Category Archives: Happiness

Long Island mom’s TEDx Talk: overcoming eco-grief & becoming an ecofeminist

Heidi Hutner's TedX Talk
Source: Heidi Hutner’s TedX Talk
ClimateMama recommends friend Heidi Hutner’s TED Talk: “Eco-Grief and Ecofeminism”. In this stirring 15+ minute talk, Heidi chronicles her journey from cancer patient at age 35 through “eco-grief” to a determination to act … Previously she wanted to hide from looking at how ecologically messed up our world had become.

When Heidi learns from a family friend of her own mother’s ecofeminism, she becomes fascinated with taking action. Her eco-grief lifts, Heidi’s life is transformed and her message is: the same can happen to you.

…the blinders flew open & eco-grief set in … feel that grief because then you will be called to act and you will join us and we will fix this thing.

ECJ Green Drinks Paterson Area & Brunch for Bees Event

Bernie Sanders meets Green DrinksAugust Environment & Climate Justice Green Drinks Paterson Area
27 August 2015 at 12 noon
Sultan Restaurant
429 Crooks Ave, Paterson, New Jersey 07011

Everyone is welcome 🙂 and there’s never a meeting charge.
Mayor informaciĂłn – More information:
ejgreendrinks.org | 201-477-8711

ABOUT GREEN DRINKS
Green Drinks are gatherings where we discuss Environmental Justice, climate change and sustainable living issues in English and Spanish!

A lot of knowledge is shared around the table each month along with tasty food and good conversation. Come spend a couple interesting hours with the friendliest bunch of EJ nuts you’ll ever meet.

Please support our host venue by eating or drinking something while we chat.

Bee flyingAUGUST DISCUSSION AGENDA

  1. Brunch for the Bees – what are we eating and drinking that bees pollinate? What foods and drink don’t need pollinators?
  2. Delta incinerator company is trying to locate facility in Paterson. It needs to be stopped.
  3. The Wei Family is setting up a community garden. How can you help?
  4. Buying a home or property in Paterson as a community collective initiative to Occupy the City
  5. Pres. Obama’s Clean Power Plan

ORGANIZERS
Kimi Wei, Ivan Gomez Wei, Ariel Lopez Wei, Joseph Dunsay and Sally Gellert

JOIN GD MAILING LIST

SEPT 2015 NJECJ GREEN DRINKS SCHEDULE
Newark cancelled this month due to Labor Day
Hackensack WED 16 SEPT 7-9 PM
Paterson date TBA
(more at http://ejgreendrinks.org/)

Hudson River Ramble activities: bike, hike, boat, play, sightsee

Hudson River Ramble activities16 years of fall activities bring thousands out to enjoy the Hudson River Ramble and Hudson Valley in southern New York State. Take a look at through the activity choices in the website and Guidebook and head out to enjoy the culture and natural beauty of this region. There’s truly something for everyone.

Every September, participation continues to grow. ‘Ramblers’ come not only from the Hudson Valley region and New York State, but from other regions of the country as well to discover the riches our Valley has to offer. Whether you are interested in a challenging hike, bike ride or paddle, an inspiring walk through the grounds and homes of some of the Valley’s most notable artists, authors, and Great Americans, a trip back in time to experience the significant role the region played in the Revolutionary War, or a family-fun festival or river exploration event, the Hudson River Valley Ramble truly offers something for everyone!

Can demand for ethically produced chocolate reduce child labor on cacao-chocolate farms?

child harvesting huge cocoa bean
(Photo: Make Chocolate Fair U.K.)
Forced child labor is common in the agriculture industry, including in the United States where about half a million children often underage workers labor in harsh conditions. Forced child labor also happens on cacao farms, where the beans that make chocolate are grown. TakePart’s Food editor Willy Blackmore, reports:

Unlike many global commodity crops, cocoa is predominantly grown on smallholder farms, and sometimes the child labor abuse happens when a young family member is put to work for free instead of hiring a paid employee. And while that might seem relatively benign—and not all that different from how farm labor is treated in the United States—there are stories like Letiefesso’s, where children are trafficked into working in the industry, and others where children are doing highly risky labor.

As such, there’s a shifting definition for child labor that changes with age and the work being conducted. Children between five and 11 cannot work at all under International Labor Organization standards; children between 12 and 14 can do up to 14 hours of light work a week; the maximum number of hours climbs to 43 per week for kids between 15 and 17. Then there are the “worst forms of child labor,” the hazardous and forced-labor scenarios, which are disallowed for children of any age.

Until brutal and dangerous child labor can be put behind global civil society, Blackmore suggests actions which can help by creating more demand for ethically produced chocolate:

Look for single-origin or “bean-to-bar” chocolate, or chocolate bearing a label that promises ethical (and third-party-verified) production.

Free admission to 5th Ave museums & 1-mile block party June 9 @ 6-9pm

Museum Mile 2015One evening a year, nine of the city’s finest museums on Fifth Avenue (aka Museum Mile) open their doors to visitors for free and close down the avenue to traffic for a mile-long block party.

Free Museum Mile Access 6pm – 9pm
Tuesday 09 June 2015

23 Car-Free Blocks
5th Ave btw 82nd – 105th St

Live Bands & Entertainment

Art-in-the street activities for kids

Begun as an initiative to spur the development of new museum audiences and to increase support for the arts during the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, Museum Mile was formed as a consortium by the museums that share the Fifth Avenue address. The first festival, held in June of 1978, was an instant success. Not only did it expose New Yorkers and NYC visitors to an incredible collection of New York’s artistic riches, it also brought together disparate New Yorkers. From the barrios of East Harlem and the townhouses lining the Upper East Side, to the winding streets of the Village and the clustered neighborhoods of the outer-boroughs, people came to celebrate their shared pride in their city. Museum Mile Festival promoted public awareness through increased visibility, accessibility and attendance at all the museums, and brought many New Yorkers to upper Fifth Avenue for the first time.

This traffic-free, music and art-filled celebration fills the street and sidewalks of Fifth Avenue from 82nd to 105th Street, the mile now officially designated as Museum Mile.

Visit museummilefestival.org