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Jonathan Harrington interviewed by Newsweek about 'food miles.'

Sounds Good, But ...

We can't afford to make any more mistakes in how to 'save the planet.' Start by ditching corn ethanol.

By Sharon Begley | NEWSWEEK

Apr 14, 2008 Issue

http://www.newsweek.com/id/130628

Sharon Begly, Senior Editor and science writer for Newsweek, recently interviewed Jonathan Harrington about the issue of 'food miles.’ The article, entitled "Sounds Good But...We can't afford to make any more mistakes in how to 'save the planet," addresses a number of prevailing misconceptions about how we can reduce our carbon footprint. For instance, many people believe that products produced close to home are invariably more climate friendly than those transported from far away. Unfortunately, this may not be the case. More often than not, emissions resulting from the transportation of products from the orchard, farm or factory floor to our local market only constitute a small percent of the total climate impact of our consumption. Let’s look at an example. UK based, The Carbon Trust, recently completed a ‘lifecycle analysis’ for potato chips made by Walkers, the UK’s largest snack food producer. In addition to transportation, raw material processing, manufacturing, marketing, storage, consumer use and disposal and recycling all contribute to the greenhouse gases that are warming our world. The study examined everything from potato production to cooking and distribution methods. The researchers found that farmer land use and production practices, energy used for frying, packaging and waste disposal contribute most to the carbon footprint of the product, while transportation accounted for only around 10% of total emissions.

Dr. Harrington does not say that consumers should not buy local. Supporting local producers, especially organic farmers, strengthens the local economy, government and community. But we should try not to over-inflate the significance of ‘food miles’ in our consumer behavior. And remember, the only surefire way for us to reduce our carbon footprint is to just consume less.

City exceeds Earth Hour goal for power savings

TheStar.com | Earth Hour | City exceeds goal for power savings

http://www.thestar.com/Special...

On March 29th, millions of people participated in Earth Hour. Toronto saw electricity use drop by almost 9% while Atlanta recorded a more than 4% drop. Manila, Sydney and dozens of other cities also saw significant reductions in energy use. Worldwide, CO2 emissions were reduced by thousands of tons. Turning off all the lights in your home is a deliberate act. It shows that people are thinking about climate change. Now we need to take the next step, to do whatever we can to turn those good wishes into real lifestyle changes. I am hopeful we can do it. We cannot afford to not try.

BBC: Tuvalu struggles to hold back tide

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Tuvalu struggles to hold back tide
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci...
During a King Tide, which is what the islanders call the highest tides of the year, waves rolling off the ocean can have a devastating effect.

"As sea levels rise, low lying island nations like Tuvalu are fast becoming uninhabitable. Just building walls to hold back the sea is not enough. Tuvalu’s coral laden soil is quite porous, which allows sea water to seep into low lying areas all over the islands, contaminating both water supplies and arable land. So, while it may continue to be physically possible to live on the islands for many decades, the economic viability of the state is already under severe threat."

Earth Hour: Canada Special

TheStar.com Earth Hour Earth Hour: Small steps could go a long, long way
http://www.thestar.com/Special...
What: Cities around the world will turn off their lights for 1 hour. The Toronto event is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Toronto Star, City of Toronto and Virgin Mobile.

"On March 29th, 2008 at 8 PM (local time) millions of people around the world will turn off their lights to raise awareness about global warming and energy conservation. For most of us, our biggest contribution to global warming is excessive use of electricity. In the US, most electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants. If we all turn off our lights (and powered down other energy using appliances) for just one hour, we can collectively reduce CO2 emissions by thousands of tons. You can learn more about earth hour at www.earthhour.org."

Slate: Should I buy wool or cotton

If I want to help the environment, should I buy wool or cotton? - By Brendan I. Koerner - Slate Maga
http://www.slate.com/id/218295...
With the February chill about to hit, I'm in the market for a cozy new sweater. Ordinarily I'd opt for wool, but I wonder whether all those methane-belching sheep are killing the planet. Cotton seems like a sensible alternative, but I'm sure it's not without problems...

"These days, green fashion is all the rage. Major fashion houses have jumped into the fray. Want to spend $2,000 on a handbag and save the environment at the same time? No problem say the denizens of the runway (as long as you do not factor in the incredible amount of resources used by luxury chains to market that little wonder of environmental ingenuity). However, for those of us who live on a more meat and potatoes budget, we occupy ourselves with more mundane musings like: what is the more climate friendly fabric? Cotton or wool? You decide. (The correct answer is organic cotton, which is barely discussed in the article. Hemp is even better)".

BBC: Church to step up climate fight

BBC NEWS Science/Nature Church to step up climate fight
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci...

In a statement, senior figures in the movement said evidence of man-made global warming was "substantial". Southern Baptists are the largest protestant group in the country.
Climate protection is fundamentally a moral issue. Many US evangelicals are pushing fellow church members to start getting serious about acknowledging the moral responsibility all believers have to care for the environment. For more on this, visit www.creationcare.org