I recently added a documentary to my Netflix queue called The Cove.  It’s about a fishing village in Japan that captures dolphins to sell to the dolphin industry (think Sea World orca and dolphin performances, and swim with the dolphin programs at hotels in Hawaii).  The remaining dolphins are killed and sold for human consumption.  The film is captivating–with Mission Impossible style suspense and action.  It won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009.  And it won an Oscar for Best Documentary.

If you’re thinking of seeing this amazing film, read no further.  If you don’t have time to watch it but are curious about what is happening, read on.

Ric O’Barry, the man who trained the dolphins that starred in Flipper, became an activist against the captivity of dolphins when one of the dolphins he had trained committed suicide.  Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures and it’s just heart-wrenching to think that their captivity could drive them to such extremes.  This particular dolphin swam into Ric’s arms, looked him in the eye, took her last breath, and then refused to take any other breaths.  Unlike humans, dolphins have to consciously breath.  She sank to the bottom of the tank and died.

But by then it was too late.  The popularity of the show had birthed a lucrative industry.  I have to admit that I myself love Sea World.  I’ve been there, we’ve talked about planning a family vacation there with our three kids, and if I had the chance to swim with a dolphin while on vacation, I probably would.  But not anymore.  This industry captures wild dolphins, such as the ones captured in Taiji Japan in this film, and then sells them for $150,000 a piece!

Given the money to be made by selling dolphins, this little town in Japan has made this their primary business.  From September to March (RIGHT NOW!), their boats capture migrating dolphins.  Fishermen bang on long, metalic poles that are under the ocean water.  Their lines of boats do this in unison, scaring the dolphins and cornering them into a cove.  Here, trainers come and select the best dolphins for their business–usually female bottle nosed dolphins like Flipper.  What shocks me is that rather than release the remaining dolphins that aren’t selected, they are all slaughtered in that cove.  The males, the offspring, all of them.  The cove becomes bright red with their blood.  The film estimates that 23,000 dolphins have died this way.

And for what?  So that their meat can be sold for human consumption.  Do you want to eat dolphin meat?  Do the Japanese?  Dolphins are at the top of the food chain, which means that their mercury levels are dangerously high.  Dolphin meat is toxic.  And if no one buys the meat labeled dolphin meat, it is sometimes sold as “whale” meat.  Or, even more horrifically, it has been donated to Japanese schools for their hot lunches.

When activists offered these fisherman the money that they made doing this, they refused to stop.  They claimed that dolphins were pests, consuming too many of the ocean’s fish and not leaving enough for fisherman.  Yeah, fish around the globe are in decline because of dolphins.  (And by the way, the film has some startling numbers on what is happening to our fish supply and how unsustainable our current fishing practices are–but that’s for a different documentary).

And then the film ends.  There is no happy ending.  This is still going on right now.  It’s up to viewers to take action to try to stop the slaughter of thousands of dolphins every year.  So what can you do, even if you haven’t seen the film?  Sign their petition, send a letter to the President (they have one ready to go), buy copies of the film to be given to Japanese residents to educate them about the atrocities occurring in their back yard.

We Saved the Whales in the 80s.  I hope we can Save the Dolphins too.

And our system has been generating more electricity than predicted.  The projected power output in the picture below is in green.  Our actual production is in orange.   For every month, except May, we’ve produced more energy than expected.  And May was probably under because it was cloudy and rainy.  Not only are we overproducing, but we’re also underusing.  Our energy use this year is lower than last–impressive as we have added a person, and his cloth diapers, to our family.

Unfortunately though, we aren’t the only ones who love our solar panels…. we have a flock of pigeons nesting under them on our roof.  I did not realize that the panels would be installed with a 6″ gap between them and the roof, making the perfect, warm nesting spot for pigeons (see the attached photo of what they’ve left behind in our gutters).  I hear squirrels like solar panels too, especially chewing on their wires.  So if you’re looking to get a system installed, inquire about animals in your area and definitely look into getting a critter guard.  It’s cheaper and easier to install when the panels go up.

See the waste and even an egg left in our gutter by pigeons nesting under our panels. Interestingly, you can see several pigeons hanging out on the roof of my neighbor’s house two doors down.

Unfortunately, the electric company in my state has filed a request to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in hopes that they no longer need to offer rebates to homeowners that install solar panels.  Hopefully the PUC does not rule in their favor.  We need to promote the use of alternative energy, especially in this economic climate!

I am currently reading The Secret History of the War on Cancer, written by Devra Davis, Ph.D.  She has a great page that summarizes what is wrong with our current approach in America that I’d like to quote here:

“If we insist that we cannot act to prevent future harm until we have proof of past harms, we are treating people like lab rats in uncontrolled experiments.  If we say, let’s let the experts decide, where do we get experts without baggage?  The costs of experimental laboratory research are growing and debates about the value of various research methods are becoming ever more complex.  These debates are sometimes fueled by those who have a knack for turning molehills of scientific minutiae into mountains of uncertainty.  In a world where information on the health and safety of workers remains locked up in company files, wrapped in the protections of confidentiality, independent experts to make sense of it are an endangered species.

We have seen repeatedly how some people in industry, whether tobacco, asbestos, benzene or vinyl chloride, understood risks long before the rest of us were able to learn about them.  We know of many instances where insurance companies tracked health hazards for years, as claims mounted and reports of various ailments accumulated, without letting workers know the dangers they faced.  We also know that current laws discourage giving such information up.  The federal Toxic Substances Control Act provides criminal penalties for anyone who has knowledge that someone endangers public health of the environment and does not report it.  The results is that most companies no longer develop such knowledge or collect such information, so that they can’t be charged with breaking this law.”

For more information on this subject, see the Kids Safe Chemicals Act blog.

The lease agreement we are looking into involves installing 30 panels that will produce about 6.75 kW of energy by using 538 sq ft of our roof.  This system will cost us $75/month for the next 20 years.  Thanks to incredible federal rebates, as well as rebates from our local energy company, a 35k system only costs 13k, if you’re willing to purchase it now.  But then you will have to maintain it yourself.  Leasing it for 20 years at $75/month will only cost 18k.  The great thing about leasing is that it includes maintenance and repair on the system.  At the end of 20 years, we can sign a new lease, purchase the panels, or have them removed at no cost to us.  

I have reviewed my family’s energy bills.  We consume anywhere from 500 Kwh (in months like April and Oct) to just over 1000 (in Dec and Jan).  In October, we used 533 Kwh, costing us $72 with taxes and fees.  So leasing will not cost much more than we are currently paying and often, will cost less.  The solar company estimates that energy prices will rise at a rate of about 6%, which means that in 20 years, instead of paying $0.10/Kwh, we will be paying $0.33, making 533 cost close to $200.  And on those months when we use closer to 1000 Kwh, I’m sure we’ll enjoy paying only $75 for our electricity, rather than $400.  We still have to pay the energy company for taxes and fees and an estimated 5% or less of our energy, but that should only be $10-15/month.  Currently, we pay less than $20 for natural gas.

If your state allows leasing and has enough sun to justify solar panels, this is a great thing to look into.  Not only do you reduce your carbon footprint, but you save money and make a statement to your neighbors.  There are no upfront costs, the system is maintained by the company, and in many cases, won’t cost you any more than you’re spending now.  You’ll just be sending your money to a green solar company rather than to a coal-burning electric company.  Now is also a great time to go solar with so many rebate and tax credits making systems very affordable.

Below are some of the environmental benefits our system will provide by replacing electricity made from the burning of fuels:

• 410 barrels of oil offset by our system
• 358,903 miles not driven in a car
• 287,041 lbs of greenhouse gas not emitted
• the equivalent of planting 687 trees

When our system is installed in 3-4 months, I’ll share more about it!

While recycling is a good thing, it’s really not enough.  You also have to buy post-consumer recycled paper products.  We need to help create and sustain a market for recycled products.  So, the next time you’re buying paper, toilet paper, paper towels, tissue, wrapping paper, etc., try to find products made from recycled paper. 

My son recently needed some notebooks.  The ones pictured here are made from 60-70% post consumer waste recycled paper.  They’re also printed with soy ink.  And I found them at Target! 

Keep recycling, but also make sure you’re buying products made from recycled goods too.

So if you’d like to personally use less oil, drive less, but also try to eat locally and organically.