I am glad I don’t own coastal property right now… not that I could afford it anyway. But to think property owners on the coast lines are having such a hard time finding insurance, and are at risk of getting their existing policies canceled, is downright scary. If you read through this whole article, you’ll see we’re not any of us protected from the threat of losing insurance, really. The fact is, global warming is producing such unpredictable and volatile weather patterns that we all may be at risk of losing what we have. I just pray that working together as people of this great planet, will actually make a difference in all this.
Bush Speech Tonight to Address Climate Issues January 23, 2007
The push from big business to mandate CO2 emissions is preceding the president’s State of the Union speech tonight, where he’s expected to address issues related to global warming.
While he’s not expected to support mandatory emissions cuts, he is expected to announce an increase in ethanol usage and adjustment in U.S. climate policy.
Businesses Urge U.S. Pres to Cut Emissions January 22, 2007
An article sent via my mom via my stepdad who works for a major player in the automotive industry.
The New York times reports that a coalition of blue chip businesses are calling for President Bush to set an absolute limit on CO2 emissions, effectively cutting total emissions by 10 – 30% over the next 15 years. This link is from the Hamilton Spectator in Canada, reporting the same news.
Companies involved in the coalition include Alcoa, BP, Caterpiller, Duke Energy, DuPont, FPL Group, General Electric, Lehman Brothers, PG&E and PNM.
This is good news, very good news.
Green Sushi, Yummy Yummy January 21, 2007
My boss gave me a sushi book for the holidays this year. (The two of us are sushi fanatics. She and I both lived in southern California prior to moving to the midwest, and we seriously miss the fabulous West Coast sushi.)
So, this weekend I decided it was time to give making my own sushi a try. And hey, being the new green-convert that I am, why not try making eco-friendly sushi while I was at it?
I have to give props to Wild Oats market for having just about everything I needed to make “green sushi” on hand. From organic nori sheets to organic soy sauce and organic sushi rice, it was relatively easy to go green with my sushi there. The only challenge was, of course, finding organic sushi grade fish. I am not sure if the meat and fish at Wild Oats are organic – the sign didn’t they were – but they are sustainably raised, which is definitely good. They didn’t have sushi grade for me to cut myself at home (to anyone reading this who lives near the ocean, you may be thinking, “duh, you’re in Cleveland. A-for-effort, but you won’t find much sushi grade there.” And to that I say, “you are correct, but desperate times call for desperate measures – any self-respecting sushi addict will understand.”
I was, however, able to find pre-cut sushi-grade fish in the sushi department. The chef was nice enough to give me a good price on several pieces of salmon sashimi.
Subsequently, I used this to make salmon/cucumber/avocado rolls and Nigiri-sushi with salmon. And oh, was it tasty! I have posted a photo of my creation. Please keep in mind this was my first attempt at making sushi. I still need work on rolling the rolls into round shapes, as you will see. The best part: it was a “green” effort, it was delicious - and I had a blast doing it.
The Best Marketing Plan Ever January 19, 2007
The “Inconvenient Truth” DVD has totally inspired just about everyone I’ve talked to, to get on board with the movement to stop global warming. For example, another new convert’s post can be seen here. It tells a passionate story of a woman who hadn’t worried about the issue really at all, until she saw the DVD (hmm, sound familiar?).
Now that is great marketing. It proves that what you really need in a marketing plan is a great story about your product, and that story should be true, and that story should make the person who hears it want to go out and tell everyone they know. And when you want to take action (buy the product, get active in your community to support it, etc.), the tools should be right there at your finger tips, so you can do so immediately. Climatecrisis.net, the DVD producers and everyone involved in bringing this campaign to the masses so effectively, are to be commended.
I was the same way. The DVD moved me, scared me, incited me to act and tell my friends (and anyone who would listen for that matter) about the dire straits that our planet is in. Al Gore’s movement is divinely inspired if you ask me, and I’m not afraid to say that. The way people are catching on is exactly what should be happening. It took the perfect medium to communicate the message and just the right time to do it.
I’m excited to see this happening… to be a part of the generation that will, I believe, take a bite out of this threat – if not stamp it out completely.
Let’s keep it going!
Doomsday Clock Gets Warmer January 18, 2007
The Doomsday Clock moved closer to midnight today, and for the first time ever, global warming was cited by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists as one of the reasons.
nod to mom January 17, 2007
Today is a great day, here’s why. My mother and I have not always seen eye-to-eye on things, but today I received the below email from her which leads me to believe that while it will take a miracle to stop this crisis, miracles can and do happen. Case in point: here I sit in agreement with everything my mother is saying - while I’m thinking, “I could not have said it better myself.” (Incidentally it doesn’t hurt that she happens to be an accomplished environmental consultant.)
“Scientists launched a bid today to save some of the world’s rarest and most neglected creatures from extinction.
There are many international intitatives, but the U.S. is not leading the way on this except in per-capita greenhouse emissions (hmmm). It’s time we get on with recognizing our responsibility and changing the way we do things. Largest contributors are power industry and automobiles, next some industry and agriculture and us. It will take all working together to turn this ship called earth.
I’m going to be setting up an email group on this. Let me know if you are interested in seeing and thinking about (and maybe even acting on) these things Vanessa has already set up a blog (Ness will you email that address to us when you can?). Suzanne and I are going to the next Green-Lex meeting to see how we can get more involved here at home.
The April 14 “Step it Up” day (to impress the upon national, state and local law makers the urgent need to take immediate measures to “cool” the planet) is interestingly a day when Jamisen will be in Washington DC on a school trip. I am expecting that there will be something here in Lex as well. You may want to see what is going on with this in your community.
I encourage all to get on the Stop Global Warming website and join the virtual march against global warming. And, see an Inconvenient Truth if you have not already.You can also check out EPAs site and reports to see some tabulations and explanations of federally tracked trends.”
Thanks Mom!
So sustainable, yet so unattainable January 16, 2007
Now this is interesting: The Golden Globes are totally green this year, and the stars are all taking part in the “eco-fest.”
While this will no doubt do wonders from an awareness perspective – as the A-listers grab their awards amongst recyclable decor and eat their organic menu items – I happen to find the last line in this article the most provocative:
“Unfortunately, for most of us, it takes a lot of green to live green!”
On top of old grassy January 15, 2007
A couple of the green bloggers out there are writing about a new “green roof” which actually is green, and are made out of - you got it - grass. This grass roof is supposedly as easy to install as carpet, is self-irrigating and only has to be cut once a year. Those are just some strong points to acquiring it and installing it. The benefits to the environment sound even better: the grass actually absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and gives off oxygen, they provide natural cooling systems and help to conserve energy through thermal insulation.
Wonder what it would look like to see a bunch of urban roofs made of grass? All I can say is I’d much rather be “on top of old grassy” than “on top of old smoky” – which is where we’ll all be – if we don’t see ginormous changes in worldwide (specifically American) thinking on the subject of global warming.
In case we hadn’t noticed January 9, 2007
Today I read on Greenthinkers.org that 2007 is to be the hottest year yet… wow.
I do have to say though that the more research I do on this topic, the more I recognize that while the “green thinkers” are certainly not speaking for the masses, they are gaining converts all the time. New enviro-friendly products are being made, alternative energy sources are being explored, and slowly but surely people are beginning to take this issue seriously (myself included as one of those new converts of course).
The more green blogs I visit, the more optimistic I get about the probability for macro-change. Maybe the real question is – will it happen quickly enough?
