The Paleaku Peace Gardens Sanctuary in Kona, Hawaii, USA, is a meticulously planned garden spanning about 30 meters provides a relatively accurate map of our Milky Way Galaxy. Different plants depict stars, globular clusters, and even nebulas. Many bright stars visible in Earth’s night sky are depicted on leaves surrounding the marked location of the Sun. Plant rows were placed to represent arms of our Galaxy, including the Sun’s Orion Arm, the impressive Sagittarius Arm, and the little discussed Norma Arm. A small bar runs through our Galaxy’s center, while a fountain has been built to represent the central black hole.

Is this amazing or what?

Via Treehugger

On the second to last day of school, 60 seniors from Kenowa Hills High School in Walker, Michigan, rode their bikes to school. It wasn’t an improvised things either, as they had police escort and did it safely, and even the mayor joined them (handing out donuts, which isn’t exactly health food, but nobody was forced to eat them). But their principal, out of some sort of “I’ll show you who’s boss” primal instinct, decided to reprimand them, calling the bike ride a “prank”, going as far as suspending them from a traditional year’s end celebration at that school.

But calling this a prank is taking the “letter of the law” too far and forgetting the spirit. This wasn’t burning dog poop, exploding toilet and naked kids running around. It was a safe bike ride with adult supervision, something that an untold number of kids do every single school day in many places around the world.

Schools Would be Empty in Amsterdam and Copenhagen…

Now it’s possible that this wasn’t done in the best possible way and that this slowed down traffic some (the school pretends it was terrible, the police escort says it wasn’t a problem — whatever), but it still was an act that should be commended, not punished. This could have been the beginning of a great tradition, and the next ride would have been even better organized, rather than a sour end to some kids’ high-school career.

I know I don’t have much pull in Walker, Michigan, but I’m calling for principal Katharine Pennington to come to her senses and apologize to the students for trying to discourage them from doing something that was safe, healthy, and much better than almost any other possible alternatives in that situation.

Ok, what is the world coming to?

From New York Times

Global warming isn’t a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read a recent interview with President Obama in Rolling Stone in which he said that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves “regardless of what we do.”

Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now. That level of heat-trapping gases would assure that the disintegration of the ice sheets would accelerate out of control. Sea levels would rise and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures would become intolerable. Twenty to 50 percent of the planet’s species would be driven to extinction. Civilization would be at risk.

That is the long-term outlook. But near-term, things will be bad enough. Over the next several decades, the Western United States and the semi-arid region from North Dakota to Texas will develop semi-permanent drought, with rain, when it does come, occurring in extreme events with heavy flooding. Economic losses would be incalculable. More and more of the Midwest would be a dust bowl. California’s Central Valley could no longer be irrigated. Food prices would rise to unprecedented levels.

If this sounds apocalyptic, it is. This is why we need to reduce emissions dramatically. President Obama has the power not only to deny tar sands oil additional access to Gulf Coast refining, which Canada desires in part for export markets, but also to encourage economic incentives to leave tar sands and other dirty fuels in the ground.

The global warming signal is now louder than the noise of random weather, as I predicted would happen by now in the journal Science in 1981. Extremely hot summers have increased noticeably. We can say with high confidence that the recent heat waves in Texas and Russia, and the one in Europe in 2003, which killed tens of thousands, were not natural events — they were caused by human-induced climate change.

We have known since the 1800s that carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere. The right amount keeps the climate conducive to human life. But add too much, as we are doing now, and temperatures will inevitably rise too high. This is not the result of natural variability, as some argue. The earth is currently in the part of its long-term orbit cycle where temperatures would normally be cooling. But they are rising — and it’s because we are forcing them higher with fossil fuel emissions.

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen from 280 parts per million to 393 p.p.m. over the last 150 years. The tar sands contain enough carbon — 240 gigatons — to add 120 p.p.m. Tar shale, a close cousin of tar sands found mainly in the United States, contains at least an additional 300 gigatons of carbon. If we turn to these dirtiest of fuels, instead of finding ways to phase out our addiction to fossil fuels, there is no hope of keeping carbon concentrations below 500 p.p.m. — a level that would, as earth’s history shows, leave our children a climate system that is out of their control.

We need to start reducing emissions significantly, not create new ways to increase them. We should impose a gradually rising carbon fee, collected from fossil fuel companies, then distribute 100 percent of the collections to all Americans on a per-capita basis every month. The government would not get a penny. This market-based approach would stimulate innovation, jobs and economic growth, avoid enlarging government or having it pick winners or losers. Most Americans, except the heaviest energy users, would get more back than they paid in increased prices. Not only that, the reduction in oil use resulting from the carbon price would be nearly six times as great as the oil supply from the proposed pipeline from Canada, rendering the pipeline superfluous, according to economic models driven by a slowly rising carbon price.

But instead of placing a rising fee on carbon emissions to make fossil fuels pay their true costs, leveling the energy playing field, the world’s governments are forcing the public to subsidize fossil fuels with hundreds of billions of dollars per year. This encourages a frantic stampede to extract every fossil fuel through mountaintop removal, longwall mining, hydraulic fracturing, tar sands and tar shale extraction, and deep ocean and Arctic drilling.

President Obama speaks of a “planet in peril,” but he does not provide the leadership needed to change the world’s course. Our leaders must speak candidly to the public — which yearns for open, honest discussion — explaining that our continued technological leadership and economic well-being demand a reasoned change of our energy course. History has shown that the American public can rise to the challenge, but leadership is essential.

The science of the situation is clear — it’s time for the politics to follow. This is a plan that can unify conservatives and liberals, environmentalists and business. Every major national science academy in the world has reported that global warming is real, caused mostly by humans, and requires urgent action. The cost of acting goes far higher the longer we wait — we can’t wait any longer to avoid the worst and be judged immoral by coming generations.

From Fast Company

From Eco18.com

There are a lot of successful big companies out in the business world, many run by women, but there are so many more successful small businesses and those that aspire to becoming a success. According to the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), women own 7.8 million of the 27.2 million small businesses in America. What is even more exciting is when these companies specialize in a niche market like green and natural. Many women create companies born out of a personal mission to improve family, health, lifestyle, environmental issues, etc. which seems to drive them 24/7 to create more than just a product, but a company they can be proud of.

Many originally had jobs outside of the home in other sectors when they decided they wanted to live their passion and others are moms with a great idea born out of necessity. Product categories such as pet, chocolate, vitamins, feminine hygiene, household, food, baby, and full service agencies that can promote them like ADinfinitum are more important than ever.

Sue Taggart, President and Founder of ADinfinitum, originally from England, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis many years ago and was told there was very little that could be done except to be on drugs for the remainder of her life. She was only in her 30’s at the time. Going the traditional medical route and using so many toxic drugs was not acceptable to her. She decided to see an herbalist who turned her life around and taught her to manage her symptoms with natural solutions and dietary changes. Soon after that she started her full service agency, which has been specializing in promoting green and natural brands for over 20 years. In July of 2011, Sue founded eco18.com to provide online consumers with green and healthy lifestyle information for everyday living.

Diva Cup, an eco friendly alternative to women’s menstrual products is a family business run by Corrine and Francine Chambers , who have not only built a successful business, but have an amazing community of loyal brand advocates. Green Depot, founded by Sarah Beatty in 2005, is the nation’s leading supplier of environmentally friendly building products, services and home solutions with many retail stores. Some companies like Shazi Visram’s Happy Baby Food and Marie Moody’s Stella and Chewy’s pet food have gone on to be multi-million dollar companies.

Sweet Riot’s Founder Sarah Endine helps other women get the resources they need for their business in addition to selling great tasting chocolate, having fun and being sustainable. Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro businesses to million dollar enterprises. Hallie Rich, founder of Rich Vitamins called Alternavites committed to using better packaging and giving to health-related nonprofits. She is the third generation of vitamin manufacturers in her family. Logic Product Group, created by Jill Taft for her family, is a company that manufactures green, non-toxic products to help prevent and treat lice, bedbugs, fleas, ticks and other pests for families including their pets.

There are groups such as Women in Naturals who meet at Natural Product Expo shows for networking and business opportunities, to source jobs and look for mentors. Sustainablebusiness.com, created by Rona Fried in 1996, provides online global news and networking services to help green business grow. Although Victoria Colligan’s Ladies Who Launch isn’t all green and natural it offers resources and connections for women entrepreneurs in many different fields.

Translate your passion into a resource, product or service that makes a positive difference for the planet or for good health. It’s an exciting time for women in sustainable and natural business. Is this your time, too?

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

For the love of a tree,
she went out on a limb.

For the love of the sea,
she rocked the boat.

For the love of the earth,
she dug deeper.

For the love of community,
she mended fences.

For the love of the stars,
she let her light shine.

For the love of spirit,
she nurtured her soul.

For the love of a good time,
she sowed seeds of happiness.

For the love of the Goddess,
she drew down the moon.

For the love of nature,
she made compost.

For the love of a good meal,
she gave thanks.

For the love of family,
she reconciled differences.

For the love of creativity,
she entertained new possibilities.

For the love of her enemies,
she suspended judgment.

For the love of herself,
she acknowledged her worth.

And the world was richer for her.

~Charlotte Tall Mountain

PHOTO: Internationally known environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill

THANK YOU Norma Tarango for this sharing this with our community. Have a poem or verse that inspires the feminine rising in you? Send to carolyn (at) mindovermarkets (dot) com and we’ll share it with our Women Of Green tribe. 

From Care2 petition site

Researchers at Beelogics, a leading bee research firm, identified pesticides as a leading contributor to declining bee populations. In late September of 2011, Monsanto, a major producer of genetically modified foods, bought the Beelogics firm for an undisclosed sum. It now seems likely that Monsanto’s funding will manipulate research to point the blame away from chemicals used in GMO food production.

The bee decline affects all U.S. citizens. Bees are responsible for pollinating 1/3 of U.S. crops and are essential to sustaining our ecological lifespan. It is vital that researchers can identify the true cause of the decline so that responsible citizens can learn how to help the bee population.

If the USDA uses Monsanto-funded research from Beelogics, it will essentially be sacrificing scientific integrity for corporate interests. Please support the truth of scientific research and tell the USDA not to use research funded by Monsanto.

Take action today. Together we can stop the USDA from utilizing research funded by Monsanto.

From GreenBiz.com

Ray Anderson often asked a rhetorical question: does business exist to make a profit, or does business make a profit to exist? With this line of questioning, Ray called upon us to understand that while making a profit is the lifeblood of a company’s survival, it shouldn’t be the only reason for a company to exist.

With his talent for translating lofty vision into everyday reality, Ray would ask: what you would rather get out of bed to do each day: make carpet, or make history?

Making history by making carpet is a unifying sentiment for the people of Interface. How, exactly, are we making history? By proving the business model for sustainability, while taking on Ray’s challenge to eliminate our negative environmental footprint.

Ray believed there must be a better way for business to thrive on our planet, without the assumed ecological and social impacts that our current industrial take-make-waste system creates. With such ambitious goals, where do we look for inspiration in redesigning a system as pervasive and complex as business?

As an avid student of biomimicry, I believe nature offers inspiration for exactly these types of system-level design challenges, not only product innovation. Recalling Ray’s question about the purpose of business, is there something to learn by reflecting on the “purpose” of all the other forms of life in the natural world?

Based on our understanding of biology, we may surmise that the purpose of life is to pass along DNA through reproduction. That response stems from our mechanistic, Cartesian view of the natural world. A systems view, however, yields a different answer — an answer that reveals a hidden secret of life.

To understand this secret, consider what our planet was like four and a half billion years ago, and contrast that to how it is today. Our primordial planet had no ozone layer to protect against solar radiation, little atmospheric oxygen, and, of course, no life.

Roughly 3.8 billion years ago, life mysteriously appeared and persisted. Over billions of years, life has shaped its surroundings to be more conducive for even more forms of life: photosynthesis converted carbon dioxide into oxygen and sunlight into chemical energy, opening doors for aerobic organisms (like us!); microbes transformed rock substrates into soil providing fertile ground for plants; food webs balanced predators and prey yielding environmental niches for diversity to flourish.

In essence, life has survived and thrived for billions of years through adaptation and evolution, and by each species continually shaping the surrounding environment with a net benefit to the biosphere. Wielding an ecological, systems view of the natural world, we see that the secret of life’s 3.8 billion year success story is — as Janine Benyus so eloquently states — life creates conditions conducive to life.

Creating conditions conducive to life could very well be considered life’s “purpose,” and this secret of life is one that we have forgotten in our industrial system design. We can’t currently claim that business creates conditions conducive to all life — but imagine if we could.

At a systems level, life is more than simply sustainable; it’s regenerative. Which brings to bear the question: should we be striving for merely sustainable business, or should we aspire for business to be regenerative?

This isn’t just a theoretical conversation; regenerative design is practiced today. There is a growing movement in the world of green building design that offers an inspirational vision of a thriving, living future heralded by regenerative design. Inspired by biomimicry, the Living Building Challenge calls for transformative change. After all, if collective efforts of reducing our impacts are not enough to ensure a healthy planet for our children’s children, then we must aspire to actually improve the ecological fabric of our planet.

Looking beyond the green building movement, what would our world look like if our products and processes created conditions conducive to life? Imagine inhibiting bacterial growth on surfaces through structure (not chemistry) and without creating antibiotic resistance. Sharklet Technologies‘ designs do just that. Or imagine converting ambient carbon dioxide gas into cement, much the way coral does, shifting a carbon source to a carbon sink. Calera is emulating coral and flipping the carbon equation on its head.

While products and processes are making great strides, ultimately, we must redesign commerce itself to be regenerative, so that the system-level impacts of industry improve the ecology of our planet. Do we know what this would look like or where to begin?

Factories where the only energy input is direct sunlight and the only effluents are clean water (a la photosynthesis)? Incredibly, we have a great start to understanding life’s regenerative strategies, thanks to Dr. Dayna Baumeister and Janine Benyus, co-founders of Biomimicry 3.8.

Dayna and Janine have distilled the deep principles that allow life to create conditions conducive for more life. These “Life’s Principles” [PDF] offer design lessons for how nature has solved countless challenges — providing an invaluable guide for how we may solve our own challenges — and a critically important starting point for understanding how to approach this ideal of regenerative commerce.

By embedding Life’s Principles into our business operations, I believe we can turn Ray’s dream of a restorative enterprise and a living, thriving future into a reality. Making history by making carpet a regenerative business? That’s enough to get me out of bed every morning.

On Women Of Green:

• Janine Benyus’ Emulating Nature (because all life depends on it)

• Interview with Janine Benyus

From Fast Company

It’s springtime in the northwest. The endangered frog eggs are now tadpoles, and the butterflies are beginning to pupate. But the people tending to these ecological projects aren’t grad students or forest-loving yuppies. They’re prisoners in the care of the Washington State Department of Corrections, where the Sustainable Prisons Project is in its seventh year.

Back in 2004, the Washington State Department of Corrections started a partnership with the Evergreen State College. A forest ecologist, Nalini Nadkarni, brought together staff and incarcerated men from a nearby corrections center to start the Moss-in-Prison Project. Using prison facilities as a controlled environment, the project explored how to “farm” mosses for the horticulture trade.

In that pilot project, participants had to figure out which species of moss could be cultivated to alleviate pressures of unsustainable moss harvesting in old-growth forests. Nadkarni also intended to provide intellectual and emotional stimulation for the inmates, who typically have little or no access to nature but could provide fresh perspectives for ecological research. The project was a huge success, and one inmate even coauthored a peer-reviewed paper for an international sustainability journal with Nadkarni.

Now, the Sustainable Prisons Project works in four low-security corrections centers–and wants to go national. “We’ve been getting interest from correction centers, and around the world,” Kelli Bush, a project manager, says. “Our hope is to be able to share what we’ve learned in developing this program.”

The program also wants to show how prisons can have a positive impact on society. The inmates get connections to living things in a nature-starved environment, as well as knowledge and experience in green jobs–and the ecologists get a willing work force for sometimes-tedious work. They are in the process of evaluating whether participants have a lower rate of re-offending or a higher rate of employment upon release.

This year, inmates are working on several ecological projects. They have raised 311 Oregon Spotted Frogs in the past two years, bolstering local populations. Ecologists say that the frogs raised by the inmates grow bigger than those raised at other sites because the inmates have time to look at them every two hours and feed them at a higher rate.

Inmates are also raising native prairie plants, rearing Taylor’s Checkerspot butterflies, keeping bees, and building bird-boxes for endangered local birds. The projects are voluntary, says Bush, and the inmates have to apply for the jobs. Most of them have an interest, but no exposure to science or sustainability.

In addition to the hands-on experience, the project has held more than 100 lectures at five prisons, with more than 2,400 inmates and 280 corrections staff in attendance. The inmates can request topics for lectures, says Bush, and hot topics recently have been climate change, wildlife biology, and native plants.