By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Here’s a movie you never thought they’d make.
Coming to the big, or maybe small, screen near you, a film…about…laundry!
With a short opening feature on watching paint dry.
OK, so that’s mean and I’m kidding, but not about the movie. Drying for Freedom is really in the works, but it’s not just about [...]
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
I woke up at 5 a.m. on Sunday. I wasn’t sure why. The house was quiet and there was a soundless rain outside. I was planning on snuggling back into bed for at least two more hours after checking on the old dog — assuming it was she-who -needs-to-go-out-at-exceedingly-early-times who woke me.
I decided to check on the teenagers too. And there in the in the “playroom” or Texas basement or whatever you call that room over the garage, was a nightmare of electricity consumption. The room was ablaze in light. The TV was blaring. The DVR was glowing. The 14-year-old asleep on the couch as only someone his age could be. He was sent to his room — where a light also had been conveniently left on.
Midway into Ken Burns’ new ode to American history, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (starting on PBS Sept. 27), the filmmaker tells how the nation’s early park caretakers realize that wildlife is integral to preserving the parks.
You’d think this would have been obvious. But it came as an epiphany in the 1930s, decades into the development of the park system.
Oddly, until then, the public had been so busy ogling mountains and gaping at the exotic canyons of America’s national parks, that the animals seemed secondary, even incidental. Wildlife appearances were welcomed, of course. Bison wandering through a Rocky Mountain meadow enhanced the mountain vista beyond. Mountain sheep verified that one was high in the Rockies and the faithful appearance of the Yellowstone bears at the “bear dumps” or roadside feeding stops made an excursion to see Old Faithful complete.
There’s a nice symmetry to this green trend that’s taken root among financial institutions. Aware that their paper-spewing tendencies carry a high carbon price (not to mention their actual price), many banks and credit companies are planting trees for customers who agree to forgo paper statements.
The latest to announce such a tree-planting project is the Kinecta Federal Credit Union in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Kinecta will make a donation to plant a tree in the Brazilian Rain Forest for every customer who converts to electronic statements between now and Sept. 30.
“Our intention is not only to show our commitment to being a green organization, but also to motivate our members to consider the positive global impact even the smallest decision can have,” said Shannon Doiron, Director of Marketing & eCommerce in a news release. “Collectively, credit union members can make a tremendous difference simply by opting out of paper statements.”
1. Which of your 50 ideas in the book is your favorite to offer people who are interested in throwing a green party?
That’s such a hard question to answer, but I think I use the summer entertaining tips the most because, frankly, that’s when I entertain. I like the ideas that reuse or repurpose something we all already have and easily incorporate into a party. For example, filling a birdbath (scrub it clean first!) or a wheelbarrow as a wine/beer/soda chilling station is one easy idea. Just fill with ice, insert the beverages and let them chill. The melted ice can be a cool drink for birds or just used to water plants when the party is over.
The National Audubon Society has honored six women with the 2009 Rachel Carson Award for their outstanding conservation efforts.
Dr. Sylvia Earle, an oceanographer, author, lecturer and National Geographic Explorer in Residence whose work has expanded awareness and conservation of the fragile marine environment. Former chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Earle is president and founder of Deep Search International. She has led more than 60 expeditions, including the first team of women aquanauts during the Tektite Project in 1970. She also set a record for solo diving to a depth of 3,300 feet. Her research focuses on marine ecosystems in the deep sea and other remote environments.
Opening this week at New York City’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the exhibition “Design for a Living World” explores possibilities for ecological sensitivity in a realm of top-tier design work — from fashion star Isaac Mizrahi to artist/architect Maya Lin — in which conspicuous over-consumption is often the rule.
Aahhhh. Another beautiful fall day. Another leaf blower. BZZZZZZZZ!
Solution? Rake.
Suggested New Thought Bubble: Wait a minute, what am I doing with this silly, ineffectual, dirty-emissions gadget? I’m an American, I should be conserving gasoline*, not squandering it. We’re at war in the Middle East! What was I thinking? My parents would have known better during WWII.
(* or electricity for plug-in leaf blower owners.)
More and more corporate emails these days end with text blurbs urging the recipient not to print messages out unless absolutely necessary. Hard copies of documents are a must in some instances, of course, but they’re becoming less and less necessary thanks to some efforts to finally make good on the computer [...]
