Rainforest Forever

I know you might think that purchasing a tree as a gift is a lame idea however I beg to differ. Rainforest Forever makes some excellent points as to why it isn’t such a lame gift.

One Rainforest Tree Helps Us Breath- The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the “Lungs of our Planet” because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.

One Rainforest Tree Can Heal The Sick – 25% of Western
pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, but less that 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists. More than 2,000 tropical rainforest plants have been identified with the potential to fight cancer.

One Rainforest Tree Supports an Abundance of Life- More than half of the world’s estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests. There are more fish species in the Amazon river system than in the entire Atlantic ocean.

One Rainforest Tree Gives Hope – There were an estimated ten million
Indians living in the Amazonian Rainforest five centuries ago. Today there are less than 200,000. Protection of the rainforest means these valuable tribes live on, passing the secrets of the rainforest from generation to generation.

One Rainforest Tree Protects Our Future- The rainforest is
necessary for a healthy and livable planet. You can protect and save this important source of life. A Rainforest Tree is not only a special gift to yourself or a loved one . . . a Rainforest Tree is a special gift to the entire world.

Rainforest Forever packages range in price from $50-$70 which really isn’t much more than you would usually spend on most gifts and this gift is better than most. You have an opportunity to save our planet. In a time where material things are generally what is most important to people I think if we all became more thoughtful in our gift giving people would be less interested in one more bag or gadget that they will either never use or use for a little while until something new peeks their interest and more interested in useful gifts that won’t sit somewhere and get dusty.

The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy


The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy

I constantly say that we have to be educated properly to solve any problems. We have to know what evils we are fighting and accurate knowledge is the best tool we can have by our side to gain success. In the book The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy
you learn about real issues our world is facing and are given active-learning exercises to help you as the reader develop the skills to recognize and hopefully solve these issues. The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy is different in that way because many books just give you facts or opinions on how that particular author or group of authors would solve the issue. Here you one your own learn how to come to a conclusion with the skills you have gained.

Product Description:

Responding to the threats of climate change, peak oil, resource deletion, economic uncertainty and energy insecurity demands the utmost in creativity, ingenuity, and new ways of thinking in order to reinvent self and society. In The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy, leading sustainability educators are joined by permaculturists, literary critics, ecologists, artists, journalists, engineers, mathematicians, and philosophers in examining the skills needed in the twenty-first century. Among the many skills, attributes, and values described in this volume are values reflection, coping with complexity, permaculture design, transition skills, advertising awareness, effortless action, and ecological intelligence, each accompanied by ideas for active-learning exercises to help develop the skill. Far from being a rigid or definitive statement of the “one right way,” however, the handbook is exploratory, aiming to open up new, unthought-of paths, possibilities, and choices. It is intended primarily for educators across the spectrum from higher education to informal education, but is also suitable for learners themselves and anyone interested in the literally “vital” issue of the skills we need to survive and thrive in the twenty-first century and build a more sustainable future. Contributors include John Naish, Satish Kumar, Patrick Whitefield, John Blewitt, Stephan Harding, and Stephen Sterling.

Eco Products

Diary of an Eco-Outlaw


Diary of an Eco-Outlaw

This is what I want to be when I grow up! Not many people have the guts to do this kind of work but it sure does stand out. Civil disobedience isn’t always the best measure but it is much better than being an eco-terrorist which is never the way to go. Corporations run our world and most do not have our worlds safety in mind only their $’s safety. People like Diane Wilson saw injustice and took it upon herself to make changes. We need more women and humans in general in this world that are willing to go this far for those of us who won’t.

Product Description:

Diane Wilson is an activist, shrimper, and all around hell-raiser whose first book, An Unreasonable Woman, told of her battle to save her bay in Seadrift, Texas. Back then, she was an accidental activist who worked with whistleblowers, organized protests, and eventually sunk her own boat to stop the plastic-manufacturing giant Formosa from releasing dangerous chemicals into water she shrimped in, grew up on, and loved.

But, it turns out, the fight against Formosa was just the beginning. In Diary of an Eco-Outlaw, Diane writes about what happened as she began to fight injustice not just in Seadrift, but around the world—taking on Union Carbide for its failure to compensate those injured in the Bhopal disaster, cofounding the women’s antiwar group Code Pink to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, attempting a citizens arrest of Dick Cheney, famously covering herself with fake oil and demanding the arrest of then BP CEO Tony Hayward as he testified before Congress, and otherwise becoming a world-class activist against corporate injustice, war, and environmental crimes.

As George Bernard Shaw once said, “all progress depends on unreasonable women.” And in the Diary of an Eco-Outlaw, the eminently unreasonable Wilson delivers a no-holds-barred account of how she—a fourth-generation shrimper, former boat captain, and mother of five—took a turn at midlife, unable to stand by quietly as she witnessed abuses of people and the environment. Since then, she has launched legislative campaigns, demonstrations, and hunger strikes—and generally gotten herself in all manner of trouble.

All worth it, says Wilson. Jailed more than 50 times for civil disobedience, Wilson has stood up for environmental justice, and peace, around the world—a fact that has earned her many kudos from environmentalists and peace activists alike, and that has forced progress where progress was hard to come by.

The Chelsea Green Guides

 

The Chelsea Green Guides–6 Pack Set

The Chelsea Green Guides–6 Pack Set
of books that will benefit your green lifestyle immensely. Each book “greens up” a different aspect of your life ie. your home, your office, your bank account, and your activities. You can learn simple ways to be more conscious in all areas and hopefully improve the quality of our environment not only in your personal space but in your community as well.
The Chelsea Green Guidesis the perfect gift for a new “greenie” or even better a disbeliever to prove to them how being educated about changing our habits can improve our environment greatly.

Product Descriptions:

Biking to Work

A complete guide for making biking to work a safe reality for the beginning bike commuter. For those who live within biking distance to work, this book offers simple safety, bike-buying, gear-buying, and basic maintenance tips, as well as ways to best plan your route to and from the office. By biking to work, you can improve your physical and mental health, save money, avoid creating pollution, and contribute to friendlier cities. In the face of rush-hour traffic, biking is often faster than driving, too!

Greening Your Office: From Cupboard to Corporation: an A-Z Guide

An A-to-Z guide for offices of all sizes, from energy use and better supply purchases to recycling and reusing materials, plus summaries of a range of renewable energy options, commuting techniques, and more. These tips help your workplace save money while reducing environmental impacts, and can boost employee morale in the process. Your choices for coffee, computer monitors, furniture, invoices, lighting, paper, stamps, and hundreds of other items can add up to a better world.

Composting: An easy Household Guide

Everything you need to know about composting, from the different containers available, to what to put in them, to how to use the results. Includes an A-Z directory of how to compost everything from ash to weeds; plus expert advice on how to compost in small spaces, bins, and wormeries, and getting your community involved.

Energy: Use Less — Save More

100 energy saving tips for everything in your home or business. Includes suggestions on heating and cooling, lighting, cooking, appliances and much more. Also provides an overview on renewable energy options.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: An Easy Household Guide

This easy to use guide has the answers to all your recycling questions. Use its A-Z listing of everyday household items to see how you can recycle most of your unwanted things, do your bit for the planet, and maybe make a bit of money while you’re at it.

Water: Use Less — Save More

100 simple and effective tips for saving water, inside and outdoors of your home or business. Packed with practical ideas for your kitchen, bath, landscaping, and water using chores.

Energy Free


Energy Free

From: Chelsea Green Publishing

I know there are plenty of books out there that explain how to save energy at home but what if you could make your house use no more energy than it needs to produce. We hear this word “zero-energy” but do we really know what it means or how we can attain it? Energy Free details how we can get to “zero-energy” and stay that way.

Product Description:

Energy Free is designed to equip building professionals and homeowners alike with a toolkit for creating homes that use no more energy than they produce—this means homes that are free from the vagaries of energy-price fluctuations and that help to free society of the high political and environmental costs of fossil fuels.
Individuals and institutions have been working toward “zero-energy” homes for decades. This volume is the first record of those collective efforts, distilling their experience into a practical and comprehensive how-to guide. The author includes resource information and step-by-step guidance on how to make decisions that will yield an energy-free residential project, whether a single-family home or multifamily building, new or existing, in an urban or a rural setting. The unique needs and opportunities of each context are addressed.
Energy Freeoffers a wide array of resource information, including detailed window and insulation comparisons; assessments of the relative contribution of different building elements; and overall performance. It draws on research and empirical data from myriad sources, including the Department of Energy’s Building America program; Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s House of the Future; Passiv Haus Institute in Europe and the Passive House Institute of the U.S.; Florida Solar Energy Center; Living Building Challenge; Affordable Comfort, Inc.’s, Thousand Home Challenge; and many pioneering individual home projects across North America.

The Rainfortest Site

The Straw Bale House


The Straw Bale House

I haven’t read more than an excerpt of The Straw Bale House
but what I did read was quite interesting. How building used to be a community activity that brought people together. People used to respect the structures they built and treated them as if they were living. They were made, used, served their purpose and eventually died. The community used items they had readily available to build and repair structures.
Today billion dollar conglomerates build massive structures that often hurt our environment and are built in terms of making money for people who already have plenty of it. Most people don’t think of the impact building massive structures has on our environment.
The Straw Bale House shows a way to build amazingly sturdy and incredibly efficient homes that can benefit the home owners, the community and our environment.

Description:

Imagine building a house with superior seismic stability, fire resistance, and thermal insulation, using an annually renewable resource, for half the cost of a comparable conventional home. Welcome to the straw bale house! Whether you build an entire house or something more modest-a home office or studio, a retreat cabin or guest cottage-plastered straw bale construction is an exceptionally durable and inexpensive option. What’s more, it’s fun, because the technique is easy to learn and easy to do yourself. And the resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable.

The Straw Bale House describes the many benefits of building with straw bales:

•super insulation, with R-values as high as R-50
•good indoor air quality and noise reduction
•a speedy construction process
•construction costs as low as $10-per-square-foot
•use of natural and abundant renewable resources
•a better solution than burning agricultural waste straw,
which creates tons of air pollutants

wind turbines

Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future

Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future (11th Edition)

I know what you are thinking…YUCK a textbook! I don’t want to read this but Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future (11th Edition)
has gotten great reviews even more than the previous additions. Sometimes I like reading textbooks because they give you practical applications that may help you better than just reading something you might not be understanding.
I say it a lot but it is important to understand the beast we are all fighting. We may not all be able to go back to school to get a degree in environmental science but the tools are right at our finger tips! We should be taking advantage of the knowledge out there to help us save the earth more effectively and efficiently. The more you know the better it is for all of us!

Product Description:
Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future (11th Edition)

By emphasizing the memorable themes of science, sustainability and stewardship, the Eleventh Edition of this popular textbook helps you understand the science behind environmental issues and what you can do to build a more sustainable future. This thorough revision features updated content, graphics, and photos, plus the addition of new co-author Dorothy Boorse.

The Green Bride Guide

The Green Bride Guide

The Green Bride Guide

I found The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budgetyesterday and fell in love! This is one trend that I wish would catch on in a bigger way. I have been to many weddings and I have yet to attend one where people have the environment in mind. I always envision my wedding as being as green as possible 1. because I think it would be fun to try to get as greenly-creative as I could but 2. because I think it is the perfect way to introduce people how awesome/easy green can be.

Product Description:

Your Wedding: Beautiful and Sustainable. Just Like Your Marriage

The Green Bride Guidehas everything eco-conscious couples need to make their event more sustainable. Green wedding veteran and environmentalist Kate L. Harrison offers hundreds of eco-friendly choices in one handy reference.

Emphasizing elegance and individual taste, The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget covers all aspects of the big day and beyond.

Engagement
Location
Invitations
Bridal party attire
Flowers
The ceremony
The reception
Gifts
The honeymoon

Whether you want to include just a few green elements in your decor or have a carbon-neutral wedding with local organic food and a peace silk dress, you’ll find the resources you need to pull it off with panache. And you can plan a gorgeous green event on any budget – Kate offers options in every price category.

Paired with a website and complete with vendor worksheets, The Green Bride Guide is an invaluable reference for anyone interested in planning an elegant, exciting, eco-friendly wedding.

recylced gifts

Going to Green

Going to Green

Going to Green

I know that I wish in my high school I was taught about being environmentally conscious. I think the skills I have learned now in my quest to be greener are ideas and beliefs that definitely would have resonated with me as a teenager or even younger. We always talk about starting our children’s green education as soon as possible. I knew there had to be a book out there that would serve this purpose. Going to Green: A Standards-Based Environmental Education Curriculum for Schools, Colleges, and Communities is exactly what I was looking for. This book meets the standards for being taught to 9-12 grade students and even incorporates other subjects such as literature, math and art.

Product Description:
Based on the PBS Series Edens Lost & Found, this unique learning resource combines an integrated, detailed academic curriculum with service-based learning activities to educate, inspire, and empower citizen learners to build greener and healthier communities. 
Going to Green has been tested in high schools, university extension classes, community colleges, and community organizations. Going to Green is a teacher-friendly curriculum that is rated highly as a successful program for knowledge acquisition across disciplines. It meets NSTA and NCSS national standards for grades 9-12, and includes a wide variety of cross-curricular activities.
Individual productions by filmmakers Harry Wiland and Dale Bell have received an Academy Award, five Emmys, one Peabody, two Christophers, and two Cine Golden Eagles, among other awards. Their collaborative award-winning project on caregiving, “And Thou Shalt Honor,” was broadcast by PBS in 2002 to wide acclaim. They are both Ashoka Lifetime Fellows and Purpose Prize Fellows.


GreenandMore.com - Eco-Friendly Products

Planet Pals Recycling Kit

Planet Pals Recycling Kit

I absolutely heart Planet Pals! Their designs are so colorful and fun and they are on a mission to educate us about the importance of being green! I was browsing through their website the other day and noticed they offer recycling kits for free! One kit teaches about water and energy conservation, another explains separating recyclables, a third displays all the items one is capable of recycling and the last explains how pesticides and other chemicals are harmful our environemnt. All four can be printed and hung up around the house. This could be an excellent project for a class or even just handouts for children to bring home! Maybe you could even design your own kits to hit on points not covered in these kits. This is just one simple way to make being greener more fun and create awareness. The Planet Pals site even has a section for teachers and parents to carry on the green tradition! It is worth looking into, you can never be too green!