It’s Official
UN Declares 2008 Year of Planet Earth

Research scientists, political decision makers, leading corporations and the voting public are engaged in a three-year effort to raise and invest $20 million on research and outreach activities aimed to promote Earth sciences. Ninety-seven countries representing 87 percent of the world’s population back the United Nations initiative.

Expressions of interest from individuals, researchers and organizations are now welcome. Winning proposals will target one of 10 areas. For example, they may show how to reduce risk from natural and human-induced hazards, reduce health problems, uncover poorly accessed groundwater, discover renewable resources, build safer structures and expand urban areas, determine the natural factor in climatic change or raise interest in Earth sciences.

Source: Wikipedia

Call Washington
Help Fix the Farm Bill

The five-year U.S. farm bill now under discussion in Congress has been characterized by many as a multi-billion dollar welfare check for big agribusiness for good reason. Sponsors Richard Lugar of Indiana (Rep) and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey (Dem) report that “Over the past 10 years, farm subsidies have gone to just one out of three farmers, with only 6 percent of farms receiving 70 percent of that money—namely $120 billion.” The bottom line is that farmers who practice organic policies and conservation measures typically are left out, as are healthy eating advocates.

This month Natural Awakenings readers are asked to call or write their U.S. Senators and Representatives to urge a “Yes” vote on FRESH Act (S. 2228). It stands for Farm, Ranch, Equity, Stewardship and Health. Its purpose is to reallocate over-the-top subsidies for corn, soy and wheat to instead make produce more affordable, support healthful school lunch programs and reward practices of soil conservation and sustainable farming.

Find your senators at Senate.gov and representative at www.House.gov. Then call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Or write a one-page letter signed with your full name and address using the contact information listed on these two websites.

Creation Care
First Eco-Friendly Bible

Thomas Nelson publishers have just released the first Bible to be printed on recycled and Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper. “The Bible is the most widely circulated book on the planet,” says Tyson Miller, director of the Green Press Initiative. “Given the Bible’s message of stewardship and the growth of the creation care movement, we hope to see other Bible and religion publishers following Thomas Nelson’s lead.”

Last year 86 evangelical leaders pledged to urge their fellow believers to join the fight against climate change. To date more than 50 religious scholars, churches and religious advocacy organizations have signed a statement on responsible paper use combined with socially responsible practices.

Thanks to the Green Press Initiative, a total of 140 U.S. book publishers, 10 printers and five paper companies have now signed environmental commitments. Even the U.S. book industry has announced its intent—not yet fully realized—to save some five million trees and 500 million pounds of greenhouse gases a year. Industry transformation is underway.

Awaking Nation
Fair Trade Coffee Making Inroads

Small farmers in developing nations are gaining ground against middlemen and reaping a 10- to 20-percent greater share of the profits as corporate America sniffs out growing demand for fair trade coffee. Some 27 percent of Americans say they’re aware of fair trade certification today, up from 12 percent in 2004, according to the National Coffee Association.

Although only 3.3 percent of coffee sold in the United States in 2006 was certified fair trade, it was eight times the amount five years earlier, reports TransFair USA. “We see a real momentum now with big companies and institutions switching to fair trade,” confirms Paul Rice, TransFair president and CEO. Hi-profile examples are Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club.

Fair trade certification of coffee reflects a concern for the well-being of marginalized small producers that doesn’t maximize profit at their expense. Fair trade cocoa, tea, pineapples, flowers and cotton are on the rise as well. Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International notes that the latest compiled numbers show that consumers worldwide spent about $2.2 billion on certified products in 2006, up 42 percent over the previous year. More than seven million people in developing countries benefited.

Contributing Source: www.Grist.org

Sustainable Dining
Even Burger Joints Can Go Green

As of 2007, some 350 restaurants in 70 cities in 28 states are gaining attention—and business—as certified green restaurants. Green Restaurant Association Founder Michael Oshman reports that “hundreds [more] are on the waiting list.”

That’s good news in an era when the average U.S. restaurant produces 275 pounds of waste each day. The worst offenders are fast food outlets. Upscale restaurants at least wash and reuse dinnerware. The potential for improvement is phenomenal as eco-technologies and restaurateurs’ understanding of the lower operating costs of going green catch up with consumer demand. Oshman points out that enough restaurants have become early adopters that he can readily show proof of significant savings.

“For a restaurant to be truly green, they have to think about the lighting, the napkins, the cleaning products, the waste, the grill—everything,” he says. Grille Zone, which serves a mostly collegiate crowd in Boston, became the first certified fast-food restaurant last June. According to co-owner Ben Prentice, his place has cut its daily waste to an average of 15 pounds.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

Trickle-down Ecology
Green Revolution in Arkansas

National newspapers report that northwest Arkansas is conducting a huge eco-experiment that regional advocates believe will make it a Green Valley icon of sustainability. It all started when Wal-Mart—a company virtually synonymous with suburban sprawl—announced its intent to become a green enterprise. Now communities all around the giant’s Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters are welcoming an influx of green technology start-ups and satellite offices of merchandise suppliers eager to keep up with their VIP client.

When Wal-Mart Chief Executive H. Lee Scott Jr. told hundreds of suppliers at a screening of Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth that products’ environmental impact would affect corporate purchases, the ball started to roll. A $1.5 million corporate grant to the University of Arkansas also is priming the pump through a new Applied Sustainability Center. Skeptics of the big-box retail scene hope for the best.

Kinder Care
Parents Improve Kids’ Media Habits

The latest U.S. Census data confirms a promising trend toward more protective, involved parenting than just 10 years ago. “This generation of parents is monitoring their children more diligently,” confirms Ruby Takanishi, president of the Foundation for Child Development, which publishes an annual Child Well-Being index. That means more restriction on kids’ television viewing (though switching to video games is a factor), more extracurricular classes and fewer children having to repeat a grade.

More good news came in the finding that the number of children ages 1-2 read to seven times a week increased from 48 to 53 percent, including those below and above the poverty line. Also, some 78 percent of children under 6 eat dinner every night with their parents, and 53 percent eat breakfast with their parents every day. Those numbers were about the same for both poor and non-poor families notes Jane Knitzer, director of the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University.