I see that we might be more sympathetic toward the Earth when we’re well-fed.

Read more—Ars technica (March 19, 2012): …climate change acceptance nosedives with the economy.

Any port in a storm… including making more fossil-fuel burning cars, as long as it creates jobs in the good ol’ U.S. of A. We likely won’t find a political candidate standing for any other possibility in hard times. Gotta pay the rent and put food on the table. Harsh bottom line.

One of our favorite local barbecue restaurant restaurants closed down. We were sorely disappointed. Then we found out, much to our pleasure, it had re-opened further south in town as a more upscale restaurant—higher prices, some of the same food, plus some more exotic entrées.

Our town—or, I might say, city—has grown dramatically since I moved here in 1976. (Of course, hasn’t most every population center?) We live in the high mountains of the great desert southwest: Santa Fe, NM. What were dirt roads in 1976 are now four-lane major arteries. Rodeo Road boasts a golf course, a small airport (heh, one boarding gate), and—wow!—a sewage treatment plant. Land is plowed flat at an alarming rate for new subdivisions and commercial enterprises.

On the highway south of town, where one could drive for miles at night in darkness, is now a constant string of headlights. The biodiesel fuel commuter train struggles for customers. Score a victory to fossil fuel gas.

In the midst of Santa Fe southern growth is the new version of our barbecue restaurant.

About a month after restaurant V2 opened, we visited. We had the usual—one of us, a half rack of ribs, and the other, brisket. Mmm… But we noticed an intriguing item on the menu: a green chile barbecued beef burrito. (We’re addicted to green chile, so this item immediately caught our attention: we agreed to return soon.)

Upon return a couple weeks later—yes, that soon—mi esposa had a barbecued carne adovada burrito with red chile (special that night) and I had the green chile burrito we’d seen before. Superb. Refried beans on the side, of course: can’t have southwest food without refried beans, ¿right? We were well-fed.

Revenge of the refried beans! We’re remodeling, so instead of the luxury of separate throne rooms, we share while one is out of commission: a hot time in the ol’ house that night! Natural gas.

Global warming with an attitude.

I saw an amusing, if not scary, article just now. Some excerpts:

The Earth’s methane concentration has increased by about 150% since 1750, and it accounts for 20% of the total radiative forcing from all of the long-lived and globally mixed greenhouse gases.

[…]

A 2006 UN FAO report reported that livestock generate more greenhouse gases as measured in CO2 equivalents than the entire transportation sector. Livestock accounts for 9 percent of anthropogenic CO2, 65 percent of anthropogenic nitrous oxide and 37 percent of anthropogenic methane.

[…]

President of the National Academy of Sciences Ralph Cicerone (an atmospheric scientist), has indicated the contribution of methane by livestock flatulence and eructation to global warming is a serious topic.

Read more: Wikipedia

Anthropogenic—that’s us: getting well-fed. Flatulence and eructation—that’s our food: farting and burping. Revenge of the herds.

From the Earth Day Network website:

Each year, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

The height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. Protest was the order of the day, but saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam, and students nationwide increasingly opposed it.

At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

[…]

Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center.

(We were well-fed.)

Much like 1970, Earth Day 2010 came at a time of great challenge for the environmental community. Climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a disinterested public, and a divided environmental community all contributed to a strong narrative that overshadowed the cause of progress and change.

(Getting a little hungry at times, eh?)

The fight for a clean environment continues in a climate of increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more manifest every day. We invite you to be a part of Earth Day and help write many more victories and successes into our history. Discover energy you didn’t even know you had.

Maybe it’s not all hot air.

¿k?