Summer has finally arrived! You can't help but think about the beach when you think about summer, but beaches are pretty important year 'round.
Rivers, oceans, and beaches are more than a fundamental part of our summer experiences; they represent a vital eco-system that affects everything from sea life to or our economic well being.
We all know there are plenty of threats to beaches, oceans, and sea-life, but it's not always clear how things like pollution affect us and what we can do to help, aside from the obvious like not littering. Thankfully, organizations like Heal the Bay are here to help.
Here are a few simple things you can do to help keep our oceans healthy and clean:
- Don't clean or garden with harsh chemicals. The cleaning products we use end up in our oceans. If you garden or wash your car with these products, chances are they're going into the ocean without being filtered. Making your own cleaning products with ingredients like baking soda and lemon are healthier for your family, cheaper and better for the environment. Learn how here.
- Of course you don't litter, but make sure your friends, family and others don't either. Whenever you get the chance, teach kids about why it's important to never litter.
- Learn about volunteer opportunities like beach clean-ups, and recruit friends and family to join you.
- Reduce urban run-off by conserving water. Faucets off while you brush!
- Purchase items from buythebay.org. All proceeds from each item support Heal the Bay projects!
SV, a top Social Media Influencer? Stop it; you're making us blush. Okay, don't stop... we love it. In fact, we'd actually love for YOU to head over to this page and vote for us!
It's simple (we promise).
1) Go here 2) Click "Vote Now" 3) Select the GE Ecomagination campaign by SocialVibe
We're up for this award thanks to our work on the GE Ecomagination Photo Project, one that more than 200,000 of you participated in.
In reality, it’s thanks to all of you. As a result of the incredible images you uploaded, more than $50,000 was donated to charity!
Completing that activity helped build a well in Africa, provided more than 400 families in developing nations with 2 solar lights each, decreasing their dependence on kerosene, and funded the construction of three wind turbines to produce electricity for three health clinics in isolated rural communities.
Pretty sweet, huh? Wait… why are you still reading this? Here’s the plan for today: you go vote for us and we’ll keep working with great companies to create cool ways for you to help your favorite causes! Now, get voting!
A few months ago, we told you about an ambitious project called One Day on Earth, a documentary made by all of us, the citizens of the world.
On 10-10-10, thousands of you, along with people from the UN, non-profits like WWF and DonorsChoose.org, and even some award-winning filmmakers, grabbed cameras and shared stories of love, war, triumph, struggles and everything in between.
Hours upon hours of video has been added to an interactive, global map where you can find footage of just about anything.
A feature documentary is planned for this fall, but you can sort through the footage for yourself right now.
Here is a little taste of what happens in just One Day on Earth:
Planning on doing some Christmas shopping online? You’re not alone. The Monday after Thanksgiving has become “Cyber Monday,” the biggest online shopping day of the year.
This year, our friends at the Nature Conservancy have combined two much loved practices, online shopping and green gifting, to create the perfect marriage of green living and convenience: Green Gift Monday.
Last year, $890 million was spent online on that one day, which got people at the Nature Conservancy thinking:
“Imagine the difference we could make if just a fraction of that money was spent on responsible, meaningful holiday gifts.”
Want to help make it happen? Great! Here’s how it works:
1) Check out the loads of green gifts available online. (Trust us, no matter what you’re looking for, there’s a version that was made in an environmentally responsible way.) 2) Buy ‘em online on Monday, November 29th 3) Sit back and enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling you’ll get, knowing that you’ve done something thoughtful for your loved ones and our planet!
Sound simple enough? We think so too.
Get your shopping off to a great start; avoid crowds, compare products and keep your environmental impact at a minimum. Plus, you can do it all in your PJs! What’s not to love?
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Help the caffeine fiend in your life go green with this reusable to-go mug - $7-9 on Amazon.
Teach tykes about alternative energy with this solar-powered grasshopper - $5 on Amazon.
Dirt-free, indoor herb garden - $59 on Amazon.
Make sure the rugrats in you life get off to an eco-friendly start with own little Smart Cars - $209 on Amazon.
Have an athlete or sports fan to buy for? They can get their eco-friendly game on with fair trade, vegan soccer balls, footballs, and basketballs - $29-39 on Amazon. Proceeds benefit children’s charities.
Helium balloons might become a thing of the past but not because something new and better has come along, simply because we’re running out of helium. Despite the fact that it’s sold cheaply, which experts say is “ridiculous,” it’s a non-renewable resource and cannot be manufactured artificially.
It has more uses than just making parties more festive and making you sound like one of the chipmunks; it’s needed for MRI scanners, airships, rockets, deep-sea diving, and document preservation.
In 1925, the US government started building up an enormous reserve of the gas in Texas - the largest in the world. Then, in 1996, the reserve was $1.4 billion in debt and, to recover some of the money, Congress passed an act saying that it should be sold by 2015, regardless of how cheaply.
Physics professor and Nobel laureate, Robert Richardson, says that helium is worth 20-50 times what it’s sold for, making a helium-filled balloon worth around $100.
"As a result of that Act, helium is far too cheap and is not treated as a precious resource. It's being squandered."
It’s possible to recycle helium in some cases but, because it’s so inexpensive, recycling it is not cost effective and not even NASA does it.
Would you still buy balloons if they cost $100 each? What about $10?
Jail time for plastic bag use, a 9-day, 62-mile traffic jam, and cannabis cars. Here are a few tiny slices of what’s happening around the world.
Mexico City Says Peace Out to Plastic Bags
Mexico City is the latest place to ban the use of plastic bags. Stores will be required to charge customers who want them, but they can only sell biodegradable varieties.
While major cities around the world are implementing laws like this, some take it further than others. In Mexico City, failure to comply will get you fined up to $90,000 and tossed in the slammer for 36 hours. Believe it or not, that’s mild compared to the consequences in Delhi, where you can be jailed for up to 5 years for the offence!
(Via BBC)
China’s 62-Mile, Month-Long Traffic Jam
Think rush hour traffic is bad in your city? A traffic jam spanning more than 60 miles has had drivers in gridlock since construction began on August 13. Drivers say they’d rather wait it out than try alternate routes because the cost of tolls and gas would be too high. Instead, they’re getting out of their cars to play cards and buy overpriced instant noodles from street vendors who’ve decided to make a profit off of the situation. The tolls might start looking pretty appealing very soon; the traffic is not expected to clear until construction is completed…. halfway through September. Beat that, New York.
Extremists Take Advantage of Flooding in Pakistan
Millions in Pakistan are still without basic necessities. The flooding that began nearly one month ago has left millions living in unsanitary conditions, while their homes and livelihoods remain underwater. Aside from concerns about the outbreak of diseases like cholera, Pakistan's president cautions that Islamic militants are using the situation gain support from those affected. International aid has been slow to reach victims and some Islamist charities with ties to terrorism have been using the opportunity to provide aid to victims while promoting their agendas.
You can earn donations to help provide basic necessities to flood victims by supporting Music for Relief on SocialVibe.
Cannabis Cars for Canada
A Canadian car company has announced that it will begin testing biocomposite electric cars made from cannabis. Pothead jokes aside, if they succeed this could be a great way for auto companies to become more environmentally friendly. Hemp is not only very strong, it’s also a renewable resource.
The idea isn’t new; Henry Ford created one in the 1930s (above). Maybe it’ll catch on this time. Would you buy one?
For three straight months, between 1.5 and 2.5 million gallons of oil has been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico each day, polluting the ocean, killing animals and destroying livelihoods.
This afternoon, a temporary cap halted the spill fir the first time since BP’s rig exploded three months ago. It’s only a test, but a major milestone.
While many are hoping that this could be the beginning of the end of this vile situation, President Obama sounded less than convinced:
"We're still in the testing phase. I'll have more to say about it tomorrow."
Thad Allen, the federal government's disaster response manager, added that the more permanent solution is to finish the two relief wells that BP says should be complete sometime next month.
Does this make you feel like we’re closer to a solution?
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.”
Award-winning bike designer, Craig Calfee, decided he could apply that proverb to bicycles and help people in the developing world.
Realizing that bamboo grows throughout most of the developing world, and is strong and flexible, he designed bamboo bikes that can be built and maintained by people in remote areas.
The bikes are low-maintenance and give people in small villages the ability to travel to cities for work, school, or medical care.
“While donations of food or medicine can help in extreme situations, bicycles enable villages to build their own economies and connect with resources beyond their own area.
The fact that bamboo is one of the most eco-friendly, renewable resources on Earth makes these bikes even better!
If you know a bit about bikes and building things, check out instructables.com and find out how to build one yourself in just one weekend! Live in New York? You can sign up for a weekend workshop where the cost covers materials and help from pros at bamboobikestudio.com
Loading ...
