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?

Recycle Plastic Bottle Caps Separately

It's just not enough anymore to recycle your bottles after you are done with them. I know that you've all been doing great by recycling your bottles, however did you know that after it's been picked up from your house and goes to the recycle plant, bottles with caps left on them are separated from the ones without? This extra step is time consuming and costly. The caps have to be removed because the type of plastic that is used to make them is different? I know!!!! Furthermore some recycle plants don't even recycle the caps! I know!!!! And it's not just water bottle caps but ALL CAPS like soda, milk, shampoo, toothpaste, and juice caps. What should we do now you ask? It's a different type of plastic that is harder to recycle. It wasn't brought to light before because they were still just trying to get people to recycle but now it's a problem. As I mentioned in a previous post (read more here) Aveda wants to help with that. I love it when a big corporation does it's part to help the environment. They collect the caps and uses the recycle material in it's new packaging. I love the idea. Click on the link to find out what caps can and cannot be recycled with them and how and where to bring them.

So what can you do? When you recycle a anything with a cap, remove the cap, that's the very least. If you want to take it a step further collect all the caps separately. Then bring them to an Aveda location near you. One or two extra steps by you can go a long way. So you know what I'm gonna say now, what are you gonna do?

Kevin Bacon gets it . . .

I have always been a fan of Kevin Bacon, not a huge fan but really can you have a top ten movie list and not have Kevin Bacon in at least one or two of them? The whole Six Degrees thing is a fun game that I'm sure every movie buff has played drunk at parties. But did you know he was a big environmentalist? I know how cool!

In a recent article in the Denver post he discusses some issues about his hometown Philly. “I walk at least 40 blocks every day and use public transportation,” says Bacon. “When I go to Philly, I don’t drive. Why would I want to get into a car and sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic when I can take the train to downtown Philly? There’s a fantastic book called “You Are Here,” by Thomas Kostigen, that I wrote the foreword for, and he walks you through some of the consequences of our daily actions. I tread lightly talking about this because sometimes it can backfire. On the other hand, I feel that maybe I can do my part in some small way to show by example that it’s not that hard to lead an eco-friendly lifestyle. One of the things we do with the Bacon Brothers is encourage people to fill their water bottles up with tap water or from the fountain. Tap water is not bad for you. The Bacon Brothers even sell aluminum water bottles, not that you have to use ours. I’m horrified at the amount of plastic bottles that get thrown away every day.”

I am dying to read this book but it's currently 4th on my "Read Next List", if you've read it let me know what you thought.

So Kevin Bacon gets it . . . what about you?

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

The Year of the Earth Ox brings a feeling of stability, but it also brings progress -- even if it does seem slow and steady! Learn how the element Earth and the Chinese sign of the Ox combine to bring you growth and focus through the year ahead!

7 green things about me

I was reading another blog about being green and the writer was asked to list seven green things about themselves and to ask 7 others to do the same. I thought it was a great idea so here is my seven.

1. I started to become more "green" a couple of years back after hanging out one day with my niece and nephew in Las Vegas. I was just thinking about what kind of world they will be living in when they were older and it got me thinking about the big picture.

2. I have over 11 reusable bags. I always forgot to bring my bags with me so I just kept buying another instead of getting a plastic bag from the store. I even have two that I made myself which you can learn to do too right here!

3. I have a "bag of bags" and a "bag of paper scraps". My "bag of bags" is exactly what it sounds like. A lot of things that we buy comes in a plastic bag. So I wash them out and put them in a recycle bag to recycle. And my "bag of paper scraps" is a collection of things that most people would normally throw out such as store receipts, labels and such.

4. I have a part-time job in which I sort recycle items from garbage for a couple of apartment buildings near my house. It's not as bad as it sounds and it cuts down on trash and recycles for the environment.

5. My friends try and catch me not being "green". This annoys the hell out of me because they give me the "holier than thou" crap as they are doing nothing for the world. My plan is to be "greener", I know I'm not the greenest person in the world and I don't pretend to be.

6. I have very little luck with plants. I don't know why but I do know if you want to get rid of a plant, give it to me and it will die a slow horrible death.

7. My bestfriends in the whole world do not read my blog. They looked at it once or twice but not since. I know this because I will bring up a topic that I wrote about and will have to say, ". . . well if you read my blog you would know!"

Bonus: It took my 3 sittings to watch the entire movie "An Inconvenient Truth", I kept falling asleep. Al Gore just does that to me.

So what about you? What are your "green" secrets? And now that I've shared mine, what are you gonna do?

TerraCycle.Net

This is a great site and an interesting way to start a modest fundraiser. Terracycle is a company that creates products such as tote bags, book bags, pencil cases, environmental products, school binders, recycle cans, pens, pencils, and other assorted office supplies all using things that people will normally throw away. And they will PAY YOU to send these items to them. I know! I said PAY YOU! Okay the catch is they ask that you send it in bulk which is understandable. But they PAY YOU 2cents for each of the following items, juice pouches, energy bar wrappers, yogurt cups, cookie wrappers, and wine bottle corks.





They PAY YOU 6 cents for the soda bottles, yes I said PAY YOU 6 cents, that is one more penny than what you would get back in the store. But they only take the 20 oz. bottles and put in their environmental products in them. Here are some of the products that they make that have been sold in WalMart, Target and other fine stores.



You know what I'm gonna ask next, "So what are you gonna do?"

Recycling Gift cards

Now that the holiday season is over it's time to remind yourself of your New Years Resolutions. You remember the one about being "Greener". If you're like me your friends and family thinks that you are hard to shop for and they got you an easy no brainer gift, A Gift Card. So what to do with them after they are used? Usually people do one of two things, they give it to the cashier to dispose of and they throw it in the garbage or you yourself throws it in the garbage. Please don't do that, they are recyclable but it takes a little work. A company called Earthworks collects the cards and recycles them. Earthworks recycles PVC plastic cards (hotel keys, gift cards, etc.) and turns them into sheets that new cards can be made of. Drop cards in the mail if your retailer doesn't already take them back. Address is: Earthworks, c/o Halprin Industries, 25840 Miles Road, Bedford, OH 44146. Magnetic strips are okay. Don't send credit cards or those that contain paper backing. Visit the site for more information. Collect them and send a bulk amount. The recycled material is used to make new cards, rulers, playing cards, tags, and many other things. It's better than going into a landfill.

Now you have one more way to being greener, so what are you gonna do?

The Blue Man Group and the 2010 Toyota Prius

This video combines a few of my favorite things, the Blue Man Group and the Toyota Prius all to the song "Something's Coming" from the movie "West Side Story", composed by Leonard Bernstein. Love the Blue Man Group, I saw them in New York a couple of times and in Vegas, front row seats. A real must see! The Prius I have been looking at for awhile but have heard rumblings that they are still working out some kinks and the first models have been very expensive to fix. However the problems are suppose to be fixed now, longer battery life, more durable frame, and sleeker design. Take a look at the video and let me know what you think.

Happy New Year

As we close 2008, I say goodbye to a hard year. It was a good year, don't get me wrong but a hard year for most. Take the time to reflect on the past year and see where you can and should make changes to make yourself happier in life. Also try to remember to take care of our planet. Thank you all for a reading, being a friend, all your comments, and just for listening. Happy New Year. Time to start fresh, so now what are you gonna do?

NYC Recycling Events Listing

Is it time to do a little cleaning around the house? Want to get rid of some big things and don't know how? Freecycle can help you. Here is a copy of their email that lists recycle events in and or around the boroughs.

Upcoming NYC Recycling Events – Clothing, Christmas Trees and Electronics

CLOTHING & TEXTILE RECYCLING
New expanded weekly schedule and special one day event from Council on
the Environment of NYC. See http://www.cenyc.org/clothing for more
info.

==Current Locations==
Union Square Greenmarket – Mondays 8am - 6pm
(16th Street and Union Square West)

Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket – Saturdays 8am – 4pm
(NW Entrance to Prospect Park)

==New, starting in 2009==
* Union Square Greenmarket - Saturdays (begins January 3) 8am-6pm
(West side of the Park)

* Tompkins Square Greenmarket - Sundays (begins January 4) 8am-4pm
(East 7th St. & Ave A)

* 97th Street Greenmarket - Fridays (begins January 9) 8am-2pm
( 97th St. & Columbus Ave)

==SPECIAL ONE-DAY COLLECTION==

* Inwood Greenmarket - Saturday, January 10 only, 8am-2pm
(Isham St. b/t Seaman & Cooper).

http://www.cenyc.org/clothing

++++++++++++ +++++++++

MULCHFEST – Recycle Your Christmas Tree!
Saturday, January 10 and Sunday, January 11, 2009, 10am – 2pm,
locations citywide. Free mulch also available at some locations. For
more info go to
http://www.nycgovparks.org/services/mulchfest/mulchfest.html#top

++++++++++++ +++++++++

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING
(all events sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center. Please
see www.lesecologycenter.org for more information)

BRONX – Pelham Bay Park South
Saturday, January 3 from 10am – 4pm
Pelham Bay Park South (Middletown Road Parking Lot off Stadium Ave)

MANHATTAN - Union Square
Sunday, January 4 from 10am - 4pm
Union Square North Plaza (17th St. & Broadway)

MANHATTAN – Midtown
Saturday, January 10 from 10am – 4pm
West 23rd St. b/t 6th & 7th Aves

BROOKLYN – Ft. Greene
Sunday, January 11 from 10am - 4pm
Fulton St. & S. Portland Ave

www.lesecologycenter.org



They make it easy being "greener"! So what are you going to do? ;o)

Grenier has a new Entourage

Adrian Grenier, star of HBO's Entourage, was in New York this week working with City Harvest picking up food from local bakeries and restaurants. The food, earmarked for the Yorkville Common Pantry is to feed the hungry. Grenier is a big advocate for a green lifestyle and also appears on a Planet Green Network show called Alter Ego. Alter Ego focuses on sustainable living and energy conservation. Look for the channel on your local cable station.

Adrian Grenier is using his fame for a Greener world, so what are you gonna do?

I don't get it!

The NYC Dept. of Finance, in all it's wisdom, has got me all confused. I was unfortunate enough to get a parking ticket. Now when I went to pay my ticket I decided to do it online, that way I try and save a tree. However the Dept. of Fiance adds a $2 fee if you pay online. I KNOW! Fee for what? You would think that cutting out the paper and the staff that it takes to process all the tickets that are mailed to them is saving them time and money. But no! They charge $2 because you are ensuring they receive your money in a timely fashion. $2 so they can have people prefer to mail in the tickets and possibly be late in paying so they can fine you. $2 to hire more staff to process the tickets so they can claim a deficit and charge you more in fines and violations. But hey at least the mailmen have a job security now.

President-Elect Obama gets it, what about you?

Sorry it's been awhile I've been busy with a work project, then it was my 20 year high school reunion (yeah I'm old), and then I've been busy gearing up for the holidays. So this is a short post, I just wanted you to know I haven't forgotten about you and Happy Thanksgiving.



President-elect Obama recorded a message for the Global Climate Summit, promising "a new chapter of American leadership on climate change." Learn more at Change.gov.

So what are you gonna do?

Please help!

There are no system currently in place to recycle water filters in the United States. The Clorox Company, the manufacturer for the Brita Water Filter systems, are doing nothing about it. They are the industry leader in the market of "pitcher" filters and 2nd in the market for the filters you attach to the faucet. However they want you to throw out the old filters and let them sit in landfills for millions of years. As you may have read in previous posts I have asked you to stop buying bottled water and use filtered water. Now the lesser of two evils can get better. Please visit the site and and read more about where you can send your old filters, or sign a petition, or just track who is recycling where.

Visit the site, Take Back the Filter

Read the article in the New York Times

See the video on YouTube

Please sign the petition, send in the old filters, send them to me I'll send them in for you. So I ask now, what are you gonna do?

50 Cent And Bette Midler Team Up To Restore Community Garden

(Wind beneath my wings playing in the background) I had to read this article when I saw the headline. Yes it's true Bette Midler and 50 cent together at last and at the end it was reported that no one had a "cap" in their a**. As I blogged about in a previous post Bette Midler's New York Restoration Project restores community parks and gardens in New York City. But they do it as green as possible. I know how cool is that! So the New York Restoration Project and rapper 50 Cent’s G Unity Foundation got together and collaborated on a park project. On November 3rd the Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden in Jamaica Queens had their dedication service. “It’s nice to be able to give back to this next generation of kids,” said 50 Cent. “This is the first of many projects I’m going to do in this community.” I think it's great when celebrities give back to the areas in which they grew up in. I know what you're thinking and I'm thinking the same, I hope they get together and make a few albums out of this. Rappin' Bette Midler.

Election Day

Hello everybody, please get out vote! If you read this blog regularly, you know I don't like to push my views and beliefs, however people believe that this is the most important election of out lifetime. I would have to agree. With the current state of the world, not just the US, the world. Please make yourself be heard, get out and vote. There I said it. Now what are you gonna do?

As a bit of an incentive free ice cream scoop at Ben and Jerry's stores on Election Day. And Starbucks, if you tell them that you voted you get a free coffee. So go vote and get your free stuff.

Marathon Update

So my cousin Kelsey finished with a time of 2 hours and 59 mins.
Shelly finished with a time of 4 hours and 11 mins.
And my friend Victoria Rich, which I had forgotten to mention, finished with a time of 4 hours and 51 mins. Congrats to them and all the runners. What a beautiful day for a run and a JETS win too!