TI-I-I-M-MBERRRRR January 30, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Ecosystems.Tags: certified lumber, Forest Stewardship Council, Gibson guitars, Home Depot, Julia Roberts, Les Paul, Lowe's, Rainforest Alliance, Scientific Certification Systems, Smartwood, sustainable forests
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I blogged a while back about Julia Roberts’s new Malibu mansion, built from sustainably forested wood. A sustainably managed forest is more than just one where trees are planted to replace those cut down; the entire ecological balance must be taken into account as well as the state of communities affected by the forest. There’s a whole certification process that goes into this type of wood, headed up by people who really aren’t motivated by money (yes, there are still a couple of those folks kicking around) and surprisingly enough, encouraged by such giants as Lowe’s and Home Depot, who give preference to certified lumber and thus a big boost to small, conscientious manufacturers. This certified lumber tends not to be sold at prices that accurately reflect what goes into the process (while people like the idea of sustainably forested wood, the average consumer will only spend slightly more on it). Your average guitar player, however, may be a different story.
Open Wide the Green Gates January 28, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, agriculture, Beill Gates, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bono, Microsoft, World Economic Forum
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Bill Gates is going out with a bang. He’s stepping down from Microsoft and donating $306 million (a mere drop in the bucket of his billions, but a respectable chunk nevertheless) to a foundation for African farmers that he and his wife have started. This foundation is geared toward teaching new agricultural methods which will enable people to work their way out of poverty. Some of its goals are to help with farming education and training, to provide crops such as rice that can thrive in Africa’s often-harsh environment, and to strengthen connections to both local and global markets.“Of the billion people who live on less than $1 a day, three-quarters are small farmers,” he said in explanation of the agricultural focus. Think about this one: Mr. Gates is worth roughly $60 billion. If he were to distribute that to every one of the earth’s inhabitants, that’d be $10 a person, which would be ten times as much as 1/6 of the world lives on a day. And about what I have allotted to myself for a weekly budget.
It’s a Smorgasbord of Cardboard! January 25, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Climate, Pollution.Tags: California, cardboard, compost, Fiberwood, humanure, hydroseeding, landfills, mulch, Sacramento
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I’ve been reading a lot lately about humanure (a term which, I believe, is self-explanatory), but I gotta say, this concept is a little less… icky. Fiberwood, based out of Sacramento, CA (yay California!!!!), is a company that’s making mulch out of cardboard. In brief: tons of manufactured goods are constantly coming into the state, mostly in cardboard boxes. The cardboard winds up in landfills if not recycled. So Fiberwood is putting it to use–up to 100 tons a day!–for hydroseeding (mixing water and mulch at a ratio of 100 gallons for every 75 lbs. and then adding seeds to the mix; one application of this would be to restore ground cover in areas devastated by forest fires), and hydromulch (the mix minus the seeds; used to cover landfills in order to cut down on the smell emanating from them; 1/4″ thick layer of this mixture does the trick as well as a 6″ thick layer of soil). Thank God for people who are thinking outside of the (cardboard) box.
Less Julia Roberts and More Bilbo Baggins January 24, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Ecosystems, Lifestyle.Tags: Bilbo Baggins, compost toilet, J.R.R. Tolkien, Julia Roberts, Lord of the Rings, low-impact home, solar paneling, The Hobbit, Wales
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Not so much a $20 million Malibu mansion as a lovely hillside home in the Shire. But the concept’s the same… roughly. Ok, I’ll admit I’m stretching the association a bit. This house in Wales is slightly less, shall we say, ostentatious than a multi-million-dollar mansion. For about $6000, if my pound-to-dollar conversion skills are at all accurate–not even a 30,000th of Miss Roberts’ cost–this “low impact home” built into the side of a hill uses straw bales throughout for insulation purposes, as well as a woodburner for extra heat. Underground air is used to cool the fridge. Solar panels provide the light, and there’s even a compost toilet, and so much more. And you get to feel like you live in a fantasy novel, at no extra cost.
But Think About the Trees, Angels, the Trees! January 21, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Ecosystems, Lifestyle.Tags: Canada's Boreal Forest, Forest Ethics, Gisele Bundchen, Ipanema, Victoria's Secret
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I don’t know why it never occurred to me when I was perusing the shiny Vicky’s Secret catalogs that get delivered to our apartment on a weekly basis. Probably because I was too busy wiping up my liquid envy from Gisele’s legs (All of me reaches up to her knees). But hot damn! A lot of paper goes into these catalogs. And if my household alone can fill up our entire recycling bin just with the ones we get every month, then how many forests are getting chopped down for the 395 million catalogs that get sent out every year? Initially, none of the paper used for their catalogs was recycled and Canada’s sadly unprotected Boreal Forest was providing this paper. Once protests were staged, VS did start to come around. Good thing. In the age of Internet, there is absolutely no need for ecosystems to be destroyed in order for us to flip through glossy pages.
When I Am Laid in Earth… January 21, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Lifestyle, Pollution.Tags: alternative coffins, Ane Brun, burials, cremation, Laid in Earth, mercury emissions
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(which, by the way, is a fabulous song by Ane Brun)… do not cremate me. Cremation, in a nutshell, requires the same amount of energy for a 75-minute burning stint as one person tends to use in their home in a month, a staggering amount of both gas and electricity. In addition, mercury emissions and dioxins are released, further polluting the atmosphere. For my crossing-over, a cardboard box will do just fine, preferably with a tree planted atop my remains (yes, I’m doing my coffin-shopping now, while y’all are rocking your skinny jeans!). Cardboard or solid wood, such as bamboo or pine, which can decompose and then allow my body to decompose into the earth, is a better bet than the expensive coffins most commonly used in burials. These tend to be nothing more than a thin layer of wood on top of chipboard, which contains formaldehyde–good for preservation of dead people, bad for preservation of the earth.
Green in ‘08…and Beyond! January 16, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Climate, Lifestyle, Pollution.Tags: Ceres principles, energy-efficient buildings, GM, microcredit, renewable energy, sustainable economies, The Good Earth, Worldwatch Institute
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Good news, folks. Worldwatch Institute’s “State of the World 2008″ report has encouraging findings. Governments and businesses around the world are finally realizing the necessity/profitability of green projects (energy-efficient buildings, renewable energy) and sustainable economies–ones that employ renewable energy, practice effective recycling with almost no waste, have air that is as clean as possible, and, especially, that provide for the lowest-income members of the population. Even GM is adhering to a code of environmental principles, such as careful disposal of chemical and industrial waste. Most likely, resistance to a globally beneficial way of living will continue from certain sectors, due to ignorance, laziness, and greed; however, there’s a constant increase in the number and variety of people jumping on the greenwagon. This good earth isn’t finished yet.
These “real” housewives are more likely to recycle! January 11, 2008
Posted by beanstockd in Lifestyle.Tags: Housewives, Recycling
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What moves someone to recycle? Is it education, social awareness, or passion to conserve energy? Or a desire to fit in?
A recent study on 525 students and 154 housewives showed that housewives are more likely to recycle than students! How can it be that our generation, taught in school about global warming and the greenhouse effect, is less likely to separate glass from garbage than those who got us in this mess in the first place with their gas-guzzling cars and hairspray?!?! The study showed that environmental awareness does not always result in ecologically responsible behavior. One thing we can say for the real O.C. housewives–whatever your age, recycling is hot.
Candidates On the Greenwagon January 11, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Climate, Pollution.Tags: Barack Obama, cap-and-trade, Democrats, environment, Hillary Clinton, plug-in hybrids, presidential elections, public transportation
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It’s a good bandwagon to be on. With B-rack and Hils duking it out for the love of the people in ‘08, we’ve got ‘em both promising mega-change for the environment, with reassuringly comprehensive plans. Their plans mirror each other in a lot of ways–mainly their cap-and-trade system (companies are allowed a certain amount of pollution, and can essentially buy the ability to pollute more from those companies polluting less–up to a point), with an auction of pollution permits whose profits would go to help low-income families have energy-efficient homes. Obama has a more detailed vision for transportation, including allotting a bigger budget to public transport (which significantly decreases CO2 emissions) and investing in other non-driving options. Clinton’s transportation angle is investing in plug-in hybrid vehicles (with these, the electricity cost is much less than the cost of gas and there are less greenhouse gas emissions). My feel, for what it’s worth, is that Clinton tries to tackle a lot of different areas but is slightly vague in the execution, and I think the details are where it’s at.
(Thanks to Grist.org for a summary of the issues)
Beckham’s Feet Stink! January 9, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Energy, Lifestyle, Pollution.Tags: carbon footprint, Carbon Trust, cars, David Beckham, Radiohead, soccer
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David Beckham uses his feet for good, or, at least, for the world’s entertainment. His footprint, however, is another matter. Carbon Trust has calculated that, for the second year in a row, due to his 15 gas-guzzling cars and near-constant time spent in the air to and from soccer matches and other glorious celeb commitments (over 250,000 miles just last year!), Becks has the biggest carbon footprint in the world. Perhaps he would do well to learn from Radiohead and start using his own head a bit more.
