Happy Thanksgiving weekend!
Here's one of my all-time favorite eco-tips, perfect for the day after Thanksgiving:
"...Kelsa says that instead of wasting plastic wrap or tinfoil, and in order to conserve the water and energy you would use to wash Tupperware, leftovers should just be placed on the floor for the dogs."
Woof.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Early Soccer Game on a Cloudy Day
Sometimes it's not so bad to have the first soccer game of the day...
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Carbon Offsets Skeptics
I just got back from a trip to New York City from San Francisco and purchased carbon offset for my flight.
Here's how it works:
My round-trip flight contributed 3170 lbs. of CO2 to the atmosphere. The $34.55 carbon offsets I just purchased buy wind-generated electricity, which replaces electricity that would have emitted 3,170 lbs. of CO2 to produce. The wind-generated electricity company is only allowed to sell carbon offsets for that clean electricity once, and they are the only ones allowed to sell it. Otherwise it doesn't work.
Pretty confusing, huh? No wonder people tend to be skeptical about Carbon Offsets. My skeptical friends used to just frustrate and annoy me. But then I thought, maybe I can learn something from their reaction. Maybe there is a better way to describe Carbon Offsets that make them more intuitive and less "scary."
Here is my suggestion:
One day, I was thinking about the efficiency measures I’ve taken in my own home, and wondering what I could do next. I realized that I’ve addressed all the low-hanging fruit, and at this point, the investment of resources is big compared to the CO2 savings to be gained.
Then I thought of my friend, who lives in a poorly insulated, drafty house. I could save more CO2 by paying to insulate and seal her house than I could by spending the same amount of money on the next project in my house (never mind how socially awkward that would be!).
That is the concept behind carbon offsets.
After you’ve reduced your CO2 emissions as much as you can or are willing to do, you buy carbon offsets so that other people can reduce CO2 emissions. The bigger the pool of CO2-reducing projects to choose from, the more CO2 you can reduce with the same amount of money.
Of course, you have to trust the organization that distributes the funds to make good choices and not cheat (sell the same offsets more than once). Many of the large environmental groups certify offset providers, which gives you confidence that your money will be wisely spent on real offsets.
Try this on the next skeptic you run across and tell me if it works!
Here's how it works:
My round-trip flight contributed 3170 lbs. of CO2 to the atmosphere. The $34.55 carbon offsets I just purchased buy wind-generated electricity, which replaces electricity that would have emitted 3,170 lbs. of CO2 to produce. The wind-generated electricity company is only allowed to sell carbon offsets for that clean electricity once, and they are the only ones allowed to sell it. Otherwise it doesn't work.
Pretty confusing, huh? No wonder people tend to be skeptical about Carbon Offsets. My skeptical friends used to just frustrate and annoy me. But then I thought, maybe I can learn something from their reaction. Maybe there is a better way to describe Carbon Offsets that make them more intuitive and less "scary."
Here is my suggestion:
One day, I was thinking about the efficiency measures I’ve taken in my own home, and wondering what I could do next. I realized that I’ve addressed all the low-hanging fruit, and at this point, the investment of resources is big compared to the CO2 savings to be gained.
Then I thought of my friend, who lives in a poorly insulated, drafty house. I could save more CO2 by paying to insulate and seal her house than I could by spending the same amount of money on the next project in my house (never mind how socially awkward that would be!).
That is the concept behind carbon offsets.
After you’ve reduced your CO2 emissions as much as you can or are willing to do, you buy carbon offsets so that other people can reduce CO2 emissions. The bigger the pool of CO2-reducing projects to choose from, the more CO2 you can reduce with the same amount of money.
Of course, you have to trust the organization that distributes the funds to make good choices and not cheat (sell the same offsets more than once). Many of the large environmental groups certify offset providers, which gives you confidence that your money will be wisely spent on real offsets.
Try this on the next skeptic you run across and tell me if it works!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
40 days in the life of Emily
I'm late discovering this, but I'm glad I did.
Spend 40 days in the life of a Planned Parenthood clinic worker here. OK, it's actually written by a handful of clinic workers...why? To protect them. Read about what they face every single day work day (and some days at home, too).
Spend 40 days in the life of a Planned Parenthood clinic worker here. OK, it's actually written by a handful of clinic workers...why? To protect them. Read about what they face every single day work day (and some days at home, too).
Hello, world.
We're in the middle of something here at Planned Parenthood (where I work). The anti-choice people call it "40 days for life." I call it another day at the office.
Basically, the anti-choice groups have decided to picket more than 80 Planned Parenthood clinics across the country for 40 days. September 26-November 4.
I'm used to picketers. Planned Parenthood is used to picketers. It bothers me very much that the picketers aren't just picketing our clinics -- that they're really about making it impossible for women to get health care. But...we don't let them faze us. As for me, the more picketers there are, the harder I want to work.
So, I've decided to do something a little different. I'm inviting you come to work with me. Seriously. Every day, I'm posting to this blog -- some notes about my day, some photos, some video. I want you to know what it's like to work for Planned Parenthood. ... read more
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Hip Hop Violin
I don't usually (never, actually) link to music on this blog, but I found this and thought it was pretty cool.
I found this new (to me) blog, called Ancora Imparo ("I'm still learning"...in Italian), in a funny small-world way. A friend forwarded my previous post about water bottles to someone she knows in the U.K. That friend sent her a link to this post about water bottles. So here's introducing Ancora Imparo.
I found this new (to me) blog, called Ancora Imparo ("I'm still learning"...in Italian), in a funny small-world way. A friend forwarded my previous post about water bottles to someone she knows in the U.K. That friend sent her a link to this post about water bottles. So here's introducing Ancora Imparo.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Evil evil bottled water
This not-so-subtly titled post is to encourage you to click on the Carbon Conscious Consumer badge to the right (or, right here), and pledge to stop drinking bottled water (if you make the pledge, you get a 25% discount on a very nice reusable water bottle…here’s the one that travels with me).
“We’re moving 1 billion bottles of water around a week in ships, trains, and trucks in the United States alone. That’s a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water. (Water weighs 81/3 pounds a gallon. It’s so heavy you can’t fill an 18-wheeler with bottled water–you have to leave empty space.)
Meanwhile, one out of six people in the world has no dependable, safe drinking water.”
For a specific example, look at Fiji water:
Transportation:
“The label on a bottle of Fiji Water says “from the islands of Fiji.” Journey to the source of that water, and you realize just how extraordinary that promise is. From New York, for instance, it is an 18-hour plane ride west and south (via Los Angeles) almost to Australia, and then a four-hour drive along Fiji’s two-lane King’s Highway."
Pollution:
"The Fiji Water plant is a state-of-the-art facility that runs 24 hours a day. That means it requires an uninterrupted supply of electricity–something the local utility structure cannot support. So the factory supplies its own electricity, with three big generators running on diesel fuel. The water may come from “one of the last pristine ecosystems on earth,” as some of the labels say, but out back of the bottling plant is a less pristine ecosystem veiled with a diesel haze.”
People:
“in Fiji, a state-of-the-art factory spins out more than a million bottles a day of the hippest bottled water on the U.S. market today, while more than half the people in Fiji do not have safe, reliable drinking water. Which means it is easier for the typical American in Beverly Hills or Baltimore to get a drink of safe, pure, refreshing Fiji water than it is for most people in Fiji.”
You decide:
“Once you understand the resources mustered to deliver the bottle of water, it’s reasonable to ask as you reach for the next bottle, not just “Does the value to me equal the 99 cents I’m about to spend?” but “Does the value equal the impact I’m about to leave behind?”
Simply asking the question takes the carelessness out of the transaction. And once you understand where the water comes from, and how it got here, it’s hard to look at that bottle in the same way again.”
I’ve been aware that plastic water bottles have a high energy cost, both to create the bottles and to transport them, but I never thought of it in moral terms until I read this very long article.
Here are some excerpts:
“We’re moving 1 billion bottles of water around a week in ships, trains, and trucks in the United States alone. That’s a weekly convoy equivalent to 37,800 18-wheelers delivering water. (Water weighs 81/3 pounds a gallon. It’s so heavy you can’t fill an 18-wheeler with bottled water–you have to leave empty space.)
Meanwhile, one out of six people in the world has no dependable, safe drinking water.”
For a specific example, look at Fiji water:
Transportation:
“The label on a bottle of Fiji Water says “from the islands of Fiji.” Journey to the source of that water, and you realize just how extraordinary that promise is. From New York, for instance, it is an 18-hour plane ride west and south (via Los Angeles) almost to Australia, and then a four-hour drive along Fiji’s two-lane King’s Highway."
Pollution:
"The Fiji Water plant is a state-of-the-art facility that runs 24 hours a day. That means it requires an uninterrupted supply of electricity–something the local utility structure cannot support. So the factory supplies its own electricity, with three big generators running on diesel fuel. The water may come from “one of the last pristine ecosystems on earth,” as some of the labels say, but out back of the bottling plant is a less pristine ecosystem veiled with a diesel haze.”
People:
“in Fiji, a state-of-the-art factory spins out more than a million bottles a day of the hippest bottled water on the U.S. market today, while more than half the people in Fiji do not have safe, reliable drinking water. Which means it is easier for the typical American in Beverly Hills or Baltimore to get a drink of safe, pure, refreshing Fiji water than it is for most people in Fiji.”
You decide:
“Once you understand the resources mustered to deliver the bottle of water, it’s reasonable to ask as you reach for the next bottle, not just “Does the value to me equal the 99 cents I’m about to spend?” but “Does the value equal the impact I’m about to leave behind?”
Simply asking the question takes the carelessness out of the transaction. And once you understand where the water comes from, and how it got here, it’s hard to look at that bottle in the same way again.”
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Sent this today...
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
Congratulations on the progress so far in achieving job discrimination protection for all Americans. Please stick to the original principle of equality for ALL. It would be a net loss -- of equality and credibility -- if this bill were to exclude transgendered people. Imagine how abandoned you would feel if you were a transgendered individual and ENDA passed by leaving you out of its protections. I don't want anyone in our country to feel so neglected, and I'm sure you don't either.
Respectfully,
Me
Update: An end-of-day comment...wow, that is an incredibly polite letter. If she changes her mind, I'm sure it will be due to my good manners.
Congratulations on the progress so far in achieving job discrimination protection for all Americans. Please stick to the original principle of equality for ALL. It would be a net loss -- of equality and credibility -- if this bill were to exclude transgendered people. Imagine how abandoned you would feel if you were a transgendered individual and ENDA passed by leaving you out of its protections. I don't want anyone in our country to feel so neglected, and I'm sure you don't either.
Respectfully,
Me
Update: An end-of-day comment...wow, that is an incredibly polite letter. If she changes her mind, I'm sure it will be due to my good manners.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
There are no little things.
Inspired by a comment on my last post that "there are no little things," I found a site dedicated to that principle, and added it to my sidebar. Check it out and pledge to become a "carbon conscious consumer." The site poses a carbon-saving challenge each month, and provides support for meeting the challenge.
This month's challenge is to reduce your junk mail. Here's the short list of why you would want to do that (read more here):
Save trees: More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail. 42% of timber harvested nationwide becomes pulpwood for paper.
Reduce global warming: The energy used to produce and dispose of junk mail exceeds 2.8 million cars.
Save water: About 28 billion gallons of water are wasted to produce and recycle junk each year.
Save time. You waste about 70 hours a year dealing with junk mail.
This month's challenge is to reduce your junk mail. Here's the short list of why you would want to do that (read more here):
Save trees: More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail. 42% of timber harvested nationwide becomes pulpwood for paper.
Reduce global warming: The energy used to produce and dispose of junk mail exceeds 2.8 million cars.
Save water: About 28 billion gallons of water are wasted to produce and recycle junk each year.
Save time. You waste about 70 hours a year dealing with junk mail.
Last April, I signed up with a service that makes it easy to get off of mailing lists. I used Green Dimes. Another service is 41pounds. Both services make it easy to get your names off the lists. Green Dimes cancels catalogs too. It was my impression that these services also monitor the mailing lists and keep your name off of them, but ... I'm checking into that...stay tuned.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Who uses styrofoam anymore?
In the midst of the rebirth of environmental consciousness, in the progressive San Francisco Bay Area, MY KIDS' SCHOOLS use styrofoam plates at their family picnics.
That's about 1000 styrofoam plates that will never ever become fertilizer. Actually, make that 996 -- because I convinced 3 out of 4 kids (and myself) to take reusable plates from home. As Blue Gal says, "Be the change, baby."
That's about 1000 styrofoam plates that will never ever become fertilizer. Actually, make that 996 -- because I convinced 3 out of 4 kids (and myself) to take reusable plates from home. As Blue Gal says, "Be the change, baby."
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Save the Bay
Aaahhh.
There is something about this scene that relaxes me.
There is something about this scene that relaxes me. I took this on a school field trip led by the "Save the Bay" organization. The group works to protect and restore the unique wetland habitats of the San Francisco Bay. They also educate the public about the importance of the remaining 10% of wetlands that still exist in the San Francisco Bay. There are two endangered species who live in the wetlands: the California Clapper Rail, and the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse. No, I don't think the birds above are Clapper Rails.
I chaperoned twenty-some 5th graders as they learned and observed bay life. After lunch, we all worked in the nursery to transplant almost 500 Marsh Gum Plant native plant seedlings! When they grow up, our tiny transplanted seedlings will be planted in the marsh, and become habitat for the endangered Harvest Mouse. Hopefully when our 5th graders grow up, they will treasure and care for our planet.
Anyone can volunteer for Save the Bay restoration projects; not just school groups.
Marsh Gumplant in its native habitat.
Two of the Marsh Gumplant seedlings we transplanted on our field trip.
Friday, September 14, 2007
For anyone who ever holds back their true self...
I heard this poem today, and it really spoke to me. Especially the first paragraph, which I think stands on its own (although the rest is good too).
Martha Graham to Agnes de Mille in
"Dance to the Piper"
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening
that is translated through you into action,
and because there is only one of you
in all of time
this expression is unique.
And if you block it, it will never exist
through any other medium,
and be lost.
The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine
how good it is, nor how valuable,
nor how it compares with other expressions.
It is your business to keep it yours
clearly and directly,
to keep the channel open.
You do not even have to believe in yourself
or your work.
You have to keep open and aware
directly to the urges that motivate you.
Keep the channel open.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Sunday, September 9, 2007
I'm not dead yet...
...I'm just digging out of coordinating 5 different school calendars (four kids and a teacher-hubby) with my own complicated schedule. It hasn't left much time for taking and posting nature shots.
Plus, we've had some wild fires in California recently, which have made the air really yucky-looking. So here's a picture 10yo took this summer in the Italian Alps, of a very un-yucky sky.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Saw these flowers along the Pacific Crest Trail
I couldn't decide which view I liked better
Looking up, I like the composition...
Looking down I like the colors...
Looking up, I like the composition...
Looking down I like the colors...
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Pacific Crest Trail
Here is a view from the Pacific Crest Trail near Sonora Pass.
The Pacific Crest Trail goes from Mexico to Canada. Some people try to hike the trail in one year, which is tricky because if you time it wrong, or the weather doesn't cooperate, you can get stuck in too much snow, or suffer heat stroke from the desert heat.
Me? I just think my feet would get sore waaaay before I'd run into either of those problems.
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