Women Rock at the Women in Green Forum – show 25

The Dalai Lama said last year in Vancouver that western women will save the world. I think most of them were at the Women in Green Forum in Pasadena earlier this month. A two-day conference and networking gala filled with women on the forefront of the green movement. I was fortunate to be there and in good, no great, company.

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We Were Made For These Times – show 24

This show is different from any other show I have produced so far. What you are about to hear are words of Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ “You Were Made For This”. A powerful poem spoken by 22 powerful women leaders from diverse cultures, ages and backgrounds. Each of them in their own unique way have dedicated their lives and labors to changing, healing and nourishing the world for the benefit of all.

This show takes place at the Ocamora Retreat Center in New Mexico. For one rich, glorious week, all 22 of us were in the caldron of community made possible by two extraordinary women leaders, Nina Simons and Toby Herzlich for their Cultivating Women’s Leadership Program. This is where this podcast was born. May the words and wisdom of these women bless you as they have blessed me. Warning: You might want to get a tissue before you play this.

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Me First, Planet Later? with Jacquelyn Ottman – show 16

Consumers buy over $200 billion of natural personal care and cleaning products, organic produce, hybrid cars, fair trade coffee, and the list goes on.

But gone are the days of buying green to save the planet. The green market is maturing and the name of the game is “Me first, planet later.” My guest knows this more than anyone. Jacqueline Ottman is a true pioneer in green marketing and the author of “Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation.” She has helped over 60 Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, 3M, and Nike – as well as the EPA’s Energy Star label find competitive advantage in this growing market.

As a green marketer myself, I have admired her from afar for years, I am thrilled to have her on Women Of Green to talk about where we are in green, and what’s to come.

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Blowing the Whistle: A Conversation with Carole Morison of film, FOOD Inc. – show 15

As I was watching Carole Morison in the Oscar nominated film, Food, INC, she instantly became a personal hero of mine. “This is not farming, this is mass production like an assembly line,” she said in the film. Carole, a Perdue chicken grower, was the only farmer brave enough to allow the film crew into the chicken house for all the world to see what’s really happening — how these animals are really being bred and what we’re really eating when we sit down to our family meal with a plump, juicy, stuffed chicken. If you haven’t seen the film, I promise you, what’s happening and what we’re eating isn’t finger licking good.

As a business woman, what blew my mind is a typical grower with two chickens houses has borrowed over $500,000 and earns about $18,000 a year. Not good. I asked her in our interview, “What DIDN’T you say in the film that you really wanted to?” Carole doesn’t hold back. You’ll want to hear this for yourself!

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How Sustainability is Transforming Business – show 14

When someone asks me what Women Of Green is all about I say to turn up the volume of the feminine of behalf of the planet, its beings and future generations. I know one of the most powerful ways to do that is through business. And with the market for sustainable business products alreadyestimated at over $74 billion – we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg. My guest today, KoAnn Skrzyniarz, has devoted her full attention to this. She believes business is in a unique position to address the global problems that plague us — and in fact, turn them into opportunity for innovation and new business. Her personal mission: To build a bridge to better brands. How does she do this? “It’s all back listening,” she says. So listen up!

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Falling in Love with Food Again with Kate Manchester – show 10

On our last show we talked about what goes on our bodies, goes in our bodies. In our show today, we talked about what goes in our mouth. My guest, Kate Manchester, Editor of edible Santa Fe, shares the true cost of food and why it’s important for our planet and the people living on it to fall in love with food again. “Eat it to save it,” she said. And the way to do that, according to Kate, is “everyone cooks!”

About my guest: For 22 years, Kate Manchester was a private chef in New York. She has written for numerous contemporary magazines, authored two books, and taught a variety of seasonal cooking classes over the years. Today, she is the publisher and editor of edible Santa Fe, and host of edible Radio.

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To GREEN or not to GREEN, that is the question.

Luckily for us all, there is only one answer. That answer is yes. A better question might be, “Who can you trust?” In this ever growing and rapidly changing “green” market, it is harder and harder to figure out who or what is actually green. With so many words being thrown at us daily, ranging from “green”, “biodegradable”, “non toxic”, and many more, it is close to impossible to find out what truly is green.

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Winning Environmental Government Contracts – show 8

One of the most powerful ways to have a huge, positive impact on our planet today is through business. Paul Hawken, one of my favorite visionaries says, “Business is the only mechanism on the planet today powerful enough to produce the changes necessary to reverse environmental and social degradation.” With that in mind, I invited Judy Bradt, an expert on assisting business people, especially women, effectively win environmental business contracts from the US government. Did you know that 5% of all goverment contracts are earmarked for women business owners? But, each year only 3% are ever awarded. Judy wants to change that and tells us how on Women Of Green.

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50 foot Solar Peace Sculpture – show 7

Laura Martorelli captivated me with a very intriguing project called the Solar Peace Sculpture. A 50 foot peace sculpture that artist, Fred George, visions in key cities around the world. Its contents: oil barrels, solar panels and interactive media. When asked why a 50 foot sculpture, Fred said, “To sound a global alarm of our crisis of consumption.” What does it bring up in you?

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The Non-toxic Life with Liberty Phoenix Lord – show 6

My guest today is one of the reasons this show exists. Liberty Phoenix Lord took a deeply painful experience, the loss of her baby, and started a green business so no other mother would have to ever experience what she did. Today, she is the owner of INDIGOGreen, the premier green building store in Gainesville, FL., that provides healthy products for homes and offices nationwide. Listen to her unbelievably moving story on Women Of Green Podcast.

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