Elisa's Green Scene

Earth Day: Fan or Naysayer?

Earth Day is this Wednesday the 22nd, and as usual it brings with it a lot of hoopla...and a lot of cynicism.

Across the country there are special events and festivals. And I don't think anyone would argue that the annual Earth Day doesn't raise awareness in people who don't normal follow environmental issues closely.

But some say that's a band-aid, and in fact harmful, because it makes people think doing something on Earth Day once a year is sufficient.

Grist may have started this year's contrarianism with their Screw Earth Day project:

"One day is for amateurs. Grist is your resource for making every day earth-tastic"

Adding to the chorus, Eco-Salon says: Earth Day...Why Bother?

"Earth Day raised the eco movement to the next level. It bridged the gap between government and grass-roots, and it was influential in the development of the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency.

But it’s been running for nearly forty years. It’s not an Event anymore. And Grist believes that because it’s just a yearly festival, it does precious little to change our habits - and anyway, what difference can one day (especially Earth Day) really make?"

Jennifer from Blisstree agrees with her own post entitled Screw Earth Day!:

"Each year I post about my Earth Day concerns, talk about my Earth Day concerns, and while some agree with me, others get a little huffy about it. It’s nice to know someone cool (Grist) is on my side."

But in Earth Day's corner is the Budget Ecoist in Why Earth Day Is Still Pertinent as the Environmental Movement Goes Mainstream:

So, to answer our own question, we are feeling a bit of overload when it comes to the eco marketing gravy train. But it only makes us more certain that Earth Day is an important reminder for all of us to come together to celebrate the Earth without the hype.

And they go on to list three things they love about Earth Day.

I see both sides, but I still think Earth Day does more awareness-building good than complacency-bestowing harm.

What about you?

San Francisco hosting a couple of green events

The Bay Area is known as both a liberal hotbed (see my last post about whether the green movement is inherently politically liberal) and at the forefront of the green movement. The latter is probably true because there's so much natural beauty surrounding our urban and suburban landscapes on all sides that we cannot not think about the environment!

It's not surprise then, I guess, that there are lots of green-focused events here, and lately those events are focused on businesses, and how they can be a part of the green movement.

First, on April 30, comes GreenBusinessCamp, an unconference whose goal is to: 

"...bring together small green business owners and entrepreneurs, who are passionate about creating positive environmental and social impact through their businesses and who are committed to successful business growth."

It's being run by a company that consults with companies about how to be more green, so obviously this isn't a charitable event here, but you all know my feelings on how the green movement will become ubiquitous across all socio-economic strata when it can become good business...across all socio-economic strata!

Then on May 19th and 20th we have the Greener By Design Conference. This one obviously buys into my above concept, as its elevator pitch is:

In today’s challenging economy, companies that can align environmental innovation with affordability to bring green products to the mainstream have a clear competitive advantage. How are successful companies designing greener products with little or no price premium? Join us at Greener By Design 2009 to see who's innovating, who's succeeding, how they're producing products that aren't just greener, but better — and how you can put these strategies to work in your company.

Again, a la The Sixth Sense, "I see corporate people" involved with these events. But that doesn't make them bad...it actually means the movement is getting new life, new devotees.

Is it a bummer that everyone doesn't leap to be as green as they can be, with no financial incentive and despite the cost? Is it a bummer that some companies will never care much about green practices unless it hits their bottom line? Sure. But we've got to acknowledge that reality and move on...and make people and companies care. If bottom line thinking is how we do it, so be it.

The Green Inaugural Balls

There are going to be not one, but two "green" inaugural balls this coming Tuesday night. And like Siel from BlogHer: I'm not going to either one :)

Siel has great tips on greening your inauguration parties...starting with the very idea of inviting a crowd to watch together, so you save energy vs. watching individually, of course.

In addition, you can actually watch one of the green balls online, in streaming HD no less. Just go to http://www.greenball2009.org/. (This is the one chaired by Al Gore.)

The Ball also has its own blog (not too bloggy yet, I must say) and you'll be able to follow the Ball live on Twitter. (Yeah, I followed, what the heck?!)

Personally, I'm TiVo'ing the inauguration itself, and a friend is coming over to watch it that evening after work (after we go on a nice, brisk walk.) Of course I'll be serving vegan food.

So, it's a pretty green evening I have planned myself!

What are you doing for Inauguration Day?

Alternate gift giving this holiday season

I know that many of us are looking long and hard at our holiday gift giving lists this year. (I'm maintaining mine on a product I discovered via a BlogHer sponsor, Springpad...check it out if you're my kind of anal retentive!)

You're probably economizing on the gifts you do give, but you're also probably thinking about this: If you are in a good enough financial position to be making a list and checking it twice, would some of that money be also well-spent in a little more year-end giving?

This year my family is:

a. giving gifts to the kids

b. having each adult pull one other adult's name to give an actual gift

c. each making a charitable donation as our overall gift to the family

I'm busily trying to figure out who that charity should be for me and my S.O. Last year we did the same, and we picked One Laptop per Child...taking advantage of their Give One, Get One program.

I also am deciding which of my regular charities will receive extra year-end donations from me.

I know that the Humane Society of Silicon Valley is on the list. This was the first year I did not donate to them, starting last holiday season, because I did not agree with them doing horse carriage rides as a way to fundraise. (You can read that whole story here.) Well, this year they reached out to tell me that, in part due to my interchanges with them, they decided not to run that program again. So, since I told them that I was going to stop my long-term giving to them until they stopped...and they stopped...it's back on the Elisa gravy train for the HSSV.

I will probably donate to my alumni association, I make monthly donations to Greenpeace and the DNC already. And then there's the various acronym soup represented by PETA, PCRM, HSUS, and so on and so on.

If you are looking for alternate ways to give, including ways to give of yourself that are not dollar-oriented, here are some great resources:

Britt Bravo links to some great resources for deciding how to allocate your giving, and how to keep track of it over on BlogHer.

One of the links she features is from Change.org, where Social Entrepreneurship editor Nathaniel Whittemore is gathering and sharing tips for giving from noted social good and social change blogerati.

If you need some lightly amusing and satirical inspiration...and then a place to take action...then look no further than Changing the Present. They've filmed some commercials that put those cheesy "buy her a diamond and erase all your sins and prove you really love her" commercials in their place. Plus, they have hundreds of charities to choose from to give, along with an appropriate accompanying gift card.

Finally, I discovered via Marnie Webb: GiveList. Ways ot give that don't involve your wallet at all. More about their project is here, and you can read what the NY Times had to say about it here. You can find lots of ways to contribute either your own time and skill or thins you would never miss, but would mean a lot to some.

I hope somewhere in all of this you get some great ideas.

From the Daily Green: How Marketers can help the environment

One of my roles at BlogHer is overseeing our marketing efforts. So, of course I perked up when I saw the headline of this Daily Green article: 5 Ways Marketers Can Help the Environment

Now, really, they should have prioritized this list. Items #1, 2 and 4 on the list assume that one is still in the archaic practice of relying heavily on printed materials for one's marketing. I would have liked to have seen a BIG, BOLD STEP #1 made out of there Step #5:

5. Go digital. Instead of submitting print copies of your marketing materials, photos and other graphics to a printing company use digital images and documents that can be sent through email or uploaded to a website. It's faster, cheaper, and much better for the environment. You may see this as trivial, but the small things add up.

Even this step is assuming one can go digital in one's preparation for preparing printed materials, however.

So, I would have started the Go Digital step by asking:

Do you really need printed materials? Really? What would happen if you considered ways to eliminate printed materials altogether?

I'll give you an example:

BlogHer puts on events, and as part of that we used to print a nice, glossy conference brochure. There absolutely was key information in that brochure: venue maps, session schedule, speaker pictures and bios, sponsor logos and blurb. All very basic stuff you see in every conference brochure. And it was running about 50 pages long.

But when you really think about it: all people really need to carry in their hand is the map, and maybe, a skeleton schedule to remind them where they want to go next.

SO, now we create the brochure and send it to attendees via email. And we have a simple one-page handout at registration with the map and skeleton schedule. Sending them an PDF is actually better than a hard copy brochure...you can embed URLs etc. You have more chance of long-term use of your digital brochure.

So, yes, when we have to provide actual physical materials we do go for things like organic cotton lanyards and tote bags etc., but our first step is being brutal about cutting back on materials created for the conference in the first place. And our second step is recommending that sponsors have the same attitude when thinking about what to put in our conference tote: Think something usable and practical, not something someone might have to read!

After all, I can't be the only person who typically leaves most of the paper and brochures and other stuff I get in my conference totes behind on the hotel room bed, right?

Tips for a greener Thanksgiving

Numerous sites are out there advising you on how to be greener this Thanksgiving. The advice is sorely needed, since Thanksgiving is among those holidays that most seems to be about over-consumption, not actually giving thanks.

Hey i love the holidays, but pushing away from the table feeling so full you feel sick isn't all it has to be about, right?

So, let's do a quick run-down of some helpful sites:

Of course I need to start with the helpful advice on how to be a vegetarian at Thanksgiving (yes, it can be done!)

My own Veggie Goes Vegan site is helpful, since I posted about Personally Pardoning a Turkey This Thanksgiving, and then provided an excellent Thanksgiving-time recipe to boot.

Trehugger offers 8 Tips on Being a Vegetarian at Thanksgiving. This isn't just about the practical eating-side of it, but how to deal with family who might not be entirely supportive. Ht tip: Earth First

But for those of you who aren't quite ready to go green this Thanskgiving simply with the act of going veg, there are a couple of sites out there helping you go green in other ways:

Earth First: Ten Tips for a Green Thanksgiving

A variety of helpful tips that everyone can do without killing themselves...and that's actually one of their tips: Keep it simple. Too often we all want to impress our friends and family so much at the holidays that we overdo it, spend too much...and stress ourselves out. The holidays really are about love and friendship, right?

ecofabulous: Entertain greenly this holiday season

The ecofabulous tip list is more a resource post of stores, brands and sites to look for so oyu can go organiz and natural when entertaining. Less philosophical, more practical.

All helpful!

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Go create ideas for the Obama administration (and vote for them) on Change.org...including mine!

Change.org is asking members to come up with and vote for ideas to present to the Obama administration on Inauguration Day.

My idea: Launch an Education Program on How Going Veg=Going Green & Healthy

If you agree that most people don't make the connection between how they eat and the environment, and if you agree that folks who think of themselves as environmentally-conscious should be considering going veg, then vote for my idea!

And don't forget to check out the other ideas in the Animal Rights section.

And while you're at it? Why not post some ideas of your own?

Could we go to Obama's own transition site, Change.gov, and post our ideas too? Yes we can!

I'm going to be delving into that site later this week. I'll let you know what I think.

So, what ideas are you going to post, support, vote for, propose?

Tomorrow is World Vegetarian Day

Despite being one of the co-founders of BlogHer, I don't actually get to use it as my own personal platform. I have two "beats": The conference, and reality TV talent shows, like American Idol, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars etc. I don't use BlogHer to blog about any of my other myriad interests, including green issues or veg*nism. We actually have a Green editor, and we also have a Food editor who is focused on veggies.

But everyone knows I'm the token BlogHer veg*n, so since World Vegetarian Day is tomorrow, I did get asked to blog it for BlogHer, which I gladly did here.

If you're a veg*n too, please feel free to go comment over there...would love more veg*n voices on BlogHer, that's for sure :)

What are you doing for World Vegetarian Day?

Eco-friendly and highly personalized business cards

Just in time for BlogHer, hippyshopper alerts me to the fact that MooCards is launching a range of Eco-Friendly Business cards this week.

Not just in time for BlogHer: apparently Moo is making some changes, and their site is down!!! Oh noes!

That is a damn shame because not only are MooCards unique, personalized and affordable, they had a special discount offer available for BlogHers, courtesy of the enterprising Velveteen Mind.

So, while I was excited to pass on both the discount and the fact that they had launched a new eco-friendly version of their MooCards, turns out my timing couldn't be worse.

Well, bookmark it. I'm sure they'll be back and just as handy soon.

Mark Bittman's TED Talk: Eating meat is this century's nuclear bomb

There's a video making the rounds of Mark Bittman's presentation at this year's TED conference:

If you are purely interested in the global health and global environment arguments for eating less or no meat, then this is the argument laid out quite nicely and succinctly. (Yes, it does seem completely based on Michael Pollan's work, so I'm not sure how Bittman got his start encroaching on Pollan territory, and I wonder how Pollan feels about it.)

As most of you probably know I, in addition to caring about global health and environment issues, am also a vegan because of animal rights issues, so you can imagine that on that score: Bittman leaves me cold. Which I expound on just a tiny bit over at my vegan blog.

But I also think his arguments may carry more weight or actually change more behaviors than my more extreme views, so watch away, and let me know what you think.