Is compassion the key to a truly greener world? An intelligent conversation with Dr. Renee Lertzman – Show 46

We know plastic water bottles are overwhelming our landfills and severely clogging mother earth’s pores, yet we mindlessly grab a bottle when offered. We know pesticide-free apples are way better for us, but still we eat the heavily sprayed ones. Here’s the dilemma: We say want green products and healthy foods, but we don’t back up our words with actions. The very actions, Renee Lertzman says, “…we know from an ecological, economic, political and spiritual standpoint would do us all a lot of good.” So what’s holding us back? Why are we talking the talk, but not walking the walk?

Renee has some answers. She’s a writer, researcher and communications consultant focusing specifically on the psychological dimensions of sustainability. Her article “The Myth of Apathy” laid out some concrete truths and insights into this dilemma, so I invited her on Women Of Green to share those with me. What I uncovered is a fresh, new perspective on what it means to be green and how to engage the mainstream consumer in really caring about the environment. A very cool interview so listen in!

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Where the women aren’t.

According to Businessweek, today, 29 companies in the S&P 500, or 9.4 percent, have no women on the board or among the five highest-paid executives. Among these are Discovery Communications, the co-owner of the Oprah Winfrey Network, and America’s largest maker of uniforms, Cintas.

Oprah’s audience is overwhelmingly women. What is wrong with this picture? Unfortunately, this is common across the board. Women hold less than 15% of leadership positions in Corporate America and politics. We need to seriously make a change. With the state of the world — from toxins in our food, to oil spills poisoning our marine life, to the threat of more nuclear disasters, we need women’s voice at the table more than ever. What are you willing to do to make that happen?

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Drill baby drill? Not for US Military

A new report from the clean tech research firm Pike Research confirms a trend that has been percolating along mainly under the radar: the U.S. Department of Defense is gung ho for clean energy. In an interesting twist, Pike states that “increased access to clean and reliable energy has become a leading priority for the U.S. Department of Defense.” By stressing the reliability of clean energy, rather than focusing on the renewable aspect, Pike effectively steamrolls over any further discussion of whether or not the U.S. should continue to promote oil drilling, at least not for national defense purposes.

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Avon meets solar energy. Here come the solar sisters!

“Solar is the most distributed energy source we have. The same sun shines down on everyone. And with advances in technology, it is available and affordable. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 5% of the rural population has access to electricity, solar is the perfect energy source as it takes advantage of their most abundant resource, the hot African sun,” says Katherine Lucey, Founder & CEO, Solar Sister.

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Our Accidental Community

I live in an idyllic valley just 45 minutes drive north of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. These six acres I call home has been my turangawaewae or standing place for 25 years. The first time I walked the land, I knew I belonged here. It was mostly pasture with a scraggly bit of remnant native forest that sheltered the sheep and cattle that grazed here. North facing, it is surrounded by huge hills covered with native trees. My then husband and I had no doubts. We rang the agent and put in a bid. From a piece of bare land it has grown to be a tree covered oasis, a place of healing and a haven for people, birds and insects.

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So how green are you, really? – show 45

Ok, so you recycle, and yes, you buy organic when you can. You might even own a Prius. But how do you really measure up? Now there’s a way to find out. I discovered an online service that takes you through a series of eco questions and when you’re done, you know exactly where you stand. Even better, it gives you specific ideas and concrete advise on how to get even more ecologically sound and savvy in your life. The creator of this site is Susan Hunt Stevens, Founder and CEO of Practically Green. An online service that motivates you to make healthy green changes at home, at work and in your community.

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Two Girl Scouts take on the Girl Scouts: Get rainforest-destroying palm oil out of GS cookies!

Two courageous Girl Scouts, Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen, want your help. They are asking Girl Scouts USA CEO Kathy Cloninger to get rainforest-destroying palm oil out of Girl Scout cookies. The Girls Scout’s key mission is to empower young women to make a positive impact in the world. Too bad the organization has ignored them since their only meeting in 2008. So much for empowerment. Now Madison and Rhiannon have teamed up with the Rainforest Action Network to get their message out and plea heard. Stand with these girls to cut the ties that bind Girl Scouts to the endangerment of orangutans and the destruction of irreplaceable rainforests by signing a letter to Girl Scouts USA CEO Kathy Cloninger today at http://ran.org/girlscoutaction!

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SharedEarth.com: The Craigslist for gardeners

You’ve got land, but you aren’t the gardening type. She’s got a green thumb, but no where to dig. Sounds like a match made in heaven? Thanks to SharedEarth.com, it is. Think of it as a Craigslist for gardening. It matches people with land to people with hoes.

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The Big Transition: Making the shift to a greener career

So many women are interested in trading in their conventional jobs for a greener career these days. So much so we started a Facebook Group called “Women in Green Jobs” so women could talk to each other and learn how to make the Big Transition. Tracey de Morsella at Green Economy Post, a blog that I subscribe to, writes a series aimed at helping you do just that. Her Green MBA Success Series highlights Green MBA graduates to uncover what steps they took to transition to green careers using their degrees. This post features Robin Connell, Manager of Sustainability Programs at Del Monte Foods. Find out how she went from a career in media marketing to one in sustainability.

Read this interview with Robin Connell on Green Economy Post.

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Who’s going hungry in America now

A poignant story by Linda Lowen about her teenage daughter working at a local grocery store. What she saw even in this wealthy neighborhood store was single mothers struggling to feed their kids. “More than a third of single mothers struggle to feed their children, and over 1 in 7 find that between insufficient income and lack of resources to obtain enough food, one or more family members go hungry.” In these economic times, it’s women and children that suffer most. Do something today for a woman you know that needs help. You know who she is.

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