Recently, the Student Conservation Association (SCA) announced the winner of their Green Your School Contest, challenging students to make their schools as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible.

The winner, West Geauga High School in Ohio, set an amazing standard for schools everywhere. What they’ve done is inspiring for those of us who strive to make our homes and communities as green as possible too.

Here’s a list of these students’ accomplishments:

• Hosted a “Better Bulbs” event in which 400 CFL and LED bulbs were distributed to the community and all of the old, incandescent bulbs in a local building were switched out for eco-friendly versions.
• Implemented a bulb recycling program at their school.
• Created a rain barrel made and decorated by students to divert runoff from storm sewers and provide water for an outdoor classroom garden the students built.
• Implemented a bottle and can recycling program at their school.
• Created a nature trail for students, complete with benches made from recycled composite wood and steel, as well as native plants planted along the trail.
• Organized a field trip and seminar to educate the community about preserving Ohio’s vernal pools.
• Testified for a bill that would make the Spotted Salamander, a vernal pool dweller, Ohio’s state amphibian.
• Created a “power walk” that captures energy from students’ footfalls as they walk to class that is then converted into power used to light hallways – sounds amazing!
• Created an outdoor cafeteria and patio where students can eat and appreciate nature. There are plans to plant a vegetable garden nearby.
• Integrated eco-initiatives into the school’s curriculum so students learn about eco-friendly practices while satisfying Ohio state education requirements

Great job kids! What an inspiration to see groovy, smart kids making a difference.

What kind of eco-initiatives are happening near you, and what’s one thing you can change in your home or community to make it more eco-friendly?

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A California High School Goes Green
Ebay's Easy Electronics Resale Program

What are your favorite inspirational quotes?

More Inspiration:

Ari Solomon on Kindness
Farm Sanctuary's Marathon
Fable of the Porcupine
My Amazing Friend Tevia

Happy 4th!

In honor of Independence Day, we at DailyWorth want to help entrepreneurs in third world countries gain financial independence through microloans. Here’s the best part: we want you Kind Lifers to choose who you’d like to help out.
 
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That means 180 winners will have the opportunity to help entrepreneurs in need around the world, in fields including food and restaurants, weaving and clothing, retail, and professional services. You choose who to help, and as a subscriber to DailyWorth, you’ll get the free financial advice you need, brought directly to your inbox by savvy women on the financial frontlines.
 
So gain your own financial independence, and help someone else do the same. All you have to do to is sign up for DailyWorth here. We’ve also reserved twenty microloans to give away to current subscribers - if you’ve already signed up, leave a comment below telling us your favorite DailyWorth tip so far.

Independence Day just took on a whole new meaning.

Ari Solomon is a wonderful person and vegan! He's the founder and owner of A Scent of Scandal , a great vegan candle company. I'm honored to have him guest blog for The Kind Life!
 
Enjoy his thoughtful piece about kindness:

Our Innate Kindness
By Ari Solomon

When Alicia asked me to blog for The Kind Life, I was thrilled because there's been something I've been meaning to explore for some time now, and I think this is just the place. It goes something like this:
 
Are human beings innately kind? Is kindness our default, or, if we don't consciously practice kindness (as we would any other skill) do we revert back to being some sort of monstrous Conan the Barbarian?
 
I realize that to fully investigate a question like this, it would probably take a dissertation versus a blog, but there's a specific, common human response that gives us strong clues.
 
A few weeks ago, I was watching a talk show that shed light on how animal-based foods are produced. But, before footage from inside the slaughterhouse was shown, the host of the show warned the audience that the images were going to be graphic and upsetting. In fact, she cautioned that if viewers had children present, it might be best to escort them out of the room. Of course, such warnings are not unique to this talk show; you always hear them before footage like this is aired.
 
But this got me thinking. If we're supposed to be eating things like meat, dairy, and eggs, why do we find slaughterhouse footage so disturbing? Certainly no one would ask us to emotionally prepare ourselves before showing a video of people harvesting broccoli, or picking apples. If eating animals and their "by-products" is so natural, what's with our revulsion to blood and gore?

Here's something else to ponder: About a year ago, during a routine trip to the vet's office, I was sitting in the waiting room while Animal Planet played on the TV. It was one of the shows documenting big cats in Africa. When a lion hunted and brought down a gazelle, I noticed the faces of the other people in the room around me. People were groaning and averting their eyes. One woman actually spoke out loud, "Ugh, isn't it awful?"
 
Now, I'm not an anthropologist, but I'd venture to say that these instinctual responses tell us all we need to know about how we should treat animals, and consequently, what we should be eating. If we can't bear to watch animals being slaughtered or hunted, and if we have to lie to our children about where our food comes from, perhaps we should meditate on that, instead of doing what most people do: numb themselves to the truth.

Sure, a butcher might tell you that he/she has no problem slicing and dicing animals, and a hunter may wax poetic about the thrill of killing. But, I'm pretty certain this is what comes only after some process of desensitization takes place. When you ask kids what they want to do when they grow up, very few respond, "Kill animals."
 
Harvey Diamond famously said, "You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car." Indeed, I think that when it comes to animals, kindness is undeniably our default.
 
Thank you Ari! What do you all think? Why have so many people decided to numb their innate kindness?

Last year, several runners approached Farm Sanctuary to ask if they could raise money for animals in need by running in marathons across the country! Two runners who recently completed marathons share why they ran for animals:

Adrianne Prettyman – ING New York City Marathon

Adrianne Prettyman ran in one of the most iconic races in the world — the ING New York City Marathon. Prettyman, who was “blown away” by the overwhelming support she has received from friends, family and the community, nearly quadrupled her initial fundraising goal of $300. “Running my first marathon is certainly a ‘bucket list’ experience, and the process has become even more incredible through supporting a worthy cause that's so close to my heart,” says Prettyman. “Raising money to protect farm animals turned those long hours on the treadmill into a labor of love.”

Cory Kalanick – Las Vegas Marathon

Firefighter Cory Kalanick, a Hanford, California resident trained for his first marathon in the heart of California dairy country. He ran in the Las Vegas Marathon on December 5 to support the lifesaving work of Farm Sanctuary and to raise awareness for healthy vegan living. For Kalanick, it has been a journey that began when he visited the Orland, California Shelter of Farm Sanctuary last year. The experience affected him profoundly. “I left there feeling a renewed commitment to veganism and a new commitment to help stop the suffering of farm animals,” says Kalanick. “I chose a marathon as my vessel for spreading the message about Farm Sanctuary, because I knew it would garner the attention needed to reach many people in a positive way.”
 
These are just two kind individuals who have raised money for farm animals through running marathons. There are many more who are currently raising money to do the same, for example, vegan triathlete Richard Adams, who is planning to compete in the 2011 Ironman Lake Placid race in New York on July 24, 2011.

Richard Adams – Ironman Lake Placid
 
Inspired by vegan endurance athletes like Scott Jurek and professional Ironman Brendan Brazier, Adams credits his vegan diet with giving him the competitive edge of increased energy, fewer missed training days due to injury/illness, and quicker recovery times after races. You can read his inspiring story about switching to a vegan diet after visiting Farm Sanctuary, and overcoming gastrointestinal problems once he made the switch here.
 
Donations to athletes running for animals can be made here.

My friend Mimi sent this to me - how adorable is this little guy?

Fable of the Porcupine

It was the coldest winter ever -  many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other. After awhile they decided to distance  themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.

Do you have any adorable animal stories or pictures to share? Post them to your profile and "like" them and I may share them on the blog!

*Update: Pictures are of a baby hedgehog!*

Photo Credit: Shawn Laksmi

Tevia Celli-Recht is an amazing human being. She is also the very best spin instructor I've ever had. If you are in LA, you MUST run now and take one of her classes at Updog Cycling and Yoga on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood....and she has her own over-the-top delicious vegan baking company, The Lil' Vegan Baker That Could. Connect to the previous blogs about her here and here.

Tevia is an insane athlete who also has MS (multiple sclerosis). She manages her MS symptoms through a plant-based, vegan diet and some supplements, and this combination has literally halted her MS symptoms! Among her other pursuits, she has invented a fitness machine called the E-Ryde.  It's so groovy.  It doesn't require any electricity or power to work....so it's super enviro just like a spin bike!!  

I love taking her spin classes; she is seriously the best spin teacher I have ever found. I missed her SO much when I was in NYC for the play. Her class is great and difficult, deep and wonderful. She inspires you to keep adjusting and teaches joy and wellness.  She focuses on making sure her students keep proper alignment while they are spinning. I've found that many teachers do not do this and they look so unsafe on their bikes - it makes me cringe! Tevia keeps you safe while pushing you to be your best!! She is just such a bad-ass.  Her class is really a meditation, as you are constantly thinking of keeping your shoulders down, your back relaxed, trying to make your lats touch together (I'm probably saying that wrong but you know what I mean), keeping your tummy in, positioning your butt way over the seat and opening your heart.  She also teaches not to push down with your feet but to pull your legs up into your stomach, and to wiggle your toes and relax your hands. Tevia explains this better in the class....she is sexy up there with her passion, commitment and force! Her classes are empowering, they strengthen you and make you appreciate your life. She is truly a superhero to me!

I also recently met a young woman in Tevia's class named Amanda. She said she had read The Kind Diet and had her mom read it and they are now both on our journey. She is a Kind Lifer on our site. It makes me so happy when I meet you guys!

Tevia did the MS Ride for 4 years, as well as a spin-a-thon for them, and raised $600,000 for the organization!! She says they are a great organization as far as offering services for people with MS, such as paying medical bills and providing food for those who are too sick. They also do a lot of research that one day might find a cure for MS. She is now focusing her efforts on Dr. John McDougall's research, which uses a low-fat vegan diet for MS and has shown great success. Tevia decided Dr. McDougall could use her help, so she is no longer doing the MS ride. As she is now working with Dr. McDougall, she decided to resign from the National MS Society (Southern California) Board of Trustees, as she believed it would be a conflict of interest for her to keep her post there while raising money for a particular MS study. Her feelings are that she knows this diet has worked for her, and although it might not work for all MS patients, it could benefit many. MS has so many different degrees of the disease, so those like Tevia who do not have a progressive type strongly benefit from Dr. McDougall's research.

You can learn more about Dr. McDougall's research and donate to his efforts here.

I applaud Tevia for turning her efforts toward healing instead of research and such. The food that doctors provide to sick people with MS is likely not the food that could heal them. As far as the "one day we'll find a cure" idea goes, I believe that the cure is in prevention. So yay Tevia!

A while ago I posted a couple of newsletters that my childhood friend Suzannah Scully wrote (you can see those ones here and here). I wanted to share another one of Suzannah’s newsletters that I liked.  Take a look:

No, right now
By Suzannah Scully

This weekend I was talking to a dear friend and she asked me what the biggest roadblock my clients have and I said that it is fear of failure/rejection. I talked about how I see people killing ideas and dreams before they even try because they are convinced it will never work and they are fearful of being rejected. And she said something that really resonated with me. “Rejection means no, right now.” I loved that. It doesn’t mean forever. It doesn’t mean it won’t change. It doesn’t mean things won’t change.

I remember being introduced to my husband ten times before he remembered who I was. Meanwhile I had a crush on him the whole time and he didn’t have a clue who I was, even after meeting me ten times! Rejection meant no, right now.    

I always think about what the world would be like if people weren’t afraid of failure/rejection. What amazing things would people go on to accomplish? Instead we stay in the safe zone where it’s comfortable and we plug along. But what if we took rejection as a “no, right now” and not as a reflection of who we are or who we aren’t? That things change, people change, times change.

So, get back out there, something is waiting for you.   

-Suzannah

This is a must watch!  Let me know your thoughts... I think it's just amazing.