The Earth is our Mother, we all live on Her!

Earth from space, ain’t she beautiful?

A bit of the history of Earth Day from our friends at Care2.com: “Unlike the first Earth Day in 1970, the 20th anniversary in 1990 became a huge event thanks in part to greater television and radio coverage and a multimillion dollar budget. More than 200 million people in 141 countries participated helping to lift environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.”

May your joys be many,
may you soak in the light,
may the flowers in your garden bloom,
sweet and bright.

Happy Earth Day!
Diane T. and furfamily

Earth Day events…get OUT and join the fun!

Today is Green Grove Thursday….

For Earth Day (which is technically on Monday 22nd), many cities will host fun events for the whole family. Here’s a link to check some out in your area:
http://content.sierraclub.org/earthday/

Green Grove Thursday….Fair Trade goods

Have you ever heard of Fair Trade Goods and wondered why it might be important to support them? Here’s a snippet of an article from Mother Earth News…..

“You see it on labels for coffee, chocolate, flowers and more, but what does it really mean? Fair Trade is a designation developed to help consumers support products that come from farms that have been certified to provide fair wages and safe working conditions (forced child labor is prohibited). In addition, producers on certified farms are paid a premium to apply to projects such as healthcare, women’s leadership initiatives and micro-finance programs, as voted on by the farmers and workers themselves.”

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2008-06-01/What-Is-Fair-Trade.aspx#ixzz25iLsCgFn

The Urban Homestead- grow your own food in the backyard

I’m lucky to live only 5 minutes from the Front Porch Farm Stand (Pasadena, CA) and buy my fruit, vegetables and bread from these wonderful, down-to-earth, friendly people. I feel blessed to know them, and am inspired to begin our own journey in self-sufficiency!

Here is an award winning video about them:

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

What the heck is a vegan boutique?

What is a vegan boutique?

We were at a little restaurant called “My Vegan Restaurant” and we found this post card advertising for the Alternative Outfitters Vegan Boutique, which is located at 408 S. Pasadena Avenue, Suite# 1, Pasadena CA 91105.

A vegan boutique is a shop that sells animal friendly clothes, shoes and accessories. No, that doesn’t mean animals will sidle up to you and give you a big slobbery kiss, it means that the products aren’t made from any part of an animal.

The postcard shows a pair of boots and explains that you can “Make a fashion statement” with their cruelty-free selection of vegan shoes, bags, apparel, accessories, wallets, belts, jewelry, jackets, t-shirts, coats, make-up, skin care products, hair care products and gifts for both women and men.

You can call them for directions at 866-758-5837 or visit their web pages at facebook.com/alternativeoutfitters, twitter.com/veganboutique or read the blog at myveganblog.com

June 8th is World Oceans Day!

Today is World Oceans Day, which has been celebrated on June 8th since its original proposal in 1992 by Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. This year’s theme is “Youth: the Next Wave for Change”.

Here are some nifty facts about our world’s oceans:

-50 to 70 percent of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean. That’s more than every one of the world’s rain forests combined.

-The ocean is the #1 source of protein for more than a billion people. Sea life provides one fifth of the average person’s animal protein intake.

-The ocean regulates our climate, absorbs carbon dioxide, holds 97% of Earth’s water, and supports the greatest abundance of life on our planet.

But there are some serious problems, for example:

-discarded plastic bags and other trash have formed a toxic “plastic soup” that is gathering in five massive ocean gyres around the world. As the plastic breaks down, it is eaten by sea animals, birds, and fish, causing illness and death. It eventually enters our diets, too.

-our oceans account for 71% of the planet, but less than 2% of our oceans are protected. We have protections in place for nearly 12% of all land (through areas like national parks).

For information on cool events and ideas about how you can help protect our oceans, visit:

http://worldoceansday.org
/

http://www.un.org/en/events/oceansday


http://www.nature.org/World-Oceans-Day


http://www.oneworldoneocean.org/pages/why-the-ocean


http://www.care2.com/causes/june-8-is-world-oceans-day-video.html#ixzz1xD6DZr3h

“Sea” you later!

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

May 19th is Food Revolution Day!

May 19 Is Food Revolution Day!

May 19 is Food Revolution Day, a global day of action for real food. In the United States, there are approximately 12.5 million children and adolescents who are obese. There is no denying that it is time for a change.

Take action by helping educate people about food, giving families the skills and knowledge to cook again, and motivating people to stand up for their rights to better food.

Check out this website for action you can take, and get involved:
http://foodrevolutionday.com/

 

Happy Green Earth Day….

Today I wish our beloved Mother Earth a Happy Green Earth Day!

A blurbette about Earth Day:
Unlike the first Earth Day in 1970, the 20th anniversary became a huge event thanks in part to greater television and radio coverage and a multi-million dollar budget.
More than 200 million people in 141 countries participated helping to lift environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

To send your friends paperless, free Earth Day cards, go to:
http://www.care2.com/ecards

May you Never Thirst….for knowledge…for water…for love.

Blessed Beeeees,
Diane T. and furfamily

You CAN help save the bee population

You may have heard that the population of bees is diminishing rapidly, due to several environmental factors.  Since bees pollinate about 80% of the world’s food supply it is important to turn this around, and every thinking, caring person can help.

This is part of a column written by Diana Herrington on the http://www.care2.com website.

1. Insecticides (one of the leading suspects in bee deaths):
Last year, leaked documents exposed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) illegitimate approval of clothianidin, a highly-toxic pesticide that the regulatory agency knew was capable of killing off bees.

Also, a new study out of Purdue University confirmed, once again, that clothianidin is killing off bees, but also that clothianidin’s toxicity is systemic throughout the entire food chain.

2. Malnutrition:
Nutrition for bees might sound rather odd since they eat only nectar and pollen. What has happened though, is that honeybees don’t have the variety of flowers available to them because man has destroyed much of their habitat. We humans like our environment orderly so we clear the ditches of wild flowers and kill all the dandelions and clover in our lawns. To bees, these areas are now nutritional wastelands. Bees love weeds!

For the rest of the article, go to:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-ways-to-save-the-bees.html#ixzz1sUpoO7aS

Energetically, Diane Tegarden
Author of: “How to Escape a Bad Marriage-A Self Help Divorce Book for Women”; “Light Through Shuttered Window”; “Anti-Vigilante and The Rips in Time”

Crisis in the Bee Hive…..

Read the information about the bee crisis here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/28/bees-death-destroy-food-supply.aspx?e_cid=20120128_DNL_art_1

A feeling of helplessness can overwhelm people when they read about an extremely important, worldwide environmental crisis, because the issue is so big. Remember, a million small steps can get us as far as one huge step, and is easier to accomplish in one’s own life.

Here are a few small suggestions that people can use to help turn things around:

1. Stop using pesticides of any kind on one’s own lawns, flowers, fruit trees and vegetable gardens. Companies will only switch to healthier alternatives if we hit them where it hurts, in the checkbook.

2. Consider supporting alternative political parties that espouse keeping our environment livable. For example, support the Green Party, whose platform revolves around safe business practices, and a healthy environment.

3. Join an online organization called Change.org and start a petition to have that fake Chinese honey banned from US stores.

4. Choose charitable organizations that fight for environmental laws, like NRDC. The money you contribute is tax deductible, and these lawyers are fighting for environmental issues such as: saving natural areas, protecting endangered species, banning bad business practices, like fracking, protecting the use of renewable energy, and much more.