What you need to know
When the new issue of Newsweek came featuring a shot of space and the words proclaiming, "In Search of ALIENS: NASA is out there looking and 24 other surprising things you need to know now", we were all but ready to settle into a fascinating read of extraterrestrials, secret government programs, and evidence that we're not a
lone. Instead, the search for aliens is only 1 of 25 different stories, or unexpected truths as Newsweek put it, that are featured in the issue as stories we need to know now. And since we're not a blog about aliens or space, you can bet that some of the 25 stories are about the environment.
Here's a recap of the issues concerning the environment. And while we don't necessarily agree or adhere to everything that's written below, we acknowledge that these proclamations are interesting perspectives.
It’s Too Late to Stop Global Warming - While praising the Waxman-Markey bill , Newsweek's worry, "is that the planet may not adhere to the diplomatic timetable." That and they warn of a natural phenomenon called outgassing, where as, "temperatures rise, permafrost, which holds an enormous amount of carbon from long-dead plants, tends to dry out, allowing decay and a release of carbon into the atmosphere. If this were to happen, "it could inundate the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, perhaps doubling or tripling the effect of the past century of human industry," according to Stephen Pacala, an environmental scientist at Princeton. If this were to happen, anything that is agreed upon at the upcoming climate talks in Copenhangen would become obsolete. Read more HERE.
French Reds are Green - Next time you get into an argument or discusson over the carbon footprint of your lifestyle, remember it's not always as it seems. For instance: A New Yorker leaves a smaller carbon footprint drinking a French Bordeaux shipped across the Atlantic (2.93 pounds of carbon per bottle) than drinking a Napa merlot (7.05 pounds). That's because when it comes to calculating carbon costs, the method of transportation matters as much as the distance. Shipping freight by sea generates less than half the emissions associated with airplanes and tractor-trailers.
High-Speed Rail Can't Replace Cars - We've long been supporters of efforts to bring alternative transportation options to Spokane, most notably electric light rail. And we're not alone. Last October, the Washington State University’s Social and Economic Sciences Research Center conducted a survey showing 73 percent of Spokane residents favor construction of light rail. Also, 67 percent of the respondents said they would prefer to develop a system within five years versus 27 percent supporting a ten-year period. However, according to Newsweek, "many economists now say the costs of building a high-speed rail network far outstrip possible the benefits, especially when cars are becoming more energy-efficient." Read more HERE.
Wiping is Washed Up. Just make sure you're not eating when you read this. According to a survey, half of TP users spend their days with "fecal contamination"—anything from "wasp-colored" stains to "frank massive feces"—in their underpants. And as Newsweek points out, "we continue to mock the bidet, the Frenchest of innovations, as froufrou, risqué, de trop." But hygiene aside, wiping is bad for the Earth too. "The average American uses 57 sheets of toilet paper a day; collectively, we burn through 36.5 billion rolls each year. Tossing all the TP in America would save 15 million trees, 17.3 terawatts of electricity, and more than 473 billion gallons of water annually." Read more HERE.
And last but not least - The Environment is Healthier Than Ever - Sure we have issues like climate change, peak oil, depleting resources, and an abundance of trash, but... "over the past three decades America's rivers, lakes, and skies have been transformed. Acid-rain levels have dropped 60 percent since the early 1990s; air quality has improved 91 percent since 1980 in terms of lead content. The Hudson River "is much, much cleaner than it's been in 100 years," says Riverkeeper's Phillip Musegaas."
