Archive for the 'News' Category
July 12, 2007 | News
Jerry, the creative director over at The Change, was just featured as one of 5 guest writers on the topic of brand strategy over at Treehugger.com. Check out the article!
One of Jerry’s main points (which we love), is that the truth is your best tool - tell people what you’re doing to effect sustainability and levy a positive impact on the world and let that set you apart. Big companies omit information (like toxic runoff, industrial waste and shoddy labor) for a reason. And in general, the typical consumer would rather not know. So if your business’ practices are different, why not share the truth about what sets you apart? Tell your potential consumer base what fair trade means, or why it’s important to seek out organic produce.
If you don’t tell them, who will? Certainly not the traditional companies you’re competing with.
Posted by mudlark @ 5:33 am | Comments
July 10, 2007 | Water, Shopping, News
Inhabitat clued us in that the US Congress plans to go carbon neutral by the end of the current term!
�Gristmill filled us in on the demographics at the Live Earth house parties in Austin this weekend. Looks like us broomhuggers are 30-something-plus. I find that odd when it looked like the concerts were geared toward a younger audience… but maybe I’m just not hip enough to get it…
One of Fast Company’s feature articles this month talks about the ins and outs of bottled water. $15 billion? Craziness. It’s definitely worth your time to read.
And to end with, a good buy over at Trade As One. They feature fair trade items, and our favorite are the recycled bags made by coops in Cambodia.
Posted by mudlark @ 10:54 am | Comments
July 2, 2007 | News
Broom Huggers has a new look! Swank Web Style designed us a great new site, and The Change took care of our awesome logo. We’ve been offline for a while due to problems with our new domain host, but it’s mostly all worked out. Except for the fact that all of our email is lost in cyberspace. I’ll be working on ironing that out today, but until then, if you’ve emailed broomhuggers since Thursday of last week, I apologize, but your email is floating around somewhere in the cyber-equivalent of the land of Oz.
Posted by mudlark @ 6:00 am | Comments
May 23, 2007 | Food & drink, Health, Organics, Pregnancy, News
Joni Mitchell said it best, “…Hey, farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now. Give me spots on my apples, just leave me the birds and the bees, please!…” Now we can add to the birds and the bees line, babies and brains too!
News this week? Babies conceived in the summer months don’t do as well in school as those conceived at other times of the year. Neonatologist Paul Winchester analyzed the scores on standardized tests and found that children who were conceived in June, July, and August were significantly less proficient in language and math. He attributes the effect to high levels of environmental pesticides during the most crucial months of nervous system development. “The pesticides we use to control pests in fields and in our homes and the nitrate we use to fertilize crops and even our lawns are at their highest level in summer,” Winchester says. He suspects that pesticides are causing higher rates of hypothyroidism in pregnant women, a condition known to affect brain development in growing babies. Not only that, pesticides and fertilizers are also blamed for premature and preterm birth.
So, no more makin’ whoopie in the summer time! Well, scratch that. But if you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant this summer, I’d say it’s high time to start buying organic produce, and limiting the chemicals you use in and around your home. Switch to natural cleaning products (or a natural maid service, like… need I say? Broom Huggers!), see if you can manage your lawn and indoor pest control without pesticides and fertilizers. And most definitely, buy yourself some organic 2% milk (miscarriage rates rise a bit in women who drink skim), and limit your beef intake.
Posted by mudlark @ 1:42 pm | 1 Comment
April 23, 2007 | Being Green, Water, Health, Cleaning products, Shopping, News
Oprah had a great show on Friday about making environmentally-friendly choices. The goal of the show was to show viewers small
things they can be doing in their every day lives to help the environment. A few highlights -
- Paper or plastic? Neither! Bring your own reusable bags when you shop. The plastic bags take eons to biodegrade, and paper bags use a staggering amount of trees every year. So, BYOB! Bring your own Bag!
- Water - one liter of bottled water takes 5 liters of water to produce. Use tap water - filter it if you feel the need, and buy a reusable aluminum bottle.
- “Fake” Clean: Clean doesn’t smell like pine or lemon. Clean doesn’t smell! The chemicals in regular cleaners aren’t healthy for people, animals, or the earth. Use natural cleaners and a natural cleaning company (need we say, like Broom Huggers!)
- Did you know that appliances and electronics still use 40% of their power when they’re not in use? Your toaster, lamps, tv - they all use 40% of their power as long as they’re plugged in, on “standby.” The solution? Use a Smart Power Strip. Turn of the power strip and it’ll keep those appliances from sucking energy. Also, it groups your electronics in ‘clusters,’ so that when you turn off your TV, it also turns off your DVD player and surround sound too. Clever!
There are some awesome resources at Oprah’s website, along with some video feed. Check it out!
Posted by mudlark @ 2:53 pm | 2 Comments
April 19, 2007 | Being Green, News
Oprah is having a special ‘green’ show tomorrow. Gotta see that! Tune in to Oprah tomorrow to see the real deal, or check back here tomorrow evening. You can bet I’ll give a recap!
Posted by mudlark @ 8:54 pm | Comments
April 14, 2007 | Lifestyle, News
Today is the day! Americans are joining together in cities across the nation in a grassroots effort to push Congress to reduce American carbon emissions 80% by 2050.
With news coverage from the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Business Week, and the Christian Century to name a few, this year’s Step it Up campaign is making waves.
The actions around the country are pretty exciting - in New York they’re doing a Sea of People to show what will happen if we don’t take action to stop climate change;� Park City Utah did some aerial artwork; participants are doing a human postcard in front of the Capitol. Virtually every major city in the US has multiple actions happening, and there isn’t a single state that doesn’t have a couple things going on.
Even if you’re not participating today in a Step it Up action near you (Atlanta has numerous - if you’re local), there will be a petition through Move On that you can sign and send to your congressman.
Check out here why we’re asking for 80% by 2050. It may sound like a lot, but it really is what’s necessary. And really, we’ve got 43 years to do it. That should be enough. Right? Well, only if this grassroots campaign becomes mainstream. So do your part. This is important - not just for me (or us), but for my kids and grandchildren (and yours too).
Posted by mudlark @ 3:25 pm | Comments
April 2, 2007 | Cleaning tips, News
A BBC report this morning tells us what us parents of toddlers have always known - some time in the sandbox put smiles on faces. Well, actually the study is a little more in depth and scientific than that… Lung cancer patients experienced improvements in their quality of life and mice produced more of the ‘happy’ brain chemical serotonin after exposure to soil.
Lack of serotonin is linked to depression in people, and it seems that we can boost our serotonin levels through exposure to dirt. So maybe we should all have adult-sized sandboxes in the backyard… That could be the new spa experience! Well, maybe taking up gardening would be a more sensible solution…
Doctors have long known that homes that are vacuumed too frequently tend to bring on greater problems with allergies, which seems to indicate that we need some exposure to dirt. Also, doctors recommend only using anti-bacterial soaps when you’re fighting illness, or to significantly limit the use of anti-bacterial soaps, as they also kill good bacteria that keeps you healthy. But, try finding non-anti-bacterial soaps at your grocery store.
So it seems there is such a thing as ‘too clean.’ The moral of the story, go ahead - dig your fingers into the mud. Let it squish through your fingers. And then eat some mudpies. Okay, maybe not.
Posted by mudlark @ 1:31 pm | 1 Comment
March 29, 2007 | Being Green, News
CNET published a great article today noting the trend of major corporations like Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard to re-design some of their practices and goods to please the eco-friendly consumer.
We’re a finicky bunch, but if major companies like these are willing to take even baby steps in the right direction, I’ll accept that! Sure, it may only be a drop in the bucket, but even a few drops here and there are better than a bone-dry bucket! Besides, if Wal-Mart is going to take steps in the right direction, let’s hope that prompts other retail kings and even ‘the little guy’ to take similar steps, and hopefully start the equivalent of one-up-manship in green corporate practices.
Posted by mudlark @ 12:53 pm | Comments
March 16, 2007 | Being Green, News
Yesterday we noted that Parenting Magazine had a (very) brief article on greening the air in your home. Well, Parents Magazine has outdone them! Thanks, Parents Magazine, for the following features:
Watch out for the myriad ads, but these articles are a big step in the right direction.
Posted by mudlark @ 1:00 pm | Comments
