So what else are ya'll doing to stop your share of fossil fuel pollution?

[someguy]

I say that there has to be some consequences to pumping to the surface and combusting dead carbon-based forms that have been buried and transformed over 300 to 400 million years. I'm not sure I want to live in a climate that harkens back that far. Regardless of my opinion of the effects human folk can have on a massive and complex planet ecology, I agree that there are many issues to work on.

Many of the issues that someguy mentions above are related to the use of fossil fuels. All of it has to do with making money. Since fossils fuels are one of the key factors, this might be an area where we can get past debates of opinions about anthropogenically-influenced climate change and start sharing what we are doing in our everyday lives to affect the very real and very clearly human-generated issues listed above.

Who wants to start? (I promise to chime in too!)

Thank you for your cool post! By no means am I defending the fossil fuel industry when I point out the problems with the AGW theory. I think a lot of people here don't get that. I've even been accused of working for the fossil fuel industry because of the information I submit here. When we boil it all down, fossil fuels are a major pollutant. I, like everyone else here, want a clean healthy planet to live on, and I think I have some simple ideas about how we can start to make a difference. Note: I do these things already.

Well, first of all Michael Pollan pointed out in his book Omnivore's Dilemma that 20% of our country's fossil fuel consumption goes to the production and transport of our food. While it's not feasible for most people to stop driving their cars or heating their homes, it's quite possible to start buying more of your food locally produced and organic. When you buy organic fruits and vegetables at the grocery store they are still generally grown in the central valley or possibly much further away in a monoculture alongside conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. So it makes more sense for someone concerned about pollution to limit their buying of fruits and veggies ion the grocery store and instead make it a point to shop at your local farmer's market, or subscribe to a CSA.

When we are talking about food, we also need to acknowledge how we raise our livestock. Conventional meat, even if it is locally raised is still fed grain. Aside from the fact that this is not a natural diet for the animals, the production of grain in this country uses an obscene amount of fossil fuels, and fertilizers (which are produced from fossil fuels). Michael Pollan in his same book states that it takes nearly one barrel of oil to produce one factory fed steer to slaughter weight. On the other hand it takes zero barrels of oil to produce a steer raised on its natural diet of grass! Grass also does not require any fertilizer or pesticides! Plus it is healthier for humans to eat meat raised in this manner.

Next we need to learn how to eat seasonally. If we insist on eating peppers everyday throughout the winter we should consider where that pepper is coming from, probably South America. It seems silly when we have such a great year-round growing season right here in Sonoma County that we wouldn't have the patients to wait until summer to get a pepper. Of course, I'm not just talking about peppers, I mean tomatoes, grapes, corn, etc... The same goes for buying a winter squash in the spring or summer. You get the idea by now, right? I'm not saying that your a terrible person buying a tomato in the winter for example, but we should strive to become aware of the seasons and the pollution that comes with our buying habits.

Avoid GMO's at all cost's!!!!! This is key stuff here people. GMO's absolutely require fertilizers and pesticides and they are almost always grown in massive monoculture and require lost of fossil fuels for their production. To me, GMO's are the real threat to our planet as they threaten to wipe out all heirloom strains that have nourished our species for millenia!

That's all for now. I have other things I need to do this morning. If you feel like adding to this list, please do. But I feel these things I mentioned are a great start and if we could do these things then we could have a great impact on pollution.

[someguy]

So what are ya'll doing to stop your share of fossil fuel pollution? It is sort of sad that I am the only one on this thread to offer anything in regards to a solution so far, especially when I'm the one who doesn't even buy into the AGW apocalyptic view point most here are posting. It makes me wonder if you all are just talk and no walk. If I believed wholeheartedly that this world was going to face catastrophe because of my actions, I most certainly would change the way I lived and would encourage others to do so as well. So come on ya'll, what are you hesitating for? Tell us all what shinning examples you've set for this community to cut your share of fossil fuel pollution. And if your not doing anything, that's okay too. We can work together to come up with ways that you can partake in the creation of a cleaner planet!

Kindest regards to all ya'll.

[Claire]

It is sort of sad that I am the only one on this thread to offer anything in regards to a solution so far....

Hang on a sec. Just because nobody has chimed in today doesn't mean we aren't doing our bit. Could be we are pretty busy. Could be we are out there walking our talk, walking the dog or walking because we don't use a car.

Just so you don't get discouraged, I will give you one of my biggies. I am not used to having a car at my disposal (Usually a one-car household). So now that I do I don't run out to do every little errand. Most of them I simply blow off until it all piles up, I fortify myself for the hustle and bustle and choose a time when I am feeling lucky. Then I go out and get a bunch of stuff done all at once and it's basically one trip out and that's it for a while. Lots of gas saved, less input into the traffic mess, etc.

When I am out I love to shop at thrift stores or pick up craigslist scores. I try really hard not to buy anything from China on principle which limits many purchases. When I check the ingredient list on foods and see excito-toxins I do not buy them. I am more likely to be hungry, albeit cranky, and throw something together because the ready-made food is literally sickening.

I try to do the right thing and I fail often enough by my own standards but I keep working at it.

I try not to turn on the lights until the house (or yard if I'm outside) is darkened. I love to see the fading light, more than I like seeing the electric brightness.

In fact, this has always been one of my favorite things to do on the Winter Solstice. Hang out until all the light fades and we are in real dark. Be like that as long as we can until wow! a match is struck and we really appreciate the beauty of having fire to light the long, long night. Sure makes you appreciate the mere flip of a switch.

There are choices to be made every day, all day and the more often we make little conscious decisions good for the planet, the more they become second nature.

Good Solstice everyone. best wishes to All.

[DynamicBalance]

I think it is very important, when we are thinking about pollution in the environment and ways to stop it, to consider that we are part of the environment as well. Not all pollution occurs in the external environment. The terrain of our bodies is becoming increasingly polluted, with many different synthetic substances including petrochemicals. How can we hope to have any effect on external pollution if our bodies and minds are not functioning as they should because of toxicity?

There are so many kinds of chemicals found in the food supply, and also in body care products (particularly dangerous because they are more completely absorbed through the skin than through the digestive system), cleaning supplies, paints, etc. For starters, the chlorine in our water is produced from fossil fuels and is very toxic. Sodium fluoride is a toxic waste product of the aluminum and chemical fertilizer industries, and therefore a byproduct of the fossil fuel industry. Please, do not drink tap water! I don't think Sonoma County adds fluoride to the water but there are plenty of other reasons not to drink it. Reverse osmosis water, re-mineralized with trace mineral drops or a tiny pinch of real sea salt, is your best bet for avoiding chemicals in water.

Artificial food colorings are also petroleum-based. If it says Yellow #2 or Red #5 on the label, don't eat it! These have been linked to hyperactivity in children. Other petroleum-based chemicals include propylene glycol and ethylene glycol, widely found in body care products, as those who read labels will already know. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a toxic foaming agent that is ubiquitous in body care products and toothpastes. As long as we're talking about things you put on your skin or hair, parabens are a major cause of concern for me because they are xenoestrogens. Our bodies have complex negative feedback loops to regulate our hormone balance, and xenoestrogens bypass that protection, causing hormone imbalance. Many common health problems experienced by women these days are due to excessive estrogen, including breast cancer. Other sources of xenoestrogenic-chemicals include sunscreens, the food additives BHA, BHT and propyl gallate, Red #3, and various plastics. Its a good idea to store your food in glass containers rather than plastic for this reason.

And as long as we're talking about xenoestrogens, we can't forget BPA, another petrochemical, found in the lining of canned foods in small amounts and also on the surface of some cash register receipts in extremely large amounts. BPA is a potent endocrine disruptor, especially dangerous for children and pregnant women. Even extremely low doses have been shown to cause serious permanent damage to the reproductive system. So don't buy canned food, period! And avoid contact with receipts.....I have a lot of concern for those who have constant exposure to receipts, like cashiers. I would encourage those of you who are concerned about this issue to contact the management of the grocery stores (and any other stores) you shop at and ask if their cash register receipts contain BPA. If they don't know, they better find out! They could be exposing their workers and customers to highly toxic endocrine disruptors!

Claire already mentioned excitotoxins - its extremely important to avoid these! They include MSG or monosodium glutamate (which is usually listed as yeast extract, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, textured vegetable protein, vegetable protein extract, glutamic acid, or even natural flavors!) which is used to induce obesity in laboratory animals and damages the brain, and aspartame, also known to cause lesions in the brain. MSG is widely found in processed foods including those labeled 'organic'. Aspartame is found in diet sodas and other sugar-free beverages. Again, I urge you to read labels and avoid these chemicals!

There two major sources of toxicity in the body that few people consider because they are not chemicals. Vegetable oils that are primarily polyunsaturated should NEVER be heated. These include corn, soy, canola, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower, flax, and hemp oils. We are told to eat these as our main source of fat because they are supposedly health-promoting. I strongly disagree. But whether you think they are healthy as a dietary staple or not, the fact remains that they should never be heated as they are very fragile and not heat stable. Heating them, or even exposing them to light, causes these oils to become rancid. All of those vegetable oils in clear containers sitting on the shelves are rancid, and probably contain plastics absorbed from the container. Therefore, you should only buy polyunsaturated oils that are cold-pressed and come in dark containers, and you should never cook with them. Its a good idea to refrigerate them. For cooking, use butter, ghee, coconut oil, palm oil, or olive oil (olive oil should also come in dark containers).

The second problem is extruded grain products. Any grain product that has been formed into shapes (O's, flakes, puffs, shredded wheat, or any other unnatural shape) has almost certainly been extruded. Extrusion is the process of making a slurry of grain and water, then forcing it through tiny holes at extremely high pressure and heat to create various shapes. The high temperature and pressure denatures the proteins found in grains. This is even more dangerous for whole grains than it is for refined grains because whole grains contain far more protein. So all of those whole grain breakfast cereals promoting themselves as healthy because they contain fiber? Toxic! Just don't buy ready-made breakfast cereals, they are terrible for your health.

There are, of course, many more toxic food and skin care additives and processing methods than those I have listed. I think the main message I would like to convey is this: If you see something on a label that you aren't absolutely sure is a food or natural ingredient, if you don't know what it is, do not put it on or in your body! Better yet, buy foods that don't come with ingredient lists. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables (from local sources), grass-fed meats, eggs, and dairy, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds, healthy fats and oils, and non-irradiated herbs and spices, and prepare meals with them. This is really the only way to avoid toxic additives and other sources of toxicity. Eating this way is healthier for your body and mind, for animals, and for the planet.

Laurel Blair, Certified Nutritional Therapist

[Orm Embar]

Re: Sharing Ideas and Inspiration for kicking the fossil fuel habit
Hey Orm,

I appreciate your input, but I thought I might bring up the fact that we already started this thread here: https://www.waccobb.net/forums/showth...ht=#post126414

You can feel free to copy and paste your response to that thread or leave it here, just thought I'd make you aware of it.

Okay, I'm hopping over to this thread. Sorry I didn't see it before posting my own. Here's what I wrote:

Re: Sharing Ideas and Inspiration for kicking the fossil fuel habit
We do a lot in our family including eating seasonally and as local as possible, composting, avoiding needless consumption of plastic things. (this includes the hard position of asking folks who love our children to NOT give lots of gifts for birthdays or holidays) I like to cook and make most of our food from scratch.

The most important thing for me is refusing to feel guilty or pound myself into the pavement for the times when we eat fast food or buy the occasional box of plastic bags. There are so many challenges to living a petroleum-less lifestyle. When I am not meeting my personal goals, I just acknowledge "oh, I am having to get one more bag from the grocery store because I forgot to bring mine" . . . no need to add guilt or self-derision.

So . . . my biggest experiment and accomplishment over the last year and a half: Staying a one-car family. We have managed to remain a one car family since just before our second child was born. We used to live where my husband could walk or cycle to work. Our children spent many hours each week in the car, commuting to school and after-school activities. When our landlady sold her house, we decided to move to Sebastopol where our children's school and friends and other activities were mostly concentrated. This move meant that the husband would need a car for commuting. It took so long to wean down to one car and we did not want to go back to having two cars. Having one car means that I travel by foot and bike with two children to and from school, music and dance lessons and play dates.
The good news is that this has really been possible! I had not exercised for almost 10 years . . . I'm not a superwoman (although I'm starting to feel that way) . . . gears on bikes are awesome! Over the last year and a half, I have slowly increased my fitness. My children are being empowered to know the rules of the road. We smile all the time. (cars are just not as fun as bikes) I am getting great exercise in manageable bites, and our commute only takes a few more minutes each way.

To do all this, we invested in a long-tail utility bike and outfitted it with good components. It was an investment, but still less expensive than a car. I can fit two children and various other articles, from groceries to musical instruments on the bike. I have transported gardening supplies from Harmony Farm Supply, hardware, towed other bicycles in addition to their riders. This is the little bicycle that could, so to speak.

The down side is that I miss my friends who live in other towns. I can't visit for a quick cup of tea while the kids are in school. The buses no longer run mid-day routes between Sebastopol and Cotati that would allow me to get back in time for school pick-up. I also have to wait for the weekend to run errands in Santa Rosa. This cuts away from weekend family time. It can also be challenging to bring friends home for play dates.

We are managing and the ups outweigh the downs. (even in the face of all the up-and-down hills around here : )

So, what are your accomplishments? Big or small . . . it all means something.

[Orm Embar]

I am curious what obstacles you all have found in making changes in your daily living.

For example: I have found it fairly easy to remember to bring my own large shopping bags these last few years, but I am trying to take the next step of bringing my own reusable bags for produce and bulk goods. One challenge is that buying bags that others have made is expensive, yet I do not have much time for sewing my own bags these days. Another challenge is that I don't know what material keeps produce well, weighs a minimal amount and cleans up easily.

I keep thinking that I need to either grow all my own produce to pick fresh as needed or shop for what I need each day in order to sidestep the whole issue of storage.

Anyone who has some experience to share?

[DynamicBalance]

I am curious what obstacles you all have found in making changes in your daily living.

For example: I have found it fairly easy to remember to bring my own large shopping bags these last few years, but I am trying to take the next step of bringing my own reusable bags for produce and bulk goods. One challenge is that buying bags that others have made is expensive, yet I do not have much time for sewing my own bags these days. Another challenge is that I don't know what material keeps produce well, weighs a minimal amount and cleans up easily.

I keep thinking that I need to either grow all my own produce to pick fresh as needed or shop for what I need each day in order to sidestep the whole issue of storage.

Anyone who has some experience to share?

My thought on your predicament is that plastic is not inherently evil. The problem is when we use it to make cheap versions of things that are really better when made of other materials like stainless steel, ceramic, or wood. There are some things for which plastic is an ideal material, and produce bags are one of them. Cloth bags will tend to make your produce wilt faster. Some stores have higher quality produce bags that can be reused several times, while others are very thin and rip easily. One possible solution if you don't want to use the plastic bags would be to get some large tupperware containers from a thrift store and transfer your produce from cloth mesh bags into the containers when you get home. Of course that would require buying the containers and buying or making the bags. Obviously the containers are plastic, but will last a lot longer than plastic bags and will keep your produce fresh. You could also buy compostable bags, but I'm guessing those would be expensive. Growing more of your own produce is always a great idea!