Musical Instruments Made From Recycled Plastic

Hi Everyone...

Check out this video on an AWESOME idea of making musical instruments out of recycled plastic! 

COVID Leads to More People Eating Plants!

 

Hi Everyone...

Well this is certainly Good News for the health of our country and the planet!!! 

"According to the poll, 54 percent of Americans started eating more fruit and vegetables, 43 percent ate less meat, 25 percent either reduced or cut out dairy from their diets and 23 percent reduced or eliminated eggs. As for reasons behind these dietary changes, most Americans (53 percent) indicated that they had more time to research healthier foods and diets. When it came to reducing meat, 23 percent of Americans indicated that the increased cost of animal-derived meat drove their decision, while 19 percent reported that their trust in the quality of meat had decreased since the onset of COVID-19."

Prince William's Earthshots

Hi Everyone...

This looks so great! I can't wait to see what Earthshots accomplishes!!! 

States Banning Styrofoam Take Out Containers

Hi Everyone...

Check out this article on how Maryland, Maine, New York and Vermont are banning Styrofoam Take-Out containers.  

Recycling E-Waste

 

Check out this article on how to Recycle E-Waste.

Recycle/Repurpose Pillows

 

Interesting article on how to Recycle or Repurpose your Pillows! 

Sustainable Face Masks

 

Read more here on Sustainable Face Masks being made by Slow Fashion

Judge Says NO to Violating Migrating Bird Law!

 

Check out this piece for the Federal Judge's decision to not allow the Trump Administration to violate the Law on Migrating Birds.

Algae Flip Flops

Hi Everyone...

WOW! This is cool! Flip Flops made out of Algae! Biodegradable! And other shoe companies are not contacting them! 

Mapping the Monterey Canyon

Very cool short video on mapping the Monterey Canyon! :-)

Buddhist Monk Robes made of Recycled Plastic

 Hi Everyone...

This is AWESOME! We need to make more of our clothes like this!!! 

Floating Islands made from Plastic

Hi Everyone...

Check out these floating islands which collects plastic which is made to make these islands and animals and people can enjoy! 

Denmark Green Wheel Eco-Friendly Homes

Hi Everyone...

This is pretty interesting. 

A bit more information here. Also, I found $150 rent a month. 

BioConcrete

Hi Everyone...

Check out this video on BioConcrete and how it heals itself. 

New Method Cleaning Microplastics

Hi Everyone...

Check out this cool way an 18 yr old came up with to clean Microplastics from waster! 

New Plastic

Hi Everyone...

Check this video out on a new type of plastic made from wood cellulose from Sustainable Trees! 

Prada No Longer Using Kangaroo Leather

View this post on Instagram

The Prada Group’s collection of brands, which includes @Prada, @MiuMiu, @Churchs, and @CarShoe, will no longer sell items made from kangaroo leather. The luxury fashion group recently confirmed the news to Italian animal rights organization @LAV_italia.⁠ ⁠ Every year, between 1.5 million and 5 million kangaroos are killed for their meat and skin, according to @peta_australia. In banning k-leather, the Prada Group joins other fashion brands including @Versace, @DiadoraOfficial, @PaulSmith, @ChanelOfficial, and @hm.⁠ ⁠ “We are really happy that more and more companies are putting a hand on their conscience and showing themselves sensitive to the protection of kangaroos,” LAV said in a statement. “Our commitment to new goals to save millions of kangaroos continues!”⁠ ⁠ To learn more about Prada’s decision and about k-leather, click the link in bio.

A post shared by Green Matters (@greenmatters) on Aug 20, 2020 at 8:01am PDT

"Every year, between 1.5 million and 5 million kangaroos are killed for their meat and skin,..."

Dear God! I didn't even know they did! Thank God I never bought any! 

Beaches Open and Trash Left

Hi Everyone...

As some places are opening up their beaches from the Pandemic, people are just being irresponsible in many ways. Not only are they in social distancing and wearing masks but also not picking up their trash. The UK last weekend had 40 tons of trash left on one of their beaches. Coco Beach in FL reported on June 4th that 23,560 lbs of trash were left on the beach despite a $250 fine.

People...Listen to Diane!!!

Washington D.C. Sues Big Oil

Hi Everyone...

Saturday I posted how Minnesota was suing Big Oil and now Washington D.C. is also suing them! Check out this piece.

President Opens up Marine Sanctuary to Fishing

Hi Everyone...

Sigh!!! President Trump has just signed a proclamation to allow commercial fishing in the only marine sanctuary in the Atlantic Ocean - the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The fishing groups had lost in courts so they turned to the President. Check out this piece for more details.

Climate Change Effects on Pregnancy

Hi Everyone...

This is an interesting piece discussing a study in this past Thursday's JAMA journal. The study looked at 68 studies from as far back as 2007 and including 32M births and found 84% of them were associated with serious risks due to climate change. The discussion makes an excellent point of changing the face of Climate Change from Polar Bears & Super Storms to the current effects on humans like this study! Yes, we need billboards with a pregnant woman which states they effects so people can be aware.

Birds Benefiting from Pandemic

Hi Everyone...

Due to the pandemic lockdown, Pakistan wetlands have over 3 times the amount of birds stopping by on their migratory pattern. Check out this piece from the World Economic Forum for more details.

CA Trucks Zero Emissions

Hi Everyone...

Half the Trucks in CA will have to have zero carbon emissions by 2035 and the 100% of them will have to by 2045. Check out this piece for the details.

Wasted Food

Hi Everyone...

Oh my is this a AWESOME piece! Well, not great but EXTREMELY Educational!!!

It says each year 1/3 of the world's food (about 1.3M) does not get eaten.  And the U.S. is the Worst! We each waste 400 lbs a year which is 300,000 lbs over our lifetime. To think of the 800 M people (that is 11%) who are chronically hungry and how they could use that food. Sigh. What makes it worse is the food industry accounts for 1/3 of the greenhouse gas emissions. Then you add in there the water used to grow the food and all the fertilizers, which then get washed into the ocean. What happens to the wasted food? It goes into the landfills and creates Methane and that is 21 times more more powerful than carbon dioxide. Then of course that Methane goes into our water. Sigh!!!!!

They have some GREAT suggestions so check it out!

Minnesota Sues 3 Oil Industries

Hi Everyone...

Minnesota is suing ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute and the two subsidiaries of hte Koch Industries claiming they new of the damaging effects of the oil industry to the changing climate but lied. Check out this piece for more details.

Toxic Algal Bloom Starved Rock

Hi Everyone...

Take care, they have found toxic Algal Blooms in the state river near Starved Rock.

Monsanto Settles PCB Lawsuit

Hi Everyone...

Ya!  Monsanto is paying 95M to Washington State & 650M to a class of local governments for PCB pollution over many years.

Great American Outdoor Bill

Hi Everyone...

Check out this proposal called the Great American Outdoor Act which would help repair and maintain the National Park Service. There is also a form you can fill out online on the link to help support it.

6 Books for Kids on Climate Change

Hi Everyone...

Here is a list of 6 Books on Climate Change for kids! :-)

Milk Does the Body...Harm

Hi Everyone...

Here is a great piece to help you  understand the problems with the Dairy Industry & the harmful effects of consuming diary.

Big Dairy Has a Bigger Foot Print

Hi Everyone...

This is a interesting piece on Big Dairy's carbon footprint continuing to increase rather than decrease. Their carbon footprint is said to equal all of the UK and be equivalent to adding 6.9M cars on the road. Check it out!

Banks Mortgages & Climate Change

Hi Everyone...

This is a really good piece discussing how banks are changing their policies on 30 year mortgages for houses on the coast being affected by rising seal levels dues to climate change.

Plastic Roads

Hi  Everyone...

Check out this piece on how "waste" plastic bottles that melt at a specific temperature are being used  to make roads! Bit of a discrepancy in piece, headline says 10 Times longer but later in article ways 3 times longer. They say it is also 60% stronger. Woo Hoo!

Blue Whales' Big Heart!

Hi Everyone...

This is a really cool article on Blue Whales! Researchers have found their hearts weigh 400lbs and beat 13 times a minute on average but when hunting up to 37 times and when deep diving as low as 2 times! Check out this piece to see how they conducted the research!

Trees Communicate With Each Other

Hi Everyone...

Did you know that Trees communicate with each other?! Check out this piece for details and a TED video!

Courts Rule in Favor of Blackfeet Nation

Hi Everyone...

Victory of the Blackfeet Nation in the Badger-Two Medicine area in Montana. The courts ruled to cancel drilling on their land. Check out the details here.

It's Hot in Siberia!

Hi Everyone...

Siberia is steaming up! They are recording temperatures of over 100 degrees, hottest temperatures on record since they started recording in 1885. Check this piece out for more details.

50K Gallon Oil Spill

Hi Everyone...

Over 50K gallons of oil spilled in Abbotsford, BC from the Trans Mountain Pipeline on the Sums First Nation Reserve. Check out EcoWatch for more details.

Fossil Fuels Much Higher

Hi Everyone...

Interesting piece in Discover Magazine on how fossil fuels may be contributing to Methane much more than the previously thought.

3D Printed Corals

Hi Everyone...

Well this is quite Interesting! Here is a 60 second Podcast from Scientific American on the use of 3D Printed Corals. What do you think???

Your Plastic is Hiding!

Hi Everyone...

Did you know some tea bags contain plastic? And they aren't recyclable. There are many things we use that have hidden plastic. Here are 5 to consider next time you are shopping.

Film: Chasing Coral

Hi Everyone...

Here is the trailer of Chasing Coral. You can watch it very late tonight at 12:58am via Earthx live or you can ind on Netflix or here.

Film: Watson

Hi Everyone...

I just watched the film Watson last night & it was AWESOME!!! Here is the trailer to watch and click here to sign in with your service provider to watch the full film.

Cruise Ship Pollution

Hi Everyone...

Here is a really good video explaining the Environmental impact of Cruise Ships!

World Oceans Day/Week

 Hi Everyone...

Today was World Oceans Day and really it is the full week. Today the United Nations had a wonderful Conference. Tomorrow there is a Virtual Conference by Capitol Hill. Also, tomorrow through Thurs Earthx has a full schedule of presentations & movies.

Bi Partisan Bill Proposed: Growing Climate Solutions Act

Hi Everyone...

This seems to be some really good news. A bi-partisan bill is being proposed called the Growing Climate Solutions Act which would give money to farmers from greenhouse gas offset credit markets. Credits could be earned by sequestering carbon in the soil, capturing methane from cows or reforesting.

Film: Minimalism

Hi Everyone...

Excellent film!!! If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it!

I hold film discussion via Zoom usually on Thurs evenings, though next week will be Fri evening since Earthx is showing Chasing Coral Thurs evening. You can watch it on Netflix or online. Check out my schedule and you can find the list of films we have already discussed with links to them to watch when you click on each week's film.

Tool Library

Hi Everyone...

This is a really AWESOME idea!!! The Tool Library costs $1.50 a week, that would be $78 a year and to buy just one power tool could be more than that!!! They use donated items also. Think about starting one in your area!!!

10 Environmental Films on Netflix

Hi Everyone...

Here is a list of 10 Environmental films on Netflix.  The link includes trailers for you to check out. I did look for them just online and found the 5 + 1, links below. There are still some on the list I could not find online. If you do find them online, let me know. If you have seen or do watch any of these, let me know what you think. I can tell you I did see Blackfish 2013 when it was in the theaters and it is good. 

A Plastic Ocean 2016

Our Planet 2019 Here is one & you can see that others are on the side to view. Not sure all but if you don't have Netflix you can check out some at least.

Cowspiracy 2014 - We are going to have this one as a film discussion soon.

What the Health 2017 - mentioned in description of Cowspiracy, the +1.

Minimalism 2016

Chasing Coral doesn't give year??

My Broadcast Schedule

Hi Everyone...

Just wanted to give you my schedule link so you can bookmark it.

With permission, I'm broadcasting the Blue Mind Docuseries, Force Blue's Resilience Film and APA/EcoAmerica's Webinar Mental Health & Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications & Guidance. I also post on the schedule our Monthly Sustainability Book Club meeting which we are doing via Zoom right now & our Weekly Film Discussion.

Checkout our Sustainability Book Blog to see past, current & future book bios, videos, notes from meetings and to add your comments & questions. We are currently reading Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle Against DuPont by Robert Bilott which the movie Dark Waters with Mark Ruffalo was based on. Incredibly, with Perfect Timing, there will be a FB Live Discussion with Robert Bilott, Mark Ruffalo and Retired U.S. Army Pilot Jim Holmes this Thurs (14th) at 4pm central time!!!

This week's film discussion will be on 2 short pieces, a 16 min film called Lost World about Singapore dredging Cambodia's sand and the consequences and a 9 min piece called The Church Forests of Ethiopia which is just amazing! Next week will be the Albatross film. The links for the films and to enter the Zoom meeting are on the links I just provided. Future weeks check the schedule. :-)

13,000lbs Trash Cocoa Beach

Hi Everyone...

I'm just so upset. As they relax restrictions and people headed to the beaches it appears many did not learn anything and did not care about keeping the beaches clean. Cocoa Beach in particular had 13,000 lbs of trash this past weekend. They are giving out $250 fines but it appears they are not fining enough people if that much was still left.

PBS: Climate Change: The Facts

Hi Everyone...

In case you missed this on PBS on Earth Day I thought I would post it! :-) Available until May 20th!

Eat Vegan 1/2 the Time!

Hi Everyone...

Here is a great article on how if everyone ate in a vegan manner only half the time emissions from diet would reduce by 35%!

Jane Goodall Interviews

Hi Everyone...

Here are 2 interviews with Jane Goodall from a few days ago. Some not so great graphic images but people do need to know about what is going on!!! Thank God we have still have Jane to fight but we need to help her!

Corresponding Article

Film Discussion: DamNation: The Problem with Hydropower

Hi Everyone...

This is an AWESOME movie on 75371 dams in the United States and how they are finally being deconstructed! :-) Come join us Tonight (May 7th) at 6pm Central Time on Zoom to discuss this movie!

Interview with Dr. Nichols on Blue Mind

Hi Everyone...

Excellent Interview with Dr. Nichols! :-)

50th Anniv Earth Day!

Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited for today! The 50th Anniversary of Earth Day! So many wonderful things to learn from today online! Here are just some...

50 Year of Environmental Victories, in photos

EarthDay.org Live streaming

Earthx.org Live streaming today & rest of week

Frontline Plastic Wars

The Story of Plastic Discovery Channel 1-3pm Central & online after

Jane Goodall: The Hope on NatGeo Wild tonight

Born Wild: The Next Generation on NatGeo Wild tonight

One Earth Film Fest

Rolling Stone Article Planet Plastic

VP Biden Interviews VP Al Gore

WTTW/PBS Virtual Events

WTTW/PBS Climate Change: The Fact this evening & online

My Broadcasts Today - Webinar Mental Health & Climate Change & Discussion of Plastic

Saturday:

Catherine Edelman Gallery for a virtual conversation on landscape preservation and the Amazon in celebration of #EarthDay50. Our President and CEO Jerry Adelmann will be in conversation with award-winning conservation photographer Daniel Beltrá on his work in the Amazon and how vital land preservation is to our climate resilience. Registration is free but required, so click the link to reserve your spot! 

2 More on Plastic

\







Hi Everyone...

Well I have 2 more great new sources to add to the Frontline Plastic Wars Post!

First, Rolling Stone has a great article Planet Plastic: How Big Oil and Big Soda kept a global environmental calamity a secret for decades by Tim Dickinson (Mar 3, 2020).

Second, on Earth Day (Wed Apr 22nd) from 1-3pm (Central Time, check your time zones!) you can watch The Story of Plastic on the Discovery Channel.

Film: The Need To Grow

]
]








Hi Everyone...

Check out this AMAZING film The Need To Grow. It discusses the problem we have with soil on our planet a new innovative method using Biochar can restore it. Along the way free electricity can also be created. There is also the story of one woman and her daughter's mission to get rid of GMOs in Girl Scout cookies.

Fossil Fuels Contaminating Water

Hi Everyone...

This is an excellent article on the effects of contaminated water on one West Virginia family.

3 States Criminalize Protesting Fossil Fuels

Hi Everyone...

Three states have just criminalized civil disobedience protesting of fossil fuels, Kentucky, South Dakota & West Virginia. We'll see if this holds up when it gets to court. Check it out.

Frontline's "Plastic Wars" Film

Hi Everyone...

Check out Frontline's film "Plastic Wars" it is quite enlightening on the current problems with recycling Plastic!!

Floating Solar Farms

Hi Everyone...

Check out this link on Floating Solar Farms that can produce 20 tons of Vegetables EVERY DAY!!!

Seoul is Going Solar!

Hi Everyone...

Seoul is placing solar panels on all public buildings and 1M houses! Wow! Check it out!

7th Annual Blue Mind Online Book Club on Facebook

Hi Everyone...

Dr. Nichols is starting his 7th Annual Facebook Live Blue Mind Online Book Club. It will be EVERY night at 7pm Central Time through Apr 19th.

You don't even have to have the book, he reads from it each night. If you can't make it live that is ok, the sessions are posted on his Facebook page for you to view at a time more convenient for you. Below is the link, description of the sessions & schedule. Hope you can join us.

https://www.facebook.com/wallacejnichols/ 

We read and discuss Blue Mind - and other related works - together.

Expect guest readers, fun insights, good conversations, new questions, deep insights and mild adventures along the way. Life and scheduling occasionally delays the live reading, but never fear, you can always watch the archived video later. Be sure to become a patron so that you'll be informed when we go live. Non-patrons will be able to watch the recorded book club episodes when they are made available. Be sure to follow our Facebook page so that you'll be informed when we post recorded episodes. Each Sunday we will consult the Readers' Guide in the back of the paperback edition as a framework for our discussion. WELCOME: Feb 9: Welcome to Book Club WEEK 1: Feb 10 - 16: Preface & Foreword WEEK 2: Feb 17 - 23 Chapter 1 WEEK 3: Feb 24 - Mar 1: Chapter 2 WEEK 4: Mar 2 - 8: Chapter 3 WEEK 5: Mar 9 - 15: Chapter 4 WEEK 6: Mar 16 - 22: Chapter 5 WEEK 7: Mar 23 - 29: Chapter 6 WEEK 8: Mar 30 - Apr 5: Chapter 7 WEEK 9: Apr 6 - 12: Chapter 8 WEEK 10: Apr 13 - 18: Chapter 9 & Acknowledgements FINALE: Apr 19 Final Day of Book Club  

Recycle Crayons!

Hi Everyone...

Did you know you can recycle crayons at K-12 schools? Check out this link for more details!