June / July 2008 Newsletter
Your
Water Footprint:
The water footprint is built
on the carbon footprint concept, measuring the amount of greenhouse
gases produced by various activities; similarly, the water footprint
encompasses all of the water required to produce the food, goods and
services used by any individual, community or nation.
(The water footprint of the
- Cars:
at least 32, 000 gallons of water are used in the
production of the steel needed for ONE car
- Gas:
1.75 gallons of water are used in the refining of one gallon of
gas
-
Clothing: 101 gallons of
water are required to produce one pound of cotton
- Meat:
1500 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of beef;
one pound of corn-fed chicken requires 287 gallons of water
-
Beverages: 37 gallons of water go into one cup of coffee; 30
gallons are required to brew one beer
- A bottle
of water: in addition to the water in the bottle, one gallon of
water is needed to produce the plastic bottle.
To calculate
your water footprint and to learn more about how you can use less
water, go to www.h2conserve.org.
Then go down to
From: SHEPHERD EXPRESS,
6/9/08
Plastic
is Forever:
There is in a
section of the Pacific Ocean, twice the size of the continental
Plastic is
forever – virtually every piece of petroleum-based plastic ever made
is still in existence!
You can help keep this plastic continent from growing larger by
refusing to purchase items made of plastic or food in plastic
bottles, including water.
Go to
www.thepetitionsite.com if you would like to make a pledge.
Gas
prices – ouch!
Do you drive
“easy”? Or is your foot
heavy on that pedal? Did
you know that for each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph, you are paying
an additional 20 cents per gallon for gas?
According to a “greenslowmovingvehicle” website article, the
EPA is confident that you wouldn’t have any inclination to go as
fast as 65, and of course, no one EVER exceeds the legal limit!
So pay attention to how you drive in the 50’s and going into
the high 60’s. Speed is
one of the major factors in determining how much oil it will take
you to get from one point to the next.
Drive easy and conserve!
(Note: Even jets
these days are slowing down to save money!)
A “drive
easy” emblem is available at the website.
(From:
www.greenslowmovingvehicle.squarespace.com)
No End
in Sight:
By
this time, most Americans believe we may be mired in Iraq and
Afghanistan for a long time to come, and even that a new
administration will be unable to bring the occupation of these
countries to an end because of long-term commitments made to the
present Iraqi government,
as well as the building of many bases there, some of which
are only partially finished.
Some of our leaders are still trying, however.
Senator Russ Feingold has introduced the Feingold-Reid Bill
(SB 1077) to End the War in
Other
Legislation to Support
- The
Climate Security Act (S3036), authored by Sens. Lieberman and
Warner, was defeated in the Senate this week.
This cap and trade bill was a complex effort which did
not meet scientific standards to combat global warming.
A new bill introduced in the House by Rep. Markey
(D-MA), “Investing in Climate Action Policy Act, aka the
iCAP bill, is an improvement; it would cut carbon
emissions 85% below 1990 levels by 2050 and invest in green
workforce training, among other stipulations.
Nine out of ten citizens
support a five-year plan to phase out carbon-based
energy. Now we
need the leadership to take us there!
- Part of
the Defense Appropriation Bill pending is money for the Space
Test Bed. Last year,
Congress rejected the amendment which would have provided funds
for this project. The
Space Test Bed would put dedicated space-based weapons in orbit
for the first time. They
would not provide an effective defense against missiles since
they could be attacked from the ground; however, they would be
useful for attacking satellites.
Instead of defending our safety, therefore, such a system
could put at risk critical satellites used for communications,
weather forecasting, and other global needs.
-
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (HR6003),
being introduced in the
House, will reauthorize Amtrak.
At a time of oil shortages, rail becomes ever more
important.
From
the League of Conservation Voters’ 2007 Environmental Legislation
Scorecard:
- Senator
Russ Feingold – 93%
- Senator
Herb Kohl – 93%
- Rep. F.
J. Sensenbrenner – 20%
-
Senator John McCain – 0% -
Senator McCain missed all
15 votes scored in 2007, including the key vote on repealing tax
giveaways to Big Oil.
Monday, June 16 - 7 p.m. – Port Washington Police Dept. Community Room
Make your presence felt -- let Congressman
Sensenbrenner know your opinions about important issues like the
occupation of
Another
Thought about Voluntary Simplicity:
A suggestion
from a “Jubilee Year” article by Arthur Waskow is worth
implementing: “We
might also use every seventh year to do an inventory of all we
possess, asking ourselves whether we need to keep it, the extent to
which we actually use it, and how much attention we’re paying to its
upkeep and preservation.
Think of this as a year-long preparation for a garage sale in which
everything that isn’t purchases is either given away, recycled or
discarded. The result
could be a movement toward voluntary simplicity that would produce
self-liberation and the opportunity for better connection with the
involuntary poor.”
(From:
Proclaim Jubilee!, Arthur Waskow)
First
Annual Sustainability Fair and Earth Day Celebration:
On Saturday,
April 26, approximately 100 people braved the chilly, windy weather
to attend this event, and everyone had a great time, did some
learning about environmental issues, heard two great addresses, and,
if you were lucky, were given a free low-energy light bulb!
In fact, we are already planning our next year’s event.
For a longer report, please go to our website:
www.ocaf-wi.org.
And thanks to all who signed the petition to pass the Great
Lakes Compact – it has now been approved by the
Coming Events: Summer Video Series:
OCAF is
sponsoring FREE showings of the following videos in the locations
listed, followed by small group discussion.
Popcorn at all showings!
- June
23 (Monday) - 7-9 p.m. - WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY? -
Cedarburg
Police Station Community Room,
- July
22 (Tuesday) – 7-9 p.m - THE ELEVENTH HOUR –
-
August 27 (Wednesday) – 7-9 p.m. - BUYING THE WAR
- An
exposition of the role of the media in the
-
September (no date set) – 7-9 p.m. – NO END IN SIGHT?
A comprehensive and
devastating look at the Bush Administration’s conduct of the
A Parting Thought:
“What kind of peace do we seek?
Not a PAX
John F. Kennedy, President of the
F.Y.I
Senator Kohl:
(202) 224-5653
http://kohl.senate.gov/contact.html
Senator
Feingold: (202)
224-5323
http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html
Rep. J.
Sensenbrenner: (202)
225-5101.
http://sensenbrenner.house.gov/contactform