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The Green Business Network is pleased to share the following news from our member Naturepedic:

When environmental engineer Barry Cik went to a baby store to buy a crib mattress for his first grandchild in 2003, he was concerned by what he found in the products: a wide variety of toxic chemicals including vinyl and PVC with phthalates, polyurethane foam with flame retardants, formaldehyde, glues, and more. Right then and there, he knew he had to build a better product.

He went on to found Naturepedic with his sons, starting with baby mattresses and then moving on to adult mattresses, sheets, mattress pads/toppers and pillows in response to consumer demand.

“Babies and toddlers spend up to 12-15 hours a day on their crib mattress, and even as adults, a third of our lives are spent sleeping. The chemicals we are exposed to during that time affects us the rest of our lives, so as a business owner it’s necessary I do the right thing from the beginning,” Cik says.

He decided that everything from field to finished product would meet organic, non-GMO, and non-toxic standards. For example, Naturepedic uses only organic cotton, organic wool, organic kapok, and organic latex as the cornerstones of its products.

But the company doesn’t stop with just certified components. The finished products also are certified to the most stringent organic textile processing standards that exist – the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) for the cotton, kapok and wool, and the Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) for the latex. These standards prohibit the use of toxic inputs during the manufacturing stages, and ensure that workers throughout the Naturepedic supply chain – including the predominantly Amish people in the factory – are taken care of.

Green Business Program

Once Naturepedic opened its store in Montgomery County – its 17th nationwide – it learned of the county’s Green Business Certification Program. Naturepedic requested that GOTS be added to the unique program which recognizes a suite of stringent standards that protect both the environment and workers. In December, 2018, the county adopted the standard – becoming the first U.S. jurisdiction to do so – and Naturepedic became the first company to become certified to the Green Business program on the basis of GOTS certification. Naturepedic is the only GOTS-certified mattress company in Maryland and Washington, DC.

“From the moment we heard of the county’s Green Business program, we knew we needed to be part of it,” says Cik. “We need to connect with other like-minded companies and demonstrate to the county’s residents that everyday products can be made without the usual – and toxic – inputs, and also be of the highest quality.”

Manufacturing Practices

Naturepedic puts a lot of care into every step that goes into making the finished products. For example, one of the most unique aspects of Naturepedic’s products is that the majority of its mattress models enable consumers to choose the density they wish to have on their side of the bed, and then purchase only that pad in the future if and when it needs replacing. There’s no need to buy a whole new bed!

Its recent sustainability report outlines additional ways in which Naturepedic practices what it preaches:

• Wood: the wood in the beds is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, and the wood used for the hand-crafted bed frames sold in its stores comes from reclaimed lumber – including old Douglas Fir and redwood - saved from California landfills following demolitions.
• Waterproofing: The food-grade polyethylene and PLA, used for waterproofing and inner cores in its lightweight baby crib mattresses, come from non-GMO sugarcane.
• Energy use: Naturepedic offsets 100% of its electricity use by Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) purchased from Green-e certified provider NativeEnergy. In addition, energy used for lighting is minimized by having 13 skylights using natural light, energy-efficient lightbulbs, and even drop lighting - chain-supported overhead factory lighting which requires fewer lights to illuminate an area.
• Carbon footprint. The handcrafted nature of its products means the use of more traditional tools, powered both by hand and by compressed air, reducing the carbon footprint.
• Flame retardants: Naturepedic meets federal flammability standards without the use of flame retardant chemicals of any kind, by using naturally flame resistant organic wool.
• Packaging materials: Most of Naturepedic’s cardboard packaging is 100% recycled content.

To prove that both Naturepedic’s corporate office and its North Bethesda are taking these steps, both locations are certified to the Green America Gold standard.

While Naturepedic leads the pack in healthier mattresses, the company doesn’t measure its business against the competition, but against its own potential. Naturepedic will continue to push to become even more sustainable in the years ahead.

The Naturepedic Organic Mattress Gallery is located at Pike & Rose at 11802a Rockville Pike.

Written by Sandra Marquardt, President, On the Mark Public Relations and Naturepedic Consultant

Climate Victory Gardeners may come across invasive species in the garden, and it’s important to know what to do in this case. How much harm do they cause? How do we get rid of them? And what can we do to prevent their spread in the first place? Fortunately, Green America volunteer Jesse Cross has the answers.

My name's Jesse. I'm a volunteer at Green America and an environmental science and economics double major at American University. When I was in high school, I spent a summer volunteering for an environmental organization called Duke Farms. This 2,742 acre property in Hillsborough, New Jersey promotes native biodiversity through preserving natural ecosystems, practicing sustainable farming techniques, and educating visitors on the importance of sustainability and conservation.

A large portion of that volunteer work was centered around one task: invasive species management, or as its more commonly known: weeding.

I spent long hours in the summer sun, ripping plants out of the ground and off of trees. My arms were covered in itchy poison ivy. And, while I mostly enjoyed the work, it also left me wondering how I had come to the conclusion that weeding was a productive use of my time. Was I was even weeding out the right plant?

What counts as an invasive species? 

An invasive species is not native to a specific region or ecosystem. It usually has no predators in this environment, which allows it to outcompete and displace native species and cause harmful ecosystem imbalance. Invasives may transmit diseases that native plants are not resistant to, or even consume or prey upon native species. All these actions can greatly decrease the biodiversity of an area.

Some examples of invasive species include the small carp grass, a grass from Eastern Asia that has spread across nearly half of the United States. The Australian cane toad is a poisonous amphibian from South America that kills anything that tries to eat it and is spreading rapidly across the Australian continent, wreaking havoc on Australia's natural wildlife. The Zebra Mussel is a shellfish from the Caspian and Black seas of Eastern Europe that has spread across the US and outcompetes native shellfish for space in aquatic environments. Each of these species had evolved to fill an ecological niche in their home environments, and only became invasive when moved to a new location where their traits allow them to spread and overcome local species.

Humans play a role in the spread of these invasive species through global trade and travel. Knowingly or unknowingly, people move plants and animals across the world to new environments. In many cases, these species are not able to survive, but in the case of invasives, they thrive. A combination of hospitable environment and reduced predation enables them to spread across an ecosystem, taking space and resources away from native species that, unlike invasive species, are burdened by environmental pressures and predators.

While many invasives can drive native species to extinction, there are some exceptions to this trend. Organisms have been naturally migrating around the world for millions of years.  And, today, there are many non-native species, which are also non-invasive, meaning they do not invade the surrounding environment and outcompete native species. So, there can be some coexistence.

Ultimately, it's important to care about invasive species, because it's important to care for our local natural ecosystems. And, humans have a stake in this. Invasive species can decimate local plant and wildlife populations, which in turn causes great damage to local habitats that we rely on for recreation, business, and food.

Getting rid of an established invasive species can be very difficult. As I learned at Duke Farms, weeding out an invasive species is a laborious and time-consuming process that must be repeated over and over again to keep these species at bay. As shown by the small carp grass, the Australian cane toad, and the zebra mussel, invasive species spread and reproduce so quickly that it's impossible to keep up with these species to entirely remove them. Because of this, the best way to stop invasive species from wrecking a native ecosystem is stop them from even getting there in the first place. Laws have been enacted that regulate when and where ships can empty their ballast water, a popular travel method of aquatic species. Similarly, international commerce is inspected to reduce transport of invasive species.

You can help at the individual level too, especially when traveling, working with animals, or spending time outdoors. Always clean your fishing and hiking gear to help prevent taking invasive hitchhikers with you. Don’t bring unknown plants or animals home with you. If you have an exotic pet you don't wish to care for anymore, take it to a shelter instead of releasing it out your backdoor. If you have a plant to discard that you’re unsure of, be sure to destroy it and throw it away instead of tossing into a compost pile where it could spread.

You can help in your community by volunteering at local volunteer removal events that help prevent the spread of invasive species. It’s hard work but also rewarding when you see how much of a difference clearing out an invasive species from a habitat can make. Or volunteer at a local farm like Duke Farms.

You can even take part in your own back yard. Plant native species to help preserve your area's local biodiversity. The best defense against invasive species is to plant a diverse, healthy ecosystem on your property, full of native species that do not allow much room or opportunity to for invasive species to spread. You can plant a Climate Victory Garden, full of perennial plants and a healthy soils that feed you and increase the resiliency of the habitats around you. Your local garden center or agricultural extension agent can help you determine which plants are appropriate for your area.

Join other farmers and gardeners in this movement. Happy weeding!

This story was written in collaboration with Forbes Finds. Forbes Finds covers products we think you’ll love. Featured products are independently selected and linked to for your convenience. If you buy something using a link on this page, Forbes may receive a small share of that sale.

Flower deliveries on Mother's Day are hardly novel, but honoring Mother Nature while shipping bouquets is a relatively new idea. It was only about 10 years ago that consumers and companies began looking at the environmental impact that goes along with growing and shipping refrigerated flowers around the world.

The ecological offenses that can come with conventional floral delivery are many: Flower farms might use massive amounts of water (often in drought-ridden areas) and pesticides, workers can be paid poorly and the packaging can be excessive. Many flowers spend days in planes, trucks and coolers, then, adding insult to injury, arrive looking less than fresh.

But today's consumers want flowers that are not only beautiful, but that also have a provenance they can feel proud of.  That's why these flower delivery services are rethinking the business model and working with sustainable farms who pay their workers a living wage. In many cases the farms are local. Organizations including Bloom Check, Veriflora, Rainforest Alliance, and Green America are providing guidelines and bestowing certifications upon companies that are respectful to the environment, compensate employees fairly, provide access to healthcare, and ensure good working conditions.

 

Below are eight brands that are transparent about their practices and constantly work to improve their commitment to preserving Mother Earth, which seems especially appropriate on Mother's Day.

Stargazer Farms Stargazer lillies

Stargazer Farms

 

Stargazer Barn

This Arcata, California-based  company is one of the few eco-friendly operations that both grows and ships flowers to retail customers (most farms sell wholesale). The farm, which has been growing stargazers among other blooms since 1974, is both Rainforest Alliance and Bloom Check certified. Choose from the farm's namesake lily, tulips, ranunculus and more. They also make small-batch wines which you can add on to your flower order (or choose coffee or chocolate), and they offer a monthly subscription service.

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Farmgirl Flowers Party of (Forty) Five

Farmgirl Flowers

Farmgirl Flowers

Farmgirl Flowers promises to source flowers ethically and honestly, supporting farms that pay living wages, avoid harmful chemicals, and pay their employees medical benefits. The company is also committed to supporting American flower farmers whenever possible, even if it costs more. And that burlap wrap you see everywhere these days? They did it first, using coffee bean sacks. Mother's Day options include "design it yourself" floral arrangements as well as handmade ceramic vases, succulents, plus add-ons including artisan chocolates and candles.

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The Bouqs for Mother's Day

The Bouqs

The Bouqs

The Bouqs has built relationships with sustainable flower farms and florists in Ecuador, Columbia and the United States, helping farmers grow their businesses and eliminating overall waste while they're at it. While many floral services toss one out of every three stems, The Bouqs cuts only the stems it sells. Delivery is $12 nationwide, or free on orders of $100 or more. Check out its Mother's Day collections here.

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Petal by Pedal

If you're lucky enough to live in New York, Petal by Pedal can send your mom the loveliest, seasonal, locally-grown in Upstate New York flowers. They'll even be delivered by a charming bicycle cart, and each bouquet is accompanied by a typewritten love letter. The company is Green America certified and a member of the American Sustainable Business Council. Check out its delivery zones for online ordering.

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Roseshire Mother's Day offering

Roseshire

Roseshire

Roseshire's blooms are above and beyond, quality-wise, any you've likely experienced. But they don't sacrifice sustainability for the sake of perfect roses. The company works with sustainable Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, and boxes are made from recycled material and printed at a solar-powered manufacturer. Founder and CEO Nasim Pakmanesh tells me the 4 dozen box currently includes a small piece of foam that will be eliminated within the next month or so.

To keep each rose looking perfect, Roseshire attaches hydration tubes to each and every stem, which might raise the hackles of environmentalists. But the tubes are recyclable, and the company is working on a way to make the system even more earth-friendly. Check out the brand's Mother's Day preorder options.

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Urban Stems Mother's Day

Urban Stems

Urban Stems

This Washington-based company also works with Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and partners with as many Veriflora vendors as possible. Urban Stems' standout offerings for Mother's Day are the gorgeous ceramic vases included with some of its arrangements. You can also add on goodies including Jo Malone perfume, Sugarfina sweets and Skeem Design candles.

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1800flowers fair trade collection

1800flowers.com

1800Flowers.com Fair Trade

This old-school flower outlet has a "fair trade" section that works with socially- and environmentally-responsible farms. The title is slightly misleading—every product here is not necessarily Fair Trade certified, but has achieved at least one industry certification which might include Fair Trade, Ascoflores, or Rainforest Alliance, among others. The Breezy Bouquet ($80, shown above) is a particularly gorgeous option.

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Slow Flowers founder Debra Prinzing

Debra Prinzing

Slow Flowers

If you still can't find a satisfactory eco-bouquet for mom, Slow Flowers is a directory that provides listings for local florists that may not ship across the country, but may be in your recipient's neighborhood. All of the companies in the Slow Flower directory are committed to using American- or Canadian- grown flowers. The site is curated by Debra Prinzing, a writer, speaker, outdoor living expert and advocate for American flower farming. Many of the florists here are wholesale sellers only, so be sure to check out the site's retail section.

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Kristen Philipkoski

Contributor

I write about the new luxury in fashion, design and lifestyle. I’ve written for Racked, Refinery 29, 7x7, SF Chronicle, Wired and Gizmodo. I blog about California style,...

Download full Clean Energy is Calling 2020 report here.

The telecom sector uses enormous amounts of energy each year: enough electricity to power all the households in New York City. The four largest companies – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – collectively use more than 30 million MWh of electric power each year.

This energy powers wireless access networks, data centers, towers and other infrastructure allowing cell phone users to access data and connect nationwide. Until recently, the vast majority of this sector was powered on fossil fuel energy - but this is starting to change.

Since Green America launched Hang Up on Fossil Fuels in 2017, thousands of individuals have reached out to telecom companies through petitions, social media, calls, and letters urging commitments to 100% clean energy. We've seen a lot of movement since then, and this report lays out the past year's progress and how much more work there is to do.

Based on publicly available data and information provided directly to Green America by companies, we graded each of the companies on actual progress on increasing clean energy and their commitments to adopt clean energy. 

KEY REPORT FINDINGS

Clean Energy in Telecoms 

T-Mobile’s commitment to reach 100% renewable energy by 2021 remains the most ambitious goal in the sector. In 2020, T-Mobile reached 95% renewables and completed its merger with Sprint. T-Mobile is preparing an updated timeline for its newly expanded network to reach 100% renewables.

In 2019, prior to merging with T-Mobile, Sprint announced its first clean energy project which the company stated would provide roughly 30% of its energy use. In November of 2019, Sprint announced a commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2025.

AT&T has purchased more than 1.5 gigawatts of clean energy since 2018, which we estimate equals approximately 25-30% of its total energy. It currently does not have a target or timeline for renewable energy.

Verizon recently announced a purchase agreement for 130 MW of capacity as the first move to meet its goal for 50% renewables by 2025, but it remains far from meeting this target. We estimate that Verizon's new wind project will provide 3-5% of its total energy use.

Energy Intensity and Usage

AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint have all lowered their energy intensity (increased efficiency) over the past decade. As a result, AT&T and Verizon have kept their energy use and emissions relatively constant, however, in 2018 AT&T reduced its total energy use and reduced its emissions.

T-Mobile is the only company to see an increase in energy usage over the past decade. In comparing the four companies regarding their energy intensity in relation to revenues or customers, AT&T and Verizon use far more energy per customer than Sprint or T-Mobile.

Overall Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

T-Mobile has committed to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions 95% from a 2016 baseline year by 2025. In 2019, Sprint set a goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2025. AT&T continues to see progress on its goals to reduce its Scope 1 emissions by 20% and has exceeded its goal to reduce Scope 2 emissions by 60%. Verizon has committed to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions 100% by 2035 from a 2018 baseline year.

In this report we track both Scope 1 emissions (from sources that are owned or controlled by the organization) and Scope 2 emissions (from the consumption of purchased energy). In the telecom sector, Scope 2 emissions are much greater per company than Scope 1 since most of the energy used is purchased electricity, which is why the rapid transition to renewables is so important.

COVID-19 Impacts

As communities take the necessary precautions to avoid spreading COVID-19, we’ve relied more than ever on networks to stay connected while physically distancing. AT&T has reported a 26% increase throughout its core network (business, home broadband, and wireless data). Voice calling has been up between 50-90% since regions began stay-at-home orders. The use of Wi-Fi calling minutes has been up more than 100% since late March. T-Mobile and Sprint both report significant increases in usage as well.

This increased traffic is likely to result in an uptick in energy consumption. As the growth in data traffic is observed to outweigh gains of energy efficiency, and as many workers in the US will continue to work from home after the COVID-19 crisis is over, it is all the more crucial that this sector builds on recent progress and commits to reach 100 percent renewable energy. 

Social Justice in Clean Energy 

Shifting from fossil fuels to renewables is a key component to advancing environmental justice. Fossil fuel extraction, combustion, and waste disproportionately impact communities of color. Impacts from fossil fuel plants are suspected contributing factors to higher mortality rates in these communities as they are more exposed to pollution and witness significant health impacts.

In the transition to renewables, it is also essential to ensure that jobs in wind and solar benefit impacted and under-served communities. And when solar and wind facilities are built in or near vulnerable communities, those communities must have key roles in the process and obtain benefits from the installations.

Transitioning away from fossil fuels in a sustainable way means ensuring renewable energy firms have responsible labor practices, support all communities, and are advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout their companies.

Solar employs the most people of any electric power generation sector with nearly 250,000 employees, despite most electricity still coming from natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. This demonstrates the incredible potential for job creation as we continue to shift from fossil fuels to clean energy. But unionization in the electric power generating sector is just 4-6% in the solar and wind sectors.

Regarding diversity in the sector, women reportedly make up less of the solar and wind workforces versus the overall workforce average. Latino and Asian employees are more represented in solar and wind power than in the larger workforce. African American employees are underrepresented in both solar and wind power. It is clear that much more work needs to be done to diversify the fast-growing renewable energy sector.

The major telecom companies all state commitments to working with diverse firms, including those that are minority owned, women owned, LGBT owned, veteran owned, disability owned, and SBA-defined small and disadvantaged businesses. But the companies do not indicate a preference for unionized labor or for women and minority employees in their contracts for renewable energy. For more information on employee diversity in the clean energy section and details on each telecom, please see page 9 in our report.

TAKE ACTION

The telecommunications industry can make great strides in reducing fossil fuel use, which requires the major companies achieving clean energy goals in a responsible timeline. Clean energy options are increasing every year, in large part to satisfy the demands set by major corporations, states, municipalities, and other institutional purchasers. It's time for telecoms to #cleanupwireless by reaching 100% renewables by 2025.
 

Tell Verizon and AT&T to commit to 100% clean energy

Previous versions of our Clean Energy is Calling report can be found here: V1, 2018 and V2, 2019. 

Forget aesthetics: Lawns can raise food, restore habitats, and even store carbon

If Americans want to reduce their environmental footprints, one of the first steps may be reexamining what’s in their backyards. The lawn-industrial complex, and our country’s obsession over manicured carpets of green, has birthed a turf grass behemoth.

Lawns cover roughly 2 percent of the land area in the continental United States, or three times the area of the nation’s second largest irrigated crop, corn. Even in cities, lawns are by far the largest contributor to overall green space. A recent boom in exurban development on the fringes of metro areas suggests that this mass of grass will only increase.

They’re a perfect metaphor for so much about American culture and our relationship to the environment in an age of climate change. Beginning in the ‘50s, the spread of sprawl and suburbia led U.S. homeowners, and the corporations that profited from the sale of seeds, chemicals, and tools, to create a homegrown spin on the French concept of tapis vert, or “green carpet.” A decade ago, a study found that of the 116 million American households, only about 25 percent didn’t take care of some form of yard or lawn. Landscaping alone is nearly a $100 billion annual industry.

For the most part, the vast monoculture of perfectly mowed front yards, the biggest stretch of the American landscape under the control of average citizens, isn’t going anywhere soon. But slowly, and in relatively small ways, that’s starting to change.

Sparked by the recent droughts in states such as California, the idea of the lawn as a space for preservation and responsible stewardship has taken root out West, fueling nationwide trends towards native plantings, drought-tolerant landscaping, and even raising more crops as a path to reducing emissions.

According to Paul Robbins, a professor at the University of Madison and author of Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are, there are signs, albeit small, of a significant shift. Americans still judge one another by their lawns, “ascribing the moral failings of outside the house with what happens inside the house.” But environmental values are starting to become part of the calculus.

“Shame used to be leveled against people who didn’t take care of their lawns enough,” he says. “Now, what’s happening is that has become inverted, at least in some places. If you take too good care of your lawn, you’re wasting water.”

Getty Images

The connection between the climate, and our homes

Our treatment of our lawns—dousing them with fertilizers, planting non-native species for aesthetics and ease of care, overusing water to keep these plants healthy regardless of the climate, and then trimming and shaping the trees and grass with equipment powered by pollution-spewing gas motors—says a lot about our stewardship of our environment.

But it can also say a lot about growing awareness, and the unrealized potential of collective action.

“We have more land in yards than in parks or other areas we tend to think of as green space and infrastructure,” says Dr. Carly Ziter, a professor at Concordia University who studies the carbon-capturing potential of lawns. “Even though you may think of them as small, they really scale up when you talk about an entire city.”

Ziter’s work has revealed some of the surprising powers of our backyards. A study she conducted in Madison, Wisconsin, found that the typical American lawn can capture carbon better than the land found in an untouched ecosystem.

Soil in residential lawns can also store high amounts of carbon, and planting a certain percentage of native plants does make a difference in supporting biodiversity. Lawns can be an ally in fighting climate change, and, along with trees, can help cool cities and reduce the urban heat island effect.

Of course, using a gas-powered mower can mitigate or even offset that advantage. But this is what her, and a number of advocates, suggest could be the real power of our lawns: small plots of land that allow us to take some form of control in the fight against the seemingly unstoppable forward progress of climate change.

“As a citizen, I can make a difference,” she says. “I can manage it in a way that contributes to the ecological fabric of the city and the life of a city.”

The lawn-care industrial complex isn’t going anywhere

Of course, as if continuing to drive home its metaphorical power, even our great intentions about our lawns can obscure the reality of the overall environmental picture of the turf grass empire.

Statistics paint a relatively grim picture of our collective habits. The lawn care industry continues to grow. Analysts at Garden Research found U.S. gardeners spent a record $47.8 billion in lawn and garden retail purchases last year, roughly $503 per household (a figure that includes outdoor furniture purchases).

Environmental Protection Agency stats suggest that every year, Americans use 800 million gallons of gasoline caring for our lawns, and spill a further 17 million in the process (a spill, in terms of wasted gasoline, within the estimated range of the Exxon Valdez disaster). Artificial fertilizers use nitrous oxide that itself produces additional greenhouse gas, in addition to chemical run-off that seeps into groundwater. Speaking of water, the EPA also estimates the average U.S. household uses 320 gallons of water daily, a third of which is dedicated to landscape irrigation.

The lawn care industry quickly went from niche to industrial-scale over the last century. In the 1920s, the Scott company started selling grass seeds through the mail. After the post-war boom in (mostly white) homeownership, the industry truly became mass market. Even as more and more consumers make nods towards more sustainable lawns, they’re opening up niches and new business lines for succulents and drought-resistant, genetically modified grass strains.

It’s a profit model predicated on continued growth, says Robbins.

“I don’t see changes in that industry,” he says. “The lawn industry isn’t turning over a new leaf but, bless capitalism, seeking new opportunities to make money.”

LA Times via Getty Images

Backyard and back to the land

Where some see a lawn that needs ornamentation and new plants, others see a chance to change our relationship with our backyard agriculture into something, while not natural, at least more holistic.

“We can’t continue to go on like this,” says Fred Meyer of Backyard Abundance, an educational nonprofit that promotes gardens and healthy landscaping for food and self-sufficiency. “We can’t have turfgrass landscapes that don’t really help us, or help the rest of the planet.”

Meyer, who founded the group in Iowa in 2006, sees our backyards as a tool, as do many in the urban agriculture movement. Lawns can help feed us, as well as create habitat for butterflies, honey bees, and other creatures.

“Anybody who’s paying attention knows there are a lot more endangered species out there now than there were even just a few years ago,” he says. “Our landscapes can help solve that.”

It may seem like a fanciful suggestion, more virtue signaling than actual accomplishment. But, done at scale, there’s something to the idea of a lawn as a natural staging ground, a mission adopted by a nationwide alliance of volunteers, nonprofits, and government agencies. Some of the more successful initiatives have pushed the idea of gardens as yards as waystops in larger, green infrastructure systems.

A project in Toronto called the Homegrown National Park Project, launched by the David Suzuki Foundation in 2013, encourages Canadians to plant native plants throughout their city, in vacant lots, alleys, and balconies. The program even hired park rangers to help promote new planting. It’s since spawned a follow-up of sorts, the Butterflyway Project, that’s creating a network of native wildflower plantings across the nation.

Others back up Ziter’s point about the power of lawns to reduce emissions by growing more food. Jillian Semaan, food campaign director of the environmental group Green America says that our backyards can become beachheads in a larger regenerative agriculture movement, focused on raising crops without the use of herbicides or pesticides, and help increase self-sufficiency.

Green America has launched a Climate Victory Gardens campaign, echoing the WWII-era program, to promote the idea of growing your own food as an easy way to contribute to the fight against climate change.

Library of Congress

“During the original Victory Gardens campaign, the nation raised 8 million tons of food in 1944,” says Semaan. “We thought that would be a great idea, considering the climate crisis we’re in now, to bring back to victory garden concept for the planet.”

Both Meyers and Semaan’s organizations have raised awareness and encouraged action, and according to stats from Garden Research, one of the biggest growth areas in U.S. garden spending has been raised beds for vegetables.

But in terms of the global challenge of climate change, these grassroots efforts likely haven’t moved the needle substantially. Semaan said 1,300 people have signed up online to raise Climate Victory gardens. But it’s more about encouraging engagement that leads to larger collective action, Meyers says.

“Pretty much every environmental measurement is trending in the wrong direction,” he says. “What the backyard movement means is that we can make small differences in our own landscape. They teach us how to advocate for larger scale action in our neighborhood and city.”

A symbol of greater awareness

Can the way we treat our lawns really make a difference, or are they the straw-ban equivalent of action: easy and performative, but ultimately, not taking all the drastic steps necessary to solve the larger issue?

Robbins sees evidence that these lawn trends, and beliefs, are taking root, though to what impact remains to be seen. In Madison, Wisconsin, a university town and liberal bastion, restored native prairie landscapes can be found everywhere. But does a proliferation of wild landscaping signify a commitment to big changes, or dressing up ecological disaster with a nice native shrub?

“I think these things need to be treated with a lot of skepticism,” he says. “People like to perform a certain kind of citizenship. Now, some people simply perform it via something other than nicely maintained turf grass.”

Working with leaders in the agricultural finance arena, we are collecting and demonstrating the utility of combining multiple “Pay-for Performance” mechanisms, to find the funding sources needed to adequately pay farmers for adoption and maintenance of regenerative agricultural approaches that restore ecosystem functions, specifically GHG reductions, carbon sequestration, water quality enhancement, flood protection, drought and fire protection.

This initiative focuses on aggregating and forging creative collaboration of private and public financiers to create investment vehicles and models for farmer incentives that together create a “golden carrot” for farmers entering the program. Initial focus is on innovations to stave off the crisis faced by family dairy farmers in the North East.

Washington, D.C. - April 30, 2019 – Sprint is now in last place on Green America’s Wireless Scorecard For Use of Clean Energy after failing to meet its goal of 10% clean energy by 2017 or provide updated data. According to Green America’s updated “Clean Energy is Calling” report, T-Mobile is the clear leader with a 100% commitment to clean energy by 2021 and several contracts with wind farms already in place. AT&T, the biggest non-utility purchaser of wind power in the U.S. last year, is in second place with contracts in place to source 820 MW of energy from wind, but no announced clean energy target. Verizon, previously in last place, ranks third with a commitment to 100% clean energy by 2025, a $1 billion green bond to help finance clean energy adoption, but no new contracts in place to get the company to its goal. 

The report also highlights the challenges and opportunities of 5G networks. A possible benefit of 5G could be its potential to increase energy efficiency. But 5G also will increase the number of devices that can be connected from 1,000 devices to one million devices per square kilometer. The amount of infrastructure and energy needed to support such a large and fast network could be staggering, making the industry’s transition to clean energy more important than ever.

The telecom sector already uses enormous amounts of energy each year. The four largest companies – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – collectively use more than 3 million MWh of electric power each year.  AT&T and Verizon, the two leading U.S. companies in the industry, have a combined electricity usage that could power 2.6 million homes for a year. Green America estimates that if all commitments are met, approximately 40% of the four companies’ networks will be powered by clean energy.

“At a time when we are increasingly seeing the negative impacts of climate change, and when the federal government is failing to act, we need companies to step up their commitments to clean energy,” said Todd Larsen, executive co-director of Green America. “Consumers have made clear to the telecom sector that they expect their cell phone carriers to make 100% commitments to clean energy, and with the progress documented in this report, we can see that companies are starting to listen.”

Each of the companies is graded on current commitments and actual clean energy being used. This is based on publicly available data through the Carbon Disclosure Project and reflects 2017 energy use, except for Sprint, which has not released updated data and is measured by its 2016 numbers.

“Green America is excited with the progress we are seeing, but the ultimate goal is to reach 100% clean energy across these major telecom companies,” said Beth Porter, climate campaigns director at Green America. “The impacts of climate change are already being felt by communities worldwide. We need all sectors to rapidly cut emissions and shift to clean energy sources to address the climate crisis.”

Since 2017, Green America, the nation’s leading green organization working to solve environmental and social problems with economic solutions, has been urging telecoms to shift to clean energy through its “Hang Up on Fossil Fuels” campaign, with a specific focus on Verizon and AT&T, the nation’s two largest carriers. Thousands of consumers have signed petitions and contacted their network providers to demand the switch to clean energy.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Max Karlin for Green America, (703) 276-3255, or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com.

No piece of clothing is worth risking the future of our planet or someone’s health. We need to radically transform the way clothing is made and the way garment workers are treated, and end fast fashion.

Take action for sustainable clothing

Why Toxic Textiles?

The chemicals used to manufacture our clothing put garment workers’ health at risk, pollute communities and taint local resources, AND risk consumers’ health. Exposure to these chemicals can harm reproductive systems, cause cancer, damage the nervous systems, damage the liver, and more.

Clothing that is odor-wicking, anti-wrinkle, flame-resistant? Often made using toxic chemicals!

How Can You Help? 

When we first launched the Toxic Textiles campaign, we pushed Carter's, the largest US retailer of children’s clothing, to step up its chemical management and sustainability efforts. Thanks to Green Americans taking action with our campaign, Carter’s has

• launched a website on its environmental, social, and governance impacts
• disclosed a restricted substances list (RSL)
• issued a sustainability report
• announced it will adopt a manufacturing restricted substances list (MRSL)

Now, we are asking the largest clothing retailer in the US—Amazon—to end toxic textiles and respect workers’ rights!

Tell Amazon to end toxic textiles

If you’re alive and read the news, you’re probably worried sick about the amount of terrible climate change news that seems to come out every week. Things might seem bleak, but thankfully, there’s hope! That hope comes in the form of something that’s not expensive, tedious, or hard to enact. All you have to do is grow a garden. 

You’d be surprised how gardening is the solution that’s right under our nose. For a few months now,  especially after the latest IPCC report, I’ve been on edge about the state of the world. Would we ever do what we need to do to mitigate or even reverse climate change? I’ve developed a lot of ideas about what I feel news reporters, financiers, scientists, and the average layperson could do.  

That’s why I was so surprised and inspired when I saw Green America’s video with Ron Finley and Rosario Dawson about using regenerative agriculture to help combat climate change. One aspect I liked about it is the focus on a solution that can empower people and balance out negative coverage of the world’s problems, which can make people feel despondent, scared, sad, and at worst, force them into denial. I’d been wrestling with a lot of these feelings primarily because finding articles about common-sense and scientific solutions are few and far between. My theory is that it’s easier to sell the negative because, that’s what the news media has geared themselves towards in the past few decades. 

That’s the background for my story about gardening. Throughout my inner turmoil, about the state of the state of the planet, my parents were doing their best to calm me down. One thing both my mom and dad said, is that gardening is a great and easy solution for the planet. “I’ve probably knocked out all of our emissions just by making this garden,” my dad joked at one point, gesturing to the garden he was working in. 

My dad’s vegetable garden is something he utilizes to ease his stress from work and from the everyday issues of life. His garden includes various seasonal foodstuffs–tomatoes, peaches, bell peppers, chili peppers, and okra in the spring and summer, and collard greens, carrots, and surprisingly, lemons and oranges in the fall and winter. Along with his peach tree, he also works on his pear tree, apple tree, and his and my mom’s new addition--a fig tree. Now, my dad is planning on adding strawberries as well as other fruits and vegetables in his ongoing garden expansion project, which now includes an unused clearing in our backyard.  

My family has eaten the food from this garden for years now, and it’s just one of the many gardens my dad has made that we’ve eaten from, tended to, or enjoyed in some way. At almost every house we’ve lived at, my dad would make a garden. If it wasn’t tomatoes, it was flowers. If it wasn’t flowers, it was potatoes. If I wasn’t outside with my dad in his garden, I’d be in the house helping my mom water her many numerous indoors plants. For my entire life, I’ve been surrounded by plants in some way, shape or form. They’re almost like additional family members to me, so much so that I say “Sorry” to them if I accidentally bump into them at my parents’ house. I’ve even got designs to make my own garden, and I’ve started taking care of my first plant, an orchid. 

However, even though my entire life history has been tied up in plants, I didn’t realize how necessary gardens could be to changing the environment. In fact, I actively discounted my dad’s statement about the power of gardens. I was too ready to throw in the towel on climate change to hear exactly what he was saying. 

Imagine my surprise to stumble upon Green America when trying to, once again, find some solutions for climate change. I’d read about regenerative planting before, but I still wasn’t sure how big the widespread change a garden–or many gardens–could have. However, what I’ve read on Green America’s site has proved my dad absolutely right: Gardens can have the power to save the world. 

So long story short, if you’ve got the room to make a Climate Victory Garden for climate change, DO IT! Even if you’ve got a little windowbox garden of herbs, that’s better than nothing. Creating a garden is inexpensive and fun, and just think of the multiple boons you’ll receive from a garden: you’ll have a personal supply of fresh, pesticide-free food, support the plant and animal ecosystems around you, and you’ll have the feelings of happiness and joy from reconnecting with the earth. My dad and my family get tons of benefits from gardening, and I’m sure you will, too. 

About the author: Monique Jones is the founder/blogger for Just Add Color, a blog that covers issues of inclusivity in media and popular culture. Jones also writes for Shadow and Act, Mediaversity Reviews, SlashFilm, Comic Book Resources and SyFyWire. You can read all of her freelance articles at her MuckRack page. She can also be found on Rotten Tomatoes as a Rotten Tomatoes-certified critic.  

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Donations and sponsorship of local non-profit groups like Crossroads, SEEC, Real Food for Kids, Manna, Historic Takoma and many small schools and other groups

Ran winter coat drive for People of Color Collaborative 

Participation in local events including running Earth Day, Thursdays at the Co-op, Takoma Park Play Day, Street Festival

Store composts (Compost Cab), recycles, has only compostable plastic bags in produce and bulk, sells huge variety of bulk materials to reduce packaging, brings in products with thoughtful environmental packaging, runs educational events like Earth Day celebration and Fall Apple Tasting

We are currently working on being able to accept plastic bags for recycling.  Even though we don't use them for grocery bagging, many customers want to be able to bring them to their local grocery store

No piece of clothing is worth harming our planet or someone’s health. We need to radically transform the way clothing is made and the way garment workers are treated.

We're starting with Carter’s children's clothing, which is a leader in the industry, but a laggard in ending toxic textiles.

Children are more susceptible to the health impacts of harmful chemical exposure. When comparing exposure to body weight, children take in more water, food and air per pound than adults, so air pollution, tainted resources, and exposure to toxic chemicals can cause more problems for children than adults. And, some of the most commonly used dyes are known carcinogens.

You made Carter's improve. Now more consumer pressure is needed!

When we launched the Toxic Textiles campaign in 2019, Carter’s shared very little information about its sustainability efforts publicly. Since then Carter’s has taken a number of steps:

• launching an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) website
• disclosing a restricted substances list (RSL)
• releasing a sustainability report
• adopting a manufacturing restricted substances list

This progress is thanks to the over 30,000 individuals who have called on Carter’s to step it up, but there is still a lot of room for improvement!

Campaign Goals:

 Disclose Restricted Substances List (RSL)

 Issue a sustainability report

🚧 In Progress: Disclose a Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL)

 Phase out highly hazardous chemicals

Campaign Progress:

• Carter's issues 1st sustainability report!
• Carter's releases a Restricted Substances List and ESG website!
• Decoding a corporate response

By Kim Aman (aka Farmer Kim), a school garden educator in North Texas

I come from a long line of farmers. For several generations, my family farmed the rich soil in the Central Ohio countryside to feed their community and family. My grandfather was very influential in my early years and taught me about the land and the plants that grew there. He was a huge fan of composting lawn waste and food scraps and was "organic" and “regenerative” minded before they coined those terms. He paid me 5 cents for each weed that I would pull (roots and all), and I always looked forward to working in the yard alongside him. It was there, that I learned many of my first lessons in gardening.

When I grew up, I followed my heart and love of children into the profession of teaching. As a teacher, I constantly looked for opportunities to connect learning objectives with the natural world and take my students outside. As luck would have it, when a group of parents wanted to start a school garden, they invited me to join in the committee work. When our program began to grow, I was able to retire from classroom life and work full time in the dirt. It dawned on me that this was my true passion, combining my love of teaching with the garden.

Moss Haven Farm is a non-profit on the campus of Moss Haven Elementary in Dallas, Texas. Our program has grown to include 25 raised beds, a large farm field where our 500 students grow and harvest food for the North Texas Food Bank, a chicken coop, compost area, native plant area, and a pocket prairie. All K-6 students receive weekly grade-level garden curriculum on our urban farm. Students use organic farming and gardening practices, which complement and inform their learning about ecology and biology in the classroom. These lessons encourage and foster understanding of living systems that we hope they will carry into the future and off the field.

Gardening in the south gives us year-round opportunities to grow food, so our soil is always covered with crops, a major tenet of regenerative agriculture and Climate Victory Gardening. In January, we grow cool season food like garlic, onion, swiss chard, kale, turnips, beets, and carrots. In February, we plant potatoes. In mid-March, after the threat of a freeze, we put our tomatoes in the ground, and as we head into spring, okra, peppers, squash, eggplant, and field peas go in. Our students come alive on the farm, and it’s so fun to see them associating healthy food with the outdoors and the care it takes to nurture the plants

Just like in the days of my grandfather, many hands make light work. We have a Garden Team, who helps with funding, events, social media, and digging on workdays. Connecting with other organizations has helped with the sustainability of our program too. Our partners include Richardson ISD,  Slow Food USA, American Heart Association, USDA, Dallas County Master Gardeners, North Texas Food Bank, Grow North Texas, and Bonnie Plants, as well as local service organizations and our community. Not only are these partnerships helpful, they’re a necessity for supporting our efforts to teach students, grow healthy food, and sequester carbon in our soils.  

This year we are entering our 8th year at Moss Haven Farm. Our program has made an impact on everyone involved, from the little preschool groups who visit, to our students, staff, and parents. Through this experience, I have become involved in the local food system, working with the Farmers Market Friends, Slow Food DFW, and Grow North Texas. Slow Food USA has given me opportunities to represent the United States as an ambassador and learn from others around the world. Most recently, I was named Slow Food USA School Garden Co-Chair and work on policy, procedures, curriculum, and mentoring throughout the United States, pushing my reach and impact much farther than our school garden. It’s my goal to advocate for and teach the next generation about regenerative farming and gardening practices, so they can continue to grow food and inspire others, like my grandfather did.

School garden programs take an enormous amount of work and the average school garden in America only lasts about two years. Many factors play into this. It is relatively easy to get a garden up and growing, but maintenance is tricky. Teachers, who are the busiest people on the planet, do not have time to commit to keeping a garden alive but are an important piece of the program, since they are experts at curriculum and connecting it to the garden. We have found that a team effort is critical to keeping a garden program alive and well. If someone moves or is unavailable, there are several other team members who can lend a hand. Connecting a community this way, also builds buy-in and a support system that can lead a program to sustainability. This is all important because it increases the number of people involved in the stewardship and fostering of living, regenerative systems in their own backyards. 

Changing the food system and improving the environment is a passion of mine, and I truly believe that educating the little ones is the way that we can change our broken systems to become more regenerative and resilient. Change happens in the garden, where children can physically experience the lessons we’re trying to teach and the values we’re encouraging. Hard work and fun combine here to inspire. I am a believer in all of the Climate Victory Garden commitments and practices of regenerative agriculture. I work each day to teach and inspire my students to follow along, care for the earth, and each other. 

You can find Kim at:

FarmerKimAman@gmail.com

https://www.mosshavenfarm.org

https://www.facebook.com/MossHavenFarm/

https://www.instagram.com/thefarmerkim/

https://www.instagram.com/mosshavenfarm/