A Carbon Diet For Your New Year's Resolution: Frugality That'll Save Your Wallet and the Planet

Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of talk about how people need to lower their carbon footprint, but outside the eco-community, most people don’t even know what a carbon foorptint is. When the topic comes up, the questions are always: What is it and how does it affect me? Here’s an attempt to answer those questions.

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At its most basic level, a carbon footprint is the total impact one person’s activities has on the environment during any given day. A big part of it has to do with how much unrecyclable trash is generated, and power used - generating greenhouse gases - to operating things like household appliances and systems, electrics, and transportation.

The family carbon footprint is important for two reasons - slowing the outflow of money from the household budget and preserving the global environment.

The health of the global environment directly affects every wallet in many ways, including the cost of food. What most people eat that isn’t locally grown, and if the climate shifts where that food is grown, it either won’t be available anymore or become a lot more expensive.

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U.S. Justice Department Sues For BP Oil Spill Clean Up Costs

BP oil spill. Photo courtesy of freshnessmag.com.

Alleging violations of federal safety regulations that may have caused or contributed to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S. Justice Department has just filed a civil lawsuit against BP and eight others.

“Even though the spill has been contained, the Department’s focus on investigating this disaster and preventing future devastation has not wavered,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement.

“We intend to prove that these defendants are responsible for governmental removal costs, economic losses, and environmental damages without limitation” under the Oil Pollution Act for all removal costs and damages caused by the oil spill, including damages to natural resources, he added.

The complaint says that several key safety and operating regulations were violated in the period leading up to the oil spill, including:

• Failing to take necessary precautions to keep the Macondo Well under control in the period leading up to the April 20th, 2010 explosion.
• Failing to use the best available and safest drilling technology to monitor the well’s conditions.
• Failing to maintain continuous surveillance.
• Failing to use and maintain equipment and material that were available and necessary to ensure the safety and protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources, and the environment.

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Endangered Ecosystems Across The World To Be Restored Through New International Agreement

We are inseparably tied to our planet’s health. Plants and animals - along with their ecosystems - are continuing to decline because of constant pressures.

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Some might wonder what this has to do with the lives of average people. The main reasons include:

• The cleanliness of fresh water drinking sources.
• Maintaining food supplies, especially from ocean sources.
• Developing medicines from undiscovered plants for current and coming diseases.
• Decreasing air pollution through the expansion of forests, which purifies the atmosphere.

One of the biggest concerns talked about at the recent United Nations Convention on Biodiversity was the adverse impact of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems, including rising sea levels, coral bleaching, and ocean acidification.

Coral bleaching happens when the conditions necessary to sustain the coral’s life can be maintained. Live coral reefs provide habitat for at least a quarter of all marine species.

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Idaho Won’t Enforce Newly Reinstated Federal Law Protecting Endangered Gray Wolves

The court has ruled, but that doesn’t mean the war is over when it comes to the issue of protecting the northern gray wolf from illegal hunting in the western states.

Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolves. Photo courtesy of Howlingforjustice.com.

Late last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service obeyed an order from the District Court of Montana that repealed a 2009 decision which took the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf off the endangered species list.

To enforce the new court order, the agency published a final rule in the Federal Register reinstating the wolf’s protections in the following areas:

• Oregon.
• North-central Utah.
• The eastern third of Washington.
• The northern half of Montana.
• The northern panhandle of Idaho.

The order also restores special rules identifying the gray wolves as “nonessential experimental populations” in the remaining areas of Montana and Idaho. This means, according to the agency, that “anyone may legally shoot a wolf in the attack of any type of livestock on their private land or grazing allotment, and anyone may shoot a wolf chasing or attacking their dog or stock animals anywhere except national parks.”

This right to kill doesn’t apply to the gray wolves that are considered part of endangered populations. Endangered wolves are subject to additional protections. Livestock owners are prohibited by federal law from killing wolves considered part of endangered populations, even if they are seen actively chasing, attacking, or killing their livestock. Only government officials are allowed to kill chronically predatory wolves that are classified as endangered.

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U.S. Navy Successfully Tests Algae Fueled Boat in Move to Lessen Foreign Oil Reliance

Sailors conducting manuvers aboard an experimental riverine command boat powered by alternative fuel of 50 percent algae-based and 50 percent NATO-76 fuel oil. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Josue L. Escobosa.

Among other ripple effects, the rise of volatility in the Middle East has also been a strong motivator for the U.S. to seek more energy independence - through renewable resources and biofuels - as a matter of national security.

Last spring, President Barack Obama spoke on energy security at Andrews Air Force Base, saying, “the Pentagon isn’t seeking these alternative fuels just to protect our environment. They’re pursuing these homegrown energy sources to protect our national security.

“Our military leaders recognize the security imperative of increasing the use of alternative fuels, decreasing energy use, reducing our reliance on imported oil, and making ourselves more energy-efficient.”

Last week, the U.S. Navy tested an experimental riverine command boat which used an alternative fuel of 50 percent algae-based and 50 percent NATO-76 fuel oil. The test was part of the Navy’s initiative to reduce the fleet’s reliance on fossil fuels, and was part of a series of tests that are scheduled through 2012.

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