by Denise [courtesy of Blog for America]

To restore native rain forests and offset the effects of climate change, earlier this month The Nature Conservancy initiated an ambitious fundraising campaign to plant 1 billion trees in the Atlantic Forest on the coast of Brazil.  Through years of accelerating deforestation, the Atlantic Forest has been reduced to only 7% of its former size.  It takes the Conservancy just one dollar to plant one tree.  In the three weeks since the campaign was launched, the Conservancy has raised over $252,000 - enough to plant an impressive 252,000 new trees.  Restoring the Atlantic Forest with 2 billion trees over the next several years will reestablish a crucial carbon sink.  Won’t you join me in celebrating Earth Day by supporting The Nature Conservancy’s Plant A Billion campaign?  As little as $10 or $20 will plant a small grove of trees that will create a lifetime of carbon sequestration.  Please donate whatever  you can to this worthy and necessary cause.  It's quick.  It's easy.  Just click the picture below:

by Sheila Condit [courtesy of Blog for America]

It doesn't sit well with me, on Earth Day in particular, that those who carry the mindset of entrenched authoritarian perspectives fashion themselves "Conservative" and Progressives politely adopt their vernacular.  We have done so thoughtlessly, like the television anchors who started to use the Republican party moniker for it's opponents even in the possessive (i.e. the Democrat platform rather than the Democratic platform).  Democratic sounds too,,,well, Democratic.  This isn't correct.  The only thing they wish to conserve is the status quo.  I'm leaping off of the double speak bandwagon.

Perhaps "Rightist" would be more proper.  Or "Traditionalist."  Or "Reactionary."  I'll have to keep working on it, though, Rightist rings pretty well true.

I do not object to conservative notions in a wholesale manner; not by a long shot.  I want to maintain and nurture the earth my children will inherit, for example.  I want it's vitality preserved and strengthened.  Rightists often don't, which means, of course, they aren't truly conservative.

I want to eliminate the glut with which we have all been deluded in this wealthy nation.  I want responsible behavior to guide my use of the abundance available to me.  That's conservative, but not rightist.

by WhatAre Progressive Values [courtesy of Blog for America]

  We interviewed Michelle on Earth Day when she was cleaning up Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.    She's a lawyer and was very careful about the definition and meaning of the words; values, progressive, liberal, conservative, etc.   She sees complexity in these words and doesn't like to generalize. However, she did see equality, fairness and social justice as core liberal values.  Michelle also talked about how she finds it insulting the way conservatives talk about values and imply only they have them.

Progressive Values Stories: Michelle Discussing Values

by WhatAre Progressive Values [courtesy of Blog for America]

(This is part of an ongoing series of interviews of progressives telling personal stories about their values for the "What are Progressive Values?" documentary project - ProgressiveSpirit.com ).

I ran into Joe Brewer cleaning the streets of Oakland on Earth Day. Joe works as a fellow at the Rockridge Institute in Berkeley, California.  He says empathy is the basic progressive value and tells a personal story about his experiences growing up in a small town and his visit to India.

by Jeff Gardner [courtesy of Blog for America]

by Mark Leno Campaign [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

What are you getting for Earth Day this year? If you're California, here's lots of toxic military debris to make your celebration complete. What a holiday! Also, Senate pro Tem Don Perata introduces a batch of environmental bills here, while the Oakland Tribune provides a reminder of what federal environmental protections used to be like when there was an administration that actually cared about the environment. And finally, the Bakersfield Californian offers up 38 helpful tips "to be kind to Mother Earth." Tip #39: put the Orange County Register opinion section on the fic-tion shelf where it belongs. Another good way to celebrate Earth Day would be to visit this link and vote for Charlie Brown. An early endorsement via Democracy for America's All Star poll certainly wouldn't hurt Charlie's fundraising efforts and rumor has it that Mother Nature prefers a Democratic Congress. Them's fighting words. Republican State Senator Sam Aanestad and Democratic State Senator Ron Calderon were none too pleased with this editorial in the Bee critical of their plan to allow psychologists to prescribe medications. Their response: "We would urge The Bee to read the bill and do its own research. We are confident The Bee would change its opinion it formed 10 years ago and regurgitated again in its editorial."