Sunday, June 24, 2007

The Great Carbon Sink

A lot of people are talking about greenhouse gases and global warming as if reducing our production of carbon dioxide is the only thing we could do to save our planet. They talk about reducing the length of our trips, gasoline consumption and reducing the amount of power we use in our homes and the like. But there has been no discussion about food.

Think about it: by 2048, the fish in the ocean will be gone. Humans eat a lot of fish supplied by their industrialized fishing machines. We have scoured every ocean for every fish we could find. And as the fish become more scarce, they become more valuable, driving up the incentive to find more. If you don't believe me about the fish, read this. I found 159,000 articles on the subject for you to consider.

But then you ask, why would this matter? Well, the fish, they produce poop and carcasses that float to the bottom of the sea where plants grow. Plants need food, fertilizer, to grow. And we all know how good fish remains are for fertilizer. So if we eat the fish, the plants, which are so good at scrubbing CO2 from the ocean and the air, will slowly die off for lack of fertilizer.

It's akin to how they are wiping out the Amazon rain forest just to graze cattle. No matter how we slice it, eating meat is a big cause of global warming. Cooking meat takes more energy than cooking vegetables. And most veggies can be prepared for consumption in their raw state.

So the next time you go to Gladstone's for fish in Malibu, think about the ocean floor. You might just consider a salad instead.