Community investing banks don't promote the reckless practices that brought down the economy, and they use your dollars to provide much-needed services to underserved communities.
With big changes occurring at two of the country’s largest and best-known community investing banks, socially responsible investors may be wondering how the current…
To curb the climate crisis, increase national security, and avoid economic disaster as peak oil looms, it's time to accelerate energy efficiency.
Back in 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter gave a speech to the American public in which he laid out a brave, ahead-of-its time energy policy. He exhorted Americans to deeply conserve their use of gas…
A certified Passive House will cut down the energy used to heat a home by a jaw-dropping 90 percent.
Jim Conlon lives and breathes energy efficiency—as president of Elysian Energy, he oversees hundreds of energy audits every year and provides energy-efficiency consulting to green builders in the greater DC area. What’s got him excited…
This article is an expanded Web version of a piece that first appeared in the print edition of the Green American.
High school science teacher and Green America member Joshua Barclay’s super energy-efficient home started off as a simple science experiment, trying to answer the question: Can solar panels power a home, even in cloudy Michigan…
Our demand for electricity is at the heart of the nation’s single greatest source of the pollution that causes climate change. Fully half of our electricity in this country is generated by coal-fired power plants and coal power by itself is responsible for 40 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity can be difficult to think about…
The chart below explains where our energy comes from and what each type’s impacts are on people and the environment. Energy sources in red or yellow have significant environmental and social problems, while sources in green are key to a green energy future. Almost all types of energy generation end up doing the same thing: they turn the arm of a…
Maria Rodale is the Chair and CEO of Rodale Inc., a multimedia company focusing on healthy living on a healthy planet. The company includes the nonprofit organic research arm, the Rodale Institute, which has been running what may be the country’s longest side-by-side comparison of organic and chemical growing methods. Rodale’s grandfather, J.I.…
Which is best for people and the planet?
And how do we make truly healthy food accessible to all?
You walk into the grocery store, wanting to buy some Granny Smith apples for a pie you’re planning to bake. You find there are two types—organic apples from across the country, or apples from a local farm that uses chemical pesticides and…
Sustainability has always been an important value at Food For Thought, the gourmet organic food company Timothy Young started over ten years ago. All of his products—from strawberry preserves to corn muffin mix—include certified organic fruits and vegetables. Social justice has also been a strong part of his mission, so when he saw the…
If you’ve ever carried a balance on a credit card, you may be well acquainted with how much the fees and penalties added to that balance can cost you. And you weren’t alone: In 2008, the “big 4” mega-banks—Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—charged their customers $15.1 billion in credit card penalties and overdraft fees…
Use the following "Web exclusive" articles from our Fall Green American magazine to help you walk more, bike more, and reclaim the streets:
• Calculate how much money you’ll save by walking, biking, or taking transit to
your most frequent driving destinations by using our Car-Lite Worksheet.
• Read how Mollie Gore helped create…
Van Jones is working to combine solutions to America's two biggest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction.
In 1996, Van and Diana Frappier co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, headquartered in Oakland, California. Named for an unsung civil rights heroine, the Center promotes positive alternatives to violence and…
Learn more about how to get serious about the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) with our Web exclusives to our Fall 2007 Green American, Getting to Zero Waste:
Exclusive Interviews
Green American editor Tracy Fernandez Rysavy talks to leaders in the environmental justice movement:
Her interview with Van Jones…
Biodiesel is clearly a win for the planet—using it results in 52% fewer lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline, 41% fewer than diesel, and 41% fewer than the much-touted corn ethanol when it’s made from soybeans. But some people wonder whether a massive switch to biodiesel would be sustainable: would it use up food crops and drive up…
In 2004, Felix Kramer gathered with a group of engineers and car junkies in a friend’s garage. Their goal: to make a hybrid car that would plug into the wall, giving it a greater ability to run on electricity.
The concept had been pioneered by University of California Davis professor Andrew Frank years before, and with the help of student teams,…
Whether it’s the ticker running across the bottom of your screen, or the numbers filling up the business section in the newspaper, the stock market is everywhere. For many of us, buying stocks remains a mysterious, and oftentimes overwhelming, thing. But history has shown that, over the long term (ten years or more), the stock market almost…
When Ethan Merlin, a school teacher and Green America member in Rockville, MD, had an opportunity to take a group of students to visit Moscow, he had just one regret: by flying roundtrip across the Atlantic, he and his students would have no choice but to each cause the emission of more than three tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.…
1. Trash Conventional Body Care Products
The Problem: More than one-third of all personal care products contain at least one ingredient linked to cancer, and very few products are tested for safety. Some products contain phthalates, which don't appear in the list of a product's ingredients. Instead, they are covered by the general term…
Back to the Vote With Your Dollar Toolkit
The average American may not have considered the connection between global warming and a cheeseburger, but the United Nations has. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a report in February of this year, concluding that livestock is responsible for 18 percent of our world global warming…
Bernard Lietaer is the author of the forthcoming Of Human Wealth and The Future of Money (London: Random House, 2001), and has been studying monetary systems for over 25 years. While at the Central Bank in Belgium, he co-designed and implemented the convergence mechanism to the Euro, the European single currency system. He is the co-founder…
Back to the Vote With Your Dollar Toolkit
Bobby and Diann Johnson grow pecans on a small farm in southeastern Georgia. Rajah Banerjee improves his community by tending organic tea gardens in northeastern India. Ofelia Flores harvests wine grapes on a vineyard in California where workers have organized for a voice on the job. And formerly…
1. Choose Better Bedclothes —
The problem: Toxic chemicals that resist flames, water, moths, stains, soil, and wrinkles are sometimes added to textiles like bedclothes. Labels such as "permanent-press," "no-iron," "water repellent," and "flame retardant" may indicate fabric treatments that off-gas chemicals like formaldehyde and…
Working from home has benefits, but the challenges of turning your home into an office while your kids are in the room adds distractions to an already hectic day. Whether your kids are six or sixteen, here are ways that they can keep themselves busy in a green and enriching way so you can get back to work.
For Younger Kids
Christy Schwengel,…
“They’re making profit because we’re letting them destroy God’s Creation.”
The Reverend Dr. Jim Antal is a conference minister in the United Church of Christ, responsible for the 375 UCC congregations in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts conference board of directors recently approved his proposal to divest their funds from fossil fuels and…
The easiest way to create a germ-free home and eliminate toxic chemicals from your life is to not bring them into your home to begin with. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to start fresh with a new build out of the greenest of green materials, buying as little as possible, and then, always green? Unfortunately, problematic chemicals are already in…
Brady Quirk-Garvan is a business development associate at Money With A Mission [m], a socially responsible investing firm focused on divesting from destructive industries and making money work for progressive causes. Quirk-Garvan has lived in Charleston, South Carolina for over 15 years and served as Chairman of the Charleston Democratic…
During the last eight years, the Bush administration has levied deficit feeding tax cuts and urged Americans to spend our way out of this economic slump. Can consumers really pull us out of what is now a full-fledged recession by spending?
Economists like Boston College professor Dr. Juliet Schor say no.
“The economic crisis wasn’t caused by a…
Kristi Minahan plans to protect the environment her whole life—and beyond. As a water resources management specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Kristi spends her days protecting her state’s land and water. Though she hopes she has many healthy years ahead, the sudden death of a relative a few years ago got her thinking…
Whether you're on a health kick or just looking for a new home project, Green America is here with tips for a healthy lifestyle that start in the most important room in the house: the kitchen.
1. Avoid Pesticides; Go Organic
The problem: Many conventional fruits and vegetables carry pesticide residues. 23 of the world's 28 most…
What if time really were money? At the Time Bank Store in Dane County, WI, it is. The store is the first of its kind in Wisconsin, and the unusual thing about it is that your US currency is completely useless inside.
The Time Bank Store is a project of the Dane County Time Bank—based in Madison, WI, and surrounding communities—which aims to…
Take these actions on energy and save up to 33 percent of your energy use!
Turn Off Lights You're Not Using
Take the step: Make a pact with your family to be extra mindful about shutting off lights when they leave a room. A good rule of thumb is that there should be a maximum of one light on in your household per person at any given time.…
As plug-in electric hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) come to market, many consumers will need some basic questions answered before making the switch. Here’s what you need to know:
How does an EV or PHEV plug in? Would I need a special outlet?
All of the EVs and PHEVs coming to market are designed to be plugged into a…
J.J. Keki is a Ugandan Jew, a member of the Abayudaya community, a small religious minority in Uganda, where most people are Christian or Muslim. After being elected to his local council by his Christian and Muslim neighbors in 2002, Keki sensed that he had an opportunity to further bridge the religious divides that have long existed in his…
What do Crazy Horse Malt Liquor, Cherokee brand jeans, and Washington Redskins jackets have in common? All of these products are marketed through the use of Native American images—and all of their parent companies have been asked to stop using these images.
Companies often attach these images to their products because they feel people associate…
Heal Your Home Center: Healthy Home Glossary
Ever wonder exactly what Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) and endocrine disrupters are? Green America's Healthy Home Glossary comes in handy for those who want to learn more about the pollutants so often mentioned on our website, especially within the Healthy Home Tool Kit. Getting familiar with…
Q: If my recycling gets picked up in the same truck as trash, is it really being recycled?
A: Probably. In some municipalities, trucks have been retrofitted to collect trash on one side and recycling on the other in separate compartments. In others, the city sends around two different trucks, on the same day or different days. If you’re in…
In addition to putting consumer pressure on multi-national corporations to respect people and the planet in their overseas operations, another tactic for holding large corporations responsible for their international human rights violations is to take them to court.
The International Labor Rights Fund and EarthRights International have pioneered…
Some time ago, Green America published an article called “The Ugly Side of Cosmetics,” in which we detailed why many experts are concerned about the vast number of potential toxins in body care products.
That article, printed in our Real Money newsletter, cited studies showing that many of the body care products we use on a daily basis—from make-…
Lots of people take pride in how they smell, going to great lengths to ensure there's no funk and thinking if they're not always fresh from the shower, nobody will want to be around them. And so many turn to deodorant, making it a $70 billion per year industry. A study from the University of Bristol…
The road to financial health starts with embracing a “shift to thrift.” By spending less and saving more, you’ll not only save the planet’s precious resources, but you’ll avoid extra debt and pave the way toward a secure retirement.
The best way to save more is to take a close look at your finances and create a financial plan.
You (…
In the closing hours of the first DC Green Festival® in 2004, regional manager Alix Davidson was approached by an incredulous staff person at the Washington Convention Center. “Where’s your trash?” he asked. The convention center’s staff was expecting the tens of thousands of tons of trash routinely generated by large events. The Green Festival…
School is your child’s second home, a place where they spend one-third of their day. Yet, student, faculty and staff health is compromised and adversely affected everyday by toxic chemicals found in cleaning products, pesticides, and food served in the school. As schools become increasingly laden with toxic chemicals, the issue of chemicals…
In 1998, a group of scientists, lawyers, and environmental advocates gathered at the Wingspread Cnference Centerin Racine, WI, to discuss the case for exercising precaution in the face of scientific uncertainty.
“We believe existing environmental regulations and other decisions, particularly those based on risk assessment, have failed to protect…
1. Get Rid of Conventional Cleaners
The problem: Many household cleaners contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde, harsh acids, and hormone disrupters, which may be linked to: cancer, endocrine disruption, and eye, throat, and lung irritation.
The solution: Use nontoxic,…
Those of us who are lucky enough to earn at least $20,000 a year will spend more than a million dollars in our lifetimes. So, what do all of us “millionaires” want for ourselves and the world? What are those millions going to be purchasing?
Every dollar you spend is an opportunity to “vote” for the kind of world you believe in. One measure of…
This year is an important election, with many important issues on the line that Green Americans care about. So make sure you vote and help others vote too!
1. Ensure you're registered to vote at I Will Vote. In some states, you need to be registered 30 days prior to take part in the election so do it now.
2. Encourage others to…
Twenty-five years ago, power generated by wind turbines and solar panels was so futuristic that it was called “alternative” energy. But the day is coming soon when green energy won’t be alternative at all because we’ll be getting a major portion of our energy needs met renewably.
You can help lead the way by choosing green energy sources,…
If have questions about recycling, we have answers. Here are some of our most commonly asked questions.
Q: If my recycling gets picked up in the same truck as trash, is it really being recycled?
A: Probably. In some municipalities, trucks have been retrofitted to collect trash on one side and recycling on the other in separate compartments. In…
Jon Ellenbogen says the best payback for the new solar power system on his house is that he stands taller: "I love watching the meter run backwards during the day because I'm making more clean energy than I'm using. I'm proud to tell people about it—they think it's so cool!" Many homeowners like Jon and his partner Rebecca Sachs want to help…
In a globalized economy, it can be difficult for consumers to track the supply chain behind the shoes and other products they buy. Unfortunately, oppressive labor conditions and the problems of sweatshops and child labor still exist.
Child Labor at Puma
In June of 2008, for example, China Labor Watch reported on poor conditions at a factory…
