Thanks to many contributors to our IndieGoGo crowd funding campaign, we are planting 75 trees to reduce our global footprint!

After researching many excellent environmental organizations committed to planting trees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we selected Green Belt Movement. A friend and social change/environmental activist recommended this wonderful organization.

Organizations we considered were large and small non-profits such as Save The Redwoods, UNEP/The Billion Tree Campaign (now run by Plant for the Planet), American Forests, Arbor Day, Trees for the Future and Trees Forever. There are many others that actively promote sustainable forest management and conservation to protect our ecosystems. Our campaign promised to plant trees, which is what Green Belt Movement will do with our donation. 

We had intended to plant trees in the USA, but Africa, once predominantly rainforest like South America is today, is in dire need of help. Less than 5% of their original forests remain due to global demand and exploitation of natural resources. Africa has suffered the most from climate change because of desertification – the rainy seasons are shorter and the droughts more frequent. Not to mention the poverty issue.

The founder, Professor Wangari Maathai (1940-2011) was a Noble Peace Laureate and was awarded the Goldman Prize for her work. She also helped found UNEP and their Billion Tree Campaign.

Why is planting trees so important? Here is a partial list of reasons…

1.   Trees help fight global warming.*

2.   Trees provide oxygen.

3.   Trees help clean our water and purify our air.

4.   Trees conserve energy.

5.   Trees provide cooling shade and block cold winter winds.

6.   Trees attract birds and wildlife.

7.   Trees save water.

8.   Trees help prevent water pollution.

9.   Trees prevent soil erosion.

10. Trees provide food.

11. Trees add beauty to our world.

*Global warming is the result of excess greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major greenhouse gas. As trees grow carbon dioxide is removed from the air, storing carbon in the trees and soil, while releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.

**Forests clean our atmosphere by filtering airborne particles, CO2 and other greenhouse gases.     

Driving home from Northern California, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the giant redwoods, with the sun rays peeking through the branches. 101 has to be one of the most beautiful highways anywhere in the world. Ironically, I passed by a dozen trucks piled high with lumber and thought to myself, this is why we need sustainable, reusable products. We have to preserve these magnificent trees. This is why we need Good News Reuse™. 

I thought about the delicious organic Tony Tutto's pizza I was going to eat later in the day with Darya, Intern extraordinaire. Like all take-out pizzas, it would be packaged in a single-use cardboard box. When finished, we would cut out the greasy parts for composting and recycle the rest, if any. Most people are surprised to learn that pizza boxes, when food-stained, are not recyclable. Most towns don't have commercial composting. Most pizza boxes end up in landfills.

Truth be told, we bring in our own container now...Tony expects it. With the knowledge our team now has about the billions of pizza boxes going to waste each year, no more single-use pizza boxes for us.

Creating a reusable pizza box from sustainable materials was our first solution to saving trees and other natural resources. We hope our first product...we call it The Pi Pan...will be available soon. We are madly working to get funding and have decided to go the crowdfunding route so we can get the word out as quickly as possible to as many pizza lovers as possible. 












Photos courtesy of Olivia: