The ReadyMade Magazine Challenge: Reusing What You Own
There is a good chance you have some old VHS tapes lying around the house (or even worse, Beta tapes). Or maybe your closet is full of ragged shirts or old packaging that you’ve been saving for sentimental reasons. Or perhaps you have used pens, broken computer equipment, outdated phone books and disposable lighters stockpiled in your basement. Whatever the case may be, ReadyMade Magazine has started challenging its readers to take their broken or used possessions and turn them into something new. Read the rest…
Santa Monica City Council February 27th Results of Vote to Ban Plastic Bags Quoted From Coverage by Siel in Emerald City From the LA Times:
“Santa Monica will likely see fewer plastic bags floating around its streets and beaches soon. Last night, the Santa Monica City Council voted to draft an ordinance banning one-use plastic and biodegradable plastic-like bags in city businesses.
All retail locations in Santa Monica, regardless of type or size, will have to go plastic bag free and offer reusable bags for sale instead. The ban would apply only to the plastic bags given out at point-of-sale, not the flimsier bags found in the produce or bulk sections of supermarkets. Paper bags — which the staff pointed out is not a significant source of marine pollution — will still be allowed — but the city council asked its staff to come back with recommendations on charging a fee on these bags.” Read the rest…
This month, after Heal the Bay’s pronounced efforts and on the heels of LA County’s unsuccessful venture into banning plastic bags from grocery stores, the Santa Monica City Council received onto its agenda a call to action banning the use of plastic bags in the city of Santa Monica. The Council convened and voted last night (Feb. 27). Results in a forthcoming post.
Below, the complete and unabridged version of the agenda item as it was seen by Council Members on the February 19, 2008 agenda.
Santa Monica City Council Meeting: February 19, 2008
Agenda Item: 8-C
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Craig Perkins, Director - Environmental and Public Works Management
Subject: Recommendations Regarding a Ban on Plastic Bags for Commercial Establishments in Santa Monica
Recommended Action by the Santa Monica Council
Staff recommends that City Council:
1) direct the City Attorney to draft an ordinance banning the free distribution to customers of single use plastic (including biodegradable plastic) carryout bags at stores within Santa Monica; and
2) provide staff with direction on a proposal to require retailers to charge a fee on single use paper bags in addition to the ban on plastic bags.
Tips on Healthy Snacks for Kids or Adults
Mmmm…snack time.
I was sitting in an Organic Spa in Southern California a few days ago, waiting for my TLC. While in the waiting/relaxation room I was privy to a spread that flipped my mind upside down, rolled it up in multiple flavors (including dark, dark chocolate, fresh coconut milk and even some of the most amazing organic grape tomatoes I have ever ripped into) and threw it down onto a massage table for dessert. As I lie there, and I do mean lie, I drifted into a land of the perfect snack ideas, and what better time to share?
How about a list of the Top 10 healthy snacks, coming from a subjectively objective opinion? Bottom line, health is priority #1, and TASTE is priority #1.5! If you’re into online shopping, consider sources such as Sunfood Nutrition (www.sunfood.com) and The Raw Bakery (www.rawbakery.com) — both offering many of the snacks listed below, as well as other healthy options to quiet a growling tum. Read the rest…
I’ve been thinking a lot about the ideas raised in our new column, Waste and the Media Ecosystem, and decided to play with some of the concepts discussed therein. So a long time ago, a friend of mine handed me a piece of paper with the Panflute Flowchart diagrammed on it. We laughed for a long time together. For some reason, it came up in my mind again yesterday, and I found it online to share with all of you. Pass it along and give it a new life — recycled humor on Green Eggs and Planet. Read the rest…
Canada to Introduce New Carbon Tax in Victoria, British Columbia
This week, government in British Columbia introduced the continent’s very first, complete carbon tax — the desired endgoal of which is to ultimately get residents of this part of Canada to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions significantly.
To make the pill a bit easier to swallow, the carbon tax will be ushered in alongside income-tax cuts, as well as a sizable dividend to taxpayers in the province. For her part, Finance Minister Carole Taylor has been quoted as saying, “We promised you green and today we delivered green […] If you start to change your lifestyle even modestly … you will have extra dollars in your pocket.” Some tough love, and some incentives to match. Read the rest…
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One Green Globe would like to invite you to join their growing community of successful, socially and sustainably aware consumers, groups and businesses alike. One Green Globe empowers you. It is their mission is to make others’ efforts visible, while providing the public with high-quality options for life.
Carbon Footprint Magnets for the Car or Refrigerator?
Now — let me say this. I’m not one for advertising anything on my clothes or car or whatever, but I do subscribe to the logic that visual cues and reminders can facilitate a shift in either awareness or behavior.
So upon my doing a routine Google image search on phrases that are currently in my lexicon, I found these Carbon Footprint magnets ($2.39). I’m not going to run out and slap one on my car, but I suppose it’s not a terrible idea.
If you’re more private, maybe put one up on the ‘fridge as a gentle reminder to think daily about what you can do to leave a lighter footprint behind. If you’re more into cheerleading and vocalizing your opinions, more power to you — go ahead and stick it on your car. Maybe it will remind others around you to consider their role in taking care of the planet. Or maybe it will just spark a friendly conversation with a neighbor or stranger parking next to you at the store. And that just might end up being a rich experience.
The magnet itself is in the shape of a circle, and can be used on anything metallic. It measures 5.75″ in diameter and is made in the United States from a high quality scratch and UV resistant material.
Gorillas Caught in Face to Face Love Embrace
The environment itself springs forth another amazing story — are we witnessing evolution first hand? Apparently, “Leah,” the first gorilla to be recorded or seen using tools, has also recently become the first gorilla ever to be photographed mating in a face-to-face position, according to a research team from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
The gorillas were photographed in the act in the Republic of Congo. There are indeed other claims on file of this activity being seen, but none has been photographed to date. Max-Planck’s Thomas Breuer, the photographer of record, noted, “We can’t say how common this manner of mating is, but it has never been observed with western gorillas in the forest.”
Full Story About the Gorillas Reproducing Face to Face
