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

SIGG for the Fashionably Parched

4 Comments

by Olivia Zaleski · 04/14/08

Need another reason to ditch the disposable plastic water bottle? How about fourteen reasons?

SIGG (you know the hardwearing yet elegant water bottle Co.), Elle Magazine and Laurie David’s Stop Global Warming have joined forces to up the anti-plastic rationale. The iconic dream team has commissioned fourteen leading names in fashion (yes, were talking Zac Posen, Diane Von Furstenberg and Stella McCartney) to create one-of-a-kind limited edition designer water bottles. Here’s a sampling. Click here to preview all fourteen.

Photo courtesy Elle.com.
Diane, how girly and flirtatious. I like it!

Photo courtesy Elle.com.
Very cool Anna.

Photo courtesy Elle.com.
Come on Tommy . . . just a signature? That’s weak.

Hmmmmm . . . there’s something funny about the idea of “designer water bottles” . . . then again, disposable plastic water bottles have long been a must-have accessory for the stylish and parched. Hopefully, these leading designers will convince fashion followers, world wide, to forgo the Evian and get hip with a SIGG.

In addition to launching a major fashion trend, SIGG and Elle will be auctioning the inimitable bottles to raise money for StopGlobalWarming.org. The bidding starts at 7pm tonight!

To learn more about the SIGG Auction visit Elle.com.

car, design, designer, designers, farm, Fashion, fur, Global Warming, magazine, plastic, sigg, stop global warming, Tea, water, Water Bottle

The War on Bugs

3 Comments

by Brianne Goodspeed · 03/12/08

For anyone else who digs on books that examine how PR shapes public perception, Will Allen’s new book, The War on Bugs is the latest in a genre that includes The Best War Ever and Toxic Sludge is Good for You. Instead of the now-tired observation that much of our food supply harms our bodies and destroys the land, Allen looks at the historical connection between advertising and agriculture and how toxins were marketed and sold to farmers to create The War on Bugs. (Fans of The Lorax might be surprised to see how else Dr. Suess put his talents to work — shilling for DDT and Standard Oil — before he spoke for the trees.)

Here’s an excerpt from a Q&A with Will Allen that I did for Chelsea Green.

BG: You’re an organic farmer, but you’re also an ex-Marine – and you were arrested and sentenced to a year in jail during the early 70s for civil rights and antiwar activism. That’s not a one-track life. Were there noticeable turning points for you?

WA: A turning point for me came during my time in the Marine Corps when I was dispossessed of the belief that as Marines we were protecting democracy, liberty, and freedom. I learned we were mostly protecting corporations. Some of our military actions while I was a Marine were in Lebanon, Cuba, and Vietnam. In Lebanon, we protected American corporations in the mid-East and mid-East allies, no matter how corrupt. In Cuba, we protected American businesses, a dictator, the ruling class that fled to Miami after the Revolution, and the Mafia drug cartels. In Vietnam we protected business interests, rice interests, illegal drug interests – the opium trade – and religious interests. We installed a Catholic president in a nation where 95% of the population was Buddhist and were shocked when he was assassinated. By 1963, I was protesting the Vietnam War in Chicago rallies and campus teach-ins.

…

BG: Do you see any similarities in the way that wars are spun and sold to the American public and the ways that toxic chemicals are spun and sold to American farmers?

WA: Advertising agencies made a quantum leap during the First World War. They did contract work for the government to sell the war and recruitment work for the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The country was isolationist at the time and not interested in getting into another of Europe’s seemingly endless string of wars. Advertisers were able to get enlistments up and the public to buy war bonds. The themes were: a “can do attitude”, (such as, if America enters the war we will win it), a patriotic obligation, and protecting the civil rights of occupied countries.

When the same advertising agencies sold chemicals to farmers and householders, their pitches were similar. We are at war, be patriotic, and “a can do attitude.” That attitude encouraged such boasts as “. . .We can grow more than any other farmers in the world”, which led to the common belief that American farmers are feeding the world.

BG: On the flip side, do you see similarities in your resistance – resistance to war and resistance to toxic chemicals?

WA: I think that when someone becomes as anti-war as I am, then whatever one does – whether it is organic farming or something else – the irrationality and injustice of war is never far from their consciousness. While farm wars and military wars are of a different scale, many of the chemical and mining corporations that make fertilizer and pesticides are also manufacturers of bombs, and other military hardware and software. I think the sooner we can stop the chemical and genetic war on the farms, and the mindset that we are at war with nature, the better we will be as a species. In a sense, it is hard to not think of the war every time I fire up a tractor or pump or generator or heater that runs on gas or diesel from war zones around the world, especially Iraq. For that reason, we are looking at all the alternatives to fossil fuels for moving vehicles and for stationary heaters and generators.

War is not what is going on at Cedar Circle Organic Farm (in East Thetford, Vermont). We have struggles with pests, including woodchucks, voles, birds, worms, fungi, insects and weeds. We develop and copy strategies that are softer, non poisonous, and often very effective, and sometimes those adopted strategies are not effective. It is a process. We don’t have all the answers, but we have a lot more now than when we started in the 1960s.

activism, agriculture, birds, book, books, business, car, corporations, diesel, Europe, farm, farming, farms, Food, gas, insects, military, oil, Organic, SPUN, Tea, Toxins, trees, wood

North America's First Carbon Tax

4 Comments

by Katie Kish · 02/26/08

No more cruising the strip in British Columbia! It has recently become North America’s first jurisdiction to introduce a consumer based carbon tax! B.C Minister of Finance, Carole Taylor, also vowed that every cent will be returned through tax cuts and credits.

It’s a good way to keep people aware and more accountable for their environmental degradation, while keeping the economy strong. The new tax will be implemented on July 1st. The tax will initially appear at the gas pumps where consumers will be paying approximately 2.4 cents per liter.

For Prius and Smart Car drivers you’re looking at only about $20 per yer – if that. But a Chevy Avalanche? Dodge Ram? An additional $70. The tax won’t only be appearing on gas, but on all fossil fuels.

Gas, natural gas, coal, propane and even home heating. You won’t be able to BBQ or keep warm in the winter in BC without seeing these taxes come up. The tax will steadily increase over the next 4 years capping out at about 7.2 cents per liter.

At the 4 year mark the tax will be up for review to see if anything good is coming out of it. The good parts about this are that the tax is low, so that people will be able to adjust and not having something swamping them, but it will be enough (especially after 4 years) for them to think twice about just driving to the grocery store instead of walking. (You live in BC! Bike!) It has the possibility of giving people a new mindset that generating greenhouse gases actually DOES cost money! However, the problem I see in this is that there are a lot of people out there that won’t be fazed by this new tax. People are already willing to pay more and more at the pumps simply because the price is rising.

The only green they’ll be thinking about saving is their money, and if they’re well off it won’t even be an issue. Not only that but all residents will be receiving $100 in June to offset the cost of the tax. It seems a little counterproductive. If you know you’re going to, essentially, get reimbursed then why would you attempt to save money anyway?

The only thing that will see the pain of this new tax are larger corporations, and there is nothing wrong with that either. Companies will end up paying for the majority of the tax, as they use the majority of the fossil fuels, but they won’t be getting money back – the people will be. Will this be incentive for companies to turn green?

car, carbon, coal, corporations, driving, eating, Eco-Chick, gas, giving, Home, prius, taxes, Tea

Be a Cycle Hottie!

9 Comments

by Starre Vartan · 02/08/08

Keeping warm in colder weather without looking like a North Face refugee

We all know riding your bike instead of driving is not only eco-friendly, but good for our butts and legs (and hearts!) too! But to really make a dent in how many global warming gases you produce, you have to ride your bike for more than just recreation, and treat it as a vehicle, and integrate it into your life.

I ride my bike all over my seaside Connecticut town, as do plenty of other folks, the difference being that I don’t ever dress like a ‘biker’. I hate the spandex, helmets, and stupid bootie-shoes that Americans seem to think they need to ride a bike around town or on the streets. (Yeah, I know, helmets will save your skull, but you know what? I’m old enough that I don’t have to wear one, so I don’t. They’re ugly and mess up my hair. So sue me.)

A great example of a great warmer weather bike ensemble!

Turns out, I’m not as iconoclastic as I’d like to think I am. European ladies in cities like Amsterdam, Paris, and Copenhagen regularly ride their bikes, looking as chic as ever. Women wear whatever they would normally wear (read: really chic outfits and heels, jewelry, and even makeup!) to hop on their bikes to get around town. The site, Copenhagen Cycle Chic, documents this style phenomenon. Love it!

I ride in skirts and tights with knee-high boots in the winter to go to the library, sundresses with bare feet or flip flops in the summer to ride to my local beach, and my cute bags get thrown in the basket in front of me. Just make sure your bike has fenders so you don’t get dust and mud all over your adorable outfits!

bags, bikes, cities, dress, driving, Europe, farm, gas, Global Warming, Hair, Jewelry, local, makeup, produce, shoes, spa, style, summer, Tea, weather, women

How Green is Your Vote?

No Comments

by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 02/07/08

One of our readers pointed out a lack of political discourse on environmental issues. Earthlab has compiled a breakdown of what the candidates wish to accomplish with regard to the environment. Alex, thanks for bringing this up and for the link from earthlab!

2008 Presidential Candidates – Environment

Top Democrat Positions

Hillary Clinton
Clinton’s plans to tackle global warming revolve around her Strategic Energy Fund. She states that, “As a nation, it is time we take the giant leap in energy innovation we desperately need and that is exactly what the Strategic Energy Fund will do.” The fund sketches out a plan to inject $50 billion into research and development of renewable energy, clean coal technology, energy efficiency, ethanol and other “homegrown” biofuels. The fund draws revenue by eliminating oil companies’ tax breaks, making sure they pay their fair share for drilling operations on public lands, and encouraging them to either invest in renewable energy or pay into the fund directly. “By pursuing these opportunities, we can grow the economy and shrink our dependence on foreign oil. We can slow global warming and speed the creation of good new jobs. We can protect our security and protect our environment.”

Barack Obama
Obama’s proposal to reduce global warming involves the implementation of an economy-wide, market-based cap-and-trade system. “No business will be allowed to emit any greenhouse gases for free,” Obama states. “Businesses don’t own the sky, the public does, and if we want them to stop polluting it, we have to put a price on all pollution.” This ambitious cap-and-trade system will auction off 100 percent of emissions permits, making polluters pay for the CO2 they emit. The system also mandates the reduction of emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Obama plans on investing $150 billion in “climate friendly” energy supplies, such as ethanol, over the next ten years, while simultaneously maintaining and protecting the existing manufacturing base. “My general view is that we should experiment with all sorts of potential energy sources,” says Obama. “Don’t prejudge what works and what doesn’t, but insist that we have very strict standards in terms of where we want to end up, and enforce those standards vigorously.”

Top Republican Positions

Mitt Romney
When asked what he plans on doing about the global climate crisis, Romney’s answer is concise; “We’re going to get ourselves off foreign oil. And to do that it’s going to take nuclear power, clean coal, more efficient vehicles, and then we’re going to dramatically reduce our greenhouse gasses.” Romney emphasizes a push toward clean coal, alternative energy, and a greatly expanded nuclear power plan. “Instead of sweeping mandates, we must use America’s power of innovation to develop alternative sources of energy and new technology that use energy more efficiently.” Romney articulates that this technology includes the use of ethanol, but not exclusively. He plans to continue development of multiple energy sources within the U.S., including biodiesel, liquefied coal, offshore drilling, and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,

John McCain
McCain believes that America’s economic and environmental interests are not “mutually exclusive, but rather inextricably linked.” His approach to global warming involves limiting carbon emissions by bringing nuclear energy to the forefront of the market, which will reduce America’s dependence on foreign supplies of energy. These concepts are outlined in his Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act, along with his plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially enough to forestall catastrophic global warming. Implementing these reductions involves setting mandatory greenhouse gas pollution reductions in all major sectors of the U.S. economy, using free-market incentives to lower costs, and providing support for technology innovations. “Americans solve problems. We don’t run from them,” states McCain on the environmental page of his Web site. “Most, if not all of the ways that we can address this issue are through profit motive, free-enterprise-system-driven green technologies.”

arctic, biodiesel, business, car, carbon, coal, diesel, dress, emissions, Energy, farm, gas, Global Warming, Home, nuclear, nuclear power, Obama, oil, oil companies, Politics, Pollution, reduce, Tea, Technology, Vote, Wildlife

Page 5 of 28« First«...34567...»Last »