Juggling Dynamite

We now know that 20-30% of human-made green house gases come from today’s industrial agriculture.  Yet very few people acknowledge that our present food production systems are the greatest source of climate degradation.  Even less are taking action.

Restoring health and balance in our biosphere requires us to dramatically reduce emissions and repatriate large parts of the carbon that is already in the atmosphere.

Fortunately some are leading necessary evolution in agriculture and soil management techniques.  Consumers also have a responsibility to be selective in our food choices in order to drive demand in the right direction.

‘The soil will save us’ author Kristen Ohlson, discusses these important issues, in an interview at this audio link.

Over the holidays we hiked and biked (my favorite mode of transport) through California where Teslas are everywhere and the low-carbon-all vegan Impossible Burgers at the Crossroads Restaurant are delicious (coming soon to restaurants near you).  We toured state of the art wind and solar farms, as well as cutting edge agricultural operations that have invested in efficient and sustainable, drip irrigation systems (a must in one of the most populous and productive agricultural regions in the US in the midst of a multi-year drought). It is truly exciting and inspiring to see the multitude of innovation that smart, enlightened businesses are coming up with.

But most of all, it is incredible to see how still tiny their market spread is to date, and how truly enormous the demand and ongoing growth for these products and technologies is from here on out.  Technological revolution is not only here and now, it is going viral, and after some intelligent upfront investment–is so much cheaper, smarter and sustainable than the old world alternatives.

So far President-elect Trump and his self-proclaimed business geniuses seem to be completely missing the boat on this one.  Perhaps self-serving financial interests and sunk costs in status quo systems are the impediment to vision here.  But there is no question that investing in renewable, efficient energy and water systems are the sustainable, economic boom that the world is wanting and needing today.  This is clear to all but the most obtuse.

Wind farms have come a long, long way.  New turbines are 300 hundred feet tall, silent and can turn on as little as 7 mile an hour winds.

As of December 31, 2015, California has 6,108 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity.^[1] California’s wind power capacity has grown by nearly 350% since 2001, when it was less than 1,700 MW.^[1][2] As of the end of September 2012, wind energy (including that supplied by other states) now supplies about 5% of California’s total electricity needs, or enough to power more than 400,000 households.  California presently ranks third nationwide in terms of capacity, behind Texas and Iowa.^[1] The turbines in the wind plants are privately owned, with the electricity sold to the local utilities. For reference, about 40,000 MW of wind-generated electricity is required to displace 1 quad of primary energy consumption for fossil-fueled power generation.

The City of Palm Springs is now self-powered on its own wind and solar farms.  And this is just the tiny tip of the iceberg.  The growth room in this area is unprecedented.

The next simultaneous boom leg is building out storage capacity and an inter-continental grid for seamless power sharing. On that note, Tesla flipped the switch on the first third of its Gigafactory in Nevada this week.  By 2018, the Gigafactory is set to double the world’s production capacity for lithium-ion batteries and employ 6,500 full-time workers.  Math suggests that 100 of these Gigafactories will provide enough captured renewable energy to power the entire world.   The future is bright, but we have to embrace evolution.

As we grow older, a common refrain is that we must slow down, take it easy and not keep exerting our physical bodies. The trouble is laying back accelerates physical frailty and a self-fulfilling weakness. The reality is use it or lose it.  This story about a french cyclist (a little over twice my age) offers inspiration for continued commitment to daily physical exertion at all ages.

After completing 14 miles (92 laps) within one hour, the 5 foot tall (smaller dogs live longer than large, is it the same for humans?), 105-year-old, retired french fireman said: “I’m not a phenomenon.  I’m not looking to make progress. When you get up over 100 years, you can’t mess around…Tonight, I’ll party with all my friends.”  Words to live by.

For one hour on Wednesday afternoon, a 105-year-old Frenchman pedaled around a velodrome outside Paris. Before a small crowd and dozens of cameras, he completed 92 laps without stopping. And when his hour was up, his only complaint was that his arms hurt.

The man’s name is Robert Marchand and he holds the world record for distance covered on a bicycle in an hour by anyone at least 100 years old. He didn’t break it on Wednesday—which means the mark he set when he was 102 still stands—but he managed to stay on the bike. He considered his distance of 22.547 kilometers (14.01 miles) a victory in itself.   Here is a direct video link.