Happy Earth Day!

I love You Earth - Written by Yoko Ono

I love you, earth, you are beautiful
I love the way you are
I know I never said it to you
But I wanna say it now

I love you, I love you
I love you, earth
I love you, I love you
I love you now

I love you, earth, you are beautiful
I love the way you shine
I love your valleys, I love your mornings
In fact I love you everyday

I know I never said it to you
Why I'd never know
Over blue mountains, over green fields
I wanna scream about it now

I love you, I love you
I love you, earth
I love you, I love you
I love you now

You are our meeting point of infinity
You are our turning point in eternity

I love you, I love you
I love you, earth
I love you, I love you
I love you now

How to Save a Tire from Entering the Landfill

This past weekend I went to the San Francisco Green Festival.  It was a wonderful sunny day in downtown San Francisco. I rode my bike down 8th Street, which has a nice wide bike lane (good thing since I don't have a helmet).  At the festival, a vallet parked my bike and gave me a coupon for $5 off admission.
 
I arrived with dangerously low blood sugar, so I immediately headed to the food pavilion.  I had a yummy quinoa burger from Lydia's Lovin' Foods.  At $8 it wasn't the most economical choice, but despite the airplane-sized proportions, it did keep me full for quite a while (although I did indulge on beer battered garlic fries later).
 
For the rest of the afternoon we sampled healthy living foods galore!  Green drinks with barley and acai, deyhydrated kale, coconut butter, dark chocolate, hemp seeds, sulfite free organic wines.  Of course once my friends and I found the beer/wine pavilion we didn't see much else - but we made some new friends and I am now a big fan of Frey Vineyards.

But I made a difference when I purchased the most comfortable flip-flops I've ever worn from Indosoles.

Cute, comfy and the soles are made from recycled motorbike tires from Indonesia.  My friend also bought a pair and between the two of us we have prevented one tire from entering a landfill! Way to go us!

Green Linking

There are a lot of great posts being written out in the cyber-sphere. Here are a few that have caught my eye in the last few days.

On grist.org, Jess Zimmerman wrote a short article on how Paris will be powered by body odor

Ode Magazine (a magazine for intelligent optimists) has an uplifting article about reclaiming our childhood sense of wonder

Greenblog has an interesting article on the Japanese offshore wind farm near the epicenter of the March 11th earthquake in Japan

Healthychild.org reports on the new finding on the dangers of cell phone use.  The finding come after a February report from the Journal of the American Medical Association.  In addition Wired Science has an article about these findings too.

Mike DeHaan has a post on Environmental Graffiti called How Packaging Made from Mushrooms Could Benefit the Environment

The Chic Ecologist has a duo of posts about one of my very favorite topics, coconut oil.  It's so just not for cooking anymore. Read about a natural skin care product called Just Coco.  and drool over the healthier 'Nutela' option, Cacao Bliss.  I use coconut oil all over my face and it's never looked better!


Here is a timely article on fastcompany.com titled  The Transition from Consumer Economy to Conserver Economy

Junkculture has posted photos of beautiful, funky, colorful and eclectic re-use art, super fun!

April 22nd is Earth Day - What's Your Pledge?

Earth Day - "A Billion Acts of Green"

As my brother says "every day is earth day" - so true, however the awareness events and activities that Earth Day celebrations bring can inspire and motivate the average Joe, like my bro to reduce, reuse, recycle, upscale, downsize, etc. You CAN make a difference and earth day events in your area will show you how.  My earth day pledge is to raise awareness about Earth Day!

What can you do? Volunteer at an event, bring the family to a local farmer's market, or simply ride your bike to work for a week. Every little bit helps.

Below is a brief list of Earth Day events and activities (primarily in California). I will update the list as time allows.  Or you can find an event in your area by visiting the official Earth Day Website.

San Francisco Bay Area Earth Day Activities

San Francisco Earth Day Festival

April 23^rd,  10 am – 6 pm - Civic Center Plaza


Berkeley Earth Day
April 23rd 12:00 pm - 5 pm

John Muir Earth Day Celebration, Martinez, CA

April 16^th , 10 am – 6 pm

Earth Week at UCLA, Ackerman Grand Ballroom
April 19th - In Conversation with Julia Butterfly Hill and Daryl Hanah

April 21st - UCLA Earth Day Fair, Bruin Plaza

The Great Cloth Diaper Change 2011

April 23, 2011 - 9:00am PDT - Campbell CA, United States

The Great Cloth Diaper Change 2011 is a way to show our country and the world that cloth diapers are a real option for today's families. The goal is to have as many babies and toddlers have their cloth diaper changed at the same moment around the world, setting a first Guinness World Record!  Find a location near you.

Midwest Earth Day Activities
City of Lawrence Kansas Earth Day Celebration
April 16th 11:30 am - 4:00 pm, South Park
The celebration in the park features live music, food, vendors and children’s activities. Attendees are invited to learn from exhibits about waste reduction, recycling, composting, alternative fuels and vehicles, energy conservation, land preservation, wildlife and habitat preservation, and more. 


East Coast Earth Day Activities


Million Trees NYC Planting Day
April 30th
Every planting season, MillionTreesNYC engages enthusiastic, energetic, and environmentally–minded New Yorkers in volunteer tree planting activities.
Earth Day in Times Square
April 22nd 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
A public celebration in Times Square featuring speakers and an interactive exhibit area highlighting green businesses, non-profits, and our sponsors.  

Eco Art

Back in my art school days we didn't discuss art as a sustainable practice.  I can’t remember much in the way of artists who used recycled materials as their medium although I’m sure they existed. However, today the eco art movement is thriving. One person's trash is an eco-artist's treasure.  These days artists create with anything from old coat hangers to bottlecaps.

If you want to try your hand at closing the loop the artist's way,  check your local reuse center for classes and workshops. Here's some inspiration.

Merry Blues Art 
reduce. reuse.recycle.restore.rethink. 

All items from this Etsy shop are eco-friendly and handmade by Ana from recycled and reused materials. All paper goods are printed on 100% banana paper made from agricultural waste-tree free! 

I regularly concoct my own household solutions, so I love this "recipe book" of over 20 DIY recipes of non-toxic household cleaners. It's very handy for someone like myself who is organizationally challenged at times.  And what a great gift idea. 



Anna Garforth

These wall planters are just cool.  Not only would they be a wonderful conversation piece  (made from recycled milk cartons) they look amazing. You can find more of these and other eco-wonders  at Anna's website.  She has been featured in numerous design and lifestyle magazines for her wonderful environmental art. I love the subtle activism in her work, as well as the fact that much of her art is living and growing. Check out her innovative moss art.

Magnetic

I love magnets, I do.  I'm not a collector and don't own multiples of much but I do have a magnet collection.  These are just fun and unique.

Bottlecapmagnets.com

Photos in the bottle caps are designed by Cory Lundquist