Blog Action Day, 2009: Climate Change
October 15, 2009 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Uncategorized, environment
Stay up to date on the latest posts. Subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Today is Blog Action Day.
It is an annual event held every year that unites bloggers to unite in posting about the same issue on the same day. This year’s theme is Climate Change!
Climate Change is a very important topic right now: International Day of Climate Action is on October 24th, 2009.
On the 24th of October people from all over the world plan to rally about global warming, in hopes of sending out a message regarding the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. In December the world’s leaders will meet in Copenhagen to discuss the climate and amend the current climate treaty. Scientists say that 350 parts per million is the safe limit for humanity. Currently, we are at 390ppm! The message on the 24th will be 350. Let’s get together and take action! It’s time to put pressure on the leaders to create a just climate treaty that meets the latest science.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner and President Barack Obama has said that climate change is an urgent threat, and now is the time for him to lead the United States in confronting the climate crisis. This is a chance for people around the world and in the United States to join together in telling President Obama that we want him to lead the United States in taking bold and significant action to reduce greenhouse gasses. Time is running out, and our planet can’t afford to wait.
A Local Article: BYOB!!!
July 9, 2009 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under ecofriendly, environment
No this isn’t a post about beer. It’s Bring Your Own Bag. Say no to plastic bags at grocery stores and businesses. Bring your own cloth bags instead or heck reuse your old plastic ones. Why say no to plastic and bring you own?
Consider the following shocking facts about plastic shopping bags:
Plastic bags are made of polyethylene
Polyethylene is a petroleum product
Production contributes to air pollution and energy consumption
Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year
Americans use over 380 billion polyethylene bags per year
Americans throw away approximately 100 billion polyethylene bags per year
Of those 100 billion plastic bags, 1% are recycled
It takes 1000 years for polyethylene bags to break down
As polyethylene breaks down, toxic substances leach into the soil and enter the food chain
Approximately 1 billion seabirds and mammals die per year by ingesting plastic bags
Plastic bags are often mistaken as food by marine mammals. 100,000 marine mammals die yearly by eating plastic bags.
These animals suffer a painful death, the plastic wraps around their intestines or they choke to death
Plastic bags choke landfills
Plastic bags are carried by the wind into forests, ponds, rivers, and lakes
There are alternatives to plastic bags. All of this death and pollution is unnecessary Read more: www.environmentalactivism.sutie101.com
Please Give Just $1 For The Charities That You Help To Choose
June 25, 2009 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under charities, environment, fundraiser
As writers, we know that part of good stewardship is sharing information, but even the most intelligent among us can not make change without DOING something!
So The Good Human & Twilight Earth, along with Grass Stain Guru, Lighter Footstep, My Green Side, The Smart Mama, A Little Greener Every Day, Fake Plastic Fish, Allies Answers, Natural Papa, and Recycle Your Day have teamed up to carry our message with one united strong voice. The message is that there are great organizations out there which are suffering in this economic downturn through decreased donations…and they need our help! So we have decided to give you, our readers, a voice and a choice. We have decided to take on a very simple fundraising mission, and we are asking you to donate just $1.00.
A single dollar; that’s all.
Who cannot afford a buck even in these times? We know you can spare a dollar to help out our fellow humans!
How Is My Electricity Made? Power To The People
June 23, 2009 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Guest post, Oakleigh Vermont, environment, solar energy
This Guest post is by guest blogger, science teacher and green activist Glenn Fay who is passionate about sustainability, renewable energy and social responsibility.
When you flip that light switch or click on your toaster oven did you ever wonder how our power grid electricity is made and where it comes from? This short slideshow shows all the exciting details, from using moving water, wind, fossil fuels, nuclear power and even the sun! Which source(s) of electricity make the most sense to you?
World Ocean’s Day!
June 8, 2009 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under algalita marine research, conservation, environment, junk ride, pollution, world ocean's day
I’d been saving this post since January when I attended the Go Green Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I thought that I lost the video for it when I did a defrag on the computer but I found it this morning. Now, I can’t figure out how to upload because it’s saved as a zip file (I think). I don’t know. Serves me for being so savvy with the lappy.
Anyway, I wanted to highlight the Algalita Marine Research Foundation since it’s World Ocean’s Day. I had the opportunity to speak with Anna Cummins back in January at the Expo. She was very passionate when she spoke about what plastics are doing to our marine life. She stated that plastic is not only destroying our marine environment but also pointed out that it eventually makes it back into our systems. Her booth was displayed with the plastic debris samples and pictures of plastic trash from the North Pacific Gyre.
Anna explored The Garbage Patch in a month long expedition with Captain Charles Moore and crew from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation collecting surface samples for research and education. In my video she mentions her fiance, Dr. Marcus Eriksen, traveled to the Central North Pacific Gyre, on what’s know as the JUNKraft.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Central North Pacific Gyre known as “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” it is roughly twice the size of the U.S. and is completely covered in plastic pollution aka “plastic soup”. I learned about the CNPG crisis two years ago and have been trying to reduce my plastic consumption since.
Some quick facts:
- Estimates of plastic in the world’s oceans exceed 100 million tons. 20% of it is derelict fishing gear, 80% comes from land from our watersheds.
A large segment of what ends up as marine debris is single use disposable consumer items!!!!
- Pieces of plastic outweigh surface zooplankton by a factor of 6 to 1.
- 90 % of Laysan Albatross chick carcasses and regurgitated stomach contents contain plastics. (Fish and seabirds mistake plastic for food)
- Plastic debris releases chemical additives and plasticizers into the ocean.
- Plastic adsorbs hydrophobic pollutants, like PCBs, and pesticides like DDT.
These pollutants bioaccumulate in tissues of marine organisms, biomagnify up the food chain, and find their way into the food we eat.
After learning some quick facts, Anna told us her husband caught a fish while exploring the Gyre and opened it up to exam it and found 16 pieces of plastic in it. She further noted and ended our conversation with “there is no such thing as plastic throw away”.
Anna also gave me a Bring Your Own produce bag that she sewed up herself and was selling at the Expo! I could tell Anna had so much conviction about the issue of plastic and how it’s destroying our oceans. She exuded so much passion about the plastic problem that it reminded me of Beth Terry over at Fake Plastic Fish. Both of these woman are pioneers in helping to spread the word about plastic pollution.
Currently, Anna and Dr. Marcus Eriksen are riding their bikes to raise awareness about the issue of plastic marine debris. They began their “Junkride” journey on April 4th, 2009 in Vancouver, B.C. and plan to ride 2000 miles to Tijuana Mexico. They’ll be giving away samples of polluted ocean surface to educators, organizations, and legislators to educate others about the problems and call for an end to The Age of Disposable Plastic.
Two things we can do to protect our marine life:
HOUSEHOLD CHALLENGE: (from Algalita Marine Research Foundation’s pamphlet)
* Create a 100% recyclable and compostable grocery list. Imagine all of your household waste going into the compost pile or recycle bin!
* If you must buy consumable products, choose paper, glass or bio-plastic.
This household challenge reminds of the challenge Beth at Fake Plastic Fish is hosting…
We should all take the time ti examine our plastic waste…are you up for the challenge?
Ultimately, can you limit your plastic intake?
What is the issue?
Plastic marine debris is a vector for organic pollutants that impact human health and our environment.
UPDATE: Beth, from Fake Plastic Fish tipped me off about this video- Thanks Beth!!
** I can’t get my video to work- I’m super bummed about this. A few months back I did a defrag on my computer and thought I lost the footage. I found it today and apparently it’s been converted to a zip file that I don’t know how to convert back to video if that’s even possible. I wish you could hear Anna for yourself and listen in on what she told me about plastic and their research. For now, it’s just a picture (featured above).
