the low down on green living
March 16th, 2008
Prozac and Polar Bears
The past couple of weeks have brought all kinds of news about the environmental impacts of our daily lives. From taking medicine to turning on a light bulb to driving a Prius, it seems that every way we turn there’s some consequence of our daily life.
Unfortunately, this isn’t constrained to just animals. A recent AP study found these chemicals in drinking water in 24 major US metropolitan areas (see list at bottom of link). How did THOSE get there? Well, the same story as above - treated wastewater is discharged into groundwater, rivers and lakes, where it is then pumped back into the drinking water supply after some period of time. Today’s treatment standards once again don’t touch these difficult chemicals. Will we start to see the same kinds of effects in people as we’re seeing in aquatic animals? The short answer is no, for you’d have to drink 100-200 Olympic size pools of water a day to get the same amount of these chemicals as you get in a daily pill. But over the long haul, who knows?
Another interesting report and associated articles last week brought up how electric cars might be the solution to our global warming woes, but at the same time might really stress our already stressed fresh water supply. Why? It’s another classic case of unintended consequences. Power plants use water to cool their equipment - LOTS of water. According to the US Geological Survey, almost 40% of US fresh water withdrawals go to cooling power plants, almost exactly the same amount that goes to irrigation. We discussed this here way back when we launched, but tying this to electric cars is a new spin. This could be a big problem down the road in areas where water is already in short supply.
Last but not least, NPR did a piece on the global effects of global warming last week (it’s an audio report, but well worth listening to). We hear about the Artic and Antarctic impacts all the time, but some of the earliest major consequences will be on the opposite end of the world: tropical mountain ranges near the equator. Many communities in South America in the Andes depend on equatorial glaciers for their water supply. These glaciers are melting as fast or faster than any others on the planet, and may disappear all together before 2050. With them will go the water supply of millions of people already struggling to get by. This is one of the sad parts of global warming: polar bears are certainly in trouble, and our low-lying cities and beaches will be some day too, but the people feeling the first effects of climate change are primarily those who can least afford it: the poorer residents of our plant in equatorial South America, low-lying south Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Global warming is here for them already.
All of this might lead you to think “it’s hopeless”, but here at Low Impact Living we completely disagree! Instead, we think that a little knowledge about the hidden consequences of our everyday lives, coupled with the curiosity to figure out how to do things a little better each day, really can make a difference. Each light bulb you change, each showerhead you replace and each mile less you drive means lower carbon emissions, less wastewater to treat, and less need for any kind of vehicle regardless of the type. So, take the first (or tenth step), and not only the polar bears but the flatfish will thank you for it!
Comments
Lamby
March 18th, 2008 at 9:26 am
its awesome to know that there are people that wont give up on global warming
be
March 18th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Please remember that there are also people who depend on - and are part of - the Arctic ecosystem. It’s not just polar bears, seals, and whales - it’s people living as subsistence hunters and fisherpeople, depending on their intimate relationship with the land and the animals they’ve shared it with for generations upon generations.
These are cultures that have already been hammered away at by the policies of the American government and the paternalism and racism of their countrypeople. They are, in many ways, people living on the fraying edge.
There are villages already literally falling into the ocean. Communities that have to relocate because they’ve stayed where the government told them to stay (”you want your kids to get educated, don’t you? well this is where we’re putting the school.”), which has turned out to be unstable as the global environment has changed.
The idea of the Frozen North being vacant but for the creatures is beyond irritating. It’s movies like that animated atrocity Arctic Tale and the good-intentioned messages of well-meaning people that continue to write Alaska Native people out of the vision of their own lands.
I say this in solidarity with other indigenous people throughout the world and the poor upon whose backs we live.
Jason Pelletier, Low Impact Living
March 18th, 2008 at 10:58 am
BE:
Thanks for your comment - I couldn’t agree more. I didn’t mean to minimize this issue in pursuit of a catchy title!
I’ve personally been to South America, French Polynesia, Africa and Alaska and have seen first-hand how climate change and other environmental problems caused by industrialized (and industrializing) societies impact indigenous people early and with very damaging effects. They are certainly paying a disproportionate price for our lifestyles and habits.
Rob Johnson
March 18th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
It just puzzles me how BUSH and company can just sit there and watch and not pass legislation to help end the problem. And I am afraid John McCain is just a Buah wannabe. I am all for letting people drive what they want, when they want but really, does Exxon et.al. need to make more money? I think that we need electric transportaion and now. Not after it is too late. And wind power. and solar. I know it will be costly but letting the next generation pick up the pieces of our gluttony is just wrong.
be
March 19th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Hi Jason. Perhaps you can tell I have strong feelings about this.
I didn’t mean to jump on you. More like adding on, rather than saying “wrong! wrong!” I hoped that was clear, but realize it wasn’t in my haste to make sure me and the rest of the Arctic peoples of Alaska (since that’s where I’m from) weren’t obscured by the cute fuzzy critters.
So what I meant was “Yes, Jason, all that AND don’t forget blah blah blah.”
Ok. I feel like less of a ranter now that I hope I’ve made myself clearer.
Gwen
March 24th, 2008 at 9:58 am
I believe the global warming is very dangerous for all mankind. To blame anyone for not doing-like someone had mentioned Bush not helping with this situation we have all had a part in making and then to add McCain’s name like he wouldn’t do justice for this terrible happening. Would Clinton or Obama do right by it or would it be put on the back burner? Who knows. Not any one person is going to make it better. Everyone working together is what it’s going to take; one step at a time. We have to look at how to get out of this mess we have gotten ourselves in to by being so selfish and always thinking only of ourselves and how convenient and easy we can make things. We have always wanted to get things done quickly, whether it’s getting somewhere, eating as quickly as possible, or taking the fast-acting medicines to make us better-faster. All of this trying to move faster than we should - doing things before thinking of the repercussions or outcome of our actions is why we are where we are. To pass legislation is not where to begin. We have so many legislations now, nobody really knows if those legislations are even at work. People are hard at work as we speak trying to come up with solutions for our problems. Let’s look at cars - going from gas to electric - gas is bad for the ozone, electric uses so much water and electricity and paper vs. plastic - paper uses trees and plastic uses oil - what’s worse? Recycle is all I can say. We need to recycle and that is where it begins. Taking time to recycle is why people don’t recycle- you have to clean it or store it or peel off tags- any recycling takes precious time people don’t want to take. Their always in a hurry for some reason-because of our society and the fact we are very wasteful. Even our children are learning to be very wasteful. They do as they see. There is always so much on global warming, but we all need to look within ourselves to keep helping this situation and become the society that mekes life better not more convenient.
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