Wed 27 Aug 2008
Hey y’all…just curious, did anyone happen to check out the naked, nude, in-the-buff Lush protest against product packaging today?? If so, do tell. I want to live vicariously through you…and not because the Lush cuties were bums to the wind. I just love me some Lush and their whole company philosophy, so I’m hoping the demonstration was a wild success.
Wed 27 Aug 2008
Last week came the news out of Denver that there simply wouldn’t be enough limousines for the gazillions of big-wigs descending on the mile high city for the Democratic National Convention. All I could think, besides the most ladylike way to snort derisively, was “SERIOUSLY?? We’re picking a contender for the leader of the free world, gathering the powers that be and no one is thinking beyond environmental rhetoric and actually using reponsible transport??” (Unless of course they’re packing pols into limos clown car style and calling it a car pool…) Trust me, the Republicans will not do better in the Twin Cities at the end of the month. It’s both hilarious, in that Jon Stewart kind of way, and sad.
Well, to that end Humana, a health benefits company, and Bikes Belong, the nonprofit cycling advocacy group, are providing both the Democratic and Republican convention with 1,000 FREE bikes through its Freewheelin bike-sharing program. Anyone over age 18 can check out a bike at one of seven bike stations, use for the day, then return to any station. Use of the bikes is free for everyone, and come equipped with an odometer that tracks distance traveled, calories burned and carbon footprint reduction. They’re even providing maps and sanitized helmets for the political domes.
The convention bike-share program kicked off in Colorado Monday, when close to 150 people–led by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak–pedaled their sexy selves, in a bicycle parade of greeniness, about 3.5 miles to the Denver Performing Arts Center’s Sculpture Park where they were greeted by a large crowd of convention-goers, local residents, media, and a diverse bunch of activists.
On the very first day of the DNC, Freewheelin reports 1,429 rides taken and almost 3,000 miles of pure pedal power logged. Just think of all the greenhouse gases that never saw the light of day.
If all 1,000 bikes are used at both conventions, the national carbon footprint will be reduced by 4.4 tons. No small difference, kids. With Americans increasingly worried about the state of the world, bike-sharing and bike riding in general offers one effective solution for the environment, the wallet, and our ever expanding backsides.
I’ll pay $1 American to the first person who can send me a photo of House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) or Speaker of the House (D-CA) Nancy Pelosi on a Freewheelin bike attending their respective conventions. First rep wins my party vote.
(Kidding about the vote, not kidding about the cold hard cash.) To get the whole scoop on FreeWheelin, check THIS out.
Tue 26 Aug 2008
In 25 cities across the country, including Los Angeles, the employees at Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics are going all buck nekkid.
That’s right, you heard me…the guys and gals who work for Lush will be out there in front of God and your mom nude, except for an apron that reads, “Ask me why I’m naked.” And you thought you had a tough day at work.
So why all the public nudity? The brave folks at Lush are leading this cheeky protest in an effort to get shoppers to go ‘naked’ by purchasing products free of packaging. The nudie nudes will educate passers-by and consumers on the devastating environmental impact of packaged goods sold in cosmetic shops, supermarkets, and other retailers.
Unnecessary packaging includes all kinds of stuff you probably don’t notice, stuff like loose fruit individually shrink-wrapped, separate boxes for every already sealed product, plastic bags, plastic trays…ugh, it’s everywhere.
The statistics are just as gross: packaging contributes to 2 percent of overall greenhouse gases and plastic uses 8 percent of the world’s oil resources. With the U.S. consuming 79.6 million tons of packaging each year, over half of which still ends up in landfills.
Ok, you just want to see the naked people, don’t you?
WHEN: Wed., August 27 at 12 p.m. sharp
WHERE: Outside LUSH Beverly Hills, 312 N. Beverly Drive
Lush isn’t just about the nude, naked, bare protests, they lead by example. Lush creates naked cosmetic and body products that don’t require any packaging at all. No plastic bottles, no excessive shrink wrapping, no boxes, bags or even extra water! By removing the water from the product, Lush’s rad solid shampoo bars, conditioners, hennas, massage bars, body butters, bubble bars, and soaps are sold to the customer deli-style, without any packaging. And without water, one truckload of Lush’s solid shampoo bars would be enough for 800,000 washes but it would take 15 truckloads of liquid shampoo to do the same job. For more info on Lush, check THIS out.
Just remember: Tomorrow. Naked. Noon. Lush.
Mon 25 Aug 2008
Our favorite bicycle-pumping, solar-power advocate, electric-car-driving star of the first eco-reality show “Living With Ed” is moving and shaking again. Ed Begley Jr. has his own line of natural, safe and non-toxic home cleaning products. Now you can clean like the movie stars and, as Ed would say, “live simply so others may simply live.” Ed walks the walk, people.
Yeah, I know we’ve tackled home cleaning products before, but Ed’s stuff deserves a mention. Dubbed Begley’s Best, so as to avoid confusion, it both by Begley and it’s the best!
Begley’s Best is your basic all-purpose cleaner with a twist: The natural ingredients are all natural totally BIODEGRADABLE in less than a week.
Made from extracts of pine, de-acified citrus, maize, fermented sugar cane roots, and olive seeds. Begley’s Best magical solution dissolves away grease, grime and dirt, quickly, safely and effortlessly. You can use it on any surface that is compatible with water, such as tile, showers, porcelain, counter tops and cupboards, linoleum, plastics, wood, leather, stainless steel, aluminum, chrome and colorfast fabrics.
You can also use it to scrub up colorfast carpets and upholstery. It’s the perfect cleaner for use on appliances, large and small, inside or out.
Where do you get the stuff? Well, right HERE of course. (For a complete list of local retailers, go HERE.
And be sure to check out Ed’s new book out titled “Living Like Ed.” Which is fun, funny collection of easy and awesome green tips for you, your home and your family…and Mama Earth. All Ed all the time, baby.
Fri 22 Aug 2008
So you’re still sucking down bottled water because, for some reason, you can’t bring yourself to buy one of the many available reusable aluminum bottles. OK, then at least make a responsible choice in the brand of water you buy.
Ethos Water, a late-comer to the bottled water race, was launched in 2002 in response to founder Peter Thum’s personal experience working in South Africa. He was bonked in the head by the terrifying realization that there are children in the world who have no access to clean water and he pledged to do something about it.
“Every time you purchase an Ethos product, a portion of the price goes toward our goal of making $10 million in grant commitments toward humanitarian water programs by 2010. To date the brand has helped an estimated 420,000 people around the world and committed more than $6.2 million in grants toward its mission.” So say the peeps at Ethos!
For us the fact that cold, fresh water flows from every tap in our own homes is something we take for granted, but around the world the water statistics are jarring:
“Worldwide, nearly 1.1 billion people (roughly 20% of the world’s population) lack access to safe drinking water. The lack of clean, safe drinking water is estimates to kill almost 4,500 children per day. In fact, out of the 2.2 million unsafe drinking water deaths in 2004, 90% were children under the age of five.”
Plus, Matt Damon is the face of Ethos…so there’s that.
If the bottle looks familiar, you are probably a regular at the corner Starbucky’s, but you can find Ethos in regular old grocery stores, 7-Elev’s and anywhere you might find yourself in a buying mood…and thirsty.
Drink responsibly.
Thu 21 Aug 2008
Oh, it’s almost that time of the year again…BACK TO SCHOOL! Time to replenish your supply of Pee Chee folders, notebooks and the almighty #2 pencil. But does your pencil make the grade, environmentally speaking of course? It is possible to make a more responsible pencil choice…as if you didn’t already have enough on your green plate.
I only mention this because recently ForestEthics released a report linking some of the world’s largest pencil manufacturers the clearcutting of California’s Sierra Nevada. ForestEthics, a non-profit organization charged brining down the powers that be destroying the Sierra Nevada, have accessed all your trusty old-school pencils based on their local environmental impact.
“How were the pencils graded?” you wonder. So glad you asked. The report card grades pencil makers on the amount of pre- and post-consumer recycled content in their products, whether or not their products are made with lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and whether or not the companies purchase lumber from Sierra Pacific Industries, a company ForestEthics calls “notoriously tone-deaf to concerns about its environmental impacts.” Yeee-ikes.
Here’s how the grades shake down:
“Parents don’t want their children using pencils which degrade California’s landscape, drinking water, or species, and the top companies on our report card show that there’s a better way,” says Josh Buswell-Charkow of ForestEthics. “Those big companies that earned ‘F’s, however, are like the students in the back of the class with pencils in their ears and their heads in the clouds while the rest of the class leaves them behind.”
To check out the report card in its entirety complete with fun graphics and way more information, go HERE. To learn about how you can help save the Sierra Nevada, check THIS out.
Wed 20 Aug 2008
Because it’s never too early to indoctrinate the little ones into the way of the eco-friendly, check out the latest adventures of William the Garbage Truck and his green posse. “William Is Going Green” is the first book in the William the Garbage Truck series by James Martin II.
Starting out the story as a plain old white garbage truck, William learns about conservation, makes friends, and eventually transforms into a green hybrid recycling truck committed to the fight against global warming.
Did I mention the story is about trucks? Kids loooove them some trucks.
Dubbed an “enchanting, colorful adventure” by Amazon, “William Is Going Green” was created by Martin as homage to his 4-year-old son and his love of big, rad trucks. The littlest Martin (James III) was even given the title of co-author and is an integral part of creating the characters and the stories, right down to what each of William the Garbage Truck’s transport eco-buddies look like.
A reformed environmental ignorant, Martin was first made aware of the delicate and complicated relationship between the earth and human beans when he inadvertently committed an environmental sin. While landscaping his home in Connecticut, he cut down trees on his property and was immediately fined and instructed to replant. Whoops! Determined to be more environmentally aware, Martin educated himself intensely on global warming and conservation.
“I realized how much I had affected the environment,” Martin said. “I realized it was a problem, so once I replanted the trees, I wanted to teach others what I had learned. I chose children because if they can learn from birth where the bottles go — they go in the blue bin — then it will be part of them; it will get under their skin.”
Among the tips gleaned from the book for the little ones:
As Crosby, Stills and Nash would say: teach your children well…sing along, you know the words.
Tue 19 Aug 2008
Hey there speed demons, anyone remember the 55 MPH speed limit? Well much to Sammy Hagar’s chagrin, the lower limit may be making a comeback if the folks banding together in the various “Drive 55” campaigns have their way. As a bit of fun history, the original limit was put into place nationally in the 1970’s in response to the fuel crisis then.
The argument then and now: Observing a lower speed limit saves gas and lives. Simply put. “The faster you go, the more you waste,” says Tim Castleman, the Sacramento man behind www.Drive55.org.
Of course, there’s always offshore drilling to offset our fuel cost…wait what?? Bad news, bears.
Alternately, we suck it up, drive slower, inflate our tires and lose a couple of pounds to curb fuel usage ands save truckloads more gas than offshore drilling would ultimately produce. Don’t believe me; check out this easy-to-follow explanation (complete with dry erase markers) from Josh Landis and Mitch Butler of the ”Fast Draw” team.
For more info on the speed limit roll back, check THIS out.
Mon 18 Aug 2008
Have you guys heard about the guy that’s living one year without throwing away any trash? Yep, his name is Dave Chameides and he is at the eight-month mark. Just as a reference the average American will generate 900 pounds of trash in eight months, Dave has produced only 30 pounds. Wow!
“He said, ‘I’d like to do this experiment. I’d like to keep my trash in the basement for a year,’” recalled his wife Aliza Chameides, who did not object as long as the project didn’t affect her.
He set up ground rules to eliminate potential health hazards such as TP would go where it usually goes but does get logged on his blog.
Food scraps are composted and everything else is saved, even the recyclables because it takes energy to haul and remanufacture.
Chameides has found ways to reduce his waste. He takes his own cutlery and plates to work. He considers packaging before buying anything and takes a glass container to the fish market to avoid any packaging.
If you want to read more about the day-to-day adventures of Dave and his trash or maybe to get some tips on minimizing your own impact on the planet go HERE.
Mon 18 Aug 2008
Pssst…in case you haven’t heard yet, California is officially in drought mode. Capricious water use can now cost you a $100 ticket. Everybody is easing up on their water use; nix hosing down the driveway (try a broom), stop drenching the lawn for an hour at high noon and seriously curb the use of precious H2O in the house. That includes shorter showers, my dear.
To that end, I bring you bathing innovation…the shower timer.
Because if you’re anything like me, the shower is a prime place for quality space-out time. Time used to contemplate your bellybutton, guess the new yogurt flavors at the corner fro-yo depot or practice your fantasy “Take This Job and Shove It” speech…but while you’re doing all that, gallons and gallons of irreplaceable water are spinning down the drain.
A shower timer keeps you on track. I use an old-school egg timer, but Ripple Products makes a snazzy star-shaped digital timer, made to withstand the hot steamy environs of your tub, complete with suction cup so it sticks right to the tile. They also have oodles of other water conservation products in fun colors and styles. (The company also runs green, running on green power, using recycled and locally sourced paper and encouraging employees to participate in sustainability initiatives.)
So how long should your shower be? Well, keeping in mind that eco-experts say it should be 5 minutes, stay in as long as it takes to get you business done in a super brisk manner…keep to the bare minimum, so to speak. Leave the navel contemplation to dry dock.
