Green Leaf Report

Watching Fox 4 news tonight, I enjoyed a piece about the fines levied against local man Don Young. A neighbor was complaining about Mr. Young’s yard “I spend $300 a month to keep my yard moist!” while his yard was tall local plants/weeds.  The best part of the segment was the homemade sign in Mr. Young’s […]

I’m still thinking about my post from the other day “No sun= No global warming.”  The positive spin of the article was that important scientists are trying to come up with creative ways to save our planet.  I can appreciate that, but is it possible we’ve zoomed past the obvious?  Fossil fuels release carbon dioxide, […]

I’m amazed that the environmental lobbying has been this successful and the TXU permit for the coal plant near Waco has been denied in its early phase.  It may still go through with the help of the illustrious Texas gov Perry, but the fact that this environmental movement has been supported by the mainstream Texas legal system is […]

I learned a new word with this article about novel ways to counter the effects of global warming: geoengineering.  While I don’t think people should fear wind turbines, I worry about deliberately changing the atmosphere.  A nobel-prize winning scientist wants to shoot sulphur missiles into the atmosphere to imitate the sun-reflecting effects of our melting ice caps.  It’s a lot of […]

It’s hard to believe that communities don’t want wind turbines, but Heather Green and Mark Scott wrote an interesting article for Business Week on this issue.  Communities are worrying about bird migrations, noise and the pretty horizon, but I think the ultimate issue is the fear of change and of the unknown.  I’m sure the windmills in […]

Last year I researched switching my energy company and I picked Green Mountain Energy, a provider of wind energy.  I have had no complaints; the service and billing have been excellent.  When I researched switching, I was warned by one of my coworkers not to go with Green Mountain because of the lousy experiences […]

Businessweek is pointing out the value in trash with Stacy Perman’s recent article on “Garbage to Gold.”  Rubber sidewalks, rubber messenger bags; we have mountains of used tires waiting for these and other good uses. As I see the quality of items that are donated to our local thrift stores, I also wonder about what ends up in […]

It’s so easy to walk into a mall and buy the latest fashions…the clothes are available, professional and ever-changing. But it’s too easy; where’s the challenge, the individuality? I don’t talk about it too much at work (this is corporate America), but I’m a huge thrift-store enthusiast. I’ve quietly converted about three […]

I just read an interesting article about how the ozone will be whole again in 2065, only 15 years after originally predicted.  But I didn’t read that this takes into account increasing pollution from an increasing population.  As air conditioners are one of the sources of CFCs that deplete the ozone layer, and the heat and population […]

Surprise surprise, north Texas in August is hot. We peaked at 104 degrees today, and now are being warned on the news of possible rolling energy blackouts. I’ve never understood why north Texas hasn’t embraced solar power; we hardly ever have a cloud in the sky, why are we relying on fossil fuels? Rolling blackouts gives us […]

The August 16th episode of Project Runway went green with outfits made from recycled materials. I love the idea; it has some influences from 1960s mod paper dresses, and some from the green movement. It doesn’t solve my problem of hard-to-clean business clothes, but it’s art. It’s a great show; even my husband is addicted. […]

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More Texans should pay attention to TXU and their cowboy, coal-burning ways.  Mindy S. Lubber of Ceres wrote an interesting analysis of TXU’s plans to build 11 new coal plants in North Texas for the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  I send this article to everyone I know; how can any business sacrifice long-term environmental concerns for […]

I wear my dressy suits to work, dressing business appropriately and conservatively. But I’m in a cleaning conundrum; I need to dry-clean the structured suits, but the dry-cleaning chemicals are so strong it makes me nervous. I know there are better options, such as silicon based cleaners http://www.greenearthcleaning.com/. Unfortunately, the only cleaner […]

Here in middle America we’re suffering from a combination of drought and heat.  The neighbors flood their yards on the one day a week we’re allowed to water outside and the competition for the yard of the month hasn’t stopped.  Our brown lawn is now a fire hazard; we’re trying to avoid conspicuous water abuse but […]

Wind and sunlight are all around us, yet men continue to risk their lives underground, chipping out coal. Do we continue with the status quo and resist change because it’s cheaper, or because simple inertia keeps us on the known path? Are we afraid of being called tree-huggers when we’re serious conservatives? […]