Sometimes in my efforts to be less of a consumer, I feel defeated and daunted as only an individual among a mass of consumers. However, I was inspired by an essay in Conscious Choice, August 2005, written by D.A. Guiliani titled “Leftovers Again?” She said, “The U.S. accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population, yet it consumes 40 percent of the world’s resources.” In other words, my efforts at reducing my individual consumption have a bigger impact than someone living in another part of the world since I’m a U.S. citizen. I don’t know the math exactly but it’s probably at least about a tenfold difference. Knowing that, I’m going to try to redouble my efforts.
— Max Edinburgh, Chicago
I AM A Home Economist who has been married for 50 years and raised nine healthy, college-educated children. In response to the “Leftovers Again?” article, we called them “planned-overs” and no one ever missed a meal. This was a cute and thought-provoking article. Getting back to a simpler lifestyle would increase both our physical and financial health.
— Pat Le Beau, Lombard, Ill.
Electric Energy Losses
I READ the (August issue) article “Renewable Versus Nuclear Debate” by Robbie Harris (that includes) a quote from Joe Schwartz that seems to be in error: “Seventy-five percent of the electricity generated in centralized power stations is lost as it travels out along electric wires.”
I looked into it a bit and haven’t found a reliable source that confirms that. One source cites the number at just over 7 percent, which is typical, another says “up to 30 percent” maximum loss.
— Macauley Peterson, Internet
Editor’s note: We checked with Randy Udall, Director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE), a non-profit organization in western Colorado, and here’s what he told us:
“Line losses do average about seven percent nationwide, not 75 percent. However, total energy losses in the ‘production of electricity’ are about 75 percent.
“That’s because a typical power plant in this country only converts 33 percent of the energy in its fuel into electricity. So, we immediately lose about 66 percent of the available energy; that plus the line losses gets us to your 75 percent figure. So it is true to say that ‘energy losses, including line losses, are about 75 percent in the production of electricity.’
“Some of the newer combined cycle natural gas power plants, it is true, convert 50 percent or a bit more of the energy in the gas into electricity. But the average plant, including all the coal plants, in the U.S. is around 33 percent efficient.”
Silent Summer
I LIVE on the South Side of Chicago and in the past two weeks almost all the birds (at least 90 percent) have disappeared. Less than two weeks ago, in a bizarre move, the Cook County Department of Health decided to do aerial spraying of the neighborhoods.
Their rationale was that there is a West Nile “epidemic.” They say that 20 people have caught the virus. So without any public input they sprayed malathion and other pesticides from trucks throughout the city. First of all, malathion and other pesticides are dangerous to people, animals, and the already damaged and fragile environment.
Secondly, we have been experiencing what is one of the worst droughts in the history of this area …. I haven’t seen a mosquito in months. I should know. I spend at least four hours a day working outside in my organic garden. Most lawns in the area are burnt to a crisp, which is hardly a favorable environment for a mosquito infestation. (Having lived in New Orleans for years, I can tell you all about mosquitoes.)
I left town for the spraying. When I got home I noticed that we now have almost no birds. I sat on my deck for two hours and counted two pigeons and maybe six sparrows. We usually have a host of robins, cardinals, grackles, pigeons, crows, even seagulls and other winged friends that drop in. Lately, there had even been a couple of woodpeckers with their endless drumming. All of sudden there is an eerie and frightening silence … the trees are empty.
Exactly what is going on here? Is this another of the endless corruption schemes funneling money to a contractor for unnecessary services? Is a sudden bird die-off the equivalent to the canary dying in the mine?
— Toni Costonie, Chicago
Natural Pest Control
THE ARTICLE “Little Garden of Horrors” (July 2005, about non-toxic pest control) was pretty fair, but it didn’t begin at the beginning.
The very first step TreeKeepers learn is “The right tree in the right place.” Master Gardeners are taught “Feed the soil, and the plants will feed themselves.” Some plants want only sun, some protection from scalding afternoon rays. Tomatoes won’t do well in part shade. Plants crowded too close reduce air circulation and permit easier transmission of pests and diseases. In typical Chicago alkaline soil, acid-lovers like blueberries will struggle or just give up.
Pests often choose our plants because they are stressed, whether by any of the above issues, poor drainage (also typical of our soil), irregular watering, too much fertilizer (that makes them grow fast, and fast growth is always weak growth), or a host of other issues. Call the Master Gardener helpline, 773-265-9587, at Garfield Park any Saturday or Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. or bring us in a sample and we’ll do everything we can to help.
— Maja Ramirez, Chicago, Master Gardener/TreeKeeper #467
Breast Cancer Info
I LOVED your piece on Ann Fonfa and the others. Please take a look at this website, www.breastcanceralternatives.org.
— Lynne, Amagansett, N.Y.
Eat Low on the Food Chain
I’M AN AVID reader of your magazine, and also a volunteer for a local nonprofit. We recently did a Soy Ice Cream Food Giveaway during Venetian Night and it was so popular I thought I’d tell you about it. Our goal has always been to get Americans to eat lower on the food chain as a means to reducing the suffering on the planet. We’ve tried lots of forms of outreach to get Americans’ attention (protests, demonstrations, etc). Food giveaways, or handing out samples of the foods we would like Americans to eat, however, have truly been the most successful of all forms of outreach.
Huge carnivores who would probably mock us if we handed them a leaflet saying “eat lower on the food chain” are pushing through the crowd to try our soy ice cream samples (from Chicago Soydairy).
It’s interesting to see people’s minds open up when you get to their mind through their stomach!
Photos of the event can be found at: www.protectinganimals.org/photos_07302005.htm.
— Danielle Marino, Protecting Animals, USA
Corrections and Clarifications:
In the August issue of Conscious Choice: In the “Urban Wind Visionary” story, Bil Becker’s correct age is 63 and the word “not” was dropped from the third to the last paragraph of the story so that it incorrectly stated that AeroTurbines can spin off their towers. The sentence should have read: The new AeroTurbines are designed to self-start and cannot “run away,” or spin off their towers.