A Green Eyed View - green ideas and advice

Clean the World and Save a Million Lives

There are so many things we take for granted here in the good ole USA. For instance, did you know that more than 5 million lives are lost from acute respiratory infection and diarrheal disease? The majority of those deaths are among children 5 years old and younger. The saddest part of that story is that most of those deaths could have been prevented with proper hand washing.

The areas most affected don’t have the resources to properly protect these vulnerable children. But that’s where Clean the World comes in. They have developed a relationship with major hotels all over North America to recycle the soap and shampoo that used to get thrown away. No longer headed for the landfill where it can potentially harm the ground water, the millions of bars of slightly used soap are now sanitized and recycled to be distributed to help save lives.

Here are some facts about Clean the World from their website www.cleantheworld.org.

Since inception, Clean the World has eliminated more than 1.2 million lbs. (600 tons) of hotel waste from polluting local landfills.

Clean the World collected and distributed more than 9 million bars of soap to more than 45 countries worldwide including Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Swaziland, Mali, Mongolia, Uganda, Honduras, and Romania.

Clean the World partners with major NGO’s - World Vision, World Food Program, and Harvest Time International.

Clean the World is a natural disaster First Responder. In January 2010, as part of our Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts, we collected and distributed over 150 tons of hygiene products, medical supplies, water, and other essentials to Haiti.

It’s easy to get involved and help Clean the World save lives:

• Volunteer
• Make a financial contribution. Donate NOW.
• Encourage hotels to participate in the Clean the World Hospitality program.
• Support our corporate partners
• Sponsor a Soap Drive!
• Share our message about our mission with others.

For more information about what Clean the World does and how you can help go to www.cleantheworld.org.

THOUSANDS DEMAND SUSTAINABLE FOOD AHEAD OF NATIONAL FOOD DAY

Today's Guest Post is submitted by Sarah Parsons, Senior Organizer at Change.org.

Thousands of people across America call for healthy, affordable, sustainable food ahead of the first ever National Food Day.

WASHINGTON, DC – Thousands of people are demanding sustainable food in their local communities ahead of the first ever Food Day by starting and joining campaigns on Change.org, the world's fastest-growing platform for social change.

Tens of thousands of individuals and organizations have already begun supporting sustainable food through campaigns on Change.org. Healthy Child, Healthy World, a food-focused nonprofit, launched an online campaign urging Campbell's Soup to phase out the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) from its packaging; a Texas animal rescuer created a campaign asking Governor Rick Perry to save struggling ranchers and starving horses by using state resources to bring hay to Texas; and a Maryland farmer started an online campaign to prevent his 31-year-old organic farm from being turned into private soccer fields.

"Food Day is powered by people, and not food companies or other corporations," said Jeff Cronin, Communications Director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the official organizational sponsor of Food Day. "We hope Food Day will inspire Americans to change their own diet for the better, but more important, we want it to result in a bigger, stronger, and more unified movement for improved food policies."

Change.org is a partner organization of the first-ever National Food Day. Thousands of concerned citizens regularly use the campaign platform to call for healthy, affordable foods produced in environmentally sustainable and humane manners.

"It's always inspiring to see people take action on the issues that matter to them," said Sarah Parsons, senior organizer at Change.org. "It has been so powerful to watch as concerned citizens all over the country speak out about food issues and build communities of support."

Food Day is sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and is supported by organizations promoting healthy eating, animal welfare, small-scale farming, and other food-related issues.

Species Finder Android App from the Center for Biological Diversity

My new favorite website (and you know that changes fast) is http://www.biologicaldiversity.org. At the Center for Biological Diversity you’ll find everything you need to know about their work to save threatened species of animals, plants and their habitats.

What started as a discovery of a rare Mexican spotted owl nest in an old-growth tree slated to be harvested by the lumber industry and the subsequent action to save them has grown into an international organization that regularly protects our biological diversity all over the planet.

Go check them out. You’ll be amazed at their accomplishments. Help out where you can also.

Now as a bonus for being such a conscientious citizen they have developed an Android App called “Species Finder”. With this app you can find endangered species wherever you are in a couple of clicks. Did I mention it’s FREE? Download it here and stay up to date no matter where you go. Here’s the link to the FREE Species Finder App - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.cbd. It’s also available through the Center’s website, www.biologicaldiversity.org.

Green My Parents

My parents were light green out of necessity. You can read about them in an earlier post entitled It's Easy Being Green – Mom Was Right. But today young people all over the country are joining a movement that will reduce their family's impact on the planet and save their parents' some money. It's called Green My Parents.

I had the delightful privilege of meeting Natalie Calleja at our monthly gathering of a group of people passionate about all things green. Green Drinks meets once a month at a local bar or restaurant to socialize, support, and network.

Natalie is a Certified Green Consultant for Green Consulting Firm, LLC. One of her pet projects is the national movement Green My Parents. I confess I had not heard of this concept but am thrilled to know it is happening here in Florida as well as across the nation.

Green My Parents was launched this year on Earth Day. It's not just a feel good tree-hugging environmental group for young people. These kids mean business. The first hundred “Champions” were trained in methods that can reduce their family's wasteful use of energy, water, food and other finite resources. By teaching their parents how to be green, they ultimately save $100 or more per month. By sharing this savings with their children, the Champions are learning entrepreneurial skills.

Each of the original 100 Champions have embarked on the task of recruiting and teaching another 100 youth the same skills and methods. That scenario will be repeated as often as possible. Now get your calculators humming because what you'll be able to see that is going to happen is phenomenal. The goal for year one–  that's from Earth Day 2010 to Earth Day 2011 –  is for these remarkable young people to actually see a total savings of over $100 million dollars. Talk about your economic stimulus.

Go check out the Green My Parents website. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter and get your family involved.

As you can probably tell, I'm totally knocked out by these kids and what they are accomplishing. The planet thanks them, their parents thank them and I thank them. And I also thank Natalie for getting behind this very worthwhile movement and bringing it to our attention. Check out their very snappy video below.

 

 

Florida Volunteer Opportunities Connected with the BP Oil Spill

As the country watches and waits for BP to contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, frustration mounts. If you have the time and energy there are ways to become part of the solution. Volunteer opportunities are available in Florida. Go to Volunteer Floridato become active in the process of protecting Florida’s beaches and coastal wildlife.

 

There has been a tremendous response from Floridians who have volunteered already. According to Volunteer Florida, as of Monday, June 28, 3,250 volunteers have served 19,467 hours on oil spill response activities.

 

When you register with Volunteer Florida you will be contacted via e-mail to acknowledge your registration. You will also be updated every week or two with the current need for volunteers. Unfortunately, you may not be offered the opportunity to help right away. The Volunteer Florida site emphasizes this point – “Please understand, registering does not mean that you will be deployed to volunteer. You will be contacted only if the need arises. Local volunteers will be contacted first.”

 

By monitoring the Deepwater Horizon Responsesite you will get up to date information about other ways to become involved on the progress of the clean-up. The Florida Department of Environmental Protectionis posting daily updates about what is happening and how to become involved also.

 

Because of the unknown possible health issues associated with handling the oil and the complex nature of the problem, volunteers will not be engaging in activities involving coming in contact with oil-contaminated materials.

 

Volunteer Florida has announced a conference call with The Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service to which everyone is invited. Here are the specific details:

 

DATE AND TIME: Thursday, July 8, 2010, 8:00 a.m. – until all Committee business is complete

 

PLACE: Conference Call: 1(888)808-6959, Passcode: 1918015#

 

GENERAL SUBJECT MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED:

 Committee meetings as follows:

  9:00 a.m. Volunteer Service
10:00 a.m. Finance
11:00 a.m. Communications
  1:00 p.m. Grants/AmeriCorps
  2:00 p.m. Legislative
  3:00 p.m. Disability Outreach
  4:00 p.m. Emergency Management
  5:00 p.m. Executive

 

No one knows when this will end or what the eventual consequences will be. The impact on Florida will be measured for years to come. It’s clear that BP is not going to be able to handle this mess by themselves. If you want to become involved consider volunteering today.