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Eco Records of VP Candidates on Full Display 

More Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency With the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which was signed into law on October 3, 2008, homeowners can obtain tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements, hybrid vehicles, and fuel-efficient vehicles. See a comprehensive explanation at this link on the Alliance to Save Energy's website.
Posted 10/27/2008 09:35:00 AM 0 comments Topics: Cars, Energy, Fuel, Shopping


Stop the Plastic Ribbons Already There's two new trends at my local grocer. 


Guilt-Free Sushi Party Time 


Frontline in Heat

Make sure you DVR or TiVo Frontline's "Heat" special -- starts tomorrow, 10/21, on your local PBS station.

More info at PBS.org.
Posted 10/20/2008 11:16:00 AM 0 comments Topics: Climate, Conservation, Energy, Entertainment, Global Warming, Waste

Purifying the Facts Want to save yourself an awful lot of money? Buy yourself a Brita or PUR faucet attachment or pitcher and purify your own water for cheap instead of buying bottled water.

And now there's even more reason to do so according to a study by Environmental Working Group. See the Associated Press report here, and EWG's report here. The brands more in question were from Wal-Mart, Sam's Choice, and Acadia.

Yes, there are times when bottled water is your only option or you've been given bottled water and don't want to be an ungrateful guest, or perhaps you've got to hand out bottled water at a group function -- but I'm talking about when you do have a choice. Reduce petro plastics, know for sure how pure your water is, and take the simplified route. Purify your own water and use a reusuable water bottle. Here's a useful safe-water guide from EWG.

Finally, there is the question about what to do with water filters once you've finished using them. In the case of Brita or PUR, their filters are made of plastic and the carbon contents. And there is still no recycling program in the U.S. to take back and recycle these filters. This was recently brought up in a New York Times article, along with the Take Back The Filter campaign where you can sign a petition asking for companies to take back their filters and reduce waste.

The NY Times article's conclusion was that at-home water filtration significantly reduces our plastic use when compared with bottled water. However, the obvious next step would be to recycle the filters so that we move to zero waste. After all, it's not like the filter is going to break down in the landfill -- you have 3 months of use at home and then the filter literally sits forever in the landfill. It may photodegrade (break up into smaller plastic pieces), but it will never biodegrade unless the plastic is made from a non-petroleum, biodegradable/compostable source like corn.
Posted 10/20/2008 08:00:00 AM 0 comments Topics: Chemicals, Food, Health, Plastic, Safety, Shopping, Water


Finding Eco-Friendly Detergent Where It's Supposed to Be Topics: Home, Shopping

Calling All Tree Citizens There's an innovative group in Los Angeles called TreePeople that's got my attention. They are focused on restoring and maintaining urban forests and have community efforts aimed at educating and motivating local citizens.

Why trees? The group has a clear and easy list for understanding why you should care about trees. Here are some of those tree benefits:

Additionally, according to the Center for Urban Forest Research in Davis, California "A large front yard tree can intercept 760 gallons of rainfall in its crown, thereby reducing runoff of polluted stormwater and flooding."

Ways that TreePeople gets people interested and involved in urban forestry --

If you live around L.A., you can check out this group. If you don't look for a similar group in your area, perhaps in conjunction with the Arbor Day Foundation or referred to you by your local Cooperative Extension Office or city's beautification department.

Posted 10/13/2008 07:30:00 AM 0 comments Topics: Children, Clean Air, Climate, Conservation, Energy, Food, Global Warming, Health, Land, Outdoors, Trees, Water, Weather, Wildlife


HOLIDAY TIPS: Eco-Friendly Halloween Ideas

Here's a list of some practical things you can do to make your Halloween more eco-friendly: Posted 10/09/2008 08:46:00 AM 0 comments Topics: Children, Entertainment, Holidays, Organic, Plastic, Safety, Shopping, Waste
 

More about the IUCN Red List Report can be found here.

Posted 10/06/2008 10:12:00 AM 0 comments 


Palin Sidesteps Any Accountability for Global Warming

This is from the Katie Couric interview last night. Governor Palin resists the notion that global warming's cause is man made and shifts the focus away from any accountability on reducing or eliminating the excessive greenhouse gases that are man made -- rather she suggests we just deal with climate change. Irresponsibility is all I'm going to say about that -- you can see the interview below for yourself.

You can also read what I previously wrote about the McCain/Palin ticket, what that means for our environment, and how their election to President and Vice President could spell environmental disaster -- putting your family at significant risk.

Posted 10/01/2008 09:05:00 AM 0 comments Topics: Climate, Global Warming, Politics, Weather About Terra Wellington Terra Wellington's eco book for families Blog Roundup