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Dear Green America member, Let's hear it for Green Americans! Time and again, your green lifestyle shows a resilience that can stand up to all kinds of crises in our economy. For example, when gas prices rose, we saw millions of Americans cutting back on their driving. Green Americans were doing this already. When Juneau, Alaska faced an avalanche-induced power outage last spring, the town reduced its electricity use by 30 percent. Green Americans have been pursuing energy efficiency for years. And just last week, we saw reports that the economic downturn can be seen at our nation's landfills, which have been taking in less trash, as more Americans shift to thrift – reducing, reusing, and recycling. Smart consumption and pursuing zero waste: again it's Green Americans leading the way. Thrift is a traditional value in our country. My grandmother told me stories about raising her young family during World War II, when the shift to thrift helped mobilize an America in crisis to overcome great obstacles. She recycled all of her aluminum foil for the war effort, stopped buying nylon stockings, planted a victory garden, and saved money for the war-bond effort. As tough as those times were, my grandmother felt that what she did every day mattered for the country and her children's future. We're at just such a crossroads with our economy today. Like the economy my grandmother experienced during World War II, we need to move the emphasis of our economy away from consumer goods as the driving engine. But instead of a war effort, the priority now needs to be on a new green engine -- economic activity and jobs that bring about a sustainable future – from energy efficiency, mass transit, and sustainable agriculture, to education, health, and building resilient communities that make sure no one is left behind. Thanks for all your work over the years to go green, and shift to thrift. Please share Green America's resources (forward this e-mail or give a gift membership) to those you know who are using this current economic moment to begin their own shift.  Alisa Gravitz, Executive Director, Green America Action: Deadline for First-Round Voting at JustMeans is Friday (March 20) 
Thanks to all of you who have voted in the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Climate Action contest at Just Means. You've helped Green America's two proposals take the lead in two categories, which is very helpful for our 2009 Climate Action plans. Both our Energy Efficiency/Shift to Thrift proposal and our Clean Energy Victory Bonds proposal seem to have struck a chord with many voters. Especially with the victory bonds, Green Americans old enought to remember World War II are writing to tell us that they bought Victory Bonds then, and they'd love to buy more Victory Bonds now. If you haven't voted already on round 1, there's still time – through Friday! Vote for our Clean Energy Victory Bond proposal » There will be a final round of voting for the finalists next week. Watch your e-mail next week; we'll be asking you one last time to help us earn this boost to our Climate Action work. News: Wisdom from the Green Economy -- Shift Society's Underlying Values 
Check out this excerpt from our latest Green American, in which we discuss the power of thrift, especially in these tough economic times – and why the green life is the good life all the time. "We borrowed stuff more often from each other," noted one of the participants. "A lot of people don't like to ask for help. But we build community when I ask to borrow your Roto-Rooter, or you come over and get my giant monkey wrench. … It's about so much more than not going shopping." Resources: Food that Nourishes People and the Planet 
Here in the US, large corporations continue to squeeze out smaller-scale farms. According to the USDA, our nation lost more than 13,000 farms between 2006 and 2007, and the average size of the remaining farms continues to rise. Our Real Green newsletter article offers you strategies to make sure your food budget is helping people and the planet. Many Green Americans have already been saving money and saving the planet by purchasing local fruits and vegetables in bulk from CSAs and farmers' markets for years. Our article gives you even more strategies for supporting family farms, from finding "domestic Fair Trade" fruits and nuts to finding the union label on mushrooms, grapes, strawberries, apples, citrus, and packaged food. In addition, we link you to more than a dozen employment-program caterers nationwide, that are providing much needed jobs and job training, especially important in these tough economic times. Read Food that Nourishes People and the Planet »
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March 19,
2009
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All supporting members receive subscriptions to Real Green and the Green American, as well as a copy of the National Green Pages™ and our Guide to Socially Responsible Investing. Don't miss out on these resources for green living, and for shifting our economy "from greed to green." Join today.  |
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