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Plastic Bag No Pants Takes on Hello Kitty for Eco Fame
By: Jeff - 
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Hello Kitty, the ubiquitous Japanese icon, is facing some competition from a plastic bag.
Charles Ward, an English transplant in Japan, calls it Fukuro-Chan, and it’s much more lovable than you might imagine.
The Ward-created character looks like a colorless, pantless SpongeBob, and tells kids about ways to waste less, as in not using plastic bags, reusing, recycling and the like.
I think. It’s all in Japanese, and my Japanese is rusty, as in I-don’t-speak-a-word.
The character was reportedly inspired by all the plastic bag waste that Ward saw in Japan. Did he have to go that far to find it?
The character has appeared in comic strips and films, like this one.
The song here sounds like a Japanese version of “La Cucaracha.” The cockroach to crush is unnecessary waste from plastic bags and other disposable items, including wooden chopsticks. Fukuro-chan means “plastic bag.”
Any kid, anywhere is bound to get the message. It’s almost better that the words are lost on English speakers. “Fun” is one English word shown in the video. Climate change also is shown to melt plastic bags.
Do you get it? Let us know in the comments below. Maybe Fukuro-chan is too cute for his own good?
The 40th anniversary of Earth Day
By: Kelly McNair - Print This Post
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The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is almost upon us. The world powers cannot agree on how to cut carbon emissions and then there is the ongoing debate over the validity of global warming. But global warming and carbon emissions are only part of what “Going Green” and Earth Day is all about. While the powers that be sort out the global issues, we can all continue to do our part to take care of our planet. Read More »
Simplistic Switch
By: Eloah James - Print This Post
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I heard about a new website by Philips, called “A Simple Switch.” They take a survey and based on your answers, they tell you what “color” your energy is, from bright green A to bright red G. Then they give you some ideas for how to improve your energy color “score” to make it more green. It sounded like a pretty cool idea, so I took the plunge and spent 5 minutes answering their survey. Granted, I am sure their primary goal is to sell energy efficient Philips products, but I was not very impressed. Read More »
