Green Team USA

What a Wonderful Web

We're all for the DIY approach (hey, in a recession, who isn't?) but sometimes it's better to ask for help -- and, if possible, get some professional advice -- especially when it comes to launching a website into cyberspace, which, while not finite, is in theory an actual space and therefore deserves a certain consciousness when adding content to it.  Anyway, it's hard to tell if this work of nongenius was created in total seriousness or if it's just the tongue-in-cheek side project of some irony-loving individual.

But, regardless of intent, it does underscore the accessibility of the Internet as a medium; anyone and everyone can, on some level, become an artist, a photographer, a poet. And how can we not see beauty in that? How can we not love everyone who's out there, sitting in front of the computer with a turkey sandwich and a dream, adding their two cents to the conversation?

It's quite cool, this world we live in. Welcome to the Internets indeed.

* WARNING: this website contains flashes of near-blinding color, pop culture that you'd almost forgotten about, trippy flying animals and rampant misspellings, not to mention a mildly uncomfortable salute to handguns. We assume no risk for any headache or heartache that may ensue.

Let's make it all matter

Non Sequitor is a web series produced by a friend of ours, a talk show with rotating guests, topics and objects, the angle being that each guest brings in an object related to the week's topic, and it goes from there. In this episode, titled "Eco-Philosophy", the discussion ranges from human self-preservation, to good versus evil, and of course, the fate of mankind itself. Check out the guy in the yellow shirt at 05:20; he's about to explode.

Heal the World

Powerful words that can gain true meaning after death.

After closely observing the incredible power of the aftermath of Michael Jackson’s death, the outpouring of emotion and a genuine sense of confusing grief, it’s now time for us to address it here.

Why does it feel confusing? After all, he is a mortal man; eventually he would have to die. But MJ was one of those unique humans who are more than just a human. He was, and will be even more so now, a medium, a mirror, a punching bag and glue: the medium from which our hopes and aspirations expanded, the mirror in which society saw itself, the punching bag where we discharged our frustrations, and the glue that connected generations.

Somehow it’s understandable, this feeling of confusion, and the apparent reality that the King of Pop’s death can trump a Cold War meeting of the minds. They were just talking about nuclear disarmament anyway.

Watching his daughter speak for the first time, as she communicated to all of us that he is a human, a father, a person, made us even more confused and lost. But, strangely, it also gave us a sense of unity with our fellow human race, from the Apollo Theater to the Filipino prison and culminating in a beautiful girl crying… We realize that even our tears are the water that we all share.

Here’s to you, MJ. One day we will heal the world.

Mr. Imagination's Moving Sale

After admiring the work of Lyle Estill in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman, Hank found himself face-to-face with another one of the artists whose work was featured in the windows, Mr. Imagination.

Obviously, when an artist gives himself such a name, he sets the creative innovation bar pretty high. And as you can see by the bottle-cap encrusted hat Hank is modeling, Mr. Imagination lives up to his name.

Mr. Imagination is at a crossroads in his life. After a fire ravaged his home a year ago, he is leaving Bethlehem, PA, and moving to Atlanta, where he will create his "Angel Garden of the Imagination," where children and artists can recycle discarded items into art.

To finance his relocation, Mr. Imagination is holding THE MOVING SALE OF THE CENTURY (caps his). Hank reports that Mr. Imagination is a kind and gentle soul, and one that's certainly worthy of our emotional (and if possible, financial) support. To learn more about Mr. Imagination, his work and the big moving sale, click here.

Chess, Anyone?

Just when we thought Jess's dad, Lyle Estill, couldn't get any cooler (he runs a bio-diesel plant and inspires us all with his "put in your order with the cosmic waiter" approach to life's trials), he goes and brings out a life-size Aliens vs Angels chess set that he crafted from scrap metal and later sold to the American Visionary Art Museum. Actually, it was technically Bergdorf's who brought it out, as part of their current store window installation featuring the AVAM permanent collection.

This called for a Friday afternoon field trip, so we put on our finest summer duds, grabbed our umbrellas (a must-have this June in NYC) and headed uptown to the land of Louis Vuitton and lapdogs to have a gander. We even had a parental chaperone; Erika's mom, in town for the weekend, made sure we looked both ways and didn't touch anything over $100—which was pretty much everything. The chess set blew our minds, as did the awesomely goth Alexander McQueen sweater dress on display with it.

If you have time, go check it out at the corner of 58th Street and Fifth Avenue. Your move.

Don't Eat the Marshmallow . . .

Good things come to those who wait (or else all you get is a mouthful of sugar).

We Can't Cope(nhagen) Without It

H.R. 2454. No, this is not a Human Resources code violation. Yet, it does have to do with humans and resources. You guessed it, smartie-pants, that H.R. stands for House of Representatives and this bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, is really hot.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act is a crucial piece of legislation that, if passed, will allow the Obama administration to take an actionable plan to the Copenhagen Conference in December 2009. This is it. This is our last chance to start reversing climate change. If you care about your kids, their kids, your second cousin's kids, your awesome coworker's kids, your annoying coworker's kids (we don't have one of those, but we sympathize if you do), your tax guy's kids, your yoga instructor's kids, your mailman's kids, your Polish pen pal's kids, your dog's kids, or even just your mom's kids (yes, that's you), then tell your representative to vote 'YES'.

This link will guide you directly to your representative's website, where you can send him/her an email using the form provided. It's easy, really easy. But, to make it even easier—hey, we like to help you out when we can—feel free to use the example below. And if you're more of a phone guy or gal, you can call 877-9-REPOWER and Repower America will connect you directly with your representative's office.

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Dear Representative (your congressman/congresswoman's last name here)

No doubt you get countless emails, letters and phone calls each day. Everyone wants your ear, wants you to hear them out. Well I'll keep it really simple: PLEASE pass the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

The US missed an opportunity with Kyoto. Let's not make the same mistake again; let's stop being the lazy overweight kid who's dragging the rest of the world down with our high emissions and, up until now, low capacity for real, sustained change.

Seriously, Copenhagen is our last hope to help undo global warming and, as you know, the American Clean Energy and Security Act lays the necessary groundwork.

I respectfully ask you to vote for this bill. Be a global citizen who represents America.

Thank you,

(your name here)

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Give Me Your Sheep, Ore Else

Maybe it’s all the indoors weather we’ve been having, or maybe it’s recession nesting, but lately our talk has been turning to board games. Jess kept singing the praises of one game in particular – The Settlers of Catan – a German import that has an innate sustainability focus. So when she lugged it to work last week, through the rain and more rain, we couldn’t help but carve out some time on Friday afternoon to play. The premise of the game is that when a group of settlers go about colonizing the deserted island of Catan, the one who uses and trades his/her natural resources most efficiently will be the winner.

It’s everything you’d expect if you were a 17th-century colonizer, minus the perfectly-happy-before-you-arrived indigenous people: there are roads, settlements, cities, even a robber. And, yes, there’s a bank too. But forget that fake, pastel-colored excuse for money; this bank deals in Brick, Wheat, Wood, Sheep and, of course, Ore.

Whether you win (Jess), almost win (Jeffrey and Ivan), or lose (Lauren), there’s something thrillingly primal about starting from scratch, relying entirely on the land and your own wise management of resources.

And, in case you’re thinking that we’re a bunch of board game geeks, well you’re not entirely wrong, but it’s worth mentioning that we aren’t the only ones going berserk over Settlers. Just this spring, Wired did a piece on the growing craze, even daring to call it a “Monopoly killer."  Gasp.

So, feel like settling? Swing by for a game. If it ever stops raining, we’ll be on the roof.

Image: Alexandre Duret-Lutz  / Flickr.

The Global Grocer

The new consciousness about sustainability extends into all parts of our lives and literally, into our bodies. The Global Grocer is a project from Food & Water Watch, an organization with a self-explanatory name. The website provides information about the most common items found in supermarkets that are imported, providing the lens of globalization and locality for your weekly grocery list. You can put items into a virtual shopping cart, and find out in the end the total impact. The point after all, is to limit the oft-hidden costs associated with moving food around the world although of course, the costs/benefits of "locavorism" are always up for debate.

To avoid some of these issues, there are simple changes in buying habits that anyone can adopt: try to shop at local farmers' markets for your fresh produce, grow your own vegetables and fruit (admittedly, a serious undertaking but not impossible, more tips here), or join a CSA (community supported agriculture) group.

In New York, the local organization for CSAs is Just Foods; nationwide, you can find CSAs, farms and also farmers' markets locations on Local Harvest's comprehensive database.

UPDATE: expanding the definition of CSA

Shading The Earth - "Excellent"

Maybe its because some of us grew up in the 90s, or maybe it's just because some of us are surprisingly immature for our age, but when we hear a scientist say this:

"We don't have to bother with emissions reduction. We can just throw aerosols—little dust particles—into the stratosphere, and that'll cool the earth."

all we can think about is when Mr. Burns created a shield to block the sun in Springfield, part of the "Who Shot Mr. Burns" 2-part episode during the 7th season of The Simpsons. (It ended up being Maggie, which, in our opinion, is a little lame.)

So a couple of experts and university folk at the National Academy of Sciences are currently discussing an emergency plan for the climate crisis; interestingly enough, they're also questioning whether we're even in one. One researcher claims we could reflect sunlight back into space if fine particles are released into the stratosphere. And after they come up with what we can only assume are going to be big, long equations written on a blackboard, they'll make it work… and cheaply.

Thankfully, they've also considered if the plan will simply result in an excuse to not control our emissions to begin with. Read the whole article here.