In the year since the global spread of the novel coronavirus, it seems fair to say every person on Earth has struggled. One in twelve Americans have been diagnosed with the virus since last January and well over 500,000 have died, according to the New York Times COVID-19 tracking project. As of September 2020, 25 percent of US adults say they or…
A year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic put the country in lockdown. Millions of people lost their jobs and small businesses across the nation closed, despite the trillions of dollars disbursed by the federal government. Yet, the biggest companies profited. Across industries, giant companies swallowed the market share previously occupied by independent…
How we spend our money is a way of making our values clear and measurable. When retail corporations use robust revenues to open new store locations, we know those companies want to increase sales. When city councils vote on budgets, residents get to see what programs are being prioritized in their communities. Taking a quick review of our own…
Telling the truth about history, apologizing, and paying long-owed debts are the start of
healing and reparations for Black Americans.
Every year, millions of visitors flock to Asheville, North Carolina, a city in the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains. Tourists hop on trolleys and snap photos of Gilded era mansions and estates. Others find…
Immigrants and migrant workers are overwhelmingly the people responsible for getting food from fields onto American plates. When they don’t make enough money for their own food, communities create solutions.
Over 2 million farms are scattered across America’s rural lands, providing much of the produce, dairy, and meat products that fill grocery…
When no amount of work is enough to support your family, you live in a system with unjust wages. A livable wage is a theory and, for some, a reality that shows a different way is possible.
For a couple with two kids to earn a living wage while making the minimum wage, they would each have to work 76 hours a week, or two full time jobs each,…
When people of color lack access to financial services, their schools, housing, and businesses are affected. Delegate Jazz Lewis of Maryland details the economic repercussions for constituents like his.
As the global pandemic disproportionately affected communities of color and activists took to the streets following the police killing…
Is this your year to start a garden? Make it a Climate Victory Garden! Get started and see results before you know it.
Imagine it’s an early summer morning and you step outside to look at your garden just as the sun is evaporating the dew off the grass. You see new leaves on your herbs and some baby zucchinis starting to form under huge green…
Above: Robin Rue Simmons at a press conference about equity in education in Evanston, Illinois. Photo by Heidi Randhava.
Over the past four years, the Trump administration has unraveled decades of progress in environmental protection: pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, weakening regulations on air pollution, and implementing…
When we envision a fully-fledged climate emergency, scenes of ferocious wildfires, flooded streets, and monstrous weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes commonly come to mind. Writer Mary Annaïse Heglar coined the term “climate vision” to describe this commonly-shared sense of impending doom, and in so many ways, the crises of COVID-19 and…
Companies have a vested interest in your opinion on their products. At Green America, we refer to the act of purchasing from companies you share values with as “voting with your dollar.” This action is only one part of conscious consumerism—writing letters to companies to demand accountability is a crucial strategy in getting big corporations to…
Small businesses across the US were hit hard by the coronavirus, but Black-owned businesses felt it the most. Black-owned businesses shut down at a rate more than double of white-owned businesses, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The pandemic exposed all sorts of inequities in our society, but the connections…
The pandemic has reshaped many of the ways our society works, from public gatherings to workplace settings. For shareholders, the annual meeting season came at the start of the pandemic, causing last-minute transitions to online formats for public safety—and in this scramble, some companies dodged shareholders by literally muting them. …
The intensity of the 2020 general election exposed the frustration so many Americans feel when our needs go unheard by government and corporations. It also showed the disillusionment we often feel with our political system, as many Americans wondered whether a new presidential administration would truly make a difference when it comes to long-…
Our current agricultural system relies on toxic chemicals and practices that endanger the health of ecosystems, farmers, farmworkers, and our climate. No matter who you are or where you live in the US, this broken system impacts your life, but there’s a better way.
Regenerative agriculture is the answer to the dual crises of a global…
Communities worldwide are facing relentless wildfires, powerful hurricanes, and devastating flooding — the climate crisis is here, and it will worsen unless we act. Fossil fuels combustion is heating global temperatures and energy use causes 73 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting emissions is possible as we urgently transition from…
No matter how much or little money you are able to save, if you use a bank, credit union or 401(k) plan, you can be a socially responsible investor.
There are different names for this approach to saving and investing, such as socially responsible investing (SRI); environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing; impact…
The country has experienced dramatic changes amidst the pandemic: the mainstream revival of the Black Lives Matter movement and amplified calls for intersectional environmentalism. Regardless of what prompted your decision to start or deepen your activism, it’s possible to advocate for change in a multitude of ways. Read more about how to protest…
The skin care industry is heavily greenwashed, with claims of natural, organic, and clean products to help you achieve a healthy glow. This is especially pertinent in the time of covid-19, in which frequent hand washing and sanitizing can lead to skin irritation without proper care.
Unfortunately, only 11 ingredients are restricted from personal…
Above: Liz Abunaw is the founder of Forty Acres Fresh Market, a pop-up market that brings produce to communities in Chicago’s West Side. Photo by Ofu Takor.
You may have heard of food deserts, which refer to areas void of fresh, affordable food, but the term “food desert” does not challenge systemic racism. This is why more people are using…
Taking care of yourself is more important than ever. Anxiety, a lack of sleep, and other stressors can weaken the immune system. Maintaining a well-balanced diet and eating foods which support your immune system can help strengthen your body’s natural protections.
Bring the Vitamin C
If you’ve ever had a cold, you’ve have probably been…
Whether it is on a patio, windowsill, or balcony, the Climate Victory Gardening movement is putting down roots across the country that are not confined to the traditional backyard garden. Every day, we are inspired by the creative ways people are growing food and giving back to the planet. If you’re interested in joining the fun but daunted by…
Grow your little ones’ love for literature with these eco-conscious, culturally rich reads.
The 2021 National Geographic Kids’ Infopedia
The 2021National Geographic Kids’ Infopedia ($13.18) is guaranteed to feed your child’s imagination. It’s packed with stories about animals, histo-ry-making explorers, and world-changing inventions, plus games…
Intentionally supporting Black-owned businesses is one way we can do our part to promote racial justice, support entrepreneurs, and foster an inclusive green economy. We hope you’ll start with these stellar body care Green Business Network members who are creating products in a market that often ignores the needs of Black women and women of color…
Worm composting is a great way to make use of your kitchen scraps and make your own free, nutrient-rich fertilizer for your garden. Better yet, composting reduces your climate footprint by diverting organic waste from the landfill, where it rots and releases greenhouse gases.
An in-home worm compost setup is unassuming and friendly to both house…
Green America’s Cool It! campaign tackles the climate disaster hiding in our refrigerators by urging companies to eliminate the use of greenhouse gases called HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons).
HFCs are potent gases that leak out of refrigerators and air conditioners into the atmosphere and escalate the climate crisis. These refrigerant gases regularly…
Together with our members, we’re getting the largest companies on the planet to change the way they do business for the better—sourcing clean energy, engaging in agriculture that protects the soil and sequesters carbon, and ending practices that harm workers, communities, and consumers. This is the green economy.
Indeed, our successes come from…
Across the country, mutual aid networks have rapidly developed in response to the unique challenges posed by COVID-19.
What is Mutual Aid?
Although mutual aid takes many forms, it is defined by reciprocity. People support each other based on what others need and what they can provide, unlike charity and government assistance, which are one-sided…
At Green America, when we say “green,” we always mean both environmental sustainability and social justice. It especially means recognizing that systemic racism was a reality long before the Black Lives Matter era and that the climate emergency isn’t on hold because of COVID-19. History shows us that protesting has the power to pressure…
Making your home more energy-efficient saves you money and reduces your carbon footprint.
We are staying home more than ever and many workers want it to stay that way. According to a Gallup poll, 59 percent of Americans who have worked from home during the pandemic hope to continue once workplace restrictions are relaxed.
Telecommuting is also…
When we started working on this issue, it was with the November election in mind. In February, no one knew the Green American team would spend most of our spring days separated and working from home. The intent of developing this feature for our summer issue was to make sure that environmental justice issues was top-of-mind as people headed to…
By the time you read this, Americans will be only a few months away from electing their next president and the global community will have witnessed an unprecedented year. From a volatile and narrowly diffused nuclear conflict with Iran, to rampant fires in Australia, 2020 has delivered headline after headline that would be considered…
Fifty years after the moon landing, it’s easy to look back with awe on those days of great national will and collective use of our brightest minds. Some modern technologists think with similar combined brainpower and funding, we could use unprecedented “shoot-the-moon” technologies to solve climate change.
But others are looking to established…
My entire life I’ve watched as Washington politicians abandoned Appalachia and rural communities, sacrificing their wellbeing for cheap resources. I’ve watched as fossil fuel billionaires and the politicians they’ve bought out, a pack led by Kentucky’s own Senator Mitch McConnell, kept millions of Americans in poverty, enriching themselves at the…
In Durham, North Carolina, a young man rakes a dirt path in between rows of leafy soybeans. In Alabama’s Black Belt, a woman rolls a feathery ball of cotton between in her fingers, inspecting it for pests. In eastern Mississippi, an older woman, scissors in hand, kneels into a nest of leaves and uses a spade to harvest a sweet potato.
The…
Socially responsible investing is a way your money can change the world. You can do it by moving your money from Wall Street banks to community development banks, screening the worst companies out of your portfolio, or using shareholder advocacy to push corporate management to change.
Direct investing or impact investing is another socially…
In the Los Angeles neighborhood of University Park, west of downtown and east of the University of Southern California campus, people felt ill. Residents and those who spent time at the schools, libraries, and shops in the area were getting nosebleeds, headaches, and feeling shortness of breath.
This neighborhood of South-Central Los Angeles was…
Climate change has wide implications for both coastal and landlocked cities across the globe. But building resiliency and adapting to climate change can have disastrous effects for low-income and minority communities in the form of climate gentrification.
What Is Climate Gentrification?
In a classic example of gentrification, developers see an…
The climate crisis is not an immovable object. It is a battle with many fronts and people around the globe looking for solutions for the problems that they see, working within their own expertise and communities. These four climate warriors who come from different walks of life but share the same goals of mobilizing citizen and government action…
One calorie of food grown on a conventional farm takes 10 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce. That’s because industrial agriculture relies on energy-intensive chemical inputs and results in difficult-to-manage waste. This linear system is wreaking havoc on our planet and it just doesn’t make sense.
Conventional agriculture depends on the…
HOPE Credit Union is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) serving the Mississippi Delta region of the United States, which encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. With a mission to strengthen economically under-served communities, HOPE provides financial services and engages in policy analysis.
In…
Over the last decade, podcasts have skyrocketed in popularity—over 100 million people listened to a podcast every week in 2019. Compared to conventional radio stations that have limited airtime and contracts, podcasts offer in-depth storytelling on topics ranging from the daily news to comedy, and true crime to sci-fi stories. Here are a few picks…
One person's trash is another person’s treasure, but with a little creativity, some of your waste may never have to make a trip to the landfill. Many items lying around the house can be repurposed into something new without needing to buy anything. Here is a short list of free zero-waste swaps that are kind to your wallet and to the planet.…
When you're on Amazon, you can accomplish in a few clicks what it might take hours, days or weeks to find elsewhere. But its convenience comes at a high cost. Amazon continues to struggle with worker rights, clean energy, and a market monopoly that harms small businesses.
Green America launched our “Build a Cleaner Cloud” campaign in 2014 to…
As the calendar shifted from 2019 to 2020, it felt like other shifts occurred too—with the US elections on the horizon and Australia on fire for the last few months, many are waking up to the reality of climate change and the growing need to act on it. Trying times are times for trying, right?
This is a moment when we can all look at our habits…
Turning bike tires into bags, sugar cane waste into to-go boxes, and reclaimed wood to new flooring is what the circular economy looks like.
Each of these trash-to-treasure concepts are real practices by real businesses: Green Guru, which makes outdoor gear out of busted bike tubes and old climbing rope; Greenline Paper Company, which offers…
Balled-up paper towels, plastic food containers and crumpled stationery: when Anamarie Shreeves did her first trash analysis back in 2013, these were some of the most common culprits she found in the pile, and it probably isn’t far off from what many of us would find if we perused our own.
The average American produces roughly 1,700 lbs of…
When Cory Chow’s sister got married, Cory bought a bridesmaid’s dress. After the wedding, she put it in her closet, where it hung there for more than three years. Then, someone on her local Washington, DC, “Buy Nothing” Facebook group posted in search of a formal dress in her size.
“Being able to pass it along to a neighbor who would otherwise…
Look around your home and think about all the ways you use this place where you spend much of your time. You’ve heard about the circular economy and zero waste, but have you considered how your space itself could be contributing to your environmental footprint?
Despite the fact that census surveys show that American families are shrinking, the…
Green America has long called for a large-scale transition from conventional agriculture to a regenerative model that sequesters carbon as we work to reverse the climate crisis. Through our green economy campaigns like Soil SuperHeroes and Climate Victory Gardens, and our Center for Sustainability Solutions’ Soil Carbon Index—the world’s first…
