Enviro-mental

Today I spent six hours in the car. I had business to attend to in a city three hours away. It was the kind of trip I’m glad I don’t make often, and the kind that makes me cringe with guilt every time I step on the accelerator or put gas in the tank. I’m sure there are numerous people out there who’d like to give me a green hand-print across the wrist, but life is life and sometimes these trips are required. At least I drive a Civic.

To keep myself awake for the drive, I tuned into the local news. I perked up with the mention of gas prices ($50 to fill up the Civic this morning!), which have gone up about $0.10/L over the past week. These are the same gas prices expected to top $1.50/L by mid-summer and apparently, by 2012, $2.50/L (Stats from today’s Globe and Mail).

Fine. So obviously we have a little bit of an economic crisis looming with a full doubling of prices at the pumps. But the announcer shocked me with what she said next - that car manufacturers are working hard at producing cleaner Diesel engines for the “short-term” when gas prices are high.

Short-term? It must be the first time that phrase has been used with respect to the environment.  Does this reflect a lingering notion that global warming is a problem for which we’ll soon find a solution?

Our planet doesn’t work that way when faced with irreversible damage.

We need long-term solutions, and (whether by force from the government or by their own will), car manufacturers seem to get this. I saw numerous hybrids on the road today, in fact.

Who here thinks gas prices will go back down after they go up? And who can afford to buy a new car every time market forces change?  Buying a new car to save a few dollars until prices come down is ludicrous.

Oil is non-renewable. Period. Get over it. And next time you buy a car, look into permanent earth-friendly alternatives instead of a temporary fix.

Happy Earth Day!

And in the spirit of an “Earth Month”, I’ve been leaving my computer off more and more…at least that’s my excuse for the sparse blog posts lately. But it is true. With nice weather finally here I’ve found much more to do than play around on the Internet.

Getting out and about has also showed me all the new “Green” products there are. Previously dark store windows have sprung natural spring cleaning products (classics like Ecover and newbies like Method brand from Shopper’s Drug Mart); reusable containers and green pet care products. Outside, I see car sharing; people walking, biking and blading; a stand with fresh fruit and veggies from the same continent I’m standing on. It’s refreshing, in so many different ways.

Behind the clarity of sunshine, however, I see a battle brewing between eco-friendly and green.

That’s the best way I can put it. There finally seems to be a consensus among businesses, the government and the public that we need to be more environmentally accountable. It’s how to do it that is the problem. Should we focus on cars or packaging?

Corporate and industry support is great, but it seems some are putting on a green front to gain business.

For example, pretend you’re in dire need of a special ingredient for an outdoor garden party tonight. You can buy either locally-produced but wrapped in Styrofoam, or imported but packaged in biodegradable wrapping.

This past year I took a course in Food and Nutrition Policy. It really opened my eyes and got me thinking about the future – urban agriculture, sustainability…these were all new terms to me.

But one of the most memorable items came from a professor who introduced the term local trap: the assumption that local means better.

So now I try to remember that there are costs and benefits to every technology; every product and every purchasing decision. For now, I find it incredibly difficult to decipher which choice is best – but at least now there are choices.

Researchers in Texas have picked up where the U.S. government left off more than 10 years ago: they’re trying to grow algae for fuel.

Algae is a quick-growing plant that gets all the energy it needs from the sun, making it a renewable source. Growing algae on vertical gardens reduces the risk of contamination from other species, and decreases evaporation of the water used in ponds, algae’s natural habitat.

There are more than 65,000 algae species, with an estimated thousands more yet to be identified.  Some species contain more than 50% oil, or lipid, which could be turned into biofuel.

When the U.S. government abandoned research on microalgae it was thought algae could never compete with oil as a fuel source. But with the price per barrel of oil rising by a factor of five since 1996, algae is being given a second look.

Some high-lipid species of microalgae are also used to produce vegan fish-free omega-3 fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is essential for healthy growth and development in children. In adults, omega-3s benefit brain function and cardiovascular health.

For vegetarians who do not eat fish, algae is the only known direct source for DHA. Otherwise, their bodies must manufacture it from other omega-3s, which is an inefficient process.

Not too long ago bamboo was being touted as the new renewable eco-friendly fabric for everything from clothing to rugs and floorboards.

Well, algae is the new bamboo - renewable, plant-based, ecologically grown and harvested. With its multitude of benefits for fuel and food, it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing a lot more of it, very soon.