Chasing Clean Air

Greenpeace Pushes Electronic Industry to Go Green

Greenpeace helps green Corporate America the old-fashioned way.

Pressure with positive or negative publicity.

And they're succeeding.

Greenpeace started a Green Electronics Guide that ranks leading mobile and PC manufacturers on their global policies and practice on eliminating harmful chemicals and on taking responsibility for their products once they are discarded by consumers.

It was only after Greenpeace pressured Dell and Apple Computers, to name a few of the big electronic companies Greenpeace pressured--to clean up their act!--that they did so.

Greenpeace said to get rid of the most toxic chemicals in their practice and policy.

And Apple and Dell got the green ball rolling, publicly disclosing what they're doing and will do to reduce toxic substances in their products and reduce global warming emissions.

Substituting harmful chemicals in the production of electronics is THE most important component in being green, for until toxic substances are eliminated it is impossible to secure safe recycling.

Greenpeace rewards companies that evolve. Take for instance one computer company that scrapped the bottom of the green barrel but made positive changes and shot to the top of Greenpeace's rankings.

Chinese PC maker, Lenovo, was once ranked last in Greenpeace's 'Green Ranking' and shot up to first place, ousting first place holder Nokia.

Making changes to protect our environment and health is so important.

Don't we all know someone who's had cancer or Alzeihmer's...diseases many scientists link to toxic chemicals.

I read that Silicon Valley (where California tech companies largely reside) has 29 Superfund Sites, the most concentrated in America, in other words, toxic landfills that can leach toxins into underground water, and off-gas into the air.

19 of those 29 sites were created by manufacturers of computer chips.

No one knows exactly what the toxic soup we call modern living and breathing will produce in our cells.

Cancer rates are way up here and abroad.

We do know non-toxic substances are preferable and possible to find and use in electronic products.

Many consumers upgrade cell phones, computers, and televisions at violent speed, meaning without consideration of where their mercury, lead-filled products will be disposed of.

Is it the consumer's or manufacturer's responsibility to dispose properly of electronics? Increasingly, it is the manufacturers issue. And all of our problem.

Government needs to continue to institute policies to safeguard our health, environment and mobilize entrepreneurs to find solutions.

Now.

Many used electronics are shipped overseas and put in landfills near communities.

A huge problem.

Greenpeace is doing great work, making a difference, and so can you. Watch with whom you spend money. If you're a company getting rid of computers, call on a pc disposal company like http://www.pcdisposal.com/?gclid=CKjZ1_yx5owCFQTDYAod6zDw2g

Everyone can google "computer disposal" to find a company in your area. And when you're done with your cell phone bring it back to store where you bought it, ditto for batteries.

Safe Cosmetics

A painted face.

Yes, those colored lips aren't so natural, but...

Like most girls in my neighborhood, I started wearing make-up when I was fifteen-without a thought about interrupting my hormone system or possibly contributing to a cancer risk.

Oh to be educated now!

Parabans are preservatives in cosmetics that have been found in breast tumors and milk. Oh dear.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is in many personal care products, and used to clean oil off car engines. In my skin or hair care products?

Aluminum Chlorohydrate is found in many anti-perspirants and is linked to Alzheimer's and organ disfunction.

Some cosmetic companies have stopped using known harmful chemicals under pressure from shareholders and consumers. Others have not.

Some cosmetic companies have gone beyond banning those chemicals banned by the more progressive European Union scientists. And they've adopted The Precautionary Principle--eliminating chemicals that seem dangerous but have not been proven so. Yet.

Avalon Cosmetics is one such progressive, environmentally and socially-conscious brand.

I enjoy their Alba moisturizer.

There's an international campaign going on now to ban harmful chemicals in all cosmetics (and televisions, computers, mattresses, carpets...), which began with the more evolved in environmental matters than the U.S.--European Union.

As of March 2007, 550 cosmetic companies signed The Compact for Safe Cosmetics.

I started buying organic cosmetic brands Dr. Hauschka and Zuzu Luxe (vegan) sold at Whole Foods, and some other stores you can research. I love their lipsticks made with natural plant waxes and nourishing oils, which are better in color and shine than my Estee Lauder, Revlon, and Chanel. I hear Zuzu Luxe eyeliners are rich with great color.

J. Paul Getty's Villa

The renovated Getty Villa in Malibu is the most beautiful museum I've ever seen.

Mom is visiting from San Francisco, so family day was spent in antiquity... going as far back as 300 B.C.

What J. Paul Getty did with his oil money is admirable.

Getty was a visionary extraordinaire: Oil empire. Art empire. He held his visions and worked toward completing his goals... the American way.

We learned much on our tour and watching a short film on the Villa's renovation.

A lover of travel, history, and art, Getty merged his loves into collecting antiquities, and one of his last wishes on earth was to build a Villa just like the one that stood near Rome in 70 A.D. but was demolished from a volcano.

Getty's entire estate from oil went to collecting, housing, conserving, and restoring beautiful art.

What struck me most beyond beauty, was how culturally advanced this recreated 70 A.D. Villa was where Romans once lived.

These people knew how to experience beauty in daily life. So much time was put into creating beauty, reflecting their values.

Who's The Greenest Company On Earth - Dell?

Dell Computers intends to lead the computer industry into the green revolution, becoming the greenest technology company in America.

Will another tech company beat them?

I wonder as I get ready to go to InfoComm 07 where audio and visual companies will unite to show developments in Audio, Plasma, Projectors, Video Conferencing, and I wonder about those LCD bright pictures of the future, and...

How will companies minimize their equipment's energy output and encourage customers energy conservation?

Where will outdated plasmas and projectors go when customers are finished?  Are companies diminishing their contributions to toxic landfills? 

Using less toxic components?

What can AV companies do to soften their carbon and toxic footprint?

I'll ask questions at InfoComm and learn which audio/visual companies are ready to compete with Dell.

Dell reduced carbon emissions by lowering electric consumption, saving $1.8 million last year, and 8,500 tons of CO2 emissions.

Dell is demanding their suppliers comply with emission reductions too, and established a Zero Carbon Initiative.

Encouraging innovation in the greenosphere, Dell employees share the greening of Dell ideas at www.ideastorm.com where Dell asks

Help Us Become The Greenest Technology Company On The Planet

Dell put out a press release on their efforts... and now they're open to scrutiny of a good nature. 

One thing I'd love Dell and other companies to do is insist that the trucks transporting their goods are no longer diesel; one of the worst polluters on the planet.

Los Angeles Traffic -- at night?

Traffic! Traffic! Traffic!

So to avoid traffic, I did errands last night at 9:30 p.m.

Was I successful?

I returned The Queen to Hollywood Video, returned The God Delusion and Democracy by Disclosure to the library, filled up with regular unleaded, which was down to $3.24 a gallon, and, wouldn't you know it...

I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 405 South at 9:30.

The night sky was illuminated by the lights of city, cars, and the hope that traffic will end.

When I was in Seattle, Friday night rush hour, around 6 p.m., was 20-25 miles per hour. That was a dream compared to Los Angeles.

New York City, they're lucky spoiled with that fabulous subway system.

Zip!

The ride is done.

Washington, DC, they zip on fancy Metro.

San Francisco--zippy Bart.

And more construction projects are on the way for our overpriced, over-rated in many ways, Westside of Los Angeles. No subway here. Subway shops, yes. Sit in your car and wait for a parking place, please.

Freeway construction, a new Waldorf Astoria at corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica--what a bottleneck nightmare that will be--new condos going up in Century City, and regular renovations to our numerous potholes.

Yet the sunsets are beautiful, the beach a dream, and did I tell you the weather forecast is a sunny, 78 degrees today?

Tip: It's best to pump gas at night so fumes aren't as toxic from sun's heat, assuming you have sun that is.

The Unseen Enemy

If you have health issues because of air pollution, South Coast Air Quality Management District would like to hear your story. (I would too)  [email protected]

United, we breathe.

Divided, heavy polluters are more likely to get away with it.