Infrastructure here and there

CH ≠ US

The other day I tried out a car from Mobility, our local car-share, for the first time. I was a nervous wreck, sure I would not be able to figure out the on-board computer or would mess up in some way. My fears were not eased by the fact that the car was nearly new, bright and shiny and perfectly clean. The on-board computer turned out to be simplicity itself, the car behaved much like the one I just sold, and soon I was bumping along a country road on the way to my favorite walking area. I pulled up to the parking lot that is my preferred starting point and…..it was being paved over! In the woods, big enough for perhaps 8 cars, and formerly covered with fully-effective gravel, it was roped off and being subjected to road-working machines.

This was only the latest in a series of summertime construction aggravations. The bus to the next town is often late because it has to wait for access to the one-way half of the street that is not being repaved, and we all miss our train. A street with a few patches that anywhere else would be considered perfectly serviceable, but here must be made pristine. Pulling up to a large grocery store parking garage to stock up just before selling my car, I found the entire garage closed completely for renovation, and there is no parking on the street nearby. Part of the train line to the pilgrimage town of Einsiedeln was closed for a week, with buses filling in. This would have been fine had the buses not taken far longer to make the journey, so one arrived late for Vespers. There are plans afoot to renovate, at a cost of thousands of francs, the parking lot in my town that serves the high school and one of the churches. It is also covered with gravel at the moment – just what is wrong with a gravel surface?

There is a difference between grousing because one is inconvenienced, on the one hand, and complaining about the necessity or not of such infrastructure projects, on the other. I’m afraid I fall into both categories, as it seems to me that much construction in the Zurich area is more cosmetic than anything else. I am not the only resident here who feels this way, to be sure. There are periodic demonstrations against sizeable spending for construction in lieu of expanded social programs, for instance. To be inconvenienced by necessary repairs is unavoidable, but it seems to me that too much money is being spent on unnecessary projects, with the construction industry benefitting hugely and the results neat and new but often not offering substantial added value.

Now let’s jump across the pond and consider the situation in the States – and this is a shocker.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has created a report card for showing the condition and performance of various aspects of US infrastructure. The country is near flunking. Consider:  
- 42% percent of major urban highways are congested, while 45% of American households lack any access to public transit. Roads are given a grade of D. 
- State and local school construction funding is in decline. Experts estimate that $270 billion or more will be needed to bring school facilities up to snuff. Schools are given a grade of D.
- One in nine of the nation's bridges is rated as structurally deficient. Grade for bridges = C+

The list goes on, with overall GPA for all aspects of national infrastructure = D+. In another ranking, that of the World Economic Forum, the United States fell from 6th place in 2007-2008 to 16th place in 2011-2012.

I have a personal story to illustrate the US situation too. Taking a bus from Boston to northern Vermont a few years ago, I wandered into the bus station at the end of the first leg of the journey to wait for my connection, and just stopped and gaped. The station looked exactly as it had when we left the States 40 years earlier, and it was certainly not newly renovated then. Same cracked linoleum on the floor, same battered orange chairs: I felt as if I were on a movie set for a period film. This is a station at a major junction for the only long-distance transit in the area – there are no trains.

One asks why the enormous difference in the two countries, both among the world’s wealthiest. Expensive cosmetic cleanup in Switzerland, too little drastically-essential renewal in the States, never mind cosmetics. Difference in mentality, certainly. What else? Worth thinking about, as this is a question of much more than infrastructure.

True Cost II

The real price tag on that cheeseburger meal 

 Last week I talked about the hidden costs of burning fossil fuels; this week I want to take up another glaring example - the hidden costs of the typical Western diet and “big aggie” – largescale agriculture.


Our eating habits

Overweight and its attending illnesses have become a major health problem, particularly in children, in the past few years. The United States has the second highest rate of obesity for large countries, exceeded only by Mexico. More than 1/3 of US adults are obese, and 17% of children and adolescents. In addition, another 1/3 of the adult population is overweight.

Strongly correlated with overweight is the prevalence of what used to be called adult onset diabetes, which has risen so alarmingly among children that it is now referred to as type II diabetes. The total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2012 was estimated at $245 billion. Diabetes care consumes around 10% of European healthcare budgets. Add to these costs those of the cardiac problems aggravated by overweight and the figures climb even higher.

The hidden costs of cheap calories

It would be easy to assume that overweight and its associated problems are the end result of a wealthier society, but statistics prove this assumption wrong.  It is the poor who are more apt to be overweight. How can this be? We have only to look at food costs to find the answer: high caloric food is the cheapest, at least in the US. Leaving aside fast food takeout, which has been documented extensively in the book and film “Fast Food Nation” and the film “Super Size Me”, among others, such supermarket buys as sweet biscuits, potato crisps and soft drinks offer up to 4 times the calories contained in the number of  carrots that one can buy for the same price. When available, healthy food is often more expensive, whereas refined grains, added sugars, and fats are generally inexpensive and readily available in low-income communities. 
Again one asks how this can be, as carrots are raw materials while the others have to be produced and should, one would think, cost more. There are a number of answers, among them the fact that carrots are perishable while the shelf life of biscuits is far longer. But one answer stands out as a hidden cost: the surprising and upsetting fact that nearly all processed food in the States contains products made from corn, and corn is subsidized by the US government, while carrots are not. Only a tiny fraction of the corn grown is eaten in recognizable form, on the cob, in tortillas etc. The rest goes to feed beef cattle and to make more than 600 corn-based products, most of which end up in processed food.

Suffice it to say that the craziness inherent in a situation in which a government in effect subsidizes the production of cheap, unhealthy food, while at the same time issuing dire warnings about the meteoric rise of diabetes and heart disease, makes one wonder about the basic values of our society. Even more troubling is the fact that, in an age of economic globalization, the rest of the world can be expected to follow the US lead.

The farm as big business

And now let’s get back to corn. The way that the enormous quantities of this grain are grown is a prime example of the process of industrialized farming, or agribusiness. Natural produce grown on industrial farms is often low quality, while meat from animals raised on such farms often contains antibiotics given to ward off disease in animals fed an unnatural diet and kept too close together and in unsanitary conditions. In addition, this system has brought us impoverished soil, water pollution from nitrates, pesticides and pathogens, a decrease in biodiversity and wildlife habitats as well as an increase in air pollution and greenhouse emissions. The dollars or euros or francs we spend on such food are only a fraction of the total health costs, taxes for environmental cleanup and, increasingly, global warming that are the hidden costs of agribusiness.

In discussions about the whole huge subject of agribusiness, it is easy to forget that growing, purchasing, cooking and eating food should be a satisfying and healthy physical, social and cultural experience. There is something wrong with a society in which food grown organically and locally and sold unprocessed is largely a niche market for the well-off members of that society. Perhaps this is the deepest hidden cost of all.

True Cost I

The hidden costs of burning fossil fuels

Every time I read that solar power is not yet on a financial par with fossil fuels, my blood temperature begins to rise. If ever there were a skewed statement this is it. To simply equate cost with the price paid by the consumer for a kilowatt hour is to be wearing enormous blinders that prevent one from seeing anything to the left or right or very far ahead. It is an irresponsible statement; one which we might expect from a representative of the coal industry, for example, but which should not pass a journalist’s lips.

Let’s remove the blinder on the left. This enables us to see the outrageous fact that the fossil fuel industry is heavily subsidized. A recent report from the International Monetary Fund says global subsidies to fossil fuels amount to $1.9 trillion a year. At the same time, ExxonMobil and Shell earned profits in 2012 of $35 billion (Exxon) and $18.9 billion (Shell). As President Obama said in his recent Georgetown speech on the climate action plan, “…tax dollars continue to still subsidize some of the most profitable corporations in the history of the world”.

Now for the blinder on the right – here we see the hidden health costs of burning fossil fuels. Consider statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), which say that more than 800,000 people die prematurely in the US each year from urban air pollution, most of which comes from burning fossil fuels. Furthermore, transportation “powered by internal combustion engines”, particularly automobiles, reduces the amount of exercise Americans get, so that the WHO estimates that almost 2 million people die prematurely each year because of reduced physical fitness. It is obvious that these hidden health costs are measured not only in dollars, but in human anguish as well.

And now let’s look ahead, at the environmental costs of burning fossil fuels. We hear a lot about these nowadays, all the way from oil spills to severe storms to global warming and its gigantic effects. The cost in dollars is so overwhelming that it stuns us; the cost in disrupted lives, future mass migration away from coastal communities, drastic changes in farming patterns, yet more health problems etc. etc. is incalculable.

Who pays for these hidden costs? Certainly not the subsidized fossil fuel companies. They claim no one would buy their products if the monetary costs were greater…well, yes, isn’t that the idea? Basically we consumers “vote with our wallets”, and more costly gasoline, for instance, might force us to move ahead into the future – on public transport, electric automobiles and bikes – and into demanding greater subsidies for alternative energy sources. The market makes the decisions in our society; responsibility falls into the laps of those who make the purchases. In the words of the comic strip character Pogo, “We have met the enemy, and he is us”.

Energy sources make up one major environmental field with hidden costs, food and agriculture make up another. That’s the subject for next week.

The Joys of the Summer Palate

When the eating is easy 

Are you a foodie? Or do you just want to keep it simple? Love to cook? Hate to cook? Have no time to cook? Suffering from the heat? Whatever describes your predilection, summer eating is made for you. As is eating locally and of course seasonally.
 

The summertime choice of super local food is staggering. How to choose among the various berries, peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots and melons? Will it be a salad of mixed greens or the Italian national salad of tomato, mozzarella and basil? A main-dish salad with fish, cheese, meat or egg added?

There are many reasons in addition to freshness for choosing local. Little transport = little C02. You are supporting local farmers, not big aggie. Big aggie cares not about your health or your palate; it is a business and just wants to make money. There is very little money indeed in fresh fruits and veggies; but much more in processed food. It also does not care about your local economy, a meaningful aspect of which is local farming.

For the ultimate local farming, grow your own! I can assure you that a balcony is a fine place for even very tall tomato plants, pots of basil and cress and of course herbs. Leaf lettuce is another possibility, as are beet greens with baby beets attached. I found that the latter need a rather deep pot and should not be planted too close together. Basil does well in the sun or in a spot without much sun but plenty of light. Get out your blender for pesto, gazpacho, and cucumber-buttermilk soup with your own dill or mint. Pesto freezes well and is ready for a quick hot meal. Pine nuts are traditional, along with basil, garlic, olive oil and parmesan, but in parts of Italy hazelnuts are used instead. If you are feeling lazy these meals are for you, for you don’t really need to measure the ingredients and the blender does all the work.

While we are on the subject of the work – and time – necessary for meal preparation, let’s compare the homemade variety with the processed food toted home all ready to heat. There are a lot of ingredients in the latter, even when the additives and preservatives are subtracted from the list. Of course you can cook dishes with as many ingredients yourself, but summertime makes it possible to prepare delicious quick, simple meals. This is mostly because local fresh food just tastes better; it doesn’t need tarting up. Sliced tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, corn on the cob with butter and salt, raspberries with a little cream and sugar, the list goes on.

If you like to cook you get the chance to make something a little different in the summer – jams and chutneys, for example. For those of us in Switzerland, the Coop is offering their new Unique line of slightly imperfect produce, starting with hail-damaged apricots from the Valais, perfect for making jam. Try something new, like the fig and ginger jam I made last year, fabulous! A friend had a glut of figs, and even fig-loving I couldn’t keep up with them. Green tomato chutney is a must when the days get shorter and the last of the tomato crop has no chance to ripen. But before that you may well have so many tomatoes that your friends and neighbors run away when they see you coming with yet one more offering, so make some red tomato chutney from Jamie Oliver’s recipe: www.jamieoliver.com/magazine/recipes-view.php?title=easy-tomato-chutney. Or preserve some of them by drying. A world away from the leathery commercial items, these are simple to prepare: slice the tomatoes or cut cherry tomatoes in half, arrange on baking trays, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle on a bit of salt and some basil leaves and garlic, place in very low oven for 4-6 hours. You can choose the degree of dryness. I like them half dry, and put them in jars in the freezer for making the very best pasta sauce imaginable.

Accompany your meals of fresh ingredients with a pitcher of ice tea with your mint added or sangria, red wine with fruit and club soda or lemonade – pretty and refreshing.

Time to get into the kitchen to make supper – fake red pesto. I toast pine nuts in olive oil, add chopped up tomatoes, garlic and basil leaves, and serve on pasta. I prefer real honest-to-goodness pesto, but with an injured finger that really shouldn’t get wet, I don’t want the fiddle of washing out the blender. You see – no matter what your situation, you can just enjoy summer’s bounty!

Mobile Me

 

I did it. I sold my car, and I won’t buy another one. It was almost certainly my very last car. This is a step I’ve been planning for some time, for I used the car very little. As a great fan of public transport, I generally took advantage of Zurich’s excellent offerings in this area, or I biked. It was just getting to be too expensive to pay the fixed costs of keeping the car housed and insured, its tires changed and other garage work done. I also figured I do not need the car enough to be contributing CO2 to the environment. Of course someone else will drive it and add their share of CO2, but hopefully someone with a greater need for a car.

So over the last few months I prepared well. I cleaned out the cellar and drove large recycling and second-hand items to their respective collection points. On other occasions when I thought of using the car I found other solutions; there is always a solution. More often, there are two or three.

Nonetheless, it was a lot harder to say goodbye to Huckleberry, my dark blue Corsa, than expected. It was the end of an era. I have been driving since I was 16 and have either owned or had the use of a car nearly all the years since. It also feels like an initiation of some sort. Into what, I am not quite sure. But it was an emotional time.

Part of the prep for being carless was replacing my old bike with an electrobike. Being of a certain age, I was finding the hills in this area, many of them steep, a trial on a normal bike. Also, there is something about the whole concept of this means of transport that fascinates me. I pedal as usual … and fly up the hills! I can choose more or less support from the motor, so I still get plenty of exercise. It is a strange experience, as I zoom along so smoothly, effortlessly changing gears, and at the same time am very aware that this bike handles differently and weighs a lot more. It will take time to get used to it, a fact driven home to me when I braked too suddenly with the excellent brakes and fell off, fortunately onto grass. Once the bike starts tipping sideways, its weight carries the rider with it. I’ll have to get those brakes adjusted – one can have too much of a good thing.

I’m also in the process of joining Mobility, the local car-sharing organization. I will use a Mobility car when my grandchildren or other people come to visit. I’ll get one occasionally to visit second-hand stores, friends who live in out-of-the-way places and maybe my favorite local walking area. Or I can bike to this area, or take public transport. As I say, there is always a solution.