Welcome to Carnival of the Green #172. Last week's Carnival was here, and next week's Carnival is over at EcoJoes.
Got milk? Grab a glass of the white stuff and a chocolate chip cookie, and join me for some green bloggy goodness...
Got Brown Thumb? Alison leads off with this very practical post about choosing seeds for lazy gardeners.
Got Condo?
I set out to reduce my home's electricity use by 20% in 2008 without getting rid of all of my newish but nonenergy efficient appliances, by not installing alternative energy generators, and with minor home improvements. At the end of the year I tallied up my savings and found out that I didn't make my goal - I beat it! Here's the lowdown on how I did and how I did it. (Follow Condo Blues on Twitter @condoblues)
Check out this pic of Mr. Green Jeans - Patron Saint of Green Solar. Yeh, I thought P.L. was talking about Captain Kangaroo's bud too, but that dates me. (Memo to Self: File pic for next year's St. Pat's post...)
Got bulbs? EcoJoe sez follow me to get free CFL light bulbs at Target this week.
Got Concensus? Dirty Geek:
You'll often see climate change deniers citing a "consensus" from the 1970s that "global cooling" or "a new ice age" were at hand, as a way to imply we shouldn't trust those stupid scientists. Most frequently cited as the man behind this cooling theory is James Hansen, who heads the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, a part of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Earth Sciences Division. He's one of the world's leading climatologists and a major figure for global warming, so you can imagine how, if this were true, it would be a big deal, right? Well, a lot can change in 30 years, so even if it were true that the research results had changed, it would still be understandable. Of course, it's NOT true. (DG's PBP Public is here)
Got wrinkles? Free Organic News has Organic Skin Care - The Nice And Simple Way
Got threads? Vihar Sheth sez tailor your wardrobe the green way.
Fair Trading, now established as an effective advertising label, also needs a regular upgrade or review of the market forces involved. So quickly, what starts off as an excellent and highly ethical move can end up - or rather - downgraded to meaningless words on 'green' labels of the usual corporate suspects products.
A similar suggestion from Ethical Superstore’s blog: Look behind the labels. Rainforest Alliance Wendy looks at social labelling organisations and what they mean for the consumer, the farmers and the environment.
Got equality? Julian Pollock takes us to school on What Is Fair Trading - Improving Worker and Producer Livelihood.
Got spokes? A member of the ooffoo community shares news of a brilliant project for re-CYCLing.
Got (too much) blarney? Dr. Oliver Moore
Somehow, in the middle of a recession, organic food sales in Ireland are up by 11%, as compared to this time last year. Isn't that amazing? How and why has this happened in Ireland, when there are so many negative stories abounding about all kinds of eco and ethical products and their sales rates in changed economic times? Oliver Moore investigates.
Got solutions? SengAun Ong on What One Can Do For The Earth:
The impact to the environment is inevitable in the current industrialized world. But as an individual, everybody is able to minimize such impact.
Here's "All the Way From UK" Rae:
We all know we could do a little more when it comes to reducing our household landfill waste, right? We put off those procrastination jobs for another day / week / month / until infinity and we sulk around making excuses when we could be doing something proactive instead. Thursdays at MyZeroWaste are now officially 'Get off your arse Thursday's' and it's your opportunity to get a little support and encouragement to take that next step. Why not join in with us and let us share your celebrations with you? This week we've been setting up compost heaps, sorting out clothes to pass to others, and checking school recycling bins. What could you do next week to decrease your impact on the environment?
Got bod? Beth Terry sez:
Pollution in our air, water, and food is harmful to our bodies. But can sick bodies be harmful to the environment? Wellness is the responsibility of all of us... for all of us. Twitter Beth here.
Chimpanzees are known to share 98% of humans' DNA, so it's not surprising that they have a lot of human characteristics. A male chimp named Santino has been in the news lately, because he's been observed "stockpiling" weapons for later fits of rage. Animal behaviorists say Santino is one of the first non-humans to clearly demonstrate "planning ahead." Read about Santino's belligerant behavior on Veggie Revolution this week - and Sally's thoughts about why we should save some space on the planet for our wild cousins.
Imagine an electric supercar that is powered by the energy it generates from the sun. It may sound too good to be true, but believe it!
If you need more reason to for organic makeup, consider this: Lead has been found in 61% of tested brand name lipsticks. And nobody in the industry is doing anything about it.
Got farms? Alison Kerr interviews an expert who has a published book on sustainable agriculture.
Got guts?
After the post I made a couple days ago on motorhome racing, I wondered if there was anybody out there crazy enough to race an Airstream.
OK, so that last one was probably cross-contamination from the Carnival of Motorhomes but who could resist a post about Airstream racing?
