Who Says We Can’t Save the World?
Archive for Environmentalism
Die, Styrofoam Peanuts, Die!
Photo by 24thcentury, under a Creative Commons license
Whoever invented Styrofoam peanuts needs to die a laboriously slow, painful death. Even if I weren’t an environmentalist, Styrofoam peanuts would still be near—if not AT—the top of my shit list. They stick to everything: your hands, your clothing, your rugs—even your cats, who of course make things worse by cannonballing into the white abyss, spewing the putrid things everywhere. If that’s not enough, Styrofoam has the temerity to crumble into static-cling-loving confetti that you will be breathing in and cleaning off your floors and furniture FOR DAYS. I mean, you must really REALLY loathe someone to mail them a box full of Styrofoam peanuts.
I don’t care if you “recycled” them from another source, I’d rather have my exposed liver julienned by a flock of psychotic, inbred geese than try to shake off another fistful of Styrofoam peanuts, while I scream ineffectually down the darkened hallways of my own private Hell.
» My friend Summer redesigned her store BTC Elements—does it look superslick or what? (0) #
Spread the Green Around
Add a hearty serving of Planet Green to your life by copying the HTML code below and pasting it into your e-mail signature, Web site, or MySpace page.
We’ll have a different tip each month to help you spread the word about just one thing everyone can do to make our planet a little bit greener. Insert the code now, then lean back and relax—our Internet elves will magically replace your existing tip with a new one every 30 days or so.
» I miss having the time to muck around on this site, but I’m up to my eyeballs in work and I want to get as far away from the PC as I possibly can when I’m off the clock. One pretty keen project I’ve been spending a lot of time on, however, is PlanetGreen.com, the site that is being launched in conjunction with the Discovery channel of the same name (sometime in 2008). It isn’t superofficially “live” yet, but check it out, tell your friends, and give the site some love! (4) #
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.”
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.”
Treehugger Week in Review
Photo by Wired
A Very Special Interspecial Reunion
A lion that was raised by humans, but was released into the wilds of Africa, reunites with his former handlers a year later. What else can Treehugger say but “OMGKITTIES!!!11!!!”
Wired’s Artifacts from the Future: Fusion Food
Possibly coming to a produce store near you: Monsanto’s Cinna-Del, the only GM apple that expresses both cinnamon and sugar, only $26.99 per kilo!
Penguins March into New Patagonian Marine Park
Squawk if you’ve heard this one: The government of Argentina is creating a new marine park along the isolated Patagonia coast to officially safeguard more than half a million penguins and other rare seabirds, according to the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
Peace, Love, Earth: Yeah, Baby
Designer Anna Mkhitarian reinvents that tired hippie standard—the ol’ peace sign—into physical, wearable mantras that, though unsubtle, remind us what our groovy voyage on Spaceship Earth is all about.
Global Warming Wants to Eat Your Flesh
We’d have used a picture of flesh-eating bacteria diligently at work, but all our options made us want to disgorge the contents of our stomachs, so here’s a nonthreatening—dare we say even cuddly?—microscopic look at the insidious beasties themselves.
Interview with Ann Hirschfeld of Secret Leaves Paperworks
Photo by Secret Leaves
Ann Hirschfeld and Sharon Derry are the co-conspirators of Secret Leaves, a charming St. Louis, Missouri-based company that breathes new life into discarded books and vintage papers by transforming them into scrap journals, photo albums, and note cards. I spoke with Ann about her love of old paper, and the growing role the environment plays in running their business, right down to the smallest detail.
1. How did Secret Leaves come about?
Sharon [Derry] had a card/paper arts company called Papeterie, and I worked part-time for her here and there helping to assemble the journals. A little over a year ago, we were talking on the phone and she spoke of her desire to start a web-based paper arts business. She wanted to pursue it full-time but was not interested in doing it alone. She wanted a partner. I immediately said, “Pick me!” We met a few times to discuss her goals for the business and she did—pick me. This was April of ‘06 and we’ve been working together ever since. It seems like we’ve come a long way already.
» Plenty’s review of The 11th Hour; includes Leo DiCaprio’s steely gaze of sensual righteousness (0) #
Global Warning
Photo by Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images
Yes, NASA made an honest mistake, but that doesn’t change the overall global trend. (Read top climate scientist James Hansen’s response.) Why is there still debate over this? It’s not a matter of religion, politics, or personal ideology—in this case there actually IS a right or wrong answer, and the fact is the earth is heating up because of unrepentant, unrelenting human folly. In the end, it’s not about the environment, it’s about the survival of the human species.
The environment will repair itself—flourish, even—after we’re gone, because, as David Suzuki (I love this man) says in The 11th Hour, the planet “has all the time in the world.” But we don’t. We who needlessly, recklessly consume and endure the drudgery of work just to be able to overconsume again, at the expense of another’s suffering; we who have lost touch with the things that are truly important and of worth—we, our children, and their children will just be a blackened footnote in Earth’s history.
Earlier, I overhead two men fussing over the volumes of their iPhones. Thousands of years of civilization and it all boils down to whose ringtone is LOUDER.
» Foodies unite!: Baking and Books is raising money for Hazon’s 2007 Jewish Environmental Bike Ride. Each raffle ticket is $5 and a TON of cookbooks will be given away as prizes. [via Green LA Girl] (0) #
Stephen Colbert’s The Convenientest Truth
And why all the concern about retreating glaciers? A glacier would have no qualms about crushing a baby—if that baby were placed in front of it for a century. Luckily, global warming will prevent that glacier from being a Godless Baby Crushing Machine.
Book Reviews: 99 Ways
99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, and Ellen Schultz; illustrated by Kira Lillie
Packed with—count ‘em—99 solutions to restyling a pair of worn, retired jeans, 99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim by Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, and Ellen Schultz is a ripping powerhouse of inspiration, especially if you think (like I used to) that old denim can only be remade into A-line skirts and hobo bags. Well, those are in here, too, but so is the gorgeous wrap skirt pictured below the fold, along with clear, easy-to-follow instructions on how to put together a baby dress, a sun hat, a dog jacket, and several styles of purses.
» Many parts of the world have experienced record extreme weather conditions this year. No global warming, my great-aunt’s fanny. (0) #
» Arkansas couple welcomes 17th child. Holy, merciful mother of God, stop it! You’d think that it’d hit them at some point that they’ve gone from reproducing to outright polluting. Someone barricade that woman’s vagina. [via Glioca] (7) #
Seraph Letterpress Postcards
Photo by Greer Chicago
Sexier than your iPhone. Designs screenprinted in blue on recycled kraft stock; back is letterpressed in deep brown. You get three each of the four designs. ($8 for a pack of 12, Greer Chicago)
» I want to marry this sentence: “That hotbed of liberal propaganda, the American Geophysical Union, reports that the length of heat waves in Europe has doubled over the last century.” (1) #
» House OKs clean-energy legislation; Shrubya vows to veto. Schmuck. (0) #
Dolman Geiman’s Rescued Clothing
Photo by Dolman Geiman
If you like reconstructing your duds, Chicago artist Dolman Geiman’s Rescued Clothing line is a fount of inspiration. From his Web site:
The term Rescued defines the philosophy behind the process, encouraging patrons to revitalize a garment instead of discarding it or buying something new. Dolan’s goal is not to add to an overwhelming array of designers and manufactures, but to provide a consumer-savvy alternative for those with stocked closets. Rescued Clothing gives those garments you love to wear a second chance, and gives the fashionably chic a new adventure.
And if you haven’t already spotted his wonderful constructions from salvaged wood and other found materials at Design Sponge, here’s his Flickr set.
Photo by Dolman Geiman
Photo by Dolman Geiman
» 
The person with the luck of the draw for A Slice of Organic Life is … Erin! I loved reading everyone’s comments, so mucho gracias for sharing; look out for more giveaways soon. (0) #
