I don’t usually write anything here that could be considered political. I recently read this article in Rolling Stone. I’m concerned. I don’t hear people talking about it or even bothered.

I was reading about plastic bags this morning. I had seen awhile back on an environmental site that it didn’t really matter if you chose paper or plastic, but after reading this article (you may need to watch an ad to read), I think I’ll stick to paper like always (when there’s a choice).

Here are the numbers:

100,000,000,000 (100 billion) bags thrown away in the US every year

those bags equal 12,000,000 (12 million) barrels of oil

only 1% of bags are recycled worldwide

only 2% of bags are recycled in the US

46,000 pieces of plastic floating in every square mile of the ocean

Some of those bags sink to the ocean floor and cover up ocean creatures. Some bags get eaten by birds or marine mammals.

For those who thought banning plastic bags in San Francisco and Oakland was  some act of the crazy environmentalists…I think they have a good reason to ban the bags.

The downside of paper is that 14 million trees are necessary to make the 10 billion paper grocery bags used every year in the US. However, trees are a renewable resource, even if they do take a long time to grow.

Perhaps it’s time to buy some really good canvas bags. I have yet to find any.

With the last few elections, I kept up on the news of these electronic voting machines. I read extensively and watched documentaries. Here in California, the state found some hackers to test the machines. They were able to hack the machines every time on every model. I hope this means that the state government will decide to dump the machines. Perhaps this is a wake up call? No one listened before.

The latest Rolling Stone arrived Saturday. If you’re not a subscriber, this one is worth a read for the article on the Bush administration and environmental policy–or lack thereof. I’ve barely gotten halfway through this particular article, and I’m too pissed off to continue. I can’t imagine that it gets better. Unfortunately. I wish I could link to the article, but it doesn’t seem to be posted on their website. If you haven’t read the amzing articles on politics found in Rolling Stone, you’re missing out on a lot. For a summary of this article…let’s just say we’re screwed.

Oh and if what they say about California is true…there will be more than a mass exodus. No water equals no food. Not for California and not for the rest of the country. No strawberries, almonds, peaches, carrots, lettuce. None. Nada.  Bees won’t be necessary.

Some facts about California: (from http://www.beachcalifornia.com/california-food-facts.html)

1. California has been the number one food and agricultural producer in the United States for more than 50 consecutive years.

2. More than half the nation’s fruit, nuts, and vegetables come from here.

3. California is the nation’s number one dairy state.

4. California’s leading commodity is milk and cream. Grapes are second.

5. California’s leading export crop is almonds.

6. Nationally, products exclusively grown (99% or more) in California include almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, kiwifruit, olives, persimmons, pistachios, prunes, raisins, clovers, and walnuts.

7. From 70 to 80% of all ripe olives are grown in California.

8. California is the nation’s leading producer of strawberries, averaging 1.4 billion pounds of strawberries or 83% of the country’s total fresh and frozen strawberry production. Approximately 12% of the crop is exported to Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Japan primarily. The value of the California strawberry crop is approximately $700 million with related employment of more than 48,000 people.

9. California produces 25% of the nation’s onions and 43% of the nation’s green onions.

Anyone else out there sick and tired of all the articles about women or directed towards women with the same message “you just don’t add up”? Not a day has gone by in the last month that I haven’t read an article or commentary about how women should be.  Oh, and let’s add the other ubiquitous message “it’s all your fault.”

So where aren’t women adding up to expectations? Work, family, bed, as wives/girlfriends, appearance, etc.  And men wonder why women are angry. If you internalize these expectations (and even if you don’t they still get to you), you are going to be angry because no one can keep up. The expectations change too. So we have these rules that women should follow to be good, hot, pleasant women (pick your adjective) and then the rules change constantly. It’s no longer enough to enjoy sex,  now women have to perform like porn stars and that includes looking like one too (boobs, hairlessness). Or there are the parenting articles that get women constantly concerned that they are failing their children. As if these articles are necessary. I don’t see these articles directed to men. Then the gender gap in the workplace is blamed on women.

It seems to me that it has gotten worse in recent years. I always remember there being expectations, but I can’t remember a time when they seemed so contradictory and constantly changing.  So with the constantly changing expectations of society and the constant blame when you don’t measure up, what is a woman to do? Can I just opt out of the game?

I may be one of a small group who hadn’t yet seen “An Inconvenient Truth.” I know many people here where I live saw it before me. If you haven’t seen it, you should. The data that Al Gore shows is quite striking. Not just convincing, but shocking at the recent drastic change from past years.

I had no ideea that Gore had been discussing the environment for so many years. I never saw the hearings. I don’t even remember hearing about them. I suppose I was too young to care. I had more important things to do. More pressing concerns like school and keeping a low profile at home.

What I don’t understand is why there are people who are willfully ignoring the environment. Do we want an inhabitable earth? We don’t have anywhere else to go.

Has the country really woken from a deep slumber? I hope so. When it comes to politics, I may have something to be optimistic about after all. I would like to see it improve our standing internationally.

In other news, I am way behind in my word count for NaNoWriMo. I got stuck. I got my characters on their way to going somewhere as a group. I need a good picture in my head of what it looks like where they are going, but I don’t have it. Not yet. On the plus side, my main characters (as compared to minor characters) are fairly well-developed. If not on the page, then in my head. I don’t know who the minor characters are yet, except for one. That character hasn’t made an appearance yet. So I will have to see how far I really get. I’m really am just thrilled to have started. Finishing can happen anytime, even though it’s easy to procrastinate that as well.

Technorati: NaNoWriMo

Well after yesterday’s post, I want to ask today if the politicians will let their real selves appear. What would happen if everyone did that?

So I went and voted. I hope that people are voting for some changes and that the voting systems work. HBO’s special “Hacking the Vote” was disenheartening. I knew most of it all ready, but seeing it rather than reading it was more effective.

It’s great day in spite of the fact that I got little sleep and I am having a very unproductive day. My cats have taken over my desk. I think it’s time for a nap.

I’m thinking about burying my head in the sand until the November elections are over. Here in California we get an election guide printed on newsprint sent in the mail. Nowhere else that I have lived does this. This year’s guide is almost 200 pages. Just thinking about 200 pages makes my head explode. I’ve found a few good shows on network TV, which is rare. I don’t have TiVo or something like it, so I can’t forward past commericials. I”m not ready for smarmy Schwarzenegger commercials. What was California thinking when it put him in office? I would like to know why we can’t get a good actor in office.

Now news on the work front yet this morning. It is also a holiday for some people. Everyone I know was busy this weekend, so it was pretty quiet here. I did get a chance to talk about business with my neighbor. She does similar work to what I’m trying to get.

I will be talking with Kelly on her podcast today. That’s the plan. This will be my first podcast, so it should be interesting. You won’t hear any religion or politics there. She does a really nice job with her cast. I really enjoyed her podcast with Ricardo, so I volunteered.

Technorati: elections, California, Schwarzenegger, podcast, Based on Experience