McDonald's is going green! :)

I think it is fascinating to see what big companies are making eco-friendly changes - from Levi's "organic cotton" jeans...to Sprint promoting eco-consciousness with their Reclaim "green" phone...to the USPS "green" practices (which were started a few years back) which include electric & hydrogen vehicles, a LOT of recycling, and other sustainable practices. Their most visible claim to fame is their NY facility that has a huge 2.5 acre "green" roof that acts as a refuge for native plants and ground cover, and features 14 benches and an art wall, and saves the Post Office about $30,000 a year on heating and cooling costs. See my link at www.facebook.com/globalforce for more on their progressive green innovations.

I heard recently that McDonald's is starting to build "green" LEED registered facilities as well, and that their was one that was recently built in my area, in Cary, NC. It also is the first "all green retail building" in NC!

Well, today I got to visit it firsthand, and was very impressed!! :) It is very modern inside, with textured walls, and neon lamps which change colors every few seconds, and mod green seating and bamboo looking tables. And everywhere that there are innovations, there are signs posted as to what they are - recycled materials, efficient low flush toilets, amazing 10-second hand dryers...even their ordering counter is made from mostly recycled glass and other materials. And to top all of that, they have the first EV (electric vehicle) charging station for individuals who join the ChargePoint network.

http://www.carycitizen.com/2009/09/06/mcdonalds-goes-green-in-cary/

So even McDonald's is trying their best to make a dent in the otherwise questionable motives of going to eat "fast food". It is a nice environment, with 100.0 rating, and they still offer their delicious salads in lieu of a Big Mac. It's always about choices and making the best of the options, isn't it?

No more Google! Use an eco-friendly search engine! :)

If you are like most people, it is not easy to understand how Google or any other search engine can operate and make millions of dollars giving away a service for free. They have their ways, however, and it is easy to see how just a couple of clicks by millions of people would give them revenue from "sponsored links". Now every business needs to make money, but many businesses these days can do so much more than just take in profits. When natural disasters happen like the earthquake in Haiti, and seeing how much support was raised by millions of people texting donations on their phones, and stars contributing through their pockets and their talents on fundraising shows, it made me think. What is more important - helping emergency situations one-time, or helping a cause a little bit each day long-term?

I will not deny that I am glad to see Haiti get as much help as they can (through people not government - much quicker isn't it?). But I want to highlight ways for us to help the green cause daily, through clicking daily on www.therainforestsite.com (or any of its worthy partner sites), or this new green search engine I just found - Ecosia.com .

Ecosia not only donates a good portion of its profits to saving the rainforest, and show you how much YOU are saving every time you make a search for anything, but it also runs on green servers so that there is no carbon emissions to make up for! Did you realize that we are using up a lot of energy and carbon every minute we are online? THIS makes me feel better and I encourage you to use it too. It's easy, free, and it will help save the rainforest, a few meters at a time.

Watch their video here - and get your new green search engine! :)

What can The Book of Eli teach us about the future?

I don't know about you, but sometimes post-apocalyptic movies scare me. I know that we will probably never end up like Sarah Connor in Terminator or Robert Neville in I am Legend...but they are always cautionary tales about what "could" happen if the world continues to tilt in the direction of a certain course we are erroneously taking. What is the worst that could happen? What will the last war be fought over - water and resources, or religion? These movies give creative license to one director's vision of the future, and The Book of Eli is no exception.

Since I believe that the world (and I admit, the US in particular) is all too consumptive and dismissive of the treasures we have from the earth - coal, water, minerals, even our air quality - we are headed down the path of no-return. Here is a clip where Denzel talks about us throwing away precious resources that people in this world would kill for. He attracts one follower in Mila Kunis (she has grown into a fine actress from the previews here) and when she sees he knows what happened in the past, and how it can change her future, she simply says, "Teach me". See the clip here -

 http://blogs.usaweekend.com/whos_news/2010/01/denzel-washington

I haven't seen the movie yet, but like many others out there, I can't wait to see WHY this book is so important, and how it can save what is left of humanity. Denzel plays an unflinchingly strong purveyor of the truth and will not give it away to any hustler or kingpin, and will fight to the death to protect it. And he often does, over and over again.

How far would you go to defend your beliefs? I am grateful that in the US, unlike some other countries, particularly in the Middle East, I am free to believe what I believe, and my faith is not forced upon me, nor taken away from me at gunpoint. I know that Denzel is determined to protect his faith, and fulfill his destiny of being the one shining light on the hill that will not sway to any evil power that wants to take it over.

I also believe that some will misuse "religion" to their own ends or will not portray it in its best light, and wars are fought in the name of religion, as probably here in this movie. It seems the anti-hero has some baggage of his own because of his "religious" yet unloving parents.

So what can we learn from this movie? I have to reserve my final judgment until I see the film on Jan 15, but I think it is safe to say that it will be a fascinating look into the minds of some very creative geniuses, and will give us time to pause and reflect on how we want our future to look. Avatar was fascinating because it gave you both sides of the war, and showed the motivation to attack for gain on one side, and to defend what was sacred to them on the other side. Will we sit back, do nothing and let the world crumble, or will we take an active role in protecting the planet for the sake of our children and future generations?

From Disaster to Sustainability - One Town's Success Story

I just read the article about the small town in Kansas that was decimated by an EF5 (very worst) tornado in 2007 - the documentary is amazing if you take the time to watch and absorb it...if you have ever been through a tornado or hurricane, you will understand! They say it is like the end of the world. No electricity, no lights, many houses gone...what would YOU do?

Here is the link if you want to see it for yourself and missed it in the Footprints - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08PM3YEqBcE

The results? 95% of the town was hit and destroyed, with over 1,000 homes gone, 250 businesses gone. They could have given up and all moved away. and that would have probably been easier. But this town decided to do something different. 500 residents met and the spirit of collaboration and hope, decided to refocus their energy on rebuilding their community - into a model of eco-friendly sustainability. Since they were starting with nothing, they were able to rebuild and revision their community in a completely new way, acknowledging the way their agrarian ancestors used to live. And more than that, now they had a mission.

One man, David Wallach, that lives in this community, calls himself a "social entrepreneur" and moved here with his wife to get away from the big city and live off the earth. He said, after the tornado hit, “Greensburg’s is a story of being stripped bare of everything you thought you knew and having to start over. Here was an opportunity to work with a community that was experiencing the kind of loss and suffering that my wife and I know firsthand — relatively few people really know that in the same way we do. And that is important; it is important that we have experienced loss, too. We thought we had something to give.”

To see photos of how they rebuilt and resurrected their town with a new purpose and model for sustainability, go here to Blue Planet Green Living to see the article - http://www.blueplanetgreenliving.com/2009/10/15/rebuilding-after-disaster-%E2%80%93-greensburg-becomes-a-green-town/

“Greensburg is like a living science museum,” explains Wallach, who serves as the executive director of Greensburg GreenTown. “It is a place where people come and immerse themselves and experience a sustainable community." After such destruction, it is good to see a town so anxious to rebuild and revisit their reason for being, and set an example for other towns. What an inspiration! :)

Singing about the Environment can be cool! :)

When you think of "saving the planet" or conservation, it may seem boring, irrelevant or even politically charged - who knows how to REALLY determine how much Global Warming is affecting us, and why did Al Gore "really" make that movie?

Well, all I know is that I want to help the planet in my own way, and do what I know will help - things like using my car less when I can (less toxic emissions in the air), drinking water out of a "good" plastic water bottle (saving money on bottled water and saving lots of landfill space), recycling aluminum cans, plastic and glass (even less to go to landfills), and....watching this video!! :)

www.acespace.org/crush

This was made by a 15-year-old that was inspired by Al Gore's movie, but it is done in a very creative and modern way, to get the younger generation interested in what is good for the planet (such as riding your bike) and to stop things that hurt it through carbon emissions of fossil fuels (gas guzzling Hummers). It is customizable for guys and girls, and it is fun to watch and send to friends, even if you are WAY older than 15. Go ahead - it's fun AND educational! :)

And then get inspired by going to the main site www.acespace.org and look at their blog, resources for teachers, and the videos there - here is one example of a high school presentation that kids really liked! - acetrailer.com (the you tube version). Learn more about this progressive, innovative program for today's teens to make a difference today that will help clean the planet up for our future tomorrows!