How Green is Your Candidate?

We all have our issues.

We're not talking about the abandonment issue your therapist is helping you solve....we're talking about ISSUES...like foreign policy, health care, reproductive rights, dependence on foreign oil...the things that the men and woman running to be Prez in '08 have been waxing poetic on for the last year.

We're not here to tell you how to prioritize the issues important to you. But we are here to tell you to add one more issue to that list....THE ENVIRONMENT.

This isn't just some hippy-dippy, green party type of issue anymore. The state of the enviromnement influences many larger issues in our country--energy, foreign oil, the war--as well as the future of our kids and grandkids and so on.

As the primaries loom closer, and as you debate the pros and cons of the candidates ("Well, Oprah likes HIM, but Barbra likes HER"), pretty please add the question of how each candidate fares on environmental policies to your mental checklist.

But HOW DO I KNOW how they fare on environmental issues, you ask. Don't make me do research. My password for Lexus-Nexus ran out when I graduated college.

Don't worry....we've got it all taken care of for you. All you need to do is click on the widget to the right to see how your candidates fare on environmental issues and to keep up with the latest 08 election news that relates to the environment. It's super-comprehensive and compiled by the good people at Grist.org. Fact sheets and interviews are provided for all the '08 candidates!

So go ahead, check it out....and then forward the post to all your friends. The more people thinking about voting green in '08, the more impact we can have!

p.s. If you haven't registered to vote yet or need to change your info, do it now!! Declare Yourself is a fast, easy one--you just fill out a few things, print and mail (yes, it is obnoxiously geared toward 18-year-olds, what with The Hills ads and all, but regardless, it's painless and easy! SO DO IT TODAY!!!)

Happy Birthday Green is the New Pink

Today Green is the New Pink Turns 1 year old. YAY!!!

Our first tip was about the environmental evils of plastic grocery store bags.


It take about 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose. Plastics don't biodegrade, they photo-degrade, breaking down into tiny toxic pieces that contaminate soil and water or harm wildlife.(Baggubag.com)




Since we are all now one year wiser and more eco-conscious we want to suggest you pledge to bring your own reusable bags to the store from now on. The average person uses 300-700 plastic bags per year! Bring your own reusable bags when you shop for groceries, drug store sundries, clothes or ANYTHING!

The Green/Pink Best of Reusable Bags

Most Affordable
Ikea DIMA bag costs $1.50 and we LOVE the chic black and white stripes (courtesy of Mary)

Best to Bag Tuck in Your Purse/Pocket
Baggu bags are incredibly strong (hold up to 25lbs) made of nylon (weigh 2oz) and fold up into a tiny 5" by 5" flat pouch. They come in hot colors and are very reasonably priced at $8.00 each!



Best Socially Conscious Bag
The Feed Bag
1 bag feeds an impoverished child at school for a year through United Nations World Food Programme.
This is the perfect gift for those who have everything.



Now it's your turn....
What have you learned this year from reading this blog?
What environmental actions has Green/Pink inspired or informed you to incorporate into your life?
What issues/products do you want to know more about?

We want to hear from you dear reader. You can post your responses in the comment section or email us at jessicaandlydia@gmail.com. Make sure you let us know what you want to learn more about this year. Any green questions we can answer or demystify for you? Let us know.

Changes we made this year:

Lydia 2007

• bought a Prius (best decision I ever made, 45-50 miles per gallon!)
• changed 50% of my household light bulbs to CFL's
• NEVER take plastic or paper bags from stores, I always bring my own canvas bags
• Started a recycling in my house and at work
• try to walk to places within a mile of my house
• switched to green power with my energy company
• bought a reusable water bottle
• shop more frequently at the farmer's market
• buy local and organic products whenever possible
• order local wines, cheeses, beer even prosciutto etc. whenever possible in restaurants
• save and reuse wrapping paper and ribbon
• send e-cards for birthdays (i love someecards.com) instead of mailing them
• use cloth napkins at home 80% of the time
• buy eco friendly laundry detergent
• buy and order sustainable fish
• registered to get off the junk mail lists
• switched to paperless bills and banking
• unplug household electronics

Lyd's eco-goals for 2008

• switch my household to all green cleaning supplies
• finish changing to all CFL light bulbs in the house
• consistently use green dry cleaning
• walk more
• bike to places instead of drive

Jessica

• Started using canvas bags for grocery and other shopping (never had done this before our first post last year!! It was my first big change!)
• Started eating less meat, especially red meat
  
• Changed 50% of household bulbs to CFL
• Gave all gifts this year in recycled gift wrap
• Switched to green cleaning supplies
• Switched to green detergent
• Switched to post-consumer paper towels, tissue paper and toilet paper
• Switched to green energy with the electric company
• Upped the recycling in my own home
• More conscious about buying organic and local produce
• Stopped being super reliant on the AC and heat--started relying more on fans and clothing choices to keep me at my ideal temp
• Registered to keep off junk mail lists
• Unplug cell phone charger and other appliances when not in use
  
• Changed the power settings on my laptop to be more energy efficient
• Discovered the joys of the L.A. Subway system!! (Really, it's very cool.)
  
• Started the long process of unlearning my horrible habit of leaving lights on in rooms that I am not in!! I am sooo much better now!!

Jessica's Eco Goals for Next Year

• Switch to online bill-pay (even though everyone says this is easy, it is very intimidating and scary to me!)
• Be more vigilant about tire pressure and other ways to optimize my fuel efficiency
• Be more consistent about using Terra Pass when I travel
• Get more involved in the political aspect of environmentalism

But enough about us....we want to hear from you. Go on...leave a comment, drop us an email and take a few minutes today to reflect on all the changes YOU have made both big and small this year!

Wildfires and Global Warming: What's the Real Deal?

For the last few weeks wildfires burned their way through California, sparking the debate whether these fires were a result of climate change. Is this disaster that caused the largest evacuation in California state history just a taste of what is to come? Has climate change accelerated this quickly?

There have been all sorts of "news" reports (we use that term lightly...) on the topic which ran the gamut from "global warming causes wild fires" to "the fires have nothing to do with climate change" and everything in between. Confused? We were! So Green is the New Pink did a little investigating and now we'll break it all down for you...

Have their really been more wildfires lately or is that just media hype?

SADLY, IT'S THE TRUTH.

• According to the NRDC, the 2006 wildland fire season set new records in both the number of reported fires and in acres burned. There were close to 100,000 fires and nearly 10 million acres burned, 125 % above the 10-year average.

• As of October 29, 2007, 76,451 large fires have burned 8,251,275 acres. That puts 2007 on a pace to rival the record-setting 2006 fire season.
• There were four times as many major wildfires between 1986 and 2004 as there were from 1970 to 1986, and a six-fold increase in the area of forest burned in the Western United States.
• The wildfire season has also extended by 78 days in the period of 1987 to 2003 compared to 1970 through 1986. (This does not include the last few years which were some of the most intense on record).

Is Global Warming to blame for the increased, more intense wildfires?

YES, ALONG WITH OTHER FACTORS. As with any event in nature, you usually can't pin down just ONE CAUSE for something. Our eco system is a complex inter-related system where a variety of factors contribute to natural disasters. However, with that being said,

In a scientific paper published in 2006, by Tom Swetnam of the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, and Anthony Westerling, of the University of California-San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, it was concluded that the changing climate was a greater influence on wildfire activity and intensity than forest management. (Click here for the whole study) . Here's how Westerling explained it:

"What really drives the fire season is the temperature. When you have a warm spring and early summer, you get earlier snowmelt. With the snowmelt coming out a month earlier, areas then get drier earlier overall and there is a longer season in which a fire can be started—there's more opportunity for ignition."

So because global warming can cause higher temperatures and drought conditions (another factor in fires spreading...the drier the landscape, the quicker it burns), it is a very large factor in why wildfires have been so intense and so prevalent in recent years.

So does that mean these fires are caused by global warming?

NO. YOU STILL NEED THAT INITIAL SPARK TO ACTUALLY START A FIRE. This could come from a variety of sources...campfires, an accidental lit match, arson or lightning. HOWEVER...once a fire starts, global warming is responsible for the conditions (see above) which cause the fires to be so much more intense and to last for so much longer.

If Global Warming is to blame for the increase in wildfires, why did the Los Angeles Times say that "Global Warming not a factor" in the current Southern California fires?

BECAUSE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S CLIMATE IS DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. The same climate study noted above "found Southern California was different from the rest of the West, with no increase in the frequency of fire as temperatures rose." As Westerling explains: "In Southern California, it's hot and dry much of the year." Thus, we are not as affected by early springs and snowmelt, because we CONSISTENTLY have fire-prone weather. Not exactly great news.

In addition, in the future, global warming could make Southern California's droughts even more persistent, exacerbating the fire danger. Global warming could also intensify wind flow (another factor in how far the wildfires spread) by increasing the difference between inland and coastal temperatures. So whether or not these SoCal fires have been impacted at all by global warming, the Times reports that in the future fires in Southern California will most likely be negatively impacted by the effects of global warming.

The Bottom Line?

While non-global warming believers will try to convince that the link between wildfires and climate change is hype, there IS an undeniable connection between the two which will only increase in the coming years (unless we are able to combat the causes of global warming).

Hope that clears up the misconceptions....keep spreading the correct info....knowledge is power!