TROUBL

1. RBT

   The co-host was particially right the earth isnt going anywhere even if people milk it for all its resources earth will still be around history tells us that. Going green is benificial for people as we are today, cause only we suffer if it’s too hot to go outside or there’s no clean water to drink. Think about when cats or birds decide to make an evolutionary powermove (it could happen).

   I have a problem doing this myself everyone needs to unplug their chargers when not in use.

   Being in NY, this isnt a issue that I deal with but people do we really have to drive to the corner store?

   And isnt it ironic that they want everyone going green just 2 days after the holiday.. You know earthday was probally started by some hippies …Is it just a coincidence? Just putting it out there!!

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2. "A Mom"

   Plastic bags. I always ask for plastic bags instead of paper. It seem to be easier for me. Paper bags fall apart to easy but I know plastic is one of the things that hurt the environment. I recycle cans and bottles and give them to this homeless man that comes by on mondays so that is something good. I know there are a lots of things I need to do to save this earth. Drive my car less, not use so much energy in the house etc. I’m working on doing better. While we are still here me must do better.

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3. Malia

   I am sooooooooooo guilty! Sorry, but I don’t recycle because I’m lazy. I throw everything in the trash and throw it out on my way to work. Now that I have my own place I like it to look immaculate and I hate bugs so I get trash out fast to avoid creepy crawling things. Also I don’t have time to go to a drop off destination for recyclables. If they want to pick it up,then we’re good. I can put it outside and they can do theit thing.

   I can’t stand hippies who love the earth but don’t even believe in God and did I mention don’t shower? yeah, one of my co-workers and I were talking and she said my hair smelled good - so I told her it was Biolage and she said she doesn’t shower everyday because it’s not good to wash her hair everyday. Flip the hair, what about the A$$? I’m just saying a whole lot of these green people stink!!! And if I have to stink in order to go green, then I’ll stick with clean and leave the tree hugging to someone else!

   The charger? My bad I didn’t know. It’s perpetually in the socket so I will take it out immediately! What else can I do that doesn’t involve sticking???

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4. TRAVELING MAN

   I recycle, but I love big, fast gas guzzling vehicles. I love the earth but I love technology, and you can’t have one without the other. The more industrialized the world becomes the worse pollution will get. I believe in global warming but then again I don’t. The earth is experiencing a warming cycle, but I believe we are contributing to the problem. If you look at old Time Magazine covers in the 30s and 40s you will find that they were scared that the earth was going to freeze over because it was abnormally cold. That said, we aren’t going back to the stone ages unless there is some type of catastrophic event that makes us do so. I enjoy my iPod, international travel and other advances that make life easy, but if I gave something up I guess it would be to take the Metro to work and give the gas guzzler a break.

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5. "A Mom"

   If you can do one tiny thing like your charger, you are doing a lot. I do agree with the taking the bath thing. Smelling good to me is feeling good. I won’t give that up either

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6. TROUBLMan

   MALIA,

   You nuts–”hippies who love the earth but don’t even believe in God and did I mention don’t shower.” I feel you, “Stank Pollution” is not good for my nose, but what does love earth have to do with believing in God?
   I love my residence but I don’t have to like the construction workers that built it.

   Even though I haven’t implemented all the changes I need to make to be more earth friendly, I love the earth. The earth loves me.

   When I’ll tell people that I’m a tree hugger and proud of it, they laugh like I’m joking. To me, they’re on some racist shit, acting like black people don’t care about the environment. And most of the time these are other black folks :..(

   One thing i’ve done recently is to refuse the bags they try to give me when I go to the store. If all I buy is a bag of chips and a soda, why bag it up.

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7. Lynsey

   The way I see it, the thing to ask yourself isn’t whether you can keep your lifestyle, but what you can TWEAK about it. I don’t have to give up showering every day, but I can give up the extra ten minutes I spend just waking up in it every morning, or I can shave my legs with the water off. I don’t have to stop throwing things away, but it sure doesn’t hurt to throw them into a separate bag full of recyclables so that can collectors or recycling programs don’t have to pick through my banana peels to get them. I don’t have to stop eating what I like to eat, but I can eat it in moderation (factory-farmed meat contributes a whole lot more to global warming than you might think, with all the crops grown to feed the animals, the methane they put off, etc). I can just turn off a light when I leave a room insead of leaving it on all night.
   Just modifying your lifestyle a bit, rather than changing it drastically, can make all the difference.
   (PS - Unplugging chargers is a great tip, as is turning off or unplugging all your electrical devices when not using them. DVD players, TVs, stereos, etc - most use electricity even when they’re not on. You can save a lot of money and energy by unplugging them, or turning off the power strip they’re plugged into, when you’re not using them.)

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8. "A Mom"

   My oldest son had a phoebia when he was younger. He went around unplugging everything at night. Lamps, toasters, T.V.’s what ever was plugged in. Who would have thought he was already saving the planet long before we were all doing so.

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9. *SB*

   Malia….
   LMAO @ the stanky hippies comment…

   RBT-
   you are so right! one of the cable guys told me that…and not only will unplugging them be better for the environment that electricity bill might be a little cheaper too!

   I try to remember to unplug the electronics before I leave for the day…but i always forget…i even forgot today as i was thinking about Earth Day leaving the house…my bad!

   A mom-
   You brought up a really good point…I bring the re-usable bags to the grocery store instead of getting plastic or paper and at the grocery store I go to they give you 3 cents off your purchase per bag…not alot by I need my 6 cents-lol…you should try to use those…and maybe you’ll get those couple cents knocked off too!

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10. *SB*

    A mom-

    Damn…thats interesting….ya boy was ahead of his time…

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11. American Pharaoh

    I want to thank the author for writing an article on this topic. In an industrialized society, we need constant reminders to recycle, conserve energy, and emit less pollution. Too many people excuse themselves from environmentally friendly activities by saying, “I’m just one person and I won’t make a difference.” I’m guilty of saying such things but TODAY I will be conscious about my environment and that is a step in the right direction…

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12. Diana

    I think it’s great that you decided to post this article. I knew about earth day a few weeks back only because I had decided to do a project with my students. For the last few weeks they have been bringing in bottles, catons, and anything that’s recycable. Then today we used the money we made from recyclinig and went to the nursery where they each bought a plant.
    It was really amazing to see how much these 4 and 5 year olds learned about recycling. I think one important thing is to be a good example to others around us, especially children.
    Other things to do:
    recycle at home
    don’t sleep with the tv on
    turn off all electrical gadgets when they are not being used
    change lightbulbs
    turn off those ac’s and heaters. use the window

    and be conscious throughout the day of how you can be saving our earth. its really the little things that count..

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13. *SB*

    Diana…
    Im so happy to hear that you did a recycling project with your class and that you had a project surrounding earth day…

    I say that because my 3rd grade teacher Mr. Alvin was one of the first major influences in my life…he was a total tree-hugger…he use to take the bus by my house to get home everyday no matter what the weather was like…i mean homeboy used pencils until you couldnt sharpen them no more because they were so short…anywayz…he really emphasized the importance of caring about the planet, recycling, protecting endangered species…i ran home making sure my parents cut up the plastic that connects the coke cans….we even sent a letter to the reese’s headquarters (yes, reeses peanut butter cup) asking them why they used so much paper wrapping on their candy…

    I truly believe Mr. Alvin is one of the reasons why im the tree-hugger i am today…its so important to educate our youth on protecting the environment…ish* im proof that the education and values stick with you for a lifetime…

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14. "A Mom"

    I don’t think he was thinking about saving the planet. He was too young. He said he was afraid the house would catch on fire. He also checked the doors 5 or more times every night. I think he had a phoebia. He is married now and has gotten better but he still does some of those things. But nevertheless some of this was good.

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15. Black-Listed

    Earth Day is a nice cliche’ for people to acknowledge their gluttonous lifestyles and say oneself I will curb my appetitie for excess. At least for today! However, I can’t help but feel this message has been commercialized and trivialized by the corporate behemoths that continue to get the free ride of no responsibility. It is dissappointing that we need a yearly media friendly exercise, to divert attention from real Earth Day activities (i.e.: mass emailers to elected officials and consumer service departments of corporations mentioned earlier) to go out and by clothes made from hemp, by your local hippie tailors!

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16. Q.

    good topic..

    i like all of the suggestions about unplugging things, but i do know how hard that is.. I have so many dang gadgets in the crib (with the back office), that i don’t even think about it many days.. but, i’ll try to put up a list or something on my fridge to remind me..

    the showering thing?? preserving water?? yea, i’m just going to have to go to hell for that one.. ain’t happening.. i ain’t gon’ front on that.. i’m not making my shower quicker, unless i’m running late.. what i do is turn off my toilet at night.. i didn’t realize how much it ran, so i just turn it off at night, and then turn it back on when i wake up..

    being in NYC, it’s easier using the train, but i’m quickly getting sick of the train, and when i get to Boosy status, i’m getting driven everywhere.. I’m making up for it, by buying a “green” spot.. i also intend to have a small garden..

    if you are in NYC, i suggest buying the little rolling carts, so that when you go to the grocery store (or bodega), you can just put the food in there, instead of using all of the bags..

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17. Icy Mike

    I have never ever purchased any black garbage bags for the purpose of using for garbage. Whenever I go shopping and get plastic bags, they get stored in a drawer and fill up the smaller trash cans and the medium size bins. I figure that if I’m going to toss trash away, I might as well re-use the plastic bags I get.

    I remember when I first heard Sheryl Crow (or was it Shania Twain) who said that we should only use one square of toilet paper after taking a constitution like she does. But then she proceeded with her concert tour with five trailer buses or so and media, which does more harm… I’m not listening to that

    In any case, your best bet is if you are interested recycle. It’s not that hard, use less hot water, use low-flow toilets, unplug your laptop and cell phone charger when not in use. It’s pretty easy to cut back on your carbon footprint as it were, just takes a few seconds a day.

    Paper bags I do use for recycling.. it’s very good for packing in all the papers, boxes, etc.

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18. Dutchess

    Hi Everyone, I’ve been busy with school projects, but this issue makes me want to speak up. I agree SB recycling so so important. I also believe that it costs more to recycle the plastic and cans we “recycle”, we all are so careless when we buy drinks from stores, or foods in plastics. Most people don’t think about where their drink container is going, and most people do not care. That is what is sad to me is that our lives run on plastic and can containers….

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Reply to “Blazin’”

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