That's politically correct talk for "Americans are a bunch of lazy fat-asses!"
We have a serious problem here in America and this problem isn't exactly my usual soap-box fare. The way we live our lives is very unhealthy. We get up in the morning, sit in the car for a half hour munching on our breakfast burrito, then we sit at a desk for 6-8 hours, get back in our cars and sit for another half hour with a big mac, once we are home we sit in front of our TV's, laptops, and video games for another 4-5 hours before bed. That makes about 10 minutes of actual walking between the house to the car, car to work, trips to the bathroom, back to the car, back home, and in between commercials for another bag of chips.
Hells yes that sounds like a great relaxing day!! But did we ever consider what all that relaxing is doing to us? Our bodies? Well according to nationmaster.com and also held as common knowledge we are the fattest country in the world. Thirty percent or almost one out of every three people in America is considered obese (thats a BMI of 30 or higher). Annnnnnnnnd do many people really care? No, not really. Should they? YES!
What do you get for being so fat? Well cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, depression, respiratory problems, muscular atrophy, and even hemorrhoids. Thats right ladies and gentlemen, even your ass hates you for being fat...
Sure your thinking I'm being a little harsh. True, I am. But this is seriously one of the greatest health concerns we've ever seen! Yeah worse than swine flu or SARs or whatever scary super bug has been drummed up this year. The effects of obesity claim more people a year than smoking!! For people over the age of 35, 20% of all deaths are caused by the effects of a lack of physical activity.
Your body is no car, it doesn't get worn out from being used. Instead as a body is used it gets healthier. That doesn't mean over exerting yourself is good. Don't jump up and run ten mils a day, that might be bad, but by all means go for a good walk out in the sunshine! As you move your body gains a lot! You move oxygen round your body, your body becomes more flexible, you move lymph fluid through your body, you keep your heart healthy and you keep your lungs in good shape too! Your body will even pay you back for all the work!!! As you exercise your body releases chemicals to make you feel good, and a little serotonin is good for everyone!
How hard can it be to go for a walk?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
America on a Diet: Curbing Consumption
As a concerned American I can only hope that my writing will spread awareness of certain problems we have in our society. As Americans we consume, a lot, from the oxymoronic consumer durables to fast food. I believe we can live our lives in much simpler ways. This has become somewhat trendy to the extent that people are buying clothing, coffee mugs, and appliances that are made from recycled parts or products. Now really these things serve not to fix the problems but serve the problem in a way that makes consumers feel good about themselves. But what about acctually solving the problem?
There are many ways to consume less but we have to be willing to change the ways we live and work. Here are some suggestions of what we could cut out or cut down on in order to fix our consumption problems.
In the kitchen we have a great deal of waste going on. On average 8% of our energy costs are from our refrigerator alone! Dishwashers, microwave ovens, blenders, bread makers, toasters, all take a good deal of electricity or water to run. Now if we cut out say dishwashers we could free up space, electricity, water, and even eliminate a sanitary nighmare. Replacing your older appliance might be a good plan but be weary. Just because you buy a energy star fridge doesn't mean you are doing the right thing. Keep those clunkers around till they need to be put on life support. Who knows, by then there might be better options and some might not come from China.
Turning out the lights and making sure the faucets are not leaky will also save an enormous amount. Lights can be complicated because of the buzz over CFL (compact flourecsant) light bulbs. As a rule of thumb if you are leaving a room turn your lights off. If you are leaving a room and then coming right back in it is better to leave them on, but no more than 5 minutes. Turns out that the large initial amount of energy to turn that light on does make a difference. A leaky faucet is a huge waster of water. Consider that a leaky faucet in your home will waste approximately 2,000 gallons of water a year. That is 2,000 gallons of fresh water that is completely wasted. To look at this in a different light that translates to about a 5 gallon bucket filled a day, or 41 baths a year, or 21 liters a day for all you metric people. Considering that you might have more than one leaky faucet you are wasting a TON of water.
How about the things we buy?
Well a great way to stop consuming or rather to consume significantly less would be to eat local. Supporting local food is supporting an industry that uses considerably less energy and wastes a lot less than industrial agriculture. Beyond that you will likely be spending less money on things like packaging and preservation that increase the amount of energy used to produce a food but not the amount of energy (nutritional value) of a food. Also consider that on average our produce at Wal-Mart and Price Chopper and other grocery stores travels 1,500 miles to get there. And worse still only about 7% of the money you spend stays in your local economy, the other 93 pennys out of every doller go to pay for parts of the food system like packaging, transportation, and preservation. In comparison local farmers at your local farmers market keep up to 90% of each doller you spend. Thats money that stays in your local economy and not the economy of other communities or other countries.
The holidays are upon us and we are all going to be heading out to shop for gifts for our friends and families. But do they really NEED what we are getting them? Is there anything we can get that will hold its value? Are we spending money for something that is disposable when we can get reusable? Is there an alternative to what you are getting them that would be less wasteful?
Instead of a CD or DVD maybe get a gift certificate for a digital copy that you can get through iTunes or some other service.
Instead of hitting Abercrombie hit the local Salvation Army.
Try to find things used instead of new. 9 times out of 10 you will be able to find what your want on your local Craigslist or maybe even eBay. Remember just because it is used doesnt mean it has stopped being useful.
Get digital copies of books that can be viewed on something like Amazon.com's Kindle or Barnes and Noble's Nook. Sure these things are news technology and are energy intensive, but they represent entire library's of books in your pocket. Save trees and some green this way. Besides we don't need a highway infrastructure to transport E-books.
Instead of getting something for someone this holiday season do something for them. Maybe take them to a museum or local concert. Not only are you doing something fun but you are stimulation part of your local economy. You could even volunteer to do work for them or treat them to a day off and say do dads chores or mow the lawn or wash the dishes. These little things can help a lot.
Remember people it isn't what you are giving to people but what the gift really represents. Your love for your friends and family. So if it is something special and personal, and not something just bought at Wal-Mart and wrapped in gaudy paper, it will mean more.
I encourage you to leave some comments on this post. I gave a few examples, but now I want to hear what your ideas are regarding lowering consumption.
There are many ways to consume less but we have to be willing to change the ways we live and work. Here are some suggestions of what we could cut out or cut down on in order to fix our consumption problems.
In the kitchen we have a great deal of waste going on. On average 8% of our energy costs are from our refrigerator alone! Dishwashers, microwave ovens, blenders, bread makers, toasters, all take a good deal of electricity or water to run. Now if we cut out say dishwashers we could free up space, electricity, water, and even eliminate a sanitary nighmare. Replacing your older appliance might be a good plan but be weary. Just because you buy a energy star fridge doesn't mean you are doing the right thing. Keep those clunkers around till they need to be put on life support. Who knows, by then there might be better options and some might not come from China.
Turning out the lights and making sure the faucets are not leaky will also save an enormous amount. Lights can be complicated because of the buzz over CFL (compact flourecsant) light bulbs. As a rule of thumb if you are leaving a room turn your lights off. If you are leaving a room and then coming right back in it is better to leave them on, but no more than 5 minutes. Turns out that the large initial amount of energy to turn that light on does make a difference. A leaky faucet is a huge waster of water. Consider that a leaky faucet in your home will waste approximately 2,000 gallons of water a year. That is 2,000 gallons of fresh water that is completely wasted. To look at this in a different light that translates to about a 5 gallon bucket filled a day, or 41 baths a year, or 21 liters a day for all you metric people. Considering that you might have more than one leaky faucet you are wasting a TON of water.
How about the things we buy?
Well a great way to stop consuming or rather to consume significantly less would be to eat local. Supporting local food is supporting an industry that uses considerably less energy and wastes a lot less than industrial agriculture. Beyond that you will likely be spending less money on things like packaging and preservation that increase the amount of energy used to produce a food but not the amount of energy (nutritional value) of a food. Also consider that on average our produce at Wal-Mart and Price Chopper and other grocery stores travels 1,500 miles to get there. And worse still only about 7% of the money you spend stays in your local economy, the other 93 pennys out of every doller go to pay for parts of the food system like packaging, transportation, and preservation. In comparison local farmers at your local farmers market keep up to 90% of each doller you spend. Thats money that stays in your local economy and not the economy of other communities or other countries.
The holidays are upon us and we are all going to be heading out to shop for gifts for our friends and families. But do they really NEED what we are getting them? Is there anything we can get that will hold its value? Are we spending money for something that is disposable when we can get reusable? Is there an alternative to what you are getting them that would be less wasteful?
Instead of a CD or DVD maybe get a gift certificate for a digital copy that you can get through iTunes or some other service.
Instead of hitting Abercrombie hit the local Salvation Army.
Try to find things used instead of new. 9 times out of 10 you will be able to find what your want on your local Craigslist or maybe even eBay. Remember just because it is used doesnt mean it has stopped being useful.
Get digital copies of books that can be viewed on something like Amazon.com's Kindle or Barnes and Noble's Nook. Sure these things are news technology and are energy intensive, but they represent entire library's of books in your pocket. Save trees and some green this way. Besides we don't need a highway infrastructure to transport E-books.
Instead of getting something for someone this holiday season do something for them. Maybe take them to a museum or local concert. Not only are you doing something fun but you are stimulation part of your local economy. You could even volunteer to do work for them or treat them to a day off and say do dads chores or mow the lawn or wash the dishes. These little things can help a lot.
Remember people it isn't what you are giving to people but what the gift really represents. Your love for your friends and family. So if it is something special and personal, and not something just bought at Wal-Mart and wrapped in gaudy paper, it will mean more.
I encourage you to leave some comments on this post. I gave a few examples, but now I want to hear what your ideas are regarding lowering consumption.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Skills that everyone should have. Part 1: Finding water
Well as you can probably figure from the title of this post you are about to learn a skill you should have. This is a weekly installment of The World According To Mr. K where I'll teach you something different every week. This week you are going to learn about water; how to find it and why it is important.
We all need water no matter what, we need to keep our bodies hydrated. Without water we begin to shut down. Headaches, nausea, depression, disorientation, poor judgement, and even hallucinations are just some of the effects of dehydration on the body. Most people say that you should consume about 4 liters or one gallon of water a day. This is in the most ideal of situations and in fact most Americans are considered chronically dehydrated because we consume more soda, coffee, lattes, alcohol, and other liquids over water. In a situation where you don't have water you can begin to feel the more severe effects of dehydration in as little as a day. Granted some people have lasted as much as ten days without water but there are few of us out there who could pull this off and not be permanently harmed.
What does this have to do with anything? Well in a situation where water supplies could become scarce you will need to know what to expect and what you need to have in order to continue on living. Water shortages are already happening all over the country and in a post-oil economy we could see much larger spread water shortages. And don't forget that water supplies are easy targets and terrorists both foreign and domestic have in the past targeted water supplies.
So how do I find water in an emergency? What do I need to know to prepare for such an event? Well its pretty easy to prepare for the even of water shortages. Stocking up on water or putting together a large scale rainwater catchment system are easy enough, the latter will be discussed as part of a agricultural posting in the future. But being able to find water is equally as important.
Knowing your local area is the easiest way to find water. If you live near water sources such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, etc., you are in luck. It is easy enough to collect water in a pot of bucket, boil it or otherwise purify it and use it for drinking. Beyond common sense some less obvious ways to find primary water sources include watching the sky, following animal paths, observing insect populations, follow birds (especially water foul), observe changes in vegetation, and use snow, ice, and slush.
Observing the sky can lend you more than just a nice view of clouds, it can inform you of the relationship between clouds and the color of the sky and large water sources. Now this skill is something that takes practice and I myself am no expert however I do understand the basics of this method of water location. By noticing the changes in color of the sky a skilled observer can see that the sky directly over a water source often is much bluer than the rest of the sky. This is because the sky is reflecting the water source. Also looking for early morning clouds and mist are easy ways of finding water sources as low lying clouds often hang directly over water sources. If you ever have looked over a pond or lake at 5:30am in the summer or spring you know what I mean!
Following animal trails is also a useful way of finding water. Now this is by no means a sure fire way of finding water BUT animals need water too. Any hunter, trapper or skilled woodsman knows that if you were to plot animal trails on a topographical map the intersections of these trails forms a V which often will point in the direction of a water or food source. Following these paths takes skill and patience, I suggest talking with a seasoned hunter or trapper before looking for game trails because you will likely not know what you are looking for.
Insects can also point the way towards water. I you do any hiking during mosquito season you understand this very well even though you might not know it can save your life. Beyond swarming insects like mosquitoes, bees are never very far from water and may be a good indicator that water is near by, usually within a mile or two. Ants also need water and will sometime find it in trees. If you see some ants around a damp log or hole in a tree there is a decent chance that you will find some water in these locations.
Birds love water, especially grain eating birds and water foul. Anyone from the northeast that owns property with a pond or lake on it likely have a flock of geese that stop by every fall for a few weeks. But simply following birds is not enough to find water. You need to know that birds are likely nearest to water early in the day or late in the afternoon/evening. This is because like us they sleep, only they often congregate at or near water sources to nest and sleep. If you follow the flight paths of these birds in the early morning go to where they are coming from, of in the evening where they are going to. Good luck and remember to filter that water before drinking it. Birds are to careful where they urinate or defecate, and you don't want giardia.
Finding water by watching the changes in vegetation is also very straight forward and almost obvious. To find water by looking at plants look for denser, greener vegetation thatn the norm. If you are finding a very heavily vegetated area look around your probably close. You might have to dig even but you are close.
Well folks I hope that his have been some what educational for you. At the very least you now know something you didn't. My next installment of Skills will be about more complex ways of finding water where there isn't an obvious source.
We all need water no matter what, we need to keep our bodies hydrated. Without water we begin to shut down. Headaches, nausea, depression, disorientation, poor judgement, and even hallucinations are just some of the effects of dehydration on the body. Most people say that you should consume about 4 liters or one gallon of water a day. This is in the most ideal of situations and in fact most Americans are considered chronically dehydrated because we consume more soda, coffee, lattes, alcohol, and other liquids over water. In a situation where you don't have water you can begin to feel the more severe effects of dehydration in as little as a day. Granted some people have lasted as much as ten days without water but there are few of us out there who could pull this off and not be permanently harmed.
What does this have to do with anything? Well in a situation where water supplies could become scarce you will need to know what to expect and what you need to have in order to continue on living. Water shortages are already happening all over the country and in a post-oil economy we could see much larger spread water shortages. And don't forget that water supplies are easy targets and terrorists both foreign and domestic have in the past targeted water supplies.
So how do I find water in an emergency? What do I need to know to prepare for such an event? Well its pretty easy to prepare for the even of water shortages. Stocking up on water or putting together a large scale rainwater catchment system are easy enough, the latter will be discussed as part of a agricultural posting in the future. But being able to find water is equally as important.
Knowing your local area is the easiest way to find water. If you live near water sources such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, etc., you are in luck. It is easy enough to collect water in a pot of bucket, boil it or otherwise purify it and use it for drinking. Beyond common sense some less obvious ways to find primary water sources include watching the sky, following animal paths, observing insect populations, follow birds (especially water foul), observe changes in vegetation, and use snow, ice, and slush.
Observing the sky can lend you more than just a nice view of clouds, it can inform you of the relationship between clouds and the color of the sky and large water sources. Now this skill is something that takes practice and I myself am no expert however I do understand the basics of this method of water location. By noticing the changes in color of the sky a skilled observer can see that the sky directly over a water source often is much bluer than the rest of the sky. This is because the sky is reflecting the water source. Also looking for early morning clouds and mist are easy ways of finding water sources as low lying clouds often hang directly over water sources. If you ever have looked over a pond or lake at 5:30am in the summer or spring you know what I mean!
Following animal trails is also a useful way of finding water. Now this is by no means a sure fire way of finding water BUT animals need water too. Any hunter, trapper or skilled woodsman knows that if you were to plot animal trails on a topographical map the intersections of these trails forms a V which often will point in the direction of a water or food source. Following these paths takes skill and patience, I suggest talking with a seasoned hunter or trapper before looking for game trails because you will likely not know what you are looking for.
Insects can also point the way towards water. I you do any hiking during mosquito season you understand this very well even though you might not know it can save your life. Beyond swarming insects like mosquitoes, bees are never very far from water and may be a good indicator that water is near by, usually within a mile or two. Ants also need water and will sometime find it in trees. If you see some ants around a damp log or hole in a tree there is a decent chance that you will find some water in these locations.
Birds love water, especially grain eating birds and water foul. Anyone from the northeast that owns property with a pond or lake on it likely have a flock of geese that stop by every fall for a few weeks. But simply following birds is not enough to find water. You need to know that birds are likely nearest to water early in the day or late in the afternoon/evening. This is because like us they sleep, only they often congregate at or near water sources to nest and sleep. If you follow the flight paths of these birds in the early morning go to where they are coming from, of in the evening where they are going to. Good luck and remember to filter that water before drinking it. Birds are to careful where they urinate or defecate, and you don't want giardia.
Finding water by watching the changes in vegetation is also very straight forward and almost obvious. To find water by looking at plants look for denser, greener vegetation thatn the norm. If you are finding a very heavily vegetated area look around your probably close. You might have to dig even but you are close.
Well folks I hope that his have been some what educational for you. At the very least you now know something you didn't. My next installment of Skills will be about more complex ways of finding water where there isn't an obvious source.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Automobiles, should we maintain our dependance on the car into years to come??
Let me preface this post by saying first that I am a car person. Those of you who know me well, know that I grew up spinning wrenches with my dad and dreaming of being a rally car driver. Racing in the SCCA and growing up to be a decent mechanic. I've worked for Land Rover as a driving instructor and Mercedes as a chauffeur, and my longest lasting job was based on long distance delivery driving. Two of my big hobbies, taking rides on nice days and off-roading, revolve around cars. But I recognize that these are all unsustainable and that we are facing a grim problem because of our dependence on automobiles.
We all remember the oil crisis of 2008 and the events that followed which crippled our nations, and the worlds, economy. The after effects of the oil crisis are still being felt and will still be felt well into the this century. Private (as in personal) automobiles are the largest glut for oil in America, accounting for over 40% of the total oil demand in 2004. (www.eia.doe.gov) This HAS NOT, and WILL NOT decline significantly unless our society changes on a massive scale.
So what does this mean for a nation faced by the end of a oil and fossil fuel based economy? Here are some questions we need to be asking ourselves in all seriousness as we enter the second decade of this millennium.
Can we even maintain the roads we drive on without oil?
Can we keep our cars on the road without oil?
Do we stand a chance of maintaining the thousands of 18-wheelers roaming our highways that deliver our products and petroleum on-demand and on time?
Do hybrids, electric cars, and alt-fuel vehicles stand a chance of saving our auto-industry?
In short, no, ladies and gentlemen, we are fucked.
Before we even get on the road we need an infrastructure born, raised, and maintained on fossil fuels. From the electricity that drives the pumps at the gas station, to the asphalt that paves our streets and highways, all of it is based on a fossil fuel economy headed by cheap and easy to obtain oil.
Lets start with roads. Roads are paved by equipment, massive diesel machines and trucks that GUZZLE fuel. My father would know more than me about this as he is a master mechanic and welder for a local trucking and heavy equipment company. He has told me, on many occasions, about the enormous thirst that these machines have and how on a good day a driver can visibly watch the needle on the gas gauge fall when they are driving hard. These roads are further maintained by a fleet of similar equipment. Most of the road surfaces currently use are partially MADE of oil. The asphalt used to pave a road is a byproduct of crude oil, and in its natural form is highly difficult to work and in a refined state is as difficult to manage requiring temperatures of hundreds of degrees to even stay in a usable state.
Apart from the roads themselves the automobile industry relies, like any other industry, relies on raw materials. Plastics, glass, sheet metal, various electronics, engine parts, ad infinitum. On average there are 10,000-20,000 parts in a car. A great deal of which are direct descendants of oil (plastics and vinyls), others take a great deal of fossil fuel energy to produce (metal products), and all of it has to be shipped from suppliers (sometimes across continents and across the globe) to assembly plants which dot the land scapes of many industrial towns in North America. Now tell me with a straight face that this production method is sustainable if oil becomes scarce.
How about maintenance? Even a hybrid has to go get its oil changed. Parts need to be lubricated. Your old ripped and faded faux-leather vinyl seats eventually will need to get replaced. Where are these products going to come from if we cant obtain the oil from foreign shores? When you think about the average car on the road, something that takes 4-5 quarts of motor oil and has to have it changed regularly, for this argument we'll say every 4,000 miles (about 1,000 miles over when you should change it), and has a lifespan of 150,000 miles. You will need to drop about 188 quarts of oil into that engine, almost 50 gallons!!! That's a lot of oil considering that as of 2006 there were 469,851,833 registered passenger vehicles (cars, trucks, and SUV's) on the roads.
We all love to go to the store and by groceries, ipods, lawn chairs, craft supplies, etc etc from our local big box store. but do we ever consider where and how those products get to the shelves? There is a fleet of semi-trucks(18 wheelers, tractor trailers, whatever you prefer to call them), about 10 million, constantly buzzing around the country at an average of 6mpg logging an average of 150,000 miles a year. This adds up to 250,000,000,000 gallons of low-sulfer diesel fuel a year. That is a LOT of zeros, and represents an industry which cannot survive AT ALL without oil. And remember that there is no centralized pipeline that supplies gas and diesel to the pump, no that is the job of semi-trucks to deliver it to the pump on time and on demand. Meaning without a trucking industry there is no happy motoring to be had. Does anyone remember the 1973 oil crisis? The gas lines? The odd and even plate number days? That was a relatively small disturbance compaired to what might be coming down the pipeline, or should I say not coming down the pipeline...
Since we NEED our vehicles in the worst way. Indeed we need them in every way from going to work in the morning, to the sports activities of our children, to going grocery shopping, and traveling to see family. With this in mind many of our countries automobile manufactures have begun exploring alternatives to our current gasoline powered, internal combustion driven autos. Indeed leaps and bounds have been made in efficientcy and even alternatives. We all know and love the Prius hybrid, or maybe you Ford fans prefer the Fusion Hybrid. We have seen ethanol make it to our gas pumps in increasing percentages. Diesel has come back with a bang. Hydrogen and electric cars are the wave of the future according to many. And lastly there has been a great resurgence of human powered locomotion, yes the bicycle. but will these efficient and alternative replacements for the current fleet make a difference? Will we solve the problem? Will we only accomplish to replace that problem with another, and possable bigger, problem?
The MPG craze has hit everyone. We all love our efficient cars from all over the globe. Toyotas and Fords alike, as long as they return a combined average economy of over 30mpg... But does this replace the problem, no! All that these efficientcies do is prolong the inevitable, a life-support machine for our terminally ill standard. The technology we are implimenting will only serve to make oil last a few years longer. And in from a realistic point of view it might not even matter at all given the increasing number of motorists in Asia and India. So sqeezing every last bit of efficientcy out of a gallon, while noble, will probably be futile.
Alternative fuels are huge and for a time even I was swayed by their attractive and green properties. But it was not long before the shiny green luster wore away to reveal a deeper dingyer path to motoring. Lets first examine the hybrid electric car. Mating a gas or diesel engine to a electric motor is a awesome idea from many perspectives. The increased MPGs, greater engine longevity, futuristic styling are all wonderful and the looks you get from impressed green-loving ladies sure is nice too. But behind all the flashy new technology is a history that you might not consider.
Like the normal gas or diesel car, that hybrid has thousands of parts, the latest and most expensive being its battery pack, normally lead acid, nickle metal hydride or lithium based. These batteries are toxic, for starters, and wear out after an average of 100,000 miles. So within ten years or so we can expect to see thousands of battery packs wearing out and being scrapped, and, if industry will be industry, with a likelyhood of there being little consideration for the environment. A Prius batter costs about $3000 to replace, do you want that repair bill after 100,000 miles of normal motoring? Then lets look at the ingredients. Lead is one of the greatest carcinogens we have in the auto-world, formally seen in our gasoline and paint, now religated to our car batteries and hybrid packs. The NiMH batteries are less toxic but more prevalent in hybrids. All those original and second gen Prius' had them and so do many current hybrids. Lastly lithium has to be combines with another metal to make a good battery, some of those like cobalt are pretty toxic and harder to recycle. Then you must consider something that has made news lately, the reserves of lithium and other rare precious metals in the world. China, holder of the lions-share of our national debt, owns most of the lithium we know about and they might not want to give it up. Lithium mines aren't too pretty either, you could equate them to the environmental train wreck that is our nations coal industry. So do these hybrids really make a much greener scene? And with this knowledge of batteries does it make the argument any better for battery electric cars?
So what about alternatives like corn ethanol or switch grass ethanol or (insert plant name here) ethanol? Well we love our corn in this country, we produce 259,273 thousand metric tons a year, more than double that of the next largest producer China. (www.nationmaster.com) That being said we must have a lot of corn to brew up into ethanol right? Wrong. If we shift our corn industry from producing for the food industry to the fuel industry the price of corn and corn based products (everything from soda and candy to canned foods and baked goods) will go sky high. We have already seen the prices of food go up and up and up in recent years. Do we really want that to continue? Moreover can we afford to? No. And what about ethanol from other sources? Well we have a lot of airable land left in American, no where near what we need to support our current population but we have land, and that land is dissapearing in the thousands of acres every year. So can we switch our land use from producing food and crops vital to our survival to crops vital to our gas tanks? do I have to answer that?
So what about alternatives like corn ethanol or switch grass ethanol or (insert plant name here) ethanol? Well we love our corn in this country, we produce 259,273 thousand metric tons a year, more than double that of the next largest producer China. (www.nationmaster.com) That being said we must have a lot of corn to brew up into ethanol right? Wrong. If we shift our corn industry from producing for the food industry to the fuel industry the price of corn and corn based products (everything from soda and candy to canned foods and baked goods) will go sky high. We have already seen the prices of food go up and up and up in recent years. Do we really want that to continue? Moreover can we afford to? No. And what about ethanol from other sources? Well we have a lot of arable land left in American, no where near what we need to support our current population but we have land, and that land is disappearing in the thousands of acres every year. So can we switch our land use from producing food and crops vital to our survival to crops vital to our gas tanks? do I have to answer that?
How about hydrogen? Time for a chemistry lesson, and you thought I hated chemistry!Hydrogen is a gas. Hydrogen fuel for cars is a liquid. It take INCREDIBLE pressure to keep hydrogen a liquid and that takes an enormous amount of energy. Most of that electricity comes from coal. Now coal is one of the largest emitters of green house gasses such as CO2. Switching to hydrogen is going to require a terrible increase in CO2 and green house emissions. Serving only to kill us quicker with climate changes and to destroy some of the last wild places in America which contain our coal. So unless our electricity comes from clean sources, we wont be able to produce a viable hydrogen economy and given the amount of pressure needed to keep hydrogen a liquid I don't know if I would want to drive one in case of an accident. Boom!
So are there answers to this problem? Can we keep our cars on the road? Well the answers that I know, are not the answers you want to hear. Our understanding of this problem as a nation is limited and misguided at best. Few people understand or think about the far reaching roots that all transportation technology has. We only have a couple of decades to figure this out and after that it might be too late to mobilize some sort of disaster/crash plan to fix the system. A good idea to pursue is the expansion of mass transit via rail and bus. But these things need to be considered in terms of overall efficiency and what we have the ability to do in the time frame we are looking at. But it is already beginning. Our road based infrastructure is crumbling and becoming ever more expensive to repair. Lets begin to think about things in new ways. Lets shrink our supply lines, live/move close to your job, buy local and rejuvenate our local economies, plan our shopping outings, drive economically or "greenly", share rides and carpool, ride our bikes, and in any other way possible begin to wean ourselves off long range vehicle travel. Good luck America.
We all remember the oil crisis of 2008 and the events that followed which crippled our nations, and the worlds, economy. The after effects of the oil crisis are still being felt and will still be felt well into the this century. Private (as in personal) automobiles are the largest glut for oil in America, accounting for over 40% of the total oil demand in 2004. (www.eia.doe.gov) This HAS NOT, and WILL NOT decline significantly unless our society changes on a massive scale.
So what does this mean for a nation faced by the end of a oil and fossil fuel based economy? Here are some questions we need to be asking ourselves in all seriousness as we enter the second decade of this millennium.
Can we even maintain the roads we drive on without oil?
Can we keep our cars on the road without oil?
Do we stand a chance of maintaining the thousands of 18-wheelers roaming our highways that deliver our products and petroleum on-demand and on time?
Do hybrids, electric cars, and alt-fuel vehicles stand a chance of saving our auto-industry?
In short, no, ladies and gentlemen, we are fucked.
Before we even get on the road we need an infrastructure born, raised, and maintained on fossil fuels. From the electricity that drives the pumps at the gas station, to the asphalt that paves our streets and highways, all of it is based on a fossil fuel economy headed by cheap and easy to obtain oil.
Lets start with roads. Roads are paved by equipment, massive diesel machines and trucks that GUZZLE fuel. My father would know more than me about this as he is a master mechanic and welder for a local trucking and heavy equipment company. He has told me, on many occasions, about the enormous thirst that these machines have and how on a good day a driver can visibly watch the needle on the gas gauge fall when they are driving hard. These roads are further maintained by a fleet of similar equipment. Most of the road surfaces currently use are partially MADE of oil. The asphalt used to pave a road is a byproduct of crude oil, and in its natural form is highly difficult to work and in a refined state is as difficult to manage requiring temperatures of hundreds of degrees to even stay in a usable state.
Apart from the roads themselves the automobile industry relies, like any other industry, relies on raw materials. Plastics, glass, sheet metal, various electronics, engine parts, ad infinitum. On average there are 10,000-20,000 parts in a car. A great deal of which are direct descendants of oil (plastics and vinyls), others take a great deal of fossil fuel energy to produce (metal products), and all of it has to be shipped from suppliers (sometimes across continents and across the globe) to assembly plants which dot the land scapes of many industrial towns in North America. Now tell me with a straight face that this production method is sustainable if oil becomes scarce.
How about maintenance? Even a hybrid has to go get its oil changed. Parts need to be lubricated. Your old ripped and faded faux-leather vinyl seats eventually will need to get replaced. Where are these products going to come from if we cant obtain the oil from foreign shores? When you think about the average car on the road, something that takes 4-5 quarts of motor oil and has to have it changed regularly, for this argument we'll say every 4,000 miles (about 1,000 miles over when you should change it), and has a lifespan of 150,000 miles. You will need to drop about 188 quarts of oil into that engine, almost 50 gallons!!! That's a lot of oil considering that as of 2006 there were 469,851,833 registered passenger vehicles (cars, trucks, and SUV's) on the roads.
We all love to go to the store and by groceries, ipods, lawn chairs, craft supplies, etc etc from our local big box store. but do we ever consider where and how those products get to the shelves? There is a fleet of semi-trucks(18 wheelers, tractor trailers, whatever you prefer to call them), about 10 million, constantly buzzing around the country at an average of 6mpg logging an average of 150,000 miles a year. This adds up to 250,000,000,000 gallons of low-sulfer diesel fuel a year. That is a LOT of zeros, and represents an industry which cannot survive AT ALL without oil. And remember that there is no centralized pipeline that supplies gas and diesel to the pump, no that is the job of semi-trucks to deliver it to the pump on time and on demand. Meaning without a trucking industry there is no happy motoring to be had. Does anyone remember the 1973 oil crisis? The gas lines? The odd and even plate number days? That was a relatively small disturbance compaired to what might be coming down the pipeline, or should I say not coming down the pipeline...
Since we NEED our vehicles in the worst way. Indeed we need them in every way from going to work in the morning, to the sports activities of our children, to going grocery shopping, and traveling to see family. With this in mind many of our countries automobile manufactures have begun exploring alternatives to our current gasoline powered, internal combustion driven autos. Indeed leaps and bounds have been made in efficientcy and even alternatives. We all know and love the Prius hybrid, or maybe you Ford fans prefer the Fusion Hybrid. We have seen ethanol make it to our gas pumps in increasing percentages. Diesel has come back with a bang. Hydrogen and electric cars are the wave of the future according to many. And lastly there has been a great resurgence of human powered locomotion, yes the bicycle. but will these efficient and alternative replacements for the current fleet make a difference? Will we solve the problem? Will we only accomplish to replace that problem with another, and possable bigger, problem?
The MPG craze has hit everyone. We all love our efficient cars from all over the globe. Toyotas and Fords alike, as long as they return a combined average economy of over 30mpg... But does this replace the problem, no! All that these efficientcies do is prolong the inevitable, a life-support machine for our terminally ill standard. The technology we are implimenting will only serve to make oil last a few years longer. And in from a realistic point of view it might not even matter at all given the increasing number of motorists in Asia and India. So sqeezing every last bit of efficientcy out of a gallon, while noble, will probably be futile.
Alternative fuels are huge and for a time even I was swayed by their attractive and green properties. But it was not long before the shiny green luster wore away to reveal a deeper dingyer path to motoring. Lets first examine the hybrid electric car. Mating a gas or diesel engine to a electric motor is a awesome idea from many perspectives. The increased MPGs, greater engine longevity, futuristic styling are all wonderful and the looks you get from impressed green-loving ladies sure is nice too. But behind all the flashy new technology is a history that you might not consider.
Like the normal gas or diesel car, that hybrid has thousands of parts, the latest and most expensive being its battery pack, normally lead acid, nickle metal hydride or lithium based. These batteries are toxic, for starters, and wear out after an average of 100,000 miles. So within ten years or so we can expect to see thousands of battery packs wearing out and being scrapped, and, if industry will be industry, with a likelyhood of there being little consideration for the environment. A Prius batter costs about $3000 to replace, do you want that repair bill after 100,000 miles of normal motoring? Then lets look at the ingredients. Lead is one of the greatest carcinogens we have in the auto-world, formally seen in our gasoline and paint, now religated to our car batteries and hybrid packs. The NiMH batteries are less toxic but more prevalent in hybrids. All those original and second gen Prius' had them and so do many current hybrids. Lastly lithium has to be combines with another metal to make a good battery, some of those like cobalt are pretty toxic and harder to recycle. Then you must consider something that has made news lately, the reserves of lithium and other rare precious metals in the world. China, holder of the lions-share of our national debt, owns most of the lithium we know about and they might not want to give it up. Lithium mines aren't too pretty either, you could equate them to the environmental train wreck that is our nations coal industry. So do these hybrids really make a much greener scene? And with this knowledge of batteries does it make the argument any better for battery electric cars?
So what about alternatives like corn ethanol or switch grass ethanol or (insert plant name here) ethanol? Well we love our corn in this country, we produce 259,273 thousand metric tons a year, more than double that of the next largest producer China. (www.nationmaster.com) That being said we must have a lot of corn to brew up into ethanol right? Wrong. If we shift our corn industry from producing for the food industry to the fuel industry the price of corn and corn based products (everything from soda and candy to canned foods and baked goods) will go sky high. We have already seen the prices of food go up and up and up in recent years. Do we really want that to continue? Moreover can we afford to? No. And what about ethanol from other sources? Well we have a lot of airable land left in American, no where near what we need to support our current population but we have land, and that land is dissapearing in the thousands of acres every year. So can we switch our land use from producing food and crops vital to our survival to crops vital to our gas tanks? do I have to answer that?
So what about alternatives like corn ethanol or switch grass ethanol or (insert plant name here) ethanol? Well we love our corn in this country, we produce 259,273 thousand metric tons a year, more than double that of the next largest producer China. (www.nationmaster.com) That being said we must have a lot of corn to brew up into ethanol right? Wrong. If we shift our corn industry from producing for the food industry to the fuel industry the price of corn and corn based products (everything from soda and candy to canned foods and baked goods) will go sky high. We have already seen the prices of food go up and up and up in recent years. Do we really want that to continue? Moreover can we afford to? No. And what about ethanol from other sources? Well we have a lot of arable land left in American, no where near what we need to support our current population but we have land, and that land is disappearing in the thousands of acres every year. So can we switch our land use from producing food and crops vital to our survival to crops vital to our gas tanks? do I have to answer that?
How about hydrogen? Time for a chemistry lesson, and you thought I hated chemistry!Hydrogen is a gas. Hydrogen fuel for cars is a liquid. It take INCREDIBLE pressure to keep hydrogen a liquid and that takes an enormous amount of energy. Most of that electricity comes from coal. Now coal is one of the largest emitters of green house gasses such as CO2. Switching to hydrogen is going to require a terrible increase in CO2 and green house emissions. Serving only to kill us quicker with climate changes and to destroy some of the last wild places in America which contain our coal. So unless our electricity comes from clean sources, we wont be able to produce a viable hydrogen economy and given the amount of pressure needed to keep hydrogen a liquid I don't know if I would want to drive one in case of an accident. Boom!
So are there answers to this problem? Can we keep our cars on the road? Well the answers that I know, are not the answers you want to hear. Our understanding of this problem as a nation is limited and misguided at best. Few people understand or think about the far reaching roots that all transportation technology has. We only have a couple of decades to figure this out and after that it might be too late to mobilize some sort of disaster/crash plan to fix the system. A good idea to pursue is the expansion of mass transit via rail and bus. But these things need to be considered in terms of overall efficiency and what we have the ability to do in the time frame we are looking at. But it is already beginning. Our road based infrastructure is crumbling and becoming ever more expensive to repair. Lets begin to think about things in new ways. Lets shrink our supply lines, live/move close to your job, buy local and rejuvenate our local economies, plan our shopping outings, drive economically or "greenly", share rides and carpool, ride our bikes, and in any other way possible begin to wean ourselves off long range vehicle travel. Good luck America.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Frugality is here to stay? Hopeful but doubtful...
For my inaugural post on this new blog of mine I figured I would spare the usual mission statement and diatribe associated with such a thing and say something simple. Ladies and Gentlemen, as a planet we are screwed and as a nation we are in a worse situation than most. That is likely to be the theme of many posts here. And so you don't get confused other common themes you can expect to see will be about technologies that may be considered "green" but are more of a necessity to life in the future, surviving in the post oil age, problems faced by our nation and our nations young people, and just about anything else that strikes my interest.
On to the post.
This morning while hoping to be called into work I was, as with every morning, watching the news. What caught my ear was a young holiday consumer being interviewed saying "cheap is the new black". I laughed at the idea and watched on. The report unfolded into an explanation of the use of coupons porting over from a analog paper form to the digital realm of smart phones. I like the idea of coupons and spending less for what you want to buy. Coupon technology has moved this forward a good amount, and at the very least its now easier than cutting up your newspaper every Sunday. However all this coupon stuff isn't the real point I'm trying to get at. The closing remarks of the segment, made by a middle aged holiday shopper with a slight accent, that said "frugality is here to stay".
Frugality is here to stay? I could certainly hope so, but has this latest recession really broke Americans of our addition to consumerism? I really doubt that it has. Regardless of my thoughts on the matter nation wide we are spending less than we have in years past. Despite the ham fisted efforts of the federal government with its cash-for-clunkers program, retail spending is down or slowing. Trade deficits are growing. Every segment of the retail economy, with the exception of box stores, is shrinking. And everywhere in the nation signs of the times are clear, but will we learn our lesson?
What is the lesson? Well to answer your question I'll be a dick and ask you to take part in an exercise with me. If you are in your home office or living room on your laptop or at the kitchen table, etc, I want you to look away from your computers and look around. Notice for me the amount of consumer items you have in your home. How many did you buy without having the cash for them? How many do you use every day, or every week for that matter? How many are the biggest, shiniest, most complicated model you could buy? How many come from China or other foreign powers? How many would only be able to be manufactured in an economic and industrial system based on the exploitation of fossil fuels? If it turns out that your looking around your house thinking "no way I never even noticed this stuff" your starting to get my purpose.
As a country we have sold ourselves to a consumer lifestyle. Our identities are bought and sold, right at the end of the highway at the strip mall, boxed up and shipped across massive oceans on equally mammoth container ships, from the expansive factory complexes of China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Etc.... For what ends? So I can watch my morning news on a 40" Samsung LCD? We buy what we want because it is made easy. But it is only easy because there is a demand for easy credit. There is a demand for easy credit because the Joneses were able to refinance and get money for a down payment on their new SUV!
If we stopped to think, really think, about how we live our lives and spend our money and leave a footprint in the sand we might rethink what we are doing. Perhaps the hapless shopper interviewed on the news this morning will go home and meditate on his comment. Maybe he and many like him across the nation will think about where their money went and why most of them can only afford to spend about $650 on their holiday gift shopping. Maybe some of them will think that they could make the holidays warm and bright in some other way than gift cards to Wal-Mart and Target. Maybe cash strapped shoppers will stick closer to home and shop their local downtown shops (if they still exist) before making the trip to a box store. But will it stick?
Well I don't know if any of it will stick. I don't know if anyone out there will ever realize that we need to consume less, save more, buy local, buy smaller, reuse what we have, repair what we already own, invest in our local economies, take part in rebuilding small businesses, and revive an America reeling from the morning after of its buy-bigger-buy-more consumption binge. Hopefully other cash strapped American Citizens out there will begin to think the same. and make the change.
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