Finals blogging hiatus and “I wish I were here…”
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under united states
The view from Namchi
In between fevered bouts of studying for Environmental Economics and Environmental Science, I’ve been dreaming of the himalayas. Here’s an old favorite photo.
I’m officially powering down the blog for a while (possibly until after the new year, but I almost never succeed at leaving it alone). Happy holidays to all.
Tags: american university, economics, environment, grad school, himalaya, india, photography, science, united states
Footprint, schmootprint… an overconsumer’s confession
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under united states
Ouch...
Actually, this is somewhat serious. I’m an overconsumer; if everyone on the planet were to live my lifestyle, we’d need several more earths. And yet I don’t own a car, I don’t eat meat, I eat primarily organic and my landlords purchase 100 percent wind electricity. I do fly considerably more than the average person, but even subtracting that carbon output, my lifestyle is still well above the planet’s per capita biocapacity.
While all eco-footprint calculators have serious deficiencies — a finding from my semester science brief (click here for a boring PDF) — the reality is that in America, we use more than our fair share; beyond our personal consumption, our lives are supported by carbon/resource intense infrastructure and government spending, as well as social, medical and commercial services.
Interested in finding out your footprint? Click here for a simplified version from the Global Footprint Network.
I can’t be all doom and gloom — certainly we’ve made some relative strides in recent years, in environmental governance, recycling, personal habits, “green” consumption, reforestation (in parts of the globe). But such incremental eco modernization (Arthur Mol, say what?) does little to offset rising global consumption as more and more countries attempt to mimic a U.S. standard of living (Peter Dauvergne and Gus Speth know what’s up). We see real global warming and resource depletion around the world; denying that is just not an option anymore.
I believe the social scientists who say we face serious limits to growth. We need to make changes, individually yes, but more importantly as a society.
Tags: biking, carbon, conservation, eco footprint, environmentalism, natural resources, policy, united states, washington d.c.
Fertilize Me: Dead zones of the Gulf
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under united states
Green cloudy, dead water
Fertilizer runoff from the Mississippi River basin creates a tremendous environmental and economic externality as it washes downstream to the Gulf of Mexico each spring and summer. The water becomes so depleted of oxygen that life nearly ceases to exist a vast swatch of the sea.
Here’s the short explanation: Farmers, being risk averse, apply excessive amounts of fertilizers (namely nitrates and phosphorous) to their land. This invariably washes to the nearest stream or creek which feeds the watershed of the Mississippi River system. This basin covers more than 40 percent of the contiguous U.S.
Once in the Gulf of Mexico, the fertilizers fuel massive algae growth. When the algae die (or are eaten and excreted by zooplankton), their decomposition by bacteria robs the water of dissolved oxygen, which other life needs to survive.
The result: The creeping dead zone visible above in the cloudy, green water.
The problem is rooted in agricultural policy, lack of science and inappropriate property rights/controls. There are economic and social answers, but they won’t be easy. The primary one involves ag subsidy reform and taxes, which would almost certainly anger the farm lobby.
If you want to read more, click here for an economic analysis in PDF form.
Tags: agriculture, chemical, dead zone, economics, environment, fertilizer, gulf of mexico, hypoxia, mississippi, organic, runoff, subsidy, united states
Zombie makeup, dead sea captain, abstract concept
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under united states
W. M. TRADE, Captain
My costume this year was both esoteric and abstract. Keep in mind that I’m in an environmental policy program. But I’ll help parse out all the levels below. Continue reading this entry » » »
Tags: awesome, cap and trade, costume, festive, halloween, holiday, sea captain, shenanigans, united states, washington d.c.
Happy Halloween!
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under united states
I will carve thee yet
Say hello to my deformed little pumpkin.
Tags: halloween, pumpkin, united states, washington d.c.
Kale chips ahoy!
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under united states
Super(snack)food
A week-and-a-half ago, I found a two pound bag of kale for $2.50 at my grocer. That made for good kale stir fry and soup. But as I’ve raved about kale, everyone keeps telling me to bake up kale chips.
So this afternoon, while trying to wade through grad school reading, I also tossed the remainder of my kale bag in oil, shook on some Old Bay and they’re baking away as I type.
Timer just beeped. Now for the tasting.
Tags: cooking, food, kale, my kitchen, photography, united states, washington d.c.
A very present help in trouble
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under united states
Today, marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. President Obama, at the Ground Zero memorial today in NYC, gave no lofty promises, no cliched pronouncements. He read Psalm 46.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear,
even though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried
into the midst of the sea.
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake
with its swelling,
there’s a river
whose streams shall make glad
the City of God,
the holy place of the Tabernacle
of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her.
She shall not be moved.
God shall help her
just at the break of dawn.
The nations raged,
the kingdoms were moved.
He uttered his voice.
The earth melted.
The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come behold the works of the Lord
who has made desolations in the Earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the Earth.
He breaks the bough
and cuts the spear in two.
He burns the chariot in fire.
Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted in the Earths.
The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
As we all reprocess different measures of grief and plumb our own emotions, l hope we also reflect on our own troubled times and our place in the world today. And I hope we find refuge.
Tags: barack obama, bible, grief, memory, psalm 46, september 11, united states
