world water day

Monday is World Water Day. I'm honoring the day by watching Flow, participating in a World Water Day Webinar (organized by New American Dream), and sponsoring a friend in the Tap Project Water Walk (Sunday 3/22 in Battery Park).

What would life be like without fresh water?

I learned this weekend while in a workshop on permaculture (led by Jude Hobbs) that if 1 gallon of water represented all of the fresh (non-salt) water on the planet, only 1 teaspoon of that would be potable. I also learned that people don't own the water they use, municipalities and corporations do. Here are some more eye-opening facts:

• 1.5 billion people worldwide don't have access to safe drinking water
• 3.6 million people die each year from water-related disease
• 43% of water-related deaths are due to diarrhea
• 84% of water-related deaths are in children ages 0 - 14

[References: gemi.org, water.org]

Water is one of our most precious resources. Civilization sprang from water-wealthy lands. Water is the source of life and life on earth cannot be supported without it.


What can you do to conserve water?

• Take short showers (or shower with a friend!)
• Make sure you have a low-flow shower head
  
• While you're waiting for shower water to warm, catch the water in a bucket and use it to water plants or hand wash clothes
• Let the laundry pile up - only wash full loads
• Don't let the water run while you brush your teeth or wash your hands
  
• Use the dishwasher (no pre-rinsing necessary!) or find creative ways to conserve when hand washing dishes (like using a tub or bucket)
• If you have a garden, water at night or early in the morning to optimize absorption and prevent evaporation
• Implement grey water or rain catchment systems for gardening
  
• It's likely that any new product (and the packaging) you purchase required water in its manufacturing - buying less or buying used conserves not just water but many other resources as well

Find more ways to conserve water


Selected water-related reading


The Water Atlas: A Unique Visual Analysis of the
World's Most Critical Resource by Robin Clarke and Jannet King


Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit by Vandana Shiva


Water Consciousness by Tara Lohan (Editor)


Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the
Coming Battle for the Right to Water by Maude Barlow


Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and
Why We Bought It by Elizabeth Royte



When the Rivers Run Dry: Water -- The Defining
Crisis of the Twenty-first Century by Fred Pearce

green your school

Are you a teacher, a parent, or someone who just cares about education and the environment? Check out Greening Your School: From Green Roofs to Recycling Projects (and How to Fund Them!) tonight at the Brooklyn Center for Urban Environment (BCUE). Full event details below:

Greening Your School: From Green Roofs to Recycling

Join this crash course on greening your school from the issues you’ll encounter installing a green roof, to creative ways of incorporating sustainability themes into the classroom. Join local experts to discuss easy to implement projects, ways of getting environmental projects funded, opportunities for nonprofit partnerships, and what has (and hasn’t) worked in local schools.


Panelists Include:

• Alive Structures
• Center for the Urban Environment
• Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education
• NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
• United Federation of Teachers, Green Committee

Where:
Center for the Urban Environment
168 7th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (btw 2nd and 3rd Aves)
718-788-8500

When:
Thursday March 19, 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

How:
Train: Take F train to 4th Avenue or R train to 9th Street. Walk over 2 blocks north to 7th Street and 1st Avenue west to 3rd Avenue.

$10 Suggested Donation [tickets]

Limited Space. Pre-registration recommended

Every Third Thursday of the Month, New Yorkers from across the boroughs converge in the Center's state-of-the-art green building to learn, laugh, and live sustainably. Drop in and join these exciting screenings, workshops, and discussions and be inspired to take action! On-site recycling: CFL lightbulbs, cell phones, and alkaline batteries accepted. Find out more about what we do at http://www.thecue.org

i love animal love

Okay, this is just ridiculous, right? How could it get any cuter?

Check out more incredible animal shots on Howard Penn's flickr page.


Related posts
baby farm animals
interspecies love, or at least friendship

happy st. pat's: enjoy some green beer

I'm only a little bit Irish, or so my mom tells me. And while these days, I don't typically celebrate St. Patty's Day, I may have had a green (colored) beer once or twice to toast the occasion. There are some real green beers on the market though -- from organic to locally brewed. Below, a list of some ways to enjoy green beer any time of year.

go organic
These brewers make their lagers, ales, and porters organically so you won't be downing a pesticide chaser with your brew.

Wolaver's (Middlebury, VT)
More than organic, this brewery implements sustainable practices like using local ingredients and energy saving practices (read more)

Peak Organic (Portland, ME)
Much of Peak's ingredients are grown on nearby farms in Maine and Vermont

Eel River (Fortuna, CA)
Eel River claims to be the first organic brewery


get local
They might not all be organic, but they don't have to travel far to satisfy your beery thirst.

Kelso (Brooklyn)
They're not only local, they adhere to environmentally sound principles

Sixpoint Craft Ales (Brooklyn)
They just so happen to be having an event at The Gate in Park Slope tomorrow if you're in the 'hood

Blue Point (Long Island)
They make a really tasty Pale Ale

Bierkraft
Bring home a growler from this Park Slope grocer and beer purveyor

BeerTown.org
Find a brewpub in your area


drink draft
By choosing beer from the tap, you'll save a whole lot of packaging waste.


brew your own
Make it at home for the most local brew of all.

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing [book]

How to Brew Your Own Beer [wiki]


Why drink truly green beer? Read more here [Co-op America].

how to turn a cigarette into a knife

I don't smoke, and I'm not really a fan of cigarettes. But there is one case where a cigarette would come in handy. If you need a knife but only have a cigarette, watch this video to learn the survivalist skill of turning your situation around. [Okay, I'm really only posting this video for the goat. I can't help myself.]

loomstate & kaight celebrate spring this friday

I'll be heading over to eco-fashion hotspot Kaight -- 83 Orchard St -- this Friday to celebrate the first day of Spring with the guys behind Loomstate & Rogan.

I'm looking forward to seeing their new Spring line, and getting a free custom made organic tee with a Loomstate purchase. Not to mention the drinks and music to welcome the new season.

Get more details at Kaight's new blog.

vote for green edge nyc!

Okay, I know just a few days ago I was telling you to vote for the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, and here I am telling you to vote for GreenEdge (the NYC-based sustainable-living social networking site). The great thing is, you can vote for both. What does voting for these great organizations mean?

Well, there are 4 grants up for grabs from Green Mountain Coffee at the tune of $200K each (more details). With these funds, I think groups like Brooklyn Greenway and GreenEdge NYC will do amazing things for our community, and inspire similar initiatives to sprout up across the nation.

And now that I think about it, both of these organizations are about connecting people. The Greenway physically connects Brooklynites to communities from Greenpoint to Red Hook and also to Manhattan. GreenEdge connects people looking to get involved in the sustainable living scene - from food-foraging groupies to neighborhood potluck dinners. This grant would provide both groups with a greater opportunity to reach more people and to help more people reach out to others.

So please, take a minute and help these great orgs get a much-deserved grant.

You can vote for both!

Vote for GreenEdge NYC
Vote for Brooklyn Greenway Initiative

You only have until Saturday, March 21 to vote, so hop to it!

more support for the brooklyn greenway - tonight!

Just thought I'd alert you all to the latest action regarding the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative. There's a community board meeting tonight if you want to get involved. More about the Greenway here and here.

CB6 Mtg re: Atlantic Basin & Pier 11 - March 16th
New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Port Authority of NY & NJ will come to Community Board 6 on Monday, March 16th to discuss plans for Atlantic Basin and the adjacent Pier 11, which is an important link in the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, as well as for Pier 7 at the foot of Atlantic Avenue. You can follow the conversation and possible outcome by attending this meeting.

What: CB6 Economic Dvpt / Waterfront / Community Dvpt / Housing Committees

When: Monday, March 16th, 6:30PM

Where: Public School 15, 71 Sullivan Street (b/t Richards and Van Brunt Streets)

Agenda: Continued dialogue with representatives for the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on planning efforts for Pier 7 and the Atlantic Basin at the Red Hook waterfront.

walk for the health of it, and for others

I like a good walk any time of year. But there's nothing more rejuvenating than a walk in Springtime. Daffodils blooming, sparrows chirping, sun shining. Everyone seems to be happier, awakening their bodies from the sleepy Winter's days spent indoors.

Spring is also the season for charitable walks. A great chance to do something for a cause while getting a little exercise in. Here are a few walks happening this Spring in NYC.

TAP Project (UNICEF)
Sunday, March 22, 2009 @ 10am
Battery Park
A one mile walk for young people (all ages) and their families, schools and communities to help raise awareness and support for children worldwide who suffer from a lack of readily available clean water.
Full details


Walk MS
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Historic Richmond Town, Staten Island
Saturday, April 19, 2009
South Street Seaport, Manhattan
Walk MS is a fun and festive event that raises critical funds to help people affected by multiple sclerosis - a disease of the central nervous system that has no known cause or cure.
Join the movement on April 18 in Staten Island or April 19 in Manhattan. By participating in Walk MS, you will join 7,000 other New Yorkers to make one powerful statement and keep us moving toward a world free of MS.
Full details


Run for the Wild (Wildlife Conservation Society)
Saturday, April 25, 2009 @ 9am
Bronx Zoo
Run to help save Gorillas in 2009. We need your help in protecting a species that is at great risk of extinction. Sign up now for Run for the Wild and start the race to save Gorillas. Or if you can’t participate in the event, you can still take action by making a pledge!
Full details


Parkinson's Unity Walk
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Central Park
The largest grassroots event raising Parkinson's awareness and funds to find a cure. 100% of all donations raised goes directly to Parkinson`s research.
Full details


AIDS Walk
May 17, 2009 @ 10am
Central Park
The world's biggest AIDS fundraiser. Take a walk through Central Park and the streets of Manhattan to benefit Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and other AIDs organizations (full list)
Full details

vote for the brooklyn greenway initiative

[Image: Josh Haner/The New York Times. Residents have criticized the Kent Avenue bike lanes in Williamsburg, the first step in the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative to create a 14-mile bicycle and pedestrian path.]

In a city where air quality was rated D last year, we desperately need more alternative commuting options. More and more people are turning to their bikes. So we need a lot more safe, practical bike lanes. Enter the ambitious, and much needed, plan of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative.

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative is pursuing a structural reduction in greenhouse gas generation in NYC's fastest growing corridor - the Brooklyn waterfront by reallocating the public right of way in favor of cyclists and pedestrians. We are working with developers of tens of thousands of new units and city agencies to gear the new built environment around walking and cycling to de-link auto use from population growth. How? A compelling, inviting and efficient non-motorized corridor connecting 14 miles of waterfront communities and Manhattan via 3 bridges and a built environment where most needs and commutes can be accomplished without a car. The excessive use of taxpayer funds for motorized transportation is an environmental justice issue for most city taxpayers who do not drive but suffer the consequences of climate change. Community Board 1 in Greenpoint/Williamsburg voted 39/2 to remove parking on 3 miles of waterfront streets to create the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

You can help them win a grant from Green Mountain Coffee through their page on Just Means, the social and environmental initiative organization. Vote here!


Related post
brooklyn greenway initiative needs support - tonight!

spreading love in the form of flowers in bed stuy

I've been wanting to throw some seed bombs since I wrote about Green Guerrillas last summer (and maybe even before that). Well now I'm going to have the chance to live the dream, and you can too, if you're interested.

Here's the opportunity -- it's called Bed Stuy Meadow and it's a project being put on by 21st Century Plowshare, who describe themselves as:

... an inspiration-station and resource hub for anyone who wants to deploy environmental actions that matter--actions that prompt an ecstatic recognition of people's surroundings. Do your part! Join the discourse, participate in the actions here and make your own actions happen!

Oh man, if that doesn't make you want to get involved, I don't know what will.

Full details are below. If you want to get in on the action, email them at 21stcenturyplowshare@gmail.com

If you want to make your own seed bomb, get instructions here [via FunTimeHappyGardenExplosion].


Project Description

The goal is to sow wildflower seeds on every single patch of abandoned soil in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bed Stuy this April. By early summer, there should be so many wildflowers growing in the untended treepits, vacant lots, half-built developments and other tiny scraps of neglected soil in Bed Stuy that the whole neighborhood effectively turns into a meadow.

Wildflower seeds are very easy to plant, and they grow well in poor, shallow soils without human attention, so it's going to be relatively easy to make a huge visual impact over the entire neighborhood. The profusion of wildflowers that result from this minimal effort will probably be relentless and visually unifying, and this relentless unity of wildflowers will probably make anyone walking down the street feel good.

I want there to be so many wildflowers on the streets that the summer of 2009 is remembered very fondly every single resident of the neighborhood. I want the continuity of the Meadow to be so strong that Google Earth is compelled to re-photograph Bed Stuy. I want people who don't even live within the five boroughs to visit Bed Stuy for the first time so that they can see the Meadow with their own eyes, and I want people who will never even come to be so inspired by the Bed Stuy Meadow that they make their own amazing neighborhood project and share it on 21st Century Plowshare.

Bed Stuy is a neighborhood of contradictions. There is a lot of crime here, but it's also by far the friendliest neighborhood I have ever lived in. It's got a litter problem and the landscape is dotted with empty lots and condemned houses. But this is also a neighborhood of seriously tended front yards with a rich history of community gardening. Bed Stuy claims as its own Hattie Carthan and the Notorious B.I.G. I think the Meadow is going to work because it doesn't work against what Bed Stuy is. Bed Stuy's low-slung, long-blocked character and the expansiveness of its territory are not like an urban jungle or forest as much as an urban prairie. The effort of the meadow is another chapter in the community gardening history of the neighborhood. Wildflowers are beautiful in the way that the architecture here is beautiful, the way the people who go out of their way to say good morning on the streets here are beautiful. And wildflowers are tough enough to grow wherever the seeds are cast.

Get Involved

1. Plant Seed in April. If you live in NYC and want to spend an afternoon scattering seed in April, email 21stcenturyplowshare-at-gmail-dot-com to get on the list of volunteers.

2. The total budget for this project is about $2000. Donate a few dollars by clicking this button:

another sign the obama administration means good for the earth

Good green things are happening at the White House. Van Jones, founder of Green for All -- the grassroots green jobs organization -- and author of The Green Collar Economy, was recently named Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

At his new post, Mr. Jones will help shape the administration's energy and climate policy, so that climate solutions produce jobs and justice for all Americans.

Good stuff. If you haven't read The Green Collar Economy, pick up a copy at the library, borrow one from a friend, or get one (used) from Amazon.com.

Hey Van, how about putting up those solar panels on the White House?

UPDATE: Video, via Daily Kos

earth hour is coming!

[Poster by Shepard Fairey]

What are you doing on the night of March 28th between 8:30 and 9:30pm? Whatever your plans, make sure you do it with the lights out.

Why on earth would you do such a thing? It's a global statement bringing awareness to climate change. We're telling the world's leaders that when we all work together, we have the power to make big changes.

According to earthhour.org:

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.

So far, 930 cities and towns in 80 countries have already committed to participate Earth Hour 2009. Will you take part?

What you do in the dark is up to you, but here are some suggestions:

• Light some beeswax candles, pour some organic wine, and get cozy with your special someone
• Invite some friends over for a potluck dinner, lit only by your smiles
• Go to your favorite bar or restaurant and urge them to participate if they aren't already
• If you're in the city, look up at the sky, you might actually be able to see stars
  
• Take a stroll through your neighborhood and heckle all the people whose lights are on (okay, just kidding!)

Earth Hour 2009 -- March 28th at 8:30pm.