by Sarah Lane
So the City Council of Asheville, North Carolina, wants to keep a man elected to the council, Cecil Bothwell, from being sworn in because he is a nontheist, and the North Carolina Constitution, in direct conflict with the U.S. Constitution, disqualifies for office “First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.” At the same time the Rotary Club of Leesburg, Virginia, has been blocked from doing what it has done for 50 years: set up a Christmas tree on the grounds of the Loudon County …

by Sarah Lane
During these two weeks of the Climate Conference in Copenhagen, I think it is time to reach across the great divide between those who believe in climate change and those who don’t and link arms. So whether or not you think climate change is happening, whether you believe it is human made or caused by an angry God, little elves, or bad luck, whether you work for a coal plant or a bicycle messenger service, shed your need to be right and join in the broad movement to …

by Sarah Lane
The Natural Defenses Resource Council, in its article “Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype,” reports that more than half of all Americans drink bottled water and about one-third of the population drinks it regularly. So Americans are thirsty. Why is this a problem?
1. What’s in the Bottles
One problem has to do with what’s in the bottles themselves. The Earth Policy Institute reports that 1.5 million barrels of oil per year, which is enough to fuel 100,000 cars for that same year, are required to satisfy …

by Sarah Lane
Giving a seasonal gift, whether for Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, might appropriately be intended for various reasons:

to express love,
to spread joy, and
to share abundance with those in need.

It is often, however, done for the following reasons:

to fulfill an obligation,
to meet an expectation, and
to fill a void.

In a world teeming with excess and yet, at the same time, bursting with want and need, in a world choking on plastic and suffocating from carbon emissions, we need to work toward eliminating those last three reasons and grope our way …

by Sarah Lane and Julie Hall
Our July issue features the dueling and yet associated themes of Independence and Interdependence. As living organisms, we are all more or less independent, able to perform certain functions—swallowing, moving, gripping, looking—on our own, and yet each one of is connected to all others on this planet. Whether tree, primate, amphibian, parasite, flowering plant, reptile, insect, aquatic mammal, or crustacean, we are all inextricably linked by virtue of place. Here’s an example (look here for the source):

The drop by one or two degrees Fahrenheit that …

by Julie Hall and Sarah Lane
The inaugural edition of the green, progressive thematic monthly ProgressiveKid Reader is about something we love to do here at PK—get outside. There are many reasons we each need to get outside every day, but perhaps our kids need it even more than we do—for exercise, adventure, Vitamin D, sensory experience, connection with animals, plants, and Earth’s elements, and so much more. We all have favorite outdoor activities, from walking the dog to picnicking to bike riding, but sometimes it helps to be reminded of …

by Julie Hall and Sarah Lane
With the launch of ProgressiveKid Reader, we are taking the next logical step in the progression of ProgressiveKid. Five years ago, at a time when people were still catching on to recycling, we opened PK as a way to connect people with a more mindful way of life. We offered Earth-friendly alternatives to conventional products, information for socially aware living, and affirming messages for a happier and healthier generation of kids. We alerted parents about lead in children’s lunchboxes before it hit the mass media. …

by Sarah Lane
A book removed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools board members in a 6-3 decision is, well, still removed from bookshelves after a federal appeals court turned down a challenge to the ban spearheaded by the ACLU. The book, Vamos a Cuba and the English translation A Visit to Cuba (published 2001), presents a positive view of life in contemporary Cuba. A parent in the school system who had spent time as a political prisoner in Cuba complained about the book. The board responded in 2006 in by removing …