Today marks the beginning of my hiatus from environmental blogging.
Have no fear: I am not wondering far. Instead, check out my newest blog, Kevinaroundtheworld.blogspot.com, in January to follow me as I circumnavigate planet Earth. Starting in the Bahamas, I will be traveling to Puerto Rico, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hawaii, Costa Rica and returning to Miama, FL as part of the Semester at Sea Progam.
I can’t wait to see the world, and I hope you can join me.
The phrase “kill 2 birds with 1 stone” comes to mind– but on a blog concerned for the environment, that might not be the best choice.
Let’s just say that you can: buy a unique Christmas gift AND do your part to “save the world.”
Check out some of this season’s more greener items, and see if you can’t spread some holiday cheer!
Kill a Watt
We buy appliances everyday and have no idea how much electricity it is actually costing us. That new gift may look cool, but how much energy is it sucking away? And what is it doing to your electricity bill? The Kill a Watt allows you to plug it in to an electric wall outlet, and then plug your appliance into that. The Kill a Watt then tells you exactly how much energy you’re using. If you leave it on, it will count killowatt-hours. I wonder what’s worse: the new HD TV, or your constantly running fridge. ($24.99)
Solio Hybrid 1000
About the size of a remote control, the Solio Hybrid 1000 allows you to charge a normal cell phone with 10-12 hours of direct sunlight. It’s perfect for a hiker or outdoorsman also, who just may never be near electricity! If you have no sun available, the Solio also charges via a computer’s USB port. ($79.95)
Hydrocar
You never know when the kids want to go “green.” Ths Hydrocar is a toy car that contains a fuel cell and runs on hydrogen gas. The fuel cell splits water into hydrogen and oxygen with direct sunlight. If your kid is a future-engineer: the car requries set-up for a fully functioning automobile! ($85)
ZipCar Gift Certificate
Last post, I discussed the ZipCar program. Don’t forget to buy your friend, especially those in college, a ZipCar membership or gift certificate. The ZipCar allows those living in urband areas to “rent” a car by the hour, starting at $5/hour, for quick errands and trips. For the extra environmentally friendly, many of these cars are hybrids. It’s a great alternative if a bike can’t do the trick.
Around the world, divorce rates have been increasing. Now, one expert proclaims divorcing is not being resourceful!
According to Jianguo Liu, an ecologist at Michigan State University, Americans spend an extra $3.6 billion annually on water as a result of extra households created when people divorce.
“A married household actually uses resources more efficeintly than a divoriced household.”
Need examples? A household uses the same amount of heat or AC no matter if there are 2 or 4 people living in it. One person or several people will use just one refigerator. And two people in two seperate houses will cause 2 dishwashers to run. Two people share the same stove, watch the same TV, listen to the same radio and use the same lights.
The impact is big.
In 2005, there were 16.5 million divorced people who headed their own household. This means $6.9 billion in extra utility costs annually, in addition to the extra $3.6 billion for water.
Liu also studied other countries. By looking at 11 of them, which included Brazil, Greece, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico and South Africa, he determined married couples could have saved energy. In fact, he determined there could have been a million fewer housholds using water and energy in the 11 countries.
A picture of one of the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean. Rising sea levels threaten areas like this, as well as coastal cities in the U.S.
Penguins such as these are some of the first to be effected by melting ice glaziers. Their friends, the polar bears, are also experiencing the same. Their numbers are decreasing to an all-time low.
Animals aren’t the only ones being effected by climate change. Inhabitants like this Inuit in Alaska worry about their future, and their children. Fishing patterns, for instance, are shifting and making living that much more difficult.
A hurricans rips through a small town. Changing climate patterns have brought on some sudden weather patterns, some of them ending in catastrophe.
“The two men stood next to other, sharing uncomfortable grins for photographers and reporters, who were quickly ushered in and out.
‘Familiar faces,’ the former vice president said of the media. Bush, still smiling, added nothing.”
Bush and Gore met for 40-minutes, although Whitehouse spokesmen declined to comment what the meeting was about. Gore, however, disclosed that the entire meeting was devoted to the topic of global warming. OOoooo.
Call me crazy, but I don’t think Gore and Bush saved the planet in one 40-minute session.
So those of you worried about rising sea water taking over your backyard– there’s no need to worry. George booked almost a FULL HOUR in his day-planner to solve the problem! It’s getting cooler already.
At University of California, instead of focusing on normal college things (sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll), they’re thinking about the environment (namely, trees).
Students at UC-Berkley are protesting the potential athletic center that is heading for right smack-dab in the middle of an oak grove.
They’re not monkeys, but the students are spending up to a week literally sitting on the tall branches of the oak trees. Their friends come by and hoist water and food up to them. This, believe it or not, has been going on for a year!
Last month a judge ruled that they had the legal write to remove the protestors. The thought has brought on a rampage of online-suggestions for their removal: tranquilizers, skunk spray and fire hoses. So far, the University has only put up a chain-link fence.
The students wear masks and provide fake names to authorities and journalists. In fact, one tree-sitting student “Dumpster Muffin” said she feels “awesome.”
Saving the environment is not all fun and games, however. Two students have broken several bones from falls.
Broken bones? It’s all relative when it comes to preserving the future, right?
Before the invention of the light bulb, people used candles, lanterns and the sun to complete their everyday tasks.However, in the 1800s scientists were hard at work, attempting to be the first to invent a way to have electricity in the home. Eventually, science stumbled upon the incandescent bulb– the same type of bulb we use today.
Priced at less than $3 a pop, the CFL is [excuse the pun] lighting the way to a greener future. Designed like a swirly-cone ice cream, the CFL saves energy, saves money and could on a large-scale help save the environment. CFLs emit the same amount of light as regular incandescents, but uses 75% to 80% less electricity when compared. In fact, if one of every 110 million American households used just one CFL instead of an ordinary 60-watt incandescent bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. That’s equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the road! (source).
In a world where global warming threatens to “interrupt” and “inconvenience” people’s lives– exchanging one lightbulb is as simple as, yes, screwing in a lightbulb. WalMart wants to sell its 100 million regular costumers just one lightbulb– that’s enough to make a difference.
Not many things, serious or not, get past Leno, Letterman and others. Global warming seems to be no exception to this rule. The fact that global warming is being joked about should be a compliment to activists like Al Gore who try to bring the climate crisis to the national spotlight. Nobody jokes about things that aren’t mainstream, and with global warming being poked-fun-at just about everywhere, it shows just how well-publicized the climate crisis is.
On the other hand, there are a lot more jokes than activism going on. Joking doesn’t help conserve energy, or bring about political reform. To some people, it makes a complete mockery of a serious issue. Jokes alone, aren’t the solution.
TAKE A LOOK, AND LET ME KNOWWHAT DO YOU THINK… funny OR not?
“Here’s good news: George W. Bush says that he is committed to fighting global warming. Yeah, well, he nipped that in the bud, didn’t he? … President Bush says he’s really going to buckle down now and fight global warming. As a matter of fact, he announced today he’s sending 20,000 troops to the sun”
–David Letterman
“President Bush told reporters he won’t see Al Gore’s documentary about the threat of global warming. He will not see it. On the other hand, Dick Cheney said he’s seen the global warming film five times, and it still cracks him up.”
–Conan O’Brien
“According to a survey in this week’s Time magazine, 85% of Americans think global warming is happening. The other 15% work for the White House.”
–Jay Leno
Leave a comment, let me know: joking about global warming, FUNNY or NOT?
Al Roker joined them from a forest on the equator in Ecuador.
And putting it all in perspective was Al Gore, Nobel Prize winner and former vice president.
“Environmental journalism,” as it’s called, took a giant step into the national spotlight, as 3 of the TODAY SHOW’S top anchors were hosting from world’s away from each other. It was all to shed light on the environmental crisis facing our planet.
When I turned on the TV this morning, I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. A show known for its New York City Rockefeller Center studio, was now reporting from the top, bottom and exact middle of the Earth. Not only an amazing feat, but an ode to the amazing technology available in the communications world.
I still laugh at those who question the planet’s climate crisis. Would the TODAY Show really travel all the way to the Arctic Circle just for kicks? They’re sending a message, and a strong one at that. NBC is just one of several large organizations taking a stand to bring climate change into the spotlight.
The 3 chosen locations by NBC are all linked by their environmental significance. Greenland is the largest island, and 81% of it is covered by ice. Antarctica holds 90% of the frozen water on our planet. Ecuador, the third location, hosts a large mist forest that consumes vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
“It’s about getting this message out to as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
“Poo and pee is our bread and butter,” that’s what one zoo official is saying about his Dallas Zoo’s new energy plan.
The Dallas Zoo will soon be electrically powered by animal droppings, cardboard and tree limbs, with the additional help of a biogas generator. Although the project could cost up to $1 million dollars, the project is expected to pay for itself within 10 years.
A zoo spokesperson says that the Dallas Zoo sees themselves not only as a fun place for families, but as a conservation organization.
Is anyone else afraid of what might happen if biogas generators start using, well, our droppings?
“An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions.
Florida doesn’t have nearly enough water for its expected population boom.
The Great Lakes are shrinking.
Upstate New York’s reservoirs have dropped to record lows.
And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year.”
It is estimated that 36 states will face water shortages within five years. Droughts, rising temperatures and a rising population all have contributed to the potential water crisis.
Florida, California and Texas combined use 1/4 of the United States water. Making me ask, “HEY guys! What about the 47 rest of us??”
Desalination, recycling, and conservation are all solutions to the problem.
But why is this happening?
1. Rising temperatures have caused glaciers to melt, and the sea level to rise. As the sea level rises, it pushes saltwater into the underground freshwater supply.
2. When landscapes are paved for roads, water can no longer penetrate the ground to replenish aquifers. Instead, cities pump water back into the ocean to prevent flooding.
3. The U.S. dumps most waste water into the ocean, instead of using it for irrigation.
Everything you left at the end of your driveway last Tuesday probably ended up in a landfill.But, do you really know where that is and what that means?
27% of trash is either recycled or composted, 16% is burned and 57% is buried in landfills.
the composition of the underlying soil and bedrock
the flow of surface water over the site
the impact of the proposed landfill on the local environment and wildlife
the historical or archaeological value of the proposed site
The landfill is lined with several layers, including a vital plastic layer to protect the contents from the environment. A landfill is also covered with soil daily. Inside a landfill there is very little oxygen and moisture, which means trash takes much longer to decompose than normal. Landfills are not meant to decompose trash. It merely provides a place for trash to be buried.
Every so often I feel “stuck in a bubble.” Maybe it’s an overdose of suburbia or maybe it’s the lack of diversity in my environment– but either way it’s a feeling of emtrapment. A sepration from the world around you. A blindness. You know things are going on outside of your world– but inside your domain you’re untouched by human reality. A utopia, maybe. But reality? Certainly not.
Get out of your bubble.
Poverty is not a light topic. Some say we need the wealthy and we need the poor so that the world can sustain, grow and function. I don’t believe that. In fact, I came along this quote not too long ago that explains why poverty is the result of injustices throughout the world:
“The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. They are marginalized by our social and cultural world. They are oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity, Hence the poverty is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.”
It’s okay to feel detached from the world– away from the wars, the famine, the dieases and the injustice. Consider yourself lucky to be so distant from such autrocities. But do remember, every so often, to reach outside your bubble and see the world through someone elses eyes.
Our environmental issues aren’t just about SUVs and solar panels, they’re about the right to live.
A Green Future 
