With pump prices acting as strong a deterrent, Americans are putting the breaks on their driving habits. DOT Federal Highway Administration mileage figures released earlier this month show, "the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history."
Estimated vehicle miles on public roads in March 2008 fell 4.3% when compared to the same month last year, with Americans driving 11 billion fewer miles in total. It was the first time that March driving figure had declined since 1979.
With gas prices like daylight robbery, commuters are choosing to skip the pump and run –– to the nearest bus stop. The American Public Transportation Association reports that last year ridership reached levels not seen in 50 years, with 10.3 billion bus, trolley and train trips taken in 2007. Furthermore, they report that a staggering 35% of summer travelers say they are likely to use public transit to save on driving costs when visiting other cities.
All this is good news for the environment, but extremely bad news for car makers. New car sales dropped by 7 % in April; the seasonally adjusted sales total of 14.4 million vehicles was the worst in 13 years.
With car sales plummeting, car dealers are resorting to desperate measures to move vehicles. One Butler, MO dealer is offering a choice of $250 in gas or a free semi-automatic handgun with purchase. We're not sure why the handgun needs to be semi-automatic (how many people do Missouri drivers need to shoot in one go?), but so far it's by far the preferred option, with 80% of customers opting for a coupon which they can exchange for a gun once they've passed the require background check.
"It's a choice –– protection or gas," said Walter Moore of Max Motors. "We got high gas prices, theft, carjackings, innocent people getting hurt."
We could be wrong, but it seems like Walter’s customers aren’t the Prius-buying type. It's attitudes like these that make Walter's namesake Michael Moore so proud –– of Canadians. We're figuring Walter skipped Michael's anti-firearm flick Bowling for Columbine when it came out in theaters, but would like to think he might catch up with it on DVD since it notoriously features a bank which offered a similar bonus for new customers. Ultimately, the film showed that guns are about as bad for people as fossil fuels are for the planet. Again, we could be wrong, but we thought the end-game was to get rid of both.
Scientists in Germany are working on a new generation of environmentally friendly explosives for use in bombs. Live Science reports that the research is being partially funded by the U.S. Army.
Explosives such as trinitrotoluene (a.k.a. TNT) and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (a.k.a. RDX), which are commonly used by military forces around the globe today, create toxic gases upon detonation. Furthermore, the compounds themselves are toxic, and can raise environmental concerns when chemicals from unexploded and partially exploded ordinance leach into ground soil.
The new bombs primarily get their explosive energy from nitrogen rather than carbon. In laboratory tests these explosive were found to be more powerful than traditional explosives, despite having a far smaller carbon footprint. We're sure that those who are eventually the targets of these new green bombs will find this most reassuring.
Alaska's Republican state governor, Sarah Palin, has announced plans to fight the Bush administration on its decision to place polar bears on the endangered species list. Palin is challenging conservation and environmental data, and sights concerns that the Endangered Species Act ruling will hinder oil exploration in the state.
As we previously reported (see story), the polar bear's addition to the endangered species list had repeatedly been delayed, allowing an oil rights sale, which generated bids totaling nearly $3.4 billion, to proceed in an area that is home to 20% of the world's polar bear population. There are less than 25,000 polar bears in total, and that number is expected to decline by 60% over the next 50 years as the creature's habitat literally melts away.
Palin was the first woman to hold office in Alaska, and was also the youngest governor ever to be sworn in. She likes snowmobiling and moose burgers, and was an athlete and a beauty queen prior to taking up politics. Obviously she didn't win her Miss Wasilla 1984 pageant title by promising to "help children and animals."
According to information just released by the California Environmental Protection Agency's Air Resources Board (ARB) up to 24,000 deaths a year may be attributed to particulate pollution. The figure is triple that of previous official estimates.
The new data was compiled by USC, who tracked 23,000 people in greater Los Angeles, and the American Cancer Society, who tracked 300,000 people nationwide.
One the reasons that the new estimated death toll is so much higher, is that experts had previously underestimated the dangers of particulate matter, which is too small to be caught by the body's own nose and throat, hair and mucous filtration system, and lodges deep in lungs, causing all manner of health problems such as asthma, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
"Our report concludes these particles are 70% more dangerous than previously thought, based on several major studies that have occurred in the last five years," said the ARB's chief researcher, Bart Croes, in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "There's no death certificate that says specifically someone died of air pollution, but cities with higher rates of air pollution have much greater rates of death from cardiovascular diseases."
As shown on the California Environmental Protection Agency maps above, California has more counties designated for nonattainment of PM-10 (particulate matter less than 10 microns in size) safety levels in the "serious" classification than the rest of the U.S. put together. A similar map also shows widespread non-compliance for PM-2.5 safety levels (a classification for smaller particles) in California.
Not un-coincidentally, according to data compiled by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 1996, the top 5 metropolitan areas in the nation ranked by mortality rates attributable to particulate matter are all in California. The worst offender was Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, followed by Riverside-San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Fresno, and Stockton.
With such toxic air effectively fatally poisoning 24,000 people per year in the Golden State, drastic measures, such as the Bay Area's new pollution tax, are sorely needed.
"Particle pollution is a silent killer," said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "We must work even harder to cut these life-shortening emissions by further addressing pollution sources head-on."
Adrian Grenier (a.k.a. Aqua Man, Vincent Chase) is ditching his HBO posse, and is hitting the streets with an all new, all green entourage for a new TV show called Alter Eco, to be aired on the Discovery Channel's brand new sister station Planet Green.
With the help of green guru Boise Thomas, sustainable style fashionista Angela Lindvall and eco-renovation master Darren Moore, Granier will take on challenges which will include an environmental home makeover and an eco-overhaul of an L.A. hotspot. The green team will pay house calls on Hollywood celebs and average Joe's alike to show how planet positive change can have a low impact on lifestyle.
The 13-part series premieres on Monday, June 9, at 9 PM (ET/PT) on Planet Green. A sneak preview of Alter Eco will air on Planet Green's launch night on June 4 at 10 PM (ET/PT).
After a three year battle the polar bear has won its place on the government's Endangered Species list. But it's a somewhat hollow victory.
Three non-profits, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), first sued the Bush administration in 2005 to secure protection for the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act. After many hearings, and even more hold ups, the government was compelled by law to make a final decision by January 9, 2008. The government flouted this deadline however, and was subsequently forced to make a decision by May 15 after animal rights activists, again, took the matter to the court.
This delay allowed The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) to complete the first Chukchi Sea oil lease sale since 1991. A press release posted on the MMS' own website boasted that the sale resulted in "667 bids on 488 blocks -- both record-setting numbers -- on the Outer Continental Shelf," with submitted bids "totaling almost $3.4 billion."
The Chuck Sea lies between Alaska and Siberea and is home to one fifth of the world's polar bear population. "Had the polar bear been listed prior to January 9 as the law required, that lease sale could not have moved forward without some substantial additional review of the impacts to polar bears," said Kassie Siegel, who serves as the climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
"After years of delay, the Bush administration was forced to face the reality that global warming has endangered the polar bear and that the polar bear needs to be placed on the Endangered Species Act," said the Republican Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Edward J. Markey in a statement to CNN. "But the administration has also simultaneously announced a rule aimed at allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic to continue unchecked even in the face of the polar bears' threatened extinction. Essentially, the administration is giving a gift to Big Oil, and short shrift to the polar bear."
It's estimated that there are between 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in total on the planet, but the population is expected to decline to less than 10,000 over the next 50 years. Polar bears are only found in the wild in the Arctic. They spend much of the year on sea ice hunting for seals, which serve as their staple high fat diet. But global warming is taking its toll on the Arctic. The region is warming at a rate that is five times faster than that of the earth as a whole. In September 2007, the Arctic ice cap shrunk to a record low, with an additional 1 million square miles disappearing compared to previous years, meaning the polar bear lost an area of habitat equivalent in size to six times that of California.
Despite the fact that polar bears (and the planet) are on such thin ice, the government has its eye firmly on the gas pump, and is far more concerned about the interests of big business. While adding the majestic creatures to the endangered species list, the Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, cautioned that the Environmental Protection Act should not be "misused" to regulate global warming.
"Listing the polar bear as threatened can reduce avoidable losses of polar bears. But it should not open the door to use of the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants, and other sources," said Kempthorne. "That would be a wholly inappropriate use of the ESA law. The ESA is not the right tool to set U.S. climate policy."
Fortunately for the polar bear, the Bush government will soon be extinct. With even John McCain making environmentally constructive comments in recent days, lets hope they can hold out for a wind of change.
CO2 levels have reached record highs. According to data published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now stands at 387 parts per million (ppm). This represents a 35 to 45 per cent increase compared to pre-industrial revolution levels, which are believed to have remained steady at between 260-280 ppm for the preceding ten thousand years.
This news comes hot on the heels of a report by top NASA climatologist James Hansen, which calls for target CO2 levels to be reduced to 350 ppm in order to avoid the "possibility of seeding irreversible catastrophic effects." The European Union currently has a target ceiling of 550 ppm, which is the world’s most stringent. Hansen, who has repeatedly accused the Kyoto-bashing Bush administration of trying to silence and censor him, fears that unless we take immediate and drastic action, global warming may accelerate at a far higher rate than expected, and life as we know it could end.
He theorizes that a mechanism known as "fast-feedback" will mean that radiation reflecting polar ice caps will melt rapidly, and not gradually as previous models have shown, once a 2-3 degree temperature tipping point is reached. As the ice melts, it will raise ocean levels, meaning that even more of the planet will be covered by heat-retaining water, exacerbating the cycle of global warming.
In the conclusion of a paper submitted to Science magazine last month, Hansen warns that, "If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm."
In order to publicize the 350 ppm bar that Hansen has set, Middlebury College scholar and author Bill McKibben co-founded Project 350. McKibben calls 350 "the red line for human beings" and "the most important number on the planet."
"Everyone on earth, from the smallest village to the cushiest corner office, needs to know what 350 means," says McKibben. "The movement to spread that number needs to be beautiful, creative, and unstoppable."
For more information on the number that will mark our salvation or our doom, go to: www.350.org. To find out how you can become part of the solution, go to: www.wecansolveit.org.
Foul-mouthed Hell's Kitchen host Gordon Ramsay has called for "stringent" restaurant licensing laws to be put in place in the U.K. to ensure that "produce is only used in season." The Scottish born celebrity chef appealed for extreme measures to penalize non-compliant establishments during an interview broadcast by the BBC today. He has previously met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to voice his concerns about the environmental impact of modern food production techniques.
While the idea of legislating against out of season fruit and veg may seem a little over the top, the reasoning behind Ramsay's appeal for radical action is sound. With food prices rising along with the price of gas, it makes sense to make the most of cheaper seasonal produce that can be grown locally. Such measures also make environmental sense, reducing the impact of high-energy food production methods, and the fuel consumption and emissions caused by its transportation.
"I don't want to see asparagus in the middle of December. I don't want to see strawberries from Kenya in the middle of March. I want to see it home-grown," says Ramsay. "Fruit and veg should be seasonal. Chefs should be fined if they don't have ingredients in season on their menu."
The Daily Mantra couldn't agree more. Food grown locally, and in season, is better for the environment, and better for your health and palate, since produce that is force-grown and transported over long distance loses both flavor and nutritional value.
Click HERE and HERE to find out what's in season now.
In a tongue-in-cheek move the animal lovers over at PETA are asking you to go vegetarian to offset Al Gore's environmentally unfriendly diet. They say that though the former vice president has done a lot to raise global warming awareness, his meat eating habits speak louder than words when it comes to follow through and action, since meat production is one of the leading sources of climate changing pollution.
PETA has created a special page where you can pledge to go vegetarian to compensate for Gore's meat munching ways. The animal rights organization have also posted a few inconvenient truths of their own for the former Vice President to peruse:
A major United Nations study determined that the meat industry generates 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, ships, and planes in the world combined.
Researchers at the University of Chicago concluded that going vegan is 50 percent more effective in combating the climate crisis than switching to a hybrid car.
The official handbook of the Live Earth concerts that Gore helped organize acknowledges that not eating meat is the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your climate change impact.
While we’re aware of the toll meat production takes on the planet, we understand the superhuman eco-warrior needs to keep his strength up, and appreciate he has a lot of official dinners he needs to attend. Since he therefore might find it harder than the average person to go vegetarian overnight, the Daily Mantra is offering to purchase credits to carbon offset Gore's diet for a year if the earth-saving superstar promises to stick to a heart and earth friendlier diet of vegetables, organic white meat and fish from now on. How about it Mr. Gore?
Editors note: We don't mean to give the should've-been-president a hard time. We'd just hate to see him prematurely croak due to his beef-eating ways before his work securing the sustainability of our human habitat is complete.
CharityWater.org hope to raise awareness and funds for the 1.1 billion people on the planet that don't have access to safe drinking water with this video featuring Blood Diamond actress Jennifer Connelly. The ad is also a reminder that having instant access to fresh water at the turn of a tap makes it far too easy for us to undervalue this relatively rare and most valuable commodity.
This animated video states what should now be the obvious as far as global warming is concerned, albeit in a very entertaining way. However one Australian physicist, Phil Chapman, thinks we should be worrying about climate change in the other direction, as he touts the possibility of a return to an Ice Age.
Chapman cites an 11-year low in sunspot activity, and says that our plant actually cooled by 0.7 degrees Centigrade between January 2006 and 2007. "This is the fastest temperature change in the instrumental record," notes Chapman in an article that appears in today's Australian.
As the ice caps melt before our Googled eyes, critics have accused Chapman of cherry picking data, but regardless of whether we should be reaching for the sun tan lotion or for another layer of warm clothes to prepare for the future, living a green life still makes sense. There are so many reasons beyond global warming for ending our reliance on fossil fuels.
A recent study has concluded that even short-term exposure to smog can be linked to premature death. Our ever increasing appetite for oil funds wars and corrupt regimes, and is contributing massively to the food crisis we now face. The latter, which is caused, in the most part, by the fact that rising fuel prices are raising the cost of food production and transportation beyond what many consumers can afford, is ALREADY pushing many here at home over the poverty line into privation.
While experts can't agree on the extent and exact direction of climate change (two recently released reports claim that global warming may be far worse than the U.N. had previously predicted), there is a general consensus that the food crisis will bite before global warming does. And since the causes of both global warming and the food crisis are the same, namely over use of fossil fuels and over population, working towards a comprehensive solution should be a no-brainer.
In the scheme of things the dire problems we now face are so easily fixed. We already have the know-how to replace oil power with renewable, clean energy. We also know that cutting down rainforest and turning away from food crops in order to produce biofuel is "profoundly stupid," to recycle the words of Professor John Beddington, the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor (who, unlike our scientific advisers, at least has the benefit of talking real, unabridged science with his boss).
The issue of the planet’s burgeoning population is a little trickier. While environment and sustainability issues are now firmly on the agenda, population control is the other side of the coin, and the elephant in the room that few in the West like to talk about (unless it’s in terms of “pro-life,” a policy that ironically, in global terms, results in more death). Again, it's not like we don't have the methods, but motivation is a problem, which is compounded by religious beliefs and our delicate sensibilities. How ironic that China, with their birth control already in place, may ultimately look enlightened where this issue is concerned.
Their one kid per couple policy may seem harsh by our standards, but five kids, with two more mechanical gas-guzzlers in the garage, is not a sustainable existence. We really have to learn one very simple lesson: we can't have it all. But next to the possible oblivion of our planet and/or our race, a little compromise and a lot of enlightenment, and action, seems like a small price to pay. For now, let’s at least get population control on our “to do” list alongside ending war, hunger, poverty, pollution and oil reliance, since these issues cannot be dealt with in isolation, and require a holistic approach.
Norwegian electric carmakers Think have announced plans to manufacture and sell their reasonably priced, eco-friendly vehicles here in the U.S.
The company has partnered with two leading clean-tech venture capital firms, RockPort Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins, Caulfield and Byers, to form Think North America. The new venture was announced at the 2008 Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference held in Pasadena, California (April 21-22, 2008). The aim of the invitation-only event is to bring industry leaders together to discuss the impact and opportunities presented by the green-movement.
Think North America hope to have their first vehicle, the Think City, in production in the U.S. sometime in 2009. It is likely that the company will be based in Southern California, and that cars will be assembled locally. The electric car, which is currently only available in Norway, is a 100% emission free, battery-powered vehicle. Made of 95% recycled material, it has a top speed of 100 km (65 miles) per hour and can drive up to 180 km (110 miles) on a single charge.
The Think City "is a mass-market vehicle," said Kleiner managing partner, Ray Lane . "Our desire is to be selling 30-40-50,000 of these cars in a couple of years." The two-seater cars, which can be fitted with additional rear seats intended for children, will retail for under $25,000.
Think was founded under the name Pivco (Personal Independent Vehicle Company) in Oslo in 1991. Ford acquired the company in 1999, but sold its stake in 2003, around the same time that General Motors dropped the now mythical EV1 after California passed legislation significantly backtracking on its ZEV (zero-emissions vehicle) mandate. In March of this year General Electric announced an alliance with Think at the Geneva Motor Show, investing $4 million in the EV company, and a further $20 million in A123 Systems, who will manufacture the car's batteries.
Interestingly, in Norway, Think offer a "Mobility Pack" lease program for the car's batteries. Under this business model, Think own the batteries and charge a monthly fee in exchange for a full maintenance, service and replacement plan. They promise to "take responsibility for battery performance throughout the car's life span" for a fee of around 200 EUR (approx $290), which also covers insurance and electricity costs. The move is intended to give customers peace of mind, and maintain the car's re-sale value. It has yet to be announced if a similar program will be available for North American customers.
Just a reminder on Earth Day, that as students of the Law of Attraction, we should focus on the positive rather than the negative in order to bring about the planetary change we desire. So don’t get caught up in the doom and gloom of global warming, or get depressed about the oceans of trash. Instead, focus on the beauty of this planet we call home, and how you can nurture it, both in big and small ways, everyday, to preserve it for generations to come. And celebrate the fact that there are millions of like-minded individuals all around the globe with similar goals on this very special day.
In the future, as in the past, we may very well be fighting our wars over fresh water rather than oil. After all, there are many alternatives to crude oil, but not that many for drinkable H2O. This video from Good Magazine explains the issues of supply and demand well.
The Daily mantra is excited to be one of a select few invited by Current.com to curate its Earth Day page. The organizers of Earth Day hope to promote "environmental citizenship and year round progressive action worldwide."
Current is the "world's leading peer-to-peer news and information network," where what's considered news is a democratic affair. Environment superman Al Gore, someone who understands the meaning of democracy (and the lack thereof), is the network's chairman.
We're sad Al's not running for president, but understand that he has more important things to do. In the meantime, since we worry about the environment everyday, we're making April 22nd the unofficial Worldwide Al Gore Day.
Click HERE for a special message from the man who should have been president.
China now has the dubious honor of being the world's biggest polluter. Research done by a team from the University of California suggests that we have previously underestimated China's power to pollute, and that the growing superpower probably took the title of polluter number one sometime in 2006 or 2007.
Not to be outdone, the U.S. is putting an intergalactic spin on the international trash wars. China may have taken the "Chief Trasher of the Planet" title, but that pales in comparison to America's goal of trashing the universe to turn our entire galaxy into a giant garbage heap.
Man put his first piece of junk, Sputnik One, into space just 51 years ago. Since then, we've managed to deposit tens of millions of items, with American taking the Space Junk lead since the end of the Cold War. Much of the debris, which is made up of dead satellites, discarded rocket sections, Shuttle and Space Station refuse, tools, nuts, bolts, fragments of metal, and, believe it or not, the odd glove, now circulates the earth in low orbit 200-300 miles above the planet's surface. New computer generated images show how the trash is forming rings around our planet, an accessory which previously had been exclusive to Saturn in our solar system.
Like our earth-bound rubbish, this space junk has life-threatening ramifications. NASA now tracks the trajectories of thousands of the larger items, which pose a serious threat to the structural integrity of the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, and the astronauts who work on them.
Indeed, the Daily Mail reports that one glove, which was lost in space after it was dropped by Gemini 4 astronaut Edward White in 1965, became the most dangerous item of clothing in history as it orbited the planet at a speed of 17,500 mph. At that velocity the discarded gauntlet could have turned deadly had any space walking astronaut accidentally stumbled into its path. Fortunately that particular item of killer apparel burnt up in the atmosphere upon reentry a few months later, but there are millions more pieces of space junk out there to get you.
Al Gore, the man that puts the (renewable) power in Powerpoint, debuted his brand new slideshow for TED.com, a website which showcases the finer thinkers on our planet. In his presentation, the eco Yoda talks about how global warming is a global conflict that requires the mobilization of political will. He also shows how climate change may be far worse than scientists have previously predicted, and provides a feast of food for thought for the flat-earth brigade, who, despite overwhelming evidence, still think that global warming is a myth. He challenges us to raise our sense of urgency in this culture of distraction, and provides workable ideas for change. Above all, he drives the point home that everything starts with a change political in culture, which in turn starts with activist citizens. We’ve changed our light bulbs, now let’s change the world.
"I was reminded by Karen Armstrong's fantastic presentation, that if religion, really properly understood, is not about belief but behavior, perhaps we should say the same thing about optimism. How dare we be optimistic? Optimism is sometimes characterized as a belief, an intellectual posture, whereas Mahatma Ghandi famously said you must become the change you wish to see in the world. And the outcome about which we wish to become optimistic is not going to be created by the belief alone, except to the extent that the belief brings about new behavior.”
“As important as it is to change the light bulbs, it's more important to change the laws. And when we change our behavior in our daily lives we sometimes leave out the citizenship part and the democracy part. In order to be optimistic about this we have to become incredibly active as citizens in our democracy. In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to solve the democracy crisis. And we have one.“
“Many years ago when I was a young congressman I spent an awful lot of time dealing with the challenge of nuclear arms control, the nuclear arms race. And the military historians taught me during that quest that military conflicts are typically put into three categories: Local battles, regional or theatre wars, and the rare, but all important, global, world wars, strategic conflicts. And each level of conflict requires a different allocation of resources, a different approach, a different organizational model. Environmental challenges fall into the same three categories, and most of what we think of as local environmental problems, air pollution, water pollution, hazardous waste dumps. There are also regional problems like acid rain…”
“But the climate crisis is the rare, but all important, global or strategic conflict. Everything is affected, and we have to organize our response appropriately. We need a worldwide, global mobilization for renewable energy, conservation, efficiency, and a global transition to a low-carbon economy. We have work to do. We can mobilize resources, and political will. But the political will has to be mobilized in order to mobilize the resources….”
“I’m optimistic because I believe we have the capacity at moments of great challenge to set aside the causes of distraction and rise to the challenge that history is presenting us. Sometimes I hear people respond to the disturbing facts of the climate crises, by saying ‘oh, this is so terrible, what a burden we have.’ I would like to ask you to reframe that. How many generations in all of human history have had the opportunity to rise to a challenge that is worthy of our best efforts? A challenge that can pull from us more than we knew we could do.”
“I think we ought to approach this challenge with a sense of profound joy and gratitude that we are the generation about which a thousand years from now philharmonic orchestras, and poets, and singers will celebrate by saying ‘they were the ones that found it within themselves to solves this crisis and lay the basis for a bright an optimistic human future. Let’s do that.”
Al Gore, speaking in front of a live audience for Ted.com
View the full presentation below. It’s well worth watching to the end, since Gore hangs around for an enlightening post-presentation Q&A in which he discusses the current presidential candidates.
Ever wonder where to recycle things that don't fall into the easy plastic, glass, aluminum or cardboard categories? Here's one to bookmark: Earth911.0rg
Not only will they tell you how to recycle anything, but if you enter your zip code, they'll even help you locate the nearest recycling center to drop off your items!
Just a reminder that tomorrow (March 29) at 8 p.m. the folks from the World Wildlife Fund are asking us all to switch off our lights for 60 minutes to mark Earth Hour.
Earth Hour began last year in Sydney, Australia. This year the event is going global. Participating cities around the world include Adelaide, Bangkok, Brisbane, Canberra, Montreal, Ottawa, Perth, Copenhagen, Dublin, Manila, Melbourne, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Here in the U.S. the flagship event is being held in Chicago, with Atlanta, Phoenix and San Francisco also officially jumping on board for the great turn off. Regardless of whether you reside in one of the designated cities, it’s easy to make a stand for Earth Hour. Just turn off, tune out, and drop out…of the power grid that is.
What can you do with the lights off? If the obvious isn't an option, and you’ve already maxed out your meditation quota for the day, the Daily Mantra recommends getting together with your environmentally sound friends for a few rounds of our favorite party game: Murder In The Dark. The prize for the winners? A low energy light bulb of course.
Al Gore and The Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonpartisan, non-profit founded by the Should-A-Been President, are asking you to stop ignoring the very large herd of elephants in the room (see video), and take a stand against global warming.
The organization, which is committed to educating people, and governments, around the world that the climate crisis is both urgent and solvable is looking to sign up a million would-be eco warriors to help get the point across. So far they've recruited over 900,000 green-minded folks. Help them hit the magic number by clicking HERE.
"By coming together, we're showing overwhelming support for leadership on this critical issue. Add your voice now and help make climate change a priority."
The Vatican has come up with a new list of sins for the modern age. These include pollution, experiments in genetic manipulation, recreational drug use, and causing social and economic injustices, such as poverty, by amassing too much wealth (something the Church could be considered guilty of themselves).
In the past, the Church controlled it all by making themselves the only channel for messages from above and the enforcers of that law. But a recent study by Milan's Catholic University showed that 30 percent of Italian Catholics believed that there was no need for a priest to be God's intermediary. So how can the Church fight back, and make itself more relevant in today's world? By weighing in on what people are already worried about most. It's brilliant!
Godfather of Guilt Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, the Regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body that issues decisions on matters of conscience and grants absolutions, said in an interview with the Vatican's L’Osservatore Romano newspaper, "While sin used to concern mostly the individual, today it has mainly a social resonance, due to the phenomenon of globalization". In case you were worried, Girotti said the Catholic Church continued to be concerned by good old-fashioned sin, such as pride, envy, lust, anger, greed, sloth and gluttony. That's good to know.
Making pollution a sin is long overdue. Really. Pope Benedict has been focused on protection of the environment recently, saying that climate change has become gravely important for the entire human race. (Did God tell him that? Or was it Al Gore?) Benedict and his predecessor John Paul have made the Vatican increasingly "green" by installing photovoltaic cells to produce electricity and hosting a scientific conference on global warming and climate change. This green angle is a step away from the traditional Biblical interpretation that humans were given everything on Earth, including the animals, to do with as we please.
Though we're happy that the Vatican has finally got with the environmental program, perhaps the Catholic Church isn't clear on how the Law of Attraction works. Guilt, long a tool of Catholic parents and teachers everywhere, puts the focus on negative things and feelings. But we enlightened Daily Mantra readers know that to truly make changes, we need to focus on the positive. So instead of listing new sins, let's make new commandments (we can run them by God for approval, we're just co-creating here).
Thou shalt love and honor the Earth, your planetary home.
Thou shalt marvel at the wonders of nature.
Thou shalt be grateful for mental clarity and intelligence.
Thou shalt enjoy sharing the wealth you attract.
Thou shalt enjoy the pleasures of the body as a means uplifting the spirit and sharing joy.
If sins are meant to be things that could send us to hell, and we think of hell as a consciousness or state of being, then we can use these new and old lists as guidelines to make us think twice and connect to our spiritual center before making decisions that might make our lives and our world a living hell.
"Sin" in Spanish means "without," so we can think of sins as decisions made without checking in with our own spiritual guidance and connection, or as mistakes made from missing the target of our highest and best choices.
So my friends, go and sin no more! (And trade-in your S.U.V. for a Prius if you want a ride on the highway to heaven.)
Porn star Jenna Jameson is PETA's latest cover girl. The retired adult actress donned a skimpy faux leather bra and panty set for the organization's latest ad to promote cruelty-free leather alternatives. But while pleather may have the approval of the People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals, it doesn’t get the vote from environmentalists, since the plastic leather substitute is manufactured from oil and is slow to biodegrade.
The Daily Mantra recommends you stick to organic cotton and hemp underwear, though those truly concerned with saving the planet may want to follow the lead taken by eco-warriors such as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, by doing away with undies altogether. Underwear-free living not only saves natural resources, but also reduces water and detergent consumption by cutting down the weekly laundry load.
To promote this animal and eco-friendly win-win option, The Daily Mantra is encouraging its readers to limit the use of intimate apparel to just four days a week. We're in the process of getting the folks from the CO2-busting website Carbon Rally to calculate the impact of such action on our carbon footprint, and our Carbon Rally teammates can expect more details of our "Save A Tree Go Undie Free" challenge shortly. "Save A Tree Go Undie Free" T-Shirts will also be available soon.
A polar bear and a penguin that discover the benefits of energy saving light bulbs, a cow that learns about the environmental impact of his own methane gas, a hippo who figures out that showers use less water than baths, and a pug dog that realizes that by turning off electrical appliances in the evenings he will finally get a better night's sleep are just some of the clever characters featured in a series of ten animated short films produced by the Oscar winning Aardman Animation studio. The cute clips, from the makers of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, which show animals in their own habitats learning to live an environmentally friendlier life are intended to show human beings how they can adapt in order to save the planet.
If player fails to load, click HERE to view the first short in the series.
Carbon Rally is the Weight Watchers of the CO2 dieters world, the proverbial 12 Step program for CA (Carbon Anonymous). We all know how to reduce our carbon footprint, but sometimes a little group motivation can help when it comes to actually cutting down.
The eco-networking site posts new challenges every few weeks, the current featured challenge being to bring your own cup when buying drinks from coffee shops in order to reduce your emissions by 1.25 lbs per week. You can take on the challenges individually, but the fun really starts when you join a team or organize one of your own.
Carbon Rally posts a 30-Day Leaderboard, which is currently topped by The Lime-aids, who are led by New Jersey based Lemon Head. They have 34 members, have taken 238 challenges and have cut their collective carbon emissions by 5.18 tons. Go Lime-aids!
Fellow teammates and challenge takers can network and swap tips via the message boards, and can also make task suggestions in the Challenge Workshop. Here at the Daily Mantra, we’d like to kick the Lime-aids carbon-skinny butts, so have created our own team. Click HERE to join.
I was watching The Secret (again) a few weeks ago and a thought came to me that we can use the Law of Attraction for the good of the environment.
Law of Attraction teacher Lisa Nichols, who is featured in The Secret, says "In our society, we've become content with fighting against cancer, fighting against poverty, fighting against drugs, fighting against terrorism, fighting against violence. We tend to fight everything we don't want." This, she explains causes people to look at the things that they don't want and give just as much energy, if not more energy, to the problem, with the idea that they can stamp it out, eliminate and obliterate it. "How much sense does it make for us to give the problem all of the energy?" Instead, she says we can focus on the solution: trust, love, living in abundance, education, and peace. Doesn't that sound like a much happier place to live?
Self-styled "success coach" Jack Canfield elaborates on this concept. "You know the anti-war movement creates more war. The anti-drug movement has actually created more drugs. Because we're focusing on what we don't want: drugs. Mother Theresa was brilliant. She said 'I will never attend an anti-war rally. If you have a peace rally, invite me.' She knew...she understood The Secret. I mean look what she manifested in the world."
And then Hale Dwoskin of the life-changing Sedona Method brought it home. "So if you're anti-war, be pro-peace. If you're anti-hunger, be pro-people-having-more-than-enough-to-eat. If you're anti-a particular politician, be pro-his opponent. Often elections are tipped in favor of the person that people are really against, because he's getting all the energy and all the focus." This information is a good reminder in the days running up to the American presidential election, too. We should keep our focus on the he or she that we want in office, not the one we want to go away. We can also claim our power to choose the one that champions the environment, and all that we want to see more of in the world, instead of focusing on the defeat of those we don't feel will bring us what we want.
If we apply all of this to making a difference with the environment, we will use the information that Al Gore has shared with us in his Inconvenient Truth as a way to shine the light on where our positive attention is needed. And instead of bemoaning our fate and blaming our predecessors, we can begin to appreciate the beauty of the icebergs and all that they offer our planet. We can learn to be grateful for all of the diversity in the lush rain forests around the earth and the ecosystems that flourish in coral reefs. And as our appreciation grows and spreads, not only will we create more of the good that has our focus, but others will grow to appreciate them as well.
As Lisa Nichols says, "Recognize the beautiful and wonderful things around you, and bless and praise them. Embrace everything that you want so you can get more of it!"
I, for one, am grateful for clean air and water, abundant greenery to help us breathe, wildlife that teaches us and helps us to balance our ecosystem and the awareness that we all have our own part to play in the gorgeous symphony
With pump prices acting as strong a deterrent, Americans are putting the breaks on their driving habits. DOT 
when it came out in theaters, but would like to think he might catch up with it on 
Scientists in Germany are working on a new generation of environmentally friendly explosives for use in bombs. 
Alaska's Republican state governor, 
Adrian Grenier (a.k.a. Aqua Man, Vincent Chase) is ditching his 
After a three year battle the 
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The Daily mantra is excited to be one of a select few invited by 
China now has the dubious honor of being the 
Al Gore, the man that puts the (renewable) power in Powerpoint, debuted his brand new slideshow for TED.com, a website which showcases the finer thinkers on our planet. In his presentation, the eco Yoda talks about how global warming is a global conflict that requires the mobilization of political will. He also shows how climate change may be far worse than scientists have previously predicted, and provides a feast of food for thought for the flat-earth brigade, who, despite overwhelming evidence, still think that global warming is a myth. He challenges us to raise our sense of urgency in this culture of distraction, and provides workable ideas for change. Above all, he drives the point home that everything starts with a change political in culture, which in turn starts with activist citizens. We’ve changed our light bulbs, now let’s change the world.
Ever wonder where to recycle things that don't fall into the easy plastic, glass, aluminum or cardboard categories? Here's one to bookmark: 
Porn star Jenna Jameson is 