We endeavor to ethically explore various environmental issues local to Northern California, but we may cover national or international environmental issues that will indeed effect us locally. We recognize that many of the same local issues are taking place in other parts of our nation and our world. We consider the local, national, and international issues to be parts of a holistic view of society, economy, and the ecosystem. We are aiming to update our site regularly by continually posting issues and news in our blogs. We value open discussions, so regardless of your point of view please leave comments on our blogs. Please keep your comments clean and relevant to the topics. If you would like to contact us or leave feedback about our website, please use the form on the Contact S.E.E. page.
Environmental Issues Blog
Plastic Soup Anyone?
Single use plastic bags have become a staple of the consumerist
diet. America is the largest consumer driven society and we have grown
accustomed to the convenience of plastic bags. They help us tote
around our horde of freshly purchased goods from the big box stores.
As if our already over-packaged items really need another layer of
plastic.
Its comical when you buy a candy bar or a bottle of water and the cashier almost insists on bagging the small item which you are about to consume. How about produce from the grocery store? Mother nature has blessed many foods with their own biodegradable packaging. The banana or the avocado for instance are two very conveniently packaged foods. Do we really need to put them in clear plastic bags and then inside another plastic bag, only to …
Keep Upper Park Wild
Bidwell Park is one of the largest city parks in the United States with a size of 3,618 acres. Without the community activism of loyal park enthusiasts, Upper Bidwell Park would be a concrete jungle and Big Chico Creek would have a waterslide. A local effort called Keep Upper Park Wild, is pushing to stop further development of Upper Bidwell Park. This effort is championed by the Chico environmental organization Friends of Bidwell Park. The romantic model of the wilderness ideal is entrenched in the essence of this campaign. Wilderness is generally defined as “a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity.” In other words, the wilderness is an unspoiled stretch of land that is generally rich with biodiversity and not plagued by the overp…
Chris Jordan: Raising Awareness Through Art
I just recently found about a photographic artist named Chris Jordan. He does a lot of very creative work with environmental issues, that he hopes will raise our level of awareness. Many of his pieces of art feature extreme amounts of garbage such as plastic beverage bottles, cell phone chargers, oil barrels, and crushed cars displayed in creative ways. I think my favorite of his pieces is Cans Seurat, 2007(60x92") and according to comments on his web site, the photograph "Depicts 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds."Barbie Dolls, 2008(60x80") is another piece that, "Depicts 32,000 Barbies, equal to the number of elective breast augmentation surgeries performed monthly in the US in 2006." There are many more amazing photographs of American waste at hi…
The Mystery Meat
Do you ever wonder how much of those stacks, upon stacks of conveniently packaged meats actually get sold at our supermarkets? How much meat is wasted? A NewsNet5 report claims there is an attempt by both the meat industry
and the supermarkets “to save at least $1 billion worth of meat it throws
away each year”. We have so much meat, we can't sell it all! How
disrespectful of the animal that was sacrificed for us to have our
cheeseburgers.
So what are these big businesses doing to try to save their meat? Did you notice that most of the meat at the supermarket is always so bright red? As if the cattle are corralled in back of the store, the guy in the white apron is an actual butcher, and the meat your buying is actually fresh. Quite possibly, that seemingly fresh looking meat …
Cap Freeway
Have you ever driven into Los Angeles anytime of day while it is light outside and experienced the beautiful halo of smog surrounding the city. You know this just can't be good for you or the environment, guess what it does to the people that live there. Among the mass of concrete and city lights and everyone rushing from place to place wouldn't it be nice to just stop and stroll through the park. Park, what park, the only park most people see is themselves parked on the freeway in rush hour traffic. The Los Angeles area has grown so quickly that developers did not see that it was an effecient use of land to put parks in but instead to build freeways that seperate the population. Developers now are starting to understand that the projects they are building need to be built to elimin…
Population
The explosion of population that has happened in the last 100 years is putting a great strain on the planet and it's ability to correct the mistakes we make on a everyday basis. From estimates the population will add another 2.5 billion people to it's masses by the year 2050. With the explosion of technology in Lower Developed Countries(LDC) we are seeing that their standard of living has increased and they are starting to consume natural resources quicker and will pick up steam over the next couple of decades to further decline our natural resources and food supplies. With the introduction of better health care the crude death rate among LDC's has decreased but they are still having children at the same rate. In the world 8 out of the 10 largest population cities are located in LDC's …
Nuclear Energy: Environmental Justice Case Study
The United States has beautiful principles of liberty, equality and justice within our political-social framework. Whether or not we actually uphold those logical, moral principles is another story. It is a fact that our country has been built largely upon the misery and exploitation of certain groups. For example: the mass amounts of African slaves that became the economic bonanza of the colonial period; the large scale ethnic cleansing of indigenous peoples which opened up a land grab for the influx of property-driven Anglo Saxons; the exploitation of Chinese immigrants who railroaded our Manifest Destiny; or the current abuse of Latin American migrant workers to bring cheap food to our tables. The continuance of exploitation in certain groups of color and class carries over into our new…
Green Transportation
"Chico Electric Cars"
Certain dealerships in Chico have decided to go the right way . They are selling electric/ solar panel cars.
The new Zap Xebra Sedan is an example. It's Electric, quiet, and very
agile. This three wheeled savior has no tail pipe and gets up to 25
miles per charge. It can be charged at any electrical outlet you can
find. Legal to drive on all city streets it gives out 98% fewer
pollutants than this junk we drive around today. It's fun, compact and
affordable, startig at the price of 11,700. It also comes with extre
accessories such as, cool or heat cushion seats. This uses
thermoelectric technology that circulates cool and heated water so tht
it relieves back discomfort.
The next option you have is the
solar panel car. Also a 3 wheeler, it can travel short dist…
Green for Beer
In the world of the capitalist economy of the United States business' are in business to make a finished good and sell that product to the consumer for a profit. The solutions to produce more product or larger yields of product have left the world landscape beaten and bruised from the abuse. We have an obligation to future generations to leave our planet in the same condition it is in or preferably a lot better shape so they will be able to provide for their families. Big and small business are realizing that their impact on or surroundings has to change but find it difficult to adjust. Green technology is becoming more readily available and many companies are doing very well incorporating it into their business models. Sustainable business models are taking hold and showing us how we are…
Straw Potential
Since the 1920’s farmers across Northern California have been burning the rice stubble (rice straw) leftover from harvest time. Environmental health studies in the 1990’s found a correlation between the rice burning season and an increased number of hospitalizations for asthmatic conditions. It is obvious that burning mass amounts of anything, even something natural or organic, will release heavy amounts of particulate matter into the air causing air pollution. Because of the environmental movement and the proven burden to our environmental health, this practice has been deemed environmentally unethical. (Pictured Left: Burning Sacramento Valley rice fields. Courtesy of UC Davis.)
Today rice burning has been phased out in the Sacramento Valley due to a ban, but farmers in other…
Stay Informed, Be Active
Del.icio.us Bookmarks
- The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard | "fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of production and consumption"
- National Geographic | The New Suburb: A Virtual Green City
- Los Angeles Times | Blighted Homeland: A Four Part Special Report on the Navajo Nuclear Injustice
- Chris Jordan | environmental photographer raises awareness through art
- New Mexico's Energy Future — Dreaming New Mexico
- Bioneers | Revolution from the Heart of Nature
- Los Angeles Times | Out West, a new kind of water war
- Science Daily | Ice-free Arctic Ocean Possible In 30 Years, Not 90 As Previously Estimated
- t r u t h o u t | Hemp Is Not Pot: It's the Economic Stimulus and Green Jobs Solution We Need
Chris Jordan @ Greener Gadgets
Mmmonoxide Mmmeat!
Overpopulation Crisis
Nuclear Injustice
Electric Car = Energy Independence
Beer=Biofuel
Straw's Sustainability Potential
Vanishing Chinook Salmon
