Adhering to the old adage of reduce, reuse, recycle, we will begin our first post by discussing an article by UVM Environmental Studies professor Saleem Ali that calls for a complete reduction in our drinking habits. Although I don't think it is realistic to expect Americans to stop consuming alcohol completely, I do think that Dr. Ali's opinion is deserving of our attention, and also very hard to logically argue against.
The article is titled Putting alcohol in its place. (I will put the link to the article at the bottom of this post, you can read it now or at the end of this.) What Saleem Ali is calling for here is a radical shift in the way we view alcohol. He offers evidence of the negative health and social impacts caused by alcohol, as well as the various productive ways we could, and according to him, should be using it. I think his most convincing argument for this is the use of ethanol as a fuel source. Imagine the energy that we could harness if we used ethanol for fuel rather than for drinking!
Although this article may not significantly change many opinions in this country, I think Saleem's scientific perspective is one that we should all consider.
The majority of our blog posts will deal with ways you can tread more lightly on the earth as you drink, but we felt that Saleem's perspective was good food for thought before we begin this project.
Here's the link to the article.... http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C12%5C16%5Cstory_16-12-2005_pg3_6
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Welcome!
Welcome to the Eco Drinking blog! We are here to raise awareness about the environmental impacts caused by alcohol consumption. We've noticed there has been a great emphasis placed on buying locally, but it seems to mainly be focused around food. Perhaps because environmentalists don't want to promote alcohol consumption, they tend not to emphasize the need to "green" the way we drink. As students at the University of Vermont, we see a lot of waste being created and energy being used every weekend by the various beverages we purchase. We are not here to be teetotalers, (we've seen how unrealistic complete abstinence from alcohol is, i.e. Prohibition), but rather to raise awareness and help people make choices that make their drinking footprint a little lighter.
We will discuss the impact of different materials used in the production and transport of your beverages, as well as the need to drink locally. Many brewers, wine makers, and distilleries are already producing organic products or trying to manufacture their product in the least environmentally impactful way possible. We will try to highlight some of these, give suggestions for how you can enjoy a less energy intensive drink, and maybe even turn you on to some "greener" beverage options that you didn't know were out there.
Cheers!
Cheers!
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