Meet Barbara Walmsley, a sweet English grandmother famous on the Internet for… going green! If you’re worried about climate change or confused about how your grocery shopping impacts the environment, this “Green Granny” can help. Indeed, Britain’s “Green Granny” has lots of green tricks up her sleeve. Each week, she stars in a new green video. Relying on the experience she acquired during the Second World War, she knows how you can save money and live a better, greener life.

The green videos of our favorite “Green Granny” are hosted by Oxfam International, a confederation of thirteen organizations working to find lasting solutions to end poverty and injustice. Barbara Warmsley is the living proof that the small changes you can make in your everyday life have a real environmental impact. These are a few simple things this eco-friendly grandmother advises you to do:

• Buy one more fair trade product - By buying fair trade products, you’re guaranteeing producers a good price and ethical working conditions. Producers must meet minimum social, economic and environmental requirements to be certified.

• Get involved by buying green products – Eco-friendly products make a difference. The small changes you make at the cash register can have a real impact on climate change while saving you money.

• Buy one less meat or diary product – Cows generate more harmful emissions than the transport on the entire planet! These gassy animals emit large amounts of methane, i.e. 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide. We’re not asking you to go vegan. If you switch once a week to veggie lasagna instead of beef ones for example, you’ll be doing the earth a favor.

• Buy one more thing from a developing country – Did you know that buying local does not necessarily mean buying the product with the lowest environmental impact? Emissions from transporting food equal to only around 12 percent of the total. Besides, developing countries are being hit hardest by climate change which costs lives, homes and livelihoods. Keep in mind that millions of poor farmers in Africa depend on the international market to make a living. Don’t forget to check the label next time you shop for rice or beans!

• Throw one less thing away – Think before you buy so as to not throw away good food. “Green Granny” knows what to do with leftovers. Plan your meals ahead and ask yourself “I am really going to eat that?” Try Green Granny’s recipes or check out the website Love Food Hate Waste. Save money by wasting less food. Also remember you help the environment when you recycle!

With these easy green tips, let’s work together towards a greener and fairer world for everyone. In the following video, she explains how buying more fair trade and wasting less can help working towards sustainable development. So listen carefully to Green Granny, she knows what’s cooking!

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Car lovers, this one is for you! Your green conscience titillates you each time you hear the words “car racing”? What if we told you that car racing is going green? The hard-core environmentalists can sigh all they want. After reading this post they will smile with amazement. Imagine a race car made of carrots, chocolate, potatoes… We’re not talking about a new Pixar animation, but the first Formula 3 racing car solely made from sustainable and renewable materials. With a steering wheel made from carrots, fueled by waste chocolate and vegetable oil or using potatoes for the bodywork, this race car sounds like a joke. Nonetheless, it is for real. Green elements were introduced into each aspect of the eco-friendly car.

Nowadays, not only is car racing bad for the environment, but it’s strongly criticized for being way too expensive. As a matter of fact, the whole system is being questioned: from the Click here to read more

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This Sunday around a hundred million of us will set ourselves up in front of the TV and put on our game faces for some serious Super Bowl watching. If you gave up on green the moment Green Bay was eliminated from contention, however, you’re throwing in the towel too early. Even though the Super Bowl has an environmental impact that’s almost as big as the number of fans watching, there are plenty of super easy ways to tackle your eco-impact. Here’s our playbook to getting your game watching as green as astroturf.

EAT
Most of us have a tendency to make enough Super Bowl snacks to feed an entire team–or at least a couple very hungry linebackers–and that’s not always a good thing. Sure, it’s great to have an endless spread, but are Americans really going to eat the entire 15,000 tons of chips they’ll collectively purchase? Not only is this excess bad for our bodies (which are getting dragged to work in the morning), it ain’t easy on the environment–just think about how many un-recyclable chip bags 15,000 tons of chips require. So when you’re buying Super Bowl snacks, stay realistic about how much is needed and look for locally-sourced items, which don’t have the same level of carbon emissions as imported goods that must be transported in from long distances. Also, veer toward veggies for as many of your edible offerings as possible. Meat is a surprising environmental enemy, contributing to deforestation, grassland reduction and global warming.

When it’s time to serve your spread, try and use your regular–and reusable–plates and cutlery and load them up in the dishwasher after, which is not only better for your hands, but beats out washing by hand in terms of environmental friendliness. If you’re too worried about someone fumbling your fine china, pick up 100% recycled plastic plates and cutlery (we like the colorful options from Preserve) or compostable plates made from sugar cane–both choices won’t cost much more than regular disposable varieties and offer all the same conveniences.

DRINK
All this exciting football is making Americans thirsty…about 10.5 million barrels of beer thirsty, in fact. Since it’s in such large quantity, the growing of all that barley and hops and the transporting of all those brewskies can take a real toll on the earth. For sustainable suds, buy from a local brewery and go for a keg (extra points if you opt for organic), which won’t mean bunches of bottles and cans and may save you a little money, too. Serve the foamy stuff in your everyday glasses (if you have enough of them) or, just like with food serving, offer guests recycled plastic cups or 100% biodegradable cups made from corn.

If a keg would be complete overkill, go ahead and get the 6-pack or case; just remember to recycle all the bottles and cans. Bring them to a place that offers rebates for returning them and the earnings may even help you cover your costs. Click here to read more

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