THE COVE - it will make you cry like a little b*tch

If you don't cry while while watching this movie you have no soul and might be eaten by a bear.

The movie centers around one seemingly crazy old dude named Richard O'Barry. Ric was Flipper's trainer back in the 60's and has been trying to overcome his role in dolphin captivity for the past 35 years. He wrote a book in 1989 called "Behind the Dolphin Smile" that I read when I was 12 and was infactuated with dolphins.

The movie picks up where the book ends and brings us to the modern exploitation of dolphins. It centers around one small cove in Taiji, Japan where 23,000 dolphins are herded and slaughtered by Japanese fishermen every year. It is the MOST DISTURBING footage of dolphin slaughtering I have EVER seen. The movie was created and produced by the Oceanic Preservation Society and they did a truly superb job. Thought it's a documentaty, it shows like a movie, an environmental activists Oceans 11.

The cast of characters include;

Louie Psihoyos, the producer

Joseph Chisholm, the roady

Simon Hutchins, the Marine,

Mandy & Kirk, the FreeDivers,

Greg "Moondog" Mooney, the uber Scuba Diver.

This mod squad each brings something unique to the table as they attempt to covertly hide HD cameras around the heavily guarded cove. Infared cameras, heli-camera, faux rock housing, night vision divers, one crazy old decoy , some covert ops sh*t.

Movie Highlights:

Countries that are paid by Japan to attend the International Whaling Commission to vote favorably towards Japan's agenda don't even know whales are native to their own country. Come on , you can't even do a tiny bit of research before showing up to the International WHALING Commission. WTF?

Salty ole' Ric O'Barry strapping a monitor to his chest with the dolphin slaughter footage playing and then crashing the IWC. Classic.

Dolphin meat has toxic levels of mercury. Mercury levels that rise 2% every year from the burning of fossil fuels and polluting our oceans. Just another reason we need to find fuel alternatives, and quickly. 70% of the human population relies on seafood as a main food source.

This story, as horrifying as it is, pales in comparison to the larger issue of the depletion of our fisheries throughout the world. Our excessive consumption is creating a deficit that we might not come back from.

"No real change ever comes from the government, it comes from people" We have to stop waiting for our government to fix all our problems and injustices, cause it will never happen. It takes people with a common vision and passion to create change.

Movie trailer: http://thecovemovie.com/

What can you do about it? Visit this site

Hopefully I did a good enough job scaring the shit of you, now go watch the movie and get pissed off.

Read more...

My Pool Goes Green

Yeah, that's my pool.  It's a swamp, there are creatures in it. But it's "green" and chemical free. 

Who wants to take a dip? 

Read more...

Habitat for Humanity Orlando Green Home Review.

A few weeks ago, Habitat Orlando reached out to me and the PulseofCentralFlorida to visit their new green home community* We met up with their volunteer coordinator, Jennifer Gallagher who is one of the nicest chicks you'll ever meet.  She put up with all my annoying construction questions and you can't help but be inspired by her passion for what she does.  It's truly contagious, one of those "I can change the world" feelings. 

* (I previously did a post about the sites green features, check it out here.  The Pulse also has a site review here with all the photos.)

It's awesome to see a non-profit take on the challenge of building a green community.  It's such a perfect fit since one of Habitat's mission is to make homes affordable, now they are making them affordable to operate.  

I think the most impactful features Habitat Orlando incorporates into their homes are white roof shingles, low-e windows, energy efficient appliances and CFL's.  These features are going to help the new homeowners keep their monthly utility bills super low.  I was able to talk to a future homeowner, who was really excited about keeping her bills low while being eco-friendly. Energy efficient appliances and CFL's are obvious power savers to most people, but white roof shingles are going to save the planet according to Al Gore.  Just kidding...sorta.  Most roofs have dark shingles, which absorb heat.  White roof shingles deflect the sun which helps keep the attic cool, which in turn helps keep the home cool.  Since Florida life means running the AC for the majority of the year, this feature will have a huge impact on the homeowners utility bills.  The same light deflection concept comes into play with Low-e windows.  What does low-e mean anyways?  E= Emissivity = the amount of light ( or heat) that flows through a material.  These windows prevent heat transfer from light into the home.  Both white roof shingles and low-e windows aren't too expensive and will make a serious dent in your home operating costs. Which is sweet!! 

One of the great things about this community is that the homes will also be Florida Green Home Certified.  The director of construction, Terry, focused on making the homes energy star, and in doing so, was also able to qualify the homes to be FGBC certified.  Right now the homes qualify to have a silver rating, but there is a possibility the homes could get an even higher rating.  Go Terry!!!  

If you want to volunteer your time, money or supplies don't hesitate to reach out to the team.  You'll be glad you did  :) 

Read more...

Join the Million Baby Crawl

OMG, this is sorta scary... babies are crawling their way to Washington to demand reform of toxic chemical policies.





Seventh Generation is sponsoring the Million Baby Crawl to get congress to require the EPA to have stricter policies towards what goes into household cleaners. The EPA has required safety testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 household cleaners. That is crap.

So what can you do about it? Email your Congressman/woman and have them get the Toxic Chemical Reform Act passed. Better yet, throw a pacifier in your baby's mouth and point them in the direction of Washington. Lily is already on her way....

Read more...

My Eco-Friendly Nursery....on a Budget

When I first found out I was pregnant, I couldn't wait to start designing and decorating Lily's nursery. I wanted to try to make it as eco-friendly as possible while keeping the costs down.

The best way to do that isn't to buy new, but buy used. I was able to find a crib and changing table on craigslist for only $75. A little touch up paint and new knobs made it feel like new.

I was also able to re-purpose my old toy box as a child, it just needed a little sanding and a new coat of paint to give it a complete face lift.




Lily's crib sheets and changing table cover were all sewn by my mom and provide a personal and custom touch to the room.

I created the art piece out of scrap wood and other crafty things I had laying around. The turtle art is actually a sarong I got on my honeymoon in Costa Rica which Lily loves to stare at while I change her. I just attached it to some scrap wood to make it more fancy. The wall paint was leftover from a former clients home that I saved from getting thrown away.



All in all I probably only spent around $200 to completely makeover this room by re-using and re-purposing. I love saving green while being green!!

*The only brand new items I purchased were a side table and lantern lights from Ikea and the circle mirrors from Target. My family purchased the rocking recliner for me while I was in the hospital having Lily.

Read more...

Just thought you should know....Sams Club is rad!

It's my first post post-baby and are you surprised it concerns poop? Since I've been knee deep in it for the past 7 weeks and all. Just a quick heads up that Sams Club is carrying dual flush toilets for only $99. That is a really good deal if you are looking for ways to conserve water. This bad boy uses up to 71% less water than a conventional toilet. One of the biggest water users in your home is the toilet, so I would expect that this toilet would pay for it's self in a year or so.

Read more...

The pizza box get's a green makeover

The 30 year old pizza box design just got a major green facelift . All it took was some ingenuity, some perforating and the entire function of the pizza box has been transformed. The bonus.. it's made out of 100% recycled cardboard.

Read more...