Elisa's Green Scene

Travel light

The Buddha said that on life's journey some gather wisdom, some gather stones and some gather nothing.  To gather wisdom one must follow your own path.  If you rely solely on wise teachers, their wisdom may weigh you down, like stones in your pockets, and impede your way.

Being creative for the environment

I saw this originally on Josh Rubin's Cool Hunting, and it just warmed my heart.  And it seems more than a gimmick to me.  It is called Ecotonoha, and its a project by NEC. 

People can come in and add a message as a leaf on a tree every day, and watch the tree grow.  For every 100 messages, NEC will plant a tree on Kangaroo Island, Australia.  Last year 84,000 messages were added, translating to 845 Eucalyptus seedlings being planted.

There is much more beneath the surface, however.  There is a wealth of information on NECs website about their environmental activities, along with figures and graphs of their progress in making a more sustainable product.  Its amazing to see that they've put the resources into putting together such an extensive website.  This seems like a really honest attempt to do the right thing, as not all the bad numbers always go down.  Sometimes they rise, and there is an explanation as to why they rose.  One footnote that would be interesting to know more about, however, is that their computer recycling activities are only available in Japan.

Seems to me like NEC are putting their money where their mouth is.  It would be great to see more companies get this serious about sustainability.

"Strategies for Green Marketing"

I'd say that it is a positive sign that there's someone out there who can make a living helping companies figure out how to market to the green-inclined among us.

Oh yes, it's base and capitalistic and they want to make money at it, but if we believe that one can do business and also do good...as we certainly do here at hip & zen...then what might some might see as the sign of the apocalypse is really a good sign to me.

Case in point, this article by Jacqueline Ottman, president of J. Ottman Consulting, Inc., a firm that advises on strategies for green marketing. She is also the author of Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation.

She makes the same points I've made before: ethos and function both matter. Only the most philsophically driven will spend mroe to get less, just to make a point. Ottman says that green products have so improved that that is no longer necessary:

And don't expect to see babies, planets, and daisies in these products' ads. That's because they can attract users on the basis of why consumers buy certain products in the first place: performance, cost savings, health, and convenience—benefits that appeal to a much wider set of consumers than those in the "deep green" niche.

Ottman quotes a poll: 56% of Americans would do more for the environment if they only knew how.

I could get all cranky and ask "how can they not know how??!!" But what would that accomplish. Make it easier. Make it reasonably priced. Make it beautiful.

In other words, make it hip & zen. :)

Top 10 ways you can reduce global warming

Groovy Green likes lists, so linked to this list of the top 10 things eveyrone can do to reduce global warming, from About.com:

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
2. Insulate Your Home
3. Be Thrifty with Heating and Cooling
4. Leave the Car at Home Whenever You Can
5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products
6. Turn Down Your Appliances
7. Don’t Leave the Water Running
8. Get a Report Card from Your Utility Company
9. Be an Informed Consumer
10. Encourage Others to Conserve

How come the political is completely avoided here?

My #1: Research the environemntal views and proposed policies of every candidate for whom you have the opportunity to vote...and vote for the candidates who actually a) acknowledge there is a problem that needs to be addressed, b) aren't so warm and cozy in bed with various industries that they'll do nothing to put a dent in their profit by requiring them to be good eco-citizens.

Sure, this is a list of personal actions one can take to contribute to the cause, but I'd say this is one case where the "political" most certainly is the "personal."

The diamond meditation

Like a diamond the spirit has many facets, which radiate light into the world.  Each facet is an essential quality - for example, love, peace, compassion, acceptance and patience.  During the course of a week, choose one essential quality each morning and meditate upon it, allowing it to shape your consciousness.  Each evening reflect on how that facet of your spirit expressed itself during the day.

Carnival of the Green #19 is up at baloghblog

As always you can find the best of this week's green musings at the Carnival of the Green. This week marks, as host baloghblog points out, the Vernal Equinox and the beginning of spring.

Now I'm not saying it means anything (like "climate change"...did I say that?) but does anyone else find it odd that while I was in Austin, TX last weekend it was around 90 degrees in Austin (which all the Austinites swore was unusual for mid-March) and it snowed in San Francisco...which I can tell you pretty much happens a couple of times a century. Well, also included in the inclusive Carnival of the Green is Jon Swift's satirical little piece (at least I think it's satire) about how he looks global warming in the eye and says "bring it on."

This week's Carnival includes my post praising an exchange between green LA Girl and a journalist and reminding us that sometimes "corporate responsibility" is a realtive term.

Other posts that leaped out at me:

How to make your kid a Treehugger from Sustainablog. Now, I don't have a kid, but could all of you parents out there get on this right away? Now the short answer of this post is to get your child into the great outdoors, but I have to say that my childhood was anything but outdoors-loving. I, to this day, have never been camping. We liked the 17-mile drive because, well, you could stay in your car and see the sights. So, I must stand up for those of us who are examples that there are other methods to shape your kid into a treehugging hippy-dippy animal-loving bleeding heart.

L'Oreal and the BodyShop to Wed from CityHippy: People are freaking out a bit about this "sell-out"  on The Body Shop's part. CityHippy explains why we all need to chill out.

An Annontated Entry about the Oscars from Terry: In which the editors of Terry compare the amountof money spent on and aorund the Oscars to what that money could buy a world in need. Well, at least my man George Clooney donated his Oscar schwag bag to be auctioned off for charity. Why didn't a lot more people do that. OK, I'm sure Supporting Actress nominee Any Adams is not a millionaire. She can keep hers. But come on, some of those people could purchase any of the stuff in that bag that they really needed without breaking a sweat.

This is why I loves me the inclusive Blog Carnival spirit. Every week I find bloggers and blog posts I just wouldn't find on my own.

So, check out the Carnival.

More hip & zen yoga mats

Hat tip to Treehugger for yet another example of hip & zen yoga mats. This time they're made of organic cotton, cost $60, and are from a company called Intent. They are toxin and pesticide-free plus they are "fairly-traded." Yes, they put that in quotation marks on their actual web site, so I was a little skeptical. They kindly do provide a link to their definition of fairly traded here.

I'm also a little skeptical that this cotton rug wouldn't slide around under you while doing various poses. Anyone out there use a mat like this?

Tap your spiritual wisdom

The purple, "third eye" chakra (also called ajna, meaning "inner eye") is located in the middle of the forehead, just above the eyebrows.  It is the center for spiritual vision and rules our intellectual thought processes.  Meditate on this energy center by visualizing a purple sphere spinning in the middle of your forehead.  This will sharpen your mind and strengthen your connection to the wisdom of the cosmos.

iPod covers off the beaten path

I love, love, love these ipod covers from Bennie and Olive. Hat tip: PopGadget 

They are non-leather (a requisite for me) and they are a tad pricey at $69, but not crazy. Bennie and Olive make other cute stuff too. Not all of it eschews leather, but I'm fair and will point to their catalog of products for everyone to make their own choice. (After all, hip & zen actually sells some non-vegan products, so I'm obviously adopting a live-and-let-wear-animals attitude.)

Eco-friendly Stuffed Animals?

Yes, Indeed! A company called BWTI (or Biltmore World Trade Inc.) distributes stuffed animals made from something called SOYSILK at a site called TofuBear. They describe SOYSILK as follows:

SOYSILK® brand fiber is a cutting edge fiber made from the waste produced duing the manufacture of tofu.  Known for its soft feel, like cashmere, SOYSILK® brand was first introduced in 2001 by South West Trading Company, known for its luxury yarns made from Soy, Bamboo, and other cutting edge fiber.

Now they look like they are just starting out, but I'm going to keep my eye out for these cute little animals. Made from recylcled materials...excellent! Made from by-product of common vegetarian food...more excellent :)