I hadn’t ever thought of this before, but does the Earth want us to conserve? compost? recycle?  Have I been butting my nose where it isn’t wanted?

According to Robert Laughlin, and featured in an article in Newsweek, (Newsweek, 9.12.10 by George Will) the Earth just may not care if we meddle.  Laughlin shares the idea that the geological timeframe of the Earth will happen regardless of what we do in the meantime. He argues that ‘Climate change over geologic time is, Laughlin says, something the earth has done “on its own without asking anyone’s permission or explaining itself.” People can cause climate change, but major glacial episodes have occurred “at regular intervals of 100,000 years,” always “a slow, steady cooling followed by abrupt warming back to conditions similar to today’s.”’ 

I must say, I see his point – and since he is a Nobel Prize winner in Physics, he has some ground to stand on.  Even so, I still think it is in the interest of human nature that we embrace conservation and show a respect for where we live. 

What are your thoughts?  Leave us a comment, a tweet, or an email.

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Summer is here, in full swing. 

There has been a lot of talk about the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, which hasn’t brought much positivity to the beach scene this season, but Rapanui Clothing may just have something to hang-ten about.

This is a company based out of the U.K. that practices sustainability  for the entire life cycle of surf clothing.  They feature organic fabrics, employ fair trade labor, and use renewable energy to power their machines.  The company was started by  brothers Rob & Mart Drake-Knight with the philosophy that making something that would be trendy and environmentally friendly would help it catch on – thus Rapanui Clothing was born.  The brothers must be doing something right, they were  listed to the Future 100 List of Top Young Ethical Entreprenuers in 2008.

What I love about their site is that you can click on an article of clothing you are interested in, then see how it is made.  Simply click on the link and a map will appear to show you the direct path it takes from creation in a fair trade fabric factory to the transportation route, including the amount of carbon used on its travel all the way to the Rapanui store.  NEAT-O!

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You think you have reached the brink of greendom, you have mastered the art of recycling – I hate to burst your bubble, but here are three things that you may think are green when in fact they are not. Don’t feel bad if you are guilty of any of these practices, shoot, I already know I violate at least two, this post is just to help us further open our minds to sustainability. 

Recycling

You may be sitting there right now thinking ‘ why in the world would I say that recycling isn’t green?!  ‘ Or you just re-read the title. did ya?  

Well, think of this – some people use recycling as an option to not reduce their currently un-green practices.  For example, do you know someone who picks up 24- 12oz water bottles on each grocery trip and put their finished bottles directly in the recycle bin upon completion?  This is a perfect display of using recycling as a scapegoat.  This person could very easily purchase gallons of water at a time & have them refilled at the grocery store or install a filter to their sink to avoid the recycle bin altogether. 

Same goes for beer bottles – consider purchasing a mini keg of your favorite brew instead of a six-pack, or visit a local brewery to pick up a growler (glass jug with a screw on lid with a plug), which is equivalent to a half gallon.  Some breweries offer a liter or quart size as well.

Reusable bags

Reusable bags have been one of my favorite things to promote here on GTB.  I love them, but then again, I am a little bit of a bag lady.   In my experience, a grocery store bagger will use 5 plastic bags to each reusable bag you bring to the store.  Say you usually go home with 5 reusable bags full of groceries – this means you saved 25 plastic bags!  A very green feat. 

So, what makes reusable bags unenvironmentally friendly?  Like I said, I typically walk away from an average grocery trip with 5 full reusable bags – I own at least 20 resuable bags.  This is 4 times beyond my necessary use.  

Excessive, yes.  My point – exactly. 

Just because reusable bags save plastic bags, there is no reason to have a huge, excessive collection beyond necessary use.  The good news is that there are still plenty of people who do not use reusable bags at the store -so carry one of your collection with you & pay it forward to someone in need   Ah, the gift that keeps on giving!

Hybrid cars

Hybrid cars are awesome.  I am a full supporter of finding a way to cut down on our natural resource use for transportation purposes.  However, I also believe that the auto industry over manufactues cars to a point of waste, and people get new cars at an unbelievable rate.  For every hybrid car made, there are several used cars out there.

Besides the waste of extra manufactured cars – people are driving too much.  Hybrid cars provide consumers an excuse to drive further and use more resources, whatever they may be, just because they burn at a slower rate.  Consider cutting your mobility by using a bike once or twice a week on leisure trips, or get a carpool started at your work.

Alright, I may have laid it on thick – but you know I have a point.  For your next green venture, consider it from all sides if it is in fact a sustainable event.

Have another idea that is green, but not – leave us a comment, tweet us @greenthinking, or email us at greenthinkinggtb@gmail.com.  We would love to hear what you have to say!

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IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME.

Can you hear the boom of James Earl Jones’ voice?  Can you see the crowds flocking to the fields? 

SCENE CHANGE

Hear the squawk of the seagulls, the gentle waves of the gulf lapping onto beaches free of little oil balls, the laughter of happy families enjoying their summer holiday on the coast…

This scene very well may happen since there is confirmation that BP will utiilize oil centrifuge machines to clean up our contaminated waters by seperating the oil from the water.  These machines, as seen below, are the environmental baby and $24 million investment of none other than Kevin Costner.  According to CBS News,  BP has contracted with Mr. Costner & Ocean Therapy Solutions to use 32 centrifuge machines to tackle the disaster that is in the water of the Gulf of Mexico – and they couldn’t start soon enough in my opinion.  

Costner has been an advocate and investor of this project for over twelve years, and as you will see in the video below, he is ticked that researchers have known about this idea for years and simply chose not to give it a try, which is why it has been funded privately to this point.  You would think giving these machines a whirl from the very beginning to try your chances would be a no brainer.  A test of them early on would have at least provided the process of elimination;  if these machines turn out to be the answer to our prayers, a lot of damage could have been avoided.   

Thank goodness a possible solution has finally surfaced instead of more oil balls.   

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Any sentence that includes oil and water normally doesn’t mix, especially after the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Well, for a few Lousianan pelicans, they were rescued from their hellish experience with the oil spill and given a new home in Texas.

Watch the video here, courtesy of Wesh.com.

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Have you ever felt like you were almost at a stopping point in your life?  Like your days just melt together and then you wake up to realize you are another year older?  I hope you haven’t had this feeling, but most of us have at one point or another – it like adult growing pains.

I recently had this experience, and it occurred to me that I just may need to do something a little radical to break the spell.  What I chose to do was an all-natural detox, this was the Spring Slim Down Detox, courtesy of Laurel from GTB’s favorite blog: Laurel On Health Food. 

It totally worked…in every aspect I was looking for.  By providing myself with the 7 day challenge to eat completely different than my normal diet I proved to myself that I have the power to make a difference.  In the instance of an all-natural detox, the outcome provided benefits to myself:

• Weight loss
• Mental Clarity
• Clearer skin
• Improved attitude (also a benefit to my friends & family)
• Some new breakfast & lunch options to continue with…

Last night I watched No Impact Man, a documentary about a family who decided to challenge themselves to create zero impact on our world for a year!  That is 365 days people, my challenge was one person, benefiting one person, for 7 days.  The Beavan Family was challenging three people, benefiting thousands if not millions, for 365 days.  They win. Hands down.

Colin Beavan created this challenge as a way to create awareness.  Granted, they went to the extreme by eliminating all forms of carbon producing transportation, including elevators, as well as eliminating dispoable toilet paper from their daily use (it really does affect our tree population), and all forms of electricity – which eventually converted to the use of a solar panel, but this family grew closer and changed their way of thinking during this experiment. 

 That is my favorite part.  Through living this way, by not adding any waste & contributing to the good in the world, they impacted so many people and probably had at least 100 people who saw their media coverage commit to making a change they could live with to help our environment – so, in my opinion, No Impact Man should have been called:  Impact Thousands of People -Man!

My other favorite part is that they discovered it wasn’t easy, but that they enjoyed their time along the way.  People gave the family some pretty tough critiques, but I think that is only because those with the criticism hadn’t had their minds open yet to the importance of the experiment.

Sure, it was radical, but in the end, the family decided on a few key things they could commit to doing on a regular basis, and it will make a change to our Earth.  It will. Seems to me they have the GTB philosophy down to a pat, just making the efforts to get their arms around the tree.

I would strongly recommend you consider giving yourself an eco-conscious challenge for the summer.  Consider biking to the farmer’s market each week or volunteering  with your favorite non-profit.  Maybe even just carrying a reusable bag is something that will work for your life, but see what you can do within your limits to help contribute to the preservation of our world.  Get those arms around the tree.

P.S.  They did take toilet paper back into their lives.

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Take a look at this video that could revolutionize your daily commute or trips to the grocery store. 

These Stanford University students took the opportunity to create an electric car that is under $10K that has an uncanny resemblance to an early stage Model T.   Look out Henry Ford – this ride allows a passenger to ride in open air without re-inhaling its fumes.

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As you should probably know, April 20th brought a 39 million gallons of oil into the gulf waters. 

You may have also noticed, it has been one month and eight days that I have decied not to address it.  I can’t, I can’t hardly read about it because it hurts my heart to think about that beautiful body of water to be invaded – by another resource of all things.

I can’t think about the coral that got damaged, the animals that have been injured, the anxiety that comes with thinking of how it could ever get restored to its original state. 

The Washington Post reported today that President Obama visited the Gulf Coast for the second time to see the oil approaching the shore.  What a day at the beach right?  The article reports that the ocean is blocked by “caution” tape and the beach is lined with pom poms to deter visitors, it also says that our President actually picking up several balls of tar the size of a nickel and dime. 

The reason I have been able to report on this extremely devastating event is because thre are several ways folks like you and me can help clean this up.

Besides actual clean up Events, BP is providing training for all volunteers and will determine what their task is:

Training Level Information:
Level 1 (Basic HSE Training) – This person would be a volunteer who would never come in contact with spilled oil (helping with beach cleanup, for example)

Level 2 (Contractors and Paraprofessionals) – This person would be a contractor who will be conducting work at the staging site Level 2 has a BP safety procedure that has to be instructed by someone who has been trained by BP or PEC Premier.

Level 3 (Wildlife Recovery and Rehabilitation) – This person would be a trained Wildlife Recovery & Rehabilitation volunteer, who will be helping with the clean-up of wildlife. It is a graded certification course. OSHA reviewed the Level 3 training package from PEC Premier and give special support for BP to use this training package, specifically for this incident. For this first wave of level 3 training, we are giving priority to the wildlife specialists and BP contractors. 

Level 4 – Responders who might have direct contact to petroleum (this would include boat captains and crew who are already contracted to BP). Those who are not contracted must work through the Vessel of Opportunity program. Safety, Marine and Hazwoper training is delivered if their vessel is selected to be contracted through that program.

 What level would you want to participate at?  Leave your comments here! or tweet to @greenthinking

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Who knew you could name a national holiday to honor the lack of carbon emissions for the transport to your home away from home?

Well, now you do!  Today, May 21, 2010 is National Bike to Work Day!  The League of American Bicyclists and GreenThinkingBlog, urge you to try this – if not today, someday.  And if not work, somewhere else.  Personally, if I rode my bike to work I would be riding for approximately 6 hours round trip, and therefore be unable to work   So – I have chosen to ride my bike to the grocery store and our local watering hole instead of that trek. 

When you do take up this momentus feat, be sure to do it safely.  WikiHow offers some great trips to ride your bike safe.  From techinical bike equipment checks, to reflective clothing, road rules, and everything in between!  Riding your bike is great exercise, but it also promotes a very green way to travel.  The less gas emissions that go out into the world, the longer we get to keep the Earth.

Happy Bike to Work Day readers!

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SmithsonianMag.com  recently shared that Wal-Mart will be substituting 114 million clear-plastic containers with PLA material, or polylactic acid which is derived from cornstarch.  Further, the retail giant will use this same naturally dervied material for their gift cards and calling cards.

According to the article, the material used in Wal-Mart Stores is estimated to save nearly the equivalent of 800,000 gallons of gasoline!

The article portrays an excellent first hand account of visiting the NatureWorks plant where corn is milled and turned into lactic acid – the plant plastic that uses 68% less greenhouse gas emissions than oil.  Apparently, Newman’s Own Organic salad mixes are already packaged in PLA and Wild Oats is a smaller retail chain in use of the biodegradable packaging.

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