Earth Day 2013: The Pale Blue Dot

(National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency)

“Abandoned automobiles and other debris clutter an acid water and oil filled five acre pond. It was cleaned up under EPA supervision to prevent possible contamination of Great Salt Lake and a wildlife refuge nearby.” 

--Bruce McAllister, near Ogden, Utah, April 1974

Now there is one outstandingly important fact
regarding Spaceship Earth, and that is
that no instruction book came with it 
--Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth,
Buckminster Fuller
___________________

Earth Day 2013 passed quietly yesterday, the media focused on the human-on-human destruction more to the tastes of an anthropocentric society. (For more 1970's environmental atrocities, see Smithsonian Best and Worst of 1970's.) Almost 70% of Americans though preserving and restoring the environment was an important goal when the day was commemorated in 1971; today, less than 40% think so.

Meanwhile, the brutalization of our planet continues apace. In our neck of the woods, consumption of the once-popular Apalachicola Bay oyster is down, some reports suggesting by as much as 60%. An unknown amount of the oil dispersant Corexit -- banned in Europe -- was dumped into the Gulf to make the slicks "disappear" in 2010, but in fact increasing the toxicity of the spill by a coefficient of 50 (in keeping with SNL character Fernando's dictum, "It is better to look good than to feel good.") Many people who care about their health, and who have the liberty to make a choice, have declined swimming in or eating from these waters.

The Gulf Coast doesn't have too much in the way of natural resources, but seafood was one of them until BP's 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill cruelly arrived just in time for that year's Earth Day. On the three-year anniversary of the event, our Florida Attorney General Filed Suit Against BP Over the 2010 Spill for lost revenue in the state. 

The Environmental Protection Agency Reports: More Than Half Nation's Rivers in Poor Shape, unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures. 

If you can do something to help your piece of the planet stay healthy, please do it; likewise, if you can refrain from harming it, then do that.

Happy Earth Day, 2013.

The Little Things

What we call little things are merely
the causes of great things; they are the beginning,
the embryo, and it is the point of departure
which, generally speaking,
decides the whole future of an existence.
One single black speck may be the beginning
of a gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution
--Henri Frederic Amiel

If you add a little to a little
and do this often,
soon the little will become great
--Hesiod

--I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
--Yes, sir.
--Are you listening?
--Yes, I am.
--Plastics.
--The Graduate (1967)
__________________

This is a small story about small things observed in a day.

It began chatting with Josh, the guy cleaning up my computer and co-founder of one of our local internet providers. He's also a nature photographer, and a beautiful scene from the back door of his sister's home in the Bahamas led to talk of the Texas+-sized plastic Island in the North Pacific, so toxic for wildlife as the bits that compose it are mostly small and ingestible. We also have one forming in the Atlantic, which only seems right.

I have witnessed the result of this sort of pollution in our little town in one of our only lakes, when a paddling of ducks was trying to remove a partially-swallowed plastic bag from the mouth of one of its members. It was brave and heartbreaking at once, as each member would take its turn swimming beside the distressed bird, trying with its beak to dislodge the offending item. Finally, the bird swam close enough to lake's edge that I could walk out and retrieve what was a bag -- almost completely swallowed -- filled with some food garbage which someone had thoughtlessly tossed out.

Josh also discussed how he had wanted solar panels when they built their offices, but the contractor told them the weight and number of panels needed would have been prohibitive. Europe has the technology, but as the U.S. has no end of foul oil partners, it is not as pressing a concern here. We further discussed the waste materials from discarded hardware, and how the average person does not know how to properly dispose of such materials, which later clog our landfills.

As the repair was lengthy, he continued on with a story of poor home construction, and how so many openings were left between the wall and the floor of an addition that a snake had recently entered his home! He used some of that canned aerosol foam insulation, and feels the cracks have been sealed, but the cedar facing will have to come down and he will now have to make the corrections himself.

For many of our shoddy local builders a wall is a token separation of one space from another, versus a well-insulated barrier from the elements which when done correctly reduces the squandering of electricity. FSU has a prototype of the ideal home of the hopefully not-too-distant future on their campus, dubbed the OGZEB (Off-grade, zero emissions building.) Water is the only city resource used. The NYT featured the Lumenhaus recently, using a similar idea. Europe's Passive Houses accomplish the goal today.

Two shopping transactions followed: a "super soft" toothbrush purchased at the health food store impressed as it was made entirely from recycled yogurt containers, and included a label and a mailer (the brush case) in which to return the old brush for recycling. It was also an excellent product. Next stop was the chain grocer, Publix.

I was returning an item, and wanted to re-load my Publix gift card with the amount. It is a minor matter that brings this to mind: The card has a pretty winter scene, and I wished to keep it for awhile. However, I learned the cards cannot be reloaded, and must be discarded after one use, and so was issued a new plain green card in its place, no more or less suitable than the one just discarded.

As an aside, Publix recently inaugurated their Greenwise section of mostly organic food, presumably appealing to the environmentally-conscious consumer. But there is a disconnect here in the small matter of hundreds of plastic cards hitting their garbage daily.

If one is committed to conservation, coloring your cards green instead of recycling them falls short of convincing.