Earth Day 2012 - A Billion Acts of Green

This Sunday, April 22nd, is the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day!  Join in the Earth Day “Billion Acts of Green” celebration this weekend! Here are just a couple of events happening in Manhattan but if you check out Earth Day’s site, you will find hundreds of events all across our great nation!





Earth Day New York
April 19-21st
Grand Central Terminal
Join in the fun at GCS where there will be exhibits, activities for adults and kids as well as entertainment! Best of all…it’s FREE!


Green Festival
April 21-22
Javits Center North
Saturday – 10-7
Sunday – 11-6
This is an amazing weekend packed with “green” vendors, amazing speakers and sustainable food.
Tickets are $10 for the day or $15 for the weekend if you buy online (a bit more at the door)


In celebration of Earth Day - I thought I'd give you some "green" tips.  Unfortunately I don’t have enough room here to give you a billion tips, so how about 10?


1.  Use a reusable water bottle to keep plastic out of our landfills and oceans.


2.  Keep your own utensils at work and avoid plastic ones.


3.  Change out your light bulbs for LED or CFL bulbs.


4.  Unplug those “vampire” energy suckers like hair dryers and coffee makers.


5.  Use an eco-friendly power strip if you need to keep things plugged in.


6.  Use non-toxic, biodegradable household cleaners.


7.  Eat local, organic and sustainable foods.


8.  Use reusable shopping bags.


9.  Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or while drying your hands.


10.  Pledge your act of green on the Earth Day website and tell all your friends to get on board!




One person’s actions can make a difference.

World Water Day

I love water.


I love to drink it, swim in it, bathe in it, surf in it (or wish I could surf), brush my teeth with it, clean my clothes with it, cook with it, listen to it and watch it.


Maybe it's because I grew up going to the beach all the time...Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, New Smyrna.

Or maybe it's because I have webbed toes like Ashton Kutcher and Patrick Duffy in The Man From Atlantis.

John often tells me I'm part fish despite the fact that he's grossly intrigued by my twin toes.

I like to think that this unique trait of mine has empowered me to defend and protect our waters.


That could be why today is one of my favorite days...World Water Day.


World Water Day was conceived to "focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources."


But with the world weighing in at a whopping 7 billion people and another 2 billion expected by 2050, we have to do all we can to ensure there is enough water for everyone.


So since today is the 22nd...and the 22nd happens to be one of my favorite numbers (seeing as I was born on the 22nd), I thought I'd give you 22 ways to conserve water!


Happy H2O Day!


1. Turn the faucet off when you brush your teeth.
2. Limit your shower to 5 minutes.
3. Don't water your lawn if you know it's going to rain.
4. Reuse water from your shower or cooking to water your plants.
5. Reduce your food waste - most food is made with, you guessed it, water!
6. If you're not going to drink it, ask the waiter to stop filling your water glass with it.
7. Don't use your toilet as your trash can - less flushing.
8. Use a water aerator on your sinks.
9. Install a water saving shower head.
10. Check your toilet for leaks.
11. Rinse your fruits and veggies in a basin as opposed to under the running water.
12. Wash full loads of dishes and laundry.
13. Buy high-efficiency appliances.
14. Use your garbage disposal sparingly and compost.
15. Soak your pots and pans to get the dried food off instead of running them under the water.
16. Use a commercial car wash that recycles water.
17. Bathe young children together.
18. When you change your pet's water, use the old water to water your plants and shrubs.
19. Throw the leftover ice from your drinks into plants.
20. Keep up with your car maintenance to reduce leaking of oil and such that seep into our environment and pollute the drinking water.
21. Sweep your driveway or sidewalk instead of watering it.
22. And finally...my biggest pet peeve...PLEASE turn the water off while you dry your hands!

And The Swag Goes To...

Last night ended the awards season with the grand-daddy of them all – The Oscars.


The Oscars have always been my favorite awards show (probably because I want to win one).


But this year, my favorite awards show was The Writers Guild of America Awards (of course I’m partial because my husband produced them).


I love to get all dressed up and I got to see my friends as well as some of my favorite celebs.


When my friend and I got to our seats, we found a program and a box of chocolates.  I had not eaten all day (so that my dress would look good) so by the time we sat down, I was ready to gnaw my hand off.  The chocolates were a happy surprise.


The evening was hysterically funny and everyone had the best time.


At the end of the evening, we said our good-byes and made our way towards the door.


Suddenly I paused a moment.  I felt as if I had forgotten something.  I did a quick check but I had everything I came with.


We continued out the door and I stopped abruptly.  “My Swag Bag!”


I turned around and ran back inside only to find…nothing.


Where was the bag of unwanted things that I will either give away or never use?  Every awards show gives away “The Swag Bag!”  Or at least I thought they did.


After my initial shock was over, I suddenly realized that the chocolates were the swag.


And I wasn’t disappointed (and not because I was starving).


Don't get me wrong...in my days before I turned eco-psycho I was all about a bag of free stuff.


But now, I try to consume less and I’m pretty much married to the eco-friendly products I use so I was actually relieved that I didn’t have to go home and empty out this bag of things I felt guilty about getting rid of because someone went to a lot of trouble to get.


There are actually two definitions of Swag from the Urban Dictionary.  One describes it as appearance, style or the way one presents themselves.  The other is actually an acronym for Stuff We All Get.


I like the “way one presents themselves” definition better because I want to present myself as someone who works hard to make choices that are better for our planet.


S.W.A.G. – Someone Who Acts Globally!  Hmmm…


So if the WGA awards weren’t already the cream of the crop of 2012, they certainly became that by eliminating their Swag Bag.


If you must Swag, then think about this:


1. What did this item have to go through to get to me and my guests?
2. Will more than one person actually use this?
3. Would I use it?


Once your rules are in place, use these ideas to make your Swag Bag one that means:


Stuff We All Gobble-up
 1. Use a fold up, reuseable bag like a Chico that fits nicely in your purse or pocket.
2. Add fruit to the bag instead of wasteful, processed, packaged foods.
3. Enclose a card for a free issue to a magazine rather than the actual one.
4. Make sure the items are high-quality and not junk - like maybe an organic t-shirt.


But the best Swag of all is Spending the Weekend Amongst Good-friends-and-food.


Now that’s some Swag I can get on board with.

I'll Have A Grande, Cafe Attitude with Extra Waste

The old saying is fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.  What is it if you fool me 400 times?


That's my relationship with Starbucks.  Actually, my relationship with the coffee giant is more like the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

In past blogs, I've talked about their use of the small, plastic plugs in their cup covers to prevent spillage, the cardboard sleeves slipped over the reusable mug and the making of my drink in a cup which is then poured into my reusable mug.


But the other day was the visit that broke the camel's back.


I was craving a Peppermint Mocha.  I handed my reusable mug over to the barista with my instructions: non-fat milk and no whip.


She took the mug, placed it down on the counter, then grabbed a paper cup and wrote my order on it.

"Excuse me...but did you just use another cup to write down my order?"

She looked at me blankly. "Yes."


I felt my blood pressure rising.  I tried to take some deep breaths.

"I'm sorry but I gave you a reusable mug.  The whole point of the reusable mug is to not use paper and save the trees!"


But she didn't care.  She called the next customer over and told me to wait "over there" for my drink.

"I want to cancel my order and speak to your manager."


The manager came over and I told him the story.  His reply was a simple "She's not supposed to do that," followed by "The cup won't go to waste. Those are the cups we use."

Can you say "contradiction"?


I knew at that moment that this was a regular practice.  And it still didn't solve the tree problem, which I pointed out.  By this time, the barista was not a happy camper and she began to yell at me. "I don't give a damn about the planet!"  To which I replied "You will when there's no planet left for you or your kids!"


At this point I knew that it was time to exit the store.  I took my cup back - sans the Peppermint Mocha.  I was not about to give my $5 to a place that didn't give a crap about our planet.

From that moment on I decided to boycott the coffee chain.  I figured out how to make my own peppermint mocha using organic, fair-trade coffee and cocoa.


The next time you go into an establishment with your own cup, take a look behind the counter.  Are they really using your mug?


Or are they fooling you too?

Have Yourself A Sustainable Little Christmas

The other morning I boarded the bus to work and found my favorite seat.  The bus quickly became very crowded, as it usually does, and two women parked themselves right up against me.


Trying to avoid being hit by their designer handbags, I couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation.


One woman began to tell her friend about a colleague who had started a company that sold great sustainable gifts.


I immediately perked up and wasn't as offended by their bag nearly missing my head.


Her friend quickly interrupted her and said, "Now what exactly does 'sustainable' mean?"


I was horrified that this seemingly intelligent, well-dressed woman had no idea what 'sustainable' meant.  It’s not a hard word to understand.  But maybe it’s hard to know how to apply.  And then I thought, how many others don't know?


Webster’s defines sustainability as “a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.”


My definition is along the lines of “ Has this gift's production made sure a tree is gone forever?” or “How long will this stay in our landfill?”


Materials like bamboo, cork, hemp and organic cottons are great choices for sustainable items such as clothing, flooring, and accessories.


Talking about sustainability around the holiday season is super important.  Each year we spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on token, mass-produced gifts for family and friends.  But do we stop to think about the resources it took to make those things?


This year, I found myself doing more of my shopping on sites like Etsy and eBay, or visiting the local, artisan holiday market.  Buying used or hand-crafted items is a much better, unique solution and way more sustainable.


As you shop this holiday season, consider these two questions for each gift you're looking at:


1) Do I (they) really need it?
2) What did it have to go through to get to me/them?


Sustainability can also include gifts that aren't physical objects, like saving a tiger or adopting a manatee.  There's nothing more sustainable than making a donation to an organization in your loved one's name.


And when you sit down to wrap those great, sustainable gifts, try and use recycled or re-used gift wrap.  Or wrap it in something else like an organic cotton dish towel or pillow case. (I've gone from someone who used to be offended if gift wrapping wasn't nice to someone who's bothered if it's there at all!)

Our precious Mother Earth is sustainable, but only if we sustain it.  Let's make the holiday season The Most Sustainable Time of the Year.  Happy Sustainability!

The Seven Year Pen

When I was in 6th grade, there was a kid named Matt who always tipped back on his chair and chewed pens.  And as sure as the sun will rise, that pen always exploded in his mouth. He would always be leaving class to head to the boys room to clean up the blue mess left behind on his face.


I can only imagine how happy Bic or Papermate was by this act of constantly having to replace his exploded pen.


And I can only imagine the disappointment of Mother Earth that another pen was headed to the landfill.


Now that I'm married, I face a similar problem.  A husband who is a writer who keeps a pen/pen cap in his mouth and leaves mangled pieces of plastic all over the apartment.


But honestly, how often do we even think of these things?  It's a pen.  It's meant to have a short life.  And it's so small, how could it possibly matter if it ends up in the landfill?


But it does matter.


On average, Americans throw away 1,600,000,000 pens every year!


Did you just pull that pen out of your mouth?  I did.


But now there is a solution.  The Seven Year pen!


My friend recently introduced me to this gem of a pen and I'm in love with the idea.  I won't need to buy another pen till I'm...well...let's not go there.


I dare Matt to try and chew this pen...that would be a lot of ink to clean off his face!


And no pen caps...even better!  I won't be picking up mangled pieces of dead pen carcus. And think of the money you'll save.


You can get your Seven Year Pen on the Seltzer website.  I was very excited to see that Seltzer was carrying these pens as they have a lot of other cool, eco-friendly stationary stuff.  I love this site and I hope you will too!


Happy writing!

An Apple A Day

Last night when I heard the news that Steve Jobs passed away, I became overwhelmed with sadness.  With all that is going on with Occupy Wall Street, it's rather strange that I would feel this way over a CEO of a large corporation.


But to me, Apple is more like family than big business.


My sophomore year of college I purchased my very first MacIntosh.  It was 1988 and I was one of only a few girls in my sorority house to have a computer.


If it's possible to love a machine, I was in love with my Mac.  Everyone loved her and she affectionately became known as "Polly."

Her unique font, user-friendly system and ultra-cool design made you want to run over and turn her on.


She came home with me on college breaks and eventually moved with me to Washington.


And then she became older.  She slowed down and eventually became obsolete.


There wasn't a love connection with my next computer.  A regular PC that didn't respond to me in the way Polly did.


But eventually, another Mac came back into my life.  The iMac. A beautiful, white, spaceship style that fit into our family like an old friend.

By this time, Apple products were also producing a small carbon footprint, improving their product's environmental performance by "designing them to use less material, ship with smaller packaging, be free of toxic substances used by others, and be as energy efficient and recyclable as possible."  It was a dream come true.


With that in mind, our Mac family began to grow with the addition of QTMcGee, my laptop, and Larue, my iPhone.


This blog was born on a Mac and continues to reproduce on one.  Apple products made a huge impact on my life and John's.  Movies, scripts, blogs and books have all been written and produced on our Macs.


We are forever indebted to Steve Jobs and his vision that helped our visions become realities.


My deepst sympathies to his family. Our thoughts...and Macs...are with you.