Green Girl

While Earth Hour 2007 took place exclusively in Sydney, Australia, Earth Hour 2008 became a global movement. If you haven’t participated in this dynamic, exciting, global event, it’s time to sign up!  When you commit to participating in the 2009 Earth Hour by signing up, you get all of Earth Hour’s resources to begin building the movement in your community, your offices, online, and in your home. You can even create your own Earth Hour page to see where you fit into the larger scheme of the Global Movement. You can see GreenGirl’s page here. If you sign up through the Green Girl Page, we’ll be able to make friends and keep track of one another’s progress as we spread the word about next year’s Earth Hour. Turning off your lights with so many other people in the world for one quite hour is such a beautiful gesture, and I’d love to share it with those of you who are reading!

Please visit our brand new Everyday Hero page to help raise money for the World Wildlife Fund! The World Wildlife Fund is one of the world’s most reputable and responsible charities, fighting to:

 Stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by:
* conserving the world’s biological diversity
* ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
* promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

Al Gore was on NPR today speaking about his book The Assault On Reason , which was recently released in paperback.  While his new work is less relevant to our green mission that his work as an environmental activist, his insight into the political and social psychology of our nation powerfully portrays the problems that we face in trying to shift our perspectives towards cleaner, greener technology.

In an interview last year with NPR, Gore explained:

“When evidence that any reasonable person can see and understand is completely ignored in favor of ideology and power politics, then the country suffers.”

You can listen to a podcast of the interview here , where Gore responds (interestingly) to the question about the gas tax holiday that is steaming up the Democratic primary right now. Check it out!

When the band Radiohead was invited to attend Conan O’Brien’s show to perform live, they decided that the best way to continue their commitment to no-impact living was to phone the performance in via satellite. The Oxford, UK-based group has long been active on green issues, so their latest move comes as no surprise, especially in conjunction with NBC’s Green Week campaign. When the band is touring, they make efforts to minimize their carbon footprints, and the frontman Thom Yorke says that their decision not to travel to the US to perform will avoid leaving a carbon footprint equivalent to driving a car for a year by performing in London.

See more on BBC Radio .

In a rather strange move to promote his passion for the environment, actor Harrison Ford has demonstrated the pain of deforestation by having his chest waxed. Before the event, he said, “I’m going to have an acre of chest hair removed!”

The event was attended by Mel of the Spice Girls, who shares Ford’s passion for environmental activism. It was filmed by Access Hollywood, and you can watch the video here . Each year, 30 million acres of forest are destroyed, and Ford hoped to draw attention to the deforestation problem by drawing a connection to the pain of waxing with the pain of lost forest. It’s kind of cheesy, yes, but his heart’s in the right place, right?

Ford is the vice-chair of the international environmental action group Conservation International , which is presently spearheading a campaign against climate change.

Check out this clip from Kilowatt Ours , the award-winning film from Jeff Barrie that chronicles the impending energy crisis in America and offers solutions to the problem.

The film begins by analyzing the consequences of our coal-powered economy, exploring America’s current policies and analyzing the effects of coal mining on the regions where it is common and on the nation at large. In addition to analyzing the problems, Barrie offers practical, hands-on solution on how we can increase our own energy efficiency and save ourselves money along the say.

The website for the film offers many of the tips that are included in the documentary, including how to save up to $600 a year in energy costs. You can see their money-saving, energy-saving, planet-saving tips here . This Nashville Scene article also gives you a little insight into the man behind the film.

If you’d really like to get involved, consider organizing a screening of the film in your community.

Alix of P.E.A.C.E. Scooter is planning a 9,000 mile trip on the back of an environmentally-friendly scooter to promote his vision of peace, environmentalism, and community action. The “P.E.A.C.E.” stands for a “Patriot’s Exhibition Advancing Community And Environmentalism.”

Last year, he rode 11,000 miles to complete the inner part of the peace sign, and this year, he plans to complete the circle around the outer edges. He hopes to discover how people across the country define “peace” and to learn more about how different people teach their children about peace. He explains, “We need to know what peace is if we ever hope to achieve it.” He also hopes to promote and assist organizations within the communities he visits that are active in promoting peace and the environment.

Another element of his project this year is to mow a peace sign into at least one lawn of every state he visits. He says:

“That’s right, I want to mow at least one yard in each state into a Peace sign! It’s a powerful symbol that represents social change globally. This is simply a free way to use your space to voice your beliefs. Please contact me if you want to see that Peace sign on your yard or if you know someone who does!”

Check out Alix and donate to his mission if you have the means.