Articles by Biodiversivist

Found a butterfly on my computer screen this morning

I found a butterfly sitting on my computer screen this morning. I have no idea how it got there, and I'm pretty sure it isn't from around here. My guess is that a chrysalis may have gotten mixed in with some chicken feed that is stored in my basement.

Profit motive is eating the planet

The opening of the Propel Biofuels public pump was a smallish affair. The crowd of about thirty people appeared to consist mostly of investors, public relations personnel, some alternative energy enthusiasts, lots of press, and at least one lawyer. Because of the twelve-hour notice, and because it was in the middle of the week, only two protesters made it.

There is going to be a bigger protest this Saturday (October 20), same place, same time (high noon, at the pump located at Bernie's Auto Repair -- see map). Keep in mind this will not be a protest against Bernie, but against industrial agrodiesel. The pump is self-serve and open to the public. Bernie's is closed on Saturdays.

Consider dropping by for an hour or so to support those willing to publicly protest the for-profit takeover of the biosphere. It is remarkable how much impact protests can have. Imagine what a big one would do. Al Gore has called for civil disobedience. Some think Al Gore should be arrested. In any case, I'll be there along with my hybrid electric bike. Drop by and say hello.

It seemed to me that there were two main goals at the opening:

Politicians are still pumping biodiesel

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) will be speechifying today at 11:00am at the opening of the first of many biodiesel pumps to be installed in the Seattle area by Propel Biofuels. According to a press release I just received from Duff Badgely, there will also be a handful of protesters on hand to greet them. Don't these people have anything better to do than to run around speaking truth to power?

In her speech, Cantwell will tell us all about how this fuel will fight global warming, reduce local air pollution, make us energy independent, and be made from crops grown by Washington State farmers. Here is a picture of Maria Cantwell, Patty Murray, Congressman Norm Dicks, and Imperium President John Plaza with looks of absolute glee on their faces at the grand opening in August of the largest industrial agridiesel refinery in North America.

Never mind that according to a recent paper in Science, one in the Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, and this paper (PDF) co-authored by Ron Steenblik, the fuel being served at this pump is far more environmentally destructive than the fuel it replaces. The peer-reviewed paper in Science says it will release about five times more carbon over a thirty-year period than if you had simply let the cropland grow into a forest. The journal study (by a multinational team of researchers including a Nobel Prize winner) says it releases 70% more greenhouse gases (in the form of NO2) than diesel. To ice the cake, the paper co-authored by Steenblik has a chart on p. 35 that gives biodiesel made from rapeseed an overall environmental rating 2.5 times worse than diesel:

Seattle in 2020

The year was 2020 and Seattle had become the bicycle capital of the world. Visitors lined the streets to learn how we did it. Thanks to global warming, clothing had gone out of style, but thanks to genetic engineering we could alter our skin pigmentation to be any color we wanted. Racism had become a thing of the past and mustaches were popular again.