“The Human Footprint” by National Geographic was pretty cool, but my video is better.
The above video is one of twelve. Watch the rest HERE.
How the heck does this happen in the first place? Look no further than the story just published at www.treehugger.com, the largest green blog on the net, about new laws regulating the dumping of trash in the Mediterranean Sea. Regulating the dumping of trash in the sea? What the hell is this? We were dumping trash at sea? The short answer is: Yes, we were. Yes, we are.
I thought, “well, that explains it, these damn boats are dumping their crap in the oceans.” While that’s true, it accounts for the minority of our problem. One hundred million tons of plastic are created each year, and it’s estimated that ten percent of it finds its way into our oceans. Of that ten percent, only one-fifth is from boats. The rest, from land inhabitants.
How does your trash get way out in the ocean? Is it from boats dumping their crap over board? Marine biologists state that 80 percent of the ocean’s litter originated on land. That is a sad statement. Let’s say you drop a plastic cup on the ground. The next time it rains, it’s washed into a storm drain. The water from the drain empties into a river, taking your cup with it. The river carries your cup along as it flows into the ocean. That “cup” can be anything, like the packaging material used in shipping. I am going to stop my company from contributing to this nonsense ASAP.
More about this trash island
At the start of the Academy Award-winning movie “American Beauty,” a character videotapes a plastic grocery bag as it drifts into the air, an event he casts as a symbol of life’s unpredictable currents, and declares the romantic moment as a “most beautiful thing.”
To the eyes of an oceanographer, the image is pure catastrophe.
Read more about this Floating Trash Island at SFgate.com
Links for further reading:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/pollution/trash-vortex
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pacific_Gyre
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=06-P13-00046&segmentID=4
Is it bad that I can’t wait to get my helmet camera? is watching me commute via bicycle directly related to greening your supply chain, Mr. Executive in NYC? Maybe. maybe not. But it will be fun!
Look out for all that is changing with in the next few weeks. I am going to have the benchmarks set for our green plan and we are going to start putting them into action shortly thereafter.
Have a great weekend to all!
The work of Kevin Gurney (an atmospheric scientist at Purdue University) does a great job of bringing a visual representation to the nation’s CO2 emissions. You’ll see the burst of output as the country kick starts the factories, cars, coal plants, etc., in the morning…
I’m not too psyched about how the North East is looking in these models. Take a look in the beginning of the video of the mobile source of CO2 overlay, and find us on the map (not good). I’m going to do my best to help change this.
Niko T wins it all! he even has a blog http://www.dessertbuzz.com/
I’m going to have to get more creative with my ploys to get our clients, friends, and NYCers to subscribe to the RSS and email feeds via the newsletter. Dang, people, maybe you could get crazy and throw a comment in there once and a while! (C’mon. You’ll get free stuff!)
I’m trying to get all of my ducks in a row so I can bang out the dry content in the first three weeks (so be on the look out for that). We should be clear sailing in short order with some fun content. For one, I’ll be starting a segment called Transit Tuesdays. Check back soon for more information.
In the meantime, check out my recent interview with www.ecoInsomniac.com, in which I talk about our efforts to greenify our business!
First I have to give a huge shout-out to Toby at http://blog.kiwitobes.com/; he is the creator of this map.
Wal-Mart: What’s the deal? Green or mean?
I’m leaning towards neither. I think Wal-Mart is in limbo land at this point. They are by far the largest retailer in the United States and in being so, are wielding a very large stick. That much we know. The polarizing view points on this topic can be seen HERE in an article from Triple Pundit by Shannon Arvizu. Wal-Mart is listed in the media as being a top green company, while others list it as being a top polluter. I see both as being true. However, I will say that “Wal-Mart exists” and isn’t going out of business any time soon. If we accept that, than maybe it a good thing that they sold 100 million energy-efficient light bulbs and are moving to all hormone free milk, among other initiatives.
What are your thoughts?
On April 1 we are going to do the drawing. I am going to throw all of the comments into a bucket and pull the winner. After cross-checking the newsletter registrations, I will declare the winner. It’s that simple. I may do a prize or two for runners-up as well.
I am really looking forward to your feedback on this question: have you ever thought about the pollution that is created when you or your employer ships a package? (Another requirement to be eligible that I should have mentioned is that you should live or work in the NYC metro area or be visiting in the next month or so.)
In this video you will be introduced to what this blog is about…
