Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Give it Away Now

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by Starre Vartan · 04/20/08

So you’ve paid your dastardly taxes and you realize that you could’ve been a wee bit more generous this year with your cash, but you don’t know which group is the most deserving. Good thing the folks at EarthShare have picked and chosen the best national (and local!) environmental orgs to work with.

Through their workplace giving campaign, you can give as much as you want each year- and it can come directly from your paycheck each week, so you’ll barely feel the sacrifice. But at the end of the year you’ll feel good AND be able to write those gifts off.

Need a little reminder as to why? Earth Share’s latest PSA, “Promise” will be seen on on a variety of stations, and reminds us why we’re really supporting the organizations under the group’s giving program.

donations, Earth Share, giving, taxes

Bring the Trees Back to Armenia!

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by Starre Vartan · 10/15/07

Two different regions in Armenia, Shikahogh Reserve, which is now protected thanks to the work of the Armenian Tree Project and other groups (L) and the Gabion (L).

I’ve been a big fan of the Armenia Tree Project (ATP) since I first wrote about them for E Magazine a couple of years ago, and it’s not just because I’m 1/4 Armenian. The truth is, like most mixed-ethnicity (I’m also English, Lebanese, German and Scottish, whew!) Americans decended from immigrants I don’t feel particularly attached to any one country. I’ve certainly never been to Armenia and know little of the culture there. But reforesting a country that has had it’s forests decimated by people just trying to keep warm is not only important for the people that live there, but also in the fight against global warming and to improve air quality worldwide.

This map shows the deforestation in Armenia; the dark green is where forests exist now, the light green is where they were historically.

Over 70% of Armenia’s trees are gone (trees used to cover 25% of the land there, now they cover less than 8%) leading to erosion, landslides, flooding, loss of wildlife habitat, and degraded farmland. Trees were, and still are being cut down to heat homes. So importantly, not only does the ATP plant new trees but they also educate people (especially young people) to care for their local ecosystem, and the group is also working to find alternative fuels to help people keep warm without resorting to chopping down trees.

Gratuitous cute Armenian girl with apricots. Love her hat!

A little background….

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia sought its full independence in a war with Azerbaijan. From 1991 to 1994 economic blockades prevented heating oil from coming into the country. “That resulted in massive burning of wood, from furniture to books to trees in forests and parks,” explains Jeff Masarjian, executive director of the nonprofit Armenia Tree Project, founded in 1994. “With little if any insulation in houses, and no alternative sources of fuel for heat and cooking, the people had little choice. Poverty is the greatest enemy of the forest.”

Although heating oil is now available, deforestation remains an ongoing problem because firewood is often the more affordable choice. “If the deforestation isn’t reversed immediately, the World Bank estimates that all the forest could be gone in 20 to 50 years,” says Masarjian. “Eighty percent of Armenia could turn to desert.”

So, if you know someone with deep pockets, or you have a bit of change floating around in yours, consider giving to the Armenia Tree Project. Right now a guy named Harry Mangurian is matching all donations to the group, so whatever you donate will be automatically doubled. With the money 33,000 new trees will be planted, which not only improved the environment, but gives needed money to low-income Armenians. Instead of being under such economic duress that they log trees illegally, folks will be paid to plant trees instead. A win-win!

For reference in case you don’t know where Armenia is…I always forget!
Armenia is a mountainous country located between Turkey and Azerbaijan, above Iran and below Georgia.

alternative fuel, book, books, car, deforestation, donations, eating, farm, flooding, fur, Furniture, giving, Global Warming, habitat, Home, local, magazine, media, oil, poverty, reference, Tea, trees, Wildlife, wood, World Bank

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like…Consumerismtime!

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by Starre Vartan · 12/11/06

Unlike my craftier sisters, I don’t start making gifts in October. I also refuse to make exhaustive lists of people and gift ideas and plan shopping excursions to find just the right piece of junk to wrap in expensive paper that will exist, perfectly preserved in a landfill until the aliens come.

I’m a last-minute gift-buyer, and proud of it! (Because I’m tired at being annoyed with myself. So I’m embracing my late-shopping tendencies). The last few years I usually haven’t started shopping until around the 15th, and that date is coming up quickly. So here’s my exhaustive list for gifts that won’t take too much time to get but won’t rip a whole in the atmosphere or poison a town’s water supply either.

(Don’t forget that gifts of time or experiences–a nice dinner, babysitting for a harried new parent, or a free closet organizing– can be the best and cheapest gifts of all; I especially like giving a dinner out, so I can enjoy it too!)

Sometimes you need to give something in a (recycled) box, tied with a (reused) ribbon. Here are my choices for Gifts You Can Put in a Box Under the Tree:

Pangaya has a green gift guide for easy picking and choosing of lovely eco-fashionista duds. Have all your selections shipped directly to gift recipients so you don’t have to. Double-shipping- having gifts shipped to you, then shipping them to recipients, should BE AVOIDED at all costs! Just think of all the fossil fuel needed to ship something twice….(There is free shipping on all orders through 12/17/06. Also, check out the Pangaya blog– there are great discounts and specials every day advertised there.)

The t-shirts at Intention Creations are based on the concepts discussed in “The Secret”, “What the Bleep”, “Ask and It is Given” and a number of other
resources.

Get a solar panel, organic cotton baby toys, or recycled yoga mats at Gaiam (shipping is only $4.95 for all orders.)

Whole Foods (only in Cali) is selling windpower credits on cards.

At Do Great Stuff, you can buy from a lot of mainstream online stores and your commission will go to the non-profit of your choice (perfect for if you’re buying new books or that gadget your Dad really, really wants, and promises to use forever).

The site explains it this way:

Online merchants pay commissions to websites that bring them customers. When you shop at any store in the Do Great Stuff online shopping center, your purchases generate commissions. Most of the commissions we collect go to help non-profit organizations selected by our members. The rest of the commissions are used to pay our overhead, keep our site operational and hopefully someday generate some profits, which would allow us to donate even more money to worthy causes.

For each merchant, we clearly post on our site how much commission will go to the charity of your choice and 100% of that posted amount will go to charity.

The National Wildlife Federation has a whole catalog of gifts that you can browse through, but I really like the pewter ornaments (see above), because for every one you buy, a tree is planted.

Some ideas for Giving a Good Feeling:

I’m adopting a Blue Footed Booby for my Dad, cause he can relate to these guys.

The World Wildlife Fund has an animal-adoption program. When you donate money to your (or your giftee’s) fave animal, they get an adoption certificate, a color photo and an information card about the animal. For donations of $50 or more, you get a plush toy of the animal (and let me just warn you, these are ridiculously cute toys!!).

Greenpeace is just doing some kick-ass work lately. They continue to be a really activist-based group who is out there giving grief to whale hunters and clear-cutters. They are one of the leaders behind the campaign to get Apple and other electronics manufacturers to clean up their act and make their products recyclable (with 1 million iPods selling every week, there’s good reason why).

Give a gift of time or money to your local animal shelter or environmental organization in someone else’s name. Often smaller groups struggle to make ends meet and make important contributions to the land you live on and the water you drink (and save the stray animals in your streets!) Remember, a regular donation monthly (even if it’s just 10 bucks) is better than a one-time donation, and it’s easier on your wallet. Many groups have a set-up so you can automatically debit your checking account on a regular basis.

If you’re not sure where your local animal shelter is, go on Petfinder and put your zip code in; rescue groups and shelter names in your area will come right up.

If you don’t like any of my suggestions, Lime has written a great article, Giving Gone Green that gives some more ideas and advice!

The Center for a New American Dream also has gift ideas and some sound ideas for beating holiday stress.

Animals, atmosphere, Baby, book, books, car, consumerism, cotton, donations, eating, electric, electronics, Fashion, fish, Food, giving, holiday, Home, junk, local, Lush, mainstream, News, Organic, organic cotton, paper, recycle, recycled, resources, reuse, Shopping, t-shirt, t-shirts, treehugger, water, Wildlife, yoga

Give Stuff or Give an Experience

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by Brianne Goodspeed · 12/05/06

I was in REI today looking at ice axes when I noticed info on Sierra Club’s Building Bridges to the Outdoors which conducts programs that get inner city kids out into nature.

There are a few reasons that I believe in these kinds of programs and the people behind them. First, when I hear adults complain about feeling “trapped,” my sympathy is slim. What I remember most about being an adolescent is the rage I felt at being trapped in school, trapped in a suburb, trapped listening to boring, lazy, screwed-up adults telling me how things were gonna be. Kids have it rough because they’re stuck in the world that grownups construct. For this reason, I think that it’s important for them to have contact with nature. They need to see that there are more powerful and compelling forces in the world than their parents, their teachers, their school, their government, or their television. They need to see that there are alternatives to the bullshit that we push on them.

Second, most people who feel a connection to the natural world have had the privilege of exposure. That exposure, however, is more frequently awarded to kids growing up in Boulder than kids growing up in South Central. I don’t think that a given kid will necessarily feel a connection to mountains and oceans any more than they might feel a connection to, say, music or art. But I do think that kids equally deserve that exposure, regardless of their zip code.

Finally, I think it’s clear that people who have slept under the stars are more likely to be concerned about air pollution and those who know the way that tree bark feels beneath their fingertips are more likely to fight against deforestation. We’ll do future generations a favor by fostering environmental stewards among the kids who are growing up right now. We do them an even greater favor by making sure that the eco-conscious voices of the future represent a broad range of ideas, concerns, and perspectives (i.e. not just the ideas, concerns, and perspectives coming out of Boulder).

So…tis’ the season to give crap to people who already have lots of crap. Or you could give an experience to kids that you don’t even know.

adults, deforestation, donations, kids, Music, oceans, Outdoors, Pollution, Tea

Amazon Watch's 10th Anniversary & Fundraiser

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by Ann Benoit · 11/03/06

Amazon Watch recently celebrated it’s 10th Anniversary of supporting the rainforests of the Amazon basin and the region’s indigenous people. The fundraiser, held at Gallery One in San Francisco, was both a profoundly moving and educational event.

Sixteen year old Q’orianka Kilcher, award winning actress and indigenous rights activist was there to passionately speak about her recent trip with Amazon Watch to the Peruvian Amazon to gather video footage for a documentary about the devastating effects oil companies have on the indigenous people of the area.

Q’orianka began collaborating with Amazon Watch after receiving the “2006 Alma Award for Outstanding Actress in Film” for her performance as Pocahantas in “The New World” (with Colin Ferrell- not bad for her first kiss!) and has been a panelist for United Nations International Day of the World’s Indigenous People.

At this point in time, focus on the Amazon is more crucial than ever—its destruction would have devastating global consequences given its critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate. I strongly urge people to learn more about everyday actions in which to help, as well as donate if you can— donations to eco-conscious organizations make great xmas gifts! (hint, hint)

Amazon, donations, labor, News, oil, oil companies, rainforest, video, water