In April, I was coordinator for Earth Week 2010 at Molloy College. We held a week of events and activities including several great speakers, all focused on the theme of water. See details on Facebook: “Earth Week, Molloy College.”
Earth Week
Majora Carter Inspires on Long Island
Green jobs pioneer Majora Carter Spoke at the ACT Green Up event on Long Island in May 2010. I was thrilled to meet her after hearing so much about her in the media. She spoke to a broad group of people, many from faith backgrounds, about her success in turning around a community in the South Bronx by converting an illegal dump into a beautiful park. The park reflected back on the residents and Majora’s hopeful message has continued to engage local youth in ongoing efforts such as green roof projects. She has a positive, uplifting and strong spirit that is the classic requirement for a great leader, which she is.
I mistakenly lost my personal photo with her : ( but here she is below.
Veggie Pride Parade
One of the more fun things we get to do as vegetarians is march down a city street in NYC in May and declare our veggie-ness at the Veggie Pride Parade. The march culminated in exhibits and speeches in Union Square where activists shared information with passers-by. Congratulations to Pamela Rice of Viva-Vegie Society for this successful event.
EPA Award!
I am honored to share the news that along with two colleagues, Karen Miller and Laura Weinberg, I won the EPA’s 2010 Environmental Quality Award, primarily for our work on the “LEAP” project with Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition and Mnt. Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center over the past 2 years. (See RIBBET.ORG for fun tips on environmental health for kids).
Go Green Expo NYC & Philly
The Go Green Expo took place on March 19-21, 2010. It was a big success, filling the Pier 92 with numerous exhibitors, speakers, and inspiring eco-entrepreneurs. I got to speak on a panel about eco-fashion and lifestyle along with Michael Parrish DuDell of Ecorazzi, Stefanie Iris Weiss , author of “Eco-Sex,” Mindy Pennybacker , author of “Do One Green Thing,” and Roxi Suger of AngelRox.
The most exciting part of the whole event for me was meeting Ed Begley after his great speech- he was so personable and down to earth. He did a book signing, and was so sincere about connecting with everyone who came to get their book signed. Very cool!
I also got to speak at the Philadelphia Go Green Expo which was much smaller but also inspiring.
Thanksgiving
As many of us try to reduce our impact on the earth and live our lives in accordance with our awareness, I’m hoping that more and more people will consider a healthy, vegetarian, turkey-free Thanksgiving.
For the reasons why see gentlethanksgiving.org.
Also see my recent op-ed in Newsday:
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/opinion-let-s-strive-for-a-sustainable-thanksgiving-1.1622822
November 25, 2009 By BETH FITENI
And on an unrelated note: Right before Thanksgiving, I got to meet James Hansen, top Climate Scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies! He is truly a history-making figure, and I was beynd honored to meet him. His newest book, “Storms of my Grandchildren” is alarming and poignant. Anyone who wants education on climate change should consider it a must-read.
