Project: 350

When I was a kid, my mom used to say to me, "If your friends jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you do it, too?"

On Saturday, October 24, my answer was, "Jump, no. Follow them across? Yes!"

My friend Jen and I were walking to stop global warming. This was an environmental action day sponsored by 350.org.

From their website:

And what does this 350 number even mean?
350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.

People from all over the globe put groups together to show their commitment.

Some groups formed themselves into giant "350's" while others stood in large groups with signs and took pictures. Some went skydiving while some surfed. And some, like ours, marched in peace, not protest, to show our concern for the condition of our planet. I've posted some photos of our walk but check out the website as well...some of the pictures are amazing! 350.org

There was definitely a sense of pride walking over the bridge and hearing the cars beep to show their support. Some of us chanted things about saving the planet while others of us talked about what our government was going to do to help this problem. Regardless of what words came out of our mouths, we were all united for one cause.

Despite the rainy day (and trying not to look down between the grates at passing cars), we made it across the bridge and into the park to take a group photo.

Now I'm hoping that the NEW parental cliche will be, "If your friends marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to save the environment, would you do it, too?"

Choosy Peanut Butter Shoppers Choose Less Packaging

I love grocery shopping! My two favorites are Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

It brings back memories of Saturday mornings with my dad. Back then, grocery shopping wasn't about organic foods and local produce. It was mass market and whatever was on sale. He'd hand me a bunch of coupons and I'd set off on my journey to collect all of my items. Apples were from New Zealand or some other country. It was all about meat and potatoes, Lucky Charms and Skippy peanut butter.

Today, grocery stores are still filled with those brands that I would not likely touch anymore, but they are also developing their own lines of organic foods and labeling local produce.

When I'm in Whole Foods, I feel good. Healthy. It's clean and there is such a wide variety of wholesome foods to choose from. And these days, I focus more on the outside aisles than the inside ones stocking all of the processed foods. Not only are most processed foods not healthy, but they also carry a lot of packaging.

On a recent shopping excursion, as I looked down my list, I was pleased to see "peanut butter." My favorite part of Whole Foods is the peanut butter station. They have machines that grind the peanuts right in front of you. I love watching the peanutty goo pour out into the cup and feeling the warmth of the freshly grounds peanuts. Plus it tastes great.

The other day I was enjoying my zen peanut butter experience when a girl came up and started to use the machine next to mine.

She reached under the shelf, but instead of pulling out the container, she only pulled out the lid.

I tried not to stare as she began pouring the peanut butter onto the lid. And then she licked it. She made a face, threw away the lid, grabbed another one and repeated the process on another machine filled with honey roasted peanuts. Same pour. Same face.

I removed my container from the machine and slammed it down on the counter to distribute the peanut butter.

But really to make a point.

She looked at me and I glared at her lid. She looked at it, too. Then threw it out and walked away.

As I became increasingly annoyed I thought about how many other people have just "tasted" the peanut butter. Or the ice cream. All of those little plastic spoons and cups that we all gravitate toward at Trader Joe's and Costco.

We are using so much energy to make things we care so little about.

On my way out, I walked by the peanut butter station again. There was a dad holding his little boy who was thrilled at the idea of flipping the switch and watching the creamy peanuts flow. I looked at them and hoped that by the time the little boy could reach the machine on his own, he would know what the peanuts tasted like so that he wouldn't need that extra lid.

Blog Action Day 2009-Climate Change

Today is BLOG ACTION DAY!

I heard about this and knew that I had to participate. What is Blog Action Day?

"Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will be one of the largest-ever social change events on the web."

Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy today's post!

Meredith
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MISS ALIVE

Last week, I attended my very first KISS concert. As a kid, I was not a KISS fan, though I knew many boys who were. On Halloween night, you were guaranteed to see at least a dozen Gene Simmons demons, several Paul Stanley star childs, and one or two Ace Frehley space-aces. Never a Peter Criss cat man.

However, I was familiar with "Beth," "Shout It Out Loud" and a few others, and I admit, their over-the-top, theatrical stage show has always fascinated me. John saw them ten years ago and had been hyping them every since. So when they came to the Garden for their Alive 35 tour, curiosity got the best of me and I decided to see the spectacle.

A spectacle it was. But what is the old saying? Curiosity killed the cat man?

The show started off great. Classic songs, big explosions, cool effects -- breathing fire and spitting blood, band members flying through the air. Doing the most talking was Paul Stanley, who, in addition to being the rhythm guitar player and main vocalist, is also the band’s MC. He pumps up the crowd and introduces the songs. However, his intros became long, drawn-out speeches.

Despite the length of the speeches, I was actually touched by his rhetoric throughout the show. At one point he told how KISS used to rehearse at 23rd and 5th (10 blocks from the Garden), and how as a cab driver, he once drove people to see Elvis Presley. He told himself that one day, he, too, would play the Garden.

But my soft spot for him quickly hardened about ¾ of the way into the show, when he made yet another speech: "There are a lot of troubles in the world. But if you came to hear about troubles, you came to the wrong fuckin' place." So far, so good. Didn't need to curse, but I got the idea.

Then he dropped the big one. "All we hear about is Save the Nukes, Save the Whales, Save the Porpoises. You don't want to hear about that! You want to escape!"

Cannons placed all over the arena blasted tons of confetti everywhere. All to the tune of “Rock and Roll All Nite.” And then, as if the paper wasn't bad enough, the people in back of me started chanting, “Fuck the porpoises!"

It was more like a rock and roll all nitemare. They weren’t driving me wild, but they were driving me crazy. Paper? The poor trees. Fuck the porpoises? What did they do? And what exactly did "Save the Nukes" mean?

I understood what Paul Stanley was trying to say but using the environment as his examples was too much.

I seriously think we need to ban the confetti thing. Did anyone stop to think how many trees were chopped down to produce even one machine full of confetti? Probably not. Paul McCartney used it in his concert as well. PAUL! Maybe it's a "Paul" thing?

To that I ask the questions: Why do we, the audience, get excited about little bits of paper falling all over us? Do you take it home as a souvenir?

Ironically, Paul Stanley’s statement about “escape” helped me do anything but. All I could think about for the rest of the show was waste, whales and porpoises.

At this point, I couldn't get back on board with the concert which bummed me out because it was the encore and those were all the songs I knew. I would've loved to rock n roll all night but my mind was off in Detroit Rock City being pissed off over the whole porpoise/nuke/paper fiasco.

I guess I wasn't made for loving you, KISS.

You're Never Too Old To Have A Green Childhod

I was recently in a meeting where a new recycling program was about to be unveiled. As excitement stirred among my peers, our group leader admitted she was not that interested in recycling. "All I care about is how it will save us money," she said. "Going green is for the young people."

She explained that she was too old to change her ways, because she was (gasp!)53.

For real? I was completely bummed. This woman has young children. Was she that unwilling to set an example for them, let alone help make the earth a better place to live?

And then I started worrying. Was I going to turn out like her when I turned 53? Would I stop caring and just dump everything on the young 'uns?

That couldn't be true. I was already in my 30's when I decided to go green. When Al Gore started the work that led to An Inconvenient Truth, he was 56 -- three years older than my ancient group leader.

What was the problem? Was she too old to throw a bottle into a blue bin instead of a black one? Why did she use her age as an excuse for not caring about the planet? The earth is older than she is (at least I think it is).

My husband told me that in the town where he grew up, every year there was a huge number of senior citizens who tried to vote the school budget down. As long as they got to their early bird specials, they didn't care if the next generation got an education. They thought it was someone else's problem.

I admit, I've gone down that road. How many times have I gone to get a drink at the water cooler only to find the jug is empty? I've thought, "I'll just leave it . . . someone else will change it." But then when no one does, I realize that water is important, I need it, others need it, and if I want it, I have to be the one to make the change.

My guess is that that my elderly leader has never changed a water jug.

But who am I to judge? If she has early bird specials to get to at the age of 53, it's not my place to prevent her from getting behind the wheel of her Winnebago and driving five miles an hour to get there.

However, I am determined not to end up like her. My responsibility as a human being doesn't end because I turn a certain age. Or any age.

Recycling is renewal, and nothing makes you feel younger than making something old, new again. In this case the planet.

Besides, being over 50 does not mean you have to be over the environment. Laurie David, Paul McCartney, Ralph Nader and Pete Seeger all prove . . . going green is for the old people!

Pedi-CURE

Pedicures are one of my favorite things. I love to sit in the big chair with the rolling massage balls on my back, while my feet are massaged and my toes are painted in fun, seasonal shades.

Recently, I found a new salon near my apartment that I thought I'd give a try. I was greeted by many women who simultaneously pointed to a chair, took my bags and asked me to pick a color. As you may have guessed, I brought my own "green" polish, free of formaldehyde.

But even with my own, safe polish in hand, I didn't realize how un-green my pedi was going to be.

I sat down in the comfy chair and turned on the massagers. I let them talk me into the special "spa" treatment. I had had a rough day. I was going to treat myself.

As the woman began to cut my cuticles, I started to obsess about the cuticle remover. What exactly was in that? Sodium hydroxide? Potassium hydroxide? Other hydroxides I hadn't heard of?

The next step was the exfoliation process. My legs were slathered with "green tea" exfoliator. Was there actually any green tea in that cream? What if it was Earl Grey? Or Lipton? But NO! I was going to enjoy this experience. I told myself to stop thinking about what was in the exfoliator! Of course, that didn't stop me from trying to smell it . . .

Wiping chemicals from my mind as the woman (possibly) wiped them from my legs, I relaxed. She rinsed my legs and applied lotions to them. I knew that the lotions would most likely not be paraben-free, but I told myself that I only get a pedi about every four weeks. I felt bad, but I figured a little lotion would be OK.

Then she got up and left.

Oh, I thought, maybe she gives the cream time to sink in. I almost lost it when she came back with two big sheets of plastic wrap. What on earth was she going to do with those? And then my question was answered. She wrapped them around my calves! Oh my God! What had I done?

The "spa" treatment cost more than an extra $10! How many women were getting "spa" pedis and how many giant sheets of plastic were being wasted?

I sat there for what seemed like forever, my legs sweating from being encased in Saran Wrap and from my imagining its chemicals seeping into my pores.

Finally, she unwrapped me. A sigh of relief. The worst was over.

Not.

She got up once again and this time returned with more plastic. Two baggies full of liquid...paraffin! She stuck the heel of each foot into a baggie and tied it around my ankle. She slipped each foot into a flipflop and applied my polish to my toes. My pedicure had finally turned "green."

I left the salon feeling guilty.

Guilty because of all the plastic that was used on me. Guilty because of all the chemicals, real or imagined. But even more guilty because...ugh...it felt good!

I feel ashamed to admit that, but it's true. Angst aside, it was one of the best pedis I'd ever had.

But taking care of my feet at the expense of the Earth is not an option. Keeping our oceans and landfills plastic-free is more important than a pampering massage. My polish wasn't enough. I've already begun my search for the ultimate green pedi.

Because the Earth deserves the real "spa" treatment.

Gag Me With A Spoon!

I was recently at a meeting where a bunch of women were discussing ice cream. Flavors, textures, brands. One woman started to describe how she eats her ice cream.

"I only eat ice cream with a plastic spoon! A regular spoon gets too cold and doesn't allow you to really taste the flavor. Try it...you'll never go back!"

The women began to oooh and ahhh. I started to gag. Was this woman serious? She was buying bags of plastic, non-biodegradable, chemical-based utensils because silverware chilled her lips and tongue? Really? Where does she store her metal spoons -- in the Arctic?

I imagined all of these women running to the store, buying plastic spoons, grabbing pints of ice cream and eating like they'd never eaten before. And then, haphazardly throwing the spoons away.

The Pacific has the infamous island of plastic (that floating mound of trash the size of Texas). New York would have a sculpture of plastic in Central Park. "Form of a Giant Spoon!"...The Wonder Twins would say.

Unfortunately, I didn't know these women well enough to say anything...not that that has ever stopped me before. But it was a professional organization and I thought that I'd better keep my mouth -- which avoids plastic spoons like the plague -- shut.

Ironically, that night, John wanted an Italian Ice from the corner deli. As I reached into the freezer to get one, I saw these little "to go" Ben and Jerry's and Hagen Daaz cartons that had a little plastic spoon right in the lid. Companies like these are touting better ingredients and sustainable company practices but they're not considering the packaging. That's half our problem!

We create so much waste! Take a frozen dinner. The box, the plastic film and the plastic tray. Even though the box can be recycled, the rest goes into the landfill. Let's hope that Swanson's doesn't start including a knife and a fork.

The plastic spoons made me realize that convenience, waste (and now apparently taste) and global warming all go hand-in-hand. I told John we had no hope if what got people excited was plastic spoons.

The next day, as I ordered my lunch, I made sure to ask the cashier to not put any plastic utensils in my bag. "I have my own, thanks!" I had brought my own metal utensils from home. As I took my first bite, I could only hope that I didn't burn my mouth on the fork or wind up with my tongue stuck to the spoon.

Merci!

I want to thank Ri from Music Savvy Mom for having me as a guest DJ yesterday. It was so much fun!

And I want to thank Kathleen from Brutalism (an extremely funny blog!) for recommending me!

You both rock!