Saving the Bees Means Saving the Food Supply!

The world population sits at just over 7.6 Billion humans, our impact on the health of the planet ranges from disregard for our personal pollution, to toxic waste released from our mines and wells, to global warming from our excessive carbon release into the atmosphere…and it is only getting worse. With all of this in mind, and an expanding population, you’d think we would want to protect bees…as they provide a great deal of the food needed for our survival.

Today we find our Federal Government, led by Trump …an uninformed, and often caustic science denier, is reversing the positive course established by the past four Administrations…retreating into the pockets of petrochemical and pesticide developers…raising their profits while damaging our nation and the planet. Trump will be long in his grave by the time our global population crests…at about 9.6 Billion in the year 2050, but his disastrous policies will have damaged America beyond our imagined impact…and it will have ended the histories of many other nations.

One of our biggest issues is the loss of pollinators. Bees the world over are suffering the attacks that our corporate producers are throwing at them. Bayer, BASF, Dow Agro, Monsanto, and Syngenta are key among these conglomerates.  And the worlds bee population is being devastated by the broad band pesticides and herbicides that these companies are spraying to protect ornamentals, and crops from other varieties of insects, bugs, and worms.

Unpublished field trials by pesticide manufacturers show their products cause serious harm to honeybees at high levels, leading to calls from senior scientists for the companies to end the secrecy which cloaks much of their research. The research, conducted by Syngenta and Bayer on their neonicotinoid insecticides, were submitted to the US Environmental Protection Agency and obtained by Greenpeace after a freedom of information request. What was reported was alarming.

Neonicotinoids are the world’s most widely used insecticides and there is clear scientific evidence that they harm bees at the levels found in fields, though only a little to date showing the pesticides harm the overall performance of colonies. Neonicotinoids were banned from use on flowering crops in the EU in 2013, despite UK opposition.

While flowers are treated by these same broadband insecticides to keep them pretty, flowering crops are their primary target and bees work all these fields. Here are some examples of what bees pollinate:  Cranberry Celery Coffee, Sweet Cherry, Tangerine, Tomato, Watermelon, Broccoli, Blueberry, Avocado, Apple, Strawberry, Sunflower, Carrot, Cucumber, Squash (plant),  Pumpkin, Gourd, Marrow, Zucchini…and the list could go on for rows and rows.

So, if you are hungry …keep in mind that we are destroying the very crops that we cherish by wiping out bees through the profit game that these corporations are engaged in.  Time to ask Trump what he wants on his salad…and force Pruitt to keep the EPA engaged in meaningful anti-pesticide programs nationally, and internationally. It’s a must, and the time for it is now!

The EPA Isn't Just About Air and Water...and Science Isn't Fake-News!

I keep hearing the Trump Administration say that CO2 is not causing Global Warming…science be damned… and that all they really need to do is work with the states to help keep air and water clean. Then, of course, Trump goes and revokes EOs that prevent Coal Empires from “Mountain Topping” and dumping the tailings down the sides of those devastated mountains and into the streams and rivers below…carrying heavy metals and toxic byproducts out to the surface water used by communities. And they reverse regulations on clean water…quietly reducing the cleanliness of our rivers and lakes.

As for their anti-EPA actions, the world’s leader in fighting pollution and recovering our environment from the extremes we have pushed it to…they have placed the EPA on the block, if not gone…tied up by reduced funding, cancelled programs, and blocked access to resources and an intensely interested citizenry.

Most of us don’t agree with Trump. First is the fact that he has close ties with other 1%ers who fight the EPA with their fortunes…like the Koch brothers, members of Trump’s corporate resort Mar-a-Lago in Florida…no wonder Trump doesn’t want to release the log books on who visited with him. Back Room Politics are alive and well in the GOP…and the Trump clan is making a killing on their corporate affiliation with the Donald. And then he insults us by promoting anti-science as the alternative facts of the day.

The idea that we should live for today’s profits and let the government clean up our pollution tomorrow does not sit well with me. EPA isn’t just about water and air…it’s about pollution, and establishing the standards that will keep America safe for time immemorial. Let’s look at one case, one of many thousands of super-fund sites. Love Canal, a winner of awards for their reclaiming of land and conversion of industrial sites into home sites. And, as a result of the chemical waste stored underground by Hooker Chemical, the land was poisoned, the ground water was contaminated, cancer ran rampant, and people died.

Pesticides and herbicides, toxic waste runoff from Coal and coal fired power plants, fracking waste water from oil and gas production sites, Canadian pipelines from Canada to Texas…to feed foreign owned refineries for oil exports that will never profit Americans, but threatens to pollute the Ogallala Aquifer in the heart of the United States, waste dumping in open ocean, a practice that we have reduced…but may come back if Trump has his way, increased acidification of our oceans, reduced controls on over-fertilization for places like Trump Organization (his company) resorts and golf courses…nitrates dumping into our water and killing our harbors …dead zones reaching into the open ocean …

The EPA sets standards to save the planet, and whether Trump and the Kochs like it or not…we are the Global leader in this field and we must fight to ensure that we remain the leader. I don’t live in China, India, or Russia…the nations with the worst pollution…nor do we have polluted harbors and bays the way China and Brazil do…why, the EPA corrected those issues for us several decades ago. Now Trump has signed an executive order that directed the Environmental Protection Agency to limit the scope of what counts as a regulated body of water under the Clean Water Act.

The EPA is a solid part of the Sustainable process that our nation is capable of achieving for America, and for the World…our economy and our history of social equity are the other legs of that important structure. Trump is working to end our leadership in this crucial global program…one that must be won now…or future generations will suffer, even Trump’s grandkids, whether he likes it or not, will suffer…The EPA isn’t just about water and air, it’s about the survival of the planet; it’s about managing tides so that islands remain above the oceans and coastal cities survive as well…Trump’s precious Mar-A-Lago will be under water before Donald Junior can say “hot-damn…I shot the last Lion”… the oceans are rising, and it’s not just because of nature. It’s because man has reached 8.5 billion and we pump out GHGs by the ton, the ice is melting...the reefs are bleaching, and we are killing thousands of species a year...way out of the box.

Let’s close on a high note. Donald Trump does not acknowledge Global Warming in the US…but he openly promotes national funding for protective barriers in Great Britain where his golf courses are threatened by higher tides than ever before…Telling the British Government that he needs their funding to protect his properties from the rising seas. Maybe Trump will bring this idea home…as he strives to make his vision of America great…but don’t hold your breath. This man isn’t about the truth…he is all for one and one for the Trump Organization.

Trump vs Global Warming

So here we are...a new year and a danger of carbon growth in America...quite near to our horizon!

Donald Trump has become our President and he has moved Billionaires into his Cabinet, and will be guided by his 35 year old son-in-law on matters of national and international concern.

You have to wonder why Trump denies the science of climate change...blames it on the Chinese as a diversion to sap America's economic strength. He also wants to push hard to have fossil fuels elevated again to the primary focus of the DOE. Why...well, he is personally invested in many gas and oil projects, and he is unwilling to divest his holdings nor place them into blind trusts.

Claiming that his sons and daughters are worthy of both running his global businesses and advising him at the same time on international policy...seems a little shaky, don't you think?

A balanced Republican Government would offer some improvements to our economy, but a trump-tilted government...with its focus on older white men and the elimination of rights for the press, and for all Non-Trump Supporting Americans...well, that is really not a balanced union...not by any measure.

What can you do...Stand Up...Make your voice heard. Call your Senators and your Representatives...call your district State Congressmen and your Governors....They are supposed to work for us...and they are accountable if we hold them accountable.

The Clean Air Act needs to be protected, Department of Energy needs to continue to focus on all energy types and sources. The alternative energy industry needs to be supported by government subsidies and it is time to begin to reduce the subsidies that are still being provided to the oil and gas industries...which are way larger than those provided to Solar and Wind initiatives.

Trump's Presidency is Sad...as he would say...sad. But countering the negative impact it will have on our nation and on the world around us is our task at hand. Protecting the EPA and the Clean Air Act is important and we all need to stand up and make our voices heard.

This is not the time to sit back quietly, this is when your opinion counts and you can make a difference.

Should we wait...or should we go? Some thoughts on energy in 2066

One of the fundamental questions raised during discussions of Global Warming, though really just about never discussed at all, is that of how our use and abuse of resources today will impact the planet down the road...say 250 years from now...a quarter millennial or so, and what we need to do to ensure that energy needs are met along the way.

The United States uses 25% of the world's resources, amazing right? We use it and abuse it all. That isn't in any way a sustainable effort. When it comes to fossil fuels...coal, oil, natural gas...we burn more than anyone, and we therefore add to the global dispersion of GHGs at an alarming per capita rate.

So, what will our energy outlook for the year 2266 look like? Well, our use of fracking technologies and oil-sands recovery is creating a surplus of oil and natural gas today, all of which can be sent to market at alarmingly low rates ($). We seem to want to extract it faster than we could ever use it. But profit today...that's the goal...so frack away.

At our production pace today we have about 100 years of low cost natural gas and perhaps the same for oil. On the same scale, however, we find that we have coal supplies in the United States that, if we could clean it up, might produce electricity for as long as 250 years. So about 100 years out we will probably find that coal, on the decline now, may have a resurgence, especially if our government finds a way to employ Clean-Coal technologies that would reduce the emissions of GHGs, capture most of those, and then sequester them.

What is Sequester? you ask. Well, that means create filtration and separation systems that will capture the GHGs and the toxic particulate (poisons and radionuclides) and then inject them into storage, perhaps deep underground (miles deep) so that they are held sequestered there forever...or so we hope.

250 years from now the planet will be out of natural gas and oil (oh, some remains, but not enough to run the world), we will be closing in on the end of our coal deposits, and we will be relying heavily on alternatives...like solar, wind, thermal, and perhaps manipulated hydro power as well...if we can figure out how to engage deep ocean currents and coastal tides.

So, why not move forward now? Afterall, we don't have any clean coal technologies in place, sequestration is being experimented with, but it is way to expensive...and oil and NG both emit carbon, so they are not perfect either. Other technologies are in the mix as well...and we will surely need them in the centuries to come. What we don't need is more Global Warming...and we need to make a stand on creating sustainable programs that will deliver energy and, through it, prosperity to future generations.

Hey, just a thought...or we could just lob off the top of say another 100 mountains and burn that coal to keep us warm...in more ways than one.

Is Sustainability Sustainable (S/S)?

To answer that question we probably should define what we mean by sustainable. Sustainable means that a process retains its function and value...stays the same...year after year way out beyond the foreseeable future.

Sustainability, on the other hand, is a process that ensures that your operations are environmentally and economically sound, and that they are equitable in how the support all involved in the process for todays generation, but also for the generations the follow. Further, sustainability is not just about us (our organization), it impacts all of our stakeholders and those in their spheres of influence.

While I live in the United States and feel that our culture should be a sustainable one, sustainability is not limited to our nation…or the developed nations…it is about all nations, the entire planet. And for sustainability to become sustainable we need to create clear, simple, programs that promote sustainable culture

If we take a simple issue…and a very common organization…we can find a way to look at S/S so that it lasts for the long haul. Let’s consider this issue:

Storm runoff management is an important issue for communities, so we should look at this issue through the eyes of the small town, community, small city point of view.  

Like most, this issue requires that we define the problem for our specific area, as well as the things about it that we see as dangerous for our three areas of interest (Environment, Economy, and Equitability). We also want to project into the future and try to understand how our issues today will impact the generations to follow.

If we look at this for one lake or river we find that our runoff delivers all of the things washed into the gutters, drains, road side ditches that feed the waterways in our community to our precious bodies of water. Failure to restrict this pollution from entering our system means that we are impacted today, as junk in the lake is bad, but it also remains in the water and settled to the bottom of the water course so that it will impact future generations.

Our solutions need to be realistic, effective, and sustaining…drainage systems need to route water where we need it to go. They also need to be accessible so that they can be cleared, where possible they need to have effectively designed settling bays that allow some of the heavy constituents to be captured, and not allowed to flow to the waterway or lake. At the same time we need to limit our costs, both for initial development and for continuing maintenance, and we need to have a reasonable replacement strategy so that we continue to effectively meet these needs.

Best practices include flowing water to common collection sites before moving it on to storage locations, in support of the needs of the community. We also find that some towns and cities have flowed water through downhill targetable regions so that we automatically water these areas, without having to pipe or pump water to take care of these needs.

Through these simple design steps we have looked to meet environmental and economic (cost) aspects of the problem. But how do we ensure equity… in this example we plan and design our solutions so that all of our community is addressed to cover our current needs, while looking toward future community growth to see how we feel the future will be serviced by our solution…years to decades, decades to centuries.

Sustainable Sustainability… multi-faceted and deliverable if we plan for it effectively.

A little bit of economics...for our sustainable mix.

This morning while listening to the radio I heard two economics specialists discussing the different economic programs being proposed by the Right and the Left.

Putting the arguments of ‘Trickle Down’ and ‘Wealth Sharing’ aside, they raised a fundamental point of economics, the question of whether economic success must be based on market growth.

Economics are impacted by many, often overlooked, elements that influence the production and growth of a market. Among these is declining population which, as it goes down, shrinks the pool of available labor. The United States, still considered the place to be for life satisfaction and economic success, has not yet felt the impact of slowing and declining populations. Some of this is due to the continued desire of many to immigrate to the USA, which has continued to increase our population. Many of our global trading partners, however, have been impacted by reduced population which has resulted in reduced productivity.

It is projected that the reduction in available labor over the next 50 years will reduce by 40% the rate of growth in global economic output for the world’s 20 largest economies compared to the growth experienced in the past 50 years. The McKinsey Global Institute* projects that in order to prevent gross domestic product from slowing productivity will need to accelerate by 80% from historic rates.

If we look at our Candidates for answers we find that they are moving toward programs that will impact our overall population as they try to address the question of undocumented immigrants. Both deportation or absorption of these workers will directly effect this economic question.

The Republican view supports releasing restraints on dollars, through large tax reductions, and reducing the restrictions imposed on business that prevents them from performing, like EPA requirements to protect the environment. These thoughts are aligned with more of the same, and would propose that we rebuild past industries and promote current industries by reducing social barriers that call for corrective actions today, in order to ensure a sustainable envelope for the future. The Republican model does not include maintaining the 12 million undocumented immigrants, they would be deported thus reducing our workforce…and our market.

The Democratic view is that tax reductions are not the answer. Considering that today’s corporate profits and income for the upper echelon are at all-time highs, they seem to have a point. After all, if Trickle Down was going to work it should have kicked in by now. They would promote increased taxes on the 1% of our population that controls an inordinate amount of national wealth, and correct programs that allow major corporations to pay little or no tax on their profits. They would also establish programs that would allow the undocumented immigrants in our workforce to stay and achieve citizenship.

On reviewing economic history, it is obvious that population growth has spurred economic growth. Looking at the past century we can clearly see that market expansion has been key to economic success, and companies with global presence are often the most successful. Exxon Mobile, Toyota, Proctor and Gamble, and Apple are but a few of these success stories.

But what of markets where populations are in decline? Can an established company, offering good products and services, doing business within markets with shrinking populations succeed? And when product lines are OBE… Overcome by Events…are there ways for companies to change in order to continue their path to success?

There are, and in that lies the difference between loss and gain. Sustainability is about maintaining an effective mix of economics, environment, and equity or social sharing. If we build our new businesses or refine our old ones to deliver good products that have clear value, and that maintain our 'market' growth for growing demand of products (globally, not just locally) then a smaller population may not have as devastating an impact as might be thought. The key is that companies must recognize the importance of selling new, innovative products that attract the attention of their target markets, are sold at a proper price, and that cross physical and cultural borders.

The economic equation isn't just looking at the target market for who could purchase your product, but it also looks at your skilled and available workforce. After all, if your workforce declines then your ability to produce may decline along with it. If you eliminate 10-million workers from an initial worker base of 180-million you will have eliminated more than 5% of your workforce. 

By doing that your ability to maintain production will be dramatically cut, and the economy will be negatively impacted. 

Sustainability calls for strong economics to drive the success of the social and environmental elements within its structure. Fair now, and fair in the future. We need to solve the immigration issue without deporting workers who contribute to our productivity and our tax base.

* McKinsey Global Institute report 

Darlene Ferris LaBar Making a Difference...

A little more than two years ago I met an Artist and Environmentalist, Darlene Farris LaBar, at East Stroudsburg University where she is a Professor of Fine Arts. She was engaging in so many ways, most important of which was her commitment to her students in the Art Department…where she was experimenting with 3-D printing.

Her love of nature and her ability to convert her vision into artistic statements through her large scale Art Installations, which she designed to transform the viewer’s perception, demonstrated to me her ability to effect change throughout the world.

Through to today…Darlene has undertaken a process of 3-D capture which is allowing her to find and copy flora in its natural scape and save it for the future through its recreation. Her commitment to flora---not yet gone---but nearing extinction due to human overextension, is making a statement the world over.

Darlene has exhibited in China, Columbia, Brazil, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Centre du Louvre Paris, London, and throughout the United States as she has brought her work forward to inspire others with the importance of changing the world.

Thank you Darlene, you are proving that each of us can make a difference.

Visit Darlene at her website, and look for her presentations and exhibits nationwide.