Can The Maldives Be Saved?

It was appropriate that on April 22, Earth Day, Ron and I drove to the Landmark Theatres in Hillcrest to see the documentary, Island President. It's about the plight of the Maldives, a country of over 2000 islands, that is struggling to survive. The reason for its possible demise is global warming. The film focused on the efforts of the former prime minister of the Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed, who worked tirelessly prior to the Global Warming Conference in Denmark in 2011, to convince world leaders to help save the tiny nation, by reducing CO2 emissions from 392ppm to 350ppm (parts per million). He felt that if the Maldives went under (the water level is rising at an alarming rate and land is disappearing), other nations would face the same plight.

  We were spellbound for 1hour and 40 minutes as we watched this tiny man deal with his own country and world leaders. He was like a rock star in his own country, admired by many for lifelong struggle for democracy in the Maldives, and for speaking his own mind. Nasheed served 19 months in solitary confinement under the former leader of the Maldives, and to his surprise was released relatively unharmed. Within several years he was the prime minister of this tiny country in the Indian Ocean. He was forced to resign last year due to mounting tensions and political unrest, but he definitely left his mark. His leadership led to positive proposals for his country at the Denmark Global Warming Convention in 2009. For now, the Maldives are alive and well, but it will take a great amount of work to keep them alive. They are trying to become the first country to be carbon neutral. Their goal is to do so by 2020. That is a lofty goal, but one which they intend to achieve. It's the best way to reverse the damage we have done to the planet.

Our intention was to have breakfast at the new hotspot in Hillcrest, Snooze. I wrote about it a few weeks ago. I had eaten at their Boulder location and absolutely loved the food and the menu. Well, aparently everyone else does too. At 1pm there was a one hour wait. We'll try it another time, during the week. It's right across from Landmark Hillcrest theatres.

    Learning how other countries and cultures are dealing with global warming was a great way to celebrate Earth Day. Most of us don't see on a daily basis the damage that has been done to the planet. If we don't deal with the problem we'll be leaving our grandchildren a planet that may not be able to be saved.

Plastic Bags Are Going The Way Of The Do Do Bird

I was at Trader Joe's in Santa Monica a few weeks ago (not in my car which has lots of reusable bags in the trunk), and was told at check out that I would be charged five cents per bag. Since I didn't know about the new law that had gone into effect, I got a pass. Santa Monica is just one of many cities to impose this ordinance

. You need to bring your own reusable bag or you will be charged. This is no big deal to me, as I've been using my own bags for at least 3 years, but it will take some getting used to for many of us. It's just a habit. I always have several bags in my trunk, and one on the floor of the front seat. That way, picking up the bag, along with my purse is no big deal. I don't know about you, but when I first started carrying a cellular phone, I was constantly forgetting it, until I got into a routine. Now it's second nature. Reusable bags will become second nature to you too, after you figure out how NOT to forget them.

The drive to ban plastic bags from grocery stores has been underway for many years now. It's a city by city ban, which means progressive cities will probably ban them first. Some of the cities that have banned the plastic bag, or have laws that will soon go into effect, or are in the process of doing so, include Seattle, Long Beach, Santa Monica, San Jose, Austin,and Sunnyvale. There are many others where the ban is under consideration.

We all know the detrimental effects of the plastic bag. They get dumped in landfills and sit there for hundreds of years. I know many people fight the ban, like the plastic bags, use them for doggie poop bags or trash can liners, but they're going to have to change. Luckily, new products have come on the market that are biodegradable. They are much more expensive, which is why supermarkets are against them, but they are available to store vegetables and meat, and as doggie bags.

A whole new industry has developed due to the plastic bag ban. Biodegradable bags can be purchased almost anywhere today. I for one am in favor of the ban, as I already have stopped using them. Every little step we take to help the environment is important.

Going Green With NBC

By now you know that going green is at the top of my personal agenda, and when I see companies that are trying to make a difference, I try my best to support them. I have recently noticed the many public service commercials on NBC promoting their "Green is Universal" program. I decided to take a closer look at it. You should too. Go to www.nbc.com/green. You won't believe what they're doing.

I'll tell you a little of what they're doing, but you really have to go to the web site and spend some time perusing it to see all the wonderful tips and tricks they have to offer, and see how they have their whole company involved in going green, from on camera stars to the children in the day care they offer their employees at Universal City. They must have dozens of full time employees to not only plan and update the website, but to put out blogs and useful information on so many subjects. They offer tips on going green and tricks to help reduce your footprint.

For example, washing clothes in cold water not only keeps your clothes looking fresh, but it saves 90% of the energy as washing in warm or hot water. Most of the energy is used to heat the water. What a simple change.

Properly inflated tires can save you about 8 cents per gallon. That adds up pretty quickly, and it doesn't require anything more than your maintaining your car properly.

Unpluging appliances when not using them can save you up to 20%. This is a little inconvenient for some appliances, but things like phone chargers, coffee makers and toasters that are not used all the time are easy to unplug. It all adds up.

Another interesting thing NBC is doing in their daycare program. They are turning waste items that would usually be thrown away into craft projects for the kids. They have a small garden for the kids, so hopefully with this kind of early training in protecting the earth, we will be on our way to raising a generation that has more respect for natural resources.

I don't know how many other big corporations have big projects like this as part of their mission, but I applaud NBC for taking a leadership role in this regard. We often think of big corporations in such a negative way, but projects like this show me that there is a human side to big corporations. Maybe they really are people!!

Eating Lower On The Food Chain

A few weeks ago my friend Wootsie handed me a book called "Low Carbon Diet". A 30 day program to lose 5000 pounds, by David Gershon. She knows I'm interested in reducing my carbon footprint, so she brought it to bridge one night, thinking I might use something from the book for my blog. She was right.

It's a guide to reducing your imprint inside the house, ouside of the house, at your workplace, everywhere, and in addition it shows you how to get your community involved, your kids involved and your co workers involved. His theme is "Psst...save the planet, pass it on."

One of the most important actions an individual can take to reduce CO2 emissions is to broaden your diet and become less dependent on meat. Livestock produced by factory and rainforest farming are inefficient at converting grains and other resources to useable food. Did you know that beef requires 16 pounds of grain just to produce a pound of meat? Add to that the resources used for producing grain, transporting the meat to market, and packaging. It's hard to figure what the real cost of that pound of meat is, in terms of its impact on the planet. A person with a red meat diet emits the global warming equivalent of approximately 5,000 pounds of CO2 a year more than a person with a vegetarian diet. Reducing your intaake of beef and other farm animals will significantly reduce your carbon footprint.

What to do. Review your diet, and look for opportunities to subsitute a meat meal for a vegetarian meal. Read cookbooks or watch cooking shows to discover that there really are many tasty vegetarian meals to be made. Commit to eating at least one less meat meal a week. If you do eat meat and chicken, consider choosing "free range" or "organic" varieties that will contribute to a healthy environment and greater health for you and your family.

Yesterday I went to Sprouts to buy buffalo meat, which was on sale. It is produced from free range buffalo, grass fed, and absolutely delicious. It has a very low fat content, and is only 190 calories for a 1/3 pound patty. This is a great alternative to the standard ground beef we all buy packaged in the supermarket. You actually know where this meat is coming from. The name of the ranch is on the label. My favorite way to eat the buffalo burger is to mix it with 1/2 beef. That way you get a little fat in the meat, still keep the calories low, and have delicious flavor.

Knowing where your food comes from helps consumers know exactly what they are getting. Many markets can now tell you exactly where the food (vegetables mostly) come from, especially if they're local. With meat, it's a little more difficult, but it's a trend that's developing. This is one of the reasons I love the farmers markets. You can actually meet the farmer or rancher that produced the food. It doesn't sound very important until you hear about things like e coli spreading through Europe.

Thanks, Wootise, for loaning me "The Low Carbon Diet." It has lots of ways to save energy around the home and in your community, so if you have a chance to browse through it, please do. In the meantime, replace one of your meat meals every week with a vegetarian meal. They're delicious and nutritious.

Earth Day, 2011

Earth Day was created by congress more than 20 years ago, and each year communities find more ways to celebrate our beautiful planet. I remember Earth Day last year, and how many large corporations were trying to promote themselves by promoting Earth Day. They'd give you a free bag, or a free light bulb, or a free coffee, if you stopped into their store on Earth Day. It's good for them and it was good for the consumer.

This year I have thought more about I have changed over the past year, and if I am reducting my footprint on the earth. I came up with a few changes I have made, and although they are small changes, I feel I am moving in the right direction. Here are some of the changes I have made.

1. I ALWAYS carry canvas bags with me, and I never go into a store without one in hand. No more plastic bags (or paper) for me.
2. I USUALLY take my own coffee mug to the Y or to a coffee shop. I started doing this several years ago with a weight management group that met for coffee every week. We all decided to bring our own containers. I started doing the same thing at the Y, when they posted a "Go Green" sign, saying the Encinitas Y was using 180,000 paper cups a month.
3. I reduced my water bill by about 30%. Yes, a very rainy winter helped, but I have cut my watering to 2X per week. I'll stick with that unless my grass starts to die.
4. I reduced my SDGE by significantly. I have turned down the water heater when I'm out of town, I have unplugged electrical equipment that is not being used, and I turn out lights wherever possible. It does make a big difference.
5. I have started drinking tap water (filtered), adding my own flavors to make it taste better. I'm not much of a water drinker, but I try to drink it because I think it's good for me, but I want to get away from using store bought plastic bottles. They're not only expensive, but they're wasteful. Many bottles are recyclable, but many still end up in land fills. I have yet to do a story on the water industry, but I must do one soon.

These are a few concrete changes I have made over the past year. I have a long way to go. I will continue to try to find ways to cut down on the use of energy. I am in the process of getting a new car, and as much as I would love an electric car, it just doesn't work for me. (yet). When they have a longer range or more charging stations, I'll be on board. For right now, I'll have to do with a car with good mileage.

There are so many organizations committed to improving the environment, I couldn't begin to list them all. I will mention just a few, and if you have interest you can check them out and see what their mission is.

The canopy project, green schools, athletes for the earth, and arts for the earth, are just a few of the many organizations involved in Earth Day. If you do nothing else, just stop and think on Earth Day of one change you can make to help save our planet. I'm already thinking of what I can do in the coming year that will make my footprint even less.

Be sure to stop by Starbucks on April 22 with your reusable mug for a free coffee!!

Fascinating Algae

When you walk as much as Fran and I do you'd think we might run out of things to say, but we never seem to. Recently as we walked, Fran told me about two recent articles in the newspaper. One was about a friend of hers, whose son was named Teacher of the Year in California. That's quite an achievement. The other story was about a man named Dr. Stephen Mayfield. Dr. Mayfield is director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology and the brother of one of Fran's cousins. (I think that's the relationship, but I'm not sure. Fran has so many relatives, but Dr. Mayfield is related by marriage to Fran.)

I thought the field of alternative fuels sounded interesting, and the fact that Fran knew him made me a little more interested. The research in the Mayfield lab focuses on molecular genetics in green algae and on the production of therapeutic proteins and biofuel moelecules using algae as a production platform. What that means, I'm not exactly sure. I do know that his work is producing results that can be used in the treatment of cancers and infectious diseases. In addition, engineering algae for the production of hydrocarbon molecules that can be used as biofuel is also a major focus of the lab, and recent studies have demonstrated the tremendous potential of eukaryotic algae for the expression of recombianant enzymes that allow for greater production of biofuels.

The work of Dr. Mayfield's lab is way over my head, but I do understand that he and his researchers have made progress in taking a simple thing like algae, and modifying it so that it can be used in medicine and as a biofuel. The San Diego area is one of our country's centers for research of this kind.

Algae is just one of the many sources that is being studied as an alternative fuel source. Corn, animal waste and wind are other possible alternatives. With American ingenuity I'm sure we will quickly find new sources of energy. For more information on algae and the research that is being done, go to www.algaeindustrymagazine.com...Yes, there's a magazine devoted just to algae. Who knew?

Sustainable Diets Are Necessary and Inevitable

The topic of sustainable diets is so daunting I have resisted even attempting the topic. But it is so important, I will try to give you a brief idea of what's going on. The global population is expeted to hit 9.1 billion in the near future, and western diets rich in meat and dairy products will become unsustainable.

A United Nations panel studied the problem and concluded that, just as fossil fuels will be gradually replaced by renewable, pollution-free energy sources like wind and solar power, meat and dairy products in the the world's diet will need to be replaced by vegetables, fruits and grains. Both shifts are absolutely necessary to reduce production of greenhouse gases and consumption of natural resources and to ensure planetary survival into the foreseeable future.

The reality is that changing your diet to a largely plant based one can much more rapidly help to curtail greenhouse gas emissions than pushing for the construction of renewable power facilities or other high tech solutions. It is also something you personally can readily do.

Overeating has also become a major issue not only because of its health risks but also because of the increased consumption of the world's resources not only from increased food consumed but also from the increased energy required to move overweight people around. The dark side of this is that manufacturers of processed foods have increased the amount of sugar, fat and salt in these foods to make them more palatable. The upshot has been that large numbers of people are now addicted in the true sense to these foods, unaware that they are being pushed into obesity by profit hungry manufacturers.

One of the biggest problems is the amount of food thrown away by individual consumers, supermarkets and manufacturers. The UK throws away up to 50% of their food. Much of this goes into landfills where the decomposed food creates gases that we're trying to get rid of. The US numbers on food waste vary depending on who you ask. It appears to be somewhere between 28-50%. You know how agencies can twist numbers to mean whatever they want, so it's hard to know for sure. So what can we do to help the world? Here are a few painless ways to help the world without changing your way of eating much.

Go organic if possible. Organic farming is better for the environment in many ways, not to mention better for the consumer (in many cases).

Try to buy food that is locally grown whenever possible. The closer you are to the source of your food, the better for the environment. This is why I like Farmer's Markets. The farmers will tell you exactly where the food came from.

Try to eat a vegetarian meal at least twice a week. The less animal protein we eat, the less animals we need to raise for food, thus helping the environment in many ways.

Plant a backyard garden. I have done this, and at least during the summer months I never have to buy tomatoes, squash, eggplant or herbs.

This is such a complex problem and I have not given you much in depth information on the subject, but I do hope you will be interested enough in this topic to Google it and learn more. The bottom line is that we must change our ways. What we're doing now is damaging our enironment and will not sustain us long term. We must dispel the myth that meat and dairy are essential for good health. It simply is not true. So try a vegetarian dinner this week and make a start toward a better environment through a sustainable diet.

Bright Green Future

There is so much buzz today about "going green", and many communities are working hard to reduce waste,construct buildings that are more efficient, and create new jobs that will help with job recovery. A conference called "Bright Green Future" will take place in San Diego on November 6, and I'm going to try to be a part of it.

I checked out their website, and many of the details of the conference are not yet available, but I'm marking my calendar now, as they will need plenty of volunteers. Many of the conference speakers will be experts in their fields, but I am sure they will need many volunteers to help make the conference a success.

Topics that will be addressed during the conference include green business, jobs and training, green architecture and construction, climate change, zero waste, and sustainable life. One topic that caught my eye was "Victory Gardens". I would love to see San Diegans get into gardening. When I lived in Los Angeles I worked at a community garden helping locals plant and cultivate their own fruit and vegetables. Some families got involved for economic reasons. It's a huge savings to a family to grow your own vegetables, and the added benefit is that the family will eat a healthier diet. Studies have shown that low income families eat a poorer diet, the main reason being cost. Fruits and vegetables cost much more than rice and beans. I would love to get involved in such a project.

Another topic that I thought sounded interesting was "Developing a Zero Waste Business Plan". Many forward thinking businesses are trying hard to recycle or reuse everything in their business. This is a lofty goal, and with some help from experts more businesses can try to achieve this and contribut to zero waste, the ultimate goal.

Lots of topics will be discusses and hopefully some ideas for putting these ideas into practice will help San Diego solve the economic and environmental challenges of the future. Check out www.brightgreenfuture.net after September 15 for more information on where, when and how you can get involved in this important event.

Cuyamaca Water Conservation Garden

A great find in the San Diego area for garden lovers and conservationists is Cuyamaca College. Their water conservation program is meant to promote water conservation in the Southern California landscape. It does that and much more.

I recently spent an enjoyable morning with friends touring Cuyamaca's garden. Our docent Maggie was knowledgable, and what she didn't know, she found out. Cuyamaca College is in El Cajon, truly a desert landscape, so it's an appropriate location for a garden meant to teach us about water conservation. The garden has many educational activities for the public. They have a training program in water conservation for professional landscapers, adult tours, children's tours, and 4-6 classes per month for the public. In addition, they have wonderful plant sales with great prices, and special events. Check out their website at www.thegarden.org for more details.

The Cuyamaca garden demonstrates how to turn a water guzzling backyard into a drought tolerant landscape. It's challenging, but so important. The garden also teaches visitors about composting and vegetable gardening. I especially enjoyed the picnic area available to visitors. Bring a picnic lunch and they provide several beautiful areas to enjoy the lovely surroundings. Next time I visit I will bring a picnic lunch.

Our group, however, had planned to have lunch at Gio's a wonderful restaurant in La Mesa, that I reviewed several months ago. We were not disappointed. It was a beautiufl sunny day, so we sat on their expansive patio, enjoying salmon salad, santa fe salad, steak salad, turkey wraps, caprese salad and burgers. Everything was delicious. This is a great outing for a change, but wait until the weather turns cooler. It's inland, and the summer can be scorching.

Going Green on a Budget

Many ideas for reducing your carbon footprint are expensive. Solar panels, trying to "get off the grid" and using recycled products in home imporovement are all very costly. I have a few ideas that will make a positive impact on the environment and save you money at the same time.

Shut down and unplug electronics. I just received a pamphlet from SDG&E with some great tips. Unplugging electronics can really save you some money. I'm not suggestion you abandon using the following appliances, but this will give you an idea of what they cost. Dishwasher, 39 cents per load, refrigerator $18.46 per month, air conditioner 3 ton central air 79 cents per hour , computer and monitor, 6cents per hour, gas water heater $21.23 per month, central gas heating $1.12 per hour. What does all this mean? Shut down your computer at night, and plug your cell phone and other electronices into power strips so you can turn several devices off with one switch.

Wash your clothes in cold water. By using cold water instead of warm, the average household can avoid emitting 1.281 pounds of carbon dioxide annually and save on energy bills. With the advancement in cleaning products, everything can be washed in cold water today.

Fill your water bottle with filtered tap water. Choose the greener, and cheaper solution by using a reusable bottle, and filling it with filtered tap water.

Use kitchenware products made of recycled materials. There are a number of lines of colorful kitchen gear made from recycled products, and since they're about the same price as regular kitchenware, it's a no brainer which to choose. One such line of products is Preserve products(http://www.preserveproducts.com/). Check them out.

Finally, the cost of using your oven is 50cents per hour for electric, 13 cents per hour for gas. The range top is 10 cents per hour for electric, 2cents per hour for gas. I know it's not much, but I don't need much of an excuse to avoid cooking and going out to dinner.