Climate Change Or Die

The world is changing as we know it. Mother Earth is getting grumpy with all the disservice that we've done her and is finally showing us her mighty capabilities. The snow has been falling for days in places like Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The heaters have been running for days in southern Florida and Texas, as the temperature drops down to 38 degrees.

Climate change is coming, and with it (I hate to sound morbid) will come with massive loss of life. According to an article on TreeHugger.com and DARA’s new “Climate Vulnerability Monitor: The State of the Climate Crisis”, approximately 350,000 people will die each year due to the climate change. By 2020, it is predicted that the death toll would rise to five million. And after that, it’s expected that at least one million people will die annually. The good news— 2012 will not be the end of the world; the bad news – for some of us it will be.

The areas most expected to be effected by this new change? You guessed it, the land of the free, The United States of America. The USA is listed as the most vulnerable wealthy nation on the planet, especially the southeast region— including Florida, Georgia, Texas, the Carolina's and even as far North as New York. It is predicted that desertification, rising of sea levels, and major damage from extreme weather events are all inevitable. Eek, you scared yet?



It is reported that by 2030, the US will loose about $40 billion a year due to these climate changes. Well, why aren’t we trying to fix it? Or better what are we doing to try to fix it? I’ve been researching and researching, and boy there isn’t much. There’s the Copenhagen Commitment which requires all industrial nations to track their emissions, and subsequently raise $30 billion for climate finance. Seriously -__-? That’s it? That’s not enough! That should have been done 30 years ago. But America was too busy planning world domination to care about air for the minions. We have brought this upon ourselves. There is no denying it. As a victim of a category 4 hurricane, I know you can’t predict a natural disaster; after it knocks you on your ass, all you can do is pray and rebuild.


Those Damn Americans,

Attiyya

Tubeless Toilet Paper

It’s amazing how a simple idea can spark a change. Toilet paper has been the same for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. There’s the cardboard insert— and depending on your sensitivity—varying ply’s of paper. Well, now, for the sake of the environment– toilet paper is about to go tubeless! Say whaattt…? Manufacturer Kimberly-Clark has began selling Scott Naturals Tube-Free toilet paper at WalMart and Sam’s Club throughout the Northeast. I haven’t had a change to get my hands on one of these yet, because finding a Wal-Mart is like finding Waldo up here! If this line of toilet paper takes off, Kimberly-Clark may begin selling the product internationally.

My question is how do they do that? They said it’s a special spinning process, and even the last piece of toilet paper will be usable. Hmm… sounds too good to be true. Kimberly-Clark does admit that the holes aren’t perfectly round, but they do fit traditional toilet paper spindles.

According to Kimberly-Clark, approximately 17 billion toilet paper tubes account for about 160 million pounds of trash and could stretch to the moon and back if placed end to end. Now that’s a lot of rolls! As a hearty environmentalist, I commend their ingenuity, because it always escapes my mind to recycle the toilet paper cardboard – I just toss and get a new roll. Hopefully, other manufacturers like Proctor & Gamble will hop on the green bandwagon soon enough.
Welcome to the Green Side,

Attiyya

Space Junk: Who Would Have Thunk?

Look down your street and I’m sure you’ll see litter scattered about— the basic old newspapers, and empty soda cans. If you live in the areas where I work (Hunts Point, NY), you’ll get a heaping handful of grime. There are more used condom wrappers, dog shit, and disposed of food particles than there are trees on my block. It’s pretty fucking gross.

Now, imagine all the shit that you’re looking at that’s clouding your sidewalks and residential areas and just dump it into outer space. The great unknown, yeah, just dump your trash there. Doesn’t seem fair right? Well we have been, and it’s getting pretty recklessly dirty up from left over satellites, debris and other space junk (no condom wrappers, dog shit, or any other Earthly rubbish). New satellites and astronauts are having problems navigating the skies because of the waste up there. Some of the most advanced scientists have proposed the most absurd ideas for removing space debris. Shall I bring up the space truck with giant butterfly nets, shooting the satellites with water, the giant debris sucking gold balloon (smart scientists with just plain dumb ideas).

While president Obama does his best to include space debris removal in his new space policy, Russia, our Cold War adversary, has got an even better idea (we’re always competing). Russia’s space corporation, Energia, has invested $2 billion dollars to build a pod with a nuclear power core that will knock all that junk out of space and back down to Earth. Ugh— like we can handle more dirt and grime down here! The pod could stay running for up to 15 years, and would knock old satellites out of orbit so they can burn up in the atmosphere, drop into the ocean, or if you angle it correctly, you can make it drop precisely on your boyfriends head.

What do you think? Is Russia on to a good idea? The junk has no other place to go, unless we really decide we really don’t give a fuck and just start shipping it to Neptune. Then the aliens would really come and get us. As human beings, we have to take more responsibility for where we leave our shit. By nature we are selfish creatures, but by nature we are also loving creatures. So I encourage you to selfishly love yourself, your Earth, your moon, and your space. If we do so, I know we can make the world a better place.

You Dirty Mofo.

Attiyya

6 Months Later

And there's still oil in the Gulf- the fisherman are fishing it, it's washing upon shores and it makes me feel so helpless. BP has done the equivalent of dubbing the area a crime scene by placing barriers around the afflicted area - which was deluged with over 200 million gallons of crude oil, spanning over 750 feet deep and 750 wide. These seems to be an attempt at containment of the oil, which they led the public to believe was removed from waterways. BP can you just admit that your wrong? We, the people, should have fought harder for hair booms. We just need to box these knuckleheads out. We can't allow others to destroy the planet we live and love on. It's our Earth - let's keep the peace.

One Love,

Attiyya

Vegan Shoes

I attended a VegFest in Union Square this past Saturday, on accident of course. Nothing I do is ever planned, but I was happy to stumble on it. I am currently not a Vegan, I'm a half-ass vegetarian that eats chicken and fish. But making the switch to a vegan lifestyle is now very becoming. It's impossible to be a full-time environmentalist and let the government provide me with force fed meat.The livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, raising animals for food contributes to deforestation, air and water pollution, lad degragation, loss of top soil, climate change, the overuse of resources including oil, water, and loss of biodiversity, according the the UN's 2006 report.

At the event I discovered that vegan doesn't just pertain to hipster food, but it's a lifestyle. I love fashion and I love the planet, this brand called OlsenHaus found a way to combine both in the form of eco-friendly hawt heels and flats. OlsenHaus was holding a sample sale at Saturday's event of their Vegan heels, which are environmentally friendly, cruetly free, and made from recycled products found in landfills.



According to their web site, OlsenHaus aims to save lives and the planet in style, and their doing so with their colorful, uber fashionable heels that stun crowds, and begs the question - where did you get those from? The uppers of the shoes are made from recycled industrial waste from television screens, the soles are made from composite rubber with details of recyced tires and sawdust, and they incorporate pieces of wood and cork. I love the idea and the styles! I'm about to reform today!

Other vegan fashion sources: girliegirlarmy.com, thediscerningbrute.com, OlsenHaus.com

Free Mine Mind

With the rescue of the 33 miners in Chile. It brings certain thoughts to the forefront, more or less, why were they even trapped down there for almost 70 days? What the hell for? Coal mining is an inefficient use of human time. Drilling and digging miles underneath the Earth for the sake of fattening up the fatcats. When we go beneath the surface of the Earth we altering our already tender Earthly eco-system. It has an especially detrimental effect on the air that we breathe, sure there have been advances made in the aspect of clean-coal technology, but yea whatever.

Aside from that. I'm relieved that the 33 miners weren't just another tragic story of hard working citizens dying due to our persistent pursuit of the stripping of our planet. I appreciate your efforts Chilean miners, your as important to our economy as the Army, I thank and appreciate you. And I'm glad you all made it home to your families safely. But as if you weren't exploited before, Spike Television Network plans to create a TV-documentary called "Coal," to document the stresses of your daily lives.

Thanks for the air time,


Attiyya

Another Oil Spill !

And yet again!

Our oils are still being polluted. Today the Vermillion 380 exploded in the shallow waters of the Gulf.I can't see how no one can care! Or I guess it just feels this way. Less than a year after the BP Oil Spill and the China Oil Spill.
An hour after the explosion, the Coast Guard reported a mile-long oil sheen 100 feet wide was spreading from the still burning structure. Like,

H-E-L-L-O?

Does anybody hear me out there?

We need reform. We need change, because I don't care about the dollars. I'm tired of preaching about how we need to live peacefully with our Earth. Here's the only thing I can think of at the moment, but here's how you can help- contact your government and take action against our addiction to petroleum oil.

TAKE ACTION: SIGN THE PETITION

Angry Environmentalist,

Attiyya

I'M BACK!

I can finally write again! BP and Google have stopped plotting against me!
I will be back here promptly with more updates.

Stronger,
Attiyya

THE OIL HAS STOPPED!

If the cap fits wear it. After 86 days, BP has finally put an end to the disastrous oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil has reached the shores of Louisiana, Alabama, and the coast of Cocoa Beach, FL. The oil stopped flowing at around 2:25 p.m. today. The valve is sealed like a soda bottle, according to the New York Times. A variety of options are available at this point, the valve could be removed to reclaim all the oil, they could control the valve- leave it open and then close it during hurricanes or the could leave the wells closed permanently. Which one do you think they should do?

In all honesty, they probably will not do the right thing and leave the valve closed. They will probably try to control it to reclaim oil and then close it during hurricanes. Why? Because it would loose them too much money. This is what will happen. BP will say that they have attempted to control the situation, and will continue to let the oil flow into a containment center, and then when they attempt to turn it off during the hurricane. Almost mysteriously, something moronic will happen- a bolt will pop off, there will be a drainage leak, or the mechanics will realize that they forgot to install the off button.


Happy Skeptic

-Attiyya

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/us/16spill.html?_r=1&hp

How Low Can You Go BP?

If there could be more evidence that BP doesn’t care a lick or oil slick about the people! According to Expressindia.com, the Seattle Times and the Huffingtonpost.com, evidence has become available that BP was responsible for the release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi. Most of you won’t even blink twice at this name. But al-Megrahi was a former Libyan intelligence officer. He was the only man charged with the Lockerbie bombing in 1988, which killed 270 Americans on Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Al-Megrahi was supposed to serve life in prison for his actions, but was released ten months ago. The media and four senators from New York and New Jersey are claiming that BP had something to do with this. Al-Megrahi was released after doctors examined him and claimed that he had three months to live due to severe prostate cancer. He was released on compassion- a defense I’ve never heard of, and something lawyers don’t demonstrate. Clearly, the doctors were wrong. He’s still alive and kicking! Doctors who had helped al-Megrahi get out of prison had been paid off by the Libyan government. Doctors who have examined him recently say that he’s healthy and he could live for up to a decade.

Now, why and how could BP be involved? Well supposedly, BP made a 900 million dollar deal with Libya to allow off-shore drilling, and al-Megrahi is the final piece to the puzzle in finalizing the deal.
Four senators from New Jersey and New York, Kirsten Gillibrand, Charles Schumer, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menedez (NJ) sent a letter to Hilary Clinton asking for further investigation into whether or not BP played a role in the release of the man most responsible for the Lockerbie bombings. This wouldn’t be surprising, because BP has already established that they care more about money than the people.

"Evidence in the Deepwater Horizon disaster seems to suggest that BP would put profit ahead of people – its attention to safety was negligible, and it routinely underestimated the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf," the Senators wrote. "The question we now have to answer is, was this corporation willing to trade justice in the murder of 270 innocent people for oil profits? Answering this crucial question will help us understand if BP might use blood money to pay claims for damage in the Gulf of Mexico," they said.

It's always 'Money over B*tches.'

-Attiyya

What Could Be Worse?

President Obama has been doing everything in his power to stop the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Or has he? Recent reports from the Washington Post reveal that the Pentagon relies on BP and their petroleum products to support the U.S. Defense Department and military endeavors overseas, such as the "War on Terror" in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Defense Department reports that it has $980 million in contracts with BP for the current fiscal year.

Personally, I think that we- the people, are only allowed to access information that our government wants us to access. BP's contracts with the Pentagon and the U.S. Defense Department are clearly not new information, Obama knew, Biden knew, I'm sure Oprah knew.

The mini-nation called the Pentagon uses the most oil in the world, more than any country. My noggin leads me to believe that the Pentagon and BP are in cohorts with each other. I'm sure your noggin leads you to that conclusion as well. But are they in it together to fix a problem or to create a problem? How is it possible that everyone involved in the Oil Spill fiasco is somehow related? How come BP Chief Tony Hayward sold a third of the company's shares weeks before the Oil Spill? They're all sitting together having brunch, spraying toxic fumes over our homes and laughing at the dying dolphins. Because if BP is working for our government, then it is in the American government's best interests to protect BP, not the people.

Justice is in our hands.

-Attiyya

BP: Lie to Me

I reported earlier that BP was not interested in letting the general media access the Gulf of Mexico area. But BP has hired their own reporters, Tom Seslar and Paula Kolmar to put a positive spin on the Gulf situation. Kolmar describes the ships attempting to stop the flow of oil as "a ballet at sea as mesmerizing as any performance in a concert hall, and worthy of an audience in its own right" in a May 28th blog post. Seslar is on the same B.S. (it must be in the water), he tells in his June 15th blog post, "Instead of cowboys vs. sheepherders or grain farmers, now it was Louisiana shrimpers vs. oilmen fighting over the same watery territory." I guess that's what PR is for? Actually, I have no idea what PR is for. I'm so glad I became a journalist in pursuit of the truth.

The truth is that BP is sponsoring oil spill clean-ups,that's the least that they could do. After watching the video below, I think they want a cookie and a blow-job for it. But honestly, what will a beach clean-up really do? We will be cleaning for a lifetime if the oil remains in the Gulf. Their whole plan is flawed. BP is trying to put a band-aid to cover a heart attack. It just won't work!

We need a bypass over here.

-Attiyya

Hello Eco-Market

Today I had the pleasure of attending the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Eco Market in Union Square. It was a blast to have people of like-minded interests in the same area. I'm sure you already knew, but there are a lot of forward-moving people in this city. It's ironic though how much paper and fliers were given out at an environmental rally. I've got like a pound of papers to sift through!

Below are some pictures from the fair. It's late so I'll highlight some companies tomorrow. But there were energy efficient light bulbs, a wind-powered energy system guaranteed to harness energy and save you money, teachers teaching kindergarten hydrolysis, a company that turned waste product into fuel,smart plugs, and an installation company that featured a special foam to keep your home tight insulated. I'm glad I made it to the Eco-market, it made me feel less like an outcasted hippie and more like I was on the right track. And I needed that.

TED SPEAKS x OIL SPILL

As I'm leaving D.C. I find out that TED is hosting TEDxOilSpill, a conference featuring leading environmental speakers, thinkers and world leaders coming together to talk about the disaster on the Gulf of Mexico. The conference starts today and I'm so mad I'm missing the live version! Amen for the internet. Speakers will explaining environmental issues in depth to approximately 300 attendees. Planet walker John Francis of National Geographic, Philippe Cousteau of EarthEcho and Sylvia Earle of Mission Blue will be in attendance, as well as 21 other speakers. Speakers will be talking about clean-up efforts, energy alternatives, our economy and new technology that can help us build a a sustainable future. It's a long one, so I'll give you a summary later.

Progressive people watch this.

-Attiyya

Watch live streaming video from tedxoilspill at livestream.com

Hide-n-Go-Seek

They're keeping the media out of the Gulf! Thankfully I enjoy playing Hide-n-Go-seek. BP has hired Talon Security out of Daytona Beach,FL and Wackenhut to keep journalists out of the area. Police officers are arresting those who are asking the 'right' questions. Police are searching for cameras, and local workers are threatened with jail time if they speak of the current situation in the Gulf.

Secrecy is probably the worst PR move BP could make at this point. It makes me wonder what are they hiding behind those shores. I mean we already know that millions of gallons are pouring into the Gulf daily, but what do they know that they don't want us to know?

According to a report in The Epoch Times in the June 30th issue, documentary maker James Fox who recently attempted to go to the Gulf Isles discussed with a Shell Oil pilot that Homeland Security was enforcing a no-fly zone over the oil spill area. This was because BP has been spraying Corexit, a toxic dispersant used to disperse oil spills, over populated areas during the wee hours of the night. Corexit doesn't remove oil from the Gulf, but rather allows it to fall to the ocean floor, so it can no longer be seen.

This game of Hide-n-Seek is serious. The public has already cried "Ollyollyoxenfree" but to no avail. BP show your face. Stop lying. You don't want to help, if you did you'd use those thousands of pounds of donated hair for hair booms. Surely they are less toxic than the chemical Corexit. BP you want to layer problem upon problem, until it is unsolvable. But your not playing with little rag dolls who will bend over and take whatever you give them. Your dealing with humans, who will put flames to your oil, and burn your whole house down.

I already lit my match.

-Attiyya

D.C. - District of Cleanlines

I had the pleasure of going to Washington D.C. this past weekend. That place is spick & span clean! I mean I tried to get a bottle of vodka and some lingerie in Silver Springs, MD (20 minutes outside of D.C.) and it couldn't be done! I thought every town had an ABC, but I digress, their cleanliness is impeccable. Take out the white glove and wipe every sidewalk and you'd still come back with a glove as white as the moon.

One thing I noticed was that the air was incredibly clean. I didn't feel poison in my lungs, I didn't notice buses leaving a trail of fumes behind them. I didn't inhale second-hand smoke. And for heaven's sakes I only saw one rat!

D.C. does a good job of keeping it clean and classy. They have two transport systems called Zero Limo and EnviroRide. Both help to keep public transportation efficient and healthy for us humans. Zero Limo features hybrid sleek all black Toyota Camry's, Chevy Tahoe's and even a 32-passenger mini-bus. EnviroRide is more family orientated and takes any passenger on tours of famous monuments, museums, memorials, including the Pentagon, Lincoln Memorial, and the Library of Congress.

Personally, I didn't have the pleasure of taking any of these modes of transportation, but I did the most eco-friendly activity possible- WALKING! Oh D.C., my body is exhausted after walking six miles in the 97 degree sun. But at least I got to breathe fresh air along the way.

Louisiana Oil-Rain

The effects of the Oil Spill will be long lasting. There is no amount of money that can undo what BP and off-shore drilling has done. Below is a video of oil-rain falling in Louisiana.



Are you angry yet?

-Attiyya

Shalom!

Hey guys--

Thanks for stopping by the Greedie Green! This blog was inspired by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. I grew up in Southwest Florida, right on the Gulf of Mexico. We've been hit by category 4 hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters. The 941 is pretty resilient. But seeing BP's misuse of our Earth and the disrespect that they have had for other living organisms has frustrated me. I've decided to create this blog in hopes that others will get upset as well, and we can initiate a change fueled by mad rage. You can call me a hippie and a tree hugger, but I'd prefer that you call me an Earth-saver. It's a little more noble. Earth is my home, and I don't take too kindly to disrespectful intruders. Please continue to check back in and get angry, I desperately want you to feel something, make your own decisions, be inspired and hopefully make a change.

For right now, check out Bill Nye talking about the Oil Spill on CNN.



Dueces,
Attiyya