Focus on Arts and Ecology

By Richard Heinberg, David Hughes, January 16, 2024 

The numbers are in. Last year was the hottest on record by a wide margin. The planet is now 1.48 degrees Celsius warmer than it was before the fossil fuel revolution. Global heating is accelerating. This year (2024) is likely to set another record because the latter half of last year featured an El Nino climate pattern that continues to influence global weather. The last colder-than-average year, according to NOAA, was 1976.

The United States experienced a record number of billion-dollar weather disasters in 2023. Canada’s wildfires in June resulted in an unprecedented flurry of air-quality alerts in the Northeast and Midwest of the U.S., with New York temporarily suffering the worst air quality of any city in the world. Wildfires also devastated Maui.

Elsewhere in the world, Libya, Guam, Malawi, and Peru experienced horrific floods. According to the United Nations, drought now affects a quarter of humanity. Developing countries were stuck with proportionally higher recovery costs on a per-capita basis.

The solution to climate change is to reduce and reverse the decades-long trend of annually increasing greenhouse gas concentration in the planetary atmosphere. So, let’s see what the numbers tell us on that score. The carbon dioxide (CO2) level in Earth’s atmosphere is now over 420 parts per million, up from 315 ppm in 1958 when the first direct measurements commenced. The atmospheric CO2 concentration has been increasing at over 2 ppm per year for the past several years.

This added CO2 in the atmosphere comes from human activities that release carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) into the air. U.S. carbon emissions were down 3 percent in 2023 due mainly to an ongoing national switch from burning coal to burning natural gas for generating electricity. But worldwide carbon emissions were up 1.1 percent compared to 2022. Since climate change is a global problem, it is the global statistic that matters.

Most emissions are energy-related, so phasing out fossil fuels in favor of low-carbon energy alternatives is critical. While it’s too early to report final data for renewable energy additions in 2023, last June, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasted that global renewable energy generation capacity would increase by a record 440 GW for the year (total world renewable energy generation capacity, including hydropower, stands at about 4,500 GW).

However, confusion sometimes results from failure to distinguish production capacity from actual generation since solar and wind installations typically generate only 20 to 50 percent of their theoretical capacity due to variations in sunlight and wind.

So, let’s look at the actual generation numbers. Of the roughly 30,000 terawatt hours of electricity generated globally in 2022, 8,500 terawatt hours (29 percent) came from renewables—over half of that from hydropower.

We must be careful to distinguish between “electricity” and “energy”—another frequent source of confusion. Electricity’s share of all end-use energy usage remains stable at about 20 percent. After accounting for conversion factors, renewables (including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biofuels, and traditional biomass—i.e., burning wood for cooking and heating) provide about 16 percent of total world primary energy.

Nuclear energy also entails relatively low levels of carbon emissions, but its share of world energy fell to a multi-decade low in 2023, and nuclear projects are notoriously slow and expensive to bring online.

To reach net zero emissions by 2050 (which the IPCC considers necessary to cap warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius) by providing 100 percent of total global energy from renewables, we would need a nearly ten-fold increase in renewable energy production, even assuming zero growth in overall global energy demand during that time.

Annual additions of solar and wind capacity would have to increase by well over an order of magnitude (10x) compared to the current record rate. Electrification of transport, manufacturing, agriculture, and other sectors would also need to accelerate dramatically.

In its Net-Zero Roadmap report published in September 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) recognized the extreme difficulty of achieving these increases in renewable energy and suggested instead that 19 percent of final energy will still come from fossil fuels in 2050 and that final-energy consumption will be reduced by 26 percent.

To remove the resultant emissions, the IEA estimated that one billion metric tons per year of carbon dioxide would need to be captured by 2030, rising to 6 billion tonnes by 2050. Mechanized technologies for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and direct air capture (DAC) that would be required to do this have been criticized as being too expensive, too energy intensive, and underperforming in terms of their goal.

Currently, about 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is captured annually, nearly all by forests; only 49 million metric tons are being removed from the atmosphere by carbon removal technology projects across the world. About 80 percent of that captured carbon is used for “enhanced oil recovery.”

Meanwhile, over 37 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide are being released by human activities, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels.

We can conclude from these scorecard numbers that, as of the start of 2024, humanity is not on track to avoid catastrophic climate change. The likelihood of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (the goal stated in the Paris Accords of 2015) is now extremely remote. Indeed, that threshold may be exceeded within just the next few years.

If world leaders genuinely hope to change these trends, dramatic action that entails reevaluating current priorities will be required. Not just fossil fuel subsidies but also continued growth in global energy-tied economic activity must be questioned. Otherwise, we may be destined to fulfill the old adage: “If you do not change direction, you will end up where you are heading.”

Teaser photo credit; Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

(Sources: Post Carbon Institute)

January 26, 2024 

We ask a minimum of 1/2 lb per fresh herb request.
Please list your herbs in alphabetical order by common name, and if you know the botanical name, please include that for the sake of clarity. Include part you are looking for (herb, leaf, root, berry, herb, bark, etcetera), the amount you want of each, and whether you want fresh or dried.
Parts offered for each herb are noted on the prices lists.
EXAMPLE:
1 lb Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) ROOT Fresh
3 lbs Calendula (Calendula officinalis)  ORANGE FLOWER Dried
2.5 lbs Milky oats (Avena sativa) MILKY TOPS Fresh
3 lbs Turmeric (Cucurma longa)  RHIZOME Fresh

Please note that dried herbs are offered as available.

We are asking all buyers to support the overseeing non-profit entity, by becoming a member of The Sonoma County Herb Association. If the SCHA goes away, so does the Sonoma County Herb Exchange.

                       INTERNSHIP POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR THE 2024 SEASON 

We have a couple of intern positions available.
If you, or someone you know, are interested in learning hands on about medicinal herbs throughout the nine-month season (mid-March through mid-December), give us a shout for further conversation about details and perks.
 
                       ROOTAPALOOZA 2024 –  ONE DAY ROOTS SALES DAY!
 
We are holding a one day fresh roots sales day on Tuesday, February 6^th.
We are only offering fresh roots that day. Other herbs are not yet ready to harvest.
We have the following fresh roots to offer:
 
ASHWAGANDHA (Withania somnifera)
COMFREY (Symphytum officinale)
ECHINACEA (Echinacea purpurea)
ELECAMPANE (Inula helenium)
MARSHMALLOW (Althaea officinalis)
TURMERIC (Cucurma longa)
YELLOW DOCK (Rumex crispus)
 
If you are interested in any of these fresh roots, please let us know by Wednesday,
January 31^st. Thank you.
 
Lastly, If you are not yet familiar, we also offer a monthly email for herb related events and classes. Our next event is coming up next Wednesday, January 31 ^st
 
                      Astrology and Herbs with Paetra Tauchert
 
Details can be found here:  https://www.sonomaherbs.org/events
 
Business members can also post their events and classes to this list.
If you would like to be on the mailing list for herb related events you can sign up here:
https://mailchi.mp/4a903a984dc4/scha-list
We don’t sell, nor share contact information. Nope, not ever.
 
                           May we be brave enough to stay sensitive to the collective pain
                                          without turning numb or cynical.
                                                   ~J. Krishnamurti
 
Because hope owns a pair of boots.
For our collective well-being.

In community,
 
Barbara Jean (BJ) Avery, Director

By Richard Heinberg, January 10, 2024 

While rummaging through a bookstore in Iowa City decades ago I happened upon a slim volume with the intriguing title, Tao Teh King by Lao Tzu: Nature and Intelligence, translated by philosopher Archie Bahm. As a 20-year-old, I was in a state of full rebellion against my Christian upbringing, the consumerist culture around me, and the pointless violence of the Vietnam War. I was looking for alternative ways of understanding the world, and was taking classes at the University of Iowa on existentialist philosophy and early Buddhist texts. Lao Tzu’s very first sentence hooked me: “Nature can never be completely described, for such a description of Nature would have to duplicate Nature.” The book advised a modest way of life emulating nature’s way. For years afterward, Lao Tzu would be my constant companion, and I still occasionally read that tattered copy.

There are many other translations of Tao Te Ching (this is the English spelling that appears most frequently; a fairly accurate phonetic rendering is Daodejing). Indeed, it’s one of the most frequently translated books. Bahm’s version, which dates from the 1950s, is today not regarded as being scrupulously true to the Chinese text, but it’s clear, coherent, and sensible.

In 1973, ancient Taoist manuscripts were found in southern China, including the earliest then-known text of Tao Te Ching, dating from the second century BC. This discovery greatly improved scholars’ understanding of the book and its origins. Twenty years later, an even older version, similar to the one found in 1973, was discovered in a tomb near the town of Guodian in the province of Hubei. This manuscript was dated to the fourth century BC.

Recent translations of Tao Te Ching put its chapters in the order found in these recently discovered versions, and also reveal new meanings in many passages. Experts now believe that the book began as a set of orally transmitted sayings, and that some of the text consists of additions and revisions introduced by the scribes who put it in writing. Nothing reliable is known of the supposed author Lao Tzu (a name that simply means “Old Master”); the book may be a compilation of ideas that originated with a scattered group of wandering sages rather than a single author.

None of this diminishes the usefulness of the insights in the text. Don’t be dazzled by appearances, the Old Master tells us. Don’t go to extremes. Live simply, and closely observe natural phenomena like forests and streams. From the Stephen Mitchell translation:

Knowing others is intelligence;

Knowing yourself is true wisdom.

Mastering others is strength;

Mastering yourself is true power.

If you realize that you have enough,

You are truly rich.

If you stay in the center

and embrace death with your whole heart,

you will live forever.

Understanding any ancient text requires some knowledge of its historical context. Early Chinese history is unfamiliar to most Westerners, so here’s the briefest of overviews. The Shang dynasty, which flourished in the second millennium BC, is the first dynasty of traditional Chinese history for which there is clear archaeological evidence. In 1045 BC, King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty, but his descendants slowly lost power. The former Shang lands were divided into hereditary fiefs, over which the king had dwindling control. At the same time, raids by nomadic tribes from the north intensified toward the end of what historians call the Western Zhou period. The subsequent Eastern Zhou period is divided into the Spring and Autumn period (770-481 BC) and the Warring States period (475-221 BC), and it’s these latter two periods that form the backdrop for the composition of Tao Te Ching. A powerful kingdom (the Shang dynasty and its remnant in the early Western Zhou period) was disintegrating through civil wars and invasions by neighboring tribes, requiring people at all social levels to rethink their relationships to one another, to government, and to nature.

Confucius (Kong Qiu) lived from about 550 to 480 BC, during the Spring and Autumn period. His profoundly influential philosophy centered on personal and governmental morality, justice, kindness, and veneration of ancestors; it also emphasized rulers’ duty to their subjects. Proclaiming himself a transmitter of earlier values, Confucius promoted a bureaucratic, hierarchical, and legalistic vision of the ideal society. Tao Te Ching may have been composed orally during Confucius’s lifetime and written down somewhat later, during the Warring States period. Taoism seems to have been, in part, a reaction to Confucianism—a response that emphasized spontaneity over etiquette, genuineness over duty, and the superiority of nature over humanly-imposed social and technological order.

In the Afterword to his translation of Tao Te Ching, sinologist Victor H. Mair makes a strong case that early Taoism was influenced by the Yogic tradition of southern Asia. Mair points out that both Yogic and Taoist spiritual practices centered on breathing exercises, postures, and meditation, which were claimed to yield superhuman abilities. Both Tao Te Ching and the Bhagavadgita (a key early Indic sacred text) taught that enlightenment could be achieved through non-attachment. Mair also shows significant linguistic parallels between these two texts and argues that it is much more likely that the earlier-documented Yogic tradition influenced China, rather than that Taoism traveled to India.

However, Taoism has its own unique flavor that differentiates it from Yoga. Taoism’s naturalistic trail of thought became most visible and tangible in its subsequent expressions in Japanese Zen gardening and architecture (Zen was Japan’s offshoot of the Chinese Chan Buddhist tradition, which was deeply influenced by Taoist teachings).

Beyond its interest for historians, Tao Te Ching has special significance for anyone trying to find a sane path in today’s world. We are in the very last stages of the greatest empire that ever has been, or likely ever will be. Fossil-fueled technology has driven humanity farther than ever from nature’s way. This did not happen because humans are inherently evil; we are expressions of nature. We are simply victims of our own success: social evolution led some societies to develop capitalism, which then made it possible for them to access and use fossil fuels (as I’ve explained at much greater length here). We’ve temporarily exceeded nature’s limits, in terms of our population size, our overall rates of energy and materials usage, and the amount of pollution we’re spewing. As a result, the impressive social, economic, and technological structures we’ve built in the past couple of centuries are set to come tumbling down. When they do, we may enter our own Warring States period.

Inevitably, the survivors will try to make sense of what has happened. In the wake of collapse, there may be neo-Confucianists who promise to Make Civilization Great Again through obedience to authority and worship of the past. And there may be wandering sages who teach their followers to learn from nature and embrace simplicity.

It’s worth noting that a philosophical bifurcation in the wake of imperial decline may have occurred in another important historical instance. Authors James Valliant and Warren Fahy argue in Creating Christ: How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity that Christianity began as a Roman imperial project to co-opt Jewish messianic, monotheistic radicalism while maintaining the organizational and ideological essence of the Empire—even as the Empire itself disintegrated. That project succeeded brilliantly, but alternative philosophies nevertheless survived or cropped up later. The Franciscans, who offered a nature- and peace-loving counter-philosophy, were co-opted back into the Catholic fold. Pagans and witches were persecuted or burned, while Indigenous peoples were converted, enslaved, or slaughtered. There is every reason to suppose that, as our current global industrial civilization crumbles, there will be similar splits between a dominant narrative (techno-civilization was great, but it was sabotaged and must be restored) and humbler alternatives (techno-civilization was a mistake; it’s nature that’s great).

I’ll leave the last words to the Old Master, this time from the Bahm translation:

Whenever someone sets out to remold the world,

experience teaches that he is bound to fail.

For Nature is already as good as it can be.

It cannot be improved upon.

He who tries to redesign it, spoils it.

He who tries to redirect it, misleads it.

Extreme heat and cold brought on by climate change put people at risk. Beefing up building codes now could help to save lives. 

By Meredydd Evans, 23 January 2024

Three years after the 1978 Miyagi earthquake, a magnitude-7.4 event that caused extensive damage to the city of Sendai, Japan overhauled its building codes to better protect people against quakes. The country’s building codes are some of the strictest, but they are hardly unique now. Around the world, fortified building codes in high-risk areas now help people and their property to survive natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires and flooding.

I’ve worked with national and local governments worldwide on a different type of building regulation that I and others think could save lives: energy codes, which focus on the energy efficiency of a building. In the past few years, a growing number of experts have realized that energy codes can keep people safe from the risks posed by the extreme heat and cold brought on by climate change. The urgency of addressing heat in particular is undeniable: 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 could be even worse.

One key danger is that extremely hot or cold weather can knock out power. Winter blizzards can snap power lines and icy conditions can damage crucial infrastructure. In the summer, power cuts can be caused by fires, for example, or by air-conditioning and cooling units putting too much demand on the power grid. This happened in Texas in 2021 and during record-breaking heat in Spain in 2022. Under these circumstances, people in buildings without heating or cooling are left at the mercy of the very elements that caused the issue.

During a power cut in extreme heat or cold, everything hinges on a building’s ‘passive survivability’: how long people can survive in it without power. Building energy codes can increase passive survivability by requiring features such as insulated windows, wall or roof insulation or built-in window shading to keep buildings cool.

In a July report, my colleague Ellen Franconi at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, and her team showed how energy codes can save lives (see go.nature.com/3hnannz). In Atlanta, Georgia, for example, buildings constructed to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code will maintain habitable conditions for 2.3 days during a cold event, whereas those not built to that standard will do so for only 1.4 days. Overall, the scientists found that buildings that met code requirements remained liveable during extreme cold up to 120% longer and during extreme heat up to 140% longer.

Some municipalities have already embraced building codes as a way to increase resilience and decarbonization. In 2011, Brussels passed the Passive House Law, which requires that all buildings built in the city from 2015 have passive cooling. In 2019, the Canadian province of British Columbia added guidelines to its building energy codes to address overheating and improve air quality. For example, recommendations include placing windows strategically to maximize passive heating by winter sunlight and adding shades to minimize indoor temperature increases during summer.

The United Kingdom added requirements to its residential-building energy codes in 2022 that emphasize passive cooling through window placement and air ventilation. Other international efforts are described in an August report by my colleague Adam Hinge at Sustainable Energy Partnerships in Tarrytown, New York (see go.nature.com/3aattkz).

Overhauling building codes to emphasize efficiency and resilience is not an easy task. In the United States, such regulations are determined at both state and local levels, and not every region requires the same kinds of construction. A home in hot, humid New Orleans, Louisiana, requires different construction measures from one in dry, cold Boulder, Colorado. And depending on the climate, a house built to withstand extremely low temperatures — with thick walls, little ventilation and extra insulation — might not be able to passively cool itself in the extreme heat, thus requiring more energy for cooling than one built for warmer weather.

Some world leaders have objected to updated energy regulations because of perceived costs, but constructing buildings to code is much less expensive than retrofitting them later or paying for the effects of extreme heat on human lives and health. Energy codes require — by law — that energy-saving features be cost efficient.

My colleagues and I are working with the International Energy Agency to map out globally accessible pathways towards the efficiency and resiliency of buildings. This requires engagement from specialists in low- and middle-income countries as well as support from nations with experience in energy codes in hot climates. For now, we’re focusing on hot climates because some affected countries lack both building energy codes and the resources to develop them. Regulations might begin in a targeted way, by focusing on the most cost-efficient and effective measures for walls, floors and ceilings, for example, or for ventilation and air conditioning.

Already, nearly two billion people around the world face dangerous levels of extreme heat and many more will be affected in the coming century. Humanity’s ability to cope with climate change hinges on reducing emissions and adapting to extreme weather. Building energy codes can tackle both: they can decrease energy emissions while increasing people’s safety.

(Sources: Nature)

Author

1. Karla Kaun

   Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Brown University

 January 22, 2024

Many people are wired to seek and respond to rewards. Your brain interprets food as rewarding when you are hungry and water as rewarding when you are thirsty. But addictive substances like alcohol and drugs of abuse can overwhelm the natural reward pathways in your brain, resulting in intolerable cravings and reduced impulse control.

A popular misconception is that addiction is a result of low willpower. But an explosion of knowledge and technology in the field of molecular genetics has changed our basic understanding of addiction drastically over the past decade. The general consensus among scientists and health care professionals is that there is a strong neurobiological and genetic basis for addiction.

As a behavioral neurogeneticist leading a team investigating the molecular mechanisms of addiction, I combine neuroscience with genetics to understand how alcohol and drugs influence the brain. In the past decade, I have seen changes in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of addiction, largely due to a better understanding of how genes are dynamically regulated in the brain. New ways of thinking about how addictions form have the potential to change how we approach treatment.

Alcohol and drugs affect brain gene activity

Each of your brain cells has your genetic code stored in long strands of DNA. For all that DNA to fit into a cell, it needs to be packed tightly. This is achieved by winding the DNA around “spools” of protein called histones. Areas where DNA is unwound contain active genes coding for proteins that serve important functions within the cell.

When gene activity changes, the proteins your cells produce also change. Such changes can range from a single neuronal connection in your brain to how you behave. This genetic choreography suggests that while your genes affect how your brain develops, which genes are turned on or off when you are learning new things is dynamic and adapts to suit your daily needs.

Recent data from animal models suggests that alcohol and drugs of abuse directly influence changes in gene expression in areas of the brain that help drive memory and reward responses.

There are many ways addictive substances can change gene expression. They can alter which proteins bind to DNA to turn genes on and off and which segments of DNA are unwound. They can change the process of how DNA is read and translated into proteins, as well as alter the proteins that determine how cells use energy to function.

For example, alcohol can cause an alternative form of a gene to be expressed in the memory circuits in flies and people, resulting in changes in dopamine receptors and transcription factors involved in reward signaling and neuronal function. Similarly, cocaine can cause an alternative form of a gene to be expressed in the reward centers of mice, leading them to seek out more cocaine.

Exactly how these drugs cause changes in gene regulation is unknown. However, a direct link between alcohol consumption and changes in gene expression in mice provides a clue. A byproduct of alcohol being broken down in the liver called acetate can cross the blood-brain barrier and unwind DNA from histones in mouse memory circuits.

Alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and opioids also all activate important signaling pathways that are central regulators of metabolism. This suggests they can also affect many aspects of neuronal function and consequently affect which genes are expressed.

Changing brain gene activity with lifestyle

How addictive substances change cell function is complex. The version of a gene you’re born with can be modified in many ways before it becomes a functional protein, including exposure to alcohol and drugs. Rather than discouraging researchers, this complexity is empowering because it provides evidence that changes to gene expression in your brain aren’t permanent. They can also be altered by medications and lifestyle choices.

Many commonly prescribed medications for mental health disorders also affect gene expression. Antidepressants and mood stabilizers can change how DNA is modified and which genes are expressed. For example, a commonly prescribed drug for depression called escitalopram affects how tightly wound DNA is and can change the expression of genes important to brain plasticity.

Additionally, mRNA-based therapies can specifically change which genes are expressed to treat diseases like cancer. In the future, we may discover similar therapies for alcohol and substance use disorder. These treatments could potentially target important signaling pathways linked to addiction, altering how brain circuits function and how alcohol and drugs affect them.

Lifestyle choices can also affect gene expression in your brain, though researchers don’t yet know whether they can alter the changes induced by addictive substances.

Like alcohol and drugs, dietary changes can affect gene expression in many ways. In flies, a high sugar diet can reprogram the ability to taste sweetness by tapping into a gene expression network involved in development.

Intensive meditation, even after only one day, can also affect gene regulation in your brain through similar mechanisms. Attending a monthlong meditation retreat reduces the expression of genes that affect inflammation, and experienced meditators can reduce inflammatory genes after just one day of intensive meditation.

Work in animal models has also shown that exercise changes gene expression by altering both histones and the molecular tags directly attached to DNA. This increases the activity of genes important to the activity and plasticity of neurons, supporting the idea that exercise improves learning and memory and can decrease the risk of dementia.

From Dry January and beyond, many factors can have profound effects on your brain biology. Taking steps to reduce consumption of alcohol and drugs and picking up healthy lifestyle practices can help stabilize and bring long-lasting benefits for your physical and mental health.

(Sources: Conversation)