Finding Commitment in College

Has your college or university signed the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment?

The agreement requires signatories to commit to taking specific steps toward carbon neutrality by formulating an institutional action plan.

Here is an excerpt from the agreement:

"We believe colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and throughout society by modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality. Campuses that address the climate challenge by reducing global warming emissions and by integrating sustainability into their curriculum will better serve their students and meet their social mandate to help create a thriving, ethical and civil society. These colleges and universities will be providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to address the critical, systemic challenges faced by the world in this new century and enable them to benefit from the economic opportunities that will arise as a result of solutions they develop."

Not sure if your school or alma mater has signed? Visit the website today to check out the ever-growing list of signatories, and remember that as an alum or current student, you have tremendous influence over whether or not your school signs.

If your college or university is already on board, see where they are with their carbon neutrality plan, and if you are impressed, offer to support their efforts. Many colleges and universities are establishing sustainability initiatives specifically to address the need to be more energy efficient.

While signing the agreement is a good first step, it's the actions that colleges and universities choose to take after signing that will make the difference.

Visit a National Park (For Free!) Next Weekend

Time spent in National Parks allows us to experience nature's majesty by ourselves or with family and friends. Last July, I was visiting Glacier National Park for the first time and having my first encounter with a Grizzly Bear. Just to back up my assertion, The Huffington Post recently published a post by Barbara Fenig titled "Top Ten Best National Parks You Don't Know About," and Glacier was #1 on the list.

In case you need any additional incentive, next weekend, August 15th and 16th, entry to many of the parks is free! Here is a list by state of all of the parks that will be fee-free next weekend - Enjoy!

Vote Yes on Referendum 1

Seattle residents will soon be receiving their August ballots in the mail, and one of the most closely watched votes is Referendum 1, which decides whether or not to place a fee on plastic and paper bags.

As I wrote in my previous post on this topic, the fee was already passed by the city council, but then it was forced to a referendum. Keep in mind that a large portion of the funding to oppose the fee is coming from The American Chemistry Council (which lobbies for companies like Exxon and Dow Chemical and makes money from the sale of disposable plastics). The lobby has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into defeating the referendum.

There are many reasons why the fee is a good idea:

• It will greatly reduce the use of both paper and plastic bags and therefore the resources used to make and transport them, as well as the litter generated after the bags are used.
  
• Part of the revenue from the bag fee will go towards an educational campaign and towards purchasing reusable bags for low-income families.
• Many cities and countries have instituted or are considering instituting a similar initiative, and many eyes will be on Seattle to see what our city does.

But perhaps the most compelling visual reminder of why the fee is a good idea came this afternoon, when I saw a homemade sign on Westlake Avenue asking voters to support the bag fee. Fifty yards down the road (and less than a hundred yards from Lake Union), I saw a plastic bag clinging to brush, hanging on until another gust of wind blew it elsewhere to live on as non-biodegradable trash, maybe even joining up with fellow plastic garbage on the infamous litter island known as the Pacific Garbage Patch.

If you live in Seattle, please vote yes on Referendum 1 by August 18th, and urge everyone you know to do the same.

Living on Earth...and a Budget

No matter where you turn, it seems that budgetary constraints are on people's minds, but as we've seen with the push for "green jobs" and a new "green economy", eco-conscious and economical are not mutually exclusive terms.

One of the benefits of living on a budget is that it helps us take a hard look at what we choose to spend our money on. Is it something that will last? Is it something that we need? Is it something that was created in an environmentally and socially conscious manner? How much waste will this product leave behind? How much energy will it require to operate?

A recent story on the NPR series "Living on Earth" profiled a house in California, which has received the highest level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification - platinum. One of the most interesting points made was that the best modifications made (like making the home more airtight) were also the cheapest. Listen to the full story here.

This is the house. Sadly, they won no awards for Leadership in Tasteful Color Choices.

In order to help you budget your own and your planet's precious resources, check out the user friendly (and free!) money managing software at Mint. With great sections like paying off student debt and creating a budget, Mint is perfect for users of all ages and needs.

Okay, okay. I'm doing it!

I'm kind of enjoying my recent foray into Twitter-land. Between Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter, I'm not sure what to update first, but as a pretty verbose person, I like the fact that I am limited to 140 characters per entry - can't quite bring myself to say "tweet" yet, but stay tuned...

Want to follow me? I'm @tenwaysLB.

I thought it would be really clever to write a post about Twitter with only 140 characters - you know, good practice and all, but this post is well over 400 characters. Looks like I have my work cut out for me on the pithy front !

Oh, and while we're on the subject of technology, check out Grist's Guide to Green Iphone Apps.

Pour Me No Pesticides Please

I was just in Los Angeles for a few weeks, and of course, I made sure to enjoy all of the local food and drink that California has to offer.

Some of the favorite wines sampled were:

Red Truck Organic Zinfandel
Bonterra Organic Rose
Tarantas Classic Spanish Red - (Not local, but delicious and this vineyard makes several types of red and white organic wine)

Many grocery and wine stores are now devoting entire sections to wines grown without pesticides - some of these are marked "organic", "biodynamic", or "grown pesticide-free" - and more and more wines are being produced with these lower impact practices. No matter where you live, ask your favorite wine store to carry more wines with these labels and inquire about vineyard growing practices at wineries and restaurants you visit.

Do you have a favorite organic wine? Let us know, and I'll compile a list of reader favorites in a subsequent post.

World Refugee Day

Today is World Refugee day, and we can all do something to help the 42 million people who lack basic needs such as clean water, food, and a safe place to call home.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) works to meet these needs every day. Watch this short film about their efforts, and then visit their website to find out how you can get more involved.