Rox Populi

What Brown's Students Missed

In the interest of free speech, here's a version of the very same riveting magnum opus Thomas Friedman was scheduled to give at Brown on Earth Day, delivered last summer at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Michael Crichton: Still Wrong About Global Warming, But Right About Weird-Ass Gene Patents

I just got back from Michael Crichton's dog-and-pony show at the National Press Club. He was there to chat about his latest drop --Next. Yet, a great deal of his presentation, and subsequent audience curiousity, dealt with his views on global warming.

Shorter Crichton: I went to Harvard Med School and the only predictive science that counts is mine. Did I mention I went to Harvard Med? That's right, fucking Harvard. You uneducated, pseudo-science-potboiler-buying proles! I've read the research and only my Harvard-educated mind can comprehend the complexities of global warming issues.

Anyway .................

I was at the Press Club tonight to hear about Next --which themematically deals with horrifying fact "...that the genetic research industry is run exclusively for profit and needs reform."

Make Every Day Earth Day - #7

It's alot easier to live without a car than most people who don't can fathom, even in some suburbs.

We don't own a car. I know. You are shocked and horrified!

We live in a suburb 25 miles from downtown DC, a couple of miles from the nearest subway station. And yet I have no trouble whatsoever making my way to and fro work five-days-a-week. I simply jump on a quick bus to get to the station. What makes living here easy, too, is that our townhouse is adjacent to what is arguably the best New Urbanist community in the country. While its sometimes "Downtown Disney" quality works my urban sensibilities, it's awfully nice to have 2 grocery stores, a home improvement store, a five-and-dime, a movie theater, dozens of restaurants and retails shops, a post office,  and an arts center right across the street.

Make Every Day Earth Day - #6

According to Ecotao:

...a great reduction in our impact upon the environment can be achieved through the adoption of a more vegetarian diet. It is quite feasible for the average westerner to reduce meat consumption to 1/10 of the current level. Ayres (1999) noted that the per capita consumption of meat doubled between 1950 and 2000. Ayres estimated that 7 kg of feed grain are required to produce 1 kg of feedlot beef. The biological conversion efficiency is generally quoted at 10%, so a ratio of 7:1 is good. By reducing meat consumption to 1/10 of the current level, we effectively free about 6 kg of grain per kilo consumed. The rate of consumption of this meat, being a tenth of the previous level, also has other benefits over and above gross consumption. Simply, the demand upon the environment from this component of the human impact upon nature, can be reduced. If the population does double, while we do manage to reduce meat consumption to 10% of the current level, the impact of this component need only be about 20% of the current level by 2100.

I've tried being a vegetarian several times. It doesn't agree with me. But, over the years, I've managed to greatly reduce the amount of meat I consume.

Make Every Day Earth Day - #5

The World Wildlife Federation offers these tips to gardeners yearning to keep it green:

Gardening with the environment in mind allows you to enjoy nature while helping to maintain healthy ecosystems. Remember these things when planning your patch and you can be guaranteed to have a truly green garden.

• Collect rainwater to water your flowers.
• Let part of your garden grow freely and see what wild flowers appear.
• Plant local species of trees.
• Plant pollinator-friendly plants, to attract butterflies and moths to your garden and provide them food.
• Never take plants or pick flowers from anywhere in the wild.
• Buy bulbs from cultivated stocks only (ask the shop or gardening center for advice).
• Stop using chemical pesticides -- try to use natural products instead.
• Use traps, parasites, and natural predators such as ladybirds.
• Use disease-resistant and pest-resistant plants.
• Use organic compost and mulch to improve soil health and reduce the need for pesticides and fertilizers.
• Don't use peat in your flower beds and vegetable gardens (peat is taken from ancient bog land, destroying some of our most precious wildlife areas). Instead, make your own compost with grass clippings and vegetable scraps from the house.
• Use plants that repel insects. Some herbs and flowers - including basil, chives, mint, marigolds, and chrysanthemums -- mixed in with other plants, help keep pests away.
• Don't use electrical equipment like leaf-blowers as they consume so much energy for so little gain. Use a rake instead -- it's better for your health too!
• Never pour antifreeze, oil or other chemicals on the ground, into storm sewers or down the drain. Take these toxic substances to your local waste disposal facility.
• Don't buy garden furniture or decking made of tropical hard wood -- mahogany for example -- unless it's got a Forest Stewardship Council label.
• Take time out to sit out in your backyard with friends and family, and appreciate the beauty of nature!

Make Every Day Earth Day - #4

NREL has some pretty good green tips for printing:

• When formatting documents, limit the number of pages by expanding margins or by using the Microsoft Word "Shrink to Fit" function. Select "File," "Print Preview," and the "Shrink to Fit" icon in the toolbar. In Microsoft Excel, select "File," "Page Setup" and the "Fit To" or "Adjust To" options.
• When printing PowerPoint slides, put several slides to a page. Select "File," "Print," "Print What," "Handouts" (two, three, or six slides per page)
• When printing pages from the Web, you can "shrink" files/Web site pages so that more than one screen/page shows up on each printed page. Go to "File" and then "Print." Under "Properties," go to the "Layout" (or "Finishing") tab. At the bottom left, you will see a window for "Pages Per Sheet"—fill in the number you want. This tip is especially useful for printing presentations that are posted on the Web as PDF files with only one slide/page.
• Read short documents on the computer, rather than printing. Use the "Zoom" feature to enlarge the text size.

Make Every Day Earth Day - #3

Going green has become so mainstream, Business Week was doing it almost two years ago:

Splurge on a high-end washer-dryer. Energy-efficient appliances offer lots of savings on your electricity bill. You may even be able to get a rebate from the government's Energy Star program for trading up (go to www.energystar.gov to look for local deals). Best of all, some of the trendy, expensive models are the most energy (and water) efficient. So go ahead, ante up for a $1,000 Bosch front-loading washer and feel good about it, knowing you could be cutting up to $110 a year from water and energy bills. Savings like that pay for the machine.

Make Every Day Earth Day - #2

Today's tip comes courtesy of the National Zoo:

...Did you know you can reduce waste and help wildlife while you drink coffee? If you brew it yourself, eliminate paper filters by purchasing a reusable filter, available for just a few dollars at natural food stores and elsewhere. White paper filters pollute water with chlorine and other harmful chemicals. Unbleached filters are an improvement but, over time, waste vast amounts of paper. If you buy your coffee by the cup, bring your own reusable cup with you. You'll save paper, reduce chlorine used to bleach cups, and reduce your contribution to landfills. Whether you make your own java or have it made for you, look for shade-grown organic coffee, which preserves land for birds and avoids pesticides and other chemicals...

We use an old-fashioned stovetop percolator at home when we're not brewing espresso (which is also paper-free) or using our French press.

Make Every Day Earth Day - #1

I was going to blog about Earth Day yesterday, but I was wiped out. Spent most of the day sleeping. So, for Penance, I've decided to offer an environmental tip-a-day here at Rox Pop.

According to the good folks at StopGlobalWarming.org, "Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. [You can] save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year" if you shorten your showers.