Daily Loaf

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about BPA (Bisphenol-A) being found in plastic bottles and food containers and its harmful effects on humans, it also being linked to causing aggressive behavior in children. Use of this chemical has been banned in Canada and in some parts of the US.

Now you don’t have to look much further to get your daily dose of BPA – just open a can of soup or tuna! Tests recently performed by Consumer Reports showed traces of BPA in almost all of the 19 name-brand cans of soup, tuna, vegetables, and juice. There were even some cans labeled “BPA-free” that contained the chemical. And don’t think your organic canned foods are safe either – the chemical showed up in some of those as well.
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Last Saturday (October 24) was the International Day of Climate Action — the biggest day of grassroots action on global warming ever. People from over 180 countries participated in different ways to show our world leaders that we want them to establish stricter rules on global carbon emissions when they meet in Copenhagen in December to reach an agreement on a new climate treaty.

There were over 5,200 events staged internationally and over 19,000 photos taken of the various events that day — from the US to India, Australia to Iceland. See photos submitted to Greenpeace, the Huffington Post, TreeHugger, and check out 350.org’s page for photos and current updates of the movement.
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I’m sure many of us have all tried in one form or fashion to become more eco-conscious and tread a little lighter on this planet. Most of you have heard about the concept of the carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product) and probably practice recycling, conserving water and energy in your home, etc., to try to reduce your carbon footprint. But we can always do more.

Take, for instance, No Impact Man, Colin Beavan, and his No Impact Project where he and his family tried to live with no environmental impact for one year in New York City. Think: making no trash, only eating food grown within 250 miles, using no carbon producing transportation (cars, subway) and finally, and using no electricity in their home. Of course, they didn’t go cold turkey and omit all of these things from their lives all at once, they did so through phases – and so can you.

Huffington Post is hosting No Impact Week, starting Sunday, October 18, to “give people the opportunity to examine and reduce their ecological footprint by taking part in a short and intense period of conscious consumption supported by local and online communities”. They’ve even created a day-by-day guide to help you go greener gradually and learn practices that make less of an impact on the environment. Each day will focus on a different theme (i.e.: trash, energy, food, transportation) and give you tips on simple practices you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. This doesn’t mean you have to stop driving your car or turn off your electricity – it gives simple, achievable goals for each day.
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What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this past week:

Reconstructing a historic bat tower in Temple Terrace and how to build your own bat roost- Grant Rimbey investigates efforts in Temple Terrace to reconstruct an historic tower for bats, discusses a large community bat roost he designed for the Florida Bat Conservancy, and tells how you can purchase (or build) your own bat roost for your yard.

Summer Solstice: A brief history- Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, occurs this Sunday- June 21st. Here are a few facts you might not have known about it, from Linda Taylor.

Organics: How to eat well without breaking your budget- With the increase of demand over organic food in the last ten years you would think that a wide range of these products would be easily accessible. Here’s some some advice from Kelly Rothwell on purchasing healthy, organic food in this region without breaking your budget.
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Here’s your amusing, green-related video fix for today. I stumbled across the video (below) from this article from the Huffington Post’s green site. It gave me a good little chuckle while educating me on different ways to save both water and energy (and on my utility bills).

It lists a number of ways to reduce your shower time (i.e.: using a waterproof timer, taking a “Navy shower“)  or water usage (i.e.: showering with a pal, turning your water heater to 120 degrees F and installing a low-flow shower head), as well as listing reasons to start using organic/natural shower curtains and towels. 

Bonus: Bravo TV’s The Real Housewives of New York City’s Ramona Singer makes a guest appearance – I had no idea she was so “green” and Earth conscious (note the hint of sarcasm). And the shower song at the end is definitely going to be stuck in my head all day.

Video after the jump
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Music contributor Joel Weiss issued this lively splash of music news:

The mid-90’s Britpop feud between Oasis and Blur has become the stuff of legend. Noel Gallagher once famously hoped Blur frontman Damon Albarn would “catch AIDS and die” (he since recanted, blaming drugs for the outburst).  Surprisingly, he’s 100% behind the current Blur reunion: “I’m right into the Blur reunion, ’cause it’ll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs and put them to bed. There’s nothing worse than a shit Blur. And at least the original shit Blur are back to finish off all these other shit Blurs. I’m bang into the Blur reunion.”

From an old reunion to a possible new one: Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor no longer thinks very highly about former friend and collaborator Marilyn Manson.  Reznor calls Manson “a malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency … Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown. He used to be the smartest guy in the room.  And as a fan of his talents, I hope he gets his shit together.”

Lots of news on the Flaming Lips, The Cult, STP, Moz, and more after the jump!

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Check out CL’s music site

Chris Brown’s been sounding all contrite and abashed lately, but when you read the charges being filed today re his alleged assault of girlfriend Rihanna, his pleas sound just a wee bit hollow. And what’s up with the ear-biting? Besides being way too Mike Tyson, it just sounds, well, awkward. He bit her ear? While he was driving? How’s that work?

Here are the charges,courtesy HuffPo. He’s scheduled to be arraigned at 330 p.m. this afternoon.

According to a detective’s affidavit, Brown and Rihanna got into a fight early Feb. 8 after the “Umbrella” singer checked her boyfriend’s cell phone and found a text message from another woman.

Brown pulled his car over and tried to push Rihanna out, but she was still wearing her seatbelt, Los Angeles police Detective De Shon Andrews wrote. He said Brown pushed Rihanna’s head against the window, punched her with his right hand, and then continued driving while hitting her, the affidavit states. He also bit his girlfriend on the ear, the affidavit states.

The affidavit was filed as part of a search warrant request for the phone records of Brown, Rihanna and her assistant.

Brown allegedly threatened to kill Rihanna after she pretended to leave a phone message with her assistant, telling her to have the police waiting at her house.

The New York Times‘ Stuart Elliott says the ads ranked with such disappointments as the movie “Australia” and errant airport birds. The Washington Post’s Tom Shales marveled at the expensive-looking production values. For a quick overview, check out Creative Loafing’s live blog of the game.

Watch the vids below and vote!

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“My gold hip replacement!”

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Sorry, ladies: Your Leather and Laces bash underwhelmed HuffPo.

Huffington Post is at its huffiest in this putdown of Tampa’s Super Bowl weekend parties — which, according to HuffPo, have been “a major bust.”  Why? According to Jenna Fryer, taxis were scarce, the A-listers were no-shows and — yes, Jenna, we have to agree this was lame — Frankie Delgado (who?) was a big draw. Read the whole story here.

PoHo’s got his inaugural live blog going so you can keep track of all those almost-familiar people in cold-weather gear arriving for the Big Speech. (Winner of the Hideous Scarf contest: the Assistant Sec’y of the Senate, the evil-nanny-like escort for the presidential daughters.) For celebrity wattage of a different sort, check out these shots from the HuffPost party.