|
Happy one week anniversary of Earth Day!
Seriously. It was a primary last Tuesday. No one in the world of hardcore election geekery was going to be distracted by some trivial thing like the fate of the planet. But indeed, the 22nd of April was also Earth Day, when people who aren't election geeks pretend to be distracted by the fate of the planet -- a thing to which so much importance is accorded that it gets an entire 1/365th of the calendar devoted to paying it lip service.
If I sound bitter about that, it's only because I am.
Also, since I was off engaged in election geekery and all manner of making a living/moving house type endeavors last week, I didn't say much of anything about it, either. (Yes, my finger is already pointing back at me, save yourself the effort.) So here's the news from a few people who did ...
- Check out Celsias' netroots Earth Day podcast and a look at our amazing buildup of electronic waste.
- The coal industry has principles. If you guessed that those principles are organized around ensuring the continued existence and profitability of the coal industry, you get a lollipop.
- Some House allies have principles, too. They're not perfect, but hey, they'll give you a little hope if you clicked over to see what the coal industry would have in store for all of us.
- Some people spent Earth Day getting a date with Citi executives to fly over the mountaintop removal their bank is funding.
- Other people were celebrating milestones in changing the institutions they're part of.
- The EcoCity World Summit was held by other people who also don't want a green future to mean a mud hut future.
- Even pine beetles can contribute to global warming. Frak.
- Here are a bunch of things you can do to prevent poisoning your pets with common household toxins. For one, don't overheat your non-stick pans, it can kill your birds. For another, avoid using insecticide on your lawn, it can damage pets' nervous systems. But I'm sure all that stuff they mention is perfectly harmless to humans. (Courtesy, an ad at I Can Has Cheezburger)
- An instructional designer for corporate training considers her profession's environmental impact: "Did you know that you would need to plant just over 200 trees to offset one year of CO2 emissions for a small PC training room equipped with 20 PCs, 1 laser printer, and 1 photocopier (all ENERGY STAR rated)?" Huh. Well, I did not know that.
Anyway, happy belated Earth Day. We will now return to your regularly scheduled election wonkery.
|
