Environmental Film Festival in DC

180 Documentary, narrative, animated, archival, experimental, and children's films selected to provide fresh perspectives on environmental issues facing our planet. This year, the festival selections examine the critical relationship between health and the environment with 75 film makers, 115 special guests, and extraordinary cinematic work from 42 countries. Download the full schedule here. Don't you wish you could see them all?!

Happy Holiday Month!

Over the weekend we will be posting some tips about minimizing waste during the holiday season, the greenest decorations and holiday card re-purposing. In the meantime, check out the littlest Eco-Goat in her holiday sweater!

Food Facts for Food Day

With National Food Day coming up on Monday October 24th and World Food Day having just occurred, this seems like the right time to take a good hard look at the global food crisis and figure out what steps we can take towards a sustainable food system both individually and collectively. The misalignment of dates on the United States Food Day and the United Nations Food Day is a painful reminder of the disconnect that too many Americans still have regarding the impact of our everyday dining choices.

My suggestion: Spend some time with this educational infographic. Pat yourself on the back for the steps you have taken already. Consider stepping it up a notch where you can. Small-scale farms are popping up on rooftops and old parking lots near you - support them, learn from them, purchase produce from them and perhaps THAT model can be the one the rest of the world follows rather than those spread by corporate giants. Think globally, act locally.



Created by: Public Health Degree

File Under: Ridiculous

During Sustainable Agriculture class discussions at the University of Maryland, Institute of Applied Agriculture this semester, farmer and teacher Brian Hughes often talks about the spectrum of sustainability - the idea that at this time, within developed countries, it is near impossible to run a business, farm, restaurant, school or home in a manner that could be deemed completely sustainable (unless of course you were living in an Ecovillage). Rather all fall somewhere along the spectrum. To one side we have people and communities are conscientiously operating with very little impact on the soils, people, plants, animals and economy around them. Others, well, land on the other side where this cr*p has broken the record for ridiculous. TIME Newsfeed reports on the world's most expensive house constructed in Mumbai:

India's richest man, and Forbes's fourth richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has built the world's most expensive house in Mumbai. It is estimated to be worth $1 billion. The lavish building– named Antilia, after the mythical island– has 27 stories, is 173 meters high and has 37,000 square meters of floor space — more than the Palace of Versailles. It contains a health club with a gym and dance studio, at least one swimming pool, a ballroom, guestrooms, a variety of lounges and a 50-seater cinema. There are three helicopter pads on the roof and a car park for 160 vehicles on the ground floors. It's obviously quite a job keeping all this running smoothly, so the house, if you can call it that, also boasts a staff of 600. And all this for just Ambani, his wife and their three children to enjoy.

Using More Than Our Share

Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff Project is getting lots of attention lately and we here at JustSaying LOVE IT. Sure, they're a little reminiscent of a UPS commercial and Annie works hard to speak in a language and tone understandable by all ages (AKA kids) but considering this blogger learned that plastic comes from oil via a children's book, we're tipping our hats to Annie and recommending her videos to our readers young and old. Even if you have read every book on our recommended list and every post to date, you will learn something from these videos and be moved to consume less (or feel like a total sucker). Check it out:

Really?!

Treehugger put up a slide show of absurd over-packaging that is rather entertaining (find it here) and reminded me of something ridiculous that I came across at Target the other day: Glass Mug Jars. Really?! I can't believe that people actually buy that which can be found in any recycling bin. Ugh.

the paper towel problem

So you just washed your hands in a public bathroom and now face a choice. Do you use electricity and dry your hands with the blow-dryer or do you crank out a paper towel that you will hardly dampen and quickly discard? I wipe my hands on my pants, jacket, whatever... but depending on your attire and location (work) that may not be an option so...

The NY Times Green Inc talked to researchers at Harvard and the University of Oregon and as you would expect, it is a complex issue. The "lifecycle" energy use of the blower is much lower than the paper towels when you figure in the energy intensive mills creation and shipping of the paper towels. Not to mention there is hardly enough fiber in paper towels for them to be recycled. There is talk about composting paper towels but of course you have to factor in other contaminants that could end up in the trash in a public bathroom.

Check out Slate's Green Lantern's detailed take on the debate in this post from earlier in the year.

six degrees

You may have noticed a new addition to my recommended reading list: Thomas M. Kostigen's latest book, You Are Here. Or you may not have noticed - which is why I am posting about it. It's a great book. The basic premise is in it's subtitle: Exposing the Vital Link Between What We Do and What That Does to Our Planet. So many people, myself included, are unaware of how our seemingly small individual actions are connected to the enormous environmental issues we hear and read about. Kostigen's book makes those connections for you, in an uncomplicated, conversational, educational and entertaining tone. Let me give you an example from Chapter Two, Our Future, Mumbai, India:

"The simple things you see and hear have meanings upon meanings. When I walk to the Gateway of India, a huge archway in front of the Taj Mahal Hotel on Mumbai Harbor, I see the tourists mill and snap photos. But beyond, way in the distance, are convoys of shipping tankers. They are low riding, meaning they are full. And they are making their way into port filled with goods... and waste, often hazardous waste... This is where the traces of American lives, thousands of miles away, can be found steaming to shore... About 80 percent of the electronic waste in the United States is exported, mostly to Third World countries like India. It comes by ship, on tankers filled with used computers, cell phones, televisions, batteries, all kinds of things that contain mercury, lead, and heavy metals that are dangerous to people's health and the planet... For every PC we buy, we discard one. While about two billion dollars worth of electronic equipment is recycled in the United States, it represents just 11 percent of the e-waste generated."

Pretty disturbing, huh? There's a lot more to this e-waste export too. Instead of a U.S. recycler spending the twenty or so dollars to recycle a discarded computer, Indian importers will buy it for fifteen dollars, extract usable parts, generate about ten dollars in revenue, and dump the hazardous remains in India's backyard. Net gain per computer for the U.S. recycler: $35. For the Indian importer: $10. Environmental impact: priceless.

Long story short: I highly recommend this book.