New Sustainable Guru!! Woo hoo!! March 15, 2010

In October 2009, President Obama created an executive order for federal sustainablilty. The General Services Administration has created the position, the Chief Greening Officer. The Chief Greening Order will be in charge of including green practices in all General Service Administration corporations. There will also be a committee of green officers who will assist the chair in “going green.” These representatives will be chosen from 11 different regions. These representatives  can be in various fields of work such as engineering, architecture or even music.

It’s really inspiring that our government is actually showing an interest in incorporating green practices. I’m really surprised that the government implemented a chair dedicated to better sustaining our environment. I also think it’s cool that you can be in any kind of career field to be a part of the committee! I think this action will inspire more of the American people to make more sustainable choices now that we have our political leaders as role models. Hopefully this action will have long lasting effects and not be just a new trend that the government will address and then set aside for a time.

Los Angeles is catching up to Portland March 12, 2010

Los Angeles is banking on recycling

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We’re all pretty proud and confident that Portland is one of the most sustainable places in the United States. However a recent article in the Los Angeles Times proves that LA is making efforts to be green too.

Los Angeles already reuses or recycles 65% of their waste, but their Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has announced that they are striving for a goal of zero waste.

The city has developed a program called RecycleBank, which promotes citizens to recycle more beer bottles, newspapers, and other recyclables. The program gives points to residents who recycle, and they can make up to $400 dollars per blue bin per year. Pretty cool way to get some money back into the bank.

RecycleBank is earning the city money too. Rather than spending $30 to dispose of items, they are earning $25 revenue by recycling it. Los Angeles has found a way to both aid the earth and economy.

Sustainable=Weed March 10, 2010

Jack Herer; an unashamed stoner, but also one of the most intelligent, inspirational, and sustainability driven people of our time…

“If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation…

Then there is only one known annually renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world’s paper and textiles; meeting all of the world’s transportation, industrial and home energy needs; simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time…

And that substance is—the same one that did it all before—

Cannabis Hemp…Marijuana!” (Herer)

But is the solution to all of our global problems really that easy? Yes, it is. Hemp fibers can easily, and more efficiently, replace most every wood, cloth, and plastic product produced at present. Hemp, as a matter of fact, used to do this. The Mayflower sailed to this great country bearing hemp sails and ropes. Even the pre-industrial American government subsidized hemp. Yes, the American government subsidized weed. They accepted hemp as America’s number-one cash crop because in a 20 year span, hemp can produce 4 times the amount of usable pulp than the same acreage of forest can. Hemp can grow in most every climate, and even rebuilds damged soil. Hemp fibers can even be compressed into usable planks to build houses!

I know you love your hemp bracelet, but rendering hemp so useless is very much like forcing Eintein to be the dude that walks around downtown Portland changing the public garbage can bags.

Visit Jack Herer’s website, at jackherer.com, get your hands on his book, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” and advocate against the tyranny of big businesses hushing up this information.

Urban Growth Bounty 2010 March 3, 2010

In Portland (going through the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability) I learned that there are several classes offered during the year involving various things including: “vegetable production classes, advanced chicken and bee sessions and a cornucopia of cooking courses.” This idea of being about the have small garden or places to grow home-grown plants and domestic animals is extremely interesting and I enjoy how the city of Portland takes it up on it self to educate its inhabitants on how to do these things. It says that there are certain instructors that specialize in various areas and it is an extremely useful to beginners. There is even a portion on the website that allows you sign up online! What a useful feature! I think that you are charged per session ranging from $35 a session to three sessions for $90 – but the prices change depending on the class and the instructor.

CHECK IT OUT!

To check it out make sure that you their website.

San Francisco Gets $171M Loan February 23, 2010

San Francisco, California plans to create a new sustainable transit center. Two years ago, the new build was approved to replace the old Transbay Terminal which currently serves as a hub for long distance buses. The revamped terminal is estimated to cost approximately $4 billion. Not only will it be created as a new transit center but it will also integrate several different “green” concepts.

I think the money used to create this new terminal may cost more in the long run. Using that $171M could be put towards several various concepts to create a more sustainable environment. I mean, yes it’ll be better for the environment but creating an entirely new terminal may cause more pollution than it’ll save in the future.

For more information visit: http://transbaycenter.org/project/transit-center

350.org December 2, 2009

350.org is an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis–the solutions that science and justice demand.

This video sums up what 350.org is all about.



On the weekend of December 12th, 2009 the United Nations will host a two-week long conference for world leaders to meet and discuss what to do to about the global threat of climate change. This year the meeting will be in Copenhagen, Denmark. There, delegates, non-governmental organizations, and businesses from every nation will meet to finalize a new global climate change agreement.

How can you do your part?

There’s a global mobilization coming together for the weekend in the middle of the Copenhagen conference–Dec. 11-13. There will be big rallies on Saturday in many cities around the globe, and on Sunday communities of faith the world over will ring church bells, beat drums, blow horns — all 350 times. Go to 350.org to find a location right here in Portland

You can also add them on Facebook and get updates and see how you can help.

will you do your part?

Don’t turn a blind eye to the long term effects of Chernobyl! November 23, 2009

On April 26, 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. It was an accident, and it didn’t have to happen. These reactors work, for lack of better terms, by using control rods to monitor the nuclear reaction. Usually, the correct amount of rods for the reaction is present. Because less control rods were present, less control could be obtained. This resulted in one of the most massive nuclear power plant disasters ever.

The explosion sent massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere, contaminating local crops and causing cancer and birth defects to people in the surrounding area.

Although it has been over twenty years, the explosion still causes problems for people.

For more information try:

“Chernobyl-The Real Story” by Richard Francis Mould

“The Truth About Chernobyl” by Grigori Medvedev

 

 

The Nigerian Government Takes a Stand Against Climate Change! November 18, 2009

                On May 13, 2008 a bill was debated among Nigerian Senators about enacting a National Climate Commission. The commission would be responsible for “strategic planning and co-ordination of national policies in the field of climate and development.” This was a very controversial action. Some leaders and citizens did not believe that climate is an issue that needs to be dealt with, at least not immediately. Others did not think that the bill was plausible. However, Nigerian Senators did pass the bill on July 23, 2009.

                I think that the government should be involved in this issue. It’s really cool to see government officials who are aware of bigger problems and are actually doing something about it. I’m really interested to see what kinds of actions the commission will take against climate change, and if they will set a precedent for the rest of the world of government involvement.

                I also think that governments that are taking measures against climate change and other environmental issues need to more publicly alert their citizens and encourage community involvement. In my opinion, the condition of the environment is put on the back burner of the U.S. government concerns. I would like to see more involvement on the behalf of our elected leaders in making a more environmentally sustainable world for all of us.

Climate Change November 16, 2009

“On Feb. 2, 2007, the United Nations scientific panel studying climate change declared that the evidence of a warming trend is “unequivocal,” and that human activity has “very likely” been the driving force in that change over the last 50 years. The last report by the group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in 2001, had found that humanity had “likely” played a role.” (NYTIMES)

After attending a lecture (sitting next to Prof. Scheller) about climate change and the various effects it has on the planet, I decided to look deeper into exactly what is the issue and is there anyway that we (as a society/race/species) can slow down, stop, and even REVERSE the adverse effects we have inflicted upon our planet.

Lately it seems like climate change is a topic that many people have been bringing up and I have even heard it talked about in regular conversation, but it is not something that I feel we are urgently trying to deal with. What are we planning on doing with this?? It is having disastrous effects on biodiversity and even soon to be crop diversity. In the latest article we read for class, Brown and Funk state that, “some of the most profound and direct impacts of climate change over the next few decades will be on agricultural and food systems.”

What are we as a society doing to stop this? I don’t believe that “going green” is really the adequate answer seeing as not everyone is doing it (Montana doesn’t know this concept about green except for the fact our trees happen to be that color).

Climate Change’s Effect on Animals October 21, 2009

Due to climate change, there has been immense changes in the behaviors of animals, insects, birds, and plants. These changes are as diverse as the species are on the Earth. Some mammalian species are going into hibernation earlier or breeding later, while others are seeking higher altitude habitats to live in. Also, several species have increased mass due to the climate change and food availability.

For example, polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt seals and to move from place to place. If the summer sea ice melts completely (as many environmental models show will occur THIS century) the numbers of polar bears will decrease dramatically.

Insects, too, are feeling both positive and negative effects from the climate change. In certain places the insect population has shrunk from where it usually would flourish and vise versa some insect populations are booming where they would not normally occur.

More Information:
Ecosystems & Biodiversity