the greener side

Mac attack

There wasn't as much sustainable stuff at Macworld as there was even last year, except for the Greenpeace protestors outside, and big booths showing off Google Earth/Sketchup software and MacKiev's cool satellite weather application. I did learn that the way to measure the purity of the silicone in your iPod cover is to stretch the plasticky material. If it's clear, as pictured here, good news. If it's milky, clouded with white, then yuck. However, although there aren't any phthalates in silicone, it stays in the ground forever once you toss it.

On another note, Apple's ad campaign for its latest invention is ripping off Christian billboards circa 1999. Can God sue?

Look at my footage below: the oglers at Macworld are venerating the new iPhone as if tears and blood were streaming from its Magic Touch screen, imparting a telepathic message of eternal life and everlasting forgiveness. Instead, the gadget comes with a mortal battery, it demands a contract with a devilish telecom, and nobody's even touched it. Get real, people. It's a phone...oh yeah, and a music player and an "breakthrough Internet communications device." It can't feed or clothe you or detoxify your drinking water. Before I leave this earth, maybe I'll see a crowd like this one oohing and ahhing and elbowing over some new invention that actually helps people and the planet.

Maybe I'm forgetting that Apple's inventions just might usher in world peace! After all, as singer John Mayer said after Steve Jobs' keynote address--in the greatest WTF?! moment of Macworld (apart from the media's frenzied stampede up the escalators): "You know, Steve Jobs and Apple are making life more fun. It's the exact opposite of terrorism." Golly.

Gambling on a green future

Eyeing a sustainable future and willing to bet on it? If green mutual funds aren't slow enough for you, then dig up $200 and place a Long Bet. This project of the Long Now Foundation, makers of the 10,000 year clock, lets you gamble online with noted geniuses and famous futurists.

On the dim side, today's featured wager, placed by knighted astrophysicist Martin Rees, foresees that one event of bioterror or bioerror (rising "from inadvertance rather than evil intent") will wipe out a million souls by 2020. So far the odds are 50/50--the same odds Rees gives our species for lasting another century.

Other predictions are on the brighter side: Also within 14 years, could solar energy be as cheap as fossil fuels? Will the average household keep a room to make a self-sustaining water supply? Will we make huge strides toward clean energy within a decade? And when will people stop denying global warming? To add your wager to the public debate, just don't expect to get your money back; all proceeds will go to charity.

Zaadz' seeds of green social networking

It's embarrassing that I joined Friendster years ago in a morbid bout of "where-are-they-now" curiosity, yet I was too square for the now-unkinky Tribe and I proudly raise my cane about skipping MySpace and Facebook. (Ha! it's also embarrassing that I misspelled "embarassing" for half the year in this post.) Ah, youngsters. Any term ending in "-ster" clogs my large intestine. Nevertheless, curious again, I'm outing myself for having signed up at Zaadz, a social networking site for cultural creatives, after a nice reader pointed it out. The profiles of 1,453 active "Zaadsters" each list two astrological signs--hence many stargazers/yogis/techies /Reiki-people/Burning Man devotees with interests that include green building, evolution, and felting. One guy describes himself as "a love light Padawan;" one woman calls herself a "psychoactive bodhisattva." Get it?

Will Zaddz' mission to fuse capitalism with world-changing attract swarms of green people? Zaadz is marked by an absence of cynicism, so even its form buttons are polite (right), but users such as this one gripe about censorship. To join, you must agree to either respect the "sacred space" or leave it. Hm. The site's only in private beta (testing) mode, so expect quirks. Tagging and other web 2.0 plans are in the works, as are hopes for Zaadz-branded spas and books. For now, you can peek at people and search a bank of quotes by some of "the world's greatest thinkers (59 of the 60 most-quoted are male)."

God and greenness

In this week leading up to Christmas, I wrote with a cheesy title (Earth: smokin') about religion, anti-environmentalism, and the end of the world, as explored in the new book Divine Destruction. A lot of people don't know that many powerful fundamentalist Christians are eager to see the world end to hasten Jesus' second coming; such beliefs help to unravel ecological protections. On the brighter side, many Christian congregations are pushing lately for a greater awareness of tending to the earth. And Christian conservationists are no fringe element; name any cause for social or environmental justice, and you'll find a long history of legions of faithful folk at the core of such work.

I'm delighted that Don of the Evangelical Ecologist blog has taken an interest in my post, inviting his readers to check it out. Don shares these wise comments--read to the end for tips on how people of varied beliefs can work together:

A lot has changed in Christian circles since the dominion movement (early 90's). There was a big  backlash against DM as your Wiki link notes, "mainline Christian  denominations (and most Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists) reject Dominion Theology." Frankly, I'm 41 and my body will give out someday, but I'd be an idiot not exercise and eat well. They're probably out there, but have yet to run into anybody who thinks polluting will hasten Christ's return. On the contrary - the Bible (as most Christians interpret it) says when He comes back He should find us doing good stuff. DM is an interesting discussion, but in the interest of space I'd like to stick with where Christian ecology is today, and how we can work  together.

Earth: smokin'

For the love of God, some powerful zealots are trying to speed up the end of the world. Sadly, many folks who take the Bible literally believe that Jesus won’t escort faithful souls to heaven until the whole globe fries like Hiroshima on Aug. 7, 1945. Some people in high places of earthly power can't wait to see this in our lifetimes. Apocalypse-happy star preachers pitch prophecy Bibles that take literally the English translations of ancient Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic scripture. Pop novelist Tim LaHaye gets rich selling 60 million Left Behind millennial fantasies. Cheshire-grinning in agreement, the religious right enjoys broad support in Washington. Journalist Stephenie Hendricks, who I met a couple of weeks ago at a reading in S.F., details this picture in her elegant book Divine Destruction.

Mix together the end-of-the-world obsession with dominion theology, the concept that man rules the planet and animals. What do you get?  We get to do WhateverTF we want, say big-motor bullies who tear up national forests with off-road vehicles in their leisure time. Who needs public parks when God handed Adam a wild carte blanche? Such is the ungreen, oxymoronic doctrine of "wise use" espoused by ORV evangelist Ron Arnold and his ilk: a sloppy excuse for abusing our offspring's right to natural resources.

Having doomsday cheerleaders in high corporate and political places is devastating decades of  environmental protections. For example, dominion theologists include exalted execs at Coca-Cola, Coors, and Ford--who enjoy cozy relationships in D.C. Some fundamentalists link environmentalism with paganism, pantheism, and of course, terrorism.  Likewise, some environmentalists link religion with intolerance, ignorance, and corruption. Luckily, many Christians beg to differ (check out the Evangelical Ecologist blog that uses solar-powered Web hosting). Some of the most famous ecologists have been evangelicals, such as John Muir, but they're suffering a bad rap these days. Hendricks sees environmental debates as the biggest divide among politically-engaged Christians.

But because the "e" word can be taboo for some evangelicals, Hendricks explains that many bona fide Christian environmentalists use the politically correct term "creation care" instead. Google that and you'll find Christian eco-heroes such as the (unfortunately-named) Fred Krueger, who takes fundamentalist right-wingers on walks through the woods to make born-again conservationists out of them. You'll also stumble across the Evangelical Environmental Network (of WWJDrive fame), which sells Creation Care Magazine and publications like "Eco Church: An Action Manual." The Christian Environmental Association sends volunteers on Peace Corps-type projects  aimed at "Serving the Earth, Serving the Poor." That's just the tip; such voices are getting louder.

Carnival of the Green #5

Cheers to Great Green Goods for last week’s recap of the highlights in the green blogosphere. This fifth Carnival of the Green--a roving weekly display of what's on the minds of green bloggers--started with a bang. Francois, aka the Radical Libertarian, submitted his "top 10 list of signs you are a Greenie." Noted among his "top 4 activities of greenies" was: "Having sex and making children... while believing that human activity is inherently harmful. Perhaps they think it's okay as long as you can brainwash your children to become "caring" Greenies like they are." (Not what green bloggers such as Common Ground have in mind when we talk about making sustainability sexy.)

Triple Pundit fired back with this message for the Radical Libertarian: "Although amusing, these complaints expose a woefully outdated way of looking at "environmentalism" that is held by those who choose to see extremists as representative of the entire movement, and possibly mask their own concern for wellbeing with an aloof front." Thanks to Nick for taking the words out of my mouth.

Speaking of gratitude, George at Dirty Greek lost sleep cooking for 24 hours but relished his organic Thanksgiving meal. The morning after, many green bloggers rolled out of bed with the intention to observe Buy Nothing Day rather than race to the mall for the busiest shopping day of the year.

Others geared up for holiday gift giving by looking at greener ways to shop.

• Green LA Girl urged us to "Fuck Amazon—Buy Local!" and cited a study finding that “local stores returned $68 for every $100 to the local economy, while chain stores returned only $43 of $100."
• City Hippy spotlighted green shopping at a discount.
• Greenthinkers posted a fun gift idea guide.
• Dee's Dotes put up an evolving list of "out of the norm holiday gift giving ideas that are more friendly to our planet."
• Great Green Goods picked out ways to wrap presents without wasting paper.
• Urban Eco came up with a handy Eco-Electronic Buying Guide.

The gadget on my gift wish lift? The battery-free Pedalite bike light found by Unplugged Living. For a faster, green two-wheeler, check out plans by Micah Glasser of Event Horizon to build an electric motorcycle with the chassis of a Suzuki GS500E.

If you celebrate Christmas but don't want to breathe in pesticides along with the aromatherapeutic pine when you bring home a tree, check out the Blue Voice's guide to organic tree shopping in "How Toxic Are Thy Branches?" And don't leave wildlife out in the cold this winter; TreehuggerMum provided parent-friendly tips on feeding backyard birds in chilly climes and times.

Catch up on news you may have missed at Groovy Green, which summarized "This Green Week in U.S. Politics." Look for Carnival of the Green #6 at Jen's Green Journal next Monday. Find out more about the carnival through its founders, City Hippy and Triple Pundit.

Digitize your doomsday

The Bible is the greatest bestseller of all time, but why waste any more trees on a printed one? This pocket electronic version is endorsed by a televangelist with his finger on the doomsday trigger--er, pulse. You'll add another $100 to the $10 million budget of Michigan's Jack Van Impe Ministries by buying this special apocalypse-focused, calculator-size package of the Old and New Testaments. The end of the world is nigh, so check up on the forecast with this:

•  Comprehensive A-to-Z Prophecy Index
•  Verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Revelation

Jack Van Impe warns us all about the Rapture on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Doesn't all this fear and brimstone just prevent people from improving things on our big rock? Come on, our planet's getting left behind by so much silliness .

Being green is getting a (sex) life

"It's not sexy being green (yet)," the New York Times Style desk blared last week. "In other words, environmentalists need to be less preachy." But the sunny L.A. Times hinted at the opposite in "Fads out of style" last Sunday, saying a search for meaning is already shifting our habits:

We're acting locally, living "consciously" and buying organic because the world's a fragile, stressful place...

Spinning mankind's quest for survival into mind candy, surely Madison Avenue's scheming hard over how to make hot action out of recyclables and bioplastics (bet they won't take the FuckforForest approach). Paper Magazine  (sincerely?) offers freebies if you warm its hearts and loins with "the best idea for making green cool and trendy."

This plea need not sound so desperate; the widespread adoption of sustainable technologies is growing organically. Never mind that Organic Style folded; after all, sales shot up before it lost its edge. And the expansion of the often irreverent "sustainable blogosphere" is evidence that green-positive thinking is fertile. Environmentalism is far from dead; it's just entering puberty.

The future is megagreen, pop book says

Capitalism is becoming kinder and greener, predicts pop futurist Patricia Aburdene, author of the new Megatrends 2010. This book is a feel-good view of how businesses and technology are adapting to a growing demand for sustainability. For example, it cites studies showing that companies with socially responsible practices thrive financially.

"There is a reason for these results: A business is a whole, and systems work better when all their organic parts are honored," Aburdene told the Christian Science Monitor."We need to graduate from the ridiculous notion that greed is some kind of elixir for capitalism - it's the downfall of capitalism." Here's what the Megatrends books have predicted:

What's left of the U.S., post-prophecies

More cataclysmic Earth changes are in store for us, and soon. At least that’s what so many cocktail conversations center around these days—all of those spine-tingling “what ifs” over how scorned Mother Nature will lash out.  Blame Gulf Coast calamities, gas gouging, and even those housing bubble murmurs for preoccupying Americans with the catastrophic possibilities of nature. West Coasters shake over “not if but when” quakes, such as the San Andreas upset that's due, oh, every century or so--which would be, um, next year.

What will the planet think of next? Here’s your answer, already drawn out in these future maps. Photoshop helped me crudely overlap the predictions of Nostradamus, Gordon Michael Scallion, Chet Snow, Doris and Aron Abrahamsen, Ashton Pitre, and George Shaffer.

For example, California was supposed to splinter into islands, and Colorado would have enjoyed oceanfront property by now, if Scallion were right. Nonsense, says Pitre; the Mississippi will merge the Great Lakes for a 50-mile-wide gush down to the Gulf. Oh, stop arguing you guys. What if we just say that you're all correct? Then every colored-in zone (left) will be under water within this century.

Admit it, don't you want to be a prophet too--the one who sensed it all well in advance (but only pinpointed it ever-so-clearly in hindsight)? Here's my wisdom: buy land in Appalachia, or sprint to Canada now. Only the gray areas in the map below remain unscathed by prophecy.