Many people are saying that we cannot forget the environment during times of economic crisis - I couldn't agree more. On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve Board in the US did something historic - they brought interest rates to nearly zero. Why did they do this? To stimulate the economy, of course. Today, I read an article on the website truthout.org that said that 2/3rds of the economy is driven by consumers. This is a huge amount - no wonder George Bush told people to go shopping after 9/11. Given that the Earth will run out of resources sometime soon, how can we afford to keep consuming? In Japan, people seem to shop like there is no tomorrow. Department stores are always busy and convenience stores sell god knows how many bentos every day. One of my private clients says that the reason this happens on weekends is because people have to work off the stress from their weeks, as it's quite normal for people to work 12 hours a day here. How can we sustain this when the population keeps rising? Of course, in Japan, the population is dropping because couples literally have no time for sex anymore, as reported by the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/28/japan-sexual-health
So, how can we avert both economic and environmental disaster? Easy - we need green jobs. Imagine if the Big 3 turned their factories from car assembly plants to wind turbine and solar panel plants. Imagine if coal workers turned their talents to digging for geothermal power. In many countries, states like California and Michigan and provinces like Ontario around the world, people are paid for putting up wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable energy equipment. The US is a national policy like this - come on Barack! This will aid the US enormously.
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Numbers
I've been living in Japan for just over 2 months now and I still can't read the signs, but it's always comforting to know that I'll always be able to read numbers. In many countries, numbers look the same. Sometimes the numbers are up and sometimes, like now, they are down. We all have to figure out a way to keep our numbers healthy at the very least. Whether it's the numbers in our bank account or our weight, it all matters to us.
What about the numbers affecting the Earth? For example, the numbers 2 and 2030. I just read that by 2030, we might need 2 planets to sustain our needs. Where will we get 2 planets? Are we going to colonize Mars as some suggest? Will it be possible to make our lives so efficient that we can live on 1 planet? Sometimes I think about whether having children in the developed world is responsible. Can we actually dare to dream that our children and grandchildren will live in a world where they have enough to eat and drink? How about the number, well actually the fraction, 1/3? That's the amount that biodiversity has declined by since 1970. How about the number 50? That's the number of countries experiencing a "moderate to severe water stress on a year-round basis," according to the Guardian. Here's the link to the article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/29/climatechange-endangeredhabitats
Numbers are knowledge. Knowledge is power. What will we do with this new found power to predict our doom? Yesterday's Guardian looked at the possibility that we could become like the Maya - when the Maya were at the height of their power, they crashed. Will we become like them? Here's the article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/28/climatechange-population
I really hope we can learn from our mistakes and make the Earth a better place. After all, this is the only place we have to live on.
What about the numbers affecting the Earth? For example, the numbers 2 and 2030. I just read that by 2030, we might need 2 planets to sustain our needs. Where will we get 2 planets? Are we going to colonize Mars as some suggest? Will it be possible to make our lives so efficient that we can live on 1 planet? Sometimes I think about whether having children in the developed world is responsible. Can we actually dare to dream that our children and grandchildren will live in a world where they have enough to eat and drink? How about the number, well actually the fraction, 1/3? That's the amount that biodiversity has declined by since 1970. How about the number 50? That's the number of countries experiencing a "moderate to severe water stress on a year-round basis," according to the Guardian. Here's the link to the article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/29/climatechange-endangeredhabitats
Numbers are knowledge. Knowledge is power. What will we do with this new found power to predict our doom? Yesterday's Guardian looked at the possibility that we could become like the Maya - when the Maya were at the height of their power, they crashed. Will we become like them? Here's the article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/28/climatechange-population
I really hope we can learn from our mistakes and make the Earth a better place. After all, this is the only place we have to live on.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
The Recevolution
Of course, many economists are now saying we are in a recession or on the brink. There's the old saying that the Chinese word for crisis is the same word for opportunity - that's exactly what we are in right now. In the US debate on October 7, both candidates said they are in favour of tax cuts. Yes, it's very prudent to decrease government programs right at the moment that people need them most. McCain believes that reducing taxes for businesses will create more jobs, but I believe that most large business owners might just take the money for themselves. We are also losing jobs in Ontario due to the decrease in the manufacturing sector. Yet, Ontario is now growing as a user of renewable energy - if we could turn the abandoned plants into useful plants for the manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels, it would be a win win. Many people trained in the manufacturing sector to have good jobs - they could keep those jobs and contribute to a cleaner, more 21st century economy.
For people who will not lose their jobs but are feeling the squeeze in other areas, consumption can always be reduced. Because of cold Canadian winters, our heating bills are always high, but many homes do not have enough insulation. People should be given money by the government for weatherization and for energy audits. At the moment, Ontario pays people for erecting wind turbines and solar panels - they should be paid for audits as well.
One of the most important issues right now is food. Many countries do not have enough and others import too much. During World War II, the Canadian government encouraged people to grow food on their lawns because rationing was occuring. We need exactly the same thing today - everyone's bills would go down and organic farming would get a huge boost. The Government needs to educate people on how to grow their own food - it's as simple as that. This is also a big issue here in Japan because only 38% of food in Japan is grown locally due to the mountainous terrain. In Japan, most people do not have backyards or front lawns - why not grow food on the roof? Japan would be much more pleasant with more plants. As many people point out, Tokyo is a concrete jungle - we need more grass.
As the title of this blog suggests, we need a recevolution not a recession. Our world is changing so quickly and we need to change with it. Our current economic system is not working - take a look at the US. If we use this crisis as an opportunity, we can change the world for the better.
For people who will not lose their jobs but are feeling the squeeze in other areas, consumption can always be reduced. Because of cold Canadian winters, our heating bills are always high, but many homes do not have enough insulation. People should be given money by the government for weatherization and for energy audits. At the moment, Ontario pays people for erecting wind turbines and solar panels - they should be paid for audits as well.
One of the most important issues right now is food. Many countries do not have enough and others import too much. During World War II, the Canadian government encouraged people to grow food on their lawns because rationing was occuring. We need exactly the same thing today - everyone's bills would go down and organic farming would get a huge boost. The Government needs to educate people on how to grow their own food - it's as simple as that. This is also a big issue here in Japan because only 38% of food in Japan is grown locally due to the mountainous terrain. In Japan, most people do not have backyards or front lawns - why not grow food on the roof? Japan would be much more pleasant with more plants. As many people point out, Tokyo is a concrete jungle - we need more grass.
As the title of this blog suggests, we need a recevolution not a recession. Our world is changing so quickly and we need to change with it. Our current economic system is not working - take a look at the US. If we use this crisis as an opportunity, we can change the world for the better.
Power
In the news, power is definitely the number one issue right now, whether it's political or electrical. I'm currently living in Japan and there have been many prime ministers here over the last year. The new Prime Minister, Aso, comes from a very political family and many people say that he's completely out of touch with what voters want. I'm teaching English here and one of my students said that Japan needs a revolutionary change but Aso will not deliver it.
Meanwhile, in Canada and the US, it's election season. In Canada, we certainly do not need 4 more years of Harper. If you live in the riding of Ottawa South, I urge you to vote for Hijal DeSarkar. I have known him for a long time and he's very trustworthy. He's running for the NDP and he recently told me that Jack Layton has a chance of becoming leader of the Opposition - I would be extremely proud of the NDP and of Canada if this happened. We definitely need changes in Canada so we don't become just a copy of the US.
I just watched the American presidential debate. You know the old adage that most communication is non-verbal - well, McCain said it all. Just the way he sits in his chair tells you how uncomfortable he is with normal people. Obama sat forward and really listened to what McCain and the audience said and I congratulate him on that. However, although I support Obama, he is in favour of offshore drilling and nuclear power. But, Obama was kind enough to point out that the US only has 3% of the world's oil reserves, but consumes 25% of the world's oil. Does this justify offshore drilling? Oil is expected to run out in my lifetime, so we really need to start thinking about driving less. Speaking of which, a small island in Denmark called Samso recently became completely carbon neutral. Everything is powered with wind turbines and solar panels and wood chip boilers are used for heat. If the world expects to achieve this someday, we have to think small. Today, most power plants are on a large scale and are hooked up to an enormous grid - the only way we can get out of this is to build smaller plants and to use renewable energy right where it is consumed.
There are many important people around the world today that support nuclear power while ignoring that merely digging the uranium out of the ground causes an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. This doesn't even recognize the fact that we have no idea what to do with the waste. If we are to tackle climate change, we have to decrease energy consumption for rich countries - it's as simple as that. Then, we won't need any new nuclear power plants.
Meanwhile, in Canada and the US, it's election season. In Canada, we certainly do not need 4 more years of Harper. If you live in the riding of Ottawa South, I urge you to vote for Hijal DeSarkar. I have known him for a long time and he's very trustworthy. He's running for the NDP and he recently told me that Jack Layton has a chance of becoming leader of the Opposition - I would be extremely proud of the NDP and of Canada if this happened. We definitely need changes in Canada so we don't become just a copy of the US.
I just watched the American presidential debate. You know the old adage that most communication is non-verbal - well, McCain said it all. Just the way he sits in his chair tells you how uncomfortable he is with normal people. Obama sat forward and really listened to what McCain and the audience said and I congratulate him on that. However, although I support Obama, he is in favour of offshore drilling and nuclear power. But, Obama was kind enough to point out that the US only has 3% of the world's oil reserves, but consumes 25% of the world's oil. Does this justify offshore drilling? Oil is expected to run out in my lifetime, so we really need to start thinking about driving less. Speaking of which, a small island in Denmark called Samso recently became completely carbon neutral. Everything is powered with wind turbines and solar panels and wood chip boilers are used for heat. If the world expects to achieve this someday, we have to think small. Today, most power plants are on a large scale and are hooked up to an enormous grid - the only way we can get out of this is to build smaller plants and to use renewable energy right where it is consumed.
There are many important people around the world today that support nuclear power while ignoring that merely digging the uranium out of the ground causes an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. This doesn't even recognize the fact that we have no idea what to do with the waste. If we are to tackle climate change, we have to decrease energy consumption for rich countries - it's as simple as that. Then, we won't need any new nuclear power plants.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
The Power of Photography
Yesterday, I attended a show as part of the Contact Festival in Toronto, which celebrates photography. At the show I went to, Lucas Oleniuk from the Toronto Star presented photographs he took as part of a special in the Star called AirSick. He turned the photographs into a movie and that movie is now on YouTube. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv9K02PC1aI
I spoke to Lucas after the show and he said he can't find anything more important to write about than the environment, not to mention take pictures of. These images are very simple yet powerful. Take a look!
I spoke to Lucas after the show and he said he can't find anything more important to write about than the environment, not to mention take pictures of. These images are very simple yet powerful. Take a look!
Friday, 2 May 2008
Critical Mass
Last Friday I attended Critical Mass in Toronto for the very first time. If you haven't heard of critical mass before, it's essentially a big bike ride. The motto for Toronto critical mass is: we're not blocking traffic, we are traffic. The first critical mass took place on September 25, 1992 in San Francisco; however, for that first ride, it was known as the Commute Clot. The reason it became known as critical mass is because after the first ride, those who participated went to see a film about cycling. The film, Return of the Scorcher, showed that when a critical mass of cyclists and motorists in China reached an intersection where there were no signals, the crowd would continue through the intersection. There are now at least 325 cities that host critical mass every last Friday of the month including Seattle, Honolulu, Riga (Latvia) and Vilnius (Lithuania).
There's definitely something about critical mass that can't really be explained. It's that feeling of being part of a crowd and participating in something bigger than yourself. That being said, it does feel strange to have motorists supporting you (some honked for us). If they are for it, why aren't they cycling home from their jobs?
There's definitely something about critical mass that can't really be explained. It's that feeling of being part of a crowd and participating in something bigger than yourself. That being said, it does feel strange to have motorists supporting you (some honked for us). If they are for it, why aren't they cycling home from their jobs?
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Important Videos to Look At
To all who care about the future, have a look at these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=7399176&ch=222562
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=7399176&ch=222562
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
Health, Climate Change and a Whole Host of Issues
I have just recently returned to my hometown of Toronto, Canada and last night, I attended a lecture by Devra Davis. If you haven't read her book When Smoke Ran Like Water, I highly recommend it. Devra worked as an adviser to Bill Clinton when he was president and she has campaigned against cancer. Her book When Smoke Ran Like Water discusses various cover ups with regards to pollution in the U.S. First she talks about her childhood experience in Donora, Pennsylvania which had many steel plants. She mentioned last night that in Donora in 1948, 20 people dropped dead just because of air pollution. When she was a child, drapes inevitably became black just because of the emissions from the steel plants. Her book also discusses something that many people probably do not know about. Up until the 1950s, Los Angeles had one of the best public transportation systems in the world, which mainly consisted of streetcar (tram) lines. In 1947, according to the book, "nearly two out of every five workers used public transportation. Two decades later, fewer than one out of ten did. Today the number is fewer than one in twenty nationwide." Why did this happen? In 1953, General Motors bought Los Angeles Railway and Pacific Electric, which built the streetcar lines and cars and replaced everything with buses and roads. Small wonder everyone wanted to own a car.
For those interested in more information on Devra, she holds a PhD in science studies from the University of Chicago and she is now the head of the world's first Centre for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh. You can check out her website at www.devradavis.com In my view, Devra is an excellent writer and public speaker because she relates her own experiences to what she writes, as in the case of living in Donora, Pennsylvania. At the lecture last night, she discussed many issues such as asbestos, which has just recently been banned by South Africa. It surprised me to find out that Canada has not yet banned it despite the fact that it is a very dangerous substance. Last night, Devra read a letter by a worker in India, where Canada exports much of its asbestos. According to the letter, the worker's union is thinking about banning asbestos, a step which Canada should follow. According to the CBC, 70% of the rise in workplace deaths is caused by asbestos. If you're interested in this issue and want to take action, go to http://www.bacanada.org/main.html
For those interested in more information on Devra, she holds a PhD in science studies from the University of Chicago and she is now the head of the world's first Centre for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh. You can check out her website at www.devradavis.com In my view, Devra is an excellent writer and public speaker because she relates her own experiences to what she writes, as in the case of living in Donora, Pennsylvania. At the lecture last night, she discussed many issues such as asbestos, which has just recently been banned by South Africa. It surprised me to find out that Canada has not yet banned it despite the fact that it is a very dangerous substance. Last night, Devra read a letter by a worker in India, where Canada exports much of its asbestos. According to the letter, the worker's union is thinking about banning asbestos, a step which Canada should follow. According to the CBC, 70% of the rise in workplace deaths is caused by asbestos. If you're interested in this issue and want to take action, go to http://www.bacanada.org/main.html
Monday, 25 February 2008
My Writing Experience
I have just recently started as a freelance writer. Here is my resume so far:
- Writes on wind energy for Pakistani journal Triple Bottom Line - this article will be published in March
- Researched and wrote for 2009 Flipside Vision climate change calendar:
- Researched using internet
- Topics included wind and solar power, biofuels and travel
- Researches and writes for online Environmental Peace Review:
-Published article on train travel:
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/iip/review/Dec2007/news.htm
- Published article on Canadian and international wind energy policy in the online Journal of Environmental Peace: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/iip/journal/MAIN4/katz.htm
I really enjoy being a freelance writer and would love the chance to do more. I currently work part time for Darwin's Deli and thus, I have the time to do more. I started writing poetry at the age of 13 and published an article in the Toronto Star at the age of 15 on the subject of Internet chat rooms. Please contact me if you wish my services at m.il.katz@gmail.com
- Writes on wind energy for Pakistani journal Triple Bottom Line - this article will be published in March
- Researched and wrote for 2009 Flipside Vision climate change calendar:
- Researched using internet
- Topics included wind and solar power, biofuels and travel
- Researches and writes for online Environmental Peace Review:
-Published article on train travel:
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/iip/review/Dec2007/news.htm
- Published article on Canadian and international wind energy policy in the online Journal of Environmental Peace: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/iip/journal/MAIN4/katz.htm
I really enjoy being a freelance writer and would love the chance to do more. I currently work part time for Darwin's Deli and thus, I have the time to do more. I started writing poetry at the age of 13 and published an article in the Toronto Star at the age of 15 on the subject of Internet chat rooms. Please contact me if you wish my services at m.il.katz@gmail.com
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
A New Word is Born
Here in London, we need a new word for the season we're having. Actually, it already exists- "sprinter." Spring and Winter is what we're having right now. On Sunday, I played in a frisbee tournament in Wimbledon Common. We arrived there at 9am and there was frost in the fields and mist in the air. We were all a bit cold and wore a couple of layers. By about 2pm, I was playing in a tank top (or in the British English, vest) and shorts. I think I got a tan that day. It was an absolutely wonderful day for us. We played 4 games and won 3. The sun was glorious! It was practically summer.
There are some people out there who think global warming doesn't exist - I urge them to get out of their office and house once in a while. On Sunday, it was about 13 degrees Celsius. According to Project Britain, the average temperature for February is about 7 degrees Celsius. This is a significant difference. How can we ignore climate change? Well, ignoring it is easy - doing something about it is different.
There are some people out there who think global warming doesn't exist - I urge them to get out of their office and house once in a while. On Sunday, it was about 13 degrees Celsius. According to Project Britain, the average temperature for February is about 7 degrees Celsius. This is a significant difference. How can we ignore climate change? Well, ignoring it is easy - doing something about it is different.
Peak Oil and Love
I was recently reading an article in the Guardian (the very excellent UK newspaper). It was written by an author who has just recently compiled an anthology of love stories. There is a line from it that has stuck with me. Here it is:
Say what you want about love; death will finish it. You will not go on loving in the grave, not in any physical way that will at at all resemble love as we know it on earth. The perishable nature of love is what gives love its profound importance in our lives. If it were endless, if it were on tap, love wouldn't hit us the way it does.
This quotation stuck with me for one main reason: it pretty much describes our relationship with oil. For years, we have pretended that it was always on tap and now the evidence shows that we have or soon will pass the peak of production. This means that there will still be oil available, but it will be extremely difficult to get out of the ground, both physically and monetarily. According to a report published by CitiBank just last week, "total global liquid hydrocarbon production has essentially flatlined since mid 2005 at just north of 85 million barrels per day." This report was quoted in a recent article by George Monbiot, who is an excellent UK writer on environmental and other issues (see monbiot.com - he cites all information which isn't his - very remarkable for a website). Recently, there was also an email sent out by the CEO of Shell to his employees saying that by "2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand." This gives us 7 years to come up with some kind of alternative to oil. Of course, it could be much sooner because of Chinese and Indian demand. According to China Daily, "Chinese and Indian demand will grow 970,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year -- nearly 40 per cent of total world growth. China accounts for the lion's share, with 840,000 bpd of incremental demand. " Many people say that the developing world has to chart a greener course than we did, but what gives us the right to say that?
People may think that 7 years is a long time, but shocks will still come before then. At the moment, inflation and food prices are going up, partly because of high oil prices. They could continue to rise if land is set aside for the production of crops for biofuels. Take action now while you can - sell your car, get a bike, move closer to work, buy organic as often as you can (fertilisers are mainly made up of fossil fuels), buy local or even better, don't buy anything you don't need. Speaking of love, who says Valentine's Day requires that you buy roses or expensive chocolate? A nice simple dinner will do.
Say what you want about love; death will finish it. You will not go on loving in the grave, not in any physical way that will at at all resemble love as we know it on earth. The perishable nature of love is what gives love its profound importance in our lives. If it were endless, if it were on tap, love wouldn't hit us the way it does.
This quotation stuck with me for one main reason: it pretty much describes our relationship with oil. For years, we have pretended that it was always on tap and now the evidence shows that we have or soon will pass the peak of production. This means that there will still be oil available, but it will be extremely difficult to get out of the ground, both physically and monetarily. According to a report published by CitiBank just last week, "total global liquid hydrocarbon production has essentially flatlined since mid 2005 at just north of 85 million barrels per day." This report was quoted in a recent article by George Monbiot, who is an excellent UK writer on environmental and other issues (see monbiot.com - he cites all information which isn't his - very remarkable for a website). Recently, there was also an email sent out by the CEO of Shell to his employees saying that by "2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand." This gives us 7 years to come up with some kind of alternative to oil. Of course, it could be much sooner because of Chinese and Indian demand. According to China Daily, "Chinese and Indian demand will grow 970,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year -- nearly 40 per cent of total world growth. China accounts for the lion's share, with 840,000 bpd of incremental demand. " Many people say that the developing world has to chart a greener course than we did, but what gives us the right to say that?
People may think that 7 years is a long time, but shocks will still come before then. At the moment, inflation and food prices are going up, partly because of high oil prices. They could continue to rise if land is set aside for the production of crops for biofuels. Take action now while you can - sell your car, get a bike, move closer to work, buy organic as often as you can (fertilisers are mainly made up of fossil fuels), buy local or even better, don't buy anything you don't need. Speaking of love, who says Valentine's Day requires that you buy roses or expensive chocolate? A nice simple dinner will do.
Friday, 25 January 2008
Food, Food and More Food
It seems like food has risen to the top of the news agenda here in the UK. The newspapers are talking about how climate change will lead to food shortages. On television, there are ever more programs devoted to food. I personally enjoy watching Masterchef on BBC 2. There are 6 contestants - first, they must cook one dish in 40 minutes (some of them have attempted 2, but the judges will only try one) from some surprise ingredients. On Wednesday, they were given some pasta, ground beef, basil, pine nuts, puff pastry and a bunch of other ingredients. All except one decided to do some form of pesto pasta. Can you guess what happened to the woman who didn't make the pasta? She was chosen as the winner at the end of the show. But first, what happens is that 3 contestants are eliminated after making the dish. The remaining 3 have the chance to cook in a restaurant for lunch service. After lunch, the judges meet with the head chef to see what he thinks (it's almost always a he - why are there are so few female head chefs?) After this, they cook a 2 course meal just for the judges and they get to choose what they cook.
Over on Channel 4, there was a very interesting show on this week called Supersize vs. Superskinny. In this show, the fat and the skinny women swapped diets for a few days and surprise surprise, the skinny one gained weight and the fat one lost weight. The big surprise I believe, is that they got to talk to each other about their relationship with food. The skinny woman had the diet of a 4 year old and thought that she would get fat if she ate any more while the fat one was eating until late in the night and she had lost one of her children and as a result, was eating to fill the pain. This is a sad state of affairs - there are many people around the world who are malnourished and us in the western world either eat too much or too little it seems. Why can't we have a healthy relationship with our food? Is it because we've become so cut off from food production? Think about that the next time you're at the supermarket.
Over on Channel 4, there was a very interesting show on this week called Supersize vs. Superskinny. In this show, the fat and the skinny women swapped diets for a few days and surprise surprise, the skinny one gained weight and the fat one lost weight. The big surprise I believe, is that they got to talk to each other about their relationship with food. The skinny woman had the diet of a 4 year old and thought that she would get fat if she ate any more while the fat one was eating until late in the night and she had lost one of her children and as a result, was eating to fill the pain. This is a sad state of affairs - there are many people around the world who are malnourished and us in the western world either eat too much or too little it seems. Why can't we have a healthy relationship with our food? Is it because we've become so cut off from food production? Think about that the next time you're at the supermarket.
Monday, 14 January 2008
The Great Free Range Debate
I just recently watched Jamie's Fowl Dinners on Channel 4. It was definitely a wake up call for some about how chickens are treated in the UK. One of my regular customers on my sandwich round doesn't want to eat chicken anymore because of it. I personally hope this catalyses people into choosing free range chicken or just choosing to become vegetarian.
So what exactly does free range mean? According to DEFRA (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), animals reared under free range conditions have to be outside for at least half of their lives. They are slaughtered at 56 days or later and there must not be more than 27.5 kg live weight per m². Outside, there must be at least 1 m2 of vegetation per chicken and the feed they are given has to be at least 70% cereals.
Now, I'm all for free range chicken - I think chickens are much happier when they are given the opportunity to run outside. But the larger question is, should we really be eating meat at all? If all the chicken in the world was free range, we would have to grow more cereals for their feed. This will require more pesticides, more water, and more land. Given the growing population, can we afford all this? This applies not just to chicken but to all kinds of meat as well. One pound of beef requires 2500 gallons of water whereas soy only needs 250 and wheat, just 25. Many ranchers are also chopping down rainforest for grazing cattle, adding to climate change. The world definitely needs more vegetarians and vegans as well. Think about that the next time you choose a chicken or some beef.
So what exactly does free range mean? According to DEFRA (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), animals reared under free range conditions have to be outside for at least half of their lives. They are slaughtered at 56 days or later and there must not be more than 27.5 kg live weight per m². Outside, there must be at least 1 m2 of vegetation per chicken and the feed they are given has to be at least 70% cereals.
Now, I'm all for free range chicken - I think chickens are much happier when they are given the opportunity to run outside. But the larger question is, should we really be eating meat at all? If all the chicken in the world was free range, we would have to grow more cereals for their feed. This will require more pesticides, more water, and more land. Given the growing population, can we afford all this? This applies not just to chicken but to all kinds of meat as well. One pound of beef requires 2500 gallons of water whereas soy only needs 250 and wheat, just 25. Many ranchers are also chopping down rainforest for grazing cattle, adding to climate change. The world definitely needs more vegetarians and vegans as well. Think about that the next time you choose a chicken or some beef.
Friday, 11 January 2008
The Free-conomy
With so much talk about reducing carbon emissions, it's very surprising that consumption has not yet come under much scrutiny. In fact, every day we are encouraged to consume more, especially now because Christmas has just passed and the retail sector is experiencing a downturn. The developed world will soon have to realise that consumption is contributing to so many ills around the world. People are also feeling the pinch in their wallets. Yet people don't realise how many things we can get for free. Here are just a few things you can get for free:
Accomodation when you travel
When travelling, accomodation can often be one of the most expensive things you'll spend money on. If you want to save money and also have a great time, go to couchsurfing.com The basic concept of this website is to provide safe accomodation on couches, and often beds as well, all over the world. I have tried out couchsurfing.com twice and both times, it has been absolutely brilliant. Not only do you get free accomodation, you get to meet someone who lives in the town or city you visit who knows all the good, and bad, things about that town or city. I would say that the only downside of this website is that it can be difficult to find people who live in small towns and villages.
Household items, clothes and many other things
Many people today are now familiar with freecycle.org Freecycle is an email list in cities and towns in many countries where people post things that they have and things that they want. The only requirement is that once you sign up, you have to offer something first before posting a wanted ad. I have gotten many very useful things through freecycle and I've used it both in Canada and the UK. I've lived in London since September 2007 and since then I have received a food processor, mittens, a coffee grinder and cookery books through freecycle. Most London areas have their own freecycle list.
Language Skills
Forget having to take a class that costs money - gumtree.com has many people that offer to teach you a language in return for your own or another skill. I am now learning Japanese through someone on gumtree. Gumtree is in a small number of countries: the UK, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Hong Kong and Singapore.
We'll all have to do our part to reduce our emissions and reducing consumption is just one way to do that. Of course, governments will have to create legislation one of these days to force people and companies to reduce their emissions. But for now, we can at least do our part.
Accomodation when you travel
When travelling, accomodation can often be one of the most expensive things you'll spend money on. If you want to save money and also have a great time, go to couchsurfing.com The basic concept of this website is to provide safe accomodation on couches, and often beds as well, all over the world. I have tried out couchsurfing.com twice and both times, it has been absolutely brilliant. Not only do you get free accomodation, you get to meet someone who lives in the town or city you visit who knows all the good, and bad, things about that town or city. I would say that the only downside of this website is that it can be difficult to find people who live in small towns and villages.
Household items, clothes and many other things
Many people today are now familiar with freecycle.org Freecycle is an email list in cities and towns in many countries where people post things that they have and things that they want. The only requirement is that once you sign up, you have to offer something first before posting a wanted ad. I have gotten many very useful things through freecycle and I've used it both in Canada and the UK. I've lived in London since September 2007 and since then I have received a food processor, mittens, a coffee grinder and cookery books through freecycle. Most London areas have their own freecycle list.
Language Skills
Forget having to take a class that costs money - gumtree.com has many people that offer to teach you a language in return for your own or another skill. I am now learning Japanese through someone on gumtree. Gumtree is in a small number of countries: the UK, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Hong Kong and Singapore.
We'll all have to do our part to reduce our emissions and reducing consumption is just one way to do that. Of course, governments will have to create legislation one of these days to force people and companies to reduce their emissions. But for now, we can at least do our part.
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