Earth Day 2010, Time To Reconnect With Nature

Posted on January 10, 2010 by itees

I have always tried to show, by design or blogging, that people need to reuse, recycle, plant, not tear down, and just plain care more about this place Earth, we all call home. I love the outdoors, gardens, beaches, forests, and have plants, nice green living things in every room, and every Spring into Summer, I have a small outdoor space which is full of flowers. In warmer weather, I ride my bicycle, so I can see and photograph the beautiful gardens around New York and New Jersey. When I travel, I see what I can of the landscape and enjoy it.

However, I’m really beginning to worry about the state of our planet (more than usual). This Winter has been quite frigid, and the snow in some parts of the world, has been at record proportions. The weather in general has been from one extreme to another, and if anyone still doesn’t believe we have global warming, just look around.

People generally live selfishly and don’t think “green,” so I think with Earth Day coming on April 22, and it being the 40th anniversary, it’s a great opportunity to spread the message, that every single person needs to reconnect and realize they are part of nature and do more to help save the planet.

Yesterday, I went to see Avatar, like millions of others, and I was blown away by the story, and the 3D effects. It was so visually stunning and 3d glasses enhanced the natural beauty and made you feel like you were really there. It made me feel so good and I wished everyone felt about our planet, the way the “Na’vi” people felt about Pandora.

I have been thinking about ways to help spread the message of Earth Day and will be designing posters and t-shirts for both i-Tees and the FROGS ARE GREEN sites. Look for more of them in the next week or two. I’m also looking for anyone who’d like to collaborate with me, by donating an illustration or photograph, for this purpose.

Let’s all do our part and show we care and want to save this planet. To learn more about Earth Day, visit this website: Earth Day Network.

Below is my first poster design idea collaborating with photographer, John Crittenden. This poster is 24″ w x 18″ h and we’re offering it at $12.00, along with FREE Shipping.

Poster design © 2010 Susan Newman Design Inc.
Photograph by John Crittenden.

Overpopulation and the Global Food Crisis from National Geographic Magazine

Posted on November 22, 2009 by itees

When I have time, I go back and read, in depth, the articles in the stack of National Geographic Magazines that pile up. This past week, I read an article from the June 2009 issue, titled, “The Global Food Crisis, The End of Plenty,” by Joel K. Bourne, Jr. about the over population of our planet, the desire that humans have to eat red meat, combined with global warming, and how more food is being consumed than is being produced.

Highlighting meat production as one of the main causes for this crisis, Mr. Bourne wrote, “It takes up to five times more grain to get the equivalent amount of calories from eating pork as from eating grain itself—ten times if we’re taking about grain-fattened U.S. beef.” Annual worldwide grain consumption has increased from 815 million metric tons to 2.16 billion in the last half century. So, most of the grain is not being fed to people, it’s being grown and fed to the cows and pigs, to fatten them up for human consumption and other industries like biofuels.

Another awful fact is that some of the deforestation, is so that they can make room to plant more crops. In addition, because pesticides have been used in these crops, which gets absorbed into the earth and water, humans as well as other species, are being born with deformities.

Imagine the terrible path we’re on. Over population leading to eating more, which we cannot plant fast enough, combined with global warming, which is going to dry up crops and at the same time poisoning the earth and ourselves. We must do something now, to turn the tide around.

Yet, I see people everyday head into the nearest fast food chain and eat greasy, unhealthy burgers, because they don’t have the time to prepare or sit and eat something healthier. It would wise to think very hard before you eat that next burger, steak or pork loin. Remember, it all starts with ourselves, and one person can make a difference.

The last time I ate red meat was over 30 years ago. I do not miss it at all.

Environmental Blogging and Green Book Publishing

Posted on October 18, 2009 by itees

I am a member of various design, green and environmental groups on the site, LinkedIn, and recently joined “Green Publishing,” a subgroup of “Green.” I have seen discussions by those who are writing environmental blogs, and publishing green literature. Here are some of the sites I’m following and what they’re doing to help get some important information out there.

Greenprofs – Green Business Professionals Sharing Information, Insights and Best Practices On The Environment, Corporate Social responsibility and Climate Change

“Founded in August 2008, Greenprofs supports Green, a group of over 55,000 environmental professionals on LinkedIn. Greenprofs is a resource of information on ‘all things green’ a one stop shop for insights, employment and the sourcing of green business suppliers.”

GreenandSave.com - Green News, Tips, and Services for Saving Energy, Money, and the Planet

I found this site to be organized in a very easy, “find and click” way. Showing lead-ins to articles on a variety of topics, such as, most popular, discover, movers & shakers, podcasts & video, green columnists, and tips & lifestyle.

SEECFoundation.org – A Sustainable Future

From their site:
“The Social, Environmental and Economic Concerns (SEEC) Foundation is a sustainability-focused nonprofit organization that helps the community and businesses progress towards a sustainable future. To do this, we provide strategies and resources that address environmental issues, social conditions and realize financial benefits. The SEEC foundation was created to help reflect the positive synergy that exists when social, economic and environmental concerns are simultaneously addressed and work in unison.”

Her Guide To Green – A Better Living, For A Better You

Her Guide To Green is dedicated to incorporating eco-friendly products, people, and initiatives into the lives of women around the world.

The EcoSpheric Blog – Informing and inspiring those who want to live and laugh more sustainably

The most recent post title is: Don’t Leave Your Children A Dying Planet
I was just reading one of my National Geographic magazines and each page I turned was reporting on the decline of another species. Bees, fireflies… and if this wasn’t sad enough, the places with polluted water from the chemicals we put out there.

When I saw this post, I had to read it and I agree. We must do what we can now, so we’re helping, not destroying this planet and not leaving it to the next generation to fix.

Photo from Kids vs Global Warming

Also, check out Kids vs. Global Warming, a non-profit organization founded and led by 14 year old Alex Loorz.

Haddock Research & Branding – Understanding people’s relationship with climate change and the low-carbon economy

They are a full service market research agency with many years of experience in running international, quantitative studies.
From their site:
“The international Environmental Choices™ monitor is fully-owned by Haddock Research. Based on a very wide-ranging questionnaire, it provides a single-source to measure the interrelationships between people’s circumstances, attitudes and behaviour relevant to the low carbon sector. The survey provides both specific analyses and holistic understanding of people’s lives – particularly important given policymakers concerns about the ‘rebound effect’.”

Lollypop Publishing – Books For The way we Live

Lollypop Publishing Ltd is a small independent book publishing company in the West Midlands. They specialize in both children’s and reference books on environmental, social & sustainable transport topics.