Does It Matter

I have no idea who these climate scientists are that are allegedly misrepresenting data; nor do I know the individuals trying to hang them.

This I do know. It is our duty as human beings to respect the world we live in so that those that follow in our footsteps can have at least the same experiences that we have enjoyed (possibly better).

It is our responsibility as beings of cognition (able to think and discern) to live in a manner conducive to life on earth be it land, sea or air.

We know that over hundreds of millions of years life has evolved. Some plants and animals have died because of climate changes caused by natural disasters time and time again.

We also know that some have transformed themselves and adapted over time; adjusting their lifestyles to the living conditions in which they found themselves; they've adapted.

I don't believe we can continue to live the way we have, full steam ahead, burning fossil fuels and obscuring the view of the sunrise and polluting the water. We can't continually drill further and further off shore; deeper and deeper just to satisfy the worlds thirst for oil.

We cannot keep pumping water from the worlds fresh water aquifer's and think we will always have fresh water. Like oil wells; water wells are being drilled deeper and deeper to access water around the world.

There are a couple things that come into play when I read stuff like this from the extreme right:

#1) These people are scared to death of what they are unfamiliar with.

#2) There are trillions of dollars at stake in the fossil fuel industry. They will do or say anything to keep people from right thinking.

#3) There are those that have read the Bible and misinterpreted the statement in Geneses that we are "stewards of the Earth". They think that the world is here for us.

They do not realize that we created the world and therefor are responsible for its condition and the condition with which we hand it to our posterior. We are not alone here; there are many animals and plants that depend on our ability to create, preserve and enjoy. There are those to come which depend on us to preserve enough of the earth for them to enjoy.

I shall stand aside and let the media, once again, make fools of themselves.
Right thinking is the only thing that will get us out of this mess.
Running scared or doing nothing won't help!
As stewards of the Earth it is our responsibility to do what we can to help make and keep the world a cleaner place for all to enjoy.

Problems with Coal-Based Electricity Generation

The Big Stone II Coal Fired Power Plant Project met it's demise this week in NE South Dakota. On the one hand I 'm not sorry to see it shot down. On the other in the process of building another Power plant they were supposed to clean up the plant already on line.
Ottertail Power Company announced that they would abandoned the project this week.

The following is a blurp on coal from another site.

Courtesy of http://www.grinningplanet.com,
Thanks,
Guys

Beyond the environmental problems with coal mining, burning coal to generate electricity is notoriously dirty. While great improvements have been made over the years in air-pollution-control technologies for coal plants, many old, fume-belching plants remain online. Despite industry proclamations of the wonders of "clean coal" technology—coal-gasification combined cycle (CGCC) power plants are indeed a quantum leap from plants with even state-of-the-art emissions scrubbers—almost none of the coal plants currently under construction or on the drawing boards around the world are this super-clean type.


Even if you give the coal industry and its political allies the benefit of the doubt and assume a wholesale move to clean coal-burning technology, that would still leave the intractable issue of the pollution and environmental damage caused by coal mining. There are no easy solutions for that problem, and increasing the demand for coal will also increase the environmental problems associated with coal mining.

Responsible Camping - Sustainable Camping

We campers are recognizing the significance of an unspoiled environment as a precondition for our activity. We know, that clean and fresh nature is essential for an enjoyable camping - it is the place where we spend our free time, relax with our friends and collect strength for our coming duties.
When camping we are placing a burden on the environment but responsible camping does not endanger the environment. Responsible camping will allow us to enjoy the environment without taking this privilege out from future generations. Showing our responsibility means that we have to adopt to our camping activity only sustainable operating models.

When our goal is to adapt camping to meet the requirements of environmental protection and to steer our activity in a direction which protects the nature and the environment, we can talk about sustainable camping.
Developing sustainable camping requires cooperation between us campers, authorities, campsite owners and also local population. However, we campers, we play a central role in adopting environmentally friendly practices. Whether or not sustainable measures are carried out depends more than anything else on us ourselves.

The following is a brief summary of the basics of sustainable camping:

* In campsite planning environmental viewpoints should be taken into consideration from the beginning.

* When determining the campsite location alternatives which place the least possible burden on the environment should be studied.

* Local traditions should be taken into account in construction. Architecture should be in harmony with the environment and landscape. Construction materials and technical solutions should be environmentally friendly.

* Attention should be paid to preserve traditional landscapes and the diversity of nature. Asphalted surfaces should be avoided and space should be saved for plants.

* Traffic noise and other problems caused by traffic should be reduced as much as possible.

* Campsite operators and users should make use of local products and services as far as possible.

* Campsite operators and users should act in every aspect in accordance with the principles of sustainable camping.

* Sustainable camping includes the use of public transport as far as possible.

* Hiking and biking are examples of environmentally friendly exercise.

* In nature we campers should stick to trails. Nature programs should be designed so that they use existing trails and routes. The goal of guided nature trips should be to improve our knowledge of the environment and awareness of the nature.

* We should regulate our water consumption as well as the use of lighting and heating energy. Use of electric hand dryers etc. should be avoided.

* Use of environmentally harmful products as disposable plates, mug, toilet articles, etc. should be avoided. Also we should avoid of use of canned drinks and drinks in plastic bottles in favor of glass bottles.

* Also we campers should take care of sorting the waste. Lubricants and other problem waste should be sent to enterprises qualified to dispose of them. Organic waste should became composted and all waste should be removed from the nature.

By:Lars Dahlberg
President of the F.I.C.C

Bicycling Benefits Are Legion

Bicycles have been around for a very long time. In fact, bicycles have been around for so long that it is a very common tradition, especially in the United States of America, that one of the first thing that a young child is taught along with his or hers ABC's and 123s is how to ride a bicycle.

As we get older, most people often lose interest in cycling. The thought of riding a bike becomes mere nostalgia of times when we were younger. However, if you stop to think about it, there are many benefits to riding a bicycle.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of riding a bicycle are tremendous. A daily or weekly regular exercise regime is hard to maintain because the lifestyles that we may have. Most of us have at least one full time job and many have families to take care of and spend time with in addition to secular work. Because we all have these type of mundane tasks, this makes it harder and harder to keep up with a regular exercise schedule.

Now, if you were to travel via bicycle, this can double as exercise. Depending on how fast you go, you may be able to get a great cardio aerobic workout. If you cycle uphill and off-road, you may also be able to squeeze in some fitness training and strengthen your leg muscles.

Riding a bicycle in lieu of an automobile sometimes can afford you the time to get a work out. If you can set aside some time to cycle strictly for exercise, that can prove to be even more beneficial.

Financial Benefits

There are also financial benefits to riding bicycles. In this day and age, gas prices are on the rise and they continue to be priced higher and higher seemingly every single week. Some times the price of gas can be so financially taxing to people who are on a budget, that they have no other choice but to seek a cheaper alternative. Well, one great alternative is cycling.

Regular, manual bicycles require absolutely no gas at all. All that is required is a little bit of leg muscle and elbow grease. If you live near your workplace or school, why not travel the gas-free way and cycle to your destination?

Ways To Live Green; Simply!

Where can you start? At home as always.

* Change your light globes, re-cyle everything you bring into your home - compost, recycle services, free-cycle networks, charity stores. Reduce the amount of waste you produce and take responsibility for it's disposal.
* Look to your consumption patterns and habits - you can cut your energy consumption by turning off lights and appliances that you are not using right now, by walking to your friends house, by riding your bike to school, by doing more than one thing when you take the car out, by car sharing or pooling, by using public transport even once a week.
* You can create a healthier you by changing your eating habits - eat at home more often, grow some of your own food, even herbs on a window ledge have health and climate change benefits. Cut down your consumption of meat - up to 25% of your carbon emissions are coming from meat consumption. That is an enormous amount - try one vegetarian dish every week and see if you discover a new family favourite. I bet by the end of the year you can halve your meat consumption and not even miss it.
* Share what you are learning with people you know. If you found something that is great for your family or for you personally, share it with someone you love. You would do that if you found a great deal on shoes somewhere right? It's only natural to share good ideas, great recipes, fun activities and so this part of the process will be even easier.
* There are so many more things you can do. REDUCE, Re-Use and Re-cyle are the words you can use to remind yourself of your new commitment to life on earth. REDUCE is the most important component. We all just want to be happy and healthy, we can do that without consuming all the 'stuff' we currently consume - take a look at your life, your family, your community and see what consumption patterns you can reduce while at the same time increasing your levels of happiness and health.

What a challenge, what a reward. Climate change could be just the opportunity we need to re-envision our whole lives and the way we live them. Now I'm feeling grateful to climate change, go figure.

Is There A Pattern Forming Here?

"Green Building" is a broad term used to describe the design and construction of sustainable and environmentally conscious buildings.

The driving force behind this is to lower our negative impact on the environment and, at the same time, make the buildings we live and work in safer and healthier for us.

According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) statistics,`buildings are responsible for all of the following:

* 39% of US carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions

* 70% of US electricity consumption

* 15 trillion gallons of water consumption



Even though there is still some controversy over the effect of greenhouse gases on the environment, the last two statistics are very important for those of us living in urban areas experiencing continuous growth, especially the American Southwest. With our population expansion, aging water and electrical infrastructure, and shrinking landfills, designing and constructing green and sustainable buildings makes practical sense from a utilitarian perspective.

In fact, USGBC data shows that green buildings use 36% less energy, require fewer raw materials, and divert less waste to our landfills. Furthermore, the "increased" cost of green building is only one or two percent more expensive than a conventional building. This minute difference exemplifies the tangible and long-term benefits of sustainable design, primarily due to the fact that green buildings conserve water and electricity. Thus, while they are more expensive to build, green structures will save money by conserving more energy over time.

Another push towards the green build movement is by local governments. More and more municipalities
are adopting the USGBC LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) guidelines for new
and renovated buildings. In 2006, at the USGBC Greenbuild expo, the Mayor of Denver challenged other major cities to see who can have the most LEED® certified green buildings. They are accomplishing this by offering tax breaks to private corporations and mandating sustainable construction for city-financed projects.

This has led to a dramatic increase in the number of sustainable projects built by LEED® Certified general contractors. However, this growth has not come without challenges. Currently, the following issues are restricting the number of green projects being built:

* Increased demand for green products has lead to long lead times

* New and unspecified materials are labeled “green” products which are not necessarily certified

* Building officials are struggling with a steep learning curve on how to evaluate these new products and sustainable building techniques



Despite these difficulties, the USGBC, sustainability advocates, and green building construction management firms are meeting to overcome these challenges.

The LEED® process is constantly under review and continues to adopt the latest codes and products. This includes Standard 189, a new minimum standard for green building. The USGBC is currently developing LEED® 3.0 and working with national code writers to include new products and techniques.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has even rolled out a new initiative called "Sustainability 2030," which at its roots, is looking to design all buildings by the year 2030 as carbon neutral. The USGBC has even initiated the Green Advantage Builders Certification for contractors to certify their knowledge in green building
techniques.

So what does green building mean at the end of the day? It's simple yet profound: Do the right thing for you, the environment, and the next generation. While most companies are concerned with their bottom line, they ought to embrace the idea that energy and water conservation, green building, and the use of "green materials" in construction stands to increase their savings over time while positioning them as a leader in environmental stewardship.

According to the USGBC, we spend 90% of our time indoors. Due to this fact, scientists have identified an increase in allergies, asthma, absenteeism from school, and even work. There have been numerous studies done on post occupancy productivity levels, which have increased within "green" built facilities. Not only does
green adaptation result in less sick days taken, but also shows an increase in productivity, job
satisfaction, and in the case of schools, better grades.

Are You Driving a Pig!

Many of the vehicles driven today fall into one of four categories; van, car, pickup or an SUV. Very few of the American models get the mileage they should. Everyone is up in arms about mileage these days and here we are with an American automobile industry that is tooled up to manufacture vehicles that average 20 miles to the gallon(I'd say that estimate is being generous).

I couldn't figure out for sure what people were thinking when they would buy an over sized 4 wheel drive to get groceries and go to work. I live 20 miles from town in South Dakota and I never owned one myself. I couldn't justify one then and I darn sure can't justify it now.

I used to have a 1986 Pontiac with a 4 cylinder motor in it. This little car was every misers dream. The dang thing got 36 miles to the gallon on the interstate driving 70 mph. What happened to those cars anyway? Sheesh, if you were mad at it and drove it 75 or 80 it still got 28 mpg.

How fast do we have to get places anyway? My little Pontiac probably wouldn't do 60 mph between stop lights like cars made now but you could sure pass a lot of gas stations. Last year I had to go European to get a car that would get in excess of 30 mpg and still haul my family without stacking them in. German actually . . .first time I ever bought a vehicle that wasn't made in the USA; it bothered me too. . .not too bad though. I mean really; what options did Detroit leave a person that was concerned about fossil fuel consumption? None that I could see.

I read an article today published in the Topeka Kansas newspaper. It was written by a lady that claimed she was upside down on her SUV. She claimed not to be able to trade it even on a brand new economy car; the dealers won't take them. Now this is an intelligent person; educated and teaching at a mid-west college. What are people like this thinking of when they buy one of these 4 wheel drives? I don't think they are thinking. How can reasonably intelligent people quit thinking when they go buy a new vehicle? What really gets me is like most everyone; she justified her purchase by giving us the classic answer everyone gives when you ask them about there SUV.

"I'll be glad I have it when the snow comes and the roads get slippery."

Every time I hear this statement I want to scream! If I count the number of days of work I've missed in ten years because of the weather I can come up with about four . . . well maybe five days . . . in ten years. Now how can you justify the extra expense of fuel, maintenance and payments on an SUV for a measly four or five days in ten years. It is impossible.

I will get off my vehicle soap box now. I think everyone has the picture. I will not mention it again. It is a very sore subject now with many people. BTW, I sure like my Mercedes Benz I bought last year.