for peet’s sake

I was so disappointed yesterday when I ordered a cup of iced tea…. and got this….!!!

This amount of trash is unacceptable. Three cups!! THREE cups! One of which is non-biodegradable. Believe you me, Peet’s got an ear full; in person and I sent a customer feedback email from the website. Can you imagine what would happen if we ALL stopped allowing stuff like this to happen? To use our collective voice to tell corporations this is unacceptable and it must change or we won’t do business with them? Just think for a second what kind of impact that would have…

close to 7 billion served

Good news! We hit 6.7 Billion people today and we are growing at a rate of 1.3 million people per day!

We will hit 7 Billion people in LESS THAN ONE YEAR!!!!…. 217 days in fact.

WOO!!

knight in shining armor

Here is a interesting article about a green future global leader. Very refreshing to have such a prominent and public person stand up for the environment

congratulations LA!

Nothing makes me happier than this…. a place that is green and encourages the pleasure of reading!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

this I believe

Today has been one of those days where I spent time in my head. I don’t know what brought this on. And, I guess sometimes it doesn’t really matter where it comes from, it matters what you do with it. I don’t even know if I can clearly express it, so I think I will do the best thing to do in times like these; look deep in my heart and speak from there.

Today, I was very aware of my own hypocrisy, on many levels. I realize that in my essays, I have a tendency to be judgmental and harsh. That I put these ideas out into the world and I expect change and am truly surprised when someone learns what I feel is the truth and….keeps drinking something with High Frustose Corn Syrup, for example. I am sorry. I am sorry if that is off putting or makes you feel bad about doing something I might not approve of. That, I hope never is, nor ever will be, my intention.

I want you to know and understand my position on what and why I write….

I love our home.

I honor the process that created our mountains, our seas, our deserts and ourselves. I trust and believe that every single species has a purpose being on this planet. I cherish the time I can spend outdoors and be a part of its simplicity. Because I believe for all of its complexity, nature is simple. It plays by simple rules. It gives us a gift that we must respect above all, in that it gives us life. We evolved with it and not only survived in its harshness, we thrived. And, I feel that in return, we are abusive and ungrateful by taking that gift and giving back death and destruction.

I worry about our home. I consider myself a student of everything, and I do spend my time reading and researching and studying what I can about what I call “global destabilization”. (This is more than global warming and it is more than climate change. I believe those words are too weak.)

I have the ability to see the detail and the big picture. I don’t know where I got this skill, but I have had it for as long as I’ve known. It has been a much needed survival skill for my life. It gives me the opportunity to look at today and see the impact of tomorrow. It has been a blessing and a curse.

I tell you this because when I look ahead ten years, even five years, I am scared. When I look at the adorable face of my friend’s son, Jack, or the man my cousin JP is turning into, or the women the daughters of my mom friends are becoming, or even the glimmer of an idea of my friend Jenn being a mom, or selfishly the future I want for myself, I get scared. I get scared that we aren’t going to have a home. That the children aren’t going to enjoy the same life that each and every one of us got to be blessed with up until now. I look at what I do today, what we all do today, and I can see the impact on the future; that they are going to be faced with so many more environmental struggles that you and I can’t even imagine. I don’t wish that upon them.

It doesn’t make sense to me, as a parent, why you would put more energy in making sure, that at the age of 5, your child is being properly groomed to get into Yale or Harvard or Princeton. But, the same amount of energy isn’t placed in them having an abundant, healthy water supply. I don’t understand why it is okay to sit in front of a television, but not spend time reading a book, or better yet, going outside.

I don’t have the answers to solve our food problems when also confronted with the starving people in our country, and other countries. I don’t know how to answer the person that tells me that people won’t change what they eat until it can affect their pocket book. I don’t know how to convince the person otherwise who uses Charmin toilet paper, made from old growth Amazonian trees, instead of environmentally friendly TP, because they are so convinced that wiping themselves has to be a pleasant experience. And, I don’t know what to tell the renter, who never sees a water bill, that we really and truly are in a drought and two showers a day is one (or more) too many. I don’t know how to fix this. All I know is that I have to be in the constant query.

The way I have decided to address this is to try to explain to you why I believe things are the way that they are and to help you see it differently. As much as I never want to put pressure on you to change, or make a decision that doesn’t work for you, I hope you understand why I might be shocked when you don’t. Because when you do something that I believe is a violation upon our planet, I see less of the basic needs for survival available to everyone in the future.

I want you to know that that I struggle everyday. I wish that I couldn’t see the life cycle of what it took to make the cotton t-shirt I want to wear. I wish when I wanted a banana I didn’t hear in my head that it flew from Costa Rica. I wish that when I am cold and tired and I want an extra minute in the shower that I didn’t hear “what happens when 6 billion people want an extra minute in the shower”? I wish for all of that. But I do know the life cycle of most of our goods. And, I can’t buy a banana from Costa Rica when I know the CO2 usage of that plane flight. And I can’t take that extra minute in the shower because I know how many gallons will not be available to the next generation.

I know that this process is challenging. I know that I am guilty of many crimes in my past that I try to atone for everyday. I hope you know that I am also the kind of person that I can’t talk the talk and not walk the walk. So, I may be the extreme of what I think can and should be done. I have chosen to write these essays in the hope of making people aware. I do it because I respect you. I trust you. But by putting my opinions on display, I hope that you, in turn, understand that I am the kind of person that I have to practice what I preach. Like I am asking you, I look at everything I study and make the decision that is best for me.

I am not naïve. I understand that we live in a culture of cars and fast food and having an awesome new outfit. I am not going to limit myself or make myself struggle or suffer. But, I am not going to over consume. I don’t see the necessity. Occasionally I may give myself what may seem like an unreasonable challenge, to show that it can be done, so that I may then present to you a much milder challenge of the same thing.

I believe that each and every one of us wants to make a difference. I believe that sometimes we don’t know how. If you look into the face of the child you care about, or you go out into nature and sit still while the plants and animals talk to you… yes, the plants too… I believe you will have the answer of what to do to make a difference. It will be spelled out for, so clearly, in a look or a sound or a giggle or a nuance that only you love. And, then you will know.

isn’t it ironic? don’t you think?

My educational background is in science; whether that was Forensic Anthropology or Biochemistry. I have always found it fascinating to learn about cellular structure, chemical composition of the body, evolution, form and function, and I can keep going. I think it is amazing that we exist. The fact that we co-evolved with nature to be the system that we are is extraordinary. I think that is why I am so anxious to study food evolution, community studies, environmental outcomes, and disease.

Today I am going to write about disease.

Disease is defined as any harmful change that interferes with the normal structure or function of the host. There are infections diseases, which are spread from one organism to another. And, there are non-infectious diseases; these are not spread and are classified as either acute or chronic. Non-infectious diseases involve the progressive breakdown on tissues and loss of function of the parts of the body.

For the sake of argument, I am going to generalize a bit, by stating that disease, on the most part, is caused by either a bacterial or viral infection. For this essay, I am going to focus on viral disease, it will be clear why by the end. But, I would like to mention that bacteria are unicellular microorganisms, are considered to be alive and can be treated with antibiotics. In contrast, viruses (from Latin, meaning toxin or poison) are considered not to be “free living”. Following are some characteristics of viruses:
- They only consist of genetic material (RNA or DNA) that is surrounded by a protective coating.
- They are unable to survive, sustain, and reproduce life without a viable host organism
- They often stimulate cell growth and produce cancers
- There are no known cures for viruses or viral illnesses.
o Viruses are eukaryotic cells. So are human cells. Therefore, whatever will hurt a virus cell, more than likely, will hurt a human cell. They are very hard to fight. That is why when battling a virus, it is best to fight the symptoms, not the virus.
o The other difficulty in finding cures stems from the large number of variances that cause the same disease. For example, the common cold. You can keep getting it over and over because it is caused by different viruses resulting in the same symptoms.
- Infection is either systemic or localized and it is either acute or chronic.
o In a chronic disease the virus remains with the host long term, or until the damage caused by the virus is irreparable.

A virus typically enters the organism through the skin or mucous membrane, which is the body’s first line of defense. Once the virus has entered, the body surrounds it with white blood cells, which attack it and digest it to get rid of it. If they virus still exists after that, the body releases antibodies that attach the outer cell wall of the virus and destroys it. If all of that fails, infection starts and we have disease.

Infection is the detrimental colonization of a host by a foreign species. The infecting organism uses the host’s resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism interferes with the normal function of a host and can lead to chronic illness or death.

The first sign of infection is fever. This is the increase of the normal temperature by 1-2 degrees. This is the body’s way of neutralizing the perceived threat before it becomes stronger or more prolific. When the fever starts, the body will go through intense cold spells and shivers, mixed with peaks of heat, until it levels at the resulting high temperature. A low grade fever is usually a sign that something is wrong.

Another initial sign that something is wrong is hypoxia. This is the shortage of oxygen getting to the organs of the body. It can be caused by massive cellular growth and the excessive need for oxygen to assist in that growth. When the viral cells are using that much oxygen, and it is not being used for normal cell function, damage occurs.

The next step is inflammation. This is a complex biological response to harmful stimuli. In the absence of inflammation, infections would never heal and progressive destruction would compromise the survival of the host. It tends to be tightly regulated, because chronic inflammation can lead to more disease. There are four results from inflammation:
- Resolution: the complete restoration to normal after the disease has been eradicated
- Fibrosis: there is a resulting large amount of destruction that the host organism is unable to regenerate, i.e. a scar
- Abscess formation: a cavity filled with pus containing cellular debris
- Chronic inflammation: characterized by the dominating presence of fighter cells, which are a powerful defense against the return of the virus, but the toxins that are released are equally damaging to the host. This stage is always accompanied by more destruction.

The next and final stage is wound healing, which is most characterized by what is called the remodeling and maturation of cells. It starts with a food supply being “delivered” to the damaged area for cellular nutrition. The damaged cells are then repaired or removed and new cells are formed. The new cells then need to mature and function independently. Typically, in this stage, the virus is dead.

The body will fight the virus until it wins, resulting in complete viral death, or it loses, which means the host organism, and therefore the viral organism, dies. It has been shown that the best defense against proliferation of a virus is prevention.

So… I just gave you a lot of information about disease, viruses, infection, and healing. You are probably wondering why. Or you have already connected the dots and are seeing the same conclusion I saw when I started researching this topic.

My opinion is that it is extremely obvious, when you look at the Earth, who is the host and who is the virus. Please refer back to remember that a virus is genetic material, that over replicates, using its host’s resources to no end, that cannot survive without a host, and it interferes with the normal function of the host resulting in chronic illness or death. And when a host is infected, how does it respond? With a fever (global warming), hypoxia (increase in greenhouse gasses) and inflammation (may I be so bold as to liken this to water levels). There is no cure for a virus, only death. And the best solution is prevention.

And to naysayers that challenge the idea of global warming because of cold winters, or the like. I would like you to remember what happens at the start of a fever… there are extreme highs and extreme lows (chills) until the fever balances out. I would conclude that our fever hasn’t set in yet.

I think it is a fair assumption to liken us to a virus or cancer upon this planet. In my opinion, we contribute nothing to the natural order of biology, chemistry and evolution to this world. We have no known beneficial effect on our host, we over consume its resources, and as result, like any organism, it is fighting back. Organisms like to live in stasis, when something is having a deleterious effect; it will fight back until it reaches stability again, or dies. In either scenario, the virus dies.

I do believe that with preventative measures we can attain a symbiotic relationship with our host. I believe in cutting emission levels, reducing or elimination factory farming and agriculture, reduction of fossil fuel usage by buying local, and much, much more. But, I also am not going to lie to myself, or you, there is a chance that it is too late. We don’t seem to be slowing our replication. Most people don’t want to change unless it affects their pocketbook. Finally, people seem to be so spoiled we think it is our god given right to have a tomato in January.

Now, I think it is important to mention two other aspects of disease and viruses. First off, is something called prodome. This is a non specific symptom indicating the start of a disease before the specific symptoms of the disease occur. A fever is a prodome. The inference in this case is what we are seeing now, global warming, may not be a specific symptom of whatever disease we may be causing on the planet. We think we know the next step, but we may not. It’s like going into the doctor with a fever and getting treated for the flu, only to find out that we have malaria. We hypothesize what the next indication will be in our global destabilization, but we are not 100% sure. The question is do we really want to find out before it is too late?

Secondly, there is also a medical term called sequelae. This is a pathological condition resulting from a disease. It is typically a chronic condition that is a complication of an acute condition that begins during the acute condition. In this case, what we are experiencing may be an acute condition. But there is a chance that a chronic condition, that we can’t even begin to imagine, will be the result.

As always, my intent is to bring what is happening on our planet to a level we can all try to understand. We have all had disease and relate to the idea of fighting it at all costs. And, why, do we fight it? Every organism on this planet, including the planet, is benefited from living. We all have a vested interest in staying alive. But, as far as I can tell, if we continue destroying this home, the only organism that is guaranteed death, is us. Remember, once a virus dies, the repair work can begin.

isn’t it ironic? don’t you think?

My educational background is in science; whether that was Forensic Anthropology or Biochemistry. I have always found it fascinating to learn about cellular structure, chemical composition of the body, evolution, form and function, and I can keep going. I think it is amazing that we exist. The fact that we co-evolved with nature to be the system that we are is extraordinary. I think that is why I am so anxious to study food evolution, community studies, environmental outcomes, and disease.

Today I am going to write about disease.

Disease is defined as any harmful change that interferes with the normal structure or function of the host. There are infections diseases, which are spread from one organism to another. And, there are non-infectious diseases; these are not spread and are classified as either acute or chronic. Non-infectious diseases involve the progressive breakdown on tissues and loss of function of the parts of the body.

For the sake of argument, I am going to generalize a bit, by stating that disease, on the most part, is caused by either a bacterial or viral infection. For this essay, I am going to focus on viral disease, it will be clear why by the end. But, I would like to mention that bacteria are unicellular microorganisms, are considered to be alive and can be treated with antibiotics. In contrast, viruses (from Latin, meaning toxin or poison) are considered not to be “free living”. Following are some characteristics of viruses:
- They only consist of genetic material (RNA or DNA) that is surrounded by a protective coating.
- They are unable to survive, sustain, and reproduce life without a viable host organism
- They often stimulate cell growth and produce cancers
- There are no known cures for viruses or viral illnesses.
o Viruses are eukaryotic cells. So are human cells. Therefore, whatever will hurt a virus cell, more than likely, will hurt a human cell. They are very hard to fight. That is why when battling a virus, it is best to fight the symptoms, not the virus.
o The other difficulty in finding cures stems from the large number of variances that cause the same disease. For example, the common cold. You can keep getting it over and over because it is caused by different viruses resulting in the same symptoms.
- Infection is either systemic or localized and it is either acute or chronic.
o In a chronic disease the virus remains with the host long term, or until the damage caused by the virus is irreparable.

A virus typically enters the organism through the skin or mucous membrane, which is the body’s first line of defense. Once the virus has entered, the body surrounds it with white blood cells, which attack it and digest it to get rid of it. If they virus still exists after that, the body releases antibodies that attach the outer cell wall of the virus and destroys it. If all of that fails, infection starts and we have disease.

Infection is the detrimental colonization of a host by a foreign species. The infecting organism uses the host’s resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism interferes with the normal function of a host and can lead to chronic illness or death.

The first sign of infection is fever. This is the increase of the normal temperature by 1-2 degrees. This is the body’s way of neutralizing the perceived threat before it becomes stronger or more prolific. When the fever starts, the body will go through intense cold spells and shivers, mixed with peaks of heat, until it levels at the resulting high temperature. A low grade fever is usually a sign that something is wrong.

Another initial sign that something is wrong is hypoxia. This is the shortage of oxygen getting to the organs of the body. It can be caused by massive cellular growth and the excessive need for oxygen to assist in that growth. When the viral cells are using that much oxygen, and it is not being used for normal cell function, damage occurs.

The next step is inflammation. This is a complex biological response to harmful stimuli. In the absence of inflammation, infections would never heal and progressive destruction would compromise the survival of the host. It tends to be tightly regulated, because chronic inflammation can lead to more disease. There are four results from inflammation:
- Resolution: the complete restoration to normal after the disease has been eradicated
- Fibrosis: there is a resulting large amount of destruction that the host organism is unable to regenerate, i.e. a scar
- Abscess formation: a cavity filled with pus containing cellular debris
- Chronic inflammation: characterized by the dominating presence of fighter cells, which are a powerful defense against the return of the virus, but the toxins that are released are equally damaging to the host. This stage is always accompanied by more destruction.

The next and final stage is wound healing, which is most characterized by what is called the remodeling and maturation of cells. It starts with a food supply being “delivered” to the damaged area for cellular nutrition. The damaged cells are then repaired or removed and new cells are formed. The new cells then need to mature and function independently. Typically, in this stage, the virus is dead.

The body will fight the virus until it wins, resulting in complete viral death, or it loses, which means the host organism, and therefore the viral organism, dies. It has been shown that the best defense against proliferation of a virus is prevention.

So… I just gave you a lot of information about disease, viruses, infection, and healing. You are probably wondering why. Or you have already connected the dots and are seeing the same conclusion I saw when I started researching this topic.

My opinion is that it is extremely obvious, when you look at the Earth, who is the host and who is the virus. Please refer back to remember that a virus is genetic material, that over replicates, using its host’s resources to no end, that cannot survive without a host, and it interferes with the normal function of the host resulting in chronic illness or death. And when a host is infected, how does it respond? With a fever (global warming), hypoxia (increase in greenhouse gasses) and inflammation (may I be so bold as to liken this to water levels). There is no cure for a virus, only death. And the best solution is prevention.

And to naysayers that challenge the idea of global warming because of cold winters, or the like. I would like you to remember what happens at the start of a fever… there are extreme highs and extreme lows (chills) until the fever balances out. I would conclude that our fever hasn’t set in yet.

I think it is a fair assumption to liken us to a virus or cancer upon this planet. In my opinion, we contribute nothing to the natural order of biology, chemistry and evolution to this world. We have no known beneficial effect on our host, we over consume its resources, and as result, like any organism, it is fighting back. Organisms like to live in stasis, when something is having a deleterious effect; it will fight back until it reaches stability again, or dies. In either scenario, the virus dies.

I do believe that with preventative measures we can attain a symbiotic relationship with our host. I believe in cutting emission levels, reducing or elimination factory farming and agriculture, reduction of fossil fuel usage by buying local, and much, much more. But, I also am not going to lie to myself, or you, there is a chance that it is too late. We don’t seem to be slowing our replication. Most people don’t want to change unless it affects their pocketbook. Finally, people seem to be so spoiled we think it is our god given right to have a tomato in January.

Now, I think it is important to mention two other aspects of disease and viruses. First off, is something called prodome. This is a non specific symptom indicating the start of a disease before the specific symptoms of the disease occur. A fever is a prodome. The inference in this case is what we are seeing now, global warming, may not be a specific symptom of whatever disease we may be causing on the planet. We think we know the next step, but we may not. It’s like going into the doctor with a fever and getting treated for the flu, only to find out that we have malaria. We hypothesize what the next indication will be in our global destabilization, but we are not 100% sure. The question is do we really want to find out before it is too late?

Secondly, there is also a medical term called sequelae. This is a pathological condition resulting from a disease. It is typically a chronic condition that is a complication of an acute condition that begins during the acute condition. In this case, what we are experiencing may be an acute condition. But there is a chance that a chronic condition, that we can’t even begin to imagine, will be the result.

As always, my intent is to bring what is happening on our planet to a level we can all try to understand. We have all had disease and relate to the idea of fighting it at all costs. And, why, do we fight it? Every organism on this planet, including the planet, is benefited from living. We all have a vested interest in staying alive. But, as far as I can tell, if we continue destroying this home, the only organism that is guaranteed death, is us. Remember, once a virus dies, the repair work can begin.

This Store Blows – good news!

well for New York anyway….

Starting Thursday, businesses that keep their doors open while blasting air conditioning will be breaking the law. The City Council is about to approve a measure that give stores one warning before charging $200 the second time they’re found wasting their AC. After that, it’s $400 for each violation. “Council Member Gale Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, said she introduced the bill after receiving a steady stream of complaints from constituents who were frustrated with stores that kept their doors propped open in the summer, allowing cold air to flow out of the building onto the sidewalk.”

OK… seems some other cities need to follow suit….

this store blows, 08-12-08

So…. I got my first submission for “This Store Blows”! Check it out and do the same! Maybe one of us can’t change this inane practice, but a group of us could!… xo cshells

So here it is folks: absolute stupidity in our very own Studio City!

I was walking back from lunch at Vegan Plate, when I saw the Lucky Brand store with it’s doors open! I thought… THIS STORE BLOWS! So I took a picture with my handy dandy militant environmentalist iPhone… and then the retard you see in the store, walks up to me and tells me I CAN”T TAKE PICTURES! Now, last I checked, this is the United States of America; and unless I am stupid or ignorant of reality, this is NOT a totalitarian country.

This guy actually came up to me and argued that I can’t take a photo. Well… BIG MISTAKE… he didn’t know who he was dealing with… I told him off, and told him why I am taking the picture and what I intend to do with it, and why he and his company are ignorant. After educating him about the waste of energy and the open door with A/C blasting in 84° weather… he just shook his head and walked away… like he didn’t care! So to the retard who works at Lucky Brand Jeans in Studio City, I say “you are one of the idiots who is drowning in his own ignorance, and for that I now consider you my enemy. You are causing damage and necrosis to my temple… the Earth.”.

Dr. Ali Sadrieh

help wanted

As some of you know, I fancy myself a writer. I had changed careers from being a biochemist, to acting, finally landing on screenwriting. In my pursuit, I felt I needed to learn more about being on set, interacting with people to form connections and open doors. I am fortunate to have a friend in the industry that has hired me occasionally as her assistant to learn what I can about the “industry”.

When I started to pursue a career in this industry, I will admit that I was very naïve about anything concerning the environment. Yes, I knew to conserve water. And, I knew to run my air conditioning, when I did run it, at a high thermostat setting in “off” hours to not effect the power grid. But, I was not aware of what I know and believe now.

This week, I was asked to assist on location for a television program, and I accepted the job. About an hour in, I was already horrified and looked like a deer in headlights as I watched the abuse to our environment happen before my eyes.

First off, I will give you some numbers:
- 10 semi trucks
- 7 trailers
- 2 generators
- 100 or more crew, plus their individual cars
- 25 extras, plus their cars
- 4 transportation vans
- 2 catering trucks
- 2 port-a-potties
- 3 dumpsters
- One truck needed to deliver and set up tent
- 1 process truck (this is a flat bed that a car and all camera equipment sit on, while it drives around, so you can have shots that give the car the appearance of moving.
- 6 police officers and motorcycles
- All the food and water needed for catering and craft services
o I counted 15-20 bags of ice
o 25 cases of bottled water
o Plastic, non-biodegradable plates, utensils, and cups
And my personal favorite….
- a fuel truck

Maybe you’re in the industry, or maybe not, and you are thinking to yourself this may not be as bad as it seems. In fact, as film shoots go, this may even be good. But I want to give you more information than just the numbers.

For those of you who don’t know, when you are on location, you have a base camp and you have the actual location. In this case, they were about a mile apart. Base camp had been set up in a big department store parking lot, which was paved with black top. (I only bring that up because black top is much hotter than poured concrete lots.) The location was a nice little residential neighborhood, lined with sycamores.

The trucks starting arriving at 430am. There are big semi’s that hold all of the equipment (cameras, lighting, sound, etc.), which is then transferred to smaller semi trucks which are taken to location. The talent trailers and restrooms are the size of a semi truck, and as I said, we had seven of them. I am only telling you this so you understand the scale… we filled a parking lot with all of the trucks, trailers, generators, catering, tent, individual cars and dumpsters…. Ooh, and you can’t forget our very own fuel truck!

You may be wondering why a fuel truck was even needed. Well, first off, because the shoot revolved around a scene that takes place in a car… which, by the way, we had to have three of the exact same car. But, since driving is built into the scene, fuel had to be available. We also had six motorcycle officers, which meant we had to have fuel available to them. They drive along with the shoot and ensure there are proper street closures and protection from bystanders being hurt. We also had four transportation vans that went back and forth between base camp and set. And, because it was a street scene the 25 extras that were hired (but as far as I could tell were not even used) had to have their cars, as well. But, here is another reason that the fuel truck had to be available….all of those trucks and trailers and catering that I mentioned….they run idle all day long for upwards of 16 hours. Why? Well, the best answer I could get is that it is because the air conditioning needs to be running. And when I asked “why?” to that, the answer in return was “because that’s just what we do”.

Now, it’s one thing to have these running when they are at a site full of activity and people need to get out of the sun to avoid overheating or burns. But, all of these idling trucks were at base camp. While all of the 125 people there that day were a mile away filming, these trucks were sitting by themselves, with a lone security guard (who by the way had to sit outside), with their A/C running just in case. And, I literally mean “just in case”. Trailer’s are used by the talent and we had seven that day… trailer’s that is, not talent. We had three actors on set. The other four trailers were back-up…because you know… just in case! And, in all honesty, I don’t have an issue with back up. I think on a hot day, with 125 people, you need to make sure, for safety reasons, that if someone needs to be cool, we have the resources to make them cool. I do have issue with the fact that the back-up was up and running. It seems logical to me that you would have the back up there, just in case, and then let it sit idle when it is needed. But to have it running empty, all day long, is ridiculous.

As you would expect, I have to dedicate some time in this post to food. Catering served two meals, breakfast and lunch, at base camp. Craft services is available all day, on set, providing water or other drinks, and snack items as people see fit to give themselves a munchy. I am not sure where to start with this because, if you have read any of my posts, you would guess that it left a lot to be desired from my point of view. I don’t agree with the availability of candy and donuts and other sweet or fattening items, and the lack of availability of fruit. I am going to assume that falls into the category of demand and supply. However, to not have a healthy alternative is irrational and irresponsible in my opinion. I think the two things that stood out the most to me was the waste of food at lunch time and the abundance of bottled water.

All told, catering, unlike craft services, does a nice job of providing a well balanced, variety of food for the cast and crew. There is salad and fruit and other items that can help you choose to be healthful. However, as with many things, the opposite is available as well. The lunch menu consisted of grilled salmon, chicken and beef with sides of mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus and steamed vegetables. Of course, in order to have all options available to every single person, they have to cook an over abundance of each item. I am not sure what all was cooked and discarded because I only saw what happened to the beef.

I haven’t written a post about beef and the factory farming, called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), associated with cattle. Needless to say, when I do, chances are you will stop eating it. To see the pile stacked next to the grill was horrifying enough. But to see it get thrown away, because they over prepared and they can’t do anything with it, was depressing. (For all those people who argue that we have to have industrial farming and agriculture because of “all the starving people” in the world, I really want to know how all of our over abundance is going to help anyone in a third world country when we throw it away!) The waste of food that I saw with my own eyes, and can only imagine the rest, is unacceptable. Not only because of the destruction the production of that food has done to our environment, but also because there are people who could have used that food instead of going to a local fast food chain. I do not know what the fix is in getting that food to the less fortunate, but I know it can start by not purchasing and preparing too much to begin with.

The second thing that stood out was the high volume of bottled water. If you are reading this, and have any notion of environmental impact, you know this is a small consumption that you can stop and would result in a dramatic effect to our planet. The volume of water bottles in our landfills is horrifying, made more so by the fact that they are plastic, therefore are not going to decompose. And, as I have already mentioned before, the leaching of the plastic has increased the amount of toxins in our bodies. But, the more significant aspect of this issue in regards to this film set is that there was not one recycling bin for all those bottles; which meant these bottles had only one destination…to join their friends at the landfill and sit there for centuries.

The first thing I want you to consider, after telling you about my experience, is that this same situation happens everyday, in many locations, all around the world. According to www.imdb.com, there are 650 films currently filming, with an additional 1,000 television shows. There are an untold amount of films in pre-production getting ready to start any day. They film in Los Angeles, New York, Canada, Australia, Europe… I doubt there is one country that doesn’t produce films. The show I was on is very small scale. A film set can be double or triple the size and can last for days and weeks. The environmental impact is undeniable and unquantifiable.

And, also, let’s think about this… what do we do it for? The show I was working on, I can, in all honesty, call it pure CRAP. It has no value to our society, at all. It doesn’t educate, it has no moral compass and, in my opinion, it doesn’t even entertain. So is the environmental impact and destruction equal to the value of it being made, aired, or watched? I think in many cases, the answer is an emphatic and resolute “no”. I think many of you would agree that you would rather not have the “Desperate Housewives of Orange County” or “Hannah Montana” in production and on the air; if in return, it means you can have a world that your children can grow up in, right? And, even if you argue that you watch some shows for entertainment value, I will argue back, when did being around your friends, or your children, or reading a book stop being entertaining? And, more importantly, isn’t it more critical to be a part of a community and a society where we are connecting with one another, as opposed to being a zombie in front of a television?

The last thing I want to mention to get you thinking is something I realized on Wednesday, when I was working. It may sound silly to you, but I got something about the television industry that I had never really comprehended before; 100% of television is paid for by advertizing. Television is not like film. To see a film, you the viewer pays for what you want to see. Television is paid for by Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, McDonald’s, Petco, and obviously, it can go on and on and on. My point is this: when you watch a show, I ask you to pay attention to the commercials. If you are someone, like myself, that does not want to support Wal-Mart, then we better not watch a TV show that has a Wal-Mart commercial, because they paid for that show. This is why the newspapers print the top TV shows for the week… advertisers want to know where they should put their ads for the most visibility. I have been watching television for a very long time, and I just got this, so it may not hit you right away like it has me… but, I really want you to grasp this fully. Television is paid for with the sole interest of us continuing to being consumers. It is not produced so we will be entertained. It is produced so we will purchase more, since that is the only thing our economy is based on; consumer confidence. So when we watch television thinking that the ads are filler for the show, I challenge that and say in reality the show is filler to show us ads.

Do you really want to destroy our home because Target wants to sell you cheap contact solution? Is our environment worth the $0.40 savings that the same product would cost at Long’s, a company as far as I can tell does not buy advertising space?

As always, I never am trying to tell you what to do. My only intention is to make sure we are the most active and aware consumers we can be. I want to make sure when you sit down in front of the television, you are just a bit more conscious and conscientious of how that show was truly made and what the impact truly is.

Now, I have a more important discussion to have with myself. I have been working toward a goal for a few years because I thought I wanted to be a part of this industry. Right now, I am faced with an ethical dilemma, which only I can answer for myself. I sit here and wonder how Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Ed Begley Jr. and Darryl Hannah can do it; do you buy offsets? Do you turn a blind eye? I know that my first decision is to watch only that which benefits society and to write what I feel contributes and not harms. I know this is an ongoing discussion and I will stay in the conversation to make the best decision for me and the ones I love, which is all I ever ask of anyone. Get all the information you can, and then do your absolute best.

I wanted to take more pictures, but it isn’t allowed because of confidentiality. Hopefully, these can give you some idea of scale of the largeness of this shoot:

« Previous Page — Next Page »