Green News from BPW Boulder, October

Ten Days of Action!!! 

Business and Professional Women (BPW), which was established in 1919, was one of the first organizations to support the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) written in 1923! The ERA still has15 states that have not ratified the amendment, so BPW continues to work tirelessly on women’s issues! BPW International has over 30,000 members in 109 countries! Currently Sharon Simmons, president of the Boulder chapter and our BPW Colorado Legislative Chair are making great strides on Cities on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Here is information on joining the task force. 

I thought I am hardly qualified to take all this on, I thought, “You have to start somewhere!” and I am learning so much and it is exciting! I have also mentioned that Eco-Cycle, the first curbside recycling in the USA, started right here in Boulder, Colorado. It just celebrated its 40-year anniversary. Organizations from around the planet rely on and learn from Eco-cycle's model.

According to Eco-Cycle,

42 percent of our greenhouse gases come from how products are made, transported, and gotten rid of 

...and that Zero Waste is the easiest and quickest way to fight climate change. 

Every time you buy something, every time you throw something away, think, "Where is this coming from and where is it going?" As soon as you practice this simple mindfulness exercise you will magically begin to reduce and reuse!

There are many organizations that are fighting the big fights—oil and gas, fracking, switching to sustainable energy—but hardly anyone is talking about the little things that can make a huge difference, like reducing and reusing, so I continue to focus on that. One of the first things we did on the BPW Environmental Committee was to create two documents; "What Is Zero Waste and Why Is It Important" and "How to Do a Zero Waste Event." Want to know more about these documents? Email Us!

In January 2016, our chapter was the first to commit to all future events it held being Zero Waste. We are hoping for all chapters in Colorado and the USA to follow suit.

In the past year, BPW Colorado has partnered with Women's Earth and Climate Action Network. They organized a campaign last October for organizations and people to take "a day of action" and asked for photos showing an action. They received photos from all around the world! (Our very own Donna Daniell holds up her sign from last year at the top of the post).

This event is a preface to the Conference of the Parties (COP21) which formed in 1992 by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which took place in Paris in late November and early December last year and where a precedent setting 175 parties signed an agreement. The United States, China, and Brazil just ratified the agreement in September.

This article was submitted by Laurie Dameron. Visit her Facebook Page here.

The Pendulum of Leadership Continues to Swing

Leadership shows up in many forms. Sometimes we recognize leadership more after the fact than in the moment. The readings we came together to discuss were from the time of the Civil War in the United States of America. You guessed it. Abraham Lincoln. And new to me, Sojourner Truth.

The words of Sojourner spoke of responsibility for us and our lives … on our life’s journey. 

At the same time, we are existing without impeding the journey of others. She speaks of equal capability - that regardless of race or sex we can do what another can do.

When things are not collaborative - the coming together to move ourselves and communities forward, there is a loss of dignity. Sojourner acknowledged how a person loses their dignity:

• Humiliation has happened.
• Individual strength comes from deep within their heart, regardless of what they are forced to do.
• What a person MUST do that is different than who they are.

Her voice, her experience, her view influenced Abraham Lincoln who also believed in his heart of hearts that all beings are equal and there is not a need to hold people down to get what we want. 

And, his leadership guided our country through a time where some felt they were losing their dignity and others were fighting to proudly own theirs.

The conversation turned to the relevance of her words (and his) today in our time…

Contribution is different than seeking power. We are told our value by the money we make for the job we do. We tell people and companies their value by the money we spend.

With equality being championed on many fronts - we’ve seen much change, legally, since 1960 including:

• Legalization of interracial marriage 
• Legalizing same-sex marriage
• One person, one vote
• Full access to all amenities
• Women’s access to contraceptives
• Women’s right to be Pro-Choice
• Illuminating men vs women stereotypes engrained in our culture

...The pendulum keeps swinging. 

When we can hold true our personal values (without imposing them on others) and be open to ideas that differs from our own, the grip of frustration and fear loses hold.

The women that participated in this conversation:

   Marcella Bentley-Salmon

   Sharon Simmons

   Karen McGee

   and me, Jessica Dewell

We want to hear your thoughts.
The excerpts from Sojourner Truth and Abraham Lincoln we discussed were from:

Title: Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence

Pages: 214-223

Our next book club meeting is November (you do not have to be a member to join us).
You can register here.

The confirmation email will detail the excerpt we will discuss, and it will be from the same book.