Earlier this year, we were thinking about possible vacation destinations, and cruising down the Mediterranean sounded like a cool idea.  One of my coworkers raved about a 3 week cruise she took to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, which compelled me to investigate further.

Just as I was starting to get excited about the prospect of taking a cruise, I came across this article in the NY Times.  Basically, cruise lines are not well policed when it comes to compliance with environmental policies.  For example, did you know:

• Most ships run on bunker fuel, which is the dirtiest and cheapest fuel oil
• A one-week voyage on a large ship is estimated to produce 210,000 gallons of sewage, a million gallons of gray water (runoff from sinks, baths, showers, laundry and galleys), 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water, 11,550 gallons of sewage sludge and more than 130 gallons of hazardous wastes

Until the industry changes its ways and makes significant strides in reducing its carbon footprint, I won’t be taking a cruise anytime soon.

During these times, I’ve heard people are trading in being green for some extra green. When it comes to putting food on the table or keeping a roof over your head vs. buying products that have are green (and more expensive), it’s tough to argue which one wins.

However, keep in mind that being green often means living a smarter and more frugal lifestyle. For example, turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them. Take shorter showers. Use cloth towels instead of paper towels. Combine trips when you need to go out and run errands. Bring a reusable shopping bag to the market – it doesn’t cost you a thing, and you may even get a little green back from the store. In fact, doing many of the things we’ve been discussing in ThingsThatMakeYouGoGreen will help you save green.

If you have ideas and tips on green things that save green, let us know. I can be reached at greenhl [at] ttmygg [dot] com. I would personally love to hear your ideas!

As you’ve likely heard, China has embarked on several measures to improve air quality, such as limiting the use of cars and the closing of dozens of factories.

Apparently, these efforts have had little impact. The Air Pollution Index, or API, (the API measures particulate matter) in Beijing has hovered over 101. To qualify for a “blue sky day,” which is supposedly safely for athletes, the API must be below 101.

As a result, the Chinese are implementing an “Emergency Green Plan”, banning 90% of the 3.3M private cars from the roads, and temporarily closing even more factories.

What do you think? Is it going to work? Or is it too late?

I’m posting the article below…

1. Earlier Migration: Several bird species are making their annual northward jaunt slightly ahead of schedule in recent springs, as the East Coast of the United States heats up, according to a study detailed in the June issue of the journal Global Change Biology. The report confirms similar studies dating back to 2006. Early birds may not sound like a huge deal, but scientists warn that long-distance migrators who start out in South America, and therefore lack cues about the timing of spring in Northern Hemisphere destinations, will be less able to keep pace with the changing climate. “Trees and shrubs are further along in their development, and different groups of insects are out,” said lead author Abraham Miller-Rushing of Boston University. “Spring is coming earlier for most other plants and animals, but not for the long-distance migratory birds. Thus, these long-distance migrant birds may need to learn to eat different sources of food or face other challenges because of the changes in timing.”

2: Jellyfish Rule: An outbreak of jellyfish in oceans across the planet has resulted from the stinging creatures hitching rides on ships that circumnavigate the globe. In fact, studies suggest that almost a quarter of all marine species in international harbors are alien transplants, thanks to human-assisted dispersal.

3: Food Web Contaminated. Scientists said last month that they found toxic pollutants in nine deep-sea species of cephalopods, a class of mollusks that includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and nautiluses. Among the contaminants were at least two banned in the United States in the 1970s: dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Scientists say it’s further evidence that contaminants make their way deep into the marine food web.

4. Heading for the Hills: Thirty species of reptiles and amphibians have fled uphill to cooler climes as global warming has caused the mercury to rise. We could see a rash of extinctions occurring between 2050 and 2100, scientists say, because higher ground will eventually run out.

5. Penguins in Peril: A rapid population decline among penguins because, in addition to a warming planet, they face the triple whammy of oil pollution, depletion of fisheries and aggressive coastline development. “Penguins are among those species that show us that we are making fundamental changes to our world,” said Dee Boersma, a University of Washington biology professor who has studied the flightless birds for more than 25 years. “The fate of all species is to go extinct, but there are some species that go extinct before their time and we are facing that possibility with some penguins.

6. Sea-Life Shift: Scientists see a notable shift in the composition of coastal marine animal communities, caused in part by changing ocean temperatures, from vertebrates (fish) to invertebrates (lobsters, squid, and crabs), as well as from bottom-feeders to species that feed higher in the water column. Meanwhile, warm-water species have superseded larger, cool-water species in population size.

7. Migrating Parasite: The parasite Angiostronglyus vasorum, commonly known as “French heartworm,” is migrating northward because of rising temperatures. Normally found in southwestern England, the parasite has been detected in dogs admitted to animal hospitals in Scotland. Climbing temperatures in the country have also resulted in a sudden proliferation of slugs and snails.

8. Food Shortages: Plant-loving animals in extremely seasonal environments such as the Arctic struggle to feed themselves because global warming causes their food supply to peak in availability before they can reach breeding grounds. “Think of it like this,” said Eric Post, a biologist at Penn State. “You’ve been out on the town with friends, and on the way home you want to stop off for a bite to eat, but the restaurant you’ve always gone to has closed early. So you try for one around the corner that’s always open a little longer. But when you get to that one, it too is closed. For herbivores, the fact that there are several ‘restaurants’ — their food patches — dispersed across the landscape isn’t useful if they all begin closing at the same time in addition to closing earlier in the season.”

What do you guys think?  Are we totally screwed?  Is it too late?  …How many more days til George W is out of the White House?

CONGRESS, ACT NOW!!

The culprit?  It’s unclear but many speculate it’s either due to:  1.   overfishing, which causes penguins to fish closer to shore and get caught in swift current; or 2.  pollution, the Campos oil field (off the shores of Brazil) and other pollutants are weakening penguins’ immune systems.

It’s pretty sad to see so many plant and animal species being so detrimentally impacted by our environment.  Honeybees, polar bears, penguins and more… what next?

How many of you shop at Best Buy? When I’ve gone, I’ve been disappointed by their usually high prices and unhelpful staff. That said, I will start going there less than I even do currently.

Best Buy should be ashamed of their recycling program and efforts they speak so proudly of. Best Buy is probably one of the largest retailers of electronics if not the largest. In essence, Best Buy is one of the worst contributors to the tons of electronics thrown into our landfills each year.

Best Buy can mitigate a lot of this buy offering recycling at its stores, but unfortunately, it doesn’t choose to do so. It only offers the recycling of some appliances and home electronics if you purchase something from them AND get it professionally delivered or installed through a service you purchase through them. In essence, they are really trying to up sell additional services and make even more money, while masking this as some type of great recycling program and environmental benefit they are offering.

To Best Buy’s credit, they do offer cell phone, battery, and ink cartridge recycling. However, given Best Buy’s huge contribution to electronic waste in our landfills, they should be ashamed of their paltry efforts. They don’t even offer an on-going free recycling program for old computers, printers, CD / DVD players, fax machines or other common electronics. They do have special weekend events which appear to be one-time events in certain cities. Let’s be realistic though. Recycling should be a year round event, not a one-time marketing and promotional event. In addition, Best Buy doesn’t even accept appliances, microwaves, smoke detectors, or air conditioners during these events. Why even bother having these events, lest its for a corporate dog and pony show? Best Buy definitely pales in comparison to Costco’s efforts, which offers free recycling, complete with free shipping and packaging materials.

If someone knows of a great effort Best Buy is doing to combat this problem, let me know. I couldn’t find it on their website, and I would definitely love to be proven wrong in this case.

So what’s the big deal, you might ask?  Well, did you know…

1. 25 percent of all marine species need coral reefs to live and grow.
2. 40 percent of fish caught commercially use reefs to breed.
3. They have medicinal value!  Some produce compounds active against many common health problems, such as astham, heart disease, and leukemia.
4. Coral reefs provide economic benefits via tourism.

So these tropical rainforests are pretty important… and in the US only, almost 50% of all coral reefs are in poor or fair condition, due to rising ocean temperatures, coastal development, land based pollution (e.g. sewage) and overfishing.Sadly, I read that worldwide,

• 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate prospects of recovery.
• 24% of the world’s reefs are under imminent risk of collapse through human pressures; and a further 26% are under a longer term threat of collapse. [Source]

If there are any silver linings here, I would point to the growing mass of scientific documentation, and increased awareness from the population at large – hopefully this will spawn an uptick in efforts to save our coral reefs.  If you want to get into the action, check out this very excellent list on 25 things you can do to help.

• Increase the life of your roof
• Save energy for cooling in summer, and heating in the winter
• Reduce noise
• Help improve air quality
• Reduce stormwater runoff
• Look bitchin’

Before you go off and plant some sod on your roof, you should know that they’re not exactly easy to install – according to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, they consist of, “a high quality water proofing and root repellant system, a drainage system, filter cloth, a lightweight growing medium and plants.”So they are a somewhat complex, and perhaps mostly suited for larger buildings, although there are some who are pioneering planting them on residential buildings.But if you’re interested, the really good news is that cities like New York  and Chicago are offering tax credits for installing green roofs.  Regardless, it’s really fascinating and gorgeous stuff. Take a look! 

• Driving around visiting and shopping vendors
• Killing huge amounts of flowers with our arrangements, bouquets, etc.
• Having guests drive and fly from hundreds and thousands of miles away
• Renting tuxedoes will which likely be cleaned with eco-unfriendly chemicals
• Creating and sending invitations, programs, and schedules – with the use of a heavier card stock, I can’t imagine the amount of paper we’re really using, let alone the added weight / gas used
• Hair – I don’t know much about hair, but the massive amounts of chemicals and hair products can’t be good
• Wedding favors – those often worthless items you get at a wedding reception that people throw away the next day

Would simply buying carbon offsets help? Would this be a mere front to ease my guilt now that I think about the environmental impact my wedding is having?

Some of the items may have simple solutions. For example, we can forgo flowers… although I’m sure that idea won’t fly with the other side. We can cut down on the guest list, which we did significantly. We can do without programs, which I’m pushing for. We can do something different with wedding favors such as make a donation or simplify them into something people will use / consume. The hotel some guests are staying at offers transportation to and from the hotel, which I hope will help a tad. Any other ideas on how weddings and other large events can be more eco-friendly?

According to the EPA, gas mowers use 800 million gallons of gas annually and account for five percent of U.S. air pollution.

Because of this, according to one of our favorite new blogs, the Dwell Daily Blog, several cities are hosting an exchange program that allows residents to trade gas mowers for an eco-friendly alternative at a reduced price: the battery-powered Neuton CE 5.2.

Ah, but hold the phone! As it turns out, according to researchers at the University of Florida, even battery powered electric mowers cause plenty of pollution – mostly when producing the battery, and when those same batteries are not disposed of properly. (it’s the same reason that you shouldn’t necessarily replace your perfectly good car with a hybrid)

Their suggestion? Buy a corded mower – there’s no battery, and the only energy you use is the energy to run the mower.