And so sayeth ManicPanic...

Greetings my darlings!

The time is here! The time to issue green challenges number 1 and 2!

Now, to remember the 'rules':

1. Everyone of the moderators on the site will be doing the challenges. (...and don't worry, they've all got posts in the works that should be up this week so you can take a break from reading my stuff :D )

2. If you do, dear reader, decide to take up these challenges, tell us about it! You can write a post about it and email it to us (theloraxsociety@gmail.com), or if that's not your thing/you have stuff to do, you can just post in the comments! Also remember we have a facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/groups/167255923339644/)! So we will be starting discussion groups on the page about posts/green challenges. Feel free to chime in!

3. The challenges are not (boldface, underline) set in stone. If you have something you'd like to see on the list, please comment/email us and it will 98% get on there. Unless it's... you know... ridiculous. There won't be any 'running naked in public' or 'watch 24 hours of straight television' on there. However, if it's green and it's legit, we'll put in on the site and add it to the challenge list. An added bonus of this feature: some of these challenges, I, ManicPanic, already do. So yes, I am cheating...kind of. However, if someone submits a challenge that I've been avoiding, I'd have to do it! See what I did there?!

4. The challenges will cover a broad range of green things. Sometimes they will be simple, sometimes they will be silly, and other times they will be soul searching and difficult. As we get on in challenges, we will up the intensity. Think of it as climbing a mountain, a big ass green mountain. By the end we'll all feel like Captain Planet.

5. Obviously, not every challenge will be possible for every person. If I make a challenge 'take public transit for a week' and you live somewhere that has no public transit, obviously this challenge cannot be applied. However, it should get you thinking just the same. If you didn't have any public transit, you should be asking yourself why... what are the factors that make that a reality. Ask questions, is my point. You're all smart, you get my drift ;)

Okay, so there's the scoop on the ground 'rules' for this challenge. And once again, we follow the Pirate Code on this blog. They are 'more of what you'd call guidelines than actual rules'.

Alright, so without any more ado whatsoever, I give you the one (well...two), the only, (once again... there are two), beginnnnnnniiiiinnnnngg greeeeen challlengesssssss:

1. MEATLESS MONDAY. I know right?! POW! Start off with a hard one! Well, that honestly depends on the way you eat already. For some people (including myself *shame face*) this is a walk in the park. Especially for me as I'm a vegetarian anyway. However, I know of a fact that I'm the only moderator who IS a vegetarian, and this will be a real challenge for them *evil laugh*.

Okat, so why meatless Monday? Well, eating excessive processed meat is bad for you. And I don't mean kind of bad for you. I mean, 'your colon hates your WORLD' bad for you. Plus, meat (especially beef) has a frighteningly high carbon footprint. It's a planet killer, for sure. And so, meatless monday becomes the no. 1 green challenge.

For details about the Meatless Monday movement, please see this link (http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/) and for why meat can be highly toxic please see this link (http://ht.ly/5XuPL).

Something final to keep in mind with regards to this challenge: if you eat a lot of meat, I urge you to switch to sustainably raised meat. It's better for you, and the environment. Yes, it is more expensive. Sometimes significantly more. But you'll save the money in health costs, and you shouldn't be eating that much meat to begin with :D. Okay, lecture over.

I hope this challenge proves enlightening!

Alright, and now for challenge number 2...

2. GET INFORMED. FIND A CAUSE. I would argue that lack of actual information without the influence of a 'pro consumer' bias is one of the greatest hinderances to the environmental movement. The mainsteam news covers almost 0 environmental issues, and when they do they just play up the controversy and don't tell the public any information that is vital to their health/happiness. So, stop trusting CNN, FOX, MSNBC (ALL OF THEM) completely, and go out there and find some information. I'll hit you with my top 5 websites for reliable green information:

a. http://www.treehugger.com/
b. http://www.grist.org/
c. http://motherjones.com/
d. http://www.ewg.org/
e. http://www.350.org/

Now, once you've searched around on the internet and brought yourself up to speed on green goings on, I need you all to find a cause. The world is reaaaaaaaally messed up right now. And if we try to tackle everything at once, it's beyond overwhelming and we often end up doing nothing and going to the mall instead. So, pick a couple of things that matter to you and be proactive about them.

As an example, my three major current projects are:

a. Stopping the proposed 'MegaQuarry' being build an hour north of Toronto, Ontario. This quarry would destroy the water table, food supply and biodiversity of the province and it is proposed to be larger than Niagara Falls. To help stop the quarry, please see the following links (http://www.facebook.com/no.mega.quarry) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ZkwK22hqI&feature=related) (http://www.stopthemegaquarry.ca/)
b. Saving the Gatineau River. Consistantly voted one of the most beautiful and biodiverse regions in Canada, a massive septic waste plant is being proposed to be built along the Gatineau River, outside of Ottawa, Ontario Canada. To help, please see the following links (http://www.facebook.com/#!/SAVETHEGATINEAU)
c. Tar Sands XL Keystone pipeline. A tarsands pipeline is proposed to be built from the Canadian Alberta tarsands down through the United States. Many climate experts believe that if this pipeline is built, it would mean 'game over' for the planet. What the movement is about is simple: keep the fucking oil in the ground where it belongs. To help, please see the following sites (http://www.tarsandsaction.org/)(http://www.grist.org/climate-change/2011-06-23-join-us-in-civil-disobedience-to-stop-the-keystone-xl-tar-sands)

Remember, the strongest thing we have on our side is the truth. Because the corporation ruled, profit driven system is trying so hard to block our access to the truth.

And remember this story:

Once upon a time an old man came upon a young man on the beach. Thousands of starfish were washed up on shore and the young man was throwing them back in one by one.
"What are you doing?" said the old man, "There are thousands of them on this beach, you can't help them all!"
The young man continued on with his task, picking up another starfish and tossing it back into the ocean.
"I helped that one." he said.
The old man walked away, ashamed at himself.
The next morning the old man came back, and once again saw the young man tossing starfish back into the ocean. The old man joined the young man, and they begain to return the starfish to the ocean together.

Phew, that was a long post. Good luck with the challenges! And comment/email us with any questions/concerns!!

Much <3

ManicPanic