Monday, October 15, 2007

Blog Action Day


Today is Blog Action Day:

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.


But Slashdot has a bit of advice about the impact of a blog post:
You can almost hear the sound of the vacuum created by bloggers thinking that their words matter when the people with control don't even know how to read the tubes. Lick a stamp or march- that's harder to ignore.


One of my big issues regarding the environment where I live is the lack of easy access to public transportation and the sub-urban sprawl that, combined, make doing without a car very difficult. It's not just an environmental issue, I confess, but also a monetary one. It would be much cheaper to depend on public transportation than to pay for gas, maintenance and insurance on a car, and jobs would be much easier to find and keep if people could depend on public transportation. For many reasons, including environmental issues, I would think improving and expanding public transportation would be towards the top of the city's agenda. But it's not. I know my mother did without a car when she was a young woman, using the street car to get to work and go shopping and meet friends and using passenger trains for vacations. We have lost a lot with the growth of dependence on cars.

Locally, Gates of Memphis wonders why we aren't a forest, and I admit the idea of letting the trees grow to displace all that maintenance-intensive grass appeals to me.

My favorite blogs on ecology action:

EcoGeek:

Are You an Eco Geek?

Science, technology gadgets and...baby seals. We're in a bit of an eco-mess, but we've got the brains to lick any problem. And that's why EcoGeek.org publishes up to ten stories daily about innovations that are saving the planet.

And if that sounds interesting to you, then congratulations, you're an EcoGeek.


No Impact Man:
For one year, my wife, my 2-year-old daughter, my dog and I, while living in the middle of New York City, are attempting to live without making any net impact on the environment. In other words, no trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, no toilets…


Tree Hugger has a how-to section on making the everyday tasks of your life greener.

Green Home Guide offers practical advice for household decisions.

1 comment:

  1. I read both of the posts for Blog Action Day and would like to invite you to check an environmental site online that my further your efforts to save the planet.

    Congress finally has a chance to pass meaningful energy legislation. The bill they are about to pass includes the best fuel economy standards ever (35 mpg by 2020) and a renewable electricity standard (15% by 2020) that guarantees the growth of renewable, clean energy. But there is a chance these two key advances won’t make it through to the final bill. So, please go to www.energybill2007.org.
    and sign the petition. This is a good chance for real progress, don’t let Congress back down!

    Me, I am working with a coalition to make sure Congress sends the president a strong energy bill with meaningful changes for our environment and planet.

    Come join the cause, Eco-Friend.

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