Sustainable Brown Girl

It’s a new year, and it’s the perfect time for a fresh start with our sustainable goals. In this episode, I recap some of my wins and fails on my continuous journey of trying to be more sustainable in 2021. I also share some tips to help you along in your sustainable journey in 2022. 

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

This episode is sponsored by Greenhouse Mercantile and Ana Luisa jewelry.

Check out Greenhouse Mercantile for curated goods from local artists, black-owned businesses and fair-trade products. Visit https://www.greenhousemercantile.com/ to work with Kenya on building your capsule wardrobe or turning your home into a sanctuary with interior design.

I'm a big fan of Ana Luisa, their pieces start at $39, and they are currently running the biggest sale of the year. You can get 60% off on the second item by clicking here: https://shop.analuisa.com/ariel

Visit the Sustainable Brown Girl Website: https://www.sustainablebrowngirl.com/

Follow Sustainable Brown Girl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainablebrowngirl/

Join the Sustainable Brown Girl Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/259424485303892/

We are officially in the holiday season. By now, I’m sure most people have at least started shopping and some may already have crossed everything off their lists. Festive decorations are up and holiday music is playing. For some, this is the most wonderful time of the year. For others, it’s anxiety inducing.

I’m part of the latter group.

The holiday season was never a big deal when I was growing up - we didn’t put up a tree and didn’t exchange very many gifts. Christmas was very simple for my family. Since I’ve married into a family that goes hard for Christmas, I’ve had to meet certain expectations. Now that I’m a sustainable brown girl, it’s getting more and more difficult to blindly participate in the festivities. Mainly because there is so much overconsumption and waste surrounding the holiday season.

So this episode is for all of my fellow sustainable girls and guys who are looking for ways to enjoy the holiday season without compromising their values.

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

This episode is sponsored by Greenhouse Mercantile and Ana Luisa jewelry. 

Check out Greenhouse Mercantile for curated goods from local artists, black-owned businesses and fair-trade products. Visit https://www.greenhousemercantile.com/ to work with Kenya on building your capsule wardrobe or turning your home into a sanctuary with interior design.

I'm a big fan of Ana Luisa, their pieces start at $39, and they are currently running the biggest sale of the year. You can get 60% off on the second item by clicking here: https://shop.analuisa.com/ariel

Visit the Sustainable Brown Girl Website: https://www.sustainablebrowngirl.com/

Follow Sustainable Brown Girl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainablebrowngirl/

Join the Sustainable Brown Girl Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/259424485303892/

This week, we’re keeping it local and I’m having a conversation with the owner of a shop in my hometown of Newnan, Georgia. 

I love speaking to small business owners, especially those who are women of color, because it takes a lot to start a business, not to mention a brick and mortar and I think it’s so interesting to hear their stories. A couple of weeks ago I talked about the importance of supporting local businesses, a few reasons being that it helps build the local economy - it’s estimated that for every $100 spent at a local business, about $68 stays within the community. The owners are our neighbors, so we know that they care about the community and are invested in its future. Also, supporting local businesses is good for the environment, because they often have smaller carbon footprints than large corporations.   

Needless to say, I’m really excited to sit down with Kenya and speak with her about Greenhouse Mercantile, all of the services she offers, and her experience with being a business owner in downtown Newnan.  

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

Support Greenhouse Mercantile: 

greenhousemercantile.com 

facebook.com/greenhousemercantile 

instagram.com/greenhousemercantile 

Visit the Sustainable Brown Girl Website: https://www.sustainablebrowngirl.com/

Follow Sustainable Brown Girl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainablebrowngirl 

Watch the video interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/az0tIMij7lo

This week I want to talk about how we can all get more involved within environmentalism and sustainability. I talk a lot about individual action, like using a reusable water bottle, taking shorter showers, and reducing your waste. Those things are great and it’s a good place to start when thinking about your carbon footprint, but after a while, you may feel like you’ve peaked.  

Donnie Monk is a recent college graduate with a degree in environmental studies. She’s currently the neighborhood planner in Syracuse, New York, and has organized several environmental outreach programs in her community that have been a great success and have even been supported by the mayor of Syracuse. Listen in as Donnie and I talk about how she organizes these programs.

Follow Donnie online: 

www.earthlydonnie.com 

https://www.instagram.com/earthlydonnie 

https://www.instagram.com/ecothot 

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

Watch the video interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OFdxgph7b0U

Visit the Sustainable Brown Girl Website: https://www.sustainablebrowngirl.com/

Follow Sustainable Brown Girl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainablebrowngirl/

Join the Sustainable Brown Girl Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/259424485303892/

In this episode, we’ll hear from past podcast guests about how to get involved in activism in ways that are comfortable for you. We will hear from the following Sustainable Brown Girls:

Raya Salter - Episode 10: The relationship between climate & racial justice with Raya Salter, Energy & Climate Justice Lawyer

Donnie Monk - Episode 40: Getting involved in your community with Donnie Monk, Ecothot co-founder

Lashanti Jupp - Episode 24: A day in the life of a marine conservationist with host of Siren Sundays

Jasmine Sanders - Episode 31: Effects of climate change on people of color & how to make a difference

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

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The holidays are quickly approaching and I’m sure many of us have started to think about the gifts that we want to get our loved ones. If your goal is to support more businesses of color this season, then this show will be perfect for you.

Today's featured sustainable brown girl is Akua Yamoah Opoku, a Ghanaian-American woman with a dream to leave her planet better than she found it. She is committed to helping newbies in low waste and minimalist living, transition to a lifestyle that they love that is also good for the planet. Akua supports her community through providing a BIPOC sustainable business list, a blog of her experiences and knowledge, and a weekly newsletter with encouragement and resources. 

Learn more about the BIPOC sustainable business list: https://akuayamoahopoku.ck.page/0d769082de 

Follow Akua on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akuayamoahopoku/ 

Follow Akua on TikTok: @akuayamoahopoku 

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

Subscribe to Akua's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq46etTaheGPr87b4S-VQxw

Watch the video interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fnXTxKUtLoM

Visit the Sustainable Brown Girl Website: https://www.sustainablebrowngirl.com/

Follow Sustainable Brown Girl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainablebrowngirl/

Join the Sustainable Brown Girl Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/259424485303892/

When it comes to causes of climate change, oil and gas, or methods of energy production are some of the biggest contributors to the warming of the planet. An important talking point at COP26, as well as any time climate change is discussed, is the necessity for us to move from using fossil fuels for energy, to using clean and renewable forms of energy.

Today's guest is Chandra Farley, the founder of The Good Energy Project, a movement to get black women involved in clean energy. Chandra is experienced in developing community-centered strategies to advance energy equity. I’ll be talking to Chandra about what exactly clean energy is, some things Georgia is doing around clean energy, and how we can all make better decisions about how we use and think about energy.

Follow The Good Energy Project on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodenergy_project/

Follow Chandra on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chandraresolves/

Visit the Good Energy Project website: https://www.goodenergyproject.org

Follow Chandra on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chandrafarley

Follow Chandra on Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/chandrafarley

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SBG Website: https://www.sustainablebrowngirl.com/

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SBG on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMTYdJ87UUbMxgkx_WwNzag

SBG Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/259424485303892/

This week is a big one in regards to environmental news. COP26 kicked off on Monday November 1 in Glasgow, Scotland. COP26 is a global United Nations summit about climate change and how countries are planning to tackle it. COP stands for Conference of the Parties, and will be attended by countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - a treaty agreed in 1994. The 2021 meeting will be the 26th meeting which is why it’s called COP26. The summit is widely regarded as humanity’s last and best chance to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

COP26 will be going on until November 12, so there’s still much to be discussed, but let’s talk about a few things that have happened thus far.

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

With Halloween coming this weekend and the holidays quickly approaching, I think now is a good time to talk about ways to prevent food waste. Pumpkins are the universal symbol of autumn and are a popular decor item in millions of households. In fact, according to the USDA, an estimated 2 billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in the United States each year, and about two thirds are trashed rather than being eaten or composted.

Keeping food out of the landfill is crucial to fighting climate change. You see, when Halloween pumpkins and other food waste makes it to the landfill, they release methane gas, a harmful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

In this episode I’ll be talking about a few ways in which we can put those Halloween pumpkins to good use and prevent food waste in general. We’re also going to be hearing from Elise Smith, a black woman who is the founder of Winnie’s Bakery. When baking delicious treats for Winnie’s Bakery, Elise strives to use sustainable ingredients and prefers to buy local, organic, and fairly-sourced goods as often as possible.  Elise will be sharing some tips about how to reduce food waste in the kitchen later on in the show.

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

Visit the Sustainable Brown Girl Website: https://www.sustainablebrowngirl.com/

Follow Sustainable Brown Girl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainablebrowngirl/

Subscribe to Sustainable Brown Girl on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMTYdJ87UUbMxgkx_WwNzag

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Save 10% on your first purchase at EarthHero.com with code SUSTAINABLEBROWNGIRL (can’t be used on sale items, can’t be paired with other coupons, can’t be used on Gift Cards, TerraCycle boxes, Zeal Optics, Bumbleride or Naturepedic products). By using this promotion, I receive a bit of commission which goes towards keeping us on the air. Shop here: https://earthhero.com/?ref=sustainablebrowngirl

Learn more at sustainablebrowngirl.com/radio

It's becoming very apparent that climate change is real and immediate. For example, this past summer, there were record-breaking heat waves and droughts in the Western part of the US. Hurricane Henry made its way to New York, causing record rainfall and flooding of the city. Last winter there was a freak snow storm and extreme cold weather causing power outages for over a week in Texas. And last year California experienced record breaking wildfires. To be exact, 5 out of California's 10 worst fires happened in 2020.

At this point, there's no doubt that climate change is real and immediate as the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises, the temperature of the earth also rises. Of course, the temperature of the earth has always fluctuated, but the rate at which it has risen in the last 200 years is significantly high.

While climate change will affect every living being on this planet in one way or another, according to an article published by Princeton University titled Racial Disparities and Climate Change, it says, “Climate change disproportionately affects those who suffer from socioeconomic inequalities, including many people of color”. 

In today's episode, I talk about how communities of color are among the first and hardest hit by the effects of climate change. 

Donate to Sustainable Brown Girl on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sustainablebrowngirl

Save 10% on your first purchase at EarthHero.com with code SUSTAINABLEBROWNGIRL (can’t be used on sale items, can’t be paired with other coupons, can’t be used on Gift Cards, TerraCycle boxes, Zeal Optics, Bumbleride or Naturepedic products). By using this promotion, I receive a bit of commission which goes towards keeping us on the air. Shop here: https://earthhero.com/?ref=sustainablebrowngirl

Learn more at sustainablebrowngirl.com/radio