E 0(h)

Today the first AVMs (Anytime Vending Machines) were activated in Los Angeles.

They're dispensing what? Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention, marijuana. But, these "machines can only be used by people who have been prescribed the drug for health reasons." "Phew!" You're thinking, "They haven't legalized drugs. We're still safe." Well, before I get into that, here is "USA Today's" description on how the machines work:

• Customers bring their prescriptions for approval at the AVMs, housed in enclosed room guarded 24/7.
• They are fingerprinted and photographed.
• They receive a pre-paid credit carded loaded with their individual profiles.
• They choose their dosage (3.5 grams or 7 grams) and one of five strains of marijuana.
• The marijuana is in capsule form and dispensed in vacuum-sealed packages.
• They can buy no more than 1 ounce a week.

The article then goes on to describe the downfall of civilization. The "anticipated future vending: Viagra, Vicodin, Propecia and anti-depressants." Oh what are we to do?


Honestly though, marijuana? How do I put it?


Well, first off, this will require you to abandon the negative connotations of the word "drug" and open your mind. We're talking about a plant. It's natural. It reeks of the environment.

I am so tired of hearing about the recent steps taken in this so-called "hot button issue." The "war on drugs" is just another way for the federal government to infringe upon our liberties and privacy.

There really shouldn't be issue with these machines. They have been put in place for their "convenient access, lower prices, safety, and anonymity." It looks to me like the feds have taken big steps to protect us. The security is "brilliant" making me wonder how convenient are these machines - really?

We should be careful with what we put in guarded vending machines... I wish I could remember the term... Hasty generalization? Post hoc ergo propter hoc? Cum hoc? False analogy?

Oh well, a point to be made, as the credits roll, is that we really should stop fighting [these] wars..."

what is real?

The veils of color, seemingly affected by air, light, and atmospheric effects, created transparent forms hovering over shallow spaces. These forms shimmered with light emanating from layers of brown, black, and gray below the surface. The paint transformed itself into an almost recognizable image. It did not represent anything nature but sought to “outdo” nature.

Art is never silent. Most every piece of art has an inner element that grabs the attention of the viewer, calling out to him or her with, at times, such a distinct force that it cannot be ignored. Such works of art speak out, demand attention, and require contemplation, which subsequently leads to, even for only a moment, the attempt on the viewer's behalf to understand the inner meaning of the examined work of art . The viewer may discover through this search that the inner meaning is frequently an expression of the artist's life and the events which surround it.

Art is way a to temporarily escape reality. It allows for the improvement of social relationships through the greater understanding of the human experience. Even in the quiet times, we have different forces pulling us in different directions; and different parts of our lives would like to become the focus all at the same time. By escaping reality, we are able to reflect the underlying nature of the things in our personal unconscious.

As I sit in class tonight, ipod playing, paintbrush in hand, I realize that even the tools I use fail to be environmentally friendly. It didn't use to be that way for artists. Their media was the dirt, the earth. They embodied all that was natural.

I want to get back to that way of creating; to use the materials I pass up everyday. I want to take the soot from my fireplace and create a masterpiece - I will post the picture when I finish.

a psychiatrist's chair

Thinking on Sunday:

"Instead of trying to convince people that your issue is important to them, you should be trying to convince them that their issue is important to you."

This can be applicable to many aspects of our lives. I've been asked how I get people to do so many things. How am I so persuasive? Well here's the secret. Although it's not really a secret, because people have been doing it for years.

It isn't, "I talk, you listen." It's, "You talk, I listen." Sometimes we get so caught up in what we want that we approach the situation with a self-centered mentality.

So as you start this new week, try to remember "what we've talked about today."

"How does that make you feel...?"

gRossellini?

How's this for entertainment? Even movies are attempting to go green. Liam Lacy writes, "Sundance ha[s] been pushing the environmental themes strongly for the past six years." This film definitely pushes the envelop. Oh you don't know what I'm talking about?

Well it is Isabella Rosselini's new short film, "Green Porno." Debuting Tuesday, this film received mixed reactions. Lacy writes, "porn surfers with an interest in Isabella Rossellini may be startled to find themselves getting a bracing education about the copulatory habits of earthworms and snails."

I find it a curious and playful illustration. However, to conjure up the idea is twisted. I have an appreciation for the arts so I, myself, have different emotions about these films.

15

15 for 15

I've finally made a decision. 15 Green Chefs. Sounds like the start of a joke. Anyway, this is Grist's list of what they call, "15 eco-conscious chefs". I found it fitting. For more 15 "greens" click here.

So I was wondering, "what does it take to make this list?"

After reading this list, it seems to me, you must not only turn to locally grown produce, but begin to rethink consumption. It takes innovation. It requires our "fast food nation" to revolutionize, like Dan Barber, cooking as an expression of the surrounding countrysides.

For this Friday, a recipe from number 6. I'm a "psuedo-atkin-er" so I would substitute the puff pastry for a lower carb alternative.

My Old Man’s Superb Chicken

I recommend pairing with simple spinach.

For more recipes check his website.

How Green is Your Candidate?

With elections just around the corner I found this interesting:




How Green is Your Candidate? A Grist Special Series.

previously on "a cup of green tea"...

With many people recently adding their blogs, I've received a few questions about mine. I like to write so I've been trying to write everyday. This means that my "about me" is now on the second page. If you're a bit confused about the ingredients in this cup of tea read this post. It, of course, won't tell you everything, because secret ingredients are what make a recipe.

a riddle

It's the #1 most searched word by yahoo users.
It's central to today's New York Time's article.
It's brown and white and ingested all over.
What is it?

As I finish my Diet Coke, I search the internet for breaking news stories, mainly sports, and there, I uncover my next post. "Caffine Probably Tied to Miscarriages." This article, like most on caffeine, caught my attention. With the empty can on my desk as a constant reminder that it isn't even 30 minutes into my day and already I've fed my caffeine addiction, I continue reading the article. I'll claim I need it "to study" but I'm not sure how much longer I can exhaust this excuse. And, the irony here is that while I'm not expecting, I have, recently, heard news.

Anyway, after reading this article by Denise Grady, I was more confused. Completing a few social research classes in my college career, I felt the study was flawed. Thus, I decided this shouldn't be a post topic at all. I began looking for other stories. I decided to search the anti-google, yahoo. And now, coming full circle, the riddle:

It's the #1 most searched word by yahoo users.
It's central to today's New York Time's article.
It's brown and white and drank all over.
What is it?

Well by now you should know it's caffeine, a drug that effects close to 90% of the population. To find out more on caffeine, check out the websites below:

Teens Health
Mixed Pictures
More Caffeine and Pregnancy


My name is Chelsea, and I'm addicted to Caffeine.

gOOgled

Ever wonder what it's like to work for Google? Their "perks" just might persuade you to make a career change... but not so fast. Their fancy toilets and on-site masseuse are appealing on the surface, but have you ever wondered what keeps the "googlers" constantly working? Yep it's the charted buses and blackberries that prevent you from ever truly escaping work. Even in the quiet times, in the solace of your own home, the forces of Google are pulling you. And everyone, but you, knows this tension doesn't clock out at 5.

What Lurks in It's Soul, is an article written by David Vise. In it, he explains Google's goal to "organize all of the world's information and make it universally accessible, whatever the consequences." After reading his article, I was curious to see how many companies "hook" their employees. Here's what I've found so far (and, yes, I googled "google"):

Corporate Information
25 things to see at the Googleplex before you die

Life as a Googler (from CNN) - Video


Google, the New No.1
100 Best Companies to Work

A tribute to MLK:

We can learn from others. You can go green yourself

In the midst of research I stumbled upon a blog. At first glance you might think Colin Beavan is insane. You might even call his experiment impossible. I know I doubted him. But with his "year-long plan" ending this past November, a new movie and book set to release this year, I'm anxious to hear what he has to say. He seems to parallel McKibben and I think it will be interesting for research. Please take the time to read his blog and news article about his "no impact living."

No Impact Man
Extreme Green Living
A Year Without Toilet Paper

tea for two: deeper shades of green

One green, two different shades?

Both e2 and Bill McKibben argue for alternatives to detrimental actors in our environment. McKibben, like many environmentalists, argue that changing the way we think can have profound impacts.

BUT, nobody goes to Wal-Mart to buy organic food. They go for the “cheap.” And this is the point: it will take bringing discussions of money and consumption out of the closet. It will require debunking the myths that “more is better” and “an even higher standard of living equals an ever higher standard of life.”

So, is that the deeper shade of green… non-consumption? Or is something like Wal-Mart’s “comforting organic lie” preferred because it actually makes any real effort to do the right thing seem irrelevant?

nod to MLK

"A day on, not a day off."

As I prepare for tomorrow's holiday...

[We interrupt this post to bring you breaking news]
"Ron Paul Supporters Prepare to Drop Money Bombs on MLK Day"

I feel like I should write something pertaining to MLK Day. As I peruse online news articles, I hope to find something of interest. I'll compile a list as I go:

What Change Will You Make?

But before I can find more, I stumble upon this:
MLK Day is the Least Celebrated Holiday.
This might be why I'm having trouble...

flavour of the week

Sunday's relaxation rivaled work, or at least for a while. And for the past couple of weeks I produced Debbie Davis' "Dollar Diva" radio show. Debbie is the owner of Dexter Mortgage and an experienced local broker. "Dollar Diva" was born, in the fall, as a means to answer listeners' questions regarding real estate, investing, and mortgage.

I had never actively listened to her show until now. I figured it was for more "grown up" people. But, after each new week, I started to realize that I could benefit from what she had to say. The most memorable part of the show, and the reason for this post, were her tips. She mostly focused on saving money, but many of the principles were applicable to other aspects of my life. So, it is, with that inspiration, that I decided to devote this Sunday's post to a few websites related to "saving."

Saving Money. Saving Energy.
More on Energy
Why Save Trees?

And, taking it one step further I wondered, "If each day of the week had a flavor what would it be?"

My Mondays - Black tea, like most breakfasts...it starts my week.
Green,my favorite, my Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Wednesdays, the longer of the days, would taste of Oolong, the tea with a little boost of caffeine (of course not as much as Mondays').
Fridays' flavor, White. It's when I begin to slow down.
And my weekends, Herbals... hopefully relaxing.

super bowl 2008

It's that time of year again. You know the time of year where the most avocados are sold.

Ok so that's false according to: Super Bowl Urban Legends .

Anyway, speaking of avocados, Bill McKibben's article, A Deeper Shade of Green, outlines his idea for a new cultural environmentalism practice. He begs the question, "What would it take to get us back to eating more locally, to accepting what the seasons and smaller scale local farmers provide?" In his search for answers, he wondered if he could survive the cold months eating just the food grown in his county? He says:

As it turned out, I didn't simply survive; I thrived. There were plenty of potatoes and onions and beets and beef and cider and beer and wheat and eggs, and just enough tomatoes canned in the heat of summer, to see me through. I'm sure I saved lots of energy, though I can't calculate just how much. What I can list, though, are the new friends I made, and they numbered in the dozens. My food cost more in terms of time; it wasn't as convenient to go to the farmers market as to the Shop 'n Save. But that cost, thought of differently, was actually the biggest benefit of the whole experiment.

Another famous argument he makes involves a head iceberg lettuce. In A Special Moment in History, he quotes Cornell biologist David Pimentel:

"A nice head of iceberg lettuce is 95 percent water and contains just fifty calories of energy, but it takes 400 calories of energy to grow that head of lettuce in California's Central Valley, and another 1,800 to ship it east. 'There's practically no nutrition in the damn stuff anyway,' Pimentel says."

So, what does this mean? In my opinion, we should move toward a free market. This includes everything from produce to energy to medicine. A return to a free market will encourage development as well as conservation. "In a free market, conservation occurs naturally when property rights are strictly enforced and resources become more costly as they become scarcer."


A Deeper Shade of Green

A Special Moment in History

Ode to Rachel Ray

The Mission (impossible): Get Rachel Ray on the radio.

If only I could accomplish this task...

Work is a breeding ground for good blogs. That is once you get past how much your job sucks and how your boss is such a bastard. And then I think, "how about a teaspoon of sugar for this cup of tea"... It's not enough to just work out. We aren't thinking about the "junk" we are putting into our bodies anymore. We aren't listening to them.

So on this Friday, with the cleansing theme and the bitter cold weather, I give you... health improvement.

Belgian Waffles

• 1 cup soya powder
• 2 tablespoons granular sugar substitute
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon sugar-free vanilla syrup
• 1/4 cup ice water

1. Heat waffle iron per manufacturers instructions. Whisk together soya mix, sugar substitute, baking powder and salt. Add cream, eggs and syrup and stir until well blended. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until batter is the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
2. Spray waffle iron with oil spray. Pour in batter mix. Cook until golden brown. Serve with strawberries and whip cream (optional).
   

yoga fridays

5:45 am - Wake Up Call
6:30 am - Yoga
somewhere around 7:30 am all my negative energy escapes.




It was probably somewhere between
the Natarajasana (King Dancer Pose)




and the Dhanurasana (Bow Pose).

With all this purged space, creativity flourished.

"If I am going to blog about the environment, why not fully embrace all that is 'green'?" And while Yoga may not precisely fit into this so-called "green" movement, it is to the body and mind, like technological advances are to environmental structures. It requires one to look beyond the shallow surfaces.

Maybe you're one of those people who are intimidated by the "flexibility" factor. Or maybe you're like my friend Lindsay, who thinks yoga isn't challenging enough. If you aren't sweating, you aren't working out. Whatever the case may be, I hope to shed some light on the secrets of yoga. Stay tuned.

is recycling a "dyeing" trend?

Being a college student I don't have the space to recycle properly. Yes, I typed space. Not time. I tried to recycle. I figured all I needed to do was separate my plastics from my glass, but I was wrong. Apparently you must further separate your glass by color. This means that Coronas can't mix with Bud Lights. I don't have the space to have twenty different bins in which to separate my trash.

So, I can't help but wonder, with all these rules and regulations, "is recycling a dying trend?"

In the outstanding schools systems of America, I managed to learn, like everyone else, the 4Rs. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... uh, Pass the TAAS test? See that's what's wrong with our schools. We get a watered down education. So maybe there are only 3Rs. Maybe we're just lazy. Maybe?

I believe environmental problems, along with a handful of other issues, should be addressed first, at the private level, then the local level, then the state level, and only as a last resort the federal level. Environmental policy should be based up on the protection of the individual and private property. We can see what happens when the federal government gets involved...



Curbside Recycling

College Station

e², is that like some kind of formula?

"e² is an ongoing series [on PBS] about the economies of being environmentally conscious."

Now, I know what you're thinking...

"This is just another blog by a self proclaimed 'environmentally friendly, enviro-sponsible, conscientious objector'." You may even take it in so far as to call me an "Al Gore, environvangelistic prophet" or maybe even "environMENTAL."

While, I don't have stock in Greenpeace, I do feel that "environmental awareness" is important.

With PBS' reputably influential and educational programming, it's easy to see why e² is a sound saucer for this cup of tea.

For more information on this program visit the websites below:

e2

New York Times Article: PBS' E2 Series

the catalyst, the boiling water.

I am a student majoring in International Studies with a focus in Communication and Media. I currently work for a PBS television station and local radio station.

I guess you could say that's where this all began...

I wanted to write something other than waking up at noon today. While my life may be fabulous and all, stepping outside of something I know everything about and into something I rarely consider can add brand new ingredients to an already flavorful recipe. It's in those discussions you have with others, and yourself, where your tea gains strength.

This might not be your ordinary cup of tea.
It entertains, but educates.
It's tastes of the environment, but it's all about you.

e2 links

season two trailer

The Green Apple

Green for All

The Green Machine

Grey to Green

Red to Green

Deeper Shades of Green

The Druk White Lotus School

Greening the Federal Government

Bogotá: Building a Sustainable City

Affordable Green Housing

Adaptive Reuse in the Netherlands

Architecture 2030



e² season I

Harvesting the Wind

Energy for a Developing World

Paving the Way

Growing Energy

State of Resolve

Coal & Nuclear