Green Living Workshop update week 51 2008

Mondays 7-8:30pm
The Green Life

Last Week - Week 5: 12/8 TRANSPORTATION & TRAVEL
This Week - Week 6: 12/15 SHOPPING & FOOD

SHOPPING & FOOD

Shopping

GreenerChoices.org the very informative environmental section of Consumer Reports.

SustainLane.com the new online environmental portal where you can review green products and will eventually be able to read others reviews.

ResponsibleShopper.org CoOp America's excellent online resource that alerts the public about the social and environmental impact of major corporations while providing opportunities for consumers and investors to vote with their dollars for change.

BetterWorldShopper.org terrific new resource created by the author of the Better World Shoppping Guide.

Greenopia.com LA's green guide for all things green in our area.;;

EnviroMedia Greenwashing Index - rate real ads by whether you think they're greenwashing or not.

CorpWatch Greenwashing Awards - nominate companies that greenwash for this less-than-desirable bimonthly award.



Microfinancing

MicroPlace - eBay's lending site, where you can make a return of up to 3% off your microloan investment.

FINCA - sets up community banks in small villages in developing countries.

GlobalGiving - offers a money-back guarantee if you don't like the results, and heads up American projects like helping people affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Grameen Foundation - the original microlender, it's credited with reducing rural poverty in Bangladesh by 40%.

Kiva - lets you choose a project; loan $25 or more, and you'll receive updates on how the money's being spent - and the idea is that you'll be repaid.

Food

FoodDeclaration.org
Assert your right to healthy food and agriculture. Michael Pollan, author of the Omnivores Dilemma and In Defense of Food, edited the third draft of this declaration.

Farmer in Chief
A New York Times article by Michael Pollan stating what the next president can and should do to remake the way we grow and eat our food.

VegPledge.com
resource for those of you looking to dramatically lower your ecological footprint by reducing your consumption of animal products.

VegKit.org
free resource including, booklet, recipes, advice and current nutritional information


CoolYourDiet.org
online resource connecting diet and global warming, including several links to the UN report detailing the environmental impacts of meat.

MeatOutMondays.org
weekly e-newsletter that delivers a veg recipe, an inspirational message, and an informative feature to help you go without meat every Monday.

Food Revolution the bestselling book I read for the environmental impacts of food. I highly recommend it for learning more about how food effects the health of both us and the planet.

from p.242 (Re: the lagoon spill we discussed)

Gallons of oil spilled by the Exxon-Valdez: 12 Million

Gallons of putrefying hog urine and feces spilled into the New River in North Carolina on June 21, 1995 when a "lagoon" holding 8 acres of hog excrement burst: 25 Million

Fish killed as an immediate result: 10-14 Million

Fish whose breeding area was decimated by this disaster: Half of all mid-East coast fish species.

Acres of coastal wetlands closed to shell fishing as a result: 364,000

Vegetarian is the New Prius
great article summarizing the the environmental benefits of eating plant based meals

Look for the labels stuck on your fruits and veggies:

• A four-digit number means it's conventionally grown.
• A five-digit number beginning with 9 means it's organic.
• A five-digit number beginning with 8 means it's GM.

Fish

Blue Ocean Institute FishPhone - send a text to 30644 with the message FISH in all caps, followed by the name of the fish you want to know about, and it'll fire back sustainability info on that species.

Oceans Alive - download a pocket seafood selector and check its up-to-date list for the
skinny on the most and least sustainable fish.

NRDC - mercury info and another pocket-sized seafood selector that focuses on mercury levels.



TRANSPORTATION&TRAVEL

Walk Score
Calculate everything that's within reasonable walking distance of your home with this web based mapping tool.

Bike Metro the site that helps you select routes for easy urban biking.

BIKEroWAVE.org
non profit bike workshop that helps you learn to repair your own bike

Sustainable Transport Club
Local grassroots organization helping to keep the public informed about all of the various transportation issues in our area.

SocalCommute.org
Commuters network

ZipCar
Car sharing program that can save you money if you don't need a car every day.

Better World Club the environmental alternative to the Car Domination strategy of AAA.

Plug In America Non Profit organization of activists that saved the Electric Vehicles and lists all of the automakers phone numbers so you can demand a environmentally superior plug in electric vehicle. Scroll down to the "What Can I Do?" section.

CalCars.org
Group that retro fitted an existing Prius into a Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)

www.sherryboschert.com
Author of Plug In Hybrids, includes the most comprehensive analysis of Well to Wheels emissions Alternative Fuel comparisons

Alternative Fuel conversions
Gas to Ethanol www.mye85kit.com
Diesel to SVO www.labiodieselcoop.org
Anything to Electric www.leftcoastelectric.com
Prius to PHEV Prius www.go100mpg.com