Co-op America’s “Quarterly” features a story that “calls for an end to the expansion of corn ethanol. Corn ethanol makes an insignificant contribution to climate solutions, and making our fuel from corn will cause a worldwide food crisis as serious as the climate or peak oil crisis. It could cause a “peak food” crisis that will be tragic for people everywhere and as dangerous as our dependence on foreign oil.”
Also on their site you’ll find Fuel Comparisons, a clickable list of alternative fuel vehicles with information about which vehicles run more environmentally efficient and which do not.
The Sierra Club “Insider” features a detailed look at why corn is not the answer to our energy needs: “corn, which is the source of 95 percent of U.S. ethanol, would reduce global warming emissions only about 15 percent on average compared to gasoline.”
Wanna get your hands dirty and show how much you care about public lands? Then join National Public Lands Day or join the Club in New Orleans on September 28-30 for a special Public Lands in Public Hands cleanup day.
Here are some very good tips from Sierra Club’s “Green Life” e-mail newsletters:
- Only 10 percent of cosmetic ingredients have been screened for safety. Find out what’s in your favorite brand at safecosmetics.org.
- More than 2.5 million tons of electronic waste is dumped into landfills each year. Find a responsible recycler for your old computer at http://www.computertakeback.com/.
- Too inconvenient to take transit to work? Start or join a carpool: Reducing the number of cars on a congested road by 5 to 10 percent through ride-sharing can minimize delays by 10 to 30 percent.
- Americans use 400 million miles of toilet paper each year. Look for recycled rolls with at least 20 percent postconsumer content. (I recommend Seventh Generation’s brand of the two or three that I’ve tried.)
Go GREEN or go home!
s.
Filed under: conservation, global climate change, green living
