Penn Jillette and Teller, from the Penn & Teller: Bullshit! TV show, calls in the latest episode organic food for “bullshit” (see video below). Penn and Teller’s main point why organic food is “bullshit” is simply because it “might mean you’re getting your food from giant corporations or China.”
But what Penn and Teller fail to mention is that the so called “Food Policy Analyst Expert”, Alex Avery, is paid by the Hudson Institute. The Hudson Institute is an American conservative, religious and free market think tank. Simply put, they are corporate lobbyists. And the prestigious-sounding Hudson Institute is funded by giant corporations such as Monsanto, the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) food.
How can you be an eco-friendly traveller? Well, considering the immense amount of carbon emissions generated by air travel (hundreds of pounds of fuel per passenger), the term “eco-friendly traveller” may be a bit of an oxymoron. Still, when on vacation or on business abroad, the search for greener alternatives is not totally hopeless.
Before You Leave
Packaging, Packaging, Packaging:
Unfortunately, all those cute, miniature-sized toothpastes, shampoos and conditioners create much more waste than regular or refill-sized packages. Instead, opt for products with less packaging, or bottles and boxes that can be re-used.
The Soap Works (http://puresoapworks.com/index.htm) has been making biodegradable, natural bar soaps with absolutely no packaging for 25 years. Their Shampoo & Conditioner bar is perfect for hair washing while travelling, the Carbolic bar repels mosquitoes and other pests, and the Tea Tree bar’s antiseptic properties make it perfect to clean minor cuts and scrapes.
Wysi Wipes (http://www.canawipe.com/home.html) are a great green alternative to pre-moistened cloths, for washing dishes while camping, removing make-up, or cleaning up spills. Rather than using one-time-use facial cleansing wipes that remain in a landfill forever, Wysi Wipes can be washed, re-used, and are eventually biodegradable. They start as tiny tablets that take up no room in a suitcase, but expand many times their original size after adding water.
On Saturday the 21st of February, an unusual event took place in the central square of Athens. The Tourist Guide Organisation took a very important initiative in raising public awareness by organizing a unique exhibition.
Using a small part of the square, tourist guides organized a simple but effective exhibition of photographs. The central theme was littering public and historic zones, garbage production and recycling. The gallery included a small tree made of recycled paper, with photographs hanging instead of leaves. Most photographs were about polluted rivers, garbage along coast lines and litters on the streets. Recycle bins were demonstrated and equipment was available for children to draw and write their own green message. Passers-by could get informed about the various consequences of littering and not recycling.
This initiative should be set as an example to all kinds of organizations. Tourist guides realized that litters harm their profession, and decided to draw attention towards that fact. All kind of organizations and professions have problems due to environmental issues. Thus, all different groups can inform about environmental problems and guide other groups of people so as to diminish them. It is crucial that events take place to raise public awareness as to how simple everyday habits hurt both the environment and humanity.
The trip has been pretty uneventful, nothing too eco/energy related to remark on except the usual thing about how trains are amazing ways to get around. But I did notice this as an East Coaster. The amount of sprawl here is next to nothing. The only time you see buildings are when you come across a town. The rest of the way is grass, hills, rocks and trees…I want to say that it’s an open canopy savannah. Part of the density may be caused by the seemingly inhospitable terrain in western Spain but a big part is that these cities were build before the car so they are built on a human scale (unlike some American cities I could name). Living on a human scale is vital to a sustainable future because a city if a city’s lifeblood is cars, its pulse will stop after Peak Oil.
Apple is now “greener” than its rival Microsoft according to the Greener Electronics Guide from Greenpeace. But both companies have still a long way to go until they can beat Samsung and Toshiba who currently leads the “green race”.
Greenpeace recently released its seventh version of their Greener Electronics Guide where it ranks electronic companies based on their actions against e-waste and harmful toxic chemicals.
Apple has gained 0.7 points since the last update. Apple have gained more points because of new models have been introduced, mainly the new MacBook Air, that contains less toxic chemicals. But Greenpeace emphasizes their “takeback programme still needs to be global”.
If you don’t recycle you might spend eternity in Hell. At least that is what the Vatican warns it’s followers.
The Roman Catholic Church recently “modernized” their list of deadly sins and added seven new deadly sins “for our times”. Failure to recycle is one of them.
Other deadly sins is now to play around with genetic modifications, carrying out experiments on humans, polluting the environment, causing social injustice, causing poverty and becoming obscenely wealthy and taking drugs.
Here is a short interview with Lauri Apple, the creator of FoundClothing.
You run a site called FoundClothing, which basically is an online archive of clothing and accessories that you find in the trash or left on the streets, take home, wash and wear.
How and when did you come up with this whole idea?
I had the idea for the Website in March 2006, while I was sitting in the lobby of my law school procrastinating. I had been thinking about how long I had been finding clothes — since 1994 — and that there might be potential for a project of some sort based on my activity. I went home that night, took photos of all of the trashion in my closet, posted each photo with details about where the items came from and when they entered my life, and had a site.
The idea itself originated in 1994, when I passed the trash area behind a resale shop by my house and found a bunch of vintage clothing, including a great fur-trimmed jacket that I still have. After that, I remember looking at trash a lot more frequently, and going on scavenger hunts with my roommates (we were all very frugal, pro-recycling types).
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On Saturday the 21st of February, an unusual event took place in the central square of Athens. The Tourist Guide Organisation took a very important initiative in raising public awareness by organizing a unique exhibition.
