The Green Life

Cocaine's Environmental Impact

There's new weapon in the war on drugs: eco-guilt. Every gram of cocaine snorted destroys four square meters of rainforest, Francisco Santos Calderon, Colombia's vice president, told British police officers on Wednesday. Santos launched the "Shared Responsibility" campaign in London in May. John P. Walters, the United States' "drug czar," said in 2002 that Columbia has lost roughly 3 million acres of rainforest, and cocaine processors release more than 370,000 tons of chemicals into the fragile ecosystem every year. Since illegal growers are unlikely to switch to organic, shade-grown, fairly-traded cocaine, it's fair to say that blow is no friend of the earth.

Climate-Change Extravaganzas Underway

Just weeks after CNN beamed ridiculous holograms from across the country into their studios on election night, Barack Obama is taking a page from their playbook in the form of the now-antiquated pre-taped  video statement. It's not the Grammys, it's the Governor's Global Summit. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is flexing his environmental muscles along with governors from four other states to host more than 800 attendees at the Beverly Hills Hilton. And it'll open with a video in which Barack Obama states that recent economic turmoil won't take greenhouse-gas issues off his agenda.

Green Your Thanksgiving: Leave No Trace

Just thinking about Thanksgiving dinner seems to expand the stomach. This week, we offer tips to help you green your feast.

Tip #4: Leave No Trace

After tripping on tryptophan and overloading on carbs, the last thing you want to deal with after a hefty Thanksgiving dinner is leftovers. This year, ask guests to bring their own Tupperware containers to reduce the use of tinfoil and save space in your fridge. Or find a local soup kitchen or shelter that will take prepared foods. After making your wish, don't throw that wishbone away. Instead, turn leftover bones, meat, and vegetables into soup. Mashed potatoes can be used for a breakfast hash or made into croquettes. And turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce can become delectable sandwiches.

What are your favorite ways to manage Thanksgiving leftovers? Please share them as a comment below.

Daily Roundup

Let's Bee Friendly: The EU is hoping to raise awareness about the effect of declining bee populations on the world's food supply. If things keep going the way they are, these pollinators may not be back again. ENN

Silent Spring Revisted? House sparrow populations in Britain have dropped by 68 percent over the last three decades, a study found. Due to paved gardens and the decline of green space, these little twitters are lacking the grub they need to survive. BBC News

U-Pick the Fun: Need a fun outdoor activity for the family? Find a local orchard or farm that has a U-Pick option. There's nothing more virtuous than apple pie homemade with self-picked apples. Planet Green

Inanimate Emotion: Follow a trashed aluminum can to its devastating destiny in this YouTube short. It's kind of sad when you compare it to the life of a recycled one. Earth 911

Chime In For Change

President-elect Barack Obama wants to hear from you. The Obama-Biden Transition team will use the Web site Change.gov to solicit ideas and feedback as they prepare for White House. So far, environmental concerns are high on the agenda: Obama has pledged to invest $150 billion in green technology and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

What do you think Obama should do to protect the environment? Share your comments at Change.gov.

Stephen Colbert Takes on Big Oil's Funny Business of Greenwashing

The fake-news titan's typically tounge-in-cheek segment says it all:

Wave Hello to Renewable Energy

We've tapped the earth for coal, built turbines to capture wind, used fire to warm our toes, and now, a British engineer, Alvin Smith, is experimenting with harnessing the power of water waves. The Searaser uses water displacement from waves' crests and troughs to produce energy; the point of the device is to create enough pressure to pump water uphill so that it can be stored and released similar to the way dams produce electricity. The prototype, Times Online reported, pumped water 160 feet uphill. A full-sized pump should be able to pump 650 feet and be able to power 470 homes. Used together, the pumps could make a significant difference in supplying residential renewable energy.

Green Your Thanksgiving: Spare the Turkey

Just thinking about Thanksgiving dinner seems to expand the stomach. This week, we offer tips to help you green your feast.

Tip #3: Go Turkey-Free

For some, it's all about the bird. But, as readers of this blog have pointed out, if having the greenest possible Thanksgiving is your goal, a vegetarian or vegan feast is the solution. With more than 45 million genetically modified turkeys raised in overcrowded factory farms for Thanksgiving day alone, dispelling tradition can be a greener, kinder, healthier alternative. 

Regardless of your reason for going turkey-free this year, delicious alternatives are easy to find. Check out vegetarian options at vegkitchen.com, try Tofurkey (it's good), or, if you're inclined, go entirely vegan. If eating meat-free isn't enough for you (or if you feel bad enough about the meat you are eating), save a turkey's life through Adopt a Turkey.

What are your favorite ways to go vegetarian or vegan on Thanksgiving? Please share them as a comment below.

Daily Roundup

Cycle Justice: A Portland, Oregon man is sentenced to 45 days in jail for driving at high speed with a bicyclist clinging to the hood of his car during a road rage incident. Treehugger

 

Eco Skateboards: A Canadian green business produces skateboards from sustainable bamboo. Skateboard production is reportedly the largest cause of maple deforestation. Inhabitat

 

Lame Duck: President Bush gives the green light for Oil Shale development in three western states.  New York Times

 

Fuel Cell Phones: A Swedish company is developing non-toxic technology that will power energy intensive mobile devices. CleanTechnica

 

Pedestrian Comment: The “Walkability” of a city is not only environmentally friendly, and convenient. According to some it’s also an issue of social justice. World Changing

 

-- Mario Aguilar

Don’t Pooh-Pooh its Impact

To promote the release of their Horton Hears a Who! DVD (Dec. 9), 20th Century Fox’s PR people decided to send journalists a bit of crap.

That is, some 1,500 reporters received double-sided press releases printed on recycled paper made of elephant dung. The company that manufactures the finely textured parchment, Mr. Ellie Pooh, sources its, uh, raw material from endangered pachyderms in Sri Lanka; profits go toward preserving the animals.