Majora Carter: Greening the Ghetto
Archive for September, 2007
Treehugger Fortnight in Review
Photo by piper, under a Creative Commons license
Take Action, Start a Petition
The Care2 Petition Site makes it a snap to start your own petition. First, identify the target of your protest, then draft out a call-to-action message and decide on your goal number of signatures
Quote of the Day: Carlo Petrini on Taking It Slow
“The quest for slowness, which begins as a simple rebellion against the impoverishment of taste in our lives, makes it possible to rediscover taste.”
Event of the Day: Farm Aid 2007
Are you going to Farm Aid?
Farm Aid 2007: The Press Conference
While we’re recovering from yesterday’s completely awesome Farm Aid 2007, here are a few clips from the press conference, courtesy of the official Farm Aid blog.
Quote of the Day: Marion Nestle on Advertising to Children
“Adults may be fair game for marketers, but children are not. Children cannot distinguish sales pitches from information unless taught to do so.”
Kitten-Napping
Here’s a bed I sewed for Mir—he’s a boy kitty, for those who’ve asked—last night, following a great tutorial I found online. I used leftover fabrics from previous projects, as well as fiberfill salvaged from a couple of discarded pillows. I’m no big whiz with the sewing machine, but this was an easy-enough project that took under an hour. Considering how pricey pet beds can be (upwards of $60, I believe), this was a low-impact and zero-cost endeavor that—according to my sister, anyway—looks store-bought.
» Best. X-files. Episode. Guide. Ever: “Scully talks to Mulder’s soul with her eyes.” (0) #
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I’m on Treehugger Radio this week, talking about the melting ice caps and polar bears, and hoping desperately I don’t sound like a spaz! (0) #
Gratuitous Kitten Blogging
We adopted 4-month-old Mir just over two days ago from a rescue group that takes in cats and kittens bound for euthanasia (i.e. to meet their Kitty Maker) at overcrowded shelters.
Chekhov is PEEVED.
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Psst, Debbie Bliss books and yarns at 50 percent off. (I’ve locked my credit card away and thrown away the key.) (0) #
Treehugger Fortnight in Review
Photo by purplekey, under a Creative Commons license
Quote of the Day: Ray Anderson on Flight
“Drawing the metaphor of the early attempts to fly. The man going off of a very high cliff in his airplane, with the wings flapping, and the guys flapping the wings and the wind is in his face, and this poor fool thinks he’s flying, but, in fact, he’s in free fall.”
North Branch Mocha Brownie Soap
Coffee grounds are a natural deodorizer you can between rub your hands to get rid of the pong of garlic, onions, or fish after you’re through preparing the nosh.
Data Storage Just Got Shinier, Sexier
Personal data storage meets personal accoutrement with this heart-shape Swarovski-crystal-encrusted pendant—part of a new line by Philips and Swarovski known as Active Crystals.
How to Hack Your Swiffer
We scoured the Internet landscape to find the best ways of fulfilling Zaccai’s sustainable dream, so you can haul your pre-green Swiffer dust mop out of retirement and back into action picking up cat hair and errant dust motes.
Quote of the Day: Peter Nicholson on Why Design Matters
“Design, whether in the form of fashion, architecture or other discipline, is essential to achieving greater sustainability.”
Sometimes You’re the Cutter, Sometimes the Cuttee
Illustration by The Decoder Ring
This poster perfectly illustrates how the world makes me feel on a daily basis. I have a raging headache now from the circus act that spontaneously erupted in my brownstone apartment’s front yard—two young women completely flipping out over the sight of a dead squirrel. One of them was clutching a couple of plastic bags and tittering nervously, her legs frozen solid to the ground.
After five, maybe 10 minutes of listening to them squawk and flap around in obvious circles, I finally stormed downstairs to tell them to frikkin’ cut it out and CALL ANIMAL CONTROL. Sweet Holy Mother of God, what do they teach kids in schools, these days? I’m going to have to start whipping out Chekhov’s spray bottle out in public, so I can squirt water in people’s faces with a firm “No, no NO. BAD HUMAN.”
» Have you guys seen Tiny Living: Furnishing for Small Spaces? I wish I had known about this place when we were padding our nest a few years ago. (2) #
