Supporting Fossil Fuel Companies Makes Not Sense! Here is You Chance to do Something!

A majority of Americans now believe that excess carbon in the air leads to climate change and the weather extremes we have been experiencing are going to get worse. Rather than continuing to support companies who enjoy enormous profits for contributing to climate change shouldn’t we support alternatives and try to reverse the ominous forecast?

Why are fossil fuel companies getting tax breaks, financial assistance, royalty relief, and many loopholes that benefit the fossil fuel industry? Under current law, more than $113 billion in federal subsidies would go to oil, coal and gas industries in the coming decade. Do they need this money? No! In 2011 alone, the Big Five oil companies, alone, made $137 billion in profits!

Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation Thursday to end billions of dollars in oil, coal and gas subsidies.

You can support this new legislation and end polluter welfare by making your voice heard here.

Extreme Weather Survival In “The New Normal”

Recently we had a week of weather with temperatures 40 degrees above normal!  A few weeks before, 75 tornadoes ripped through Indiana, Illinois, North Carolina and other states, with winds as high as 175 mph, completely wiping towns off the map, killing people and destroying billions of dollars of property. As hundred thousand people mourn and try to begin to put their lives back together, those of us a safe distance away wonder why no one is looking at the big picture and wondering who is going to pay for this?

FEMA – The Bottomless Barrel of Money

Last spring when Lake Champlain flooded over 200 year records, and last fall when Irene washed away villages in Bermont, FEMA the Federal Emergency Management Authority came to the rescue with human power and money to restore thousands of miles of roads and infrastructure. Now, once again, FEMA will be be counted on to rescue Americans who had the misfortune of living in the path of mother nature during a new era, the era of cataclysmic weather!

NASA and NOAA predict the frequency and intensity of freakish weather will not only increase over time but the rate of increase will climb as carbon dioxide and methane levels climb in the atmosphere. This means that we can expect more powerful storms and other extreme events more frequently, going forward, as they say! No worries, though, because FEMA has plenty of money to rebuild after each Katrina, Irene and tornado hit.

Survival of Extreme Weather Events

How can you be prepared for the next unexpected epic extreme event? FEMA suggests:

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries (better yet a hand-crank, solar charged flashlight!)
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Manual can opener for food
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

And don’t forget your portable Aero Press Coffee maker! It’s a necessity for quality coffee under any circumstances, whether camping or emergencies.

It is reassuring to know that FEMA will always be there for us, unless at some point in the future, our leaders decide that part of government is too big! But in the meantime, there is plenty you can do to ensure the survival of yourself and your family in coming extreme weather events. Be prepared!

Out With Oil Company Giveaways, In With Clean Green Energy!

Today at the University of Vermont President Obama gave a one minute synopsis of his energy policy.  Who would argue with this except oil company executives?

 End Billions of Dollars in Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Ever wonder why the alternative energy companies  can’t get expensive ads telling us how clean coal and clean natural gas can solve our energy problems?  It starts with the oil lobby giving tens of billions of dollars to our politicians and then the politicians giving tens of billions of dollars of our tax money in subsidies at a time when fossil fuel companies are rolling in money! Think there is nothing we can do about it?

Here is Bill McKibben of Middlebury College and 350.0rg telling us we can do something about it. We aim to get every member of Congress on the record, and tell us where they stand on these unbalanced subsidies. Sign the petition and find out more at 350.org.

Water is more valuable than oil!

Think gas prices are high, wait till you see what happens to the price of a gallon of water! Experts have been warning us that clean water demand is quickly exceeding supply. What happens when something we need for survival is no longer available? Read more about why water is about survival here. It’s not going to be pretty, folks. It’s a survival issue!

Want to do something about it? Email us and we will send you a free brochure from World Water Day, which by the way is on March 22nd! Just email us and we will send a free informational brochure in a pdf format.  Don’t just stand there, do something about it!  Submit your water event for March 22nd here!

Free Products!

Happy March! In celebration of our early spring (fingers are crossed!) and in a shamelss effort to promote our products and spread good will we are giving away our products every week!

This week we are giving away two outstanding environmental videos. First we are giving away ‘After the Warming’  (episode 1 and 2) and the National Geographic Polar Bear Alert! Both videos are in VCR format and in good condition. Both are well-documented informative educational videos sourced by leading researchers and scientists.

How do you get your free videos? There is no obligation to buy anything or even pay postage! Of course we would like it if you got the word out, tweeted us, said a public thank you or bought our products. But all you need to do is this. Just send us an email telling us who will be using your videos!

Thank you, and while you are at it check out some of  our other products!

Image: NRC.gov

Did you know there was a nuclear war on Mars? Did you know that climate change was a hoax? Did you know that the ice sheets are growing? How do we know something is true or not true and what is the source for myths? People in our society don’t seem to ask questions about sources when talking about facts and plenty of people play it loose with reality and report fishy stories because they don’t follow up. Cliff Clavin doesn’t need sources but is he all that different from us when we don’t ask for sources for information?

Science research is easy to source since papers are published and peer reviewed. Following the source back to peer-reviewed papers and data verifies that the source is credible. This entertaining and interesting short video shows how the media doesn’t do its job in following up on the information trail and sources they are reporting on. Great science peer reviewed journals include Nature, Science, Scientific American and New Scientist.

Apocalyptic Weather: You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet!

Unless you have been avoiding the news and life in general, the epic weather conditions are starting to get noticed. The record floods, heat, snows, tornadoes, fires, and more importantly, their after-effects are waking up even die-hard climate change deniers.  Although extreme weather and unpredictable systemic impacts have been predicted by NASA and NOAA climate models, the mainstream media is actually paying attention and getting nervous. Not only is extreme weather dangerous, unpredictable and enough to spoil your party, destroy your home and way of life, it is conceivable that it will change our lives sooner rather than later.

As weather becomes more unpredictable,  and extremes happen more often, we will all be looking for ways to survive and thrive in spite of it. This will test the abilities of our elected leaders and it will test our character as a society. US military leaders have been engaged in strategic planning for for some time and it is important that ordinary people plan for the impact of climate change as well. Our governments cannot protect us from Mother Nature! What are some of the impacts and what should we be doing to be safe and live well?

Unpredictable Weather will result in:

Flooding. Large quantities of moisture rising off warmer than usual oceans are creating bigger, wetter weather systems resulting in flash floods, enormous snow packs and floods several feet above flood stages in some places. If we have a wet summer in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, for example, many homes and camps and parks now under water will stay uninhabitable, possibly for some time. Aside from the social consequences and health issues of thousands of septic systems overflowing into the lake, which supplies the water to hundreds of thousands of people in the valley, the monetary damages are already exponential.

Tornadoes. We are seeing tornadoes in places that have never experienced them before like Vermont and Massachusetts. The high school where I work with 1400 students and a couple of hundred adults has an underground fallout shelter with a capacity of 100. Severe weather bulletins happen at a moments notice. Building shelters in public buildings for tornado events will be very costly.

Crops. This spring many farm fields were washed out repeatedly, after spreading fertilizer, after seeding, and after growing had begun. Climate models show that the wheat belt will migrate into Canada as the climate warms. What does this mean for a state and a nation that is used to being a bread basket and agriculturally-based? Food producers will become wealthy and poorer countries without basic commodities will become hungry.

Melting ice packs. Melting polar and continental ice is draining freshwater supplies in places where there are large populations. Californians and Arizonans to mention two states, know this already. In countries with billions of thirsty people, with little or no water, or with water being owned by private companies or used for industry, it is logical that we will see social unrest and political instability. This will become expensive.

I am not predicting an apocalypse but it is possible that there will be some panic, some finger-pointing and some disruptions unlike anything we have ever seen. It is possible we will see the federal government having to prioritize what it can afford to support in the FEMA budget as disasters become even more commonplace. It is possible that food and energy will become much more expensive and continue to erode your standard of living. Although this is not a popular view, the lions share of energy use and carbon pollution comes from business and industry. Scientists say the climate models show that the difference between doing nothing about carbon emissions and curtailing them will result in avoiding cataclysmic climate impacts during the next 20-40 years. So what can you do so you will be prepared for these possibilities or worse, if it happens?

For Your Health and Survival

1. Be prepared for disastrous weather that is sure to come. This means find a place to live far above your local flood plain. Make sure you have an emergency shelter.

2. Learn to grow your own food, preferably without fertilizers and pesticides which may become expensive, as they are made from crude oil.

3. Get a good water filter or a still. You need clean water every day.

Lifestyle Changes That Will Minimize Climate Change Impacts

1. Carpool whenever you can. It will save money and improve your social life!

2. Become politically active and lobby your congressional reps and senators to curtail carbon emissions immediately. Since business and industry contribute the most to climate change, even widespread personal activism will not equal the efforts of modest commercial changes.

3. Support local farmers and community sustainable agriculture. Food that is grown locally and without carbon-based chemicals lowers our carbon footprint.

4. Use energy wisely. Energy costs are predicted to skyrocket in the coming years. Most of our energy comes from coal and other fossil fuels that put a lot of carbon into the air. Unplug.

5. Recycle, reuse, repurpose. When we reuse and recycle our stuff, whether it is cars, clothing, or toys, it costs less energy and less money.

6. Minimize your lifestyle.

7. Actively work towards solutions. One highly regarded organization that is approaching climate change and other significant problems is Solutions. Solutions is a nonprofit print and online publication devoted to showcasing bold and innovative ideas for solving the world’s integrated ecological, social, and economic problems.  Chek them out and join the team!

In your own home, you can save money and energy, up to thousands a year. Get our ebook here: How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Energy in Your Home.