China (you’ve been on my mind)
June 25, 2011 by Elias Simpson
Filed under Blog, China, Climate Change, Deforestation, Desertification, Drought, Front Page, Slideshow
A country full of people
I will never meet.
Some are farmers, others politicians
for the communist government.
Your rivers and lakes
run like sewers
from the west into the ocean,
and can’t be drunk from, nor swum in….
Full-Circle Learning – Global Partnerships Unlock Potential
April 12, 2010 by Julia Wasson
Filed under 1% for the Planet, Activists, Blog, Brazil, California, Children, China, Donations, Education, Environment, Front Page, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Profiles, Schools, Slideshow, South Africa, Students, Tonga, Volunteers
After the 1992 civil unrest in South Central Los Angeles, a small grassroots group began an after-school program to show the children living in the area that diverse members of their community cared about them. Teresa Henkle Langness, who later founded Full-Circle Learning, was among them.
“Over time,” Langness says, “we began to see that what these children needed was to be a part of a community, to be a part of the solution, instead of feeling like victims of society’s ills.”
Langness adds, “When we began to incorporate character themes linked to local and global service within each lesson plan, the students’ scores suddenly began to leap. They became much better students, much better people. They began to teach their parents conflict resolution. Outside organizations in the community began to benefit from their work. Families wanted to replicate the model and began asking us for help in doing so.”
Today, Full-Circle Learning provides a full preschool-through-high school curriculum in 13 nations. Langness told Blue Planet Green Living (BPGL), “The mission of Full-Circle Learning is to help young people embrace their role as humanitarians and change agents. We do this through educational programs that integrate and expand students’ character strength, academic excellence, creative capacities, and conflict resolution skills.” …
Read Full ArticleComputer Recycling – The Downside of Upgrading
February 2, 2010 by Caryn Green
Filed under Africa, Blog, Cancer, China, E-Waste, Front Page, Ghana, Health, Heavy Metals, Pollution, Recycling, Toxins
In an era when prices for goods are escalating while product quality seems to be decreasing (“they don’t make ‘em like they used to”), electronics equipment is one bright spot on the consumer landscape. The products keep improving, and the prices keep dropping. That flash drive you’re carrying is about the size of a stick of gum, yet it has quadruple the storage capacity of the laptop you were using on the job ten years ago. With all these advancements in the computer arena, why not upgrade?
The downside of upgrading is disposing of all that old equipment. You can’t sell it, and you can’t give it away. Your local charities and schools won’t accept electronics donations — you’ve checked. So you make the environmentally responsible decision to recycle. Congratulations, you’re living green.
Or are you?
What if you knew that the obsolete cellphones, TVs, and computers you just recycled with a clear conscience are on their way to a “burn village” in China? …
Read Full ArticleDispatches from Copenhagen – Talks Extended
December 18, 2009 by Simeon Talley
Filed under 2009, Ban Ki-moon, Barack Obama, Blog, China, Climate Change, COP 15, Front Page, Global Warming, Slideshow, U.S., UN, Wen Jiabao
COPENHAGEN – COP15 TALKS JUST EXTENDED TO THE WEEKEND.
So much has happened, while so little real progress has been made.
Obama’s speech essentially reiterated the US’s already stated position: mitigation commitments by all major economies, transparency by both developing and developed countries alike, and US commitment of $10 billion in the short term/$100 billion in the long-term by 2020 for climate finance….
Read Full ArticleGreen Cuisine: Understanding Organic and Natural Cooking
February 3, 2009 by Chef Matthew J.G.
Filed under Australia, Blog, China, Cooking, Ecopreneurs, Environment, Front Page, GMOs, Green Cuisine, Green Living, Organic, Organic Food, Restaurants, Sustainability
When Chef Matthew J. Goudge says that a green cuisine is as delicious as it is good for you, you’ll be wise to listen. Chef Matthew is widely known and respected as a talented organic chef and an industry leader. Having cooked professionally in St. Lucia, Malaysia, China, Australia, and England, Chef Matthew’s view is that the world is an interconnected place where all should benefit from each other’s knowledge. In his blog, ProChef360, he invites professional chefs from around the world to join in an open forum, sharing their ideas, their tips, their wisdom, their food photos, and their frustrations. We’re pleased to carry on that tradition by sharing Chef Matthew’s thoughts on organic foods and natural cooking.
Read Full ArticleMatthew J. Goudge, Executive Chef, Contributing Writer
February 3, 2009 by Chef Matthew J.G.
Filed under Australia, Chef Matthew J. Goudge, China, Cooking, Ecopreneurs, Front Page, Green Living, Organic Food
Matthew J. Goudge is an Australian citizen, who possesses a wealth of knowledge in the culinary field. He has worked in St Lucia, Malaysia, China, Australia, Austria and England in various capacities. His career began in February of 1987 at the Tura Beach Country Club in New South Wales, Australia.
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