Christmas WishList: Living Like Ed

"Ed Begley Jr. got off of his electric hybrid bicycle long enough to write a book. Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life offers the Hollywood actor's tips to adding a little bit (or a lot) of green to your life.

The book strives to provide advice for simple changes such as stench-free composing all the way to more significant, longer-term environmental commitments like your first purchase of an electric car. Ed's wife even pitches in her ideas of how to stay eco-conscious without sacrificing style.

And for all of those fans residing in the Los Angeles area that just can't get enough of Ed and his green ways, he'll be appearing tomorrow night, February 26 at Book Soup in West Hollywood. Maybe you can even convince him to let you sit on the handle bars while he takes you for a spin around the block on that bike." -http://www.ecollo.com/

Now that's a book worth reading! :-D

Iloilo for Sustainable Energy

CNN: ‘Himala’ best Asian film in history

from Inquirer.net
MANILA, Philippines— (UPDATE 4) A spellbinding victory for Philippine cinema.

Visitors to the Cable News Network entertainment website voted Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala,” which starred Nora Aunor as a simple provincial girl turned faith healer, as the best movie of all time in the Asia-Pacific region, outclassing such greats as Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” and Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

Read More here.

Sinking Island Nation Seek new Home

MALE, Maldives (CNN) -- The new president of the Maldives wants to relocate -- his entire country.

Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed, a former political prisoner, was sworn in Tuesday after he unseated Asia's longest-serving leader in the country's first multi-party elections two weeks ago. He inherits an island nation with several problems.

Foremost among them: The very likely possibility that the Maldives will sink under water if the current pace of climate change keeps raising sea levels.

Read more here...

Eco-Horror Films Shocking Us into Action

"Unlike most horror films these movies aren't fiction, they are serious documentaries tackling the big issues of our time. But the message is still: Be afraid.

The most recent addition to the scene is French director Irena Salina's, "Flow", which shows how the effects of climate change coupled with widespread privatization of the world's fresh water supply has created a world water cartel with grim consequences for us all.

Wired magazine called it "the scariest movie at the Sundance Film Festival".

The film is a call to arms to resist the quiet corporate takeover of the stuff of life, and as such it taps into a widespread uncertainty about the way the world seems to be heading."

Read more here.

What's the Math on Going Green?

one of the most frightening studies I've read recently had nothing to do with icebergs or megadroughts. In a paper that came out Oct. 23 in Science, John Sterman — a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Sloan School of Management — wrote about asking 212 MIT grad students to give a rough idea how much governments need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to eventually stop the increase in the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere. These students had training in science, technology, mathematics and economics at one of the best schools in the world — they are probably a lot smarter than you or me. Yet 84% of Sterman's subjects got his problem wrong, greatly underestimating the degree to which greenhouse gas emissions need to fall. When the MIT kids can't figure out climate change, what are the odds that the broader public will?

read more here.

Living Green, one at a time

revisiting ED Begley Jr.'s efforts through his show Living with Ed inspires me to do at least one thing to help out Mother Nature. (insert image is him with Jay Leno in one of his show's episodes). If this guy can wholly devote his life to cleaning and greening mother nature, surely we can do at least ONE thing to help out (like recycling, cleaning up, not wasting water, turning off lights, etc.)

Keeping Your Cool

"Buzz up!

With global temperatures continuing to climb, more and more people are suffering under scorching, and sometimes lethal, heat waves. You don't have to shut yourself indoors with a wet towel around your neck and the air conditioner on full blast in order to get through summer, however.

Close Your Curtains. Many people seem to think that curtains and blinds were invented just for privacy or to make rooms look pretty. But consider their alternative name: "shades." In the summer, put up light-colored window coverings, and close them when the sun is shining through. When the window frame is shaded, open them up.

Ventilate Smart. When the air is cool in mornings or evenings, open up your windows. Prop them open on opposite sides of rooms to promote cross ventilation, and use fans to alternately push or pull air from outside in."

Given the fact that we come from a tropical country, we're no strangers to heat. But we use a lot of electricity combating that and make it cooler in our homes. We can, but we can definitely do that with a greener perspective. More Tips here.

Thank You donors (update on donation drive)

For those who may have forgotten, Western Visayas was hit a few months back by Bagyo Frank, which resulted to a ravaged and devastated land. While the storm may have come and gone, many families and their livelihood were ruined, and given the slow progress of help, most villages, especially those far-flung form the cities, rarely or never got the help they so needed.

A few days after that happened, my friend Jason and I organized a care package of old clothes and food stock to send out to Iloilo, and we asked you guys to donate, through clothes or food stock. The response, however short the notice, was very positive, and we sincerely thank you all. We came up with a whopping 11 boxes' worth of donated clothes and other items, which was divided among the baranggays.

Our donations were sent out to families in the far-flung baranggays of Lantangan and Gabi, Carles, through a joint outreach program by the WVSU (through the efforts of the College of Arts&Sciences Graduate Studies - Public Governance), TESDA, Philippine National Red Cross, PCSO, NMYL (Iloilo Chapter) and PAMET (Iloilo Chapter). It is congruence to their program which not only gave families clothing and food supplies, but also provided a free medical checkup, and seminars on alternative livelihood programs, First Aid and Basic Life Support, et al.

It is with great honor and pleasure to have NGOs, schools and valiant individuals help in the cause of helping out these people --- i would like to thank everybody who lent a helping hand, through cash or kind, or even through prayer to those who were affected.

For more pictures, please check it here.

How Green Are you? Test your Eco-Knowledge.

True or False? The Earth receives more energy from the sun in one day than the world uses in a year.

Test your KNowledge and separate Eco-fact from Fiction and start saving the planet Now.

Scarier and Scarier

PHIL KIDNAPPING SYNDICATE
Latest Phil. Kidnapping syndicate: victim's internal organs
Note: forwarded message attached.

Pakikalat na lang. Napakahalaga po ng e-mail na ito I didn't believe this
story until last weekend, when I went home to Pampanga, my mom told me this news. One of our neighbors witnessed the funeral. There is a grade 6 student near our barangay, who was missing for 2 days. There are posters of his picture everywhere.. . after how many days, the body was found with missing eyes and kidney... a Php20,000 was inserted on his body with a note 'PAKI LIBING NA LANG...'

Hindi lang white van ang gamit nila ngayon may green, black at maroon. Me look-out nakamotor pag me nakitang bata tinatawag doon sa kasama na nasa Van, take note may kasama na silang doktor na nag-aalis ng organ.

Even sa mga subdivision nakapasok na rin sila kaya inform nyo sa Guard nyo. Sa amin sa Dasma kahapon grabe dami ng Pulis at Barangay sa Gate Red Alert kasi may 3 batang nakuha around Dasmarinas, Cavite . May 1 nakaburol sa AREA-H2 walang mata at Internal Organ with 70,000 na pera. Even yung Elem. School sa tapat ng subd. namin di na muna pinapasok yung mga bata kahapon grabe nakakatakot po. Sa Manggahan Trece Cavite, mag-ina magkasama pilit na kinuha yung bata, lumaban yung nanay, ayun binugbog tapos nadala yung bata last week nakita yung bata sa Paliparan patay na din wala ng organ at mata. Meron ngang skecth nuong isang kasama nakapost na din duon sa Gate ng subd namin.
This morning in Kawit Cavite 2 bata, nawawla at sa Quezon 3 year old na
batang babae nakita patay walang heart at kidney.
News: World
Kidnapping in Southern Luzon , Victim's Internal Organs Missing by Jean Stuart March 09, 2008

Kidnapping is rampant nowadays. Kidnappers usually asked ransom money from the parents of their victims. But lately, I was disturbed of the
news about the kidnap victims whose internal organs were missing after
they were found.
In Ibaan, Batangas four children were abducted. One of them was found
with the pair of eyes missing and with Php 30,000 pesos on his/her
mouth. Three were found with missing internal organs. There was also
report in Tanauan, Batangas with a missing heart and Php 8,000 pesos on the hole of the victim's chest. It's really creepy.
Lately, there have been reports that the kidnappings is not only happening in Batangas. There were also similar incidents in Cavite and Laguna. Last Wednesday, March 5, my friend told me that there was a third year high school student (from a school in San Pedro, Laguna) was abducted on her way home. I still haven't heard about what happened to the victim.
I heard that a syndicate is behind this kidnapping and they are selling the organs to the black market. Text messages and email messages has been circulating saying that a white van with plate no. VMM 507 is said to
be the kidnappers van. In our place the cartographic sketch of the kidnapper and the plate no. of the vehicle used by the kidnapper were
posted everywhere.
Residents in our area in Laguna were already afraid. Students going to
school were now accompanied by their parents and yayas. It has been
reported that the kidnappers where luring children going to and from
school.
Our school management even released a letter to parents to watch for their children when going to school and while playing.
Kindly include them in your prayer. Thanks a lot!

REV. MR. PETE PELIMIANO
Deacon
Archdiocese of San Francisco
Pakikalat na lang. Napakahalaga po ng e-mail na ito.

Taxing Commutes

T*nginang mga taxi drivers na yan talaga.

Today i was able to meet the bad and the worst of taxi drivers in a day filled to the brim with commute madness. Suffice to say that i have had very little sleep before this, thus not enough patience to deal with people at this point --- and yes, this was further fueled by the insipid and annoying drivers who "charmed" me with their witless antics on the road.

Take driver number one: I took a cab to visit my friend at the hospital in Mandaluyong. Mamang driver maneuvers his way through Makati traffic with ease, confidently telling me he knew where that hospital in Mandaluyong is. It's partly my fault --- i wasn't familiar with the area --- so i took his word. We travelled quite a distance when he dropped me oh so quickly by a side of the building telling me this was it. I paused and asked him to wait while i talk to the security guard, but feeling nice since he was nice, gave him the payment (plus tip!). It wasn't even 10 seconds when he zipped away from the curb, leaving me stranded in godknowswhere, Mandaluyong (it turned out ot be a different hospital).

Driver number two was only too happy to pick me up, then fuming out loud at the audacity of driver #1. He asked for directions and i, equipped with broken text messages from my friend, told him to take the underpass and make a left to get back to EDSA. Not only did he take this opportunity to jam us right into a traffic packed area (which stalled us for 20 mins or so), he decided to take the "long scenic route" going through the malls and telling me "bawal kasi dumaan dyan" when we both knew that it wasn't so. F*ckin' 45 mins it took for us to cross EDSA. 45mins!

Driver number Three, whose plate number TWH 944 is forever embedded in my head now is a scum of the earth manloloko who forces his passengers to pay his "flat rate" or else get knocked out of the cab. His meter was working but what did he care? He just wanted his money. He nearly cut my hand off swerving away from the curb after i got out---i barely had enought time to close the door before he sped away! PEOPLE, if you see this cab, DO NOT take it --- he will not only leave you stranded if you don't agree to his demands, he may take your hand or limbs with him!

As much as i would like to be sympathetic to taxi drivers (driving through the streets of Manila isn't easy, i know), having experiencing such bad treatment from these drivers make me less so. How can you complain about people trampling on you and your profession when you can't even be courteous or nice enough to deliver honest services?!??


Take action! Text or call the LTFRB (tel. No. 9257191, cellphone 09214487777) with your bad driver's plate number and/or cab name and why they suck!

Spread the Word!

Wood You Be Mine?

A plastic toy gets an eco-makeover, with a little help from Japan.
Now the Japanese bear-smiths have partnered with a charity called moreTrees to create a Bear made from recycled wood called the Eco Value Wood Bearbrick.

check out the cuties at www.bearbrick.com

Jack Johnson's makes green music

Under his company's tutelage,Jack Johnson and Brushfire records makes a green difference! A recent article explores how the Hawaiian based musician has evolved the nature and business of creating music, and influencing music minds to make green oriented decisions in producing music.

"Entertainment industry giant Universal Music Group -- the largest family of record labels in the recording industry -- has taken notice. Under Brushfire's direction, UMG uses recycled stock on all of the packaging for its releases, including movies, ensuring that the paper is as environmentally friendly as possible. Some is even made using wind power."

Read more of the article here.

It's great to know that people can use their influence and creativity for the better good--- in this case, helping out in our fight to save planet Earth! Kudos to you, Jack Johnson! NOt only is your music pure and catchy, your green ideas are too!

It Ain't Easy being Green

Greenwash : the ignoble art of misleading consumers about a product's true green worth.

CNN's article on Greenwashing is a bit alarming, considering that it's now "more prevalent when public interest in environmental issues is greater, and that there's been a gradual increase in claims over time".

As hard as one might think to be an eco warrior or a green girl/boy, it's hard to determine what's truly eco-friendly as companies now resort to (at their worst) outright lying so that their products may be perceived as "eco-friendly".

Watch out for the Six Sins Of Greenwashing, your products may be doing this! I was definitely a victim when it came to this but thank goodness there are people on the watch! Let's do our share and read labels carefully, check out what's in them and if possible, confirm how truly eco-friendly they are.

Mukha kang Plastic! (Plastic Face!)

Plastic is everywhere, but even my plastic-annoyed self didn't see it coming in an exfoliant. The Product Fiend blogger on Shine pointed out that some facial scrubs use teeny beads of polyethylene plastic to help clean out your pores.

By Trystan L. Bass

She cites a Slate article with further details. One Australian researcher found that plastic fragments smaller than 1 millimeter are increasingly common in our oceans. In one British estuary, 85 percent of the plastic garbage was this "microplastic" debris. Sewage treatment systems can't filter it out, so this tiny plastic junk pollutes the watershed and can be ingested by marine life.

Those little beads may feel nice on your skin, but in the long run, they're not doing the planet any good. Besides, you can find plenty of cleansers that use natural stuff to scrub the dirt off your face.

Some of the eco-friendly brands have been around for ages, they don't cost any more than the plasticized versions, yet they won't clog up poor little fishy bodies when we're done with them.

Here are a few exfoliating products I found that contain plastic -- you should avoid:

* Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub
* Clean & Clear's line of scrubs
* Dove Gentle Exfoliating Foaming Facial Cleanser
* Neutrogena's line of scrubs
* Noxzema's line of scrubs
* Olay's line of scrubs
* Phisoderm Nurturing Facial Polish

Look for "polyethylene" in the label's ingredient list. You can double-check on a site like drugstore.com, where it's often easier to read the full ingredient list. You might also question terms like "microbeads" or "microcrystals" that aren't explained.

natural options: loofah, st.ives apricot scrub, etc

rest of the article:
http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/188/beady-little-plastic-doesn-t-make-your-skin-smooth.html

Thank You Donors!

Thank You Donors!
Thank you to the following who gave their generous donations for a good cause! We filled out not 5, but 11 boxes!!! :-D

GCG courrier
Unit 2B Don Diego Bldg., 14 Judge Jimenez St. Cubao Q.C
Affordable Courier Service with free Pcikup at your home.
Tel: 4140409 / 4162593
Atty. Boyet Gonong
Mrs. Marina Cristi Gonong

Jc Pineda
Macarius Jason Quema
Mary Jane Quema
Emilia Quema
Nick Stevens and Syna
Juan Paolo Santos
Vida Morales
Paul Gadi
Dexter Belvis
Ajo and Raymund Bermudez
Ana and Chelu Marquez
Stephen Matti
Johanna Clavecilla
Nino Urbi
Helmi Urbi
JR Urbi
Sasha Garcia
Fernando Aracama
Sonic Webstudio



* We will have another shipment come end of the month for those who still want to give, so please msg me. Thanks!

Engineer: We can use food waste to generate electricity

..while our leaders wrangle over quotas for greenhouse emissions over banquets at lavish summits, there are remarkable individuals who are doing their small bit to prevent our planet from peril.

Take Nigerian civil engineer, Dr Joseph Adelegan for instance.

He firmly believes that the world's future fuel demands can be met through renewable energy.

And he is using increasingly innovative methods to achieve these results.

Three years ago Adelegan won plaudits for his "Cows to Kilowatts" project, which used effluents and waste products from abattoirs to produce cooking gas.

Read more here>>

like we need another mall in this country.

"Our government officials are not focusing on agriculture; they are more interested in projects where they can make money with which to buy votes during elections. They know that the majority of Filipino voters can be bought and pick their candidates not because of their qualifications but because of their money. So we now have the government we deserve.

For as long as we don’t change our attitude toward agriculture, we will be hungry ants on a covered sugar bowl."
-LUIS J. ALMACEN, municipal garden coordinator, Medellin, Cebu

I rant, so please, bear with me.


A recent talk with a friend gave me a weird feeling about today's Philippines --- increasing hunger and poverty apparently isn't slowing down the construction of malls everywhere. Even in the provinces, where retail isn't much of a demand, the malls are proliferating everywhere.

Should we just succumb and become a nation of consumers?

With increasing prices of oil, food and other goods are sure to follow. While i applaud those who brave the streets and fight the government (or whoever that is they claim to be responsible for all this), i cannot help but ask: Can't WE, as individuals, do something about it, aside from just blaming other people?

We are a people of development, yet in our vain effort to be "developed" we focus on what is least needed --- consumer items which we ourselves do not produce. No wonder nobody stays here anymore. What we need are jobs, work that is structured on what our country has best, and that is land and natural resources. Instead, we burn and pillage these resources to put up malls which only serve (mostly imported) retails items most of us can only afford on paydays. How strange is that? We don't even grow our own supplies anymore---everything is imported in from everywhere else. How sad indeed.

Doesn't that make you think?

A Simpler Lifestyle

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:56:00 07/08/2008

THE SHARP increase in the prices of oil, food and other basic commodities and services is placing millions of Filipinos near, if not below, the poverty level. That is the bad effect of high prices. But in a stroke of serendipity, high prices are also producing something good: they are forcing people to be thrifty; to lead simple, frugal lives; to recycle and reuse things; and to save and conserve natural resources and reduce pollution.

Read more here.

+ + +

E-jeepneys take over 2 Makati villages’ routes

July 05, 2008 22:07:00
DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer

SLEEK, COLORFUL and environment-friendly, the electric powered or “e-jeepney” finally made its commercial debut at the Makati central business district early this month, drawing plaudits from Earth lovers everywhere.

A year after the pilot test of the project on Ayala Avenue, environmentalists and city officials rolled out the first batch of 14-seater e-jeepneys that were assigned separate routes around Legaspi and Salcedo Villages in the financial district.

Read more here.