I found this great website that helps you obtain a better understanding of where our food comes from. With the effort to localize agriculutre in the USA there has been some unsubstantiated rhetoric about "food miles," just because your food travelled more miles does not mean the environmental impact was worse. The inputs into the equation for the environmental impact of food transporation are: miles travlled by the food, efficiency and scale of transportation, the vehicle used for transportation and how many miles you traveled to purchase your food. In large scale agriculture food is shipped in large amounts and the fuel cost of shipping most products is 1% of the price of that product. There are other issues though that are not intrinsic to food miles, such as packaging, political context, the storage of food and the types of products that can be found on the global market.
This article titled "Avoiding the Local Trap" explains scale as a means not an end, and explores the validity of the food localization rhetoric. I support increased performance in our food system, and sometimes localization accomplishes that.
This article from Micheal Shuman highlights localization and is a primer for his book "Going Local."
I wish there was ample research on the "buy local" concept that was not a promotion or an attack and was simply an assessment of when localization increases some type of performance (environmental, social, etc) and in what situations localization has no effect or a negative effect.
This website is a local food advocacy organization and provides "buy local" information and resources, as well as the neccessary rhetoric to decorate their position.
Buying local is not an assurance of doing more for you community or environment, but it is often better then buying a highly packaged product made using toxic chemicals (check out the book "Body Toxic"). Since our economy is so globalized most efforts to localize will be better for society and the environment, but only because of the minimal scale of the effort and the fact that many large companies sell you products that do not have the full cost (negative externalities) of the product included in the price.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
The New American Farmer
This link will bring you to a page that has another link to a pdf document of the book The New American Farmer. At the end of the first paragraph click on "view."
The New American Farmer is a collection of case studies of American farmers who are farming in a new way that could be labeled sustainable. It is easier to evaluate agriculture under the criteria of sustainability because farmers are dealing with the resources on their land (i.e. soil), and if they are depleting soil quality they will notice quickly.
The New American Farmer is a collection of case studies of American farmers who are farming in a new way that could be labeled sustainable. It is easier to evaluate agriculture under the criteria of sustainability because farmers are dealing with the resources on their land (i.e. soil), and if they are depleting soil quality they will notice quickly.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The way forward
There are two noble goals that many people are striving for: environmentalism and sustainable development in the industrializing world. Accomplishing these goals at the same time will be difficult but not impossible.
The World Resources Institute asks: "Are Business and Industry Taking Sustainability Seriously?"
Transportation is such a large issue in environmentalism. Some people are optimistic about electrical cars and plug-in hybrids, others are skeptical. The Rocky Mountain Institute has some comments to make
The Rocky Mountain Institute also weighs in on "How to Design a Light, Big and Safe Car."
The Environmental Defense Fund makes a case for investing in Transit.
The World Resources Institute asks: "Are Business and Industry Taking Sustainability Seriously?"
Transportation is such a large issue in environmentalism. Some people are optimistic about electrical cars and plug-in hybrids, others are skeptical. The Rocky Mountain Institute has some comments to make
The Rocky Mountain Institute also weighs in on "How to Design a Light, Big and Safe Car."
The Environmental Defense Fund makes a case for investing in Transit.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
The world steps up to the Climate Change Challenge
The US is fast tracking climate change legislation in the federal Congress, US industry supports it, now only republicans that are repeating old arguments are the opposition and many republicans are giving up the old rhetoric so they can become involved in the shaping of the legislation.
China is investing more in renewable energy than the US and is figuring out how to become more environmental within Chinese Politics. But, the path will not be smooth as China steps away from their project of building the world's first"green city".
The British government has mandated that every coal fired power plant built from now on has to have a carbon sequestration device attached to it. This will raise the price of coal energy and clear the path for renewable energy to be cheaper for consumers. Also, the US is looking towards never building another coal fired power plant or nuclear power plant ever again.
The downturn is slowing and the world's leaders are looking to establish some permanent changes to create a more stable world economy. The recovery of the global market will decide the inertia for environmentalism and social justice. The world economy stabalizing is good for consumption and can be good for the environment, we will see the results in the next several decades.
Wave technology is developing; with large projects being started now they may be a cornerstone of our energy production in the next decade.
China is investing more in renewable energy than the US and is figuring out how to become more environmental within Chinese Politics. But, the path will not be smooth as China steps away from their project of building the world's first"green city".
The British government has mandated that every coal fired power plant built from now on has to have a carbon sequestration device attached to it. This will raise the price of coal energy and clear the path for renewable energy to be cheaper for consumers. Also, the US is looking towards never building another coal fired power plant or nuclear power plant ever again.
The downturn is slowing and the world's leaders are looking to establish some permanent changes to create a more stable world economy. The recovery of the global market will decide the inertia for environmentalism and social justice. The world economy stabalizing is good for consumption and can be good for the environment, we will see the results in the next several decades.
Wave technology is developing; with large projects being started now they may be a cornerstone of our energy production in the next decade.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Our grand Economy
The outcome of this recession will decide the fate of the environment and our ability to sustain our levels of resource use. The Economist explains well the state of the global economy and also gives a good article on the condition of banks.
The Economist also had an article this week about Brazil and their forests.
The Economist also had an article this week about Brazil and their forests.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The future begins with today
Welcome to the future; a US company is shooting for harvesting solar energy in space, the technology exists but the cost is high.
Britain is not looking so good though in regards to solar energy, Gordon Brown (UK Prime Minister) promised government investment in alternative energy but is lagging on the part where he gives alternative energy companies money.
Wind Power is doing well in this recession. Wind power has a promising future but we have to find a better way to build these things, it takes a lot of steel to build a single turbine.
MotherJones gives an informative rant on our economy and the waste we create, we throw away enough aluminum every three months to replace the world's plane fleet. Finding our way to a new economy is difficult, it takes us being informed and driving the market with our consumption, or lack thereof.
A recent "green" hype for governments is to offer cash for old cars, seems like a good idea, right? This article is critical of the idea, and so am I. I think that we should be putting new non-combustion engines in old cars, it is the most efficient way to change over our vehicle infrastructure. The only reason governments are so happy about this program is that it can temporarily push up the purchase of new vehicles from failing car manufacturers. We spend too much energy keeping dying industries afloat, we should be focusing on retraining our workforce to work in the economy of the future.
Oil prices are low and staying low due to increased demand from the current recession. I will always say this about oil prices: as long as oil prices are low private investment in alternative energy will be slow.
Stoves in poorer regions of the world: a new focus for abating climate change. Sometimes environmental degradation is due to poverty, solution: either buy them new stoves or develop their country out of poverty.
Obesity is killing us, in many ways. Check this out: many environmental problems would be less severe if people in the industrialized world ate less food and less meat. The damage we cause by eating so much meat is unneeded. Vegetarianism is not the answer, just eating less meat. Why do we as a society take so long make such needed changes?
Telsa is creating more affordable electric cars.
Britain is not looking so good though in regards to solar energy, Gordon Brown (UK Prime Minister) promised government investment in alternative energy but is lagging on the part where he gives alternative energy companies money.
Wind Power is doing well in this recession. Wind power has a promising future but we have to find a better way to build these things, it takes a lot of steel to build a single turbine.
MotherJones gives an informative rant on our economy and the waste we create, we throw away enough aluminum every three months to replace the world's plane fleet. Finding our way to a new economy is difficult, it takes us being informed and driving the market with our consumption, or lack thereof.
A recent "green" hype for governments is to offer cash for old cars, seems like a good idea, right? This article is critical of the idea, and so am I. I think that we should be putting new non-combustion engines in old cars, it is the most efficient way to change over our vehicle infrastructure. The only reason governments are so happy about this program is that it can temporarily push up the purchase of new vehicles from failing car manufacturers. We spend too much energy keeping dying industries afloat, we should be focusing on retraining our workforce to work in the economy of the future.
Oil prices are low and staying low due to increased demand from the current recession. I will always say this about oil prices: as long as oil prices are low private investment in alternative energy will be slow.
Stoves in poorer regions of the world: a new focus for abating climate change. Sometimes environmental degradation is due to poverty, solution: either buy them new stoves or develop their country out of poverty.
Obesity is killing us, in many ways. Check this out: many environmental problems would be less severe if people in the industrialized world ate less food and less meat. The damage we cause by eating so much meat is unneeded. Vegetarianism is not the answer, just eating less meat. Why do we as a society take so long make such needed changes?
Telsa is creating more affordable electric cars.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A Climate Change Bill: it is late, but it has arrived
Obama is drafting a climate change bill, finally! The climate bill establishes a cap-and-trade system for CO2, an ambiguous issue thus far is how many of the permits for emissions trading will be auctioned off and how many will be given away. This piece from MotherJones explores the subject.
A short article on how when industrial agriculture has to pay for externalities it is not cheaper than organic agriculture.
As money dwindles for investors people that use money to promote causes (ex: environmental, justice, poverty reduction) are less active. The economist gives an interesting article on the subject.
Climate Change will effect everything, even national parks in the US. The CSMonitor reports.
A short article on how when industrial agriculture has to pay for externalities it is not cheaper than organic agriculture.
As money dwindles for investors people that use money to promote causes (ex: environmental, justice, poverty reduction) are less active. The economist gives an interesting article on the subject.
Climate Change will effect everything, even national parks in the US. The CSMonitor reports.
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