The InterReligious Task Force on Central America is taking orders for fair trade gift baskets which will be deliverd during the upcoming holiday season. These baskets are an innocuous way to introduce high quality fair trade goods to your family, friends, teachers, associates and clients.The gifts support small farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Click here for an order form. If you are in CTown (Cleveland) on October 9th, stop by John Carroll University to meet fair trade vendors, farmers, supporters and advocates in person at the Ohio Fair Trade Expo.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
How Women Use Social Media to Practice Conscious Living
Tune in to "Sisterhood: The Blog Radio" on Monday, September 13th, 9pm EST to listen to a panel of amazing women discuss how they use social media to practice conscious living. Topics discussed will include, healthy living yoga, reiki, massage, holistic practices, physical fitness, spirituality, life coaching, vegetarianism, veganism and green living. Click here for additional details.
Fair Trade Fashions
Check me out with my fair trade gear - earrings, a skirt from Uganda and a comfy top from Nepal. There is a store in Cleveland called Revive, which sells nothing but fair trade goods. Merchandise includes clothing, cosmetics (including Alaffia), accessories, home goods and coffees/chocolates. I love shopping there! The selection reminds me of items I would normally find in Anthropologie, but I don't have to read labels. I have the satisfaction of knowing that a fair wage was received by the employees and women are being lifted out of poverty and gaining economic independence. I feel good about wearing these fashions, drinking this coffee and eating this chocolate. By the way, I read that a large coffee company is looking at incorporating fair wage principles into its business model. This is why I try to shop with my conscious, because eventually big business catches wind and the practices go mainstream - improving the lives of individuals around the world. Back to the fashions.....
 |
| Made in Bali, supports gender equity and prohibits exploitation of women and children. |
 |
| Top from Nepal and tiered knit skirt from Uganda. |
 |
| Made in Nepal, where workers receive living wage, vacation and work in a clean, healthy environment. |
 |
| Created by artisans in Gulu, Uganda. Made with style, comfort and versatility as design principles. |
Federal Agencies Greening It Up: Impacts To Your Bottom Line
The White House is doing more than planting organic gardens in its efforts to green America. Agencies are incorporating solar technology, green computing, waste reduction and other sustainable business efforts in their operating models in an effort to save taxpayer dollars and reduce impacts to our planet. Soooo, how does this impact you? Beyond better returns on your mandatory investment of tax dollars and preservation of our earth's essential for living resources, if you bid on government contracts or want to bid on government contracts, you may need to "green" your business. Many agencies are now required to incorporate green products into their purchases or evaluate the sustainability efforts bidding contractors. So going green or not, could impact your bottom line. My father was recently invited to the White House to discuss his role in the development of a community garden in the middle of a Cleveland metropolitian housing complex aka "the projects". We believe it was this particular type of project got caught the attention of his contact and earned him this invitation. So green, not greed - is good. Click here to get a leg up on how you can leverage your triple bottom line efforts and improve your chances of winning a government contract.
More Banking News: Environmental Risks Getting More Scrutiny in Finance
Though there is a loooong way to go, banks are starting to give greater weight to environmental risks in evaluating credit requests. There has always been a level of scrutiny given to certain environmental risks in real estate lending projects, primarily around the area of potential pollutants specific to the site: asbestos, toxic chemicals and other ground contaminants. In today's environment, with more groups advocating for improved corporate social responsibility, increased sensitivity of consumers to environmentally-correct choices and investors showing greater concerns for the risks inherent in specific environmental practices, banks are slowing realizing that these are issues that need to be considered in weighing the profitability of specific types of financing. Wells Fargo is the most recent U.S. bank to reduce it's exposures to companies engaging in the environmentally damaging practice of mountain top removal of coal. Read here to see if your bank is among the other large financial institutions that have taken this stance.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Banks You Can Really Love: Radical Isn't It?
Usually the words radical and banking aren't used in the same sentence, so as a banker, I was intrigued when I saw this article titled "Are you ready for a radically sustainable bank?" on LinkedIn today. As you can imagine, banking is a pretty conservative profession, so radical is not a concept that would be eagerly greeted in many bank meetings. Things are slowly changing. As bankers start to realize that more customers are concerned about the environment, the local economy and human rights, some banks have begun leading using social consciousness as a driver of profits. These banks focus not only on the bottom line, but the triple bottom line - people, planets and profits. They try to be transparent in their operations, reward clients for shopping consciously and give preferential pricing to businesses that apply eco-conscious supply chain management techniques. Doing good, will beget great results - I can't wait for the IPO!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
6 tips for taking control in media interviews
6 tips for taking control in media interviews In an effort to be prepared for any interview requests related to the farmer's market press release I wrote, I thought it would be wise to get some media training tips and share them with you. BP Oil probably should have read these, right?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Green Your Church Renovations/Repairs/Upgrades with Federal Funds
Green churches to receive federal funds savannahnow.com Since I didn't make it to church today, I am tithing my time in finding green renovation resources for a local church. Creation care has yet to hit the radar of many black churches. I'm not sure of why that is, when so many African Americans are impacted by a polluted environment, toxic personal care products, poor overly processed, salty, fatty diets and consequently, suffer from poor health. Blacks can really benefit from green job opportunities, but are often clueless and can definitely experience reductions in utility costs if we would take advantage of energy saving devices and weatherization programs available for low income families. The church could be very influential in leading the effort on greening and cleaning our communities and our planet (Gen 2:15). I could go on, but I won't. I will share some of the resources that I found in my research for churches interested in moving in this direction as they renovate older historic buildings or build new sanctuaries.
1) Nccecojustice.org - two great green church building resource documents online
2) Interfaithpowerandlight.org - More resources - referenced in the article above
3) American Baptist Church Extension Corp - 800-222-3872 x2480 (haven't vetted this number yet)
4) EnergyStar.gov - look for congregation services
5) Speak with local sustainability groups and representatives from your state's energy department
6) Ask your local electricity supplier if energy audits can be conducted for free for churches
God bless you and your search for Eden!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Sunny Delight Goes Zero Waste | Business | GreenBiz.com
Sunny Delight Goes Zero Waste Business GreenBiz.com I'm not a big Sunny D fan, but those of you that are, good news. More companies are seeing the green in going green.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Fresh Food Oasis Comes to Cincinnati Urban Food Desert in Avondale
Finally! Here is my press release for the Summerville Farmer's Market in Cincinnati. I will send to several local news sources. Hopefully we can get some free publicity. The formatting is a little funky on Blogger tonight, so please forgive the sheared margin. Business is picking up, but we are still looking for vendors, volunteers and customers. As we execute the marketing plan I developed, we hope to see Summerville's financial health thrive and grow along with that of the community!
 |
| Lisa crafted, constructed and installed this sign for the market FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Lisa A. Bussey 317Bussey@gmail.com Gloria Ware bn2g@gmail.com Public Contact: Lisa A. Bussey 317Bussey@gmail.com WEST END RESIDENT AND BUSINESSWOMAN BRINGS FRESH PRODUCE TO URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD OF AVONDALE Cincinnati has one less "food desert", thanks to the efforts of West End resident and Avondale businesswoman , Lisa Bussey. Seeking to fill the produce gap in the diets of area residents, Ms. Bussey has opened the Summerville Farmers Market at 3166 Reading Road in the heart of the Avondale neighborhood.Summerville will be the area's first outdoor market and will offer a selection of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. Much of the produce is grown on the premises and is often picked to order fresh from the onsite garden. This unique feature thrills patrons of the market, as it offers superior taste and creates a connection to the food, something which has become lost in the past years as more of our food is imported from around the world and developed with a priority for enduring extended shipping times over tasting good.The market is a labor of love for Ms. Bussey, who cleared the once vacant urban lot, managed the garden and built much of the existing infrastructure and with her own hands. Having a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati, she realizes the potential for the market to revitalize the physical and economic health of the community. She envisions the market as a catalyst and gathering place to not only improve the health of the community, but she plans to work with local residents interested in becoming vendors to expand product offerings to include honey, baked goods and various crafts. As the market grows and financially supports a permanent market structure, her goal is to provide green job training and employment opportunities in the area of construction, facilities maintenance and landscaping for the area's unemployed citizens.Openings are currently available for vendors seeking to market their goods. The Summerville Farmers Market hours are Saturdays 11am-3pm and Sundays Noon-4pm and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards are accepted. Please contact Ms. Bussey for more information. |
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Politics As Usual As Congress Passes on Climate Change Legislation
Senators decided to pass on moving forward with enacting climate change legislation last week. Money talked, and "principles" walked right out to the door. So, poor people will pay as usual for poor policy. Like the victims of hurricane Katrina, they will be stranded in hot, toxic, dry cities and towns as a result of decades of harmful environmental policies and decisions that benefited powerful and wealthy forces. After the financial crisis of 2008, there are a lot more poor people and middle class folks on the edge, so don't think this won't affect you or yours. Not even the disastrous BP gulf oil spill was enough to compel our congressional leaders to move forward on the legislation. Guess that was a far fetched notion, when some politicians were publicly apologizing to BP. WTH? So what else is new? Rome burns while Nero (us) fiddles. We need to stop letting our politicians off the hook on these issues and let them know how we feel, because I seriously don't think they are reading our blogs. The events of last week indicate that some blogs are not only being read, but generate action at high levels. Wow. How can we elicit such a rapid fire response for our outrages? Not sure. Maybe we are perceived as being too weak and passive. Why is that? Did we think that by electing a black president all of our troubles and responsibilities would magically disappear?We need to think about that. Anyway, if you want to express your ire at the lack of action on climate change, you can write your rep through the links provided in the "Write Your Rep" section on this site. That's what I'm going to do.
Did You Know Funding is Available for Gardeners and Community Gardens?
Did You Know Funding is Available for Gardeners and Community Gardens? Get some green to green up and clean up the health of your community.
Rap Artists on The Oil Spill
Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek’s Black Gold Official Video Discovered this video via the Eco-Jam Of The Week feature of a recently discovered website, http://www.speakeasynet.com/. Discovered this site via a post on the new environmental justice blog, Nappy Green.
Friday, July 23, 2010
O2H Snap...I Can't Breathe!
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727692.000-o2h-no-is-our-oxygen-running-out.html Okay, so if our descendants don't die from heatstroke, or some insane climate driven natural disaster, suffocation might be another option. Don't be fooled by these commercials touting the benefits of old economy fossil fuels, let's get on with investing in cleaner, greener energy for a cleaner, greener future.
This Week In The Garden: Edibles and Beautifuls
Enjoy the latest blooms and fruits in my partially edible landscape. Edible - Broccoli, Figs and Daylilies. Coneflowers are an herb aka Echinacea.
 |
| So exciting.....a tiny broccoli head! |
 |
| The figs are getting fatter! |
 |
| Look at this black beauty of a daylily. |
 |
| These Peach Butterfly lilies have freckles like me! |
|
| These vanilla scented lilies are showstoppers! |
 |
| Butterflies love these purple coneflowers. |
 |
| Purple Coneflower for Supper. |
 |
| Coneflowers and Daisies Cohabitate |
 |
| White lilies make a statement at night. |
 |
| Fragrant lilies greet me by the patio. |
Raw Food Picnic Hit: Peach Pie
Check out the peach pie with almond crust that I made for a raw food picnic this weekend. Of course, I was late and got there just in time to share my dessert. The last few folks were packing up, but when I told them I had some peach pie, they sat back down and pulled out their eating supplies. I actually made two, one with raw honey and another with agave. They tore it up people! Major grubbin was going on with this pie! Seconds were had by all. The sponsor of the picnic, Good N Raw Cafe, wants to include my recipe in the online cookbook. I will have to get back to you on the recipe. It is actually a modification of two recipes from different uncookbooks, one of which is "Raw Food Made Easy" by Jennifer Cornbleet. I used her almond pie crust recipe, but added a splash of almond oil. The filling was from a book called "Raw Food" by Erica Palmcranz and Irmela Lilja, but a reduced the cinnamon and added some lemon juice.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Healthy Replacement for Baby Powder
Some Amazing Snacking
My favorite candy bar is Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Almonds, throw in a handful of dried strawberries and raw almonds. Heaven! For a totally raw treat replace the chocolate bar with cacao nibs. Yea Mon! 
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
A Bit of Light Summer Reading - Gardeners, Urban Farmers and Foodies Will Love These Picks
A Bit of Light Summer Reading This post is from Gayla, the blogger who writes "You Grow Girl". I will have to check out some of these good gardening and cookbook summer reads. Includes one based on slavery in Jamaica, "The Book of Night Women", by Marlon James.
Enviro Group Sues FDA for BPA Inaction | Design | GreenBiz.com
Enviro Group Sues FDA for BPA Inaction Design GreenBiz.com BPA is everywhere, in canned food, the lining of glass jar lids, plastic containers and goodness knows where is. There continue to be reports on suspected negative impacts of this synthetic estrogen to our health, but not much action to protect consumers. Some manufacturers have stopped using BPA in water bottles and baby bottles, but this has been driven by consumer demand for BPA free products. At last, the lawyers seize the opportunity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
