Let it Mellow **

You know the saying, right? If it's yellow, let it mellow...if it's brown, flush it down"? That's right, readers, today's post is not something you'd necessarily want to read during your lunch break, and it's not for those who are uncomfortable with bodily functions. So if you fall into those categories, maybe skip this one. If not, read on because I'm talking about pee, poop and toilets today, my friends.

Did you know that the largest water user in our homes is the toilet? If you have an "antique" toilet that pre-dates 1980, then you might be flushing as many as 5-7 gallons of water each time you flush. Later models aren't necessarily much better using around 1.6 gallons of water per flush. In addition, about 50% of toilets have leaks - either the toilet is running, which you can often hear, and means that water is leaking into the bowl from the tank. And some pesky leaks can be silent. These leaks can account for 15 gallons of wasted water per day, which equates to 5,475 gallons per year.

To make your porcelain throne a bit more eco-friendly, first check for a leak. You can do this easily enough with food coloring. Put a dye tablet or food coloring in the water tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, then you have a leak that needs repairing.

But you don't have to stop there.

Let's say you have unloaded your old circa 1980 toilet and installed a new low-flush toilet yielding 1.6 gallons of water per flush. And let's say you "go" an average of 9 times a day. That's 14.4 gallons of water a day, or 100.8 gallons of water a week or 403.2 gallons of water a month or 4,838.4 gallons of water a year - give or take a few. That is a whole lot of water. Enough water, in fact, for a small shark tank at an aquarium. Literally. The aquarium pictured above is a mere 4,000 gallon tank.

What can you do, you ask?

Don't flush as much. Now, I'm talking toilet exclusively. There are a lot of other things you can do in your home to conserve water, so I do understand that this sounds a bit extreme. But do you really need to flush that often? I mean, once it's in the bowl, it's not really going anywhere is it? Especially with the lid down. Now, this is not always "polite". I wouldn't reccommend following the "let yellow mellow" rule at your friend's house, or at work. Obviously, there are limits. But at home, when it's just family, why the heck not? After all, it was good enough for the Fockers.

I give the idea two out of four stars because it's kind of crazy liberal, and not exactly water cooler talk, but give it a shot! I won't tell anyone. And go easy on the toilet paper while you're at it.

Shopping Bag Ban ****

This week, in my environmental post, I'm quite certain that I'm going to make a couple of people mad. Maybe not. Maybe I judge. We'll see...

I fully support San Francisco's ban on shopping bags. Furthermore, I support IKEA's decision to charge customer's five cents for each plastic bag they use.

There, I said it.

As a gen-x-er, I grew up with the plastic bag. My adolescence took place during the 1980's "me" generation and Reaganomics. CONSUME. BUY. SPEND. The world revolves around ME. Put your career before your family. Rape the earth...okay, that's another blog...don't get me started on the baby boomers, we'll all regret it. I digress. What I'm trying to say is that for as long as I remember the plastic bag (sometimes paper) at the check-out counter has always been a given. A free takeaway for your purchase. To make your life easier. As if your life is really that hard to begin with. I mean, those 50 steps out to your car can be pretty tough, for sure. And while I know they implemented this whole "bring your own bag" idea in Europe eons ago, it's sadly a new and fresh idea for me and most Americans.

Unfortunately, many Americans don't like it. I say, stop being so lazy and selfish. Bring your own bag, man!!

It takes over 400,000 gallons of oil to manufacture 100 million bags. That's right. Oil. Plastic bags are petroleum based products. Ponder that the next time you complain about gas prices. But I hear the counter argument already, "You can recycle the plastic bag". Yes, true to a point, although the energy and CO2 emissions needed for the creation and recreation of this crap is yet another reason to just say no.

Here's what I say, and forgive me if it sounds sexist. Women in particular need to embrace this thing and run with it. Now is the time to buy dozens of cute canvas bags for your shopping and explain to your husband/boyfriend/parent/significant other that it's just your way of saving the world. One bag at a time.

Four out of four stars for this idea. Try embracing it. It could make a huge difference.

VA Tech Tragedy and The Media **1/2

Yesterday was a terrible day, wasn't it? I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't hear the unsettling news of the happenings that occurred at Virginia Tech yesterday until the early afternoon when my office-mate mentioned something about it. The campus of this school is a mere four hours from DC and I was surprised I hadn't heard a mention of the incident earlier. I went to CNN.com and sought out the information. The Who, What, When, Where and, my God, Why? At this point, the Associated Press was reporting 31 people were dead, and 28 injured. I could not wrap my head around it.

Several colleagues and I gathered in a conference room for a conference call and while we waited, we tuned in the television to hear some more of the story. Seeking answers like everyone else. I was disturbed at the images that were shown to us over and over again. The constant replaying of footage of a large spattering of blood on the walkway was one such image.

This morning I found it impossible to read through everything that was printed in The Washington Post. The articles were difficult enough to stomach because of the whole tragedy of the situation, but the pictures took it to a different place - and I'm not certain that we needed to go there.

As Americans I worry that the media desensitizes us. Admittedly, I have little to no reaction when I hear of our soldier's death toll in Iraq every night on the evening news. In the daily paper I see images of suicide bombings, the carnage of war, and I move on to read my horoscope without so much as a pause. But it's different when it's so close to home, isn't it? I still tear up when I see images of the World Trade Center on 9/11.

And yet.

As someone who hopes to be a parent someday, I can't help but feel that if my child made it out of that terrible scene yesterday alive, I wouldn't want them to be immortalized in the national news in pictures such as these.
There's a fine line, isn't there, between reporting the news to keep the nation informed and propagating anxiety and fear at the expense of the victims of such a terrifying event. I am uncertain where that line lies. I do have a gut reaction when it has been crossed. I felt that yesterday. The news was alarming enough without the illustration. By constantly bombarding the public with images like these on a regular basis I fear the media aids in the erosion of our humanity. For that, I give their coverageof yesterday's events two-and-a-half stars. I appreciate the reporting; but there really can be such a thing as too much information.

On a personal note. I don't know anyone who attends Virginia Tech. My heart goes out to the families and students who are grieving their loved ones. You are in my thoughts.

Coke Zero ***1/2

I don't really drink pop/soda/coke/whatever you call it in your region of the country. I know it's bad for me. I often find it too sweet. The empty calories make me feel guilty and I've never been able to embrace that "diet" taste. I do, however, like to partake in the after work cocktail. Following our honeymoon in Jamaica, I developed a deep love affair for rum, and the old stand-by classic, easy to make cocktail (perfect for after a hard day at the office) is the rum and coke. Of course, rum, being made of a fermented sugar, is not so calorie friendly. Pair it with a high-calorie cola, and you are screwed. Enter my new favorite thing. Coke Zero.

According to the coke website, "Coke Zero contains Coke-ness (dodgy sounding, I know), the real taste and true essence of Coca-Cola." It's zero calorie and it tastes like coke, and dare I say, it might even be a little bit better. Because to me, it's not as sweet, which is something I participate. It makes it a great mixer. The soda achieves it's lack of calories through the use of aspartame and acesulfame potassium. That's the creepy part. Who the heck knows what that is?! And can that gunk really be good for me?

For that, Coke Zero gets three-and-a-half out of four stars. It's oh so good, just don't think to hard about what you're drinking whilst partaking.

Christopher O'Riley plays Radiohead ***

I haven't always been a Radiohead fan. I discovered them late. But it was life changing. I LOVE these guys. First, I love that they are a band that is really about music - they challenge themselves artistically and I really applaud that. But they are also real people who believe in real issues and stick to them. They are activists and not in that "I'm a celebrity with a very important cause" kind of way. They mean it. Take the song "Fake Plastic Trees" for example. Doesn't get better than that. It is one of my all-time favorites - right up there with George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun".

Not too long ago, I read a review of Christopher O'Riley's performance of his arrangements of Radiohead's songs for piano at the Kennedy Center. You may know of Mr. O'Riley. He's the host of NPR's "From the Top". He's a classical pianist and has arranged some really contemporary tunes for the ol' pian-a. One such compilation consists of the music of Radiohead (he also has a new Nick Drake cover out).

When I first popped this bad boy into my CD player I hated it. It was, at first, reminiscent to elevator music, or maybe something you'd hear the guy at Nordstrom's play. But I heard my music theory professor say, "listen more intently" in my mind. And so I did. And for that, I am glad. O'Riley nails it. To the point of almost creepy. My favorite of his arrangements is "Black Star" which musical accoutrement is almost as good as the real thing. But that's sort of the problem with this whole concept. It's not the real thing. Yeah, it's different. Some might say "edgy" in a weird sort of way. But it's really just an inversion and take on the cover band, which, I do believe we aficionado's call posers. So, while O'Riley is really damn good and his take on the music is pretty accurate, he's not Radiohead. Mostly, however, I missed the lyrics. A lot. They help to tell the story of the composition and really do have meaning. For that, Mr. O'Riley, I give your interpretation of Radiohead three-out-of-four stars. You're good. Just not that good.

The Glass Castle ***

A good friend and colleague of mine recommended and allowed me to borrow The Glass Castle: A Memoir by MSNBC journalist Jeannette Walls. This is, in fact, the first memoir I've read. I've always been more of the fiction type of girl. Not necessarily "chick lit" as my favorite novelist is Milan Kundera and he's a bit heady, but I do like a good, thinking novel. So, I was a bit surprised that I was so instantly sucked into this book. First, it's an easy read. But the content is so unbelievable and jarring that you would think - or perhaps hope - that it was fiction and not based on someones life.

In essence, and perhaps a bit overly simplistic, the author and her siblings grew up homeless. While it's true that from time to time they had "shelter", a place to lay their heads, the picture that is painted is not of Norman Rockwell's fame. What Walls reveals to us about her family would make many of us say to ourselves, "Huh. I guess I didn't have it so bad after all." Her parents were fanciful drifters leaving their children to rely solely on themselves and one another for the basics - food, shelter and protection. And yet, there is an underscore of love and even gratitude throughout the book. There are, in fact, lessons that only a parent can successfully teach - no matter how cruel the practice be.

This is a great read. It makes you think. It is not so much life-changing, but eye-opening. For that, I give it three out of four stars.

Live Earth **

I'm on the fence about this one. Let's just get that out of the way.

Today it was announced that the US leg of the Live Earth, the Concerts for a Climate in Crisis produced by Save Our Selves will not be in Washington, DC as originally planned, but will be held at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

I fully support this marriage of entertainment and the environment and the whole call to action by celebrities. I'm just not quite sure - with all due respect to Mr. Gore (who I love) - that this is the right vehicle to raise awareness on this specific issue.

The concert, to be held on July 7, 2007, will follow the Live Aid model of many concerts produced on the same day featuring many show-stopping musicians in an effort to raise awareness. All of this I'm on board with except for the whole event part.

The event's website states:

All Live Earth venues will be designed and constructed by a groundbreaking team of sustainability engineers and advisors directed by John Picard. This greening team will address the environmental and energy management concerns of each concert site, as well as the operations of sponsors, partners, and other Live Earth affiliates.

Each venue will not only be designed to maintain a minimum environmental impact, but will showcase the latest state-of-the-art energy efficiency, on-site power generation, and sustainable facilities management practices.

Having worked festivals and outdoor entertainment spaces for quite some time I know first-hand the impact that these type of large scale events can have on the venue. Bringing hundreds - if not thousands - of people together at a single venue creates a lot of trash. A lot of waste. Property damage. Not to mention that all of these people will be traveling using one form or another to the concert. Many of these people will not opt for public transportation, carpooling or driving hybrids (though I hope some will). This, of course, adds carbon to our atmosphere - and in multiple locations simultaneously, too! Then, there's human waste. (Porta potty anyone?) Sound pollution. (It's rock 'n roll, people! I love it, but it's noisy!) And, while I hope that the electricity to support the live production as well as the video simulcasts comes from a green source, as it seems they are striving, most of the homes I know of that might be tuning in their televisions to watch the concert have not yet flipped the switch.

As a public awareness tool, I think that the concert could be very effective. As an environmental tool, it feels flawed. Now, granted, the attempt is there, but I don't know how practical it really is. And I never thought I would be a skeptic on this issue. I hope that the folks behind this event can prove me wrong - I would really love to see them pull off a large scale event like this that would have no impact on the environment. I just don't know if that's possible. Yet. And for that, I give Live Earth two out of four stars. Great idea. I hope it works, but I'll believe it when I see it.