50+ Green Twitter Accounts to Follow this #EcoMonday

Using Twitter isn't about 140-character Haiku's, tweeting at 3am, stopping living your real life offline.

Social media is about using online tools--primarily, to make your offline life better. These power Twitter users (focusing on sustainability, green jobs and clean tech) improve the experience of Twitter users and sometimes seriously brighten up our days:

1	Adam	Vaughan	@Adamvaughan_uk Journalist at Guardian [UK]
2	Andy	Hobsbawm	@dothegreenthing Helps you do one green thing monthly
3	Ari	Meisel	@liontex Green building consultant; Author
4	Asheen	Phansey	@Asheen President, Quaking Aspen; Adjunct Professor, Babson
5	Biana	Alexander	@ConsciousTV Online video on green throughout the USA
6	Chris	Baskind	@chrisbaskind Director of Web Operations, Viva Verde Media
7	Christina	Wood	@ChristinaVWood Policy Developer, Planet Positive
8	Christine	Esposito	@TerracomChicago President & Chief Tweeter at Terracom Public Relations
9	Cian	O'Donovan	@Cian Media & Tech Consultant, 10:10
10	Claire	Carlton	@WWF_Climate 1 of several World Wildlife Fund Twitter accounts--fun and playful
11	Dave	Hampton	@carboncoach Dave trains groups about carbon & helps individuals reduce
12	David	Wilcox	@davidwilcox Also 'Social Reporter' David documents social innovation in London
13	David	Connor	@davidcoethica David supports CSR internationally
14	David	Roberts	@drgrist David has funny and bold tweets about environmental activism
15	Dominique	Camacho	@SustainableNYC A great store on the Lower East Side, NYC
16	Don	Carli	@dcarli Senior Research Fellow, ISC--Don has informative & engaging tweets
17	Dorothee	Royal	@dorotheeroyal Dorothee is a social entrepreneur and is moving quickly
18	Dorothee	Royal	@OrganicNation Soon becoming the blog on USA organic development
19	Erica	Ringewald	@greenwatchdogNY Does what it says on the tin
20	Esperanza	Garcia	@esperanzagarcia Esperanza is mobilizing 1000's of Filipino youths
21	Gavin	Starks	@agentgav Director of AMEE, Gavin has thought-provoking tweets
22	Gia	Machlin	@Ecoplum At the forefront of green business in New York City
23	Greg	McLachlan	@workcabin Working for green jobs in Canada
24	Hugh	Byrne	@greenbiztweets Highly reputable twitter power-user
25	Jen	Khatchatrain	@ecochic Mom & green journalist
26	Jen	Kaplan	@greenhance Author; Blogger; Marketing Faculty at Maymouth Uni.
27	Jessy	Tolkan	@JessyTolkan Green jobs advocate
28	Jill	Fehrenbacher	@JillFehr Publisher, Inhabitat.com
29	Joe	Solomon	@engagejoe Social Media, 350.org
30	Joel	Makower	@makower Author; Founder of Greenbiz.com
31	Judy	Harper	@JudyGreenEdge Director, GreenEdge NYC
32	Julian L.	Wong	@GreenLeapFwd Senior Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress
33	Kevin	Coyle	@ClimateGuru Education VP at National Wildlife Federation
34	Kevin	Powell	@kevin_powell Writer; Activist; Author
35	Kim	Boriin	@thegreenboriin Green meeting planner
36	Kim	Masoner	@Beachcleanup Does what it says on the tin
37	Kimo	Goree	@Kimogoree Director of Reportig Services, International Institute of Sustainable Development
38	Liz	Neves	@Raganella7 Sustainable Living Consultant
39	Liz	McLellan	@Hyperlocavore Founder, free yard sharing community
40	Mario	Vellandi	@mvellandi Digital PR & CSR
41	Max	Gladwell	@maxgladwell Blogger, Social Media for green advocate
42	Melissa	Graham	@Sustainablecook Purple Asparagus, Head Spear
43	Micah	Jason	@cleantechnyc NYC-based incubator for clean-tech companies
44	Michael	Klugman	@mklugman K-12 Science & Tech Supervisor, NY State
45	Nathan A.	Winters	@Follownathan Author, blogger, Chats up #Agchat
46	Paul	Malouf	@PaulMalouf Blogger, Consultant
47	Paul	Smith	@greensmith Blogger & Sustainability Consultant Extraordinaire
48	Phil	Clark	@Zerochamp Digital Director at UBM Built Environment
49	Rizwan	Tayabali	@Globosocial Social entrepreneur & non-profit Consultant
50	Rob	Smart	@Jambutter Opinionated Blogger & #Profood advocate
51	Simon	Berry	@Colalife An amazing CSR campaign to save lives with existing CocaCola networks
52	Tim	Winkler	@TimWinkler Chicago-based green connector
53	Tom	Savage	@Brightgreen Social entrepreneur, Founder of Bright Green
54	Will	Johnston	@Growandmake Oregon-based green store & sustainable living guide
55	William	Shaw	@Artsandecology Royal Society of Manufacturer's & Arts, Arts & Ecology Centre
56	Zachary	Cohen	@Zacharycohen Social Media strategist, blogger & #ProFood friendly

Can social media end waste? 12 interesting waste reduction campaigns

This post is inspired by my week with No Impact Man (#4) and 6 others for the No Impact Week Challenge that invited curious New Yorkers into the world of zero impact, and really changed my week to say the least.

Recently moving to Brooklyn, New York, I've gotten lots of positive responses from green and social media-friendly New Yorkers. Brooklyn seems like another ideal spot for sustainable innovation. In fact, you'll never want to leave! Things you might love include sprawling green spaces like Prospect and Brooklyn Bridge Park, USA's largest Co-op--Park Slope Food Co-Op, Brooklyn Brewery, numerous museums, various and diverse communities, as well as the Brooklyn Grand Army Plaza Farmer's Market (among nearly a dozen other farmer's markets) and tons of [vegetarian, raw & locally-sourced] restaurant options.But I had some doubts before the first few weeks.

After several years of being seriously involved with green business in London and Chicago, it felt for a little while that New York City generally didn't support a green lifestyle. Take, for example, garbage. According to Wikipedia, New Yorkers use 12,000 tons (or 24,000 pounds) of residential trash per day. Walking past piles of trash everyday, including beds, computers, dressers among other wares can make the average environmentalist slightly discouraged to say the least.

While New York has a very visible trash problem, trash is a problem throughout the USA. The Clean Air Council says Americans produce on average 4.4 pounds of waste per person per year, and up to 56 tons of trash per American over their lifetime. OECD statistics say Americans consume nearly 2 times more than the average Japanese person.

Since trash is such a problem in America, I thought it important to investigate and share those social media campaigns aimed at reducing trash consumption and increase local consumption and exchange. (All of these organizations are located either in the USA, UK or Canada, but I'd love to hear about organizations in other countries.) The following are 12 campaigns using social media to their advantage:

1. Hate Waste, United Kingdom. In addition to fliers around major cities like London and Glasgow, 'Love Food, Hate Waste' enables busy city folks to better prepare dishes with their leftovers. They're on Twitter, Facebook, blog and iPhone app, too!

2. Freecycle. [The above video is produced by the America Association of Retired People on their YouTube channel] Besides having international recognition as the leader in lending and exchanging (with 4000+ communities), freecycle is one of the most trusted brands internationally and an example of what some are calling the 'freeconomy'. Freecycle is on Twitter and Facebook.

3. The Story of Stuff, International. With a powerful, short and sweet naration, this story has garnered national attention. The Story is on Twitter, Facebook, has a YouTube account and blogs.

4. No Impact Man, New York City. Almost singlehandedly, Colin Beaven is a new media journalist focused on environmental issues. He blogs, Tweets and is on Facebook (the film also has a Facebook Fan Page, too!). Colin did an inspiring documentary about reducing his net impact to zero for one year with his wife and daughter and the results may surprise you. So much happened, Colin also wrote a book about it.

5. Earth Hour, International. In 2009, it was the world's largest mass participation event ever! This is a campaign by the World Wildlife Fund that aims to reduce electricity consumption. Started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses, by 2008 more

than 50 million switched off, and in 2009 1 billion turned off their lights for 1 hour. There's something to be said of campaigns that has 3 unofficial Facebook pages, although a clear YouTube channel, and blog this campaign is definitely grassroots.

6. Waste Watch, United Kingdom. Started in 1987, Waste watch had a mission to make waste issues mainstream and encourage waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Just moving into the social media space, Waste Watch is on Twitter, though they've successfully reached over 2 million children and have helped train hundreds of environmental education professionals and shape policy.

7. Unpackaged, United Kingdom. Started in 2006 by Catherine Conway, this social enterprise and store in London that's been extremely successful in reducing their store packaging to zero and urging customers to do the same. They are on Twitter and Facebook, and have some of the BEST salted carmel you'll ever try in your life.

8. Waste Reduction Week, Canada. In the 1980's a number of Recycling Councils and environmental organizations began holding provincial Reycling and Waste Reduction weeks. In 2001, the same organizations thought it high time to pool their resources and extend nationally into the Waste Reduction Week (WRW). In 2010, 13 provinces and territories are participating. The annual event happens the third week in October and covers the impact of waste in Canada; urging Canadians to reduce waste. Find them on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

9. The Rubbish Diet, United Kingdom. Another single-handed zero waste challenge by Karen Cannard to slim her rubbish bin in 8 weeks. Karen is on Twitter, Facebook and recommends zero waste on SlideShare. The Chartered Institute of Waste Management awarded Karen the Recycling Champion of 2009, and Karen is wholeheartedly passionate about reducing waste.

Eating locally and sustainably means less waste. Dually, supporting local farmers means less room for genetically modified seeds, preservatives and a better quality of life. That's why #9 and #10 are dedicated to local foods campaigns.

10. Organic Nation, United States. This blog, started by Dorothee Royal and Mark Boyer

explore sustainable and organic farming and foods across the United States. The site is also seriously well designed and has awesome videos. Organic Nation also avidly uses social media tools, particularly Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo as well as Flickr. Organic Nation was nominated for a Shorty Award.

11. Brooklyn Farm Yards, United States. Started in 2008 by Stacey Murphy, the Brooklyn Farm Yards is a decentralized farming network based in Brooklyn, New York. While starting, the organization has raised nearly $14,000 to develop a 1-acre youth farm. They're on Twitter, Facebook and blog.

12. Park Slope Food-Coop, United States. This inconspicuous green grocer in Park Slope is actually home to the largest Co-Op in the United States, with a majority of food coming from within 100-200 miles of Park Slope, New York City. With 14,000+ members on one 3-hour shift monthly and $25 in annual dues, the Co-Op has enough volunteer time to be entire volunteer-run. The Co-op is on Twitter, Facebook and blogs on products and info. There's also a documentary underway about the Food Co-Op.

Campaigns I'd like to see on Twitter:

International Compost Awareness Week, United States. Sponsored by the US Composting Council from 2-8 May 2010, this event is on Facebook (albeit with a meager 5 fans) and needs more social media love!