#Climatecrisis, root balls, and SCBWI
I spent a good part of July working on house repairs and upgrades--a break from completing edits on Book II of The Bond. Like many writers, I cherish the time I spend working with my hands after intense periods of drafting. My son painted the dining and living rooms (same color, Foster Cream) and I painted my bedroom (long overdue).
I had fun searching for just the right decorative elements—at bargain-basement prices.
Some things I repurposed (like the Medusa head tree root I found on a walk at Jordan Lake). I bought bedside lamps at The Scrap Exchange, then refinished them with copper-colored spray paint. I’ve always loved matelasse bedspreads. The term comes from the French and refers to a quilting effect created by intricate stitching. Generally, these come in a single color and have wonderful texture.
But most king-sized matelasse spreads were way out of my budget, so I must have yelped out loud when I found a wonderfully textured spread put on clearance at a discount store.
But the big bucks went to things that weren't much fun. My power company must have psychologists on staff who are specialists in shame. Each month, I get an energy audit showing what a hog my house is. Granted, I have (wonderful) renters upstairs, so we have two of everything plus window air-conditioning units in the apartment. Still: my usage alone seemed like it was single-handedly driving our beleaguered planet over the brink.
Thousands of buckaroos later, I’m less outrageous even before new storm windows are installed. Since both the range and refrigerator later died, I’m also upgrading to more efficient units (at great pain to the pocketbook). But those purchases got me wondering. Where do these hulks of metal and plastics get dumped? What happens to the freon that refrigerators and A/C units use to cool? What about the iron in ranges?
It’s become the rule that appliances for the US market only last between 10-15 years (mine lasted just ten). Then what happens? According to a Los Angeles Times posted several years ago, specialist companies can harvest most of the appliance:
A single refrigerator contains chemicals with the greenhouse gas equivalent of 5 tons of carbon dioxide — roughly the same emissions as a passenger car driven for 10,000 miles.
The average fridge weighs about 200 pounds, almost all of which can be recycled. About 125 pounds are steel, five pounds are aluminum and an additional three to five pounds are copper. All those metals are separated with the help of a motorized hack saw, ripped apart by hand, sent to metal scrap yards and shipped overseas. For the most part, the steel is recycled into construction rebar, the aluminum into cans and the copper into wiring.
About 10 pounds of the typical refrigerator is polyurethane foam insulation that’s hidden in the walls between the metal exterior and plastic interior. The foam is pried off manually with a scraper. In refrigerators manufactured before 1996, about 10% of that foam, by weight, is chlorofluorocarbon, or CFC, refrigerant. The greenhouse gas is 4,620 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
But what is happening to recycling now? The company profiled in the Times article went bankrupt. China has stopped buying many paper and plastic recyclables. Some cities are simply throwing away all of those bottles, newspapers, appliances, and Amazon cardboard boxes.
So I feel stymied. As much as I want to do my part for the environment, the system of waste and throw-aways is impossible for one person to overcome. Things won't change until we elect people who care enough about the environment and the #climatecrisis to stake their political careers on big, deep, lasting change.
This week, I've enjoyed and cheered and generally whooped it up when Greta Thunberg posts to social media (and gave incredible side-eye when the US president walked in front of her at the UN during the General Assembly this week in New York). She's right on every point. Each day of delay and prevarication pushes humankind closer to extinction. It's no longer (if it ever was) a question of when -- it's how fast and with what level of inaction. I love that she speaks with a child's passion and clarity.
Some adults are triggered and I say: too bad. If you aren't listening and figuring out how to help, you are part of the problem.
Social media
A tidbit from #vss365, the Twitter hashtag that invites all to craft a mini-story or poem using the suggested word:
What #bright news do you bring, son? What fills your pockets: stones, shells, keys? What adventures await once the years have stripped me away? I would follow you like a shred of smoke, from a cigarette, fog, a steaming stove. I want your story to never end #vss365
Upcoming events
I’ll be presenting with my Blue Crow colleagues at the September SCBWI-Carolinas conference in Charlotte. I’m really looking forward to being with my tribe: writers and readers!
Photo of the month
From the East Campus tunnel wall at Duke University
That’s it for September. If you are going to be at SCBWI-Carolinas, please say hi!