I’ve gone commercial! Well, no I didn’t. But I did make a commercial. Okay, not exactly. Filmmaker Alec Bernal just finished making me an awesome YouTube video promo for my book Plastic-Free. All I did was show up… and bring along the plastic sea monster. Check out the transformation…
Feel free to share this video and embed on your own website if you want to.
Happy Thursday!… Read the rest
I am so full of excitement right now I could burst. I just received the first case of my new book: Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too, and I feel like a proud mama right now. A few nights ago, I had a dream that the book arrived and the pages were made out of plastic. I couldn’t believe it. So I called my editor and asked how that could have happened in a plastic-free book, and he said, “It’s not plastic; it’s nylon.” And I was all, “What? Didn’t you even read my book? Nylon is plastic!” And then I woke up and it wasn’t true. Still, I have been wondering and worrying. One commenter on Facebook wrote, “I’m assuming your publisher checked ‘no’ on the plastic shrinkwrap option on the book’s print bid…” and that started me fretting all over again. What if there was some accident or oversight and the books… Read the rest
This past Sunday, I had the honor to be a guest on MCNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry show. It was my very first live national appearance, so as you can imagine, I was just a little concerned with getting everything right. As instructed, I put on way more makeup than usual (usual being none at all most days) and was grateful for finally having found plastic-free mascara this year! I got a haircut (probably the first in over a year), plucked my crazy eyebrows (couldn’t deal with mixing up a batch of sugar wax) and slathered on so much eyeshadow and mascara that Michael kept staring at me and going, “Wow. Your eyes.” And of course, for several days, I went over and over in my mind what I wanted to say.
The theme of the show was environmental justice, and the main guest for the segment was the amazing Majora Carter, environmental justice advocate and founder of Sustainable South Bronx. I was to join the conversation, happening live in New York… Read the rest
It you still haven’t seen the award-winning film Bag It: Is Your Life Too Plastic?, what are you waiting for?
Bag It is the award-winning documentary about all things plastic (not just bags!) that combines serious information with lots of humor to wake people up to the growing problem of plastic pollution and plastic toxicity. Jeb Berrier, whom I like to refer to as “Michael Moore Lite” (except if you don’t like Michael Moore, forget I said that because Jeb is funnier and less aggressive), takes viewers on a wild quest to get to the truth about plastic. He interviews scientists, activists, and experts, and at one point even pays a visit to my bathroom.
Bag It is the film to show friends and family members who have been resistant to the idea of reducing their plastic consumption. It’s easy to watch (I’ve seen it about a dozen times and don’t get tired of it) but it hits home just how important it is that we stop… Read the rest
As many of you know, I spent most of last year and the first few months of this year researching and writing my book: Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too (Skyhorse). The Kindle version of the book is available NOW on Amazon.com!
From the very beginning, my editor at Skyhorse, Joseph Sverchek, was committed to producing this book without plastic. There were some challenges, but he thinks he has succeeded. Check out the Editor’s Note inside the front of the book:
Did you notice that this snippet from the book is blue? That’s because the book is a beautiful 4-color design with photos and tip boxes and highlights in various colors. I am so impressed with the layout of this book, and that’s not bragging because I had nothing to do with it. All the credit belongs to the designer at Skyhorse, who worked to make this book not only useful and readable but really attractive… Read the rest
Hey kids. Don’t be like the Lorax. He’s a bad example. I should know. I used to be like him, and I still am sometimes. I’ll explain what I mean, but first, let me back up a bit.
A couple of weeks ago, a representative from Universal Pictures invited me to write a compensated* post for the LESSONS FROM THE LORAX Blog Tour in support of Universal Pictures’ animated film DR. SEUSS’ THE LORAX, which will be in theaters March 2. I had seen ads for the movie and was already looking forward to it, so I was happy to participate. “Except,” I told the rep, “my blog is about plastic, and isn’t The Lorax about saving trees? I don’t know if I can write a relevant post.” Believe it or not, I had never actually read the book. Somehow I missed it as a child, and then as an adult, I guess I’d heard so much about it, I never felt the need to actually pick it up and read it. “Don’t… Read the rest
So, two weeks ago, I was out of town staying in a hotel with friends and looking forward to a much deserved vacation, when I started to feel the tell-tale signs of a cold coming on. My face hurt, my head throbbed, and by the second day, I had a sore throat. I’ve written before about plastic-free traveling as well as plastic-free cold remedies, but I wasn’t prepared for the eventuality of both happening at the same time. Crap. What was I going to do? My neti pot was at home. So were most of my cloth handkerchiefs. And I had no idea how to get soup or cough remedies without plastic in this unfamiliar place.
At first, I tried to manage the symptoms without plastic. I drank a lot of water (due mostly to my friend’s helpful nagging.) I found a glass jar of honey and some lemons at the local grocery store. And I found Woodford Reserve bourbon–which comes with a wood/cork stopper instead of a plastic cap or BPA-lined screw cap–at… Read the rest
Ocean lover Goffinet McLaren has just released a new book for kids — as well as adults — about a seagull named Sullie who organizes all his marine animal friends to combat plastic pollution. I asked Goffinet to tell her story of how she came to love the sea and to write Sullie Saves the Seas.
I was born and grew up in the small historic town of Carrickfergus, on the water`s edge of Northern Ireland. Surrounded by the sea, I became aware at a very early age of the importance of caring for the ocean and it`s inhabitants. As I grew into adulthood, my sense of right and wrong ripened into a positive passion to make a difference to our planet.
In 1979, I moved to the United States, where I married my husband Ian. We have one son, Moutray.
In 2006, Ian and I retired to Litchfield on the beautiful coast of South Carolina where I could renew my association with the sea and it`s precious marine life. From the first day,… Read the rest
The Plastic Pollution Coalition scored a win two weeks ago when they were donated a cute PSA video by the top 11 finalists of last year’s American Idol that contained messaging against single-use disposable plastics. You can watch it here, along with Haley’s Wish (as long as it remains up):
Now, 19 Entertainment, the company that produces American Idol, is demanding that PPC remove the video from its Youtube channel and web site immediately. Why? Because the sponsors didn’t like it. The company wouldn’t say which sponsor complained, but I’m guessing it’s the one that provides the big red plastic cups that sit beside the judges each week. (Read: Coca Cola.)
Forbes ran a story yesterday asking whether the pressure to take down the video will backfire and bring more attention to the cause. Daniella Russo, the executive director of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, says she has no intention of removing the … Read the rest
A week or so ago, I asked you to leave a comment about one thing you feel guilty about — an eco-confession — to enter a surprise giveaway. The prize is a copy of Franke James’s illustrated book, Bothered by My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green.
But I asked the question about guilt for another reason. A while back, reading through ancient posts from a long-ago blog I used to keep, I came across a piece I wrote called, simply, “Guilt.” It’s heavy duty. It was written during a pretty bleak time in my life, a time long before plastic-free living and eco-activism. A time when I didn’t know where I was going and couldn’t manage to do much to figure it out.
Here are a few excerpts. You can read the entire post here, but be warned that it’s not pretty and some bits might even make you angry.
I’m depressed. Me and half the country. But I work only… Read the rest
