Ethical Consumerism's topics - tribe.net

Recycle your electronics / WasteNot

2009-11-08T00:13:43Z

http://www.svdp-alameda.org/

This program is for Alameda County. "WASTENOT"

http://www.svdp-alameda.org/electronics.php?PHPSESSID=c5805f698fbf47ddd31c41b649e48344

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Kiva

2009-11-07T05:33:12Z

http://www.kiva.org/about

Could this help change the world for the better?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

GreenFestivals

2009-10-23T13:30:00Z

http://www.greenfestivals.org/

San Franciscos is Nov 13/14/15 at the Consourse Exhibition Center. ( 125 Speakers )

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Whole Green Catalog

2009-10-23T13:25:28Z

http://wholegreencatalog.com/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Ethical Culture

2009-09-13T19:09:01Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_Culture

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Liquid Gold

2009-08-14T07:38:04Z

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0966678311?tag=tribenet-20&camp=211493&creative=379981&linkCode=op1&creativeASIN=0966678311&adid=1MSMY4CAPG1BZNCD03C6&

Ha ha funny. : )

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 4 replies

The Ethical Lawn Mower

2009-08-12T14:26:31Z

www.neutonmowers.com

Lawn mowers burn over 800 million gallons of gasoline in the U.S. each year. Over 17 million gallons are spilled refueling these mowers annually.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 8 replies

Soda Stream

2009-07-19T23:33:04Z

http://www.sodastream.com/

DOT COM!!! Or 1800 763-2258

Your soda rode hundreds of miles from the factory to your store, in a truck that gets 6 miles to the gallon.

The fancy sparkling water you drink came from so far away, it probably has jet lag.

Using the water already in your home, a Sodastream soda maker adds fizz and flavor....... without the extra fuel.

Better than recycling.

Save an additional $10 dollars off the sale price of any new soda maker - promo code MOTHERJONES

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Stuffed and Starved

2009-07-19T01:22:17Z

I just listened to a very good radio piece by raj patel, who wrote a book called "Stuffed and Starved". This is really most excellent. Here is the podcast:

http://www.newtexasradical.org/components/com_podcast/media/01-25-09-rajpatel-stuffed-and-starved.mp3

Here is his website:

http://stuffedandstarved.org/drupal/frontpage

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

The Vegetarian Myth

2009-07-18T17:19:33Z

http://ethicalconsumerism.tribe.net/photos/46fd9002-122a-4def-9204-88fea1259ed9

Food, Justice, and Sustainability

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 2 replies

Documentary: Future of Food

2009-07-16T04:28:32Z

http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food?c=0

Heard a short segment of this on KPFK Radio here in SoCal and found the full length film [unfortunetly with a few commercials] on the Hulu site.

Discusses some very interesting facts and future projections pertaining to the agricultural industry and it's relationship to Big Business, including possibly aversity that worldwide consumer markets may face as corporations abuse patent rights and entitlement, in effect narrowing the purity and diversity of our diets. Some startling potential consequences are implied and, shock value aside, a worthy discussion to have here in this tribe, and in our real world tribes as well.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 23 replies

Water Footprint

2009-07-07T06:15:40Z

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=water+footprint+josh+harkinson&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Carbon Footprint. Etc.....

I read an article in Mother Jones magazine yesterday by Josh Harkinson. I feel it is a very important piece that needs to be shared. I wanted to post SOMETHING about it asap. And hope others will have some input on it. The MJ article made me want to post about many things regarding this extremely important issue. I hope I can post more about this subject after a second reading of the article and maybe a little more investigation. I know it's nothing new under the sun. Enevitably fullfilled prophecy. Etc...... Whatever. I'm interested in discussing it NOW with others that are living in the Here & Now. : )

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

EPA's NATA Findings...Nothing New

2009-06-24T04:58:05Z

The EPA's "Air Assessment" results are in, and frankly, the metropolitan areas which are at greatest risk of breathing carcinogenic air is nothing new to most of us, particularly those of us in this tribe. The Bush Administration didn't help matters by scaling back much of the progress that the EPA made in enforcing tougher air quality standards.

With that said, should potential health risks relating to poor air quality be segue-way-ed into the overarching, Global Warming/Climate Change debate?

Read more about the EPA's NATA (National-Scale Air Toxics Assessments) results here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2009-06-23-epa-study_N.htm

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Disposal Issues of Compact Fluorescents

2009-06-23T06:01:58Z

I am sure that many of us in this tribe are quite aware of the negative aspects associated with compact fluorescent bulbs, such as its mercurial content .

In my county of Miami-Dade, commissioners and sustainability officials are considering special drop-off locations for the disposal of C.F.L's along with an awareness campaign to help get out the word to the public on how to handle these bulbs, if they're broken or their structure has been compromised.

So, do you think the benefits of installing C.F.L's in our homes and businesses outweigh the now added "special disposal" component?

What are your thoughts on this?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 13 replies

Abercrombie Doesn’t Think A Prosthetic Arm Is Very “All-American”

2009-06-16T23:09:35Z

So maybe it’s time Abercrombie & Fitch reviewed its “Look Policy,” which requires employees to project a “natural, classic, American-style." It sounds cute, but their insistence on it is becoming costly. A&F has already shelled out millions of dollars to employees who felt discriminated against by the policy—and they just might be paying more. Riam Dean, a 22-year-old disabled British student who worked for A&F’s London flagship store, claims she was forced to work in the stockroom because her prosthetic arm didn’t fit the company’s “look." But perhaps Dean shouldn’t have been so surprised by A&F’s shallowness.. When she interviewed for the job, she says “All they seemed interested in was taking my photograph to make sure I had the right image.”

Source: http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-abercrombie-doesnt-think-a-prosthetic-arm-is-very-all-american/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Perimeter Fencing : Closure of Golden Gate Park by Outside Lands

2009-06-06T15:23:06Z

Perimeter Fencing : Closure of Golden Gate Park by Outside Lands

Like last year, Another Planet Entertainment plans to displace San Franciscans and visitors from Golden Gate Park. For about two weeks San Franciscans and visitors are getting kicked out of huge portion of GGP by a private entity so that it can make a profit. Chunks of time and space like this are going to add up quickly. Say good bye to the artists, musicians, athletes, fauna, and so in Speedway Meadows and hello to the Walmart greeter ....

When
21 AUG -- 3 SEPT 2009 (and in 2010--2013)

Where
21st Ave -- 44th Ave: Most of the West End of GGP: Polo Fields, Speedway, Lindley, Marx, Little Speedway Meadows, and the connective areas

Whom
All unauthorized users

How
Chain--link fencing

What to Do
Spread the word about our loss of access to GGP, the displacement of fauna, and the destruction of flora by letter, word of mouth, phone, email, text, etc.

Call your supervisor: 554-5184; 554-5163 (fax); 554-5227 (TTY)

Call SF Rec and Park: 831-2700

Attend the Public Meetings
8 June, 7pm, Zephyr Coffee House
11 June, 7pm, Taraval Police Station
15 June, 6pm, Grace Luthern Church
18 July, 10am, Sunset Rec Center

[keywords: Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Golden Gate Park, Chain link fencing, public property, privatization, SF Rec and Park, Disaster Capitalism, open space, public domain, public funds, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Another Planet Entertainment, Polo Fields, Speedway, Lindley, Marx, Little Speedway Meadows]

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

For When I'm Gone....

2009-05-22T11:39:10Z

Great ideas Great links

A repost from Amma Redhat under one of my pics.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2006/09/24/coffin-shelves-for-life/

and

http://www.naturalburial.coop/about-natural-burial/

Catch some of the discussion under the pic:
http://people.tribe.net/71246863-4184-4906-8732-d4b755d29f94/photos/6e419c8c-1208-423a-9f2c-d357b293c7a8

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 2 replies

New Report on Organic Soy Released!

2009-05-21T03:55:57Z

Hey all! The non-profit I work for (The Cornucopia Institute) just released a super report on organic soy, along with a scorecard that rates the integrity of all the organic soy products on the market. Please visit their site to check out both – some really important and helpful information in it. Well-researched.

Site: www.cornucopia.org

link to report: http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/soy-report-and-scorecard/

link to scorecard: http://www.cornucopia.org/soysurvey/

Below is also the press release we sent out about it, for those who may be interested.

Thanks! Contact us if you have questions!
Lynn

May 18, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Mark Kastel 608-625-2042
Charlotte Vallaeys 978-369-6409

New Report: Many Organic Soy Food Brands
Importing Beans from China

We no longer trust these imports to feed our pets
They have no place in organics

Cornucopia, WI: Tremendous growth in the organic soy foods industry has occurred over the last two decades as consumers seek healthy dietary alternative sources of protein. Many companies touting their "natural" or "organic" soy brands have found favor in the supermarket. A new report, released this week by The Cornucopia Institute, lifts the veil on some of these companies, exposing widespread importation of soybeans from China and the use of toxic chemicals to process soy foods labeled as "natural."

The report, Beyond the Bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry, and an accompanying ratings scorecard of organic brands, separates industry heroes—who have gone out of their way to connect with domestic farmers—from agribusinesses that are exploiting the trust of consumers.

Part of the meteoric rise in organic food sales has been built on the expectation from consumers that organic foods support a more environmentally sound form of agriculture and one that financially rewards family farmers through their patronage. "Importing Chinese soybeans or contributing to the loss of rain forests by shipping in commodities from Brazil just flat-out contradicts the working definition of organic agriculture," said Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute.

Through a nationwide survey of the industry, onsite farm, and processor visits, plus reviews of import data, Cornucopia assembled a rating system aimed at empowering consumers and wholesale buyers with the knowledge necessary to support brands that respect the fundamental tenets of organics.

"The good news in this report is that consumers can easily find, normally without paying any premium, organic soy foods that truly meet their expectations," said Charlotte Vallaeys, a researcher at Cornucopia and the primary author of the report.

One company that had an excellent opportunity to meet consumer expectations by supporting the growth of organic acreage in North America was Dean Foods, makers of the industry's leading soymilk, Silk. Instead, after buying the Silk brand, Dean Foods quit purchasing most of their soybeans from American family farmers and switched their primary sourcing to China. This cost-cutting move helped them build their commanding soy milk market share using soybeans of questionable organic certification from China.

“White Wave (the operating division of Dean Foods that markets Silk and Horizon organic milk) had the opportunity to push organic and sustainable agriculture to incredible heights of production by working with North American farmers and traders to get more land in organic production, but what they did was pit cheap foreign soybeans against the U.S. organic farmer, taking away any attraction for conventional farmers to make the move into sustainable agriculture,” said Merle Kramer, a marketer for the Midwestern Organic Farmers Cooperative.
And now Dean, the $11 billion agribusiness behemoth and the nation's largest dairy concern, has quietly abandoned organic soybeans in most of the Silk product line, switching to even cheaper conventional soybeans without changing UPC codes for retailers or lowering pricing to consumers.

After reports from cooperative and independent natural foods retailers around the country Cornucopia visited a Whole Foods store in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin and found only one of 25 Silk soymilk products was organic. "This is a radical departure by a brand that was widely viewed as an organic market pioneer," lamented Kastel.

Cornucopia's Vallaeys warned: "Health conscious shoppers should no longer associate Silk with organic, and should seek the green USDA Certified Organic seal when purchasing soy products.”

"As a vegetarian, for health and ethical reasons, I am appalled that some large corporations are profiteering on my trust in their brand," said Joan Levin, a Chicago consumer who says she is fiercely committed to organics.

Meanwhile, highly committed companies like Eden Foods, one of the country's largest organic soy foods producers, Small Planet Tofu, and Vermont Soy work directly with North American organic farmers.

“Small Planet Tofu has bought organic soybeans from me and other farmers I work with for the past 17 years,” said Phil Lewis, an organic farmer in Kansas. “This relationship is priceless, because I know that I can count on them even if I have a bad year with droughts or floods,” Lewis added.

“The top-rated companies that nurture relationships with American organic farmers should be rewarded in the marketplace. We hope that organic consumers will use Cornucopia’s soy scorecard when deciding which organic soy foods to buy,” said Kastel.

Some soy food makers that did not participate in the scorecard study may have been hesitant to share their sourcing information because they also buy organic soybeans from China. “Their reluctance to disclose their sourcing information makes sense, given the USDA’s weak oversight of certifying agents working in China,” noted Kastel.

The USDA waited five years before sending auditors to China to examine the practices of that country’s certifying agents. And even when in China, the USDA’s auditors visited only two farms in the entire country. On these two farms, they found multiple noncompliances with U.S. organic standards. USDA auditors also discovered that Chinese-based organic certifying agents did not always provide a translated copy of the U.S. standards to clients who apply for organic certification.

The Chinese findings support concerns that American farmers have raised for years, which is that organic imports from China may not always be held to the same strict standards as American crops. They also raise serious questions about whether Chinese farmers are adequately informed about the USDA organic standards and requirements.

“If the reputation of organic food is impugned through illegal and fraudulent activities in China, and an incompetent level of oversight by the USDA, it will be the domestic farmers and entrepreneurs that built this industry who will be harmed,” added Kastel.

Hexane: The Dirty Little Secret of the Natural Soy Foods Industry

Behind the Bean also exposes the natural soy industry’s “dirty little secret”: its widespread use of the chemical solvent hexane. Hexane is used to process nearly all conventional soy protein ingredients and edible oils and is prohibited when processing organic foods.

Soybeans are bathed in hexane by food processors seeking to separate soy oil from the protein and fiber of the beans. It is a cost-effective and highly efficient method for concentrating high-protein isolates. But hexane is also a neurotoxic chemical that poses serious occupational hazards to workers, is an environmental air pollutant, and can contaminate food.

Residue tests reveal that small amounts of hexane can and do appear in ingredients processed with the toxic chemical. The government does not require that companies test for hexane residues before selling foods to consumers, including soy-based infant formula.

"Consumers who are concerned with the purity and healthfulness of their food should continue to seek out organic alternatives as part of their diet and support the many high-integrity brands outlined in our study," Vallaeys stated.

The full Cornucopia Institute report, or an executive summary, including the scorecard of organic soy brands, can be found at www.cornucopia.org

- 30 -

MORE:

Pacific Foods, another major organic manufacturer, for example, puts a “Certified to the Source™” seal on its organic soymilk packages, yet refused to share with customers and Cornucopia researchers any sourcing information. Additional Cornucopia research of available import databases indicates that Pacific Natural Foods buys hundreds of thousands of pounds of organic soybeans from China. "Obviously, Pacific Foods knows their customers well enough that they felt sharing this information openly with them would not reflect well on their reputation," added Vallaeys.

"When consumers choose to invest in organic food, they think they are choosing a safer and more nutritious product for their families,” said Cornucopia’s Kastel.

Dean Foods has also been the subject of industry scrutiny and USDA investigations for their dependence on giant factory farms, some with over 10,000 animals, producing "organic" milk while violating federal standards.

The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit farm policy research group, is dedicated to the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Their Organic Integrity Project acts as a corporate and governmental watchdog assuring that no compromises to the credibility of organic farming methods and the food it produces are made in the pursuit of profit.www.cornucopia.org

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Industrial meat production the source of swine flu

2009-05-12T18:22:53Z

the trail of swine flu ends at an industrial pork farm in new mexico.

the conditions for the animals are appalling, and a breeding ground for new and dangerous viruses..

help end this by signing the petition:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/swine_flu_pandemic/?cl=225284900&v=3271

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

99 cent stores?

2009-05-12T18:20:14Z

What do you all think of buying food from 99 cents stores? $1.00 stores in some areas?

My boyfriend has started to shop there for us lately, because we need to be somewhat penny pinching lately with his income waning. I'm getting around to making dinner right now, and it occurred to me that some of the food he bought earlier in the week (fresh produce) is already going bad, and therefore a waist of 99 cents.

Is buying food that's about to go to waste from a 99 cent store an ethical thing, if you do end up eating it?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 7 replies

Food Inc.

2009-05-03T16:14:41Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0 - Trailer

Sinja posted this on a couple of tribes. I'm sharing it as much as possible.

Cheers.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 2 replies

Walking through the solution

2009-05-03T15:23:43Z

Hey group,
A bit of shameless back patting about to happen...

3 years ago I chose to take a stand and be responsible for creating a strong solution to climate change that anyone could follow.Also to demystify the web of green options each person has in front of them.

It became a software application that took every known source on going green I could find and summarize it into one place. During this research I also did the math needed, so every action has a specific savings in $ and CO2.
Knowing that the average person does not have the same amount of time to educate themselves...I created an online assessment that would give the program clarity into each persons unique options and give a day by day coaching plan on how to green their lifestyle.
No matter where you are starting from...skinny or huge footprint.
I have just finished and launched yesterday.
I am going to market the complete program for $29 and give $15 of that to a non-profit also needing money to further their own Global Warming solutions. It took some time to build those partnerships but they are good and solid programs.
Here is a bit more information and the URL
Please support this effort and spread it out to your connections( if you find it useful)
This has been a labor of love and I hope you find it useful.

PS. I have a certain number of "free" memberships I can give if you need it just email me through the website or here on Tribe.
PPS . WE DO NOT SELL ANY PRODUCTS

Going Green Today is an in-depth online program that looks at your lifestyle and creates simple green living options just for you. We give you an easy-to-follow action plan that walks you through reducing your carbon footprint by at least 35% and helping you to save $2000 this year.
visit us at
www.goinggreentoday.com

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 3 replies

This Week on The New American Dream

2009-04-13T22:50:10Z

http://www.newamericandream.net/index.html

The New American Dream
... well ... because we're dreaming of Dick Cheney and George Bush in a big black car limousine motorcade with those little American flags on the front quarter panels on their way to prison

... we're dreaming of a USA truth commission and Cub Scout tours of the "secret" FBI and CIA

and some other stuff

This Week's Feature Interviews:

Monday - Timbre Wolf, a musician who moved from Tulsa to Hawaii

Tuesday - Al Markovitz, of Norfolk, Virginia, the Tulsa of the east coast, editor of the Blue Collar Review, "journal of working class literature"

Wednesday - Aimee England, the mayor of Tulsa — no, actually, Aimee lives in Michigan and spent over twenty years working in an independent, radical bookstore

Thursday - Lee Rayburn, radio show host, formerly of Air American Radio and also Madison, Wisconsin. [never been to Tulsa.]

Friday - Bartcop, of Bartcop.com, from where else? Tulsa.

Columns:
Steve Clemens of the Twin Cities
Lydia Sems from Atlanta

Poetry:
More from Ava Bird of Berkeley

and some other stuff

Thank you.

The Dream Team
http://www.newamericandream.net/index.html

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Freecycle Network

2009-04-06T15:12:08Z

www.freecycle.org/

skooter pm'd me about this because there is a scanner in my future. I assume this site is known about by everyone here already? If not, check it out. Iz perty cool.

LisaP posted on this in July 2005. : )
Does anyone use this and if so how has your experience been?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 4 replies

Dreaming the NEW American Dream

2009-04-04T17:41:06Z

California poets Ava Bird & Rex Butters, and....

Santa Cruz artist Russell Brutsche - Karen Kwiatkowski of Virginia

Protests to stop immigration raids ... and more.
____________________

http://www.newamericandream.net

The New American Dream

What's New?

* Karen Kwiatkowski column
* Ava Bird poetry
* Rex Butters poetry
* Gary Mennie poetry

Columns:
Sherwood Ross — why not shut down a few prisons in the United States as well?
Mickey Z — Americans are cowards, too comfortable, will never-ever-not-in-one-million-years revolt-or-even-bother-to-stand-up — no matter what the rich folks do to them.
Lydia Sems — It's The American Dream that is the problem.

and more from Jack Saunders ...

Resistance:
* Planned civil disobedience in Minnesota to stop raids against immigrants
* Protests at Creech AFB against U.S. drone terroristic activity
*100 days of protest against Guantanamo to culminate

All this, Northern Exposure, The Big Lebowski, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights ... a certificate for free toast ... and more.

Join us.

The New American Dream
Dude.
... because ... Sister Mary Anne told us, "There are no wrong questions, if you don't know the answers."

... from the Dream Team

http://www.newamericandream.net

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Next time you need a new toilet?

2009-03-29T17:26:11Z

http://www.envirolet.com/

Envirolet. I like to say it like Chevrolet. Chev-ro-lay. Envirolay. ( Okay yes. I am sunday morning wake and bake. lol )

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Ethical, nutritious, clean, and cheap food ideas

2009-03-28T17:47:00Z

I use a stainless steel pressure cooker a lot. You can get one for about $50, and they will last for many years and save their initial cost many many times over if you use it regularly. They cook food using 1/3 the energy and time that a regular pot takes. That adds up to huge savings. Also, it is way cheaper to buy dried beans and rice in bulk. I buy dried organic nettles and parsley by the lb online for about $10 a lb., and a lb goes a long way. ( i fed my kids a lot of dried nettles. I would even make green eggs, by adding powder to scrambled eggs, and this was actually a big hit. I would add it to all sorts of soups and casseroles etc ) Quinoa is a lot more expensive than rice, but not when you factor in that it is complete protein all alone, in addition to being very high in iron and calcium. Combining beans and corn for protein is a lot cheaper than covering that requirement with dairy or meat.
Here is where i get nettles and parsley now. I used to dry my own.

https://www.pacificbotanicals.com/store/search.php?mode=search&page=1&keep_https=yes

This is what i do and have done. Anyone else have suggestions?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Check out this new magazine - Green Lifestyles Magazine

2009-03-22T02:57:59Z

Hey y'all! Thanks for inviting me to your tribe! I just wanted to stop in and mention who I am and what I do. I am the Associate Publisher for Green Lifestyles Magazine and we are on tour right now spreading consciousness on the front line of the green movement. We are living by the definition of Green being: Social, Economic and Environmental Justice for all, World Wide. We are unlike any Green company you've probably ever heard of. Similar to Mother Jones in our content but like Boho in our design. We just launched our company a little over a year ago! We are from Sedona, Arizona so we are constantly downloaded with the most current need to know info so we decided to start a magazine. Of course the words "Green" and "Magazine" may seem to be an oxymoron for some but we are truly practicing what we preach. With the magazine being printed on 100% recycled paper, with soy based inks, and the factories producing the supplies running on sustainable energy. We also have planted 22,500 trees this year already with Trees For The Future (most amazing non-profit in the World) and its only March! Our goal for this year is to plant at least one tree for every magazine we print (that's over 140,000 trees a year!). It is important to know we are going to be filing for non-profit this year and our new Mission Statement being: "Greening the Planet back to paradise by inspiring paradise from within" I hope that you can check out the online version of the magazine at our new website: www.GreenPlanetParadise.com today! If you have any questions about anything feel free to email me directly at: Will@GreenPlanetParadise.com.

With Gratitude,

Will Hamburg
Associate Publisher
Green Lifestyles Magazine
www.GreenPlanetParadise.com
Will@GreenPlanetParadise.com
928.282.5027

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Trinity Institute Keynote: David C. Korten

2009-03-20T13:14:15Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3QJJcgAwi4

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Time Bank

2009-03-15T02:06:44Z

http://www.timebanks.org/

Time will give me time. And time makes lovers feel like theyve got something real. Cuz you and me we know we got nothing but time.................

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

A bit of alarmism can be a good thing.

2009-03-03T06:08:57Z

http://aidagency.typepad.com/good_stuff/

Just a link I came across and thought I'd share.

BOINK!!!

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

help with ethical dairy products and more

2009-03-03T02:48:09Z

I don't know why I haven't posted about this here before, but I work for a non-profit that is a watchdog for the organic label - our primary work is making sure people who claim to be organic are really ethical and integritious (as we find that the USDA is not, or at least needs some help).

We've got one completed project in relation to dairy, a report on infant formula hazards, are about to finish a project on organic soy, and have more in the works. We also, linked on our homepage, have a list of who owns what brands to help consumers choose a company for their foods that they think is ethical.

The below url is for our dairy report and scorecard - the scorecard is a rated sheet of all the organic dairy brands. The large majority of these brands participated in our study to help us make an academic and fair analysis.

http://www.cornucopia.org/2008/01/dairy-report-and-scorecard/

I hope this is helpful and interesting to folks here! If anyone has any questions on the work or The Cornucopia Institute I'd be happy to communicate!

Thanks,
Lynn

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 2 replies

Monsanto bills being rushed through Congress, set to destroy organic farming.

2009-02-28T00:41:17Z

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Monsanto-bills-being-rushe-by-Linn-Cohen-Cole-090217-758.html

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 7 replies

Student Loans: The "Other" Economic Shoe to Fall?

2009-02-23T22:05:23Z

Okay, ladies and gents! I hate to dominate this wonderful tribal forum with economic woes and complaints, but is it me, or do I hear more and more of my fellow citizens complaining about defaulting on their student loans? I mean, yes, we have had recessions before, but we haven't had one in this country where educational loans are aggregately as high as $85 billion. Yikes!

Should a universal student-loan pay off be a part of the Obama administration's economic stimulus bill?

defaults on $85 billion - worth of "wealth" is more than just a "blip" on the economic map, wouldn't you say?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 9 replies

Days of Wanton Consumption are Ending...Next Stop: Commercial Real Estate

2009-02-14T07:08:22Z

Well, the folly has hit the fan, fellow citizens. For so long, many of us, here, have been bemoaning the state of our country--our fellow Americans--who had succumbed to greed and wanton consumer patterns propped up by a 'false' sense of financial security tied to over-valued homes. Many foolishly and irresponsibly used their homes as ATM's. This behavior has not only helped to further ruin the natural environment, but it has also lent itself to further socio-economic deterioration.

Now, as many of us here had forseen, commercial real estate has begun to feel the pinch, as well. It's funny because it was in this very tribe that a posting kindled my thinking about the over-abundance of retail square-footage in this country. It is simply too much. Now, with the economic downturn, more and more commercial spaces sit empty, even in ritzy, downtown neighborhoods. Is this a sign that the economy is simply returning to a state of "normalcy", or are we truly slipping dangerously into depression-lite?

What do you think?

Here's a link to the New York Times article by Charles V. Bagli that discusses how the economic woes are affecting commerical real estate:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/business/05real.html?_r=1&hp

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 9 replies

Inside The Meltdown

2009-02-14T06:58:10Z

FRONTLINE investigates the causes of the worst economic crisis in 70 years and how the government responded. The film chronicles the inside stories of the Bear Stearns deal, Lehman Brothers’ collapse, the propping up of insurance giant AIG, and the $700 billion bailout. Inside the Meltdown examines what Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke didn’t see, couldn’t stop and haven’t been able to fix.

FRONTLINE INVESTIGATES HOW THE ECONOMY WENT SO BAD SO FAST

FRONTLINE Presents
Inside the Meltdown
Tuesday, February 17, 2009, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS

www.pbs.org/frontline/meltdown

On Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008, the astonished leadership of the U.S. Congress was told in a private session by the chairman of the Federal Reserve that the American economy was in grave danger of a complete meltdown within a matter of days. “There was literally a pause in that room where the oxygen left,” says Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.).

FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk goes behind closed doors in Washington and on Wall Street to investigate how the economy went so bad so fast and why emergency actions by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson failed to prevent the worst economic crisis in a generation on Inside the Meltdown, airing Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings).

As the housing bubble burst and trillions of dollars’ worth of toxic mortgages began to go bad in 2007, fear spread through the massive firms that form the heart of Wall Street. By the spring of 2008, burdened by billions of dollars of bad mortgages, the investment bank Bear Stearns was the subject of rumors that it would soon fail.

“Rumors are such that they can just plain put you out of business,” Bear Stearns’ former CEO Alan “Ace” Greenberg tells FRONTLINE.

The company’s stock had dropped from $171 to $57 a share, and it was hours from declaring bankruptcy. Ben Bernanke acted. “It was clear that this had to be contained. There was no doubt in his mind,” says Bernanke’s colleague economist Mark Gertler.

Bernanke, a former economics professor from Princeton, specialized in studying the Great Depression. “He more than anybody else appreciated what would happen if it got out of control,” Gertler explains.

To stabilize the markets, Bernanke engineered a shotgun marriage between Bear Sterns and the commercial bank JPMorgan, with a promise that the federal government would use $30 billion to cover Bear Stearns’ questionable assets tied to toxic mortgages. It was an unprecedented effort to stop the contagion of fear that seemed to be threatening the rest of Wall Street.

While publicly supportive of the deal, Secretary Paulson, a former Wall Street executive with Goldman Sachs, was uncomfortable with government interference in the markets. That summer, he issued a warning to his former colleagues not to expect future government bailouts, saying he was concerned about a legal concept known as moral hazard.

Within months, however, Paulson would witness the virtual collapse of the giant mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and preside over their takeover by the federal government.

The episode sent shockwaves through the economy as confidence in Wall Street began to evaporate. Within days, in September 2008, another investment bank, Lehman Brothers, was on the brink of collapse. Once again, there were calls for Bernanke and Paulson to bail out the Wall Street giant. But Paulson was under intense political pressure from conservative Republicans in Washington to invoke moral hazard and let the company fail.

“You had a conservative secretary of the Treasury and conservative administration. There was right-wing criticism over Bear Stearns,” says Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Paulson pushed Lehman’s CEO Dick Fuld to find a buyer for his ailing company. But no company would buy Lehman unless the government offered a deal similar to the one Bear Stearns had received. Paulson refused, and Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy.

FRONTLINE then chronicles the disaster that followed. Within 24 hours, the stock market crashed, and credit markets around the world froze. “We’re no longer talking about mortgages,” says economist Gertler. “We’re talking about car loans, loans to small businesses, commercial paper borrowing by large banks. This is like a disease spreading.”

“I think that the secretary of the Treasury could not fully comprehend what that linkage was and the extent to which this would materialize into problems,” says former Lehman board member Henry Kaufman.

Paulson was thunderstruck. “This is the utter nightmare of an economic policy-maker,” Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman tells FRONTLINE. “You may have just made the decision that destroyed the world. Absolutely terrifying moment.”

In response, Paulson and Bernanke would propose—and Congress would eventually pass—a $700 billion bailout plan. FRONTLINE goes inside the deliberations surrounding the passage of the legislation and examines its unsuccessful implementation.

“Many Americans still don’t understand what has happened to the economy,” FRONTLINE producer/director Michael Kirk says. “How did it all go so bad so quickly? Who is responsible? How effective has the response from Washington and Wall Street been? Those are the questions at the heart of Inside the Meltdown.”

Inside the Meltdown is a FRONTLINE co-production with Kirk Documentary Group, Ltd. The writer, producer and director is Michael Kirk. The producer and reporter is Jim Gilmore. FRONTLINE is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Park Foundation. FRONTLINE is closed-captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and described for people who are blind or visually impaired by the Media Access Group at WGBH. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. The executive producer of FRONTLINE is David Fanning.

pbs.org/pressroom
Promotional photography can be downloaded from the PBS pressroom.

Press contacts
Diane Buxton
(617) 300-5375
diane_buxton@wgbh.org

Alissa Rooney
(617) 300-5314
alissa_rooney@wgbh.org

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Green Red Cupid

2009-02-14T03:18:32Z

Getting hitched the green way.

This interesting link came up on my Canadian portal but there are ideas and links for everywhere in the world.

http://green.sympatico.msn.ca/green-living-online-article.aspx?cp-documentid=891417

These things should be fun, shouldn't they and it is even more so if they are ethical too.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

A break for hydrogenated and partlially hydrogenated food - A repost from the aspartame thread \ This is too important to get lost

2009-02-13T16:49:12Z

What is it with hydrogenated and partly hydrogenated food? Mr. M or anyone else.

I just stay away from it. is it that it is resistant to body heat and cannot be eliminated by the body and so it settles in organs permanently.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 9 replies

Peta Vegetarian Starter Kit

2009-02-12T23:55:42Z

http://www.petaliterature.com/VEG297.pdf

Yes, there are pictures of animals.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

The Insulated Uber-Rich?

2009-02-12T01:06:23Z

I guess the reich...I mean, the rich aren't feeling the pinch at all. The article below illustrates how disconnected the uber-wealthy are from real, everyday living. I mean, who buys a $10-million boat? Give me a break, here! What sickened me was the fact that many of them are having the contracts sent directly to their homes -- as opposed to their offices-- in fear of being ostracized for not cutting back. How hypocritical. I felt so disgusted when I read this article. It's the neo-Gilded Age, indeed.

Here's the link to the Vancouver Sun article by Brian Morton:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=9305a88a-323f-40d6-bbfa-dd6b4efdfd99

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 13 replies

alternative gas

2009-02-09T22:47:38Z

hello. i watched a video a year or 2 ago about a woman who put veggie oil into her jetta with no engine converter. does anyone in here have any info about putting veggie into a car like a honda civic. the woman said in the video, veggie cleans ur car out and it doesnt hurt the car. i dont have a car but when i do, i want to put veggie oil into the car. ive heard time and time again that u dont need an engine converter for veggie oil being put into ur car. what is true about this? i heard different things from different ppl yet i dont see anything factual about putting veggie oil into a car with an engine converter.

i was wondering does anyone know? can someone give me some links?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Ethical Consumer Magazine

2009-02-09T20:59:49Z

http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/home.aspx

They have a magazine and a website.

PS - Not sure if this has been posted before. If so, sorry. Or bump. : )

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 3 replies

Russell Blackford and IEET

2009-02-09T13:00:40Z

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/bio/blackford/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

new parents can be ethical consumers!

2009-02-09T03:46:28Z

Ive been trying to be an ethical consumer for years now, and have seen many new parents go the big-box-store route when the baby comes along. Im proud to say that we have bought about 1% of our baby items new, and most of those were organic materials. We have collected all the big basics such as beds, carseats, furniture, breast pumps,etc. either used and for a fraction of the price, or donated for free. We have bought most of the clothes from thrift stores and consignment shops. We plan on cloth diapers, and getting our books from the library.

It can be done! Were doing it!

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Eco Couture – Buy Local, Save the Economy and The Planet

2009-02-05T21:01:32Z

Wear Your Values

Coco Chanel once said “Fashion is not something that exists only in dresses. Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

At the end of its journey clothing and fabric scrap takes up a huge amount of landfill. Add to that the environmental costs of packaging, transport, color dying, printing, and laundry and it creates a dangerous and enormous carbon footprint. This is the reason fashion designed with recycled materials comes as a welcome new fashion trend. There are countless ways to reduce your fashion carbon footprint and rebuild the economy. The choice is ours to support local designers and in turn save the planet and create jobs.

“Several studies have shown that buying from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community and creating jobs. Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution. Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our communities, provide the most jobs to residents.“ Source: sconnect.org

RecycledForDancing.com designs by Deborah Paulino are collectable works of art that show the nature of transformation, and draw attention to the human connection to one another and the environment. Combined are an array of fabrics from different eras and areas of the world that are either surplus, recycled or vintage.

The reconstruction process starts with hand washing the fabrics in oxygen bleach, then looking at the fabric, shape, color, then sketching out a design. Often several pieces are used to make one piece of clothing and it can take time, sometimes weeks searching through thrift shops, to find the right elements that compliment each other. Once all the elements are in place the construction takes place, then fittings and finishing touches - sometimes tailoring alterations, other times embellishments such as beading, appliqué, or distressing. When the garment is finished and ready for retail, it is then steam cleaned for any leftover dust and allergens and de-wrinkle and refresh the fabric. The results are one of a kind sincere works of art that are well-made, timeless, and fun to wear. For more info please visit http://www.recycledfordancing.com and check out the latest Winter 08/09 Collection

Retail Store Locations for Recycled for Dancing

Recycled for Dancing
Studio By Appointment:
Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, 94117
Phone 9 am to 6 pm: 415 420 5871
http://www.recycledfordancing.com

Distractions
1552 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Walking - Upper Haight, Between Ashbury and Clayton
Open 11 am to 7 pm - 7 Days a week.
Phone: 415 252 8751

Trunk
554 Haight St.
San Francisco, California
Walking - Lower Haight, Between Steiner and Filmore
Open 11 am to 8 pm Wednesday to Monday
Phone: 415 861 5310
http://www.pandorastrunk.com

Jalina's
19 E Blithdale Road
Mill Valley, California
Phone: 415 388 4682

Arara
665 San Jose Ave.
San Francisco, California
Walking - between 28th and 29th / Bernal Heights -Noe Valley
Phone: 415 756 5826
http://www.ararasf.com

“On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock.” Thomas Jefferson

For more info please visit http://www.recycledfordancing.com and check out the latest Winter 08/09 Collection.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

NEW LAW USED CLOTHING WILL HAVE TO BE TESTED [CHILDREN'S] FEB 10 FOR LEAD OR IT CAN'T BE SOLD

2009-01-25T14:21:09Z

I just got this today, EVERYONE IS IN AN UPROAR ABOUT IT---IF YOU DO ANY HOME SEWING-SALES, KNITTING, CROCHET, RECONSTRUCTING CLOTHES,

THIS EFFECTS YOU. FEB 10, this law Goes into effect, if you don't have $50,000 to batch test every single item they Can prosecute you, this is I believe a Corporate attempt to shut individual workers down and to further monopolize the market. This will also hurt elderly women who knit/crochet for extra funds, moms like me who have been Forced to work in the home to make income, etc...

read the entire thing, PASS THIS FORWARD TO EVERY TRIBE YOU KNOW THAT DOES ANYTHING WITH USED CLOTHING, THE LAW SAYS CHILDREN, BUT ITS VAGUE, HOME BUSINESSES THAT RECONSTRUCT CLOTHING/OR ETSY ETC., WHO DEFINES WHAT IS BOUGHT BY CHILDREN, SO ITS NO GUARANTEE...TIME TO GET VERY VOCAL ABOUT THIS.

well, once again, the Fanatics, have passed legislation, with good intents of course, you know, to 'protect' us, but that is going to hurt the Poor, especially those with children who rely on Thrift Stores,

its going to put Lord knows how many Poor and Disabled out of work in those Thrift Stores and Consignment Shops, and it will effect any who sell used clothing at Flea Markets and probably Garage Sales.

The law goes into effect Feb 10, Any used/new clothing sold has to be tested for lead. That is a $50,000 dollar for a small business, for the machines. Small businesses and Thrift stores are going to be on Feb 10 throwing out all used children's clothing/toys, etc [from age 12 to infant] to the Landfills,

there will be no more used clothing for the working poor/poor to buy. Small businesses that sell new clothing, many are going to be folding up, that also means, More jobs lost. They simply can't afford to test every single garment for lead and phthalates, a chemical that makes toys softer. This law was passed in Reaction to the lead cases of recalled items from China [surprise surprise],

mostly from Walmart stores and other Corporate stores. Corporations can afford testing because they have Sweatshops/Labor concentration camps [yes, literally thats what they are] Small stores and consignment stores and Thrift stores that donate proceeds to Veterans, Epilepsy, Salvation Army [lots of funds go to help the homeless/poor from those stores], and will hurt those with either Felony records that can't get jobs elsewhere Or those with disabilities that work in stores such as ARC Thrift stores.

This, I firmly believe, is a Deliberate attack to cut out competition/and to force the poor OUT of the work force by Corporate Textiles, using Environmentalism to do so. This legislation was passed by Congress [Dems strongly behind it].

for more info, please pass this around to Any tribe you know that works whatsoever with used clothing including Reconstructed clothing, as they too will be effected. I'm sure, those who sell used clothes at Garage Sales will also be targeted, eventually,

I also believe this is an attempt for Government to put an end to bartering and working off the grid, in many states its already illegal to 'dumpster dive' or what they call 'scrapping'. Making it IMPOSSIBLE for those who are LEGALLY discriminated from jobs, due to either bad credit, sexual orientation [they discriminate using those Mode of Lifestyle checks and even fast food places are doing these more and more now], divorce, bankruptcy, you name it,

and they Don't have to give you a reason as to why they don't hire you...all they have to say is the report/investigative turned up something. Therefore, forcing more people such as myself, especially with bad credit [and mine is medical bills/student loans], to work off the grid, because no one will hire you...

if you can't work even selling at Flea Markets or if you do have a job but can't afford clothes except at Thrift Stores, well guess what,

your children are going to be forced to wear either rags or go naked or you'll be forced to pay those high prices at the high end stores, or buy from Walmarts, so those who don't shop at Walmart due to sweatshop/bad working conditions, as well as KMarts, etc., will now be forced to.

This law also effects materials used, buttons, you name it, if you work in any form of textile for children's apparel, it effects you.

contact this petition, and also, some links to this law.

Modotti

see below: www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx

petition listed in that article/on comment, I'll also post here

Congress passed a new law Aug. 2008 stating that as of Feb. 10, 2009 it will
be illegal to sell any items used for children under the age of 12 if it was
manufactured before Feb. 10, 2009.

This is what YOU can do:
YOU need to call the following 3 people and let them know that you are
calling about the CPSIA Law. (www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf) Tell them that in theory this new law is a good idea, but that they did not take into consideration the consequences it will
have on the rest of us in these already financially trying times. Tell them
whether you are a shopper or a consignor. Also, who and how many you shop
for. Tell them how this law will affect you personally if you could no longer
buy used items. Be passionate and persistent. TELL THEM THIS LAW MUST BE
AMENDED. ASAP!

1. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) - (202) 224-4451

2. Senator Charles Schumer (D) - (202) 224-6542

3. Your Representative (Choose one and be sure it‘s yours)
26th District:
Christopher Lee (R) - (202) 225-5265

27th District:
Brian Higgins (D) – (202) 225-3306

28th District:
Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D) - (202) 225-3615

hubpages.com/hub/In-Toug...hrift-Stores

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 4 replies

ECO CONSUMERS OF HANDMADE HERE IS THE CPSIA PRICES FOR COMPLIANCE AFTER FEB 9

2009-01-23T23:10:38Z

note: No, I'm not batshit crazy, sorry if I sounded that way yesterday, by the time I posted here I was up in neck with irritation after dealing with writing on this absurd law. BTW I work in reconstructed accessories [some children, luckily its not the focus of my business] and I solely use recycled fabrics, for environmental reasons. To save landfills, to combat sweatshops and to combat so much textile waste. Anyway,

here is a photographic list of numerous items with the CPSIA COMPLIANCE, many of these are Organic items/handmade for Eco-consumers. Am crossposting this to save time,

link of items and the prices at bottom, on Etsy. Thank you

CPSIA PRICES AFTER FEB 10
topic posted Today, 2:56 PM by ModottiManif...
Several have replied that the law due to the 'throw the bone' comment by CPSIA in regards to Thrift stores won't effect resellers,

that couldn't be farther from the truth. While Yes, the law has been revised to not demand Thrift stores and resellers to test their garments, they still have to assure those garments are lead and phthalates, IF any file a complaint on that store they are still liable under law if they come in and find just ONE item, that exceeds the limits.

As for reconstruct--those are NEW items, while they may use old recycled material they are still deemed new so yes, they have to be tested, that is anything from jewels to dresses to toys.

Anyway, here you go, prices on items, to give you an idea, after Feb 9, posted on Etsy. This will give you an idea of what you will need to charge to cover the expense for testing on items,

quilting and jewels will cost far more, as Each fabric swatch, component, zipper, button, closure, threads too, have to be tested.

Some examples:

jewelry cross: cost after testing to comply with law will now cost you $23,027...girls dress $7,000 [rounded off], quilted skirt for girl, $15,160.00, and so forth

Here you go, see for yourself, the new CPSIA PRICES, THANK YOU CONGRESS.... for anything Handmade, Reconstructed, Consignment, etc

[on each garment, the manufacturer has itemized the costing by Third Party Lab so that you will know what you are paying for OR what you will have to now charge.

All with photos and itemized statements: www.etsy.com/search_results.php

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

BAD SEED

2009-01-15T15:53:57Z

www.amazon.com/Bad-Seed-T.../ref=sr_1_3 - Bad Seed: The Truth About Our Food ( 2006 )

It's hard to say this is a favorite because it's so depressing. But it's most definitely one of the more important ones I've seen.

"60% of Americas food is genetically modified. 50% of pregnancies in the USA result in loss of baby, birth defects or chronic illness." - NRC

L-Tryptophan = poison / causes EMS

Starlink transgenes cause sterility & birth defects

GM foods are one of many tools of genocide.

Promiscuous DNA is problematic.

We havent even touched the surface of the pure horrors of horizontal gene transfer.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Zaproot: real green news on the quick

2009-01-04T14:09:40Z

Learn things at warp speed
ZapRoot:
http://zaproot.com/

The latest u tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqrai9_oHHk

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

A gift idea and my apologies for not posting earlier

2008-12-31T13:23:26Z

Christmas is about connecting with loved one. Well that is one way to put it and my own interpretation.
One does not need to go the expensive consumer route to achieve that.
I remember someone suggesting a home -made pouch with redeemable coupons that could be traded at the gift bearer's convenience.
For a couple, it could be a massage, an hour of undivided time, a shared sensual bubble bath, a night out in private, a film with popcorn or not, a hike in the woods or anywhere private.
It allows the person who receives the gift to redeem it at his or her discretion.
Our lives are at times crazy-busy and we lose track of one another and experience communication breakdowns. It is a heartful way to reconnect.

It is also a very good idea to offer one to a child with private time or time with friends at the sport events movies, zoo , museum, or on hikes or private meals or a "special conversation time" or even a monetary gift or lessons.
Children can also make them with offers for walking the dog, quiet time, cleaning out the room without a fuss etc. age appropriate in task and time.

The pouch can be extensively decorated in your own style.
The basic message is that you care and are willing to give your time in order to reconnect.
The interesting part is the the gift recipient gets to choose when to redeem .

It can be done on birthdays too, on Valentine's Day, and one can alternate.
Just an idea.

Any other nifty gift ideas?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 5 replies

NF3 and flatscreens

2008-12-24T04:20:03Z

Sometimes the news influences my consumption...

I did NOT buy that flatscreen monitor/tv partly because of this article...

Rising Levels of NF3 in Atmosphere Thanks to Use for Gadgets Like Plasma TV
October 28, 2008

Levels of nitrogen trifluoride NF3, a potent greenhouse gas, have risen dramatically in the atmosphere thanks to the rise in demand of electronic products like plasma TV.

According to a report in Nature News, nitrogen trifluoride is an extremely potent greenhouse gas used in the electronics industry, which is at least four times more abundant in the atmosphere than previously thought.

Scientists recommend that to better control its use, NF3 should be added to the list of gases regulated under future climate change agreements.

NF3 is 12,000-20,000 times more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the best-known of six greenhouse gases regulated by the 1997 Kyoto protocol on climate change.

In the past ten years, NF3 has become an environmentally preferable alternative to more volatile perfluorocarbons.

It is now commonly used by manufacturers of plasma TVs and other flat panel displays as a source of reactive fluorine atoms, used to etch the silicon chips in the devices.

Because only very small amounts of the gas were thought to escape to the atmosphere in these processes - about 2 percent of all NF3 produced - it was long assumed that its contribution to man made global warming was negligible.

This notion was first challenged earlier this year when Michael Prather, an atmospheric chemist at the University of California in Irvine, questioned the commonly assumed emission rates of the gas.

ow, analyses of air samples taken at two coastal clean-air stations in California and Tasmania, Australia, have for the first time confirmed that a significantly higher percentage of overall NF3 production escapes to the atmosphere.

The team, led by Ray Weiss of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, used a combined gas-chromatography and mass-spectrometry system to measure NF3 levels in their samples.

They found that over the past three decades, the atmospheric concentration of the gas has increased more than 20-fold, from 0.02 to 0.454 parts per trillion, with most emissions occurring in the Northern Hemisphere.

The overall amount of the gas in the atmosphere, estimated in 2006 at less than 1,200 tonnes, was then actually 4,200 tonnes and has since risen to 5,400 tonnes.

Given its strong global-warming potential and estimated atmospheric lifetime of 740 years, this is equivalent to the effect of about 67 million tonnes of carbon dioxide - roughly the total annual CO2 emissions of Finland.

It is now shown to be an important greenhouse gas, said Prather.
.....................
http://www.medindia.net/news/Rising-Levels-of-NF3-in-Atmosphere-Thanks-to-Use-for-Gadgets-Like-Plasma-TV-43406-1.htm
http://www.medindia.net/news/Rising-Levels-of-NF3-in-Atmosphere-Thanks-to-Use-for-Gadgets-Like-Plasma-TV-43406-2.htm

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Aspartame

2008-12-21T16:53:48Z

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

Bad stuff.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 27 replies

The Examined Life

2008-12-18T13:48:35Z

Just a short clip I found on www.thenation.com. Very interesting. Check it out here:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081229/examinedlife_video?rel=hp_mediaband

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 2 replies

Translucent food packaging/bags

2008-12-15T15:32:36Z

This is probably more a question for an "Ethical Production" tribe, but, as there is no such tribe, I felt it appropriate to post it here.

I responsibly harvest wild foods and prepare them for a few local farmers' markets here in Arizona. I use the simplest and most sustainable packaging I can find...reuseable jars and plain brown/kraft tin-tie bags (like the kind you use for coffee beans). But lately I am getting more interested in wild herbs, especially those that can be sold/used as teas. I'd like to package the herbs in clear food-grade resealable bags, so that the customers can see what they're purchasing, but I'm wary of polyanything. I researched cellophane (the original cellulose kind, not the "cello" bags that are actualy polysomething), but the chemicals used in its production are pretty nasty so I'm not sure they're any better.

Does anyone have any suggestions for clear bags so that I can use to sell my stuff responsibly? I don't think ziplocks would be the end of the world, but if there's something more sustainable, I'd like to use it...

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Used clothes

2008-12-12T17:43:41Z

I have a question and a comment. What should you do with clothes that are worn out? I usually start out with new clothes which I wear when working (teaching school). My clothes then "graduate" to work clothes. I do a lot of carpentry and forestry work. When I am no longer able to wear these work clothes, I then use them for rags. However, I now have a box full and rags. My mother used to send our old clothes off to the rug lady and she would make throw rugs out of them. It was always fun to see a favorite shirt in the rug! I know there are no more rug ladies around so what to do?
The comment I would like to make concerns used clothes. For five years I lived and worked in Africa. Ever wonder why all the pictures you see of African children show them wearing American t shirts and baseball caps? It's because they are. All of the clothes donated to charities in America (St. Vincent, Salvation Army etc) are sorted by the charities. those clothes which are in good condition and still in style are sold. The remaining clothes which are not sold are baled and sold to exporter who sells them by the bale in African countries. African merchants buy these bales and then sell these clothes. When you look at the situation it sounds like an ok deal. However, this kind of trade is very detrimental to Africans. Textile manufacturing is classically one of the first industries an industrializing country will undertake. However, when a country is flooded with cheap ready made clothing, it is not able to build industy. My point is to never donate second rate clothes to charities. Lastly, I have a favorite story about the "rag trade". When I was living in Ethiopia. We experienced a revolution about two years after the wall fell in Berlin. Each and every group in Ethiopia had been surpressed under the communists. After the revolution there was a real tribal feeling amonst the peoples of Ethiopia. One day these Ormo men were marching to show their pride. The men were on horse with monkey skin wigs and dressed very fiercely complete with swords spears and guns. There was this one guy who was far and away the fierest one of all. He was wearing a white woman's bath robe complete with chiffon lace. Scared the hell out of me!

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 4 replies

ethical shoes, unique, vegan, nonsweatshop and so funky!!

2008-12-09T05:13:08Z

If you are looking for a pair of ethical shoes to walk your talk in...

Check this Online shop out...!

www.theawarenetwork.com.au

Each pair uses re-used Textile Art from Colombia, the Mola.
Handmade, non-sweatshop labour
Vegan, animal-friendly, no leather
quality and range of shoe styles (hi-top sneakers, boxers, ballet flats, ballets with a strap, open ladies sandal)

... these shoes have a lot going for them. Plus their designs are masterworks by the Kuna Indian women...

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Choose a new moderator?

2008-12-05T19:59:05Z

I know I tried to pass the mod torch off in the past and noone wanted it. Anyone want it now? I'm really just too completely apathetic & depressed to give a fuck about very much anymore. If noone volunteers in the next few days I'll just designate someone and hope they don't leave the tribe moderatorless. Sorry for sucking so bad. I just can't help it apparently.

Cheers.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 17 replies

Holiday Ethical consumerism

2008-12-05T19:27:08Z

Ideally, the most ethical holiday gifts are home made. But some of us are not handy, and some of us have no time. So list here your favorite ideas/links to ethical holiday gifts.

I like Etsy.com If you cant hand-make it, someone else can!
I also like, for the kiddies, HABA and Plan wooden non-toxic toys.
A great catalog for young ones is Magiccabin.com
Under the nile has cheap organic cotton clothes for kids
Craigslist and Freecycle have great options for used items
and Happybumblebee.com is organic and fair trade and Super Cute

When buying for a niece or nephew or son or daughter, be sure buy stuff that has
little or no packaging
can be used as several different things or added to to make new every few months, like doll houses, etc
is durable enough to be a hand-me-down later
is not made with PVC, Pthalates, BPA, Lead paint, etc.
costs a price that reflects its true cost
wont end up in a landfill next year, hopefully
does not take endless batteries

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 5 replies

Its Buy Nothing Day again!!

2008-12-02T02:49:24Z

In case you havent heard yet ;-)

http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 12 replies

Break the bottled water habit

2008-11-27T07:38:12Z

----------------------------------------------
This Earth Day, you can do something simple to help save the Earth. Ask 10 friends to Break the Habit. The bottled water habit, that is.

*Did you know...*
... bottled water contributes to global warming? [1]
... bottled water is less safe than our tap water? [2]
... drinking bottled water undermines confidence in public tap water?

Join us as we break the bottled water habit.
*Click here to sign theNo Bottled Water Pledge

I pledge to:

- End my daily use of bottled water

- Fill a reusable bottle with tap water to quench my thirst without hurting the environment

- Support programs to ensure all Americans have access to clean, affordable, public tap water

www.democracyinaction.org/dia/o...on.jsp

Thanks for signing up, and Happy Earth Day!

Wenonah Hauter
Executive Director, Food & Water Watch

P.S. Upscale restaurants like the famous Chez Pannise are making the switch
to tap water3--you can too! Can you forward this email to 10 friends and
invite them to break the habit with you?

[1] It takes more than 47 million gallons of oil to produce plastic water
bottles for Americans every year. Eliminating those bottles would be like
taking 100,000 cars off the road and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide out
of the atmosphere. "The Real Cost of Bottled Water" San Francisco
Chronicle,* February 18, 2007
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi
<www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp
*

[2] The Environmental Protection Agency requires rigorous testing of tap water to ensure quality. Both regulation and enforcement of bottled water safety is weaker than that of tap water safety. *Olson, Erik D. et al. "Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?"
Natural Resources Defense Council

[3] "Upscale Restaurants Shun Bottled Water" ABC News, March 29, 2007
abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 56 replies

austrian study proves GM foods are a health risk

2008-11-23T18:22:05Z

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/MediaCenter/ReleaseAustrianGovernmentStudy/index.cfm

(lets hope this study was done water tight..)

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 4 replies

Simple, Inexepensive Tofurky Recipes?

2008-11-19T23:39:44Z

Yes, I do celebrate Thanksgiving, and I would like some simple and inexpensive recipes for seasoned or unseasoned Tofurky. Yum!

Thanks, guys!

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 3 replies

Noble Fuse / Solomon Azar

2008-11-17T15:16:23Z

http://www.noblefuse.com/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Thoughts on Zeitgeist the Movie

2008-11-13T19:02:42Z

Just wanted to hear feedback from all of you regarding the documentary, "Zeitgeist, The Movie".

For those of you who have seen it, you'll know that it highlights alot of the issues that we cover in this tribe, but a few of my colleagues who viewed it felt deeply saddened by its premise, and they confessed a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness, but it had a different effect on me, in that -- after viewing it -- I felt deeply encouraged to spread the word and become a better human being, by showing love and compassion to my fellow citizens, and working hard to preserve and improve our natural and social environment.

www.zeitgeistthemovie.com

What do you guys think?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 5 replies

Is it even possible to have an all-native yard in America?

2008-11-11T21:32:59Z

Without a huge amount of labor, or a very small greenspace? And what percentage of non-natives would be tolerable under that description, considering how invasive and aggressive exotics are here that are sold in the bid-box stores?
Lana of the groups.myspace.com/masterkudzugardeners

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Looking for subjects for documentary...

2008-11-08T18:31:24Z

Do you know of any stories on ethical consumerism that should be shared? Companies that are hurting the public and getting away with it? Someone who stood up to the school district and got hormone-free milk for the school??

I'm setting off on a cross country adventure to make a documentary on the issues most of the media ignores... sustainability, alternative energy, intentional communities, social and grassroots movements... and I am searching for stories that need to be told, businesses that should be supported and information that should be shared.

I'll be passing through at least thirty states in at least two months of travel. I have a general route but open to detours as they present themselves.

Please drop me a line!
Blessings!
Jessica/Catalysta
__________________________________

Intrepid mother daughter team fearlessly travel across the United States in their "trusty" Mercedes "tank" that runs on waste veggie oil! As they inhale the smell of freedom fries coming from their exhaust they search for stories that need to be told about our environment, our people, and the future of this country. www.jessicaandolivia.com

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 7 replies

Tool/Household items collective library?

2008-10-25T18:31:47Z

I remember reading in one of these groups of collectives who keep a database of things members own and are willing to lend to other members, such as tools, household items, baking pans, basically anything you occasionally need, but don't want to waste money and space buying it and storing it for long periods of time...

I was hoping that someone who is involved in such a community network could contact me as I would like to start something similar here and welcome tips on how to organize it and manage it.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 3 replies

Spare the landfill? or Spare the Reservoir?

2008-09-30T20:06:34Z

So in a time of drought, is it better to save the water and use paper plates? Or spare the landfill by using a plate that gets washed?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 17 replies

Seattle passes the 20 cent bag tax

2008-09-22T00:37:51Z

for grocery shopping oen must either brign his/her bag to bag groceries or they pay .20 per bag used byt the store.

YAY

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 17 replies

eco gifts for grads

2008-08-21T06:16:32Z

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/952779/top_ten_houseplants_for_controlling.html?cat=32

I thought this was pretty cute - green gifts for grads

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Eco Couture

2008-08-19T23:20:45Z

Hi, I'm seeking like minds.

I grew up designing and making my own clothes since a little girl, and apprenticed with Mirage in Melbourne, Australia’s largest CMT house for major Oz designers; before studying fine art at Heatherleys in London. I was also sponsored by Mirage and a runner-up in the Australian Fashion Awards. Then I traveled and lived in a few different countries and got into planet activism and events, then running an online arts community, then helping manage festivals. Now current fashion has caught up with the designs in my head and the ideals in my heart and I recently returned to designing eco-friendly wearable art.

The stuff I’m now designing and reconstructing are Eco Couture, individual one-off’s made from recycled and vintage fabrics. My design skills are coming back and improving with each collection batch. Sketches and photos of recent experiments are up at http://www.recycledfordancing.com plus I already have clothes in 2 boutiques, addresses are on the site under Retail Stores.

I also do custom stage gear; before working on festivals full time I actually did costumes for Music TV dancers, musicians, and theatre. I had a few designs on national TV way back when, on long running music TV show called Countdown. And I designed costumes for a whole Bertolt Brecht play at the Chelsea Playhouse in London, plus whole wardrobes for nightclub dancers and contemporary cabaret, and fire dancers for festivals in Byron Bay.

My current designs are inspired by San Francisco and Japanese street fashion, as well as European Couture and Burning Man. For me it is sculpture using textiles with a wearable framework and chaos, I take something that I see and mix it with something else that I see, each piece inspiring the next piece. Anyway take a peek at http://www.recycledfordancing.com for art’s sake, and keep me in mind when you are thinking of new additions to your wardrobe or recycling your wardrobe.

Thank you for being here.

Deborah Paulino

Eco Couture

http://www.recycledfordancing.com

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Join the "No Meat Week" campaign: Help stop global warming!

2008-08-03T20:50:30Z

http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/no-meat-week-help-stop-global-warming

Did you know that if every American who eats meat daily decided to have one meat-free day a week, it would be the equivalent of taking 8 million cars off the roads?

• Animal agriculture causes about 18% of global human-induced green-house gas emissions

• Livestock produce 30-40% of total methane gas emissions

• Livestock occupy 30 percent of ice-free land on the planet, a major cause of deforestation

• Industrial meat production relies heavily on fossil fuels through fertilizer manufacturing and global transport

The emerging global warming crisis requires both personal change and industrial accountability. In addition to energy conservation, each of us can also limit our contribution to global warming by eating less meat and calling for a more sustainable livestock industry.

The goal of this one-week meat-fast is to provide a platform to raise awareness about how meat-consumption directly contributes to climate change.

Join now at:

http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/no-meat-week-help-stop-global-warming

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Bloody Fur Trade

2008-08-01T02:29:03Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf6Ab8nNRgI - Animal cruelty in China - part 1 (1/2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=NIZ92noeyQQ - Animal cruelty in China - part 2 (2/2)

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 5 replies

uk villagers grow their own food

2008-07-17T14:47:59Z

yay for people power!!

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/itn/20080716/tuk-villagers-grow-their-own-way-dba1618.html

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Manufacturers Are Begining to "Short-size"

2008-07-15T04:34:41Z

"Short-sizing", a relatively new trend where manufactures distribute less food - pound for pound - but for the same or higher price, is hitting consumers. This trend is mostly due to increased energy costs. Some consumer advocacy groups are not pleased and believe that this gives the consumer less for more.

These kinds of trends, unfortunately, hurt poorer families, but I've always thought that the food portions and servings in the U.S. are unnecessarily large anyway.

Please, take a minute to peruse this article. We're living in interesting times:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25570106/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 10 replies

Car runs on water?

2008-07-09T12:32:30Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdVevvgM3ho

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Gavin Newsom GREEN

2008-06-22T02:00:03Z

http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2008/newsom

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom talks with Dana Goodyear on what it means to be green in politics and in the world. From “Stories from the Near Future,” the 2008 New Yorker Conference.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 2 replies

Despite the Success of "Sex and the City", Many Americans Turning Away From the "Bling"

2008-06-20T03:21:26Z

Americans are starting to tone down the bling-bling. Not even the success of "Sex and the City" is affecting an upshot in the sales of luxury clothing like it did ten years ago. The article below from "slate.com" by Lesley Blum is quite interesting. I think our economic woes are forcing us to really rethink "stuff" and the necessity there of.

http://www.slate.com/id/2192378/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

This Land is Their Land...

2008-06-18T17:59:10Z

This Land Is Their Land By Barbara Ehrenreich
This article appeared in the June 30, 2008 edition of The Nation.

June 11, 2008

This essay is adapted from Barbara Ehrenreich's latest book, This Land Is Their Land: Notes from a Divided Nation (Metropolitan).

I took a little vacation recently--nine hours in Sun Valley, Idaho, before an evening speaking engagement. The sky was deep blue, the air crystalline, the hills green and not yet on fire. Strolling out of the Sun Valley Lodge, I found a tiny tourist village, complete with Swiss-style bakery, multistar restaurant and "opera house." What luck--the boutiques were displaying outdoor racks of summer clothing on sale! Nature and commerce were conspiring to make this the perfect micro-vacation.

But as I approached the stores things started to get a little sinister--maybe I had wandered into a movie set or Paris Hilton's closet?--because even at a 60 percent discount, I couldn't find a sleeveless cotton shirt for less than $100. These items shouldn't have been outdoors; they should have been in locked glass cases.

Then I remembered the general rule, which has been in effect since sometime in the 1990s: if a place is truly beautiful, you can't afford to be there. All right, I'm sure there are still exceptions--a few scenic spots not yet eaten up by mansions. But they're going fast.

About ten years ago, for example, a friend and I rented a snug, inexpensive one-bedroom house in Driggs, Idaho, just over the Teton Range from wealthy Jackson Hole, Wyoming. At that time, Driggs was where the workers lived, driving over the Teton Pass every day to wait tables and make beds on the stylish side of the mountains. The point is, we low-rent folks got to wake up to the same scenery the rich people enjoyed and hike along the same pine-shadowed trails.

But the money was already starting to pour into Driggs--Paul Allen of Microsoft, August Busch III of Anheuser-Busch, Harrison Ford--transforming family potato farms into vast dynastic estates. I haven't been back, but I understand Driggs has become another unaffordable Jackson Hole. Where the wait staff and bed-makers live today I do not know.

I witnessed this kind of deterioration up close in Key West, Florida, where I first went in 1986, attracted not only by the turquoise waters and frangipani-scented nights but by the fluid, egalitarian social scene. At a typical party you might find literary stars like Alison Lurie, Annie Dillard and Robert Stone, along with commercial fishermen, waitresses and men who risked their lives diving for treasure (once a major blue-collar occupation). Then, at some point in the '90s, the rich started pouring in. You'd see them on the small planes coming down from Miami--taut-skinned, linen-clad and impatient. They drove house prices into the seven-figure range. They encouraged restaurants to charge upward of $30 for an entree. They tore down working-class tiki bars to make room for their waterfront "condotels."

Of all the crimes of the rich, the aesthetic deprivation of the rest of us may seem to be the merest misdemeanor. Many of them owe their wealth to the usual tricks: squeezing their employees, overcharging their customers and polluting any land they're not going to need for their third or fourth homes. Once they've made (or inherited) their fortunes, the rich can bid up the price of goods that ordinary people also need--housing, for example. Gentrification is dispersing the urban poor into overcrowded suburban ranch houses, while billionaires' horse farms displace rural Americans into trailer homes. Similarly, the rich can easily fork over annual tuitions of $50,000 and up, which has helped make college education a privilege of the upper classes.

There are other ways, too, that the rich are robbing the rest of us of beauty and pleasure. As the bleachers in stadiums and arenas are cleared to make way for skybox "suites" costing more than $100,000 for a season, going out to a ballgame has become prohibitively expensive for the average family. At the other end of the cultural spectrum, superrich collectors have driven up the price of artworks, leading museums to charge ever rising prices for admission.

It shouldn't be a surprise that the Pew Research Center finds happiness to be unequally distributed, with 50 percent of people earning more than $150,000 a year describing themselves as "very happy," compared with only 23 percent of those earning less than $20,000. When nations are compared, inequality itself seems to reduce well-being, with some of the most equal nations--Iceland and Norway--ranking highest, according to the UN's Human Development Index. We are used to thinking that poverty is a "social problem" and wealth is only something to celebrate, but extreme wealth is also a social problem, and the superrich have become a burden on everyone else.

If Edward O. Wilson is right about "biophilia"--an innate human need to interact with nature--there may even be serious mental health consequences to letting the rich hog all the good scenery. I know that if I don't get to see vast expanses of water, 360-degree horizons and mountains piercing the sky for at least a week or two of the year, chronic, cumulative claustrophobia sets in. According to evolutionary psychologist Nancy Etcoff, the need for scenery is hard-wired into us. "People like to be on a hill, where they can see a landscape. And they like somewhere to go where they can not be seen themselves," she told Harvard Magazine last year. "That's a place desirable to a predator who wants to avoid becoming prey." We also like to be able to see water (for drinking), low-canopy trees (for shade) and animals (whose presence signals that a place is habitable).

Ultimately, the plutocratic takeover of rural America has a downside for the wealthy too. The more expensive a resort town gets, the farther its workers have to commute to keep it functioning. And if your heart doesn't bleed for the dishwasher or landscaper who commutes two to four hours a day, at least shed a tear for the wealthy vacationer who gets stuck in the ensuing traffic. It's bumper to bumper westbound out of Telluride, Colorado, every day at 5, or eastbound on Route 1 out of Key West, for the Lexuses as well as the beat-up old pickup trucks.

Or a place may simply run out of workers. Monroe County, which includes Key West, has seen more than 2,000 workers leave since the 2000 Census, a loss the Los Angeles Times calls "a body blow to the service-oriented economy of a county with only 75,000 residents and 2.25 million overnight visitors a year." Among those driven out by rents of more than $1,600 for a one-bedroom apartment are many of Key West's wait staff, hotel housekeepers, gardeners, plumbers and handymen. No matter how much money you have, everything takes longer--from getting a toilet fixed to getting a fish sandwich at Pepe's.

Then there's the elusive element of charm, which quickly drains away in a uniform population of multimillionaires. The Hamptons had their fishermen. Key West still advertises its "characters"--sun-bleached, weather-beaten misfits who drifted down for the weather or to escape some difficult situation on the mainland. But the fishermen are long gone from the Hamptons and disappearing from Cape Cod. As for Key West's characters--with the traditional little conch houses once favored by shrimpers flipped into million-dollar second homes, these human sources of local color have to be prepared to sleep with the scorpions under the highway overpass.

In Telluride even a local developer is complaining about the lack of affordable housing. "To have a real town," he told the Financial Times, "Telluride needs some locals hanging out"--in old-fashioned diners, for example, where you don't have to speak Italian to order a cup of coffee.

When I was a child, I sang "America the Beautiful" and meant it. I was born in the Rocky Mountains and raised, at various times, on the coasts. The Big Sky, the rolling surf, the jagged, snowcapped mountains--all this seemed to be my birthright. But now I flinch when I hear Woody Guthrie's line "This land was made for you and me." Somehow, I don't think it was meant to be sung by a chorus of hedge-fund operators.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 3 replies

Brita - Take Back Your Filters

2008-06-04T16:46:03Z

A campaign to get Clorox, the owner of Brita, to take back and recyce/reuse filters.

http://www.takebackthefilter.org/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 8 replies

a spotlight on food waste in america:

2008-05-29T07:40:36Z

food shortage? not so much.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18martin.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

this graphic is horrifying!
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/05/18/weekinreview/0518MARTIN-1260x909.jpg

check out this blog focused on food waste in america:
http://www.wastedfood.com/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Garbage Warrior

2008-05-07T02:58:34Z

This is a great movie.
And I started a new thread in response to the "Executive Order" thread.
This guy has already built these houses using basically garbage for a couple of weather ravaged places.

I'm not including a link b/c I'm a)lazy and b)you all seem fairly adept at the google :)

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

PLEASE WATCH = "IN LIES WE TRUST" = IT MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE

2008-05-05T10:01:31Z

PLEASE WATCH = "IN LIES WE TRUST" = IT MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE
Join the "TRUTH REVOLUTION"..

http://www.restoretherepublic.com/component/option,com_seyret/task,video\
directlink/Itemid,40/id,559/

TORRENT WITH extras
http://www.mininova.org/tor/1375455

PLEASE READ "A Truth Soldier"
http://danieltowsey.blogspot.com/2008/02/truth-soldier.html

Make copies and share them with people you care about, make some and write
"PORN" and leave copies in malls and other places...

Only the truely informed will have any chance..

Please join "conspiraciesclub' It's loaded with thousands of Articles,links,Videos, Documents and more.. http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/conspiraciesclub/

and for Canadians please go to "canadianconspiraciesclub" to learn about Bill C-51 before it's to late http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/canadianconspiraciesclub/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Executive Order to re-build Sustainably

2008-05-03T15:09:23Z

Executive Order to re-build Sustainably

I was just thinking with the recent bouts with tornadoes. Plus, the Hurricanes of Katrina and Rita a few years back plus other natural disasters. Why don't we organize a petition or mandate of some kind to re-build using only environmentally friendly products and install more sustainable energy systems? Rather than re-building exactly the same way, here's an opportunity to implement the positive environmental changes we'd all like to see come about.

What are some of the most effective ways to bring this about? Nows the time what with the Presidential election coming up in a few months.

Would you suggest a Petition, demand an Executive Order or what?

What are your thoughts?

--------------------

Check this out...

"After the tornado, the city council passed a resolution stating that all city building would be built to LEED - platinum standards, making it the first city in the nation to do so. Greensburg is rebuilding as a "green" town, with the help of the non-profit organization created to help the residents learn about and implement the green living initiative, Greensburg GreenTown[6].

Here is an account of the green projects on the towns official website:

Information and Resources available for residents and businesses to consider during the rebuilding process.

http://www.greensburgks.org/recovery-planning/green-or-sustainable-resources

http://www.greensburggreentown.org/links/

Wouldn't be great to see this done on a national and a global level!?!?

;

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

the story of stuff

2008-05-02T21:14:01Z

a friend showed me this last night.
has anyone else seen it here?
http://storyofstuff.com/

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 2 replies

How to spend that tax refund?

2008-04-16T06:08:03Z

This question came up on the blog of a Tribe friend, and I thought it might make for good discussion here.

My intention is to give mine away. I mean the "extra" money that GWB is supposedly going to "refund" to us. Of course there are lots of consumer goods I want, but I am also doing okay (not great, but okay) financially, and I'm mad at Bush for this because I think it's a cheap publicity stunt. Despite my modest means, I do have a budget for philanthropy - if that word can be applied to such small gift amounts. And because I've always worked for nonprofits (hence the modest means!) I'm sensitive to the needs of organizations trying to do right. There are so many areas that could use our support: environment, health, arts, etc.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 5 replies

oxymoron

2008-04-09T12:07:43Z

anyone else think the name of this tribe is an oxymoron?

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 19 replies

Zero Waste Companies

2008-04-08T06:56:42Z

Businesses

by Gary Liss
back

Gary Liss & Associates, 4395 Gold Trail Way, Loomis, CA 95650-8929
Tel: 916-652-7850 Fax: 916-652-0485 gary@garyliss.com

The North American companies from A-Z highlighted below have provided tremendous leadership in Zero Waste. These companies have already diverted more than 90% of their wastes. GRRN considers them to be Zero Waste Businesses, or 'darn close.' These companies have made a conscious commitment to waste reduction and recycling, and found that they could come remarkably close to operating without wasting but careful attention to their manufacturing processes.

Amdahl Corporation, Santa Clara, California USA - Winner of 1998 NRC Outstanding Corporate Leadership Award, 90% Waste Diversion since 1990, Reuse & Recycle: Loose Fill, Polystyrene, Polyurethane Foam, Polyethylene Foam, Polypropylene, Instapak Packaging Foam, #1 & 2 Plastic Containers, Manufacturing Plastic Scrap, Office Paper, Cardboard, Wood, Cans, Bottles, Metals, Wire, Circuit Boards, Building & Demolition Materials, Furniture, CRTs, Fluorescent Tubes, Tooling, Copier & Laser Printer Tone Cartridges, Reusable Product Packaging, Used Products, Donate Perishable Food to Second Harvest, Bulk Pump Dispensers for Condiments, Double Side Copies, Email to Reduce Paper, Electronics Bulletin Board & Web pages for Online Access to Jobs, Forms, Benefits & Other Company Info
Battery Council International (USA) reported in the June 19, 2000 edition of Waste News that the average annual recycling rate for the lead in lead-acid batteries is now 94.6 percent. The lead-acid battery industry has been recycling its products for more than 70 years, and today operates an infrastructure of retailers and service providers that collect spent batteries from customers. The same trucks that deliver new batteries pick up the spent batteries for delivery to secondary lead smelters. Consumer, commercial and industrial users turn in spent batteries for recycling when they buy new batteries. The lead and plastic from spent batteries is used to produce new batteries. The recovered sulfuric acid electrolyte also can be used as new product, or neutralized. BCI is a nonprofit association that conducts education campaigns. BCI has drafted model recycling laws that have been adopted by 37 states, which prohibit disposal and require retail collection of spent batteries. contact: Ronald Pogue, BCI, 401 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611, 312-644-6610, Fax: 312/321-6869, info@batterycouncil.org or http://www.batterycouncil.org .
Brewers of Ontario, Ontario, Canada - Brewers of Ontario serves 12 million people and has 6,000 employees. In 1997, it had US$1.4 billion in sales, 32 breweries in the system, 429 retail stores and 16,000 licensed locations. The system has a 99% Bottle Takeback Rate (15-20 times), 97.6% of all packaging is diverted and 80% are refillable bottles (with a $.10 deposit). In 1998, they reported that their system provided a reduced cost/bottle ($.01 vs. $.10 for Al and $.12 for 1 way Glass) and reduced disposal costs by 89% (from $1.5 Million to $170,000, 1992-1997). The Brewers invested $75 Million in 1992 in industry-standard bottles. They recover: Aluminum Cans, PET Containers, Plastic Bags, Stretch Wrap, Photodegradable Tear-Away Hi-Cone Plastic Rings, Office Paper, Computer Paper, Corrugated, and Steel (caps). In a survey they had done in April 1997, they found that 89% of the public want tougher environmental laws; 74% believe manufacturers and consumers should be financially responsible for containers (i.e., curbside programs should not subsidized by taxpayers). In March 1998 exit interviews they found that their deposit & recycling system was viewed as more valuable than well-organized stores, polite, friendly staff or convenient days and times of operation.
Collins & Aikman, Dalton, Georgia USA - Sent zero manufacturing waste to landfill in 1998. Implemented waste minimization programs and energy efficiency programs that over the past four years (1998) have allowed them to increase production 300%, lower all corporate waste 80% and use no more energy than what they did four years ago. (ref. Phil Bailey, 9/11/98, personal communication). contact: Dobbin Callahan, 800-241-4902x2309, mresearch@aol.com
Epson, Inc., Hillsboro, Oregon USA - Epson recycles 90% of their materials, then disposes of rest of their waste in a waste-to-energy(WTE) facility. As the WTE facility has a 10% residue that goes to landfill, they consider their overall diversion of waste from landfill to be 99%. They recycle the following materials at their facility: ABS plastic; Alcohol/Flux waste from manufacturing; Aluminum Cans; Batteries; Blood borne Pathogen waste; Cardboard OCC; CDs; Circuit board scrap; Computer scrap; Dry Garbage; GPPS (black trays from printer assembly); HIPS (black, random and mixed polystyrene; Ink cartridges and toner; Ink sludge from ink treatment; Ink treatment resin filters; Laminated copper; Lamps & Ballast; Magazines (manuals); Manufacturing equipment; Metal - (steel, tin); Metal Special (copper, brass, etc.); Mixed paper (desk side recycling); Office furniture; Packing material (peanuts); PBT regrind (plastic's black regrind); Pins on tape; Plastic bags, film, and wraps; Polycarbonate (heat proof trays); Polycarbonate (multi color parts); Polypropylene (battery trays, 118 white trays); Polypropylene (ink cartridges); Polystyrene foam #6; Polystyrene trays; Printer cords and cables; Pure water resin filters; PVC plastic trays, Mpa tape, IC tubes; Solder dross ; Solder scrap; Sorted white ledger (print test paper); Used oil and grease from kitchen; Used oil from compressors and mold machines; Used printers / computer / electrical equipment; Wet Garbage; Wood (pallets, scrap) Yard debris Plastic film. contact: George Lundberg, Environmental & Safety Engineer, 503-617-5607, george.lundberg@epi.epson.com
Fetzer Vineyards, Hopland, California USA -- America's seventh largest premium wine producer, located in Hopland, California. Fetzer has reduced its garbage by 93 percent since establishing a baseline figure in 1990. Its goal is to achieve zero waste by 2009. Last year Fetzer recycled over 326 tons of materials. The winery recycles paper and cardboard, cans, glassware, metals, antifreeze, pallets - even its wine barrels. They compost 4000 tons of grape pomace each year. Landscaping is based on zeriscape practices. Even defective corks are give to a company who makes corkboards and barstops with them. All of the vineyards Fetzer owns are certified organically grown. contact: Patrick Healy, Environmental Coordinator: patrick_healy@b-f.com or www.fetzer.com
Hewlett-Packard, Roseville, California USA (9,000 employees) is diverting 92-95% of its solid waste; saving almost a million dollars a year in avoided waste disposal costs ($870,564 in 1998). HP recycles cardboard, metal, foam, plastic peanuts, low density polyethylene plastics (LDPE), Instapak, polystyrene plastics, and reuses and recycles pallets. contact: Bill Coffee, Somers Building Maintenance (HP contractor), 916-785-7595.
Interface, Inc., Dalton, Georgia USA - commercial carpet maker. In 1999, 4 of 16 Interface manufacturing facilities diverted more than 90% of their waste from landfills. Several others are in the 80% range. Since 1994, Interface has eliminated more than $90 million in waste. Interface has pioneered, among other things, the 'Evergreen Lease,' giving the company and its customers economic incentives to take back old carpets and recycle them, while assuring customers of clean, attractive carpets. Interface is reexamining its sources of waste and creating ways to reduce and finally eliminate them. It's redesigning and rethinking products so that it can deliver more with less. It's reengineering production processes to reduce resource consumption. If part of a process or product doesn't add value, it eliminates it. And that philosophy goes beyond manufacturing. Its aim is zero waste in every discipline, from accounting to sales to human resources. Interface also recently introduced its biodegradable carpet tile, the first of it's kind that replaces petroleum-based nylon with fiber from corn. Interface has a ReEntry program, that will reclaim existing carpet tile or broadloom and either recycle, downcycle, or repurpose it. Interface guarantees that old carpet they collect (theirs or competitors) won't end up in a landfill. contact: Buddy Hay, Buddy.Hay@interfaceinc.com or Reva Revis, 312-961-9067, Reva.Revis@interfaceinc.com
Mad River Brewery, Blue Lake, California USA. Currently diverts 98% of its garbage from landfills from its 15,000 square foot facility. They produce less than two 90-gallon cans of trash per week and saved over $35,654 in 1998. They recycle scrap, metals, glass, and office paper. They compost spent grain & hops. Hops are also broadcast on pastures. Grain is also made into livestock & poultry feed. They rebuild and recycle pallets. Construction materials are reused & salvaged. They store reusables on-site. They take-back 6 pack containers. They reuse plastic mesh backs from grain shipped in by donating them to a composter to package compost and to Bolla to make into reusable shopping bags. Cellulose filter pads and staff food scraps are composted on site. PET & metal strapping is recycled. Shrink wrap is donated to Mt. People's Warehouse to recycle. Cardboard boxes are recycled. Bottles, 6 pack containers & cardboard are made of recycled material. Even part of everyone's job description is to reuse & recycle. contact: Bob Ornelas, Box 767, Blue Lake, CA 95525, 707-269-0398, arcatacy@tidepool.com.
Namibian Breweries, Namibia, Africa. The sorghum brewery in Tsumeb in Southern Africa opened in January 1997 with the message "good beer, no chemicals, no pollution, more sales and more jobs." The brewery is a fully integrated biosystem with 40 different biochemical processes to reuse everything (heat, water, wastes, and CO2). The brewery produces 7 times more food, fuel & fertilizer, 4 times as many jobs & 12 more products, compared to conventional beer producers. Spent grain is used to grow mushrooms. Chickens eat earthworms set loose in grain. Digester for mushroom, chicken feed & chicken wastes generates methane gas for steam for fermentation. Alkaline water (normally needs chemicals to treat) goes into fish ponds (8 different types of fish sold) & spiruline algae (70% protein helps on child malnutrition). contact: Mrs. Brigitte Sass or Mr. G. Roux, 264-61-262-915x2122 or Gunter Pauli at the Zero Emissions Research Initiative (ZERI) of the United Nations University (gunter_pauli@rocketmail.com or dellasenta@ias.unu.edu)
Pillsbury, Minnesota USA. Pillsbury, MN. The Eden Prairie facility diverts over 96% of waste generated and the Chanhassen plant diverts over 94%. Pillsbury has adopted a Zero Waste goal. All the original Pillsbury plants (before recent acquisitions) are reducing and recycling at or above 90% annually. Overall, Pillsbury's manufacturing facilities recycled or reused 83% of all manufacturing waste in fiscal 1999. The 83% takes into consideration new acquisitions, which have decreased the diversion rates for the total, but Pillsbury says that’s going to be turned around soon. This included enough paper and cardboard to save 200,000 trees, almost 82 million gallons of water, and more than 48 million kWh of electricity. Pillsbury increased recycled content of its folding cartons for dry mixes to approximately 50%. Pillsbury's distribution centers now use rented or recycled shipping pallets for the majority of its products.
Pillsbury has adopted a principle in their Environmental Affairs program to eliminate potentially harmful discharges and emissions into the air, onto land, and into water. Pillsbury strives to improve their waste efficiency by 10% each year. They estimate that they save over $500,000 per year through these efforts at the Eden Prairie and Chanhassen plants alone. contact: Dottie Shay, Environmental Health & Safety Manager, 612-474-7444x7576, Dshay@Pillsbury.Com, www.pillsbury.com/about/successstories.asp#waste
Xerox Corp., Rochester, New York USA - Since the early 1990s, Xerox adopted Waste-Free Factory environmental performance goals. The Waste-Free Factory criteria include significant reductions in waste, emissions, and energy consumption, and increased recycling. In 1998, worldwide non-hazardous solid waste recycling rates reached 88% and savings amounted to $45 million. In 1998, Xerox set environmental requirements for its suppliers worldwide, to design products that are durable and reusable, in factories that make dramatic reductions in air, water, and solid waste. Xerox is asking all of their facilities and suppliers to achieve a 90% reduction in all emissions from a 1990 baseline. In 1999, a revision of the Waste-Free Factory criteria will increase focus on reducing waste generation. contact: Anne Slocum, Anne.Slocum@usa.xerox.com or Jack Azar, Jack_Azar@wb.xerox.com, 716-422-9266.
Zanker Road Landfill, San Jose, California USA - Zanker has had an overall diversion rate of more than 90% for the past five years. Zanker owns and operates three major recycling and composting facilities in the San Jose area. Currently up to 2,000 tons per day is received at the Zanker Road Landfill facilities, of all types of materials. Zanker currently processes and markets yard waste and compost, wood waste, cardboard, gypsum, concrete, clean and mixed demolition debris, metal and bulky items. The material produced from the C&D processing is sold mostly to construction and paving contractors as Class II aggregate and engineered fill. Wood is sold as biomass fuel and soil amendments. Metals are separated and sold by categories of tin, #2 unprepared steel, copper, brass and aluminum. Zanker markets its finished organics products to over 170 customers and has more demand for its products than it produces.
Copyright 2000 by Gary Liss & Associates, 4395 Gold Trail Way, Loomis, CA 95650, 916-652-7850, gary@garyliss.com. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint for nonprofit purposes with attribution and notification to GLA is hereby given.

http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/articles/companies_zw.html

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

carbon offsets

2008-04-07T23:27:48Z

what do people think about carbon offsets? I feel a little dubious about them. It seems to me a way to charge more to people (like a guilt tax). I think businesses that cause the pollution should be responsible for donating a portion of their profits to offsets and that consumers shouldn't be expected to buy them.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 5 replies

Green Company Certification ideas needed

2008-04-06T18:46:47Z

We need your ideas!

Currently, we are working on settin-up the Green Businsess Certified program, so consumers can more easily identify green companies on packaging. Our guidelines are at http://greensx.com/info/listing_social_guidelines.php

The Green Businsess Certified program, will be part of the Green Stock Exchange (GREENSX) at http://greensx.com, North America's first social stock exchange connected to a green social network, which will be launched in the Summer of 2008 to begin trading. It will trade shares in social businesses. A social business is a business that makes a profit, but benefits society as well. We have a triple bottom line (economic + social + environmental).

Since all the listed companies on the exchange are pre-screened, evaluated, and audited according to social and sustainable guidelines set by the exchange, it will make it much easier for green investors to find and support social businesses. The GREENSX provides opportunities for small green Issuers to access public equity capital efficiently, while providing early stage investors, angel investors, and venture capitalists with greater liquidity. This includes a eBAY.com trading system for carbon credits.

It is still in the beta stage testing. Check it out at: http://greensx.com.

We need yur ideas.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Can you be big and green?

2008-04-04T08:01:37Z

Radio show asks if green companies such as Burt's Bees (bought by Clorox) can remain green.

http://yourcallradio.blogspot.com/2008/01/your-call-011408-big-and-green.html

Can you be big and green? On the next Your Call we’ll discuss the future of organic companies that have been bought by bigger, conventional ones. Burt’s Bees was bought by Clorox, Colgate-Palmolive owns 84 percent of Tom’s of Maine and Wal-Mart is now the largest retailer of organic vegetables in the country. Can green grow and still mean anything? If you buy an organic juice made by Coke are you being responsible, or buying a lie? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Professor Dara O’Rourke
Associate Professor of Environmental and Labor Policy at UC Berkeley

Gary Hirschberg
President and CEO of Stonyfield Farms

Rinku Sen
Publisher of Colorlines, a national, multi-racial magazine devoted to the creativity and complexity of communities of color and winner of Utne Magazine’s Independent Press Award for General Excellence.

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 9 replies

Buy One Ticket, Get One Free Ticket Amtrak Deal

2008-04-02T15:41:02Z

In honor of National Train Day, Amtrak is offering a buy one ticket, get one free ticket deal. Tickets are available for sale only on April 4th for travel on May 10th only. Visit the website for full list of restrictions http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Hot_Deals_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1178294134016&ssid=224

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

Pharmaceutical Particulate Traces Found in Our Drinking Water Supply

2008-03-30T09:30:11Z

As if the United States environmental problems couldn't exacerbate any further, here comes another shocker (though I can't say I'm all that surprised): the news report transcript below reveals that Jeff Donn, an AP reporter, found out that many water-management plants in about 24, major metropolitan areas do not have proper protocols to test for and/or remove pharmaceutical particulates, including pain killers, anti-biotics and anti-seizure medications from our drinking water supplies!

Please, take a moment to click on the link and read the transcript below, taken from Jim Lehrer's News Hour on PBS.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june08/water_03-10.html

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 4 replies

Looking for an Earth Woman Friendly community?

2008-03-10T23:01:30Z

There is a Meeting of the Kindred Spirits coming up March 29th! And
we do need to see some more Positive well integrated Female Energy in
this group who can work closely with others.

http://edenvillage.net/18.htm

We are still looking to organize a group of volunteers to
help out some good folks one day out of the week, with some
organic gardening and we still do need someone to take Minutes
at the next meeting.

It would be possible, I would think, if there is a single female or
two out there who is cool about living closer to the Earth then
I may be able to provide a place for you to live, for
maybe 6 months out of the year up where I live in Northern
California.

If you can simply come to our next meeting on March 29th. - T

http://edenvillage.net/18.htm

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

sanity in a mad world

2008-03-10T05:52:56Z

http://www.boomboxradio.com/soundstrue/Modules/ShoppingCart/sample_Video.aspx

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Conspiracy History compilation DVDs torrents

2008-03-06T12:47:39Z

**************************************************

Greetings to all my relations.

This is the last step of our project History Watch. If History is
defined and known by the texts, we can now add to this definition the
recorded events of the filmed archives. Animated images are harder to
deny than printed words. Our objective is to spread out freely some of
the little broadcast, even hidden informations about our collective
History.

We put online a collection of 391 documentaries and other selected and
recut videos, to offer to a wide public the best of the infos
available on the net in english and in french. If you are interested,
you have the time, the right equipment and connection, all you have to
do is open the joint document and decompress it if needed (but normaly
your system should do it automaticaly). You'll find therein nine links
that will open the torrents for the nine DVDs we compiled (around 4.6
Gig each, for a total of a little over 41 G, being over 100 hours of
videos).

Otherwise, you can go directly to btjunkie.com and search for these titles.

11 Septembre 2001 - 9-11
Bush family & friends
Capitalist & Communist regimes
Capitalist conspiracy
Mind Kontrol - Secret Programs
New World Order - Secret Societies
Secret services - cover up - covert ops
Secret weapons - UFO
Terrorism Theories propaganda

Torrents are a system of peer to peer data transfer. The more people
download a torrent, the faster it spreads and the longer it stays on
the net. If you don't have a bittorrent software, we suggest that you
download uTorrent on utorrent.com. If you want to participate in
facilitating the diffusion of these infos about our collective
History, download these torrents on as many computers as possible,
whether it is in cybercafes. It takes one or two minutes to open up
the links and the downloading will keep proceeding on its own.

Please spread this out, take part in this action for social education
on a planetary scale. Thanks.

For more info: watch.history@gmail.com History Watch

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

check out Ethicle(dot)com

2008-03-03T18:40:20Z

this is a new site that give 1 cent per search.
this is basically same as google search....but in better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

paix

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 1 reply

Want Affordable Goji's, Cacao, Vegan Ice Cream, and more . . ? We Deliver !

2008-02-25T15:49:35Z

Want Affordable Goji's, Cacao, Vegan Ice Cream, and more . . ? We Deliver ! So much more than that is available, come visit my page and get in touch!

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 0 replies

The Story of Stuff

2008-02-25T05:19:11Z

A friend passed this to me and I have been showing it to everyone,
especially those who need it.
I showed it to one of my classes at school.

www.storyofstuff.com/
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard

just wanted to share,
love n' peace
yellow

posted in Ethical Consumerism - 3 replies

Fraud Alert regarding North Coast Earth First! Aka NCEF! Media. Completely independent from any activist group!

2008-02-19T20:20:07Z

16 views since posting on Sunday, December 2, 2007
Location California

enlarge photo
NCEF! Media in Humboldt County Ca.(AKA NORTH COAST EARTH FIRST!), is accused of fraud and donation embezzlement. Caution! Do not support this lone wingnut's scam! Active and legitamate groups exist in the area. Caution! Do not be fooled by NCEF! Media and his fraudulent outreach. Shunka Wakan exists completely seperate from any active affinity group.

Read about how he perpetuated a lawsuit under the guise of EF! against a legitimate environmental nonprofit:

From: northcoastjournal.com/100407/...004.html

October 4, 2007

"Money On Trees"

Big cash nearly fell into Shunka Wakan's lap. Other Earth First!ers are kinda happy it didn't.

by Heidi Walters

As the jury trial for the civil suit Kathryn Miller v. the Trees Foundation puttered to a start last week inside Courtroom 3 at the Humboldt County Courthouse, Shunka Wakan — a key witness for the plaintiff — spent mornings sitting on the hard wooden benches in the long hallway outside the courtroom. During breaks, Miller's attorney Linda Mitlyng, would come out of the courtroom to join him. But otherwise, as other people and their legal affairs swirled around him in a warm, odiferous bath of humanity, Shunka sat alone. Or, sometimes, he stood alone, straight-spined, his small, stocky body swallowed by the huge, stiff blue suit out of which his newly shorn, razor-scraped bald head poked vulnerably — as if, at any moment, the suit could gulp once more and he'd disappear completely. Always, he clutched a paper folder with a wolf's face on its cover.

The North Coast Earth First! Media guru had shaved off his woolly rust-tinged brown hair and beard the night before jury selection started, after discussing it with attorney Mitlyng. Now, it took an uncertain moment to recognize him. Then, of course: Shunka's light blue eyes in the pink-pale face, Shunka's closed-lip smile, Shunka's trademark husky murmur, "Mm-hmm, for sure," in response to a comment.

In Courtroom 3, the amiable but no-nonsense Judge Christopher Wilson's domain, the fate of a $185,000 donation dangled. Would the plaintiff, donor Kathryn Miller, prevail in her claim that the defendant, the Trees Foundation, was not in fact the intended recipient of her generous gift? That Shunka Wakan's NCEF! Media Center and the treesitters were? Or would the Trees Foundation convince the jury that, in fact, the money was intended all along for Trees, with no instructions attached for funneling it elsewhere?

Richard Idell, left, who is defending the Trees Foundation against a lawsuit filed by Kathryn Miller, confers with Doug Wallace, community support coordinator for Trees. Photo by David Lawlor.

In her opening arguments, Miller's attorney, Mitlyng, said the case came down to "fraud and broken promises." "She believed [Trees] would hold [the money] in trust, for the benefit of North Coast Earth First!" said Mitlyng. The defense's attorney, Richard Idell, countered in his opening argument that the donation was an unconditional gift and Miller never wrote letters of instruction — as Miller claims she did. "Ms. Miller ... didn't do anything. She took the check [from her mother's estate] and flipped it over and wrote on the back, 'Payable to the Trees Foundation,'" said Idell.

Miller's claim sought the return of her $185,000, plus interest.

Out in the hallway, Shunka waited to tell his side of the story. Maybe he thought about the magical donation that never materialized, and now probably never would. Maybe he thought about the other times he'd been in this courthouse — dozens of times, along with other activists, often before Judge Wilson, answering to charges of trespassing and other forms of civil disobedience in the woods. Likely, he wondered when they were finally going to call him in to testify — it was taking forever in there. He'd even sent out an e-mail prematurely to the several hundred subscribers to his NCEF! online group erroneously announcing he would be first up to testify.

By the end of Friday's court session, Miller was still on the stand. Perhaps Monday it would be Shunka's turn. Whenever it was, he would be testifying on Miller's behalf; but he wasn't a party to the lawsuit. And in the end, after hearing all of the evidence, the jury would be determining who was telling the truth about intentions and letters of instructions. Shunka was just there to provide context and evidence in a contract dispute.

But to a number of forest activists, including a half dozen or so who appeared in the audience last Friday to watch the trial unfold, that context matters more to them than the legal questions. They say this lawsuit has placed a strain on the environmental community that could do as much damage as an ill-felled redwood that takes down other giants in its descent. They disapprove of the lawsuit, and they blame Shunka for it. And, they say, it's just another example of how Shunka has commandeered the North Coast Earth First! identity and used it for purposes that nobody else in the amorphous but consensus-driven local Earth First! movement has agreed to.

"For a lot of us, when we read about the lawsuit, this is kind of like Shunka on trial," said long-time forest activist Deane Rimerman last Friday, calling from Olympia, Wash. "And, to what extent is he worthy of that money?"

Kathryn Miller wanted her money to go toward saving trees, she said on the witness stand last Thursday. The slender 59-year-old was dressed in a pink print skirt and white sweater, with her gray-streaked dark hair pulled back into a neat, thin braid tinted slightly green. (Little did the jury know that Miller had spent the night in jail, in blue jail duds, and then had been "dressed out," in court lingo, in her street clothes before being escorted into the court by the bailiff. Miller had been arrested the week before, on Sept. 17, when she arrived in civil court for the pre-trial readiness hearing; according to the misdemeanor criminal charges filed against her, Miller allegedly had made annoying phonecalls to Barbara Ristow of the Trees Foundation all hours of the day and night.)

On the stand, Miller described how she became an activist. She remembered how, when she was a child in Orinda, her mother decided to stop spraying the beautiful oak trees on their property after reading Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. "And then, when my son was 9, we were watching the news on TV about the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown. And my son said to me, 'I wish I'd never been born. I don't think I'll get to live a full life.'"

She protested the building of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. She started a peace action group in the late 1980s in San Jose. She did nonviolent protests at the Nevada Test Site. And in 1990, she came up with some of her fellow protestors to help set up the camp for Redwood Summer, and to take part in demonstrations. She's been on and off involved in Earth First! actions in Humboldt ever since, she said, including huffing in supplies for treesitters and huffing out their garbage. She'd also, at one point, bought a condo in Arcata.

In 2004, Miller sold her condo and bought an acre of farmland, already planted with coffee, in Guatemala. She put in fruit trees to shade the coffee. That same year, her mother, who lived in Sonoma, died. "The last time I saw her was in 2003," said Miller. "She told me when she died, she was going to leave me some money. I told her I'd use it to further my work for the forest. And she was pleased, because she loved the treesitters and the forest."

Shortly after learning of her mother's death, Kathryn Miller sought out Shunka Wakan in front of the food co-op in Arcata, where he "tabled" to raise funds for the North Coast Earth First! Media office — selling T-shirts, and stickers, offering pamphlets, accepting donations. She'd known Shunka for about five years, she said.

"I said to him, I was going to inherit some money: What was the best way to get that to the North Coast Earth First!?"

In the spring of 2005, Shunka Wakan was floating above the treetops. "I was so excited," the 32-year-old said in an interview a few weeks ago, sitting inside his tiny but colorful North Coast Earth First! Media office in Arcata, walls covered in art and topo maps — including one of Buckeye Mountain, where in 2000-2001, during the "Mattole Free State" action, Shunka and others hiked 14 miles through waist-high snowdrifts to save trees.

Kathryn Miller, he recalled, had come up to him excitedly as he walked along the sidewalk outside the Arcata Co-op and said, "I just donated $185,000 to North Coast Earth First!'"

She'd talked to him the year before about making the donation — she'd said she was anticipating an inheritance from her mother's estate, and she wanted to make a big donation to his group. He'd told her to make it through the Trees Foundation, which handled the NCEF! Media office's finances through an arrangement that had been established years ago. (The Trees Foundation is an umbrella organization formed in 1991 to assist smaller environmental groups. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, it can accept large, tax-deductible donations on behalf of affiliates, and provide professional resources. And it can lead large campaigns, like the one to save the Headwaters Forest back in the '90s.)

Well, now she'd finally done it.

Miller and Shunka agreed to meet at Fiesta Café in Sunny Brae, so she could tell him how she wanted the money spent: She wanted, straight away, for someone to organize a mediated workshop for the local Earth First! activists on ageism and sexism, issues she thought were fracturing the movement. And, she wanted the bulk of the donation to help support the forest activists who blockade logging roads and hunker up in ancient redwoods to fend off loggers' saws.

Not long after, Shunka was on his way to have lunch with some folks from the Trees Foundation, where they'd talk about Miller's wishes.

"Our media outreach was going to get a big boost," Shunka said. "The donation would keep the EF! office going for many years. So I walked into the Wildflower Café feeling elated, thinking we got all this money."

Barbara Ristow and Doug Wallace of the Trees Foundation were there. "I was super excited," Shunka said, "and I said, 'This is great, this big donation. Isn't it wonderful?' We ordered food, and still I'm all excited, talking about the money, but I notice they're looking nervously at each other. [Finally], they said, 'Well, we're just shocked that you think this money was for you.' And I was like, 'I just met with the donor, and that's what she said.' And they're like, 'Well, let's go ahead and plan the workshop and deal with that later.' I remember that, because it put me at ease."

After that, Shunka said he gave Trees a list of people he thought might benefit from the mediator-run workshop. "Some were people I knew had beefs with me, but I was willing to bring 'em into the circle and talk about it."

According to some vague accounts, the workshop was a disaster. One person who was there claims that Shunka, at one point, pounded his fists on the floor, blustered, then got up and stormed out, yelling as he walked away. Shunka says that's overblown.

"The letter from Kathryn Miller to Barbara Bristow said she wanted the mediation to be a safe place, safe to be emotional," he said. "And I think people are saying 'I freaked out.' The freak-out reports are exaggerated. It's just part of this ongoing character assassination. People say I was 'red-faced.' But my face is naturally red."

In late 2005, while Shunka was in Seattle, a friend called him from Arcata to say a woman had come by asking for the office key. She had a list of equipment she wanted to take away. The friend didn't give her the key.

When Shunka got back from Seattle, he discovered his reimbursement funds from Trees had been "frozen." He also learned about a letter someone in the NCEF! movement had circulated for signatures and then sent to Mark Knipper, who handled the Trees Foundation transactions for the NCEF! Media office. It said, in essence, "We don't want Shunka running EF!"

"I called the Trees Foundation," Shunka recalled. "I was sick, it was the middle of the winter, I'm trying to table, it's raining, it's cold. And Barbara Ristow told me, 'You just need to have a meeting [with the other Earth First!ers] and come to a group consensus on what the Trees Foundation funding should be used for."

The meeting never happened — nobody could agree to meet, said Mark Knipper, also in an interview last week. Knipper is a social worker and a long-time activist who had been the contact person between Trees and NCEF! Media. "So it ate itself," Knipper said. "And although I'm former Navy, a mariner, I said I'm not going down with this ship. So I divorced myself from it ... and signed it all back to Trees."

The NCEF! Media office was dropped from the Trees Foundation altogether.

Shunka and the NCEF! Media office never did see any of the big donation. Miller didn't even know that, he said, until she phoned him up in the summer of 2006, more than a year after she made the donation, to ask about a guy named "Jungle," who had been reported as missing on the NCEF! hotline. Miller was spending much of her time in Guatemala now, where she was raising fruit trees; after she'd made her big donation, Hurricane Stan had struck — she spent the ensuing year mopping up the mess.

First, Shunka told her Jungle was still missing. Then he told her about the money.

"I said, 'Yeah, they told me it wasn't for us,'" said Shunka. "And she said, 'I meant for all of it to go to you guys.' She sounded real upset. And I was like, 'I knew it! I knew it!'"

Shunka tried to sue Trees in small claims court, but it went nowhere.

Miller filed a claim against the Trees Foundation on Oct. 5, 2006, in Humboldt County Superior Court, seeking the return of the $185,000 plus interest so she could distribute the money herself.

And if she wins? "She may just spread it out more," said Shunka. "She's got tree planting ideas. Maybe she could buy a grove. She'd maybe not give it all to Earth First! this time. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Trees blew for us."

On an uncomfortably hot afternoon last week, four forest activists who'd agreed to an interview for this story — Jeff, Shaggy, Sparrow and Farmer — sat on the ground at the Arcata Marsh next to a log bench on which a teeming crew of red ants worked a splintered notch. Someone had come along here in 1999 and carved a grouping of faces — bearded, grimacing, possibly mourning faces — onto the log and signed it Daniel. The carving had been drenched in red paint, and burnished by years of sitters.

"It kind of reminds me of the memorial for Gypsy," said one of them. "With the red paint."

Gypsy was the forest name of David Nathan Chain, who in September 1998, during an Earth First! action at Grizzly Creek, was crushed to death by a tree felled by an enraged logger. Farmer, actually, was there — he was just 16, but had a year of activism already under his belt. And Shunka was there — it was Shunka's first forest action.

Farmer, Shag, Sparrow and Jeff first made it clear that they spoke for themselves alone, although they participate in various forest defense affinity groups: Farmer works for the Mattole Wildlands Defense Group now, watchdogging the California Department of Forestry for new timber harvest plans, and keeping an eye on a Pacific Lumber Co. watershed analysis. Shag, who saw his first redwood about five years ago, helps keep the Fern Gully treesit village in Freshwater functioning. Jeff, who grew up in the high desert, and fell in love with the woods, works with the Nanning Creek treesit just outside of Scotia, as well as other groups. Sparrow, who was drawn to forest action because the cultural landscape was "like a folktale" he couldn't resist, is with the Fern Gully affinity group. These groups are all part of the Humboldt Forest Defense Association, a collective with a website but no formal structure.

The HFDA sprang into being six years ago — about the time the entity called North Coast Earth First! had essentially dissolved. It would take a book to describe that drawn-out dissolution — a book of lost causes, won causes, waning media interest, Judi Bari's death, Gypsy's death, ego-spurred squabbles, interpersonal catastrophes, a war overseas, hurricanes. And while the HFDA activists might still cherish the Earth First! name — the movement — in their hearts, it's now been further complicated by what you might call the Shunka effect.

"I still feel in many ways solidarity with the greater Earth First! movement abroad," said Farmer. "But in this county, in this climate, if you say you're with the North Coast Earth First!, many people associate you with North Coast Earth First! Media."

Shunka revived the North Coast Earth First! office around 2002. And he did what previous office managers had done — tabled, put out news releases, wrote articles for other publications. But it wasn't like the old days, in the '90s, when hundreds of people were getting arrested in forest actions and the jail support phone and legal resources were in constant use.

Shunka first worked in an office in Eureka, then later moved to Arcata. He called his outfit the NCEF! Media Center. For a time, he and other "affinity groups" tried to work together. But he alienated some people. He took over the North Coast Earth First! website. He controlled the North Coast Earth First! email list of 300 or more subscribers to the news alerts. He sent out press releases on his own.

"I felt the North Coast Earth First! Media Center was a unilateral effort on Shunka's part," said Farmer. Whereas, in the old days, "spokespeople were decided on by the group. And if you wrote an article it was passed by everyone. I feel Shunka appointed himself spokesperson at some point."

Many also claim they've been subject to a lashing anger from Shunka.

"I won't work with him because I pledge nonviolence in my actions," said Shag. "I don't believe he pledges the same thing. He has exhibited violent behavior towards me and towards other activists in my presence."

"He's a bear," said Jeff, making claw-fists with his hands.

But the sad thing is, all of this infighting probably has done nothing to help the actual trees. And the mediation workshop Kathryn Miller wanted didn't fix matters. Now, there was her lawsuit.

"When I heard about this lawsuit, I thought, the Trees Foundation does not deserve to be attacked in that way," said Farmer. "There's much bigger issues that need to be dealt with — with Maxxam and old-growth logging. ...If you look at Fern Gully and Nanning Creek (the Bonanza timber harvest plan), there's hundreds of old growth acres still standing whose fate is unclear."

Shag put it more bluntly: "If [Miller] knew Shunka and wanted to get the money to North Coast Earth First! Media, she should've given it to Shunka. But if she was trying to get it to treesits and forest defense, then the money went to the right place.

"My problem is this whole representation thing. There's people in the trees — how do you know who to get the money to, to help them?"

Shunka knows that a lot of fellow activists aren't happy with his role in the donation dispute. He also knows how some people talk about him and say he's hard to get along with. "I'm just standing up for the truth," he said. "And people don't like it. To me, it feels like a small clique of people who don't like me. I feel a lot of love and support in this community."

He certainly doesn't come off right away as someone who's angry, or who lashes out, or who locks the office and doesn't let people in. Why, recently, he helped a young woman hook up with the treesitters so she could learn the ropes. (Shaggy said that's proof Shunka doesn't have direct connections with the people doing direct action; but you can't deny it's a connection.)

It's probably a bad idea to ask Darryl Cherney, one of the founders of the local Earth First! movement, what he thinks of Shunka Wakan, whose real name is Jason Wilson. (Shunka tells a story of how he was named by a Lakota medicine man on the banks of the Cheyenne River in South Dakota in 1995. "Shunka Wakan," meaning "great dog," is only part of it. There's a secret part after that — altogether, his name means "the humble man called horse.")

"Shunka's a wingnut," Cherney said over the phone last Friday, sounding cheerfully vitriolic. "I have a 10-verse song about Shunka."

Here are the last few verses:

Who's at the co-op spanging a donation
Shunka, Shunka
Who's got a lawsuit 'gainst the Trees Foundation
Shunka, Shunka
Shunka, Shunka
Who's gonna keep on fighting the fight
Shunka, Shunka
With four of his friends at swimmers delight
Shunka, Shunka
Shunka, Shunka (Shunka voice: It's the last of the revolution)

There's no other word for it but "mean." But Cherney and Shunka have history — not all of it sour. Cherney said Shunka laughed when he heard the song, at least the first time.

"I met Shunka in 1998," Cherney said. "And I know he knew Julia ["Butterfly" Hill, whom Shunka had come west to find]. That was a good thing, helping Julia. That was good Shunka."

Cherney had even pushed for Shunka to go to Houston to talk with Charles Hurwitz, whose Maxxam Corp. bought out the old Pacific Lumber company back in 1985 and quickly became the forest activists' number one villain. Shunka went.

But now? "The current status of Shunka and me," Cherney said, "is that Shunka has sent me five or eight or nine e-mails threatening to sue me. Shunka is a joke."

Cherney can talk for hours about the problems he's had with Shunka over the years. His main point, though, is what has Shunka done for the trees lately?

"My question is, where's your topo maps?" he asked. "Where's your wilderness preservation proposal? Where's your lobbyist team in Sacramento?"

It has to be that, on some level, even the people in the movement who don't like Shunka understand somewhat where he's coming from. So he's emotional. Passionate. Perhaps he's caught up so completely in the cause he can't let go. Or, who knows — maybe he's a phony, like he accused Knipper of being back in 2005.

But being a forest activist comes with perils beyond the obvious physical ones.

"I'm really trying to have compassion for Shunka, even though he's kind of attacked us," said Susy Barsotti by phone from Laytonville a couple of weeks ago. Barsotti is president of the Trees Foundation board, and she says the lawsuit has held Trees hostage, unable to function fully. "I've been mystified and dismayed that he's participated like this in the suit. But Shunka witnessed Gypsy's death. And I think he may have post-traumatic stress syndrome. I don't think he's recovered from it. And that can affect your behavior."

A number of people mentioned this, actually, about Shunka. And he often refers to Gypsy's death himself. In an article titled "What Luna has taught me," posted on the website of Julia "Butterfly" Hill's organization, Circle of Life, Shunka writes: "I decided to commit to doing ground support after witnessing the death of David Nathan "Gypsy" Chain on September 17, 1998 ... I remember looking across the valley as we hiked up that day, seeing the rolling hills of forests and clear-cuts, and thinking out loud, "That's why we're here!" Seeing Gypsy's life taken from him, and then seeing the corruption and lies of the Humboldt County Sheriffs ... really opened my eyes to the situation our old-growth forests face."

Later, he did ground support for Hill in her second year in Luna. And in the same article on her website, something else Shunka writes indicates how ready he was to devote himself to a cause: "Being on the support team was the top priority in my life, and I was happy knowing that everything else revolved around when I'd be needed for the next supply run. I never felt lost because I knew what I was doing. That was a feeling I had not felt in years, between feeling dissatisfaction with life in college, and then more dissatisfaction with life as a minimum-wage worker after college. Before joining Julia's ground support team I was unhappy, even to the point of tears, wondering if my entire life was going to be a minimum-wage nightmare ...."

Pure devotion, without benefit of a little hypocrisy, could drive anyone batty. Deane Rimerman, the activist from Olympia who said it is Shunka who is on trial, said it's not uncommon for intense, stressful movements like Earth First! to produce an army of walking wounded. And he's been around, in forest actions up and down the coast, for long enough to know; he was the one, in fact, who "got the maps and led the first hikers up to the hill" to the Gypsy Mountain campaign and Luna treesit.

"In the forest activist movement, there's very little that's rewarding," Rimerman said. "There's a lot of post traumatic stress syndrome. All of us get it. Once you've been through the court process, and the jail process, and seen 1,000-year-old trees get cut down that you really cared about and thought you could save — it's devastating."

That alone, setting aside the troubles with Shunka, could explain the many rifts that have occurred within the local EF! ranks over the years. Josh Brown, who moved to Humboldt in 1995 right before the peak of the Headwaters campaign, said one of the unique qualities of Earth First! is that it "is primarily a youth movement."

"A lot of people that come through are young, are passionate — and it's a wonderful thing," he said. They get thrown into leadership positions quickly — and then they get burned out. Many move quickly on to other things. Brown stayed in longer than most. "When I left [in 2001], I was 30 years old. And I'd been a full-time activist since I was 18."

Paradoxically, said Brown, the youthful draw and the departure of seasoned activists leaves the movement with "no elders to kind of sit around and coach the [new kids]."

The movement also draws strong personalities, he said. Tenacious ones, too, like Shunka's.

"Shunka, I think he really does have a big heart," said Brown. "And I think he does care for the forest."

Last Friday, following the morning session of Miller v. Trees, a group of the Humboldt Forest Defense Association activists stood on the courthouse steps talking. The door opened, and Shunka walked out and down the steps toward the group. They didn't greet him. After a time, he tried to talk to one of them, Jeff. Jeff walked away. Shunka followed him, then stopped and talked to another guy. Then he stood alone again.

From: northcoastjournal.com/101107/...011.html

"Trees Foundation Wins"

October 11th, 2007

The jury in the civil case Kathryn Miller v. the Trees Foundation decided in favor of Trees, after deliberating all day Tuesday. (See "Money on Trees," Oct. 4).

Miller is the long-time forest activist who inherited a bundle from her mother and then signed $185,000 over to the Trees Foundation. In her lawsuit, she claimed she had intended the money to be passed through Trees to one of its affiliates, North Coast Earth First! Media, run by Shunka Wakan. She claimed she had made her intentions clear, verbally and in writing, and that Trees had agreed to the conditions, then broken its promise and kept the money. Trees denied making such promises, and said it had never seen any letters or heard of instructions to give the money to NCEF! Media. (Also, somewhat relatedly, in criminal court on Tuesday Miller pleaded no contest to charges that she had made annoying phonecalls to Barbara Ristow of the Trees Foundation.)

So, that's that. Now, there are only the pieces to pick up.

For Shunka Wakan — featured in last week's Journal as a central figure in a messy nest of infighting that has fractured the current ranks of local Earth First!ians — it could be a long, lonely patching together of lost friends and broken alliances. Not only did he and Miller lose their attempt to retrieve her donation, but now he's been banned from the North Coast Co-op.

Yes, that happened last week. It was Thursday, around 4:15 in the evening, and two activists with the Humboldt Forest Defense Association were tabling — hawking brochures and such — outside the Co-op. It's an activity Shunka himself has spent many a day doing in that very same spot, raising cash to pay for his NCEF!Media outreach work and other causes. And, well, these two fellows, Jeff and Farmer, were on Shunka's shit list, now. They'd spoken gently, but unfavorably, about Shunka's doings in the North Coast Earth First! arena — said he lashed out at people, said he commandeered NCEF! resources, and so forth. Here's a snippet of Jeff's account of what happened, which he sent to the NCJ in an e-mail on Friday:

"Shunka was removed from the Arcata Co-op yesterday after a scuffle with myself and another activist around 5 p.m. Well, he wasn't exactly removed, but APD was called. He was asked to leave after threatening to flip over the HFD donation table while stating he was 'like Jesus in the marketplace ...'"

Sue Coulter, manager of the Arcata Co-op, recounted on Friday how an employee walking by heard the argument and went inside to get her. "So I went out to talk to [Shunka], because it's not the first time we've had problems," she said. "Most of the time, he's fine. Most of the time, I stick up for him." One time, she said, she even called the police to protect Shunka after someone had threatened him. "But he gets into arguments. I tried to talk to him. I told him to leave. ... He was causing a scene, right by the door, and I can't have it. He refused to leave. ... I said, fine. I went into the store. He followed me into the store, and he was still yelling at me, 'Oh, now you're going to call the police on me.'" Coulter called the police, but Shunka left before they arrived.

Shunka, waiting in the courthouse for the jury verdict Tuesday, said Coulter did indeed ask him to leave and he did, indeed, refuse to. As for the HFD tablers, he said he merely asked them why they had Trees Foundation literature on their table. "I said, 'Why do you want to represent these people?'" And then, he said, "Jeff accused me of embezzling — he said this in public. He said, 'You've embezzled thousands of dollars from the Earth First! movement through the years.' And I complained to one of the employees who was walking by. Because that's serious, accusing someone of embezzling."

But Shunka said the whole thing's yet another attack on him. "I don't consider I was yelling. We were talking. I'm an emotional person, I concede to that. I speak from my heart. I don't scream at people. I would love to — but I don't."

In his email, Jeff with HFD predicted Shunka would leave town within weeks, if not sooner. But at the courthouse, even before the verdict, Shunka said he wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm just going to continue to run the Earth First! office and continue to call Humboldt County home," he said. He's also going to write a letter to the Co-op, complaining about how he gets scapegoated and booted out of there even when other people, he says, are the culprits. And, as for the Miller v. Trees case, he said, he and Miller may now take their complaint to another venue.

-- Heidi Walters

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