Editor’s Note: Lyndon Rive is the co-founder and CEO of SolarCity, a national leader in solar power. This is the first in a series of posts from the CEOs of major solar companies.

Is it May already? Maybe it’s just me, but the media didn’t seem to make as big a deal over Earth Day as it has the last few years. I noticed that Vanity Fair didn’t do a “green issue” this year, and according to John McCaslin on Town Hall, Outside, Discover, Mother Jones, Newsweek and Time cut back on their Earth Day green issues too.

Treehugger reported that Vanity Fair is going to spread its environmental articles throughout the year, and this section of the magazine’s Web site seems to support that. But McCaslin calls it “green fatigue.” I think they’re both right.

• » Consumer solar aggregation project launched in San Diego
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“We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” Gwendolyn Brooks

Dave Lowenstein and Gwendolyn Brooks hooked me. Just over two years ago, I was contemplating my stay in Lawrence, Kansas and sorting out future plans. The circumstances that brought me there weren’t going to keep me there. All my work was in New York and Los Angeles. I had no compelling reason to stay. Then I walked by a mural.

The mural, replete with brilliant images of incredible African-American artists connected to Kansas, is the backdrop for Lawrence’s Saturday Farmers’ Market. But that particular Sunday was scorching hot and downtown was a ghost town. The one car parked in front of the colorful wall at 9th and New Hampshire featured a bumper sticker demanding a living wage for Lawrence. I got up close to the words. I took a photo of the bumper sticker. In that sticky, solitary, epiphanic moment, everything became clear. I wanted to stay in this small town in a flat state, because of our magnitude and bond.

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Earth Day brings out the best (or worst) examples of greenwashing.

I simply ignored most of the PR pitches I got in the last couple of weeks, but one stood out to me as an absolutely ridiculous spin on a product.

I’m going to take a chance and give it more publicity than it’s worth. Here’s the pitch I got:

“Monopoly®: Planet Earth Edition gives fans the chance to buy, sell and trade the earth’s most natural resources, landscapes, and animals Monopoly® style.”

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Moving the Earth on Her Day!

When Earth Hour was celebrated on the 28th of last month, the city of Delhi saved 600 MW of electricity - the highest in any Metro city in India - just by switching off non-essential lights. In terms of Carbon emissions, it was as if 2.3 million small cars were taken off the road.  It was thus decided by the Chief Minister of Delhi that the Earth Hour will be celebrated every month in the city, and 22nd April - the Earth Day was appropriately chosen to be the day for this month.

Earth Day this year was also a landmark event for the city. Delhi faces several environmental issues most of which are actually the challenges of a rapidly evolving capital city of a country which is developing at an equal pace. Trees being cut almost every day, a polluted river only getting worse, the mobility crisis and the inequity, vehicular pollution and unplanned urban planning are all issues faced by citizens who wanted a solution to these by having a say in the decision making and access to basic information.

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Today, while walking with my dear friend after an uplifting yoga class, we were lured into a Lush shop (by the colorful poster above) to plant a seed bomb any place in the city that needs native wildflowers!

It gets even more adorable:

The Lush crew is set to do good across North America to see customers “dig in some soil, plant a few seeds, or mend a sagging fence. One good deed inspires anothor” ~ Guerilla Gardener, David Tracey

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Today’s act builds on initial plans unveiled back on February 12, when Vilsack announced the People’s Garden concept on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. “Abraham Lincoln founded the Department of Agriculture in 1862, referring it to the ‘People’s Department,’” explains Rose Hayden-Smith, a garden historian and Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellow. “The name of this new garden reflects the inspiring significant shift on the federal level in championing homegrown produce, rekindling the Victory Garden era for modern times.”

The new People’s Garden will be 1,300 square feet (slightly larger than the White House Garden, for those counting) and will include a rotation of crops, beginning with spring plantings such as peas, lettuce and kale.

This garden represents more than trendy edible landscaping. Here are three reasons why these plantings cultivate inspiration and meaning for us all:

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• Green Living Ideas points to a couple of new films that may be worth checking out: Disney’s Earth, and A Sea Change.
• Cleantechnica profiles a family that’s tweeting its energy use today. Triplepundit covers this one, also.
• Speaking of “Screw Earth Day,” Grist wishes all a “Happy F’ing Earth Day!”

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]]> http://sustainablog.org/2009/04/22/earth-day-round-up-the-non-toxic-kind/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/04/22/20-memorable-earth-day-posters-from-1970-2009/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/04/22/20-memorable-earth-day-posters-from-1970-2009/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:00:33 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/04/22/20-memorable-earth-day-posters-from-1970-2009/ As attention to Earth Day picked up again in 1990, so did the frequency of events land celebrations on college campuses, in city parks and other gathering places around the world. But rather than spilling any more green ink writing about Earth Day 2009, I dug up the best Earth Day posters I could find spanning the last 39 years.

As might be expected, the earlier posters were much more difficult to track down (mostly because there were fewer events to advertise). I also found the paucity of posters from the 1980’s indicative of Reagan-era anti-environmentalist sentiment.

1970



(Pogo via Walt Kelley)

1971



(Pogo via Walt Kelley)

1982



(via Shigeo Fukuda)

1990



(via markbult)

1991



(via Istvan Orosz)

1992



(via Niklaus Troxler)

1994



(via Encore Design)

1995



(via Paul Rand)

1999



(via pibburns.com)



(via Butterfly-Stamps)

2000



(via Bob Masse)



(via New Jersey Dept of Environmental Protection)



(via robotplanet.co.uk)

2001



(via redskinfan.de)

2002



(via Ohio Dept. of Nat. Resources)



(via PA Department of Environment)

2003



(via Mobile Bay Nat. Estuary Program)

2004



(via U.S. Army)

2005



(via AboutUtila)

2006



(via vjfashton.com)



(via The Natural History Museum of Santa Maria)

2007



(via Nature in the City)



(via Metro Transit)

2008



(via Salem State College)



(via Nature in the City)



(via Ecoworldly)

2009



(image via studio KIND)



(via Harrison Miracle)

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/04/22/20-memorable-earth-day-posters-from-1970-2009/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/04/22/mean-joe-green-60-its-earth-day-spend-time-not-money/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/04/22/mean-joe-green-60-its-earth-day-spend-time-not-money/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:13:41 +0000 Joe Mohr http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/04/22/mean-joe-green-60-its-earth-day-spend-time-not-money/ When John Ivanko reviewed Pat Murphy’s terrific book Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change (New Society, 2008) he summed up all of the available plans in the following excerpt:

Plan A is our present course: more oil drilling, more growth, more carbon dioxide emissions, more consumption, more of a gap between the haves and have-nots. Plan B suggests that we can shop our way out of climate change and peak oil, if only we consume “green” products and services. But Plan C advocates a drastic reduction in consumption as the necessary ingredient for a sustainable, equitable world. Replacing competition with cooperation and materialism with meaningful human relationships, Plan C makes an appealing case for unique places where neighbors care for each other and communities work cohesively to achieve a common wealth that has little to do with money.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/04/22/mean-joe-green-60-its-earth-day-spend-time-not-money/feed/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/22/talking-trash-on-earth-day/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/22/talking-trash-on-earth-day/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:05:00 +0000 Reenita Malhotra http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/22/talking-trash-on-earth-day/ This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

Terracycle turns trash to Gold

“Trash” has certainly been the talk of the town lately.

The Inspired Economist recently published a story about Funding Factory, a company that provides funding through recycling. Ecopreneurist has featured several stories about recycling startups. However, even with all the buzz, IBISWorld, an industry research firm tell us that recycling is expected to decline significantly in 2009 - after five years of strong growth.

“Falling prices have put the recycling industry on the scrapheap this year,” explained George Van Horn, senior analyst with IBISWorld. “It is the thirteenth biggest revenue loser in 2009, and is expected to plummet a drastic 20 percent.”

Growing at an annualized rate of 6.3 percent for the past five years to 2008, Recycling Facilities is one of the few industries in the “green sector” to observe a decline.  Metal price declines combined with lower demand for recycled material are major factors impacting sales.  A fall in revenue and profits may hasten consolidation between the larger industry players, such as Waste Management and Covanta.  Smaller operators, more labor intensive, and without integrated waste collection and disposal activities, may be forced to exit the industry all together.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/22/talking-trash-on-earth-day/feed/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/04/22/happy-earth-day/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/04/22/happy-earth-day/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:00:21 +0000 Becky Striepe http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/04/22/happy-earth-day/ We thought it might be fun to celebrate with some stunning photos of this planet we all live on!


Even if you’re not hitting up a local Earth Day event, you can still take today to celebrate. We hope these photos of the land and the critters who share it with us get you inspired!

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/04/22/happy-earth-day/feed/ http://feelgoodstyle.com/2009/04/21/further-soap-celebrates-earth-day-in-sustainable-style-free-hand-soap-with-every-purchase/ http://feelgoodstyle.com/2009/04/21/further-soap-celebrates-earth-day-in-sustainable-style-free-hand-soap-with-every-purchase/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:03:11 +0000 Gina Munsey http://feelgoodstyle.com/2009/04/21/further-soap-celebrates-earth-day-in-sustainable-style-free-hand-soap-with-every-purchase/

Liz Thompson recently introduced us to Further Soap, a biodegradable soap crafted from glycerin left behind in the bio-fuel making process.  She shares the fascinating story of a husband and wife team who find a way to transform grease from Los Angeles restaurants into automobile bio-diesel and eventually into Bergamot-scented hand soap.

If you thought this “perfect sustainable circle” couldn’t possible get any better…it just did.  For each bottle of Further Soap you purchase on Wednesday April 22, you will receive one bottle free. And you don’t even have to pay for shipping!

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]]> http://feelgoodstyle.com/2009/04/21/further-soap-celebrates-earth-day-in-sustainable-style-free-hand-soap-with-every-purchase/feed/ http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2009/04/21/green-divas-guide-to-delicious-living-earth-day-food-for-thought/ http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2009/04/21/green-divas-guide-to-delicious-living-earth-day-food-for-thought/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:47:01 +0000 Megan McWilliams http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2009/04/21/green-divas-guide-to-delicious-living-earth-day-food-for-thought/ Is there anyone NOT sucked into the whirlwind of earth day hype? Is there anyone that isn’t thinking of how they can get their green on? Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed by it all?

Us Green Divas area all about easy does it! If we make earth day more of a lifestyle and simply start by making one green improvement from wherever we are on the big green super highway, sustainable living habits seem to sprout like hearty organic weeds and multiply. Before you know it, you’re talking local sustainable agriculture at your favorite new potluck dinner club!

I started with food. Yum.

The low-stress way of doing this, is to know you don’t have to do it ALL. Just pick one that resonates with you and start there. It should be fun and bring you some joy. This is NOT about adding stressful activities to your lifestyle, but adding some thoughtful and hopefully more meaningful activities to the things you already do anyway.

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]]> http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2009/04/21/green-divas-guide-to-delicious-living-earth-day-food-for-thought/feed/ http://craftingagreenworld.com/2009/04/21/celebrate-earth-day-with-these-eco-friendly-crafting-ideas/ http://craftingagreenworld.com/2009/04/21/celebrate-earth-day-with-these-eco-friendly-crafting-ideas/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:23:35 +0000 Julie Finn http://craftingagreenworld.com/2009/04/21/celebrate-earth-day-with-these-eco-friendly-crafting-ideas/ Sure, Earth Day SHOULD be every day, but there’s nothing wrong with getting on board the Earth Day train on April 22. It doesn’t make you, you know, a “joiner” or anything.

And so what if we’re always supposed to be “crafting a green world?” Maybe you could craft a little greener on Earth Day. Or try something new. Or do without some awesome supply you might normally buy. Or take something weird out of your trash can and turn THAT into something awesome.

Or, since you’re already pretty green and already pretty crafty, you can just feel okay about that on Earth Day. That’s totally fine.

However, if you’re feeling extra-inspired, here are five eco-friendly projects all ready for Earth Day craftiness:

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]]> http://craftingagreenworld.com/2009/04/21/celebrate-earth-day-with-these-eco-friendly-crafting-ideas/feed/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/20/why-saving-energy-is-the-1-green-action-you-can-do-this-earth-day/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/20/why-saving-energy-is-the-1-green-action-you-can-do-this-earth-day/#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:20:52 +0000 Brian F. Keane http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/20/why-saving-energy-is-the-1-green-action-you-can-do-this-earth-day/ Here’s an Earth Day concept for you—energy efficiency is the “gateway drug” to clean energy.

A person who buys Energy Star appliances, fuel efficient vehicles or hybrids, and home efficiency products is more likely to go on to buy clean energy through their utility, or even look into on-site generation (solar panels, for instance).

But what is the gateway to efficiency? What is the introduction the average person needs to start actually thinking about the energy they use? It’s actually the same easy, everyday idea that can lead people to be more sustainability conscious in every aspect of their lives—conservation.

Granted, the idea of conservation has needed some serious PR for a while, and it’s time we all start spreading the word on what it really means.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/20/why-saving-energy-is-the-1-green-action-you-can-do-this-earth-day/feed/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/20/eco-conscious-consumers-look-to-separate-fact-from-fiction-as-earth-day-approaches/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/20/eco-conscious-consumers-look-to-separate-fact-from-fiction-as-earth-day-approaches/#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:42:44 +0000 Vanessa Brown http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/20/eco-conscious-consumers-look-to-separate-fact-from-fiction-as-earth-day-approaches/

To help consumers further separate fact from fiction this Earth Day, Cotton Incorporated has created an interactive quiz, “Do You Know Green?” on its two popular websites, www.MysteryFabric.com and www.TheFabricOfOurLives.com. 

There aren’t too many questions annoyingly promoting their brand and it is a great quiz to send “greenie newbies” to educate them a bit further. I even ended up using the quiz as a game to teach my children a few things.

The quiz takes users through a series of true and false statements that challenges them on topics such as:
·         Is it more energy friendly to cool down your car with the air conditioner or by rolling down the         windows?
·         Is it better for the environment to wash dishes in the dishwasher or by hand?
·         Do electronics use energy even when they are turned off?

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]]> http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/20/eco-conscious-consumers-look-to-separate-fact-from-fiction-as-earth-day-approaches/feed/ http://craftingagreenworld.com/2009/04/16/cosa-verde-modish-earth-day-giveaway/ http://craftingagreenworld.com/2009/04/16/cosa-verde-modish-earth-day-giveaway/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:30:58 +0000 Kelly Rand http://craftingagreenworld.com/2009/04/16/cosa-verde-modish-earth-day-giveaway/ We sure do like our contests and giveaways around here. And it’s all to your benefit! So before I tell you about the latest one - have you entered to win a copy of Sewing Green yet? Only one more day! I love reading about all of your great upcycled project ideas. So keep it up!

Now keep your thinking caps on because you’ll need your amazing eco-consciousness to help you with this next contest.



In celebration of Earth Day, Modish and Cosa Verde have teamed up to giveaway an amazing prize pack of eco-goodness for the occasion. I am simply in awe of the amount of goodies in this giveaway.

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]]> http://craftingagreenworld.com/2009/04/16/cosa-verde-modish-earth-day-giveaway/feed/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/15/disneynature-giveaway-celebrating-earth-day/ http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/15/disneynature-giveaway-celebrating-earth-day/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:07:12 +0000 Jessica Gottlieb http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/04/15/disneynature-giveaway-celebrating-earth-day/ Earth Day is a fantastic holiday. I’ve heard folks say that it’s the most celebrated secular holiday ever.

This year to celebrate Earth Day Disneynature, Disney’s new independent film label, will release their first film, Earth. Earth is narrated by James Earl Jones and tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home. Earth combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet’s wildest and most elusive creatures. Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award-winning “Planet Earth” series combine forces again to bring this epic adventure to the big screen, beginning Earth Day 2009. To celebrate the film’s theatrical release, Disneynature will be planting a tree in the endangered Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest in honor of every person who sees the film during its opening week!

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