Memorial Day (AKA Veteran’s Day) doesn’t get enough press imho. Considering how much has been sacrificed by so many for our country and our future, too much time is spent on BBQ’s and shopping sprees at the local big box and not enough time spent on serious reflection. We have waged so many wars in the few hundred years of our existence as a nation, some by choice, others without choice, yet in each the dead pile up and watch the living move on.
Global climate change is no war, but the threat it poses us as a nation and as a species is fundamental, intrinsic, and may well lead to our extinction. How do we serve those who have sacrificed their lives by pissing away the very world they fought for? Over consumption, poor urban planning, unsustainable pressures on our environment and resources will eventually overwhelm us, unchecked their will be no one to tend our graves as we tended the graves of our fallen soldiers this past weekend.
Hyperbole?
Maybe, but I am in a hyperbolic mood after watching flag draped coffins and considering what it means to be an American. If carbon levels continue their unchecked rise, as they have risen year after year since measurement began in the 1950’s, there won’t even be wood left for our coffins, nor people left to memorialize us. Will future remnants of our generation look back and curse our greed and insatiable consumption? I think it is likely.
Unless…
You & I get off our lazy asses and get to work. No day goes by my eyes that I am not presented with choices to make the future better. To use less, to purchase smartly, to build sustainably. Every act of creation contains some seeds of destruction, and the creaton of our homes needs to recognize this and ask how that destruction can be minimized in each and every step of the way. I saw some friends of mine with a jack hammer just this morning going to work on a cracked driveway, and I asked them to use high concentration flyash concrete. It can be as easy as that.
Interesting juxtaposition between 2 different concepts of large scale developments – massive mono tonal sprawling tracks, or brand new small towns. I am a city dweller, so neither appeals to me personally, but if I were looking for new construction and a sense of community now defined by strip malls and cars, the whole new urbanism thing doesn’t seem so bad.
I have been meaning to talk about my water bill for some time now – and since my bill just arrived a bit ago now is as good a time as any. This period my bill from the SFPUC is $208.10. My family of 4 and our turtle used an average of 271 GPD (gallons per day – 15,000 gallons this last billing cycle) well under the 130 GPD per person/520 GPD per family average for CA. And the house I am currently in isn’t all that special, the toilets are standard 1.6 gallons per flush (GPF) models, the washing machine is a regular top loader, and I do have a lawn, though it is a tiny 6 X 12 foot postage stamp.
I like my water service , its some of the best in the world. But to give the costs some perspective, your average business/farm pays about $10 – $100 per acre foot of water. An acre foot is the standard unit for measuring water volume, and it equals about 325,000 gallons. So where that business pays a hundred bucks per acre foot, my family pays 325,000 divided by 15,000 times $208.10 = $4,474.15 per acre foot.
$4,474.15!
Wow. Seems like BS to me, especially when I hear farmers in the central valley who grow things like cotton in the desert complain about water rates – here is a tip, grow something less water intensive. I know I can do more to conserve water and money, and I am curious what my famiy’s water use will be as we are soon to move into the redesigned house on 39th ave that features many advanced water saving features. But another obvious opportunity for savings as well as revenue for the state in these tough economic times is aggricultural water use. Farmers need to pay more for our water. If we tripple their rates you and I the residential customer are still getting screwed. Its time everyone does their part.
My Alma Matter, Saint Ignatius College Prep, is just across the street from one of my projects, 2139 39th Ave. I was lucky enough to be asked by some of the faculty at the school to showcase the project to their students. One young man posted last Friday in the about section, and I wanted to repost it here in the front since it made my week. I feel inspired by young people like Sam, they will be left with our legacy. We have a moral imperative to see to it that that legacy is not a ravaged planet.
Hi Mr. Schmidt
My Nature Nexus class at had a great time touring your house.
Nature Nexus provides students, like myself, an opportunity to discover the problems that exist on our planet. All year we have studied the effects of human actions and how they impact the Earth. We study many topics ranging from the O’Shaughnessy Dam to the farmers’ markets and how they support local farmers. The class is designed to teach students three essential ideas necessary to live a healthy life: a sense of place, interconnectedness, and stewardship. We put these lessons to work on a barren 25 square parcel of land in front of the West Sunset Community Garden. Our class restored the area to what it might have looked like 300 years ago. We planted Seaside Daisy, California poppy, Dune Knotweed, and yarrow donated to us from a local nursery.
I found that a local garden helped me understand and connect top my native surroundings, and the work felt great to accomplish.
We have recently visited Helmut Schmidt’s remodeled house in the Sunset near our school. He has transformed this building into a sustainable and earth friendly house. Our future style of living thrives in Helmut Schmidt’s house; everything from the solar panels to the cork flooring this type of sustainability is necessary for our future generations. My classmates and I agreed that green architecture that will boom in the near future. One of my classmates is planning to study green architecture in college, and I plan on studying finance to help fund future green projects. Mr. Schmidt inspired me to hope for a greener more sustainable future.
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