Green Daily

(Photo by Envirosax)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post complaining about how hard it is to be green. But after thinking about it a little bit while I'm doing my daily life, I take it back: there are lots of things about being green that are easy!

Reusable straws -- I use straws for hot and cold drinks. Even at home. Believe me, the used straws start to stack up quickly. I was feeling guilty about my daily hollow plastic contribution to the landfill when my best friend gave me some cool acrylic straws from Crate & Barrel. I wash them, like cutlery. It's actually no big deal, and one little way to avoid producing needless waste. While still being OCD and orally fixated.

Recycled paper towels -- They are available everywhere, with several choices at all of my local supermarkets. My husband (who objects to "those gross brown ones") has even bought them by accident, thinking he was sneaking contraband virgin paper fiber into the house. Yes, I just said that it's so easy even a husband can do it. By accident.

Is Obama's face already destined for Mt. Rushmore glory? Is your paperback habit destroying the world's forests? Would you fly standing room only? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Greenpeace Goes Guerrilla on Mount Rushmore A few intrepid Greenpeace activists scaled Mt. Rushmore and hung a banner next to Lincoln's face featuring President Obama's portrait and the message "America honors leaders not politicians: stop global warming." Yeah, they got arrested.

T. Boone Pickens Drops "World's Largest" Plans You know we're in a major recession when even billionaires have to go with "Plan B." After numerous setbacks, Pickens has scrapped the pie in the sky "world's largest wind farm" idea and instead is going with a series of less sexy smaller wind farms.

Are Paperback Writers Clear Cutters in Disguise? Not to diss Danielle Steel or Tom Clancy, but I'm willing to bet that at least a couple of their bestsellers won't end up in the canon of English literary masterworks. That said, are these authors responsible for needlessly chopping down forests to print millions of paperbacks?

Flying Standby Takes a Whole New Meaning A discount airline in China has proposed standing room flights to fit more passengers, like on a bus. Sure, it would lower your ticket price and reduce your carbon footprint, but will consumers stand for it (sorry for the pun)? If successful, other carriers will surely follow suit.

Eating Away at Your A/C Bill If you're trying to get by with as little air-conditioning as possible this summer, but the triple digit heat is not cooperating, you can always adjust your eating habits a bit. Avoid the oven at all costs, eat lots of popsicles, and try your hand at some ceviche.

Green in a Flash:

• Check out NASA satellite images of our melting ice caps.
• 350 dogs were seized in the biggest dogfighting raid in US history.
• To underscores its environmental efforts, GM may change its logo from blue to green.

We've been relatively (some would say blissfully) free of Michael Jackson coverage around here, but I can't resist the opportunity to mention the wonderful work done by the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida. Bubbles the Chimp, who traveled the world with Michael for several years, and learned to moonwalk, is a resident of the Center, and is living out his showbiz retirement in cucumber- and banana-noshing comfort.

Along with Bubbles, 14 orangutans and 27 other chimps enjoy the safety and tranquility of the 100+ acre sanctuary in central Florida. There are different habitats, sleeping areas, and a very cool elevated "tunnel and chute" system that lets the curious chimps and orangs safely wander through the sanctuary's wooded areas.

Some people (like the stupid, ignorant Kardashians) think it's cute and funny to play with baby apes. But as we saw with the Travis the chimp tragedy in Connecticut, cute baby apes grow into strong adults who can't be controlled in domestic settings. However, once they've lived with humans, these chimps and orangs also don't have the skills to live in the wild. Most post-showbiz and abandoned-pet apes wind up in circuses ... or worse.

Wanna hit the slopes at Bruce Willis' greener ski resort? Does anyone sit in a McDonald's long enough to charge their EV? Why should you hope that the Seattle Storm will be raining threes this season? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Bruce Willis to Build a Greener Ski Resort Bruce Willis will soon be the proud owner of a ski resort that utilizes passive solar heating in central Idaho. Actually, he's owned the lodge on Soldier Mountain for some time, but it recently burned down, giving him the opportunity for a green redesign. Awesome!

Would You Like to Charge Your Vehicle With That? Chances are, if you're stopping in at the Golden Arches for a Big Mac, you're probably not on your way to chain yourself to an old growth tree. Still, in North Carolina, you can now charge your EV while you sit and enjoy your bucket-sized cola.

Seattle Storm Plant A Tree for Every Three Even if Seattle's your team's arch rival in the WNBA, you can still cheer when they hit a three-pointer. That's because they've teamed up with a local Subaru dealership that will plant a tree in a nearby forest for every three the Storm drain this season.

The Ghost of School Lunches Yet to Come Who doesn't have nightmares filled with school lunches from their childhood? Am I the only one? Anyway, the school lunch entrees of the future may be even more unnatural (ribless rib sandwiches?) than the those of the past. If you love your child, please, brown bag it.

MJ Doesn't Go With Eco-Casket While it'd be nice to see a more eco-friendly choice (like maybe the coffin table), the King of Pop was laid to rest in solid bronze, 14-carat gold-plated casket. For all the energy and emissions invested in taking that metal out of the ground, it seems weird to put it right back in.

Green in a Flash:

• Six Flags theme parks are going green.
• Not to be outdone by Mickey D's, Burger King will install energy-harvesting speed bumps.
• Would the climate bill go down a little easier with a heaping spoonful of nuclear power?

(Photo by Getty Images)

In the end, it always comes back to poop, doesn't it? I was catching up, scrolling through my "green news" feeds, and there they were, one after another, on Huffington Post, Reuters, and the Lazy Environmentalist: stories about eco-friendly toilets.

The green issue, i.e. the least green thing about toilets, and therefore poop, is water. It takes a lot of water to wash away each person's daily "production." And in a world where fresh water is in increasingly high demand ... at some point the discussion becomes, "Do we prioritize drinking water or toilet water?"

But we green folk are nothing if not inventive, so of course there are solutions. For ages, one of my favorite eco-home-porn items has been a grey water toilet. The concept is simple enough: you collect the water from showers, face-washing and tooth-brushing and use it to flush toilets instead of valuable drinking water. Two people using a grey water system can save as much as 14 gallons of water per day!

Want some eco-friendly advice from Gwyn and Cameron? Can a golf course ever be truly called sustainable? Are rich people killing the planet? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz Team Up Wanna go green like a movie star? In the latest edition of Gwyneth Paltrow's online green newsletter GOOP, Cameron Diaz gives a shout out to some of her favorite green styles, home furnishings, and media (like the new flick "Food Inc.").

Justin Timberlake's Green Greens Usually, golf course developers hire a PGA legends like Jack Nicklaus to design a course ... not a former boy bander. In the case of the Mirimichi Golf Course, JT was involved in salvaging the doomed course and revamping it to be as sustainable as a golf course can be.

Track Richie Rich's Footprint? Since the "rich" supposedly emit about half of the world's carbon, a new climate change strategy focuses on tracking well-to-do. The new method, unveiled by the National Academy of Sciences, would tailor laws to individuals with hefty bank accounts. Creepy? Cool?

Tips for All the Container Gardeners If you're working with limited space, or you're just renting and don't want to build an entire garden (been there done that), there's always the container gardening option. Gardening in containers can be super successful in all sorts of urban spaces. Check out some tips.

Green Moving Companies Rounding out Grist's look at the exhausting process that is "moving," they've stumbled onto a new phenomenon: green movers. For lazy people with a little extra cash, these companies will pack your stuff in reusable boxes, haul it in biodiesel trucks, and even plant a tree.

Green in a Flash:

• US power plant emissions have dropped dramatically in 2009.
• If sea levels rise, at least we'll have futuristic floating cities like this.
• Vancouver might require electric car charging outlets in new parking lots.

(Photo by Heinz)

Recently I visited my sister in North Carolina. While there is much to love in the southern state, it's is not what you would call the most "green" area of the country -- they don't even have curbside recycling at her house!

But she does have the softest and best smelling laundry in the world, because she uses a ton of fabric softener, something I gave up ages ago because of the negative impact on the environment. Still, you have to admit, that stuff really makes a difference. Toweling off after a shower, I was ready to say, "Screw the environment, bring me a gallon of Downy!"

But of course I didn't. Sigh. Instead I'm redoubling my efforts to find the ultimate green laundry products. In the interest of research, last week I did four loads of laundry, using four different combos, in search of clean, green laundry satisfaction. Did I find it? Well ... sorta.

Looking for an eco-crib in New Orleans? Is your iPhone your most potent weapon in the battle against climate change? Do you have water-friendly recycling habits? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Blueprints for Brad Pitt's Eco Duplexes Brad Pitt's "Make it Right Foundation" has unveiled a new set of designs for green, flood-resistant duplexes that will soon be cropping up in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. Eight of these energy-saving bad boys are already under construction.

iPhone Your Way to Sustainability Want to find the greenest way to do just about anything? Not to quote the commercials, but there probably is an app for that. Since iTunes has yet to create an official "green" category, Grist has sorted through the melee of apps to find the hidden gems.

Guy Ritchie Wants to be a Farmer Madonna's ex-husband Guy Ritchie wants to make his 18th century estate self-sufficient, at least when it comes to produce. The Snatch director has applied to convert his historic Ashcombe House flower gardens into a haven for fruit and vegetables.

Beware the Green Police A new type of law enforcement agency is currently taking form in the UK. With uniforms that consist of green vests, these eco-cops will have warrants to search properties, review energy bills, and audit the carbon trading practices of businesses.

Is Recycling a Waste of Water? Do you rinse your recyclables out before you toss them in the bin? If you do an overly thorough job, you're probably using a lot of unnecessary H2O. Then again, recycling saves a bunch of water in the long run, so you're still coming out ahead.

Green in a Flash:

• Japan may mandate noisier hybrids.
• One UK retailer is offering free EV charging while you shop.
• Electric companies may hike rates to pay for programs to save energy.

(Photo by Dr. Hauschka)

One of the most fun parts about beauty blogging is getting to try all kinds of neat stuff I wouldn't otherwise hear about. And since all-natural products are one of the fastest growing markets these days, I've been trying a ton of eco-friendly, body-friendly, and gorgeous-making treats lately! Here are a few of my current favorites:

Dr. Hauschka Lemon Lemongrass Oil
I am totally obsessed with this body oil, which is purported to "reduce the appearance of cellulite." I can tell you that it made my bumpy upper arms smoother than I ever thought possible, and it smells like a sunny day on a citrus farm. My only complaint is that the bottle is too small -- I whizzed through it in less than three weeks, and at $28.95, it could get to be an expensive, but worthwhile, habit to maintain. It's no wonder Dr. Hauschka is "swamped with demand" for their products!

Decléor Aromessence™ Neroli
Another oil I am really into lately is this face serum from French spa brand Decléor. The subtly sweet/bitter scent is a blend of neroli, sandalwood, petitgrain, sage, parsley and juniper berry essential oils, which leaves your skin glowing, and your mind calm. At first I was worried about using oil on my face, but you just use a dab at a time, and the results speak for themselves. It's $68 for a .05 oz bottle, but believe me, you use it much more slowly than the Dr. Hauschka body oil!

Should all public fireworks displays be banned? Have you prepped the grill for a green bbq session? What organic ice creams will satisfy an Independence Day craving? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Stephen Colbert: Fourth of July Under Attack! Eco-activist Benjamin Schroeter is suing Seattle to block its 4th of July fireworks display -- set to be held at a defunct coal to gas plant -- because it may release all sorts of nasty toxic stuff, harm wildlife, etc. Is this dude talking sense, or taking his quest a bit too far?

Lowering Your 4th of July's BBQ Emissions Burgers and hot dogs are one of the most fundamental elements of a proper 4th of July par-tay, but when it comes to emissions, not all methods are created equal. Simple tricks like using lump charcoal and flipping your meats frequently can help you avoid extra carcinogens.

The Tastiest Organic Ice Creams Don't get caught with a tasteless, fake tasting ice cream this Fourth. The tasters at Grist have put together reviews of both the top organic and the top non-dairy ice cream options. The importance of flavorful, satisfying, ice cream can't be overstated, don't mess this up.

Eco Fireworks Aren't Necessarily Green The greenish color in fireworks is created using Barium, a particularly nasty chemical to breathe or find in you public water supply. There are eco-friendly fireworks available ... and they are considerably more expensive, but they won't blow up your local ecosystem.

Better Know Your SPF While soaking up rays at whatever body of water you choose to crowd around this weekend, it would behoove you to know what SPF (solar protection factor) is right for your epidermis. Hint: the SPF number has nothing to do with how long the sunscreen lasts.

Green in a Flash:

• Check out some eco-tips on proper flag flying.
• UK and US leaders call a swine flu crisis meeting.
• Bull sharks are swimming deeper into Louisiana swamps.

(Photo by Getty Images)

In this country, we're lucky to have the freedom to choose to act any way that we please -- whether it's good or bad for the environment.

Fortunately, more and more Americans are picking energy smart appliances, walking instead of driving, and encouraging our elected officials to support legislation that creates clean energy jobs.

On that last note, Repower America has a 4th of July pledge on their site, letting you declare that you want our country to:

What's Jessica Alba doing to reduce her ecological footprint? Wanna exploit your talent for gripping, inspiring photography to win cool stuff? Have you ever successfully grown any plant without watering it? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Jessica Alba's Green Lifestyle Makeover After last month's shark poster incident, we know that Jessica Alba is a serious eco-activist (an outlaw even). In an interview with Vogue, she shared some of the ways she's gone green at home. My favorite: Her lawn is made of recycled tires -- no watering or mowing.

Exploit Your Creativity to Protect Our Waterways Looking for a way to combine your love of nature with your disgust for litter? Every Friday in July, Wend is holding a photo contest to help inspire activism by showcasing outstanding snapshots of exquisite beauty or exquisitely trashed beauty. Details here.

Ant Colony is Taking Over the World An Argentine species of ants has spread across the planet, viciously attacking all rivals while recognizing each other as if they were all part of one unstoppable, globalized super-colony. Of course, humans unwittingly spread them to every continent except Antarctica.

Dry Farming is Not an Oxymoron Farmers in drought-ridden California are boldly making the water-wise transition to "dry farming." Sounds like a excellent plan ... for a cactus farm. Right? Well, apparently these farmers have discovered that certain apples, tomatoes and grapes thrive with very little water.

The Future of Highway Taxes For me, there's just no topic more fascinating than how we will pay taxes in the future. I'm kidding. Still, when everyone is driving solar powered cars, the gasoline tax will be a woefully inadequate way to fund highways. The alternative: A GPS monitored mileage tax.

Green in a Flash:

• Is the McMansion dead? Or is it just hibernating?
• Yahoo! is investing in green data centers and renewable energy.
• Is "LEED certified" the latest victim of the greenwashing movement?

My favorite traditions for the 4th of July involve eating outdoors. Picnics, BBQs, coolers at the beach, nothing says summer holiday like the smell of sunscreen mixed with the salty goodness of a crispy hot dog.

And while I must admit a weakness for Cool Ranch Doritos, as a rule I like to keep my al fresco dining practices in line with my "regular" organic, sustainable and local habits.

One place where that's most important -- and easy -- is in the "meat/not-meat" main dish department:

Wanna know all about the real Dr. Temperance Brennan? Need some green moving tips? Which energy bars taste are a cornucopia of deliciousness and which taste like bear scat? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Emily Deschanel is Green to the Bone We may know her as Dr. Temperance Brennan on Fox's "Bones," but those who know her best, know her as an environmentalist, animal activist, and green fashionista. Like most of us, she wants solar panels on her roof and a Tesla in the garage. Check out the interview.

Moving Tips: What's the Greenest Way to Pack? Packing up all of your belongings -- only to load them onto a truck for a couple hours and then unload them -- sucks, to say the least. Still, what's the greenest way to move your junk: boxes, plastic containers ... rented plastic crates? Check out Grist's eco-moving tips.

The Energy Bar Taste Test An energy bar (or two) can replace a meal when you're out on the trail, but some of them are severely lacking in the flavor department. The taste of some bars has been compared with "bear scat" and "kitty litter." Compare the Sierra Club's ratings with your personal faves.

Would You Wear Solar Clothing? As we've seen with the solar tie, solar bra, and now the ugly solar (fishing?) vest, clothing that features PV panels can catch a few geeky headlines and charge a few cellphones, but overall they seem way too geeky for mass adoption. I'm still confused by the solar bra.

LaGuardia Birds Attack Again! Even after NYC's controversial move to gas thousands of the Canadian geese around LaGuardia, birds are still terrorizing passenger jets! Maybe they're taking revenge for their fallen comrades, maybe they're protesting high carbon travel. We don't know their demands yet.

Green in a Flash:

• Trader Joe's may not be the best place to pick up your seafood.
• Would you trade in your wheels for an electric shopping cart?
• Germany leads G8 on climate change performance, US is second to last.

(Photo by Nature\'s Inventory)

It makes sense that so many dogs, cats, birds, and ferrets find fireworks utterly terrifying and unbearable -- they are loud, unpredictable, and jarring -- and a delightfully patriotic celebration of our country's deeply martial history, don't get me started wrong.

Obviously you can't stop your local municipality from setting off a 20 minute light and explosion show set to bombastic classical music. But you can help your pet be safe, and hopefully shorten the length of time Felix, Fido and Lance the Lizard hide in the closet, under the bed and behind a rock, respectively.

The LA Times had a great article with suggestions for doing your animal friend a 4th of July solid, including:

• Leave your pet at home -- no pet wants to see fireworks up close
  
• Make sure all pets have a collar and ID tag (that's smart all the time)
• Ask your vet for advice on keeping your pet calm -- music, low lights, a comfortable bed, could all make a difference.
  

I would add, if you're going to be talking to Dr. Feelgood Veterinarian, consider requesting a prescription for doggie Ativan. Or, if you're more into holistic, herbal remedies, there is this Doggie Calm Wellness oil, which is basically lavender and patchouli. It's organic!

And of course, catnip won't calm your cat down, but he might thank you just the same. Everyone -- even pets -- enjoy a little herbal indulgence on a holiday weekend!