I got a press release sent to me about an artist named Jeffrey Scott Holland who was in the third year of an art installation and realized that what he was doing was causing major harm to the environment. I kind of like his story because it's a great case of someone doing something they are passionate about, but walking away from it for the greater good. So I emailed him and he was kind enough to write back with a quick synopsis of what he was up to and included some pics.
Good on ya and Huzzah!
Live Sustainably
Dave
Project Egg was originally an egg hunt in several U.S. states, with green plastic Easter eggs containing miniature paintings, prints, stickers, etc. and it was so popular that I did it nationwide the next year, with eggs hidden in almost all 50 states. For the 2008 version, my goal had been to hide Easter eggs all over the world, with at least some eggs in every continent, even Antarctica. Then I learned about the stretches of dead ocean filled with rotting plastic that's only biodegrading to the molecular level. When I then consider that most of the eggs don't actually get found, I realized they might be getting washed by storms into the storm drains that go straight to rivers that go straight to the ocean. When the implications sunk in on me, I wanted to vomit. Hopefully, by cancelling this series of public art installations, I'll be able to call attention to the environmental disaster that's going on right now. I'm amazed that this plastic-molecule phenomena has been going on for so long now and I've only just now learned of it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Artist Recognizes The Greater Good
...and cut that hair!!!!!
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is wasted" - Aesop
Got a bunch of old hair trimmings lying around that you just don't know what to do with? Beth at Fake Plastic Fish passed along this little tidbit - send it off to Matter of Trust, a 501(c) that helps make mats out of human hair that are the bees knees at cleaning up oil spills. How cool is that?
Now I know hair isn't one of the bigger things on everyone's plates these days, but it is a totally renewable resource (I hope my Dad isn't reading this) and if it can be used to clean up oil spills, why not? Since MOT is a non-profit, you can probably write it off too, just not sure what the value would be.
MOT isn't as interested in personal donations as much as hooking up with salons to get larger quantities. Sign up is free but for $10 they'll send some posters and things to let customers know their hair has life after it hits the floor. I'm not sure, but I can't really see a salon not being willing to do this, can you?
I'm off to talk to my barber.
Live Sustainably
Dave
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
China Outlaws Thin Plastic Bags
Everyone says that China is the big problem. Well it seems like they've trumped us on this one. According to Reuters China has passed a law "banning production of ultra-thin bags and forbidding its supermarkets and shops from handing out free carriers from June 1."
"China uses too many of the bags and fails to dispose of them properly, wasting valuable oil and littering the country, China's cabinet, the State Council, said in a notice posted on the central government Web site (www.gov.cn).
"Our country consumes huge amounts of plastic bags every year. While providing convenience to consumers, they have also caused serious pollution, and waste of energy and resources, because of excessive use and inadequate recycling," it said."
Why can't we follow suit on this? The Chinese people use 3 billion plastic bags a day and the country refines 37 million barrels of crude oil every year for the purpose.
Any of the candidates hearing this? This is the kind of leadership we need. And before anyone starts in on China isn't the greatest government, etc. etc, I'm with ya, but for the seeing the greater good, ya gotta give them credit in this one.
Live Sustainably
dave
Monday, January 7, 2008
Have something good that needs a new home? Freecycle it.
It's funny how often there are things we do on a regular basis that we just assume others know about. Well, Freecycle fits that bill quite nicely.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, freecycle is an oraganization that works via email that you join and then can give or get stuff as you need it. I came across it when we had an older queen size mattress to get rid of that was in good condition. Salvation Army et.al wouldn't take it and I heard about freecycle. I joined (it's free) posted it, and immediately got three emails. It was gone by that evening and what's more, it went to a lovely single mom who had been sharing her bed with her son due to a lack of funds. She was so excited about it and we felt great giving it away. Craigslist also has a free section, but I've had better luck with freecycle, I think it attracts a different crowd for some reason. I get the daily digests and more than once have found something that I want/need and gotten it for free.
Check it out.
Dave
What Happens To All That Recycling Anyway
I'll eventually be checking out first hand what happens to our recycling here locally, but in the meantime, Beth over at Fake Plastic Fish posted the following shocking video made for a British news service.
It's only about 3 minutes long and well worth the watch. I think the guy who has the recycling plant makes a good point. Each nation should be responsible for dealing with their own waste/recycling, just the same as we as individuals should be responsible for our personal output.
It's ironic that they found plastic bags from Tesco as they were one of, if not the, first stores in the world to list carbon output on all their products.
Food for thought.
Live Sustainably
Dave
Sunday, January 6, 2008
KROQ Interview
Here's the KROQ interview regarding my trashy year. You can also download it for free from the iTunes store.
Live Sustainably
Dave
