The Dirty Truth About Plastic

Plastics were making the news this week in Canada, with Health Canada not really announcing much that they haven't already announced. In effect, what Health Canada said this week was, yes, plastics do represent a risk, however, at the end of the day, plastics are so ubiquitous in our environment, that an outright ban due to the risks of chemicals such as Bisphenol A would create a vacuum that would cause more harm than good. And to be sure, the economic ramifications to an outright ban would be tremendous. That doesn't mean that Health Canada made a political decision and closed the door. The door remained open, even if it is just slight. Health Canada label Bisphenol A toxic, and that will now allow the government to regulate the chemical. It's a warning to industry that the days of using human health and the environment as a test bed, are gone.

Will there be changes overnight? Not the dramatic ones that vocal critics of the chemical industry had hoped for. Sure, there were forward thinking retailers who saw the financial risks of still carrying such products -- and they reacted, even to just the rumour of Health Canada releasing findings, but that will not be the end of it. The chemical industry needs to innovate, and that will result in some hits and misses -- but it also represent an opportunity for companies to deliver alternatives and shift the game in their favour.

As much as Bisphenol A is a problem, there are also a slew of other chemicals that are in plastics that remain a potential risk, and these will be examined over time by Health Canada. Verdicts will be delivered. The old ways of industry doing as they please are changing. Consumers are more educated, and a vocal subset are advocating for more transparency and social responsibility. Businesses have to respond. It's a moral imperative. To not respond to this awareness would be unethical. Responses at this juncture will signal whether corporations respect their customers and the environment, or are simply evil.

This month's Discover magazine is also running an article on the Dirty Truth About Plastic. As I said above, phenols aren't the only concern -- so are phthalates and the sheer volume and longevity of plastic. We live in a plastic world it seems, and are slowly getting buried under the stuff. There are viable alternatives out there, so why aren't they being used?

Why do we let this shit happen?

Helix Wind

Helix Wind has created a unique, and absolutely cool, wind power generation system for homes and small businesses. The Helix system works in low wind conditions, capturing wind from any direction and funneling it into the turbine. Helix Wind has more details on their site, including techincal drawings that architects and engineers can use to easily integrate Helix systems into their work. From an architectural perspective, the Helix system could be used to compliment a design. You can be the envy of your neighbours in more than one way.

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear

There are few faceless corporations that are truly evil. Monsanto is one of them. One must wonder about the people who are the tireless cogs in its machinery -- as they slog away, do they ever wonder about the machine they power? Vanity Fair is running an investigative piece that looks at Monstanso: its quest to control the food supply chain and the destruction of the environment that it is responsible for. If I worked for Monsanto, I think I would breaking glass and diving out of the offices of its highest towers, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Evil.

Not just one ... two assholes encountered this weekend!

Two assholes encountered in one weekend. I'm so friggin' lucky. First asshole was found at the Brick Works. I was there on Saturday for the first time to check the place out. I've been thinking of it as a destination for a team event -- getting back to nature sort of thing. For those who don't know the Brick Works, here's a bit of backstory from the Brick Works website -- it's important context.

Evergreen is transforming Toronto’s historic Don Valley Brick Works factory from an underused, deteriorating collection of buildings into a thriving environmentally-based community centre that engages visitors in diverse experiences connected to nature.

Yes, an urban forest -- right beside the Don Valley Parkway. You'd think that the people who frequent the Brick Works would know this. On Saturday, I stopped by for 30-minutes, snapped a few pictures, and left. In the parking lot when I parked, there was a Toyota Corolla, with its lights on, engine running. I thought nothing of it. When I came back to my car, who was there? Yes, same Corolla, engine still running, with the driver reclining back in her seat, reading a book. WTF? Is the concept behind the Brick Works lost to the moron in that car? Apparently so. And so that was when I had my first asshole encounter this weekend. The Corolla carried a license plate BBEC 647 for those who know this person.

My second asshole encounter happened earlier today. I was at the Laureleaf Plaza, which I had walked to to have a coffee at the local Second Cup. It was a nice day, a bit windy, but the sun was out, the clouds were being blown away to reveal a bright blue sky. Out there in the parking lot was another Corolla. The passengers were waiting for a pizza to be ready apparently, and in the backseat was a teen -- not a child -- an older teen or a young adult. The car door kept opening, and this asshole kept throwing trash out into the parking lot. WTF? This is my neighbourhood, and probably this asshole's as well. Why would people do that? No reason needed if you're an asshole. This Corolla carried a license plate AVKX 468 for those who know this person.

With Asbestos, Canada Deals Death to the Poor in Developing Countries

You don't have to spend anymore time wondering about the Canadian government. Their thinking is rather limited to the short term and what is economically progressive for Canada now. Take cancer-causing asbestos for instance. Canada is one of the world's largest producer at close to 350,000 tonnes, most of which are destined for South-East Asia and South America. The government (Harper's and previous) actively promotes asbestos as safe to use in controlled situations, and has actively worked to ensure that the Rotterdam Convention, a UN directive to create a list of hazardous chemicals that countries can't export without the importing country's permission, doesn't get passed. Yes, Canada is an international pariah. We're exporting death for profits.

Health Canada warns about the use of asbestos, pointing out that its use is highly regulated by the Hazardous Product Act and its production regulated by the Environmental Protection Act -- but Health Canada tows the government line, and doesn't say the stuff will kill you. In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency has attempted to ban the substance, but has faced stiff opposition from industry.

Who produces asbestos products? Well, you won't find many companies declaring they deal in asbestos. Fibrox for instance, a private company operating in Quebec, speaks only of mineral fiber on their website. There are approximately 2,000 people employed in the asbestos business in Quebec, and to be sure, most are probably equipped for the safe handling of asbestos. In developing countries however, where the poor are a commodity resource, asbestos handling is anything but safe.

Help make a difference, and send a message to the Canadian government -- we need to take a more global outlook on human life and the environment.

My Neighbours Don't Give a Shit

Earth Day was yesterday. It was a day for me, to show respect. Respect for the planet we live on, and recognition of the fragile ecosystem that sustains human life. All that was asked to mark the occasion was to turn off non-essential lights for 1 hour. Drop electricity consumption for just an hour. That was all.

So we gathered as a family in the living room, a couple of candles lit, and all the lights off. I even turned off the computer. Yes, I turned off the computer. Those that know me, know I never have the computer off. Last night, it was off. I shutdown.

Apparently I was in the minority. At 8:15PM, I took the camera to the balcony to take a couple of shots at the condo across from us. I went back out at 9:15PM. The before and after are below. WTF people? Were these people simply unaware? Like our PM, dumb-ass Harper, didn't give a rat's ass? I'm at a loss. I don't comprehend. It was big in the newspapers. It was on TV. It was everywhere! What does it take to make these people give a shit?

Polluting Via Sewage

Karen Kidd [PDF] from the University of New Brunswick has done something terrible -- she has poisoned a lake in North Ontario -- to prove a point. The point being, that what we flush down the toilet, or otherwise allow to pollute our water system, threatens to have a horrible repercussions down the food chain.

Kidd, a ecotoxicologist purposely introduced estrogen into a lake in northern Ontario to test the effects on the lake. What her study revealed, was that while algae, bacteria and invertebrates weren't impacted, fishes were. Fishes with smaller body mass was first impacted, leading to the entire species dying off. The the larger fish -- and even the larger fish -- a combination of declining food source, and estrogen poisoning. Estrogen introduced to the lake caused fishes to mature slower; males to become feminized, to the point where sperm production ceased, and egg production started.

Estrogen is dumped into our sewage system as it is excreted from the human body, but is also introduced via artificial sources. Organic compounds widely used in industry, for everything from plastic and epoxy production, to oral contraceptives, are estrogen receptor agonists -- meaning, they act as estrogen by traversing cell membranes and activating estrogen receptors. Unfortunately, many sewage treatment facilities do not remove these chemicals from the waste water, and as Kidd has demonstrated, this can cause severe damage when it arrives in our waterways.

What does Toronto do before we pump waste water back into our waterways? I contacted the city's waste water treatment department last week, but have gotten no response yet.

Human Ocean Footprint

Humans have left little of the planet unexploited and unspoiled. A team of researchers now have an aggregated view, showing us just how extensive our pillaging has been. The oceans, once vast, untamed and much larger than human greed, are now bearing the burden of our species footprint. The researchers looked at 17 different human impacts, including fishing, coastal development, fertilizer runoff and pollution from shipping. The results show that coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove forests in estuaries, seamounts, rocky reefs and continental shelves are feeling the brunt of human activity. Threatened are the North Sea, the South and East China Seas, the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Bering Sea, along the Eastern Coast of North America and in much of the western Pacific.

The study used available data, which was limited, to create this view, and the researchers suggest that reality may actually be worse than they've shown. As climate change gallops across the globe, the researchers also expect that new areas of risk will be opened, especially in the polar regions. This all comes at a time when countries around the world are busily trying to extend their borders as new mapping is done on shed light on where continental shelves, end. Already, Russia, the US, Canada and Denmark are squabbling over the Arctic, in hopes of plundering its future potential when the ice finally melts. This shortsighted view can only lead to long term pain, and future generations will look back on us and lament our insanity.

Related links:

• A Global Map of Human Impacts to Marine Ecosystems
• The Human Footprint and the Last of the Wild [PDF]
• Atlas of the Human Footprint
• Human Impact on the Biosphere

Virtuous Indulgence

Honeybees are dying off mysteriously, and it's causing quite a stir in circles that usually don't care if another species is about to kick the bucket. Honeybees are important to the food industry in more ways than just the production of honey. Honeybees are valued at about $15US annually for the pollinating services they provide. Without them, there would be a lot less food being produced, and prices would skyrocket.

The bees problem, labeled Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), is occurring in North America and Europe. Bees are leaving their hives, with the Queen and a few workers, and not coming back. To date, there are many theories as to why this is happening: from man-made problems, such as pollutants, to an infestation that's hitting the bees hard. Whatever the problem -- there's definitely a problem -- and our dependence one of nature's busiest creations has never been so clear.

The problem is so serious, that financial and public awareness help is coming from an unlikely corner: Häagen-Dazs. Yes, if honeybees disappear, you can forget about ice cream. Häagen-Dazs ice cream is made only from natural ingredients, and without honeybees, there would be none. The company is launching a campaign, as well as a new flavour, Vanilla Honey Bee. Each container of ice cream that benefits from the work of honeybees will bear the new mark, HDLovesHB, and the company is donating $250,000 to fund sustainable pollination and research into CCD.

The new flavour and branding will be hitting the grocer freezer shortly, and if you've ever needed a feel good excuse to enjoy some ice cream, you just got it.

Destroying Native Ecosystems for Biofuel, Worsens Global Warming

Researchers from the University of Minnesota have released a study that points out the obvious: the creation of biofuels contributes more to the climate change problem than just burning fossil fuels. Not sure why this isn't understood already. The math is really simple. In order to produce biofuels, carbon sequestering land must be converted to crops to convert to fuel. Once the crop is harvest and converted, a process that consumes fuel, the fuel produced is burned and carbon is released into the atmosphere. And the cycle continues. This versus the burning of fossil fuels, which isn't renewable. The problem is in the decimating of existing forests for farmland.

“If you’re trying to mitigate global warming, it simply does not make sense to convert land for biofuels production. All the biofuels we use now cause habitat destruction, either directly or indirectly. Global agriculture is already producing food for six billion people. Producing food-based biofuel, too, will require that still more land be converted to agriculture.” -- Joe Fargione, The Nature Conservancy.

The biofuel industry was never created to save the world -- rather it was a product of politics and economics. The US, primarily, wanted to reduce its dependence on Middle East oil. Converting farmland for biofuel production also served to placate US farmers who could no longer compete with cheap food imports. Instantly, a new industry cropped up from nowhere, and everyone was touting ethanol to justify their SUV disease. If the goal really was to save the world, forests would be protected and there would be more investment in wind and solar energy production; and legislation mandating stricter fuel efficiency standards would be passed. Used effectively, legislation would spur economic activity in support of conservation. Look what it did for the biofuel industry.

Going Hungry in the Global Food Chain

The NYTimes has an article on the changing food chain. There used to be a time when we ate what was grown locally. That was a long, long time ago. With the advent of packaged foods, we could eat foreign food anytime, anywhere, as long as we could afford it. Then came the global shipping industry, making it even easier to eat foreign. Foreign foods didn't need as much packaging anymore, as fresh food can be expedited just about anywhere. Even with shipping, foreign food could be had for cheap. So while we in the industrialized nations bulldozed our farmlands and poured concrete for crop after crop of suburbia, we were secure in the knowledge that the developing world was there to continuously provide slop in our biggie-sized troughs.

We should have known that it wouldn't last. Economically, environmentally and socially, it was not sustainable. We fought economics long and hard, assured in our industrialized superiority to the developing nations of the world. With careless disregard, we sacrificed third world development at the altar of consumption. And the environment: we're awakening only too late to realize what we've done to ours, and trying to convince the aspiring third world to learn from our mistakes. Only no one is listening. It's with irony how it's coming home to roost.

Global energy demand is driving the conversion of some foods to energy to feed our consumable habits. Higher oil prices are impacting the cheap binge of food globalization. It's getting harder and harder to sustain the economics of purchasing foods from the developing nations. Our keenness to assuage our environmental guilt has gotten us fixated on local food production. It may all be a little too late to really steer clear of the impending disaster -- one that we will feel economically, socially and environmentally -- but at least some of us have finally heard the warning. For the rest of you still on that unsustainable high: just remember you were warned of what was coming and but too stupid to change your ways.

Bush: The Environmental Genius

We’ve been had. The world has been hoodwinked by an environmental genius. I’m still shocked by the realization. It suddenly dawned on me this morning that it’s all been a farce. Wow. Such deception. Such acting ability. The lies, the blatantly moronic actions and seemingly idiotic policies. All pure genius.

It all makes sense now. In the 90s, Dubya knew that Global Warming would cause irreversible damage to the world. Never mind Manhattan and polar bears, Bush knew from his PhD in Geography that countless millions in the lowlands of Bangladesh were in danger, and that if Gore got elected he would try the useless tactic of convincing industry to change, at which he had been failing since the 60s. Heck, Al even invented the internet to convince people and it still didn’t work. Something had to be done. Enter George.

All along he had a seven step plan to save the world:

1. Get Jeb elected in Florida and stack the Supreme Court. Make sure the people of Florida have no chance to express who they really want as president, and steal the 2000 election.
2. At all costs, slow down the flow of oil. George knew that the only way to stop global warming was to stop the burning of fossil fuels. What better way than to shut down the oilfields in the world’s second largest reserve? He needed a way to destroy the Iraqi infrastructure, but congress would never give him the cash. Unless. With the help of his Dad’s CIA peons, he convinced his country that they were under threat, and that his one-time friend Saddam was really a tyrant with WMDs. George was determined to save us, even if it meant sacrificing thousands of young Americans, breaking international law and risking jail time by ignoring the Geneva Conventions.
3. Set the US economy up for collapse by spending exorbitant amounts of money destroying Iraq to drive the government into serious debt, all the while getting Greenspan to encourage banks to lend money to people who couldn’t afford it, creating over confidence in the growth of the economy and a housing boom, enabling millions of contactors to buy massive new F350 trucks, and driving consumer debt to all time highs.
4. Build up international trade, especially with China, so that the world’s economies are all tied together and he can affect them all. Use the American consumers’ confidence to get them addicted to cheap plastic goods from China. Encourage the Chinese to use lead paint in their toys and pesticide in their pet foods.
5. With Iraq oil production stopped, and American consumers buying lead-laden Chinese Barbie dolls by the container ship load, oil prices would rise, and he could now encourage farmers to grow corn for ethanol, guaranteeing steep rises in food prices, and pretty much everything else.
6. When the Chinese toy buying is at its peak, expose the lead and pesticide use, causing consumer panic and the rejection of Chinese goods.
7. Sit back and watch the collapse.

With oil and food prices so high, and the mortgage market imploding, the stock market will collapse sending the entire world into a recession.

With recession comes unemployment. High gas and food prices mean that people will only be able to afford food and not much else. Consumers will even be scared to buy cheap Chinese products.

The result: the consumption of fossil fuels for everything from F350s to air travel to Chinese Barbie doll factories plummets, cutting greenhouse gasses enough to stop Global Warming and save the people of Bangladesh from losing their homeland.

Freakin’ brilliant.

© Darren Harnett 2008.

Desert Green

Guess who's building a green city? Well, to build a city -- from scratch -- needs loads of cash and an autocracy. A western democracy and industrialized nation could never pull it off, as the many self-serving interests and pork would choke the attempt. There wouldn't be any interest anyway -- we're too vested in the status quo to make the investment. To pull off such an audacious goal, you must have the need buy your praises. There are only a few places in the world where that could happen. Booming China, and the oil rich Middle East. China is already terraforming its past in its race to modernize -- and are even pursuing some environmentally respectable city plans. To go fully green though, you'd have to go to the Middle East -- Abu Dhabi to be exact.

Plans are in place to raise a zero-emission city from the desert sands of Abu Dhabi by 2016, with limited occupancy for some of the planned 100,000 residents available by 2009. Masdar City will embrace renewable and sustainable energy like there will be a tomorrow, without oil. The city will rely on wind and solar power for electricity and a desalination plant to supply fresh water. There will be no cars in the city, and factories in the city may rely on biofuels. One of the first buildings to be set up in the city will be a university that will focus on sustainability studies. The goal is to develop local talent to build out and sustain the city.

That's forward thinking. Hopefully this will inspire social change as well.

Making Waves

We saw David Suzuki tonight! He delivered the keynote, albeit a short keynote, at the Naked Ape Party -- which raised funds for the David Suzuki Foundation and the New Leaf Yoga Foundation. Suzuki was cool -- for those who find environmentalists and what they do, cool. Suzuki's keynote focused on the environment, naturally, and our place in it. His key message, we are the environment. There is no way to separate us from the environment. The environment isn't out there, separate from us. It is everywhere. Every molecule we breathe in has been circulating the planet since the time of the dinosaurs; we are made of the stuff that has been around since life took hold on Earth -- and in the great emptiness of space, we should realize that Earth is the only home we have. We need to stop using it as a garbage dump.

Of course, Suzuki was mostly speaking to the converted. His message was delivered to those who already know, and are hopefully doing their little bit to save the world. Hopefully. It can be done in baby steps, and Suzuki isn't one to just tell us there is a problem -- he's also offering suggestions -- even suggestions you and I can put into practice. None of it is hard stuff. It's all easy, and just require awareness and the choice to do the right thing for ourselves, our world and future generations. It will also make you feel good about yourself -- after all, who wouldn't feel good about being a hero? Even "in a sea of pollution, one can still make waves."

This was shown at the party: the Rick Mercer Report with David Suzuki.

Severin Suzuki delivered this message on behalf of children around the world in 1992, to the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. She was 12 years old at the time.

U2 performing Bad in 1985, at Live Aid -- bad 80's hair and all. This was performed by Tara MacLean at the party. (Catherine MacLellan and Chris Murphy also performed at the party.)

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car

100% Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars are here! They're just a bit small. The H-racer is a toy car from Horizon Fuel Cell, a company that develops fuel cell technology for real-life cars. The H-racer comes with its own hydrogen refueling station that generates hydrogen for the car using solar energy and water. It retails for $115US and can be ordered directly from Horizon. Now how cool is that?

Related:

• The Race to Build the Supergreen Car -- Wired Magazine
• Are the Auto Industry's Arguments Against California's CO₂ Rule Just Hot Air? -- Autopia from Wired.com

GlobalAware

I've been aware of GlobalAware for sometime now and was reminded today that I wanted to give them a spot on the blog. GlobalAware is a Canadian collective pursuing the noble goal of environmental justice and social change. They provide media services to charities, non-profits and ethical businesses, as well as champion campaigns for change. Check them out. They do some great work, and you may have some skills they could use. Together, we can all make a difference.

Asshole

You're an asshole. You're an asshole, driver of the Volvo S40, license plate ABVR 226. You're an asshole leaving your car running, with no one inside, as you went grocery shopping. The temperature was only -11C. It shouldn't matter what the temperature was -- you're an asshole for leaving your car running. You're an asshole because it's behaviour like yours that contributes to the poor air quality of Toronto. You're an asshole because you're demonstrating a casual disregard for the environment. You're asshole because at the current price of gas, you can afford to waste it, and you've demonstrated that you do. You're an asshole that probably lives in my neighbourhood. I don't like assholes on general principles. I like them even less when they live my neighbourhood.

Solastalgia

Glenn Albrecht coined the term solastalgia to describe the sadness, distress, sense of loss and depression that result from missing one's home and sense of belonging -- not because of a move away from home -- but because environmental change has resulted in the change in the identification one feels for home. Home can mean different things to different people -- at different times -- and in different context. Home can be one's country; hometown; or even online locale. Albrecht aptly describes it as,

... the homesickness you feel when you're still at home.

We now have a name for the condition some of us are already experiencing -- and more of us will come to experience as our world changes for the worst. 2007 ended with an awakening of the general public to the threat of climate change. Granted there are those with their heads still firmly buried in the ground, but enough awareness has been raised. As futile as our efforts may now be to halt large scale changes, there is still much that can be done to limit the effects on the planet -- our home. It will take the efforts of you and me -- to influence industry, to make personal changes, and to do the right thing.

Related reading:

• Sustainability [PPT] -- Albrecht's presentation at the 2007 Australasian Slag Association's conference.
• Global Mourning [PDF] -- Wired Magazine article on this topic.

Canada Losing its Water to the US

Stephen Leahy has a post on the machinations of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), a business-government forum that is an off-shoot of the NAFTA agreement, that is slowly plundering Canada's natural heritage for the sake of economic integration. As Global Warming, mismanagement and drought continue to dry the US, Canada's water stores in the north will be become very important the American machine. Not that I am not concerned for our American cousins, but they have yet to prove they're nothing more than a spoiled, ravenous beast, when it comes to the management of the environment. Canada isn't much better, but with a population ten times smaller than the US, at least we have an opportunity to correct the squander of the past.

The SPP today operates without public oversight. Negotiations are conducted in the dark, where short-term thinking and self-interest stink the air. The American public would be up in arms at some of the compromises being made on their behalf as well -- but we Canadians have much to worry about. We're dealing with the 50,000lb gorilla from south of the 49th. We don't negotiate on equal footing with the Americans. Our government and the greedy bastards who profess to speak for us are selling us out for their tactical gains.

Write your elected representatives folks!

Melting of the Andes Glaciers

The rate at which the world's largest expanse of tropical glaciers is melting, has been increasing over the last few years. Another sign of the impact of global climate change. The glaciers, sitting on the Andes and running through Peru, Bolivia, Columbia and Ecuador, are melting so fast [PDF], that climatologists expect them to completely disappear within the next couple of decades. The ramifications to human habitat in those countries will be unending hardships. The countries of South America, are, in general, poor [PDF]. The population along the Pacific coast are heavily dependent on the glacier-fed rivers -- either directly, or indirectly, via water diversion schemes. Everything from farming, to cities to portions of the Amazon, will be at risk [PDF]. The price of our terraforming the planet is about to be felt, and there's not much than can be done about it. Heavy investment in energy production and water diversion would alleviate the impact on urban populations -- but that would only be in the short term. The planet is changing, and in some places, it may be too late for reversal.

What the Hell is Putin Smoking?

Russian dictator-in-the-making, President Vladimir Putin, is stirring up international unrest by laying claim to large portion of the Arctic in order to secure rights to untapped oil, gas and mineral wealth. Putin has been pushing his luck lately, as his one party state has gained more international confidence due to its new found oil wealth. While it's always fun watching someone mess with George Bush, as Putin did during the last G8 summit, this latest move is going far beyond pissing off Bush -- it has the potential to wreck havoc on one of the last pristine environments left in the world, and give the finger to the international community. What's with the mental midgets that continue to make the world a dangerous place?

World's Most Polluted River

The Citarum [PDF] is the garbage dump for nine million living in Jakarta. Their household waste; their factory refuse. The river is so polluted, you can't see the water. Garbage covers the entire river surface. Below the garbage covered surface, the river is poisoned by chemicals flowing from factories -- most of them textile factories. The river flows into an irrigation system that supplies water to rice paddies and local families. The Citarum is the story of human desecration of the planet. We should be ashamed of ourselves. Just before you think you're innocent of this travesty, you should check your closet to see where your clothing comes from.

When Will It End

Just when you think it couldn't get much worse ... it gets much worse. There seems to be no end to the travesty that is the Bush Administration. The latest comes from one of the political lackeys of King George, who was appointed to the Interior Department. Julie MacDonald filled the role of deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, until she resigned last week -- a week before Natural Resources Committee launched an investigation into inappropriate actions on the part of MacDonald. MacDonald it appears was busy harassing scientists of her department and removing fish on the endangered species list. Inappropriate in itself -- but far more inappropriate when you realize that MacDonald was making a cool $1 million annually from her fish farm that profited from the extinction of said fish. [Read more.] Can this woman be shot?

Our Contribution to Genocide

Africa is dry, and climate change is going to make it even more so. It has been suggested that the current conflict in Sudan, is not just a manifestation of religious and ethnic animosities -- it's also a conflict of too few resources to meet the demand of the existing population. If the world is serious about ending the genocide in Sudan, it will also have to address the problem of dwindling resources, exasperated by the Sahara pushing further south, down the continent. It is another perspective on climate change. Our consumption habits in the developed world is being paid for, in part, by the lives of Africans -- by the genocide happening in Sudan.

This perspective begs for urgency in addressing climate change. The conflict and resulting genocide in Sudan may be an early warning sign of the coming consequences of climate change. It won't happen fast, but ancient hatreds around the world, currently held at bay by economic and social prosperity, will certainly ignite when there's nothing left to lose. The world has had little success in brokering peace in Sudan, or implementing sustainable measures to provide the basics of life. What will we do when the strife in Sudan crops up elsewhere in the world -- as climate change alters more than just the African continent?

They say that every society is only three meals away from revolution. Deprive a culture of food for three meals, and you'll have an anarchy.

Related reading:

• National Security and the Threat of Climate Change [PDF]
• Climate Change and International Security
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis [PDF]

Planning for a Climate-Changed World

Most now admit that the global climate is changing on a massive scale, and its happening within our lifetime. Regardless of whether you accept the science that places the blame on human activity, or choose to believe that the change is being driven by other mechanisms, know that unprecedented change is happening. Science has had years of practice in building climate models that have been tested with data to verify their accuracy.

Honed by a broad range of climate scientists, the model represents atmospheric and oceanic systems. Like other global models, it simulates interrelated processes: for example, the warming of Earth's surface by solar radiation; the absorption of heat by the oceans; the reflection of solar energy by land surfaces, ice sheets, and particulates in the atmosphere; and the effects of the accumulation of excess carbon dioxide and other atmospheric gases that trap heat.

[Read more in MIT’s Technology Review]

The problem with such models however is the scale: it’s global. Models haven’t been built that narrow predictions to regional or local scales, where governments can respond with strategic planning. We all undoubtably believe that drought, fierce storms, flooding, and other signs of the impending apocalypse will never be visited upon us. That only happens to others, especially if they’re poor, and live in third world countries. Right? With models scaled locally however, we would be able to forecast the chances of disasters knocking at our doors and would be in a better position to prepare for such occurrences.

Of course, as New Orleans taught us, knowing that a disaster would occur, and doing something with that knowledge, are entirely different prospects. Sometimes, history just needs to repeat itself a number of times in quick succession, before those of us with foresight are heeded.

Updated: May 15, 2007

• Planning for a Climate-Changed World: Part 2 of the MIT Technology Review article.

Failure of Kyoto

A draft declaration on global warming being prepared for the G8 Summit in early June, hosted by Germany, is being systematically taken apart by the US. The US apparently is opposed to a pledge to limit global warming; cut greenhouse gas emissions; supporting carbon markets; and having the UN be the forum where the world tackle the climate crisis. Not surprisingly, Steven Harper still has his head lodged firmly up George W. Bush's rotting ass. Harper's government is backing the US stance to water down strong global warming message Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to push through. History will look back at this, and see failure in our elected representatives to do the right thing. History will look back at each one of us, and judge our actions in response to the political inaction.

Plastic Will be the Death of Us

The North Pacific Gyre, occupying an area of about 34 million square kilometres in the northern Pacific Ocean, is a swirling vortex of ocean currents that sweeps up waste material, creating a garbage dump that is estimated to be twice the area of the state of Texas. Most of the material in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, as it is lovingly known, is plastic. Plastic that is making it's way into the food chain -- rapidly. Forget the images of marine life and birds digesting the visible plastic trash. Tiny pieces of plastic, estimated by Charles Moore of Algalita Marine Research Foundation, to outweigh plankton in North Pacific Gyre by six times, is making its way insidiously into us. At the genetic level, the toxins from plastic are messing with out collective biochemistry. And it's too late to do anything about it. At best, we can stop adding to the wasteland our world and bodies have become -- that's because plastic doesn't decompose, and worldwide, less than 5% of what is created annually is being recycled. That means, just about all the plastic that has ever been manufactured, is still with us.

Related reading:

• Our oceans are turning into plastic...are we? -- Best Life Magazine
• Global Marine Litter Information Gateway -- UNEP site

Why the World Will End

The Washington Post is running an article on the slow adoption of compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) in the US. Apparently, saving the world from global warming while taking a load off the ole wallet, isn't incentive enough for a great deal of Americans. The simple step that everyone could take, to switch incandescent bulbs to CFLs, is simply not catching on. The rest of the world has already jumped on the bandwagon, but not Americans, where adoption of CFLs is at 6%, compared to 80% for Japan, 50% for Germany and 20% for the UK. Why?

Apparently, Americans don't like the way the light looks, the few seconds it takes to warm up to full brightness, and have a host of other complaints about CFLs. The reality of CFLs is very different however. Most of the gripes have already been resolved, with manufacturers doing their best to make CFLs reflect the incandescent glow -- yet consumers, despite their willingness to want to change, aren't following true. Seems a little perceived inconvenience is all it takes to derail the save the world campaign ... for Americans anyway. Ontario is banning the sale of incandescents by 2012, hopefully we won't mimic the stupid attitude south of the border.

Would You Pay to Leave the Amazon Undeveloped?

Ecuador has asked to be compensated for leaving the environment alone -- specifically, to leave the 1 billion barrels of oil under the Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha oil fields located in the Amazon rainforest. In return, for an estimated US$350m per year, the world will get Equador's stake in the Amazon, with its great biodiversity, and natural oxygen replenishment and carbon sequestration system. The $350m is half of what Equador is projects it could generate per year if it taps into the oil fields. The world has one year to respond.

I'm unsure if this will make it onto the radar of many countries -- especially those of the west. I fully expect that this proposal to be ignored by the world's government and mainstream media. This proposal puts governments in a tough spot. As environmental concerns make it onto the agendas of those in power across the world, this proposal forces the issue -- it demands that governments put money against the chest-thumping they've been indulging in lately. So it will be ignored.

If, by some miracle, it does make it onto the agenda of governments, this will most likely be played out as Equador holding the world at ransom -- demanding cash or they will do horrible things to themselves and us in the process. That is a relevant perspective to take. Equador is holding the world at ransom. They should however. Developed nations demand that developing nations meet the same environmental targets as that they're being held to. On the flipside however, there is a general unwillingness of governments in the developed nations to take steps to curb their consumption. Those in the developing world have similar aspirations as we do -- yet are being asked to make the sacrifices we are unwilling to make ourselves.

This is a test of our morals, our ethics and our courage. This is our world, and for once, a developing nation is demanding that we -- every single one of us -- step up to the challenge and see this world as ours, and not just when it's convenient for us to do so.

I'm not naive. This is a heck of a lot more complicated than I'm painting it here. Politics tend do that to issues. This is also very simple and can be reduced down to the question: Would you pay to leave the Amazon undeveloped?

I would.

Plastic Ignorance

A recent survey of Americans, polling their basic understanding of plastic, revealed that mostly, Americans are woefully ignorant of the world they live in. From the pollster press release:

• 72% of respondents do not know that plastic is made out of oil/petroleum
• On average, respondents estimated 38% of plastic is recycled (the reality is less than 6%, according to the EPA)
• Nearly 40% (38.1%) of respondents said plastic will biodegrade underground, in home compost, in landfills, or in the ocean (plastic will not biodegrade in any of these environments).
• After learning that plastic is made from oil and never biodegrades, half (50.1%) of respondents stated they would be likely or very likely to pay 5-10% more for a natural, biodegradable plastic. Only 24% were unlikely/very unlikely to pay this much more.
• 62% of respondents rate their own level of environmental knowledge as fair or poor, with only 5.6% rating it as excellent.

These are the same folks I bet, who have a distrust of science, take religious dogma literally, and believe that climate change warnings are just hype.

Another Inconvenient Truth

It's hard not to be cynical in this short-term thinking world. When you look at the global warming problem and the efforts underway to curb the belching of noxious fumes into the air we breathe, you want to think that the motivations are for the right reasons. But, as with most opportunities, we must ride that hype curve before we get to that plateau of productivity where things can actually be accomplished. Climbing the peak of inflated expectations, are a lot of do-gooders with noble intentions -- but there are also the snake-oil salesmen, out to exploit good intentions for short-term gain.

BusinessWeek's March 26^th issue carries an article on another inconvenient truth -- the currency of carbon offsets. Companies and individuals alike, especially the vocal ones, are jumping on the bandwagon more for selfish gains than altruism.

Rather than take the arduous step of significantly cutting their own emissions of carbon dioxide, many in the ranks of the environmentally concerned are paying to have someone else curtail air pollution or develop renewable energy sources. Carbon offsets, as the most common variety of these deals is known, have become one of the most widely promoted products marketed to checkbook environmentalists. [Emphasis my own.]

Carbon offsets are supposed to work simply. If your carbon footprint amounts to x, but you're incapable or unwilling to take the steps to reduce it -- the easy way out is to insert dollars. Spend the right amount of money, and have someone else do the work to reduce by x, their footprint. Because you're funding the reduction, you can then feel good about yourself that you've negated your use of the planet as a toxic dump.

The problem with this approach however, is that the laziness has spawned a festering industry of middlemen whose promise is to take money from those that are unwilling to change and issue certificates, authenticating carbon reduction. What the middlemen are supposed to do, is invest that money to reduce elsewhere -- and they do -- somewhat. Unfortunately, that money could go to places where the reduction was already going to take place for other reasons. For instance, legislation may drive companies within a specific industry to curb their polluting. To feel good about themselves, companies in other industries may purchase carbon offsets in the first. But it's a meaningless investment, and the certificates issued have no credibility, since standards for what constitutes an offset aren't available. The reduction in the first industry would have happened anyway, because the impetus was already there.

What is needed is accountability, less hype and real action. Carbon offsets may indirectly have a positive impact on the environment -- but it's more symbolic than real. Real action requires work and the taking of accountability by individuals and businesses. I hate being cynical about this, but what is transpiring with carbon offsets is just another product of our lack-of-responsibility society.