Thirsty?

Buy a Nalgene

•More than 25.5 billion plastic water bottles are sold each year in the US.•

•More than 17 million barrels of oil (not including fuel for transportation) were used in plastic bottle production.

•Bottling water produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.

•It takes approximately 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water.

•The total amount of energy used to produce, transport, refrigerate, and dispose of a plastic bottle of water may be as high as the equivalent of filling a 1 liter bottle one-quarter full of oil.

Source: Waste Management World, The Pacific Institute

If you don't like Nalgenes then check out these cool waterbottles from the http://www.lazyenvironmentalist.com/pages/recycling/index.php

Be Mine: Be Green

Happy Green Valentine's Day!

This year instead of eating at high class restaurants, showering her in expensive pesticide ridden roses, and adorning her in superficial, overvalued rocks brought to you by African slave labor....

Be creative. Be unique. Be in love.

Dinner: Going out to dinner is expensive, time consuming, and can be a bit stifling in comparison to a romantic evening at home cooking dinner together over one or a few bottles of organic red wine.

For one of the best websites for a complete green and sustainable meal, check out Sustainable Table.Com

For organic products Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are great places to start shopping. And for dessert, check out this yummy looking recipe:

Vegan Amaretto-spiked chocolate mousse

1/2 cup organic chocolate soy milk
9 or 10 ounce bag of semisweet vegan chocolate chips (Try Tropical Source or Sunspire Brand all-natural brands, NOT carob chips)
12 ounces silken tofu
1/4 cup Amaretto or almond-flavored liquor
1/4 teaspoon natural pure almond extract
Pour the chocolate milk into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Remove the milk from heat and let cool a bit while you melt down the chocolate chips. You can melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or if you don't own a double-boiler, you can cobble one together using a tiny saucepan set under a larger mixing bowl. Fill the tiny saucepan with an inch or two of water and bring barely to a simmer. Place the big mixing bowl with the chocolate chips on top of the tiny saucepan and let the heat come up and gently warm the chips while you stir occasionally until completely melted. Remove from heat.
Add the soy milk and silken tofu to the melted chocolate chips. Process with a hand or regular blender until completely smooth. Stir in the Amaretto and almond extract. Taste and adjust for flavor, adding a bit more extract if needed.
Chill in the big bowl (or in individual bowls) for at least 1 1/2 hours, the longer the better. The pudding will set up nicely as it cools.
Makes 6 decadent servings.

Flowers: According to the Sierra Club, seventy percent of flowers sold in the United States are imported. How do you think they get the flowers to stay so fresh? "In a 1995 report, Bittersweet Harvests for Global Supermarkets, the World Resources Institute found that rose and carnation producers in Ecuador use an average of six fungicides, four insecticides, and several herbicides. The situation is worse in Colombia, where flower-plantation workers near Bogotá are exposed to 127 types of pesticides. Nearly two-thirds of the Colombian workers suffer from headaches, nausea, rashes, asthma, and other symptoms of pesticide-related illnesses. (Such severe health effects are unlikely to plague consumers, though pesticide residues may aggravate existing allergies or chemical sensitivities.) In addition to the human toll, flower farms--20 percent of which are owned by Los Angeles–based Dole Food--have polluted and depleted Bogotá’s streams and groundwater."

Best Bet: Opt for locally grown organic flowers which can be found at your local supermarket or organic florist. Also, potted plants are always a better present than cut flowers, they last longer! The benefits of having potted plants around include increased happiness and better air quality.

Gift: First of all, if you have a boyfriend who is cool enough to buy you vintage jewelry hang on to him. Not only is it environmentally friendly but the coolest jewelry I own is definitely from my mom and grandma or from vintage boutiques.
This jewelry made out of sea glass is beautiful for the beach bum in your life

If you don't feel like hunting for vintage jewelry, how about some cheap and very romantic gift ideas: poetry, art (paint him or her a picture!), a coupon book (get creative here), massage gift certificates, a planned trip together like a hike in the park or a bike ride along the Potomac river...

Simply walking into a Kay Jeweler's or scoping out the new Tiffany's catalog is boring.

Be sure to share that bath water & why not use romantic candles instead of electric lights!

Polar Bears

“Drink Responsibly” by GreenBean

With global warming affecting all corners of the Earth (tsunamis, Katrina, SoCal Fires, Polar Bears, and Coral Reefs), it’s scarcely alarming that its ever present threat has already taken its toll on the wine industry. We all know how to drink responsibly in regards to safe driving and behavioral practices. How about taking it a step further and indulging in a sip of environmental responsibility?

The global warming impact is taking its toll on several wine regions. As average temperatures increase wine growing conditions change, often for the worse. But what is the wine industry doing to combat these damages? Dr. Gregory Jones, a professor and research climatologist from the Geography Department at Southern Oregon University, has been working on this issue regarding the carbon footprints of vineyard operations. In a recent study Dr. Jones found the growing season temperatures to have increased by an average of 2 degrees Celsius, or 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit over the past fifty years. This temperature change may benefit cooler regions allowing for different varieties of wine from England, Northern France, New England, and Northern California. However, this temperature change may have a very negative impact on warmer regions like California’s Napa and Sonoma valleys, Southern France, parts of South America, and South Africa.

While there is certainly no solution to global warming at this time, we can certainly do our best to choose organic wines that at least have a foot in the right direction when it comes to green practices.

So how does one determine the best “green” viticulture practice such as traditional, organic, biodynamic, etc? When asked about the best practices in the wine industry Dr. Jones answered, “My feeling is that most mid-size to small scale operations are "nearly" organic by nature, while larger operations are less organic. I also feel that practicing organic, sustainable production is "easier" on the environment as a whole, but because there are no universal definitions/standards of what organic means it’s very hard to define. However, do they do "enough" to combat climate change? I would say that being organic is a big effort at both on site and up/down stream carbon use, however its not likely a significant climate impact reducing mechanism but more like getting closer to neutral.” Perhaps in 2008, even Bacchus would’ve considered organic wine.

As environmentalism becomes trendy and “going green” is no longer a hippy’s pastime, several industries are taking necessary steps to become more eco-friendly. In his article for Wine Businesses Monthly, Dr. Gregory states, “Of all of the environmental factors, climate arguably exerts the most profound effect on the ability of a region or site to produce quality grapes and therefore wine.” So in order to continue enjoying your favorite white wine from the Napa Valley region, I’ve compiled several resources for enjoying organically grown wine.

There are several wine companies devoted to environmental stewardship. According to The Organic Wine Company, organic wines are free of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and other synthetic chemicals. Essential preservatives, such as sulfur dioxide or sulfites are kept to a minimum. Biodynamic farming keeps the Earth in mind and uses only herbal-based compost starters and field sprays. If you visit their website, theorganicwinecompany.com, they offer a full refund if you are not completely satisfied with your wine selection.

The Hardy Wine Company of Australia, a division of Constellation Brands, operates vineyards, wineries, packing and distribution facilities all ensure compliance with environmental legislation. The staff receives training in environmental responsibility and attends regular environmental reviews. Australia is well known for their environmentally responsible wine practices. This past August, Adelaide hosted the 4th Australian Wine Industry Environment Conference.

In the U.S., LIVE, a non profit organization standing for low input viticulture and enology educates and certifies vineyards on sustainable and green viticulture practices. LIVE aims to apply winemaking practices which to not depend on chemical fertilizers, which encourage natural maintenance of the land, and which promote sustainable farming practices. Visit http://www.liveinc.org/ for a list of vineyards that have earned this green certification.

Choosing organic wine that comes from vineyards which support green practices is one small and pleasurable way to combat our impact on the environment. I implore you dear oenophiliac, before you imbibe, please drink responsibly.

Biographical Information on Mr. Jones: www.sou.edu/Geography/JONES/jones.htm

Al Gore... Better be Walking to Bali

Not Enough Parking for Private Jets Going to UN Climate Conference

By Noel Sheppard | November 23, 2007 - 16:32 ET

As climate alarmists from all over the world head to Bali to talk about the sacrifices regular folks have to make to save the planet from global warming, it seems certain media will ignore all the private jets clogging the tiny airport.

As if it’s not enough that the United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held at what NewsBusters reported as "a truly beautiful tropical island paradise," the management of the nearby airport has issued a warning to attendees that they are going to have to park their private jets somewhere else.

I kid you not.

As reported by Bali Discovery Tours on November 3 (emphasis added):

Where's Clive Owen Now?

Call me a dirty hippy if you will but if I wasn't at the office right now I'd be balling. With tissues, not dollars.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there is only ONE female Yangtze turtle left on Planet Earth. An 80 year old female who's been living inside the Changsha zoo with all the other turtles is now being kept under tight security within bulletproof glass and constant surveillance. Luckily, scientists have found the last surviving 100 year old male living at a zoo in the city of Suzhou.

In China turtles represent longevity but can these two turtles stand the test to China's rampant development, pollution run off, and uncontrolled hunting that is endangering all wild species?

According to the Sydney Morning Herald the situation in China is grim.
-Almost 40 per cent of all mammal species in China are endangered
- 70 per cent of all non-flowering plant species and 86 per cent of flowering species are considered threatened.
And according to the New York Times, China has already lost half of its wetlands.

Pour some out for the Yangtze, unless Clive Owen comes running to the rescue.

Green Becomes Cool on Wall St.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal's Jilian Mincer covered the trend of green investing which has been sprouting up all over the Financial District. A wave of green advisers champion this effort by encouraging investors to diversify their portfolios by including a number of rapid growth green technology stocks and green mutual funds.

Up and coming Smith and Barney financial adviser Kati Macchiverna says,

"Compared to average market returns, say you were invested in an index that performed pretty close to how the market performs over the course of the year, the returns on that would be much greater than if you were invested in socially responsible funds. They generally have returns closer to that of bonds (3-4%) opposed to market indexed funds (8-9%).

I would really be interested in finding out more about the green mutual funds, and other green indexes, the thing about those, like the article said, is that they tend to be pretty risky. There is so much new technology out there and people jump on these ideas and over indulge (take ethanol). When I finally get started it would be cool to have a bit of a specialization in green funds, I'm going to start checking that out."

Al Gore is one phenomenon, but If Leo makes a movie about the topic, the Patrick Batemans downtown must follow suit because after all, where does he get his glorious organic aftershave balm?



The capitalist financiers are the second to final group the hippies must conquer before dominating the earth with flowers and organic patchouli. Right wing oil thirsty Washingtonians are up next.

--GreenBean

The Rest of the World Has Turned Green... and the U.S.of A. is still Blushing

The Kyoto protocol, headed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a diplomatic effort to join countries all over the world in the fight against global warming. It's objective aims at reducing greenhouse gases which contribute to this frightful environmental threat. As you can see from this map, we are the only country that has outright disagreed with the effort, while Kazakhstan is still lagging.
The key for this map is as follows:

• green - signed and ratified
• yellow - signed, ratification pending
• red - signed, ratification declined
• gray - no position

The treaty states, "The objective of the Kyoto Protocol is to achieve "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."

This past November, 2007, the Kyoto protocol required 36 countries to reduce greenhouse gases to levels specified in the treaty. This is ACTIVE progress towards a better Earth... will someone please tell me why America is not only annoyingly inactive in this effort, but actually counteractive with their refusal to join the Kyoto protocol. If the Bush re-election wasn't enough to make you jump ship, now may be the time to get in line for a long term visa.

According to a press release from the United Nations Environment Programme :"The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement under which industrialized countries will reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% compared to the year 1990 (but note that, compared to the emissions levels that would be expected by 2010 without the Protocol, this limitation represents a 29% cut). The goal is to lower overall emissions of six greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs, and PFCs - calculated as an average over the five-year period of 2008-12. National limitations range from 8% reductions for the European Union and some others to 7% for the US, 6% for Japan, 0% for Russia, and permitted increases of 8% for Australia and 10% for Iceland."

--GreenBean

--all quotes excerpted from WikiPedia

Green Dream Jobs

Do you cry over wasted paper? Do you want to kick the sleazy sales guy in the face for constantly using Styrofoam cups? Capitalism not really your thing? Check out this awesome website for Green Dream Jobs!

--GreenBean

Graduating Green

Terra Mater, Alma Mater.

How Green Is Your University?

Everyone loves lists this time of year... and recently the Sierra Club ranked the top ten greenest universities.

1. Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
2. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
3. Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, North Carolina
4. University of California system (10 schools)
5. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
6. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
7. Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
8. Pennsylvania State University (24 locations)
9. Tufts University, Medford, MA
10. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, PA

See the original article here

-GreenBean

Recycle Your Cork!

According to the Audubon Magazine, “Corks are 100 percent natural, recyclable, and biodegradable.” Wine and Champagne cork recycling is a common practice in both Australia and Europe, but the U.S. lags behind. A company called Yemm & Hart, located in Missouri, recycles these corks and furthermore they are working to develop new materials from the corks.

Mail your wine corks to:

Wine Cork Recycling
Yemm & Hart Ltd
610 South Chamber Dr
Fredericktown MO 63645

Sources: http://audubonmagazine.org/features0701/habitat.html

---GreenBean

What City Do you Belong In?

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Beautiful Photography I love by Giovanni Mattera

mi ricordo di


---greenbean

To Fax or Not to Fax?

if 1% of all paper faxes sent in the US were instead electronically sent, we'd save 73.5 million trees

check out other great ways to green your office environment at greenisuniversal.com



---greenbean

Icelandic Yogurt-- 5 Active Cultures

all natural siggi'sskyr icelandic style strained low fat yogurt in "pear & mint" is amazing. the only ingredients are skim milk, pear, raw organic agave nectar, organic mint extract, live active cultures (Five total- S. Thermophilus, L. Delbrueckiee Susp. Bulgaricus, L. Acidohphilus, B. Longum, and B. Infantis), and vegetable rennet.

The cool mint flavor was strong and reminded me of delicious mint chocolate chip ice cream. If you run a quick google search on this yogurt you'll find addicts abound searching NYC everywhere for these tasty cups.
To sink your spoon into this pure deliciousness hit up these fine grocers:
In Manhattan: Murray's Cheese, The Bouley Bakery, Dean & Deluca, Eli's, Integral Yoga Natural Foods, Saxelby Cheesemongers, Zabar's, Westerly Natural Market, and my home base the Zeytuna Market
In Brooklyn: Stinky's Cheese, Lassen & Hennigs, Blue Apron, and Marlow & Sons

According to aboutyogurt.com "Researchers around the world are studying the potential attributes of live and active culture yogurt in preventing gastrointestinal infections, boosting the body's immune system, fighting certain types of cancer and preventing osteoporosis... Additionally, the live and active cultures found in yogurt break down lactose in milk. This allows lactose intolerant individuals who commonly experience gastrointestinal discomfort when they consume milk products to eat yogurt and receive the nutrients contained in the milk product without the side effects of abdominal cramping, bloating and diarrhea."
(Brandy! That's great news for you! No more uncontrollable pooping!)

and sidenotes:
According to some woman's random blog...yogurt with lots of active cultures is great for the vagina! It helps prevent bad bugs from growing down there.
lastly, yogurt covered pretzels, while delicious, are not nutritious and include no active cultures.

---GreenBean

Green Investing

“GREEN INVESTING” SPECIAL FEATURE DEBUTS ON

INVESTOPEDIA.COM

Where capitalism meets the forest...

From Forbes News Reports:

New York, NY (Tuesday, November 6, 2007) – Today Investopedia.com (www.investopedia.com), the leading Web site for investor education, debuts a special feature about “Green Investing.” The in-depth package includes a combination of more than 50 articles, commentary, terms and frequently asked questions, providing valuable information and insight about “investment activities that focus on companies or projects that are committed to the conservation of natural resources.” The special feature is available at:

http://www.investopedia.com/features/green-investing.aspx.

Highlights include:

· Articles, such as “What Does It Mean To Be Green?,” “The Biofuels Debate,” and “Evaluating Green Equity Investments”

· Commentary, offering perspective on topics like “Five Green Mutual Funds You Need To Know” and “Finding Profit in Hybrid Cars,” among others

· Most popular questions, ranging from “What are green investments?” to “What is a clean tech stock?” to “What is the carbon trade?,” plus more

· Terms to know, including “Green Tech,” “Energy Improvement Mortgage,” and “Sinful Stocks,” to name just a few

For this, and a wealth of invaluable investor and financial information, including Investopedia.com’s special feature on “Subprime Mortgages,” visit:

www.investopedia.com

Wake up and smell the capitalism mixed with shade grown coffee.

--Green

Dove's Inner Beauty

Dove's New 'Onslaught' advertisement is quickly gaining notoriety on the web and in the ad world. It is a part of their "Campaign for Real Beauty," which focuses on making societal changes in the way we define hotness. It's worthy of a hat tip for continuing the fight against Barbie store boxed beauty in size zero fashion trends and it's ending resembles a hallmark card; furthermore, the photography is stunning.
-- click here to see the video & original article in Advertising Age- 'Onslaught'. The article points out a few hypocrisies surrounding the campaign- namely that Dove has a slew of products targeted towards "outer beauty" and the ad agency, Ogilvy Toronto also has Barbie as one of their premiere clients.
Get over it. Not everyone is going to be 100% pure in their agendas to better the world when there's a profit to be turned or bills to pay. The bottom line is their spending money on good deeds. It would be like chiding McDonalds for launching their salad and low-carb menu. A step in the right direction is always a good move. Their focus is admirable and I applaud Dove; furthermore the commercial is rad and I like how their soap smells.

--Green

The balls to walk

I’m truly enjoying the blogging going on over at Slate’s new all-female blog “The XX Factor.” The corniness of the name aside, the writers are raising excellent points across the board. A recent post about Paula Radcliffe by Emily Bazelon has sparked response from her fellow contributor June Thomas about what it means to be a strong woman and how that relates to both Radcliffe and Hillary Clinton.

Bazelon describes the “imperfect Hillary parallel” wherein Clinton breaks “the country's biggest gender barriers,” but in doing so “has to be utterly singleminded, and try to mask her female identity in certain key ways” in order to prove she can fulfill the role of President, a role that in our eyes, necessitates being a man. To clarify, it is not that the American people are so simple as to think that only a man can become an excellent President. Some people would argue that there is value in traits commonly associated with women (compassion, understanding etc.) and think that they might be readily applied to the position. Rather, the real obstacle, as Bazelon points out, is the idea that a man would not be expected to fulfill his other roles (husband, father) as readily while in office as a woman might. The women who impress the public, such as Radcliffe and Clinton often in some way sacrifice their woman-ness for their passions.

People are awed by a woman who has children and is back running on the track before the doctor can cut the umbilical cord. And why shouldn't they be, a woman such as Radcliffe has commit quite a feat. It’s not that I think we shouldn’t applaud Radcliffe for her dedication to her sport, but like Thomas, I still feel uncomfortable with the reason she is an emblem of success. Something about the idea of beating out the femaleness (Ok, no more “nesses,” I promise) out of a mother feels wrong and I believe it's at least partially missing the point of feminism. How can we make room for a myriad of types of women, without marginalizing anyone's choices? I’d like to know how other women answer these questions. How do you reconcile your passions with something like a biological clock?

-gleam

Rupie's face

Hahahaha. That is all.
-gleam

Have we been waxed by a Brazilian?

Bloomberg reported today that model Gisele Bunchen is requesting to be paid in any currency other than our dear greenbacks. This story is obviously the conjuring of a Brazilian reporter doing his best to make deadline on a slow news day. Unfortunately for us, its existence is as much of an indicator of the utter lack of global confidence in the dollar as the fabricated story itself.

-gleam