Of course I hope that my question gets chosen, but most importantly I hope it gets answered- whether asked by myself or anyone else. I think this is something we can all relate to.
Does this concern you?
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Smoke Makes Me Swell
As I left my house Tuesday morning, I walked out to find my car covered in a mixture of dirt and ash. I walked into my room that night to the smell of campfire that had seeped in from a slightly opened window (my mistake). The smoke that has engulfed us has caused great damage to our already deteriorating air quality. However, have you realized that it may equally be damaging your health? I didn’t, until today.
Living with Lupus for about four years now I have had my good days and bad, but luckily have been doing well for a long time now. Monday morning I woke-up after a nights worth of crappy sleep to sore shoulders, a sore neck, even sore elbows, and fat swollen hands. I have woken up that way every day this week. I have had headaches, random moments of slight nausea, and been completely drained. All symptoms may be common with a Lupus flare-up, but I had been doing so well and I was so proud of that. I thought I knew my body, and I definitely thought I knew my illness, but I just couldn’t pinpoint the problem and it bothered me. What did I do wrong? Did I eat something? Am I over-working myself? Am I stressed? Am I about to get sick? Are my organs okay? Is my disease progressing? Well, it may be, and if it is, now I know why- because I’m breathing.
In an article I read earlier today, Michael Kleinman, professor of environmental health at UCI said that the tiniest particles of smoke pose the greatest health risk and can aggravate various health conditions (insert: Lupus). These particles can be penetrated into the lungs causing irritation and inflammation as well as enter into your bloodstream. Case solved.
I have to try really hard to maintain my health. It's tough to realize that the worsening conditions of our environment, in a matter of days, can so easily counteract all of my efforts.
Let's take care of our world. You may not feel the effects, but some of us do.
Living with Lupus for about four years now I have had my good days and bad, but luckily have been doing well for a long time now. Monday morning I woke-up after a nights worth of crappy sleep to sore shoulders, a sore neck, even sore elbows, and fat swollen hands. I have woken up that way every day this week. I have had headaches, random moments of slight nausea, and been completely drained. All symptoms may be common with a Lupus flare-up, but I had been doing so well and I was so proud of that. I thought I knew my body, and I definitely thought I knew my illness, but I just couldn’t pinpoint the problem and it bothered me. What did I do wrong? Did I eat something? Am I over-working myself? Am I stressed? Am I about to get sick? Are my organs okay? Is my disease progressing? Well, it may be, and if it is, now I know why- because I’m breathing.
In an article I read earlier today, Michael Kleinman, professor of environmental health at UCI said that the tiniest particles of smoke pose the greatest health risk and can aggravate various health conditions (insert: Lupus). These particles can be penetrated into the lungs causing irritation and inflammation as well as enter into your bloodstream. Case solved.
I have to try really hard to maintain my health. It's tough to realize that the worsening conditions of our environment, in a matter of days, can so easily counteract all of my efforts.
Let's take care of our world. You may not feel the effects, but some of us do.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Would You Jump On The Hollywood Bandwagon?
“Hollywood always has a cause,” or so I was told by a co-worker just recently. “First it’s AIDS, then it’s cancer, now it’s global warming! It’s annoying!” Though I had to agree, Hollywood does always have a cause, I didn’t see it in the negative way she did.
Our conversation sparked when she, we’ll call her Tracy, claimed that global warming does not affect her, and won’t in her lifetime. I disagree. However, true or not, I argued that if you believe it exists, wouldn’t you care enough to want to keep it from affecting those who will come after us- our kids, grandkids, whoever? She doesn’t care. Though her ignorance and attitude on the subject irritated me enough, it was her reason that really bothered me- Hollywood and Al Gore. Referring to both as hypocrites and their followers as “bandwagon,” I couldn’t grasp that her reason to not care about the world she lives in is because of the group she feels she would associated with. My question stands: Is that such a bad group to be associated with? If you’re recycling, making a conscious effort to conserve energy and water, or saving up for a hybrid, does it really matter why you are doing it?
I was once told by a church member, “it doesn’t matter what gets you to church, it just matters that you’re there.” I apply the same concept to this cause, and probably any other cause Hollywood may be promoting- curing AIDS and cancer would be a good thing! And I don’t care if Al Gore is a hypocrite or not. That’s his problem, not mine. If we are doing our part, whether it’s because we see Cameron Diaz doing it, or because we actually care, all that should matter is that we are making the effort, not why.
Our conversation sparked when she, we’ll call her Tracy, claimed that global warming does not affect her, and won’t in her lifetime. I disagree. However, true or not, I argued that if you believe it exists, wouldn’t you care enough to want to keep it from affecting those who will come after us- our kids, grandkids, whoever? She doesn’t care. Though her ignorance and attitude on the subject irritated me enough, it was her reason that really bothered me- Hollywood and Al Gore. Referring to both as hypocrites and their followers as “bandwagon,” I couldn’t grasp that her reason to not care about the world she lives in is because of the group she feels she would associated with. My question stands: Is that such a bad group to be associated with? If you’re recycling, making a conscious effort to conserve energy and water, or saving up for a hybrid, does it really matter why you are doing it?
I was once told by a church member, “it doesn’t matter what gets you to church, it just matters that you’re there.” I apply the same concept to this cause, and probably any other cause Hollywood may be promoting- curing AIDS and cancer would be a good thing! And I don’t care if Al Gore is a hypocrite or not. That’s his problem, not mine. If we are doing our part, whether it’s because we see Cameron Diaz doing it, or because we actually care, all that should matter is that we are making the effort, not why.
Can Wal-Mart Go Green?
I’ve had a hard time liking Wal-Mart for the last several years. I have heard bad stories of how they treat their employees, and being the number one employer in the U.S., their chain has put a lot of local family owned businesses into the ground. Recently, I have developed a new respect for the company. Earlier this month, Wal-Mart held a Sustainability Summit to discuss their plans to go green. However, the topic caused a lot of controversy from outsiders who have questioned if a company as big as Wal-Mart could ever be green. Probably not completely, but should it stop them from trying? I don’t think so.
Attending the Summit were representatives of Wal-Mart suppliers who discussed with associates the idea of renewable energy, organics, and efficient manufacturing. They questioned how they can green their packaging and encourage their suppliers to do the same. Though they are aiming for zero waste and 100% renewability, accomplishing this will only solve for 8% of their carbon footprint. They have a long way to go, a lot of questions to answer, and a lot of planning to do, but they seem to be committed and that’s a good thing.
Critics of the chain believe that in order to reduce carbon emissions, we are supposed to be re-using what we already have, buying and manufacturing less. I agree, though I don’t believe Wal-Mart will be promoting that concept. However, if they are going to be selling products, they might as well go about it in an eco-friendly way, or as best as they can.
Being one of the largest companies in the world, I have faith that if Wal-Mart can go green, if only to reduce their carbon footprint by 50%, imagine what other companies can do. Hopefully, this initiative will inspire other businesses to do the same.
Attending the Summit were representatives of Wal-Mart suppliers who discussed with associates the idea of renewable energy, organics, and efficient manufacturing. They questioned how they can green their packaging and encourage their suppliers to do the same. Though they are aiming for zero waste and 100% renewability, accomplishing this will only solve for 8% of their carbon footprint. They have a long way to go, a lot of questions to answer, and a lot of planning to do, but they seem to be committed and that’s a good thing.
Critics of the chain believe that in order to reduce carbon emissions, we are supposed to be re-using what we already have, buying and manufacturing less. I agree, though I don’t believe Wal-Mart will be promoting that concept. However, if they are going to be selling products, they might as well go about it in an eco-friendly way, or as best as they can.
Being one of the largest companies in the world, I have faith that if Wal-Mart can go green, if only to reduce their carbon footprint by 50%, imagine what other companies can do. Hopefully, this initiative will inspire other businesses to do the same.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Blackle.com - Use it.
http://www.blackle.com
In January of this year, a blog titled “Black Google Would Save 750 Watt-hours A Year” grabbed the attention of Heap Media, a company committed to developing online services with global reach. After calculating that it takes about 74 watts to display an all white screen and only 59 watts to display an all black one, Heap Media created its new black screen search engine powered by Google called Blackle. Based on the extreme popularity of Google, it is estimated that if the 200 million people who used Google every day switched to Blackle, global energy used could be reduced by 750 Megawatt-hours per year.
Aside from being just a great idea, I admire Heap Media for recognizing that small steps can create a huge difference. Heap Media said this about their new initiative, “We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!
By using Blackle.com, we are each taking small steps to conserve our energy. However, we can take this information and go one small step further. By changing your desktop background or altering your display color settings to darker tones, we will be saving energy every time we log on, not just when we search.
In January of this year, a blog titled “Black Google Would Save 750 Watt-hours A Year” grabbed the attention of Heap Media, a company committed to developing online services with global reach. After calculating that it takes about 74 watts to display an all white screen and only 59 watts to display an all black one, Heap Media created its new black screen search engine powered by Google called Blackle. Based on the extreme popularity of Google, it is estimated that if the 200 million people who used Google every day switched to Blackle, global energy used could be reduced by 750 Megawatt-hours per year.
Aside from being just a great idea, I admire Heap Media for recognizing that small steps can create a huge difference. Heap Media said this about their new initiative, “We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!
By using Blackle.com, we are each taking small steps to conserve our energy. However, we can take this information and go one small step further. By changing your desktop background or altering your display color settings to darker tones, we will be saving energy every time we log on, not just when we search.
Missed Opportunities
As I said in my previous blog, I attended the National Public Lands Day volunteer event at Carbon Canyon Regional Park on Saturday, September 29th. It was so discouraging! Visiting the website, I was so excited about participating in such a wonderful mission, and I was sure there would have been a good crowd of volunteers. I arrived that morning to find a group of about nine girl-scouts picking weeds out of what already was a beautiful garden. Not to down-play their work, I was definitely impressed with their commitment to the project, positive attitude, and high spirits while working out in the hot sun. They were there for the right reasons. They told me themselves that they were looking for a way to give back, and this seemed a good way to do it.
Why is it that so few, as many as nine girl scouts no older than 12, were the only ones looking for a way to give back that day? Why were they the only ones that knew about this event? Some might say the lack of a turn-out could be due to bad marketing, and I can’t say I don’t agree. This event, something celebrated for 14 years now, is something that I had never heard about until about a month ago. However, maybe if I had I been looking for a way to give back sometime over the last 14 years, I may have found it a long time ago. So I guess that is what discourages me. Why is that so many people aren’t looking for a way to give back? Can we change that? If so, how?
Why is it that so few, as many as nine girl scouts no older than 12, were the only ones looking for a way to give back that day? Why were they the only ones that knew about this event? Some might say the lack of a turn-out could be due to bad marketing, and I can’t say I don’t agree. This event, something celebrated for 14 years now, is something that I had never heard about until about a month ago. However, maybe if I had I been looking for a way to give back sometime over the last 14 years, I may have found it a long time ago. So I guess that is what discourages me. Why is that so many people aren’t looking for a way to give back? Can we change that? If so, how?
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