Study: Production of Enough Plastic to Cover Aregentina Causes Havoc

[If you can't see the video, 
please go to www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com.]


Thank you Marshall Carter-Tripp for a Voice of America story, Study: Production of Enough Plastic to Cover Aregentina Causes Havoc. It says:

July 19, 2017

TORONTO — More than nine billion tons of plastic has been produced since 1950 with most of it discarded in landfills or the environment, hurting ecosystems and human health, according to the first major global analysis of mass-produced plastics.

Nearly 80 percent of this plastic ended up in landfills or the environment and production in increasing quickly, researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, said in the study published on Wednesday.

Less than 10 percent was recycled and about 12 percent was incinerated.

"If you spread all of this plastic equally, ankle-deep, it would cover an area the size of Argentina," Roland Geyer, a professor of industrial ecology and the study's lead author, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "It is an enormous amount of material that does not biodegrade ... I am very worried."

Burning plastics contributes to climate change and adversely impacts human health, while build-ups of the material can hurt the broader environment, Geyer said.

Packaging is the largest market for plastic and the petroleum-based product accelerated a global shift from reusable to single-use containers, researchers said.

As a result, the share of plastics in city dumps in high and middle income countries rose to more than 10 percent by 2005 from less than 1 percent in 1960.

Unlike other materials, plastic can stay in the environment for thousands of years, Geyer said.

There are more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the world's oceans, according to a 2014 study published in a Public Library of Science journal.

This build-up harms marine life and ecosystems on sea and land, Geyer said.

If current trends continue more than 13 billion tons of plastic waste will end up in the environment or landfills by 2050, researchers said.


Some resources:

10 Tips for Living with Less Plastic

100 Steps to a Plastic-Free Life

Two Years of Living Plastic Free: How I Did It and What I've Learned

Canary in the Coal Mine

Sierra Club image

When prophet, seer, revelator and polygamist, Brigham Young, beheld the Great Salt Lake Valley, he proclaimed to his fellow Mormons (Latter Day Saints): "This is the place." The Mormons had treked nearly 1,300 miles from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Salt Lake to escape the persecution they had suffered at the hands of - well - some Christians. Of course, they would discover that the lake was not a fresh water lake but a salt water lake. Nevertheless, obedient to their prophet, they made do with the territory, thrived as a community, and extended their empire throughout the west and their religion throughout the world.

Today, the Great Salt Lake is drying up and it is not alone. Other saline lakes and the Colorado River Basin are doing so as well. (That Basin by the way is responsible for 15% of our food and $1.4 trillion of economic productivity.) It's not only the case of the mismanagement of water in the west, it's the result of the total contribution of principally industrial societies to global warming. 

Western yellow-billed cuckoo
Image from the Audubon Society

The drying up of these lakes is taking its toll on bird habitats. It's long but worth reading - the Audubon Society's Executive Summary—Water and Birds in the Arid West: Habitats in Decline. The online summary has great pictures, maps and charts.  The declining ecosystem and bird populations should be a warning to humans. It is, as Marshall Carter-Tripp informs us, a matter of the canary in the cage in the coal mine. An op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, Saline lakes are drying up across the West — and putting birds at serious risk, is not just an aviary problem. It forebodes human problems. The Times piece puts it this way when looking at the decline of one species in particular, the western yellow-billed cuckoo:

"Why should we care about the western yellow-billed cuckoo? Well, for one thing, the effects of water loss on birds tell us a lot about how falling water levels will affect humans. Birds are highly sensitive to ecological changes, which makes them excellent indicators of environmental health. When colonial seabirds start abandoning nesting sites en masse because of dramatic drops in water levels, as occurred in the Salton Sea in 2013, or are forced to relocate because of toxic dust kicked up by winds blowing across dry lake beds, we know that humans soon will feel the effects of those changes."

John Fleck, a journalist who lives in New Mexico, says this in his blog post for today, birds and water in a changing West:

"This is a critical point in thinking about contemporary water/environmental politics. It's not enough to simply say "But the birds!" Environmentalists' greatest chance for success requires helping ensure reliable supplies for the people, because without that the environment will always take the hit."

John Sproul teaching students

It is encouraging to see the work of the Audubon Society and other "prophets and seers" to reclaim critical water features. Here in El Paso, we have the extraordinary work of John Sproul (the John Muir of El Paso) to revive the Rio Bosque Wetlands. He is assisted by the Friends of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. 

[Remember the birding trip hosted by our local Audubon Society this Saturday. More info in yesterday's blog post.]

Marshall Carter-Trip "Nature Matters" Collection Officially Unveiled

Marshall Carter-Tripp and Rep. Jim Tolbert after the unveiling of the Nature Matters Collection. 
Photo by Neysa Hardin.

The Marshall Carter-Tripp "Nature Matters" Collection was officially unveiled at the Memorial Park Branch Library (MAP) yesterday evening. This new special collection which focuses on the natural world is now a part of the City of El Paso Public Library. Topics range from trees to water to sustainable energy to wildlife conservation and anything else related to our natural world and the human role in it!

Two years ago Marshall Carter-Tripp contacted me with her vision for a "library" of books she wished to donate. She wanted a place where others could borrow these books about ecology and the environment and where people could add other books to the collection. We discussed different places where people might find the books. However, publicizing the collection and having an accessible place for the collection where people could easily come to borrow books proved to be difficult. For a while they were housed at the Frontera Land Alliance office. 

Not long after my election to City Council, I suggested that we talk to the City of El Paso Public Library. I spoke with Quality of Life Interim Director, Dionne Mack. She immediately began working with library staff to make Marshall's dream come to reality. As Representative of District 2, I asked that the collection be housed at the Memorial Park Branch Library, a very centrally located place for the books. With the help of Director of Libraries, Mark Pumphrey, and others, Marshall's collection was cataloged. Last night it was unveiled in a ceremony presided over by Mr. Pumphrey with Nicole Ferrini, myself and, of course, Marshall Carter-Tripp as the speakers.

The City Library plans future events highlighting the collection.

Poignantly, the unveiling occurred on the birth date of the late and beloved ecologist, Kevin von Finger, who contributed greatly to the protection of environmental treasures in El Paso.

Representative Tolbert and the El Paso Library encourage donations of books to the Nature Matters collection, on topics ranging from trees to water to sustainable energy to wildlife conservation, and anything else you have found interesting related to our natural world and the human role in it!  Donations can be made at any library branch, or the Main Library Downtown.  Please mark them for Nature Matters, and include your name for the book plate!

If you would like to make a monetary donation for this collection,  make your check to the El Paso Public Library with “Nature Matters” in the memo line. Send it to: Technical Services Dept., El Paso Public Library, 501 N. Oregon, El Paso, TX 79901.

Click on the title below to see the books donated by Marshall Carter-Tripp which currently make-up the collection:

Nature Matters Collection Titles

El Paso's Natural Open Space: Some Questions for Policymakers and Citizens

Just words on a sign. The picture was taken in 2010. What progress has been made on the Palisades open space since then? Ask the taggers not the City.

[The following was written by elpasonaturally reader, Marshall Carter-Tripp. Not only are her points and questions thought-provoking, they represent the frustratioon that many citizens have with the open space policies of the City of El Paso. elpasonaturally had always looked at the Boulder, Colorado ordinances as the best examples of controlling sprawl and preserving open space. Do not expect the any strides in a similar direction from the current reactionary El Paso City Council. To do the right thing will require a sea change in the next two City Council elections in which conservation-minded persons are elected and the sprawler puppets retired.

The Open Space Advisory Board meets tomorrow, September 2nd, at 3PM in City Building 3, 801 Texas Avenue, in the unmarked Thorman Conference Room in the basement. The meeting is open to the public and there is a public comment section at the beginning of the meeting for any item not on the agenda.]

Through the PSB stormwater set-aside and the City of El Paso’s Quality of Life funding for Open Space acquisition, El Paso can preserve hundreds of acres of undeveloped Open Space, for the benefit of those who live here – humans and wildlife.  This effort began with City Council approval in late February 2007 of a master plan entitled ”Towards a Bright Future: A Green Infrastructure Plan for El Paso, Texas” (the Open Space Master Plan). A few months later the Plan was awarded the Excellence in Planning Award from the National Association of Recreation Resource Planners (This plan, unfortunately, is no longer readily available on the internet.)   Implementation moved slowly; Council created an Open Space Advisory Board some two and a half years later, in June 2009.   This Board makes recommendations to Council about priorities under the master plan.  It has no authority to require that any action take place; even its ability to discuss various is limited. 

The, perhaps inevitable, result is that Natural Open Space is not a priority for city management and the goals laid out in the Master Plan do not appear to be incorporated into city staff activity.  For example, the Open Space Master Plan calls for expansion of Keystone Heritage Park (as does the City’s Parks Master Plan).  In July 2012 the Open Space Advisory Board progress report noted that the city had purchased 29 acres south of Keystone Dam, which could be used to buffer Keystone.  But in early February 2015, supporters of Keystone learned that the city’s Environmental Services was planning to build a large trash collection site on this land. The possibility that the land in question might contain unexplored cultural resources had not been investigated.   Leaving aside the considerable noise and debris inherent in a trash collection station, which could seriously affect the quality of a visit to Keystone, the decision to build it meant that the Keystone expansion goal could not be realized.  The city had already taken no action to buy land to the north of the park, land that was now under development.

Taking a second example, the Palisades Canyon land acquired by the PSB once it had the purchasing power (the Master Plan had considered it too expensive to list it as a key goal).  Hikers and bikers had visited these 202 acres for many years, despite the “no trespassing” signs.  Usage expanded once the parcel was purchased by the PSB in 2010 and a “welcome to the Palisades” sign was installed.  Nearby residents noted, however, that many of the users did not adhere to the announced rules, such as dogs on leashes, and no private motorized vehicles.  Graffiti appeared along the trail and was not removed, even after requests were made to the streets and maintenance graffiti unit. (The city’s website asserts that graffiti removal is done in public spaces, specifically citing parks.  Apparently because the Palisades is not a park, and the graffiti cannot be seen from the street, removing it is not important.)  Trucks and other vehicles go up the trail almost every day, now apparently to service the transmission tower at the end of Sierra Crest, built in mid-2015.  These are not PSB vehicles; who granted an easement for this traffic?  How much such traffic could be tolerated in Natural Open Space? No city agency takes responsibility for what happens in the Palisades – the “official owner,” the PSB, has no component to supervise Open Space, and the Parks and Recreation Department will only occupy itself with the trailhead, once constructed.  To date even a doggy bag dispenser is lacking.  (And as the Palisades is not a city park, the dog waste ordinance would not apply, so could fines be levied?) 

The city has not supplied staff for other components of the Open Space inventory.  Keystone land is owned by the city, but it has been entirely built and maintained by a private charity, and public outreach is through its Friends of Keystone group.  Similarly, the Rio Bosque wetlands, now owned by the PSB, are managed by UTEP, and a private non-profit Friends group manages public involvement.  Park Partnerships are available for designated city parks, for help with equipment, maintenance and cleanup, but these Natural Open Space areas are not city parks.

Let’s consider what has been done in some other southwestern/western cities.  Boulder is perhaps the poster child for Open Space protection.  Voters there approved a city charter amendment in 1959 that restricted the provision of city services to development below a certain altitude, protecting the mountain from development.   In 1967 the citizens of Boulder followed with a special sales tax to provide revenue for Open Space.  Boulder County then created a Parks and Open Space Department, now celebrating its 40th anniversary.  Key to its operation is a partnership arrangement in which businesses, civic groups, and individuals provide financial and volunteer support to monitor and care for the 100,000 acres plus of Open Space now preserved in Boulder County.

http://www.bouldercounty.org/os/getinvolved/pages/ospartnership.aspx
https://bouldercountyopenspace.org/40/

Nearer home, Albuquerque has nearly 30,000 acres of city-owned Open Space, based on the 1988 comprehensive city plan, complete with Visitor Center!  (And there are many more neighboring acres under state or federal control.) Volunteer programs allow for “adoption” of particular Open Space, and the Open Space Alliance serves as a “Friends of Open Space” group.  Albuquerque’s land is managed by a division within the Parks and Recreation Department.  The management principles are to: 

• Conserve Natural and archaeological resources; 
• Provide opportunities for outdoor education; 
• Provide a place for low impact recreation (in some but not all of the Open Space land), and
• Define the edges of the urban environment. 

https://www.cabq.gov/parksandrecreation/open-space


Looking at these success stories, we in El Paso might ask ourselves:

#1  Where does the acquisition of Open Space fit in Council’s Strategic Plan, if it does?  What concern, if any, is there for conservation of El Paso’s unique asset, the mountain range, excluding further development on it?

#2  Is there a schedule for acquisition of land, and what is the goal in terms of acres?  (El Paso is fortunate to have the Franklin Mountains State Park, nearly 25,000 acres, comprising the largest urban park in the country. But these acres are not enough!)  Should Council consider setting aside at least one meeting a year to review progress and remind staff of the Open Space and Parks Master Plans? 

#3  What might trigger creation of an Open Space division, with staff, in the Parks and Recreation Department?  And associated programs for partners for Open Space or Friends of particular Open Space areas?  (The Parks Department page on the city website shows Marci Tuck as the Open Space, Trails and Parks Coordinator.  Ms Tuck left the department in mid-May, 2015.  Apparently her role is not important enough to replace.   In any case she had no responsibility for open space per se, just connections through trailheads.)

#4  How are citizens to interact with the OSAB and the PSB regarding land acquisition or other Open Space concerns if they cannot attend the daytime meetings and speak during the Call to the Public?  Who determines how much of the PSB Open Space fund is used for Park Ponds rather than the purchase of Natural Open Space?  How can citizens affect these decisions?

- Marshall Carter-Tripp

Happy World Water Day or Is It?

Dry Rio Grande riverbed. Photo from El Paso Inc.

Happy World Water Day!

Or is it so happy? Here's a sprinkling of stories just from this past couple of weeks:

Most of you have noticed that water has yet to begin flowing in the Rio Grande in our upper and lower valleys. But not only is water a problem here in El Paso and New Mexico but throughout the Western U.S. Read Sheila Collins for a global perspective: The West's Coming Tragedy of the Commons.

El Pasoan, Dr. Marshall Carter-Tripp, expands on the global issue and brings it home in her excellent article Where Have All the Rivers Gone in the must-bookmark blog, Border X Roads.

Many thanks to Michael Bray, owner and manager of  EXIT West Realty in El Paso. He shared another great web site with us: GreenBuilder. In it Sara Gutterman posts The Energy-Water Nexus and discusses water conservation-smart homes.

EPWU has a recommendation for a water smart home. Yet, like most things in El Paso City government, it sits on a shelf - the victim of disapproval by the El Paso sprawlers - those developers and builders who don't give a hoot that we have more land than water. Moreover they want you and me to pay for their expansions instead of accepting very affordable impact fees - and just 75% of those impact fees a couple of years ago. (Of course, those fees now only cover 40% of expenses.) They say that a Neal report for the City shows that their developments pay for themselves. I'll be discussing this week the limited number of expenses that Neal talked about - not the total package for new infrastructure, schools, police and fire protection, maintenance on that infrastructure, etc., etc. More in the days to come.

More than anything the City needs a long-term development plan. Wait a moment - didn't we spend two years, involve thousands of people and spend $2Million on Plan El Paso? Like smart homes, Plan El Paso sits on a shelf while the current City Council conspires to ditch it, ditch the codes for intelligent growth, ditch the NW Master Plan ($600,000 for that one), yadda, yadda, yadda.

The bottom line is this: we are running out of water yet we continue to follow the dictates of a building community that believes in sprawl as if Ike were still President and the V-8 wasn't a juice drink but the number of gasoline-guzzling pistons under the hood of your car. 

Time to wake up El Paso. If the sprawler's growth will pay for itself and leads to prosperity, why are you and I and small business owners paying through the ying-yang with our property taxes that keep going up and up and up?

We may have been mad about the past City Council taking away our vote so we voted out all of the progressives - but these guys and gals could care less about the real grassroots decision-making we did with Plan El Paso, the 2011 Transmountain petition and the NW Master Plan. Who is taking our vote away now?

Happy Water Day!