Search Results for: blog going green social consciousness and our kids

Anti-Slavery: Today’s Fight for Tomorrow’s Freedom

As I said once before in a blog, when many Americans hear the word “slavery,” they think of African Americans being freed after the Civil War. But unfortunately, slavery is still very much a part of the world today. While researching the SlaveryFootprint.org website, I ran across the Anti-Slavery website. Anti-Slavery points out that although slavery was prohibited by the UN in 1848’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, slavery still exists today. Modern slavery includes many different things – prostitution, bonded labor, trafficking, slavery by descent, child labor, forced labor, and forced marriage. The site estimates that as many as … Continue reading →

The Salwen Family Downsizes Their Lifestyle

Yesterday, I was flipping through my latest PEOPLE magazine, when I saw a book review that caught my attention. “The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back” tells the story of the Salwen family. This family of four was living the good life. Their 6,500 square foot in Atlanta had three Viking stoves, an elegant dining room, Portuguese inlaid tile, an elevator, and a $2 million price tag. Then one day, something happened. No, dad Kevin didn’t lose his job as a writer and entrepreneur, there was no major family catastrophe for mom Joan, … Continue reading →

Green Coffee

If you are like many people, you were drinking coffee this morning. You may have made it at home or driven through Starbucks to get it. Either way, as you enjoyed your hot beverage on this cold day (as it is in most of America), you may not have thought about the environmental and social issues behind that coffee. It is estimated that Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee each day. The only thing in higher worldwide demand than coffee is petroleum. It keeps us going on long days and some studies have shown that it may prevent heart … Continue reading →

United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009

On December 7th, almost 200 nations sent delegates to Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP15. By holding this conference, the U.N. was hoping to get countries to develop new treaties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Several countries attending COP15, including the U.S., China, Brazil, and India, have already pledged climate goals before the conference. President Obama has set new goals at a 30 percent reduction of emissions by 2025 and an 80 percent reduction of emissions by 2050. What gave him a boost in doing this was the fact that just this week, … Continue reading →

Going Green, Social Consciousness, and Our Kids

We are being inundated with green issues such as global warming and new products that will help us be “greener,” but sometimes we forget another aspect of being green – social consciousness. You have probably seen me write about the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle. But what about remember, as in remember those less fortunate than us. Is there any better lesson to teach your children? Social consciousness starts at home. What better way to teach our children to make the world a better place than to volunteer and take them along with us? Food banks always need a … Continue reading →