, we are golden, caught in the devil’s bargain, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden. So gather your friends. Pick your fights. Pack your bags. Don’t forget the snacks. Sometimes, if you want a banana, you just have to eat one.
[This article originally appeared in the October-November 2008 issue of River Gazette, published by St. Mary's College of Maryland. www.smcm.edu/rivergazette]
Ah, the banana: that mellow yellow crescent of tropical sweetness. Pan-fried in a bath of butter and brown sugar. Serving as a vessel for mounds of frozen cream, lattices of chocolaty syrup, and a sprinkling of nuts and cherries. Simmered in a deep pot of black beans with a hint of ginger and cocoa. Overripe, mashed into a cellulosic goo, baked with allspice into a warm loaf. Or simply smothered in peanut butter. You really can’t go wrong.
Oh, the banana: the most environmentally destructive human rights infringement in a peel. You would be hard-pressed to find a productive banana tree pushing soil anywhere from Maine to California, yet it is a regular on the American grocery list. It is the most widely cultivated fruit crop in the world, grown in well over one hundred countries and ringing up four billion dollars annually in export trade. Seventy-two and a half million metric tons of the sunny fruits were produced worldwide in 2005, with India, Brazil, China, Ecuador, and the Philippines rounding out the top five growers. In the United States bananas are a luxury commodity that we grab for a breakfast on-the-go. For millions of people in developing nations who depend on them for daily calorie intake and wage, they are a matter of life or death.
The industrial plantations where most bananas are grown in Latin America, South America, Africa, and Asia are a nightmare. Critical spans of forest are clear-cut to make way for monolithic monocultures of hybrid crops that are doused with petrochemical biocides and fertilizers. Planes sweep over the rows of trees, hawk-like, dusting both plants and workers with Organochlorines. Chemical exposure has been linked to higher cancer rates among banana workers than the general population. Lack of genetic diversity in the fields makes the crop extremely susceptible to diseases and bacteria that can wipe out entire regions’ yields. This threatens the livelihoods of both workers and regional consumers.
The banana industry, like most others, is dominated by a handful of multinational corporations—Dole and Chiquita own over half of all banana cultivation in the world. Their plantations are ridden with child labor, disregard for pesticide regulations, and wages below half the legal minimum. Most employment with these companies is through contractors, so workers have no job security, do not receive benefits, cannot form unions, and are often relocated with no say in the matter. In effect, these people become migrant workers on their own land.
In March 2007, the United States Justice Department fined Chiquita Brands International $25 million for funding terrorist organizations in Latin and South America—specifically Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), among other rebel groups in the volatile nation’s countryside. This right-wing paramilitary group is responsible for most of the country’s brutal civilian slaughters and cocaine exports. Chiquita paid AUC millions of dollars in cash over an eight-year span in exchange for armed patrol of their banana plantations. That same month on her nationally syndicated public radio show Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman discussed a 1998 exposé in the Cincinnati Enquirer that revealed how “…Chiquita exposed entire communities to dangerous U.S.-banned pesticides, forced the eviction of an entire Honduran village at gunpoint and its subsequent bulldozing, suppressed unions, unwittingly allowed the use of Chiquita transport ships to move cocaine internationally, and paid a fortune to U.S. politicians to influence trade policy.”
Not such an everyday fruit, now is it?
Equipped with these banana facts, am I morally obligated to give up one of my favorite fruits? I’d say that I eat roughly one banana per week, which means 52 bananas per year. I will probably have consumed well over one thousand by the time I turn 25! How do I deal with the realization that that may as well be considered a crime?
Over the last five years I have been working to embrace the responsibility of conscientious consumption. Some of the changes I have been compelled to make have been easily incorporated into my daily life. Others, not so much. Sometimes I cheat. But ultimately, no matter what I am “giving up,” it seldom brings a sense of deprivation when I get into the swing of it. On the contrary, the adjustment brings greater feelings of fulfillment in the sense that I am sparing someone or something, somewhere, some suffering.
Nowadays it seems as if these are straightforward solutions that are becoming common knowledge and practice. The ultimate purpose of such customs is to be aware of the complexity of supply chains and to examine the social, economic, moral and environmental consequences of goods all the way from production to consumption to disposal. The difficulty in gaining awareness lies in the sheer extent of that complexity over the entire lifecycle of a product, be it an apple, a steak, or a sedan. Industries devote billions of dollars every year to covering up the pathway of suffering that begins with the cotton seed in the ground and ends not with the shirt on your back but in the landfill where that shirt ends up once you’ve worn it out. Even the “simplest” of goods—a banana—is not simple at all.
Some bananas are obviously better than others. Goodman concludes her article by saying, “That next organic, fair-trade banana you buy just might save a life.” But even if I make sure that the bunch is organic and fair trade certified, it is still shipped thousands of miles, emitting tons of carbon dioxide. The only justification I can find for purchasing the damn things is this: I love them. I love their slick, sticky meatiness. I love them in pancakes, over cereal, in trail mix, as pudding, covered in chocolate, or just as is.
I have become so hyper-conscientious and downright fearful about the smallest shred of consumption that every now and then I wonder if some therapy wouldn’t do me some good. I’m getting burned out and I’m only 21 years old. I eat, sleep, and drink sustainability—except I do not have time to eat or sleep because of it. My life is organic farming and dumpster diving and cooperative housing; committee meetings and conference calls and trainings; lobbying and education and direct action. When I told a seasoned anti-nuclear activist that I was too burned out to host an event for him, he responded, “Of course you’re burned out! We’re all burned out! And that’s not going to change because the Earth is burned out! So get used to it.”
There are many vital components to a successful sustainability movement, but if you ask me, the key point is this: it must be a sustainable sustainability movement. Surely no one can stay strong after ten, twenty, thirty years of burnout! How do we sustain ourselves? There are species to save and solar panels to install; organic vegetables to harvest and policies to pass through Congress! There are forests to protect and mountains of trash to pick up; children to teach and rights to defend! How am I going to keep up?
Environmentalism encompasses every aspect of existence. I am learning to devote my energy to one main struggle—which is?-- because each of our struggles is part of the greater whole.
The world has evolved into such a tangle of globe-spanning systems that it seems impossible to do absolutely everything right. The entire way our society is structured is wrong but we have to live in it the way it is. We can’t fix it all this instant, but we can acknowledge our roles in the process and act. Joni Mitchell said it right – we are stardust, billion year old carbon, we are golden, caught in the devil’s bargain, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden. So gather your friends. Pick your fights. Pack your bags. Don’t forget the snacks. Sometimes, if you want a banana, you just have to eat one.
[This article originally appeared in the October-November 2008 issue of River Gazette, published by St. Mary's College of Maryland. www.smcm.edu/rivergazette]
16 September 2008
Little-known Plastic Bag Facts
Submitted by M.P. Crawford
While perusing the Fall 2008 issue of "Chesupioc", the newsletter of ther Chespeake Audobon Society, I happened upon these share-worthy facts researched by Kathy Woods, a Wildlife Rehabilitator, regarding plastic bags and the impact upon OUR environment. Are you ready?
Four seemingly unlikely allies, Rwanda, China, Bangladesh and Ireland, have all banned free plastic bags at the grocery store. Plastic bags are manufactured from polyethylene- a thermoplastic derived from oil. Wishing to decrease their foreign oil dependency (what a great idea!), China expects to SAVE 37 million barrels of crude oil by adhering to the bag ban. Ireland now taxes the bags and therefore has reduced usage by 90%.
As we know, these bags find their way into every imaginable airspace, water space and landscape on OUR Earth. Two-hundred species of sea life have been victimized by either consuming, choking on, or becoming entangled in plastic bags carelessly discarded. Don't think that recycling gets rid of the problem: less than one percent of plastic bags are recycled, and the cost is enormous.
So, if you think that switching from paper or plastic and carrying cloth bags (preferably of the 100% organic derivative) isn't helping much, then consider this: according to a report from National Geographic, worldwide dependence on plastic bags is set at 500 billion to 1 trillion. In one lifetime, we could save over 25,000 bags! Now that's a fact to get choked up about.
While perusing the Fall 2008 issue of "Chesupioc", the newsletter of ther Chespeake Audobon Society, I happened upon these share-worthy facts researched by Kathy Woods, a Wildlife Rehabilitator, regarding plastic bags and the impact upon OUR environment. Are you ready?
Four seemingly unlikely allies, Rwanda, China, Bangladesh and Ireland, have all banned free plastic bags at the grocery store. Plastic bags are manufactured from polyethylene- a thermoplastic derived from oil. Wishing to decrease their foreign oil dependency (what a great idea!), China expects to SAVE 37 million barrels of crude oil by adhering to the bag ban. Ireland now taxes the bags and therefore has reduced usage by 90%.
As we know, these bags find their way into every imaginable airspace, water space and landscape on OUR Earth. Two-hundred species of sea life have been victimized by either consuming, choking on, or becoming entangled in plastic bags carelessly discarded. Don't think that recycling gets rid of the problem: less than one percent of plastic bags are recycled, and the cost is enormous.
So, if you think that switching from paper or plastic and carrying cloth bags (preferably of the 100% organic derivative) isn't helping much, then consider this: according to a report from National Geographic, worldwide dependence on plastic bags is set at 500 billion to 1 trillion. In one lifetime, we could save over 25,000 bags! Now that's a fact to get choked up about.
05 September 2008
Living like Locals
Marhaba from the Middle East! I have recently moved to a region where food choices are quite limited, and environmental constraints on agricultural productions are obvious. Here, I don't have to worry that I might be buying something out of season--the only produce really available is local. But for those of you in the States, there are important decisions to be made regarding what you purchase from supermarkets and stands. Food travels thousands of miles to arrive in your area grocery store, and has used tons of energy in the packaging and transportation process. Part of the quest for sustainable living involves choosing to buy and cook things that have the least impact on the environment. This adventure can be an enjoyable and educational process, as one begins to learn what fruits and vegetables are naturally available nearby and at what times. Sure, we all know that pumpkins arrive in the fall--but these days, canned pumpkin is in the store year round, and heavy cans take a toll in production and transport. How about broccoli or tomatoes? Or oranges and peppers? I'm not saying that you must give up all food that can't be grown next door at a certain time, but you can make a significant difference in consciously buying your groceries with the Earth in mind! Besides cutting fossil fuel consumption, buying from local cooperatives and farmers builds great relationships and helps the economy. The trend towards local and organic food is definitely on the rise, and there are lots of great resources to introduce people to this concept. So don't just trust me--check it out!
For a more in depth discussion of the facts of how food affects the environment see The Sustainable Table
If you doubt that tasty, nutritious meals could be created from what is in season, check out my favorite cookbook "Simply in Season."
Lastly, Barbara Kingsolver has written a hilarious memoir of her adventure in living locally in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It is definitely worth a read and has some helpful resources and recipes inside!
Have fun living locally!
For a more in depth discussion of the facts of how food affects the environment see The Sustainable Table
If you doubt that tasty, nutritious meals could be created from what is in season, check out my favorite cookbook "Simply in Season."
Lastly, Barbara Kingsolver has written a hilarious memoir of her adventure in living locally in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It is definitely worth a read and has some helpful resources and recipes inside!
Have fun living locally!
28 August 2008
122 by 2100
As we enjoy the cooler, crisper days that signal the approach of autumn here in the Mid-Atlantic we can't let our fight against climate change die down. While the phrase "global warming" loses some of its perceived gravity in the cooler days of the year, don't forget that our actions have consequences year round and the effort to keep our environment safe for all creatures inhabiting it continues. In fact, a recent Reuters article serves to shock us out of our end of summer complacence: Dutch scientists released information that the projected course of climate change has the world on its way to dangerously high temperatures by 2100. Peak temperatures and summer heat waves will become more severe, jumping even higher than the average temperature increases caused by climate change. This means that regions in India, the Middle East, Australia, and the equatorial parts of Africa and South America will see temperatures nearing 122 degrees Fahrenheit, 50 degrees Celsius, by 2100. While temperatures in the US and Mediterranean will experience slightly smaller peak increases, those heat waves will be far from comfortable, to say the least.
To view the full article, click here.
To convince more of your friends and family members to hop on the environmentally friendly bandwagon, click here.
To view the full article, click here.
To convince more of your friends and family members to hop on the environmentally friendly bandwagon, click here.
22 August 2008
Disturbing News
A crack seven miles long and a half-mile wide has emerged at the top of Greenland, scientists from NASA and Ohio State University announced yesterday. Floating as far north as possible, this region of Greenland was previously thought to be resistant to the effects of global warming- yesterday's announcement is clear evidence to the contrary and disintegration of the glacier is now expected to occur this year.
Not yet convinced that global warming is a real threat? Take an end-of-summer vacation to Nuuk and ask the locals.
Source: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-science/20080821/SCI.Greenland.Glaciers/
Not yet convinced that global warming is a real threat? Take an end-of-summer vacation to Nuuk and ask the locals.
Source: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-science/20080821/SCI.Greenland.Glaciers/
17 August 2008
Say NO to Offshore Drilling
Even though gas prices have dropped noticeably during the last few weeks, don't let yourself be lulled into a state of complacence where oil dependence is concerned. The fact that $3.65 per gallon of regular-grade gasoline is considered a "good" price shows that we've grown accustomed to shelling out way too much money for an increasingly scarce commodity whose hidden cost packs a far greater punch for the planet than it does for our wallets.
The Environmental Defense Fund, an organization that seeks solutions to environmental problems by partnering with businesses and government agencies, has drafted a petition to tell members of Congress not to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling:
"The era of cheap oil is over and opening up environmentally sensitive areas to oil drilling will not bring it back.
Offshore oil exploration is slow and costly. The Energy Information Administration estimates that opening the coasts to offshore drilling would have no significant impact on oil prices before 2030.
The EIA also estimates that opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would reduce the cost of gas by only a few pennies per gallon, and not until 2027.
The only way to free ourselves from expensive oil is to get off oil. And the best way to do that is to support market-based policies that create economic incentives to unleash clean energy innovation and create the clean economy of the 21st century.
That's precisely what a cap on global warming pollution will do: cut our oil imports (by as much as $490 billion over the next two decades) and kick start the development of clean energy alternatives.
Washington has waited too long to develop a common sense national energy policy, and with gas at $4 per gallon, we're now paying the price. But we can respond to this energy crisis by adopting better, smarter energy policies that reward innovation and free us from oil.
I urge you to say NO to lifting the ban on offshore drilling and YES to clean energy innovation."
Tell your elected official to work for positive environmental change: http://action.edf.org/campaign/nooffshoredrilling
The Environmental Defense Fund, an organization that seeks solutions to environmental problems by partnering with businesses and government agencies, has drafted a petition to tell members of Congress not to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling:
"The era of cheap oil is over and opening up environmentally sensitive areas to oil drilling will not bring it back.
Offshore oil exploration is slow and costly. The Energy Information Administration estimates that opening the coasts to offshore drilling would have no significant impact on oil prices before 2030.
The EIA also estimates that opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would reduce the cost of gas by only a few pennies per gallon, and not until 2027.
The only way to free ourselves from expensive oil is to get off oil. And the best way to do that is to support market-based policies that create economic incentives to unleash clean energy innovation and create the clean economy of the 21st century.
That's precisely what a cap on global warming pollution will do: cut our oil imports (by as much as $490 billion over the next two decades) and kick start the development of clean energy alternatives.
Washington has waited too long to develop a common sense national energy policy, and with gas at $4 per gallon, we're now paying the price. But we can respond to this energy crisis by adopting better, smarter energy policies that reward innovation and free us from oil.
I urge you to say NO to lifting the ban on offshore drilling and YES to clean energy innovation."
Tell your elected official to work for positive environmental change: http://action.edf.org/campaign/nooffshoredrilling
11 August 2008
Bag Ladies Revisited
Contributed by M.P. Crawford
Since my last posting, I fortunately have positve news to report. The appearance of the environmentally friendly cloth reusable bags is definitely on the upswing. The checkers at the local grocery store report increased sales of these bags. Many stores, including Target at the lower end and Nordstrom on the higher end (with the price tag to prove it!) are selling stylish 100% "organically grown" bags; many that even guys would be comfortable hanging on a shoulder (so there's no excuse for the "paper or plastic?"mantra, men!)
One of the most heartening sights happened as recent as this morning. I was in the grocery check-out line behind a woman who had only purchased a salad. Per the still-unfortunate usual, the clerk placed it in one of those dreaded blue plastic bags. The woman turned to carefully survey the pile (yes, pile!) of cloth bags alongside my pending purchases upon the conveyor belt, then told the young woman to remove the salad from the bag as she did not need it and neither did the Earth.
I am pondering the possibility that on my next trip to this particular grocery of speaking to the management about reducing the cost of the cloth bags and/or giving a cash incentive to those customers who bring their reusable bags. Any step, albeit small and slow, is still a move in the right direction.
Since my last posting, I fortunately have positve news to report. The appearance of the environmentally friendly cloth reusable bags is definitely on the upswing. The checkers at the local grocery store report increased sales of these bags. Many stores, including Target at the lower end and Nordstrom on the higher end (with the price tag to prove it!) are selling stylish 100% "organically grown" bags; many that even guys would be comfortable hanging on a shoulder (so there's no excuse for the "paper or plastic?"mantra, men!)
One of the most heartening sights happened as recent as this morning. I was in the grocery check-out line behind a woman who had only purchased a salad. Per the still-unfortunate usual, the clerk placed it in one of those dreaded blue plastic bags. The woman turned to carefully survey the pile (yes, pile!) of cloth bags alongside my pending purchases upon the conveyor belt, then told the young woman to remove the salad from the bag as she did not need it and neither did the Earth.
I am pondering the possibility that on my next trip to this particular grocery of speaking to the management about reducing the cost of the cloth bags and/or giving a cash incentive to those customers who bring their reusable bags. Any step, albeit small and slow, is still a move in the right direction.
29 July 2008
Can't ditch the car? Take these tips from Ford.
Taking a cue from astronomical gas prices and the American consumer’s abrupt U-turn away from gas-guzzling vehicles, Ford has developed ten tips for EcoDriving (or, driving down your fuel usage). Attempting to be EcoCute, Ford calls EcoDriving ECOnomical (it saves money) and ECOlogical (it saves the environment). So, straight from the fossil-fuel reliant auto giant itself, here are ten tips to decrease the impact on the earth and your bank account when you’re in the car:
1. Slow down and maintain steady speed. Drive 55 miles per hour, aim for a constant speed and use cruise control whenever possible on the highway.
2. Relax. Aggressive driving wastes fuel, so accelerate smoothly from a stop and brake softly.
3. No idling. Today’s engines don’t need to warm up in cold temperatures. State the car and gentle drive away. Turn the engine off in non-traffic situations, such as at bank and fast-food drive-up windows, when idling more than 30 seconds.
4. Check your tires. Keep tires inflated to the recommended tire pressure. This alone can reduce the average amount of fuel use by 3-4 percent.
5. Be kind to your vehicle. Keep the wheels aligned. Replace air filters as recommended.
6. Travel light. Avoid piling a lot of luggage on the roof rack and remove excess weight from the vehicle.
7. Minimize use of the heater and air conditioning. Decreasing your usage of the air conditioner when temperatures are above 80 degrees can help you save 10-15 percent of fuel.
8. Close windows at high speeds. Don’t drive with the windows open unless your speed is under 50mph.
9. Choose the right oil. Look for cans marked with the symbol ECII, which is the American Society of Testing Materials logo for fuel-efficient oils.
10. Consolidate trips. This will enable you to bypass congested routes, lead to less idling, fewer start-ups and less stop-and-go traffic.
Hat tip to The Examiner, 24 July 2008.
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