Earth Cinema Circle: Netflix For Eco Geeks
By Jenn Breckenridge
Filed Under Green Living, News & Reviews | 1 Comment
When I first heard of this “environmental cinema club,” it sounded so out-of-date. A book club, a wine club, a DVD club…this was for the Angela Lansbury type, for someone who belongs to the not-busy-with-anything-except-my-rose-garden sort of club. As it turned out, I had Earth Cinema Circle pegged all wrong. It’s like Netflix for eco geeks, well, sort of…ECC curates eight films into 2 DVD’s and sends them your way every other month for twenty-two bucks, including shipping. These DVD’s are a combination of full length features and shorts. The hook is that most of them you’d never get to see without being a member of Earth Cinema Circle. And you get the bonus of carbon neutral shipping and 100% recycled packaging.
In just one rotation of films, I discovered earthships via the Garbage Warrior, deepened my fledgling understanding of biodynamic farming, fell in love with whales, and watched the most delightful cartoon about a man named Fred who folds the modern world origami-style into a wild expanse of nature. The films are insightful, edgy, and educational and just perfect for the nature lover, activist, eco-geek, teacher or cinemaphile in all-strike that-so many of us.
Some of the ECC films are mind-blowing, some mediocre, but all of them are packed with incredible information and inspiration about the world we live in. The beauty of having so many films in each shipment is that you can easily skip to the next one, like I did with The True Cost Of Food…and Ed Begley, Jr.’s intros (sorry Ed-I still love all the great work you do!) The ECC collections are yours to keep, so if you fall in love with a film, like I did with Garbage Warrior, you can host a screening at your house or pass them on to your enviro junkie friends.
If you’re a busy person who cares about the planet and you just can’t make it through your copy of Silent Spring after a long hard day at work, then Earth Cinema Circle might just be the perfect match…
Posted on June 13, 2008 |
Field To Fork: The Story Of Food Miles
By Joshua Rosenthal, M.S.
Filed Under Green Living, The Big Picture | 2 Comments
Personal food choices have an impact on our bodies and on our environment. Every single meal we eat is made up of food that requires significant amounts of energy to reach our plate. The journey our food takes is much longer than most realize. We refer to this journey as food miles - the distance food travels from field to plate. The higher the mileage, the less cool the food.
Food travels further these days because large corporate grocery stores have centralized methods for distributing food. In some cases, a crop of cherries may travel across the country to be packaged and then sent back close to where the cherries were originally grown. In other situations, stores fly in food from all over the world to ensure they have fresh produce, whatever the season. This practice causes us to have organic bananas from Peru, kiwis from New Zealand, and avocados from Mexico at any time of year.
In my own area, my food coop sells organic apples from Washington State right next to apples grown locally and they both cost about the same. Locally produced, seasonal foods cut energy use and therefore leave a smaller impact. They are much much better for the environment and for local economies.
Then there’s the matter of meat. To eat or not to eat, that is the question. Cattle require huge amounts of water. Giving up just two pounds of beef a year will save more water than if you stopped showering for a year. When is Al Gore going to start talking about this? Continue reading Field To Fork: The Story Of Food Miles…
Posted on June 3, 2008 |
Memorial Day: Understanding The True Costs Of War
By Jenn Breckenridge
Filed Under The Big Picture | 3 Comments
This Memorial Day weekend, Bush stated, “Kids will be out of school, Moms and Dads will be firing up the grill, and families across our country will mark the unofficial beginning of Summer,” Bush said. “But as we do, we should all remember the true purpose of this holiday – to honor the sacrifices that make our freedom possible.” This is a rare opportunity to follow the advice of our President. Let’s take a stark look at some of the human, environmental, and financial sacrifices of the US-led invasion of Iraq, also known as Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Ecosystems
Though the total toll on Iraq’s environment due to the war is yet unknown, many obvious aspects can be examined. Depleted uranium used as munitions by the US military in Iraq has caused cancer rates to soar in both children and adults. Both the ancient rivers of the Tigris and the Euphrates run through Iraq, providing drinking water to people as well as a diverse array of West Asian wildlife. Approximately 90% of the marshes on the lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers have dried up due to strategic dam building. This has caused the disappearance of water buffalo, foxes, birds, and boar.
Intentionally-set oil fires have released thousands of tons of greenhouse gasses into the air. These fires have also polluted the Sea of Oman with fallout from burning oil debris, which is laced with poisonous chemicals such as mercury, sulfur, and furans. This sea is home to 4 out of 5 species of endangered marine turtles, as well as many types of birds and fish. These species are now being poisoned. Poorly tended oil wells have spilled in surrounding ground water and soil, contaminating animal habitats and human water supplies. Potential farmland has been ruined by the scattered unexploded ordinances and craters caused by bombings. Overall, it is clear that the natural elements, as well as the cities and infrastructure will take countless years to recover. Continue reading Memorial Day: Understanding The True Costs Of War…
Posted on May 26, 2008 |
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