This January, the world witnessed one of the worst tragedies in modern times. A 7.0 earthquake rocked the already struggling nation of Haiti and caused incredible amounts of death and destruction on a level not many had seen before, including myself. Before the earthquake, Haiti had its fair share of issues, ranging from infrastructure to the economy. And it is even worse off now, with a death toll of at least two hundred thousand and over a million homeless, not to mention the near destruction of the UN mission efforts and parts of the government. With such a grim outcome, it doesn’t seem like anything positive could come from this. However, in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, Haiti has a unique opportunity to rebuild.
Haiti not only has an opportunity to rebuild their capital city, but they have the chance to restructure their country in a sustainably: economically, socially, and environmentally. Hundreds of conventional international aid groups have already made their way to the country; however, there are groups such as Global Green who are looking to help rebuild the country in a truly sustainable way. Global Green USA has been instrumental in the reconstruction of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Recently, Treehugger published an interview with Global Green’s CEO and President, Matt Petersen. Global Green has been constantly in contact with all parties including the Haitian government, local businesses, and several NGOs. The interview is a very insightful look at the struggles and opportunities Haiti will face in the coming years including some issues seen in Iraq and New Orleans, such as corporate leaps of power and some long-term investments like job creation. Global Green is looking to end these challenges as well as many others and begin assisting a sustainable future for Haiti.
So, is it possible for Haiti to emerge out of the destruction with a new lease on sustainablity? As Matt Peterson mentions in the interview, there are many challenges; however, there is hope. One can take a look at rebuilding New Orleans as an example. On a recent visit to the city, it still looked as if much of the 9th Ward and parts of downtown had yet to be rebuilt. But upon researching as I returned home, it became clear that there is a movement to sustaibably rebuild the city, with organizations such as Global Green or Rebuild Green. Perhaps it is too early to tell whether Haiti can be rebuilt completely sustainable, but with organizations such as Global Green on their side, they do have a good chance. In his interview, Peterson mentioned their main focus was “four fold:”
1. To inform the codes and system for enforcing codes for rebuilding.
2. Identifying school(s) and partner groups to help ensure disaster-resistant, energy efficient/sufficient, and healthy construction.
3. Identifying partners to do the same with homes (we’re talking to Habitat about this).
4. Working with others to identify and support re-forestation, ideally via a network that supports women to lead the charge and supports job creation
Even with the massive challenges this country and the organizations involved in its reconstruction face, there is hope for a new Haiti. A Haiti that is self-sustaining in every sense of the word. If this can truly be accomplished it will be the only silver lining to one of the most destructive events of this century. And although we look to the future for hope, let us not forget the thousands that lost their lives.
The devil and his horned minions must be flooding Amazon.com with requests for winter hats, mittens and hot cocoa, because the unthinkable has happened: Wal-Mart has gone Green. Ok, perhaps Satan should not retire his bottle of SPF 5,000 or his fashionable flip-flops just yet, because like most events in history, Wal-Mart’s new found eco-friendliness is not as simple as black or white, or as good vs. evil.
A seemingly noble enough reason to flex your corporate muscles, this effort is not causing unanimous celebrations across the land of the eco-minded (you would be absolutely shocked at the amount of “kiss me, I am organic” t-shirts people sport there). Wal-Mart, which is not-so affectionately nicknamed Sprawl-Mart in certain circles, has not always shown such concern for the environment and despite these recent efforts, it is still a company that crushes smaller companies that can not compete by providing products as cheaply for their customers as Wal-Mart can, as well as labor abuses and using questionable factories overseas.
There is no doubt that a little bit of green has gone a long way in gaining a company favor with the public in recent years, but if Wal-Mart lives up to their pledge, is it really “washing” so much as “being truly proactive”? Or do the other negative impacts this Corporation has on the environment -such as the green house emissions coming from shipping items all over the world, as well as from the endless stream of cars in their parking lots- negate or lessen the positive impact of this green promise? Is it really such a bad thing that a company millions worldwide seem in no rush to stop shopping at tries to toss Mother nature a solid?
Is Wal-Mart’s Rocky Balboa tough enough to beat China’s Ivan Drago? (Hmm, maybe I should not besmirch Rocky’s good name by comparing him to Wal-Mart, he did single-handedly defeat Communism in Rocky IV via a string of stirring montages, after all).
If you are reading this, you are most likely going to be drunk this weekend. Why? Because everybody gets drunk on St Patrick’s Day. And by everyone, we mean most people. Yes, we know, the holiday occurs on this coming Wednesday, but the only realistic celebration days for the working world are this weekend, which means you don’t have much time to prepare. And that is why you have turned to us! With a drinking holiday fast approaching, we researched our beer options and found purchasing organic is superior for various reasons. Read on and be, first, horrified, then satiated.
We have covered why conventional beers can be harmful to both the environmental and our own personal health. Now on to be satiated! Drinking conventional beers can be dangerous, however, we are not recommending you give up the wonderful world of beer just yet. Instead, we can all turn to organics! The benefits of drinking organics is pretty simple, as you won’t be ingesting any of those harmful chemicals mentioned above. But on top of drinking pesticide free beer you will be supporting local farming. Most organic hops come
Fortunately, the organic beer market is expanding and there are many more choices available these days. The best place to find organic beer is in your city or region! Some of the best beers are from small, local, micro-breweries. You should check around your neighborhood for suggestions. However, there are many great organic companies that are available around the nation and should be stocked at your local specialty shop, large liquor store, natural foods store, co-op, or even Whole Foods. There are many different companies to choose from. Here are some of our favorites:
Organic beers may not be as readily available as the conventional type yet, however, drinking them and supporting their business helps you and the environment. Next time you are at the liquor store think about those poor birds or the pesticides that can survive in your beer and fork out the extra cash to purchase the organic alternative. Remember the more we purchase, the more demand breweries will see, and that means more organic beers to choose from! So knock one back for the ole’ Irish style holiday and make sure your label reads USDA Organic!
I write this article with a bit of shame from behind my Macbook and my iPhone resting close by. Like any other modern citizen, I use my fair share of electronics from computers to mp3 players and even a smart phone. And as a labor conscious and environmentally aware consumer I tend to support companies who meet my ethics. Unfortunately, the electronics industry is seriously lacking in both fields. One of the great offenders happens to be one of the highest grossing electronic companies: Apple Inc.
The company also has been
But what can we do? The easiest answer is to boycott a company with such labor violations. However, with the electronics industry, we, the consumers have little choice. Most electronic and computer companies continue to source their manufacturing overseas in questionable factories. In fact, the
So if an outright boycott is out the door, what options do you have? You can purchase your electronics refurbished or used, so that your dollars aren’t going straight to the pockets of industry giants such as Apple. But if used electronics makes you nervous you can demand accountability and transparency from these companies. Contact them directly and let them know how you feel about labor rights and environmental standards. Let’s stand up together against this industry, because in the way of this modern world their products are a unfortunately or not a necessity. Let’s demand the companies be more responsible and you can start
Between the long security lines (wherein you must juggle shoe removal with the loading of your luggage properly onto a conveyor belt, all while keeping track of your oh-so-important ticket) and the delayed departure times, air travel can be a nuisance before you even step foot on an airplane. One of the few pleasant consistencies of a process that is decidedly inconsistent, is the complimentary drink and snack service offered on most domestic flights. Once that snack cart starts rolling triumphantly down the aisle, even if it nips my elbow on its blessed journey to quench passenger’s thirst and assuage pangs of mid-flight hunger, I can not help but to perk up a little. “A cola? For me? No charge?” I seem to suffer a mild case of amnesia and do not recall the hundreds of dollars I have likely spent on this flight and how that could easily cover the cost of Mountain Dew or two.
This service is typically followed by your friendly flight attendant strolling up the aisle with a small plastic bag seeking the debris from you in-flight nosh. What happens to that debris is the topic of a report conducted by the nonprofit environmental group,
In addition to all these fun percentages,
While this report may sound all doom and gloom, there is hope for the airline industry and its apparent aversion to recycling. The most important variable in implementing these changes is you, the passenger. Green America Corporate Responsibility Director
It may be easy to just accept your Mountain Dew and surrender your can at the end of the flight to the trash bag in your flight attendant’s well-manicured hands, but being a decent citizen of planet Earth, you know that doing the easy thing is not always the same as doing the right thing. Encourage airlines to bone up on recycling 101 by writing to the companies and support airlines that do implement in-flight recycling programs. Every time that bag comes around ask your flight attendant “Is there a place to recycle this?” The more they hear requests like these, the more likely they will change the policy. When in-flight recycling is not available, shove that empty can and newspaper into your carry on bag to recycle at home.
Yes it is that time again where the celebrities and film community come together to award the best films of the year. Everyone is a buzz over the highest grossing film Avatar and the Indie darling the Hurt Locker. But what about the documentary section? Often this field is overlooked unless a high profile producer/director is on the ticket ala An Inconvenient Truth or Fahrenheit 911. However, with this year’s nominees we are hoping the field gains more notoriety and possibly could make an impact on the ever growing Green Movement.
Of the Oscars Green nominations, another eco-friendly film was included in the Documentary section, although nowhere near as popular as Food, Inc. The film, The Cove, exposes the illegal practice and cover-up of the slaughter and sale of dolphin meat in Japan. The dolphin meat contains outrageous levels of mercury and is misleadingly labeled as whale meat. It’s astonishing expose brings to light inhumane as well as environmentally damaging practices occurring currently. Another great must see Green film!
When I think of nuclear power, two images come to mind: the scheming
ave been built throughout the entire world and were at their heights in the 1980’s. However, the accidents of
Calling Nuclear Power a renewable energy has sparked some huge protests among the environmental community. Most notably, nuclear power is created by Uranium, which must be extracted from the Earth through destructive mining techniques. Also, there is the problem of nuclear waste, which is incredibly dangerous. Although, nuclear power may not produce greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it still produces waste that must be placed somewhere. Where are they going to put all this waste? For decades they have been burying it in containers, hoping thousands of years will reduce its radioactivity, however, if an earthquake or war breaks out containers could spill into the soil and water supply. This waste is terribly harmful to humans and the environment, one just has to look to
Speaking of Chernobyl, it is clear nuclear power can be dangerous. Although meltdowns are very rare, if one were to occur, it could be horrific and 
The act of having an especially good or clever idea is often represented in visual media by a glowing light bulb appearing above the thinker’s noggin. The “Aha” look on the person’s face coupled with their index finger pointing skyward serve as optional accents to the universally understood symbol for a stupendous notion in action. Whatever the opposite of a light bulb spontaneously appearing above one’s head would be- perhaps a rotting egg or a pet rock would materialize out of thin air, – is how I felt when I recently read about the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs occurring not only in the U.S, but in numerous other countries on multiple continents.
Apparently my ignorance of this incandescent lighting phase-out, which in the United States was put into motion with the passing of the
The bright idea (light bulb puns, they are addictive) behind this phase-out is to cut Green House emissions and save on energy costs, which seem to be sound enough reasons to eradicate the production of an item. This phase-out though, like most governmental legislation, is not without its critics. The most likely immediate replacement for incandescent bulbs during this phase-out for consumers will be Compact Fluorescent Light, or CFL’s for brevity’s sake . These types of bulbs have been the recipient of harsh scrutiny as regions across the globe enact their own phase-outs of incandescent bulbs. Issues ranging from the type of light they give off (unflattering or headache inducing) to concerns about the dangers of the mercury contained within these bulbs have caused some people in areas
While I can surely agree with a move towards a more energy- efficient type of lighting, I also can relate to an uneasiness to give up what is familiar for a newer technology- especially when that technology is the light bulb; an invention that truly revolutionized the world (perhaps even more so than the George Foreman Grill- come on, you know you have one, and you LOVE it!) . I can especially relate to this apprehension after looking over the seemingly 
