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The GoodLetter Thursday, October 31, 2002
GoodThings, Inc. :: Stories, actions, ideas, and greeting cards that connect us.
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In this week's issue:
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| :: Favorite GoodThings |
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From Kristin Hegazy of New Rochelle, New York |
| :: This Week's Feature |
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Braiding the Strands of a New Economy - by Jason Mark, Global Exchange |
| :: Card of the Week |
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GoodThings Greeting Cards: A "favorite goodthings" happy birthday |
| :: Good Grabs |
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Some of our favorite constructive headlines of the week |
| :: Good Gravy |
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What's your Good Gravy -- music, books, films? Readers share their favorites
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| :: The Upshot |
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True patriotism: Vote your conscience!
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| :: Housekeeping |
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Subscribe/unsubscribe
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Greeting Card of the Week
Favorite GoodThings: Now as Birthday Cards!
We're happy to announce that we've done something new with our Favorite GoodThings cards that have been so popular with so many of you. Eight of the cards (including the one at the right) are now available as birthday cards, featuring a special GoodThings birthday greeting on the inside. Please take a minute to visit our site to see which ones you can now send as birthday greetings!
Consider sending a GoodThings "Happy Birthday" to someone you know. Every card you buy and send helps broaden awareness of progressive actions and ideas around the world. (We print all our cards on recycled paper using soy ink.)
Please visit our online store today by clicking here or on any card
PLANNING TO ORDER GOODTHINGS HOLIDAY CARDS TO SEND OR GIVE AS GIFTS? Be sure to place your orders by November 15 to guarantee delivery to you in time to use them for the holidays! If you think customized GoodThings Greeting Cards like the ones pictured above would be perfect for your non-profit organization or company -- or even your family -- to use for the holidays, send an e-mail to cards@goodthings.com and ask us about our card customization program and volume discounts.
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Click the card to see it enlarged or to order
Favorite GoodThings Birthday Variety Pack is also available!
Front (of above card):
Favorite Things: Fresh rain. Sunlight creeping through my blinds in the morning. Bear hugs. Hand-written letters from friends. The scent of lavender. Orange and peach-colored roses. (Leigh, South Africa)
Inside (of above card):
Hope your year is full of good things. Happy Birthday!
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This Week's Feature
Braiding the Strands of a New Economy
by Jason Mark, Global Exchange
The global economy remains stifled. There could hardly be less public confidence in large corporations. It's time, says one organization, to open the door to a fresh, fair, and green new start.
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Dear GoodLetter readers,
"But if I don't buy Nike or Gap, what should I buy?"
As an anti-sweatshop organizer with human rights group Global Exchange, that's a question I hear every week. A growing number of individuals are dissatisfied with the corporate status quo, yet they are at a loss as to how their daily habits can reflect their social justice and ecological values. The public is hungry for alternatives.
Take, for example, last year's California energy crisis. Many people suspected at the time that the crisis was being caused by utility corporations manipulating the power supply, something we now know was, indeed, happening. Like millions of my fellow Californians, this fact outrages me. But what can I do? I know it's not enough to be against something, but what can I be for?
I am happy to report that at the grassroots, a green/fair economy is sprouting to meet this demand for new ways of living. Organic farmers are supplying more food than ever before -- with sales expected to top $11 billion this year -- and community supported agriculture groups (CSAs) are growing new relationships between the urban and rural. Entrepreneurs are building and improving renewable energy sources like wind and solar. A new class of investors is encouraging people to put their savings into socially responsible investment funds, with socially responsible investment funds now controlling some $639 billion in assets. Worker-owned co-ops are expanding, and communities are experimenting with local currencies designed to keep resources from leaving the local community. In 2000, sales of fair trade certified products broke the $100 million mark for the first time. Together, these disparate strands form a movement of pioneers dedicated to providing people with goods and services that are socially responsible and environmentally sustainable.
Although they are small compared to transnational corporations, these innovators are increasingly powerful in a qualitative sense: By creating an example of a different kind of business, these enterprises are proving it is possible to create an economy that, unlike the current one, won't generate inequality and environmental destruction. Unfortunately, many of these pioneers are unaware of each other's activities. They're losing opportunities for collaborations. And those lost opportunities prevent a truly viable parallel economy from becoming a reality.
To help build relationships among green/fair entrepreneurs, Global Exchange, Bioneers and Co-Op America are organizing a "Green Festival" that will offer innovators a chance to network and learn from each other. The first Green Festival will take place November 9-10 at the San Francisco Concourse. Future Green Festivals are planned for other cities in 2003.
The two-day gathering will bring together entrepreneurs, non-governmental organizations, community groups, and anyone who wants to participate in building the alternative economy. Featuring more than 160 socially responsible businesses, 50 world-class speakers, dozens of non-profit organizations, and representatives from colleges and universities, the Green Festival will provide people with simple ways to reconcile their lifestyles and purchasing decisions with their values. As the event's name implies, it will not only be a chance to network, but also a celebration. There will be music, speakers, food and drink, project demonstrations, and hands-on workshops. The festival will be a blend of the serious and the fun, all aimed at strategizing for life-affirming social change.
The Green Festival will also help create a base for government policies aimed at strengthening local, sustainable economies. The most immediate effect of local legislation promoting fair trade, living wages, and environmental safeguards is to improve living conditions. But these laws also create a political tripwire against those who are using institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) to create rules and regulations that give transnational corporations more legal power than ordinary citizens.
So if you're angry at Enron and other energy corporations, what can you do besides protest? Put some solar cells on your roof, and get one step closer to getting off the grid. And if you're frightened by the sweeping powers of the WTO, work to pass a "buy-local" resolution in your community and take a step toward boosting your regional economy.
From where I sit, the most important thing concerned citizens can do is put their money where their mouth is. And that's what the Green Festival is all about.
The movement for building a green/fair economy rests on the idea that instead of trying to use politics to re-tool the economy, we should build a network of progressive enterprises that will someday have the clout to re-tool politics. In the long run the change created by that sort of grassroots, bottom-up strategy will last longer than any top-down reform ever could.
Jason Mark
San Francisco, California
Jason works for the international human rights group Global Exchange.
(Thoughts on Jason's GoodLetter? Inspired by what you've read? E-mail us -- don't forget to tell us your name, where you're from, and if we can use your words in a future GoodLetter or on our Web site.)
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Good Grabs : Headlines that teach and inspire
For the past couple of years, we've found our favorite positive or constructive piece of world news and have featured it in our "Good Grabs" section on the GoodThings.com home page. We've heard from many readers who've told us they'd love to see Good Grabs in The GoodLetter. So watch this space every other week or so, and we'll tell you about a few GoodThings-esque news stories we've found during our Web wanderings. And as always, if you have a positive headline to suggest, please let us know. It could end up here!
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Middle East peace efforts
Writers Olive-Pick with Palestinians
(The Guardian -- UK)
Bali, Indonesia bombing
Coverage of Bali tragedy shows how Australia misses the bus in America
(Sydney [Australia] Morning Herald)
US Election 2002
If Wellstone was 'too liberal,' we should be embarrassed
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Inspiring person
Where There's A Disaster, Dr. David Marcozzi Is There
(Thanks to Michelle Leonard of Durham, North Carolina, for sharing this Grab!)
Improving health
Booze, salt, fat and smokes put world health at risk
(Edmonton [Canada] Journal)
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:: What issues are important to you and what ideas and organizations are addressing them? Have you nominated your Favorite GoodThings for 2002? Help us recognize the people and groups and ideas that have made a difference in the world this year. First, give yourself a minute or two to remind yourself about the 25 honorees from last year by visiting our site at www.goodthings.com/02_00_2001favorites.asp
Then, give the past year some careful thought and send us your nominations for Favorite GoodThings 2002 by using our "Share" page.
We love to hear from you about anything: ideas or situations that are inspiring you or challenging you to think, as well as organizations, programs, and people that contribute to your community and the world everyday. Please drop us a line.
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The Upshot: Vote your conscience
In our current public discourse, words like "patriot" and "patriotism" get casually thrown around without much thought. But if you live in a country fortunate and free enough to hold democratic elections, the single most patriotic thing you can do on a regular basis is exercise your right to vote.
Here in the US, Tuesday, November 5 is Election Day 2002, and even though it is a mid-term election (we're not voting for president this time around), the results will affect the balance in Congress. Ballot initiatives and gubernatorial elections in many states will also have an important impact.
So take a long hard look at things you care about -- we hope they're many of the positive and constructive ideas you've learned about here in The GoodLetter! -- and go to the polls with your conscience. VOTE!
Learn more:
:: League of Women Voters' DemocracyNet
:: League of Conservation Voters
:: Rock the Vote
:: MoveOn.org
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Good Gravy
In this week's "All Music" Good Gravy, we give our highest recommendations to some of the music we've been listening to here at GoodThings lately:
1. (music) Radio Paradise
"If you have the benefit of a high-speed Internet connection and you crave diverse mixes of music, Radio Paradise -- based in Paradise, California, no less -- is pure Web gold. From the Beatles and Stevie Wonder to Morcheeba and Zero 7 to Oliver Mtukudzi and Solas, it's quite simply the best and broadest collection of music anywhere. And it's totally listener-supported -- no commercials! Radio bliss."
2. (music) Echo, by Echo (2002)
"Joy Askew, the ethereal voice of Echo, built a career as a stand-out back-up singer for the likes of Peter Gabriel. Her own solo projects have suffered from limited promotion, but her work with Echo should change all that. She's teamed up with Takuya Nakamura on a collection of hip, electronic versions of standards like 'Night and Day,' 'That Old Black Magic,' and 'The Girl from Ipanema.' We feel both nostalgic and cutting edge every time we play this CD."
3. (music) The Ragpicker's Dream, by Mark Knopfler (2002)
"Not just the 'Sultan of Swing,' Knopfler's most striking music has come in his post-Dire Straits days. This new album is just the latest in a string of pop classics and memorable soundtracks that have been graced with his beautiful guitar playing and understated voice. This one recalls his Notting Hillbillies album from a few years back. Lovely acoustic-based songs with a traditional flavor."
4. (music) Sean-Nos Nua, by Sinead O'Connor
"There's so much love and affection in this album! With one of the most recognizable, emotive voices in popular music, Sinead has put her heart and soul into this wonderful collection of traditional songs. The queen of 80s Irish punk scene, O'Connor has never been better that when she's singing wistful Irish tunes like 'My Lagan Love' while backed by some of Ireland's best musicians."
5. (music) This Land Is Your Land: Songs of Unity, by Various Artists (2002)
"Another piece of pure gold to add to the ever-expanding canon of children's music that adults can love, too. This is such an inspired, uplifting collection of songs and readings, all celebrating the diversity that makes the experiences of children in the 21st century so rich. 'If I Had A Hammer,' 'Everyday People,' 'This Land Is Your Land,' and 'Sister Rosa' truly seem like classics in this context. Proceeds benefit tolerance programs for kids."
6. (music) A Little Voodoo, by Grey Eye Glances (2002)
"Why more people don't know about this great band is a great mysteries and an example of how the mainstream music scene squeezes out spirited independent artists. This literate band, which owes Edgar Allan Poe for its name, has quietly released six albums and has developed an infectious sound and built a rabid fan base that make them a modest success story. Lead singer Jennifer's voice is phenomenal."
7. (music) High Lonesome Cowboy, by Peter Rowan and Don Edwards (2002)
"When one of the best-known purveyors of the contemporary bluegrass sound (Rowan) collaborates with one of the biggest names in so-called 'home on the range' cowboy music (Edwards), this album is the result. There's a simple, relaxing beauty in this album."
8. (music) Banjoman: A Tribute to Derroll Adams, by Various Artists (2002)
"American folk music knows no political borders, and this hard-to-find tribute album is a perfect example. Derroll Adams was a little-known mentor to people like Ramblin' Jack Elliott who never found success in the US. He was embraced in Europe, however, and it's some of Europe's best acoustic musicians who have produced this fitting memorial. Austria's Hans Theessink is the mastermind behind the project. He's helped by Arlo Guthrie, Donovan, Dolly Parton, and artists from the UK and France who also do moving versions of Adams' songs."
9. (music) Mouffou, by Salif Keita (2002)
"One of the icons of the music of the African nation of Mali, Keita has released another all-time classic. There's a powerful yearning in Keita's voice that makes the exquisite musical arrangements on this album even more gut-wrenching. He makes music that makes you dance; he has a voice that reaches the longing in your heart. Keita's also a 'goodthing' -- he's rooted in Mali and helps emerging local musicians get started."
10. (music) Ten Thousand Mornings, by Peter Mulvey (2002)
"Mulvey recorded this entire album in Boston subway stations. It's extraordinary. The sound is remarkably good, and his performances exude a raw passion that's hard to find on most studio albums (not to mention the sound of the trains!). He's a great singer and an even better guitar player. These songs are all covers. From Marvin Gaye to Bob Dylan to Gillian Welch to Elvis Costello, there's not a bad song here."
Talk to us: What's your Good Gravy? What do you think of our new Good Gravy format? Let's start sharing good entertainment finds with each other! Send us your list of what you're reading, watching, or listening to and let us know why you think it's good. Your Good Gravy could be featured here next week.
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