Orcas in trouble...

Jean-Michael Cousteau on Killer Whales from Time online.

I watched this documentary the other night - on Earth Day - and it was quite depressing, but something I didn't already know about which is rare since I feel I'm pretty aware of most ecological problems going on and most especially with sea life.

In fact, I almost didn't watch this because since I have seen so many docs like this, and tend to know what's going on, I try not to watch too much of this since it depresses me so much.

But this latest doc was very informative and discusses the ill effects of salmon farming on regional sea life, mainly on orcas, in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

Please watch this and get informed on this issue.

Is Greenwashing Really a Problem?

Green news has been inundated of late with warnings to consumers to be aware of greenwashing. While consumers should read labels and be certain the products they buy are truly green, these warnings seem almost frantic in nature.

Greenwashing is when businesses label their products as green or eco-friendly when the products don’t actually meet these standards. It is about people being fooled into buying products that are not really good for them nor for the environment.

Consumers today should be savvy enough to navigate through advertising hype. How many people really think that sugary cereals are nutritious? Yet TV commercials and cereal box labels still want us to believe that sugary frosted cereals are “part of a nutritious breakfast.”

There are of course many more examples of advertising hype as we all well know, so shouldn’t the same hold true for eco-friendly products? After all, today’s consumer is demanding more and more of these products and so of course corporations want to package their goods to meet market demands.

Of course regulations and certification labels are helpful in identifying which products meet our green demands, just as any other product should follow the truth in advertising rules.

Currently the Federal Trade Commission Act requires that all advertising:
• Be truthful and non-deceptive
• Must have evidence to back up their claims
• Cannot be unfair

Businesses can be forced to pay stiff fines and face penalties for not adhering to these guidelines.
Then there are cases where labels are technically truthful about their certification but the product may not actually meet the standards we may personally think they should.

A good example is the organic label. Many foods are labeled as organic but they are only organic in the strictest sense of the word. Many farms follow organic practices with their soil standards and so are able to be USDA certified as organic, yet they really follow factory farm practices in everything but their soil (the Cornucopia Institute is but one organization that follows organic farming claims and has great material about which organic products do not utilize humane farming conditions and are actually large factory farms).

These are cases where a certified label doesn’t really mean as much as we might hope it would.

In addition, greenwashing may not be a completely bad thing, but rather a symptom of the growing demand of consumers for products that are safe for our health and the health of the planet.

Many companies that have heretofore created toxic chemicals and products are now producing and advertising their green products. There are so many "green" products on the shelves of mainstream grocery stores, we don't have to make that extra trip to the co-op or Whole Foods to buy laundry soap. It should only get better from here!

As with any product, we should be smart and savvy and should read our labels.

Celebrating Earth Day Locally

Celebrating Earth Day Locally - from ecomii blogs

There are an abundance of events in my local town of Madison, Wi to celebrate Earth Day throughout this week and coming weekend. As with previous Earth Day events in town, Madisonians show a lot of interest in these events.

Many events are focused on environmental awareness with activities at area nature preserves and conservation sites. The UW Arboretum will feature a luncheon lecture on Native American rock and cave art in Wisconsin. The Arboretum will also host nature and wildflower walks for Earth Day.

Friends of the Lakeshore Marsh will feature a meeting on the Class of 1918 Marsh that is centered on area birds, insects, plants, and plankton and will discuss effects of watershed land use on the marsh.

And the Madison Environmental Group will hold an Earth Day Open House to highlight water conservation and offer helpful tips for taking action and learn more about sustainability.

There are community events like the Earth Day Potluck and outdoor movies showing the Dr. Seuss classic, the Lorax, and the dystopian eco film, Soylent Green.

Our local Whole Foods will hold classes and green information while offering free samples of some of their yummy, organic foods.

And many people will be involved in the cleanup of the natural landscape and nature trails in the area.

The main Earth Day event in Madison happens this weekend and is our annual Green Day event. This event was started and is hosted by the local free weekly paper, the Isthmus, and will feature area chefs and foodie activists giving cooking demonstrations and showing us how to eat locally and sustainably on a tight budget. Free food samples will be included.

The theme of this year’s Green Day will focus on being green in tough economic times with other event attractions that will feature talks by experts on how to start a green business and living sustainably and green in a down economy.

People biking to the event will get in free.

In Milwaukee the Earth Day Event will focus on green vehicles and will feature a presentation by Sonya Newenhouse, founder and president of Community Car, a car sharing service in Madison. Also featured will be a car show of alternative vehicles including new and next-generation vehicles as the hybrid Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight, and Zenn and E-Ride neighborhood electric vehicles.

Most communities throughout the country will hold similar events and activities to involve the community in saving the planet and bring awareness to global sustainability issues. Find the right one for you and go out and get involved.

It’s easy to find local nature preserves or community parks that will offer education and cleanup events. These things help foster an appreciation for your community, local indigenous plant and wildlife species, and the planet at large in both adults and children alike.

It’s important to carry these activities beyond Earth Day, so let these events provide insights and suggestions for ways to get involved in celebrating and helping Earth everyday that matter most to you and your family.

Renewable Energy From Your Local Utility - from ecomii blogs

Apartment dwellers and other renters may wish to take advantage of such renewable energy sources as solar and wind to power their homes, but feel unable to do so since they can’t make permanent changes to their homes.

What they may not know is that many utility companies across the country allow subscribers to purchase renewable power through their existing electric service.

These programs allow household customers to purchase alternative energy for an extra fee added to their monthly utility bill. Businesses may also purchase renewable energy for an additional monthly fee.

These fees are not at all prohibitive and can be purchased in increments of 25%, 50%, or 100% of energy coming from renewable sources with fees starting as low as $3 per month.

This monthly contribution covers the added expense of harvesting renewable energy. And of course you won’t have to buy any special equipment or make any lifestyle changes by enrolling in one of these programs.

And is this extra cost tax deductible as it currently is for homeowners to solarize their homes? Sadly, no. This contribution is considered a more expensive product and service and not an actual donation.

While you won’t be able to say that your home runs entirely on renewable energy, enrolling in one these programs creates demand for renewable energy and this is definitely a benefit. We’re using more renewable resources and creating more jobs in the renewable energy sector.

When you enroll in a renewable energy program, utilities use your contribution and estimate how much power is used by the community, how many of these households contribute to the renewable energy sources, and then they add more power from the wind and solar sources to the pool of electricity they use depending on how many users have contributed to the program.

If more people subscribe to the renewable energy programs, the utilities will purchase more of the power they use from renewable energy sources.

Eventually renewable energy won’t be a more expensive option. It will be cleaner and cheaper to access than it does to make and use conventional energy sources. And it will always be available for use.

So check your local energy companies for alternative energy programs and enroll in one for Earth Day!

Farm Subsidy Cuts No Longer an Issue from ecomii Politics Blog

Big agribusiness was shaken a little over the Obama administration’s proposed cuts to farm subsidies.

The plan was to end direct payments to farms with more than $500,000 in gross sales. The cuts would save over $9 billion over a decade, and therefore is part of the administration’s overall budget plan.

The potential problem with this cut is that the $500,000 in sales may not take into account the amount that farms may actually spend to grow their yields, nor how much they make in profits.

Nor does it consider how much the farm may have lost due to poor crops or weather conditions for the growing season.

This means that medium-sized family farms could be hurt by subsidy cuts, and in a time when the country is looking to smaller, local farms to supply their food, the cuts have the potential to be devastating to this food revolution.

But the proposed legislation has met stiff opposition from the senate. Big agribusiness hold a lot of political purse strings, and many farm state representatives don’t want to aggravate their constituents. Therefore the proposal was defeated in the Senate last week.

Another major concern by agribusiness is the far-reaching cap and trade policies President Obama is trying to pass. Big farms create a lot of greenhouse gases and they may find themselves facing stiff fines, as well as subsidy cuts, if they are found in violation of emission limits.

There are concerns from both sides of the aisle on these cuts and for now these cuts have been defeated. The administration may come back with better defined numbers for profits and income, as well as emission caps.

As for the greenhouse gas emissions created by big farms, maybe they should be using those biogas digesters or some other form of gas emission reduction practices.

We definitely need some sort of change to the current subsidies going to big agribusiness growing acres and acres of corn or soybeans that really go to the feedlots or to make fertilizers.

But, in conjunction, we also need more help going to the smaller farms that create crops for smaller communities and grow more diverse food stuffs.

And of course, by going organic big farms won’t use nitrogen fertilizers that emit greenhouse gases, not to mention, making our food a lot safer and better tasting.

Getting Energy from the Farm

The Renewable Energy Summit was held in Milwaukee the last week in March. It was nice to see a mix of people that included students, business owners, and of course, out-of-work professionals interested in network and exploring the green industry possibilities.

Everyone was interested in learning what hot renewable energy innovations and technologies are out there today.

Attendees learned that solar energy provides the latest in innovation, with wind far behind when it comes to private and residential services. It’s just too costly for an individual homeowner to have a wind turbine by their home, not to mention zoning and neighbor issues.

But here in the Midwest, people are very excited about biofuels. With large dairy farms in abundance in Wisconsin, there is a lot of research and innovation going into using cow manure to produce energy.

Farms, no matter the size, can get all of their energy – even energy for private use in homes - by using biogas digesters that sit right on the farm and convert cow manure to energy.

Biogas digesters convert manure or other organic matter into biogas by using bacteria that decompose the organic waste to produce biogas which is composed of methane and carbon dioxide.

Research is currently in the works on cleaning biogas so that it can be used as a natural gas.

Digesters not only produce energy for the farm, but they also eliminate the smell and the mess cattle produce, and if you live in the dairy state, you can really appreciate this. The odor can be quite strong at times.

Farmers may also sell the excess energy created from the biogas digester back to the grid.

Various organizations, including the USDA and the Department of Energy, offer grants to farmers for the biogas digester and its implementation. Wisconsin, being the leader in biogas digester use, has many programs and initiatives to help farmers.

Using biogas digesters on farms to create energy for that farm, and potentially for the surrounding community, is yet another example of creative ways to produce energy from a very problematic source.

We’re not only eliminating the greenhouse gases made from the methane of cow manure, we’re using hat gas for the power we need.

Green Jobs: Myth or Reality?

There is a lot of excitement about the prospect of new green jobs, and rightfully so. President Obama has made it a priority in his administration and even hired Van Jones as Green Job Advisor to help make it happen.

But under the radar, and in response to all of the excitement about green jobs, there is some negative chatter concerning the “myths” of these jobs.

Recently, a collaborative report was written by law and economics professors at the University of Illinois arguing that the proposal of green job creation has many myths attached to it.

The paper postulates that these jobs will not really help the economy, and that they’ll also cause great harm and detriment to our society and to the industry’s growth and potential.

So how can new jobs be bad for the economy?

Upon reading, you find the authors of this report are convinced that the intent of creating green jobs is to “remake” our society into a socialist regime. They rely on fear mongering, pandering to the sensibilities of big corporations.

The paper compares government aid for green industry growth to a Ponzi scheme. Here is one of their myths:

“Myth: Green jobs promote employment growth.”

Here is their “reality:”

“Reality: By promoting more jobs instead of more productivity, the green jobs described in the literature encourage low-paying jobs in less desirable conditions. Economic growth cannot be ordered by Congress or by the United Nations. Government interference –such as restricting successful technologies in favor of speculative technologies favored by special interests – will generate stagnation.”¹

This “reality” described by the authors has recently been proven untrue.

The government just forked over $535 million to Solyndra, a solar start-up that is currently providing great, high-paying, very technical jobs to grow their innovations in solar cell design.

Solar Richmond in California is providing people with advanced training and internships, sponsored by local government entities and some very good local solar companies that have real jobs to give.

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) is yet another example of this. With help from NGOs and others, they are providing technical training and resources to individuals and companies alike, all while promoting innovation and growth in renewable energy technology.

Recently, it was announced that the federal government is providing $1.2 billion in funding for renewable energy research and development, and President Obama has expressed his administration’s commitment to promoting the innovation needed to grow both the renewable industry and the economy.

So really, where is the harm in job creation and training supported by the government (large and local), small businesses, large corporations, and non-profits?

In light of this, the statement quoted above, “By promoting more jobs instead of more productivity, the green jobs described in the literature encourage low-paying jobs in less desirable conditions,” just doesn’t make much sense.

Also, increasing productivity requires jobs at every level and in every sector – including green collar jobs and less technical positions within low-income communities. Everybody needs a job, not just rich white-collar folks from upper middle-class neighborhoods.

It must be said, however, that a standard is needed for these jobs to keep employees safe in the workplace and to provide a pleasant work environment. The authors complain that there is no standard for green jobs, but then decry regulation on business – a blatant contradiction. Who else but the government can create such a standard?

They seem to have the mistaken notion that the government wants to control all business, impose harsh regulations that limit innovation and growth, and hamper the process with bureaucracy.

This notion really comes from the belief that government could restrict corporations from making big money at the detriment of the environment, their employees, and of society at large.

The real truth here is that the federal government’s goal is to coordinate with businesses, non-profits, and local government, providing a stimulus to the industry to help create jobs, innovation and growth.

It’s clear that the current financial crisis leaves many businesses without the resources to grow and innovate on their own. The question is: who but the federal government is in a position to help?

We have lived for far too long with only very limited regulation and standards for business, and this has gotten us where we are today. Let’s not ever be fooled again by fear-inducing tactics like talk of socialism and the government wanting to dictate to businesses. This kind of talk misrepresents the government’s goals and sets the real limit on economic growth for all.

[1] MORRISS, ANDREW P., BOGART, WILLIAM T., DORCHAK, ANDREW, MEINERS, ROGER E. (2009). GREEN JOBS MYTHS. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LAW AND ECONOMICS RESEARCH PAPER SERIES NO. LE09-001.