Ceci's Sharebook 

Action: Help Grow the Market for Fair Trade Rice

Last fall, we told you about the emergence of Fair Trade rice in the US marketplace in our bimonthly green living newsletter, Real Money.  Now we bring you this online follow-up interview with Kyra Busch, Global Action Director for ENGAGE, a nonprofit that works to increase demand for Fair Trade rice.

Right now, ENGAGE is working specifically on encouraging universities to switch their jasmine rice purchases to Fair Trade.  "Most universities are already serving Jasmine rice," says Kyra.  "It's Thailand's number one export and the US is its number one customer.  Universities buy it in bulk to feed large groups of students.  We'd love to see more of the rice market shift."

Find out how you can help by reading our interview >>

News: Green Travel – Our Interview with Crooked Trails

In our June Green Business Interview, we talk with Crooked Trails founder Christine Mackay about the green travel options she offers her customers.  "We started Crooked Trails because we knew there was a better way for travelers to see host communities," says Christine.  "We created the organization to inspire environmentally and culturally sensitive travel in areas where the negative impacts of tourism were threatening the cultures and environments of popular tourist destinations."

Learn more in Christine's interview about Crooked Trails and their eco-friendly travel programs in support of indigenous populations in destinations such as Nepal, Vietnam, Peru, India, and most recently China.

Resources: Responsible Shopper on Automobile Pollution

We recently updated our Responsible Shopper Web site with data from the latest Union of Concerned Scientists survey of pollution produced by the automobile industry.  This year, DaimlerChrysler steals the top spot as the most polluting car company from General Motors, which has topped the list in years past.  GM remains a top overall polluter (coming in second this year) and also tops the list of automobile manufacturers turning out cars that get 15mpg or worse in city driving.

For information on other automobile companies' pollution, plus a digest of other auto industry information such as executive compensation, labor rights, and product safety, visit the "automobile" section of Responsible Shopper.

Go to Responsible Shopper >>

Use our spring gift guide to save money and buy green. >>

Looking for a way to offset your carbon emissions?  Co-op America offsets with
NativeEnergy's WindBuilders program, and you can too for just pennies a day. >>

Read our latest green business interview column. >>

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when you join Co-op America today. >>