The American Petroleum Institute “API” is going to make a major push in the last weeks of August to destroy pending climate change legislation in the House and Senate. API is one of those really nasty industry lobbying groups dedicate to lying their asses off to protect the profits of their members. They have enough money to convince people that global warming is a myth, that the rise in CO2 levels over the last 30 years is a fluke, and that there is nothing at all to fear from the nice men in the executive suites counting their bonus money. We have heard their bullshit before, and whether the liars are Exxon, Enron or API, they do not give a crap about you or your family, and will say anything so they can keep drilling baby drilling.
API produces some slick shit – they have a whole section, free of course, dedicated to providing classroom lesson plans and information to spin their industry into some kind of fictional good citizen. It’s the same tricks you see on the worst kind of corporate propaganda commercials. Happy happy music, smiling kids, talk about growing our economy, creating jobs, and a bright and happy future! Gee, get me some lemonade!
The latest from these rat fuckers is this piece leaked and then posted at the Talking Points Memo Document Collection. It outlines API’s plan to begin astroturfing the country for the next 2 weeks. It is not just a call to arms, they will get you there: “API will provide upfront resources to ensure that logistical issues to not become a problem.” Busing operatives in is nothing new for industry groups. The insurance industry has had enormous success these last few weeks busing in gun toting lunatics to try and intimidate & scare decent Americans into believing that the Federal Government is coming to kill your grandparents. And a lot of people are buying it, as recent polls show. So API is going to do the same thing with the Waxman/Markey bill, as the document states “we must move aggressively in preparation for the post labor day debate on energy, climate and taxes”.
If you believe that our future is truly threatened by global climate change, now is the time to act. If the best you can do is sit on your ass and watch MSNBC, maybe listen to some Air American, then we are going to loose this fight. How often will corporations and their industry groups step on your neck before you realize that you can stand up and kick them in the nuts – if you have the balls.
Did you know what Target, Safeway & Costco all do better than Trader Joe’s? The seafood they sell is rated higher by Greenpeace in terms of sustainability.
I was driving by Geary & Masonic today and saw a crew of red hawaiian shirted young people holding up this, and I had to find out more:
They held an action today to highlight Trader Joe’s failure to address Seafood Sustainability in their business practices. Trader Joe’s does not have a Sustainable Seafood Policy, and a “Greenpeace Survey found that Trader Joe’s sells 15 of 22 red list seafoods, including Chilean Sea Bass, Tuna, and Swordfish.”
Seafood is a tough one for people wanting to live the sustainable lifestyle. How do you know the fish you are eating is harvested with respect to the environment? Is that species being over fished, or worse, has already crashed? Does it matter?
It does matter; it is not simply one or two fisheries crashing, but entire ocean ecosystems. From dead zones to garbage patches the size of Texas, to the impacts our individual homes make, our ocean’s are under assault. When it comes to the fish stocked on our store shelves, we are literally eating the sea to death. It happens far away, out of site, but if we do not recognize our direct connection to this problem we are screwed.
The average consumer is going to have an extraordinarily hard time trying to figure out what types of fish are ok to eat: even pro’s confess to being stymied. Grocer’s like Trader Joe’s need to do their part to be good stewards of the environment and help their customer’s make sustainable choices in the fish available for sale. Trader Joe’s does not seem to think so, and that is a shame because they could be great partners in this effort. It is a little weird to think that Wal-Mart does a better job, but Wal-Mart is ranked number 7 on Greenpeace’s list of Supermarket Seafood Sustainability Scorecard, and Trader Joe’s is number 17!
One greast resource is The Marine Stewardship Council which tracks various fisheries and verifies their sustainable business practices, much like the Forest Stewardship Council does for wood. Another is the Montery Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. But when you are running into the market to grab something fast for dinner, you need a hand. Professional buyer’s like Trader Joe’s should be helping their customer’s out.
I checked my inverter about midday today and saw that the solar PVC panels were generating 2067 volts. Not too shabby for the Sunset District of San Francisco (if you are reading this from Minnesota and do not know, the Sunset district is infamous for being a foggy mess in the summer, a detail not wholly grounded in reality) I am guessing the panels will produce at least 15 kilowatt hours today, so my eco pride is flowing. How apropos that this weekend is in fact Pride Weekend in the city.
I did visit the Pacific Coast Builders Conference in downtown San Francisco last week. PCBC is the premier trade show of conventional builders on the west coast, complete with vendors hawking their wares at a modern and far more “civilized” closed air bazaar, workshops, keynotes, little plastic badges and a crew of dancers from the gold club handing out coupons. I guess the recession is hitting everyone.
The floor was grim to say the last, it looked like half the number of sellers from last year, and for every regular guy like me walking around there seemed to be 20 people with listless eyes staring out from their respective booths. Whirlpool was jumping, they have Martin Yan every year doing cooking demos, but even he only had about 20 or so bodies when I passed by. The dye is looking a bit orange in his hair, they should have pinched better lighting from one of the LED booths nearby.
Toto had a new to me marketing push called “Totology” they are using to push their water saving line of fixtures, toilets and the like. Props to them, I bought 3 new Aquia Dual flushes this week for some bathrooms I am doing. Lots of the vendors were pushing their Sustainable Credentials with FSC labels, I like that. I met a guy from the Sustainable Forrestry Initiative. Rob Worthington, who was spinning his group’s angle as being a more local/North American oriented type of FSC group. They were originally an industry sponsored group, though he claims they have spun off to be 100% independent. Frankly I do not believe that, any industry group that claims to be “independent” instantly strikes me as bullshit, but I am going to keep my eye on them and see what I see, who knows, maybe they really are trying to do the right thing and balance our lust for wood with responsible forest management.
In general I thought most people were green-washing their products as opposed to really giving a crap about the environment and sustainable building. This is no west coast green to be sure, but even green-washing is to a degree progress. It is just that we need more.
Sorry for the lack of posts this week, but my family and I have officially taken up residence in the Green Sunset home I rebuilt. I plan on keeping track of our escapades in green living here at SustainableSchmidt; tracking our water & power use, how the various sustainable features are working, and what I would have done, and will do, different. One decision I have come to is to create an urban farm in the backyard area – it is a fairly deep lot and I believe that it will support some serious cultivation. Artichoke plants, strawberries and rosemary are all obvious choices for a Sunset Backyard, as well as some lettuce – I will keep you posted on the rest as frankly I haven’t a clue =) All I know is the landscape architects wanted $60,000 – $70,000 and that ain’t sustainable for my pocket book.
I am off to PCBC this afternoon, I will report back on what the fine folks there are doing. I went to a “Green Builders Forum” a few years back, and I was so disappointed I wrote a letter to the president of PCBC telling him how much it sucked ass. They refunded my money – so props to them. Here is hoping 2009 is better.
H
“By 2035 2 million more people will live in the bay Area” That is a prediction that warrants some thought, made by the GreenBelt Alliance, the preeminent advocate for open spaces in the bay area. The SF Chron had a good piece on them Thursday, one worth a quick read for those of us who build and remodel houses. They recently put out a brochure/roadmap to sustainable urban growth…the main thrust being that “The Bay Area can accommodate all its projected growth in existing cities and towns” That is a bold statement, but one I agree with. From a remodelers perspective, I know how much underutilized space there is in existing housing stocks…if those efficiencies were captured through sustainable rebuilding practices it would make a significant impact on future housing needs. GBA’s prescription focuses more on vacant lots and such, but I would add that existing structures have much to contribute as well if voids & dead zones like extra long garages could be reconfigured into usable spaces.
Along those lines I toured a very pretty green remodel in Noe Valley the other day, 3961 25th Street. A very smartly done home I first saw over on socketsite, the project oozed good taste, individuality, and flair. 2.8 large is a pretty hefty price point, so I am interested to see how things shake out as it is in contract atm. It is a good example of how existing housing stock can be reconfigured for more modern, sustainable living.
HS
Loading ...