How to have a Green Christmas

Green. Environmentally friendly. The style of the day. Why not apply it to the most consumer driven season of the year and try to consume with a little bit less waste. Time magazine published a list of suggestions. Newsweek published one, too. Shoot, Metro Philadelphia even made one, which of course can't be accessed via the Internet because they are technologically challenged. But when I received an email from my Cousin asking mundane Holiday questions and I found myself answering with tree-hugger flare, I decided I should come up with a list of my own. So with the assistance of Time's Maryanne Murry Buechner, here is my list of ways to make it a Green Christmas.

THE TREE 
Studies have shown that live trees are actually better for the environment than fake ones. I suppose they figure that if you recycle the thing, you can at least make enough paper to wrap next years presents. But, if the idea of having a tree for two weeks and then dumping it on the curb still feels like a wast to you, go the extra mile. Here are some suggestions.
1. Buy a potted tree. You can replant it in the backyard, or if you get a small one, even keep it for indoor decoration until you decide to throw the garland back on it for next year. Get a Charlie Brown-style tree and it just might make your parents feel sorry enough for you to open up their wallets, and it won't take up any space. Murray Buechner suggests donating potted trees to your local parks department if they will take it.
2. Rent a tree. Yes, some places will actually let you borrow a tree for a fee. LivingChristmasTrees.org rents living trees to the tree-loving people of Portland, Ore., for $75 each. Friends of the Urban Forest of San Francisco rents nontraditional trees, such as Southern Magnolia and Strawberry, for $150, and upon the end of the holiday cheer, plants them on the city streets.
3. Buy a "Green Tree." If you want a regular cut tree, there are environmentally safer ones to choose from. Organic is en vogue, so now you can buy a tree grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Look for the Green Tag when shopping at lots, or check out Freshchristmastree.com, a grower that ships to 46 states and uses sustainable methods.
4. Recycle, recycle, recycle: most municipalities collect trees to mulch. So when you are done with your yule tides and ferns, search Earth911.org to find programs in your area.

LIGHTS
Everyone's going LED (light-emitting diode). LEDs use up to 90 percent less energy that traditional incandescent bulbs, and it has finally become economical to use them when decorating your tree and home. They are a bit more expensive, but the trade is that last much longer and energy efficiency means you save on your power bill. Plus, they stay cool to the touch so they won't singe the tree or your dumb kid's lips when they try to suck the red ones that look like lollipops (or, maybe that was just me). Costco has 100-bulb strands for about $8, or try HolidayLEDs.com for a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.

GIFT GIVING
I would never encourage regifting, but before you buy that gift for your cousin's uncle's boyfriend's daughter, ask yourself: Do the close relatives your list really need more stuff? Murray Buerchner suggests giving more non-traditional, service-oriented gifts such as a home-cooked gourmet meal or free night of babysitting, or donate to a charity in their name. "Oxfamamericaunwrapped.com invites donors to "buy," for example, a camel ($175), cow ($75), sheep ($45), building tools ($25) or the planting of 50 trees ($30) as a way to support Oxfam's programs in developing countries (the recipient gets a card with a photo, not an actual cow)." For green gift ideas ranging from recycled champagne glasses to Radio Flyer Earth wagons go to GreenHome.com or Treehugger.com.

GIFT WRAP
Think about how much paper is wasted during the holiday's. Eight crazy nights of Hanukkah, followed by one explosion of greed on Christmas day produces enormous amounts of paper gift wrap, gift bags, tissue stuffing, ribbons and bows that end up in the landfill. Why not help eliminate some of this waste and use some creative new ways to wrap this year like using the funny pages of the newspaper that you were going to toss anyway, or using brown paper bags with a pretty bow? 

According to Murray Buechner, Danny Seo, author of Simply Green Giving recommends using old VHS and cassette tape (both curl nicely on a sharp scissors' edge), old Christmas lights, tape measures, shoelaces—really anything from the junk drawer that's long enough to tie around a box—for a vintage look. Instead of plastic bubble wrap to cushion the contents, try unshelled peanuts, dry pasta or polyester fill from old pillows. Seo also suggests using bandannas and other reusable cloths, and for bottles of wine, sleeves of old flannel shirts. Plenty of creative companies exist to aid in the gift wrap department so you can go green with style. For a few examples, Paporganics.com offers hemp stemmed poinsettias to spice things up Importica.com offers paper made from naturally shed mulberry tree bark and Smithandhawken.com sells recycled-paper wrap for $9 per 10-ft. roll.

ORNAMENTS
Artist Jeff Clapp turns discarded aluminum oxygen canisters from Mt. Everest into decorative bells for $2,400 a pop. The leftover aluminum shavings make a nice tree ornament that someone might actually buy (the "Everest" balls are $48 for four at Eco-Artware.com). You can also use that pile of holiday greeting cards you get in the mail to decorate. Use hemp twine to hang them around the house, or even use them as tree decorations if you are desperate. For those of us with slightly deeper pockets and less propensity for crafts, check out Sprig.com's Greener Holiday section for some suggestions on where to find fanciful recycled glass bulbs, red and white eco-felt birds, birch-bark trees, and reclaimed tin angels that will turn your living room into an eco-friendly winter wonderland this holiday season.

WREATHS
Murray Buechner was full of suggestions in this area. "An original door hanging fashioned out of retired aluminum street signs can be ordered for $140 at Eco-Artware.com, where you'll also find step-by-step instructions for creating a "silver bell" wreath using old soda cans and fishing line," she said. "McFaddenFarm.com, meanwhile, sells handmade garlands and wreaths of fresh bay leaf (harvested from the hills of Northern California, where it grows wild) that provide more than enough herb to cook with for six months or more."

CANDLES
My mother always liked to burn candles during the holidays. She said it brought ambiance to an already flammable situation. But Murray Buechner suggested an update. "Toss the old ones—they could have lead wicks, which are toxic when burned and were banned in the U.S. only as recently as October 2003 (visit cpsc.gov for details). And choose soy, vegetable wax or beeswax—all renewable and biodegradable materials—over paraffin wax candles, which are petroleum based. Big Dipper Wax Works' 100% beeswax candles run $10 to $24 at 3Rliving.com," she said. Another place to find awesome candles is Eco-Mall, which carries incense, baskets, stationary and toys that will make decorating, carding and gift giving a greener proposition.

 
But maybe your like me and you don't really feel safe with fire at family functions. In that case, try the Sun Jar, a jelly jar that will store the sunlight for you to use at night. It's an LED light with a small solar panel that will pick up solar energy, store and provide light for up to 5-hours. It's available for $40 at Elsewares.com. Don't want to spent the $40? Learn how to make one at home at Instructables.com. They make great gifts too.

Iraq's new export: Opium

Someone once told me that, in today's world, wars are fought over three things: Land, Religion or Drugs. With that in mind, I've waited five years for this article.

A side-effect of every war is the surge of two markets fed: natural resources and the black market. Natural resources are generally an after effect - think the oil crisis of the late 1970's and the Iran/Iraq War, and cotton/textile market growth after the Civil War. As far as the black market is concerned, drug prices are an obvious reflection on business.

During the Vietnam, the US saw a surge in heroine sales, thanks in no small part to the entrepreneurial spirit of Frank Lucas, now famed through the hit movieAmerican Gangster. Today, the drug of choice is opium.

It is no coincidence that the opium crop was up 90 percent in 2006. And a report released in May in The Independent reflects the rise of the underground markets in Iraq as well. The problem that many exporters are having is getting their product out of the country, as the condition in Iraq are exceeding dangerous.

Cocaine prices maybe souring, but the heroin will be flowing by the end of next year around the globe. Expect a rise in the rate of heroine overdoses over the next six to nine months.

Buddhist traditions hang in the balance

The Associated Press reports that the Dalai Lama has agreed to hold an election among his people prior to his death to determine his successor. This is an enormous break with tradition and his religious beliefs, but the step has been taken for political reasons: to prevent China from appointing the next Dalai Lama.

Buddhists believe that when the Dalai Lama dies, he is reincarnated, and the leader is found, not chosen. For centuries, the search for the reincarnation of religious leaders, known as lamas — including the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual head — has been carried out by Tibetan monks following the leaders' deaths. For an election to be held prior to the death of the Dalai Lama is to deny their entire belief system.

China has been pressuring the monks of Tibet for years to come into line with the leadership of the Communist Republic, but the predominantly religious state has resisted. Recently, China has ramped up its efforts to secularize Tibet, and attempted to assert the atheist, communist government's iron-fisted control. The Dalai Lama has obviously resisted. By initiating elections, he has side-stepped China's ability to appoint a pro-Chinese leader in Tibet upon his death.

"If I die today, there will be some setback to the Tibetan struggle," he said "But the Tibetan spirit will not go away with my death."

Heroes do exist: Cockburn Speaks

From Antiwar.com, this is one of my heroes speaking on his ideas about Iraq.

Patrick Cockburn, discusses “The Surge: A Special Report” which he wrote for the Independent, where he is Middle East correspondent: the split between the Sadr and Hakim factions; American propaganda that Iran is behind Sadr and the Mahdi Army and the “new” EFP bombs; the widespread humanitarian catastrophe; the occupation and sectarian war it has created; divisions in Kurdistan; the crisis in Kirkuk; predictions in the event of an eventual withdrawal; the redirection toward the Sunni insurgency; the unimportance of Allawi, Maliki or anyone else America installs in power; the danger to U.S. soldiers in Iraq if Cheney bombs Iran; predictions for the short and long term

Visit the site for the MP3. The audio is long, 43 minutes to be exact, but well worth it to get some perspective on what is going on inside of Iraq from a journalist who spent two years in Baghdad both leading up to, and post-invasion. After leaving the country in 2006, Cockburn authored a book,The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq that has inspired me over and over again to be educated and open-minded in preparation for becoming a foreign correspondent.

Riots in France: Night 2

You can mute you computer if you don't speak French, the visuals are compelling enough.

For the second consecutive night, riots broke out in Villiers les Bel, 12 miles north of Paris. The riots are in response to the deaths of two African-born youths which occurred after their motorbike collided with a police car.

Though police attempted to revive the 15- and 16-year-old boys using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the primarily poor, immigrant population of Villiers le Bel has risen up with a violent response as seen in the video above. Seventy-seven police officers have been injured so far, many vehicles and several business have been torched, and the rioters continue to elude police in pursuit by use of the labyrinths within local project apartment houses.

These images are nothing compared to what I found earlier on YouTube, but most of the private party produced posts have been removed due to "violent content."

This is reminiscent of the LA riots in 1992, following the Rodney King verdict. The police felt they were unjustified, and the people destroyed their own neighborhoods.

Check beck for better footage.

Bush Admin: Iraq "ready to stand up on its own"

Violence is increasing. Infrastructure is still in disrepair. The whole world feels that the current government is merely a puppet of the United States. But according to President Bush's senior adviser on Iraq, Lt. Douglas E. Lute, "Iraq is increasingly capable of standing on its own."

Lute's statement came in response to a vague, ambiguous, non-binding agreement negotiated between Bush and Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, which effectively guarantees relations between the US and Iraq post-Bush. The declaration calls for the U.N. mandated control of Iraq, a condition that has been in effect since sanctions were put into place in 1990, to be extended one year. It will then replaced at the end of 2008 with bilateral governing the of economic, political and security aspects of the US/Iraq relationship - in other words, the US-led occupation will continue without a UN mandate.

It's dealings like this that make it clear the Bush Administration is looking to save face and abandon ship prior to his departure from office. Though there are no moves to leave Iraq militarily, politically the US is not making clear commitments to reconstruction.

Violence is continuing to increase and there is less support for the reconstruction effort.

Mideast peace talks breed stupidity

“We meet to lay the foundation for the establishment of a new nation: a democratic Palestinian state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and security.” - President Bush

Appearing in the United States Naval Academy’s Memorial Hall, flanked by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, President Bush announced today that peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will resume by the end of 2008.

New York Times reports that Bush was insistent of a commitment to a return to the negotiation table because he believes peace in this conflict is central to the "broader struggle against extremism in the MIddle East."

It never ceases to amaze how out of touch this man really is with reality. Forty-nine countries in the world still do not recognize the Nation of Israel. Palestinians will not settle for a country "side-by-side" with Israel if it does not include the return of their land, especially Jerusalem, a city that the Israelis will not concede. And the issue in the Israel/Palestine conflict is neither extremist, nor does it have to do with terrorism. It is a fundamental struggle over land rights.

What history books are in the Oval Office anyway?

Verizon's expanding options

Long-time dedicated Verizon Wireless customer are in for a pleasant surprise with their contract renewals: any phone will now work on the network. According to New York Times Technology, Verizon announced today that that they will make their network compatible with all phones on the market. The move will put Verizon on the forefront of the industry and prepare them for the release of iPhone competitors. (Read more.)
Interesting questions remain however, and anyone who has been with Verizon long enough to lose a phone is already asking: What about sim cards? Verizon has notoriously maintained a policy of not carrying phones equipped with sim cards as a "theft deterrent." It will be interesting to see how the company incorporates sim card-ready phones into their network.

Also, domestic Verizon phones have historically not been internationally compatible. If you wanted to take your Verizon Network with you across the ocean, you had to purchase a new phone. Does this new announcement mean that Verizon is officially going global? We shall have to wait and see as the details on today's announcement are ironed out.