World Earth Day ~ June 5th.

With Earth Day being such a huge success this year, here in the States, having a second chance to be a greenie is wonderful.

World Earth Day is celebrated in approx 100 countries every year. It began in 1972 by the United Nations General Assembly.

This year the main celebrations will be held in Wellington, New Zealand and this year's theme is CO2 Kick the Habit. You may remember in 2005 the celebrations being held in San Fransisco.

Here's more info: http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/

Soy Milk Powered Wind Turbines

Check out the promotion being run by Silk Soymilk. When you purchase one of their cartons that has a green cap you can register to help them promote green energy and also enter for a chance to win a green home makeover.

http://www.silkgreencaps.com/


(you don't need to purchase to win, at the bottom of their webpage you click the need a code link to get your free code)

HG(REEN)TV

HGTV is going more and more green. They have a page devoted to teaching you what makes a green building. Definitions, tips, and videos.

http://www.hgtvpro.com/hpro/green_building/?xp=1

Mint Green in Europe, not so much in the States

It is very disconcerning when a corporation has two set of standards!
http://www.takebackthefilter.org/

It's a G thang

So here's the low down on the gDiaper. They are Cradle to Cradle certified!

It's a reusable diaper with a plastic free, liner. The liner can be composted, flushed, or tossed in trashbin.

The breathable diaper "consists of a washable, cotton outer pant and a plastic free flushable refill. They are made of breathable material just like sports clothing. So, babies stay dry and happy and are far less likely to get diaper rash."

My thought on these, are two thumbs up! If you or hubby is against cloth diapers because of an ick factor, but you don't want the plastic, landfill destined conventional types, then gDiapers sounds like a great option.

Here's a link to find out more about them and see their styles.

Dr. Bronner Update

I want to say a HUGE, BIG, GIGANTIC " Thank You" to the folks at Dr. Bronner. Thanks for sticking up for us, the consumer.

All the below was directly cut and paste from the Dr. Bronner website, enjoy:

"On April 28, 2008, after discussions with offending “organic cheater” companies failed to resolve core issues, Dr. Bronner’s filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court. Click here to read our press release, and here to download our brief (pdf 300kb).

We remain optimistic that various companies will settle with us according to the straightforward settlement agreement we offered (click here to read pdf 106kb).

Click here to read the San Francisco Chronicle article.

We are taking necessary and dramatic steps in concert with the Organic Consumers Association “Coming Clean” Campaign, to clean up the natural personal care industry. Dr. Bronner would be rather incensed by the rampant organic fraud perpetrated by companies and brands that should know better, but pumped about how we are stepping up with his shoes to address the situation, just as he would have done.

Click here to learn more."

The Label is Unveiled

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY2008

THE NATURAL PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION, WITH LIKE MINDED BRANDS UNVEIL THE NATURAL SEAL FOR PERSONAL CARE

"The Natural Products Association in conjunction with Burt’s Bees and other leading natural brands has unveiled the first credible standard in natural personal care with a corresponding seal. The universal standard and seal serve as definitive markers of personal care products that are truly natural.

"Arriving at one definition of the word natural and clearly and easily communicating it to consumers is essential for the industry,” says Mike Indursky, Chief Marketing and Strategic Officer of Burt’s Bees. “It’s that we believe if a product is labeled natural, it should be just that—natural—and avoid synthetic alternatives.” With industry collaboration, the US Natural Products Association Standard for Personal Care outlines which ingredients and processes are best to maximize the well being of consumers, as well as those that aren’t. "

The following is from the NPA website:

"To ensure that the integrity of the seal is maintained, its use must follow these guidelines:
*Only brands with at least 60% of their products meeting the association’s standard are permitted to use the seal, and the seal can only be used on those products that specifically meet the standard.
*Manufacturers have permission and are strongly encouraged to use the seal on packaging, communications, etc., as allowed by the Natural Products Association.
*Retailers are permitted and strongly encouraged to use the seal as education for those products in their stores that meet the standard.
*A committee at the Natural Products Association will oversee the usage of the seal to ensure its integrity is maintained.

Under The Natural Standard for Personal Care Products, allowed ingredients come or are made from a renewable resource found in nature (flora, fauna, mineral), with absolutely no petroleum compounds. Learn more about allowed processes and ingredients.

For each ingredient, the substance must be listed as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when used in accordance with FDA's good manufacturing practices (GMP) and contain no residues of heavy metals or other contaminants in excess of tolerances set by FDA or EPA or has been reviewed using criteria in this Standard. Manufacturers and retailers can find the full list of allowed and prohibited ingredients and processes within the appendix of The Natural Standard for Personal Care Products.

Other Guidelines
The Natural Standard for Personal Care Products also requires that companies be transparent, fully disclosing their ingredients accurately and truthfully. They should strive to maximize their use of recyclable and post-consumer recycled content in packaging. And no animal testing of ingredients or products is allowed. "

-end info from NPA website.

I think this is great news. Now there will be a clear label for consumers to help guide them; similar to the USDA Organic Label. You'll notice parabens (methyl, butyl, propyl) are not allowed, neither is dimethicone, phenoxythanel....so if your products contain those then they would not be allowed to carry this new logo, no matter what the company calls it's self or how it brands the product.

Gas boycotts, a sham.

This whole not buying gas on a national boycott date doesn't work. Eventually you buy the gas, whether its the day before or after, so you really aren't hurting anyone. What we need to do is truly reduce our dependence all togther.




Make a real difference!:

*car pool or use public transportation.

*ride your bike more often

*plan your route so you make more right turns (left turns waste gas. UPS did this and have proven to save mega amounts of gas)

*if you have a diesel, convert it to bio-diesel, it's simple, and affordable.

*buy an electric scooter and recharge it with solar power. Link 1

*when replacing lawn equipment, go gas free with electric or manpowered. yes, reel mowers really work and brooms can still sweep leaves. There are even solar powered lawn mowers and some mowers can be converted to biodiesel too.

*open your windows more often, turn off that a/c or heater. a fresh breeze through the living room is a wonderful thing.

*stop buying petrol based products (like non-organics.) did you know that fertilizers are made w/ petroleum based products...so switching over to organics will help reduce our dependence on oil.

* buy local produce. buying local obviously saves petrol because your kiwi isn't shipped from new zealand. Link 1

*buy alternative "plastics" made from vegetable cellulose. Link 1, Link 2

*take your own cotton bag(s) for all shopping. plastic bags are made from petroleum.

Double, No make that a Tripple GGRRRRRR

No photo to accompany this entry today. I don't feel I should assist in the circle.

I am fed up, sick up "to here", had it, angry and even bitter! Why must companies wreck and crash cars just for the sake of 30 second commercial? It seems that everyone is doing it these days to make one point or another. A car insurance company, or a car dealer, or a company that has nothing to do with cars but it is for comedic value. Well, waste is not funny. And that is waste to its most extreme.
I'm going to dig deep for this. I'm going to find out what happens to those wasted cars after they've been wrecked for our "amusement". I don't find any entertainment value in it what so ever.

Earth Day in May?

Keep the Earth Day vibe going in to May by making Mother's Day Earth Friendly (May 11th).

Gaia

Happy Earth Day!

Green TV

All day Earth Day (Tuesday April 22nd) HGTV will be airing "Green Shows". Here's their program schedule.

Check out other green t.v. through out the year with these other links:

National Geographic's Human Footprint

Koreshan State Park, This Weekend

Those of you in S.W. Florida, stop by and see me this weekend. I would love to meet my readers.

I will be at Koreshan State Park for the Earth Day Festival.

SIERRA CLUB CALUSA GROUP’S
SEVENTH ANNUAL EARTH DAY FESTIVAL
SATURDAY, 19th of APRIL 2008Koreshan State Historic Site Estero, FL

Explore the beautiful Estero River! (FREE kayaking rides)
Enjoy art, food, music, and environmental presentations!

OPENING CEREMONY – 10:00 AM – A honoring of Mother Earth
Environmental Presentations and FREE Kayak Rides start at 10:30 AM
Kids’ Activities, start at 11:00 AM

LIVE MUSIC ALL DAY ON THE GREEN:
Darrell Bair 10:15-11:15 AM
Roy Schneider 11:30 AM-12:30 PM
Skunk Monkey 1:00-2:00 PM
Deep Roots 2:00-3:30 PM
PLEASE BRING CHAIRS OR BLANKETS TO ENJOY THE MUSIC ON THE GREEN!

FOOD AVAILABLE STARTING AT 11:00 AM
Lions Club of Estero, South Fort Myers: hot dogs, pork BBQ, chips, sodas
For Goodness Sake: organic veggie and turkey wraps
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

Local Artists will be displaying their work
Many items will be RAFFLED including a poster donated by Clyde Butcher, renowned
Southwest Florida photographer!
(Raffle Tickets available at the Sierra Club table on the porch)
DRUM CIRCLE open to the public 4:00 - 6:30 PM
Bring your drum!