Discussion Forum (26)

Active Holidays: Health and Wellness for the New Year

With all the talk of New Year Resolutions, many involving losing a few pounds (and inches off our waistlines), perhaps one approach to the holidays is to get off the couch (and away from the TV). Participate in an active community event like cross-country skiing, dance, or some participative sport. Or escape to the woods for a hike, not hit the mall.

My son and I returned to Mayor Daley’s Chicago Sports Fest at McCormick Place again this year. Produced by the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, the Chicago Sports Fest offered activities for young and old alike, though most the activities were for young people. My son timed himself on a 40-year dash and we competed in a stationary rowing event. We both joined in a two hour game of floor hockey (can’t remember the last time I had so much fun hitting around a puck). We both broke a sweat.

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Fake Greenwashing: The New “Green” Trend?

Most of us have heard on NPR’s Marketplace that the GMO-giant, Monsanto — a sponsor of the program — is “committed to sustainable agriculture…Produce more. Conserve more.” Obvious greenwashing, if you ask any farmer at a local farmers’ market or people committed to growing with nature, not synthetic chemicals. For more examples of greenwashing, see the Greenwashing Index from EnviroMedia and the University of Oregon.

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Gatlinburg’s Winter Magic Celebration of LED Lights

About 3 million twinkling, high-efficiency, quarter-watt LED bulbs are now greeting visitors to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, nestled at the doorstep of the spectacular Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Gatlinburg welcomes over 11 million visitors a year.

The City of Gatlinburg’s commitment to convert the Gatlinburg Winter Magic Celebration lights program to 100 percent LED bulbs during 2008 has paid off in immediate and significant savings of electricity (not to mention reducing the City’s carbon dioxide emissions). LED lights use as much as 75 percent less energy, last ten times longer, produce (i.e., waste) almost no heat, and are more durable than glass bulbs. The City — like millions of Americans — have discovered that going green with LED lighting saves green and helps preserve the environment.  As I write about in ECOpreneuring, the “greentech” or clean tech sector, of which LED lighting is but one such technology, is booming.

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The Air in My Basement Flushes My Toilet!

It’s true.
I have a zero-gallon/flush toilet! The air in my basement (collected by my 5-gallon dehumidifier) flushes my toilet.

The 5-gallon reservoir in my dehumidifier fills up daily in the summer (I’m in humid St Louis, MO). Then, gravity lends a hand. I pour the 5 gallons into the toilet to flush the “yellow” that we’ve let “mellow” in the first floor bathroom, at the end of the day (for all you cringers out there, it doesn’t start to smell until day 2 or 3).

#2 is done upstairs and flushed in a normal fashion each time–we’re not barbarians:)

Now, I know that this works (and that it saves water) but I don’t know how it works. For that I looked up an old yahoo answers post which explains the process (for those who want to know).

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons GNU Free Documentation License

Free, Earth-Friendly Weed Killer for Small Yards and Gardens!

With all the news (and common sense) about the harmful effects of various weed killers, I’d like to arm our readers with a free, earth-friendly weed killer.

Scroll

down

to

access

your

free,

earth-

friendly

weed

killer.

Yep, it’s your hands. I am arming you with your own hands. The thumb and index finger can work together to rid most small yards and gardens of all invasive weeds.

If you have kids and/or a partner, then you have more free weed killers at your disposal.

And you don’t have to purchase “green” products to be “green”. As Adam Shake writes at Twilight Earth; “Do Nothing - And Call it Green”. This is a perfect example of this mantra…

Now get pickin’!

Related News

EPA fails to inform public about weed-killer (Atrazine) in drinking water
Green Options Article Archive on “Atrazine”
Report: Genetically Modified (GM) Crops are Harmful to Your Health (good info on the effects of Roundup weed killer. Also, click on the links at the bottom of this article for more info.)

image credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Nude Pole Dancing on the Subway

Nude pole dancing on the New York subway and pole dancing on a pedicab (bike)! Two more reasons to ditch your car…

See the video here.

image credit: Wikimedia Commons–Creative Commons Public Domain

SOS: Angela Primbas Takes Pollution Clean-Up into her Own Hands

Most teenagers are busy texting their friends or playing video games. Not Angela Primbas. This teen is taking matters into her own hands when it comes to pollution. She and two friends of hers have formed Save Our Streams (S.O.S.), and new group dedicated to stopping the pollution of their backyard streams and the entire Lake Erie Watershed.

Says Angela,

When I was a kid, I can remember seeing a sign that was posted on one of the beaches at Lake Erie that said the beach was closed to swimming because of pollution. That was a big wake-up call for me. I also learned about pollution in my seventh-grade science class. Environmental issues weren’t really part of my school’s curriculum, but I was lucky enough to have a science teacher who really cared about the environment and shared with us some facts about pollution. Between those two avenues, I learned about the toll that pollution is having on our community.

You can read more of the interview with Angela at Mother Nature Network.

Image via NeilsPhotography on Flickr.

GOOD Magazine’s Water Issue–A MUST Read!

I once called Blue Planet Run a “must read“, and it is (so read it!). However, GOOD’s latest water issue* is easier to take with you, covers some new topics, and well, some people just prefer magazines.

I’m not sure if magazines can be called ‘must reads’–but if so, then this issue is (so read it!).

*The on-line edition does not have the content in its entirety, so consider buying the hard copy as well.

More on Water

Blue Planet Run
Green Options Articles tagged ‘Water’

image credit: flickr

Pollution Causes Dumb Babies

Yesterday, TIME magazine reported that pollution isnt just bad for your health - it is also linked with lower IQs in children. The study, which was published by the journal Pediatrics found that mothers who gave birth after living in places with high pollution have, on average, children with IQ scores that are four points lower than mothers who are pregnant in a clean environment.

“A difference in four points could be educationally meaningful in terms of school success,” says Frederica Perera, director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health and lead author of the study. The effect is comparable, she says, to the damage seen in children exposed to low levels of the toxic metal lead.

Nearly 20 children participated in the study, which first began in 1998 and has tracked them for over a decade. Read more about it at TIME.com.

Picture via Flickr.

Ecovolunteer: A New Kind of Travel Agency

You could say that Ecovolunteer is a travel agent. But the trips we organize are not your average holidays. They bring you to places that are not accessible to tourists. Where you get the possibility to protect nature and its inhabitants.

A friend told me that she was planning an eco-vacation, so I did a little research on the subject. As it turns on, a lot of eco-tourism is more about the tourism and less about the “eco.” Then, there are companies like Ecovolunteer.

You aren’t going to relax on your “vacation” though this company. Instead, think if it like a missioin trip. You can search for options by location or by species that interests you most. You apply for the trip, rather than just booking it, and although costs are fairly low, you won’t be sipping mojitos on the beach at any of these locations.

It’s a once in a lifetime experience, though. If you can afford it, consider travel that saves the earth, not just travel that looks at the natural environment and comments on how pretty it is! To learn more, check out the Ecovolunteer website.

Picture via sxc.hu