speaking of the land down under

In the last post, I told you about a way to win a trip to New Zealand. This Saturday I won't be heading to that magnificent land, but I'll be going very close... to Australia!

And while I'm psyched about seeing cuddly koalas and kangaroos, sitting on pristine beaches, and eating shrimp on the barbie, that's not the first thing I thought of when considering this trip. It's the enormous carbon footprint my flight will create. The round trip flight from NYC to Sydney is nearly 20,000 miles of travel, equivalent to about 4 tons of CO2 emissions. Yikes!

I'll definitely be buying some carbon offsets for this one. But I don't think that's enough. So I'm going to leave it up to you. What else can I do to make up for the carbon spewing flight?

Look for the survey, coming soon!

UPDATE:
Okay, I've added the poll at the top of the page. You can add other suggestions in the comments section.

During my stay in Oz, what should I do to make up for the flight's carbon spew?

• Eat no meat for the entire trip
• Buy only Australian made goods
• Volunteer for a local environmental group
• Other (add your own idea to comments)

wear wool and win

Does the idea of wool underwear make you itch? It shouldn't if it's deliciously soft merino wool from New Zealand. The only thing high performance, machine-washable, and eco-friendly merino wool clothing from Icebreaker will have you itching to do is hop the next plane to New Zealand to meet the sheep who wear this wool full time.

And a contest from Icebreaker is giving you the chance to do just that. Here's how it works:

1. Get yourself an Icebreaker garment. Find its unique Baacode (that's not a typo!). This tag will trace all of the steps of manufacture (see step 3).

2. Type in your Baacode number in the box provided on the site.

(If you can't find a Baacode on your garment, you can use their demo Baacode: 213C3F390.)

3. Watch as your Icebreaker will be traced back through the supply chain -- from animal welfare to the way the fabric was sewn together -- to its birthplace in the Southern Alps of New Zealand.

An entry form will pop up once your Baacode has been traced. Then just submit your details and you'll be in the draw to win a trip to a merino ranch in New Zealand!




Icebreaker is the real deal
Learn more about their commitment to sustainability.

You can get Icebreaker at these retailers.

thank you for prop 2!

In case you haven't heard, over all of the hoopla surrounding the presidential election results, proposition 2 passed in California. I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to the movement to help get it passed. The farm animals will have a more comfortable existence thanks to you!


Baahk-baah-caaw! (that's thank you! in chickenish)

Read more about it here.