What Is The Most Important Number?

No, this is not a game. Its a serious question. And no the answer is not 2 or 5 or 7 (the numbers that come to mind the first when someone is asked to think of a number).

Find out what's the most important number in this quick clip and lets talk about it on the other side.

Will Obama Meet His Solar Deadline?

Source: 350.org

Will President Obama meet his self-imposed deadline to get solar panels back on the roof of the White House by the end of this spring? On October 5, 2010, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the Obama Administration would be returning solar panels to the White House roof. (President Carter installed solar panels on the roof in 1979 only to have them removed by President Reagan a few years later.) This after a lot of cajoling by the good folks at 350.org who found the exiled Carter Solar Panels in Maine and personally drove them down on a biofuel vehicle from Maine to the White House. They were rebuffed repeatedly by the White House until Secretary Chu made the surprise announcement.



The team at 350.org launched a campaign in 2010, “Put Solar On It,” challenging world leaders to install solar at their presidential residences and then follow up with real legislation. Some elected officials seized the opportunity. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil announced a new 50kw array for India’s presidential palace. In October, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives took the challenge a step further, actually getting up his roof to help install the solar panels himself. President Obama made a promise but with Spring 2011 ending on June 21, a week from today, Will Obama Meet His Solar Deadline?

The  answer maybe NO given that the administration is delaying putting out rules for coal plant emissions, calling for expanding oil drilling through nothing less than the President's weekly web address, and increasing fracking.

Yet, we cannot be silent bystanders. We've got to keep putting pressure on the administration, and we know that that is something that the administration likes and believes is the best way to get results.

So take action here and here.

Hold President Obama's feet to the fire.

Forget About Climate Change, Think About Living Hell

Its late Spring 2011. People are talking about the next iPhone, the next American Idol, Anthony Weiner's Tweets, Sarah Palin's knowledge of History, Donald Trump's Hair, X-Men and Hangover, Rapture and Doomsday, Casey Anthony's presumed guilty before the trial begins, Obama's Birth Certificate, Bin Laden's death, ... and yes there is the uncomfortable reality that we are beginning to notice - the record breaking temperatures on the US East Coast, The Tornadoes in Joplin and the Midwest, the unprecedented draught and wildfires in Texas, the massive unimaginable flooding of the Mississippi.

And then someone comes along and frames the mood of the times through a simple but powerful video that warns you not to believe that the Living Hell you want to avoid has anything to do with Climate change.

That someone is Bill McKibben founder of the global climate campaign 350.org.

Not convinced? Here are some facts:




Infographic: Tornadoes of 2011 (Source: MNN)

  

Humanity's Death March

A 2 minute video that powerfully explains bio-diversity, and how we are ignoring it at our own peril. Will it be sudden death, or slow painful torture?


Biodiversity - Vancouver Film School from Vancouver Film School on Vimeo.

Also check out this news article from The Independent newspaper in Britain which reports on a study that predicts that 1 in 10 species will be lost from planet Earth by the end of the 21st Century.

BIG PICTURE: "Greenest Campuses" Surveys - New financial realities encourage saving money by adopting environmentally friendly innovations

If you or someone you know is going (back) to School, it would be worth considering the schools sustainability practices. Why? Because in the long run, the greenest campuses will be the most profitable and the others will incur greater costs. For example its important to know if your campuse will be able to survive the next unexpected flood, or the next earthquake or the next hurricane, or the next drought or the next epidemic. Those are all likely scenarios as the earth's climate changes. If a campus is already geared up to say get electricity from onsite solar generators or draws from a grid that uses renewable energy, there is less risk of an extended outage when oil based energy sources go down!

There are several noteworthy surveys of the greenest campuses out there. I will be adding and updating the list below as I find new stuff. So consider subscribing/following this blog/blog post to stay up to date when the content changes.

- http://greenreportcard.org/media - Covers 332 colleges in US and Canada and offers universal access to 1,100 survey responses! The Survey includes 48 indicators in the following 9 categories: Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, Green Building, Transportation, Student Involvement, Endowment Transparency, Shareholder Engagement and Investment Priorities.

DIY: 6 Natural Alternatives to Toxic Fabric Softeners

Use Baking Soda in your Laundry for softening clothes instead of using Fabric Softner Sheets:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/6-natural-alternatives-to-toxic-fabric-softeners.html

Wondering why you need to make the switch? After all how bad could it be?

Here's a sampling:
- Various types of cancer (especially pancreatic)
- Respiratory problems
- Nerve Damage

For a complete list of the chemicals and what they do to you check out this compilation from EPA's Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).

On a related note, consider doing away with the dryer altogether and make a switch to drying clothes outdoor. Use the Sun, and the Earth will Thank You! Its a growing movement thats taking on the rules and regulations of communities and condo boards!