make a smaller ecological footprint

This goal of course never ends, but I have decided to remove it from my list since I have continued to make, and will continue to make, the necessary changes.

This goal of course never ends, but I have decided to remove it from my list since I have continued to make, and will continue to make, the necessary changes.

Valentine’s Day 2008
Break the Chains of Toxic Pesticides and Farm Worker Exploitation

Valentines Day marks the biggest shopping day of the year, when it comes to chocolate and flowers. But did you know that by purchasing organic and Fair Trade chocolate and flowers (see the buying guide), your consumer dollars will no longer be going towards toxic pesticides, child slavery, and farm worker exploitation?

Over 40 percent of the world’s conventional chocolate (i.e. non-organic and non-Fair Trade) comes from Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), where the International Labor Organization (ILO) and US State Department have reported widespread instances of child slavery. Exploitation of cacao farmers and farm workers is the global norm in the chocolate industry, rather than the exception.

Meanwhile, organizations such as the Pesticide Action Network point out that commercial flowers, produced in countries such as Colombia, are the most toxic and heavily sprayed agricultural crops on Earth, The high profits of the transnational flower exporters are derived from poisoning the land and farmers, while forcing workers in the flower industry, often young women, to work 18 hour days for poverty wages during peak flower buying times such as Valentine’s Day.

This Valentine’s Day, join with the Organic Consumers Association and our allies around the world to put your money where your values lie and to show your loved ones that you truly care. Please break the chains of industrial agriculture and corporate globalization by choosing Fair Trade and organic flowers and chocolate for your Valentine’s Day gifts.

Consumer polls indicate the average person imagines meat labeled “Naturally Raised” comes from animals that spent their drug-free lives freely roaming the fields of a family farmer, eating wild flora and fauna, and being (at least somewhat) humanely slaughtered. In fact a 2007 Consumer Reports survey shows 83% of consumers assume such labeling means “it came from an animal raised in a natural environment.” In stark contrast, the USDA, under pressure from big agribusiness, has released a standard for “Naturally Raised” meats that is so weak it would apply to a cloned animal raised in the confines of a factory farm. The public comment period on this labeling standard only lasts until January 28, so take action now before this type of labeling becomes as ubiquitous as corporate lobbyists on Capitol Hill.
Learn more and take action:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/oca/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=22287

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

The Story of Stuff

While environmentalists are usually vocal about perceived threats ranging from pesticides to global warming, there is a silence when it comes to one threat already harming the water supply: hormones from birth-control pills.

Environmentalists silent on threat from water tainted with estrogen.

“We’ve known for at least a month that cows provide 18% of all greenhouse gases worldwide. For most of us the solution is obvious: don’t eat any meat or dairy.”
-Joel, Animalblawg

I realize this isn’t related to the environment but… I felt it was important anyway.

Did you know you can reduce your carbon footprint, preserve our water resources, save money and give yourself a chance at some great prizes in one simple step? It’s a win-win situation for you, the community and the ecosystem…and you can win a free condo for a week at a ski resort in Idaho.

What do you have to do? Just fill out the pledge form at c3.newdream.org and then fill up your reusable water bottle. It’s that easy. You’ll be doing your part to reduce the 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide produced in the manufacture of plastic bottles for the US consumption last year. Imagine saving the energy equivalent of a quarter bottle of oil for every bottled water you would have consumed—not to mention the money!

As an added bonus, after you take the pledge you’ll get a coupon towards a reusable water bottle to help you get started.

Visit the C3 site to sign up and then tell your friends: you could win a free condo for a week at a ski resort in Idaho or one of several other terrific prizes.

Bottled water is often marketed as being purer than other water. In the U.S., however, tap water is more closely regulated than bottled water, while as much as 40% of commercially available water starts out as tap water. While bottled water can cost as much as $10 a gallon, when you consider that only about 12% of the plastic is recycled, the environmental expenses associated with a momentary convenience are far greater and long-lasting.

Help break the bottled water habit and sign up today!

Glenn Beck on how Al Gore ignores omnivorous implications on global warming.