In Case You Were a No Show on Earth Day—Arbor Day (April 25)

Tomorrow, Friday, April 25 is Arbor Day!

For those who failed to make or follow through on resolutions on Earth day, there is time for atonement.

Arbor Day is a nationally celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care.   Founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska in 1872, National Arbor Day is celebrated each year on the last Friday in April.

Forests cover almost one third of the Earth’s surface and support much of the world’s biodiversity. It has been estimated that about one half of the world’s species are found in forested areas, particularly in species abundant tropical rainforests. Beyond their fecund majesty, forests also provide critical ecosystem services by replenishing oxygen in the atmosphere, reducing erosion, retaining moisture in the soil, and storing carbon. Half of the forests that originally covered 48 percent of the Earth’s land surface are gone. Only one-fifth of the Earth’s original forests remain pristine and undisturbed. Our forests deserve our immediate and constant stewardship.

Join Students Going Green’s affiliate, The Nature Conservancy,  in replenshing our precious forests.  The Nature Conservancy is an esteemed conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.   With more than one million members, our affiliate, The Nature Conservancy, helps to protect more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide, operating more than 100 marine conservation projects globally.

Celebrate Arbor Day with Students Going Green and The Nature Conservancy by helping to plant a billion trees. 

You can help reforest The Atlantic Forest, one of the biggest and most endangered tropical forests in the world.  Join the  Plant a Billion Trees campaign, where one dollar plants one tree, and you will also help restore 2.5 million acres of land.

http://www.studentsgoinggreen.org/

http://www.nature.org

 

  

Science, Interrupted, at the EPA

One of the basic credos of the Environmental Protection Agency is “to protect human health and the environment.”  EPA scientists are directly charged by federal law and regulation with applying their expertise, knowledge and experience to protect our public from air and water pollution, hazardous waste disposal, and current threats such as climate change.  The advent of rather grave national and global environmental concerns over the course of this administration has merited even greater scientific scrutiny and environmental analysis from this federal agency.

Unfortunately, a recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) cast serious doubts over the ability of scientists at the EPA to freely research and share important environmental findings during this administration.  The UCS conducted an investigation into political interference in science at the EPA.  The inquiry combined numerous interviews with current and former EPA staff, analysis of government documents, more than 1,600 responses to a survey sent to current EPA scientists, and written comments from EPA scientists.  

The results of the USC investigation demonstrated that the EPA has been an agency under siege from political pressures within this administration. On a broad array of important environmental issues—ranging from mercury pollution to groundwater contamination to climate change—political appointees have edited scientific documents, manipulated scientific assessments, and generally sought to undermine the science behind dozens of EPA regulations.  Political efforts have also been made to suppress the open, honest publication of studies which have a direct bearing on our public health.

 

Of the responses to the UCS survey, 889 EPA scientists (60%) said they had personally experienced at least one instance of political interference in the last five years and 394 said they experienced frequent or occasional “statements by EPA officials that misrepresent scientists’ findings.”

The report added that more than one-fifth of the scientists said they had experienced “selective or incomplete use of data to justify a specific regulatory outcome,” the report said.

 As aptly stated by Francesca Grifo of the Union of Concerned Scientists:  an administration “distorting science to accommodate a narrow political agenda threatens our environment, our health and our democracy itself.” 

 

Local Foods and Another Recipe from Students Going Green

Our combined efforts, each and every day, week, and year will make a difference to our Earth, so we become part of the solution and not the problem.

Shop local markets to buy food produced, grown, or raised as close to your home as possible. Our food is now grown and processed in fewer locales, often requiring extensive travel to reach your table. Although this production method may be considered efficient and economically profitable for many large suppliers, it remains harmful to the environment, consumers and rural communities. By buying local, you can support your community and likely receive fresher product.

Beyond local, there are a number of other labels and designations to keep in mind, including organic, biodynamic, and sustainable. Organic food is regulated by the U.S.D.A. and must meet certain standards to be certified as such. While there is debate over the value of the U.S.D.A. organic label and how much it corresponds to the initial aims of sustainable architecture, you can usually assume that any food bearing the U.S.D.A. organic label is free from artificial pesticides and fertilizers. Biodynamic farming likewise avoids pesticides and fertilizers which renders a sustainable system in which everything on the farm is reused or recycled.  There are a myriad of other words used to define sustainable agriculture, but in its basic form,  it strives to sustain rather than degrade the environment while also being econonomically viable.

With this in mind, here is another Students Going Green recipe:

Spinach, Leek & Mushroom Frittata

1 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
4 cups loosely packed fresh spinach leaves, rinsed, dried and cut into thin ribbons
1 cup sliced stemmed shiitake mushrooms
8 large organic eggs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

a slight dollop of heavy whipping cream
a pinch of cayenne pepper & freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
1 cup freshly grated parmigianno-reggiano cheese divided in two equal parts

Preheat the broiler.

Saute the sliced mushrooms and leeks in butter and some olive oil, salt and pepper, then cool them to room temperature—so the mushrooms and leeks do not cook the egg mixture with their ambient heat.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly with a wire whisk.  Add the salt, peppers, nutmeg, spinach, leeks, mushrooms, half the parmigiano-reggiano, then beat and combine those ingredients.

In a 9″ ovenproof non-stick omelet pan or skillet, heat the oil over moderate heat, swirling the pat to coat the bottom and sides evenly.  When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the frittata mixture.  Reduce the heat to low and cook slowly, stirring the top part of the mixture, but allowing the bottom to set until the egg mixture has begun to form small curds and the frittata is browning on the bottom (4-5 minutes).  With a spatula, gently loosen the the frittata from the edges of the pan.  Sprinkle with the remaining parmigianno-reggiano and the gruyere.

Transfer the skillet to the broiler, placing it about 6″ from the heating element, and broil until the frittata browns lightly on top.  It will puff up and become firm in about 3-4 minutes, but watch carefully as ovens differ.  However, take care to not open the oven too often during the process as the resulting drop in temperatures affects the cooking process. 

Remove the pan from the broiler, give it a slight fresh grate of parmiggiano-reggiano, and let it cool for at least couple of minutes, allowing it to set.  Next, either slide or invert the frittata onto a flat plate.  Frittatas are often served just slightly warm or room temperature.

 

Lawnscapes

Grass lawns fail to absorb that much rainwater, causing it to runoff into local streams, carrying with it pollution and causing flooding to neighbors downstream.  Instead of nurturing a turf oriented yard, which is more expensive and labor intensive, plant native trees, shrubs and flowers.

Hang out

Some six to ten percent of U.S. residential energy use goes toward running clothes dryers.  Hang them out to dry.

Earth Day Eve

As a precursor to Earth Day, consider passing on some green moves at the office:

 

1. Retune light
Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of the electricity use in office buildings

Turn off the lights when you’re leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can

Buy Energy Star-rated light bulbs and fixtures, which use at least two-thirds less energy than regular lighting, and install timers or motion sensors that automatically shut off lights when they’re not needed

2. Retool computer use
Computers in the business sector unnecessarily waste $1 billion worth of electricity a year.

Turn off or at least hibernate your computer—and the power strip it’s plugged into—when you leave for the day. Otherwise, you’re still burning energy even if you’re not burning the midnight oil. (Check with your IT department to make sure the computer doesn’t need to be on to run backups or other maintenance.) During the day, setting your computer to go to sleep automatically during short breaks can cut energy use by 70 percent. Remember, screen savers don’t save energy

Invest in energy-saving computers, monitors, and printers and make sure that old equipment is properly recycled. Look for a recycler that has pledged not to export hazardous e-waste and to follow other safety guidelines. Old computers that still work, and are less than five years old, can be donated to organizations that will refurbish them and find them new homes

3. Print with forethought
The average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year

Print on both sides or use the back side of old documents for faxes, scrap paper, or drafts. Avoid color printing and print in draft mode whenever feasible.

Buy chlorine-free paper with a higher percentage of post-consumer recycled content. Also consider switching to a lighter stock of paper or alternatives made from bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, or kenaf. Recycle toner and ink cartridges and buy remanufactured ones. According to Office Depot, each remanufactured toner cartridge “keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills…and conserves about a half gallon of oil”

4. Paperless, paperless, paperless

Think before you print: could this be read or stored online instead? When you receive unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazines, or junk mail, request to be removed from the mailing list before you recycle the item

Post employee manuals and similar materials online, rather than distribute print copies. They’re easier to update that way too

5. Recycle even more

Recycle everything your company collects. Just about any kind of paper you would encounter in an office, including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail, can be recycled. So can your old cell phone, PDA, or pager

Place recycling bins in accessible, high-traffic areas and provide clear information about what can and can not be recycled

6. The Basics

Purchase office supplies and furniture made from recycled materials

7. You are what you eat

Bring your own mug and dishware for those meals you eat at the office

Provide reusable dishes, silverware, and glasses. Switch to Fair Trade and organic coffee and tea, and buy as much organic and local food as possible for parties and other events. Provide filtered drinking water to reduce bottled-water waste

8. Travel tips

Take the train, bus, or subway when feasible instead of a rental car when traveling on business. If you have to rent a car, some rental agencies now offer hybrids and other high-mileage vehicles

Invest in videoconferencing and other technological solutions that can reduce the amount of employee travel

9. Your daily commute

Carpool, bike, or take transit to work, and/or telecommute when possible. If you need to drive occasionally, consider joining a car-sharing service like Zicar and Flexcar instead of owning your own wheels.

Encourage telecommuting (a nice perk that’s also good for the planet!) and make it easy for employees to take alternative modes of transportation by subsidizing commuter checks, offering bike parking, or organizing a carpool board.

10. The office environment

Use nontoxic cleaning products. Brighten up your cubicle with plants, which absorb indoor pollution

Buy furniture, carpeting, and paint that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Addendum to Bush’s Comments

Does anyone remember how the U.S. EPA was instructed last year by the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether carbon dioxide should be regulated as a pollutant? 

We do.  In one of the most important decisions in environmental law, the US Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a pollutant and that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the right to regulate CO₂ emissions from new cars.   http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/pdf/05-1120P.ZO

Comments Are Welcome

As the youth of this world—those who will inherit not only wind, we seek passioned, perceptive leadership on those issues which will affect our earth legacy…what are your thoughts about the first attempt by this President to “address” environmental issues, particularly climage change?  See the text of his remarks below…

Over the past seven years, my Administration has taken a rational, balanced approach to these serious challenges. We believe we need to protect our environment. We believe we need to strengthen our energy security. We believe we need to grow our economy. And we believe the only way to achieve these goals is through continued advances in technology.

I have put our Nation on a path to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of our greenhouse gas emissions. In 2002, I announced our first step: to reduce America’s greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent through 2012. I am pleased to say that we remain on track to meet this goal even as our economy has grown 17 percent.

When I took office seven years ago, we faced a problem. A number of nations around the world were preparing to implement the flawed approach of the Kyoto Protocol. In 1997, the United States Senate had passed a resolution opposing this approach by a vote of 95 to zero. The Kyoto Protocol would have required the U.S. to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The impact of this agreement would have been to limit our economic growth and shift American jobs to other countries while allowing major developing nations to increase their emissions. Countries like China and India are experiencing rapid economic growth which is good for their people and good for the world. But this also means that they are emitting increasingly large quantities of greenhouse gases which has consequences for the entire global climate. So the United States has launched, and the G8 has embraced, a new process that brings together the countries responsible for most of the world’s emissions.

On the new goal:

In support of this process, and based on technology advances and strong new policies, it is now time for the U.S. to look beyond 2012 and take the next step. We have shown that we can slow emissions growth. Today, I am announcing a new national goal: to stop the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

To reach this goal, we will pursue an economy-wide strategy that builds on the solid foundation we have in place. As part of this strategy, we worked with Congress to pass energy legislation that specifies a new fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, and requires fuel producers to supply at least 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022. This should provide an incentive for shifting to a new generation of fuels like cellulosic ethanol that will reduce concerns about food prices and the environment. We also mandated new objectives for the coming decade to increase the efficiency of lighting and appliances.

Taken together, these landmark actions will prevent billions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.

To reach our 2025 goal, we will need to more rapidly slow the growth of power sector greenhouse gas emissions so that they peak within 10 to 15 years, and decline thereafter. By doing so, we will reduce emission levels in the power sector well below where they were projected to be when we first announced our climate strategy in 2002. There are a number of ways to achieve these reductions, but all responsible approaches depend on accelerating the development and deployment of new technologies.

On the problem of outdated regulations being applied to climate change:

As we approach this challenge, we face a growing problem here at home. Some courts are taking laws written more than 30 years ago to primarily address local and regional environmental effects, and applying them to global climate change. The Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act were never meant to regulate global climate change. For example, under a Supreme Court decision last year, the Clean Air Act could be applied to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

If these laws are stretched beyond their original intent, they could override the programs Congress just adopted, and force the government to regulate more than just power plant emissions. They could also force the government to regulate smaller users and producers of energy from schools and stores to hospitals and apartment buildings. This would make the federal government act like a local planning and zoning board, and it would have crippling effects on our entire economy.

Decisions with such far-reaching impact should not be left to unelected regulators and judges. Such decisions should be debated openly and made by the elected representatives of the people they affect. The American people deserve an honest assessment of the costs, benefits and feasibility of any proposed solution.

On the wrong way and the right way for Congress to approach climate change legislation:

This year, Congress will soon be considering additional legislation that will affect global climate change. I believe that Congressional debate should be guided by certain core principles and a clear appreciation that there is a wrong way and a right way to approach reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Bad legislation would impose tremendous costs on our economy and American families without accomplishing the important climate change goals we share.

The wrong way is to raise taxes, duplicate mandates, or demand sudden and drastic emissions cuts that have no chance of being realized and every chance of hurting our economy. The right way is to set realistic goals for reducing emissions consistent with advances in technology, while increasing our energy security and ensuring our economy can continue to prosper and grow.

The wrong way is to jeopardize our energy and economic security by abandoning nuclear power and our Nation’s huge reserves of coal. The right way is to promote more emission-free nuclear power and encourage the investments necessary to produce electricity from coal without releasing carbon into the air.

The wrong way is to unilaterally impose regulatory costs that put American businesses at a disadvantage with their competitors abroad which would simply drive American jobs overseas and increase emissions there. The right way is to ensure that all major economies are bound to take action and to work cooperatively with our partners for a fair and effective international climate agreement.

On technology as the key to addressing climate change:

We must all recognize that in the long run, new technologies are the key to addressing climate change. But in the short run, they can be more expensive to operate. That is why I believe part of any solution means reforming today’s complicated mix of incentives to make the commercialization and use of new, lower emission technologies more competitive.

First, the incentive should be carbon-weighted to make lower emission power sources less expensive relative to higher emissions sources, and it should take into account our Nation’s energy security needs.

Second, the incentive should be technology-neutral because the government should not be picking winners and losers in this emerging market.

Third, the incentive should be long-lasting. It should provide a positive and reliable market signal not only for the investment in a technology, but also for the investments in domestic manufacturing capacity and infrastructure that will help lower costs and scale up availability.

On putting America on an ambitious new track for greenhouse gas reductions:

If we fully implement our strong new laws, adhere to the principles I’ve outlined, and adopt appropriate incentives, we will put America on an ambitious new track for greenhouse gas reductions. The growth in emissions will slow over the next decade, stop by 2025, and begin to reverse thereafter, so long as technology continues to advance.

The strategy I have laid out today shows faith in the ingenuity and enterprise of the American people – and that is one resource that will never run out. I am confident that with sensible and balanced policies from Washington, American innovators and entrepreneurs will pioneer a new generation of technology that improves our environment, strengthens our economy, and continues to amaze the world.

Any thoughts?

Climate Change’s Impact on Lake Tahoe

A recent study predicts that climate change will irreversibly alter water circulation in Lake Tahoe, radically changing the conditions for plants and fish in the lake within 10 years.   Scientists from the University of California-Davis warned that warming waters in the lake are complicating plans to preserve the lake’s renowned water clarity and biological health.

The study found that the lake has heated by nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit since the early 1970s, when readings began. This warming, which appeared at all levels down to 1,300 feet, could significantly alter the dynamics of Lake Tahoe’s cold water upwellings and seasonal mixing of sediments and nutrients.  One likely result would be a warmer lake overall, with fewer cold water native fish, and more invasive species, such as largemouth bass, bluegill and carp.

It is yet unclear just how much the changes would affect the lake’s phenomenal clarity and cobalt blue color, which have helped to make the Tahoe Basin so revered by visitors around the world. 

New Species Found

A lungless frog has been discovered on the island of Borneo. Scientists say the species may shed light on the process of evolution in some organisms.   Like a few species of salamander and the bizarre looking caecilian, the frog breathes through its skin.

The lungless aspect of the species is likely an adaptation to its habitat which is cold and rapidly flowing streams that are oxygen rich.  The lack of lungs reduce the frog’s buoyancy and helps keep them from being swept downstream by currents.