"What started with a human tragedy and suspected tragic loss of 11 lives on April 21, now appears to be unfolding into one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history."
Oceana Inc Blog
I'm saddened by the images that have come from the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico - endangering lives of workers AND now hundreds of species in the area.
Reading Oceana Inc's blog entry, I've learned the Gulf is one of the most productive fish and wildlife habitats. Right now sea turtles are beginning to lay their eggs along the beach, bluefin tuna are spawning, and whales/dolphins/sea turtles are all at risk to inhale oil when they come up to the surface for air.
April 22nd was coined Earth Day 40 years ago and has built a strong momentum for environmental causes around the world!
Earth day is a great celebration and an opportunity to become an activist for the planet. Although, how will one continue to work towards bettering the world every single day?
PSFK's Good Brands Report 2010 just came out. Interesting to see Google and Apple at the top, along with Twitter and Foursquare bringing up the rear. Nice to see technology companies leading the way.
What do all these brands have in common? From the report:
10 Key Learnings
1. Constant innovation and experimentation
2. Re-imagine the world
3. Create the game you want to play
4. Live your brand & teach others about it
5. Build value By sharing Knowledge
6. Align around good
7. React daily
8. Rather than a product to purchase, provide a mentality to buy
9. Present products as stories
10. Partner with Likeminded brands to create improved products & services
Numbers 3 and 8 seem particularly insightful. Check out the entire report here
We may not need to share religious ideas, political systems or cultural customs.But, ultimately, we need to share this planet. Environmental destruction (or conservation) in the North Pole, Africa or anywhere else in the world has a direct effect on me, my future children and my life.Same goes for you or her or him or them.With nine billion people in the world, we only have one planet.
Hence, Earth Day is planted in our annual calendar.Don’t think of it as just a hippie holiday born in the 70s, but a legitimate day of remembrance to protect our air, water and planet for future generations.
Forty years ago, a small group of dedicated citizens decided to take action to make their local communities cleaner and healthier, and from this spirit, Earth Day was born.
We, along with 175 other countries, observe Earth Day.But how many of us are taking action?
The Obama administration urges you to get involved and make a positive impact on our planet.
To find volunteer opportunities in your area, click here and search by zip code and keyword.
Or, you can do what I did.
Pick 5 actions that you’ll commit to making a more sustainable future.
Mine are:
- Use only the water you need, and reuse when possible (I plan to get a shower timer to help me reduce water).
- Help keep water clean by using biodegradable and environmentally friendly cleaning products (There are so many earth-friendly cleaning products out there that are better for your health and the planet…that’s a given)!
- E-cycle – Recycle all my old cell phones and computer gadgets I have in storage.
- Support a green charity @ YourCause.com (I support 1 for the Planet, which inspires members of the business community to contribute 1% of sales to environmental groups around the world).
I've been meaning to watch Food Inc for quite awhile now, and finally did so Friday evening.
I was hesitant to start my weekend with a documentary about factory farming (since I've watched some pretty graphic videos on animal cruelty), but the film was actually very educational. More and more, I've become interested in the topic because the food industry impacts SO many of our lives.
Food Inc touches on many important aspects of factory farming, however, I'm not here to write a short novel about the film - I hope in turn, that a little information will get you interested to learn more and take action.
One topic I want to touch on is the trend of organic foods. I briefly remember when media gossiped about Madonna’s choice for an organic diet years ago – making it seem like a fad. However, an organic diet is far from a fad, it’s an ethical choice.
We all have heard about Ecoli outbreaks, right?
The food industry is hesitant to put labels on non-organic meat for the potential health hazards that may implement fear in consumers. But yet, our country gets in a frantic frenzy like blind mice toppling over each other when something like an Ecoli case comes up. Most consumers are not aware of hazardous practices in the food industry, and have the right to their fear when an outbreak is delivered from the news.
However, the root of the outbreak is from foul practices of factory farming.
For one instance, cows should naturally eat grass, but factory farmers are feeding them corn to fatten them up twice as fast and maintain low costs to feed a large quantity. Well, cows are crammed into areas with knee-high maneuer of multiple cows, which manages to get in their digestive tracks (so, if one cow has Ecoli - so does the rest of the crew). If cows were eating grass like they should, they would shed 80% of Ecoli naturally.
One of the largest beef providers kills ecoli by processing it with ammonia. See why they don't want things like this labeled? The cows have a bad diet, diseases are treated with unnatural chemicals, and we are left to believe we are getting a healthy meal of high protein and low-carb. I recommend looking for grass-fed/organic next time you want a good steak.
This entry doesn't even cover things like innocent farmers getting sued by corporations, immigrants being arrested even if they are knowingly hired by the corporation, farmers losing contracts if they don't switch to more efficient (less humane) crates for the animals, or industry leaders who are now positioned in governmental roles with biased decisions, etc, etc, etc
The Important Question: What can be done?
Something can be done! Although many organizations promote to go vegeterian, that's a dramatic lifestyle change some meat-eaters are not willing to give up. The good news is multiple things can be done while staying a carnivore.
YourCause is powering AvedaEarthMonth.org, which enables Aveda's 6,000 international salons to fundraise for this amazing cause. Last year Aveda raised 3.2 million dollars for access to clean water!
Let's go above and beyond in 2010. We're in, are you?
Click here to visit the community, fundraise for the cause, and see all the good Aveda's stylists are doing!
