The Empire State building is lit red today to raise awareness about dolphin hunting and the film The Cove

The Cove is the award-winning documentary that sheds light on the covert dolphin hunting culture in Japan. National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos directed the film, and it provides a shocking, undercover look at dolphin hunting in a cove in Taiji, Japan. You can check out the film's trailer right here:

Our pal Asher Jay hipped us to the tribute and shared the beautiful image at the top of this post with us. Asher says:

I had the incredible privilege of meeting Ric O'Barry in person last evening for dinner, a long time personal hero of mine, whose unfettered commitment to cetaceans large and small serves as a continual source of inspiration to me. He is living proof that an individual can make a difference, that a single voice can incite a global shift in consciousness. The lighting of the Empire State building today, Dec 9th 2011, salutes his profound connection to the dolphins being slaughtered in Taiji, Japan. I think it is absolutely crucial that everyone watches The Cove, as this 2009 Academy Award winning documentary is a compelling look at a large range of interconnected environmental issues through the microcosmic reality of dolphin culling in the cove. People assume that this movie is a bloodfest, but having seen it myself I can assure everyone that the narrative is eloquently and elegantly portrayed so as to not repulse the audience but educate them.

Take a picture of the Empire State this evening as it sheds red honor on the dolphins in Taiji and hashtag it #TheCove on twitter or spread the word to your friends via other social media conduits, you need not be in Taiji to lend a voice today. Log on to thecovemovie.com to know more and to take action now!

The lighting ceremony happened on account of Leilana Munter's initiative, an environmental enthusiast who has already made three trips to Taiji in an effort to contribute and raise awareness for the unnecessary and cruel culling of dolphins there. The ceremony took place on Dec 9th 2011 at 10:00 a.m., in the presence of Ric O Barry, Leilana Munter, John Leguizamo, Louie Psihoyos and Steven Fisher.

Dan Nelson, long time friend of Louie Psihoyos, has just launched Cove Wines LLC, to support OPS (Ocean Preservation Society) and the organization's relentless campaign to scupper and stop the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji Japan. Look up http://www.thecovewines.com/. I had the immense honor of receiving one of three Zinfandel bottles east of the Mississippi with signatures from Louie Psihoyos, Ric O Barry and Dan Nelson last evening! To me the wine in that bottle is now the holy grail of the environmental movement, I am never uncorking it!

Dolphin Hunting: What You Can Do

The best way to help Japanese dolphins is to spread the word about this practice, and the folks at The Cove make it easy to get heard. Here are some ways that you can help:

• Sign their petition to help save the dolphins
• Donate to Save Japan Dolphins, a group working to end dolphin hunting in Japan
• Donate to Ocean Preservation Society

Image Image via Asher Jay, used with permission

And now, GreenAnswers will plant a tree for every new member and keep on planting for questions asked or answered.

To plant the trees, GreenAnswers has partnered with one of our favorite non-profits, Trees, Water & People. TWP has been working with communities in Central America for over twelve years to help protect and manage their natural resources. In that time, TWP has planted over 3 million trees that provide fruit, timber, and firewood to the local communities.

In some cases it is undoubtedly true that "ignorance is bliss." We all must pick our battles in life if only to maintain our sanity. In other cases though, there are simple, easy things we can do that will profoundly better our world-- and this is why you should watch The Cove, an exciting, emotional documentary that suggests that we really have to do very little to keep over 20,000 dolphins from being pointlessly slaughtered each year in Japan.

I confess that it took me and my wife almost a week to watch The Cove after we received it from Netflix. I had heard that it was an outstanding documentary. But I thought the subject would be depressing. Day after day when we sat down for some evening television and web-browsing, the documentary kept losing out to NBA playoff games and TV movie tripe like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Finally, my wife put down her foot and said that we were wasting our money. We had to watch the movie.

Before I say more about the film, a slight aside: two years ago Slate magazine's John Swansburg conducted an informal poll about "The Netflix rentals Slate readers just can't bring themselves to watch." Out of 1000 responses, Hotel Rwanda and Schindler's List came out on top.

As Swansburg noted, "Hotel Rwanda is that rare movie about a devastating subject that nevertheless feels like something you really do need to see. The same goes for Schindler's List, which finished a close second among Slate readers. Both appeal to the lofty sense of ourselves that comes to the fore when we're managing our queues. Neither feels especially appealing after a long day at the office."

If Slate were conduct this poll again in about 6 months, I bet that The Cove would pop up to nearly the top of the list. But after watching it, I was impressed that despite its most graphic, soul-crushing scenes, even among documentaries this one was extremely entertaining, educational, and inspiring.

For the uninitiated, The Cove might as well be described as a thriller. Here's the setup:  in the coastal Japanese village of Taiji, each year community fishermen work collectively to drive thousands of bottle-nosed dolphins into shore, so that they first can sell a few select dolphins to aquariums, hotels, and anywhere else that wants to host captive dolphin shows. Next, the dolphins that are not selected are moved somewhere else, never to be seen again. This place is in fact "the Cove," a hidden, high security facility that exists within a Japanese National Park.

Roger Ebert eloquently describes the rest in his review:

"The Cove," a heartbreaking documentary, describes how Richard O'Barry, director Louie Psihoyos and a team of adventurers penetrated the tight security around the Taiji cove and obtained forbidden footage of the mass slaughter of dolphins. Divers were used to sneak cameras into the secret area; the cameras, designed by Industrial Light and Magic, were hidden inside fake rocks that blended with the landscape.

The logistics of their operation, captured by night-vision cameras at times, has the danger and ingenuity of a caper film. The stakes are high: perhaps a year in prison. The footage will temper the enjoyment of your next visit to see performing dolphins.

Ebert is right, and I will even go further and say that the last thing he mentions is what is most important.

In the film we are introduced to Ric O'Barry. In the 1960s O'Barry worked for the Miami Seaquarium as a dolphin trainer. His talent was recognized, and so he was asked to capture and train the five dolphins that would be featured on the popular television show Flipper. O'Barry suggests that the show's popularity led to the huge surge of interest in live dolphin shows around the world. In other words, he was an essential contributor to the growth of the industry-- and as a result, the mass slaughter of dolphins that would eventually take place in Japan.

In a rare case of a 180 degree life-turns, O'Barry left behind a life of wealth and fame to help destroy the industry he helped create.  In many ways The Cove is his story. It is reflective of our own tendencies to love animals to death-- even when we might be ignorant of how our actions hurt animals more than than help them.

The answer to preventing the slaughter of dolphins that occurs in Japan is pretty simple: make people aware of what's happening and destroy the demand. How big of a sacrifice is it to choose not to go see a dolphin show? Not a very big one in my estimation, especially if you know you that it might help to prevent the needless slaughter of over 20,000 dolphins a year. I've written before about the costs of animal captivity in comparison to the benefits of having animals available for educational purposes, and The Cove makes it clear that in the case of whales and dolphins, captivity is immoral.

But beyond this message, there are other interesting things I learned by watching The Cove. For instance, I never knew that dolphins are actually whales. The reason that we do not think of them as whales is in part because the corrupt International Whaling Commission does not recognize them as species meriting protection. We also learn about how Japan has assembled a voting bloc within the International Whaling Commission that agrees with its perspective without hesitation. They accomplished this feat by bribing small developing nations in the Caribbean with investment dollars.

While many have voiced concerns that the documentary unfairly critiques Japanese culture, the film itself notes that most Japanese people do not even know about the slaughter occurring in "the Cove." They have been kept in the dark. In fact, this past week several theaters in Japan refused to show the film because of protests from people who thought the film was insulting to Japan's culture (after seeing the documentary, you might be inclined to think the people behind these protests are actually paid censors).

To partially defend Japan, other countries like the United States have similarly inconsistent practices that could be labeled as evil, bad, or corrupt. For instance, when I thought about the mistreatment of dolphins in The Cove, as an American I instantly began to ponder how our factory farms were any better. Animals like cows and chickens are treated just as poorly. We just do not think of their tortured deaths as tragic because they are domesticated animals that Americans eat regularly (rather than wild ones), that also do not have toxic levels of mercury in their bodies (as dolphins do). While I have not seen it yet, my guess is that the new documentary Food, Inc., is something of American companion version of The Cove. My guess is that it's actually a lot harder to stomach than The Cove, because it probably demands its viewers to change their food buying habits substantially-- and this gets us back to my premise.

So why should you watch The Cove? Because it's a damn entertaining film, you will learn some things, and you will only need to do one very important thing: choose not to go see whale and dolphin shows. That's a pretty low price to pay to save over 20,000 dolphins a year.

If you like Levi's writing, you can follow him on Facebook or Twitter

Or visit his website at www.levinovey.com

"Equal Exchange started with an idea: what if food could be traded in a way that is honest and fair, a way that empowers both farmers and consumers? What if trade supported family farms that use organic methods, rather than industrialized agribusinesses that rely on harmful chemicals? Their mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world."

The contest ends on May 22nd so head over to The Good Human to find out how to win and thank them for 4 years of great work while your there!

If you're reading this site, chances are the you're looking to make a change, either in your own life or something on a larger scale. Maybe you belong to an activist group or maybe you're just doing the best you can on your own. The social networking site Evolver is a fantastic resource for pulling our efforts together in one central place.

Through their networks both on- and offline, the group helps like-minded folks get connected. Like S. Corey Thomas said at the start of the "spore meeting" that I recently attended here in Atlanta, Evolver wants to "hold the umbrella up, and we can all climb underneath it."

Just like any social media site, Evolver lets you join groups, post about events, and connect with people.

Evolver has regional groups all over the world, that hold periodic meetups. The meetups, or spore meetings, are all held on the same day each month with the same theme. That means that whether you attend a meeting in Atlanta or in Sydney, you can feel a connection to that larger movement.

The spore meetings are a great way to connect with likeminded folks in your community and around the world. If there isn't a spore meeting in your area or you're looking to connect with folks about a specific issue, Evolver has you covered in that department, too! From groups about food systems to yoga, Evolver's umbrella covers a lot. Don't see a group that addresses the issue that's important to you? It's easy to start your own!

If you're working on something specific and need help from the community, you can submit your project along with what sort of help you need. It's easy to keep up with your friends' projects with just a click, too!

Want to get involved? You can sign up for Evolver, maybe join a group, or find an event near you!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by ception

The sweepstakes started during Climate Week, the last week in September. Folks can enter until December 7, when they'll have a random drawing for prizes. December 7th also happens to be the first day of the United Nation's COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Coincidence? Goodness, no!

Here are the deets, including how to enter and a video on what this giveaway is all about:

When you sign up, you'll not only be entered into the drawing, but you'll get updates on simple actions you can take to help make a change. Here's a quick video about the project:

At the end of the sweepstakes, We Add Up will choose over 230 winners. They've got some pretty rad prizes lined up, like a 4 day backpacking trip at Glacier National Park in Montana, $2,500 worth of Natural Yards custom raised bed gardens shipped to your door, and LED Christmas lights from Environmental Lights! If you want to register to win, you can head on over to We Add Up to enter!

[via Cosa Verde]

Colin Beavan, a.k.a "No Impact Man," only bought from local food sources as part of his rigid one year "environmental experiment" that was made into a documentary.

One of this year's most anticipated environmental documentaries has just been released. While currently only playing in Los Angeles and New York, so far No Impact Man, the film about a man and his family taking "extreme" measures to reduce their environmental impact, is getting mostly positive reviews. The popular website rottentomatoes.com currently lists the movie as having an 82% rating, with 14 out of 17 reviewers giving it positive reviews:

Here's a sampling of what some early reviewers have said about No Impact Man:

One of my personal favorite reviewers, Dana Stevens of Slate, humorously expressed mixed feelings:

Colin Beavan's self-important solemnity, and the passive-aggressive pleasure he seems to take in depriving others of their pleasure, makes reducing your environmental footprint look so unappealing that you want to drive straight to McDonald's in a Humvee. And yet the film's refusal to either idealize or ridicule its subject becomes, in the end, the virtue that makes it stick with you...But it's hard not to admire their shared commitment to a project that, in some attenuated form, many of us would like to emulate in our own lives. Bring on the cloth diapers and compost boxes, but you'll have to pry the toilet paper out of my cold, dead hands.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of the website Spirituality and Practice were able to visualize themselves to a greater extent in the scenario that the characters faced:

Part of the pleasure in watching this documentary comes from trying to discern how we would handle the challenges and frustrations of such a daunting lifestyle change. It is far easier to side with Michele who is willing to bend the rules rather than follow her husband's strict regimen. The filmmakers enable us to see and appreciate the compromise and dialogue which must take place in a marriage when one person is ten miles down the road and the other is trying desperately to keep up. Husband and wife are rarely in the same place at the same time.

Aaron Hillis of The Village Voice has given one of the least favorable reviews, making some weird complaint that Beavan's one-year experiment is a gimmick, as if Beavan is going to wake up the next day and go eat at McDonalds and shop at Walmart saying, "Thank God that's over." (Perhaps Hillis is just jealous for some reason, or want's to be one the first to dislike something most other people will probably like?):

We could all do better, definitely (be sure to sneak in your reusable bottles instead of buying from the concession stand!), but how much can we possibly glean from a guy whose idealism can be measured with a calendar?

Nicolas Rapold of Time Out New York suggests that the film has a fun vibe but has a weak conclusion:

No Impact Man eventually runs out of gas—or rather, pedal-power—as the filmmakers grope for how to cap the Beavans’ story. If you caught Colin on his extensive media rounds at the time, you might already know the climax. At least the doc avoids harangues, even if it could use a bit more scientific background.

In what is likely to eventually be a tiresome chorus of "they took one for the team" type opinions, Betsy Sharker of The Los Angeles Times cleverly expresses her own:

In between the visits to organic farms, the disposable diaper debate, the trips to the farmers market and the games of charades that have replaced the TV as entertainment, the film ultimately is more practical than profound, a slightly smartened-up "Dummy's Guide to Green Living," which, as you learn, most of us probably know a good deal less about than we imagine.

It's also a voyeuristic way to try some of the more demanding changes on for size without any of the pain. Beavan and Conlin take care of that for us.

David Edelstein of New York Magazine seems more optimistic in his thinking:

No Impact Man—film and book—could well end up an instruction manual.

At the Daily Green, four people provided excellent reviews of the film, but these passages from Brian Clark Howard and Dan Shapley were the most interesting for me:

[Howard]: At points in the film I wanted to get more information about the changes the Beavan clan was making, and about how big changes do really add up. I wanted to see infographics and statistics flash across the screen. But by the end of the film I changed my mind. I decided that the minimalist, low-fi camera work and lack of fancy splash screens and graphics played to the movie's subject perfectly. Although this is a savvy, successful Manhattan couple, they are trying to find more simplicity in their lives, more meaning. There have been plenty of opportunities for people to get the facts on the environment, but too few are reacting with their hearts.

[Shapley]: The other thing I loved about this movie was a point it didn't make explicitly. The couple's young daughter, Isabella, appears to be totally unaffected by the experiment. At the beginning of the movie, she's barely verbal, and by the end, she's beginning to form sentences. She seems not to suffer from reusable cloth diapers, six months without electricity or locally derived homemade food. She's just a kid, who, if anything, takes joy in washing the family's clothes with their feet in the bathtub and spending more summer evenings with mom and dad outside in the park. Lifestyle changes for adults are hard, the movie shows. For kids, they aren't changes at all. That gives me more hope than anything else that we can, as a society, live more sustainably without being any less happy.

But until Roger Ebert publishes his review, the one that's sure to be the most referenced will be from The New York Times' always intellectual A.O. Scott. In this perplexing and interesting review, he is quite harsh toward environmentalists and toward Beavan. He even goes out of his way to make Beavan seem like an abusive husband (maybe he is-- I haven't seen the movie). I think he sensed that much of his hatred for the movie as a publicity stunt would come off negatively with the environmental crowd, and so he tossed out a small olive branch at the end to protect his hide:

Taken as a polemical documentary championing environmentally conscious action, “No Impact Man,” directed by Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein, is of little interest and less utility. It provides no new scientific insights or political arguments, and celebrates various behavioral changes without assessing their value or importance. Mr. Beavan’s evangelical, self-congratulatory demeanor has the effect, especially early in the film, of playing to the unfortunate perception that what drives many environmentalists is, above all, the need to feel superior to their neighbors and fellow citizens...

Not everyone will want to come along. And I remain unconvinced that the cause of planetary rescue will be advanced very far by what is, in the end, an elaborate stunt. But as a professional writer, a New York husband and a man with a compost bin, an organic-produce fetish and a guilty conscience, I can’t, in the end (all appearances to the contrary), judge Mr. Beavan or this film too severely. Making an impact is easy. Making a difference is hard.

So, what do you think? Are you going to see No Impact Man? If you've not yet seen the preview for the movie, then you can watch it below.