Writings From the Grassroots

The Human Footprint: On National Geographic Channel

Have you ever wondered what happens with all of the stuff we throw away?  Have you ever wondered where the material comes from that all of our stuff is made of?  If you've never had those questions perhaps it's time to begin to ask those questions. The Human Footprint is a special presentation produced by the National Geographic Network that will show us what happens to all of the stuff we throw away.  It will also show how much we as American's consume and how these amounts compare to families in other parts of the world.  Here is an excerpt from the National Geographic website, "

Our human footprint doesn’t end after we buy and consume things; the final impact occurs when we discard items – and we Americans discard four-fifths of a ton of trash per person, per year.

Here are the numbers: Americans generated 251 million tons of trash in 2006, the most recent year for which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has data. Our per capita trash disposal rate was 4.6 pounds per person, per day. Sixty-five percent came from residences, while 35 percent came from schools and commercial locations such as hospitals and businesses.                

Where does it all end up? Fifty-five percent gets buried in landfills, 33 percent gets recycled, and 12.5 percent goes to incinerators."  to continue reading click HERE to be redirected to the National Geographic website.

Clean Air Initiative

Last summer as I was walking into Anazao Coffee Company (the best place to get coffee in the Imperial Valley) a poster on the window caught my attention.  The poster announced an "Asthma Walk" fund raiser sponsored by the American Lung Association.  I dialed the phone number on the flier and from that moment on began my involvement in the Clean Air Coalition of the Imperial Valley.  Monique Lopez is the Clean Air Coordinator and she has done an amazing job organizing the Clean Air Coalition.  The main purpose of this coalition is to bring awareness of the air quality and finding tangible solutions to improve the it.  This of course is no easy task to accomplish.  You see, we live in the Imperial Valley "The County's geography and location leads itself to be an area of high concentration of particulate matter and other types of pollution.  Imperial County is located on the south eastern corner of California and is adjacent to the Mexican Border. Within the same air basin, due to NAFTA and the maquiladoras in Mexicali, there is much semi-trailer trtraffic trucks which releases diesel emissions and industries in Mexico that do not operate at EPA standards.  Imperial County is a valley in the the desert surrounded by mountains. 
This bowl-like condition provides little escape for air pollution to disperse, instead conditions are heightened.  Moreover, it is a rural agricultural community and manyo of the activities from this industry and other industries in the region contribute to increased particulate matter and other types of pollution.(From the CAIR Website)."  Click HERE and you will be re-directed to the Clean Air Initiative website where you can learn more about our cause.  If you live in the valley I highly encourage you to take a look at the CAIR website if you don't live in the Valley you this website is a good place for information on air quality and air pollutants.  Join us, won't you?