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Browsing Archive: August, 2010

Eco Lessons from Katrina

Posted by Ethan on Friday, August 27, 2010, In : renewable energy 
Hey Neergs!

Hope you enjoyed yesterday's our coverage of the Catalog Canceling Challenge. Please email us with your inspirational eco-action stories. We want to hear all about it!  Speaking of inspirational stories, did you know that it has been five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Region and New Orleans? If you have time, check out our sister site, "The Guardians of Neerg Hall" and read our first E-Chapter. You'll notice that the kids live in New Orleans! My family lived the...
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Earn a One Tree Club Badge!

Posted by Wendy Wercion on Wednesday, August 25, 2010, In : Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 


 Hey Neergs!

Today I used Skype for the very first time. It’s a video conference where you get to talk to another person from your computer--even if they live far away. Best yet, I interviewed Ted Wells, a very cool teacher in Brookline, MA. Ted is an environmentalist and even rides his bike to work! He comes from a family that really cares about the earth. His grandfather even made videos about pollution in the 1960’s! So, I guess it was Ted’s destiny to do something really big and impo...

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Cleveland, Ohio Enforces Mandatory Recycling with Microchips and Fines!

Posted by Ethan on Tuesday, August 24, 2010, In : Breaking News 
Hey Neergs! 

Today there is some really cool breaking news out of Cleveland, Ohio. The city is placing microchips in resident trash bins and recycling bins to monitor recycling. But this goes even further than that! The microchips will provide data that tells the city whether or not you are recycling. If the answer is no, the city will go through your trash bin to see if recycled items are in your trash bin.  If that number is more than 10%, you could see a fine of $100.

I think it's great. Har...

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Felicidades, Mexico City! Mexico City Bans Plastic Bags!

Posted by Ethan on Saturday, August 21, 2010, In : Say "no" to plastics! 

Hey Neergs--

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I woke up to check the "green news" this morning and was excited to learn that Mexico City has banned all plastic, non biodegradable bags. Care2 reports that Mexico City is now the largest metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere to go "bagless." I like the momentum we are seeing. Let's hope the state of California is successful levying its  25 cent bag tax. The bag tax worked great in Ireland: sometimes you just have to motivate people throu...
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Sun Chips' bags too Noisy?

Posted by Ethan on Friday, August 20, 2010, In : Say "no" to plastics! 
Hey Neergs--

We need smarter consumers and more responsible journalists!  The Today Show and others have recently made a big stink over how loud the Sun Chips 100% compostable bag is.  I found 87 results in You Tube for "loud Sun Chips' bag."  Are they kidding? Are people really that upset about a loud chip bag?  I know many of the independently produced videos are in good fun and meant to entertain us.  Having said that, the logical question one must ask is, why can't you just put them in a b...

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Plastic Bag Monsters Sighted in San Francisco!

Posted by Ethan on Wednesday, August 18, 2010, In : Say "no" to plastics! 
Hey Neergs!

Do you believe in monsters?  You should!  The ChicoBag Company just kicked off its national tour to support an end to plastic, single-use bags. Each monster (a person wears a 500 plastic bag costume) represents the amount of bags an average American uses yearly. That's right, not a family, that's just one average person!


Did you know that Ireland passed a plastic bag tax that resulted in 94% decrease in the use of plastic bags? It worked not only because people didn't want to pay th...
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Coral Reefs dying in Indonesia

Posted by Ethan on Tuesday, August 17, 2010, In : Breaking News 
Hey Neergs-

 I was so sad to see this article from MSNBC that reports a massive coral die off in 93 degree water in Indonesia--a result of global warming. The report goes on to say that this is likely one of the "most rapid and severe coral mortality events ever recorded."   Scientists say that 80 percent of some species have died as a result, with others expected to die in the next couple of months.


I remember my parents had taken me to St. John when I was around five.  The reefs were so beaut...
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Water bottles are bad, very bad!

Posted by Ethan on Tuesday, August 17, 2010, In : Say "no" to plastics! 
Okay I know I don't usually don't post twice in one day, but this video was pretty compelling. Check this out!

 

The Facts about Bottled Water from Natasha Murray on Vimeo.


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Check out these wind turbine pics!

Posted by Ethan on Monday, August 16, 2010, In : renewable energy 
Hey Neergs--

I wanted to share some of these great pictures we took from the car on the way home from the USA Swimming Central Zone meet in Lincoln, NE. As we drove through Iowa, we started seeing these beautiful white structures looming out of the corn fields.  They were wind turbines and they went on for miles.  I actually thought they were quite beautiful.  Maybe they're beautiful because of what they represent--a movement toward clean energy.  I was really excited to see so many, and they ...
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Who stole the recycling bins?

Posted by Ethan on Wednesday, August 11, 2010, In : Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 
Hey Neergs!

Road trips are a great way to learn about how the rest of the country is dealing with important environmental issues like recycling! I was lucky to attend the USA Central Zone Swimming meet with a bunch of my friends in Lincoln, Nebraska.  It was a long trip, so we had to stay the night in a hotel along the way and in another hotel once we got there.  I'm not going to name the hotels, because honestly, they are all guilty of this. My mom and dad drove along separate and noticed the...
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Road Trip!

Posted by Ethan on Friday, August 6, 2010, In : renewable energy 
Hey Neergs!
This has to be a quick post today. I'm with my swim team at the Central Zone Meet for USA swimming in Lincoln Nebraska--first day of competition is today.  I had to make time to tell you about the bus trip through Iowa.  I took lots of pics and will post them when I return. We saw the most beautiful wind farms. Here we are just cruising along, mile after mile of corn fields, and then there are these immense white wind turbines in the middle of the fields.  They were really beautifu...
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Make your own sunscreen?

Posted by Ethan on Monday, August 2, 2010, In : Toxin Free 
Hey Neergs--

As I get ready to head to the Zone meet with my swim team, I started thinking about the video we recently posted, The Story of Cosmetics. This very cool video talked about how all these products have toxic chemicals in them, which really adds up when you use several a day.

As a swimmer, I use sunscreen all the time.  I bet you used a lot of sunscreen at your pool this summer. With the harsh UVA rays, you have to protect yourself from skin cancer, right?  My grandma just came back ...

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Click here to visit www.NeergHall.com to learn

 about  Project Kaisei's effort to clean up plastic 

debris in our oceans, especially in the 

North Pacific Gyre.

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ABOUT ME

Hi, I'm Ethan. I like learning about the environment, science, reading and competitive swimming. I love being with my friends and working on ways to save our planet.

Green Kids Rock is the place to come to learn, play and make change happen.  I want to hear all your great ideas, so please share here! We are building a movement, and we will be heard.  Green Kids Rock!     

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