Getting Past "Buy Green" on Earth Day

On Earth Day, it’s not uncommon to see “Go Green” posters and signs around town, but it feels like more and more we are seeing this slogan in stores, with “green” products or all kinds being sold everywhere you look.  

Consumerism-masked-as-environmentalism seems to be at an all-time high, where the word green is no longer just a color, but an adjective, a thing, an action, a state of being.  It is fashion, it is household cleaning products, it is home design.  And it is largely being marketed to women. 

This morning’s Early Show told viewers that the best part about Earth Day is green products, and featured the company Ecofabulous, where women can go online to shop for stereotypically gendered products, such as biodegradable dish soap, organic cotton underwear, or ridiculously expensive designer chandeliers made from discarded man-made debris.  You can even enter to win an Eco-mom Home Makeover! So why does it seem like women are doing all the work here in buying “eco” goods?  And is all of this eco-consumerism really going to save the planet?

We tend to gravitate toward the "conscious consumer" solution to environmental degradation because it’s easier. Do I really want to learn about resource exploitation or our destruction of ecosystems and the accompanying extinction of wildlife when I could just buy this cute, non-bleached organic cotton dress and call it a day?  

Consumption of products to save the world is not relegated to the environmental realm.  Oprah and Bono sold us the RED IPod while breast cancer PINK has made it past the pink ribbons and onto our cereal boxes, coffee mugs, and dog collars.

Suddenly, we have it in our heads that we can buy our way out of problems that are much more complex and require much larger solutions than simply buying products of a certain color.  The larger societal focus on consumption tend to obscure the real issues affecting our planet and serves to make a profit for the corporations that see a niche for people with their hearts in the right place.  Maybe it has to do with a general overwhelming feeling of having so little time or power to make any real changes, when changing our buying habits is something easy, accessible, and within reach. 

The problem isn’t the actual purchasing of these things, it’s the fact that it feels at times as if this is the only social justice activism that many of us take part in – ever. It’s that the problems (over-consumption, mass production of goods, corporate greed) have somehow become the solution.  Because the fact is, over-consumption really is a large part of the problem here.  Environmental problems are completely tied to our use of resources, which has increased fourfold in the last 50 years (our population has only doubled, yet our consumer practices have changed dramatically). The world’s richest 500 million people produce 50% of global carbon dioxide emissions compared to the 6% produced by the world’s poorest 3 billion.

It is absolutely imperative that we examine our consumer practices as well as hold corporations accountable for the disastrous effects of production on our environment. We must pressure our government to do so as well; the fines for violating water and air pollution laws are often so small that multi-national corporations are not discouraged to violate them. If we want to use our purchasing power, we should use it against these companies by refusing to buy their products and mounting boycotts against them.

Green consumerism isn’t going away, so it’s time we start to examine and engage in honest conversations about what we as a population can do to make a real difference in the problems affecting our planet today. 

Image via nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Let's Get Out Her Vote in California!

There's so much at stake across the nation during the 2010 elections, but especially California. With important races and ballot initiatives to vote on this Fall, we must mobilize to get young people to the polls in the Golden State!

What's at stake you ask? Plenty!

• Abortion rights: Access to safe, legal abortions and affordable family planning services, including California’s Family PACT program which provides free reproductive health care to low-income women, are constantly under attack. Your vote will help determine whether reproductive health care and comprehensive sexual education are supported over failed abstinence-only programs.
  
  
• Education and loans: California is experiencing an education budget crisis, with a projected $18.9 billion deficit for the next fiscal year. Cuts across all levels of education make enrollment in classes increasingly difficult and limit access to quality public education.
  
  
• The Environment: Voters can limit the harmful environmental impacts of big business by voting for cleaner energy measures which contributes to the creation of jobs, development of renewable energy sources and the reduction of California’s dependency on foreign oil.
  
  
• LGBTQ Rights and Marriage Equality: In California and across the nation LGBTQ civil rights issues, including marriage equality and the right to serve openly in the military, will be in the hands of our state and federal law makers.
  
  
• Immigration: Some state law makers support harsh immigration legislation that encourages racial profiling. If such measures were adopted, many families could be torn apart and children of immigrants could lose their path to citizenship. Your vote can determine what kind of legislation our state adopts on immigration policies.
  

Be sure to get involved in our "Get Out Her Vote" Campaign. We have California specific organizing materials to make sure you register, educate, and mobilize students to the polls.

Don't be intimidated! We have a step by step guide on how to get started:

1. Register students to vote! Form broad coalitions with other campus groups, and work with the student government for a massive voter registration efforts. Table everyday, have visibility events, recruit volunteers, and get people to sign the voter pledge!

2. Educate! Make sure people know why they should vote! Young people are the least registered, least voting demographic. Our voice needs to be heard! Flyer with information about what's at stake, use social media to get the word out, and get press coverage about the issues!

3. Mobilize to the polls! It's one thing to register, but it's another thing to get people to the polls on election day! Make sure your volunteers phone bank, chalk, flyer, and have visibility action to remind people to vote and where their polling locations are.

Don't forget to check out our FAQs on student voting, that answers questions like, "Can I vote where I go to school?" (answer: YES!) and "Will my financial aid be affected if I register at a different address than my parents' address?" (answer: NO!)

Get out there California!

Be sure to contact your campus organizers with any questions by email, jsun@feminist.org or mduran@feminist.org, or by phone 866-471-FMLA.

This was post was featured in the September 2010 campus eZine. To join our mailing list, sign up here.

Copenhagen Talks, Birth Control & the Environment

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) produced a report on the state of the world population as it stands in 2009. The report “urged world leaders to take into account improved access to family planning services in future discussions like next month's UN climate change summit in Copenhagen.” (earthtimes.com) It noted that there is still time to work on issues regarding reproductive health, gender equality and how thinking “creatively” about the two and its effect on population could aid in a more sustainable world in the future.

As our faithful readers know, I have been blogging about the Copenhagen talks and of the level of commitment various world leader have said they will or will not commit in reaching long term agreements in the December climate change summit. Currently as it stands, President Obama acknowledge the US would not enter in any binding agreements at Copenhagen, that it would be “impossible.” (Expect Delays—Not a Good Enough Answer) But, other world leaders have said long term commitments through agreements and legislation is possible by December. We will have to wait and see.

Despite various world leaders saying they will or will not enter into agreements…There are more equally pressing issues left that need discussing other than the depletion of natural resources and carbon omissions that affect climate change, such as the effects of an ever growing population on the environment.

UNFPA executive director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, said that in order to help mobilize women against climate change they have to be empowered. CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS EVERYONE, although the news is currently filled with stories of climate change affecting poorer populations (especially women)... they are only the first of all of us to experience the detrimental impacts.

Although there is no empirical evident in the report that explains how population control would affect climate change, one only needs common sense to realize that the more people there are in the world, the more consumption of resources, the more waste, and the more greenhouse gasses there will be. A worthwhile discussion in Copenhagen would definitely be to consider the impact of birth control and overall health education on environmental preservation.

For more information about women and climate change, check out FMF's Global Campaign website at http://feminist.org/global/womenclimatechange.html

Photo Credit: Jealously on flickr.com

NBC's Green Screen

It's widely understood that the images and ideas that we see on TV have an effect on us, though there are disagreements on the extent of the effect. Watching ads about toothpaste encourage us to believe cavities are the modern equivalent of the black plague; the Twilight movies have turned every human being (as well as some pets that have unfortunately been exposed to the material) into Emo Goths that want to shag vampires (alas, we all doomed to perpetual sexual frustration!); and Gossip Girls' portrayal of a threesome is OBVIOUSLY meteor-cultist propaganda encouraging all preteens to go have one.

But if the fairies hiding in every TV box were to use their magical powers of persuasion to encourage environmental responsibility?

Next week, the TV station NBC is going to be incorporating "green themes" into many of their TV programs, according to the Associated Press. 30 Rock will have a cameo with Al Gore, and Alec Baldwin's character will tell his staff they need to cut their carbon footprint. The show "Heroes" will feature a recycling truck. Dwight from "The Office" will don the awe-inspiring title of "Recyclops". Even "The Biggest Loser" will get in on the green game, as they will tell the contestants to eat organic food and bring their own mugs to coffee shops.

So what do you think? Can NBC brand "green" as cool? Will next week's shows act as the harbinger to a happy hippie apocalypse? Or will viewers not be tricked by the blatant environmentalist propaganda? (Being a happy hippie feminist who knows that climate change has a disproportionately negative effect on women's well-being and rights, I'm rooting for the propaganda).

Photo Credit: stringberd on flickr.com

Is Climate Change a Feminist Issue?

OF COURSE! Women are more affected by Climate Change then men, because they make up the majority of the world's poor. However, linking population control to climate change is not the only thing that links climate change to feminist issues, as an article in yesterday’s Guardian pointed out.

It notes, “everyone stands to suffer if climate change is allowed to spiral out of control, of course, but a gender analysis of both the impacts and causes of climate change shows that globally women contribute less to the problem and yet are likely to be hit especially hard.” The world’s poor are the first impacted by climate change and women are 70% of the world’s poor. However, this issue is not limited to the developing world. A study by the Swedish government found that the levels of women's and men's energy consumption was significantly different confirming that men have better accessibility to resources then women.

Want to know more? Get involved with the Women & the Environment campaign with Feminist Majority Foundation! More information can be found at http://www.feminist.org/global/womenclimatechange.html.

Photo Credit: JohnLeGear on flickr.com

Lack of International Climate Treaty Affects Women

Time is running out for the international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen. As the New York Times points out, it is unlikely a global climate treaty will be reached by December.

The US and other major polluting countries have decided it is better to take smaller but important steps towards global climate change rather than creating a weak, hard to enforce treaty. Negotiators cite the divide between rich and poor nations as “just too wide” saying that final legislative action should not be expected until the better part of next year.

However, a global climate treaty is necessary to force the world’s countries to take more proactive steps towards halting climate change. Climate change adversely affects women more than men, as women make up nearly 70% of the worlds poor and it is the poor who are affected worst and foremost by this issue.

Want to help? Get involved with the Women & the Environment campaign with Feminist Majority Foundation! Information can be found at http://www.feminist.org/global/womenclimatechange.html.

Photo Credit: Find your Feet on Flickr.com

Landmine pageant cancelled

While I think that we can all agree that beauty pageants are generally not a feminist event, there's one that I think might be actually a good idea. In an effort to empower women injured in landmine explosions, a group in Cambodia organized a pageant for the women.

The event was organized to raise awareness of the terrible and devastating impact landmines have on human lives. Unfortunately, the Cambodian government has canceled the event. It's really too bad. These women's lives were permanently changed by landmines, and I think that it is a good idea to celebrate these women not only for surviving but for also believing in their own beauty and worth.

You should look through the photos of the women. They are incredible. I think that this also exposes how ridiculous the construction of beauty is on our country when we think about how some women waste hundreds of dollars and minutes lamenting the fact that they have visible pores when there are women who have gone through an awful accident and lost limbs and still feel that they are beautiful.

And they should believe that they are beautiful, because they are. It makes me sad that these women have been denied an opportunity that would have empowered them, and raised awareness of a serious problem.
Photo courtesy of www.flickr/worldbank

Bottled Water Ban in Australia

In an effort to be environmentally friendly, many of us have moved from using plastic water bottles to nalgenes, or even aluminum water bottles. The town of Bundanoon, Australia has taken it a step further, outlawing all bottled water.

The decision to ban bottled water came from the local community last week, in a near unanimous vote of 354-2. Residents realize the impact on the environment that plastic water bottles have, as well as understanding how bottled water is really nothing more than tap water itself.

The local government will set up public drinking water stations, as well as offering indoor services with chilled water for a small fee. Al-Jazeera mentioned that "you can refill your drink bottle 1,350 times for the average cost of a bottle of spring water," thus creating an economic push for citizens of Bundanoon to switch to longer lasting bottles.

According to Bundanoon's website, "Australia's annual consumption of bottled water is about 540 million litres [142,652,908 gallons]. To sell this much bottled water the industry uses approximately 1 billion litres [264,172,052 gallons] of water each year. In environmental terms the production and distribution of this volume of bottled water created more than 60,000 tonnes [132,277,357 pounds] of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to the emissions 13,000 cars generate in one year." While these numbers don't reflect the statistics on bottled water consumption in Bundanoon alone, one can hope that the rest of Australia follows Bundanoon's example.

Photo Courtesy of Mivox on Flickr

Shades of Love Canal

So, there's a little energy problem in the US, and there has been a lot of talk about clean coal. One of the techniques used to mine coal is called mountaintop removal (MTP) and it quite frankly is wrecking the lives of the people who live in the Appalachian states.

MTP not only destroys the environment but it also causes serious health problems, like asthma and higher rates of cancer. The technique is leveling the mountains that play an important role in the culture and history of the area. The effects of MTP disproportionately effect the lives of the poor who often live near the mining facilities.

Actress Daryl Hannah and others have been protesting the technique, and trying to publicize the issue. This issue is a feminist issue, and it is important to remember that women have always played in important role in the environmental movement, sometimes pushing policies that were far more progressive than those of the men in power. When they were excluded from the major organizations and federal groups, they mobilized at a grassroots level.

Take some time and read up on mountaintop removal, I know you will be shocked. And, take some time to explore the involvement of women in the environmental movement.

Photo courtesy of www.flickr/happyvia

New York Billionaire Destroying Community in Peru

Last week at the Green-Pink Western Regional Training, co-sponsored by the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, and the Feminist Majority Foundation, we learned about the underlying connections between environmental conservation and the strengthening of women’s global rights and health. Today’s New York Times article called “In the Andes, a Toxic Site Also Provides a Livelihood” demonstrates a real life example of this connection.

Ira Rennert is a New York billionaire who owns Renco, an industrial empire that invests in foreign companies. Renco owns the smelting company Doe Run Peru in La Oroya, a town of 35,000 embedded in the Peruvian Andes which has been named one of the world’s 10 worst polluted places by the Blacksmith Institute, a non-profit that studies toxic sites around the world. According to a study in 2005, 97% of the children in La Oroya have toxic levels of lead in their blood as a result of the emissions coming from Doe Run Peru’s smokestacks.

Although Renco is under international pressure to clean the contamination it is producing, the company claims that they cannot do so due to financial difficulties (probably a lie considering the company attempted to buy out Saab this month). In fact, Doe Run Peru has threatened to close rather than take care of the contamination. Terminating operations of Doe Run Peru may improve the health of the people of La Oroya in the long run, but it would also result in the loss of over 3,000 jobs which would destroy the livelihood of the men, women, and children of the already destitute town who depend on Doe Run Peru as a source of income.

The presence of companies like Doe Run Peru as a result of irresponsible foreign investment puts women and children between a rock and a hard place. Thousands of women depend on Doe Run Peru to feed their children and support their families; however, they cannot afford the health care necessary to treat symptoms of lead poisoning. These women are currently living without any job security and on the other hand with the destructive consequences of pollution. Renco and other American investors have the responsibility to maintain environmental and health standards to conserve the environment and the rights of their workers.

Rosa Amaro, a Peruvian woman quoted in the article said “What I still fail to understand is why we are exposed to the risks of American investment, but not to the environmental protections enjoyed by the citizens of the United States.” In so many cases, women and children are the groups that will suffer most as a result of this destructive and irresponsible spending on the part of New York male billionaires such as Ira Rennert.

Day One of the Green-Pink Regional Training Conference Inspires Activism

Last Friday, FMF and Ms. interns, along with about 20 feminist and environmental activists from across the Western states, participated in the Green-Pink Regional Leadership Training conference on Reproductive Rights and Health and the Environment, co-sponsored by FMF, the Sierra Club, and Planned Parenthood Los Angeles. The fusion of these three powerful groups resulted in a conference that was both informative and inspirational.

The first day of the conference served as an opportunity for FMF and the Sierra Club to explore the ways in which the issues of environmental responsibility and women's empowerment are inter-related, through info sessions as well as fun activities. In particular, the Global Reproductive Health and the Environment session outlined the connection between women's empowerment and ability to access and afford family planning, and environmental issues as they relate to overconsumption and population growth.

One issue that really sparked our interest was the impact that access to clean water (or lack thereof), has on women. We also learned some startling facts about the fate of women in Afghanistan. 1 in 6 Afghan women will die during childbirth and many more will suffer from obstetric fistula, which is an easily repaired medical condition, and results due to lack of access to medical care and skilled attendance during childbirth.

To give you a glimpse of some more of the shocking statistics and issues we discussed, consider the facts that:

- 200 million women around the world want to access family planning services, don't have them.
- Education is the single most important factor in determining how many children a woman will have.
- In democratic societies around the world, women only comprise 18% of parliamentary seats.

The list of depressing realities went on and on, but by examining these truths and injustices we were able to see that women's empowerment - through education, household bargaining power, political power, equal wages, employment opportunities, equal access to health care and nutrition, ability to access family planning despite financial or sociological barriers, and equal representation under the law - is absolutely crucial to changing the fate of the world!

After hearing about the reality of the problems facing women and the environment, we were all eager to discuss some solutions. The West Coast FMF interns took the stage as we presented our research on the United Nation's Milennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs were agreed upon by 189 nations in 2000 to develop efforts to combat poverty, hunger, discrimination and more. They truly consider issues of gender and the environment in all of their approaches. Unfortunatley, in our research, we discovered that while some progress has been made, more must be done to ensure that the lives of women have dramatically improved by 2015.

Throughout the day we also came across the fact that the U.S., the richest nation in the world, has consistently fallen behind on its promise to commit, at the bare minimum, .7% of its Gross National Income to international family planning funding. We must urge the U.S. to uphold its promises to the women of the world!

Cassie Gardener of the Sierra Club encouraged us to host a Green-Pink Party. This event raises awareness of the inter-relations of women's empowerment and environmental issues while raising $300 to pay for the life-saving surgery for a woman with obstetric fistula.

To conclude the day, Allie McDonald, FMF National Campus Organizer, and Cassie discussed how we can form effective campus organizations to address these issues. This was an opportunity for those who've been involved with campus activism to share helpful advice and ideas, and for those who want to launch a new group to learn the tricks of the trade.

Overall, day one of the conference was an excellent opportunity to discuss important issues with fellow social justice activists. In addition to learning more about these problems, we were inspired to implement solutions on our campuses and communities.

-Danae Garfield, FMF Campus Intern & Hastings College student

Photo: FMF interns Bonarene Wakam and Mary Kwan make their way through the "Barriers to Family Planning" obstacle course.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

This day is a perfect day for feminists everywhere to reflect on the connections between our everyday lives, climate change, and conservation.

As you may know, FMF recently launched our new toolkit on Women and Water. Women throughout the world, women and girls are often responsible for many of the water-related activities in their households. This places them in a critical space. Because of these water-related roles, women are disproportionately impacted by water-borne disease, water pollution, scarcity, privatization, and other implications of irresponsible attitudes toward our climate and our earth. On the other hand, this space permits them a source of power to change those attitudes - armed with information, they can better understand how their actions affect water cleanliness, quality, consumption, health and hygiene.

This Earth Day, we encourage you all to make those connections between women and the environment! Let us know what you're planning or if you want to brainstorm - we love to hear your ideas. Again, be sure to look up the info on the new Women and Climate Change Campaign on our website!

Finally, I'll end with some fun/informative earth-day links:
US Environmental Protection Agency
Sierra Club
Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
National Geographic's Earth Day Green Guide for Everyday Living
Earth Day Network
EarthDay.gov Site