RootCast 8 Featuring Part 1 of an interview with Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, on the dangers of Genetically Modified Foods, and Monsanto's hold on the world's seed crop.
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Check out all the RootCasts at:
Root Concepts an on iTunes. 

Root Concepts presents ROOTcast 7. We speak with MyPathTv.com founder Joseph Lehnen and review the film Our Daily Bread by Director Nikolaus Geyrhalter

MP3 File

Melting Ice is a hot topic.  World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

The World Environment Day slogan selected for 2007 is Melting Ice – a Hot Topic? In support of International Polar Year, the WED theme selected for 2007 focuses on the effects that climate change is having on polar ecosystems and communities, and the ensuing consequences around the world.

The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2007 will be held in Norway. The City of Tromsø will be hosting this United Nations day.

The day's agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. World Environment Day is a people's event with colourful activities such as street rallies, bicycle parades, green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.

At Inhabitat they are devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.. This beautiful light fixture is designed by Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe. Currently hanging in the atrium at Amsterdam’s SKOR (Foundation Art and Public Space), the three fiberoptic “Lace Bobbin Lamps” provide stunning light without the use of lightbulbs. Their light is delivered via a remote power box.  Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe have been collaborating since 1997, and are part of the Dutch design force Droog.

From The Independent:  Research linking GM potatoes to cancer in lab rats was conducted in 1998 by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and has been suppressed for eight years.

It showed that the potatoes did considerable damage to the rats' organs. Those in the "control groups" that were fed non-GM potatoes suffered ill-effects, but those fed GM potatoes suffered more serious organ and tissue damage.

The potatoes contained an antibiotic resistance marker gene. The institute that carried out the studies refused to release all the information. However, Greenpeace and other consumer groups mounted a protracted legal battle campaign to obtain the report. In May 2004 the Nikulinski District Court in Russia ruled that information relating to the safety of GM food should be open to the public.

The institute, however, refused to release the report. Greenpeace and Russian activist groups again took the institute to court, and won a ruling that the report must be released.

Whole Foods Market and Wild Oat Markets announced they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Whole Foods will acquire Wild Oats in a $565 million deal. 
This move clearly puts Whole Foods in the lead as the natural products retailer globally.  What will be interesting and curious to watch is whether this move will encourage Whole Foods to maintain organic quality and provide a local platform for farmers in the area these stores service.  These are two of the biggest issues Root sees as a priority for the retail king of this market segment.  Stay Tuned.  Download the PDF for details of the deal via Whole Foods website.  Download pr07-02-21merger.pdf

This beautifully designed 1,000 square-foot weekend cabin,
basically a steel box on stilts,
can be completely shuttered
when the owner is away.
Situated near a river in a
floodplain, the 20’ x 20’
square footprint rises
three stories and is
topped by the living
room/kitchen. Large,
10’ x 18’ steel shutters
can be closed simultaneously
using a hand crank.

Root has discoved StumbleUpon, a social search network that is a great tool for research and an amazing community.  Discover like minded stumblers and go deeper into the issues that are of interest via their curated  pages.  If you like what you see on DgirlP's site, please review her and reference her pages on yours.  One more opportunity to spread the word.  Peace.

Benjamin Fahrer, a Sonoma County Permaculturist living at Oceansong, commits to the Mayan People of Mexico to preserve their traditions and the integrity of indigenous corn.

read more | digg story

As noted here, Sir Richard Branson is serious about carbon load reduction.  The head of Virgin Airlines, arguably the most progressive global airline flying, Branson is offering $25 million dollars to the the person who comes up with the best way to remove significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  Branson says humankind must realize the scale of the crisis it faces.

"The Earth cannot wait 60 years," he said at the news conference. "I want a future for my children and my children's children. The clock is ticking."  He said if the planet was to survive, it was vital to find a way of getting rid of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.  He said he believed offering the $25m (£12.5m) Earth Challenge Prize was the best way of finding a solution.  Mr. Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore will be a member of the judging panel.
Currently Carbon capture and storage is a key area of research.  Scientists have been looking into removing the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and storing it in oil and gas fields, injecting it deep into the ocean, or chemically transforming it into solids or liquids that are thermodynamically stable.  However, these methods have raised concerns, notably because of the possibility of leakage from the storage sites and fears that C02 dissolved in large quantities in the ocean might harm marine ecosystems.  Other scientists are also looking at schemes that might "scrub" the air of CO2, collecting the gas for safe storage; but many critics say the energy required to achieve this would make such an approach self-defeating.  Sir Richard Branson has already pledged to invest $3bn (£1.6bn) in profits from his travel firms, such as airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, towards research into renewable energy technologies.  Thanks to Treehugger for the headups and the BBC for the graphics below.

1. CO2 pumped into disused coal fields displaces methane which can be used as fuel
2. CO2 can be pumped into and stored safely in saline aquifers
3. CO2 pumped into oil fields helps maintain pressure, making extraction easier

Technorati Profile

This new series of work by photographer Chris Jordan looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics tend to feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or a trillion dollars spent on the Iraq war. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed photographic prints assembled from tens-of-thousands of smaller images. The series is still in its early stages, and new images will be posted to Chris' website as they are completed, so please stay tuned.

Below are three views of:

Cans Seurat, 2007
Digital C print, 6x7 feet

Depicting 106,000 aluminum cans, equal to the number of cans consumed in the US every thirty seconds.

It is a bittersweet time for those of us who follow such things (and who isn't these days?).  But the most authoritative report on climate change is published.  The conclusions in no uncertain terms declare that it is time for the world to get serious about curbing greenhouse gas emissions.  The BBC's Oliver Tickell, provides a fascinating outline of what the Kyoto Protocol recommends as a framework for the world to begin.  "Fail to act at this decisive time and the Earth, its people and its whole panoply of life will face the most severe and adverse consequences."  So what now?  As we have posted here in the past, we suggest daily actions, as well as continued pressure on the new Congress to push for adherence to the Protocol, as well as laws by local legislators for change.  The upshot is that with a concerted effort, human beings can reverse our actions in this regard.  The importance of this realization lies with each of us as we consider our own footprint.   Measure our own actions as more work is required.
Photo:  Jerry Jones via flickr.com

That's what Geoff Lawton says.  He may be on to something.  People laughed at him, and said the 10 acre plot of desert where nothing grew was a salt laden dustbowl.  In four months, Lawton had figs growing.  Check out this video via the Urban Permaculture Guild.

As a follow up to our continued interest in the food we eat, and knowing what it is - check out Sustainable Table's Eat Well Guide.  Enter your zip code and come up with a list of wholesome food from healthy animals.  Local and helpful.  Another useful site is Local Harvest.  Same principals.  More options.  Buy local.

Via Influx comes a video on the greening of the UK from CurrentTV.  Notes on climate change as a public priority, and a green recording studio in London fill out the report.

From Treehugger comes a post about an internal memo from Google entitled "Big Goals and Directions " that was recently leaked to the public. Amongst promises to expand advertising revenue another billion dollars, and to control spam in 20 different languages, Google also expounded on plans to increase its green power consumption to ten megawatts in the short term, and sees that as a step toward complete carbon neutrality.

Google searches stored copies of the entire internet millions of times daily, the hardware required to perform that amazing feat is not trivial. Google operates some 50,000 servers, each one consuming a good deal of power. Google has recently warned that the power consumed by servers is soon going to cost more than the machines themselves.

Estimates of Google's power consumption lie in the 20 to 30 megawatt range, so 10 megawatts of green energy is not an insignificant step toward carbon neutrality. Already, Google has 2 megawatts of solar online to help power its Mountain Valley complex, the Googleplex.

Where will the other eight megawatts come from? We're still waiting to see.

It is the goal of charity: water to not only provide safe water to those in need, but to do so through projects that involve the communities they serve in the process. Charity seeks out projects that include the installation of freshwater systems, as well as the formation and training of local water committees with the know- how to maintain the systems themselves.

Buy a virtual bottle of water for $20 and provide clean water to someone who needs it for 15 years.  Buy a case for $480 and help provide the infrastructure to produce the equivalent of more than 13 million 16.9 oz. bottles of water in Africa.  Thanks to Daily Candy for the heads up.

As a follow up to our post yesterday about the disturbing imminence of cloned animal products in our food chain, we are directing our readers to the Organic Consumers Association's page to send an email to Michael Leavitt, Secretary of Health.  Please click here to take action.

...and no special labeling is necessary to distinguish these products from each other.  The FDA  has been reviewing the possibilities of allowing American consumption of cloned foods for more than five years.  Biotech companies, growing weary as they run out of cash waiting for the "Foot Dragging Administration", seem to have won the battle. But will consumers "just buy it"?  Root thinks not.  In a poll earlier this year by the International Food Information Council, 63% of consumers declared that they would not willingly buy meat, milk and eggs that come from clones even if the FDA declared them "safe".  And are we safe?  According to a written statement by FDA spokesman Stephen F. Sundlof, chief of veterinary medicine at the agency to the Washington Post, the agency has heard rumors of clone progeny moving into the food supply, but was "not aware of any proof".  For now, farmers and cloning companies are abiding by a voluntary ban on meat and milk from clones.  The FDA says an informal ban remains until its decision is final.  Root encourages all consumers to question these processess, and demand the labeling of all foods coming from humanly altered sources.  Photo credit of Elvis the cloned calf by Carol Guzy of The Washington Post.

PG&E, the largest utility in California, plans to offer a program for its customers to calculate and offset the amount of carbon dioxide their power supply produces.  According to their website, the program becomes available in Spring, 2007.  In previous posts and podcasts, Root has discussed the impact individuals have on our environment.  This is one real time option for those of us who are on the PG&E grid to offset our impact.  Check ClimateSmart out, and thanks to SFGate for their inspiration.

Acknowledging that since 1971, it has committed crimes in the name of environmental conservation, Greenpeace has unleashed its latest ad campaign.  Some of the guilty are pictured in mug shots heralding their accomplishments.  Via Adrants, see more images here.

Scientists at CSIRO have developed a simple ‘air shower’ device which, when fitted into existing showerheads, fills the water droplets with a tiny bubble of air.  The resulting shower feels just as wet and just as strong as before, but now uses much less water.

The researchers, from CSIRO Manufacturing Materials Technology in Melbourne, Australia say that is because the device increases the volume of the shower stream while reducing the amount of water used by about 30 per cent.

Given the average Australian household uses about 200,000 litres of water a year, and showers account for nearly a third of this, the ‘air shower’ could help the average household save about 15,000-20,000 litres a year. If you extend this across the population, that is an annual saving of more than 45,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The Aerated Showerhead creates the sensation of having a full and steady stream of water even though the water is now more like a wet shell around a bubble of air.

After almost two years of research and development, CSIRO is ready to market the nozzle, and expect the cost to be less than $20, and easily installed by householders.

A simple change that could save millions of gallons of our unrenewable resource without sacrificing our beloved rituals.  Brilliant.  Thank you Green Wombat for the tip.

The rate and magnitude of China's emergence in the 21st century as a world power is unprecedented. Ted C. Fishman, author of China, Inc., will examine the global implications of China's rapid growth, and will discuss how China is changing, and how China is changing the world on Monday, December 4, 2006 at 7:00 pm at Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University.  Check out Zvents for directions and details.

Spotted this on ThreeMinds, Denver-based ad agency Sukle Advertising +Design created this campaign for water conservation in Denver.  Clever, simple, mindful.

In our final Green Blast, ROOT speaks with Jeremy Black of Sambazon, Mathieu Senard of Alter Eco, and we share a few thoughts on our latest Green Fest experience. Michael Edo Keane and Dominique Pacheco co-host.

MP3 File

From Daily Candy comes another of their great reminders.  The Computer Recycling Center (CRC) takes all computers and electronics - working and nonworking - and warehouse overstocks of parts and equipment: Computers, Network, Telephone, Cellphone, Office Electronics, Industrial Electronics. (Recycling for Computers, Laptops, Electronics, eWaste, and eRecycling) Scrap computers and parts are reduced to recyclable metal, plastic, P.C.Board, and cable.  Drop off centers in the San Francisco Bay Area are listed on their site, and pick ups are available for qualifying businesses with multiple donations. 

Founded in 1991, it is the largest and oldest continuously operating full-service collection, reuse, and refurbishment program in the USA. Working with businesses and municipalities, CRC's participation in collection and drop-off programs diverted over 6 million pounds of computer equipment from landfills last year. Reuse of entire units is given highest priority, followed by disassembly for reuse of parts, and finally recycling for the elements of unusable remaining items.

CRC's mission is to promote the highest and best re-use of computer and electronic equipment, and recycle unusable items to keep them out of landfills.

If you have equipment gathering dust, or plan to replace in the coming gifting season, please remember to keep electronics out of landfills and utilize this exceptional service.

Root presents the third of five featured interviews from the Green
Fest with gDiapers co-founder Kim Graham-Nye. Michael Edo Keane and Dominique Pacheco co-host.

Root presents the second of five featured interviews from the Green Fest with Pangea Organics founder Joshua Onysko.  Michael Edo Keane and Dominique Pacheco co-host.

Root's Dominique Pacheco speaks with Denise Hamler of Co-op America and the Green Fest.

Percy Schmeiser, a farmer from Bruno, Saskatchewan Canada whose fields were contaminated by Monsato's Round-Up Ready Canola, and who was later sued by Monsanto will be speaking in Ukiah at the Mendocino Community College Little Theatre on Friday night.  The Schmeisers were close to retirement when they were surprisingly sued in 1998.  Monsanto claimed the long-time farmers were illegally growing the patented seed which had drifted into their fields.  The family fought the suit all the way to the Canadian Supreme Court, and lost.  The event is co-hosted by the CCOF, The Epicurean Connection, and Local Host Dialogue.  The program begins at 7 pm, the cost is $10, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.  All proceeds and donations will go directly to the Schmeiser's efforts to fight Monsanto and genetic pollution, as well as to educate the public and farmers alike about the severe risks associated with genetically modified foods.  The family was prominently featured in the documentary, The Future of Food by Deborah Koons Garcia.  If you haven't seen the film, do.  The issues are controversial, disturbing and real.

Root spent Friday walking the Green Festival catching up with friends and meeting new ones.  Because it was the first day of the three-day event, there was less foot traffic, and we got a chance to chat with a few favorites, as well as meeting some great new (to us) companies and learning about their products and services.  A Rootcast will follow soon, but in the meantime, we wanted to give a shout out for this short list of companies to watch:

gDiapers - Imagine taking your baby's soiled diaper and simply flushing it down the toilet. No more smell, no more diaper, no more diaper pail. Putting waste right where it belongs - in the toilet, not in a landfill. That’s exactly how gDiapers work.  The wet ones can also be composted - eliminating the 500 years that conventional disposables take to break down.  Husband and wife team, Jason and Kim Graham-Nye brought gDiapers from Australia, where the product has been available since 1991.  Located in Portland, a model city of sustainability, seems a good fit for such a fine idea.  Root loves the idea of a product everyone needs at one time in their lives, being so well-disposed.

Pangea - Not only are they the fastest growing organic skincare line in the world, Pangea's packaging is truly notable - all the product boxes are made using a new Zero Waste process with 100% post-consumer paper (newspaper) and organic seeds like sweet basil and amaranth.  Soak the box in water for a minute and plant it in the earth...fundamental and brilliant!  Oh, and Root bought their GreenFest special:  cleanser, toner, moisturizer and mask - love these products!

Christopher Peck & Holistic Solutions - Root works with Christopher to advise and manage investments.  Coming from a permaculture background, and providing holistic financial planning and socially responsible investment advice, Christopher aims to build wealth by aligning your decisions with your deepest values and highest aspirations. Holistic Solutions offers financial services focused on life planning, natural, ethical investing and the path to financial independence and sustainability. Christopher was at the GreenFest in association with his partners at Natural Investment Services, Inc.

Sambazon - Six years ago, nobody in the US had heard of acai, a dark purple fruit the size of a blueberry that comes from the Amazonian rain forest.  Take a walk through Whole Foods today, and get an idea of how successful this young company has been at introducing the antioxidant-rich superfood to the world.  It's everywhere!  But that's only half the story.  The Sambazon Team's commitment to  create positive socioeconomic change and promote rainforest conservation and biodiversity are evidenced in the behind the scenes projects they are stewarding.

IdealBite.com - Biters Heather Stephenson and Jennifer Boulden have the right idea - make lifestyle changes digestible and playful in order to get the mainstream over in the green lane.  Their posts arrive daily, and they offer well-researched and thoughtful suggestions in various shades of green.

Cool Hunting always inspires with their imaginative posts on culture.  The Hurriquake is truly an inventive, inexpensive and inspired nail.  So much so, that it was awarded innovation of the year by Popular Science.  The bottom section is circled with angled barbs that resist pulling out in wind gusts up to 170 mph. The “ring shank” stops halfway up to leave the middle of the nail, which endures the most punishment during an earthquake, at its maximum thickness and strength. The blade-like facets of the nail’s twisted top—the spiral shank—keep planks from wobbling, which weakens a joint. And the HurriQuake’s head is 25 percent larger than average to better resist counter-sinking and pulling through. And - It costs only about $15 more to build a 2000 square foot house using HurriQuakes.  Huge idea accomplished in a small package.

The second episode of the RootCast features peak oil expert Richard Heinberg and Climate Protection Campaign director and co-founder Ann Hancock.  Hosted by Michael Edo Keane and Dominique Pacheco.

GreenBiz.com posts on three corporate players making big moves on the sustainability front.

Alcoa says it is actively developing, evaluating, and implementing natural sustainable technologies to reduce the environmental footprint at its aluminum smelting, refining, and production facilities.

The innovative technologies, called Engineered Natural Systems, use a variety of plants, soils, and microbes to reduce the volume of discharged stormwater and process water as well as the concentrations of pollutants in the discharged water. These passive "green" technologies are helping Alcoa to achieve environmental goals stated in its "2020 Strategic Framework for Sustainability," which calls for the company to reduce process water usage by 70% from 2000 to 2010 and achieve zero water discharge by 2020. 

Morgan Stanley says it plans to invest in approximately $3 billion of carbon/emissions credits, projects and other initiatives related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction over the next five years.

The majority of this investment will represent increased commitments to purchase carbon credits from projects as the Firm's Commodities Trading Department expands its existing Carbon and Emissions platform. The remainder will constitute investments in projects and initiatives related to emissions reduction, such as those certified under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) initiatives. These projects allow developed countries to transfer and fund emissions-reducing technology in other signatory nations. The United Nations oversees the project registration and approval process.

Wal-Mart Stores says it plans to begin implementing its "Preferred Chemical Principles" to establish a clear set of preferred chemical characteristics for product ingredients.

The purpose is to drive the development of more sustainable products for "mother, child, and the environment," according to the company. The first three of these priority chemicals are being announced at the Molecule-to-Molecule meeting, a two-day event hosted by the Chemical Intensive Product Network (CIP), a group designed to engage suppliers, NGO's, government, academics and other subject matter experts on issues and opportunities around product sustainability.

With so far to go on our path to reducing the human footprint on the planet, real time corporate responsibility by such key players is not only overdue, but essential to catching up with good will among the educated consumers who utilize their products and services.

According to the World Wildlife Fund 's Living Planet Report, humanity's Ecological Footprint - the demand humans place upon the natural world - has increased to the point where the Earth is unable to keep up in the struggle to regenerate.  The statement says that on current projections, humanity will be using two planets' worth of natural resources by 2050.  WWF Inernational Director General James Leape says, "The consequences of this are predictable and dire."  Download the full report here. 

Innovative solutions, ideas and inventions emerging today are explored in this compendium for building a sustainable, livable, prosperous future. 

    An excerpt on buying local:

In the middle of Denver, in the middle of December, you can walk into most any supermarket and buy a ripe mango.  This has been true long enough that almost nobody stops to think of the remarkable distance that mango traveled or of the tree it fell from, which is probably enjoying a balmy tropical day on the other side of the planet.  Proponents of eating local food balk at the ubiquitous midwinter mango.  Why?  Because they think about the baggage that mango flew in with.

The 600+ page tome covers ground on community, shelter, cities, politics and more.  Check out their site for dates of the book tour and a glimpse inside.

In preparing for our latest podcast on peak oil and climate change, Root came across AmericanForests.org's climate change calculator.  Try it, and examine the impact each of us has on our usage of precious resources...and whenever possible, plant trees.

In the news recently, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic revealed plans to invest $3 billion in renewable energy initiatives over the next ten years.  Once again, Branson proves his commitment to finding a better way by offering a pragmatic, achievable approach towards sustainable aviation. 
The program involves changing the process by which airplanes are utilized during takeoff and landing.  Instead of taxiing down the runway, airplanes would be towed to a "starting grid" where they would then start their engines.  The "starting grid" system would reduce fuel consumption and on-the-ground carbon emissions by over 50% ahead of take-off at London's Heathrow airport and by nearly 90% for Virgin Atlantic flights at JFK in New York!

Other initiatives include flying aircraft at lighter loads, and a method of descent called "Continuous Descent Approach".  Branson has called for these methods to be employed by other airlines including British Airways, American Airlines and Easyet; engine and aircraft manufacturers such as Rolls Royce and Boeing and airport operators including BAA in the UK.

In a recent post here on the Dervaes Family's urban homestead Root talked about doing the most with what you have, right here, right now.  The two polarities of a multinational, billionaire with resources and vision, and a small family walking their talk inspire us to think and act in kind.

Here in Sonoma County it is easy to believe that eating clean, local food is possible, but even if one shops for and prepares food consciously, what passes as such can often astound.  Over on PSFK there is a post on who is watching what we eat.  Two different articles illustrate this important issue.

According to a New York Times article on nanotech food additives - a most unappetizing thought - the FDA's equally unappetizing attitude towards the technology was stated:

"F.D.A. officials said last week that treating every new nanotechnology product that consumers swallow as a food additive might compromise the agency's mandate to foster innovation and might not be within its authority."

Hmmm, an interesting stance from the regulatory body that approves food and drugs for consumption in the US, with far reaching implications worldwide.

In another article, this time from the San Francisco Chronicle, blogger Bonnie Azab Powell writes that while out to dinner with her husband, he ordered what was touted on the menu as "humane, sustainable pork".  After the fact, and upon investigation, Powell learned that White Marble Farms pork was indeed a "premium" brand of SysCo, the largest food services distributor in the United States.  The pork is produced in the same manner as conventional pigs - raised indoors in confinement barns by the second largest meat processor in America - Cargill Meat Solutions.

These related stories beg the question - What are we eating? - and how do we navigate nourishing ourselves in these times of insidious GMOs, sustainably "wrapped" foods, and marketing to the green consumer?

Living by example is an ideal that is easy to fall short of.  The Dervaes family has worked steadily since the mid-80s to transform an ordinary city lot in Pasadena, California into a shining example of permaculture principals in action.  Their urban homestead supplies the family of five with food all year long, in addition to providing fresh salad greens to local restaurants.  Check out this video by TreehuggerTV.com.  In the Dervaes' pursuit of more independent and efficient systems, they have developed energy efficient appliances, a biodiesel processor and purchased solar panels to diminish dependence on the earth's non-renewable resources.

"This project evolved from our commitment and conviction to live a simple, self-sufficient and holistic lifestyle," says Jules Dervaes, founder, "It is an entire life's journey and we have many more miles to go--the journey is by no means over! We are proving that we can attain our goal if we advance in stages whatever the circumstances. Our hope is that by documenting our personal experiences we can offer encouragement to those who are on the same journey towards a simple, self-sufficient lifestyle whether they are in the city or country."

Over on Emerge, they are talking about fine artist and commercial designer, Jon Santos teaming up with The Canary Project, a photographic project devoted to documenting climate change via powerful landscapes from environmental hotspots around the globe.  Santos has created Dimensions Of Change a series of collaborative images utilizing motifs based on the utopian ideals of folks like Buckminster Fuller, a site specific sculpture and a video piece devoted to the theme of global warming and the issues it causes with water.  The exhibition runs through the end of this week at Crane Arts Building in Philadelphia, where it has been up since September 4. A billboard of the collaboration between Santos and the Canary Project will run in Philadelphia later this Fall to carry the message on once the exhibition is closed.  Creative and compelling, "Dimensions of Change" makes truly moving art out of one of the greatest dilemmas facing humanity in the 21st Century

Once again, MoveOn.org has initiated a grassroots email campaign, this time to get people to host and view the groundbreaking film, Iraq for Sale.  This is the story of what happens to everyday Americans when corporations go to war.  Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald  (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed and Uncovered) takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq, and the decision makers who allow them to do so.  Check out an interview with the director by consciousmedianetwork.com, and the film's trailer.

Check out the latest exhibition at Julie Baker Fine Art, paintings, works on paper and photographic cut out collages by Waddy Armstrong and Meghan Gerety.

Waddy Armstrong paints colorful, delicate, painted silhouettes of trees and shrubs. Says Armstrong, "My work explores the connection between science, modern art and the natural world. Inspired by the strange lines and quirky shapes that occur in nature, I take characteristics of various plants and combine them into hybridized semi-abstract compositions."

Juxtaposed with Armstrong's colorful silhouettes are the graphite paintings of New York based artist Meghan Gerety.

The contemplative nature of Meghan Gerety’s work reflects both her practice of Eastern philosophy and her immersion in the history of modern and contemporary painting. The subject of her work is the landscape. Based on photographs, collected from her travels, her landscapes fuse the exploration of inner-self with the gestural energy of action painting. Inspired by vast open spaces and the nature of trees, the work depicts an emotional and spiritual response to the landscape. Enjoy.

Half of the world's cocoa is produced on West African plantations, where, according to the United Nations International Labor Organization, 284,000 child laborers, "are either involved in hazardous work, unprotected, or have been trafficked."  Organic Consumers Organization offers a number of options for consumers and advocates to become more knowledgeable about this - the first being - buy only Fair Trade and organic chocolate. Their are lots of choices, but Root loves Dagoba and Green & Black's .  Help educate people about this important issue by sending a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Host a slavery-free Halloween house party to distribute trick-or-treat sized Fair Trade chocolate minis to your friends and neighbors. Help OCA publicize the slavery-free Halloween campaign by letting them know about your house party. Contact: alexis@organicconsumers.org

Metropolis Magazine features an article on green roofs. 

Set amid the industrial squalor of a Queens neighborhood, Silvercup Studios, New York's largest film production studio, plays host to New York's largest green roof.  An idea whose time has come, green roofs cool down concrete jungles, productively utilize runoff, and provide a visual respite for those commuting at a bird's eye view on overpasses surrounding urban sprawl. 

Cool Hunting blogs that Good Magazine launches this month.  Ben Goldhirsh, Good's founder says, "We see a growing number of people tied together not by age, career, background, or circumstance, but by a shared interest. This revolves around a passion for potential mixed with fierce pragmatism and creative engagement. We sum all this up as the sensibility of giving a damn. But to shorten it, let's call it GOOD. We're here to push this movement and cover its realization." 

For all the weightiness of the topics, an optimistic point-of-view coupled with elegant layouts, photography and illustration (that often add a dose of humor) keeps the LA-based magazine accessible without losing its intelligent edge.

Brandchannel has an article featuring Dame Anita Roddick,
the founder of The Body Shop, the now ubiquitous natural body products chain found in airports and on high streets around the world.  Roddick speaks to the power of business, moreso than politics or religion to change the way people act. 

According to the article, one of Roddick's biggest accomplishments is establishing 36 purchasing programs with impoverished farmers in 23 countries, including Brazil, Nicaragua, Zambia, Pakistan and India. Through them, the Body Shop buys herbs, nuts, almond oil, sesame seed oil and other ingredients for its moisturizers, creams and shampoos. In total, the company has business relationships with more than 5,000 families, but the economic spin-offs are felt by thousands more with schooling, training, HIV/AIDS awareness, health clinics and fresh water.

Within their own scale, Roddick calls upon businesses to use their power as activism, and to take creativity to the next level.  At 64, still an activist, and in command of her choices, Roddick is an inspiration, who with her wealth and power as a creative social tool, continues to manifest real change in the world.