AliveAndKickN

It's like the Civil War

Six days after the earthquake in Haiti, pictures continue to pour in showing the conditions.  People can't get food, water, medical supplies, and more.  Surgeries are taking place without sterilization and anesthesia.  Somehow the media gets in.  Of course, as is standard when a disaster takes place, the fundraising goes crazy.  No one should feel guilty about only giving in times of need.  Unfortunately, times of need are every day.  Some 50,000 people are presumed dead, with hundreds of thousands displaced.  When you look at other parts of the globe, due to strife, famine and wars that never end, these are average yearly numbers.  It's easier to sell a shock to the system.  It's more difficult to sell a systemic problem that has lasted for years, decades, even centuries.  So here's a question - what do you do with the displaced people?  Take them into the US?  If so, do they immediately become registered voters?  No, I'm not kidding.  Move 50,000 people into the correct state, and it may turn from red to blue, or vice versa.  As someone who lived in New Orleans for 4 years, I was familiar with the terrain, and the structure of the housing.  Adding several feet of water from Katrina, and you have a need for razing entire areas and starting all over with proper planning.  It didn't happen, and because of it, renovations still haven't taken place.  What will happen in Haiti and whose decision is it?   

Of course if you watch the news and get past the bipartisan earthquake story, we get back to the politics as usual.  What's wrong with the country and who's to blame for it?  Obviously the other side.  For the last several weeks and months, the widgets have been moving off the shelf for my business.  Gotta admit that it's enjoyable, but it definitely takes away from the ability to make differences elsewhere.  Hopefully, getting some help on the Sustainable Jersey front will enable things to get done without my time.  Obligations.  There are worse things.     

An Eco Semi-Conscious 4th of July

     My wife decided, tha t even without 2 of the 3 kids in the house, we My wife decided, that despite 2 of 3 kids being out of the house, we needed to get away.  So, from the Edible Jersey magazine, she found what turned out to be a perfect getaway, at least for us.  The Laurita Winery, in the heart of horse and farm country, was terrific.  250 acres of vineyards, an 80% recycled 30,000 square foot building and Bed & Breakfast, a horse farm for recovering racehorses, and more.  The vineyards are hand-sprayed so no airplane spraying.  They use solar panels.  The wood is reclaimed.  There is a field of wildflowers.  Unfortunately, I don't see how the math will work for them.  Based upon the guide, they should generate just over a million a year in sales, but my math guesses their annual expenses as close to a million as well, if not more.  This obviously doesn't factor in the upfront costs to create this oasis.  Anyway, my wife and I did our best to help the cause.  Between what we spent on the stay, the bat house (no I'm not kidding), some wine bottles, the food while there, and of course the horseback riding, we did ok.  I would certainly recommended it again.  After leaving, we stopped at a few local farms, and picked up some Jersey blueberries, some tomato plants, some wildflowers, and a few desserts for the ride back. 

While at the B&B, I was able to catch up on some reading.  I read about a more eco-friendly fireworks display, which is taking some hold, but the cost is prohibitive currently.  Again, upfront costs versus costs later on, due to drinking water issues.  I also found a copy of New Jersey magazine from last year.  It was a special pet issue, where they profiled some pet numbers.  In our little state, there are 2.2 million dogs registered, and 2.4 million cats registered as pets.  Now, if 40 thousand are adopted annually, this means that most of these are created on purpose, aka puppy mills.  That's a lot of reproduction, pet food, poop, and to a significant extent, plastic bags and/or kitty litter.  This doesn't even address fish tanks, horses, snakes, and all of the other stuff people keep as pets.  Now I'm a dog lover.  My wife's dog Sadie the wonder beagle earns her keep by chasing rodents from the garden, and she stays in the yard, where her stuff gets mixed in with the landscaping.  Think about the pet indstry math, and it helps you think about why some other countries dislike us so much.  Working animals make sense.  Animals lying around taking psycotropic medication to offset their anxieties?  

I also read Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation."  300,000 Americans killed in WWII.  Almost 2 million injured.  Amazing sacrifice. 

   

A Microcosm of our Problems

Once again, my wife's annual stationery show is taking place.  Another few days of semi-torture for me, not because I don't like working with her in the booth, but because of the entire environment there.  Let's analyze the situation.  People fly into New York from all accross the country to visit Manhattan, no problem.  The show is at the Javits Center, a massive glass structure with thousands of inefficient metal halide lights, and you can't refill coffee without using a disposable cup or the vendor won't get paid.  Fine.  But then you walk the aisles.  Hundreds of thousands of square feet of two-sided duct tape, disposable carpeting, disposable foam-core walls, disposable furniture - all in the name of selling what?  Painted plastic gnomes, cheap wrapping paper, Karl Rove bobbleheads (I made that up but that one's kindof funny).  You get the point.  Over the last few decades, people have made very nice livings for themselves by hocking cheap crap.  And now that the economy has toileted, I wonder if these are the very same people having the most trouble sustaining?  Unfortunately if so, the no-benefit workers who churn out the singing birthday cards and Molly Cyrus snowglobes are the first ones to lose their jobs. 

For the shameless plug, I am very proud of my wife's business.  The quality and attention to detail is impeccable (she has great taste in everything except men).  Almost all of the material used for her cards is recycled or non-tree, and the letterpress is handcranked (great for the arms).  There's almost no waste whatsoever.  Unfortunately, we're in a current world where cheap is still the norm.

In a few days, the show will be over, and everyone will head for the airports, leaving behind almost everything except the suitcases full of clothing and souvenirs.  The Javits Center staff will come through and throw it all away to get ready for the next trade show. 

Just pile it on

It seems that the rough news keeps piling on this weekend.  A plane crashes in Buffalo, the coal industry wins the ability to increase mountaintop coal mining, and NY Governor Paterson appears to be giving up on his soda tax.  The Cruise Line industry is taking heat finally for their environmental history.  With the economy in its current state, the cruise line industry is still poised to have millions of consumers on board this year.  For the few thousand dollars per person, you can eat enough for a year in one week.  Bring some empty luggage and take home leftovers.   

Random thought - Why are there no limits on executive pay for military contractors?  We spend about $700billion (number sound familiar - stimulus?) a year on the military (half of the world's total expenditure), yet CEO's of General Dynamics, Lockhead Martin and Haliburton are free to make whatever they can.  Are there any military cuts as part of the stimulus or is it exempt?  Eldest and I watched Miracle at St Anna last night (not your typical Valentine's movie, but everyone was sick).  So much spent in the art of killing others.  Amazing, and completely foreign to me.

Yoplait has stopped using dairy products (milk) from cows injected with rBGH.  Way to go, but more importantly, why does the US still allow its usage, considering it's banned virtually everywhere else internaitonally?

Buried in the backpages

Once again, looking to get past the Presidential race and the bailout oversaturation, I found some good stuff to chew on.  Atheists are suing Presdent Bush regarding the mandate of the National Day of Prayer that has apparently been around for a while (did Hallmark create this?).  Religious or not, I'm pretty sure that this is something that falls under the separation of church and state.  How about a don't pollute day?  It can start on the fifth day of May each year, and end on the fourth day of May the next year.  Then we can start again.  Speaking of President Bush, apparently he is scrapping plans to meet with Iran because it might affect the upcoming Presidental race.  Are you kidding?  If Iran is so dangerous and our national security is in such a fragile state, why wait until January to start the negotiation process?  Are they that worried that Obama is correct?

On a different and local note, NJ transit is planning an additional shuttle between Tenafly and NYC.  From what I've been told, 85% of the Bergen County workforce doesn't commute to NYC.  Yet, most if not all of the mass transit is designed with a NYC destination in mind.  With a greater population than at least 7 states in the union, I'd like to see an east-west Bergen system as well.  Imagine the ability to take light rail from the East Hill to Route 17, or Ridgewood, or beyond.  It would certainly help us locivores, as well as employees of the biggest growth sector of Bergen County, healthcare.  A 90% S.O.V. travel rate is just not sustainable, especially if gas remains about $3/gallon.