May 22, 2013 / Issue 138

     

Mrs. Green's World


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Environmental Quote
Dear (Contact First Name),

Once Upon A Time There Were Healthy Oceans... 

 

And those oceans were clean, blue and teeming with life. We swam in them, we splashed in them, we sailed, kayaked and cruised on them and we fished from them. We delighted in watching otters and sea lions play in them and stood breathless if we were blessed enough to actually see a magnificent whale breach. Dolphins and porpoises frolicked followed by squeals of delight from anyone lucky enough observe them. And those tide pools - teeming with life in their own little kingdoms, teaching all of us how to survive in a sustainable eco-system or simply delighting us regardless of our age.

Ready for the reality check? Thanks to the Monterey Bay AquariumSeafood Watch and some other truly remarkable sponsors, I was blessed to attend the 2013 Sustainable Foods Institute: Cooking for Solutions last week. My head is swimming, my heart filled with both hope and despair, and my newsletter about preserving that which we love - those healthy blue oceans teeming with life.

Here goes:
  • Globally we have never consumed more seafood
  • It is estimated that fish contributes to at least 50 percent of total animal protein intake in some developing states throughout the world
  • According to Seafood Watch, fishing practices worldwide are damaging our oceans-depleting fish populations, destroying habitats and polluting the water 
  • Scientists estimate that we have removed as much as 90 percent of the large predatory fish such as shark, swordfish and cod from the world's oceans. (Please re-read this one!)
  • As far back as 2003, the Pew Oceans Commission warned that the world's oceans are in a state of "silent collapse," threatening our food supply, marine economies, recreation and the natural legacy we leave our children.
  • Today billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences making up about 40 percent of the world's ocean surfaces.
  • In the Los Angeles area alone, 20 tons of plastic fragments - like grocery bags, straws and soda bottles - are carried into the Pacific Ocean every day. (If you are in a "read it and weep" kind of place, check this out.

You get the picture and I am going to stop with the bad news here but I encourage you to learn as much as you can about the state of our oceans and figure out your call to action.

 

Soooooo - what can you do? LOTS!!!

  • Make GOOD choices when you are purchasing your seafood!
  • Download, USE and SHARE the Seafood Watch brochure and/or phone app
  • which makes it really easy to shop for seafood sustainably
  • Support sustainable seafood companies and restaurants. People ask TONS of questions about their wine. Ask a few about where your halibut or tuna came from!
  • Reduce, reuse and LASTLY recycle your plastics. Please, please remember the first "r" is reduce so reusable shopping bags and water bottles will make a significant impact on the amount of plastics we consume daily. This is such an easy one and think of the turtle you might save from choking...
  • No matter how small or how big a donation you can make, consider finding the right guardian of our oceans for you and your budget and support them in any way you can. Here are two outstanding organizations for you to consider: Seafood Watch and Oceana.    

Bottom line, and I have GOT to do this because it can't be overused, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." The Lorax

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Mrs. Green partners with Miraval to bring you a Mindful Living podcast series exclusively on Mrs. Green's World Radio Network.   

Mindfulness is at the core of everything they do at Miraval. As a part of Miraval's just-released Mindful Living book, we are proud to announce our six-part podcast series highlighting chapters in the book. You will truly be inspired to more fully celebrate each moment of your life.


Mrs. Green will introduce you to six Miraval specialists ranging from a top exercise physiologist to their Executive Chef to the Medical Director of the Andrew Weil Integrative Wellness program. Each 15-minute podcast brings you a succinct understanding of  at least one of  the key tenets of the Miraval philosophy: balance, joy, healthy eating, developing the ability to overcome obstacles and ways to find the champion within.

Listen, learn and open your mind and heart to living Life in Balance(tm).  

 

Mrs. Green Blog Links

What a perfect set up for this one! Let's Go Surfing! Check out all the shows we have had on the oceans already and get ready for a few more to come. Ted Danson - we are so ready for you!  
 

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Upcoming Shows

May 25
Meet Team Healthier Generation
Haile Thomas - Healthier Generation
Are you ready for our first 12 year old guest on our national radio show? Meet Haile Thomas. You will have to tune in to hear (and maybe even believe ) all she is about but this should whet your appetite: Haile Thomas is a dedicated and passionate 12 year old health advocate for her peers. Her mission is to engage, inspire, motivate and educate her peers about healthy eating, cooking and living. Haile serves on several advisory boards, including the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Chop Chop Magazine, and the Tucson Village Farm. She is active in her community as the co-founder of the HAPPY Organization, which is partnered with the YWCA Tucson offering cooking, nutrition, gardening and fitness programs for children. The HAPPY Organization's mission is to engage, and empower generations of healthy, active, positive, and purposeful youth. And that's just the snapshot - so much more & having national impact. Hearing is believing! It gets better - Haile serves as the Jr. Chef Consultant and Spokesperson for Hyatt Hotel's "For Kids By Kids" Menu served in all Hyatt properties in North America. Haile's other corporate and nonprofit partners include, Whole Foods, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and the Cancer Schmancer Organization.
This show sponsored by Chapman Tucson.

June 1

Exploring Efficient Renewable Energy

Rod Schug, Superintendent of Yakutat Schools, Yakutat, Alaska

Exploring Efficient Renewable Energy. In April of this year, I was fortunate enough to spend almost a week in Yakutat learning about the challenges this one Alaskan community faces in terms of meeting its energy needs. What I quickly realized once I arrived, is that Yakutat, a land-locked community, is a metaphor for the energy needs of the planet. Gathering people from all over the United States, Rod successfully provided a setting for interested in and extremely well-informed individuals and an opportunity to share, learn and move our world and our country in particular into an environmentally cleaner secure and energy efficient future. Rod is amazing, his commitment strong and this show IS for all of us. This show sponsored by The Fairfax Companies (p.s. The owner of The Fairfax Companies, Jason Tankersley and Colleen Crowninshield from PAG�€™s Clean Cities Coalition made the trek to Alaska with Mrs. Green)

  

June 8

Can We Prevent Autism? 

Gordon, M.D., Preventing Autism

More than 2 million people in the United States have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and it has been reported that one in 88 children suffer from autism. What's wrong? What do parents need to know about that can be done to stop exposing their children to chemicals, fumes, and other factors that poison their brain cells? Dr. Gordon is a pediatrician who has practiced medicine in Santa Monica, CA., will offer us a step-by-step guide for reducing our toxic loads when he shares with us highlights from his new book, Preventing Autism: What You Can Do to Protect Your Children before and after Birth. I, for one, am extremely troubled by the growing number of kids with all kinds of diseases we never even talked about 20 years ago yet are so prevalent today. Please join us because to know better is to do better. This show sponsored by The Fairfax Companies.

 

June 15

Meet the Grandfather of Climate Science

Wallace Broecker Wally Broecker aka Dr. Wallace Broecker

I actually had the honor of spending time with Wally Broecker during a recent visit to Tucson. He was captivating and the group he spoke with never wanted him to stop. Check out this write up about him and put the date of this show on your calendar. Here is just a snippet: "To his colleagues, peers and admirers he is a genius and a pioneer, the Grandfather of Climate Science. And to his countless friends - most of whom also happen to be colleagues, peers and admirers - he is simply Wally. Broecker is arguably one of the world's greatest living geoscientists. For more than half a century, his major research interest has been the ocean's role in climate change. He was among the pioneers in radiocarbon and isotope dating - the quintessential processes for creating maps of the Earth's past climate fluctuations since as early as the Pleistocene period. He was also the first person ever to recognize the Ocean Conveyor Belt (which he named), arguably the most important discovery in the history of oceanography and its critical relation to climate." Think you are ready? Oh my. This show sponsored by Chapman Tucson.

 

June 22

She's the Queen of Fashion Hand-Me-Overs

Kerstin Block Kerstin Block, President and Owner, Buffalo Exchange and Rebecca Block, Vice President, Buffalo Exchange

Trendsetter, thought leader, early adopter and unquestionable leader in the fashion resale industry? Yes to all of them. Kerstin, her late husband and now her daughter Rebecca, has successfully transformed the retail apparel marketplace by leading the resale fashion industry. To the best of my knowledge, Buffalo Exchange was the very first store that bought, sold, traded, and took clothing items and accessories on consignment. I can attest to the fact that when Buffalo Exchange opened in 1974 in Tucson, resale shopping carried a stigma. Hard to believe now. The Blocks have truly been pioneers in reversing this trend leading the charge to Buffalo Exchange taking the country by storm. And we've only just begun. Kerstin is my friend, a person who cares deeply about the environment and who is NEVER afraid to tell you what she thinks. Lots to talk about with Kerstin and her daughter Rebecca. Please join our conversation. This show sponsored by The Fairfax Companies.

  

June 28 
Designing Resilience in a Black Swan World 
Dr. David Orr Dr. David Orr, Professor and Senior Advisor, Oberlin College

Designing Resilience in a Black Swan World. Dr. Orr, Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, also serves as Senior Advisor to the President at Oberlin College. He is an internationally recognized leader in sustainability. Dr. Orr is the visionary creator of The Oberlin Project to transform a rust-belt Ohio town into a thriving, sustainable and environmentally friendly community. He is the author of seven books, including the classic Ecological Literacy and Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse. I had the pleasure of spending some "alone time" with Dr. Orr and his wife Elaine while attending the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions Sustainable Foods Institute in mid-May. Dr. Orr and his family are on a mission to educate and inspire all of us to action. I cannot wait to share more. This show sponsored by Chapman Tucson.  

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