Old King Coal Is A Dirty Old Soul

Coal is filthy. It pollutes our air, generic water and land. If we shut down, abandon or upgrade the most destructive mercury-spewing coal plants, will Dirty Coal CEO’s and their Chicken Little political lobbyists come out in flocks screaming?

“The sky is falling!!“

Sure. They already have.

But as writer, David Roberts from Grist points out:

“It’s helpful to have some historical perspective. Dirty utilities have forecast economic doom and blackouts every time the EPA has ever issued an air or water regulation. Every time! And every single time, they’ve been wrong. As EPA chief Lisa Jackson is fond of pointing out, in its 40-year history, the Clean Air Act has never yet caused an electric reliability problem…The fact is, defenders of clean air have analysis and history on their side…We can stop poisoning people with ancient, filthy coal plants without shivering in the dark.”

Why is it so important at this very moment to talk rationally about coal in a non-partisan, pro-save our children from mercury poisoning kind of way?

Because the new Mercury and Air Toxic Standards are due to be posted at the end of this week. Mercury is a terrible neurotoxin. Fetuses, infants, toddlers and even our pets are especially vulnerable to mercury poisoning, which harms hearts, lungs, and brains. The rule to eliminate this poison has been in the making for 21 years.

You say, “OK, Mother Goose, if Moms are so smart how will I power my world?”

Invest in real clean and endless energy—renewable energy. It’s clean, it’s local and it’s inexhaustible. Think this an impossible task to do in our children’s lifetime? It’s not. This infographic from the Rocky Mountain Institute shows us how to light the way with solar, wind and other renewables. Meantime, let’s clean up the coal we are using–and make sure natural gas doesn’t turn into another big polluter.

So, will the sky fall with the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards?

No. Now is the time to send Old King Coal and his no-soul political cronies packing.

Please join me in telling President Obama that you support the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

Let’s put that merry but cynical Old King Coal where he belongs…up on the wall with Humpty Dumpty.

Illustration: Steve Morrison

This post was cross-posted on Moms Clean Air Force.

Sliding Commute

I’ve mentioned before my husband Ted is a planner. Urban planners are constantly searching for ways to improve transportation in and out of cities. Ted emailed me this video (yes, cure we work in the same house and still email each other) of a slide installed next to a stairway at a railway station in the Dutch city of Utrecht. The slide is called a “transfer accelerator”. It offers commuters in a hurry an expedited trip to the tracks.

I love how designers and planners created such a playful idea to lighten up the drudgery of commuting by train.

Check out the slide in action:

Source: Planetizne

TEDWomen: Changing The World With Humor

Last year, I interviewed my friend, New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly for an article called, Drawing For Good. At the time, Liza had recently returned from attending a conference in France where she, along with several other women cartoonists from around the globe were being honored for their humorous contribution as a catalyst for change. I asked her if expressing her personal convictions about women, art, politics, or the environment, limits or expands her profession as a cartoonist, Liza explained: "I am a cartoonist first, and while I bring my perspective as a woman to many of the cartoons I draw (whether they be about women, feminism, politics, whatever), it is not the first thing I necessarily think about. I draw as a person, and feel compelled sometimes to draw about issues that affect women around the world. Acknowledging that part of me only expands what I do. And as for politics, I love to make light of things in the news, and the best cartoon is when I can make people laugh and make a serious (sometimes disguised) point."

Women cartoonists are few and far between in their representation in publications such as the New Yorker, and no one has championed women cartoonists like Liza has. In fact, she's written a book called Funny Ladies: The New Yorker’s Greatest Women Cartoonists and Their Cartoons, and more recently she released, When Do They Serve The Wine.

In December, Liza announced to her friends that she was doing a TEDTalk. Having been an environmental writer for some time, I knew that being invited to talk at a TED conference was a big deal, and certainly mega-news in this neck of the woods. Plus, Liza wasn't just doing any 'ol TEDTalk, she was speaking at the first ever TEDWomen. Here is her recount of how she prepared for her TEDTalk.

What inspires me most about Liza is not just that she had the guts in all her shyness to speak at such a high profile event (and her knees look steady), but how she steps out from behind her drawing table to make this world a funnier place...and a better one too. I'm sure you will agree after viewing the video, that Liza infuses her creative talent and social commentary about women with just the right amount of humor.

Say “I Do” Sustainably: A-Z Eco-Wedding Guide

My nephew just got married (shown here with his beautiful bride and sisters). My sister-in-law called when he got engaged and in a mother of the groom frenzy, viagra buy asked me to send her everything I knew about creating a more sustainable wedding. Green weddings are not the norm, price and the statistics show that our planet pays a mighty price for wedding extravagance: “There are 2.5 million weddings a year in the United States, with an average of more than 150 guests each.  When you add up all of the stuff that goes into weddings - single-use bleached white dresses, chemically-treated imported flowers, toxic makeup and skin care products, mined gem-based jewelry, individual packets of rice...CLICK HERE FOR MORE