Thursday, April 30, 2009

Flow: For The Love of Water

This Laysan Albatross chick has been accidenta...Image via Wikipedia

See this award-winning film!

The other night, I watched a troubling film on the Sundance channel on cable TV entitled “Flow: For The Love of Water”. (Often, I get fired up about things I've recently become aware of, then realize that others have been working arduously on the issue for a long time and I'm late to the game.) Start with this 2-minute trailer. The entire film (84 mins. long) is available “on demand” on Comcast cable until 5/5/2009. I’ve also purchased a copy for our library. Perhaps your public library also has a copy you can borrow, if you cannot access the film otherwise.

The proposed Article 31 of the United Nations charter says the following:
  • Everyone has the right to clean and accessible water, adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and family, and no one shall be deprived of such access or quality of water due to individual economic circumstance.
You can sign a petition supporting Article 31 here:


Here are a few other points from the cover of the film:
  • On average, bottled water costs 900 times the amount of tap water;
  • This year, Americans will spend $40 billion on bottled water;
  • 25% of all bottled water is re-packaged tap water;
  • Tap water regulation has more stringent governmental standards than that of bottled water regulation;
  • The amount of oil required to put one bottle of water in your hand would fill 1/4 of that same bottle;
  • 90% of used water bottles are not recycled;
  • Right now, millions of pounds of trash are floating in the Pacific Ocean to form an "island" at least twice the size of Texas - 90% of that trash is discarded plastic.
This is about much more than bottles and water quality.



Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

17 Cheap or Free Marketing Ideas - Solutions by PC Magazine

How can you get your business noticed? And, what's more important in these tough economic times, how can you get noticed without breaking your budget? Click the title to get some good advice from Kathy Yakal, a PC Magazine author. We'll utilize these ourselves.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Friday, April 24, 2009

China: From Red to Green? Design: e2

Design: e2 is a great series from PBS. This episode gives excellent perspective on China's growth and its impact on the rest of the world. Innovation and collaboration are essential.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Tainted fish donated to food banks

Subtitle reads:

"Anglers will compete this weekend to catch breeding fish that will be swimming upstream through areas some say should be a federal Superfund site."

Click on the title of this post for the whole story.

ELMO

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

FRONTLINE: poisoned waters | PBS



Watch this, please! Just click on the title link.

It's happening all over the world! What then must be done?

Chemists Celebrate Earth Day

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, is Earth Day. Click the title to learn more about this, and how chemists are getting involved. You can also see a report from last year here.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Is that the kind of world you want?

When I was a lad, John Buchan's Richard Hannay books were favorites of mine (despite the prejudice sometimes portrayed and to which I was not yet sensitive), and Hannay was an honorable hero to me. Alfred Hitchcock's movie The 39 Steps was the first version of Buchan's book. I enjoy all the versions, and this one is especially good. In one scene, Hannay finds himself mistaken for someone else who is expected to give a political speech. He ad libs brilliantly, and the following segment seems to sum up perfectly some of my own philosophy. Regrettably, there are many who do not share this vision. (People told me to cheer up, things could be worse; so I cheered up, and, sure enough, things got worse.) Keep up the good fight.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Seeing Good: Where to Recycle Everything for Cash - The Bright Side of Life

Here's a useful site with links allowing one actually to get paid for recycling a variety of goods: electronics, CDs, ink cartridges, etc. Check it out!

Thursday, April 02, 2009

China the new GM?!

So now that Detroit is tanking, China hopes to pick up the reins and produce electric cars... (click the title to link to the NY Times story).

Unfortunately, they get most of their electricity from COAL!

ELMO