Beth Terry is the author of Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too. She also writes the popular blog, My Plastic-Free Life, and is a founding member of the Plastic Pollution Coalition. Beth gives presentations on living plastic-free and why our personal changes do make a difference.  She spearheaded the successful Take Back the Filter Brita recycling campaign in 2008, and her life and work have been profiled in Susan Freinkel's book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, Captain Charles Moore's book, Plastic Ocean, and the award-winning film, Bag It. When she's not out fighting plastic pollution, she spends her time with her husband, and two rascally kitties in Oakland, CA.

Listen and subscribe to the Big Vision Podcast on iTunes.

Connect with me:

• Website: brittbravo.com
• Speaking & workshop calendar: brittbravo.com/speaking
• Blog: havefundogood.blogspot.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/britt.bravo
• Twitter: @Bbravo

Music: "Mango Delight," by Kenya Masala.  Connect with Kenya through CD Baby and Source Consulting Group.

Melinda Kramer and Amira Diamond are the Co-Directors of Women's Earth Alliance.  Women's Earth Alliance, or WEA, unites women on the frontlines of environmental justice causes by coordinating training, technology, and financial support for thriving communities and the Earth.

When I sat down to talk with Amira and Melinda, they had just returned from the West African Women and Water Training in Ghana.  They talked about their experience there, WEA's work, and the paths that brought them to working together. 

You'll also hear some singing from the participants of the training as well as the song, "Oshun," by Hamsa Lila.

A transcript of this interview will be up in about a week on my blog, Have Fun Do Good.

Listen and subscribe to the Big Vision Podcast with iTunes.

Ari Derfel talks about what he learned after saving his trash for one year.  You can read more about his experiment on his blog, Save Your Trash at http://saveyourtrash.typepad.com.

Ari is the co-founder of Back to Earth Catering and Outdoor Adventures.  Long time Big Vision Podcast listeners may have heard an interview with Ari and his co-founder, Eric Fenster, in 2006.

A transcript of this interview is will be available on my blog, Have Fun * Do Good.

Van Jones is working to combine solutions to America's two biggest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction.

In 1996, Van founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Named for an unsung civil rights heroine, the Center promotes alternatives to violence and incarceration. As an advocate for the toughest urban constituencies and causes, Van has won many honors. These include the 1998 Reebok International Human Rights Award, the international Ashoka Fellowship, selection as a World Economic Forum "Young Global Leader," and the Rockefeller Foundation "Next Generation Leadership" Fellowship.

Van is also a national environmental leader, having served on the boards of the National Apollo Alliance, Social Ventures Network, Rainforest Action Network, Bioneers and Julia Butterfly Hill's Circle of Life organization.

Van's dual roles have given him a unique perspective on the country's problems and its potential solutions. He is calling for green economic development for urban America. The City of Oakland has adopted the Ella Baker Center's "Green Jobs Corps" proposal, which will train youth for eco-friendly "green-collar jobs."  Now Van is pushing to create the first-ever Green Enterprise Zone, to attract environmentally-sound industry to Oakland.

A 1993 Yale Law graduate, he is also a husband and father. A rising star, Van champions the most hopeful solutions to America's toughest challenges.

You can read a transcript of this interview on my blog, Have Fun * Do Good.

Jodie Van Horn is an organizer for the Freedom from Oil campaign with Rainforest Action Network, a coalition that is working to free America of its oil addiction. Jodie also coordinates Plug-in Bay Area, an initiative aimed at promoting the commercialization of plug-in hybrid vehicles to demonstrate that a demand exists for ultra fuel efficient transportation alternatives.

You can read a transcript of this interview on my blog, Have Fun * Do Good.

Bio taken from the Green Festival

Melinda Kramer is the co-founder of Women's Global Green Action Network(WGGAN).  WGGAN cultivates global partnerships of grassroots women environmental leaders by providing access to communication tools, support services and networking capabilities. 

Working with organizations like Pacific Environment, the PIRGs, the Sierra Club, CARE Kenya, and the St. Louis Lead Prevention Coalition, Melinda has been involved in multi-stakeholderwork, coalition-building, campaign-organizing, legal assistance and capacity building.

A transcript of this interview is available on my blog, Have Fun * Do Good.

When I interviewed Ilyse Hogue back in June, she was still the Global Finance Campaign Director for the Rainforest Action Network, but now she is the Campaigns Director for MoveOn.org.

You can read a transcript of this interview on my blog, Have Fun * Do Good.