A Better "Live Earth"

I was thinking about the "eco landmarks" of the summer of 2007, and of course, "Live Earth" came to mind. Like many, I logged onto the web site and signed off on my "pledge" to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Like many, I tuned in to watch performers do their thing, from a rather subdued Keith Urban, to a nearly out of control Melissa Etheridge, who sang, talked, and ranted on and on about everything from women's rights to the president. I got my share of public service announcements from Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and I got my post concert e-mail thank you's from the powers that be. There have been some rather dull and disappointing follow up e- mails about growing tomatoes and being sure to watch Leonardo DiCaprio's new film "11th Hour," but not the calls to action one would think. But herein lies the rub. There's a big difference between saying and doing. There's a big difference between signing a pledge with the incentive of seeing your name highlighted on television, and making sure to unplug your cell phone at night to reduce carbon emissions. There's a big difference between rocking out to Shakira, and buying a hybrid vehicle. Life Earth, with all its glitz and glamour, was exactly that: too much glitz and glamour, while the all important message got lost. It's nice to see celebrities try to set an example, but the truth is many of them are about as far from "eco" as you can get, and everyone knows it. What kind of message does this send to today's young people? Fake it until you make it? Even Al Gore himself has been criticized for his luxury mansion which does about as much for the carbon footprint as a pair of stillettos. An excellent Newsweek article "How Green was Live Earth?" by Mathhew Phillips speaks to the "disconnect" between saying and doing. He writes: "...more than a few event staffers were seen carrying around Fiji brand water bottles—an ironic illustration of the vast difference between talking about going green and the difficulty in actually doing it....In the weeks leading up to the event, audience members were sent emails and text messages encouraging them to use mass transportation or to carpool. But the only mass transit available directly to the Meadowlands was New Jersey Transit Authority buses coming from midtown Manhattan. “I would’ve taken the bus, but I wasn’t going to drive all the way into Manhattan just to do it,” said Michael Frank, who drove 30 minutes from his home in Short Hills, New Jersey in his Mercedes-Benz. “That’s the problem with the Meadowlands,” he said. “No trains, no metro stops. You’ve got to drive to get here. You have no choice.”
Next time, I'd like to see an event that doesn't lose itself in the celebrity shuffle, but focuses its message on clear calls to action and yes, raising money, and yes, better follow-up from the messengers. Real change involved doing the hard things, not just the trendy and easy ones. Cute little carbon calculators on the Live Earth home page are not enough to save our planet.

Bottled Water Everywhere....Maybe?

Bottled water has been a major issue this month, starting with the recent disclosure by Aquafina that its water is actually from the tap. Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are now labeled "P.W.S.- public water source. Aquafina's home page goes to a lot of trouble to highlight its 7-step purification process, a "state of the art process that includes reverse osmosis." OK, I suppose that sounds good to the average consumer, but shame on Pepsico for not disclosing this sooner. We all want to know where our water comes from, and if it's not from a natural spring or organic source, the consumer should know. In any case, we have bigger problems, meaning the bottles themselves. An August 12th article in the New York Times (see link) explores the latest "green" trend in bottled water, which is to tout tap water instead, or advocate the use of aluminum bottles, as is being promoted for this year's Fashion Week in New York in September. It's well known at this point that the mayors of several major cities, including San Francisco, New York, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis, recently urged against bottle water in favor of tap.
Given that "it takes 1.5 million barrels of oil a year just to make the plastic water bottles Americans use, according to the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, plus countless barrels to transport it from as far as Fiji and refrigerate it," we need to all seriously consider tap water and the use of recycled aluminum containers for drinking water. What's the point of saving our health if we exhaust the earth's resources? Let's ask the question now and start changing our ways, or it will all be "water" under the bridge.

Sundance Channel Eco-mmunity

The Sundance Channel recently launched its Eco-mmunity Map, where users can search for "green" businesses, individuals, events, success stories, and hazardous areas. A free "Ezine" you can subscribe to also keeps users up-to-date on the latest news. This morning's mail included an alert about the San Bernadino area of southern California, in trouble due to its high traffic and air pollution stats. The article reads:

California's San Bernadino County is consistently rated one of the worst spots for air pollution in the United States. It's a major hub for trains, trucks and other shipping industry vehicles and is therefore subject to unprecedented amounts of "soot" or particulate air pollution from diesel vehicle emissions. "We need pressure to be placed on the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and the California Air Resources Board to fight this air pollution," San Bernardino County Supervisor Gary Ovitt said. "It's an emergency situation. People are dying," he said.

San Bernardino resident and Ecommunity member "Clanmesa" expressed his recent frustration with the lack of action on this issue by posting a green action needed marker on the Eco-mmunity Map. If you are concerned and would like to learn more and maybe even send a message to California representatives and the EPA, click the link directly below to open Clanmesa's marker and send the letters linked to his marker."

Anyone interested in the environment should join the Eco-mmunity and subscribe to the E-zine. The map is also quite helpful in identifying important businesses and resources, as well as networking. Has anyone used these resources yet, and what is your view? Let us know!