Support a Do Not Mail Registry!

Just as the Do Not Call Registry freed Americans from telemarketers,

a Do Not Mail Registry would give us the choice to stop junk

mailers from violating our privacy, wasting our time and

damaging the environment.

Sign our petition today!

http://donotmail.org/index.php

Learn about Externalizing Costs, Planned Obsolescence, and Perceived Obsolescence. If you are smart, this video will change the way you live everyday.

The Story Of Stuff

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

“Each year Americans consume more than 200 pounds of meat and poultry per person, but most meat-eaters are not aware of the staggering environmental impacts of raising animals for food- in particular, factory-style animal agriculture in which overcrowded conditions intensify the spread of disease, use of antibiotics, inhumane treatment of the animals and rapid degradation of implicated land and water resources.” (Trask, 2006)

The Americans get fingers pointed at them again. It always seems that there is an abundance of statistics on Americans and they are always called out on their behavior. I think this information can go for Europeans, South Africans and Asians too.

“The most basic flaw in producing meat for human consumption rests in the colossal waste and inefficiencies compared to producing other food sources. Pound for pound, far more resources go to produce meat than non-feed grains, fruits and vegetables. To produce one pound of beef protein takes vastly more water, land and energy than to produce one pound of vegetable protein.” (Trask, 2006)

But is animal protein the same as vegetable protein?

“Some of the protein you eat contains all the amino acids needed to build new proteins. This kind is called complete protein. Animal sources of protein tend to be complete. Other protein sources lack one or more amino acids that the body can’t make from scratch or create by modifying another amino acid. Called incomplete proteins, these usually come from fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts.” (Harvard School of Public Health, 2007)

“In fact, more than half of all water, one-third of fossil fuels used in the United States, and 87 percent of our agricultural land is devoted to raising animals for food. The effects are not small. Water reserves in the west are being rapidly depleted. Energy-intensive farming practices have increased agricultural-related air pollution, acid rain, smog, and greenhouse gases. Overgrazing is responsible for driving native plants, grasses and wildlife to the endangered list, degrading water quality, and compacting and eroding soil.

Another problem is the nearly 1.4 billion tons of solid manure produced by US farm animals per year- 130 times the amount produced by the human population. Runoff and seeping of more waste than the land can handle, and spills and leaks from huge waste lagoons, has led to the pollution of at least 39,750 miles of rivers and streams, and at least 943,560 acres of lakes and wetlands.

In the final analysis, reducing or giving up meat and poultry consumption could improve the environment on a number of levels.” (Trask, 2006)

I would agree that the meat industry is a major environmental issue, but at the same time, avoiding meat completely can be dangerous to certain people’s health. Each of our bodies vary in type and function differently, so it is important to keep this in mind when considering a vegetarian or vegan diet. I think simply reducing ones’ meat intake will benefit your health as well as the environment.

At the bottom of the following online article link is a chart that lists proteins and the recommended daily amounts for a 2000 calorie diet:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein.html

Reference:

Harvard Scholl of Public Health. (2007). Protein: Moving Closer to Center Stage. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein.html

Trask, C. (2006). Its Easy Being Green. A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living. Chapter 2, page 23. Gibbs Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah.

1. You’re not a farmer
Or a tree surgeon, country vet, wind turbine repairer, dry stone wall engineer or mountain rescue specialist. Unless you are (or in a handful of other occupations) there’s really no need for you to get a big 4×4, particularly if you live in an urban area. Four wheel drive gives you better traction in snow or deep mud, and that’s about it. It does not make your car safer, more manouvrable, or enable you to stop any quicker.

2. Your family fits into a saloon car or people carrier
Most families and their luggage can in fact fit comfortably into a small hatchback. Even if you have lots of kids (and a big dog), an estate car or MPV often has more space than a 4×4 and can fulfil all your daily needs. What did your dad drive you around in when you were small?

3. You will breathe cleaner air
Pollution studies have demonstrated that, in slow traffic, the dirtiest air isn’t being breathed by the cyclists in the gutter or the people waiting for the bus on the pavement, but by those inside the cars in the middle of the road.

4. You will save money
Data at www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk show that it costs around £100 more per month in petrol costs alone to run a 4-litre Range Rover compared with a 2-liter estate car. Currently road tax stops increasing at just 225 g/km of carbon dioxide, so drivers of smaller cars are effectively subsidizing the 4×4 drivers. Two-thirds of people support higher taxes for 4×4s and British insurance companies admit that 4×4 drivers are not yet charged premiums that reflect the cost of their claims, so the bottom line could get even worse.

5. You won’t have to lie to your grandchildren
Our descendants will be left to deal with the effects of climate change caused by our profligate use of fossil fuels. Drivers of 4×4s should start editing their photo albums now.

6. You will be less likely to kill a pedestrian
Most accidents involving pedestrians are caused when they stray onto the road without warning, so your superior driving skills may not help to avoid an accident. However, a better designed car could make all the difference to their survival chances. The greater height and weight of 4×4s, as well as their flat fronts and stiff bonnets, means they are bottom of the class in Euro-NCAP crash tests for pedestrian safety.

7. You might see a small child early enough to avoid backing over them
Big, tall 4×4s have far bigger rear blind spots than normal cars, making it impossible to see a child for more than 15 feet behind them, and much further for short drivers. Check out the facts about the increased dangers to pedestrians from taller cars at www.kidsandcars.org.

8. You will be less likely to injure people in other cars
The high bumpers on 4×4s can override safety features on other cars, such as side impact bars and crumple zones, and the extra weight of big 4×4s is a hazard in itself. The spare wheel on the back of many 4×4s often takes the place of a rear bumper and increases damage to other cars and the 4×4 itself in a ’shunt’ incident.

9. You will have a better time driving
Big 4×4s are notoriously difficult to park due to their poor visibility close to the car. When cornering, the high center of gravity of a 4×4 reduces the responsiveness and takes all the fun out of it. Don’t expect to nip away from traffic lights either, due to all that extra weight.

10. People won’t think you are an ‘idiot’
In an ordinary car, you won’t get dirty looks from all and sundry when you drive around town, won’t have to avoid eye contact with bus passengers, and cyclists won’t mouth obscenities as they squeeze past you in a queue of traffic. As an extra bonus, other drivers might occasionally let you pull out ahead of them.

From http://www.stopurban4×4s.org.uk/reasons.htm

Its there for some, but not for others.
Why?
SPEAK.