It is my belief that we do not have a fundamental right to pilfer and plunder our natural world, and that what we do have is a fundamental responsibility to do what we can to protect our planet's waters, soils, air, and the diverse wildlife that we share these resources with. The former does not ensure economic prosperity for all; the latter does. When one learns that certain actions have consequences--say, that morning coffee ritual from a business that heavily uses styrofoam cups, a product that simply and effectively trashes the earth--is there not only one ethical and moral thing to do? To start buying coffee from a business that does more for the environment? Change is necessary if we care about all the generations behind us--human and wildlife alike. But change is a complicated thing.

Therein lies the conundrum.

My pledge: to embrace change, and to find solutions to the conundrum.


Monday, March 11, 2019

Palm Sugar, Palm Oil, Palm ?

Workers unload trucks of harvested oil palm fruit at the PT Perkebunan Nusantara plantation and production factory in Kertajaya, Banten Province, Indonesia, on Monday, June 20, 2011. PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII is a state-owned palm fruit plantation and palm oil factory. Photo Credit: Dadang Tri/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A casual line in a t.v. series we're watching suggested palm sugar is a problem in the world. It's not. Palm OIL most definitely is. Did you know? Palm oil surpasses soy oil production worldwide, and most of it (~90%!) comes solely from rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia.

It's challenging being a conscientious consumer. One has to scrutinize labels on food products (not to mention cosmetics and shampoos/soaps, etc.), and be able to decipher the varying names and chemical states that palm oil and palm kernel oil hide under. But, palm oil consumption is having a staggering effect on rainforests and wildlife--orangutans especially; I'll take peace of mind over time-consuming shopping any day.

'Orangutan Foundation International Australia' has excellent info on how to determine palm oil content when it's hidden under the guise of "vegetable oil": https://orangutanfoundation.org.au/palm-oil/

This photograph, taken on February 24, 2014 during an aerial survey mission by Greenpeace at East Kotawaringin district in Central Kalimantan province on Indonesia's Borneo Island, shows cleared trees in a forest located in the concession of Karya Makmur Abadi which is being developed for a palm oil plantation. Environmental group Greenpeace on February 26 accused US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble of responsibility for the destruction of Indonesian rainforests and the habitat of endangered orangutans and tigers. Photo credit: Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images



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Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Film: Living in the Future's Past

Every once in a while a documentary comes along that is worth adding to the personal collection. Living in the Future's Past is once such doc.  Three of us went to see it.  We each appreciated it for it's beautiful photography, Jeff Bridges' narration, and for the diverse scientific and philosophical insights provided by the numerous expert speakers.



One of us, a former high school teacher and long-time volunteer for a local, school-age natural history program, thought it was a bit repetitive in places.  Another, a former State diplomat (aka Foreign Service Officer) turned conservationist, thought it was very focused on the human condition and human responses to the problem of why we do what we do.  And, I, a long-time naturalist with a B.S. in environmental studies, loved it's appeal to systems thinking from start to finish (but agreed it reiterated messaging heavily in the last quarter of the film.  I argued that this might have been intentional given the attention span of people in a general audience).  I fully plan on seeing it a 2nd time when my DVD arrives (via Amazon, unfortunately).

"In this beautifully photographed tour de force of original thinking, Academy Award winner, Jeff Bridges shares the screen with scientists, profound thinkers and a dazzling array of Earth’s living creatures to reveal eye-opening concepts about ourselves and our past, providing fresh insights into our subconscious motivations and their unintended consequences.

Living in the Future's Past shows how no one can predict how major changes might emerge from the spontaneous actions of the many.  How energy takes many forms as it moves through and animates everything.  How, as we come to understand our true connection to all there is, we will need to redefine our expectations, not as what we will lose, but what we might gain by preparing for something different."


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