A Sea Change premiers on US TV Sept. 26 on Planet Green, 8 pm. It’s the first film about the EVIL TWIN of CLIMATE CHANGE, ocean acidification.

Will you help make a HUGE SPLASH and let Americans know about the threat excess carbon dioxide poses to ocean life?

If you have cable or satellite TV, please INVITE FRIENDS or FAMILY over to watch with you, discuss, and take action!

Just go to the Sea Change page on Brave New Theaters to host your own viewing party: http://aseachange.bravenewtheaters.com/

**BONUS** If you’re hosting a house party on Sept. 26 to watch Planet Green, we’ll send you a FREE DVD to say THANKS for helping get out the word out about climate change and the ocean! **BONUS**

“This film is both a love letter to the planet and an urgent plea to its citizens.”—Justin Berton, San Francisco Chronicle

“Ocean acidification is the flip side of global warming and if you have children, grandchildren or any investment in life as we know it continuing on this planet, this is a must-see film.”—Marin Maven

Imagine a world without fish. It’s a frightening possibility, and it could come true. A Sea Change follows the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby on his quest to discover what is happening to the world’s oceans. After reading Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Darkening Sea,” Sven becomes obsessed with the rising acidity of the oceans and what this “sea change” bodes for mankind. His quest takes him to Alaska, California, Washington, and Norway as he uncovers a worldwide crisis that most people are unaware of. Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Sven discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us. Excess carbon dioxide is dissolving in our oceans, changing sea water chemistry. The more acidic water makes it difficult for tiny creatures at the bottom of the food web to form their shells. The effects could work their way up to the fish 1 billion people depend upon for their source of protein.

A Sea Change is also a touching portrait of Sven’s relationship with his grandchild Elias. As Sven keeps a correspondence with the little boy, he mulls over the world that he is leaving for future generations. A disturbing and essential companion piece to An Inconvenient Truth, A Sea Change brings home the indisputable fact that our lifestyle is changing the earth, despite our rhetoric or wishful thinking.

A Sea Change is the first documentary about ocean acidification, directed by Barbara Ettinger and co-produced by Sven Huseby of Niijii Films. Chock full of scientific information, the feature-length film is also a beautiful paen to the ocean world and an intimate story of a Norwegian-American family whose heritage is bound up with the sea.

My Mom, and fellow We Add Up co-founder, is coming to visit me today in NYC!  I’m so excited, as this is her first trip here since I moved here in January.  As I’m putting together our itinerary, I’m a little flummoxed.  So few days together, so many restaurants, what to choose?  We’re both vegetarian, so it does limit our options.  Well, a few weeks ago, when I attended a screening of the documentary Food, Inc. (which EVERY ONE should see), I ran into Jared Koch and his book, “Clean Plates NYC.” So glad I did, because this guide to the “healthiest tastiest restuarants in Manhattan for vegetarians and carnivores” is sure to steer us the right way.  And impress Mom.  Plan for this evening?  Head down to the Union Square farmer’s market, then dinner at either Tabla (contemporary Indian) or Pure Food & Wine (gourmet raw vegan), and then to a rooftop fundraising party for City Council candidate Brent O’Leary.  A perfect mix of Local, Organic, and Politics.  Should make Mom happy!  I’ll let you know if either of the restaurants live up to their reviews as one of the 75 best resaurants in NYC for the mindful eater.

By Donna Abbruzzese

Our science classroom at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland, NY investigated the greenhouse effect and its impact on global climate change. After a series of inquiry labs, both hands on and computer simulations, with additional follow-up investigation using the NOAA website I was ready to move on - however, the students were determined to find ways to limit the accumulation of greenhouse gases and their impact on the planet. My job at that point became one of facilitator rather than teacher!

The results were that the students investigated and identified simple steps that individuals could take to limit the production of carbon dioxide. After viewing many examples of effective public service announcements, they produced their own PSAs. Taking it another step further they committed to spreading the word through a science expo. In preparation they created informational displays and designed hands’ on activities to illustrate and motivate people to commit to action.

While at an NSTA conference in Cincinnati I happened upon the We Add Up display and brought information back to my students. They loved the idea of the unique-ness of the shirts and were eager to purchase them. The students agreed unanimously to donate any money raised by selling t-shirts to an ongoing project our school has undertaken to provide a water pump for an African village. In that way this project turned out to have many benefits - the environment and our fellow humans!

After all was said and done the Science Expo was a great hit, with well over 200 people from the community attending! The t-shirt sale and a bake sale that the students organized for the Expo resulted in the donation of $600 to the water pump project! Perhaps the most important benefit was the experience and sense of pride that the students are taking away from this multi-faceted project, in addition, they are now truly committed to continuing their work to improve the environment and take action to promote environmental awareness.

I couldn’t be prouder of my students!

Donna Abbruzzese
Farnsworth Middle School
Guilderland, NY

We Add Up now has a fan page on Facebook!  Please become a fan here:  http://www.facebook.com/weaddup.  We’re going to be doing major giveaways all throughout the year of We Add Up products and other green products we love.  Word around the office is there is going to be a MAJOR prize announced in the next week or two…   It’s also a place for you to post pictures of you and your friends and family in your We Add Up gear!  And, most of all, our fan page is a place to really interact with us and each other, share links, share tips, and generate new thoughts.  We always say that we have the best customers in the world, we truly enjoy you and appreciate you.  We look forward to getting to know you better on Facebook!  Become a fan today!

I planted a vegetable garden for the first time in 15 years. In February when the weather was dreary, I watched the PBS “This Old House” guys build a raised bed vegetable garden. It was the construction and creating part that intrigued me and I thought, “I want to make one”.

The first thing I did, while I was excited about the project, was buy some organic seeds and starter mix. I was very ambitious and started tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, watermelon, cantalope, cucumber, zucchini, and some lavender inside. This made me follow through with the hard labor of clearing space and building this garden when the weather broke.

I thought the raised bed could be a first step toward solving the deer problem I have, too. The challenge was fun. I bought 6 ten foot 2 x 10 treated lumber and a bunch of 2 x 4’s and built a 10′ x 20′ box with the 2 x 4’s extending the full length vertically. The guys in the show cut these corner braces flush but I figured if I used a whole piece and left it, I could use that to attach deer netting. It was really fun and rewarding to resolve the challenges that came along. I enlisted the help of my very patient boyfriend in digging out all that grass, screwing the wood together and then filling the box with 5 yards of organic garden soil. There isn’t certification for organic landscape material, but this was a mix of top soil and peat, taken from clean land that had not been farmed or leached upon, and manure.

Then came the planting. It filled up fast with all the seedlings I had grown, along with the seeds I wanted to plant directly in the bed: carrots, lettuce, beets, beans, peas, and spinach! I bought a few heirloom tomato plants and put those in too. I planted marigolds along the border to deter the rabbits and the deer too, and I looked up what plants like to grow next to each other. This helps in their optimal growth, nutrition and resisting pests. The watermelon and cantalope didn’t make it in and are taking their chances along side my driveway, but I have some of all the rest and we’ll see what does well this year and then make adjustments for next year!

Its so satisfying and calming to have a garden, and especially an organic garden. Learning about the plants and how to grow them without spraying them down with chemicals is very connecting to the life force. It feels so clean and pure. My yard and home have come alive again. I love just looking at it. And the deer netting is working! A fawn, with its mother a few feet away, was right next to the garden the other day and just ate the grass outside it! This project has led to more plants growing in pots on my deck too! I rooted the larger suckers I break off my tomatoes and started some herbs…basil, dill, parsley, sage, stevia, lavender. I’m looking forward to lots of fresh tomatoes this year! Oh my. There will be a lot share with family and friends, which is another great benefit to growing your own garden. It feels great!

- Judy (Mother and Co-Founder)