DOES EATING MEAT HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT?

There are many negative health implications related to a diet that is mainly made up of red meat.  In the last century, there have been huge increases in obesity due to poor diet and nutrition.  People are more keen to visit a fast-food restaurants rather than preparing their own food.  Fast-food corporations, with their endless marketing budgets, entice people with processed foods that are cheap and unhealthy and reaping the benefits of their unwillingness to take a more proactive approach to their health and well-being. 

What are the benefits to a diet high in meat consumption? (They are not really benefits):

• High cholesterol and heart disease due to high fat and cholesterol content.
• Conventionally raised beef contains hormones and antibiotics.
• Processed meats (bacon, ham and sausage) are unhealthy due to their high fat, preservative and salt content.
• The mistreatment and murder of animals. 
• Obesity.
• Linked to diseases such as diabetes, heart attack and cancer.

What many people are not aware of are the implications a diet high in meat has on our environment.  Factory farming is not only promoting cruel and the unethical treatment of many animals, it has a devastating effect on the environment, especially when we are seeing water shortages across the globe.  Here are some of the environmental implications:

• Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation.
• Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (Co2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
• Methane is 25 – 100 times more destructive than CO2.
• Methane has a global warming power 86 times that of CO2.
• Livestock is responsible for 65% of all emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas 296 times more destructive than carbon dioxide and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.
• Emissions for agriculture projected to increase 80% by 2050.
• US methane emissions from livestock and natural gas are nearly equal.
• Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) water use ranges from 70 – 140 million gallons annually in comparison, animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34 – 76 trillion gallons annually.
• Agriculture is responsible for 80 – 90% of US water consumption.

All above facts are available via the following link:  http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/

Our population is growing at an alarming rate.  Due to this population growth, the demand for meat grows and with the demand for more meat, there will be more deforestation (trees provide oxygen) and more demand for water.  Ask yourself, why is there such a huge increase in pulminary (asthma/bronchitis) disease, heart disease, diabetes, cancers and obesity?  The introduction of processed foods and factory farming are definitely contributing factors.  People are dying because of what they eat.  Does this seem right to you?  Our elected officials are not doing enough to contribute to a more sustainable future for the people those who have elected them.  They pander to big corporations who only care about their profits. 

We must take a more proactive approach to our health and our environment.  There are many people out there who have viable solutions to make our world more sustainable.  Isn’t it time to allow them to bring their initiative and ideas to the table?  Isn’t it time for REAL change and not the false identity of change our current leaders keep talking about?  Isn’t it time our governments stop spending money on war in favour of creating real positive change across the globe? 

The earth can’t sustain the population growth and our demand for more meat.  People must assess what is more important, the need to eat meat or saving our planet from destruction.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

THE VENUS PROJECT

There are so many people who are concerned about the trajectory of where civilization is heading and the state of our planet in the future that they have committed to find viable and sustainable solutions to accommodate humanity’s demand on the planet’s natural resources.

The industrial revolution has allowed people all over the world to connect much quicker driving demand for products skyrocketing.  We now live in a world where people must have everything – televisions, cars, computers, phones, boats, etc.  When purchasing or consuming – most people don’t make the connection regarding the direct consequences to the environment/planet regarding what they are buying or consuming.  Corporations are making products that don’t have longevity because they want people to buy more.  This is devastating to the planet and the planet’s natural resources.  Corporations have news conferences on their latest products creating much hype for items that people really don’t need.  

What happens when the planet’s natural resources are depleted?  We can’t plant trees fast enough to keep up with the demand for paper products.  As of today, the planet has only 27 years left of oil – after that, there is no more.  Will governments and corporations then turn to sustainable and renewable energy?  Corporations and governments, with the help of corporate media, have given the people the wrong message – BUY, BUY, BUY.  This will not sustain humanity any longer.  The planet is running out of food, water and forests.  We can’t afford to keep polluting our waters with chemicals and oil spills.  Clear-cutting forests is no longer an option in order to produce more food via cattle ranches.  What is the solution?

We know that as long as there is wind and sun that we can provide power via wind and solar energy – but the oil industry holds the reigns of power and has politicians in their back pockets.  We know that oil pollutes and is destructive for the planet – we all know the environment and economic destruction oils spills by Exxon and BP have had, so why do we continue to support this destructive behaviour?

Society has to embrace new methods and ideas in order to ensure our survival.  We must commit to new ideas and support each other to ensure the success of these modern ideas.  One such concept is the Venus Project.

According the their website, the Venus Project proposes the following:

The Venus Project proposes a system in which automation and technology would be intelligently integrated into an overall holistic socioeconomic design where the primary function would be to maximize the quality of life rather than profit.

This proposal, I am sure, has drawn much negative criticism from big corporations as their ultimate goal is to maximize profit without regard to the environment or the consumers quality of life. 

The Venus Project is the vision Jacque Fresco’s life’s work.

 

Jacque Fresco: Futurist

Mr. Fresco’s background includes industrial design and social engineering, as well as being a forerunner in the field of Human Factors. Mr. Fresco has worked as both designer and inventor in a wide range of fields spanning from biomedical innovations to totally integrated social systems.

The Venus Project reflects the culmination of Mr. Fresco’s life work: the integration of the best of science and technology into a comprehensive plan for a new society based on human and environmental concern. It is a global vision of hope for the future of humankind in our technological age.

You can find more information, as well as the above information on the Venus Project by visiting https://www.thevenusproject.com/en/about/resume

We should embrace new ideas such as the Venus Project – these are the ideologies that will ensure a brighter tomorrow where people can support each other and work together to create a positive future.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

HOW MUCH PLASTIC IS OUT THERE?

I am amazed how many people I see using or buying items that will end up in a land fill, in our rivers, lakes and oceans and even on the side-of-the-road.  Cigarette packages and cigarettes ends, fast-food wrappers, plastic bags, plastic water bottles, styrofoam containers, beer cans, pop cans, etc.  Are we really that distracted to even consider the consequences of our actions when we purchase such items?  Because of our demand for such items, we have been depleting earth’s natural resources to a degree that shifted the climate patterns.  These products are not made out of thin air, we have to use something to create them, so what big companies turn to in order to meet our consumer demands – the earth.  Well, our planet can not take it any more.  She is crying out for help and is at the brink of a catastrophic meltdown.

I know that images are more effective to making a point but I thought this time, I will let statistics speak for themselves:

Total number of plastic bags used worldwide annually	1 trillion
Total number of plastic bags China consumes everyday	3 billion
Total number of plastic bags used every minute	1 million
Total number of years it takes for a plastic bag to degrade	1,000 years
Total amount of plastic bags that were discarded in 2008	3.5 million tons
Total amount of plastic floating in every square mile of ocean	46,000 pieces
Average amount of plastic bags consumed per family in 4 trips to the grocery store	60
Percent of plastic made every year that will end up in the ocean	10%
Total amount of plastic bags used by U.S. citizens every year	100 billion
Average amount of plastic bottles a U.S. household will use each year	500 plastic bottles
Percent of household waste that is plastic	11%

***Take notice of the blue high-lighted stats***  *** above statistics obtained from:  http://www.statisticbrain.com/plastic-bag-statistics/ ***

What can we do about this?  In terms of plastic bag usage, do what California did and ban them.  Ban plastic bags worldwide.  We don’t need them.  Companies make canvas or nylon bags that can be reused.  The majority of grocery stores always have reusable bags at hand.  Reusable bags are available almost everywhere, so why the need for plastic?

Plastic bags are not the only problem.  How about water bottles?  Here are some statistics on water bottles:

• Making bottles to meet America’s demand for bottled water uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year¹. And that’s not even including the oil used for transportation.
• The energy we waste using bottled water would be enough to power 190,000 homes.
• Last year, the average American used 167 disposable water bottles, but only recycled 38.
• Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S.’s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles – more than $1 billion worth of plastic – are wasted each year³.
• The recommended eight glasses of water a day, at U.S. tap rates equals about $.49 per year; that same amount of bottled water is about $1,400.
• Antimony, which is found in PET plastic bottles, in small doses can cause dizziness and depression; in larger doses it can cause nausea, vomiting and death.

***above statistics obtained via:  http://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/ ***

So what can we do about this?  Here are some suggestions:

Plastic Bags:  Don’t buy them anymore.  You really have no use for them.  Reuse the ones you already have and once they can no longer be used, use cloth bags. 

Water Bottles:  I don’t know why anyone would buy plastic water bottles in this day and age.  Like plastic bags, they are polluting our lakes, oceans and parks, they are harming wildlife and ending up in landfills instead of recycling depots.  Buy a reusable one, preferably glass.  I use mason jars to drink and store my water and I also have a reusable water container.  I buy reverse-osmosis water and go to a water depot to refill my bottles regularly.

Fast Food Containers:  Fast-food isn’t good for you.  It is always best to make or cook your own food.  If you do go out to eat – go to a restaurant that uses metal cutlery and reusable plates or visit a restaurant that has a great recycling program and separate’s food waste, compostable material and plastic.  There is a massive shopping mall in downtown Toronto called the Eaton Centre that has adopted the use of reusable cutlery and plates in their food court.  As far as I know, the fast food restaurant that isn’t participating is McDonald’s.  This initiative was great as it creates jobs and is sustainable.  Why is this initiative not used in shopping malls across the nation and around the world?  Demand it at your local shopping mall and be the change you want to see in the world! 

If I ever purchase meals that come with plastic cutlery – I never throw them out.  I wash them and reuse them as long as I can.  (You won’t believe how much I have collected and have been reusing). 

Each time you buy any of the above items or any other items that have access packaging – remember what you are contributing to:  the massive garbage heaps in our oceans, the depletion of earth’s natural resources, the increase of garbage in landfills and the death of all types of animals.  It is time that we really look at the consequences of our actions and it is time that we change to ensure the survival of our planet, wildlife and our humanity.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

STOP BUYING!!!! WE NEED TO HEAL.

Want, want, want, want…….How much more do we really need?  People are so much more worried about ‘wanting’ the latest gadget or acquiring the fastest car that they are forgetting that our world is in turmoil and requires healing.  If we keep demanding bigger, better, stronger and faster……..the planet will not be able to sustain that need and will eventually give up.  We should be doing our best to mend all the wounds that our demands have created on our planet – and we need to do it quickly and NOW.

BE QUIET, LISTEN and BUY

Buy, buy, buy media whores out to the brainwashed public.

Need, need, need the corporations tell us with false promises.

How much more do we really need to buy?

How much more do we really – REALLY need?

Governments are bought by the corporations to perpetuate their greed.

They tell us that no money is to be made by going ‘greener’.

The ‘hippies’ fought and respected the planet while BIG OIL fought every step of the way.

Bigger, faster and stronger metal is what we need and what you want – so we will BUILD.

Leather shoes, leather gloves, leather car seats, leather jackets, fur coats, fur boots, fur scarfs – annihilation for animals.

More food, bigger portions, more waste and disease – animals carted to concentration and death camps.

Drug companies amassing huge profits by making people more sick for longer durations.

We don’t need to be educated about nutrition – eat all you want and eat more of it because drugs will keep you alive and in a zombie state.

Is your house too small?  That’s okay, we’ll clear-cut this forest to accommodate your desire for a bigger house.

No-one will care, we are developers and are contributing to the local economy – FUCK those hippies, we listen to demand and don’t care for the planet.

It is YOUR right to demand more and it is OUR right to supply.

Don’t worry yourself about the lies the hippies tell you – it is not credible.  Just buy it.

Worry about your family – as a matter of fact, have more children so that they can consume and want more to make us richer.

Don’t worry about our world being ‘over-populated’, we have enough water, land and animals to feed all of you.

Stay distracted by watching your bigger and brighter televisions – we depend so that you don’t ask any questions.

Buy, buy, buy media whores out to the brainwashed public.

Need, need, need the corporations tell us with false promises.

When the planet has had enough – there will be nothing more to buy and no more people to buy.

 HEAL

There is time for me to heal.

If I only heal myself, then I can heal the water, the air and earth.

There is time for me to heal.

If I only heal myself, than I will have clarity.

I will heal to help those who can’t help themselves.

I will heal to fight for GAIA.

Why should we allow future generations to suffer?

Why should the planet suffer?

We have the power – we have the people,

So why don’t we begin the journey to healing so that no-one else needs to suffer?

The planet is speaking to us but we are not listening.  I am not ready to live in a world or time only to say “we should have done that so long ago” or live in a society where people say “we should have listened to the ‘hippies’.”  We are not doing enough because we are not demanding enough.  The skeptics keep telling us that they can’t try greener technologies because the demand isn’t there.  That is not true – what they are really saying is that the MONEY and PROFIT is not there.  It is time for an uprising, a new revolution, a grass-roots movement that will resonate with the generations of the future.  A movement about necessity versus materialism.  Where people care about their well-being and sustainable living on our planet – if we are to have a planet.

No more ‘what if’s’ – it is time to just do.  Change begins with us.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one.