Featured Post | Women of Green

How to tell if produce is organic in 2 seconds

By wogwpa1358 on October 6, 2015 / Featured Post, Health / Leave a comment

Tags: conscious consumers, environmental sustainability, food sustainability, organic farming, organic produce

If you’re unsure about the nature of supermarket produce, here’s the giveaway. Some people have strict standards about eating organic fruits and vegetables. Some supermarket produce sections are poorly labeled or in enough disarray that knowing what was grown in which way can be challenging. If either of these fates have ever befallen you, meet your friend, the PLU sticker. PLU (or Price Look Up) codes are the 4- or 5-digit numbers on produce stickers that have been used by supermarkets since 1990. They represent a globally standardized system implemented by the International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS), a group of national produce associations from around the globe. While the long-term objective of the organization is to improve the supply chain efficiency of the fresh produce industry, consumers can glean information from the codes as well. The PLU number indicates produce items based on a number of factors such as commodity, variety, growing methodology (e.g. organic), and size. Numbers are assigned by the IFPS after rigorous review at both national and international levels. The system is based on 4-digit codes that are within the 3000 and 4000 series. The numbers are assigned randomly, that is, each digit does not imply […]

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Venus and Serena Williams: Raw Vegan Powerhouses

By wogwpa1358 on October 5, 2015 / Featured Post, Health / Leave a comment

Tags: environmental sustainability, sustainable food, vegan, women's empowerment

Think vegans can’t get power from their food? Think again! Believe it or not, tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams follow a healthy, balanced raw vegan diet during the tennis season. That’s right, both raw and vegan. These women kick serious butt on the court without eating any cooked food or animal products. While the superstar sisters technically consider themselves ‘chegan’—because they occasionally indulge in cooked fish or chicken if they feel the need/want to celebrate—their foundational diet for health and training is both raw and vegan. The sisters didn’t grow up like this. While their mother made a lot of green juices, they consumed traditional American fare. However, when Venus was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease—Sjögren’s syndrome—she decided to become raw vegan to take control of her body and health. She began consuming a lot of veggies, green juices and raw, sprouted foods. She’s a big fan of smoothies, her favorite ingredients being strawberry, mango, spinach, orange juice and ginger. To support her sister and roommate, Serena quickly joined her, so as not to make Venus’s transition harder by bringing nixed foods like chicken into the house. To fuel herself, Serena makes sure to drink green smoothies with kale and plenty of protein powder, carb up on […]

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The Most Amazing Fact!

By wogwpa1358 on October 2, 2015 / Featured Post, Heart, Nature / Leave a comment

Tags: women entrepreneurs, women game changers, women in green business, women of green, women's leadership

This month we had a most amazing moon didn’t we? A Super Moon combined with a Lunar Eclipse. When I actually take time out of my busy life to stop, breathe, and look up in the night sky, I am always in awe. I feel small and big at the same time. Small compared to the vast universe we live in — like a speck of consciousness in grand scheme of things. Yet, inside that speck of me, is the entire universe. Literally. It’s mind blowing when you think about it. Now if you really believed that…that you have within you the same stuff stars are made of, and if you found a way to tap into that light…that greatness, then what can you not accomplish? I mean really? This, to me, is the most amazing fact. So grab a cup of tea, and watch this three and a half minute video by Neil deGrasse Tyson. It will help you connect to the truth of you. And if you need a little help in realizing that, I invite you to check out my Women As Game Changers Coaching that is designed to call forth women in powerful ways to awaken […]

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Are You a Game Changer?

By wogwpa1358 on September 29, 2015 / Featured Post, Leadership / 2 Comments

The Pachamama Alliance believes that the great work ahead will require a critical mass of conscious, committed individuals working collectively to communicate a new story for these times, and to actually “change the game.” As a game changer, you embody the following qualities: You understand that all life is connected. You see the human family, in all its diversity, as an integral component in the whole of the web of creation, and are committed to building a society that reflects and reveres the sacred and interconnected nature of all life. You stand for a sustainable, just and fulfilling future. You stand for and act from an informed vision that a sustainable, just and fulfilling future for all beings is urgent, possible and essential. You recognize that the universe is friendly. You recognize that the universe is friendly and that the evolutionary force that put the stars in motion is moving through us and is a dynamic, self organizing process whose grace and guidance we can trust. You realize that we are called to be evolutionary activists. You realize that the human role and responsibility now is as an evolutionary activist, intentionally engaging with the momentum of evolution to shape the […]

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The Black Mambas, a Mostly Female Anti-Poaching Force, Win a Top U.N. Environmental Award

By wogwpa1358 on September 29, 2015 / Featured Media, Featured Post, Nature / Leave a comment

Tags: ecological sustainability, environmental justice, women and nature, women and the environment, women's leadership

Since it was first created in 2013, South Africa’s Black Mambas Anti-Poaching Unit has arrested six poachers, shut down five poacher camps, and reduced snaring (the practice of baiting and trapping animals) by 76% in the Balule Private Game Reserve. It will come as little surprise, therefore, that the 26-member ranger unit, comprised mainly of women, has been honored by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) with its highest environmental prize — the Champions of the Earth Award.

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The House That Hemp Built: Moldproof, Fireproof and Eco-Friendly

By wogwpa1358 on September 25, 2015 / Featured Post, Innovation / Leave a comment

Tags: ecological sustainability, environmental sustainability, green building, green home, green products

These contractors are taking the term “going green” quite literally. As part of an emerging trend here in the U.S., many buildings are incorporating the use of a hemp-based material to provide insulation. The brick, which is known as “hempcrete,” is made by mixing the wood-like interior of the Cannabis sativa plant with lime and water to form a block that serves as a flexible, breathable, and fireproof insulation that is impervious to mold and pests. For decades, because the plant contains trace amounts (.3%) of THC, the chemical found in marijuana, it has not been legal to grow in the US. Though it can be imported from Canada, builders might soon be able to use ‘Made in the USA’ plants, since the farm bill passed last year allowed a few hemp-farming pilot projects to launch. So far, 20 states have removed barriers to industrial hemp production. It could become even more widely applied if Congress passes the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, introduced early this year, which would amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana. This would allow American farmers in any state to grow the crop. The New York Times reported that hempcrete has […]

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Leonardo DiCaprio Joins Divestment Call as Fossil Fuels Could Lose Billions in Investment

By wogwpa1358 on September 24, 2015 / Featured Post, Leadership / Leave a comment

Tags: biofuels, clean energy, climate justice, ecological sustainability, environmental justice, environmental sustainability, green business

A new report finds that over the past year, the amount of money committed to be pulled from companies that produce coal, oil, and natural gas has grown fifty-fold. Over the past year, investors holding $2.6 trillion in assets have pledged to divest from companies that produce coal, oil, and natural gas, according to a report issued Tuesday. The study was issued by the group Divest-Invest, which calls on institutional and private investors to hold themselves accountable for the environmental impacts of their investments. “One year ago today, exactly, we announced that the total [divestment] at that point was $52 billion, and committed to tripling that amount before the U.N. Climate Conference in Paris in December of this year,” said Ellen Dorsey, executive director of the Wallace Global Fund, at a press conference Tuesday in New York. “That means we’ve seen a fiftyfold increase in the total combined assets of those committed to divestment from fossil fuels, and with it, we’ve seen a growing number of commitments to invest in climate solutions,” Dorsey said. The report comes as Pope Francis landed in the United States, where he is expected to press again for immediate and decisive action on climate change. […]

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