In this blog I want to focus on the troops serving over seas during the war right now, and the way they live on their bases.  I want to look at the ways they live, see how sustainable their bases are, and maybe think about ways that the sustainability of military bases in foreign lands could perhaps become even more sustainable.  I wanted to look into this because my father is in the Marine Corps and is currently located in Afghanistan.  I have communication with him through email, and the occasional phone call, but usually that is for catching up.  I do know about his life over there, i've seen pictures of his base, and he tells me about it too, but I would like to get a little better picture of what our countries military bases are like over seas.  And I also hope to shed a little light on deployed military life to people who may not have a close one serving our country and may not know as much about what goes on over seas.  I would like to point out that this blog has nothing to do with pro war or anti war ideas, and I do realize that everyone has their own opinions on this topic, I will not discuss it, it has nothing to do with sustainability.  My focus is on the "home life" of the service men, how their bases are set up, etc. I would also like to point out, that even if you are not pro war you should always respect and support our countries service men, they are an honor to our nation and risk their lives to uphold our constitution and our rights, and we should thank them regardless of our political stance.

So in class on Tuesday of this week, there was a guest speaker, Steven Bertman, who I thought was pretty awesome, very entertaining and just a good speaker in my opinion.  He discussed the topic of carbon footprints, and how we make our carbon footprint.  He gave us a few numbers on the where the United States gets their energy from, 85% comes from fossil fuels (I can't be the only one who finds this number jaw dropping), 8% from nuclear energy, and a PATHETIC 7% from renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass.  Energy from the sun only makes up .07% of all the energy the U.S uses.  But heres where things get crazy.  In one hour the United States alone gets enough sunlight on it's surface to generate enough electricity for  the entire nation and more.  But instead we burn through fossil fuels.  Then the idea was brought up of having a 50 by 50 grid of solar panels out in Arizona or Texas to generate energy for the U.S, how efficient and sustainable would that be to power our nation?  And then one pessimist brings up, "well how are we going to maintain this? How are we going to harness this energy into something useful?"  It made me think, when the first person struck oil did a how to manual spring out too telling everyone how to power the world with it? NO! People used their heads and figured it out, if people can have the knowledge and creativity to build and power everything we have now running on fossil fuel why can't we just recreate using solar energy?  And this tangent got me thinking.....
In the bases over seas, like my dad's, everything is powered by generators.  Lots and lots of generators.  My dad even said in an email once, "I often think when I am walking home at the end of the day how nice it will be to walk outside and not hear a generator."  Well what if they didn't use generators?  What if they had solar panels set up to power up their bases?  The panels could be placed even on the top of their tents, chow halls, their gym, wherever.  It could be more efficient and cost cutting for the military.  There would be lest money spent on trucks transporting out oil, and research shows that on a large base the use of solar panels can reduce the amount of fuel generators use from 25 gallons a day to 3 to 5.  Thats a substantial difference.  
Just an idea, it might be nice to have a moment of silence and clarity over there I can imagine.  

Hope, Human and Wild by Bill McKibben

       Hope, Human and Wild tells the story of three places on Earth that in the opinion of the author, Bill McKibben, have lived "lightly" on the Earth, as in, environmentally efficient and mindful.  These places are Kerala, Curitiba, and the Adirondacks.
     McKibben starts the story of his travels with a quote from Al Gore, who said "We are in an unusual predicament as a global civilization.  The maximum that is politically feasible, even the maximum that is politically imaginable right now, still falls short of the minimum that is scientifically and ecologically necessary."  In this quote Gore is talking about what needs to be done to preserve the Earth.  That what really needs to be done is not attainable, but even what people could possibly do right now, isn't even close to a minimal effort to change the damage that has been done to the Earth.  Not a single person alone can save the Earth, everyone knows this, but many people, are simply not willing to even try to make a difference.  People like having their cars to take them everywhere, even down the block to the store, their big houses with air conditioning blowing in the summer and the heat cranked up to tropical in the winter, and every technological toy available on the market as soon as it's released.  (I made the mistake of going to the mall the day the new iPad came out, let's just say people are CRAZY.)  This book tells the story of places that are going against the norm of society, and living simply.  McKibben found hope for the future of the Earth in his travels, and he describes the life styles of the places he visited, in hope that this can be an example to people.
     Kerala is located in the southern tip of India and is notably poor, as is most of India.  Many people living in Kerala do not have beds to sleep on, they have utensils to cook with, some have chairs, and for the majority of the people living there, that's all folks.  It's per capita income is one-seventieth of the average in America.  In India the average lifespan of a male is about fifty-eight years old, but in Kerala things are oddly different.  The average lifespan of a man is seventy years old, compare this to the United States, a developed country, where the average life expectancy is seventy-two.  A Third-World Country with a life expectancy so close to that of a developed nation?  So what does this say about all of our doctors, medicines, technology, and progression that is supposedly making the United States superior?  Everyone has the logic that richer people are healthier, they must live longer, they have more access to doctors, necessary medication, health care, but maybe we aren't looking at the big picture.  Psychologists will tell you that the biggest factor contributing to peoples level of happiness is human relationships or social connection.  People need a sense of society, but as we all get richer, we build are big houses and surround ourselves with material possessions that are suppose to bring us joy.  So maybe in a place like Kerala where yes, people are living in poverty, they all share their resources, and have a real sense of community.  Maybe their social connections to their fellow mankind they are living with makes them happier, giving them a longer lifespan.  We all know happy people tend to be healthier and live longer.  And no, McKibben is not saying we have to live our lives exactly like the people in Kerala, with no electricity or running water.  But simply to reevaluate what we have, and how we use it.  What do we really need in life?  Maybe we don't need to live in a mansion, and maybe you don't need to drive you're car everywhere you go, and you know what?  Maybe a little fresh air would do us all some good.
      As I started with a quote I will end with a quote, by Bill McKibben.  "Kerala supplies no new technology.  Its gift is more precious: new fuel for our imaginations. "