Monthly Archives: June 2012

Robert Redford Wants Your Help in Stopping Subsidies for Big Oil

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Actor, director, and environmental activist Robert Redford is urging us to use the power of social media today (June 18!) to help end government subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.

In a blog on the Huffington Post, Redford questions whether it’s right to hand out almost 1 trillion dollars to the oil industry in harsh economic times, especially when teachers, firemen, and other government workers are losing their jobs due to massive budget cuts.

We should not be subsidizing the destruction of our planet. Fossil fuels are literally cooking our planet, polluting our air and draining our wallets. Why should we continue to reward companies to do that? As they go after more expensive and harder to access fossil fuels, it is like drilling a hole in our pocketbooks. We pay more at the pump. We pay in taxpayer subsidies to a highly profitable industry. And we pay in the rising costs of climate change in the form of floods, storms and droughts that hurt our homes and communities.

Read Redford’s full post here.

So how does Robert Redford want us to help with this problem? Continue reading →

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Gmail Users Have Lower Energy Bills Than Yahoo Users

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A new study by Opower found that the average Yahoo Mail household uses 11% more electricity per year than a Gmail household. The study looked at the correlation between email address and electricity usage across 2.8 million American households, focusing primarily on Yahoo Mail and Gmail because they are the most popular email providers.

The average Yahoo Mail household spends $110 more per year on electricity than a Gmail household. Not only is that a pretty significant number, it adds up to almost a whole extra month of electricity compared to Gmail households. According to Opower, it’s as if, relative to the average Yahoo household, the average Gmailer is strictly hang-drying their laundry, forgoing high-definition TV, and hand-washing their dishes with cold water for a year.

So why is it then that Gmail users tend to be more energy efficient? For one, lifestyle plays a crucial role. Continue reading →

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Australia Announces Plans for World’s 2nd Largest Marine Reserve

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The Australian government announced an historic decision today to create the world’s second largest system of marine protection in its waters, including a massive, fully protected marine reserve in the Coral Sea.

The protected marine reserve will be safeguarded from all extractive activity, including mining, oil and gas development, and fishing. In addition, its creation will ensure the protection of more than a third of its fragile coral reefs.

The new reserve will span 500,000 square kilometers (roughly the size of Spain or 25% larger than California) and will be the world’s second largest fully protected no-take reserve after the Chagos marine reserve in the Indian Ocean which, like the Coral Sea, is also a Global Ocean Legacy site.

Australia’s Coral Sea, located east of the world-famous Great Barrier Reef, is recognized as the country’s marine jewel and one of the world’s last intact tropical ocean ecosystems. It is home to more than 80 species of sharks, rays, dolphins, and whales, as well as spectacular coral reef systems. As a key spawning and migratory home for countless species, it is an essential hub for ocean life in the Pacific. Continue reading →

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Vote for One of the Top 5 Green Restaurants in LA – Semifinalist Round: Nature’s Plate Green Restaurant Award

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The first round of nominations is closed, and The Nature Conservancy is now calling all foodies to vote for the best green restaurant in the Los Angeles area. EMA is especially proud to promote this contest because three of the five semi-finalist restaurants (Border Grill, Pace, and Real Food Daily) are our good friends and sponsors!

Bite sized actions make a big difference. Share your passion to help raise awareness for delicious food that’s good for you and for the planet. Vote and you’ll be entered to win a gourmet salsa and avocado basket donated by Petty Ranch and The Best of VC Marketplace.

“Food is one of the most personal ways we connect with nature. Support your local restaurants that offer sustainably caught seafood and locally harvested fruits and vegetables,” said Wendy Pulling, California Director of Conservation Programs, The Nature Conservancy. “You can boost the local economy, enjoy a great meal and help the planet.”

The 5 semifinalists are: Continue reading →

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Will We Use More of Something If We Have the Option to Recycle It Afterwards?

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In a nutshell, yes. A recent study conducted at UC Irvine found that if we have the option to recycle something, we’re more likely to use more of it and less likely to reuse or reduce.

In their study, “Recycling Gone Bad: When the Option to Recycle Increases Resource Consumption,” researchers Jesse R. Catlin and Yitong Wang conducted two simple experiments to prove their hypothesis – that the ability to recycle may lead to increased resource usage compared to when a recycling option is not available.

In the first experiment, participants were separated into two groups. Both groups were told to test a new brand of scissors using blank pieces of paper. One group had a recycling bin and trash bin in their room and the other group had only a trash bin. Participants were then instructed to cut a series of shapes out from the paper and then to take five minutes to evaluate the scissors in any way they deemed fit.

The group that had a recycling bin at in their room used more paper to test the scissors than the group without the bin. Continue reading →

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The Green Thing – Then & Now

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A young cashier suggested to an elderly lady checking-out at the store that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic wasn’t good for the environment. The elderly woman apologized, “We didn’t have this ‘green thing’ back in my day.”

The young clerk couldn’t resist continuing her lecture, “That’s our problem today. Your generation didn’t care enough to save our environment for future generations.” The elderly woman let the cashier ramble as she reflected back on ‘her day.’

Back then Americans returned milk, soda and beer bottles to the store. Then the store sent the bottles so they could be sterilized and re-used over and over again. In the elderly woman’s day, they really did recycle instead of manufacturing new.

Back then Americans walked up stairs, they didn’t have escalators in every store or elevators in every office building. They walked to the grocery store, they didn’t jump into a 300-horsepower machine every time they needed to go a few blocks.

Back then Americans washed baby diapers, because they didn’t have disposables. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling dryer. Wind and solar power really did dry their clothes. Kids wore hand-me-downs from their brothers or sisters, they didn’t receive new clothes and they didn’t demand brand names they thought gave them “social status.” Continue reading →

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