Earth Day 4/22/2010

On the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day it is important to take a step back and see from where we've come.

Earth Days is a documentary about the history and origin of Earth Day and the environmental movement in general. It was produced by PBS and shown on KCTS as part of their American Experience history program. It is a must watch if your own view of Earth Day is a little rusty, or worse naive.

The foundation of a holiday that many of us take for granted now was not an easy ride. The founders were rife with criticism, attacks and vilification that sounds strangely like some of the more outrageous rhetoric we hear today from climate change deniers and vested interests who still see adjusting to the reality of climate change as a detriment to their economic growth, which we know is not the case in the slightest.

The film talks about the steps they took in order to start a holiday that has seen replication across the planet and the film uses primary sources, interviews with participants and publicly released advertisements or deterrents to make a seamless film that informs and surprises.

Also check out The Story of Stuff below.

Stop Paper Junk Mail

If you are concerned about lowering the amount of waste you are responsible for, you may want to think about the amount of junk mail that is sent to you on an annual basis. People have signed up in record numbers for the "No Calls" list to get phone salespeople out of their evening meals, and now there is a growing movement to stop junk mail from wasting our resources.

Here is an announcement from an organization called Zero Waste Seattle.

Take quick action to put a stop to wasteful junk mail

The deluge of junk mail in our mailboxes every day is not just annoying. It's also a subsidy to advertisers and logging companies. Seattle ratepayers are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more in our trash bills to dispose of those industries' waste. Not to mention the 200,000 trees cut down each year just for Seattle for paper nobody wants.

Zero Waste Seattle and ForestEthics think we should have the choice to not contribute to this problem. A Do Not Mail registry–just like the existing do not call registry– could be set up by government to give use an opt-out choice.

In fact, the Seattle City Council will vote on January 11th on a resolution calling on the state to do just that. They are facing opposition from the junk mail industry and need to hear that you support a Do Not Mail registry. Please call or email these Council members today:

Councilmember Sally Clark: (206) 684-8802, sally.clark@seattle.gov

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen: (206) 684-8808, tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw: (206) 684-8801, sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov

Speaking at the Council hearing on this issue is also a great way to show your support. It will be January 11th, 2:00 PM at City Hall, 600 4th Ave. 2nd floor. Please join us!

What you can do to stop climate change

One of the reasons the environmental movement has slowed or grown jaded is because the everyday person seems to think that they cannot do anything that will make an impact as an individual. People think that climate change is something that the leaders of a country or large corporations and industries must solve since the problem is so big. The truth is that individuals can affect climate change and the best part of it is that the steps you can take can also save you money.

You Can Prevent Global Warming by Jeffrey Langholz and Kelly Turner is a handbook for those who want to add household actions to their group climate change activities. The book is written in a very conversational tone and even has a primer in the beginning to explain some of the basics of climate change for those who want a few more facts about the dangers. It also makes every step of action measurable with monetary savings to the individual households.

The actions we take to combat climate change must be sustainable and simple. They cannot be only feel good letter writing campaigns or standing on a corner every fourth Saturday with a sign that reads "Stop Turning Up the Heat!" We need to take actions that are measurable and give an additional reward besides the feelings of making a difference.

A few examples from the book include:

1. Purchasing a water efficient toilet or using water displacement to lessen the amount of water used per flush.

2. Buy water efficient shower heads.

3. Turn down the water heater in your home by ten degrees.

4. Wash your clothes i cold water instead of hot.

These are just a few of the tips that the book explains in details. If we are serious about climate change we need to make individual steps to lessen our own carbon footprint and conserve energy. The rewards are a more energy efficient country and a cooler planet.