7gen Bloc

Though they call it the season of giving, let's be honest: The holidays are more like the season of buying. And this year, with the country in the grip of financial doldrums, we're buying a whole lot less.

I've always taken issue with those who've labeled cancer largely a lifestyle disease borne of poor choices, like a diet full of fatty foods. My reading of the evidence strongly suggests that the majority of cancer cases in the western world are caused by environmental factors largely beyond anyone's control.

The Design Contest for the Corporate Responsibility Report comes to an end on December 31, 2008 at 11:59pm. We are working with Justmeans.com to engage folks in a social network design for submitting ideas and having the community discuss and rate these ideas. Good darn fun. Go here. Here's the film:

The holiday season is in full swing, and if you think things have gotten a little out of hand in recent years, you're not alone. Consumer Reports National Research Center says that, prompted by the economy or other forces, 76% of those surveyed plan to cut back on holiday spending this year.

'Tis the season to be giving, and if there are kids under your roof chances are that's going to mean some new toys. As a parent, I find myself fairly bewildered by all the options and worried about hidden health and environmental hazards in playthings.

One of our favorite doctors, Dr. Alan Greene, a practicing pediatrician, renowned authority on family health issues, and a partner to Seventh Generation, has done the close-to-impossible. He's spent the last three years eating entirely organic food -- sometimes going hungry for lack of options.

We posted Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff when it was first released a year ago. I wanted to repost the short film to remind everyone about what "mind" we need to create the deep shift needed in both the economic and environmental realms to "reach" true sustainability.

And so the season of giving is upon us. It's a peculiar time of year to be environmentally aware. We're flooded with messages urging us to shop and spend, buy and give even as our better instincts caution us against consumerism in a time of growing ecological and financial pressure.

Our 2007 Corporate Consciousness Report has a $5,000 Contest for Ideas That Will Change the World.

If I've noticed one thing about the world at large these past few years, it's that reality has been quickly catching up to science fiction. In just a few quick blinks of history's eye, we've gone from whale oil lamps and horse-drawn wagons to invisibility cloaks and body parts grown in Petri dishes. Now comes perhaps the strangest development yet: Extinct species resurrected from the grave.