Here are some worthy campaigns and worthwhile companies. Take a closer look and give them your support.

 

Sophisticated humour it's not, but potty talk brings peals of children's laughter to our house (especially The Sound of Poo-sic:  "With pongs I have smelled... for a thousand years"). This week, however it's time for all of us (the adults anyway) to grow up, stop giggling and blushing and speak sensibly about the sanitation (ahem) issue, which kills a child every 20 seconds.

This Wednesday (19 November) is World Toilet Day 2008. Today, 150 years since 'The Sanitation Revolution'  over 5000 children under five die each day due to poor sanitation. Over 2.5 billion people have inadequate sanitation, including 70% in sub-Saharan Africa and almost half the people in South Asia.

 

One of the Millennium Development Goals addresses water and sanitation, with targets to halve the number of people living without it by 2015. Sanitation improves human health, dignity and quality of life, but we're a long way from reaching the 2015 target. Support WaterAid, a worthy charity that works hard to bring safe water and sanitation to people around the world. It's currently working with Ecover on some interesting projects in Ethiopia, where sanitation education is a big part of the solution. Simply washing hands after visits to the loo can reduce diarrhoeal cases by over 40%. Have a look at the journals and video diary of Sadie Ramm and Serge Sadzo from Ecover as they visit the project. I found their experience quite moving, as it makes us pampered Westerners confront the harsh realities that face many of the human beings on earth, especially the women and children. The diary also shows what a difference clean, accessible water and sanitation can make. Help spread the word (and stop spreading disease) by donating to a sanitation charity such as WaterAid. And next time you're waiting in a loo queue, take just a moment to count your lucky stars.

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Do you ever feel like you're treading the winepress alone? Just join ooffoo, a new community site where you can green up with a group of like-minded people who want to do their bit to help make the world a better place. Swap, sell, give away and recycle stuff, share ideas and make new friends.

After highlighting worthy websites of the week for several years now, I still haven't mentioned the WWF. Well of course not, you say, everyone's heard of that one. True, but have you visited the site lately?
Sure you'll find lots of pictures of cute and furry wildlife (and you can adopt one for as little as £3 a month). But in addition to its work on wildlife conservation, the WWF has become a powerful and important campaigner for sustainable development and against climate chaos. Have a read of the new Living Planet Report 2008, which outlines the worsening ecological ‘credit crunch’ the planet is facing.

 

The WWF is also campaigning for a One Planet Energy Policy. It'sconcerned that energy companies are trying to wriggle out of emissions reduction by building coal-fired power stations that are 'CCS ready', rather than actually being fitted with Carbon Capture and Storage technology. The WWF wants all new power stations to meet the 'California Standard', with a cap on carbon emissions per unit of electricity generated. Take action and support the campaign by writing to your MP.

 

And don't forget the WWF Shop, to green up your home or get a head start on eco and ethical holiday shopping.

 

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This week's pick, GreenMyStyle.com ('Your Daily Eco Glossy') will help you bridge the gap between your theoretical ethics and your reality.

One of the most difficult things about green fashion is simply sourcing it. How many of us have had good intentions, but when time's tight and we need an outfit pronto have found ourselves slinking off to the high street. For help in paving even that road with good intentions, read editor Sarah Woodhead's High Street Challenge report on finding eco fashion (or not) in Oxford Street. Even better, take a closer look at GreenMyStyle's heaps of fine stockists at 'Today's Hot Shops'. 

 

If you're suffering from a time crunch as well as the credit crunch you'll love Daily eBay, with superior second-hand ('vintage', baby, 'vintage') finds. It's a fabulous idea for people like me who are paranoid about getting sucked into the parallel universe of eBay and emerging days later with red-rimmed eyes and an overdraught. I've avoided eBay since I bought a 'mint condition' top which actually sports a Gorbachev-style stain. As it was only £2 – needless to say, not a vintage Vivienne – I decided life's too short to queue at my local cardiac arrest induction unit (post office) to return it. Daily eBay should help you sift through the chaff.

 

GreenMyStyle's not just for fashionistas either, with the best of green beauty and home style (including tips from Green God Oliver Heath). And look out for a piece from yours truly, coming soon to a screen near you.

 

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It's easy to feel jaded when you're overwhelmed with goody-two-shoes advice (read: pressure) to green up your act, especially in these lean times when penny pinching sometimes wins out over airy-fairy ideology.

 

But we mustn't forget that greenies aren't asking us to cut back on carbon because they're sadists. Well, not most of them (though some may go weak at the knees imagining all the cancelled shopping sprees this Autumn). In reality, most eco activists are motivated by sincere concern about the future of the planet. 

 

They're not delirious or deluded. The latest science tells us clearly that unless we reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide back down to 350 parts per million, the earth will suffer huge and irreversible damage. So what can a normal person like little ole me (and you) do to help? Join the global movement, starting at 350.org. The site's first goal is to inform everyone of this important target. It also wants to focus on developing a clean energy ecomony and to put pressure on political leaders to act with international co-operation to reduce CO2. 

 

The site is based in America, where in 15 days, a new president will be elected. One of 350.org's immediate goals is to encourage the President-elect to attend December's UN conference and help negotiate a stronger treaty with targets that could put the world on track to avoid disaster. Join 350.org and send your own personalised photo or video invite to the President-elect (and ask your friends to send invites too).

For most folks December is a frenzy of gift buying, but for me the present pressure starts in October, with two family birthdays and a wedding anniversary just weeks apart. 

 

And of course, for the most eco-friendly and ethical gifts of all, don't forget homemade gift vouchers for days out (or days off, in the case of co-parents). Always a winner, especially in the credit crunch!

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If DIY cleaning just isn't on your radar, the good news is you can find eco-friendly products everywhere these days – well, maybe not in your local £ shop, but even so cleansers don't have to cost the earth. The method range (right) is reasonably priced and the 'go naked' non-toxic surface cleaner comes in 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottle, as will all the products soon.

Method's co-founders, Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan have now co-authored 'Squeaky Green', a guide to cleaning your home. Some of the tips are geared towards a US audience – such as cleaning air conditioning filters and opening the windows occasionally. In the US many houses are sealed up with either the AC or heating on constantly, meaning no fresh air (not to mention the bills). When my sister-in-law visited us last year, she was intrigued by our windows (the top-down, bottom-up style which provides natural air circulation). But many of the book's tips are informative for UK readers, including adding plants to boost oxygen levels in your home and of course, choosing non-toxic cleansers. Find out more about the book and the method range of products at MethodProducts.co.uk.

 

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Tune into ZapRoot, an irreverent, 'bite-sized' news show that takes a cheeky look at green issues, personalities, technologies and products. Zaproot has opinions and isn't afraid to express them with its no-holds-barred philosophy. It's a fun 'in' to green issues for younger viewers, with lots of informative links to other green sites. Recently Zaproot took a closer look at Gov Sarah Palin (pictured here with her bearskin rug), who's not exactly a card-carrying member of PETA, FOE or Greenpeace. Makes me even more delighted that my absentee ballot for the US election has arrived!

If litter makes your blood boil (I know it does mine), you may feel you have only a few choices: fester in a pit of powerless rage, confront litterbugs (with associated risk to life and limb) or just start a one-man (or one-woman) campaign of picking up rubbish yourself. Now there's another option. Join The Big Tidy Up, part of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign sponsored by Encams. Technically the main tidy up is scheduled for September so there's not much time left, but in fact, your neighbourhood tidy up can happen any time of the year. If you join now you can help participants raise their total from the current 6116 bags of rubbish collected to the target of 500,000 bags.

 

It's a great idea for schools – at the end of the day, we can tidy up all we like, but it's a pointless battle if we're not teaching the younger generation (by word and deed) not to litter in the first place. I'm definitely going to recommend The Big Tidy Up at the Environment Committee meeting at my children's school's tomorrow (right after I resign from the gardening group – believe me, in this case it is the best way for me to help save the environment). Register your school and the teachers can incorporate the site's lesson plans into the curriculum. Wall-E is a fun inspiration too (just don't get seduced into buying tons of plastic Wall-E tat!)

 

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