A Future in Solar Jobs

A recent New York Times article discusses how, in the midst of a recession, the solar energy sector seems to be on the upswing.

The Solar Energy Industries Association, based in Washington, D.C., says there was a 45 percent increase in installed energy systems between 2006 and 2007. More than 3,400 companies are in the solar energy sector, employing about 25,000 to 35,000 workers. The jobs include manufacturers, distributors, installers, suppliers and project developers.

Solar workers install solar panels that convert the sun's rays into electricity that helps run things like a building's appliances and lights. The surplus electricity can be stored in batteries for later use. When the batteries are full, the surplus electricity can then be exported back to the electrical grid to offset costs from the utility company. Solar workers also install thermal collectors, which convert the sun's rays into heat, which is used to heat and cool different parts of a building.

The Times quoted a spokeswoman for the organization, who said that they estimate the sector will grow to more than 110,000 direct solar jobs by 2016.

In a time when many people are losing their office jobs, it will be interesting to see if the rise of green jobs would ever have more people working over the roof than under it.

Public-Private Partnerships in Environmental Philanthropy

Yesterday I attended a program hosted at the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers on the topic of how environmental philanthropy can benefit from public-private partnerships. Key speakers included Rohit T. Aggarwala, Director of New York City's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability, Michael Northrop, Director of the Sustainable Development grantmaking program at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Sam Marks, manager of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation's community development grants budget.

An interesting point that everyone in the room seemed to agree upon is the need for partnerships between local, state decision-makers and those at the federal level. The program speakers stressed that the idea of partnership is key because it is practical and effective. Some of the organizations working on this is the Georgetown Climate Center, Center for Climate Strategies, Climate Communities and ICLEI. There are a lot that mayors and governors can do to promote environmental policies, and it would be most helpful if their work could influence Washington, D.C.

Some of the key New York City efforts to address climate change include the University Challenge, the greening of Broadway, and the million trees project. Mr. Aggarwala also mentioned that the city is looking into greening hospitals and black cars, establishing a green codes task force and a lighting program that would provide an energy efficiency training and support system for light workers.

There are a lot of ways that local decision-makers can make their cities and states more environmentally conscious. I think that federal leaders will need to increasingly turn their gaze downwards to see how these local initiatives can take a step towards national policies.

The great part about programs like this is that it draws in people from different sides of the equation to learn from one another and to engage in a productive dialogue.

2008: A Dangerous Year for Online Journalists

As 2008 draws to a close, Committee to Protect Journalists reflected on the rising influence of online reporting and commentary. This year, more Internet journalists are jailed worldwide today, than journalists working in any other medium. CPJ found that 45% of all media workers jailed worldwide are bloggers, web-based reporters, or online editors. These online journalists represent the largest professional category for the first time in CPJ’s prison census.

CPJ's 2008 census found 125 journalists in all behind bars on December 1. This represents a decrease of two from the 2007 tally. (Read detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist.) Perhaps not surprisingly, China continued to be world's worst jailer of journalists, for the 10th straight year.

Of the 125 journalists behind bars, at least 56 of them are considered “online” journalists. Nowhere is the ascendance of Internet journalism more evident than in China, where 24 of 28 jailed journalists worked online. "Online journalism has changed the media landscape and the way we communicate with each other," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "But the power and influence of this new generation of online journalists has captured the attention of repressive governments around the world, and they have accelerated their counterattack." By way of comparison to the amount of online journalists behind bars, print reporters, editors, and photographers make up the next largest professional category, with 53 cases.

It’s hardly surprising that in our increasingly technological world, that journalists are targeted for their reporting. What is surprising however, is the rate at which it’s happening. Hopefully continued efforts by organizations such as CPJ will lead to more awareness about the problem, and solutions to help curb attacks against journalists. Because journalist should be imprisoned for just doing their job.

Network Neutrality Ebbing?

According to this article in today’s Wall Street Journal “the celebrated openness of the Internet – network providers are not supposed to give preferential treatment to any traffic – is quietly losing powerful defenders”. Really? But millions of Americans have taken a stand in support of Network Neutrality, and Barack Obama has even pledged to “take a back seat to no one” in his commitment to Net Neutrality. Check out what Obama had to say in his own words about Net Neutrality here. Even major senate democratic political figures have announced their support for network neutrality.

So what gives with the Wall Street Journal article? Tim Karr, of Free Press’ Save The Internet Campaign was quick to respond via a posting and call to action called Net Neutrality in the Front Seat. He says essentially, that the article paints support for Net Neutrality as ebbing, by confusing a Google plan to utilize “edge caching” technology as a fundamental violation of Net Neutrality by one of its biggest corporate supporters. But ultimately, network neutrality is a “public mandate” and that we are actually much closer now than ever before to securing network neutrality. He also points out that there has been no evidence of Obama “softening” his position on network neutrality. Whew!

Environmental Health Update

So you know how we've all been told that pregnant women and children should limit their consumption of fish toward the top of the food chain, like swordfish and tuna, due to high mercury levels?

Well, you may soon forget it.

This past week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will urge the government to amend its advisory that women and children should limit how much fish they eat. According to the FDA, the benefits of eating seafood outweigh the health risks and most people should eat more fish, even if it contains mercury.

Mercury is known to damage the neurological development of fetuses and infants. Recent studies suggest that mercury may also pose risks to adults, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The report argues, however, that nutrients in fish could boost a child's IQ by three points and that the greatest benefits would come from eating more than 12 ounces of fish per week, which is the current limit advised for vulnerable populations.
If approved by the White House, the government would take away its policy that certain population groups can be harmed by the mercury in fish and should limit their consumption.

According to an article in the Washington Post, scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency are criticizing the new recommendations. The Environmental Working Group is also working to fight against the FDA's announcement.

Before everyone makes the switch to a diet based entirely on sushi, I'd seriously reconsider the FDA's findings. I mean, doesn't it seem odd to take such a huge step backwards?

The GiveList

Feeling a little blue this holiday season when looking at all the people on your gift list? There’s no denying that times are tight given the economy. But that doesn’t mean you should have to give up on the holiday spirit! Well enter The GiveList, the new brain-child of Allison Fine and Marnie Webb, which will give you lots of ideas and inspiration for ways to contribute this holiday season without have to spend money or buy anything (or at least a little bit less than usual).

Here are 71 ways to give without opening your wallet. You can even vote for your favorite ideas. There are some really great and creative ideas out there. It’s good to see that there are small things you can do that don’t cost money but can still have a big impact on people’s lives. The New York Times blogged about the GiveList yesterday here and it clearly resonated with many readers as they left their insightful comments.

So what’s your idea to give this holiday season without opening your wallet? Share your ideas on del.icio.us, via twitter, or even in your own blog post. Just make sure to tag it GiveList and you can share your idea with the world.

Breakthrough

Planning on going to the movies during the Holiday Season? Make sure to check out Breakthrough’s animation, “Don’t Deport Me, Scotty”. Until January 1, 2009, the animation will be screened before every film playing at the Angelika Theatre in NYC and the Laemmle Theatres in California.

In this two and a half minute animation, which has already been viewed by thousands on YouTube, a permanent member of a popular space crew finds his status is in question…In any galaxy, when we deny due process and human rights to some, we put all of our freedoms at risk!

Breakthrough is also holding a special Human Rights Day Screening of "The Visitor" . They partnered with Sojourners, Participant Media and Active Voice, for a screening tonight of the runaway hit, "The Visitor." In the film, an American college professor and a young immigrant couple grapple with treatment of immigrants and the legal process post-9/11. After the screening, you can stay for a panel discussion with reps from the ACLU, Human Rights First and NYU Bellevue Center for Survivors of Torture. Following the panel, there will be a reception at the same location (the screening, panel discussion and the reception will all be held at The International Hotel located at 500 Riverside Drive at 122nd Street). There is a $20 fee for the reception only – the film screening and panel are free. If you want to attend you can RSVP to sojourners@theriversidechurchny.org.

WITNESS Human Rights

In honor of tomorrow’s 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, WITNESS put together a short video with different WITNESS staff talking about what images opened their eyes to human rights abuses around the world. The video talks about images from its archive that have made them acutely aware of a specific human rights issue. It’s a real conversation starter video that poses the question to the viewer as well "What image opened your eyes to human rights?" WITNESS will host the conversation on their Hub but they will seed it all over the Internet as well on places like their YouTube channel, Facebook, blog aggregators like Global Voices Online, and Change.org.

But what’s the best thing about WITNESS new video? It allows you to be part of the conversation of course! If you are a member and want to make your own video, you can upload it to their site by clicking here. Make sure to tag your video “UDHR60”. If you aren’t a member, you can join. If you can’t respond with a video, you can comment on any of the videos here. Based on the comments that people have already left, you can see that people are answering that in many different ways. Some are describing photographs or news footage, others are describing images that newspaper articles conjured up for them. Also, if you have an account on YouTube, you can upload your video as a response to their video. By uploading a video response, all of the UDHR 60 videos will be viewable in the same place and help attract more people to the conversation.

So what are you waiting for, answer the question, what image opened your eyes to human rights?

Hard Economic Times Making it Harder to Recycle

The economic downturn is affecting many parts of our lives, including our ability to recycle. According to a New York Times article today, the market for recycled materials like cardboard, plastic, newspaper and metals has just about crashed. Material that would normally be turned into products like car parts, book covers and boxes for electronics is now ending up in junk yards due to a lack of buyers.

According to Official Board Markets, the West Coast, mixed paper is selling for $20 to $25 a ton, down from $105 in October. Additionally, recyclers in the article say that tin is worth about $5 a ton, down from $327 earlier this year.

Brian Sternberg, education and outreach coordinator for Sedona Recycles, is quoted in the article. He says that his organization has recently stopped taking certain types of cardboard, like cereal, rice and pasta boxes. With no market, and the organization's yard already packed fence to fence, there is no choice but to let these materials go to the landfill.

In New York City, the city is getting paid $10 a ton for paper, down from $50 or more before October. So far it has no plans to cease recycling. In Boston, prices are down to $5 a ton, and the city expects it will soon have to pay to unload its papers. The article says that city officials believe it would still be better to recycle than to pay $80 a ton to put it into a landfill.

The recycling slump has provoked people to question the motives behind recycling--no longer profitable, can a sense of civic duty keep it going? Jim Wilcox, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, summed this up perfectly in the article: "Before, you could be green by being greedy...Now you've really got to rely more on your notions of civic participation."

Illustrating the notion of civic duty, second graders at Ruthlawn Elementary School in South Charleston, West Virginia who are involved in recycling were alerted that the program may be discontinued. Instead of playing during recess, the children spent time writing letters to the governor and mayor and asking them to keep recycling. As a result, the city plans to start trucking the recyclables to Kentucky.

While the emissions created by transporting recyclables may lessen the impact of recycling, the dedication to recycling proves a point that should be noted. We've come so far when it comes to recycling, it would be a shame for us to let it slide now!

Green Gift Ideas

With the holidays upon us, stores and malls are filled with people trying to find the perfect gift. Thank goodness for online gift guides. And even more exciting are guides to green gifts--so we can find presents that benefit both the receiver and the environment!

TreeHugger's 2008 Gift Guide is great, with more than 100 green gift ideas in 12 different categories. You can find gifts for the foodie, fashion buff, pop culture fan, green geek, wee-hugger, animal lover, philanthropist, health nut, do-it-yourselfer, outdoors enthusiast and jet setter. The guide this year offers ideas for gifts that are both affordable and low-impact.

As an outdoors enthusiast, I checked out the list and found great gift ideas (hint-hint)!. Some highlights include a kinetic-powered headlamp, down sleeping bags made with recycled polyester shells, a workshop class to build your own sustainable surfboard, and a daypack made from recycled materials.

The New York Times has an article today on environmentally friendly gadget gifts. Suggestions include energy efficient TVs, smart power strips, an "ecobutton" that switches the computer to energy-saving mode and kinetic-powered gadgets.

Happy shopping!

Ethical Leaders of 2008

Ethical Corporation magazine named its 10 Ethical Leaders of 2008 yesterday. Those honored include Barack Obama, Bill Gates and John Ruggie, UN special representative for business and human rights.

Another individual given the top honors is Chris Wille, director of sustainable agriculture for the Rainforest Alliance. Wille has been with the Rainforest Alliance since 1987, and was chosen for his work to bring ethical food and drink into the mainstream market. Under Wille's leadership, over 34,000 farms in 22 countries have adopted sustainable practices and have become Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Farmers in the program use practices that protect the environment and the welfare of the workers. Wille has helped sustainable farms supply such large companies as Chiquita, Unilever, Kraft and McDonald's. As the global tea market leader, Unilever worked with the Rainforest Alliance this past year to certify its tea plantations in Kenya.

In a press release, Wille says: "It's a huge honor to be recognized by Ethical Corporation magazine and included among such prominent figures."

"The entire Rainforest Alliance staff deserves this recognition of our achievements in sustainability. Without a cohesive effort from farm to market, our steady transformation of land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior would not have been possible."

After working for over 20 years in conservation in Central America and finally seeing a trend towards marketable sustainability practices, Wille's next challenge is to find a way to reward farmers for the environmental services they provide, such as sequestering carbon and conserving watersheds. Congratulations Chris!

The 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights

Next Wednesday, December 10th, marks the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. For many of today’s Americans, “the right to life, liberty and security of person,” or “the right to freedom of peaceful assembly” may seem obvious, expected, and even inherent. However, these two rights, along with 28 other rights, were not codified and made a part of international law until the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated sixty years ago.

As it happens, few individuals know the full timeline of events that assembled these seemingly natural truths into the realities that they are now. Even more disturbing, many still suffer from basic inequalities that the UDHR condemns. Next Wednesday's marking of the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights is a momentous occasion that not only humbles and reminds us all of this document’s “promise to humanity,” but also salutes those that fought against injustice and those that continue to “recognize, promote, and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms” both here in the United States and around the world.

This upcoming anniversary is very much on the radar of several of the Foundation’s grantees. The following is an events calendar leading up to and coinciding with the anniversary to show the many ways our grantees are planning to get involved during this 60th anniversary. A special thanks to Sarah Kelly, Overbrook's fall intern for gathering this list for us.

Advocates for Youth
20TH Anniversary Conference: Rights, Respect, Responsibility: A New Paradigm for Healthy Adolescent Sexuality
December 2 through 4, 2001
Wyndham Washington Hotel in Washington, DC
For More Information about the Conference or a Registration Brochure Visit
http://www.rightsrespectresponsibility.org/ or http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/ or E-mail Advocates for Youth at conf@advocatesforyouth.org

Amnesty International
1. UDHR Celebration
Monday, Nov 24 at 6:30pm
The New York Society for Ethical Culture at 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY
Please RSVP to Jack Phillips at (212) 633 4174 or JPhillips@aiusa.org before Nov 19th
2. Amnesty International's Small Places Tour Global Music and Human Rights Project
Visit http://www.smallplacestour.info/site/

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center
1. Blog about the UDHR at www.gaycenter.org/advocacy
2. NYCHRI's UDHR 60 Campaign and NYCHRI Human Rights Breakfast
December 10th
3. Public Policy Community Education Forum
December 2, 2008 6-9 PM at the Center, entitled, A New Administration: Moving a Progressive LGBT Agenda Forward
4. Chew On This! December will take place at the Center on Human Rights Day and will focus on Making Another World Possible: LGBT People and Neoliberalism. *Note this event is open only to Center staff and interns
5. Human Rights 101 training at the Center's youth program, Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.'s) upcoming "Breaking Walls, Building Bridges: Gender & Justice" conference
Saturday, December 6 from 10AM - 6PM at the Center
Visit www.gaycenter.org/YES


Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program
Advocacy Campaign to raise awareness of U.S. obligations and shortcomings under the UDHR and human rights law
Create a short video about UDHR and win a trip to NYC: The Prize: One (1) winner will receive roundtrip airfare and lodging in New York City** to attend the December 10th, 2008 session of the United Nations General Assembly to participate in celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! In addition, the winner's winning entry will be entered onto a feed on the ACLU's YouTube page and the UDHR 60 website!
For more information and details about the contest visit http://www.udhr60.org/udhr_vid.html

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
Participation in the 16 Days of Activism
November 25-December 10, 2008
The 16 Days of Activism is an international campaign spearheaded by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and designed to draw attention to the fact that violence against women is a human rights violation
Information is available at http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html

The Opportunity Agenda
The Opportunity Agenda is engaged in a media campaign around the 60th Anniversary and Human Rights Day although is not date-specific. They will report back on the success of their campaign shortly after December 10th.

Urban Justice Center
Urban Justice Center along with The New York City Human Rights Initiative invites you to “At Breakfast with Human Rights”. Please join them in celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the end of the 60-day Human Rights Campaign.
December 10th, 2008, 9:00-10:30am at the Puck Building – 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor. Please RSVP at tbejar@urbanjustice

Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program
Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa Program
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Suite 336
Washington, DC 20001
Urban Justice Center fellows will be attending two hearings at the U.S. Supreme Court: AT&T Corp v. Hulteen (involving the Pregnancy Discrimination Act under Title VII and gender-based employment discrimination) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal (involving discrimination suits against high-level officials)

World Aids Day

Coinciding with the international marking of World Aids Day, Funders Concerned About AIDS recently eleased a new report titled “US Philanthropic Support To Address HIV/AIDS in 2007”. The report can be read in its entirety here. This year for the first time ever, this yearly report was released in concert with the European HIV/AIDS Funders Group.

Here are a few key highlights from the report:

- In 2007 disbursements from U.S.-based philanthropies increased 10% over 2006. The majority of the 2007 disbursements (80%, or $446 million) were devoted to the international epidemic.

- An increased share of U.S.-based funders provided funding exclusively to address the domestic epidemic in 2007 (45% compared to 35% in 2006). As in previous years, the Northeast Region of the U.S. received a considerable share of all U.S. domestic funding (44%)

- New for 2007, organizations were asked to identify the top population groups that receive the greatest benefit from their domestic and international funding. People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) were identified most frequently as chief beneficiaries of both domestic and international philanthropy by both U.S.-and Europe-based funders. And For U.S.-based funders, those with an international focus also identified the following groups, in rank order, as chief beneficiaries of their funding: women, youth, and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). For domestic funding, other groups identified were African-Americans, women, youth, Latinos, and gay men and men who have sex with men.

This report speaks to the increased philanthropic efforts in the U.S in the issues of HIV/AIDS. Let’s hope that support continues in the years to come.

Catalog Choice

I moved into a new apartment earlier this week and have been eagerly checking my mailbox for my first piece of mail. Well, I got it yesterday, and sadly it was a Victoria’s Secret Catalog. It reminded me that one of the things I need to do is to update my address profile on Catalog Choice so those pesky catalogs don’t find themselves back into my mailbox. There are now over 1,061,000 people on Catalog Choice! Check out what the postal regulatory Vice Chairman Nancy Langley had to say about Catalog Choice here.

So as you head home for Thanksgiving, make sure you remind all your friends and family about signing up for Catalog Choice. And while you’re reducing your catalogs, make sure to also head over to Forest Ethics’ Do Not Mail Campaign. You can their petition to reduce your junk mail, because you’re probably one of the 89% of Americans who support a national Do Not Mail Registry.

2nd Meeting of the NYC Public Policy Communicators Group

Last month I attended the first meeting of the New York City Public Policy Communicators Group. I blogged about it here. Well the event was a great success and they’ve just scheduled their second meeting for Friday, December 12th. The topic, which was chosen via a survey distributed to the participants at the first meeting, will be the most effective methods and best experiences in reaching high profile columnists or editorial boards. Other topics that were ranked high in the survey of participants were the best practices in online communications, how to use social networking to advance your issues, and measuring the effectiveness of your communication efforts. I hope we get to explore some of these topics in future meetings.

If you want to attend, you can RSVP to shasan@publicagenda.org. The meeting will be held at the New York Times Building, 620 Eighth Avenue (between 40th and 41st street), at the offices of Covington and Burling.

And lastly - the group is looking for a new name. Any suggestions out there?

A Green Economy

Everyday we hear about more people losing their jobs, but we haven't heard much about what they're supposed to do or where they should turn. In a hopeful outlook, Forbes.com, among many others such as Van Jones of Green for All, predicts that the future of the U.S. economy is looking quite green.

According to a new report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Global Insight, an economic research firm, the green economy could soon become the nation's fastest-growing job segment, as it has already added more than 750,000 jobs in 2006 and is set to add millions more in the next few decades. The report predicts that green jobs will account for about 10% of new jobs over the next 20 years and that by 2038, renewable electricity production will create 1.23 million jobs; alternative transportation fuels, 1.5 million jobs; engineering, legal, research and consulting positions will be more than 1.4 million; and commercial and residential retrofits at 81,000 jobs. In total, there could be 4.2 million jobs generated in the near future.

So where to find these jobs? Forbes.com predicts that people will be able to find a wealth of green jobs in Houston, Washington, D.C. and Boston. Not to be forgotten, California holds three of the nation's 10 largest green jobs markets: San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. And guess which city will have the nation's largest green jobs market? New York. In 2006, the city generated more than 25,000 green jobs. By 2038, New York's new economy could create about 200,000 jobs.

With new, green jobs on the horizon, I think it is important to prepare the new workforce by educating people on the skills needed to attain these jobs. I hope that as the environment and the green economy become increasingly significant, so will education.

The Progressive Women's Voices Program

An Overbrook Foundation grantee, The Women’s Media Center, is now accepting applications for its 2009 Progressive Women’s Voices Classes. The Progressive Women’s Voices Program is an effort to “change the conversation” by making sure that there are plenty of qualified, authoritative, progressive women experts available to editors, reporters, producers, and bookers.

In the first year of the program, WMC intensively media trained 33 women who have gone on to earn over 1000 media hits year to date. Its inaugural class was a stellar group, with experts in foreign policy, reproductive rights, environmental issues, racial justice, voting rights, the history of feminism, immigrant communities, outsider cultures, national security, and many more areas of expertise.

It’s great to see that they have had success with their first training. In 2008, the Progressive Women’s Voices women wrote Op Eds in the Washington Post and The New York Times, features for Elle and New York magazine, were quoted in USA Today, Forbes, Variety, Mother Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Slate, Salon, The New Republic, the Los Angeles Times, on the Associated Press and Reuters wires, appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, CBS Nightly News, Fox News, ABC News, CNBC, The Tyra Banks Show, PBS’s “To The Contrary,” Bill Moyers, on numerous NPR shows, and in hundreds of other significant media outlets.

So think you know of a woman whose voices should be heard in the media? WMC has three classes scheduled for the year, the first one in New York on February 6th-7th. Applications for the first class will be open until December 15th. Check out their website for complete program details.

Reactions to a Plastic Bag

I'd like to post a follow-up to Nikki's post last week on plastic bags, since The New York Times web site attracted hundreds of comments regarding the proposed 6-cent fee on each bag. Earlier this month, Mayor Bloomberg announced that he would seek a 6-cent fee on each plastic bag to raise as much as $16 million a year for the city and to help New Yorkers become a little greener. His well-intended effort, however, has been met with much pushback.

According to an article in The Times, while many welcome the change, there are those who disagree, citing the usefulness of plastic bags to clean up after pets or to hold other trash. Others cite the inconvenience of carrying a cloth bag around in a city where most people walk or take public transportation to the grocery store. Many grocers and retailers also oppose the tax, fearing that more people will demand paper bags, which is more expensive (and also kills trees).

In the article, the Food Industry Alliance of New York State said the city should provide incentive programs for stores, such as the nickel customers get back at some chains like Whole Foods if they use their own bags.

Several other European countries already impose hefty taxes--as much as 33 cents--on plastic bags. In the U.S., San Francisco has banned them from large grocery stores and pharmacies unless they are biodegradable. Ikea started phasing out plastic bags in March 2007 with a 5-cent surcharge per bag. Last month, the store eliminated all bags. By that point, however, more than 90% of its customers had switched to the big blue bags the store sells for 59 cents or used a Costco-like bagless option.

I agree that it is nearly impossible to completely eliminate the need for plastic bags, but I do think that a fee would provide incentive for people to cut back. All it takes is a little effort to change our habits--to fold up a cloth bag and put it in our pocket on the way to the grocery store. And with fashionable cloth totes becoming increasingly popular amongst designer labels, women can easily substitute one in for the daily purse.

The Case Foundation's Social Citizen Quiz

Ever wanted to know what kind of social citizen you are? Well, it’s possible you never even thought about it. But now thanks to the folks over at the Case Foundation you can find out in just eight quick and easy questions. The question in their new quiz include asking about your volunteer habits, to the ways in which you donate to favorite causes.

Click here to take the quiz! After you’re done you’ll get to tell them in 500 characters or less (which may seem like an eternity if you’re used to Twitter’s 140 character limit) how you could benefit from the tools that they are offering. You can win great prizes including a Flip video camera, a $100 Apple gift certificate and two hours of consulting time with a social media expert! So, what are you waiting for?

The First Eco-Friendly Billboard

Times Square, an iconic place known for its lights, signs and crowds, is now becoming a little more eco-friendly. According to an article in the New York Times, the first eco-friendly billboard will be placed 55 feet off the ground at northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street. The $3 million sign, powered entirely by solar and wind energy, will go dark in when there is no sun or wind after a few days since it does not have a backup generator.

But that's not stopping it.

The 126 feet wide and 47 feet high sign, powered by 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels, will begin to be constructed this month, just in time for a lighting ceremony on December 4th.

Ricoh Americas Corporation, the equipment and document storage supplier that owns the sign, says that the sign could save as much as $12,000 to $15,000 per month by generating its own electricity. Additionally, the sign would prevent 18 tons of carbon from being released into the air each year. The company said that the only other similar sign in the world is one it built in Osaka, Japan in 2003. That sign has 26 small propellers and 39 solar panels.

The sign will be fittingly colored green. This seems like a great idea, and I hope it inspires more companies to take similar steps. Can you imagine an eco-friendly Times Square that goes dark after a few days of clouds and rain. This reminds me of a video clip the New York Times did on a greener, dimmer skyline in New York City. Click here to see it!

Presidential Election Protection

Here’s some great post-election news!

Last Tuesday Voter Action engaged in election protection and monitoring efforts in various targeted states across the country. With the support of volunteer monitors and legal support working out of their Seattle and New York headquarters, they reviewed data from InfoVoter Technologies being fed by two national hotlines: the MYVOTE1 hotline and the CNN hotline (877-GOCNN08). There were over 41,000 calls on the CNN line alone!

Here are three key victories from Voter Action from last week:

· With this monitoring, and with the support of volunteer lawyers from several law firms, they were able to reach out to local and state election officials in a number of states to further report these voting problems and to seek remedies on Election Day. Their press release issued during the election on this election monitoring activity can be found here.

· Citizens from a variety of backgrounds became a key component in reclaiming their elections process and in working with local elections officials in order to serve the voters and deal with problems on Election Day. Voter Action partnerships with state-based groups in New Mexico (Voter Action volunteers), Colorado (through a partnership with Common Cause), Maryland (Save Our Votes), Pennsylvania (through Voter Action networks and Common Cause), North Carolina, Indiana, and Florida (through Common Cause), created on-the-ground verification networks that assisted in following up on data reported to the hotlines and that identified voting problems from the field.

· Examples of their Election Day protection work include: accessing dry ballots for a polling location so that they could be scanned and people could continue to vote (NC); clarifying voting rules and regulations regarding absentee and provisional ballots (NM); ensuring voters were able to vote on paper ballots when machines were down (PA); providing voters and poll workers with advice on how to find voters’ names in the county voter rolls when there was exclusion in the state database (NM); addressing voter intimidation tactics towards Hispanic voters (CO); and alerting the public safety board when a polling location was shut down because of a gas leak (PA).

Congratulations to Voter Action for a job well done!

The Future on Wheels

While many of Americans, struck by a flailing economy, are fretting over gas payments for their SUVs and arguing over proposed rail systems, it seems like the Europeans have outdone us yet again. New bike-sharing programs are popping up in major cities all over Europe, from Barcelona to Lyon to Rome. According to an article in the New York Times, bike-sharing has provided mayors with a simple solution to ease congestion and improve the environment. For the price of a bus, mayors can invest in a fleet of bicycles, thereby avoiding years of construction and approvals required for a subway.

By excluding access to tourists and day-trippers, the new systems function as low-cost alternate public transportation. The bike programs also feature electronic cards and computerized bike stands that speed up the process of picking up and dropping off bikes, and ease payments through deductions from bank accounts.

In Barcelona, the city's program, Bicing, has used bright red bikes for the past 18 months. The program provides 6,000 bicycles from 375 stands, which can be found every few blocks. Riders pay $30 for yearly membership and are issued a smart card to remove a bike from a mechanized dock. In Germany and Austria, most programs give members cellphone text messages with codes to unlock bikes.

Even Shanghai, a city that tried to eliminate bicycles a mere 10 years ago, opened a pilot bike-sharing program last month.

The programs are still far from perfect, however, as bike stands run out of bikes at peak hours or are full after the morning rush, leaving some to scramble for parking spots. While the kinks are being worked out, I believe it is safe to say that the programs are off to a strong start and are quickly becoming mainstream throughout Europe. I hope the U.S. catches up soon, as Washington, D.C., Montreal, Chicago, Boston and New York are currently weighing their options.

Paper or Plastic

Paper or Plastic? It's the question we often hear when going to the grocery store. But things may be about to change. Thanks to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, shoppers may have more to consider when answering that question. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a six cent fee for every plastic shopping bag given to shoppers. This proposal happens to not only help the environment but also the $4 billion deficit the city faces within the next two years. One cent of the fee will be given to the retailer of the bags while the other five cents will be given to the city. It is estimated that this could generate up to $16 million a year.

Mayor Bloomberg is said to be inspired by other cities such as Seattle and San Francisco that have done their own measures to curb plastic bags, in some cases banning them completely in large grocery stores. This success is not limited only to the municipal level but also to countries around the world like China, Australia and Ireland to name a few. South Africa has also enacted a ban after many have labeled the plastic bag the "national flower" for they are found discarded everywhere.

Plastic bags constitute a large portion of the trash we throw away; with The Worldwatch Institute estimates that Americans alone discard around 100 billion plastic bags per year. That's about 6 or 7 bags per person per week. Many of these bags wind up in the ocean, where they can choke and entangle marine birds and mammals, such as sea turtles, who can not distinguish the plastic bags from jellyfish. Eventually these bags find their way to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling mass of trash twice the size of Texas, where they can take up to 1,000 years to break down.

So next time we hear, "paper or plastic?" say neither and carry your groceries in a cloth tote. The environment and your wallet will thank you.

The Youth Vote

According to new data released by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, exit polling from Tuesday’s data indicated that youth voter turnout this week increased by at least 2.2 million votes over the 2004 Presidential Elections. It’s estimated that between 21 and 24 million young Americans voted on Tuesday.

What’s particularly exciting about this news is that for the first time in over 20 years, young voters share of the electorate also surpassed that of voters over 65; young people made up 18% of the electorate.

And it just may have been those youth voters that helped propel Barack Obama to the White House. Young voters favored Obama over McCain 66% to 34%. According to this article from MSNBC, that’s the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age in 1976!

Even more telling? Barack Obama won the overall popular vote by about 8 million and he won the youth vote by 8.3 million.

While it will take some more time to sort through the data to tell exactly how many young people voted, for whom and why, (and how those voters were mobilized using new media), the early signs are encouraging; young people are registering and young people are voting. Let’s hope we can say goodbye to the days of civic apathy for young voters!

A Glance at the Others

With the world savoring a taste of history with Barack Obama the President-elect, I want to note the other issues people voted on during Tuesday's election. A couple of key projects at stake were rail systems, aimed at supporting existing transportation systems and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

In my home state of Hawaii, where local boy Obama won 72% of the vote, Honolulu residents also got a chance to decide whether to build a rail transit system. With 53% of the vote, the city will establish an elevated steel rail transit system. According to the Honolulu Advertiser, the $4.3 billion project will span 20 miles and connect the west side of the island with downtown. Following Tuesday's decision, the City Council announced that it might switch the route to include a stop at Honolulu International Airport, which would cost $4.5 billion.

California also supported Proposition 1A High-Speed Trains, with 52% of the vote. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the $40 billion project envisions a zero-emissions, high-speed train that would make it possible to travel from downtown San Francisco to Los Angeles in only 2.5 hours. A one-way fare would cost about $55, making it a reasonable alternative to flying or driving.

Constructing these rail systems would support existing transportation systems that are increasingly strained by population growth. The benefits of these rail systems are their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic. They would also help connect people with urban centers and provide access to suburban sprawl. Additionally, in tough economic times, these massive construction projects are projected to provide badly-needed employment. The passage of Prop. 1A, for example, is estimated to generate 160,000 construction-related jobs.

"This Is Your Victory"

No one can argue that last night was historic on many levels. President Elect Barack Obama has arrived.

Although the voting is finished, we are really just beginning. As we sort through the next few days, weeks, months, and years, we will all look back at this time and think to ourselves, this is a day that changed American history. As Obama said last night, “This Is Your Victory”, but it will be our future.

24 Hours To Go

There’s less than one day to go until the election and it seems to be the only thing on everyone’s minds. In that spirit, here’s a post all things election-related.

First, although it’s obvious, don’t forget to vote tomorrow. Can’t remember where your polling site is? New Yorkers can click here to remind themselves. Here’s also a link to the New York State Board of Elections. Interested in seeing the hours the polls will be open tomorrow in your state? Click here.

Also, before you head out to the polls, be careful about what you’re wearing. Certain states like Virginia, forbid voters to wear campaign clothing (for example wearing an Obama t-shirt), so make sure you check your state’s laws, or be prepared to remove anything that could be considered voting paraphernalia before you get to the polls.

It’s also important to let others know that you’re voting, and how your experience is going tomorrow. Experiencing long lines? Turned away at a polling site where you are registered? Forced to show ID at a poll? Did you use an electronic voting machine that malfunctioned, switched your vote or was just plain confusing? People need to know! If you’re interested in sharing your voting experiences via Twitter, click here for the Twitter Vote Report website, which officially launched last week and will allow you to report on how the vote is really going during this election. Also Watch The Vote is leading an efforts in key states like Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. The national CNN Election Hotline, 1-877-GO-CNN-08 allows voters to record voice complains or find their poll locations. The data collected from all these will help protect your vote.

Any other last minute questions you may have? There are a lot of really great resources out there you can look at for tomorrow. For starters, check out the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Guide.

So on the last day before the election, make sure you exercise your civic duty tomorrow, and encourage everyone else in your lives to vote tomorrow. But remember that your civic duty will not end after you cast your ballot tomorrow, no matter if you end up voting for the next President or not. Voting is simply the first step in creating the kind of future you want to see.

Green Burials?

A colleague recently gave me a somewhat morbid topic to blog about, which is why I saved it for Halloween. So far, I've written about green Halloween, make-up, food, and most recently, dating, but now burials?

In Hawaii and other places by the sea, it is common enough for one's remains to be scattered in the ocean. Now, a company called Eternal Reefs, is adding a twist by offering an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional burials. The "reef balls" are artificial reefs made by mixing cremated remains with concrete. Reef balls are placed next to each other to create a habitat for sea life. According to the website, it would only take a few months for the remains to look like a natural reef.

Based in Atlanta, the company even provides the exact latitude and longitude of where the reef is placed so people can visit the site by boat or scuba dive. The memorials are currently limited to the east coast and the costs range from $2,495 to $6,495, not including the cost of cremation. There are also reef options for pets.

While it's not something I'd like to think about, it does seem like a cool idea. It would only work, however, in habitats that are void of thriving reefs (since you would not want it to compete with healthy, living systems). I am also interested to know how the reef balls age in time and if the ingredients are safe for the environment should degradation occur. If anything, I would say this is a creative step toward finding environmentally-friendly alternatives to common, less green practices.

Pennsylvania Victory!

Everyone following the election knows that the state of Pennsylvania is coveted by both candidates in next Tuesday’s election. Well the voters of Pennsylvania just received a huge victory. Yesterday, Federal Judge Harvey S. Bartle III ruled that emergency paper ballots must be made available when fifty percent or more voting machines fail at polling locations across Pennsylvania. Judge Bartle, who is the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, issued the ruling in favor of plaintiffs (who included the NAACP State Conference of Pennsylvania, individual voters who reported long lines and voting machine breakdowns, and the Election Reform Network) who had argued that voters could be disenfranchised by having to wait hours in line due to voting machine breakdowns. The plaintiffs presented testimony at an eight hour hearing yesterday before Judge Bartle that stated voters had faced long lines caused by voting machine problems during the primary election in Pennsylvania in April, particularly in low-income minority neighborhoods.

The legal director for Voter Action and co-counsel for the plaintiffs, John Bonifaz, said, "This is a huge victory for the voters of Pennsylvania. This ruling will ensure that many voters across Pennsylvania will not be disenfranchised when voting machines break down on Election Day."

The lawsuit followed numerous reports during Pennsylvania's April primary of long lines when electronic voting machines became inoperable at their polling sites and that election officials were not providing emergency paper ballots when voting machines malfunctioned. The reports revealed that many voters left their polling locations without casting their votes. It’s clear this is a much needed change for next Tuesday. Congratulations to the state of Pennsylvania!

A Case for Sustainable Dating?

Many of us have routinely--and I admit, sometimes obsessively--scanned discount airfare websites and saved a portion of our paychecks for the chance to be finally reunited with a long-distance loved one. Since my boyfriend is a consultant who always travels on different projects, long-distance has become a lifestyle for us. And it seems like we're not the only ones.

In an article for Slate, Barron YoungSmith writes that there are about 100 million single people in America over the age of 17, according to Census data. Furthermore, the author's research suggests that at least a quarter of all college students are dating out of town. Since the rate would be much lower among the general population, YoungSmith makes a conservative estimate that 1 in 15 of all single adults are in long-distance relationships, which adds up to 6.7 million Americans. If you include the 3.4 million married people who live separately but are not "separated," the total rises to more than 5 million long-distance relationshippers.

Besides the expected difficulties in making such a relationship work, some people are now saying that people in long-distance relationships should also take the environment into consideration. YoungSmith's article advocates locasexualism, a take on the Local Food Movement's locavore concept. Not only should we get our food within a 100-mile radius, but we should also date locally.

According to the article, if a couple flies across country to see each other once a month, a carbon offset company would estimate their romantic travels to be the equivalent of 35 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. Remember that greenhouse gases emitted from high-altitude planes have several times the impact of emissions from ground transportation. Breaking the flights down between each partner and each individual's lifestyle would be six times worse for the environment than the average American. If every American in a long-distance relationship drove from Washington, D.C. to New York City every two weeks, they would produce a total of about 18 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Moreover, YoungSmith concludes that breaking up would be about 10 times better for the environment than going vegetarian!

The Date LocalMovement works to: "discourage this special type of conspicuous consumption at the margins, nudging people toward the realization that breaking up is in their own, and enlightened, economic self-interest."

Even though my boyfriend and I both consider ourselves environmentalists, I honestly doubt we'd consider ending our four-year relationship to follow the Date Local movement. Although some may argue that we must give up such pleasurable activities as air travel for vacations, eating food out of season or taking long and hot showers in order to save the environment, should we also give up inconvenient relationships? At the risk of sounding cheesy, I must say that as much as I love the environment, I think I love my boyfriend more...for now, at least! If I do date again in the future, however, it might not be a bad idea for me to take the Date Local mantra into consideration.

To see Grist's coverage of the original article, click here.

Future Leaders in Philanthropy

Today I'm deferring my blog post to something I wrote for my good friends over at Future Leaders in Philanthropy. Will Schneider is kind enough to let me contribute to their great website which produces content by and for young people working in philanthropy.

In the past I've written for them about what it's like to work in a family foundation, and also the kinds of challenges that young people working in philanthropy face. This time I wanted to write about how the philanthropic sector can better use social networking and web 2.0 technologies. A lot of people recognize that a huge opportunity exists for non-profits and foundations alike, so I attempted to answer the question what does the sector do to take advantage of it?

So check it out and let me know what you think. And don't forget to sign up for FLiP's feed. It's one of the best out there!

Ready to Vote?

The Presidential Election is just 8 days away. Although I feel as though this has been the longest election season I’ve ever experienced (and admittedly I’m not old enough to have recalled that many), I still can’t quite believe how quickly November 4th will be upon us.

Although I’m filled with excitement, after watching Mark Crispin Miller discuss the possibilities of voter fraud on Bill Moyers Journal, I have to admit I have some serious anxiety about next Tuesday. Miller, a professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, has been following voter fraud allegations in his blog and is an expert on propaganda and media. His latest book, Loser Take All is an anthology of writings covering election fraud.

I watched Miller after reading that Common Cause and two other public interest groups issued a 50-state report card titled, "Is America Ready to Vote?" The report stated that vast improvements have been made in voting technologies and procedures but it also warns that many still are not ready.

Why constitutes this so-called voter fraud? And what kinds of activities should we be on the lookout for next week? There’s the kind of voter fraud that has a long-standing history in the United States. This includes tactics such as suppressing voting turnout and voter purges. But there is also the problem of computerized voting systems which are in place in at least 80% of the country. These voting machines are run by private companies and often leave no paper trail to confirm a voter’s intention in the voting booth.

Although this is scary stuff, luckily there are places that voters can turn too. Click here for an Election Protection voting checklist. There are also great ways to allow people to discover, watch and share their experience next Tuesday. You can take part in uploading your voting experiences to YouTube at Video Your Vote. There’s also an a way to monitor election day via Twitter called Twitter The Vote! (For anyone needing a crash course in Twitter, you can see my blog post last week).

So remember to vote on Tuesday. Be vigilant and make sure your vote will count.

Healthwashing?

We've blogged about greenwashing, the (often disingenuous) work of large corporations to project an environmentally friendly image. Since I've started questioning the motivations behind advertisements I come across, I've realized how scary it is to wonder how many of these companies are telling the truth. Among the issues that people are most concerned about is the negative health impact from commercials and ads featuring candy, soda, sweet cereals, etc.

In June, the Corn Refiners Association began an 18-month, $20-30 million campaign to revive the reputation of sweeteners. According to an article in Grist.org, the industry is worried about losing its reign over kids, a key consumer demographic. The ads thus target the moms who control kids' food choices.

As this ad shows, high-fructose corn syrup--found in everything from soft drinks to ketchup--is supposedly "fine in moderation." This message is hard to believe, however, coming from a corporation that thrives when people binge on sweetened foods.

The quick story behind the rise of high-fructose corn syrup is that changes in government policy, pushed by the corn industry, led to the spike in domestic sugar prices and fall of corn prices in the 1980s and '90s. According to the article, corn sweetener consumption peaked in 1998 and has been dropping since, coinciding with an increasing concern over diabetes and obesity.

And while the industry may tout the safety in consuming high-fructose corn syrup, University of Florida researchers found that diets heavy in fructose may induce leptin resistance, which is a condition that can easily lead to obesity. Leptin is an important substance produced by the body that tells us when we're full and to stop eating. Although more research needs to be done, it is clear that the industry has cornered the sweetener market as people have become accustomed to a sweet diet.

Americans must learn to regain control over their health by playing an active role in deciding what they consume. Most importantly, we must get our kids used to a healthy diet free of empty calories. It's time to put down the Coke and drink some good ole' H2O (from the tap, of course).