Palm | Kelapa Sawit

In honor of my impending trip to Las Vegas this afternoon, I felt I would touch on the erosion of the Red Rock Canyon.

The picture above shows how the cliffsides of the mountain are eroding away due to weather. While this does look beautiful and is very fun to hike around, this is a major problem due to eventual land loss. Future generations will only have pictures of what this majestic landscape once looked like. Not only weather, but run-off also plays a significant part of the land washing away due to the chemicals in the run-off which speed up the erosion process.

While I hope to hit the big jackpot while in Vegas, at least I can rest easy knowing that if I run out of money trying to hit said jackpot...I will always be able to head outside and enjoy what nature gave us while it's still here.

We would love to see some of your favorite places to visit that may be eroding. In the comment section, please share pictures and a few coments about your favorite places!

Just when you thought you were safe. And you thought you were doing the right thing - eating more healthy fruit. We've all been told to eat at least 3 servings of fruit a day. Well, before you eat that banana for breakfast, you may want to check out this link on greenwashing bananas. Apparently, when the bananas are harvested, they are placed in plastic bags and with packing peanuts for shipping. If the banana is not deemed edible or pretty enough, they are then tossed into a land fill which sends off toxic fumes. According to the article, twice as many bananas are tossed than are shipped. Imagine. A banana not worthy of being eaten. And if that's not enough, there are always the pesticides used to kill off any unwanted bugs. If the pesticides kill off bugs, what are they doing to the workers who have the job of harvesting the fruit? And what about the people who ingest the pesticide- enriched fruit? It definitely sounds like an "iffy" breakfast item to me. However, that's not the picture we get when encouraged to eat our fruits and vegetables. How about you? You want fruit for breakfast or snack?

http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/chiquita.cfm

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Greenwashing your floor? Who would have thought? I recently bought a laminate floor thinking I would save the environment a few extra chemicals being tossed away after shampooing my old carpet. Plus, the idea of tossing my old carpet to be replaced with new carpet that would eventually need to be thrown away - seemed like an endless cycle and I decided I would end the cycle with new flooring. The flooring would be easy to take care of, I reasoned. All I would need to do is sweep and wipe up any messes that are tracked into the house. Well, I didn't think about my dog - and rainy fall weather. So, I purchased a new Swiffer. The Swiffer seemed like the most obvious choice since my daughter could easily push it around on the floor to clean up. After I purchased it, my daughter faithfully used the push-mop. Then she told me I need new Swiffer pads. Well, what was I to do? Of course, I bought them so I could keep my floor shiny and new. It seemed all good to me.Then came the shock I never expected. Swiffer advertises as economically friendly. It claims to save gallons of water yearly as well as the chemicals in the detergent used. However, on the website http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/03/06/greenwashing-101-the-swiffer-green-or-greenwash/ bloggers JENNIFER VAN DER MEER and JILL FEHRENBACHER expose Swiffer for the greenwasher they are. Swiffer touts being eco-friendly while the packaging materials for their product will sit in landfills for years to come - exposing the earth to the chemicals from the plastic wrap. And the Swiffer sheets used to clean the floor also contain chemicals that will seep into the earth from the land fill. Why does Swiffer feel it is OK to lead consumers to believe their product is helping to save the environment? I am back to wiping my floor with wet paper towels or wash cloths. While I realize I am sparing the landfill from some unwanted chemicals, I also realize I have to use something. I just wish companies would not try to tell us they are green when they clearly aren't.

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ECO-FRIENDLY HOMEMADE HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS

On a daily basis, people use household cleaners that are harmful to the environment. Some use them because they are convenient, and others use them because they believe there is nothing else in place of those cleaners.
The following are some ways household cleaners, that are not harmful to the environment, can be made.
•All purpose cleaner
Use ½ cup of baking soda and 1 cup white vinegar per gallon of water.
Add a dash of liquid castile soap and a dash of two of essential oil.
• Furniture polish
Mix 10-15 drops of lemon or lavender oils with a cup of water. Use rags
sponges, and scrubbers, instead of paper towels.
• Clean drains
Pour 1/3 cup of baking soda, followed by 1/3 cup of vinegar. After
several minutes follow with boiling water.

More info on www.eco-chick.com

The following sites can also give other ideas that can help go green.

HOW GREEN ARE YOU?
thegreenguide.com

PRODUCT REVIEWS
leafygreen.info

NATURAL CLEANING
frugalfun.com/cleansers.html

CLEAN WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
mrsmeyers.com

C.R.

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There’s a product on the market called the Swiffer. It’s a plastic mop-like contraption that is designed to replace the good old fashion mop. The Swiffer comes with a box of disposable, plastic-wrapped, chemical-soaked pieces of paper that’s guaranteed to get your floor cleaner than if using a traditional mop, but with less effort. At first this may seem like a great idea, but these chemical-soaked pieces of paper go straight from the floor to the local area landfill, where the chemicals leech into the ground. Yet, the designer of the Swiffer published a piece in Businessweek magazine about how he is all for the greening of the planet and this device is his way of contributing to that cause. He says: Cleaning the floor with an old-fashioned mop and detergent is a messy and unpleasant job that uses many gallons of hot water and great amounts of detergent every week in millions of homes around the world. The water, the energy needed to heat that water, and the environmental impact of dumping the detergent into the waste stream are terribly costly, and all for a job no one likes doing anyway.

Okay, he claims to be for the greening of the planet, but he did fail to mention that those millions of homes around the world, who would likely buy this product, will require the continual purchase of these toxic chemical sheets that are for the landfill -- sheets so toxic, that they should not be used on unfinished, oiled, or waxed wooden boards, non-sealed tiles or carpeted floors, because the chemicals will damage these surfaces. In my opinion, this is hardly a sustainable design solution.

Click here to learn more about the Swiffer.

Click here to read the Businessweek article.

Mike Taylor

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While perusing the video games shelves at my local Target, I couldn't help but laugh when I spotted a Nintendo DS game called "Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol." Nintendo describes the game as "one of the first games based on the growing environmental movement," and in the game, you are a robot that fights toxic "Smoglings" by planting flowers and building park equipment in a virtual environment.

How hypocritical is this? Afterwards - and out of curiosity - I went home and googled "Nintendo" and "greenwashing." Lo and behold, I found an article where Greenpeace ranked Nintendo as one of the least environmentally-friendly "gadget" companies out there today, flunking because of its "global policies on eliminating harmful chemicals and on taking responsibility for their products once they are discarded."  In addition, Greenpeace says, "Nintendo completely fails to show any environmental credentials," that they continue to produce too many toxic gadgets and that they don't do enough to live up to their green pledges. 

In other words, while a company like Nintendo may try to tout green tendencies via video games like "Chibi-Robo," the company itself does a lousy job being green in real life. It's stuff like this that makes me mad, and should really make a person think twice about supporting these companies that fail to measure up to their green claims. Unfortunately, being "green" is probably the last thing on a person's mind when they're trying to hunt down the Wii console or latest Wii games for their kids' Christmas presents.

Here is the source link.

- Cassie H.

I am one of the worst junk food eaters around. I like sweets of all kinds and eat everything that tastes good, even vegetables. Recently, I have gotten a couple of jobs where I purchase foods for different people. Wow! What a shock to my eating habits when I go to buy organic foods. Okay, it is a given that they cost more because they are…ah…organic.

Now, I understand that they are likely to be foods from local farmers or co-ops and they have higher costs as they are smaller. There are no added chemicals added to the growing of the products. Just what are ‘added chemicals?’ I water and feed my vegetables and use non-chemicals (other plants) to chase away the bugs that are eating my veggies. I think that is still organic. I don’t understand why the foods at stores are battered and bug ridden and cost much more that my own hand raised food cost.

I am all for the local farmers bringing fresh produce and that companies like Fred Meyers and Safeway are buying their foods since they both are going organic. But, why are we getting these vegetables sealed in plastic non-recyclable bags. Why are the fruits and vegetables looking like they need an infusion of herbal tea to perk them up?

Organic is not supposed to be decomposing in the bag or box. Recently, I searched for the little oranges and in all the boxes of the organic ones, there were numerous oranges with green mold growing on them. I was going to give them as a gift to a friend. I don’t think so! This is not what I call fresh organic food.

What I have learned is to be very choosy by checking each and every item, no matter if it is fruits, canned foods, or laundry detergent that says they are green, which may have lots of chemicals in them. I am still a junk food eater, but I am enjoying greater sense of health by eating healthier foods.

I don’t have to buy organic, if it is sicker looking that non-organic foods.

Kathy Sprick

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What is Greenwashing? Greenwashing is a term used to describe various companies and organizations that spend time and money advertising that they are eco-friendly, but are not actually doing anything, or very little to help the environment. An example of this is when vacationing and staying at a hotel, you re-use your sheets because the sign next to the bed tells you that you are helping the environment by doing so. In reality you are saving the hotel money! Another example of greenwashing are companies that advertise their products are organic but they also use chemically engineered foods.

~Melanie P.

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The topic of "greenwashing" is an interesting one, especially in this day and age when so many companies and organizations claim to be eco-friendly - or "green" - but never really seem to explain what they mean by that... In other words, you have to wonder if they're really doing anything, or if they're simply throwing the word "green" around just to look good. It always amuses me when car companies brag about how fuel-efficient or "green" their latest models are in various commercials. Or how gas and oil companies - of all things - like to make similar claims as well. No matter what, cars that need oil and fuel will still produce carbon monoxide and other harmful emissions, so they don't really help the environment in any way. I especially like it when car and gas commercials use images of automobiles driving by lush, open fields - sometimes with wind turbines in the background - evoking images of alternative sources of energy and overall "green"-ness. It all seems to be an oxymoron to me.

- Cassie H.

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In The New Capitalists an article titled The Lords of Industry with a subtitle SOMETIMES THE BIG COMPANIES SURPRISE (and sometimes they don't) simply stated this titles dilemma. The article addresses how businesses claim to be "gallant" with green ways but then points out the "goofus" areas that apply to the company.

One such company addressed was General Electic and their "gallant" ways because they launched "ecomagination" that claims to double dollars in green technologies. Areas addressed are; diesel-electric hybrid locomotives and pledging greenhouse gas emission reduction by 1 percent. Sounds great, right! I think we would all agree that this action will do the environment good, however, lets look at what the article claims to be "goofus" for General Electric. General Electric is said to be one of the largest polluters and their movement was looked at with skepticism even among their senior managers due to the large footprint still looming. The example of that was the PCB's it once dumped in the New York's Hudson River.

Green or Greenwashing? You decide!

“Energy myths and truths” … PGE, August 2006

Nice succinct article that debunks some of the myths of energy saving behaviors.

Among the ways to actually save energy are …

ALWAYS turn incandescent lights off but it’s OK to leave CFL’s on if they are going to be used within 15 minutes.
ALWAYS lower the thermostat night. In terms of setting daytime temperature, it takes the same amount of time to raise temperature to 70 whether the thermostat is set to 70 or 90 degrees so setting it higher in hopes of getting to 70 faster is pointless. Same holds true in reverse for air-conditioning.
CFL’s provide the same pleasing quality of light as incandescents. They are very different from the flickering and distracting ones that have been used for years in offices.
It takes the same overall amount of energy to boil water from cold or hot tap water since energy has already been expended in heating the tap water.
As with incandescent lights, turning a computer off uses less energy than leaving it on. It’s a misconception that the on-off action uses more. The new “sleep” features on some computers saves a lot of energy.
Finally, hot water in ice cube trays actually freezes faster than cold because it losses about 25% to evaporation!

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/pf/20010223c.asp

~LA Blair

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Over the weekend my roommates and I decided we were going to give this whole composting thing a try.. A few short,unproductive hours later, it slowly leaked out that none of us had the faintest clue as to where we should begin.. Thus our journey for answers began and I am here to share a little of the information we uncovered with you, beginning with an awesome site I found at wisegeek.com summarizing the benefits of composting.

This website discusses the benefits to your soil including the improved drainage and moisture absorption, and the greater supply of nutritional supplements available for your greenery. Furthermore, compost helps to clean up contaminated soil by reducing toxic runoffs. And, as an added bonus, it helps to prevent erosion!

There are also economic advantages enticing us to roll up our sleeves and dirty up our hands, including the money you will save from not having to purchase artificial soils. Also, as mentioned on this site, it decreases the amount of fertilizer, pesticide, and water necessary for growing strong, healthy plants, leaving a little extra money in your pocket!!

I can only skim the surface of all the information packed into the wisegeek website. Please refer to the link below for more information!

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-compost.htm

I also came across this great video that the Sierra Club created offering step-by-step instructions on creating a compost pile. Another simple way for us to play our part in protecting the planet!

I have always bought a real Christmas tree. I love them. I love the way they smell and look. However I always feel bad in January when you see the dried up trees next to the trash cans. So I was at Target looking at these big expensive artificial trees (and they are pricey if you want one that actually resembles a tree) and thought, "These can't be any better for the environment than cutting down the real thing, they are all plastic." And indeed they are made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which turns out is horrible for the environment and for our health! So if you need a Christmas tree (like me, I LOVE Christmas) then please look to buy one from a local farmer. You can also rent a living one for a little bit more money.
http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2004/12/08/umbra-tree/
http://www.livingchristmastrees.org/rentatree.html
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/polyvinyl-chloride
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/pvc/index.htm

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I have been thinking a lot lately about buying a new laptop. My computer is only 2 years old in human years, but I think that converts to 18 in computer years. I am frustrated that there isn't just some chip I can buy to make my computer faster and better, instead I have to buy another one (granted: a laptop would be nice!). I still have the even slower computer from 5 years ago collecting dust in the closet. So despite the physical waste factor there is involved with technology, there is also the manufacturing waste factor. "Manufacturing a single MP3 player releases about 17 pounds of planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere." (Wall Street Journal) So who is at blame for all this waste? Is it US companies that hire Chinese manufacturers? Or is it China who’s primary source of energy is still coal? This is going to be a major point of contention at United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali on December 14th, 2007. Stay tuned.
Justine Aylward
Ecomerge

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• Info on the conference:
  http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_13/items/4049.php
• Info on coal (very interesting!):
  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/business/worldbusiness/11chinacoal.html?ex=1307678400en=e9ac1f6255a24fd8ei=5088partner=rssnytemc=rss

The "PB&J Campaign" website reminds us how the simplest of actions can go a long way toward sustainability. This site does an excellent job of showing us the connections between eating meat products and global warming, water conservation, deforestation, overgrazing, pesticides, fertilizers and animal welfare. By using the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a favorite food item, this campaign site conveys the message that you don't need to become a hardcore vegetarian to help the environment. They even offer alternatives to the pb&j, such as soups, burritos, and chili with statistics of how these foods reduce wasteful and harmful practices. The idea and layout is unique, creative and is very effective in the way it promotes reduction of meat products. Check it out!! www.pbjcampaign.org

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McMinnville, Oregon - In this rural community of fields and farms, set in exquisite natural beauty the people of McMinnville have found a way to let all who are interested in preserving the environment in on money saving ideas for the Home, Garden, Office and Kids. Included on the homepage is a Resource Guide that helps those in Yamhill County find local places to recycle, re-sell, or reuse their goods. In their Fall newsletter, and also on the website is an article on how to “Clean to Save Money and the Earth” which has recipes for making your own household cleaners...check this article out and more at www.ycsw.org

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Around the world the message is the same. In Asia they are also addressing ways in which to help our earth. Many of the same adjustments and attitudes toward change abound in the website listed below. This is very pertinent to the United States, as it is in other parts of our same world. Check it out.
http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/how_help/tips_savearth/green_tips.html

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