U.S. Cyclists Save $4.6 Billion Per Year by Biking
Source: TreeHugger
While the health benefits of biking are well-documented for both cyclists and the planet, it turns out that the U.S. economy is a bit more in the pink thanks to all that pedaling.
Green tech news:
PayPal co-founder funds floating city for entrepreneurs
Blueseed would allow innovators from outside the U.S. to tap into Silicon Valley without worrying about visa issues.
Source: mothernaturenetwork
Stand Up For Real Food
Food Revolution Day on 19 May is a chance for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers’ markets. We want to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone.
“America Washing” Is The New Greenwashing
Illustration via MadeInTheUSABrand.com
By Tim Devaney via The Washington Times
U.S. consumers may be surprised to learn many products bearing the label “Made in America” are largely built outside of the United States. The practice exploits a little-known loophole in the product-label system that one California businessman says he is determined to expose.
Oftentimes, as much as 90 percent of the various components of a product can come from other countries, such as China and India, but it can still qualify for the “Made in America” label because a minimum percentage of the final product is assembled or “substantially transformed” in the U.S.
This process, which critics call deeply deceptive, can leave American consumers assuming they are buying from primarily domestic sources, when, in fact, most of their money is going overseas.
For full story, click here
Nature Is Bad For The Economy: This Street Art Makes You Question Your Values
“The Economy,” a guerrilla art project, wants you to remember that what’s best for the economy might not always be what’s best for human beings.
Visit FastCoExist for full story by Adam Butler
Wait, you can grow mushrooms out of what? Amazing.
good:
Bald Barbie Comforts Kids with Cancer:
Mattel, the makers of Barbie, announced last month that a hairless “friend of Barbie“ will “be distributed exclusively to children’s hospitals and other hospitals treating children with cancer throughout the U.S. and Canada, directly reaching girls who are most affected by hair loss.” The decision came after a Facebook group called “Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let’s see if we can get it made” scored thousands of “likes”within hours of its creation.
Source: good
I came across the Holstee Manifesto a few months after leaving my kushy corporate job. When I read it, I was at a pivotal point, trying to figure out what social venture ideas I should pursue and whether I was even doing the right thing. After all, it is pretty scary leaving a well-paying job to pursue my dreams as a social entrepreneur, not having any technical knowledge, not having a proven business model and not knowing when I’d have a dollar in the door. It didn’t matter though and that’s why I quit.
The corporate world wasn’t my passion, it was a job. It was a means to an end, I was working to live, it wasn’t me. Reading the Holstee Manifesto reminded me of myself. It reminded me of the kind of person I am striving to be and made me feel better about my decisions.
I still don’t know where my ventures are going and things are constantly changing, but that’s okay, in fact, it’s perfect. Uncertainty is beautiful and life is way too short to keep doing work that doesn’t matter. It really is simple, we just have to pursue our passions and do work we love, and we’ll find a way to figure out the rest.
Thanks for the inspiration and the much-needed reassurance.
Source: holsteemylife
Don’t Get Suckered at the Farmers’ Market
Image by CHOW.com
Post by Roxanne Webber via CHOW.com
Does produce at the farmers’ market really come from a local organic farm, or are the people selling it straight-up lying? That is the question NBC Los Angeles tried to answer in a recent exposé on farmers’ market vendors in Southern California. The conclusion: Not everything is all warm and fuzzy, sustainable, local, and organic in farmers’-marketville.
That said, here are some tips from Julie Cummins, the director of education at the Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) to ensure a vendor is legit and you aren’t being misled.
• Good signs: Cummins says to look for farms with real transparency. Some indicators that a vendor is the real deal include offering farm tours, having a produce stand at the farm itself, operating a CSA, holding farm dinners, and even blogging and posting photos of the farm.
• Bad signs: The main red flag is produce that is obviously out of season, says Cummins. Another possible sign of a faux farm is stickers on produce, because labeling is required for supermarket retail sale. However, some farms may label all of their produce.
• “Pesticide free.” Unlike stating that your product is organic, saying it’s pesticide-free is a claim not subject to any kind of third-party oversight. So it may be a lie. “People concerned about pesticide residues should look for certified organic produce,” says Cummins.
• If in doubt, ask questions.Examples: “Did your farm grow everything being sold at the stand?” “Is there anything you didn’t grow?” “Where is this grown?” “What is the harvest season?” Waffling or surliness on the part of the vendor may be a sign that not everything is as it seems.
• Every farmers’ market is not created equal. ”The term farmers’ market means different things in different places,” says Cummins. Just because something calls itself a farmers’ market doesn’t mean it’s supplied by a bunch of mom-and-pop farmers. It may just be a produce mart. In California, you can check for certified farmers’ markets at cafarmersmarkets.com. In other places, try to find out who the market manager is and ask them which (if any) vendors grow their own produce.
For full story click here
