GroovyGreen.com – Start Today :: Save Tomorrow

Since the nation has entered the recession to end all recessions, it’s time to do a little self-reflection on what we’ve been spending our money on over the past decade…  Joel Stein of the L.A. Times has come out with his list of the “relics of the good old days“.  I heard about this on a radio program (I won’t say which one) and had to look it up.  Some of the best and snarkiest commentary on our society…

In the clear recessionary morning, all that stuff we’ve been binge buying suddenly looks gaudy and ridiculous. It’s been a 25-year blur of fluorescent Frankie Sez shirts, logo handbags, Hummers and ring tones. We need to have one giant national garage sale and invite the world.

If there are pictures of you with any of the things listed below on Facebook, immediately remove them. Replace them with one of those stately, unsmiling group portraits our grandparents and great-grandparents took that made us feel like we came from important stock. You don’t want your descendants to lose all hope when they realize that Great-Grandpa Jaden was flashing fake gang signs at Treasure Island while downing a Grey Goose and Red Bull before his “American Idol” audition.

Tasting menus: The idea that an appetizer, entree and dessert wasn’t enough — that you had to taste everything — was a pretty clear sign we were on our way toward being a fat, indebted nation. If Morgan Spurlock had tried to follow up “Super Size Me” with a movie in which he had to go 30 days eating only tasting menus — and accept the wine pairings if they were offered — he would have died by Week 2. I went with four people to Per Se in New York, and two of them barfed as soon as we got home. To be fair, it was the most delicious barf they’d ever had.

Stainless steel: Every appliance we touched had to be covered in stainless steel, as if we were low-rent King Midases. How the lamest of metals became the way to show off your wealth is going to confuse the hell out of archaeologists. “No, they actually had gold and silver. And plastics of many colors. They were just easily distracted by cheap, shiny things.” Thank God the recession came, because we were about two years from having to sit on cold stainless steel toilet seats.

Please read on…

This column got me thinking, “what would I look back upon and think, oh God, how did I waste my money on that?”  You know what?  It was actually a little hard to come up with a list.  I guess that is a good thing.  But here goes.  I expect your list in the comments, I don’t want to be the only one confessing.

• Computer/Gadgets.  My biggest weakness.  Some day I’ll be cursing the cold, wondering why I spent money on iPhones, laptops, and palm pilots instead of putting in that wood stove I keep talking about.
• Dinners out.  Our gastronomical weakness.  I have to admit we were “stocking up” on good dining experiences prior to the arrival of our lovely daughter.  But $9 for a glass of wine or booze?  Yikes.
• Kitchen crap.  I don’t mean the good stuff or the essentials.  We’ve got a closet full of miscellaneous equipment, pans, etc. that rarely sees the light of day.  A pan for poaching eggs?  Tartlet pans?  A George Foreman grill?  Sheesh.
• Vice.  Nights out on the town in New York cost us a bundle, and made buying a beer in Syracuse seem ultra cheap…  Wait, am I feeling guilty for having a good time when I was young?   Scratch this one off the list!  I do admit, the cigarettes in my younger years where a big waste of moola.

Hmmm… I am straining to think of other examples (though I am sure there’s a few).  I am happy to say that I don’t own stainless steel appliances, I’ve shunned bottled water, and I’ve never bought a pair of designer jeans or a “ringtone”.  I’m sure the rest will come to me, when I’m older, and broker, and wondering where the heck my money went.

Alright, your turn to come clean.  What are your reflections on the “stainless steel” age?

Cliff Hunt on the Huffington Post recently mentioned that it was time for the music business to get more green. Hell, he makes a convincing argument for ways they can both save money, and save the planet.

In a process that hasn’t changed much in decades, record labels send out CDs packaged with printed promotional materials to what are hoped to be the right influencers at radio stations. Radio station personnel, bombarded by these packages, end up not having the time to go through them all and many end up in the trash. Not only are those CDs extremely difficult to recycle, but it has been estimated that getting them to the stations consumes about 0.7 pounds of fossil fuel per CD, from production to shipping.

You’re kidding me right?  This is the process?  Mail out CDs and hope they get listened to?  Could there be a worse way to market your product?  It would be kind of like the Kirby man coming to your house and leaving you a vaccum hoping you would try it.  Really?

He goes on to suggest a better solution:

The only real viable option is digital delivery services that allow record labels to make their artists’ music available online in a secure medium. These systems alert radio stations to a song’s availability by e-mail. Those e-mails contain all the information that was once printed on paper. The files themselves can be downloaded directly into the radio stations’ music library ready for air if the song catches the attention of a DJ or programmer.

Not only is this more environmentally friendly, but it saves record labels cash. For the major and large independent labels, the cost of delivering a digital file with images and other promotional info is much less expensive than manufacturing a CD single with packaging and printed liners and shipping it via mail or courier.

I like the way this is sounding.  Can someone tell me why this doesn’t happen?  Other than the record labels being afraid to change anything?  He even mentions that it would benefit indie bands (which isn’t good for the labels but as a consumer I like) and to top it all of there’s this:

You may be surprised to learn that the Canadian music industry leads the world in this area, and has virtually eliminated the distribution of wasteful promotional CDs entirely. In fact, in Canada all four multinational major label groups have exclusively switched to digital distribution for all their promotional releases, preventing the manufacture and shipping of millions of ecologically harmful CDs and packaging. The Canadian industry has significantly decreased their environmental impact and saved on expenses at the same time!

It’s already being done!  Probably by the same companies since most music is produced by what, 5 labels?  This is nuts.  I can just imagine the desks at the radio stations look like the picture above, only 100 times worse.  If I was a radio station I’d be forcing this on the labels.

I got the picture on this site.

I had a chance recently to review a DVD called Garbage Warrior (trailer above) which is about the gentleman who started the Earthship movement and some of the trials and tribulations he experienced while building his houses. It focuses too on his ideas and techniques for using trash materials (aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles) to create low cost energy efficient housing.

The houses he builds are amazing. They are off the grid houses which are passive solar heated and have greenhouses for food production in them. They deal with their own sewage and they collect water from the roofs to use in the house. They essentially are a one stop house that can be built and then it will live on forever on it’s own devices. They stated on the DVD that with the passive solar design and the thermal mass they are able to keep the house comfortable in the winter with temperatures of 30 below zero. It’s amazing.

I was also amazed in the DVD when they went to assist with tsunami recovery. I won’t spoil that part of the movie, but it’s interesting.

I liked this DVD, although it barely started to quench my thirst for information about the building methods Mike uses. If you have a chance you should check out this movie. I noticed that its available through Netflix, or click over to the movie website and order up a copy. Then donate it to your local library so others can see it!

Now Mike, not all of us can build new Earthships. We need some tips on transitioning our current housing in-place!

Garbage Warrior website.

More info about Earthships.

Town zoning board getting you down? Anti-wind organizations befuddling you with their concerns? Feeling the ache of not being able to install your own personal turbine? Well, now you can shut out the rest of the world and focus on this great new kit from Lego called “The Vestas Windmill Kit”.

Standing over two-feet tall, this model of alternative energy features a Vestas wind turbine, control center, and a van. But don’t expect to buy a bunch of these and string them up on your roof. While the turbine is motorized, it’s not generating its own power. That probably comes from batteries. Damn them!

Can the next Lego set please include a solar array to power this thing?

Still, I love it.

brothersbrick via gizmodo

With today’s announcement that the Huffington Post is throwing their weight behind yet another green site (Huffpost Green, launching June 4th), I thought it only fitting to take notice of another new entry that is bringing something fresh to the scene.

I’m talking about Earthfirst.com — the green, wise-cracking, tongue-in-cheek bastard child of a one-night stand between Treehugger and Grist. Saying that the content on this site takes no crap and is proud to throw it around is an understatement. You know that scene in Braveheart where the English and Scottish come to discuss terms in the middle of the battlefield, only to have William Wallace use it as an opportunity to further piss off the enemy? Yea, that’s Earthfirst. You wouldn’t want these guys in the same room as some lite-green company announcing they’re offsetting the cafeteria. Just look at what they did to the one company at the Chicago Greenfest with the balls to actually offer nothing green — but give away a cruise. We’re pretty sure they’re not going to be coming back next year.

Here’s a bit of their mission statement:

“We are passionate about the environment and dedicated to cutting through the eco-fluff to get to the heart of the new green movement. We think there are a lot of greenwashers and opportunists out there who could care less about actively doing some good in the world, and we’re going to be all over them out here on our blog and in our soon-to-be-released video shows. We think green should be fun and cool, and are in love with the power of sarcasm and snark. Greenwashers and jerkasses of the world: beware. We’re watching.”

See? Refreshing. I’m not sure what HuffPost Green will offer that’s anything different from what’s currently out there, but it’s good to see that there are still some unique approaches like Earthfirst kicking ass and taking names. We just hope we stay on their good side.

GO: Earthfirst.com

I imagine you’ve seen this floating around the internets, but if you haven’t go to hulu.com for the full episode. (Via Ethicurean)

Here’s a snippet:

If you were to take the Earth’s current age and represent it on a 24-hour scale, the existence of humans would be indicated by roughly 30-seconds of time. That’s it. For all our hubris in celebrating our species rise above all others, we’re certainly an anomaly in the scheme of things. As indicated in the History Channel’s fantastic new documentary, Life After People, those 30-seconds of achievement can quickly be wiped away in less than half that time.

Last June, I wrote about a new book by Alan Weisman titled The World Without Us. In it, Weisman breaks down step by step what would happen to civilization if we simply vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow. For example, within about two days, New York City’s subway system would be completely flooded. Without power to keep the pumps running, the various tunnels and shafts would quickly fill by the region’s displaced underground rivers.

What the History Channel has done is basically used Weisman’s work as a script for a computer-generated look at the remaining vestiges of our society. We go all the way from one day to 10,000 years into the future. The visual effects used to represent the decay of our world and nature’s reclamation is stunning. As in the book, the film focuses in particular on New York City (as all good disaster flicks might) and does a great job of brining to life the various conceptual images that Scientific American presented to coincide with World Without Us.

What’s pretty amazing is how far the show takes you — from the eventual collapse of the Eiffel Tower to NYC’s skyscrapers being turned into vertical habitats, with some creatures never touching the ground in their lifetimes. Finally, here’s the most interesting/disturbing thought: No matter what power humans may exert upon the Earth in terms of climate change/global warming, NYC will one day be covered once more in massive two-mile thick glaciers. What force we do have in terms of affecting temperatures will only delay the inevitable that one day a good portion of our cities will be wiped by crushing ice.

On that note, here’s something to ponder: Of all the landmarks in the United States, which one will last perhaps 500,000-1 million years? Give me your best guesses in the comments below.

To check out the Life After People website — or purchase the DVD — jump here.

I typically don’t listen to the President’s annual State of the Union Address live. If I do listen at all it’s usually the day after and I listen to it online. But there I was last night at 9pm, listening to the radio, putting a new tube in a bicycle tire. Regular programing was interrupted and the unmistakable sound of that Texas twang came over the radio. Regardless of whether you like President Bush or you think he’s the biggest failure of a President ever, you’ve got to admit he can be fun to listen to. He didn’t “misunderestimate” anything last night and he’s obviously had a little coaching on terms such as new-que-lar. But even without such colourful language, his perspective on reality continues to make me smile even if I do so in the same way I respond to my 2 year old when she’s learning to cook and making a huge mess.

When the Bush administration first took office it denied the very existence of global warming. It has since been accuse of doctoring evidence of global warming and climate change. The Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Dr. James E. Hansen spoke to the issue by saying, “In my more than three decades in the government I’ve never witnessed such restrictions on the ability of scientists to communicate with the public.”

Last year a memo was circulated that appeared to, “require government biologists or other employees traveling in countries around the Arctic not to discuss climate change, polar bears or sea ice if they are not designated to do so.”

So while the President Bush has changed his mind and has recognized climate change caused by global warming as a real concern, his administration continues to suppress public discussion of the topic. Worse though is how he muddies the waters by refusing to treat this as a global issue. His delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali last December was so uncooperative as to be booed while on stage. It drew sharp rebukes including a statement from Papua New Guinea delegate, Kevin Conrad, who said of the American delegation, “We seek your leadership, but if for some reason you are not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us. Please get out of the way.” The opportunity to address global warming as a cooperative human project seems lost on the Bush Administration. Another tragedy is the loss of the opportunity to lead the way. Problems present opportunities and it’s sad to see 8 years lost on this issue.

But all this is just background. It was a particular statement that caught my attention in Bush’s last SOTU speech. He said he wanted to create,

an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases.

Um, Mr. President, it already exists. It’s called the Kyoto Protocol and the US is the only developed nation that hasn’t ratified it.

I am far from convinced that if a Democrat ends up as our next president that he or she will do anything real about climate change, but I can’t imagine anyone else could do less. It would be amusing to watch our president and his utter lack of understanding of this potiential devastating issue- it would be amusing if it weren’t so scary.

My wife and I finally got caught up on a little pop culture and started watching the acclaimed series Jericho. For those that don’t know, this is a TV show that was on last year and canceled after one season. However, a massive fan base organized online managed to persuade CBS executives to bring the drama back this coming February for at least seven episodes (enough to tie it all up, or see if viewership warrants another season).

Anyways, television politics aside, the premise is that the modern-day world has suffered a nuclear attack, knocking out 23 American cities and sending the United States into chaos. The action centers on the small town of Jericho — a small, rural Kansas town.

It’s a great story — highly believable based on today’s world events and with some great characters. What’s particularly saddening — or reflective — of this town is how absolutely dependent they are on conventional technology, particularly oil, to survive. We have one episode that shows the mad rush on the gas stations, another that centers around a prized generator, grocery store supplies, refrigeration, etc.

I’m not saying we all have solar panels or ethanol plants in our backyard, but it’s rather frightening to think to yourself these “what ifs” and wonder how you might get by. How many of us have rain barrels? Know how to store food through the winter? Build a hot solar water heater from bottles? How many of us have wood stoves?

If Jericho had even one solar array or wind turbine, it would definitely help alleviate some of their stress. Imagine if something like that was included in every town’s emergency supply list. If the shit ever hit the fan, at least they could roll out the photovoltaics and rig up something to provide some support. It’s absolutely maddening to know that this technology exists today, and yet barely any of us can afford to take advantage of it — much less convince others that it is a good idea.

So, let’s play it out. Let’s say you’re living in a real-world Jericho situation. How would you manage to survive? What advantage do you have in transitioning to a different world?

Celebrities. Red carpets. Paparazzi. Love interests. Break-ups.

I wouldn’t say that I’m a person that is interested in all of that. I don’t really care. When people ask, “Which celebrity would you like to meet? What would you ask?”, I reply that I wouldn’t want to meet anyone. What am I going to talk to them about anyway?

So when I think back to last year when my inner-environmentalist woke up, and I think of Leonardo DiCaprio, I feel kind of silly and surprised. I was sitting in my den in Queretaro, Mexico, where I was living at the time. Clicking around on the TV, I found It’s Good To Be Leonardo DiCaprio on E! It talked about how he invests in forests, how he speaks out for environmental causes, and how he convinced his whole family to drive hybrids.

Something clicked. I was hooked. I looked up his website, found some info, and started learning. We hear a lot of the same information day in and day out. But sometimes it doesn’t click until you hear it stated just the right way. Or maybe it comes from a source you didn’t expect.

That’s why it’s important to hear about the environment on the news, on the blogs, in the grocery store, in a magazine, and yes, even on E! A lot of these celebrities are using their fame to put a spotlight on important issues. And hopefully they’ll convert some people to treehuggers, especially the ones who least expect it.

Here are some celebrity eco-web blogs, foundations, and other causes worth checking out. (List also published on greenerMIAMI.)

• Ward Burton – Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation: NASCAR driver and winner of the Daytona 500, he is the founder of this foundation whose mission is to conserve America’s land and wildlife.
• Cameron Diaz – Trippin’, MTV Series: “Cameron Diaz and a group of her close, personal friends think globally and act globally too as they travel to unlikely getaways…from Chile to Yellowstone, on a quest to safeguard the environment.”
• Leonardo DiCaprio – Eco-Site: a complete website filled with films, ways to take action, and reasons why it’s all important.
• Jane Goodall – The Jane Goodall Institute: Purpose to advance the power of individuals to take informed and compassionate action to improve the environment of all living things.
• Al Gore – An Inconvenient Truth: A site focused on his eco-movie, as well as tips for individuals.
• Daryl Hannah – dh love life: a video blog focused on green topics
• Woody Harrelson – Voice Yourself: “transforming the world together.” This is a guy that is inspiring, focuses on biodiesel, getting off the grid, organic & overall good green-ness.
• Gwyneth Paltrow & Cameron Diaz – Act Green: “unite to conserve energy and reduce our reliance on oil.”