Earth Blog

Today may be the dreaded beginning of the week but as you slog through your Monday it’s never too soon to start thinking about the weekend.

Saturday is “National Kids to Parks Day” (KTP Day) and the official mascot, Buddy Bison of the National Park Trust (NPT), wants kids and their families to visit a green space. Parks -city, state, and national- across the country are hosting events to encourage people to experience and explore nature.

In the vintage Merrie Melodies cartoon titled “Wabbit Twouble” Elmer Fudd merrily motors his way to Jellostone National Park for a “westful wacation in the mountains.” He sets up his campsite only to be incessantly pestered by Bugs Bunny: a known “wascal”.  During the trip Fudd also accidentally riles a grizzly bear and Fudd is forced to leave in an angry huff. On his way out of the park he takes his aggression out on the entrance sign with an ax and lands in jail. But he is satisfied the solitude of confinement will provide him: “west and wewaxation at wast!"

Fudd may have been better off if he had chosen a seaside destination according to new research from Europe that was presented this week at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in London.

On Friday when the winners of the 12th annual RecycleMania competition were announced: it came as no surprise that Ohio University’s main campus in Athens, Ohio, placed first in the Mid-American Conference. They took home one of the “Grand Champion” titles by placing 43rd with a recycling rate of 43.79 percent.

Ohio University is where the competition began back in January of 2001 when their campus recycling coordinator challenged Miami University’s to extend their rivalry beyond sports and see who could recycle the most. That year Miami University was the victor in the one-on-one match-up by collecting 41.2 pounds of recyclables per person, compared to Ohio’s 32.6 pounds per person collected during the ten week period.

“Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin’ down the bunny trail
hippity hoppity
reducing his carbon footrprint
along the way!”

Tomorrow is Easter and Peter Cottontail asks in his famous song that you: “Try to do the things you should!” He also mentions you should be “extra good” and if so “he’ll roll lots of Easter eggs your way.”

Here are some tips to make Easter egg-stra special and green! That was the only and last egg pun that will be in today’s post.

Today is the last day of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) annual meeting, which has brought us fascinating news of biomimetics, a capsule that can clean up radioactive materials from liquids, and the most relieving news of all: chocolate is still good for you.

Yesterday, at a symposium called, “Cocoa: Science and Technology,” eighteen reports from international chocolate experts about the food’s main ingredient (cocoa) were given about the health benefits of practically everyone’s favorite candy.

“Chocolate is one of the foods with the greatest appeal to the general population,” said Sunil Kochhar, Ph.D., a Cocoa symposium participant. “The luscious aroma, taste and textures of chocolate have delighted the senses of people in many parts of the world for centuries and make it a well-known comfort food.”

Common wisdom has taught us the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. This same wisdom also tells us good habits will likely prevent future addiction.

Ever since “G-T-L” (gym-tan-laundry) entered the lexicon on a tidal wave off the coast of the Jersey Shore leaving in its wake: Snooki, sky-high heels, the faint scent of liquor, and weekly (if not daily) trips to the tanning bed, doctors have come forward against the practice.

Tanning wasn’t always popular and it was once considered a sign of being poor. Cultural lore thinks the tanning craze may have started when Coco Chanel returned from a vacation sunburnt and the tan became a sign of the sporty, upper-class and the season’s must- have accessory.

Doctors will say you need a little bit of sun but to apply sunscreen and other barriers to prevent cancer. Doctors do not suggest lying out for extended periods of exposure or overuse of tanning beds.

The San Diego car2go electric car sharing program was launched in November of last year as part of the Smart City San Diego initiative. Since then more than 6,000 people have registered to use the service and over 25,000 trips have been taken.

There were only 800 electric vehicles (EVs) in the city and now thanks to car2go there are 300 more EVs on San Diego’s roads-a 40% increase. San Diego is now one of the top cities in the world for electric vehicle drivers with an estimated 7,000 EV users.

“At a time when the cost of fuel is reaching record-high prices, San Diegans are looking for ways to reduce their dependence on fuel and for more cost-efficient modes of transportation; and car2go is a very logical choice for them," said Nicholas Cole, president and CEO of car2go.

Today is important because it’s Read Across America Day! A day millions of children across the United States and throughout the rest of the world will celebrate literacy. 

Schools, libraries, and businesses will also celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday and host Seuss-centric or Lorax themed activities. The Lorax opens in movie theaters and even though it hasn’t received praise from everyone, parents and educators are using the book and new animated movie as a launching pad to discussing this year’s green theme.

Suzy Amis Cameron knows the right clothes are needed to walk the red carpet. She has had to walk several red carpets as the wife of James Cameron, award-winning director of blockbuster hits like Avatar and Titanic.

In 2009 she founded Red Carpet Green Dress to raise awareness about sustainability and environmental stewardship through design. 

The organization recently announced the winner of their annual gown design contest, Miami’s Valentina Delfino, whose dress concept will be worn by actress Missi Pyle on tonight’s red carpet at the 84th Annual Academy Awards. Pyle is not nominated for an Oscar herself but is part of the cast of the heavily nominated film The Artist.

Singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant,  whom you might remember from such 90’s hits as “Wonder” and “Jealousy,” is the latest celebrity to speak out against hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Last year a group of actors including Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo, and Zoe Saldana appeared in a video called “I Love My New York Water” which was made by Clean Water Not Dirty Drilling.

Merchant has chosen to work with The Finger Lakes CleanWaters Initiatives, another non-profit that is also concerned with eradicating fracking.  She will headline with her band in a benefit concert to support a ban in her home state of New York. 

“Hydrofracking poses the greatest threat to clean drinking water in New York and Pennsylvania right now. Our opposition to this threat is imperative. I hope people can come to the concert to show their concern," says Merchant.

Today’s championship game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots has something for everyone. “Manning Face” enthusiasts will be delighted to count the number of times the camera catches Eli Manning scrunching up his face and Tom Brady fans can analyze his most controversial feature- his hair. It’s all so exciting you may even forget there is a game being played! 

Lucas Oil Stadium (LOS) is the home of this year’s Super Bowl XLVI (46) and as a multi-purpose stadium it’s used year-round for sporting events and functions. It’s managed by the same company as the Indiana Convention Center which is connected to LOS. The stadium seats anywhere from 15,000 to 70,000 people depending on the requirements and size of the event. LOS' ability to house that many people is a great power and with that comes a great responsibility to sustainability.

Children’s toys are a billion dollar business.  Part of the market is nostalgia-based as parents try to give their children toys similar if not exactly the same as the beloved objects of their own childhood. Another popular aspect of today’s toy market is making earth-friendly toys. You may be a parent that shuns plastic toys for wooden alternatives or tries to ensure that each toy that enters your home is educational but the bottom line remains: kids need toys.

This month the 109th American International Toy Fair will be held over four days in New York City. The Toy Fair is the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere for members of the toy industry or any kid-oriented company to show off their products.

Is there a packaging material more delightful and entertaining than Bubble Wrap®, especially for children? Perhaps a giant cardboard box? But Bubble Wrap® is an instant hit and can provide hours of fun by popping individual bubbles, rolling around in it or stomping on it gleefully. Now you can bust out the bubbly-wrap for a celebration because today is the 12th Annual Bubble Wrap® Appreciation Day! 

Sealed Air Corporation, a global provider of packaging for a variety of industries, is the maker of official Bubble Wrap® and they have created bubblewrapfun.com to highlight their most popular product. 

Timberland, whose boots were made for hiking and working, will be at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah to promote their brand as the Official Footwear and Outwear Sponsor. The company will provide their winter shoes and apparel for the filmmakers to wear and an estimated 2,000 pairs of winter gloves to all volunteers and staff. Support of film festivals, like Sundance, is part of Timberland’s Fade to Green program.

Fade to Green is an ongoing commitment to raise awareness of environmental issues and promote sustainability. By working closely with film festivals, like Sundance, they hope to inspire change the way filmmakers have with famous documentaries (and Sundance winners) like Super Size Me and Waiting for “Superman.”

This weekend is a holiday weekend and it’s no secret that people (but not all) like to drink alcoholic beverages on such occasions. When it comes to beer most drinkers don’t do much label reading because beer labels don’t have much information on them in the first place. The labels are required to have the Surgeon General’s warning, the alcohol content, and they have a little summary about the flavor the ingredients lend to the beer- to give customers an idea if they might like it.

There are beers that claim to be “organic.” That wonderful word that tells us we are living green and healthy. But isn’t beer inherently organic? We all know that beer is made of barley, hops, yeast, and mostly water.  We know that brewing is an ancient practice not limited to one specific culture. Is there a difference between beer and organic beer? Yes and it has to do with the treatment of the ingredients and where they originate before they ever reach a bottle.

Do you remember Captain Planet?  If you were a cartoon-watching child in the early 90’s, or the parent of such a child, you probably remember the show. If the details are hazy the end theme song may jog your memory a bit: “Captain Planet, he’s our hero, gonna take pollution down to zero”.  Its official title was Captain Planet and the Planeteers and it was created by Ted Turner, a television media magnate and philanthropist. The original show ran from 1990-1992 and a sequel, The New Adventures of Captain Planet, ran from 1993-1996. The premise was to teach children about environmentalism and conservation with a group of multi-cultural teens who possess magical rings that can summon Captain Planet to help defeat villains and their attempts to destroy the Earth through greed, consumption or pollution.

There is just twenty days until Christmas; have you been thinking about our Green Holiday tips? Have you started your shopping? If you haven’t there are plenty of green buying guides and ideas popping up all over the Internet to help a confused consumer get through the gift-giving season.

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. If you participated in the chain-store chaos of Black Friday here’s hoping you had a safe one without being pepper-sprayed over a super deal and went on to shop locally on Small Business Saturday. But now you need to start thinking about the kind of tree you want to buy and it’s not just about whether or not it leans a bit or if it’s a little thin on one side. What are the ornaments you use made of? Unfortunately, the work doesn’t stop there - you should start to think about the materials you are going to wrap your loot in so you can stack that loot gorgeously under your festively decorated tree. Does it sound overwhelming like the joy has just been sucked out of your holiday season? Fear not! A greener Christmas is a lot easier than you think.

A common thread among human beings is the planet on which we all reside. And even though the Earth is home to us all, not everyone is aware of the kind of damage we inflict upon the planet day-in and day-out. While the "green" trend has shed a substantial amount of light on environmental issues that plague our world, some may feel overwhelmed when it comes to getting involved with environmental conservation.

A carbon footprint refers to how much carbon a person, group, company, industry, or even country releases by performing everyday activities and the impact that number has on the environment. Carbon is recognized as a leading greenhouse gas, contributing to global climate change and the destruction of our physical environment. This is an important number to understand in order to recognize what steps must be taken to reduce individual emission averages.