…and not Father Earth?
Just as I wonder why it is Mother Nature and not Father Nature? Could it be because nature, and our earth, are nurturing, giving, beautiful and utterly essential to our very existence – much like our very own mothers?
It’s almost silly to ponder such a question (and I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE SECRETLY LAUGHING AT ME! HAHA that’s okay, I am here as your comic relief),
Read the rest of this entry »
Is it March 29 where you are? Then at 8 p.m. your time, join in on a global event that asks us to turn our lights off for an hour. Earth Hour, as it is called, began last year in one city (Syndey, Australia) and the effect was equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off the road for an hour. And in traffic-congested Manila, wouldn’t THAT be a pretty sight? This year, around 200 cities worldwide join this World Wildlife Fund effort to make a statement – it doesn’t take much to change the world you live in. Learn more at the Earth Hour website. In the meantime, let’s bust out those candles and give Momma Earth a break!
Hello again from the Bay Area! I recently had the opportunity to volunteer for a really cool event called the Green Festival. It is a 5-year old movement that snakes throughout the US every year, landing in Chicago, Washington and Seattle apart from San Francisco. It runs for three days and features speakers (such as Deepak Chopra), demonstrations, how-to workshops, movies and over 400 exhibitors and vendors that hawk everything from natural and/or organic oils to solar flashlights (which were sold out) to natural deodorant. Okay, lets not talk about the natural deodorant area. *shudder* (I think in this case, sometimes chemicals can do a society good. But that’s just me.)My main responsibility was to handle the exhibitors and I had the opportunity to speak with some of them about what they do. We had organizations that dealt with acupuncture and massage, to educational institutions, to eco-friendly baby food. I was most excited about the electronic scooter because personally, I am all for any means of transportation that is zero emission.My favorite thing about this event was that there were recycling stations all over the exhibit hall and people understood the “Leave No Trace” policy. But apart from that, the Green Festival is really a partnership between Global Exchange and Co-op America. Global Exchange believes in valuing the rights of the worker while caring for the environment at the same time. They call it “people centered globalization”.
Global Exchange envisions an alternative economics of quality centered upon protecting international human rights to ensure that the cost of globalization does not come at the expense of us all.
Co-op America on the other hand, is a non-profit organization that helps empower individuals through its programs on fair trade, green businesses, green energy and the like. These two organizations put together the Green Festival project.What I really appreciated about this whole event was that there was a variety of people there – I saw the usual bohemians with their dreadlocks and trinkets, saw young couples pushing strollers, business types in suits and the random quirky artist (this IS San Francisco after all). It tells me that environmental awareness is for everyone, and the stigma of being called a radical activist or a tree-hugging hippie is gone. Maybe we have Al Gore to thank for that, but just the same, more awareness means a brighter, greener future for all of us.Here’s hoping Manila will have its own version one day! (CE)
*Here are some photos we took during the event…Boy, were we in heaven (again, not in the packed areas where we’re so sure these eco-smart people used natural deodorants, that is if they ever used some)– with all the organic food/snack/drink and organic and/or natural skin care freebies; all the brilliant eco-friendly devices; magazines printed on recycled papers and a whole lot more, what’s not to love? It was a dream that we, the Edgy Ecology girls, want to happen in Manila. Also, based on the event’s attendance, it was heart-warming to know how more and more people are getting to be more environmentally aware. Yay to that! (JDC)
After investing in months and months of sleepless nights, anxiety and expensive tickets to fly back home to Manila, we at EdgyEcology, Inc., found ourselves partying to the astounding samba beats of Brigada while filling our tummies with enticing appetizers and dessert at the Archaeology wing at Power Plant Mall.
The occasion?
We finally launched our maiden venture –the Not Plastic Project — at the Archaeology wing of the Power Plant Mall last July 25, 2007.
It all stemmed from our first goal of coming up with reusable bags that consumers will want to purchase, not only because they’re “so now” or “in” but because they’re practical yet stylish enough for them to sustain the habit of being ecologically smart, which could actually save the environment from what could be one of the biggest causes of global disasters (the use and misuse of plastic bags). And as we finally produced a few pieces of our bags, Irene Pineda of Irene’s Closet and the Power Plant staff supported the cause by selling them giving us the proper launch. The Power Plant group also wanted to show that Archaeology, a wing that has gathered independent and one-of-a-kind designers, is not just a mecca for the fashion forward, but a group that does its part to be pro-environment as well (hooray for them!).
Post the Not Plastic Project button on your site:
