The Story of Stuff

"The Story of Stuff" is a must-see video about where all of our "stuff" comes from, how it's made and where is ends up. Not only that, but the effect that the manufacturing, selling and disposing of all our "stuff" has on our planet, our bodies, and even our happiness. Going to the store will never be the same again!

Together Green

Together Green is a fun website to put your enthusiasm for protecting the planet into action. This website, an alliance of the Audubon Society and Toyota, is a place where you can learn about actions that you can take to protect the environment. You can find out how and where to volunteer in your community. You can also share green project ideas or get inspired by the many cool green projects that other have shared. I think I could spend all day on this site getting ideas!

Understanding Global Warming

I came across this great interview with Professor Michael Oppenheimer on the website Videojug.com. Professor Oppenheimer is a Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University. He clearly explains global warming and greenhouse gases and explains how humans are causing them.



VideoJug: Ozone And Greenhouse Gases

A nobel speech...

I want to share with you Al Gore's inspirational speech he gave while accepting the Nobel Peace prize two months ago. It is a bit long, but well worth reading. This would be great to read aloud with your parents. Here's a quick excerpt:

SPEECH BY AL GORE ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE DECEMBER 10, 2007 OSLO, NORWAY

"...We must quickly mobilize our civilization with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nations mobilized for war. These prior struggles for survival were won when leaders found words at the 11th hour that released a mighty surge of courage, hope and readiness to sacrifice for a protracted and mortal challenge.

These were not comforting and misleading assurances that the threat was not real or imminent; that it would affect others but not ourselves; that ordinary life might be lived even in the presence of extraordinary threat; that Providence could be trusted to do for us what we would not do for ourselves..."

Click here to read the full article.

What's so bad about carbon?

By now you probably have heard phrases like "climate crisis" and "carbon emissions" being used when discussing the environmental crisis. You maybe be wondering "what's so bad about carbon?" In fact, there is nothing wrong with carbon. It is the building block for life. Yet too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is causing global warming. This inconsistency can be very confusing. National Public Radio's ongoing program Climate Connections helps makes sense of this contradiction in its great series called IT'S ALL ABOUT CARBON. It's a humorous look at the science behind global warming. Watch the five cartoon episodes and you will be saying "ah–ha" instead of "huh?"

Lick global warming...the fun way

Check out this great website created by our favorite ice cream guys, Ben & Jerry's. Lick Global Warming is a colorful and animated website with an easy to understand guide to the climate crisis, along with an interactive map that explains the effects of global warming on glaciers, oceans, weather patterns, plants and animals, along with other difficult to comprehend topics such as how global warming is impacting people around the world. For a fun way to learn more about what you can do to reduce carbon emissions, play the Lick Global Warming Memory Game. It's almost as fun as eating a whole pint of cookie dough ice cream all by yourself!