opinion: carbon calculator, week 8
Week 8 in the continuing series of what is missing from Carbon Calculators.
There is a list of the things that those calculators don’t ask, thereby eliminating them from their algorithm. These are the things that are sometimes the meat of the matter, so to speak. By altering these things, you could affect your true footprint in ways unimaginable and truly make our planet sustainable.
DRINKING SODA
The way this simple drink impacts our lives is incredible.
There are the obvious things like the emissions produced from the production, marketing and transportation of the cola. But, what about the not so obvious things.
The can is made out of aluminum. While most of us recycle, it doesn’t change the fact that the raw material, or resource, was taken from the Earth in the first place, never to be returned. Also, the recycling process does not have a 100% reclamation rate. There are residual losses that have to be made up for by taking from the resource, again. In other words, lets say you need 100 cans, so you recycle 100 cans. However, that process only makes 80 cans, so you need to obtain 20 cans worth of raw material. But now, you need 200 cans because sales have increased this year. Now, you need to obtain 120 cans worth of raw material.
The cans, until the FDA issues a ban, contains Bisphenol-A. This is a chemical that is used in the synthesis of making the cans or plastic bottles. Most research indicates that this is an environmental hazard, in that it is toxin in our bodies that acts as a hormone mimicker, creating cancers and deformities on vast scales.
The biggest culprit to making sodas an environmental cesspool… the high fructose corn syrup. In the last 50 years, corn has become the largest commodity crop in the world, but mainly the United States. It now accounts for 80% of our agriculture, althought 0% of it is edible to humans. Unless, of course, it goes through a chemical process altering it into HFCS. Despite what the commercials say, this stuff is NOT as natural as sugar.
How does this hurt the environment? There are many, but the biggest issue: pollution. Commodity corn is very different than the corn you grill during the summer. Commodity corn is the corn that is used to sweeten everything in your cupboard, feed our livestock, makes the cereal you eat in the morning, and even makes the boxes that the cereal comes in. Commodity corn is 100% genetically modified.
This means that a farm that used to only be able to produce 10 bales of corn, can now produce 200 bales of corn. The plant has been genetically engineered to not mind close quarters. However, the problem with this is that because of how much corn is being grown and lack of little else, it has sucked up anything good from the soil and left it barren. Currently, for every American there is considered to be 4 acres of food available to them. In ten years (!), that number is expected to decrease by 50%. A major part of this is because some of the land has to be taken out of the equation because it is dead. In order to grow all that corn you need fertilizer and pesticides. And, not the stuff that used to be available to us. As we have gotten stronger and stronger pesticides, we have gotten stronger and stronger pests. There is one weed that has proliferated across 22 states, and the only thing that will kill it is Agent Orange. Want to know how they found that out? The same company that made the GMO corn, well, they make Agent Orange.
So we have barren land, we have weeds and bugs that won’t die and are killing every crop that is not corn, and we also have dead zones in the ocean. All the poisons we are putting on the corn to make it usable, are getting washed off the plant and that water is making its way into the ocean. In fact, like clock work, at harvest time, there is a plume of dead in the Gulf of Mexico because of fertilizer and pesticide runoff that traveled down the Mississippi. Therefore, our fish are dying and the ones that are alive are pumped full of these awful chemicals that we are then grilling up to eat with the corn!
Lastly, your soda is making you fat. The science can be explained, point by point. However it is interesting to note that as our intake of HFCS has gone up, our waste lines have increased. But, the point that is necessary from this… the heavier you are the more likely you are going to turn up the air conditioning, stick to a commute in your car, buy more clothes because your size is going up, and so on.
The heavier you are the more of a drain on the environment you are.
please understand the severity of this
I have re-typed this opening sentence about five times now, because I do not have the words to explain how important it is to STOP DRINKING SODAS!!! (Here’s hoping the all caps gives the effect I’m looking for.)
You can go to many a link on this page about High Fructose Corn Syrup or Crystalline Fructose and read about the disease issues related to both of these chemicals…. (yes, CHEMICALS. Make no mistake about it, despite what the Corn Bureau may say, these are chemicals. They are not natural. They are not “just like sugar”). To continue… first off, sodas are bad because of HFCS and the associated diseases.
However, I have a second, and maybe a more important reason why I am on my knees begging you to stop. And, even if you do not want to stop, if you have a child… please have them stop.
I have written about the dangers of BPA and you can go to the dedicated section to read more. But to summarize:
1.) BPA is used in the synthesis of plastic to make it more flexible. It is used in canned goods as a “protective” liner to stop contact between the content and the metal.
2.) BPA is known to leach during heat (in plastic) and under acidic conditions (metal). (Sodas and energy drinks are HIGHLY acidic materials).
3.) BPA is a known hormone mimicker causing serious developmental problems in children leading to diseases such as cancer, insulin resistance, sterility, other fertility related illnesses such as spontaneous miscarriages, and the list goes on.
4.) In studies, it has been found to cross the blood brain barrier, resulting in cancers in less than 30 days of exposure
In other words, this is a chemical that we are all exposed to, however, due to its influence during developmental stages children are more affected by it than adults. There has been a push to create BPA free baby bottles and toys, which is great and necessary.
Until now, there had been very little research done on its levels in soda.
I can’t tell you what to do or how to raise your children. I will tell you that I think in America we are not only in an epidemic of obesity and food related illnesses, but we are harming our children in ways unimaginable. Children today are exposed to much more than anything even 20 years ago… and I am not talking about racy music videos. I do feel it is up to the parents to stop being friends and start being parents, again, to their children and take control of how they eat and drink.
If someone doesn’t start acting soon, it may be too late.
Stumble it!