Guest poster, Abby Ray,  who used to spearhead media outreach for the Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit organization, wrote this amazing post months ago.   I just found it amongst a series of draft articles.  Time moves so quickly that Abby is now a master’s candidate in the Sustainability Management Program at Columbia University .   Go Abby! (Sorry Abby posting this article took so long.) She also writes a local NJ blog called ecoMotown.com that focuses on eco-friendly living in Morristown and the vicinity.  Welcome, Abby!

When you stop at your local coffee shop to order your large latté, do you ever stop to think about where your coffee beans come from? What about the wood patio furniture you’re lounging on? The flowers you buy for your sweetheart? If you’re like most people, why would you? Those goods are certain to have come from a long way away.

Why should you care about these everyday things? Well, the chair you’re sitting on could be illegally logged, hurting the livelihoods of legitimate foresters and potentially causing massive habitat destruction. That organic coffee you’re drinking? Sure, it might not have been grown without chemicals, but what if the farmer recently cleared a pristine rainforest to be able to grow that coffee? Often times, forests are worth more when they’re gone and farmers can use them to grow cash crops like soy and palm oil – or use them to graze cattle.

You might be thinking now – well, is anything safe? There’s no way I can possibly worry about all of these things. That’s why the Rainforest Alliance has done your homework for you; we’ve made it easy to be a responsible consumer. We’re an international nonprofit organization that works with farmers, foresters and hoteliers, typically in areas of high biodiversity, to help them manage their land and businesses in a sustainable way. We also work with companies in the U.S. and Europe to create connections to those farmers, foresters and hoteliers so that they have buyers for those sustainable goods.

Farms – whether they grow coffee, cocoa, tea, bananas, flowers or sugar — that meet strict standards on sustainability can earn the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. You, as a consumer, can look for that seal (a little green frog) when you’re out at the grocery store.

Rainforest Alliance Certified farms protect waterways, curb deforestation, promote wildlife conservation, reduce agrochemical use, protect workers rights, and provide decent wages and housing to farm workers as well as access to education for farm children.

When it comes to wood, we are the leading certifier of the Forest Stewardship Council, the gold standard of responsible forestry. When buying wood or paper goods, consumers can vote for the more sustainable option by picking something that is FSC-certified. FSC-certified wood can be traced back all the way to the forest, where local and indigenous community rights are respected, workers have safe working conditions and landowners have created a forest management plan to help conserve waterways and wildlife habitat.

And because tourism can have such a huge impact on areas of high biodiversity (like the tropics), the Rainforest Alliance has developed a sustainable tourism program. Right now our searchable database of hotels that work with us on improving their sustainability includes operations throughout Latin America, and we’ll be expanding soon.

I encourage fellow Green Talk readers to vote with your spending dollars! Each time you buy a certified sustainable product, you are showing companies and farmers that you support them for doing the right thing. If you don’t see certified products at your local retailers, be sure to request those products. Businesses respond to consumer demand for certification, which will support sustainable farming and forestry and ensure that workers and wildlife are protected.

Editor’s note:  I have spent an hour on the Rainforest Alliance website. A must read.   If you are a teacher, they have wonderful resources.  I urge you to support their fine work making it possible for generations to come to keep the Rainforest intact.

Logo courtesy of the RainForest Alliance.

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There is nothing like a great video that tells it like it is on a Monday morning. UnF–kTheGulf.com says it all. Kind of like a cup of Joe to get the blood running through your body.  In this case, F’in mad blood since our gulf is running black not blue because BP can’t shut the F’in hole.

Watch the video below which features a cross section of people mad as hell using the F-bomb to take BP to task.

Oil Spill Charity “F-Bomb-A-Thon” from UnF–kTheGulf.com on Vimeo.

According to the press release from one of the co-producers, Luke Montgomery,

“The no-holds-barred clip shows people wearing a black T-shirt that reads “UNF–K THE GULF” and cutting loose on BP in a way that millions of Americans only wish that leaders, from the president to news anchors, had the guts to do. The T-shirts are sold on the group’s website for $13 each, with $5 going directly to four Gulf wildlife rescue and environmental charities. The site allows the public to vote on how the funds are spent.”

Montgomery and  Nate Guidas, producers of the video, hope to raise $25,000 for the sale of the shirts.

But why the F word, Montgomery?

“While some may find their approach offensive, Montgomery responds saying “What’s truly offensive is not a four-letter word but the lack of response from the federal government, dolphins blowing oil out of their f–king blowholes and BP blocking reporters from the beaches they f–ked up.” Guidas adds, “Our video shows people calling it like they see it and the T-shirt let’s people do good and look good doing it. Who knew that by putting on a T-shirt you could be helping take oil off of birds and sea turtles?”

So, what can you do?

Buy a T-shirt. They are $13, in which $5 is donated to the clean-up cause.

Share this article or UnF–kTheGulf.com site with all of your social media buddies.  (You can either share through my little “Share this” tab below or go to the UnF–kTheGulf.com website, and it is easy as pie to click on the social media buttons of your choice.) Let’s get this video go viral. We are social media mavens, hear us roar!

Vote on how you think the money should be spent. The following groups are listed:

“Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation:

Louisiana Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, lawraonline.com

Coordinating the rescue of wildlife & matching experts with animals.

Oil Spill Volunteer Mobilization:

LA Gulf Response, lagulfresponse.org

Organizing a volunteer army on the ground to assist Gulf recovery.

Lawsuit To Stop BP’s New Drilling:

Earthjustice, earthjustice.org

Suing in federal court to stop BP’s dangerous exploratory oil drilling.

Stopping Offshore Drilling:

Greenpeace, greenpeace.org/usa

Working to prevent eco disasters by promoting clean energy policy.

NOTE: We’re supporting the great work of these organizations but our F-word-filled website was not created or endorsed by any of these groups.”

Tell five friends. We all have them right?  If not, you always have family.

Follow @unF’The Gulf (not the correct spelling but altered to keep the site clean. The link is correct.)

Just get mad as hell, and do something F’in about it.

Readers, let me know if you shared the video, emailed to your friends, bought a t-shirt, and/or are following unF’TheGulf?  What has been the response from your friends?  Comment below…

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My friend, Beth of Fake Plastic Fish, sent me this inspiring video made by Four Year. Go, a campaign to change the world.  It begs the question, where will we be in four years with all the problems we have on our plate today.  With this Campaign, there is hope at the end of the tunnel?

According to the campaign, the next four years will determine Earth’s next 1000 years.

“The background context for the campaign is the belief that the extent of mounting crises for humanity is daunting—profound climate disruption, wide and deep poverty, global water shortages, loss of topsoil, depletion of fisheries, erosion of democracy, unsustainable population growth, mass extinction of plant and animal species, economic breakdown. And these crises are in fact completely inter-related.

More and more people are recognizing the urgency of the situation but seem unable to muster the vision and commitment needed to cause a change in course.  It is now clear that the human species already possesses all the technologies and practical solutions required to resolve the crises confronting us. What is missing is a collective sense of possibility and the political and popular will to act—urgently, globally, collaboratively.

There is a limited window of opportunity, maybe just four years, to execute a great turning; four years for people to get motivated and involved; four years to apply the solutions we already know; four years that can determine the quality of life on this planet for the next 1,000; four years to get it right. And we need to start now, on a worldwide scale. The goal of  FOUR YEARS. GO. is to cause a positive tipping point in unleashing humanity’s collective will, and to do it in the next four years.”

The Campaign ask each and everyone of us to join to make any small steps.  Click on their map to see what steps others are taking.  Check out what people are saying on the pulse. If you are an organization, join those who have become an ally.

But you wonder, how can you make a difference?

“Begin to map a journey for yourself—a personal journey toward a just and peaceful world. A personal journey that when combined with millions more will shift the ground on which we stand. You don’t need to clearly see your journey’s end or even the contours of your path. You just need the direction in which you’ll start. Each journey begins with each of us taking a first step… and then a next… and a next.”

Who is behind Four Year. Go?  It is an alliance of  ”The Pachamama Alliance, a nonprofit organization, committed to building a just and sustainable global society; Wieden + Kennedy, the largest independent advertising agency network in the world (creators of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign and Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong” campaign); P:5Y—Peace in Five Years, a non-profit organization, committed to world peace; and the 2020 Fund, a non-profit organization and philanthropic platform.”

To be honest, I was puzzled as to how this Campaign will inspire others.  I have seen a lot of campaigns over the last couple of years asking people to take small steps. Why is this campaign different?  Is it because they are targeting so many issues that it will resonate with everyone?

But I am still left with questions which perhaps could have been answered by the organization.  How are they going to inspire others?  How will they get governments and NGO as well as individuals to work together?  Is this campaign simply glossy without any backbone?

Will others be motivated by looking at the small steps taken by others?

Where is the action plan? Goals to obtain? Perhaps that will be rolled out in a couple of weeks?  Months? Self direction does not work.  It is kind of like some people are better off working at a job rather than being entrepreneurial. And government?  Don’t go there.

Instead of the gloss give me some substance if you can.

Am I missing something?

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In my previous post,  I mentioned that the group, the Green Moms of the Green Moms Carnival, won the Shorty Award for best short green content on Twitter.  I am part of a group of about 30 women who blog about saving the Earth in some facet.  Some are passionate about reducing plastic, while others are passionate about reducing toxic chemicals in our lives.  We all have our own passions about going green.  Many of you know that mine are organic gardening, green building, and re-purposing.

The video was created by me for the Shorty Awards, so the rest of the world could see who are the ”Green Moms.”  It is only five minutes, and if I say so myself, it is quite good for an amateur!   The reason for the video?  Not all of us could attend the award ceremony.  We are a collective group and I wanted everyone to be able to share in the award.  Unfortuneately, the producers of the Shorty Awards decided not to show it because it was too long.

Why was it so important to make a video for the Shorty Awards?  Although to many of you, Twitter and the Shorty Awards means nothing.   Trust me, this award was a big deal.  It was even a bigger deal for us because it meant our message of healing the world, through our actions and written word was being heard. 

I wanted the world to see that we are not just a bunch of moms with blogs.  We are lawyers, accountants, marketing mavens, health experts, authors, and green business owners.  More importantly, we are your friends, relatives, and neighbors who want to share a cup of tea or coffee with you to change your life for the better and in many cases, save you some green as well.

This highly intelligent group tells it to you straight.  They do not create  sound bite  articles or teasers, or smatter their posts with  keywords to obtain a higher Google rank.  They all write with intensity and clarity with the purpose of educating their readers.  They speak with passion and determination that they will and have made a difference.  Although, as I stated earlier, each one of us has our individual passions, collectively, we have a single purpose.  To protect what we love.

The Green Moms consists of real green moms with different age children along with mothers of the Earth who do have any children.  Green Fathers and Father of the Earth are also encouraged to join as well.

Collectively, the Green Moms have a synergy which I would define as a whole which is greater than the sum of their parts.  Join us to make a difference.  We need your voice.  For details about upcoming Green Mom carnivals, see here.  I hope you enjoyed the video as much as I did creating it.

Thanks to all of the wonderful photographers who agreed to share their photo on Flickr, Lisa Pavlovich,  for taking pictures for the video, and Ditto-Ditto for his music.

How are you a green mom?

What are your passions?

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Photo by Henry Heatly

Last week with the holidays, I missed the “Got Green Mail” segment.  My cup overflowed with amazing stories for all green palates to enjoy.  Remember, if you have a great green story (which includes your own), display the link in the comment section and give us a quick blurb of what the article is about.  Here goes this weeks’ green treats:

National Geographic PSA Video College Student Contest

The National Geographic Channel is sponsoring their second annual “Preserve Our Planet” College Film and PSA Contest for college students.

“Preserve Our Planet is about working together to preserve the environment, and this year’s criteria include a new core idea – “Together We Can Make A Difference” – which students should reflect in their entry films and PSAs. In addition to the cash prize, winners will have the opportunity to screen their work at the annual meeting of the National Geographic Explorers in June 2009, and see their films broadcast nationally as part of National Geographic Channel’s Earth Day events via on-air, online, and NGC On Demand, wherever available.

For complete details, including complete details, including rules, entry forms and prize information, please visit: http://www.preserveourplanet.com. Submissions will be accepted through December 31, 2008. There is an online voting component where people can help determine the audience choice film.

Boat Green

Boating Green featured on the San Diego Boat Show. Who says you can’t have the wind in your face and smell the sweet spray of water with showing a little green style?

NARI Launches Greenremodeling.org

Everything you read about green building seems to center around new construction. The National Association of the Remodeling Industry recently launched Greenremodeling.org to help homeowners and construction professionals.

“NARI’s new Web site provides eco-minded homeowners with a quick resource to find Green Certified Professionals, and it offers our members a place to learn, gather information and get connected to others in the remodeling industry,” said Don Van Cura, Sr, CR, CKBR, GCP, CLC, and NARI Education chair.”

RSi Solar’s Transparent Solar Windows

RSi Solar has announced that they’ve designed Transparent Solar Windows.  According to the article in Eco Geek, the windows generate  80 – 250 watts each, depending on the size as well as reduce heat and  cooling costs along with UV and infrared radiation.  My first thought was will these windows reduce the transparency of the window and cause less day light to be transmitted?  If so, would more energy be consumed due to increased light usage and/or any unhappiness with employees who would no longer be exposed to day light?

Dupont and 3M’s Teflon Replacement Just as Toxic?

This article written by Jeanne Roberts at the Panelist.com was written in August, 2008.  However, I decided to include it in my round-up because it made me so angry.  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article imploring President Elect Obama to make it a priority to make the Kids’ Safe  Chemcial Act the law of the land requiring chemicals to go through scrutiny before they were permitted to be sold in the marketplace.   Dupont and 3M’s creation of Teflon and now their replacement is a fine example of what is wrong with this country’s policy on chemical safety.

According to the article, the EPA and the Center of Disease Control have put pressure on Dupont and 3M for years to replace their toxic coating containing PFOAs  (a type of PFC) with a more environmentally friendly substitute.  PFC, which is short for perfluorocarbons, are one of the worse chemicals created by man since its effects will  persist long after humans are gone. It is not biodegradable.

So what does Dupont and 3M do?

“Dupont has responded by creating C6, a clone of C8 containing a few less carbon atoms. 3M dealt with the issue by creating a private company operating out of China (where restrictions are negligible) and importing its perfluorocarbons in the form of cheaper merchandise. Both deserve a round of applause – preferably the sound of one hand clapping – for their continuing efforts to poison the earth. “

Dupont and 3M, you just went to the head of the class.

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Photo by permission of Robert McFalls

“Homegrown is the inspiring true story of the amazing Dervaes family who are living off
the grid in the heart of urban Pasadena, California. They harvest over 6,000 pounds of
produce on less than a quarter of an acre while running a popular website that is known
around the world. The film is an intimate human portrait of what itʼs like to live like Little
House on the Prairie in the 21st Century,” as stated on the documentary’s website.

According to the director, Robert McFalls,

“Many people are becoming aware of the environment. We may have gone to see “An Inconvenient Truth”, changed our light bulbs, or started to recycle more. But how many of us are really walking the walk? I know I’m not.

When I heard about the Dervaes family, I sensed that there was a human story behind the headlines about global warming or buying organic produce. I wanted to find out what it takes to live the life of an environmental pioneer. I don’t wish to simply glorify or romanticize their way of life, however. I want to show that along with the positive benefits there are also sacrifices. Truly living by your ideals can have costs. I believe that recognizing the hardships the Dervaes have faced makes their work all the more inspiring.

HOMEGROWN is ultimately a family story. It’s about what lead them to where they are today, what changed them and what keeps them together. Perhaps by learning of their journey to a sustainable life style, we might be inspired to take our own first steps.”

When I first heard about the story of a family which produced 6000 lbs of food on a 1/5th of an acre on a suburban plot, I was immediately intrigued.  I am passionate about gardening but this concept of growing this much food on such little acreage was mind boggling.  On the Homegrown website, I watched the following inspiring trailer release of the movie:

The poignant part of the video is when Jules Dervaes states that we should treasure the top six inches of our soil since it is what we live on.   It sent chills up my body since he was talking about the survival of the Planet and our ability to feed ourselves.

The Dervaes are an extraordinary family with a message. Their life is not just about growing food, but living in a sustainable manner in an urban setting.  Watch the following video produced by them to learn more about this family:

I reprinted their message at the end of the video for everyone to contemplate:

“In our society growing food yourself has become the most radical of acts. It is tuly the only effective protest, one that can and will overturn the corporate powers that be.”

There is truth to that statement.  In our grocery stores are genetically modified foods, pesticide-laden vegetables, milk with antibiotics, and high fructose corn syrup in our breads. The list can go on and on how food has changed since our grandmothers’ era.  We live in a convenient time where we can eat what we want, when we want. We ship vegetables and fruits around the world regardless of the carbon footprint, so that we can enjoy them any season. You have to stop and think.  What are we doing to ourselves with the quality of food we are eating?

I thought I was accomplishing a lot on my little piece of the Earth.  It is nothing compared to what the Dervaes have accomplished.  As I write this article, I am in awe of how the Dervaes family is changing the world and  using their website, Path to Freedom as a tool for their message.

This documentary, HomeGrown, is  being showing at Lincoln Center, NYC, November 3, 2008.  Check the website for more information about the film and future screenings.  This movie is worth seeing. It will inspire all of us to be more sustainable.

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What are some of my pet peeves? They are as follows: People who urinate on the toilet seats and don’t clean up after themselves, CFLs recycling, people who do not call you back, and plastic pots recycling. Okay, 2 green pet peeves and 2 annoying pet peeves. Well, one pet peeve might be going by the wayside, since Home Depot announced at the end of June that they will be taking back expired and UNBROKEN CFLs. Thanks to Beth of Fake Plastic Fish, who alerted me to an article on Tiny Choices, I now need to find another pet peeve to rant about. Like, I don’t have enough to do, Beth?

 According to Home Depot’s press release, all of their stores will be offering free CFL recycling. Although Ikea offers free CFL recycling, driving to one of their stores may not be convenient.

So, how did this become a pet peeve of mine? A year ago I attended LightFair NYC where the newest advances in both LED and fluorescent technologies were featured. During the exhibit, I had a chance to speak at length with a representative of SLI Lighting who opened my eyes to the fact that CFLs were being pushed but no one was taking any responsibility to recycle the expired light bulbs.

Where were all those expired CFLs going to go?  In the trash, and then to your neighborhood landfill, wherever that might be.  Eventually all the mercury in the light bulbs would leach into our ground water.  Not a pretty picture. 

 This discussion prompted me to write an article questioning whether where we as a society were moving too fast to embrace the CFL movement without looking at the consequences of disposal of light bulbs with mercury in our landfills.  If I recall correctly wasn’t both Home Depot and Wal-Mart pushing the sales of these CFLs?  Shouldn’t they be responsible to take them back?

I was so miffed that I decide to do something about it.  I called (a couple of times) all the vice presidents of sustainability at Lowes, Home Depot and Wal-Mart.  Of course, no one called me back except the VP at Lowes.  So kudos to Home Depot for stepping forward and being the first giant to take back CFLs.

I wondered what Wal-Mart’s response will be regarding Home Depot’s decision. Now, when you drop off your CFL, you are more apt to buy a new one from who else? HOME DEPOT!  So, hopefully for the love of profits, both Lowes and Wal-Mart will follow suit.  They would be crazy not to. Now, you have no excuse to recycle your CFL.

By the way, I sent an email to Wal-Mart’s sustainable PR director to get an answer whether Wal-Mart will be following Home Depot’s recycling efforts. I will keep you posted.

So do you have a pet peeve eco or not?

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Alltop is literally what it sound like. It is website with “all the top stories” from over 100 various blogs depending on the topic. 

“You can think of an Alltop site as a “digital magazine rack” of the Internet. To be clear, Alltop sites are starting points—they are not destinations per se. The bottom line is that we are trying to enhance your online reading by both displaying stories from the sites that you’re already visiting and helping you discover sites that you didn’t know existed. In other words, our goal is the “cessation of Internet stagnation” by providing “aggregation without aggravation.”

One particular subcategory is Green which features such sites as Treehugger and World Changing. Included in that list is a group of Green Mom blogs due to the efforts of my friend, Lynn at OrganicMania. She pitched to the group over at Alltop that women represent most of the spending power in this country. If we want change in this country, we need to start with those who carries the purse strings.    Green moms spread the word on how to go green, which products to use, and which products to be wary of to millions of mothers every day.

Lynn included Green Talk as one of those movers and shakers and I am grateful to her efforts. This allows more people to read what I write and what you all comment about. As I have always told you Green Talk is a community where everyone has input since the blog is simply the conduit to all of our ideas. So, keep commenting since we now have a new spotlight.

I highly recommend Lynn’s site. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is a great story teller as well as a marketing consultant who really has her pulse on the green movement.

Also, whether you are a green mom or not, check out Alltop Green as well as the other Alltop sites so you can lessen your time on the computer and get your web information in one place. You will not be disappointed.

Visit both Lynn’s and Alltop’s Green site and let me know your thoughts.

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