In this episode, we get the inside scoop from Carrie Ellett, National Program Director for Girls For A Change, a national organization that empowers girls to create social change in their own community. Started in the Bay Area, they are quickly expanding to cities all across America with their National Tour. Check it out and click here to find out how to help!

Conscious rap is world-wide and being used to inform farmers of new tools. In Africa, Maasai rapper Mr. Ebbo is the spokesperson for The MoneyMaker,a foot-powered pump developed and marketed by the non-proft KickStart. The pump is insurance against drought, helping small farmers irrigate crops. I wish all rappers sold out in this way:
(via Justin)

In this episode, C-diddy gets hungry and is confronted by a supernatural egg shell. We are then transported to the Greater Portland Oregon area to visit Nigel and Angie, a couple who have a garden on their 3rd story apartment porch. We learn how to create a space-saving worm bin to process compost as well as some all-natural methods for fixing nitrogen.

This week, we are back with Justin from Episode 9. Justin has worked in the area of sustainable development and the environment in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Peru and the states. Ever since I’ve known him, he’s always had a book in hand, taking advantage of any chance to read throughout his day. He gives us a run-down of some of his favorite green books which include: Eco Pioneers by Steve Lerner, Plan B 3.0 by Lester Brown, The Natural Step for Communities by Sarah James & Torbjorn Lahti, Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman, Permaculture a Designer’s Manual by Bill Mollison, and Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken. All of these books are available at your local library and Plan B 3.0 can be downloaded for free from the Earth Policy Institute.

During a recent road trip to Oregon, we spoke with Justin Overdevest of Connecting Oregon for Rural Entrepreneurship (CORE). In partnership with Americorps, the University of Oregon, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Justin and various local groups are working to change the economic landscape of the Central Oregon Coast. Justin talks about the philosophy of the program and describes some of the projects in the works. They include everything from green initiatives, to food production, to arts and crafts. We meet Ryan Roberts, a young photographer who is involved with CORE. He shows us some of his photos that display the natural beauty of Oregon along with the economic reality of living on this rural coast.

Stark contrast in deforestation along the
Dominican/Haitian Border (NASA)

In the 1980’s, free trade and environmental degradation virtually eliminated Haiti’s internal rice production. Haitians eventually became dependent on rice imports. Now, Haitians are starving due to rising food prices. There are reports of people making themselves sick, just so they can be admitted to the hospital and get food. There are many reasons for rising food prices including diversion of crops to biofuels and rising commodity and oil prices. Agricultural and oil interests lobbied for blended biofuel solutions such as ethanol, instead of promoting smart solutions such as electric vehicles or reusing waste vegetable oil.

To be sure, Haiti’s neighbor, the Dominican Republic, is also effected by the global food shortage, but they have a huge advantage with their local food production. Dominicans produce 80% of the foods consumed locally, which insulates them somewhat from the global shortages. It would be interesting to hear the presidential candidates address some of these issues in the next debate. Much has been made during the campaigns about special interests and globalization, but this an actual example of how bad policy has created a disaster and the next president must provide leadership on issues like these.

To help the Haitian citizens check out http://www.foodforthepoor.org/donate/haiti. Just $12 will feed one family for a month.

Last month, Nader Khalili, an earth architect from Iran passed away. Khalili developed Super Adobe and Super Block construction. These structures, made of soil, barbed wire, and a little cement, withstand extreme climactic conditions and seismic activity. Originally conceptualized for lunar colonization settlements, these adobe buildings have been built by the United Nations Development Programme to house refugees and have been used widely in hot, dry climates of the developing world. Now that green architecture has caught on, even affluent Americans are getting in on the act.

The Cal-Earth organization in Hesperia, California has plans for homes that have been approved for construction in San Bernardino County. This short documentary shows how sandbag prototypes can easily be built by local people, using local materials.