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Photo credit: WordRidden

By now, many Americans are aware that  Michelle Obama has plans to plant a local organic vegetable garden at the White House.  While that sounds like a step in the right direction in terms of encouraging us to eat better and support organic farming, not everyone is convinced.

The ones who are not convinced this is what we should emulate are the industries that support “conventional” farming and food production.  Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) was alarmed at the First Lady’s plans to break ground at the White House organically, so they decided to send her a letter educating her on the importance of conventional farming.

As you go about planning and planting the White House garden, we respectfully encourage you to recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the U.S in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the U.S. economy and providing a safe and economical food supply. America’s farmers understand crop protection technologies are supported by sound scientific research and innovation.

It seems they also want to discourage farming and eating locally.

Local and conventional farming is not mutually exclusive. However, a Midwest mother whose child loves strawberries, a good source of Vitamin C, appreciates the ability to offer California strawberries in March a few months before the official Mid-west season.

The arguments the MACA made to discourage organic and local farming have to do with the need to keep food production as high as possible to feed as many Americans as possible.

With modern methods, 1 acre of land in the U.S. can produce 42,000 lbs. of strawberries, 110,000 heads of lettuce, 25,400 lbs. of potatoes, 8,900 lbs. of sweet corn, or 640 lbs of cotton lint.

I can understand this organization doesn’t want their business/industry to go down, but is their attitude really in our best  interest?  What if everyone started eating locally and adopted organic produce as a way of life?  Would it destroy the American agricultural industry?  Would people have less access to produce if local and organic production became policy?

What are your thoughts on this?

You can read the letter in its entirety here.

Photo by Josh Sommers

California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency because of a severe drought. BBC News

“We have a water system that is for 18 million people – now we are 38 million. We’ve got to go and redo our water system – bring it up to date.”

Wet February helps, water supply but not enough San Francisco Chronicle

The storms pounding the Bay Area and blanketing the Sierra Nevada with snow have brought California back from the brink of the worst drought in state history, but the drenching is not enough to assure adequate water supplies this summer, state water officials said Monday.

If you live in the state of California, no doubt you are well aware of the serious issue we are facing when it comes to our water supply.  Despite all the rain we are experiencing (at least in the Bay Area)  and snow in the Sierra, we are still in the midst of a serious drought. Mandatory rationing will be the next step to secure our resources.

Already, over 95,000 jobs have been lost and many more are at risk due to the reduction in crops.  The federal government announced that it will temporary shut off water to thousands of farms starting March 1. Since California is the nation’s number one agriculture state producing more than half the nation’s fruits, vegetables, and nuts, the price of food will no doubt increase.

I hope this serves as a reminder for all of us to conserve water. I think thats the least we can do at this point.

25 ways to conserve water at home
100 ways to conserve

President Barack Obama has opened the way for California and other states to set stricter vehicle emissions rules on their own to curb global warming, a step opposed by automakers.

I wonder which automakers are opposed to this?  Could it be the Detroit Big Three, or…?

Obama also announced that his administration will finish work on new federal rules requiring cars and light trucks to be more fuel-efficient by 2011. He linked the actions to his plan to revitalize the economy.

“Our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry, it is to help America’s automakers prepare for the future,” Obama said during his first week. “We must ensure that the fuel efficient cars of tomorrow are built right here.”

It looks like we blew our chance during the Clinton administration as pointed in in the History of Hybrid Cars in America. Its hard to believe we’re actually going to get another opportunity, but all I can do is remain optimistic.

President Obama signaled that our country can no longer afford to wait to combat the climate crisis and our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. He is setting our country on a path led by science and innovation, in a dramatic departure from the past eight years.

Granting the request of California and other states to move forward with reducing greenhouse gases emissions from vehicles will steer American automakers to retool their fleets. Only through innovation will automakers be able to create the greener cars of the future and regain their global competitiveness.

Read the rest of the article here.

While this is certainly a step in the right direction, where does increasing public transportation come into the mix?  What about high-speed trains such as the ones proposed for California which will bring in over 600,000 contract and permanent jobs?  I would think adding more commuter trains bridging the gaps between the suburbs and the cities would also be beneficial.  Or maybe this is beyond whats possible right now financially.  Hopefully this is something that will come up in the near future.

What are your thoughts on this?  Tell me if I’m missing something.

The public at large is now becoming more and more aware of the planet in peril, what’s happening to the ice caps, the warming of the Earth, bizarre weather patterns and so on.  But despite our knowledge of whats going on and the changes we need to make in our individual lives and changes in public policy, is it too late?

The hole in the ozone layer was discovered in 1985 but the ban of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) that was used in our everyday products helped start the recovery process. Can we undo the massive damage that we caused now?

President Obama, not only has a full plate coming into office, but the whole table is consumed in all of the mistakes (to put it lightly) made in the past eight years and beyond. With everything that’s going on in our world today, is it possible to meet all of these challenges and save the planet?

Do you feel that the ship has sailed for us?

Do you think the “green trend” is beneficial or just a distraction from the larger issue?

Check out…

This is Reality

The Clean

The concept of clean coal is said to be a solution to climate change and global warming by coal industry groups, while environmental groups maintain that it is greenwash, a public relations tactic that presents coal as having the potential to be an environmentally acceptable option. Greenpeace is a major opponent of the concept because emissions and wastes are not avoided, but are transferred from one waste stream to another. - Wikipedia

What do you think about clean coal? Can coal really be clean?

Photo credit: erix

Newsweek Magazine recently published an article on how to avoid household toxins.  Nena Baker, author of  The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being
the EPA and the  Environmental Working Group, has listed nine ways you can avoid household toxins:

1. Filter your water.  In addition to what the article suggests, staying away from plastic bottled water is beneficial to the Earth and body.

2.  Know whats in your grooming products. The Cosmetics Database website is highly recommended when researching common ingredients in personal care products.

3.  Don’t Eat Microwave Popcorn.  “The inside of a microwave popcorn bag is usually coated with a perfluorinated chemical (PFC) called a fluorotelomer that can break down to form perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Designed to prevent oil from seeping through the bag, PFOA can migrate into the food when heated. It has been linked to cancer and birth defects in animals and preliminary epidemiological studies suggest that a pregnant woman’s exposure to PFOA may reduce her baby’s birth weight….”

4.  Don’t Get Stain-Protective Treatment.  This recommendation is talking about the “extras” or add ons you can get when you buy furniture, clothes and shoes.

5.  Limit Use of Canned Food and Plastic Containers. Speaks about the risk of  Bisphenol-A (BPA) that is not only found in plastic containers, but also used to line the inside of canned foods as well (Previous post: Plastics and its health risks)

6.  Use PBDE-Free Electronics. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) is in the same family flame redardants.  They are mostly found in TVs and computer monitores.  “…is stirred into the equipment’s plastic and can heat up over time, causing the material to break away and settle into the dust. Many manufactures have stopped using PBDEs for electronics, but not all have….” The Environmental Working Group has a list of PBDE-free electronics.

7.  Don ‘ t Use Paint Made With Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). Fortunately, VOC-free paints can be found at most paint and home improvement stores now. (See links below for resources)

8.  Patronize a Perc-Free Dry Cleaner. “Perchloroethylene (perc) is also a VOC and is most commonly used in dry cleaning. The EPA identifies perc as a known human toxin and “a precursor to ground-level ozone (smog).” It usually enters the body through inhalation and remains stored in fat tissue….”

9.  Dust and Vacuum Weekly. “Baker says that toxins like PBDE can settle into the dust in your house, so to be extra safe, it’s best to keep your house clean through regular dusting and vacuuming.”

Read the full article here: Newsweek – October 1, 2008

Green dry cleaner directory

Non-Toxic Paint

Affordable Low-Voc Paint

The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-being

Source: ABC News

So much for my previous post: LA Times: California launches broad effort to control hazardous chemicals

Meanwhile…
“On the same day Governor Schwarzenegger touted himself as the leader of a comprehensive chemical reform program, he vetoed a bill that would have made California the first state to ban toxic chemicals known as PFCs – a family of compounds including Teflon – from food packaging.” California Progress Report

Teflon is commonly used on cookware as a non-stick coating.  Its been known for over twenty years that Teflon cookware used in the home is highly fatal to birds to the point that its been listed as the leading cause of death for pet birds. Death to the birds can happen under very normal domestic cooking conditions, even when the cooking is done in another part of the home. 

I remember about fifteen years ago, me and my mother went shopping for a bird and the Avian Veterinarian adamantly told us not to use any Teflon coated products in the house if we decided to purchase one of the birds.  After that, my mother got rid of everything Teflon in the house stating that “if it can kill birds, what is it doing to us?”

In terms of what its doing to us, Teflon, which is a known carcinogen, has been found in the blood of many Americans.  Teflon is not only used in pots and pans, but also popcorn bags and other convenience, microwaveable food containers. 

“PFOA seems to be in the blood of most Americans, as found in studies that examined blood from American blood banks, and is likely to be in the blood of most of the rest of us as well. PFOA enters into our bodies very easily through the cooked food when the non-stick pan is either scratched, or when it is heated, (which is what we do with pans and  popcorn bags) Popcorn bags seem to cause higher exposures to PFOA compared to non-stick cookware, as a chemical in the packaging migrates into the oil which coats the popcorn which we then eat, and the chemical then degrades into PFOA in our bodies. Heated Teflon also releases toxic fumes which we inhale.”  Teflon is hazardous to our health – Trusted MD

Currently, the research isnt very clear as to what it does to the human body, but the fact that its a carcinogen and fatal to birds is reason enough to avoid it in our homes. 

 Canaries in the Kitchen: Teflon Toxicosis: Teflon kills birds