Jack Johnson's "All at Once": Your actions, Your voice, Your choice

Singer-Songwriter Jack Johnson has launched a pro-environment concert tour including requirements in his concert rider for placement of recycling bins among other things.

His website allatonce.org (http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/allatonce) provides a forum for people who want to become active in their local and global community. All at Once, in addition to being a great song you can hear on the site, promotes the concept, "An action multiplied by millions creates global change. Collectively, individual actions create global change and impact." The goal of All at Once is to allow each individual to see how their actions impact the global picture."

It also brings to mind a quote from the great Gandhi, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Virgin Puts Biofuels on Maiden Voyage

Talk about committed to green, kudos to Virgin Atlantic....

(WallStreet Journal, Feb. 26, 2008)
Ever a showman, Virgin Atlantic Airline President Richard Branson opened a vial of jet fuel made with oil from coconuts and Brazilian babassu nuts and drank it, forcing a stiff smile. "It's more appropriate for the engine," he said before TV cameras. Later, he said privately that he ahd been told he could drink it, "by my god, it was horrible."
On Sunday, Virgin flew a Boeing 747 from London's Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam with one of the four engines burning a mixture of 80% jet fuel and 20% oile from naturally grown plants. The first commercial airline test of biofuel came off without a hitch....demonstrating that someday planes may not fly on petroleum alone. Virgin and the handful of other companies involved in the project, are hopeful that in 3 - 6 years, passengers may be riding on jets at least partially powered by naturally grown oil...believed to result in a 20% reduction in total emissions.

Plastic Bags aka White Pollution

(WPR - Joy Cardin)

Last year, in the USA, 100 billion plastic bags were distributed by stores requiring 20 million barrels of oil to produce....a majority of which end up in landfills. It is estimated that less than 5% of plastic bags are recycled.

An estimated 400,000 plastic bags were picked up last year in coastal area clean ups which interefere with marine life.

The problem has become so bad in China that it is referred to as White Pollution. China has taken the step to ban plastic bags estimated to save 37 million barrels of oil.

Plastic Bag Ban in China

(CNN) -- China is banning free plastic bags common at shops and supermarkets and ordering customers to be charged for any they use, the government said Wednesday.
The rules, which take effect June 1, come as the country tries to tackle a significant source of litter, a statement on the government's Web site said.
The bags also are banned from all public transportation, including buses, trains and planes and from airports and scenic locations, the government said.
Companies caught breaking the new rules face fines and possible forfeiture of goods, the government said.
Shops have been instructed to mark the price of the plastic bags clearly and not fold them into the cost of other items.
Environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, praised China's move, and Christopher Flavin, president of Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization in Washington, said "China is ahead of the U.S. with this policy," AP reported.
The Chinese use up to 3 billion plastic shopping bags a day.
Often, the flimsy bags are used once and discarded, adding to waste in a country grappling with air and water pollution as a result of rapid economic transformation, officials said.
"Our country consumes a large amount of plastic bags. While convenient for consumers, the bags also lead to a severe waste of resources and environmental pollution because of their excessive use and low rate of recycling," the statement at the Web site Gov.cn said. "The ultra-thin bags are the main source of 'white' pollution as they can easily get broken and end up as litter."

The government statement added, "We should encourage people to return to carrying cloth bags, using baskets for their vegetables."
More durable plastic bags still will be allowed for sale by markets and shops, The Associated Press reported.
When the ban goes into effect, China will join countries such as Uganda and South Africa, the statement said.
Bangladesh banned plastic bags four years ago when officials realized they blocked drains and led to flooding. Since then, customers have taken to using bags made of jute or cloth for shopping.
Last year, San Francisco, California, became the first U.S. city to outlaw plastic checkout bags at supermarkets.

Plant a Tree

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The 2nd best time is NOW. The challenge is just to start. So what are you waiting for? Get planting! Remember EARTH DAY is April 22.

2% Solution

Visit Focus the Nation at focusthenation.org to watch the "2% Solution" video.

Consider...

In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy. --John Sawhill, former president, the Nature Conservancy.

Computers

More than 315 million computers are expected to become obsolete by the year 2004, containing an estimated 1.2 billion pounds of lead, 2 million pounds of cadmium, 400,000 pounds of mercury, and 1.2 million pounds of hexavalent chromium. --Kansas City Star, May 9, 2000

Changing Patterns of Consumption

U.S. citizens "waste or cause to be wasted nearly one million pounds of materials per person per year...the total annual flow of waste, including wastewater, is 250 trillion pounds." This waste includes materials such as carpets, Styrofoam, discarded food, carbon from carbon dioxide, and manufacturing waste. "Less than 2% of the total waste stream is actually recycled - primarily paper, glass, plastic, aluminum and steel. Even more staggering: only 1% of North American materials ends up in products that are still being used six months after their sale. --The Natural Step

Success by Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often & much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
& earn the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better whether
by a healthy child,
a garden patch or
a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier
because you lived
is to have succeeded.

From WasteNews.com Pen makers want writers to BeGreen

Feb. 7 -- Pilot Pen Corporation of America has introduced what it is touting as the world´s first full line of earth-friendly writing instruments.
The BeGreen product line includes ballpoint pens, rolling ball pens and mechanical pencils. They are made from at least 70 percent recycled content and packaged using recycled materials. They also are the same price as their nonrecycled counterparts, said Robert Silberman, vice president of marketing for Trumbull, Conn.-based Pilot Pen Corp.
"The product line will expand as consumer interest heightens for the well-being of our planet," he said.

Think about it....

We have the capacity to shape a different future.

Now do it!

Aluminum Can vs. Plastic Bottle

Soda can be purchased in either aluminum cans or plastic bottles made from PET and HDPE plastics. An aluminum can holds 12 fluid ounces; a 2-liter bottle holds 67.6 fluid ounces. An aluminum soda can can be recycled into another soda can; plastic from a soda bottle is "downgraded" to make a non-food container or product to insure sterile food packaging.

The energy required to manufacture an aluminum can with 50% recycled fibers is 80Btu per fluid ounce. Therefore, 30% of the enrgy needed to make the soda container is saved when 12 ounce aluminum cans made of recycled materials are purchased instead of 2-liter plastic bottles. Aluminum is a popular metal to recycle because it costs less to make a soda can out of recycled materials than out of new metal. In 1989, America recycled 60% of the 80 billion cans used.

One out of every four PET botles are currently being recycled. PET bottles are acutally a form of polyester so they can be recycled into carpeting, suits and fiberfill for ski jackets. HDPE can become flower pots and trash cans.

--University of Florida, Cooperative Extension Service, Fact Sheet EES-77

Sustainable Sack Lunch

A sack lunch sandwich can be packaged in a variety of ways: aluminum foil, a ziptop baggie or a plastic sandwich box. The energy required to make these containers differs depending upon the material type and the amount of recycled fibers used.

Generally, when packing lunches using aluminum foil or baggies, new foil or a new baggie is used every day. By comparison, plastic sandwich boxes can be reused repeatedly. When a sandwich is packaged in a plastic sandwich box instead of aluminum foil or plastic baggies, over 80% of the energy used for sandwich containers is saved. This can lead to big savings over the course of a school year. There are approximately 185 days in a school year. If one studnet's sandwich for lunch is packed in a plastic box instead of a siptop baggie, the family saves $15 on sandwich wrappers, since one plastic box can be used all year.

There were 165,375 students in the 1990-91 first grade class in Florida. If the sandwich for each student was packaged in a plastic sandwich box for the school year instaed of baggies, the equivalent to over 125,000 gallons of gasoline would be saved annually. The energy in 125 thousand gallons of gasoline coulnd run a stereo for more than 19 million hours. Nineteen million hours is 2,231 years of continuous stereo sound.

--University of Florida, Cooperative Extension Service, Fact Sheet EES-77

Trash Trouble

Trash - we are producing too much of it. The municipal solid waste foundin the home and office garbage can is a product of natural resources used to manufacture it. This includes energy resources both as base materials (feedstock) and as power for processing and transportation. The mining, refining and consumption of these energy resources creates a variety of pollutants. Given this information, it is easy to see how municipal solid waste is a triple whammy:
1. natural resources are used up, decreasing the quantity of thes irreplaceable materials;
2. energy is consumed, leaving less for the future while creating more pollutants and increasing the potential for global climatic change; and
3. efforts at municipal solid waste disposal are contaminating the environment in which we live.

There are three major methods of dealing with the solid wastes generated: landfills, incineration and recycling. Each method has capacity limitations. Therefore, the BEST MEANS of subduing the problems association with municipal solid waste disposal is to REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF WASTE CREATED.

--University of Florida, Cooperative Extension Service Fact Sheet EES-77

Study Circle #6 at LTC

I'm pleased to announce that the 6th study circle will be hosted at Lakeshore Technical College. Tuesday evenings from 7-8:30pm starting Feb. 19 and concluding on April 15.
To sign up for this circle, please email tprigge@manitowoc.org or call 686-6980.
It's inspiring what a group of people can accomplish when gathered together rallied around the same the topic.

Woodland Dunes hosts Study Circle #5

Woodland Dunes will be hosting study circle #5. A Wednesday morning session starting in February. If you'd like more info, visit www.manitowoc.org.
Go Green Manty!

Study Circle #4, Municipal Employees

Study Circle #4, the first circle for municipal employees, is under way.

Already some great ideas are being recommended from offering recycling options to public trash receptacles, including the director of Transit in the site plan review process to assure that bus routes are considered, and increasing the number of public bike racks available.

It is a great dialogue to be having and already has us thinking more sustainably.

Did you know that Maritime Metro Buses are equipped with bike racks? So even if you don't live adjacent to a bus stop, you could hop on your bike (a good, healthy way to start the day that promotes wellness), pedal to the nearest bus stop and throw your bike on the front.

Need assistance to figure out which bus will get you to your destination? Don't hesitate to call Maritime Metro Transit 683-4560

Interesting Eco-Discussions

to get further connected with the eco-community of cyberspace check out this link:
http://www.ecospace.cc/

Green Holiday Gift Ideas

For green holiday gift ideas visit Yahoo Green! at green.yahoo.com/holiday2007