Have fun and laugh as well.  This hit home the other day, as I was surfing my DVR, and came across an episode of My Name is Earl, in which Earl becomes enlightened on the fate of our planet, and trys to tackle the critical change himslef.  Funny stuff.

A little awarness is a powerful tool,  and if you look around, things are changing.  Today is a day to celebrate it!

Stanley is extending the love for Earth Day,  and is giving away a bunch  (like 100) of these mugs to through Facebook, if they can get 422 followers by April 22, (my last count they had 335)  so sign up now,  and you will  have a good chance of scoring yourself an awesome mug!

Stanley’s Facebook Fan Page

It is the little things that are going to make the big difference, helping turn our communities into environmentally friendly places.  We can talk all we want about the grand picture of “greening” our country; it is not until we take those first tentative steps that anything is going to happen.  People who’s passion is the outdoors often lead this charge as they see the detrimental effects of the pollution we wreak upon our environment first-hand.  The surf industry here in Southern California have been leading this charge with organizations such as the Surfrider Foundation, and now ReSurf.org.

ReSurf.org has developed a system and a plan to gather used and abused surfboards,  ones that would normally be headed to our landfills, pulverizing them, and repurposing the byproducts into other industries.  The website says it best in its overview:

Resurf.org has researched and developed a system to recycle old, broken and discarded surfboards and surfboard manufacturing waste. Resurf.org was organized on a local level, but with a global plan to take the world’s broken surfboards and manufacturing waste and recycle the materials into other practical uses.

The process starts by collecting the broken pieces, pulverizing them, and reducing the material down to dust (imagine a modified wood chipper with a dust catcher!). The dust is then re-introduced into different industries into the manufacturing process as a re-usable resource. Resurf was founded to facilitate each and every surfer globally in reducing his or her personal environmental footprint.

Polartec and The North Face have teamed up to sponsor the “Be an Eco Champion” Social Media Campaign to promote and recognize green living.  In this program people will have the opportunity to via for $15000 dollars to the “green” charity of their choice and a $1000 gift certificate to The North Face online store.

“The Eco Champion campaign is a celebration of those individuals who dedicate their lives to making a difference in our world,” states Nate Simmons, Director of Marketing for Polartec. “Both Polartec and The North Face are committed to reducing their environmental impact through programs like the recycled Polartec fleece in The North Face Denali jacket, and we are thrilled to recognize others who embrace the world we live in.”

The contest is a two round affair, in which 25-finalist will be selected to compete for the grand prize.  Each of these finalists will receive a Denali Jacket now using recycled Polartec® Classic 300 fleece.  The winner will be determined through online voting.  The second and the third place finalist will also receive charitable donations in their name. “The health of our planet and the outdoors is an integral part of The North Face brand,” said Letitia Webster, Director of Corporate Sustainability for The North Face. “We are thrilled to partner with Polartec for the ‘Eco Champion’ challenge to offer such a powerful program in recognition of the individual contributions of committed people and demonstrate the tremendous collective input we can all have.”

Get your own The North Face Denali Jacket from REI

Swell Foop is a little t-shirt company out of Montana, selling a line of sustainable organic cotton t-shirts with nice artwork,  and positive environmental messages that make you go hmm….

Here is what they have to say about their products;

We began with a few shirts on a table at a Farmer’s Market out here in Montana. Thanks to you, we’re now spreading our positive message – and our sustainable products – across the country.

Our newest designs feature species that are particularly important to us in the West: the American bison, the grey wolf, and the grizzly bear. Humans have encroached on their habitat and threatened their survival, but dedicated conservation efforts are helping them recover. You can spot all three of them just an hour and a half from us in Yellowstone National Park.

Sometimes today’s environmental challenges can seem overwhelming. But we think that the difficulties facing us are actually opportunities in disguise. We live on a wonderful, resilient planet, and by adopting renewable energy technologies and adapting our lifestyles then we can lead a global green revolution (and with our shirts, be stylish too!).

Otto was kind enough to send me home with a couple of shirts for my kids,  and the reaction from them was enthusiastic.  They loved the cute animals, and the soft cotton of the t-shirts.  Supporting small local companies that have a stake in making our planet a better place is what it is all about. Swell Foop is one of those companies. So check out their unique gift ideas.

“‘I’ll never complain about being too busy again…’ Rep overheard’ as twittered by @canoelover explains a lot about the mood on the floor of the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market this week in Salt Lake City.  The recession that has been biting everyone hard for the last year or so is creeping into the outdoor gear market, and it was evident in the mood of the attendees.  Unless there is a significant turnaround in the next few months, many of vendors that were selling their wares at the winter market will not be around for the summer market.  Quality and innovation are the traits that critical to riding out the economic downturn.  I noticed some of the smallest gear makers had the most crowded booths.  The commonality running though these small companies (Mystery Ranch, Granite Gear, Western Mountaineering, ect.) were a reputation for quality gear.  As evident in a post in the Outdoor Retailer Show Daily Digest, there still is a demand for outdoor gear, but people are going to be more selective, and insist on gear that is going to perform well and last a long time.

Continued commitment to the making of Green Products

Despite the trouble many in the industry are facing, there is still a strong commitment among manufacturers to reducing their impact on the environment.  I was very happy to see that the commitment to the environment was not abandoned.

A good example of this commitment is from Nemo Equipment. In the fall of 2009 they will be introducing a tent that uses bamboo poles, and they are currently reusing old tents by making shopping bags from the fabric

Social Media and the Outdoors

Social Media played an interesting role at The Outdoor Retailer Winter Market.  Twitter made its debut during the show, and provided a near real-time glimpse into what was happening each day.  New and interesting products were Twittered to the demanding public, and the merits of this new gear were debated and hashed out world-wide within moments.  The role of Twitter and other Social Media sites in the Outdoor Industry were also a hotly debated topic during the show.  The amorphous role that social media plays as a business tool has led many to dub it as fad, or not worthy of their time.  There has been much debate as to how the users of these sites do not respond to advertising; therefore there is no money to be made by advertising through social media.

Whether advertising is ever viable on these sites it is important to understand where the real power of social media lies.  People have begun to use bloggers as a research tool to find independent opinions about the products they buy.  Social Media sites are a natural extension of this, allowing the conversation to extend to readers in near real time. The rules for social media in a business environment are still being written.  The only certainty is that is you do not participate; you will have no say.

What Backpacking Light has to say aboutSocial Medai and OR

ABC’s Article on the subject

My first attempt with a paperless device was several years ago with my now antiquated Handspring Visor. I used it to read electronic versions of several book, and soon gave up as the reading experience just did not come close to having a paper book in my hand. The process of buying and downloading books was a pain, and the selection was pathetic.  The Kindle (as well as its Sony counterpart the e-Reader) seem to address many of these problems. The e-paper display looks a lot more like a book (at least on the Sony e-Reader I tried at the bookstore) and the controls are more naturally intuitive. The 3G wireless capabilities are fantastic, downloading books and periodicals on demand.

The reason I mention the Kindle over the Sony is the reach in the publishing industry that that Amazon has. I was browsing the catalogue of books offered for the Kindle, and the selection is already impressive. Right down to the Wilderness Basics textbook that we will be using for WBC starting next Tuesday.

Does anyone own a Kindle or a Sony e-Reader . Is it worth the steep price tag? Are they going to revolutionize publishing, as we know it? Let us know.

While the concept of raping San Diego Bay is not new, isn’t time we stopped it.  The stretch of area they are talking of filling in for an airport is critical to the health of the ecosystem that exists in our bay.  Fortunately enough people see the travesty in filling in San Diego’s only natural protected waterway to leave this project stuff of legend.  My question is why would someone go to all of the effort to patent an idea like this?

Gadling’s Article

Sign On San Diego