It Takes a Planet to Raise a Child

Will.i.am Inspired

I caught a little of the NAACP Image Awards show last night. I just happened to be channel surfing and saw Will.i.am sing "Take Our Planet Back" before Al Gore and Wangari Maathai received awards.  Will.i.am has a real talent for making you feel like getting up and doing something -anything-to make things better.

1000 Entrecards Green Contest

Post your favorite environmentally friendly tip or a link to an interesting green news story as a comment to this post and you will be automatically entered to win 1,000 entrecards.

I will randomly select a winner from all the comments on January 16th.

Whatcha got?

Put Your Green Thinking Cap On

Is Your Teenager Environmentally Friendly?

If the answer is yes, and she or he is also a high school student, here's a good opportunity

The Weather Channel is sending 20 high school students to Washington D.C. to discuss environmental topics with experts at their Forecast Earth Summit. Interested students can fill out an online application until Oct 19th.

Fish on Friday

I have been thinking about fish today for two reasons:

1- We went out to dinner last night at Himalayan Fusion restaurant in Charlottesville and had the most delicious salmon.  I have no idea whether it was farmed or wild-caught, even though my seafood wallet card tells me I should care.  It didn't say on the menu and I wasn't the one to order it. It crossed my mind, but I didn't speak up and ask "is that farmed or wild caught?" when my friend ordered it.  Sometimes you have to weigh personal preferences against being a drag.  In any case, it was very good salmon.  So were all the other dishes we shared.

2. I read an email message today asking me to sign on to ask the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service to write strong, clear rules that stop overfishing through a link on Environment America's Web site.

Here's to good, clean, yummy fish for everyone now and in the future.

Beijing's Olympic Village Goes For Gold and Gets It

Bejing's Olympic Village earns gold certification under the US Green Building Council's LEED neighborhood development standard.  Bejing's Olympic Village is one of only eight developments worldwide (there's the number 8 again) to have certification under this pilot program.

See USGBC's press release here.

Gore's Challenge

In case you missed it.  Highlights of Gore's challenge from speech in DC today.  Sounds like there are a lot of choir members in the audience.  The good news is the choir is getting bigger.

A Raft Named Junk

Dr. Marcus Eriksen and Joel Pascha of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) are about to embark on an unusual summer trip.  Tomorrow June 1st, they will leave Long Beach California aboard a raft made out of 15, 000 plastic bottles, an old Cessna airplane and other assorted junk.  They will ride their raft named “Junk” all the way to Hawaii.

Eriksen and Pacha are making this journey to bring attention to the increasing problem of plastic pollution in oceans, especially in the Pacific Ocean.  AMRF staff and others have been researching the area known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” - a stretch of ocean the size of 9 million football fields between California and Japan. 

You can’t stand on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  Anna Cummins, Education Adviser of AMRF cruised through the patch last year on a research vessel and writes on the Los Angeles Times Environment Blog “it's more like a huge bowl of dilute plastic soup” than a trash island.  Still, there is a lot of plastic.

Cummins also writes that Researcher Captain Charles Moore first discovered the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”  12 years ago. Since then even more plastic has accumulated, as more and more trash is thrown into the Pacific each year.  Moore estimates there is now approximately 30 times more plastic than plankton in this part of the ocean.

Do you think plastic polluting the ocean is disgusting?  ARMF is collecting messages to be carried in bottles aboard their ambitious Junk journey.  The messages will also be delivered to local and state legislators next winter to let them know individuals are concerned about the impacts of ocean garbage on the environment and ocean wildlife.  Visit AMRF’s Junk blog to track the Junk raft’s journey and to find out how you can write your own message in a bottle about ocean junk.  

Nature Writing Course

I recently signed up for this online course and thought some other green bloggers might also be interested.  The title is Nature Writing but as the course description notes, it covers all types of non-fiction environmental writing.  The instructor is Wendee Holtcamp.  I think she is interested in getting a few more participants.  Sounds like a good way to spend some early summer time.

Here's part of the course description -

This course was originally designed for nature and travel writers and
writing environmental journalism for magazines but the material and content
fits any nonfiction writer who wants to publish in magazines and get paid to
publish.
Who: Aspiring and professional writers alike will benefit. Some writers
prefer to just receive the weekly resources, while others prefer to actively
participate. Students are welcome to participate as little or as much as
they want.
What: Course assignments guide you through performing an in-depth analysis
of your dream market, developing a carefully crafted query, writing a short
article, and sending it in to your target market. Learn how to use the
techniques of observation, journaling, and topic-spoking to improve your
writing and land more assignments.
Why: This course is jam-packed with useful information. You will get:
*       Constructive feedback on your queries and writing
*       Q&A interviews with environment/nature magazine editors including
o       Smithsonian Magazine
o       E the Environmental Magazine
o       Sierra Magazine
o       OnEarth Magazine
o       Orion Magazine
o       National Wildlife Magazine
o       National Geographic and NG Adventure
o       Plus many more!
*       Weekly handouts with lists and reviews of resources
*       An attentive instructor that tailors the course to student interests

This course was offered several times through the Freelance Success
Institute and is now offered through Holtcamp's business, LOGOS
Communications, LLC, of which she is sole proprietor. Holtcamp also authored
course materials for the Australian College of Journalism's "Writing about
Nature and the Outdoors" course and was profiled in the 2001 Writer's Market
as the Nature/Outdoor Writer.
How much: $200
Sign Up Now! Pay by Paypal at the website
(www.wendeeholtcamp.com/nature.htm)

Mother's Day - Moms and Kids Created Messages for Congress about Climate Change

I didn't participate in this event but got an email about it afterwards (Thanks Lauren) .

On Mother's Day 2008: Moms and Kids Made Calls for the Climate - Greenpeace organized Mommy meetups in parks across the country.  People gathered, took photos and left voice mail messages asking Congress to take action on global warming.  See the photo and audio collage here.