November, 2009

EcoFacts — No Comments
27
Nov 09

Black Friday and Stuff

Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, apparently got its name because of the massive traffic jams and crowds, and possibly the resultant headaches. Some years later, retailers, wanting a more positive spin on the important day, wanted to get the message out that this day could mean the difference between their being in the red or in the black for that year – in debt or with profits. This year, even more than most, stores and manufacturers are heavily relying upon us to buy as much as we possibly can.

Much of what is purchased will replace or simply increase things that end up in the landfill, things that are made from limited resources like plastics from oil, metals from mined ores. Our economic culture depends on this waste. Our planet is paying for it. In the future, it will be necessary for the manufacturers, in conjunction with us customers, to be responsible for their products at the end of their useful lives. This is beginning to happen, e.g. Apple and Dell offer take back programs for old computers, and even pay for the shipping. Europe is legislating towards more life cycle assessment as a standard business practice to lessen their waste load.

In nature, waste does not exist, All that dies, simply changes form, becomes food for more life. Could such a thing happen in human society? Hopefully!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)

http://www.computertakeback.com/recycling/Using_company_takeback_programs.pdf

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Barbara Hirsch, recording engineer, eco-person

“Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

– The Lorax, Children’s book by Dr. Seuss

EcoFacts — No Comments
20
Nov 09

Soy story

Soy is becoming almost as ubiquitous as corn these days. It is one of the primary feeds for livestock, one of the primary feeds for those who aren’t eating livestock, and can be found in many processed foods. Soy is also used in inks, fuel, cosmetics, clothing, candles, soy composites, e.g. plastic foam for car seats, military drones and surfboards, all kinds of places.

Lots of us drink and eat the stuff and would prefer avoiding the genetically modified organism (GMO) version of the bean if we could. We can’t, presently. GM soy now accounts for more than half produced in the world and 90% of all grown in the U.S..

Commercial production of GM crops, mostly soy, corn and cotton, began in 1996 on about 4 million acres in 6 countries. In 2006 – ten years later – 252 million acres were planted with them in 22 countries.

Roundup-ready GM soy seeds grow soy that is resistant to damage from, but also *requires*, the herbicide Roundup, made by Monsanto, the company that owns the copyright for this plant and exclusively sells the seeds. These crops are now also requiring more pesticides, by the millions of pounds. Yum.

Current organic standards do not require testing for GMO, and cross pollination due to bees and breezes, etc. makes it difficult for farmers to defend their non GM crops from contamination. However, because of increasing public concerns (like, what is this stuff?!), more farmers are planting the old fashioned kind. We may have to pay a bit more, so once again, we fortunate ones will have greater access to good health.

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GMCIPU.php

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml

http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_shopping/crops/19.genetically_modified_soybean.html

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monsanto_and_the_Roundup_Ready_Controversy

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/us-farmers-planting-less-gmo-soy.php

^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Barbara Hirsch, recording engineer, eco-person

“Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

– The Lorax, Children’s book by Dr. Seuss

EcoFacts — No Comments
13
Nov 09

Peoples, part 2

“Falling Fertility: How the population problem is solving itself” was the cover story for a recent edition of The Economist.
Though it is a bit of a teaser, there is good news here.

In many more places than ever, the fertility rate, which is the average number of children a woman will have, is falling. The replacement rate, (two parents, two children) determines how the population growth changes. When female children die before childbearing years, that rate goes up. This rate varies, as child mortality does, according to the wealth of countries, from 2.1 to over 3. Right now, close to half of the world’s peoples live in countries with rates of 2.1 or below. In around ten years, the fertility rate will be less than the replacement rate as a global average. The population will then continue to increase until mid century due to the number of women reaching child bearing age in the following decades.

A dramatic example of the recent falling rates is in Iran. In 1984, the fertility rate was 7(!), because family planning clinics had been closed by the clerical regime that took over in 1979. Ten years later the government began again to encourage and implement family planning, as well as promoting education for women. By 2006 the fertility rate had fallen to 1.9.

Whether due to immigration or other factors, the fertility rate is actually increasing in some wealthy countries. Though previously below, the U.S. is now above replacement rate at 2.2. The average in developed nations is 1.64.

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14743589

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14744915

http://www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm – World Population Prospects: Highlights, 2008

^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Barbara Hirsch, recording engineer, eco-person

“Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

– The Lorax, Children’s book by Dr. Seuss

EcoFacts — No Comments
6
Nov 09

Peoples, part 1

Will the earth be able to feed all of the peoples of the world by the end of our lives, in say, a decade or five? The simplest answer could already be before us. A billion people are hungry now. The reasons are many and complex, but obviously resources, education and wealth are spread unevenly across the globe, and poorer people tend to have more children. The world’s population, about 6½ billion, is expected to rise to around 9 billion before leveling off mid-century. And climate change will most likely have dramatic effects on water and food supplies.

In “The Future of Life”, E.O. Wilson states that the current level of grain production could feed around 2.5 billion Americans, or around 10 billion East Indians*, the differences in eating habits of these two regions being what they are.

In 1798, when the world’s population was around 1 billion, a guy named Thomas Malthus wrote about population growth, spawning the Malthusian theories that have fed both realists and doomsayers ever since:

“The power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race. The vices of mankind are active and able ministers of depopulation. They are the precursors in the great army of destruction, and often finish the dreadful work themselves. But should they fail in this war of extermination, sickly seasons, epidemics, pestilence, and plague advance in terrific array, and sweep off their thousands and tens of thousands. Should success be still incomplete, gigantic inevitable famine stalks in the rear, and with one mighty blow levels the population with the food of the world. **

If he could see us now, would he be gleeful in his righteousness, or impressed by indicators of human progress?

*Wilson, Edward O. p.33 The Future of Life, 2002, Knopf

**Malthus T.R. 1798. An essay on the principle of population. Chapter VII, p61 in Oxford World’s Classics reprint (sourced from Wikipedia)

http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/

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^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~ ^ ~
Barbara Hirsch, recording engineer, eco-person

“Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

– The Lorax, Children’s book by Dr. Seuss