Miomarmo

NJ - Going, going, going...Gone Green!

In a recent article in the US 1 paper by Karen Hodges Miller, I read an article that I found astounding.  NJ has become #2 in the nation (only to California) as the leader in the production of solar energy! 

Be it recognition of climate change or the increased activity by government to open up doors to businesses via benefits being given to companies who embrace green energy, the actions are clear; NJ is on the move.  Not only has NJ become 2nd in the nation for solar energy production, it is now also entering into the development of wind energy.  Twenty miles offshore, facilities are in development from data obtained for areas from Seaside Park to Sea Isle City.

Perhaps this will bring the cost of living down in NJ?  This remains to be seen.  But the most important thing to recognize is that we finally seem to be a nation that is taking notice not only in the potential economic growth that can be sustained from solar/wind/water energy, jobs that can be created, but also the positive effects it will have on future generations to come.  

Kudos to NJ for stepping up to the plate and advancing in the pro-active and positive change that we all need!  Here's to hoping that many other states take notice and vamp up their own efforts to make a change for the well-being of this planet and all its inhabitants.

April Brings Earth Day Into Focus

With the upcoming month of April approaching quickly, so does Earth Day and the HSUS's promotion of Animal Cruelty Prevention Month.  These two concepts heavily coincided for me as I was reading the most current issue (March/April) of the HSUS magazine, 'All Animals'.  As I flipped through the pages, it became inherently apparent to me the connection with us, the world we live, and the delicate balance by which our environment survives every day.

Via a multitude of articles based upon that same delicate balance, it was shown time and time again how we have not and if we do not preserve this wonderful world of ours, the landscape will forever change never to return.  For anyone who believes that extinction is not a form of animal cruelty (i.e. - starvation due to climate changes, senseless hunting to brink of extinction, and oceanic changes diminishing food supply) think again.  Going to the grocery store is a simple task but foraging for food has become dire for many creatures.  The HSUS issue touched upon the extinction of dozens of creatures, ocean habitats, and climate changes threatening our very existence.  We may not worry now with the adage, "I'll be dead before I seen things like that" but guess what...your children won't...and their children won't.    What would it be like to grow up in a world without natural ocean habitats abundant? 

Two decades ago, people bristled at the audacious thought of living in a world without polar bears, with melting icecaps, and coral reefs becoming extinct.  And surprisingly enough, in this day and era of people living longer, you may just get to see these horrific events occur.  The face of climate change threatens to diminish such animals as polar bear, walruses, monk seals, and certain shark species just to name a few ocean creatures.  With respect to land lovers, koala's, the arctic fox, wolverines, and bison all stand to perish or diminish into such drastically small numbers that any effort to save them would be difficult at best.  Just one look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is the size of Texas one realizes that it is definitely not one of the 7 great wonders of the world to behold.  The site of it would make almost any human being blanch at its imposing expansiveness. 

Yet with all this real information at our fingertips, we continue to support factory farming, the purchase of plastic bottles for water, dismiss massive food recalls as an inconvenience, and not once do we scream at the top of our lungs to the government to "Take a Stand" and "Make It Stop".  People think the government won't do anything.  Perhaps not yet they won't.  But when millions upon millions of people stop buying plastic water bottles, spend an extra $1.00 a week on non-factory/organic farm raised meat, and buy more local fruits and vegetables, industries would come to a crashing halt and suddenly say, "What is happening here?”

It may sound crazy, but one small change every 6 months has an enormous impact locally, globally, and spherically. 

Simple Statement of the Day

I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?
~ Robert Redford

It's Time to Get Up

Recent news over the past few months has been talking about the hazards of sitting for too long at one time. I work at a computer and sit for most of my eight-plus-hours workdays. Though I knew I wasn't getting fitter as I sat, I didn't realize I was actually getting less healthy, even if I was also adding exercise to my daily routine.

It turns out that "After four hours of sitting, the body starts to send harmful signals," Ekblom-Bak of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences said in a study published earlier this year in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Genes regulating the amount of glucose and fat in the body start to shut down. This all means we can be fatter, and have a higher chance for heart disease and diabetes. Working out for eight hours will not eliminate the harmful effects of sitting down for eight hours (though don't stop working out!).

So, since I want to be healthy, I decided to try the stand up desk. I looked around at some places that make stand up desks online just to get ideas and from that research determined I wanted the desk height at just around elbow height. This ended up working well, it turns out, for both work on my computer, and other types of work I do at a desk. I immediately noticed the difference and just felt more alert and focused, but I did start feeling it in my legs and a little in my back. Though, already in a standing position, I found I was doing a lot of stretches and bends that I didn't normally do because I'd have to get up to do them (sounds lazy, I know, but you know what I mean!). So not only am I standing up more, I'm moving more in terms of pacing (thinking) and stretching (while waiting for a file to upload).

I had my desk built with 2x4s (I used an existing desk top), but there other ways to make a stand up desk. Be creative!

Some more background:

• One study found that the chance of developing metabolic syndrome, a condition that can lead to diabetes, rose by 26% for every extra hour a woman spent sitting, no matter how much exercise she did.
• Doctors from the Karolinska Institute and the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm say the only way to lessen the effects of sitting is to cut the amount of time we're inactive/sitting.
• The chemical reactions triggered in the body from inactivity cannot be canceled out with more exercise.
• Sitting up straight, it turns out, isn't the best way to sit.
• In a study published last year that tracked more than 17,000 Canadians for about 12 years, researchers found people who sat more had a higher death risk, independent of whether or not they exercised.
• Figures from a U.S. survey in 2003-2004 found that we Americans spend more than half our time sitting.

It's only been a little over a week, and I'd read that it takes a week or two to get used to it but I knew right away I was going to stick with it. Here are a few tips if you're considering this change:

• Don't lock your knees. Stand up straight and then dial it back just a bit to give your knees the cushion and flexibility they need.
• Keep moving. Even though you're already standing, go ahead and move around, shift your weight, bend one leg and stand on the other (try the lotus yoga stand). Even if you're not doing the stand up desk, moving around regularly is a must.
• Don't give up. From all the research I did I found that almost unanimously, stand up desk people had a hard time their first week or two. You might even be sore, but hang in there, it will pay off.

Here's an article with tips on getting your boss to sign on! The ideal situation would be able to go from standing to sitting, but that either means two desks or one that adjusts to different heights. For me, I have a stool nearby :-)

I Hadn't Really Considered "Green" Pens Before

I try and consider all product purchases and hope to always make the best choice as far as its impact on our environment. But I hadn't considered my pens before. Today I learned:

• More than 100 billion disposable pens have been sold since 1950. That's 60 pens per second for the last 60 years.
• The ink from those 100 billion pens could fill 100 Olympic-sized pools. All that ink (aka, toxic chemicals) leaks into the ground.

This disposable pen by DBA is 98% biodegradable—I checked, and there are other 100% biodegradable pens but it's only for the case itself and doesn't include the ink and ink reservoir, not to mention packaging and manufacturing. The DBA pen claim rightfully considers its whole life-cycle from manufacturing to compost, it is awesome and here's why:

• 98% biodegradable.
• Produced at a wind-powered facility in the U.S.
• Made from bio-plastic made from potatoes with non-GMO content.
• Custom-formulated ink for safety to humans and the environment.
• Plant uses full fleet of hybrid and zero-emission vehicles and rain water-assisted cooling systems.
• Package is made from 100% recycled content and vegetable-based inks, and is recyclable.
• Made with real/safe ingredients: water, non-toxic pigments, glycerin (sugar), and sodium benzoate (food-grade preservative).
• Will biodegrade in a compost facility within 180 days with no trace left behind (the nib, which accounts for 2% of the pen, needs to be thrown away before composting).
• The purposely slim packaging effectively reduces carbon emissions from transportation.
• Price (in case you're interested): 3 pens for $8.00.

Simple Statement of the Day

The difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.
~ Ayn Rand

Simple Statement of the Day

We won't have a society if we destroy the environment.
~ Margaret Mead

Bike to Work Day

This year's Bike to Work day is Friday, May 15 - although some sources are giving it as Thursday, May 14, so you have twice as many chances to saddle up! If that weren't enough, according to the League of American Bicyclists, May is National Bike Month, and this whole week is Bike To Work Week. Get the picture? There are plenty of days to take your bike out for a spin and get a great workout besides.

The League says,

People ride bicycles for all sorts of reasons, from better health to saving money on fuel. Additionally, bicycling helps the environment, allows you to escape from the endlessly clogged freeways of America, and is a lot of fun!

Although I have the shortest commute ever, I do have a hankering to take my bike out for a ride this afternoon and run some errands. Have you ever biked to work, and would you give it a try tomorrow?

To get you in the mood:

Who Knew Saving Trees Could Be So Easy!

Unfortunately, not all municipalities recycle newspapers/magazineS that are acquired from everyday junk mail within corporate business parks.  Petitioning the township/municipality that you work in to start doing this is a great idea!  But an even easier start is to take the newspapers/magazines home and throw them in with your weekly or bi-weekly pickup.  You won't believe the difference you'll be making when you see how much junk mail offices can actually get.  By doing this, thousands upon thousands of trees are saved every year.  START NOW AND MAKE A BIG IMPACT WITH A SMALL EFFORT!

Simple Statement of the Day

Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.
~ Stuart Udall