Give Up Coffee?
Certainly not! I think that
most coffee drinkers would have a fit if they had to give up their favorite
drink, me included, as I look forward each morning to that first smell of rich,
dark coffee, which propels me to a more awakened state so I can be a
functioning human being for the rest of the day. Many people I know drink cup
after cup of coffee throughout the day to maintain a level of alertness they
require, but I become ever more frazzled the more I drink. Although I love to
drink it, I have to limit myself to a maximum of two cups a day, with none or
decaffeinated after 6 p.m., if I hope to sleep that night.
I wonder how many people
are aware that coffee beans give off carbon dioxide. According to the most
recent survey done on the 2004-2005 crop year, 15 billion pounds of the beans
were produced. How many are aware that those delicious little beans are
“contributing” to the “global warming?” How many people
are aware that each little bean gives off five times its weight in CO2? How many
of our fellow citizens who are avid coffee drinkers would be willing to give it
up to “save the planet?” I didn’t think so and I’m not
going to either.
Actually, there is a major
change in scientific circles these days from around the world. A few of these
experts are as follows: (1) French scientist Claude Allegre, who originally
supported the Global Warming theory has recanted his belief in man-made
warming, saying that the whole concept is motivated by money, (2)
Israel’s Nir J. Shaviv has reversed his opinion saying the link between
emissions and the climate is totally circumstantial, and (3) United
Kingdom’s famous environmental activist David Bellamy has become a
skeptic. You can read more about this on page 30 of Standing Ground at www.standingground.us.
What I am trying to point
out here is that it is so easy to make someone else change their life or
sacrifice their livelihood for a principle that is not even agreed upon by the
world’s scientific community. It is no accident that a politician is the
loudest voice on this issue. Gee, could this be politically motivated?
Storm Water Run-off Program
Yes, the Regional Water
Board and the environmental community are primarily responsible for this type
of legislation as they clearly, as I have said before, do not understand how nature
works. Most of these people do not reside in rural areas, do not own property
affected by the new rules and generally are ignorant of what they are asking
the agricultural community to do and seemingly don’t care to know the
facts.
Here are some facts for you
to ponder. The way that nature cleanses land, creeks in particular, is to send
water over them. In this part of the country this only happens during a short
rainy season between November to April primarily. All of the dead leaves,
branches, wild animal droppings and other debris are swept down the hills,
through creeks or otherwise to the lowest point, which often is a river that
then carries all of this material out to the nearest sea. This is a natural
process, which has been happening worldwide since long before man existed.
Now some people have made
some decisions, which fly in the face of reality. They feel that the normal
cleaning that nature produces each year there is adequate rain to provide
run-off, must stop because it creates sediment in the river, which makes it
brown and ugly for a few days rather than clear and beautiful. It is
understandable that one wants one’s water supply to be clear of debris
but filters have allowed us to individually control the water supply coming
into our homes.
For some reason, the county
and water agencies have decided to force farmers and ranchers to halt the
passage of water across their properties during the winter, so that nothing
enters the river. Unfortunately, CALTRANS is not required to participate the
same way the private property owners are, even though they
construct gutters along the
state highways, which prevent a natural flow of water all along the highway.
Instead, water is now channeled into gutters and “downspouts” onto
dirt areas of farms and ranches increasing volume and velocity making enormous
erosion points that no one else can control. Not only is it impossible to stop
the flow to the river but, if the truth be told, this is incredibly stupid to even
propose. This decision really demonstrates the complete lack of understanding
and ignorance about how rural land functions. I hope enough farmers and
ranchers will stand up and educate the lawmakers on what ways to reduce
“pollution” in our waterways that can be reasonably undertaken. It
is simply no longer acceptable to just blame the cows and farmers, when any
thinking person knows that there is a lot more to this issue. It may not be
“politically correct” to be accurate but it will, in the end, stand
a better chance of being successful if the goal is truly to clean up rivers and
streams. Of course, if the goal is otherwise, which many believe it is, it is
simply another tool to drive people off their land or at least to take control
of it without paying for it, then the scenario is different.
Energy Options
Discussions continue on
various sorts of energy alternatives for us all, reducing our dependence on
foreign and or non-renewable sources. I have mentioned previously how expensive
I thought solar energy was at this point in its development and received an e-mail
from a company selling solar to homeowners giving me information from their
perspective. Some how, someone externally eliminated the e-mail from my
computer, which I was saving to respond to the following week, as it came in
too late for that week’s publication. I had intended to respond to it
with specific examples but was unable to. From what I remember of the e-mail,
the argument was that there was only an additional $20,000 charge to the home
price, which would be paid back by selling excess power back to the power
company. This is a correct assertion but it requires some realities that were
not possible in the situation I was describing. First, it required that the
home be located “on the grid,” which refers to a connection from
the house to a power line from the power company. In the case I cited, the
house was located “off the grid,” where, at least at present, there
was no current alternative power source. Solar, wind or nothing were the choices
available. Second, home prices being what they are today, many people are
having difficulty finding the money to buy them. Even with the plethora of
buying programs and lender options, high housing prices are keeping many
would-be homeowners out of the market. Twenty thousand additional dollars added
to the price tag could be, in some cases, the difference between being able to
afford a house or not. While I am very supportive of alternative energies in
general and have recently added a solar component to my home in the Valley, it
will need to become more competitive price-wise before the general public will
be able to use it more effectively. I know that this will happen in time- when
is the only question, but I applaud those who are trying to make it a reality.
A Ray of Hope
Did you hear about the
Little League World Championships? I so often these days feel that ethics and
good manners have taken a back seat to greed and rudeness and it’s such a
relief to see these young baseball players exhibit behavior that even my
grandmother would have cheered. When the championship between a team from
Labor Day
This coming weekend we
celebrate the working people of the world, which includes all of us here at the
Journal. We work hard, as you do, to provide a service to the residents of the
Santa Ynez Valley. We depend on the work of many other people as well- those
who print, mail and distribute our publication each week. We celebrate them as
well. We wish all of you a relaxing, fun-filled and safe holiday, coming back
to work next Tuesday refreshed and ready to carry on your good work.