Green Owl Records Puts Out Environmental Charity Album

Green Owl Records recently put out a benefit compilation CD for the Energy Action Coalition, a team of 48 members and an active council of representatives from partner organizations and program developments for sustainable energy solutions. Energy Action , which is a founding partner of 1 Sky Platform, formed an alliance with other groups supporting young activists in climate change and environmentalism.

The Green Owl Comp: A Benefit for Energy Action

The featured bands are a hodgepodge of artists so different in genre listeners might wonder who put the mix together in the first place. However, they certainly have good taste ranging from chart-topping acts to eclectically eccentric groups to unheard-of newbies. Muse, Harper Simon, Citizens Band, Of Montreal, School of Seven Bells, Violens, Feist, Bloc Party, Deerhoof, The Exit and The Appletrees all show up on the 16 tracks of the first disc. The second disc features a DVD component containing video footage of Billy Parish from Energy Action, 6 music videos and bonus tracks from CSS and A Place to Bury Strangers.

Green Owl has 100% recycled packaging and understands the need for more enviro-friendly music practices, such as getting people to recycle plastic jewel cases and keep them out of landfills. So while this music collection may seem a bit disparate, it’s still got some good tunes and a charitable cause.

Look at the list of tracks on the CD, available at Whole Foods Market.

Copyright 2008 Easy Ways to Go Green

Yoga Pose: Balasana (Child’s Pose)
by Kerrie Cason

Bala = Child
Asana = Posture

Balasana (Child’s Pose) Description:

Begin by sitting on your heels; the tops of your feet should be on the floor. Keep your knees slightly apart, about as wide as your hips, and bring your big toes together. Inhale and grow long through the spine. Exhale as you come forward, allowing your hips and the sides of your waist to rest between your thighs.

If you are a bit stiff, you can rest on top of your thighs or you can bring your knees wider apart. This will allow you to completely relax in the posture. Rest the top of your forehead on the floor (or a blanket or block if your head doesn’t reach the floor), and lay your arms next to your torso, palms face up. [Read more →]

How Eco-Friendly Is Republican Nominee John McCain?

So it’s pretty clear that the Bush administration has treated the issue of climate change in a completely inept and incompetent manner. With John McCain as the presumptive Republican presidential candidate for the 2008 election, it’s his job to bring the GOP up to date on this whole “global warming” issue.

John McCain Vs. Global Warming

McCain has been calling for greener political initiatives long before Bush’s administration even bothered to acknowledge there is any kind of problem, and while he has been quick to point this out on the campaign trail, his legislative record has been shaky at best. He has called for a mandatory cap-and-trade to reduce U.S. carbon emissions to 60 percent compared to levels from 1990 by 2025 and has also stated in several speeches how working with China and India to stop the issue is one of the necessary steps the U.S. must take to fight global warming. However, this plan looks great on paper, but may not be properly executed compared to the Democrat’s longer-term solutions to search for alternative energy sources.

The verdict on McCain and the environment? He’s definitely a green Republican, but not quite the greenest candidate. Granted, he still needs to appease the hardcore members of the GOP, yet now is the time for him to show just what he can do to convince the American people he can battle climate change. Don’t give up on him — he was a POW, after all. But so far, the greenest president possible is on the Dems side.

Click here to read more about John McCain and what he thinks about environmental change.

Copyright 2008 Easy Ways to Go Green

Fashion Goes Green With Recycled Plastics and Packaging

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that American companies toss out 7.6 billion tons of waste each year. Instead of keeping it in the trash, fashion designers have started recycling plastic bags and garbage, or post-consumer and industrial waste, into new accessories sported by celebrities and coveted by the rest of us.

Ecoist, an eco-fashion label, partnered with Coca-Cola, Aveda and Luna bar to make handbags from leftover packaging. Ecoist has sold over 100,000 products in the last four years, making them one of the most profitable companies to turn waste in wearable accessories. According to Ecoist co-founder Jonathan Marcoschamer, “We tap into that source of waste because it is reliable, and unfortunately, it’s abundant.”

Eco-Fashion Companies on the Rise

Reiter8, another recycling tote bag maker, uses recycled boat sails. Vy&Elle takes vinyl billboard ads and makes wallets and bags. Anna Built creates handmade jewelery from recycled tin cans. Timbuk2, known for its messenger bags made from plastic bags, has run into legal issues concerning logos on the leftover plastic.

Target called for the company to stop making the bags last September when it found out its bull’s-eye design was part of the bags. “We believed that the prominent use of our bull’s-eye design mark implied a sponsorship or affiliation with Timbuk2 that did not exist at that time,” said Target in a statement. Timbuk2 is cooperating and admits it was their fault, but the idea of creating unique bags based on an eco-friendly policy and neighborhood trash is what keeps the company in business. In the meantime, mass produced bags like these will have to wait, but it looks as though discarded materials will start finding another use instead of sitting in a landfill.

Find out more about eco-friendly recycled bags here.

Copyright 2008 Easy Ways to Go Green

Yoga Pose: Virasana (Hero Pose)
by Kerrie Cason
image
Vira = Man, Hero
Asana = Posture

Virasana (Hero Pose) Description:

Kneel on the floor; your knees should be touching. With the tops of your feet flat underneath you, separate them so they rest on either side of your hips. Inhale, allow yourself to elongate the spine, let your shoulders fall away from your ears. Exhale; start to sit down between your ankles. Before you fully rest your buttocks on the floor, take a moment to slide the calf muscles towards your heels. This will enable you to be more comfortable in the pose.

Your sit bones should be resting on the floor. If this is not available to you, then place a block or a blanket under them. Be sure to [Read more →]

The Nike Trash Talk Tennis Shoe

According to the company, “the Nike ‘Trash Talk’ shoe uses scrap-ground foam from factory production. The outsole uses environmentally-preferred rubber that reduces toxics and incorporates Nike Grind material from footwear.”

From a Recently Released Press Release at Nikebiz:

“Steve Nash is the All-Star guard for the Phoenix Suns whose passion for environmental awareness forged a partnership with Nike (NYSE:NKE)to create the Nike Trash Talk, the first performance basketball shoe made from manufacturing waste. Nash will debut the Nike Trash Talk tomorrow night in Phoenix against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Nike Trash Talk is modeled after Nash’s current shoe, the Nike Zoom BB II Low, and meets Nike’s Considered design standards for taking a sustainable approach to performance footwear innovation. Learn more. [Read more →]

Waste and the Media Ecosystem:
An introduction to a New Column on Easy Ways to Go Green

It has become a well-accepted fact that most things we know will change in our lifetime. Those of us who are unhappy with the state of the world today try to promote and further that change, hopefully harnessing it in a more positive direction. Change or the expectation of change has lost its surprise.

Thinking green might be understood as an effort to rationalize the natural world in terms of sustainability. The green movement pushes to conceptually re-introduce humans in the global ecosystem and remove the dichotomy of Man vs. Nature.

One way that this is done is by describing our vision of the world with green vocabulary. The goal is to systemically inject our dialogues with terms that better reflect the world we want to live in, a greener world. And fortunately, this is working.

Think of how widespread and how easily people generally recognize terms such as “green economy” or “organic” or “sustainable development.” These are not just jargon but words in the mouths of mass consumers. My point is that the word “green” is gaining in appeal and perception. Most people today equate green with a positive, healthy and desirable trait. [Read more →]

Dell Computers Listen to Bloggers About Packaging Waste

After angry rants from tech bloggers across the country, Dell has decided to take heed and listen concerning their unbelievable waste in shipping tiny electronic products.

Dell has already made the claim it wants to be the greenest technology company in the world. At FORTUNE Brainstorm: GREEN, CEO Michael Dell announced his plans to make sure the computer company would remain as eco-conscious as possible.

“Ten years from now,” said Dell, “we will look back and credit ‘green’ IT for helping to mitigate the effects posed by climate change, strengthen global industries and chart a new and prosperous low-carbon economy.”

But bloggers from top tech sites The Consumerist showed photos of Dell’s insincere promise of packaging, including a giant box that held nothing more than a 2GB flash drive.

Dell’s Now Getting Greener — Thanks, Bloggers!

Instead of ignoring the issue, Dell decided to come up with some packaging solutions. Now, flash drives and other small items are going to be shipped in envelopes. Later on, after an optimization analysis of product volume, smaller boxes will be used to ship out products.

On top of this, Direct2Dell has a section titled IdeaStorm for those who want to point out hypocritical behavior, like the packaging problem. Go to ideastorm.com and tell Dell directly what your environmental beef is with their company. It may not be an overnight change, but it certainly proves that talking back to big corporations about environmental issues means they might start listening.


Copyright 2008 Easy Ways to Go Green

Understanding How Life’s Hidden Stresses Can Lead to Illness

Many of the apparent illnesses that patients bring with them to a doctor have no obvious or apparent cause. Often, even numerous medical tests yield no result with any certainty.

Patients are left either untreated in the traditional sense, unknowing of what ails them, or worse — doctors prescribe treatments for illnesses that simply don’t exist.

Dr. David Clarke and Stress Illness

Dr. David Clarke believes that “this occurs when the symptoms come from hidden stresses in a patient’s life [Read more →]

Creative Ideas for Reusing and Recycling Random Stuff

This is by far one of the coolest and most useful sites I’ve found in a long time. There’s nothing like a functional website for the environmentally conscious, especially when you’ve got questions about how exactly some things should be recycled.

“How can I recycle this?” is a website that is run by Louisa Parry and John Leach, who live together in Leeds in the United Kingdom. Their story begins with a bowl of pistachio nutshells, which stumped the pair as to what they might do with it, other than merely composting. That thought led them, naturally, to other things they had lying around the house – leftover items and empty containers – and exactly what they might do with those in the way of re-use and recycling.

Check out the site for loads of useful information, make a contribution or just visit regularly as they try to add new items every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.




Copyright 2008 Easy Ways to Go Green