Check out Cameron Diaz in the below video urging participation in Pangea Day — a four-hour film festival of “user-generated films and TED-style short talks from scientists, filmmakers, and global visionaries.” The event will air internationally May 10th, 2008 on television and online. For more information on how to take part, check out Pangea Day’s official website.
Happy Earth Day!
Check out this video from PopCrunch that takes a look at a few celebrities that are good to the environment, and a few that aren’t.
Video includes celebs like…Leonardo DiCaprio, Woody Harrelson, Al Gore, Tyra Banks, & John Travolta.
What is Earth Day?
Earth Day, April 22, marks the anniversary of the modern environmental movement in 1970. It is an annual celebration of the environment and intended to inspire awareness of & appreciation for the Earth’s environment.
Earth Day was initiated in 1970 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, who started a “teach-in” to protest the government’s environmental ignorance. This eventually led to legislation including the Environmental Policy Act (1969), the Clean Air Act (1970), the Clean Water Act (1977) and fuel efficiency standards for automobiles.
Effective October 1, 2008, Ikea is banning the plastic bag. That’s right, Ikea will no longer offer plastic bags in stores starting this October.
This all comes about with the great success of Ikea’s “bag the plastic bag” program, which asked for customers to either use their own reusable bag, purchase the Ikea blue bag for $.59, or purchase the regular plastic bags for $.05.
Ikea reported that 92 percent of its customers have stopped buying plastic bags since they started the program last year. With results like that, Ikea has decided to take another step forward, and as of October 1, 2008 Ikea will no longer offer plastic bags.
What is Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is a global climate change initiative, calling individuals and businesses around the world, to turn off their lights for one hour on Saturday, March 29, 2008 from 8 to 9 p.m local time.
The campaign ran by WWF (World Wildlife Fund), is designed to express that individual action on a mass scale can help change our planet. It’s not just about cutting back for one hour. It’s about taking a stand and thinking ahead about what you can do to slow climate change.
“One person can make a difference. Cities, working together, can change the world.” - WWF & Earth Hour
When you have the option to use a revolving door or a regular sliding door, always use the revolving door. It’s the green thing to do!
By using the revolving doors you will insure that warm air in the winter & cool air in the summer doesn’t escape the building when you enter or leave. This will minimizing the need for fuel to be used to maintain the differential in temperature.
There is this new non-profit company committed to economical and environmentally sound transportation choices in Chicago. Their name is I-Go, and they are committed to reduce car ownership rates, lower family transportation costs, reduce urban congestion and improve air quality in all neighborhoods. How does I-Go do it…well, with car sharing. Car sharing reduces the individual and the societal costs of driving, making it an eco-friendly choice for transportation.
They made the whole process really simple, and very green by providing members with access to energy efficient vehicles on an hourly basis, that are reserved online or over the phone beforehand. I-Go’s has all types of vehicles which are located all over the Chicagoland area and are often within a five-minute walk of members homes or work…very convenient.
Not only is I-Go convenient, but they are also very affordable. No more car payments, insurance payments, maintenance, etc. using I-Go can save Chicago residents up to $3,000 per year. There is a one-time membership fee of $75, but after that you pay by the hour, and the hourly rate includes gas, plus insurance.
To use I-Go is a simple 6 step process:
1- Join
Becoming a member takes 5-7 business days.
2- Reserve the car
Reserve a car via the web or over the phone.
3- Pick up the car
Parked in easy, safe and accessible 24-hr reserved parking spots. No paperwork & no lines.
4- Drive the car
You use a Smartcard to unlock the door & the keys are located in the glove compartment. You use your keys to lock the car during your trip.
5- Return the car
Return the car to the reserved parking spot. Keys go back into the glove compartment and you lock the door with your Smartcard.
6- Billing
Onboard computers tally the number of hours and miles that you drive on each trip.
Current TV and the Alliance for Climate Protection challenged it’s viewers to create Ecospots, short videos with a message to get people involved in fighting the climate change crisis. The winners have been recently announced. Below is the second place winner, Are You Game, a fast-paced, green-themed party game, in which 6 friends race against time to discover common solutions to the climate crisis.
What is Chicago doing to become a greener city?
RiverWired gives the inside scoop in this video. Check out Chicago’s City Hall roof, it’s municipal vehicles, the accessible recycling programs, and the new Center for Green Technology which was built on a former industrial waste site.
Do you need to think about the environment after death? Maybe this video that features an eco cemetery in New Field, New York will help you decide.
