AliveAndKickN

An old dog learns some new stuff

Tonight, I participated in the first of hopefully many meetings to take place among the environmental councils for all of Bergen County.  There were some real informative presentations, ranging from recycling to green shopping, river care to tree care, and more in between.  New stuff worth mentioning - aside from the usual 3 "R"s of reduce, recycle and reuse, they recommended the Reject and React "R"s as well.  In other words, if you, as a consumer think that something is bad for the environment, reject the purchase and/or react by telling the company your thoughts (I don't like the packaging, etc).  I also learned more about the IPM method of landscape care.  Essentially, many bugs are good.  One additional subject that caught my attention is the Clean Communities Grant.  Apparently, about .0003 of every dollar spent on items that theoretically create pollution (fast food, bottles, tires) goes to a grant that is used for clean communities in NJ.  I haven't read the fine print, but I'm wondering if the percentage is negotiable.  A total of $78,000 collected for Bergen County may be significant, but it may not be significant enough to cover the true cost of the continuous clean up and the budgetary shortfall we are facing.  Rain gardens have been proving to be effective in storm water recapture and reduction of runoff.  I'm pretty sure no one likes a water system filled with pet poop, wrappers, and landscape chemicals.  Meadowfest is scheduled for June 14 this year so mark your calendars.   

It was good to be around so many who are doing so much.  We didn't get into food and energy politics, but we only had 2 hours.  Of course, as I was leaving the County complex, I couldn't help but notice all of the lights on in the floors that were probably empty at that time of night.  My wife was pleased that I didn't volunteer for something for a change although I did offer my idea of creating an on-line community where the different towns could theoretically share stories, best practices and ask for help.  For a change, dinner was actually put in the refrigerator and most of the lights were off when I got home.  There's still hope yet....         

Today in Daily Good

Everyday, I try to read my Daily Good email, but with my inbox inundation, it's not always easy.  Today's post caught my attention.  Apparently there is a company in Trenton (yes New Jersey) that is selling eco-friendly gardening supplies called TerraCycle.  Click on the link and you can read the rest, but the summary is that they use earthworms to create organic gardening material, they are selling their stuff nationally, and of course the big guys want to keep them down.  It's a great David vs Goliath story.  There's no car chase, nudity or gunplay, but it's worth following anyway.  Enjoy!

The ink is closer to being dry finally

Being who I am, my friends feel that they can come to me with their solutions to everyday problems with the environment, etc.  Of course it would be easier if they wrote in to the blog, but I'll transpose in this case.  Cartridge World appears to have a unique approach to ink and toner refils.  Instead of tossing them and buying new ones, you can bring them to over 1000 worldwide stores and have them professionally refilled.  The savings is supposedly a substantial 50% in cost and even more in oil/water by reusing raw material.  They supposedly pick up and deliver to businesses and schools.  I'll try it next time and compare.  Previously, I returned everything to Staples for recycling, not refilling.   

Since we're talking ink, I'll include a shamelss plug for my wife's stationery business.  She's very proud of her green credentials, especially the amount of electricity she uses in in her letterpress designs (none), and of course her proper use of paper and cleaners.  As usual, where available, local is better.   

I finally figured out what I was missing

Today in the NY Times, there was a full page ad "Tanning Causes Melanoma Hype."  The argument reads that exposure to all forms of untraviolet light stimulates the natural production of vitamin D.  And research has proven that vitamin D protects against heart disease and many types of cancer, in addition to providing other important health benefits (such as what?).  The message was brought to our enlightenment by The Indoor Tanning Association.  Upon going to the web site, apparently there's quite an uproar about the potential effects of overexposure to zappage.  Go figure.  Cigarette companies also say that lung cancer could have been prevented 80% of the time by using CT scans.  Good point.

This started me thinking about tanning salons and my other favorite outdoor activity taken indoors, fitness centers.  If there are a few thousand indoor tanning salons, and about 10,000 indoor fitness centers, what would happen if all of those people started doing exercise outside?  Just imagine if all of those indoorsies did it in the woods.  Instead of sucking electricity from the grid by running on treadmills and lying in UV coffins, how much could everyone benefit if they started and maintained gardens or vegetable patches?  Rake leaves in the sunlight instead of watching E! while on electric rowers.  Coach and play outside with a team instead of riding the stationary bike while staring at The Biggest Loser.  Clear brush and riverbanks or hike a trail instead of doing crunches.  What would be the shift in carbon footprints?

Anyway, according to the advertisements, apparently, all I need to do to ward off cancer is tan indoors, drink beer and wine, and eat chocolate.  So I guess Pop Tarts and Thunderbird can be a part of any nutritious breakfast.  I suppose I got cancer because I ate fruits and vegetables, and got my exercise and sunlight outside.  My mistake.    

   

Labels (#5 of many)...Do We Need to be #1?

As the campaign continues, I can't help but notice two directly opposite messages.  Candidates continue to say that the United States is the greatest country in the world.  Then, in the next sentence, they talk about the inferiority of different components of the country - healthcare, education, energy policy, intelligence, military capabilities, consumer advocacy, more.  Europe seems to be ahead of us on quite a few issues.  Maybe that's why we make fun of France and California so much.  Nobody likes a show-off.  With a nation this big and this diverse, is it possible and/or should we expect to be number one in everything?  In the olympics, star athletes are lambasted for losing by tenths of a second in track.  Are we even allowed to say that we're not number one without the fear of being called unpatriotic?  What would happen if a department were to say "we're ok where we are.  No additional money is needed."  Has it ever happened, or is additional money or resources the ultimate goal?  Everyone for themselves, and he who dies with the biggest share of the pie wins! 

Here's my bigger issue than being number one.  We are the most informed, or maybe I shoud say the most mislead.  If we are the most informed, how do we continue to make the same mistakes of the past, even recent past.  If it's broke, why don't we fix it, and actually strive to attain that number one status? 

We can't blame the media alone, as we the consumers are the ones eating it up.             

Water Again, Because it Matters

The family spent a day at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, as it is once again open after the renovation.  The IMAX theatre had a movie regarding Hurrican Katrina, and how the wetlands of Louisiana affected, or in this case, did not affect the hurricane.  Apparently, hurricanes have hit Louisiana for as long as anyone can remember.  Unfortunately, due to changes caused by us humans over the last several decades, the wetlands that shelter the coast are disappearing.  And without this natural buffer, hurricanes like Katrina will be able to hit the mainland unimpeeded.  I guess that's what they call risk management. 

As a sidebar to the importance of water, The Sierra Club is joining with other organizations across the country in urging members and friends to take the pledge to choose tap water over bottled water. You are urged to take the pledge and send the link to your friends, your local Sierra Club group, other networks, and local organizations.

90% of discarded bottles end up in landfill or along the roadside.  Whether you are concerned about the litter from plastic bottles, the toxicity from the unnecessary production and use of plastic, the cost to your town or city from having to dispose of the bottles, the undercutting of financing for high quality public water systems by the growing dependence on bottled water, or most fundamentally, turning water into a commodity to be sold for profit -- or all of the above -- please take the Think Outside the Bottle Pledge! When you do, you will also be taking action against a totally unnecessary contribution to potential global environmental issues!

So Fla...So Fla to go

I am currently in the midst of my whirlwind Florida tour (I'm actually visiting my father who is temporarily in a nursing home).  As I look around, I see all of the decisions of the last 25 years that really haven't seemed to make good long term sense.  The condos on the beach and the suburban sprawl heading inland.  More and more the Everglades gets squeezed from both coasts, until eventually they will meet in the middle.  Today in the Florida paper, there was an article about rock mining in the Everglades and it's effect on drinking water and more.  For years, envirnonmental groups have been fighting the practice, but more and more roads need to be built to support all of the people and strip malls.  Lake Okechobee is at drought stage once again, and the dry season is scheduled to last until June.  Each resident (and visiting snowbird) having his/her own pharmacy, supermarket, and a chain restaurant is taking its toll on the natural resources.  In order to get anywhere, someone needs to drive, and almost every highways is 4-6 lanes of stop and go traffic lights.  Having drivers 70 years apart, each and every one of them on cell phones drinking coffee is not a good combination either.

One good effect from the trip is my lack of eating.  Unable to stomach (literally and figuratively) some of the 3000 calorie appetizers at the chains, I've dropped a few pounds.  I ate exclusively at home with family.  My second biggest meal was the blue Terra chips on the JetBlue flight down.  Hanging out for several hours with my father in a nursing home, I continue to appreciate his perspectives I rejected growing up.  I could never understand why he couldn't get along with those he fult unreasonable or misinformed.  Instead of trying to find common ground, dad simply shot his mouth off and made enemies (including getting thrown out of my soccer games).  Just yesterday, I received a call from an energy client indicating that he couldn't budget a lighting project.  He couldn't understand, no matter how many times I tried, that budgeting it wasn't an option anymore.  If he does nothing, he will spend $100,000 on his lighting energy over the next 12 months.  If installs the $50,000 worth of energy efficient lighting, his lighting energy will drop to $50,000 over the next 12 months also.  In other words, he will spend $100,000 either way.  The difference is what happens after the 12 months is over.  Thankfully my mother's personality allows me not to fire off my true feelings and I agreed to continue the conversation at a later date.  I'll probably send him an anniversary card on the day his project would have paid for itself.

I hope Florida eventually becomes the solar state instead of the sunshine state.  With all of the unobstructed rooflines available, and with the entire state air conditioned, the location is perfect.  If the installation could be affordable enough so the payback period is under 10 years, I think it would work.  If energy prices continue to skyrocket, that 10 year return on investment may get shorter on its own.

What's everyone doing for World Water Day tomorrow?   

I love the night life, I've got to boogie

Tonight, I attended my Sierra Club meeting where they presented the movie "Kilowatt Ours", a documentary that talks about electricity and its effect on coal and nuclear energy usage.  Most people in the mid-Atlantic and northeast states don't realize that much of their electricity comes from coal burning power plants in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  So the movie showed the effects of strip mining and mountain top blasting in the mountains of West Virginia.  The Smokey Mountains are now literally just that, although it no longer alludes to the mist coming off of the trees.  The movie also cites the increase of childhood asthma among other things, potentially resulting from increased mercury in the air from power plants, including nuclear.  Not to be depressing, the movie turned to people and how we can reduce our electricity usage, and in turn, reduce the coal usage (at least in the U.S. since much of our coal is now going overseas where they are adding a coal burning power plant a week).  Once again, lighting is the main target.  Compact fluorescent bulbs replacing incandescent bulbs in the house, insulating attics and hot water heaters, sealing or replacing windows, etc.  It also talked about the increased amount of wind farms and solar, especially in schools.  Although estimates still have our non-fossil fuel energy creation rate at 2% or lower, it is growing. 

On my late-night ride home, as I drove on Route 23, and subsequently on Route 17, I couldn't help but notice all of the empty buildings and parking lots with lights on - car dealerships, all-night pharmacies, office buildings, even schools.  Finally, as I got off the main roads and got back into the safety of the burbs, I was pleased to see the solar lights out front of the houses.  Of course, there were the sporadic houses with electric-powered blow-up rabbits, four-leaf clovers and even holiday lights leftover from December.  Upon arrival at home, I was pleased to find my empty kitchen completely lit with dinner still on the table from five hours previous.

At least we haven't lost the battle over the highlands so far, although there is always concern about the master plan.                  

What if...Ice Cream Makers Governed Us?

With all of the financial talk lately, I took it upon myself to Google the national budget.  I wound up on the Ben and Jerry's web site.  Not a bad place to be, so I grabbed my favorite B&J ice cream, Napolean Dynamite (half Cherry Garcia, half Chocolate Fudge Brownie) and settled in.  In between tablespoonfuls (remember, I don't chew my food), I found some interesting data, which if it's true, could explain some of our shortcomings, both in finance and potentially in wisdom.  According to the pie chart, three fifths of the budget goes towards entitlement programs (debt, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security), which is mandated by law.  The other two fifths is considered discretionary.  Of the discretionary, supposedly $463 billion is spent by the Pentagon for defense, but is not currently accountable to the OIG, and in all likelihood could not pass an audit.  This doesn't even include the cost of the war in Iraq, although I can't imagine we are not paying for that as well.  Compared to the $463 billion spent on the military, somewhat less is spent on the following:

$38 billion for K-12 education, $50 billion for children's health insurance, $13 billion on humanitarian foreign aid (which I believe goes mostly to food companies like ConAgra and Cargill instead of currency that the country could put to better use), and of course a whopping $2 billion on renewable energy research and $8 billion for the EPA. 

With my meager means of research, I don't have the ability to verify these numbers.  Maybe your local congressperson does (hint, hint).  If you didn't catch the first two episodes of John Adams on HBO last night, I think you will find it intriguing.  Imagine starting a revolution of your own, knowing the potential consequences.  Could you do it?       

What if...All Lobbyists were 8 years old

Today, my wife and I attended "middle's" second grade play.  The topic was our endangered wildlife and kids were in various costumes, representing various animals - green tree frog, great white shark, sumatra tiger, grizzly bear, bald eagles, hippos and more.  They sang the song from the movie Pocohontas (Color of the Wind).  At the end of the play, they sold class-made book marks with all proceeds going to the World Wildlife Foundation.  I think I bought at least a dozen.  Now I can bookmark all of my bathroom reading instead of earmarks, and all the money went to a good cause.  Once again, 8-year olds can solve multiple problems.  Unfortunately we adults create much bigger problems that require bigger solutions. 

His teachers promised the next play would be about the importance of maximizing shareholder value, and that it would be followed by a class president contest to see which child could be the most aggressive.  No one likes a pacifist running a group, especially when the goal is to destroy as much limited resources as possible in the least amount of time.  The enemy might take advantage.

      

I promised not to preach, but...

Let’s try not to lose sight of the ball.

This week saw an outrageous week in the news.  A huge secret was disclosed that has implications for millions of people not only locally, but potentially worldwide.  And no, I don’t mean the Elliot Spitzer issue.  I mean the issue with drugs being found in our drinking water.  Unfortunately, due to the nature of the NY Governor’s scandal, nothing else will be news for several days to come, if not more.  I hope we don’t lose sight of the ball this time.  We’ve got some serious issues that need addressing, not sometime in the future, but sooner. 

As we approach the fifth anniversary of the latest crusade into the Middle East (yes I love my country and yes, I am pleased that the surge is working), we really should be focusing on the issues that are keeping this country down.  We continue to subsidize and promote the creation and marketing of cheap chemically enhanced food (free toy with every angioplasty!) to make sure that each person in the U.S. averages a healthy 3500 calories/day.  We continue to subsidize and promote the consumption of fossil fuel (what’s the spot market price on wind and sunlight today?).  We’ve promoted and invested in financial deals that had virtually no chance of success unless housing prices continued to rise every year for thirty years straight.  All that matters is quarterly earnings.  We are spending trillions of dollars on a war without end  (except on Boeing).  And there’s that debt thing.  Oh and the Constitution (is it still relevant?).

So many of the financial, social, political and diplomatic decisions we’ve made over the last several years have been off, that it’s easier to focus on the things that are truly important – steroids in baseball, illegal immigration (is it possible that we caused some of the problem ourselves, i.e. NAFTA?).  Al Queda has replaced Communism in the next Cold War.  We invade Iraq and do nothing about Darfur.  We do little about endangered forests (our policies encourage clear cutting internationally) or species (who needs fish and tigers anyway).  We still look at our whacky tax structure as an unfair “game” with the ultimate goal of avoidance in payment.  With an additional 5 million nutritionally diagnosed disease states each year, we wonder why healthcare costs are so high, and little focus gets placed on a logical future of institutional healthcare (pills for everybody!).  With a 98% dependence on fossil fuel, we wonder why we stay in Iraq and then complain when gas prices go through the roof.  Unfortunately “clean” coal (my second favorite oxymoron after healthcare) is no longer a help as the price of coal skyrockets from demand overseas, and biofuel isn’t the savior it was touted to be.  With millions going into foreclosure, and thousands still displaced from Katrina, we offer few long term sustainable housing and planning solutions or contingencies in case of something like Katrina hitting us. 

When our own Governor Corzine offers a solution (the toll hikes) to pay for previous financial shortcomings, we kill it due to the inconvenience, and offer few alternatives besides cutting heads.  We have no issue with the dissolution of the EPA that oversees the supposed 18000 toxic waste sites in NJ alone (is this number correct?).  Is it possible to look at the issues we face as an opportunity?  Can we reduce our consumption, sacrifice some of our selfish nature (we’ve already sacrificed most of our rights), get past party politics, and do something for the common good?  Too optimistic?  Probably.  I can’t even get recreational soccer, basketball and baseball to compromise over practice time.  I’d continue this but I need to put a new 125-watt incandescent bulb into my double-height entranceway (everyone should stock up before that crazy Governor of ours forces us to become energy efficient).  And for the record, I have taken steroids but I didn’t inhale.  Someday if I’m ever important, I don’t want it to come out unexpectedly.   

I realize, of course that we are not in a recession (dare I say the word), but to quote a much smarter person than me during the Great Depression – “If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline, no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective.  We are, I know, ready to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership that which aims at a larger good.”-FDR

The math on the environment

I was reading the NY Times over the weekend, where it once again described the effects of planned job cuts in NJ, and how it wil effect state services.  One component that was buried way in the back of the article talked how hard it is alreday for the State EPA to monitor the 18,000 toxic waste sites across the state.  In addition, the slower permit process has created a drag on the NJ economy.  So now the Department is essentially going to be done away with, unless the original (or an alternative method) proposal to generate revenue is enacted.  Today's headlines talk about a wide range of drugs found in our drinking water.  Now, I am not the MBA in the room, but once again, my math doesn't seem to add up.  If there are 18,000 toxic waste sites in NJ alone, and the superfund tax collection isn't being enforced, and we are cutting EPA oversight, what exactly is going to happen? 

If it means keeping our environment safer, I'll take the toll hikes over cutting the EPA.  I'm giving my $50 to www.saveourstatenj.com.  I still think we can raise revenue by going after bad habits - a tax on drive-thru food, incandescent light bulbs, and speeding tickets via cameras would certainly add up to a few hundred million/year, and still do some overall good.  I'm sure there are more options, but these seem the most obvious to me. 

Power, corruption, greed, and violence

When someone has power or control over others, what causes them to dictate terms in such a matter that makes it uncomfortable in the least, and outright deadly in the extreme?  What makes people want to be in power at all costs?  I consulted my current read, Framing the Debate, whereby President Richard Nixon in his resignation speech, cited all of his accomplishments.  Is this misleading the public or simply framing it to his purpose?  Robin Hood or Hitler.  And as always, does the end justify the means?  Mussolini used to claim that he kept the trains running on time.  How about politics on the local county level.  According to many accounts, the chairman of the party conducts business as if it his own discretion, and not based upon appropriate party constitutionality.  Supposedly county employees are appointed and representatives tow the party line.  If you are not on the inside, you are out.  No-bid contracts are handed out.  Is he a consolidator or something more?  And of course there's national political races.  What causes someone to say something so outlandish as to spread false/stretched truths about them, just to win.  "Swiftboating" is acceptable?  War for money or religion?  It's beyond me.

Last week, I was listening to my favorite radio station, 107.1 the Peak''s "10 at 10," where they play 10 songs from a certain year, this one being 1992.  In between songs, they played clips from advertisements, movie trailers, and in this case, two political trailers.  One was Bill Clinton's famous clip about smoking marijuana but not inhaling.  The other was Dan Quayle attacking Murphy Brown's character for wanting to be a single mother.  Who buys this crap?  That same morning, I learned of a business friend losing his battle with pancreatic cancer.  It made me wonder why so much of our life is spent on hate, anger and ill-will?  Maybe we can't exist as individuals without enemies.  Or maybe without fear, there is no power.             

Does it matter who gets paid for recycling?

As I was in my super-sleek minivan heading to pickup my #2 son (AKA "Middle"), I couldn't help but notice the gentleman discarding his two huge boxes curbside.  The boxes were overflowing with styrofoam and plastic wrap as he had obviously just unpacked some mail-order furniture.  Our town doesn't have plastic wrap/styrofoam recycling, so obviously it was destined for the landfill.  My institutional recycling buddies always tell me "if there's enough poundage, anything can be recycled."  So I looked into other types of town-wide recycling programs.  I didn't find anything outside of the ordinary unfortunately.  I did find a few similar stories that seemed pertinent.  One story indicated how the recycling numbers had multiplied significantly when people could generate revenue directly, as opposed to the town keeping the revenue. At our last council meeting, it was estimated that our little town was paid almost $5000 for that month in paper recycling alone (I assume at least 10% of that was from me).  So should it matter who makes the money as long as the ends justifies the means?  Would it make a bigger difference if recycling money went directly to the consumer? 

In NY, a number of colleges have banded together to outlaw styrofoam.  Are there enough alternatives to styrofoam, that its uses would be unnecessary?  Coffee, packing, anything else?  Styrofoam can be recycled, but once again, it all comes down to poundage.  I'd just assume choose the alternative.

By the way, my water collection barrels arrived today, which is good, because I was tired of retaining (especially in heels).  The kids are excited. 

Which train left the station today?

As I was stopped at a RR crossing this evening, I noticed some of the names on the rail cars, Archer Daniels Midland and Renewable Products Marketing Group.  I was familiar with ADM, but RPMG was new to me, but I think we better get used to it, as they are an ethanol and biodiesel marketing firm.  Since it was a freight train heading north out of New Jersey, I doubt any of the Heartland Institute members were on it (I also doubt any of them took a subway this week either).  Heartland finished up 3 days of seminars in NYC reiterating their claims against the threat of global warming.  The Heartland Institute promotes free market solutions to social and economic problems (I do agree with the concept of a flat tax without loopholes however).  The global warming believers point to the sponsors of the Heartland camp.  In my opinion, just because you doubt the reasons for the societal and climate issues, you should at least take steps to insure the potential for a stable future.  As I've always said, if it's not a sustainable process, does it make sense to continue - fossil fuel dependence, junk food acceptance, CAFO agriculture, two-party partisan politics?  Market forces may change our energy usage, and even our food choices (even with subsidies), but what can market forces do for endangered species or those born into a world of poverty and strife?

My usual Sierra Club email this week had 10 tips for saving gas, knowing that it could reach $4/gallon (even if no one told George Bush).  Besides mass transit where possible, one of the recommendations is less weight in the car, so I better walk the dogs a littler farther tonight.  Speaking of trains, a friend recommended solar powered "tunnels" over railroad tracks, generating electricity and reducing noise at the same time.  I'll see what I can find.  Keep the ideas coming.    

      

Interesting Weekend

Over the weekend, I had some time to scan the headlines for some good stuff.  First, I'm proud once again that one of my opinions made it into the paper.  Here in NJ, as of March 1, there is going to be fines associated with hand held cellphone/text message usage while driving.  While I don't disagree with the concept, once again, I feel it is an example of what I consider to be "product discrimination."  If we are going to go after distracted driving, we should target more than just phones, especially if the overall effect can be even greater.  Second, I saw that Aetna changed its mind on colonoscopy anesthetic coverage, at least for the time being.  Those afraid of the hose can once again sleep peacefully.  Third, I read in Parade Magazine that McDonald's has asked its chicken suppliers to "refrain" from using unnecessary antibiotics and hormones in its meat supply.  I am trying to get clarification on what the word refrain means.  And fourth, my first set of seedlings is starting to arrive.  Little broccoli and cauliflower plants are popping up in their holders just waiting for spring.  Hopefully the same will occur with the peppers, tomatoes, marigolds and lilacs shortly.  My new solar powered garden lights arrived.

At a friend's birthday party (not one of my kids for a change), it was nice to hear that my rantings are appreciated.  I often wonder if I am alone in caring about so many things.  Thanks.