yearofplenty

Why People are Starving in a World With Enough Food

I'm looking forward to reading more this year and I'm on book #2 in 2011, Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty, a detailed account of modern issues of agriculture, hunger, and poverty. In the preface they flesh out the question posed in the title:

For decades, the world has grown enough food to nourish everyone adequately. Satellites can spot budding crop failures; shortages can be avoided. In the modern world, like never before, famine is by and large preventable. When it occurs, it represents civilization's collective failure.

And from what I can tell in the opening chapters, civilization is failing in some fairly significant ways when it comes to preventing famine among the poorest of the poor.

Samuel Fromartz echoes this same concern in reflecting on the situation in Zambia. He references a recently released report from Worldwatch, State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet, and explains:

The nation  produces more than enough food, much of it by small-scale farmers without tractors, irrigation or any form of transportation. But this excess food ends up rotting in warehouses and causes price crashes when it hits the market -- good for buyers but dismal for small-scale farmers who depend on these sales for their meagre income. Even so, some areas of the country still suffer from malnutrition and shortages. Why? There are many reasons, inadequate roads and supply networks among them, since it isn't always easy to get the food from areas where it is surplus to areas where it is in short supply. In this reality, hi-tech seeds are the least of the nation's problems. And yet, on op-ed pages, that often seems to be the focus of discussion.

His point is that our incessant focus on increasing yields and modernizing food systems in places like Zambia does not necessarily help, and in the case of deflating the market with excessive supplies, it actually makes things worse. 

The first book I read in 2011 was Michael Lewis' gripping tale of the recent stock market crash titled, The Big Short. His focus on the global financial system also picks up on the theme of how the modern markets of trading and selling, are particularly hard on the poor and vulnerable. The problem there, and perhaps the problem in Africa has to do with just and fair and honest markets that benefit those that actually produce something, instead of exploiting them and leaving them destitute. 

One of the reasons I like buying directly from local farmers is that it is more just and fair to the grower and producer. There are all kinds of health benefits, and the food tastes better, but the bottom line for me is that direct relationships enable me to better follow the command, "Love your neighbor as yourself." It is a way to push back on the dehumanizing forces of the whims of the marketplace.

Indications are that it's going to be a difficult year for many farmers this year, especially those that rely on cheap feed for animals. World supply of corn is especially going to be tight, mostly because 40% of US supply is going to make ethanol. It looks like food is going to get expensive in 2011, which again, is bad for most, but really bad for the poor.

We have a food distribution today in Millwood (Jan 14) from Noon to 2pm if you or someone you know needs good fresh food.

How the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Could Wind Up On Your Dinner Plate

On the scale of "horrific environmental disasters" the Gulf Spill is already a 10 in my book. Reports like this one on how the oil and dispersant is likely to move it's way up the food chain have got me thinking we need a new scale of badness.

Tulane researchers have been sampling tens of thousands of blue crab larvae, which is in the early stages of the crab's complex life cycle once the larvae leave offshore areas and head into the estuaries.  The samples are being collected from sites that stretch from Galveston, Texas to Apalachicola, Florida.

"The weird thing we've been seeing is that there's little orange blobs inside the crabs' bodies," said Erin Grey, a post doctoral researcher at Tulane.

Another researcher at the University of Southern Mississippi's Ocean Springs campus said the orange droplets appear to be lodged between the larvae's outer shell and its inner skin. Harriet Perry, Fisheries Dir. at USM's Gulf Coast Research Lab, said, "I've been working with blue crabs for 42 years, and this is the first time I have ever seen this..."

Grey said if the orange "blobs" are toxins they could easily magnify up the food chain because just about everything eats crab larvae.  She said, "it's not necessarily a problem if you eat one of them, but let's say a larger crab eats 50 of these larvae.. all of sudden there's 50 times the amount of toxins.. let's say that crab gets eaten by a fish that also eats 50 other crabs.. so then you have 50 times 50."

It's the newest seafood innovation. No cooking oil necessary when preparing seafood on the grill or in the frying pan. I can almost smell the sizzle of oil dispersant wafting through the house.

I grew up fishing for blue crabs with a chicken on the end of a string. It's one of my fondest memories of growing up in New Bern, North Carolina. I highly recommend the book "Beautiful Swimmers" that describes the blue crab fishery in the Chesapeake Bay territory. It's a classic reflection on the wonder and fragility of a saltwater ecosystem.

Renewable Energy Less Than 1% of World Energy Production

Euan Mearns at the Oil Drum has put together a couple of helpful charts that illustrate the current status of renewable energy production. Ironically, BP's annual worldwide energy survey provides the data.

This first chart shows the rapid growth in renewable energy production (wind, solar, geothermal).

The rapid growth of wind power is impressive until you see the other chart below where renewables are such a small sliver of world energy production that they are barely visible.

Looking at these charts, it's hard not to a get a little apocalyptic about a future with constrained supplies of fossil fuels. Not quite time to buy that Mad Max leather jacket, but maybe time to do a little window shopping.

The BP report is worth scanning through. They may not do well with deepwater oil wells but they sure do put together a great report on world energy. Click through for more charts and data from BP's world energy survey.

h/t Good

Why the Gulf Oil Spill Was Inevitable

The above map via TPM shows the system of natural gas pipelines in the US, and while it doesn't show oil wells, it very plainly illustrates the intensity with which the Gulf region has been mined for natural resources. I remember when I first flew into Houston, TX (my home for 7 years), I couldn't believe how many refineries and chemical plants lined the city's shores.

This map of US refineries also tells the tale;

The Texas and Louisiana Coasts are some of the most intensely industrialized shorelines in the world and the region is no stranger to BP enabled industrial calamity. Odds are that at some point something like the current oil spill crisis was going to happen and odds are that it was going to happen in the Gulf. It's a testament to the skill of workers in the industry that there hasn't been more calamity.

The remarkable thing is that even in the midst of all the industrial development along the Gulf Coast, in my experience, the waters of the Gulf are a thriving ecosystem of fish and sea life. I was big into kayak fishing and remember vividly the experience of being right on top of the water with thousands of mullet jumping in a fury all around me while predators harassed them from below. I remember throwing a bait cast net into the surf of Galveston with fish slicing through the waves. I've never seen so much active sea life in a body of water.

I guess the question is, while the Gulf has shown itself to be a remarkably resilient ecosystem despite all the industrial activity, at what point can it not adapt and bounce back like it has in the past. How much is too much for it to handle? It looks like we're going to find out.

So You Want to Boycott BP?

There are some rumblings out there of people wanting to boycott BP in response to their fumbling of the Gulf oil spill. The Atlantic Monthly has a piece up highlighting the futility of such an effort. They argue that all of the oil companies are bad actors and any source of energy, electric or otherwise, is attached to these large energy companies.

I did some research on the sourcing of local fuels when we were trying to consume everything locally and have some perspective to add to their observations. In my research I learned that gasoline is like milk in the sense that it is gathered from different sources, whether it's BP or Exxon refineries, and all mixed together in pipelines and storage tanks. At the retail level it is branded for sale to consumers. In other words, you can drive up to an Exxon station as an alternative to a BP gas station, but some of the fuel coming out of the Exxon nozzle will have originated from a variety of sources including BP owned oil wells, refineries and pipelines.

Here's what I reported back in 2008 after talking with a variety of industry sources;

There are two primary ways refined fuels get to Spokane. There is a pipeline from Billings, Montana that runs through Spokane to Moses Lake. There are three refineries in Billings that process crude oil coming from Canada, probably the Calgary area.

There is a pipeline from Pasco to Spokane that transports fuel from a pipeline in Utah (that often is actually the fuel processed in Billings), or from fuel transported by barge from Portland along the Columbia River. This Portland fuel comes primarily from four refineries in Western Washington; Anacortes, Ferndale, and Tacoma, These refineries get their crude oil from Canada, Alaska and "foreign sources".

All this refined fuel is not only mixed together in the pipelines and tankers, but is also mixed together in holding tanks once it arrives in Spokane. This fuel is than pumped into the trucks with the proprietary cleansers and mixers that make the fuel a Conoco, Exxon or Costco etc. product.

So I can say with some certainty that most of the fuel at gas stations in the Spokane area comes from crude oil in Canada and Alaska, but there really is no way of sourcing fuel by choosing one gas station over another. They are all getting their fuel from the same pot of mixed up fuel sources.

The only way to boycott BP effectively is to dramatically change our lifestyles to make them less dependent on fossil fuels - walking and biking to work and living more locally. It may ease our conscience to buy gas at a Chevron station, but in some ways we have to all acknowledge our complicity in what's going on in the Gulf. Our insistence on oil enabled lives leaves us with oil stained hands. We can't just wash our hands of the whole ordeal with mild changes to our brand choices.

Google Interactive Oil Spill Map a Must See

Here's another helpful interactive tool to help understand events in the Gulf. With the numbers so large it's difficult to get a handle on what exactly is going on with the spill. This map is the best yet at helping me understand the scope of it.

Double click on this static map to get to the interactive version.

The Greenest Gas Station In America?

Fruit smoothies, organic foods, vegetated bio-swales, biodiesel from Burgerville USA and Kettle Chips, and even a cool guy on a laptop. See for yourself here.

Where Does Spokane Gasoline Come From? (Update)

In my previous post I set a goal of sourcing our fuel to see if there are any meaningful decisions we can make around our gas purchases. Here's what I've discovered so far.

There are two primary ways refined fuels get to Spokane. There is a pipeline from Billings, Montana that runs through Spokane to Moses Lake. There are three refineries in Billings that process crude oil coming from Canada, probably the Calgary area.

There is a pipeline from Pasco to Spokane that transports fuel from a pipeline in Utah (that often is actually the fuel processed in Billings), or from fuel transported by barge from Portland along the Columbia River. This Portland fuel comes primarily from four refineries in Western Washington; Anacortes (2), Ferndale, and Tacoma, These refineries get their crude oil from Canada, Alaska and "foreign sources".

All this refined fuel is not only mixed together in the pipelines and tankers, but is also mixed together in holding tanks once it arrives in Spokane. This fuel is than pumped into the trucks with the proprietary cleansers and mixers that make the fuel a Conoco, Exxon or Costco etc. product.

So I can say with some certainty that most of the fuel at gas stations in the Spokane area comes from crude oil in Canada and Alaska, but there really is no way of sourcing fuel by choosing one gas station over another. They are all getting their fuel from the same pot of mixed up fuel sources.

I did find out that Grays Harbor, WA is home to one of the largest biodiesel refiners in the country, but after a year in operation it's not going so well. I wonder, is anyone in Spokane using cooking oil from local restaurants to run their cars?     

Is it possible to buy local gasoline?

I am going to put on my investigative reporter hat this week and see what I can find out about where the gasoline I buy at our local gas stations comes from. According to our rules we'd have to use used cooking oil or bio-fuel from Canola Oil produced in Eastern Washington. This hasn't been an option for us so we've gone to one vehicle as a compromise to limit our consumption of fuel, but we're still going to gas stations and pumping gas of unknown origins into our tank.

I'm wondering if we can't do better. Is there any way for us to make a more meaningful decision in where we buy our gas and who we buy it from? Are there any independent gas stations left out there that might feed the local economy more than the national brands? Is it possible for us to at least buy fuel that comes from domestic sources? If people were presented with this as an option would they be willing to pay more for it? I probably would.

My only data point so far is that there is a fuel pipeline (Yellowstone Pipeline operated by Conoco) that runs from Billings Montana, through the heart of the Spokane Valley, all the way to Moses Lake. I found this out by riding my bike through the industrial district of Spokane Valley on my way to the Master Food Preserver class. Here's a picture of the pipeline.

   

You might notice on the map that there is a big gap in the pipeline over the Flathead Indian Reservation. I guess the tribe didn't like the 3.5 million gallons of fuel that spilled during it's use. They now truck the fuel over that section. I'm guessing there is a refinery in Billings and the oil for refining is coming from coal sands in Canada, which are being transported by the blue crude oil pipeline indicated on the map - but just a guess. So does that mean if we buy fuel from Conoco that it has Canadian origin?

Does anyone know anything about this subject? Have any insights on making choices about fuel consumption? Any help would be appreciated. 

BusinessWeek On the Changing Food Marketplace

BusinessWeek is out with a lengthy article on how the food marketplace is changing because of consumer interest in local sources. Here's a choice quote:

It's a movement that is gradually reshaping the business of growing and supplying food to Americans. The local food movement has already accomplished something that almost no one would have thought possible a few years back: a revival of small farms. After declining for more than a century, the number of small farms has increased 20% in the past six years, to 1.2 million, according to the Agriculture Dept.

Say what you will about capitalism as an economic system, it knows how to listen to people's consumer choices. The article reminds me of the power and significance of these choices. One of the most powerfully political things we do is buy stuff and few things do more to shape our community than these decisions.