A while back I talked about how the City of Phoenix was having to make some serious cutbacks to a lot of its programs. One person responded asking if the Phoenix Summit Challenge was still on for 2010.
As of right now the Phoenix Summit Challenge for 2010 appears to still be scheduled for Nov 5th to 7th of 2010. Registration opens August 7th 2010. Stay tuned!
Sierra Club Arizona Legislature 2010 Environment Report Card – PDF
Give this a read if you care about doing anything outside of a hermetically sealed room with filtered and chemically treated water. If you believe in science and care about what comes next these are the issues you need to keep at the forefront. This is long term planning for the place we live. If we dont have drinking water there is no point.
Here is how the officials in my area did on the Sierra Club Arizona Legislature 2010 Environmental Report Card:
Governor Janice Kay ‘Jan’ Brewer (AZ)- Biography - Email - Website - F
Way to go Ken Cheuvront for most improved!
Senator Ken Cheuvront (D-15) improved from a “D” on the 2009 report card to an “A” on the 2010 report card. Senator Cheuvront helped point out the silliness of the light bulb bill and stood up for parks and clean water. His grade improved considerably this session, because he missed very few votes. We appreciate his support for environmental protection over the years as leaves the legislature after 16 years of service.
by aloshbennett
So Cateye has a new product called Cateye Commute. Its a cyclometer that helps you measure your ‘Greenness’ and stuff and it sounds pretty cool. You can read the Wired review of the Cateye Commuter here. I am more interested in the social network that they built to go along with this device – WorldCommute.com.
The basic concept is not new, there are a number of excercise and carbon offset tracking websites out there. However this one seems to combine them both and acts like a Nike+ for bikes. Unfortunately it is not going anywhere.
There are a few basic reasons for this:
No one is talking about this site. How do I know this? Yahoo is currently showing 7,000 backlinks. That is sad. Whats worse is that the top result on Yahoo’s list is cateye.com. In voodoo SEO terms this means the strongest link Cateye is getting for their Social Network is from Cateye. Nice outreach. For a topic this hot there is no reason they shouldn’t have government and educational sites linking to them as a way to take resposibility for your energy use. Send Obama a computer and get him to blog about it on the Whitehouse blog or something…
How commited is Cateye to this project? From looking at the Cateye website and its lack of a mention or link to worldcommute.com I would say not very. Currently a search for “site:cateye.com world commute” gives a total of 7 results, on a site with over 1400 pages. The product page for the Cateye Commuter has no link to worldcommute.com. (As a side note there is no link to a Youtube video of how to install the Cateye Commute Cyclometer, or how to use it.)
Cateye knows about Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, but for some reason it doesn’t want to connect its own Social Network to them. This is perplexing to say the least. Considering the Privacy issues that they bring up during signup, I really don’t want to give you my birthdate, it makes sense to take advantage of the info that people have already given to their existing networks. Also its a pain in the ass to send an individual invite to each of my friends to get them to join me at WorldCommute.com. With all the latest stuff going on at Facebook and connecting sites together this is a major mistake.
Is there a way to sync the info from the Cateye Commute to my computer for upload to worldcommute.com? I assume no as there is no mention of this on the product page. This is a big miss as well considering the rise in various tracking methods on iPhones and Blackberries like Nike+ and AllSport GPS.
Cateye is taking a good direction here in terms of broadening their audience and message but in the end no one is going to use worldcommute.com as it is currently setup. There are 105 groups on the site but each one that I scanned over had less than 5 members. Cateye can make this a success if it can link their Cateye Commute Cyclometer to the site and connect worldcommute.com to the rest of the internet better. If you are running the show at Cateye I would love to talk further on this and help make it a success in exchange for some cash.
Encourage the Bureau of Land Management to Ensure that this project is the best possible by limiting water use and the use of natural gas.
The Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on the proposed Sonoran Solar Energy Project.
This is the first big solar project on public land in Arizona. The proposal includes construction of a 375 MW electrical generating facility using concentrated solar thermal power on 3,700 acres.
Read more about the project online.
Comments can be submitted via this page or via email to sonoransolar@blm.gov or by mail to Joe Incardine, National Project Manager, BLM Phoenix District Office, Lower Sonoran Field Office, 21605 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85027.
For more information, please contact Sandy Bahr at 602-253-8633 or sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org.
Chemicals used to fight Gulf oil slick a trade-off – Yahoo! News.
Interesting stuff. I used this to clean my flip flops the other week while in Huntington Beach cause I got oil all over them walking on the beach there. Stuff was fairly caustic smelling, I am pretty sure its not something to swim in.
Hope the fishes like it…
Nice article on triclosan and how it might need to be banned. Regulators looking at antibacterial in soap
Here are some side affects:
* Abnormalities with the endocrine system, particularly with thyroid hormone signaling
* Weakening of the immune system
* Birth defects
* Uncontrolled cell growth
* Unhealthy weight loss
via Products That Contain Triclosan.
Here are some products that it is found in (Merril shoes, really?)
Soaps:
* Dial® Liquid Soap
* Softsoap® Antibacterial Liquid Hand Soap
* Tea Tree Therapy™ Liquid Soap
* Provon® Soap
* Clearasil® Daily Face Wash
* Dermatologica® Skin Purifying Wipes
* Clean & Clear Foaming Facial Cleanser
* DermaKleen™ Antibacterial Lotion Soap
* Naturade Aloe Vera 80® Antibacterial Soap
* CVS Antibacterial Soap
* pHisoderm Antibacterial Skin Cleanser
Dental Care:
* Colgate Total®; Breeze™ Triclosan Mouthwash
* Reach® Antibacterial Toothbrush
* Janina Diamond Whitening Toothpaste
Cosmetics:
* Supre® Café Bronzer™
* TotalSkinCare Makeup Kit
* Garden Botanika® Powder Foundation
* Mavala Lip Base
* Jason Natural Cosmetics
* Blemish Cover Stick
* Movate® Skin Litening Cream HQ
* Paul Mitchell Detangler Comb
* Revlon ColorStay LipSHINE Lipcolor Plus Gloss
* Dazzle
Deodorant:
* Old Spice High Endurance Stick Deodorant
* Right Guard Sport Deodorant
* Queen Helene® Tea Trea Oil Deodorant and Aloe Deodorant
* Nature De France Le Stick Natural Stick Deodorant
* DeCleor Deodorant Stick
* Epoch® Deodorant with Citrisomes
* X Air Maximum Strength Deodorant
Other Personal Care Products:
* Gillette® Complete Skin Care MultiGel Aerosol Shave Gel
* Murad Acne Complex® Kit®
* Diabet-x™ Cream
* T.Taio™ sponges and wipes
* Aveeno Therapeutic Shave Gel
First Aid:
* SyDERMA® Skin Protectant plus First Aid Antiseptic
* Solarcaine®
* First Aid Medicated Spray;
Nexcare™ First Aid
* Skin Crack Care
* First Aid/Burn Cream
* HealWell® Night Splint
* 11-1X1: Universal Cervical Collar with Microban
Kitchenware:
* Farberware® Microban Steakknife Set and Cutting Boards
* Franklin Machine Products FMP Ice Cream Scoop SZ 20 Microban
* Hobart Semi-Automatic Slicer
* Chix® Food Service Wipes with Microban
* Compact Web Foot® Wet Mop Heads
Computer Equipment:
* Fellowes Cordless Microban Keyboard and Microban Mouse Pad
Clothes:
* Merrell Shoes
* Sabatier Chef’s Apron
* Dickies Socks
* Fruit of the Loom Socks
* Biofresh® Socks
Children’s Toys:
* Playskool® :
o Stack ‘n Scoop Whale
o Rockin’ Radio
o Hourglass
o Sounds Around Driver
o Roll ‘n’ Rattle Ball
o Animal Sounds Phone
o Busy Beads Pal
o Pop ‘n’ Spin Top
o Lights ‘n’ Surprise Laptop
Other:
* Bionare® Cool Mist Humidifier
* Microban® All Weather Reinforced Hose
* Thomasville® Furniture
* Deciguard AB Ear Plugs
* Bauer® 5000 Helmet
* Aquatic Whirlpools
* Miller Paint Interior Paint
* QVC® Collapsible 40-Can Cooler
* Holmes Foot Buddy™ Foot Warmer
* Blue Mountain Wall Coverings
* California Paints®
* EHC AMRail Escalator Handrails
* Dupont™ Air Filters
* Durelle™ Carpet Cushions
* Advanta One Laminate Floors
* San Luis Blankets
* J Cloth® towels
* JERMEX mops
Source: BeyondPesticides.org
Sorry to interrupt your day with this but its really important and you should understand why. Currently Arizona is facing a huge budget shortfall because of the slow economy. One idea that the legislator has is to close down the state parks to save about $20 million dollars against the $4 Billion deficit that the state currently faces. Thats less that 1/10 of 1% yet the parks generate around $250 Million in local business revenue each year, and guess what? That revenue is taxed and helps out the State… Huh?
The problem with this is not just that we are shutting down everyday peoples access to affordable outdoor recreation but that we are eliminating a significant portion of revenue for local business and in turn State revenue:
“State parks take nothing from the general fund and actually give back to the state budget a big fat $22.7 million in state and local taxes. The state legislature has swept millions from state parks to help balance the budget, leaving them too short to operate the 30 parks in the system.
Three have already closed.
Does this make sense since state parks bring in more than $225 million dollars to the state’s economy through the 2.5 million visitors each year.”
AZ Republic Report on AZ State Park Closures
“Bahl noted that last year parks contributed $25 million to the General Fund, even though parks themselves receive no General Fund dollars. A Northern Arizona University study found that the parks generated $266 million annually in economic activity for rural communities.
“We’re important to the economy,” Bahl said. “We’re important to the people right now. Folks can’t afford to do much these days, and parks are one affordable luxury that we want to keep open.”"
The AZ State Parks foundation points out that if this is allowed to happen we may be looking at a huge land grab of pristine public land handed back over to private owners. Maybe they will put a chairlift on the Superstitions and install a KFC on the Flatiron…
“The cuts will force major reductions in Parks staff and closure of more than half of the State’s 30 parks this fiscal year. The resulting loss of Park revenue is projected to leave the Parks System with no money to start the next fiscal year, July 1, 2010. The next step will be to shut down the entire system and dispose of Parks properties, returning most of them to their original owners.”
According to the AZ State Parks Foundation there are a number of ways you can take action:
#1 – Call Governor Brewer and Email this sample letter (Word Doc):
Phone: 602-542-4331 or 800-253-0883
Email via Governor’s Contact page at:
www.governor.state.az.us/Contact.asp
Mail: The Honorable Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona,
1700 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007
#2 – Attend the AZ State Park Board Meeting on Jan 15th at the Phoenix Zoo and let them know how you feel about this.
#3 – Email this sample letter (Word doc) to your legistators (find yours here: AZ senate – AZ house – Find your District)
#4 – Let the AZ State Parks Board know where you stand.
Take 30 minutes out of your day today and address this issue. Please.
This is a great question and the answer is: yes it can! (surprised?)
Yoga can affect your weight in a number of ways:
Also keep in mind that weight loss is not the best measure for health. As you start working out you will build muscle which weighs more than fat and you may see some weight gain. Do not be discouraged. Think about how you feel. Are you stronger and more comfortable during the day? How about your energy levels? Consider that Western Science may not have all the answers.
If weight loss is your biggest concern exercise will only get you so far. The biggest factor here will be your diet. Focus on eating more vegetables and fruits while reducing overall consumption especially of Corn Syrup.
What do you think? Has Yoga helped you lose weight? What have I missed?
I ran into Waylon of Elephant Journal about 7 weeks ago at the Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park. We talked about a number of things and exchanged some different ideas about the Internets, Yoga, and being Vegan. He explained that he would be a vegan if it weren’t so difficult to do so when going out on the town.
I thought that this was a valid issue and started to explain how I coped with the issue. This resulted in my writing a little post that was published there about Being Vegan is Easy. I have been encouraged by the comments and effects it has had on a number of people.
In the end remember to do your best to eat with a conscious mind, always being aware of what you are consuming. Being vegan doesn’t require a snobbish or religious attitude. It just requires that you care about what you are putting in your body and what it takes to get that food to your plate.
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