Ten million solar roof tops

I was happy to read that Senator Sanders of Vermont is sponsoring a bill called the Ten Million Solar Roof Tops Act of 2008. IF passed, this act will provide government incentives for that will cover half of the cost for businesses and homes that choose to install solar panels. Sanders is quoted as saying:

"We can reverse greenhouse gas emissions. We can break our dependence on foreign oil. Transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels can be a tremendous boom for the United States economy and create millions of good-paying jobs. This is a win, win, win situation."

Yes indeed, it could be a winning scenario -- except that the idiotic Bush regime just brought all solar projects to a halt, imposing a two year moratorium so they can do more planning. What? These people can't plan and carry out projects at the same time?

Meanwhile, a report card on how the G-8 countries are meeting their goals to reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change reveals that the U$ is in last place. Great Britain has done the most to reduce carbon emissions, followed closely by France and Germany -- however, "none of the countries are making improvements large enough to prevent temperature increases that scientists think would cause catastrophic climate changes." According to the article the UK, France and Germany are only half way along the road to achieving a standard that will actually reduce emissions and put a halt to increasing temperatures.

This is scary stuff. I have to wonder about the wisdom of solar moratoriums in the face of overwhelming evidence that we need to be putting huge focused and united efforts into making radical changes in the way we produce and consume energy.

Ten million solar roof tops is a good start -- but we need many more millions than that to have an effect on global warming. Meanwhile, I hope my rooftop can be one of the first ten million.

End of the Week Musings

Heck of a week for political theatre. I for one, am glad the show didn't end in only one short act, comprised of two scenes. We though Iowa was thrilling, little knowing what amazing plot developments would come out of New Hampshire.

The bumpersticker you see pictured here at the Village Green, has been riding around on my vehicle since the day after Kerry lost in 2004. I was madder than all get out and wanted to put something out there to double-whammy hex all those Bush/Cheney stickers. I made a couple dozen of these stickers to send out to my Happy Hour Atheist and Agnostic mailing list friends. Half said "Obama/Clinton," the others said "Clinton/Obama." It didn't really matter to me what order the names were it. What mattered was that these two names would make Republicans shudder. I can't tell you how tickled I am that these two names are now the top choices for the Democratic party.

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The weather in NE Ohio has been ridiculously bizarre, even by our usual standards of unpredictability. Upper 60s and bright sunshine as the week began interspersed with high volume wind storms. Obie, the huskador retriever, is shedding heavily -- in the depths of winter when he normally wears his luxurient thick double coat out into the snow storms.

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Just to let you know, VegiTerranean does really good take-out meals. I zipped over there to pick up a lunch via the Innerbelt. My goal for 2008 is to try everything at least once on their menu. For the record, today I went with the Tuscan "steak" panini with delicious vegetables and sauce. It came with a side of white bean salad and was portioned so generously I could save half to take home for dinner.

No, I'm not getting paid to plug the restaurant. I just think it is really cool that there is an actual vegan restaurant in Akron. It would be really fun to have an Akron blogger's meet up there some evening. What say you all?

How It All Ends

A science teacher has created a video on how to deal with global warming. How It All Ends takes the viewer through the major possible outcomes regarding global warming, from it isn't really happening to total catastrophe. Thanks to Brewed Fresh Daily for the link. Note that you really should visit Wonderingmind42's other videos at YouTube as he has created an index of clips that support his work. He calls it an expansion pack. But first check out his main thesis:

Maximum Consumption Sure Keeps Getting Me Down

"Arctic warming trend speeds up" is the top of the fold headline in today's ABJ, stretched above a color photo of an iceberg floating away from Greenland. The sky is a sickening orange and the water a bloody purple bleeding ice melt into the Atlantic.

I imagine Mr and Mrs Consumer at home reading the local rag over the dining room table. He is deep inside the business section, while she is looking for ads for the latest sales. He looks up and sees the headline on the section she is reading:

He: Well look at that will, ya? The arctic warming trend is speeding up.

She: Hm?

He: Hey, let me have that for a minute. (He reaches over and grabs Section A from her hands)

She: Oooo there's a 50 Percent off coupon at Macy's on the back page!

He: (unfolding the front page and reading) "Rate of ice melting near 'tipping point'...Ice melting accelerates to new levels." Somebody ought to do something about that.

She: Hybrid SUVs are on sale now!

He: Let's go shopping! We can stop at Macy's on the way and pick up some takeout on the way home.

They return home later laden with plastic bags filled with stuff they don't need, packaged in non-recyclable plastics and pasteboard. Their plastic credit cards came in handy.

So is this a march toward extinction? A massive die-off of our species? Certainly those in control of the United States government have their heads up their alimentary tracts about that possibility. The Bush regime continues to pour outrageous amounts of firearm detritus and toxic smoke into the atmosphere in utter disregard for the future of the planet. And in the U$, the citizens are prompted to shop and sell each other real estate.

Dreams and Nightmares

Turns out I wasn't dreaming about Kucinich welcoming Ron Paul onto a shared ticket. Yellow Dog Sammy tracked the item down here.

Would that the news I heard on Olbermann tonight was just one big nightmare of a dream I could wake up from tomorrow. But alas, it turns out that in reality the White House has done an end run around your elected officials in order to bind the US to Iraq for many years to come.

This so-called US-Iraq Declaration of Principles and Friendship and Cooperation means that the US has effectively taken sides with al-Maliki's faction and will be committed to fighting his enemies in order to build "democracy" in Iraq. TPM Muckraker has the details.

And for the ultimate eyeball popping keep you up all night sweating news, check out this report on global water shortages and just try to think to yourself "it can't happen here."

Congratulations No Impact Man!

On this day in 2006 one man and his family began to live making zero impact upon the planet. They ate vegetarian and bought local. They biked, walked and scootered their way around town. They took the stairs instead of elevators. They did without a laundry machine and a refrigerator. On the rooftop, one small solar panel powered Colin's lap top.

Colin Beavan blogged it all, and today marks the end of his experiment and the beginning of making many decisions about how he, his wife, young daughter and dog choose to live on the island of Manhattan.

His end of year post is a must-read. Looking forward to the book!

Congratulations Colin. Your comments are heart-felt and honest -- I'm so glad to read that you plan to continue blogging. It will be interesting to read about how your family adjusts to the temptations of comfort and convenience.

We all have seven years to lower our carbon emissions or learn to live on a greatly altered planet. If we don't start making a lower impact, the day will come when we will be living in perpetual drought with water a scare resource, surrounded by ever growing pollution in air, water and earth.

Grim news but no headlines

UN scientists released a new report over the weekend, one that should have achieved screaming headlines around the world. The end is nearer than you think, especially if you don't put much trust in your leaders and your fellow human beings to cease releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Since 2000, the earth has heated up 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius). In a follow up story in Sunday's Washington Post:

To avoid heating the globe by the minimum possible, an average of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the world's spiraling growth in greenhouse gas emissions must end no later than 2015, the report said, and must start to drop quickly after that peak. By 2050, carbon dioxide and other atmospheric polluting gases must be reduced by 50 to 85 percent, according to the estimates.

What happens if we don't meet that 2015 emissions goal? It doesn't look pleasant:

But if the world misses that target and does not stabilize carbon dioxide emissions until 2030, for example, the planet's temperature will increase by as much as 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit above 2000 temperatures, the report said. That level of warming would result in widespread extinctions of species, a slowing of the global currents, decreased food production, loss of 30 percent of global wetlands, flooding for millions of people and higher deaths from heat waves.

2015 is just around the corner. With billions of human beings crowding the planet and scrambling for resources, things are not looking very positive. Americans, for the most part, are still living a mindless disposable lifestyle, without bothering to think about what life will be like for their children and grandchildren.

This latest UN report makes it plain: those of us alive in a mere 7 years, are going to experience the sad decline and rapid downfall of the human race that could not save itself from its own compulsion toward comfort and convenience at any cost.

Not your normal Autumn Almanac

Autumn is slow getting to the Village Green. Look at my maple tree photographed yesterday -- not a yellow gold leaf to be seen.

There were no leaves to rake yet. Instead, I toured round the garden.
Two nights of frost have yet to have any effect here. My gardens, back and front, are sheltered somewhat, with a micro-climate that continues to produce roses, nasturtiums, zinnias, and snapdragons.

In the vegetable garden, I found a lone bee visiting a neglected stalk of broccoli. All the carrot seeds produced about 6 plants, only one of which I've pulled. That carrot was about 1 inch in diameter and one inch in length. I need to study up on my carrot gardening for next summer. The tomatoes are long gone , but I found a large sturdy pepper hiding nestled near the herb bed.


Inside, the transition from screens to storm windows is complete. This weekend, I installed some bamboo window shades, and replaced the summer curtains with heavier ones in preparation for the winter to come, as it will eventually. It is the season to patch and seal, tidy up and put away the warm weather clothing, the garden tools and furniture.

It feels like I'm on time, but the leaves are not on deadline. Off in the distance, a hazy patch of yellow paints the the green trees on Kenmore's great cliffs that overlook Summit Lake, hinting of splendid displays to come.

The weatherman predicts possible snow on Tuesday. We are prepared here, with all cracks caulked. The energy efficient furnace will not have to work too hard and hopefully, the gas bill won't be too outrageous.

On not giving up

I've had a petunia blooming in my indoor garden all winter long. It's a "wave" petunia variety that has been sharing a large pot with a geranium. I generally bring in one geranium for the winter, but this time I wanted to see how long the petunia would go before giving up. It hasn't given up at all.

That seems to have been the theme of the week -- not giving up. On the local level, the Highland Square community has been rallying around an old theatre to save it for the community. The local theatre critic, reassigned by the Akron Beacon Journal to the Business beat last summer, isn't giving up either and is blogging and freelancing theatre reviews. The arts will not give up in Summit County either.

At the state level, a grassroots group in Stark county did not give up on paying attention to Countywide Landfill. An expert has been called in to test with infrared photography to determine if the landfill is indeed on fire underneath the top layers. The toxic brew underneath could threaten aquifiers, and if it explodes into the air, could release some deadly fumes. We continue to pollute and to reproduce at rates that will have us choking on our own deadly chemical wastes. None of us can afford to give up on this one.

On the national front, Patrick Fitzgerald has doggedly pursued the truth behind the twisted lies of Cheney/Rove/Libby regarding the Valerie Plame Affair (it sounds like a Perry Mason mystery title). I've been following the story every night when I get home from work -- watching the parade of famous journalists enter the court.

Planet-wide global warming is on the minds of most people, if not the Republican White House. A huge collection of experts and countries set out a declaration today. From local to global, we simply cannot give in to defeat.

Snow!

Here it is the 2nd week of January, and my dog has gone into full coat shed. He is what I call a Huskador Retreiver, with a thick arctic coat that fills in beautifully during the winter and then spends the rest of the year shedding all over everything. So I'm observing the big clumps of hair tufting and ready to fall onto the floor and Oberon is asking me, please -- stop staring and let me go outside for awhile. Oh my goodness! I open the door and it is snowing! Big flakes and lots of them. Oberon plunges out into his element and comes back looking like this:












I rush to the computer to check weather.com -- light snow is the current forecast. Only 1" total by morning. Thursday we'll be back to sunny with a high of 46 degrees. I'm not a big fan of snow and it certainly feels strange to be rooting for it, but dammit -- the ground has got to freeze sometime before spring officially arrives. My garden is counting on it.

US forced to face effects of global warming

Microdot points out that the White House is going to finally concede that climate change is real. In an AP report today, we find that polar bears are the creatures who reached through the bureaucratic blockade and touched somebody's sensibilites. Maybe one too many pictures of polar bears swimming desperately for solid ice in the middle of a melting polar region?

Face to face with actual evidence, some government workers -- you know, those people we pay with our taxes to take care of our common goods and interests -- have realized that polar bears have to be put on the endangered species list before it is too late. The polar bear population is between 21-25,000 (2001 count) and here is a handy click on map of the polar region, where you can read descriptions of various polar bear populations. For example:

"Kara Sea

This population includes the Kara Sea and overlaps in the west with the Barents Sea population in the area of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya archipelagos. The information for the Kara and Barents Seas, in the vicinity of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, is mainly based on aerial surveys and den counts (Parovshikov 1965, Belikov and Maeteev 1983, Uspenski 1989, Belikov et al. 1991, Belikov and Gorbunov 1991, Belikov 1993). Studies of movements, using telemetry, have been done throughout the area but data to define the eastern boundary are incomplete (Belikov et al. 1998, Mauritzen et al. in press). The population estimate should be regarded as preliminary. Reported harvest activities have been limited to defence kills and an unknown number of illegal kills; these are not thought to be having an impact on the size of the population. However, contaminant levels in rivers flowing into this area and recent information on nuclear and industrial waste disposal raise concerns about the possibility of environmental damage. Recent studies clearly show that polar bears from the Kara Sea have the highest organochlorine pollution levels in the Arctic (Andersen et al. 2001, Lie et al. in press)."

Can we save these beautiful creatures from our own toxic brews and planetary wrecking? Or will polar bears only be viewed in museums?

Photo from: Polar bear diorama at the National Museum of Canada, 1940 (with cubs shot in 1914). Source: Canadian Museum of Nature

Signs of global warming

In the past 24 hours, I've read the following stories:

The growth of holly trees is on the decline.

Brown bears in Spain are no longer hibernating in the winter.

The first inhabited island is now officially under water.

Here by Summit Lake in Akron, Ohio I note that the geese no longer fly south for the winter and that various plants continue to grow in my garden.

Can we even think of saying "Happy" New Year ahead? Perhaps "Get it together in the New Year" might be more appropriate.