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Fueled by hypocrisy – Californians call themselves environmentalists while consuming ever more resources

In 1998, in the coastal port of Esmereldas, Ecuador, two pipelines broke and oil poured into the streets, igniting as it flowed. Parents in the town loaded their children into canoes and rafts and sent them out onto the Esmereldas River for safety, only to watch in disbelief as the water ignited, burning the boats and the children.

Press Democrat Editorial

In a special section, "State of Denial," published a week ago by the Sacramento Bee, reporter Tom Knudsen tells the tragic story of Esmereldas. And, then he takes it one step further: Knudsen follows the Ecuadorean oil to its ultimate destination — California, where consumers are using ever-greater amounts of petroleum from South America.

It’s rare for newspapers to promote the work done by other newspapers, but "State of Denial" should be read by every Californian. Be prepared: It will make you squirm.
The report (available online at http://www.sacbee.com/static/live/news/projects/denial) points out the hypocrisy of a citizenry that has turned California into an environmental haven while, at the same time, consuming massive amounts of resources. And, if Marin County is any measure, the larger your environmental pretentions, the greater your consumption.

Here’s what the Bee team that compiled "State of Denial" found:
Between 1980 and 2002, as Californians rebuffed offshore oil drilling in our own state, we increased our vehicle miles driven from 88 billion annually to 173 billion.

While the timber harvested in California has dropped from a high of 4,670 million board feet in 1988 to 1,603 million board feet in 2001, the state’s demand for lumber hasn’t declined: In the building boom between 1996 and 2002, housing starts increased by 52 percent.

While exact numbers aren’t available, it is estimated that California uses 10 billion board feet a year — the largest consumption of all the states.

Since 1992, the amount of national forest land within the state available for logging has dropped by 10 million acres — or 90 percent.

So, where does all this gas and wood that Californians consume come from? "Other places," we answer vaguely. Preferably places with sustainable harvesting practices and well-managed oil wells with up-to-date safety measures.

Ha.

As the Bee report points out, in sometimes ugly detail, the South American oil wells, pipelines and roads are destroying rainforests, decimating the lifestyles of native peoples and polluting water sources.
Worse, the shoddy construction used in building pipelines has led to leaks and explosions that have set fire to towns, like the 1998 fire that destroyed areas of Esmereldas and killed 12 people. Two weeks ago, another pipeline exploded in Ecuador, killing one person and injuring seven.

California’s dependence on foreign oil has been growing steadily and will continue to increase. In a recent Press Democrat article, Staff Writer Guy Kovner points out that the California Energy Commission forecasts that the state’s demand for gasoline will increase 38 percent by the year 2020.
And the wood that no longer comes from California’s forests? It now comes from Canada, where 90 percent of lumber is clear cut.
Again, the Bee tells a story of ruined lives and destroyed ecosystems. In particular, the report raises questions about the fate of the boreal forest, a green ring that circles the northern regions of the globe.

Scientists believe that the boreal plays a critical role in the earth’s temperature, and, during the summer 40 percent of the North America’s migratory birds live in the waterways of the forest.
So, Californians have saved our own forests, and we are now destroying someone else’s paradise — and perhaps our global climate.

If we traced other items that Californians consume — like fruits and vegetables — we’d find a similar story. We’ve done a decent job of regulating the most dangerous pesticides and herbicides used within the state, but more and more of us are buying imported produce from countries with lax standards.
One solution to this imbalance between resource use and resource production is to open California’s shores to drilling and to reduce regulations on timber harvesting. But we aren’t going to do this — nor should we. Lowering our environmental standards won’t make things better here — and it will likely make only marginal differences to other countries.
The real solution lies on the other side of the equation: Californians must — gulp — consume less.

A year ago, Sustainable Sonoma County’s Ecological Footprint Project director Ann Hancock wrote a commentary about "ecological footprints."
Hancock pointed out that if everyone on earth lived like people in Sonoma County, we would need about four planets. And, if everyone lived like the environmentally precious residents of Marin County — whose consumption is the largest measured by the folks who do the footprint calculations — we would need 5.4 planets. To measure your ecological footprint, go to http://www.myfootprint.org.

A survey last year by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 23 percent of Californians drive SUVs, only 19 percent regularly carpool and 39 percent drink bottled water at home (as opposed to tap or filtered water that doesn’t come from a throw-away petroleum-based plastic bottle).
But there’s reason for hope: The same survey found that 53 percent of state residents believe that "people like me" will have to make changes to solve environmental problems.
Translating this sentiment into action by carpooling, driving fuel efficient cars, living closer to where we work and building smaller houses will be tough.
But if Californians want to keep other places as pristine as we are striving to keep our own state, we must lighten our heavy footprint.

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