State of the Union

I didn't get to see the State of the Union, but I did get to read a transcript of it, and I am disappointed (but not really surprised) by the token section on the environment. It seems that Bush is most concerned with reducing US dependency on foreign oil -- a valid concern, but somewhat missing the point. Replacing foreign fuels with domestic fuels won't make a bit of a difference for climate change if 2 things don't happen: reducing our overall consumption and switching to sustainable, renewable energy sources.

On the bright side, Bush at least mentioned climate change in this State of the Union, a first for him. And diversifying our fuel sources is important, but his focus on ethanol is misguided. Problems with ethanol include the fact that it doesn't offset very much CO2 since fossil fuels are required in growing plants suitable for ethanol production; as well as estimates that 97% of the area of the US would need to be converted to the growing of plants to produce ethanol in order to fulfil our energy needs. Not a very promising solution, in my opinion.

Bush called for a 20% increase in fuel economy standards for cars in the next 10 years. This is a good step, but is just not enough. It also doesn't address the underlying problem of Americans being overly dependent on their cars. Perhaps a call for increased public transportation and the like would have been more on target.

His most egregious lip service to the environment comes when, in the midst of talking about reducing our demand for fuel, Bush states that we need to step up our domestic oil production. Not a surprise coming from a former oilman, but really, how do you sell that as good for the environment? He didn't even try. Not to mention that increasing our domestic oil production basically involves drilling in ANWR -- the rest of US production peaked in the 70s, and we currently produce only 30% of the oil we consume. Even if ANWR were opened it would produce anywhere from 30 days to a little over a year of oil for the US. The reality is that we don't have options for domestic oil production, period. Its just not there.

Bush says, "America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. These technologies will help us become better stewards of the environment – and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change." We're not on the verge of technological breakthroughs -- there is no magic machine that will fix all this. We have technological advances that we should be implementing already -- wind and solar power, cogeneration, decentralized energy, passive solar architecture, efficient appliances and transportation -- but we're just not. Plus, it would be folly to depend on technology alone to fix climate change. We also need to come to grips with the fact that we need to consume less, and that technology can only go so far to cut our emissions before we need to make sacrifices in the things we expect out of life. We maybe need to not expect to have 3 cars and a giant house. Maybe we shouldn't expect to take international flights at discount rates. Americans can have a high quality of life without high levels of consumption -- but its not politically savvy to say so.

In any case, I don't expect American culture to change overnight, so blathering on about it probably doesn't help anything. At this point it would be a huge step forward just to push for more dramatic increases in fuel efficiency for cars, and to make a big push forward in renewables. Every little bit helps; lets just hope that that little bit isn't, um, too little.

Dissertation time

Classes started this week, and I'm enjoying them so far. This semester I'm taking Participation, Policy & Planning; Rural Development; and Management of Environmental Sustainability. In addition to classes, I have to come up with a Dissertation proposal for my research project this summer. I have a couple ideas, and I want YOU to help me decide.

First Idea: Something to do with local food systems in Scotland and/or New England. This might be something along the lines of figuring out how much food is produced locally vs. how much is consumed locally, or how to increase demand for local food systems....something like that.

Second Idea: Writing a book targeted at people who want to do their part to reduce their contribution to climate change but have no idea where to start or who think recycling is a good way (hint: it's not). The book would be organized by how easy/difficult a change is to make (i.e. replacing light bulbs vs. buying a hybrid car), and each change would have a rating of how much of an impact it has. The research to figure out the effectiveness of common improvements/changes would probably make up the bulk of the actual dissertation. Also, a book exactly like this might already exist, so I'd have to rule that out first for this option to work.

Okay, now I'm counting on you to click on the little "Comments" link below this post and leave me a message saying which one you think I should do. Or let me know if there is some other idea you have. Thanks for weighing in! I should have the verdict in, uh, a month or so.

Surviving in the cold

Another reason I am so enamored with Edinburgh: it's winter is much milder than Boston's. The usefulness of this became clear this week, as our boiler (which supplies our hot water and our heat) died on Sunday or Monday. We tried to fix it ourselves on Monday with no luck. On Tuesday we called the landlord and let her know. Wednesday, the maintenance guy tried to fix it, with no luck. This morning a boiler repair guy came out and decided he couldn't do anything until someone removed the cupboard around the boiler. So the maintenance guy came back shortly thereafter and removed the cupboard. Now I'm waiting for the boiler guy again. Its a good thing I don't have a job or classes this week, and that I can just sit here all day waiting for various people to try to fix this.

So, its been cold. But manageable. With a couple sweaters on and a double layer of socks, and a hat, and periodic huddles in bed under the extra-thick duvet, its been just fine. On Tuesday we tried to warm up the flat by baking. Lots of baking: apple pie, brussel sprouts, potatoes, roasted chestnuts. Which warmed up the flat for about an hour. Then it got cold again. This made us realize how drafty our windows were. So Aaron went and bought draft-proofing ('draught'-proofing in Scotland-ese) supplies: this foam tape that you apply to the seams of windows, and double glazing film. This was very easy and quick to install, and moreover it was cheap. And its pleasantly not-as-frigid in here anymore -- I was able to lose the hat, and I'm no longer hiding under the bedcovers.

Now, I feel a bit sheepish for not realizing how badly we needed draft-proofing earlier, and for avoiding it before because it seemed like a lot of work. Well, it made a big difference and was super-easy to install. If you feel so inclined to pay less in heating bills and have a warmer house (and help the environment to boot), do this simple test: put your hand, a tissue, or a candle up to the bottom of your windows; if the candle flame or the tissue move, or if it just feels cold and drafty to your hand, you could use some draft proofing. So pop over to your local DIY/Home Depot -type store, and pick up some super-cheap draft proofing supplies. Its a breeze (sorry, just couldn't help myself).

Meanwhile, its nice to know we could survive the winter here without heat...but all the same I really do hope they fix it soon. I'm running out of sweaters.