Recently in Earth Week '08 Category
blogThe Hunt for Answers is Over
As Earth Week rounded out, Our Eco Fact Finder Treasure Hunt also met its end. We promised prizes, and they'll be delivered shortly to the lucky winners (no packing peanuts!). We also promised answers, so here they are:
Day 1
Question: How many plastic bottles per day do Americans toss into landfills?
Answer: 30 million
Day 2
Question: What is one example of eco-friendly fabric?
Answers: organic cotton, soybean protein fiber, sasawashi, bamboo
blogThe Gifts of Earth Day
By Mary Beth Gonzalez, iVillage.com
On Earth Day, I joined over 150 NBCU volunteers to plant trees in Harlem. The Green Is Universal team selected the specific location at Lenox Avenue and Malcolm Boulevard because the neighborhood had a low tree population and a high children's asthma rate. (A few weeks ago, my husband wrote Green Medicine: Solutions to the Children's Asthma Epidemic if you want more information on how trees can lower the incidence of asthma.)
I signed up because I thought planting trees would be fun... I welcomed that chance to get out into the sun (and away from my Blackberry) for a few hours and celebrate Earth Day with my fellow green friends. I pictured us placing small saplings in little holes, cutting a few ribbons and posing for a few photo ops. Let's just say that I learned a lot this Earth Day...
On Earth Day, I joined over 150 NBCU volunteers to plant trees in Harlem. The Green Is Universal team selected the specific location at Lenox Avenue and Malcolm Boulevard because the neighborhood had a low tree population and a high children's asthma rate. (A few weeks ago, my husband wrote Green Medicine: Solutions to the Children's Asthma Epidemic if you want more information on how trees can lower the incidence of asthma.)
I signed up because I thought planting trees would be fun... I welcomed that chance to get out into the sun (and away from my Blackberry) for a few hours and celebrate Earth Day with my fellow green friends. I pictured us placing small saplings in little holes, cutting a few ribbons and posing for a few photo ops. Let's just say that I learned a lot this Earth Day...
blogOff the Grid, Part 5: Cooking Smores with the Solar Spark Lighter
By Steven Leckart, DVICE.com
Welcome to the final installment in DVICE's off-the-grid experiment. Since Earth Week kicked off Monday, I've been blogging from my home office in San Francisco without plugging into the municipal power grid.
Life has been anything but normal, and I'm now officially tallying up the seconds as this week comes to an end (39,600, but who's counting?... oh right, me). To celebrate, I tried cooking low-tech for the first time since I failed to brew a cup of solar joe. Get the smoking-hot details and my reflections on this stressful week after the Continue jump.
Welcome to the final installment in DVICE's off-the-grid experiment. Since Earth Week kicked off Monday, I've been blogging from my home office in San Francisco without plugging into the municipal power grid.
Life has been anything but normal, and I'm now officially tallying up the seconds as this week comes to an end (39,600, but who's counting?... oh right, me). To celebrate, I tried cooking low-tech for the first time since I failed to brew a cup of solar joe. Get the smoking-hot details and my reflections on this stressful week after the Continue jump.
blogJunk Mail
If you weren't able to sign-up for greendimes.com service at the NBC Experience Store during Earth Week, you can still sign up for their services at greendimes.com.
$20 seems like a pretty good deal for 5 years worth of mail monitoring, but if you feel like saving all the fun for yourself, here are a few things you can do:
blogFeeling 'Green' ...sure hope so!
By Jorge D. Bernal, Al Rojo Vivo -Telemundo
Green. Never has this color been in the spotlight like it has been recently. Sure we know the Hulk, the Grinch, the 'special' green M&M's...but now green is more universal than ever, and for good reason.
I must admit that I had never been 'involved' in the planets affairs...Sure I planted my trees on Earth Day like every other school kids, but that was about it. Maybe it was because Mother Nature wasn't doing so bad back then. But boy have things changed.
According to the U.S Census Bureau, the world population is expanding at a mind-boggling rate. It's expected that by 2050, the world's population will reach 9 billion! That's a whole lot of people sharing the few natural resources we have left...definitely affecting the standard of living for our kids and grand kids. So, what can we do? How can we help preserve our clean air, our fuel resources and soil?...nothing major really. It's actually quite simple to be 'green'.
Green. Never has this color been in the spotlight like it has been recently. Sure we know the Hulk, the Grinch, the 'special' green M&M's...but now green is more universal than ever, and for good reason.
I must admit that I had never been 'involved' in the planets affairs...Sure I planted my trees on Earth Day like every other school kids, but that was about it. Maybe it was because Mother Nature wasn't doing so bad back then. But boy have things changed.
According to the U.S Census Bureau, the world population is expanding at a mind-boggling rate. It's expected that by 2050, the world's population will reach 9 billion! That's a whole lot of people sharing the few natural resources we have left...definitely affecting the standard of living for our kids and grand kids. So, what can we do? How can we help preserve our clean air, our fuel resources and soil?...nothing major really. It's actually quite simple to be 'green'.
blogGreen Screens End of Week Update
By Susanne Sonderhoff, Marketing Manager, HP Social, Environmental Responsibility
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone in New York and around the country that has come out during Earth Week 2008 to responsibly dispose of their old electronics. While there are many industries that have a very obvious impact on the environment, technology is not typically the first that comes to mind since the production and use of technology products doesn't directly involve carving holes into the earth, felling trees, or using up excessive amounts of water. So why are tech companies taking environmental issues so seriously?
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone in New York and around the country that has come out during Earth Week 2008 to responsibly dispose of their old electronics. While there are many industries that have a very obvious impact on the environment, technology is not typically the first that comes to mind since the production and use of technology products doesn't directly involve carving holes into the earth, felling trees, or using up excessive amounts of water. So why are tech companies taking environmental issues so seriously?
blogHappy Arbor Day, Now Plant a Tree
By Nicole Walters, GreenisUniversal.com
The kind folks at mokugift.com have even made it easy for you. Just send GreenisUniversal.com an eTree and mokugift will work with Sustainable Harvest International to get a real tree planted.
It only costs a dollar a tree, plus look at how lonely our little bunny is...
The kind folks at mokugift.com have even made it easy for you. Just send GreenisUniversal.com an eTree and mokugift will work with Sustainable Harvest International to get a real tree planted.
It only costs a dollar a tree, plus look at how lonely our little bunny is...
blogDay 5: Trees and Paper!
Follow the links and clues through ecofabulous.com and greenisuniversal.com archives to find answers to the daily trivia questions!
Submit your entry and, if correct, you will be eligible to win the prize of the day! Winners will be selected at random from the list of eligible entrants. Submissions for each daily trivia question will end when a new day's clue has been posted. All winners and answers will be posted at the end of Earth Week, April 27th.
Good Luck!
Day 5: Trees and Paper!
blog5 Ways the Oceans Could Go Environ-Mental If We Fail to Go Green
By Michael Marano, SCI FI Weekly
1. Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, aka Gojira tai Hedorâ (1971)
In this demented and very likely LSD-influenced classic, which featured in its English version the insufferably catchy song "Save the Earth!", Hedorâ, a space spore, settles in Tokyo Bay like a kind of invasive algae and starts feeding on the pollution there. Billions of little Hedorâs eating oceanic pollution might sound like a great idea, but the little buggers merge into a series of different, larger forms: a giant sludge tadpole, a kind of humanoid that takes hits off of smokestacks the way Harold and Kumar take hits off of bongs and a stingray-shaped flying thing that mists the city with sulfuric acid and dissolves tens of thousands of people. The big monster also spits out a corrosive, toxic goop like something pulled from a well sunk into Love Canal. It's up to Godzilla to kick some polluted butt in an infamously campy and protracted battle atop Mount Fuji. Noted for playing on a double bill with the also-eco-themed wildlife-run-amok movie Frogs.
1. Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, aka Gojira tai Hedorâ (1971)
In this demented and very likely LSD-influenced classic, which featured in its English version the insufferably catchy song "Save the Earth!", Hedorâ, a space spore, settles in Tokyo Bay like a kind of invasive algae and starts feeding on the pollution there. Billions of little Hedorâs eating oceanic pollution might sound like a great idea, but the little buggers merge into a series of different, larger forms: a giant sludge tadpole, a kind of humanoid that takes hits off of smokestacks the way Harold and Kumar take hits off of bongs and a stingray-shaped flying thing that mists the city with sulfuric acid and dissolves tens of thousands of people. The big monster also spits out a corrosive, toxic goop like something pulled from a well sunk into Love Canal. It's up to Godzilla to kick some polluted butt in an infamously campy and protracted battle atop Mount Fuji. Noted for playing on a double bill with the also-eco-themed wildlife-run-amok movie Frogs.
blogGreening the NBCU Mailroom with GreenDimes.com
By Dan Estabrook, GreenDimes.com
I spent yesterday beginning the process of "greening" the NBC Universal Corporate Mailroom at 30 Rockefeller Plaza by eliminating the company's junk mail. If you don't know about GreenDimes, we are the trusted leaders in eliminating junk mail for consumers. When you purchase our full service reduction service, we also plant 5 trees to help offset the waste even more. You can find out more at www.greendimes.com.
GreenDimes is working with NBC Universal during Earth Week to promote junk mail elimination. If you visit the NBC Experience Store, you will find a kiosk where you can order our service. The windows at Rockefeller Center are decorated with junk mail exhibits and it was amazing to see the GreenDimes logo in the middle of it all. The whole display is eye-catching and very cool.
I arrived to the mailroom to find 17 boxes filled to the brim with junk sent to NBC over three days last week. I expected volumes, but I was shocked to find over 1,000 pounds of junk mail. Over an average week, that works out to just over 2,100 pounds (assuming not so much comes in on weekends). Per day, it equals 300 pounds (as much as the average household receives in one year, based on our data). That's three entire trees!
I spent yesterday beginning the process of "greening" the NBC Universal Corporate Mailroom at 30 Rockefeller Plaza by eliminating the company's junk mail. If you don't know about GreenDimes, we are the trusted leaders in eliminating junk mail for consumers. When you purchase our full service reduction service, we also plant 5 trees to help offset the waste even more. You can find out more at www.greendimes.com.
GreenDimes is working with NBC Universal during Earth Week to promote junk mail elimination. If you visit the NBC Experience Store, you will find a kiosk where you can order our service. The windows at Rockefeller Center are decorated with junk mail exhibits and it was amazing to see the GreenDimes logo in the middle of it all. The whole display is eye-catching and very cool.
I arrived to the mailroom to find 17 boxes filled to the brim with junk sent to NBC over three days last week. I expected volumes, but I was shocked to find over 1,000 pounds of junk mail. Over an average week, that works out to just over 2,100 pounds (assuming not so much comes in on weekends). Per day, it equals 300 pounds (as much as the average household receives in one year, based on our data). That's three entire trees!
