My Submission to NatGeo’s “The Green Effect”

Alright friends, family, readers – I need your help!  I have submitted an entry idea to National Geographic’s contest “The Green Effect.”  I am asking that you head on over (http://greeneffect.nationalgeographic.com/idea/2343/) and rate my project idea!  Thanks so much!

With $20,000 I would install an intensive greenroof system on the roof of the new Gloucester County College (Sewell, New Jersey) campus building that is set to be constructed within the coming year. As a student at GCC I have been working this year with my Environmental Science professor to implement this idea. We have given three presentations to students, faculty, and staff explaining the concept and its advantages, collected several signatures petitioning our college’s president to act, and set meetings with the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders. 

This small step would make a big difference because it would give students at GCC their first taste of green building and their first example of how our environment can be bettered through creative means. 

The construction of the greenroof system would create jobs for engineers, designers, and manufacturers, as well as those who would maintain the garden throughout each year. 

Some positive environmental effects that a greenroof would have on my campus are: 
1) a major reduction in polluted storm-water runoff 
2) the pulling of up to 5lbs/m2 of particulate matter from the air per year 
3) enormous reductions in our heating and cooling needs 
4) the ability to grow herbs and vegetables to be sold locally 
5) an interactive, outdoor classroom for science classes 

My small school needs this! I believe that initiating this idea would set a major precedent in my community regarding conscious building!

GCC Aims for Green Campus

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

by Jessica Driscoll

DEPTFORD TWP. Gloucester County College showed its green spirit for Earth Day on Tuesday with information booths, a film festival and a visit by creatures from the Academy of Natural Sciences.

“This is our second annual Go Green day and we decided it would be beneficial to hold it around Earth Day,” said Cheryl Budd, student activities coordinator at GCC and organizer of Tuesday’s event. “We reached out to various outside vendors and a lot of the students got involved. It’s an event to make people aware of what they can do for the earth as individuals.”

GCC held a logo design contest for this year’s event and all participants wore the green design.

This year’s winner Brittany Goetz, 21, of Mullica Hill said she was inspired to draw a “really cool tree” and then wrapped it around the planet in order to commemorate Earth Day.

“I think days like this are important for everyone,” said Goetz. “Everyone needs to go more green and show that they care for the environment.”

Two petitions were also circulating the event, one to get Dr. Davis to join the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and the other for the installation of “green roofs” on new campus buildings.

“We want Dr. Davis to sign a commitment to make a plan for the college that will reduce emissions and do the right thing by buying clean energy technology,” said Dr. Susan Glenn, a science professor at GCC. “There are 600 college and university presidents already signed up.”

“And the green roofs I learned about from Dr. Glenn,” said Christina Meares, 23, of Pitman. “It’s about having grass and shrubs on the roofs of new buildings which will pull in particulate matter and absorb stormwater so it won’t run off and pollute drinking water. It would also greatly reduce heating and cooling costs and there are a lot of grants out there that would help support a program like this.”

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The above article was written about a campus-wide Earth Day event I helped coordinate at the community college from which I recently graduated.  The latter of the two petitions mentioned is one that I drew up urging students, staff, and faculty to get behind the installation of greenroofs on all newly constructed campus buildings.  I collected about 80 signatures (probably a good number for such a small school) and last night finally e-mailed the school president and his secretary requesting an appointment to present the design concept as well as the petition and to answer any questions.

“Affluenza” – Full Documentary

Af-flu-en-za n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth. 4. A television program that could change your life.

Affluenza is a one-hour television special that explores the high social and environmental costs of materialism and overconsumption.

Through revealing personal stories, expert commentary, hilarious old film clips, dramatized vignettes, and “anti-commercial” breaks, Affluenza examines the high cost of achieving the most extravagant lifestyle the world has ever seen.

Last year, Americans, who make up only five percent of the world’s population, used nearly a third of its resources and produced almost half of its hazardous waste. Add overwork, personal stress, the erosion of family and community, skyrocketing debt, and the growing gap between rich and poor, and it’s easy to understand why some people say that the American Dream is no bargain. Many are opting out of the consumer chase, redefining the Dream, and making “voluntary simplicity” one of the top 10 trends of the ’90s.

Affluenza travels across the country to show you men and women who are working and shopping less, spending more time with friends and family, volunteering in their communities, and enjoying their lives more. A brief sampling:

In Colorado Springs, religious conservatives worry about the impact of materialism on American life, advertisements invade the local school district, and a family struggles with a potent case of Affluenza .

In Seattle, Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, authors of the best-selling book, Your Money or Your Life, help others get off the work-and-spend treadmill to find more meaning in their lives.

In Vancouver, Canada, activists known as “Adbusters” design humorous “subvertisements” that expose how advertisements manipulate us.

In Redmond, Washington, two teenagers create an award-winning play that spoofs the materialistic life of Barbie dolls.

Affluenza is hosted by National Public Radio’s engaging Scott Simon. It was produced by John de Graaf and Vivia Boe, the team who produced the critically acclaimed PBS special on another American epidemic, Running Out of Time. Affluenza is a production of KCTS/Seattle and Oregon Public Broadcasting and was made possible by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Earth Hour – March 28, 2009

The World Wildlife Fund has announced that Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco would lead the list of U.S. cities committed turn off the lights for one hour on March 28, 2009 at 8:30 p.m.. These cities will join 62 countries in “going dark” for Earth Hour. WWF officials hope that Earth Hour will reach more than a billion people worldwide, and will serve to inspire citizens and politicians to act swiftly to stem climate change.

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propz: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/11/earth-hour-an-hour-of-dar_n_150390.html

6 Green Ways To Dodge Dry Skin

For many of us, winter brings dry, scaly skin. Over-the-counter remedies and potions can be expensive and ineffective (and often contain toxic – or at least questionable – ingredients). Here are a few commonsensical remedies that might help sooth your skin – and your nerves.

1. Fortifying Snacks
Dan Shapley of The Daily Green suggests seeking out foods rich in fatty acids, such as nuts and oily fish.
Fortify your skin by eating one ounce of walnuts daily. Within two weeks, the natural omega-3 oils will not only keep your energy levels up, but improve the elasticity and natural moisture in your skin.

Luckily, fresh tree nuts are in season – hunt them down at your local farmers’ market or natural foods store – and be sure to keep them in the fridge or freezer to preserve freshness throughout the winter.

2. Bundle Up
Natasha Singer wrote in The New York Times that appropriate outerwear is essential in protecting skin against the elements. Seek out gear from eco-conscious companies like Patagonia, which co-founded The Conservation Alliance, a foundation that encourages companies in the outdoor industry to support environmental organizations in their efforts to protect threatened wildlands.
In Grise Fiord, Northwest Territories, where the sun sets in October and doesn’t rise again until February, and the winter temperature rarely rises above 16 below, the most reliable skin protection system is outerwear: a wool scarf, a thick hat, warm mittens and a down parka.

“When I go outside, I put on a parka that has a hood lined with fur,” [fleece, made from recycled plastic, would be more ideal] said Ray Richer, the general manager of the Grise Fiord Inuit Co-op. “You pull that around your face, and that saves your skin.”

3. Humidify Your Home
Singer explains, “It is not the cold itself, but the dryness it brings to the air, that parches the skin, breaking down its natural protective layer of dead cells.” This layer, comprised of both proteins and fats, forms an oily barrier that typically retains moisture in the skin. When it dries out, skin is more vulnerable to the elements and prone to irritation, flaking and redness.

Humidifying indoor air is one way to help your skin maintain its moisture balance. Your bedroom is probably the best place to set up a humidifier, which will replenish your skin while you sleep. Singer interviewed Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, who explained, ‘Cold winter air that blows in from the Arctic holds less water than very humid tropical summer air, then we pipe that dry air inside our apartments and heat it up, making the already dry air even drier.’ The heat causes the air molecules to expand, so you end up with even less moisture in a room than before.

Although a humidifier might not seem like the greenest way to remedy dry skin, as it must be plugged in, it certainly beats a trip to Costa Rica, carbon-footprint wise. And perhaps it will serve as further motivation to install solar panels or a wind turbine on your roof as a means of opting out of fossil fuel consumption and tapping into renewable energy sources.

Seemingly paradoxically, long hot baths can be extremely drying, as they strip the skin of its oily barrier. Apparently the Inuits never took baths for fear of washing away the oils that protected their faces from frostbite. Luckily, taking cool, infrequent baths is also a great way to conserve energy.

4. Dry Scalp?
While closely related, dandruff is not the same thing as dry skin, rather it is very often related to a fungal infection of the scalp which causes skin cells to become over-active (which is why conventional anti-dandruff shampoos, such as Head and Shoulders, contain anti-fungal agents.) Rather than succumbing to harsh, toxic shampoos, Dr. John Briffa suggests in the Guardian that you examine your diet, as the root of the problem might lie in the digestive tract:
I recommend you avoid foods which encourage yeast growth such as sugar, alcohol, refined carbohydrates (like white rice and pasta), along with bread, dried fruit, stock cubes, alcohol, vinegar, soy sauce, peanuts and mushrooms. For at least a couple of months base your diet around meat, fish, fresh vegetables, beans, lentils and some whole grains such as brown rice and oats. I also recommend a supplement containing healthy-gut bacteria (known as ‘probiotics’) for 2-3 months. This will help to ‘crowd out’ yeast organisms.

But Emma Edmonds, also of The Guardian, disagrees. She suggests simply rinsing your head with vinegar:
Dandruff is actually caused by an oily scalp (not the over-dry scalp many assume), which can encourage the yeast Malassezia to grow. The trick is to treat it regularly. Vinegar has antiseptic qualities though its pungency means it’s probably not a great long-term strategy…

5. Apply Sunscreen
Sunscreen is as essential in cold weather as in hot. Although the sun is somewhat weaker in the winter months in the Northern hemisphere, our dry skin becomes increasingly susceptible to its wrath. Sunlight is a powerful exfoliant, sure to parch your skin. Particularly so if you partake in wintry alpine activities, as the higher your altitude the more vulnerable your skin. Luckily, most sunscreens are also great moisturizers, so not only are you warding off future dry spells but also remedying dry skin already incurred. Dr. John Whyte of Planet Green suggests choosing your sunscreen carefully, however, as
the chemicals used to make sunscreen may not always be great for our bodies or for delicate marine ecosystems. While sunscreen is an absolute must, there are things you can do to choose one that is better for you and the environment.

And don’t forget SPF lip balm.

6. And Finally, Moisturize
The Daily Green’s Alexandra Zissu is a longtime sufferer of seasonal dry skin and eczema. She suggests some eco-friendly topical remedies that moisturize without irritating:
Post bath, I slather head to toe with oil, usually from Weleda or Dr. Hauschka (I have been enjoying the St. John’s Wort of late; on my daughter I use Weleda’s calendula oil.)

We also use:
-Weleda’s diaper care cream, their calendula cream, and their calendula ointment (it has a higher concentration of itch-soothing calendula)
-Suki’s velvet moisturizing cream
-Dr. Hauschka’s toned day cream

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propz: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/25/6-ways-to-dodge-dry-skin_n_146107.html

Dr. Riki Ott Proposes 28th Amendment – Separation of Corporation and State

Dr. Riki Ott is launching the movement for the 28th Amendment to the Constitution: Separation of Corporation and State. In the video above, she explains what a 28th Amendment will accomplish, how it is possible, why it is necessary for our democracy.

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propz: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/10/fishermaam-proposes-28th_n_142735.html