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bossymarmalade) wrote2007-02-14 09:19 am
bossymarmalade) wrote2007-02-14 09:19 am
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but their concerns were dismissed as "depressing"
It's Valentine's Day! That means it's the last day for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
14valentines, and that means I get to talk about something that's been big in the news lately: the environment.
Now, most of you are of the same generation as I am, which means we grew up celebrating Earth Day and learning to recycle and stuff like that. Which is great, but there's so much more to be done.
Sustainability is a cause I believe strongly in, but I have to admit that in some ways it's just too expensive for us average people to invest in. I certainly don't have the money for a hybrid car or the willpower to give up meat or anything like that, but at the same time it frightens me horribly that the place where I grew up (along with some forty-odd low-lying island states worldwide) is in danger of drowning in the next thirty years due to the melting icecaps. I don't want to have a hand in sinking islands, jesus.
Everyone has their own routine of stuff that they do to be environmentally conscious. Here are a few of my tips, because I find them painless to do and the best place to start is to do something painless. As an added bonus, all of these tips will *save* you money, which is why I was raised to follow most of them to begin with! And if any of you have money-saving green tips, please share them in the comments.
- turn off the lights when you leave a room; set your computer to hibernate
- wash clothes in cold water; hang them to dry when possible
- re-use/re-purpose whenever possible (ziploc bags, grocery & produce bags, fast-food napkins [i keep excess takeout napkins in the car])
- try going shampoo-free or using natural cleaners
- run the dishwasher only when it's full; try to cook multiple things if you use the oven
- buy produce from a local farmer's market/stand (it will be fresher, often cheaper, and will have traveled less to get to you)
- scale back on the following: red meat, excess packaging, heating & air conditioning
- recycle everything you can! IKEA will take depleted batteries; Office Max will take used printer cartridges; charities will take broken electronics, old clothes & magazines & videos, and whatever else
- and I can't stress this one enough: AVOID BOTTLED WATER. I understand if your municipal water happens to be unsafe; what I'm talking about is if you live somewhere that the water's good (which, let's put it in context, is most of the developed world) and you still insist on buying bottles of Dasani. What you are doing is paying an exorbitant amount for a BASIC HUMAN NECESSITY, which signals to corporations that they are completely within their rights to place this market value on water and charge impoverished people for water security. People, I'm not just harping on this bottled water thing because I dislike Coca-Cola's politics; there are serious consequences for us 'First-Worlders' monetarily and the rest of the world resource-wise and survival-wise if we continue turning something as elemental as water into a fucking designer accessory. If you absolutely cannot live without bottled water, at least consider buying the generic grocery brand. It'll taste pretty much the same (since after all bottled water is drawn from your municipal source) and it'll save you some change.
Whew! And now that I've flipped my shit over bottled water and its EVILS, here's some music!
Please right-click-download if you're taking any of them, danke!
madeleine peyroux - between the bars: this is a cover of an elliot smith song, but her version is cabaret-smoke and regret
madonna - thunderpuss megamix: excellent stuff! all of madge's 'ray of light' era goodness
malvina reynolds - little boxes: a little odd, a little quirky, and a lot anti-conformist
mariah carey - shake it off: i never cared for mariah, but once mimi came around i was HOOKED
mary j blige & u2 - one: my favourite u2 song of all time, done in classic diva style
melanie - brand new key: oh, so cute!
milla jovovitch - gentleman who fell: this song, like the songstress, is unexpectedly endearing and wholly enchanting
mindy smith - jolene: a straight-up, wonderful cover of the dolly parton original
miriam makeba - pata pata: this song about a South African dance craze just *embodies* joy!
miss kitten - rippin kittin: a dance track about a serial killer. or something. good, though.
mitsou - bye bye mon cowboy: canadians who understand all the references in the barenaked ladies "grade 9" are really the only ones who remember mitsou shooting us with her toy guns
monsoon wedding - mendhi/madhorama pencha: the song that the women sing during the mendhi, the Fair One with skin like butter...
nelly furtado - powerless (josh remix): this was an okay song, but is *infinitely* better with a bhangra backbeat
nena - 99 luftballons: it's a great anti-war song, but sadly all I can think of is German backpackers forcing Homer to sing it and dance. hee!
nina gordon - straight outta compton: she of the sweetest, girliest voice threatening to act the motherfuckin' fool! genius.
nina simone - sinnerman: oh, glory glory, crashing gospel redemption the way only nina could do it
patsy cline - she's got you: so sad! you'll get someone better, patsy!
peaches - rock show: it's not 'fuck the pain away', but it's the kind of song that makes you want to drive faster
peggy lee - it's been a long long time: lazy mornings, fluffy hair, a woman who knows who she is. what could be sexier?
pj harvey & bjork - satisfaction: cover of the Stones song, and unbelievably cool and awesome when these two do it
respect & hannah jones - i am what i am: made an anthem by drag queens & kings everywhere!
salma hayek - quedate aqui: just salma and a few incidental shakes of guitar-strum
salt 'n pepa - push it: dear lord, was there anybody as cool as they were?
sarah mclachlan - dear god: cover of the xtc song; really, I should've put up something from "Solace" b/c that's where I remember her best, but this is damn good too
shakira & wyclef jean - hips don't lie (fifa remix): the version for the World Cup!! GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!
sheila chandra - standing stones: some of you may recognize this from the US QAF; the rest of you will thrill at the sound of bhajan Hindi and church Latin in the same song
sinead o'connor - daddy i'm fine: omg, y'all, I cannot even BEGIN to express how much i love this song right now. it's just so badass and gleeful and triumphant and proud, and all things wonderful!
spice girls - wannabe: there is no better song to imitate Posh's patented 'pointing dance' to!
suzanne vega - blood makes noise: was this a song about AIDS, or do i just think that b/c they used it while Ballard was getting a blood test on Homicide: Life on the Street? oh well.
tammy wynette - stand by your man: take the message with a generous sense of irony; take the tune to karaoke and be a STAR!!
the chiffons - one fine day: awwww, old-skool girl groups. so sweet, and yet so sort of ... unbalanced.
the colour purple - god is trying to tell you something: this is the kind of gospel music that really makes you feel blessed, hallowed, filled with the Spirit. marvelous stuff.
the harvey girls - white wedding: yes, a cover of the billy idol song. DOWNLOAD IT
the last unicorn - now that i'm a woman: i think this is the version sung by the professional, not mia farrow. you're welcome.
the little mermaid - part of your world: did you used to sing impassioned renditions of this song in your shower? i know i did!!
the pointer sisters - fire: slinky, smooth, insinuating
the roots & erykah badu - you got me: combined laid-back grassy funk
the shirelles - dedicated to the one i love: more along the old-skool girl-group genre
the simpsons - we put the spring: hey, if the pussycat dolls count as legitimate music, surely the women of the maison derriere do as well!
the waifs - bridal train: haunting and so sad; it's about the war brides in australia, leaving their homes.
tlc - no scrubs (left eye remix): this is the version in the video, with left eye's rap. le sigh.
tori amos - 1000 oceans: this song never fails to make me feel like i'm soaring along with her voice when i hear it.
ute lemper - little water song: imagine marlene deitrich singing a tom waits song. that's kind of what this chilling murder ballad is like.
veruca salt - volcano girls: why don't i have 'seether' on my computer? oh, well -- this song is awesome too.
vienna teng - city hall: i heard this song for the first time on my mp3 player at school, and i just about burst into tears on my way to the bus loop, it's so beautiful in both sentiment and sound.
whitney houston - it's not right but it's okay: remember before whitney lost her fuckin' mind? remember how she used to be able to sing and stuff?!?!?
wicked - for good: i certainly don't like all of the songs from wicked, but this one is mucho pretty.
zap mama - iko iko: honestly, the version i'm most familiar with is the cyndi lauper one, but i like this too!
And there we go. These songs are intended for evaluation purposes only; please delete them from your computer after twenty-four hours and purchase the albums if you like them. You know how it is.
Download as many as you like, and I hope you enjoy them!
14 Valentines: V-Day
14valentines, and that means I get to talk about something that's been big in the news lately: the environment.Now, most of you are of the same generation as I am, which means we grew up celebrating Earth Day and learning to recycle and stuff like that. Which is great, but there's so much more to be done.
Sustainability is a cause I believe strongly in, but I have to admit that in some ways it's just too expensive for us average people to invest in. I certainly don't have the money for a hybrid car or the willpower to give up meat or anything like that, but at the same time it frightens me horribly that the place where I grew up (along with some forty-odd low-lying island states worldwide) is in danger of drowning in the next thirty years due to the melting icecaps. I don't want to have a hand in sinking islands, jesus.
Everyone has their own routine of stuff that they do to be environmentally conscious. Here are a few of my tips, because I find them painless to do and the best place to start is to do something painless. As an added bonus, all of these tips will *save* you money, which is why I was raised to follow most of them to begin with! And if any of you have money-saving green tips, please share them in the comments.
- turn off the lights when you leave a room; set your computer to hibernate
- wash clothes in cold water; hang them to dry when possible
- re-use/re-purpose whenever possible (ziploc bags, grocery & produce bags, fast-food napkins [i keep excess takeout napkins in the car])
- try going shampoo-free or using natural cleaners
- run the dishwasher only when it's full; try to cook multiple things if you use the oven
- buy produce from a local farmer's market/stand (it will be fresher, often cheaper, and will have traveled less to get to you)
- scale back on the following: red meat, excess packaging, heating & air conditioning
- recycle everything you can! IKEA will take depleted batteries; Office Max will take used printer cartridges; charities will take broken electronics, old clothes & magazines & videos, and whatever else
- and I can't stress this one enough: AVOID BOTTLED WATER. I understand if your municipal water happens to be unsafe; what I'm talking about is if you live somewhere that the water's good (which, let's put it in context, is most of the developed world) and you still insist on buying bottles of Dasani. What you are doing is paying an exorbitant amount for a BASIC HUMAN NECESSITY, which signals to corporations that they are completely within their rights to place this market value on water and charge impoverished people for water security. People, I'm not just harping on this bottled water thing because I dislike Coca-Cola's politics; there are serious consequences for us 'First-Worlders' monetarily and the rest of the world resource-wise and survival-wise if we continue turning something as elemental as water into a fucking designer accessory. If you absolutely cannot live without bottled water, at least consider buying the generic grocery brand. It'll taste pretty much the same (since after all bottled water is drawn from your municipal source) and it'll save you some change.
Whew! And now that I've flipped my shit over bottled water and its EVILS, here's some music!
Please right-click-download if you're taking any of them, danke!
madeleine peyroux - between the bars: this is a cover of an elliot smith song, but her version is cabaret-smoke and regret
madonna - thunderpuss megamix: excellent stuff! all of madge's 'ray of light' era goodness
malvina reynolds - little boxes: a little odd, a little quirky, and a lot anti-conformist
mariah carey - shake it off: i never cared for mariah, but once mimi came around i was HOOKED
mary j blige & u2 - one: my favourite u2 song of all time, done in classic diva style
melanie - brand new key: oh, so cute!
milla jovovitch - gentleman who fell: this song, like the songstress, is unexpectedly endearing and wholly enchanting
mindy smith - jolene: a straight-up, wonderful cover of the dolly parton original
miriam makeba - pata pata: this song about a South African dance craze just *embodies* joy!
miss kitten - rippin kittin: a dance track about a serial killer. or something. good, though.
mitsou - bye bye mon cowboy: canadians who understand all the references in the barenaked ladies "grade 9" are really the only ones who remember mitsou shooting us with her toy guns
monsoon wedding - mendhi/madhorama pencha: the song that the women sing during the mendhi, the Fair One with skin like butter...
nelly furtado - powerless (josh remix): this was an okay song, but is *infinitely* better with a bhangra backbeat
nena - 99 luftballons: it's a great anti-war song, but sadly all I can think of is German backpackers forcing Homer to sing it and dance. hee!
nina gordon - straight outta compton: she of the sweetest, girliest voice threatening to act the motherfuckin' fool! genius.
nina simone - sinnerman: oh, glory glory, crashing gospel redemption the way only nina could do it
patsy cline - she's got you: so sad! you'll get someone better, patsy!
peaches - rock show: it's not 'fuck the pain away', but it's the kind of song that makes you want to drive faster
peggy lee - it's been a long long time: lazy mornings, fluffy hair, a woman who knows who she is. what could be sexier?
pj harvey & bjork - satisfaction: cover of the Stones song, and unbelievably cool and awesome when these two do it
respect & hannah jones - i am what i am: made an anthem by drag queens & kings everywhere!
salma hayek - quedate aqui: just salma and a few incidental shakes of guitar-strum
salt 'n pepa - push it: dear lord, was there anybody as cool as they were?
sarah mclachlan - dear god: cover of the xtc song; really, I should've put up something from "Solace" b/c that's where I remember her best, but this is damn good too
shakira & wyclef jean - hips don't lie (fifa remix): the version for the World Cup!! GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!
sheila chandra - standing stones: some of you may recognize this from the US QAF; the rest of you will thrill at the sound of bhajan Hindi and church Latin in the same song
sinead o'connor - daddy i'm fine: omg, y'all, I cannot even BEGIN to express how much i love this song right now. it's just so badass and gleeful and triumphant and proud, and all things wonderful!
spice girls - wannabe: there is no better song to imitate Posh's patented 'pointing dance' to!
suzanne vega - blood makes noise: was this a song about AIDS, or do i just think that b/c they used it while Ballard was getting a blood test on Homicide: Life on the Street? oh well.
tammy wynette - stand by your man: take the message with a generous sense of irony; take the tune to karaoke and be a STAR!!
the chiffons - one fine day: awwww, old-skool girl groups. so sweet, and yet so sort of ... unbalanced.
the colour purple - god is trying to tell you something: this is the kind of gospel music that really makes you feel blessed, hallowed, filled with the Spirit. marvelous stuff.
the harvey girls - white wedding: yes, a cover of the billy idol song. DOWNLOAD IT
the last unicorn - now that i'm a woman: i think this is the version sung by the professional, not mia farrow. you're welcome.
the little mermaid - part of your world: did you used to sing impassioned renditions of this song in your shower? i know i did!!
the pointer sisters - fire: slinky, smooth, insinuating
the roots & erykah badu - you got me: combined laid-back grassy funk
the shirelles - dedicated to the one i love: more along the old-skool girl-group genre
the simpsons - we put the spring: hey, if the pussycat dolls count as legitimate music, surely the women of the maison derriere do as well!
the waifs - bridal train: haunting and so sad; it's about the war brides in australia, leaving their homes.
tlc - no scrubs (left eye remix): this is the version in the video, with left eye's rap. le sigh.
tori amos - 1000 oceans: this song never fails to make me feel like i'm soaring along with her voice when i hear it.
ute lemper - little water song: imagine marlene deitrich singing a tom waits song. that's kind of what this chilling murder ballad is like.
veruca salt - volcano girls: why don't i have 'seether' on my computer? oh, well -- this song is awesome too.
vienna teng - city hall: i heard this song for the first time on my mp3 player at school, and i just about burst into tears on my way to the bus loop, it's so beautiful in both sentiment and sound.
whitney houston - it's not right but it's okay: remember before whitney lost her fuckin' mind? remember how she used to be able to sing and stuff?!?!?
wicked - for good: i certainly don't like all of the songs from wicked, but this one is mucho pretty.
zap mama - iko iko: honestly, the version i'm most familiar with is the cyndi lauper one, but i like this too!
And there we go. These songs are intended for evaluation purposes only; please delete them from your computer after twenty-four hours and purchase the albums if you like them. You know how it is.
Download as many as you like, and I hope you enjoy them!
14 Valentines: V-Day
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