The story of Don Cheyo

We bring you from time to time stories and updates from our great planting partners, and today we have a mini-documentary about Honduran farmer Don Cheyo, who grows organic crops and lives sustainably thanks to help from our planting partner, Sustainable Harvest International (SHI).

SHI works in developing countries in Central America - Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Panama. Central America has lost more than half of its rainforests in the last 50 years, contributing to mass extinctions and global warming. Rainforest destruction also wreaks havoc on local populations who depend on the rainforest for their survival.

SHI helps many farmers like Don Cheyo in nearly 100 struggling communities across Central America to reverse rainforest destruction with sustainable land-use practices that allow them to take control of their environmental and economic destinies. SHI is involved in many activities - from trees planting and restoration and preservation of degraded land to educational programs and community loan funds.

Here are some of SHI's achievements within 11 years of operations:

-Planted more than 2,000,000 trees.
- Converted 6,000 acres to sustainable uses, thereby saving 30,000 acres from slash-and-burn destruction.
- Improved nutrition through the establishment of more than 200 organic vegetable gardens.
- Increased farm income up to 800%.
- Built 165 wood-conserving stoves (saving 1,650 trees per year)

SHI is proud in the fact that it works only in communities where we have been invited by local people. One of their main strengths is that their projects are locally initiated and supported by in-country organizations, which helps to ensure that the work will continue long after they left an area.

So, now that you know them a little better, you can lay back and enjoy this video clip. The story of Don Cheyon demonstrates the important work SHI do in few areas - promotion of sustainable agriculture, planting trees, provision of wood-conserving stoves, etc. It was filmed and edited by a media company that is currently producing a documentary on SHI's work (we'll update you as soon as this documentary will be released):



If you like to know more about SHI, please check their website - http://www.sustainableharvest.org/.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!

Who support junk mail?

I hate junk mail. Even though I recycle all of of it, we're talking about so much waste of paper, energy, pollution, etc. that I get mad every time I find it in my mailbox. Now I've learned from the Washington Post that there's an organization that thinks junk mail is good. No, I'm not talking about the marketers, I'm talking about USPS - United States Postal Service.

Lyndsey Laton reported last week in the Washington Post ('Effort to Block Junk Mail Slowed') that "barred by law from lobbying, the Postal Service is nonetheless trying to make its case before a growing number of state legislatures that are weighing bills to create Do Not Mail registries". If you're wondering what reason the Postal Service can find to support junk mail, the answer is simple - their business. The Postal Service, according to the article, claims that junk mail (they call it "standard" mail) became a very important part of their business and that many jobs are depended on that.

Well, this argument is not very strong, isn't it? If we'll act in accordance with the Postal Service's logic, then we shouldn't stop any polluting or environmentally damaging activity like driving SUVs or using coal to generate electricity because of its consequences on the suppliers of these products/services.

I really wish that USPS will focus more on how to create new revenue engines, hopefully green ones, instead of trying to maintain services with such enormous environmental impacts (not to mention the fact that junk mail is so annoying!). I want to remind USPS that eight million tons of trees are consumed each year in the production of the 19 billion catalogs that are mailed in the U.S. every year!

I believe that eventually the interest of the public will win and junk mail will be limited by law, so it also makes sense business wise for USPS to get prepared for that day instead of wasting money on lost bottles.

I also want to remind you the great service of Catalog Choice to prevent receiving further catalogs by mail. I wrote about it few months ago and last week I used it for the first time to prevent receiving more catalogs of Pottery Barn, which I really don't understand why they send me in the first place. Anyway, it's a very user-friendly service and it's free, and I hope it will help me now to keep my mailbox safe.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

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What's big and green?

What's big and green and is a world renowned center for trees and plant lovers? It's the Missouri Botanical Garden of course! And now it's Garden Gate Shop also carries the Eco-Libris stickers, providing shop patrons the option to plant new trees in developing countries to balance out the paper in the books they read.

The Garden’s 79 acres of splendid horticultural displays include the vibrant tropical rainforest that thrives inside the alarmingly named Climatron conservatory. The Japanese Garden in one of the largest in North America, covering 14 acres. Other displays include Chinese, English and German gardens and a Victorian District. Over 5,400 trees live on the grounds, including some rare and unusual varieties and a few stately specimens dating back to the 19th century, when Garden founder Henry Shaw planted them.

But even more exciting to us is the fact that the Garden is one of the world’s leading centers for botanical exploration, plant science and conservation. Garden botanists are active in 36 countries spanning the globe, and information is shared via the Web (www.mobot.org) using a botanical database, developed and maintained at the Garden. With more than six million specimens, the Garden herbarium is one of the six largest in the world and one of the two largest in the United States.

The Garden Gate Shop is a great place to find plants, garden accessories, merchandise... and books on related subject. And now of course you can plant a tree for every book you buy there, by adding the Eco-Libris sticker.

The Garden is a host to events an exhibitions. Opening on April 28th, 'Niki' is a Colorful, Playful Mosaic Sculptures by Niki De Saint Phalle. A prolific self-taught artist, Niki created a repertoire of work that also included paintings and illustrations. She sculpted her playful, larger-than-life creations from fiberglass, stones, glass, mirrors and semi-precious materials. And here's the cool part - visitors are encouraged to touch many of them and some invite sitting or climbing!

The Missouri Botanical Garden is conveniently located off I-44, and is easily accessible from the major highways in the area.

4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110 Automated events hotline: (314) 577-9400 - 1-800-642-8842

Yours,

Eylon @ Eco-Libris

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Green Options - Eat Food. Not Too Much. Translated.

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, today's post was originally published by Beth Bader on Eat.Drink.Better. Though today's post is not directly related to books, you will see that it is corresponding with Michael Pollan's great books.

So, when Michael Pollan set forth his short mantra on food, what did it all actually mean when you go to fill your dinner plate? For starters, we eat too much in general, and too much of the wrong things. Following are some very specific guidelines on actual portion sizes, and tips on eating right without dieting. I hate dieting.

First, some general "gut checks" you should keep in mind daily:

• How many servings of each type of food we should eat each day


• All the different colors and kinds of veggies, and if you are eating a variety


• Small meals and healthy snacks work best for moderating blood glucose levels


• When is best to eat, and what combinations of foods are best for you (eating proteins with carbs to balance sugars for diabetics, for example)


• The true size of a portion, and sticking to it


• The tremendous amount of healthy food you can eat for the same amount of calories as a small bit of unhealthy food

These are good considerations. The trouble is, it is hard to do all that portion size measuring and planning when you are a busy mom. I mean, if I had that much time, I'd just work out more and keep eating ice cream. That's what always worked for me when I had time to work out and before I found out I have high cholesterol.

So, based on this here's my easy plan, my visual food mantra. See the plate photo at the top of the post? It's a normal size plate. I will not overload it or mound the servings to the rim. I will have three of these a day with half the plate holding fruit and veggies, one-fourth the plate holding a lean meat or vegetable protein, and the other fourth holding a whole grain.

Note that the meat/protein is NOT the main course, and not the largest section of the plate. We eat too much meat for health reasons and environmental reasons, and it's time to change that focus of the American plate.

I have to make adjustments for things like pasta dishes and other combination dishes. If I get hungry, I'll try to have a healthy snack. I will aim for 5-9 servings of vegetables and fruits per day, more veggies than fruit. I will try to make sure most, if not all, of my fats are healthy fats.

It won't work every day. I know this because I am a realist. But, I will aim to make it happen most of the time. And I will try to remember my portion sizes.

Some examples:

• One serving of meat/protein = 3 oz.


• One serving of vegetable = 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw


• One serving of fruit = examples are 1 small apple, or 1 cup berries, or 1/4 cup dried fruit


• Grains/Legumes/Starches = 1/3 cup cooked pasta, or 1/2 cup mashed potato, 1 slice whole grain bread (note that potatoes are not in the vegetable category).


• Milk/Dairy = 1 cup skim, or 3-4 oz. yogurt, 1 oz. cheese

Surprised? Portions really aren't as big as what we think. Certainly not what's packaged or served to us in a restaurant.

Oh yeah, ketchup? Does not count as a vegetable. Sorry, but no way, unless you eat half a cup of ketchup. Fries count as a starchy vegetable, not a vegetable. Ready for this? You only get 10-15 fries per serving. That's like the corner of the supersize box, you know? Or maybe just licking the grease off the bottom of the carton even. Which is just plain disgusting. Fast food in general is pretty disgusting. I make my own baked sweet potato fries instead.

That serving of protein? It's less than the size of a "quarter-pounder." Child-size servings are even smaller. Around our house, as a family of three, we eat about 3 lbs. or less of meats per week. This means we eat at least two meals per week with a non-meat protein. I've also made it a habit to source those meats (and eggs and milk) we do eat direct from farmers that I know personally. It's reassuring to know the meat is safe and healthier for us and for the environment.

I pack our lunches every day to save money and to make sure we are all eating healthy foods. It takes effort to do all your own cooking, but after all the meat recalls and issues, I would not have it any other way.

As far as number of servings of each food type to eat daily, the food guide pyramid is a good resource — if you can decipher the new food pyramid diagram, that is. Luckily, they have a handy calculator on the site. It also has tracking tools and a worksheet if you are more interested.

It's not a bad idea to check these guidelines out since this is the kind of plan that school lunches will be based on if they ever update the guidelines from the 70s. These are basic, healthy eating guidelines. It is not a diet. I hate diets. Almost as much as I hate sit ups.

Because I also hate to count servings (and don't have time), I will just stick to my plate, eat a lot of different colors of fruits and veggies, and take the stairs. And, yeah, once in a while, I'm still going to eat ice cream and chocolate. Because I am a realist, and I really love ice cream almost as much as I hate sit ups.

Monday's green books series: The Green Eaters

Today we're having for our green books series a cute green picture book for babies and young children:

The Green Eaters - A Dream Comes True

Author: Jennifer Murphy. Illustrated by Mary Deaton.

Jennifer Murphy lives in Chicago with her husband Dan, super spunky daughter Natalia, "Green Eater" son Owen, and crazy cat Diva. Jennifer has had a variety of careers and life experiences. Her love and concern for the lives of farm animals and the future of our environment led to the development of The Green Eaters. Jennifer's mission is to improve the lives of others through her talents, creativity, intuition and knowledge.

Jennifer also designed The Green Eaters as a part of her organic baby/toddler clothing line, Chapter One Organics. Chapter One Organics clothing is made in the U.S. by a manufacturer that trains women facing significant barriers to employment. These individuals learn sewing skills, earn a living wage, learn productive work habits, establish careers, and begin their Chapter One.

Publisher: Trafford Publishing

Published in: November 2007

What it is about: This is the story of five farm animals - Gertie the cow, Curly the pig, Bailey the sheep, Franzy the horse and Plucky the chick. They live in a Dreary Day factory farm and dream of a better future, where they will be able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life like roaming in the green grass (Gertie), fresh grains (Bailey) and even just a nice brush of the mane (Franzy). One day they're all being transferred to an organic farm (The Green Eaters Farm), where, as you can expect, their wishes come true.

Why you should get it: I don't have children yet, but I'm very soon going to become a father and I'm already looking for green stories that would fit babies and this book is a great fit. I find it a fun story, written in rhymes, that helps to simplify and explain young kids the very important issue of organic living and the difference between the life of animals in factory farms and in organic farms. Babies may not be able to fully understand these issues, but for sure they will enjoy the great pictures of Mary Deaton.

I agree with the author who said in an interview that it's important for children to be introduced to this topic "because the children of today are our future" - I think it's a fun and sensitive book that helps kids to get some sense of the issue, which hopefully will be a base for further learning of these issue as they grow up.

The book reports that it is printed using solar and wind power with a minimum use of 30% recycled paper. Also, all of The Green Eaters books purchased through their site and their retailers (except Amazon) are balanced out with Eco-Libris!

What others say about it:
"Reconnecting to Mother Earth and all she has to offer can be made fun through the lens of a child, more specifically in child-like wonder. Miracle workers all have one thing in common; they operate from child-like wonder. It will take miracles to come through many people, to help people stop all the polluting we do; polluting our bodies, our water, our soil, and the planet. The Green Eaters - A Dream Comes True is written in child-like wonder. This is a great book to help people start to heal the way we farm, eat, and generally look at things. God bless Jennifer and her farm friends for bringing light into our lives." Greg Christian, Owner and Chef, Greg Christian Catering, www.gregchristian.com Founder, Organic School Project, www.organicschoolproject.org

“The Green Eaters – A Dream Comes True offers a simple, fun and positive message for children about organic farming!"Harmony Susalla, Founder and Creative Director, Harmony Art , www.harmonyart.com

Check out the book's website - http://www.thegreeneaters.com/, and if you're looking for other interesting green books, you are invited to check out our green books page on our website's green resources section.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!

Release party of the DIY issue of ISM magazine (and Eco-Libris is in!)

What are you doing next Saturday in the evening? If you live nearby Long Beach, California, here's a suggestion for you: come to the DIY issue release party of ISM magazine.

The party will take place between 7-10 p.m. in ISM: gallery at the Koos Art Center - 540 East Broadway Long Beach, California 90802.

What is ISM? it is a community project, a non-profit organization dedicated to benefiting the youth of our society through the artistic enrichment of our community. ISM has a magazine - a unique periodical focusing on educational content relating to specific art scenes, creative projects and art institutions including galleries, museums and schools.


Portrait of David Lynch with "Chris Dive" by Jeremy & Claire Weiss













The new issue of ISM magazine is themed around the "Do It Yourself" theory featuring inspirational editorial about Odd Nerdrum and Nancy Chunn. Educational highlights including Victor Wooten, Peter Sutherland and the Chinatown Soccer Club. Artist profiles detailing Lola, Craig Atkinson, Lisa and Tom Dowling, Tony Phlippou and Calethia DeConto. And also an article on Eco-Libris, which includes an interview with me.

The DIY issue release party will coincide with "Shudder", ISM's celebrity portrait/personal project exhibition. “Shudder” is highlighting the words and works of five relevant and prolific photographers (Jeremy & Claire Weiss, Patrick Fraser, Dan Monick and Michael Lavine) that train their lenses on the world of celebrity, lending their vision to the commissioned portrait.

“Shudder” celebrates these five photographers by presenting a commissioned work beside a personal project, calling attention to the singular vision which runs through these two styles. Presented next to each work will be the words of each photographer giving the viewer insight into their motivation and technique.

If you're interested in coming to the party, you cab RSVP for the event here - http://www.ismcommunity.org/rsvp

You're also welcome to order the DIY issue (and don't forget to look for the article "The Forest In Your Library") - http://www.ismcommunity.org/magazine

Enjoy!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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Dumbo is going green

Dumbo (an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is a beautiful neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY and now it is also getting greener. Green initiatives already take place in Dumbo and a series of green events starts now, including a panel discussion on Monday on how to raise a "green family" with few authors of green books!

The green initiatives in Dumbo are part of are part of Dumbo Improvement District’s neighborhood sustainability program called 'Smart Environmental Efforts in DUMBO' (SEED). The blog Dumbo NYC, Brooklyn quotes from SEED's last newsletter: "SEED was built on a foundation of five initiatives that encourage: public recycling, alternative modes of transportation, consumption reduction, greater energy efficiency and environmental education." According to the blog, the program already initiated installation of bicycle racks to encourage transportation by bicycle, planting of 52 trees in Dumbo last year and installed recycle bins around the neighborhood.

And what's next? more interesting green events! Yesterday, an art exhibition, Oil Drum Art opened at Gallery 202 of the 111 Front Street Galleries. And on March 24 at 7:00 pm at the powerHouse Arena (37 Main St., at the corner of Water St.) there's going to be a discussion on how to raise a green family with: Alexandra Zissu, co-author of The Complete Organic Pregnancy; Marisa Belger, founding editor of Lime.com and TODAYshow.com contributor; and Lynda Fassa, author of Green Babies, Sage Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby. The panel will be moderated by Josh Dorfman of the “Lazy Environmentalist” on Sirius Radio. Besides the panel discussion there will be also book signing, so don't miss it.

And one last personal note on the greening efforts of Dumbo - I visited Dumbo this week and it's really a neighborhood with a character, something that we don't see much these days, so I think it's great the neighborhood is going green. While I was in Dumbo, I visited two major culinary institutions there - Jacques Torres Chocolate Store and Almondine Bakery (both are located on Water St.), and I couldn't notice that these two places serve their great chocolate and food on disposable plates and cups made of paper, even if you eat on spot and don't take it with you. It generates a lot of trash that is not recyclable, so I hope these great places will join the initiative and go green as well!

Have a great Easter weekend and Happy Purim,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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