From "Cope" to "Hope"
by Olgivy
by Olgivy
Hmmm.. well, I can't find this on YouTube anymore...
What Would Our Kids Do?
from Moms Against Climate Change
from Moms Against Climate Change
Monday, November 16, 2009
Videos: Art Speaks Truth to Power
The power of videos on the internet is an amazing way to engage people on climate change. Some great recent ones:
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
100% Renewable Energy. Right Now.
Scientific American article says that renewables are ready and willing to power the planet.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Growing food in cities: Permaculture
There are many types of urban agriculture -- from a downtown farmer's market selling produce grown (close-ish) outside the city, community vegetable gardens, organic, not organic, commercial hydroponics, home gardens to sell, to give away, or eat produce, container gardening, rooftop gardens, green roofs, etc.
Is urban agriculture a good thing? I say yes, but not all urban ag is created equal. On the downside would be design students who think you can grow hydroponic blueberries in thirty-story farm skyscrapers. It’s not as simple as ordering a blueberry bush and having it appear. If you've ever tried to grow blueberries (which grow on a woody bush) you'd understand that plants can be temperamental about where they want to grow, what conditions they need, and whether your efforts will quite literally bear fruit. So while I’m excited about pushing the limits of traditional agriculture, my excitement is tempered by realism: plants are experts at growing, provided that they’re in the right environment. Towards that end, urban ag should be looking for ways to let plants do what they do naturally: grow.
“Traditional” industrial agriculture takes advantage of economies of scale to produce large areas of food at a very low cost per unit. It also uses a great deal of fossil fuel energy, pesticides, and fertilizers which create costs to the environment that eventually catch up with us and someone (taxpayers) ends up paying for later (for example, paying to clean up a polluted stream, getting sick from contaminated shellfish because of high coliform counts, erosion of roads from poor soil practices, climate change, etc). Smaller gardens, often seen in cities where space is a premium, have really high yields per area of space, but require more human involvement in the form of time. You can't just plant a blueberry bush on your porch and come back three months later expecting a blueberry harvest. Urban ag requires more attention per plant than industrial ag plants get, but the benefit is high yield in low space and low embedded energy (tractor fuel, transport, etc). Read: Ch 2 of Bill McKibben's Deep Economy for more facts and figures about this.
Enter permaculture, a multi-crop production process that mimics natural ecosystems to produce high yield food. The idea is that the system of agriculture works better as a living system, and not as an assembly line, and this system should be a long-term investment (“perma” = permanent) in the productivity and quality of the land and soil. Permaculture methods have brought plants to the desert and improved soil quality in agricultural lands around the world (see CNN video below), but can permaculture work for urban environments, which are not really, well, natural at all? If you’re planning to grow things in the ground, such as in a community garden or abandoned lot, urban permaculture could have some great benefits, but for city dwellers like me with container gardens, other methods seem to be more practical, so I’m curious to learn more.
In a more thorough discussion, I would include the applicability of (biochar + urban ag + permaculture) = better small-scale, high-yield food production.
From Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson in NYT on March 6, 2009:
Is urban agriculture a good thing? I say yes, but not all urban ag is created equal. On the downside would be design students who think you can grow hydroponic blueberries in thirty-story farm skyscrapers. It’s not as simple as ordering a blueberry bush and having it appear. If you've ever tried to grow blueberries (which grow on a woody bush) you'd understand that plants can be temperamental about where they want to grow, what conditions they need, and whether your efforts will quite literally bear fruit. So while I’m excited about pushing the limits of traditional agriculture, my excitement is tempered by realism: plants are experts at growing, provided that they’re in the right environment. Towards that end, urban ag should be looking for ways to let plants do what they do naturally: grow.
“Traditional” industrial agriculture takes advantage of economies of scale to produce large areas of food at a very low cost per unit. It also uses a great deal of fossil fuel energy, pesticides, and fertilizers which create costs to the environment that eventually catch up with us and someone (taxpayers) ends up paying for later (for example, paying to clean up a polluted stream, getting sick from contaminated shellfish because of high coliform counts, erosion of roads from poor soil practices, climate change, etc). Smaller gardens, often seen in cities where space is a premium, have really high yields per area of space, but require more human involvement in the form of time. You can't just plant a blueberry bush on your porch and come back three months later expecting a blueberry harvest. Urban ag requires more attention per plant than industrial ag plants get, but the benefit is high yield in low space and low embedded energy (tractor fuel, transport, etc). Read: Ch 2 of Bill McKibben's Deep Economy for more facts and figures about this.
Enter permaculture, a multi-crop production process that mimics natural ecosystems to produce high yield food. The idea is that the system of agriculture works better as a living system, and not as an assembly line, and this system should be a long-term investment (“perma” = permanent) in the productivity and quality of the land and soil. Permaculture methods have brought plants to the desert and improved soil quality in agricultural lands around the world (see CNN video below), but can permaculture work for urban environments, which are not really, well, natural at all? If you’re planning to grow things in the ground, such as in a community garden or abandoned lot, urban permaculture could have some great benefits, but for city dwellers like me with container gardens, other methods seem to be more practical, so I’m curious to learn more.
READ:
Redesign the city: a look at urban permaculture by Liz Neves is a solid, recent article. If you read more articles, you'll find that much of what's available online is based off of the guys who started this in the 70's, and it could use an image update to get some mainstream traction in this century.WATCH:
The CNN International video does a pretty good job of making it seem cool:In a more thorough discussion, I would include the applicability of (biochar + urban ag + permaculture) = better small-scale, high-yield food production.
From Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson in NYT on March 6, 2009:
"Any restorations will require, above all else, a substantial increase in the acreages of perennial plants. The most immediately practicable way of doing this is to go back to crop rotations that include hay, pasture and grazing animals.
But a more radical response is necessary if we are to keep eating and preserve our land at the same time. In fact, research in Canada, Australia, China and the United States over the last 30 years suggests that perennialization of the major grain crops like wheat, rice, sorghum and sunflowers can be developed in the foreseeable future. By increasing the use of mixtures of grain-bearing perennials, we can better protect the soil and substantially reduce greenhouse gases, fossil-fuel use and toxic pollution."
Monday, November 2, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Add some "Hope" to Copenhagen
What gives you hope?
My post was inspired by this article: Convince public on climate to save planet: experts
And how do you convince the public? Well, the DOE says it has to be fun, easy, personal, local and interactive.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Home Energy Use App by Google
Hey look - Google made a sweet an app to monitor home energy use, and it's coming soon to a neighborhood near you! The Google PowerMeter will give you real-time data about your home's energy use -- so you can finally "see" how much electricity you're using and when. And it has the sleek, colorful grandma-friendly interface of Google, horray! I'm really excited about this, and waiting anxiously for them to roll this out in New England -- they're currently testing it in the UK.
image from google.org/powermeter
I'm still not convinced that complete information is actually going to lower my home energy use, even though I'm excited about all of the colorful graphs. My Discover card, for example, has a great online "spend analyzer" that I check out all of the time - it's colorful and interactive, and it makes me more aware of what I purchase, but I'd be hard pressed to say that it helps me to curb spending.
For the PowerMeter app, it would be really valuable to have a !! goal setting tool !! built in (something my credit card obviously does not have). That way you can set a goal, say using 10% less energy this year than last, and the PowerMeter can send you reminders of when your energy use is off track. (Or a cookie when you're doing a good job?) The economist in me loves easy access to more complete information, but the lazy bum in me realizes that sometimes coaching is more important than knowledge when it comes to remembering to change my habits.
So, yes, Google is taking over my life (and probably yours). But they just make it so darn convenient...and good looking.
image from google.org/powermeter
For the PowerMeter app, it would be really valuable to have a !! goal setting tool !! built in (something my credit card obviously does not have). That way you can set a goal, say using 10% less energy this year than last, and the PowerMeter can send you reminders of when your energy use is off track. (Or a cookie when you're doing a good job?) The economist in me loves easy access to more complete information, but the lazy bum in me realizes that sometimes coaching is more important than knowledge when it comes to remembering to change my habits.
So, yes, Google is taking over my life (and probably yours). But they just make it so darn convenient...and good looking.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Coal Plants -- Water Pollution with No Fines?
(Warning: this is a rant.)
AAAAAHHH! Quit polluting my beautiful state for FREE! Ack!
Power plants make HUNDREDS of EPA pollution violations and pay NO FINES? What?? I'm lucky if I can talk my way out of one speeding ticket, but 392 of them, you must be joking. See the NYT map and data here.
I try to focus on positive solutions for climate change on this blog, but today's New York Times article on water pollution from coal-fired power plants fired up the economist in me. Effluent (regulated water discharge) violations from coal-fired power plants numbered between 59 and 392 violations for the ten top violators between 2004 and 2007. Gross, but okay, it happens, people & companies mess up sometimes. (There's the Three Mile Island near-miss, the TVA fly ash boo boo, maybe the whole prime-mortgage debacle...) But none of these coal plants that are top repeat violators had to pay anything for messing up. No fines?? None? Not even a little "oops, sorry my drunk college son keeps puking on your front steps, we're sending him over to clean it up and mow your yard." No three strikes you're out? Not even a symbolic 25 cents in the swear-jar?
It is not reasonable for plants that break federal regulations to pay the same amount as the plants that play by the rules. How, HOW, can a company be considered an advantage for the economy if 1) it dumps more pollution into my community than it pays for, 2) doesn't clean it up, 3) and doesn't pay for someone else to clean it up? If one of those three things is happening, the company is either not making enough profit, or is poorly managed. If you're not making enough profit, or you're too poorly managed to play by the rules (ie. regulations), GET OUT OF THE GAME! Go invest your capital in something that is legal. There are rules to capitalism and democracy (this is not anarchy kids), and if you're not willing to play by those rules, then you're not a capitalist, you're just stealing.
The New York Times downloaded this data in May 2009 — E.P.A. records may reflect updates since that date. The E.P.A. acknowledges known problems with its database. Only facilities with active permits are shown; those that have closed or had permits terminated prior to May 5, 2009 are not included. Additional explanations and supplementary data.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Climate Week NYC
This Week:Dozens of events about climate change
[Sept 20 - 26]
The Climate Group is partnering with some serious heavy hitters to bring the world's attention to addressing climate change.
There are piles of presentations, discussions, films, and events happening all over the city.
Some interesting events open to the public:
Monday 9.21: Jobs Justice Climate
New York Society for Ethical Culture
Starting at 6:00 pm, free, info and tickets here.
Tuesday & Wednesday 9.22-9.23: Urban Green Expo
Wednesday 9.23: Responding to Climate Change
Mercy Corps Action Center
7:00 pm Panel discussion
Thursday 9.24: Solar in the Developing World
6:00 pm Panel DiscussionFriday 9.25: Brita Climate Ride
Kickoff Event
9.26 - 9.30 Ride from NYC - DC
Go!
Friday, September 18, 2009
We are Van Jones
I know this is old news by now, but to follow up on the Van Jones story, I just want to reiterate how disappointed I am to see the way things turned out.
I watched the Fox show that publicly tarred and feathered Mr. Jones. It was gross. I'm all for public debate and can appreciate opinions that Van Jones was not the right man for the job, or that his public statements, or professional demeanor were not ideal, although I personally don't agree with those opinions. I attended the speech at the Power Shift conference and have met many of the people who worked in the community-based organization (Green for All) he directed at the time. I didn't find any of them to be particularly radical, but rather a group of youth from the wrong side of the tracks who were working their hardest for something they are passionate about: a clean and safe future for themselves and their families. And they are pursuing that goal by demanding that the advantages of the green economy should be seen by all of us -- that this is a time of innovation where everyone should have an equal shot to take part, and that your community can be (em)powered, both financially and emotionally when they take part in a solution against climate change.
I have seen little evidence that Mr. Jones neglected any of the duties of his job, that he was bad at his job, or that there was any professional reason. What I saw on that t.v. show, however, was a clownish parade of disjointed accusations based around a theme of fear that didn't gel into a real problem. When I see such illogical behavior, I wonder if there is another reason for spending so much air time tearing down someone who seems to be doing just fine at his job. Maybe because he's doing more than just fine at his job. Maybe he's the only public figure who was effectively inspiring young people to take political action on climate change. Maybe he's the guy who's challenging the climate status quo by making climate a priority for everyone, of all races, genders, incomes, ages, and educational backgrounds. Maybe because he's the most well-known, non-elected champion of the pending energy bill.
Equality and justice. Those are two pretty basic pillars of the country we live in. (I'd personally throw in a pinch of compassion, but I didn't make the rules). Equality and justice are what Van Jones talked about at the Power Shift conference this March. It was an well-practiced and well-delivered speech, that inspired me to work for a balanced climate and a decent future, at a time when it seems like most national leaders seem to chose inaction as the preferable option. I know that no one seemed to know who Van Jones was until a week ago, but he was one of the leading voices on making "green" accessible to everyone, not just to those who could afford it, and that message remains very important to me. The climate challenge is a team sport, and everyone needs to be included in the solution if we're going to win the game.
Thousands of young people attended this conference because we see the reality of what fossil fuel emissions is doing to the world, and we have a commitment to living in a different future than the one we're headed towards. We have our full mental faculties, we work hard and study hard, we're regular people, we shop, eat, drive cars, ride bikes, take walks, live in cities and rural areas, and we CARE. We observe different faiths, we embody the melting pot that America was designed to be, we believe that the U.S. can be a leader to combat climate change, and we believe that we ALL deserve as stable of a planet as we can get. So when I see a person, a business, or an organization who is really walking the walk, who is coming up with viable economic alternatives for our cities, communities, and buisnesses, who is looking towards the future of our country, and is not afraid, but who is creative, open-minded, thoughtful, and concrete about the future, I get excited.
Right now, my excitement has fizzled into frustration, disappointment, and anger. But my hope is still here. My hope is that from the rubble of this chaos within an apparently small group of Americans concerned about the climate, more young leaders of good character will keep stepping up to the plate to speak the truth of how important this issue is for each of us. I hope we see Van Jones continue his work with the same level of efficacy and inspiration in a new venue. I hope we each continue to work to inspire our communities to make energy changes at the individual and group level -- to change when and why we drive, to lower our electricity use, to make investments in green and fair businesses, to plant vegetables for ourselves and our friends, and to envision our communities for a functional future. Because in some ways we are Van Jones. If he succeeds, we succeed. But even better, if we succeed, so does he, and so does everyone who helped to make a green economy, and a clean energy future a reality for our country.
If you want to read a better cited and informed article, I also suggest reading "Thomas Paine would have loved Van Jones" by Kelpie Wilson.
I watched the Fox show that publicly tarred and feathered Mr. Jones. It was gross. I'm all for public debate and can appreciate opinions that Van Jones was not the right man for the job, or that his public statements, or professional demeanor were not ideal, although I personally don't agree with those opinions. I attended the speech at the Power Shift conference and have met many of the people who worked in the community-based organization (Green for All) he directed at the time. I didn't find any of them to be particularly radical, but rather a group of youth from the wrong side of the tracks who were working their hardest for something they are passionate about: a clean and safe future for themselves and their families. And they are pursuing that goal by demanding that the advantages of the green economy should be seen by all of us -- that this is a time of innovation where everyone should have an equal shot to take part, and that your community can be (em)powered, both financially and emotionally when they take part in a solution against climate change.
I have seen little evidence that Mr. Jones neglected any of the duties of his job, that he was bad at his job, or that there was any professional reason. What I saw on that t.v. show, however, was a clownish parade of disjointed accusations based around a theme of fear that didn't gel into a real problem. When I see such illogical behavior, I wonder if there is another reason for spending so much air time tearing down someone who seems to be doing just fine at his job. Maybe because he's doing more than just fine at his job. Maybe he's the only public figure who was effectively inspiring young people to take political action on climate change. Maybe he's the guy who's challenging the climate status quo by making climate a priority for everyone, of all races, genders, incomes, ages, and educational backgrounds. Maybe because he's the most well-known, non-elected champion of the pending energy bill.
Equality and justice. Those are two pretty basic pillars of the country we live in. (I'd personally throw in a pinch of compassion, but I didn't make the rules). Equality and justice are what Van Jones talked about at the Power Shift conference this March. It was an well-practiced and well-delivered speech, that inspired me to work for a balanced climate and a decent future, at a time when it seems like most national leaders seem to chose inaction as the preferable option. I know that no one seemed to know who Van Jones was until a week ago, but he was one of the leading voices on making "green" accessible to everyone, not just to those who could afford it, and that message remains very important to me. The climate challenge is a team sport, and everyone needs to be included in the solution if we're going to win the game.
Thousands of young people attended this conference because we see the reality of what fossil fuel emissions is doing to the world, and we have a commitment to living in a different future than the one we're headed towards. We have our full mental faculties, we work hard and study hard, we're regular people, we shop, eat, drive cars, ride bikes, take walks, live in cities and rural areas, and we CARE. We observe different faiths, we embody the melting pot that America was designed to be, we believe that the U.S. can be a leader to combat climate change, and we believe that we ALL deserve as stable of a planet as we can get. So when I see a person, a business, or an organization who is really walking the walk, who is coming up with viable economic alternatives for our cities, communities, and buisnesses, who is looking towards the future of our country, and is not afraid, but who is creative, open-minded, thoughtful, and concrete about the future, I get excited.
Right now, my excitement has fizzled into frustration, disappointment, and anger. But my hope is still here. My hope is that from the rubble of this chaos within an apparently small group of Americans concerned about the climate, more young leaders of good character will keep stepping up to the plate to speak the truth of how important this issue is for each of us. I hope we see Van Jones continue his work with the same level of efficacy and inspiration in a new venue. I hope we each continue to work to inspire our communities to make energy changes at the individual and group level -- to change when and why we drive, to lower our electricity use, to make investments in green and fair businesses, to plant vegetables for ourselves and our friends, and to envision our communities for a functional future. Because in some ways we are Van Jones. If he succeeds, we succeed. But even better, if we succeed, so does he, and so does everyone who helped to make a green economy, and a clean energy future a reality for our country.
If you want to read a better cited and informed article, I also suggest reading "Thomas Paine would have loved Van Jones" by Kelpie Wilson.
Monday, August 17, 2009
There's No Such Thing as Green Fashion
It's been bugging me for a while that the movement towards being "green" has manifested itself in the fashion industry. The bottom line to climate action is that we need to be a world of less "stuff." As much as I like the aesthetics of fashion, it breeds an irrational desire for a particular brand of object. So all of these "eco" blogs about green designer jeans & organic cotton are starting to get to me. We aren't experiencing climate change because we spray pesticides on cotton crops.
Lika Volkova is an interesting clothing designer because she's decided to cut out as much as possible of the supply chain between the designer and the wearer. I don't sew my own clothes because it's hard. But Volkova begins with the assumption that I, as the sewing novice, and she as the clever design whiz, can make designer clothes happen at home, in a wild, world changing clothing collaboration.
Pretty cool.
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