Before I go any further, let me admit something: I use plastic bags. (Gasp!) Second, after reading about plastic bags, I think I’m going to plop down a wee bit of cash and buy a reusable grocery bag or three. Why? The statistics are disturbing.

According to a recent report on CNN.com, the EPA estimates that 3.96 million tons of plastic bags, sacks and wraps were generated in 2008 in the United States. In the same year, 1.17 million tons of trash were created by tossing out paper bags. Of all of that, only a combined total of 830,000 tons of plastic and paper bags was recycled in 2008, while a combined total of 4.3 million tons was discarded, including 90% of plastic bags. For point of reference, this is the equivalent, speaking in terms of weight, of nearly twelve Empire State Buildings.

Sure, we live in a fairly plastic world. And we’re constantly adding more plastic to it. But that doesn’t mean we can’t reverse the trend. And that doesn’t mean we’re doomed to continue on a course that we’ve previously accepted as the norm. If we were fatalists, then Progressive Wednesday wouldn’t exist.

So, why is all this using and dumping without reusing so problematic? In typical circumstances (for example in landfills), a polyethylene bag will take more than 1,000 years to degrade.

While some Californian politicians had good intentions, a ban on plastic really isn’t a solution. This would likely turn people toward paper and compostable bags, both of which carry with them serious environmental impacts of their own during the manufacturing process.

I’m sure I’ll still use paper and plastic bags. I’m sure some of those will hit the trash. But I’m going to make a conscious effort to change my ways.

Join me, friends. We’ll do this together. For information about finding a recycling center near you, just click this sentence. For information about buying reusable products, just click this sentence.

One of the places that I desperately want to visit before I “become one with nature”is the Great Barrier Reef. A series of over 3,400 individual reefs and 900 islands along the east coast of Australia, it covers a distance longer than the west coast of the United States. That’s over 2,000 kilometers for those of you keeping score at home. It’s the world’s largest coral reef system. You can see it from space. Even “outer space.”It’s big, and beautiful. It’s one of the seven natural wonders of the world. And it’s dying.

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Make Progress:

Coral reefs all over the world are disappearing at an alarming rate. Over a quarter of the worlds reef systems have died or been severely damaged, and many scientists say that the remaining 75% will be gone in the next 30-50 years. Most of this destruction is human-related. That’s the bad news. The good news is that we can do something about it.

• Learn
• Watch
• Write
• Join and Donate
• Change

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Learn:

A bit of “founding fatherly”wisdom from James Madison:

Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.

In that spirit we’ve compiled a list of facts (the cold, hard kind) about what corals are and how they are beneficial. So arm yourselves with this good knowledge:

• Contrary to popular belief, corals are actually animals. They are made up of tiny polyps that live symbiotically with zooxanthellae algae that grow within the coral’s own tissue. This algae provides the coral with food and is what gives it color. These individual corals reproduce both sexually and asexually to form reefs.

• Reefs are home to 25 percent of all marine life equaling over two million different species.

• Ten percent of the world’s diet comes from reef fish and many poor and developing countries rely on local reefs for more than a quarter of their protein.

• Coral reefs are an enormous part of local and global economies. In the state of Florida alone coral-related tourism generated $4.4 billion, while creating over 70,000 jobs in a single year.
• Coral reef species are being used to create new antibiotics and antiviral medicines, as well as bone grafts. They also show promise for treating leukemia, skin, and other kinds of cancer.
• Large reefs protect shorelines from excessive wave action, violent storms and floods, helping to prevent death, erosion, and property loss.

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And here are some of the not-so-smiley causes of destruction:

• Dynamite and cyanide fishing: Yes, people use these two things to catch fish on the reefs. Their destructive impact should be obvious.

• Overfishing: The loss of a particular type of fish to the seafood trade can harm the ecological balance and be devastating to a coral reef.

• Runoff: Sediment from nearby development can get into the water and quickly destroy entire reef systems.

• Collection: Fish are caught and corals are harvested for the aquarium trade, calcium supplements, mortar and souvenirs.
• Global warming: A biggie. While many coral species are physically very hardy, a rise in ocean temperatures of only one or two degrees can cause massive coral bleaching, a condition where the algae dies off and the corals turn white and often die. In addition, warmer waters mean bigger hurricanes, which can pound coastal regions and do enormous damage to reefs.

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So now you know a little about these underwater paradises and their frailty, but to quote Goethe: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply!”

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Watch:

If you can tear yourself away from Wife Swap or the 43rd season of Survivor (maybe it only seems like that many) try turning the channel to PBS or The Discovery Channel. They quite frequently have documentaries about our underwater world and coral reefs in particular. For those able to get them in high definition, you’ll get a more realistic idea of how beautiful and unusual these animals are. But for those still using “rabbit ears”we’ll help you out.

If you want a “soft-polyp quicky,”the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation has put together this seven minute video that touches on the importance of coral reefs as well as dangers to reef systems and what is being done to prevent their destruction. Give it a look.

Coral Reef Adventure is an IMAX film that follows a husband and wife duo for ten months traveling from the Great Barrier Reef to the islands of Fiji and many other reefs. They concentrate on currently endangered reefs and the actions taken by ordinary people to save them. Narrated by Liam Neeson, this film has won much acclaim for its breathtaking cinematography and powerful message. You can rent it online or buy it here.

Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the late ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, has created a series with our friends at PBS called Ocean Adventures. One of these grabbed our attention (and someone else’s too), and we recommend it highly. Voyage to Kure takes Cousteau and his team to the Northwestern Hawaiian Island archipelago where they take a look at all of the marine life and the decline of many species and inspires the viewer to take action. How inspiring is it you ask? We’ll tell you in the next section. But first, buy it here from PBS or rent it online. It’s worth a look.

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Write:

A few years ago year Jean-Michel Cousteau was invited to the White House for a private screening of the aforementioned Ocean Adventures: Voyage to Kure with the President and First Lady. They were so moved by the urgency of the crisis in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that President Bush immediately upgraded the 140,000 square miles of ocean landscape that contains 70% of the United States’ coral reefs from a reserve to a National Monument. National Monuments are not subject to approval by congress and therefore, the protections implied took effect immediately.

This was a huge step, which the President should be applauded for taking. But what about the other 30% of the coral reefs in the country, mainly located in the Florida Keys? We would like you to write a letter to the President showing your support for his action in Hawaii and asking him to take it a step further.

Below you’ll find an example. Feel free to edit it in any way before you sign and mail it. Or, since you are using one of those new-fangled computers, you could just copy, paste, and email it here with your name attached.

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Subject: Praise for action in Hawaii and calling for more.

Dear Mr. President,

I would like to take a moment to thank you for your quick and decisive action in declaring the Northwest Hawaiian Islands and the surrounding marine environment a National Monument. This was a huge step in preserving the beauty and magnificence of this vital region and animals that live there.

I am writing, however, to ask you to take similar action with the rest of our nation’s endangered coral reefs, which are located in the Florida Keys. The reefs surrounding the Keys are home to more than 100 species of corals and more than 400 species of fish. Both are a vital part of Florida’s economy as well, attracting over 4 million tourists annually. But they are threatened by pollution, overuse, and overfishing. They need more protection.

Please declare the Florida Keys’ coral reefs a National Monument so they will be there for our children and our grandchildren to enjoy and profit from in the years ahead.

Sincerely,

Your Name

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Join and Donate:

In doing research for this Wednesday’s topic I came across the websites of about 17 million organizations dedicated to this issue. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but there are a lot. And that’s great news. But for those who want to get involved, how do they know which would be the most effective organization to donate their time, effort and money to? Well, I’ve visited all 17 million and here are the three that I most recommend along with their mission statements and links for you to lend a helping fin.

• Reef Relief

Reef Relief is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to preserve and Protect Living Coral Reef Ecosystems through local, regional and global efforts.

Donate and join.

• Reef Check

The Reef Check Foundation is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of two ecosystems: tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs.

Donate and join.

• The Coral Reef Alliance

The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is a member-supported, non-profit organization, dedicated to protecting the health of coral reefs by integrating ecosystem management, sustainable tourism, and community partnerships.

Donate and Join

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Change:

It’s the little things we do, the small actions we take as citizens, consumers, and stewards of our great green and blue orb that make the biggest differences, the most progress. It’s what the Progressive Wednesday community is all about, the little things that each of us can do. It might be hard to imagine, but there are everyday things that even the most landlocked Nebraskans can do to help solve this crisis. So here’s a list-behind-the-list of the everyday variety:

• For you reef-keepers like me out there, buy aquacultured animals. The Geothermal Aquaculture Research Foundation (GARF), located in Idaho, is a non-profit committed to coral propagation. They sell their corals online at very reasonable prices. Make sure your next “Nemo”and corals are “aquacultured”and lessen the burden on our natural reefs to supply our own indulgences.
• When you buy cement, brick or concrete, make sure it is not made from crushed coral.
• Do not buy bleached coral skeletons. Ever.

• Take care when diving. If you are one of the millions of divers that visit coral reefs each year, be sure to follow the rules and respect the reef. And don’t take anything!

• Eat fish that are in abundance. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program provides information on which fish are good to eat, what to avoid and good alternatives. They even break it down by region.
• Last but certainly not least, do your part to help fight global warming. You knew before how it affects you, now you know how it affects those below sea level. Renewable home energy, efficient driving, carpool… you know the drill, but it can’t be said enough.

Picture credit to this reef diver.

Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies will be removed from the endangered species list, following a 13-year restoration effort that helped the animal’s population soar, federal officials said Thursday.

An estimated 1,500 wolves now roam Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. That represents a dramatic turnaround for a predator that was largely exterminated in the United States in the early 20th century.

Great, right? The Endangered Species Program works. That’s great, right? Right? Ummm:

The loss of federal protection allows the three states to move forward with plans allowing hunters to target the animals, possibly as soon as this fall.

Damn it. And we were this close to good news.

Thankfully, an organization called Earth Justice is suing the feds to keep the wolves protected. Here’s their take:

Gray wolves have come perilously close to extinction in the Rocky Mountains. Only in the past decade has the wolf population rebounded from a population of less than 50 to more than 1,300 wolves today. Visitors come to Yellowstone every year to get the chance to see and hear wolves in the wild.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued two rules that would not only reverse these hard-won gains, by killing hundreds of these magnificent predators. One rule would remove gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains from protection under the Endangered Species Act. The other rule would allow states in the Northern Rockies to kill wolves whenever wolves had impacts on wild ungulate populations.

The governors of Idaho and Wyoming express outright hostility toward wolves, and numerous counties in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have adopted resolutions declaring wolves an “unacceptable species.” Once wolves are delisted, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana could reduce wolf populations to a paltry 100 wolves per state — in other words, they could destroy 1,000 wolves out of the current 1,300-wolf population.

We’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: this, this right here, is yet another example of why the government can’t be trusted to behave, and why it must be watched closely as the toddler it is by its citizens.

We’ll post more about this particular issue as it develops.

Photo c/o this dude.

The first time I heard about global warming was in the mid 1990's, walking through my college's Student Union, table after table offering me great rates on student credit cards and buy-one-get-one-free deals at the campus pizzeria. At a table on my left was a student handing out literature encouraging us to help “Save the Planet.– I walked over with a credit card brochure in one hand and a piece of pepperoni pizza in the other, took a quick look, refused the pamphlet that she offered, and walked out with a smirk and a roll of the eyes.

Not a day goes by now without my regretting what I did that day. And not because of the enormous credit card debt that I have been fruitlessly trying to chip away at ever since, nor the extra couple of gallons of “water weight– that has been with me like a loyal dog rescued during my college days. No, I'm embarrassed by my apathy and ignorance. I point this out not to pretend that I'm now a white-wigged, gavel-wielding, high-horse-riding model citizen, but instead to point out that I'm not, never have been, and never will be. We can all do more to protect our environment.

It's more than a decade later now and global warming has become an increasingly hot topic (no pun intended). Much has been written/said/filmed/read about it and one thing is clear; the solution isn't easy. We all need to drive our cars to get to work and the factories aren't going to shut down overnight. But today we're not going to talk about that.

Instead we're going to talk about one of the greatest and yet least talked about contributors to the problem, home energy use. As a nation we spend more than $160 billion a year to power our homes, representing about 21 percent of the total energy consumed. Fortunately, it's also the easiest area for the average person to “get a little greener,– while saving a little green at the same time.

Make Progress:

There are so many things that can be done to improve home energy use that we can't possibly touch on all of them in a single Wednesday. But we can get the eco-ball rolling with a list of the easiest steps that can make the greatest impact.

• Watch
• Replace
• Turn (off, up, or down) and unplug
• Install
• Switch

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Watch:

At this year’s Oscars you saw former Veep, Al Gore saunter up on stage at the Kodak Theatre to collect an Oscar for his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. (Watch the trailer)While we're not big fans of the title (it could depict a little more urgency), We are big, I'm talking 1800's Arctic Ice Cap-sized, fans of the flick itself. It's so important to understand the crisis that we face and An Inconvenient Truth combines a genuine passion and moral imperative with cold, hard science to make an irrebuttable case for global warming and the role mankind has played in it. You can rent it online or in-store, but we recommend purchasing. Why? 100% of Al Gore's proceeds from the film and its print companion go to The Alliance for Climate Protection.

If this year's “Best Documentary– isn't enough to convince you to make progress, take a gander at the documentary from the good people over at PBS, Global Warming: The Signs and Science. This picture features Alanis Morissette narrating, and spends a great deal of time focusing on the impact of global warming on average citizens and communities and the actions they are taking to correct the problem. Unfortunately, this film is no longer available to view online, but you can catch the trailer here. Then rent it or buy it from PBS.org to support PBS' progressive programming.

So you've put those two movies in your queue, but you want to know more right now. Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental organization has put together this three-minute internet movie that concentrates more on our oil addiction but is still a very informative global warming quickie. Give it look now, and then get ready to do something about it. And maybe we can save a little moolah in the process.

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Replace:

There are many things in your house that contribute to not only greater energy use, but higher energy bills, and they are easy and cheap to fix. Here's a helpful little list of items that can be replaced in your home that are an inexpensive initial investment and save a lot of money and energy in the longer run.

1. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Those light bulbs that you've had in your house since Edison won his patent in court are wasting up to 95% of the energy they use in the form of heat. Replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs. They're the spiral-shaped ones that are on the shelf right next to the incandescents. These lights use about one-fifth of the electricity to give off the same amount of light, are much cooler when lit, and last up to ten times longer. When it's all added up, you save an average of $30 over the life of each bulb. If you have ten bulbs in your house– ¦ you get the idea. You can find a local dealer here, or pick them up at most local hardware or even grocery stores.

2. Air Filter

You've probably heard about the CFLs before, but here's a bit o'savings that might have slipped through the pleated woven fiberglass media. Heating and cooling accounts for nearly half of the energy used in the home and a dirty air filter can seriously slow down airflow. This makes your system work harder to do the same thing. Energystar.gov recommends that you check your filter monthly and replace as necessary, but at least once every three months. Plus, isn't it great to breathe in clean air.

3. Insulation

Get out that ladder and climb into the attic. What does that insulation say? Chances are it doesn't have a high enough R-rating and heat (money) is escaping all the time. Do you get icicle buildup every winter? That's why. Replacing insulation can be a bit tricky so here's a list of reputable contractors that can help. Can't afford it? Not so fast. Insulation usually pays for itself in a few years plus there are new tax incentives for adding the proper insulation to new or existing homes. Check it out here.

4. Household Appliances

Go out and buy all new energy efficient appliances. Go ahead. Okay, maybe that's not within your grasp right now but we hope to have raised your eyebrows enough that next time you're in the market for a new refrigerator you'll look for the EnergyStar label.

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Turn (off, up, or down) and unplug:

hese are the easiest things we'll ask you to do in the name of Mama Earth. They require little to no monetary investment. They're small dogs with big bite.

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Duh.
2. Turn down the thermostat in the winter 2 degrees. For every degree you lower it you can save 3% of your total heating energy and 1000 pounds of carbon dioxide. Besides, you never wear that sweater your grandmother knitted you. Turn it down even further at night. Hey, now you have an extra reason to cuddle up and get cozy. (Please keep in mind your newborn or that tropical bird, though.)
3. On the other side of the coin, turn that thermostat up in the summer. Hey, we're from Buffalo. We love the cold and hate the heat. But if we can all turn that A/C down in the summer months that'll be energy well-saved. Think of it this way: the less we use A/C now, the less we'll need it later.
4. This one knocked our organically-grown cotton socks off when we read it, so here it is according to the Alliance to Save Energy:

   Many idle electronics – “ TVs, VCRs, DVD and CD players, cordless phones, microwaves – “ use energy even when switched off to keep display clocks lit and memory chips and remote controls working. Nationally, these energy “vampires– use 5 percent of our domestic energy and cost consumers more than $4 billion annually.

Five percent! We suggest tackling this problem with a power strip or surge protector. Just plug those electronics into a single strip and flip it off (no, not the finger) when you're done. Quick, easy, and efficient.

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Install:

Here are a couple of things that can be added to your home to help reduce the amount of energy your home uses and maybe even put a little energy back where you got it.

Programmable Thermostat

Having a programmable thermostat in the house allows you to automatically adjust the temperature for different times of the day. During the winter months you can lower the temperature during the hours when you are away from home or sleeping, and it will automatically start heating the house again by the time you get home. Along with reducing your carbon impact, this little genie can save you more than a hundred dollars a year. It makes your home comfortable when comfort's important and efficient when it's not.

Water Heater Blanket

Each time you turn on the shower in the morning you're greeted by a steaming hot rush of water. But it's usually eight hours since you last used hot water. That means your heater has to heat and reheat the water that's in there. Installing an insulated blanket around the tank can reduce that standby heat loss by up to 45%, save up to 9% on your bill and release 1000 fewer pounds of carbon gases into the atmosphere yearly. They only cost around $10-$20 at your appliance store and will pay for themselves in about a year. Some utility companies even offer rebates, discounts, and/or free installation, so give'em a buzz. Oh, and while you're downstairs installing the blanket, turn the temperature in the tank down a few degrees.

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Switch

Each year the average American household uses about 9,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. That averages out to about 750 kW-h per month. The cost per kW-h ranges throughout the country from just under 6 cents to almost 15 cents. 57 percent of this energy comes from coal plants and, according to powerscorecard.org:

Coal power plants are responsible for 93 percent of the sulfur dioxide and 80 percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions generated by the electric utility industry.

Few people know that they can get every watt from clean, renewable energy. Many utility companies offer renewable energy to their customers, and there are other national programs, like Utility Green Pricing and Renewable Energy Certificates, for those who buy from a company that doesn't. To see if your utility company offers renewable power, click here.

The cost of buying green power ranges from 3/4 of a penny to about three cents per kW-h, with most programs at about 1 cent per kW-h. For the average American that means about an extra $7/month. That's about the price of a movie or half of a pizza. This is the only thing we've asked you to do that does not immediately benefit you financially. But if you do only one thing, do this.

Why? The baby girl in the picture is my daughter. Do it for her. Do it for the polar bears who have just been added to the endangered species list. Do it for the people of New Orleans who were shown with unprecedented violence what effect the warming of the Gulf can have on their lives. And do it for the coral reefs, 16 percent dead in a single year, bleached by the warmer waters. Do it for my children and yours, for me and for you. Do it because it's right.

Here's one of those things

According to a report by the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission, one of the world’s leading bodies of whale biologists, the evidence linking sonar to a series of whale strandings in recent years is “very convincing and appears overwhelming.” Despite the broad scientific consensus that military active sonar kills whales, the use of this deadly sonar in the world’s oceans is spreading.

The first time this came up was in the Bahamas when the United States Navy conducted a training exercise during which they used Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar. Shortly after, whales from four different species beached themselves on the nearby islands. These whales were there because of massive bleeding in their brains and ears. Beaked Whales, observed in the Bahamas for decades, have not been seen there since.

How load is that sonar to a whale?

Some mid-frequency sonar systems can put out over 235 decibels, as loud as a Saturn V rocket at launch. Even 100 miles from the LFA system, sound levels can approach 160 decibels, well beyond the Navy’s own safety limits for humans.

In other words, it's like standing under a twin-engine jet fighter during take-off, except that marine mammals don't have those noise-canceling headsets that air traffic controllers have.

It's easy to overlook this practice because we are, and rightfully so, sympathetic to our military. But I believe that there can exist a balance between safety and environmental stewardship, even for the brave men and women in our armed forces. And as more nations join in this practice, it becomes more important to stop it.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has put together a petition to send to the Secretary of the Navy, Donald Winter, asking him to take the following measures:

• Put rich marine mammal habitat off limits.
• Avoid migration routes and feeding or breeding areas when marine mammals are present.
• Listen with passive sonar to ensure marine mammals are not in the testing area before switching on active sonar.
• Establishing appropriate safety zones around ships transmitting sonar.
• Reduce the source level of sonar signals at nighttime and in other periods of low visibility.

These are very reasonable measures to keep our Navy safe from attack and prevent marine mammals from suffering a horrible death. So please find 30 seconds in your busy day to join me in signing the petition. Then if you want to learn more, and this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, check out this video, narrated by Pierce Brosnan. It’s heartbreakingly horrifying.