Beth Fiteni

Heart of Green Awards

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The Hearst Corporation hosted the 2009 Heart of Green awards at its 57th street location, the first LEED Gold skyscraper to be built after 9/11. Multiple people received awards, including Deirdre Imus for her work to protect kids from toxins, Alicia Silverstone for her vegetarian lifestyle, and Frances Beinecke, leader of the NRDC for her lifetime of achievement in effective environmental policy  (they must have read my post from February 2008!).  Two other significant leaders who were honored, though not individuals, were Planet Green—my favorite channel!! (of course) — and the very City of New York, which we all love and appreciate, for its innovative strategies being implemented through PlaNYC.

None were more moving than an award accepted by Ohio teacher Greg Perry, nominated by his students, who after encouraging them to start the Ultimate Green classroom and organize a huge green expo, found out that he had cancer. I know I wasn’t the only one crying as he struggled to speak at the podium while accepting his award, and I think his passion and dedication despite his physical constraints spoke loudly through the silent room. He was the only recipient to receive a standing ovation, and well deserved. I wish him and his students all the best.

For more info on these awards and lots of other great green info, see thedailygreen.com. 

Alicia Silverstone at Heart of Green Awards
Alicia Silverstone at Heart of Green Awards

Go Green Expo 2009, New York

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The Go Green Expo in New York, organized by Bradford Rand, took place on April 8-19 at the Hilton in NYC. While I saw numerous inspiring exhibitors selling all kinds of green goods and services from green job training to make-up, my two favorite vendors were Mr. Ellie Pooh (mrelliepooh.com) who make paper from elephant poop, thereby saving the lives of elephants in Sri lanka who would otherwise be killed for eating people’s rice paddies, and also reuseniks.com (reuseniks.com) who sells reusable dry-cleaning garment bags so you don’t have to take a plastic one every time—so simple yet so brilliant.

Speakers at the Expo included Mariel Hemingway, the Lazy Environmentalist Josh Dorfman, renowned eco-journalist Jim Motavalli, Ken Rother of Treehugger, Sarah Beatty of Green Depot, and even Nigel Barker the photographer who has dedicated his talents to documenting the issue of government sanctioned Canadian seal slaughter.

Of all the speakers, the one I found most inspiring was Mattie Kahn of Teens Turning Green (teensturninggreen.org), a young woman who spoke with remarkable confidence and passion about her groups’ activities to raise awareness among teens, through such efforts as a green proms campaign. She said a small group of representatives planned on going to Albany to lobby for a bill to ban Styrofoam—good luck Mattie!

For more info see gogreenexpo.com

Brian Howard, Daily Green, Seth Leitman, author of "Build Your Own Electric Vehicle", and others discuss emerging battery technology
(R-L) Seth Leitman, author of "Build Your Own Electric Vehicle", Andy Neal, a friend, and Brian Howard, Daily Green, discuss emerging battery technology
Dennis from PA with a reusable dry-clean bag
Dennis from PA with a reusable dry-clean bag

WISE, the Women’s Initiative for a Sustainable Earth

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Me & Christie Brinkley
Me & Christie Brinkley

WISE- The Women’s Initiative for a Sustainable Earth

The 1st New York Women’s Conference for Sustainability was held at the end of March in Southampton, NY and I was honored to join Christie Brinkley and other dedicated women as part of a panel discussing what inspires me as an activist. Many shared unique stories about how they came around to activism, and I emphasized that activism can be big or small—start with the people in your daily life (non-judgementally, of course) and then take it to bigger involvement. The panel covered many topics including energy conservation, reducing toxins in our homes, and radiation from nuclear power plants.

Thank you to Dorothy Reilly for organizing this inspiring event.

 

Me on the Wise panel
Me on the WISE panel

 

 

A Different Take on the Oscars

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Every year when I watch the Oscars or the Grammys I wonder why such an extravagant affair is only bestowed upon those who make films or music. Why isn’t there such an event that honors the best environmentalists who are actually making the world a better place? Perhaps the Nobel Peace Prize is the closet thing, for people who have contributed greatly to the advancement of humanity, but why then isn’t there a red carpet and “after party” for that? I would love to see Al Gore, or the executive directors of the world’s leading environmental groups like NRDC or Greenpeace be given the same honor and recognition that those who act in films or sing for us receive. In the grand scheme of things, isn’t it somewhat more important that those people who work to implement better policy to protect human health and stop global warming do their job well, than whether or not someone can act or sing well? I guess maybe these unsung heroes don’t have the glamorous gowns and stylists, so it’s just human nature that they don’t share the same intrigue for most of us. Well, if the Academy was made up of the wildlife, glaciers, and trees, I’m sure their hats would be off to those who play the daily role of speaking for them where they can’t speak for themselves — Beth

Welcome

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WELCOME TO BETH FITENI’S BLOG.
I am a Maltese- American, vegetarian, environmental advocate and feminist from New York, who also sings and writes and speaks a little spanish, and works to make the world a better place. I just won the Long Island Business News’ Top 40 under 40 for 2008! Yay!

Prius Snobs


http://current.com/e/77154392/en_US
http://current.com/items/77154392_prius-snobs.htm

This is a short video a friend and I made to submit for a Prius advertisement contest on Current TV (Al Gore’s station). We didn’t win but I still think it was great! I riffed on the idea that people think Prius owners are smug. : )