Have a green Thanksgiving!

With Thanksgiving just two days away I wanted to post some tips to make it a little greener! Here they are:
1. Look for organic turkeys, fruits and vegetables, and if you really want to go all out, check out Tofurkeys!
2. Get creative with your plating- think squash soup served in the rinds you hollowed out to make it.
3. Find alternative (re: recycled) centerpieces for your table. Instead of the typical greenhouse-raised and pesticide-filled flowers, take some branches and fallen leaves from your yard and make your own arrangement.
4. As always, recycle and compost everything you can.
Give thanks to Mother Earth this year- she deserves it!

(Yep, that's a Tofurkey temporary tattoo.)

More on Bikes

Jimmy's last post reminded me of way back in August when Emma, Kyle, and I attended GreenFest and Emma rode a similar bike.





This bike was made by a group called Maya Pedal in Guatemala. They turn bikes into machines such as mill/corn degrainers, water pumps, coffee depulpers, and metal sharpeners. At GreenFest, the group had the bike set up as a blender.

Green Hangout!

Who said fast food couldn't be "green"? Daily Harvest Cafe on High Street in Danvers not only offers delicious sandwiches, smoothies and muffins, but is also helping out the green initiative. The use of biodegradable paper items and re-usable materials are just some of the examples of the Daily Harvest Cafe's ways of becoming environmentally friendly.

The Cafe uses local organic food instead of shipping in food from South America. Daily Harvest Cafe offers healthy, fast, and environmentally safe food!

Check it out!

Green Gears

Dave Askins, of Michigan, created a new washer machine; ones that takes no energy or water. He created it around his stationary bike. He pedals to spin the wash and uses rainwater.

"This is a triple-win: Being clean, getting clean and getting exercise." -treehugger.com

Swine Flu- Hitting More than just Humans

In light of the recent events I found some information about the effect the H1N1 virus has on the environment. Turns out it is huge, and hugely adverse.
The Food and Agriculture Organizations says: "Because of human and livestock population growth, changes in livestock production, the emergence of worldwide agro-food networks, wild animal trade, and significant changes in personal mobility, human populations increasingly share a global commons of disease risk, among themselves and with other animal species." Basically, large-scale agriculture is making us more susceptible to pandemics, because of the unsanitary practices used in these places and because we are getting this food from around the world instead of our own backyards.
The moral of the story? As usual, buy local! It's healthier for the environment, and for you.
(Check out this article for more info.)

Falling Leaves

Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass that could be composted!

So, this fall, instead of filling trash bag after trash bag with leaves and leaving them on the curb for the trash truck to pick up, start composting or find a place in your town or city that composts!