Environment, Organics, Fair Trade & Recycling at Big Green Purse

Idling Engines Make Air Quality Worse, Especially in Winter

 The colder it gets outside, the more people want to heat up their cars inside - even before they get in the car. Leaving an engine to idle -- in other words, turning the car on and leaving it on when it is parked for longer than about the wait at a stop light -- wreaks havoc on clean air. That's because when your vehicle burns gas, it emits dirty particles and toxic chemicals that combine in the atmosphere to produce acid rain and ground-level ozone or smog that can be very harmful to our lungs. Air pollution is particularly tough on kids, reports the terrific non-profit group Moms Clean Air Force, because they actually breathe faster than grown-ups and inhale more air per pound of body weight. Some communities, like this inspiring group in Nova Scotia, Canada, have banded together to put a stop to idling at schools, sporting events, and shopping malls.

Saving Energy is Easy & Fun With the Help of Team ENERGY STAR

  What does it take to get kids to save energy? Even if it’s just a simple reminder to turn off the lights, that message can get old after awhile – which is why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is inviting kids and families to join Team ENERGY STAR. Team ENERGY STAR makes saving energy fun for kids while giving parents free resources they can use to explain why energy efficiency needs to be a priority at home. The program is particularly unique because it empowers kids to help protect the climate and our air through easy-to-implement, money-saving actions.

 It also provides them an outlet for sharing their passion for preserving our environment. This year ENERGY STAR has partnered with the parents group PTO Today and LG Electronics to share Team ENERGY STAR with kids across the country. PTO Today has even brought in the heroic characters from a new summer animated eco feature film, EPIC, which is sure to excite kids of all ages. The movie, voiced by Amanda Seyfried, Beyonce Knowles, Colin Ferrel, and other celebrities you'll recognize, features a young girl who finds herself transported to a beautiful natural world, a world she needs to protect. 

US-China Greener Consumption Forum Lays Groundwork for Future Projects Together

How can the world's two consumer "superpowers"- the U.S. and China - work together to reduce the impact that consumption has on us and our world?

  That was the topic a capacity crowd addressed on March 22 at the U.S. - China Greener Consumption Forum. The event, held at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and co-sponsored by Big Green Purse and the International Fund for China's Environment, pulled together scientists, consumer advocates, public policy advocates, and green entrepreneurs to share ideas about strategies to inspire manufacturers to create greener goods -- and get consumers to buy them.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The Forum focused primarily on women because women spend 85 cents of every dollar in the  marketplace – and we’re not just buying cheese doodles and diapers. As I say here on CCTV, the national television network of China, we buy more clothes.  More food.  More cosmetics and personal care products than men. We also buy more electronics, more home furnishings, almost as many tools, just as many cars. Women are spending billions of dollars, day in and day out, year in and year out.

But even with all that clout, we won’t be able to use this power of the purse effectively until we achieve true gender equity worldwide, points that both Ban Li, Deputy Counsel of the Shaanxi Women's Federation, and Liane Shalatek, Associate Director of the Heinrich Boll Foundation North America, made very powerfully.

 Christine Robertson of Earth Day Network facilitated a provocative panel on the impacts consumption has on our health and the health of the planet. Sarah Vogel of Environmental Defense Fund (pictured  right) was peppered with questions after her presentation on the way the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) affects the reproductive systems of men and women alike.

Ping He of the International Fund for China's Environment, the co-sponsor with Big Green Purse of the Forum, moderated the session on barriers to sustainable consumption and solutions that help surmount them. Meaningful eco-labels and standards can make a big difference, pointed out Arthur Weissman, President and CEO of Green Seal, especially when those standards are set by an indendent third party (like Green Seal is) whose primary interest is not in selling products, but in helping manufacturers become more sustainable over time.

LISA JACKSON, Former EPA Administrator

 Lisa Jackson's luncheon keynote address was the highlight of the day for many people. As a mom, scientist, and long-time public servant, Lisa has a unique appreciation for the impact consumption has on us as individuals and on society as a whole. She spoke movingly about being the first African-American to serve as head of the EPA and how important it is to bring women as well as people of color and low-income populations into the conversations we're having about pollution and climate change.

Lisa noted that her favorite law is the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act because it empowers people to protect themselves wherever they live. She is also proud of technology EPA has shared with the city of Shanghai to help monitor air pollution there.

Lisa agreed that the way we use both the purse and the pocketbook can inspire manufacturers to reduce pollution and energy consumption.

I am Voting for Barack Obama because We are Greener than We were Four Years Ago.

Are we “greener” than we were four years ago?

 Yes, we are, and Barack Obama deserves a lot of the credit.

 Despite strident anti-environmental opponents on Capitol Hill, President Obama has managed to use the power of his office – deployed primarily through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of the Interior – to make our air and water cleaner, to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, to protect our public lands, and to attack the climate change that causes extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy.

Is his job done? Not by a long shot. But are we making progress? Definitely. I’m supporting the President for a second term because I think he offers our best hope in this election to continue to make progress in the future. 

This all became extremely clear to me earlier this week, as Hurricane Sandy was ripping away part of my roof. While I huddled in my basement listening to the terrifying wind and the torrential rain, I found myself getting mad, not just about what it would cost me to repair the damage, but about the reasons behind this catastrophic storm. Meteorologists, scientists, environmentalists, public health professionals, concerned citizens, and yes, President Obama, have all made the link between burning fossil fuels like coal and oil and extreme weather events like Sandy, let alone Hurricane Katrina and many others. And they’ve tried to throw the weight of their various offices behind solutions that would help wean us from fossil fuels.  

 Meanwhile, conservative forces in Congress and many state houses around the country have blocked legislation that would reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and opposed efforts to increase energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Bolstered by their conservative colleagues on Capitol Hill and pressured by Tea Party activists, Republican challenger Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, his running mate, have dismissed climate change, have literally said they “love” coal, and would strive to cripple the EPA if they were elected to office.

 Maybe to some people, this is just “talk.” But as someone who has worked in Washington, D.C. to promote environmental protection during the Carter years, the Reagan years, the Bush 1 years, the Clinton years, the Bush 2 years, and now the last four years of the Obama Administration, I can say, and say unequivocally, that environmental policy consistently fares worse under Republican administrations than under Democratic ones. As Sandy has shown, the planet very much faces a climate change tipping point. Obama is on one side, Romney on the other. For me, siding with Obama is a no brainer.

Has Obama accomplished nearly enough? No.

 Do I wish more change had happened? Of course.

 But we should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

ENERGY STAR Essay Contest Shines Spotlight on Energy-Saving Kids

Saving energy is not just for grown-ups. As EPA’s Team ENERGY STAR has shown, lots of kids have become devoted to energy efficiency, too. They’re not shy about telling you why, either. In fact, hundreds of kids have entered the Team’s Share Your Story essay contest .  Several of their posts are featured in this special Team ENERGY STAR bloggers carnival. If you’re inspired by what even the youngest children have learned about energy and climate change (and who wouldn’t be?), why not ask your kids to enter the contest, too? The deadline for submissions is September 17.

Anne at Flour Sack Mama reports, “When I gave my elementary-aged kid a chance to enter the Team ENERGY STAR essay contest, explaining that the focus was saving energy, she gravitated, on her own, to telling how much she loves trees. Sure, she learned the connection from the story of the Lorax.  But I think she gets it, on a deeper level, because she plays outdoors….Of course, the new Team ENERGY STAR initiative does a great job of tying one family's household savings into the bigger picture. Less energy used now means a brighter future for our kids and grandkids and for the place they need to call home long after the rest of us are gone.  At our house, it truly is the little things that we focus on, like better habits of turning off those light switches.  We also made sure to purchase the Energy Star model when we needed to replace our dishwasher.”

 Shane at Environmental Booty proudly  posted the amazing video her young daughter made. The video shows a simulated conversation between two very “hip” sisters, one of whom has a lot to learn when it comes to energy efficiency. “My daughter and I, and even her two sisters, really had fun taking part in the Team Energy Star Share Your Story contest.  Sure, it took finding some time in our hectic lives that was certainly hard to find.  But it brought us all together to go green, created some fun memories with my girls, and gave my Lexie one more reason to feel good about herself.” 

Essay Contest Gives Kids a Chance to Show What They Really Know About Saving Energy – and Win Some Prizes, Too.

 

 

 

What do your kids really know about saving energy? Here’s your chance to find out. Team ENERGY STAR, the Environmental Protection Agency’s program to teach kids about energy efficiency, is holding an essay contest for kids. The purpose of the contest is two-fold.  First and foremost, Team ENERGY STAR wants to recognize kids for the wonderful steps they’re taking to use energy more efficiently, and they’ve got all kinds of great prizes to award to show their appreciation. But here’s another important reason: They want to inspire other kids to use energy more efficiently, too.

The Essay Contest: It couldn’t be simpler. Kids who submit an essay to the Share Your Story page and then click on the DoSomething Team ENERGY STAR Challenge immediately become eligible for a number of prizes, including:

• The new Lorax DVD, which will go to the first 100 kids to submit essays
• 25 winners will receive ENERGY STAR certified electronics products donated by LG Electronics, including televisions, computer monitors, smart phones, and mouse scanners
• Top winners will also be featured in Times Square on the LG billboard.
• Plus, some of the winners may have a chance to participate in ENERGY STAR day in October with EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

Essays will be judged based on the following:

• Creativity/Ingenuity: How did you use Team ENERGY STAR resources to develop a home energy-saving idea that both worked for your family and saved energy? Make sure you explain the energy-saving approach and its relationship to ENERGY STAR as well as how it fits with your family. For example, where your home energy-saving opportunities are and how your family functions day to day.
• Energy Savings: How effective was your idea in engaging the family to save energy? How much energy was saved? Explain how you and your family implemented your idea. For example, what worked, what didn't, and why you think it was successful. What did you learn from the process and how do you plan to use your ideas and lessons learned to keep saving energy?

The “essay” can be a written story; a photo essay; a video; a slide show; a drawing; or any other way kids want to show what they have learned about energy efficiency, just so long as it can be uploaded to the ENERGY STAR story page here. Kids can submit stories any time between now and September 17.   Prizewinners will be announced by October 10.

My Utility Company Give Me $200 When I Bought My New Refrigerator. Maybe Yours Will, Too.

Refrigerators use more electricity that any other single appliance in your home. Why? Because they're on all the time. There are a few ways you can improve the efficiency of a refrigerator you already own, but if you have an older model, it could make a lot of financial sense to replace it with something new - especially if your utility company, like mine, helps foot the bill.

I held on to my refrigerator for 27 years! But finally, we needed a new one. The seals on the old one were cracked, the drawers were broken, the door handle was chipped, and mold was starting to build up in places I couldn't keep clean. The old fridge still kept my food pretty cold, but it was depressing and unhealthy to use. And being as old as it was, I suspected it was using much more energy than newer models.

As you can imagine, I wasn't wild about spending hundreds or maybe even a thousand dollars or more on a new fridge. I was relieved when I learned that Pepco, my electric utility, would give me a $150 rebate if I bought the most energy-efficient refrigerator available to meet my needs. Pepco would also pay me $50 if I let them recycle my old fridge. With $200 guaranteed off the price of the appliance, I went shopping! I ended up buying this Whirlpool pictured above. Here's how.

Kids Drive Moms' Passion to Save Energy, Join Team ENERGY STAR

Using energy efficiently is the key to many of the health, environmental and even financial crises we face. Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil pollutes our air and water, contributes to asthma and other respiratory problems, and is a major cause of climate change. It's up to all of us to do what we can to make a difference, and most of us try to do our part, especially where our families are concerned. That job has gotten a little easier with the launch of Team ENERGY STAR, a new program to get kids and their parents engaged in simple actions that collectively can have a big impact.

The program has received a strong welcome from many moms who have made the connection between their kids' future and the energy we use. Here are some of the reasons why they care and what they're doing about it.

Michele Bachmann Wants to Crush EPA. First, She Should Go to China.

Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota Republican Member of Congress who's running for President, vows she'll cripple the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency if she's elected. Maybe if she spent a week in China like I recently did, she'd change her mind.

I've just returned from a seven-day trip to Beijing, China's capital, and Xi'an, the country's cultural heart and soul and home to its famous terra cotta soldiers. In that entire time, I never saw the sun or sky. Nor was I able to drink the water that came out of any tap.

Why? The sky was cloaked in grey smog so thick it obscured the tops of buildings, not to mention the heavens above. The air, while not exactly putrid, smelled dank and dangerous -- a result of massive numbers of polluting cars on the road and regional industrial plants that spew contaminants into the air.

I could have worn a surgical mask like many of the city's permanent residents. Instead, I opted to be a "guinea pig" and see how much the smog would affect me as I went back and forth to various business meetings and tourist destinations.

After just three days in Beijing, I developed a sore throat and itchy eyes, and lost any desire to explore the city's beautiful parks. I could have easily walked distances of a mile or two. Instead, I took the subway to avoid breathing the outdoor air unnecessarily. Back at my hotel, I kept the windows closed, choosing a stuffy room over a polluted one.

The water coming out of my faucet looked cleaner than the air -- but I would have been a fool to drink it. Water treatment anywhere in China is thoroughly inadequate. The country's drinking water is tainted not just by household waste but from relentless industrial run-off.

Some government figures estimate that over 70 percent of the nation's rivers have been contaminated by the discharge of heavy metals and other toxins directly into streams and tributaries that feed into China's waterways. Water treatment facilities remove a smattering of contaminants but never clean up the water to the point where it is drinkable. And this creates another problem.

Independent companies are privatizing the water, purifying and bottling it, and selling it to the public by the tons. What happens to all the empty plastic water bottles? They end up back in the rivers and streams when they're trashed.

Why is China so polluted?

In short, because it has neither a power federal environmental protection agency nor adequate laws for such an agency to enforce. Yes, the government gives lip service to reducing pollution and protecting public health. But local activists in Beijing told me that given the physical size of the country, a population of more than 1 billion people, and tens of thousands of "renegade" manufacturing facilities, neither air nor water quality will improve significantly until the government makes a real commitment to strengthen and enforce its environmental laws.

This is not to say that air and water in the U.S. are perfect, or even good enough. A recent study by Environment America, using data provided by the American Lung Association, reported that nearly half of all Americans -- 48 percent -- live in areas plagued by unhealthy smog pollution. A water quality analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council concluded that 22 million Americans may be drinking water that contains excessive levels of poisonous arsenic, among other chemicals.

Still, the same Environment America study notes that "air quality has improved significantly in the last decade as a result of policies at the state and federal level." Likewise, the non-profit Environmental Working Group found over 90 percent compliance by water utilities in applying and enforcing standards that exist. Their recommendation: that EPA set even more effective standards so water quality will continue to improve.

We can continue cleaning up our air or water. Or, we can abolish the EPA and look a lot more like China. I suggest Michele Bachmann go to China before she decides.

Follow me on twitter @dianemaceachern.

(NOTE: This article originally appeared at Huffington Post.)