Greenpeace Gets A Piece

Wow…ummm…I’m not sure if this is safe for work or not…it’s the dirtiest environmental ad I’ve seen yet.  I guess this is what happens when no one is in the forest to witness it…

Take 2: Joe Gets Green – RECYCLE ME Organic Tees

Wow – I can’t believe I left this off of my post about Joe at the Green Festival.  Joe is wearing a shirt purchased from our friends at RECYCLE ME Organic Tees.  This morning as I was getting dressed in my “Eco Dude” shirt from Alix at Recycle Me, I was thinking about how I should post about them again soon.  Then I got the comment from her on my “Joe” post.  In case you missed her comment, here it is.  It’s choc-full-o-good info:

Jason! You should have our web address on this one, so people know where they can go to get “I AM GREEN” our most popular shirt. For those of you who don’t know, it really is a green shirt, 100% organic cotton with water based dyes and inks, cotton grown, spun, sewn and printed in the USA! Watch Alter Eco July 28th, Monday night on Planet Green to see this cool shirt at Coachella, sported by co-host Boise Thomas. And July 29th, you can buy it for half off because it’s our 100th day of business. Comes in kids sizes too.

Alix – my apologies for not linking to you guys from that last post.  I’m shooting Lollapalooza again this year – maybe I’ll wear my Eco Dude shirt out an about there, too.  I have a great t-shirt idea, too – maybe I’ll pass it along to you.

Toilet + Sink = Greywater Delight

[audio:http://www.lonerangerr.com/mp3s/oldies/One%20Hit%20Wonders%20-%20Afternoon%20Delight%20-%20The%20Starland%20Vocal%20Band.mp3]

I think the Starland Vocal Band said it best…”Sky rocket in flight…wheww…Greywater Delight…” or maybe I’m paraphrasing.  I finally got clearance from the tower.  I am the proud owner of a SinkPositive toilet-tank sink.  I bought it on eBay – it’s the only one I’ve seen on there before.  I guess I should be saying “we,” but we’ll see how much the wife uses it.  I wanted to put it in the half-bath on the first floor so all visitors could check it out…and subsequently think “wtf is that?”  Why it’s a sink on top of my toilet, of course.  It’s not pee water – so just wash your hands and enjoy my novelty.

As you can see from the pic, you replace the lid from your toilet with the sink.  It’s a quick attachment – you take the water hose and connect it to the spiggot and then the drain flows back into the tank.  You flush, the clean water flows, you wash your hands, brush  your teeth, get a drink, whatever.  Then the greywater goes into the tank and you flush with it.

I guess these have been readily available in other countries for years and years.  In the US, we couldn’t give a shit about conserving water as a whole.  It’s crazy how much water we just waste – greywater that could be repurposed for all kinds of things. If you use biodegradable soaps, you can even dump your laundry water right out into you flower garden – and the aphids will stay away from the soap.  Why do I need to flush my toilet with potable water?  People just don’t realize the finite amount of water – and it’s happening here – there is drought – severe drought – in many parts of the US.  Just look at DroughtMonitor.

Joe Gets Green

Back at the Green Festival in Chicago, we ran into Joe Hanson from Current TV (and of Beauty and the Geek fame).  He was doing his schtick and the final product is finally on Current.  it’s a little condescending, but it’s not meant to be of any harm. I laughed a bit.

LIKE JOE’s SHIRT?  Buy it from our friends at RECYCLE ME Organic Tees!

SnagFilms Serves Documentaries to the Masses

I was contacted by someone at SnagFilms – a new site that is choc-full-o-documentaries.  Specifically, they have an environmental category.  This is great for all of you folks out there that are so earthy that you don’t have a TV or cable, yet you love the interwebs.  Of course, there are tons of other documentaries on here, too – so you’re not limited to just enviro-films (like the Townes Van Zandt doc I’ve been wanting to see!).

Some recommendations:

• Super Size Me  (Morgan Spurlock eats only McDonald’s for 30 days)
• Hudson Riverkeepers (Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s organization – 1998 doc)
• The Future of Food (The late great Jerry Garcia’s wife tackles the subject of the future of food)
• Fighting Goliath: The Texas Coal Wars (the story of Texans fighting against the construction of 18 coal-fired power plants)

Here are some stats on SnagFilms that I received in the email:

- Full length, award-winning films on your site completely free
- 250 or so feature-length, professionally produced documentaries, from small independent filmmakers and well-known sources
- SnagFilms widget can be easily embedded on your site and numerous social networking services and platforms.
- Many titles supports causes related to the film and encourage viewers to take action.
- SnagFilms movie player does not require a desktop download like other movie players but instead efficiently streams the films

Veteran Oil Man Advocates Wind Over Oil

T. Boone Pickens, a veteran oil man from Texas, is advocating wind energy over oil.  He even says in this commercial, “this is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of.”  It’s only a minute video commercial.  Have a look. 

More info can be found at PickensPlan.com

Watch more on the Pickens Plan after the jump

(more…)

Al Gore: Clean Energy Can Be Our Moon Landing

Yesterday, Al Gore gave a speech and basically said that if we all put our minds to it, we can have clean, green energy in the next 10 years.  Everyone said that we couldn’t put a man on the moon.  We did (unless you’re a conspiracy theorist).  We have the minds and the technological possibilities.  It is possible to have clean green energy, so giddy the f**k up!  What are we waiting for? 

“Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.

A few years ago, it would not have been possible to issue such a challenge. But here’s what’s changed: the sharp cost reductions now beginning to take place in solar, wind, and geothermal power – coupled with the recent dramatic price increases for oil and coal – have radically changed the economics of energy.

To those who say 10 years is not enough time, I respectfully ask them to consider what the world’s scientists are telling us about the risks we face if we don’t act in 10 years. The leading experts predict that we have less than 10 years to make dramatic changes in our global warming pollution lest we lose our ability to ever recover from this environmental crisis. When the use of oil and coal goes up, pollution goes up. When the use of solar, wind and geothermal increases, pollution comes down.

for one do not believe our country can withstand 10 more years of the status quo. Our families cannot stand 10 more years of gas price increases. Our workers cannot stand 10 more years of job losses and outsourcing of factories. Our economy cannot stand 10 more years of sending $2 billion every 24 hours to foreign countries for oil. And our soldiers and their families cannot take another 10 years of repeated troop deployments to dangerous regions that just happen to have large oil supplies.”

You can read the entire speech here.

New 3G iPhone Goes Green…Maybe Not

Well – it actually only comes in black or white and no, I don’t have one…yet.  The packaging of the product is greener.  Apple has called upon a Dutch company called Paperfoam to make a new mold injection for the packaging tray.  The new tray isn’t plastic like the former iPhone.  It’s made from starch.  The starches are either tapioca or potato.  The potato tray reduces the carbon footprint of the packaging by over 90%. 

So while the packaging is greener, the product itself may not necessarily be that green.  Greenpeace is once again criticizing Apple for not taking advantage of this huge opportunity to make their products more sustainable. 

“Based on information available on Apple’s Web site, it appears the electronics company known for innovation has missed an opportunity to reinvent their new 3G iPhone, to be released July 11, in green,” Harrell said. “While new product models such as the MacBook Air and the new iMac made progress compared to previous editions in reducing toxic chemicals such as PVC [polyvinyl chloride]  and brominated flame retardants (BFR), Apple has not announced any new improvements in designing out the toxics (PVC, BFRs, antimony) that Greenpeace found present in the first-generation iPhone.”

Everything can’t be greener – I just wish Apple would have made a bit more of an effort.  They are selling like crazy – so there are tons of “packages” that are greener…and there are also tons of folks shoving toxic plastic into their orifaces filled with pthalates and PVC.  Then again, people aren’t buying an iPhone to be more sustainable.  If they wanted a phone that was going to last, they’d get a 4 year old Nokia brick.

Source: iPhoneFreak, EDN

Office Depot Opens Their First LEED Retail Outlet

Office Depot is having its grand opening of their first LEED certified store, located in Austin, Texas.  What is significant isn’t that this is a LEED certified retail store, but it is the first company to have it’s prototype pre-certified under a new program from USGBC.  This is the LEED for New Construction Volume Certification Program (pilot program).  This new LEED certification will allow companies to certify a prototype so the retailer can roll out a large number of stores easily. 

“We are looking forward to taking care of business for our Austin customers at our first pre-certified ‘Green’ store,” said Chuck Rubin, President of North American Retail for Office Depot. “Not only can customers choose from thousands of greener office products within Office Depot’s industry-leading assortment but they will also have a better understanding of why a particular product is green and how they can make sustainable products a part of their home office or business environment.”

“We took a series of innovative green design elements used in Office Depot store locations across the country and brought them together in our new store prototype,” added Ed Costa, Vice President of Construction for Office Depot. “Through the construction phase of this prototype design we used a wide range of greener building products and practices.”

From the press release, here are the store highlights:

• T5 energy-efficient lighting, which is over 30 percent more efficient than traditional, incandescent lighting.  (this is great – most companies I’ve heard of only step down to T-8 lighting)
• Over 50 active skylights that adjust with the path of the sun and provide natural light to over 90 percent of the store.
• Solar panels on the roof, which generate about 10 percent of the store’s energy needs and power the exterior Office Depot signage. (why not more solar panels to generate more energy??)
• Reflective roof which features a membrane that helps to prevent absorption of the heat from the sun and keeps the interior of the store much cooler.  (everyone is doing this – more solar panels and green roof maybe?  Is this a soy product or petroleum?)
• Steel decking and joists made of over 85 percent recycled steel and recycled concrete partitions composed of more than 95 percent recycled materials.
• Water conservation interior fixtures, including dual flush toilets, low flow urinals, and automatic shutoff sensors in restrooms that will use over 40 percent less water than the typical facility.  (good work – waterless urinals are even better)
• Exterior Landscaping system featuring xeriscaping, a water-efficient technique.
• Native plants that require no additional irrigation for sustenance.
• Energy Management System that allows tracking of energy usage and trends from one central location.
• Office supplies, technology and furniture options featuring a wide range of green attributes such as recycled content, remanufactured, EnergyStar certified and non-toxic.
• In-store Recycling Center with environmental solutions including Office Depot Ink and Toner Cartridge Recycling, Tech Recycling Service and Cell Phone and Rechargeable Battery Recycling.

Source: Office Depot

Cheney Wanted Cuts In Climate Change Testimony

The story out of Washington tonight is that Cheney and the White House wanted certain climate change testimony cut.  Why?  Because they felt that Jason Burnett’s, head of the CDC, testimony would force them to further regulate greenhouse gases (GHG).  The White House said that certain deletions in testimony were made because of the science – flaws in the science.  In reality – this administration has so many friggin hands in their pockets from the different lobbies that they will do everything in their power to deny any proof of climate change.    I wonder what McBush thinks of all of this…

From the Chicago Tribune:

Burnett, until last month a senior adviser on climate change at the Environmental Protection Agency, wrote that Cheney’s office was deeply involved in getting nearly half of the CDC’s original draft testimony removed.

The White House, at the urging of Cheney’s office, “requested that I work with CDC to remove from the testimony any discussion of the human health consequences of climate change,” Burnett wrote.

Burnett also described in greater detail than previously reported the White House’s refusal in December to accept a draft EPA finding concluding that carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, is endangering human health. 

After he sent the e-mail with the draft finding attached, he said he received a telephone call from the White House asking that he “send a follow-up note saying that the e-mail had been sent in error.”

“I explained that I could not do that because it was not true,” Burnett wrote.

Source: Chicago Tribune