GREEN AMERICAN GREENAMERICA.ORG in COOPERATION the Big Picture: Green America's Mission Is to Harness Economic Power for a Just and Sustainable Society
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 ISSUE 95 LIVE BETTER. SAVE MORE. INVEST WISELY. GREEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. AMERICAN INSIDE 4 GMO INSIDE You want to eat organic, buy what you need TARGETS green and Fair Trade, and support renewable CHOBANI energy. But you worry that green can be YOGURT expensive. Is it possible to... REAL GREEN LIVING 6 Go Green FRACKING: THE SITUATION IS GETTING on a Budget? WORSE Page 12 REAL GREEN INVESTING 8 THE FOSSIL-FREE DIVESTMENT MOVEMENT EXPANDS 10 LEAD FOUND IN LIPSTICK SHOWS NEED FOR REFORM DID YOU KNOW? Growing your own salad mix can save you $17.55 for every square foot you plant. Tips for organic 4 ECO ACTIONS on a budget, 10 ACROSS GREEN AMERICA p. 16 23 GREEN BUSINESS NEWS 24 LETTERS & ADVICE Photo by zoryanchik / shutterstock Invest as if our planet depends on it Fossil Fuel Free Balanced Fund You should carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds, please visit www.greencentury.com, email [email protected], or call 1-800-93-GREEN. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing. Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Bonds are subject to risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation. The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 3/13 2 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 GREEN AMERICAN GREENAMERICA.ORG IN COOPERATION The Big Picture: Green America's mission is to harness economic power for a just and sustainable society. We work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the abundance of Living Green Costs Less the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come. Our programs grow the green economy, stop corporate abuse, tackle climate change, Dear Green Americans: build fair trading systems, support local communities, and help families and s it possible to go green on a budget? businesses go green. We define “green” to mean social and economic justice, community and environmental health—people and the planet. Absolutely! We’ve packed this issue with Istrategic tips and advice—from our staff as A publication of Green America (formerly Co-op America) well as Green America members—on the biggest budget areas outside of mortgages or rent: cloth- PUBlications BETTER PAPER PROJECT dIRECTOR ing, food, energy, and transportation. DIVISION DIRECTOR Dennis Greenia Frank Locantore EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tracy Fernandez Rysavy BETTER PAPER PROJECT COORDINATOR For the biggest savings, use the most strategic ASSOCIATE EDITOR Martha van Gelder Allison Stewart tool of all, what we call “category” or “big- pic- SENIOR WRITER Sarah Tarver-Wahlquist DIRECTOR, SOCIAL INVESTING & ALISA ture” holistic thinking: Look at each category of EDITORIAL FELLOWS Krisna Bharvani, POLICY Fran Teplitz GRAVITZ Sierra Schellenberg GREEN CONSUMER MOBILIZation your budget and find the savings there so you can DESIGN DIRECTION Tracy Loeffelholz Dunn & TECHNOLOGY ILLUSTRATOR Jem Sullivan ONLINE & TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR then afford the green choices in that category. For PUBLISHER Denise Hamler Hans Bauman example, when it comes to clothes, if you buy many pieces secondhand, SPECIAL PROJECTS & ADV ERTISING MANAGER IT/SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Pat Keyes Rob Hanson SENIOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS ANALYST or get them for free at swaps, you can afford a beautiful organic cotton ADDITIONAL ADVERTISING Dennis Greenia Bernadette Morales Gaskin or hemp suit. (And that suit might not actually cost any more than a ONLINE & SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR WEB SPECIALIST Shireen Karimi conventional suit of comparable quality—a good suit is an investment, Andrew Korfhage ONLINE SYSTEMS DEVELOPER Jeff Koppe EXECUTIVE TEAM WEB DEVELOPMENT INTERN Fern Sawitree why not make it green?) PRESIDENT/CEO Alisa Gravitz DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS What I find when I talk to our members around the country, is that EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Larry Giammo CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Brad Dawson EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Martha van Gelder MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER Christy Schwengel people who choose to go green and use this holistic thinking for their en- GREEN BUSINESS NETWORK™ DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Katie Gatlin tire set of living choices actually spend less, at every income level, thanks DIRECTOR Denise Hamler FOUNDATION FUNDRAISER Matt Grason DIRECTOR OF STANDARDS & CERTIFICATION DEVELOPMENT INTERN Laurie Wilmot to their green-living decisions. Alix Davidson MEMBERSHIP MARKETING PROGRAMS People choosing to live green are more likely to save money overall, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING MANAGER DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP MARKETING Misha Deborah Clive Dana Christianson because: MEMBERSHIP AND MARKETING COORDINATOR MEMBERSHIP MARKETING COORDINATOR • They’re committed to elegant simplicity—using fewer resources, Nicolas Biber Beth Porter SENIOR RESEARCHER Tish Kashani MEMBERSHIP MARKETING FELLOW which means buying less, wasting less, saving more. CERTIFICATION INTERNS Samantha Hoillet, Bridget Callahan • They’ve made a major commitment to energy efficiency (p. 17). Ashley Johnson ORGANIZational systems NATIONAL GREEN PAGES FELLOWS Takiya CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER Russ Gaskin They’ve often reduced their energy bills by a third or half. (That pays for Louers, Annie Milewski DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & a lot of organic food!) ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION INTERNS Ricci Conway, Cynthia Henthorn Nora Marsh • They’re open to buying clothes and other items at yard sales, thrift corporate RESPONSIBILITY SENIOR ACCOUNTANT & BENEFITS MANAGER stores, and the burgeoning second-time-around online sites (p. 14). programs Linda Carpenter DIVISION & CLIMATE SOLUTIONS DIRECTOR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SPECIALIST & • They drive less, walk and bike more, and own fewer cars (p. 22). Todd Larsen DATA ENTRY Deanna Tilden • They share, swap, and build community—getting more of what they CAMPAIGNS DIRECTOR Elizabeth O’Connell ACCOUNTING INTERN Fangting Wang CAMPAIGNS INTERN Corinne Molz MEMBER SERVICES COORDINATOR need without spending cash (p. 18). CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS Nicolas Biber • They make their own (p. 22), grow their own (p.16), and eat less OUTREACH FELLOW Matt Jennings DONOR & VOLUNTEER ADMINISTRATIVE CLEAN ENERGY VICTORY BONDS ASSISTANT Takiya Louers, Valerie Pejoro meat (p. 16). INTERN Yasmin Hussain ATTORNEY Lara Pearson • They avoid dry cleaning, saving an average of $600-$1,000 a year GMO CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR (p. 14). Shireen Karimi FOUNDER/PRESIDENT EMERITUS GMO CAMPAIGN RESEARCH FELLOW Paul Freundlich • They are less likely to go to big box stores—where items may cost Ryan Beville less, but the lower quality means replacing items more often. Worse, these stores are designed to convince people to buy, so families often BOARD OF DIRECTORS Georgie Benardete, Bernard Brennan, Dana Christianson, Paul Freundlich, Alisa Gravitz, Denise Hamler, Eric Henry, leave having purchased two to three times more than they intended Andrew Korfhage, Krista Kurth, Julie Lineberger, Deborah Momsen-Hudson when they walked in the door. Green American magazine (ISSN: 0885-9930) is free with Green America Individual Membership (starting at $20/year) or Green Business Network The money people save through these choices makes it possible for them to Membership (starting at $130/year). pay more for green choices that might cost more—like organic food—but are For address changes or individual membership information, call healthier, higher quality, safer, and better for people and the planet. 800/58-GREEN or e-mail [email protected]. For Green Business Network information, call 202/872-5316 or e-mail [email protected]. Best of all, our members report that this holistic thinking brings them For article reprints, call 202/872-5307 or e-mail [email protected]. healthier, happier lives with more connections to family, friends, and Green America, 1612 K St. NW, #600, Washington, DC 20006 800/58-GREEN fax 202/331-8166 community. GREENAMERICA.ORG Here’s to living well and spending less, Facebook.com/GreenAmerica Twitter.com/GreenAmerica Copyright 2013. Printed on 100% de-inked recycled fiber, elemental chlorine-free. Alisa Gravitz, President/CEO m Designates an approved member of Green America’s Green Business Network® 3 ECO ACTIONS THE social JUSTICE AND environmental issues OF OUR TIME BetterPaper.org + BreakUpWithYourMegaBank.org CleanEnergyVictoryBonds.org + ClimateAction.org FairTradeAction.org + GMOInside.org RaisetheBarHershey.org GMO Inside Targets Chobani Yogurt For “Real” and “Natural” Claims “The animal feed sector is one of the main consumers of GMO crops in the world. Reducing demand for GMO feed will have major impacts in converting cropland away from GMO farming,” says O’Connell. Cows living on industrial farms eat GMO feed two to three times a day, every day. This silage may consist of GMO corn, soy, alfalfa, cotton seed, and/or sugar beets, plus synthetic vitamins that are often also derived from GMO crops. In fact, 98 percent of genetically modified soy and 49 percent of genetically modified corn is used to feed livestock and poultry. Animals, like humans, are deeply im- pacted by the quality of their diets. A study published in the June issue of the Journal of Organic Systems showed that pigs fed an entirely GMO diet suffered from severe stomach inflammation when compared to pigs given non-GMO feed. Additionally, while the dairy industry has claimed that GM particles are broken down Green America’s GMO Inside campaign is targeting Chobani in the digestive tracts of the animals that eat Greek yogurt for its use of conventional milk, which generally them, these particles have shown up in the comes from cows fed genetically modified feed. organs and milk of animals fed GMOs, the same meat and milk that humans then eat. GMO Inside is asking Green Americans he Green America-led GMO Inside consumer, it can be very difficult to know to sign a petition to Chobani requesting the Tcoalition has launched a campaign against which products are affected by GMOs,” says company use milk from cows who have Chobani yogurt.