I thought that Black Friday (aka Buy Nothing Day) would be a perfect time for everyone to watch “The Story of Stuff” again – or for the first time. Take 20 minutes away from your shopping to watch and ponder.
Times are tough – money is hard to come by – and winter is roaring it’s head. How about something for nothing? SCREAM to be GREEN doesn’t do giveaways very often, but I think this is a great one. We’re giving away a one year subscription to YES! Magazine. Just look at the covers above and see their commitment to the environment and sustainability! Sustainability, climate change (with Bill McKibben no less), locavores, oil, water battles, etc. Cozy up in a warm blanket with this gem of a magazine. Did I mention that YES! is printed on 100% post consumer waste recycled paper? It is.
From their FAQ:
What is YES! magazine all about?
We focus on a different topic each quarter, each one on opportunities for social change toward a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world. Recent issues have focused on redefining the “good life,” great urban places, preserving and reclaiming water resources, rethinking elderhood, finding alternatives to oil dependence.
Here is an example of some of the great material available in Yes! Magazine.
“Christmas With No Presents?”
by Colin Beavan, No Impact Man
“No Impact Man,” Colin Beavan, suspected the holidays would be just as merry without all the stuff — and he was right! Beavan and his small family have committed to living a no-net-environmental-impact lifestyle in the middle of New York City, and blogs about the adventure at NoImpactMan.com. Here he shares his very merry Christmas story — minus the stuff.
Related stories in the Sustainable Happiness issue:
* “Be Happy Anyway”
by Sarah van Gelder and Doug Pibel
The economic boom didn’t bring us (or the planet) happiness. So maybe there’s an upside to the downturn.
* “10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy”
by Jen Angel
In the last few years, psychologists and researchers have been digging up hard data on a question previously left to philosophers: What makes us happy? Here are 10 scientifically proven strategies for getting happy.
* “Happiness Test”
by Stephen Post and Mike McCullough
Researchers say thankful people tend to be happy people. YES! offers this test to find out your gratitude score.
The rules are simple. Leave a comment by 11:59PM CST, December 12, 2008 and one random lucky winner will be picked to receive a one year subscription to Yes! Magazine. If you read Yes! Magazine, we’d love to hear from you, too – enter the contest and let us know what you think.
Also – I encourage you all to follow Yes! Magazine on Twitter, too. You can follow me, too – I’d love the company.
Broadway is going green – and not just Wicked. The Great White Way, strewn with incandescent bulbs eating megawatts of electricity are being replaced. Ten theaters have already replaced their bulbs and over the next year, all NYC Broadway theaters will replace their bulbs with energy efficient models. Theaters are using LED and CFLs that will mimic the same look and feel as the incandescent – at a fraction of the wattage and thus cost.
Not only are the theaters changing lightbulbs, they are outlining plans for more environmental change on the big stage. Playbills will be made from more recyclable materials and soluable inks. Stage sets will use recycled materials and will be recycled when they are done with a show. Cleaning supplies will be ecofriendly and even touring casts are looking at ways to reduce energy use in the trucking, etc.
“By this time next year, the lights on Broadway will burn just as bright, but the energy bills and our city’s carbon output will be lower,” Maybor Bloomberg said. “This commitment will raise the level of awareness for everyone involved in these shows including the audiences and that’s going to have an impact that reverberates far beyond the Big Apple.”
Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, is providing guidance. He makes a very valid point. “It’s not like we’re running out of time,” Mr. Hershkowitz told people at the meeting. “We have run out of time.”
Source: New York Times
I’ll leave you with some clips of folks I know…
An open letter to Dunkin Donuts -
Congratulations on opening your first LEED certified store. I hope you don’t mind that I duotoned your logo to make it green. It just seemed fitting as you opened your first “green” store. I hope it is the first of many LEED stores to come and you’re not just teasing me. I really hope you’re not just waiving the eco-flag. Don’t lett all of your Twittering and posting pictures just be a big eco-tease.
As you know – me and you – we go way back. It’s a love story, really. I think it’s time that I let my readers know my love for you, but in the process, I’m going to have to air some of our dirty laundry. Sometimes I feel like I sacrifice my conscience to be with you, yet you don’t reciprocate. Sure, you take my money – but you don’t listen. It’s like trying to cuddle and talk with a prostitute. I know you just want my money. I feel like after all this time, you need to start giving back. I don’t ask for much – I’m a pretty missionary kinda guy with you – nothing kinky – so sure, sometimes I want hazelnut instead of plain. I have to spice it up from time-to-time, but I’m not asking too much of you. Just give me what you’re giving your customers in St Petersburg, FL.
I understand that you own a lot of real estate and also franchise a lot of stores, but really – can’t you change over your cups for all of your stores? Why do you still need to attack the environment by only giving out #6 styrofoam cups? There is nothing environmentally friendly about that and who knows what chemicals are offgassing into my coffee. It’s even difficult to recycle the cups you give out for iced coffee. Most municipalities only take #1 and #2 plastics. Give me a better option – please!
Let’s talk more about your LEED intiatives. The restaurant is built with energy efficient materials to help reduce heating and air conditioning costs by up to 40%. In a climate like Florida – this is a huge cost savings. I also love that you’re composting your grounds with the worms. I vermicompost in my basement. The kids love it and we get very rich soil in return. I love that one of your initiatives is that in-store diners get trays – such a novel concept. When I go to my Dunkin and eat in there, we always get bags and boxes and I try to have them not give them to me – but often fail or get dumbfounded looks. This can save approximately 50,000 bags per year in an average restaurant.
Overall – congratulations to Dunkin Donuts for taking their first green steps. Like most Americans, I want more, more, more – and not more consumption, but more steps. I want to alleviate my guiltiest of green pleasures – Dunkin Donuts coffee.
Okay – one last tidbit of information that you’re leaving out that many of us Eco-Greenies should all know and probably don’t: Dunkin Donuts has sold fair trade coffee since 2003. Why isn’t that in your press release?
So, Dunkin, thank you. Thank you for the good times and the bad times (like when I had to write a complaint letter about the mean counter-worker who yells at people for paying with a $20 bill). I’ll continue to be your John. It’s an addiction – like David Duchovny to sex, it’s me to your products. I don’t smoke, but if I did, I’d leave $2.04 on the dresser in the morning and enjoy a good smoke after having a large cup of your joe (cream, 2 Splenda – sometimes with hazelnut).
Much java love,
Jason
PS – feel free to follow Dunkin Donuts on Twitter and tell them what you think – http://twitter.com/dunkindonuts
(you didn’t think I’d have a post without a video, did you?)
Everyone knows about the Kindle eReader from Amazon. The Kindle 2 is just around the corner. These are eReaders from Amazon and they have their own marketing/distribution chain similar to iTunes. The Kindle is primarily for reading books. I’ve played with one a couple times – I really like them – but unfortunately, I don’t read enough books. I’m more of a periodical kinda guy – it feeds my ADD. I’m on the train every morning reading the newspaper. Along comes the Plastic Logic eReader. I’m sure there are others out there – I haven’t really researched them enough. If I could get my morning paper in a paperless format and in an easy manor, I’d be all up for it. I feel bad getting the paper each day from an environmental standpoint. On a lost art form standpoint – I relish reading the paper. The fact that my newspaper comes wrapped in a plastic bag each day doesn’t help my conscience. So if Plastic Logic can launch – and I can wirelessly get the Chicago Tribune on the eReader and take it on the train – put me down for one – hell – send me one and I’ll blog about it 
More on eReaders from the New York Times
Another one from the vaults…
It’s Not Easy Being Green with Lena Horne
The King Who Wasted Paper
Love The Ocean
