Jason Chatraw
Blog
Is Your Favorite Actor Green? Dec 12, 2008
And, no, we don't mean starring as an alien in a sci-fi flick
Much for the same reason I turn off the radio when Chowder Head from Boston calls in to a sports talk show to weigh with his take on why the Red Sox are winning, I tune out most actors and... more
From Consumerism to Sustainablility Nov 28, 2008
Reimagining our culture of consumption
My toddler's first sign language word wasn't "mama" or "dada"--it was "more". Yes, more. Now instead of it being signed, it's spoken incessantly as, "I want more, daddy." Whatever it is, she can't get enough of it. We're OK with her... more
The Color of Hope Nov 25, 2008
Van Jones' book shows how green in the answer to two big problems
Watching the news has never been likened to taking Prozac. In fact, listening to a talking head recite a laundry list of the world's problems drives me toward not only getting a prescription to Prozac, but getting one that prescribes... more
The Green Conversation Nov 18, 2008
How to engage others with the right dialogue
Communication is a true art form that can be as uncreative as crudely drawn stick figures or as masterful as a Van Gogh. When it comes to discussing the environment with others, the way we communicate is almost as important... more
Would You Like Some Solar Fries with That? Nov 11, 2008
New book shows ways to cook with solar oven
I'll never forget the night we went to the store to buy our first microwave oven. In my innocence, I wondered why we would ever need two ovens. Then my dad explained to me the wonders of the microwave, how... more
The Secret Green Code Nov 7, 2008
How to read produce codes to ensure organic produce
While I may not be skillful enough with my pen to write an award-winning comedy, I'm quite certain I could craft a reality show that would leave people in stitches ... even if it merely started and ended with the... more
Even the Pope has Gone Green Nov 4, 2008
New book highlights religious leaders' passion for the environment
If you're wondering which presidential candidate is going to show more care and concern for the environment--Barack Obama or John McCain--today's election winner will certainly have the help of some very influential people to help back them up in their... more
What Does a Lifetime of Eggs Look Like? Oct 25, 2008
National Geographic DVD explores human footprint
Upon the birth of my daughter, I began contemplating just how many diapers were being carted to the landfill each week from our house alone. Then I began quickly running the numbers in my head … times two years, carry... more
The Green Science of Food Oct 17, 2008
How green is the food in your kitchen?
As the husband of a bright, intelligent woman who possesses her Ph.D. in nutrition, my habit of eating at greasy spoons died a quick, yet painful, death. Instead of telling you how many pats of butter the short order cook... more
Earth Has No Bailout Oct 3, 2008
Korten's book asserts only people can bail out helpless Earth
Maybe I've watched too many action hero movies, but I truly believe one person can make an incredible difference against insurmountable odds. But if more people cared, would you really need an action hero? Our fragile eco-system is the damsel in... more
A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures, green drinks, vitamin D3, and others.
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shehanaaz
Supplements from Foods
Click on the link below to get more on cooking Green food and other health stories, tips & tricks and Recipies.
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vikbaba
Cooking-Cooking
Great post on Van and 'Green Collar Economy.' I wanted to pass along a link that allows you to read an excerpt of the book online for free! It is a great resource. You can just copy and paste the URL below:
http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspxisbn13=9780061650758&wt....
Thanks,
Laura Ortberg
Asst. Publicist, HarperOne
We had a home energy audit on our home last fall and are very glad we did. It took around 2 hours and the report we received contained easy to understand charts, graphs, our house's EnerGuide rating, a comparative EnerGuide rating for similar homes, numerous home energy conservation tips and several recommendations specific to our home. Nice to know we have sufficient attic insulation, for example.
We have written about the report we received if others are interested on the ECOENERGY page of our home web site, including all of the above.
Dan
DailyHomeRenoTips.com
Last Child in the Woods ––
Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,
by Richard Louv
Michael J. Vandeman, Ph.D.
November 16, 2006
In this eloquent and comprehensive work, Louv makes a convincing case for ensuring that children (and adults) maintain access to pristine natural areas, and even, when those are not available, any bit of nature that we can preserve, such as vacant lots. I agree with him 100%. Just as we never really outgrow our need for our parents (and grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.), humanity has never outgrown, and can never outgrow, our need for the companionship and mutual benefits of other species.
But what strikes me most about this book is how Louv is able, in spite of 310 pages of text, to completely ignore the two most obvious problems with his thesis: (1) We want and need to have contact with other species, but neither we nor Louv bother to ask whether they want to have contact with us! In fact, most species of wildlife obviously do not like having humans around, and can thrive only if we leave them alone! Or they are able tolerate our presence, but only within certain limits. (2) We and Louv never ask what type of contact is appropriate! He includes fishing, hunting, building "forts", farming, ranching, and all other manner of recreation. Clearly, not all contact with nature leads to someone becoming an advocate and protector of wildlife. While one kid may see a beautiful area and decide to protect it, what's to stop another from seeing it and thinking of it as a great place to build a house or create a ski resort? Developers and industrialists must come from somewhere, and they no doubt played in the woods with the future environmentalists!
It is obvious, and not a particularly new idea, that we must experience wilderness in order to appreciate it. But it is equally true, though ("conveniently") never mentioned, that we need to stay out of nature, if the wildlife that live there are to survive. I discuss this issue thoroughly in the essay, "Wildlife Need Habitat Off-Limits to Humans!", at http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/india3.
It should also be obvious (but apparently isn't) that how we interact with nature determines how we think about it and how we learn to treat it. Remember, children don't learn so much what we tell them, but they learn very well what they see us do. Fishing, building "forts", mountain biking, and even berry-picking teach us that nature exists for us to exploit. Luckily, my fort-building career was cut short by a bee-sting! As I was about to cut down a tree to lay a third layer of logs on my little log cabin in the woods, I took one swing at the trunk with my axe, and immediately got a painful sting (there must have been a bee-hive in the tree) and ran away as fast as I could.
On page 144 Louv quotes Rasheed Salahuddin: "Nature has been taken over by thugs who care absolutely nothing about it. We need to take nature back." Then he titles his next chapter "Where Will Future Stewards of Nature Come From?" Where indeed? While fishing may bring one into contact with natural beauty, that message can be eclipsed by the more salient one that the fish exist to pleasure and feed humans (even if we release them after we catch them). (My fishing career was also short-lived, perhaps because I spent most of the time either waiting for fish that never came, or untangling fishing line.) Mountain bikers claim that they are "nature-lovers" and are "just hikers on wheels". But if you watch one of their helmet-camera videos, it is easy to see that 99.44% of their attention must be devoted to controlling their bike, or they will crash. Children initiated into mountain biking may learn to identify a plant or two, but by far the strongest message they will receive is that the rough treatment of nature is acceptable. It's not!
On page 184 Louv recommends that kids carry cell phones. First of all, cell phones transmit on essentially the same frequency as a microwave oven, and are therefore hazardous to one's health –- especially for children, whose skulls are still relatively thin. Second, there is nothing that will spoil one's experience of nature faster than something that reminds one of the city and the "civilized" world. The last thing one wants while enjoying nature is to be reminded of the world outside. Nothing will ruin a hike or a picnic faster than hearing a radio or the ring of a cell phone, or seeing a headset, cell phone, or mountain bike. I've been enjoying nature for over 60 years, and can't remember a single time when I felt a need for any of these items.
It's clear that we humans need to reduce our impacts on wildlife, if they, and hence we, are to survive. But it is repugnant and arguably inhumane to restrict human access to nature. Therefore, we need to practice minimal-impact recreation (i.e., hiking only), and leave our technology (if we need it at all!) at home. In other words, we need to decrease the quantity of contact with nature, and increase the quality.
References:
Ehrlich, Paul R. and Ehrlich, Anne H., Extinction: The Causes and Consequences of the Disappearances of Species. New York: Random House, 1981.
Errington, Paul L., A Question of Values. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1987.
Flannery, Tim, The Eternal Frontier -- An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples. New York: Grove Press, 2001.
Foreman, Dave, Confessions of an Eco-Warrior. New York: Harmony Books, 1991.
Knight, Richard L. and Kevin J. Gutzwiller, eds. Wildlife and Recreationists. Covelo, California: Island Press, 1995.
Louv, Richard, Last Child in the Woods -- Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005.
Noss, Reed F. and Allen Y. Cooperrider, Saving Nature's Legacy: Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity. Island Press, Covelo, California, 1994.
Stone, Christopher D., Should Trees Have Standing? Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1973.
Vandeman, Michael J., http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande, especially http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/ecocity3, http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/india3, http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/sc8, and http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/goodall.
Ward, Peter Douglas, The End of Evolution: On Mass Extinctions and the Preservation of Biodiversity. New York: Bantam Books, 1994.
"The Wildlands Project", Wild Earth. Richmond, Vermont: The Cenozoic Society, 1994.
Wilson, Edward O., The Future of Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.