“Bring Your Own Cutlery”

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Mar 312011
 

A Statement About China's Chopstick Consumption

“Years from now, when my grandchildren ask me what happened to all of China’s trees, I’ll have to say, ‘We made them into chopsticks.’ Isn’t that pitiful?” – A quote from Kang Dahu. Kang, is a member of an environmental movement in China known as the “Chopstick Crusade”, the group is made up of volunteers working to make people aware of the impact disposable wooden chopsticks has on the nations forests.

China uses about a hundred trees a day to give citizens a one-time use utensil- the chopstick. The “Chopstick Crusade” and “Bring your own Chopstick” movements are spreading throughout China to end this. Environmentalist hope to decrease the number of 45 billion, which is how many disposable wooden chopsticks are currently being made annually by country. By using re-usable utensils, the number 25 million, which is the number of trees chopped down annually to make China’s chopsticks could be spared.

China’s Environmental Protection Foundation states that at current de-forestation rates: “forest will disappear from China in 20 years”. The foundation constructed a tree using 30,000 used wooden chopsticks; they then chopped it down. Once sixteen feet in height, the toppled tree rests beside a sidewalk in downtown Shanghai. It’s a public display of the unnecessary waste caused by chopsticks. Beside the fallen tree volunteers like Kang Dahu offer information, statistics, and most importantly re-usable chopsticks to the public- that was in 2010.

In 2011, Greenpeace has done a similar project creating several more chopstick trees and planting them in a Beijing mall known as “The Place”.

Skeletons of the Trees They Once Were

Chopsticks can be made out of a variety of materials from metal, plastic (recycled), and porcelain- but the Chinese favorite is the disposable wooden. In America we too use one-time use utensils at many fast food restaurants. American one-users is generally made of plastic, yet it is an avoidable waste just the same. Plastic forks, spoons, and knifes (not to mention cups, and straws) go into landfills with plastic bags (even the plastic utensils are often initially sealed in a bag) , and single use water bottles- maybe it is time for an American “Bring your own Cutlery” movement.

So when you (wherever you are) look at the image of the chopped down chop stick tree, think not that this is an issue for the (possibly?) foreign country, but to your own community as well- what does your society waste? Can that consumption (number) be decreased? And most importantly what can YOU and those around you do to make a change?

These are all good questions to ask yourself. The answers may not be simple, nor easily accomplished, but every individual action (like bringing your own cutlery to KFC) adds up, and makes a difference. So that if someone were to gather up all your individual waste- that bag would be small. That’s what is most important, because if all people followed your example, the world would be a cleaner, greener, place- preserved for generations to come.

Alternatives to single use products with the same purpose are biodegradable utensils. You can find them offered at Greencupboards.com using the link below:

Biodegradable Cutlery

Sources:

http://inhabitat.com/30000-used-chopsticks-transformed-into-a-fallen-tree-in-shanghai/

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/canoe-built-from-chopsticks.php

http://convozine.com/conversations/8314

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A3296-2001Jan30

http://www.odditycentral.com/tag/recycling

Images:

http://www.odditycentral.com/tag/recycling

http://guerrillasushi.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html

One Man’s Wooden Fortress

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Mar 302011
 

A Wooden- Whatever you want to call it...

Traveling to the northwest of Russia, you would find a small town named Arkhangelsk, where there is a home unlike any other. The home looks like a skyscraper: its highest point breaks the clouds like the Empire State Building. Skyscrapers in New York are made of steel, concrete, and glass; this Russian scraper is constructed of wood.

Nikolai Sutyagin is responsible for the wooden feature that can be seen from all points of the impoverished town. Sutyagin says he originally intended to build a two story wooden structure, already the town’s biggest house, to show off his status as the town’s richest man.

After a trip to Japan, where he saw many wooden pagodas, Sutyagin thought he did not use roof space to the best of his abilities on his own house. Two stories is the height limit for wooden structures in Russia, yet Sutyagin decided to use the roof space more efficiently by adding more layers to the house. Because of the laws of the town, Sutyagin claims that everything above the two stories is purely decorative.

And so the home grew to three stories, then four, and so on all the way to twelve stories. Sutyagin’s house now stands at 120 feet- and city officials are not happy.

Sutyagin has had many personal quarrels with the government and has spent time in jail for crimes he claims he did not commit and was set up for. Russian officials are constantly threatening to destroy his fortress- what they call a fire hazard and an eyesore.

The legal standing of the building may be debatable,  yet the impressiveness of one man’s labor has been declared an Eighth Wonder of the World by some.

Sutuagin built the fortress home mostly single handedly. It took fifteen years to make the house as big as it is today yet it is still unfinished. Sutuagin was imprisoned during the construction of the house. While in prison he says he lost all of his money to looters stealing his fortune. “When I went to prison I was a millionaire… now I’m penniless,” says the 60-year-old who is still living in the bottom of the house with his family.

“What you see today is a happy accident,” Sutuagin tells visiting reporters.

You may never find a wooden skyscraper in New York, but you can find one in Russia. One made himself the king of his own castle, designed and created by him for him- This guy clearly listened when told to dream big.The Builder- Nikolai Sutyagin

If you too are a big dreamer you can find some of the tools you will need at Greencupboards.com.

Chainsaw

Jaw Horse

 

Saw Station

Like a wooden skyscraper...

Sources:

http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2006/12/27/russian-wooden-highscraper/

http://www.kk.org/streetuse/archives/2006/11/homemade_wooden_skyscraper.php

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1544827/Gangster-who-built-worlds-tallest-log-cabin.html

California Smoggin

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Mar 292011
 
The Golden State, The Translucent Killer: Smog

Smog Over Glendale Obscuring San Gabriel Mountains

As of 2010 California is home to eight out of the ten smoggiest cities in America. The ten smoggiest cities are:

Los Angeles, CA

Bakersfield, CA

Visalia, CA

Fresno, CA

Sacramento, CA

Hanford, Ca

Houston, TX

San Diego, CA

San Luis Obispo, CA

Charlotte, NC

In 1943, California was attacked. Peoples eyes began to water as they took wheezing gasps in a thick fog. It was the midst of WWII and America was on high alert.  Many Californians believed the Japanese were attacking with chemical warfare.

However, the attacker was not born of another country, but was created by the people of California themselves- out of their car tailpipes.  In 1943 California had the largest car market in the world, thanks in large part to a high immigration rate feeding it with unlimited customers. Though Californian’s economy produces more than many states combined, the Golden State’s chief product is smog. Smog is a polluting fog with toxic ozone levels.

Growing up in Washington I had never even heard of a smog warning, nor had I ever been told where to avoid exercising. I had never felt threatened by the air quality in Spokane. The same cannot be said for California. During my research I found out that there is such a thing as “ a Smog Warning” and “ a Smog Alert”- names Californians use to gauge whether it is okay to go outside or not. On a Smog Alert outside P.E. in schools would be cancelled, mothers would be cautious about letting their children outside, and athletes would train indoors all these things remind me of what would happen due to a bad snow day in Spokane, but snow is a natural occurrence. Smog is man-made, and as much as it pollutes the environment, it pollutes the people that created it.

Chip Jacobs, author of Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Los Angeles, gave an interview with Wired Magazine saying: “Throughout the ’50s and ’60s, some parts of L.A. were getting dangerous amounts of smog 200 days a year…  There were a lot of L.A. residents who barely saw the mountains through the brown-and-orange pollution. A lot of us got used to it. That was just the way it was.” In 2008, there were 90 toxic ozone days.

Today, the smog problem in California is persisting. The state is  certainly golden, but because of smog rather than a gold rush reference. I recently visited Los Angeles, California on a spring break trip. Looking up at the moon at night I was startled to see an orange glow radiating from it like a halo. This is not how the moon looks in Washington, where it appears pure and white, not here. I kept a keen eye out for smog  in California as I traveled throughout the state, visiting both Azusa and Occidental Universities where I continued to gauge my visibility level. It was raining for the beginning of my trip so for the most part visibility was good. As I drove to the airport to leave the state the sun was coming up. The higher it got, the worse the visibility became. Mountains I could once see were lost to the golden haze of smog. Over the city in the airplane I looked down. I could barely see the ground- not due to height, but the orange haze that covered it like a dirty cotton ball. As I flew north I was relieved to clearly see the greenery below as I came back to Washington.

California Smog, 1943

The Californian car market is still massive and its effects can still be seen as I have described. Floods of immigrants still huddle in California to plant their roots, population is increasing and with that comes an increase of smog.

What cost will bring an end to smog?

Surely not the 19,000 smog related premature deaths or the 9,400 hospitalizations, nor the 300,000 respiratory illnesses all predominantly caused by engine exhaust. This issue is as health related as it is environmental- technological advancements are killing us as a species, with all the other critters we share this world with too. Advances in technology need not be entertainment based, not the fastest, nor the sleekest- none of these things will benefit the long term. So what will? A shift in mindset from consumer based to environment based technology will. The environment encompasses your city, your town, your work, your home, your body, and even your pet- all of these things are interrelated as each individual person in the environment is to another.

91% of California’s 33 million people live with low quality air. One day I fear that Washington will become a golden state, and it will, unless the way that people live, and the technology we use, is changed.

You can find an array of eco-friendly products at Greencupboards.com

Wearing a gas mask, was part of a 1950 protest against smog.

Sources:

http://publicceo.com/index.php/local-governments/151-local-governments-publicceo-exclusive/1442-the-smoggiest-cities-in-america

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/asthma/asthma-info/10-smoggiest-cities?id=article.2008-05-05.3307617383&section=section_01

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/07/0726la-first-big-smog/

Images:

http://www.executivehm.com/news/california-smog/

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/07/0726la-first-big-smog/

Californian’s Love/Hate Relationship with Leaf Blowers

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Mar 282011
 

What a novel idea: a machine that automatically pushes the leaves from your yard or driveway. You have probably all heard of a leaf blower and you have most likely heard a leaf blower. The noise is getting this landscaping innovation banned from many Californian cities. California government officials are calling the gas-powered leaf blower a source of unnecessary pollution, both in C02 and noise.

The leaf blower originated in 13th century Japan, whose people then used a hand-powered version of the motorized blower to clear garden plots of leaf litter.  In 1970 the motor was added to the Japanese invention, creating the modern day leaf blower that soon (after the power-adaption was added) came to America in 1970.

In 1986 in Sacramento, California, 75,000 backpack leaf blowers were sold in the city- prompting the creation of the Citizens for a Quieter Sacramento, an organization aimed at banning the leaf blower. in 1987 Sacramento there were 464,000 blowers sold and 800,000 in 1989. Whilst other bans have been put into affect in California, California’s capitol, Sacramento, is still un-restricted to leaf blowers yet has noise restrictions that change throughout the day in coordination with what time it is.

Carmel, California ban leaf blowers in 1975. The Carmel City Counsel stated:

The operation of a combustion engine blower for the purpose of displacing, removing or blowing any materials from or about public or private property in a manner which allows the engine to be heard on public property and causes the materials to be blown into the air in a manner which allows them to settle on public property or on private property not belonging to the same owner on which the blower is being operated is declared to be a public nuisance and unlawful.

Beverly Hills ban the blower in 1976. Stating:

It shall be unlawful for any person within the City to use or operate any portable machine powered with a gasoline engine used to blow leaves, dirt, and other debris off sidewalks, driveways, lawns, or other surfaces.

In West Hollywood, in 1986 the town counsel wrote:

The purpose of this Ordinance is to prohibit the use and operation of gasoline powered leaf blowers in the City of West Hollywood. These devices, used to blow leaves, dirt and debris, create an excessive and unusual amount of noise, often operating at up to ninety decibels. The sustained operation of leaf blowers at this decibel level is literally deafening to persons who reside and work within earshot of the many gardeners and property owners who utilize the devices. The sound is extremely annoying and distracting and not only causes disturbance of those in the vicinity of users of leaf blowers but has the potential to cause hearing damage. In addition, leaf blowers tend to blow dirt, dust and other particulate matter in the air, thereby reducing the air quality in West Hollywood, aggravating persons with allergies and asthmatic conditions and depositing such debris on other public and private property. There are many alternate methods of disposing of leaves available to gardeners and property owners, including electric blowers, rakes, brooms, vacuums and water. The use of gasoline powered blowers is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance by virtue of the detrimental effect such blowers have on the community and residents of West Hollywood.

Banns followed in Belvedere in 1987, Indian Wells and Piedmont in 1990, Berkeley, Claremont, and Los Altos in 1991, Mill Valley and Laguna Beach in 1993, Santa Barbra and Lawndale in 1997, and Menlo Park and Los Angels in 1998.

Recently, in Newport Beach, a new city ban has put an end to gas-powered leaf blowers in the area. Councilman Rush Hill was quoted as saying “I hate blowers- They just drive us crazy in our house”. Electric blowers are still permitted in Newport and every Californian city with a blower ban treats the cleaner/ quieter electric blower differently.

In 1998, Senator Richard Polanco came up with legislation that would have banned the banning of leaf blowers in California city governments, but the Supreme Court overturned the legislation.

Leaf blowing does not seem like it would be a controversial issue, but it is. I have been awoken by leaf blowers during many a cat nap yet, I understand the convenience of the blower in the landscaping industry.

How do you feel about the leaf blowers in your area? Has your city council brought up the possibility of a ban? And if so, how does your city feel about the electric-powered leaf blowers which are described as being quieter and less polluting.

If you are in the market for a leaf blower, Greencupboards.com, GreenCupboards Blog’s parent site, sells several electric models:

http://www.greencupboards.com/worx-eco-cordless-3-pc-ni-cd-18v-combo-kit/p/

http://www.greencupboards.com/worx-eco-cordless-sweeper-blower-ni-cd-18v/p/

http://www.greencupboards.com/worx-eco-10-cordless-grass-trimmer-li-ion-24v-3-5-hr-charger/p/

Sources:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5533847_leaf-blower-history.html

 

http://www.nonoise.org/quietnet/cqs/other.htm

http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-0322-leaf-blowers-20110322,0,4876049.story

A Lucky Baby Porpoise

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Mar 242011
 

The Porpoise Rescue

With the threat of a meltdown still at hand, it is great to hear good news coming out of the devastated areas of Japan. A porpoise has recently been rescued; it had been abandoned in a flooded rice patty by the tsunami wave. The three-foot infant has since been rescued and released into the ocean.

Ryo Taira, an animal shelter owner, had been looking for stranded animals. He was expecting to find cats and dogs not a porpoise.

“It was pretty weak by then, which was probably the only reason we could catch it,” Taira told reporters,

The small porpoise had traveled 1.2 miles aboard the tsunami express, to be dropped/ trapped in a shallow flooded patty field. The porpoise was pulled from the water by Taira who waded out to get it (image). It was then wrapped in towels and transported back out into the ocean, passing deeper through the wreckage.

“”I don’t know if it will live, but it’s certainly a lot better than dying in a rice paddy,” Taira said adding “I was not sure whether what I was doing was the right thing to do, but when I saw it swimming away into the ocean, I felt glad,”

Right now the Japanese Government is warning its citizens not to feed babies tap water at risk of radiation. Many people in the devastated areas are relying on shelters for their basic commodities, as their homes have been whipped off the map. Many more people are looking for lost love ones, and even more are trying to re-built lives and livelihoods. Stories like this one can take the mind off of all the devastation, and look to the little things, however small and porpoise-like they may be, they are good.

Sources:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/24/us-japan-quake-march-idUSTRE72N4HX20110324

http://abcnews.go.com/International/japan_disaster/porpoise-stranded-japans-tsunami-rescued-rice-paddy/story?id=13211991

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/24/tsunami-stranded-porpoise-rescued-from-rice-paddy-1-2-miles-from-coast/

Image:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/24/tsunami-stranded-porpoise-rescued-from-rice-paddy-1-2-miles-from-coast/

Video:

Making Your Art Greener

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Mar 222011
 

A Portrait to the Dogs

Art has always been an important part of society. Human artistic endeavors date back to cavemen grinding up plants, flowers, and berries to create pigments to etch on cave walls. Although art can be priceless and beautiful, the environmental costs of creating art should be considered and reduced, so that these activities can be sustained for centuries to come. Here are some tips for artists to be eco-friendly while making their masterpieces.

Paper: Paper is the most common medium for art. It fills sketchbooks, it is drawn on, it is painted on, it is folded, and it is cut. Most art stores offer recycled paper as an option. If possible, use post-consumer recycled paper for creating your art. Since it is the same quality as other paper. Additionally, an artist’s floor can be covered with balled-up and torn failures. However, when you get frustrated creating art, resist the urge to burn your frustrations, and instead throw them in the little blue bin (recycle!).

The Sunset

Paints: Painting is one of the most common forms of art. Most people simply buy the colors that they think they will need for a masterpiece. However, you only need three colors to make any color you will ever need. These are called the primary colors. Blue, red, and yellow—can literally be mixed to create any color you need. For example:

blue+red= purple

blue+yellow=green

red+yellow= orange

Purple, green, and orange are secondary colors. By varying the amount of the primary colors you use, you can create any color you want- for example, to turn your green into lime green, add yellow. Pick any color in your crayon box and you can make it using these colors.

You can also vary the intensity of each color by adding black or white. Blue, red, yellow, white, and black are the only colors you need to buy. This saves money, as well as the environment— you get less packaging and more paint! As with any product, check to make sure your paint does not contain toxic chemicals, as these chemicals can end up hurting our environment when they are washed down the drain. Always recycle your containers when you are done.

Looking at the Tie

Pottery: A major concern with pottery is lead-based paints. Most commercially sold paints are now lead free, but some paints used for glazing pottery still contain lead. Make sure the paint you use is lead free, especially if making things that will be used to hold food or water, as this is direct exposure to lead and you’re at risk for lead poisoning using them for food.

Glue: Many types of glue contain toxic chemicals. The purpose of buying glue is to make something (whatever that may be) stick to something else. The concern many people have with buying non-toxic glue is that the glue is not as strong. This is not always true. There are plenty of non-toxic glues out there that work just as well in “sticky” value as their toxic counterparts. It is important to research these prior to finalizing your purchase.

Pencils: Pencils are very common in making art,  while they don’t account for a large amount of consumer waste, they are not all eco-friendly. One thing that can make them friendlier to the environment is purchasing pencils made from post-consumer materials. Dixon Ticonderoga (one of the nations leading pencil manufacturers) recently came out with a line of eco-friendly pencils called  EnviroStiks. They are made from reforested premium wood, have a lacquer-free finish, and have a recyclable ferrule. The latex-free eraser is also biodegradable.

These tips should help you on your way to becoming a greener artist. Keep in mind that the supplies used by artist are vast, so take charge of your own “green-ness” and research your supplies before you purchase them and take appropriate steps to use them to their maximum eco-friendly potential.

Baab the Dog

Five Hands

The Desk

Nature Box 101

 What's Hot  1 Response »
Mar 182011
 

A nice nature box model.

Hiking is a fun and healthy way to stay in shape. A nature box is a piece of art that is created from what you find on a hike or hikes. Here is how you to can go about making your very own nature box.

  1. Find a box. Use a crate, cardboard box, or pieces of wood around your house to use as your frame for the art that you will find. Your box can be any size but keep in mind that a bigger box will require more things to fill it so you may have to go on more than one hike.
  2. Go on a hike. Beaches work great because you never know what you will find washed up on the shore. Hiking for a nature box takes a keen eye and a certain amount of trail blazing. Often, however, the most interesting items are found off of the beaten path.
  3. On your hike collect things that interest you or are visually appealing. There is no limit to what you may find, from pretty rocks, brightly colored leaves, the potential is limitless.
  4. You may find things on your hike that are not part of nature that appeal to you like rusted metal, bullet casings, and shells. If you are on a beach you can find glass that has been smoothed down by the sand (do not pick up sharp glass). However, most of the things that you will find are not on this list- this is what makes a nature box original, as no two are the same and you never know what you may find.
  5. Once you have the subject pieces for your nature box, affix them into your box however you see fit. Hot glue and nails generally work great for bigger items, whereas tacky glue can do for the small things. Between these three things you can affix most anything you find (it doesn’t hurt to have a roll of duct tape handy though).
  6. Admire your box; your box is organic and unique to you. If one hike did not fill your box or you are dissatisfied by the composition, then you can go on another hike to fill it or try and re-arrange the items (if possible), or start over entirely. There is no end to what you can find, meaning the nature box is full of limitless possibility.

Nature boxes are fun, and can often lead to environmental cleanup of “junk” that is visually appealing. Remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Have fun on your hike, enjoy nature for what it is, as it does not cost a thing. Happy hunting.

Image Sources:

http://lemoncholys.blogspot.com/2009/07/typesetter-drawer-shadowbox.html

http://artpropelled.blogspot.com/2009/09/nature-walk.html

Nuclear Meltdown Looming?

 What's Hot  1 Response »
Mar 172011
 

An Explosion at Fukushima

On March fifteenth I posted an article describing the initial damages done by the seventh largest earthquake ever recorded. The disaster did not have just one name: An Earthquake, a Tsunami, and a Whirlpool, are just a few of the natural disasters that struck Japan recently. Yet the current nuclear threat is worst of all.

On Tuesday, at 12:30 p.m., the death toll calculation was 3,373 with 6,746 people unaccounted for. Today, March 17, at 12:30 p.m., the death toll is 5,692 and 9,522 missing.

The waves have subsided, however, much of the country is still flooded. Not all of the once dry land will be recovered, Japan as a whole has shrunken, and as I said before, the county has moved eight feet.

The looming nuclear disaster is all but understood; Japanese officials are keeping its citizens frighteningly un-informed on the goings-on at the nuclear power plants. Many people in Japan do not know where safety lies, nor if their food supply has been contaminated by radiation.

The Japanese government has not yet issued an evacuation for Tokyo. The United States, German, Australian, and French governments are telling it’s citizens in Japan to get out of Tokyo; either to come back to their home country, evacuate to the south, or go west to Osaka. Croatian and Serbian governments are telling it’s citizens to get out of Japan; the Croatian embassy has moved to Osaka.

Tokyo is 170 miles away from the affected nuclear plants in Fukushima. That distance is not enough to dilute the plume of nuclear haze being carried by wind over the county. The nuclear plume will eventually reach the United States west coast, by then the cloud will have been diluted down to a safe amount of radiation.

“Health and nuclear experts emphasize that radiation in the plume will be diluted as it travels and, at worst, would have extremely minor health consequences in the United States, even if hints of it are ultimately detectable. In a similar way, radiation from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 spread around the globe and reached the West Coast of the United States in 10 days, its levels measurable but minuscule” (Broad, William). A statement in yesterdays New York Times.

It is very hard to find out information on what exactly is going on inside of the nuclear plants, and even harder to understand for those of use who are not scientists.  I have bullet pointed the most consistent “facts” I could find.

  • Inside of the plant a team of workers is trying to prevent a meltdown. The workers job has been deemed “A suicide mission”.
  • The workers must keep the exposed fuel rods cool.

Fuel rods: Nuclear fuel rods are the most dense source of energy available today. If these rods get too hot, they will meltdown, causing an explosion. A theoretical meltdown in Japans plant’s could trump Chernobyl in terms of radiation. Japan has an advantage seeing as there is a chance to evacuate the areas that could be affected. Death and exposer could be minimal with a preemptive evacuation as some governments are already issuing.

  • The Japanese military is assisting those inside the plant. Helicopters are being used to drop sea water on the exposed fuel rods, and soldiers were firing water cannons into the flames. The water cannons have since been shut off.
  • The 800 plant workers have been cut down to 50 heros who will give their lives to the nuclear containment effort.

There is a lot of information about the nuclear reactors on the news. One channel tells me that a plant in Fukushima is on fire, whilst the next says the fire there is out. It is a safe assumption that the situation is absolutely unstable, and I hope with the combined efforts of the 50 heros, Japanese military, and foreign aid the situation will soon become stable, yet current information tells me a speedy recovery is unlikely.

As I said before, give thought and compassion to those affected by disaster, and to those to whom it is seemingly looming.

Sources:

Broad, William: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/science/17plume.html?_r=2

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-death-toll-rises-to-5692-miyagi-hit-worst-2011-03-17

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110316/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake_foreigners_leaving_4

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-15/world/japan.nuclear.reactors_1_fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-plant-reactors-radiation?_s=PM:WORLD

Image: http://therealtimer.com/Japan-meltdown-fears-fuel-nuclear-debate-in-Europe

The Million Dollar Dog

 What's Hot  6 Responses »
Mar 162011
 

The Big Splash: Hong Dong, the one million dollar Red Tibetan Mastiff

How much did your dog cost you? I got my dog Baab, a German Sheppard Airedale mix for $50 dollars at the pet store, at a discount with a coupon. I got my cat, Noah, an orange and white Tabby, for $60 dollars from the humane society. This seems reasonable to me, so when I hear about a dog being sold for (insert Dr. Evil impression here) One Million Dollars! My jaw drops, and I cant help but think that canine is more of a status symbol than a best friend. The million dollar dog will be cared for; it will receive food prepared by chefs, and lounge around the manson of one Chinese coal baron.
The Red Tibetan Mastiff is believed to bear the reincarnated soul of monks and nuns unworthy of heaven by some. The dog, named The Big Splash was purchased for $1.5 million dollars, it’s name translates to Hong Dong in Chinese.
Hong Dong, at eleven months, weighs 180 pounds as of right now, and it is growing. Red Tibetan Mastiffs can get up 286 pounds. Hong Dong’s breeder, Lu Liang, says that the dog is a “perfect specimen” and worth the price paid.
The owner will be able to offset some of the dogs maintenance costs if he chooses to breed it, charging $10,000 a time is said to be a reasonable amount for breeding. Which is a sound investment seeing as the offspring could later be sold for 1.5 million as their father was.
It is rumored that Buddha owned one of these dogs. The Red Tibetan Mastiff gets it’s price in part for its exclusivity, rarely seen or bred outside of Tibet, and seldom seen out of China. In the last five years the price of a pup has gone from $5,000 to its current price of 1.5 million. The dog is to a Chinese new rich, is as BMW or Mercedes is to an American businessman; a status symbol.

Hong Dong and his owner

The dog, the Red Tibetan Mastiff, has an average lifespan of fourteen years. This means that maintenance/ food cost aside, the owner has spent $107,142 a year. Hong Dong and his breed are renown for their watchdog skills, they have been used throughout history for this purpose,  guarding monasteries and sleeping soliders alike.
I personally could never spend a million dollars on a pet, for none other reason than that an animal is not an object. I got my dog and cat because I wanted to care for them, and more importantly I wanted them to love me and be a household companion. I cannot buy an animals love, although I can buy an animal, some may think that these are the same thing, but they are not. Hong Dong will be taken care of my people hired to do so, I am sure the owner will interact with the dog but it will not have the same companionship to it as does a one owner pet. And for a one owner pet, the price does not matter because it soon becomes more than an animal; it has become a friend.

Another Tibetan Mastiff

Sources:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366517/Red-Tibetan-Mastiff-worlds-expensive-dog.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8383084/1-million-for-worlds-most-expensive-dog.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/16/tibetan-mastiff-most-expensive-dog-big-splash_n_836405.html

Images:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/16/tibetan-mastiff-most-expensive-dog-big-splash_n_836405.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366517/Red-Tibetan-Mastiff-worlds-expensive-dog.html

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