The Red, White, and Green

Old-growth redwoods in Redwood National Park. That insect-sized creature at the bottom of the frame is me; the height of the photo was cropped by over two-thirds and I couldn't even get the tops of the trees in the original shot.

With all the focus on buffoons like Donald Trump (lauded climatologist that he is) pointing to this winter’s nonstop snow storms as evidence that global warming isn’t real, I’d like to reiterate that what we’re really talking about here is climate change. In this sound bite–driven world, semantics matter; the term global warming, while it describes what is likely happening to our planet, doesn’t paint a clear enough picture of the more visible changes in weather patterns that may be occurring as a result.

Case in point: California’s ancient coastal redwoods may be threatened due to declining summer fog levels, according to a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In the study, fog levels were found to have diminished by nearly three hours a day over the last century, increasing the likelihood of drought stress and eventual loss of trees.

From Reuters:

“Fog prevents water loss from redwoods in summer, and is really important for both the tree and the forest,” biologist Todd Dawson of the University of California Berkeley said in a statement.

…Dawson and colleagues estimated the frequency of fog by looking at weather records, especially airport records dating back to 1951.

“Since 1901, the average number of hours of fog along the coast in summer has dropped from 56 percent to 42 percent, which is a loss of about three hours per day,” said Berkeley’s James Johnstone, who led the study.

The researchers aren’t certain if the cause is natural climate variations or human activity (they’ll be looking at that in a future study), but I think we can all agree that the loss of these trees would be absolutely devastating, not just to the organisms that are part of this unique ecosystem, but to humanity as a whole.

I had a chance to visit Redwood National Park in October, and at the risk of sounding hokey, it was one of the great experiences of my life. To walk for hours among the very trees that had been there since before Christ was born — had stood in this same place at the time the Incas built Machu Picchu, and when Mozart wrote his first symphony, and while John Adams signed the Declaration of Independence…well, there are no words to describe it. I get choked up even trying to write about it.

The bright side is that these trees are incredible survivors: Coastal redwoods (or their very close relatives) existed as far back as the time of the dinosaurs, and goodness knows the climate has undergone myriad changes since then. But with just 5 percent of the world’s ancient redwoods left standing, it remains to be seen whether there will be enough to withstand the climate change we may be facing in the years ahead. We can only hope.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Send a donation to the Save the Redwoods League, which has been working since 1918 to protect and restore our redwood forests.

Related posts:
The ultimate green Christmas: Rent your tree
Put a (real) cork in it

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Photo via Flickr: Nexeus Fatale

I sometimes wonder if the TSA ban on liquids is a secret ploy to encourage the sale of bottled water at airport shops. OK, so I don’t really believe that. But for those of us who have become dependent on our Kleen Kanteens et al, there aren’t really a lot of options for a decent H20 fill-up at the airport.

This, I realized, after three weeks of traveling that took me through five US airports. It was heartening to see that recycling bins for cans and plastic bottles have now become commonplace, but if I didn’t want to cave and purchase a $4 bottle of Aquafina, my only options were to either: a) fill up my reusable bottle from the sink at the airport bathroom (fine at O’Hare, with its top-ranked tap water; pretty gross at LAX); or b) go to a restaurant/bar and ask to be filled up (usually met with weird looks).

I realize that green airport is an oxymoron — after all, the flights I took over the past few weeks emitted 2.5 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere — but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to eliminate waste whenever possible. A lot of airports now have green initiatives that include recycled building materials, energy-saving lighting, and even miniature wind turbines to generate electricity; why not install filtered water stations by the gates where passengers can fill up reusable bottles before their flights? The airlines could even conceivably get behind such a measure, since less passengers requesting water on board would reduce their costs.

I’m not reinventing the wheel here; these “water stations” used to be a common sight in this country before advertising agencies snookered millions of us into paying for what is essentially free tap water in a plastic bottle. They were called drinking fountains.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Before filtered water stations become a reality, check out EcoUsable’s Ech2o stainless steel (and BPA-free) reusable bottle, which has a built-in filter.

Related posts:
Boxed water BS
Recycle those filters

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Photo via Flickr: Pylon757

Leave it to the innovative folks at Southwest Airlines to develop cutting-edge environmental design and initiatives for its fleet while most cash-strapped carriers are charging for checked luggage and making passengers flush before they fly. The company announced yesterday that it’s currently testing a “green” plane that reduces emissions and makes use of eco-friendly interior materials.

I’ve never actually flown Southwest — I’ll be taking my first trip with them this November — but I have to say that I’m pretty impressed with the eco features in the “green” Boeing 737-700 now in beta. (I put green in quotation marks because it’s pretty ridiculous to put that word in the same phrase as something that emits, on average, 2.4 tons of CO2 on one round-trip flight from New York to Los Angeles; still, I applaud Southwest for its efforts.)

Some of the new plane’s features:

• 100 percent recyclable carpet that can be installed and removed in sections, eliminating the need for full replacement
• Two different seat cover materials – e-Leather, made from discarded leather shavings, and IZIT Leather, a long-lasting synthetic alternative — that will reduce weight by nearly two pounds per seat
• Lightweight foam fill in the seat backs (supposedly more comfortable, too)

All told, the new initiatives will save a total of nearly five pounds per seat, which will help cut fuel costs and thereby reduce emissions.

Until Branson perfects his biofuel, the name of the game for reducing air travel emissions is efficiency. There’s so much that can be done with inventive design and flight plan optimization — all it would take is for more airline executives to think outside the cabin, so to speak. I’m amazed it’s taken this long for anyone — including Southwest — to start working on these things. What’s good for the environment is also good for the bottom line.

To read more about Southwest’s environmental initiatives, click here.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: It’s not something that people like to talk about, but you know what else is adding to the carbon cost of flying? Americans’ expanding waistlines. All the more reason to keep yourself fit and healthy!

Related posts:
Stopping deforestation five times more effective than carbon capture technology
Eco-friendly road trip: Just follow Nathan

Photo via Flickr: Gidsicki

I thought this would be an apt follow-up for yesterday’s post about carbon capture and storage. Why should we waste billions of dollars on developing and deploying a technology that is, at best, a stop-gap measure with the potential for unknown and catastrophic consequences when we can utilize the natural resources we already have? To wit: A report issued today by WWF-Sweden that says preserving natural forests is five times more cost-effective than CCS:

Stockholm, Sweden – WWF Sweden is urging its government — holding the current EU Presidency — to get behind an effective international agreement on halting forest loss as a key and highly cost effective measure on climate change.

“Sweden should follow the examples set by its northern neighbors in developing systems to halt deforestation,” said WWF CEO General Lasse Gustavsson. “One Swedish krona to stem deforestation results in the same emissions reductions as five kronor for the controversial carbon capture and storage technique.”

Gold in Green Forests, a report issued today by WWF-Sweden, says that next to energy efficiency halting forest loss and degradation is the most cost-effective method for mitigating climate change.

Alright, so the report is in Swedish, but you can read the summary here.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Deforestation is responsible for 2o percent of annual CO2 emissions. One of the most important things you can do is to only buy paper products made from recycled materials (or use a cloth alternative, when possible). The National Resources Defense Council estimates that if every US household swapped out just one four-pack of traditional bath tissue (made from virgin fiber) for the recycled version, it would save nearly 1 million trees a year.

Related posts:
Green wedding: Give up the gift wrap
Sustainable reading

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Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park; Photo: Jennifer Grayson

Looks like you better hustle up and plan that camping trip: Thanks to his blue-pencil veto authority, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut an additional $6.2 million from the California state park system on Tuesday — in addition to the $8 million already designated by the legislature — which is expected to result in the closure of more than 100 state parks. (The original estimate was for 50 closures; no small potatoes, but still considerably easier to swallow than the prospect of shutting down over one-third of the state’s 279 parks.)

It has not been revealed yet which parks and beaches will be shut down; in the meantime, state park officials and nonprofit organizations are working to secure private funding in order to keep them open. 

At this point, I’d be grateful to see a corporate sponsor step in (Coca-Cola Canyon?) if it meant stopping the devastating snowball effect — lost jobs and admission revenue, decreased tourism, increased wildfires — that is sure to result from these closures.

Hey, here’s a novel idea: Since Gov. Schwarzenegger’s poor fiscal decisions are largely responsible for the state’s economic crisis, why doesn’t he host a Hollywood fundraiser to come up with the $14.2 million? I’m sure he could even cough up his own sizable (and tax-deductible) contribution. 

Since this isn’t likely to happen anytime in the near future, here’s what you can do:

• Through the California State Parks Foundation, send a letter to your legislators urging them to keep state parks open (you can do this even if you live out of state). 
• If you work for a large company, spread the word about the need for corporate sponsors.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Photo via Flickr: Max Wolfe

I’m heading off to Northern Wisconsin for a week’s vacation with my family. I figure it’s important to unplug once in a while and connect with nature outside the borders of Los Angeles County (I do write an environmental blog, after all). Besides, recent studies say it’s essential to good health.

And yes, I will be purchasing carbon offsets for my flight to get there, even though the jury is still out as to how effective these actually are.

Articles will be published this week, thanks to the technological genius of advance scheduling (though forgive me if I fail to comment on any particularly timely news, since these posts were written in advance). I’ll be back next week with a (hopefully) refreshed mind and a renewed perspective!

–Jennifer Grayson

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I’ve always loved road trips. Once you’re outside the city, there’s nothing like the peace and quiet of the open highway, watching the scenery and having no obligations other than to the thoughts in your head or, if you’re blessed with a great traveling partner, to those of the person next to you. I’m always in awe of how spectacularly beautiful this country is, and how vast; every time I open an atlas (which I do more than most people, since my husband and I like to choose the scenic route when traveling), I find myself in a tizzy at the endless opportunity for exploration.

Alas, it’s going to be a while before our next road trip, but luckily I can now live vicariously though Nathan Winters at FollowNathan.org as he bicycles — yes, bicycles – from Maine to Washington state to raise awareness about land and nature conservation. Nathan started the ride on May 10, and is using social media to track his every pedal: blogging and tweeting and vodcasting as he meets farmers, park rangers, and other stewards of the earth along the way. He’ll also be raising money on his journey for The Nature Conservancy, with a goal of $50,000 by trip’s end.

It’s not too late to follow Nathan, who at last check just left Ithaca, NY. Consider it your carbon-neutral summer road trip!

–Jennifer Grayson

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Feeling guilty about not celebrating Earth Day earlier this week? Want to make a real difference in our city? (How about just an excuse for a little exercise and a beautiful day in the SoCal sun?) Join 30Barack and North East Trees (and me!) from 8 am to 1 pm tomorrow on the California State Parks Foundation’s Wetland Restoration project at Rio de Los Angeles State Park just north of downtown Los Angeles. (8 am on a Saturday morning too early? Come by later for a couple of hours.)

The park is situated along the LA River, which in 1995 was named the second most endangered river in America. The revitalization of the park is seen by many as the key to the future Los Angeles River Greenway, a network of riverfront parks that will extend from the western San Fernando Valley to Long Beach Harbor along the 51-mile LA River corridor, connecting neighborhoods and increasing water quality along the way. At the event, we’ll be learning about native plants and wetland ecology, removing non-native invasive plants and planting native species, and most of all, having FUN!

To read more about the Rio de Los Angeles State Park project and sign up for the event, click here.

–Jennifer Grayson

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