I had the opportunity to interview Sandra Bergeron last year for the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Her story of giving back to her Georgia State Alma Mater to enable five young women to have a college education is truly remarkable. She’s now balancing board level positions in high tech with motherhood. What an inspiring Silicon Valley mom!
Click here for the Biz Journal story: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/02/05/smallb4.html
Archives from NPR’s KQED radio
Click on this link to hear one of my favorite commentaries
Click on this link to read a favorite baseball commentary
Click on this link to read a commentary about freedom to travel
Aspiring to be an eco-mom
My weekend is never complete without reading Chrystia Freeland’s excellent column in the Financial Times Weekend section www.ft.com/freeland however, a recent one really made my blood boil. Titled, “Save us from the eco-mom” my hackles were up before I’d even scanned the first paragraph. She reports to “feeling the first stirrings of eco-resistance” as she’s forced to hand wash her daughter’s glass milk bottles…and then extrapolates into a whole peeve-fest about “eco-moms’ tendencies to complicate and belabor domestic life.” Oh my!
I agree that we shouldn’t forget the emancipatory power of the dishwasher and washing machine, but I think we should also be prepared for a little inconvenience. Saving the planet is worth a little hassle, is it not?
I aspire to be an eco-mom; I aspire to recycle, buy local, drive a hybrid, reduce my carbon footprint etc., but I certainly don’t aspire to the fundamentalist eco-mom definition she describes…moms who’re completely consumed by the eco movement to the point of turning the clock back, abandoning science and technology. Brings to mind an image of women down by the river, scrubbing their underwear with carbolic soap for hours…Oh, please!
And another thing…
I think Chrystia was so busy with her eco-warrior warnings she missed an important part of the eco-picture: that the eco-movement is pushing for scientific and technological advancement (not regression); that eco-moms are pushing for renewable energy http://www.energyrefuge.com/archives/pge_california.htm , hybrid cars http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/, low carbon footprints and energy saving ways to run their homes.
Eco-moms are looking for ways to get their groceries from local producers, not from half way round the world. Eco-moms want green solutions, not ways to chain themselves to the sink all day. It’s opportunity not tragedy; a wee bit of inconvenience for the common good. I reject her branding eco-moms fundamentalist: we’re pragmatic, we’re realists and we’re more than ever aware that we’re all in this together. Al Gore says it best in his surprisingly funny and self-effacing call to action http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/1
Finally: I’m curious to observe that Chrystia is the one who tries to sneak recyclables in the trash and her kids are the ones who catch her red-handed. Why is it the complete opposite in our house and I’m forever fishing plastic yoghurt cartons etc out of the garbage? Are the New York schools so much better at making the eco-message stick than the California schools? Am I pushing too hard? Fodder for another column perhaps?
Original www.siliconmom.com post
(Sejal Hathi) Yesterday’s Teens Plugged In Conference, organized by SDForum, Silicon Valley’s excellent networking and relationship builder, was a feast of youthful exuberance. HP’s auditorium in Palo Alto was overrun with young geeks from 14 to 21 who were excited to share their thoughts, sell their companies (yes: some are already CEOs) and get more funding for their tech based philanthropic enterprises. Susan Lucas-Conwell, SDForum’s chief, did a masterful job keeping the peace when Internet connections stalled at 9 am, (how can this happen in the epicenter of Silicon Valley?), but technology prevailed and soon it was on with the show.
Anshul Samar, the 14 year old CEO of Alchemist Empire launched his PowerPoint with the panache of a seasoned techy, explaining his biz opportunity: combining kids’ need to have fun with parents’ desire to educate their kids. After launching the idea for his battle-making game that teaches chemistry at last year’s conference, he’s already raised some capital and is poised to take it further. “Being in Silicon Valley makes it impossible NOT to be an entrepreneur,” enthused Samar. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for that name in the future.
Notre Dame Junior, Sejal Hathi dominated the teen panel with eloquent answers and details of her philanthropic venture: Girls Helping Girls, an international girl empowerment program fostering links between US schools and developing countries. Go girls!
Talking philanthropy, I got the chance to interview Salina Truong for my Women’s Radio show. She works with Gumball Capital, a clever nonprofit based at Stanford that seeks to teach students about microfinance by giving them this challenge: here’s a loan for $27 and 27 gumballs, go out and use your entrepreneurial smarts and make it grow. The proceeds? They’re sent to enterprising charities like kiva.com If you want to hear about some of the creative projects and how much they raised, check out my radio show Silicon Valley Talks next week.
Finally and perhaps most impressive of all, I interviewed Alina Libova, the unassuming 19 year old who created an Easter Egg application using the Facebook framework, garnered 300,000 users and recently sold it to Thingi. A turning point for her was hosting a Vista Party at Foothill College, that drew over 300 attendees….this while she was still a high school student in Mountain View. Alina is transferring from Cal Poly to Cal next Fall and is bursting with ideas. With success like that, and her quiet yet compelling personality, she looks like a rising star. If you want to hear more from Alina about her inspiration and future plans, check out my radio show next week.
And one last note for those who lament the end of kids reading real books and losing the art of face to face communication, one teen panelist gave a glowing endorsement for Dale Carnegie’s classic “How to win friends and influence people.” I wonder what advice Carnegie would give for navigating Facebook, winning online friends and not sullying your employment prospects, 5 years down the line?
Cool green websites
I interviewed Green Guru Chris Goodall recently about living a greener life and he told me, if there is one big thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, it’s stop flying! He’s done it for about four years, but it’s a tough call if your family is spread around the world.
Other experts say simply reduce the amount you consume. Every time you’re about to buy something, whether it’s food for the kitchen, toys for the kids, a new hot gismo, or a new pair of shorts for your wardrobe, they say: stop and ask yourself, do I really need this? Can we make do, can we fix the one we have, can we be creative?
Here are some cool websites to get you started – they’re packed with great ideas to reduce your carbon footprint, live more simply and help spread the word about global warming. Don’t forget, it’s OK to start with baby steps…it gets addictive, especially when your kids get involved. Remember, as mothers, we can change the world…
You’re welcome to write and share YOUR favorite websites and ideas for living more greenly. Every month, we’ll be featuring new cool tips for green living.
Cheers Alison van Diggelen
Editor siliconmom.com
ps click the link below for some green living tips will that cost you NOTHING!
