If you haven’t noticed yet, EcoSalon has a bit of a crush on Russell Brand. I mean, he’s adorable and all, but it’s his brazen views on politics, commerce, and a fierce commitment to revolution that we find so irresistibly prescient. Take this, a clip from his recent visit to #OccupyWallStreet where he committed to use the sales of his new book “Revolution” to fund nonprofit causes to make this world a better place. Plus, he hugs a cop

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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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