Daily Greenz #73

With the weather getting colder and the holidays over, we’re all fantasizing about going on vacation to a warmer, happier place. So why not vacation at the hundreds of organic hotels and resorts around the world? Organic Places to Stay lists every organic lodging from here to Europe to Asia, guaranteeing places that serve organic meals made from local produce. To plan your next dream vacation, check out organicplacestostay.com

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 Daily Greenz #70

It’s that time of year again…the time for creating your list of New Year’s resolutions. Rather than dusting off the treadmill, make 2008 the year that you get a little greener. Saving the planet can be a lot more fun than vowing, yet again, to lose that extra holiday weight. We’ve made it easy for you by compiling a simple list of steps you can take to lighten your ecological footprint:

1. Reduce your trash by 50%. By composting your food and yard wastes, you can reduce the amount of

landfill used for organic trash. In fact, if everyone composted his or her food, we could cut back on 30% of our landfills. The Envirocycle Composter is a great buy for $140 at greenfeet.com. You’ll also want to pick up a couple of reusable shopping bags to cut down on plastic bags. With the U.S. alone tossing out 100 billion them every year, your decision to switch will do a world of good. We like Earthchic’s bags because they’re simply stylish and are made entirely from recycled plastic bottles. Pick one up for $30 at earthchic.com.

2. Reduce the amount of energy you use in the home by 20%. We always encourage to switch to compact fluorescent lights because they use a quarter of the energy of standard bulbs and last 10 ten times as long. The next important thing is to lower your water to 120 degrees, which can cut your carbon emissions by 400 pounds every year. Insulating your hot water heater and pipes will also help you save energy and money. You’ll also want to reduce water usage by switching to a low-flow shower head and running the dishwasher only when you have a full load.

3. Reduce your use of gasoline. Here’s one way you can tie in your green resolutions with your yearly goal to lose weight: walk more, drive less! If the office or store is too far, consider riding a bike, carpooling, or using public transportation at least once a week to reduce global warming. An astonishing 70% of all car trips are less than five miles, which is an ideal distance for a quick bike ride. If every person made the switch once a week, we could save 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year and reduce household expenses by $6,200. So take a break from road rage and get your green on.

4. Buy organic food locally. Not only is organic and locally grown produce much healthier for you, when you buy local you also reduce the amount of environmental damage that is wreaked through conventional agriculture and cut the need for food miles (that is, the distance that the food needs to travel before it can reach the shelves in your supermarket.) A staggering one-third of all household carbon emissions come from food miles, so help your health and the environment’s by finding the closest farmer’s market at localharvest.org.

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Daily Greenz #47

Did you know that food production ranks as the second-biggest consumer of fossil fuels after automobiles? Or how about the fact that 75% of all antibiotics used in the United States go towards animal feeding operations? In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver reveals some unsettling information about food consumption today, as well as the government’s role in endorsing certain ingredients that lead to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and malnutrition. Her book is not so much an exposé as it is an example of how you can lead a sustainable lifestyle that allows you to grow and enjoy the real taste of food. She recounts her experience of picking up her family and moving them to a family farm in Virginia to become locavores- people who only eat locally grown food. For the naysayers who argue that it’s too expensive and time-consuming to do this, she offers tons of practical advice on how to achieve the lifestyle no matter your financial situation. Learn how to become the next locavore for $16.17 at amazon.com.

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