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A Plastic Bag Alternative for Lunches & Snacks

Trying to do the right thing when you're packing lunch for your children is tough.  Not wanting to use plastic bags that are thrown out, or containers filled with chemicals is no option, what can you do?   I was intrigued when told about ReSnackIt lunch and snack bags.  These cute, re-usuable bags are a great way reduce the amount of non-recyclable trash we all produce.

 

ReSnackIt's reusable snack and sandwich bags are made of washable cotton and nylon and snugly secured with Velcro to make them an easy-to-use accessory for little fingers. Moms & Dads love being able to wash ReSnackIt reusable bags in the washer or dishwasher; kids will like the dozens of cool designs and the fact that they'll never have to eat another dried-out sandwich or carrot for lunch again!

 

ReSnackIt bags are lined with nylon that is free from lead, phthalates, BPA and PVC.   They're available for sale at select retailers in Vermont, Connecticut, Ohio and New York and through the ReSnackIt website. The new company also offers discounts on large volume orders and wholesale opportunities for retailers who want to make ReSnackIt a part of their eco-friendly inventory.

 

For more information, visit ReSnackIt.com. Let me know what you think, and you other lunchtime "green" efforts - comment below...

APPLE Computers Going Green with 2009 Models

As an Apple computer fan, we were pleased at hearing of their greening efforts. The mobile and computing device leader released its fall 2009 Macbook laptop and iMac desktop computer recently, claiming “environmental,” and other desirable features.

Included are; a polycarbonate case, longer life battery and LED-backlit display in the laptop, and the use of mercury-free glass and other “highly recyclable” materials for the desktop. 

Of course, questions are always raised when a big corporation takes a new approach to the environment.  In this case, many asked whether Apple's new efforts are "green enough" and to be commended, or are their efforts merely marketing and green-washing?

“Dragged kicking and screaming into the [eco] movement, Apple…removed the vast majority of toxic chemicals from its desktops…While it looks similar to other vendors in terms of content, it doesn’t have much of a disposal program—and since it doesn’t have removable batteries for its laptops anymore, safely disposing of them would be relatively expensive.” – Macnewsworld

It's important to acknowledge serious "greening" efforts by big companies and reward their attempts, provided their claims don't outweigh the extent of their actual efforts.  Apple, like many electronic firms, has a long way to go.  As consumers, we need to keep pressuring them to do more.

More reading @ Greenpeace blog, Making Waves and  9to5Mac.  Compare electronics based on their "green" properties @ EPEAT.net

Mitsubishi Joins National Recycling Program

Mitsubishi has announced they are now participating in MRM’s national recycling effort!  This will allow consumers to drop off all Mitsubishi TVs at any recycling center throughout the USA ( see location list @ mrmrecycling.com).  In a statement,  Mitsubishi said they're watching out for the environment during the entire life cycle of the product: from production, to product usage and all the way to its end with this recycling program. 

Mitsubishi looks to continue being at the fore-front of green electronics with its energy-efficient televisions and now is making it easier than ever to reduce waste with this recycling initiative.  With more and more attention on energy consumption, Mitsubishi continues to improve their LaserVue televisions- the most energy efficient large-format and high-definition television available on the market today. 

Brighter Planet's "Mastering the Art of Sustainable Cooking" Contest

Brighter Planet recently announced an interesting contest that you'll find interesting --
Mastering the Art of Sustainable Cooking.

It easy to enter, just complete any of their sustainable cooking conservation tips and tell everyone about your experience in completing the tip. The best write-up in each category will win an Amazon Kindle DX and a $100 gift card to load it up with your favorite cook books!

For more info on the contest, visit blog.brighterplanet.com  or to enter go right to, brighterplanet.com/sustainable-cooking .

Tell 'em GH sent you, and Good luck !

COAL COUNTRY Screening at NYC's Town Hall

 On October 20, 2009 at NYC's Town Hall, The Sierra Club and Earthjustice will present a special screening of 'Coal Country', the new feature length documentary that confronts the devastating effects of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia.  The film reveals the truth about modern coal mining and is told by the people directly involved, both working miners and activists who are battling the coal companies in Appalachia. It’s a “new civil war,” as families and communities are deeply split over the issue of mountaintop removal mining (MTR). The tops of mountains are blasted away, exposing seams of coal, while debris is pushed into valleys and streams. Residents endure health problems, dirty water in their wells, dust and grime on their floors. The miners are frightened that, without MTR, they’ll lose their jobs and won’t be able to feed their families. 

The NYC event is part of a series of concerts, previews, and screenings of 'Coal Country' across the USA leading up to the release of the film on DVD on November 10, 2009 (order below thru GH ), the companion CD is available now. The film will debut worldwide on Discovery Networks' PLANET GREEN channel November 14, 2009.

The Town Hall event will feature musical performances by Diana Jones, the Klezmatics, Kathy Mattea and Jean Ritchie as well as special guests and a screening of excerpts from the film. Written, produced and directed by Phylis Geller with executive producer Mari-Lynn Evans, 'Coal Country' fearlessly confronts the repercussions of surface coal mining - the type of mining that requires the complete defoliation of mountaintops in conjunction with aggressive blasting, permanently altering the landscape and natural environment.

WHAT: 'Coal Country' screening and concert featuring special guests
WHEN: October 20, 2009 @ 6:30pm
WHERE: New York Town Hall
123 W 43rd St.
NYC, NY 10036-6507

More @ CoalCountrytheMovie.com , SierraClub.org and  EarthJustice.org

National Parks Week NYC Announced Timed With PBS Ken Burns Series Airing

The nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), NYC Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, filmmaker Ken Burns and PBS announced the launch of National Parks Week NYC, a week-long series of events in NYC, September 19-27, 2009, featuring an evening of music and film in Central Park’s East Meadow on Wednesday, September 23 starting at 7p with highlights from the upcoming Ken Burns PBS series “THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA.”  The series will premiere on Sunday September 27 on PBSand releasing on dvd October 6 (order thru GH below).

During National Parks Week NYC, a series of public events will celebrate the  history of our national parks and launch a national dialogue about the future of the parks as they enter their second century. A number of park-related events will take place in NYC, including a green carpet gala on Tuesday, September 22 for friends of the parks to celebrate the cause. National Parks Week NYC will provide countless opportunities to entertain and educate the whole family, from a Lantern Tour of Fort Wadsworth to Grant’s Tomb After Dark and an Evening Tour of Liberty Island.

The main event of the week, “Feel Free: A National Parks Celebration in Central Park,” will feature highlights from the Ken Burns new PBS documentary, “THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA,” and musical acts by an array of talented performers. The live show from East Meadow in Central Park will be shared via satellite to PBS affiliates and other partners assembled in various locations around the country.  NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to kickoff the evening and Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will speak, along with other dignitaries.

TAPPED, and the Bottled Water Industry

Are you aware that in America, we buy 29 billion single-serve bottles of water every year? The new film, Tapped takes a look at the craziness of the bottled water industry, from the economic to environmental impacts. You'll think twice before drinking from a plastic bottle of water again.

To learn more more info on the anti bottled water issue, pick up and read Bottlemania: Big Business, Local Springs, and the Battle Over America's Drinking Water by Elizabeth Royte, and watch the clip below -

Bike Rentals Made Easy

Great idea when preparing to travel-  check out this new Web Site, RentaBikeNow.com, to get help finding bikes for rent in 168+ US and Canadian cities. There are 200 bike stores, and more joining up, that put you directly in touch with the rental inventory at their independent bicycle stores. You select the city where they're headed, and get a list of available bikes from cruisers to mountain bikes. Some bike stores offer tandem and recumbent bikes, too.

 

It's not easy to find a bicycle to rent when you're on a trip. Not all bike shoppes rent bikes, and store hours, bike styles, and rental rates differ widely. That's where RentaBikeNow.com comes to the rescue! Just pay RaB a $5-$8 fee, make a deposit;  then pay the balance when you pick up & use the bike.

 

Now there's no reason to quit your biking habit and eco living when you travel.  Check it out, and let us know what you think!

MICHAEL POLLAN'S "The Botany of Desire" to Air on PBS

THE BOTANY OF DESIRE brings Michael Pollan's best selling book to PBS, showing how human desires are an essential, intricate part of natural history.

The program will explore the natural history of four plants; the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato; and the corresponding human desires– sweetness, beauty, intoxication and controlling nature, that link their destinies to our own.

This two-hour documentary (from Kikim Media), which will air on PBS on October 28,  begins in Pollan’s garden, and roams the world, from the potato fields of Idaho and Peru to the apple orchards of New England, from a medical marijuana hot house to the tulip markets of Amsterdam.

One of the biggest errors of human civilization is to believe that we are outside of nature and that we can continue to re-shape the wild for our own purposes; people as subjects, and plants as objects. In part thru this program, taking a plants’ eye view of the world will help viewers understand the need to restore human activity to its proper place in the matrix of nature.

For a clip of The BOTANY OF DESIRE, click here. 

UPDATE 10/30/09 - View the entire program online @ Video.PBS.org

B&N Introduces Its "Ecosystem" Line of Planners, Journals

Today, book retailer, Barnes & Noble introduced its "Ecosystem" line of planners and journals, exclusively sold at Barnes Noble stores and online at Barnes & Noble.com.  Created by Sterling Publishing, (a B&N subsidiary), the planners and journals will sell between $9.95 and $19.95, and are made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper and manufactured in the USA. 

Available in small, medium and large, in both hard cover and flexi formats.  The ecosystem artist presents blank pages for individuals who use their imagination to produce works that are beautiful and kind to the Earth. The ecosystem author offers lined pages for writing with the well-being and sustainability of the Earth in mind.  The ecosystem architect delivers a grid journal for an environmentally aware person who creates strength and order with lines; and the ecosystem advisor provides calendars and organization for an ecologically friendly provider of professional or personal advice .

Customers can purchase several components that fit into the planner or journal's back pocket.  The variety of inserts, which are available from the ecosystem website Ecosystlemlife.com (a B&N owned site) includes additional blank, grid and lined paper inserts as well as personal information, "to do," and calendar inserts.  Buy these extras, and you can customize your book even further for specific needs.

B&N has said their Ecosystem was created on the premise that being "green" doesn't have to be boring and 100% made in the USA. But we already know that !!! The process of making an ecosystem planner or journal takes the product on a path through several US manufacturing facilities (Lewiston, Maine to Duncan, South Carolina and Park Falls, Wisconsin). For information on the exact journey of a particular ecosystem product, how many people were employed in each step, and the environmental benefit based on the exact specs of the book, customers can simply enter the product book number on the ecosystem website at Ecosystemlife.com.

We look forward to testing them!

George Wein's FOLK FESTIVAL 50 Green Updates

Attending George Wein's FOLK FESTIVAL 50 in Newport, RI this weekend?  There's some good eco news to report;   artists and music fans alike can act together to create environmental change and the Clif Bar GreenNotes, Klean Kanteen, People's Power & Light and Mass Energy will show you how at George Wein's Folk Festival 50, August 1 - 2 at Newport's Fort Adams State Park.

The CLIF Bar GreenNotes Protect The Places We Play benefit album features 11 GreenNotes artists, including Folk Festival 50 artists Brett Dennen, Ben Kweller and Josh Ritter.  One hundred percent (100%) of the proceeds from the album benefit four environmental non-profit organizations; Leave No Trace, Sierra Club, The Surfrider Foundation, and The National Environmental Education Foundation.  Festival-goers are invited to stop by the CLIF GreenNotes tent to pick-up new tunes from emerging artists, taste some of CLIF Bar's new organic morsels and enter to win a sustainable Gibson guitar.

In addition, CLIF GreenNotes has also helped Folk Festival 50 partner with Klean Kanteen to provide limited edition stainless steel water bottles for sale at the Folk Festival 50 merchandise tent. Klean Kanteens are made of high quality, food-grade stainless steel, one of the safest materials available for cooking, containing or transporting human food and beverage.  Americans discard 38 billion empty water bottles a year, more than $1 billion worth of plastic. (Fast Company, December, 2007). Water stations will be available on the festival grounds to allow attendees to fill/refill their bottles.

Summer; A Great Time to Visit a Farmer's Market

Looking for a fun family activity this summer?  Take a family trip to a local farmer's market, or visit one while on vacation!  You will be helping support community farmers and getting healthy food for your family. There are great treats, and great ways for your kids to learn.

Don't know if there is a farmer's market in your area?  Use this handy tool to locate a market near you: LocalHarvest.org