Do you have 7 min & 39 seconds?

Oh Good I am glad you have a few minutes in your 24 hour day! Watch this video (you don't even need sound, but it is better if you do). This is one of the grantees of the foundation I work for. See how a little goes a long way.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment!

Happy watching!

Cool Stuff That Helps The Environment

Below are things that with everyday use you could help the planet! Check them out:

1. Baggu - a reusable bag that folds up and fits in your pocket or your purse. Comes in bright fun colors, is stylish and lasts forever. I got six and have shared them! Order at www.baggubag.com

2. Klean Kanteen or Sigg Water Bottles

About:

The reusable, lightweight, and risk free stainless steel Klean Kanteen® was introduced in 2004 to encourage better health, hydration, and environmental responsibility.

	Better Health: Klean Kanteens are made from #304 stainless steel, the material of choice in the food processing, dairy, and brewery industries. Stainless steel is easy to clean, durable, inert, sanitary, toxin-free, and non-leaching.
	Hydration: It’s vital for life.
	Environmental Responsibility: Klean Kanteens are the stainless steel alternative to plastics. Plastics in landfills and oceans are one of the most alarming of today’s environmental stories.

The Klean Kanteen has won over thousands of people concerned with making healthy choices for their bodies and natural environment. Join them in their efforts and try a Klean Kanteen.

Stainless steel Klean Kanteens outlast their plastic counterparts and drinking water from a stainless steel Klean Kanteen tastes clean and odor free, unlike drinking from plastic which often makes water smell and taste undesirable.





3. All recycled paper products. Think consciously before choosing a a new journal, greeting card or anything else. Make sure it is recycled!

4. Clothes made out of bamboo! Yep I said Bamboo :) Check out these websites for environmentally friendly clothes.

http://www.metowestyle.com/
http://www.bambooclothes.com/

or you can ask your favorite store if they sell ecologically friendly products.

That's all I have for now, do you have any products to share???

Happy Shopping!

Books to Read

So my book choices lately have not only been to educate myself regarding issues around the world, but also to inspire change. Plus they are some amazing stories that I believe everyone should be reading.

Books I highly recommend include:

1. Three Cups of Tea (see post below)

2. Not for Sale by David Batstone. (I'm currently reading)
"Human trafficking generates $31 billion annually and enslaves 27 million people around the globe, half of them children under the age of eighteen. Award-winning journalist David Batstone, whom Bono calls "a heroic character," profiles the new generation of abolitionists who are leading the struggle to end this appalling epidemic. "


3. Terrify No More by Gary Haugen (I've read and it's amazing!!!)
"This gripping book documents the events leading up to, and surrounding, IJM’s raids in the notorious Cambodian village of Svay Pak where their workers rescued 37 underage victims of sex-trafficking, many of them under the age of 10."

4. Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken (currently reading)
"Blessed Unrest explores the diversity of the movement, its brilliant ideas, innovative strategies, and hidden history, which date back many centuries. A culmination of Hawken's many years of leadership in the environmental and social justice fields, it will inspire and delight any and all who despair of the world's fate, and its conclusions will surprise even those within the movement itself. Fundamentally, it is a description of humanity's collective genius, and the unstoppable movement to reimagine our relationship to the environment and one another."

5. She Said Yes (was recommended in church on Sunday)
"In the aftermath of the Columbine High School tragedy, a story came out about Cassie Bernall, a young woman who allegedly professed her belief in God in the moments before she was shot dead. Hailed a modern-day martyr by Christian groups and the media, detectives revealed months later that she may never have had such an exchange with her killer. Bernall's parents responded to the news with a statement:

"Our intent was to share Cassie's story in an effort to encourage parents and teenagers. If any of our actions have hurt or offended anyone, we sincerely apologize."

In She Said Yes, a moving memoir written by Cassie's mother, Misty Bernall, we meet the real Cassie, a typical adolescent who struggles with peer pressure and her relationship with her parents. Once headed down the common teenage path of self-loathing and depression, Cassie turned her life around through her faith and the support of a group of people who helped her find peace and purpose--her youth group at church. Though Cassie was far from the perfect child, She Said Yes tells the story of how Cassie's faith gave her the strength to overcome the obstacles she faced in her young life. Regardless of what happened at Columbine, She Said Yes is a moving tribute to an extraordinary young woman and a lesson for both parents and teenagers alike. '

I will be recommending more and updating my blog as more book titles come along, but please share any books that you have enjoyed in the comment section.

Happy Reading!

MicroFinancing...say what?

Microfinancing is what you ask? Yes it sounds boring and something that is not interesting. When actually it is quite a revelation. Here is the definition:

"Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor." (CGAP)

As the financial services of microfinance usually involve small amounts of money – small loans, small savings etc. – the term "microfinance" helps to differentiate these services from those which formal banks provide.

Why are they small? Someone who doesn't have a lot of money isn't likely to want to take out a $5,000 loan, or be able to open a savings account with an opening balance of $1,000. Hence – "micro". (Kiva, 2008).

Why is Microfinancing important? It gives people in poverty the opportunity to make a life for themselves and/or their family. People in small villages may not have "credit" to go to the bank and get a loan to start their own business, therefore microfinancing ables them to do so. Here is a woman in need of a loan.

Kate Efejokwu is 40 years old, married with two children and lives in Benin City, Nigeria, where she makes a living selling groceries. She studied this business for 12 months before opening her store in 1999. She is requesting a loan of $1,200 to buy more supplies to sell. She has been a LAPO client for six years.

This woman is seeking only $1200. They are not seeking $20,000 loans to buy a nice new car or to buy a house. They are only needing money to sustain themselves and even expand their business.

How can you help? By going to Kiva.org you can learn more about how to help out and provide people like Kate money. Kate still needs $275. Remember these are loans, so they repay you and you can withdraw your funds or you can re-invest it to someone else (the better choice of course). There are many different types of people out there, so go learn about them and simply invest and provide people like Kate a positive future.

A friend of my family's who has invested with Kiva wrote me an email the other day. She said her loan to the Kigandazi group is almost repaid! Therefore it does work :) Another side note is Kiva is located in San Francisco, however they have people all over the world who are being provided loans and Kiva's organization is one of the grantees from my job, yet another reason to invest with Kiva.

I would love to hear what you think and if you have invested, plus if anyone wants to all invest in someone, share with us and we can do it!

Happy Investing!

It's Been awhile

Hi Everyone!

Yeah I know I am bad at this. But with all the changes going on in my life and transitioning into a new job, I am back! Ok so I have recently been inspired, to not only blog about everything environmental, but just everything in general. From cool tid bits I learn, to stuff I read, to ideas I learn at work...so get ready because I am going to blogging about anything and everything that I come across :)

P.S. It's hot here, is it hot there? With all the fires going on in California my prayers are with you and your family. For everyone being affected by the fires we are praying that this too shall pass. But what does come to mind with all these crazy weather changes and natural disasters it does make me think of Global Warming. So if you haven't watched "Inconvenient Truth", I say shame on you! Ok just kidding, but seriously you should really watch it, it opened my eyes to being nicer to this world we live in and how I (and you) can make a difference! Happy Watching (http://www.climatecrisis.net/). Oh and yeah the founder of my new jobl, his media company produced it! So another reason to go watch it!!

Ecological Footprint

Ever wondered how much "nature" your lifestyle requires? You're about to find out. Ecological footprint (EF) analysis tries to measure human demand on the Earth's ecosystems and natural resources. It compares human consumption of natural resources with planet earth's ecological capacity to regenerate them. It is an estimate of the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate (if possible) the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste, given prevailing technology and current understanding. Using this assessment, it is possible to estimate how many planet Earths it would take to support humanity if everybody lived a given lifestyle.

This Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates how much productive land and water you need to support what you use and what you discard. After answering 15 easy questions you'll be able to compare your Ecological Footprint to what other people use and to what is available on this planet.

The Quiz takes less than 5 minutes: http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp

10 Ways to reduce your footprint:
1. Walk, Bike, Carpool... (Drive Less)

2. Eat Less Feedlot Beef

3. Eat Eco-friendly Seafood

4. Free Yourself From Junk Mail

5. Install Compact Fluorescents

6. Stop Freezing in the Summer

7. Stop Sweating in the Winter

8. Eliminate Lawn Pesticides

9. Reduce Home Water Usage

10. Inspire Your Friends

Reducing your ecological footprint not only helps you but also OUR planet!

EARTH DAY 2008

April 22, 2008 is EARTH DAY 2008!

Find out what you can do in your area by going to http://www.earthday.net/earthday2008.aspx.

Earth Day is a driving force steering environmental awareness around the world. Through Earth Day Network, activists connect, interact, and have an impact on their communities, and create positive change in local, national, and global policies. A great way to learn and celebrate our environment!

I will going to the Green Apple festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, where will you be this year??

Three Cups of Tea

What if you didn't know how to read or if there wasn't a school in your town? Well in places in this world that is reality for the children. I read this book, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time and I was inspired. Greg Mortenson is man who trekked mountains and came across this one small village in Pakistan. Here is the summary of the book:

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2 in Pakistan. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he eventually stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health. While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time: Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism and terrorism by building schools—especially for girls—throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.Mortenson had no reason to believe he could fulfill his promise. In an early effort to raise money he wrote letters to 580 celebrities, businessmen, and other prominent Americans. His only reply was a $100 check from NBC’s Tom Brokaw. Selling everything he owned, he still only raised $2,000. But his luck began to change when a group of elementary school children in River Falls,Wisconsin, donated $623 in pennies, thereby inspiring adults to take his cause more seriously. Twelve years later he’s built fifty-five schools. Mortenson and award-winning journalist David Oliver Relin have written a spellbinding account of his incredible accomplishments in a region where Americans are feared and hated. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived an armed kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. Yet his success speaks for itself. This year the schools will educate 24,000 children.

I encourage you to get this book and read it. It will open your eyes to what children are going through in this world. For more information check out:

www.threecupsoftea.com or a San Francisco based company www.roomtoread.org. Feel free to leave comments on what you thought of the book and happy reading :)

The Story of Stuff

Ever wonder where all of our stuff comes from, who makes it and where it goes. Well here you get to find out in a short 20 minutes. Take some time, watch this short movie online and I think you will think differently about do you really need more of something you already got?

What is the Story of Stuff?

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Check it out at www.thestoryofstuff.com

Leave a comment and let me know what you thought :)

The Better World Shopping Guide

Ever wonder who actually makes your clothes or the cleaning products you use in your house or what company actually owns that Listerine you use to make your breath smell so fresh or the cereal you buy at the supermarket?

Ever wonder if these large corporations actually do anything for our country, or if Nabisco is really Nabisco owned? If Cool Whip is a small family owned company or if PAM, the cooking spray you use to stop your morning eggs from sticking to the pan is actually the name of the company that makes these produsts? Well to tell you point blank it is a company name Altria. Ever heard of it? Didn't think so, I didn't either. So I did some research.

"Altria Group is the parent company of Philip Morris International, Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc. and Philip Morris Capital Corporation. In addition, Altria Group has a 28.6% economic and voting interest in SABMiller (Major beer brewer by volume). Our companies have always defined responsibility through strong ties in the communities in which employees work and live. In addition, Altria and its companies have a long history of supporting organizations helping those in need. In the last 10 years alone, Altria companies have provided more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind donations to nonprofit organizations,(retrieved from http://www.altria.com/)." What this doesn't tell you is this company is #2 on the worst corporation list. They got the Greenwash award for public deception, they spent over $100 million on Washington Lobbyists, involved in document deletion cover-up, named global climate change laggard, undermines overseas health standards, continues to do business in Burma, and currently the target of 2 major boycotts! Now is this a company you want to support? I don't and that is why I have made a conscience decision to shop better.

My friend Morgan introduced me to the better world shopping guide, a small book that helps you make better decisions when your shopping. Choosing products, stores and food that not only are better for you, but are better for the environment. Think of some products for example, Soda. Having a coke or sprite tastes great, but did you know that the Coca-Cola company has been on Multinational Monitor's worst corporation for 3 years, hinders clean water access abroad and is a target of major human rights boycotts, not to mention drinking soda is probably a large contributor to childhood obesity.The books rates companies on an A to F scale. Let's take Laundry Supplies and rate them. On the A scale you have Seventh Generation, Ecover, Bio Pac, etc. But rated as an F you have Clorox, Borax, and Purex. Never heard of the A products have you? It's because they are smaller companies and yes a bit more expensive but overall better for yourself and the world. If you want to know why they are rated that way you will have to check out the book. The book will explain the reasoning for the grade for certain companies.

This is a lifestyle change and to think more conscientiously about what you are buying. Start small and change one thing. For me my first step was changing where I buy my food. I have stopped going to supermarkets, such as Safeway. I only shop at trader joe's for my food (rated an A-), they have most products there and if they don't have it there I choose either local markets or Whole Foods (rated an A).

I encourage you to check out the website www.betterworldshopper.com and spread the word, one person can make a change :)