Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Who turned off the lights? Earth Hour 2010

Mama gnome double checked the calendar.

Yes, right there, a blue circle around March 27th, Saturday. A special night. A date night for Mama gnome.

It's Earth Hour 2010.

Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.


Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia in 2007.

Please visit EarthHour.org

Mama gnome made plans for Earth Hour 2010.

On March 27th 8:30 pm, the gnome family will switch off all non-essential lights and electrical appliances in the gnome house for one hour to show support for planet Earth.

You may not be aware of this...but Mama gnome has a very uneasy relationship with Computer.

Computer likes to play mind games. Mama gnome recounts a painful experience about printing pictures and Computer chose to be difficult and there was a gnome-Computer stand off moment.

There has been an uneasy truce between Mama gnome and Computer since then.

So for Earth Hour, Computer will be turned off.

Daddy gnome will not have access to his precious computer for an hour.

Pardon Mama gnome while she laughs like a crazy lady. Bwahahahaha! Bwahahahaha!

Ehemm...ehemmm... Mama gnome fixes her slightly askew hat.

So what are Mama gnome's plans for Earth Hour 2010 at 8:30 pm when she will have Daddy gnome to herself with Computer safely turned off?

Lots of candles strategically placed around the gnome house and

home cooked dinner on Mama gnome's aga stove.

On the menu: vegetarian meatloaf and peach cobbler.

Daddy gnome might just forget about that Computer even longer than an hour.

Maybe Daddy gnome might end up like this human in the video. Toggle the light switch on and off and watch the dramatic changes.


from: EarthHour.org


video by: wwfaustralia


Please have a romantic candle light dinner on Saturday March 27, 2010 at 8:30 pm.

Be part of Earth Hour 2010 and Go Green!

(c) 2010 Jenaelha Friendly Gnome's Blog

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The tuna bone's connected to the turtle bone..turtle bone's connected to the dolphin bone...

The tuna bone's connected to the turtle bone...the turtle bone's connected to the dolphin bone...the dolphin bone's connected to the whale bone...

I know what you're thinking.

Did Mama gnome add a little something-something to her cup of morning elixir (so vital for existence) drink?

The answer is yes, as in about a cup of good old-fashioned eye opener potion.

How did that tuna get into your sushi? Most likely the tuna was caught with a giant purselike net or purse seine that's sickeningly huge.

How big?

How about a mile deep.

Let me say that again.... One mile...

With Mama gnome's short legs, it can take her a while to walk one mile..

That's how deep that net can be.

Who the heck throws these nets?

Yes, Mama gnome also had the old fashioned notion that tall humans with well-defined arms cast off these nets from romantic boats while the sun rises on the horizon.

Mama gnome would just like to wake you up with a dose of another truth medication.

Just as scary to have factory farming on land, we have "factory fishing" in the oceans.

Here's a video of factory fishing in action using a giant purse seine net, quite capable of catching 3,000 tons of tuna in a single fishing trip.


video by: GreenpeaceVideo

If you think the mile long net is terrible, here's another eye-opener.

Nets can be torn up and damaged, so they use metal to clear the path.

Metal as in deep sea trawlers.

Deep sea trawlers are equipped with heavy metal doors weighing as much as 6 tons.

These doors are attached to a behemoth nets which "can be as large as 55 meters across and 12 meters high." (180 feet across and almost 40 feet high)

Mama gnome would like to present this visual reference.

The blue whale is the "largest mammal in the world" and it can grow up to 33. 6 meters or 110 feet.

The blue whale can fit in that net and still have tons of room for other creatures to be caught with it.

Deep sea trawlers are dragged across seafloors causing maximum damage.

Ahhh...we're not really going to miss all that coral are we?

What do you mean that one reef was 1,800 years old? Older than the Pyramids?

Well...um...those critically endangered sea turtles were just in the way.

And so were those dolphins and sharks.

Please watch this video which shows a deep sea trawler being dragged on the seafloor.


video from: GreenpeaceVideo

Our oceans are being overfished by industrial fishing fleets because of insatiable consumer demands.

Mama gnome wants to give a wake up call to all her human friends.

"Wake up my human friends. Have you heard that human saying, there's lots of fish in the ocean?...Well, it's not true. Seriously. It's not true.

Lots of fishes are being caught, marketed, shipped and eaten into extinction.

How are the tuna, dolphin, sea turtle, whales, even coral connected to the same bone?

When these industrial fishing fleets set out to catch whatever they want to catch with their massive football size nets that dredge up the ocean floors, do you think they would stop to save the accidental bycatches of dolphins, sea turtles, sharks or corals? No...no...they don't.

What can you do to help stop overfishing?


Boycott restaurants that serve endangered marine creatures such as the bluefin tuna, whales, dolphins, sea turles, sharks, shark fin soup.

Eating these animals is like eating lions, cheetahs, tigers into extinction.

Look for the Marine Stewardship Council label. Here is the link for their website which lets you "find restaurants or shops around the world that sell MSC certified seafood."

Visit this site for a "guide to good fish guides."

Here's another thing to consider. Become vegetarian. Mama gnome knows this might be a huge challenge. Mama gnome knows for it was her greatest challenge ever.

But if you get past three months, it becomes easier.

Mama gnome just couldn't live with that stomach churning feeling every time she ate meat.

As a serious environmentalist, she just couldn't eat meat anymore knowing it's one of the biggest contributors to global warming, yes, the meat industry aka factory farming. Would you like your steak with a side of treefrog or tapir?

Just recently Mama gnome learned that the proposed ban on fishing of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna was not approved.

Mama gnome wonders, why would people who love to eat this fish, not want to see it continue to live and prosper so they can continue to enjoy it for years and years.

When will humans learn the tuna bone's connected to the turtle bone...the turtle bone's connected to the dolphin bone...the dolphin bone's connected to the whale bone...the whale bone's connected to the human bone...the human bone's connected to the gnome bone.

We are all connected.

All the animals and plants on this planet know it, except for the humans.

Please watch this amazing video of humans catching tuna the old fashioned way.

No nets. No trawlers. Just lines and rods.


video from: BBC


Please dive into the ocean with Mama gnome and open your eyes to its beauty and life.

Swim against the current, swim for your life and Go Green.

(c) 2010 Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Mama gnome meets Gnomemart meets Eco Hero?????

Mama gnome almost fell off the tree stump when she read this post by Matthew McDermott on treehugger.com:

"Walmart announces they will cut 20 million tons of greenhouse gases from supply chain by 2015."

Not only that.

Mama gnome almost choked on the oatmeal raisin cookie she was eating when she read this post by Tolly Moseley on Planet Green:

"Three Eco- and Socially-Conscious Companies to Watch: One of Them's Wal-Mart
One wants to reduce your paper usage, one wants to help non-profits, and yes, one is a big box chain store."


Mama gnome paced in front of the aga stove, back and forth with her arms crossed, her forehead furrowed.

Daddy gnome asked, "What's wrong?"

Mama gnome said, "What's wrong? This...this...Gnomemart...I cannot figure it out. Either all the humans who work there were abucted by aliens and replaced by humanoid eco-friendly aliens...or...or... Gnomemart is no longer an Eco-enemy but is now an...gulp...Eco-hero???"

Daddy gnome said, "Get a hold of yourself Mama gnome, the young gnomelets might hear you. What would they think? Why the whole world must be turning backwards or something. It can't be...It goes against everything we know."

"I know, I know, Daddy gnome but it's right here...Not just one, but two...two posts...Gnomemart is going....Green?"

Yes, Mama gnome straightened out her pointy hat and sat down to mull over these new developments.

Why would Gnomemart or as humans call it Walmart go green?

Apparently going green is the key to seeing Green, green with dollar signs.

Matt Kistler, Walmart SVP of Sustainability, said,
"Carbon is a cost. If we can remove carbon from a supply chain, ultimately they become more competitive. If they can use less energy in the manufacturing of the product, or if the consumer uses less energy, they are certainly reducing their costs or putting dollars in the pockets of their customer."

Just as Mama gnome had known all along, going green really pays.


From the cookie-choking report by Tolly Moseley, Mama gnome read:

"Walmart...Apparently wants to go local...A Chicago Walmart just started offering rental space to local mom-and-pop outfits."

I know, I know...

It's mind-boggling.

But Mama gnome gives credit where credit is due and Walmart gets high-fives from this old gnome for getting on the right path.

Now when this giant chain removes the plastic bags, also known as minions of Plastic Bag Monster, and instead offers reusable green bags, Mama gnome might need to be taken out on a stretcher.

Let's see how it's supposed to be done in this video:


video from: AnimalPlanetTV

Please make Mama gnome dizzy and light-headed and go Green!

(c) Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog