Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are fundamental to creating a truly just and sustainable world. The Civil Rights Era brought greater equity and justice to the U.S. over half a century ago—but the new administration is determined to dismantle that progress.
In this issue of Green American, we present the moral and business cases for diversity…
The raging fires in Los Angeles, made more likely and more uncontrollable by dry conditions exacerbated by climate change, destroyed the homes, communities, and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. The impacts affected people of all races and incomes. Yet some Angelenos, including immigrants, were among the hardest hit.
Thousands of…
In a rolling farmland in Goldsboro, North Carolina, where generations have coaxed life from the earth, Cheryl Alston walks through her fields with a knowing smile. She runs her hands through the dark, nutrient-rich soil and plucks a bright, firm tomato from the vine.
“Can you imagine eating a tomato so sweet you might call it a piece of candy…
At the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) about Small Island Developing States (SIDS), U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the disproportionate risks their communities face in the era of the climate crisis and the shared challenges to sustainable development, including limited resources, susceptibility to natural…
As Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery says in his book “American Whitelash,” white Americans have historically reacted to racial progress in a “three steps forward, two steps back way”—and this time, the scapegoat is corporate DEI policy.
Companies claim that rolling back DEI programs are about “ensuring our executive incentives…
Committing to a successful DEI program at your business and reaping the benefits is no small task. Truly impactful DEI programs create committed leadership, employee engagement, integrate DEI practices into organizational operations, use needs-based training and education, and have clear metrics to measure success and ensure accountability.
“…
While the Trump administration demonizes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and many large corporations fold to political pressure by walking back prior commitments to support minority-owned businesses in their stores and supply chains, Green America’s Green Business Network® members are preserving and celebrating their heritage. By…
Climate change and the need for developing environmentally sustainable systems of business, food supplies, power production, and so forth, are issues that affect communities worldwide. Disabled people are particularly vulnerable to how climate change exacerbates inequitable access to resources like disaster relief, health care, and housing, yet…
Nothing is more threatening to those who crave absolute power than an engaged public that knows and exercises their rights to the fullest extent. Which is why the Trump administration has clearly set its sights on uprooting decades of social, political, and economic programs providing resources and support for historically marginalized…
The mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, were my first love. Rushing rivers and the whisper of the wind through the trees taught me from an early age that my peace and clarity are found in the quiet corners of the Earth. In a world consumed by noise, screens, and schedules, the outdoors is my escape—an antidote to the frantic pace of modern…
History gives me comfort even in the most troubling of times. When this current moment seems overwhelming, I remind myself how our ancestors fought for a better world—often against greater odds. Their stories inspire me, and history tells me that the hard path to a better world has been worn deeply from centuries of effort. History lets me know…
Community is critical for humanity to thrive. In times of uncertainty, having people to catch and provide for you is how we face the future with strength and empathy. Now, at the dawning of a new year, Green America encourages you to rethink generosity and how we can give more holistically to our communities and those in need.
Try Gifting to…
When political channels narrow, Green America’s economic strategies become even more crucial. For over 40 years, we’ve demonstrated that in our economic roles as responsible consumers, strategic investors, and innovative businesses, we can create profound change for people and the planet—regardless of who holds political power.
Our…
This isn’t the Green American issue that we had originally planned, but in the wake of the 2024 presidential election, it is the one we feel called to create.
The return of the incoming administration to the White House was always a distinct possibility, no matter how much we might have worked for a better outcome. And regardless of who took…
I became an environmental advocate in the 1980s. I was at college in New York City when I saw an ad in the Village Voice from New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), looking for activists to fight garbage burning incinerators. Little did I know that the job involved going door-to-door, day after day, for hours on end, attempting to get…
For nothing is fixed,forever, forever, forever,it is not fixed;the earth is always shifting,the light is always changing,the sea does not cease togrind down rock.
Being an activist is caring. It is disrupting and organizing. It is building and healing. Being an activist means understanding how deep bias and privilege are woven into our systems…
I’m a millennial, and our generation has a saying: “I am so tired of living in unprecedented times, I would like to live in precedented times, please?”
There are many ways to interpret this but to me, in this moment, it speaks to a very long history where women like myself—Black, middle-aged, professional—have gone to bat for human rights time…
My advocacy comes from a place of anger.
When it comes to advocating for a better world, the message is usually towards a joyous future of community and love. And while joy is part of my advocacy, too, it’s not the lens in which I view the world, politics, or society.
I am a woman. I have an immigrant Filipina mother and a blue-collar white…
Truth be told, I did not touch grass until my late twenties. Being in nature felt unnatural—I grew up in the world’s fourth most densely populated city, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. With over 60,000 people in each square mile, there is not much room for nature to thrive in the megapolis. There are trees, shrubs and bushes, even a couple of…
From fire-spinning to knitting, self-care can take many forms. Another form that Green Americans like to practice is “action.”
Action can look like volunteering, calling on our senators to support environmental and socially just legislation, and protesting unjust policy and corporate practices.
This November, join Green America in taking…
Waves crest and crash in echoing booms as the morning mist floats over the water. In wetsuits and boards under arm, surfers step on to the beach, anticipatory exhilaration burning in their lungs. The power of the ocean beckons—loud, massive, and inviting. Walking deeper, their bodies disappear into the depths as they take part in a centuries-old…
Whatever a website might claim, your best bet is always to ask your own questions before booking, and to look for the greenest independent options first. Try these steps the next time you travel:
Choose a home-exchange instead
Save money and develop connections within the communities you visit when you join a home-exchange service. You…
Consider planning trips that intentionally cut out the carbon when you move from point A to point B. If you are able, choose options that move you from place to place on calorie-power, rather than carbon-power, and give you a chance to slow down, observe, and appreciate the world around you when you travel. For example:
Walking Tours
Active…
Traveling is a popular choice for people looking to relax, but leisure time doesn’t always have to involve leaving the comfort of your own home. As a bonus, staying in means you can relax without expanding your carbon footprint—and maybe take the time to plan responsible travel options. In the meantime, here are some suggestions for games,…
Prepping for travel often includes buying things you need: an international wall adapter, a tent, packing cubes, puffy jackets, or beach dresses. And while many of these items can continue to have a purpose after your trip, others end up collecting dust.
When it comes to decluttering, it’s important to be honest with yourself about where you…
I have been fortunate enough to have yearlong access to fresh fruits and vegetables from the grocery store, but I have rarely questioned how they’re sourced. Stuck in the weekly routine of grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking, I tend to forget how the food that nourishes my mind and body does not originate in the neatly stacked aisles of…
Whether you’re enjoying time outdoors or relaxing on the couch, leisure wear plays an important part in our day-to-day comfort. But as the scale of fast fashion’s detrimental environmental impacts grows, it can be difficult to find and afford green clothing. Here are a few things to look out for to reduce your carbon footprint and keep your…
Generations of families have harvested and tended to the same thick-trunked olive trees for thousands of years, sharing their fruits with people around the world through liquid gold: olive oil.
Canaan Palestine now cultivates this heritage for small-scale farmers in Palestine, selling their Fair Trade and soon-to-be Regenerative Organic…
My now-wife and I booked our wedding venue in the fall of 2021. We had secured a perfect wedding date: February 3, 2023, aka 2/3/23, with the hopes for a crisp and sunny winter day in Los Angeles, California.
From the start, my wife and I wanted to prioritize sustainability at our wedding, because I knew the stats:
The average carbon…
Since Green America’s founding in 1982, as a new green-economy organization known as “Co-op America,” US voters have seen ten presidential election cycles come and go, beginning with the contest between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale in 1984.
Then, as now, the stakes were high for many of the priorities Green Americans care about.
The…
With rising global temperatures and an increasing number and frequency of extreme weather events, the toll of the climate crisis can be seen in towns and cities across the globe. As Green Americans, we have adopted our own sustainable habits to cool the planet, from installing energy-efficient appliances to prioritizing walking and biking and…
Farmers feed us. From the fresh apples we buy to the popcorn we toss in the microwave, our access to nutritious food is all made possible by the daily efforts of farmers across the nation and around the world.
But here in the US, farmers say bureaucracy makes it hard for them to grow food in a manner that is restorative for the environment.…
When Brenda Alvarez-Lagunas was nine years old, her mother’s job in the packaging department of a Florida factory came to an end. Brenda’s parents—Mexican immigrants looking for a way to support their young family—turned to farm work to make ends meet.
With the harvest coming at different times for different crops in different parts of the…
When as you sow CEO Andrew Behar testified before the House Judiciary Committee’s legal counsel on March 28 of this year, he brought with him letters from 16,265 Green Americans and others demanding the freedom to invest responsibly.
As You Sow’s work is being investigated by the Republican-led committee, alongside 13 other shareholder…
On the evening of June 12, 1963, civil rights activist Medgar Evers pulled into his driveway in Jackson, Mississippi with a box of T-shirts printed with the slogan “Jim Crow Must Go.” The shirts referred to his work to overturn such Jim Crow-era laws as charging poll taxes, imposing literacy tests, or lifetime voting bans for those convicted of a…
This past January marked 14 years since the Supreme Court’s consequential ruling in the “Citizens United” case, the case that essentially removed all limits on corporations’ spending to support candidates for elected office, so long as they do not officially coordinate with campaigns. But political contributions from companies have serious…
13% of Americans reported facing economic hardship due to climate change in 2022, according to “The Impact of Climate Change on American Household Finances,” a recent US Department of the Treasury (DoT) report. Americans experienced these challenges during a year in which DoT calculated the cost of climate and weather disasters in the US to have…
Whether you call it “impact investing,” “socially responsible investing (SRI),” or the more recent term-of-art, “ESG investing” (with “ESG” referring to socially responsible impacts related to a company's environmental, social, and governance policies), investing in positive returns for people and the planet is a topic familiar to many Green…
What is the largest part of your carbon footprint: Is it a) your car, b) your furnace, c) your stove, or d) your bank account?
If you bank with or use credit cards issued by one of the four biggest US banks—JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, or Bank of America—or other conventional banks, the answer is likely your bank account.
That’s…
In 2023, the United States experienced a record number of weather- and climate-related disasters that each caused $1 billion or more in damages: 28 severe storms, floods, wildfires, winter storms, hurricanes, and droughts, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Since 1980 the United States has experienced 376…
HopeWorks Station in Everett, Washington, has been drawing attention for its multiple areas of socially conscious innovation. The LEED Platinum-certified development integrates 65 affordable apartments for low-income households and those recovering from addiction alongside supportive services, job training, a child-care center, and community…
If you own shares in publicly traded companies, you can use your investor power to shape corporate policy for the better.
As an owner of the company, you have the right to use your voice—and vote—through the shareholder resolution process to direct company management to make change.
When you vote in favor of social and environmental…
Green Americans imagine a future where all people have enough, communities are healthy and safe, and the abundance of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come. Responsible entrepreneurs—including a recent spike in African American business owners—are working towards that future now, growing sustainable and inclusive companies that…
Public discourse around the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 put corporations in the spotlight for their failure to address systemic issues like workplace discrimination and racial inequities.
In response, many corporations came forward with public statements on anti-racism, pledging to fight discrimination and prejudice within and beyond…
Plastic pollution is everywhere—in waterways and oceans, in food chains and the atmosphere, and even in our own bodies.
The Ocean Conservancy confirms that single-use plastic consumption is on the rise, growing at an estimated 2.7% per year, and the advocacy group Beyond Plastics says this rise is intentional. Fossil fuel companies are ramping…
We hope this issue of the Green American brings a smile of recognition to all of our readers who grew up with budget-conscious elders.
“Turn off the light when you leave the room.”
“Don’t waste food; someone else could eat that.”
“In my day we walked; you don’t need a car.”
Going green on a budget isn’t a new concept. In fact, in many…
WBeing more sustainable on a budget doesn’t just mean cutting down on costs – you can actually save money going green. To help you become more environmentally friendly while you save money going green, we’ve compiled this list of strategies to get you started.
Green Home Incentives
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in…
It can be hard to eat organic food on a budget. But we have some tips on how to prioritize the foods least contaminated by pesticides, increase your access to healthy, organic food on a budget, and even build community along the way.
The good reasons to do so go beyond protecting your health and the health of your family. Prioritizing organic…
Do you want to increase the vegetarian component of your diet, whether for budget reasons, health reasons, or to protect the climate?
Maybe you are one of 7 in 10 Americans already doing your best to trim your personal greenhouse gas emissions—driving an electric car, putting up solar panels, or composting at home. None of us can do everything…
Few things bring people together like food. Steaming casseroles, warm noodles, smokedveggies—and while we all wish we could eat great food every night, the reality is that leftovers can be monotonous, and cooking can be exhausting.
Cooking cooperatives can take the stress out of cooking several nights a week and can bring exciting flavors to…
