Almost Green Royal Wedding for Prince William and Kate

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Are you a royal family gawker? I’m not. OK, I cried when Princess Diana got married. I was in college and I so wanted to get married in that dress, be a princess and live in a palace. May be not with that Prince but I dreamed about that wedding for years afterwards. Then, I sobbed when she died. Don’t get me started. And this Friday, her handsome son,  – [...]

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Team Eco Etsy on Sprint’s New Green ID Pack on Android

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoaxwnfQkUY

I am so very proud and excited to announce that Team Eco Etsy, the team I am captain of, have partnered with Sprint, one of the highest ranked green telecom companies, to link its site to select Android devices for easy green handmade shopping experience for their customers, right at their finger tips. Today, Sprint announced its newest ID Pack called, Green ID Pack that “automatically loads apps, widgets and [...]

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Earth Hour App

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mxjbip6y04

You know Earth Hour is tomorrow, at 8:30 PM, right? Every year, kids’ spring break is around this time so, we tend to spend this fun hour with friends in Upstate, NY, whom I have to remind about the benefits of being green. So this year, it’ll be another fun adventure, being in the dark for an hour, with a bunch of screaming teenagers and two confused four legged fur babies. [...]

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Hope

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These few days have been too much for me. Too many images of devastation. I know you’ve been watching them unfold on TV too. But this 60 year old man was washed out to the sea, witnessed his wife being swept away, but was rescued, 9 miles out from land. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many miraculous rescued stories like this, but learning about this rescue, made me smile with hope. [...]

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Colin Firth is the Best Actor but Livia Firth Wears the Best Dress on the Red Carpet

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Livia Firth, the 41 year old wife of Colin Firth, who won the Best Actor category at the 83rd Academy Awards last night, wore the best dress on the Red Carpet. Livia Firth, the owner of Eco Age, asked Gary Harvey, a very well known in the sustainable style with bringing eco-consciousness to couture, is a former creative director of Levi Strauss where he only began designing when he needed [...]

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Hearing to Ban Bisphenol A (BPA) from Cash Register Receipts in CT

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As I was telling the cashier at the supermarket that I didn’t want the register receipt, I thought about the public hearing that is going to be held this Wednesday, February 22, 2011 in Hartford, CT to ban Bisphenol A, an endocrine disruptor,  from cash register receipts. According to Associated Press; Connecticut lawmakers are being asked to ban a chemical that some scientists consider to be dangerous, from being used [...]

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Laboratory Grown Meat: Shmeat

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First, there was “Frankenfish” and now “Shmeat“?? What the heck is Shmeat? This is shmeat – artificially grown meat in a laboratory. What is Shmeat, exactly? Vladimir Mironov, M.D., Ph.D.,a developmental biologist and tissue engineer, has been working for a decade to grow meat, Shmeat, he calls it. Dr. Mironov, 56, is one of  a few scientists worldwide involved in growing “cultured” meat. It’s a product he believes could help [...]

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Most Reusable Grocery Bags are SAFE!

I heard about some reusable grocery bags being unsafe with high levels of lead and I cringed. I can just see people throwing away their cheap grocery bags (mostly made in China where the standards for quality control has been under fire for many years now) and going back to their old ways of using single use grocery bags. After the recent TEDx GreatPacificGarbagePatch talk on trying to empower people [...]

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What happened to all those letters you sent about the GE salmon?

Remember when I was ranting about Aqua Bounty’s Genetically Engineered Salmon when we were given less than a month to voice our opinion on it? Remember when I said we were all waiting to see whether FDA would approve GE Salmon? And remember all those letters and forms we filled out to our Senators and House of Representatives? Do you know what happened to all those letters? It turns out, [...]

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Blog Action Day 2010 – Water!

Today, October 15th, is Blog Action Day. It’s an annual event when bloggers all over the world blog about one issue and this year is about WATER. Why water? Because over a billion people in the world have no access to safe drinking water, unlike you and me. I am really lucky to live near so many reservoirs and dams. I drive through winding roads around reservoirs daily. The colors [...]

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Should you clean your produce with fruit wash detergents?

I’ve always washed my produce – organic or conventional – with Environne’s Fruit and Vegetable Wash. Compared to just using tap water to wash, fruit washes seem to make them cleaner…to me, anyway. But today’s NY Times’s article tell me otherwise. Really??? According to the article, scientists at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in 2000, “tap water “significantly reduced” residues of 9 of 12 pesticides, and it worked as well [...]

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FDA delays its decision on genetically engineered salmon, for now

After 11 hours of deliberation, FDA is delaying its decision on Aqua Bounty Technology’s (ABTX) genetically engineered salmon…for now. It is unclear as to when the agency will decide but at least, it promises to investigate further before approving the company’s technology of breeding genetically engineered salmon for human consumption. According to Center for Food Safety (CFS), however, FDA is misguided in thinking that GE salmon is safe for human [...]

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STOP Genetically engineered salmon from your dinner plate!

That’s right. GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SALMON – FRANKENFISH! – will soon be available  – like in 18 months – for you to serve for dinner if FDA approves it on September 17th. ** See below for undated info on hearing dates** That’s ONE week away!! Wait. You hate fish? You don’t like salmon? This is not just about salmon. It’s about biotechnology. It’s about fooling with nature. It’s about our food [...]

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CA Senate fails to approve single use plastic bag ban

I posted about CA’s single use bag ban bill, AB 1998 Bill, in June and how I was expecting it to pass without a glitch. Well, the glitch was the big green dollars. The American Chemistry Council has spent big bucks in the last few weeks to disseminate false information to the public and won the pockets of senators…like the video below. So the bill, AB 1998, DID NOT friggin’ [...]

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What do moms think about being green?

I know being green means many things to many people. I, for one, view living green is the only logical way to live – without waste and without creating a harmful environment for my kids. But what do moms think about living green? Why do they think it’s important and how do they manage their green living? Well, I participated in a survey conducted by Social Studies Group – a [...]

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How green is Duke University?

As many of you know, we just returned from dropping off our son, Andrew, at Duke University last week. We are very excited for him as it was his first choice school and he will be fencing for its Division I fencing team. We can only hope that he’d have the best time of his life during the next four years there. The school is beautiful and the administration did [...]

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First fresh water wind farm planned on Lake Erie

First there was Cape Wind Farm off  Cape Cod in MA. Now wind farm on Lake Erie. Whoo hoot! According to Earth and Industry, a non-profit Lake Erie Energy Corporation has ordered five wind turbines from GE to build the first fresh water wind farm, 3-5 miles offshore from Ohio in Lake Erie. This is $3-5 billion dollar business for GE and this order is start of many more to [...]

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CA assembly approved ban on single use plastic and paper bags!!

According to San Francisco Gate, the state Assembly has narrowly approved a measure that would make California the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic and paper bags from being handed out at grocery, convenience and other stores. San Francisco already banned plastic bags in favor of paper bags but since paper bags produce about twice the greenhouse gas emissions as plastic and results in about 80 percent [...]

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EPA will rule on BPA this fall.

The latest news from EPA about BPA is……it will rule on it this Fall. I know what you are going to say. “Yeah yeah…that’s what they said the last time.” I’m inclined to agree with you in thinking that it’s just another lip service but then the report that just came out yesterday said that “EPA intends to consider initiating immediate actions addressing BPA in the environment based on concerns [...]

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Earth Hour 2010

Earth Hour 2010 will be at 8:30 PM… wherever you are. We are spending this weekend with some friends and we are going to turn off the lights for an hour in support of the climate change. Almost 5 million people and over 126 countries are participating tonight. Will you turn out the light for an hour tonight?

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Ford Motors receives EPA’s 2010 Energy Star Award

This news is so timely as Earth Day is approaching fast and Earth Hour is less than five days away, I found this article very interesting. For Motor Company received its US EPA’s 2010 Energy Star Award for the fifth consecutive year due to its efforts in reducing energy use in its manufacturing and office buildings. It’s latest efforts involves powering down the PC’s in offices when not in use. [...]

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Fairy Godmothers Initiative

As you know, I recently became a co-leader of Team EcoEtsy. One of the best things about the position is that I get to meet all kinds of great people on the team, up close and personal. And one of them is Myra Roldan, from FunkeyMonkeyCompany. She is also a blogger, a techy, and a serial-preneur. She was the “Featured Member” editor for the Team EcoEtsy’s blog for awhile until [...]

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Happy Spring!

I can not believe spring is F I N A L L Y here. After what I went through this past three weeks with snow storm, Noreaster, 70mph winds, rain, and power outages, I didn’t think Spring would ever arrive. But, here is my proof…….. Spring is finally here! Hooray! And here is one of my favorite flowers with intoxicating smell on my kitchen bay window. Needless to say, this [...]

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Shortage of LED lights?

Yep. You heard it correctly. There is a shortage of LED lights! Hooray! You know what that means? More and more people are catching on and using LED lights. Read this full story from PC Magazine…. Global demand for LEDs, especially backlights for PC displays and HDTVs, is stressing the available supply enough that there may be a “drastic” shortage in 2010, especially in big-screen LCDs. According to iSuppli, which [...]

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Team Eco Etsy

I opened my first shop ‘ecogeneration’ on Etsy, end of October 2008. I had no idea what I was doing and I certainly had no direction as to what I was going to sell and how much to charge. But I was so flabbergasted when I had my first sale – a set of “Plastic Bottle Cap Birds Nest Magnets”. I couldn’t believe that someone actually liked what I made [...]

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The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

Did you see this video? It’s 20 minutes on the “stuff” we have, how they are made, what go into them, and where do they go when we are done with them by Annie Leonard. Go grab a cup of tea or coffee. Get comfortable and watch this informative video about the “stuff” we own. So what do you think about our “stuff”? Do you think we can live without [...]

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Thought for the Week

The issue of climate change is one that we ignore at our own peril. Not only is it real, it’s here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster. ~Barack Obama~ Photo: Greenpeace.org

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7 Foods Even Food Safety Experts Won’t Eat

Guess what some food safety experts won’t even eat according to Liz Vaccariello from prevention magazine. 1. Canned Tomatoes The expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A The problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain Bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Unfortunately, acidity (a prominent characteristic of [...]

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List of Green Women Bloggers

This post was really hard as there are so many great green blogs that I enjoy reading. But I wanted to come up with a list for Problogger’s challenge and needed to be very specific. So, I came up with some green blogs that are authored or owned by women and I came up with this list. If you are not on this list, don’t be offended; I just couldn’t [...]

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Top word and phrase for the decade 2000-2009

Top word: global warming (“Sustainable” is 22nd on the list) Top Phrase: Climate Change Need I say more? Source: languagemonitor

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What is Fair Trade?

This is a two part series on Fair Trade and a review of a fair trade co-operative exchange company called Equal Exchange. My family and I watched a documentary called Food Inc. on Thanksgiving. I’d figured, I better capitalize on the opportunity while everyone was in food coma and couldn’t protest. I also reasoned (and yes, there was some pleading involved) that since I fed them, I should get to [...]

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BMW announced as automotive partner of London Olympic and Paralympic Games

I wanted to give you the full story without editing it because I think this is such a great news! According to the BMW website, “Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has today announced that BMW has become the Automotive Partner of London 2012. BMW will provide the 4,000 or so vehicles which are required at the Games to [...]

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Peer pressure is good for the environment

If you have kids, I bet you tell your kids not to give into peer pressure. I bet you tell your kids not to take drugs or drink alcohol just because their friends are doing them. But on the flip side, I bet you want to follow what your neighbors or your colleagues are doing, secretly. I bet you want to make your garden just as pretty as your next-door [...]

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World Series Baseball is going GREEN!

Remember my recent post about sports that are NOT so green? Well, read this article from Mother Nature Network about how this year’s World Series is going green! Short excerpt……. “Working with the MLB’s “Team Greening” Program, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will be out in full force at Game 2. Clad in NRDC T-shirts, these hardy and apparently cold-resistant environmentalists will be roaming the aisles of Yankee Stadium [...]

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NYC is the most eco friendly city in the country!

I had an unexpected opportunity to walk around NYC  last Friday when I visited Ecostore’s launch at Duane Reade.  I lived in and around NYC for the last thirty years and honestly, I never paid attention to what the big deal was about my city. I mean, why would people be jealous that I lived in NY? OK, so we have theaters, museums, restaurants, shopping, landmarks, and millions of eclectic [...]

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October 15th is a Blog Action Day for Climate Change

Do you know what today is? No, it’s not nine days before my birthday. (oops, did I slip that in?) No, it’s not sixteen days before Halloween. It’s a Blog Action Day for Climate Change. Today is the day when over 7,400 bloggers unite and we discuss our number one concern, the climate, and give more than 11,000,000 readers a chance to talk about our dire situation. Today is the [...]

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No Impact Man

I heard about Colin Beaven last month and I kinda knew about him and yet I didn’t. But I saw this video and now I am dying to see the movie. Watch this trailer of a family living in New York City without using electricity (is that possible in NYC?), without using any mode of transportation except for walking (yup, no subways, no taxis, and no elevators), eating no meat [...]

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Annual International Walk to School Day October 7, 2009

When my daughter was in 5th grade, I was very active in the Parent Teacher Association. I was the Board Executive for the “Health and Safety Committee” and one of the events I coordinated was “Walk to School” in October. At that time, child obesity was the “hot” issue and “Walk to School” event promoted walking to prevent obesity and to rally safer sidewalks for kids. But conserving the environment [...]

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BPA in Sigg Water Bottles

Yep. You read it correctly. Just when you thought you were doing the right thing by buying reusable aluminum bottles to avoid BPA in plastic bottles, now the story hits the news about Sigg bottles having liners with trace amounts of BPA. What now? Well, according to the letter from the CEO of Sigg, Steve Wasik, these old aluminum Sigg bottles that were manufactured before 2008 were lined with epoxy [...]

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When to buy organic – Dirty Dozen and Clean 15

I try to buy organic products as much as possible. But lately, with frugality being the name of the game, I tend to question, “Can I get away with buying non-organic for this one?” before I pick up a bag of oranges or potatoes. So I researched to see what I can get away with. According to Consumer Reports….. Buy these items organic as often as possible Apples, bell peppers, [...]

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Green Colleges

We have to start thinking about colleges for my son. He’s looking into visiting some schools and I got to thinking, how are colleges and universities doing with keeping their campuses “green”. I know… there is a bigger and more pertinent criteria to contend with when we are choosing a school, like the programs they offer for his education, but I was curious as to which ones are greener than [...]

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Flatulent farms harming the environment. Really.

My family cannot live without eating meat for more than two weeks. I know growing teenagers and athletes, like mine, need protein and lots of it. But they crave red meat. Not just chicken or pork but sizzling hot juicy steak with buttery potatoes once in a while. They can eat hamburgers every day if I let them. They prefer Bolognese gravy over Primavera with spaghetti any day. Me? I’m [...]

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