Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

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

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 08/10/09

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

You Might Be an Eco Chick If…..

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by Starre Vartan · 08/06/09

….you’ve decided that since you’ve made it this far this summer without A/C, you’re just going to keep going and tough it out, just to know you still can (and to save carbon emissions and cash).

….going to the regular grocery store (and gazing into other people’s carts filled entirely with processed food) stresses you out. And inadvertently walking down the household cleaning aisle makes you feel like you were toxified with all the offgassing going on.

….you think that Cash for Clunkers should have had higher MPG requirements.

car, carbon, cleaning, emissions, farm, Food, gas, MPG, News, processed food, summer

Which Cars Win First Prize in Green? Greenopia's Got the Deets

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by Starre Vartan · 03/10/09

Guest Post By Ayana Meade

According to the newly-released Greenopia Green Care Guide, the top three most eco-friendly cars on the market today are:
1. the Toyota Prius
2. the Honda Civic Hybrid
3. the Jetta Clean Diesel.

All three had incredibly high gas mileage and burned cleanly to boot. To see the top ten cars in the list, check this out, there’s some surprises in the full rundown!

Two pleasant surprises were the performances of Audi and Mazda. Both did relatively well in the Greenopia Automaker Guide (which rates the overall performance of auto manufacturers), as they both had a statistically large number of cars that met at least our minimum criteria for the Automobile Guide.

When buying your next car, keep in mind that just because a car is a hybrid doesn’t mean it’s automatically better for the environment. In fact, largely because of its battery, the hybrid carries a larger environmental production burden. Where the hybrid makes up ground is once it is driven, with its superior mileage and emissions. On balance Toyota estimates that it takes about 12,000 miles before a hybrid and a similar traditional engine car ‘break even’ environmentally (the hybrid is greener from that point on), as long as it gets great mileage and burns cleanly.

Since your choice of transportation is second only to your home’s energy use in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, driving less or not at all is of course the ideal way to reduce your carbon footprint, but if you’re like many and need a car to get around in today’s fast paced world, then this guide can help you choose wisely.

About the Greenopia Greener Cars Guide: The Guide uses Greenopia’s EPA-recognized 4-Leaf rating system, and only the top 100 automobiles readily available in the US made the cut—the good news is that they come in all kinds of price points and styles. Fuel-efficiency, manufacturing materials, EPA SmartWay vehicle emissions and proxy data representing manufacturing processes were among the criteria data that were analyzed by the Greenopia research team to come up with the ratings.

automobiles, car, carbon, carbon footprint, cars, diesel, driving, emissions, Energy, epa, farm, gas, Home, Honda, News, prius, reduce, sport, style, Tea, transportation

Soy's Eco Creds

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by Courtney Tenz · 01/30/09

Last month, when Starre asked us all for our New Year’s resolutions, I didn’t have to think twice about them because I’ve been thinking so much about these goals over the last year. But I just put all my eco goals for the year out there for the world to see without elucidating and that raised this question:

Why is soy considered “not necessarily doing better for the environment”? I thought that tofu was a good nonmeat protein alternative.

Here’s my attempt at answering that question, but bear with me: there’s a big debate about soy so there’s a lot of nonsense out there and I don’t want to rumor-monger. And along those lines, I won’t get into the health issue regarding soy (I know one dietitian who says it’s good for you and another who says only in moderation and though I trust both of them, the truth seems to be a few years away yet).

So the closest thing I have for an answer is to say, as I said in that previous New Year’s post, that I try to lead a one-earth life as it is so the things that I’m working on are pretty specific to me and what I think I can handle doing. I mean, it would be silly for me to say I’ll cut back on driving when the only time I get in a car is when I visit my ‘rents in the US which doesn’t happen all that many days in the year. And so, for me, the next step my vegan lifestyle has to take is less processed food and that means removing soy from my diet and eating more veggies and beans. Of course, eating tofu is not as much of an eco-sin as eating meat. As Starre said in her recent post to the new Pres:

Meat production is the most energy- and water-intensive food you can eat. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Department reports that 18% of greenhouse gases come from meat and dairy production. Go veg at least half-time Mr. President, and you will save your heart, your colon, and the planet.

Going local while veg is the next best thing you can do for you and the planet. Soy, however, doesn’t grow here in Germany and it’s not always easy in the US, either, to get locally-grown and processed tofu (especially that made from soy that hasn’t been genetically engineered, which is a huge enviro no-no in my book, and which accounts for 85% of US grown soy). In some of the countries that export soy to the US, it has become such a viable crop due to biofuels and its use as a cattlefeed that eco havoc is being wreaked in some places, and I don’t want to get behind that anymore by buying beans from Brazil. Or from anywhere else. So if I can swap a mushroom burger for a tofu burger, I will. At least, that’s what I’m resolving to do. But for everyone else, well, that’s up to you.

agriculture, Amazon, book, Brazil, car, driving, eating, Eco-Chick, Energy, epa, fall, Food, gas, Germany, Greensolutions, health, local, meat, New Year, New Year's, Obama, processed food, rum, solutions, soy, style, vegan, water

The Five (New) Rules for Driving Green

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by Starre Vartan · 07/15/08

So you have a car, and not only do you feel a wee bit of carbon footprint guilt every time you start the engine, you just plain can’t afford $71 a pop to fill up the tank. But for whatever reason, you can’t quite give that fossil fuel fiend sitting in the garage up completely. I’m in the same boat. I need my car just enough to justify owning one (I won’t get into details here- the most important thing I’ve learned being an environmental evangelist is to cut the judgment).

Rather than thinking: “I should drive less” I’ve come up with a rule system that really work for me. I make rules for my life (I’ve done it with everything from donut consumption to running) and once it’s a rule, I HAVE to stick by it. The key is not to make too many rules for yourself but to pick the most important. And there’s nothing more important than preserving the planet by reducing your carbon emissions. Here’s are my drive-less rules that I stick by:

Drive on a Schedule: I only allow myself to drive on the weekends. Period. Unless there’s an emergency, my car stays in the garage Monday-Friday (I give myself a break on holidays too). Since it’s a “rule” (rather than a passing thought) that I’ve made for myself for a good reason, I treat it as such- like stopping at a red light- you only break it in an emergency.

Don’t Drive if There’s Public Transportation: I work from home but have frequent meetings in New York, and I can walk to the station and take the commuter train. I used to drive to the city on off hours when I knew traffic would be smooth. But now the rule is that if I’m going into Manhattan, I take the train. No excuses.

Combine Trips: You’ve heard this one before; turn it into a rule by deciding a minimum number of errands or stops per trip that’s expected before you turn the engine key. I think three is pretty good, though obviously 4 or 5 is better. Since lots of parents spend time and money driving their kids around, turn it into a game for kids by getting them to figure out how few car trips can be made in a week by combining what they need and want to do (this is a great way to teach them about schedules and organization too).

Have Stuff Delivered: This is a good option for items that you drive a distance or make special trips for. Often you can find some products (like pet food) for less money online, even including shipping costs. The UPS or FedEx vans are driving around anyway, so you may as well get them to do the driving (think of it like public transportation for your stuff). DON’T do this if the products are available somewhere you have to stop anyway.

Walk or Cycle:Yeah, we’ve heard this before- make it work by making a rule that if a destination is within a certain distance (a mile for walking works for me) you’ll strap on those comfy sneaks or flats(that you keep right by the door-make it easy on yourself!). Even if it’s rainy or pretty hot, a mile only takes about 12-15 minutes so it’s not unbearable. If a mile’s too far, make it a 1/2 mile (which should only take 6-8 minutes). Obviously, you can stretch the distances if you have a bike.

Basically these rules all break down to the same basic point: Think before you drive and treat the car as a privilege rather than a joyrider. BONUS- You’ll enjoy driving more when you do it less often.

automobiles, cars, driving, gas