Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably
Early this morning, as I pulled into the parking lot to catch the bus to New York City, I had to pull around a construction truck that was parked in the middle of the road. Odd, I thought. Why was...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably
As we left the supermarket Friday evening, we saw a family of five lugging their groceries to the parking lot. Each family member was carrying a reusable bag; one young man had an unbagged jug of cider. And there we...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment
NRDC Trustee Maya Lin has a remarkable mind. The art and memorials that she's created have moved millions of people and left many of them speechless with emotion. This afternoon CNN will air a story about one of her newest...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil
It felt good, I'll admit, to see the headline on The New York Times website last night. Apparently the $1 billion fund Congress had provided for the Cash for Clunkers program was almost exhausted. In less than a week, more...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil
More than a year ago, I came out of the closet. (No, not that one. I’ve been out of that closet for decades.) I came out as an owner of a SUV, a hulking 1998 Ford Explorer that my husband...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , The Media and the Environment
Three and a half years ago, the editors of NRDC's quarterly magazine OnEarth published a particularly arresting cover image of a chubby baby boy. The special report he illustrated was also particularly arresting: "Hundreds of man-made chemicals are interfering with...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
In recent weeks, I've discovered an affinity for gardening. For the first time, the mosquitos and the bugs and the heat haven't deadened my will to get my hands dirty. I've especially come to appreciate the experience of pulling weeds...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
A few days ago, a tanker truck worked its way up my driveway and plugged into my propane tank. About a thousand dollars later, it pulled away and slipped off to make its next delivery. Nothing newsworthy there. That’s typically...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Curbing Pollution , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
Call me a masochist. I've been doing some reading of Jimmy Carter's speeches lately and I'm struck by two points: he called for all the right stuff when it came to energy policy, but, and most importantly, he fell completely...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably
The family gathered this weekend to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. Knowing that I was going to be joining them, my 11-year-old nephew Ethan proudly wore a t-shirt that made the following argument: "Trees make air. Homework kills trees. Homework causes...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
A few days ago, a bunch of us left NRDC's office and walked a few blocks downtown after work to hear a talk by Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. The event -- organized by NRDC Trustee Wendy Schmidt --...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Maybe it's the start of the holiday season, which has long been recognized to increase stress. Or perhaps it was the news from India where terrorists killed almost 200 people and injured hundreds more. Whatever the cause, I've found myself...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably
We learned the true meaning of black Friday early this morning when a Wal-Mart employee in suburban New York was trampled to death by stampeding consumers. The New York Times reports that Jdimypai Damour was knocked over and crushed by...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Living Sustainably
Its not often that I can be found cowering under a blanket in front of the television. Yet there I hid earlier this week as MSNBC showed an unfiltered version of the great Alaska turkey slaughter of 2008. Compare that...
Posted by Phil Gutis in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil
The imagery in this news release caught my eye: "the amount of waste glass diverted from landfills could form a two-lane glass highway that extends 1.3 times around the world." The news release came from Owens Corning, which produces "Pink"...
