AboutMyPlanet.com

Employment with a Cause

Marina Hanes — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:38 +0000

Running a vegetarian or vegan business can be a rewarding experience, but it comes with its pros and cons. Starting a company in a niche can be a highly profitable business venture, but you also have to do your research and market directly to this group of people. If you’re on the flip side of this equation and you’re looking for a job, rest assured that the vegan job market does exist.

Finding a job that you can be happy with is no easy task these days. So many companies are going through transitions or are ceasing to exist, and if you’re lucky to be interviewed, employers have so many applicants at their disposal. Searching for a job that will have a positive impact on the environment makes the search even harder, but if you want to work for a vegetarian or vegan business, there is a chance that you will find one if you look in the right places.

First, you should canvass your local community and find out what businesses are nearby. Although they might not have an ad requesting employment, you can still cold call them and find out. While you have them on the phone, you can provide them with your information so they can at least keep you in mind. It’s also beneficial to ask any friends or family members that are interested in vegan or vegetarian-friendly places, because they might know of a place that you never heard of.

Second, use the resources that are available online. There are countless job posting sites dedicated to vegan or vegetarian specific jobs. Also, peruse online classifieds, because you never know what you might find useful. It might seem like a tedious task to search through job boards online, but it’s more efficient than purchasing your local newspapers.

It’s great if you want an eco-friendly career, but if you have to settle for the next job in order to pay your rent or mortgage, so be it. Just because you have a job doesn’t mean your job search has to end. Think of it as a temporary situation, because your dream job that reflects your environmentally friendly ideals will become available at some point as long as you continue looking.

Oceans Decreasing As Carbon Sink

VeganVerve — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:30:17 +0000

As was alluded to in a recent article, the world’s usual carbon sinks of oceans and forests are absorbing less carbon dioxide than in the past. Overall, recent studies have found that the environment is only absorbing approximately 55 percent of carbon dioxide created by man. However, another study has pinpointed the absorbency of the oceans without including forests and other environmental aspects.

The recent issue of Nature includes the study, which was led by Samar Khatiwala who is a research scientist for the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. The researchers determined the amount of carbon dioxide added to the oceans each year by human activities dating back to 1765. 1765 is considered the beginning of the industrial era.

The researchers used water samples from the past 20 years, which amounted to thousands upon thousands of samples. The samples included salinity, temperatures and chlorofluorocarbons in the water. Through these samples, the group created a mathematical model to determine the figures dating back to 1765.

Through 2000 to 2007, the oceans absorption of carbon emissions has reduced by ten percent. The researchers found that the decreasing absorption is tied to the changing chemistry of the oceans. Khatiwala stated: “The more carbon dioxide the ocean absorbs, the more acidic it becomes and the less carbon dioxide it can absorb.”

Overall, the researchers point to their main message that the oceans are not going to be reliable carbon sinks indefinitely. Stated Khatiwala: “What I think is fairly clear and important in the long term is the trend toward lower [absorption], which implies that more of the emissions will remain in the atmosphere.”

Control Your Wrap Rage

Marina Hanes — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:44 +0000

Do you suffer from wrap rage during the holidays? You know, the tendency to package everything in wrapping paper, bows and string. It’s important to keep in mind that the packaging is all for show, and it’s a quick show. People really want what is underneath all of that sparkly paper. Below are some tips to help you reduce your wrap rage this season.

Reuse paper from other gifts you have received in the past. It’s beneficial to keep those old gift bags, because it takes a few seconds to fill them and arrange the tissue paper.
Purchase presents that are, in a sense, already wrapped. If lotions and perfumes already come in a bag, basket or tin, can’t you consider your work done?
Avoid gifts that will require plastic surgery. The last thing your friend or family member wants to do is spend three minutes ripping into those clamshell packages. So choose products that are easy to open and that can be arranged elegantly in a basket or cellophane bag that you might have lying around.
Wrap your gifts more creatively. For example, use extra foil, newspaper, hair ribbon, faux flowers, etc.
Keep in mind that simple is elegant. Overpackaging is a waste of paper and your time.
If you must package your gifts, choose recycled paper and ones that are biodegradable.
Forego the wrapping process all together and hand your friend or family member their gift. If you hate wrapping, your excuse can be that you’re going eco-friendly.

Did you know that 10 percent of the average product’s cost is for the packaging? This year when you go holiday shopping, take a hard look at the types of items you want to purchase. For example, if you want to get an American Idol Barbie for your child, you will have to go through 55 pieces of packaging just to get to the doll! Although packaging is important to prevent shoplifting, some companies have downsized their packages. Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bar has 15 percent less packaging, and even a Breyer’s ice cream tub is made from 14 percent fewer materials. It’s easy to get caught up in the shiny, glittery wrapping paper, but don’t let yourself be a victim of wrap rage this year.

California Imposing Television Standards For Energy Efficiency

VeganVerve — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:30:16 +0000

Televisions are a staple of most American homes, contributing to daily routines. It is estimated that upwards of 10 percent of all electricity use in a home is due to television viewing. In addition, televisions are becoming increasingly larger and requiring more energy.

In order to curb the energy use of televisions, the California Energy Commission recently announced new television standards for the state of California. Such a decision will most likely lead to a ripple effect across the country, hopefully leading to overall lowered energy use due to television viewing.

All televisions up to 58 inches will have to meet new energy standards by 2011. Further, more strict, energy requirements will go into effect in 2013. Currently, 1,050 models being sold in California meet the 2011 standard. However, only 300 models currently meet the standards which will be imposed in 2013.

Such a decision was made, in large part, due to increasing television viewing and televisions which are growing in size. It is estimated that the larger television market will add upwards of 8 percent to the current average of 10 percent of household energy use.

The California Energy Commission estimates that if all televisions in the state were replaced with efficient sets, the state could save upwards of $8.1 billion in energy costs in 10 years time. Overall, televisions use two percent of the electricity in the state yearly.

Energy saved from making televisions energy efficient in California would be able to power 864,000 homes a year by the year 2023. This energy savings would equate to powering the homes in the cities of Burbank, Palo Alto, Glendale and Anaheim for a year.

What State Will Dry Up Next?

Marina Hanes — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:00:20 +0000

John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath was written in 1939, and it realistically illustrates the socio-economic impact of the Great Depression and the mid-30s drought on a fictional family, the Joads. The Joads represented the thousands of farmers who suffered great financial loss due to the depression and living in the “Dust Bowl,” which wasn’t suitable land for growing crops or breeding animals. In the film version, which was directed by John Ford in 1940, it begins by depicting the vast nothingness in Oklahoma. As the empty, dusty roads fill the screen, the only sense of life is Tom Joad walking. Oklahoma was the Dust Bowl 70 years ago, but it looks like California might be the next one.

The Central Valley of California runs down the middle of the state, and it provides one fourth of America’s vegetables, fruits and nuts. Although this thin section of fertile land is essential to the nation’s agriculture, it’s facing obstacles such as climate change and a 70-year-old irrigation structure. Without a stable supply of water, this region isn’t a viable environment for agriculture. Some scientists are predicting extreme conditions for the Central Valley, which include higher temperatures than Death Valley.

The outlook for Central Valley as well as the future of California farmers doesn’t look promising if this issue isn’t faced head on. The potential of water disappearing has always been there, but no preventative or emergency plan has ever been put in place. So is there still hope or did the window of opportunity pass as the government and some farmers latched onto greed?

If the collapse of the economy shows us anything, it should instill the importance of thinking beyond the here and now. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger supports more infrastructure, and he made a $4.5 billion proposal in 2007 to create new reservoirs, dams and canals. Although this is an idea toward a solution, isn’t it just a temporary fix to stave off the drought? If the climate is expected to change so drastically and become unbearably hot, we might never catch up with the amount of water needed to hydrate the Central Valley.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increased WorldWide In 2008

VeganVerve — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:30:17 +0000

A report detailing the carbon dioxide emissions worldwide in 2008 was recently published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Despite a recession in 2008, the worldwide carbon dioxide emissions rose, predominantly due to China.

In 2008, the worldwide totals for carbon dioxide emissions rose two percent. In this decade, the average increase has been 3.6 percent per year. Experts are predicting, however, that 2009 will see a decline in carbon emissions around three percent due to the recession.

671 million tons was the overall increase between 2007 and 2008, which China is responsible for three-quarters of. Since 2000, the increasing carbon dioxide emissions have been in large part due to China’s growth. Developing nations, as a whole, have been a driving force behind increased yearly emissions.

In the United States, emissions reduced 3 percent and the European Union reduced their emissions by 1 percent. China, which has been the greatest carbon polluter since 2006, obviously increased their emissions.

Even though the United States did reduce their emissions and are behind China in pollution rankings, they still pollute equivalent to India, Russia, Japan and Germany combined. All of these countries are behind the China and the U.S. as the next greatest polluters.

Numerous countries increased their carbon dioxide emissions in 2008. Overall, countries which contributed equal to or greater than 5 million tons of carbon dioxide more than 2007 were: Canada, the Netherlands, Mexico, Poland, Indonesia, Iran, South Africa, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Russia and India.

Further concerns detailed in the report included the overall contribution of carbon dioxide to the environment since 1982. 715.3 trillion tons have been added to the environment since 1982, which is approximately the same amount all of civilization had ever produced previous to 1982.

Also, in sobering news for global warming, the report noted that the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the world’s forests and oceans is decreasing. In 1960, the environment absorbed approximately 60 percent of carbon emissions– leaving 40 percent in the air. However, now that number has dropped to only 55 percent being absorbed by the environment and 45 percent staying in the air. The greater the amount of carbon in the air, the greater the warming–the warmer it is the more carbon stays in the air.

Looking Forward to the Climate Change Conference

Marina Hanes — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:00:16 +0000

The United Nations will meet for the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen from Dec. 7-18, and there is one issue that needs attention in addition to major pollutants such as coal and cars. In order for the United Nations to reach a fair climate agreement, they need to discuss the role of livestock, because it’s a significant contributor to climate change.

Recently, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) published a report stating that livestock accounted for 18 percent (one-fifth) of global emissions. If you add up all of the emissions from our modes of transportation, it’s not as much as the emissions from livestock. Although the issue of livestock contributing to the climate change is a sensitive subject, the media needs to shed light on it.

Do you feel that the way you’re eating has an impact on the environment? If you have never thought about your food this way, it’s beneficial to keep an open mind and eat more consciously. Although you might think your diet is insignificant to the larger picture, this is not necessarily the case. If you’re eating meat every day of the week, then you’re supporting the factory farms that house and raise the livestock. As a result, more livestock is bred, raised and transported to fulfill the demand, which only creates more pollution. As with anything in life, there is a cyclical pattern of consequence, so although your diet is a personal behavior, it affects everyone and everything.

Obviously, forcing everyone to become vegetarian or vegan isn’t realistic, but it’s crucial for us to analyze this problem and come up with more efficient means for livestock production. You can make a difference by reducing your consumption of meat and eating meat from local farms. Also, raising awareness about the connection between livestock and climate change is imperative, because the media hasn’t covered this issue in its entirety. Regardless of how sensitive a subject livestock might be, we need to tackle the roots of climate change, which appear to be livestock, coal and our transportation. Show that you support a fair climate agreement by signing the UN Worldwide Campaign on Climate Change petition here.

Governments: No Binding Talks At Copenhagen

VeganVerve — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:30:59 +0000

A great disappointment for environmentalists everywhere is the general consensus by governments across the globe that a legally binding agreement in Copenhagen will not occur. Instead governments are pointing to later meetings, like one following in Mexico City, as targets for more binding talks.

The governments, including the United States and Denmark, have decided to perceive Copenhagen as a forum to reach a framework for future legal agreements. The overall consensus is that the governments will not be able to come to any agreement in the remaining time before Copenhagen begins.

A major obstacle in the way of an agreement being made is the United States. Many countries are pointing to the United States’ inability to create legislature regarding their own greenhouse gases and global warming impact. Without the United States’ having such legislature, other countries are not comfortable binding themselves to any agreement.

Overall, the United Nations’ experts have indicated that the wealthiest nations will have to cut emissions by 25 to 40 percent from 1990 levels. Such reductions would have to be made by 2020 in order to reduce chances of the global temperature increasing to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. So far, wealthy nations have only pledged a reduction between 11 and 15 percent from 1990 levels.

Another major obstacle regarding Copenhagen is the disparity between wealthy nations who create the most greenhouse gases and the poor nations, which are unable to afford the costs of global warming. Poorer nations have pointed to their inability to pay for changes required to reduce emissions and their wanting payments from wealthy nations who have contributed the most to global warming.

Water, Water Everywhere: A Lesson Learned

Marina Hanes — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:00:56 +0000

It was a cold, quiet afternoon in Youngstown when a stream of water erupted from a main pipeline Jan. 24, 2008 flooding Edwards and Mahoning Avenues on the lower West Side. The city lost 6 million gallons of water and is covering most of the damage, but preventative measures may have prevented this incident from happening.

The city water crew was ordered to repair a 6-inch pipe, but the leak was coming from a 36-inch pipe. Since streets were significantly flooded, roadblocks were set up by the Water Department. The department and Mahoning Valley Sanitary District worked to shut off the water valves but were unsuccessful. Water was rerouted to an adjacent pipe until Hydra Stop of Alsip, Ill. was able to come and install a large plug. While the pipe was temporarily plugged, city water department officials searched for a replacement elbow joint to properly repair it.

While the city’s actions may be admirable, preventative maintenance and planning may have saved the city from the estimated $100,000 in damages. Because the city had to call in a professional to plug the leak, water ran for five days, flooding nearby businesses like Comfort Keepers and tearing up the streets.

The particular joint that fell off was installed in the 1950s or 1960s. Youngstown Water Commissioner, John Casciano said, “some of these pipes are deathly old, deathly need replaced and it’s capital improvement that needs to be done.”

Trying to find the correct size of elbow joint further delayed the repair. Eugene Leson Jr., the city water department’s chief engineer, explained that finding an elbow joint for a 36-inch pipe is difficult due to the rare pipe size. If the water department knows this is a major pipeline and it’s not a standard size, why wouldn’t they store extra parts on site or have a list of manufacturers who carry this size?

Casciano said maintenance is done yearly, but the aging pipes prove they are in desperate need of replacement. Youngstown’s Performance Audit of 2000 shows the city is losing 25 percent of its water from leaks. Susan Baughman of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) acceptable level of unaccounted-for water that includes leaks is 15 percent.

Within the past 15 years, five miles of water lines have been replaced. It’s estimated that replacing all pipelines would cost $160 million and 2,000 years to complete. Maybe it’s unrealistic to replace everything, but the city can start somewhere by replacing deteriorating parts of main water lines.

With regard to preventative maintenance, technology should be used regularly to check for leaks in the pipe system. Randy Colla, a water department engineer, said they contract a professional who uses ultrasound to detect the approximate site of the leak. Updated technology like sonar leak-detection equipment is more accurate at pinpointing the leak than ultrasound. While sonar leak-detection equipment is expensive, AWWA has a vendor list of companies that hire it out. The price of this equipment can range from $900 to $4,000. While it might not be cost effective for Youngstown to use this equipment on a monthly basis, money could be reserved to use this equipment every 6 months or at least once a year.

In addition to using more efficient technology, Adam and Eve Plumbing foreman, Pete Gorney said, “making sure all the check valves or shut off valves are working would have stopped the excessive amounts of wasted water.”

It’s apparent that Youngstown’s water lines are fragile to begin with, but preventative maintenance doubled with careful planning may help this city as well as others save money and conserve an essential resource.

Greenland Ice Loss Increasing Sea Levels Worldwide

VeganVerve — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:30:42 +0000

A team of researchers studying glaciers in Greenland recently published their study in the journal Science. The researchers used satellite data provided by the twin satellites of the Grace satellite mission. The satellites are able to provide detailed data pertaining to the Earth’s surface using gravity mapping.

The studying of the glaciers in Greenland is important due to the role Greenland will play in global warming. If the ice sheet in Greenland was to melt, the sea levels across the world would rise approximately twenty feet. Currently Greenland loses 273 thousand million tons of ice each year.

In addition to the satellite data, the team of researchers also used ice sheet behavior and weather data. The team found that between the years of 2000 and 2008, the melting ice in Greenland contributed to worldwide sea level rises of 0.46mm on average each year. However, since 2006, the contribution has increased to 0.75 mm each year.

Worldwide the sea levels are currently averaging an increase of 3mm per year. The majority of this increase is being attributed to sea water expanding due to it warming.

The researchers also determined the actual source of the ice loss each year. Half of the ice loss is caused by the ice sheet altering and half is from an increased flow to the oceans. Other studies have found that faster moving glaciers, of which there are many in Greenland, decrease in thickness at a greater rate than slow moving glaciers. The warming oceans as a whole are also contributing to the melting of Greenland and other areas like it.