Hariyali Express: Earth Day Edition

The express is a little late! In fact a whole week late. Patrix already did something similar. Anyway, Hariyali Express is always a fun thing to do. So here goes...

On Saturday, April 22, the world marked the 36th annual Earth Day celebration. John McConnell founded it back in 1970. The environmental movement has picked up momentum quite a bit since then. Many though feel it is not strong enough. World Changing feels that bigger and bolder steps are needed and I agree.

Global Warming is the biggest environmental issue facing us today. While the issue is huge and the politics even bigger, could a solution lie in the tinniest of organisms. Could algae be the answer ? Planktos is a company planning to dump huge quantities of carbon-eating phytoplankton algae into the oceans. Treehugger has some thoughts, interview and analysis about Planktos Inc. GreenFuel Technologies Inc is another company that is offering carbon reduction technology using algae. Their designs are more geared towards reducing carbon emissions from power plants.

Ford made a big announcement recently. They are joining up with Terrapass to offer the Greener Miles program. Customers get to buy carbon credits. More from the folks at Terrapass here. While it is a great step forward, a 100 mpg car to beat Prius would be a greater leap.

Bush promoted Hydrogen Fuel Cells on Earth Day. One thing he never mentions is the fact that hydrogen is an energy medium and not an energy source. How hydrogen is produced and distributed will determine if it is clean and carbon neutral.

Director Davis Guggenheim makes Al Gore's Global Warming talks/campaign into a movie. An Inconvenient Truth is set to open in select US theatres on May 24th. Carl Pope of Sierra Club shares his thoughts on the movie here. Tom Arnold, the Chief Environmental Officer at Terrapass shares his thoughts on the movie here

So what do other leaders think about Global Warming ? To find out if your Mayor supports greenhouse gas reductions, check out coolcities.us Patrick Moore a co-founder of Greenpeace created quite a buzz recently when he talked in support of Nuclear energy. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is however in favor of Solar Energy and not Nuclear. Commondreams.org covers Gorbachev's thoughts here

Goldman Environmental Prize was announced recently. It honors grassroots environmentalists and awards US$125,000 to environmental heroes from each of the world's six inhabited continental regions. The struggle and strength of Silas Kpanan is truly inspiring

Patrix follows up his Earth Day post with another one on Companies getting environment friendly

Oorjaa is the newest Indian blogger joining the green blogosphere. Welcome Oorjaa!. Its latest post talks about India and the FutureGen Project. A billion dollar initiative to build a zero emission coal plant. Water scarcity along with Climate Change are big issues facing India. GoodNewsIndia talks about Medha Patkar's struggle and water issues at large, here

Sepia Mutiny has some great tips for Earth Day.
One tip I liked in particular ..."Check with your local energy company to see if you can sign up for green power as your electricity source (most companies offer this)". I called up mine and yippie !!! I can buy green power! This is one phone call everyone can and should make. More information about signing up, can be found at http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/pricing.shtml?page=1
(via Alternative Energy Blog)

It has been fun and informative bringing this edition of Hariyali Express. Hope all you readers feel the same. If anyone wants to host the next Hariyali Express, please feel free to do so. Green blogging is still a rarity in the Indian blogosphere. We need more.

PS
Carnival of the Green is an initiative very similar to Hariyali Express. In fact it is the same. Triple Pundit & City Hippy are the brains behind it. Should Hariyali Express join and become Carnival of the Green or should it evolve and focus more on the Indian environmental scene. I wonder...

Thank You For Smoking

This movie is funny as hell. Nick Naylor is chief spokesperson for the tobacco industry. "Spin" is his job and what a great job he does.

It goes to show that in today's world of limited attention span and 30 second sound bites, it is the spin meisters who shape public opinion.

I walked out of the theatre and found myself equating the debate on Smoking with the debate on Global Warming. The oil industry has definitely learnt well from the tobacco, firearms and alcohol industry (MOD squad -Merchants of Death).

Global weather is a complex subject. All it takes is to fund vague research, dilute government findings, throw in words like "will hurt our economy" and we have confusion, doubt and inaction.

Spin of the day
"The president believes the leaking of classified information is a very serious matter. And I think that's why it's important to draw a distinction here. Declassifying information and providing it to the public when it is in the public interest is one thing. But leaking classified information that could compromise our national security is something that is very serious, and there's a distinction"~Scott McClellan on Bush involvement in the CIA leak case

Joint Ecological Commission

In an earlier post , I had mentioned the Joint Ecological Commission (JEC). The Churches of India coming together to raise environmental awareness, protect God's creation and work towards a greener tomorrow. This year, JEC has announced Green Parish and Green School awards. Parishes and schools are being encouraged to participate and come up with eco projects. I am only happy to sponsor the awards. Will keep things posted as things progress.

Seventh Generation

We all take that extra effort to make our homes clean and safe. Ironically, we end up stocking our homes with the most dangerous chemicals. Chlorine, Formaldehyde, Ammonium Hydroxide, Petroleum distillates....The list goes on. None of the sugar coated TV ads for household products, talk about their toxic ingredients. We pay our hard earned money to buy carcinogenic products and screw up our own health!

There are alternatives available. One such alternative is a company called SeventhGeneration. They make products that are non-toxic and environmentally safe. From Chlorine free laundry, dishwashing products to 100% recycled toilet papers and tissues...it is a very easy lifestyle change. I have been using it for the last couple of months and I like it. Their products are usually available in the Organic/Natural section of grocery stores

Quote of the day
"In our every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations"~Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy (via SeventhGeneration.com)