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New Economy, Consumption And Lifestyle Change

/New Economy, Consumption And Lifestyle Change

 

9 06, 2020

For People On The Front Lines Of Climate Change And Conflict, COVID-19 Is A New Challenge

2020-09-02T20:45:18-04:00Tags: |

Women in the Sudanese locality of Al Rahad, such as vegetable farmer Arafa Al-Mardi, are building resilience to climate change, conflict, and gender inequality--grave threats that are exacerbated in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Joint Programme for Women, Natural Resources, Climate, and Peace in Al Rahad is helping provide women with climate resilient jobs, reduce conflict in the community, and amplify women's leadership and participation in local governance and conflict resolution. Funding towards women's initiatives is being stripped globally and reallocated to COVID-19 relief efforts. However, the Programme has provided resources to grow perception among community members of women as decision-makers, conflict resolution leaders, and climate-resilient economic innovators. Photo Credit: UNEP

14 05, 2020

Our Recovery From The Coronavirus Crisis Must Have Gender Empowerment At Its Heart

2020-09-02T20:27:44-04:00Tags: |

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, women and girls are the ones suffering the most from the health crises’ socio-economic impacts, while their burden of unpaid care and domestic work has increased. In the manufacturing sector, one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, women are overrepresented in the sector’s most vulnerable branches. As governments seek to re-open economic activities, policymakers have a unique opportunity to introduce bold measures for more resilient, inclusive and sustainable economies, harnessing women’s potential as agents of change. Photo credit: REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

23 03, 2020

Coronavirus Holds Key Lessons On How To Fight Climate Change

2020-09-08T21:31:05-04:00Tags: |

Similar to the COVID-19 outbreak, the climate change crisis could have also been avoided, but will now require urgent action.  This provides leaders with the unique opportunity to acknowledge the importance of steep learning curves and swift action when combating climate change. According to climate experts, the coronavirus pandemic has provided a slight dip in greenhouse gas emissions, but aside from the decline of work commutes, business travel, and international trade, many of these effects are temporary.  The pandemic and climate change must be solved together: stimulus measures for COVID-19 economic strains should invest in climate change solutions, and governments need to encourage societal behavior shifts through political measures that support their residents. Photo credit: Salvatore Laporta / Kontrolab / Lightrocket via Getty Images

18 03, 2020

‘Tip of the iceberg’: is our destruction of nature responsible for Covid-19?

2020-03-22T21:14:12-04:00Tags: |

Research suggests that humanity’s destruction of biodiversity creates the conditions for new viruses and diseases such as Covid-19, or the coronavirus, the viral disease that emerged in China in December 2019, to arise. According to disease ecologists viruses and other pathogens are also likely to be transmitted from animals to humans in the many informal meat markets that have sprung up in urban populations around the world. This article focuses on the increasingly visible connections between the wellbeing of humans, other living things and entire ecosystems. Additionally, it also argues that zoonotic diseases and viral infections are linked to environmental change caused by human behavior. Photo Credit: National Institutes of Health/AFP via Getty Images

17 03, 2020

Air pollution likely to increase coronavirus death rate, warn experts

2020-03-22T21:29:12-04:00Tags: |

COVID-19, or the coronavirus, is known to affect the respiratory tract of those infected. But there is new evidence that indicates patients exposed to polluted air are at a higher risk of dying. Additionally, patients with chronic respiratory issues after being exposed to long-term air pollution are less able t fight off the disease. Science tells us that epidemics like this will occur with increasing frequency. So reducing air pollution is basic investment for a healthier future. Photo credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

13 03, 2020

The Only Treatment for Coronavirus Is Solidarity

2020-03-22T21:52:47-04:00Tags: |

The pandemic, COVID-19, reveals a class system, where only the wealthy have the power to withdraw or shelter in place. Whereas, someone who lives paycheck to paycheck must continue to hustle every day to find work. This places poor people in a position between risking their health and economic survival. There is no choice but to make that choice. As long as this is true, the number of carriers will continue to grow. The only option is solidarity. Every country needs every other country to have an economy focused on health and social well-being. The coronavirus makes the slogan of solidarity literal: an injury to one is an injury to all. Photo Credit: Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty

13 04, 2019

GirlTrek: When Black Women Walk, Things Change

2019-04-13T16:36:26-04:00Tags: |

Morgan Dixon is the co-founder of ‘GirlTrek’, a national help organization addressing the disproportionate effects of the current health crisis in African American women. Starting with 530 women in their first year, the organization has since grown to about 100,000 African American women who walk together every day. Together the women of ‘GirlTrek’ not only boost their own physical health, they also improve the health of their families and communities while reshaping the narrative around health for women of color. Video Credit: National Sierra Club

12 03, 2019

The Untold Story Of Women In The Zapatistas

2019-04-13T16:02:00-04:00Tags: |

Victoria Law is a journalist who spent 6 years with the Zapatista movement in Southern Mexico and published Compañeras: Zapatista Women’s Stories. She gives an overview of the Zapatistas, the influence women have in the movement and the impact the movement has had on their lives. The Zapatistas began organizing in the 80s and declared war on the state of Mexico in 1994, on the exact day the NATO the free trade agreement began.  Since then the movement is renowned for the peaceful protests, indigenous organization, and their autonomy. Women have played a key role in the Zapatista communities accomplishing a drastic reduction of violence against women, the prohibition of alcohol (connected to abuse), the freedom to participate and lead in politics, and autonomy over their lives. Victoria sheds light to many things that can be learned from the organization of the Zapatistas and the key role that women continue to play in their liberation and in the liberation of their people. Photo Credit: Mr. Thelkan

12 10, 2018

Across Mozambique and Tanzania, Women Show Us How To Improve Communities And Protect Our Planet

2018-10-12T17:11:52-04:00Tags: |

Women across Mozambique and Tanzania are organizing their communities to improve  local livelihood through sustainability and the protection of natural resources. This inspirational blog by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) explores  the stories of various community leaders building long lasting projects. Like the story of Alima Chereira, who formed an agricultural association that teaches women climate-resilient farming practices. Or entrepreneur Fatima Apacur,  who helped her community form a savings association that uses the ancient practice of group savings and pooling wealth to help community members invest in the future. Photo Credit: WWF/ James Morgan

4 06, 2018

A Woman’s Reparations Map For Farmers Of Color Seeks To Right Historical Wrongs

2020-04-24T16:12:49-04:00Tags: |

Leah Penniman and her organization Soul Fire Farm have developed a new mapping and reparations resource for black and brown farmers. Launched via Google Maps, the reparations map identifies over 52 organizations, their needs, and how to contact each farming operation. The project is an extension of a global movement for food justice, and the return of stolen lands and resources to Indigenous and black farmers. Consequently, the project directly addresses the significant wealth gap between farmers of color and white farmers. The site has had over 53,000 visitors to date. Photo Credit: Jonah Vitale-Wolff

30 05, 2018

How Climate Change Disproportionately Harms Senegalese Women

2019-04-13T16:55:20-04:00Tags: |

Senegalese women are bearing the consequences of climate change as the fish stocks of Saint-Louis, a central fishing hub, are vanishing due to climbing ocean temperatures and rising sea levels. In 2017 alone, fish stocks fell by 82%. Today, the price of fish has become five times more expensive than in previous years. Such impacts are devastating, not only for the women who heavily depend on selling fresh and processed fish in markets as a main source of income, but also to the rest of the Senegalese population as up to 17% are experiencing issues of food insecurity according to the World Food Program. As a result, women’s practice of processing fish has become increasingly important as an additional resource of subsistence - especially the landlocked populations. In response, women’s associations are collectively gathering funds to accommodate the skyrocketing price of fish. Projects such as the Collaborative Management for a Sustainable Fisheries Future (COMFISH), offers workshops to women fish processors throughout Senegal providing them with resources to increase their profits, literacy courses, and alternative modes of creating revenue. Nevertheless, Senegalese women continue to challenge the status quo by urging for government subsidization of fish prices and more support from non-government organizations. Photo credit: Georges Gobet/Getty Images

25 05, 2018

Navajo Women Struggle To Preserve Traditions As Climate Change Intensifies

2018-12-19T17:33:57-05:00Tags: |

Lorraine Herder belongs to a shepherd family: she grew up raising sheep and using its wool in a remote area on the Navajo reservation. But now, shrinking water reservoirs due to climate change are making it difficult to keep this tradition alive. Dr. Margaret Redsteer, a scientist at the US Geological Survey in Flagstaff, notes that the amount of groundwater has decreased drastically over the past century, putting a strain on the animals’ health and the Navajo way of life. The water crisis is also caused by other factors like coal mining, according to Nicole Horseherder, founder of non- profit organization “Scared Water Speaks”.  Photo Credit: Sonia Narang/PRI

16 04, 2018

Cooperative Agro-Forestry Empowers Indigenous Women In Honduras

2020-04-24T15:47:48-04:00Tags: |

The community of Lenca women, Indigenous to Honduras, has been practicing agroforestry for millennia as a sustainable farming method in their dry region. They are keeping this traditional knowledge alive by growing organic, fair trade crops like coffee in worker-owned cooperatives. Farmers like Eva Alvarado helped to create an all-female growers’ cooperative in 2014, as part of the Cosagual coffee growers’ organization. Their coffee is now sold around the world, and the women bring home a larger share of the profits than before. The Lenca group is known for radical work: Berta Cáceres, the famous Indigenous activist murdered in 2016, also belonged to the community. The idea of this cooperative was seeded at a gender equality workshop with the Association of NGOs. Agroforestry, which involves planting fruit and timber trees in the shade, is an effective way to combat food insecurity, erosion and acts as a carbon sink. Women in Honduras are coping with climate change using agroforestry, a method that can provide a sustainable livelihood to many communities. Photo Credit: Monica Pelliccia

8 03, 2018

Defeminisation Of Indian Agriculture

2020-09-02T23:19:40-04:00Tags: |

Women in India hold significant but overlooked roles in agriculture. The Census of India (2011) reveals nearly 98 million women have agricultural jobs. Due to decreasing economic opportunities in rural areas, young people and men are moving to urban areas, leaving women behind to farm. To recognize the importance of female farmers, the government of India declared October 15th as Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas (National Female Farmer Day). This is a great step forward given women have been historical left out of agricultural narratives. The way forward is to give land rights to women while strengthening the existing government policies for female farmers in India. Photo Credit: Vikas Choudhary

8 03, 2018

Women Are Overburdened With Unpaid Work Everywhere Across The Globe

2019-01-21T21:42:59-05:00Tags: |

Unpaid domestic work is a burden on Indian women who are leaving formal work spaces to fulfill household duties. This unpaid labor, and women’s interests in general, are often left out of policy discussions, notes Ritu Dewan, Indian feminist economist. Jayati Ghosh, another economist, notes that women perform much more domestic work than men, leading to what is called time poverty. Action Aid, an international non-profit organization in Ghana, models and quantifies unpaid work, defining four main areas: unpaid care work, climate resistant sustainable agriculture, access to markets and violence against women. Time use surveys have led to legislation changes that can better distribute household duties. In Uruguay, for example, the state is responsible for providing care, freeing up more paid and leisure time for women.  Photo Credit: Vikas Choudhary

19 02, 2018

Realizing The Potential Of Wool: Q&A With Marie Hoff Of Full Circle Wool

2018-07-13T17:20:14-04:00Tags: |

In this interview, Marie Hoff shares her efforts to embed environmental stewardship in local agricultural practices. An industrious entrepreneur committed to sustainability, she operates the Capella Grazing Project and launched Full Circle Wool last year, marrying the principles of carbon farming with wool production. Hoff produces wool and wool products that reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change by leveraging sustainable production processes and by displacing petroleum-based products. She hopes to improve people’s perception of wool as a resource through Full Circle Wool and by promoting the growth and expansion of industrial mills in the United States. US-based processing and manufacturing. Photo credit: Food and Fibers Project

14 12, 2017

Seattle, 1999: Diverse Women For Diversity Declaration To WTO

2018-02-14T22:08:45-05:00Tags: |

In response to events at the 2017 World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting, Indian seed-saving organization, Navdanya, released this article, which honors and calls to attention the Diverse Women For Diversity Declaration, which was issued during the 1999 Seattle WTO meeting. The full declaration shares women’s analysis and responses to how genetically modified seeds, intellectual property rights, and patents are impacting food, medicine and agriculture systems; Indigenous peoples rights and lands; and the health of the Earth. The declaration calls out the WTO and its unchecked support of free markets and unjust economies, presenting a collective voice of women standing for life and diversity - and against the interconnected dangers of the global war system, corporate free market economy, and agribusiness industry.

13 12, 2017

Meet The Woman Who’s Boosting Arizona’s Mom-And-Pop Business Culture

2018-07-13T17:17:42-04:00Tags: |

Kimber Lanning is a distinguished advocate for local economic development in Arizona. Starting in 2003, she has built, Local First Arizona, into the largest alliance of local businesses in the United States. She actively eschews the tools and frameworks of traditional community developers who create jobs through large subsidies to big corporate chains. Lanning recognizes the benefits of a robust local economy, including economic competitiveness, greater diversity, commitment to sustainability, and intrinsic community-building and place-making value. She helps to level the playing field for Arizona’s homegrown businesses through myth-busting campaigns, an annual festival, a public directory, a Spanish micro-entrepreneurship program, and adaptive reuse programs to leverage old buildings for local entrepreneurs. Photo credit: YES! Magazine

2 12, 2017

30 Books By People Of Color About Plants And Healing

2018-03-02T13:55:54-05:00Tags: |

Queering Herbalism present a diverse list of 30 books by people of color on herbalism and holistic healing. Although many black, brown and Indigenous communities rely heavily on oral traditions, many barriers exist when they seek to become published, meaning most books on this topic are written by white people. Books on this list cover topics from Indigenous rites of birthing, to African American Slave Medicine, and feature prominent herbalists and healers, such as Ayo Ngozi, who teaches herbal history and medicine making.

21 11, 2017

Global Warming Might Be Especially Dangerous For Pregnant Women

2020-04-24T16:52:12-04:00Tags: |

Women scientists are finding that climate change will likely pose significant threats to pregnant women and their embyros, a group often left out of public health concerns. Rupa Basu, chief of air and climate epidemiology at the California Environmental Protection Agency, had been researching the connection between health risks and air pollution for the past decade, and looked more into the effects of temperature. Her research found that increasing heat and humidity raise the likelihood of premature and stillbirths every year. Similar conclusions were found by Nathalie Auger at Quebec’s institute for public health, as well as by Pauline Mendola and Sandie Ha at Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Mendola and Ha’s study found that a temperature increase in the top 10 percent range of a woman’s region could mean 1,000 more stillbirths every year, much higher than the researchers expected. Pregnant women are not often considered a group vulnerable to heat, according to Sabrina McCormick, a sociologist at George Washington University, which makes these findings an urgent call to reframe public health. While these and other researchers are eager to collect more data, it’s clear that pregnancy calls for more precautions and awareness amid climate change. Photo Credit: BLEND IMAGES / PEATHEGEE INC / GETTY

21 11, 2017

The Long Tradition Of Folk Healing Among Southern Appalachian Women

2018-07-13T15:26:40-04:00Tags: |

Byron Ballard is a self-proclaimed village witch who specializes in Southern Appalachian folk magic. Like many local healers, she relies on the traditions passed down from generations before her – traditions with roots in Paganism, Protestantism, and pragmatism. According to Ballard, it’s a mixture of “medicine and midwifery, omen-reading and weather-working”. The Cherokee and Choctaw were the first to really understand the natural healing properties of the Appalachian resources. This knowledge fused with understandings of medicine and religion that came with the arrival of Europeans. Appalachian folk medicine recognizes an interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit; it is, at its core, a presumption of the highest goodness of nature. Since families in Appalachia often live far from urban centers and hospitals, these healers continue to be an important part of communities from West Virginia to Mississippi. Photo credit: Anjo Kan/Alamy

20 10, 2017

Indigenous Women Take Pipeline Activism Global

2017-11-01T10:52:53-04:00Tags: |

Michelle Cook, a Diné human rights lawyer, founding member of the of the Water Protector Legal Collective at Standing Rock, and delegate to the Autumn 2017 Indigenous Women's Divestment Delegation to Europe, speaks on Rising Up With Sonali TV, providing hard hitting analysis of why financial and political institutions are morally and legally obligated to change their practices to respect Indigenous rights, human rights and the Earth - and how Indigenous women are taking action to push for this accountability and action in some of the European nations home to major investors and institutions funding fossil fuel extraction projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo credit: Teena Pugliese

1 10, 2017

Why Native American Women Are Going After Europe’s Banks to Divest From Big Oil

2017-11-01T04:52:40-04:00Tags: |

A delegation of Indigenous women leaders from the United States traveled to Europe in October 2017, where they met with leaders of government and financial institutions in Norway, Switzerland, and Germany to share their experiences, and calls to action for immediate action to divest funding from the Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Partners, as well as other dangerous fossil fuel extraction projects across Indigenous lands. In this Yes! Magazine interview, delegate Jackie Fielder (Mnicoujou Lakota and Mandan-Hidatsa), campaign coordinator of Lakota People’s Law Project and organizer with Mazaska Talks, discusses the events of the Delegation, as well as ongoing global, Indigenous-led movements for fossil fuel divestment such as the Divest The Globe and Equator Banks Act campaigns. Photo credit: Teena Pugliese

25 09, 2017

Linking Gender, Economic And Ecological Justice: Feminist Perspectives From Latin America

2017-09-25T08:24:34-04:00Tags: |

This is an analysis by Alejandra Santillana Ortiz, from Ecuador, who's an alumnae of DAWN's GEEJ training institute. Ortiz correlates the role of the Global South in extracting to export for the Global North, including the agricultural industry, mining, and oil companies, with the role of women in extractivism. Women are more vulnerable to the dangers in this practice (such as the effects of water pollution and seed contamination), but they are also leaders in feminist movements for equality in the workforce and gender equity in general. Alejandra questions the practice of extractivism in Latin America as part of the patriarchy and capitalism, and how it affects women from this region. Photo credit: DAWN

24 09, 2017

The Feminist Economics Peer-Reviewed Journal

2017-10-31T20:34:31-04:00Tags: |

Feminist Economics is a peer-reviewed journal that collects, publishes and advances research on women’s work and feminist economics to challenge the current global model of capitalism. Rooted in international research and case studies, Feminist Economics displays wide-ranging examples of women centered economies, women’s reproductive labor, and global trends regarding women’s land-based work historically and today. The journal brings forward issues surrounding all forms of women’s work, but also often demonstrates the multidimensional potential of an economy founded in feminist principles including the links between women’s work, land, environment and climate change. Photo Credit: http://www.feministeconomics.org/

11 09, 2017

Winona LaDuke: “Time To Move On” From Exploiting, Ignoring Nature

2018-02-20T18:53:16-05:00Tags: |

Indigenous rights activist, and advocate for women and the Earth, Winona LaDuke, addressed a crowd at Johns Hopkins University as part of the JHU Forums on Race in America, “Time to move on”. LaDuke is part of the Ojibwe or Chippewa Tribe in Minnesota, the founder of the Indigenous Women’s Network, White Earth Land Recovery Project, and Executive Director of Honor the Earth. Sharing stories from her life, LaDuke emphasizes the importance of Indigenous knowledge and the need for society to move from an economy based on exploitation and the rights of corporations, to one based on life and the rights of nature. Photo credit: Will Kirk/ Homewood Photography

31 08, 2017

Bulk Buy: Why Zero-Waste Supermarkets Are The New, Old Way To Shop

2017-09-25T08:26:43-04:00Tags: |

Ingrid Caldironi opened a market in London in mid-2017, focused on zero-waste consumption. The market is located on Dalston's Kingsland Road, and targets people looking to have a more sustainable lifestyle. Caldironi decided to open Bulk Market after reading an inspiring story of a New York woman  living a zero-waste life, and realized that very few people were taking actual steps to solve the issue of waste on the planet. The owner mentions how such lifestyle has proved to be financially smart for her, and shows that buying in big glass jars and deleting plastic out of your life is a great way to save money. Photo credit: Sara Lee/The Guardian

26 08, 2017

Kate Raworth Breaks Down Reality-Based Economics On The Laura Flanders Show

2017-10-26T23:05:42-04:00Tags: |

In this episode of The Laura Flanders Show, Kate Raworth, an advisory member of Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, breaks down the process of thinking like a reality-based economist in the 21st century. Raworth discusses how economic growth came to supersede human and environmental welfare in Western society and argues we must revise our system of economic thinking to meet current environmental and social challenges. Additionally, Donna Andrews and Kashmira Banee chat about extractive systems, eco-feminism, and life on the planet. Photo credit: The Laura Flanders Show

26 08, 2017

TreeSisters Want Women To Wear Their Love For The Earth

2017-10-26T22:58:53-04:00Tags: |

Treesisters is inspiring earth-loving women to take action to protect the planet through more eco-conscious fashion choices. This blog details the ways in which individuals can avoid trends that are detrimental to the environment like “fast fashion” and make more earth-friendly decisions such as opting for recycled clothing, shopping locally, or purchasing sustainable fabrics to create a healthier planet for the future. Photo credit: TreeSisters

23 08, 2017

How An Environmental Activist Became A Pioneer For Climate Justice In India

2018-01-23T20:10:25-05:00Tags: |

Sunita Narain, an environmental activist and Director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India shares powerful analysis on the responsibility that wealthy countries have to take action to address their liability for global climate impacts, which is unjustly impacting citizens of ‘developing’ and low-income nations. She calls for climate justice, and for the Indian government to grow the country in a manner that relies on sustainability and equity, instead of copying western development mechanisms that bring harm. Photo credit: Centre for Science and Environment

18 08, 2017

Counting The Cost Of Fast Fashion

2017-10-31T20:01:29-04:00Tags: |

This article at the 1 Million Women website, written by Alice Payne, presents the issue of fast fashion, with the cycle of new products being faster every season, which leads to the unsustainable issue of overconsumption in Australia (including popular stores such as Zara and Topshop). Payne analyses the results of this practice, such as rising fiber prices and the increase of purchases of clothes overseas, then introduces possible adaptation measures, including recycling materials for a more sustainable clothing industry. Photo credit: 1millionwomen

3 08, 2017

A Trailblazing Entrepreneur Is Opening A Zero-Waste Grocery Store In Ottawa

2017-11-01T23:36:18-04:00Tags: |

After learning that a zero waste lifestyle really is possible, former French teacher Valerie Leloup started Ottawa’s first zero waste grocery store. Leloup is joining a wave of female leaders that are focused on eliminating harmful levels of waste by providing 250 food and non-food products in bulk, compostable, reusable or unpackaged form at Nu Grocery Inc. The proposition is a sustainable alternative to the 1984 pounds of waste each Canadian household produces every year. Photo credit: Alex Tétreault

1 08, 2017

Low-Energy Homes Don’t Just Save Money; They Improve Lives

2017-10-31T20:39:13-04:00Tags: |

This article from 1 Million Women presents results on research about low-energy houses as opposed to regular houses, which take up a lot of energy and are a great factor of global carbon emissions. Specifically, it analyses the Lochiel Park Green Village in the South of Australia, a neighborhood of 103 zero-energy houses. Among the results are the significant health improvements on the people living in these sustainable homes, including a decision to quit smoking cigarettes by a woman living in one of the environmentally-friendly places. The advantages are also economic, as not having to pay energy bills saves a great amount of money for the residents. Photo credit: 1 Million Women

26 07, 2017

1 Million Women Advocates For Zero Waste Periods Worldwide

2017-10-26T23:01:58-04:00Tags: |

Maria Nguyen created this informative piece for 1 Million Women to advocate that women shift toward environmentally sustainable feminine hygiene products like menstrual cups and reusable pads. It takes about 500-800 years for plastic wrappings and tampon applicators to degrade in a landfill and over the course of a lifetime, the average woman who uses single-use products will discard over 11,000 tampons or pads. Moving away from single-use products would have a profound impact on the amount of waste an individual generates in her lifetime. The blog serves as a resource for women who require information on the issue of feminine product waste and how individuals can make more sustainable choices. Photo credit: 1 Million Women

23 07, 2017

Women Of India Up In Arms Against Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

2018-01-23T17:48:54-05:00Tags: |

Women from all over India marched and protested together  in Hyderabad, in opposition to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. This partnership is based on destructive model of development which violates the rights of farmers, dalits, land rights, Indigenous women, minorities, fisherwomen, labour rights and more. Burnad Fatima, member of Federation of Women Farmers Rights, Tamil Nadu describes how this mega free trade agreement will affect the women through impacts on land rights, migration and trafficking. Similarly, Albertina Almeida and Kate Lappin from Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development express deep concerns about the trade agreement.

17 07, 2017

Democracy And An Ecologically Sound Future

2017-10-08T22:57:31-04:00Tags: |

This article highlights the work of Heather McGhee, the president of the public policy organization Demos, which means "the people." Heather works towards more equatable economics, as well as for environmental justice. She was one of the speakers at the Bioneers conference in October 2017, titled "Uprising Bioneers," in San Rafael, California. Photo credit: Bioneers

3 07, 2017

Why Co-ops Matter For Women Around The World

2017-10-14T16:39:00-04:00Tags: |

Women in countries including Guatemala (Angelita Paz Cardona), East Timor (Abelina dos Santos), and Senegal (Khady Ciss) are taking the lead in their communities to work towards resiliency by starting and managing co-op businesses. These co-ops, including many farming and food services, help increase women’s economic participation and leadership, while also creating more sustainable models of local production and consumption. Photo credit: NCBA International  

1 07, 2017

Yes To The People’s Movement: Naomi Klein

2017-10-27T19:59:10-04:00Tags: |

Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and This Changes Everything and No Is Not Enough, speaks with the Laura Flanders Show about her latest book, which explores the depth of the capitalist crisis, what it means for the Earth and global communities, and how movements of resistance and change can continue to take hold and change the global story of wealth and exploitation. Photo credit: Laura Flanders Show

1 07, 2017

Biography Of Denise Abdul-Rahman

2017-11-01T17:52:30-04:00Tags: |

Denise Abdul-Rahman is a powerful woman leader who has spent her career working at the intersection of racial, climate and economic justice. For example, she has facilitated community trainings on “Bridging the Gap: Connecting Black Communities to the Green Economy,” and led the Just Energy Campaign to stop Indianapolis Power Light from burning coal. Abdul-Rahman holds a variety of titles: she serves the NAACP Indiana as an Environmental Climate Justice Chair, sits on the Climate Justice Alliance Steering Committee, was a Credentialed Delegate to Paris COP21 with the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, and was a USCAN 2016 Conference Steering Committee member. Photo credit: Kheprw Institute

26 06, 2017

1 Million Women Takes On Plastic-Free July Challenge

2017-10-26T23:00:30-04:00Tags: |

Women staff members from 1 Million Women, a nonprofit based in Australia, took part in the 2017 Plastic Free July Challenge and shared their experiences in this blog. Founder and CEO Natalie Isaacs argued that it is critical to limit our individual impact on the environment in the age of climate change so in pledging to get as close to plastic-free as possible in their lives, staff members made meaningful strides toward reducing waste. Photo credit: 1 Million Women

14 06, 2017

World Employment And Social Outlook: Trends For Women 2017

2017-09-25T08:28:35-04:00Tags: |

The report "World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends for Women 2017" was published in 2017 by the International Labor Organization (ILO), specifically by the Labor Market Trends and Policy Evaluation Unit of the ILO Research Department in Geneva, Switzerland. The report analyzes the labor trends and gender gaps in the global market. The socioeconomic barriers that women face everywhere in the world and the gender norms established by society are aspects considered by the report in terms of female labor force participation. It takes into account the differences between women living in urban areas and in rural areas, and concludes that having equal rights in the workforce would improve individual welfare. Photo credit: AWID  

13 06, 2017

Full Interview: Naomi Klein On Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics

2017-10-31T20:35:02-04:00Tags: |

Naomi Klein’s book This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate has been called the bible of the climate justice movement. It cuts straight to the chase in identifying capitalism as the principal culprit of climate change, through stories from the global movement that widely uses the slogan “system change, not climate change.” Klein also notes that the ‘capitalist patriarchy’ is subordinating women’s bodies and the earth. In her new book No Is Not Enough, Klein takes on the catastrophic decisions President Trump is making on global climate progress by denying that climate change exists and by infamously pulling out of the acclaimed 2015 Paris climate accord. Yet, despite the setbacks caused by Trump, Klein explains that the climate movement is stepping up and fighting hard against the dangerous impacts that climate change policy will have on the interlinked issues of race, gender and economic inequality under Trump’s administration. Photo credit: Democracy Now!

8 06, 2017

Fashion Forward: Women’s Sewing Cooperatives Support Climate Resistance

2017-09-24T16:33:52-04:00Tags: |

Mrs. Hadizatou Ebiliki and women in her community are breaking down gender barriers and building climate-resilient income streams via sewing. Recurrent droughts, inconsistent rainfall and climate change are impacting the stability of Niger’s economy, forcing people to migrate and look for alternative sources of income. Sewing provides one such alternative livelihood. Women like 16-year-old Halima Ousseïni are able to acquire skills to hold a stable sewing job, unthreatened by the climate crisis. The collective of 40 women have influenced a growing trend of sewing collectives in the region. Photo credit: Julie Teng/UNDP Niger

6 06, 2017

Planting The Seeds Of Degrowth In Times Of Crisis: Examples From Greece

2017-09-25T07:54:22-04:00Tags: |

In Greece 48 women’s cooperatives are challenging neoliberalism with an environmentally conscious degrowth economy. The popularity of women’s cooperatives rose when many women lost their jobs during the disastrous economic crisis. The success of these cooperatives comes from a wider support for traditional products that can be linked directly to local land and communities. Women produce and pack traditional Greek delicacies themselves, such as orange jam. Kolektivas is the name of a network of larger cooperatives at the city level where women are also taking leading roles. Photo credit: womensassociations.gr

1 06, 2017

Helena Norberg-Hodge: Society Should Shape Business – Not The Other Way Round

2017-11-01T11:09:11-04:00Tags: |

Helena Norberg-Hodge, founder of organizations such as Local Futures and the Global Ecovillage Network,  is a vocal global advocate for localization of economies to truly meet the needs of people and planet. She demands a world that values wellness and sustainability over profit, a term she has coined ‘the economics of happiness’. This Guardian article profiles her life and invaluable contributions to movements for new economy, sustainable living, wellbeing and a just transition to renewable systems.

26 05, 2017

The Laura Flanders Show: Women And The New Economy

2017-10-26T23:03:44-04:00Tags: |

In “Women and the New Economy,” The Laura Flanders Show features interviews with Sarah Leonard, senior editor at The Nation; Shirley Sherrod, founder of Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education; Farah Tanis, co-founder and executive director of Black Women’s Blueprint; Ai-Jen Poo, director of National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-founder of Domestic Workers United; and Pavlina R. Tcherneva from the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. This video provides an overview of how women bear the burdens of a neoliberal economic system. Photo credit: The Laura Flanders Show

18 05, 2017

Savvy Seniors Enjoy Their Golden Years Off The Grid

2017-09-24T16:39:46-04:00Tags: |

Retirees Bette Presley, Dani and Adele are making big commitments to a sustainable lifestyle by moving into customized tiny homes. Solar power, small-scale appliances, and space efficiency characterize these sustainable houses. Retiree Dani’s, a disabled widow, has constructed an accessible home with a custom wheelchair ramp and a wide-set front entrance. A custom made chair lift transports her to her sleeping loft. Photo credit: inhabitat

17 05, 2017

Feminist Economics And Degrowth

2017-10-31T20:35:22-04:00Tags: |

Researchers Jannis Eicker and Katharina Keil get serious about the inherent feminist aspects of degrowth economics. They question the overlying assumption that gender liberation can be achieved through women’s integration into capitalism and wage labor, and challenge the idea that suddenly paying for the unpaid labor women have done for ages will somehow remedy gender discrimination and provide solutions to linked environmental problems. Instead, Eicker and Keil jump on the degrowth bandwagon with the intention of infusing it with a feminist economics that envisions an environmentally sustainable economy. 

3 05, 2017

View: Women, Climate, Jobs And Justice

2017-10-31T19:57:34-04:00Tags: |

The April 29, 2017, People’s Climate March was billed as a mobilization for ‘climate, justice and jobs.’ In the lead-up to the march, the Women’s Environment and Development Organization argues that in transitioning to a renewable energy economy, we should also transform the gendered nature of economic labor to promote equity in the workplace. With the use of charts, they showcase the opportunity we have to increase women’s leadership and participation in the new energy economy.

1 05, 2017

Why Cameron Russell and the Model Mafia Think the Fashion Industry Needs to Take a Stand on Sustainability

2019-01-21T19:37:03-05:00Tags: |

Cameron Russell, a fashion model, cares about climate change, and is working to get the fashion industry on board too. When the 2017 People’s Climate March called for supporters, she got a handful of models to bring art and their voices to the streets, forming the Model Mafia. These models are using their cultural capital and media spotlight to spread awareness: Hawa Hassan, a Somali-American woman, wants more people to know about climate refugees. Ebony Davis wants to highlight how people of color are disproportionately affected by climate change. While sustainable fashion is often a buzzword, these models want to push for lasting changes in production and consumption habits that lead to climate justice. Photo Credit: Gabriela Celeste

1 05, 2017

Standing Against The Banks: DAPL Divestment And Water Protectors’ Fight For Justice, Indigenous Rights, Water And Life

2017-11-01T05:00:19-04:00Tags: |

Michelle Cook, a Dine/Navajo human rights lawyer and founding member of the Water Protector Legal Collective at Standing Rock, and Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network, share an in-depth analysis on the need for Indigenous-women led movements to push policymakers and financial institutions to divest funding from fossil fuel extraction projects across Indigenous territories and around the world, drawing on their experiences in Europe during the Spring 2017 Indigenous Women’s Divestment Delegation to Norway and Switzerland.

26 04, 2017

Michelle Kovacevic Hopes To Inspire Widespread Action On Climate Change

2017-10-26T22:57:15-04:00Tags: |

Michelle Kovacevic pledged to adjust her lifestyle to have less impact on the environment and hopes that by doing her part, she will inspire others to take action on climate change. As part of her pledge, she factors in her personal contribution to pollution whenever she decides how to travel for work, for example, choosing trains or automobiles instead of flying. She also bicycles more and invests in renewable energy research, among other eco-conscious choices. Her pledge is part of the Victoria Government’s TAKE2 collective climate initiative to support individuals, businesses, government entities, and community organizations in reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Photo credit: Shuttershock

26 04, 2017

Toronto General Hospital Nurse’s Plastic Collection Transformed Into Mural

2017-10-26T00:04:28-04:00Tags: |

Tilda Shalof is turning 28 years of collected medical waste into sentimental art murals that illustrate the medical care world and patient’s stories. As an Intensive Care Unit nurse at Toronto General Hospital, Shalof has always viewed the plastic caps and waste from syringe coverings and other medical implements as meaningful colorful bits connected to caring for the ill, and never as garbage. Each of the around 100 sterilized pieces she’s been collecting every day have been reused to create a stunning and powerful four-by-nine feet medical art piece made of 10,000 plastic pieces. Photo credit: Steve Russell/Toronto Star

13 04, 2017

Indigenous Women Of Standing Rock Resistance Movement Speak Out On Divestment

2017-10-19T22:35:32-04:00Tags: |

A delegation of Indigenous women from Standing Rock and their allies who observed and experienced human and Indigenous rights violations in North Dakota due to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) traveled to Norway and Switzerland in the spring of 2017 to share their stories as women leaders living and working in communities directly impacted by fossil fuel development and infrastructure. Wasté Win Young, Standing Rock Sioux leader and former tribal historic preservation officer; Tara Houska, Anishinaabe tribal attorney, national campaigns director of Honor the Earth and former advisor on Native American affairs to Bernie Sanders; Dr. Sara Jumping Eagle, Oglala Lakota and Mdewakantonwan Dakota pediatrician living and working on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation; Autumn Chacon, Diné artist and water protector; and Michelle Cook, Diné human rights lawyer and founding member of the Water Protector Legal Collective all met with actors including Den Norske Bank (DNB), the Council on Ethics for the Government Pension Fund Global, and the Norwegian Parliament to advocate for divestment from fossil fuels and respect for Indigenous rights. During their time in Europe, the presence of delegation members helped tip the scale for announcements of a large divestment by DNB.

12 04, 2017

Finally, A Breakthrough Alternative To Growth Economics: The Doughnut

2017-09-24T20:09:59-04:00Tags: |

Economist Kate Raworth is linking a faulty neoliberal economic model to outdated and destructive concepts of the Rational Economic Man. Instead, she is advocating for a doughnut economy that puts environmental and societal well-being first. The outer ring of the doughnut represents the ecological ceiling of an economy, while the inner ring shows the resources needed to sustain a good life for all humans. The hole in the middle indicates the billions of people around the world who live in deprivation. Living within the doughnut means investing in wealth equality, which is intrinsically linked to respecting environmental limits. Photo credit: Kate Raworth and Christian Guthier/The Lancet Planetary Health

1 04, 2017

Jill Mangaliman – How Can The Economy Be Equitable And Environmentally Sustainable?

2017-11-01T21:27:14-04:00Tags: |

Jill Mangaliman is the Executive Director of Seattle-based Got Green, a people of color-led organization that works on climate change, racial and immigrant justice, and economic empowerment. In this talk at the Next System Teach-In, they discuss Indigenous economic models of abundance that centered on health of people and the land as an alternative to capitalist and colonialist exploitation, and discussed the fight against the erasure of people of color in the environmental movement. Photo credit: TalkingstickTV

26 03, 2017

Women Leaders Using Social Media To Change The Way We Live

2017-10-26T22:55:32-04:00Tags: |

This blog, curated and published by 1 Million Women, showcases the work of five female Eco-YouTubers who are using social media to spread information and share the many ways that individuals can fight climate change through lifestyle choices. Bonny Rebecca discusses how a vegan diet aids in water conservation; Lauren Singer manages Trash is For Tossers, a video blog that offers zero-waste tips; Rachel Aust inspires her viewers to live minimalistically; Keiran from Thrifted Living focuses on DIY and sustainable fashion choices; and Natasha from ThatVeganCouple discusses vegan diets and advocates for minimalist lifestyles. Photo credit: 1 Million Women

26 03, 2017

A Call To Action: Insights Into The Status Of Funding For Indigenous Women’s Groups

2017-10-26T16:21:07-04:00Tags: |

In this report the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP), International Indigenous Women's Forum (FIMI), and AWID discuss the need for increased attention to make funding resources available directly to frontline Indigenous women so that they may themselves shape agendas and decisions affecting their lives and territories. The report is presented with the understanding that Indigenous women’s solutions are imperative for any effective action to address climate change and other pressing global concerns. Photo credit: AWID

24 03, 2017

Pink Power: Women Drive Rickshaws In Pakistan

2017-09-24T16:35:56-04:00Tags: |

Zar Aslam serves as President of the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) in Lahore, and also founded of EPFs all-women Rink Rickshaw Initiative transportation service. Providing services to only female clients, the Rink Rickshaw Initiative has become a household name in providing safe, empowering transportation to local women who otherwise face street harassment in public in Lahore. This outcome is a women-led local economy that provides low-carbon transportation and financial independence for female drivers in addition to accessibility, safety, and confidence for commuting women. Photo credit: Pink Rickshaw Scheme

22 03, 2017

No Job Is Impossible For Women

2017-10-14T16:11:39-04:00Tags: |

Soledad Miranda is among the emerging group of women construction workers of La Paz, Bolivia. She started working at age seven and received no schooling, like many other indigenous girls in her community. She survived an abusive marriage and she migrated with her 12 children to La Paz. First, she washed clothes and sold soda and beer in the streets. After four years in La Paz, she managed to find a job as a construction worker for the municipal government. Along with over 450 other women, she received training in painting, plumbing, coatings/insulations, tiling and remodeling. Construction work is no longer a man’s job in La Paz, it is increasingly done by women who are trained and economically empowered. Today, she dreams of building her own construction company. Photo credit: UN Women/David Villegas

8 03, 2017

Why We Need Feminist Economists

2017-10-16T17:43:00-04:00Tags: |

Naila Kabber, professor of Gender and International Development at the London School of Economics Gender Institute, wants us to know why we need feminist economics. Like climate change, Kabber argues that mainstream economic policies disproportionately affect women. Feminist economics speaks out against neoliberal and macroeconomic policy, arguing that the logic of profit is built on the backs of women, minorities and the environment. Feminist economics demands an economy that recognizes the interdependence between the productive growth measures that exclusively define neoliberalism and the reproductive labor of women that goes heavily unaccounted for. Photo Credit: sinister pictures/Demotix/Demotix/Press Association Images

28 02, 2017

Denmark Reduces Food Waste By 25% In Five Years With Selina Juul’s Help

2017-09-24T16:31:48-04:00Tags: |

One woman spearheaded Denmark’s effort to cut food waste by 25% in five years. Selina Juul founded the organization Stop Spild Af Mad (Stop Wasting Food), which convinced larger supermarket chains to discount food that would usually go wasted, and to give away food items that otherwise get tossed in the dumpster. Juul’s influence has led to the opening of Wefood in Copenhagen, a surplus supermarket that is selling products at discounts of up to 50 percent. Photo credit: Daniela De Lorenzo/The Independent

27 01, 2017

Malnad Mela, A Biodiversity Festival Founded By Women

2017-10-27T00:03:38-04:00Tags: |

Malnad Mela, an Indian biodiversity festival, started when Kamala, a farmer from the Malnad region, donated seeds to a seed exchange. The initiative started a community of women farmers called Vanastree, Kanada for “forest women.” A few years after that, their action grows into what became the biodiversity fair, where women exchange experiences and advice about seed conservation, biodiversity and sustainable farming. Photo credit: The Economic Times

25 01, 2017

Home-Grown Kenyan Solar Farm Powers Computers And Protects Girls

2017-09-29T19:11:13-04:00Tags: |

Ten years ago, residents of the village of Olosho-Oibor decided to install solar panels to meet their most basic energy needs, as they had no connection to the national power grid. They never thought that the solar farm project would grow to become an energy provider for computers used by women entrepreneurs for their businesses, children who need to study long hours, and a centre that protects girls from early marriage and female genital mutilation. Photo credit: TRF/Benson Rioba

5 01, 2017

All-Women Alliance Tackles Industrial Pollution in Colombia

2017-10-29T21:51:56-04:00Tags: |

Colombia’s highly polluting construction industry is being transformed by an all-women alliance ready to make industrialization sustainable in efforts to help tackle climate change. The Fostering Cleaner Production Initiative invites Colombian women to take on industrial pollution for a greener future. Women within the initiative are being trained to bring pollution prevention to their current positions that deal with water, sewage, and varying construction companies. These women are being credited for the industry transitioning into renewable energies, and lowering waste. Photo credit: UN Climate Change Climate Action

1 01, 2017

Katherine Lucey And The Solar Sisters Revolution

2017-10-02T23:10:36-04:00Tags: |

Energy poverty affects 1.6 billion people around the world, most of them women and girls. Understanding women’s crucial role in family well-being and economic prosperity, Katherine Lucey founded Solar Sisters to recruit, train and mentor women to build sustainable businesses selling portable solar lamps, mobile phone chargers and clean cookstoves. The organization supports female entrepreneurs with sales and distribution of renewable energy equipment and, since its launch, has employed more than 1,000 women. Photo credit: Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship

1 01, 2017

What Does Environmental Justice Organizing Look Like In The Time Of Trump?

2017-11-01T21:29:40-04:00Tags: |

Miya Yoshitani, executive director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), got her start as an organizer in the 1990s. In her career she has worked on fossil fuel resistance, for example stopping the expansion of a local Chevron refinery, and also on building a just transition to a new economy. APEN has been collaborating with organizations like Cooperation Richmond, which builds local wealth by nurturing worker- and community-owned co-ops. Yoshitani is a powerful climate woman leader who is not backing down in the Trump era. Photo credit: Grist

26 12, 2016

Indigenous Women Artisans Defend Their Livelihood And The Environment

2017-10-26T23:14:11-04:00Tags: |

Sumara and other Indigenous artisans are using traditional techniques when crafting necklaces and pottery to generate sustainable incomes for their families. The women live in an area of the Ecuadorian Amazon often greatly exploited by extractive industries. The HAKHU Project supports the women artisans so they may continue nurturing their culture’s traditions and highlight forms of non-extractive economy that ultimately empower Indigenous people. Photo credit: Ian Frank/HAKHU Project

30 11, 2016

Winona LaDuke: Economics For The Seventh Generation

2017-09-24T20:29:49-04:00Tags: |

Renowned Anishinaabekwe leader, writer and activist Winona LaDuke presents a case for an economics that considers much more than economic profit and growth. Just two days after the election of President Donald Trump, LaDuke spoke to Oregon State University about the future of Standing Rock and the overlapping issues of Indigenous rights, energy, food sovereignty and climate justice. Her outstanding multidimensional presentation proposes paths forward to a post-carbon economy where mother earth is respected and gender relations balanced. Photo Credit: Oregon State University School of History, Philosophy, and Religion

1 11, 2016

Illicit Financial Flows: Why We Should Claim These Resources For Gender, Economic And Social Justice

2017-11-01T00:51:15-04:00Tags: |

The Association for Women’s Rights in Development organized this policy report to explore how illicit financial flows affect women, especially in developing countries. They suggest ways to reverse the negative impacts and advocate for stronger regulation on financial issues, through supporting feminist and gender justice organizations and advocates. Photo credit: AWID Women’s Rights

31 10, 2016

Funders Go Fossil Free

2017-10-31T19:17:26-04:00Tags: |

On Global Divestment Day, members of Rachel's Network, a coalition of women's environmental funders, pledged to divest their stock holdings from the fossil fuel industry. Online tools such as the As You Sow website and the Divest-Invest movement are helping individuals and investors to make sure their money does not support oil, coal and gas companies. Photo credit: Rachel's Network

26 10, 2016

Judy Wicks Discusses Local Living Economies At Bioneers Event

2017-10-26T22:48:11-04:00Tags: |

Judy Wicks, entrepreneur, activist and co-founder of BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), presented this discussion, “Business for the Common Good: Building Local Living Economies in the Age of Climate Change” at a 2016 Bioneers event. Wicks explains what the local living economy movement is about and why businesses should focus on this model that maximizes human relationships over profit and respects the rights of nature. Photo credit: Bioneers

26 10, 2016

Ghana’s Eco-Friendly Bamboo Bikes

2017-10-26T00:00:35-04:00Tags: |

Ghanaian women and young people are taking sustainable commuting to the next level by constructing custom made bicycles out of the local material bamboo, grown by local farmers. Ghana Bamboo Bikes woman CEO and founder Bernice Dapaah has met the highest standards of innovating and shaping just, sustainable, new economies. Each bike is 100% recyclable and for every bamboo plant used, another ten are planted. After training and employing 35 locals, including people with disabilities, Dapaah wants to relieve more unemployment by hiring another 50 locals while also growing the localized ecological economy she has created in her community. Photo credit: AP

24 10, 2016

The Women Fighting Hunger One Neighborhood At A Time

2018-01-24T19:02:50-05:00Tags: |

East Boston, Massachusetts’ Community Soup Kitchen’s, Alleman Nijjar, along with head of Boston Office of Housing Stability, Lydia Edwards, have established a community soup kitchen to address issues of hunger, obesity, and diseases such as heart attack and diabetes, among the homeless and economically vulnerable people of the city. Monica Leitner-Laserna, a member of the soup kitchen and its menu-planning committee, also owns her own cafe which followed the principles of worker-owned co-operative restaurant. Both Alleman Nijjar and Monica Leitner-Laserna hope to continue their work bringing all East Boston citizens together at one table for a plate of good nutritious meal. Photo credit: Casey Walker

27 09, 2016

Using Other People’s Water

2018-10-17T18:14:39-04:00Tags: |

In this 41-minute podcast of BBC's The Forum, Esther De Jong, who specializes in tropical engineering and gender in agriculture, discusses the use of water and its relation to women, specifically in developing countries. Esther is the Deputy Director of the Gender and Water Alliance. She highlights the struggles of women in poor countries who are mostly responsible for procuring and managing household water, and all of the safety concerns that come with this task. According to Esther, the role of women in getting the water is often forgotten due to the unequal way men and women are treated in the society. Photo Credit: BBC

22 09, 2016

Rebecca Burgess Is Stitching Together A Local Clothes Movement

2017-10-31T20:36:13-04:00Tags: |

Inspired by the success of sustainable, local textile production in Thailand and Indonesia, Rebecca Burgess is uses renewable energy-powered mills, compostable clothes and natural dye farms in her sustainable clothing network: Fibershed. Burgess’s new economy has bloomed into 54 communities, composed of spinners, farmers, dyers, designers, sewers and ecologists, who are countering the extensive health problems of waste and pollution caused by the clothing industry. Fibershed is creating sustainability by shaping a local economy that incorporates care for its water, its working landscape and the health of its well-paid workers. Photo credit: grist

22 09, 2016

Nicole Bassett Revives Dead Threads

2017-10-31T12:10:51-04:00Tags: |

Nicole Bassett is taking on the 14 million tons of waste in textiles that Americans put in landfills each year. The apparel industry’s economic model depends on overproduction: the industry often throws out surplus clothing that doesn’t sell, and consumers are incentivized to throw out used clothing or clothing with minor defects instead of repairing it. To combat this wastefulness, Bassett cofounded the Renewal Workshop, a company working to create a circular economy for the apparel industry. It reuses and recycles unused and malfunctioning clothing, making it shiny, new and ready for purchase online. Photo credit: grist

11 09, 2016

Scotland’s Female Farmers: Custodians Of The Land

2018-03-01T12:24:21-05:00Tags: |

In some of the most hostile and secluded rural areas of Scotland, women are connecting to the land and acting as protectors of the environment. After returning to her native Scotland, photographer Sophie Gerrard was inspired by the intimate relationships local women have with the land. In her project, Gerrard shares stories of women who have different stories and backgrounds, but all protect their landscape with a sense of custodianship given the threats of climate change. Photo credit: Sophie Gerrard

22 08, 2016

Climate-Change-Friendly Milk That Empowers African Women: Camels Are The New Cows

2017-10-31T12:12:22-04:00Tags: |

In Isiolo, Kenya, the women-led work of cow and goat milk production has been under threat due to long and increasing droughts. However, women entrepreneurs like Maryam Osman are now leading a climate-resilient camel milk cooperative, empowering women in the region while adapting to climate change.

20 08, 2016

The Farmers’ Advocate: Mary Berry

2017-08-20T09:35:25-04:00Tags: |

The daughter of prominent environmental activist Wendell Berry, Mary Berry is adding to her family’s legacy by running a rural advocacy organization in Kentucky that works to guarantee fair and reliable crop prices for farmers. The Berry Center hopes to make farming a sustainable and reliable career path, focusing on building long-term contracts between producers and buyers to help farmers enjoy job security while transitioning to organic livestock feed. Photo credit: grist 50!

14 07, 2016

Erika Mackey Offers Solar Solutions To People In Africa

2017-10-02T23:23:46-04:00Tags: |

Erika Mackey is COO and cofounder of Off-Grid Electric, a solar pay-as-you-go company founded in Tanzania. In their model, customers pay the same price as, or even less than, what they pay for kerosene, which has been a great incentive to switch power sources. The company has already expanded to other countries and aims at providing renewable and affordable energy for households and businesses. Photo credit: Power for All

28 05, 2016

Adelita San Vicente Of Mexico Speaks Out During Global March Against Monsanto

2017-07-19T21:15:59-04:00Tags: |

Activists in more than 400 cities in 50 countries marched against seed and agrochemical giant Monsanto in May 2016. Adelita San Vicente, an outstanding woman leader of the movement to protect Mexico’s seeds and cultural and agro-ecological diversity, was amongst the protestors and solution-builders who spoke out against Monsanto’s attempts to spread genetically modified seeds in Mexico and beyond. Photo credit: Al Jazeera Plus  

27 05, 2016

Climate Policy Shaper: Heather McGhee

2017-10-27T02:56:22-04:00Tags: |

Heather McGhee is the President of Demos, a non-profit research and advocacy organization that fights against economic and political inequality with policy aligned with climate sustainability. The organization’s work is directly influencing national policy. Currently McGhee is developing a vision for a clean energy economy that will see benefits going to all communities. Photo credit: Grist 50!

1 04, 2016

Miya Yoshitani Of Asian Pacific Environmental Network Speaks Out For A Just Transition

2017-11-01T03:14:02-04:00

Miya Yoshitani of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network speaks with New Economy Coalition about the effects of the fossil fuel economy on communities of color at the conference Common Bound. She focuses on the negative impacts of the fossil fuel industry in Richmond, California and she elaborates on how communities can end their reliance on the fossil fuel economy and build something new. Photo credit: Common Bound

27 03, 2016

Webinar Highlights: Corporate Power And Women’s Economic Justice

2017-10-27T01:56:52-04:00Tags: |

In February of 2016, a webinar on gender justice regarding ecology and economics was organized by the Association of Women in Development (AWID) and the Gender and Development Network (GADN), leading up to the 61st Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The webinar was moderated by Ana Abelenda, from the Association for Women's Rights in Development, and the speakers were Kunthea Chan, from JASS Southeast Asia, Chidi King, from the International Trade Union Confederation, Rachel Moussié, a consultant, Dr. Mariama Williams, from South Centre, and Jessica Woodroffe, from the Gender and Development Network. The online meeting focused on measures to limit the tremendous power of global corporations regarding the violation of women's rights, including the concepts of economic justice and feminism in the discussion. Photo credit: AWID

15 03, 2016

Farm-To-Table Community Agriculture Led By Women

2017-07-19T21:28:08-04:00Tags: |

Leah Roberts, 37, sells produce from her farm to local Oregon residents and restaurants, an arrangement that falls under the umbrella of community-supported agriculture (CSA). Just this year, Roberts' Rockwood Urban Farm and about a dozen other CSAs started working with two local nonprofits to offer a new payment system that makes it easier for people of all incomes to purchase a CSA share. Photo credit: Pamplin Media Group, Jonathon House

8 03, 2016

Iconic Activist In Rio Watches As Her Home Is Bulldozed To Make Way For The Olympics

2019-01-21T19:51:23-05:00Tags: |

Like many other Rio de Janeiro residents, Maria Da Penha’s home was demolished by bulldozers to make room for the 2016 Summer Olympic headquarters. De Penha’s home was one of the last to go, and she has been fighting to preserve the history and culture of her community and to keep the government accountable. The government displaced most of the Vila Autodromo residents with cash buyouts or the promise of new apartments, and seized the land with eminent domain. Rather than just an economic concern, de Penha sees this as an attack on fundamental human rights, and says that all citizens need to be respected. Photo Credit: Will Carless

27 02, 2016

Miya Yoshitani On the Solutions To Climate Change

2017-10-27T01:52:49-04:00Tags: |

At a Climate One event about environmental equity, Miya Yoshitani, the Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, points to the buying power that each person has, and how this impacts climate change. Miya talks about the importance of people's actions in the climate movement, along with other tools, such as policy, as a way to mitigate and adapt to the current environmental issues. Photo credit: Climate One

23 02, 2016

Carol Ann: Urban Farmer From Texas

2017-10-01T18:49:42-04:00Tags: |

Carol Ann has turned her interest in farming and growing her own food into action by starting an urban farm in Austin, Texas. Boggy Creek Farm opened its doors in 1982 and since then has added agriculture buildings, a chicken house, processing sheds, and two hectares of growing fields void of any tractor paths, since her farm only uses foot paths. Planting, harvesting and cultivation is also exclusively done by hand. Her employees have helped her contribute to an urban farm economy that is dramatically more sustainable than a factory farm. At her farm stand, you can find her selling her wide array of veggies, fruits and eggs harvested on the same land that it stands on.