photo from The Laughing Squid

It’s going to be seen by many conservatives as scare tactics.  The science of the matter is that climate change is happening – almost all scientists not hired by oil companies agree.  The polar ice cap is melting faster than ever meaning less sun is being reflected out of the atmospher and is being absorbed – thus uncovering land that hasn’t been seem in millions or billions of years – releasing even more carbon into the atmosphere.  I don’t like “global warming” because it’s a misnomer.  If it’s freezing outside – people make “global warming” jokes.  What it comes down to is that climate change is making weather more unpredictable and violent – and the more that man abuses the planet – the faster it’s deteriorating.  We can’t solely blame China and India for starting their industrial revolutions.  They are beating up the planet now, too – but they have many green initiatives underway.  Population control is another gem to look at – I’m not forgetting it.  Anyhoo…

“SPECIAL EDITION” NEW YORK POST from The Yes Men on Vimeo.
 

If you don’t live in New York City or otherwise know the style of the New York Post’s style of headline and coverage, you may not get how serious cool this is, but trust me it is. Activist group The Yes Men have taken the Post’s no-nonsense approach and really laid out what likely to happen should the international community really get its collective act together on climate change. Basically we’re screwed:

Distributed by hundreds of volunteers throughout the city, the spoof newspapers for all intents and purposes look like a regular NY Post but over the 32 pages of the paper is serious/humorous tell it like it is coverage of what the world is facing with climate action.

via On Climate Change ‘We’re Screwed’! – The Yes Men Spoof New York Post : TreeHugger.

This is a short video from Cameron Diaz about stepping up and doing something and knowing where your resources are coming from. Cameron has long been an environmental advocate. This low-budget short is only 5min long – so kick back and check out…

PS – don’t get too excited, this is the only side-boob in the doc.

See more NBC Green “The More You Know” on the environment…

The smell of Spring is in the air, I went to my first farmer’s market of the season and that must mean it’s time for the third annual Green Festival in Chicago. This will be my third year attending and I can’t wait.  The first year it was enlightening to see so many people who held similar interests to myself.  I was amongst peers who shared my passion.  I learned a lot and was inspired.  Last year I went and took some time to listen to more speakers and stop and talk to the vendors. This year I’ll be on cruise control – learning and enjoying the day.

My recommendation if you’re going and have time – scout out some speakers to listen to.  They’re very informative and some of the best  and brightest in the green community.  Last year I had the privilege of listening to Jodi Murphy of Murco Recycling and host of Wrecklamation, Graham Hill – founder of Treehugger.com, and the ever lovely and passionate green advocate, Sara Snow.  Here’s some of that action from last year.  There are a lot of great speakers this year, too.  Check ‘em out over at http://www.greenfestivals.org and watch past speakers in the TV section.

While it’s okay to be a gawker and just kinda do a drive-by of the various booths – don’t be shy to go up and have a conversation.  You’d be surprised how friendly these folks are and how much you could learn.  One more tip – bring extra cash.  There are a lot of vendors who sell items cheap at the Green Fest – like $10 organic cotton polo shirts or the baby outfits.  Or just have cash on hand for that “must-have” green item.  I’m not advocating consumerism, but if you’re going to buy something anyway – get it from a small business and get something you can respect – vote with your dollars, right?  Oh – and while there are lots of yummy samples out there – check out the organic food vendors and stuff your face with goodness! 

Photo gallery of 2008 Green Festival

The skinny:

Event Details:
Navy Pier, 600 E Grand Avenue, Chicago

Saturday, May 16: 10:00AM – 7:00PM

Sunday, May 17: 11:00AM – 6:00PM

$15 for two days/$10 for seniors, students, and all who arrive by bicycle or public transit

FREE: Children 18 and younger, Green America or Global Exchange members and volunteers, those who bring three or more books to donate to BetterWorldBooks

PS – Be sure to stop by booth 1405 to visit our friends at RecycleMe Organic Tees

Here are some examples:

• passive solar
• geothermal
• grey water
• solar hot water
• solar panels (photovoltaics)
• rain collection
• thermal mass
• argon, triple pane windows
• no VOC paints/adhesives/etc
• dual-flush toilets

Thanks to my old friend Charles from Kickstarter for the link!

We’re giving away a copy of Earth Talk from E-Magazine. Look for that in the coming days.

How do we pick the random winner? With random.org.

It’s giveaway time again!

Synopsis: 

Is it possible to drive coast-to-coast without stopping at a single gas
pump? Journalist Greg Melville is determined to try. With his college buddy Iggy riding shotgun, he sets out on an enlightening road trip. The quest: to be the first people to drive cross-country in a french-fry car. Will they make it from Vermont to California in a beat-up 1985 Mercedes diesel station wagon powered on vegetable oil collected from restaurant grease Dumpsters along the way? Their trip takes them to the solar-powered Google headquarters; the wind turbines of southwestern Minnesota; one of the first houses to receive platinum certification for leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); and a so-called “eco-friendly” Wal-Mart.

Part adventure and part investigation of what we’re doing (or not doing) to preserve the planet, Greasy Rider is upbeat, funny, and full of surprising information about the many sustainable measures that are within our reach.

 My Review:

I really enjoyed this book.  I read all 250+ pages in one weekend.  I wanted to follow the journey from Vermont to California and the tales along the way.  If you’re looking for a sequel to On The Road, this isn’t it, but it’s still a funny read.  Two grown men, cramped into a small car, travelling across the country in a 1985 diesel Mercedes.  Iggy and Greg arguing, giving each other the silent treatment, staying in random hotels and with long lost friends or friends of friends – all made the trek fun to read and keep you wanting to hear more. 

Somewhere early in the trip, Iggy and Greg made a bet.  Iggy would give Greg errands to do after the trip – one per day – and if Greg completed them, he’d get $50 from Iggy.  Melville does a great job of interjecting the errands into the sections of their journey in the book.  The errands are so interesting in themselves that you want to read every word, but you also want to get back to the journey to see where they end up next (looking in barrels behind restaurants for WVO along the way).  The first errand was to find the greenest house.  Greg thought that would be easy – let’s just go visit Al Gore in Nashville.  This was before Gore was allowed to retrofit his huge 10,000 sq ft house with solar panels, etc.  The thing was lit up like a Christmas tree in Times Square.  Errand fail   Greg came back home with his tail b/t his legs only to find that not far from his house in Vermont there was a newly built ultra-green 2,500 sq ft abode.  Complete with a solar array and turbine. 

So do Iggy and Greg make it to the Bio-Oasis in San Fran? You’ll have to read the book to find out.  If you don’t win, I still recommend this book.  Go get it at the library or buy it on Amazon.





Leave a comment by 11:59PM CST, April 30, 2009 and one random lucky winner will be picked to receive a the Greasy Rider  by Greg Melville from Algonquin Books. We will not share your email with anyone.

Lately I’ve been watching a lot of TED Conference videos – hoping more 2009 videos will come out.  As I keep checking back, I keep finding more that I like.  They’re quite addictive.  The best part is that you can add them like a podcast right to iTunes and voila, they’re on your iPod/iPhone/iTouch, etc…or you can download them and put them on any other device.  They even have a section called “A Greener Future?” that contains a lot of eco-videos.  Keep checking back because they’re putting new videos from this years TED Conference up all the time.  I’m waiting for Ray Anderson of Interface Carpet’s talk.  He’s a visionary and a great speaker.

So what are my favorites?  Here ya go

Charles Moore discussing the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”
Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an endless floating waste of plastic trash. Now he’s drawing attention to the growing, choking problem of plastic debris in our seas.

Al Gore discussing new findings since The Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists recently predicted. He challenges us to act. 

Al Gore’s 15 Things You Can Do To Avert The Climate Crisis
This TED talk was before Inconvenient Truth hit the theaters.  It’s pretty funny and a quick watch.  Enjoy.

Michael Pollan on the Omnivore’s Next Dilemma
What if human consciousness isn’t the end-all and be-all of Darwinism? What if we are all just pawns in corn’s clever strategy game to rule the Earth? Author Michael Pollan asks us to see the world from a plant’s-eye view.

Mark Bittman on what’s wrong with what we eat
In this fiery and funny talk, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman weighs in on what’s wrong with the way we eat now (too much meat, too few plants; too much fast food, too little home cooking), and why it’s putting the entire planet at risk.

Andy Hobsbawm on how to Do The Green Thing
I’ve met Andy on a few occasions – whether he remembers or not.  His main gig is being European Chairman of Agency.com where I spent 8 years in the Chicago office.  Of couse I found out about his green passion just as I was leaving the company.  He lanched a site called Do The Green Thing in late 2007.

A few non-green TED Talks to check out:

Evan Williams founder of Twitter
Keep hearing about Twitter and don’t know what it is or what the point is?  Watch this 7min video and get addicted…then follow us @screamtobegreen

Mike Rowe of Dirty Job’s
Mike Rowe, the host of “Dirty Jobs,” tells some compelling (and horrifying) real-life job stories. Listen for his insights and observations about the nature of hard work, and how it’s been unjustifiably degraded in society today.

Before you get down and dirty, there’s something you oughta know: Sex toys can contain nasty toxic surprises. In today’s Umbra video, two lovebirds sing the praises of alternative playthings, just in time for Valentine’s Day.   Ditch your pthalate sex toy or  your blow up doll and make some eco-friendly love this year!  Go with glass, go organic (think Veggietales), go natural…

Disney is going back to nature by creating a new film label – Disneynature.  Okay – so they announced this last Earth Day and I’m late to the game – but the trailer for the new flick is out and about.  Their first feature film is aptly titled “Earth.” If the logo for “Earth” looks remarkably like “Planet Earth” series from Discovery Channel, that’s because British producer/director Alastair Fothergill was also behind that project. Checkout the trailer above and get ready for some action on Earth Day. Oh yeah – did I forget to include the fact that James Earl Jones is the narrator? Sweet.