Susie's blog

Earth Day 2009 is fast approaching April 22, and with it comes many chances to celebrate with our local green community here in Charleston. Below is a quick set of links to help make your Earth Day plans:

If you've ever wanted to directly support the green initiatives of a local business, now is your chance! This Saturday, April 11th, Carrotmob Charleston will be in action at Queen Street Grocery, (133 Queen St.).

We often talk about "voting with our dollars" when it comes to green purchasing, but it's often difficult to see the impact of these small actions.

World trade could be a powerful force to reduce poverty and support economic growth, but that potential is being lost. Millions of the world's poorest people are being left behind and the inequalities between rich and poor are widening.

Yesterday the World Bank released a report projecting a GDP slowdown in developing countries. The report projects growth at 2.1 percent in 2009-down considerably from 5.8 percent in 2008. This is less than half the World Bank's November 2008 projection of 4.4 percent.

Excerpts from the full article:

The following opinion is written by Kofi Annan, who chairs the Africa Progress Panel and is former Secretary-General of the United Nations. This piece was written as the G20 head into the Summit in London to discuss the current global crisis.

‘Africa is facing difficult times. The effects of the global economic recession and climate change have already begun to reverse the progress the continent has made over the last decade.

Join Us at Night Heron Park on Kiawah, Sunday, April 19th to celebrate Earth Day at Kiawah Island Golf Resort's very first Greenival Festival. This event brings together locals and environmentally conscious businesses and individuals to learn and promote the values and benefits of living "green" and buying local.

On 2 April, leaders of twenty of the world's most powerful nations representing 85% of the world's output will meet in London for the G20 Summit.
The G20 meetings will be a massive opportunity to build a future that works for the benefit of people everywhere, and where global warming isn't ignored.

A mass rally will take place just a few days before G20 leaders meet in London - on 28 March in London's Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park.

The Sustainability Institute has been chosen as the Whole Foods Market 5% nonprofit recipient for Tuesday, March 31st. The Whole Foods 5% Day project is part of the company's community giving program, and does a great job supporting local nonprofits around the country.

From March 27 - 29, 2009, the Fair Trade Federation will bring together members, partners, and friends for workshops on key topics to improve operations and discussions of larger questions in the Fair Trade movement.
All are welcome to attend! The event will be held at the Doubletree Hotel, 1000 NE Multnomah, Portland

The World Water Forum is organized by the World Water Council and is the largest international event in the field of water.

It primarily serves four main purposes:

To raise the importance of water on the political agenda

To support the deepening of discussions towards the solution of international water issues in the 21st century

To formulate concrete proposals and bring their importance to the world's attention