CAPTAIN’S LOG Entry #1

Captain’s Log

Entry #1

FEATURE INTERVIEW PAGE #2: DAVID GATTIE

I have noticed that there is a significant change occurring within Athens, GA due to the city’s Mayor implementing a new regulation. Mayor Bernie, of Athens’, newest regulation will restrict the citizens of Athens to consuming food produced within a 60-mile radius. Thus, the Athenians have begun to petition against this new constraint that has been implemented by the mayor.

Many of the citizens of Athens have realized the impending effects of the new law. One being that the food variety will be drastically reduced, which will have many terrible effects. Resources like land and water are limited as it is, and Athenians are quite upset that their current lifestyle is being completely uprooted. The local community is in an uproar.

I’ve instructed the Planeteers to focus on the system involving the relationship between consumer, producers, and resources. A food system is a type of system which

“includes all processes involved in keeping us fed: growing, harvesting, processing (or transforming or changing), packaging, transporting, marketing, consuming and disposing of food and food packages”. Mayor Bernie’s proposal will certainly put a constraint on this system, so I want the Planeteers to tell me what the system tells us before heading to town.

It is time to send in the Planeteers to investigate the situation and keep peace in The Classic City!

*Captain Planet is world-renowned superhero whose mission is to keep planet Earth as pristine as Mother Nature intended.   

* The Planeteers are on a mission to help captain planet

Athens in despairBy Captain Planet with help from the Planeteers

in all his sustainable work

While the Planeteers are out on their own individual missions around Athens, I have gone out to interview Dr. Gattie (AKA Dr. Energy). Dr. Gattie is on the forefront of teaching sustainability to perspective Environmental Engineers at the University of Georgia. The following is a Q&A involving Dr. Gattie and I conversing about the 60-mile implementation.

Q 1. What comes to your mind that would change/ be affected?

Q 2. What Land constraints come to mind?

Q 3. Will overgrazing and over farming drop the nutrients in land?

Q 4. Do you think there would be an increase in water pollution and overall use? I don’t think we’ll be able to have access to water bottles, so there would be an increase in water usage. Would that heavily affect our river system?

Q 5. Do you foresee more of a reliance on local farms or do you see like victory gardens/ co-ops between neighbors/backyard vegetables?

Q 6. Do you think the majority of the water is going to be brought/ allocated towards a more sustainable diet (less meat and more greens) or can we just not live without beef?

Q 7. What do you think would happen to the consumer aspect? Do you think it would be chaos or would we all try and work together?

Q 8. How long do you think it would take to prepare for this regulation?

A 1. I don’t believe that the land has the biological capacity to support our population and maintain our current consumption.

A 2. Think about having to grow vegetables, meat, dairy, and vitamins – there’s a lot that goes into it. (I’m) Not sure how you would supplement foods with vitamins.

A 3. (We) would need crop rotation, (we) would have to be real careful with the animal part, the livestock. 60 miles is not much land for livestock. The only thing you can raise is chicken on that amount of land, and we (UGA) do a good job at that

A 4. I don’t think it will affect the river systems Irrigation wise would be the problem, and more demand is to follow. 2009- serious drought; only had about a week supply left in Bear Creek up here in Athens. Systems are usually designed a decade or so out, Here’s what we are expecting: Farmers will be pulling from deep wells, not city water. If they’re in the city they will be using city water for their home farming, and that’s a problem

A 5. The latter will be seen because I would not be able to grow a big enough variety of food to survive. There has to be a certain economy scale for something like that to be efficient, and actually meet the goals of what you trying to do, which is eat.

A 6. Beef you’re not going to be able to support, if you grew it all here in the 60-mile radius what would eventually snuff the whole thing out and you wouldn’t be able to worry about it? Economics. If you’re putting that much of a resource into growing the beef, the

Dr. Energy: Also known as the wonderful Dr.Gattie!

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prices are going to be so high, people can’t afford (beef)

A 7. It would be chaos. Whatever the government is, is besides the point- the people need to remain a community and provide for each other because you are not going to be able to support yourself no matter how self-sufficient you think you are

A 8. It would take a couple of growing seasons. You have to know what your land can do, (and) test it out. (Athens) has to plan the water supply out. (We) Need time for education, (and) maybe slowly scale things back

I’ve instructed planeteer, Will Castrillón, to go on a mission to analyze the water system around Athens, and

discover what problems may arise with Mayor Bernie’s mandate.

When considering the 60-mile

implementation it is imperative to

consider water usage. Although

irrigation is known to be the largest

water consumer in Athens, most, if not

all houses and commercial buildings

are using city water. Therefore, when

the 60-miles radius goes into effect the

water will start

diminishing at a faster

rate than it can be

replenished. The United

States Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA)

states, “ Americans use

large quantities of water

inside their homes. The

average family of four can use 400

gallons of water every day, and, on

average, approximately 70 percent of

that water is used indoors.” In 2009,

Athens experienced a major drought

that left Athens’ residents with a mere

two-week water supply. Due to a

Federal law Athens water supply, Bear

Creek, is allowed to be used only to a

specified amount. Meaning, Athens’

residents will encounter several

problems in the event of a water

shortage.

An underlying issue behind the

incoming water shortage is the

massive amount of water needed for

meat production. Unfortunately, not

everyone who lives on our green earth

thinks about the consequences of meat

production on the water system. The

problem is that when animals are

raised for consumption, the amount of

water used is highly inefficient.

According to Earth Space— a non-

Water problems in Athens

profit agency that is dedicated to

helping people and saving the planet

just like me— one pound of red meat

takes 2500 gallons of water to produce.

The most amount of water is not

consumed by the oil and chemicals or

defense industries, or in the fields of

grain or fruit. It is in the fields of

irrigated pastures. I came across some

information relating Athens to

California. In 1986, California had

around 5.3 million acre-feet of water

going to irrigate pastures — which is

as much as all 27 million people in the

state consumed, including for

swimming pools and lawns, just as

John Robbins in the Earth Save agency

states.

Most people are not aware that the

majority of the water in the United

States is partitioned to the agricultural

industry, and more specifically meat

production. While it may seem as if

there is no hope, the PB&J campaign, a

group of concerned citizens just like in

Athens, have come together to fight

environmental destruction by lowering

the amount of animal products that

they consume, one meal at a time. This

group of smart planet lovers have

discovered that you can save 133

gallons of water by eating a plant

based lunch, and that the water savings

after replacing 3 hamburger lunches is

equivalent to switching to a low flow

showerhead.

I’ve sent

Planeteer

Daniel Smith to investigate the land issues that are

arising in the Classic city.

An aspect that many people

tend to forget about when they

consider resources in the food

production cycle is land, so Captain

Planet sent me out to look at how

the land could be affected by the 60

mile radius law. The main concern

is, do we have enough arable land

to grow crops on to feed the

population of the 60-mile radius? I

calculated that the sixty-mile radius

consists of roughly 10,944 square

miles of land composed of 3,086

square miles of farm and cropland

and a miniscule 17.27 square miles

of forestland. If every inch of land

in the area was used as efficiently

as possible, we would still not be

capable of feeding the community;

the land simply does not have the

biological capacity to support the

estimated Athens population of

119,000. Biological capacity is the

capacity of an ecosystem to create

useful biological material

(essentially food), and absorb toxic

materials generally produced by

humans. Biological capacity

changes throughout countries, but

the average biological capacity per

Land Limitations

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person is 1.79 global hectares and

the ideal, perfectly efficient use of

this land could only support 1.511

per person at best.

At our current rate of

consumption and production, we

could not live purely off the land

we are currently using for food

production; we would have to

import food from other places.

Also, we are currently using a large

percent of our overall land for

commercial and residential entities

preventing any large-scale crop

production. In desperation, the

little remaining forestland could be

sacrificed for agricultural land, but

clear-cutting our forests would be

an environmental as well as an

economic tragedy.

Agriculture is almost

always completely separate from

cities and urban design. If we want

to be sustainable and have the

capability to live on our means,

then we need to infuse agriculture

with our current urban design.

With our current land use, our

community cannot live on its own,

unless urban and suburban area

was infused with agricultural land

in the form of victory gardens and

small subsistence operations. Very

little land is needed to grow crops

to supplement a family’s diet and

caloric intake. I found that the most

efficient and plausible use of our

land would be to teach families and

possibly business owners on how

to make and care for small victory

and rooftop gardens. With a little

effort and planning, we could

greatly increase our local produce,

reduce the strain on the

environment, and reduce our

dependency on imported goods.

Planeteer Michelle Freeman is researching the production problems that may in Athens.

I, as a Planeteer, went to the city of

Athens and I recognized that with

the newly implemented law, local

farms are going to be needed more

than ever. Food has been easily

accessible via commercial grocery

stores that provide food from all

around the globe to your

neighborhood. Yet, I have observed

that with the upcoming new law,

this will no longer be the case.  As a

shift in the food system is changing,

many foods are now limited. This

entails that the Athens

food production is in need of a

grand transformation, to a state to

where consumers must obtain food

from local farmers, or even from

their own backyards, instead of the

“local” Kroger.

Production Mayhem

Yet, I have seen that if the

local farms sustained the food

system of Athens, there could

potentially be a negative effect of

local farms due to the greenhouse

gases (GHG). According to Marci

Baranski, a PHD candidate in life

sciences at Arizona State

University, “local food is not

necessarily lower in GHG emissions

because food miles are only a small

portion of overall emissions from

food. Some local options such as

community gardens, farms,

greenhouses, and other

community-supported agriculture

offer social and economic benefits

to consumers”.

Greenhouse gases (GHG)

are emitted throughout the process

of growing and packaging our

foods. These GHGs consist mainly

of carbon dioxide, methane and

nitrous oxide. The emissions are

harming the carbon footprint of our

food consumption, thus the means

of our production will need to be

modified. As Baranski mentions,

“production accounts for the

majority of GHG emissions in

agriculture, mostly from soil

microbial processes and manure

burning fuel to power farm

equipment emits carbon dioxide.

Fertilizer is a major source of

nitrous oxide emissions, which

escape from the soil into the

atmosphere.”

The Carbon footprint in

Athens could be reduced due to the

decrease of emissions being

expelled due to transportation.

Global

Footprint Network defines carbon

footprint as the “amount of carbon

(usually in tons) being emitted by

an activity or organization.”

Consuming food releases GHGs due

to the refrigeration and the wasted

foods. Consumers must be aware as

to what they are consuming and as

to how the farmers are growing

their foods. Before the

implementation of the law, it is

important that we educate

consumers about the foods

supplied as well as showing

techniques to grow foods via

community gardens.

The community gardens

will make a great impact for they

will increase community

awareness. According to The

American Community Gardening

Association, these gardens allow

those “without land of their own to

produce food.” The gardens also

produce “3-5 times more per acre”

than commercial farms. These

gardens will potentially help the

citizens of Athens build a stronger

community and support the local

farms. Unfortunately, the city of

Athens will probably rid itself of

the vast variety of restaurants due

to the lack of food supplies within

the community. This loss, however,

will be replaced with the farmers’

markets that provide all types of

foods for its consumers.

After my extensive

research, I have concluded that the

local farms within the community

will have to grow their own crops

in order to support the large

market they will provide for. This

new implementation of the 60-mile

diet will allow farmers to

financially benefit. Consumers must

also modify their diets and learn

how to produce their own foods.

Local farmers from all over Athens

will come together to provide

consumers with the essential

products needed for a daily living.

Farmer’s markets will now be a

main source in which consumers

gathers their food supplies; this is a

place in which farmers gather to

trade and accumulate foods.

Community gardens also must

become a main source of food

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supplies. Community gardening is

implemented into low-income

communities to promote a sense of

community. Overall, the food

system no longer has a large

portion of energy spent on the

packaging and the transportation.

As a Planeteer, I have discovered

that the local farms and community

gardens are essential to sustain the

food system of Athens.

Planeteer Amber Liepse was instructed to go into the Athens community and discover the possible communal problems that are in result of Mayor Bernie’s mandate.

In any community it is clear that

children are of the highest

importance: ensuring that the

future generation develops and

prospers is vital to keep any

community thriving. I have noticed

Americans collectively have

progressively transformed our food

system over the past 40 years,

going from homegrown a foods and

homemade to easy and convenient

foods. One of the underlying

reasons I’ve seen that has created

this type of food system change

correlating with the population

transition was to create a

dependent supply of food in these

cities where the citizens would not

be able to produce their own foods.

The US Food and Drug

Administration (USFDA) and the US

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

have created a list of recommended

food groups and daily amounts of

important vitamins that Americans

should consume. With the potential

60-mile constraint, I’ve noticed that

there are some of these food

groups and nutrients that could

potentially be very hard to sustain

within our diets. One of the major

losses we would endure is cattle. As

mentioned before, cattle use up a

significant amount of water and

land that we will not be able to

accommodate within the small

radius. Without these cattle, we

would not only be losing our beef

protein, but also the nutrients we

need from their milk. Two of the

main nutrients we receive from

milk are vitamin A and calcium:

vitamin A aids our vision, immune

system and development while

calcium aids in bone development.

According to the National

Academies Press, 72% of the

calcium we consume comes from

milk, cheese, and yogurt. It is

recommended by the USFDA that

children under 4 years should

consume 800 mg of calcium, and

adults 1000 mg, a day. Without

milk from cows, we can still acquire

some calcium from leafy greens

and some beans, but the amount of

calcium in each can vary. The

USFDA also suggests that children

under 4 years old should consume

2500 IU (international units), and

Community Crisis

adults 5000 IU of vitamin A, a day.

Like our calcium supplements, we

can obtain our vitamin A from

other sources such as fish, leafy

greens, and darkly colored fruits.

Protein is the number one

issue that the community would

struggle over with the loss of beef.

USDA recommends that we

consume 50g of protein daily. With

roughly 28 grams per ounce, there

are many other places we can

consume this amount of protein,

“In general, 1 ounce of meat,

poultry or fish, ¼ cup cooked

beans, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of

peanut butter, or ½ ounce of nuts

or seeds can be considered as 1

ounce equivalent from the Protein

Foods Group”(choosemyplate.org).

Although some of these items may

be available, this lack of protein

could be detrimental towards the

future generation in the Athens

community to continue growing

and being well nourished.

Conclusion

The Planeteers did a great job looking into the headlining topics that I knew would be an issue:

resources, production, and the community as a whole. With their powers combined, I am able to see the how

different the food system is now compared to what Athens is about to encounter thanks to Mayor Bernie.

Within the 60-mile radius Mayor Bernie has created, there is already a significant amount of their land

reserved for residential and commercial usage, with only a sliver of land ready for agriculture use. Another

issue brought to my eyes is the heavy dependency the city has on commercial grocery stores, and less on

local markets. The Athenians have taken no consideration in their water usage, or appreciate the nutrients

they receive from foods. This new implementation shows that there is a complex cycle within our food

system. Without the production these citizens are accustomed to, there will be a serious issue with the

resources they have already depreciated, and when these resources are not being used to the efficient

capacity they acquire, there will be no more nutrients for the community to live off of, and chaos will more

than likely begin.

The city of Athens would need to convert the food system they are aware of to a completely new,

more efficient system in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle by only consuming foods that were produced

within the radius Mayor Bernie is planning on implementing. There are many things that can be done to fix

this dilemma: construct rain barrels, gather your neighbors and make a community garden, and only

produce foods in season.

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THE POWER IS YOURS

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