Blog Posts by Diane MacEachern

Pelican-Bath-LA-06-21-10Cleaning up the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico takes lots of hands -- and lots of money. Volunteers are needed to scrub oil off turtles and birds, scoop oil off beaches, and monitor wetlands for damage. Groups managing clean-up efforts need more financial support so they can try to minimize the terrible consequences of 60,000 gallons of oil a day being pumped into the region from the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded two months ago.

Here's a list of groups that need your help. If you're already volunteering in person, please let us know where you're working and what you're doing.

If you can send money, these groups sure could use it:

Gulf Restoration Network - Sign up to volunteer or donate, and send a message to BP.

Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund - 100 percent of all donations to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund will be granted to organizations working tirelessly in the effected areas. Their specific focus is to help fishermen and their families in the following Louisiana

Green InvestingWhat you buy isn't the only way to use your purse to change the world. Where you invest your money counts for a lot, and there are plenty of ways to invest that will pay social and environmental dividends on top of your earnings. Here are the top ten ways to invest your money in a socially responsible way.

• 1. Make socially responsible investing, or SRI, a key criterion for your portfolio. Evaluate companies based on the efforts they make to reduce pollution, stop global warming, and watch over parks, wilderness and wildlife. These "socially responsible" companies will also demonstrate respect for human rights and a strong commitment to their community. You can learn more about social investing from Green America.
• 2. Earmark a percentage of your investments for SRI. If you're hesitant to make your entire portfolio 100% "SRI," commit to a percentage you feel comfortable with each quarter and gradually increase it as you watch its performance over time.
• 3.

Conventional paint contains many volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that "outgas" and escape into the air after they are applied. Indoors, these VOCs cause headaches, nausea, achey bones, and general discomfort. Outdoors, they contribute to smog and air pollution.

Whether for indoors or out, your best bet is to buy low- or no-VOC paint. You'll find it offered by more than a dozen companies in thousands of colors and in standard eggshell, glossy, and semigloss finishes. You can also select no-VOC water-based stains, finishes, and paint stripper.

For specific recommendations, check out the brands that have been independently certified for health and sustainabilityby Green Seal or EcoLogo.

To get the most out of the paint you use:

Buy only what you need. Measure carefully. It's better to go back for more than to be stuck with too much leftover paint you can't use.

Prevent paint from drying out. Cover the paint can with plastic wrap, hammer the lid securely

Oil soaked birdThe harsh reality is that BP and the rest of the oil companies drill for oil because we are willing and able to pay for it. There is no supply without demand. And Americans, who produce only 2 or 3 percent of the world's oil but consume over 20% of it, have been the demanders in chief.

It will do absolutely no good to boycott BP if you keep buying oil and gas from someone else. BP's oil, along with everyone else's, is sold on the world market, not just to BP stations. Local gas stations are usually owned by entrepreneurs in your community, not by BP. They sell gas that comes from a variety of sources, not just their namesake. So as a consumer, even if you boycott a BP station, you're not necessarily boycotting gas produced by BP. Likewise, if you buy gas from a different station, you could be buying BP gas.

Plus: is there any "good" gas? Are there any "good" oil companies? Is Exxon, responsible for what was previously the largest oil spill in U.S. history, better than BP? What

Our latest One in a Million member is Nancy, an Episcopal priest and practicing psychologist who lives in central New York state. The One in a Million campaign encourages people to shift $1,000 of their household budget to greener products and services. I was amazed to learn that Nancy shifted so much she actually saved more than $10,000 without feeling deprived. Here's her story.

What inspired you to make so many "green" changes in your life? My doctoral studies were in MindBody medicine and holistic healing...which led directly to my first change: become a vegetarian(1991)-which reversed bone loss. In the intervening years I continued to study, teach courses, and give lectures and workshops on holistic healing and spirituality. My studies and workshop presentations expanded in 2005 after I learned about the known health risks associated with land fills at a meeting of the local chapter for the League of Women Voters. The local land fill had expanded despite opposition and was (and is

Susan The words, "You look just like your mother!" have taken on new meaning in the chemical age in which we live. According to the nonprofit research institute Environmental Working Group (EWG), we mothers pass the pollutants that have built up in our bodies along to our daughters while they are still in the womb. Consequently, our daughters begin life with a "body burden" of potentially cancer-causing chemicals that continue to accumulate throughout life.

Chances are great that our daughters will pass on to our grandchildren some of the same chemical molecules they inherited from us. The estimated age by which a daughter will purge 99 percent of the inherited chemical varies depending on the chemical. It will take a day to excrete the phthalate plasticizers that soften up cosmetics, paint and plastics, but a year to dump mercury. Our daughters will be at least teenagers but perhaps senior citizens before they're rid of the common flame retardants and stain-proofing chemicals we

If you have a car, stop whatever you're doing and go check the air pressure of your vehicle's tires.

Tire_gauge Apart from keeping your car in park, pumping up your tires to their proper "PSI" - pounds per square inch - is the fastest, cheapest way to reduce the amount of gasoline you use. Tires have a tendency to lose pressure over time or when the weather changes substantially; a car driving on underinflated tires needs more gas to move. You can gain 3.3% in fuel efficiency by inflating your tires. And with gasoline costing over $3/per gallon, every 3.3% gain means money in your pocket.

That gain also affords an immediate way to increase our supply of oil. As President Obama noted in his vision for an energy independent America, i if we all pumped up our tires to their proper PSI, the U.S. could easily gain from conservation (i.e., using less fuel) three times as much oil as we could reap from far more costly and environmentally dangerous off-shore oil drilling. And that oil is

In their eagerness to cash in on consumer demand for eco-friendly products and services, many companies are calling their goods "green" despite their decidedly un-environmental qualities. When you shop, these 5 steps can help you distinguish what's green from what's being greenwashed.

1) Read the label. Look for meaningful claims, not words like "natural" or "planet friendly" that aren't backed up by standards or third-party verification (see below). When it comes to cleansers and other household goods, avoid products labeled "caution," "warning," "danger," and "poison," all of which indicate the item is hazardous to you and the environment. Ignore products that are inherently contradictory, like "organic cigarettes," or "most energy-efficient Hummer." Leave goods boasting irrelevant claims - like something is "CFC-free," true but misleading since CFCs have been banned since the 1980s.

2) Look for third-party verification. In the absence of universal sustainable