Earth Hour | World Wildlife Fund

Why will hundreds of millions of people from all around the world be turning off their lights from 8:30-9:30pm tonight?   It’s Earth Hour– a show of solidarity in focusing on the one thing that unites us all—our planet.

World Wildlife Fund has always been my favorite charity, because their method of conservation relies on strong partnerships with indigenous communities to create win-wins for both people and the environment.  For 50 years they’ve been using science, research and human relations to save earth’s most cherished endangered species.  WWF’s been instrumental in efforts to save tigers,  panda bears, rhinos, elephants, gorillas and just about every other endangered species you can think of.  If not for WWF, some of these species might already be extinct in the wild.

If you’re a like-minded conservationist, how about joining us and millions of people in 7,001 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories to switch lights off from 8:30-9:30 tonight as a massive show of concern for the environment?

You can get involved, by watching the Earth Hour video, starting your own Earth Hour event or sharing your Earth Hour photos and stories on Facebook.  Join the Earth Hour global community here and be a part of the solution.

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Last year more than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour, showing solidarity for a common cause: our natural world.

This year, be a part of it! Check out Inhabitat for ideas of fun things to do while the lights are out.  Candlelight dinners, star-gazing, nighttime bike rides, moonlit picnics and more.  Join the folks at Vermont Woods Studios Fine Furniture and nature lovers from all around the world.  Turn the lights out for our future.

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Steve Holman's Broken Hearted Chairs

We posted a few suggestions for Valentine's gifts last week, but here it is Valentine's Day already and you may be caught unprepared.  What are you going to do now?

Well, you could place an order with Steve Holman for a couple of these stunning heart-shaped, custom artisan chairs.  They would certainly make a unique once-in-a-lifetime gift.

But if you're looking for something faster and less expensive, how about sending a free Valentine's Day Ecard courtesy of The World Wildlife Fund?  There are many cards to choose from– one is sure to catch your sweetheart's fancy.

Valentine's e Cards from WWF.  Free and easy!

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Yesterday I received a gift from my old pal, Sally Blakely.  It was a tiger that she had symbolically adopted in my name from the World Wildlife Fund WWF.  Thanks Sally, you couldn't have picked a more appreciated gift! 

If anyone else out there loves tigers, I'm here to tell you that they're not going to be around for long unless we join WWF and other Tiger Conservation projects.  It's urgent.

My adopted tiger from Sally

Check out this 2 minute WWF video. You can help save the tiger just by knowing these facts:

• in 2009, people in North America consumed about 80 mllion tons of paper
• The fastest growing brands of toilet paper in the United States today, Paseo, APP and Livi have a direct link to rainforest destruction
• Over the past 25 years, Paseo, APP and Livi have clear-cut 5 million acres of Sumatran forest wood
• Much of that land was once tiger, orangutan and elephant habitat
• Since 1985 more than half of Sumatra’s natural forests—some 30 million acres (an area the size of Virginia!)—have been lost
• Sumatra is the only place on earth where elephants, tigers and orangutans coexist
• Indonesia (including Sumatra) is ranked 3rd in the world in terms of total carbon emission due to the slash and burn destruction of its rainforests

Do you see a world with wild tigers, orangutans and elephants in our future?  Do you care?  Here is your chance to change the world.  It's not hard.  Don't buy Paseo, APP or Livi products.  Ask your grocer not to buy them.  Ask your friends, schools and hotels not to buy them.   Buy recycled or FSC certified paper products instead. Post this on your facebook.

Rainforest conservation is one of the main missions of our business at Vermont Woods Studios.  We extend our gratitude to Leonardo DiCaprio who has been an outspoken champion of the tiger and WWF's Save Tigers Now campaign. The goal of Save Tigers Now is to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger but that can't happen unless we change our buying habits. Tiger numbers have declined 97% in the past 100 years. There may be as few as 3,200 wild tigers left in existence, the lowest number ever recorded. 

It's time to turn over a new leaf.

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So what to buy that would have some meaning?

Here's a short list of my Top 4 Favorite Christmas and Holiday Gifts:

• A $20 donation to Heifer International could offer an education (and a new world) to a child otherwise doomed to a life of poverty in a third world country.  If you can read this story about Beatrice Biira and not be inspired to swap a goat or flock of chickens for the Blu-ray player, I'll be surprised.

•  For the animal lovers on your list, what could be more thoughtful than the World Wildlife Fund symbolic adoption of an endangered species?  Tigers are my favorite animals and they are among the most critically endangered species on earth, but WWF offers over 100 adoption choices from Red Eyed Tree Frog to the Ring Tailed Lemur.  Adoption gifts include a stuffed animal, a personalized, framed adoption certificate and a photo of the animal in the wild.  These are fun for kids and adults alike.

• Do you have any outdoor enthusiasts on your list?  How about an acre of rainforest for them?  The Nature Conservancy has several gift options including adopting an acre of rainforest in Costa Rica, planting trees in Brazil and adopting hummingbirds.  I should mention too that TNC has a cool Green Gift Monday webpage with all kinds of ideas for gifting repsonsibly.
• Swimmers? Surfers? Sailors?  Definitely check out Oceana's Marine Wildlife Adoption and Gift Center and adopt a whale, turtle, shark, octopus, penguin or whatever your favorite ocean species is.

The best part is that there's no Black Friday or Cyber Monday RUSH on buying these items.  But… you could take a big load off your shoulders and get everything done today.  Then you could relax and enjoy the rest of the Christmas season in peace– what a concept!

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See… we recently launched a Save the Tiger campaign to raise awareness of the fact that all species of tigers are endangered and some are on the brink of extinction.  Their habitat is being destroyed and to some extent it's because corrupt timber conglomerates are clear-cutting the forests they live in and using the wood for cheap imported furniture and flooring that's sold in the US and Europe.  We oppose that and so does WWF.  We support their Save the Tiger fund and we encourage furniture shoppers to buy American furniture made from sustainably harvested American wood.

Well I guess they don't like their name being connected to a commercial venture.  I understand their concern about the fact that there are dirt ball websites out there that might use their name dishonestly, but really.  I asked WWF to spend 5 minutes on our website and tell me we're one of those guys.  They agreed that our committment to conservation seems genuine but then noted that in order to be considered WWF partners and refer to them on your website, a minimum "6 figure donation" is required annually along with a long list of other things.  Actually, I think we would be OK with the other requirements but $100,000 is equal to 1/6 of our total revenue (not profits) last year.  So now I have to face the fact that I've been summarily rejected by my all time favorite charity– an organization that had a profound influence on the whole concept defining Vermont Woods Studios Furniture.  How sad is that?

I'm going to finish crying in my beer tonight.  Tomorrow I'll be over it and moved on to other issues.  But tonight I can't help feeling a bit jaded about WWF and their corporate partnership program.  What do you think?

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We just renewed our annual membership with the World Wildlife Fund, one of my all time favorite charities.  Our obvious link with WWF (panda.org) now, is through our mutual efforts in forest conservation, but I've been a WWF fan since log before Vermont Woods Studios was born.  They've been one of the most effective major global players in conservation efforts supporting oceans, rivers, forests, endangered species and more for generations. 

If you're looking for a special gift for someone who loves nature, check out World Wildlife Fund's gift and adoption programs.  They make shopping easy, especially for the person who has everything.

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Last year nearly one billion people participated by turning their lights off in their homes and small businesses all around the world.  In the USA, National Monuments including Mount Rushmore, along with other American icons like the Empire State Building, the Las Vegas Strip and the Golden Gate Bridge and many more joined in.

Please mark your calendar and join us to turn your lights out on March 27, 2010 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.  It’s a great time for a candlelight dinner or perhaps a little star-gazing.  Tenille Bonoguore has 60 suggestions for cool things to do when the lights are out.  If you send us photos of what you did during Earth Hour, we’ll send you a $25 gift certificate for eco-friendly furniture at Vermont Woods Studios!

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