Energy Diet at National Geographic

If you are concerned about energy saving but sometimes you are not very organized (As I am not), I’ve found at National Geographic this smart schedule that should help you on your “Energy Diet”.

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/energy/great-energy-challenge/energy-diet/

My 3 favorite tips:
October; try to consume less meat.
December; try to set a goal on shortening your showers.
June; Try to buy locally, thereby reducing your indirect energy burden, or “weight.”

Guio

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT BPs OIL SPILL?

http://www.freshnessmag.com/2010/06/22/bp-oil-spill-in-the-gulf-two-months-later/5/

Isn’t it stupid to keep thinking that environmental issues won’t affect our lives and pockets? Of course I am not an expert in economy, but I was just wondering… Do you really believe that a big international oil company as BP is really going to loose all that money without finding out a way to getting it back? How? Well I don’t know… Maybe moderately raising oil prices. It’s an option, and I’m sure they’ll be able to figure it out!

While most of us will indirectly suffer the consequences of BP’s oil slick, Gulf of Mexico’s wildlife, coral reefs, marshes and estuaries, tourism, fisherman, the seafood industry, real estate investments, etc. Have already started to suffer some of the Oil Slick results, and they’ll keep doing it for a looooong time.
Even a Native Americans Community way of live is being threatened after BP’s disaster.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/index.html -- and click on: Oil Spill Threatens Northern American “Water” village.

I recommend you to read a very interesting article from The New York Times (Seeking Answers on Oil Spill as Questions Mount), where some questions regarding BP’s latest disaster have been answered. There it’s said that BP has used dispersants from the Corexit line of products, which are controversial, and that “E.P.A. instructed BP to identify and start using a newer, less toxic dispersant” but “BP did not do so, arguing that Corexit products were the best available and that there was no gold standard for evaluating the toxicity of dispersants”.

Another gripping point of this article, is that it says that calculating the number of killed animals due to Oil might be very difficult, because it is not clear that all the animals found were killed by oil. However, “But if the count is way off, it is probably an undercount. Most animals, particularly sea creatures, live far from where humans spot them. For every bird found covered by petroleum muck on a beach, there are untold others who simply die on a secluded beach. For every dolphin that washes ashore, there is another that sinks at sea, and so on”. Interesting point, isn’t it?

Finally, just to encourage you to check out this link that clearly explains how the Gulf of Mexico has been suffering environmental damage long before the recent oil spill, plus the Oil Spill’s Effects on Wildlife. Consider yourself warned; statistics and data are not very cheerful … But closing our ears and eyes and ignoring what’s going on won’t make us any better.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/28/us/20100428-spill-map.html?ref=us(The New York Times, The Oil Spill’s Effects on Wildlife)

And if you want to see some pics, here you have a great slide show :
http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/slideshow/

Webgraphy :
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/us/26primerWEB.html?_r=1&ref=earth Seeking Answers on Oil Spill as Questions Mount, The New York Times, June 25).
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/28/us/20100428-spill-map.html?ref=us (The New York Times, The Oil Spill’s Effects on Wildlife)
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/index.html -- and click on: Oil Spill Threatens Northern American “Water” village.

Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered

Dear reader, I'm here today to introduce you a book. I shall say though, it needs no introduction, so it was written in the seventies, and has sold over seven and a bunch-of-zeros copies all over the world since then (I don't make up, it says it on the cover).

For those who didn't believe or thought that the very fundamentals of sustainability lie on the link of economy, society and ecology, and that each of them are, after all, related to the study of almost everything, from natural and physical sciences, to ethics and philosophy, politics, anthropology and sociology, etcetera. Through its pages, you will find the answers of all your questionings and scepticism about sustainability. Introducing Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered by E.F.Shumacher (I beg you pardon for this enthusiastic presentation. This book was really a breakthrough to me and I felt I had to make a worthy introduction).

The summary: Nothing but a great deal of beautiful dissertation about modern society and capitalism, explained from the seventies, but still clearly appropriate to today's economic and ecological crisis. A claim to a new economy on a small and more human scale.

If you are already concerned and aware of problems like materialistic behavior, overconsumption and depletion of natural resources, about centralized power and overpopulated megalopolis, you will find in this work all you need to sum up what are the very inherent problems of our overrated economy. If you know less of what's all this about, and you want to be introduced to the subject, then the easy-going and extremely coherent and revealing paragraphs of this book will show you what it is to be on the right path to sustainability! (unfortunately not the one we have been walking on for the last 50-or-so years). Discover it by yourself!

Finally, check out for the EFShumacher Society Youtube Channel, where you can find speeches and interviews of Shumacher and followers of his ideas.

Credit: Amazon.com
by Dave