Green Options

If you missed Green iPhone Apps Reviewed Part 1: Free Apps, you can see it here. After my first batch of reviews on the free green iPhone apps, I have gotten some great suggestions on green apps. If you have any you you would like to see reviewed, you can comment here, head over to my website www.danielhohler.com, or twitter me @danielhohler. I am not a hard man to find. I have already gotten a whole new batch that people would like to hear about, so it looks like by popular demand there will be green iPhone apps part 3, so stay tuned here on planetsave.com.

iPhone apps are sweeping the nation. For those of us who own iPhones, we know just how useful a good app can be. The problem is that there are so many apps floating around, finding a really good app is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. However, don’t fret. I am here to pick up all of those straws of hay and tell you if indeed they are hay, or maybe just maybe, a needle. Or with less metaphor, I’ll try them and tell you if they are any good.

Before I get into this important 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/

Problem

Almost one half of non-human primates are at risk of extinction, and none more so than gorillas. Gorillas are disappearing at an alarming rate, mostly a victim of their surroundings. Political unrest, wars, poachers, miners, and loggers all converging in a perfect storm of brutality and human depravity, killing one of our closest living relatives. Gorilla’s DNA is 98-99% an exact match for human DNA, just barely trailing our closest living relatives (genus Pan, chimpanzees and bonobos). Unfortunately for the gorillas, they occupy a region rich in tin, diamonds, gold and coltan (a rare mineral used to create capacitors for cellphones, games consoles and laptops).

Dr. Ian Player knows Lake St. Lucia, located in South Africa’s Wetlands Park, intimately. He’s dedicated 60 years of his life to saving it. In his youth, Dr. Player fished the lake. By 1970, he would be wrestling and airlifting 50 large crocodiles to save them from salinity of the lake’s waters. Here is Dr. Player’s story, published with permission from WILD.

Masai Mara reserve is known for its spectacular populations of wild animals such as lions, wildebeest, impala, leopards, zebras, elephants, spotted hyenas and many others.

But a recent scientific study has documented significant declines in six hoofed species throughout the 1530 sq. km reserve. In the last 15 years these drop-offs have occurred in the giraffe, hartebeest, impala, warthog, topi (pictured above) and waterbuck populations.

Are you looking for a community, environmental project for your family?  Keep America Beautiful is launching its 2009 Great American Cleanup today with its campaign “Green Starts Here”.

The Great American Cleanup begins today with a national launch event in Waveland, Miss., which will help  restore a hurricane-ravaged town along the Gulf Coast. It will continue through May 31 with additional national events being held in New York City on Earth Day and Nashville on May 14.

Millions of volunteers will work to rid streets, waterways and public spaces of litter and illegal dumpsites.  Communities will green up parks, schoolyards and other public spaces and hold recycling drives and educational events.

The City of New York is currently working to transform the once “largest landfill in the world” into a spacious nature park with lots of amenities.

[image via John Lambert Pearson]

This Friday is National PARK(ing) day! Across the U.S. volunteers will transform hundreds of parking spaces into tiny, temporary parks. The event is sponsored by The Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit organization launched by REBAR, an art collective, to raise awareness about the need for more green space.

The first PARK(ing) Day was held in September of last year, and there were over 200 spaces turned into guerrilla parks. This year, the plan is to double that number! With over 70 cities participating, National PARK(ing) Day is aiming to transform more than 400 parking spaces into green spaces. Check out a few of the events after the jump!

My boyfriend Aaron and I have been dating for about 3 years now! Since we met in college, and college students are notably poor, we relied heavily on cheap dates that were within walking distance of campus. The good thing about these sorts of dates is that they are also often very eco-friendly!

First, for the guys, surprise your belle with a bouquet of hand-picked wildflowers. By doing so you are avoiding all of the plastic packaging and chemicals used to keep store-bought flowers alive. Also, a good majority of women are so impressed that you would take the time to pick flowers for them that you will score major brownie points in the ‘being a really sweet guy’ field!

Now to the main event! Taking a walk in the park is one of my favorite sustainable date activities. It may sound simple but it is more charming than you might expect. Plus, not only are you enjoying the environment and each other but you will feel great knowing that you are saving energy by opting for activity which requires no electricity or battery power.

Do you take your kids to the park? Sign them up for soccer or softball? Parents who care about their children’s health likely encourage outdoor play and participation in organized sports. In the spring, as we begin to shop for soccer cleats and baseball mitts; it is wise to investigate how your schools and municipalities manage their green spaces.

Pesticide exposure is a serious health risk to children. And while limiting, or better yet, eliminating ingested pesticides is important, consider the direct exposure your children may get while they play upon that green, green grass.

We're not quite sure when the mall became a weekend family outing destination. We do know, however, that many of us have lost our connection with the planet. We don't go outside anymore. That's why this weekend we hope everyone can get out there and get to know the outdoors.