Archive for August, 2008
August 29th, 2008
this morning, waiting for an appointment while watching cnn, i saw an ad for the city of rockford … that promotes recycling.
a little girl acts as a judge, with a man in the courtroom acting clueless about where to take used tires and so forth.
i didn’t know what it was all about until the end, at which the city promoted going green and going to its web site. i didn’t catch every bit of the ad, but the city does have area detailing what residents can recycle.
what i learned: i can drop off paint, batteries and aerosol cans at a collection site.
August 28th, 2008
but obama did say “renewable energy” and “climate change” in his acceptance speech tonight. at least i’m pretty sure. ooh, yep!
“Washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
…
“I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing so that America is once more the last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.”
August 28th, 2008
people like to make fun of moms who are paranoid about plastic or unsafe toys from china.
and they like to pick on books like this: “poisoned profits: the toxic assault on our children” by philip and alice shabecoff, which i heard about here.
i’m no scientist, but you never know what might the impact of chemicals in our society.
Philip, chief environmental correspondent for The New York Times for 14 years, and Alice, a freelance journalist, present detailed evidence showing that children are 10 times more vulnerable than adults to cancer-causing chemicals and accumulate half of their lifetime risk of cancer by age two.
of course, there are critics, but what should be surprising but isn’t: the low nmber of stories i found, pro, con or otherwise, on this book.
August 27th, 2008
i didn’t wear this t-shirt for the photo shoot: wasn’t as colorful as pink. and plus, i REALLY wanted to keep it.
it’s by one of my favorite apparel makers, life is good. it says “green is good,” and it’s made from organic cotton, in the good karma collection. it’s super soft, even after a dozen washes. worth the 30 bucks.
the shirt is not available on the life is good site anymore, but i found it at cabela’s.
don’t forget to enter my contest (see entry below!). i’ve had 10 entries so far.
August 26th, 2008
a few months ago, i bought this t-shirt, size M, from cafepress.com, because i needed to wear something for the photos to go with my rockford woman story about “living without plastic” for a week. or at least not buying it in its most noticeable forms.
i washed it and hung it in my closet, waiting to give it away. and now the day has finally come!
i’m giving away this “green is the new pink” shirt by drawing names at random.
how can you win?
send me an e-mail with your name, address and daytime phone number for verification, to jpollock@rockfordwoman.com.
and you need to prove that you read this blog by telling me what my favorite color is: orange.
please enter only once. i’ll take entries until wednesday, sept. 3. if you win, i’ll probably want to take your picture with the shirt on.
to see all the stuff i’ve written about plastic, click on “living without plastic” on the right side of the blog.
good luck, go greenies, and spread the word!
August 25th, 2008
… by a cushman, one of the little vehicles used by campus maintenance to zoom around and scare the pants off of half-awake students.
this morning, driving into work on north second by sinnissippi park, i saw this little white truck. i thought, “i bet that’s the one we’re writing about.” and sure enough, it is.
chris and danny lopez drive a zap (zero air pollution) electric vehicle. it plugs into a conventional outlet. read the story. i won’t give the rest away.
August 21st, 2008
ok, that might be an overstatement.
it’s back-to-school time, and while the kids love to pick out their folders and notebooks, what they really like to pick out is their clothes.
i originally was “inspired” to write this post when i got a press release about eco-fashion, which meant “buy this sewing machine.” kind of a stretch.
as i thought further, of course, hand-me-downs and thrift shop finds are “green.” and then i stumbled upon this story.
As an eco-designer, Bee Askin makes use of recycled materials to create clothing she hopes will appeal to a wide audience of women.
“It’s a very simple concept,” she said. “You deconstruct and reconstruct.”
“Eco” or “green” fashion involves “treasuring things that still have a lot of life left in them,” she said. “I think eco-fashion can be part of the fashion world.”
Askin’s favorite recycled materials are men’s shirts, preferably cotton and of good quality, perhaps too threadbare around the neck to still be worn but with attractive colors and designs she can adapt to her own creations.
“Men’s shirts are beautiful and well designed,” Askin said. “The collar can be frayed, but the rest of the shirt has years left in it.”
parting thought: the average american purchases 70 pounds of fabric per year, with 85 percent ending up in landfills, according to the institute for local self-reliance.
August 21st, 2008
at an energy summit in vegas this week (did you even HEAR about this? maybe i’m too caught up in back to school), big businesses like google and general electric said, “sure, renewable energy is great, but it’s too expensive.”
so what are they going to do about it? i’ve seen ads with a plan but haven’t had time to “drill down,” so to speak.
August 20th, 2008
as i read the beloit college mindset list this week, i (of the class of 1994) had mixed thoughts.
the list, which gets national attention each year in its effort to show teachers they are ancient and kids these days live in the modern world (sarcasm aside, with the greater purpose of understanding), notes that the class of 2012 has never sipped soda from glass bottles, only plastic.
on the one hand, that’s sad, for nostalgia reasons and the fact that glass recycles more times over than plastic.
but on the other hand, i have hope because the younger generations will always be environmentally conscious if not proactive. plus, they’re can buy the new-fangled choice of 2-in-1 shampoo-conditioner, according to the list — that cuts waste in half!
note: if you are curious, you can see the lists back to the class of 2002.
August 18th, 2008
i’ve heard a few people argue/joke that they’re doing their environmental duty by not mowing the lawn.
before you get too carried away: ordinances often say you’ll owe the government some green if you don’t keep up your yard.
personally, i don’t mow because of my allergies, so i’d rather have one of these. so just keep in mind:
Each weekend, about 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants. Garden equipment engines, which have had unregulated emissions until very recently, emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, producing up to 5% of the nation’s air pollution and a good deal more in metropolitan areas.
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