Posts Tagged ‘community’

Lights Out on March 27, 2010 Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 Just imagine: everyone globally taking part in an effortless task that makes a noble statement.  Simply turning out the lights for one hour.  This bold gesture sheds light on the draconian effects of climate change: rising global temperatures, more frequent droughts and flooding, rising sea levels, glacier meltings, change of ecosystems, etc .  Everywhere around our big blue marble on March 27th, from 8:30 to 9:30pm, make a stand and take part in Earth Hour and flip the switch.  Earth Hour began three years ago capturing the world’s attention “ Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 – involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents.”  Prominent landmarks around the world took part in 2009’s Earth Hour raising awareness about the devastating effects of climate change.  Here are some of the familiar sights that participated: • Empire State Building • Brooklyn Bridge • Broadway Theater Marquees • Las Vegas Strip • United Nations Headquarters • Golden Gate Bridge • Seattle’s Space Needle • Church of Latter-Day Saints Temple • Gateway Arch in St. Louis • Great Pyramids of Giza • Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens • Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro • St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City • Big Ben and Houses of Parliament in London • Elysee Palace and Eiffel Tower in Paris • Beijing’s Birds Nest and Water Cube • Symphony of Lights in Hong Kong • Sydney’s Opera House So mark it on your calendar: March 27th, 8:30pm.  Enjoy the darkness knowing you are part of the global effort to raise awareness about climate change. For more detailed information on how you can get your city involved in Earth Hour, visit, My Earth Hour. Also let your children in on the global action.  Earth Hour Kids   invites children and teens to participate in this climate changing event as well. Tags: 2010, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, community, earth, earth day, Earth hour, Earth Hour Kids, eco-friendly, ecological, energy efficient, environment, environmental, global, global warming, green, green changes, green living, green practice, green practices, green tips, March 27, promise Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Great American Cleanup – Get Involved Thursday, March 26th, 2009  It’s never too late to improve your community’s environment. Keep America Beautiful’s annual event, The Great American Cleanup takes place between March 1 and May 31 in communities all across the United States. This is the nation’s largest community improvement project. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful, Inc.’s mission is to “engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments.”  This is done through their various programs such as The Great American Cleanup.  Each year, people work together to beautify their neighborhoods: picking up litter in parks and roadways, cleaning up beaches and other waterways, planting trees and flowers to restore public spaces, painting over graffiti, repairing local homes and businesses, and holding recycling drives and workshops.  The concept is two-fold—educate and participate. The Keep America Beautiful, KAB, website makes it easy to get involved in a program near you.  KAB provides the tools  to locate or start your own community based beautification project; from how develop partnerships and corporate sponsors to curriculum for teachers to utilize in their classrooms. You can also visit the history of KAB and witness the beginnings of the green mentality long before it was fashionable.  Oh yes, I vividly remember the first public service announcements; one in particular with the single tear running down the Native American’s weathered cheek.  The message was, and still is, clear: pollution is disgraceful and we need to work together to save our planet. Remember, it’s never too late to volunteer your time and effort for The Great American Cleanup. And visit Earth Promise to make your promises to help clean up America!   Tags: carbon footprint, change, changes, cleanup, climate change, community, earth, eco-friendly, environment, Great American Cleanup, green, green changes, green living, green practice, green practices, green tips, holiday green changes, Keep America Beautiful, litter, planet, planting trees, politics, public service announcements, recyclable, recycling, reduce, volunteer, water Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Green Thumb Or Not; Change Your Eating Habits Monday, March 23rd, 2009 Michelle Obama’s White House garden is inspiring.  The First Lady’s agricultural endeavor both introduces and reminds people to get closer to the land; to conserve Earth’s precious resources; and the importance of growing their own healthy food.  For some people this is feasible; for others, both time and natural space interfere with this green-thumb movement. There are many accessible sites to help start your own garden, whether it’s an herb garden in your window sill, planting a fruit tree, or planting a fruit and vegetable garden.  Here are some sites to help start your gardening adventure: ·         Mother Earth News ·         Gardeners ·         Southern Living ·         Organic gardening     If you fall into the category where time and space hamper your gardening efforts, you still can have access to local fresh vegetables and fruit as well as contribute to lessening your carbon footprint.  Think about the toxic chemicals that are needed to preserve the food or the amount of petroleum used to deliver your food.  Buying local, like growing your own garden, will help support your local community’s economy; lessen the impact on your environment; and allow you to eat healthily.  Now is the perfect time to consider purchasing as much food as possible from local sources.  Food Routes, which is part of Food Routes Network, is a non-profit organization that “is dedicated to reintroducing Americans to their food – the seeds it grows from, the farmers who produce it, and the routes that carry it from the fields to their tables.”  The FoodRoutes website provides tips on how to buy more local food, where you can find this food in your community, educates about how buying local affects the environment and your health, and has the latest news on farming today.  You can even take part in the Buy Local Challenge . This allows you to show your support to those local farmers in your community. It’s time to revitalize the food movement! For more tips on how you can make changes in this healthy, local food trend, visit Earth Promise. Tags: agriculture, carbon footprint, change, changes, community, earth, eco-friendly, environment, farming, Food routes, FoodRoutes, garden, global warming, green, green changes, green thumb, green tips, Green$ense, healthy food, herb garden, land, local food, Michelle Obama, Obama, organic, vegetable garden, white house Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Unfortunate Events Turn Cities Green Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 Headquartered in California, Global Green USA is the offshoot company of Green Cross International  which was “created by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future by reconnecting humanity with the environment.”  While the international segment’s agenda focuses on innovative methods to resolve the world’s environmental crises, the American sector spotlights the creation of green building and cities.  One of the various pioneering programs Global Green USA is proud to be a part of is Rebuilding New Orleans. The 2005 aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was horrific.  The government’s initial apathetic response to this catastrophic event drove Global Green USA to help rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.  Brad Pitt, after visiting the Lower 9th Ward section of New Orleans, knew he had to aid this desperate community and its people.  He “work(ed) with Global Green to sponsor an architecture competition aimed at generating ideas about how to rebuild sustainably.”  It was important that the focus of this reconstruction didn’t alter the integrity of the district’s soul.  He wanted to “Make it Right” and Pitt was able to initiate this by collaborating with a team that would focus on bettering the pre and post-Katrina environmental conditions.    Experts in green architecture and sustainable redevelopment specialists are working together to get as many of the Lower 9th Ward district population back to their neighborhood.   Willingly, Brad Pitt continues his charitable eco-mission of rebuilding New Orleans.  Let’s hope these large scale environmental rebuilding efforts continue.       Tags: brad pitt, change, changes, charity, climate change, community, earth, eco-friendly, economic climate, energy efficient, environment, global, global green USA, global warming, government, green, green architecture, green building, green changes, Green Cross International, green economy, green living, green practice, green tips, Green$ense, Hurricane Katrina, Katrina, Lower 9th Ward, Make it right, New Orleans, nola, rebuild, sustainable Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Earth Hour, Earth Day, Earth Living Monday, March 9th, 2009 March 28, 2009 at 8:30pm, Earth Hour , a global collaborative, will take place: around the world people will switch off their lights for one hour.  This simple, non-lifestyle-changing event will signify how, if we work together, a monumental revolution can be made in our global efforts to participate in climate change.  “The (2008) movement captured the public’s imagination with lights going out at some of the world’s most iconic landmarks including the Sydney Opera House, Bangkok’s Wat Arun Buddhist temple, the Coliseum in Rome, Stockholm’s Royal Castle, London’s City Hall, New York’s Empire State Building, Sears Tower in Chicago and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.” April 22, 2009’s Earth Day will be the 39thanniversary of our once nationwide (now worldwide) response to environmental issues.  The message: collectively we can make this global day of action and participation a commitment to ecological responsibility.  There are countless events and activities happening around the world.  To find or initiate an event near you to protect the future of our planet, visit, the Earth Day site. So, what happens when Earth Hour and Earth Day unite? Cool People Care is a cleverly, hip site that offers information on events, activities, and volunteering opportunities in your area.  Their philosophy is undemanding: saving the world 5 minutes at a time. Their quick and easy to change green habits can be delivered directly to your email. What drew me to their site was their amalgamation of Earth Hour and Earth Day to create, EH2ED (Earth Hour to Earth Day) Challenge. The idea: you can save the Earth each day by making smart, easy changes.  If you register for the challenge , Cool People will email you green information “highlighting an organization, a program, an initiative or a resource that can help you develop eco-friendly habits and behaviors so that you can live a more caring lifestyle.” With this shared global responsibility to preserve the planet, Earth Hour and Earth Day bring people together who want to take better care of the environment.  Earth Promise is the ideal community to make your promises and connect with like-minded people.   Tags: carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, community, earth, earth day, Earth hour, eco-friendly, ecological, energy efficient, environment, environmental, global, global warming, green, green changes, green living, green practice, green practices, green tips, promise Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Michelle Obama’s Call to Service Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 Change does not have to wait until President elect Barack Obama is sworn into office, January 20, 2009.  Michelle Obama has invited our nation to participate in a day of service on January 19, 2009.  She parallels the Renew America Together initiative to Martin Luther King, Jr. since his life’s message was to rebuild our country and conquer the challenges that lie ahead.  This is not to say that we Americans should dedicate a single day to volunteer; we need to make this an ongoing commitment. A plethora of community service events throughout the country have been organized to answer President elect Obama’s call to make a change.  To be a part of this historic pre-inaugural event, visit, www.usaservice.org, to sign up to participate or host a service event in your community. Some of the events being hosted around the nation are: Beach clean-ups Park clean-ups Food drives Blood drives Habitat for Humanity events Clothing drives Tree plantings Make our nation’s enthusiasm for change a lasting commitment.  For some ideas regarding how small changes can make a big difference, visit, http://www.earthpromise.com/ Tags: Barack Obama, change, community, community service, Michelle Obama, politics, President Obama, Renew America Together Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Introduction of Earth Promise’s Blog Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 Welcome to Earth Promise’s blog.  This is an exciting step for us and we hope you enjoy reading it.  Entries will consist of news relating to the environment, updates that are occurring on the Earth Promise site, and most importantly, ideas for how we can all help and have a positive impact.  We want it to be informative, interesting and also entertaining.      Any ideas you have for blog posts or recommendations for any aspect of the Earth Promise site, please let us know.  Earth Promise is an online community dedicated to bringing people together who want to take better care of the environment.  We provide an easy way for people to make, track and keep promises about actions that will benefit the earth.  In addition to provide an easy way for people to make, track and keep promises, Earth Promise will inform and teach you about related issues, allow you to connect with others, enable you to easily spread the word and teach and motivate you. But most importantly, it encourages people to take action. Earth Promise allows us to act as a united voice to awaken people about damage that has been and is continuing to be done to the environment and how we can all help.  The issue is serious.  This is not just our problem.  This will affect our children and our children’s children unless we take action now.  The viral aspect of the site will enable the exponential increase of awareness of these promises that can have a huge impact.  Making an Earth Promise, whether large or small, affects not just the individual who makes it.  The promise can be viewed by many others and act as their motivation to take similar action.  One’s promise can immediately become someone else’s promise.    Being a part of this community allows you to interact with others who are also interested in protecting the environment.  They can share their goals for change by informing you, but they can also learn from you.    Get inspired and inspire others.  Together, we will be a caring and positive voice for the environment.     Tags: community, environment Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »