Cigarette Butts -- Tiny Trash That Piles Up

"People who smoke use it as a stress reliever. It is satisfying to just toss it down when you are done."
~~ Annalynn LaChica, San Francisco

With this explanation, Ms. LaChica wins points for honesty, but not good citizenship. Having done a few beach cleanups, I can confirm that cigarette butts do not break down and they do float -- often to otherwise pristine beaches.

I am glad to see NYT covering this persistent problem of environmental behavior. More of my thoughts on the subject are at http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhayesboh/nosmoke/.

WalMart - bad for society and bad for business

UMass-Dartmouth scholar Juli Parker makes the case against WalMart in terms of its positions on gender and race. She also cites the case I make against WalMart on economic-development grounds. The company does so much wrong that it is difficult to choose which of its offenses are most important!

Frontiers of Bigotry

Today the California Supreme Court issued a ruling that is a speedbump on the road to universal civil rights in the United States. NPR helpfully provides this interactive map for those who wish to keep track of where civil rights for same-sex couples are being respected, and in what ways.

Inevitably, the map of states that ban gay marriage will resemble the map of states that ban mixed-race marriages. (The film Mr. & Mrs. Loving tells the story of the beginning of the end of those laws, which seem ridiculous at this point in time, just as laws against gay marriage eventually will. The film If These Walls Could Talk 2 includes a fictional but all-too-real examination of why similar changes in the law are needed for all loving couples.)

For now, however, the geography of bigotry is an interesting one. On the so-called "Left Coast," the courts and the people have spoken - for now - against equal protection for same-sex couples. Even in California, however, the court could not bring itself to break-up already-married couples. The logic of this split decision escapes me. Elsewhere on the West Coast, some protections are afforded same-sex couples in committed relationships. On the East Coast, things are changing quite quickly, as states follow the lead of Massachusetts and Vermont.

The geographic surprise, perhaps, is in the common-sense middle, where Iowa has taken seriously the American values of freedom, reason, and compassion. This is the most hopeful sign of a turning tide that will help the United States to earn the title its citizens so often -- but erroneously -- claim: Land of the Free.

Concrete Solutions?

This program explains how concrete is a major source of greenhouse gases. It also describes some research into alternatives that could actually make concrete construction part of the solution.

Of course, concrete construction often replaces trees, which are superior carbon sinks!

Native Plants Bring Wildlife To The Garden

I always enjoy Talk of the Nation on NPR, and I especially enjoyed this program about minimizing lawn and maximizing habitat. Guest Doug Tallamy describes many of the things we are doing at our house, and a few ideas I had not thought of. We have about 0.31 acres, on which I am steadily reducing the lawn in favor of plants that will promote biodiversity. I like Tallamy's suggestion that on the small remnant of lawn, it is OK to take good care of it.

Military Officers Tie Energy To National Security

A panel of 3- and 4-star generals has issued a report concluding what geographers have long understood: wasting energy threatens national security. This story is impressive because it makes the connection very directly, and challenges the U.S. military to take a leadership role in improving national security by improving its own energy efficiency.

If successful, this movement will echo the military's leadership in another environmental arena a generation ago. Once it was found that many military bases contained hazardous toxic-waste sites, the military became a leader in developing cleanup technologies and waste-management practices.

Perhaps the military can play a similar leading role in energy efficiency, if this report's recommendations are adopted.

Mass. Gains Ground In Conservation

Ironically, a periodic report entitled "Losing Ground" has welcome news for those concerned about land, water, and wildlife in Massachusetts. The report is issued every five years by the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and usually it contains depressing news about the march of low-density development across the beautiful Massachusetts landscape.

Mass. Audubon Director of Public Policy Jack Clarke discussed the latest report with Bob Oakes of WBUR on May 18. It reveals that the concerted efforts of land trusts, conservation commissions, and state agencies have had a very positive effect. For the first time, more land has been set aside for conservation than has been developed for building.

The findings are not, however, uniformly optimistic. The report does not contradict the dire concerns raised by the Woods Hole Research Center's "Critical Mass" report, which discusses the rapid loss of open space in my part of the state. The Mass. Audubon report also raises concerns about the region surrounding the Quabbin Reservoir, where two-acre zoning and growing land values could lead to very rapid transformations of the fields and forests of that region, with serious implications for water and wildlife.

End Overfishing in New England

The Pew Charitable Trusts are sponsoring a petition drive to promote conservation efforts that will promote sustainable harvests AND sustainable fishing communities. The petition urges the National Marine Fisheries Service to work with fishing cooperatives to regulate harvests based on science.

Small World

A few years ago, my college revised its general-education program, creating something quite interesting and good for learning. In the process, though, foreign languages became an option, rather than a requirement. Reasons and excuses were given, but the real reasons are hard to know.

Fortunately, we have a lot of smart students who understand the value of foreign languages, so our courses have continued. The web page I created at the time of the debate is still available, and I am refurbishing it a bit for Round Two, as we open up the question again.

Small Farmers, Big Change

“Food for the earth, food for the animals, and food for humans. All three are very important and they are all connected.”
~~ Don Roberto Motato, ASPROCAFE, Colombia

One of the biggest challenges facing organic farmers is that the premium paid for organic products often does not compensate for the extra labor required or the lower yields. Even when retail and wholesale customers are paying a premium price, organic farming remains a labor of love.

Recognizing the benefits of helping organic farmers to improve their yields, fair-trade cooperative Equal Exchange (a neighbor of mine in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts) has partnered with Lutheran World Relief to support an agro-ecological project in Caldas, Colombia. The project will help members of the ASPROCAFE to improve yields and food security through a systemic approach to land management.

I am hoping to meet some of the cooperative members who are involved in this project when they come to our area later this year.