Environmental Awareness
HopenSource by Grist
Now for a little environmental optimism. I’ve stumbled across Grist‘s clever side project, HopenSource a few times and would highly recommend swinging by next time you’ve got the chance. It’s a joint blog and twitter account (including its very own hashtag to allow everyone to join in the conversation) dedicated to the discussion of the good news in the environmental arena.
That’s right, you didn’t read that wrong. I said good news. In a field almost completely dedicated to approaching issues from an “Oh Lord, what have we done?” angle, I find the optimism to be refreshing. I’ve said it many times, one of the most basic obstacles to environmental progress is the ease with which everyday people get bogged down in the despair and general permeation of bad news, particularly in the media. This idea that because we’ve gone so far at this point, in terms of habitat destruction, climate change, toxic distribution, etc., there’s really nothing we can do on an individual level that would make a dent, and therefore no point in trying.
In fact, this perspective couldn’t be farther from the truth. › Continue reading
The Case Against Whaling: Whale Feces
A while back, an article caught my eye mentioning how whaling could soon be actually legalized (no longer would whalers have to play with semantics to get around the restrictions). Apparently, the International Whaling Commission has been considering setting up quotas to legalize the internationally condemned practice to some degree. Albeit with good intentions, and the undoubted backing of whaling nations, this prospect could have immeasurable repercussions against the conservatory efforts pioneered by environmentalist organizations the world-over and with legal precedence.
I had glossed over that information back then, but it got me thinking. Lobbyists will always try to achieve ends to their financial success, it was nothing too significant in my book (although if they manage to pull it off – it very well could be). It wasn’t till later when I came across another interesting article that I recalled those rumors about the IWC’s plans. Scientists in Australia seem to have had their attention brought to the fact that whale refuse has a significant contribution to the ocean. In the piece by Megan Treacy of Yahoo! Green, it was mentioned that “because whales’ diets are made up largely of iron-rich krill (small crustaceans), their droppings are a great fertilizer for marine plants…[which] then do their part by absorbing CO2 as they grow”.
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Rethinking Green Attitude
Photo: Flickr User Beige Alert
I want to reassure you here. I write for a green-living, environmentally conscious website. I’ve committed the past 5 odd years of my life to the study of and immersion into the world of environmental issues, policy, management, social movements, etc. I love the fact that I am likely to see a Prius on my way to work or the grocery store. But still, there was something that was bothering me about the scenario. And it didn’t take long to realize what was at the root of my problem. › Continue reading
Go Green Seattle 2010
Next week hails the long and widely publicized green-business event of the season, Seattle’s 2010 Go Green Conference. Over 60 speakers from all over the Pacific Northwest will converge on the 3rd floor of the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Seattle to discuss, share and learn about the latest in sustainable business practices. For months now, downtown and the financial district has been sporting Go Green flags in obvious support for the event, getting the word out about Seattle’s commitment to sustainable business.
The Go Green Conference is designed to educate, to motivate, and to inspire local and regional businesses to, well, go green. Through the presenting of solid, “actionable” steps, appropriate tools, and guidance, Go Green’s mission is to allow business owners to see the real value and their own ability to move toward a more environmentally aware and sustainable business model. 2010′s Seattle conference is a follow up to Portland’s Go Green event in 2009. › Continue reading
The Environmental Impact of Everyday Things
Kotex Ad 1941
Now before I get into this topic I want to address the readers who might be cringing here. While acknowledging that public discussion of menstruation is a bit on the taboo side socially, environmentally it does have an impact. As such it needs to be discussed openly. For something that happens to half of the human population, the whole process and associated products are treated with a bizarre amount of shame and secrecy. Fact is, it’s a big issue. It’s expensive economically, can have serious health effects and produces a lot of waste. When it comes to environmental issues, pretending like it doesn’t happen or doesn’t have an environmental effect is a problem in and of itself.
So girls, and guys who know girls, this is important. No snickering. Pay attention. Thank you.
Commercial tampons were introduced to the public in the US around the 1930′s. Tampax was the first brand to be sold with an applicator in 1936. The basic design and concept has more or less stayed the same ever since. The main selling points of the products revolved mainly around comfort, ease of movement and athleticism, discretion, coverage and absorbency. For a brief period in the early nineties, the brand Tampax advertised their product as “environmentally friendly” urging women to “think green” by buying the brand with a biodegradable applicator.
But how “green” are these products, really?
Environmentally, there are two main issues at stake: the impact of production, and the impact disposal. A typical woman can use anywhere between 8,000 to 17,000 tampons in her lifetime. › Continue reading
Food as an Environmental Issue
http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxypar4/ / CC BY 2.0
While thinking about and writing my posts on natural groceries and organic delivery services, it came to my attention that the concept of food is not inherently an environmental issue in the minds of many people. I’ve got to admit that this kind of blew me away. To me, food is so essentially an environmental issue that to not think of it that way is to ignore huge aspects and linkages within environmentalism. Think of the vegetarian and vegan movements. Think of organics. Think of sustainable agriculture and waste reduction and prevention. The environment and all its issues are like a giant spider web, and right there in the middle, where all the threads intersect, is food.
When people think of being green, of acting environmentally responsible, they think of recycling, of using reusable shopping bags and water bottles. They might even go so far as to think of using public transit or even riding a bike to work. Let’s be honest, a lot of people just think politics and then tune out. When people think about food, they think of what they like to eat, what their family likes to eat, the price of the food, and maybe even what’s healthy.
But there is so much more to it than that. Let’s break it down. › Continue reading
Natural Groceries Part 2: Spud! Organic Delivery Service
I had the chance to try out and review Spud! Local and Organic Delivery this past week. After reviewing Whole Foods in order to have something to compare Spud with, I had high hopes for the delivery service, but mixed results in the end. But more on that later.
Spud (short for Small Potatoes Urban Delivery) was dreamed up in 1995 by a sustainability business consultant determined to correct the imbalance between large scale and independent farming through alternative retail methods, i.e. direct home delivery. This method generates 80% less food waste, creating direct connections between food suppliers and customers, and reduces grocery store car trips saving people time and reducing carbon emissions. Spud claims to be North America’s greenest grocer, through buying local, buying organic, and being completely, 100% carbon neutral.
The site itself is kind of amazing. It calculates how far away every item you order comes from. You have the choice to order only locally sourced items, meaning they are grown or made within 500 miles of your zip code. › Continue reading
Earth Hour 2010
Earth Hour is starting to crop on the calendar. If you’ve never heard of it yet, you can visit Earth Hour’s site. During Earth Hour, participants turn out all their lights for one hour. It was started by the World Wildlife Fund three years ago as a way to speak up and raise awareness about climate change. While largely a symbolic act showing one’s support of climate change legislation, it also means that on that day an hour of electricity isn’t being consumed. This year, Earth Hour takes place on Saturday the 27th of March 2010 (next week!), at 8.30pm local time. That means, 8:30pm according to the time zone you live in, in case you’re confused.
Last year, around 1 billion people participated, including people from 4,100 cities, 87 countries, and seven continents. Some notable landmarks around the world that got involved include the Las Vegas Strip, United Nations Headquarters, Golden Gate Bridge, and the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City. You can watch the Earth Hour 2010 video, which has an awesome montage of various places before and during Earth Hour.
This year, show your support by spreading the word locally to friends, co-workers, and family. Join the facebook event or show your support with the twitter application found here. This application automatically “turns the lights off” on your Twitter profile picture during Earth Hour and sends out a tweet to tell your followers › Continue reading
