Catching Up With Teh Internets

Well it's once again been a busy week on teh internets machine, hasn't it? I am finding it difficult to make the time to both read and write about it all. A more cynical person might say here that some people in power are liking that just fine -- the busier we are, the less time we have to think about things like, oh, I don't know: war?

Rather than pontificate about any one story in this news, I think this morning I'll just pass along some good reading that I've stumbled across in the last few days. Such as:

Newt Gingrich Accidentally Names Porn Exec 'Entrepreneur Of The Year'

Oh yes he did! In fact, "Newt Gingrich's 527 group sent a letter to porn exec Allison Vivas Wednesday telling her she'd won their "Entrepreneur of the Year" award and inviting her to an "intimate event" with Gingrich."

From our pretend girlfriend Rachel Maddow's tweets (yes, I stalk her teh twitter. so?), we get:

Meeting Enrollees' Needs: How Do Medicare And Employer Coverage Stack Up?

Which includes some pretty interesting stuff, including: " Compared with the employer-coverage group, people in the Medicare group report fewer problems obtaining medical care, less financial hardship due to medical bills, and higher overall satisfaction with their coverage. Although access and bill payment problems increased across the board from 2001 to 2007, the gap between Medicare and private employer coverage widened."

Meanwhile,you may have heard about a new Census Bureau report that finds more Americans live at or below the poverty level. Truth is, it's even worse than the report's findings:

New Poverty Figures Will Show Massive Increase, but Reality Is Worse, Says UM Expert"

"... [T]he official poverty measure does not reveal the full degree of financial hardship and dislocation caused by the current downturn in the economy, says [Douglas J.] Besharov, a professor of public policy and director of the Welfare Reform Academy at Maryland. The official measure fails to capture the massive job, income, and wealth losses among the lower-middle and middle classes."

Always a good read, Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo always takes political analysis one step deeper than the rest. So it's refreshing to read his take on Politico's pseudo analysis:

"I'm seeing the Politico tell me that the Republicans are in danger of having their public profile dominated by cranks on the fringe right."

Go read it, it's short.

If you're thinking of sightseeing in D.C. today, take a cue from the gray, rainy weather and don't do it. Plus, there's this:

Exploiting 9/11, Glenn Beck, Extremists And Corporate-Backed Groups Plan Anti-Obama March

That's right a march on Washington. Or against President Obama, rather. I actually feel sorry for these teabagging marchers. Clearly they are scared and also, not very bright. They like to think that they are a part of a massive grassroots, populist movement, but of course, it's not:

"However, most of the day-to-day organizing has been orchestrated by a now familiar set of lobbyists and Republican operatives who have helped plan anti-Obama "grassroots" tea party events since February. In addition, a set of far-right groups are supporting the event, bringing along self-described "American mob members" to join in on the Obama-bashing."

On a different note, I just found out I have a new label: "agri-intellectual." Who knew?

"The sustainable-food movement needs to step up and start grappling with big questions. I’ve said for a while that I see three big challenges for the sustainable-food movement as it scales up: 1) soil fertility—in the absence of synthesized nitrogen and mined phosphorous and potassium, how are we to build soil fertility on a larger scale?; 2) labor—sustainable farming requires more hands on the ground; who’s going to work our farm fields, and at what wages?; and 3) access—in an economy built on long-term wage stagnation, how can we make sustainably grown food accessible to everyone?"

Germany has an exciting election coming up, you know. Or not.

How to Win an Election Through Boredom

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel is being criticized for running a boring election campaign. It may be part of a cunning plan to win by deterring opposition supporters from voting....

Making the campaign dull stems from the calculation that it can pay off for politicians if as few people as possible bother to vote. It sounds cynical but it works, and this can be proven. It's an illusion that all political campaigners want a high turnout. What counts is who actually goes to vote."

Never say it's dull around here, though:

Hours After Pelosi Backs off on Public Option, Health Lobbyist Announces Fundraiser in Her Honor

The headline really says it all, but go ahead and read the story anyway. And then bookmark AlterNet, please.

And finally, when we're so concerned about where our federal and state money is being spent, should we really be spending money to arrest and prosecute citizens who enjoy the occasional spliff? Because really, can you throw that stone? (heh. She said "stone." heh.)

Over 100 Million Americans Have Smoked Marijuana -- And It's Still Illegal?

"41 percent of the U.S. population say they've tried cannabis at least once in their lives, 10 percent say they've used it in the last year."

Just sayin'

Exxon Mobil profit = $1,486 per second

By now you've probably heard about the astounding profit that Exxon Mobil is reporting for this past quarter: $11.7 billion. And yes, that is an American record. (Woo hoo for Exxon Mobil and their new American record, just in time for teh Olympics!)

The Guardian breaks that figure down for us: Exxon Mobil is making $1,486 per second. Per second! So as you read "per second," they've made another $1,486. And again. And again.

But, ABC provides by far the most disgusting figure in all this, as reported here by ThinkProgress:

Exxon Mobil today broke its own record for the highest-ever profit by a U.S. company, with net income this quarter rising to $11.68 billion. While Exxon officials regularly tout the company’s investment in alternative energy, ABC reported today that Exxon spends only 1 percent of profits on alternative energy sources.

“They’re probably spending more on the advertising than they are on the research,” noted an oil analyst contacted by ABC. BP invested the most out of the big five oil companies, at 2.9 percent.

About that survey ...

Last week I really started feeling the effects of the $4 gallon gas. I try to do everything I can to use less gas, but sometimes it just doesn't seem like enough. (I suppose the costs of the total overhaul of the bathroom isn't helping much right now, either!). So I started wondering what other folks are doing to cope with expensive gas and the resulting high cost of everything. Nine of you voted, and here's what you said:

• Started carpooling 2 (22%)
• Started taking the bus 1(11%)
• Ride my bike more often 0 (0%
• Sold my SUV 0 (0%)
• More careful to turn off the lights at home 7 (77%)
• Run the AC less often 6 (66%)
• Go out to dinner less often 3 (33%)
• Drive the speed limit now 6 (66%)
• Other 5 (55%)

I'm one of the two who has started carpooling -- I wonder if my carpooling colleague is the other one? I have tried taking the commuter train, but that's a whole 'nother post. A nightmare, and a long one at that. I thought I would ride my bike to the store, etc., but haven't had trips to stores near enough. I do try to combine all trips together, though. Sell my SUV? Does an '89 Toyota wagon with a "Hillary" bumper sticker count? Eh, I didn't think so. Anyway, she's not going anywhere (yeah, and neither's Hillary).

It seems that most of us are being more aware of energy use at home, which is good. Seven of 9 of us say we turn off lights more often -- I bet the remaining 2 already have all the lights off!

We definitely eat out less, and are more aware of prices when we do go out. Any higher priced meal has to be purchased with the understanding that there will be leftovers for more meals. (That's how we justified Indian food last night, anyway. Chicken korma for dinner again!).

What's up with the speed limit? Are the 3 of you who didn't check this one already doing the limit, or do you know a secret to gas mileage that the rest of us don't? Someone must have a secret, because other cars (and SUVs) continue to fly past me on I-95, with no concern for burning the gas.

And 5 of you said you're doing something else. I know from some of your comments that you're combining trips, walking when you can. What else can you pass along that's helping?

image from treehugger.com

The McCain energy plan: Drill, drill, and drill some more!

As Barack Obama gains the endorsement of Al Gore, John McCain announces his plan for solving our energy problem int he US: Lift those pesky offshore drilling moratoriums!

"We must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. We have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. . . . It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions."

As the Washington Post notes:

McCain's announcement is a reversal of the position he took in his 2000 presidential campaign and a break with environmental activists, even as he attempts to win the support of independents and moderate Democrats. Since becoming the presumptive GOP nominee in March, McCain has presented himself as a friend of the environment by touting his plans to combat global warming and his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in the Everglades.

The dog poop dilemma

Or, perhaps I should use the more generic "Pet poop dilemma." Dogs, cats, bunnies, ferrets. They all poop. (Yes, I know, everybody poops.) And as a good environmentalist, what do you do with the poop?

Back when I was a kid in the late '60s early/'70s we had a big back yard with English ivy down the side of the yard. That's where the dogs pooped. We didn't even train them -- they just kind of knew to go over there and keep the rest of the yard clean for us kids. And the cats, well I don't know where they went, but we sure didn't have a litter box.

But now I live within the city limits, so the 2 cats are strictly indoor, and the dog can't just poop in the yard. A rather nasty fact about rats is that they just love dog poop. Ugh.

So when I walk the dog, I responsibly clean up after him when he poops in one of his favorite spots in the neighborhood, as well as when he poops in the middle of the yard. And thus begins the dilemma: What to do with the poop?

Where I live, the trash goes to a landfill. I try to be especially mindful of what I throw in the trashcan, because it's going to go sit in that landfill. So although those newspaper bags are seemingly perfect for picking up poop, when I toss that bag in the trash can it's now organic materials encased in plastic, and will take decades to break down. I've also tried using poop bags that are made out of gluten so they will break down, but the trash guys won't deal with those if they're in the big can by themselves -- they have to go into the larger kitchen trash bag when that goes out. So again, the decomposable material is wrapped in plastic.

I have read about these "Doggie Dooley" things that you put in the back yard to decompose the poop, but I don't know anyone who has one, and they're not cheap. If you use one, please let me know. I'd be curious to know what you think.

Meantime, I try to "make up" for our poop wherever I can, taking home all my lunch recyclables from work, bringing home beer bottles from a party where the hosts don't recycle (gasp!).

But the poop. What to do with the poop?

McCain Watch: "McGreen"

That 'ol maverick is at it again! From the Wonk Room at Think Progress:

After Standing Against Everglades Restoration, McCain Visits Park To Bolster Environmental Credentials

Tomorrow, to bolster his environmental credentials, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will tour and likely marvel at the pristine Florida Everglades. What a difference a year makes: in 2007, McCain displayed far less concern for “one of America’s greatest national treasures.”

Bucking environmentalists and the state’s political establishment, who had spent seven years lobbying for sweeping Everglades cleanup legislation, McCain, too busy on the campaign trail to vote on the measure, “opposed spending $2 billion on restoring the national park,” and urged colleagues to let President Bush’s veto of the preservation bill stand:

I believe that we should be passing a bill that will authorize legitimate, needed projects without sacrificing fiscal responsibility.

But it’s not clear if McCain is familiar with what’s “needed” for Everglades restoration. The senator, who has called himself an environmentalist, “did not participate in the landmark debate over the state-federal partnership to preserve the Everglades in 2000″ and “was ‘out of town’ for the 85-1 vote in the Senate.”

In fact, McCain has “skipped every one of the 15…critical measures for the environment” in the past year and scored “a stunning zero out of 100 on the latest League of Conservation Voters Scorecard, which rates elected officials on their votes in the most recent Congress.”

Yes, that's right -- he's rated zero out of 100 from the League of Conservation Voters! And now he's portraying himself as an environmentalist. That is a maverick!

Random green thoughts today

I'm know I'm preaching to the choir here when I encourage you to go green wherever you can. You know it's important, I know it's important. So why does our society make it so damn hard to do?

My biggest issue is that I have a terrible commute to work. I'm trying to do everything I can to make less of an impact on the earth, but I'm constrained with this commute. I live about 40 miles from where I work. But I live in one large city, and work in another, on the East Coast. You might think I would be able to take public transportation -- especially since both cities are adjacent to Interstate 95, a major north-south highway. You would be wrong.

Yesterday after work I had a flat tire coming out of the parking garage. I won't bore you with all the details, but basically because I never got around to getting my spare repaired, I was screwed. So I sat in a Merchant's Tire store for 2 hours (don't ask why it took so long -- they lost my car key -- just know that they didn't charge me in the end), but I was fortunate to have one of my new books. Yes -- see how interestingly life works out sometimes?

In Original Zinn, Howard Zinn talks about the lack of a motive for corporations to do anything about problems like pollution because there's no profit in it.

That profit motive means that homes will not be built for low-income people because there is no money to be made that way. Teachers' salaries will not be doubled, as they should be. The rivers, lakes, and oceans will not be cleaned up because there is no profit in it. We are not going to curtail the emissions from cars that are polluting the atmosphere and destroying the environment for ourselves and our children because that will cut into the profits of the automobile manufacturers.

We live in a capitalist society, and the profit motive is an ugly reality. I'm not saying we throw out our economic system, but I am saying that we need to look at the harsh side effects of it. No one seems to want to do that anymore. Back when the first Earth Day was celebrated, 38 years ago today, many decried it as a socialist movement. The fact that April 22, 1970, was the Vladmir Lenin's 100 birthday surely must mean something, right?

The movement today must begin at home. It must begin with me and with you doing what we can to make a difference. Our society has insulated us against the realities of pollution int he world and we think as long as we change our lightbulbs we've done our part. You know what? I change my lightbulbs, I recycle, I carpool, I eat meat only occasionally, I turn the heat down in the winter and up in the summer, and look what I found out when I calculated my carbon footprint:


Please look again at that last figure.

Greenwashing: the latest step in the dumbification of America

Okay, so first I want you to watch this ad from Ford:



I started thinking about the lack of coverage of Earth Hour last weekend, and I realized that it's a clear sign of a much larger problem in America: No one cares about the environment.

I mean, we think we do, but really, as a society we feel there are more important things to worry about. The problem is that those "things" (i.e., the war in Iraq, the economy) are directly related to our obsession with all things oil. It's all connected, but we're too lazy to think that through.

Instead, we're quite happy to allow the corporations of American to lead us around by the nose. The latest example? Hybrid SUVs. As reported on NPR last night, just about every major American car company now manufactures a hybrid SUV. If you've watched any of the March Madness tournament, you've seen ads for the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV, as well as the Ford Escape Hybrid.

And true, a lot of people are buying hybrid cars -- according to Hybridcars.com, sales of hybrids in 2007 grew by 28%. So naturally you would expect prices to be high -- that's the basic concept of supply and demand. But before you start getting a warm and fuzz feeling about American car companies and their dedication to the environment, consider this: most of these manufacturers tack on a mandatory markup of anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000!

To quote Wired.com:

What's galling is that car makers continue to push these hybrids--especially SUVs--in advertising. Greenwashing an entire company with token products has proven to be enormously successful, not only for the car industry, but for just about anyone else.

To be sure, batteries have been in short supply. And automakers didn't anticipate the price of gas when hybrid production plans were inked. Even so, the markup at dealerships is shameless.

And I would add that's shameless that we let them do it.

Where were you at 8 pm on Saturday?

I am under strict instruction not to reveal the events of the past weekend at the Jello House (you know, we're like Las Vegas in that way), but there is one thing we did that I think it's safe to write about: Earth Hour.

I am sorry I didn't write about this last week, but it kind of snuck up on me. And unfortunately, it did not receive much publicity in the MSM. But here's the deal:

On March 29th, people everywhere turned off their lights–to make a statement, to help find new ways to reduce their impact on the environment, and to start a movement that ends with a solution to the common challenge we all face.

Millions of Americans–in Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Francisco and dozens of other communities large and small–joined mayors, citizens' groups, schools and corporations from coast to coast. Around the globe, people on five continents took part, from Albania to Zimbabwe, Bosnia to Uzbekistan, Canada to Uruguay.

I almost forgot about this major event, because in my hometown there was no recognition of it. That's truly disappointing, as Maryland is an environmental bellweather -- the Chesapeake Bay will tell us the future, I believe. Fortunately, I logged on to the laptop Saturday afternoon to check the basketball scores and came upon this:


After a brief "Hey -- what's wrong with Google?!" I realized they were honoring and publicizing this important event. Yay for Google!

So with a little careful planning, we were able to enjoy a beer (or two) and the world's best crabcakes, and still make it home in time to light the chimnea out back and look up at the stars. Of course, our planning unfortunately did not include getting out the candles before we left for the restaurant, it only included turning off all the lights so that when 8:00 came, the house would be dark even if we didn't make it back yet. Hence, our arrival back home consisted of a comic scene of 3 of us fumbling around in the dark trying to find candles, lighter, gloves, beverage, etc.

We really did very little, but for an hour we reduced our impact on the earth. Maybe we can make this a trend, before we're forced into cutting off the electricity out of necessity once the oil runs out....

h/t to ThinkProgress for the Google screenshot!

What do you do with a drunken sailor?

Well, if you're Exxon Corporation, you put him behind the wheel of an oil tanker. It's been almost 20 years since the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the company has fought responsibility all the way to the Supreme Court. The Chicago Tribune reports:

It has been almost 20 years since the infamous Joseph Hazelwood and the Exxon Valdez loomed large in the nation's consciousness after the allegedly intoxicated captain beached the supertanker on the rocks of Prince William Sound in Alaska, dumping millions of gallons of oil into the sea.

But it's just this week that a case arising from the massive oil spill reaches the Supreme Court. You can blame the twisted path high-stakes civil litigation takes in this country or even an intransigent corporate defendant determined to protect its legal rights. But the residents who live around the sound say the case has dragged on far too long at the expense of too many of their own. And they blame Exxon Mobil for that.

But Exxon says it has paid enough—$3.5 billion in fines, civil damages and money to clean up the sound—to make further punishment unnecessary. And punishment is exactly the issue that comes before the court Wednesday.

Exxon is seeking to get out from under a $2.5 billion punitive damages award leveled in a class-action brought by thousands of fishermen and business owners who claimed their livelihood was irreparably damaged by the spill. The oil company maintains that the damages are unjust as a matter of maritime law. A jury originally smacked Exxon with a $5 billion award in 1994, and the company has been resisting paying it ever since.

It ultimately succeeded, on appeal, in getting it chopped in half. Exxon still disputes whether Hazelwood was drunk on the night of March 23, 1989, when he ordered the Valdez to turn to avoid floating ice, striking a huge reef and rupturing the ship's hull. Eleven million gallons of crude oil flowed into the sound, ultimately spreading across 600 miles of coastline. Thousands of marine mammals and fish were killed.

The Anchorage Daily News breaks it down by the disturbing numbers:

11 MILLION: Gallons of oil spilled into Prince William Sound from the Exxon Valdez in 1989.

470 MILES: How far the spilled oil drifted from Bligh Reef, to the village of Chignik on the Alaska Peninsula.

1,300 MILES: The miles of oiled shoreline, 200 of them heavily or moderately oiled.

$2.1 BILLION: The amount Exxon estimates it spent cleaning up after the tanker spill over the following four summers.

$1.045 BILLION: Amount Exxon paid in 1990s in criminal fines and civil settlements.

$2.5 BILLION: The punitive damages the federal appeals court awarded in 2006.

$2.271 BILLION: The accrued interest on the $2.5 billion punitive damages award.

$781 MILLION: The lawyers cut of the $4.8 million, assuming that figure stands.

$3.1 BILLION: The plaintiffs estimated share of the $4.8 billion.

$465 MILLION: The Cook Inlet drift fleet's estimated share of the $4.8 billion.

$800,000: Estimated average payout to a Cook Inlet drift permit holder.*

$92: The estimated share for the Peninsular Aleutians roe herring fishermen.

30,000: Number of plaintiffs.

8,000: Estimated number of plaintiffs who have died since the 1989 spill.

$40.6 BILLION: Exxon's estimated profit last year.

$7.6 BILLION: Estimated cash dividends Exxon paid to its shareholders last year.

* The amount each plaintiff would get depends on their catch history in the years before the spill.

Good news: the Bush Administration finally found a use for all that duct tape!

The only problem is, they used it to censor non-classified public documents.

D'oh!

From ThinkProgress:

In December, EPA administrator Stephen Johnson rejected “California’s long-standing request for a waiver from federal law to be able to implement its own landmark regulations to slash greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.”

Today, Johnson came under harsh criticism from Environment and Public Works Committee chairwoman Barbara Boxer. She blasted Johnson for refusing come to California and meet with residents, and for censoring documents with white duct tape on the EPA’s decision-making process:

Colleagues, this is the tape, this is the tape that was put over — finally the administration had a way to use duct tape. This administration, this is what they did to us. They put this white tape over the documents and staff had to stand here. It’s just unbelievable. […]

I mean what a waste of our time. This isn’t national security. This isn’t classified information, colleagues. This is information the people deserve to have. And this is not the way we should run the greatest government in the world. It does not befit us. So that’s why I’m worked up about it and think we have been treated in a very shabby way.

Yesterday, Boxer released excerpts from an October presentation, revealing that Johnson had ignored the advice of EPA staff who were in favor of granting California the waiver. The excerpts came out after Boxer’s staff removed the duct tape from the documents and transcribed handwritten notes, under the supervision of EPA staffers.

How it all ends

This is an awesome video on global warming/climate change/ climate destabilization. You must watch this! And then, please, forward it or a link to this post to everyone you know. Trust me, after you watch it, you'll know what I mean:

Back to the tap: good for your wallet, good for the planet

If you ever doubt the power of good marketing, look at the bottled water industry in America. This country, which has by far the largest supply in the world of clean water available to its citizens, leads the world in consumption of bottled water. The ultimate irony: more than a quarter of that is simply bottled tap water.

We spend more than $15 billion a year on bottled water in the United States. Bottles of water costs up to several dollars a gallon (and more for designer brands). Tap water, on the other hand, is delivered directly to homes and offices for less than a penny a gallon.

From the Earth Policy Institute:

In contrast to tap water, which is delivered through an energy-efficient infrastructure, bottled water is an incredibly wasteful product. It is usually packaged in single-serving plastic bottles made with fossil fuels. Just manufacturing the 29 billion plastic bottles used for water in the United States each year requires the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of crude oil.

After being filled, the bottles may travel far. Nearly one quarter of bottled water crosses national borders before reaching consumers, and part of the cachet of certain bottled water brands is their remote origin. Adding in the Pacific Institute’s estimates for the energy used for pumping and processing, transportation, and refrigeration, brings the annual fossil fuel footprint of bottled water consumption in the United States to over 50 million barrels of oil equivalent-enough to run 3 million cars for one year. If everyone drank as much bottled water as Americans do, the world would need the equivalent of more than 1 billion barrels of oil to produce close to 650 billion individual bottles.

Fortunately, there is a movement toward tap water. More from the Earth Policy Institute:

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents some 1,100 American cities, discussed at its June 2007 meeting the irony of purchasing bottled water for city employees and for city functions while at the same time touting the quality of municipal water. The group passed a resolution sponsored by Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City, and R. T. Rybak of Minneapolis that called for the examination of bottled water’s environmental impact. The resolution noted that with $43 billion a year going to provide clean drinking water in cities across the country, “the United States’ municipal water systems are among the finest in the world.”

So how easy a choice is this to make: by choosing to forgo bottled water and instead drink from the tap, you can save money and reduce waste and fuel consumption. I call that a no-brainer.

Donald Trumped

Donald Trump's controversial plans to build a £1billion golf resort along a stretch of the Scottish coastline have been rejected by the local council. From the Telegraph:

Councillors have rejected the proposals for two links courses, a five-star hotel, a golf academy, nearly 1,000 holiday homes and 500 private houses in one of the biggest single property developments seen in Scotland.

Following the decision, the flamboyant American property tycoon threatened to pull out of Scotland and take the scheme, which would be worth more that £100 million a year, elsewhere in Europe.

Oh boo hoo, Donald Trump. Take your money and your environmental nightmare elsewhere. I'm sure you'll be greeted with equally open arms "elsewhere in Europe."

The scheme was opposed by conservation groups which warned that the Trump International Golf Links would damage the dunes and wildlife on the 1,400-acre site near Balmedie.

Time for a little trash talkin'

No, this isn't a post about Campaign 2008. It's a post about, well, trash.

Saturday afternoon I was driving home from visiting my parents and listening to NPR. It's a little confusing to do that right now, because the local DC NPR station now has several channels in HD radio, and it seems that most of my favorite shows are on those channels. Hence, I started listening to a show I don't normally listen to, “Marketplace.”

This is how I found out about “Tess' Trash Challenge.” Basically, the challenge is to take responsibility for your trash for a week. As in, instead of throwing it in a trash can, you have to carry it around with you wherever you go. From the story:

For the most part, I've been able to recycle or compost most of my waste this week. We should have had a scale today, but I don't think there's one in the office. I can definitely say that I did not generate six pounds per day -- which is the national average. That would be 35 pounds or so to carry around and I'd be developing some nice guns.

I'm finding that the bulk of my "tossage" is happening at work. Our building's recycling program only allows office paper, glass bottles and aluminum cans. That's it. Quite frustrating. For example, that Starbucks cup that holds my grande extra-hot nonfat latte? Goes in the recycling bin at home. Goes in the garbage at work.

I'm not sure I'm ready to sign up for the challenge, but it certainly got me thinking. Even just visualizing carrying around my trash for a week is enough to make me stop and think when I'm about to throw something in the can. We switched over to cloth napkins a while ago, so we're good there, but we do occasionally use paper towels. And we're very good about recycling bottles and cans and paper, but what about all that extra packaging? You know, the little sheet of plastic from the box of tea? And, of course, there's the food scraps. We've tried composting, and maybe we will try again this spring. But living in the city makes it a very demanding practice, as our many little rodent friends would love to get at some corn cobs.

If you're interested, try out the challenge yourself (at the very least, try to imagine it, as I have). You can read more at Tess' Trash Challenge.

Rules of the Trash Challenge:

• No kitty or doggie poo (it's a health risk)
• No carrying into restaurants or malls where I could get kicked out
• Really smelly stuff goes inside extra Ziplocs
• If it's recyclable, you don't have to carry it around
• Trash from work is included, as is trash from the rest of your household (i.e. if your honey tosses it at home, it goes with you...)

If this was my money ... oh wait! It is!

Oil prices broke a new record, $93 a barrel. Yes, for a non-renewable energy source. As in, one day it will run out.

The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are expected to be at least $2.4 trillion.

Crazy me, I wonder if that $2.4 trillion wouldn't be a little more wisely spent to research renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and water.

Just sayin'.

When bees vanish, say goodbye to your fruits and veggies

As I was channel surfing last night waiting for the World Series to begin (yay for the Red Sox!), I came across two separate shows about the mysterious disappearance of honey bees in recent years. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, the cause of the current situation has the scientists somewhat baffled. From Bloomberg:

Colony Collapse Disorder remains an entomological enigma a year after it was first described by U.S. beekeepers. The syndrome, in which bees abandon their hives and die, has been found in at least 35 states, a Canadian province and parts of Europe, Asia and South America. The collapse hurt a quarter of U.S. beekeepers, wiping out 45 percent of their bees on average.

As a gardener, and someone who in general spends a lot of time outdoors, I feel as though I have a pretty good understanding of appreciation for the intricacies of nature. Yet even I have a hard time grasping the impact that the disappearance of honey bees would have on our food sources. But it's not just about honey. If you take a step back from the produce department of your local grocery store and picture the life of that apple you hold in your hand, you'll see what I mean. Virtually all the fruits and vegetables we eat have flowers that are pollinated by bees. Without the pollination step, the plants won't produce fruit. Instead, the flower will simply dry up and fall off.

In normal circumstances, the bee who found this apple flower would buzz on back to the hive and do a nifty little dance telling the other bees where this great orchard of pollen can be found. For some reason, today the bee who goes out, doesn't come back to the hive. Eventually all the worker bees stop coming back, and the colony at that particular hive is gone.

To quote a beekeeper in the CBS 60 Minutes story, “Most of the people in this country have no idea what it takes to put the food on their table.”

Are we all about to find out? You can learn more at the web page for Nature's program, Silence of the Bees.

The White House's new spin: Climate change is good for you!

Yay! No more pesky cold winters!

From White House spokesperson Dana Perino:

"But it is true that many people die from cold-related deaths every winter. And there are studies that say that climate change in certain areas of the world would help those individuals."

The White House's environmental lapdog, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), tried its best to support Perino with a straight face, saying:

"It is important to consider both health risks and health benefits of climate change. We rely on the best available science to guide our policy decision process," said spokeswoman Kristen Hellmer.

CEQ used findings from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, but didn't quite give the whole story. From the AFP the IPCC report states:

"Studies in temperate areas have shown that climate change is projected to bring some benefits, such as fewer deaths from cold exposure," according to the Summary For Policymakers of the IPCC report.

But "overall it is expected that these benefits will be outweighed by the negative health effects of rising temperatures worldwide, especially in developing countries," it said.

Another section of the report suggested a "mixed" impact on malaria, restricting the range of the deadly mosquito-borne illness in some areas, expanding it in others.

Big Blog Roundup, Cowgirls and Cowboys

I'm trying to get back to work today, so am sending you off into the blogosphere to check out some interesting stories I've come across.

From Crooks and Liars:

Paycheck to Paycheck in Bush's America:

The AP has a dispiriting story about the economic pressures facing American families who live paycheck to paycheck. (thanks to reader R.K.)

The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder. What used to last four days might last half that long now. Pay the gas bill, but skip breakfast. Eat less for lunch so the kids can have a healthy dinner.

From Americablog, Iraq war veteran John Bruhns writes

The National Guard is overextended and broken along with the rest of our Army. We are in the midst of a total national security nightmare- courtesy of George W. Bush.

This president has not once called upon Americans to serve their country. He just tells us to go shopping while he touts the all volunteer Army.

Instead of breaking our military Bush should go to each college campus and rally the “Young Republicans” to join the fight. Then Bush should go on national television and call on all the true believers of his war in Iraq to put their blood and money in the game. Finally, just for shiggles, Bush should call his goofy pal Bill Kristol and ask him to encourage Matthew Continetti to join the Army or Marine Corps. I would love to see him get a taste of the war he so ardently supports.

Read more here.

From ThinkProgress:

Conservatives boo the American public
During a GOP presidential debate last night, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) said, “I think the American people — if we as a party realize this and understand it — seventy-some percent of the people in America want the war over with. They’re sick and tired of it. And they want our troops to come home.” Paul was immediately drowned out by a chorus of boos from the audience.

Watch the video here.


ThinkProgress also has this, which I hope will not be viewed by climate change-doubters in the audience as more false information being spouted by "socialists," in this case the National Weather Service:

Climate change dulls fall foliage

Forested hillsides in New England are usually “riotous with reds, oranges and yellows” at this time of the season. But many trees are now “going straight from the dull green of late summer to the rust-brown of late fall with barely a stop at a brighter hue.” According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in Burlington, VT, have “run above the 30-year averages in every September and October for the past four years, save for October 2004, when they were 0.2 degrees below average.”

Climate Change: How can anyone even question it anymore?

One of the most amazing things I heard from the Sunday morning talking heads yesterday was lunatic pundit George Will's anger at the awarding of the Nobel Peace Price to Al Gore. Will was seething that such "baseless" claims of global warming were being recognized. He trotted out the ancient argument that "scientists don't agree" on the amount of polar ice melt, and that the current warming is all a part of nature's course.

To their credit, the other three on the panel (Sam Donaldson, Cokie Roberts, and George Stephanopolos) calmly refuted his tirade, albeit with a bemused look at the sad little man. All three agreed that while there may merit discussion on the severity of the problem (is it just the polar ice cap that's melting, or Greenland, as stated in An Inconvenient Truth?), there is no question that global warming/ climate change is a real problem.

I came across an interesting website that gives information on the efforts of companies to adress this issue. Because after all, even though you and I do everything we can to recycle, reuse, and reduce, the biggest impact is by far from manufacturing and other large corporations. You can see “who takes climate change seriously” (obviously George Will's name is not there!) at ClimateCounts.

For example, while it's true that “nobody doesn't like Sara Lee”, you might not like her so much after you read that she's basically doing nothing to decrease her rather large footprint. However, you will be pleased to know that Unilever, makers of Country Crock, Hellman's, Knorr, Lifebuoy, Lipton, Lux, Pond's, Slimfast, Vaseline, Wishbone, Dove, Ben & Jerry's, and I Can't Believe It's not Butter, among other things, has been tracking and reducing their impact on globla warming since 1995.