Published on May 7th, 2008
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Today’s post is by Mel Peffers, a project manager in the Living Cities program at Environmental Defense Fund.
May 6 was World Asthma Day. Since car exhaust can lead to asthma as well as global warming, we thought it would be a good day to highlight the importance of not idling your car or truck engine.
What makes idling especially bad for health is that drivers tend to idle in gathering places - by sidewalks, schools, playgrounds, homes, and offices. Breathing in pollution close to the source is more dangerous than farther away.
Take a look at the evidence. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 9th, 2008
This is National Public Health Week, and the focus is on the impact of climate change on our nation’s health. Knowing about the risks you face will help you better prepare for the dangers.
PHOTO CAPTION: An evacuated family driven from their San Diego home by the 2007 wildfires. Photo: Michael Raphael/FEMA
Do you have children?
Because they are still developing physically, breathe faster than adults and rely on adults for care, children are more vulnerable. Watch out for:
- Heat waves. Infants and children up to four years old are particularly sensitive to heat and also rely on a care-giver to keep them adequately hydrated.
- Smog and soot pollution. Because their lungs are still developing, children can suffer irreversible lung damage as adults from breathing unhealthy air when young.
- Food- and waterborne diseases. Small children and children living in poverty are at higher risk for falling ill from diseases that climate change will likely exacerbate.
- Stress, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder after disastrous extreme weather events. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 8th, 2008
As has been reported on the Green Options network in the past, enviros and music festivals go together like peanut butter and jelly. The synergy between the two may be no more evident than on July 4th weekend 2008, when the town of Rothbury, Michigan will play host to a “party with a purpose.” The four-day ROTHBURY music and camping festival is being promoted as a “cultural assembly; one where music fans, artists and progressive thinkers gather to celebrate much more than music.” It is Rothbury’s goal to harness the unique energy of the live music community into a durable social movement toward an important cause: Climate Change and Clean Energy Alternatives.
Promoters say that ROTHBURY is committed to producing a near zero-waste concert. The first to tackle a green program of this magnitude at an around-the-clock (camping) concert in the USA. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on February 5th, 2008
In the spirit of the seemingly endless campaign for the presidency of the U.S., I am going to put a little green twist on a question that was raised on the PBS program, Bill Moyers Journal, the other night. Moyers showed clips of one question that CBS’ Katie Couric had asked of all the candidates she interviewed;
“What is the one book, other than the Bible, that you would take with you into the White House as the next president?”
But as soon as I heard the question, my irrational fascination with all things green led me to wonder, what book with an environmental theme would I consider to be an essential read for the next president. I thought about that question a lot and came up with too many answers. Please help me flesh these out a little by helping me answer the green version of Katie Couric’s question:
[Other than the Bible] what ‘green’ book should the next president take into the White House?
Leave a comment with the name of the green-themed book you think is a must read for the incoming president and you could win a book yourself. Here’s the catch, you’ve got to make a case for it.
Valid entries will consist of a reply that is concise, clearly articulated and well-reasoned. One submission meeting those very simple requirements will be randomly drawn to win a copy of … Read the rest of this entry »
Published on February 5th, 2008
When I got bored one summer and decided to start a blog about renewable energy and private sector leadership, I never imagined it would open up such a wider world of blogging and lead me down this wonderful road to Green Options. This site has allowed me to explore the online world as much as the energy world, and that’s been just as exciting (I’m finally getting into del.icio.us).
My background is in energy policy, so what I’ve learned over these past 12 months is not so much a broader understanding of energy solutions but a better understanding of what people around the world think about solutions. Almost everyone wants a new, cleaner, more efficient energy system. And while we may differ as to whether that will include more wind power, less nuclear power, or research into ocean energy, I believe the agreement and willingness for change is there. This has translated into my posts in which - for the post part - I haven’t been as intent on getting out my opinion as trying to foster a conversation about the best routes to take and the larger questions about reaching that ultimate point. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on February 5th, 2008
I can still remember the moment of Green Options’ public launch like it happened today: I was watching a Skype chat window as the lead of our contract development team started counting down. “Three… two… one…” … then nothing. Then “Sh*t.”
We laughed, and then got the site up about two minutes later. Three executives and ten writers had started a journey to empower a mainstream audience with green news, guidance and community. The rest of the day went swimmingly… we even managed to get all of those first posts on the front page of Hugg (ok, not a huge accomplishment at the time, but we felt great about it!).
In the year since, we’ve had a number of moments like that first one: I’d imagine all startups have their share of stories illustrating efforts that didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned. Despite those hiccups, I’m feeling a lot of pride and gratitude as we reflect on our first year online.
It’s tempting to go into details about our development over the year, or to even a brag a bit about our accomplishments, but I’m most interested at this point in saying “thank you” to the many people who’ve contributed to Green Options, and the Green Options Media blog network. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on February 2nd, 2008
I volunteered this year, on behalf of the O2 NYC, Green Options and my firm J. Ottman Consulting, at the inaugural Greener Gadgets conference on Friday, February 1st. On this raining day in midtown Manhattan I was happy to be inside the McGraw-Hill Conference Center on 49th Street. The conference was presented by research firm Marc Alt & Partners and design blog Inhabitat and brought out quite the group of designers, engineers, students, press and environmentalists. The speakers included the Head of Environment for North America at Nokia, Director of Product Take Back and Recycling at HP, and the Director of Corporate Environment, Safety, and Health at Sony, just to name a few.
I arrived at the conference about 9:30 am and was happy to notice as I walked in the doors, three disposal cans labeled “Waste, Recycling and Compost” and someone monitoring them. After I grabbed a stiff cup of coffee, in a mug as opposed to a paper cup, and checked my coat, I picked up my volunteer badge and headed in to hear the opening keynote speech. This speech, by artist and digital photographer Chris Jordan, was my absolute favorite of the day and I feel served to kick start the conference with the correct perspective of American mass consumption (something we all need in large daily doses). Read the rest of this entry »
Published on February 1st, 2008
So, I was all ready to pick a new video to feature this week, and went over to the Think Green Live Green Challenge page on YouTube to enjoy the latest offerings. Imagine my surprise when I discovered there were none! Did everyone’s video camera crash at once? Or, were the initial week’s offerings just too intimidating? C’mon, people, this is your chance: online video fame awaits you!
Seriously, though, this is a great opportunity to make your voice heard on green living. If you don’t think you’re doing some eco-unique things in your own life (and I’ll bet you’re wrong), you’ve certainly got questions about the barrage of information out there on green living. Juntoventure’s contest stands out in that it’s asking you not to simply make a video, but to join a conversation… and we can all do that. Get those cameras a’rollin’…
Also keep in mind that Juntoventure has pulled together a pretty impressive list of prize sponsors for the contest: Sierra Designs, Timberland, Pacific Outdoors, Buck Knives, Burt’s Bees, Mountainsmith, Mission Playground, and Lonely Planet. Certainly you’d like a shot at some of the swag they’re offering… Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 25th, 2008
The videos are starting to roll in for Juntoventure’s “Think Green Live Green Challenge,” and organizations and individuals are answering the call to discuss their green activities and questions on YouTube. While the collection of videos is fairly small one week into the entry period, several of the submissions could easily be contenders for the prizes Juntoventure and Challenge sponsors are offering to winners.
I had a tough time making a choice for our first “Think Green Live Green” video of the week: several of the entries were well-shot and edited, and told compelling stories. Given the contest’s purpose to create “a community of dialogue about the challenges of eco-friendly living,” I didn’t use professional presentation as a criterion, though. Rather, I asked myself which ones really engaged me in such a way that I wanted to respond. Ultimately, while I enjoyed almost all of them, I found some of the least polished videos to be the most appealing. My choice for this week’s featured video came from YouTube user MattG124. Here it is: Read the rest of this entry »
Published on January 17th, 2008
User-created video contests are all the rage lately, and Juntoventure, a non-profit organization dedicated to “sustainability education through digital media,” has joined the fun with its “Think Green Live Green Challenge.” Starting tomorrow (Friday, January 18th), the Challenge invites participants to do a little bit more than just make a video about green living practices they’ve adopted: Juntoventure and the contest’s sponsors ask entrants to create videos that contribute to “a community of dialogue about the challenges of eco-friendly living.”
“A community of dialogue” is one of those phrases that comes out of my former academic life, but the concept is simple: make a video that contributes to and advances the conversation about sustainable lifestyles. In this spirit, Juntoventure starts the discussion with a video collection of its own that provides some great examples, and also frames the conversation. Your task: join the dialogue by contributing a video with your perspective. The contest provides some questions to get those creative juices percolating:
- What are the biggest challenges you face in becoming more eco-friendly?
- What questions do you have about eco-friendly living?
- Are you taking any specific actions right now to be more eco-friendly, and if so, do you have a way to do it easily and conveniently?
- What changes would you like to see happen from companies and the marketplace? Read the rest of this entry »
