As I’m sitting here watching an interesting show on The History Channel called Journey to 10,000 B.C., I notice there is a new show that they keep showing commercials for. You can tell they are really trying to push it since there is an ad for it every few minutes. Heck, they even have a little countdown in the upper-left corner of the screen letting you know how long is left until the premiere of this new series. So, what is this amazing new series so groundbreaking they don’t want anyone to miss? Ax-Men… Yes, you read that right, and no, it’s not a typo… Ax-Men. And no, it’s not about a group of super-hero mutants with a bald guy in a wheel chair and another guy with retractable-blades in his hands. It’s actually a show about everyday, average guys that go around cutting down trees. I mean, I haven’t heard about a show that sounds this exciting since “Ice Road Truckers” first aired (c’mon, what’s not exciting about guys that drive around in trucks all day?!?). I can’t really imagine what could make this Ax-Men show worth watching, so I hope The History Channel doesn’t have too much riding on its success. However, it isn’t the ridiculousness of the show that really bothers me, but how the commercials presented these “Ax-Men”. The impression I got from the ads was that they want to portray these men as heroes that we should all respect or something. I mean, if they wanted to do a show about men in the U.S. military and their daily struggles, I can understand and appreciate that (not to mention it would seem a lot more watchable), but I can’t see how they expect, with everything that is currently going on in the world, people to see these loggers as heroes. I’m sure we all do still use products made from paper on a daily basis, but that doesn’t make it ok or entertaining to see the trees cut down. I’ll admit, I have not yet seen the show, but I am very surprised that The History Channel is even putting a show like this on the air. 

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The History Channel 
Ax-Men 
Ice Road Truckers

With new environmentally-friendly products being developed at an amazing pace and sales of these products rising exponentially, it makes you wonder why. I mean, you would think the answer would be obvious. The planet is in dire need of any help we can give it, so people are doing their best to help out, right? Well, according to a recent poll by the New York Times, 57% of the people that buy the (arguably) environmentally-friendly Toyota Prius, buy it because it “Makes a statement about me”. In other words, they buy it because they want to advertise how environmentally-friendly they are or maybe even see it as a status symbol and want to show that they can afford the often times more expensive “green” products. Among other top responses were “Distinctive Styling” and “Other Incentives”. It’s not until the fifth most popular answer until you get to “Lower Emissions”, which I would have expected to be a close second to “Higher Fuel Economy” (which was third most popular). This poll shocked me when I first saw it, but then it dawned on me. I read somewhere that many actors and actresses, such as Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio, have started driving hybrids to show off their greener side. Apparently, this must have started a trend where people want to associate themselves with these stars and attempt to emulate them. It’s somewhat disappointing in our society when you see the results of this poll, but whatever will inspire people to help the planet is ok with me. I just hope and will work to ensure that it’s not a just passing fad with little results. 

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New York Times Poll

Walking around all of the orange and brown is nice for a change. Happy Halloween. I hope that you had some fun, but we are now back to Greener Thinking. While watching TV this week something caught me by surprise. NBC is having a “Green Week.” 

What is this you ask? Well I can’t tell you, it’s a secret… Okay, I guess, since you asked nicely. “Green Week” is a week worth of shows that all have green content in them. They also have a website that gives you tips on how to keep green. “Green Week” is scheduled to start on November 4th 

Some of the notable shows on their main website are “Heroes” and “Days of our Lives.” In “Heroes” there is week of green at Claire’s school to help get the students involved in the environment. The clip of “Heroes” on the site shows Clare cheerleading to plant a tree. “Days of Our Lives” is having a “Green Wedding” and there are also some tips on having a “Green Wedding.” From the preview their idea of “Green” in “Days of Our Lives” means organic food or organic plants… yeah… But there are also some better points such as the rings used in the wedding have jewels that are mined in a way that doesn’t desecrate the land. 

Pretty exciting I know, but at least NBC has taken a small step. This is not going to be the solution, but it is nice to see that people are beginning to take an interest where it counts, companies with enough money to motivate change. The only problem is that going green is still a new concept for big companies and they are still a little rusty on the delivery. I will be holding my judgment until “Green Week” is completed, but until then, go ahead and check out the NBC site and write us with your thoughts. 

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NBC – Green 
Green is Universal

If you didn’t see this past week’s episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, you missed an episode dedicated to making a new “green” home for a Navajo family. This episode was full of innovative ways to conserve energy and help ensure that the family would never have to pay an electricity bill for this big, beautiful new home of theirs. They had solar panels outside that moved throughout the day to follow the sun across the sky. This way, they are always collecting the maximum amount of sunlight all day long. Also, they had a wind turbine on their property to produce even more electricity for them. After all was said and done, they were able to produce more energy than was needed to power the home and were even able to put the excess back into the power grid to help the rest of the community. They also gave the family all Energy Star appliances in their home and really pushed for viewers to follow their example and do the same in their own homes. They even had plants growing on the roof of the home, which I had never heard of before, but apparently it helps cool the home and keeps the roof last much longer. In addition to all of the environmentally friendly parts to the home, they also handed over the keys to a brand new Ford Escape Hybrid to the family (not to mention there were several Escape Hybrid commercials throughout the TV broadcast). They showed off the car to the family as well as the viewers and educated people about what the environmental advantages are of having a hybrid. The show itself was quite entertaining and educational, but most importantly, it was of great importance that a popular TV show made a point to put the word out there about ways that we can all help the environment and keep our energy costs down at the same time. This may prove to be of huge significance if other shows follow their lead and especially if people start to learn more about the techniques used in the show and want to do more of it to their own homes. 

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Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 
Ford Escape Hybrid

Drifting through the infinite darkness of space, you find that everything that you know, everything that you have ever touched, and millions of people you have not even met yet are combined, smaller than your thumb. Only 12 people in human existence, as we know it, have ever set foot on the moon. Some people have conspiracy theories, but the most important people, the astronauts themselves still have the memories.

The difficult thing is to capture this somehow. Well you are in luck “In The Shadow of the Moon” is a new movie that travels through the entirety of the missions to the moon through the eyes of the astronauts. This movie shows the difficulty and concern each of the astronauts faced while trying to accomplish the impossible. 

One of the biggest impacts the movie had on me was when each pilot bared their soul and explained what they saw from space. They said even today you can see how big cities have their own atmosphere of pollution and that we have to start thinking about saving our planet. One astronaut stated after his visit to the “beautiful desert” (the moon) that we live in the “Garden of Eden” (Earth) and that it is very delicate so we must be careful.

Another interesting note is that the movie claimed in its credits that it is carbon neutral. I am not really sure how I feel about being carbon neutral, but it definitely does not hurt. Plus the awareness that this could bring is huge; the only problem is that it does not seem to be at all of the big local theaters.

If you would like to hear the tales of great adventure and strife this should definitely be on your list of movies to see. An extremely well done movie that helps to disprove the conspiracy theory and gives you new insight into how difficult the moon missions really were. I will easily give this movie a 9 out of 10. 

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conspiracy theories 
“In The Shadow of the Moon”

The Barenaked Ladies are releasing a new DVD next month of a concert they held earlier this year, right here in Michigan. The DVD, entitled “Talk to the Hand: Live in Michigan” (named that way due to the shape of our great state), will also be a statement by the known environmental activist ‘Ladies’. The video will go on sale November 6th and will be packaged in recycled materials. Also, the tray the CD comes in is biodegradable and the ink on the packaging is made of vegetables. The Barenaked Ladies have long been known for their entertaining shows and their large, devoted fan base. They are also known for their environmental concerns and trying to do their part for the planet. The CD trays are made by a company called Paperfoam in the Netherlands and have also been used in CD’s for Universal Music Group. 

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Barenaked Ladies 
Google Map 
Paperfoam

As always art imitates life… or is it the other way around? They come so close any more that it is hard to tell which came first. While watching the new “Simpson’s Movie” I realized that sometimes the best way to get a point across is to exaggerate it. Before you read any further, I would like disclose that this article may include spoilers if you have not seen the movie yet. 

In the movie there were many warnings of destroying the planet. With one family and humor they were able to capture different angles of the debate on global warming. Lisa as always is trying to make the world a better place and represents the activists. She spends her time trying to educate people on the failure of their ways and how it will affect future generations. But that analogy is easy. In the movie Lisa warns Springfield if they don’t change their ways that they will destroy the environment. To this the residents just scoffed as if it did not concern them until Lisa stated that the water they had been drinking through the night was from their very polluted lake near by. This got their attention and helped them understand the immediacy of the problem. This is the exaggeration that I was speaking of. You cannot show someone an issue and have them respect it unless you can show them how it will directly affect them. 

Homer is the ignorant (not stupid) everyday person that does not really have a preference as to what is right or wrong. He just does what is easiest. This category is probably the category that contains most of the population. These people do not really have any idea that things they do can affect the environment and as so destroy their environment without knowing it. Burning plastic cups in a bonfire, throwing garbage out the window while driving, and making 40 copies of a power point presentation instead of e-mailing it to the attendees. In “The Simpson’s Movie” Homer was sitting in line to have his hazardous waste to be taken care of properly, when he hears that there is a doughnut sale, instead of waiting he does the easy thing… well according to him it is easier… he drives through many pylons and a fence and throws his trash into the lake. This dumping is the final straw for the lake and starts the beginning of the end for Springfield. The government traps Springfield in a bubble because they are “the most polluted city in the world.” They are locked in the bubble so that they cannot spread their filth to the rest of the planet. 

Don’t let your town get trapped in a bubble, find your own analogies and see how humor can help make a point of a very real problem go see the movie. 

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Ignorant Definition