7 Generations

2006-10-24T16:44:00.000-05:00

7 Generations

Here is legal information related to GMO seeds and a court decision favoring farmers. I got the info from an ag attorney I met at the Sustainable OKC Green Drinks night last week. His name is Harlan Hentges.

Here is a link to a relevant page on the website of the premier U.S. ag law scholar.

http://www.ageds.iastate.edu/aglaw/index.htm
Here is this quote from a concurring opinion in a case which lays the foundation for nonliability of the farmer for patent infringement. The next question is whether the owner of the genetically engineered seed would be liable for trespass. This case does not answer that question. And I don't think the law has reached that quetion yet.
Paroxetine hemihydrate is presumably a synthetic compound, created by humans in a laboratory, never before existing in nature, that is nevertheless capable of "reproducing" itself through a natural process. SK II, 247 F. Supp. 2d at 1022-23. This crystalline compound raises a question similar to one that might arise when considering the invention of a fertile plant [*1361] or a genetically engineered organism, capable of reproduction, released into the wild. Consider, for example, what might happen [**82] if the wind blew fertile, genetically modified blue corn protected by a patent, from the field of a single farmer into neighboring cornfields. The harvest from those fields would soon contain at least some patented blue corn mixed in with the traditional public domain yellow corn--thereby infringing the patent. The wind would continue to blow, and the patented crops would spread throughout the continent, thereby turning most (if not all) North American corn farmers into unintentional, yet inevitable, n7 infringers. The implication--that the patent owner would be entitled to collect royalties from every farmer whose cornfields contained even a few patented blue stalks--cannot possibly be correct. The underlying question that engaged the district court, and that led it to develop numerous alternative holdings, is why this implication is incorrect.SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Apotex Corp., 403 F.3d 1331, 1360-1361 (Fed. Cir. 2005)

The Great Warming

2006-10-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

After watching Bill Moyers, "Is God Green?" and hearing my evangelical friends talk about what's happening in their churches, I'm convinced there is a groundswell movement mounting that won't be ignored or stuffed back in the bottle.

This article from BushGreenwatch.org recaps some of what we've already discussed on this topic but also noted there's a documentary coming out, "The Great Warming," narrated by Alnis Morissette and Keanu Reeves which ....

"... depicts the threat global warming poses to millions of people, particularly the world's children, the poorest and the most vulnerable. The film also showcases the recent engagement of religious groups in confronting the enormous challenge of global warming. "

The Great Warming is set to open in 34 theaters around the country on the weekend of November 3. To find out where the film will be playing, visit www.thegreatwarming.com. Unfortunately, Oklahoma is not yet on the list.

A Thirst for Change

2006-10-23T18:06:00.000-05:00

My biggest take-away from Sunday's screening of "An Inconvenient Truth," was people want to do the right thing, they want to change the way they live, and they want our leaders to step up to plate and help us get there.

We had great attendance at both screenings: 50 plus Sat. evening and 100 plus Sun. afternoon. I was told the discussion was lively Sat. evening and I can testify it was again so on Sun. In fact, we had to basically bring the discussion to an end. Jennifer Gooden did a great job of facilitating. People wanted more, were asking questions, asking for the DVD to set up more screenings, and so on.

Kenny promised the group Sun. afternoon that we would host another screening at Mayflower once the DVD comes out.

I did a quick scan of the survey forms and they are overwhelmingly postive. The only negative comments were related to logistical issues currently beyond our control, i.e need a bigger screen and a means of blocking the light from the big window.

Thanks to the task force: Bob and Carol, Kenny and Anita, Linda, and Jennifer for organizing a very successful event and to everyone else for supporting it! Great energy, good karma!

The Energy Diet

2006-10-09T12:21:00.000-05:00

From the NY Times, one man's thoughtful article / essay on reducing your carbon footprint. Might be a good one to hand out at the screening and for discussion in 7 Generations group.

An Inconvenient Truth in OKC

2006-10-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

AIT details: Free screening open to the public of "An Inconvenient Truth," Sat., Oct 21, 6 pm & Sun., Oct. 22, 1 pm. Jennifer Gooden, president of Sustainable OKC will be on hand after Sunday's screening to lead a discussion and Full Circle will be at Sunday's screening with related books.

Dates for inconvient truth

2006-09-19T20:32:00.000-05:00

Hey all,
Finally figured out how to do this.....I'm so proud!! Anyhow called the church and nothing is booked we just need to figure out which weekend is better for all parties considered. It is either going to be the 7,8 OCT or 14,15 OCT in order to give us enough time to prepare the church and the media aspects of a screening like this. Drop me a line at my and let me know which dates are best.
Have a good one
Kenny

Fiddling While the Planet Burns

2006-09-19T09:47:00.000-05:00

Great editorial at scientificamerican.com in response to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial entitled "Hockey Stick Hokum."

Points out the inconsistencies of the WSJ editorial deriding Michael Mann's study on global warming and why the WSJ editorial is wrong.

The piece also indirectly brings up the role good science plays in our lives.

2006-09-17T16:40:00.000-05:00

This is the link to the website where you can get all of Eco Economy for free in Adobe PDF format.
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/Eco_contents.htm
Enjoy......

interesting article

2006-09-08T15:37:00.000-05:00

i got this off my yahoo news.

Christian group encourages recycling

By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 8, 3:50 AM ET
Tending to your soul at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Boise, Idaho, involves recycling old cell phones and printer cartridges in the church lobby, pulling noxious weeds in the backcountry and fixing worn-out hiking trails in the mountains. This is part of the ministry of Tri Robinson, a former biology teacher whose rereading of the Bible led him to the belief that Christians focused on Scripture need to combat global warming and save the Earth.

"All of a sudden Boise Vineyard is one of the most important driving forces in our community for the environment," Robinson said. "People say, 'Why are you doing that?' Because God wants it."
Many evangelicals have dismissed environmentalists as liberals unconcerned about the economic impact of their policies to fight global warming. Long-standing distrust between the two camps over issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage has discouraged evangelicals from joining liberals on the environment.

But shared concerns over global warming and protecting the Earth are bringing together the two groups in ways that could make the Republican Party more eco-friendly and lead some evangelicals to vote Democratic.

In signs of change, Robinson had a representative at his environmental conference recently, and the Sierra Club invited Calvin DeWitt, a University of Wisconsin biology professor and a founder of the Evangelical Environmental Network, to its summit last year where it declared global warming the top issue for the coming decade.

"More and more evangelicals are coming to believe creation care is an integral part of their calling as Christians. It is becoming part of their faith," said Melanie Griffin, director of partnerships for the Sierra Club and an evangelical.

Dewitt said evangelicals will not call themselves environmentalists.
"They are going to call themselves pro-life," he said. "But pro-life means life in the Arctic, the life of the atmosphere, the life of all the people under the influence of climate change."
The last time the environment was a major political issue was the 1970s, when rivers were catching fire, acid rain was killing lakes and Earth Day was created. President Nixon, a Republican, signed landmark legislation to combat air and water pollution, protect endangered species and create the Environmental Protection Agency.

Since then, League of Conservation Voters scorecards show Democrats getting greener and Republicans browner.
President Bush earned the organization's first "F" for a president.
Hoping to sway Bush, 86 evangelical pastors, college presidents and theologians signed a letter in February calling on Christians and the government to combat global warming.
One of the signers was Bert Waggoner, national director of The Vineyard USA, a network of more than 600 churches with 200,000 members.

"If you believe, as I do, that the ultimate end is not the destruction of the Earth but the healing of the Earth, you will be inclined toward wanting to work with God to see it restored," he said.
Much of the old guard remains unmoved.

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the country, adopted a resolution in June denouncing environmental activism and warning that it was "threatening to become a wedge issue to divide the evangelical community."

Focus on the Family leader James Dobson admonished evangelicals to remain focused on stopping abortion and gay marriage.

The Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, which includes Christian leaders with close ties to the Bush administration, argues that if humans are responsible for global warming, the costs of preventing it outweigh the harm it causes, said spokesman Calvin Beisner.
"This is not a split," DeWitt said. "It is a transformation. What you find in the evangelical world in contrast to mainline denominations is that they are very suspect of authority."

A Pew Research Center for the People survey this year found that 66 percent of white evangelicals said there was solid evidence the Earth was getting warmer, with 32 percent blaming human activity, 22 percent natural patterns and the rest undecided.

John Green, professor of political science at the University of Akron and a senior fellow of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, sees evangelicals, particularly the young and educated, increasingly interested in issues that could take some of them out of the Republican Party.
"Climate change is not only a part of this but perhaps the most public part," Green said.
Robinson said he voted for Bush in 2004 because of his opposition to abortion, but it was a tough decision, making him feel he was voting against the environment.
"If the conservatives want the Christian vote, they are going to have to address this," he said.
The pastor feels like Noah cutting his first tree to build the Ark.
"God blesses small beginnings," he said. "That's why we're trying to get people to recycle — do the little things. I believe God will meet us."
___
On the Net:
Let's Tend the Garden conference:
Sierra Club:

from the co-op page

2006-08-23T18:32:00.000-05:00

did u guys read the story on the ok coops web site about the chickens that are grown on farms have to be given to the customers by the person that raised them or be subject to the laws of this wonderful state!? its crazy! i agree with the guy who wrote it that its all in the name of...drum roll please....corporations!
whatever!

How not to treat the brown cow

2006-08-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

Just how organic is organic milk? If you keep up with happenings in the organic industry, you know there's a movement underfoot powered by corporate agribizness to undermine organic standards and that many of those same corporations are already interpreting organic standards very loosely. In the case of dairy farms, the standards pertaining to the access of cows to range free in pasture is at issue, with some large-scale organic dairy operations running factory-type farms where animals have extremely limited access to pasture or where "pasture" is a tiny plot of brown dirt.

For the citizen who just wants to buy untainted organic dairy products from farms that treat animals humanely, how do you determine which brand is actually delivering the product you want.

Enter The Cornucopia Institute, a a progressive farm policy research group based in Wisconsin and director of the Organic Integrity Project. At the group's Web site you can look at various reports on organic dairy farms, including score cards for leading organic dairy brands. Individual score cards may surprise you. For instance, the leading brand of organic milk, Horizons, was not forthcoming with information, and a number of organic groups are calling for an investigation into their questionable practices. For that reason, the brand received only a 1 out of a possible 5 points.

Center For New American Dream

2006-07-30T15:02:00.000-05:00

The organization that I mentioned in class today is called "New American Dream". "The Center for a New American Dream helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice. We work with individuals, institutions, communities, and businesses to conserve natural resources, counter the commercialization of our culture, and promote positive changes in the way goods are produced and consumed."

Check it out, I think you'll like it. They promote many hands-on activities that I can incorporate into my daily life, and I always enjoy reading about activities taking place around the world that we can learn from.

An earth friendly alternative to AAA

2006-07-25T12:35:00.000-05:00

Hi guys! I figured out how to do this blogging thing!
I was fishing through the 'car talk' npr guys site the other day and I found that they endorse an auto assistance club called Better World Auto Club. What I found out was that AAA (which me and Kenny have) actually lobbies in favor of highway spending, has denied that cars are a big source of smog, are pushing for less spending on pollution control and less spending on mass transit and bike trails (I got this info from sierra club). Better World (Oregon based) is eco friendly in that it donates 1% of their profits to environmental cleanup and offers discounts toward the purchase or rental of hybrid cars, insurance, lock-out service, pretty much everything that AAA has only...smarter. If u already have a AAA membership, better world will cancel it for u and give u a better price or match what AAA charged you. Anyway check it out! I have yet to let Kenny know but I think he will want to switch too.
I like things that I can change like this cause its not drastic. Its a baby step in the right direction. And I know im not going to line the pockets of transportation lobbyist.
luv
Anita

Big Ideas in a Small Package

2006-07-25T12:29:00.000-05:00

How much house do you need? Jay Schafer, founder of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, shows it may well be a lot less than you think. Schafer's company offers houses that measure just 100 square feet and says his creations take a fraction of the time to keep tidy a regular home does. His Web site, Tumblweedhouses.com features more than 10 designs, some of which feature tiny gabled roofs. The houses are priced between $20,000 and $40,000, and have a kitchen, bathroom, and room for appliances -- even stacked washer and dryer combinations in larger models. In this UPI story, Schafer told CBS news the homes are built to withstand winds of 180 mph, and said he spent an Iowa winter in one and paid just $170 for heating propane the entire season.

I'd say he's definitely reducing his ecological footprint.

Go to his Website and you'll see he's getting tons of press. NPR did a story and apparently there will be something in the New York times soon.

Recycling correction/update

2006-07-25T08:48:00.000-05:00

I have learned that Hite plastics that I linked to in a previous post, recycles large manufacturing strips and materials. So, they aren't what most of us are looking for. They referred me to Recycle America Alliance, who is the recycle company that contracts with the city. They WILL take all recycled plastics from numbers 3-7! We can drop them off at their OKC location anytime. She said that the container for plastics "probably says glass", and we are to use that container. It is located in their front parking area. They also take all paper and cardboard. Their address is 5519 NW 4th St, (Reno & Macarthur). They send their goods to a mill in Lawton, Alabama and other places. Hopefully I can learn more when I visit.

Unfortunately, I haven't been saving those plastics, but I will start doing so now. I'll let you know my experience once I have enough to drop off.

Thanks!
Karen

Carbon Rising

2006-07-20T11:15:00.000-05:00

Tom Brokaw's special on global warming on The Discovery Channel, "Global Warming: What You Need To Know" -- which does double duty as explanation and call to action for average Americans -- had terrific visualizations graphically illustrating just how much carbon typical Americans produce every day in our lifestyles. Can you say MASSIVE?!?

Black cubes representing carbon use sized for the amount of carbon produced would rise in the air every time someone in the "John Doe family" drove the SUV, cooked on the electric stove, flew in a plane and so on. Needless to say the sky was black with all sizes of carbon cubes rising in the air. Ick!! The Discovery Channel is running the special several more times so you still have a chance to catch it. Here's a schedule.

And speaking of rising carbon, British environment minister, David Miliband has hatched a plan most radical: A user pays scheme based on personal consumption of carbon dioxide. All British citizens would be issued a swipe card with equal credits for carbon use. Those Brits who drive gas guzzlers and jet off to Fiji for holidays would eat their credit faster and have to buy more. Those who ride bikes or use renewable energy sources would need less credits, and could sell spare points to a central carbon bank. Everyone from the Queen on down would be required to abide by the system, with deductions being made wherever a purchase of non-renewable energy was made.

Minister Miliband said, "If you think about us as individuals - we are emitting about four tonnes of carbon every year and that's probably three times as much as we can afford...” He sees the scheme run on the same basis as customer loyalty cards already in place. The Isle of Wight has been proposed as one possible location to run a pilot trial to test the idea. Read the whole story in the UK Guardian.

The philosophy behind the program: Actions have consequences i.e. choose a lifestyle producing tons of carbon and because that lifestyle has deleterious effects on us all, you pay more. Choose a more responsible lifestyle and you're rewarded. Makes sense. Could we do something like this in the USA?

Recycling plastics

2006-07-16T14:44:00.000-05:00

As we know, The City of Oklahoma City provides recycling for number 1&2 plastics. Other plastics can be recycled at Hite Plastics or at other locations outside of the city. The second link provides an opportunity to search for recycling centers across the US. Anita - thanks for finding this information!

The Creaky Machine of Change

2006-07-10T13:43:00.000-05:00

Seems everywhere you turn these days the environment is in the news and people are taking steps to conserve, becoming aware of the need to live more sustainably. My mother is giving me articles and editorials on global warming and buying organic food, my day trader brother-in-law outfitted his house with solar panels, is building an off-the-grid second home, and is sending copious emails with links to green articles. In mainstream news outlets like Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, rare is the day when an environmental story doesn't figure in a major way in the news mix. The creaky machine of change is screeching to life.

Here's a mix ... green soup if you will ... of happening green stories in our world.

Newsweek tops the charts of mainstreamers with their cover on "Why Environmentalism is Hot." Great series with some very interesting info. Basically it says citizens are taking charge, doing it themselves and driving change. Check it out. There's a great line about eco-friendly businesses " ... participating in a 'rebranding of the environmental movement' away from preachiness and toward creating jobs, enhancing national security and having fun." (Why does change always seem to involve some form of "branding?" :-)

Oklahomans living close to a Continental Carbon plant near Ponca City, Oklahoma, say they've been left unprotected from the effects of the plant's emission of fine particles of carbon black. Their farm animals are actually turning black. Many of the residents are Native Americans who say it's time to give their Indian reservation control over environmental regulation. Living on Earth has the story.

Quick. What society is matriarchal, peaceful and uses sex to deal with competition and anger? If you answered the bonobo ape, you win! Another fascinating story from Living on Earth about the bonobo ape who is as genetically similar to humans as the chimpanzee. These peace-loving apes live in matriarchal societies and use sex to deal with competition and anger. They reside only in a very small area of forest below the Congo River in Africa and they've been at risk in recent years because of civil unrest, logging, and hunting. The Bonobo Conservation Initiative is creating a refuge for them called the Bonobo Peace Forest. Living on Earth explores the unconventional society of the bonobo, and what it will take to save this make-love-not-war species.

What does it take to get healthy food in the school cafeteria? Two angry moms can tell you. Frustrated by the overly-processed food their own children ate at school, Amy and Susan joined forces to make a movie. While making the film, they discovered a number of innovative programs to feed students healthy, locally-produced fresh food. You can join in a nationwide effort to address the poor quality of so much of the food schools serve to students by helping these moms make the movie. It's a non-profit organization. Check Two Angry Moms out here.

Top your next building project off with a little greenery ... literally! Green roofs are the latest rage in design and represent opportunities for significant social, economic and environmental benefits, particularly in cities. Europe has long led the way in this technique. Now in the U.S. Chicago is leading the way with plants and grass on the rooftops. Read more about green roofs in this story from Christian Science Monitor.

Extreme Poop

2006-06-13T09:57:00.000-05:00

Gross amounts of chicken poop in the water of the Illinois River -- we know it's there, we know it's a problem, we know the controversy pits the "Davids" (those concerned about public health and the impact to Oklahoma's tourism industry) against the "Goliaths" (large-scale confined animal operations) with deep pockets.

Of course the large-scale animal industry, known as CAFOs (concentrated or confined animal feeding opertioins) is fighting the regulation of animal waste and any fines that come out of the pollution. And of course they have on their side vast coffers and lobbyists out the wazoo.

Their latest effort is to spin the issue thusly: Regulating the application of animal waste will hurt farmers, including small-family farmers, because the big-bad government will come in and fine you for applying animal manure in your pasture.

This is grossly misleading and yet another example of corportism -- government run by corporations using coporate profits to manipulate the message, scare the general public and have their way, regardless of the damage they do to public health or the environment.

Oklahoma's Attorney General Drew Edmondson explains the issue is not about applying manure to a field -- which is actually a good thing when done correctly. Rather he explains it's about extreme amounts, too much, all in one place, which overwhelms the ecosystem's natural ability to break down the manure to enrich the soil, and instead pollutes the land, the water and all the species relying on the water. Simply put -- it's too much of a good thing.

Read more about it in this Chicago Tribune article, "Fowl runoff spurs fierce poultry fight."

Tyson is one of the key players in this battle and are mentioned in the above article. They treat their contract farmers horribly, forcing them to assume all the risks associated with raising chickens. In order to make more profit, they encourage inhumane practices toward the chickens, and are not good stewards of the environment or responsible corporate citizens. It's why I stopped buying any Tyson products several years ago. I urge you to do the same. When enough of us do so and their stock price plumments maybe they'll change their bully ways.

Back to the Future

2006-05-30T08:32:00.000-05:00

James Howard Kunstler writes frequently about peak oil and its anticipated impact on our way of life. In this article, "Pricey Gas? That's Reality," he highlights many of the issues he dives into in more detail in his book, "The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Convrging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century."

Of particular interest to those of us who remember with some fondness the days of traveling by rail, he advocates a national effort to refurbish our nation's rail system.

"We'd better start paying attention to the signals that reality is sending or we will be living in a very violent, impoverished and demoralized nation. And we have to begin somewhere, which is why I suggest we start by rebuilding the national passenger railroad system. It would have a significant impact on our oil use. It would put a lot of people to work on something meaningful and beneficial to all ranks of American society. The equipment is lying out there rusting in the rain, waiting to be fixed. We don't have to re-invent anything to do it.
The fact that we are not even talking about such solutions shows how unserious we are."

Ironic a mode of transportation we discarded 50 some years ago may now prove to be a lifeline ... back to the future baby.

Cigarettes Don't Cause Cancer and Other Industry Myths

2006-05-25T13:20:00.000-05:00

Seems like every time a study comes out or scientists goes on record about climate change, industry and associated think-tank cronies belly up to the Muddy Waters Bar -- not to be confused with the famous blues man of the same name.

Anticipating the release of Al Gore's movie about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) -- a/k/a prominent arm of the oil and gas industry cleverly disguised as a think tank -- has released a series of television ads labeling concern about global warming as alarmist. Read the story here.

One scientist whose Antarctic ice-sheet report is featured in the ads has denounced CEI for quoting his study out of context and "... confusing and misleading the public."

Welcome to the Muddy Waters Bar! Serve up a tall drink known as Doubt ... confusion and inaction follow, craven interests and money win again. Who cares about the future anyway when Brangelina's baby beckons?

My favorite quote in the story came from David Doniger, the climate policy director with the Natural Resources Defense Council, who said climate change skeptics are not even the minority but rather are ...

" ... the fringe. It's the same as with tobacco. To claim that fossil fuel emissions don't cause global warming is like saying cigarettes don't cause cancer."

An Inconvenient Truth in OKC

2006-05-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth," about global warming is coming to Oklahoma City on June 23 at Quail Springs. Turnout for the film will of course make a statement about where the public is on this issue. You can pledge to see the film here. Make the pledge and pass on the info!

Cat 6 Hurricanes Anyone?

2006-05-22T17:46:00.000-05:00

With global warming driving more intense hurricanes, scientists are saying it may well be time to add a Category 6 to the Saffir-Simpson hurricane category scale. Read about what a Cat 6 hurricane would mean and predictions for the 2006 hurricane season here.

No Bar Code

2006-05-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

Hat tip to Julia for sending an amazing article our way.

Joel Salatin is an author, farmer and food activist featured in an article in Mother Jones magazine entitled, "No Bar Code," written by Michael Pollan. Pollan has coined many a missive about nature and food, (Botany of Desire and his latest The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals), and visited Salatin when working on "Omnivore's Dilemma." Mother Jones ran an excerpt of this provocative book (link is at the end of this post) that not only mightily pricks your appetite for healthy food but brings the alternative food movement fully into view.

One of the article's meaningful quotes came from Salatin ....

"...whenever I hear people say clean food is expensive, I tell them it's actually the cheapest food you can buy. That always gets their attention. Then I explain that, with our [meaning the food he sells from his farm] food, all of the costs are figured into the price. Society is not bearing the cost of water pollution, of antibiotic resistance, of food-borne illnesses, of crop subsidies, of subsidized oil and water—of all the hidden costs to the environment and the taxpayer that make cheap food seem cheap. No thinking person will tell you they don't care about all that. I tell them the choice is simple: You can buy honestly priced food or you can buy irresponsibly priced food."

Check out the whole article here.

Confessions of a composting newbie

2006-05-18T14:10:00.000-05:00

I apologize. I thought I had already provided a link on this blog to the composting recipe; must have dreamed it. Composting recipe.

Anyway, these are easy guidelines for composting, providing lists of what materials to use and how to layer. As most of you know I don't have a compost bin just a pile fenced in with bricks at this point and it works just fine. One year on the pile is working like crazy, full of worms and humus with a rich loamy smell!

Confession: I confess I departed from the recipe and do not do the layers of dirt or two inch layers for that matter as the recipe says .... yet my pile is producing great compost. I guess composting is not an exact science after all.

Here's to earthworms and composting!

Kick the Oil Habit

2006-05-18T12:54:00.000-05:00

The Center for American Progress highlighted info on this story on their Web site. Here's a way to stop feeling helpless and do something!

"Last night, actor and activist Robert Redford appeared on CNN's Larry King Live to discuss rising oil prices and to promote American Progress's Kick the Oil Habit campaign (www.KickTheOilHabit.org). Redford explained, "I think it's important to see the true story being told about how we got there, why we've had a lack of political leadership on the issue and what the solutions are and how the American people, by looking at this campaign, can get involved and push, pressure their elected officials." One of the solutions Redford mentioned is to promote the usage of E-85, an alternative ethanol-based fuel. The show also highlighted a new online video calling attention to the disastrous consequences of America's addiction to oil. Watch the video and take action at KickTheOilHabit.org."

Triage for Post-Peak Oil Age

2006-05-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Thinking through what will happen as demand for fossil fuels continues to grow and supplies continue to tighten is a little like watching the ripples from stone hitting water. Ever outward the ripples go, contained only by the size of the body of water. In modern-day society, the fossil fuel ripple effect is so complex it's mind-boggling.

Kurt Cobb is just one of many thinking about those ripples, of what will happen, what will survive from our current society, what won't. Read this and see what you think.

Mind Bending

2006-05-17T16:46:00.000-05:00

Here's a story on world-science.net about a study that postulates a universe existed before ours. The first thought that came to mind: Did a rapacious, dominate species gobble up every resource in sight or hidden, in that universe too?

Powerdown or Collapse?

2006-05-12T09:24:00.000-05:00

What will American society be like when gas is $5, $8, $10 a gallon? Tom Whipple, The Weekly Focus, Falls Church, Virginia, posits somewhere in between technology-will-save-us-with-alterative-renewables-with-some-government-intervention to total collapse. Read the full article here.

Gaseous Feeling

2006-05-08T15:47:00.000-05:00

High gas prices giving you a gaseous feeling? Here are a couple of guys who say they've tested and rated driving tips to give you the ones that provide hybird-type savings without buying a new car. We Test the Tips

The websites I promised on Sunday

2006-05-08T15:31:00.000-05:00

Hi folks, it's Julia. I'm writing to post some of the websites that I found but neglected to bring to the meeting on Sunday.

www.responsibleshopper.org is a website that lets you view the ethical practices of corporations, and will also allow you to write emails to them. Diane, I think this is the answer to our prayers!

www.ombwatch.org/tricenter is a website that gives strategies for combating the Bush administration's shielding of industrial polluters.

If you want to reduce junk mail, you can go to the the Direct Mailing Association to take you off mass marketing lists. This is the weblink to get you started.
www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html

You can pay 5 dollars to have your name added via internet, or you can send in a request for free.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Julia

The Way We Eat

2006-05-08T14:18:00.000-05:00

Very intriguing interview on Salon.com with author Peter Singer, best known for his 1975 book, "Animal Liberation." Here's a link to the interview: The practical ethicist

My favorite quote in the interview is the last one, "Avoid factory farm products. The worst of all the things we talk about in the book is intensive animal agriculture. If you can be vegetarian or vegan that's ideal. If you can buy organic and vegan that's better still, and organic and fair trade and vegan, better still, but if that gets too difficult or too complicated, just ask yourself, Does this product come from intensive animal agriculture? If it does, avoid it, and then you will have achieved 80 percent of the good that you would have achieved if you followed every suggestion in the book."

The book he references is his latest entitled, "The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter."

News Flash: Humans are Contributing to Global Warming

2006-05-03T07:41:00.000-05:00

"Who could have known?!?" written with dripping sarcasm! (Hat tip to Julia for this lovely phrase suitable for repeating.)

This recent study highlighted in today's NY Times merely confirms what 95 percent of the world's leading scientists and climatologists have already concluded. and have been writing about for years.

One of the lackeys of our nation's incompetent pres sez voluntary caps on emissions are still the answer. I wonder if any of these skeptics would eat in a restaurant that only "voluntarily" followed health departments guidelines? Yet they're willing to leave a potentially catatrosphic issue to be voluntarily solved - a so last-century solution. If this wasn't such a serious issue we'd be laughing all the way to our yet-to-be-built earth-sheltered, solar-wind powered, low-impact house.

Feeding Frenzy

2006-05-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

Do you find yourself in a quandary over food choices? Despite all the labeling and info we have these days if you're attempting to eat healthy, eat fresh food, fewer processed foods and more sustainably raised food, sometimes the more you know, the more confusing it becomes.

I stumbled across this article in The Independent, "What not to eat: the truth about food," which provides a lot of helpful information, including some items I hadn't read before -- like apples raised in the conventional method can be up to a year old before they hit the super market. As Julia the Decider said on Sunday, "Who knew?" No wonder those conventional apples hang out in the fridge fruit drawer so long. Granted this is written with British regulations in mind yet much is applicable for Americans.

And my wondering mind raised a host of questions about U.S. regulations regarding the foods mentioned in this article. Would love to see the same food groups covered from the U.S. perspective somewhere!

Willie and the Good Food Movement

2006-04-28T16:18:00.000-05:00

Willie Nelson is tireless in his support of the small family farmer; not to be confused with large corporate farms and he doesn't pull any punches in noting the huge difference in the output of the two. Take a peak at his latest missive Save Family Farms, Save America

100-mile Diet | Local Eating for Global Change

2006-04-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

When the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically traveled at least 1,500 miles from farm to plate. Think of all the energy involved in transporting the food, not to mention it's a total disconnetion from where our food is coming from.

So a Canadian couple asked the question, "What would it be like to eat locally for one year?" And lo the 100-mile diet was born. Now they've turned it into a movement!

In Oklahoma we have a leg up on eating local with our very own Oklahoma Food Cooperative, which directly connects citizens to farmers, and we have close access to some great farmer's markets. It's a start.

Solar Century : News Release : 25 April 2006 : The Complete Solar Roof wins Interbuild awards

2006-04-27T15:55:00.000-05:00

This sounds so cool ... a solar roof that replaces a conventional roof and generates hot water and electricity even in cloudy conditions. Typical systems generate two-thirds of the hot water and half the electricity required to run a three-bedroom home. Solar Century : News Release : 25 April 2006 : The Complete Solar Roof wins Interbuild awards

Solar Flexing

2006-04-27T12:58:00.000-05:00

Solar's going big time .... World's Biggest Solar Farm Planned for New Mexico

Al Gore as Ozone Man

2006-04-26T13:57:00.000-05:00

Entitled "Ozone Man," here's a piece in The New Yorker" on "An Inconvenient Truth," the film about global warming and Al Gore's passionate campaign to tell the public what's goin' on with climate change. The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town.

Gore is also featured on the cover of this month's issue of of Wired magazine which has a whole plethora of articles about the green movement. And he makes another cover appearance with several other green celebrities on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair.

What is the value of a tree?

2006-04-26T12:43:00.000-05:00

A woman in this story says her air conditioning bill jumped upwards as much as $120 a month when a tree shading her house was cut down. What is the value of a tree? csmonitor.com

Prescribing aspirin for prostate cancer

2006-04-26T12:15:00.000-05:00

This was too funny .... one oil industry analyst called Bush's proposed measures to relieve high gas prices, " ... like prescribing aspirin for prostate cancer." Bush Calls For Probe Of Rising Gas Prices

5,000 Square Feet and a Lot of Bare Ground

2006-04-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

Bob Davis emailed this question:

"Have you ever seen any stats on how much more fuel we would consume if every American aspired to and achieved the 3000 - 5000 square foot houses being built on locations stripped of trees? I wonder what that would look like???"

I don't know but I suspect it would be frightening and probably just not viable.

Has anyone seen any data like this?

Plugged in: Ready for $262 a barrel oil? - Apr. 11, 2006

2006-04-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

Okay I got behind this week and didn't get around to posting until today. A few articles to check out when you get a chance:

On CNN Money, from a Fortune magazine writer, investors are jittery about just where the price of oil is headed ... Plugged in: Ready for $262 a barrel oil? - Apr. 11, 2006

Remember the DVD of Al Gore's presentation on global warming I mentioned last week? Well apparently that presentation has inspired a movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" that purportedly "Eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change." The movie is due out May 24 and the link below has a trailer as well as a link to the Web site for the movie. Maybe 7 Generations could go watch the movie as a field trip? ... An Inconvenient Truth

We talked about buffalo grass last week. This site has some good info -- Buffalo Grass -- and this one mentions native plants that work well in prairie gardens ... Gardening : Public : Prairie Gardens : Home & Garden Television.

A "trifecta of energy?" Yup. That's just one evening's title at the "Local Solutions to the Energy Dilemma" conference in NYC slated for April 27 - 29. Sounds intriguing ... Energy Solutions Conference

From The Union, a paper serving Western Nevada, Calif., a long article about one man's journey to build a "green house." At times he said it was nightmarish ... The Union - Today's Feature

Off or on the grid -- here's a state-by-state breakdown of which states are offering tax breaks, rebates, and/or permit net metering (allow you to sell surplus energy produced by your wind or solar system back to utility companies). Also gives a little insight into families using solar and wind power. And I thought it was interesting this was in USA Today. Shows just how mainstream this stuff is becoming.
USATODAY.com - Off the grid or on, solar and wind power gain

Even the Emerald City must learn to conserve water

2006-04-07T12:52:00.000-05:00

Seattle is ahead of the curve in a place where water is much less of a concern than Oklahoma, most of which is in a drought that's predicted to continue. Given the drought and that climate change is happening now, I wonder if OKC and surrounding areas have any plans for water conversation related to climate change impact?
Even the Emerald City must learn to conserve water

what's goin' under

2006-04-05T09:32:00.000-05:00

One of the $64,000 (okay maybe $1 million when adjusted for inflation) questions related to climate change is how coastal areas will be impacted by the rise in sea levels. Here's a link to U.S. Geological Survey maps which give you the ability to zoom in on anywhere in the world and adjust the rise in sea levels from the best case scenario (1 metre rise) to the worst (6 metre rise).

DGESL : Research : Climate Change and Sea Level : Sea Level Rise

a whole lotta green goin' on

2006-04-04T11:26:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the 7 Generations Web blog. Got to thinkin' about it and for 7 Generations a blog seemed a more meaningful way to compile information since it allows us to discuss articles, ideas, projects and resources online. Here are a few articles to get the juices flowing. The Salon article in particular is postive and hopeful.

If you have articles or resources you'd like to see posted, ideas for this blog, send them my way.

Climate of hope. Global warming is the worst news of our time. But pessimism saps our will. It's time to embrace the challenge, and call boldly on Americans to win the fight of a lifetime. Salon.com

Forecast for prairies: Drier than a dust bowl. The Prairies are almost certain to experience future droughts far worse than the dry period that turned the region into a dust bowl during the 1930s. Toronto Globe and Mail, Ontario.

Air pollution costs the San Joaquin Valley $3 billion a year -- a husky average of $1,000 per person per year. All about how being green (or clean) can have substantial benefits -- economic, health, etc.
America's Greenest Cities - Forbes.com