Green Options

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It is one of the least discussed issues when we discuss solutions to the environmental crisis. It is not whether or not the food is organic or sprayed with synthetic chemicals, or whether or not it is grown locally. The underdiscussed issue is the importance of a vegetarian diet for addressing critical environmental issues.

As Albert Einstein said, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

The big issue today is global climate change. It is likely to dwarf any environmental issues we faced in the past. As reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization:

[T]he livestock sector is a major stressor on many ecosystems and on the planet as a whole. Globally it is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases…. It currently amounts to about 18 percent of the global warming effect — an even larger contribution than the transportation sector worldwide.

This is a critical issue. This is more critical than our power plants, our industries, the energy efficiency of our homes and appliances, or even transportation.

The Bureau of Land Management has reversed it’s 22  month moratorium on new applications for solar power development on public lands.

In a statement issued today, the BLM said it will continue to process the applications while, “continuing to identify issues during public scoping underway for the programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).

In the statement, BLM Director James Caswell said:

“We heard the concerns expressed during the scoping period about waiting to consider new applications, and we are taking action. By continuing to accept and process new applications for solar energy projects, we will aggressively help meet growing interest in renewable energy sources, while ensuring environmental protections.”

Few places on Earth are as untouched as the "Crown of the Continent" — a 10-million-acre expanse of mountains, valleys and prairies in Montana and Canada. The area has sustained all the same species — including grizzlies, lynx, moose and bull trout — for at least 200 years.

Now — in one of the most significant conservation sales in history — The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land have preserved 320,000 acres of forestlands in western Montana

[...]

It All Depends On Who You Ask

Las Vegas Water Offical Warns Radioactive Levels Rising

Sunday’s news was a bit disconcerting, when I read a small story at Tri-State Online.  Pat Mulroy, head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority was quoted as saying measurable quantities of uranium are showing up in Colorado River water, something difficult and expensive to remove before passing it on to consumers in Las Vegas.

She blames upstream uranium mining, especially in the Moab, Utah area, so I decided to take a look and see what’s happening up there.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no operating uranium mines in or near Moab, UT, or anywhere in the state of Utah.  So, I felt Ms. Mulroy was referring to the uranium mill tailings just outside Moab, where they’ve been for decades after the failure of the Atlas Minerals Corporation mill.

For the 5th time in history, the House Natural Resources committee invoked its authority and ordered the Bush administration to stop mining claims in the Grand Canyon.  The measure was urged by Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva of Tucson, chair of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands.

The withdrawal halts thousands of mining claims in national forest areas surrounding the Grand Canyon amid fears that resumption of uranium mining presents [...]

The proliferation of voluntary carbon offset programs seems like a great way for individuals to help fight climate change. But do carbon offset programs really work? That’s the question for Bill Stanley, Science Lead for Carbon Strategies, Climate Change Team at The Nature Conservancy.

It’s not only the Gulf of Mexico that’s suffering from “dead zones” caused by  excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus used as fertilizers.

Marine dead zones are spreading in the Baltic sea, and that could cause the entire ecosystem to collapse for lack of oxygen.  Dire warnings from Lasse Gustavsson, Swedish head of the World Wildlife Funds branch in Sweden.

An Open Letter to Senator John McCain, Presumptive Republican Presidential Candidate

This hit me the other day; how does the Republican Presidential Candidate-in-Waiting view the possible mining of uranium just 3 miles from the Grand Canyon?

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) knows the canyon well, he’s reportedly hiked it a number of times, knows where the only uranium mine that operated there is located, yet has said nothing about the 1000 or more permits being sought to explore for uranium near the park.  I’ve searched his Senate website, news reports on the issue and his name is nowhere to be seen.  Why is that?

Aw, c’mon, pull my finger!

You’ve probably had that one pulled (pardon the pun) on you at least once in your life, and the old guy got a good laugh out of your response. It’s ok, old guys do strange things, I know.

Well, this isn’t about old guys, but sheep, cattle, deer and goats, the premier emitters of methane gas in the world. In this case, nature is “pulling the finger.”

Many of us have been there at one time or another: working in an office or room with empty, white walls. It can make you want to a) either hang something on the walls or b) blow your brains out. Of course, this is assuming that the environment you are in has an effect on you. Scientists recently put the question to the test. Would hanging nature posters on the walls of an office reduce the stress and anger levels of people working in the office?

Note: This is second part of a two-part series. The first part ended by asking: “just what is the ‘intended effect’ of Inherit the Wind?

The play, as the one professor suggested, is trying to get people to think. It specifically wants them to think about and consider the possibilities of evolution and creationism, even if they are inclined to believe in one more than the other. Personally, I think that this is a great goal. I think that toleration, and perhaps even acceptance of both views is necessary for achieving positive progress in the world and in the sciences. Thus, as this website is named Planetsave, I think it’s necessary that people be able to appreciate both perspectives if we are in fact to save the planet.

An understanding of biology and its essential driver, evolution, is probably a necessary precursor for truly beginning to understand that species and resources are not renewable. The discovery of evolution makes me believe that we can to some extent understand how the world works through science. On the other hand, for me personally, it is utterly arrogant to outrightly deny the possibility of there being a god or some other kind of higher power.