It’s Blog Action day and I’m sure you know by now that Eastwick is contributing $1 per page view to the National Wildlife Foundation—which charges us to blog today. So far, it seems to me that the gamut of greenery has been run. We’ve got the Al Gore Nobel Peace Prize, the no-trash post from the office dog, why being cheap is the same as being green, and so on… I’ve been scrambling for an idea and then it came to me: strawberries.

The LA Times reported last week on the EPA’s approval of methyl iodide for use in mainly strawberry fields. Methyl iodide is supposed to be a replacement for methyl bromide, a pesticide long in use in the strawberry industry but now banned because of its proven damage to the ozone layer.

Please read the article for yourself as I don’t aim to address every infuriating fact in this blog post. But after reading, I did have to do some research on my own. I couldn’t believe that an administration who prides itself to “err on the side of life” would so blatantly ignore the concerns of scientists who have found that methyl iodide poses serious risks for “pregnant women and the fetus, children, the elderly, farmworkers and other people living near application sites.” Even worse, methyl iodide is labeled as a “neurotoxin and carcinogen that has caused thyroid tumors, neurological damage and miscarriages in lab animals.” That’s right, miscarriages. So lemme get this straight—we can place bans on abortions, even when the mother’s life is threatened, but a pesticide that causes miscarriages, no problem!

The biggest joke here is the EPA Administrator, Stephen L. Johnson.

I don’t know about you, but I would think that an EPA’s administrator’s job is to carry out the mandate of the EPA: “to protect human health and the environment.” How can someone even become an administrator of the EPA when they’ve held high-brow positions at questionable companies like Hazelton Laboratories (closely affiliated with carcinogen darlings like Monsanto and the Council of Tobacco Research) and Litton Bionetics (noted as the sixth leading biological weapons contractor for the U.S. Army in the late sixties to early seventies and widely thought to be responsible for engineering and spreading the West Nile Virus, AIDS-like viruses, and Ebola-like viruses )??? Clearly, Mr. Johnson’s relationships with his former colleagues have a role in the approval of methyl iodide. For more on Johnson’s shady background go here.

This is all very depressing but certainly not surprising. There’s little that can be done, as the provisions the EPA so generously bestowed upon the approval merely include “buffer zones.” The only light in this dark tunnel is that methyl iodide faces further review in California. It’s use can only be approved by the Department of Pesticide Regulation which apparently might have higher standards than the federal EPA. If you want to get in touch with them, click here: Methyl iodide is manufactured by Arysta LifeScience Corp and will be marketed under the name Midas—aahhh, golden strawberries for us all.

blog action day, environment, epa, green, Uncategorized

You don’t need a LEED certificate to build green. And, you can go green without sacrificing good taste. I have a friend who built the ADU (additional dwelling unit) on his property and implemented several green solutions while sticking to a rather pleasing aesthetic. Ok, I’ll admit, he is a highly experienced woodworker and carpenter so this can’t be done just by anyone. But I did want to share his work with you so you can get a feel of how much you can do in such a small space.

(I’m also doing a shameless plug for him because I adore his work)

As you can see, Jeff installed some solar panels on his roof. Interestingly enough, Santa Cruz doesn’t have any sort of credits (I know! Santa Cruz of all places!) for solar, but Jeff installed them anyway because he believes in the contributing to the grid. Jeff also devised a clever way of adding a water feature to his front garden without wasting–he designed this very cool system to reroute rainwater from the roof to the street. I’m a fan of water builds so this speaks to me.

Other green projects in the ADU:

• Trex for his decking
• skylights wherever he could to cut down on lighting
• LED lights
• energy-efficient appliances
• non-VOC paints

If you want to see it for yourself, Jeff is having an open studios this weekend in Santa Cruz at his ADU. You can also see his woodworking pieces. I’ll be there on Saturday on my way to Big Sur.

Santa Cruz Open Studios
October 13 & 14
11am-6pm
210 Glover St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 [google map]

DIY, Do it yourself, green, Sustainability, Uncategorized

Ok, I can’t take credit for finding this one… but my fiance was perusing Inhabitat the other night and pointed out the post on Blackle. Unfortunately, the site is down, but there are other black background sites using Google’s search portal. So far, my favorite is Ninja.

The premise is that white backgrounds consume a lot more energy than black backgrounds. There have been numerous comments from naysayers that claim LCD monitors actually have the opposite effect–black backgrounds use more energy in this case. The naysayers also quote the stat  that only 25% of the world’s computer users are still using CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor. I’m sorry, but 25% is still a pretty large number of folks. I only recently switched from my vintage 15″ Sony Trinitron monitor to a brand-spanking new MacBook Pro.

Anyway, my point is, if you’re using an old CRT monitor, make the switch. You’ll still get the same Google results. Maybe you’ll even save your eyes while you’re at it.

green, Sustainability

So many Eastwikkers have already posted about the move so there’s not much for me to say except this… I am going to truly miss Coghead. True, they are still a client, but it just won’t be the same. Here’s a list of the top 10 things I’ll miss the most:

1. Taking a walk down the hall to Paul, Steve, or Greg’s office to answers on just about anything I want to know
2. Greg stopping at our cubes to chat, gossip, and swap “war” stories before heading to the loo
3. Hearing Brian Reaves and our Operations Ninja Ziad chatter about the NBA finals (um wait, will I really miss that?)
4. Helping myself to Coghead t-shirts (er, that’s ok, right?)
5. Stealing pizza from Coghead’s weekly Friday staff meetings
6. The giggles emanating from Gigi and Kathy’s office
7. Sarah’s sense of style
8. The engineers’ tolerance of Quentin’s incessant begging
9. Greg’s bleu cheese dressing story
10. The dose of testosterone this 99.5% female agency needed (no offense, Mo, Juan, Joel, and Kevin)

I would add to this list going out in Palo Alto for drinks and heart-to-heart roommate conversations, but that’s not going to stop.

Au revoir, Coghead… Greg, now you can put on your resume that you’ve been the houseboy at 2 sororities in your lifetime.

Uncategorized

 A colleague of mine forwarded me this story on NYC’s taxis going completely green by 2012. This is part of Bloomberg’s overall sustainability plan he has outlined for the city, which includes the goal of a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

What struck me most about this story were the comments from not only the city, but Fernando Mateo, president of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers. Mateo says “in the short term, they’re going to have to spend more money, but in the long run they will save money. We support getting more hybrids on the road.” The city admits that hybrids are more expensive as well, but notes the increase in fuel efficiency will result in savings of more than $10,000 per year.

One of the biggest gripes I’ve seen out there on “going green” is the expense. As I noted in an earlier post, people want things fast and cheap (like Wal-Mart). The idea that you need to spend a little extra to save in the long run just doesn’t resonate with consumers who, again, want their goods fast and cheap.

So, I applaud NYC and Mateo for acknowledging that despite the expense, going green is an imperative and might even save them money in the future.

Oh yeah, and kudos to Yahoo! for donating 10 hybrids (with the Yahoo! logo plastered on the doors) to NYC’s green taxi initiative.

cleantech, environment, green, Uncategorized

Our good friend, Sam Whitmore of the Sam Whitmore Media Survey, just sent out an SWMS alert on web sites that comprise of independent experts, such as Seeking Alpha and the latest, Green Options. Sigh, wouldn’t it be nice if Robert Scoble, Michael Arrington, the Valleywag contingent, Om Malik, Gabe Rivera (ok, I’m running out of breath here), put all their blogs together–making a one-stop shop for those of us seeking the latest in tech news/gossip? I know, bad idea since they’d be cat fighting over the advertising dollars, but it would save me so much time… Anyway, I digress.

There are 21 bloggers on this site who report on socially responsible investing, sustainable education, eco-fashion, green celebrities (hello Leo!), and so on… However, I think my favorite part is the weekly green DIY section. There are so many green sites out there, but I have yet come across one that offers DIY green tips like this. Think of MAKE meets Inhabitat.

The featured DIY project this week was posted by Philip Proefrock, on how to build a solar hot water system–much less expensive than a solar photovoltaic system– and to my delight, ideal for an outdoor shower! The DIY post lays out a simple method for building an outdoor shower, and the materials and labor don’t seem too complicated.

I am in love with outdoor showers, they remind me of sandy summers at the beach, they don’t steam up the mirrors, and you can listen to the birds chirp while waiting for your conditioner (biodegradable of course) to set in. Furthermore, I find the prospect of an outdoor shower particularly appealing since I live in burning-hot San Jose and it looks like we’re going to have a scorching summer.

I am going to enlist the help of Jeb, my boyfriend who has 12 years of carpentry experience, to help me build this. Now, though we do have a big enough backyard for this project, I’ll have to secure my landlord’s permission. Hmmm… I’ll keep you posted.

Uncategorized

Yahoo! has a great page on their Earthday site called This Green House. As you toggle through the different rooms, you can hover over the green icons and get some great environment-saving tips.

I don’t know where you’ve been if you have not noticed all the buzz (hype?) around green technology, sustainability, clean tech, greenwashing, however you want to label it. It’s not as if an environmental movement just popped up—it’s been around for over a century and it’s important to note that.

All this talk about going green reminds me of a period of time back when I was in high school. This was during California’s severe drought (back in the 90s) and there was a resurgence of the environmental trend, which had laid quite dormant during the 80s if I recall correctly. Anyway, we all joined the school environmental club, went to local environmental fairs, bought hemp bags, and started practicing water-saving tips like turning the water off while brushing your teeth. Heck, I even used to turn off the shower between shampoos and rinses, the drought was that bad. Sometime in my senior year, the novelty of going green wore off and I’m sure we were on to the next big thing– SUVs and blended mochas.

Today, the proliferation of talk around green issues has a number of factors contributing to it—the Kyoto Treaty, “Inconvenient Truth”, Hurricane Katrina, climate change and the reports published around it. And let’s not forget the star power, like Leo and Brad, being thrown at organizations like Global Green USA, who recently held their star-studded 3rd annual Pre-Oscar bash.  Face it—green has not only become cool, but it’s an imperative. No longer can we be content to toss our bottles in a separate bin, join an environmental club, and buy a Prius.

While I appreciate the buzz over going green and people’s sincere efforts in reducing their environmental impact, I hope this is not just the latest trend. Sure, companies like Wal-Mart can make a big deal out of their green efforts and we can all nod our heads enthusiastically– but slapping some white paint on your roof and publishing your carbon footprint is just not enough. Hello, Wal-Mart!! Have you looked at your business model lately??? Read Stacy Mitchell’s article on the impossibility of Wal-Mart going green for more on this.

The state of our planet is too precarious for this to end up as one of those “Trends of 2007.” This wave of green must be permanent and we need our leaders?? to implement policies and regulations that speak for the well-being of the planet and its citizens rather than for the good ole boys, like the oil industry and the NRA, that write fat campaign checks.

environment, green

The AP reported today on Best Buy’s plans to open a Geek Squad island in Second Life. I just had to laugh in disbelief because of my own experience with Geek Squad and Second Life.

Last summer, I tried downloading Second Life on my computer and it kept crashing. I have a relatively older PC at home (my monitor is a vintage Sony Trinitron from 1996) that met all the system requirements–except for the graphics card. I decided to get a new one and headed over to Best Buy’s tech gurus– Geek Squad– in SF’s SOMA district. It was my first time consulting them and certainly my last:

“Best Buy said many of its Geek Squad agents already were a part of ‘Second Life,’ a virtual 3-D world where people can gather and interact.”

Ha! When I told them what I needed a new graphics card for, they looked at me in disbelief, not knowing what Second Life was. I figured, ok, so SL is not that popular yet (this was 2006 remember, right before the real SL hype broke out), but come on, these people are supposed to be geeks, right??? That was not the end of my experience–they told me at first it would just take an hour but of course that turned into an entire afternoon because they couldn’t figure out why my computer wouldn’t turn back on afterwards. And, when I asked them to dust my old girl off in the back, they wanted to charge me an extra $20 bucks. Just to press a button on one of those air can dusters!

Needless to say, I did not have a good experience with the Geek Squad. They were not tuned in to the latest in technology and seemed to lack general tech know-how– at least two requirements of a geek, right? You can bet I won’t be visiting their island in Second Life and I learned that if you need to get something done, do it yourself. Thanks Best Buy!

best buy, geek squad, Green Communications, second life

…Francois and I are still decorating the place! brb