Sustainablog

While most people continue to look upward (into the air) as far as CO2 emissions, many people have overlooked looking down (into the oceans) but they won’t make that mistake after seeing the interesting, informative yet personal enviro-doc Sea Change. Unlike so many other “green” films and documentaries that hit people over the head with stats and charts not to mention fire and brimstone, director Barbara Ettinger (”Independent Lens” - Two Square Miles) takes a more personal approach (aided by having her on-screen husband Sven Huseby) to explore the causes behind the rapid rate of ocean acidification. And rapid it is.

As a former college professor and current grandfather, Sven serves as a genteel informant/host/interviewer willing to learn and listen rather than comment and direct. He offers the natural ability to teach and engage in conversation. Even non-greenies can admire his feelings and interest as a grandfather intested in educating himself and others about the dangerous status of the ocean life for the sake of his grandson. Read the rest of this entry »

The EPA’s going beyond the normal tips about recycling and saving water this year for Earth Day: they’ve launched a partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of America to get young people involved in environmentally-themed community service projects. EPA’s ENERGY STAR program will also be offering “Go Green Nights” to Parent-Teacher Organizations across the country. Check out EPA administrator Lisa Jackson’s discussion with members of the media above.

Editor’s note: This post was written by Jason Pelletier, and originally published at Low Impact Living on March 28, 2009.

If you’re one of those folks out there who is suffering from a bit of carbon fatigue, then a post in the NY Times’ Green Inc. blog this week could either provide additional motivation for green projects or increased fear of another jargon-laden debate. Green Inc highlighted the growing trend of striving for “water neutrality”, as highlighted at the Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul last week.

The idea is gaining ground within a group of companies looking to understand and reduce their consumption of water, including Coca Cola, whose chairman has pledged to eventually balance out all of the water used in its products and manufacturing processes through conservation elsewhere (over 80 billion gallons worth!).

This got me to thinking: what would it take to be water-neutral in our own homes, meaning that we don’t import any net water? If we include all of the water that goes into our food and the products we consume, then it gets ugly real fast (see this post on the water content of food, for example). But what about our direct water use - showers, irrigation, toilets, etc?

Now, this would require some significant changes to a home and to local building/health/safety codes, since the only way to go water-neutral is to reuse graywater and harvest/store rainwater. Both of these options now face numerous permitting and legal obstacles around the country (including some pretty counterintuitive ones, like Utah and Colorado bans on capturing ANY rainwater at your home). Assuming we could, though, how much rain would it take to provide a family’s annual water needs?

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The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) will host its annual conference - three days of presentations, workshops and exhibits focusing on green energy and building.

BuildingEnergy09 will run Mar. 10 – 12 in Boston, MA at the Seaport World Trade Center,  and will include top names in the realms of renewables, efficiency and sustainable building practices.

The event’s content and 200 presenters are geared to accommodate everyone from veteran builders and policy makers to students looking to expand skill sets in these important and growing areas.

Forums will range from immediate and practical knowledge – including installation techniques and building materials – to the most effective tools employed toward the policy and advocacy of sustainability.

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If the streets of your town suddenly seem to have less young people than normal next weekend, that’s because more than 10,000 of them are expected to converge on Washington, D.C. February 27th – March 2nd for Powershift 09.  While there, these young people will be carrying a message for Congress: we want bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action.

They will also receive training to become the future leaders of the climate action movement, with workshops on a variety of topics like lobbying members of Congress, corporate accountability, environmental justice, organizing 101 and more. They will also be connecting with other participants from their states and will be invited to a career fair hosted by Idealist and a graduate school opportunities fair.

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It’s nice when people put their money where their mouths are. For some time now, labor has been on the green jobs bandwagon. At this week’s Good Jobs Green Jobs conference, the AFL-CIO announced a $1 million investment from the Working for America Institute to create a Center for Green Jobs, showing just how committed they are to the symbiosis between green jobs and union jobs.

At a press conference announcing the center, United Steelworkers Union President Leo Gerard said:

We need to send the economy in the direction where the primary emphasis is on good jobs and green jobs. Don’t let anybody tell us that can’t be done.

We reject the notion that we have to choose between good jobs and a clean environment. It’s not one or the other. It’s both or neither. – AFL-CIO

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How many colleges and universities belong to the NCAA’s Division I? 342

How many colleges and universities are participating in the 2009 Recyclemania? 510

College sports fans will likely say “That’s not an accurate comparison, Jeff.” They’re probably right… but, the question remains: Have you ever heard of Recyclemania?

I hadn’t until checking my feed reader today.  Apparently, I’m not alone: I checked most of the other big green blogs, and found nary a mention in any posts. There was one passing mention of it on Ecolocalizer, but it was far from the focus of the post.

Now, I don’t bring up this lack of coverage (at least within the green web) to criticize anyone, but rather to express my amazement — this thing’s huge! Founded in 2001 “as a friendly challenge between recycling coordinators at two schools in Ohio, Miami University and Ohio University,” Recyclemania now coordinates participating colleges and universities from all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and, for the first time, schools from outside the United States.

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You can’t help but “see green” when you look at Shrek, but that’s green in a friendly ogre green coloring sort of way.

However, scratch the surface at Universal Studios theme park in California and you’ll see there’s a refreshing priority toward going green that both enhances the traveler’s experience and makes a statement on what a company the mega-size of NBC Universal can do in the green direction.

When we see the big Hollywood players like Universal Studios going green, it is easy to quickly write them off as playing in the big cash flow leagues that come with the size of mega corporations like NBC Universal. Because of the size and resources involved, it is easy to write-off any efforts Universal Studios is doing as way beyond the scope of Joe and Jane, average ecopreneurs with more dedication than dollars.

Sure, Universal Studios sells in green with Hollywood style and pizazz, but scratch the surface on some of their efforts and you’ll see there are simple, tangible tactics any business can model at their own level and needs. Here are three tips from their “green is universal” program to draw inspiration from, no Access Hollywood required:

1. Add Signage
Granted, people flock to Universal Studios theme parks for entertainment other than eco-tips. Read the rest of this entry »

GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks with Jules Dervaes of Path to Freedom. Path to Freedom  is a grassroots, family operated, viable urban homesteading project established to promote a simpler and more fulfilling lifestyle and reduce one family’s “footprint” on the earth’s dwindling resources.It was established in 2001 in Pasadena, California by Jules Dervaes.

Click Play Below,or

A day at the zoo brings back classic kiddie flashbacks for just about everyone. Who doesn’t remember an afternoon of lions, tigers and bears? But – oh my – as our eco savvy radar grows savvier over the years, the zoo experience can be a bit of a conundrum: How can we justify the variety of issues zoos bring to the plate – from cages to carbon footprints – for today’s world?

One approach: Select your zoo destination carefully and make a conscious effort to make your experience as green and educational as possible. One suggestion:

Head for the San Diego Zoo. Sure, the San Diego Zoo has been heralded as a zoological leader for decades and remains a southern California pillar of tourism. But there are reasons for that as the San Diego Zoo keeps redefining and reinventing the zoo experience. With a dash of educational effort, your family zoo outing can evolve to an inspiring environmental educational experience.

At their core level, the San Diego Zoo – like other zoos – bring a global array of animals directly in front of one’s eyes. Kids naturally form a magical connection with animals – the challenge is how to further this fascination into a lifelong habit of stewarding the planet and taking the conservation message to heart. The San Diego Zoo offers various approaches to do just that, as my family and I experienced during a recent trip to sunny southern California, escaping the Wisconsin winter back on our farm.

Here’s four tips from our San Diego Zoo outing on greening your zoo experience with kids:

1. Prep Beforehand
A dash of preparation beforehand can significantly enhance the zoo experience. Read the rest of this entry »