Death · Eco-Chick

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Crude, the Film, Shows Real Price of America's Oil Addiction (Hint: It's Not Just the Environment)

Crude is the story of a community of 30,000 tribal members in the Amazonian jungle of Ecuador who hold a corporation to bear for its crimes against their land, their livelihood, and most importantly, their lives. The film follows the intricacies of what has been called the “Amazon Chernobyl.”

The indigenous population claims that Chevron, the parent company to the former Texaco, spent thirty years contaminating the air, land, and water of an area the size of Rhode Island which is now called the “death zone.” Cancer, leukemia, and birth defects are among some of the effects of Big Oil. The film was shot and edited over a period of three years, with Berlinger and the crew sacrificing their own safety by facing both environmental (toxic fumes, disease, searing equatorial heat) and man-made dangers (shooting near the Colombian border where drug runners and FARC rebels are very active) to capture a story they felt must be shared with the rest of the world.

Berlinger’s cinematic sensibility paints a picture that captures the lush vitality of the Amazon, the horrendous atrocities endured by the tribespeople, and the complicated path that social justice must traverse, all the while avoiding cliche and stereotypes. Amazon Watch and the Rainforest Foundation have both been instrumental in bringing the Ecuadorian devastation to the public eye.

Trudie Styler, Sting’s wife, and noted activist, appears in the film to lend celebrity to the cause. Repeatedly referring to the Amazon as “the lungs of the earth,” Styler and others point to the far more serious nature of the toxicity than mere dollars can assuage. If Ecuador is in trouble, we are ALL in trouble. If tribe members cannot fish or swim, that affects us directly. Transnationals can no longer act in a vacuum of backyard antics.

Vanity Fair featured an article in the 2007 Green Issue on the case in Ecuador, and attorney Pablo Fajardo, who passionately represents the plaintiffs. In one scene in the film, Fajardo notes that he is not intimidated by the high powered legal team because he has truth on his side, which makes his work that much easier. He doesn’t have to work diligently to create lies about what is happening.

Without sensationalizing the health effects of the toxic swamp left in the Ecuadorian jungle, Berlinger simply allows the water to tell the tale. The water, the rivers, the streams, and pools appear fresh from a distance as children play, women wash, and people drink. Once approached, the rainbow sheen of petrol catches the light and the scent of gasoline sends heads reeling. The ground is soft sludge as the pollutants work their way through the soil and into the Earth. One of the Texaco/Chevron representatives claims: “this is not contamination, this is industrial exploitation that your government permitted.” Amazing. This film must be seen.

In order for this film to have a chance of being seen by the rest of the country, it must nearly sell-out in NY, LA and SF, so tell your friends, blog about it, spread the word…go see this film. Because the film doesn’t have huge marketing dollars, it’s up to people like you and me to spread the word online.

Here are some important screening dates: for locations click here
-NYC: September 9-22
-L.A.: September 18-24
-S.F.: September 25-October 1
-D.C.: October 23-29

Amazon, Cancer, Chevron, children, cities, community, death, exploitation, farm, fish, gas, health, Lush, News, NYC, oil, Outdoors, Politics, rainforest, rum, style, Tea, Vanity Fair, water, women

Cell Towers and Health Effects: Cellular Disservice?

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 07/08/08

This past week a local in my town contacted me to see if I would be interested in discussing the issues surrounding a potential cellular tower that would be constructed within one mile of my house. Some of us from the town had the chance to voice our concerns to the Connecticut Siting Council, which is the governing body that determines zoning for these towers in our state.

Having written about microwave energy and electromagnetic fields a few years ago, I remembered interviewing Carl Blackman, a research scientist in the Environmental Carcinogenesis Division of the EPA, and asking him about cell phones and cellular base stations in relation to electromagnetic fields and the possible health impact. Blackman was one among quite a few scientists and researchers I interviewed who reiterated the same sentiment: “We just don’t know yet. The science is not in.” The fact that the jury is still out on this vast topic, in a field (pardon the pun) that is ever-expanding, is enough, for some, to warrant grassroots action.

The subject is controversial and highly debated, although the issue is one that people are dealing with world-wide. The fear is that without mobile phones and cell towers covering every inch of land, emergency services will be left without connection, leaving us, “with a hole big enough to drive a hearse through…” as I recently read in a concerned citizen’s letter to the NYTimes. One concern is that the proliferation of these towers and devices has gone largely unmonitored, unregulated, and, according to some scientists, could potentially lead to serious health issues.

The World Health Organization has advised that the “precautionary principle” be enacted as a preemptive move before certainty of harm is verified by science. This essentially means that when any new technology is evolving beyond the scope of scientific research, it is advisable to protect oneself through risk management. So, while some still think that those who discuss this topic with seriousness are delusional and should be stuttering through the park, wearing a tinfoil hat, others, including the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, and member countries of the European union feel it is worth serious discussion.

In Europe, some governments have set exposure standards below those of the standardizing agencies, in order to try to protect their citizens. In India, towers were recently banned from school and residential areas to protect people following studies that showed potential harm to the brain. The United States Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Section 704(a) removes environmental considerations from the tower siting process, which denies citizens the opportunity to protest based on ecological concerns (zoning) or health issues.

In 2006, the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF,) the largest union of first responders in North America, passed a resolution banning cellular towers from firehouses until more research is done, because firefighters were suffering from ill health. Internationally, the concern regarding the exponential proliferation of wireless devices and base stations to support them has provoked scientific studies and prompted legislators to err on the side of caution when it comes to regulations. Many scientists are discussing the potential impact on DNA, neurological function, and human health while others study migratory birds and the reproduction patterns of all animal populations in the vicinity of strong electromagnetic fields.

In my town, in NW Connecticut, we are currently experiencing the battle. The cellular tower has been proposed to be on Route 7, a scenic highway that runs parallel with the Appalachian Trail. The AT park manager has sent a letter in response to the proposed tower stating that they had no problem with it, so long as Cellco/Verizon makes the tower look like a tree and plants 25 white pines along the trail.

The tower site is also within one mile of two schools and is next door to the largest employer of the town. The site abuts a friend’s property. Both he and his wife are cancer survivors and fear the tower could affect their health. At the public hearing, where town members were allowed to voice their opinions to the siting commission (who ultimately decides whether the tower goes up or not,) people expressed various concerns:
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allergies, Animals, birds, Cancer, car, children, death, Energy, epa, Europe, farm, health, India, interview, local, magazine, media, mom, News, NYTimes, oil, opinion, Outdoors, Plants, schools, skin, spring, Technology, Teens, trees

Best Ecofriendly Coffins

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 06/10/08

I had read about people being cremated and adding their remains to coral reefs, but the other day, while perusing the Happy Hippie site, I noticed this tidbit on an eco-friendly company that sells many sustainable options if one is going to have a burial.

I realized that there are a few interesting biodegradable options when choosing a mode of interment:

-The Eco Pod (seen above) coffin lets you enter the ground in recycled paper.

The coffin table with it’s covers on to be utilized as a coffee table before death

Remove the top covers to store games, books and magazines, and eventually in which to place the body, which will biodegrade through the bottom slats, which the designer also said “mimics the human skeleton”

At Brooklyn Designs this year, one of the most innovative ideas was from Charles Constantine of the Pratt Insitute. This beautiful “coffin table” is meant to bring death into the center of family life (literally) by being used as a coffee table until such time that it is needed, so that it serves two functions. Charles said that in this way the family could become comfortable with death and be a part of the final resting place of the person who has passed.

-The Everybody Coffin is inexpensive and simple to assemble (?!) I am not sure who is going to want to build this after experiencing a loss, but maybe a family would get together to build it as an homage to the deceased. From personal experience, when my father died, I don’t think any of us would have been able to manage something like this, during such an intense time.

I like the idea of building it as a way to honor a loved one. You could incorporate flowers, botanicals, notes, letters, natural paints, and make it unique. Otherwise, if the family is too bereft, green funeral homes would assemble this for you. Since it doesn’t contain harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, this could also be used for a cremation.

This wicker casket a nice option if one wants to go au natural and is planning on a ceremony. At first, we found it hilarious that you could go out in wicker! I have a “thing” about wicker, for some reason, so my hubby told me that if I get too cantankerous in my old age, I’m going out in one of these.

There are also biodegradable urns if you do go the cremation route.

And where to put that biodegradable coffin? Check out some of the natural burial grounds in the United States:
-Green Springs Natural Cemetery 93 acres in NY State
-Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve – 350 acres in Florida.

book, books, coffee, coffins, death, design, designer, ecofriendly, farm, Home, magazine, magazines, Outdoors, paper, recycle, recycled, spring, sustainable

The Big "Green" Sleep

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 06/10/08

A green woodland burial site in the UK where the ‘headstones’ are saplings

Today, there are many environmentally responsible decisions that one can make regarding the ‘eternal rest.’ Mortality is not the most popular topic at the water cooler, but talking green lightens things up. Why not choose a departure that honors not only an individual’s life, but the earth as well?

There are plenty of reasons why the typical rituals surrounding death are no longer ecologically viable. The ground in cemeteries is treated with fertilizer, herbicides, and other harmful chemicals. Cremation is greener than traditional embalming and burying, but environmental issues include burning of fossil fuels and the release of toxins from the body (mercury in fillings, dioxin, hydrochloric acid, etc.) It is a much less expensive option than burial and these days the high-temperature burners can help to destroy some of the toxins released by the body. For some (depending on one’s spiritual or religious leanings) cremation might not be an option.

During difficult times it can be hard to make a decision if one is not prepared. The Green Burial Council is an organization that has been helping to set the standards in a growing field. From their website:

Since 2005, the Green Burial Council has been working to make burial sustainable for the planet, meaningful for the families, and economically viable for the provider. And in that short period of time, we’ve emerged as the “gold standard” among consumers, land trusts, park service agencies as well the cemetery/funeral profession.
* By developing a certification program that is bringing about a new ethic in deathcare rooted in transparency, accountability and ecological responsibility;
* By building out an international network of “approved providers” who are committed to reducing toxins, waste, and carbon emissions that have been associated with conventional end-of-life rituals; and
* By bringing conservation organizations together with cemetery operators, funeral establishments, and cremation companies to create burial programs that facilitate the restoration, acquisition and stewardship of natural areas.

The group has generated a large database providing lists of international providers who seek to minimize toxins, waste and carbon emissions. This site is an excellent resource for anyone curious about progressive end-of-life practices and rituals.

C.A. Beal has written a treatise on the natural burial movement and an excerpt of her book on the subject can be read here. Beal goes into thorough detail, documenting all things regarding dying green.

The Green Burial Council is standardizing the process of natural burials and land conservation. For more information on what this process involves click here.

When you think about it, choosing a green way to “go” could be one of the most environmentally important decisions you make. And once you include it in your will’s directives, you never have to think about it (or stress your family out when the inevitable happens) again. After all, none of us gets out of here alive!

coffins, death, death and dying, eco-conscious burial, ecofriendly burial, green burial

Smartest Car; Still Worse Than The Dumbest Bike

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by Katie Kish · 12/30/07

Pink Car

The process of buying and making new cars isn’t the solution to this enormous fossil fuel problem we’re having. Hackneyed as it might seem, we need to develop long term sustainable community transportation, AND to rethink the way that we structure our lives around cars.

Buying a smart car is kind of like putting a band aid on a giant gash- technically, at a minuscule level, it’s helping- but if your concern stops at your purchase, you’re still going bleed to death… and worse, you may begin to confuse consumerism with activism. Often, trying to change the world by buying things isn’t really creating the change that companies convince us it is.

However, having said all that…