Owner: Eco | Centric URL:http://eco-centric.blogspot.com Join Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:39:53 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A place where environmentally conscious people can come to read, post and discuss the latest in all things green Site statistics:Click here
The Running Men 2007-05-05 23:40:00 Media Curves recently asked a group of 309 survey respondents to watch videos of speeches by Al Gore and Arnold Schwarzenegger addressing global warming; respondents recorded their level of agreement in real time, which is tracked according to political affiliation. Click on the image and see what you think - my comments are below.It's not much of a surprise that Arnold's Hollywood pitch rates better than what is, essentially, scolding by Gore. Grown men like nothing more than to be told that they are immoral if they don't agree with your assessment of a situation. It's also a different stance than Gore takes in An Inconvenient Truth, which may have been assisted by skillful editing. Interestingly, Republicans reject Gore's appeal to a higher cause, which has been a successful tool for our role in Iraq for so long.Both men appeal to different human motivations - for Gore, it's about morality and for Arnold it's an issue of normalization and belonging. What helps Arnold in this c
Hanging with Mr. Begley 2007-05-07 04:58:00 Your eyes don't deceive you - that's me with the frickin' GREENEST MAN IN HOLLYWOOD, Ed Begley Jr. He might also be the tallest man in Hollywood (or I might be the shortest one outside of it). If you don't know him, check out old episodes of St. Elsewhere or the movie Transylvania 6-5000.Currently, he is the subject and star of Living with Ed on HGTV, where he and his wife enact the daily battle between convenience and eco-conscious living. He has the social consciousness, as Bobby Kennedy Jr. tells it, of "a West Coast cadet who gets up every morning and says 'reporting for duty'"I recently attended Southwestern College's 2nd Annual Environmental Symposium, where big Ed dropped some eco-perspective on us for about 20 minutes. It was practical, to the point, and focused on results.First and foremost, he recognizes that the facts of the global warming debate have been hijacked by politics. His advice is to rely on scientists, those with "Ph.Ds after their names" and those with pe Read more:Hanging
My other car is a bike 2007-05-10 18:00:00 I stumbled across this post about living car-less and thought it was some good (calorie-free) food for thought. I have to say, and the ratio of those who echo this sentiment seems to be about 4 to 1, that I don't enjoy driving and wish I didn't have to anymore. Which is not to say I don't have a choice. I could sell my car tomorrow. I've also thought that maybe I should try a moped for the daily commute, because that would be much more environmentally-friendly, cheaper and practical in San Diego.When I lived in Australia for 10 months after college, I relied wholly on public transportation and I loved it. I also slept better which, as those who know me know well, is sometimes a challenge. With options like FlexCar, which rent cars from multiple locations within the city, perhaps ditching my car is getting closer to reality. I have a friend, and he knows who he is, who used FlexCar or ZipCar or SomethingCar, when he needed while living in San Francisco. Of course, we're talking abo
Mr. Freeze ices High Speed Rail 2007-05-16 18:36:00 I recently wrote to Governor Schwarzenegger regarding the California Speed
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Rail(HSR) initiative that's been in limbo for some years now. Scheduled to go before voters in November '08, Arnold is slashing money for the high speed rail authority in his 2007 budget and asking California legistators to postpone indefinitely the $9.95-billion rail bond that is slated to appear next year. Below is my letter and the canned response:Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,I'm writing in support of the high speed rail program, and in opposition to the reduction of its funds. I believe that HSR is a much more sound solution to California's long term traffic congestion issues, both on the road and in the air. We don't need more roads, or better roads. If we are to protect what makes California a beautiful and unique state, we need to pursue solutions that ensure the long term sustainability of it's beauty and and health. High speed rail will do that.Also, please consider other factors:If you suppo Read more:Freeze
Hybrids poised to get hosed at the pump 2007-06-14 10:30:00 New EPA fuel efficiency standards implemented in May are expected to drop car mileage estimates across the board, with hybrids suffering more than most.According to a May article in Wired online, "The two top-selling hybrid vehicles, the Prius and Honda's Civic Hybrid, will lose 12 and 11 miles per gallon respectively from their city driving estimates. Other vehicles are downgraded between 2 and 4 mpg."After years of overestimating gas mileage, "the new EPA tests factor in real-world conditions such as speeding, varying weather and lead-footed driving. Vehicles like hybrids with smaller engines pay a higher penalty during the acceleration test, as well as the tests that simulate going up a hill and maintaining highway speeds."Two steps forward, one step back. The onus is on the manufacturers to get consumers the type of performance they've been expecting from hybrids. While EPA estimates are not their responsibility, truth in advertising is. Once you've lost the consumer's trust it Read more:Hybrids
GM crops are not OK 2007-06-17 22:44:00 As we've seen recently with the pet food fiascos, our food supply may not be safeguarded as well as we thought. Not even close. The documentary The Future of Food discusses some the political, health and social consequences of a corporate food complex run roughshod over the public good, with the silent assent of our government.My sister recently unearthed an article from a year ago, detailing just one way that Genetically Modified foods may represent a cure that's worse than the disease. In the case of Liberty Herbicide (marketed as Basta, Ignite, Rely, Finale and Challenge), GM crops are embedded with genes that produce an enzyme that converts their herbicide to a non-toxic variant called NAG (N-acetyl-L-glufosinate). With each subsequent spraying, NAG accumulates within the plants.The problem is that when these crops are consumed, some of it may be converted back into toxic herbicide. It is believed that gut bacteria, primarily found in the colon or rectum, are responsible for this
The wacky world of carbon offsets, pt.I 2007-06-19 23:32:00 You're probably hearing a lot about companies going "carbon neutral" these days. All the cool kids are doing it, and it's even become a selling point for Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.Sounds good, but what does it actually mean? Has everyone just stopped exhaling? Here's a quickie primer on the logic and logistics behind carbon offsets
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This is your society on drugs 2007-06-27 08:56:00 I'm cranky this morning and the news has been no help in alleviating my bile. As if there wasn't enough reason already, a news article from AFP.com gives yet more justification to avoid anything labeled "Made in China."The list of food ingredients potentially hitting our shores from China includes formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, industrial parrafin and the dye malachite green, as reported by China's food quality watchdog. These contaminants were found in baby milk powder, rice, flour, meat, biscuits, seafood, soy sauce and sweets, among many other products.This is what I love about the bottom line, market-regulated model of society. Hey, I know, let's outsource public safety to a country with virtually no regulation, no public accountability and one of the more abysmal records on human rights. We've all lost complete sense of the idea of what something costs from cradle to grave and we've outsourced our consciences along with it. It's insanity. Ther
Global Warming jumps the shark 2007-07-09 20:48:00 The phrase "Jump the Shark" has been in circulation for about 10 years now and originally denoted the moment/event when a television show passes its expiration date, so to speak, and begins its decline. The phrase derives from an episode of Happy Days where Fonzie - yes - jumps
a shark on water skis, subsequently going down in the annals of absurd TV and spawning a phenomenon.I can think of no more evident sign of a great global cause jumping the shark than a massive, intercontinental series of concerts designed to raise consciousness about that very cause. I'm talking about Live Earth here, Al Gore's just-completed pet project and, ostensibly, the first phase of his new campaign to bring an awareness of global warming to the masses.Now, I think this blog is testament to where I stand on the issue and I'm no Al Gore hater, but it's been my experience that these mega concerts rarely, if ever, give the impetus for a cause to remain in the cultural consciousness for very long. In fact Read more:Global
, Global Warming
A misanthrope speaks 2007-07-13 11:13:00 Here's an old clip of George Carlin doing what he does best - rant. This is from back in 1992, during the last big wave of eco-awareness. He seemed to think the planet would be fine, and I suspect he still feels the same. His view of environmentalists is contrary to what I believe, but it's always good to get the "other" point of view and, god forbid, have a sense of humor about it.
The big dogs step in 2007-08-09 22:40:00 It was only a matter of time before Daddy Warbucks threw his hat in the ring and why not, I suppose. Yahoo recently launched Yahoo Green and is now sponsoring a contest for designers to create an icon that will be used to represent green products throughout its family of sites and networks. How Yahoo presumes to deem something officially "green" is unknown. This, combined with the acquisitions of Zaadz.com by Gaiam and Treehugger.com by Discovery Communications, reeks of sellout.While these moves undoubtedly take the green movement closer to the mainstream, one has to wonder if the opportunities that vested interests see in the market serve to strengthen it or undermine it. There is a strain of thought that believes true "green" and true environmentalism cannot coexist peacefully within capitalism, since conspicuous consumption and other monetary pressures that go along with it compromise green principles at every step of the way. In essence, it's difficult - well-nigh impossible - to
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