Entries Tagged 'politics' ↓

Recently I have been more aware of my carbon footprint, energy consumption and the all-around sustainability of my actions. Many books, articles, documentaries have stimulated thought and offered solutions, and through this gathering of information I have become acutely aware that “saving the planet” must start with me and my sphere of influence.  One interesting thing I have found is an article on the Pacific Garbage Patch, a amalgamation of floating plastic (polymer based material that is non-biodegradable).  This floating patch of waste is no small matter as it is currently the size of the continent of Africa. What!

Finding out about these ecological disaster areas motivates me to reduce my plastic intake. In lue of this, I have taken two steps towards reducing my plastic consumption… they are relatively easy, albeit sometimes hard to implement, and are in-line with a pledge I took to Rise Above Plastic, through the Surfrider Foundation (of which I’ve been a member of since 2006).

Using reusable bottles for water and other drinks, you will keep 167 single-use plastic bottles from entering the environment.

Using cloth bags for groceries and other purchases you will save approximately 400 plastics from being used and discarded.

I challenge you to take the pledge and help lessen your carbon footprint on the earth. It is a small, but important step in changing your behavior towards the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle).  Hardest part about it is remembering the clothe bags before you go in the grocery store (I keep them in my truck and then when I’m done unloading I put them by the door to take back out to my truck.  Also I keep my Sigg water bottle in the side pocket of my messenger bag, so I always have it handy.

Best site of the year (by far): hulu.com.  Not only because you can access all 34 episodes of:

It also has over 50 full length movies, hundreds of tv episodes (including full series) and to top things off it even has last nights Colbert Report. No need for cable anymore.

T. Boone Pickens and The Pickens Plan (click T. Boone for the website and The Pickens Plan for the pdf).

A few months ago a blogging friend of mine (girlfriday blog) threatened to begin a thread of blogs entitled: A Case Against Barack Obama.

Preface: I really like her writing, she is smart, witty, and well read… I will disagree with her in this arena (mainly politics) but it is not a reflection of what I think of her personally… which makes this endeavor even more fun.  Her goal is to convince you not to vote for him, and mine will be the opposite, to convince you to vote for him.  “You,” being the moderate Republican who is sitting on the fence between John McCain and not voting at all….

This will be a discussion of issues and not a judgment of character. In this light I will do my best to be polite, tactful, and I will to stick to the issues and not make anything personal.

So expect a post on this later today/tonite.

Some lively banter on the air waves… as passed to me by my friend Jason.  James Dobson seems to be on a frenzy and seems to be throwing knives on this one, though I respect some of the work he has done this is over the top… I believe it is a great example of the ‘religious right’ using their influence for political reasons, rather than for the Glory of God.  And Obama’s remarks seem quite in line with a separation of Church and State, and the right of all to worship and live in this free country…  In his speech (that is under attack by Dobson… found here) Obama cited Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as, “a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application.”  Now that is truth I could stand on.

You can find a comparison of words here: jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com