I know that you were oh-so disappointed that we went down, but we’re back, folks. Be sure to keep tuning in every morning for some good ol’ updates from yours truly.
It’s Not All of CO2′s Fault
January 9, 2012 By
Note that the keyword here is “all”. CO2 is still very much a guilty party in contributing to deterioration of the ozone layer, but researchers have found two new solutions when it comes to reducing global warming — and to saving lives in the process.
Soot and methane are huge factors of pollution, and their reduction can offer more quick reduction of global warming. Methane comes from landfills, farms (and especially from mass amounts of animals in factory farms), drilling for natural gas, and coal mining. Soot, a byproduct of burning things, is a big problem with rudimentary cook stoves and in some diesel fuels worldwide. Soot also is a big health problem, so dramatically cutting it with existing technology would save between 700,000 and 4.7 million lives each year, according to lead scientists conducting the research. Since soot causes rainfall patterns to shift, reducing it would cut down on droughts in southern Europe and parts of Africa and ease monsoon problems in Asia.
Many methods – including capturing methane from landfills and coal mines, cleaning up cook stoves and diesel engines, and changing agriculture techniques for rice paddies and manure collection – are being used efficiently in many places, but reports from NASA indicate that these practices aren’t being universally adopted. This is where I rely on you guys to help me spread the word about this issue.
PS: shifting the pollution focus doesn’t mean that we’d be ignoring the CO2 issue; we need to start implementing ways to fix this growing problem as soon as possible. Splitting our attention in order to reduce methane and soot isn’t the be-all, end-all when it comes to solving climate change, air pollution, and issues like hunger, but cutting down these pollutants can help to solve all three. And any attempts are better than none, especially with our planet at stake.
In Case You’ve Blown Through Your 2012 Resolutions
January 7, 2012 By
Yep, I have more green resolutions for 2012 for you. Think of it as me giving you encouragement after the other resolutions of yours didn’t pan out.
1) Replace at least one grocery item with a local or organic one.
2) Install a programmable thermostat to regulate how much heat/AC you pump into your rooms. Fun fact: reducing your heat – or turning up your AC temperature – by just two degrees will not only save you money in as little as a month, but for CO2 reduction of emissions, you’ll be doing the equivalent of taking dozens of cars off of the road.
3) Go vegetarian for just one meal a week — doing so will save 35 pounds of meat a year, which translates to 84,000 gallons of water, 245 pounds of grain, and 15.5 gallons of gasoline saved. Giving up your grizzly chicken wings will be beyond worth it.
4) Replace single-use batteries (especially those in your camera) with rechargable ones. You’ll save other batteries from being tossed in landfills, causing toxic pollution.
5) Make the switch to CFLs or LEDs (from incandescents). Seriously — do it already. You save too much money and energy in the long run to not.
6) Clean out your garage of toxic waste like paint cans and motor oil containers. No chick will dig a toxic man cave, which is likely where your lair has been forced to reside.
7) Download Earth911′s free iRecycle app for iPhone or Android — it tells you about collection points for specific materials (like toxic waste, aka batteries, and for electronic equipment), among other perks.
Start at least one DIY reuse project. turn an old pair of jeans into a cute tote, make a quilt out of your old high school shirts. You’re on your own when it comes to making a DIY out of your empty beer bottles or old Madden video games.
9) Start composting. Get a compost bin, and turn your garden into earth’s natural form of recycling (which means gratis fertilizer for you green-thumbs).
10) Hypermile — aka, use better driving practices to maximize your car’s MPG — or use public transportation. Or, you could be daring and actually walk/bike places. Talk about a shocker. In case you don’t know how to, or in case your car doesn’t have a feature to tell you how to hypermile yourself, learn how to hypermile here.
2012 doesn’t judge, but it does love it when you make more than one resolution, so have at it. Make me proud, guys.
The Only Reason Why the World’s Ending…
January 4, 2012 By
…is because One Life to Live is being unplugged for good. And I would hardly call that the end to anyone’s world.
Listen — people have been predicting an “apocalypse” for ages. Since we just so happen to love our world (I should hope, if you’ve been trying to protect it with anything I’ve ever said), this needs to be talked about. I’m sure that you’ve noticed that this past New Year’s, of all ones in recent years, has been quite the extreme one — seeing as many people truly believe that this is the last year the world will ever see.
Talk about stupid.
And, for those of you who believe that December 21st is our last day alive, did you ever think that the Mayans were either a, pessimistic about how long their people might survive; b, smart enough to save their precious time and not go past 2012 in their calendar because writing out 700 years worth of days, weeks, and months was far more than enough for them before Cortes came in; or c, they were a little busy with something called smallpox and saving their people from death? I rest my case.
Look, religious extremists, preachers, “preachers”, etc. (see Camping) have also been predicting the end of the world for quite some time. Too bad that many don’t read their own scriptures to know that Jesus (and other icons of religions) have said over and over again that “you know not the day or the hour”. And Britney Spears may have made money off of some pop-esque, catchy song about it — and we all, unfortunately, know about movies like 2012 and The Darkest Hour pathetically trying to rake in a couple of bucks for their spin on how the world will end. I guess no one’s a big enough Back to the Future fan to know that the world can’t end in 2012 — Marty McFly’s been to 2015. In any case, all of this end-of-the-world stuff is seriously not worth spending energy on. Who knows? Maybe the end of the world will be tomorrow (in which case, you’re going to need a whole lot more than a day at church to get you mentally prepared). But if it were, I know that you wouldn’t want your very last day here to be spent petrified about how it will all happen. For those that are absolutely, unshakably convinced that 12/21/12 is it, then fine — but you’re going to miss one hell of a party on the 22nd.
Cars and Food Don’t Mix
January 2, 2012 By
I don’t get it. Everyone always complains about fuel economy and wanting leaner, meaner cars that do more justice in the MPG department. Yet no matter how much more fuel efficient newer cars are, we keep gaining more and more weight — and, as a result, are counteracting the improvements. What bugs me most is that people are busting their buns to be able to get you better cars, yet you do nothing to try to stay the same size? Ever think that you’re the reason why your car needs refueling more and more often? Obviously, not everyone is gaining weight and falling into this category, but when the average American man has a 39-inch waist and weighs 195 pounds, and when the average American woman packs a 37-inch waist and weighs 165 pounds, something needs to be done.
Here’s a thought. Why don’t you, I don’t know, actually walk places sometimes? Or stop agreeing to order combo meals at drive-throughs? Because I’m getting sick at the thought of all of this. The environment suffers when technology is so advanced that we could be getting 50MPG in non-Prius cars, yet the reality remains that people are getting bigger with newer and newer cars. Think about that as you bite into your next Double Down.
Giving Nature the Heart It Was Missing
December 7, 2011 By
Russians are setting the record straight with nature this week. They’ve rescued a blinded baby ginger seal who had been abandoned from its black seal tribe and have given Nafanya, as the rare albino seal has been called, its own enclosure, complete with a pool and already-visiting fanbase. I’m one to join the chorus of “awww”s on this one — and am so glad that this cute, brightly blue-eyed critter has finally found a home.
Take That, Rainforest Killers!
December 5, 2011 By
Brazilian government officials released a report yesterday that destruction of its Amazon rainforest region has reached its lowest in 23 years! About time! Now, let’s see if we can top that record next year….
A Convenient Truth
November 8, 2011 By
Al Gore announced to the world this morning that a major battle has been won: Australian Parliament has just put the first carbon price into the lawbooks. He described it as a major milestone in solving the climate crisis. He then briefly mentions that he’s spent enough time in Aussieland, also known as the world’s largest coal exporter and population of cute furry critters (my words, not his), to know that opposition to this law was fierce… but he still doesn’t mention what this law actually does. Digging up dirt on the subject gave me no such luck; I’ll probably try again tonight, as you should, too. Anyone can tell us that the climate needs to be saved, laws that protect them are strongly opposed, blah, blah. But if you know so much about Australia, then fill us in, first, on what we need to know. Note, Mr. So-Called Green Enthusiast: if you want us to celebrate this event so badly, then tell us what it actually is before we can pop open the Dom.
Dinosaurs Go Down South
October 6, 2011 By
This week, archaeologists found three-toed, predatory-like dinosaur tracks in Fayetteville, Arkansas, that may date as far back as 120 million years ago (from the Early Cretaceous period, for all of you rock-a-holics). The quality of the prints are fantastic, allowing them to gain insight as to factors as detailed as the climate of that period. I personally find this all to be fascinating — and apparently, bigger predators exist in the south than overprotective fathers who clean guns as guys pick up their daughters.
Beyond Apple: Steve Jobs and His Green Legacy
October 5, 2011 By
Steve Jobs was no foreigner to green issues: he was a vegetarian and a proprietary of countless green-friendly movements both inside and outside of Apple, and many can learn from his examples. He was praised for convincing Disney to not renew their Happy Meal toy deal with McDonald’s, and he withdrew Apple from the US Chamber of Commerce after their climate change denial. If he even turned just one person vegetarian, he no doubt saved hundreds of animals’ lives and truly reduced his and his company’s green footprints, and he started a movement that inspired others to undoubtedly do the same. And after allegedly turning a blind eye, critics said, to the fact that its suppliers polluted China, the extent to which they cleaned up their act gained him even more respect.
The world has no doubt lost an extraordinary visionary, both in technology, in environmental issues, and in American innovation. The fact that many learned of his passing on devices that he himself created speaks volumes to his success, and he will certainly be missed. Hopefully, many will continue to live out his legacy and will continue to live with him as an example of how to be more mindful of the environment, of American technological advancement, and of how one idea, even if small, is never worth giving up.
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