Water · Eco-Chick

Browsing all posts tagged with water

Kristen Bell and The Nature Conservancy Parter with Neutrogena Naturals to Advocate for Water Protection

by Haley · 10/14/11

(credit – Nature Conservancy site)

1 pair of jeans is the equivalent of 2,000 gallons of water. 1 glass of beer is the equivalent of 20 gallons of water. 1 steak is the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of water. If those statistics don’t put things into perspective for us I don’t know what will.

It makes the dire situation of potential water loss scary when it’s laid out in such plain language. And it should. It should make us all a little bit nervous, a little bit more willing to educate ourselves, something that Neutrogena Naturals ambassador Kristen Bell advocates.

(credit – Neutrogena Naturals site)

When I attended the Neutrogena Naturals Event this past Monday I entered the room and three life size posters stared me in the face depicting the statistics above. I knew I wanted to learn more, and not just about our current situation, but about how we can all educate ourselves better and take preventative measures. Lucky for us the Nature Conservancy has done just that.

The Conservancy has partnered up with Neutrogena to create Neutrogena’s Natural line, a line of products minus the bad chemicals with all the stuff that keeps our skin clean. Actress Kristen Bell uses the products herself and even makes it a point to mention that just because the products don’t have the chemicals in them doesn’t mean they don’t work. In fact, she says they work better!

Watch this video to educate yourself!

Beauty, health, Kristen Bell, Neutrogena Naturals, The Nature Conservancy, water

Ani Phyo’s Healthfully Decadent Raw Coconut Kream Recipe

No Comments

by Starre Vartan · 02/02/11

Dessert has always been my favorite part of any meal (though I do love apps!) and while I’ve managed to tame my sweet tooth in the last few years, I’ve by no means eliminated it. (By tame I mean I can get my sweet-happys from maple syrup, honey, and desserts made with fruit and less sugar.) Frankly, I’d rather carry around an extra five pounds than skip desserts, in all their toothsome glory. But I try to concoct or uncover desserts that are healthy as well as tasty. Just because it’s dessert doesn’t mean that it has to be a nutrition wasteland!

So stumbling upon Ani Phyo’s wonderful raw dessert cookbook (with 85 recipes!) was a coup. As you may already know, raw foods retain all sorts of wonderful enzymes, vitamins and minerals, plus are less ‘predigested’ (I know it’s a bit gross, but that’s basically what cooking is; partial digestion of food before you eat it). That means your body has to work a bit harder to digest, which makes you feel full longer and is actually really good for your gut. All of which means you get more nutrition and eat less when you go raw. While I’m not a raw foodist by any means, I’m going on my 19th year of vegetarianism and love the way whole foods that are minimally processed taste and make me feel. And the more I’ve read about the benefits of raw, the more I try to incorporate it into my diet.
More »

art, book, car, chocolate, Coconut Oil, cookbook, cooking, dessert, desserts, eating, epa, farm, filter, Food, fruit, health, healthy, Milk, natural, New York, ny, oil, raw, raw food, recipe, recipes, soda, sugar, Tea, vegan, vegetarian, vitamins, waste, water, Winter

Hot Latin Calendar Draws Attention to Climate Change, Extinction, Conservation

1 Comment

by Starre Vartan · 01/14/10

Puerto Rican Alessandra Rampolla embodies global warming as the January image for the Ecological Footprint calendar.

As reported by Treehugger, the Ecological Footprint calendar is a collaboration between the Azara Foundation and fashion photog Gaby Herbstein to raise awareness of global environmental issues. Super-creative and totally gorgeous shots, all! Very 2010.

See the other 10 images on the calendar on Treehugger.

Carla Peterson is a famous Argentinian actress and here stylishly (or garishly? Either way it’s a fun image) represents water pollution.

art, climate change, eco fashion, Fashion, photography, water

Eco-Chic Decor from Bacchus-Inspired Aesthetics

4 Comments

by Starre Vartan · 09/13/09

Guest post by Shireen Quodosi

What comes more easily in this economy than an assortment of empty wine bottles after you’ve just thrown a smashing get-together? With the preference being on sourcing cheap entertaining ideas, most people now see staying at home with a good meal and great wine as a viable alternative to spending money on restaurants and clubs.

Wine Bottle Ideas:

There are a number of ways to reuse wine bottles. Among the more common ideas are reusing them as water pitchers, votive vases, torches, and flower bed liners. However, there are dozens of other smart options that are rarely explored.

Rewined Recycled Glassware – Get uniquely hued wine bottle glassware made from orphaned bottles left behind at local restaurants and bars.

Water Feeders – On a very hot day or when you’re away, fill the bottles of water and stick them into the pot or soil near your plant. The water will slowly percolate from the bottle and into the soil.

Wine Bottle Chandeliers – In addition to the popular row lighting and pendant lighting, Pottery Barn put together an interesting chandelier with wine bottles strung around it. Even though four dozen other people will likely have the same statement piece, at least you know it’s a unique sustainable element in your home. Plus it catches the light beautifully during the day and especially at sunset.

cape, car, cocktails, decor, design, farm, Hollywood, Home, Lighting, liquor, local, Lush, oil, Organic, recycle, recycled, reference, restaurant, reuse, style, sustainability, sustainable, Tea, water, Water Bottle, Wine, wood

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

2 Comments

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