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Edwards Campaign Goes Carbon Neutral and Helps Voters Do It Too!

Edwards Campaign Goes Carbon Neutral and Helps Voters Do It Too!: "

John Edwards is the first presidential candidate to go carbon neutral. Not only has the campaign taken steps to offset its carbon footprint and conserve energy, they have also launched ReduceYourCarbon.com a site that lets people pledge to reduce carbon emissions through concrete steps like changing incandescents to fluorescents, adjust the thermostat, improve fuel economy through reducing driving or keeping tires inflated.

Yahoo has gone carbon neutral also!

Support Net Neutrality

We have to support the essence of the Internet...

How to recycle your computer

How to recycle your computer | Salon.com News is a great article on how to recycle those pesky computers we all have on our desks.

Technorati Tags: recycling, environment

10 Things You Should Never Buy Again

1. Styrofoam cups  
Styrofoam is forever. It's not biodegradable.  
Alternative: Buy recyclable and compostable paper cups.  
Best option:  Invest in some reusable mugs that you can take with you.

2. Paper towels  
Paper towels waste forest resources, landfill space, and your money.  
Alternative: When you do buy paper towels, look for recycled, non-bleached products. Search the National Green Pages™ for recycled paper products.  
Best option: Buy dishtowels or rags to wash and reuse.

3. Bleached coffee filters  
Dioxins, chemicals formed during the chlorine bleaching process, contaminate groundwater and air and are linked to cancer in humans and animals.  
Alternative: Look for unbleached paper filters.  
Best Option:  Use reusable filters such as washable cloth filters.

4. Overpackaged foods and other products  
Excess packaging wastes resources and costs youmuch more. Around thirty three percent of trash in the average American household comes from packaging.  
Alternative: Buy products with minimal or reusable packaging.  
Best Option: Buy in bulk and use your own containers when shopping.

5. Teak and mahogany  
Every year, 27 million acres of tropical rainforest (an area the size of Ohio) are destroyed. Rainforests cover 6% of Earth's surface and are home to over half of the world's wild plant, animal, and insect species. The Amazon rainforest produces 40 percent of the world's oxygen.  
Alternative: Look for Forest Stewardship Council certified wood.  
Best Option: Reuse wood, and buy furniture and other products made from used or salvaged wood.

Learn how to become WoodWise at home and in your office »

6.Chemical pesticides and herbicides  
American households use 80 million pounds of pesticides each year. The EPA found at least one pesticide in almost every water and fish sample from streams and in more than one-half of shallow wells sampled in agricultural and urban areas. These chemicals pose threats to animals and people, especially children.  
Alternatives: Buy organic pest controllers such as diatomaceous earth.  
Best Option: Plant native plants and practice integrated pest management. Plant flowers and herbs that act as natural pesticides.

7. Conventional household cleaners  
Household products can contain hazardous ingredients such as organic solvents and petroleum-based chemicals that can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into your indoor environment, positing a particular danger for children. The average American household has three to ten of hazardous matter in the home.  
Alternative: Look for nontoxic, vegetable-based, biodegradeable cleaners.  
Best Option: Try making your own green cleaner using vinegar, water, and castile soap.

Find safe, green cleaners in the National Green Pages™»

8. Higher octane gas than you need  
Only one car in ten manufactured since 1982 requires high-octane gasoline. High-octane gas releases more hazardous pollutants into the air, and may be bad for your car.  
Alternative: Buy the lowest-octane gas your car requires as listed in your owner's manual  
Best option: Make your next car purchase a hybrid.  Or ditch the car and take public transportation, ride a bike, or walk.

Learn more about green transportation »

9. Toys made with PVC plastic  
70% of PVC is used in construction, but it is also found in everyday plastics, including some children's toys. Vinyl chloride, the chemical used to make PVC, is a known human carcinogen. Also, additives, such as lead and cadmium, are sometimes added to PVC to keep it from breaking down; these additives can be particularly dangerous in children's toys. PVC is also the least recycled plastic.  
Alternative: Avoid plastics that are labeled as "PVC" or "#3." Look for #1 and #2 plastics, which are easier to recycle and don't produce as many toxins. Use sustainable construction materials.  
Best option: Take action to tell manufacturers to stop using PVC plastics, especially in children's toys.

Find safe toys in the National Green Pages™ »

10. Plastic forks and spoons  
Disposable plastic utensils are not biodegradeable and not recyclable in most areas.  
Alternative: Use compostable food service items. Companies such as Biocorp make cutlery from plant materials such as corn starch and cellulose.  
Best option: Carry your own utensils and food containers.

How to be an Activist

Great article by the ED of Sierra Club Canada on the essence of being an activist. 

There is no formal school for activists. No university degree qualifies the graduate to practice grassroots organizing. Environmental activists, like many other practitioners of social change, come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, and even from all political parties. And all of us learn from experience. On the other hand, we should be able to benefit from the experience of others. Unfortunately, more often than not, people suddenly find themselves in a situation that requires a certain moral heroism. They had not planned to become activists.

Building Social Movements

Charles Dobson's summary of what works in social movements (10 page PDF) is a refreshing piece of work. If you're not familiar with the scholarly literature on effective social movements, then this would be a great place to start. He explores preconditions for success, individual inducements, the ingredients of micro-mobilization, and the maintenance of movements.

Drop that Nalgene Bottle

STUDIES SHOW THAT THE POPULAR WATER BOTTLE MAY POSE SERIOUS HEALTH RISKS By Brenna Doheny, Daily Barometer (OR), Feb. 18, 2004

Studies show that the popular Nalgene water bottles may pose serious health risks, breaking down and contaminating their contents. The bottles are made of Lexan polycarbonate resin, the same material used in bulletproof windows, compact discs and DVDs. From outdoor enthusiasts, to athletes, to students at OSU, the hydration method of choice is a colorful Nalgene water bottle.

While these durable, lightweight and undeniably trendy bottles seem like the perfect choice for the health-conscious consumer, scientific evidence indicates that the very plastic which makes the bottles so ideal may pose serious health hazards.

Options:

http://www.kleankanteen.com/

Food Alliance

Link: Food Alliance is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable
agriculture by recognizing and rewarding farmers who produce
food in environmentally friendly and socially responsible ways,
and educating consumers and others in the food system about
the benefits of sustainable agriculture.

Environment Polling

Various polling results on the environment and associated issues.

Car free and silent for 17 years

Amazing piece and interview with John Francis, a "planet walker" who lived car-free and silent for 17 years.

http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2005/05/10/hertsgaard-francis/index.html

Global NO2 Map

Interesting map of global NO2 by the European Space Agency Scary to see what is happening around the world.

(click on the "news attachment" link to see it) Check out china.

World Conservation Congress

World Conservation Congress

Aloha and Sawadee Krup,

I am at the WCC this week to cover and talk about invasive species in world trade.  It is an amazing gathering of like minded folks from all around the world covering a plethera of issues.  Way to many to attend, even though I wish I could listen to everything.  It is often sad to listen to the destruction of our world, our biodiversity - the life that makes our world unique.  We are loosing at least one species every day to extinction while homogenous landscapes and biomes continue to proliferate due to the movement of invasive species through trade.  As the dominant species on the planet we have an obligation to care for mother earth.  When will people listen and realize this?  As a speaker from Kenya pointed out today - when people are unable to find food to survive a week, will they be able to think about longer term issues such as HIV/Aids?  biodiversity?  climate change?  Where do we begin?  The folks here at WCC struggle with the question of priorities and allocating scarce conservation resources.

So go out there and act locally!  It really is the solution to a global problem.

The World Conservation Congress is the general assembly of IUCN members, which takes place every three to four years. The Congress combines the business of the Union with technical conservation fora and provides an opportunity for the sharing of information and experience among IUCN's worldwide constituency of members, Commission members, stakeholders and partner organizations. The Congress encompasses three principal elements: conducting the business of the Union, assessing the work of IUCN Commissions and taking stock of conservation.

United, Not Divided

MoveOn.org: United, Not Divided

Congress is about to vote on amending the U.S. Constitution to deny marriage equality to same-sex couples. Never before has our Constitution been amended to take away anyone's rights. Yet our Senators will vote on this amendment in the next 48 hours. It's urgent that we speak up now. This hateful divisiveness has no place in America.

We can't let anyone, or any group, be singled out for discrimination based on who they are or who they love.

The Conscious Consumer

The Conscious Consumer is a new website by the Center for a New American Dream that helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environment, enhance quality of life and promote social justice.

Socially Conscious Scanner

A NYT article talks about a project my MIT grad student James Patten that creates a portable bar code reader that ties into a database to give the user information on the product being scanned.

Weak ties and social software

Gideon Rosenblatt has a great short article discussing how weak and strong ties are being stretched by social software. A great primer read.

The Precautionay Principle

There is a great article about the precautionary principle at Lawrence Solum's legal theory blog. This is a basic tenant of environmentalism and has even been incorporated into aspects of international agreements such as the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) which the US is NOT a signatory.... does that suprise you?

A Social Ecology of Wireless Technology

An interesting article on First Monday about the social ecology of wireless technology.
Wireless technology serves many valid human purposes. Wireless technologies have penetrated the remotest corners of the globe and will soon be ubiquitous, with billions of units in use. In this report we consider both costs and risks of wireless technologies, employing a holistic framework for evaluating technological impacts. We discuss wireless technology in developing countries, environmental issues associated with wireless, and health concerns.

Out to get yah!

Check out this site that lists all sorts of activist groups and their profiles, funding, etc. It really has a distorted view of what groups are trying to do. Yet again another propaganda campaign, this one just happens to be funded by Center for Consumer Freedom (supported by Monsanto).

Declaration of Digital Democracy

Just read an interesting article about the 10 citizen rights in a Digital Democracy at the Center for Digital Democracy site.

Tell stories through blogs

Wired News: Bloggers Opening Western Eyes is a great story describing how blogs can be used by nonprofit organizations to share the on the ground work that is being done all over the world. This story focuses on interns from The Advocacy Project circuit-riding in Bosnia, Nepal, Lebanon, Israel, Kosovo, Italy, Nigeria and the Czech Republic.

HTML vs. Text emails

Beth Kanter sent me a couple of article talking about the pros/cons of text vs. html emails.
HTML Always Outperforms Text? Don't Stake Your Career on It by Heidi Anderson http://www.clickz.com/article.php/977571
Describes case study of Wall Street Journal testing text/HTML. Key Point: If you're considering an email marketing campaign of your own, don't believe what everyone will tell you: that HTML always outperforms text. Consider your options. And your audience.
CRM and Switching To HTML Format By Janet Roberts http://ezine-tips.com/articles/format/20021227.shtml There are some advantages to switching to HTML format, but it is customer relationship issue that needs to be thought through.
The Dirty Secret of HTML vs. Text E-newsletters... Two sides to the publishing equation By Debbie Weil [May 14, 2003 issue] http://www.wordbiz.com/archive/htmlvstext.shtml