Rallying to Repower America

The Environmental Protection Agency held a hearing today in Seattle to discuss whether or not greenhouse gases should be treated as dangerous pollutants. Many people turned out to support efforts to reclassify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and as you can see from the photos, it was a costume-optional event.

Some Crabby protesters being Shellfish about their future

According to my twentysomething friend Anne, who attended the rally,"As individuals we can make all kinds of decisions - like changing our light bulbs and bringing tote bags when we go shopping - but we simply can't stop global warming without the full power of our federal government behind this issue. What we did at the rally today was critical in supporting the EPA's efforts to regulate greenhouse gasses and finally set the US on the path toward solving this challenge."

Also, the best costume award goes to the geoduck! :) The polar bear was a close runner up. Two salmon were also in the running..."

Even the polar bears are trading in cars for bikes

For more on what you can do to help reduce harmful emissions that contribute to global warming, support green jobs, and encourage responsible environmental legislation, visit Repower America and 350. Be sure to mark your calendars too - October 24th is 350's International Day of Climate Action, and you can start or join an action by visiting their website today.

Growing Your Own

I've written extensively on this blog about the joys of local eating, but mostly my experiences thus far have centered on food from the farmers' markets or from restaurants that use local sources.

This spring, despite the fact that the outdoor space around my apartment consists of two very small "decks", and please note that I use that term loosely - two people can fit uncomfortably on them at once - I decided to try my hand at growing some of my own food.

Another "feature" of our apartment is that it gets very little sun. No worries, though. A trip to a few plant sales and some conversations with knowledgeable farmers yielded several veggies that would do just fine with limited sunlight like lettuce, arugula, radishes, parsley, and cilantro.

My porch runneth over

I purchased some starts, which are young plants, and thus far have had a bounty (okay a few salad's worth, but it's a start!) of my own homegrown veggies.

Container gardening is a great way to make use of limited growing space and the lessons learned in my mini-plot will stand me in good stead when I have the space for a real garden.

For more on urban gardening, check out this recent post I wrote for Earth911.

Hooray for Hulu

I've been without cable television for a while now - mostly it's due to budgetary constraints, but partly it's a choice. The fact is that I don't really miss most of what I used to watch. However, there are certain shows that I am proudly addicted to such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. With the exception of these two shows, my subscription to Netflix fills in any potential pop culture holes that my lack of cable might be causing.

Recently, I also realized that Hulu, which is free for at least the foreseeable future, also has such shows as PBS's Scientific American and Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days available on their site. If you haven't seen 30 Days, I highly recommend it. The premise is simple, Spurlock, who rocketed to fame with SuperSize Me, places someone in an environment for 30 days that is either antithetical to their beliefs or one that will raise awareness about lifestyles that often go unexplored. It's like a highbrow Wife Swap - a Mormon stays with two gay dads or Spurlock spends 30 days working as a coal miner or in jail.



One of my favorite episodes places two self proclaimed fossil fuel addicts at an off the grid co-op for a month. Hardship and hilarity ensue when the two guests are faced with what to do without hair products or meat or with a composting toilet. However the most meaningful exchanges occur as guests and hosts share ideas and reach understandings that become possible under these admittedly unrealistic circumstances.

Contrary to other proud card-carrying members of the anti-cable club, I think you can learn something from television. So check out 30 Days - if nothing else, I promise it beats I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.