Category: Sustainability

Nuclear abolition, climate change, environmental degradation, nature, peace and justice.

Categories
Environment

Finishing the Gig

the-climate-reality-project-logoINDEPENDENCE— Last night I gave my tenth presentation for the Climate Reality Project, and have now completed 40 acts of leadership as a climate leader. This Earth week is a time to reflect on my recent experiences as part of the climate movement.

My contractual obligation with the organization may be complete, but the work will go on. Politico recently published an article based upon an interview with Al Gore, and there are some lessons to be learned.

There is no question that Gore has become a polarizing figure in the climate movement. We can’t blame him for making a living, and if he invests in companies that move the economy toward sustainability, much the better. At the same time, his $200 million net worth, and how he got it, are sticking points for many people I know and respect. That he is associated with the Climate Reality Project puts me, and others, on the defensive from the get go. I’m okay with that, but defending Al Gore is a distraction from the work, and at the end of the day, there is little about him that needs defending.

One concern expressed after my presentation was how to combat the proliferation of letters to the editor by obvious climate deniers. The answer I gave was simple. Ignore them and speak the truth. What the deniers want more than anything is to delay any change that moves us toward a sustainable future. The less we get involved in their spurious arguments, the more potential we have to advance ours. A denier with vested interests wants nothing better than to engage and distract people who seek a solution to the climate crisis.

Money is currently winning the conversation about climate, and it is not that of Al Gore or Tom Steyer, another wealthy member of the movement. The money is not from the Tides Foundation or Michael Bloomberg, which both fund environmental NGOs. The money is coming from the fossil fuels industry and from a host of foundations that want to delay meaningful government action on global warming. By contract, I work as a volunteer, where every tank of gasoline has been from my own checking account, which is miniscule compared to theirs.

The truth is on our side. Regardless of what people come up with as counter arguments, hundreds of millions of people on the planet are being affected by global warming. It is clear that the frequent droughts around the world are made worse by global warming. To an extent, it doesn’t matter that people try to deny it. At some point, and it won’t be long, the need for action will be so clear that people will rise up and take action. We are already seeing it in Syria, Egypt, and other Mediterranean countries caught up in the food shortage caused by the 2010 drought in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. We are buffered from food price spikes it in the U.S. because of our sophisticated food supply chains, but eventually environmental incidents like the 2012 drought, which caused a 20 percent decline in the U.S. corn harvest, will impact our family budget as well.

How long will it take? Al Gore, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “not long.” I am ready for the work.

Categories
Environment

Earth Day 2014

1970 Earth Day Button
1970 Earth Day Button

LAKE MACBRIDE— Needed rain came yesterday, 0.63 inches according to our local precipitation tracker. Things are greening up, and the exposed soil in the garden looks black and teeming with life. Today is a farm day, and along with soil blocking, I hope to spend time outside when my shift is done, soaking in the results of their recent work.

I don’t have a commemorative post for the 44th anniversary of Earth Day, except to say I am still here working, as are many people around the globe. While few knew what we were talking about in 1970, that’s not the case today. For that I am thankful.

The sticky wicket that is environmental advocacy must continue on Earth Day and every day. The focus should be on clean air and clean water— protecting the commons. Yet finding a fulcrum on which to turn the discussion toward sustainability is elusive as society serves the interests of capital.

Even Goldman Sachs and Warren Buffet are in the game of renewable energy, because its economic viability has been proven, and investment in solar arrays can provide a better return on investment than other parts of the economy. Wealth gets increasingly concentrated in a smaller group of people, and I’m not ready to tackle that problem.

In a little while I’ll drive my beater of a car over to the farm and get the next trays ready for seeding. It’s a lot closer to the earth than I have been— and there is much to be done before my life is done and I return there.

May your days be many and your troubles be few. Happy Earth Day!

Categories
Environment

Earth Week Celebration

Earth WeekEarth Week Celebration
Remarks delivered at Old Brick on April 19, 2014
Iowa City, Iowa

If you haven’t seen the buffalo at Yellowstone National Park, you should. One gets a sense of possibilities that existed on the plains as the herds wander and belch their way back and forth inside the park. There is space for them to seem vast, even if they are a fraction of what they once were. The herds will never return to the great plains, but to see the bison at Yellowstone made the trip for me.

If you are on the Internet at all, you have likely heard of the YouTube videos showing buffalo exiting Yellowstone. The assertion is that the giant caldera that makes the park unique is getting ready to erupt in a cataclysmic explosion that portends the end of life as we know it.  Scientists don’t agree. Yes, Yellowstone is a big volcano. Yes, it last erupted over 600,000 years ago. But no, a new eruption isn’t overdue because science doesn’t work like that, despite the activities of bison.

Here’s what does matter. The difference between natural pollution of the atmosphere caused by volcanoes and that caused by humans.

I want to discuss three more things: Mount Tambora, Mount Saint Helens, and nuclear famine.

On April 10, 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia produced the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The blast was so loud, it was heard 1,200 miles away in Sumatra. It is estimated that the eruption produced 38 cubic miles of volcanic debris.

While some 12,000 people were killed directly by the eruption, the larger death toll was from starvation and disease, as fallout from the eruption ruined local agricultural productivity, killing another 50,000 people or more.

What made matters worse was the dispersion of ash throughout the atmosphere. It darkened the sky and created climate anomalies including what we call volcanic winter. 1816 became known as the year without a summer because of weather. Crops and livestock died in much of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in the worst famine in the 19th century.

While nowhere nearly as bad as Mount Tambora, the volcanic eruption on May 18, 1980 at Mount Saint Helens is fixed in memory for people living at the time. It was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States.

If we compare them, Mount Saint Helens was much smaller than the Mount Tambora eruption. According to the index that measures these things, Mount Tambora was rated 7 while Mount Saint Helens was rated 5. We know about Mount Saint Helens because it is fixed in our memories. We should also remember Mount Tambora as it was more important.

That brings me to nuclear abolition. Recent research has indicated that two billion people may be at risk in a limited, regional nuclear weapons exchange by two of the world’s nuclear states. The reasons are similar to what caused the year without a summer. The firestorm after the exchange would create soot and ash in the atmosphere many times worse than the single year without a summer after Mount Tambora erupted. Simply put, it would be a disaster of unprecedented proportion. One that could happen or be prevented by humans.

The conclusion people should draw is there is no reason for nuclear weapons to exist and they should be abolished.

The next time people on the Internet worrying about the end of civilization as we know it based upon YouTube videos, I recommend you turn off the computer and focus on preventing disasters we can by abolishing nuclear weapons.

Categories
Environment

Earth Week Sustainability Schedule

the-climate-reality-project-logoLAKE MACBRIDE— I will be speaking about personal finance, the environment and nuclear abolition four times between April 19 and 24. If you are nearby, please consider attending one of these events:

April 19, 11 a.m.: “Alternative Living: Focus on Finances” with Solon resident and writer Paul Deaton. Paul gave up his 9 to 5 job to focus on his writing. He will describe his creative methods of putting food on the table and how he covers his expenses to survive and thrive. Part of the American Library Association Money Smart Week, Solon Public Library, 320 W. Main St., Solon, Iowa.

April 19, 1 until 3 p.m.: Soap Box Speech on the environment: “Mount Tambora, Mount St. Helens and Nuclear Famine” at the Celebration of Life at Old Brick, 20 East Market St., Iowa City, Iowa.

April 23, 6:30 p.m.: “Earth Week: Climate Reality in Iowa” at 220East, 220 East Fourth St., Waterloo, Iowa.

April 24, 6:30 p.m.: “Earth Week: Climate Reality in Iowa” at the Independence Public Library, 805 1st St. East, Independence, Iowa.

11 a.m.: “Alternative Living: focus on finances” with Solon resident and writer Paul Deaton. Paul gave up his 9-5 job to focus on his writing. He will describe his creative methods of putting food on the table and how he covers his expenses. – See more at: http://www.soloneconomist.com/content/solon-public-library-50#sthash.PGm9t3cj.dpuf

11 a.m.: “Alternative Living: focus on finances” with Solon resident and writer Paul Deaton. Paul gave up his 9-5 job to focus on his writing. He will describe his creative methods of putting food on the table and how he covers his expenses. – See more at: http://www.soloneconomist.com/content/solon-public-library-50#sthash.PGm9t3cj.dpuf

11 a.m.: “Alternative Living: focus on finances” with Solon resident and writer Paul Deaton. Paul gave up his 9-5 job to focus on his writing. He will describe his creative methods of putting food on the table and how he covers his expenses. – See more at: http://www.soloneconomist.com/content/solon-public-library-50#sthash.PGm9t3cj.dpuf

11 a.m.: “Alternative Living: focus on finances” with Solon resident and writer Paul Deaton. Paul gave up his 9-5 job to focus on his writing. He will describe his creative methods of putting food on the table and how he covers his expenses. – See more at: http://www.soloneconomist.com/content/solon-public-library-50#sthash.PGm9t3cj.dpuf

11 a.m.: “Alternative Living: focus on finances” with Solon resident and writer Paul Deaton. Paul gave up his 9-5 job to focus on his writing. He will describe his creative methods of putting food on the table and how he covers his expenses. – See more at: http://www.soloneconomist.com/content/solon-public-library-50#sthash.PGm9t3cj.dpuf
Categories
Sustainability

Talking about Ukraine

Iowa City Nuclear Free SignPoorly considered ideas of what the U.S. should do about Ukraine have been circulating in the media. A friend passed these points along to me, and here they are for my readers. They provide a perspective one doesn’t find in the corporate media.

The Putin-led invasion of Ukraine is unacceptable and has been universally condemned. At the same time, it should be recognized for what it is. The Ukrainian people have expressed their desire to integrate into the European economy and rejected what they perceived as coercion from Moscow. Moscow’s behavior is in large part motivated by the failure of their economic and political policies.

Putin’s move demonstrates that he is playing a weak long-term hand.

The wisest and likely the most effective response to Russia’s annexation is not military, it’s diplomatic and economic. No serious figure supports military action. The only people who gloss over the serious risks of escalation are those with no real responsibility for the outcome.

Increasing sanctions, taking punitive economic measures, and rallying the international community is the smartest course and thus far those are the steps that the US and our European allies have pursued– with good reason. Smart policy will balance economic and diplomatic carrots and sticks and avoid pointless provocations such as further NATO expansion.

It is downright bizarre that there are politicians and media commentators who apparently relish the prospect of another Cold War– a time when millions of people lived in fear of annihilation and hundreds of billions were spent on a pointless nuclear arms race.

Americans don’t want a Cold War and they don’t want a hot one either.

This misguided nostalgia for the Cold War misunderstands and misrepresents the current situation. This is not a global clash of ideologies.

Categories
Environment

Letter to the Editor

Self Portrait in ShadowTo the editor,

It is ironic that Gary Wattnem, a career ophthalmic instrument salesman, can’t see clearly enough to support Senator Rob Hogg and Representative Bobby Kaufmann in their opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, based on eminent domain concerns. In his recent letter to the editor, Wattnem signed as a U.S. Army officer, reminding us that old soldiers never die, but in his case, should consider taking Douglas MacArthur’s example and just fade away.

Under the Obama administration, there has been a resurgence of domestic oil production. “For the first time in nearly two decades, we produce more oil here in the United States than we buy from the rest of the world,” said President Obama on Jan. 16.

According to former oil man T. Boone Pickens on a recent episode of Iowa Press, the U.S. exports three million barrels of light sweet crude each day because of development in the Bakken and Eagle Ford formations, and West Texas. If refineries would retool to process light sweet, said Pickens, the oil could be used domestically. If foreign oil were a national security issue, that’s what we’d do.

Keystone is about getting tar sands oil to the global market, not about U.S. national security. Condemning U.S. property to serve the interests of a Calgary, Alberta based company would be plain wrong.

By throwing his uniform around the issue, Wattnem tarnished the rest of us who served.

Categories
Environment

Climate Reality in Independence

Earth Week Presentation at the Independence Public Library

the-climate-reality-project-logoINDEPENDENCE, Ia.– Paul Deaton, a climate leader for The Climate Reality Project, will make a presentation titled, “Earth Week: Climate Reality in Iowa,” on Thursday, April 24 , at 6:30 p.m. at the Independence Public Library as part of the library’s Earth Week activities.

The presentation will address the science of climate change, then focus on recent extreme weather events around the world and in Iowa. It will include discussion of the 2012 drought and last year’s weird hydrology cycle of a very wet and late spring coupled with drought throughout much of the summer, connecting the dots between climate change and the extreme weather. After the presentation, there will be a question and answer period.

About Paul Deaton

Paul Deaton is a native Iowan. He is a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, part of a global initiative with more than 5,000 leaders trained personally by former Vice President Al Gore. Deaton participated in the first Earth Day in 1970, and has been speaking and writing on climate change, nuclear non-proliferation, foreign policy and renewable energy for a number of years. He retired from CRST Logistics, Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was a director of operations. He has been a board member for a number of non-profit organizations during recent years, and worked on a number of projects as a consultant. He is currently serving a four-year term as a Big Grove Township Trustee. Deaton holds a Masters Degree in American Studies from the University of Iowa Graduate College, and is a former United States Army officer. An empty nester, he lives with his wife Jacque near Solon.

About The Climate Reality Project

The Climate Reality Project, founded and chaired by former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore, is dedicated to unleashing a global cultural movement demanding action on the climate crisis. Despite overwhelming international scientific consensus on climate change, the global community still lacks the resolve to implement meaningful solutions. The Climate Reality Project exists to forge an unwavering bedrock of impassioned support necessary for urgent action. With that foundation, together we will ignite the moral courage in our leaders to solve the climate crisis.

For more information click here.

Categories
Environment

Sunrise on Snow

Sunrise
Sunrise

LAKE MACBRIDE— Snow lies on the north side ground near the house, but not for long. The long winter is over, and once the ground thaws, spring will truly have arrived.

There are signs.

I walked the long ditch in front of our property to pick up a discarded can and newspaper. The ground was matted by the heavy snows, and sandy from snow pushed from the road by the contractor. It was also lined with acorns missed by wildlife. The hopeful sign that new Bur Oak trees will be possible— but not here, where I’ll put them under the tree for squirrels and deer to consume, if they wish.

When I arrived at the warehouse yesterday, the aisles were crammed with pallets of yard and garden goods, waiting placement before members arrived. The seedlings I planted indoors are doing okay, although the lettuce is not germinating as well as broccoli and kale. There will be more planting this week.

A retired U.S. Army soldier has been posting a letter to the editors of several newspapers around the state regarding the Keystone XL pipeline, and how we need it for national security reasons. I’ll believe that when the refineries re-tool to handle the 3 million barrels of light sweet crude being exported each day resulting from production in the Bakken and Eagle Ford formations, and in West Texas.

So begins another day in Big Grove— a place beaten down by winter, but ready for spring’s renewal.

Categories
Sustainability

Pizza, Lemonade and Crudités

vfp_logo_200IOWA CITY— I dropped off a check at the Waterfront HyVee last night to reimburse the airfare of Daniel Hale, a veteran who worked with the armed drone program in Afghanistan, to come to Iowa. When I arrived, a group of about 25 people had just partaken of pizza, lemonade, coffee and crudités.

It was the beginning of a gathering of Veterans for Peace and Catholic Workers to protest the U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle program. Saturday at 10 a.m., there is a demonstration at the Iowa Air National Guard base in Des Moines. Monday, Saint Patrick’s Day, dozens of Midwest Catholic Workers are expected to commit nonviolent civil disobedience during a second protest at the base. The events have been well choreographed, and it’s not the first rodeo for most of the folks expected to participate.

Hale spoke of his experience in Afghanistan as an intelligence soldier, focusing on a particular mission where one target was killed, along with four other people. He had no idea whether the four others were combatants, even as the military identified them as such. What he described was consistent with other narratives about how drones are used. The event was life changing for him, and should be for the rest of us.

We’ll see if the corporate media covers the story, and importantly, whether the demonstration makes a difference in U.S. policy toward drones.

Categories
Environment

Letter to the Editor

Hogg Uses Science to Explain Climate Change
To the editor of the Cedar Rapids Gazette
March 13, 2014

A March 8 guest column by Gary Ellis, “Global warming debunked,” suggested that state Sen. Rob Hogg had “confirmed” to the author that those who are concerned about climate change are acting based on “good intentions” not “good science.” That is not right.

I have read Hogg’s book on climate change, “America’s Climate Century,” and he carefully reviews the science that tells us that climate change is a major concern facing our country.

The book is an excellent introduction to the issue and I highly recommend it. It is available at area libraries.

I also have heard Hogg speak about climate change.

Again, Hogg does an excellent job explaining the science if you ever have the chance to hear him.

As Hogg points out, leading scientists have warned us that the effects of climate change are expected to increase substantially in the coming decades.

We urgently need to cut greenhouse gases and get ready for future climate-related disasters.