Erin Goes Green

Woolly pockets; so novel, so perfect so woolly

2010-05-01T13:27:00.004-04:00

No matter what size your space is, even if your home is pocket sized, you can grow your own. Woolly pockets are canvas planters that you can hang on any wall anywhere. It's perfect for porches or tiny yards. You could instantly have a small herb garden growing right in your kitchen. They are kinda pricey, so perhaps you could play on the same concept and make them out of an old canvas shoe organizer. I'm sure all the mildew that would take over the canvas could make it look kinda cool.

Parks & Recreation: Cocoa Riverfront Park

2010-04-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

It's spring, which means it's time to get out of the funk and get into the green. Green spaces are all around Brevard and I plan to visit them all, find out if they are kid tested and mom approved. My first stop, the Cocoa Riverfront Park near 520 and Cocoa Village. The park is jammed packed with all kinds of family fun; from a mini water park fountain, a giant sandbox, lots of open green space and a decent sized playground, there's enough activities to stimulate the little ones and yourself for at least an hour. On the weekends, the park is buzzing with activity. My favorite time to come is around dusk, when Lily can actually get a turn on the baby swing with out me having to bribe other kids off. The sad baby face works pretty well though.

One of the most eco-friendly aspects of the park is actually no where in sight, but under your nose. The park houses a significant storm water treatment project, which traps 12 acres of run-off. The three underground basins trap and filter pollutants before pumping the water to an off-site treatment plant. The water is then treated and sent back to feed the water park's fountain. What's left over is then available for irrigation use as well as the city's overall reclaimed water supply for residential use.

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The Earth Day Resolution

2010-04-22T10:00:00.001-04:00

It's Earth Day, so I thought I would come out from the chaos cloud that is my life now and perhaps update my green blog. It's been 4 months of blog neglect and I am inclined to apologize. But for what really? I'm a working mom of a 7 month old, I use my "free" time to sleep.

If you read any green-lifestyle blogs it's probably just Treehugger.com, which is all you really need right?? So I think if I'm going to spend the few moments of free time I have these days blogging, it better be for something that brings value to people. I would like to take this blog in a little bit of a new, more focused direction.

I will be trying to highlight eco conscience efforts of my local community with an emphasis on the east coast, specifically Brevard County. I might rename my blog to reflect that, but i'm cheap and have no interest in buying another domain name. So not sure when that will go down. But expect more posts highlighting the green efforts going down in my hometown of Cocoa-Melbourne area.

Thus my Earth Day resolution is to hunt out locals doing green good and promote their efforts. One person recycling and blogging about it is ho hum, but an entire community doing it is extraordinary. It's really time for me to talk less and do more. I have some really great things in the pipeline to bring more green to my community and I would like to kick it off by dedicating my blog and time to my community.

If you are a local Brevard business, school, non profit or individual doing some green good, connect with me so your story or action can inspire the change we want to see in the world.

Happy Earth Day!!!

now lets go hug some trees and shame some litter bugs

THE COVE - it will make you cry

2009-12-27T10:29:00.006-05:00

If you don't cry while while watching this movie you have no soul and might be eaten by a bear.

The movie centers around one seemingly crazy old dude named Richard O'Barry. Ric was Flipper's trainer back in the 60's and has been trying to overcome his role in dolphin captivity for the past 35 years. He wrote a book in 1989 called "Behind the Dolphin Smile" that I read when I was 12 and was infatuated with dolphins.

The movie picks up where the book ends and brings us to the modern exploitation of dolphins. It centers around one small cove in Taiji, Japan where 23,000 dolphins are herded and slaughtered by Japanese fishermen every year. It is the MOST DISTURBING footage of dolphin slaughtering I have EVER seen. The movie was created and produced by the Oceanic Preservation Society and they did a truly superb job. Thought it's a documentary, it shows like a movie, an environmental activists Oceans 11.

The cast of characters include;

Louie Psihoyos, the producer

Joseph Chisholm, the roady

Simon Hutchins, the Marine,

Mandy & Kirk, the FreeDivers,

Greg "Moondog" Mooney, the uber Scuba Diver.

This mod squad each brings something unique to the table as they attempt to covertly hide HD cameras around the heavily guarded cove. Infarred cameras, heli-camera, faux rock housing, night vision divers, one crazy old decoy , some covert ops sh*t.

Movie Highlights:

Countries that are paid by Japan to attend the International Whaling Commission to vote favorably towards Japan's agenda don't even know whales are native to their own country. Come on , you can't even do a tiny bit of research before showing up to the International WHALING Commission. WTF?

Salty ole' Ric O'Barry strapping a monitor to his chest with the dolphin slaughter footage playing and then crashing the IWC. Classic.

Dolphin meat has toxic levels of mercury. Mercury levels that rise 2% every year from the burning of fossil fuels and polluting our oceans. Just another reason we need to find fuel alternatives, and quickly. 70% of the human population relies on seafood as a main food source.

This story, as horrifying as it is, pales in comparison to the larger issue of the depletion of our fisheries throughout the world. Our excessive consumption is creating a deficit that we might not come back from.

"No real change ever comes from the government, it comes from people" We have to stop waiting for our government to fix all our problems and injustices, cause it will never happen. It takes people with a common vision and passion to create change.

Movie trailer: http://thecovemovie.com/

What can you do about it? Visit this site

Hopefully I did a good enough job scaring the shit of you, now go watch the movie and get pissed off.

My Pool Goes Green

2009-12-14T21:18:00.003-05:00

Yeah, that's my pool. It's a swamp, there are creatures in it. But it's "green" and chemical free.

Who wants to take a dip?

Habitat for Humanity Orlando Green Home Review.

2009-12-10T22:09:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago, Habitat Orlando reached out to me and the PulseofCentralFlorida to visit their new green home community* We met up with their volunteer coordinator, Jennifer Gallagher who is one of the nicest chicks you'll ever meet. She put up with all my annoying construction questions and you can't help but be inspired by her passion for what she does. It's truly contagious, one of those "I can change the world" feelings.

* (I previously did a post about the sites green features, check it out here. The Pulse also has a site review here with all the photos.)

It's awesome to see a non-profit take on the challenge of building a green community. It's such a perfect fit since one of Habitat's mission is to make homes affordable, now they are making them affordable to operate.

I think the most impactful features Habitat Orlando incorporates into their homes are white roof shingles, low-e windows, energy efficient appliances and CFL's. These features are going to help the new homeowners keep their monthly utility bills super low. I was able to talk to a future homeowner, who was really excited about keeping her bills low while being eco-friendly. Energy efficient appliances and CFL's are obvious power savers to most people, but white roof shingles are going to save the planet according to Al Gore. Just kidding...sorta. Most roofs have dark shingles, which absorb heat. White roof shingles deflect the sun which helps keep the attic cool, which in turn helps keep the home cool. Since Florida life means running the AC for the majority of the year, this feature will have a huge impact on the homeowners utility bills. The same light deflection concept comes into play with Low-e windows. What does low-e mean anyways? E= Emissivity = the amount of light ( or heat) that flows through a material. These windows prevent heat transfer from light into the home. Both white roof shingles and low-e windows aren't too expensive and will make a serious dent in your home operating costs. Which is sweet!!

One of the great things about this community is that the homes will also be Florida Green Home Certified. The director of construction, Terry, focused on making the homes energy star, and in doing so, was also able to qualify the homes to be FGBC certified. Right now the homes qualify to have a silver rating, but there is a possibility the homes could get an even higher rating. Go Terry!!!

If you want to volunteer your time, money or supplies don't hesitate to reach out to the team. You'll be glad you did :)

Join the Million Baby Crawl

2009-10-27T17:03:00.002-04:00

OMG, this is sorta scary... babies are crawling their way to Washington to demand reform of toxic chemical policies.

Seventh Generation is sponsoring the Million Baby Crawl to get congress to require the EPA to have stricter policies towards what goes into household cleaners. The EPA has required safety testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 household cleaners. That is crap.

So what can you do about it? Email your Congressman/woman and have them get the Toxic Chemical Reform Act passed. Better yet, throw a pacifier in your baby's mouth and point them in the direction of Washington. Lily is already on her way....

My Eco-Friendly Nursery....on a Budget

2009-10-21T10:03:00.005-04:00

When I first found out I was pregnant, I couldn't wait to start designing and decorating Lily's nursery. I wanted to try to make it as eco-friendly as possible while keeping the costs down.

The best way to do that isn't to buy new, but buy used. I was able to find a crib and changing table on craigslist for only $75. A little touch up paint and new knobs made it feel like new.

I was also able to re-purpose my old toy box as a child, it just needed a little sanding and a new coat of paint to give it a complete face lift.

Lily's crib sheets and changing table cover were all sewn by my mom and provide a personal and custom touch to the room.

I created the art piece out of scrap wood and other crafty things I had laying around. The turtle art is actually a sarong I got on my honeymoon in Costa Rica which Lily loves to stare at while I change her. I just attached it to some scrap wood to make it more fancy. The wall paint was leftover from a former clients home that I saved from getting thrown away.

All in all I probably only spent around $200 to completely makeover this room by re-using and re-purposing. I love saving green while being green!!

*The only brand new items I purchased were a side table and lantern lights from Ikea and the circle mirrors from Target. My family purchased the rocking recliner for me while I was in the hospital having Lily.

Just thought you should know....Sams Club is rad!

2009-10-19T10:34:00.003-04:00

It's my first post post-baby and are you surprised it concerns poop? Since I've been knee deep in it for the past 7 weeks and all. Just a quick heads up that Sams Club is carrying dual flush toilets for only $99. That is a really good deal if you are looking for ways to conserve water. This bad boy uses up to 71% less water than a conventional toilet. One of the biggest water users in your home is the toilet, so I would expect that this toilet would pay for it's self in a year or so.

The pizza box get's a green makeover

2009-08-20T14:52:00.002-04:00

The 30 year old pizza box design just got a major green facelift . All it took was some ingenuity, some perforating and the entire function of the pizza box has been transformed. The bonus.. it's made out of 100% recycled cardboard.

U2 doesnt go green on their 360 tour

2009-08-20T13:52:00.004-04:00

The blogosphere is lighting up with criticism for the U2 360 tour. With good reason. For a group that touts the importance of sustainability and humanitarian efforts, they have really opened themselves up for the attack. From a 90 million dollar stage, the carbon impact of moving it and the band's private jet escapades, I find it laughable that they are going to be able to offset their carbon footprint as they claim on their site.

"We identified areas the tour could first and foremost REDUCE its environmental impact without compromising the quality of the fan experience. We are now in the process of implementing these recommendations with Live Nation. Next we will announce a customized U2 U2-360° Tour OFFSET strategy, reflecting the band's robust social change commitment, to offset the remaining tour emissions," said Michael Martin, MusicMatters' Founder and President.

There has been no update to their OFFSET strategy to address just how exactly they will be offsetting their massive carbon footprint of over 65,000 tons of CO2. I guess they are planning on planting 20,000 trees or making a serious investment in carbon offsets.

The bands excuse seems to be in the name of Rock N' Roll baby!!! They are doing it all for the fans of course. Well I'm a HUGE U2 fan. They are actually my favorite band of all time. I saw the Vertigo Tour and it was absolutely amazing. I prefer outdoor amphitheatre shows, and was really hesitant that I was gonna like being stuck in a seat in an arena atmosphere. U2 did not disappoint, they designed the entire concert to make the most out of the arena experience. I laughed, I cried, I got beer spilled on me and was thrown down a flight of stairs only to complain and get better seats. Would this concert experience have been enhanced if it was outdoors? For me yes, I would have avoided a nasty fall and avoided stinking of beer. But seriously, It only makes sense for a band that wants to "become better in looking after out planet" to take a more aggressive approach at incorporating sustainability into their tours. How can they expect their fans to take any credence in their humanitarian efforts if they aren't willing to walk the walk with how they make a living? They have such a massive global appeal, all they need to do is step up. Other bands will follow suit, and soon concert sustainability will be the norm. You can still rock your face off without contributing to the world's demise.

Addiction to Consumption

2009-08-18T12:14:00.002-04:00

Annie Leonard, author of the online film, The Story of Stuff was recently featured in Body + Soul's going greener guide provides some insight into what our addiction to consumer goods will lead to.

"we work longer hours, with less leisure time than our parents and grandparents. Our personal consumer debts-and the clutter in our homes, weighs us down. Our communities are eroded. We don't know our neighbors. We have more TV's but fewer friends. ...Our excessive shopping diminishes, rather than adds to our quality of life."

This really resonates with me. A couple examples of why this addiction is completely insane and hits close to home.

Boats, cars, bikes and stuff: My husband has accumulated lots and lots of toys. So much so that at one time we had 2 motorcycles, 2 boats and 3 cars. Both boats don't work, one sat at his work for months before he finally sold it for next to nothing, while another still takes up space at his friends house. 1 bike was borrowed and subsequentally stolen, the other bike was finally sold. One car sits in the garage yearning to be fixed, 2 cars are driven by myself and my husband. We can't use our garage to store the cars we drive, we can't use the boat to go diving. They have just become a burden to the kind friend who has agreed to let the boat rot in in yard, and a constant reminder of the time we dont' have to fix it. WHY THE HELL DO WE HAVE THINGS WE CAN'T OR DON"T EVEN USE!!!!

Credit Card Debt: You work long hours and you feel you deserve a nice dinner out, our a cute outfit or whatever. Since you don't have the cash in your account you charge it. Until one day you wake up and are drowning in debt. So you work more to pay off the debt you have accumulated to purchase the things you think you deserve for working so hard. The cycle continues.....WHY THE HELL DO WE DO THIS TO OURSELVES???

You can download The Story of Stuff, which explores the hidden costs of our addiction to consumer goods, for free here.

"The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget" Book Review

2009-08-17T17:01:00.008-04:00

" a guide to environmental choices that are easy, affordable, readily accessible, and better for the planet"

The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget pretty much sums it all up. It's a really quick and easy read, I devoured it in a little over an hour. I lucked out that my library actually had a copy on the shelf, I wasn't expecting that for some reason.

This book is a great way to inspire environmental choices that are easy and guilt-trip free. Something I think everyone can benefit from. The book is broken down into a couple different categories, so there is bound to be a topic in there you can benefit from. Fashion, transportation, energy savings, water saving, green home ( my fav subject) , green furnishing, organic gardening, green cleaning, eco-babies, green beauty, eco-offices & green careers.

He also sums up all the websites and companies he talks about at the end of each chapter. I am going through them and bookmarking them for future reference. There are some real goodies in there like..

GreenPhone.com, a site that allows you to recycle your phone and get paid for doing it.
WhiteApricot.com, a fashion and beauty site that features exclusive discounts on your fav green goods
Chooserenewables.com, a site that helps you determine your home's solar and wind energy potential savings and rebates

The author, Josh Dorfman, has his own show on the Sundance Channel, and is the founder of Vivavi, a green furniture and design online retailer.

I swear I'm gonna compost!! I swear!!

2009-08-14T15:27:00.003-04:00

Everyday, as I scrape leftover food into the garbage I tell myself that this is only temporary until I get my composting-self together. Today I found a recycled plastic kitchen composter at GreenHome.com. This little dude (which was only $21) provides a temporary home for your uneaten food until you add it to your outside composter. Which I still don't have....I should probably get on that. But I'm at least one step closer people.

In San Francisco, their badass mayor helped get the nation's first mandated recycling and composting law for business's. Not sure why the dude below is so sad about it, but i'm pretty pumped about it!! Can't wait for Florida cities to pass similar laws.

It's also kinda laughable that I seriously think that one day I can pull off an organic veggie garden and put this composting to use. I have a black thumb and every garden I've started turns to death. If you looked in my yard right now, you would probably think that crack heads live there. It's quite sad and embarrassing. Being a huge pregnant lady makes yard work kinda impossible right now. I guess I am delusional to think that somehow I'll find more time for the yard after the baby comes. But here's to optimism!!

Why Greenies Should Visit Switzerland

2009-08-13T16:41:00.005-04:00

I'm sure when you think of Switzerland, you think of yodeling and skiing. Both are fairly green activities, but Switzerland is actually leading the way in creating a sustainable country. What better way to be a part of that then visiting sustainable Switzerland.

Switzerland is actually the number one Eco-Country in the world. This is according to an Environmental Performance Index that takes into account a countries overall health, environment, air pollution, water quality, species-riches, use of natural resources and climate change. Switzerland also leads the way in eco-tourism, by offering many experiences that bring tourists close with the natural beauty of Switzerland while still preserving their natural spaces.

So how can you experience Switzerland the sustainable way?

Take the train. Train travel is easily accessible, affordable and a really unique way to see the beautiful Swiss countryside.
Get your cycle on. Switzerland is a bike friendly nation. Not only is biking a great way to take in the sites, but it's also affordable and an awesome way to burn some calories. I hear Swiss chocolate is addictive.
Enjoy some eco-friendly fun. Ever since I saw "Cool Runnings" I wanted to try bobsledding. The Swiss call it toboggans, and there are tons of sweet places to try it out in some beautiful scenery. Or you could go white water rafting, rapelling, hiking, climbing, this list could really go on. I love taking part in activities that have a small environmental impact, allow you to take in the local scenery and get your heart pumpin'.
Sleep eco. There are several green friendly hotels and resorts, like the Palace Hotel St. Moritz
Shop green. Switzerland offers an abundance of organic products, including chocolate!! This would also make for great green gifts.
Be one with nature. From Switzerland's vast mountains, lakes, rolling hills and waterfalls you're bound to have one of those, "holy crap this is too much beauty for there not to be a God" moments. The below picture should invoke that for ya :)

Surfrider "Catch of the Day" Ads are back

2009-08-10T16:51:00.003-04:00

I guess i'm a little late to the party, but I just caught one of these ads in one of my fave mags "Ready Made". It's a mag for DIY'ers. "Do you like to do it yourself?"

Anyways, Glad these ads are back, they first appeared last year. Got my attention.

Catch of the Day reads:
"In sections of the Pacific, plastic particles outnumber plankton 10 to one"

another reason to ditch the reusable plastics peeps!

KILZ primer now without VOC's

2009-07-30T10:11:00.004-04:00

Hooray!!! The best primer now has a ZERO VOC formula. Looks like Ace Hardware is carrying it for around $31 a gallon. That compared to $15 a gallon for regular water-based KILZ. KILZ also has their original oil-based low VOC formula for around $17. I hate oil-based paint though, so I think I'd rather drop the money on the zero voc paint :)

the summer of my eco-discontent

2009-07-29T17:20:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I'm going there. Listen, I'm not all shiny happy greenie all time. This summer has been really hard on me physically, mentally and emotionally. Being knocked up really takes away some of the beloved summer activities that keep me happy and more connected to the environment like surfing, diving and biking. And since I break into a sweat just by looking at the sun, I've been sorta a homebody. You think all this time at home would have allowed me to blog more, but then that dang baby is all busy sucking my brain cells. All my creative energy goes into creating her.

So the only surfing i'm doing this summer is online. And all the reports coming out about our environmental future are pretty damn terrifying. I won't share the links and perpetuate the horror of it all, but needless to say, this is my summer of eco-discontent.

As all parents do , we fear what kind of future our children will have. What kind of state are we leaving their planet in when we leave them? That's when the sadness takes over my normally positive outlook. I feel this crazy desire to show her all these amazing places before they dissapear. Since reefs are bleaching out at an alarming rate due to the increased acidity of our oceans, I better book that trip to Austrailia now. I should also consider moving out of Florida since it might be underwater soon or taken out by an insane hurricane.

Am I being irrational or realistic? Should I just sit back and tell myself that the general world population as we know it is going to remove their heads from their asses and prevent any of this from happening? Should I just chalk it all up to the media loving to spread gloom and doom? Are the only people who have any power to make real change happen in the government?

So what the hell do we do? We are all obviously on drugs we can't get off of and we are fully aware of what we are doing to ourselves. Our current excuse for not quiting is the economy, which has had a positive and negative impact on our environmental outlook and practices. The economy has made us tighten our belts by using less, but it has also driven us to make the cheaper purchase which isn't always the best for the environment. I'm definitely guilty of the latter. I just can't afford to buy all organic or always choose the product that is the most eco-friendly. Our greatest power right now is how we spend the little dollars and time we have.

So in an effort to turn this sinking ship around that is my super ranty blog post, I think I should lighten things up a bit. Lets take a little dance break. Yeah, right now, just dance it out a bit. No music you say, just put a little Pump up the Jam in your brain. "Pump up the jam, pump it up, while your feat are stompin, and the jam is pumpin, look at here the crowd is jumpin.....

ok, I totally blame the baby for that. She is constantly seeding my brain with classic 90's dance songs. But i'm not sorry about it, you totally just pumped up the jam and took your mind off the fact that the world is falling apart. Now the REM song, " it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine" is breaking through....ahhhh baby, please I need to write a damn blog post before my brain turns to oatmeal...mmm oatmeal..

Green Baby Shower Loot

2009-07-10T16:17:00.004-04:00

I had my baby shower a couple weeks ago, and got some awesome loot. Lily is gonna have enough cloths to have at least 3 outfit changes a day.

Check out some of the green loot Lily gets to rock thanks to all my family and friends.

bamboo baby leggings for Lily to get her crawl on and maybe do a little "flash dancing"
plates made out of corn not plastic, must remember to not put in dishwasher...
Dozy Dolphin, which is made from bamboo fabric. It provides a little ocean themed white noise to put mommy and baby to bed.
Born Free baby bottles as well as some glass bottles. Kinda nervous about the glass bottles though, can the baby smash her face with them?
organic crib pad, which is waterproof and super soft
toys & books made out of recycled materials
some organic cotton onesies
angel baby bottom balm
sophie the giraffe natual teether made from natural rubber and food paint, it's also crazy soft

I am really luck to have soo many generous friends and family!!! The amount of stuff that comes along with the baby is completely insane. I'm reading "Trees Make the Best Mobiles: Simple Ways to Raise your Child in a Complex World" and so far, it's helping me break through the noise.

Speaking of books, I bought Lily her first book when I first found out I was pregnant. "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. Memba' him??? I love love love that book and can't wait until I can read it to Lily.

"Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk . . . and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave"

awkward family photo goes green...

2009-06-30T18:17:00.004-04:00

Awkward Family Photo is my favoritist site eva!!! Seriously I have to check it like 3 times a day, it's kinda a problem.

looks like this family is going green, rocking their homemade cactus suits. Not sure why the one chick is wearing what appears to be hand drawn ammo ?? And the youngest member doesn't seemed to be very happy about going green with this family, couldn't even get a cactus hand from him. But who could blame him.

going green at Goodwill

2009-06-30T17:48:00.004-04:00

I have to admit that my finances are taking a huge hit right now with the economy being what it is. I'm sure I'm not alone on this either. Disposable income is a thing of the past as I save all my money in preparation for the new baby. So I’m constantly looking for win win scenarios where I get to be green with little green.

So my sister and I checked out the new Goodwill by my house, the ultimate household goods and clothing recycling center. I wanted to check out some baby cloths just for fun and was pleasantly surprised with their selection and quality. I can't say the same for adult cloths. I guess you could find some good stuff for your next 80's themed party though. The selection of formal dresses almost made me pee my pants, or that was the baby pushing on my bladder, either way, they were awesomely horrible. Sadly most of them were bridesmaid dresses. Ladies why must we torture the ones we love with a hot pink sequined dress with puffy sleeves and hints of teal?

Check out some of my baby cloths finds. I obviously think flowery patterns are pretty sweet. They don't really have any evidence of even being worn either :)

The best part was that each outfit was only $1.50. Kids grow out of cloths so fast, it is almost a waste to continually buy brand new cloths. Once the baby outgrows them, back to Goodwill for another round of reuse. I'm sure she will reach a point in her life where my Goodwill bargains might embarrass her, but for now, ignorance is bliss.....and cheap.

*Also, my dog looks pretty damn cute in his recycled $1.50 hoodie. He'll be pretty relieved once I can start dressing up the baby and not him.

SeaWorld’s new Manta roller coaster is going green!!

2009-06-16T15:34:00.005-04:00

As a Florida resident, I have spent many a day in the SeaWorld parks from childhood to adulthood. I feel that my experience getting up close and personal with the animals was an inspiration in my environmental pursuits.

SeaWorld continues to strive towards making their parks and procedures more green. Their new ride, Manta, incorporates many green technologies and procedures into the construction and operation of the ride including…

Sustainable water treatment: energy efficient
Animal Conservation: Manta breeding program
Tree replanting: all trees that were cleared were replanted throughout their parks
Home-Grown Coral
Energy Efficient Lighting: including LEDS, ( best) CFLS (better) & Metal halides for the coral growth.
Wood scrap usage for ceilings and doors
Saltwater Recycled

The ride is like nothing I have ever seen before. You actually face down like you were a Manta ray. I can’t wait to ride it after the baby comes. It’s actually getting frustrating hearing how awesome it is and not being able to jump on it myself right now. It will be worth the wait though.

If you live in near Orlando, and you aren’t pregnant then you have no excuse! Hit up SeaWorld and then go check out Aquatica or Busch Gardens for FREE through their current promo. Aquatica is the only park I haven't seen yet and I think this might be the perfect opportunity to go check it out. I always have more fun when it's free.

If you live out of town Check out their on-site hotel, The Renaissance Orlando. They are a certified Florida Green Lodging Hotel!!!

Mini weekend trips are the best. You go ride Manta all day at SeaWorld on Saturday, enjoy then green Lodging at the Renaissance and then you play at Aquatica all day Sunday for free. Free is good.

jelly shoes....the eco-friendly kind

2009-06-11T16:25:00.004-04:00

In the spirit of the last post, it's time to put your jelly shoes on and watch some Captain Planet!!!

I just had to share these sweet jelly shoes made in Brazil from recycled plastic. The will form to your feat, are hypoallergenic and odorless. They are manufactured in closed loop system where no waste is generated because it is all recycled. They are a little to pricey for me, but you can purchase them at the inhabit store online :)

lets get retro with Captain Planet

2009-06-05T17:12:00.002-04:00

Memba' this gem of a show in the early 90's? Randomly came across a contest mother nature network is hosting and I went back in time about 20 years.

Random facts about Captain Planet.

Captain Planet was the world's first Eco Hero!!
Brand refused to license singe use items like paper plates or other disposables and requires use of recycled materials wherever possible. Most products also included an "eco-tip" informing kids of additional ways they can help protect the environment.
Created in 1989 by Ted Turner with the hope of entertaining and inspiring the youth.
Worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Agency to host an educational expo.
Worked with the EPA on their "Greenlights" program to promote energy efficiency
Recognized by the US. Environmental Protection agency to increase awareness for protecting our wetlands

Green Tweets: 2

2009-06-04T16:39:00.013-04:00

This isn't really helping convince people to take mass transit if they risk getting mauled. Maybe we could get the Russians to ride the wild dogs to work? Win Win!

He did follow up that it was on recycled paper with water based ink. But still, sounds like a Sustainability FAIL.

I
I hear that this is true, you just stick your tongue out and taste scones and coffee. If this isn't true I'm gonna get really sad. Then angry.... very angry.

I still think that raising goats is the best way to go. They not only keep the grass trim, but they eat your garbage and produce delicious cheeses. mmmmm cheese.

It might actually be a greener initiative then you think since they will shove 23 people into one hummer.

This doesn't really have anything to do with being green per se, but could be an indicator on why America is lagging in the green revolution. If we can't even properly train our so-called sandwich "artists", how can we expect people to recycle?

Follow Love for my fav green tweets of the week :)
@TH_RSS
@dooce
@thegreenpair
@olanky1
@GreenSmith