I am super excited about a new movie being released on Earth Day. The kids and I have been seeing in-theatre trailers for months and we plan on spending a portion of Earth Day in theatres this year.

This movie is the first release from the new Disneynature label. Earth is narrated by James Earl Jones, and tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all share.  Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award-winning “Planet Earth” series combine forces again to bring this epic adventure to the big screen, beginning Earth Day 2009.  

I am a big fan of Disney films already so I love that they are combining some of my favorite things into one awesome package…movies, family fun, and the environment. And is it just me or does everyone get crazy goosebumps whenever they hear James Earl Jones??? Plus, Disneynature recently announced that it will plant a tree in the highly endangered Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest in honor of every person who sees the film its first week.

We will let you know our thoughts of the movie on Earth Day but until then
you can enjoy a piece of it at home. Check out the official trailer before you go. It rocks!

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Over the weekend we had some excitement with a native critter. For the third time since we moved into this house we got a bat trapped in the house. I have NO idea how they get in but they do. They live somewhere nearby…my attic crawl space maybe, LOL, because most warm evenings we see them swarm the pond nearby and then go hunting over the crop fields that are behind our street. They are lovely to watch but I don’t like them swarming around my head when I have laundry to do so out they must go when they get in the house. Hubs has been able to catch and release them all so far and that is very important to us because bats are very important to the environment.

If you have bats nearby then this is a sign that the area is in good environmental health without too much pollution. Bats are very sensitive to pollution and pesticides. When the bats go you have a big warning sign at hand.

Bats also love to eat mosquitoes and with all the concern about mosquito born illness like the West Nile Virus this is more important than ever. Spraying areas to kill mosquitoes will also likely drive away or kill their natural predators…bats. Not a smart thing to do. I wonder why cities aren’t looking into bat release programs and cultivating bat houses  instead of spraying noxious gas on our neighborhoods. Bats can eat up to 1000 of those blood sucking buggers an hour. They may not do it because of all the fear about rabies but only a teeny 0.5% of bats ever get rabies. In MOST cases (sans an epidemic) bats are considered completely harmless. You are more likely to get rabies from a raccoon than from a bat. Bats are also very mild animals…they don’t like to be around people anyway.

Bats also eat tons of other bugs and I know my local farmers should be grateful because they canvas those crop fields all spring and summer looking for bugs. If you DO get one in the house or where it is in close proximity to people you will want to remove them and keep kids away (just in case). A bat box would be a great relocation place.

So what do you think? Why is it so hard to break away from the evil blooding suck, rabid bat stereotype?

Two years ago…even last year, I would have defended my meat loving ways until the cows came home. But as I go further along in this great green journey it gets harder and harder for me to justify eating meat. The statistics for environmental devastation just get more and more depressing. The meat eating habit is killing this planet and I think it is time for more green folks to own up to that instead of treat it like the elephant in the room that everyone wants to ignore.

Just look at some of these scary statistics:

The US imports 200 million pounds of beef from Central America every year and much of the land used is rain forest land. For each hamburger that originated from animals raised on rain forest land, approximately 55 square feet of forest have been destroyed. Ouch! Rain forests are like the lungs of this planet and they house many different species of animals and could contain life saving medicinal plants. As a society though we have decided that meat is more important than our rain forests. As one man who lives in my small town said, “We don’t have a rain forests in the US so who cares.” We should all care that American dietary “needs” are destroying another part of the planet.

One pound of beef requires an input of approximately 2500 gallons of water, whereas a pound of soy requires 250 gallons of water and a pound of wheat only 25 gallons. With more than one billion people worldwide who “lack enough safe water to meet minimum levels of health”  our meat eating/water guzzling ways should bother us. Source 

Waste run-off and pesticide run-off from livestock crops create dead zones in our oceans where fish and marine plant life can’t live anymore.

Certain fishing practices endanger many fish species and result in overfishing that results in an imbalance of marine ecosystems.

To produce one pound of meat, an animal needs to consume as much a 10 pounds of grains that could be consumed directly by humans. Imagine how many people around the world we could feed if we stopped giving the bulk of it to livestock that will in turn feed just a few. We are literally living high off the hog while other countries are starving.

1.4 billion tons of solid fecal matter is produced by US farm animals per year and it is often left outside in open pits or pools that seep into groundwater, lakes and rivers. Because the animals are often diseased, and injected with hormones and antibiotics this renders their waste toxic and not suitable for fertilizing crops.

Livestock are responsible for over half of the country’s erosion and sediment issues. They are destroying the land they graze upon and rendering it useless for growing.

The global livestock industry is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the planes, trains and automobiles in the world combined. Yes we should feel good about our decision to bike instead of drive or use LED light bulbs but when we eat meat with every meal we are cancelling out the good we did in other areas.

This doesn’t even begin to cover the health issues we experience as a result of eating meat..for that side of the debate read my post over at Goddess of the Garden, Why Meat Consumption Is Bad for Your Health.

So should we all go vegan or vegetarian? Well, you certainly could…I know I lean more in that direction every day but in actuality you don’t need to go quite that far.  I love this post from Green Living Tips that shares a plan to only eat 3 meat meals a week. Many of us were raised in homes where meat was the centerpiece of every meal but it doesn’t have to be. Meatless meals are making a comeback. Try to make it  goal to only eat meat 3-4 times a week and go veggie the other nights. Slowly work toward that goal if you have to.

Cutting down or cutting out meat is a win-win-win situation. It helps in the fight against global warming, and environmental destruction and it’s good for you. Not to mention all of the animal cruelty issues it brings up. Watch a couple videos along those lines and you just might find the inspiration you need. If you do eat meat, it is soooo important that it be organic and raised by small scale ethical farmers. Same for other animal products like cheese and milk. But that kind of meat is expensive so factory farmed “cheap” meat is what most people buy. The video below illustrates what you are supporting when you buy that meat. It is graphic but if if you eat meat…you need to watch it.

Other sources

I recently found out that HarperCollins will be publishing a Green Bible in October. Its purpose is to show that God is green and explains how we can care for and protect God’s creation. According to the Amazon link above, there are over 1,000 references to the earth in the Bible, compared to 490 references to heaven and 530 references to love, so the Bible carries a powerful message about the earth. This Bible is designed to draw attention to each and every reference by highlighting green scriptures in green ink in an effort to bring greater awareness to how this message is woven throughout the Old and New Testaments. It is supposed to help us view it through a “green lens”.

This Bible also has some other unique features like essays from key leaders and thinkers on various aspects of scripture and its mandate for creation care as well as quotes from Christian teachings throughout the ages from St. Augustine to C.S. Lewis.

The book itself is also green . It is printed on environmentally sustainable FSC paper, has a cotton and linen cover, and uses soy-based inks.

So what do you think? Is this just a shameful way to make money off of green or a needed product? Personally I think it is a little of both. The Bible is the number one bestseller right? And green is HOT right now. Of course publishers would love to tie the two together and make some money. BUT in my experience the most hardened global warming skeptics and environmental deniers are religious. No of course this doesn’t apply to all but in my community at least the religious folk are the first to scream scam when it comes to anything environmental. I have heard of preachers who give lectures about denying global warming and staying away from the “religion” of environmentalism. No Impact Man recently posted an email he got from one such person who claimed that God would never allow global warming to occur. I commented on that post if you care to read the comments. Franky it boggles my mind. I have read the Bible several times in my life and got no such message. Maybe this Bible has some possibilities then?

Well regardless I do have a collection of Bibles at home. I started collecting them when I found the version I grew up with had some erroneous translations that completely changed the meaning. I love all the different kinds of Bibles there are and wouldn’t mind having this one either. The cover is lovely. You can preorder them on Amazon.

So what do you think? Shameful or cool? Would you buy it?

La Marguerite wrote an article recently that really resonated with me. I think she accurately hit on an important factoid about the green movement…many people don’t think highly of it. They have snide remarks, they thumb their noses at it, or just veil their distaste for something they perceive to be nothing more than a way of inconveniencing them or guilting them. Green means change, consuming less, and voluntary simplicity and let’s face it, MANY want NO part of it. La Marguerite suggested using the term smart to refer to things instead of green. I totally agree. Many of the greenest products are the smartest too.

Think about it…a hybrid cuts down on fossil fuel usage and dangerous emissions. It is also a cost efficient choice. Solar and wind power might cost more initially but eventually you will save money on those too and stick it to big oil. Reusing and repurposing is frugal and self sufficient. Green is SMART! It seems as logical to me as one plus one equals two.

Frankly I get sick of hearing how green is a new religion. To me it sounds like someone saying that cancer research is a religion. If someone is really passionate about curing cancer would we call them a fanatic or a crazy anti-cancer person? No…we wouldn’t. So why is it that someone who is trying to save or preserve our planet gets a weirdo label? If someone is really passionate about green issues why do they deserve to be called a fanatic? It boggles the mind really because as a species, the earth is one thing EVERYONE has in common. It is our one home. Everyone should be on board with protecting it.

My younger brother is one who is constantly digging at me about my green enthusiasm. He is just one of those people who doesn’t think humans can do any REAL damage. I ask him to define damage…I mean how many animal species are extinct already? Yesterday in my hometown I heard a gentleman say this “If you don’t like gas prices thank those lousy environmentalists!” Yes, us lousy folk want to preserve our planet and make living on it enjoyable for everyone. Lousy would not be the word I would use to describe such a goal.

Of course our goals are impeded by pseudo greenies too. The companies and people who greenwash to make a buck or just make themselves feel better about their not-so green choices. It irritates me when I read articles written by “green” people who say things like well, I know I should do this or that but hey “I am not that person, or that just isn’t my choice”…aka I am not the person who sacrifices for something I am supposed to care about. It sends the movement a step back IMO. And I have been guilty of it myself plenty of times. I often think back to old habits and remember how opposed I was to making changes. At the time I could justify them until the cows came home…things change…you learn, you grow, you change.

Which brings me to green guilt. Lately I have been changing my opinion on that matter. Unlike mommy guilt I am not so sure green guilt is a bad thing. It can be good in SOME cases.

Guilt is subjective. Are we really being guilted by our peers or are their courageous words and actions simply acting as a mirror for us… a mirror that shows us something we aren’t proud of? Some cases of green guilt are just that and thus productive. That said don’t let anyone give you crap if your not further along than they are…it is a journey. As long as you keep moving and trying you are doing more than most.

The green movement is about reaching out for social and environmental responsibility, voluntary simplicity, bringing awareness to everyone, concern for others, and courage to do the right thing.

It is about deciding to reduce our footprint for future generations so they aren’t footing our bill later on…to make sure we aren’t writing checks our grandchildren won’t be able to cash. But they are not fanatics…they are passionate about something that technically EVERY human should be passionate about. That’s not green…that’s just smart.

What do you think?