Month: April 2020

2020, National Security, COVID-19 April 30, 2020May 4, 2020

Improvising & Adapting to Overcome the Meat Crisis in the Heartland

Washington (GGM) Analysis | April 30, 2020
by Noreen Wise

It should be ingrained in our minds right now, that we all need to make the sacrifices necessary to to save lives and responsibly open up the economy in measured steps. Hearing the traumatic horror stories from the frontlines in the meat packing plants across the nation’s heartland, as well as the medical facilities located near the meat packing plants, is heart wrenching.

Doctors in Iowa were choking back tears as they described how painful it is to have so many covid cases. And one doctor’s account, shared on The Rachel Maddow show last night, in which she bared her greatest fear, that of one or more of her nurses becoming infected with covid and dying, is a wakeup call to consumers.

Six days ago, CBS news reported that 13 meat packing workers had already died of covid. Thousands are infected and have created covid hotspots in rural areas without the ability or facilities to treat and care for such a large volume of critically ill. President Trump responded to the growing crisis by demanding that meat processing plants stay open, invoking the the Defense Production Act to ensure that the plants would follow his directive.

BrightSide-SquareNEWER-400 — Daily conversation focused on how we can turn a negative into a positive and land on the bright side. A daily emotional vitamin that will boost your spirit. PodcastHost, Noreen Wise.

But the emotional toll of the loss of life of family, friends and colleagues, as well as severe long term medical conditions for many who do survive, is not something any American should want to inflict on fellow Americans. Such lack of empathy and compassion is inhumane. Fifty meat packing workers walked off the job in Crete, Nebraska this week when Smithfield refused to provide safer work conditions.

Why did Smithfield refuse to adapt and adopt the CDC guidelines?

The refusal of meat packing plants to improvise and adapt in an effort to overcome the crisis is mind numbing. They received a huge tax decrease more than two years ago. Thousands of other businesses have improvised during covid to ensure employee and consumer safety.

The moral depravity found in this type of decision making is more disturbing than covid itself. Those plants who refuse to follow CDC guidelines are making a bold statement through their inaction that they do not value human life. There’s no middle ground here. Continuing to purchase meat, when we know it will harm fellow Americans and the medical community who are making such extreme sacrifices for us, should challenge our moral consciousness.

Just say, “NO” to meat until covid is over, although smaller facilities that adopt CDC guidelines should be safe.🌱

2020, circular economy, Climate Action, COVID-19 April 29, 2020May 4, 2020

Those Amazon Boxes are Vital for Supply Chain | Recycle

Washington (GGM) Analysis | April 29, 2020
by Noreen Wise

Back in 2017, according to Quora, Amazon was clocking a staggering shipping rate of 1,600,000 boxes per day. Today, in March and April 2020, it seems clear that Amazon’s shipping rate has substantially increased and may even exceed 2 million boxes per day. The actual shipping numbers aren’t currently available to the public.

Cardboard is one of the easiest materials to recycle, and recycled cardboard boxes are an essential component in the manufacturing of a number of American consumer staples. Just make sure to peel off all plastic labels and codes stamped on the box before recycling. The tape on most boxes is now paper tape. But if you see plastic tape, peel that off as well.

The following products are produced using recycled cardboard:

new cardboard boxes
cereal boxes
paper towels
printer paper
paper bags
tissue

Thus, recycling cardboard boxes, especially when millions are readily available, is absolutely imperative. We can’t have manufacturers reverting to chopping down trees to feed their supply chain. TheTrillion Trees Campaign was launched in Davos 2020, where nearly two hundred countries agreed to plant billions of trees in the upcoming months and years so that together we can achieve the goal of a trillion new trees on the planet.

Search online today to find out your community’s cardboard recycling policies during covid19 and add this to your list of “must do’s” during our global crisis. We are witnessing first hand how catastrophic a crisis can become if we don’t plan ahead and take precautions. The same is true for the climate crisis. These small steps today, will save thousands of lives tomorrow.♻️

Climate Action, Climate Change, COVID-19, sustainability April 27, 2020May 4, 2020

The Golden Rule & Covid-19 | Recycling and Waste Management

Washington (GGM) Analysis | April 27, 2020
by Noreen Wise

“Do unto others as you want them to do to you.” ~ The Golden Rule

It’s exciting to see that recycling has been deemed an essential service during covid-19, but keeping these dedicated waste management employees safe during the global pandemic is equally as important.

With everyone stuck at home, there’s now more home garbage than ever before. Further, the vast majority of us are ordering the bulk of our purchases online, and having it delivered, so there’s likely a mountain of recyclable cardboard boxes associated with each household. And how about glass bottles from our favorite alcoholic beverages? Many manufacturers rely on these particular recyclables to produces their products. Cardboard and glass are two of the more essential components of the supply chain for recyclable manufacturing.

So, how is recycling being handled during covid-19? There seems to be conflicting accounts depending on the state and local municipality.

Here’s what we know according to The Recycling Partnership:

even though deemed essential, many communities are suspending curbside recycling pickup so please check with your town’s waste management website
if your locality has drop off recycling, please try and take advantage of this, while maintaining the safe protocols of a facial covering and gloves, manufacturers are desperate for these materials
cities will have much tighter budgets in the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020, many towns are discussing cutting back on curbside recycling pickup, so we have to make plans each week to drop off recyclables at drop off centers
states and municipalities are still trying to work out the best way to handle plastic PPE and recycling, hard plastic can be recycled, but it can be dangerous, (more information below)
Wipe garbage bin handles down before rolling to curb, and wear gloves when pushing the bin to curb

Additionally, there are specific rules regarding how to handle waste and recycling if anyone in the household has tested positive for covid-19.

No garbage brought to the curb during the 14 day quarantine period
add an additional 72 hours to the 14 days for recycling

Our individual actions are life and death for many in our communities. It’s very important that we follow the guidelines to keep everyone safe. The golden rule has never meant more than it does right now. Do unto others as you want them to do unto you. ♻️

circular economy, clean water, Climate Action, COVID-19, sustainability April 5, 2020April 27, 2020

Finding Our New Groove | Weaving in Green While We’re at It

Washington (GGM) Analysis | April 5, 2020
by Noreen Wise

Every day is another step in this new, weird world we’re adapting to. And because we were blindsided, and thus had no preparation, we’re missing nearly every safety necessity, which forces us to be incredibly resourceful, and improvise, if we want to overcome these circumstances and stay alive. Sadly, despite all our efforts, many will still perish.

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. …is a military motto. Makes sense. I can totally picture improvise-adapt-overcome being the daily practice when the military is out in the field. And the military’s story of reality on the front lines, is now our reality as we stand on the front lines. With so much adapting and improvising taking place 24/7, it’s an excellent opportunity for us to absorb the big picture and make all the changes we’ve been promising ourselves for days, months, and even… years.

Climate reality.

I remember the incredible opportunity I had after the townhouse I lived in was flattened by a tornado. The first few weeks were traumatic, of course. The structure was deemed a total loss. My then-husband and I had to live in temporary quarters, while it was rebuilt. I was so grateful to have lived through the frightening experience (I survived by running into a closet when I heard the train coming, and when I opened the door after the huge KABOOOOM, everything was gone). I thus wasn’t going to complain about any of the inconveniences or hardships that followed.

I think what kept me so positive, was that I could suddenly make all the changes I’d been dreaming of. Be careful for what you wish for. Be careful for what you wish for. Be careful for what you wish for. Seriously, I must have said that a million times. When life is suddenly helter skelter, I could finally fully grasp what Newtown’s first law of motion was all about: an object at rest stays at rest, or an object in motion stays in motion at the same velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.

Carpe diem. Seize the day. I became the whirlwind of change, quickly implementing the home designs I’d been planning for years. I upgraded the floors in several rooms with upscale tile, and top of the line carpeting in others. A few months after moving back in, the upgrades enabled us to sell the townhouse in record time during a down market at asking price and relocate across the country to California. I also began a writing course at some point during all this craziness, which set me on a new path to become the writer I had dreamed of becoming ever since I was a child. Those eight months were an endless blur of activity, the equivalent of the shifting of a kaleidoscope where every single spec shifts.

I feel the exact same right now. There’s safety with all of us suffering the same grim fate together. It reminds me of my father’s chain saw accident when he slipped and fell and accidentally sawed his leg down to the bone (it was amputated at the hospital). The doctor explained that what saved my father’s life was slicing all the way through the largest vein in his leg, causing it to clamp shut on its own. Apparently, if he had nicked it, he would have bled out.

So, too with us. We’re all in this together. Let’s make the most of this incredible opportunity and commit to implement the many changes we’ve been promising to make for climate… as well as removing corrupt, lawless politicians who’ve degraded our American principles and undermined our Constitution, which we all now hold so dear.🌱

Nature, Positivity, Wildlife April 1, 2020April 27, 2020

The Natural World’s Guidance During Difficult Times

Washington (GGM) Analysis | April 1, 2020
by Noreen Wise

It’s fascinating to learn how much secret communication occurs between animals, plants and all living organisms. Trees are probably the best example of a complex communication network that exists below the surface, enabling all the trees in a forest to share information about dangers they may be experiencing, a 911 call of sorts, conducted through fungus “threads.”

Different animals can communicate with each other as well. The Irish Examiner has provided a detailed analysis about how animals connect through “body language, sound, smell, touch, and even chemical and electrical communication.”

And we know how well our pets communicate with us, in fact, at times it seems like they can even read our minds. Therefore, it’s quite logical to imagine that wildlife animals can communicate with us too. For example, one scientific test proved that crows never forget a human face. Bizarre, especially in today’s era of facial recognition. Who would have imagined that a crow would have that type of advanced sensory ability. I’ll be dashing for cover the next time I see a crow in my vicinity, worried it might be a stalker.

Interestingly, what I have noticed from past experiences, and past personal experiments testing my hypothesis that an animal crossing our paths is actually communicating with us, giving us a clue that will help answer a question we may have or solve a dilemma. I’ve become much more aware of my surroundings now, of each and every bird, forest animal and bug, and quickly google to see what it symbolizes. I interpret each chance encounter as the natural world sharing a piece of advice that I can apply to my current circumstance. The advice has never failed me. Ever. I don’t think I can say the same about human advice. It almost seems as though animals, and even plants for that matter, are able to tap into our spirit. Perhaps we somehow inadvertently transmit distress on a high level frequency that the natural world is connected to.

Who knows, really. But what I am certain about is that during difficult times like these, I’m forever on the lookout to see what animals come my way and quickly google to checkout the meaning and interpret it as advice that I should apply to my situation (patience is quite common). Interestingly, throughout history, there have been multiple cultures who have believed in something along these lines. Native Americans are one such culture. Native Americans have a whole “spirit animal” association structure. And there are others. The bright side of our current distress is that we all have the opportunity to test this out for ourselves and see what it nets.

The fox I pass frequently when I’m running on the trail near my home is my constant reminder to live passionately. The fox also represents cleverness in the trickiest of situations, which is very valuable advice indeed, especially during the horrific covid-19 crisis. Apparently, I need to stay sharp and alert like a fox. “Will do,” say I in reply.