In mulling over who should be the Democratic candidate in 2008, I’ve often joked (kind of) that not only should Al Gore run, but the country should just give him the Presidency because we owe it to him. I mean, how great would it be? A lot of people, including myself, already know and trust him. As impressed I am with Obama, and as much as I respect what Edwards does, something really awful would have to happen for me to take my support away from Gore. (Don’t bother asking me about Hillary. I haven’t been impressed by her at all. It doesn’t matter that she’s a woman and I’m a feminist; I find her untrustworthy, plain and simple.)

Anywhoo, so I was quite thrilled to read this recent article on Rolling Stone’s web site about Why Gore Should Run and How He Can Win. Obviously, it’s all still wishful thinking at this point, and I’m trying not to get my hopes up for fear of getting crushed if Gore ends up NOT entering the race.

But damn. Just IMAGINE. As the article states at the very end…

This, agrees Luntz, is Gore’s greatest draw. “Democratic voters in 2008 are not only looking to turn back the last eight years, but to erase the last eight years,” he says. “If I were working for Gore, I’d message around a single word: Imagine. ‘Imagine if I’d been president instead of George W. Bush. Imagine where we’d be today.’ “

Categories: politics
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Well, sort of. I found this on this week’s Grist List.

Categories: environment, music
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I have another confession: I have a slight addiction to buying and owning bags. It’s nowhere near as bad as it was before; I haven’t purchased a designer bag in years, mostly due to the idea that it’s money spent frivolously. Plus, these days, as someone who’s trying to be a more conscious shopper, I’d rather not waste my hard-earned money on something that’s not only unnecessary, but also isn’t eco-friendly.

So imagine how I squealed when I read about Momaboma this morning on TreeHugger. Oh my, I LOVE their collection, especially the Bombo bags, which come in varieties (I think are) made from recycled army textiles, maps, jackets, magazines, measuring tape, and rubber. Sadly, their entire site is in Italian, and having taken French and Spanish while I was in school, I really have no idea what they’re really saying. Still, as TreeHugger mentioned, this doesn’t stop me from drooling at their lovely offerings.

Categories: fashion, shopping
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One more post before I go to bed …

I have a confession: I’m an evil marketer. By night I may be a wanna-be champion of the environment, but by day, I help clutter up Americans’ mailboxes with junk mail. Yup, a big chunk of my 9-5 is spent in the environmentally un-friendly world of direct marketing. To be perfectly honest, the work itself can be quite fascinating, but in the end, sometimes it feels like I might as well drive a gas-guzzling Hummer because I’m contributing to the destruction of the Earth that much more. (Maybe this is one reason why I’m trying to be so green. GUILT.)

Anywhoo, so to help alleviate some of this guilt, I’d like to talk a little bit about GreenDimes (read more here and here). These guys and gals not only help keep junk mail from entering your mailbox, but they also plant a tree for each month you’re a member. Sounds good, yeah? Especially with the stats offered on their site:

• 100 million trees are chopped down every year for junk mail sent to American homes
• 28 billion (that’s 28 with 9 zeros) gallons of water are needed to make all the paper used for junk mail
• Paper makes up a third of the 235 million tons of waste Americans send to landfills each year
• The typical American household receives about 70 pounds of junk mail a year
• The amount of junk mail sent grows by 3 billion pieces a year

Obviously there’s the DIY route (the green LA girl method), but what I like about GreenDimes’ service is that while they’re doing the dirty work for you, you’re still (kind of) in control. One reason why I haven’t personally added my name to the DMA’s suppression list is because there are some pieces of mail I don’t mind receiving. With GreenDimes, they claim that subscribers can still specify which catalogs they wish to continue receiving.

Before jumping the gun on GreenDimes, I’d like to do a bit more investigating. There’s this bit on their web site that states:

We stop unsolicited credit card and insurance offers, and mail sent using lists provided by the DMA, as well as the catalogs that you specifically select to stop.

Um. As a direct mail marketer myself, I know that the DMA does not provide lists for sending mail. They provide a suppression list which members of the DMA are required to use to remove names from their mailing lists. Using this list to mail people means you’re mailing the people who specifically said DO NOT MAIL ME. In fact, the DMA clearly states:

Please note that DMA does not provide marketers with consumer mailing lists or do consumer mailings.

So I’m a bit confused by what GreenDimes means when they say they stop mail sent using lists provided by the DMA. The DMA does provide a list of direct mail companies who offer Do Not Share services, so perhaps GreenDimes was referring to that list??

Categories: organizations, environment
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I read an interesting article on New York Times web site this morning about how polyester clothing could possibly be more eco-friendly in the long run than cotton. Basically, while the creation of polyester textiles produces more CO2 than cotton, over time, caring for polyester garments takes less energy because they clean easier and dry faster.

While I love the idea of possibly being more eco-friendly by wearing more polyester, I’m hesitant to start replacing my entire wardrobe with synthetic fibers. I love cotton, plain and simple. They’re soft, versatile, and in my opinion, easy to clean anyway. The majority of my clothes consist of cotton jeans, tees, and sweaters, which all need little care except for a quick turn in the washing machine and tumbled dry in low heat. As it is, I’ve already started washing ALL my laundry in cold water. My clothes aren’t THAT filthy that they need a high temp wash. Plus, as I’ve mentioned, doing laundry is one chore I usually procrastinate about, the indicator being that I’ve completely run out of clean underwear.

Categories: fashion, environment
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I can’t say I’ve ever “looked forward” to watching Bush speak, but tomorrow’s State of the Union address should be quite interesting for a couple of reasons:

1. It will be the first address to a Democratic-controlled Congress in 13 years.
2. It will be the first time a WOMAN will sit up on the podium with the President. (Hello, Nancy Pelosi, Madam Speaker!)

I’m also looking forward to Bush talking about his Advanced Energy Initiative. Hrm … $239 million in 2007 for hydrogen fuel research, while only $30 million to advanced battery research. Sounds fishy to me, especially if you’ve seen “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Why? There’s a general belief that focus and funding should be placed on current and existing technologies — like hybrid vehicles — that not only WORK, but are WORKING RIGHT NOW. What’s funny (or sad) is that this is nothing new.

But in the past year, two reports, one from the National Academy of Sciences and another in the journal “Science,” plus a recently published book have all argued that placing such focus on hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles may be counterproductive. A better, more viable solution could lie in a technology that is already catching on — the hybrid vehicle.

And that’s from an article in November 2004.

Finally, what will Mr. Bush say (if anything) about CEOs call for action against climate change? With 10 bigwigs from major corporations (including BP, DuPont, Caterpillar, and GE, among others) calling for a cap-and-trade bill, will Bush finally concede that his belief in a voluntary system is just not enough?

Categories: politics, environment
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