Nightmare in South Africa

I had the honor of meeting Patrick Jacobs in a workshop on grassroots strategies for addressing climate change and poverty, hosted by Green For All, held in Durban, South Africa at the United Nations Climate Negotiations last month. I was drawn to his story because he shared about how it is peach season right now in his community and how horrible this season can be because the peaches are toxic. I sat listening in horror, my hands over my face.

“If the children eat the peaches, they will get sick. To save the children we just all go out and gather them and put them in the bin. They are so dangerous for the children.” He paused. “ I know there are times when we can’t be there and the children will eat one.”

Jacobs’ lives less that one kilometer from a coal plant in South Africa that is using explosives to remove the coal from the land. This process produces toxic dust that has devastated his community. Jacobs traveled to the UN Climate Negotiations to make his community’s story heard.

Check out the interview inside:

Posted by:

Heather Box

Going Green on 4/20

Want to save money and energy? Check out these easy ways to do it. Don’t forget to enter our $25 gas card giveaway!

Posted by:

Lashunda

Flashmob Shuts Down BP

Almost exactly one year to the day that the oil spill in the Gulf began, young activists took over a BP gas station in D.C. last weekend. This wasn’t your usual protest- people gathered to throw a beach party at a BP gas station.  LaShunda Campbell was at the angry demonstration, along with more than 1,000 others.

“The idea behind this protest was ‘you flood our beaches, so now we will flood your stores!’” LaShunda said.

Hit the jump to see why they brought the party to D.C…

Posted by:

The Editor

Power Shift 2011

The BP oil spill. Nuclear disaster in Japan. The #GasIsTooDamnHigh.

These news stories have come and gone from the front pages of our newspapers, but their long-lasting effects on our environment are here to stay. For many of us, they are a bitter reminder that we need to invest in more sustainable and clean forms of energy. Environmental causes are not just Al Gore’s pet project anymore: the devastating effects of global warming and corporate irresponsibility are becoming too intense to ignore.

Find out what brought 10,000 young people to D.C. this weekend…

Posted by:

The Editor

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin Out Faiths Fox News

For some reason, I am willing to bet the producers at FoxNews.com weren’t expecting to get such an articulate African American Muslim man. Check about Ib’s book Green Deen.

Posted by:

Biko Baker