Keeping Up on Global Sustainable News

No doubt about it, aiming for sustainability is like achieving those high-level yoga poses. You have to keep at it even with lots of distractions going on around you.  Indeed, mindfulness is at the heart of sustainability and yoga.   That said, it becomes even more important to keep up on news regarding green issues, as the economic and political climate changes, as technology inches towards better materials, and as social norms change to embrace green living. Of course, our website and blog have a great focus on important areas of personal practice and consumption. But even we like to read around a bit. Because I’m a food scholar, I’ll save the food specific sites for another time.  For today, here are just a few of my favorite general sites: Treehugger is by far one of the most reputable and wide-reaching green news website around, with forays into podcasting, television, and the now-traditional web article. My only complaint about treehugger is that their stories don’t provide a lot of links to background information and further exploration. Perhaps even more formidable in its scope and timeliness, Grist takes the spot for my “most read” environmental website. Another useful place to check for green news is Sustainable Life Media. This is definitely a “marketing positive” business site, but it’s a good way to keep track of new brands, new strategies for sustainable marketing, and future directions. I particularly like their blog, which goes beyond simple sales pitches to deeper analyses of sustainable practices. Check out the entry “Into an economy of integrity,” which takes on the question of profits versus the planet in a thoughtful and, perhaps even better, practical way. Like reading a glossy magazine online, the Daily Green offers everything from recipes to coupons to photos of weather around the world. Sometimes you have to work a bit to find “news” per se, but the upbeat approach, product reviews, and DIY tips are all unique enough to keep my interest. There’s less discernment than at our site (because, after all, our job here at TGC is to sift out only the most wonderful), but it’s a good general source. If you’ve got some time and like to go in-depth in your understanding,  The Green Money journal is a great source. From education to green investing to ecotravel, each issue aims for full coverage and thoughtful analysis.   

The sheer volume of green media is bound to increase, even in these economic times, so streamline your approach and develop some routines around these sites -- and of course, keep checking here for the best ideas and information.