A Rose is Not a Rose

Before you buy a rose for your sweetheart this Valentines Day, ask a few questions and do a little research.  Certified roses will be as common place in the next decade as indoor smoking has become today.

The information is courtesy of Audubon, Jan-Feb 2008.  "Long the symbol of love, irresistible desire, and ephemeral beauty, the prickliest of flowers has never been so popular, so lucrative - or so toxic for the environment.  But enterprising growers and marketers are working to turn the red rose green."

Every year Americans by about 1.5 billion roses, almost all of them from Latin America.  Flowers have become the third pillar of Ecuador's economy, behind only oil and bananas. Yet virtually every rose is really an industrial product treated with pesticides and fungicides by a commercial farm before making its way to your local flower shop.  When was the last time you bought a flower with brown leaves and with holes in the petals?

A 2007 study by the International Labor Rights Fund and the U.S./Labor Education in the Americas Project (LEAP) found that Ecuadoran flower companies use 30 different pesticides, and that 20 percent of the chemicals applied in flower production are restricted or banned in the U.S. and Europe.

Buying a certified rose shows you care not only for a sweetheart but also for the environment and the health of rose workers.  Certified (Organic meaning that they use no pesticides, or Sustainable meaning that minimal chemicals and both ecological and social considerations are made) flower farms have been established in California, Ecuador, and Columbia.  While less than one percent of all roses sold are certified roses, this will change with help from all of us.

So sweetheart, if you do not get roses next Thursday, you know the reason why :o) 

Tags: Ecuador, Rose, Certified, blogplugs

Science Scene - Go Green

How do we knock off mailbox clutter? [Courtesy of NWF]

Developed by NWF, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Ecology Center, Catalog Choice aims to improve the efficiency of catalog distribution by reducing the number of repeat and unsolicited mailings - benefiting the environment in the process.

The groups behind Catalog Choice estimate that some 53 million trees are harvested annually to produce the 19 billion catalogs currently mailed to Americans.  The process of making and shipping the catalogs contributes 5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Catalog Choice has signed up more than 280,000 consumers in the last two months, who have declined nearly 3.5 million catalogs. 

To learn more, visit www.catalogchoice.org.

 

Tags: Catalogs, Carbon Dioxide

Science Scene

As I continue to evolve my journal, I will R&D my topics.  In my edge of the world, R&D stands for "Rip Off & Duplicate".  So, with that in mind, I R&D the Music Moment from Beth and establish the Science Second.  [Editorial Note: I am not completely happy with this title, as it implies minimal information.  So I hereby solicit ideas on a better name].  The next morning: I decided to change the title to Science Scene. :o)

Today's Science Scene comes via the National Wildlife Federation.  The subject is the demise of the shark.  While at first blush, many might say good riddance, but that would be rash (and most likely a shudder moment if JAWS came to mind).  The reality is that the mean for human deaths due to shark attacks, in the entire world, is 4.2 per year.  The number of sharks killed, often for their fins which are considered a delicacy, is 73 million per year! 

Again, some might say so what!  In North Carolina, the bay scallop has basically been eliminated.  Since the number of sharks off the United States coasts has declined dramatically, the cownose (yes, cownose, look closely at the picture below) has increased 20 fold to approximately 40 million.  They have decimated the scallop population.  Oysters could be next.

Always remember that our world is an ecosystem, and changes, however benign they may seem, may have far reaching consequences.

Tags: NWF, National Wildlife Federation, Shark, Bay Scallop

Super Tuesday

What a country we live in.  What makes us great, democracy, the ability to speak our minds, to have differing opinions and to voice them (often boisterously), also makes us look like the ugly Americans we often are (just look at our standing in the world, and the approval ratings of Congress and our President). 

So tonight, we are watching the election results because this really is different from what we are used to; no republican incumbent, a woman and an African American on the democratic side, the potential to end the "dynasty" era, and the largest potential youth vote in history.  On the flip side (how appropriate for a political entry :o)), both parties have resorted to negative ads and campaigns.  They all claim to be agents of change, but they are also all following the recent pattern of negativity to make themselves look better. 

So here is hoping that after the evening ends, that the negativity will also end.  That as a country we can start to focus on our problems, our issues, and our future, for all of us - young and old, republican and democrat, rich and poor, Caucasian and non-Caucasian, insured and non-insured, and the list goes on......

Tags: Super Tuesday, Vote

ELI, MVP

Wow, what a great Superbowl.  The Giants pull one out at the end.  I am so glad that we do not have to hear about the Patriots being the greatest of all time for the next 10-20 years.  Go Giants. :o)

Happy Birthday LEGO

I was reading today in Time Magazine that LEGO's are 50 years old.  Since I am 45 years old, I did not realize that I was on the forefront of the Lego revolution.  I know that I loved playing with them when I was little, and marveled and was ecstatic when wheels, windows, and doors came out. 

Now, with a 16 year old son, who loved Lego's as much as I did growing up, I have been amazed with the changes.  They have full replicas of buildings, vehicles, Star Wars, and ..... (the list goes on). 

Today, you can even get programmable Lego's, and make robots.  What an era we live in.  May our innocence and love of the simple and playful never waiver.

Tags: Lego's

That's Just Obscene

What a change, watching (actually more listening) to golf early in the morning.  The Dubai Desert Classic is on, and Tiger was leading by one going into today's round.  Alas, he had a bad day and goes into tomorrow down by four. 

One of the shots that Tiger made early on  was from sand, under palm fronds, and toward the green.  When he hit the shot, using all of his might, the announcer stated "That's Just Obscene."

So why did I reference that quote???  Well, two fold. 

One, someone said that to me on Thursday when I was discussing our long range planning processes here at Nutwood, and the fact that six years ago we had a major milestone identified, and that we were going to miss it by two weeks; it would be 4/15/08 versus the original 3/31/08 date.  He actually said, "That's Obscene". 

Second, I actually started Christmas shopping today, and I know that that is hard for some to imagine.  I shop all year long, which helps eliminate year end stress and also helps levelize the budget. 

So, happy holidays to all. :o)

Tags: Budgetg,Long Range Planning, Christmas Shopping, Tiger Woods