Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-26
Welcome To Live Organic Baby. We want to inspire you to raise healthy children.- bed after a longggggggggggggg week and weekend. day off tomorrow and mom comes!! yes!!! #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-19 - http://tinyurl.com/mlkmx4 #
Print This Post
Email This Post
Struggling Giving Up Bottled Water?
I struggled with giving up bottled water thinking how can I drink that polluted tap stuff until I learned a few facts. My first step was realizing 21 years ago before I was born most people didn’t drink bottled water. My second step was finding out most bottled waters aren’t any better then most tap waters. It is said that 40% of bottled water is tap water. I also had to take into consideration what the plastic waste was doing to our enviroment even with recycling them. I gained final confidence was being able to test any water at any time with the water testing kit. Showing me right before my every eyes it is safe water to drink. You too can do this and hopefully spread the word. Our country needs to get back on track with drink water without filling up our land with plastic bottles. Not convinced yet, test your bottled water and see how it may not be any better. If you find out that you have bad contaminates in your water check out a purifying system to put on your faucet. Will you take that challenge? To read more check out water information at EPA. Learn and Love Organic Living!
Originally posted 2008-11-24 14:22:15. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-22
- Is your exercise program green? #
- Have you stop buying bottle water? #
- almost done with my Chinese final paper!! #
- Have you tried organic nail polish? #
- wants to get DMB tickets for April!! #
- Party Favor Ideas for a Princess Party - http://tinyurl.com/ch8cru #
- Back into action after spring break. #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-15 - http://tinyurl.com/atdfu9 #
Originally posted 2009-03-22 09:39:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-19
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-12 - http://tinyurl.com/n57923 #
Print This Post
Email This Post
What type of Water do You Drink?
Learning About Water
We want to know more about you. Please take a moment to answer our poll. There are so many reports and opinions out there about the best water source. Next week we will give you the results and information about where you should be drinking your water. You can go to our Contact Us page to leave additional comments.
Originally posted 2008-11-17 19:09:43. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-15
- http://tinyurl.com/ca7ep6 new video posted of a cover of miranda lambert song!!! #
- Home at last. #
- I love Organic green beans #
- Heading back to Nashville to get some work done #
- having a princess party of nashville meeting!! #
- Got too much sun today. #
- Learning about water. #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-08 - http://tinyurl.com/c7t8fb #
Originally posted 2009-03-15 09:39:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-12
- just ran, now swimming laps, then pilates at 12 and work till 4:30. SYTYCD at 7 and songwriting. productive day!! #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-05 - http://tinyurl.com/kwfjfp #
Print This Post
Email This Post
Benefits of Breastfeeding
There are many benefits to breastfeeding. Even if you are able to do it for only a short time, your baby’s immune system can benefit from breast milk. Here are many other benefits of breast milk for a mother, her baby, and others:
BENEFITS FOR BABY:
Breast milk has agents (called antibodies) in it to help protect infants from bacteria and viruses. Recent studies show that babies who are not exclusively breastfed for 6 months are more likely to develop a wide range of infectious diseases including ear infections, diarrhea, respiratory illnesses and have more hospitalizations. Also, infants who are not breastfed have a 21% higher postneonatal infant mortality rate in the U.S.
*Some studies suggest that infants who are not breastfed have higher rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the first year of life, and higher rates of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, lymphoma, leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, overweight and obesity, high cholesterol and asthma. More research in these areas is needed (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005).
Babies who are not breastfed are sick more often and have more doctor’s visits. Also, when you breastfeed, there are no bottles and nipples to sterilize. Unlike human milk straight from the breast, infant formula has a chance of being contaminated.
Breast milk is the most complete form of nutrition for infants. A mother’s milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby’s growth and development. Most babies find it easier to digest breast milk than they do formula. As a result, breastfed infants grow exactly the way they should. They tend to gain less unnecessary weight and to be leaner. This may result in being less overweight later in life. Premature babies do better when breastfed compared to premature babies who are fed formula. Breastfed babies score slightly higher on IQ tests, especially babies who were born pre-maturely.
BENEFITS FOR MOM:
Nursing uses up extra calories, making it easier to lose the pounds of pregnancy. It also helps the uterus to get back to its original size and lessens any bleeding a woman may have after giving birth.
Breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding (no supplementing with formula), delays the return of normal ovulation and menstrual cycles. (However, you should still talk with your doctor or nurse about birth control choices.) Breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and possibly the risk of hip fractures and osteoporosis after menopause.
Breastfeeding makes your life easier. It saves time and money. You do not have to purchase, measure, and mix formula. There are no bottles to warm in the middle of the night! A mother can give her baby immediate satisfaction by providing her breast milk when her baby is hungry.
Breastfeeding requires a mother to take some quiet relaxed time for herself and her baby. Breastfeeding can help a mother to bond with her baby. Physical contact is important to newborns and can help them feel more secure, warm and comforted.Breastfeeding mothers may have increased self-confidence and feelings of closeness and bonding with their infants.
BENEFITS FOR SOCIETY:
Breastfeeding saves on health care costs. Total medical care costs for the nation are lower for fully breastfed infants than never-breastfed infants since breastfed infants typically need fewer sick care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations.
Breastfeeding contributes to a more productive workforce. Breastfeeding mothers miss less work, as their infants are sick less often. Employer medical costs also are lower and employee productivity is higher.
Breastfeeding is better for our environment because there is less trash and plastic waste compared to that produced by formula cans and bottle supplies.
As a whole breastfeeding is the more natural way to go. For additional information can be found at Women Health on Breast Feeding.
Originally posted 2008-11-10 18:26:09. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-08
- Going to the seashore and living organically. #
- Give up bottled water. #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-01 - http://tinyurl.com/abgltb #
Originally posted 2009-03-08 09:39:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-05
- watch the future of food documentary on hulu.com our government is so corrupt and who knows what we are really eating anymore?! #
- going to college group then late night run i presume and early bed! #
- I finally feel like I am doing what I came to Nashville to do 4 years ago….and I couldn’t be happier. Music <3 #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-28 - http://tinyurl.com/nax2h2 #
Print This Post
Email This Post
Why Eat Organic?
Pregnancy is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful stages that many women go through during the course of their lifetime - and often one of the most confusing as well! For example, many questions may arise that you may not have considered while conceiving, such as how your work schedule while impact your pregnancy, the recommended amount of sleep that you’ll need each night - even the type of diet that’s right for you and your unborn baby! If you haven’t given a second thought to your diet yet - or if you just don’t know how to sift through all of the information to find the right one for you - consider eating organic foods as the ultimate diet for the overall health of both you and your baby.
So why should you and your baby go organic? We all have been told that organic foods are more healthy than processed foods; but does organic food actually make a significant difference in your baby’s health?
Turns out, the answer is a resounding yes! Regular foods that are readily available at your local grocery store - especially fruits and vegetables - are often processed and filled with nasty addictives, pesticides and chemicals that are harmful to both you and your unborn baby. In fact, recent studies have even reported that the pesticides and chemicals that can be found in your typical fruit or vegetable can significantly alter the development of your baby’s immune and nervous system, and can even be linked to deadly forms of cancer, including leukemia and breast cancer. Yet eating organic fruits and vegetables during your pregnancy doesn’t just help you to avoid certain types of disease - you can also get more vitamins and minerals, as produce that is grown without pesticides keeps all of its nutritional value. These vitamins and minerals are absolutely essential to the healthy development of your baby, so it’s important to fill up on organic fruits and veggies!
While meat is an important part of any prenatal diet, eating anything but organic meat exposes your baby to developmental problems. For example, non-organic meat is treated with growth hormones and other kinds of dangerous chemicals that have been linked by some scientists to deficient immune systems. Although the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has approved of these hormones and chemicals, pregnant women should make every attempt to avoid non-organic meat so as to protect your baby’s healthy development.
As you can see, eating organic food during your pregnancy is the surest way to protect your baby from the harmful impact of artificial chemicals, hormones and other additives that are otherwise find for everyday use. Your baby is extremely vulnerable during your pregnancy - don’t make the mistake of eating over-processed foods that have been linked to certain types of diseases. In fact, many experts agree that when it comes to the best diet for pregnant women, organic is the only way to go!
Originally posted 2008-11-03 17:37:13. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-01
- is very thankful for the donation of GED books she has to give to The Next Door. #
- Why Don #
- The Time Is Now- Live Organic Baby and Go Green #
- just wrote a great song. or least I think it is. #
- Have a meeting at 5:30. #
- http://www.coolpeoplecare.org #
- Kid #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-02-22 - http://tinyurl.com/bxysyj #
Originally posted 2009-03-01 08:39:00. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-28
- drinking trader joes unsweetened green tea with hint of mint and uploading videos to my youtube.com/sugr623 page.2morrow is my b-day!! #
- writing new songs, recording hopefully soon, Princesspartynashville.com updated and working on Organic Baby….oh and yoga tonight! #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-21 - http://tinyurl.com/kq3bwu #
Print This Post
Email This Post
Why Don’t More People Know How Good Breastfeeding Is?
Clearly, breastfeeding is good for mothers both physically and emotionally. And yet, many mothers decide to breastfeed based solely on the benefits to the baby. Breastfeeding in the context of a bottle-feeding society tends to be perceived as inconvenient and uncomfortable.
Often, mothers see breastfeeding as martyrdom to be endured for their baby’s health. If they stop early, they may feel guilty about depriving the baby of some health benefits, but their guilt is often soothed by well-meaning people who reassure them that “The baby will do just as well on formula.” Perhaps if they knew that continuing to breastfeed is also good for their own health, some mothers might be less likely to quit when they run into problems.
Many mothers are not being told how good breastfeeding is for their health. Whether out of ignorance or due to the influence of the artificial baby milk industry, many health care providers fail to inform mothers of the facts. It’s time for this well-kept secret to come out. As word spreads about these little-known facts, more mothers will not merely choose to breastfeed briefly to provide early disease protection for their baby, but will continue to breastfeed, providing optimal outcomes both for their children and for themselves.
Originally posted 2009-02-27 16:27:11. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-21
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-14 - http://tinyurl.com/knfqzc #
Print This Post
Email This Post
Organic Pregnancy-What Essential Oils Not To Use?
I thought this article made some great points and gave warning against some essential oils not to use during pregnancy. Let me know what you think.
By Amy Nutt
As any soon-to-be-mother knows, pregnancy can be a mixed bag of highs and lows. While you are excited about meeting your new bundle of joy, observing a hundred and one do’s and don’ts can present something of a challenge, especially if you are a creature of habit.
Take for example, the use of essential oils.
Found in many spas, candles and aromatherapy products, they can present a problem to a mother’s unborn child. The problem is many women use these items for holistic skin care regimens or a relaxation tools. Being told that they can no longer use these products may cause a sense of despair as impending motherhood can cause skin reactions and stress.
However, it is best for a pregnant woman to stay away from these oils. Understanding why could go a long way in aiding women to firm their resolve in avoiding these substances.
Harmful affects of essential oils
Botanical products are normally very beneficial to adult humans, but these same oils could cause birth defects or premature delivery, especially when used in certain doses.
This is because some of these oils produce hormone like affects that can “trick” the uterus into contracting. Others, while normally okay, can be highly toxic to an unborn child. Since oils can quickly absorb into the skin and into the blood stream, this is not a good thing.
A few oils to avoid
While it may seem like a bit of an over kill, you would be wells advised to consider what oils may not be safe to use.
There are literally hundreds of oils that are off limits during your pregnancy. To be certain which ones may cross the placenta and pose a threat to your unborn, ask your doctor or do an online search.
There are even a few pregnancy forums where mothers gather to swap anecdotes, ideas and advice. You may be able to get the info you need from such boards.
While the list can be fairly comprehensive, there are few common oils that most people use that would be best to avoid, and they are:
Basil, black pepper, citronella, clove, jasmine, lemon, nutmeg, peppermint, rose wintergreen, rosemary and chamomile in certain doses.
Many of these are uterine stimulants and can cause contractions. Causing early contractions, as you may know, may result in premature labor.
To avoid this, stay away from these particular oils altogether. Again, when in doubt about an essential oil, consult your OB/GYN for guidance.
Safe alternatives for Mom and baby
Women who find that their skin is now breaking out or are seeking new ways to relax and unwind may feel at a loss of what to do.
The answer is relatively simple.
There are many products especially made for the pregnant woman that contain organic ingredients like Shea butter oil, which is safe for use during pregnancy. While these may be a tad bit on the expensive side, you can console yourself by the thought that a) you will only be using them for a few months and b) you are doing it so your baby can remain healthy.
Besides, don’t forget that daddy can be an indispensable help during this time. Ask him for occasional gentle messages to relieve stress and promote relaxation. You may be surprised, but the request will make him feel useful in a time where he may feel left out.
A happy, healthy pregnancy
Being pregnant can be an amazing time in a woman’s life. It can be hard and extremely stressful, yet alternatively rewarding. Yes, there may be things, like essential oils, that you have to worry about in conjunction with a million and one other things, but when you finally hold your child in your arms, giving up a few habits here and there won’t seem quite so bad.
Premiere provider of organic skin care products for adults and babies. Products include moisturizers, organic sunscreens, aromatherapy oils and organic oils to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Nutt
Originally posted 2009-02-19 20:11:21. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-14
- exhausted. can’t wait for this week to be over!!! #
- @jmcriswell sorry bout your rough week buddy. i miss your face. lets make up a dance. #
- All in Gods timing. Not getting my hopes up but so extremely blessed and excited for this week!!! #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-07 - http://tinyurl.com/qclclw #
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-06-07
- sooooo excited to get started on her dreams and see how all these meetings go….!!! Putting it in God’s hands. #
- babysitting 12 hrs. tomorrow, going to be a long day… #
- at US Border celebrating Whitney’s birthday. then late night runninggggggggg #
- at cabana celebrating logs birthday!!! #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-31 - http://tinyurl.com/mh6epx #
Print This Post
Email This Post
The Epidemic Changing the Children of America
We hear about the obesity epidemic in America all the time. America is the heaviest country in the world. Yet what are we doing to change it? We try to eat right, exercise, make resolutions that are temporary and occasionally permanent but it is time to think outside ourselves. If we really want to make a change it needs to start in our children. Instilling healthy habits from birth can help detract children from becoming just another childhood obesity statistic.
Today over 25 MILLION children are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight (Healthier Generation). This number is overwhelming. When children are overweight growing up they are more likely to stay that way. This is where the change needs to happen. If we take the time to instill healthy habits starting from birth we could help lower this number. Yet it is never too late. Being a good role model to your children is first and foremost.
With the increasingly amount of risk factors involved with being overweight it is a responsibility to take seriously. Heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure are a few of the factors that are more likely to occur in overweight children. The emotional distress a child encounters as well from being overweight can be very hard on them. This is why it is so important to be the most supportive, encouraging, and positive person a child has in their lives.
To improve your child’s health it should be a family effort. Changing the way the whole family eats and interacts is beyond beneficial. Check your labels at the grocery store, high fructose corn syrup, enriched; all these words AVOID! It is so easy to buy easy to make snacks and food but this is your child’s health we are talking about. By buying organic, all natural products you are ensuring your children are getting more wholesome foods. A really great organic yogurt brand is Stonyfield Farm Organic Yogurt. Yogurt is not only a great snack but contains a lot of nutritional value. They make yogurt for pregnant mothers with YoMomma, for babies with YoBaby, for children with YoKids, and soy based and yogurts for adults. Check out their website for more information on their company and product. Also taking one day a week to prepare food or just taking 20 minutes extra out of the day to prepare fresh organic wholesome food for you and your child could literally be life changing. Lastly, you have heard it time and time again but it is so important. EXERCISE! This does not have to be done at a gym. Children love sports and games. Take 30 minutes and play catch, go bike riding, go to the batting cages, or play on the playground. Not only will it wear your young one out but also give you great bonding time with them! Also talking about what exercise does for your body is a great way to teach children that that activity is not only fun but also beneficial. Sometimes all children need is an answer to the question “why?” Why exercise? The answer is simple. America has to act now. Let’s make this generation, the generation of change.“BE the CHANGE you want to see.” Additional reading at healthier generation.
Learn and Love Organic Living!
Originally posted 2009-02-03 03:05:04. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-31
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-24 - http://tinyurl.com/o8esfb #
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-24
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-17 - http://tinyurl.com/phuzvf #
Print This Post
Email This Post
How Do I Find An Organic Restaurant?
Looking to go out to eat tonight but want to stay true to your organic eating, this is now easier then ever with these two tools I found on the internet. Eat Well Guide offers a search tool to find a local restaurant that can offer organic choices and healthy foods. It also can tell you about your local market and farms.This site can be limited depending on the area you live in but worth investing your time to put your local listings on their site. It is a valuable tool when you are traveling with your family or on business. I am working on building the Nashville and Tampa database.
There is also another site that is similar ChefsCollaborative, helping you find a local restaurant. Check both out and let me know what you think. Learn and Love Organic Living!
Originally posted 2009-01-22 12:43:58. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
The Time Is Now- Live Organic Baby and Go Green….
I want to share this article as a member of Co-op America. Let’s Get into Action now…..

Real Money
WINTER 2009
7 Fixes from the Green Economy
Bold solutions from the green economy are the antidote to the broken economy—and can repair the damage and create a world that works for all.
Everyone now understands that the economy is broken. What our members and readers have known for years— that the economy is not working for people and the planet—is now playing out on Wall Street and Main Street every day.
While many name the mortgage and credit-default-swap crises as culprits, they are only the most recent results of an economy with fatal design flaws. These design defects range from a dependence on growth, consumerism, and the structure of money to the short-term focus of today’s markets, and policy goals that are focused on growing Gross National Product. Yet, when GNP growth includes a whole set of “bads”—from sweatshop labor to manufacturing toxic chemicals—every dollar of GNP growth actually reduces wellbeing for people and the planet.
Taken together, these fatal flaws systematically create economic injustice, poverty, and environmental crises.
It doesn’t have to be that way. The green economy offers solutions that are the antidote to the current breakdown.
Green America members have been trailblazers for green economic solutions for years. We now have a teachable moment to be bold in stepping up with these solutions for long-term change toward sustainability—and helping people through tough times. Now these green economy solutions are more important than ever.
Simply put, we need to move from greed to green.
Here are seven green economy solutions to today’s economic mess.
1. Green Energy—Green Jobs
A crucial starting place to rejuvenate our economy is to focus on energy—for the sake of the economy and the environment. It is time to call in the superheroes of the green energy revolution—energy efficiency, solar and wind power, and plug-in hybrids—and put their synergies to work with rapid, largescale deployment. This is a powerful way to jumpstart the economy, energy independence, job creation (with jobs that can’t be outsourced), and the victory over the climate crisis. The five green-energy keys are rapid, large-scale deployment of:
• Energy efficiency—moving toward 50 percent savings in five years.
• Solar and wind—getting to an all-renewable electric grid.
• Plug-in electric hybrid vehicles (PHEVs)—getting to at least 20 percent of the US vehicle fleet in ten years.
• Smart grid—rebuilding our aging electric grid with a smart grid that makes it easy to scale up energy efficiency and renewables.
• New national and state electric utility regulation and building codes that make it easy to scale up with efficiency, renewables, and PHEVs.
This year, Green America is launching Project LEAP—our Low-carbon Energy Acceleration Plan—to show how to combine these superheroes for real economic prosperity, energy security, and 80–90 percent greenhouse gas reduction. We shared this with our allies on President Obama’s incoming team (along with our idea for the financing mechanism; see #2 below). But you don’t have to wait for Washington—use Green America resources to get started today:
• Guide to Efficiency First!
• Solar how-to articles, and interviews with the solar leaders of our Green Busienss Network™
• Solar High Impact National Energy (SHINE) Plan. [PDF]
• Utility Solar Assessment (USA) Study. [PDF]
2. Clean Energy Victory Bonds
How are we going to pay for this green energy revolution? Green America and our allies at Clean Edge propose Clean Energy Victory Bonds. Modeled after victory bonds in World War II, Americans would buy these bonds from the federal government to invest in large-scale deployment of green energy projects, with particular emphasis in low-income communities that are hardest hit by the broken economy. These would be long-term bonds, which would pay an annual interest rate, based in part on the energy and energy savings that the bonds generate. During WWII, Americans bought over $185 billion in bonds—that would be almost $2 trillion in today’s dollars.
Millions of people are looking for a way to help the country right now. During the townhall- style presidential debate, one person posed this question to the then-candidates: “What would you ask us to do?”
Green America’s answer: Invest in Clean Energy Victory Bonds so our country can start building the clean-energy infrastructure and get people to work in good, green jobs, right now.
Sign up for the Green America e-newsletter to help advance these and our other green energy policy measures all year long.
3. Reduce, Reuse, Rethink
Living lightly on the Earth, saving resources and money, reducing inequality, and sharing —jobs, property, ideas, and opportunities—are the principles crucial to restructuring our economy. This economic breakdown is, in part, due to living beyond our means—as a nation and, in too many cases, as individuals. With the enormous national and consumer debt weighing us down, we won’t be able to spend our way out of this economic problem. From planting gardens to conserving energy to swapping clothes to making gifts—these green economy basics will help us move to an economy that works for all.
As Dr. Juliet Schor, economist and author, puts it, “We’ve lost the ability to profitably … grow our way out of recession. The usual kinds of consumer spending (cars, electronics, furniture, apparel, travel) degrade vital eco-systems and have an economic cost. Business-as-usual puts us deeper into an economic hole.”
Ultimately, we need an economy that’s not dependent on growth and consumerism. So it’s time to rethink living over-consumptive lifestyles, and turn to the principles of elegant simplicity—what Green Americans have known all along.
4. Go Green, Fair Trade, and Local
When we do buy, it is essential that those purchases shift from the conventional economy to the green and local economy—so that every dollar helps solve social and environmental problems, not create them. What we spend our money on—and refuse to buy—does matter. Expanding the green economy is fundamental to the transition to an economy that works for people and the planet. Moving dollars away from conventional agribusiness and toward supporting local workers and local, organic farmers creates more justice and sustainability.
Use the National Green Pages™ to make as many of your purchases as possible from the green economy. Turn to Green America all year long for ways to be intentional with your money—to help create a better economy with the choices you make every day.
5. Community Investing
All over the county, community investing banks, credit unions, and loan funds that serve hardhit communities are strong, while the biggest banks—from Washington Mutual to CitiGroup —required bailouts. The basic principles of community investing keep the community investing institutions strong: Lenders and borrowers know each other. Lenders invest in the success of their borrowers—with training and technical assistance along with loans. And the people who provide the capital to the lenders expect reasonable, not speculative, rates of return. If all banks followed these principles, the economy wouldn’t be in the mess it’s in today.
You can provide capital to community investing banks and credit unions—it’s as easy as opening a federally insured account. Check out the community investing section of our Web site to get started.
6. Shareowner Activism
When you own stock, you are a shareowner and have the right and responsibility to advise management to clean up its act. Had General Motors listened to its activist shareholders, it would have invested in the efficient and electric cars that would have prevented the need for a bailout from bankruptcy. Had CitiGroup listened to its activist shareowners, it would have steered clear of the faulty mortgage practices that brought it to its knees. Activist shareholders are key to reforming companies—from jumpstarting them on the energy revolution to addressing executive compensation to stopping the corruption created by corporate lobbying—for the transition to the new economy. Let’s up the ante.
7. Building Community
“Whatever the problem,” says Dr. Lynnaea Lumbard, psychologist and interfaith minister, “community is the answer.” Connected, resilient communities help people get through tough times—and celebrate during good times. Now is the time to get started. Get to know your neighbors. Do a neighborhood skills inventory—so people can help each other fix their roofs, repair their bikes, mend a torn coat—saving money and building community. Plan a community garden, a neighborhood garage sale, or clothing swap. Start a dinner or home improvement co-op. (Get more ideas and learn more here.)
The Time is Now
It looks like we have a huge opportunity on our hands—a global economic breakdown that is teaching us that we are all interdependent. There’s no “there” to escape to, so we all might as well figure out how to live together —and transition our economy to one that protects vulnerable people and our vulnerable planet. Stay tuned to Real Green all year long. We look forward to working with you on turning today’s problems into opportunities for a more just, sustainable, and joyful world.
—Alisa Gravitz
©2009 Green America. All rights reserved.
Originally posted 2009-01-20 14:52:34. Republished by Old Post Promoter
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-17
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-10 - http://tinyurl.com/prvnou #
Print This Post
Email This Post
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-10
- just trying to make it through friday…working on a 20 pager. one final down three more to go!! #
- http://tinyurl.com/ddam56 a song i wrote called wasted love!! check it out!! #
- In one week I will be free from stress and sumemr will begin. Till then stuck in the library… #
- Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-03 - http://tinyurl.com/chs6j5 #