Daily Loaf

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Living with the land: Florida’s first Earthship (video) – Eric Stewart gives a firsthand look at Florida’s first Earthship in Manatee County, and gets his hands dirty while helping out.

Not getting a million-dollar bonus this year? Think local stimulus- Scott Milinder shows us a real stimulus package that will work for us: we all commit to “Buying Local First.” According to recent economic studies, shifting your buying habits to locally owned businesses creates more circulation of money, more economic activity and more jobs in the local economy.

Eco-friendly summertime fashion accessories- Are you searching for a unique and beautiful purse to enhance your summer wardrobe? Then why not consider one of these recycled handbags that are made from recycled items that help to promote a cleaner and healthier world, reports Jen Meier.
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I just participated in a panel discussion on offshore drilling of our Florida beaches, sponsored by the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce. Also joining me were Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch, Senator Nelson’s staff Shahra Anderson, and the Ocean Conservancy’s TJ Marshall, as well as two other panelists acting essentially as lobbyists for the oil industry from the Southern Strategies Group – the firm that came close last spring to getting our state legislature to okay oil drilling within three miles of our beaches.

Over and over, their message came across: “Trust us. The oil companies would never do anything to harm your beaches. Honest, we can drill and you’ll never see a spill, nary a drop nor a tar ball. Never mind that Texas beaches, naturally as nice as Florida’s, have almost zero tourism revenue because of the muck and tar balls that ruin a nice walk on the beach there. If we had anything to do with that, we’re sorry, but that would never happen here. We’re much more careful now. Trust us.”

Two problems with this argument:
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Have you ever heard the Vietnam-era quote, “war is not healthy for children and other living things?” It is a staunchly obvious and painstakingly reasonable appeal that cuts to the ethical core and casualties of war.  I read an article this week that reminded me of it, but instead of war, the murderous culprit in this story is climate change.

A new report by the Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF) says that global warming already kills about 300,000 people a year.  If that projection is not startling enough– or if you have more of an economic mind, and are not much swayed by stacks of human figures—the report also says that climate change costs around $125 billion in economic losses annually.
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Americans for the Arts is making a push to get arts funding included in the economic stimulus package. Here’s the text of the email they’re sending around:

The House version [of the bill] currently has $50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts to distribute to state and local arts agencies to help preserve jobs; the Senate version does not. They are deliberating this stimulus package now. Americans for the Arts has made it easy for you to communicate to your members of Congress about maintaining the arts in this Economic Stimulus Recovery Package.  Click the link below, and take action now.  Thank you.

And here’s the link. “Two minutes,” says the headline. “That’s all it takes to tell Congress you support the arts and arts education.”

So take two minutes and add your two cents.

Turns out that President-Elect Barack Obama can still pack ‘em in post-election. His appearance Sunday on 60 Minutes netted the news show its highest ratings in nine years.

• Can Bill’s dealings derail Hillary’s appointment as Secretary of State?
• Who’s driving that supertanker? Somali pirates, of course.
• Congress is back in session. Woo!
  
• Checking in on the Franken-Coleman recount.
• After 18 years and multiple studies, it turns out Gulf War Syndrome is real.
• “Save the Ybor chickens.”
• Does the future of the Rays include Tampa Bay? Signs point to no.
• …and their ticket prices are going up, if just slightly.
• As newspapers die, there is an alternative.
• A whole lotta “burrowing” going on in Washington.
• Inauguration tickets, by the numbers.
• John Lennon was not a very nice man; he consoled himself on Richard Nixon’s 1972 election night by banging a woman he picked up at Jerry Rubin’s apartment while his friends and wife listened from an adjacent room.
• No Flash for the iPhone. Ever.