Before I get into this topic, please read my article on cancer dedicated to someone special to me, each view constitutes a larger donation to cancer research. http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/27/help-me-fight-cancer/

The “green movement” is gaining some steam in the general public, and hey I am all for it.  As long as it doesn’t become a fad that fades away into a footnote like slap bracelets and Crocks. The Apple iPhone is the hottest smart phone going today, and with over 65,000 applications in the iTunes App Store and counting, the usefulness of this pocket device goes up all the time. This can only mean that there will be green apps on the iPhone, and of course there will be some clunkers. With all these apps floating around there must be some gems as well. I’ll give some apps a try and tell you what I think, so you, my loyal reader, doesn’t have to.

(Part 2: Paid Apps, will be coming soon, so check back at PlanetSave.com)

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Over the course of a lifetime, the average American consumes over 87,000 slices of bread.  Yes, you read that correctly — eighty seven thousand. That’s more than a loaf per week per person, not counting the additional 5,000 hot dog buns and 12,000 hamburger buns each American devours in his or her life.

All that wheat calculates out to a lifetime grand total of 21,947 loaves and buns.  The National Geographic Society’s Human Footprint project has illustrated this shocking bread obsession in a stunning visual (see the video clip below).   In the words of my little brother, who is no stranger to wheatless ways,  “That is a totally nasty amount of bread.”

There’s no argument that bread is an American staple.  Amber waves of grain are, after all, an American icon.  But we can’t live by bread alone.  So what are some wheatless alternatives?

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A startling new WWF study has revealed that people living in Hong Kong currently use twice as many resources as residents in China, more than double the sustainable level.

To feed the vibrant city’s massive demand for natural resources, and absorb the CO2 emitted, residents need an area of land and sea larger than 250 Hong Kong’s, an incredible seven-fold increase since 1965.

According to Mathis Wackernagel, Executive Director of the Global Footprint Network, “Although small geographically, Hong Kong not only has significant resource demands, but it also has an over-proportional influence on the world.

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PC energy saving specialists Verdiem have today released free downloadable software designed to help users slash their energy use up to a massive 80 percent.

According to Allison Cornia, vice president of product management at Verdiem, “If we could get just 10 per cent of the world’s one billion PCs using [the product] properly we could save 32 billion kilograms of CO2 a year. That’s equivalent to taking half a million cars off the road.”

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And while the mark we leave upon the environment by adding to it, through our increased carbon emissions, is increasingly important and, sadly, dire, what we take away from the environment is just as crucial.

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Do you find yourselves searching for a green holiday gift that’s hip, relevant, and makes a difference in the fight against climate change? Well, look no further than WE ADD UP. WE ADD UP is a brand new global warming awareness project! It’s a global count of people committing to help fight global warming by taking simple steps in their everyday lives that make a big difference. WE ADD UP is an organic t-shirt campaign and every organic tee is custom hand-printed with a number - that number represents your unique position in the sequential global count! So if you were the 500th person to get counted in, the number on your shirt would be 500. The backs of the shirts feature different action messages - simple things that anyone can do to decrease their carbon footprint, like Bike, Unplug, Drink Tap, Organic, Mass Transit, Shower Together, Recycle, Buy Local - there are over 20 different messages to choose from for the back of your shirt. The design of the WE ADD UP tees is simple, clean, and appealing for both men and women - and all the tees are made of certified organic cotton that’s grown and sewn in the USA. The WE ADD UP line makes it incredibly easy and fun to get counted in the fight against global warming - and it lets us know that simple changes do make a big difference because WE ADD UP!

Be sure to check out the WE ADD UP website at www.weaddup.com — it’s a great site and very educational as well. You can read all about WE ADD UP’s Green and Giving Program - a portion of the proceeds from WE ADD UP shirts is given back to the planet and WE ADD UP even offers carbon-neutral shipping. A WE ADD UP shirt is one of the most unique and meaningful gifts out there - it represents a commitment to the environment and it’s a way to spread awareness at the same time.

Happy Green Gifting, Everyone!

Changing The Way I Recreate

Each day off that I have, I go through the same ritual of “driving-recreating-driving back home”. This is particularly ironic in my case, as I live in an area surrounded by wild lands: a National Park, a National Forest, BLM land, and two private Preserves all lie within ten miles of my home. So why on earth do I consume hundreds of gallons of gas a year driving to the farthest flung spots on the map so that I can get my dose of the wild while I recreate?

I can no longer justify this. The poet Gary Snyder once said, “Being a member of a place is to be in a relationship.” This week, I decided to begin to enter more fully into that relationship. To know the ecosystem in which I live, to know its rhythms and cycles, and to truly be a member of my place.

Learning About a Different Kind of Wild

This has produced a number of interesting encounters. On Monday, I headed south of town, toward a small peak I can see from my bedroom window. I had a bit of a run-in with a pack of howling, snarling, barking dogs whose owners presumably know that they are on the loose, but are happy for the protection. Just yesterday, I had my partner Sam drop me off on her way to work, and I hiked up a long canyon and ridge to get back home. Passing through a homeless encampment and an illegal trash dump proved a slight diversion from my normal wild-lands experience; but ending my hike with a cold beer out of my refrigerator (rather than a 3 hour drive home) was rewarding.

Another day I headed up a quite steep peak just across the highway from my home—up through juniper and scrub oak I scrambled, with a stiff wind howling down from the higher mountain range to the west. After topping out on the ridge and enjoying the view, I started to blast down the hillside toward town. My descent was little more than a controlled fall, and before I knew it I was stumbling into someone’s backyard. They happened to be out that morning, hanging up their laundry. And there I was, clad in rain gear (to block the wind), a balaclava, and big sunglasses, looking like some kind of deranged REI-Storm Trooper.

Find Resources for Yourself

Depending on where you live, there are a variety of local resources. If you live near federal land, get in touch with your local BLM Office or National Forest for more information on public lands near you. In places somewhat less wide-open, State, County, or City Parks or lands can provide close-to-home options for recreation. Land Trusts can also provide you with info on local areas to get outdoors and have fun.

All in all, shifting the focus of my recreation from far-flung to closer-in has had a positive impact on my life so far. I’m spending less time in the car, and more time outdoors. I’m using a fraction of the gas I would otherwise use. And I’m getting to know the place that I live in (feral dogs and all) much better than I did before.