Barbie Tree                                            Broken Glass Tree                                          Shoe Tree

THE ART OF JUNK

Innovative designer & artist, Janis Leonard, creates Christmas tree art from things that were destined to the landfill like old shoes, dolls and broken glass. Her Christmas tree art is on display at AZ88, a Scottsdale, Arizona restaurant & bar, also at its sister restaurant Bar 89 in Manhattan. The restaurants often rotate art installations.

It is wonderful how so many in the art world can look at refuse, what most people would throw away, and see the building blocks of beauty.

Barbie Tree: Janis Leonard and her team assembled this tree out of plastic dolls, many of them Barbies, floating in jars of colored liquid.

Broken Glass Tree: A monument to the fact that beauty can come from broken things is made of cracked and chipped martini and wine glasses collected over four years from AZ88 and its sister restaurant Bar 89 in Manhattan.

Shoe Tree: This tree is made of shoes, most of them from the 1970s. Janis Leonard said that of all the trees she’s done over the years, this one has gotten the most feedback. She said people would comment on how they used to own pairs just like the ones on the tree.

This gives me a good idea of what I can do with the dozens and dozens of old worn out baseball caps my husband won't wear anymore, but also won't part with.  lol

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

   HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

This is one of my favorite Happy Birthday cartoons that I have sent via e-mail over the past year to people who would think it was funny.  I am gladly retiring this cartoon as of today.

The Hallmark greeting card company has never made much money on me when it comes to sending holiday greetings, birthday wishes, or to remember and honor a special occasion. Instead I choose to show I care in an environmentally friendly way by sending e-cards and cartoons. In the past I would usually find a funny cartoon or picture like the one above to e-mail because most of the e-cards were pretty lame. But I found wonderful free e-cards on Rattlebox. These e-cards are funny, smart, and unique because many e-cards use vintage movies.

Thanksgiving and the holidays will be upon us soon, so send an e-card to family and friends and reduce your carbon footprint.

Today, November 11th is also Veterans Day, and Rattlebox has e-cards you can send to the special veteran in your life.

What a truly historic day it was for the United States. This election was not only a victory for our nation, but also for a new energy future. We now have an opportunity to change the course on global warming after enduring eight environmental nightmare years under the Bush administration. Change is finally on the way.

We threw a big election party just like we did four years ago. Thankfully, this last party was much more fun. In fact we had too much fun, and I am still hurting from all the fun we had last night. I would have had even more fun last night if I could have joined my sister in Chicago who attended Barack Obama’s victory celebration in Grant Park. Oh well, maybe I will attend his victory party in 2012.

Congratulations President-elect Barack Obama.

BYE-BYE BUSH!.

Leonardo DiCaprio is bringing out the big guns to get out the vote.

Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Will Smith, Steven Spielberg and Justin Timberlake are among the celebrities starring in a new public service announcement produced by the actor, who also appears in the spot.

The video shows the stars struggling to grasp the concept of using reverse psychology to get young people into voting booths.

Required by director Spielberg to say "don't vote," Roberts remarks, "That doesn't make sense." Cruise and Smith complain to each other, while Timberlake jokes, "I can do anything. I was in a boy band, OK?"

Finally, Ford says, "You know what? I can't do it. It's not true, I don't believe it — 537 people decided the 2000 election, and you want me to tell people that one vote doesn't count?"

"There are more Baldwin brothers than that," quips Ryan Reynolds, whose wife Scarlett Johansson also appears in the video.

Also appearing: Cameron Diaz, Shia LaBeouf, Snoop Dogg, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Zach Braff and Sacha Baron Cohen as his alter ego, Borat.

You can watch this very funny Declare Yourself follow-up PSA video HERE.

Source: AP

I already voted early by mail so I can spend next Tuesday, November 4th preparing for the BIG election party we are throwing.

LEXUS Challenges Kids to Perform

The Lexus Eco Challenge is a life-changing opportunity for teens across the nation to make a difference in the environmental health of our planet, one community at a time.

The annual Lexus Eco Challenge just began its second year, and it's not too late to participate. Developed with Scholastic, the Challenge is a national competition that invites middle and high school students to devise solutions to environmental problems in their communities through a series of challenge categories: water, land, and air/climate. The student team with the best idea in each category will win $10,000 in scholarships and grants, which go to the students, their schools, and their teachers. The winning teams will then compete for a $50,000 grand prize in a Final Challenge - in all, $1 million in grants and scholarships will be awarded.

Parents, teachers, and students interested in participating should visit http://www.scholastic.com/lexus/to learn more.

American Museum of Natural History
Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future

On Display October 18, 2008 – August 16, 200

If you live in the New York area or are planning a visit to New York City over the next 10 months, you may want to check out a new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History on climate change.

Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future, will examine one of the most pressing scientific issues of our time—the massive, human-induced warming of Earth, a phenomenon that could lead to drought, rising sea levels, heavy storms, and other events with potentially dire impacts on the health of society and the natural world. This exhibition will explore the science, history, and impact of climate change, and illuminate ways in which individuals, communities and nations can reduce their carbon footprints.

"Evidence has been accumulating for some time that Earth is warming due to human activity," said Museum President Ellen V. Futter, "but we are only just beginning to come to terms with the breadth of the consequences of this phenomenon, and to learn what we can do to mitigate them. The fact is," Ms. Futter continued, "we do have options; but implementing solutions will require individual, national, and global action. Climate Change will examine both the consequences of global warming and possible solutions to this critical problem."

Climate Change will give visitors a scientific context to help make sense of today's most urgent headlines on global warming. More importantly, the exhibition will inspire visitors to participate in the world-changing discussion on how best to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The central part of the exhibition will explore the effects of climate change on several separate but interrelated areas: Earth's atmosphere, oceans, land, and polar ice sheets. Scientists have documented a dramatic increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the past 150 years—especially CO2 (carbon dioxide)—caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other changes in land use. Climate Change will use realistic dioramas, hands-on activity stations, and dynamic animations to understand the climate's response to the build-up of greenhouse gases and explore the repercussions for today's world and future generations.

One activity allows visitors to investigate raising the sea levels on a dynamic scale, model of Lower Manhattan to graphically illustrate the flooding that would be caused by the melting of ice sheets and warming of oceans. The movements of clouds, ocean currents and seasonal ice that reveal how climate works will be internally projected on digital video globes throughout the exhibition. A ghostly coral reef—a victim of "coral bleaching"—will show how increased CO2 in the oceans and higher water temperatures are killing corals and the communities that they anchor. And a six-foot-tall model that represents one ton of coal will provide a startling visual reminder of each visitor's own carbon footprint: Scientists estimate that every person in the world burns, on average, the equivalent of three tons of coal every year. The exhibition will also explore the options for future energy sources—including coal-burning combined with a CO2 capture and sequestration, solar power, nuclear energy, and wind power.

Climate Change does more than examine a complex and immediate problem—it lays the groundwork for potential solutions, from the personal to the national and global, and shows how these are within our grasp. The exhibition will empower and encourage visitors of all ages to help address the climate change problem by reducing energy consumption in their daily lives, whether by buying energy-efficient appliances, growing their own food, switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, or choosing to walk or take mass transit to get to work or school. Please visit the American Museum of Natural History web site for more information and details.

Source: City Pass

STUDENTS ON ICE is an award-winning organization offering unique learning expeditions to the Antarctic and the Arctic. Their mandate is to provide students from around the world with inspiring educational opportunities at the ends of our earth, and in doing so, help them foster a new understanding and respect for the planet.

Educational Philosophy
Students on Ice believe in providing students with unique educational experiences that will challenge the way in which they perceive the world. Their aim is not to simply provide students with a "trip" to a unique destination but rather to give students an opportunity to have an aesthetic experience in some of the most wild and awe-inspiring ecosystems in the world. They do not want students to just pass through a place with camera in hand, but rather to listen to the land; to 'feel' these natural places and in turn, explore how we as humans feel when immersed in such places. Ultimately, their goal is for students to experience a transformative connection with Nature - a connection that changes the way they understand and act in this world.

Educational Approach
Students on Ice approach to education weaves together elements of experiential, expeditionary, and problem-based learning. In starting with a very 'hands-on' approach, active participation and critical thinking are important elements in the SOI learning process. Through posing questions, experimenting and constructing meaning, the learning becomes personal, relational and exploratory in nature. Their expeditions become symbolic learning journeys from the initial development of ideas, to addressing problems and possible solutions, to final reflections. They recognize that the journey will be unique for each student, as will the manner in which each student effects positive change in his/her individual lives following the expedition.

Educational Theme: Environmental Leadership
Woven into all Students on Ice expeditions is the overarching theme: Environmental Leadership. The world is a global ecosystem in which all natural and human systems are interconnected. Humans are part of nature and bound by the laws of the natural world. However, in today's mechanistic, consumer-oriented world our lifestyles have led to a disconnection with nature. We are often unaware or apathetic to where our most basic needs come from - food, clothing, shelter. Our over consumptive practices have led to resource depletion, atmospheric pollution, diminishing biodiversity, and most commonly discussed in the media, climate change. As a global society, we need to move towards living more sustainably. Today's youth have the opportunity to lead the way.

From an environment perspective, they focus their expeditions' lectures, discussions, and activities on current environmental issues facing the regions they are traveling through. Climate change is a particular focus on all their expeditions.

From a leadership perspective, they will explore how youth are effective agents of change and how their efforts contribute to positive societal action. Youth have an opportunity to establish sustainable livelihoods and make informed ecological-based choices early in their lives. The choices they make have a ripple effect and the action youth takes does make a difference. In developing the leadership component of their expedition's theme they facilitate ongoing group discussions on ways to get involved in youth-based environmental initiatives upon returning home.

Their theme of "Environmental Leadership" weaves itself through their education program in conjunction with their ongoing exploration of the history, culture, general science, and politics of our place of travel.

Source: Students on Ice  

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A 15-year old local Scottsdale, Arizona girl, Alexandra Polasko, spent 2-1/2 weeks this past August on a Students on Ice expedition to the Arctic Circle. Now back at school she and two other students from the expedition are planning to hold a national conference, The American Green Youth Summit, in summer 2010 in Boulder, Colorado, bringing together two students from each state to learn about protecting the environment.

"The summit will be about students reaching out to other students," Polasko said.

Before the expedition, Polasko said she had a passion for the environment but did not feel connected to it. But after seeing polar bears and sea lions losing their homes and not knowing why, she said she saw how humans affect the environment.

"We are not simply passengers on the planet," Polasko said.

Her most dramtic experience came on the trip's fifth day when students in Zodiac boats in a fjord came upon a shelf of ice. They watched as a giant shelf crashed into the water.

"I felt as if the Earth...as if its arm was breaking off or its finger was breaking off...I could see the reduction in the ice; I could see the animals suffering; I could see the impact that was happening firsthand," Polasko said.

Source: Arizona Republic

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I'm so impressed that high school kids today actually want to go on educational expeditions like this to the Arctic Circle and Antarctic, instead of wanting to go to a more "FUN" vacation destination, or just wanting to lay around all summer. Growing up in Chicago my junior class trip was to California. All we cared about was getting a nice tan. Thank goodness these kids are WAKING UP.  

In a Public Service Announcement (PSA) that came out today, Hollywood celebrities encourage people to vote using a little reverse psychology...Please Don't Vote!

Celebrities appearing in the PSA include: Amy Adams, Tatyana Ali, will.i.am, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Bacon, Maria Bello, Halle Berry, Selma Blair, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Connolly, Courteney Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jaime Foxx, Jonah Hill, Dustin Hoffman, Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Kiedis, Ashton Kutcher, Adam Levine, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Tobey Maguire, Demi Moore, Esai Morales, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Seth Rogan, Sarah Silverman, Ethan Suplee, Kyra Sedgwick, Michelle Trachtenberg, Usher, and Forest Whitaker.

You can watch this GREAT video HERE, and get information on registering to vote and how to vote early by going to DeclareYourself.com. For voting locations, visit Maps.Google.com/Vote.

Great job!  You all deserve much applause. 

Source: Ecorazzi

World's Largest Volunteer Pollution Cleanup is Set for Saturday, September 20, 2008

Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup is the world’s largest volunteer event of its kind. Last year, 378,000 volunteers from 76 countries and 45 states cleared six million pounds of trash from oceans and waterways and recorded every piece of trash collected.

This year on September 20th 2008, more than 400,000 volunteers from around the globe will participate in the world's largest collection of trash and pollution.

From Papua New Guinea to Portland Oregon people of all ages and cultures gather on coastlines that span our planet with one simple mission, "protect our aquatic species from our debris."

They need more volunteers.

They need more help to make this a World Record Breaking event.

Do not miss this opportunity to collaborate with folks that share your same interests: 'Saving our Planet'


Learn More and Sign Up Here at OceanConservancy.org.

Update Sept. 16th:  The Wall Street Journal's Market Watch has an article on Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup which you can read HERE.

When Chris Samila an Arizona State University student took a trip to Costa Rica to see the Arenal Volcano, he noticed that many homes in Costa Rica used compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

Instantly, a light went on in his head.

“In the middle of the jungle, they're using CFLs. Why not here?” he asked himself.

Samila, a senior in ASU's School of Global Studies, also began to realize that he and his generation would be the ones most affected by the depletion of the world's resources.

“I really did not realize the global scope of the issue until I began studying here,” Samila says. “The school also opened my eyes to the global economic potential of making America a strong leader in sustainable technology.

All of those thoughts coalesced, with help from the School of Global Studies Student Association and other organizations, to produce the Green Summit, a one-day sustainability event that took place on ASU’s Tempe campus in April 2007.

When he organized last year's first GreenSummit, Chris Samila never imagined that anyone but students would come, and perhaps residents of Tempe and Phoenix.

But they did come, and the summit was so successful that Samila has planned a second summit, set for September 5-6, 2008 at the Phoenix Convention Center.

And it will become a nationwide event, Samila says. He already is planning to hold a GreenSummit in Atlanta next year, and he has his sights set on other cities in the United States.

It's one of the most affordable conferences in America given the wide range of sustainability topics and number of presenters.

“The goal of the summit goes beyond conserving paper,” Samila says. “It is designed to be a catalyst for change.”

The GreenSummit will have a number of components this year. There will be a two-day conference for both professionals and consumers, offering more than 100 educational sessions, and an exhibition hall with more than 120 exhibitors with cutting-edge green products and services.

There also will be networking events, a green industry career fair and green building tours around the Valley.

Samila expects more than 10,000 people to attend, including a delegation from Eastern Europe that the U.S. Department of Commerce is bringing to showcase American innovations and ideas revolving around sustainability.

“This year, we have organized the Green Innovations Expo into 10 categories to help manage the expansive and complex idea of sustainability,” says Samila.

“These categories help define the diverse variety of ideas, products and research in order to highlight how sustainability affects your personal and professional life.”

The categories include Green Building Design, Green Chemistry Materials, Business Products and Services, Renewable Energy, Transportation, Greener Computing, Fashion, and Beauty among others.

Samila says people often ask him how he has the time to produce such a large conference, in record speed, while he is still an undergraduate student.

“My answer is that I'm a ‘permanent senior’ at the moment. I hope this will be a permanent career for me.”

2008 GreenSummit Expo and Conference

The Natural Resources Defense Council's online magazine Onearth featured Chris Samila in an article called, "Most Likely to Succeed" which you can read HERE.