Music videos don’t typically address climate change, nor do the musicians usually give you a shout-out in the video, but the Alliance for Climate Education (A.C.E.) is giving you the chance to declare your independence from fossil fuels by creating your own personalized Crush Global Warming video.

The clever trick places your name throughout the video on newspapers and signs, and aims to get young people excited about going green and combating the climate crisis. Read the rest of this entry >>

laszlo-photo's Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Access to safe and clean water is a right that should be afforded to everyone, but unfortunately pollution, climate change and privatization, among other obstacles, prevent one billion people obtaining this vital necessity.

This upcoming Thanksgiving week, SYRV, a non-profit that connects travelers with volunteer opportunities in developing countries, will be traveling to Jiquilillo, Nicaragua, one of the many places that lacks access to clean water.  There they will help build desperately needed water-purifiers as well as other community support projects.

And if you happen to be in Los Angeles this evening, you should head down to Venice to attend the SYRV fundraiser where you can learn more and help support the amazing work they do.

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Participant Media presents entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Behind these films and issues, there are thousands of people nationwide who work tirelessly on campaigns that use the films as inspiration to make a difference. As a member of the company’s Social Action team, which develops initiatives that are inspired by the films, I’m excited to announce the first posting of a weekly blog of Sarah’s Social Action Snapshot, which will offer the latest updates on our campaigns and offer specific actions and tools, from our campaigns, for people to get involved in issues in the news.

Food, Inc.
Do you want to know about rGBH dairy, issues facing small farmers or organic yogurt? If so, check out our recent online chats with some of the leading food advocacy organizations from our campaign and Stonyfield Yogurt.

We learned this week that obesity rates continue to climb with an expected 103 million Americans to be obese by 2018. Scary? Yes. Preventable? Yes. Take action by supporting menu labeling and check out our campaign’s 10 tips for healthy eating.

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Editor’s Note: This post is written by Andrew Winston, a globally recognized expert on how businesses can profit from thinking green and the co-author of the best-seller Green to Gold.

For the past few years, the business world has been swept up in a green wave—a rising tide of interest and concern about environmental issues. The Great Recession has not stopped the pressure pushing this wave. Environmental crises such as climate change and water shortages continue to evolve. Mega-forces such as technology-driven transparency and the rise of the consumer in India and China—which will force the price of oil and other resources up over time—continue to advance. Closer to home, key stakeholders are demanding more of companies than ever, especially corporate customers greening their supply chains. For business, going green is ultimately unavoidable. Read the rest of this entry >>

As I pointed out yesterday, last night Al Gore was on a special green episode of 30 Rock!  His cameo comes late in the show but as usual the entire show is funny and it is totally worth it to wait a little while to see Al Gore interact with Kenneth.

Beyond the Gore cameo the show showcased (and admittedly made fun of) the various ways people can reduce their carbon footprint. I can’t think of a better way to brainstorm ways to change your life then by laughing along with the gang at 30 Rock.

Give a watch and then visit the “act” section of this post to see how you can help in the fight against global warming.

It sounds like science fiction, or fodder for a TV comedy sketch, any many may question if it’s real or fake. But this is real. In Kokonogi, Japan, jellyfish weighing up to 450 pounds are invading fisherman’s catches. The Nomuras are the world’s largest of the jellyfish species and can measure up to six feet in diameter. They are also a menace to fisheries in parts of Japan, where they get caught in nets and poison or kill fish stung by their tentacles–not to mention they are heavy. Earlier this month, a trawl boat capsized when a three-man fishing crew tried to haul in a net that contained dozens of the jellyfish.

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wild turkey by stevevoght, Flickr Creative Commons

Since I wrote last year about tips for a sustainable thanksgiving meal, much has transpired in the food movement. We now have a First Family that regularly toils in their backyard to grow and harvest organic produce. The hit documentary, Food, Inc. was released this past year and is now in the running for an Academy Award. I had the pleasure of working on the Social Action campaign for the film which has given me the privilege of learning much from amazing food activists who are working daily in fields, offices, schools and boardrooms daily to help to build a more just and sustainable food system. Read the rest of this entry >>

Hopenhagen and Huffington Post have launched the Hopenhagen Ambassador contest, and the first round of entries are rolling in. Take a look at the entries after the jump, then head over to HuffPost to vote for your favorite. Want to enter the competition? You can find the official rules here. Read the rest of this entry >>

A defining moment in Trevor Field’s mission to provide clean water to people in Africa came when he stumbled across a simple scene: a group of women standing around a windmill-driven pump, waiting for the wind to blow so they could get water. “I just thought, ‘No, this is a pathetic situation to be in,’” said Field, who lives in South Africa. “And ever since then I’ve sort of had a mission in my head to try and help rural people to get clean drinking water.”

That mission took a fortuitous turn at an agricultural fair when he found a water pumping system driven by a children’s merry-go-round. Field saw the potential in the device, bought the rights and leveraged his advertising background to come up with the first PlayPump system, which uses a merry-go-round to pump water into an elevated tank, where billboards are sold for advertising space.

Exclusive interview with Trevor Field after the jump…

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