A Few Strings About Long Distance Animal Trade

Well, for me, I feel that sometimes, people who protest the way FARM animals are treated do not take in consideration the whole situation; i.e. the owner of the farms, the people who work there and make a meager living doing what they do, you get the picture. I came across HandleWithCare.tv and they present an idea about ending the trade of live animals from Brazil and Australia. As for Brazil, the cattle industry has boomed over the last 30 years, and is the main contributor to the destruction of the Amazon rain forest, which, as you know, is very important to our planet. But, what these guys are trying to accomplish is not to end the meat trade entirely, or to up root farmers from their homes or kill the business' in the Middle East. And I agree. I think we have the technology in our society today that we can afford and allow for meat to be slaughtered locally, to drastically reduce the energy used to transport the thousands of animals across the Atlantic, not to mention the stress and decrease in living conditions aboard the boats and trucks. I dont blame the farmers, its how they make money to live. I dont blame the shipping companies, they are doing the same thing. But, we can make what they do have less impact on our environment. Like, making better trucks that use less fuel, or the same thing for the ships. But, by keeping the slaughter close to the fields, we cut down on all of that instantly. I believe its a good idea and a worthy cause. Check out this video and leave some comments about what you think.

A Video (Or Two) About Oil

Here is a great commercial. This is something people should care and ask for a change in. The greenwash that ExxonMobil has placed all over their ad's is not only false, but its disgusting. Watch:









And here is the rebuttal offered by Avaaz.org, which monitors numerous


By the way, An agency in the UK had the Exxon video banned from British TV based on the falsity of their claims about liquid gas really being clean. Weird.
What do you think of this? Leave your comments below.

A Harsh Reality About Rivers

Well, being born by the ocean, and living within 20 minutes of the ocean my whole life, I must say that rivers and lakes freak me out. And you, say, " whoa whoa whoa buddy, you'd rather swim around with sharks than trout?" and I'd say, " Well no, but at least I can see the bottom when I'm surfing or swimming. And have you ever seen a Sturgeon? HUGE!!! " And I guess that's what freaks me out. I CANT TELL WHATS AT THE BOTTOM! Or, scratch that, anything that's below the surface for that matter. I also enjoy the whole wave aspect, and to me, lake's seem too quiet and too undisturbed for me. It just seems to me that some freaky fish has a way better chance of surviving at the bottom of a huge lake, not bothered, top-of-the-food-chain, etc. And, you'll never get to swim next to dolphins in a lake. ( always amazing to see them swim next to you while you surf, but its totally different to be within 5 feet of one, really amazing creatures.) But, this all has little to do with the article of the day, coming to you from CNN science. (CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE)


Just as it is with most natural resources...they are dying. But, as I have stated before, hope is never lost. The list of 10 worst polluted/contaminated rivers is really an eye-opener. I mean, its something that is, quite frankly, easy to take care. I don't really have much of an opinion (besides my irrational fear of Lakes, not really a fear, more of a strong dislike) on this issue, but it's good knowledge and please leave a comment if you live by one of these lakes and have an insight to whats going on a local level. I'll update again before the day is over. Add me on twitter @GreenLifeUSA

Ciao!

A Thought or Two on Wind Farms

So, I came across this article about the wind farms in southern Scotland that were just approved to add 36 more, making the Whitlee wind farm the largest onshore wind farm in the UK. Now, onshore wind farms have caught the same slack in the past as offshore farms have, namely in the Cape Cod area and off the coast of Los Angeles. And Scotland is not early the size of LA of Massachusetts, but still they have felt the need to change the way they get power. And guess what? WIND IS TOTALLY FREE. No one has to give anyone any cash to generate wind...so why not harness it? It's just like solar power. And now, I'm not saying wind turbines aren't flawed, but they are a step in the right direction to eliminate the carbon from our atmosphere. The change we need to accomplish, as far as the environment goes, is not attainable over night. We simply cannot expect the scientists and engineers of the world to solve this problem, that has taken hundreds of years to come to fruition. We are responsible for it as humans, and now, as humans, we are trying to dig ourselves out of this hole.

Back to the wind... while people have legitimate arguments for not wanting to plot down 36 110m high poles in the middle of the countryside, but lets also think about the numbers:

That will allow the £300m wind farm to power 250,000 homes and could create up to 300 jobs, Mr Salmond said.

Now, 300 jobs isn't a huge amount, but it is 300 jobs that weren't even available before. That means 300 people who couldn't work, can work now. Lets focus on the real number, which is 250,000, as in the wind farm will be able to power all those homes, with only 140 turbines. Now, that is a lot, but this is ONSHORE. Just think if we plopped down 600 of those things offshore somewhere? Because, lets be honest, the ocean is huge, and for people to complain about the "eye-sore" factor of these wind turbines is just childish and sophomoric. By those calculations, 600 turbines would be able to power over 1 million homes. Now, this is assuming our technologies don't improve in the coming 10 years, (which, is HIGHLY and BASICALLY unlikely...scratch that, we are getting better information and knowledge everyday, so 10 years will make a difference) hence, that number can only grow. I understand there are opponents of the farms, people who are involved in a few nature societies, and I understand why they would be upset. But, YOU LIVE ON THE PLANET TOO. You want to drive your car, to turn on your lights, to e-mail your kids, etc. It seems ridiculous to complain and lash out against these sources of alternative energy, because then nothing is getting accomplished. Instead of just saying " oh, that idea is dumb, that won't work"...suggest something. Do your own research. Be your own scientist if you think no one else can do it right. Because lashing out against people who are TRYING to think of new and still profitable ways of changing the way we consume and deliver power to the ever-growing population of the world is just counter-productive, and for lack of a better word, DUMB. So, let's at least applaud the efforts of people trying to make a difference, trying a new pathway, learning something new about themselves and about all of us. We can all envision the end of fossil fuel mass-consumption, but can we do anything about it? Sure, just go look outside. Any thoughts?

Explaining Cape and Trade

I came across this video on Digg and I think it would be very useful for the average joe to check out. Things are always better explained slowly.

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO ON CAP AND TRADE


Hope all is well, and keep staying green!