My friend Yang-May Ooi, social marketing guru, author and writer of the popular www.fusionview.co.uk blog recently commented on a plea from poetry publisher Salt to "buy just one book," to help the beleaguered mostly family-owned business to survive the current economic downturn.

See Yang-May's insightful comments and the email from Salt here: www.fusionview.co.uk/2009/05/a-sad-day-for-the-book-industry   Read more...

The biggest challenges standing in our way to achieving good health are stress, lack of sleep and the biggest of all, diet. Unfortunately, these three obstacles really sum up the average American lifestyle. The good news is through supplementation, we can promote optimum health without completely changing how we live…though eliminating our unhealthy habits is always best.

This guide covers seven key dietary supplements, which we here at Swanson Vitamins have discovered over the last forty years can be beneficial to nearly every body.   Read more...

Kim Korona is a graduate of our M.Ed. program at the Institute for Humane Education and a friend and colleague. Kim doesn’t usually like to make waves. She’s so kind and caring and avoids conflict with people assiduously. But she’s also a changemaker and a humane educator. This fall she moved to Brooklyn, New York, to be a humane educator for HEART, offering humane education programs to schools throughout the city. She moved into an apartment that had a host of problems, from smoke and a build up of soot from an improperly functioning boiler, to lack of fire and carbon monoxide alarms. She brought up the problems with her landlord, to no avail. Kim had some concerns about her own health, but when she also began to learn about the problems her neighbors were having, which included severe symptoms ranging from headaches and migraines, to nose burns, excessive coughing, black mucus, and sore throats, Kim took action. She contacted her neighbors, co-wrote a stern but honest petition to the management for them to sign, and launched change. The problems have been fixed.   Read more...

American investment in Africa has the potential to provide much-need jobs, access to healthcare, and generally improve standards of living. In fact, American corporations are becoming increasingly interested in investing in Africa, with some regarding it as the last big growth market, but they are often deterred by Africa’s negative image, a new study shows.

US companies in some sectors, particularly technology companies, now regard Africa as “the last frontier for growth”. It has a market of one billion people, mobile telephone networks have been successful, and other countries, particularly China, are increasing their African investment thrust. Accessing that huge market will benefit investors, but also has the potential to improve life for Africans as workers and consumers.   Read more...

Bizlightenment is an online business directory with listings of conscious businesses, informational articles provided by experts and other news of interest to consumers who want to work with ethical businesses and professionals.

Businesses and consumers who register on the Bizlightenment site by June 15, 2009 will be entered to win one of 10 Conscious Biz gift baskets, with a combined retail value of $16,000.   Read more...

Global Spirit is Link TV’s new series focused on the pan-cultural experience of what it means to be human. The series will examine the relationships between mind and spirit, science and metaphysics, and mental and physical well-being as approached by the world’s ancient wisdom traditions and modern science. Called the first “internal travel” series it intends to give viewers an experience that just might change them.

In this episode of Global Spirit, host Phil Cousineau speaks with BBC filmmaker Alan Ereira about his beautiful, sobering documentary: From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers' Warning. This poignant film carries a strong warning from a remote South American tribe that cautions us, the “younger brothers”, to give up our self-destructive ways and honor the planet, before it is too late.   Read more...

In the midst of this global economic crisis, there is a movement happening in some of the hardest hit places in America - local communities. This movement is showing that Main Street truly is the way to building a better, more sustainable future. And that’s just what Joe Grafton, founding director of the Somerville Local First has set out to prove. Dedicated to promoting and sustaining local business, Local First organizations across the country are campaigning for a shift in the way we act, in the way we think and most importantly, in the way we spend. That’s what prompted Joe and other local organizers in New England to start the 10% shift campaign and evangelize the true power of local spending.   Read more...

Dresses and skirts on the couch, jackets and sweaters on the dining table, pants in the play room, shirts on my son's bed, shoes on the living room floor, bags and purses on the red chair. This is what my house looked like yesterday when my friend Kendra and I hosted our Spring Clothes Swap!

We've been swapping for over ten years now, with one in the Fall and one in the Spring, and at this point my wardrobe is about 75% swap clothes. I had always been a big thrift store advocate, which is where I buy the rest of my clothes, but with swapping not only are the clothes free, it's also an event that fosters community. We sip champagne while trying on each others clothes, everyone in various stages of disrobing. It's like being back in a dorm before a party, but this time we're also doing something to help the environment.   Read more...

How many t-shirts in your closet are feeding malnourished children? Probably zero. CommonThreadz.org, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, has set out to change that with the launch of the Orphan Collection, a new series of t-shirts designed by African orphans.

The Orphan Collection t-shirts are all limited editions, printed with eco-friendly water-based inks and are available in women, men and kids sizes. Each t-shirt sold from The Orphan Collection provides the financial support needed to feed an orphan or vulnerable child for one month and provide the child with a new school uniform, school supplies and meals for the school year.   Read more...

Just wanted to let you all know about this opportunity.

What: Soliya is recruiting skilled volunteers to facilitate its Connect program for the Fall semester 2009. The Connect program intends to bridge the divide between the "West" and the "Arab & Muslim World” by empowering young adults to play a constructive role in creating a more informed, just and peaceful global society. Through a series of online video conference discussions held between university students from the United States, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, participants will be given the opportunity to collectively address some of the root causes behind the tensions between the "West" and the "Arab and Muslim world."   Read more...