Green Jobs Now

Tomorrow is the National Day of Action. 658 events are being held throughout the country to bring awareness to Green Jobs Now. The focus will be on low-income communities, communities of color and indigenous people. "This will send a message to our leaders that, when it comes to creating green jobs for a more sustainable economy, PEOPLE ARE READY!"

The Center for American Progress released a study which demonstrates how an investment of $100 billion over two years would create 2 million new jobs. Just to put things in perspective, the Federal Reserve Bank just used $85 billion of taxpayers' money to bail out AIG.

There is an event happening in every single state. You can find the opportunity to participate closest to you here. If you can't attend an event please sign this petition in support of a clean energy economy.

Have a good weekend!

No-Brainer

A little birdie sent this to me today, and I thought y'all would appreciate it. Here are 7 ways to be a little friendlier to the earth at no extra cost to you. I particularly enjoy the photograph they use to portray saying no to Vampire power. That one's a keeper.

Enjoy.

So, here's an update on the produce situation at Trader Joe's. In case you haven't read about this, one my readers responded to an article I wrote on improving Craft Services. He/She observantly brought up that much of their produce are pre-packaged in plastic containers. So, I wrote to Trader Joe's about the issue. Their response was pretty PC as to be expected. But upon further correspondence I did learn they are planning to use packaging made of corn oil that is compostable. They couldn't offer a list of produce that will have this available, but the items will be stamped with "Natureworks." Keep your eyes peeled at the store.

an eco pic

Check out Flow: For the Love of Water, opening to limited theaters this weekend. Documentarian Irena Salina "builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel."



See you in the theater.

Don't Forget!

In case you forgot, tomorrow is Bicycle for a Day. Even though the main event is happening in NYC, get your friends together and take a ride. Whether you have a bike or not, please leave your cars at home for this one day.

Have a good weekend!

A Good Guide

Re-Nest recommended this great website the other day where you can find out if the products you are using are, well, good. The Good Guide rates personal care and household products based on health, environmental, and social performance. I was so happy to find it because I've been searching for an organic shampoo that doesn't leave a nasty, cakey residue on my scalp. Hmmm. Yummy!

just another example...

...that we need to be responsible and informed consumers. There's big money in being environmental these days. So, of course, tons of corporations are jumping on the band wagon. Here's a great article on how companies are trying to take advantage of the green market from Time Magazine. The article talks about companies that are greenwashing their products. They use misleading claims to appear environmental. For example, a product can claim that they are "chlorofluorocarbon free." They're in fact just abiding the law that's been in place for years.

In an attempt to rectify the situation, the marketing consultancy EnviroMedia is launching www.greenwashingindex.com, "a website that allows consumers to post ads that might be examples of greenwashing and rate them on a scale of 1 to 5--1 is a little green lie; 5 is an outright falsehood." It's definitely not the most ideal watch dog for corporations, but I guess it's a start.

Consumer Reports also provides a great tool to find out what all that green jargon REALLY means on their site Greener Choices. Use this site to help you sift through all the environmental products that are out there.