The Lambi Fund of Haiti has an established track record of implementing successful programs for sustainable development and agriculture, community economic development, and economic justice in Haiti. Their local empowerment initiatives have helped to improve food security, water safety, resource conservation, and community self-sufficiency, particularly in rural areas. The Lambi Fund will be actively engaged in forward-thinking initiatives like these to help Haitian communities recover economically after this terrible earthquake. Please check out their website for details about their efforts.
In addition, a number of groups from around the world will be involved in rebuilding housing and other buildings in Haiti after the earthquake. Many of them will strive to build more sustainable, disaster-resistant structures. Click below to learn about the efforts of these important organizations:
For the more immediate relief needs of emergency/transitional shelter, a couple of options include: World Shelters and ShelterBox. Please consider supporting the work of one or more of these organizations by donating or volunteering for their projects.
Update (4/5/10): Also see this new commentary on Rebuilding in Haiti, by Allison Arieff on The New York Times website; and a description of several Haiti redevelopment programs suggested by Sustainable Land Development International.
January 16, 2010
The recently certified Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center is the first LEED Platinum certified K-12 public school in California, and it is also the first building in Sonoma County to achieve LEED Platinum certification. (The first commercial/non-residential building, that is. I believe that a private residence in Healdsburg was actually the first project to achieve LEED Platinum in Sonoma County.) To the best of my knowledge, the Salmon Creek Falls Environmental Center is the first Platinum rated non-residential building in the entire North Bay region of the Bay Area (Sonoma, Napa, and Marin counties). The Center is located on the site of the Harmony Union Schools (Harmony Elementary and Salmon Creek Middle School) in Occidental, CA, a town in the redwoods to the west of Santa Rosa. The building serves the school district as well as the surrounding community. It includes an auditorium, cafeteria and kitchen, and meeting rooms; and it has many green features, including a vegetated, flower-covered “living roof.”
Here is my listing of all North Bay building projects that have achieved LEED certification to date. And here’s a longer listing of green building projects (of all sorts, not only LEED projects) that I’m aware of in the North Bay.
And a quick update on the stats for LEED Platinum projects worldwide: According to my latest calculations (as of December 2009), 46 states and 12 countries (including the U.S.) now have at least one LEED Platinum certified building. China and Great Britain are the latest countries to join the ranks of those with a LEED Platinum rated project. Within the United States, California—with more than 50 Platinum certified projects so far—is home to more Platinum projects than any other state.
December 17, 2009
If you’ll be in the San Francisco Bay Area during the first week of October, consider attending one or both of these entertaining and edifying events, which will be taking place in San Francisco and in West Marin County respectively:
West Coast Green, San Francisco
Expo + conference on green innovation for the built environment
Fort Mason Center
October 1-3, 2009 (Thursday – Saturday)
www.westcoastgreen.com
3rd Annual Point Reyes Green Homes Tour, Pt. Reyes Station
Organized by the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM)
October 4, 2009 (Sunday)
www.clam-ptreyes.org
If you’d like to recommend other green events that will be happening in the Bay Area this fall, feel free to mention them in the Comments section.
September 7, 2009
This is an addendum to the previous post for those of you who live in (or near) Marin or Sonoma County, California.
We are fortunate to have a plethora of amazing farms and sustainable agriculture resources in this area. One very cool new addition to our local scene is the “Seed Bank” store, located in a historic bank building at a major intersection in downtown Petaluma (Washington and Petaluma Blvd.). The store sells more than 1,200 varieties of non-GMO Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
Our area is also home to many farmers markets, as well as wonderful organizations (and businesses) such as:
Marin Organic :: MALT (Marin Agricultural Land Trust) :: Grown in Marin :: Petaluma Bounty :: Sonoma County Farm Trails :: Occidental Arts and Ecology Center :: Ag Innovations Network :: Harmony Farm Supply & Nursery :: Mostly Natives Nursery :: Permaculture Skills Center [NEW: Added 2014] :: F.E.E.D. Sonoma Farmers Exchange [NEW]
You might also want to check out the Hidden Bounty of Marin, a recently produced 1/2-hour film about the farms and farmers of beautiful West Marin; it shows the rich variety of agricultural enterprises in this region—from dairy, produce, and oyster farming to cattle, hog, and sheep ranching.
There are many great family farms in this area. Wild Blue Farm, Toluma Farms (goat dairy), and Straus Family Creamery are some of my favorites, as they’re the farms that I’m most familiar with.
And lastly, here’s my list of links to other sustainability-related resources in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have other favorite local organizations or resources to recommend, please share them in the Comments section below. Thanks!
August 6, 2009
Building on what Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation did to expose the health problems associated with eating fast food, a veritable cornucopia of new documentary films have recently come out, bringing attention to a broader array of issues related to factory farms and feedlots and to the benefits of sustainable farming and ranching. These films include:
Update (8/13/09): A dozen other important food-focused films have just been highlighted by Serious Eats.
And on Showtime TV, Season 1 of This American Life had a great segment on factory-farmed genetically modified pigs. (The show can be rented through NetFlix, etc. I highly recommend watching both seasons.)
A fresh crop of books have recently been published on these topics, as well, including:
For additional information on sustainable agriculture and good, real food, check out resources such as: Organic Consumers Association, The Land Institute, Roots of Change, Slow Food USA or Slow Food International, Fields of Plenty, Animal Welfare Approved, and Certified Humane.
Please support small, organic farms and your local farmers markets; consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm or growing some organic produce in your yard or a community garden; and if you eat meat or dairy products, choose products (e.g., Niman Ranch) that come from humanely raised, non-hormone-boosted animals. To sign the Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture (from Roots for Change), click here.
On a related note: Today (August 5) is Wendell Berry’s 75th birthday! Wendell Berry is a prolific writer and poet, a life-long Kentucky farmer, and an advocate of sustainable agriculture.
Please see our NEWER POST: Sustainable Agriculture, Farming, Gardening, and Food-Related Resources [July 2013]
August 5, 2009
The Green Spotlight (TGS) presents concise information and useful links related to green practices and policies, social action, green living, green building and design, and green business. Its brief blurbs highlight noteworthy ideas, products, services, events, websites, publications, organizations, and other resources that support the transition to an environmentally sustainable lifestyle, economy, and society.
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January 25, 2009
Architecture for Humanity