7gen Bloc

I took the title of this post from a comment on our Facebook page. It’s an interesting question. Those of us who have stepped off the path of mainstream culture find that even minor changes, like switching to recycled toilet paper, can remove toxic chemicals from our environment and lessen our ecological footprint.

Three hundred and fifty. 350. That’s the most important number in the world. Learn it and remember it, because it represents the atmospheric line in the sand that we cross at our own peril. In order to live sustainably, we need to make sure the air we breathe stays below 350 parts per million (ppm) concentration of carbon dioxide.

We at 7th Generation are big supporters of B Corporation - we are a B Corp and want to encourage other businesses to join in. Check out the movie.

If you own, run, or work for a business (and that’s just about all of us), and you’re even halfway aware (and hopefully that’s at least most of us), you know that sustainability is the game you’ve got to get into. Operating in a way that doesn’t cost the Earth or, better yet, actually enhances its systems, is no longer an option. It’s a necessity.

After writing a piece on the hazards of mercury-based dental fillings last month, it was most interesting to encounter a rather unexpected update on the subject this week. After years of denying there was anything even resembling an issue of concern here, the Food and Drug Administration has had an abrupt change of heart as evidenced by a subtle but telling change to key language on its website.

Perfluorooctanoic acid is back in the news. And you may be thinking, perfluoro-what? PFOA, as it’s more commonly known, is a key component of non-stick cookware coatings, stain resistance treatments, greaseproof food packaging and other products. As we reported a few years ago, scientists discovered that it is bad news where human health and the environment are concerned. So the companies that make it invented a substitute. Which, it turns out, is equally bad for human health and the environment, according to scientists.

One big part of Seventh Generation's mission is to help the wider business community move to a model of deeper business purpose, where bottom-line growth is merged with making a difference in the world. We are taking another step in furthering our mission by contributing our hard-won ideas and insights to a new blog from Harvard Business Publishing.

Dan O'Shaughnessy Sr., IT Support Analyst at Seventh Generation, is off the Grid at his desk Here is what he did: I took an off the shelf RV solar panel (up to 15 watts of solar power) to charge a deep cycle marine battery (12 volts, 125 amp hours) with a 7 map charge controller to keep the panel from over charger when there is a no load situation (everything off).

If you own a home, you know that sometimes you have to spend a little now to save a lot later. That leak in the roof? You can patch it for a few hundred bucks or wait until it turns into a torrent that costs thousands to repair. It's the same deal with the climate change. So says a new report from Tufts University which finds that the cost of doing something is far lower than the price of doing nothing.

The sixteen of us from Seventh Generation, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Yestermorrow Design School, and Do Your Part looked a bit weary this morning. Five days of Bonnaroo-ing is documentary in and of itself. We have some interesting stories... We have signed up 3,000 folks who have pledged to reduce their footprint by 10% by 2009 and who have taken the green footprint plunge...