29 June 2007

kleenex: giving you something to cry about.

greenpeace goes undercover in times square on march 24, 2007, for an intervention on a kleenex commercial shoot.

watch the entertaining sting: kleenex gets punk'd!

kimberly-clark, makers of kleenex, refuse to use any recycled content saying their virgin fiber makes the tissue softer.

that's no excuse.

they're single-handedly responsible and successful for the deforestation of the northern boreal rainforest in canada.

visit the nrdc website to see pictures and read the insane claims from kimberly-clark.

educate yourself.

28 June 2007

the bald eagle: soaring again.

Newsroom > WWF Press Release

Statement on Removal of Bald Eagle From Endangered Species List

For Release: 06/28/2007



WASHINGTON – Carter Roberts, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund, issued the following statement in reaction to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's announcement that the bald eagle will be taken off the list of protected species under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists attribute the bird's recovery to a 1972 ban in the United States on DDT, a pesticide that ruins the eggs of many birds, and strict protections under the Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws.

"The removal of the bald eagle from the endangered species list is a cause for tremendous celebration. Just thirty years ago, this majestic bird was in danger of sliding ever further towards extinction, a state that so many other creatures remain in today.

"But because of the diligent work of scientists and good stewards of both public and private lands, this noble bird is with us today and people in every state except Hawaii (where the bird has never occurred) can readily see our nation's symbol in the wild. I have seen bald eagles many times throughout the nation and even in urban parts of Washington, D.C. right near my home. It never fails to inspire me.

"The delisting of the bald eagle is also a strong message about the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act. By nearly all measurements, the law has been a success. It has reversed the drive towards extinction for hundreds of species and been an inspiration for species conservation throughout the world.

"Unfortunately the Endangered Species Act is itself endangered. Today's news should give everyone confidence that the act is indeed working and we should commit to improving the law's implementation rather than pursuing wholesale changes that could threaten the recovery of hundreds of other species still awaiting delisting.

"The need for the ESA has never been greater. Scientists tell us that the Earth is experiencing a ‘mass extinction' of species that is almost entirely caused by human activities such as habitat destruction and poaching. Today animal and plant species are disappearing 100 times faster than a century and a half ago. For now, the bald eagle, the great symbol of our nation, has escaped this fate and we should all cheer its recovery."

27 June 2007

bottled water understood. part 1.

i'm guilty. i love my bottled water. but i reuse my bottle time and time again until it starts to smell. does that help offset my consumption? probably not...

==

Snagged from Project Censored, top 25 stories censored by big media
in 2007: http://www.projectcensored.org/censored_2007/index.htm

#20 Bottled Water: A Global Environmental Problem

Source:
OneWorld.net, February 5, 2006
Title: "Bottled Water: Nectar of the Frauds?"
Author: Abid Aslam

Faculty Evaluator: Liz Close
Student Researchers: Heidi Miller and Sean Hurley

Consumers spend a collective $100 billion every year on bottled water
in the belief—often mistaken—that it is better for us than what flows
from our taps. Worldwide, bottled water consumption surged to 41
billion gallons in 2004, up 57 percent since 1999.

"Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled
water is increasing—producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast
quantities of energy," reports Earth Policy Institute researcher
Emily Arnold. Although in much of the world, including Europe and the
U.S., more regulations govern the quality of tap water than bottled
water, bottled water can cost up to 10,000 times more. At up to $10
per gallon, bottled water costs more than gasoline in the United States.
"There is no question that clean, affordable drinking water is
essential to the health of our global community," Arnold asserts,
"But bottled water is not the answer in the developed world, nor does
it solve problems for the 1.1 billion people who lack a secure water
supply. Improving and expanding existing water treatment and
sanitation systems is more likely to provide safe and sustainable
sources of water over the long term." Members of the United Nations
have agreed to halve the proportion of people who lack reliable and
lasting access to safe drinking water by the year 2015. To meet this
goal, they would have to double the $15 billion spent every year on
water supply and sanitation. While this amount may seem large, it
pales in comparison to the estimated $100 billion spent each year on
bottled water.

Tap water comes to us through an energy-efficient infrastructure
whereas bottled water is transported long distances—often across
national borders—by boat, train, airplane, and truck. This involves
burning massive quantities of fossil fuels.

For example, in 2004 alone a Helsinki company shipped 1.4 million
bottles of Finnish tap water 2,700 miles to Saudi Arabia. And
although 94 percent of the bottled water sold in the U.S. is produced
domestically, many Americans import water shipped some 9,000
kilometers from Fiji and other faraway places to satisfy demand for
what Arnold terms "chic and exotic bottled water."

More fossil fuels are used in packaging the water. Most water bottles
are made with polyethylene terephthalate, a plastic derived from
crude oil. "Making bottles to meet Americans' demand alone requires
more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some
100,000 U.S. cars for a year," Arnold notes.

Once it has been emptied, the bottle must be dumped. According to the
Container Recycling Institute, 86 percent of plastic water bottles
used in the United States become garbage or litter. Incinerating used
bottles produces toxic byproducts such as chlorine gas and ash
containing heavy metals tied to a host of human and animal health
problems. Buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water
each year. Of the bottles deposited for recycling in 2004, the U.S.
exported roughly 40 percent to destinations as far away as China,
requiring yet more fossil fuel.

Meanwhile, communities where the water originates risk their sources
running dry. More than fifty Indian villages have complained of water
shortages after bottlers began extracting water for sale under the
Coca-Cola Corporation's Dasani label. Similar problems have been
reported in Texas and in the Great Lakes region of North America,
where farmers, fishers, and others who depend on water for their
livelihoods are suffering from concentrated water extraction as water
tables drop quickly.

While Americans consume the most bottled water per capita, some of
the fastest collective growth in consumption is in the giant
populations of Mexico, India, and China. As a whole, India's
consumption of bottled water increased threefold from 1999 to 2004,
while China's more than doubled.

While private companies' profits rise from selling bottled water of
questionable quality at more than $100 billion per year—more
efficiently regulated, waste-free municipal systems could be
implemented for distribution of safe drinking water for all the
peoples of the world—at a small fraction of the price.

UPDATE BY ABID ASLAM
Consumer stories are a staple of the media diet. This article spawned
coverage by numerous public broadcasters and appeared to do the
rounds in cyberspace. Perhaps what seized imaginations was our
affinity for the subject: apparently we and our planet's surface are
made up mostly of water and without it, we would perish. In any case,
most of the discussion of the issues raised by the source—a research
paper from a Washington, D.C.–based environmental think tank—focused
mainly on consumer elements (the price, taste, and consequences for
human health of bottled and tap water), as I had anticipated when I
decided to storify the Environmental Policy Institute (EPI) paper (in
honesty, that is pretty much all I did, adding minimal context and
background). However, a good deal of reader attention also focused on
the environmental and regulatory aspects.

Further information on these can be obtained from the EPI, a host of
environmental and consumer groups, and from the relevant government
agencies: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for tap water and
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for bottled water.

Differences in the ways these regulators (indeed, regulators in
general) operate and are structured and funded deserve a great deal
more attention, as does the unequal protection of citizens that results.

Numerous other questions raised in the article deserve further
examination. Would improved waste disposal and recycling address the
researcher's concerns about resources being consumed to get rid of
empty water bottles? If public water systems can deliver a more
reliable product to more people at a lower cost, as the EPI paper
says, then what are the obstacles to the necessary investment in the
U.S. and in poor countries, and how can citizens here and there
overcome those obstacles?

Some of these questions may strike general readers or certain media
gatekeepers as esoteric. Then again, we all drink the stuff.

==
amy, thanks for forwarding the article. good stuff. enlightening.

happy whale.


help keep this whale happy. eliminate using plastic bags--take a tote with you to the supermarket and mass retailers. recycle your trash and compost your food leftovers.

while it may seem like doing those things on the mainlands might not make a difference, it does. by recycling our trash and ridding our hands of plastic bags, we're minimizing the chance of those materials ending up floating for miles in the ocean or with the trash vortex.

don't let these actions seem insignificant. if we all participate, change will happen.

learn more about protecting our oceans.

26 June 2007

live earth.

this just in from itunes:

"got a pen? mark down this date: 7/7/07--the debut of live earth, a go-green extravaganza boasting more than 100 genre-jumping artists, plus a worldwide, 24-hour broadcast audience of two billion. and not just any old lineup, either: we're talking nine overstuffed bills spanning all seven continents, featuring everything from hot-ticket reunions (the police, smashing pumpkins) to block-rocking rap (kanye west, ludacris) to household names like madonna and the red hot chili peppers. and it's all in the name of raising awareness about crucial climate issues like energy conservation, carbon emissions, and global warming. speaking of lowering carbon emissions, we've got the perfect alternative to boarding a plane to check out one of the live earth shows in person: our live earth playlist, packed with a hot track from every artist on every bill. get ready, earth: your axis is about to get rocked."

visit live earth for more details.

visit itunes for the entire playlist.

25 June 2007

end your paper trail.

if you bank with washington mutual, sign up to be paper-free and they'll donate $1 to the arbor foundation to plant a tree.

what an easy way to save on clutter—and a tree.

live simply.

is san francisco's city water better than bottled water?

as reported by the associated press, san francisco's mayor gavin newsom decided it's so. he's issued an executive order banning city departments from buying bottled water, even for water coolers. the ban takes effect july 1, and will extend to water coolers by december 1.

when the mayor announced the decision, he cited the environmental impact a single plastic bottle has on the environment, not to mention that most end up in the state's landfills each year. the cost of making, transporting and disposing the bottles is extremely damaging.

click here for the rest of the developing story.

do your part. go green.

reduce your carbon footprint:

consume less.
share more.
live simply.
do your part.
learn how.



Ten Things You Can Do to Help Curb Global Warming
presented by the sierra club—10 things you can do to help curb global warming and in the end, save you money and create a safer environment for the future.

Ten Things to Do
10 simple things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. it even tells how much carbon dioxide you can save if you practice any of the suggestions. inspired by "an inconvenient truth."

Top 50 Things to Do to Stop Global Warming
a series of global warming awareness pages listing facts and we can do to help our planet.

The Global Warming Survival Guide

published in a special edition of time magazine it lists 51 things everyone can do—both complex and simple ideas.

Cargo Plant Love
visit their website and learn more about their lipstick that could change the world.

Treehugger
how to green your gifts.

Greenpeace Energy Saving [R]evolution - first 7 steps
sign up and help the revolution with practicing a step a day! together maybe we can change the laws.