My parents have been succeeding admirably in contributing to global warming; I have tried innumerous times to change their minds, but all my efforts have proved in vain. The good news is: I have finally found a way to make them greener. It has been taking a lot of effort…from me, and only me, but it seems to be working. I have trying to talk them into it for so long; I have tried to start conversations on the subject, showed them a few pictures, some videos , but the only things these “acts of persuasion” got me was my mom to be horrified for about five minutes, and my father to run away. But I started to notice that if I changed things around the house on my own, they didn’t seem to mind. It started with flicking off the lights when they leave the room, and unplugging appliances. They thought it was a bit weird to unplug the TV, cable, and DVD player at first, but they have finally gotten used to it. I have started to change the light bulbs to fluorescent ones; switched their paper and plastic dishes to glass ones (as long as I am washing them); and have also unplugged all chargers. Little by little I’m making our house a green one.

As for me, I have been researching about how to be a green photographer. I have no idea about what I’ll do. Digital is the best solution, even though it requires a lot of energy consumption, it takes no chemicals. The problem is: I do not like digital photos. Being in the darkroom is very therapeutic for me, and pictures printed manually have a greater quality. I have heard that labs are now using less toxic chemicals, but it is still bad. The best I can do is to shoot locally (using of less transportation, therefore less CO2) and to take pictures that raise awareness about the issue; some anyway.

Another problem I have encountered is Jack, my dog. I have been trying to find alternatives to make her go green, without much success though. I researched a few websites, but didn’t find anything relevant or much different than what I’m doing now. I’ll keep looking for ways to make Jackie “eco-friendly”, until then…

I have been a library rat since I can remember, so needless to say I enjoyed our little trip. I must admit I was not crazy about the Mid-Manhattan Library at first. The first and second floors did not interest me at all. There were a lot of fiction and career related books (which technically I should be interested in, but of course is not the case) all over. I started to get excited when I read the plaque on the wall, indicating 3^rd floor was all about art. And there was my “El Dorado”. I felt like a small kid in a candy store; I just simply didn’t know what to look at first. Unfortunately it was time to go to the other building, and I had to leave the third floor behind. So off our group went to meet with the rest of the class. I have always wanted to visit the New York Public Library but never had the opportunity. The thing that attracted me to it is, of course: its architecture. It’s exactly how would I picture the perfect library to be. I was listening to our guide for the first ten minutes, even though I was being immensely distracted by the walls surrounding me; but he lost me once we entered the McGraw Hall. The paintings; the wood; the reading room…it was just all a (amateur) photographer could ask for. I just let myself get lost in all that beauty and started shooting right away. I even literally got lost from the group once we approached the desks. After everyone left Brandon, Zina and I stayed and checked out some pictures hanging by the “photography room”. I also had some time to shoot more pictures. I most definitely want to go back to the “third floor” and look forward to visiting Lincoln Center.

Following is a picture of the Reading Room in NYPL:

"We all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun"
-Instant Karma, John Lennon

Going Green

Going green is not entirely new to me. For quite some time I have been trying to change my habits, so I won't harm the environment as much. Unfortunately at my house I am viewed as a freak; I have tried countless times to change my parents' point of view, but my all my efforts have proved in vain. Still, I decided not to give up, and continue being green (at least trying to).

I can't tell exactly when it all started, but I remember my first step was cutting down in the use of water. Very basic things like taking faster showers; closing the faucet when brushing the teeth and doing dishes. I also became some sort of "light" patrol. Whenever someone leaves a room and forgets to shut the light, I'll be there to make sure it is taken care of.

Coming from the Eco-capital of Brazil, Curitiba, I am no stranger to recycling. I have always recycled paper, glass, cans, and even rechargeable batteries. Please don't ever throw your rechargeable batteries into the garbage, they are very toxic and can pollute the soil and water. Instead, take them to a place that takes this kind of material to recycle. Usually stores that sell this kind of batteries or manufacturers.

When I moved here I noticed people tend to use a lot of paper plates and plastic cups. I decided to stick to my glass china, the fact they have to be washed after used does not bother me at all. I have also decided to join Greenpeace, even though I haven't contributed as much. I'll admit it, I am a member just for the sake of it. I have tried to be an active member of Surfrider Foundation though, which as the name suggests aims at raising awareness about pollution in our beaches and oceans. I have always loved the ocean and can't stand when people leave garbage on the sand.

Another way of being green is being a vegetarian. This was unintentional, I didn't start it to save the environment, but for the animals. I love them too much to keep hurting them. A lot of water, land and crops are used to maintain livestock. According to Jim Motavalli in "The Case against Meat", an article for emagazine .com:

"More than a third of all raw materials and fossil fuels consumed in the U.S. are used in animal production. Beef production alone uses more water than is consumed in growing the nation’s entire fruit and vegetable crop. Producing a single hamburger patty uses enough fuel to drive 20 miles and causes the loss of five times its weight in topsoil. In his book The Food Revolution, author John Robbins estimates that 'you’d save more water by not eating a pound of California beef than you would by not showering for an entire year.' Because of deforestation to create grazing land, each vegetarian saves an acre of trees per year."

I have recently stopped buying bottled water and got myself my own little bottle. I hope we can all go green safely and don't spoil this idea as we did with all others. Somehow we always try to find someway to make money out of things. I think moderation is key; since consuming things abruptly does not help. I fear that somehow the new Eco- friendly products we have just come up with will be corrupted as well. As long as we are doing it for a good cause and not for money, we should be fine.

"Music is a Safe Type of High"

Could not agree more Jimi (Hendrix), you said it all.

The Beauty of Global Warming

Many may try to avoid it and not consider it a personal issue, but Global Warming is an alarming FACT. As Earth gets warmer it changes: glaciers melt, sea levels rise, hurricanes get stronger, diseases are wider spreaded. We are rapidly destroying our planet, and little by little we have to get more used to the idea of extinction.

Earth’s temperature is increasing due to the great level of Carbon Dioxide or CO2 trapped on Earth’s atmosphere. Solar energy maintains Earth’s temperature, but with too much greenhouse gases generated by human beings, the infrared radiation that is supposed to leave Earth stays; and the results are warmer temperatures. All of this is an effect of industrialization.

Scientists have been carefully observing Earth’s temperature. They mainly use glacial ice, Tree rings and Ocean sediments. According to the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, a gallery in the American Museum of Natural History in New York, when studying ice one can see that there is more dust and salt in ice during cold periods than in warmer periods.

Ocean sediments are used to “indicate seasonal changes”. Therefore lighter layers are formed during warmer summery weather and darker in cold winter weather.

Tree rings “indicate annual climate.” Thicker rings are a sign of growth in a warm and humid year, while thinner rings are a sign of “cold and dry years”.

As Al Gore would say Global Warming is an “Inconvenient Truth”. There’s a very basic reason why we let ourselves get to the point we are today: money, capitalization. Our desire for new technology, new harmful products only grows; without thinking of the future we are encouraging deforestation, pollution of our oceans and soil, and so on. We will consume our ways to extinction. Why there’s still so much prejudice towards green products, or even “green” people? Fortunately we are slowly changing our ways, especially the auto industry with its hybrids. We even have SUVs that are Hybrids now.

Greenpeace is a good site to find out more about "good" companies and Global Warming issues

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy

Before finishing I want to leave you a thought, watch Pearl Jam's Do The Evolution video and give it a thought. Let's try not let it happen to us. Let's stop consuming every piece of garbage they give us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoNmNmXExZ8&feature=related