...Real Goods’ carbon victory...
In 1990, Real Goods Trading Company [555 Leslie St., Ukiah, CA 95482-5576, (707) 744-2100, www.realgoods.com] invited its customers to join in a joint effort to remove a billion pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere through the purchase of energy-efficient technology – solar panels, windchargers and high-insulation building materials. On August 15, Real Goods announced that it had accomplished this incredible goal – 16 months ahead of schedule. Eight years of alternative energy purchases have saved the equivalent of 1 million barrels of oil, 50 million gallons of gasoline, 8.7 billion gallons of water and half-a-million trees. In addition, customers realized $50 million in reduced energy costs.

...Land-saving art...
To help save their endangered rainforests, the Maisin people of Papua New Guinea have decided to introduce their traditional tapa cloth paintings (featuring geometric mazes of beige and terra cotta painted on pounded-bark) to a global audience. To support the Maisin and other native artisans around the world, contact Global Exchange [2840 College Avenue, Berkeley CA, (510)548-0370, tapa@fairtradezone.com]

...Recycling restauranteur...
Chef Ed Doyle of Boston’s Aura Restaurant may be the first restauranteur in the country with an on-site compost bin. “With my belief in sustainable agriculture,” says Doyle, “it only made sense to implement this composting system.” The four-foot-square, 10-foot-tall City Soil Maker [Kortenhaus Communications, 137 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, (617) 536-5352] holds up to 1000 pounds of kitchen leftovers and produces up to 2 cubic yards of finished compost per month. The fermenting process is moved along by generous helpings of pine needles, decomposed leaves and red wiggler worms. Completing the circle, Chef Doyle uses the compost in the restaurant’s herb garden.

...Another sustainable brick in the wall...
Complementing Vermont Law School’s renowned environmental law program, the school’s new classroom building features composting toilets, super-efficient lighting, chemical-free linoleum tile and super-insulated windows that actually open and close. The building is so efficient that it requires neither heating nor air-conditioning. An innovative “enthalpic energy recovery wheel” placed in a ventilation shaft recovers water vapor and 80 percent of the heat in exhaust air and transfers it to incoming fresh air. The resulting airflow is not too dry in winter, not too humid in summer. [Peter Lee Miller, Media Relations, Vermont Law School, Chelsea Street, South Royalton, Vermont, 05068, (802) 763-8303, pmiller@vermontlaw.edu]

...Wherefore the vanishing tiger?...
Author/journalist Cory J. Meacham has received the Overseas Press Club’s 1997 Citation for Excellence for outstanding coverage of international environmental issues for his book, How the Tiger Lost Its Stripes: An Exploration into the Endangerment of a Species [Harcourt Brace and Co].

...A US enviro-laws compendium at your fingertips...
At 980 pages, the 1998-99 Environmental Law Deskbook [Environmental Law Institute, 1616 P St., NW, Suite 200, Washington DC 20036, (202) 939-3800, orders@eli.org, www.eli.org] is touted as the most comprehensive environmental legislative source available. The $89.95 reference tool includes the Equal Access to Justice Act, the Freedom of Information Act, 1996 amendments to the Oil Pollution Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the EPA Safe Drinking Water Act. A sure-fire way to get your Acts together.

...Let Your Fingers Do the Lobbying...
Working Assets, the “activist corporation” of socially responsible long-distance phone fame, is now emailing its subscribers monthly tips and “Flash Activist Network (FAN) alerts” on breaking environmental and political issues. The service costs $3 a month. In 1997, FAN-activists helped defeat the teen death penalty, improve air pollution standards and protect Native American rights. [(800) 772-1077.]

...Plug in those bikes; charge up those boats...
The Oakland-Alameda (California) Ferry Service has installed electric charging stations on its boats so electric bicycle riders can recharge their batteries while cruising the bounding shallows of San Francisco Bay. Not to be outdone, quiet, zero-emissions electric boats are also coming into their own. Duffy Electric Boats of Newport Beach, California, has successfully piloted a 62-ft. electric boat to Catalina Island and back with nary a putt-putt nor one spilled drop of oil. [CALSTART, (818) 565-5600, calstart@calstart.org, www.calstart.org]

...A Guatemalan umbrella...
For 14 years, the nonprofit Guatemala Partners [1830 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington DC 20009, (202) 782-1123, manos@igc.apc.org, www.igc.apc.org/guatemalapartners] has supported community-based development and human rights projects in Guatemala and southern Mexico. Guatemala Partners is comprised of 29 grassroots projects including the Association for Integral Development, which offers training in health, agriculture and community organizing, and the Association for Kaq’chiquel-Mayan Wisdom, which strives to “recover and utilize traditional Mayan medicinal and agricultural knowledge.” Guatemala Partners seeks to hold America accountable – morally and politically – for the US’s role in a host of political crimes and state repression in Guatemala since 1954.

...Awardz for Alonzo...
The Journal’s long-time printer, Alonzo Printing [Alonzo Environmental Printing, 3266 Investment Blvd., Hayward, CA 94545, (510) 293-0522] was recently honored as the first commercial printer to be certified as a “Green Business” by the Alameda County Green Business Association. Alonzo also received the California Water Environment Association’s 1997 Industry of the Year Award. Over the last five years, Alonzo has been the Journal’s partner in demonstrating the viability of a wide-range of tree-free papers.

...A disk-washer for your clothes?...
According to tests conducted by North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles, Ultra 7 LaundryMaster™ Disks can effectively clean laundry without chemical detergents, even in cold water. The $89.95 disks, working in conjunction with an enzymatic liquid, are said to last for seven years and pay for themselves in six months. A portion of the disks’ sales goes to support a number of environmental groups. (Disclaimer: Earth Island Institute is not among them.). [OneSource Worldwide Network, (888) 269-6656; S&S Public Relations, 400 Skokie Blvd., No. 200, Northbrook, IL 60062, (847) 291-1616]

...A farm for “heritage animals ”...
Nancy and Jerry Kohlberg’s Cabbage Hill Farm, located 30 miles north of Manhattan, is a working farm, a nonprofit foundation and a living museum of rare farm animals. The farm preserves historic domestic animal breeds. Rare Exmoor ponies, tilapia (a fish), highland cattle, Shetland sheep and rare breeds of pigs and poultry can be found enjoying the serenity of Cabbage Hill’s land and water. [Tours by appointment. Cabbage Hill Farm, 115 Crow Hill Road, Mount Kisco, NY 10549, (914) 241-2658, veglady@aol.com ]

...What’s your poison? Orange, mint or garlic?...
A new EPA-approved botanical insecticide promises to bypass the estrogen-mimicking side-effects of petrochemical insecticides. Orange Guard™ [7 Trampa Canyon Road, Carmel Valley, CA 93924, (800) 424-9300] contains a water-based emulsion of orange peel whose active ingredient, d-Limonene, kills and repels insects (but it’s still safe enough to rate FDA approval as a food additive). From the other side of the country comes Victor’s Poison-Free Aerosol, a bug spray whose active ingredient is derived from mint leaves. Bad for bugs, but harmless to children and pets. Victor [Woodstream Corporation, 69 North locust St., Lititz, PA 17543-0327, (800) 800-1819] also brews Mosquito Barrier, a bug spray containing garlic.

...Cotton up to this...
The country’s first Organic Cotton Directory, listing products from more than 125 companies, was recently published by the Pesticide Action Network and the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA) Fiber Council. The OTA [50 Miles St., Greenfield, MA 01301, (413) 774-7511, fax: (413) 774-6432, ota@igc.apc.org] is pleased to report that organic cotton farms will top 10,000 acres this year – up 11 percent over 1997 – representing “a total reduction of approximately 3 million pounds of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers typically applied to conventional cotton.”

...Save your energy...
Chock-full of practical, easy-to-understand steps you can take to make your home more energy-efficient, the 5th edition of the popular Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings [American Council for an Energy- Efficient Economy, 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW, No. 801, Washington, DC 20036, aceee.ix@netcom.com] features the latest info on energy efficient windows; geothermal heat pumps; furnace, fan and motor electricity-consumption listings; and descriptions of the new EPA EnergyGuide labels now appearing on appliances.

...Spread the BREAD...
The latest entry in the world of do-it-yourself currency comes from Berkeley, California, where $10,000 of the Berkeley Region Exchange and Development’s BREAD bills (worth $12 per hour) are now in circulation. A plethora of services including massage, masonry and consultation from economists and lawyers are listed in the community barter catalog, BREAD rising [PO Box 3973, Berkeley, CA 94703, (510) 704-5247]. Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean calls BREAD “a model for sustainable community development.” BREAD member Richard Strong explains that “alternative currency is a community builder [because] ... it encourages local, face-to-face contacts between consumers, artisans, growers, barbers, tailors and others.” BREAD proceeds are supporting a Home Gardening Project that hopes to build 150 organic gardens in low-income neighborhoods over the next year.

...Ethical tea, anyone?...
Equal Exchange, the nonprofit that pioneered the import of fair-trade organic coffees, has become the first US company to offer a line of fairly traded organic teas – Earl Grey, Green Tea and English Breakfast – grown by Indian farmers who will be assured of an “above-market price for their tea.” This marks a radical departure from “the centuries-old tradition of ... purchasing tea from large, privately owned plantations.” says Jonathan Rosenthal, co-founder of Equal Exchange [251 Revere St., Canton, MA 02021, 781-830-0303, fax: - 0282, www.equalexchange.com].

...Hats Off to Hain’s...
The “Pure Food” logo on the bottom right of each bag of Hain’s Bearitos Corn Chips let’s shoppers know that the product contains “NO Genetically Engineered Ingredients.” Hain’s, the first US company to signal its opposition to genetically engineered “frankenfood,” also provides free a pamphlet about genetically engineered organisms [Hain GEO Info, PO Box 48006, Gardena, CA 90248]. Other natural food companies have also signed on to the pure-food campaign initiated by Mothers for Natural Law [www.safe-food.org].

...Burma Boot...
On August 11, ARCO, announced that it would not renew its two offshore gas exploration leases in Burma’s Andaman Sea. The ARCO project had provided $55 million a year to Burma’s military rulers. Both ARCO and Texaco have now halted business deals with Rangoon, in concert with the US trade ban on Burma. The only US oil company that continues to do business with Burma’s military junta is UNOCAL. – SRS