The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that they will consider listing the Sonoran desert tortoise as a distinct population.

A 90-day finding on a petition to list the Sonoran desert tortoise (Gopherus agasizzii) as a distinct population (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act has been announced by the USFWS. This announcement has come after the review of filed petitions showed substantial evidence that the Sonoran desert tortoise may meet the criteria of “discreteness and significance” required for distinct population segments.

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Last month, Canada, the United States, and Australia announced unprecedented plans to join forces and commercialize genetically-engineered wheat, saying that biotechnology was crucial to the future of the wheat industry. The National Farmers Union of Canada, however, immediately refuted the tri-country claim, pointing out “the overwhelming majority of farmers in Canada are still opposed to the introduction of genetically-modified wheat.”

On June 1, fifteen organizations across Canada, the United States and Australia publicly confirmed that opposition with the release of “A Definitive Global Rejection of Genetically Engineered Wheat“, a powerful document speaking out against biotech wheat.

But the battle against GM wheat is not a simple one, nor is it restrained to select countries.

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This is nothing new. The company’s glufosinate-resistant LL62 genetically modified rice isn’t commercially grown, but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t already entered the global food supply.

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So, what’s next?  How can we channel this White House garden victory into a bigger, broader message that continues to plant seeds of self-reliance and sustainability and healthy food access for all?

Look to our country’s historic roots for inspiration and declare your food independence by signing a petition encouraging our country’s governors to join you in eating local this July 4th.    An effort of Kitchen Gardeners International in partnership with the IATP Food and Society Fellows, this petition champions the connection between food and our nation’s independence, further propelling the momentum of interest in eating fresh, local and healthy.

With your support, we can build upon the White House garden triumph by challenging each of our state’s first families to savor the abundance of local flavors this Fourth of July holiday. In today’s challenging economic times, our country’s governors need to showcase the importance of food independence in their own state, inspiring us all to make the connection between what we eat and the health of our nation.

And here’s the hidden gem behind supporting food independence:  once folks start making conscious decisions about their food sources, this sustainability screen naturally filters to all other areas of their lives.  People buy fruit at their farmer’s market or plant peas in their garden and they move to start changing light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs or hanging laundry out to air-dry.  As my husband, John Ivanko, and I write about in Rural Renaissance, food can serve as our daily reminder of how all our choices have an effect on the world around us.

“The concept of food independence, being able to feed ourselves and cultivate a spirit of self-sufficiency, roots back over two hundred years to the time of that first Fourth of July and the founding of this nation,” adds Rose Hayden-Smith, a garden historian and national advocate for the Victory Garden revival. “By signing the Food Independence petition, we are aligning ourselves with our Founding Father’s and Mother’s vision of patriotism, a self-reliant country that can take care of its own.”

Make a statement this summer by declaring your Food Independence by calling on your elected state governors to do the same, encouraging them to share their meal plan for the Fourth of July. Check back for updates and, hopefully, your governor’s potato salad recipe using local spuds.

In 2 years the dust will settle and we will have data that will either vindicate the bill as an effective strategic move to really get the economy going, or condemn the action as another in a series of Band-Aids of short term ’symptoms’ strategies that fails to cure the disease.

Barack Obama could lose significant allies in congress in his midterm elections, much like Bill Clinton did in 1994, if this bill does not deliver the kinds of results we hope it will.  To avoid this fate, Obama and Van Jones would be wise to work to make green jobs into green businesses and green careers.

Green Jobs are great, don’t get me wrong.  We need them now more than ever, and I respect Mr. Jones’ work tremendously.  His group managed to convince the city of Oakland to spend resources to get a green jobs training program going by making it a win-win argument:  local jobs created, infrastructure updated, kids stay out of jail, and the city saves money in the long run fighting drugs and crime while becoming less dependent on distant and polluting energy sources, keeping more money in the city.

With this approach, Jones will likely have great success with the participants of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which over 500 cities have joined.  The agreement states that by 2012, these cities will reduce their carbon emissions to 7% below 1990 levels.  These cities will more than likely join the green jobs revolution with Jones in the lead, due to the success he had in Oakland, not to mention the potential for federal dollars for these programs.

But if the ARRA is going to be a success, that is, if it is going to someday be seen as truly more than a short term stimulus package, it MUST create self-sustaining businesses and great green careers. What happens in two years, if a person gets some specific job skills around weatherizing homes, when there are no more homes in his area that need weatherizing?  If the person doesn’t have the resources to perhaps branch out into remodeling or carpentry, they’re right back where they were 2 years before, hoping someone will help them get a job.

So I have put together a petition to Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to encourage her to work with Mr. Jones so that the SBA becomes a green business resource.  Please read and sign the petition here. When you are done, please pass it along!

Why is the petition necessary?  After browsing the SBA website, I found very little regarding sustainable business practices or green businesses.  The SBA provides assistance to small business owners and has an affiliate network of Small Business Development Centers that help countless thousands of entrepreneurs get their start.  They don’t review loans directly, but can help someone get their materials organized and business strategies together in order that they might have a better chance of procuring funding.  They also provide mentoring, education, and resources for entrepreneurs and managers.  But what is an aspiring eco-entrepreneur to do if they need mentoring?  And what about all those would-be eco-entrepreneurs who don’t think about green, but would love to hear about it if their local SBA affiliate had materials about it available?

For example, what if someone walks into an office and wants to start a dry cleaner,because his or her parents ran a dry cleaner, and it’s a business they feel comfortable running.  They could get all the resources they need and be out the door ready to go in a few hours, ready to type up their business plan.  If the SBA had a green business slant, they would have a list of alternatives to just about any kind of business out there, just in case that entrepreneur might be interested in having a perc-free facility.  Without that impetus, Mr. Drycleaner would be using perc and buying perc for the next 20 years.  Mr. Drycleaner and his employees would be inhaling fumes for years, as would residents, customers, and passers by.

After calling the SBA to inquire about what green resources were available, I was passed from person to person (all of whom were extremely nice and heard me out, but if I had video-phone, I would likely have seen the ‘deer in the headlights’ look several times).  Finally, I was able to reach someone in a department they called “Advocacy”, where someone was knowledgeable of environmental affairs.  As I asked him about if the SBA had any plans to incorporate green business resources and work with Van Jones to create a program to ensure the best possible long term success of ARRA, there was a bit of a pregnant pause, so I stopped and waited.

“Now who is Van Jones?” he asked.

A mean, green SBA would provide all the resources and tools needed not just for entrepreneurs, but for the network of affiliates associated with the SBA so that each region (there are 1400+ Small Business Development Centers in the country) would be able to hone its message regionally but with support from the parent organization.  It could offer webinars, downloadable documents, podcasts, and trainings to SBDC’s, who in turn could offer eco-friendly alternative business plans, mentorship, sustainability consulting, education about efficiency tax credits and other incentives, green business networking with other eco-entrepreneurs, and consulting on applying for and procuring funding.

Giving standardized training to these regions that is sanctioned by the SBA would allow an aspiring eco-entrepreneur as good a chance of getting good help whether they lived in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, or San Francisco.  Well, as good a chance as possible.

Scott Cooney is the author of Build a Green Small Business:  Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur (McGraw-HIll), and looks forward to the day where the green economy is simply referred to as…the economy.

Twitter Scott

Photo credit:  www.VanJones.net

We spoke about some exciting new developments in the fight against genetically modified beet sugar.

On February 12, 2009 several food safety, environmental, and corporate watchdog groups launched the Non-Genetically Modified (GM) Beet Sugar Registry.

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Chariots of Philly has been shuttling passengers around Manayunk since 2003, following a larger urban trend toward the environmentally friendly alternative to taxis and horse drawn carriages but the project’s been stalled by an outdated lack of regulation.

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[Creative Commons photo by Tobias Pro User]

Pollution from motor vehicles is responsible for 72% of nitrogen oxides and 52% of reactive hydrocarbons (principal components of smog). Cars and trucks are not the only culprits - road construction causes greenhouse gas emissions both during and after the work is done. A Sightline Institute analysis (pdf) found that building 10 miles of new four-lane highway construction is the equivalent of putting 46,700 Hummers on the road, once you account for factors like materials, maintenance, congestion, and new traffic.

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Sign the Center for Food Safety’s petition and make yourself heard on genetically modified foods and pharmaceutical crops issues!

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What can we do?

There is an online petition to encourage President-elect Barack Obama to choose Mr. Pollan as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

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The three organizations want you to sign a largely symbolic online pledge that serves as an “International Declaration of Reef Rights.” Body Glove is throwing in some prizes such as a wet suit as an additional incentive for us to take a few minutes to sign the pledge.

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In two weeks The National Organics Standards Board is expected to vote in Washington on what kinds of fish can actually be labeled organic.  Tell Washington what YOU think by signing a petition from the Consumer’s Union.

We’re all pretty clear on what “organic” means when it comes to vegetables, poultry and red meat, but what about fish?  This is a question that has been on our radar for quite some time. There is a limited amount of seafood being sold as organic at stores in the US but oftentimes these products were certified in other countries.

The organic fish question still has us scratching our heads, because as of yet there has been no “official” organic designation when it comes to seafood in the US.  That’s about to change.

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• Is produced at the rate of 100 billion per year, almost 850 per household, just in the US?
• Goes directly to the trash, unused, 44% of the time?
• Consumes 100 million trees, or 6.5 million tons of paper?
• Produces greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 10 million cars, or 11 coal-burning power plants?
• Trashes the environment and contributes to global warming with 51 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent?
• Has an effectiveness rating of less than 3%?
• Would 90% of people gladly do without?

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Richmond, Va. based coal company Massey Energy has announced plans to commence blasting at the site tomorrow (10th September), in an operation that will reduce the height of the mountain by 500 feet and free up ten square miles for coal mining activities.

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Streets are for People sponsored this anti-car petition on an actual car in Ontario.

We the undersigned do hereby demand that not one more dollar go to promote, support, or perpetuate car culture. We want bike lanes, public transit and a train system. We want our public space back. We want local food, clean air, sustainable industry, a liveable future for our children, and an end to oil wars. We want to dance in the street. We want a government that values life over money.

Over 4,000 people have signed the car.

Via:  Spacing Toronto

Image: Peyton Chung

I took an anonymous survey of crafters from across the country, and found that 92% of us use commercial supplies to some extent. My two part article for The Storque (to be cross-published here) will reveal further statistics.

There will also be an extensive list of resources that I have found to be informative about the business practices of retailers, product safety concerns, and environmental catastrophes both in the U.S. and the Far East, where many of our raw materials are combined with highly toxic chemicals.

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