Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink

Here it is the United Nations water report for 2015:
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/digital_learning/research_report/leadership/united_nations_world_water_development_report_2015?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=schtweets&utm_campaign=social

As California suffer through water shortage, imagine what the rest of the world looks like. Now, imagine what the rest of the world will look like in the year 2050?
By that time we should have moved to a population of 9 to 11 billion!
The first chapter is on non-sustainable uses of water. The trends, including use of water, that are not sustainable, have a way of ending on gracefully!
Case in point, California.

Climate-change deniers are in retreat - The Washington Post

Climate-change deniers are in retreat - The Washington Post:

It will be nice to move past the non-debate about is there global warming, and move off into the real debate.

We are all living unsustainable lives with non-sustainable business models. What is our plan to move toward sustainability. Singly and collectively?

The argument that it doesn't do any good for us to do something if China and India continue consuming is sad and ironic.

For a century, we in the US with only 4.5% of the worlds population, have consumed about 1/4 of all the worlds resources consumed/used... Coal, Iron, Gas, etc.

We have produced about 1/4 of the worlds byproducts for a century (pollution and CO2).

We at this blog like to focus on those things that can be done within weeks, not decades. Energy Efficiency (EE) initiatives can pay for themselves in weeks, with a perpetuity of savings forever after. Telecommuting can result in a perpetuity of savings for ever (until you start a new job that requires a commuting).

We argue that nobody anywhere can reasonably believe that the price we pay at the pump of oil and at the meter for coal power is accurate and represents the true cost. Gas taxes continue to pay less and less of the US road maintenance, for example.

Economist generally settle on a carbon tax as a better solution than either subsidizing green energy/cars or a cap-and-trade mechanism. There will never be a better time to initiate a carbon tax then 2014 when oil prices are half and should be reasonably low for a year or more.

Or, we can continue to consume oil and gas like as if there is no tomorrow.



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Smart tech solution to save the rain forest.

Topher White: What can save the rainforest? Your used cell phone #TED : http://on.ted.com/q0TOb
This is a great solution to illegal loggers.
Very cool solution.
The importance of rainforest deforestation may be overstated with the stats. It may not be more important than anything else... But there are several ways to look at it. Very, very important though.

Another massive meltoff of Antarctic glacier. Really ugly likely outcomes.

The melting of Antarctica was already really bad. It just got worse. http://wapo.st/19rU1xp
Wow. Another area, like the west of antartcica, could result in massive ice melt from the ocean side up!
Each shelf/sheet could add about 10 feet to ocean rise, maybe 25% more for the northern hemisphere.
Ouch!

Don’t Confuse Sustainability with CSR | Ivey Business Journal

Don’t Confuse Sustainability with CSR | Ivey Business Journal:

Definition of sustainability -- essentially not imposing additional costs on the future -- is quite different from Corporate Social Responsibility, which looks at balancing the needs of all current constituents.

This is a very cool article that addresses the key issues that differentiate sustainability from CSR. Even though sustainability is overused and frequently missuses, it is a better term to use and a better utopia to aim for.

"It is time for organizational leaders to stop confusing responsibility with sustainability, which hinders businesses from thinking deeply enough about the inequities created by their actions over time. Simply put, some activities are either responsible or they are sustainable, not both."

The article talks about resources, but does not frame things in terms of the process of resource depletion, like the consumption of fossil fuels. Sustainability identifies the issue. CSR aims to offer some restitution, kind of. Neither really addresses the issues of non-sustainable natural resource consumption well.

Unintended consequences happen with CSR, with sustainability, and especially with non-sustainable activities. Lot's of unintended consequences happen with non-sustainable actions.

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Falling Chinese Coal Consumption and Output Undermine Global Market - WSJ

Falling Chinese Coal Consumption and Output Undermine Global Market - WSJ:

Finally, Finally, Finally...

China has finally started to cut back on it's production and use of dirty coal. China now consumes far more than half of the world's coal.

It's a perfect time for them to do so, with all energy prices so low, the Chinese economy growing slow(er) and the costs/consequences of pollution from coal becoming more and more conspicuous.

It is also interesting that this article talks about peak coal. It seems that peak oil and peak coal have been pushed back with the overwhelming supply of cheap(er) oil and gas from new technologies (fracking, horizontal drilling, etc.)

In China's case it may be peak pollution, where the health costs, environmental costs and quality of life costs are are starting to overpower the perception of coal being a cheap energy source.

Doing non-sustainable stuff, especially for long periods of time, has its costs and unintended consequences.

Sustainable Growth...

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Why science is so hard to believe... It's in the Kool-Aid - The Washington Post

Why science is so hard to believe - The Washington Post:

Joel Achenbach hit the nail on the head with this article.

Ever wonder why you can talk with otherwise intelligent people and you suddenly drop into the twilight zone.  They suddenly are totally convinced that the earth is flat, and there's no arguing with them.Or they are totally convinced the fluoride in water is a horrible government conspiracy to ... 

It is in the water. Or the Kool-Aid. Each group, tribe if you will, is drinking a different flavor. And you drink enough of it, the facts get a little wacky.!!!

This is a wonderful opinion letter. 

Here also is a great article as well on the distrust of science by Americans. It includes Pew Research on the topic. 

Hmmm....

Achenback argues against the idea of scientist taking a more proactive stance. He argues that when scientist step off of the ivory tower to wrestle in the mud of politics and public policy they get dirty-ugly like the rest of us. (Well, something kind of like that argument anyway.)

So, it appears, that many people only want to hear what they want to hear. If it doesn't match with their world view, then they switch to a channel that matches...

And so we have the world's most information rich environment, with exponentially more information available each decade, yet ignorance runs rampant. It is almost impossible to believe that such is possible. But it is.

For several years now I keep returning to the wise axioms of Rotary International. In the 4-way test, of all we say and do... "First, is it the truth?" 

Ignoring the truth (ignoring the facts) has a nasty way of coming back around and biting you in the butt if/when you get it wrong.

We like to focus on sustainability. Things that are sustainable rather easy to view mathematically. Eating 4,000 calories per day, and burn only 2000, you are apt to gain weight. Burn 9m barrels of oil per day (42 gals each) pumping the hydro & carbons into the atmosphere and you are changing all kinds of things in the atmosphere (and environment). [These carbons have been sequestered in the earth for some 5 to 50 million years.] The resulting imbalances  will have effects and side-effects. Guaranteed. Predicting them accurately may not be easy. Assuming that doing non-sustainable things won't cause a problem because they never caused a problem before, has some very serious logic flaws. 

So, let's all move away from the flavored waters and start seeking out the crystal clear true of the facts and the issues. We'll all have a healthier outlook, and healthier teeth as well.

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New Look at Oil Reserves, Renewables and Climate Change

New Look at Oil Reserves, Renewables and Climate Change

There is a long term energy competition battle ahead between renewables and fossil fuels.  Just as the prices for renewable energy sources, mainly solar and wind, have fallen markedly, our irrepressable technolgy advances have enabled us to find vast new oil reserves under our feet.  Check this out to see what we have in billions of barrels:  http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/12/04/us-oil-reserves-hit-38-year-high

So, this likely means the prices of gasoline and home heating oil will stay low for some time and it is also likely that Congress will get around to lifting the ban on exporting oil.  Good for the consumer? Yes and very much 'no.'  From an out-of-pocket perspective, lower costs, more disposable income.  From the standpoint of the environment, more oil means more carbon emissions for a longer period of time even considering the ongoing sustainability efforts of large companies and many cities around the world.
It seems we have our feet planted firmly in mid-air on the dilemma of climate change, human activity causation and the profit motive.

BBC News - The goats fighting America's plant invasion

BBC News - The goats fighting America's plant invasion:

A different approach to invasives. That would be Kudzu. I wonder how it works with balsam pear in Florida? How about the melaleuca?

Old school, but an effective approach to attach invasive plants is the old goat trick.

What I didn't realize before reading this article, is that the double chew and strong processing of the stomach reduce the changes of seed making the passage through the digestive system (and coming out carefully planted and fully fertilized).

First heard about the herd from NR.

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NASA, NOAA Find 2014 Warmest Year in Modern Record | NASA

NASA, NOAA Find 2014 Warmest Year in Modern Record | NASA

This is a good recap of the tie in to record warming with human activity.

It also give links the the raw data and the detailed methodology.

Anybody want to play with the raw, unadulterated data, you will find a LOT of it; and no matter which way you look at it trend line appears. And the trend line is very depressing.

BUT...

This blog is devoted to easy, affordable solutions that can be implemented right now, in a business friendly way. In fact, the first things that can be done, energy efficiency and telecommuting, offer huge savings to everyone concerned (and a nice boost in the direction of sustainability).

Why not start by picking the low-lying fruit now, and then address the heavy lifting as the next step.

Orrrr, we all can wait and wait until governments to get into the mix to help us all with the problems.:-(

We like the business now solution.