Protests: Right, Wrong, and in Between October 31, 2016

Last week there were two events that got me fired up. One was seeing unarmed (mostly… and even then, just with rocks) protestors being arrested en mass at the Dakota Access Pipeline. The other was seeing the armed perpetrators of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge standoff acquitted of their charges. Why is it ok for a group of heavily armed people to out stay their welcome on public land, yet others are being forcibly removed from a different area? While we can’t know what’s going on in the judge’s head or the police officers’ heads, I can provide some speculation.

One only has to look at the two groups of people to see a difference. The majority of people involved in the wildlife refuge fracas were white men (one woman was involved, as was one non-Caucasian man). Many of people being arrested in North Dakota are from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, i.e. native Americans. The first group found some out of the way public land to occupy to protest what they deemed unfair government control of public lands. They want to be able to graze their cattle on our land, for free. I’d like to build a house at Yellowstone, but that would defeat the purpose of public land, right?!

The second group is protesting an oil pipeline that they say could rupture, negatively impacting their drinking water, not to mention slowing any progress toward finding alternative fuel sources to slow climate change. They tried legal proceedings to shut down the project, to no avail. When that failed, they took to the land, literally, to block the pipeline’s construction.

Aside from race, the other issue at heart here is that the Bundy’s and their pals were not blocking any commercial enterprise, aside from potentially stopping some federal employees from fully doing their day-to-day jobs. The protestors in North Dakota are stopping a commercial enterprise. Dollars are trumping environmental protections once again.

If I lived closer, I’d like to think I’d be there too, standing with the Standing Rock Sioux. Thankfully there are many environmentalists adding their voices to the situation. Let’s hope for a peaceful and satisfactory conclusion that protects water quality and these native peoples. And let’s hope that the acquittal of those armed vigilantes in Oregon does not spark more militia-like takeovers of public lands. Just because that land belongs to us all doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want on it!

Stray Cat-astrophe? October 28, 2016

I read recently an interesting and somewhat depressing article in the November issue of Outside magazine about the feral cat population on the Hawaiian islands. Scientists have strong evidence linking the deaths of some endangered monk seals by toxoplasmosis to the feces of way too many stray cats. According to the article, cats are the only species that can transmit living toxo parasites in its feces to other species (this is why pregnant women are warned not to scoop the litter box). While many other species on the island may act as host for the toxo without showing any symptoms, for some reason the seals are falling prey to it. And they are already being impacted by other things such as climate change, adding insult to injury.

So what are they Hawaiian islanders to do? Feelings are mixed. Scientists and ecologists would like to reduce the number of wild felines through humane culling. Cat lovers, on the other hand, want to continue their trap, neuter, and release (TNR) programs, saying those practices keep cat colony populations in check. Yet according to the article, and other publications I have read, TNR is not successful there or just about anywhere else. The main reason… people continue to dump unwanted cats in places where they see other cats. So the colonies continue to grow even as fewer cats are having kittens.

As a cat parent and cat enthusiast myself, this article sparked many thoughts in my head. I can sympathize with the cat lovers… who would want to put down perfectly healthy and cute cats? Yet the environmentalist and bird lover in me sees the flip side as well… all those cats are not only inadvertently killing monk seals, but they are intentionally killing endangered birds across the islands and other places throughout the world. Cats are predators and not native to the Hawaiian islands or anywhere for that matter. They have been introduced into habitats by us. So shouldn’t we have a responsibility to deal with the aftermath of that domestication?

I worked on invasive species issues for many years. Any time I see a European house sparrow in my backyard I cringe. They bully the native birds and even kill ones like bluebirds, taking their nest boxes as their own. Yet it’s not the sparrow’s fault. They didn’t choose to come to the United States. It was people that brought them here. And people must come up with humane and effective solutions for all invasive species, lest we lose countless other species from our inaction.

In terms of the cats on the Hawaiian islands, they live in a relatively closed ecosystem, being surrounded on all sides by the Pacific Ocean. We could have a success story here. People could take action to protect the remaining endangered bird species, monk seals, and other animals falling prey. But it will require making some tough moves. Someone will need to convince the cat lovers that those other species are more important in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully many of those stray cats will find homes. Hopefully an effective public education campaign will teach people to spay/neuter their house cats, keep them indoors, and not dump them on the side of the road if they no longer want them, so the colonies can finally shrink in size. And failing all that, I hope people on both sides of the issue can sit down respectfully, with open ears and minds, and come to a solution that is not passion-based, but based on real science.

What do you think?

Wedding Waste October 17, 2016

I’m getting married this coming weekend. I had wanted to elope for several reasons, but in the end my fiancée and I decided to have an informal ceremony and party-like reception. I thought that would make it an affordable option… Now that seems very laughable and naïve. The wedding industry is just that: an industry. It is big business. I had to wonder, at what expense to the planet?

Being cost conscious, we could have opted for disposable plates, cups, napkins, etc. That would have saved us a lot of money. Renting all those things, along with linens and catering staff, was a big chunk of our budget. But we had to do it, as I couldn’t stomach the thought of all the waste of disposables. Even if you opt for the “green” version of compostable plates that is only green if you have a municipal composting facility that can handle them. Unfortunately most of the time those “green” plates and cups are sent to the landfill where they won’t break down as they’re supposed to. Now, washing all that silverware and glassware isn’t all that great either, but what’s the alternative? Not serve food? Drink directly from the wine bottle? I’m ok with that, but not with sharing. 🙂

We are keeping the decorations to a minimum. We tried to borrow white string lights where we could. The centerpieces are very small and use dried grasses and flowers rather than fresh roses shipped from a former rain forest in South America. But what will happen to these 2 dozen decorations after the wedding? They’re made in beer growlers so I hope some people will put them to good use in their home – either as a decoration or a beverage holder. But for the others I hope I can find someone on the internet or my home town to buy/take them for their next special event. I wonder how many people actually try to upsell their wedding décor? Most brides are key on saving money where they can and most couples will have no money after their wedding so recouping some of their investment makes sense. And it makes huge sense for the environment; more materials reused means fewer materials created from scratch.

I would love to hear from brides and grooms about how they tried to have as environmentally-friendly a wedding as possible and whether or not that raised the price of things considerably. Can it be cost-effective to have a “green” wedding without having to know someone who owns a farm where you can hold your wedding for free with flowers from the grounds and grass-fed beef from the pastures? Cause unfortunately I don’t know anyone like that and chances are, you don’t either. What a wonderful world it would be if we all did!

 

 

Good Intentions Meet Laziness or Forgetfulness October 14, 2016

Do you guilt trip yourself when you forget your reusable coffee mug on the counter and don’t realize it until you’re at the coffee shop counter? Do you mentally kick yourself when you don’t bring the canvas grocery bags into the store and can’t be bothered to go back to the car and get them? Do you sigh out loud when you are given leftovers from your favorite restaurant in a styrofoam container, rather than the reusable bowl you forgot in your kitchen? If one or more of these sound familiar to you, you are not alone. Environmental guilt can strike at any time, to anyone who cares about the planet.

I know that I am guilty of this guilt. Right now I’m drinking coffee from a paper cup with a plastic disposable lid. What a horrible person I am! And the coffee probably isn’t rain forest and bird-friendly organic certified. Ugh! I might as well stop calling myself an environmentalist! At least that’s what my internal hippie tells me under such circumstances. Yet all is not lost, my friends.

Here’s the thing… no one is perfect, not even the greenest of the green people. As a right-wing organization likes to show us with a billboard on the PA Turnpike (a photo of Robert Redford is beside the text “Flies private jet but wants us to give up gasoline.” or something like that), even people with the best intentions don’t give up everything that might not be good for the planet. The point is to be as good as you can, as often as you can, but not beat yourself up over the times when you’re not.

My husband to-be eats meat. Do I try to convert him, knowing that a vegetarian diet is much better for the planet? No, I don’t do that. But through my cooking he now eats vegetarian meals more than he would on his own. I doubt he’ll ever give up meat completely, and that’s ok (not amazing, mind you, but ok), but he recognizes the benefits and does what he can. Now if I could only get him to bring canvas bags to the grocery store!

But I digress… the point is to find little, simple things you can do, do them repeatedly, and they will become habit. Then stretch yourself to some greater actions and repeat. You’ll be helping the planet and not putting yourself out of your comfort zone too much. And then when you forget to do that action, or are just feeling too lazy to motivate yourself that day, remember that it’s ok. The planet won’t crash and burn just because you forgot to recycle that can of soda today. Just don’t make a habit of it! 🙂

Why Voting Matters for the Environment October 11, 2016

The title of this blog post may seem like a no-brainer, but I wanted to reiterate the fact, especially as today is the last day people can register to vote in my home state of Pennsylvania. If you haven’t done so already, please, do so ASAP. Your vote does matter!

The economy is one of the most important concerns of US voters and understandably so; most people are not getting ahead, are worried about having enough to send their kids to college or retire, etc. However, there is a less obvious but no less important issue that all voters should have on their mind, and that is the environment and climate change. The simple fact of the matter is, without a stable and well-functioning environment our economy will suffer. Think of all the natural resources our society relies on to thrive: plants for food and medicine, minerals and metals for industry, beautiful beaches for tourism, to name but a few. The diversity and health of our natural world allows us to have myriad businesses that put money in our bank accounts.

But think about what recently happened to Florida, the Carolinas, and Georgia (not to mention Haiti and other Caribbean islands)… Hurricane Matthew. This storm destroyed beaches and the homes crowded along the shores, flooded inland streets and businesses, and grounded aircraft bound for places around the world. The economic impact of that one storm will be in the multi-billions, if not more. Climate scientists expect storms like Matthew to become more common and more serious over the years as a result of climate change. And what is more threatening is that they expect storm surge (what causes much of the damage) to become more of an issue in the future.

Some politicians think that climate change is a hoax, even though the super majority of climate and other scientists are in agreement about its existence and people’s roles in it. Other politicians acknowledge that climate change is real, but think it is not very important in relation to international problems and domestic economic issues. But as I stated before, our economy is intricately tied to the environment. When it is affected by natural disasters like Matthew, or by an oil spill or over-harvesting of a natural resource, that negatively impacts the economy. And international problems like the Syrian crisis could get worse as natural resources dwindle due to over-crowding, bad weather conditions, etc.

Our world is like a web, where one piece is connected to another and another and so on. If you think a heathy economy does not rely on a thriving environment, think again. And if you think all politicians (at the local, state, and national levels) care about these issues, guess again. So be informed and be sure to vote. Our economy and environment depend on it.