While in Copenhagen recently, aside from seeing the wind turbines, I searched out and found this wonderful store called EcoEgo. It sells a multiplicity of eco-friendly products, many of which are from the States. The owner took the time to show me a lot of cool items, and he happened to be originally from NJ! Lucky for Denmark, he decided to move there after marrying a Danish girl, and his store now features eco-friendly clothing, cleaners, gadgets, kitchenware, shoes, baby supplies, and more, all of which are thoroughly screened and many are Fair-Trade. I of course ended up buying a pair of organic cotton leggings made by a label I hadn’t heard of before called People Tree. He also showed me two kinds of candles made of sustainable palm oil and recycled canola oil from potato chip fryers. Great stuff– When in Copenhagen, do stop by! Near the Norreport Metro Station. http://ecoego.dk/
My Visit to the Middelgrunden Wind Farm, Copenhagen
It was a thrill for me to be able to travel to Denmark July 19-21, 2011 and visit the Middelgrunden Wind Farm, installed in 2000. It is located about a mile out in the North Sea from Copenhagen city, and is comprised of 20 turbines in a subtle arch formation. They produce 40 MW of energy, or enough to power 3% of the city of Copenhagen. Though the tours happened to be closed during my time there, I managed to find a ferry that goes past the wind farm to Middelgrundsfortet (a small island fort) right from the beautiful area of Nyhaven, which was near my hotel. It was a glorious experience to see functioning offshore wind turbines, since my organization and many others had worked so hard to encourage a wind farm offshore Long Island. Most people I met in Copenhagen didn’t seem to think the turbines were a big deal; most said that though turbines do impact the view, it is necessary and they in fact wished their government would install more of them. I hope we can learn from others about the importance of pursuing this clean energy source as we face continuing climate change. They are a beautiful solution…
Brilliant Op-Ed by Bill McKibben
Since I couldn’t have said it better myself, I am re-posting an op-ed by Bill McKibben that appeared in this week’s Washington Post newspaper.
A link between climate change and Joplin tornadoes? Nah…
By Bill McKibben, Published: May 23
Caution: It is vitally important not to make connections. When you see pictures of rubble like this week’s shots from Joplin, Mo., you should not wonder: Is this somehow related to the tornado outbreak three weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, Ala., or the enormous outbreak a couple of weeks before that (which, together, comprised the most active April for tornadoes in U.S. history). No, that doesn’t mean a thing.
It is far better to think of these as isolated, unpredictable, discrete events. It is not advisable to try to connect them in your mind with, say, the fires burning across Texas — fires that have burned more of America at this point this year than any wildfires have in previous years. Texas, and adjoining parts of Oklahoma and New Mexico, are drier than they’ve ever been — the drought is worse than that of the Dust Bowl. But do not wonder if they’re somehow connected.
If you did wonder, you see, you would also have to wonder about whether this year’s record snowfalls and rainfalls across the Midwest — resulting in record flooding along the Mississippi — could somehow be related. And then you might find your thoughts wandering to, oh, global warming, and to the fact that climatologists have been predicting for years that as we flood the atmosphere with carbon we will also start both drying and flooding the planet, since warm air holds more water vapor than cold air.
It’s far smarter to repeat to yourself the comforting mantra that no single weather event can ever be directly tied to climate change. There have been tornadoes before, and floods — that’s the important thing. Just be careful to make sure you don’t let yourself wonder why all these record-breaking events are happening in such proximity — that is, why there have been unprecedented megafloods in Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan in the past year. Why it’s just now that the Arctic has melted for the first time in thousands of years. No, better to focus on the immediate casualties, watch the videotape from the store cameras as the shelves are blown over. Look at the news anchorman standing in his waders in the rising river as the water approaches his chest.
Because if you asked yourself what it meant that the Amazon has just come through its second hundred-year drought in the past five years, or that the pine forests across the western part of this continent have been obliterated by a beetle in the past decade — well, you might have to ask other questions. Such as: Should President Obama really just have opened a huge swath of Wyoming to new coal mining? Should Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sign a permit this summer allowing a huge new pipeline to carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta? You might also have to ask yourself: Do we have a bigger problem than $4-a-gallon gasoline?
Better to join with the U.S. House of Representatives, which voted 240 to 184 this spring to defeat a resolution saying simply that “climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare.” Propose your own physics; ignore physics altogether. Just don’t start asking yourself whether there might be some relation among last year’s failed grain harvest from the Russian heat wave, and Queensland’s failed grain harvest from its record flood, and France’s and Germany’s current drought-related crop failures, and the death of the winter wheat crop in Texas, and the inability of Midwestern farmers to get corn planted in their sodden fields. Surely the record food prices are just freak outliers, not signs of anything systemic.
It’s very important to stay calm. If you got upset about any of this, you might forget how important it is not to disrupt the record profits of our fossil fuel companies. If worst ever did come to worst, it’s reassuring to remember what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the Environmental Protection Agency in a recent filing: that there’s no need to worry because “populations can acclimatize to warmer climates via a range of behavioral, physiological, and technological adaptations.” I’m pretty sure that’s what residents are telling themselves in Joplin today.
Bill McKibben is founder of the global climate campaign 350.org and a distinguished scholar at Middlebury College in Vermont.
© The Washington Post Company
Gasland’s Josh Fox honored on Long Island
The Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment, a statewide New York based environmental organization, honored Josh Fox, creator of the Academy Award nominated film Gasland, at its annual gala this past week. Gasland was the film that shed light on the controversial issue of hydrofracking for natural gas in the shale under areas of the country including upstate NY and Pennsylvania. Due to the numerous chemicals used in the “fracking” process, which are unfortunately exempt from the Clean Drinking Water Act, this method of gas extraction has been the cause of numerous cases of poisoned drinking water wells. Land owners are paid by gas companies to drill under their property, often not realizing the dangers. Josh is a personable, creative and committed film-maker, and his courage in making this film has exponentially raised awareness on this issue. See gaslandthemovie.com.


Veggie Pride Parade, NYC 2011
Having recently seen the powerful documentary Earthlings, which is a painful reminder of the animal abuse that goes on to bring us food, clothing, and entertainment, today’s Veggie Pride Parade in NYC was a joyful celebration of why I became vegetarian 20 years ago. The Parade, organized by the Viva-Vegie Society, gives me hope that more and more people are awakening to the cruel facts, and making changes to improve their dietary choices, for their health, the animals, and the environment. It was colorful and fun, with great speakers, and free vegan food!




Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center event
The Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s Children’s Environmental Health Center (CEHC), run by esteemed environmental pediatrician Dr. Phil Landrigan, held its annual luncheon in Greenwich, CT on May 9th, 2011. Dr. Landrigan helped get lead out of gasoline in 1978, and also advised the EPA in the 1990s, leading to the Food Safety Protection Act. Several hundred activists and young mothers attended this event, and they were treated to an organic lunch and an expo with organic baby products. CEHC is at the cutting edge of knowledge about chemicals that can negatively impact a fetus or baby. They are gaining increasing knowledge about hormone-disrupting chemicals such as BPA (bisphenol A) which is used in some baby bottles, and tends to feminize male fetuses. New York State recently banned the sale of BPA baby bottles thanks to work of breast cancer groups. CEHC notes that BPA is also found in tooth sealants but in low quantities, as well as in cash register
receipt paper.

