EarthMoment

Join the movement and flip the switch on Saturday March 29.  From 8 to 9 pm vanish in the dark with many other cities around the world in support of Earth Hour.  To increase awareness of climate change to individuals and to send a message to governments, over 13,000 businesses have vouched to turn off their lights and over 197,000 people across 7 continents have pledged to take part in the simultaneous one-hour or darkness. Earth Hour aims to remind people “that every single light makes a statement and makes a difference.”

 GET INTO IT

Why not?
To register your city, visit http://www.earthhour.org/supporting-cities.

Bring it
Prince Charles has joined Earth Hour by pledging to turn off the lights of his Gloucestershire home; also the Brighton Pier in England will shut off lights. In the U.S. Chicago’s Sears Tower, Niagara Falls and the Golden Gate Bridge have joined in the hour of darkness.

Learn how other businesses and cities are taking a stand,
http://www.earthhour2008.com/

Not so guilty pleasure
Make sure you have extra candles around the house for light during Earth Hour.

Napa Valley Harvest Scented Candles
http://www.earthmoment.com/product/16002548/Napa-Valley-
Harvest-Scented-Tealight-Candles.

If you like to entertain, you like mother earth and you happen to live in the Bay Area, then this eco caterer is right up your alley. Even if you don’t entertain much and you don’t live in the Bay area you can still throw an eco shin-dig. Just follow the lead of the Greenleaf catering service greenleafplatters.com, located in Berkeley, CA. Their ingredients are mostly organic and all natural, the food looks quite yummy. They use disposable plates, cutlery, napkins and cups all made from paper or corn. They even collect all your trash and then compost it! Invite some friends over for a fun-filled, delicious food-packed evening and show off your eco conscious side. Grab a couple bottles of organic wine and mix up a few scrumptious dishes with the organic food you bought at the farmers market. Lastly, arrange a bouquet of flowers to spruce up the table, now won’t your friends be so impressed!

GET INTO IT

Why not?
Decorate for your next party or dinner with everything natural; plants, flowers, dishware, cutlery etc.

Bring it
Want a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind; seasonal flower bouquet? You can find them cheaper than you think if you support local farmers by buying their organic flowers over conventional florists. Oh yeah and you’d be condoning environmentally friendly practices as well.

Learn more in this article, Sustainable Flowers
http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/article/2007/05/
the-bride-carried-green.html

Not so guilty pleasure
Calla lilies are quite the popular flower choice for weddings lately. But you can add your own style with these flame colored calla lilies to match the color pallet for fall.

20 Flame Colored Mini Calla Lilies
http://www.earthmoment.com/product/6373680

“Fair trade” is the new buzz word we keep hearing. I say, every time someone says it we should all scream like the characters of Pee Wee’s playhouse did when they said the ‘word of the day.’ But what exactly does “fair trade” mean? If a product is certified as “fair trade” you can guarantee that means the working environment was safe for the employees and they were paid a fair wage. To identify a “fair trade” product, look for the black and white label that the nonprofit organization called TransFair USA uses on each product they certify.
FYI: TransFair USA only regulates food products so far.

GET INTO IT

Why not?
Buy some fair trade coffee and enjoy it just a little more than usual.

Bring it
The coffee giant Starbucks is the target of a Fair Trade/No GMOs Campaign by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA). Here’s how you can get involved.

Learn more in this article, Java, with GMOs on the Side
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Whole-Foods-and-
Cooking/2003-08-01/Green-Gazette.aspx

Not so guilty pleasure
Grab your bag of fair trade coffee, pour it into this Black & Decker coffee maker and you’re ready to go. The coffee brews right into a travel mug so you can head out and conquer the world ASAP!

Black & Decker Brew ‘N Go Deluxe Coffee Maker

http://www.earthmoment.com/product/6282746

If you consider yourself a problem solver, then support the Natural Resources Defense Council and you can help aid in solving some of the world’s biggest problems. This organization takes on issues like global warming, toxic pollution, oil dependence and others that threaten every living thing’s right to life. This organization contradicts the negative opinions people have of lawyers. This team of lawyers has used law and science to solve world problems and has now become one of the nation’s most effective environmental action groups. Some of the obstacles they have tackled within just the last year are, successfully designing a plan to limit global warming pollution in California, suing and stopping the U.S. Navy from harming marine mammals with deadly hi-frequency sonar and opening an office in Beijing to assist in lowering the city’s energy usage. The NRDC’s mission is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its planet and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. My favorite statement from the NRDC is “inaction in not an option,” if that doesn’t make you want to make a difference then I don’t know what will. Be part of the solution and become a member of the NRDC http://www.itsyournature.org.

GET INTO IT

Why not?
Join the NRDC – if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em – Jack Black supports them, you can too!
http://www.nrdc.org

Bring it
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fought regional pollution battles for decades as a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Kennedy says we all share a fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment. To advance this cause, Kennedy says, “The most important thing you can do is participate in the political process — support the environmental groups that take legal action and lobby, and vote to get rid of the politicians who are whoring for industry…It’s more important than recycling. It’s more important than anything else you can do.” Even if you loath politics this article may change your mind about participating in politics.

Learn more in this article, Wise Livelihood Environmental Justice for All
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Homesteading-and-Self-Relia
nce/2004-10-01/Wise-Livelihood-Environmental-Justice-for-All.aspx

Not so guilty pleasure
If you want to learn more about this subject, check out this book. The book chronicles the 150 years of conflicts over natural resources that has shaped the American West.

Conflicts Over Natural Resources: A Reference Handbook

http://www.earthmoment.com/product/2180492/Conflicts-
Over-Natural-Resources-A-Reference-Handbook