The winds of change are always blowing.

With Occupy Wall Street serving as a gauge for U.S. contentment, it’s not hard to see we just aren’t a very happy nation. As with any cause, however, there are always bands of people who do more than walk the talk – they shout from the rooftops and actively work to move us away from the negative and into the positive.

In Seeing The Gulf From Above, Anna Brones writes, “A picture is worth a thousand words. The expression may sound cliche, but in the conservation movement, it couldn’t be more true.” In her story, Brones highlights Tom Hutchings, who takes Gulf of Mexico visitors up in his Cessna 182, knowing very well the visual power of seeing the Gulf oil spill’s environmental catastrophe from above. Giving people the ability to see outside of their immediate life circle to see we’re all very connected? Now that’s what we’re talking about.

Occupy Wall Street is giving people a voice to express their frustration with the status quo. But who are the leaders and participants and who are they to think they can rally and invigorate when they themselves lack social skills? In Sex by Numbers: What We Can Learn From #occupywallstreet, columnist Abigail Wick writes: “It is my conviction that the quality of our relationships – how we engage with and support one another – can have profound societal implications.”

Vacant spots as eyesores? Seed bomb ’em. That’s what groups of guerrilla gardeners are doing to forcefully create change in their neighborhoods. In Flowers of War: Seed Bombing Gets Political, London writer Sarah Lewis-Hammond quotes seed bomber Vera Zakharov, “Seed bombing is activism. It allows us to continue a relationship with the spaces around us, even if the law says we can’t.”

Writer Scott Adelson did a series for EcoSalon on Angel Investors “examining equity investment’s relationship with businesses that have traditionally been out of its mainstream, including women-owned, green and long-term-growth-oriented.” What Adelson uncovered in his series VC’s, Angels and Investing in Women: What Are They Not Thinking? was pretty startling and worth the read on how successful women are running businesses with little investment from Angels (and how that should change).

Remember the food pyramid when you were little? Well the triangle has changed quite a few times over the years and it’s because food and diets have actually gotten very complex. Writer Anna Brones interviews Dr. Marion Nestle who weighs in on how food guidelines have changed in Foodie Underground: Dr Marion Nestle On The Complexity of Food Issues.

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A weekly round-up of EcoSalon’s top five stories.

In When You Feel Good, You Look Good, West Coast fashion correspondent Rowena Ritchie considers conscious consumption and muses, “Buying fashion for a good cause seems like a lovely idea, doesn’t it? You could say it’s like lifting two spirits with one swipe of your credit card. You buy an item and the designer donates some money to a good cause. That is until, like me, you’ve got enough charity printed tees to hold a small rally in your closet benefiting workouttopsforever.com.”

In VC’s, Angels and Investing In Women: What Are They Not Thinking?, senior editor Scott Adelson looks at the cold, hard facts: Women make up a minute fraction of the venture capital and angel investment community, and women entrepreneurs receive a tiny percentage of that community’s investment dollars. This is the first in a series of articles by Adelson, examining “Equity investment’s relationship with businesses that have traditionally been out of its mainstream, including women-owned, green and long-term-growth-oriented.”

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, is at the center of a heated controversy about reverse sexism. In Scott Adams: #Winning Or Not?, EcoSalon news editor Andrea Newell asks: “Some of his readers have pointed out, he seems to be taking lessons from Charlie Sheen on public relations. The question is, is he #winning or is his reputation going down in flames?”

Virgin America’s New Eco Luxe Terminal At SFO was unveiled this past week as the first green airport terminal in the country. The terminal is using a host of technologies to boost its green credibility – though we’re not so sure about the spaceship part.

The Foodie Underground column is turning one! In Foodie Underground: A Year In Review, columnist Anna Brones curates a round up of her favorite articles from the past year and invites you to send her your foodie favorites: “Maybe it’s a hand-me-down recipe that you can’t go to a dinner party without, maybe it’s your favorite local food truck that serves up a mean plate of organic tacos, maybe it’s a photo of your home brewed liqueurs, maybe it’s a painting rendition of a classic recipe, or maybe it’s your weekly indulgence for taking food porn shots. Whatever it is, we want to see it!” The winner of the contest wins a a set of Festival Sol Mini Bowls, made with recycled glass, from VivaTerra. Submissions are piling up, so be sure to get yours in soon.

Image: Wagner T. Cassimiro “Aranha”

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