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Video

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:11:23 -0500

Gen-Y & the Green Economy

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:09:52 -0500

Twenty years ago in the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, over 178 countries came together and adopted Agenda 21—a global plan of action to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection. I was barely over a year old at the time (Did I just make you feel old?). This June, member states will meet again in Rio de Janeiro to report on progress and reassess strategies towards reaching the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) during World Environment Day.

This year’s topic is Green Economy: Does it Include You?

Last year during World Environment Day 2011 in India, there was a lot of talk about the “Green Economy” and how to make a shift towards sustainable economic development. They discussed how to increase the confidence of the private sector to invest in clean energy after witnessing the mess that ensued after Solyndra infamously filed for bankruptcy. What they didn’t talk much about was how to attract the attention and support of consumers for a green economy and who would replace the aging workforce of the energy and technology sector.

The answer to both of those questions is Generation Y.

Who is Generation Y? Technically speaking, its those of us born between the early 80s and the early 90s; figuratively speaking, it’s those of us that grew up with technology, armed with smart phones, laptops, and other gadgets, plugged in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are the tech-savy generation of emails, texts, eBooks, and YouTube; where breaking news is in the palm of our hands and communication is faster than ever. We are entrepreneurs, visionaries, activists, and innovators confident in our abilities to tackle real-world problems, unafraid to challenge authority, and mobilize support against autocrats and unjust acts on society with a click of a mouse.

Does the green economy include us? Heck yes, it does!

Since when did we wait for permission to change the world? It’s been twenty years since Agenda 21. Twenty years ago, 18 percent of of American college graduates aspired to “go out and change the world.” Today, 40% of Generation Y strive to be change-makers.

We’re all about instant gratification, and twenty years is way too long for our collective attention span to wait on the world to change. It’s time to take matters into our own hands and put the rookies in the game with the veterans. We’re not going to “pave” the way for a green economy—we’re going to trail blaze through that sucker and do it with style.

Well, my fellow millennials, it’s time to show the world what we’ve got.

This is what every single one of us can do RIGHT NOW, at this very moment, to storm our way to a green economy in 2012. Better yet, this is what I challenge all of you to do this year.

Ride your bike / Use public transportation

Riding my bike and taking the Metro rail in Miami to school was not only relaxing since I avoided the morning traffic, but it saved me $$$ on gas. I drive a two-door hatchback, but I still saved at least a whopping $70 a month ($70 is a whopping amount on a college student budget). It also gave me free time to read on the train, catch up on my LOLcats, or listen to NPR on my iPhone.

Buy Vintage/Thrift

I buy my vintage clothes the old school way at local thrift shops, but for those of you short on time, there’s plenty of wonderful sites to choose from the find your original, one-of-a-kind, (and green economy!) outfit online » Personal favorite site to find the coolest vintage + handmade stuff is hands down Etsy. And don’t just look for clothes—my entire record collection and a good portion of my library came from thrift stores. $1.00 per book? WINNING.

Master the art of turning leftovers into Food-Network worth meals

I’m Peruvian and a lot of our plates are actually ways of sprucing up leftovers. Lomo saltado, tacu tacu—all leftovers. The average American family of four throws out an average of $150 worth of spoiled food per month, which is 50 times more than it was 40 years ago. If it’s past the “Sell-by” or “Use-by” dates, it does NOT mean its spoiled! Fun fact: The only federally regulated expiration date is for infant formula. The best thing to do is use your judgement and take a whiff. When’s the last time you heard someone say they got sick from bad milk? You can also check out the Love Food Hate Waste site for more tips on using up those last bits of food in your fridge instead of throwing them out.

Key concept = exhaust your resources. Shopping isn’t such a terrible thing if you’re smart about it.

In the midst of a global financial and environmental crisis, decisions must be made, and as the rising Generation, we need to make our voices heard and do it NOW. Decisions made today and in Rio for World Environment Day ultimately become our responsibility in the future. It’s time get inspired and fight for the future we want.

GTGL Founder, Ximena Prugue, in India for World Environment Day...

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:52:00 -0400

GTGL Founder, Ximena Prugue, in India for World Environment Day June 2-6 2011

20-year-old wins World Environment Day blog Competition

Sun, 29 May 2011 11:55:08 -0400

20-year-old wins World Environment Day blog Competition

Growing up, my older brother and I were obsessed with Bill Nye...

Mon, 09 May 2011 23:06:00 -0400

Growing up, my older brother and I were obsessed with Bill Nye the Science Guy show. Looking back, I can’t say I remember much besides the weird guy in the mouse costume and the segment where Bill screams “DID YOU KNOW THAT…” and states a whole mess of facts and then ends it with a loud “NOW YOU KNOW!” It still makes me giggle thinking about it.

A few days ago I read about World Environment Day (which is sort of like Earth Day, just taken a little more seriously than just leaf-shaped cookies in the cafeteria) and this year’s theme is Forests: Nature At Your Service. It’s June 5, which is actually the same day Elvis swung his hips to his release of “Hound Dog” making it a perfectly appropriate day for world-altering events, right? It’s also in India, which means I’m also just drooling at the thought of being able to attend.

The theme focuses on deforestation and the domino-effect of consequences that occur. Every year, 13 million hectares of forests are destroyed. For those unfamiliar with how big a hectare is, 13 million is the size of Portugal. WE’RE CUTTING DOWN PORTUGAL-EQUIVALENT EVERY YEAR. WHAT?!

So, what’s gonna happen in, let’s say, 10 years? Scary thought, right? Here’s another picture to put into perspective: 94% of Haiti was deforested for firewood. Haitians didn’t have many alternatives for fueling a fire to cook, so they had to chop trees down and are left with bigger problems than lack of firewood. Trees stabilize water levels in an event of a flood, they’re essentially the lungs of the world, and are homes to an array of species. One of those “whoops-shouldn’t have done that” moments.

When I traveled to India for Giving the Green Light, one of the things we noticed was that in Delhi, we barely saw trees or grass. If we did, it was at a tourist attraction or memorial of some sort. Outside of that, India can come pretty close to taking New York’s titled of “concrete jungle.” Even in the rural parts, it was mainly dirt and dust. This is a photo of the Bhil Academy in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. Can you imagine if your recess looked like this?

The lack of trees contributes to India’s problem of pollution, which my lungs can agree with me when I say it’s quite a problem. With such a condensed population, and almost equally condensed amount of cars, just the idea of not enough trees makes me wheeze a little.

So I’m sure you’re thinking, “well…what am I supposed to do about it? That’s in India and Haiti, none of it affects me.” Listen kids, it’s called GLOBAL warming because climate change anywhere in the world affects all of us, unless you live in some secret bubble that you should totally invite me to. But for those of you who live in the real world, let me give you my own “DID YOU KNOW” segment on how to stop deforestation single-handedly:

DID YOU KNOW THAT….

You can save trees by buying recycled paper and/or notebooks made from recycled paper or other interesting sustainable materials such as bagasse (DUH)
Like to read? Abuse your library card or buy used books. They’re cheaper anyway, and if you’re anything like me, there’s nothing like the smell of an old book!
When it comes to petty receipts, if you really don’t plan on reading it ever again, you can always ask for no receipt
Clean your windows and any glass with coffee filters instead of paper towel. Sounds crazy? I dare you to try it. Not only are coffee filters a million times cheaper, but you’ll notice they don’t leave those annoying paper particles left over by paper towel when you’re wiping down your mirrors.
When there’s accidentally printed paper at your office, or even at home, use it! Cut it up into little fake post-its or reuse it for things like your to-do list, you’re shopping list, you’re hypothetical list of celebrity friends… you catch my drift.

NOW YOU KNOW.

For World Environment Day June 5th, I’m plan on shaking my hips to “Hound Dog” while I clean the windows of my house. What will you be up to?

Click the photo for more info on WED and UNEP

Giving the Green Light Distribution at the Bhil Academy is...

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:12:48 -0400

Giving the Green Light Distribution at the Bhil Academy is Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, India

March 6, 2011: Ximena Prugue and Stephany Torres of GTGL...

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:56:00 -0500

March 6, 2011:

Ximena Prugue and Stephany Torres of GTGL distribute solar-powered mini BoGo lights to students at the Bhil Academy in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, India. GTGL distributed 82 flashlights to the students from grade six to nine, as well as many staff members at the school. The Bhil Academy is a boarding school, so the students sleep in hostels at night. When it comes to lighting, they rely on a few dim bulbs to light up the entire hostel for approx 300 students, but nothing bright enough to properly study (as if being motivated to study was hard enough!).

The lights were purchased through a grant from the Clinton Global Initiative University. Working with the Bhil Academy and CGIU, Giving the Green Light is committed to providing each incoming 6th grader with their own solar-powered flashlight.

THEYRE HEREEEEEEEEEEE! YES, The recycled notebooks for Giving...

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:31:00 -0500

THEYRE HEREEEEEEEEEEE!

YES, The recycled notebooks for Giving the Green Light have finally been completed! Each notebook is hand-made with love and rainbows using recycled paper and covers from old vinyls, which means not only are you the coolest person in class with your one-of-a-kind notebook, but mother-nature will immediately give you some good karma for your green actions.

Take a look at our first full batch on our facebook page (Facebook.com/GivingtheGreenLight) and email info@givingthegreenlight.org to reserve your very own. Do it now, they’re going FASTT!

Happy Thursday! Check out a sneak peek at our Recycled Record...

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:55:00 -0400

Happy Thursday!

Check out a sneak peek at our Recycled Record Cover Notebooks to be on sale soon with 100% profits going towards Giving the Green Light! You know you want one. It’s good karma AND the ultimate conversation starter for that cutie in class ;)

Stay tuned for more info kiddos!

Giving the Green Light at the Fall for the Arts Festival,...

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 01:59:00 -0400

Giving the Green Light at the Fall for the Arts Festival, Downtown Miami

September 18, 2010

Video

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 01:47:00 -0400

Giving the Green Light is proud to announce it’s...

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:14:06 -0400

Giving the Green Light is proud to announce it’s participation in the Adrienne Arsht Fall for the Arts Festival on September 12, 2010! Come stop by our booth for your chance to receive gift cards from Specs Appeal, Sweetness Bake Shop, and AMC movie tickets. We will also be selling recycled goodies with the proceeds going towards GTGL and showing our award winning video. You don’t want to miss this!

To all my organized music yuppies, get your hands on these...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:00:37 -0400

To all my organized music yuppies, get your hands on these recycled record cover file folders. You’ll be the coolest/greenest person in the office or at class while helping a good cause! $10 for a set of four with 100% of the profit going to Giving the Green Light.

To order, email info@givingthegreenlight.org

Happy Sunday!

Help send GTGL To India!

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:32:00 -0400

Help send GTGL To India!:

Besides the fact that I love everyone in this video,...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:30:04 -0400

Besides the fact that I love everyone in this video, especially ?uestlove, I hope this makes everyone’s mornings a little easier. And on that note, help me go to India for GTGL!

Click here to help—-> http://funds.gofundme.com/i94g

The Banana Republic Shop for a Cause was a great success! Thank...

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:51:37 -0400

The Banana Republic Shop for a Cause was a great success! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported Giving the Green Light. We’re well on our way of reaching our goal of 10,000 lights thank to you!

Don’t forget to add on on facebook at www.facebook.com/GivingtheGreenLight

Photo

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 02:27:01 -0400

Miami Herald Article: "Student Sheds Light on Dangers of Kerosene"

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:59:25 -0400

Miami Herald Article: "Student Sheds Light on Dangers of Kerosene"

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the..."

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:55:29 -0400

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

- Harriet Tubman (via kari-shma) (via chickiadee)

murscauses: fuckyeahinfo: IBM Water Management - United...

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:41:03 -0400

murscauses:

fuckyeahinfo:

IBM Water Management - United States

Though the total amount of water on this planet has never changed, the nature of that water is changing. Everything from where rain falls to the chemical makeup of the oceans is in flux. And these changes are forcing us to ask some very difficult questions about how and where we live and do business.