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Animal free!
The escalating costs of corn and soybeans and the current credit crunch are forcing widespread cutbacks in the number of animals raised for food.
For the animals and caring consumers, such cuts are long overdue.
The 10 billion animals killed for food in the U.S. each year are caged and crowded, deprived and drugged, manhandled and mutilated. At the slaughterhouse, they may be scalded, bled, skinned and dismembered, while still conscious. Although 93 percent of consumers condemn such abuses, no law prevents them.
On Oct. 2 (Gandhi’s birthday), 400 communities in all 50 states and two dozen other countries observe World Farm Animals Day with public education events (see www.WFAD.org.) The purpose is to expose and memorialize the cruel treatment of animals raised for food and to promote an animal-free diet.
It’s a great opportunity for each of us to embrace a cruelty-free, healthful, cost-saving, plant-based diet. The escalating costs of corn and soybeans and the current credit crunch are forcing widespread cutbacks in the number of animals raise... more -
Eat less meat to fight climate change
From the Report: Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told The Observer that people should start by having one meat-free day per week then cut back further.
The 68-year-old Indian economist, who is a vegetarian, said diet change was important in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and environmental problems associated with rearing cattle and other animals.
"Give up meat for one day (per week) initially, and decrease it from there," he said.
"In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity."
Other small-scale lifestyle changes would also help to combat climate change, he said without elaborating.
"That's what I want to emphasise: we really have to bring about reductions in every sector of the economy."
Pachauri is due to give a speech in London on Monday under the title: "Global Warning: the impact of meat production and consumption on climate change".
Pachauri, who was re-elected for a second term six-year term as IPCC chairman last week, has headed the organisation since 2002 and oversaw its seminal assessment report in 2007 which gave graphic forecasts of the risks posed by global warming.
The IPCC warned then that without action the planet's rising temperatures could unleash potentially catastrophic change to earth's climate system, leading to hunger, drought, storms and massive species loss.
The organisation also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 along with former US vice president Al Gore. From the Report: Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told The Observer that people sh... more -
Organic food fad? Interest in organic food declines drastically
It seemed as if consumers had embraced organic food with more enthusiasm than many other environmental trends. However, now the British interest in all things organic seems to be declining drastically in the face of rising prices and more and more restricted budgets.
The market research company TNS keeps track of the shopping habits of 25,000 households and has watched organic sales rise tenfold in the last 10 years to more than £1.3bn a year. But the latest figures show the biggest and most consistent fall in organic food and drink sales for a decade - by nearly a fifth from their all-time peak in February.
Are you an organic food fan or did you never really buy into the trend? It seemed as if consumers had embraced organic food with more enthusiasm than many other environmental trends. However, now the Britis... more -
Cats eating into world fish stocks
GOURMET meals dished up to pampered pets could be threatening world fish supplies, Victorian scientists have warned.
Calculations by Deakin University researchers show an estimated 2.48 million tonnes of forage fish are used each year by the global cat food industry.
Leading this fishy business is the US, where more than 1.1 million tonnes of small forage fish, including sardines, herrings and anchovies, go into cat food.
Across Europe the figure is close to 870,000 tonnes, while almost 34,000 tonnes of the increasingly limited biological resource was imported into Australia each year to satisfy feline appetites.
Fish nutrition researcher Giovanni Turchini described the findings as "a real eye-opener". They reveal the extent to which fish suitable for human consumption goes into cat food.
Each cat in Australia eats 13.7 kilograms of fish a year, while humans on average consume about 11 kilograms of fish and seafood each.
"Australian pet cats are eating better than their owners," Dr Turchini said.
With ongoing debate about how to manage marine resources, the Deakin scientist said more research was needed to determine how much of the fish in cat food could be replaced by fish offal and other meat byproducts.
"I think giving a nice chunk of fish to a pet is important to satisfy the personal hedonistic needs of the owner, not the nutritional need of the cat," he said. "Cats will be very happy to eat the offal from a trout." GOURMET meals dished up to pampered pets could be threatening world fish supplies, Victorian scientists have warned. ... more -
Peak... gallium?
"But now comes word that it isn’t just wildlife that can go extinct. The element gallium is in very short supply and the world may well run out of it in just a few years. Indium is threatened too, says Armin Reller, a materials chemist at Germany’s University of Augsburg. He estimates that our planet’s stock of indium will last no more than another decade. All the hafnium will be gone by 2017 also, and another twenty years will see the extinction of zinc. Even copper is an endangered item, since worldwide demand for it is likely to exceed available supplies by the end of the present century."
Gallium is used to make LCD's which are becoming pretty much unavoidable in electronic displays. As the author points out, "Oil is just an organic substance that was created by natural biological processes; we know that we have a lot of it, but we’re using it up very rapidly, no more is being created, and someday it’ll be gone. The disappearance of elements, though—that’s a different matter. I was taught long ago that the ninety-two elements found in nature are the essential building blocks of the universe. Take one away—or three, or six—and won’t the essential structure of things suffer a potent blow? Somehow I feel that there’s a powerful difference between running out of oil, or killing off all the dodos, and having elements go extinct."
Not only is gallium at risk but indium will be gone in a decade and hafnium gone by 2017. Oh ya, copper and zinc will be gone too. "But now comes word that it isn’t just wildlife that can go extinct. The element gallium is in very short supply and the world ma... more -
Running the Numbers – An American Self-Portrait
This picture was made entirely out of cigarette packs! Artist and activist, Chris Jordan creates amazing images that portray America’s consumption. Chris’ hope is that his images will have a different effect than raw numbers alone. Since simple numbers no matter how large can be rather abstract it can be difficult to connect with ones impact. Whereas a visual representation of vast quantities can help make meaning of 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds or two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.
This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs. The underlying desire is to emphasize the role of the individual in a society that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming.
Check out more amazing shots after the jump... This picture was made entirely out of cigarette packs! Artist and activist, Chris Jordan creates amazing images that portray America’s... more -
America's Addiction To Plastic
With oil prices surging to almost $120 a barrel on Friday April 25th, 2008 the sky is certainly looking like the limit. There are analysts and speculators that are now saying they don’t feel that $200 a barrel oil is unrealistic at this point. It’s definitely easy to question who is making money here, who is laughing all the way to the bank as the price rises and who might be responsible for the meteoric price rise in the barrel of oil. An unfortunate truth to who is helping the price levels stay high could be looking back at you in the mirror.
Even the U.S. Congress is scrutinizing oil company profits and refinery production in light of the supply and demand issues that seem apparent in the oil industry. Americans often want to point their fingers at the same culprits. As much as the oil companies, a growing global economy and wars are to blame for the oil price increases but consumer consumption of plastic products is also a culprit in keeping oil prices high and environment issues shaky.
The most reliable statistics from the Pacific Institute put America’s love affair with water bottles at 31.2 billion liters of water in 2006. Due to negative press on the possible health effects of the use, most people are aware water bottles are sold in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. In order to manufacture these bottles over 900,000 tons of plastic is needed. The mainstream manufacturing process that produces PET bottles requires a combination of natural gas and petroleum. The petroleum requirement is where the statistics show that America’s obsession could be hurting their wallets at the gas pump.
Bottom line, the production of 31.2 billion liters of water for the U.S. bottled water market took roughly 17.6 million barrels of oil. The calculation is explained in more detail at the Pacific Institute’s information page under the energy requirements for plastic bottles. The simple break down is 3.4 megajoules of energy to produce a water bottle, cap and packaging with a barrel of oil producing about 6 thousand megajoules. Taking those numbers into account you arrive at 17.6 million barrels of oil, enough oil to run 1.5 million cars on U.S. roadways for an entire year.
more at the link. With oil prices surging to almost $120 a barrel on Friday April 25th, 2008 the sky is certainly looking like the limit. There are anal... more -
Record High Gas Prices On The Map
As expected, retail gas prices rose further into record territory Friday, nearing $3.60 a gallon. Meanwhile, oil prices rose sharply on news that a ship under contract to the U.S. Defense Department fired warning shots at two boats in the Persian Gulf.
At the pump, gas prices rose another 2.1 cents Friday to a record national average of $3.577 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices have been following oil futures higher, but are also rising due to concerns about whether gasoline supplies are adequate to meet peak summer driving demand.
There is often a spike at the pump in the summer, but this time the rise in gas prices is extreme, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor. The average fill-up is $8 more than it cost last year.
With gas prices higher than ever, thieves are targeting several U-Haul lots (listen) in Florida, reports CBS News correspondent Peter King.
Soaring gas prices are driving some commuters to embrace the somewhat radical idea of taking public transportation in car-centric Los Angeles, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy. Train ridership in the city has increased by 700,000 passengers over last year.
Analysts expect gas prices to continue rising for at least another month; predictions of how high prices will rise range from $3.70 to $4 a gallon. To a large extent, how high gas prices peak depends on what oil does. As expected, retail gas prices rose further into record territory Friday, nearing $3.60 a gallon. Meanwhile, oil prices rose sharply o... more -
What the world eats
An insightful visual demonstration of the ridiculous overconsumption in Western countries, this photo essay forces us to examine the difference between our daily needs and desires.
Photographs by Peter Menzel
Original Photo Essay in TIME Magazine is here: http://205.188.238.109/time/photogallery/0,29307,162651...
I just thought it was neat that this blog placed the pictures in descending order of weekly expenditures. An insightful visual demonstration of the ridiculous overconsumption in Western countries, this photo essay forces us to examine the d... more -
Buy And Give At The Same Time
When you buy something from this website, the company gives to a cause that you care about. Tonic Generation hands over a big chunk of their revenue, 40% on average, to the people who need it most. You can also track the impact of the money you gave. The good news is that they're not in competition for dollars you donate to other worthy non-profits. They just sell you stylish stuff and support meaningful causes along the way. See the difference you can make with your purchasing power. When you buy something from this website, the company gives to a cause that you care about. Tonic Generation hands over a big chunk of... more
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The Art of Consumption
Chris Jordan uses creative digital imaging techniques to explore global consumption. http://www.chrisjordan.com/
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Hunger. Strikes. Riots. The Food Crisis Bites
It is the constant sensation of hunger that makes Kamla Devi so angry. She argues with shopkeepers in New Delhi over prices and quarrels with her husband, a casual labourer, over his wages - about 50 rupees (60p) a day.
'When I go to the market and see how little I can get for my money, it makes me want to hit the shopkeepers and thrash the government,' she says. A few months ago, Kamla - who is 42 - decided she and her husband could no longer afford to eat twice a day. The couple, who have already sent their two teenage sons to live with more prosperous relatives, now exist on only one daily meal. At midday Kamla cooks a dozen roti (a round, flat Indian bread) with some vegetables fried with onions and spices. If there are some left, they will eat them at night. The only other sustenance that the couple have are occasional cups of sugared tea.
'My husband and I would argue every night. In the end he told me it wouldn't make his wages grow larger. Instead we went down to one meal a day to cut costs.'
It is a grim, unsettling story. Yet it is certainly not an exceptional one. Across the world, a food crisis is now unfolding with frightening speed. Hundreds of millions of men and women who, only a few months ago, were able to provide food for their families have found rocketing prices of wheat, rice and cooking oil have left them facing the imminent prospect of starvation. The spectre of catastrophe now looms over much of the planet.
In less than a year, the price of wheat has risen 130 per cent, soya by 87 per cent and rice by 74 per cent. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, there are only eight to 12 weeks of cereal stocks in the world, while grain supplies are at their lowest since the 1980s.
For the Devi family, and hundreds of millions of others like them, the impact has been calamitous, as Robert Zoellick, the World Bank President, warned at this weekend's G7 meeting in Washington. Brandishing a bag of rice, he told startled delegates from the world's richest nations that the world was now perched at the edge of catastrophe.
'This is not just about meals forgone today, or about increasing social unrest, it is about lost learning potential for children and adults in the future, stunted intellectual and physical growth,' he said. Without urgent action to resolve the crisis, he added, the fight against poverty could be set back by seven years.
end of excerpt.
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Is this a true catastrophe in the making brought on by overconsumption? Or a manipulation of the poor by world governments to find an excuse for their new world order? It is the constant sensation of hunger that makes Kamla Devi so angry. She argues with shopkeepers in New Delhi over prices and quarre... more -
Human Footprint
"see what one life will consume and accumulate..."
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How Much we Spend on Valentine's Day
A cool $17 BILLION. Cupid must be a capitalist.
Despite the sluggish U.S. economy, this year lovebirds still plan to shell out an average of $123 each on Valentine's Day, up from $120 last year and eclipsing the $101 of 2006. Total outlay for the U.S.: $17 billion, estimates the National Retail Federation's 2008 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by market research company BIGresearch. A cool $17 BILLION. Cupid must be a capitalist. ... more -
Cash or charge?!
Everything you should know before going on a shopping spree. Once you become aware of the process behind every stuff we purchase, you'll think twice before maximizing your credit card or deciding what you really need to consume from now on without necessarily become an activist green but simply becoming s smarter consumer. Everything you should know before going on a shopping spree. Once you become aware of the process behind every stuff we purchase, you&... more
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Current NH: Day Two
Laura Ling and Kaj Larsen are at the New Hampshire Primary with a team of CJs taking a look at the major challenges facing the next president of the US. Today: The worlds population consume A LOT of resources, and the population keeps growing. Are we running out of stuff? Laura Ling and Kaj Larsen are at the New Hampshire Primary with a team of CJs taking a look at the major challenges facing the next pr... more
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Climate Change and consumption ethic
Climate change is a multi-faceted issue that involves a whole lot more than just developing alternative fuels. We need to address loss of biodiversity, our entire consumption ethic, overpopulation...and so much more. There are lifestyle changes and policy changes that will make this happen. Climate change is a multi-faceted issue that involves a whole lot more than just developing alternative fuels. We need to address loss... more
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Your hummer isn't helping climate change
The things we're buying aren't helping climate change
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Buying Nothing at Wal Mart
What happens when you go shopping for nothing?
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Chicago is the Most Caffeinated U.S. City
"The windy city is also the most wired, according to a survey that showed people in Chicago are the most caffeinated in the United States.
Chicagoans eat more chocolate and drink more cola than other U.S. urbanites, and are among the top consumers of energy drinks and coffee."
Dang Chicago! Why u so sleepy?
San Francisco being at the bottom of the list in caffeine consumption is a bit surprising, no? "The windy city is also the most wired, according to a survey that showed people in Chicago are the most caffeinated in the Unite... more
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Consumption
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Consumption
