Friday, August 29, 2008

VP picks and the Race for the White House

The last week of the Obama vs. McCain race for the White House has been an exciting one. Now that both nominees have picked their running mates and we are in the intermission between the Democratic and Republican conventions, the end of the Bush Administration finally seems to be coming into sight. So what, if anything, do the candidates VP picks say about their environmental positions? More specifically, what do their VP picks say about how they will address the most pressing environmental challenges of the 21st century: accelerated and extreme climate change and energy insecurity.

Let's take a look at Sarah Palin first. According to the McCain campaign, Gov. Palin "has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources." They claim she is equally as "mavericky" as John McCain and will be willing and able to help squeeze the influence of oil companies and other special interests out of our system while moving America on its path towards energy independence. Yet, when you take a look at Gov. Palin's record and her history on environmental and energy issues, you can't help but come to the conclusion that a McCain/Palin white house would be business as usual when it comes to energy and global warming.
Here's some interesting facts on Gov. Palin that point to her being much more of a Dick Cheney like VP (with his connections to Halliburton) than the type of energy reformist the McCain campaign claims she is and that this country needs.
-Opposes a windfall profits tax on oil companies
-Is the chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multistate panel "that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and the environment"
-Proposed eliminating Alaska's Gas Tax
-Wants to open ANWR to drilling
-Palin's husband is also an oil production operator for BP.

Do we really need another Vice President with such deep ties and loyalties to Big Oil?

By the way, here's a nice little quote I stumbled upon from Gov. Palin: "A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute [global warming] to being man-made."
Seriously? But wait, I thought John McCain prided himself on differing from his party on the issue of Climate Change?

All of this just points to the fact that John McCain does not seem to be truly concerned about accelerated and extreme climate change, energy innovation, or having the influence of oil companies whispering into his ears and those of his administration. The greatest evidence of this is his recent reversal of his opinion on offshore drilling and the "Drill here, drill now, pay less" dogma he and his colleagues have been shoving down the throats of the American people. John McCain continues to erode whatever semblance of environmental credibility and potential he may have ever had.

What about Joe Biden's record?

-For starters, Joe Biden has been a longtime leader in the Senate on Climate Change issues. In 1986 he introduced the very first bill designed to limit global warming pollution, the Global Warming Protection Act.
-Cited the energy crisis as America's top priority in his primary campaign for the white house last year.
-He is endorsed by the environmentally-minded League of Conservation Voters with an 83% lifetime voting score on environmental issues.
-During his time on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden has been a harsh critic of the oil industry and oil subsidies.

With 35 years of experience in the Senate, Biden now chairs the Foreign Relations Committee. As Joseph Romm pointed out in a recent article for Grist , achieving a comprehensive, binding, international treaty on Climate Change will be one of the most difficult and important task facing the next administration. This is where Biden's experience will truly prove salient. "The great challenge...will require not merely strong domestic action by the world's richest country, the one that has admitted by far the most cumulative amount of carbon dioxide. It will also require global leadership by us, the ability to negotiate one-on-one and collectively with every major country in the world...The Democratic team now has onboard...one of the most qualified people in the country to help lead that effort from the White House, which is where it must be lead from."

Or, you can hear it from Biden himself, "I would be most capable of getting this country back into an international climate regime, getting us back to the table the fastest and with the most prospect for success, because of my extensive engagement in foreign policy...To deal with global warming, you have to change the attitude of the world, particularly China and India, the two largest developing nations. But in order to do that, to have any credibility, you have to begin here in the United States by capping emissions, increasing renewable fuels, establishing a national renewable portfolio standard, requiring better fuel economy for automobiles."

When it comes to energy issues, global warming and the environment, John McCain used to seem like at least a decent moderate choice. Fortunately for swing voters concerned about these issues, he's making the decision making process a lot easier by showing that his true loyalties lie more closely with his special interest supporters than the American people. Barack Obama, on the other hand, has proven his commitment to addressing these issues with his selection of a running mate with a long-standing, positive, environmental record.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Ditch the Lawn and Ditch Summer Mowing.

(I actually wrote most of this post a week ago but got sidetracked and didn't post it until now).
The past week, I’ve been visiting my parents back up in Northern Minnesota and helping them out with some work around the house. This of course, meant getting reacquainted with my childhood enemy, the Toro lawnmower. Growing up, my brother and I used to hate mowing the lawn-we had a pretty decent sized lawn to tackle and thought we’d much rather be playing soccer on our lawn than trimming it. While I’m still not a fan, the good news is that my parents have expanded their garden so much since my siblings and I moved out that it takes about half the time it used to.

Anyways, this got me to thinking again about the environmental impacts and implications of lawns in America and all the great alternatives to cookie-cutter lawns that exist out there. If being more green, saving money on mowers, maintenance and gas, or avoiding the weekly summer mow interest you, then read on!

I’ll begin with a quick bit from grist.org about the environmental impacts of lawns in America:
“First of all, lawns are an environmental nightmare. Lawns are America's single largest irrigated crop. They cover over 49,000 square miles, three times the area covered by corn, the next biggest crop. (By contrast, concentrated solar power plants covering an area 1/6 that size could provide 100 percent of U.S. electricity.) They drink up between 30 and 60 percent of urban freshwater and are doused with more than $5 billion in fossil-fuel-based fertilizers and $700 million in synthetic pesticides a year (numbers as of 1993; hard to find anything more recent, but we can assume those numbers have gotten much larger via the housing boom). Most of the water and fertilizers are wasted through poor doseage and timing; both wash into overburdened sewage systems. America's lawnmowers burn 800 million gallons (and spill more than an Exxon Valdez's worth) of gas a year in horribly
inefficient engines, producing up to 5 percent of total U.S. air pollution.
So anything that can replace lawns -- drought resistant landscaping, stones or gravel, or, yes, a food garden -- is a blessing.”-David Roberts, Grist columnist.

That said, what are some other options for lawn-care? Here are a few things you can do to reduce your impact while mowing or options for lawn replacement.
Option A:
Replace it. There are many things you can replace your lawn with: a vegetable garden, flower garden an orchard, native grasses, a stone paths, butterfly gardens, moss, etc. Anything that reduces the amount of surface area you have to mow will be a benefit in many ways. My parents have successfully cut out probably 40% of our lawn’s surface area and replaced it with strawberry and blueberry plants, numerous vegetable plots, flowers, trees, bushes and other shrubs. If you take the gardening route, obviously this has numerous other benefits: including having fresh, locally produced, produce right in your backyard.
-Moss also makes an excellent, very low maintenance option as well: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/garden/01moss.html?_r=1&ex=1210305600&en=93604bf920ba0613&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin
-Or try a Raingarden: http://sustainablecommunitysolutions.com/2008/07/30/of-rain-barrels-and-rain-gardens/

*Here’s a few suggestions for how to get rid of the old grass before replacing: http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2002/09/19/umbra-lawnkill/index.html


Option B: Keep it, but green it: Okay, there’s a reason why so many Americans love lawns, and realistically for many of us they aren’t going anywhere. Especially for those who have no public parks nearby for their kids or pets to run around in. But, at least reduce your lawns nasty impact. Here’s a few things to do: Reduce the frequency of your mowing. Use a push mower if you have a smaller lawn. Lay off the pesticides. Don’t water: this will simply make your lawn grow faster and force you to cut it more quickly. If you’re in a dry climate, let your lawn grow out longer to prevent burning and browning.

All right, that’s it for my rant on lawns. The next post will probably be a little less practical and a little more political.

Friday, August 15, 2008

End of the Internship

Well, my seven and a half week stint with the Center for Sustainable Living officially ended earlier this month. It went by extremely quickly, and I found that it is very difficult to jump in and try to tackle large projects in a new community. Over the summer, I had a successful crash-course in small-time community organization and advocacy, building many connections with community members and learning much about local politics, the environmental blogosphere and community living. I learned that what sounds good on paper or works in one community oftentimes meets roadblocks and delays along the way. Unfortunately, with the short time-line we had, even small delays could sideline entire projects.

Therefore, we didn’t fully accomplish several of the community projects I had hoped to, but I've had the chance to get the ball rolling on several projects that have been researched and can be pursued in the future. Some of the projects still in the making include: Pedestrian Only Street Days (which was greeted with both excitement and skepticism from community members and which we decided a better goal for this would be the summer of 2009 rather than 2008 since there is much organizational and advocacy work to be done for this) a free school, where environmental workshops could be taught to interested community members, and several composting projects, including holding a community compost bin sale and continuing to guide Bridgewater Elementary School on their goal of teaching their kids to separate and compost their food waste at school.

I'm hoping to follow up on Pedestrian Only Street Days throughout the school year and hopefully it can kick off the following summer. The goal of this is to get people outside, to build social capital and community well-being, and to promote non-motorized types of transportation. If realized, it would consist of blocking off a section of downtown Northfield (on Division from 2nd-5th Street) to automobile traffic on a monthly, bi-monthly or weekly basis during the summers. Basically: More walking, more talking, less driving. I envision live music, street vendors, sidewalk dining, maybe some of kind of themed workshops on biking, pedestrian safety, etc. on Thursday evenings. Other cities (Toronto, Bogota) have had a lot of success with similar programs and I could see it being a huge hit in Northfield, but there's still a lot of organizing work to do. Even NYC has been trying this out with a huge chunk of Manhattan: . And so has San Fransisco: http://carfreeusa.blogspot.com/2008/08/come-out-to-play-in-san-francisco.html

The internship overall was a great experience. I learned an incredible amount about a wide range of topics and was fortunate enough to have the opportunity and freedom to pursue many different projects. Thanks especially to the CSL, Nate, Kris and Scott for that. I've decided to keep this blog-at least for now. I'm gonna to write in it as often and for as long as I feel is possible into the school year as long as people are reading it and finding it somewhat useful or enjoyable. From this point on I'm going to be writing almost entirely about whatever environmental and politic issues are pertinent or related things that come to my mind. Hope it's enjoyable!