Happy Planet
Reuse–Recycle–Re-purpose–and we Renew the planet!
Take this to heart and tread lightly wherever you go! The Fairy King might be watching and you certainly don’t want to upset him!
Are you doing something special? Is your school doing something special? Let me know and I’ll put you on my list of those who are helping keep our planet, therefore us and Nature, happy! Your name or your group’s name, or your school, will stay up for a month for all to see!
My Favorite Organizations, Companies, and People Doing Wonderful Things:
1. The National Resource Defense Council, nrdc.org
–This is one the planet’s strongest defenders. Whether the focus is on the oceans, protecting sea life from military sonar exercises, or fighting to keep our park lands from private enterprise, the NRDC is up front and center. Mr. Robert Redford, a tireless environmentalist, is a Trustee on the board of the NRDC. Click on the link below to read his recent statement about land leases in Utah near precious areas. And then sign up for his blog. He stays on the cutting edge of environmental issues. Could he BE The Fairy King?!!! Claudia will get back to you on that!
huffingtonpost.com/robert-redford/stopping-bushes-destructio_b_152553.html
2. Earthjustice, earthjustice.org
–This is a non-profit group of legal folks who fight the good environmental fight. It is one of the outstanding resources that voices against mountaintop removal coal mining. This is a topic near and dear to my heart as a native Southerner from the Smoky Mountains. And I’ll let you in on a little secret: this crime against Nature of mountaintop removal was my original story inspiration for the Claudia series…and will feature prominently in a future book already in the works. Please visit the Earthjustice site above for all that they do and visit the link below for more information about mountaintop removal. It’s only Common Sense!
stopmountaintopremoval.org
3. Sequoia ForestKeeper, sequoiaforestkeeper.org
–I had the good fortune to meet Valerie Cassity at an Earth Day booth in Santa Monica. She was dressed like a fairy and I knew Claudia and I had found a new friend. When they had a camping trip in the forest, I joined the group and tried to read a few chapters of Claudia’s adventure with The Fairy King, but the bees surrounded my hands and the book–right at the place where I was READING about the bees!–and we just didn’t get very far. I believe the bees of the Sequoia Forest knew I was there to do a good deed and they just wanted in on it–and to thank me for writing about them. My young audience was pleased with what did get read, although I believe one young lad was disappointed there were no dragons in the tale. Check out the work they do at the site above and perhaps we can keep the oldest living things on the planet from being encroached upon…and the forest logged for private gain.
4. The Amazon Herb Co., amazonherb.net
–I am a business associate in this stellar company. John Easterling founded this company in the early 1990’s as a result of first hand knowledge of the life-giving botanicals in the Rainforest. Please visit the corporate site address above and read of his astounding accomplishments with the Peruvian Tribes in the Amazon Rainforest and his personal journey. His efforts have helped place thousands of acres legally in the hands of the tribes who treasure this irreplaceable resource. This action gives them ownership, a united voice when confronting the government, and a sustainable, economic strategy for keeping the Rainforest in tact–not slashed for cattle and soy farming, or oil drilling, or gold mining. So many economic battlegrounds vying for what the Rainforest is most valuable as already: the lungs and medicine chest of the planet. If you are moved by the mission, as I was, please visit my site to purchase a superior, bio-energetic, organic product, partial proceeds going to purchase lands in the Amazon by the tribes.
micheleorr.amazonherb.net
5. Terracycle, terracycle.com
–I saw a piece on television a few years ago about this New Jersey recycling company and thought then how wonderful a vision the founder had. It was highlighted again recently on CNN and I was lucky enough to catch it and be reminded that the efforts being done by this company could be done all over the planet. Please check out their website to see what astounding recycling efforts are being accomplished. And how FUN it all looks!
6. Green Planet, greenplanet.com
–This is a happy discovery! I was looking for one thing and fortunately stumbled across this valuable eco-conscious organization. In their own words Green Planet’s mission is:
“We are working to make our planet a greener and healthier place on which to live. Our projects will improve the environment, address the challenges of hunger and malnutrition, and at the same time, create sustainable incomes for people in developing countries worldwide.”
You just can’t get any better than that. Click through to read what would replace cutting down virgin forests! Learn about plantations in Ethiopia! Claudia sighs from happiness.
