I want to tell you about a project a friend of mine is putting together. So, many of us acknowledge that we have a consumption problem: we consume too much, and we often don’t know the origins of the stuff we consume.

Is your T-shirt assembled in a sweatshop?   Read more...

Often our weekend plans include or necessitate the purchase or addition of something new in our lives. Maybe you need an outfit for a wedding, a new refrigerator or something smaller like cleaning products or shampoo. Whether it be toys or gadgets for your kids, a gift, or necessities like toilet paper and food, how environmentally sound and healthy of a purchase we are making is often the last thing on our minds during hectic weekend errands. We go to the store, pick up what we need and then move on to the fun stuff we wait for all week. A few minutes of thoughtful consideration before running errands can add up to big changes toward reducing our consumption.

Reducing our carbon footprint is a big task. Where to start? What makes the most difference? Tackling one thing at a time can be a manageable way to get to a greener place, so here is a challenge for all of us: Find something we have already or that you need/want that isn't green and replace it with a greener version, or better yet, get rid of it all together (in an environmentally-friendly way of course).   Read more...

Energy technology company Jetstream Wind recently announced plans that it will develop the world's first sustainable zero-emissions power plant. The plant will use power from renewable resources such as wind and solar power, which will then be converted into hydrogen and transferred back to the grid as available power, according to the New Mexico-based company.

The process is completely sustainable, doesn't create any greenhouse gasses and produces distilled water as a byproduct, a promising prospect for parts of the world without access to freshwater.   Read more...

On a recent afternoon, I went to a pottery shop outside of Tokyo and happened to meet the head potter who had stopped by to check on her staff.

After looking around the shop, I asked the potter if she had a few minutes to chat and explain her work to me. The first thing she talked about was how a potter never knew what was going to wind up coming out of the kiln. "Each kiln opening," she said, "was somewhat like Christmas morning. Sometimes you got many wonderful gifts, and sometimes you wound up with coal in your stocking, like when most of the pieces explode in the kiln due to severe changes in atmospheric weather conditions."   Read more...

Very few services exist for those who live without shelter in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. I want to change that! Prosperity House, a project of Many Paths World Service, is a high-quality, unique soup kitchen to serve the only evening meal to those who live without permanent shelter in the San Fernando Valley.

We believe that the whole being must receive attention, spirit, mind and body. We have just launched our largest campaign to raise $250,000 within 1 year to serve our first meal. This will allow us to build and sustain Prosperity House for these citizens who go hungry each night. Until there's not a need, we need to feed.   Read more...

The Great Kindness Challenge is one day where kids around the world dedicate themselves to performing as many acts of kindness as possible, using the checklist of 50 suggestions published on our web site.

On Saturday, August 8, we aim to have over one million youth participate in this one-of-a-kind global event. The Great Kindness Challenge is presented by Kids for Peace, whose mission is to cultivate every child’s innate ability to foster peace through cross-cultural experiences and hands-on arts, service and environmental projects.   Read more...

Our greatest asset is also our greatest challenge. How can that be? The answer is actually very simple. It is a single word that makes all the difference in the world. That little, powerful word is choice.

Every minute of every hour of every day, we make choices. Even choosing not to make a choice is a choice. How we respond to all of life’s occurrences is a choice. So make good choices. End of story.

Or is it?   Read more...

The Novato Charter School is a tiny public elementary school in Novato, California, built and run by a small group of administrators and faculty with the help of a highly involved parent body. Absolutely everything that has happened at this small school (a Waldorf methods/best educational practices amalgam) is the result of individual dedication and vision. In 2001 the Novato School District offered the school a site. It was nothing more than a chunk of asphalt, the desolate former Hamilton Air Force base landing pad.   Read more...

Do you think others see you quite differently than you see yourself? As time has past I know I view myself as my much younger self. In my mind I am still that 20 year old that danced on SoulTrain, so many years ago. My children cannot imagine me ever being that cool. I wish I had pictures of it.

As children we looked at everything with wonderment and awe. Perhaps we just need to give ourselves permission to release those dreams we once had, the hopes and desires that so often get waylaid by what life tosses in our path. Who or what is in our way, those limitations self-imposed or constraints we allow to define us, we can change those things. It only demands an active choice.   Read more...

KEEN Inc., a leader in hybrid outdoor performance products, including footwear, socks and bags - is running an exciting contest with the chance to win a week-long volunteer vacation at an animal rescue society near Cape Town, South Africa. Entries are being accepted until August 21, 2009, at keenfootwear.com/southafrica.

The trip is organized by i-to-i, a U.K.-based volunteer travel company which has sent more than 20,000 people to volunteer in Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America since 1996.   Read more...

With the vast amount of "green" information out there it's easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to knowing what you should be doing. Just remember that every little bit counts, and making a few small choices this weekend can make a big difference. Making green choices helps us create a healthy environment for our planet and our bodies, something we can all get on board for. Here are a few tips to help you have a green weekend and save you some cash at the same time.   Read more...

Nine shark attack survivors gathered in Washington D.C. this week to lobby Congress to pass a Senate bill outlawing shark "finning" in U.S. waters. Shark finning, the practice of slicing off a shark's fins and throwing the body back into the ocean to die, is mainly practiced in other parts of the world where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy. The bill, which already passed in the House of Representatives last March and is supported by federal fisheries, will make existing shark-protection laws easier to enforce and help close loopholes in the existing U.S. shark-finning ban. A firmer stance by the U.S. will bring global awareness to shark conservation and help to influence policy on a global scale.   Read more...

Why is it ‘news’ when someone applies the laws of nature to architecture, climate change, or even national energy policies?

Common sense is returning. Recently The Economist profiled the new U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu in the July 2, 2009 issue. Secretary Chu being a Nobel Prize winner in physics is a rare commodity in national policy making. He is a scientist in a leadership policy-making position. For a little perspective, there are 535 members in the U.S. Congress - only 11 have a science background.   Read more...

Double your philanthropic power at LavishGiving.com, an online shop where you can purchase a gift for a loved one and receive 20% back on purchases of $100 or more to donate to your charity of choice. The site features products from top designers, including home and kitchen items, clothing, accessories and jewelry as well as gifts for children and pets.

LavishGiving.com, started by a Cincinatti boutique owner who was inspired to create a retail experience that gives back after losing her brother and a dear friend to cancer, gives online shoppers an opportunity to purchase gifts and products they would buy anyway and make a substantial donation to a cause that is meaningful to them.   Read more...

By the year 2020, The U.S. will make up only four percent of the world's population, according to a 2001 CIA report. The Global Corner International Learning Center is spreading awareness of the world to elementary students along the Florida panhandle. Every year a different country is highlighted and brought into classrooms for children to learn that country's culture and spark international curiosity.   Read more...

Save Your Logo, a creative new French non-profit committed to biodiversity and the preservation of plant and animal species, is asking companies who use a plant or animal's likeness in their logo to make a commitment to preserve and protect the species they profit from.

The first companies to step up and commit to joining preservation efforts of their logos are international clothing brand Lacoste, committing to the preservation of crocodiles and alligators, and the French insurance company MAAF, whose efforts will go toward saving their companies animal representation, the dolphin. Lacoste says, "The brand will actively support projects selected by the GEF to safeguard or protect the endangered crocodile, alligator, caiman or gavial species, whose loss would jeopardize the biological balance of their natural habitats."   Read more...

I always believed happiness was contagious. Now, like so many other things I feel innately but tend to doubt without external verification; I can say I know it to be true.

We now have scientific proof that happiness spreads. James Fowler (University of California, San Diego) and Nicholas Christakis (Harvard) recently released the results of a 20-year study showing the “dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network.”   Read more...

World Bicycle Relief, founded in 2005 in response to the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean by SRAM Corporation and Trek Bicycle, empowers people in area of extreme poverty and those suffering in the wake of natural disasters with the gift of transportation.

According to worldbicyclerelief.org, "Simple, sustainable transportation is an essential element in disaster assistance and poverty relief. Bicycles fulfill basic needs by providing access to healthcare, education and economic development. Bicycles empower individuals, their families, and their communities."   Read more...

I recently got a bar of Sea Hag Soap. Yeah I know the name is weird, but the product is great.

I have very sensitive skin and need all natural type products. Sea Hag Soap (I use Got Your Goat Lavender; made with essential oils and goat milk as well as an all natural olive oil base with glycerin). These soaps (and there are a lot of choices; there even even some that work on your hair, skin and clothes) last an amazingly long time, are good for your skin and have very little impact on the environment as they are made in an old converted barn in northern Pennsylvania, not a big factory.   Read more...

Sick or healthy. Rich or poor. Thin or fat. Tall or short. Curly haired or bald. None of it matters when it comes to waking up happy everyday. What does matter is gratitude and perspective.

What makes a man rich? It is not money. There are plenty of poor people - “economically challenged” - that feel wealthy in ways that are beyond their wildest dreams. They are ‘loaded’ with family and friends, rich in experiences and participate in life like tycoons. They are showered in immeasurable riches of making a difference to someone and to the world in which they live. These are the people whose vocabulary does not include phrases like “I will be happy when...”, or I would be happy if...”   Read more...

TakePart.com wants you to get involved in the causes you care about and have the tools to make a difference. Covering issues from climate change to the industrialization of the food chain and how clean our drinking water is, the site allows you to explore issues that concern you or that you want to learn more about. You can share your ideas with others sharing your concerns and learn about ways to participate in your cause and take action to change something you don't think is right.   Read more...

Architecture for Humanity spans the globe working as a benevolent tour de force with a network of over 40,000 professionals who lend their time and services such as design, construction and development skills to those who would otherwise not be able to afford their services in places where people are critically in need. With 80 chapters in 25 countries, Architecture for Humanity is a nonprofit design services firm and a network for people who care about sustainable development.

Legendary architect Frank Gehry is a former advisory board member, and David de Rothschild, British adventurer and environmentalist and actress Cameron Diaz have both served as former competition jurors and project reviewers.   Read more...

Ken Thaiday Senior, respected artist from the Torres Strait Island, presents his visions and art with grace and eloquence. With his wife Liz by his side, they have been transported from one world to another to be honored in Washington, D.C. during NAIDOC Week, which celebrates the achievements of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Mr. Thaiday reveals a perspective into a world of dreams, faith, nature, fishing, dancing and art all the while connecting ancient spiritual traditions to contemporary times.   Read more...

Whole Foods Market has joined the Non-GMO Project, committing to the third-party system that verifies food does not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The store's private label brands, 365 Every Day Value and Whole Foods Market, will carry the "Non-GMO Project Verified" seal beginning this fall.

GMOs are plants whose DNA have been altered to create an organism that did not previously exist in nature. According to WholeFoodsMarket.com, the GMO crops currently approved and marketed in the United States do one of two things: make their own pesticides or resist herbicides, so that farmers can spray an entire field with a strong chemical herbicide and kill everything but the GMO crop.   Read more...

Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of microcredit said, "If you want to solve poverty, you have to put people in a position to build their own life."

Allowing two families to build their own lives in new homes is the goal of ING's Huis voor een huis (Home for a home) program, which offers Dutch borrowers taking out a mortgage an option to donate 300 Euros (about 424 U.S. dollars) which will then be matched by the bank and used as microloans for families in Bangladesh and India to use toward building their own homes.   Read more...

The Mubarak Prize for Arts recipient this year is artist professor Muhammad Taha Hussein, a contemporary artist who illustrates the fine balance between modern and tradition.

Mr. Hussein is a gentle giant of a man who stands tall in height, with encompassing hands and has a large vision for the arts and life in general. His enthusiasm for new designs, new technique and new ideas is appealing. Especially when he recognizes his roots in historical neighborhoods in Cairo contrasted by his time in Germany. This constant balance between new and old is reflected in his work.   Read more...

People thought we were crazy. Absolutely nuts for building a service that would enable people to create their own memorial sites. To do that, people would have to admit they are one day going to die... and who wants to do that? We were told we were insane, morbid, out of our minds. But build it we did.

Now www.bcelebrated.com exists and even though some people raise an eyebrow when we describe it, those who use it describe it as profound, soothing, inspiring. The service also allows users to create private password-protected messages for loved ones. They can also prepare a notification system for when they pass away, so loved ones won't have to go searching for their contacts.   Read more...

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Finding a clean and safe swimming spot in Europe this summer is at your fingertips with the Eye on Earth World Watch map, a user-friendly resource resulting from a partnership between Microsoft and the European Environment Agency (EEA). Beaches, rivers and lakes are marked by icons which are color coded (greens are safe, reds warn against swimming areas where the water is unhealthy and swimming is prohibited) and many are marked by a thumbs up or thumbs down, indicating other map-users rated a particular area as good, bad or average.   Read more...

A fund raising Zumbathon™, a dance marathon combining fitness and philanthropy, on one of the hottest days on record this year in Pensacola, brought together a diverse group of over 70 supporters who raised $851 dollars for The Global Corner International Learning Center.   Read more...

The International Ecotourism Society unites conservation, communities and sustainable travel while promoting responsible travel to natural areas while conserving the environment and improving the well-being of local people.

According to ecotourism.org, TIES works by creating an international network of individuals, institutions and the tourism industry, educating tourists and tourism professionals and influencing the tourism industry. Public institutions and donors integrate the principles of ecotourism into their operations and policies. As the world's oldest and largest international ecotourism association, TIES seeks to be the global source of knowledge and advocacy uniting communities, conservation, and sustainable travel.   Read more...