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Big Green Purse

5 Green Sleeper Issues in the 2008 Election

August 26, 2008 at 5:15PM By Diane MacEachern | comment

Will the next president do more for the environment than focus on energy?

It may be sacrilege to say so, but there’s more to protecting the environment than stopping global warming, especially where women are concerned.

I admit this acknowledging that climate change is probably the pre-eminent environmental issue of our time. Melting ice caps, catastrophic hurricanes and droughts, rising sea level, and changing weather patterns are altering the very nature of Nature. By and large, scientists agree that the window of opportunity to reverse the atmospheric build-up of hothouse gases like carbon dioxide is rapidly closing. Predictions for an overheated future grow more dire every day.

Still, moment to moment, our lives are affected in a more immediate way by other environmental threats that have been completely ignored by the Bush Administration. Will the next president have the foresight to tackle them sooner rather than later? ...

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tags: food, health, toxic, sustainability, organic farming, rain forest, labels, wilderness, 2008election, precautionary principle

Distinguishing the Green From the Greenwashed

August 22, 2008 at 8:09AM By Diane MacEachern | comment

p>We need sustainable standards so consumers know what to buy.

One of the biggest obstacles green consumers -- or green "wanna-bees" -- face is knowing what's really "green" and what's just being hyped, or greenwashed, so businesses can make a buck.

A recent poll shows just how confused consumers are.

Called Eco Pulse, the national study, which was reported in Brand Week, asked shoppers open-ended and multiple-choice questions about green issues. The results are disheartening for those of us who spend our time trying to help clarify marketplace and lifestyle choices.

According to the research, many people still don't have a clue whether what their purchases actually make a difference. Neither can they vouch for the eco-status of the companies whose products they buy. If you ever wondered whether the certification efforts of the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability and other organizations were worthwhile, studies like these leave no question: certified green standards would help hold companies accountable while shining a bright green light on choices that actually are as eco-friendly as they claim to be.

Specifically, here's what EcoPulse found: ...

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