Brothel in Berlin, Germany, Maison d'Envie (aka House of Desire), cuts rates for 'green' customers

This is just to make you smile . . .

A brothel in Germany offers a discount to patrons who are green and arrive there on a bicycle. I know how funny is that! Apparently there is a terrible parking situation there and patrons have a hard time as they circle the block for parking. If they have to wait for parking most end up going to a different "House". Discounts are issued when patrons show proof of how they arrived. The discounts are also given for those who take public transportation. No discount is offered yet to those who walk because they haven't been able to figure out how to have them prove it. To find out more you are going to have to read more yourself (sorry).

So now German Brothels are going green, what are you gonna do?

Confusion, lack of space discourage New Yorkers from recycling more

I thought this was important enough to present the entire article whole. I read it on the Daily News website. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/10/04/2009-10-04_how_green_is_my_city_not_too_much_pros_blame_confusion__lack_of_space.html



Reduce, reuse, recycle - well, not so much.

New Yorkers are still tossing out more than half the stuff they should be recycling, managing to go green only 42% of the time.

Recycling rates had been steadily improving since the program was first implemented 20 years ago.

But they've been flat ever since a big part of the city's recycling collection was suspended for two years in a post-9/11 budget crisis.

Plenty of the blame lies with confusion over what can be recycled and what can't:

Plastics labeled 1 and 2 - always; 3 through 7, never. Egg cartons - but only if they're cardboard. Milk cartons, for certain, but no yogurt containers. Glasses, but no glassware. Batteries, yes; rechargeable batteries, nope.

"The hard part is getting people to understand," said East Harlem building superintendent James Underwood as he sorted through the trash.

Joan Botta of the Bronx is a dedicated recycler and still can't keep everything straight.

"Once I put a yogurt cup in there and I got a ticket. I just don't understand that one," said the 60-year-old Pelham Gardens resident.

Another problem? There's just nowhere to store three or four different types of trash in cramped New York quarters.

"You have to put each thing in a different place, you can't put anything together and it's too much for me now," said James Harrison, 76, of Mott Haven, the Bronx, which has one of the worst recycling rates in the city.

Environmentalists wish the city would put more effort into educating New Yorkers about recycling.

"There's no reason why we can't do as well as San Francisco and Seattle, both of which have more items on their [recycling] list than we do," said Eric Goldstein, senior attorney for the National Resources Defense Council.

Robert Lange, director of recycling for the Sanitation Department, said New York does pretty well when compared with other huge cities with a lot of apartments.

The neighborhoods that recycle the most household paper, plastic, glass and metal have more single-family homes. Queens has the best residential recycling record, followed by Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn and the Bronx, which recycles only 34% of what it could.

"I think we're a little more eco-conscious than other neighborhoods," said David Fullman, a homeowner in Bayside, Queens, which has one of the best recycling records of the city's 59 sanitation districts.

New Yorkers might be a little greener if the fines for ignoring the rules were bigger than $25, Lange said. "Twenty-five dollars is not a strong motivator for an apartment building to recycle," he said.

The economics aren't so great for the city, either. The city is paid between $5 million and $20 million a year by recycling companies for our paper, metal, glass and plastic.

It still costs more per ton to recycle than to ship garbage to an out-of-state landfill.

Still, environmentalists say, that shouldn't stop people from thinking about the biggest cost of all: the Earth's future.

Every New Yorker throws out 16 pounds of household trash a week - and only 15% of it is ultimately recycled.

"Many people here don't follow the rules," said Arif Mata, who lives in the northern section of Staten Island. "A lot of people just want to put all the garbage in one big bag and throw it away."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/10/04/2009-10-04_how_green_is_my_city_not_too_much_pros_blame_confusion__lack_of_space.html#ixzz0SzNt9JJG

Bamboo Bike Studio

http://www.bamboobikestudio.com/

I think you are gonna like this one. Three people in Red Hook Brooklyn are teaching people how to make their very own custom custom bike out of bamboo. I know how cool is that. A 16 hour, two day course is given every other weekend and costs $1250. You are measured and then taught step by step to build your own custom bike. There are several advantages of bamboo bikes such as they are more lighter, uses less steel, and offers a smoother ride. However the owners are doing this to perfect the technique to create more efficient bike-building methods for underdeveloped nations.

Take a look at the website, it's loaded with information about this. I think it would be an excellent gift for a a certain person "going green".

Kudos to the Bamboo Bike Studio for making a difference, so now what are you gonna do?

Julia Stiles Cares About The Environment More Than You

I like Julia Stiles, I think she's a good actress, she lives and goes to school in New York and she's green. But now I know she actually has a sense of humor. Just a little something to make you smile.

Chevy Volt thinks it can get 230 MPG . . .

I love progress! That said, GM claims that the Chevy Volt can get 230 mpg. I know, how cool is that! Currently the Toyota Prius averages about 50 city and highway combined. The Volt starts with a 40 mile range on electricity. So if you are only running local errands you can possibly do so using no gas. After that a small engine kicks in that generates the electricity. The battery packs can be plugged into a regular outlet and can be fully charged for about 40 cents a day.

So now the bad news. It probably won't be available till the end of 2010. There are still a lot of kinks they are working out in the battery and power cord. Also the first models are gonna cost about $40,000 base. So if you need some extras (sunroof, etc.) it's gonna cost you. But still very promising news. Ahhh taxpayers money making the rich richer, the American way.

GM is trying to do what it can to make a difference, what are you gonna do?

Earth Days Movie

From the press release of the Film, "Earth Days" due out August 14th.

It is now all the rage in the Age of Al Gore and Obama, but can you remember when everyone in America was not Going Green? Visually stunning, vastly entertaining and awe-inspiring, Earth Days looks back to the dawn and development of the modern environmental movement—from its post-war rustlings in the 1950s and the 1962 publication of Rachel Carsons incendiary bestseller Silent Spring, to the first wildly successful 1970 Earth Day celebration and the subsequent firestorm of political action.

Earth Days secret weapon is a one-two punch of personal testimony and rare archival media. The extraordinary stories of the eras pioneers—among them Former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall; biologist/Population Bomb author Paul Ehrlich; Whole Earth Catalog founder Stewart Brand; Apollo Nine astronaut Rusty Schweickart; and renewable energy pioneer Hunter Lovins—are beautifully illustrated with an incredible array of footage from candy-colored Eisenhower-era tableaux to classic tear-jerking 1970s anti-litterbug PSAs. Directed by acclaimed documentarian Robert Stone (Oswald's Ghost, Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst) Earth Days is both a poetic meditation on humanity's complex relationship with nature and an engaging history of the revolutionary achievements—and missed opportunities—of groundbreaking eco-activism.

Toyota Unleashes Giant Solar-Powered Flowers On Unsuspecting Cities

You might remember that my first passion is Marketing. I find it interesting and stirs my creative mind. Some people don't even give it a second thought. However marketing and advertising is to true link to a company and it consumers. Why it's so interesting to me is a long story.

I especially love when a eco-friendly company creates an interesting ploy to generate a buzz for their product. Toyota has created these giant flower stations as a reminder that the earth is beautiful and can give something back. Anyone can use these solar power stations to recharge your laptop or get free WiFi. Currently the stations are only in Boston, but Toyota plans to build stations in New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

The Prius's new tag line is “Harmony between Man, Nature, and Machine.”

So Toyota is doing what it can to spread the word about the environment, what are you gonna do?

Ava Chin - The Urban Forager

I can't imagine anything greener than taking a walk in the park and enjoying the natural beauty that the earth has provided for you. But it gives so much more than people think. A long time friend, Ava Chin, writes a blog for the New York Times titled The Urban Forager. The blog features the area in which I use to live many moons ago, Fort Greene/Clinton Hill/Prospect Park area. I had a chance to meet up with Ava and do some foraging. When she said we were going to pick up some things for a salad, she headed straight for the park. Ava provided plenty of information that I became a little lost in, however we are lucky enough to have her blog to refer to. In the picture above you will see my favorite find, Lambsquarter. Very similar to spinach in taste but a higher nutritional value. Ava had made a Lambsquarter pie prior to our day of foraging that was simply amazing. We also found Violets that gave the salad a bit of zip. Two important things I learned is to try and find plants off the beaten path (cleaner and fresher) and only pick what you intend to eat. For much more information, take a look at her blog and enjoy the gift that the earth has given you. After that do something for the earth in return to show your appreciation.

Samaritan's Purse

I know you are all thinking, Wow three posts in a weeks time? Yes I just wanted to write about this charity organization that I was introduced to.



This past week I met the Rucci Family, but in particular Emma and her mother Mary. I was so impressed with them as they told me of Samaritan's Purse that within minutes I agreed to volunteer my time and efforts. The family themselves personally packed 89 boxes last year and are determined to do more this year.

Straight from their website, "Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love. Since 1993, more than 61 million shoe boxes have been packed, shipped, and delivered across the globe. People of all ages can be involved in this simple, hands-on missions project while focusing on the true meaning of Christmas." They collect donations throughout the year and will have a National Collection Week during November 16th to the 23rd. Collecting school supplies, toiletries and toys. Just a fair warning to all my friends out there I will be calling.

Emma and Mary Rucci are making a difference in the world, what are you gonna do?

Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson

Two Icons were lost this past week.
I did not have the legendary poster on my wall, however I did think she was a very beautiful woman. Later in life she used her fame for various charites and was actually a very good actress.



MJ, was a great entertainer and a humanitarian.




You will both be missed.

Bags for the People

This post is long overdue. Bags for the People had an event in the city back on Earth Day Weekend in which I had so much fun. If you read my post back in April I mentioned them briefly with the plan of writing a post just about them. Better late than never. Since Earth Day I've attended a couple of their "Sweatshop Socials" and a fundraiser event for them and always had a great time and met some cool people. But in particular Glenn and Megan are devoted and passionate people that made me feel as though I've known them for years. They work together at the Union Square Farmers Market and started Bags for the People because they hated giving out plastic bags when they sold things. "Sweatshop Socials" are every last Monday of the month in Brooklyn (go to the website for more information). And there are also other events throughout the month. If you look at my old post, look at the pictures. I made a big bag from an old shirt of mine and I was so proud it, it was hard to let go. I am not doing them justice with this post so check out the website for yourself. Go to an event and make some bags, tell Glenn and Megan I said hi, or better yet give me a call and I'll take you there myself.

So Glenn and Megan are making a difference, what are you gonna do?

Sorry I've been busy . . .

I know it's been awhile and thank you readers who kept reminding me that I must continue the "good fight". My business has taken a hit and I have been very busy trying to save it.

Anyway I read an article recently on the Planet Green website about taking a "Navy shower" and save dozens of gallons a water a day. To quickly summerize, you follow these simple steps:

Get in the shower.
Turn on the water.
Get yourself wet.
Turn off the water.
Lather up.
Rinse off.
Save 57 gallons of a resource that's growing more and more scarce as days go on.

I have heard about these showers from my friends in the military and I got to say it's a bit harder than I thought it would be. I count on the morning shower to wake me up and I only imagine it being very cold during the winter time. However I've been trying it for a month now and I'm getting use to it. Also turning off the faucet while brushing my teeth and such.

I'm also trying to not eat meat three or four days a week. I started alternating days but kept losing track and craved to much, so I try to do blocks of two days in a row and and find my meat craving to be less and less.

Just because I took some time off from writing, I hope you didn't. So now what are you gonna do?

Doing my part for Earth Day 2009

Leading up to Earth Day I was struggling to do something different than last year (cleaning up a local park) and I was happy to find that The Planet Green network, with many other sponsors, created and hosted over fifty events during the weekend for people to volunteer for. As I looked through the list one posting caught my eye. A tree planting in the Pomonok Housing complex. Why you ask did this catch my eye? I grew up playing basketball in their playground for years. I know, how cool! So I figured that one was for me so I picked another. Back to the Sack project asked volunteers to create reusable bags that will be given out free to get people not to use plastic bags. They asked that you bring old clothing to make into bags.

I had so much fun at both events. I was part of a team that planted 6 of the 300 trees. Some of those trees right in front of my friends old apartments. And I made a couple of bags but pictured was my first and favorite. I had a lot of help from a new friend Lisa, she did the sewing, but it was my shirt and my design. As you can see in the pics it's big. It was my old Eddie Bauer shirt with a stain in the front and now it will help reduce the use of plastic bags. Check out the website Bags for the People they have an event every first Monday of the month.

This is the time that I normally ask you "so what are you gonna do?" Not this time, I just hope I motivated you enough to do something on your own. Happy Earth Day, there is only one world so take care of it.

Earth Day April 22nd

It's that time of year again, Earth Day is here. Last year I spent the day cleaning the local park with other volunteers and this year I wanted to do something a bit different. This weekend the Planet Green Network is organizing various volunteer jobs to honor Earth Day in different cities across the US. You can click on their link listed on the right under "Green Links" and check it out yourself. So this year I am volunteering to help "Green" a local playground that I use to play in and also making reusable bags and spreading the word about them. On the actual day itself I will be back at the park cleaning and planting. So what are you gonna do?

Spring Cleaning FreeMeets!

I am on the emailing list for Freecycle and this is their latest email. If you are in the New York City area and are doing some spring cleaning . . .


Spring Cleaning? Don't Throw It Away—-Bring it to the
Freecycle™ NYC FreeMeet!

Freecycle New York City celebrates spring and reaching 40,000+ members with TWO FreeMeets:

Saturday, April 18, 2009, 12pm-3pm
JJ Byrne Park (dead end on 4th Street b/t 5th Ave and the Old Stone House in the park)
Park Slope, Brooklyn

Saturday, May 9, 2009, 12pm-3pm
P.S. 217 Playground (1100 Newkirk Avenue at Coney Island Avenue)
Flatbush, Brooklyn

WHY: New Yorkers discard some 12,000 tons of waste each day, much of which is exported to landfills and incinerators in other states. Here's your chance to help reduce waste and keep our environment clean by finding new homes for your old stuff, and getting some things you can use in the process. Leftovers will be donated or
recycled to every extent possible.

WHAT TO BRING: Bring unwanted clothing, housewares and other reusable items* to share or simply bring a tote bag to fill. Bring friends and family too!

Got wire hangers? Bring 'em to the FreeMeet so we can hang clothes and
recycle the hangers afterwards.

MORE INFO: www.RecycleThisNYC. org/freemeet

*please bring portable items only and log on to www.Freecycle. org to give away furniture and other heavy stuff.


I have donated stuff to a FreeMeet before then spent some time looking around and ended up with a bag of books. Take a look, bring some items or come and take some. So now what are you gonna do?

Cardboard solar oven wins first prize

I know, I know, I'm sorry it has been awhile but I just don't want to post anything just to post. I really hope to post things that I find interesting and that I think can help motivate you, the reader, to make a change. This is a story that I loved.



This cardboard solar oven that can be made for around $6, can very well change the lives of many. Jon Bomer, the Kenya-based entrepreneur who invented the cooker, set out to transform the lives of villagers in developing world who use firewood to cook.

Here are just some of the ways this brilliant invention can make an impact:

Decreases carbon emissions created from burning firewood.
Slows down deforestation by curbing the need for firewood.
Removes indoor smoke pollution and the health problems associated with it.
Lowers the cost of energy since fuel from the sun is free.
Allows families to easily boil water so they can have access clean drinking water.
Eliminates the need for children to spend time looking for firewood so they can spend that time in school.

The best thing about this solar oven is that it can be easily be made by anyone and it doesn't cost that much. Kudos to Jon Bomer for making a difference in creating something that can make a difference. So now what are you going to do?

Earth Day 2009

Earth Day is April 22nd and I am looking for a special way to celebrate. Last year I spent the day in Cunningham Park with other volunteers picking up garbage and planting trees. I was hoping to do something a little different this year, any ideas? What are you doing that day?

Don't forget March 28th, 8:30 pm is Earth Hour. Millions around the world will shut off the light for an hour to show unity against Global Warming.
http://www.earthhour.org/

Good news on the horizon . . .

First I would like to send a shout out to my favorite reader, my niece, Jordan. Thanks for reading, for encouraging me to continue when I was down and all your comments. You may not realize this but you are one of the reasons why I started this in the first place. I love you.



Now the good news, there is a plastic bottle that will be better for the environment. I know!!! Wait let me tell you the story. It was found that in 1996, only 40% of plastic bottles were recycled. Amazingly ten years later that number dropped to 23%. Of course you figure in the fact that more plastic bottles were manufactured and people will tell you that we were recycling more in volume, but not nearly as much of a percentage. Anyway Planet Green Bottle has created a plastic bottle that will disintegrate a plastic bottle in 8 to 10 years instead of the regular thousands of years by using a Reverte™ Oxo Biodegradable additive. I can't tell you how it works but you can read about it on the website by clicking on the link above. It's a bit over my head but I like the results.

So now what are you gonna do?

Hands-on with Motorola's green "Renew" phone

This is a review of Motorola's green "Renew" phone by Ben Patterson: The Gadget Hound from his Yahoo Blog. Since I haven't seen the phone I'm gonna post his blog because I want you to see whats out there. Here's what he has to say:

I have to say, it's been years since I bothered to test a handset as basic as the Renew. Then again, it's not every day I get to review a cell phone made out of recycled water bottles.

Announced during CES and available now on T-Mobile ($9.99 with a two-year contract, or $59.99 without), the three-ounce Renew is not exactly, how shall I say … packed with features.

No Bluetooth. No GPS. No video player. No camera. Wi-Fi? Please. Oh, by the way—2002 called, and it wants its 1.6-inch, 128 by 128-pixel display back.

That said, you'll be hard-pressed to find a greener handset than the Renew, starting with its brown cardboard package (made from post-consumer recycled paper) and ending with its plastic, green-and-black casing, which is both molded out of recycled water bottles—there's a first—and also "entirely recyclable," according to Motorola.

And while the Renew's features are indeed basic—just a bare-bones WAP browser and MP3 player, a few low-tech games, a basic calendar and address book—Motorola clearly took pains to get the basics right.

Example: Call quality on the CrystalTalk-enabled Renew is notably impressive, with callers sounding loud—way loud, actually, especially over the speakerphone—and clear. I didn't notice any echoing or drop-outs during my tests, although your mileage may vary depending on local coverage (and I've certainly heard my share of complaints from T-Mobile subscribers). Moto promises a whopping nine hours of talk time on a single charge, and yes—the Renew works with T-Mobile's MyFaves plan (good for unlimited calling to any five friends).

I was also surprised to find a microSD slot for memory expansion behind the Renew's battery, good for storing MP3s for playback over the music player (a wired stereo headset with a 2.5mm jack comes in the box). Again, don't expect an equalizer or album art, but there are shuffle and repeat modes available, and you can play tunes in the background while you perform other phone functions (a deceptively simple trick missing on many of the pricier "multimedia" phones I've tested).

Now, that's not to say everything's rosy with the Renew. Its sound is loud and clear, all right, but it tends toward the tinny side, and I was bummed by the lack of a physical, dedicated volume rocker on the side of the phone (you must used the four-way navigational pad to tweak the volume, which can be awkward when the handset is pressed against your ear). Meanwhile, Web browsing over the GPRS-only data connection is painfully slow. And yes, T-Mobile offers several cheaper (as in, free) phones with sharper displays and more features.

That said, the Renew is a statement phone as well as a basic one—indeed, Motorola promises to invest in renewable-energy sources to compensate for the carbon emissions involved in building and distributing the handset. (There's even a postage-paid envelope in the box for sending your old phone to a recycling center.) If you're looking for the equivalent of a hybrid car in the world of cell phones, well ... this is it.

Happy Valentines Day and Earth Hour 2009

Today when you show a little bit of love to your sweethearts, don't forget Mother Earth.

I am showing my love by committing to Earth Hour on Saturday March 28th, 2009 at 8:30 PM. I will be joining millions of people worldwide in shutting off the lights. To learn more and join the cause take a look at their website, http://www.earthhour.org/




It's not that hard to do and it's only for an hour. So what are you gonna do?