It's a pleasure to see that you've come across my blog. Now even if you don't read anything, feel free to leave a comment and say hello. In fact, I'd absolutely love it.
With love!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Howdy, ya'll.
It's a pleasure to see that you've come across my blog. Now even if you don't read anything, feel free to leave a comment and say hello. In fact, I'd absolutely love it.
With love!
"Rainforests" Are More Literal Than First Anticipated?
So, I checked out the Wildlife Conservation Society website today, for grins and giggles, and they had a little article regarding rainforests, titled "Putting the 'Rain' in Rainforest". Studies are beginning to show that large rainforests, such as the Amazon and the Congo River basin, are not only "collecting" water vapor due to their location on the globe, per say, but they're essentialy creating their own rainfall.
Click here for the whole story.
In other words, there's a beach clean-up day in the works, and e-invitations have been sent out to my friends and colleagues in the area. Hopefully, if it's a success, we'll have more people come in the future. But in the meantime, it's little baby steps!
Click here for the whole story.
In other words, there's a beach clean-up day in the works, and e-invitations have been sent out to my friends and colleagues in the area. Hopefully, if it's a success, we'll have more people come in the future. But in the meantime, it's little baby steps!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Toronto City Hall Gets a Makeover!
We never hear much about Canada here in the United States. But I'm going to say that I'm proud of Toronto for taking the initiative for this. Maybe it will cause a chain reaction?
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/04/21/toronto-city-hall-gets-21-m-in-green-upgrades.aspx
And for those of you who didn't read, I'll give you a quick recap.
Toronto City Hall needed to replace their roof anyway, so why not go green? So the entire building got a green makeover to go along with the building's roof. Their power is 100% renewable energy that comes from the wind or a low-impact water source. They also signed a contract with Bullfrog Power where they can buy sustainable energy.
See, when it comes to rebuilding things to be greener and more energy efficient, the pros far, far outweigh the cons.
The major cons in this particular situation is the money and the time that it will cost to change everything about the building. Going green is definitely expensive, initially at first, anyway. The roof price was projected to be $2.3 million, and they received funds of $6.8 million for the rest of the building.
Here's a quick list of all of the good things that would happen if the entire city of Toronto went green.
He also said,
“All of the initiatives that we’re putting in place by bylaws, requirements for green roofs, providing reductions in development charges if people meet LEED and other criteria. So you have to start incorporating these things into the design of public buildings,” he said.“You can’t just say to others ‘Well we want you to do this but we’re not prepared to do it ourselves.’ City Hall can be a showcase. Any new city building can certainly use those technologies. A lot of this stuff 10 years from now, is not going to be innovative. Ten years from now it’s going to be the new normal. It’s going to be incorporated into the building codes. But you have to show some leadership and this is a good start.”
Sounds like they've got a good start.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/04/21/toronto-city-hall-gets-21-m-in-green-upgrades.aspx
And for those of you who didn't read, I'll give you a quick recap.
Toronto City Hall needed to replace their roof anyway, so why not go green? So the entire building got a green makeover to go along with the building's roof. Their power is 100% renewable energy that comes from the wind or a low-impact water source. They also signed a contract with Bullfrog Power where they can buy sustainable energy.
See, when it comes to rebuilding things to be greener and more energy efficient, the pros far, far outweigh the cons.
The major cons in this particular situation is the money and the time that it will cost to change everything about the building. Going green is definitely expensive, initially at first, anyway. The roof price was projected to be $2.3 million, and they received funds of $6.8 million for the rest of the building.
Here's a quick list of all of the good things that would happen if the entire city of Toronto went green.
- They will be saving money, as well as saving on energy consumption. by a considerable margin.
- If all of the roofs had green roofs like City Hall, the summer temperature in the city would actually drop by 2%.
- City Hall's energy use will drop 75% from their air conditioning. Imagine the entire city's energy use dropping by 75% by the air conditioning alone, just by the use of green energy!
He also said,
“All of the initiatives that we’re putting in place by bylaws, requirements for green roofs, providing reductions in development charges if people meet LEED and other criteria. So you have to start incorporating these things into the design of public buildings,” he said.“You can’t just say to others ‘Well we want you to do this but we’re not prepared to do it ourselves.’ City Hall can be a showcase. Any new city building can certainly use those technologies. A lot of this stuff 10 years from now, is not going to be innovative. Ten years from now it’s going to be the new normal. It’s going to be incorporated into the building codes. But you have to show some leadership and this is a good start.”
Sounds like they've got a good start.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A cute and hopefully effective idea.
Hey, it's definitely not hanging a banner from cranes, but it's a fantastic idea. Good job, WWF. Go ahead and click the picture to go to the page regarding the twentieth anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Whale Wars, and An Opinion on Greenpeace
Whale Wars.
As a kid, I wanted to be the lady that grew up and took care of the whales and dolphins. I also wanted to be a ballerina, a mermaid, own a ton of horses, rescue animals, and write novels. I lived in a fantasy world as a result of not having the opportunities to indulge in my passions. And so far, the only endeavor that has come close has been the horses, when I volunteered for just short of a year at an equestrian stable. I'm still working on the whole mermaid thing.
But on a more serious note, back to the whales and dolphins thing.
I had a passion and a love and a desire like you wouldn't believe when it came to those beautiful, majestic creatures. Unfortunately, as I grew up, life left me jaded when I realized that there was not much of a demand for "ladies who took care of whales and dolphins," and like many things, I dropped it in hopes of finding something that I could do. (And here I am, blogging.)
I remember reading a book that my mom had on her bookshelf that outlined all of the species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises and was jam-packed with fact after fact, as well as gorgeous full-color photographs. At eight years old, I was convinced that I'd learned everything that I'd ever needed to learn about whales.
And I still remember turning to the section that affected me for a very, very long time. There were whales laying on the sand, and I knew that something was wrong. Whales don't go on the sand; they have to be in the water, or they'll die. Mortality is a hard topic for a child to understand. What's even harder for a child to comprehend is killing.
So imagine not even considering the fact that people every day kill your favorite animal (of all time!). It was a hard idea to swallow. Granted, there are reasons both for and against whaling (I'll explore that in a later post), but with so many species both on the verge of extinction and in critical need, that's something else.
And imagine to my horror when I realized that, as a child, that it was growing more and more possible for these creatures to disappear, forever, from the face of the planet...because of us?
So, Whale Wars.
When the television show first launched, I remember being mildly excited about it. Shows of that caliber have always had an interesting effect on me, and when it was regarding something that was so near and dear to my heart, it sparked even more interest. I never actually watched the show, because it seemed far too...extreme, for my taste. However, I did some light reading, and just felt like writing about it.
I gathered from the Whale Wars website that Captain Paul Watson (the grizzly sterotypical captain guy who has a sea-faring charm to him, in my opinion) actually co-founded Greenpeace way back in 1972, and read a bit about the "shooting" controversy.
Geez. Extreme.
Which brings me to Greenpeace in general, and my very mild opinion of the organization, the execution of projects, and the people.
There's more controversy regarding Greenpeace versus, say, World Wildlife Fund, for the reason that there are indeed plenty of radicals within the Greenpeace organization. The linked photograph of the banner will take you to the actual story on the Greenpeace website.
Illegal? Oh yeah. Dangerous? Absolutely.
But did it get the point across? Well, we'll see.
I'm going to admit, I thought it was a hilarious and effective move on Greenpeace's part. But when it comes down to putting yourself and others in danger, that's when it gets scary and that's when the controversy really comes out.
But think about it. This is the catch-22. How many people will be listening if groups such as Greenpeace or WWF calmly and politely ask the world for help? "Oh, please, um, we're screwing up the planet...can we stop?" Yeah, exactly.
But when you go to such extremes as that, it reflects negatively on your group's ethics. So where is the line? As much as I don't think going to extremes is necessarily the "right" or "best" way to go about it, it might just be the only way to catch people's attention. If a kid says, "Mommy, Mom, Mommy," enough times, Mommy is going to turn around and see what the hell the kid wants. Granted, the situations at hand are more critical than wanting a box of cookies, but on the grand scale, we just might need the same "Mommy, Mom, Mommy," tactic.
As a kid, I wanted to be the lady that grew up and took care of the whales and dolphins. I also wanted to be a ballerina, a mermaid, own a ton of horses, rescue animals, and write novels. I lived in a fantasy world as a result of not having the opportunities to indulge in my passions. And so far, the only endeavor that has come close has been the horses, when I volunteered for just short of a year at an equestrian stable. I'm still working on the whole mermaid thing.
But on a more serious note, back to the whales and dolphins thing.
I had a passion and a love and a desire like you wouldn't believe when it came to those beautiful, majestic creatures. Unfortunately, as I grew up, life left me jaded when I realized that there was not much of a demand for "ladies who took care of whales and dolphins," and like many things, I dropped it in hopes of finding something that I could do. (And here I am, blogging.)
I remember reading a book that my mom had on her bookshelf that outlined all of the species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises and was jam-packed with fact after fact, as well as gorgeous full-color photographs. At eight years old, I was convinced that I'd learned everything that I'd ever needed to learn about whales.
And I still remember turning to the section that affected me for a very, very long time. There were whales laying on the sand, and I knew that something was wrong. Whales don't go on the sand; they have to be in the water, or they'll die. Mortality is a hard topic for a child to understand. What's even harder for a child to comprehend is killing.
So imagine not even considering the fact that people every day kill your favorite animal (of all time!). It was a hard idea to swallow. Granted, there are reasons both for and against whaling (I'll explore that in a later post), but with so many species both on the verge of extinction and in critical need, that's something else.
And imagine to my horror when I realized that, as a child, that it was growing more and more possible for these creatures to disappear, forever, from the face of the planet...because of us?
So, Whale Wars.
When the television show first launched, I remember being mildly excited about it. Shows of that caliber have always had an interesting effect on me, and when it was regarding something that was so near and dear to my heart, it sparked even more interest. I never actually watched the show, because it seemed far too...extreme, for my taste. However, I did some light reading, and just felt like writing about it.
I gathered from the Whale Wars website that Captain Paul Watson (the grizzly sterotypical captain guy who has a sea-faring charm to him, in my opinion) actually co-founded Greenpeace way back in 1972, and read a bit about the "shooting" controversy.
Geez. Extreme.
Which brings me to Greenpeace in general, and my very mild opinion of the organization, the execution of projects, and the people.
There's more controversy regarding Greenpeace versus, say, World Wildlife Fund, for the reason that there are indeed plenty of radicals within the Greenpeace organization. The linked photograph of the banner will take you to the actual story on the Greenpeace website.
Illegal? Oh yeah. Dangerous? Absolutely.
But did it get the point across? Well, we'll see.
I'm going to admit, I thought it was a hilarious and effective move on Greenpeace's part. But when it comes down to putting yourself and others in danger, that's when it gets scary and that's when the controversy really comes out.
But think about it. This is the catch-22. How many people will be listening if groups such as Greenpeace or WWF calmly and politely ask the world for help? "Oh, please, um, we're screwing up the planet...can we stop?" Yeah, exactly.
But when you go to such extremes as that, it reflects negatively on your group's ethics. So where is the line? As much as I don't think going to extremes is necessarily the "right" or "best" way to go about it, it might just be the only way to catch people's attention. If a kid says, "Mommy, Mom, Mommy," enough times, Mommy is going to turn around and see what the hell the kid wants. Granted, the situations at hand are more critical than wanting a box of cookies, but on the grand scale, we just might need the same "Mommy, Mom, Mommy," tactic.
First post, and a potential TL;DR
I'll be honest, I've never been much of a public blogger, the reason being that I do not feel that I have anything interesting to blog about. Those of you who know me personally may or may not know that I keep a personal LiveJournal that only four or five people have access to, and it's not very interesting anyway. So, before you TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read) this post, I give you fair warning.
On to today's topic that caught me way off guard.
While perusing that horrible timesuck known as MySpace, this video caught my eye.
For those of you who chose to not watch the video, it's about dogs in Nambiya, Africa, being used to protect herds from cheetah. They are beneficial to both farmers and the cheetahs by minimalizing herd loss and cheetah fatality. The most touching part was seeing the woman being loved all over by the cheetahs; I got choked up, honestly.
So, I got to thinking (which I do...a lot), and a rush of ideas and ideals hit me.
I'll be frank and blunt. When was the last time you, or anyone that you knew, did anything for the community, for the environment? Something as simple as adopting a pet from a shelter rather than a breeder or pet shop can make an enormous difference, even if it's not considered on the global scale. Why? Because we're one step closer, people. Let's face it, in America, the vast majority of the people do fall into that materialistic, fat, lazy, self-obsessed sterotype, and it's difficult to break free from that niche. We look at people who dedicate their lives to quite literally saving the world and admire them, but how many of us actually take the initiative to do something? My point exactly.
I'm not exempt from the sterotype, nowhere close. But it's time to change that, if not for myself, for those who need my life and my resources more than myself.
So the point is to write, to rally, and to network, to inspire and to gain allies. If we won't fight, then who the hell will? I can name plenty of corporations that would rather not involve themselves in anything but their business. Being an employee of one, I can relate.
On to today's topic that caught me way off guard.
While perusing that horrible timesuck known as MySpace, this video caught my eye.
For those of you who chose to not watch the video, it's about dogs in Nambiya, Africa, being used to protect herds from cheetah. They are beneficial to both farmers and the cheetahs by minimalizing herd loss and cheetah fatality. The most touching part was seeing the woman being loved all over by the cheetahs; I got choked up, honestly.
So, I got to thinking (which I do...a lot), and a rush of ideas and ideals hit me.
I'll be frank and blunt. When was the last time you, or anyone that you knew, did anything for the community, for the environment? Something as simple as adopting a pet from a shelter rather than a breeder or pet shop can make an enormous difference, even if it's not considered on the global scale. Why? Because we're one step closer, people. Let's face it, in America, the vast majority of the people do fall into that materialistic, fat, lazy, self-obsessed sterotype, and it's difficult to break free from that niche. We look at people who dedicate their lives to quite literally saving the world and admire them, but how many of us actually take the initiative to do something? My point exactly.
I'm not exempt from the sterotype, nowhere close. But it's time to change that, if not for myself, for those who need my life and my resources more than myself.
So the point is to write, to rally, and to network, to inspire and to gain allies. If we won't fight, then who the hell will? I can name plenty of corporations that would rather not involve themselves in anything but their business. Being an employee of one, I can relate.
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