ENN: Environmental News Network -- Know Your Environment

April Fools Day is probably my favorite non-official national holiday.  When else is it acceptable to cover a coworkers cubicle in post-it notes or to replace the cream inside of Oreos with toothpaste? Of course, I do not condone jokes that are cruel or needlessly waste resources, but I do support pranks that encourage a jovial spirit or contain a positive lesson. Below I have compiled 2 short lists, the first is a list of past eco-themed April Fools pranks and the other is a list of do-it-yourself pranks.

Large Scale Green April Fools Pranks

Al Gore’s Vegan Nubs (2009)

The website EcoRazzie announced that Al Gore was launching a product line of  Vegan Frozen Foods including buffalo wings and poppers.

False Apologies to Earth From Oil Company Testimony (2008)

The blog Act Green published testimony from oil executives from five large companies apologized for destroying our planet.

Organic Air at Whole Foods (2009)

Whole Foods Market Canada redesigned their website for April Fools to include organic air, and gorgonzola ice pops.

The Onion

The website The Onion is always coming up with original articles that satire eco policies/inventions and the environment.

Do-It-Yourself Pranks

Phone Pranks

Be like Bart Simpson and prank call someone you know, if your worried about caller ID try using a payphone . Extra points if you come up with a green themed identity.

Fake Food

Instead of using meat in your dinner try using a meat substitute. Another way to interpret this prank would be to make a dessert that looks like an entrée/side or vice versa. One year I completed this prank by using gummies and rice krispie treats to make a “sushi dinner”.

Make a Controlled Mess

Instead of wasting post-its or toilet paper to trash a coworker’s cubicle use paper from the recycle bin. That way you can re-recycle the paper when your done. Remember to get your boss’s  permission before making  a mess.

The Fake Bug

Place a fake bug in a un suspecting friend’s ice or in their cereal. Who doesn’t love a dead cockroach in their food?

Merry Pranking!  🙂

Band Chimps via Shutterstock

This weekend I attended a Fire Safety training session at a local Red Cross Chapter, where I learned how to “Be Cool About Fire Safety”, and how educating children about fire hazards not only protects children’s lives, but also their parents. After the session, my mind wandered from house fires, to the just as dangerous and destructive wildfires. My immediate knowledge of wildfires was limited to the devastating wildfires in California and Smokey the Bear, so I decided I should probably go online and do some research on wildfires myself.

In 2009 (the most recent statistic I could find), the United States Fire Association estimates 78,792 wildfires consumed 5,921, 786 acres. 90% of wild land fires are caused by humans. (e.g. unattended campfires and burning debris, cigarettes, intentional arson). The remaining 10% are naturally started by lightening or lava. Wild land fires put both human and animal lives at risk, pose a significant threat to property, and can negatively affect air quality.

Wildfires are destructive but in many cases can also be essential. According to the National Park Service, scientists have found that 33 native plant species in Everglades National Park depend on fire for long-term survival. Depending on the ecosystem, natural wildfires serve different purposes. In some case fires are actually prescribed by the Parks Service.

Whether you live in an area at risk for wildfires, or are just visiting a park, it is important to be mindful of wildfires. It is important to pay attention to the National Fire Danger Rating System, which calculates wildfire risk based on environmental factors such as humidity, drought, and fuel moisture. Below are useful links relating to wildfire prevention.  And Remember…. Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires!

Smokey the Bear’s History

Be Smart Outdoors Tips

Live Map of Wildfires in the United States

National Interagency Fire Center’s Tips for Protecting Your Home from Wildfire

The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Fire Wise Communities Program

Forest Fire Via Shutterstock

Kelly Vaghenas for Green Prophet reports on 13 surprising green ways to reuse tea bags.

As an avid tea drinker, I was intrigued when I stumbled upon a variety of sources that promoted the eco-friendly use of tea bags, outside the teacup. Arthur W. Pinero, an Englishman, of course, said, “Where there’s tea, there’s hope.”  That’s definitely true.  Brewed tea bags can provide a pick-me-up in ways you’d least expect.  Here are 13 of them. You can use tea…

1. As a cold compress.

Got tired eyes, bruises, or sunburn? Bee stings or mosquito bites?  Did your child just get a shot at the doctor’s but the free lollipop wasn’t consolation enough?  Apply a cool, moist tea bag to these kinds of affected areas on the skin to get soothing relief and quicker healing.

2. As a hot compress.

Trying to get rid of pinkeye, canker sores or fever blisters?  Or maybe a plantar wart smack dab in the middle of the sole of your right foot?  Warm, wet tea bags can draw out the infections.

3. To clean your carpets.

For more delicate, Persian or Oriental carpets, sprinkle almost-dry tea leaves on the carpet, and then sweep them away when dry.  Tea leaves on more heavy-duty carpets can be vacuumed.

4. To take a flavored bath.

Treat your skin as you would your taste buds, in the bathtub.  Give your bath salts a run for their money by running the bath water over several used tea bags.  You’ll have yourself an aromatic, skin-softening soak in no time.

5. To feed your garden.

Cultivate your healthy plants and bring your dying ones back to life by breaking open a soaked tea bag and disseminating the contents over the soil.  Roses and ferns do especially well with the acidic tannins found in tea.

Don’t have a garden? Add the used tea leaves to your enrich your compost pile – and if you don’t have that, make one.  (Remember to take the staples out of the tea bag, if there are any.)

6. To eliminate odors around the house.

Put dried tea leaves in your garbage can and your kitten’s litter box.  They’ll also suck up food odors when stuck in a bowl in the fridge.  And combine them with your favorite essential oils to make all-natural air fresheners.

Odors might also be closer than you think: especially if you’ve been handling fish, your hands might smell…fishy.  Rinse your hands with old tea.  As for your mouth and all that bad-breath bacteria, skip the shocking Listerine and go for a gentle mint tea mouth rinse.

To read the other seven ways to reuse tea bags, see Green Prophet.

Tea bag image via Shutterstock.

What are you doing at 8:30 pm on March 23^rd? Are you doing something cliché like going out for a nice dinner and a movie? Instead, how about joining millions of people from around the world by participating in Earth Hour, an event where you shut off your lights to express your concern for the environment and show support for planet Earth.

Earth Hour is the brainchild of WWF, the World Wildlife Fund. Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million residents turned off non-essential lights. Since then, Earth Hour has spread to 152 countries and is considered the largest symbolic mass participation event in the world. Last year lights were turned off in historic landmarks like Big Ben, the Taj Mahal, and even the International Space Station.  For Participants and events nearby where you live check out the interactive map at Earthhour.org.

In addition to ‘lights off’ challenge, Earth Hour also has a “beyond the hour” global challenge called “I Will If You Will”. The idea behind “I Will If You Will”, which is based out of YouTube, is simple. Participants can make a promise to do something if a certain number of people promise to take a particular ongoing action to help the environment. Last year Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr promised to conduct a free yoga class if 500 people created challenges of their own. Some of the wilder “I Wills” this year include promising to dress like a super hero to go around collecting  used batteries, promising to play the piano for 8 hours nonstop, promising to eat 100 Oreos with mustard on top, and promising to swim with a great white shark.

To tell you the truth, when I first heard about Earth Hour I was skeptical about what turning your lights out for an hour would accomplish. It is not possible to get everyone to turn off all their lights and to return earth to its natural darkness, but after investigating Earth Hours website, I began to understand the impact of the a symbolic gesture of turning off excess light.

Where I live I am lucky if when I look up into the night sky I can see a dozen stars. Pledging to participate in Earth Hour will give me the opportunity to theorize what life would be like if we all used a little less electricity and our factories created a little less smog.  Opting to live Earth Hour by candle light can equal a fun or romantic evening, not to mention how not relying on artificial light, like from electronics or the TV, could improve your sleep. It is important that every person considers  how their every day actions effects the environment, participating in Earth Hour forces people to do that.

I strongly suggest checking out Earth Hours website, beside the “lights off”, and “I Will If You Will” campaigns the website also has educational games for children.

Earth at Night via Shutterstock

As a blog writer for ENN I am always looking tools for helping me to reduce my carbon footprint. While reading the Sierra Club Home Blog I read an interview with Susan Hunt Stevens, the founder of  Practically Green, a website designed for people who want to live more sustainably but aren’t sure where to start. Being that the site was free and I had somehow already found a way to flub my “easy green New Year’s Resolutions”, I decided that there would be no harm in exploring the site.

Upon joining Practically Green I was given a quiz of potential “green actions” to take around the house.  Each action is given a points value, along with a detailed explanation of its importance, directions on how to complete the action, and green products that can help you complete the action ( a little  commercial but a website needs funding). You are then given the opportunity to mark the action as completed, skip the action or, set the action as goal. If you choose to set the action as a goal you are given the opportunity to schedule a completion date, allowing you to complete the goal in a timely fashion that best fits you. After completing the quiz you are given the opportunity to choose additional goals/actions which are grouped by category under the Actions tool bar.

What I like about Practically Green is it allows you to make changes at the pace that works best for you. Unlike some websites, where users are encouraged to make instant pledges, Practically Green understands that many changes cannot be made in a day. Practically Green’s design reflects that not all changes are equal or easy to make right away.  Another aspect of Practically Green that I find helpful is that it can be programmed to send email reminders of support to you.

Unlike RecycleBank, which I wrote about last September, users of Practically Green cannot earn physical rewards for their points earned from pledging. Instead, Practically Green works like the Boy/Girls Scouts and allows users to win badges with their points earned. Like Recyclebank, it allows the user to link their accounts with Facebook and to become members of the websites larger community. Personally I am not a fan of these features but other people might find these features motivational.

Whether you just use the website to set green goals for yourself, or take advantage of the websites full range of resources, Practically Green is a great tool for anyone who wants to lead a more sustainable lifestyle but knows they will need support.

Green Checklist via Shutterstock

Most people watch movies to be entertained or for escapism, but film can also serve another purpose. Documentary films can introduce viewers to new human (or animal) experiences and can challenge viewers to reflect on their own lives. In celebration of the 85^th Academy Awards I have compiled a list of environmentally themed Academy Awards Nominated feature length documentaries from the last few years.  Happy viewings!

If A Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011)

If A Tree Falls  takes an inside look at the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), a radical environmental group which the FBI has labeled America’s ‘number one domestic terrorist threat’. By focusing on the story of Daniel McGowan, a member arrested in 2005 and given a life sentence for committing arson, the movie explores the issues of environmentalism, activism, and terrorism.

GasLand (2010)

After being asked to lease his property for natural gas drilling, Filmmaker Josh Fox goes decides to investigate the safety and secrets behind the fast growing industry of fracking.

Waste Land (2010)

Contemporary artist Vik Muniz travels to Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, where he forms a relationship with  the catadores, pickers of recyclable materials found in the landfill.

The Cove (2009) (Winner)

A group of animal activists travel to Japan to expose the maltreatment of dolphins who are being slaughtered for meat, even though consumption of dolphin meat can pose as a serious health risk.

Food, Inc (2008)

Food, Inc takes a critical look at food production industry, which has changed drastically since the 1950’s. The documentary examines the negative impacts corporations, science, and technology, can have on human and environmental health.

Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

Filmmaker Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica with a mission to document it’s breathtaking beauty and the unique personalities of the scientists who choose to live there.

The Garden (2008)

After the L.A. riots in 1992, a 14-acre blighted field gets turned into the largest community garden in the United States, but when a decade later the land get’s sold to a private contractor and community members must fight back if they want to keep their oasis.

An Inconvenient Truth (2006) (Winner)

Ex-Vice President (and present environmentalist) Al Gore presents the case for the existence of  global warming and the potential impact it may have worldwide.

Darwin’s Nightmare (2006)

Darwin’s Nightmare explores the impacts of globalization. When Nile perch were introduced to Lake Victoria in Tanzania they quickly dominated the eco system. The fish are now so plentiful they are exported around the world in exchange for guns and ammunition.

March of the Penguins (2005) (Winner)

March of the Penguins chronicles the epic migration of the regal yet quirky emperor penguin.

Notes: Unfortunately, at this time I admit to have only seen the film March of the Penguins, so I have turned to IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Data Base) for help. Trailers for the movies are mostly available on the movies official web page and can be found on IMDB.com as well. I have provided the necessary links.

Also, please feel free to share your opinions about the movies or recommend environmental documentary’s of your own liking.  And if you’re a fan of watching movies but not a big fan of documentaries check out my article from last year.

Popcorn via Shutterstock

Family planning is an important topic when talking about the environment and climate change.  According to the UN Population Fund, the battle against global warming could be helped if the world slowed population growth by distributing free condoms and made family planning resources more readily available. This idea might at first sound a little obtuse, but consider the following: each year Earths population grows by about 80 million people, each one of these people will require resources and produce their own carbon footprint.  The distribution of condoms could help control this population growth, since a large amount of pregnancies are unplanned, especially in areas without access to birth control.

Of course, condoms have sustainability issues of their own.

According to Global Industry Analysts Inc., by 2015 the global condom market will reach 27 Billion units. A large portion of condoms, over 10 Billion, are made in Asia and Malaysia (Malaysia is currently one of the world’s largest natural rubber producers).  About 90% of condoms are made from latex (natural rubber) and other common materials for condoms include lamb skin and polyurethane.

 On their own, latex and lambskin are biodegradable. Unfortunately lamb skin does not protect against STIs, and additives and lubricants can affect latex condoms ability to biodegrade. Polyurethane is not biodegradable. Another issue with the afterlife of condoms is that even though most condoms have the ability to degrade at some degree, their packaging may not.  Due to the nature of the product, condoms cannot be reused or recycled, but that doesn’t mean packaging shouldn’t be. Newer niche brands like Sir Richards and French Letter are focusing on making their condoms eco conscious by using sustainable materials and fair labor and manufacturing practices.

As I mentioned earlier, a large portion of condoms are made on the Asian continent and are then distributed worldwide. Though many of these condoms are bought by the UN and then distributed for free, the practice of importing/exporting condoms such large distances in unsustainable. The Brazilian Government, which is the largest single buyer of condoms in the world, created a policy in 2008 to reduce their import dependence along with creating jobs, and protecting the rain forest.

The process for tapping for rubber in Brazil is extremely sustainable. Tapping does not hurt the trees, allowing Brazilians to make profit off of the forest while preserving it at the same time, de incentivizing deforestation. The program will provide an income for 550 families, and the factory built to make the condoms has the ability to produce 100 million condoms a year.

Whether or not you believe that the free distribution of condoms will have a direct impact on global warming (or that you believe in global warming), it is pretty clear that the use and distribution of condoms will have an effect on the environment. Not only are condoms an effective tool for population control, but by protecting against the transmission of STI’s, condoms can reduce the use of antibiotics, which can accidently contaminate our waterways. Also, because so many condoms are “consumed” a year, it is important to consider the environmental impact not only of the condom itself, but also of its packaging and distribution.

Condom Packaging via Shutterstock

By Debra Atlas, Sierra Club Green Home

Almost half of the nearly 250 million tons of garbage that winds up in landfills in the U.S. each year could be composted.  An average single-family household throws away about 45 pounds of food scraps and food-soiled paper every month—around 25% of total trashed materials! Sierra Club Green Home explores a growing trend that creates a viable alternative to this: curbside food waste collection.

Already over 160 communities in 16 states have implemented curbside food waste collection programs. “The growth trajectory [for these programs] has been increasing by about 50 percent for the past three years,” said Rhodes Yepsen, an organics recycling expert from biodegradable and compostable materials developer Novamont North America. “The number of food waste facilities in the U.S. is growing, and many yard trimming [compost] facilities are applying for new permitting to make the switch to food waste collection.”

Composting organic waste—like kitchen scraps and yard trimmings—can be recycled into valuable compost used to enrich soil in landscaping and road construction projects. It also helps reduce the amount of methane, a by-product of landfill and food waste, that’s released into the air. A report issued by the EPA in 2011 noted that composting all the food scraps in California, for example, would cut emissions by 5.8 million metric tons each year.

Supermarkets and restaurants can also make a difference by participating in these programs. “Supermarkets generate large volumes of organic [waste],” said Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. “And, combined with recycling programs for cardboard and shrink wrap, [they] can recycle more than 70 percent of the waste they generate.”

Leading the trend since 1996, San Francisco’s programs have helped to divert 80 percent of waste from its landfills, explained Robert Reed of San Francisco’s Recology, a resource recovery center in the city.  Over the past four years, Recology has seen an increase of green bin tonnage from 350 tons to 600 tons each day day! Reed noted that, over an eleven year period, San Francisco has reduced the tonnage going to landfills by 49 percent. “It’s the highest [percentage of diversion] in North America.”

Along with increased diversion, these programs produce a cost savings. With consumers reducing their garbage through food scrap programs, landfill waste collectors can reduce their weekly collections. In places like Portland, Oregon; King County, Washington; and several counties in Minnesota; composting programs have allowed a cut in weekly garbage collections to every other week.

Many towns provide kitchen scrap pails and encourage the use of approved compostable bags for collecting food waste. Some programs are “pay-as-you-throw”; others offer varied rates to customers.

For more information like what counts as food waste and what to do if you don’t have curbside food waste collection in your neighborhood, check out Sierra Club Green Home.

Food waste image via Shutterstock.

Many people believe that Valentine’s Day is a holiday made up by the card industry just to increase consumer spending and to make single people feel bad, and maybe they are right. According to a new survey by the National Retail Association, the American 2013 Valentine’s Day season is expected to reach 18.9 billion in spending. The survey found 51.0% of gift givers will buy candy (1.6 billion dollars), 36.6% will give flowers (1.9 billion dollars), 19.7% will give jewelry (4.4 billion dollars), 15.6% will buy clothing (1.6 billion dollars), and 15.0% will buy gift cards (1.5 billion dollars).

I appreciate a cute card or bouquet of flowers as much as the next person, but unfortunately these Valentines gifts are not usually green or eco friendly. Below I have compiled a list of traditional Valentines gifts and practices and I have paired them with a more eco-friendly option. Enjoy!

Store Bought Cards

As romantic as a card that sings Justin Beiber’s “Baby” when opened is, what are the chances that the card won’t end up in the trash after a week? According to Hallmark, over 151 million store bought cards are exchanged every year for Valentine’s Day. That’s a lot of cards and subsequently a lot of trees go into making those cards.

Instead Try:

Try making your own card out of recyclable materials or leftover objects found around the house. If you are not the creative type a paper free idea is to send an e-card. If you still want to buy a store bought cards, look for products made from recycled materials.

Store Bought Chocolate

Chocolate can also have a nasty environmental impact. Not only does the crop cocoa requires the second largest use of pesticides, but store bought chocolates come with a ridiculous amount packaging and preservatives.

Instead Try:

There are many brands of luxury bars that are either fair trade or organic. Another option without excess packaging is to go to your nearest candy shop and pick up some home-made fudge or chocolates.

Roses

Roses may smell sweet but the practices that go into them are not. For most of the United States Valentine’s Day takes place during the winter which means it’s not a hospitable habitat for growing flowers.  This means the flowers have to be flown in from greenhouses from as far away as Ecuador. Also, the growing of greenhouse roses can rely heavily on pesticides, which have been linked to birth defects among greenhouse workers children.

Instead Try:

If you still want to buy a bouquet of roses but want to reduce your footprint buy organic or local grown flowers. An even more romantic gesture would be to plant your own rose bush for your backyard to represent your love blooming eternally.

Jewelry

We’ve been told that diamonds are a girl’s best friend and that every kiss begins with Kaye, but what goes into making bling? To produce 1 oz of gold requires 20 tons of waste rock and can create Acidic Mine Drainage which is harmful to the environment.  Diamond mining is also extremely destructive to the environment, not to mention blood diamonds and other ethical issues attached to mining diamonds and gems.

Instead Try:

There are many eco-responsible options if you want to buy jewelry for Valentine’s Day. One option is to buy jewelry that is fair trade. Another option is to buy jewelry made from recycled metals or re used stones. A fun option would be to buy a vintage piece brought from an antique or vintage shop.

Remember, Valentine’s Day is about having fun and showing the people you love how you care about them.  

For more Green Valentines Suggestions check out these pages by the Sierra Club or check out ENN’s past article on green dating:

http://www.sierraclub.org/holidays/valentines/tips.aspx

http://content.sierraclub.org/holidays/green-your-valentines-day

green heart via shutterstock

by Luke Dale-Harris, The Ecologist

Even if the naysayers are right and they produce little else, wind farms most certainly generate debate.

Ever since they started to become a tangible reality over a decade ago, popping up across our treasured landscapes and punctuating our horizons, they have thrown up questions that draw straight into our relationship with the idea of global warming.

Among doubts of their efficiency, cost and reliability, and fears of their aesthetic impact on our countryside, a more basic question is raised: how serious are we prepared to believe the threat of climate change really is, and how much are we prepared to forsake to try and avoid it?

The answer, for many at least, seems to be not very, and not much.

But the argument has become misplaced. In trying to deal with an issue that has come about due to our disregard of the natural world we live in, we have fallen again into an entirely human centric approach, our hands on our wallets and our eyes on our favorite picnic spots. This is, of course, understandable. Money is tight, and the beauty of our countryside important.

But, as wind farms will continue to be built, the result is that they are moved to areas where land is cheap, and human habitation scarce. Unfortunately, these tend also to be the areas where biodiversity is rich, and endangered species populous. In trying to keep renewable energy as inconspicuous and inconsequential as possible, we end up blighting the very thing we set out to protect.

A while ago the RSPB released a map showing the areas most sensitive to wind farms in England and Scotland, based on their levels of biodiversity and fragility of their bird populations. Sometime later, the Guardian released a map of all the wind farms, both completed and proposed, across UK. The correlation is obvious; our wind farms are gravitating to the areas where they are most damaging.

Of course there is another element at play here; wind. These same areas, removed from human habitation, are often where the weather is at its most extreme and, across Europe, where wind speeds are consistently highest. But renewable energy companies aren’t alone in looking to harness this energy.

Migrating birds, especially larger species and birds of prey, choose their routes largely in accordance with wind patterns, using the strong currents found above high and open terrain to propel them forwards in their journeys. When the two meet, there are bloody consequences.

This has been the case at the poorly sited wind farms at Nevarre and Tarifa in Spain and, more famously, at the vast site that spans the Altamont pass in California. In these cases, hundreds of rare and endangered birds, most notably Golden Eagles and Griffon Vultures, are killed each year from collisions with wind turbines.

Due to the long life span and low reproductive rates of these species, over time this will have a dramatic impact on their populations and, if the turbines remain in place, could ultimately lead to the extinction of the most fragile species in the regions surrounding the wind farms.

Continue reading at The Ecologist.

Bird and wind turbine image via Shutterstock.