Respect Nature To Avoid Destruction

I had a tough night. I had diarrhea. Wonder what Nature was trying to teach me?! Probably not to eat too much of chilly!

I felt better though in the morning. Diana, our host in Jakarta picked us up at about 10.30. We were heading to the animal safari which is about an hour journey from Jakarta. As we were nearing the place, there were some people selling carrots for the animals. We bought some from a small girl who was hardly 10 years old. It wasn’t easy bargaining with her though! She was good and pretty well versed in the trade!

As we are not allowed out of the car, we could only see some animals at close range. The white tigers were beautiful; this is my first encounter with a real life white tiger. At this point, someone in our group remarked, "I wonder who is being watched now, we or the animals? Are we humans here to watch the animals, or the animals watch us humans caged up (in car)?!" Upon hearing that, we all burst out laughing.

Come to think of it, when we look around us, Nature seems to be doing a fine job taking care of all animal and plant species. Chaos seems to arise only when humans are around; for example deforestation, weather change, rising of global temperature, destruction of ozone layer and so on.

Nature is taking its course in correcting the damage humans are creating. Nature balances, by first causing destruction in the world of humans itself, using its primary weapons which are ether (e.g. negative thoughts), air (e.g. airborne diseases), fire (e.g. forest fires), water (e.g. tsunamis, massive floods), and earth (e.g. barren soil, earthquake), to do its work. The moment one species begin to cause massive damage and harm the existence of another species, it is just a matter of time before Nature does its work. Of the three Nature's primary function; creation, preservation and destruction; that which is most feared even among the wise men and women in the past is destruction!

It has always been my sincere hope that, we, human beings, the highest known evolved species on earth, according to science; would recognize our mistakes and start treating Nature with much respect.

The Uneducated One is a financial market trader, author and a motivational speaker. He has helped companies and countless individuals achieve their goals and desires. Sign up for our 7 Day FREE e-course and find out how you can now live a truly happy, healthy and wealthy life at; http://www.awarenessseries.com

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Energy Conservation in a few Simple Steps: Save the Planet for the Generations to Come

The world is no longer a safe place to live.

But YOU can make it safer by acting a little more responsibly and sensibly.

YOUR little contributions toward energy conservation can make big difference for your home, for your family, and for this planet. Discover in this article a few easy ideas to get started in making your planet a better living place for the future generations.

Energy conservation and your environment

By saving energy you can have a fatter bank balance. But more than that, individual efforts for energy conservation mean cleaner and greener society as a whole.

Energy conservation means lowering the demands of such fossil fuels as coal, oil, and natural gas.

Drops in the use of fossil fuels means lower production of pollutants like carbon dioxide - the deadliest of all greenhouse emissions.

Energy conservation - a necessity, not an option

Did you know Americans as a whole expend a million dollars worth of energy every minute, night and day, every day of the year!

A little cut in this expenditure and pollutants are lesser by thousands of pounds!

And on the personal front - you can save a significant dollar amount on your annual energy bills.

Follow the simple steps described below and make the earth a better place for your grand children.

AT HOME

• Insulate your walls and ceilings for cutting down 20 to 30 percent on home heating bills. Those living in colder climate should consider super insulating.
• For the same purpose replace the traditional windows with argon filled, double-glazed windows.
• Always use Energy Star certified (high efficiency) appliances for less energy consumption.
• Choose the model size according to your typical needs; don't opt for the biggest size just because you can afford it.
• Be careful about your electrical appliances-don't leave your computer, sound system etc in stand by mood. Always switch them off after the use. Consider adding a "smart" power strip to automatically turn off equipment.
• Don't unnecessary set your refrigerator temperature at an extra ordinary low-set it at a reasonable point. Make sure that its energy saver switch is turned on. For the same reason, turn down your water heater thermostat from 140 degrees F to 120 F.
• Use such appliances as washing machine or dishwasher at their highest capacities.
• Make sure, you don't overheat or overcool your rooms; always keep the air filters clean.
• Replace your ordinary lighting systems with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs; they cost more initially, but latter they pay off by using only 1/4 the energy of ordinary lights.

OUTSIDE

• Make use of the public transport system wherever possible, or ride your bicycle. By saving just a gallon of gasoline, you are helping to avoid 22 pounds of CO2 emissions.
• When you are buying a new car, opt for the greener models. The cars giving better mileage costs more initially, but in the long run they help you save significantly on your energy bill.
• Avoid elevators and use stairs whenever possible.
• Reuse the things whenever possible to reduce the necessity of recycling.
• Plant shading trees around your home: it works as natural heater or cooling system.

Finally always stay informed about latest environmental issues-both at local as well as national level and vote to office the candidates who generally seem to take a constructive approach toward environmental protection and energy conservation.

About the Author

Tania Penwell provides information on energy conservation and other "green" topics for Green Savvy - your guide to environmental solutions.

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Global Warming True Or False?

Global warming, now there are two buzz words guaranteed to start a debate any time they are mentioned around the old water cooler! Ask any group of people what they think of it, and you will get everything from: ‘Its the end of the world!’ to: ‘Its a left wing hoax designed to destroy our economy!’ So, let us look at just what the facts are.

Global warming was first observed (as hard as this may be to believe!) way back in 1896. In that year, a Swedish chemist named Svante Arrhenius was the first person to quantify just how much the world is warmed by carbon dioxide. In his report, he warned that the world was ‘evaporating our coal mines into the air.’ He was largely ignored.

Then, in 1979, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences issued a report that rising carbon dioxide levels could cause temperatures to rises, and warned that a ‘wait and see attitude’ could be dangerous. Unfortunately, the naysayers in all this are a very powerful group: oil, coal, gas, automotive and steel. All industries that create vast amounts of the greenhouse gases, and all with very deep pockets. Since the late 1980s, they have funded a whole host of lobbying groups like the Global Climate Coalition, and the Information Council on the Environment, specifically to downplay the danger or deny it outright.

On top of that, there is the problem that this issue is not something one nation can address alone. Recently, in the State of California, Governor Schwarzenegger signed an executive order with the goal of reducing car emissions ten percent by 2020. While quite the laudable effort, it will accomplish nothing! China and India are poised to become highly industrialized counties, meaning: more cars, more power plants, more greenhouse gases being vented into the atmosphere. And thats just two nations. What of the rest of the world? It was because of the global nature of the problem that the Rio Treaty on voluntary emission reductions was signed in 1992, and later the Kyoto Treaty was negotiated. However, while President George H.W. Bush signed the Rio Treaty, its mandates were never enacted; and, under pressure from lobbying groups, President George Bush did not sign the Kyoto treaty.

In recent years weve seen the effects of Global Warming: killer heat waves in America and Europe, wilted crops, smaller snow packs and receding glaciers, and bigger and stronger hurricanes. So, we must ask ourselves: who are we to believe? There are thousands of scientists around the world, from all manner of political and social backgrounds who agree that global warming is happening. And then there are the naysayers, all of whom are backed by industries that have a vested interest in preventing any actions that would endanger their profits. Which ones are impartial, do you think?

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Going Green - Small Changes, Big Impact

The two golden rules of travel can be summarised by the following mantra: work out how much money you think you will need then double it, and work out how much stuff to take and halve it. And to an extent this is true; holidays invariably end up costing much more than planned, and sometimes an entire suitcase of clothes can go unworn, in favour of that one top that just looks oh-so-good.

But for a lot of people, holidays are for kicking back and letting loose so why shouldn't they pack an entire wardrobe, because "you never know"? The old cliche about taking thirteen pairs of shoes on a 4-day break may cause a lot of mirth for the more compact traveller, but "holidaying heavy" can have a more serious consequence for the environment.

Most airlines have a standard baggage allowance and anything over that amount is charged back to the customer. However, some airlines now charge for any checked luggage, citing environmental reasons; more luggage means more fuel and more fuel means more carbon emissions and subsequently less ice at the two poles. So, travelling light might actually be a good idea after all, not only for the environment but for the wallet too.

Holidaymakers can also take other small steps to help combat climate change. For example, whilst on holiday, consider whether it is really necessary to hire a car. Maybe the public transport system is perfectly adequate to meet most people's needs. Even when travelling to the airport before departure, it's worth considering the bus or train as an option first, saving on the cost of parking and reducing the impact on the environment at the same time.

This is particularly relevant for early morning flights at provincial airports, where public transport may be a little more restricted, especially in the small hours. Rather than getting up at four or five am, it may be wiser to travel the day before at a leisurely pace and stay at an airport hotel, meaning more sleep and less stress when getting that flight, and it also allows more time to eat a proper breakfast and even shop for flight essentials such as magazines and refreshments. Ultimately, it also means more time to enjoy the holiday without feeling jaded or jet-lagged on arrival.

Never has the environment and climate change been so much at the forefront of people's psyche. Small changes to individual travel habits can have a massive impact if everybody is involved, and the changes can actually enhance the whole holiday experience. So kick back, let loose and lose some shoes. Three pairs is more than enough!

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Market Barriers to Alternative Fuels

Alternative fuels are our future. On this topic there is very little argument. We, as nations, cannot continue on the path we have been on if our future generations are to have a planet and infrastructure to sustain life and happiness as we have known it. Future generations will be dictated from what we do right now and over the next 2-3 years. We don’t have the luxury of studying it anymore. In order for alternative fuels like bio or hydrogen fuel cells to become commercially viable we need a market.

In order to have a market we must have a buyer and a manufacturing agent that provides a product. With fuel based products there is one more key ingredient. The infrastructure throughout the supply chain. So what is this you ask? The infrastructure is both the pumping stations and the physical plants to produce the products. Then you need the unique suppliers who build the parts unique to the new tanks both in the vehicles and in the ground or where ever the fuel is stored at the delivery station. So, how do we get there? Well, big business would say they don’t see a buyer or thus a market to invest in the plants and tooling needed to produce the fuels. The buying public would hold off buying a product that is bleeding edge and thus limited support once they drive it off the lot of their auto dealership locally. In addition, its one thing to buy it it’s a whole other question to answer as to where to re-fuel the tank which leads us to the true market barrier in our opinion.

Today, there are very few if any non fossil fuel stations where someone can refill their alternative fuel vehicle. There are experiments in the field today albeit limited but they are out there and today their support is typically centrally located and thus limited at best to full functional testing. You wouldn’t try a drive through the Mojave Desert from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on an alternative fuel vehicle today. However, if you had stations setup in Barstow, Baker and the border of Las Vegas you might reconsider your decision as the way points are much more conducive to you safety should something happen to your vehicle en-route. So, it’s back to the chicken and the egg. All sides want the end result which in this case is a non polluting non fossil fuel vehicle. But who goes first? The United States is not the best country at launching ventures like this. We tend to offer grants and thus research environments but when it comes to the Commercial world we turn to private industry to solve it. Given the decades of build out of our current fossil fuel environment we do not believe that the government cannot be involved. If the USA funded the first 20% of the overall re-fueling stations across the USA the rest would follow and private industry would have its risk reward ROI (return on investment) all set up for venture capital to enter the fray. Not unlike what Germany has done with the financing of the solar industry in country. It can be done. We are entering a unique period whereby a new President will be voted in. Our current President will leave office due to our two term maximum. The time is now to find the candidate that understands this problem and get behind them. This election is all about fueling our Green Planet needs. Make no mistake.

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Environmental Sustainability - A Mirage?

Introduction

Trying to have matured adults agree on one concrete definition of “Sustainability”, is by far one of the toughest jobs. Though various organizations and thought leaders have tried their best to explore, analyze and beat it down to one precise meaning without success, there seems to be the common thread of Environment, Society and the Economy, running through them all. Northwest Environment Watch, a not-for-profit research and communication center based in Seattle, has according to me given a definition that is by far the closest to appropriate. It said that sustainability is "an economy and way of life in which both people and nature flourish, a culture that can last." The Executive Order 00-07, signed by Gov. John Kitzhaber of the State of Oregon, in May of 2000 says that, “Sustainability means using, developing and protecting resources at a rate and in a manner that enables people to meet their current needs and also provides that future generations can meet their own needs.” It also goes on a step further to say that, "Sustainability requires simultaneously meeting environmental, economic and community needs." This again almost co-relates to the Northwest Environment Watch’s stand. Let us now venture to explore three of the most critical influencers, and analyze their roles in achieving the goal of sustainability.

Growth of World Population

Agenda 21, The Earth Summit Strategy to Save Our Planet. (Sitarz 1993) explains very well the relation between population growth and the environmental health of the planet: “The spiraling growth of world population fuels the growth of global production and consumption. Rapidly increasing demands for natural resources, employment, education and social services make any attempts to protect natural resources and improve living standards very difficult. There is an immediate need to develop strategies aimed at controlling world population growth.” (p. 44)

Scientists, since a long time, have been underlining that, the Earth, if we believe in the fact that it’s a spherical surface, does have a capacity and limit to which it can carry or support. The Population of the planet, rising in leaps and bounds, will soon lead to a complete utilization of the World’s depleting Natural Resources. As May observes (May 1993): “...the scale and scope of human activities have, for the first time, grown to rival the natural processes that built the biosphere and that maintain it as a place where life can flourish. Many facts testify to this statement. It is that somewhere between 20 and 40 percent of the earth's primary productivity, from plant photosynthesis on land and in the sea, is now appropriated for human use.” This truly is matter of alarm. If we continue the growth of population at the current rate, we would be in a situation, where Sustainability would be a myth. Hence at no point of time should the Growth of Population be considered in isolation. Its growth in relation to the depleting Natural Resources in the planet is what heightens concern.

Governments, Association and Individuals of credibility, have continuously assembled and voiced opinions that “something” out to be done to “save the life and the planet”. Global Warming has been an issue within an agenda, in almost every summit. But all that came out of the discussions and the so called “action plans” are vague terms like “we need to Control the population”. Never has it moved towards action steps to actually stop population growth. The Report named Agenda 21, The Earth Summit Strategy to Save Our Planet, under the heading of "National Population Policies" goes to state that: “The long term consequences of human population growth must be fully grasped by all nations. They must rapidly formulate and implement appropriate programs to cope with the inevitable increase in population numbers.” (p. 45). Surprisingly such reports, continuously contradict themselves. Firstly they do not lay down concrete steps to stop the growth, even as they underplay the total problem at hand. On one hand they say that there is an immediate need to “control” the population growth to reach the goal of sustainability. With the same breath they point out, that population growth is “inevitable”. So when they do believe that the Population Growth is inevitable in spite of all, their claim of undertaking “appropriate steps” to curb or Control Population growth makes Sustainability sound like an oxymoron. Doesn’t it?

Consumer – Oriented Lifestyle

In the light of the definitions of Sustainability indicated earlier, the consumer-oriented lifestyle is best analyzed through a Social Practices Approach to Environment. We have been pushing the blame of an ever-increasing population for an Environmental crisis towards under-developed and developing nations so far. Apart from the fact that our home ground is also no lesser evil in this respect, there is a bigger problem of our consumer-oriented lifestyle that is contributing substantially to killing the existing Natural resources and has become an important issue to be addressed to reach the goal of sustainability.

According to Prof. dr. ire. G. Saracen in his The Social Practices Approach for Environmental Policymaking; theory, methodology and policy-development for sustainable domestic consumption, “The Social Practices Approach offers an integrative model to analyze and under-stand transitions towards sustainable consumption at the level of everyday life”. He also says that individual Consumers “develop 'story-lines' with respect to the environmental dimension of their lifestyles and provide legitimacy and rationality to the choices they make at the different segments of their lifestyles”. The three major consumption needs of an individual in a Society, namely Home and Maintenance, Food Consumption, Travel & Transport, have led to Rapid Urbanization & Home Construction, increasing vehicles and road construction, food preparation, and building Factories. As you see, a consumer-oriented approach is directly proportional to Industrialization, which in turn directly affects the Environment with its depleting Natural resources. When the need of the day is to increase rapid Agricultural Opportunities to counter the depleting Natural Assets of the Environment, isn’t a consumer Oriented Lifestyle with it’s need of sustenance a contradiction to the attainment of the goal of sustainability?

Stewardship

The last topic we would explore is the role of Stewardship. Sustainability is just not an individual problem or issue anymore. Though the life of every individual in this planet is affected, the magnitude of the problem is so vast, that no single department, or government can be held responsible. It is a Global issue, and needs to be addressed collectively. The inattention so far to attributing a direct responsibility, has been one of the major problems of not acting in the direction of attaining the goal. Hence every individual, every Government, every Organization or Association Body, and every Educational Institution has to own stewardship, to take steps, of reaching the goal of Sustainability.

This being said, the second aspect of Stewardship that needs to be addressed is “who leads?” We at United States, being the most developed, has a direct role in leading the world towards the goal. As they say that the best way to lead, is through example. “Our own country is the leading polluter on Earth, generating more greenhouse gases, especially CO2, than any other country. Not a word alone but by binding action, our nation has an inescapable moral duty to lead the way to genuinely effective solutions. We …call upon our government to change national policy so that the United States will begin to ease, not continue to increase, the burdens on our biosphere and their effect upon the planet's people”. (Joint Appeal by Religion and Science for the Environment "DECLARATION OF THE 'MISSION TO WASHINGTON” Washington, D.C,, May 12, 1992) What action steps have we really taken so far since then?

Conclusion

Bottom line: the word “Sustainability” has been continuously used so freely. If it is a sustained effort to cure today for a better tomorrow, what have we done for the immediate present? Every result of a meeting, every conclusion of a summit, has been filled with redundant usage of vague terminologies as “efforts will be taken”, “control will be exercised”, “reduction in population growth” etc. It has been interspersed with blame games. But never has any one body pointedly answered the specific question of “How”? It is about time, that we did this, unless everyone of us living today, every government in power, and every responsible organization wish to be accountable for the total extinction of the human species on earth.

Dipak Chatterjee is a thought leader, writer, deemed journalist and reporter. Please feel free to contact him at penstrength@gmail.com

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