Phone Book, Dirty Energy, Climate Activism, PACT, etc.

*The following are all articles from Grist.

Phone Book:
Nobody really uses a phone book, and realistically, when said waste of paper is received, most people do not recycle it. "WhitePages, an online directory service, recently released the results of a survey it conducted indicating that only 15.9 percent of U.S. adults recycle their old or unwanted phone books, and that U.S. citizens are largely unaware of the environmental impact of printing and delivering so many phone books (five million trees cut down every year!)." WhitePages is sponsporing a “Ban the Phone Book” initiative that will hopefully encourage an "opt-in" program. This will allow citizens to only receive a phonebook if requested. 81% of respondents in the survey supported this idea. Some states have "opt-out" programs, which allows residents to indicate that they don't want a phonebook. Cincinnati Bell started an opt-in program, and Florida AT&T plans to test an opt-in program this fall.
Grist suggests lobbying your local government to achieve an opt-in or out program, while RECYCLING your old phone books.

PACT: Saving the world with your underwear
PACT, a sustainable apparel brand, has teamed up with Yves Behar and is launching three collections of premium organic cotton underwear for men and women. The making of these underwear has been "thought out with sustainability and social responsibility in mind". Each underewear collection is aligned with an organization that creates social and environmental solutions, such as 826 National, ForestEthics and Oceana. 10% of each sale is given to support these organizations. Behar said, "Our vision is to unite fashion and design with doing good in an authentic way, building a company that truly embodies 21st century needs, showing a new way for businesses to operate in the future.” To read more about the design and sustainability, click the title of the article. Be assured that the supply chain is certified to the highest possible environmental and social standards, and the packaging is compostable and reusable.

Coal Colouring Book:
Recently, the coal-industry group, Families Organized to Represent the Coal Economy, released a colouring book for children entitled "Eyes for Frosty." Grist obviously thinks little of this colouring book as "they [snowmen] won't be around for long if the coal industry succeeds in stomping all over climate change legislation." Grist believes the book to be wonderfully crappy in regards to plot, character development and drawings. The book educates childrens and families about the history of coal, how it's mined, and how "important" coal is. To view the drawings and story, click the title. Also, at the bottom is a link to REAL climate art.

10 Green Royals:
This article by Grist features the 10 most green members of royalty.
The first is Prince Charles of England, who has an across-the-board interest in environmental issues. The Prince's Rainforests Project has advocated for tropical rainforest preservation and brought attention to the rapid depletion of global fish stocks. He also converted the Home Farm from conventional to organic food production and started Duchy Originals to sell organic and sustainably produced goods.

The second is Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan, who has earned a long list of awards and honours for her efforts to bring environmental issues into the limelight. She was the first woman in Jordan to earn navy diving certification and saw firsthand the human damage on the delicate coral reefs of the Red Sea. She then formed the Jordan Royal Ecological Diving Society and the Royal Botanic Garden, which focus on conserving the marine and native plants of Jordan.

Third is Prince Albert II of Monaco, who implements sustainable practices in his own country and urges others to do likewise. The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation declares that sustainability and protecting the environment are challenges that require urgent and concrete action. Prince Albert wrote a foreword to the Monaco Declaration on ocean acidification, urging political leaders to take action. He also promoted energy efficiency as a way to combat climate change.

To read the rest of the articles and more details about these royal members, please click the title.

Two other articles that I've read, but are simply too long and detailed to summarize are
The Fallacy of Climate Activism, and Immersion in Nature Makes Us Nicer.

Grist has also been talking about the new Disney's Friends for Change song, Send it On, featuring the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez.


The world is in danger, we need to be its superheroes.
Love,
TreeHugger