Saving our Planet – a step beyond easy

In previous posts we’ve covered conserving fresh water, promoted the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs, extolled the many benefits of ride sharing and of growing food in your yards instead of lawns. All these are ways of helping reduce global warming while also providing a cash payback. But there is so much more that needs to be done!

Today we’ll move from doing the easy stuff first to doing something that requires a little effort.

Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult to compare the energy demands of similar electric devices? It is because manufacturers do not wish to give you any reason not to buy their product. The exception to this is lighting. The output of a given bulb has always been determined by the wattage of the bulb. This is not so you can compare brands. This is simply because, before fluorescent came along, it was the easiest way to select the brightness of the bulb. However, now that we have such a product as Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFLs), brightness is no longer simply determined by wattage. A 9 watt CFL will provide just as much light as a 40 watt incandescent. A 13 or 14 watt CFL provides the same light as a 60 watt incandescent. Since less watts means less energy used, wouldn’t it make sense to require manufacturers of all electrical appliances, be they refrigerators or television sets, to list the amount of watts the device will draw? To stamp the amount of watts boldly on the box?

Let me answer that for you. Yes it does!

Knowing the energy demands of products and the differences between brand names allows potential purchasers to easily make comparisons based on efficiency! When products are selected based on their efficiency, this begins a healthy competition among manufacturers to produce the most efficient product. Now manufacturers will say that they already do this. That located in some obscure place on their device is a statement such as 12 amps @ 120 vac or some such. This is meaningful to an electrician but probably not to the average buyer. Watts are simple and straight forward.

There are some exceptions. When some motors start, their watt consumption surge higher and then level off. The running watts are the ones to post. Some devices such as washing machines, have various cycles that have different levels of energy use. In those cases, post the total watt hours consumed (in the case of washing machines) for an entire typical load. Have them stamp it on the box and on the device itself – 180 watts – 1200 watts – 30 watts – whatever it is.

It may be that less is not better. In many cases more watts might do a job better and actually be more efficient. But let a buyer choose.

Let your congressman or congresswoman know that you want to see WATTS listed on the packaging of all electrical devices. Getting this accomplished will not be easy. Write a letter. Send an email. Phone.

The Omnivore’s Demise

On November 16, 2007, your Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released a 23 page report for world governments that included the following statement on its first page in bold print:

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.” The balance of the report consists of supporting data and the consequences of delay.

Unequivocal! This is a blunt warning. About as blunt as one can get. It was carried in some of your news papers for one day, and is now either forgotten or ignored. This report speaks to the greatest threat humankind has ever faced . . . far greater than your current wars or future pandemics. And yet . . .

This is what your Mother Nature can’t understand. Why would the most intellectually advanced species on the planet, with full knowledge of certain danger, choose to die? Perhaps readers can help me out here. It is a mystery to me. The report clearly shows what will happen on this planet the longer the majority of people dither. Their future is already bleak. Continuing to do nothing, or not enough, will doom everyone. Yet, for most of you, this crisis is not even a part of conversation. Is humanity committed to suicide?

Doing the Easy Stuff First

To return planet Earth’s atmosphere to its composition prior to 1850, though desirable, is probably unlikely, so long as human beings have oil and coal to burn and no tax is applied to discourage this practice. However, that target should at least be the goal if humans are to avoid extinction. Right now humans are just beginning to talk about all the other species now facing that future, completely overlooking that fact that the life form at the top of the food chain is the one most at risk.

Well, how do you even begin clean up the atmosphere? Start by doing the easy stuff first.

Your Mother Nature should not have to tell you to change all the incandescent light bulbs in your house to the compact fluorescent variety. You should have already heard enough about the reasons for doing so and made the switch. But if not, here’s why. To save money. And, to spare your planet’s atmosphere the pollution caused by burning coal and oil to generate more electricity than you would otherwise need. You see, a 13 or 14 watt CF light bulb will provide the equivalent light output of a 60 watt incandescent, thereby reducing energy consumption in this case by 77%! You would think that everyone on this planet would be lining up to make the switch. That’s not the case. Billions of people haven’t even heard about them yet. It’s time they did

Your Mother Nature should not have to tell you to “share the ride” if you commute to work. If you watch traffic stalled on freeways during the morning and evening rush hours, you will see almost all of the vehicles have only one person in them. This should be a no brainer. If everyone were required to have four people in each vehicle, that would reduce traffic by as much as 75% and, what do you know . . . vehicles would actually move during those times! Think of the savings in gasoline and the reduction in CO2 emissions.

Mother Nature should not have to remind you to use the power of the sun. But, as you have become more “modern” it seems you have forgotten such practical uses of the sun as drying clothes on a clothesline. Remember, the sun is the source of all energy and the drying of laundry is simply a direct use of it. I, your Mother Nature, should not need to remind you that every time one drys a load of laundry on a clothesline, they are saving the energy it takes to run a gas or electric clothes dryer. There is an instant money savings and a reduction in CO2 emissions too.

These are just a few things that can be done to help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cost little or no money. Quite the contrary, they all save you money in the long run. But that is a minor point. They actually work to save you.

Lawns to Vegetable Gardens

Replacing lawns with gardens for growing your own vegetables offers far more benefits than just saving enormous amounts of fresh water. The benefits go far beyond healthy eating, too.

You see, if you were to ask where much of your so called fresh vegetables come from, you would likely find many of them are shipped thousands of miles by plane from other continents! Because of this, you may enjoy your favorites almost anytime of year, regardless of their growing season in your own area.

But this is really an unnecessary and wasteful luxury when your planet is already in crisis. By insisting on having whatever you want, whenever you want it, you are helping put the finishing touches on your own civilization.

If Mother Nature were in charge of making your earthly laws, I would either outlaw the practice outright, or apply a luxury tax so high that it would pay for all the damage done to the environment. But I, your Mother Nature, do not make your laws. So this is something you should lobby your lawmakers to do. If the value of the tax were accurately ascertained, no one could afford to buy these products, the number of intercontinental air flights would go down and much less CO2 would be added to the atmosphere.

So, you see? Basically a single individual could, by dropping the rather silly practice of growing and mowing a lawn, in favor of growing and eating vegetables, by influencing friends and neighbors to do the same, ultimately have positive effects that span continents! You will be saving fresh water and lowering greenhouse gas emissions too!

All starts with your making a rather simple lifestyle change toward healthier eating. It is up to you.

Conserving Fresh Water, and more

Lest you think your Mother Nature has turned into an abusive parent, let me assure you that I really don’t want to see humanity die off on this planet. So, let me help you a little. Remember, I have already told you that you must be willing to save yourselves. Here’s a little unsolicited advice from your Mom:

Look around you, and when you do, look for stupid things that you and others are doing. If you take the time and really look, I promise you won’t have to look very far. How about looking outside your own home? Well, if you live in a typical suburban home, you will look out your front windows and over your nice green lawn to the street – or, if you look out your back windows, you will usually find yourself looking over your nice green lawn to your backyard fence. On your weekends, you will feed these lawns and you will spend precious time cutting them. Then, you will collect grass clippings into a black plastic bag and lug them to a trash container. Now I want you to sit down and think about this. Does any of this make sense to you? Does it not seem, perhaps, stupid?

Who decided that it was important to have a bright green lawn growing in the front and rear yards of homes anyway? I’m sure it wasn’t you. You just saw them and accepted it as normal. Well, as your Mother, I can tell you that this makes no sense to me. Not only that, it is harmful in a myriad of ways. I won’t list them all, but here’s a few.

You are dedicating a portion of this planet’s skin to a single species, or trying to. If other plants attempt to grow on your “nice green lawn” you will either pull them out or poison them. So now you are poisoning the earth for the benefit of your lawn. Talk about mis-placed priorities . . .

Your neighbor remarks on the fact that his lawn is greener than yours and the first thing you do is run and purchase some lawn fertilizer. Well, while this is food for your lawn, it’s eventual runoff into streams and rivers will be harmful to other species. But, it does make your lawn grow faster . . . so you can spend more free time mowing it.

Let’s talk a little about water. Not just any water, but “fresh” water. That’s the kind that is in short supply in most places on this planet. While most humans on this planet have too little to even grow food with, you are spending far more than your share on your lawn. This will make sense only if you graze a herbivore on it, or eat it yourself. My guess is that you will do neither. You grow it, you cut it, and you throw it away. While your next door neighbor, who is also accepting of this misguided tradition may admire your lawn, your neighbor in the dryer parts of this planet look on you as greedy, self-serving, and stupid.

Think for a moment about how many people are doing what you are doing. And, for a moment, imagine that instead of using this precious fluid on your lawn, you planted a vegetable garden there instead. Front yard as well as back. You would require much less water to do this. You and your family would be eating fresh foods. Your children would learn where their food comes from, and gain an appreciation of . . . yes . . . their Mother Nature. On top of that, you would be outside and socializing with your neighbors.

It is entirely possible that there are laws or regulations where you live that may temporarily stop you from doing this. Their may be county or city ordinances, or their may be deed restrictions, or a homeowners association standing in your way. Well, this is why I told you that it is the individual who will save humanity . . . if its going to be saved at all. Only the individual, and that is you, by talking with your neighbors and friends, by explaining benefits, and by convincing the authorities that laws and regulations must be changed, can the humans of planet earth save themselves. It all depends on you.

Don’t Ignore Me

In my first message to you I ended with a rather dire warning. I said that if you did not mend your ways, you would have to go.

Now some of you might think I’m being a little harsh.

I’m not.

Others of you, afflicted with a kind of blindness only arrogance can produce, cling to the notion that there is nothing that Mother Nature can throw at them that the human mind cannot deal with. They seem to dare me, with their “bring it on” mentality.

That is so foolish.

The only way left for humans to guarantee themselves a place on this planet is to lose their arrogance and lose their greed. And, they must stop depending on others to come up with the changes needed to stop the damage they are inflicting on this planet and its multitude of life forms. Every human on this planet is, in their own way, responsible for what is happening to our world today. And only you, the human individual . . . not your government, not your corporations, not your churches or your service clubs; only you can prevent the last page in humanity’s book from being written. It is up to you.

Who I am

Okay, listen up. This is your Mom speaking.

Some of you know me as Mother Nature. Those who do are mostly people who live close to the earth and depend on it and the rains I provide, and the sunshine that I filter through the atmosphere in order to provide safe energy for all my children. However, a great many of you no longer live that way. You have put this very basic way of life behind you. And this, by itself, is not a bad thing. Except . . . in so doing you have forgotten who I am. You would do well to remember. You have forgotten that it is I who allow you to live. I am not just the mother of you, I am the mother and the manager of all that lives on this planet. I believe I should be treated with respect.

Sadly, you act as if you don’t know the meaning of the word. You seem to feel that you are more important than me, your Mother. Most of you feel that you can manage me to suit your own selfish needs without giving a thought to consequences. You believe you can suck the poisons I have buried deep in the earth, then burn them and foul my air. You believe you can strip my forests, denude my prairies and oceans and turn them into deserts. You believe you can pollute my lakes and streams so long as it serves your purpose to do so. You believe that you are more important than any other living thing on this planet and that you can do with these other living beings as you wish. And, you believe that your God gave you license to do all this.

Well, you are wrong.

I am the Mother of every living thing that lives and dies upon this world. I exist to manage this place. Among all my children, I have no favorites.

Lately, I have not been feeling as well as I should. Not sick, exactly. It is like I have little itchy things crawling over my skin and burrowing into it and infesting my body. I know what is causing this discomfort. It is you.

Now then, as you may know, a Mother is patient. But there is a limit and that limit has been reached. When your actions reached the point where they began to harm all of my other children, like any mother I became concerned. Now, having watched your behavior for a sufficient length of time, I have determined that you are probably too selfish to change. You do not seem to know your place in this world. Because of this, I have decided that if you will not mend your ways, and soon, then you must go.