To be or not to be... green?

This post is slightly preachy, so be warned!

So yesterday I hadn't slept too well and I decided not to go to my first class and it was a good decision but I was also glad for another reason.
The last few classes that particular professor has been discussing environmental laws here in the States and this of course led to the talk about global warming. He was trying to explain that there have been crazes like this every few years, (for example, the hole in the ozone layer) and that there are more things affecting the climate than we think. He went on to talk about solar spots and how they affect us, and to explain how if the poles melt the water level will go down instead of up, (because water expands when it's frozen) and how we just think that we've never had this type of heat before because we're not used to it since we have air conditioning, (apparently when there wasn't you'd grow used to it during the summer).

I'll admit that I was sitting there mostly shaking my head at most of what he said but I guess I have to respect different opinions. It doesn't mean it didn't bug me when he said, "Well, think about the size of the sun compared to the Earth and wonder if the emissions from your car really have more effect in our climate."

I mean, really? Okay, so you don't believe in global warming, but is that really a reason to not care at all? It just sounded like he was saying that we can go back to being wasteful because it's not us changing the climate. I couldn't disagree more.

Let's pretend for a moment that there's no scientific proof of the water levels rising, or that the four stations are no longer limited as they used to be, or that after the clean air laws the air has become considerably easier to breathe and there's practically no smog (unless you live in California)... is that really an excuse to not care at all?

I'm not saying everyone should go 100% green. I'd be a hypocrite because I'm not that way, myself and sadly, a lot of environmentally friendly products are expensive. But it seems to me that there's little things we can all do. I don't think it's really that hard to put your plastic bottle on the recycling bin instead of the trash, or try to buy notebooks or papers that are made from recycled materials. It's definitely not that hard to pick an eco-friendly light bulb at the store or buy re-usable sponges instead of paper towels. Or maybe get a water filter and buy a reusable bottle instead of buying bottled water every time we go out.

Not everyone has to do everything... I, for instance, can't get into carpooling because I don't like depending on someone else to get to school and back home. But I do have a power strip where all my chargers are and I turn it off every time I leave the house. There's really no good service for recycling in my neighborhood, but there is at school. And some have benefits too... like Music for Relief, if I wanna give a cool gift to someone I can buy a shirt at their store and now that the proceeds are helping.

I just think it's irresponsible to be wasteful just because we can.

MFR: How to help Haiti

We have all heard about the horrible tragedy on Haiti, so to do my tiny part, I share with you this from Music For Relief's website.

A 7.0 earthquake recently struck Haiti, leaving an estimated 45-50 thousand people dead and another 3 million homeless or injured. Please help out in any or all of the following ways:

• Text RELIEF to 90999 to make a $5 donation via the MFR mobile campaign
• Donate to MFR online via paypal, HERE
• Use Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and email to spread the word

Please read the BLOG for more information...

Support Music for Relief on Earth day

Earth Day 2008 is just around the corner on April 22 and to celebrate, raise funds and awareness Music for Relief and Unite the United are launching the ROCK, ROLL & RECYCLE EARTH DAY AUCTION.

MFR and UTU will auction off instruments, clothing, tickets, skate decks, snowboards and more all RECYCLED by Rocks best artists!

The auction goes live on April 22, click here for more information or visit www.ebay.com/musicforrelief