We found 49 results tagged with "effecting change"
11 Articles
11 Articles found
Where Chocolate Changes Lives
What is “fair trade” ” and why is it so important? Learn more behind the scenes at Theo Chocolate, the only organic, fair trade chocolate factory in the U.S.
Why I Farm
What does it take to become a farmer today? Find out from the director of Maverick Farms, a working farm and educational center in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina.
Sweeter Deal: Beekeeping Goes Green
America’s bees — key players in our food supply — are struggling. But sustainable beekeepers are making a difference, one hive at a time.
Living the Green Life: Five “Eco-Principles”
How to apply eco-friendly concepts to home-building and renovation as well as to everyday habits.
The Delicious Good Deed
For culinary activist Poppy Tooker, saving America’s delicious, disappearing native foods means eating more of them.
The Ocean Is in All of Us
Find out what the Algalita Marine Research Foundation is disovering about giant kelp beds — and how you can help.
Planning a Volunteer Vacation
As healthy alternatives to traditional tourism, volunteer vacations can be life-changing adventures that allow you to make a difference in communities around the world — and have fun at the same tim
Pitching In Around the Neighborhood
In an increasingly busy world, people are experimenting with new ways to redefine the word “community.”
Natural Home Cleaning
Choosing environmentally friendly alternatives keeps your home healthy and also helps the earth.
Tips for Greener Living
Going green is simpler than you might think. Just remember: Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Sustainability
We're working hard to reduce our environmental footprint. We recognize that it's a journey. Check in regularly for updates on our progress.
38 Challenges
38 Challenges found
Challenge
Write down something you like about yourself
The written word possesses the power to move mountains—and alter lives for the better. From recording to-do lists and penning goals to organizing your thoughts and writing down stressors, getting thoughts on paper is a way to isolate ideas and harness your power to effect change...
Challenge
Step up vacuuming
HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) vacuums are a boon to those who want to reduce indoor pollutants and allergens. However, most of us don’t take full advantage of their capabilities to clean our homes. HEPA filters trap smaller particles than conventional ones, so they don’t recycle...
Challenge
Walk somewhere wonderful
Yes, walking is exercise, but it’s also a lifestyle that yields many wonderful sights and experiences. This holiday season, make it a point to meander somewhere you usually drive. Go caroling, tour another neighborhood to see decorations, or shop somewhere farther than your usual stomping...
Challenge
Recycle a centerpiece
No need to recreate the wheel to decorate your holiday table this year—just leverage items that most of us have lying around, or reuse last year’s decorations. Mini pumpkins from Halloween, gourds, healthful edibles (apples are colorful), small musical instruments, candles (candle...
Challenge
Write a letter
Snail mail—and the deeper, more thoughtful consideration that goes with it—has become quaint in these technologically savvy times. Borrow a page from the past and write a loved one a heartfelt letter this holiday season. Challenge yourself to tell her what she means to you, pledge...
Challenge
Take a sleep inventory
Sleep is vital to health and wellbeing. Yet many of us don’t get enough of it. With the endless rounds of parties, late nights, and responsibilities, the holidays in particular can wear you out; there’s never a better time to make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Today, challenge...
Challenge
Make a holiday de-stress pledge
Holidays can be stressful for a lot of reasons (family dynamics, financial pressures, lack of time, break–ups or grief in the face of public cheer). But recognizing seasonal stress triggers can help mitigate them. One way to help cope is to formally acknowledge the stress that holidays can...
Challenge
Make your resolution early
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people make New Year’s resolutions—and nearly as many fail to keep them. What can you do to improve your chances? Try making that resolution before January 1st. There is no scientific evidence to show it works, but we all know that taking action...
Challenge
De-stress each day
All of us suffer stress at various times in our lives. Thankfully, for most of us, life’s stressors come and go. Whatever’s going on in your life, there are small things you can do anytime, anyplace to relieve tension. Today, challenge yourself to start following these steps on a daily...
Challenge
Refurbish a piece of secondhand furniture
Who hasn’t gazed with admiration on a stunning piece refinished by loving hands? Unfortunately, for most of us, that’s where the impetus to reuse and recycle ends when it comes to furniture renovation. If you’re intimidated by the idea of making something old new again, challenge...
Challenge
Green your garage
Often given short shrift for being out of sight and therefore out of mind, garages are often hotbeds of poorly stored chemical products and environmentally unfriendly materials. What can you do to improve yours? If you’re aiming for a total revamp, natural lighting, recycled insulation...
Challenge
Help someone quit smoking
By now, most of us are well aware that smoking poses major health risks. We also know that attempts to change loved ones’ habits often meet with mixed results. Is there a way to show you care and support loved ones in their efforts to halt this harmful habit? Yes—as long as you follow...
Challenge
Buy eco-friendly school supplies
From crayons and notebooks to lunch bags and uniforms, there’s a range of choices available when it comes to eco-friendly school supplies. Today, challenge yourself to stock up on non-toxic and sustainable supplies that rely on the reduce-reuse-recycle principle, including: • PVC and...
Challenge
Buy better sheets
It’s hard to rest easy when you read statistics like this one: Cotton, the number-one ingredient in most bedsheets, accounts for 25% of the world’s pesticide use. Furthermore, conventional petroleum-based dyeing to color linens causes chemical run-off that negatively impacts the...
Challenge
Stock up on sustainable jewelry
If pretty is as pretty does, then most of us need to take a second look at our jewelry boxes. Some of the most popular gemstones come from the world’s poorest countries, where working conditions are dangerous and mining takes a terrible toll on the environment. Buying antiques, specially...
Challenge
Green your dry cleaning habit
For many of us, professionally cleaned, starched clothing seems like a necessary part of the working life. But dry cleaning relies on a chemical, perchloroethylene (PERC) that is known to be carcinogenic. The good news is that you can minimize your family’s exposure to PERC with a few simple...
Challenge
Brighten up
Looking on the bright side of things is often easier said than done. That said, there is wisdom in this old chestnut! Today, challenge yourself to consciously steer your thoughts toward the positive and away from negative — and often unlikely — scenarios.
Challenge
Celebrate Labor Day...naturally
In spite of its economic and civic significance, for many of us, Labor Day connotes barbecues and
camping, not workers’ rights. Today, challenge yourself to celebrate the holiday by giving something
back. Here are some ideas for making honoring workers and healthy working conditions a...
Challenge
Get up
Scientists have long associated prolonged sitting and sedentary lifestyles with negative health impacts. But new research implies that, among other red flags, a little light weekly exercise does not offset the effects of huge chunks of time spent sitting instead of moving. Today, challenge yourself...
Challenge
Learn more about "Made in the USA"
What does a domestic origin really mean when it comes to sustainability? Turns out, it can mean quite a bit. Products manufactured overseas have a bigger carbon footprint for the ultimate buyer, wherever your home base. Also, products made in the U.S. usually provide local jobs. Plus, American labor...
Challenge
Forgo fragrance
The presence of “fragrance” in the ingredients list of cosmetic and personal care products usually denotes synthetics. According to the Environmental Working Group, a loophole in U.S. law allows potentially hazardous chemicals to be called “fragrance” in such products. Why...
Challenge
Wake up to Ayurveda
Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional approach to health practiced on the Indian subcontinent for centuries, has a unique approach to starting the day, focusing on rituals that, practitioners believe, balance and prepare the body for the challenges of the day. Today, challenge yourself to find out if...
Challenge
Stop overeating sodium
Here’s the painful truth: Most Americans consume more salt than they should, according to the National Institutes of Health. The current RDA is less than 2.4g of sodium daily — that’s about 1 tsp of table salt, total! If you think you’re getting too much, it’s time to...
Challenge
Try TCM
TCM stands for “Traditional Chinese Medicine,” a 2,000-year-old holistic approach to health that rests on beliefs in balancing, energy, and interconnectedness of the body’s systems. Many people appreciate TCM’s integrative take on the disease process, and use it alone or...
Challenge
Pump it up
Waiting for hot water to pour out of the spigot is a wasteful moment that presents an opportunity for improvement. By installing a recirculating water pump under your sink, you can get hot water instantly, so you don’t have to let excess water flow from the tap. This investment costs several...
Challenge
Aerate your tap
The average American uses — count ‘em! — 69.3 gallons of water per day. You can cut back on that figure by installing a simple water aerator on your taps. Aerators pump air into the water stream so you don’t have to run the tap at full blast. They can cost as little as $2.25...
Challenge
Drape yourself
Inexpensive cotton thermal drapes can do double-season duty as both summer heat blockers and winter warmth savers. By shutting such drapes on hotter days, you maintain a cooler environment (come evening, you can open them). By opening them all day, you trap as much daytime warmth as you can for...
Challenge
Time to unwind
Unwinding—a valued concept in theory, but how many of us take the time and make the space to actually do it every day? Today, challenge yourself to try some of the following ways of relaxing the mind and body—you’ll be glad you did. • Add bath salts or tablets to your bath or...
Challenge
Pass on your printer cartridge
Where do used printer ink cartridges go to die? Like a lot of other household appliances, ink cartridges are bad for the environment and contribute massively to landfill, yet we continue to discard them at a rapid pace (8 per second in the US alone!). Today, challenge yourself to manage your...
Challenge
Make an indoor recycling station
Piles of paper, crumpled cans, earthy-smelling leftovers—if your recycling area is anything like ours, it could use an overhaul! Recycling and composting is the right thing to do, and you can optimize your storage so that waiting for “trash” day isn’t so painful. Today...
Challenge
Everything and the kitchen sink
Does your sink area look like a rummage sale—for kitchenware? Here are some simple steps for organizing and beautifying one of the busiest areas of your home. Plus, keeping track of what you have ensures that you only buy what you need, and waste less. Today, challenge yourself to spruce up...
Challenge
Follow the Farm Bill
Farm Bills affect everyone who eats. Yet few people spend time studying them. Farm Bills determine - among other things - what foods are available to us, how much they cost, and how they are grown: pretty important stuff! Today, challenge yourself to look up the latest legislation surrounding the...
Challenge
Support local food-processing
Processing – not a nice word when it comes to natural foods, but a real part of our diets. In the past, food processing took place regionally, in small local canneries, grist mills, and slaughterhouses. Nowadays, food travels from afar to reach our table and comes from larger, centralized mills –...
Challenge
Limit non-recyclable purchases
How many throw-aways should you throw away your money on? That’s really up to you. But here’s a fact: Choosing recyclable items whenever possible reduces waste. Today, challenge yourself to think about an item’s packaging, recyclability, and disposability before you make a purchase, with the...
Challenge
Host a green screening
Want to raise environmental awareness, hang out with friends, and watch a good movie all at the same time? Tonight, challenge yourself to invite people over for a “green” movie night.
Screen Al Gore’s, “An Inconvenient Truth,” or “March of the Penguins,” or “Erin Brockovich,” or “Koyaanisqatsi”...
Challenge
Spread the word about rice
If you’re good at vocabulary, you can work those words and donate rice via the UN World Food Program at the same time. FreeRice is a unique project that enables you to take a vocabulary test in order to donate food. For every word you get right, the organization donates 20 grains of rice to the...
Challenge
Explore “living off the grid”
We’ve all heard of the phenomenon: Back-to-the-landers who build their own home, plant a garden, dig a well, install solar panels and wind turbines and call it a day. But what’s really involved in so-called “living off the grid”? What are the risks and advantages of such a life? What kind of...
Challenge
Be a good steward of the earth
You live here. We live here. International Earth Day (on April 22) brings the world together and it feels good. This year, participants are working to combat climate change.
One way to affect change is to vote. That’s why organizers suggest that if you do one thing for Earth Day this year, you...