Discovery Channel's PLANET GREEN launches TONIGHT!!

Discovery Channel's 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network, PLANET GREEN launches tonight, June 4, 2008 at 6 pm.

Brian Clark Howard from The Daily Green writes:

The big premiere should be seamless for an estimated 50 million American homes (those with typical cable or satellite packages), because Planet Green will actually be occupying the former signal range of the Discovery Home channel. In fact, Discovery is reskinning its former destination for home content, reportedly investing $50 million to repack it with green original programming.

As Tommi Lewis Tilden points out, much of this new green programming sounds promising, including an eco-themed cooking show from Bam Man Emeril Lagasse, a relaunch of Ed Begley, Jr.'s Living with Ed, a hip new series with eco-hotties Adrian Grenier and Angela Lindvall, and of course the much ballyhooed debut of "Battleground Earth" — pitting "Toxic" rocker Tommy Lee against rapper Ludacris "Luda Polluter." (Though I would have spelled it "Luda Polluta.") Journalistic heavyweights Tom Brokaw and Bob Woodruff are also scheduled to contribute pieces.

There are also talks of a Tom Green-hosted game show, and much excitement surrounding coverage of Leo DiCaprio and friends' green rebuilding of tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kansas.

Hopefully, Planet Green will be a big success and will bring more green into homes from coast to coast, inspiring, educating and motivating positive change.

To help generate buzz, Connecticut-based activist and aspiring environmental librarian Remy Chevalier came up with the idea of hosting Planet Green launch watching parties. So far the only organized one is Chevalier's own effort, hosted by Norwalk (CT) Greendrinks. But there is still time for others across the country to organize their own get-togethers.

If you do happen to be near Norwalk (about an hour outside of New York City) after 5:30 on June 4, stop on by the colorful, unique Pirate Restaurant and bar on 7 Wall Street. You can sip an organic cocktail or wine and check out the new shows on a big-screen TV. Sponsors include Argoya natural healing, Patagonia and other local businesses.

Even if you can't join others at a bar or neighbor's house, tune in June 4th to see what Planet Green has to offer.

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Click here to see where to tune in and browse upcoming shows.

Dream Reborn: From Memphis to Oakland

Did you miss the Dream Reborn conference? Or perhaps you were a part of the inspiring gathering and want to continue building the movement now that you're home. Here's your chance to tap into the excitement that began in Memphis last month. Urban Habitat invites you to join the Ella Baker Center and Green For All on Wednesday, June 4th to learn how people in California are turning the dreams hatched in Memphis into action in the their own communities. Don't miss this evening of uplifting performances and presentations from inspiring leaders who will share their ideas for creating an ecologically balanced world with opportunities for everyone.

WHAT: Solutions Salon: Dream Reborn, Building the Movement in California

FEATURING: Van Jones, Jakada Imani, and other community leaders,
musicians, and spoken word artists

WHEN: June 4, 2008. 5:00 - 8:30pm (5:00 - 6:00pm networking and food, program from 6:00 - 8:30pm)

WHERE: Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak Street, Downtown Oakland (near Lake Merritt BART Station)


A Project of Urban Habitat :

"The Dream Reborn conference on April 4 - 6 marked the powerful, historic beginning of a national movement to build a green economy strong enough to lift millions of people out of poverty. Green-collar job advocates from across the country shared the successes and challenges they face. More than 1,100 people representing businesses, workforce development agencies, community organizations, and schools joined together to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 40th anniversary of his death, and to celebrate today's new leaders for the 21st century. Several local allies traveled to Memphis to represent the Bay Area, including People's Grocery, East Bay Conservation Corps, Youth Speaks, Solar Richmond, Urban Habitat, Rain Forest Action Network. Click here to read reflections from Van Jones about the weekend. California can set the standard for what happens in the rest of the country -- it's critical that we turn vision into action here in the Golden State. That's why we're teaming up with Green For All to host this event. Our Green-Collar Jobs Campaign is leading the way in California, while Green For All (our sister organization recently spun-off from the Ella Baker Center) is building the movement nationwide, with a particular focus on Washington, D.C. Together -- and with your help -- we will create green pathways out of poverty for California and the entire nation. We're excited to bring the momentum that started in Memphis back home to Oakland. Please join us on June 4th as we take the next steps toward fighting pollution and poverty at the same time. Click here: http://www.ellabakercenter.org/?p=dream_reborn_ca

Green Your BBQ

School's out. Work's slow... Summer is fast approaching and for BBQ fanatics, there is no better way to spend a Summer Sunday than flipping patties and dogs on the grill.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and that means no Moody Monday. As we all keep our fingers crossed for good weather, we could also be thinking of how to make the BBQ in the backyard a little bit more green.

There are many things you can do that will lower your footprint and most of them will likely result in a better BBQ flavor. BBQs are also great because not only can you enjoy them with your closest friends, but you also get to enjoy them outside, whether that is on your patio, balcony or backyard.

The first thing you will need to do is get yourself a grill and all the corresponding chachkis for mastering the art of the locally grass fed ground beef burger (not frozen Kirkland Signature patties...riiiiiiiight??). One thing to consider is the quality of the grill itself - a better-built grill will last longer and therefore create less environmental waste because it will need replacement less often. So don't feel bad splurging on that higher-end model (provided you're actually getting what you're paying for) - splurging in this case might just help the environment. Test various models before you buy to see how sturdy they feel, and don't buy a "starter" model thinking you'll just upgrade later. That's just a plan for creating unnecessary waste.

Using gas is the most resource-efficient means of powering a grill. It is also the least carbon polluting method.

But if you simply must have that traditional charred flavor that only charcoal can provide, Whole Foods Market and other retailers sell charcoal made from either recycled scrap wood (in Whole Foods' case, discarded furniture and wood flooring) or from sustainable forests. You can find some interesting info on Whole Foods' charcoal, along with reviews of other sustainable lump charcoal makers, at Green Link Charcoal. So don't feel bad if you're a hardcore grilling purist - you can still grill in environmentally-friendly ways.

Since green inventions are very stimulating for the imagination, and this product might actually work, check out this Solar BBQ Kit. This device will allow you to BBQ your goods with ZERO carbon footprint.

If you are looking for a few BBQ odds and ends, check out Sprig.com and see some of their suggestions for an environmentally friendly BBQ.

Check out this simple guide to green grilling found on Ideal Bite.

When it comes to what food you will put on the grill, you can definitely buy grass-fed beef or you can also get slightly less expensive beef that is produced without pesticides or hormones. The same thing goes for chicken and pork.

When it comes to vegetables or tofu, you can pretty much put whatever you want on the grill and the environmental impact is more or less the same. However, if you can afford it, buying local and/or organic vegetables taste much better in addition to aiding your planet's food chain.

And don't forget to save me a burger...I prefer it Medium Rare, thanks.

A Carbon Clean Slate

As I reach the end of my college career, I find myself reflecting on the past 4 years...on how fast it went and what I shoulda/coulda/woulda done...the classes I should have taken, the clubs I should have joined...the office hours held too early to attend, the Tuesday's Trivia was far greater a priority than Wednesday morning's midterm and the best thing about AirBears was for high-speed facebook stalking on the go.

But no time for regrets. There is no use dwelling on your past; there is however, a way to clean up it's carbon consumption!

This graduation season, Worldchanging is proud to offer its major donors appreciation gifts that really make a difference: Carbon Clean Slate certificates.

Growing up, few kids have the power to transform their surroundings into a bright green life. That power generally only comes as one grows older. That doesn't mean that kids don't recognize (and feel guilty about) the ways in which their lives have helped make climate change and other planetary problems worse.

The Carbon Clean Slate gifts lift that guilt by offsetting their childhoods. They can go forward in life knowing that their emissions have been balanced by your gift, and they are free to make their own way in the world, unhampered by the past.

How it works: for every major donation above certain levels, Worldchanging will buy a major carbon offset in the name of your favorite graduate.

For $6,000, they'll offset all the climate emissions that grad racked up until he or she graduated from high school;

For $7,500, we'll offset their childhoods and their university years;

For $25,000, we'll offset their youth, college and working careers.

The offsets themselves will come from TerraPass, the gold standard company in carbon offsets. TerraPass uses independent verification (including a complete voluntary independent audit), direct sourcing of their offsets (so they know they're for real) and immediate investment (to create offsets now not later)... as well as offering full transparency about their projects. You can't find a better offsetting program than theirs.

Your grad will get a handsome certificate announcing that their slate's been wiped clean, climate-wise, along with a personalized note and a copy of the Worldchanging book. You get the satisfaction of knowing that you've made a real, demonstrable difference and honored the graduate's commitment to changing the world.

Everyone wins: Your grad gets to head out into the world with the moral weight of their personal choices lifted from their shoulders, you get to show your love and respect, the climate gets a bit of a break and Worldchanging gets the funds we need to continue our prize-winning work exploring the solutions that will create real, lasting change. Half your gift is even tax-deductible!

To buy, or to simply make a donation to support our work, please click here.

Worldchanging's Carbon Clean Slate: Because there's no better present than a better future.

RESOURCE GREEN @ ART MURMUR

It's that time of the month again...

Time for Oakland Art Murmur! And this time it's going to be bigger, greener, and better than ever!!

Resource Green presents Sustainability Through Fashion!

Tonight. Friday, May 2, 2008.
7-9 pm
Telegraph and 25th street.

It's hip to be green and it's hip to be seen.

Special Guest Performance: Tear It Down

Resource Green- Art, Earth, and Each Other
Oakland Art Murmur
Tear It Down

Green Collar Jobs for the Graduating Class of 2008

Ready or not, graduation is fast approaching. For those of us not yet certain how we wish to pay the bills and fill the hours between 9-5, incorporating a green work ethic is a great starting point.

Getting a green job, or with a company that's going green, is becoming increasingly popular, especially with recent graduates and entry-level employees. A recent poll on green employment by MonsterTrak.com, a job web site geared toward students and entry-level hires, found that 80% of young professionals are interested in securing a job that has a positive impact on the environment, and 92% would be more inclined to work for a company that is environmentally friendly.

To help the supply meet up with the demand for green employees, MonsterTRAK teamed up with environmental non-profit ecoAmerica to start GreenCareers the first environmentally responsible recruitment service for college students and recent graduates. The site offers both a search for green jobs and for green companies, so that both explicitly "green jobs"-a solar panel installer, for example-and "regular jobs" within a green company-an accountant with an organic food company, we'll say-are available and easy to find.

And it works both ways: going green as a company, or even just in your office building can certainly give the planet a helping hand, but increasing evidence suggests it can also help you recruit and land more talented people, and, for companies, going green has another compelling benefit: the possibility of reducing operating costs. Green jobs benefit everyone.

Green Job Search Engines:

• Green Careers
• Sustainable Business
  
• Wet Feet
  

It's Easy Being Green...

What does it mean to be Green?

Becoming a Green Business is really a no-brainer: it saves money and protects the environment.

And by choosing to Shop Green, consumers can help reduce waste and protect our environment because Green Businesses prevent pollution, minimize waste, and conserve energy, water and other resources.

Support your environmentally friendly businesses and encourage your community to go green!

The Green Business Program recognizes businesses that:

• Comply with all environmental regulations
• Take steps to conserve natural resources, prevent pollution, and reduce waste

A Green Business...

• Is recognized as an environmental leader
• Strengthens its bottom line through operating efficiencies
• Improves employee morale and the health of the workplace
• Holds a marketing edge over the competition

Some actions businesses take include:

• Buying only recycled-content paper and copying double-sided
• Cleaning with less toxic products
• Using efficient lighting systems to save energy
• Conserving water with low-flow toilets and faucet aerators
  

The Bay Area Green Business Program verifies that businesses meet higher standards of environmental performance. The program was developed by Bay Area local governments in collaboration with US EPA, Cal EPA Dept of Toxic Substances Control and the business community. The Association of Bay Area Governments coordinates the Program, which is implemented by Green Business Coordinators in 9 participating counties. The regional and local programs are funded by their partners, including local and regional governmental agencies, utilities, special districts and nonprofit organizations that promote environmental compliance, pollution prevention and resource conservation. Some funding comes from government and non-profit foundation grants.

Green Businesses in Alameda County