Our Green Streets Blog

This post comes from Jennifer Shockley, writing for Green Building Elements.

“Home” Documentary Really Hits Home (via http://greenbuildingelements.com)

As an American, we are raised as consumers. We hardly question when or how our purchases and lifestyles impact the bigger picture. An eye-opening documentary entitled “Home” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand was released in 2009. This 2 hour video, which can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube, emphasizes…

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Thanks to guest contributor, Mariana Ashley, who posts this report about colleges offering more programs conerning sustainability and environmental issues. Ashley writes frequently about online colleges.

Most incoming college students are becoming aware of the need for environmental protection and a way to ensure the healthy and long-standing existence of the human race on Earth. They are also aware that some of the biggest surges in job opportunities will be in these areas. For this reason, college programs in sustainability and environmental protection are becoming more readily available. Here are some of the top programs in this important field.

Sustainability is one of the fastest growing degree programs in the United States today. Much of the focus in a sustainability program will be on how human beings can promote the well-being of their species and environment over the long term. Students will study the environmental, social and economic factors relating to this goal.

There are many colleges and universities offering degrees in sustainability. As long as the school is accredited, the degree should provide a thorough background in all areas necessary to begin a career in this field. There are also very interesting subsets within sustainability studies. For example, The University of New Hampshire offers a degree in EcoGastronomy, in which students study sustainable agriculture and holistic nutrition. They receive hands-on experience in kitchens, farms and laboratories in order to learn how to create and prepare food in an agriculturally sustainable way.

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Take a look below to see what appear to be some positive actions taking place under the banner of eco-terre-orism. Find intriguing notions that are being put into action, such as tossing a seed ball on a dilapidated and forlorn part of our planet:

from Open Forum

Eco-terre-orism on the Rise

Haily Zaki (Inhabitat)

Oct 05, 2009 -

The national alert is high, code level…green.  Whether we notice it or not, a group of eco-terre-orists are waging a quiet war against neglect and scarcity of public space.   From London to Berlin, Miami to San Francisco and Southern California, a new breed of free range tillers are harnessing their inner flower (and fruit and veggie) power, sewing seeds for a greener tomorrow.  They hope that their hard (and surreptitious) work will help transform derelict soil and abandoned lots into floral and food outposts.

Manufacturing an urban seed ball Credit: Los Angeles Times

Their weapon of choice?  The seed ball.

Made from clay and compost mixed with seeds, these little life mines are tossed into neglected patches of urban landscape in the hopes that they will take root and explode with green over time. Read more of this >>

If you have wondered whether or not garbage patches, gyres, and trash vortexes exist in the oceans, read Ole Nielsen’s blog, OleLog.

North Pacific gyre source: OleLog

Nielsen reports: “Can you imagine what happens when marine garbage ends up in such a vortex? It will never leave it again, all plastic will circulate, new plastic come by and circulate. Ships continue dumping their garbage at sea, and you end up with the world’s biggest landfill in the Pacific Ocean.

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Good News from Denver Recycles:

Live Green Electronics Recycling Event
March 7, 2009
7:00 a.m. to noon

“Do your part to help the environment by recycling your old television, computer monitor and other used electronic equipment at the “Live Green Electronics Recycling Event” on Saturday, March 7th. This event provides a rare opportunity for residents to responsibly recycle old electronic equipment for FREE, thanks to generous sponsorships from LG Electronics, 9News, Comcast, Waste Management of Colorado, and the City and County of Denver. Electronics recycling is expensive and normal recycling costs average about $25 for a TV and $12 for a computer monitor.

“Responsible recycling of electronics helps to prevent lead and other chemicals from leaching into the groundwater and into our atmosphere. Televisions and computers monitors contain 4 to 8 pounds of lead each, as well as many other metals and toxic materials. Recycling old electronics also saves energy and valuable resources.

“Please note that you do not need to replace your television as a result of the February 17, 2009 switch to digital broadcasting. Only residents using an antenna with their television (either rooftop or “rabbit ears”) will be affected by this change and purchasing a converter box will prevent the need to replace a television. Televisions connected to Comcast cable, satellite or other pay TV services will not be affected. If you choose to replace your TV, take advantage of this one time opportunity to responsibly recycle for free.”

For more information and to find specific drop off locations visit www.9News.com and click on the Live Green section. For more information about recycling, visit www.DenverGov.org/DenverRecycles.

Jerome Ringo, noted environmental justice champion, and president of the Apollo Alliance, will speak February 12, 2009, at CU’s University Memorial Center as part of at the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit.

Jerome Ringo, Apollo Alliance President

Title of the RMSS speech:

The New Color of Green: A Collective Voice Towards Change.

Associate Research Scholar Yale University, Author, Lecturer, Motivational Speaker Boards: Al Gore’s Climate Advisory Panel / National Wildlife Federation / National Parks and Conservation Association / Florida A & M University School of the Environment / Sundance Channel “The Green” / Newsweek Magazine Advisory Panel on Climate Change.