by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Not surprisingly, in public opinion surveys, ‘women express higher levels of environmental concern than men, Riley Dunlap, a professor of sociology at Oklahoma State University’, as reported in NY Times last month. Motherhood can and does stir up feelings about protecting and nurturing offspring, and that includes protecting the environment around them, the food they eat, the air they breathe, their future on the planet.

Granted, things seemed to backslide when mothers decided to trust television commercials before their instincts. Like many kids, I grew up with Tide, Windex, Velveeta and Jello. (More recently and more shocking, I witnessed doting new parents holding a can of Coca-cola to the lips of an infant.)

But moms are waking up and when they talk, the world – and the market – listens. EcoMoms Alliance is a growing organization with 11,000 members from all over the world, dedicated to greening motherly ways and more. Sign on with EcoMoms and you are immediately asked to take 10 First Steps for A Sustainable Future – a challenge which includes changing lightbulbs, changing your driving habits and composting. But don’t expect to stop there. These Earth Mothers talk the walk – from local living, smaller cars, smaller houses, clothing swaps, natural cleaning products and water reuse. The mission is to share, support, teach and learn – not just with each other, but within schools, neighborhoods, communities and beyond.

The organization, founded and led by Kimberly Danek Pinkson, includes an extensive and impressive team, including experts in areas of environmental medicine, waste management, eco-gardening and more. Not just for the SUV-driving soccer moms, the Alliance reaches far and wide with educational outreach programs, campaigns and training for a new generation of women leaders. With celebrity members like Robin Wright Penn and corporate sponsors, Native Energy, Method and Sustainable Websites (to name just a few), EcoMoms Alliance is poised and ready to join the mainstream and be a force for good.

Tags: activism, conservation, culture, environment

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Eco-News, Green Misc., Living Local, Voluntary Simplicity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.