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Eating 'Green' – What Are You Really Buying? by Sheila Newhouse
Read board member Chris Elam's interview with Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland, a new book that looks at why we waste so much perfectly edible food.
Read How Hamburgers Pollute Our Water, by Research Director Renee Cho. The article can be found on Columbia University's Earth Institute blog.
INFORM Hosts Green Holidays Reception
Featuring Sustainable Product Silent Auction and the Most Pollution-Free Car on the Planet
NY's Luminaries and Philanthropists Attended Gala, Joined in Bidding
NEW YORK, NY, December 9, 2005: INFORM, a 30-year-old national, nonprofit environmental research and outreach organization, hosted its annual Green Holidays Reception and Sustainable Product Silent Auction at the Upper East Side's Mark Hotel on Wednesday, December 7. The event - already a must-go on the annual holiday event circuit - offered as its centerpiece cutting-edge technology and products that enhance lifestyle while protecting the environment.
Event Highlight: The "Greenest" Car on the Planet
"Last year, we raffled off a Ford Escape hybrid," said Joanna Underwood, INFORM president and founder. "This year, we highlighted the car that the EPA calls the 'cleanest commercially available vehicle on the planet', a Honda Civic GX natural gas-fueled car. The auto and all the sustainable products displayed created an opportunity to celebrate the season and educate guests about the impact of consumer choices on the health of our communities, our children, and our world."
The Honda GX, named "number one green car of the year" by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, has the lowest emission rating of any private car on the market. Produced in the US, it is the only compressed natural gas (CNG) passenger car commercially available. The Civic GX was on display outside the venue, attended by Barry Carr of American Honda, who discussed the car and its role in moving the US along the path to pollution-free hydrogen-fueled transportation.
At the end of the evening environmental advocate and INFORM Benefit Committee Member Jayni Chase made a surprise announcement about the Honda GX. Jean Nonna of Pleasantville, New York was the lucky winner of a three-month NGV (natural gas vehicle) package. Ms. Nonna will have use of the Honda Civic GX - part of American Honda's Clean Fuel Demonstration Fleet - as well as free CNG fuel provided by Clean Energy and KeySpan for the demo period.
Sustainable Product Silent Auction Offers Holiday Shopping, the "Green" Way
"The car was one part of the evening; our Sustainable Product Silent Auction was the other, and it's what made our event so much fun. People look forward to this event all year just to be able to bid on one-of-a-kind items," said Virginia Ramsey, INFORM's development director. Items available included biodynamic and organically produced wines; eco-resort vacations in Dominica, Vail (Colorado), Mondana (Ecuador), and Austin (Texas); hand-built furniture made from recovered hardwoods; housewares created from recycled materials; "green" home cleaning products; environmental services for home and business, including customized, urban landscape design; and a host of other products designed with the health and happiness of future generations in mind.
"The auction had everything," said event chair, Alexandra Peters, "from jewelry to artisanal cheeses, from organic wines and vodkas to retreats at famous green resorts, and everything you can imagine in between." Peters noted that all funds raised from the auction will go to support INFORM's work promoting the manufacture and purchase of products whose use significantly reduces wastes and contamination. Support from INFORM's 2004 Green Holidays Reception and Auction helped INFORM's Green Purchasing Program assist more than 50 communities, institutions, government offices, schools and hospitals in making the transition to purchasing environmentally preferable cleaners and other products.
High Res Photos Available for Print and Online Media: INFORM has professional high-resolution photographs of the event, including pictures of luminaries Blythe Danner and Jayni Chase, as well as prominent community members from NYC, Westchester and Long Island. For further information, please contact us.
About INFORM
INFORM is a national, nonprofit research and outreach organization that examines the effects of business practices, technologies, and products on the environment and human health. For more than 30 years, INFORM has sought practical solutions to the environmental challenges of safeguarding ecosystems from toxic chemicals, shifting to pollution-free transportation, and preventing solid waste. Combining groundbreaking research with strategic outreach, INFORM endeavors to turn findings into change. INFORM's objective and constructive recommendations have helped guide members of government, industry, environmental groups, and communities around the world in decisions that promote economic and ecological sustainability.
