Eco Joe - Environmentally Friendly Home Selling Helper

My step mother is a Real Estate Broker so for years now I have known about the secret of the use of Saint Joseph that many Brokers use to assist in selling their listed homes. A small statue of Joe is buried in a particular location on the property and it is said he will assist in bringing in a buyer as he was always the guy who helped Jesus have a roof over his head.

The problem with most of the Saint Joseph statues out there is that they are made from plastic and if the Real Estate Agent or owner forgets to dig him back up again after the sale (or in our case can’t break ground due to snow cover!) the plastic and its coating can leech poisonous chemicals into the soil over time.

Probably not what Joseph had in mind all those years ago when he was working in construction right? Likely, no. So instead of using those chemically toxic versions Founder, Cindy Lin, developed and introduced us to Eco Joe.

The packaging Joe come in is minimal, from 100% post-consumer content and printed using soy based ink. It can also be recycled after use and it is recommended all over the box to do so. The company purchases carbon offset credits to account for its shipping impact and each quarter their proceeds support a different charity (they even take requests as to a new one to sponsor!).

But best of all is the statue itself. The 4-1/2” Joe statue is cast out of Earth friendly and non-toxic clay. It feels like one of those bare porcelain statues kids would get in ceramics class to paint but there is not a drop of paint on him. The price for the kit is reasonable too -- listed at just $14.99 as opposed to the plastic version at $10.99 -- well within range for most real estate pros.

With the strong likelihood that this practice will be adhered to by industry pros for generations to come I thin Eco Joe is a truly innovative product that helps keep the impact of divine intervention to the minimum possible, promotes social consciousness through donation to charity, is into recycling and minimal packaging and that is why I am awarding the ever elusive Five Leaf Rating to this cool concept!

Thanks for taking an already existing concept and improving on its planetary impact without compromising its function Eco Joe! ♥love♥

Nature’s Path Organics Cereal is a Great Way to Start the Day

Upon arriving home from a vacation a couple weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised to find a huge box, sent to me direct from Nature’s Path Organics, sitting by my front door. As most of you have likely garnered by now I love food -- love to eat it, smell it cooking and even have become more adventurous making it at home on a daily basis -- so when a big box of it is dropped at my door free of charge, you can bet that I am more than grateful; anxious to give it a try and share my findings with all of you.

What I found inside was seven boxes of cereals and a few granola bars! Holy cow! I knew there was no way I could eat all of these cereals myself so I called in the troops -- Matt, a friend Dan and my Mom (aka Judi FitzPatrick Studios).

This review is going to be fairly lengthy as I feel it is only right giving a little reaction to each of the products, since they are all so different, as well as sharing information on the company as a whole. Tuck in and be prepared to get a little hungry!

Dan was visiting from out of town for a few days so in the mornings we had an, as Dan so aptly dubbed it, “Executive Breakfast”. The first was the Flax Plus Maple Pecan Crunch. The main reaction he had was “mmm” as he went back for a second bowl. He commented that it was “uncomplicated, they didn’t try too hard with it just maple and nuts”.

The following morning we tried both Flax Plus Granola Vanilla Almond, and Optimum Strawberry & Yogurt. Vanilla Almond received the initial comment “ooh its good” but Dan felt it left a slight after taste which I believe might be from the flax seed oils. I enjoyed the crunch of the Vanilla Almond as it held up great in milk. The Strawberry & Yogurt Dan felt was a little too sweet for his taste but he enjoyed the flavors and textures. That one was actually my personal favorite.

A few days later I had an opportunity to test the Flax Plus Red Berry Crunch. The cereal was hearty and there were a surprising number of berries but my chief complaint is it got soggy fairly quickly. Still tasted great, just a bit soggy. Additionally, while completing the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk Boston in September, we were able to sample the Flax Plus Granola Pumpkin as small pouches were given out to test, so I already knew this flavor was light and also uncomplicated.

Matt had a nice big bowl of Sunflower Agave Plus Granola Crunch and was overall very impressed. So impressed in fact I asked him to shoot me a couple of his thoughts and here is exactly what he said:

“The Agave Sunflower Crunch was a pleasant surprise. The combination didn't work in my brain, but the flavors worked very well together. It was lightly sweet like a honey-cluster cereal, but the sunflower seed flavor balanced the flavor of the cereal well. I will definitely keep this one in the house from now on for a quick snack or healthy breakfast.”

Finally, I sent my mom home with a box of Flax Plus Pumpkin Raisin Crunch. Upon careful inspection of the box as well as the cereal my Mom deemed that “The flakes are much like any other whole grain flakes - tasty, crispy, not too sweet, a pretty shade of tan.” Unfortunately she was a little bummed that there was a decent amount of crunch but not much pumpkin or raisin included. She did think it was more yummy than the one we received on the walk but was keen to point out “a serving is 3/4 cup, not an entire cup, so it is much higher in fiber than the others, but also higher in calories when compared by dry measure”.

Overall it seems the four of us were mostly impressed with the yummy factor of Nature’s Path. Now I was off to discover just how cool the company itself really is.

On the homepage we are greeted by the motto “Eat well. Do good.” They have meant this for the past sixty years the company has been growing; it all started with an organic berry farm in 1949. The first experiments with cereal came in about 1971 as the company was focusing on all natural and organic, hand made foods for their supermarket LifeStream in Canada. Nature’s Path Food, Inc got its humble beginnings in 1981, introduced the breakfast line in 1985 and debuted their first cereal in 1988.

These folks are true innovators in the realm of awesomeness -- they were the first cereal company to ever be certified organic, they installed an organic garden and composting area outside their building in Richmond, British Columbia, they signed the Declaration of Sustainability and they firmly believe “Do good and it keeps coming back to you.”

I could go on for days about all the good these folks do! Their website is chock full of info on their involvement with organic agriculture, their amazing employee treatment (including incentives to buy hybrid vehicles and tuition assistance), purchasing of Green energy credits to offset plant generated energy, composting food waste, Their EnviroKidz efforts, and donating line waste to local farmers, in addition to so many other initiatives.

Want more anyway? The boxes are a great source of information and provide a good read while chowing down: They introduced the EnviroBox (10% less box) to save water, energy and paperboard (144 tons!). The box itself is even created from 100% recycled material.

So I took a trip to the cereal aisle in my everyday supermarket; want to know what I discovered? Not only is this brand widely available but the prices are in many cases less than those of the refined sugar and artificial flavoring varieties right next to it. Score!

With such a solid eye on the planet for so many decades, an amazing focus on social consciousness and humanitarianism, as well as maintaining the planet through organic practices, and just all around yummy products, I am granting Natures Path Organics the ever sought after and much coveted Five Leaf Rating!

Cereal lovers, snackers and those concerned with the way packaged foods are processed these days will all fall in love with at least one of their amazing flavors; I strongly suggest testing out a few to find your favorite. Thanks for such a strong eco focus Nature’s Path! ♥love♥

You Had Me at Chocolate, Taza Chocolate

Once in a while along comes a product that is so awesome I can not wait to share everything about it and when my Taza Chocolate showed up a few days ago I knew this would be one of those times the moment the stone ground cacao hit my tongue.

Taza is a local company to me, based out of Somerville, Massachusetts, and not too long ago I started noticing their round chocolate discs at the cash wrap of a few of my favorite locations. When my friend and I saw them at the Farmer’s Market shortly after that I knew there must be something to them so I picked up a package of their Nibs to see what the fuss was about.

I used the Nibs in a lemon pie recipe and they were just the right thing to give it some balance. I wanted more. As a self proclaimed chocoholic and a Greenie I am always looking for the perfect pairing so when I find out how wonderful a company is in addition to their chocolate, I sit up and take notice.

Using recycled winnower and roaster, shipping boxes that can be recycled and traditional stone grinding methods is just the beginning of what makes Taza Chocolate cool. Their chocolate bars come in the shape of a disc and a fairly compensated human is involved in every step of the process from the picking of the cacao beans to the packaging of the bar.

Oh yeah, did I mention most of their chocolate is Vegan approved and all of their product is certified 100% organic? Not to mention that founders Alex Whitmore, Larry Slotnick and Kathleen Fulton spent a good number of hours simply sourcing their first beans. They were only interested in purchasing from a sustainable farm where fair treatment practices were standard. Right on!

The company is dedicated to the environment from recycling efforts to direct trade, a reduced carbon footprint in manufacture to energy saving practices in the factory. In addition to these solid efforts Taza Chocolate also will deliver their product to patrons in Somerville and Cambridge by bicycle and they allow for local direct pick up at the factory.

As if all of this wasn’t enough they are currently working with a few Green initiatives locally to do their part to keep the community beautiful! This includes GoGreen Somerville and through this partnership they have begun working toward a zero waste facility via composting, recycling and donation efforts.

I can not find a single thing about this company that is not amazing! Because of this I feel it is my duty to bestow the long strived for, yet infrequently achieved Five Leaf Rating!

Taza Chocolate you are going in my cupboard, tummy and on top of everyone’s gift from now on as a little something extra. Thanks for sharing your love. Here is some right back!
♥love♥

Eco Fashion Friday Featured Designer Zulugrass Jewelry

Recently I was introduced to an amazing product, Zulugrass jewelry, a part of the Leakey Collection. I was immediately impressed with the product as well as the company model and I figured it was high time for an accessory feature on Eco Fashion Friday!

The Leakey Collection offers employment to over 1200 Kenyan women and men, which helps to further support upwards of 10,000 people, so the utmost care is paid to the current lifestyle of the Massai peoples (they call the shots on if a work location is placed in the area). The company supports the communities as 5% of each purchase is given back in the forms of education, health and infrastructure.

The company also utilizes environmentally sustainable materials. The primary being naturally dyed, sun dried beads made out of local grass. Cool! Coordinating Czech glass accent beads give extra sparkle. They are water and sun-fade resistant, stretchy (one size fits all) and come in upwards of 150 different colors. Oh yeah, and the company boasts the elastic will wear up to six years worry free. Nice.

I tried two together, wrapped them around my wrist and put them to the test wearing them in the shower, rain and sun and they still look marvelous! I will likely wear them all summer, casually draped around my ankle.

The jewelry is showcased in shops and boutiques in over twenty countries internationally as well as in their online store and retails for around $3 - $11 per strand. Due to the humanitarian and philanthropic efforts, and considering each strand has upwards of 180, hand strung, Zulugrass and 40 plus glass beads, the cost is well within reason.

I am hard pressed to find anything not fantastic about this company or the jewelry as it is a simple, inexpensive design that is universal (dress up or down) and the efforts to support formerly failing communities go above and beyond amazing. With that said I am granting the Zulugrass jewelry line the prestigious Five Leaf Rating!

Keep up this amazing work promoting awesomeness, Leakey Collection, I am happy to be a part of it ♥love♥

Eco Fashion Friday Featured Designer Revenge Is

Last week I featured the Revenge Is tee as part of the Eco Fashion Friday series and while researching the company I was so utterly impressed that I knew they deserved their own review and feature!


Right away the tag line “Making activism fashionable” greets you as you enter their website. They could not be more right on. Utilizing organic cotton in their tees is just the beginning. How about recycling 3-5 plastic bottles and after melting them down turning it into a fiber that creates clothing. Not a joke, these folks are using upwards of 65% RPET (recycled plastic) in their shirts. A market tote they sell is 100% RPET, now that is eco-fashion! They create tees for men, women and kids to spread the word about environmentally responsible practices.

One might think the cost for such innovative design would be through the roof but overall their price is right in line with other graphic tee designers as they hover in the $30 range. Not bad for keeping a whole bunch of plastic out of landfills. The shirts are screen printed using soy based inks and the children’s tees also contain no PVC, Phthalates, Formaldehyde, Heavy Metal, or APEO to ensure the health of kids.

Then there is the shipping method they use -- all tees are shipped in Tyvek bags to reduce weight, potential of damage and conserve space on the delivery trucks. Oh yeah and they encourage reuse of the bags by turning them inside out but if you don’t want to they allow for returns of the bag so they can properly recycle it either at Tyvek’s facility in Virginia or at Revenge Is offices in Los Angeles, California.

The way I see it, Revenge Is…a Five Leaf Rating! Top honors for such a top notch company doing all they can to make a difference in this eco fight.

Keep on keeping on and get your Revenge! ♥love♥

Contaminated Without Consent

During the last Bennetts Brook Green Group meeting one of the organizers, Julie, shared a DVD with me about chemical contaminates called Contaminated Without Consent. With so many different subjects to cover we did not watch it that night but she sent the link and I was able to sit and watch this sixteen minute movie this morning. It is frightening to think how many chemicals are present in our bodies that have come from nothing more than our food, air and water. Especially our children, factory workers and people proximate to those factories. The information from the studies is as recent as two years ago.

By clicking on the picture below you will be taken directly to the video on YouTube but if you would like to learn more about the Organization and the studies they are conducting please use the above link to visit the Organization website here.


So what can we do? Researching the products we use and the ingredients they are created from is the first step in protecting ourselves from toxins and harmful chemicals but in reality we need to collectively stand up and say, hey, we are not comfortable with this so companies will remove these chemicals from the products we use; the products they create.

As an eye opener and awareness vehicle I am awarding this movie a Five Leaf Rating. Please take a few minutes and watch to start protecting yourself today.

Eco Fashion Friday Featured Designer Jon Marro of Blend Apparel

Finally something for all the guys out there as well as the gals! The last couple Eco-fashion Fridays were definitely for the environmental gals but this week I am giving a major shout to Blend Apparel. This company is founded on one thing -- love. Love for each other, the planet, comfort and originality. How much more awesome does it get than that?

Jon Marro, Founder, Owner and all around Blend Apparel Guru, creates T-shirts from organic cotton and bamboo fibers using environmentally friendly inks/dyes and printing methods. Did I mention the company’s servers are also run using wind power? Did I also mention I have had the pleasure of interviewing Jon before? He shares a passion for art and how “iconography” can bring the world together. And it is all done with enormous love.


The average cost online for a plain old bamboo fiber or organic cotton T-shirt falls in the range of about $20, so considering there is a conceptual graphic design, applied using an eco-friendly processes on each shirt, the average price point of about $25 is well within reasonable. Never mind the fact I have spent more than that on a shirt from a concert which lasted half as long and was less than half as comfortable.

In all honesty I have read through their entire website (a few times actually, go ahead, call me a groupie) and attempted to find something wrong but Jon has such a big heart for the Earth it spills out all over his designs and I have no choice but to grant the company the very honorable Five Leaf Rating!

Keep up the amazing work Jon and we will keep spreading the word.
♥love♥

The Solution for Used Toner and Ink Cartridges

Quick -- raise your hand if you have used a Xerox copier, printer or fax machine? Now keep your hand up if you have ever been forced to throw away the empty ink or toner cartridge because you had no idea what else to do with it? Aha! Just as I suspected, many of us have. Well never again will I be doing this now that I have discovered the safe haven known as Cartridge World!

Yesterday I was helping my favorite Accountant reorganize her office and there was a stack of old, empty cartridges just hanging out in the corner. She told me she does not want to pitch them but did not know what else to do. I was convinced the town had a DPW station where they could be dropped so we did a quick Google search but came across Cartridge World instead.

Upon exploring their website we discovered that one of the company’s over 1600 international* locations was conveniently only about five minutes away. Their website said they took just about anything so even though some of her items were from printers that even the most seasoned Techie Geek has never heard of, we boxed them up and took a ride down there. She went in with a full box saying ‘wish me luck’ and came out empty handed with a smile. She said he even thanked her and it cost nothing to drop off! Score!

The stores are franchised locations (independently owned and operated) and in addition to recycling old empty cartridges they might just carry replacements for the toner cartridge that was just dropped off. Make sure to get a toner Recycling Collection Bin from your local store and start collecting not only yours but your friend’s and family’s, office’s or neighbor’s cartridges so everything can be recycled and kept out of landfills. Cartridge World is committed to a Greener Environment and they are proving it.

I have read every page of their website, and now have first hand experience with the convenience and eco-impact of this company, so although I have tried to find anything preventing it I have no choice but to grant Cartridge World the illustrious and well deserved Five Leaf Rating!

I am truly impressed by this amazing business model making a surge to employ local workers, encourage entrepreneurship and do their part to save this planet. Way to go, keep up the amazing work!

To find a location near you please visit their website or call 1-888-99-REFILL

* currently operating locations in the US and Canada.

Fox Show "24" Goes Completely Carbon Neutral

There are only a few shows I watch these days and one of them is the action packed Fox show 24. This past Monday night, we learned during one of the commercial breaks that this show has become the first ever television program to become completely carbon neutral. Way to go 24!

The information could have been easily missed as they did not tout the fact repeatedly (as I felt they should have!) but rather, during just one commercial break, Kiefer Sutherland simply asked people to check out fox.com for more details. After a bit of searching I came across the article detailing the show’s environmental efforts.

About a year ago the show aimed to reduce their carbon footprint and through strong efforts managed to do so by 43%. By acquiring additional carbon offsets (wind projects) they will achieve the complete reduction of the show’s remaining 57% this year. Please check out the article by News Corp to review the twelve initiatives the entire cast and production crew have accomplished since the start of filming season seven. There have been four announcements filmed (the first as referenced above) and all will be aired during the show on Monday nights. These PSA’s will not only alert the public viewing population to the efforts of the show itself but what we as individuals can do to reduce our own carbon footprint for a positive impact on climate change.

With this solid of an effort I am granting 24 the very honorable Five Green Leaf Rating!

I hope every show on television takes a cue from 24 and works as intently to reduce or completely neutralize their own carbon footprint. I will be watching every week and applauding your Green adventures!

Forcing the Recycling Issue

Over here at Green Leaf it is rare that I copy and paste a news story as I like to put my own spin on things but this one is too good not to share just as it is. I am not quite sure what to make of the person behind this “hoax” but I will tell you what, they get a Five Green Leaf rating in my book not only for the content of their letter but for the ingenuity!

This story is taken from the Thursday edition of The Boston Globe and shared on boston.com; the title of the article is linked to the original. Enjoy!

Prank attempts to get Boston residents to put out recycling bins
By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

If you see your neighbor carrying his recycling bin out to the curb Friday morning, tell him to relax. It was all a prank, perpetrated by someone who apparently wanted to see the streets of Boston abounding in blue.

A hoax letter written on official-looking City of Boston letterhead went out to some residents in recent days, demanding that people put out their blue recycling bins for the city to pick up by Friday morning or face a hefty charge on their real estate tax bill.

“Unfortunately for the very few not willing to comply, we have been approved by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to add a standard fee of $327.00 to your real estate tax bill,” said the letter. “The Boston city council has also approved this measure. Your last chance to avoid penalties will be Friday, February 13, 2009. Please place bins on sidewalk by 9 a.m. on this date.”

The name of the signer on the letter was a giveaway. When pronounced phonetically, it was an expression containing an expletive.

“This is obviously a prank,” said spokeswoman Dot Joyce. “The most concerning part was that someone used City of Boston letterhead.”

The city learned of the hoax when a West Roxbury resident called to ask about it today. The city doesn’t know how many people received it or who wrote it.”

City officials are investigating, Joyce said.

Thank You

This blog started out as nothing more than an idea based on a desire to share information about how fantastic we can make our local and global environments if we all give a little heart and soul to the cause. I have been sharing snippets and bestowing Leaf Ratings for just under two months now and I guess it must be going ok because my little corner of the virtual world just received over 1500 hits!

It is not enough to simply thank everyone who has made the effort to follow, subscribe, read, comment and contribute to this eco-journey we are all on together so instead I would like to happily grant a Five Leaf Rating to all of you as a sign of my most sincere gratitude for your support.

Every bit of happiness and joy is sweeter when I share it with all of you!

And Now Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Reviews…

WHEW! What a whirlwind of amazing energy that has been swirling about the past couple days! To instantly feel a shift in the attitude and mood of the entire planet to one of optimism still has me on a high I have never felt before. Due to that fact I am giving the entire country a Five Green Leaf Rating today. You deserve it United States for standing up and fighting for hope, for change.


Yes We Can.
Yes We Did.
YES WE WILL!!!

The Everything Green Living Book

About three weeks ago at my local Barnes and Noble I quite by accident stumbled across this book and wow am I ever happy I did! The Everything Green Living Book is a thorough guide with oodles of pertinent information, but it is written in a very easy to understand voice making it a fantastic resource for not only a beginner but an expert looking for a few new tips or tricks. The cover caught my eye immediately, due to the words Green Living, and as I continued to visually scan it, I noticed the recycling symbol in the upper left corner. This book is printed on 100% post consumer waste paper. Hooray! I was intrigued and began to flip through.

There are twenty chapters, 277 pages of jam packed information, covering everything from the world as it stands now through how to be environmentally responsible even when we die. The foreword is written by Christopher J. Maron, Program Director of the Adirondack, NY Nature Conservancy and he encourages adopting our own conservation ethic. Flipping the page, prior to even viewing the Introduction, there is a list of Ten things each person will take away after pouring through this book and the final one caught my eye “If you take an ecovacation, you’ll be helping the environment while supporting a local economy and having a great time.” Again, this piqued my interest but I was determined to read through the Introduction before going back to the table of contents to scan for the chapter containing information on ecovacations.

Upon reading the Introduction I chuckled as it clearly states “Many people may be surprised at what topic piques their interest.” I was not as much surprised as I was curious what advice this book would include for taking an ecovacation so as I completed the Introduction, I flipped right over to Chapter Thirteen, Vacations and Travel. The thirteen pages in this chapter review terms, pros, cons, how to do it, parks (in the United States), souvenirs, festivals and stay-cations. Included are questions, facts, tips and alerts in separate little boxes to punctuate the information. This format is true for all the chapters and not only does it make the book extremely easy to navigate but helps to hone in on specific bits of information within each larger category as well.

The end of the book includes three Appendix sections including resources (books and websites), a glossary of terms and finally a quiz to determine our own footprint. After completing reading the section I was most interested in it was clear that the level of available information could not be matched in any of the other books I owned and I went back to the beginning to read through the entire book in just two nights! When I came to the very end my brain was buzzing with such a great feeling I was truly inspired -- this book is one of the reasons I started writing this blog, researching local groups and decidedly becoming more involved in maintaining the environment around me. For all of these reasons and more I recommend that everyone check this book out (as a side note I checked with my local library to see if it could literally be checked out however the network of libraries that includes my town does not carry this particular title however I strongly encourage everyone to look into that in their own area as a greener option).

With all of this in mind I am bestowing a Five Green Leaf Rating on this wonderful resource material!

To purchase the title you can either click on the cover image above and be taken to Barnes and Noble online or feel free to check out the Adams Media associated website where the book can be purchased direct.

Please note the cover photo is not stolen from the internet but is my own book which I scanned in.

Strange Days Indeed

Show of hands, who is a fan of Edward Norton? I will take a tally later but for right now let me share all the reasons why I think he is the Mack Daddy (Is it still hip to use that term? Is it still hip to say hip?)

He is a stellar actor with amazing range; he pulls off just about any role convincingly. The guy could be Mr. America – social activist, intelligent (did I mention he graduated from Yale?) looks great in a swim suit…

All of this is wonderful but when I found out that he was a staunch environmentalist and humanitarian who supports such efforts as BP’s Solar Neighbors program, Enterprise Community Partners (on the Board of Trustees) and Friends of the High Line (Board Member) I went looking for even more information.

Norton appeared on the stage in front of thousands in Washington DC this past April at the annual Earth Day Celebration speaking to the need for us, as a generation, to step up and not only demand, but actually go out and fight for change. Stop driving the gas guzzling, emission producing cars, stop eating trans-fat laden foods, stop being lazy and get out there to make a difference in the planet. This video from YouTube, captured that day, is one of my favorites as it embodies his passion for the planet.



After watching it occurred to me that although he was reluctant to be a big time celebrity, the fact that he is allows his voice to be heard in mass. I decided to rent all his films on Netflix; when he gains fame his name and face are more readily recognized allowing him to spend more time motivating all of us to do the right thing by the environment. While adding movies to the queue I came across a four part documentary series from 2005 hosted by Edward Norton called Strange Days on Planet Earth. The series, presented by National Geographic for PBS, details four of the ways our planet is in danger that we may not even realize: Invaders, The One Degree Factor, Predators and Troubled Waters.

Norton narrates and hosts the entire four hour series describing in detail the state of the planet. He is well spoken and convincing but it is clear that he is not just playing some character this time. This is him speaking to all of us.

The series is compelling and visually stunning taking the viewer all over the globe from locations such as Lake Guri, Venezuela, South Africa, The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, to our own back yards in the United States. Invaders details the trouble a foreign insect, plant or animal can cause when they are introduced either purposefully or inadvertently to a new eco-system they were never intended to inhabit. The One Degree Factor discusses how distressed the planet has become due to climate change, that every corner of the globe is affected by the increase of the Earth’s average temperature by one simple degree. Predators showcases the need for this group, not the necessity of destroying them, in order to maintain a natural balance within their prey be it plant or animal.

Troubled Waters, the final part of the series, was perhaps the most disturbing to watch but the most critical as well. Through six separate stories Norton introduces us to the fact that Atrazine, chlorine by-products, mercury, nitrogen and any number of the roughly 2,000 newly synthesized chemicals produced by the US each year could be in some or all of the Earth’s waters. Oceans flow to rivers which in turn may end at lakes. Creeks flow into ponds or reservoirs and all of this water eventually finds its way into our system. With the chemical cocktails being introduced in all water (tap and bottled spring water) it is not surprising to find death rates of whales, miscarriages of women or decay of coral reefs on the rise. Just this morning I was reading a blog written by Julie where she voiced the same concerns.

So what can we do about all of this? We can watch the series and then join any and all organizations in our own area to help spread the word and fight for change. I strongly encourage a visit to the PBS website dedicated to the newly expanded series (two new parts have been released; see your local listings for airtimes). There are suggestions on ways to help and links to organizations across the United States where we can all get involved.

Individually we may not be as widely recognized as Edward Norton but collectively we can and will have an even greater overall impact and that is why I am giving both Norton and the Strange Days on Planet Earth series, Five Leaves!