Born to Run — A Great Read

ElegRoo Blog

This is a great book! Don’t be put off by the notion that it is some kind of technical running book or aimed only at crazed running fanatics. It’s not.

Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall, has all the elements of a great story — colorful, larger-than-life characters, adventure, joy, heartbreak, courage, heroism, lurking danger, the wisdom of indigenous peoples, the warmth of rural Mexicans, the openness of Americans, all in an other-worldly landscape and wrapped in a quest worthy of any mythology. Nearly every chapter is a cliff-hanger.

And — it’s NON-FICTION!

The locale of much of the story, the inaccessible Copper Canyon region of Mexico’s Sierra Madre — the Barrancas–  is home to the Tarahumara, an indigenous people, as well as Mestizo farmers. This is the region of the town of Norogachi — the little town where the exquisite jewelry of Julio Pagliani is made — by the same people who populate the great story in Born to Run.

We at Elegant Roots knew that the good folks at Julio Pagliani went to extraordinary lengths to couple the traditional beading skills of the people of Norogachi with an outside market — committed as they are to promoting social justice. But Christopher McDougall has a way to really bring it home.

From Born to Run: “The Barrancas are a lost world in the most remote wilderness in North America, a sort of a shorebound Bermuda Triangle known for swallowing misfits and desperadoes who stray inside. Lots of bad things can happen down there, and probably will; survive man-eating jaguars, deadly snakes, and blistering heat, and you’ve still got to deal with ‘canyon fever,’ a potentially fatal freak-out brought on by the Barrancas desolate eeriness. The deeper you penetrate into the Barrancas, the more it feels like a crypt sliding shut around you. The walls tighten, shadows spread, phantom echoes whisper; every route out seems to end in sheer rock. … Little surprise that few strangers have ever seen the Tarahumara homeland–let alone the Tarahumara.”

But into the Barrancas is where the good people of Julio Pagliani go in order to help the people of the Barrancas utilize their traditional beading techniques to create striking jewelry and bring it out to support the traditional lifestyles of these remote peoples. This, too, is courageous in its own way — courage in support of social justice.

And, into the Barrancas go Christopher McDougall’s cast of thoroughly engaging characters.

I highly recommend Born to Run; and I highly recommend that you support the peoples of the Barrancas in their traditional arts. Enjoy their beautiful jewelry, designed by the folks at Julio Pagliani and rendered exquisitely by the peoples of the Barrancas using — and preserving — traditional skills. Learn more about Julio Pagliani here.

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Posted via web from 3BL Media, CSR News, and Emily

Overcoming Green Hurdles

According to the Natural Marketing Institute’s (NMI) Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) Consumer Trends Database, more than 80% of today’s total U.S. adult population shows some type of green motivation.  In fact, as sustainability consultants, we receive more and more requests from individuals seeking eco awareness in their life.  Some are just beginning their journey while others may have a better sense of what to do for the environment.  Yet, there is confusion about what it means to live green.

 Consulting inherently means offering counsel to overcome challenges, limitations, or roadblocks.  In developing personal sustainability plans for clients, we’ve run up against some common misconceptions about green or living a sustainable lifestyle:
 

• You need to spend a lot of money to go green. 
• Going green means buying stuff.
• Eco friendly products are inferior and more expensive compared to traditional brands in the market.
• Living a life of eco awareness defaults that person to a stereotype.
• Changing habits, purchasing choices, and living a sustainable lifestyle is hard, expensive, and requires too much commitment.
• The sustainable efforts of one person couldn’t possibly have a positive impact on the environment.

 Practicing a sustainable lifestyle begins with a shift in consciousness that includes awareness of our thoughts and actions that impact our environment.  One approach used in our personal consulting practice is to assist clients to shift limiting perceptions.  Misconceptions often are based on false premises.  Once underlying misconception are recognized and transformed, then new ideas begin to blossom. 

 People can’t change their behavior overnight; but, they can change their thoughts and their approach to environmental and sustainability concepts by looking at them differently.   By making simple changes in perception to include eco awareness, small eco steps become larger eco steps. 

 Living a sustainable lifestyle is living a set of choices and behaviors that respects the http://bigteaparty.com/ ” target=”_blank”>symbiotic relationship between the environment and humanity.  There is no one way or cookie cutter solution to living green.  Each of us has our part to play and each of us has the innate ability to live a sustainable life that works for us and also inspires others.

Posted via web from 3BL Media, CSR News, and Emily

Getting Down Right Dirty at Dirt, Sweat and Gears 2010

Taiga Company Blog

May is National Bike Month and kicking off the celebration we’ll be racing at the Dirt, Sweat, and Gears 12 Hour Endurance Mountain bike race May 15th in Fayetteville, Tennessee.  The main event for the weekend will be the 12 hr endurance mountain bike race. From 9 am to 9 pm riders will compete against the clock, each other and most importantly themselves on the 10+ mile course on a mix of flat and fast field trails. 

12 hours you might ask?  Well, we’re passionate about cycling!  Cycling is part of a sustainable lifestyle, is alternative transportation, helps the environment, and also raises eco awareness.   It seems that most people think of bikes as recreation but in our sustainability consulting with business and individuals, we encourage employers and workers to consider cycling as alternative transportation as well as part of a sustainable business strategy.
 
If you are nearby, look for us wearing Taiga Company cycling kits purchased from Voler Cycling Apparel.  Voler is committed to business sustainability and furthering sustainability concepts into their business through their commitment to reducing their impact on the environment. 
 
Or stop by the tent and say hi!  The Taiga tent will display the Taiga Company banner purchased from GreenBanners.  They are the original green banner / signage company and do not use any form of vinyl materials or toxic solvent inks.  They print high resolution, full-color photo-quality graphics and text on a wide variety of materials using ecologically-sound renewable, recycled / recyclable and biodegradable materials.
 
We’ll have organic and bamboo t-shirts to give away.  The only catch?  With a total elevation gain of +/- 1500′ per 10 mile lap, you have to push me up the hills!

Posted via web from 3BL Media, CSR News, and Emily

C5 Company Joins No Dirty Gold Campaign

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) – May 7, 2010 – C5 company announced today that it has joined the No Dirty Gold campaign of EARTHWORKS by signing the Golden Rules. The Golden Rules call on mining companies to meet basic social and environmental standards, including respect for human rights, protection of fragile ecosystems, and refraining for dumping and contaminating water and soil. ”Thanks to these jewelers, customers can choose to support companies that have taken a stand against irresponsible mining,” said Scott Cardiff of EARTHWORKS’ No Dirty Gold campaign.

C5 company, which includes the Meghan Connolly Haupt brand, has signed on to the Golden Rules at a time when mining companies are continuing to push irresponsible mining projects that will impact mothers and community members all over the world. As an example, Newmont’s Akyem mine would displace thousands of people and destroy a quarter of the forest left in a tropical forest Reserve in Ghana. The planned Infinito Gold Crucitas mine has already destroyed tropical forest and would threaten waterways in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. And the Anglo American and Northern Dynasty’s Pebble project in Alaska would threaten fishing livelihoods in one of the world’s last great salmon fisheries.

“Our company was founded upon the belief that consumers shouldn’t have to sacrifice sustainability for luxury or their values for beauty. In signing the Golden Rules, we hope to help advance the jewelry industry as a whole toward greater social and environmental responsibility. Ethical sourcing of metals is one of many important steps to be made,” said C5 company founder Meghan Connolly Haupt.

The “No Dirty Gold” campaign was launched in 2004 to educate and motivate consumers and jewelry retailers to push the mining industry towards more responsible practices.

C5 company uses only 100% recycled precious metals including gold. Refraining from using virgin harvested metals is one of the many reasons why C5 company is at the forefront of the sustainable fine jewelry movement.

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Posted via web from 3BL Media, CSR News, and Emily