Dasani Deception

it's enough to shut the dang blog down

Not that I've been very avid with my posts these days. But a few days ago I was sent an article claiming that doing 2 google searches is equivalent to boiling a kettle. According to a research institute the IT industry's global CO2 emissions now exceeds that of the aviation industry. Google of course responded with an article of their own stating that their energy efficient data centers only generate 0.2 grams of CO2 as opposed to the 7 grams that the Telegraph article claims. According to them, "That's a lot of kettles of tea." Now every time I google Whitney Port or Lauren Conrad, I'll definitely think twice about how important it is for me to know the latest info. :-)
Or I could start using blackle. According to Heap Media, a black google home page could save 750-megawatts a year.


*Image is from www.modernlifeisrubbish.co.uk

clean coal

Here is a lovely ad made by the folks over at wecansolveit.org. Please share it with your friends.

a different point of view

In the midst of all these union strikes over internet content, here is a fresher perspective to think about from the folks over at TED. Learn how creativity is being strangled by the law.

Love it!

To keep along with today's theme, check out these wonderful ads.
Please "Use only what you need." Check out the article on how Denver Water is getting the message out on Wisebread.

PS I have been more diligent about turning off power strips and unplugging things this month. And my bill went from $20 bucks to $9.

The Story of Stuff

Sorry, guys, for being so neglectful. I started a new job, a nine-to-fiver unfortunately. Because guess what? Our economy sucks, and SAG is on strike, SAG isn't on strike. Oh, wait. SAG is on strike. It feels like everything is coming to a head, and that huge, untimely, obnoxious zit is about to explode. And I haven't gotten a single call to work on a set for two months. And about a handful of my friends haven't either. So, you take what you can get. The good news is that the production office I work for is a dream. Reams of recycled paper, separated trash bins built-in to the kitchen cabinetry, even my own little blue bin underneath my desk. It brought a tiny tiny tear to my eye.

But anways, I've got something really important to share. It's called The Story of Stuff. And it's great. If you ever wanted a simple way to make your friends and family understand that we're all connected, that everything we consume affects people on a global scale, and that something needs to change NOW.....here it is. Annie Leonard is my hero of the moment. hmmm. Maybe that's a new segment I could start here on ecopix. Send me your suggestions for your Heroes of the Moment.

Please check out the website and share it with your friends. Here is just a taste of all its goodness:

Obama '08!

A Mouse Does Its Part

On a recent visit to the home of THE mouse, I was definitely pleased to see that such a large company is doing their part. The Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California is decked out to the nines with not just A Nightmare Before Christmas decorations, but also with a multitude of environmentally friendly practices. Every trash can in the park has a recyclables partner and their napkins are made of recycled paper. There are reminders throughout the park to conserve and recycle which I'm sure is welcomed by parents with kids screaming because they weren't tall enough to ride Space Mountain.

The conservationist attitude extends throughout the park that may not be visibly seen by its guests. The subs from Finding Nemo Submarine voyage are emission-free and the steam trains are powered with bio-diesel. Cast members manage to recycle 92,000 pounds of cardboard each week and they recycle 1,176 tons of green plant and foliage waste material a year.

Beyond Disneyland, the Walt Disney Company also recently donated $1.5 million to the Treepeople Organization to help reforest fire-ravaged areas in the mountains surrounding greater Los Angeles.

So, I applaud them for upholding Walt's commitment to conservation and preservation. For more information, please check out Disney's site: environmentality.com

For my fellow Californians...

I just wanted to share some information that might have fallen through the cracks in the midst of this economy crisis. Treehugger posted an article today that there are several renewable energy propositions on the ballots for a few states. In California, Proposition 7 "requires government-owned utilities to generate 20% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2010, a standard currently applicable to private electrical corporations." Proposition 10 "authorizes $5 billion in bonds paid from state's General Fund, to help consumers and others purchase certain vehicles and to fund research in renewable energy and alternative fuel vehicles." But there are actually several environmental organizations opposed to both propositions that are seemingly beneficial to the environmental cause. For further information, please check this out. The Union of Concerned Scientists also provides interesting insight into both propositions.

Recycle Your Media Waste

I am adding two sites to the Resources list today that you should definitely keep on file: CD Recycling Center of America and GreenDisk.com. Both are excellent resources for properly and securely disposing your unwanted cds and dvds.

I recommend using CD Recycling center for personal use in addition to office use, since they do not charge you for their services. The facility takes cds, dvds, and any of the packaging that goes along with it. The only costs to you are shipping and the time it takes to sort your items. However, you must register with their site and notify them of your upcoming shipment.

Got a PA twiddling their thumbs in the corner of the office? You may also download graphics to properly label your recycling bins.

Greendisk is a useful resource for production and post production offices and film festivals that generate or collect mutiple and various types of media waste. For a fee, they take the following items:
-All forms of electronic media and their cases: diskettes, zip disks, CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVDs et al, video tape (i.e. VHS), audio tape, game cartridges, DAT, DLT, Beta or Digibeta, and virtually all other type of computer tapes.
-Hard drives, Zip and Jazz drives, jump drives, etc.
-All forms of printer cartridges including both inkjet and toner.
-All types of cell phones, pagers, PDAs and their chargers, cables, and headset accessories.
-All types of rechargeable batteries (not regular alkaline ones) and their chargers.
-All of the cords, cables, boards, chips, etc. attached to or removed from a computer.

They also take small computer accessories such as Ipods, digital cameras and laptops, but you must use their specific shipping materials. You can purchase boxes that can be used for collection and shipment, as well, for your office's workstations. If you purchase your boxes through them, they also include postage, processing and an audit report with a Certificate of Destruction. Greendisk helps to complete the cycle by selling recycled CDs and cases. You can also include one of these companies' links printed on the artwork of your new dvd cases to pass on the good word.

One last note: if you're sending off "obsolete" unused media, such as blank DV tapes, DVCAMs, or Betacams, try donating it to a local film school that is probably still using such stocks.

don't vote...

...or do.

Please embed this onto your site or send it to your friends.

Have a good weekend!

AltCar Expo

This weekend I rode my bike over to the Alternative Energy and Transportation Expo in Santa Monica. It was one of the events in which Green Jobs Now was participating. I have gone to a couple of the big car conventions that they hold at the LA Convention Center. So, it was very interesting to see the "alternatives."

A couple of the things that jumped out at me were the electric trucks and the waterless car wash.
Electrorides are releasing a line of vehicles recharged by solar or wind by using the latest technology and exclusive partnerships with industry leaders. The company has developed a "Patent Pending" carbon neutral charging system for electric vehicles. I am hoping that it is only a matter of time before these trucks are available for the renting community, trickling down to the camera and grip truck variety. Their trucks have an 80 -100 mile range. So, obviously it takes some pre-planning if you decide to use these trucks for production. But it's definitely a step in the right direction.
Lucky Earth is company with a line of cleaners for the "waterless" car wash. The stuff boasts of being eco-friendly, hypo-allergenic, AND also protects your car from the elements. One bottle is $16.99 and contains between 7 to 10 washes. Considering how much the local car wash costs, and how much water is wasted, it sounds like a pretty good deal. Keep an eye out on ecopix for a review of the product.

I also spoke with the Union of Concerned Scientists. They were asking people to sign their petition to pass a California regulation that would require truck drivers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. To do so, they would either have to purchase an entirely new efficient truck or install aerodynamic devices and more efficient tires to their existing truck. I imagine that this is a pretty hard sale amongst truck drivers. Even though trucks contribute to 20% of California's Global Warming Emissions, and that less exposure to these emissions not only saves the earth but saves everyone's lungs, specifcally the truck drivers'. Believe me I understand the importance of the regulation, but convincing the drivers who pay for their own gas and are struggling as it is.... It's the whole dilemma again of having to spend money in order to save money in the long run. Except in this case we're talking about thousands of dollars. I told them that my solution would be to get a few female volunteers to help out with the campaign. (But that's just my humble opinion.)

Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. You can read more about their campaign in California on their site. In the meantime, I'm going to keep researching.

Green Jobs Now

Tomorrow is the National Day of Action. 658 events are being held throughout the country to bring awareness to Green Jobs Now. The focus will be on low-income communities, communities of color and indigenous people. "This will send a message to our leaders that, when it comes to creating green jobs for a more sustainable economy, PEOPLE ARE READY!"

The Center for American Progress released a study which demonstrates how an investment of $100 billion over two years would create 2 million new jobs. Just to put things in perspective, the Federal Reserve Bank just used $85 billion of taxpayers' money to bail out AIG.

There is an event happening in every single state. You can find the opportunity to participate closest to you here. If you can't attend an event please sign this petition in support of a clean energy economy.

Have a good weekend!

No-Brainer

A little birdie sent this to me today, and I thought y'all would appreciate it. Here are 7 ways to be a little friendlier to the earth at no extra cost to you. I particularly enjoy the photograph they use to portray saying no to Vampire power. That one's a keeper.

Enjoy.

So, here's an update on the produce situation at Trader Joe's. In case you haven't read about this, one my readers responded to an article I wrote on improving Craft Services. He/She observantly brought up that much of their produce are pre-packaged in plastic containers. So, I wrote to Trader Joe's about the issue. Their response was pretty PC as to be expected. But upon further correspondence I did learn they are planning to use packaging made of corn oil that is compostable. They couldn't offer a list of produce that will have this available, but the items will be stamped with "Natureworks." Keep your eyes peeled at the store.

an eco pic

Check out Flow: For the Love of Water, opening to limited theaters this weekend. Documentarian Irena Salina "builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel."



See you in the theater.

Don't Forget!

In case you forgot, tomorrow is Bicycle for a Day. Even though the main event is happening in NYC, get your friends together and take a ride. Whether you have a bike or not, please leave your cars at home for this one day.

Have a good weekend!

A Good Guide

Re-Nest recommended this great website the other day where you can find out if the products you are using are, well, good. The Good Guide rates personal care and household products based on health, environmental, and social performance. I was so happy to find it because I've been searching for an organic shampoo that doesn't leave a nasty, cakey residue on my scalp. Hmmm. Yummy!

just another example...

...that we need to be responsible and informed consumers. There's big money in being environmental these days. So, of course, tons of corporations are jumping on the band wagon. Here's a great article on how companies are trying to take advantage of the green market from Time Magazine. The article talks about companies that are greenwashing their products. They use misleading claims to appear environmental. For example, a product can claim that they are "chlorofluorocarbon free." They're in fact just abiding the law that's been in place for years.

In an attempt to rectify the situation, the marketing consultancy EnviroMedia is launching www.greenwashingindex.com, "a website that allows consumers to post ads that might be examples of greenwashing and rate them on a scale of 1 to 5--1 is a little green lie; 5 is an outright falsehood." It's definitely not the most ideal watch dog for corporations, but I guess it's a start.

Consumer Reports also provides a great tool to find out what all that green jargon REALLY means on their site Greener Choices. Use this site to help you sift through all the environmental products that are out there.

She's crafty, She gets around

Red licorice, granola bars, Frito Lay’s variety pack. We’re supposedly artists, right? Creative types? If I have to look at one more value pack from Costco, I’m going to gouge my eye out. I think it’s a huge misconception that it’s cheaper to buy products in bulk. Especially when only half of that food gets eaten. Do I really have to give you the starving children line?

I know it’s sometimes considered a shit job, but Craft Services is one of the most important jobs on set. Let's not forget that the title does indicate that there is an element of craft to it. So, get creative.

1. Buy organic
I know it’s a little more expensive. But if you live in Los Angeles Trader Joe’s is a fantastic resource. They also have stores in several states in the US. I swear that my grocery bill is much cheaper when I buy from there than from a huge grocery chain. You’ll find tastier and healthier options like pita chips and hummus or chips and guacamole, ready to eat. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can schedule around the multitude of Farmer’s Markets in LA.

2. Buy for the day
Instead of buying for the whole shoot, buy for a few days. This is where you’ll save in the long run for buying organic products. You’ll get an idea of what items are popular and what people are begging for. By preventing from buying too much food you’ll save some bucks at the end of the shoot.

3. Buy biodegradable or recycled supplies
Make sure your plates, napkins, paper towels and trash bags are recycled and/or biodegradable. Seventh generation which is available at most major grocery chains offers 100% Recycled paper products and 80% recycled large trash bags. Chinet also provides 100% recycled paper plates that are also biodegradable. Trader Joe’s also provides their own line of recycled paper goods.
4. Hire caterers with reusable plates and cutlery
If your production can afford Caterers, make sure to ask them if they provide reusable Plates and Utensils instead of disposables.

5. Provide clearly marked trash cans and recycle bins
I can’t reiterate this enough. Sometimes the easiest thing to be eco-conscious is to make it easy for your crew to be. They’ve got enough to worry about throughout the day, so don’t make them use up any of those much needed brain cells to find the recycle bin.
And if you want to be really REALLY OCD, provide a clearly marked compost bin during meals, for any uneaten food.

6. Donate leftovers
There are several organizations out there that will take uneaten catering or non-perishables such as Feeding America and Angel Harvest. If you know of any others in your neck of the woods, please let me know and I’ll post it on the site.