Monthly Archives: October 2013

Needs So Basic We Take Them For Granted

Climate, Needs (Human), ,

DSC00686 Air with water vapor

DSC00687  Water for growing food

DSC00689 Water for drinking

This is dedicated to former Vice President Al Gore for holding  the 3rd  “24 Hours of Reality Project” which this year is dedicated to the theme, “The Cost of Carbon”.

We assume that the air we breathe and the water we drink are readily available and pure.   We assume the same for the irrigation water for crops.  The truth is that we cannot take these for granted any more.

The oxygen in the air is not under assault but air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is making it less than healthy in many places.  We need pure air.  As for the oxygen in the air,  divers are pushing the limits on how deep they can dive without a breath, but this surely is not more than a few minutes, even for people in peak condition.  Pollution in  the form of ozone fine particulates, and other contaminates is causing many people to suffer respiratory disease.

Pollution of air in the form of carbon dioxide is causing both the air and water of our planet to heat up, causing climate change.  This change is happening so fast it is already causing many problems, and we have only warmed up 0.8 degrees Celsius since before the industrial revolution began.  We are on the cusp of these problems worsening ever more rapidly, because a vicious cycle is getting started.  The higher carbon dioxide in the air is causing both the oceans and the air to be warmer.     One example is that this is causing  even more warming in the arctic to melt the sea ice which causes the water to absorb more warming sunlight, and to melt the sea ice even faster.

We all know we have to have water to drink.  The saying goes that we cannot go much more than three days without water to drink.  Beyond that, our environment needs water in the right amounts for our food to grow, and to help keep wildfires in check.  We are beginning to dry out inland, because the extra heat is evaporating the water more quickly.

So both we, and the environments on which we depend are in need of pure air and pure water.

 

 

 

What Are a Person’s Basic Needs?

Needs (Human), ,

DSC00549Clothing 2013 Jul 2007, Towanda, Grace (2)Jul 2007, Towanda, Grace (14)In elementary school I learned that we all need food, clothing, and shelter.  These are basic needs, which can be met in many different ways.  Let us just look around, and confirm this.  there are so many ways that these have been provided in different places and around the world, some simple, some less so, but basic needs are always the same.

 

5th Week of My Garden

Garden, Kitchen,

DSC00663

DSC00664

 

After looking at elephant ears and plantains, this garden is doing very poorly.  It is now the fifth week after planting, and regular watering, plus fertilizer have only helped my radishes get a bit greener (shown).  This did not help my lettuce, though.

Of course, long term I’ll amend the soil.  It is still possible that there is not enough light, because two years ago I had fewer elephant ears, less tall plantains, and lower neighboring trees.   It may be that some things will begin to flourish in the new year as the days get longer again.  Some of that happened two years ago.

A major difference is our soil, lead free in the garden, but maybe largely nutrient-free as well.  Our soil in the rest of the yard tested very fertile, with virtually no recommendations for amendment.  What we had planted seemed to have grown better.  True, we did start with some partially grown plants in places of our garden.

Right now it looks like we may get at least some parsley, dill, cilantro, sage, radishes, cabbage, broccoli, beets, carrots.  The jury is out on our chives, onions, lettuce, mesclun, sorrel, basil, oregano, and marjoram.  Next stop is the garden store to get already started plants that grew well two years ago.

I’ll keep watching and learning.