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Choose Reality: The Climate Reality Project

Across the globe,

cataclysmic weather events are occurring with such regularity

that it’s being called a “New Normal.”

But there’s nothing normal about it.

-Al Gore

So, around here we had an earthquake, a massive hurricane, tornado touchdowns and severe flooding. ALL IN ONE WEEK.

Know how often any of those things usually happen around here? Oh, pretty much never.

I know from Lisa of Retro Housewife Goes Green‘s updates on Facebook that her part of the country (Oklahoma) has had record-breaking heat and drought. She’s not the only one I’ve seen updating this summer about fires breaking out, about the godawful heat, about hopes for rain.

Dallas broke a record today, posting its 70th day in the triple-digits this year. Some cities in Texas are close to doubling records, and the state has had the hottest U.S. summer on record— worse than Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl. Combined with the worst drought year on record.

And then there’s things like this glacier in Greenland that shed about 77 square miles worth of ice in just two years. Or the fact that the tsunami created by the earthquake Japan caused an ice shelf the size of Manhattan to break away from a (presumably weakened) glacier in ANTARCTICA, 13,000 kilometers away. I don’t know just how freaked out I should be by those specific events… but I’m pretty damned freaked out all the same.

24 Hours of Reality will focus the world’s attention on the full truth, scope, scale and impact of the climate crisis. To remove the doubt. Reveal the deniers. And catalyze urgency around an issue that affects every one of us.

-Al Gore

Tomorrow, 24 presenters in 24 time zones will broadcast the reality of the climate crisis. Each hour people living with the reality of climate change will connect the dots between recent extreme weather events — including floods, droughts and storms — and the manmade pollution that is causing our climate to go haywire. The round-the-clock, round-the-globe snapshot will feature a new multimedia presentation by Al Gore, delivered once an hour for 24 hours. From Tonga to Cape Verde and Mexico City to Alaska, the event will feature scientists, celebrities, business leaders and concerned citizens, along with our former Vice President.

I’ve donated my twitter feed (@robinelton) to the cause, since tomorrow is Jeff’s and my niece’s birthdays and I won’t be online much. What that means is the team at The Climate Reality Project will update my feed with pertinent, real-time info while this event is taking place. Donate your own feed here or just follow @climatereality to keep up with what’s happening.

We can’t fight an enemy we don’t know.

Tune in when you can. And spread the word.

http://climaterealityproject.org/

September 13, 2011
Get Ready for a Green Halloween: National Costume Swap Day

We are… the Electric Mayhem

We are not to throw away those things which can benefit our neighbor.

Goods are called good because they can be used for good:
they are instruments for good, in the hands of those who use them properly.

-Clement of Alexandria
aka Titus Flavius Clemens,
(c.150 – c. 215)

There’s a nip in the air when I walk the kids to the bus stop; I sleep with a blanket at night and I still wake up a bit chilly.

This weekend I’m taking the kids apple-picking.

Know what that means? My favorite holiday is right around the corner!

If you’re like me, you’ve got tons of costumes and accessories hanging around from Halloweens past. And if you’re REALLY like me, you’ve got some that you’d lovingly handmade and can’t bear to throw away because so much effort went into it. (Most notably, an adult-sized Marilyn Manson wig that I threaded EACH INDIVIDUAL HAIR onto. It could be reused for Raggedy Ann or something similar.)

Let someone else love those old costumes, and save cash money on your own spookfest this year! Attend or host a costume swap in your area.

National Costume Swap Day is Saturday, October 8th (fittingly, that is also my 35th birthday. SPOOKY!). According to the website,

Swapping half the costumes kids wear at Halloween would reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons, equal to the the weight of 2,500 midsize cars!

I’m sorry. That’s insane.

Hosting a swap is easy, builds community, saves everybody cash money, and can be a lot of fun. You can find tips on hosting here if you like the idea but don’t know where to start 🙂

Register your swap on the official website (there’s no charge) so your community can find it— it also helps local and national media channels to find and potentially cover your event. Here’s an idea: hold a swap in conjunction with a neighborhood-wide yard sale! How’s that for a win-win?

If you’re not into hosting, you can check CostumeSwapDay.com to find local swaps to attend. Keep in mind that new swaps will be registering every day right up to Halloween.

The National Costume Swap is a partnership with Green Halloween, Swap.com and Kiwi Magazine.

Go give ’em some love for being so dang smart!

Tell me:
what’s the best costume you ever made/wore?

September 13, 2011
Buying Organic Meats and Produce: Why Bother?
Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.

–Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I saw this on Twitter last night:

Anything you have to peel— onions, bananas, garlic— is low in pesticides. Organic is a waste! 7 Supermarket Rip-Offs: (not giving the link traffic, sorry)

This is classic “not seeing the forest for the trees.”

It’s true. When you peel away the outer layers of something, you reduce the pesticides YOU ingest.

While the amount of chemicals you consume along with your foods is worth thinking about, this is NOT the reason I buy organic.

Sure, babies are born “pre-polluted,” with studies of cord blood finding nearly 300 different chemicals contaminating it:

Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical cord blood, we know that 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests. (source)

Sure, there are about 80,000 chemicals currently on the market, and only about 200 have been tested for safety.

Sure, we’ve no idea what happens when these chemicals bio-accumulate over time, or what happens when the chemicals in our body burden interact with each other.

Scary as that is— that’s not why I buy organic either.

Because there are always going to be studies and tests that say, this is fine for you, and these levels of pesticides are OK, and whatever, and I just don’t have the time or inclination to stay on top of the latest and greatest and argue with detractors.

This, however, I think is inarguable:

All those chemicals and pesticides are going somewhere for sure, and do you know where that is?

Into our soil, our water and our air.

And into our farmers, and our farmers’ children.

(Not to mention, into you. And your children.)

So when I buy organic produce, I do it to support farms that don’t knowingly pollute. Who don’t force their workers and families to handle dangerous chemicals on a day-to-day basis.

And when I buy organic meats, the principle is the same. The bio-accumulation of chemical-laden feed worries me, but my main concerns are the ethics of the farmers. How do they treat their workers? Are the animals handled humanely? (Aside: it’s a nice bonus that happy cows and pigs tend to taste SO MUCH BETTER than their factory-farmed counterparts.)

Yes, organics are more expensive. It simply costs more to take care of things properly, to oversee a farm rather than “spray and pray.” The price you pay is the true cost of healthy, ethical eating. Of quality.

When your roof is falling, do you go for the cheap fix? When your child’s tooth is hurting, is your first concern “Do I have a coupon for this (regardless of quality of care)?” Why do we accept sub-par quality in favor of unnecessary quantity when it comes to what we feed our families?

Discounts? Cheap beef? That’s corner-cutting, compromises made on morality and health that may save you a few pennies now, but will cost you in doctor’s visits in the long run:
- cancer rates are up 50% since the mid-90s
- allergy rates, 18%
- instances of gout have doubled
- In 1994, about 23% of the population was obese. Today, about 33%. At that rate, by 2030 half of the population will be obese, and health-care costs will be astronomical as millions of people develop type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer due to their diet.
We need to start eating mindfully. We are what we eat.

I know money is tight all over, so try these tips:

–Save on organic produce by buying from farmers’ markets and staying in season; this year I’m going to try canning and freezing.

–Incorporate more grains (rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta) into your menu plan, so meat portions don’t need to be as big for your meal to be filling.

–Buy organic meat online from a reputable source or from ethical, local farmers in bulk to freeze.

–Designate one day of the week (or more!) as meatless.

Do you buy organic meats and produce?
What are your reasons?

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Disclosure: I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated for my time. However, all views and opinions are my own.
September 12, 2011