THE GREENER GIVING GUIDE

If you’re sick of tossing out sale fliers, waiting in traffic, battling mall-goers and seeing the spirit of giving hurt the planet — don’t despair. Holiday giving has its tradeoffs no matter how you shake the snowglobe, but there are ways to do good for the planet in the process. The Center for Biological Diversity is offering the guide below so you can keep your commitment to endangered species alive and well throughout the glitzy, consumerist holiday season. Not only will your friends, coworkers and family feel important because you’ve given them something important; they’ll also get to share your dedication to the plants and animals of the world.

So stay home, fire up the kettle and check out our ideas for giving — whether you’re looking for a better way to stuff the stocking or you want a gift that doesn’t have to be shipped. And happier, greener holidays to you, from our crew here at the Center.

1. Give the gift of helping endangered plants and animals . . .

. . . with a gift membership to the Center for Biological Diversity. Wondering what to get for that person on your list who has everything, or you have no idea what they’d want? Or your cousin or classmate who talks about animals all the time? Give the gift that truly keeps on giving — all year long — with a gift membership, including a subscription to our chock-full-of-substance membership newsletter, Endangered Earth. We’ll use your gift to a deserving friend, colleague or family member to win stronger protections for endangered species around the globe.

2. Give a gift now — for a brighter future.

If you want to give one of the most meaningful gifts around, leave a legacy for our planet and the diverse life it supports by making a bequest to the Center. Ask your attorney or trusted financial advisor to help you find the best type of bequest for your situation, which may include naming the Center in your will or as a beneficiary in a retirement plan, IRA or charitable trust. Your planned gift will help ensure the continued effectiveness of the most effective species-oriented conservation organization (the Center, of course!) in protecting animals, plants and wildlands for many years to come.

3. Choices, choices and more shopping choices.

Want a larger selection of places to find gifts? That’s just where iGive.com comes in. This cyber-mall is much kinder and gentler than the big-box variety. (Read: You won’t need protective padding to get to the front of the line here.) And your purchases at more than 800 stores will help raise dollars for the Center. Choose from books, arts and crafts, gourmet food, garden tools, gifts for the family pet and much, much more. Sign up today to support the Center through iGive.com.

4. Four eco-reads for the bookworm on your list:

Eco Barons: The New Heroes of Environmental Activism, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Humes, tells the story of influential conservation innovators like the Center — devoting a fourth of its pages to our history and achievements. At Powells.com, it’s available in both hardcover (with its original subtitle) and softcover.

Predatory Bureaucracy: The Extermination of Wolves and the Transformation of the West, written by the Center’s own Michael J. Robinson, tracks the plight of wolves in the West from the days of the conquistadors to the present.

National Geographic and photographer Joel Sartore present Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species, a book full of breathtaking photographs of endangered animals large and small. Sartore is a 17-year National Geographic contributor and a solid Center ally.

Finally, The Rebirth of Environmentalism: Grassroots Activism from the Spotted Owl to the Polar Bear, by sociologist and Center ally Doug Bevington, is a sweeping examination of how grassroots environmentalists reinvented and reinvigorated the environmental movement in the 1990s — with the Center (largely) at its center.

5. Free, fun e-cards just the right size for every inbox.

Guess what? We have a present for you: a series of free holiday e-cards you can send to your friends and family without using a single tree-wasting envelope or contributing to a single mailman's gas mileage. Use our holiday e-cards — featuring the polar bear, gray wolf, corals, sea star, ivory gull and bearded seal — to remind everyone you know of the gifts we've already been given by Mother Nature: countless animal, plant and fungi species to make our world and lives rich every day of the year.

6. Soothe your lips while supporting wildlife.

What do chapped winter lips have to do with saving polar bears, pika, jaguars, green sturgeon and other imperiled species? When you stuff someone’s stocking with the new Endangered Wildlife Lip Balm, 25 percent of the balm’s cost will go straight to Center programs to save those very species — which are charmingly depicted on the tubes, to help spread the species-saving message. And besides tasting and smelling yummy with flavors like vanilla, lavender orange and spearmint, this lip balm is 100 percent organic, handcrafted and cruelty-free.

7. Help erase extinction with style.

We bet no one on your list has one of Kikkerland’s endangered species erasers — colorful, oversized erasers realistically shaped like rhinos, gorillas and polar bears. Every time your loved one erases a mistake on paper, he or she will be reminded of one mega-mistake we’re all working to correct: the extinction crisis. Order these erasers today and the Center will get part of the proceeds.

8. Stuff a stocking with a mini-species.

If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer that’s fun, cute, educational and motivational (plus biologically friendly), you can’t beat the “Milkdot Bandits” keychains: tiny plush masked animals perfect for clipping to the backpack or keychain of any kid (or kid at heart) interested in saving endangered species. Each keychain resembles a different animal and “shares its own tale in hopes of heightening awareness of the plight that faces many endangered animals today.” And 5 percent of their purchase price goes to the Center.

9. Promote conservation conversations by giving — and wearing — Center apparel.

Have a lot of holiday parties to go to? Let your clothes break the ice by wearing Center for Biological Diversity shirts and caps, made of organic cotton and boasting the Center's logo frog (to be found at our online store). The backs of the shirts (both long-sleeved and short) include a block-patterened list of many of the animals and plants that the Center has worked hard to protect, giving you plenty of conversation topics. Or if you choose to buy Center apparel as a gift (as we should've been encouraging from the start, this being a giving guide and all), you can show off your conservation knowledge to your giftee and get him of her excited about saving species (if they aren't already, that is).

10. Give someone a herp-y holiday when you donate to HerpDigest.

Does someone on your gift list love herpetofauna — or even know what they are? (Reptiles and amphibians, of course!) That herp-lover might enjoy the freebies that come with a gift in his or her name to our allies at HerpDigest, a free weekly e-newsletter about conserving frogs, snakes, salamanders, turtles and all other kinds of herps — some of the most sensitive species on the planet. When you donate $25 to HerpDigest, you’ll receive four refrigerator magnets emblazoned with beautiful illustrations of endangered species — not just herps, but endangered cats, bugs, birds and more.Make your gift soon to ensure your herp enthusiast (or you) receive them in time for the holidays. You can get additional magnets for just $6 each.

11. Confront climate-change risks while playing Polar Eclipse.

Polar Eclipse™ is a board game in which time meets temperature, interactive and surprising for global citizens eight years and older. Pick a species, play the game, and if you make it into the future without letting your species overheat, you’ll escape extinction — and you’re a winner. Either way, this game will make all players think, driving home the fact that climate change is truly a deadly game for plants and animals across the globe. Still, the excitement of the game means players can have fun while learning just what’s at stake. And when the game’s over, players will be inspired to make the real action — against global warming — begin.

12. Give to the nonhuman needy — endangered plants and animals.

While you're finding green gifts for all those Homo sapiens on your list, you can also help the Center take care of the planet’s other species with a donation to our cause. Animals and plants may not know the holidays from a hole in the ground, but they sure feel the difference between recovery and teetering on the brink of extinction. Help us help them and you’ll get a warm feeling inside that’s better than spiked eggnog.

Do you have an idea for going greener this holiday season? Or are you helping support the Center through your work or business? Send us your thoughts at membership@biologicaldiversity.org.

Check back regularly, as we’ll be updating this guide until the end of the year.