Yesterday was a big day for environmentalists – Los Angeles passed an ordinance to ban the use of plastic bags within the next year. But, LA is not the only city trying to get rid of plastic. (This image is from MorgueFile.) In October of last year, all stores in Portland, Oregon went plastic bagless after the state legislature failed to pass a state ban. However, knowing that some customers were going to forget, the city spent $10,000 on radio and bus ads to remind them. City officials also gave away 10,000 free reusable bags. Austin, Texas seems to be … Continue reading →

I have blogged about how you should switch to the reusable shopping bags. I’ve also blogged about uses for your disposable plastic bags, but if you live in Los Angeles, you won’t have much need for that blog anymore because LA, home to 4 million people, has become the largest municipality in America to ban plastic shopping bags. (This image is from MorgueFile.) The city council approved the ban by a vote of 13 to 1. Environmental groups campaigning for this ban elicited the help of celebrities such as John Cusack, Edward Norton, and Julia Roberts. This ban won’t take … Continue reading →

Matt Damon has already been a part of my green celebrities series. Damon is the founder of the H2O Africa Foundation, which merged with WaterPartners in 2009 to form Water.org., an organization trying to bring clean water to everyone in the world. He is also one of the celebrity founders of No On Our Watch, which also includes George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Jerry Weintraub, and Brad Pitt. He is an ambassador for OneXOne, which helps improve the lives of children in our country, Canada, and the world. He is also a spokesman for Feeding America as well as member of … Continue reading →

Academy Award nominated actor Mark Ruffalo appeared on “The Colbert Report” last night to talk about fracking – hydro-fracking in particular. I’ve blogged about fracking before. It is the practice of drilling for natural gas using a combination of water and chemicals. The fluid is injected into shale, which causes fractures in the rock, which releases the natural gas. The problem is many believe this method of extracting natural contaminates local drinking water. I remember reading an article about the pros and cons of fracking in PEOPLE magazine. One lady, I cannot remember what state she lived in, was actually … Continue reading →

Tre Arrow is an eco-terrorist, or green anarchist if you will. He takes extreme, often illegal, measures to get his green point across. He started his environmental activism in the late ‘90s, but first made the headlines with his actions in 2000. He was upset that the U.S. Forest Service planned to log near Eagle Creek, Oregon, so what did he do? He scaled the forest service building in Portland, Oregon to protest. But, he didn’t just scale the building. He stayed on a nine-inch ledge for 11 days. Crazy you say? He has his followers. As a Pacific Green … Continue reading →

One thing about Americans is they will give during a time of need. For the 9/11 tragedy, the Haiti earthquake, the Japanese tsunami – even in this era of hard economic times, Americans still are able to give to help others. The downside is we often forget a tragedy once the next one hits. After the devastating Haiti earthquake of 2010, many celebrities offered their time and money to help. One, hip hop star Wyclef Jean, took it a bit further and even tried to run for president of his native country. His request was declined because he had not … Continue reading →

I have always thought polar bears were beautiful animals. That doesn’t mean I want one in my backyard. That seems to be the plight of people in the town of Churchill, Manitoba. Granted, Churchill is known as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World” because the polar bears migrate from the inland to the icy shore during the fall months. This has resulted in quite a bit of tourism to Churchill. People can ride buses known as tundra buggies to see the bears. Now, this tiny town (pop. 923) has had to create what they call “bear jails” to keep … Continue reading →

For a while now, many people have been pushing the “eat local” theory, including me. After all, eating foods that were grown locally taste better, are better for you, and help local farmers stay in business. If you go by the numbers, it seems as if the whole concept is taking off. The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) just released some astonishing numbers about local markets. American farmers, who once seemed destine to become extinct, are making a great comeback. The USDA estimates that American farmers are bringing in $4.8 billion for products grown locally. There is some dispute … Continue reading →

If you thought that the fallout from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami that took place on March 11, 2011 was all over, you are wrong. For a while, there was concern about radiation reaching the states. While it did, officials assured us that it was not at levels that would cause concern. We are yet to know the results of the devastating earthquake, but one thing is for sure – it caused a lot of debris and some of that debris is headed straight for our coastline. The bad news is the debris weighs about 100,000 tons. Image a wall … Continue reading →

I think we take many of our freedoms for granted. Take the Occupy Wall Street people for example. They have been demonstrating in NYC in a public park for almost two months now. The police are on duty, but as far as I know, no protesters have been harmed. If only it were so easy in Brazil. This week, an environmentalist who was an outspoken protester of illegal logging in the Amazon has been killed. This is the eighth environmentalist killed since May. Pastoral Land Commission spokesperson Gilson Rego said that Joao Chupel Primo, 55, a farmer, was shot to … Continue reading →