Earth Day

At Seventh Generation, Earth Day is a time of great celebration! We hope you'll join us by visiting our Earth Day page and participating in our Green Your Town sweepstakes, where you can win a $10,000 green makeover plus one thousand healthy home starter kits for your neighborhood.

Hey. The 20/20 by 2010 Team is on a campaign to get every (100%) 7th Gener to reduce their carbon footprint by 10% in 2008. Getting people conscious of every deliberation, every decision they make seven generations out of is a moment-by-moment design question. How do we get us all out of old habits and into the new design for a world that is living for the well-being of the WHOLE system, Earth. Lots going on here during the month to raise the "know" and get our wills-to-do.

As representatives of Seventh Generation, Sarah Thompson and I went to New Orleans this Earth Day for the culmination of One Ton Tree, our Eco-llaboration with Seed Collective, Replant New Orleans and City Year. We spent Earth Day digging holes and planting trees to help replace the 50,000 that were taken by Hurricane Katrina.

It’s Earth Day. That annual rite of spring where everyone becomes an environmentalist for at least a moment or two. For those of us who prefer to wear the label year-round (and increasingly that’s most of us), it’s a fitting occasion to pause for a moment, get out the imaginary camera, and take a virtual snapshot of sorts of today’s moment in time.

Such photos can tell us more than might be thought. For the big picture itself can often be found hiding in the details that the smaller image captures. So as we open the shutter and capture the light, what does our Earth Day photo say? That people are talking. People are thinking. People are acting. Awareness is reaching critical mass. That, above all else, is the reason to celebrate. Change is arriving. Here are the latest clues:

Let’s begin with a simple question: Why Earth Day? Here are a million wonderful, beautiful, magnificent, miraculous reasons you won’t find anywhere else. And that’s literally only about the half of it.

Weird weather? Melting mountains? Perspiring permafrost? Soaring sea levels? Color me officially concerned. Which is why it’s heartening to find our fellow Americans at last waking up and smelling the climatological coffee.

This just in from Sarah T.:

One little tree makes a ton of difference. It’s a simple idea, and this is what it means: This year for Earth Day, Seventh Generation is partnering with two incredible non-profits to make tons and tons of difference in an area that needs it most. We’re joining forces with the Seed Collective and Replant New Orleans to promote urban reforestation in New Orleans.

It starts with SEED, an on-line experience developed by the Seed Collective, which employs wireless activism to create a reforestation-funding tool. Using your phone and your computer together you can support the replanting and regeneration of the urban forest ecosystem in New Orleans. Replant New Orleans, in collaboration with City Year and a host of volunteers, will plant real trees in New Orleans on Earth Day, April 22nd. Seventh Generation will donate one dollar to that cause for every virtual tree (up to 40,000!) that you grow using SEED.

Both of our partners bring a great deal of passion to their mission of regeneration and community involvement. On Earth Day, we’ll be bringing them together in New Orleans for a special day in which the Seed Collective will show all of the virtual trees that you grew and Replant New Orleans will get the Central City growing.

Everyone can help us grow (and plant!) these trees. All you need is a phone and an internet-connected computer. Here’s how it works:

As many of you already know, this summer Seventh Generation over 100 students to Washington, DC to be trained by Greenpeace to become activists in the growing movement towards social and environmental justice. This 10 minute Change It video showcases some of the highlights from that training.

in awe of all they brought
and the energy leaving the room
missing it already

we end with reciprocal gratitude, sweaty hugs
and what’s the next chapter?
what change will be brought by those empowered?

I can feel the momentum created
and know that it can’t be stopped
an overdue change has become inevitable

________

Yesterday was new for me. I received so much gratitude, so many heart-felt hugs, and even a standing ovation (during which I turned bright red); at first I felt really embarrassed by all of it, like I didn’t deserve their thanks.

Change It 2006 was finally born on Friday night. And it’s amazing!

After nurturing Jeffrey’s idea for over nine months, with the equal support of our partner Greenpeace, we’ve birthed this wonderful program into the world. And now my role has changed – I've become the Seventh Gen sponge so that I can share the inspiration with you. Below is what I’ve soaked in so far.

Day 1 - 10pm