Speaking of Greener Printing...

Did you know that U.S. offices use 6 million sheets of paper every 5 minutes? Me either!

I have always loved Beck. I had one of those crushes you get on a person that you're not really physically attracted to yet you just want to be around -- a friend crush? (I bet stalkers use lines like that.)

Here is a new music video set to Beck's "Timebomb." Enjoy the fast facts...as you are horrified.

GreenPrint

If you are familiar with GreenPrint, then you already know about this smart little program that helps you eliminate those annoying last pages of a printed web page, email, etc. You know, when you print from a website only to find that of the 3 pages that just came out of your printer, the second is all ads and the third is just the copyright info? Such occurrences have cause me to use many an expletive. Or what about when you print an email and the second page is just the fax number from someone’s signature. So annoying. Green Print finds those problems and eliminates them. It actually analyzes your documents and gets rid of the waste. Brilliant.

Here is the best part, in January of this year, GreenPrint decided to offer a free version in the hopes of saving 100 million trees. Not only that, GreenPrint has started donating ad space to “its environmental partners and organizations the company feels are doing important work with healthcare in the developing world.” Way to go GreenPrint, glad to see some companies still know how to do the right thing.

Earth Hour - UPDATE

There have been some issues with playing the Earth Hour video, so here is a different version that I found on YouTube - narrated by Jeremy Piven, which way ups his cool points. There is a really great quote in this one: "Social activism lead to corporate action." That's my mantra for the day.

I'm really disappointed that New York is not one of the cities participating.

It's too late for this Earth Hour, but hopefully this will become a yearly event. To bring Earth Hour to your city, write your representatives and let them know why it's important to you. And by write, I mean email of course.

My Footprint is HOW Big?

Thanks to my pal emKem and her fantastic blog for this find. I was exploring online a bit last night when I came across this website on emKem’s blog that determines your Ecological Footprint. It’s a simple quiz that takes 10 minutes. “No problem,” I thought as I rolled up my organic cotton sleeves and took out some recycling, “My vegetarian food eatin’, plastic bottle recyclin’, public transportation ridin’ footprint is going to be SO small, this will be fun.”

So I begin. I answer all of the questions truthfully and find myself smiling with an odd sense of self. I reach the end and eagerly click to find out my footprint: 11 acres. Not bad when you consider the average footprint in the U.S. is 22. I’m half as bad (or twice as good) as the average American…in short, I rock.

Then I look at the next line “If everyone on the planet lived like you, we would need 2.4 planets.” WHAT? No. Let me check again. Yes, 2.4 planets. This is a bit of a blow to the sense of self that previously made me smile. While I may be a tree-hugging hippie, I’m still consuming like there is no tomorrow. After this quick but harsh reality check, I see several links with suggestions of ways to reduce consumption. Those resources are great, but I think the site can also serve as a good reminder that we can always do more. An environmentalist struggles daily with doing what is right versus what is easy. Sure, it’s easier to throw something away when there are no public recycle options, but why not just tuck it in your purse and recycle it when you get home?

MyFootPrint.org

This Just In

A 220-square-mile chunk of ice collapsed in Antarctica today.

At least one scientist is blaming it on global warming.

Earth Hour

Last March, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour during an event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund called “Earth Hour.” If the greenhouse reduction achieved in Sydney during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 46,616 cars off the road (side note - people do need to take more public transportation in general).

Earth Hour inspired people to take their environmentalism to another level and to truly think about their impact on the planet, promoting one couple to have their wedding by candlelight! (I rarely use exclamation points in my writing, so that is just how darn excited I am about this idea.)

Earth Hour is happening again this year on March 29 at 8 PM, but this time, it’s worldwide. On their site, you can find out more info about Earth Hour, sign up to host an event, or check out the 13,000 businesses (and growing) who have signed up to participate. You can also find ways to reduce your carbon footprint beyond Earth Hour, so we can turn it into Earth Week, Earth Month, Earth Year, and eventually Earth Life.

Mountaintop Removal

I have a very special place in my heart for the film FernGully. Although the movie was not nearly as popular as other animated films at the time, it stuck with me through my adolescent years and well into adulthood. I always recommend it to friends with young nieces and nephews as good way to start the conversation about environmentalism.

One of its more powerful scenes is when the shrunken human Zak carves fairy Crysta’s name into a tree. Seeing what Zak is doing, Crysta is horrified and demands he stops and asks, “Can’t you feel its pain?” and places his hand on tree. Zak, being a human, can’t feel the pain and Crysta does not understand how one creature could not sympathize with the pain of another.

Growing up in Ohio Valley and Appalachia, I felt Crysta’s disbelief many times. There are certain events in life that when you see them, you can’t help but gasp in a shared pain and wonder how others can’t join you in your outrage. Any environmentally minded person who has seen a mountaintop removal site knows of what I speak. Mountaintop Removal is defined by Wikipedia as “a form of surface mining that involves an extreme topological change to the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. It is most closely associated with coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains, located in the eastern United States. The process involves using explosives to remove up to 1,000 vertical feet of rock to get to the coal seams. The resulting debris is often scraped into the adjacent river valleys in what is called a valley fill.”



The effects of this mining on the surround areas is devastating. Not just on the environment, but on the people who live and work in these areas.

Knowing this, I was very excited to find out that a screening of a hard-hitting new documentary on the subject was coming to the city. And it’s not just any screening, it’s Lincoln Center’s Earth Day screening. If you live in NYC, you should definitely check out Mountaintop Removal, a new documentary narrated by William Mapother (of “Lost” fame, also a KY native) on April 22 @ 6:15 PM. This day is already very special to me because it marks my 15th year as a vegetarian (I know, it’s soooo cliché to give up meat on Earth Day, but hey, do what works for you). If you’re not in the NYC area, add Mountaintop Removal as a friend on MySpace to see when it will be playing near you.

4,000

I have some blogging to catch up on (and already have a few that will post later this evening - stay tuned!) but thought I should share this image with my fellow EEs.

Of all the un-green things we do as a species, war has to be close to the top the list. The chemicals for weapons, the carbon produced (not to mention the destruction) from bombs and general war fare, the pollution - it's unfathomable to me that we voluntarily engage.

HuffingtonPost.com highlighted a photo mosaic today. It doesn't need explaining and my commentary would only trivialize the power of the imagery, click on the photo for a larger image:

A Village to Save the World

I do believe it takes a village to raise a child, but it certainly helps to have two awesome parents in the mix. My environmentalism was instilled in me by two very responsible parents (actually, come to think of it, when I reflect on how amazing my parents are, I should be a WAY better person than I am). My mom is a fan of my blog – she’s totally unbiased, by the way – and sent me a few links she suggested I highlight:

Green Seal is “an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguard the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the use of environmentally responsible products and services.”

Green Seal serves a similar purpose to organizations that certify organic food. By being an outside organization they can objectively rate products as being green. The website makes it easy to find certified products as well as register products/services if you are a environmentally responsible manufacturer.

Michael Vicks

So, here is a link to the FANTASTIC Michael Vicks "Really" SNL skit I was talking about.  Thank you Jareth K!!

I wish the quality was a bit better, but blame NBC for that:

http://www.yikers.com/video_the_hilarity_of_michael_vicks_weed_bust.html

Black is the new President

Saturday night's SNL was, eh, okay, but the “Really” segment on weekend update was pretty funny – which made me think of a GREAT skit from a few years back. Amy and Seth did a “Really” segment about Michael Vicks getting busted with weed in the Miami International Airport. You may be looking for the environmental tie-in right about now, so here it is: Michael Vicks is a dog beater, animal abuser, and all-around jerk. We’re not fans of any of those at EE, so he is definitely on our least wanted list (people we least want to share the planet or its resources with). So, in honor of our newly formed “Least Wanted” list, a chuckle for old times sake:

Okay, nevermind. Apparently NBC has pulled all SNL clips from YouTube so you have to use official clips from their site. While I don't mind this, I still wish more money from the practice went to writers (yes, I know they're getting a little more after the strike, but the producers could have thrown them a few more bones). I guess NBC thinks they're doing us bloggers a favor because they have a whole page with embedded codes "for your blog!" However, it's like six links and they're all from the most recent week's SNL. If anyone can find the Michael Vicks one, please pass it this way! While we wait, here a clip from this week that features Tracy Morgan's reflections on Barack Obama:

An Apple a Day Part II

Another great reader suggestion I received recently was on my blog about eating organically. Organic food is great for you and the planet, but locally grown organic food is even better. I tend to frequent farmer’s markets that are a collective unit of growers that agree to cultivate their harvest by similar standards (organic, free-range, grain-fed, etc). When you buy locally grown produce or locally raised meat, not only are you supporting your local farmer, you are also reducing greenhouse gases since the produce/meat has less distance to travel and therefore uses less energy to get on your plate.

FarmAndFood.org is great for finding NY area farmer’s markets and restaurants while FarmersMarket.com is a national directory.

This is all making me very hungry…

What's NOT in Your Water Part II

I recently dedicated an entry to a product that I happened to enjoy called Clear2O. On my comment page, a reader asked a question – what solutions are there available for people with families, this reader having a family of five.

I do write this blog with the small family or city living in mind, but after thinking about this question, I thought about what my parents did for my family (of 4). My parents were very responsible with everything my brother and I consumed, from the meat they cooked (which I’m about to celebrate my 15th year as a vegetarian next month!) to the water we drank. Because of this, they resorted to spring water. This turned into a huge waste of plastic from the bottles and energy from having water delivered. Like the reader mentioned above, a small pitcher would not have worked for my family as we drink water like camels (my mother never let us drink soda except for the weekends, and not even often then). However, my father found a devise that did work well and saved our family money every year.

Whirlpool offers a three-filter reverse osmosis water flirtation system. This system goes under your sink and comes with a separate faucet (so you can still use plain old municiple water for cleaning and what not) AND this system does reduce lead, which was another complaint Anonymous voiced on the entry.
Of the three filters, one needs to be changed once a year and the other two twice a year, which is far less often than the average in the fridge pitcher so good for the busy family man/woman. I believe the initial cost is about $150 at your local Lowes, and then $75 a year in filters, but it saves the bottle water drinker money and time that they would normally dedicate to recycling those plastic bottles.

I hope this suggestion helps, Anonymous. If any one else has additional suggestions, send them along!

Friends

As many of you have noticed (like those to whom I sent the wrong link – sorry!) the title of this blog is Everyday Environmentalists, with an s. Although I am an Everyday Environmentalist (no royal we on this blog) I added the s to the name because I think of this as an online community of like-minded individuals, rather than a ranting place for a single person. Because of that mentality, I am going to dedicated my next few blogs to tips that were sent to me by readers. I value your input more than I can easily relay with words and do not believe I can thank you enough.

EE Indira posted a link on my Dummer entry to a recent posting on AutoBlogGreen.com regarding BMW’s renewed interest in an all electric car. Now, for any one else who was a fan of Who Killed the Electric Car? or just just a fan of the environment in general, this is VERY exciting.

Thanks for the link Indira!

Air-Brained Idea

My roommate just got back from London and she was telling me that about this article she read in the plane's magazine regarding simple green tips. I am reposting one because it is so simple and such a great idea that I am sad I didn't think of it myself, but happy someone else did!

Showering in the morning is great, one of the best of life's simple pleasures. Stepping into a warm, steaming hot shower is matched by few other visceral experiences. However, showers never starts steaming hot, and one always ends letting a few gallons go wastefully down the drain as the cold water flushes from the pipes. And understandably so, who wants a cold shower?

The quick fix suggested for this is to put a bucket in the shower and let the cold water run into it, then use it to water your plants. Sure, plants don't need watering everyday, but if you did this once a week, you would save the water that would normally go down the drain as well the water you would use to quench the thirst of your plants. Being green is so easy sometimes.

I Would Marry Keith Olbermann

Or at least be his really good friend.  If I was half the writer he was, I would do a happy dance every morning.

Dummer

I want to try and stay away from making this blog too pop culture heavy, because the last thing we need is another person talking about what stupid thing celebrities did today.  However, Perez Hilton wrote an interesting blog about the Governator and I must give credit where credit is due.  His blog links to a story in the Sacramento Bee about the subject, which I believe is my first link within a link.

Apparently Arnold flies between his LA mansion and his Sacramento office...DAILY.

His staff says he purchases carbon credits to offset the effect.  I get purchasing carbon credits for the electricity you use in your home, you know, to keep it warm in the winter.  But for DAILY flights?  

This is the same man who is, in essence, responsible for the Hummer being a commercial vehicle.

Tip of the day: Don't drive a Hummer.  If I see you driving a Hummer, find out you rode in one, or hear you speak of liking a Hummer, I will be VERY tempted to push you in front of one. 

Can YOU Hear Us: Part 2

How does Senator Kern feel about her comments after receiving 3,000 critical emails?

"I said nothing that was not true, I said nothing out of hate and I don't believe my colleagues will censure me," Kern said today.

Nothing that wasn't true? So homosexuality IS a bigger threat our country than terrorism? Perhaps she saw the episode of South Park where the Queer Eye guys were actually crab people in disguise trying to take over the world.

Senator Kern seems to think people are supportive of her behavior. We can continue to tell her we are not. However, people, STOP sending death threats. Don't sink to their level of bigotry. Let her words be what destroys her.

Read about some of the legislature she has tried to pass.

What's NOT in Your Water

After all of the postings I have done about water, I thought I would look into a product and some extraordinary claims it makes.

There’s Brita and PUR, what about the new pitcher in town, Clear2o. It claims to remove 5x more contaminants than “other guys” and holds 50% more water.

After checking out this review on Associated Content, it turns out Clear2o filters Alachlor, Atrazine, Asbestos, Benzene, Cadmium, Barbofuran, Bromoform, Carbon tetrachloride, Chlorine Dioxide, Chlorobenzene, Chloroform, Chloropicrin, Cysts, 2,4-D, Dibromochloropropane, o-dichlorobenzene, p-dichloroethane, 1,2-dishloroethane, Dioxin, Endrin, Ethylbenzene, Haloacetonitriles, Heptachlor, Lead, Mercury, MTBE, Lindane, Methoxychlor, Nitrite, Styrene, Simazine, Styrene, Toluene and many more.

Clear2o actually hooks up to your faucet, which means you will have to remove your faucet's aerator and replace it with one of the two provided with the kit (which is easy enough, but watch out for those pesky reverse threads). The pitcher fills quickly. I found a pitcher on a recent trip to Target for $20, which is about $20 less than they were originally going for. The replacement filters still cost about twice as much, but with everything in the water today, I think it’s worth the extra money for a little less in your water.

Thanks Laura

Good thing Laura from the Philadelphia Water Department didn't buy into alarmist tactics. I'm super grateful she held her ground by not concerning the public or prompting us to ask questions she just doesn't have the answers to. Far be it from us, the little ol' public, to light a fire under her and the scientific community's asses to get the answers. Oh, wait CNN.com, what's that:

Pharmaceuticals in the water are being blamed for severe reproductive problems in many types of fish: The endangered razorback sucker and male fathead minnow have been found with lower sperm counts and damaged sperm; some walleyes and male carp have become what are called feminized fish, producing egg yolk proteins typically made only by females.

Meanwhile, female fish have developed male genital organs. Also, there are skewed sex ratios in some aquatic populations, and sexually abnormal bass that produce cells for both sperm and eggs.

There are problems with other wildlife as well: kidney failure in vultures, impaired reproduction in mussels, inhibited growth in algae.

"We have no reason to think that this is a unique situation," says Erik Orsak, an environmental contaminants specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, pulling off rubber gloves splattered with fish blood at Lake Mead. "We find pretty much anywhere we look, these compounds are ubiquitous."

Method, not just for actors

I have blogged about Method products before, but I have recently discovered a new one that I am official in love with.  Method "Le Scrub" tub cleaner.  It is 100% natural and comes with a handy dandy washable scrubber - oh, but it doesn't stop there.  The bottle has a built-in scrubber holder.  This beautiful blue bottle lives in my bathtub right now and I can't tell you how much more fun it is to get on my hands and knees and scrub away at the tub with a refreshing and rejuvenating all-natural scent invading my olfactory senses in place of the bleach that normally makes me dizzy.  AND there is another product I have yet to try, Lil Blue Bowel.  Two amazing new Method products!  I see a bathroom threesome in my near future.

What's In YOUR Water

This just in, when water providers find pharmaceuticals in water, they often don't report it.  And in generalized studies, they often don't state which city has what in their water.  Why, you may ask?  Well according to Philadelphia Water Department spokesperson Laura Copeland, "It would be irresponsible to communicate to the public about this issue, as doing so would only generate questions that scientific research has not yet answered. We don't want to create the perception where people would be alarmed." 

Hey Laura, how about you work on the answering those questions and let us decide what we should and should not be worried about.  How about letting your 1.5 million drinkers decide whether they care about the traces of 56 pharmaceuticals found in the water they drink.

Yes, this analysis is down to the molecular level and no one knows the effect these trace particles have on the people drinking water (or how effective that Brita really is), but I am still a fan of giving people the information and then letting them decide what to do with it.

Here are the chemicals found in a few cities:

Cincinnati (hometown :) - Caffeine 

                                                                                        

Denver, CO - Unspecified Antibiotics (fun!)

San Diego, CA - Ibuprofen, Meprobamate (minor tranquilzer) and Phenytoin (antiepileptic)

An Apple a Day

Everyone is concerned about money today. Whether it be rising gas prices, the credit crisis, or the mortgage crisis (pick your crisis) things in the financial area of our country are not looking too hot. Many people are looking for ways to reduce their spending, which I think is a great time for people to also look into reducing their carbon footprint, as the two go hand in hand (or foot in foot, sorry, that’s a lame one, I couldn’t help myself).

People are examining their everyday spending and trying to figure out what could be cut out. CNN posted a story today that examined a few items people are deciding they can live without. I have already blogged about how to make one’s coffee a more eco-friendly habit and about how to make take-out and delivery a more Earth loving affair, so I will skip that lecture.

With people cutting back on what they are spending on their food intake, the grocery store seems like a logical option. When grocery shopping, try to buy organic, which is not just for the good of the planet, but for the good of the people who grow your food and for the good of you. Take apples for example. Apples test for more pesticides than just about any other fruit available, which is scary when you consider how many apples are consumed skin and all. I ONLY buy organic apples, which is hard because sometimes I go without and apples are my favorite fruit, but I would rather be apple-less than eat 91 pesticides. Also, look into the country of origin. I just found out that Chile has no regulations on the amount of pesticides used for fruit.

For the dairy lovers out there, organic milk and cheese is also a really good investment. If you want to take it one step further, you can buy local dairy products. By doing so, you are further reducing your carbon footprint because less energy was used to transport the milk. And buying locally may help offset the cost of the organic process as the rising cost of milk has been attributed to the rising gas prices.

Just some hopefully helpful tips for your budget-saving Monday.

Declartion on the Environment

So it looks as if the Catholics are not the only Christian group that is taking notice of climate change. A group of some of the most influential Southern Baptist leaders declared their denomination has been “too timid” on global warming. While they understand their members may not be able to accept all of the science behind global warming (baby steps, people) they have decided something must be done and are releasing a declaration entitled “A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change.” My favorite part of the AP story is when a theological professor compared destroying God’s creation as tearing pages out of the Bible. I would like to go one step further and say it is the comparable to burning the Bible (you know, because then you would be polluting the air with the Good Book). The AP story hit the wire about 11 hours ago, and it has been picked up by several prominent news sources already:

BBC
CNN
Here is a letter in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution written by Jonathan Merritt, a spokesperson for the Souther Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative. And here is the article he is responding to.

Holy...

I’m not sure I can remember the last time the Vatican and I agreed on something. In fact, the Holy See and I may have never found ourselves on the same side of an issue. Well, there is love thy neighbor and all that, however, I feel like they have wandered pretty far from that doctrine.

However, last week I posted a blog that was a call to arms for Christians to be more environmentally minded (not my most popular blog, but I still feel it brought up some good points). Well, either the pope is a fan of my blog (thanks Benedict) or I’m psychic, or perhaps I just have my finger to the pulse. Regardless, the Vatican has listed ecological offenses as new social sins and has even gone as far as to use solar cells to produce electricity for the Vatican. In all fairness, the Pope did also denounce stem cell research, which I do not agree with (especially since research can be done with umbilical cord blood), but like I said, it is a cold day in…well you know, when the Vatican and I agree.

Can YOU Hear Us?

The video below is not so environmentally minded, however I could not let it pass without posting it.  Several other blogs have written up some great posts about it, including FreeWilliamsburg and Pam's House Blend.

I did state that I would occasionally post about politicians, and although her rant is not against the environment, it is against homosexuals, or as she so lovely calls them, "gays."  And I can't think of another group of people who are more environmentally minded, on a whole, as my dear homosexual friends.  That fact is not backed up by any scientific evidence, and is less of a fact and more of an observation, however, I find it to be true.  Well, unless you count Sierra Club members as a group of people, but you get my point.

What do they say about hindsight?

Below is a clip of former President Bill Clinton speaking at a pro-Kerry rally in 2004. I don't agree with the title of this YouTube clip because I think it is misleading and believe you can't fight dirty fighting with more dirty fighting (perhaps I would lose said fights).



"If one candidate is trying to scare you and the other one is trying to get you to think, if one candidate is appealing to your fears and the other one is appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope." - Bill Clinton, 2004.

Another reason why Obama is my choice for green candidate

Reason? A brilliant little website called Obamacycle. Why so brilliant? Because Obama campaigners from across the country can reuse campaign materials from other states. There is an easy to navigate forum where supporters can post “have it” and “need it” messages. So, if you are done with your literature and materials or have more than you will use, you can send it along to another eager supporter who will gladly take it off your hands. Just another way Obama is taking steps to be an environmentally responsible candidate. Thanks again to my awesome friend Vinny for sending this along to me.

Now, if I can stop crying in my cereal, I’ll post my live blogging from last nights CNN coverage of the results.

Hippity Hoppity

Easter represents many things to many people, and is one of my favorite times of year. It is a time of holiness for Christians and Jews, a time of chocolate and eggs for children (and just about everyone else), and a time of fertility for pagans and bunnies (I love bunnies).


Easter is also a great time to begin instilling ideas of conservation and environmental responsibility on the little ones, whether they are your own, your nieces or nephews, or annoying little snots that live in your neighborhood.

Some of the ways to host a more eco-friendly Easter celebration are quite easy:

• Only boil as many eggs as you will eat. Yes, it is fun for the young ones to find a plethora of eggs in the back yard and around the house, but it is also fun to teach them about conservation. Don’t set a bad example by boiling 30 eggs and then throwing away 15 at the end of the night.
• Only use cage free, organic eggs. The thought of hormone fattened hens sitting in and eating their own feces due to the fact that their legs are broken and they are caught between a myriad of other fattened and stationary hens really takes something away from the Easter spirit, you know??
• Give the kiddies fairtrade, organic chocolate. I recommend Endangered Species Chocolate, who donates 10% of their net profit to support species, habitat, and humanity. Artbar, based out of Ithaca, NY, is another yummy option with all fairtrade chocolate.
• Make sure the dyes you use for the eggs are ALL NATURAL, because exposing little ones to chemicals is not so fun. Or, better, yet, make your own dyes.

A Common Thread

I have always wondered why more Christians don’t also consider themselves environmentalists. Moving into the most Holy time of year for Christians, I was moved to revisit and revamp a blog I wrote almost two years ago.

I believe that there are many connections between environmentalism and numerous religions, particularly Buddhism, and I believe that God speaks many languages and knows many cultures. However, I am dedicating this particular blog to the responsibility I believe Christians have to the fight against global warming, the responsibility they have to fight for the animals who cannot speak for themselves, and to the responsibility they have to the fight for the poor of the world who are exposed to countless number of harmful chemicals dumped in their back yards because the rich of the world find it convenient to do so. I am dedicating this blog to Christianity because it is the religion of which I know the most and of whose text I have most studied (and I believe that I am even a novice at that).

The connection between Christianity and environmentalism just seems logical to me. When I speak of Christianity, I am referring to it in its truest form, or at least its truest form I know. It’s incredibly unfortunate that Christianity is represented by so many judgmental and greedy individuals. I realize that our media does give more attention to brainless ranting and raving, but maybe if enough people who had positive messages spoke out, the media would be forced to pay attention. Below are a few passages from the Bible that I think show how easy the bridge would be to build between the two groups as well as illustrate the duty of a Christian to stand up and take stewardship of this beautiful gift we call Earth and of all of God’s creatures.


Psalm 96:10,12 The Lord Reigns. . . Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.

Ezekiel 34: 17, 18 As for you, my flock. . . .Is it not enough for you to feed on good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

Job 12:7-10 But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all humanity.

Psalm 104: 25, 30 In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number living things both large and small. . . When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the earth.

Isaiah 55: 12-13 . . .The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. . . All this will be a memorial for the Lord, a sign that for all time will not be cut off.

Black is the new...

I’m playing around with the format of the blog currently, so please bear with me.

Although the original blog was green to go along with the theme (I’m very subtle therefore hard to truly understand sometimes), I realized I was being counter productive by not embracing the same philosophy as my home page.

Blackle also believes that small, everyday steps can help save the environment, and so far, they have almost 500,000 watt hours to back them up.

Image display uses more energy on your computer than any other function, and it takes a lot more energy to display white than it does to display black.

According to Blackle, if you set it as your homepage “every time you load your Internet browser you will save a little bit of energy. Remember every bit counts! You will also be reminded about the need to save energy each time you see the Blackle page load.”
Also, I love it, because it’s creation was inspired by a blog. Seriously. Google read the following blog, and listened. How many other billion dollar corporations can say that.
Ecoiron.blogspot.com

Hope is a powerful thing...

As I have mentioned before, I think one of the most powerful things we can do as environmentalists is exercise the power of the vote. I have decided to vote and campaign for Barack Obama as I believe he is the best candidate for the environment. I still think he could do more, but believe he has the potential for positive change and that he has the strength to stand up to big business and take the appropriate steps to curb global warming.

This weekend I canvassed in Rhode Island for Obama and found the process to be exhilarating. Going door to door is not normally my idea of fun and I haven’t done so since I had a paper route, yet in place of the shyness I expected in myself when knocking on strangers’ doors I found courage and excitement. Almost everyone was eager to talk about who they were voting for and why, even if we disagreed (save one Hillary supporter who cursed at me).

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to go out there and support the candidates you believe in. If enough of us stood up and yelled, a green candidate member could actually hold a national elected office.

My favorite moment of the weekend was when I knocked on the door of a woman who had been visited the day before. I apologized for our mistake and her response was, “That’s okay, I’m just happy to see young people so excited about politics.”

We are excited. And our voices will be heard.

Ratio

The simple everyday choices we make are perhaps the most important ones. The everyday routines we embrace are the ones that have the biggest effect on our carbon footprints. As I have blogged before, I love coffee. Love, love, LOVE coffee, and because it is such a part of my everyday routine, I try to make every aspect of my caffeinated enjoyment environmentally friendly.

My weekends are split between two local coffee shops in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The first (also my first coffee love of BK) is Oslo, an amazing cozy but roomy establishment (roomy by NY standards) that offers an assortment of coffee delights. They are friendly, treat each order like its the only one of the day, and offer several different roast for purchase by the pound, all fairtrade certified. The second, and closer option is Gimme! Coffee, which offers a bit more variety, if you like fancy, sugar-filled drinks (alright, sometimes I do as well) and also offers many a fairtrade option – this is a good time to remind the reader that to be certified as fairtrade the grower/producer must adhere to strict social AND environmental standards.

Now, Gimme! Coffee has fantastic brews, and is much closer, yet I will always go to Oslo if time permits. Why do you ask? Very simple reason. Oslo has Gimme! beat on the douche bag to square foot ratio (DB:foot^2).

If you find yourself at Oslo coffee at 1 PM on a random weekday (as I have before), the activity level is slightly less than weekend. Writers clunk away on their MacBooks, mothers with strollers push their children in for their much-deserved afternoon break, pleasant baristas greet you and probably remember your order if you are a daytime regular.

Let’s have a look at Gimme! around the same time on that same day. Although equally filled with sticker covered MacBooks, the scribes turn out to be self-important bloggers (awkward whistle from me) who do not pay their bills with well-crafted diatribes, but rather with their bond trader father’s good will. Walk over to the condiment bar and you find a 10-minute wait to put a lid on your latte as two impassioned hipsters are in a to-the-death battle about whether or not Kafka’s work can even be relevant to a debate on the impersonality and bureaucracy of an industrialized world considering his true wishes were for all of his manuscripts to be destroyed following his death. A mother brings in her 4-year-old and orders a Grasshopper and a decaf latte for the child. When the caring barista reminds her that decaf still retains a small amount of caffeine and therefore may not suitable for a child of her age the mother explains that her daughter, Metalica (NOT named after the band, the band has two L’s, thank you) picks her own bedtime as her parents do not burden her with the constraints of a time limit on when her day should end just because society believes a child should be in bed early, so she is not phased by the caffeine warning.

Back to Oslo. The barista chats with a patron about the latest Idiotarod and some his favorite costumes, which prompts another patron to ask her friend if she has decided on her Lebowskifest costume yet. The peace is interrupted by a loud customer who walks up to the bar, Final Cut enabled MacBook Pro in hand, mumbles an order through his greasy locks, and then goes back to his iPhone “No, I won’t cut a second, 158 minutes is not that long and if people don’t want to sit through then fuck ‘em, they won’t get it anyway.” While he waits for his milk to froth, he angrily dials another number on his iPhone and begins to bitch at his mother about how worthless his NYU film education is and demands $10,000 to finish editing his film as compensation for wasting his time by making him attain a worthless piece of paper for her to hang on her wall. “None of the true visionaries mother’s made them get degrees,” he argues. The annoyed patrons around him take a few steps away. AND THERE IT IS. Space to move. The DB:foot^2 ration is low enough that the annoyed drinker and can move away from said douche bag, which is not always a luxury available at Gimme! And for this simple luxury, I have walked the extra blocks, to Oslo. So, while both shops offer great tasting, fairtrade beverages, Oslo has the upper hand in winning the DB:foot^2 ratio.