Sunday, November 14, 2010

Letter to Eddie and Monica Ortiz

Eddie and Monica Ortiz own the Grocery Outlet in Rancho Cordova, CA located at 2801 Zinfandel Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.

Dear Eddie and Monica:

I am a regular customer of the Rancho Cordova Grocery Outlet and admire all the good things you do for the local community. I read a while back that your store has an advanced electrical monitoring system arranged with SMUD to help lower your power consumption and reduce your carbon footprint. Considering your commitment to the environment, I find it puzzling that you do not provide a bicycle rack near the entrance to the store to customers like myself who get around town by bike.Your attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated and would further demonstrate your commitment to protecting the environment.

Sincerely,
David Brotman

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Porcupine Fable

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other.

After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.

Moral of the story: The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person’s good qualities. In other words, learn to love the little pricks in your life.

Speak Up and You Shall Be Heard

I am a frequent customer at the Bel-Air Market in the Gold River Town Centre. There is an eating area in front of the market with tables and chairs. Almost every time I walk by, at least one person is smoking. I have gotten into the habit of hyperventilating on approach and then holding my breath until I get to the entrance near the ATM machines. For some reason, today I thought about whether there might be an alternative to hyperventilating. Suddenly an idea popped into my head! The Starbucks at the far end of the shopping center recently remodeled their store and along with the remodel was new signage outside that prohibited smoking within 20 feet of the store which effectively ended all the outdoor smokestacks that regularly visit for a coffee. Why not suggest the same for Bel Air? The possibility that they might accept this argument by precedence made sense and I had reason to be optimistic. The Town Centre shopping center is an older strip mall built in the 1980’s when the word pedestrian was still considered a foreign term. Like others built at the time, the parking lot and driveways were designed exclusively to accommodate the automobile. There is even a driveway that circles the perimeter of the mall that people use as a sort of mini-freeway. The main driveway that passes in front of the stores is narrow and there were no speed bumps installed to slow traffic down. People exiting the store had to look carefully to make sure no car was speeding through. My own close call took place about 2 years ago when I was crossing from the Jamba Juice side back over to Bel Air. A driver nearly clipped me as I was crossing the road. I yelled at him to stop and he looked up from whatever he was doing and did stop but then tried to defend his actions with some sheepish denial. That incident prompted me to suggest to the manager at Bel Air to install speed bumps. The manager at the time commiserated with me, noting that she was very aware of the problem and promised to work with the mall owner to see if something could be done. Well, sure enough, last year, new speed bumps were installed. So perhaps they did take me seriously.Anyways, that was a little bit of a tangent. Back to the main story. I decided to speak up once again. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Were they going to argue that they didn’t have jurisdiction over the outside area or have to consult with corporate headquarters? Nope, as soon as I mentioned it to the manager, he said he would get signs installed right away. I don’t know how long this will take, but I go over there pretty frequently.Moral of the story. If you think something needs attention, better to speak up. If you just assume someone else will speak up for you, you might be waiting a long time. In this case, Bel Air has been there over 10 years.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Letter to Dan Lungren

Dear Debra:

Per your instructions, I will outline my purpose for meeting with Congressman Lungren.First of all, I had the good fortune of bumping into Congressman Lungren in front of the Bel Air Market a couple of weeks ago. We talked a little bit about clean energy but under those circumstances, it was difficult to have a meaningful discussion. I would like to meet with Congressman Lungren to discuss 2 issues of critical importance: the impacts of climate change, our reliance on fossil fuels and what should be done about it.I do
not know whether or not Congressman Lungren accepts the theory that the climate is changing and humans are the primary cause of these changes. There is an accumulating body of evidence supporting anthropogenic climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was created by the World Meteorological Organization has stated unequivocally in its most recent assessment that Human activities ... "are modifying the concentration of atmospheric constituents ... that absorb or scatter radiant energy. ... [M]ost of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations." The statements by the IPCC are supported by every major scientific organization in the U.S., including the National Academy of Sciences, The American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). All have issued statements in recent years concluding that the evidence for human modification of climate is compelling.In short, there is no longer any meaningful debate occurring among scientists about whether
climate change is happening and whether humans are the cause. That issue has been settled. A small group of skeptics remain who have offered other theories such as water vapor, natural variation, sunspots,etc. None of the competing theories have withstood scientific scrutiny.

Most of these other explanations tend to focus on one aspect of the climate change model or
extract limited pieces of data, also known as cherry-picking to bolster their arguments. If Congressman Lungren is interested in learning more about the scientific basis behind climate change theory, I urge him to contact Dr. James Hansen of the Nasa Goddard Institute of Space Studies. Dr. Hansen is the leading climatologist on global warming and has been researching this problem for over 20 years. I am sure he would be delighted to discuss the issue with Congressman Lungren. Dr. Hansen can be reached at (212) 678-5500.
The impacts of climate change are already evident on a global scale. Mountain glaciers are receding and the polar ice caps are melting. A massive ice sheet 100 square miles and 600 feet thick in size recently broke off of the coast of Greenland. 2010 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record. Coral reefs around the world are under stress due to the acidification of the ocean from increasing Co2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Unusually hot weather gripped Russia this year, drying out acres of farmland and raising wheat prices around the world.

There is no secret as to what is causing the increase in Co2 in the atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial revolution have released millions of tons of Co2 and much of the Co2 that was burned at the beginning of the 20th century is still in the air today. Dr. Hansen has identified a list of what he refers to as positive feed backs, which are observable consequences of Co2 increases that are responsible for accelerating the warming of the planet. According to Dr. Hansen, the earth’s climate is approaching a critical tipping point, where it may be too late to do anything. Once again, I urge Congressman Lungren to speak directly to Dr. Hansen so he can understand this problem in more depth.

To summarize:

  1. The earth is getting warmer due to the increase in Co2 in the atmosphere.
  2. Humans are responsible for the increase in Co2 due to the burning of fossil fuels.
  3. The consequences of a warmer earth are now observable and accelerating.

The only question left is what to do about it. Clearly, we cannot extract and consume every last bit of fossil fuel left underground before we seek out alternatives. The consequences of burning additional fossil fuels, especially coal would be disastrous from both an economic and environmental perspective. I completely understand the concerns of many in Congress and perhaps Congressman Lungren who fear that any attempt to begin a transition to a clean energy economy would cost thousands of jobs. However, those costs must be weighed against the cost of not doing anything. On July 27, 2010 a panel of experts and officials from the Dept of Defense gathered to discuss the issue of clean energy. The Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus stated that it is a matter of national security to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and his statements were echoed by other officials at the meeting including Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman at theDept of Energy. According to Deputy Secretary Poneman, the status quo is unsustainable. He goes on to say that, "The security and prosperity of the United States are directly tied to energy." A May, 2009 report from the Center for Naval Analysis called our national energy posture a serious and urgent threat to national security.

From everything that I have presented above, the only logical solution is to phase out fossil fuel use in this country and build an alternative clean energy infrastructure. The purpose of my meeting with Congressman Lungren is to give him a blueprint for accomplishing this goal. I promise not to take up too much of his time. I only ask that he hear me out on this.

Sincerely,
David Brotman

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Return Comcast Cable Box

Since we can watch lots of stuff directly from the computer, we decided to end the Chinese package with expanded cable. This meant I had to return the cable box to the Comcast store on Truxel across from the Walmart in North Natomas. Total distance is approximately 24 miles. The weather was cooperating. In fact it was slightly nippy. Fall has finally arrived in Sacramento after a brief Indian summer last week. I left at about 10 minutes to 10 in the morning after taking Fluffy for a short walk. I don’t like to stop and the reason is that my muscles start to stiffen up. So I simply slow down for some Gatorade every once in a while which worked out fine. I arrived at the shopping center about 12 noon and before I parked my bike, I checked to see if the Indian fast food place was still there since it tasted so good last time. I was dismayed to find the space empty with a for lease sign. Jeez, that was only about 1.5 months ago that I ate there. Oh well. I locked my bike and opened the door to the Comcast store. It was crowded with a long line of people returning equipment and paying their bills. I had to wait about 1/2 hour but fortunately there was a big screen TV to pass the time. Business completed, it was time to choose a place to eat. I went over to unlock my bike and suddenly heard, "Hey, you in the shades, what time is it?" A well-dressed homeless man had looked up from reading some type of textbook and I told him, "It is 12:23. " He smiled and then said, "Bless you man, bless you." I just nodded. I could have said bless you too, but I am not a blessing you this or that type of person.
Okay back to the issue at hand. Food. Del Taco was out of the question and so was Arby’s. Their sandwiches are loaded with way too much salt. How about that Gordita’s Burrito on Truxel and El Camino? Yes, I remember that place. It was a decent place with good, clean food. I arrived at the corner and looked for the restaurant sign. It was gone but it did say Taqueria Mezcal. Okay, that’s close enough. I parked in front of La Bou next door, walked in and ordered a chicken burrito and a small drink. That burrito tasted so good. What a difference from that crap I ate at El Forastero. It was large and had beans, fresh chicken and I think some rice as well. I have come not to expect lettuce and tomato in burritos. But they did have salsa and it was fresh and appetizing, especially the green salsa. I piled green and red salsa onto my burrito and wolfed it down while dripping salsa and sauce on my plate. I was enjoying myself so much, I forgot about the time. Oh, shit! I had to be back in Gold River by 3 PM to pick up Pumpkin and it was already after 1. Travel time on the bike trail is usually never less than 1.5 hours and that was going downhill. Going back is all uphill. I had to get going. I jumped on my bike and headed back as fast as my sleepy legs would crank those pedals. My legs were sore and the burrito was weighing me down. No wonder sports experts do not recommend eating big meals before working out. I am sure there was a battle going on inside me to see where the blood would go - to my stomach or to my legs. I tried to put the pain and soreness out of my mind and focused on getting a rhythm. I am always amazed at how fast other cyclists ride on that path. I was pumping hard and I was probably averaging 12 mph which was not too shabby considering I had already traveled over 25 miles. But they were passing me by like I was standing still and no one looked like they were exerting much effort either. I didn’t want to look at the time on my cellphone and just pushed as hard as I could. I didn’t want Pumpkin standing outside waiting for me. Finally, I arrived on Roaring Camp Drive just as the school bell rang in the distance. Wow, what timing! I just made it. I parked my bike under a tree where I usually meet her and 2 minutes later saw her dragging her backpack on the sidewalk. That was close!Total adventure time - 5 hours. Distance traveled - 48 miles.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Remembering David Waldman

Yesterday we visited Gilda and the rest of the Waldmans at her house to remember and celebrate the life of David Waldman who passed away on September 20th. It was great to see Eric, Suene, Ian and the kids, Ridley and Jude. I spent half my childhood at the Waldman’s, going up every year to spend the summer with Ian and Eric. I had a lot of fun times there, playing up at the circle and getting a little too wild every now and then with Eric and Ian. I was always fascinated with David’s skills as a carpenter and his ability to remodel the house in Kensington mostly by himself. I eagerly helped him whenever he needed help, not only to gain a little insight into how to build a house but also because he had a funny sense of humor. Some of my most memorable times were listening to him rant about the Republicans in Washington at the dinner table. His language was usually colorful and his observations were always insightful. I am going to miss him a lot.For anyone who was unable to attend the event yesterday, I have reproduced a short biography written by Gilda about David and their long marriage together.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Ami Bera/Dan Lungren Cosmic Collision

I have always been involved with politics. I guess it runs in my family. I am not going to go into detail about how politics have influenced my family in negative ways. Instead I am only going to mention that I never have and never will vote Republican, at least not in this lifetime. The Republican agenda runs counter to pretty much everything I stand for. Given the poor state of the economy, one might think that jobs are at the top of my list of priorities. And although getting more business is important to me, equally important are the accelerating effects of global warming. The science is unambiguous and definitive that humans are the cause of global warming and that the effects will be catastrophic if nothing is done very quickly to move away from fossil fuels. With an anemic economy and illegal immigration dominating the news, convincing people that global warming is not only real but is beginning to affect us in the form of higher food prices, loss of fresh water, rising sea levels, ocean acidification and dying coral reefs, to name a few, is a hard sell. The scary part is that some scientists are beginning to mention the possibility that we are close to reaching a tipping point, or in layman’s terms, the point of no return where nothing we do will be able to overcome the positive feed backs that are accelerating rising temperatures across the globe.
Dan Lungren
Ami Bera
In fact, I feel so strongly about this issue, that I gave up my car on 8/11/09. It has been a challenge doing without a car but now that I have adjusted my lifestyle, I have never felt better. Yes, we still have a car but I rarely drive it unless I need to buy 5 gallon bottles of water or something else that just won’t fit in a backpack. And this brings me to why I am writing about Ami Bera and Dan Lungren. Dan Lungren represents the 3rd district which includes Gold River. He is a very conservative Republican and it puzzles me why the Sacramento Bee is endorsing him for reelection. A couple of months ago, I got a call from someone working for Ami Bera. Who is Ami Bera? He is the latest Democratic challenger to try and unseat Lungren in this year’s midterm election. I decided to help out with the limited time I have available to try and get Ami Bera elected. A couple of weeks ago, I did some phone bank work at the Ami Bera’s headquarters in Carmichael and just this past Friday, I did some more limited phone bank work remotely from home. Yesterday, which was Saturday, Eric drove up from Sherman Oaks to join us in attending a celebration of David Waldman’s life. They arrived in the late afternoon and we didn’t feel like going out so I offered to head over to Bel Air Market to pick up some Chinese food from the deli. I threw my backpack on and jumped on my bike for the 5 minute ride over. The service at the deli was quick. 1 quart of fried rice, 1 quart of chow mein and 12 potstickers seemed like just enough for dinner. I carried the food back to my bike and loaded everything in my backpack. After unlocking the bike from the pole it was tethered to, I looked up and noticed a tall, curly haired man wearing a t-shirt and shorts who looked a little disheveled. I stared at him as he pulled a couple of shopping bags out of a shopping cart. "He looks very familiar," I thought to myself. Could it be? Is that who I think it is? He looked exactly like Dan Lungren. That’s impossible. Wait a sec. I remember reading someplace that he actually lives in Gold River but spends most of his time in Washington, D.C. So it must be him. Although I agree with nothing he supports, I do write to him from time to time, doing my best to try and convince him that something needs to be done about global warming. I decided to take a chance. "Dan Lungren, is that you?", I asked tentatively. He wheeled around, smiled and nodded. I walked over and introduced myself and told him that I was the one who has been sending him emails about clean energy. How would he react to that? "I do get a lot of emails but my staff goes through every one", he replied. He started talking about some company in Rancho Cordova named Clean Energy Systems that is involved in extracting more oil from the old oilfields in Bakersfield and sequestering carbon at the same time. Boy, if that is his idea of clean energy, I have a much bigger challenge ahead of me than I thought. In any case, it seems strange and somewhat coincidental that the day after I do some phone banking for Ami Bera, I run into Dan Lungren, the incumbent who Ami Bera is running against.

Going on a Trip

We went on a trip to Costa Rica recently and after getting back from the trip, I had this lucid dream of being at an airport waiting to go t...