Boston.com article on Greenwashing

There was a great article on greenwashingin The Boston Globe the other day. Since consumers will be spending so much on green products in the next decade, we had better do our homework and make sure that products really ARE green, not greenwashed.

The eight-passenger [Chevy Tahoe] vehicle is plastered with "hybrid" labels. An automobile magazine panel that included the executive director of The Sierra Club named it the "Green Car of the Year."

But the Tahoe gets only about 20 miles per gallon - not much better than the nonhybrid Honda Pilot SUV, which also seats eight. The celebrated Toyota Prius gets around 46 miles per gallon.

"How a 6,000-pound behemoth can be the green car of the year is beyond me," said David Champion, director of Consumer Reports Auto Test Division. "It's a marketing exercise rather than reality."

Voluntary Simplicity Discussion in Natick, MA

A Voluntary Simplicity Discussion group is starting this Sunday, May 18th from 3-4 in Natick Center, and there are about 4 more spots available if any of our readers are interested. The group will meet weekly for 8 weeks, with members taking turns facilitating the discussion and (if desired) hosting. The discussions will be based on the essays in the North West Earth Institutes's course books, which cost $23.

There are also several people who would like to participate in a group but can't do Sunday afternoons. If any of you would like to be added to that contact list, please contact the group facilitator, Anne Lafluer at amlafleur@hotmail.com. She says it would be great to have two groups running concurrently. Anne is excited to run these groups, as she's heard very positive things about the courses from others.

The Great Shopping Spree is over? Good riddance!!!

In a recent Newsweek article called "The Great Shopping Spree, R.I.P," Robert J. Samuelson says that the consumption cycle that drove the economy for the past 25 years is over. He outlines some disturbing statistics, including:

In 1980, Americans spent 63 percent of national income (gross domestic product) on consumer goods and services. For the past five years, consumer spending equaled 70 percent of GDP.

In 2007, household debt (including mortgages) totaled $14.4 trillion, or 139 percent of personal disposable income. As recently as 2000, those figures were $7.4 trillion and 103 percent of income.

He cites a host of reasons for the perceived end of this disturbing consumption period, including the bursting of the stock and real estate bubbles, a population that is aging out of their spending years, and a tightening of credit.

Samuelson predicts that the end of the "debt-driven consumption boom" will be an extended period of lackluster growth and job creation. I am not an economist, but I say, good riddance to the debt-driven consumption boom. The measure of our success as individuals and as a country has to be more than how much stuff we have and how far we can leverage ourselves to have it. Instead of replacing this consumption boom with nothing, let's replace it with growing more localized, regional economies. If we succeed, there will be more local jobs, not less. We might not get stuff as cheaply, since Americans expect (and all people deserve) higher pay than workers in China, where most of our goods are currently made; but perhaps our growth as a nation will be of a different order: growth in self-reliance, growth in community, and growth in sustainability.

Join us on Saturday the 10th for World Fair Trade Day

One aspect of being a Conscious Consumer is being aware of the impact of our buying decisions on the lives of others. When we buy fairly-traded items, we're making sure that the workers involved in growing, harvesting and/or manufacturing the goods are being paid a living wage.

This Saturday, May 10th, is World Fair Trade Day. Conscious Consuming will be at two events and hope you will join us or get involved in something wherever you are.

We'll have a table at Youth Pride 2008. Look for us down on the Boston Common all day on Saturday.

We're also co-hosting a Fair Trade Show with Autonomie Project. Come check out Fair Trade Fashion and enjoy some complimentary organic wine and Equal Exchange Chocolate! For more info, just click on the invitation below or email info@autonomieproject.com

2008 BOULDER COUNTY GOING LOCAL! Campaign Rollout

WHAT: On May 13, at 6:00 p.m., the “Transition Team” at Boulder County Going Local (a non-profit organization
committed to relocalizing the essential needs of our communities) will preview its 2008 BOULDER COUNTY
GOING LOCAL! Campaign at the Boulder Dinner Theater. The county-wide Campaign sets the theme for a
decade-long effort to make the transition to a stronger, more localized economy in an energy-constrained
future.

This special celebration will feature speakers from a variety of sectors in our community, including locally-owned
independent businesses, the local food system, county and city governments, and non-profit community
services, as well as a preview of upcoming Campaign activities, projects and events through the end of this
year. Highlights of the evening will include:

 Presentations by key sponsors and supporters of the BOULDER COUNTY GOING LOCAL! Campaign
 Introduction of Boulder County’s GOING LOCAL! Resource Guide, which will include articles and
directories covering the Campaign’s BUY LOCAL FIRST! and EAT LOCAL! themes
 Overview of The Great Reskilling, an educational program designed to rebuild the basic life skills that our
grandparents took for granted
 Announcement of the Chautauqua Summer Forum Sustainability Series of panels and presentations
 Announcement of the 2008 RENAISSANCE OF LOCAL! (Sept 27-28)
 Announcement of new community projects
 Announcement of the uplifting Transition Town Initiative in Boulder County, a direct connection to an
inspiring international movement of communities officially transitioning off fossil fuels and becoming
more resilient and self-reliant in response to the twin threats of climate change and fossil fuel depletion
(more at www.transitiontowns.org)

WHEN: Tuesday, May 13, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, with complimentary hors
d’oeuvres provided by the Boulder Outlook Hotel.

WHERE: Boulder Dinner Theater, 5501 Arapahoe, Boulder
RSVP: Laurie Loughrin, 303-494-1521, lauriel@bouldergoinglocal.com

Boston Area events this week

Boston Green Drinks will meet up tomorrow, May 6, from 6:30 p.m. onward at Skipjack's, 199 Clarendon St., Boston. They have a private room, just to the left of the host station (though not in the bar, which is also to the left).

There will be an Energy Fair on Saturday, May 10th from 10:00 a.m.-2:00p.m. at the First Parish Church in Westwood at the intersection of Clapboardtree Street and Nahatan Street. There will be entertainment and food and the event is free!

Also, come visit us at Massachusetts Youth Pride, where we'll have a table about Conscious Consuming. Youth Pride, the country's oldest and largest gathering of GLBT youth, is on the Boston Common this Saturday, May 10th from 11am-5pm.

Hope to see you at one of these great events!

"The Case for Make Believe" Book Release Party

The Center for a Commercial-Free Childhood is having a book release party for Susan Linn's new book, The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World. I read Susan Linn's last book, Consuming Kids, and it was so good that it helped spark our interest in hosting a potluck with Josh Golin, a guest speaker from CCFC. If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, or might have kids of your own some day, I'm sure this book will be worth a read!

"An eloquent brief on the indispensability of unmediated, unadulterated play" ­­-- Howard Gardner, Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of Art, Mind and Brain.

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
7pm - 9pm

Judge Baker Children's Center
53 Parker Hill Avenue
Boston, MA
Free on-site parking
Refreshments will be served

Hosted by The New Press and Alvin F. Poussaint, MD, Professor of Psychiatry,
Judge Baker Children's Center and Harvard Medical School

Please RSVP to Barbara B. Sweeny
(617) 278-4106 or bsweeny@jbcc.harvard.edu

In a commercialized world where glitz masquerades as substance and pundits tout the bells and whistles of technology as a panacea, The Case for Make Believe is a passionate plea for ensuring children the time, space, and silence essential for creative play.  

Susan Linn, author of Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood (The New Press), is a psychologist at Judge Baker Children's Center and Harvard Medical School and Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. An award-winning ventriloquist internationally known for her pioneering work using puppets for play therapy, she was mentored by the late Fred Rogers.

Slow Down and Green Up--May 2008

Happy May Day!

We hope you've all recovered from Earth Month, International Downshifting Week, and TV Turnoff Week, all of which should’ve helped us leave April feeling refreshed and rejuvenated...

May is here, and we wanted to let you know about some upcoming Conscious Consuming events in Boston:

• Saturday, May 3rd - Join us at Spontaneous Celebrations’ “Wake Up the Earth” in JP— This family friendly event is free and a great way to get to know some people in your community. Visit http://spontaneouscelebrations.org/WUTEfacts.htm for more information, and stop by our table to say hello to Marty and Cindy if you can make it.
  

• Saturday, May 10th – Conscious Consuming is tabling at Boston’s 14th annual Youth Pride celebration on the Boston Common. Youth Pride is the oldest and largest GLBT pride event for youth in the nation, and we were excited to be invited this year to spread the message of sustainability. Visit http://www.massyouthpride.org/ for more information, and please email greg@consciousconsuming.org if you are able to help table this event. All you have to do is smile a lot, hand out brochures, and help sign people up for our email newsletter.
  

• Saturday, May 10th (3-5pm) - Celebrate World Fair Trade Day with the Autonomie Project’s Fair Trade Trunk Show and Wine Tasting at Greenward, 1776 Mass Ave, Porter Square. For more information, email info@autonomieproject.com or visit www.wftday.org.
  

AND BEYOND:

• Conscious Consuming Discussion Series in Boulder, CO – Join us every Tuesday in May from 6:30-7:30pm at the prAna Store community room in Boulder, CO. We’ll be piloting our Discussion Series, and viewing clips from The Story of Stuff, Everything’s Cool, and Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home. If you can’t make it to Boulder, remember that we have all of the tools for a successful Discussion Series on our website at http://www.consciousconsuming.org/events/Discussion-Series.html...why not bring Conscious Consuming to your own community?
  

• We receive lots of great emails from groups such as Green Drinks, Slow Food convivia, Earthworks, BALLE, Community Green, etc. about events all over the US. We generally post these updates to this monthly newsletter on our blog, which now has a subscription service so that you can get emails each time someone posts a new entry. Visit us at http://consciousconsuming.blogspot.com/ to subscribe via email or RSS feeds.
  

Thanks and have a terrific month!

The Team at Conscious Consuming

King Corn

Thanks to Boulder County Going Local, I watched the film King Corn last night. It's a fantastic complement to Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Let's face it, that book is pretty long and very dense; it's a great book, but not everyone is going to crack it. This film presents similar information is a more digestible, entertaining way. It's not full of answers, but it outlines the changes in our agricultural system over the past 50 years very carefully, through interviews with scientists, farmers, and doctors. Did you know that 1 in 3 children born in the year 2000 will be diagnosed with diabetes over their lifetime? That we are the first generation in a long time with a shorter life expectancy than our parents? That's because we're mainlining high fructose corn syrup, in the form of sodas, juices, and junk food additives.

I could tell you more about it, but you should really see it for yourself. Order it on their website, Netflix, or attend a screening near you.

Urban farming

Ads are everywhere, but after this short one is a cool clip about urban farming (don't blame me, it's the Wall Street Journal's video). Food doesn't get more local than your own front or backyard, as Kip Nash of Community Roots in Boulder, CO explains:

International Labor Rights Forum’s MOTHER’S DAY Roses Raffle

Personally, on Mother's Day, I'm not much for flowers. I'd rather receive an edible plant like basil or a tomato seedling, but I'm sure I'm in the minority. Indoor houseplants still trump cut flowers (from an ecological perspective), which are shipped primarily from South America. However, if you must give cut flowers, look for Fair Trade flowers. Or better yet, read the rest of this posting courtesy of the Internaional Labor Rights Forum:

"This Mother's Day, celebrate by sending a special gift to a loved one, while also helping to improve working conditions for women in the Latin American cut flower industry.

Enter to win a dozen fair trade roses delivered to your mother (or whomever you choose…)! Each entry costs $10. With a $30 donation, you will not only get 3 raffle entries, but we will also send a fair trade chocolate bar and a special card letting your loved one know that a donation was made in their name. Enter online here .

FOUR winners of fair trade bouquets will be chosen at random from the raffle.
Deadline for entering is May 4. Winning entrants will be notified by May 5 and the 4 lucky recipients of fair trade bouquets will be congratulated on the ILRF website and e-newsletter on May 12. For official entry rules, click here .

Proceeds will benefit the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF)’s Fairness in Flowers campaign, which promotes safe and decent work in the cut flower industries through consumer education and support for local organizations that provide services for workers in Latin America. There are 40,000 flower workers in Ecuador and over 100,000 in Colombia, working to grow, harvest, and package the roses and carnations sold in the United States. More than half of these workers are women, and many are single mothers. They commonly face labor rights violations including sexual harassment, pesticide-related illnesses, and forced pregnancy testing. Your donation will help more workers access legal support and health and safety trainings, and will help ILRF and its partners push producers and retailers to provide real protections for flower workers and the environment.

About Fair Trade roses: Most Fair Trade certified roses come from Ecuador and Kenya. In addition to certifying compliance with labor and environmental standards, workers receive a premium to invest in community development. More information at http://transfairusa.org/content/flowers."

International Downshifting Week 2008

Well I had very good intentions to write a daily diary for International Downshifting Week like I did last year, but Earth Day really takes up a lot of the attention in the US, and Downshifting Week at this time of year takes a back seat, unfortunately. It's been really dizzying this year to see how the environmental movement has taken off...the mainstream media has taken up the cause and more people are aware of how their daily decisions are affecting the environment. Just take a look at the growth of farmer's markets and CSAs, the plethora of environmentally focused web sites and blogs (giving us more opportunities to spread the Conscious Consuming message!), and the jump into eco-products by HUGE corporations like Wal-Mart and Target. It's not the same scene it was a year ago, that's for sure.

Environmental consciousness is a welcome thing, and I'm not complaining about its growth. However, I think that one of the things that sets Conscious Consuming and International Downshifting Week apart is the focus on Slowing Down to Green Up. Voluntary simplicity is by its nature very environmental. The less work we do, the less money we have, the less stuff we buy, the more time we have to do the things that really make life worth living. Downshifting allows us to have more time to spend with friends and family; more time to grow some of our own food, cook meals from scratch, enjoy those meals sitting down at the table, volunteer in our communities, follow our passions and follies. Whether you've been actively engaged in Downshifting Week or not, check out Tracey Smith's website to find Downshifting Tips for Success!

Global Green Expo in Jersey City this weekend!

We just got word of this event and wanted to share it with everyone around Jersey CIty and NYC as something worth checking out:

The 2008 Global Green Expo ,Fri and Sat 25th and 26th April, Liberty Park, Jersey City, NJ (easy access from NYC!)

Lee Welles, the author of the great "Gaia Girls" kids book series will be there. She has done quite a few of these events and assures us that this will be a good one!

For more info, check out their website: www.globalgreen2008.com

Have a great green weekend!

Kudos to Conscious Consuming

We are delighted to have been listed as one of "Ten Eco Blogs for Earth Day" by the London Times On-line. We are in good company; also listed was No Impact Man and Climate Progress.

Eco Tips for Jeans

OK, all jokes about the dancing aside, this video from the UN Environment Program suggests we wear our jeans 3x before washing, wash in cold, and hang dry. I would wager that goes for most clothes, unless you're sweating, have young kids with ketchup fingers giving you hugs, or farm for a living. I am still trying to teach my kids to check their clothes to see if they're dirty before putting them in the hamper, but they are only 5 and 7. Hopefully adults have already learned this lesson.


About the United Nations Environment Programme
Created in 1972, UNEP represents the United Nations’ environmental conscience. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, its mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

About the UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics
The UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics - based in Paris - helps governments, local authorities and decision-makers in business and industry to develop and implement policies and practices focusing on sustainable development. The Division leads UNEP's work in the areas of climate change, resource efficiency, harmful substances and hazardous waste.
The Division works to promote:

> sustainable consumption and production,

> the efficient use of renewable energy,

> adequate management of chemicals,

> the integration of environmental costs in development policies.

Earthworks' Roxbury in Bloom Tour

Join Earthworks for a tour of Roxbury, MA at the height of the flowering spring! See below for details.

Roxbury in Bloom Tour, June 14, 10am-noon
For the second year in a row, EarthWorks will participate in Discover Roxbury's "Roxbury In Bloom" Tour. Ride a trolley through this historic neighborhood of Boston to visit sites with flowers, fruits and vegetables. Delight in a gorgeous display of gardens, parks, historic sites and even a farm!
Click here for more information.

Pets for the Environment

Brace yourself for cuteness.

I came across this great website created by the Environmental Working Group: Pets for the Environment

Though it may seem at first glance a cutsy, almost frivulous way to talk about environmental toxins in the home, the toxins are real and have the potential to be extremely harmful to people, their children, and their pets. This website does a great job of explaining the invisible harms in our cleaning and storage products.

Check out the Healthy Pet Tips! I'm going to be making at least some of these changes in my own home, if not for me, for my kitties I care so much about.

Happy Earth Day!

Today, April 22, 2008, is Earth Day. Earth Day was started in the 1960's, and some people believe that the modern environmental movement was sparked by this first celebration.

We have giant shoulders to stand on and must solve the most crucial environmental problem of our time in our generation. This is the time to look back at our predecessors and learn from them.

Below you'll find a couple of our favorite quotes from our heroes. Throughout the day I'll be posting more in the comments section of this post. Feel free to post your own as well!

"The Earth is not dying, it is being killed. And the people who are killing it have names and addresses." -Utah Phillips

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

"What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?" -Henry David Thoreau

"Never, no never, did nature say one thing and wisdom say another." - Edmund Burke

“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do” - Wendell Berry

"We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do." - Barbara Ward

"It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself."
-Rachel Carson

Shorter commutes, happier people

NPR had a news story on this morning about how people are choosing houses with shorter commutes. Although their slant was about the housing markets in lots of cities, I would like to think that this trend shows that people are now valuing their time with family and not in their cars on the highway, more than that big house in the suburb.

"One Less Burger, One Safer Planet"

You might not like to hear it, but it's true. Cutting meat out of your meals is one of the best things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. I've said it before, but now you can hear Derrick Z. Jackson say it his Globe Op-Ed, "One Less Burger, One Safer Planet."

Make your Earth Day Plans

If you want to do something special this weekend to celebrate Earth Day, you can search for events by city on the Earth Day Network. The Earth Day Network says one of the most important things you can do for climate is to register to vote. I'm guessing most people reading the Conscious Consuming blog are pretty engaged citizens already, but if you haven't registered yet, get a move on!

Many of the Earth Day events are rallies and/or concerts, which can be fun ways to connect with other people in your community. If you want to do something with a little more activism, however, you might consider volunteering for the environment. There are a lot of volunteering opportunities that focus on the environment in April in celebration of Earth Day, and often these can turn into on-going projects throughout the year. If you are in the Boston area, visit Boston Cares to find all manner of environmental and social justice volunteer opportunities. Most volunteering projects require participants to first become Boston Cares members and attend an orientation, and from there, it's on to helping people and the planet.

"The Greening of Boston" event with Boston Cares

We thought some of you might want to attend this free event about "The Greening of Boston" on April 29, 2008 from 6-8pm.

In celebration of Earth Day join Boston Cares for our April Conversation Café as we hear from Shubhada Kambli from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of New England as she leads our discussion about the "greening" of Boston and energy efficiency.

In the March issue of Popular Science Magazine, Boston was named the third Greenest City in the United States in part because of its recycling programs, public transportation systems, Green Buildings programs, and renewable energy plans. "Beantown truly is Greentown," Mayor Menino has said. Shubhada Kambli will talk about the steps Boston has taken to become more "green" and discuss ways in which we can all work to make our city more sustainable in the future.

Organization: Boston Cares
Phone: 617-422-0910 x204
Contact person: Sarah Lally
Website: http://www.bostoncares.org

For directions/public transportation information, please visit the event page on Idealist.

"Sustainable Energy in Motion Bicycle Tour"

Common Circle Tours is a bicycle touring company based in Oregon that offers sustainability tours in both Oregon and Hawaii. It sounds like a fun, educational vacation, and you'd get lots of exercise in the process. The tours are geared toward beginning/intermediate bicyclists, so you don't have to be hard core to participate. As part of the tour, you'll visit intentional communities, organic farms, green building sites, and may get to participate in a service project. You will learn about low-impact camping every night. Read about a typical day on the tour here.

If it sounds interesting, the price for a one week Oregon or Hawaii tour is $695 total for TWO people if you sign up by April 20th. Not bad for a one-week vacation including accomodations and hands-on permaculture education. A deposit of $150 secures your spot. Visit www.commoncircle.com to register or for more information.

Report: Organic veggies have more nutrients

From the Union of Concerned Scientists:

A review of nearly 100 scientific studies has concluded that, on average, organic fruits and vegetables have more vitamins, minerals, and beneficial antioxidants than their conventionally grown counterparts. In the new report, scientists from The Organic Center (a nonprofit that promotes organic farming), examined carefully matched measurements of selected nutrients in specific organic and conventionally grown foods. The scientists found that the organic produce had higher levels of tested nutrients in 61 percent of the cases. Furthermore, the organic foods tended to have higher levels of antioxidants and polyphenols, nutrients that are often in short supply in U.S. diets. By contrast, conventional produce had higher levels of potassium, phosphorus, and total protein, which most people already have in their diets in sufficient amounts. The Organic Center will update its findings online as new studies comparing organic and conventional foods are published. Read the report.

Sign Up Now for EarthWorks' Landscaping Workshops

Sign up now for Spring Landscaping Workshops!

EarthWorks is holding a series of landscaping and tree care workshops this spring. Find more info here.

March 8: Tree Pruning
April 26: Edible Landscaping
May 10: Landscaping with Native Trees and Shrubs

Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System

Raj Patel has a new book out on the world food system, explaining why some people pay so much for food and some go hungry. Hear and read an interview with the author here.

A new approach to bottle redemption

There is an interesting article in today's Boston Globe on bottle redemption. Massachusetts only has bottle redemption for carbonated beverages. This excludes bottled water, sports drinks, wine, etc.

Last year 144 billion containers were discarded rather than recycled and more than 1/3 of them were plastic bottles. This is unsustainable and changes need to be made to stop this environmentally harmful habit. Of course it would be best if people would stop using disposable bottles and use reusable metal, ceramic or glass containers instead. Until everyone does that, more robust recycling and redemption is an incremental step.

The article discusses a new program in Maine called Clynk. Maine is one of only three states that redeems both carbonated and non-carbonated beverage containers. Clynk is a business with a new redemption model that seems to be winning over people on both sides of the redemption debate. Read the article for details.

Being a Conscious Consumer of Furniture

I just read an interesting article over on used furniture over at the Apartment Therapy website. The article got me thinking about what an outstanding choice quality used furniture is from a Conscious Consuming perspective.

The store featured in her article had the following positive features:

• It was a local and independent business
• Offered high quality/durable furniture at a reasonable price
• Focused on reusing and repurposing items
• Provides an alternative to Ikea, Crate & Barrel, etc.
• Will also refinish or reupholster your existing furniture
• Free delivery so it doesn't require/justify car usage!

This all sounded like a few steps in the right direction. Although I don't have much furniture right now, if I'm in a situation where I confuse wanting more with needing more and choose to purchase some - I'm going to Eddie's!

Idealist Global Volunteering Fair Comes to Boston

Want to make a difference in a community outside the United States?

Learn more about opportunities for international volunteering at the
first ever Idealist.org Global Volunteering Fair in Boston on
Saturday, April 12th!

At this FREE event, hosted by the Harvard School of Public Health,
Harvard Graduate School of Education, John F. Kennedy School of
Government, and Harvard Divinity School, you can:

* Meet over twenty nonprofit organizations that coordinate volunteer
projects around the globe

* Participate in the following workshops:
International Volunteerism 101
Linking Service to Learning
Volunteering as a Family
A Writer in Romania, a Lawyer in Lesotho: Using Your Skills to Volunteer
Know Before You Go
Overcoming Barriers to Service
Choosing a Program or Going Solo
Volunteering Towards Your Career Goals

Please join us from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Harvard University
School of Public Health at Kresge Building 3, 677 Huntington Avenue,
in Boston. For a full list of participating organizations and more
information about the workshops, as well as to learn more about the
fair, locate directions, and/or register to attend this FREE event, go
to www.idealist.org/globalvolunteering.

Please share this with your friends, family, and colleagues…See you at
the fair!

Erin Barnhart
Manager, Volunteerism Initiatives
Action Without Borders / Idealist.org
erinb@idealist.org

Call for Applications

Our friends at Slow Food USA are hosting an amazing conference about slow food in Turin, Italy in October of 2008.

Why am I telling you this now? Slow Food is looking for students, cooks, food producers, and others to apply to be a representative at the conference. They're looking for diversity of all kinds and need your participation to do this!

Hope you'll consider applying!

Consumption Conscious 13-year-old!

When I was reading the bimonthly publication World Ark, put out by Heifer International, the other day, I came across this letter from a 13-year-old named Simone Prince-Eichner from Lummi Island, Washington. I hope my kids are this profound at 13!!!

I am a concerned 13-year-old who has given a great deal of thought to such global issues as hunger, poverty and child labor. After reading the article entitled "Product RED: The Power of the Consumer" in the November/December issue, I had several different reactions. It seems sensible to me that while purchasing everyday products a consumer would have the ability to contribute to a worthy cause. However, while the (PRODUCT) RED campaign is helping some, it is our consuming habits that are harming many.

It is our responsibility as consumers to vote with our dollar, using it in a way that creates a "good deal" for everyone. We must first decide if our level of consumption is sustainable, and then we must pause to think about who and what our choices are affecting.

Intro to Permaculture comes to Brighton

Well I mentioned that I attended a Permaculture Garden Design course a few weeks back here in Boulder, and I wanted to let you know about one coming up in Brighton on April 12-13th, 2008. This Intro to Permaculture Design course will be led by noted Permaculture instructor Dick Pierce and local guests, offering practical training and skills in sustainable living. According to their notes, they "will cover design principles, techniques, and mind-sets that can easily be applied to your home, workplace, and community to help you live well and joyously, in the city, suburbs, or country, but with less energy, less consumption, and a smaller/kinder ecological footprint." Sounds like a great way to spend a weekend to me!

BTW, I found out about this course at The Relocalization Network, which unbelievably enough, after a lifetime of environmentalism and 2 years of blogging for Conscious Consuming, I JUST DISCOVERED! These folks are awesome!!! They are actually trying to teach people to do something about peak oil and global climate change, instead of putting their heads in the sand and watching reality TV! How inspiring!

The 2008 BOSTON SKILLSHARE!

The 2008 Boston Skillshare will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 5th and 6th, 2008. This is a nearly free event, where local people host workshops to teach a skill, and take workshops to learn a skill. It's a great way to meet new people, connect with those in your community, and learn something in the process.

Register at MIT's stata center
32 vassar street, cambridge
10:30am-6:30pm
$3-10 sliding scale and/or volunteer
www.bostonskillshare.org
Now with over *50* different workshops, a smattering of which are listed below. To see the updated workshop
schedule and full descriptions, visit http://bostonskillshare.org/workshop.php:

Esperanto Conversation
Introduction To Juggling
Learn To Knit
Practical Urban Cycling
The Truth About Identy Theft
35mm Film Pinholes: Simple Cameras Made Out Of Trash
Beginning Lampwork: Making Glass Beads
Creating Emotional Safety As A Facilitator
Drag King 101: Strut For Success!
Intermediate To Advanced Juggling
Sprouts And Microgreens
Crafting Creatures: Easy Techniques For Knitted Stuffed Animals
Games And Fun And Games And Fun And Games: Fun And Games
Herbal First Aid
Kick the Kibble: Cooking for your Animal Companion
Lesbian Dating 101
People's Poetry Workshop
Rad Library Resources
Grow It Yourself: Beginner Urban Gardening
How To Become A Backgammon Master
Salsa, Merengue, Spanish & La Lucha
Supporting Survivors Of GLBT Abusive Relationships
You Are Not A Number: Applying To Grad School Even If Your GREs Are Low
Destroy The Binary: Taking Back Gender
Free (the) Net : Build Your Own Wireless Internet Router
Home Brewing
Intro To Linguistics
Mask Making And Cardboard Sculpting
Time Management
Vintage Moped Restoration And Small Engine Repair
Basic Self Defense
Electronic Design, Microcontrollers and You
Fun with Fermentation!
Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, And Blocks To Success
Run, Run, Run For Fun
Speed Erotica
Strap It Down, Pack It In: Drag King Masculine Performance Workshop
Chemical Weapons & Police Tactics
I Wanna Felt You Up
How To Use Your Story: A Community Organizing Overview
Prefigurative Parenting: Growing Empowered Kids from the Beginning
Soccer for All
Wild Carrot: Natural, Conscious Herbal Contraception
Yurts and Simple Shelters! What. Why. How.
Basic Bicycle Maintainence
Growing Yr Own Mushrooms
JP Kickball©: Strategize And Socialize
Personal Coaching 101
Protest Street Tactics
Soap Making And Embroidery Everyone Can Do It!
Know Your Rights!
Wiggle It Just a Little Bit: Indoor Worm Composting

WHAT TO EAT: Making Sustainable Food Choices

If you're around New Haven, CT, tomorrow...

WHAT TO EAT: Making Sustainable Food Choices

Tuesday, April 1

Sage Hall (205 Prospect Street), Bowers Auditorium

4:30-5:30 pm

More and more people are trying to change the way they eat to make more sustainable choices, but sometimes the whole process can feel like a minefield. How local does local food have to be? What does “organically grown” really mean? Does living in New England mean eating potatoes all winter? Buying an apple can quickly become a complicated decision, and inviting people over for dinner an impossible one. Anastatia Curley and Laura Hess, of the Yale Sustainable Food Project, will give a presentation addressing these questions, and giving you the resources to make sustainable decisions about food purchasing and hosting events—whether they be masters’ teas, receptions, or dinners—in New Haven.

This event is part of the Yale Sustainability Summit, a week-long series of events on sustainability at Yale.

From Oxfam: Movie Helps Farmers Learn New "Language" to Grow More Rice

Movie Helps Farmers Learn New "Language" to Grow More Rice

Oxfam and its partner, the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture, or CEDAC, have produced a new instructional video on cutting-edge agriculture techniques. The new movie is called "Do You Speak SRI?" (That's "System of Rice Intensification" if you don’t!) It will teach Cambodian farmers new ways to farm and help them easily and effectively grow more rice to support their families.

It takes a different approach to the traditional educational movie, featuring real farmers rather than actors or scientists, sharing their own successes and telling their own stories about using the new practices.

Click here to read about this innovative project.

Did Your Shopping List Kill a Songbird - The New York Times

Here's a sad tale of what our demand for out of season fruits and vegetables does to other species -- specifically, the beautiful songbirds that we take for granted. Eating locally, in season, means that our food doesn't require the massive amounts of toxic pesticides that those berries in the winter need to make it up to our cold region.

This year, I made it to about January on the frozen peaches and berries I bought at the farmer's market and saved from last season. This just means I'll have to stock up more next summer!

Earth Hour today!

Help us celebrate Earth Hour today by turning off your lights between 8-9 pm your local time.

This is a national movement to raise awareness of climate change and taking one small step towards helping the planet.

For more information, visit earthhour.org

See you in the dark!

The Bridge at the Edge of the World

Renowned environmentalist James Gustave Speth has released a new book today: The Bridge at the End of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability.

Gus Speth is also the Dean of my school, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He has been instrumental in the environmental movement as a whole, and these days continues to educate us on many things, including on the effects of consumerism on ourselves and the environment. His book speaks to this as well as how we as individuals can make a positive difference for the environment.

Birthday Presents Get a Timeout From Parents

This article in the Boston Globe gives a great perspective on what local people are doing to reduce consumption in their children's lives. We definitely like the idea of no-present birthday parties and the lessons it teaches kids. Benefiting non-profits like Horizons for Homeless Children, is an even greater reason to do so!

Thanks to Tim Burke at African Health Foundation for this article.

"What's Tappening?

If you haven't seen this short film about how costly disposable water bottles are to the environment, check it out here, or visit the Tappening website for more information.

The Real Dirt on Farmer John, "Growing the Local Food Movement"

The final film in the three part Slow Food Boston Film Festival will play at the Theodore Parker Church in West Roxbury on Sunday, 13 April, at 4pm. The film, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, is about John Peterson, a pioneer of organic farming and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the US. Slow Food Boston and the good folks at Theodore Parker Church have also arranged an impressive line-up of panelists to speak after the film, including Jim Buckle (Allandale Farm), Andrew Rodgers (Green Meadows), Kate Stillman (Stillman's at the Turkey Farm), Jen Hashley &
Pete Lowy (Verrill Farm, Pete & Jen's Backyard Birds), and James Lionette (Lionette's Market, Garden of Eden).

In preparation for the event, one of the organizers (Sue Barnard) has made a list of local CSAs, including meat CSAs, in the Boston area. The list needs some updating, but you can find information about Boston CSA and farm resources, on the church website. Click the link in the paragraph on the CSA Task Force.

This event ties in nicely with our own talk about building a local food movement. As a reminder, we will be holding a "Growint the Local Food Movement" potluck, on Sunday, March 30th, with Kate Mrozicki, CSA manager at The Food Project. We will have area CSA brochures available (thanks to all of the farmers who sent them along!), and you'll hear a great presentation, share what you have done (or hope to do) to support/grow local food, and eat yummy potluck food! If you would like to be added to our eVite list for this or future potlucks (Boston area only), please email susan(at)consciousconsuming(dot)com.

Boston Green Drinks April 1st, Bill McKibben speaks in Boston March 28-30

From our friends at Boston Green Drinks:
Come join us on Tuesday, April 1st at Cactus Club from ~6:30pm onward.
Location: 939 Boylston Street, Boston
Closest T: Green line to Hynes Convention Center.

Down 2 Earth, a consumer-oriented eco-living show is at the Hynes Convention Center March 28-30. Bill McKibben is one of the keynote speakers, and the content ranges from a seminar in sustainable design to a presentation on eco-conscious wedding planning. Go to d2eboston.com. (Note: Green Drinker Jennifer Baldwin is one of the organizers, and the Globe will have a story on the show on the 28th by Green Drinker Michael Prager.)

News notes:
The first auction of pollution credits under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a 10-state consortium that includes all of New England, has been scheduled for Sept. 10. RGGI is the first regional US group to tackle greenhouse-gas reductions with a cap-and-trade system. News brief here.

The US House recently passed a bill that would take the tax breaks that the top 5 oil companies receive — about $17 billion — and reapportion it as incentives for the solar, geothermal, wind, and biomass industries. A similar proposal failed earlier in the Senate, under threat of presidential veto. ... According to Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute and author of "Plan B, 3.0, Mobilizing to Save Civilization," taking political action is the most important step any citizen can take, so please call your senators!

--

Elaine, Hershie, Michael

Boston Green Drinks Team

Freiker Works to get kids Biking to School

Another great non-profit in Boulder that encourages sustainability is Freiker. Freiker is short for "frequent biker," and the idea is to get kids motivated about riding their bikes to school by providing feedback about how frequently they ride via the Freikometer. According to their website, "The Freikometer counts riders using a radio-frequency identification (RFID). Freikers have RFID tags affixed to their helmets. When they ride to school, they ride past the Freikometer to 'ring in'." the Freikometers are solar powered, and I can attest (since my daughter goes to school at one of the shools with a Freikometer) that the kids LOVE to have their rides recorded. Freiker offers prizes, like an iPod to riders who ride their bikes 160 rides a year (not easy to do). But riding no matter the weather becomes a habit, and it's great habits like these that our kids need, both for their health and for the planet.

You can contact Freiker to make a donation or to see if they can expand to a school near you!

Conscious Consuming Events in March 2008

I interrupt my Boulder blast to let you all know about some great Conscious Consuming events in Boston:

First off, we wanted to thank you all for the enthusiastic response to our Discussion Series. We provided this as a tool on our website so that more people would take up the cause with people in their own local communities, and it seems to be working! Remember, we are offering small stipends to folks who hold their meetings and take phots or create blog entries about how it went. The goal is to inspire others to “Slow Down and Green Up!”

We wanted to let you know about two events we are holding in Boston in the near future. First, we are excited to announce that we’ll be hosting a lunch-time potluck on Sunday, March 30th, with Kate Mrozicki, CSA manager at The Food Project, to discuss “Growing the Local Food Economy.” We sent the eVite for this event earlier today, so if you didn’t receive one and would like to be added to our eVite list for this or future Boston events, please email susan (at) consciousconsuming (dot) org.

We also wanted to let you all know about the upcoming workshop "Global Warming Cafe: Concrete Steps to Decrease your Carbon Footprint," brought to you by the Boston Climate Action Network, The Jamaica Plain Forum and Conscious Consuming.

Saturday, March 29th, 1-5pm
1:00PM-5:00PM
FREE

First Church in Jamaica Plain Unitarian Universalist -Parish Hall
6 Eliot St.
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts 02130
www.jamaicaplainforum.org

The Global Warming Cafe is a powerful, new social change technology that enables us to experience the power of community. Rather than passively listening to experts, the Global Warming Cafe is an opportunity to:

+ Draw on your experience,
+ Actively reflect with others in your community, and
+ Find ways with others to take practical steps forward

We will share, listen actively, draw ideas out on paper, laugh and learn. You will leave with knowledge about programs to help us lower our carbon footprint and transfer this knowledge to our homes, communities, workplaces, and beyond.

Take the leap from climate change-induced despair to informed empowerment!

Please RSVP for this event! Email Sarah at globalwarmingcafejp@gmail.com

Permaculture and The Great Reskilling

Part of Boulder County Going Local's mission is to help prepare individuals and the Boulder community for peak oil and climate change by building the local economy. To that end, this spring they have been offering a variety of free talks and fee-based workshops collectively labeled The Great Reskilling, which include everything from building greenhouses and installing solar panelling to designing your own permaculture garden. I went to a vermicomposting workshop a few weekends ago and got myself a worm bin to help build up the organic matter in the dry Colorado soil. This Saturday I attended a Permaculture Garden Design workshop with Sandy Cruz. I learned a lot about permaculture, which I knew very little about before the workshop. Mostly, I learned how we should all be to develop our gardening and food preservation skills if our communities are to become self-reliant. Here is a quote from the Boulder County Going Local website:

Many people have first hand experience in growing or eating locally produced food at some time in their life. The idea that we can eat whatever we want, whenever we want–mangoes in the winter, Thai spices in Northern Canada or an American burger in Delhi for cheap–is still fairly new and is highly problematic.

In North America a revival is taking place. More and more communities and towns have at least one farmers market. Awareness is spreading. Some people consciously choose to buy local produce when they go grocery shopping or belong to a box scheme or even pick herbs, fruits and veggies from their gardens in the warmer months. Reducing consumption and starting to produce locally is sometimes easier said than done, but this is an area where there are plenty of resources and examples of community groups and also lots of potential for individuals and communities to learn and succeed at various levels.

Why not try googling "permaculture workshop," "community gardens" or "gardening workshop" in your state, to see if you can reskill yourself?

Boulder County Going Local

I may have mentioned that my family relocated to Boulder, CO from Boston last summer. Boulder has a fantabulous group called Boulder County Going Local that is working on relocalizing the economy, from food production and distribution to supporting local, independent businesses. Conscious Consuming is also interested in these issues, as you know. Boulder has long been known as an "eco-community," and people living here are often said to live in the "Boulder Bubble." People in Boulder, I think, are far ahead of most communities in terms of awareness of minimizing climate impact and activities that support doing just that. For instance, during the holidays the city sponsored an LED Christmas light exchange, in which people from the community got to exchange their traditional light strings with LED strings for only $5 (they are normally about $20 a string in hardware stores, if you can find them at all). The two day event "sold out" on the first day, with a line wrapping down the Pearl Street Pedestrian Mall. I am not advocating that all of you conscious consumers out there move to Boulder, but that we all follow their lead, and implement some of the programs Boulder non-profits have pioneered in our own communities.

Here is an excerpt from the Boulder County Going Local website:

"BUY LOCAL FIRST!" refers to a commitment to the community. Rather than simply promoting "buying local," the campaign suggests our larger role as stewards. By thinking local first, we can make choices that have dramatic impact on our community, our economy, and our environment. While it will rarely be possible to buy everything we need or use from local independent businesses, we are advocating for people to first think local in order to maximize the impact of daily actions and purchasing decisions.

I will be posting some snippets from the worthy eco-forward non-profits in Boulder this week. Hope you enjoy reading them!

Leaving Behind the Trucker Hat - New York Times

I'm actually posting an article on time: Leaving Behind the Trucker Hat. Even though this article focuses on those who move out of the city to become farmers, there are nice examples of those who decided to stay in the city and start their own local businesses as well. Both are important for a local food revolution!

Keep Ads out of Children's Books!

From Commercial Alert:

Dear Friends,

HarperCollins Children's Books recently announced plans to publish a new series of books targeted at 8- to 12-year-olds featuring a character called "Mackenzie Blue."

Although touted by the publisher for teaching kids about protecting the environment and promoting global understanding, the Mackenzie Blue series actually aims to be a vehicle for delivering commercial messages, through product-placement hidden advertisements, product tie-ins, and affiliated multi-media corporate sponsorships. The author of the series, Tina Wells, is chief executive of Buzz Marketing Group, which specializes in marketing to children and adolescents.

Book publishers should not be exploiting children for commercial gain. Books should educate and entertain children - not encourage them to buy a particular brand of shoe or soft drink.

Please click here to tell HarperCollins not to publish "Mackenzie Blue" unless all product placements and tie-ins with external advertisers are removed.

- Jennifer Wedekind, Commercial Alert

Being Poor in a ‘Charge It’ Society - New York Times

Another article I am remiss in posting on time.

I liked this article, "You Are What You Spend," not only for the article but for the exchanges it produced in its
letters to the editor.

Do others have opinions?

Cindy

Why “local” and “Equal Exchange Fair Trade” are two sides of the same coin

Thank you to Phyllis Robinson at Equal Exchange for this great blog post and the permission to repost it here.

Farmers’ markets are springing up in food co-operative and church parking lots and on Main Streets throughout the country. More people are joining CSAs (community supported agriculture) and choosing locally grown products in their grocery stores. And as this trend continues, more and more consumers are starting to ask hard questions about where their food comes from and how its grown, who is growing it and under what conditions, and equally important of course, who’s making the decisions that control our food choices and who’s making the profits from those purchases?

The “buy local” movement implies that people are acknowledging all the hard work that goes into producing high quality, healthy, flavorful products and they want to support their local farmers. They want to know the farmers, how the food was grown and be assured that it’s both healthy for them and safe for the planet. To me, it says that we as consumers are choosing to re-personalize the food system; that we want to be a part of a movement that supports community and the planet and that we are ever more ready to resist the trend for corporate control of our food system and our values.

But what happens when we want to purchase products which aren’t grown locally - such as coffee, tea, chocolate or bananas? How do we translate “buy local” values for imported products? When I think about this desire for good, healthy food; for connections to the growers; and for honest, transparent business practices where farmers, workers, and consumers are all treated with respect and fairness, it sounds just like what we’ve been talking about and working for at Equal Exchange ever since our co-operative business was founded over 20 years ago.

In fact, it’s exactly the reason Equal Exchange has chosen to partner exclusively with small-scale farmer co-operatives when we buy our coffee, tea, and chocolate products. It may be more difficult to go direct, to visit remote, isolated communities, to communicate long-distance by shaky fax and telephone lines that are often down, across language and cultural barriers and time zones, than it would be to purchase our products through a broker or a large plantation owner with all of modern technology at their disposal.

But we do so, because ironically, although our products come from rural communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia, we share the same interests, values, and principles as the “buy local” advocates. We see our farmer partners as local actors in their own co-operatives and in their own communities, working together to create positive change and to resist agricultural and trade policies that also threaten them. We want to know our partners and we want our consumers to know our partners.

It’s why we lead dozens of trips to source each year so that consumers can see firsthand who the farmers are, how their products are grown, and what the farmers’ dreams and challenges are. Of course, we also want the farmers to know where their products are ending up, who’s enjoying them and how, and to make the notion of foreign “consumers” more real and human to them - this is the food system we are co-creating and the larger community and network that we and our partners and allies are helping to foster.

For more on this and on related topics, visit the Equal Exchange blog: Small Farmers. Big Change.

We've gotten a Grant and we're willing to share!

We are very excited to have recently been awarded a seed grant from the excellent non-profitSandy Hollow Arts and Recreation for the Environment, Inc. (SHARE). They run all-volunteer music festivals in Central Pennsylvania, and the proceeds from the festivals are awarded to various environmental non-profits. We applied for a grant to help launch our Conscious Consuming Discussion Series. Not only did we get funded, but we're sharing the grant money with our local organizers! Five lucky folks who implement a Discussion Series in their neighborhood will receive a stipend for their hard work. We call it a stipend, because really, it's a pittance, but if you were toying with the idea of launching a series to spread the good, green word, you may as well get a little something for your troubles. Please email susan (at) consciousconsuming (dot) com for more information or to help get your discussion series off the ground. We'd love to hear from you!

I Need a Virtual Break. No, Really. - New York Times

I'm digging myself out of a bunch of work right now, and found this article I meant to post a few days ago. This definitely applies to me!

I've now committed myself to turning my cell phone off after 10pm, and if I don't have any more studying to do that night, the same goes for my computer. It's extremely hard but worth my sanity in the end!

In print nationally!

I am very excited to have had a short article on Conscious Consuming published in the environmental magazine Orion. They have a terrific section called "Making Other Arrangements," in which social justice and environmental organizations can talk about their positive reactions to some of the challenges facing the world. You can read the article, In Lieu of More Stuff, and also read the very interesting comments that people made. Thanks to these readers, today I'm filled with HOPE!!!

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood 6th Annual Summit in Boston

Consuming Kids: The Sexualization of Children and Other Commercial Calamities
Boston: April 3-5, 2008

Register now at http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/events.htm

Featuring workshops and presentations by more than thirty leading scholars and activists, this year’s summit promises to be both eye-opening and inspiring. If you work with or for children, have children of your own, or if you’re just fed up with how corporate marketing undermines children’s wellbeing, this is the conference for you:
.
• Learn about the latest research showing how marketing undermines children’s health, values, and behavior.
• Discover the latest tricks and techniques marketers use to bypass parents and target children directly.
• Explore successful strategies to use at home, at work, and in your community to counter the harmful effects of marketing on children.
• Network with a diverse group of participants at the forefront of the ongoing struggle to reclaim childhood from corporate marketers.

Confirmed presenters include:
• Juliet Schor, author, Born to Buy
• Jean Kilbourne, author, Can’t Buy My Love
• Susan Gregory Thomas, author Buy, Buy, Baby
• Tim Kasser, author, the High Price of Materialism
• Susan Linn, author Consuming Kids


Plus special events:
• Thursday, April 3, at 7:30 PM. CCFC honors Supersize Me’s Morgan Spurlock with the Fred Rogers Integrity Award.
• Friday, April 4, at 7:30 PM. Only Children: A Concert Reading and Roundtable. Excerpts from this brand-new musical, fresh off a sold-out run in New York City, will be followed by a discussion with the playwrights, CCFC’s Enola Aird and Diane Levin, Sophie Godley of the AIDS Action Committee and other experts.

The complete summit schedule is available at: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/events/2008schedule.htm.

Register now at http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/events.htm

Slow Food Boston meets March 9th

Reprinted from the folks at Slow Food Boston:
It's Round Two of the Slow Food Boston's Winter Film Series!

Join us next Sunday, March 9th at 4:00PM at the Theodore Parker Church in West Roxbury for an afternoon of 'foodie' documentaries - two short films showcasing ways in which food diversity is being restored and sustained in our world today.

First we'll see Eat at Bill's: Life in the Monterey Market from Lisa Brenneis. This is the uplifting story of market owner Bill Fujimoto's desire to serve his customers well by seeking out and supporting local farmers and producers.

After that, we'll be showing Nick Versteeg's film on the festival of Terra Madre, held yearly in Turin, Italy. Organized and sponsored by Slow Food International, this is an incredible gathering of food communities from around the world, all being brought together in order to work toward establishing a Global Network of Food.

After the films, we are incredibly lucky to have local folks that have attended Terra Madre speaking about their experience and what they brought back home from the gathering.

Cost is $5, payable in advance via check or with cash at the door.

Hope to see you there,

Your friends at SFB HQ

PS: Please see the Slow Food Boston website for directions and info about possible childcare arrangements.

US Energy Policy, as explained by Gary Hart

I was recently reading the November 2007 Denver magazine 5280 (OK, so I'm a little behind in my reading) and came across a great article by former Senator Gary Hart about how our energy policy is plagued by a lack of political will and leadership. He says:

It is in the nature of capitalism for energy companies to continue their current efforts to maximize profits. It is in the nature of consumers to want readily available products at the lowest cost. Neither will change without a basic understanding that our current national energy policy is to sacrifice the lives of our sons and daughters for foreign oil and to sacrifice the global environment of future generations to our wasteful consumption... Many people say we do not have an energy policy. In fact, we do have an energy policy: It's to continue to import more than half our oil and sacrifice American lives so we can drive our Humvees.

I confess I know little about Senator Hart's policies from when he was in office, but boy, do I like how he's thinking now!!!

Sustainable Design Symposium in Boston

Sustainable Design Symposium: At the Crossroads of Art, Policy and Science
Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA
Saturday, March 29, 2008, 1-5pm

This Symposium will bring together important voices in arts, product
design and science who advocate sustainability in their work. They will
explore sustainable design in the context of art, science and policy and
showcase methods and materials for the design and creation of environmentally
responsible products and places.

Speakers are Michael Singer, Artist/Designer, http://www.michaelsinger.com
Ursula Tischner, Founder of econcept/Agency for Sustainable Design, Cologne, Germany
http://www.econcept.org and Teresita Cochran of Smit Design, http://www.smitdesign.biz.

Moderated by Terry Swack, Founder/CEO, Clean Culture, http://www.cleanculture.com.

Joint program of the UrbanArts Institute at Massachusetts College of
Art and Design, Goethe-Institut Boston and Down:2:Earth (D2E), a sustainable
living expo at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA.

Free and open to the public.

http://www.urbanartsinstitute.org - click on News and Events
http://www.d2eboston.com/events/event-details.php?id=16

TWO GLASSES OF WINE

This story went around via email this year, but in case you missed it there, it's a cute little anecdote about spending your time consciously, on what really matters to you, instead of just going through the motions:

TWO GLASSES OF WINE

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.' The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things; your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions; things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.' The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else; the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.' 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. Do one more run down the ski slope. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.' One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine represented.

The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of glasses of wine with a friend.'

Boston Green Drinks March 4th

Elaine from Boston Green Drinks says to Save the Date!

Tuesday March 4th is Boston Green Drinks. Please join us at Solas, located at The Lenox (a green hotel!) on Tuesday March 4th from ~6:30pm onward. We have the second floor reserved - the stairs are just beyond the bar when you come through the front entrance. Hope to see you there!

Solas
710 Boylston St.
Boston, MA 02116

Closest T:
Green line: To Copley Station. Walk down Boylston just past Exeter.
Orange Line: To Back Bay Station. Walk towards Boylston Street. Take a Left on Boylston and continue just past Exeter.

Product Placement to New Heights

Thought this article about product placement in tween lit on Jezebel was particularly disturbing. Sure, it's just come out that we all read less anyway, but does anyone else find 1.8 brand mentions PER PAGE a little depressing?? Honestly, it just disturbs me to think of 12-year-olds being indoctrinated with Prada worship by fashion obsessed literary heroines. Reading is supposed to be good!

New Book out on Global Warming

EARTH UNDER FIRE: HOW GLOBAL WARMING IS CHANGING THE WORLD

Written and photographed by GARY BRAASCH

"The best book on global warming I've read this year."
-- Mark Hertsgaard, author of Earth Odyssey (14 December 2007)

Endorsed by Bill McKibben, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Scientific American

Published October 2007 by University of California Press

Based on an eight year project (documented at http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org), this book surveys the science behind climate change and introduces native people, lifelong observers, scientists, and others who are experiencing changes right now. Alongside Braasch's compelling words and images, essays by eminent scientists discuss the impacts of climate change on the oceans, biodiversity, fresh water, mountain cultures, plants and animals, and our health. EARTH UNDER FIRE: HOW GLOBAL WARMING IS CHANGING THE WORLD also offers an upbeat and intelligent account of how we can lessen the effects.

"Earth Under Fire is that rare book, a vivid and consequential work that needs to be held, studied, and pondered. No one who reads this can ignore our collective destiny."
--Paul Hawken, author of Blessed Unrest and The Ecology of Commerce

You can preview and link to order here, or you can order it from your local library. I just did!

Food News

Here's some food news from the Yale Sustainable Food Project:

Food labels in Europe are causing a sticky situation in Africa. As more and more consumers try to limit the food miles on their plate by shying away from food marked by "air-freighted" stickers, angry scientists aren't sure that food miles are all they're cracked up to be--and African farmers are worried that demand for their crops will plummet. Right now, those crops are mostly wheat, rice, and corn. But UN researchers, citing a 75 percent drop in cultivated crop varieties over the last century, are hoping to encourage more niche and value-added production of heritage crops in Africa.

On our own side of the Atlantic, the Environmental Working Group takes a look at the state of the 2007 Farm Bill and the outpouring of citizen interest that somehow failed to positively shape the bill. A Google Map illustrates the diverse sources of editorials calling for reform and lets you read snippets of each article.

EcoMoms Parties

Hmm, these EcoMoms parties sound a lot like our new Discussion Series. It's great to know that people are getting together all over the country to discuss environmental and consumption issues and taking steps towards sustainability. Let's keep it up!

More reasons to change to CFLs

This month's Greentips from the Union of Concerned Scientists give even more reasons to switch to compact fluorescent lights.

Remember the old CFL's that were sort of dim and really, really unattractive? If you're nodding, you're dating yourself, because those days are over! The new CFL's are better than ever. Give these lightbulbs another chance, and you'll be saving more than just money on your electric bill!

Companies Doing Good

What can I say? I'm a sucker for socially responsible business plans.

Here are two great companies that recently came to my attention. They both have combined philanthropy and social justice in their businesses, albeit in very different ways.

GOOD Magazine is a company that, when you subscribe, gives your subscription fee to a non-profit of your choice. Why do this instead of just giving the money away yourself? Because GOOD Magazine is also a publication that gives you real news and information, not that dumbed down version that you find on the newsstand these days. The power of knowledge, plus the support of organizations doing well, can lead to real change!

Summa Cum Laude Tutors takes a different approach to doing good. They enlist volunteer medical students to tutor high-income high school kids in Manhattan, and use the fees generated by this to give to worthy non-profit organizations. The med school kids gain skills in teaching and helping others towards academic success, and by volunteering, commit themselves to public service. Everybody wins!

These small businesses are showing that companies can really make a difference. Their philanthropy doesn't have to be a side job, either. I hope we see more and more of these business plans in the future.

Lights Out for Earth Hour

I first heard about Earth Hour 2008 through Facebook, that almighty powerhouse. The invitation reads:

On March 29th, 2008 at 8pm local time Earth Hour will commence ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a POWERFUL MESSAGE about the need for action on global warming.

Be part of making Earth Hour 2008 a huge, global success by telling your friends and family. Remember, every single light makes a statement and makes a difference.

Last year, on 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney (Australia) businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.

Visit earthhour.org for more information.

Candidates' Stance on Global Warming

An anonymous reader left a great comment last week, and in case you didn't get to read it, s/he says, "I am very frustrated with the fact that so few people are talking about presidential candidates and their thoughts on global warming. Now that it is down to just a few candidates I would think that this would be a bigger issue. Live Earth just picked up this topic and put out an article. Live Earth is also asking why the presidential candidates are not being solicited for their stance on the issue of the climate change. I just saw a poll on Earth Lab that says people care a lot about what their next leader thinks of global warming. Does anyone know of another poll or other results about this subject?"

Conscious Consuming is about educating people of all stripes about their consumption decisions. We are an environmental and social justice organization at heart, but believe that all candidates, and all people, can benefit by learning to "Slow Down and Green Up." We have been extremely encouraged over the past year about the increased attention being paid (in the mainstream media and by the public at large) to global warming, yet the news about how our collective lifestyles are impacting the planet is not good, overall. Each of the Presidential candidates does have a (more or less defined) plan to address global warming, and readers will find information on these plans, as well as scorecards and polling data at The League of Conservation Voters website.

Thanks for posting your comment, Anonymous. We appreciate your feedback!

Fair Trade Flowers and Cloned Meat Now Available!

In a "win some, lose some" week this February, Americans now have access to both Fair Trade flowers (which will be labeled and certified by TransFair USA), and cloned meat and milk products, which have no label at all if the biotech lobby gets its way--SCARY!!! According to TransFair, "The Fair Trade Certified label on your bouquet means that flower workers, most of whom are women, can put food on their tables, send their children to school, invest in community development, and use sustainable farming methods." You can check out an ever-growing list of where to buy Fair Trade flowers, and watch their Fair Trade flowers video on the Transfair website.

On the "lose some" side, the Union of Concerned Scientists reports in its journal FEED, that "The Food and Drug Administration has declared that milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring are safe for human consumption." Despite the fact that these genetically engineered animals are often born with obvious birth defects, the biotech lobby wants to sell cloned meat and milk as a solution to world poverty (oh yeah, and to line their patented pockets). YUK! A better solution would be to stop growing so much corn to feed ruminant animals (that prefer grass anyway), eat lower on the food chain (plants), and use the surplus corn, land, and water to feed hungry people. If you haven't read Michael Pollan's "An Omnivore's Dilemma" yet, get cracking on it, so that you can then follow it up with his latest book, "In Defense of Food," now available at a library near you.

Labor standards in the cut flower industry

You're Invited to....

The Thorns of the Global Cut Flower Industry

Valentine's Day is coming up?

Any Idea Where Your Flowers REALLY Come From?

Presented by: Nora Ferm, International Labor Rights Forum

Tuesday, February 12th @ 4pm
Starr Auditorium, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA

Refreshments will be served.

If you have any questions, please contact
Karen_vega@ksg08.harvard.edu or Emerita_Torres@ksg09.harvard.edu

For information about the International Labor Rights Forum's
Fairness in Flowers Campaign, visit:
http://www.unionvoice.org/ct/MdLOLeY1kP0n/
--------------------------------------------------

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.

http://www.unionvoice.org/join-forward.html?domain=laborrights&r=T7LOLeY1_W8E

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
International Labor Rights Forum at:

http://www.unionvoice.org/laborrights/join.html?r=T7LOLeY1_W8EE

Earthworks offers native landscaping workshops

EarthWorks, one of the Boston non-profits that participated in Gift It Up! 2007, has some fantastic native landscaping workshops coming up this spring. I would especially try to take advantage of hosting a workshop, as you'll have some of the work done for you by the workshop attendees! How great is that?

Host a Workshop in Your Yard! 
EarthWorks is seeking an individual or group to host a landscaping workshop in their yard. You will receive a reduced-cost landscaping consultation and plant installation in part of your yard. We will consult with you before the workshop to select plants and design the planting to suit your needs.
Contact Ben Crouch if you are interested in hosting a workshop.

Tree Pruning
Saturday, March 8
Do you have a fruit tree that doesn't produce because it hasn't been pruned in years? Or have you pruned many trees before and just want to brush up on your technique? No matter what your experience level, this class will give participants the theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience to enable them to correctly prune fruit, ornamental, and shade trees. Pruners will be available for in-class use.

Edible Landscaping
Saturday, April 26
This class offers participants the planning and technical skills to incorporate fruit- and nut-bearing plants into an existing home landscape. Participants will workshop ideas for their own spaces and practice new technical skills at the demonstration site where the class will take place. Participants will be encouraged to consider the aesthetics, maintenance implications, and environmental impact of their design.
 
Landscaping with Native Trees and Shrubs
Saturday, May 10
Incorporating the right native trees and shrubs into your landscape can help to cut down on time and energy used for watering and weeding. Native plants can add year-round beauty and intrigue to your landscape while increasing plant biodiversity and animal habitat. Technical skills covered in this workshop will include proper planting, care, and selection.
 
Workshop Fees
$40/$60 (per class) Members/General Public
$100/$150 (all three classes) Members/General Public
 
Preregistration is required. All workshops take place from 10am-2pm on Saturdays.

To reserve your spot, please call Annie at  617-442-1059 or e-mail admin@earthworksboston.org. Please include your name, phone number, address, and membership status. We cannot accept credit cards at this time; you will be asked to mail a check to EarthWorks to confirm your registration

Boston Green Drinks and Super Tuesday

This was submitted by Mike Prager, for Boston Green Drinks:

Today is Super Tuesday, Feb. 5th. It is not only Election Day in Massachusetts, but it is also the day for the Boston Green Drinks monthly gathering. Environmentalists of all stripes get together for networking and conversation.

They will meet at Pizzeria Uno, 820 Somerville Ave., Cambridge, just across the street from the Porter Square T entrance; they will be in the ground floor bar, next to the windows. Parking is available in the shopping center next door. Festivities start at 6:30 p.m.

So get out and vote for the greenest candidate you can find, and then come by and talk about it. See you then.

If you haven't yet heard of Green Drinks International, they are a self-organizing network of environmentalists, meeting monthly for friendly conversation and to discuss environmental issues. They are now in 314 cities worldwide, so visit their website to start or join a group near you!