February 2009

PASA hosts expert on global food issues

by Heather Simmons

coffee after being processed and bagged is

“The U.S. economy is built

purchased by Nescafe in London for $1.64

“The weird paradox is that 40 million

per kilo and subsequently sold for $26.40

on low-wage workers who

people went hungry in the United States in

per kilo. Patel describes how and why this

are forced to shop at Wal-

2008,” Raj Patel, author of S tuffed and

consolidation of power in the food industry

Mart...[which] drives local

Starved told Voices in an interview leading

is affecting not only the producers of our

business out thus depriving

up to this year’s Pennsylvania Association

food but the consumers as well.

for Sustainable Agriculture

(PASA)

“If people are unwilling to look at the suf-

local markets of income.”

Farming for the Future conference. “So why

fering that this system causes in other coun-

--Raj Patel

did this happen in the one of the wealthiest

tries,” said Patel, “then the place to start is

countries?”

the increase in the prevalence of obesity and

“The idea behind Stuffed and Starved is

weight-related diseases such as diabetes

that overweight consumers are exploited by

that has been occurring in the last 30 years.

effect of removing local businesses is on the

the same system that starves others,” said

There is clearly a dietary component and

local economy. Patel said that it is possible

Patel. Patel’s book is a thought-provoking

the question becomes who makes the

for people to “dodge” Wal-Mart by cutting

and eye-opening look at the global food

money off these kind of changes?” The fact

out the middle-men in the food market, so

market. He explores the distribution and

that healthy food choices are often available

that the consumers and producers interact

control of the world’s food, and shows how

only to the wealthy is another side effect of

directly, a proposition many PASA mem-

control is concentrated in the hands of a few

the global food market that affects produc-

bers who will be listening to his talk would

at the expense of the majority.

ers and consumers alike.

be amenable to.

For instance, it is difficult for some

“The U.S. economy is built on low-wage

Patel was not optimistic about Barack

Americans to conceive of how buying a

workers who are forced to shop at Wal-

Obama’s pick for secretary of agriculture,

Patel. Despite the fact that he believes

pound of coffee at the supermarket affects a

Mart,” said Patel. “Think about Wal-Mart. It

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack.

Obama is in with the pocket of agribusiness,

coffee bean grower somewhere in Africa.

drives local business out thus depriving the

“The people that Obama has in agricul-

Patel said he is very hopeful about the

But they do. In his book, Patel recounts

local market of income with the result that

ture are veterans of agribusiness that are

the story of a coffee bean farmer in Uganda

the lives of the local people are made worse

along the same lines as Bush, so there is no

who sells his coffee for 14 cents a kilo

by Wal-Mart.”

reason to think that Obama’s government

see Food , pg. 14

(roughly 2 and a half pounds). This same

In his book, Patel discusses how large the

will lead to any change in agriculture,” said

Nuclear waste the issue for this generation

such items as protective clothing, rags,

Truckloads of this waste material have

and the environment.

by the Peace and Social Action

tools, paper, etc. that although they contain

been shipped to a landfill in rural South

Currently, no nation has yet solved the

Committee of Friends Meeting

low levels of radioactivity, still pose a dan-

Carolina. As of July 2008, South Carolina

problem of what to do with radioactive

Nuclear energy is being hailed as a viable

ger to human health. This is due to the fact

stopped accepting most radioactive materi-

waste that must potentially be shielded from

alternative energy source, but where does

that all nuclear waste material includes the

al, with the effect that nuclear waste is now

the environment for thousands of years.

the waste from nuclear energy end up?

same long-lasting deadly radionuclides

piling up in labs, universities, hospitals,

The storage of this waste is perhaps the

Nuclear waste management demands

(radionuclides are the decay products of a

industries and businesses where it is used.

most controversial aspect of the nuclear

scrutiny because of its potentially harmful

nuclear reaction). If radionuclides are

State and federal authorities say the waste is

power issue. Most long-term waste manage-

effects to human and environmental health.

released into the environment through acci-

being monitored but they acknowledge

ment consists of treating the waste and then

Because all nuclear industry activities,

dent, poor disposal or other means, they can

checks are infrequent, and government doc-

isolating it from the environment. Since the

whether they be in nuclear medicine or

potentially cause adverse health effects

uments show that thousands of items have

1950s, geologic disposal sites in the United

nuclear weapons, produce nuclear waste

such as cancer and genetic deformations.

been lost and are feared stolen by terrorists

States have been elusive. This is mostly as a

radioactive waste is produced in hospitals

Essentially, radioactive waste is the lethal

who could turn the radioactive material into

result of popular and political pressure on

and research labs across the country. The

byproduct of the nuclear age.

dirty bombs.

the Department of Energy (DOE) but has

list of objects that have been exposed, and

As of Jan. 18,

2007, in Pennsylvania

The biggest problem with nuclear waste

included an abandoned salt formation at

thus have become radioactive, is long and

alone, there are nine operating commercial

is the current lack of a long-term viable

Lyons, Ks. and dozens of sites in eastern

includes items from medical procedures,

reactors at five sites (Beaver Valley-2, Three

solution to storing it safely. All nuclear

and western states

protective clothing, reactor components and

Mile Island-1, Peach Bottom-3, Limerick-1,

waste requires time to break down to reduce

Yucca Mountain was selected as a feder-

decommissioned nuclear weapons.

Susquehanna-2) and one operating research

its radioactivity. Depending on the type of

al geological disposal site because it is in a

Radioactive waste is often defined in

reactor at Penn State in State College. More

nuclear waste, it may take decades to

remote desert area on federal land. Yucca

terms of the level of radioactivity present in

than any other part of the United States, the

decompose. For instance, the half-life of

Mountain, which is near Las Vegas and not

the waste material. High-level waste is pro-

Northeast is peppered with sites storing

uranium-239 is thousands of years, and thus

far from Los Angeles, is immediately next

duced by nuclear reactors while low-level

nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste,

no institution or government can be guaran-

waste is generated primarily by hospitals

and/or surplus plutonium used for making

teed to last the thousands of years required

and industry. Low-level waste consists of

bombs destined for geologic disposition.

to keep nuclear waste from harming people

see Nuclear , pg. 13

February 2009

A pine siskin invasion can delight bird lovers

plumage is not decorated with streaks.

by Alice Fuller

Siskins also have touches of yellow on the

It was my husband Ted who first noticed

BIRD

wings and at the base of the tail. These dec-

one morning that a portion of our patio was

orative details usually are not seen until a

literally carpeted with a host of feathered

siskin takes flight or one spreads its wings

mites. Then, with a whoosh, they all sud-

in an aggressive stance.

denly took off, leaving the patio bare. Our

given the task of counting them., but I think

Siskins like the same foods as goldfinch-

visitors were pine siskins. In a moment or

he found it to be a difficult assignment.

es, usually sunflower seeds or chips; like-

two, the flock of siskins returned to feed on

While he was checking the feeders and

wise, both are extremely fond of nyjer seed.

the seed Ted had scattered under the hang-

yard, my daughter Roana and I were with a

They are as capable as goldfinches of using

ing bird feeders.

friend, busy totaling up all the birds we

the upside-down nyjer seed feeder. Roana

Every day since, the siskins have returned

could possibly find in Pine Grove Mills and

and I were watching the siskins one morn-

to follow the same procedure: here one

vicinity.

ing as a continuous battle went on over

minute and up and away the next. One

While I have had pine siskins come to our

perches on the upside-down feeder. Ro

morning I counted at least 50 siskins; I sus-

feeders other winters, never have I seen so

wondered if any of them ever got to eat any

pect, however, that this was a conservative

many at one time. Although they are the

of the seeds.

figure, for the birds keep moving from bird

same size and belong to the same genus as

For such a tiny bird, the pine siskin is a

feeders back to the patio.

goldfinches, the two species are easy to tell

feisty mite. John V. Dennis in his book A

After a week or so, the siskins were still

apart. Pine siskins have streaks all over their

Complete Guide to Bird Feeding described

arriving consistently; fortunately, they were

tiny bodies as demonstrated in Bordners’s

the siskin as having a bellicose nature. The

even around on the day of the State College

drawing of a siskin. Goldfinches in their

author of the siskin life history in the A. C.

Bird Club’s annual Audubon Christmas

winter plumage are brownish or grayish

Bent series described the bird as being pug-

see Pine siskin , pg. 14

Bird Count. Ted, who stayed at home, was

with prominent white wingbars, and their

nacious. Siskins usually manage to hold

waste. Because seismic activity has frac-

ation containment. As a result of its poor

strophic amounts of radioactivity in major

from Nuclear , pg. 12

tured and fissured Yucca Mountain’s rock

geology the Yucca Mountain waste facility

population centers along the transportation

creating fast flow pathways for water infil-

has not lived up to previously established

routes.

door to Nellis Air Force Base that houses

tration, it is possible that water will eventu-

federal safety regulations. These regulations

What is the solution to the U.S. radioac-

the Nevada nuclear weapons test site and

ally corrode waste burial containers which

have simply been re-written or done away

tive waste problem? There is no easy, sim-

mining operations. Not only is this location

will release deadly radioactivity into the

with altogether. In other words, “politics

ple answer. One obvious solution is to sim-

vulnerable to crashes or detonations, but

underground drinking water supply used by

have trumped science.”

ply stop producing it. Or we could at least

Yucca Mountain is also on Western

farming communities downstream.

Another problem with the Yucca

begin to allocate resources to researching

Shoshone Native American land, which

Volcanism also threatens to flood the pro-

Mountain disposal site is that the use of this

alternative uses for nuclear waste. There are

raises environmental justice objections to

posed waste dump with superheated water,

area as a nuclear waste disposal site would

at present a few isotopes such as caesium-

dumping radioactive waste there.

and perhaps even lava, that would release

necessitate an unprecedented program of

137 and strontium-90 that are currently

Yucca Mountain is also a major earth-

massive amounts of deadly radioactivity

high-level waste transportation, a “mobile

being used in industrial applications. It is a

quake zone. Dozens of fault lines criss-

into the surrounding environment. Because

Chernobyl”! Many tens of thousands of

conundrum to say the least! Can our dem-

cross this area with two that intersect direct-

Yucca Mountain’s geology is so unsuitable,

truck, train and barge shipments on high-

ocratic process handle this delicate situation

ly with the proposed dumpsite. Several hun-

building a dump there would require total

ways, rail lines and waterways would cross

and somehow come up with a solution to

dred quakes have struck near Yucca

abandonment of the original concept of

45 states. Not only are the shipping con-

keep the radioactive wastes from leaking

Mountain in recent decades, damaging

deep geologic disposal which means that

tainers not adequately tested for safety, but

into our nation’s water, soil or air at pro-

DOE facilities and derailing trains that

engineered barriers (which may not even be

they are vulnerable to severe accidents and

posed geologic repositories? Only time

would one day be used to haul nuclear

possible to build) will have to provide radi-

terrorist attacks, risking the release of cata-

will tell.

Watershed Cleanup Day

Saturday, April 25, 2009

It’s not too early to think spring! We will be

cleaning our roadways, waterways, and greenways

in central Pennsylvania’s watersheds, and we need your help! Cleanup sites

will be available throughout Centre County’s watersheds. To register a

volunteer team, please contact Brianna at (814) 237-

0400 or [email protected].

2555 North Atherton Street, State College, PA 16803

www.clearwaterconservancy.org/

watershed_cleanup_day.htm

February 2009

During winters when we have an invasion

should be constrained, but I think that we

of pine siskins, some of them may remain to

need to move beyond the free market.”

from Pine siskin , pg. 13

from Food , pg. 12

nest in Pennsylvania, mainly in the northern

“The current research agenda is driven by

their own at feeders, even against larger

or mountainous parts of the state.

future and believes that there is a current

what companies want,” said Patel.

birds. Dennis noted that the siskin can be

According to The Birds of Pennsylvania ,

“trend towards community engagement.”

“Universities are bought and paid for by

discreet when around such bigger birds as

“Siskins are not known to nest regularly

Patel believes that a lot of the problems that

businesses, which is not an intelligent use

evening grosbeaks: “Instead of making war,

anywhere in the state, but suitable habitat

exist with the global food system are due to

of public money.”

the pine siskin darts in among feeding gros-

exists in Warren and McKean counties, and

the distance that exists between the produc-

PASA’s executive director said the group

beaks and seizes whatever particles of food

south in the Laurel Highlands, where many

ers of food, and that control can be regained

invited Patel to speak to its annual confer-

it can.” Caution many be the better part of

breeding records have been reported.”

if local farmers can organize and deal

ence because he can bring the big picture to

valor when dealing with such large birds as

As its name suggests, the pine siskin

directly with their local municipalities.

everyday working farmers.

purple finches, house finches, or evening

most often selects such trees as hemlock,

“We need profound political change as

“He has a global perspective on how food

grosbeaks, but Dorothy related once how a

pine, spruce and other conifers for nesting

well as structural change,” said Patel.

politics affect different people and commu-

pine siskin shoved a grosbeak off her win-

sites. According to the Bent life history

“Social change is community-based so the

nities in different foodsheds around the

dow feeding tray.

account, this species may nest as isolated

idea is that people can do more to change

world,” explained PASA’s Brian Snyder.

Pine siskins also are noted for being tame

pairs, but more often than not this gregari-

the world than just change their shopping

“And his keynote address will lend an inter-

little birds. A fascinating account from

ous species prefers a colonial affair with

habits. Individuals can start organizing as

national lens through which to think about

Dennis’ book bears repeating: a gentleman

nests only yards apart.

communities; they can build community

issues of food security, agency and control

from Massachusetts

“had been offering

In addition to the large numbers of the

gardens, support local farmers and support

of food options, and health and diet.” Patel

food to a flock of siskins and soon found

pine siskins this year, white-winged cross-

sustainable agriculture.” Patel believes that

is scheduled to do a question and answer

himself besieged by the tiny birds every

bills have been reported around the area. I

the current global food system is man-made

period and book signing at the conference

morning. They got in the habit of entering

have yet to hear reports in our area of some

and that as a result it can be undone.

after his keynote address.

his bedroom early in the morning through

of the other finch clan including red cross-

“I have been interested in global far

The

18th annual PASA conference,

an open window and then to gain his atten-

bills, pine grosbeaks and evening gros-

longer than in food, and I became interest-

which is being held at the Penn Stater

tion would begin tugging his hair and even

beaks. Perhaps some of these other species

ed in the food element during the World

Conference Center from Feb. 5 to 7, is

tweaking his nose with their sharp bills.

may turn up in our area as winter progress-

Trade Organization meeting in Seattle in

themed “The worldwide search for food

Needless to say, this was usually enough of

es, but with or without them the representa-

1999,” said Patel. “What we know as glob-

Sovereignty: Finding Your Foodshed.” For

a hint to arouse the host into supplying

tives of these colorful and erratic birds of

alization was once called imperialism.

more information or to register go to

food....” Dennis added that such tameness is

the northern forests have already brightened

People often disagree that the free market

www.pasafarming.org.

exceptional.

the landscape of an otherwise long winter.

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Environment.

February 2009

Easy ways to save money through energy efficiency

by Heather Simmons

your home and install double (or triple)

baking; they transfer heat more efficiently.

pane windows. These measures although

—Use your microwave whenever possi-

Your

initially expensive will reduce your heating

ble; it uses about half the energy of a con-

Faced with the rising cost of energy and

Green

costs substantially. There are also other less

ventional oven.

the fact that electricity prices will be dereg-

expensive ways to reduce your heating bill.

—Only run your dishwasher when it’s

House

ulated in our region in 2010 the ability to

—Clean or replace your furnace filters

full.

reduce household energy costs becomes

ways in which you can reduce the amount

regularly.

—Let your dishes air dry to reduce the

increasingly important. Reducing usage

of energy in lieu of replacing your heater.

—Caulk and/or weather-strip leaky win-

amount of energy used by 20 to 30 percent.

will not only decrease monthly bills but is

—Set the water heater to 120 degrees.

dows and doors. Alternatively you can use

—If your stove or dishwasher is next to

also environmentally friendly. Burning fos-

—Insulate the heater and water pipes.

plastic sheets to cover leaky windows.

the refridgerator then the heat generated

sils fuels directly contributes to global

—Install aerated, low flow faucets and

—Keep the fireplace flue tightly closed

from these appliances will warm the air

warming gases, and according to the

showerheads.

when not in use.

next to the fridge. If you are unable to move

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA)

—Drain water (about a quart) from your

—Insulate outlets on exterior walls. Stiff

your appliances slide a piece of insulating

more than 75 percent of the human-generat-

water tank every few months to remove the

foam insulating that fits inside the outlet is

material between the two.

ed greenhouse gas emissions are carbon

sediment.

available at home improvement stores.

—Defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator

dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels,

—If you are planning on being gone from

—Keep curtains on south-facing walls

rather than on the counter to cut down on

and of this amount 41 percent is due to elec-

your house for more than a couple of days

open on sunny days to capture sunlight.

the amount of electricity used to keep your

tricity generation.

turn the setting down to low.

Another way that you can reduce your

refrigerator cold.

Here are a few ways we can save money

—Typically 45 percent of the average

electricity bill is by using florescent light

—Defrost your freezer whenever the ice

as well as combat the greenhouse effect by

utility bill is due to either heating or cooling

bulbs. Although florescent bulbs are more

is more than ¼ inch thick.

conserving energy.

your home. So, when setting your heater

expensive than regular incandescent bulbs

When washing clothes you can reduce the

According to Allegheny Power it costs on

during the winter months bear in mind that

they will save you money in the long run

amount of energy you use by only washing

average $28.35 per person per month to run

every degree above 68 degrees can add 3

because not only do they last 10 times as

clothes when you have a full load, and using

a 40 to 50 gallon water heater. Obviously

percent to the amount of energy used for

long (about 10,000 hours) but they use a

the gentle/light cycle with cold water. Make

the easiest way to save energy on your hot

heating.

quarter of the energy. This is due to the fact

sure that you clean the lint out of the dryer

water heater is to buy the most efficient

The best ways to reduce the amount of

that 90 percent of the electricity used by

filter after every load.

model available, however, water heaters can

energy used to heat your house is to pur-

regular bulbs is lost as heat. You can also

According to the government’s Energy

be exorbitantly expensive, so there are a few

chase an energy efficient heater, insulate

recycle them locally. If you choose not to

Star program the average household spends

use florescent lights you can extend the life

approximately $100 a year on electricity

of regular bulbs as well as saving energy by

used by devices while they are turned off.

installing dimmer switches. Contrary to

The worst culprits are appliances that have

popular belief it does not take more energy

a stand by mode such as Tivo, cable boxes,

to turn lights on and off rather than leaving

TVs, DVD players, and computers. A study

them on, so if you are going to be gone from

at the University of Berkley estimated that

a room for more than a few minutes turn the

turning off these devices could save the

light off.

average household between 6 to 20 percent

There are a couple of commons sense

on their electricity bils. So when not in use

ways to reduce the amount of energy that

unplug them, or you can use a power strip

you use in the kitchen:

so that it is easier to turn off several at a

—To reduce the amount of energy used

time.

while cooking make sure that the pot is the

If you have any other tips/suggestions to

same size as the burner and use a lid to

help reduce the amount of energy used in

lower the cooking temperature.

the home share them with other Voices read-

—Use glass dishes instead of metal for

ers at www.voicesweb.org.

Mexican Fundraising Feast!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

6 p.m. 110 Henderson Bldg.

Penn State Campus

$30 adults/$18 students & children

ll proceeds benefit

e Volunteers in Medicine and

Health (Haiti/Rwanda)

Contact Dorothy Blair at [email protected]