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Forums > Critiques
Written by Leah Snyder on April 21, 2008
Did anyone watch Expedition Alaska on the Discovery Channel?
The show drove home how drastic the effects of global warming are starting to become. Researchers on the showed how drastic the glacier retreats (melts) are getting... how diminished the sea ice is becoming....because of these things they are now estimating that the wild polar bear will be extinct anywhere as early as 2025 to 2050. I recycle and reuse but probably not enough and am personally going to commit to do more that I do currently. Here is my small plea for everyone to try to do just one more thing to save our environment. I want my grandchildren to know what a polar bear is and they are do exist in the world in the wild.
If you haven't seen it..... it was well worth watching.
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Crisis of Commitment
Don't get trapped in a crisis of commitment. In other words becoming so overwhelmed by the complexity of the problems involved that you feel the solutions aren't enough and give up all together. I've come to learn to commit to one or two aspects of environmentalism that are viable in my community and choose to give funds where and when I can to experts I trust to work on other problems.
Long term effects of soy or ethanol, indeed, may prove to be detrimental, but it just goes to show that, in just about all things, a balanced approach is what will work in the long run. America has always been a culture of extremes and it's surprising we don't all have whiplash. Moderation and balance have been dirty words in our society to date and are just now being thought upon as viable; the slow food movement, buy local, do you know your farmer, food miles, etc.
Choose something and stick to it. It should be easy, low cost, low energy, and most of all fun to do. We can't be all things to all people, why should we think that we can solve all the problems by ourselves.
Check out www.freecycle.org for ways to get rid of things you've out grown.
Yeah but...
Sometimes it's hard to know what the most responsible choice is. For an example outside of the creative pro industry, what if my appliances aren't as energy-efficient as the latest ones? Even assuming I can afford to buy new ones, what do I do with the old ones? What if no one wants to buy them from me? Do I send them to the junk yard?
And for an example in the printing industry, are inks from soybeans or veggies really the most sustainable option long-term? I hear a lot of talk now about how ethanol is not a good idea b/c it raises the price of food across the world -- corn is going into our car engines instead of into our mouths' or the mouths of animals we eat. Might the same kind of unexpected outcome be true soy inks? I don't know.
Can anyone recommend good books or other resources that help answer more complex issues like these?
BTW, here's the schedule for upcoming viewings of "Expedition Alaska":
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=1.15365.25634.343...
Terri Stone
Editor in Chief, CreativePro.com
Recycled Paper - A Balancing Act
When working with recycled paper there are several items to keep in mind. Weigh the energy, chemicals, and re-pulping needed to make recycled paper. Some manufactures of recycled paper use dioxin or other Chlorine based chemicals to raise the brightness. Look into FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification of the paper and printer. www.fsc.org The FSC certification looks at the path the paper products take from the forest all the way to the consumer. Print responsibly. Double check proofs before printing large runs. Look into the ink used by the printer - are they vegetable or soy based?
In my opinion, recycled paper is best used for newsprint, paper bags and other projects that do not require a high brightness of the paper. FSC certified paper will contain virgin pulp though it is from sustainably managed tree plantations.
For a progressive company working with environmental issues look at:
www.patagonia.com - under the Environmentalism tab.
Another great site is: http://www.treehugger.com/