Elisa's Green Scene

Final stretch for BlogHers Act Mother's Day fundraising initiative: Myanmar relief added to project list

I've written before about BlogHer's Mother's Day fundraising initiative in partnership with Global Giving.

Today we announced two incentives to participate in this the final week before Mother's Day:

1. We've added a sixth donation option on top of the five worthy projects we're supporting: Provide Emergency Relief - Myanmar Cyclone Victims. The devastation is horrifying in the aftermath of the world's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. And the cries of governmental lack of transparency or fast action is reminding some of us, very uncomfortably, of Hurricane Katrina.

2. BlogHer and GlobalGiving are offering matching funds. Lisa lays it out as follows:

Whichever of the now six projects recommended via the BlogHers Act fundraising widget receives the most donations between now and the end of the week will get a $1,000 donation from BlogHer, which Global Giving has agreed to match. The other five worthy projects will also get a donation of $200 each from BlogHer.

Now, you know you can give a donation to one of these worthy projects in someone's honor, like, say, I don't know...your mother!!!

So, grab the widget, grab your wallet, let's get that number higher, knowing another $3,000 will be added on top of it, from BlogHer and Global Giving.

Depressing post about "organic" labels

Let's be honest: Sometimes it gets a bit tiring and daunting to care about things, right? Seems like you can never care enough, do enough, speak out enough. I'm a big believer that doing anything is better than doing nothing, but sometimes doing only something seems like you might as well be doing nothing. Anyone else feel that way? Or am I just being whiny? (I suppose you can answer "yes" to both questions, of course.)

This post on Groovy Green made me feel this way. Mischa Popoff is a former organics inspector who wants us all to realize that the label "organic", despite having guidelines and parameters associated with it, is still almost meaningless...because (and I really didn't know this) farms self-report and basically self-regulate...and since 80% of "organic" products come from overseas, there's even less control on those!

I guess I can feel fairly good about the organic food I purchase via delivery every other week from Organic Express (now merged with spud, actually.) That's mostly very local stuff, down to them saying what farm produce comes from. But even in those cases...is it tested? Apparently probably not.

So, one more cause to trumpet and speak out about: Having organic certification being based on self-reporting is NOT good enough. We want testing!!!

Right? Right.

Green Your [fill in the blank]

Hat tip to ecofabulous for pointing me to a new , faithful green resource, Green Your.

Its goal is to be a guide to greening practically anything in your life. I like that their About page is quite clear and states their business model and standards up front.

The site organization is exceedingly clear: The break things into three categories Facts, Tips and Products.

You can also search by category.

Finally, you can simply fill in the blank of the search box at the top of the page: Green Your __________.

I've been thinking lately about the fact that the S.O. and I never took a honeymoon, and I've been thinking cruise to Alaska.

So I entered Green Your Cruise and got a list of facts, tips and products, including the tips on how to plan an eco-friendly honeymoon.

I envision myself playing with this site for hours.

What did you find?

Not another cheesy Mother's Day card, m'kay?

One of the folks at BlogHer's awesome PR firm, the Racepoint Group, figured out that when you donate to any of the BlogHers Act charitable projects via Global Giving, they give you the option to make that donation on behalf of a recipient, and then to personalize either a snail mail or email card telling them so.

Or as Kristina from Racepoint put it in her email:

"So, if you would like to skip the cheesy hallmark card route and support a good cause, you can visit http://www.globalgiving.com/blogher.html?RF=blogher08, pick a project and make a donation in your mother’s name. They will receive a personalized card designed by you via post or email about your donation."

And just to remind you, the worthy projects from which you can choose are:

Improving education for young girls in Burkina Faso

Empowering HIV positive women in South Africa

Ensuring appropriate healthcare for displaced refugees in Darfur

Funding a mother and child health clinic in rural Nepal

Helping Afghan women with pre- and post-natal care

More details on every project are here.

So, we still have a few weeks left...have you participated yet? Which projects did you fund?

Go here now and let your mother know she raised you right :)

A Brush With Fame...or at least with eco-friendly and economical attributes

I have been feeling guilty about my make-up brushes for six months now. Six months ago I went on the pre-wedding make-up buying spree and spent more on makeup in a day than I probably have in my lifetime. While I was careful to shop with brands that were cruelty-free, I realized after I roused from my consumerism-induced stupor, that I had no idea if my brushes were.

Now, thanks to ecofabulous, I have found the perfect soution: EcoTOOLS.

The brushes feature the following earth-friendly components:

*Bamboo handle has a low impact on the earth’s resources as it is a highly sustainable plant.
*Synthetic taklon bristles are 100% cruelty free.
*Sleek ferrule is made from recycled aluminum.
*Cosmetic case is made from natural cotton and hemp.

According to ecofabulous they are also cheap, and available at places like Walgreens, not just Whole Foods.

Next stop: My local Walgreens, and then a review.

Can they really be as good and good-for-us as they seem to be?

I'll let you know.

I'm a green blogger, and how much do I suck? Oh, hey, and Happy Earth Day!

See, originally I wrote that post title at 6:45 when the suckiest thing was that it was 6:45PM, and I had completely let Earth Day go by without a post. And this is a green blog, so I was feeling somewhat ashamed.

But then, my browser decided to freeze, crash and die without saving any of my work. So now the suckiest thing is that. And here it is 8PM, and I'm trying to recreate the beautiful link post I had created :(

So, let's see what cool links had I found:

BlogHer got an exclusive audio interview with former NJ Governor and former head of the EPA, Christine Todd Whitman, in honor of Earth Day. She is still quite involved with the environment, and with trying to get politicans of all parties to take climate change seriously. You can listen here.

Also at BlogHer a collection of other good BlogHer Earth Day links...and you can add your own via the Mr. Linky tool.

In honor of Earth Day Time published what they considered to be the Top 15 Green Websites. (Note, it says "websites" not "blogs.") I think these top lists from mainstream sources are usually pretty unimaginative, and not too well supported. But they are, from a positive perspective, a great place to start!

And if you're looking for a more comprehensive aggregation of green sites, why not visit Alltop's?

Finally, a few weeks ago a company moved into the office across the hall from us. It was Flock, a browser company whose product I had toyed with and abandoned back when it was in alpha. But they're still around despite my premature rejection, and today they launched an "eco-broswer."

For two (positive) reviews of the new browser, check out Groovy Green and Treehugger.

So, I'm late to the Earth Day party, but I hope you enjoy one or more of the links I provided above. And since this is a green blog, I hope I can bring Earth Day Every Day, instead of just once a year!

How to Throw a Green Party According to Danny Seo

To be totally honest, I'm aware of Danny Seo as a green guru in only the most vague way. I haven't bought his books. If he has a blog, I don't subscribe to it. But I did find this article on Epicurious: How to Throw a Green Party and had to check it out.

The first segment is on food. As I clicked on the link I was skeptical that this article would address the #1 way to go green from a culinary perspective...going veg. Although I was right that Seo provided advice on how to find eco-conscious meat, dairy and egg sources, I will give him props for the final paragraphs:

"When planning your menu, also keep in mind that a lot of green-minded folks are committed to a vegetarian diet (for various moral and ecological reasons, including the idea that "eating low on the food chain" has a smaller impact on the environment). Offer at least one dish that's completely free of animal ingredients."

The Decorating section is a little Martha Stewart-ian in its scope at the start, but then he settles into giving good advice about what kind of serveware is most eco-friendly for groups large and small.

There's more on drinks and party activities, and I have to admit the idea of an "adult" pinata...filled with mini bottles of alcohol among other things, did make me chuckle. The again it requires papier mache-ing, so i doubt I'll be heading down that path at my next party.

In any case I enjoyed the article, and it did inspire me to click on over and see if Danny Seo has a blog. he does, but it is literally taking minutes to load, so impatient girl that I am, I'm going to wrap up this post and let you know later what I think. (I think it must need fewer widgets, smaller scale images and maybe less javascript to load faster, that's what I really think!)

Has the thought of green packaging occurred to the medical industry yet?

Amy over at Diabetes Mine has a great post on the amount of wasteful packaging that accompanies her regular supplies as a diabetic.

Some of it is wasteful shipping packaging, some of it just seems like fancy packaging to make you feel cool about the products you're buying.

Like this one she uses as an example:

As Amy says:

"Once you take out the pump and its mini carry pack, you never look back at this thing again."

As a diabetic Amy might encounter more of this medical packaging waste than someone like me. But I've thought of this too when I get my birth control pills. Each individual month's pills come tucked in a little plastic case. I just slide the pills out of the case...does anyone actually use the case? Does anyone really need to hide their birth control pills in pretty purple (in my case) plastic? I've never gotten that at all.

Or the big huge plastic bottles that house pills, that bottle is filled 50% with the cotton ball at the top. What's the purpose?

And that's just a drop in the bucket. Again, as Amy muses:

"I cringe to think what heaps of extraneous packaging materials must be flowing through actual hospitals these days."

Yikes!

I did find this article from Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News (there is a trade magazine for everything, have no doubt) which goes into fairly excruciating (to this layman) details about the requirements and concerns around eco-friendly medical packaging.

I actually think it's interesting in an eco-geeky way, so check it out. Maybe there's a little hope...

My interview with Anna Lappe was awesome!

If I do say so myself.

Well, mostly she's awesome, and her ability to break down the issues, or should I say the connections, between food, the environment, world hunger etc. is admirable.

So often I hear people complain about activists or vocal supporters of causes, particularly green causes, and resort to saying they're unrealistic or too "superior" or some other adjective. To be honest I hear those kind of criticisms and know I'm dealing with someone who is projecting because they KNOW they aren't doing what they could to make the world a better place...and they feel guilty about it :)

Because most activists I've talked to are more like Anna: really, really interested in finding ways that regular people who have busy, normal lives, can participate, make a difference, have impact.

And that's what we talk about during this interview on BlogHer.

It's part of BlogHer's Earth Day Every Day initiative this month, so check it out!

Giving you 30 Days Notice

30 Days Notice to get ready to help with the annual Letter Carrier's Food Drive, that is.

Stamp Out Hunger!, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, is taking place this year on May 10th. You know this one...it's the one where you can fill a bag and leave it by your mailbox, and your letter carrier will pick up the food and deliver it to Second Harvest Food Banks (and other food relief organizations if you don't have a Second Harvest in your area) nation-wide.

Some things to remember:

-Non-perishable foods, please
-This has been going on 16 years now...obviously people participate...do you?
-Something I don't think I realized is that this seems to be driven by the Letter Carriers association, as opposed to by the U.S. Post Office. I find that interesting.

You can find out more about the annual Stamp Out Hunger! effort in your community, ask your letter carrier, contact your local post office or visit www.helpstampouthunger.com.

Hmm. What's in my pantry?

Cruelty-free Silk?

Of all the things I eschew due to my veganism, the one that most people have the hardest time getting is that I don't buy/wear silk.

Because indeed the silk worms die to clothe us.

Now Treehugger introduces us to a new Norwegian brand of "cruelty-free" silk, where they wait for the worm to emerge from its cocoon and use what is left behind.

I admit it's intriguing to me, although there's little info about what happens next: Do the moths just fly off to live free, unfettered lives in Norway?

But it actually doesn't eliminate the larger ethical issue that most vegans adhere to: that we are not entitled to use animals for our own purposes. That old PETA slogan: animals are not ours to eat, wear or experiment on" (or something like that.)

Now, the brand, FIN, has a crappy web site with frames and images, so I can't just link you to their description of the product, or even cut and paste it, but they describe it like this:

If it's really as idyllic and "natural" as they describe it's hard for even philosophical stickler me to reject wearing that!

Now, if only the line name Eco-Lux wasn't quite so accurate. Yeah, it's pricey.

Saving Women's Live...and therefore, the communities around them

I'm posting this in multiple places today... deal :)

BlogHer launched the BlogHers Act activism initiative at last year's annual conference, and since then we've undertaken such projects as a Blog Action Day for the MOTHERS ACT, and a series of podcast interviews about postpartum depression and postpartum hemorrhage, among other topics.

Today we launched a BlogHers Act project that goes right to the bottom line: Raising funds to endow five different projects across the globe that directly address the health and welfare of women and children. We're partnering with Global Giving on this initiative, and we'll be tracking how much money the BlogHer Network can collect between now and Mother's Day in May.

BlogHer now reaches about 8 million unique visitors per month across our entire network. Just imagine the possibilities...won't you help turn them into reality?

I know I'm in!