Happy Earth Day!

Good morning friends of the planet, I love Earth Day because it reminds us that this rock we're standing on is something we really need to take care of all the time.

I came across this graphic on a friend's Facebook page today and thought it was the perfect Earth Day image to share.

What do you think? What are YOU doing to make the Earth a better place to inhabit on this day?

Happy Earth Day!

Yea Earth, yea planet!

Back on Tuesday I asked for suggestions of ways to celebrate today’s momentous holiday. Being the 40th annual Earth Day I really wanted to do more than just what I do every day; I wanted to do something special!

One of my bloggy friends wylde otse over at Feast of Dragons was poetic with his suggestion:

“wriggle your toes in the earth, pretend to be a tree (worry about being cut down, or burned by a forest fire)

take a deep breath - breathe out 'thank you'

pull in pretend branches - give yourself a hug - for all the thoughtful environmental things you have done this year.

just before sleep tonight, imagine Gaia - at one with planet earth - conscious of you.
send love; sleep sound.”

Sounds pretty good to me! Especially the thanking Earth part. While I’m on the run today I plan to pay even more attention to the budding leaves of trees and tulips that made an appearance over night, breathe deep and do my best to enjoy the sun as much as possible.

Other things we can do that are fun, cheap and/or free:

~ Download some free music from a GLR favorite artist here at Benjamin Taylor Music.

~ Walk everywhere instead of driving if possible.

~ Become a fan of Sun Chips on Facebook and they donate $1.00 to environmental education causes (today only!) for every new fan.

~ Drink filtered tap water, turn off the water while brushing teeth, flush one less time today.

~ Purchase a reusable tote called “Love Your Mother” with the Mass Farmer’s Markets logo and filled with organic, stone ground chocolate from Taza. It is $45 and includes an automatic $20 donation to the Mass Farmer’s Markets.

~ Join a Freecycle group (or 3!) near you today!

~ Start planting your garden.

~ See Disneynature’s new movie Oceans (which opens today) during its first run week and a donation of $0.20 per ticket will be made to The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt a Reef Program in the Bahamas. They pledge a minimum donation of $100,000!

Most importantly, have fun, get outside and enjoy the planet today! Thanks Earth for another great year! ♥love♥

Thanks to astronomy-pictures.net for the picture! A very fun site to explore (hint, hint, another great thing to do on Earth Day!)

How to Celebrate Earth Day?

This Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day marked to celebrate and embrace the planet we live on as a living and breathing entity. Here in the United States, the day falls on April 22 each year and has been an important teaching day to talk about the environment sine it was first proposed in 1969.

Even people who are not traditionally known as “Green” tend to do something better for the planet on Earth day but that leads me to the question in my post title…how should we celebrate?

Since I am a proudly self-proclaimed Greenie I already do a whole bunch of the things that are suggested as ways to show some eco love -- work from home most of the time, eat far less meat (almost none in fact!), use CFLs, wash in cold water, reduce/reuse/recycle, buy second hand or from local shops as often as is practical, unplug items not in use, do as much shopping on one day as possible to avoid multiple gas emission days, walk whenever possible, etc -- so what should an eco-attuned gal such as myself do to celebrate this momentous day?

Some of you may be having a similar problem right now considering my readers over here are certainly savvy environmental lovers who don’t just hug trees, they plant them too! But this leaves all of us with the difficult task of trying to determine the best way to do even more in honor of the planet; and it is just 3 days away, yikes!

I am stumped! If anyone has suggestions I am all ears! PLEASE give me some recommendations for ways to celebrate on Thursday and I will be forever grateful!

Cleaning up the town, post Earth Day

Hey all, Melissa again...back so soon because I needed to share a little Earth Day-related bit before it got to be the 4th of July!

This past Saturday was my little burg's town cleanup day, held, as in the past, the weekend closest to Earth Day. I'd been raring to go on this since about January, hoping to rally whoever I could to get out there and pick up some of the detritus that collects in any town over time.

Because the event coincided with my kids' soccer practice -- the reason I didn't participate last year -- I decided to try to tackle the soccer field and playground that are part of our town park. Thanks to the parents and especially the kids who joined me and mine on a hot, sunny April Saturday to do a little bagging duty!



Signs to rally some support....








Samples of what we found (there was plenty more where this came from)


Citizens pitching in to clean up a place they care about




In the end, we didn't have quite the volume of stuff I had envisioned, but that's what happens when the trash you pick up is mostly cigarette butts (yiiiiigh!) and candy wrappers. All the same, we had fun collecting (lots of golf balls and a few baseballs, as well) and got to feel good about brightening up our park. Can't wait to see if there are photos from the efforts that went on around the rest of the town.

And even now, I find we're all so much more alert to the bits and pieces of castoffs that line the roadways that it's hard not to slam on the brakes and jump out to pick stuff up. So instead of the usual "Make every day Earth Day" closing (with which I totally agree, by the way!), I think maybe I'd say, "Make every day town cleanup day!"

Closing the Carbon Loophole

President Barack Obama calls for clean energy; investing in it and the workers who will create and install these advances. He sees that the future of the planet depends on closing the loop and expresses those thoughts for the world to hear.

On a day like this, Earth Day, it is more important than ever to act on both the local and global levels to ensure our clean energy and economic future.

This is from President Obama’s press conference on April 14, 2009.



Happy Earth Day everybody!

How Do You Plan to Celebrate Earth Day?

Wednesday April 22, 2009 is the thirty ninth annual Earth Day -- an effort that began as a grassroots movement started by one concerned man, Senator Gaylord Nelson, when he announced the plan for a “teach-in” demonstration while speaking at a conference in Seattle back in September 1969. On April 22, 1970 approximately 20 million Americans took part in Earth Day celebrations, due to the efforts to spread the word across the country, led by Denis Hayes. As of now this event is held in upwards of 1,000 countries and celebrated by approximately one billion people world wide.

With such an amazing turn out it makes me wonder exactly what people will be doing tomorrow to celebrate, show support or simply commemorate this day dedicated to our planet.

We have nothing specific planned in our home because we attempt to treat each day of the year as if it were Earth Day and approach our lifestyle from a place of conscious thought as to what impact our actions might have on future circumstances. However, with that said, here are some of the things we do consistently that can easily be adopted to begin your own celebration for the planet:

♥ Recycle
♥ Turn off unused lights
♥ Unplug unused appliances
♥ Drive only as necessary
♥ Complete errands on one day as opposed to spreading out driving
♥ Take public transportation
♥ Ride a bike
♥ Eat less meat
♥ Use market bags and forgo plastic
♥ Switch utilities to wind power

This is a small fraction of things that can be done to place annual focus on the planet but if ever there was a great time to start it would be tomorrow on Earth Day! Share what you will be doing tomorrow to commemorate this world wide day of awesomeness!

Eco Movie Bio-Dome Gets Two Leaf Rating

As many of you know I also contribute to another environmental blog called The Organic Mechanic. My basic job description over at TOM (hey, there is TED why not TOM too right?) is to locate, interview and post anything related to artists working in an environmentally friendly way. I have been writing for them since June and it has been going pretty well but sometimes it is difficult to ensure a person responds to the questions sent to them. There is only so much email stalking I am willing to take part in. When the interview responses began to thin out I shifted gears to expand my horizons on the type of posting I was putting up there. The following review of Bio-Dome is a reprint of my original TOM post with only slight modifications for grammar and the title; I figured readers of GLR would like to check this out as well. Enjoy and if you do rent this movie, don’t say I didn’t warn you!



Released in 1996, Bio-Dome attempted to bring an eco-conscious attitude to the forefront of the burned out minds of teenage boys everywhere through use of crass humor and wild fantasy (such as the fact that not one but two attractive and intelligent women could actually be interested in the lead characters Bud and Doyle). If there was not an environmental back plot this flick would be classified, like many other movies starring Pauly Shore or Stephen Baldwin, as a “stoner” movie but because there is an effort to include a fantastic moral message, the bad acting and terrible script take a back seat in this review.

The plot is simple -- A couple of unattractive, lame guys with a generally cavalier attitude about the planet miraculously manage to date environmentally stringent and beautiful women then through a course of predictably moronic twists, somehow become locked inside, destroy and subsequently end up saving an entire, working eco-system.

Does this concept sound a bit far fetched? Remove the idiot character factor and that leaves us with a sealed, working eco-system. This notion is one that dates back to the early 1800’s when a British physician discovered that plants could grow under glass. It would be fair to assume that Nathaniel Ward would be proud to learn his findings were used as fodder for a comedy which is the basis for why this movie will get a positive review here.

Some concepts discussed in the movie are recycling, land clean up (litter is discussed several times) and an appreciation for Earth Day. The movie is not a motion picture epic but holds a slight bit of predictable humor while it promotes bettering the environment. That is a notion we should all support so I give this movie a Two Leaf Rating.

Whatchu Talkin Bout?

Here I am rambling on about all this environmental whoo-ha and it just occurred to me that some readers may be new to the eco lifestyle and have no idea what we are all going on about over here. How dare I post a bunch of bloggity blogs without first sharing what all of those fancy terms even mean?! Well before those fantastic people glaze over and click away, I will share a list of a bunch of environmental based terms and what they mean to me. I encourage everyone to post in the comments if you have questions about certain terms or have a different opinion on what it means to you. Please note there are some terms I will just post the dictionary definition for because they just seem to sum it up so nicely. Now in no particular order, let’s get talking people!

Environment -- The most important of all the terms. To me this is the all encompassing, includes everything term. The environment is not just the untouchable ozone layer or air we breathe but also the house we live in, the car we drive, outer space, the job we work at, the websites we surf, the water we swim in, fish, drink, the tiny little ant that crawls across the sidewalk to the greatest desert, the smallest creature on the planet, the polar ice shelf, You, me, all breathing things, you get the picture. If you experience it at any time with any of your six senses then it is the environment. Treat it well.

Green -- This is a toughie because everyone has a slightly different take on what this means but to me, green means being, doing and promoting the betterment of the environment as much and as often as possible. What is your take on this word as used in an environmental capacity?

Recycle -- Probably the most widely used and recognized term where environmental living is concerned. The dictionary defines this as: to treat or process (used or waste materials) so as to make suitable for reuse. This is important to remember – anything recycled in a traditionally adopted manner must go through another process to become something else. It will save that thing from being placed in a landfill (trash heap) but a process must be completed again to make the new item.

Upcycle -- Sort of like recycling except the item in question is generally not completely reprocessed, just repurposed or reused. Here is the difference: With recycling, I put a plastic bottle in my bin, it is taken to a plant, melted down and reformed into a plastic shopping bag. With upcycling I take a plastic bottle, cut it in half, coat the bottom with sticky back felt and use it as a pen holder. There is a process involved in repurposing that bottle but a lower impact process environmentally speaking. And I have a personalized, kick ass new pen holder to boot.

Eco -- This is simply the prefix used to shorten the length of an ecologically responsible word. Instead of saying “that shopping bag purse is an environmentally responsible item” we can be lazy and say “I love her eco-friendly purse!”. Eco-conscious, eco-responsible, eco-blogger, eco-mom, etc. What eco- do you define yourself as?

Repurpose -- Dictionary says: To use or convert for use in another format or product. This is another term for recycling, upcycling or reuse.

Earth Day – This is the day we greenies get to share the love of our blue and green marble in space with a whole slew of people that may not be focused on it any other time of year. There are amazing conventions, group meet ups, talks, discussions, actions and many other activities planned all over, you guessed it, the Earth on this day. In 2009 it is on April 22. Get involved!

Solar -- Fun in the sun baby! The heat and energy produced by everyone’s favorite flaming ball of gas is known as solar.

Passive Solar -- Collecting and using the rays of the sun without any mechanics. This is something I do every day and discussed here.

Photovoltaic Panels -- Cells in the form of flat panels (photodiodes) used to collect the suns rays and regenerate that into electric energy. This is known as Active Solar and they are sometimes referred to as PV’s.

Wind Turbine -- Wind, or kinetic, is harnessed through the rotating turbines (blades) and converted into energy. It is deemed a turbine when that energy is converted to electricity. Windmills use the power of wind to run machinery strictly.

Compost -- The dictionary tells us this is: a mixture of various decaying organic substances, as dead leaves or manure, used for fertilizing soil. Scraps of dinner or yard waste (like lawn clippings) can be saved and put back into the Earth to make a more nutrient friendly soil for planting.

Emission -- Basically a fancy-schmancy term for release or discharge. Every time we start and run our cars there is an emission created from the tail pipe for example. Emissions from many sources (methane gas, fossil fuels, etc), has led to increased air pollution across the planet. Using clean power such as solar or wind will help to keep emissions to a minimum.

Sustainable -- Anything that will continue to provide forever is sustainable. Wikipedia states “sustainability has been expressed as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. A fantastic explanation.

Renewable Resource -- Anything in nature that can be reproduced (or naturally recycled if you will) is renewable. A great example of a rapidly renewing resource used for many items would be bamboo. It grows quickly and can be easily replenished (also allowing for sustainability). A non renewable resource would be fossil fuel.

Global Warming -- The dictionary has a nice definition here: an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. So let’s break that down. The greenhouse effect happens when solar radiation is absorbed by gas in the atmosphere. It is natural and not a bad thing. When more of that radiation is trapped than escapes however it will lead to an increase in the temperature of the atmosphere in question. Temperatures in an overall sense go up and that results in warmer air and water. In our case the temperature on Earth has gone up by one degree in the past century. Now many people might be saying “big deal, one degree is barely noticeable so who really cares?”

Climate Change -- Here is where caring about the one degree really comes into play. Due to that seemingly tiny temperate increase so many things within our global ecosystem have shifted and not in a good way. Beach erosion is directly related as the sea levels begin to rise. When the sea becomes warmer the ice melts, just like in a glass of water. In that glass of water however is not an entire species that relies on the ice being there to survive. Ever wonder why there has been a significant increase in bizarre weather events of late like a tornado in Brooklyn or snow in southern California? All of this is a direct result of climate change.

Carbon Footprint -- Each of us have one because it is the measurable impact we all have on the planet. We can determine how much greenhouse gas is released through our individual daily activities (our personal emissions checklist). There are predictable and non predictable questions in a Life Cycle Assessment that help determine where we each stand and then we can truly gauge the areas we could cut back to help protect the first and most important term -- our Environment.