Trek The Parks, Not The Malls, This Black Friday

State Parks Free On Blakc Friday in California and Minnesota

Consider starting a new Black Friday tradition by visiting a state park. Forget the stampedes at the mall. Forget the sidewalk sales. Forget the shopping bags and gift receipts. This Black Friday, which falls on November 27, some states are encouraging folks to get reacquainted with nature by offering free admission to all the state parks within their borders. If you live or will be traveling in California or Minnesota for the Thanksgiving holiday, consider starting a new Black Friday tradition by visiting a state park – without paying an entrance fee. California leads the move, citing Seattle-based outdoor retailer REI with inspiring its move to waive the admission fees at 49 state parks for one day only, provided you print out your own Save the Redwoods pass. Black Friday – also known in the United States as the day immediately following Thanksgiving – is a commercial holiday of sorts which began with a marketing campaign by American Express in 2010. Now, the day is synonymous with holiday sales and stores filled with stuffing-stuffed shoppers. REI won attention from the media last month when the retailer, which has 143 stores nationwide, announced it would not open its doors on Black […]

Continue reading...

Liam Neeson gives voice to Ice in Nature Is Speaking Series

Nature Is Speaking Video Series

Last year, Conservation International started a campaign called Nature Is Speaking, to give voice to our natural world. The video campaign uses a star-studded cast of award-winning actors, with Harrison Ford as the Ocean, Robert Redford as the Redwoods, Julia Roberts as Mother Nature, and Kevin Spacey as the Rainforest. These videos offer simple but powerful messages with one bottom line: nature doesn’t need people, but people need nature. The latest video in the series features Liam Neeson as the dramatic voice of ice, with a dire message about climate change and how melting ice is having devastating effects on humans. While melting ice contributes to sea level rise, frozen ice helps deflect sunlight. So, as ice disappears, the darker surface of the sea absorbs the sun’s energy, further warming the ocean, and creating a feedback loop. This isn’t Liam Neeson’s first time lending his voice to environmental causes. The actor was also a part of HBO’s Saving My Tomorrow, a documentary about kids working to help the environment. According to Conservation International, the film was intentionally released just a few weeks before the international climate change meeting in Paris, and the organization will be showing the films during the […]

Continue reading...

Court Strikes Down EPA Approval of Bee-Killing Insecticides

Court Protects Bees from EPA

A federal appeals court has made a swift decision that will not make the CEO of Dow AgroScience happy, though it just might help save our bees. Just weeks ago, the court struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of an insecticide called sulfoxaflor, marketed by Dow. This was an important first step in supporting our pollinating insects, which are absolutely vital to our food supply. Sulfoxaflor is in the neonicotinoid class of pesticides. Insecticides like sulfoxaflor have been drawing more and more attention from experts of late, concerned that the chemicals are killing bees and causing colony collapse disorder. The decision was blunt, and basically told the EPA that they could NOT give authorization for Dow to keep using a chemical which is harming pollinators. Court documents state: The panel held that because the EPA’s decision to unconditionally register sulfoxaflor was based on flawed and limited data, the EPA’s unconditional approval was not supported by substantial evidence. The panel vacated the EPA’s unconditional registration because given the precariousness of bee populations, leaving the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor in place risked more potential environmental harm than vacating it. Concurring in the judgment, Jude N.R. Smith agreed with the panel’s decision because he could not […]

Continue reading...

This Company Has Created An Innovative Food-Waste Solution

Food Waste Becomes Compost

East Coast business uses clean technology to take food waste out of landfills and put it into your garden. Imagine a big composting machine that processes food waste by the ton. It’s not only bigger than the compost heap you have stirring in your backyard; it’s faster, too. That’s the idea behind Converted Organics’ high-temperature liquid composting technology. The Boston-based company takes food waste from grocery stores, restaurants, and processing facilities around Boston, New York and New Jersey and turns it into an eco-friendly fertilizer that gardeners can use in their backyards. Unlike your backyard compost pile, where dairy and meat products are a big no-no, Converted Organics accepts all types of food waste, including fruits, vegetables, and meats. “Meats have high nitrogen compounds from additional protein,” says Rob Bayless, the company’s vice president of manufacturing, explaining why taboo compost additives are a key ingredient to the Converted Organics mix. Contrary to backyard composting methods, they then liquefy the food waste. This not only breaks down the material to keep it from producing that nasty odor associated with decomposing garbage, it allows oxygen to more easily enter the mix, explains Bayless. Air is inserted into the liquefied food waste, making […]

Continue reading...

San Francisco Becomes The First City to Ban Sale of Plastic Bottles

San Francisco bans sale of plastic bottles

In a bold move toward pollution control, San Francisco has just become the first city in America to ban the sale of plastic water bottles, a move that is building on a global movement to reduce the huge amount of waste from the billion-dollar plastic bottle industry. Over the next four years, the ban will phase out the sales of plastic water bottles that hold 21 ounces or less in public places. Waivers are permissible if an adequate alternative water source is not available. One of the larges supporters of the proposal was the Think Outside the Bottle campaign, a national effort that encourages restrictions of the “eco-unfriendly product.” San Francisco’s ban is less strict than the full prohibitions passed in 14 national parks, a number of universities and Concord, Mass. Violators of the ban would face fines of up to $1,000. Joshua Arce, chairman of the Commission on the Environment, said the ban is “another step forward on our zero-waste goal.” The City wants to have no waste going to its landfill by 2020. Its diversion rate now stands at 80 percent. Past efforts toward the goal included banning plastic bags and plastic-foam containers. “We had big public events for decades without plastic bottles and we’ll […]

Continue reading...

Rural Development, The Charakha Way – Gandhi Would Be Proud

Charkha Weaving Cooperative in India

(This post is authored by Rohit Parakh who is Global Chapters Lead with Rang De and has been an active and pivotal part of the fight against poverty in India. He recently went for a field trip to one of Impact Partners organizations, Charkha. Here is his story.) I was recently reading the book India of My Dreams by Mahatma Gandhi which is a collection of his writings and speeches and one of the key points he makes in the book is for India to truly develop its villages have to progress. And for its villages to progress, the poorest amongst the villagers need to be empowered to earn decent wages to help them move out of poverty. He also extensively spoke about production by masses rather than production for masses which could contribute to large-scale unemployment and poverty. It is a testimony how miserably we have failed to live his dreams of India, that after nearly 70 years of Independence we have a situation that in 75% of rural households (nearly 50 crore people), the main earning member of the family earns less than Rs 5,000 a month (i.e. less than Rs 170 a day). Prasanna, who decided to […]

Continue reading...


Weaving A Home: This Woman’s Invention Can Help Millions of People Globally


Prototype Solar Tent designed by Abeer Seikaly

A sustainable tent that collects rainwater, folds up for easy transport and stores solar energy? Sounds visionary, right? This is the invention of Jordanian-Canadian architect, designer and artist Abeer Seikaly. Abeer Seikaly designed these amazing multipurpose tents with refugees in mind, people who have been displaced by global and civil war, climate change and more. Inspired by elements of nature such as snake skin and traditional cultural aspects such as weaving, nomadic life and tent dwellings, this weather proof, strong but lightweight and mobile fabric tent gives refugees shelter but also a chance to “weave their lives back together”. The flexible dual layer tent structure has the ability to close out the cold of winter and wet weather. It also opens up to allow cool air in and hot air out in summer. Rainwater is collected in the top of the tent and filters down the sides so the tent does not become flooded. The tent also has the ability to become a showering facility with water being stored in pockets on the side and drawn upwards via a thermosiphoning system providing basic sanitation. Solar energy hits the tent fabric and is stored in a battery for use at night […]

Continue reading...

Fashion Industry Boosts Sustainability With An Innovative Match-making Tool

Ethical Fashion Industry

The Ethical Fashion Forum wants to “do fashion better.” To achieve that, the London-based industry body is shoring up its arsenal of tools and services to help fashion professionals and businesses boost their sustainable and ethical profiles. The rebranded “Mysource”, which Ethical Fashion Forum founder Tamsin Lejeune describes as the organization’s “next phase,” will build on the current “Source” platform. One major improvement? A Match.com-style algorithm to pair users with people and resources best-suited to their needs, “so that fabric, manufacturer, market report, line sheet template, or business connection you were looking for will pop up straight away,” Lejeune explained. FASHION DONE BETTER Mysource will also rank users according to an “integrated bench-marking system” that includes social, environmental, and commercial criteria. “We’re working with partner organizations to make this as robust as it can be. The higher users are ranked, the more profile they get on the site,” said Lejeune. “So that small, Ethiopian shoe brand with a great product that is changing lives, could stand out to buyers and get extensive profile on the site.” But all these bells and whistles don’t come cheap. The Ethical Fashion Forum says it’s hoping to raise £400,000 through Crowdcube to take the […]

Continue reading...


Compost For The Lazy – Throw It On The Ground


Compost For The Lazy

Compost can save the world! It sucks carbon dioxide out of the air and not only that, a half-inch layer of this black gold can still increase yields years after its application. I had been composting in our community bins for nearly 10 years but decided to start a rogue pile in my yard several months ago. I can’t grow much out there in the shade but food scraps will certainly rot. In fact, I can’t possibly prevent the natural process of rot. When I composted at my house years ago, like many people, I believed I needed to buy a special bin. For my new compost pile, I wanted to create a simple, inexpensive system. I could have made a cylindrical bin out of chicken wire or built an upcycled bin from wooden pallets (both great options). But instead I bought nothing. I built nothing. I took what I had collected in the kitchen and threw it on the ground. I throw everything on my pile: Fruit peels, scraps and all pits. Even avocado pits break down quickly! Vegetable peels and scraps. I make vegetable broth out of most little bits of vegetables, after which they go on the pile. Corn cobs. I couldn’t […]

Continue reading...


78 Women Scientists Head to Antarctica, Taking Collective Action On Climate Change

Women Scientists head to Antarctica to address climate change.

In an awesome display of women power, 78 female scientists are heading off on a 20-day voyage to Antarctica in order to observe and discuss the impacts of a warming world. The voyage is part of the Homeward Bound outreach initiative, which will take place over 10 years in order to build a team of 1000 women in science. Their collaboration will enable for increased leadership, strategizing and group action when it comes creating a better future for the planet. The voyage, setting off in December 2016, will have a crew that will include globally recognised women of influence including Dr Jane Goodall, renowned primatologist and environmental activist. The project is the brainchild of Australian leadership expert Fabian Dattner and marine ecologist of the Australian Antarctic Division Dr. Jess Melbourne-Thomas. Their dream of uniting powerful women in science and engineering was inspired by the ability of women to have huge influence within their communities. A key focus will be the absence of women’s voices in science and government, especially when it comes to climate change. There is also a visible absence of women in key decision-making roles around the world, which is posing a challenge to gender equality and collaborative […]

Continue reading...