Celebrating 4th of July…Eco style!

Celebrate Independence Day the Eco Way!

Posted by Jessica Jensen

This weekend is the Independence Day holiday– and that means we’ll be lighting up the BBQ, consuming beverages, throwing out paper plates and generally wasting resources while we enjoy ourselves.  So we’ve come up with a list of easy things you can do to lower the environmental impact of this fun, important holiday.  It’s Independence Day, the Eco Way!

1. Light that BBQ with Propane. Wood and charcoal may seem like more natural fuel sources, but propane burns cleaner. You’ll have less smoke and less of a challenge keeping a fire going. Make sure that you refill or recycle your propane tank once it’s empty.

2. Use reusable plates and cups– or use recycled and/or biodegradable ones.  Think of all of the millions of plastic and paper plates and cups being tossed out this weekend! It’s scary.  You can really help out by either using sturdy, reusable plastic-ware and washing it after use. Or you can get compostable and biodegradable tableware that are great and will make an interesting conversation point for your event!

3.  Put out a clearly-labeled recycling bin next to the trash basket.  Make it clear to people that “this is the bin for your cans, bottles, plastic cups, etc.”  If you make it easy for people, they will do it.  And you won’t have to sort stuff at the end of the party!

4.  Use tap water rather than bottled water. We know it’s hot, and bottled water is easy, but just fill some big pitchers up with water for people. You’ll cut your plastic use in a big way.

5.  Skip the at-home fireworks. Naturally something that explodes, creates lots of light and leaves a cloud of smoke also comes with pollution. Fireworks also release heavy metals like lead into the air.  Leave the fireworks to the professionals.

6.  If you’re planning to go to the beach, know the condition of the beach before you go.  Check out Beaches911.com to learn about the health conditions of the beach, any beach closures, and also eco-smart boating tips.

7. If you are taking a road trip of any kind, make sure to maximize your gas mileage.  You could either rent a hybrid if you don’t have one– or make sure your tires are well-inflated, keep the AC as low as possible, and follow these tips for how to green your road trip.

Have a safe, healthy, fun holiday!

Natural Art & Beauty - Raphael Mazzucco

ART: Our cover art for this magazine issue is Adriana Lima, a dimensional portrait and cover of the new book Read more

Michael Jackson Green - Earth Song

In a time when talk of environmental issues is the norm, Jackson was well ahead of the game with this release in 1996. Topics covered include drought, over-fishing, deforestation, pollution and war. The beautiful video — in which the King of Pop is shot in various scenes from around the world — probably carried a massive carbon footprint; but back then climate change and CO2 were in their infancy.

This was done long ago, i was surprised to find that people still didn’t know it existed or have not seen it. Read more

Windy City Sears Tower Windmills go green

Wind turbines, roof gardens and solar panels will join the pair of antennas atop the Sears Tower’s staggered rooftops Read more

TWEET ! 3 Robins

Summer is new life …. Born from spring. We are lucky here at CTN-NH in that we live in an area full of life of all sorts, bordering a wetland wildlife preserve and witnessing the changes of season in extraordinary ways.

We thought some people might like this quick view of 30 days in the emergence of 3 robins.

Its an affrimation of life in which we didnt intervene, but quite simply observed. The robins have adopted us as much as we have them… in this small way we share the same yard as a living space. We occupy the same space at different times, paying attention to each other, in harmony. What follows is a photosequence … Read more

Celebrations are in order…

Leah on the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill

Via Current Green

Why you should be mortified about the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill | Current_Green

http://current.com/items/90269406_why-you-should-be-mortified-about-the-waxman-markey-climate-and-energy-bill-current-green.htm
In the video above I outlined key elements of the bill is an extremely over simplified way, and discuss some of the complexities about the political climate.

There are people out there that live and breathe these issues, so if you are on twitter, I highly recommend following @katesheppard and @david_h_roberts. Other people who are consistantly chatty about the topic include @michaeloko who does PR for the NRDC and @JesseJenkins an energy and climate policy analyst.

If you want to hear NPR break down cap and trade, you can smirk as they tried to be funny in this fabulously simplified and understandable piece. Kate Sheppard broke down the waxman markey also known as the aces bill or HR2454 in bullet points (love that). And Dave Roberts just posted a piece on why he’s not freaked out about the Waxman-Markey Bill. This is an excellent article with a lot of great points that will give you hope at the end of the day. And who doesn’t want a little hope at the end of the day?

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Leah is the green champion at current Tv, and Jeff & the gang here at CTNgreen are big fans of her efforts, spent some time in the past sorting out things on the phone with her and came to realize that this is one very rational, sensible, smart and understanding person…

Of course you can also listen to Al if you like:

Any moment now, the House will be voting on the boldest attempt to rethink how we produce and use energy in this country. The bill’s passage is not assured. Call your Representative today.

* Call 877-9-REPOWER (877-9-737-6937) and we’ll connect you to your Representative right after providing you with talking points. (We’re expecting high call volume, and if you are unable to be connected please use our secondary line, 866-590-0971.)
* When connected to your Representative’s office, just remember to tell them your name, that you’re a voter, and that you live in their district. Then ask them to “vote ‘yes’ on comprehensive clean energy legislation.”
* Then, report the call below so we can coordinate the campaign

http://www.repoweramerica.org/page/s/agacesreportcall

Going Back In Time to 1969…

Woodstock ‘69

Woodstock
Written by Joni Mitchell, performed by
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Well, I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, ‘Tell where are you going?’
This he told me
Said, ‘I¹m going down to Yasgur’s Farm,
Gonna join in a rock and roll band.
Got to get back to the land and set my soul free.’
We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
‘Well, then can I walk beside you?
I have come to lose the smog,
And I feel like I’m a cog in something turning.
And maybe it’s the time of year,
Yes and maybe it’s the time of man.
And I don’t know who I am,
But life is for learning.’
We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon.
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon.
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.
By the time we got to Woodstock,
We were half a million strong
And everywhere was a song and a celebration.
And I dreamed I saw the bomber death planes
Riding shotgun in the sky,
Turning into butterflies
Above our nation.
We are stardust, we are golden,
We caught in the devil¹s bargain,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

Cost of Living - 1969

Average income (1 person) was…. $ 6,500.00
A new house cost approx…………… $ 40,000.00
A gallon of gas cost……………… $ .30
A Fillmore concert poster……….. $ 1.25
A new car cost cost approx…… $ 2000.00
A gallon of milk cost…………….. $ 1.10
A loaf of bread cost……………… $ .20

A concert ticket to the greatest concert
of all time sold for $6.00 per day

*No money, not much anyway, was received that day “at the door”.Two weeks before the festival, after months of work, they were informed by the town fathers they couldn’t have the festival at the original site. So they had 2 weeks to do an impossible job, getting another site ready. The fences weren’t even up. And the utterchaos was not expected. Three times the amount of people! So early on the first day, they got on the loud speakers and told the kids that were swarming in that it was a FREE concert. It took the promoter 10 yrs. to pay off debts incurred that weekend, but he did it!

E-Waste - Gold Coast - EPA

Recycle the old electronics…. Do the Right thing. Its all good until you hit the E-WASTE problem. Mega-corporations, EPA, Junk Haulers and recyclers sell and ship to poor countries, labeling the used computers as “Donations” but in reality it has become using their land as our dump.

When you take those old CRT’s and old computers to the Recycler on re-cycle day, you know and they say , do not dump this stuff, it must be properly handled by experts and recycled correctly… meaning “This stuff is not allowed in OUR local Landfill”. It is trucked off , out of sight and the Average American assumes its being handled. But it is resulting in “This stuff goes on a Barge to China or Ghana…” and burned and picked through by Read more

WWF - Face the G8 Summit

On July 8th leaders of some of the world’s richest and most powerful countries, the G8, will meet to discuss the pressing issues facing the world today. Join the debate and Face the G8.

What would you do if you were a member of the G8? Would you choose the right policies that lead us to an environmentally sustainable future, or make the same old empty promises and continue with ‘business as usual’?

Homepage of the World Wildlife Fund/
Read more

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