Category: Sustainability

Functional Obsolescence in our Society

On By Norbert HauptIn Sustainability, TechnologyLeave a comment

Printers

I am off to taking two HP printers and one television to the “free electronic recycling” place at Home Depot this afternoon.

These two printers work perfectly, but we have a wireless one that all our devices are connected to. There are also no drivers for Trisha’s Mac or my Windows 7 PC for these anymore. So they have been boat anchors for over ten years.

This reminds me of my old HP letter quality daisy wheel printer that I bought for $900 or so in 1985. I used that to print from my DEC PDP 11/23, a minicomputer the size of a small refrigerator. When I started using IBM PCs in 1987, I had to make a special cable to connect to it, but it worked great with WordPerfect and then with Microsoft Word. It didn’t have graphics, but it was a great “automatic typewriter.” Its housing and shell was steel. Controltec was started on that printer. Eventually I bought an HP LaserJet 4L for less than $500 that replaced the letter quality printer.

I remember it hurt in the heart when I took that printer sometime in 1995 and threw it into the office dumpster. It worked perfectly. I would still be working now, 20 years later. That’s how it was built.

Functional obsolescence is one of the most wasteful byproducts of our modern tech society. I am contributing to it like everyone else. I don’t have a good answer. I recycle my old gear. But where does it go?

Is this sustainable?

Golf Courses Suck up California’s Water

On By Norbert HauptIn Sustainability2 Comments

There are 124 golf courses in the Coachella Valley in California, and they consume roughly 17 percent of all water there. Roughly one percent of the water consumed in California is used to keep golf courses green. On average, a golf course in the desert uses nearly one million gallons of water a day due to the hot and dry climate. This is three to four times more water per day than the average American golf course.

 

Land Mammals of the Earth and their Wild Brethren

On By Norbert HauptIn Feelings, Nature, Sustainability2 Comments

Randall Munroe used data from Vaclav Smil’s The Earth’s Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change (“plus a few other sources”) to create a visualization of all of Earth’s land mammals, which include us, by weight.

Land Mammals
[click to enlarge]
Link to the original article in treehugger.com here. I guess I have to buy Smil’s book to learn more about what the other green blocks are, besides the elephants. I have not verified that data, but if it’s valid, it is astonishing.

According to Smil’s data, the animals in the world are humans and their food. Humans, cattle, pigs goat and sheep make up the almost all the mammalian biomass on earth. All other mammals, the wild animals of the world, all of them together have less biomass than the goats. 34 million tons of wild animals versus 39 million tons of goats.

When I see this, suddenly I am just a bit more proud for being a treehugger at heart. I want to do more to help preserve nature for the wild animals to have a chance.

An interesting concept to keep in mind when looking at this: Should something happen to humanity, like a major disease or an apocalyptic war, our food animals would quickly disappear. Sheep, goats and cattle are not independent and smart enough to survive on their own in the wild, and their populations would quickly be decimated to a minor role or possibly even extinction. They only exist in their current form because humans created them that way. Massive amounts of habitat would open up again for the wild animals, their predators would thrive again, and the world would quickly become “wild.”

This reminds me of two books: Stephen King’s The Stand and George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides, both excellent books, by the way, dealing with what the world would be like after humans are decimated.

Here is an example of wild animals returning to nature that recently made headlines. An excellent video of the effect of wolves in Yellowstone, how the literally change the flow of rivers.

 

How I Think about Charity and Non-Profits

On By Norbert HauptIn Commentaries, Economy, Misleading Statistics, Need to Know, Sustainability1 Comment

Over the decades, when I had something to give away to charity, I would always just call Goodwill. They’d come with a big truck and haul my stuff away. In the decades before the Internet – and therefore Craigslist – when the kids grew out of their bicycles, that was the easiest way to get “rid of them” and contribute to a good cause.

Then, just recently, I saw a Facebook post to this page:

Charities
[click to enlarge]
Checking just the Goodwill section alone, this had me think that by giving to Goodwill, I have made a terrible mistake for many years, all my life, really.

Then I went to do some fact checking and found almost dozens of references to this chart being a scam, among them this site, which debunks the claims made by the above poster.

Specifically, for Goodwill, it states that:

Claim: CEO and owner Mark Curran profits $2.3 million a year. Goodwill is a very catchy name for his business. You donate to his business and then he sells the items for PROFIT. He pays nothing for his products and pays his workers minimum wage! Nice guy. $0.00 goes to help anyone! Stop giving to this man.
Facts: This claim is completely false. According to the Goodwill website: “82 percent of Goodwill’s revenues go directly into employment and training programs for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment!” Jim Gibbons is the CEO of Goodwill Industries International and his most recent compensation was reported to be $729,310. Goodwill has refuted some of these claims here.
Program Expenses:  92%

This made me feel better, and I have come to the conclusion that the only thing right about the chart above is that it is important to “Think Before You Donate.” Clearly, it’s paramount that we check out the organizations we donate money to, so we know what we are actually doing.

Finally, watching the TED talk in the video below was one of the most valuable 18-minute investment of time I have made in a long time. Even though I work with the government sector and non-profits every day, my conceptions of non-profits and charities, and the results they achieve, were completely wrong. This speech by Dan Pallotta, a fundraiser and charity expert, will change the way you think and feel about non-profits, their role in out society and their impact.

 

To get a higher resolution of this video, go to TED talks directly by clicking here.

What are Rare Earth Metals and Why Are They Important?

On By Norbert HauptIn China, Commentaries, Science, Sustainability, Technology1 Comment

On the periodic table, rare earths are in a row at the bottom called the lanthanides (the neon green row). The elements from lanthanum on the left to lutetium on the right plus yttrium and scandium are called the rare earths.

PeriodicTable
[click to enlarge]

Why are they important? They are needed in pretty much all electronics. The explosion of hand-held computers, like cell phone and tablets, has created ever more demand. The glass display, the magnets in the speakers, the headphones, the vibrating motors, all require rare earths.

Even more alarming is that all batteries contain rare earths. And batteries are becoming ever more important to fuel our insatiable need for portable devices. I can’t even count the number of batteries I carry with me, even when I go on “nature trips” like backpacking excursions.

I carry my cell phone, my Kindle, my GPS (with spare rechargeable batteries), a solar charger (with batteries) just on a hiking trip.

My Prius uses nearly 20 pounds of rare earths in its battery alone. There are over two million Priuses on the road.

Alright, we can agree rare earths are important.

Did you know that 97% of rare earths come from China? The Chinese have recognized that a monopoly on rare earths can be very valuable indeed. Why does the rest of the world not mine its own? The problem is that a major by-product is radioactive waste in the form of thorium. When the U.S. was still mining its own rare earth materials, much waste leaked into the environment, causing mines to be shut down. Alarmed by a Chinese monopoly, spurned by low labor costs, large deposits of the minerals, and lax environmental laws, other countries are now trying to catch up. The U.S., Russia, Australia, India, Brazil, and Vietnam are all looking for new deposits.

This is one reason to recycle old electronics. There are hundreds of millions cell phones, computers and other devices with on/off switches that sit uselessly in drawers, on shelves, in boxes and people’s houses – full of valuable rare earths that could be harvested. I harbor my share.

Now I know why it’s important to recycle my used batteries.

 

Food Stamps from a Russian Perspective

On By Norbert HauptIn Commentaries, Feelings, Political, SustainabilityLeave a comment

One of my readers of a food stamp article posted this comment anonymously:

Very interesting! I am from third world country (Russia). We have not such food stamp program. If you have no money to buy some food – just die. Our country don’t care about own citizens whose are handicapped or retired.

It’s Thanksgiving evening, my favorite holiday. I think about what I am grateful for. This post of only 49 words puts things into perspective for me tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nuclear Explosions Around the World 1944 – 1998

On By Norbert HauptIn Commentaries, Environmental Protection, Need to Know, Political, Science, Sustainability, Technology5 Comments

I had no idea there were 2053 nuclear explosions around the world between 1944 and 1998. I had always thought of the two deadly ones in 1945 in Japan. And I knew that the Russians and the Americans were doing their nuclear testing, but I didn’t realize the scale of it. I cannot imagine the environmental devastation and pollution scars that this has brought on our world. I live only five hours from Las Vegas. That spot of desert must be aglow at night for the next five million years.

The Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a time-lapse map of the 2053 nuclear explosions. I watched it all the way through and I am now truly shaken and astonished. This all went on while I was happily growing up, raising a family, and growing older.

Toys R Us and Corporate Stewardship

On By Norbert HauptIn Commentaries, Education, Nature, Sustainability, Wisdom4 Comments

This is an actual Toys R Us commercial that stirred up sufficient outrage with parents and educators that the company apparently pulled it from the market.

I believe it was not the company’s intention to denigrate nature education and ridicule the efforts of tens of thousands of educators in schools, childcare centers and early education professionals by portraying their quest as boring and not worthy or valuable.

I am not saying that children don’t need toys, and I am not saying that Toys R Us is evil or misguided. It’s a big box store like all others, and it panders to our thirst for commercial extravaganza.

This commercial shows how the profit motives of a major corporation does not align with those of a society in general. The motive of the corporation is to sell its product, at a profit, and win against the competition. In retail, that is by swaying the hearts of the consumers and associate happiness with the product and drudgery and boredom with the competition.

In this case, the competition is nature education. There is no way a young child can see this ad and not take away that going to the forest is boring, forest rangers and naturalists are dry and dull, but a toy store is fascinating and exiting in comparison.

Nature was the only thing we had until things changed about a hundred years ago, and considering the course we’re going, nature may be the only thing we will have in the not too distant future, unless we start educating our young to appreciate nature, its beauty and complexity, and its value to every human on the planet.

Education starts with early education. Children need to learn what is really important in life, and they need to learn it early, so they can be responsible adults. We need more early educators and nature education programs. We need trained park rangers and nature interpreters who not only have a passion for nature, but who have training in education so they don’t appear like the “boring” actor in this Toys R Us video, but as vibrant and excited individuals that children want to spend time with.

Just like oil companies don’t have an incentive to keep the environment safe, clean and healthy, just as coal companies don’t have an incentive to keep the air clean, just as insurance companies don’t have an incentive to keep us healthy, just as drug companies don’t have an incentive to actually cure us, so do toy companies have no interest in educating our children.

This is the ugly underbelly of the free market. The free market does not have the best interest of the consumer in mind.

What is the alternative?

Education in mathematics, science, philosophy, nature, art, linguistics and literature. The more educated a society is, the more educated its individuals are, the better a chance that society has to do what’s right and best for it, and to see when commercialism goes way wrong.

Toys R Us went massively wrong with this ad, and I am sure they know it now, admission or not, but one bit of damage is done to some young minds, and to the company’s image in my mind.

Highest and Lowest Earnings with Bachelor Degrees

On By Norbert HauptIn Education, SustainabilityLeave a comment

As it has been for decades, petroleum engineering comes in at the very top, with a $120k salary. And fighting around in the crowded field on the bottom, around $40k, is early childhood education.

Earnings
[click for link and credit to Planet Money]

EBT Snafu and Run on Walmart

On By Norbert HauptIn Crack-Ups, Economy, Sustainability, Technology2 Comments

With the headlines in Washington being consumed by the government shutdown and the impending debt-ceiling catastrophe, many of us may not have noticed another headline.

The national Electronics Benefits Transfer (EBT) system is the technology that replaced food stamps. EBT is used to disburse Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

SNAPHere is the government’s website, which is shut down right now.

Vulnerable households on low incomes can apply for SNAP benefits. These benefits are designed to help people afford nutritious food, while their financial situation stabilizes. More commonly known as food stamps, SNAP is responsive to changes in need, therefore people who fall into a pit of economic adversity can get financial relief quickly.

In 2010, the average person using SNAP was receiving $133.79 per month and the average household was receiving $289.61 per month. Approximately 76 percent of households using the SNAP program comprised a child, elderly or disabled person. Eligibility for the program is dependent on gross income and the rules require participants to be at, or below, 130 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.

The SNAP program is administered by the state governments, which issue EBT cards that look and work like debit cards. The government deposits money on the card, and the user can then go shopping with it. Retailers accept the card like a debit card, and run it through special swipe card machines that track the purchases. The machines are installed everywhere where retailers sell eligible goods – mostly groceries, of course.

There are only a few major contractors that implement the EBT system to provide benefits. One of those contractors is Xerox. A few days ago, Xerox apparently performed a routine system backup, and the backup was interrupted by a power-outage. We will never know the real details, but I can assure you, being a hosted systems software vendor myself, this is a systems company’s worst nightmare.

The EBT systems in some 15 states went down and the cards didn’t work. The problem was corrected within hours, as states came back online. During the shutdown, however, there were plenty of people complaining, on the media, about “how am I supposed to feed my family…?” It is mindboggling to think that people have the nerve to complain that they were somehow wronged when a system that keeps feeding them with free money shuts down for a few hours – planned or not.

Then, news in Louisiana spread that there was no limit on the EBT cards. This was another glitch resulting from the earlier systems failure and its gradual recovery. People literally stormed Walmart. Retailers reported that Walmart was busier than they had ever seen, even worse than any Black Friday. It’s amazing to me how quickly the news spread.

People with just 49 cents of legitimate funds left on their cards came in and filled up grocery carts with $700 of food and rushed to the checkout stands. Walmart continued to process purchases. Eventually, however, all the shelves were empty. The meat coolers were empty. All the goods in Walmart were in shopping carts with frantic “shoppers” trying to get away with the loot.

Then reality struck. The card limits came back online. Walmart announced over the PA system that limits were back. With no money, people simply abandoned their shopping carts in the isles and left the store.

Grocery stores cannot restock perishables. All the perishable food, all meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables cannot be restocked and had to be dumped. The restocking of non-perishable goods is an enormous task. Just picture a Walmart with all the shelves empty.

What bothers and amazes me is that we have people on welfare, who really think that when the card limits temporarily disappear because of a computer glitch, they are entitled to steal food while the stealing is possible, and do so with brazen openness. It’s like looting in a natural disaster. Those goods behind a broken shopping window, just because the window is no longer there, are open for grabs by all.

Stories like this make me feel ashamed for my countrymen.

Project West Ford – Space Pollution

On By Norbert HauptIn Science, Sustainability, Technology4 Comments

Orbital Debris
Orbital Debris
[click to enlarge]
Recently I researched orbital mechanics, space debris, the orbits of the ISS and the Hubble, in order to write a proper review for Gravity.

The image on the left shows the locations of tracked space debris.

Then I came across Project West Ford, something I had never heard of before.

I might note that Project West Ford is not included in this image.

Project West Ford (also known as Westford Needles and Project Needles) was a test carried out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory on behalf of the United States Military in 1961 and 1963 to create an artificial ionosphere above the Earth. They did this to solve a major weakness that had been identified in U.S. military communications.

During the Cold War in the sixties and into the seventies, international communications were either sent through undersea cables or bounced off the natural ionosphere. I remember how expensive phone calls to Europe were when I first came to America in 1974. I couldn’t afford them.

In those days, the U.S. Military was worried that the Soviets might cut the underwater cables, forcing the unpredictable ionosphere to be the only means of communication with overseas forces.

Somebody had the brilliant idea of placing 480 million copper dipole antennas into orbit in a huge ring.

I am using the word brilliant while being facetious.

Yes, apparently a ring of 480 million needles of about 1.78cm (about three quarters of an inch) was orbiting the earth at a height between 3,500 and 3,800 kilometers above the earth – and presumably is still there.

The antennas are 1.78cm (about three quarters of an inch) long needles. The first launch was done on October 21, 1961 when a payload of 75 pounds of the needles was deployed. This attempt failed because the needles didn’t disperse in orbit.

The second launch on May 9, 1963, was eventually successful, and radio transmissions were carried by the man-made ring. The technology was ultimately shelved, partially when modern communications satellites were introduced.

The final results of this experiment were never disclosed.

Scientists throughout the world were protesting for a number of reasons. They said that the ring would interfere with astronomical observations. At the time they were not as worried about space junk as we are now.

There were articles that explained that sunlight pressure would cause the dipoles to only remain in orbit for approximately three years. The international protest ultimately resulted in a consultation provision included in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

I have so many questions, I don’t know where to start:

  1. There is apparently a ring of 480 million needles orbiting the earth. Did they really all deorbit after a few years?
  2. Why do we never hear about this?
  3. What happened to the first batch that didn’t disperse? Is there a swarm still orbiting?
  4. If the final ring has 480 million objects, and the failed deployment has that many again, there are a billion of those things out there?
  5. Can sunlight pressure really put enough pressure on these objects to deflect them from such a high orbit?
  6. If sunlight pressure really can do that, is the ring now widely dispersed and huge?

If they didn’t deorbit, they will be there practically forever, or at least all of human existence, getting in the way of space travel in the future.

Perhaps I didn’t research deeply enough, but I can’t find answers to my questions. If any astronomy buff or orbital mechanics engineer reads this, please comment and set me straight.

Food Waste at Hampton Inn

On By Norbert HauptIn Bad Product, Sustainability, TravelsLeave a comment

I stay at Hampton Inns quite often. A couple of weeks ago I was at the Hampton Inn in downtown Albany. Their breakfasts are not elaborate, but I generally only have orange juice, eat some fruit, some yoghurt and, when they have them, I’ll eat a hard-boiled egg.

When I checked out it was about 11:00am, and their breakfast buffet closes down at 10:00 or 10:30. I was looking for a snack for the road, so I went over to the breakfast area and found they had left some muffins out. I picked up a couple, grabbed a napkin, and happened to glance into the trash can as I walked away:

Waste at Hampton Inn

Amongst the Styrofoam dishes, napkins, muffin wrappers were a whole bunch of already peeled hardboiled eggs.

It was a stinging realization.

They peel the eggs and place then into a container from which the guests pick them out with tongs. This makes it easy for the guests, but apparently they can’t save the leftover eggs for the next day.

I know that hardboiled eggs in their shells last for many days, even weeks, if properly refrigerated. For the cost of customers peeling their own eggs they could save their eggs for the next day.

I can count twelve visible eggs in this single photograph, and I didn’t do any digging. This must be going on every day.

Each one of those eggs could keep a hungry child alive for another day in Africa.

Childcare Costs are a Massive Burden for Families

On By Norbert HauptIn Commentaries, SustainabilityLeave a comment

Based on a recent article at KTVZ.com in Oregon, childcare costs have risen dramatically and income has come down. According to a report from Oregon State University, Oregon has one of the highest childcare costs in the nation, with only two other states charging more.

The average annual cost of toddler care at a child care center in Oregon is now $11,064, up from $10,392 in 2011. Those costs increased 13 percent from 2004 to 2012 while household incomes declined 9 percent.

For many families in today’s American society, their childcare bill can be larger than their mortgage. Childcare is often more expensive than college on a monthly basis.

I feel fortunate that my children are grown and through college already. If I started again today, the burden of the cost of prenatal care and birth would seem miniscule compared to the cost of raising a child – and paying for childcare.

It does not look like this trend is going to reverse, resulting in tough choices for young couples just getting started.