Every Act Matters: A theme and philosophy of Earth Day, April 22, a day intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for Mother Earth and the natural environment with which we have been blessed. Organizers hope people will commit to changes that will, over time, help save our planet from the devastations of global warming, air and water pollution and the elimination of species of plants, animals and insects in an effort to improve or maintain the planet’s biodiversity. The Bible tells us that we have been given everything on this earth that we need to live and thrive and it is up to us to take care of those elements we need for survival. Some people feel that what will be will be, that other things impact our earth (meteors killing off the dinosaurs) and our involvement has little consequence. What do you believe?
Global warming (resulting from the carbon emissions of cars, manufacturing, etc.), deforestation (destruction of rain forests and poor logging practices), urbanization (rural economies diminished causing people to move to urban areas for employment opportunities), and the rise in the world’s population all contribute to the serious environmental concerns of the day.
“Developing countries are home to 80 percent of the world’s population but are responsible for only half of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. As their standard of living and energy use rise, and as their populations swell, developing countries will have a greater impact on the planet,” say Peter Bell, Brian McGill and Ryan Morris in “The Human Footprint” article published in the April 14 online version of the National Journal at http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/the-human-footprint-20110414 where you will find an array of specific information about the global society’s impact on our planet.
The Dr. Oz show (broadcast in the FM area at 9 a.m. on CBS) brings to his audience doctors and scientists who are learning fascinating and important information about little known plants and how their makeup can impact the sophisticated human body.
“The intricate synergies that keep our livers humming and our eyes focused and our brains remembering where we put the car keys are mirrored in the plant world. Each organism contains a universe within itself, countless components working together seamlessly to keep things in perfect balance,” writes Rob Howard in “Good Morning World!” in the April issue of The Oprah Magazine. “When we supplement our diets with specific vitamins-a vitamin D capsule, a CoQ10 pill-we’re doing the opposite: breaking nature’s systems apart. “The best example of this,” Oz had told me. “When you eat vitamin-A-rich foods like carrots, you reduce the risk of lung cancer. When you take vitamin A as a pill you increase the risk of lung cancer. How is that possible? It’s possible because when you take a carrot and put it into your mouth you don’t just get vitamin A, you get all the retinols, the different subtypes of all these different phytonutrients. And they’re in the perfect mix for us. Literally dozens of them in the right combinations-they’re the key that unlocks the cells’ abilities to defend themselves against cancer. If you take only massive pharmaceutical doses of vitamin A, then you actually block the body’s ability to absorb the other components of the carrot.” The way these things operate, Oz said, is like a band playing in perfect tune. “The true benefit doesn’t come from just having the drum banging. You need the guitar, a little trumpet, a singer. That’s what makes the music.”
And this is multiplied thousands of times in all the plant species we have been given with Mother Earth. Nature is wonderful that way: giving us all we need in our environment, to be healthy and combat the diseases and ailments of the world. We are destroying entire ecosystems before we even know their full benefit to us. That is why biodiversity is so important. Preserving all forms of life on land and sea protects us and future generations.
Everything is tied together, connected, in intricate ways that seem impossible to conceive; however, we are given new evidence of the interconnectedness with each scientific study examining the particular challenge investigated. Can so many brilliant minds be wrong? Do the results sometime seem suited to meet the wants and needs of the organization sponsoring the study? Oh yes, that can happen. But now the research and ongoing evidence is too great to ignore the facts. We are polluting the earth at a greater rate than any other society, more than any other generation, and it’s hard not believe that what is occurring to our weather patterns is not a result of the global impact of the myriad of pollutants and social behaviors.
Clean Air
In the Red River Valley, we don’t often have to worry about air pollution, or do we? Carbon emissions from our cars, manufacturing and agribusiness cause destruction to the ozone, and not necessarily where we live. Carbon dioxide may be mitigated by trees but excess amounts are hazardous waste that travel many miles from where it is produced. It is our carbon footprint: everything we do has an impact on the environment.
Information from the National Wildlife Federation says “North Dakota has the best wind resources in the country, earning it the top rank for potential wind energy. If the available wind power in the state were harnessed, North Dakota would be able to produce over 10,000 times as much electricity as it consumes. However, the state is currently ranked only 14th for wind energy produced. Wind farms in the state currently produce 344 megawatts, with 327 MW under construction. To realize North Dakota’s wind potential, the state needs to update its electricity transmission system. As is, the transmission system is not robust enough to handle the added load of large wind farms. Without further investment in the transmission system, North Dakota will only be able to reach a fraction of its wind potential.” Where is the incentive? As long as coal is easily accessible in ND and providing for the needs of its citizens, alternative forms of energy will wait. The ND energy boom right now is in oil production, not electricity from wind.
Grist online “finds that there is enough already-disturbed land in the U.S. suitable for wind to produce 3,500 gigawatts of power. That’s more power than is consumed by the entire U.S. Disturbed land means agriculture, mining, oil and gas drilling, stuff like that. Maybe it’s cold comfort that we’ve already wrecked so much of our natural land, but this, at least, is a way to put it to good use. And it means we shouldn’t need to sacrifice wildlife for wind power.”
The use of wind energy lessens our need for fossils fuels like coal, oil and natural gas and thereby lessens our carbon footprint.
The Food in Our Environment
Save honey bees. The United Nations urge international efforts to save bee colonies that are in serious decline due to pesticide use, air pollution, a lethal-pinhead-sized parasite that only affects bee species in the northern hemisphere, loss of flowering plants and a decline in beekeepers. Discovery.com reports, “The way humanity manages or mismanages its nature-based assets, including pollinators, will in part define our collective future in the 21st century,” said UNEP executive director Achim Steiner. “The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.”
“The bees will get the headlines in this story,” UNEP spokesman Nick Nuttall told journalists.”But in a sense they are an indicator of the wider changes that are happening in the countryside but also urban environments, in terms of whether nature can continue to provide the services as it has been doing for thousands or millions of years in the face of acute environmental change,” he added.
FoodNews.org reports about the work of the Environmental Working Group: “The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood. Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides.
“EWG research has found that people who eat five fruits and vegetables a day from the Dirty Dozen list consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat from the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than two pesticides daily. The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary pesticide load.”
If you consider buying organic, these are the ones to select as they are the fruits and veggies with the highest amount of pesticide exposure during conventional growing. When you buy organic, the growers are certified and checked to ensure they are using farming techniques such as green manure, compost, mulch, crop rotation and biological pest control, like predation (birds, lady beetles and lacewings), parasitism, herbivory or other natural mechanisms. Those “Dirty Dozen” the EWG recommends we buy organic are: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, kale, cherries, potatoes and imported grapes (most of the grapes in the Red River Valley are imported).
If you can’t afford to purchase only organic, as the cost is generally higher, the fruits and veggies lowest in pesticides when grown conventionally are: onions, avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, mangos, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapefruit, sweet potato, and honeydew melon.
On April 13 President Obama was quoted as saying, “A 70 percent cut to clean energy. A 25 percent cut in education. … These are the kind of cuts that tell us we can’t afford the America we believe in. Go to China and you’ll see businesses opening research labs and solar facilities. South Korean children are outpacing our kids in math and science. Brazil is investing billions in new infrastructure and can run half their cars not on high-priced gasoline, but biofuels. And yet, we are presented with a vision that says the United States of America — the greatest nation on Earth — can’t afford any of this. … We don’t have to choose between a future of spiraling debt and one where we forfeit investments in our people and our country. To meet our fiscal challenge, we will need to make reforms. We will all need to make sacrifices. But we do not have to sacrifice the America we believe in. And as long as I’m President, we won’t.”
There are many things we can individually do to create a better environment and help make the world a better place to live. There are many complex and scientific issues surrounding the environmental challenges facing our nation and the planet. There are many things over which we have no control. Know the difference. Learn what you can do and do it. See the sidebar list of “Things You Can Do.” Every act matters.
Every Act Matters: the Green Movement