Planet Green Network

I was a bit ill the other week and was at home flipping through the channels and I re-found a channel that I really enjoy. The Planet Green Network brought to you by your friends at the Discovery Channel. Check your local TV Channel subscriber for the actual channel number in your area, but here in Queens Time Warner Cable you can find it on channel number 114. As I mentioned I watched the channel in the early going but the shows were a bit stale and was a bit to much catered to the extreme tree hugger. However things have changed a lot. They have great entertaining and informative shows. Such as "Living with Ed", Ed Begley jr. and his family and their quest for a green life, a real fun show with true quirky reality. I like "Wa$ted" with Annbelle Gurwitch and some lame guy (Holter Graham). Gurwitch you might remember from "TBS Dinner and a Movie." In the show they get people to understand their wasteful ways and pays them to change. "Supper Club" with Tom Bergeron is a really cool combination of a cooking show and talk show. Tom has four guest and a chef over for dinner. The chef cooks with local products and the four guest eat and discuss recent green trends. Recent guests have been Aisha Tyler, Drew Lachey, Mariel Hemingway, Martin Mull, just to name a few. "Emeril Green" is a cooking show using products from Wholefoods Market. For the younger crowd, "Battleground Earth" Rocker Tommy Lee and Rapper Ludicris recruit help and go through Eco Challenges each week. "Renovation Nation" is an Eco version of "This Old House". There are a few other shows and I really mean "few". That has been the problem with this channel although they have great shows, they just don't have enough of them. They run new programing during prime time then repeat the shows again and again until the next night. So if you miss the new "Living with Ed" at 8pm, don't fret it's gonna repeat a couple of times that night and the next day. Usually about every three hours. So if you have an idea for a Green Show send it to Discovery Channel. To see a list of all their current shows click here.

How much is too much?

Musgrove Willows is a UK supplier of willows for weaving and they offer classes for what to do with them. Recently they offered a class which teaches people to weave your own casket for $500. Yes I said Casket. The class, when offered, apparently filled up immediately. Their was a such a response from the public that Musgrove Willows intends to offer it again in the fall and will offer it on a regular basis. Until the time that you might need your casket, they suggest you use it as a place to store blankets or possibly a coffee table. I am writing this post kinda late so please insert your own joke HERE. But I will add my usual question, so what are you gonna do?

Look how far we've come . . .

A Calvin & Hobbes strip from July 23, 1987 - over 20 years ago…

Katherine Heigl Pays Fisherman To Release Catch Back Into Ocean

I am not a big fan of Katherine Heigl, especially after the Prima Donna move she did to the writers of Grey's Anatomy and other tidbits that I hear about her. But this piece of news I'm a bit mixed on. Apparently during a trip to Mexico she spotted a local fisherman catching a yellow finned tuna and she offered the man $100 bucks to release the tuna back to the sea. The man declined until she doubled the offer. She's good looking and I'm a guy so she gets a little leeway, but cut the Prima Donna stuff.

Tap'd NY Bottle Water

The latest craze to make a buck is Tap'd NY Bottle Water. This company makes no secret that their water is straight from the NYC faucet. Craig Zucker said he came up with the idea when visiting NY from Ohio in 2003. He uses reverse osmosis to purify the water. My brother has a home system in his house in Las Vegas, the water does taste very good. The price will be similar to Poland Spring and others but Zucker is hoping that east coast environmentalist would want the "local" product. His actual cost is that of the bottle and the local water bill from the state and city.

Please, please, please just get a reusable water bottle and a water filtering system like a brita system and save your money and the earth.

David Letterman On Global Warming: “We’re Dead Meat”

In true Letterman style, he can make people smile while getting his point across on a serious matter.

What about me?

I'm not a pushy person who throws my beliefs on people and says "Here, think this way!!!!" I just write this blog when I find something that I find interesting. Over the past two weeks I have found that three of my closest friends don't read the blog and haven't read the blog since I started it (and I have two of them listed in my personal links). That is how much I am not pushy. When I see or write an article that might interest them I e-mail directly.

Since I started to make an effort to reduce my carbon foot print, I have reduce my garbage by recycling more, started using reusable bags when going grocery shopping, buying more local products, making an effort to recycle everything, switched all my bulbs to CFL, cut my showers to less than five minutes, since I do not have a area to plant a tree I have more plants in the house, unplug my electronics when I'm not using them (killing phantoms), hand out recycle bags at the Jets tailgate, bought a more efficient car, walk more often (lost weight with this one), use a reusable water bottle, spread the word without being pushy, and tried to learn about more ways to help improve the environment, the world, and the lives of the people I love. Also write this blog to spread the word. It's a long process and not one that can happen in a day, after all the big man upstairs took 6 and then took a day off.

So what are you gonna do?

Bottle water consumption is down in the US

Good news, bottled water consumption is down in the US. The bad news is that although bottle water consumption is down, it will still increase in sales about 6.7%. Since bottle water came on the scene it's sales have increased in sales every year by at least 15% annually. This is the first year that it's growth is under 10%. Despite it's decline there is still a quite large amount of bottles reaching our landfills everyday. If you purchase bottle water please reuse and recycle them. In some states tap water is actually used in bottle water, it's just filtered like a Brita filter. I have previously posted about myths of bottle water please read that.

And yes that was me handing out recycle bags to fellow tailgaters at the Jets Pats game yesterday.

Car gets 65 MPG, but you can't get it in America

Ford's latest offering is the 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic, however it will only be available overseas. It's not a hybrid car, it runs on diesel. Because of the smell of diesel fuel Americans don't like it. In Europe half the cars that were sold last year ran on diesel fuel, only a third of autos in the states were diesel and that statistic included tractor trailers. The fact is, new diesel vehicles have anti-pollution technology that make them as cleaner or cleaner than gasoline-powered vehicles. The new diesel cars are also 30% more fuel-efficient than gasoline-powered cars.

Wind Power in NYC

Mayor Bloomberg discussed the future possibility of wind power in New York. Although many experts think it would be to costly and would take to long to develop, the Mayor hopes to have a wind power plan developed and is actually excepting plans until September 19th. The Mayor plans to have wind power to fulfill 10 percent of the city's power needs. He is hoping to have something set up either in the Staten Island landfills or off shore in the waters. The picture was created after a few reports suggested that maybe they can go on New York City Landmarks.

To read more on this click here http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/08/20/2008-08-20_windwin_situation_for_new_york_city.html

What do you think and where would you put a wind power generator?

Some Celebs who are doing their part

Actress Emmy Rossum Showing her Pink support


Singer Pink is looking into adopting children


Actress Diane Lane long time environmentalist


News Anchor Jodi Applegate driving an Eco-Friendly SmartCar


Actress Natalie Portman - Outspoken Environmentalist

Robin Williams is Funny

They say laughter keeps you healthy, a healthier person is a green person (that is my tie-in to green).

Robin Williams is an over the top comic that is a bit to much for some people. But I like him, it's my kind of humor. He was on Letterman last night and here is a few tidbits he had

On the Olympics: "I like watching the women's gymnastics or should I say the Chinese Day Care . . ."

"It was amazing what Michael Phelps was able to do in the body Condom . . ."

". . . when he was out of the water you would say 'oh look he's Jewish'"

On George Bush: "I wonder what he's gonna do after his term, it's not like he can do what other presidents did and go on a speaking tour."

It was a lot funnier when he said it.

Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED)

Check out this short video to see what GE is creating for the future of lighting. Pushing the envelope for effciency and creativity.

http://www.efactormedia.com/archive/ge_oled/index.html

LUSH Cosmetics cause a stir on Herald Square

Employees of LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics went naked for a good cause in Herald Square on Wednesday, Aug. 27th - and called for others to do the same. The cheeky crew urged customers to "go naked" by purchasing earth-friendly products free of excess packaging. LUSH employees doffed their duds, wearing only aprons that read 'ASK ME WHY I'M NAKED.' Having a background in Marketing and women, I would have to say that this was a very good advertising push (wink, wink).

Top 6 Myths: About Bottled Water

This article was sent to me by a very good friend (thank you, you know who you are), she knows that I have quit drinking soda and have tried to just drink water and green tea. The article is from the Marie Clarie website.

MYTH #1:
BOTTLED WATER IS BETTER THAN TAP.
Not necessarily. While labels gush about bottled water that "begins as snowflakes" or flows from "deep inside lush green volcanoes," between 25 and 40 percent of bottled water comes from a less exotic source: U.S. municipal water supplies. (Bottling companies buy the water and filter it, and some add minerals.) That's not really a bad thing: The Environmental Protection Agency oversees municipal water quality, while the Food and Drug Administration monitors bottled water; in some cases, EPA codes are more stringent.

MYTH #2:
PURIFIED WATER TASTES BETTER.
The "purest" water — distilled water with all minerals and salts removed — tastes flat; it's the sodium, calcium, magnesium, and chlorides that give water its flavor. The "off" taste of tap water is the chlorine; if you refrigerate it in a container with a loose-fitting lid, the chlorine taste will be gone overnight.

MYTH #3:
BOTTLED WATER WITH VITAMINS, MINERALS, OR PROTEIN IS MORE HEALTHY THAN REGULAR WATER.
"Vitamins, color, herbs, protein, and all the other additions to water — those are a marketing ploy," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., professor of nutrition studies at New York University. Plus, the additives are usually a scant serving of the vitamins you really need in a day, adds Amy Subar, Ph.D., a nutritionist with the National Cancer Institute. Enhanced waters usually contain sugars and artificial flavorings to sweeten the deal and can pack more calories than diet soda. When it comes to providing fluoride, tap water usually wins, though that element is increasingly being added to bottled waters.
MYTH #4:
YOU NEED EIGHT 8-OUNCE GLASSES OF WATER EACH DAY.
The Institute of Medicine recommends about 91 ounces (a little more than 11 8-ounce glasses) of fluid daily for women. But here's the thing: It expects 80 percent of that to come from water, juice, coffee, tea, or other beverages and the remaining 20 percent from food. That means if you drink a 12-ounce cup of coffee and a 12-ounce can of diet soda, you only need 48 more ounces (three 16-ounce glasses, or four soda cans' worth) for the day.

MYTH #5:
AFTER AN INTENSE WORKOUT, BOTTLED WATER IS BEST.
There's a reason volunteers hand out Gatorade during marathons. If your workout lasts longer than an hour, you need to replace the water and electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, that you've lost (that's what sports drinks generally do). For less intense workouts, regular water is fine.

MYTH #6:
WATER BOTTLES ARE EASY ON THE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE THEY CAN BE RECYCLED.
Wouldn't it be nice? And it's not just the bottles. Eco-costs include manufacturing, trucking, shelving, and marketing. And meeting the annual U.S. demand for plastic bottles requires enough oil to keep 100,000 cars on the road for a year, says Janet Larsen of the Earth Policy Institute. Sure, the 70 million empty water bottles the U.S. produces per day can be recycled, but the sad truth is, about 86 percent of them end up in the trash. Hardly worth it, for what flows out of the tap and into a reusable glass for free.