Climate Changer
Boycott
BrazilAugust
24, 2019
About
a brazillion acres of Amazon rainforest have been set ablaze by the
policies of Brazil's anti-rainforest president Jair Bolsonaro.
Prior
to becoming president, Bolsonaro was
fined for rainforest destruction.
He thinks the destruction of the Amazon rainforest will be the
salvation of Brazil's economy.
How do you fine the
president of a country? Boycott Brazil.
Stop him
before he destroys his country and the world.
No
coffee, thank you.
Music Association: Blue Oyster
Cult - Burning For YouBook Association:
“
All
countries must begin thinking of solutions to their problems which
benefit the entire globe, not simply their own national interests.”
-- Michael Collins,
Carrying
The Fire, p. 470.
Product Review
Fresh
FruitAugust
14, 2019
When
was the last time you changed a light bulb? Or when was the last time
you heard a joke about how many people it takes to change a light bulb?
I
just changed a light bulb this morning, first time in years. As my
incandescent bulbs failed, I replaced them
with LED bulbs. This was one of the last of the incandescents.
I
don't like waste, so I'm happy to use LEDs.
The
light bulb was over a worm bin for spoiled fruits and
vegetables. I try to time my fruit and vegetable purchases so
they don't go bad (at least not in my home). Organic wastes in
landfills release methane (CH
4).
A
worm bin
is a flipped microcosm of the landfill organic waste problem.
Proper worm bin
management involves stirring or flipping the worm bin, because
methane is produced under highly anaerobic (without oxygen)
conditions. A 2004 study found that unaerated composting produced as
much as
24
times the amount of methane produced in aerated piles. The
best way to aerate compost is small piles. It is better for households
to compost their own organic wastes than to send them to landfills.
Even
better than feeding the worms, I recently tried out a product that
promised to reduce spoiled food, called
BluApple.
Disclaimer: This is
an unsolicited, unsponsored, unbiased product review.
What
I got were two blue plastic hollow apples. You put a white paper packet
in each and put them in your refrigerator. After three months, you put
in new packets. The packets of
sodium
permanganate (NaMnO
4) absorb ethylene
gas,
which is given off naturally by fruits and vegetables. Ethylene gas
speeds the
ripening process and accelerates decomposition.
Six
weeks ago, I put the two plastic apples of sodium permanganate in
the fridge. I have been pleasantly surprised with the result. Fruits
and
vegetables are far less likely to mold or spoil. Produce lasts longer.
The
flavor of fruits and vegetables are still good. The only negative is
that BluApples do not prevent produce from dehydrating.
I
might have to fix that by changing some settings on my refrigerator.
The
other problem is underripe produce that I buy, expecting to ripen on
the counter,
may
not be ripening as quickly. That's not so much a problem with BluApples
as an adjustment for me.
Music Association: The Osmonds -
One Bad Apple*
*
One Bad Apple was
the first number one hit for The Osmonds. It was originally offered to
the Jackson Five, who turned it down.
Climate Changer
Cargill
Backpedals On Deforestation PromiseAugust
3, 2019
Minnetonka-based Cargill announced
in June it would
fail
to meet a 2020 deadline for ending deforestation in Brazil and other
parts of South America.
Deforestation
increased
in Brazil's Amazon by
88%
in June 2019 over June 2018. The drastic spike is due to Cargill buying
soybeans from farms on deforested land.
Cargill is
buying deforestation-based soybeans to sell to China because:
A. American soybeans
are not being bought by China because of President Trump's tariffs.
B.
Brazilian President Bolsonaro has rolled back regulations and
allowed illegal land invasions, logging, and burning since taking
office in January.
C. Cargill is a private company,
the largest in the United States, with no shareholders or SEC
regulators' oversight.
All of the above.
A recent Mighty Earth report calls Cargill,
“The
Worst Company in the World.” According
to the report, “
In
addition to their role in creating a market for deforestation-based
soy, we found that Cargill finances land-clearing operations deep in
virgin forest, building silos and roads, then buying and shipping grain
to the US, China, and Europe to feed chickens, pigs, and cows...
Indigenous Peoples who depend on forests have been forced off
of
their traditional lands...”
Residents
of a remote
indigenous village in the Amazon say heavily armed men in military
uniforms raided their community in July and
stabbed
Wajapi tribe leader Emyra Wajapi to death.
Deforestation
for soy production accelerates climate change through the release of
carbon and the elimination of carbon-trapping trees.
Cargill's
history shows soy expansion without deforestation is possible through
agricultural development of previously deforested lands (page 28 of the
Cargill
report).
Music Association: Bad Company -
Bad Company
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HopscotchSupermanImpact
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Hennepin Library Edina
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