On Pollution

Today, I read an article on chemical pollutants in human bodies, which pretty much made it clear that no matter how careful you are about what you eat and what products you use, there is no getting around chemical contamination in our bodies. There are a multitude of culprits, such as the well known mercury and bisphenol-A, plastic contaminants and heavy metals.

We pick these up inadvertently from Teflon pans, plastic food and drink containers (and the plastic linings of soft drink cans), as well as from simply breathing the air around us, filled with car exhaust and industrial by-product.

Some days it just feels like there's no escaping it...

On a happier note, I stole this cheerful bit from the WorldChanging website:

In spite of what you may have heard, Europe's carbon market is working beautifully. The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been operational since 2005 and we're now getting a good look at how it functions. It turns out, it's a remarkable success story, both environmentally and economically.

So, we just need to try harder, people.

On Heat in November

Yesterday was a record-breaking *17 degrees Celsius* in Edmonton, Canada's largest northern city. The last time it was even close to this warm was in 1904...over a century ago. We're in a drought at the onset of winter.

Just sayin'.

On thinking

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and wondering about people's views on issues of the progression and impact of the human species on this planet. Today, I skimmed through an article that suggested a person's stance on global warming (climate change) is a belief...like a religion. Now, this struck me as odd. But even more odd was the public response to this article - not rejecting that view as I would have assumed to be done (as that is pretty much typical with the people I surround myself with) - but overwhelmingly in support of global warming as a personal belief - something faith based.

So, being a little bit confounded by this new view on what I have always taken to be truth, I did some research on why on Earth people would think this stuff is made up. The first thing that came up was a Wikipedia article that explained the "Global Warming Conspiracy Theory." Most of the arguments have to do with the government, big business and/or scientists getting support and money by scaring the public. I mean, I can see why people would want to believe that we're not impacting the planet negatively and we're not screwing our selves in the process... but blaming "the powers that be" for making it up as a scare tactic is very George Orwell.

Independent scientists are not rolling in the dough for telling the world about their research...most biologists, geologists, meteorologists and other science researchers pursue their work out of a concern and interest in learning about and solving environmental problems - which is why I find it so sad that people want to demonize science.

There is so much overlap in research, and so much physical evidence that supports their studies...the ocean ice is melting and not refreezing, and we can see that polar bears are suffering due to their changed habitat and food sources because of this. Glaciers are gone from where they once covered mountainsides, and some island nations have already had to abandon their homes due to water levels rising.

I have talked to someone who simply thought that humans couldn't possibly have an effect on something as large as the planet Earth and its atmosphere. I mean, people are so small, right? This is insanity - we are changing the chemical composition of our planet by digging up stuff from underneath the Earth's crust and burning it by the tonne. This would not happen naturally.

The gases from that burning don't just go into the atmosphere (which not only causes global warming, but air pollution, too!) it goes into the ocean, where it exists as mercury. This is bad for plants and animals and humans - mercury is toxic to living things and causes neurological disorders. Also, the warming of the atmosphere transfers into a warming of the oceans, which makes the water more susceptible to carbon dioxide infusion. More CO2 is being absorbed and is causing the acidification of the oceans.

There is so much evidence. Humanity needs to take responsibility and make changes - if not to try and reverse these effects (they may well be irreversible, anyways) then to improve ourselves as a species.

On Sharks

I personally love sharks. They're some of the oldest creatures on the planet, having evolved over 400 million years ago - that's 150 million years before the dinosaurs, and well over 398 million years before human ancestors. They have developed keen senses for a variety of uses, and have high intelligence and long term memory.

Humans are systematically eliminating sharks from the world - whether purposefully through shark fishing and finning, or whether sharks are a product of by-catch in fishing. Fear and apathy in the general populace allows this to happen, often perpetuated by the media view that "a dead shark is a good shark."

Since sharks are slow to mature and only have a few young at a time, when their populations are devastated it takes decades for recovery. Recovery is not happening at a fast enough pace to keep up with how quickly humans are killing sharks.

Sharks are incredibly important for the ocean ecosystem, and all life on earth would be affected by the loss of sharks from the planet, as they have been the apex predator regulating the oceans for millions of years.

A great way to learn more is to watch the movie Sharkwater by Rob Stewart, a young Canadian activist fighting to save sharks. The movie is fun, and doesn't guilt the viewer - it's goal is awareness for the average person, as well as planting a love of sharks in the world.

This is a photo I took of a Grey Reef Shark in Hawaii, 2009 on a dive trip. I love diving with sharks - they're so beautiful.

On the Plastic Oceans

There is a garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean that has accumulated all of the plastic humans have thrown away that never made it to a recycle plant or garbage dump. Not only does it sit there and look nasty, it breaks down into consumable parts that fish and other marine mammals eat. This is causing them to die of lack of nutrition, and it also genetically alters them due to having chemicals in their systems. The plastic layer also chokes out the ocean by covering the surface and not allowing for oxygen to permeate into the water. This essentially suffocates all the living things and eliminates species from the bottom up.

This also affects humans, as we consume the fish and higher level creatures. As you travel up the foodchain, the concentration of chemicals increases and accumulates in larger animals - this is known as bioaccumulation, and it also happens with mercury as it gets into the ocean from the burning of fossil fuels. When humans eat these larger animals we also bioaccumulate.

See an impactful presentation on bottle cap accumulation in the Pacific Gyre by Captain Charles Moore, who has led expeditions to see the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.

Easy things to do that help the situation:

>Use plastic as sparingly as possible - instead of plastic bags and ziplocs, use reusable containers that can be recycled once their life is over. Make a consumer statement by refusing to purchase over-packaged food and goods.

>Buy a reusable water bottle - metal ones are very popular for good reason, as they last a long time and seep no chemicals harmful to humans (I have a klean kanteen, and I love it!) Plastic bottles are one of the biggest offenders for plastic waste.

>Sort your plastic waste into recycling - take a few seconds and make a plastic recycling bag for your home. In some places you can take your plastic bottles and your cans into a depot for a recycle refund. In places that don't have pick up for recycling, there is generally a place where you can drop it off at a centre

>Reduce the use - this is the most important one. Look at your lifestyle and pick out where you can cut the plastic out of your life - this can often be good for cost-efficiency, too! Do you eat out a lot? Often the containers from eating out are plastic or styrofoam - making this kind of lifestyle change is good for your health, your wallet and the environment :)

These are the easy changes that can be done solo - signing petitions, getting involved with organizations or donating to a cause is the next awesome step.

Keep tabs on everything by searching for stuff you care about on facebook, twitter and other sites.

On Low-Impact Lifestyle

I just have a minute to sit and write some of my thoughts. I've been thinking a lot lately about how I can reduce my personal impact on the environment. These are mostly small things that I have let pass by without letting the guilt actually influence action...

Despite the fact that it is so tastey, I will not eat unsustainable seafood until such a time that it is a stable resource and much less harmful to the oceans. Shrimp are the worst, and I love shrimp. Wild shrimp (and other kinds of fish, actually) are caught using a method called bottom trawling, and it is highly destructive to fish, corals and topography. Some kinds of fish are better for sustainable farming or harvesting, but aquaculture also has negative effects on surrounding environments and animals. There is a comprehensive guide to choosing sustainable seafood here at David Suzuki's site.

I'll expand on this later!

On Injecting Stuff Into the Earth

Now, today was quite cold in this part of the world, and some would argue that this is proof against the phenomenon of Global Warming (last week was almost 30 degrees Celsius btw, and "climate change" is the better term). But, as I watched my breath freeze in midair I noticed a similar occurrence on the road in front of me - gases visibly billowing out of idling cars at a busy intersection. It's really quite appalling when you think about it... I mean, if you were to close yourself into a contained room with this idling car you would die. Everyone knows that. Now, as humans, we all seem to live on this one large contained planet - a global room, if you will, and it seems that we are poisoning ourselves.

I bring this up due to the increase in activity in preparation for the United Nations Copenhagen Climate Conference which will hopefully point our world in a better, if more difficult, direction. Note Ban Ki-Moon, the UN's Secretary General, is on the front - I adore this man for his compassion, honesty and drive for global reform on big social issues.

Here in Alberta we have had a flurry of activity (along with media suppression) on the happenings of Greenpeace "extremists" who have recently protested the Alberta Oilsands by chaining themselves to various machines and whipping out banners for the press. Leader of this particular project, Mike Hudema, is quoted as saying:

“I think we succeeded in really continuing to tell the tarsands horr

ors story, and the growing environmental and human rights price tag associated with tarsands development.”

Take a second to think critically about what he's saying: we have the human right to a safe world where rising water levels isn't a concern for wiping out our homes. We have the human right to breathe clean air, and not be afraid of the sun because of what we have done to our atmosphere. We have the right to support those who invoke change for the better.

That brings me to my last point, which is that to fix this problem, companies, governments and researchers are encouraging major greenhouse gas emitters to take all that CO2, compress it into a liquid and - get this - inject in into the earth. Now, when I first heard about this I honestly thought it was some sort of Jonathan Swift Satire. Nope. It's called "Carbon Capture and Sequestration" (CCS), and you can read the Synopsis by Edmonton's own Graham Thomson, who decided to pursue this story for the last year of his journalistic career after being awarded a Fellowship from the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

There's a lot of points in the article, but I'll ruin the ending and tell you what it boils down to: If we inject stuff into the Earth we have no idea what the consequences may be. It most probably will have negative effects on our water tables (that's our drinking water), and will be incredibly expensive and difficult to regulate. Besides, it would be an excuse to allow us to carry on progressing in the backwards and irresponsible fashion until some other disaster is imminent.

If you're thinking "WHOA, there's no way I can make an impact on all this big stuff going down" you are mistaken. One easy way is to take the Nature Challenge, which is simply a guide to help you make small changes in your life that are environmentally friendly and impactful. Trust me, making those changes not only improves the global environment, but your personal environment: feel good about yourself!

On Dolphins

An entry from a travel journal I kept during a dive trip to Hawaii this past summer:

15/08/09

Today, I swam with dolphins - spinners. Their joyful antics could make anyone smile, as they twist and torque in the air as if wound and unwound quickly. Hearing the clicking, squeaking speech beneath the surface makes one wonder what dolphins find to be interesting news. Light coloured calves swam close to their mothers' sides, their powerful tails propelling them effortlessly through the water - one giant muscle of an animal, flexing back and forth.

On that day I felt honored to even be considered a part of such a magnificent creature's world. I could feel their awareness as they swam around me, as well as a sense of caution. They were quite shy of people, and I assume this may be due to negative interactions from the past. They were so amazing, it was a shame that they seemed so wary. I stayed floating on top of the blue, waiting for them to get curious and explore my presence on their own terms.

It's no wonder they do have reservations about getting too close us - perhaps these dolphins heard through the grapevine about their cousins around the world being captured and slaughtered. The movie "The Cove," is a documentary about this very horror. It was tremendously sad, but also incredibly important. It is paramount that every individual educates themselves on world issues such as the inhumane killing of a creature that is argued to be the most intelligent in the world. The movie is not only educational, but visually incredible, and it is also intelligent entertainment (something not oft come across these days).

Go see it. Make choices from what you learn, and educate others to better the world you live in. See the website: http://www.savejapandolphins.org/index.php

This is a screenshot from "The Cove" that shows how the dolphins are caught by the tails, dragged out of sight and stabbed to death. It is very emotional, but again, its the truth - and truth must out. If you feel this must be stopped, and easy way to add your voice for effective public pressure is to sign an online petition. Create an account and you could add your name and your needed support to many groups and causes.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/724210624

Hello!

Hello, World. I have some opinions on things that are happening in and around you.

Lately, these opinions have gravitated toward all the things that could be better, and perhaps I could personally improve on.

Return frequently for interesting news and links, often pertaining to profound social and environmental action/inaction.

Welcome to a view of the thoughts in my head and the news in our world!