For all the controversy surrounding it and complex plans used to preserve it, sometimes the environment is simple. Not every conservation measure has to be as complicated as climate change bills or alternative fuels. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a light bulb.
President Obama’s energy secretary, Steven Chu, is working on developing tougher efficiency standards for light bulbs. According to a statement given by the president at the White House, lighting makes up 7 percent of all energy consumed in America. With stricter efficiency standards, we could save $4 billion per year by 2022.
If you’ve not already placed all the bulbs in your home with energy-efficient CFL bulbs, please take the time to do so. It’s a simple, inexpensive way to significantly decrease the amount of energy you’re consuming, and you’re not only helping the planet, you’re helping your wallet as well.
As writers, we know that part of good stewardship is sharing information, but even the most intelligent among us can not make change without DOING something. So The Good Human & Twilight Earth, along with Grass Stain Guru, Lighter Footstep, My Green Side, The Smart Mama, A Little Greener Every Day, Fake Plastic Fish, Allie’s Answers, and Natural Papa have teamed up to carry our message with one united strong voice. The message is that there are great organizations out there which are suffering in this economic downturn through decreased donations…and they need our help! So we have decided to give you, our readers, a voice and a choice. We have decided to take on a very simple fundraising mission, and we are asking you to donate just $1.00.
A single dollar; that’s all.
Who cannot afford a buck even in these times? We know you can spare a dollar to help out our fellow humans!
But how do we all decide which charities to give 100% of all monies raised to? Well, we are going to put it to a vote and let you guys decide. The 10 websites participating have chosen 5 charities for all donors to vote for, and we are going to let you guys choose which two of them will receive the all monies donated.
Our purpose in doing this is three-fold
It gives YOU a voice. As loyal readers and stewards of our environment, we want to offer you the opportunity to make a difference without breaking the bank.
It gives the two charities with the most votes some much appreciated funds to continue their mission
It allows all of us an opportunity to connect as a community of like-minded people working for the common good of ourselves, our families and our planet.
If the community of folks who care about our planet cannot come together to rise up to a challenge, who will? That is why we are asking you for a $1 donation. While $1 may seem insignificant all by itself, by pooling our resources together we really can make a difference in these tough economic times. $1 is less than the price of a candy bar and can usually be found under the seat cushions of your couch. Won’t you help 2 of these charities with your $1 donation? (Now, if you want to give more, please - feel free. We won’t stop you! And by all means, send this to everyone you know so we can raise even more!)
Below you will find a poll and a Paypal donation link asking you to choose which of the 5 charities your favorite is. We ask that you please donate a dollar to the charity pool if you are going to vote, and know that even if your absolute favorite does not finish first or second, all the money donated will be going to worthwhile causes. If everyone we know who reads our sites, our Twitter feeds, our Facebook sites, etc. donates just $1, imagine the impact we can have as a group. And please, spread the word!
Click the button to make a secure donation via Paypal, or you can send your donation direct via Paypal to “1dollarcharity@gmail.com“
Please take a moment to vote for your favorite and to donate just a single dollar to these charities. Times are tough and our collective might can really help them out. The results will be tallied two weeks from today, and we will write another article detailing the amounts and the two charities who garnered the most votes and will be receiving the money collected. It’s only $1, so please donate!
We put the total number of comments from last week’s contest into the Random Number Generator, and the winning number was 7. That means the big winner of Aventura’s eco-friendly clothing giveaway is …
A decision made by the Bush administration and upheld by Obama in April has kept wolves off the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho. The lawsuit, filed by environmentalists, seeks to prevent the legal public hunting of wolves in these states. They’re still endangered in Wyoming, but the state’s attorney general has requested that wolves be open to public hunting. If his request is granted by a federal judge, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar lawsuit filed in Wyoming, especially if wolves are taken off the endangered species list here.
Tuesday afternoon, while walking out of the movie theater after seeing “Up” (great movie, by the way), I had my first celebrity sighting in Wyoming: Yvon Chouinard.
Actually, I walked right past the guy without a second glance, but my boyfriend grabbed my arm and whisper-shouted, “That’s Yvon Chouinard!” To which I said, “Who?” before reaching way back in my memory and recalling that Chouinard is the founder and CEO of Patagonia, a shining example of an environmentally friendly company.
As more and more companies try to go green these days, they’d do well to look to Patagonia as a benchmark. Not only is it committed to sustainable business practices, but it’s a great place to work as well. Patagonia is a clothing and gear company that Chouinard started in the 1970s, and in the ’80s he expanded the offices to include a healthy, mostly vegetarian cafeteria as well as child care for employees. Patagonia also “tithes” for environmental activism, pledging one percent of sales or ten percent of profits per year, whichever is greater, to environmental organizations. Employees get paid to work on local environmental projects, and all clothing is made with organic cotton. Patagonia’s demand for pesticide-free fabric is what led to the organic cotton industry in California.
I think Chouinard has a fascinating business model, and he has decades of success to prove its worth. If you’re interested in learning more about Chouinard or Patagonia, I recommend reading his book, “Let My People Go Surfing.” It’s a combination green business primer and memoir. Or, you could come hang out at the movies in Jackson, Wyoming and hope you run into him.
UPDATE: Everyone, I have made a grievous error. The name of this company is Aventura Clothing, not Adventura. This post has now been edited to reflect the correct spelling. My sincere apologies to Aventura and all readers.
Aventura Clothing recently was kind enough to send me a few samples of their eco-friendly clothing. Since I’m always looking for renewable, recycled and/or organic clothes, I was more than happy to receive them with the promise of reviewing them for all you Allie’s Answers readers. (Plus, they were free. Being a blogger has its perks, y’all.)
Aventura’s motto is “help the earth … one garment at at time.” More than 80 percent of the fabrics used in the Aventura line are low-impact, with a high percentage of renewable, recycled and/or organic fibers. The company embraces an approachable, reasonable view of sustainable clothing, aiming to reach women who want to wear clothing that looks good and fits into an eco-friendly lifestyle. As the green movement gains steam, more and more women are asking questions about the clothes they buy, and with Aventura, those questions can have positive answers. If you like what you see here, be sure to check out Aventura’s web site at www.aventuraclothing.com/home.do.
Last year, the Odwalla Plant a Tree program provided more than 60,000 trees to state parks across the country. Since it was so successful, they’re doing it again.
Go to www.parkvisitor.com/odwalla and choose a state (California, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Utah, Ohio, Texas, Maryland, Michigan and Virginia are on the list this year). The trees will be used to support important reforestation and planting initiatives across the country. You won’t have to register or enter any personal information. Odwalla is donating $100,000 worth of trees this time around.
The program runs from May 27, 2009 through December 31, 2009. The species of trees donated will vary by region and will be planted in fall 2009 and early 2010.
“The Odwalla Plant a Tree program is very important to our state parks across the country,” said Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks. “So many people want to do things to help our environment and Odwalla is making it really easy to have a positive impact.”
Last weekend, I moved from Tennessee to Wyoming. The reasons for my move are long and sordid, but I did want to share with you something interesting I saw on the looooooong drive: Wind turbines. (I originally wanted to call them windmills, but technically windmills are supposed to mill something. Wind turbines generate energy, windmills are like the place where Heidi lives. This post is about turbines. And please forgive the less-than-great photo quality — I took it out the car window as I was driving past them and also trying not to wreck my car.)
Wind turbines aren’t something you see a lot of in the East, but in notoriously windy southern Wyoming, they are everywhere. When I was driving through the rolling hills, before I started seeing snow-capped peaks, there were some places where dozens of wind turbines were gathered on top of berms, and they were churning away. I began to wonder just how exactly wind turbines work, and thanks to a little research, I got my answer.
By now you’ve probably heard about the new fuel efficiency standards proposed by the Obama administration. In case you haven’t, here’s a quick breakdown:
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards would require passenger cars and light trucks to get an overall average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. By that year, cars are expected to average about 39 mpg and trucks would get an average of 30 mpg. Current fuel economy standards are 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 mpg for trucks.
The new standards would cut greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and light trucks 30 percent by 2016. This would put the auto industry more on par with California, whose strict standards have previously outpaced federal guidelines. Furthermore, the plan would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil, and scientists say it will curb global warming. Because this plan would amend existing rules, there is no need for Congressional action after a period of public comment.
This is good, right? From an environmental standpoint, all signs point to yes. But in the interest of keeping things balanced, let’s examine the possible cons: The Obama administration estimates these rules will add about $600 to the cost of a car. That’s on top of an estimated $700 added by changes to fuel economy rules that have already been enacted. (But remember that these cars are going to be more fuel-efficient, so that $1,300 may be recovered in savings at the gas pump in the long run.)
Not all automakers will be treated the same under the new plan. Companies like GM and Toyota, which produce full-size trucks and SUVs, would have lower fuel economy goals than companies like Honda and Mitsubishi that only produce smaller vehicles.
Under the current standards, when automakers beat their fuel economy goals, they earn credits that they may use toward future penalties. Electric cars are making a comeback, with the Chevy Volt expected in 2010 and an electric version of the Ford Focus shortly after, and under the proposed new standards, automakers are likely to hang on to those credits for as long as possible.
A few electric or hybrid vehicle sales could offset a lot of SUV sales, so automakers are likely to sell the electrics and hybrids cheaply to ramp up their credits and then jack up the price on large trucks and SUVs. Again, this is good from an environmental standpoint, but some say this unfairly penalizes large families and rural residents, who may require large vehicles.
And there you have it — the CAFÉ standards in a nutshell. Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?
I carry a titanium backpacking spork around in my purse. I know that sounds kind of weird, but it saves me from using disposable utensils when I eat out, and it’s so light, I never even notice that I’m carrying it.
Before the Industrail Revolution it was common for guests to be expected to bring their own utensils with them when invited to dine, because utensils were expensive, labor intensive items, and most people didn’t own extra sets. Now, when it’s possible to buy a set of 1,000 plastic utensils for under $20, people don’t even think about bringing their own.
But think of the plastic waste that can be saved by slipping a fork from home in your purse on the way out the door. You don’t need anything fancy. Grab one from your kitchen drawer, or if you’re worried about loosing a piece of a set, pick up a few spare utensils the next time you hit a discount store, thrift shop, or yard sale. It’s simple a simple way to cut down waste, and it’s always nicer to eat with real utensils anyway.
