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Just Do IT
15 years ago
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Plastic Pollution And The Plight Of The Planet by Marlene Affeld
By negligently discarding plastic, especially plastic water bottles, fishing gear and plastic bags, people are unknowingly causing the deaths of millions of mammals, fish, birds and reptiles every year. We defile the face of the earth with plastic refuse. Since the invention of plastic earlier this century, it has become a popular material used in a wide variety of unique and innovative applications. Plastic is used to make, or wrap around, many of the items we buy or use. The problem comes when we no longer want these items and how we dispose of them, particularly the throwaway plastic material used in wrapping or packaging. Plastic is handy, lightweight and easily discarded. Too easily discarded. Plastics are not themselves the problem. They are useful materials which can be produced with relatively little damage to the environment. The problem is the excessive use of plastics in one-time applications together with careless disposal. Take a look around you. Plastic bags can readily be seen hanging from the branches of trees, flying about on windy days, settled amongst grasses and floating on streams. They clog up drains causing water and sewage to overflow and become the breeding grounds of germs and bacteria that spread disease. Plastics are utilized because they are easy and inexpensive to manufacture, strong and durable. Unfortunately these same useful qualities make plastic an overwhelming pollution problem. Inferior quality and low cost means plastic is readily discarded. Plastics take around 300 years to photo degrade. Plastics long life assures it survival in the environment for extended periods where it can do great harm. Because plastic does not easily decompose and requires high energy ultra-violet light to break down, the volume of plastic waste in the world's oceans is steadily increasing. Plastic is now found in virtually all the oceans and rivers of the world, even the most remote and once pristine. American oceanographer Charles Moore says the amount of plastic pollution in the worlds oceans is so extensive it's beyond cleaning up. A toxic plastic 'graveyard' double the size of Texas swirls in the waters of the Pacific between San Francisco and Hawaii. There his crew found that the water contained over 40 parts of plastic for every part plankton, with a fivefold increase in the amount of plastic between 1997 and 2007. Annually approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. That is an unconscionable amount of waste, so much that more than one million bags are used every minute and their impact on the planet is devastating. Plastic bags are only part of the problem. America alone, yearly produces in excess of 800,000 tons of plastic bottle pollution. World-wide our precious planet is defaced and poisoned with more than 100 million tons of plastic pollution annually. According to the California Costal Commission, over 80% of refuse within waterways, most of it being plastic, originates on land rather than coming from boats. Plastic affects marine wildlife in deadly ways: entangling creatures and by being consumed. Turtles are particularly devastated by plastic pollution. All seven of the world's turtle species are already endangered or threatened for a multitude of reasons. Turtles become entangled in plastic fishing nets, and many sea turtles have been found dead with plastic garbage bags in their stomachs. Studies indicate turtles mistake these floating semi-transparent bags for jellyfish and eat them. The turtles die an inhumane death from choking or from being unable to eat. A dead turtle found off the coast Hawaii was found to have more than 1000 pieces of plastic in its stomach including part of a comb, a toy truck wheel and lank of nylon rope. There is great environmental concern about the effect of plastic trash on all marine mammals. These elegant creatures are already under threat for a variety of other reasons: e.g. seal and whale populations have been decimated by unregulated hunting. A recent study concluded that in excess of 100,000 marine mammals die needlessly each year from the deadly effects of plastic pollution. World-wide over 100 bird species are known to ingest plastic particles. This includes 36 species found off the coast of South Africa. A recent study of blue petrel hatchlings at South Africa's remote Marion Island showed that 90% of the chicks examined had plastic in their digestive systems, apparently fed to them accidentally by their parents. South African seabirds are among the worst affected in the world. Plastics remain in the bird's stomachs, impeding digestion and causing starvation. Scientific studies are not conclusive about how much plastic birds and fish are consuming, however scientist agree that plastic in seafood is likely to be harmful for people. Plastic is compared with better understood toxic materials such as mercury. Plastic acts like a sponge when in contact with poisons such as PCBs, concentrating them at levels that are millions of time more than in seawater. The ingredients in plastic have been linked to cancer and reproductive abnormalities. Bisphenol A, found in plastic water bottles, has been shown to produce cancer in lab rats, to disrupt hormone levels and is associated with diabetes and obesity. Scientists also voice concerns that the massive swirls of floating plastic could contribute to global warming by creating a dense shade canopy that makes it difficult for plankton to grow. Let's look at a few different ways where "Together We Can Make A Difference". The crisis of plastic pollution demands urgent study and action. Businesses should be encouraged to reduce the amount of plastic used in packaging and to re-cycle. Plastic wrapping and bags should be required to carry a warning label advising of the dangers of plastic pollution and shoppers should be encouraged to use eco-friendly shopping bags of organic, natural materials or recycled plastic fibers. Tell this to our law makers. The situation only continues to worsen. We must act now! When a tax levy was imposed on plastic bags in Ireland, usage dropped by 90 percent. Several other countries have already banned the use of plastic bags with significant impact. America must follow their example. Support re-cycling programs and promote environmental awareness in your local community. Be pro-active in asking governments to make changes and consumers to re-think their attitudes. Purchase products requiring less plastic packaging and inform store management why you are doing so. We can speak with a loud voice when we speak with our "dollars". Choose to drink tap or carbon filtered water from a glass lined reusable container. If you do purchase plastic bottled, dispose to the container properly. Recycle. With the increase in environmental awareness, it has become obvious that there is more that we can do to create a sustainable society. If everyone of us would take a few tiny steps, make a few different choices and consciously consider our impact on the planet, there might be a way to restore the world to its original beauty and resources.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Creating An Intimate Relationship The Earth by Bart Sharp
The most powerful living being in this reality is the earth. Its potency is so immense and an integral part of our lives that most forget about its relevance in our lives. The philosophies of our western cultures for most part take its presence for granted. It is their loss as they miss the wonderful secrets that the earth has to offer. Although its powers are often subtle the earth’s energetic source has capacities of unimaginable proportions.
There are activities that you can do to facilitate the earth’s presence into your life. An easy technique is pulling energy from the earth into your body. Visualize a place in the earth. I like to use the core center of the earth or the earth that is directly under my feet. I imagine immense amounts of energy coming from that place up through the earth and into my body. If I am sitting it comes up through my coccyx or perineum. Where I focus my attention the energy goes there. A favorite place for me is to fill my second chakra with the earth’s energy. This connects to the functions of sexual energy and personal power. I allow it to fill that area to maximum intensity then I move onto other areas of my body. It always feels wonderful to fill my body completely with the earth.
One may ask, “How can our bodies do such a thing as ‘pull energy’ from the earth?†Our bodies are amazing instruments that do a lot of things that we are not currently accessing. The body is a catalyst of energetic transformation, where we put our consciousness we can change it. Therefore we can put our attention into the earth and we then begin to receive its expanded being. Of course most people’s attention is connected to the worry, sadness, stress and/or anger so they bring that into their body instead of something cool like our planet.
The earth is a good place to let go of your anger or sadness into the ground. That kind of emotional energy is like a fertilizer for the earth, it can easily transform into its own kind of power. All you have to do sit or lay on the earth and relax into your self. Then begin to relive the story of what happen that made you angry. What you are wishing to obtain is the visceral intensity of the body memory of your anger. The purpose of reliving the story is to stimulate that, once you feel the anger in you stop re-traumatizing yourself with the past experience and remain focused on the body’s feelings. When you perceive that you are in touch with the physical experience of the suppressed anger imagine the energy releasing out of you and into the earth.
My release usually feels like a stream of emotions that pour out of me. It usually takes a minute or a few for it all to release. But for some deep emotional pains I have spent a few hours releasing. Afterwards I generally feel a huge weight released that allows something more infinite to come into my life.
Cultures across the globe have found ways to emulate the earth’s energy so that they can live in a connection to its consciousness. One technique that I find interesting is the low guttural chants of the Tibetan Monks. According to Greg Braden the purpose of the extreme bass chanting is to create harmony through out earth. If you allow the chant to be felt beyond your ears and actually feel it resonate in your body you will feel a soothing frequency. It is a basic vibration of the earth, as the planet seems to have many. Once you identify the vibration in your body you can duplicate it any time you wish. You will not need the monks to stimulate you. What I have found is that practicing the vibration can create more inner presence, a better connection to the earth and release emotional distress. One of the easiest ways to learn how to connect to the earth’s presence is through trees. Trees seem to link up with humans easier especially trees that are grown through nature (as opposed to a nursery) but have lived in the presence of people. My favorite place to commune with trees is at a local greenbelt that is wild yet has a daily influx of hikers.
What I do is simple: I relax, lean against the tree and then ask my body to perceive the energy of the tree. I might even ask, “Body, will you connect to the energy of this tree†or “Hey, what’s up?†Then I sit quietly in an inward state of being. What I generally feel is an energetic change in my body. My body is empathing the energy of the tree. It basically feels much slower and more relaxed than my body (although small plants have a faster vibration). As I experience different varieties, sizes and shapes of trees I find that they are all different. Even the same species vary. As I have become more skilled the trees tell me simple messages about their lives.
What I have learned about me through these interactions is my body is a sensory organ. It can pick up and interpret the energy of almost any living thing or being. Communication with trees opened me up to that possibility. Trees are less defensive than any other living being. Their openness makes them a good starter to developing psychic abilities. Once I learned about the energy of trees the energy of people became easier to read into.
One of the important lessons that I have learned from the earth is that people and the earth have a symbiotic relationship. As we evolve, or devolve, the earth changes to our energy. What I have learned from that is to keep growing and facilitating others to transform. As we do that our vibrational patterns move to greater ease and joy.
The best way that I create changes is by always looking at my own emotional blockages. It is basic stuff that most do not address such as: looking at my suppressed anger, the traumas of my life, guilt and finding ways to let them go. What begins to show up in my life is more happiness and a natural progression to communion with the earth’s presence. Of course, I am in nature regularly to remind me of its greatness. Now it feels like it is never far away no matter where I am located.
There are activities that you can do to facilitate the earth’s presence into your life. An easy technique is pulling energy from the earth into your body. Visualize a place in the earth. I like to use the core center of the earth or the earth that is directly under my feet. I imagine immense amounts of energy coming from that place up through the earth and into my body. If I am sitting it comes up through my coccyx or perineum. Where I focus my attention the energy goes there. A favorite place for me is to fill my second chakra with the earth’s energy. This connects to the functions of sexual energy and personal power. I allow it to fill that area to maximum intensity then I move onto other areas of my body. It always feels wonderful to fill my body completely with the earth.
One may ask, “How can our bodies do such a thing as ‘pull energy’ from the earth?†Our bodies are amazing instruments that do a lot of things that we are not currently accessing. The body is a catalyst of energetic transformation, where we put our consciousness we can change it. Therefore we can put our attention into the earth and we then begin to receive its expanded being. Of course most people’s attention is connected to the worry, sadness, stress and/or anger so they bring that into their body instead of something cool like our planet.
The earth is a good place to let go of your anger or sadness into the ground. That kind of emotional energy is like a fertilizer for the earth, it can easily transform into its own kind of power. All you have to do sit or lay on the earth and relax into your self. Then begin to relive the story of what happen that made you angry. What you are wishing to obtain is the visceral intensity of the body memory of your anger. The purpose of reliving the story is to stimulate that, once you feel the anger in you stop re-traumatizing yourself with the past experience and remain focused on the body’s feelings. When you perceive that you are in touch with the physical experience of the suppressed anger imagine the energy releasing out of you and into the earth.
My release usually feels like a stream of emotions that pour out of me. It usually takes a minute or a few for it all to release. But for some deep emotional pains I have spent a few hours releasing. Afterwards I generally feel a huge weight released that allows something more infinite to come into my life.
Cultures across the globe have found ways to emulate the earth’s energy so that they can live in a connection to its consciousness. One technique that I find interesting is the low guttural chants of the Tibetan Monks. According to Greg Braden the purpose of the extreme bass chanting is to create harmony through out earth. If you allow the chant to be felt beyond your ears and actually feel it resonate in your body you will feel a soothing frequency. It is a basic vibration of the earth, as the planet seems to have many. Once you identify the vibration in your body you can duplicate it any time you wish. You will not need the monks to stimulate you. What I have found is that practicing the vibration can create more inner presence, a better connection to the earth and release emotional distress. One of the easiest ways to learn how to connect to the earth’s presence is through trees. Trees seem to link up with humans easier especially trees that are grown through nature (as opposed to a nursery) but have lived in the presence of people. My favorite place to commune with trees is at a local greenbelt that is wild yet has a daily influx of hikers.
What I do is simple: I relax, lean against the tree and then ask my body to perceive the energy of the tree. I might even ask, “Body, will you connect to the energy of this tree†or “Hey, what’s up?†Then I sit quietly in an inward state of being. What I generally feel is an energetic change in my body. My body is empathing the energy of the tree. It basically feels much slower and more relaxed than my body (although small plants have a faster vibration). As I experience different varieties, sizes and shapes of trees I find that they are all different. Even the same species vary. As I have become more skilled the trees tell me simple messages about their lives.
What I have learned about me through these interactions is my body is a sensory organ. It can pick up and interpret the energy of almost any living thing or being. Communication with trees opened me up to that possibility. Trees are less defensive than any other living being. Their openness makes them a good starter to developing psychic abilities. Once I learned about the energy of trees the energy of people became easier to read into.
One of the important lessons that I have learned from the earth is that people and the earth have a symbiotic relationship. As we evolve, or devolve, the earth changes to our energy. What I have learned from that is to keep growing and facilitating others to transform. As we do that our vibrational patterns move to greater ease and joy.
The best way that I create changes is by always looking at my own emotional blockages. It is basic stuff that most do not address such as: looking at my suppressed anger, the traumas of my life, guilt and finding ways to let them go. What begins to show up in my life is more happiness and a natural progression to communion with the earth’s presence. Of course, I am in nature regularly to remind me of its greatness. Now it feels like it is never far away no matter where I am located.
How to Travel Carbon Light - 3 Steps to Lowering Your Travel Carbon Emissions by John Spillman
We should all be concerned with Global Warming and each do what we can to reduce the amount of CO2 released into our atmosphere. There are three steps you can use to lower your impact while traveling; using carbon offsets for travel to your destination, choosing carbon light accommodations, and paying attention to how you move about your destination.
Air Travel Carbon Offsets
It is difficult to get around the emissions that the airplane produces while shuttling you to your destination. Currently the best option is for you to purchase a carbon offset. There are numerous non profit organizations that use the money from your carbon offset donation to aid in the development of sustainable energy sources such as wind power or solar electric generation. Other carbon offset programs plant trees to soak up the carbon produced during your flight. Carbon offsets are not that expensive either. A carbon offset calculated on Carbonfund.org for a roundtrip flight from San Francisco to Paris would be only $11. Of course carbon offset can also be used for any travel mode that produces carbon emission be it by car, train, or ship.
Accommodation
A potentially less polluting lodging option to consider is a vacation apartment or home. When you stay in a vacation rental you are in control of the energy use - just as you are in your own home. Hotels use a tremendous amount of energy for heat, air conditioning, daily linen changes, and all the other services they offer. Your vacation rental will not be consuming huge amounts of electricity 24/7 365 days a year as the hotel does. You can conscientiously limit the amount energy you use by turning off the heating or Air conditioning while you are out visiting the sights. You can use the linens and towels just as you do at home.
Of course we all love to eat out and enjoy the cuisine of the region we are visiting but restaurants also use and waste large amounts of energy contributing to CO2 emissions due to climate control and keeping the kitchen and dining area ON constantly. With a vacation rental you do not have to eat all of your meals in restaurants, with your own kitchen available you can fix some of your meals further lowering your energy use and carbon load. Buying local produce at farmers markets will even further reduce your carbon footprint. Locally grown produce produces much less greenhouse gases due to shorter transportation distances.
Renting a vacation rental in a foreign land is not difficult as you might think. One can find excellent online reservation sites to book directly with the owners such as slowtrav.com or greatrentals.com. If you would like a little more help there are numerous agencies that know the properties well and can assist you in finding the best rental for your needs.
Destination Transportation
While visiting your destination of course the cleanest way to get around will be to walk, bike, take the bus, street tram, or use the metro trains in the cities. In larger European cities such as Paris or Berlin you can take advantage of the street bike rental programs. Bikes are parked throughout the city ready to ride with the swipe of a credit card. Bike to your destination and simply lock the bike up and you are on your way. Not only will you be doing the planet a favor but you gain the potential for discovering a unique sight or connecting with the locals when you are not trapped inside a car or taxi. If your accommodations are not located near public transportation and you must rent a car you can minimize the carbon emissions by requesting a Diesel vehicle. In certain destinations you can even rent Hybrid vehicles which of course reduce the carbon footprint even further.
We can all make a difference to help clean our air and reduce global warming emissions by the choices we make when we spend our money. We hope you find these ideas helpful for planning your next trip so that you can travel carbon light.
Self service bike rentals:
Paris http://www.velib.fr Berlin http://www.callabike-interaktiv.de/kundenbuchung/ Barcelonahttp://www.bicing.com
Carbon Offset programs:
Green Tagshttp://www.greentagsusa.org TerraPasshttp://www.terrapass.com GoZero http://www.conservationfund.org/gozero Climate Carehttp://www.climatecare.org/ Treeflights http://www.treeflights.com/ Carbon Footprinthttp://www.carbonfootprint.com/
Vacation Rentals:
Slow Travelhttp://www.slowtrav.com Great Rentalshttp://www.greatrentals.com
Air Travel Carbon Offsets
It is difficult to get around the emissions that the airplane produces while shuttling you to your destination. Currently the best option is for you to purchase a carbon offset. There are numerous non profit organizations that use the money from your carbon offset donation to aid in the development of sustainable energy sources such as wind power or solar electric generation. Other carbon offset programs plant trees to soak up the carbon produced during your flight. Carbon offsets are not that expensive either. A carbon offset calculated on Carbonfund.org for a roundtrip flight from San Francisco to Paris would be only $11. Of course carbon offset can also be used for any travel mode that produces carbon emission be it by car, train, or ship.
Accommodation
A potentially less polluting lodging option to consider is a vacation apartment or home. When you stay in a vacation rental you are in control of the energy use - just as you are in your own home. Hotels use a tremendous amount of energy for heat, air conditioning, daily linen changes, and all the other services they offer. Your vacation rental will not be consuming huge amounts of electricity 24/7 365 days a year as the hotel does. You can conscientiously limit the amount energy you use by turning off the heating or Air conditioning while you are out visiting the sights. You can use the linens and towels just as you do at home.
Of course we all love to eat out and enjoy the cuisine of the region we are visiting but restaurants also use and waste large amounts of energy contributing to CO2 emissions due to climate control and keeping the kitchen and dining area ON constantly. With a vacation rental you do not have to eat all of your meals in restaurants, with your own kitchen available you can fix some of your meals further lowering your energy use and carbon load. Buying local produce at farmers markets will even further reduce your carbon footprint. Locally grown produce produces much less greenhouse gases due to shorter transportation distances.
Renting a vacation rental in a foreign land is not difficult as you might think. One can find excellent online reservation sites to book directly with the owners such as slowtrav.com or greatrentals.com. If you would like a little more help there are numerous agencies that know the properties well and can assist you in finding the best rental for your needs.
Destination Transportation
While visiting your destination of course the cleanest way to get around will be to walk, bike, take the bus, street tram, or use the metro trains in the cities. In larger European cities such as Paris or Berlin you can take advantage of the street bike rental programs. Bikes are parked throughout the city ready to ride with the swipe of a credit card. Bike to your destination and simply lock the bike up and you are on your way. Not only will you be doing the planet a favor but you gain the potential for discovering a unique sight or connecting with the locals when you are not trapped inside a car or taxi. If your accommodations are not located near public transportation and you must rent a car you can minimize the carbon emissions by requesting a Diesel vehicle. In certain destinations you can even rent Hybrid vehicles which of course reduce the carbon footprint even further.
We can all make a difference to help clean our air and reduce global warming emissions by the choices we make when we spend our money. We hope you find these ideas helpful for planning your next trip so that you can travel carbon light.
Self service bike rentals:
Paris http://www.velib.fr Berlin http://www.callabike-interaktiv.de/kundenbuchung/ Barcelonahttp://www.bicing.com
Carbon Offset programs:
Green Tagshttp://www.greentagsusa.org TerraPasshttp://www.terrapass.com GoZero http://www.conservationfund.org/gozero Climate Carehttp://www.climatecare.org/ Treeflights http://www.treeflights.com/ Carbon Footprinthttp://www.carbonfootprint.com/
Vacation Rentals:
Slow Travelhttp://www.slowtrav.com Great Rentalshttp://www.greatrentals.com
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