Character Bound Books

Here’s an environmentally friendly way to eradicate weeds. Added bonus? It’s much cheaper than any chemical treatment.

One of the really beautiful things about Dr. Seuss was that his books were often filled with incredible layers of subtext about issues that mainstream children’s books weren’t dealing with at the time. A couple of examples: The Sneetches (racial equality), Yertle the Turtle (authoritarianism), and of course The Lorax.

The Lorax is a children’s story written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1971. The tale chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax (a “mossy, bossy” man-like creature), who speaks for the trees against the greedy Once-ler….

The book is commonly recognized as a parable concerning industrialized society, using the literary element of personification to give life to industry as the Once-ler (whose face is never shown in all of the story’s illustrations) and to the environment as the Lorax.

You can click here to watch the video. Highly recommended.

Captain Lo-Watt was well received at Beaumont High School’s rally this past week. 

“When teacher Jennifer Martin was looking for a way to motivate more students to participate in Beaumont High School’s recycling program, Captain Lo-Watt came to the rescue.

“And she was right — they received him well,” he said. “In fact, they all got up and roared when we were done.”

Captain Lo-Watt created by author Amy M. Johnson , who made his debut earlier this month, encourages local youngsters to conserve and recycle.

“I created a superhero to bring environmental awareness to children in a fun and exciting way,” Johnson said.

She founded Character Bound Books in January 2008 and is working on a book series about Captain Lo-Watt and his friends.

“I am developing this series of books with friendly characters and colorful illustrations so that children could connect with them,” she said.

Martin started the schoolwide recycling program about a year ago. Right now the school collects plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

“Teachers have jumped on board and put bins in classrooms and in the office,” Martin said.

Principal Marilyn Saucedo said one positive byproduct of the program has been the cleanliness of the campus. Recycling also generates funds for the student body, besides the environmental benefits.

“Kids are more conscious about conservation these days,” Saucedo said. “They are ready for this. It’s going to be their world so they have a stake in it.”

Captain Lo-Watt is excited that kids are more conscious about conservation and will be continuing to work to bring awareness and make a positive impact in regards to all forms of conservation.

After you watch this video, you’ll be able to impress your friends with your (nearly) prodigious knowledge about CFLs.

There’s a running dilemma for some surrounding compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) re their housing of mercury, which legitimately is a neurotoxin. One big problem is the lack of a properly educated public re proper disposal.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency program concedes that not enough has been done to urge people to recycle CFL bulbs and make it easier for them to do so.

“I share your frustration that there isn’t a national infrastructure for the proper recycling of this product,” says Wendy Reed, who manages EPA’s Energy Star program. That programs gives the compact bulbs its “energy star” seal of approval.

Something to consider in this debate though…

She says that even though fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, using them contributes less mercury to the environment than using regular incandescent bulbs. That’s because they use less electricity — and coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of mercury emissions in the air.

“The compact fluorescent light bulb is a product people can use to positively influence the environment to… prevent mercury emissions as well as greenhouse gas emissions. And it’s something that we can do now — and it’s extremely important that we do do it,” Reed says. “And the positive message is, if you recycle them, if you dispose of them properly, then they’re doing a world of good.”

FYI, here’s a real world solution. Every Home Depot will recycle them for you. And it’s free (pdf). And speaking of free, they’ll be giving away 1 million free CFLs on April 19.

Captain Lo-Watt made his first public debut at the Western Center for Archeology and Paleontology and the Diamond Valley Lake visitors center.

Captain Lo-Watt was well received and passed out over a hundred Conserve, Conserve books authored by Amy Johnson. Amy’s book teaches children how then can make a difference in their own home by conserving energy while her future book series will introduce new characters teaching other forms of conservation including fuel efficient cars, water conservation and recycling.

This is an exciting time as we will soon be involved in making presentations in schools to teach about recycling and making positive impact in their community no matter their age. Check back soon to learn about our next public appearance.

This Saturday, March 28th @ 8:30 local time, 2,848 cities, towns and municipalities in 84 countries will be participating in Earth Hour 2009. 

“Earth Hour was conceived by World Wildlife Fund as a way to raise awareness among the general public about climate change and to convey that by working together, each of us can have a positive impact. Last year during Earth Hour 2008, more than 50 million people in more than 400 cities around the world turned off their lights to demonstrate their commitment to joining this global movement to encourage the world to take action on one of the most urgent issues facing our planet.”

Come join us and make a difference by electing to participate for a green earth and make an impact on global warming by voting with your light switch this Saturday.

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