THIS IS EARTH DAY

To the people out there who don’t care about how much fuel they are consuming or believe that Global Warming is Al Gore’s way of getting back into the public eye I ask you to pay attention please. For only a few minutes forget about everything ON this planet and direct your focus TO the planet…

Earth is the 3rd rock from the sun. It is the only planet that contains the gentle balance of chemistry that can sustain evolution. The only one that sits close enough and far enough away from the sun that photosynthesis is made possible. This gives birth to cellular development, oxygen, ozone creation and therefore life. This planet was the right shape, the right chemical structure, on the right orbital path, and the right temperature to form the perfect environment for organisms. Earth is a miracle and its success as a breathing planet is demonstrated by its life that it has created.

Today is about bringing awareness to earth; to remind us of how lucky we are that all of the above happened so we could exist. As thinking-thinking beings we are in a place and time where we can be civilized and smart enough to create a day dedicated to earth – the one who gave birth to us all. That said, we need to remember that we are also powerful enough to destroy.

TODAY…
How will you give thanks?
How will you honour?
How will you love?

Here’s something to help you get started…

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Artyom Sidorkin from Russia was being operated on for a potential lung tumor when the surgeon Vladimir Kamashev had to blink 3 times just to be sure that he wasn’t hallucinating. During the biopsy he found a 2-inch fir tree crammed in amongst Sidorkin’s lung tissue which the tree-grower claims he never felt. The only reason he went to the doctors was because of a suspected case of lung cancer that included symptoms of chest pain and coughing up blood. Although there are skeptics out there who are pushing to prove this story false (e.g. the lack of light, water and a certain temperature, the story published on April Fool’s Day), the theory of such an occurrence is that Sidorkin may have inhaled or accidentally eaten a seed which sprouted in his lungs…

Don’t believe me? Check out this news broadcast.

My favorite stories are the ones that exude an out-of-this-world quality - such as real-life unicorns or lemurs getting high on giant millipedes and this story fits perfectly into that category….if it’s true…

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

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This unusual looking cat was given to Dr. Bassett as a gift from the original owner for his work on Uggs’ sister (who unfortunately didn’t survive). Uggs has been wondering the halls at Exeter Veterinary Hospital ever since and has since drawn media attention and tourists when a client snapped a photo and posted it online.

He’s memorizing…here’s the youtube:

Cats like Uggs and stories like Flipper Comes In Fashionable Pink is the stuff Fairy Tales are made of!

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A white lion is prestigious, a white tiger is beautifully eye-catching, a white whale is extraordinarily rare…but a pink dolphin?!? Who would have thought!

The albino dolphin and it’s 3 other pod-mates plus its Mother was spotted by Captain Erik Rue in Lake Calcasieu in Louisiana late last year. Since the candy-floss colored dolphin is still in it’s youth, the skin is described as “glossy pink and without flaws” and, according to Captain Rue, “looks like it just came out of a paint booth.”

Unlike regular albino-skinned this lil’dolphin is not affected by sunlight but is surely an albino based on its red-eyes.

Pink dolphins aren’t as rare as I first thought either! The Amazon River dolphin: Inia Geoffrensis is also known for it’s coloring that ranges from bright pink, to brown, grey or creamy white. However, when they are excited or surprised you will see them blush in colour. (They are also are teetering on the edge of extinction currently).

*I’d also like to clarify that this is a pink dolphin and NOT a amazon river dolphin. The dorsal fins are quite different in shape.*

Sources: 1, 2,

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Before I became an official Treehugger, I discovered Uggs through my California-cousin 8 years ago it was love at first sight. My obsession began with $250 Ultra Chestnut’s that I have just recently put to rest. They had only been repaired twice and their inserts were replaced 8 times. I confess that they are still sit in my closet in all their haggard, torn-up glory but they are certainly not wearable. (Call me sentimental). Even my TimberWolf adores these boots; he often picks them up and carries them around in his mouth when he wants to go for a walk or out of sheer excitement that I’m home. And yes, although a bit slobbery (they always cleaned up well), my Ultra’s survived the abuse. I wore them almost everyday and, much to my very classy Aunt’s dismay, my Uggs and I were inseparable - they are my “signature style.” Tattered, but never stinky, and sitting at the front door during spring, summer, winter and fall…they are my babies.

A little over a year ago a friend took pity on me and my torn-up old Chestnuts and bought me another pair. Ultra Tall Blacks. They lasted barely 6 months before I had to bring them into the shoe repair shop. The lady at the counter took one look at them and said “these Uggs, I’m tellin ya…so poorly built.” I sloughed the comment off knowing I had a 7 year old pair in working condition sitting at home. Not even 3 months later my Blacks were back in the shop. Following that, they lasted another 1 month before they were back in again. At this point, I could feel the chill on my toes, the water seep through and my feet were constantly damp. As a result, I pulled my trusty Chestnuts back out and kicked the Blacks to the curb.

These details are important for what I’m about to reveal to you…

Do you see that? “Made In China.” Urgggh.

The truth is that I don’t know when exactly they shifted the production to China but when I noticed this (I’ve heard the switch happened in 2007), you can be sure that I started obsessively researching the shit out them to get to the bottom of it.

Here is a summary of what I’ve discovered:

• The sheepskin boot has been a 200 year Australian tradition and have always been called “ugg”, “ug” or “ugh.” This is NOT a brand name, but a old linguistic term used by Aussies for decades.
• The Macquarie Concise Dictionary defines the ‘ug boot’ as: Australian 100% merino sheepskin lined boot. Also called ugh boot, ugg boot.
• In 1971 Shane Stedman, an Aussie, registered the term ‘UGH-BOOTS’ and ‘UGH’ with the Australian Trade Mark Registry. It lapsed and eventually ends up in the hands of Deckers decades later along with the other various spellings.
• The ug boot became extreme popular by the ’surfies’ at Margaret River near Perth, Australia and spread throughout Aussieland to California where the climate is similar and surfers ride the waves in abundance.
• It wasn’t until the 1978, that Australian surfer Brian Smith registered the term with the The United States Patent and Trademark Office and began his rags to riches story. Eventually Brian went on and sold the trademark to the US company Deckers Outdoor Corporation.
• In North American in 2004, with the help of celebrity hype, Uggs hit it huge and Deckers sent out letters to all the Aussie sheepskin boot companies warning them against the use of the terms Ugh, Ug and Ugg based on grounds of litigation and trademark ownership.
• Pissed off Aussie sheepskin boot sellers banded together and proved that ‘ug/ugh/ugg’ was a generic term that should never have been trademarked in the first place because it was – and always has been – an entire category of boots, not a brand.
• In January 2006, ug/ugh/ugg was removed from the Australian Trade Mark register thus allowing all sheepskin boots in Australia to be sold as ugs/ughs/uggs.

I also sent an email to the current makers of the boot - Deckers Outdoor Corp - and here was their obviously canned response:

We have experienced tremendous growth in Ugg Australia footwear, especially in the Classic Collection.The demand has outnumbered the capabilities of both the New Zealand and Australian factories.

Product demand, business growth, and the consistency of manufacturing in Asia have all been determining factors as to why we have moved many of the collections’ productions to China.

Though our boots have been manufactured in China for several years, they continue to be made of Authentic Grade A sheepskin from Australia and New Zealand. UGG Australia is part of a United States corporation, yet it was founded by an Australian surfer who brought Australian surfing boots to the United States.

The Ugg Australia name is a registered trademark and refer to the design origin, not the location of the company or manufacturer. It is also meant to distinguish Ugg Australia boots from generic and counterfeit brands.

I will leave it up to you to think of all the politically correct ways to point out how unethical this company is based on this response.

Also, I will leave it up to you to decide if you feel that they are still getting their leathers from Australia and New Zealand based on their past behavior. Think about that for a moment:

1. They have America by the fashion-balls (UGG AUSTRALIA is all the rage and has been for 5 years)
2. They attempted to bully the Down Under into giving up one of their nation’s historical icons
3. They have shifted their supposidely “authentic” aussie boot manufacturing from Australia to China but mislead consumers into thinking they are made in Australia by adding the word “AUSTRALIA” in their name
4. They just shot me a lame as excuse as to why they aren’t building the boots in Austalia even though the ugh was born and raised there
5. I’ve heard almost every one of my friends complain about their UGGS falling apart, it’s obvious that the quality of current UGG is horrible and yet they continue in China

Now, do you REALLY believe they get their leather from Australia when they have done everything in their power to tear the UGG boot away from the Aussies and trick the consumers?

If you answer NO, then STOP BUYING UGGS AUSTRALIA and read Do We Not Bleed? A Look At China’s Treatment of Animals, Cruelty Inc and It’s What’s On The Outside That Counts to see why.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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Canada is watching you…do not disappoint us.

UPDATE: Looks like good ol’fashion Canadian free will saved these dolphins!

Although the Mayor asked for the Fisheries Department to send an icebreaker, the department said that there were none available and their “experts” claimed that the icebreakers would stress the dolphins out too much. In other words, they weren’t going to do a damn thing about it. How sad! Now, don’t get me wrong, I fully understand that this is one of those natural occurrences - kind of like when a mother bird pushes the weak out of her nest - but just like humans have the power to destroy dolphin populations through hunting we also have the power to rescue…so why not interject and save them?

I love the conclusion to this story…

A local fisherman and a 17-year old boy, Brandon Banks, will be telling their rescue story for generations to come; when the government failed, they stepped up to the plate and emerged as heroes.

The cries of distress kept residence awake at night and on the evening of the 19th 2 guys decided to do something about it! Using the 18-foot trawler boat theys managed to cut a path out for the dolphins  to swim to freedom. Reports say that 2 of the dolphins followed them immediately, but the 3rd one was too weak and tired…so the 17 year old wearing “a survival suit, jumped into the water and the dolphin just kind of attached to him and wrapped his flippers around him, like a friend or a mate,” the mayor’s wife told The Associated Press. Brandon then lead the dolphin to freedom.

“In the end, it wasn’t experts or the government, it was us, the people, who made the decision to rescue them,” said May. “In Newfoundland, you don’t think about yourselves, you think about others and this time, we were just thinking that we couldn’t let these dolphins die.”

To the residence on the coast of Seal Cove, Newfoundland: the world was watching and you didn’t disappoint us - you’ve made your country proud.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

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Happy Saint Valentine’s Day. XOXO

(In dedication to my heart’s Valentine who is watching a Bandits game in Buffalo this evening.)

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World Wildlife Fund has A LOT on their hands these days and because their job is increasing so rapidly they have turned their campaign focus to the most basic source of life…water.

They call upon us to rethink the way we see that one JJ Bean/Starbucks/Timothy’s latte. It’s not just a yummy beverage in a paper cup anymore! It is 200 litres of water used/consumed in that single cup. Scary when you do the math.

Interestingly enough, after you watch this video you will catch yourself wondering “how much water is consumed in the making of this hockey ice?” the next time you are at a hockey game. Or “how much is wasted at the local car wash?” You start to think bigger than a single cup of Joe.

That’s the power of a strategically simple video - it shows us how to think small and it naturally evolves into thinking big.

World Wildlife Fund: Change The Way You Think.

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This is one of the most touching videos I’ve seen in a very very long time.

Check out their site: THE GIRL EFFECT.

*PASS IT ON*

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