Greening the City

Sustainability is a hot topic these days, and there's a good chance that your local government is jumping on the green bandwagon too. Some cities like Philadelphia, New York, Portland, Chicago, and Baltimore (just to name a few) even have an office dedicated to sustainability within city government. This is huge progress from just five years ago, but a lot of people still don't know about efforts happening in their cities. Take some time to find out what's going on in your neighborhood and see how you can help - even if it's just to spread the word. If you're in local to Philadelphia (like me!) you may want to consider attending the Greenworks: First Annual Progress Report event on Wednesday May 26:

Donate your hair and nylons

The most recent oil spill may have happened several weeks ago, but it is still a current issue. The leak is releasing approximately 5,000 barrels of oil a day.

Salons around the country [and perhaps the world, but at least around America] are collecting hair to donate. Hair collects the oil from our head, so why not collect the oil in the ocean? Some salons are collecting nylons/stockings also. I have heard that the hair gets put into the nylons and then put into the ocean to sop up the oil.

For a more detailed and scientific description and information about helping to donate, check out this website.

http://www.matteroftrust.org/

For a YouTube video of how hair soaks up oil check out this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwQOD_Ir2vQ

Tonight our guest will be talking about...

Hi folks,

I have the great honor of being your guest blogger this evening. I'd like to thank Valerie for opening this up and extending the invitation - I am flattered. I'd also like to thank Big Baby Jesus, just because.

Tonight (its actually daytime where I am, but saying "tonight" sounds classier) I would like to blabber on for a short while to cleanse my mind of some thoughts and hopefully seed some new ones in your own brain. Lets call this a thought exchange. I'd simply like to share with you a point of view that I have come into recently which has served me well in this world so far. And remember, its only an exchange if you offer some in return.

Many of us have heard of the Gaia concept - the idea that the world and all of its inhabitants are one living being interconnected through many different channels. The more I ponder this the more it makes itself clear and true in my world. For example, did you know that in a healthy forest the mycelium (the "roots" of mushrooms) connect every single living plant to each other. They accomplish this by means of their massive, branching fungal network that can extend for miles around and grow up to an inch per day. Mycelium latch onto root hairs and enhance the abilities of trees and plants to soak up water and nutrients. Through these mycelial networks it is entirely possible for the trees and plants on one edge of a 500-acre forest to "know" when a tree is cut down on the other end of the forest. They can communicate through the mycelium.

In The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, numerous experiments where conducted in the late '70's that scientifically verified plants have "feelings." What do I mean by that? One example was conducted using a polygraph - a lie detector, which measures simple changes in electrical energy. Plants were hooked up to the lie detector and their responses measured when different things were happening around them. The plants gave sharp responses on the polygraph when their leaves were cut or burnt - to be expected. But the researchers found that these same plants then gave similarly alarmed responses when the researchers simply thought about cutting or burning their leaves. And nearby unharmed plants would respond as well. In fact, a plant in another room would respond when a plant was being cut or burnt. Clearly there is more going on here than we were led to believe by the cultural and scholastic standards of previous generations.

Where am I going with all this!?!! Well, the idea, without dragging this out too long, is to demonstrate that there is a lot more going on beneath "the surface" of our everyday 5-senses experience. We all know this. How did you know your mom was going to call you on the phone just before the phone rings? How is it that major scientific theories are often "discovered" by multiple scientists across the globe at nearly simultaneous times in our history? Could we be connected by more than cell phones and Facebook? Could we be more sensitive than our eyes and ears let us believe?

The answer is yes. We are, and so are the trees, ferns, rocks (yes rocks even!), birds, deer, flies, and all living creatures. We are all part of this planet which is part of our solar system which right now contain things that we can't see.

Please remember that we are all one and that we all need help from time to time. Help! And when you are exhausted and your head hurts from all the thinking and worrying. Stop. Breathe. Let it go and say, "now I have done enough for today." And rest.

But you knew all of that already. Were you waiting to live like you know it? Sometimes I wait for signs that other people know this. We are all connected. Do you agree?

Thank you for reading. Thanks for participating in this hard world and doing the best you can.

- Marc

Enjoy:

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world.html

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Earth Day turns 40! I hope you choose to celebrate in your own way that will positively affect the Earth.

Go to the Climate Rally on the 25th.

Go to the Sustainable Design Expo this weekend.

Do some Earth-Friendly crafts.

Plant a tree.

Walk instead of driving today.

Clean up litter on your street.

Hang your clothes on a clothes line to try instead of using the dryer.

Adopt a coral reef.

Teach your kids the importance of Earth Day.

Bring your own shopping bag when you go out.

Please feel free to share any ideas you have, or things you have done on Earth Day in the past.

Earth Hour

Today is the global event Earth Hour. 8:30 pm in whatever time zone you are in, people are encouraged to turn out their lights for one hour. National landmarks around the world have their spotlights turned off and all goes dark for one quiet hour.

This event began just a few years ago by a handful of people who wanted to do something to make a difference.


Here is the official website, and below are links to photos and more articles.
http://www.myearthhour.org/

Yahoo article on today's Earth Hour
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/climatewarmingearthhour;_ylt=AsR.jDj5MpVzvZgfFiKiyGaaK8MA

Yahoo photos of Earth Hour
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Earth-Hour/ss/events/sc/032710earthhour

Vegas does Earth Hour
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/28/live-blog-las-vegas-gets-ready-go-unplugged-earth-/

CD Cases

I've been cleaning a bit because I am moving in a few weeks. As I'm going through years of... well... junk, I have been filling my paper recycling bin numerous times, and dropping off car loads of clothes to thrift stores.

I came across a few boxes and crates of cd jewel cases from my music obsession. I found on one website that they are un-recyclable [please correct me if I'm wrong] because of the plastic they are made of.

The internet is full of good ideas on how to recycle these cd cases, but my favorite is to give the empty cases to local bands so they can sell their music without spending money on new cd cases.

Other ideas I've seen.

Post on Freecycle and give to others that may need them.

Make a calendar - give your friends some too!

Add a magnet to the back and turn them into a fridge photo magnet.


Please add your own!

Lazy Snow Day

You just walked from your car to the store, wandered the store for almost an hour pushing your cart around, and then pushed the cart to your car. But those last few steps to push the cart back to the cart corral are just too much.

Oh Canada!

For those of you who watched the Winter Olympics may have noticed that the medals were a bit unique looking.

#5

A number of cities and towns do not recycle #5 labeled plastics. This company has made it easier to recycle #5's, by setting up "Gimme 5" stations at select Whole Food stores. You can also mail them your plastics - toothbrush handles and yogurt lids - for free!

The company then turns your #5's into toothbrushes and other products!

Flush away!

I thought I would pass along some very pertinent information I received in a monthly newsletter from a holistic nurse.


The holidays are officially over. For me it means putting away decorations and donating unused items to the local thrift store. As I go through my home I also make sure to check the medicine cabinet. Any medicine that has expired of any unused prescriptions will go.

The problem is we have been told in the past to flush medicine down the toilet. A study found 24 major metropolitan areas to have contaminated drinking water. This is affecting 41 million Americans.

So what types of drugs are we exposed to? The most common are antibiotics, anti-seizure medicine, mood stabilizers and sex hormones or birth control pills. Flushing is the only part of the problem. The ingested medicines are excreted through urine and feces. Sewage treatment facilities can not remove pharmaceutical waste. They are simply passed on to us and the rest of the environment$.

What can we do? Obviously we can't tell people to stop taking their medicine. Bottled water isn't necessarily the answer since 25% comes from the tap.

The EPA has advised everyone to stop flushing unused prescriptions and non-prescription medications.

Home filtering systems will decrease some of the medicine in your tap, but it has to be reverse osmosis or an activated charcoal system.

So what do we do with expired or unused medicine? Mix the medicine with coffee grounds or kitty litter and place in a seal-able bag or can. Check with your local pharmacy to see if they have a take-back program. Be informed, contact your local water authority and find out what they are doing about this situation.

Hopefully if we all stop flushing and pouring our medicine down the drain we can decrease the amount we are exposed to. Do your part.



Newsletter posted with permission. Visit this link to view her site.