Green Options » social justice

DESERTEC $555 Billion Renewable Energy Project Moving Forward

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:53:31 +0000

The huge project to build a $555 billion renewable energy “belt” in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, funded largely by German companies, moved another step forward a few days ago.

The articles of association for the DESERTEC Industrial Initiative (DII) were signed by the joint venture group of 12 companies and the DESERTEC Foundation in Munich on October 30.

Additionally, a CEO for DII was appointed — Paul van Son.

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Musings of A Suburban Farmer on Harvest Day

Steve Savage — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:31:01 +0000

Today I picked the grapes from my vineyard. I got 366 usable pounds from my 25 vines even though I lost at least 100 pounds to birds that somehow penetrated my elaborate net system. The harvest will still give me between 90 and 115 bottles of what I hope will be decent wine - at least as decent as the ‘06 I’m happily sipping right now.

I used the term “Suburban Farmer” as a shameless lure to get folks to read this blog. To be honest, I’m not a “Farmer” at all. I grow grapes as a hobby, and since I am a self-employed consultant, the time I spend growing these grapes has an “opportunity cost” far greater than what the Syrah I bottle will be worth as a reduction in my substantial wine budget. I think it is great to garden or do home wine making, and I wish even more people had the opportunity to do it. It is good for body and soul - better than the money I could have made. But this is still not farming. I have too much respect for real farmers to call it that.

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Outside Lands - Day 2 - Bands and Sustainability

Keith Rockmael — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:34:19 +0000

Live from Outside Lands day two (Green posse in tow), today we focus on some of the artists. After all, for most people Outside Lands remains about the music. But unlike many festivals or shows Outside Lands offers a significant numbers of bands and singers who either have some direct social justice, environmental or artistic causes that they support or create.

Pearljam, who rocked us (despite poor Eddie Veder’s scratchy throat) last night has been offsetting their tours since 2006. The social and environmentally minded rockers fight corporate monopolies, create and cover songs with social and environmental angles (no surprise that they they covered Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” among other tunes last night), and donate even donate their bank to alt energy projects.

Tonight, another powerhouse in the sustainable movement the Dave Matthews Band hits the main stage. These band helped start a project called the Bama Green Project which maintains a partnership between Reverb and IZSTYLE, and encompasses various environmental efforts that the band commits to while on the road, in the studio and at home. The DMB and the Bama Green Project works on educating DMB fans around the world about how to take simple and positive environmental actions. It’s good to know that we have some help in this educational environmental thing.

It’s not all about the big bands, smaller bands such as Blind Pilot, who toured the West Coast twice now on their bicycles, Lila Downs (who unfortunately canceled at the last minute) creates education funds for women down in Oaxaca Mexico), and West Indian Girl did their last tour with a bio diesel RV.

Hopefully, Outside Lands and other festivals will invite more bands with a social and environmental conscience. Sure the music is important but it doesn’t mean that the bands can’t do something good for someone or something else as well.

Back to work as the music continues…..

Van Jones Profile: How To Build A Green Collar Economy

Reenita Malhotra — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:30:11 +0000

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I hope that you had the opportunity to read Jennifer Kaplan’s recent post “Van Jones’ Ecopreneurial Vision.” Talk about a man who is working to inspire a nation!

Van Jones has recently surfaced in America’s Shift to Green Living as a strong advocate for the Green Collar Economy. He is the founding president of Green For All, a U.S. organization that promotes green-collar jobs and opportunities for the disadvantaged. He is also the author of The Green Collar Economy, which has been endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, Tom Daschle and Al Gore.

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Serving up Sustainable Vacations, Hold the Backpacks and Granola

Gennefer Snowfield — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:19:44 +0000

In the past, hearing the phrase ‘eco-travel’ likely conjured up images of backpacking along some earthy trail or setting up a tent on open terrain.

You probably never envisioned white sandy beaches, deep blue oceans, or a gleaming beacon of 5-star luxury beckoning you to paradise. Sure, there are still plenty of adventure tours and gritty excursions worthy of beef jerky and a walking stick, but you don’t have to be the Crocodile Hunter to enjoy a green vacation. The sustainable tourism movement has expanded traveling horizons, making an eco-friendly trip idyllic for jet setters and nature wanderers alike.

Sustainable tourism is an industry committed to making a low impact on the natural environment and local culture, while helping to generate income and employment for locals. So, by taking a sustainable vacation, your rest and relaxtion leads to the economic health and social development of cultures around the world, while helping the environment to thrive in the process. Explore the many ways that you can travel ‘green’ and start planning for a journey that brings peace to you, your destination, and the earth.

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So Many Green Efforts, So Little Time: Introducing ‘Picks of the Week’

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:08:48 +0000

It’s refreshing that just a few hours of online browsing can open your eyes to so many creative, innovative and hard-working green groups across the country. The only downside is that there are so many good individuals and organizations out there, it’s hard to write an in-depth profile of each of them. So I’m introducing a new feature today called “Picks of the Week,” a roundup of some of the most outstanding green initiatives I’ve discovered over the past seven days.

So here we go:

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Book Review: Earth Democracy

Kelli Best-Oliver — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:13:25 +0000

In Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace, Indian physicist turned environmental activist Vandana Shiva calls for a radical shift in the values that govern democracies, decrying the role that unrestricted capitalism has played in the destruction of environments and livelihoods. By no means a new release, Shiva’s book is incredibly timely as skyrocketing fuel costs jeopardize the rationality of globalization. Through explaining problems with expanding globalization and privatization of public goods and services, then illustrating examples of communities rejecting the intrusion of corporations into communities, Shiva outlines core beliefs that should result in what she deems “earth democracy”, a global community that honors and respects diverse forms of life and their respective cultures.

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Pearl Jam, Kanye West, Zero Carbon Emissions to Star at 2008 Bonnaroo

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:20:59 +0000

If you thought the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was cool in years past, wait’ll you get a look at this year’s lineup … not only the talent on stage, but the starring sustainability efforts backstage too.

The four-day camping festival, held annually in Manchester, Tennessee, since 2002 has grabbed accolades galore just for the great variety of performers it attracts (this year’s lineup includes everyone from Pearl Jam, Chris Rock, Kanye West and B.B. King to Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Willie Nelson and Janeane Garofalo). But it’s taken increasingly awesome steps each year to green the event onstage and off, and this year is no exception.

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Is the Black Market for Recycling Garbage in Peru a Good Thing?

Levi Novey — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:05:42 +0000

Imagine getting up in the morning, collecting the garbage in your home, and taking it outside. After opening your door, you see a person watching you intently from the corner of your street. You walk a few steps, and place your trash bags where they will eventually be picked up. No sooner than you turn your back, that eager person from the corner is making their way over to your refuse. Within moments they are rummaging through the waste. Searching for bottles and other items of value, you might occasionally see them kicking toward hungry street dogs to protect their bounty and themselves from a painful bite. While this scenario might seem ridiculous to you, it happens every day in Peru. The circumstances for why people in Peru collect re-usable and recyclable items in the trash is complex, intriguing, troublesome, and potentially wonderful.

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Has Vanity Fair Tainted its Well-Intentioned Africa Issue?

Hemal Vasavada Gill — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:47:25 +0000

Vanity Fair’s July issue is devoted to raising awareness in Africa. Guest edited by Bono, the magazine has 20 different covers featuring celebrities and cultural figures like Brad Pitt, Madonna, Maya Angelou, Oprah and President Bush involved in a game of telephone.

The magazine has been debated because it naturally raises the question of whether the use of celebrities in social campaigns raises awareness or trivializes the issue. Some see it as a positive step – some awareness is better than nothing while others are less optimistic. I personally tend to fall into the former camp. Bono has clearly made the business decision of using celebrities to sell the magazine, but he has also equally given attention to both creating awareness about issues afflicting Africa like AIDs and civil war while celebrating and focusing on progress.

What bothers me about the issue isn’t the issue itself but what comes packaged in the UK edition of Vanity Fair. If you live in the UK or happen to spend the £3.80 at the airport, you will open up the plastic wrapper and find nestled in between the Africa issue and an advertisement to buy all twenty covers an additional issue of Vanity Fair entitled, Fire and Ice: “72 pages of ravishing rocks, ginormous gems and fancy fripperies”.

Now most people who are somewhat socially conscious or have even seen the movie Blood Diamonds would know that the gem trade in Africa has lead to many social and environmental problems in parts of the continent. The decision to package the two magazines together – with no mention anywhere of the gems issue on the Africa issue – seems at the very least, tacky and even offensive.

What could the UK editorial staff at Vanity Fair be thinking? Given that it’s competitive and a high-end publication, it’s very hard to believe nobody flagged this as a dubious editorial decision. It seems that the only reason Vanity Fair would have made the decision was for business reasons.

Was this the right decision? I haven’t seen online any major response to the decision, and I’m sure the issue is selling well. However, I believe packaging a diamond issue alongside an Africa issue of Vanity Fair puts the magazine’s credibility up for question. It shows disrespect to the thoughtfulness used to create the Africa issue. Worse, it puts the credibility of participating celebrities who have spoken out against the diamond trade like Oprah in question. Hopefully, as the issue makes its way into the households of Vanity Fair readers in the UK, we will begin to see some response. This is after all a world where consumers now have a greater voice. It’s now up to us to exercise it.

Vanity Fair Africa

Wanna Change It? Seventh Generation and Greenpeace Are Looking For You.

Kelli Best-Oliver — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:28:35 +0000

Are you a eco-conscious college student seeking to expand your activism? Green cleaning products company Seventh Generation and Greenpeace are teaming up to form a environmental/social justice leadership training program for young people.

Dubbed Change It, the second-year program is recruiting 200 student leaders between the ages of 18 and 24 to take part in a week of grassroots environmental and social justice education. Selected students will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC in July. Participants will learn about topics such as systems thinking, action media, nonviolence, and campaign strategy, and will actually participate in real campaign work.

Last year's Change It participants were responsible for a nonviolent global warming campaign in front of the US Capitol, where participants created a giant human arrow pointed towards the capitol with the phrase "Global Warming Starts Here" and delivered photographs of the event to their respective representative.

Interested in applying? It's all online here. Even those applicants who aren't selected will still receive an action kit with tools to help them become strong campus leaders. Not eligible to apply? You can check out applicants online and even vote for your favorite. Readers can also submit ideas for how they'd change things to improve the environment, which will be published on ChangeIt's website.