Feb 14
“Now that we’ve witnessed the historic overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, and seen how the people of Egypt have spoken loud and clear in favor of democracy, let us stand together in support of Egypt, ensuring this ancient land will not fall to corporatocracy. And, let’s also be inspired to end the terrible reign of corporatocracy around the world, including in the United States.”
The Global Message of Egypt via John Perkins – CSRwire Talkback
Feb 14
National Environmental Writers Rally Around Wendell Berry in Kentucky Governor’s Office Sit-In
FRANKFORT, KY – February 14, 2011, The nation’s most acclaimed environment writers are rallying around Wendell Berry, whom they called “the dean of their profession,” in support of his four-day long sit-in protesting mountaintop removal mining that continues in the office of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.
In strong statements of support, writer and 350.org founder Bill McKibben, along with bestselling authors Michael Pollan and Terry Tempest Williams, expressed their solidarity with the group of fourteen protesters that also includes a retired coal miner, a nurse practitioner who treats miners, community organizers, a graduate student, and others.
“People across America today…are electrified by what’s going on in Frankfort,” McKibben said. “It’s about time that people said: ‘No more business as usual, if that means leveling the mountains of southern Appalachia.’ And it comes as no surprise that Wendell Berry is in the forefront, as he has been for an entire generation.”
Michael Pollan, author of the bestselling The Omnivore’s Dilemma, agreed: “All of us who care about the future of the planet stand in solidarity with Wendell Berry and his compatriots in Frankfort, Kentucky, where they are conducting a ‘sleep in’ to protest mountaintop removal.”
“I can think of no more appropriate action to be taking on Valentine’s Day than what Wendell Berry and his fellow Kentuckians are doing: taking a stand from one’s heart,” Terry Tempest Williams (The Open Space of Democracy) said. “Mountaintop removal is an act of aggression. Civil disobedience is an act of love. We are right there with them in solidarity and support.”
The sit-in, which the protesters dubbed Kentucky Rising, has attracted international attention, with messages of support coming in from Argentina and Germany. In a statement issued last night, they called on Gov. Beshear, who is running for reelection this year, to join with them in opposing mountaintop removal.
“It’s disappointing that Gov. Beshear is choosing to play election-year politics with the lives and livelihoods of eastern Kentuckians. We continue to call on him to engage in a sincere, public dialogue about ending mountaintop removal and beginning a program of economic renewal for our miners and mountain communities.”
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Original Press Release: http://kentuckyrising.blogspot.com/2011/02/press-release-national-environmental.html
GreenChoice Bank Offers Values-Based Approach Focused on People, Planet, Profits
CHICAGO- February 11, 2011, GreenChoice Holding Company, Inc. officially opened the doors to GreenChoice Bank on Feb. 1, completing the rebranding of Family Federal Savings of Illinois, the 100 year old community lender it acquired last July. Unique about GreenChoice Bank is its dedication to sustainable business operations, sourcing, lending and culture.
By rebranding branch locations in Cicero and Lockport, Ill., GreenChoice
becomes the first holistically sustainable community bank in the Midwest. Its mission is to offer consumers and businesses a better, values-based choice for banking services, focused on the triple bottom line of people, planet and profits.
GreenChoice Holding Company has been operating under the Family Federal name since it acquired the savings and loan. Simultaneously, its management has spent months retrofitting and re-engineering outdated structures and processes to operate the business using sustainable principles.
This includes retrofitting the century-old buildings to environmentally sound
standards for LEED Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (EBO&M) certification. Green technologies are infused into every aspect of the retrofit project, from high-efficiency lighting and plumbing and locally-sourced building materials to recycled and reused products, including reclaimed walnut planks from a turkey coop.
As part of its mission, GreenChoice Bank, a certified B Corporation, leverages funds on deposit to invest in the local and green economy. Special checking and savings accounts with higher rates are designed for those actively embracing sustainability through their account activity. Advantaged terms are offered to commercial clients managing green businesses, building sustainably and creating green collar jobs.
GreenChoice Bank//Add One
“From online banking and paperless statements to advantaged loan and deposit
products for those actively embracing sustainability, we designed the bank with
environmentally-friendly principles that guide every aspect of our business,” says Steve
Sherman, LEED AP, chief operating officer and director. “Our customers know that
when they bank with us, their funds are being leveraged responsibly and invested back
into the community.”
Internally, back-office operations are being developed to conserve energy and
reduce the bank’s environmental footprint. This minimizes waste through paperless
processes, electronic document distribution, image-based check processing, on-line
banking and e-statements. The bank seeks to purchase more environmentally friendly
products and is mindful of sourcing decisions, such as offering debit cards made of 100
percent recycled plastic. Employee policies also encourage sustainable choices, from
using public transportation and volunteering in the community to rewarding those who
purchase hybrid or other Low Emission Fuel Efficient vehicles.
The bank’s executive team is active in the sustainable business community and
has more than 75 years of Chicago area banking expertise. In addition to Steve Sherman,
the team is comprised of Harold L. Sherman, founder, chairman and chief executive
officer; Jon A. Levey, LEED AP, founder, executive vice president and chief lending
officer; and Kenneth C. Kline, chief financial officer.
GreenChoice Bank branch locations are located at 5225 W. 25th St. in Cicero and
838 S. State St. in Lockport. GreenChoice Bank also plans to open its LEED Platinum
flagship location later at the new Green Exchange, 2545 W. Diversey Ave. in Chicago.
For more information about GreenChoice Bank, including its green banking incentives
for consumers and businesses, please visit www.greenchoicebank.com.
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GreenChoice Bank is the Midwest’s first holistically sustainable community bank, offering a values-basedchoice in banking to consumers and businesses. Conscious about more than your money, GreenChoiceBank marries contemporary sustainability with a relationship-driven approach to provide financialproducts and services to individuals and businesses. GreenChoice Bank’s flagship location will open atGreen Exchange, 2545 W. Diversey Ave. in Chicago. Branch facilities are located in Cicero and Lockport,Ill. For information about GreenChoice Bank’s products and services, please visit online at www.greenchoicebank.com.
Karen Hudson will address conference in New York that will be webcast
February 8, 2011
Article by Terry Bibo – Available in Print Edition of the Peoria Journal Star
Elmwood—Polluted Air, Polluted water, Antibiotic resistant bacteria. These things can be “the invisible price tag of industrial agriculture,” acdording to Karen Hudson, the Elmwood- based sustainable farming activist.
People are beginning to open their eyes and see that’s not the kind of agriculture they want.” Hudson said Monday. “Our project is reclaiming agriculture.” As President of Dairy Education Alliance and FARM Families Against Rural Messes (FARM) Hudson will speak at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at TEDx Manhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” in New York City. The all-day conference will be webscast live at www.livestream.com/tedx. More than 60 viewing parties have been confirmed worldwide; a worldwide map is available at www.tedxmanhattan.org/.
TED is a 25 year old not -for -profit organization that “supports world changing ideas with multiple initiatives” through conferences that have featured speakers from Bill Gates to Sir Richard Branson. TEDx events are similar, self-organized events. The lead sponsor for this one is the Glynwood Institute for Sustainable Food and Farming.
“We chose Karen Hudson to be a TEDx Manhattan speaker because she is one of the top anti-factory farm activists in this country,” said Diane Hatz, TEDx Glynwood co-founder and director, via email. “She not only is an expert n confinement facilities, she has first hand knowledge of what happens when one moves into an area.”
Hudson said a portion of her talk will focus on the way huge confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) can take a tremendous toll on the land and drive smaller-based farms out of business. In Elmwood, the manure lagoons breached in 2001 and caused one of hte state’s largest environmental disasters.
“My focus is that at all of these fafcilities manure becomes a liability, not a nutrient source for cropland,” Hudson said. “CAFO 101- that’s what happpened to us.”
Over the past ten yearsthe groups that have fought those factory farms have evolved into a 30- county coalition called Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water.
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Socially Responsible Agricultural Project
The Socially Responsible Agricultural Project educates the public about the problems caused by factory farms, works to help communities protect themselves from the devastating impacts of these facilities while, at the same time, providing help and guidance for those who are trying to reclaim agriculture by producing and marketing sustainable agricultural goods.
“Green Depot, which dubs itself the nation’s biggest building material dealer specializing in environmentally sustainable building products, grew even larger Monday when the New York-based company announced it has acquired Ecohaus, a similar operation with locations in Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland, Ore.”
Green Depot Acquires Ecohaus via Craig L. Webb – EcoHome
“Just over 150 Berkeley businesses have been certified by the Bay Area Green Business program, ensuring that they meet a long list of environmentally friendly standards, and although it is universally encouraged, the designation has had mixed effects on companies’ sales.”
“Being green is really important to a lot of people that live here,” said Fred Fassett, chief executive officer of printing company Minuteman Press, which became officially green certified last month. “Everything else being equal, I think you’re going to tend to go with the green company – I think it gives us kind of an edge.”
Bay Area Sees High Concentration of Green-Certified Businesses via Soumya Karlamangla – The Daily Californian
“SAN FRANCISCO — California’s landmark law on curbing greenhouse gases, which is well on its way to taking effect, has hit a legal snag in the form of a tentative judicial ruling that state environmental regulators failed to follow legally required procedures.
Judge Ernest H. Goldsmith of San Francisco Superior Court issued a tentative opinion — a rarely used procedure that gives the prospective loser in the case a chance to make new arguments or take new actions before a final decision — saying that the rules creating a cap-and-trade system were adopted without proper analysis of alternatives.”
California Law to Curb Greenhouse Gases Faces a Legal Hurdle via Felicity Barringer – New York Times Environment
Washington, D.C. – February 2, 2011 In his State of the Union, President Obama laid out his vision for winning the future by investing in innovative clean energy technologies and doubling the share of electricity from clean energy sources by 2035. Alongside that effort, the President is proposing new efforts to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings across the country. Last year, commercial buildings consumed roughly 20 percent of all energy in the U.S. economy. Improving energy efficiency in our buildings can create jobs, save money, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and make our air cleaner. The President’s Better Buildings Initiative will make commercial buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade by catalyzing private sector investment through a series of incentives to upgrade offices, stores, schools and other municipal buildings, universities, hospitals, and other commercial buildings. This initiative builds on our investments through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and our continued commitment to passing the President’s proposed “HOMESTAR” legislation to encourage American families to make energy saving upgrades in their homes.
The President’s Plan for Better Buildings
The President’s Budget will propose to make American businesses more energy efficient through a series of new initiatives:
Building on Progress
The Better Buildings Initiative will complement the initiatives the President has already launched for government and residential buildings, including the $20 billion in funding for building energy efficiency in ARRA:
Original Press Release: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/03/president-obama-s-plan-win-future-making-american-businesses-more-energy
Eye-witness Accounts of Mubarak Unleashing His Thugs on Peaceful Egyptian Protesters
CAIRO – FEBRUARY 2, 2011 Human rights activists from the organization CODEPINK joined Egyptian protesters this week in Cairo as perhaps the only international solidarity delegation on the ground in the country. They have been in the streets with the Egyptian people for the last five days. Several members of the group of nine activists are available by phone for interviews this week. Tomorrow the delegation plans to do a solidarity action at the US Embassy. Medea Benjamin, a leader of the delegation and co-founder of CODEPINK Women for Peace, is currently available by cell phone in Cairo at 011 20-107148431.
The activists report that Egyptians have been excited to see their message of solidarity from the American people. Many Egyptian protesters are carrying signs that say “My address is Tahrir square until Mubarak leaves” and they are holding firm. The activists also report that many Egyptian youth seem ecstatic that President Obama has acknowledged their voice in Egypt’s political affairs but they want him to put more pressure on Mubarak to step down. Women are in the streets and have played a major role in the grassroots movement for democracy in Egypt. Today, as violence towards peaceful demonstrators escalates, the activists said rumors have circulated that the pro-Mubarak agitators are paid supporters of the dictator.
The international CODEPINK delegation had been en route to Gaza via Egypt but with the Rafah border closed they are unable to enter Gaza, and remain in Cairo. The activists will stay in Cairo until they can safely make their way to Gaza, where they intend to continue their delegation for peace. The delegation includes people from the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, Switzerland and India. This is CODEPINK’s ninth trip to Egypt and Gaza in the past two years.
CODEPINK is calling on the President, State Department, and Congress to stop funding the Mubarak regime, which currently receives over $1.8 billion dollars in military assistance annually from the US.
See photos from CODEPINK delegation in Egypt here: http://bit.ly/idIODQ
For more information on CODEPINK in Egypt, see the latest news and e-alerts at: www.codepink.org
For more information about the delegation to Gaza: http://bit.ly/f9Ca2X
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About CODEPINK
CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. The name CODEPINK plays on the Bush Administration’s color-coded homeland security alerts — yellow, orange, red — that signaled terrorist threats. While Bush’s color-coded alerts were based on fear and used to justify violence, the CODEPINK Alert is a feisty call for women and men to “wage peace.”
Original Press Release: http://www.codepink.org/article.php?id=5682
“Green Car Journal’s annual Green Car Vision Award was presented to Ford today at the Washington Auto Show. Honoring the Ford Focus Electric vehicle that will come to market late in 2011, the Green Car Vision Award celebrates an industry-leading, environmentally focused vehicle that is in its early stages of commercialization or in demonstration programs, but not yet on sale.”
Ford Focus Electric named 2011 Green Car Vision Award winner via ABC Green Right Now