Earth Day has expanded into Earth Week and is going strong after all these years. Volunteer clean-up crews on beaches, parks and other public spaces are well attended and produce squeaky-clean landscapes across the nation. But the focus of these efforts and much public discussion has recently changed from pollution to climate change.
Jeffrey Sachs said on Fareed Zakaria’s GPS Sunday that scientists have pegged 2015 as a line in the sand, the absolute deadline for global consensus on how to save the planet. “We have only 256 days left. We’ve known for decades that the climate is unstable, warmer, despite propaganda to the contrary,” he said. “If we don’t do it this year, we’re not going to stay safe.”
Sachs pointed out that the world economy has grown 100-fold while the earth and its resources remain the same. “What we’re doing to the planet, the pressures on physical Earth are dangerous,” he said.
When asked if technology might not solve some of the problems, he replied, “There’s some truth that technology can help solve some problems, as with solar panels that have spread worldwide as they get cheaper and better. But technology cuts both ways.”
For instance, fracking (hydraulic fracturing) and lateral drilling for gas produce more supply but tie us to more fossil fuel and water use. And if China and India continue to depend on coal, it won’t matter what we do.
We need to take a different course, Sachs warned. “World leaders know if we don’t act this year we’ve missed our generation’s opportunity. Technology can accelerate disaster or solve it.”
While Malibu students and volunteers are cleaning up the beaches, the city of Bozeman, Mont. and its Solid Waste Division will host a clean-up day and sustainability fair Saturday. One of the nation’s most outdoor-friendly cities, the local newspaper published a special section in honor of Earth Day featuring tips on recycling and what individuals can do to reduce fossil fuel and water use.
The centerfold of this section features “3 Weeks of Change,” or 21 small ways residents can do their part for the environment. On the back page, it prints an Earth Day quiz in true-or-false format for our enlightenment.
Trivia (according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle):
1. Recycled paper is the environmental standard for the newspaper industry. False. The process of removing ink has negative impacts from the amount of chemicals, water and energy it takes. Most North American paper mills have stopped producing it.
2. The Chronicle’s suppliers use whole trees to make paper. False. More than 80% of the manufacturing inputs are sawmill waste.
3. More than 90% of a tree harvested in the U.S. or Canada is utilized to create a product. True. One Chronicle’s newsprint vendor turns tree bark into biomass electricity that fuels more than 60% of their energy needs and is 100% renewable.
4. About 200 trees provide enough lumber to build a typical home plus 10 metric tons of wood chips. False. Only 45 trees are needed and 10 tons of chips equal 10 tons of paper.
5. Chronicle’s newsprint suppliers are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). True. SFI’s chain-of-custody standard tracks wood fiber through all stages of production.
6. Only forests in the U.S. and Canada currently meet the SFI standard. True. 90% of the world’s forests are not certified. The Lacey Act, in the U.S., prohibits trade in illegally procured plant materials.
7. One Chronicle’s newspaper vendor manages a forest and harvests trees in addition to making paper. True. Certified by Forestcare, they are certified by another audit process ensuring environmental sustainability.
8. Paper is a recoverable, sustainable and renewable resource. True. If one million trees are cut, 2.5 million are planted.
While I already do my part by recycling, donating old clothes, replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents, drinking from reusable coffee cups, printing on both sides of paper, unplugging appliances, turning off computers, hanging clothes to dry, using white vinegar to spot treat weeds, I also learned that Americans throw away three billion pizza boxes annually because they aren’t recyclable. I rarely eat pizza but I admit to being afraid to pay bills or bank online. Call me a Luddite but I still fear identity theft. Anyway, let’s all do our part and urge our representatives to do theirs by voting not to defund EPA and other regulatory agencies that protect our planet.
Happy Earth Week.