Your Honey & Your Home…How to Green your Day of Red

So, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner (this Saturday if you’ve forgotten) and I’m sure there’s plenty of fellas and ladies who are stumped on what to do for their special someone. Let’s face it, the recession is causing borderline depression across the nation and now you have to figure out how to make it through another holiday!

Not to worry! Live Earth and some other friends of Mother Earth have come up with a great list of ways to enjoy the company of your Honey and your Home (earth). (photo credit: Miracle Mood)

♥ From the onset, deem your Valentine’s Day eco-conscious, and challenge yourself and partner to go about the day with Mother Earth in mind.

♥ Spend the day locally! Leave the car at home and walk to your restaurant, florist, jeweler, spa or hair salon.

♥ While you’re local, purchase your gifts and cards together in one trip!

♥ Purchase eco-friendly and/or fair-trade gifts and accessories like organic candles, handbags, satin/silk lingerie or hemp forever bracelets. Find out if your purchase can assist an environmental equity non-profit organization or protect an endangered species.

♥ Try something new and non-materialistic: name a star in your loved ones name: adopt a piece of the rain forest: make a donation in their name to a poverty eradication initiative.

Do these suggestions spoil the idea of Valentine’s Day? Absolutely not! Think about how many trips you’ve made to pick up the perfect or last minute gift only to have it unappreciated, exchanged or returned. By going together, you will be spending real time with one another and ensuring the satisfaction of the item purchased.

By purchasing locally you will be stimulating your local economy and reducing the amount of emissions emitted into the atmosphere. By purchasing eco-conscious and organic items you will be reducing the amount of toxins entering into your body. By selfless gifting, you will be reducing waste, providing a service to someone who is less fortunate than you and placing genuine thought and value into the idea of a gift.

from the hand of...

LadyPink

Defining the Movement at Good Jobs, Green Jobs 09

The 2009 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference (GJGJ) took participants by storm. The three day meet in Washington DC gathered over 2500 attendees with a wide range of geographical, spiritual, social and occupational backgrounds. The common thread was obvious: Americans are ready for Green jobs!

The GJGJ concept is simple. Gather a bunch of folks together to talk about building a sustainable economy. Then, lay it down clearly: what’s involved in a ‘Green’ economy. The role that individuals and corporations play to grow interest and create opportunities is vital in this movement. In an economy where over 3 million people are jobless the question becomes how to successfully implement the Green vision that so many are gearing up for.

Green for All has proposed a national Clean Energy Corps (CEC) to the Obama and members of congress. The proposed is a coordinated effort to educate the population about the adverse affects of global warming while putting people back to work to repair the damage that has been done thus far. The CEC was put together by the Clean Energy Corp Working Group, Apollo Alliance, the Center for American for American Progress Action Fund, the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, Energy Action Coalition, Innovations in Civic Participation, 1Sky, The Corps Network.

The CEC will engage Americans on a national level in preservation education, provide job training in weatherization and retrofitting, expand open spaces and build local economies to encourage village-like living. All of these efforts will reduce global warming and strengthen American communities.

The GJGJ conference brought a lot of people together, pooled ideas and fostered conversations that will build better communities across America. Let’s see what’s adaptable for Newark!