Exciting news!! We have just launched a new and improved Practically Green! Please have a look!

Thanks to fantastic suggestions and very smart advice from all of our advisors, teammates, friends, and, of course, you, we have an all-new and improved site. By compiling the wisdom from all of these sources—and doing a fair amount of tweaking—we’ve created a site that will give you the best PG experience possible!

In addition to a totally new look, here are some outstanding features:

ENHANCED SOCIAL FEATURES: Have you ever wanted to pat someone on the back or comment when a friend does something great? Now you can! You can also add comments to products, post thoughts and opinions with user ratings, and keep track of what colleagues, friends, and family are doing. Here’s a recommendation for Weleda’s Pomegranate Firming Day Cream, a recommended product on Switch to natural anti-aging creams.

SET GOALS: Sometimes you need a little help getting an action done. We get it. And what’s more motivating than a deadline? We’ve added a goal-setting feature so you can choose and commit to deadlines on the actions you really want to accomplish.

CHALLENGE YOUR FRIENDS: You now have the power to influence others! The fun new challenge feature enables you and your friends to do just that. You can also collaborate to complete actions.

So while much is new, the core foundation of Practically Green remains the same. Our mission is to make living healthy and more sustainably easier, faster, and way more fun. Our proprietary points system is based on solid scientific research. Our 400+ actions make it easy to discover what to do and why it matters. Our products are still recommended and rated by you, but vetted by a specialist to ensure they are really green. And yes, we still pat you on the back for accomplishments–whether you earn a Gold badge in health or a Green Date Night badge.

If you have any questions about the changes, please check out our Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.practicallygreen.com/faq), contact us, or post a comment here! We are eager to hear what you think!!

Faced with the choice of organic blueberries from Chile or apples from New York state, which do you choose? Food miles is one of many salient topics on the agenda at Tuesday’s #YourMealMatters online event co-hosted by GoodGuide, Roots of Change, Greenovate, EatingWell, and Practically Green. See you there at 12:30 EST.

The debate about the environmental impact of food flown from far away vs. locally grown rages on. It’s especially murky when it comes to items produced locally in winter in greenhouses or with extensive cold storage. Until a standardized way of measuring total impact exists, if it ever does, it’s a challenging comparison.

People interested in reducing food miles can look for COOL (country of origin) labels on their food. If something came from too far away, swap in a more local item. In the middle of the winter, blueberries may be air freighted from Chile, while regional apples or pears stored from the fall harvest or kiwis trucked from California likely have a lower transportation impact, depending on where you live—and they’re equally tasty.

Being aware of the environmental impact of your food choices as you shop will help you select differently and lower the impact of what you eat.

YUM! Produce display at the new Whole Foods store in Plymouth Meeting, PA

Got local veggies? Need a tasty recipe? Try EatingWell.com...we've never been disappointed!

Taking food miles into account as you grocery shop isn’t always easy. Treat it like a game. Read packages and labels as you go. It’s an eye opener to see how much of our food is produced very far away.

Try to substitute the farthest-flung items for more local ones. If this is simple and everything tastes good, add more local items the next time you shop.

Eating completely locally may not be feasible year round in some climates. Still, avoiding items that have been flown from far away—domestically or internationally—is a reasonable to step to take.

You’ve cruised Practically Green’s 453+ actions, chosen the ones that make the most sense for you. Did you know you are invited to submit ideas for green living that we haven’t thought of? Please do! And now, we have a special challenge: participate in the #YourMealMatters event on Twitter, Tuesday 3/27 at 12:30 EST, come up with a new on-topic action for Practically Green, and you’ll be part of the fastest growing and most influential database of sustainable next steps around.

Details from GoodGuide’s blog (please read to the end!):

Do you think that sugary breakfast cereal is only going to affect your waistline (and maybe lead to an energy high that will crash by lunchtime)? Think again. Did you know that your daily bowl could also be contributing to unethical working conditions, the destruction of nutrient rich soil or other environmental and social downfalls?

Food production has changed dramatically over the past several years, making food cheaper at the expense of our health and the environment. While some would argue that the industrial food system has brought efficiency and reliability to our food supply, the changes in how we get our food have resulted in a major disconnect between consumers and the rest of the food system. However, there is a growing movement to address this disconnect, bring mindfulness back to eating, and show people that their meals do indeed matter. We’re getting in on the action, and so can you: now is your chance to learn how small, simple changes to your everyday meals can have a big impact on your body, the environment and society.

Join the “Your Meal Matters” Twitter chat party on March 27 at 9:30am PST/ 12:30pm EST to learn how. GoodGuide (@GoodGuide) will be partnering with organizations across the globe including Greennovate  (@Greennovate), Roots of Change (@RootsofChange), EatingWell (@EatingWell) and Practically Green (@PracticallyGrn) to share ideas about how each of us can make an impact. We will spend an hour discussing everything from what to do with your leftovers to how to navigate the grocery store. Just follow the hashtag #YourMealMatters to join in!

The party doesn’t stop there! To add to the excitement, we will pick the best tips to be featured as Practically Green actions after the chat. If you have a great idea about how to (easily!) make healthier and environmentally friendly food choices, it could be broadcast to the entire Practically Green community and help thousands of other people make better meal choices.

Partners include:

Greennovate: A sustainable consultancy that aims to raise environmental awareness by providing innovative educational programs such as this “Three Meals That Matter” video.

Roots of Change: Works to develop and support a collaborative network of leaders with interest in establishing a sustainable food system that share a commitment to changing our food thinking, food markets, and food policies.

Practically Green: A community for people striving to lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Provides tools that make green actions much simpler, more personal and fun.

EatingWell: A bi-monthly national food and health magazine and website that provides the inspiration and information people need to make healthy eating a way of life through recipes, cooking tips, health information and coverage of food news and sustainability issues.

We are also excited for organizations including Meatless Monday (encourages going meatless on Mondays to improve the environment and personal health) and Sustainable Table (educates consumers on food-related issues and works to build community through food) to join in the chat and lend their expertise. Let us know in the comments section if you will be attending also!

Stay tuned on Facebook and Twitter for unfolding details! We are eager to field your ideas for new actions that everyone in the PG community will love to check off and add to their goals.

If you kept up with Nutrition & Health news this week, you learned that sugary drinks are linked to heart disease. No worries! This PG action makes it so easy to Switch to Fizzy Natural Juices or Sodas.

Even though you like the way it tastes, chances are you know your favorite soda isn’t good for you—to put it mildly. It’s filled with high fructose corn syrup (or questionable artificial sweeteners), preservatives, as well as artificial additives including colors, flavors, and possibly flame retardants. The can it comes in may be lined with the hormone disrupting chemical bisphenol-A.

For recipe panic, try EatingWell. Here's Cran Razzy: "To keep calories in check, we like to use seltzer along with juice in drinks like vodka and cranberry. This version gets a raspberry twist w/ cranberry-raspberry juice & raspberries for garnish. For the prettiest garnish, start with big, plump fresh raspberries, freeze them yourself"

If you just cannot give up the bubbles, try weaning yourself to more natural soda. Do a little taste test of brands with friends and family until you hit on a palatable replacement. These usually still contain (real) sugar—some might even be organic or fair trade—plus fruit juice and carbonated water. You won’t miss the artificial additives. Choosing organic means the fruit for the juice won’t contain synthetic pesticide residue, among other good things. There are even organic colas and root beers on the market if that’s your weakness. These clearly aren’t health drinks, but they’re preferable to the conventional versions.

Izze watermelon sounds like a good choice for spring! 25% fruit juice + sparkling water = 50 calories

Read labels when shopping for a better-for-you soda. Remember that the word natural is an unregulated term—a claim anyone can make. USDA organic, on the other hand, has to be third-party certified.

GuS is Grown Up Soda, and they've got lots of tantalizing cocktail recipes — or enjoy unmixed! YUM

You’re more likely to find organic sodas at health foods stores, though those containing natural ingredients are fairly widely distributed. Opting for a locally produced brand minimizes the transportation footprint.

Choosing glass bottles over cans is an easy way to avoid exposure to bisphenol-A.

Don’t forget to recycle the bottles or cans!

LemonLime Marguerita from Food52: fresh lemon & lime juices; cointreau (ok, a *bit* of sugar); tequila: "the more expensive the less the hangover"

Spring Cleaning might include tidying up your medicine cabinet and getting rid of all your outdated and unneeded prescriptions and other meds. Wait! Before you toss those pretty pills into the trash, please read this:

Got a medicine cabinet filled with unused pills and expired half-taken prescriptions? Think before you toss them! Medication can pollute our waterways, interfere with the reproductive systems of aquatic life, and circle back as unwanted residues in tap water. While some drugs can be put in household trash or flushed down the toilet, it all depends on the medication.

If there is no proper disposal label or instructions on your pill bottle, call your pharmacy for advice. They may even run a take-back program. If your prescription is safe for household trash, you’ll need to do some precautionary work first including removing the label and hiding the pills so no one will take them (children, adults, or raccoons)—accidentally or on purpose. You can do this by mixing them with a non-edible substance (kitty litter, dirt, coffee grounds) in a sealed bag. Grinding or crushing the pills isn’t advised as inhaling the resulting dust could be unsafe.

Image courtesy New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation, www.dec.ny.gov

Check for community drug take-back programs in your area. The Drug Enforcement Administration sponsors take-back days throughout the U.S. On one day in 2011, they collected more than 377,086 pounds of unwanted or expired medications at 5,327 take-back sites.

Several national pharmacies also offer mail-back programs.

If what’s in your medicine cabinet is a controlled substance, it’s considered household hazardous waste and will need to be disposed of accordingly. Call your municipality or look on Earth911.com to find a hazardous waste collection site near you.

• The Associated Press: Pharmaceuticals Found In Drinking Water
• WholeLiving.com: Ask Mindy — How Should I Dispose Of Medications?
• Bookmark This Site: DontFlushDrugs.org
• New York State Dept. Of Environmental Conservation: Drugs In NY’s Waters
• FDA.gov: How To Disposed Of Unused Medicines
• US Drug Enforcment Administration: Drug Disposal–National Take-Back Initiative

Cleaning Green is pretty simple, really.  You can postpone major dirt purges by having a few rules about Taking Shoes off at the Front Door and not allowing Food outside designated eating areas. You might even ask the smokers in your life to desist in your space.

Easy tip: Take off Your Shoes! These spiffy flats can be admired from across the room — no need to tromp them all around indoors!

Think about it: if everyone’s eating meals at their desk, or while standing up walking around, or grabbing pizza while splayed out on the sofa—to say nothing of smoking a butt here and there–your place is bound to get messy. Fast.

Once you’ve made up your mind to clean, here are few guidelines:

1) Be picky. As in, be selective about your cleaning products: read labels and don’t use anything containing ingredients you can’t pronounce. You might be surprised how easy it is to use natural ingredients for great results. Ingredients like vinegar, lemon, and hot water. (As our editorial director Lexy Zissu likes to say, you may feel as though you’re mixing salad vinaigrette, but trust us, these ingredients are effective!)

To clean microwave: lemon + vinegar + glass bowl + damp cloth

2) Be careful. If you absolutely must use a strong chemical product to get rid of a horrendous stain, then be careful about it: open windows to let fresh air in, and wear protective gloves/goggles if need be. Do not let your pets or kids nearby.

Fresh air is Mother Nature's cleaning secret (Andrew Wyeth painting "Love in the Afternoon")

3) Be mindful of how much water you use when you clean. Must you use hot water, or would or lukewarm do? A few degrees can make a big difference to your energy bill. Think about what happens next to that water. If you use natural cleaning products, can you reuse the greywater to water plants or rinse off your driveway, balcony, front gate, or dog?

4) Plan ahead. Do you go through a six-pack of paper towels when you tackle a cleaning project? Are they made from recycled paper? Consider a reusable cloth rag or towel instead.

We’ve got 19 green cleaning actions on Practically Green, and we’d love to have 20. Check out Switch to a natural all-purpose cleaner and Stop dry cleaning your clothes (or never start); or Clean your microwave safely and the DIY favorite Make your own cleaners, including laundry detergent. Try one and let us know how you do! If you have an idea for green cleaning action #20, we’d love to hear from you.

Note:  This post is repurposed from Cuddledown’s blog, “The Bedding Snob.” If you’ve ever wanted to create a comfortable night’s sleep for yourself, you may already know about Cuddledown, the Maine company that offers topnotch bedding stuff — sheets, pillows, down comforters, pjs, much of it organic.

So what’s in it for us? Well, Practically Green is working hard to get all 400+ actions up on our new Pinterest site. A huge task! Please have a look and let us know what you think! Our hope is to become the most fun and interactive green initiative in the Pinterest community.

As we speak, we are developing a board where you can pin your favorite green products. How cool! That’s right, we are interested in what you are interested in — and what better way to express that than using Pinterest? Here is an example of my favorite green products that I will be posting on the new board:

Yummy Applegate Farms products that are healthier and more sustainable for our future!

My favorite go-to natural cleaner that is great and eco-friendly!

Instead of using plastic bags, I use this great product for my grocery shopping: Urbanista.

To conclude, here are the necessary steps for you to be involved with this popping new trend. Step one: GET A PINTEREST ACCOUNT! Step two: follow us! Step three: say goodbye to your family, friends, colleagues as your life will be consumed by pinning and repinning every chance you can get. Step four: Please be sure you either own any images you pin OR have permission from whoever does. Copyright, it is called. Step five: go wild!

So this is me, Nikita Sahgal. Practically Green intern. Lover of all things Indian. Environmental fanatic.

If you think race car  drivers aren’t green, think again.

Leilani Munter

Leilani Munter is one professional race-car driver who personifies champion performance at the track — and environmentalism. Known as “Carbon-Free Girl,” she’s working for tire recycling, racetrack composting, energy-efficiencies like LED lighting, and bio-fueled cars. Leilani has been thinking and acting sustainably for years – and she’s been eating that way as well. Last month at Daytona she launched an eco-education program to “educate and engage the 75 million race fans in the USA and inspire them to rethink their day to day habits for our planet. Each time my car hits the track we address a different environmental issue and have a specific call to action.” Since 2007, she’s adopted an acre of rainforest “every time I sit in a race car, since the emissions are always a question.” Leilani plans to run a “Fueled by Veggies” car later this season.

“The incongruity is part of what makes going green in this sport so impactful,” said Michael Lynch, Nascar’s director of green innovation. “There’s a bias that the sport is not green and therefore the fans aren’t green.” (NYTimes.com) We’re impressed with the organization’s sincere efforts to recycle, conserve, and even using sheep to mow the grass!

We caught up with Leilani Munter between races recently.

“I’ve always liked to go fast. The more races I win, the more people will listen. I know what you’re thinking: race-car driving is not green. I completely agree, And that is exactly what I intend to change.”

PG: Why is eating vegan so important to you?

Leilani: Everyone associates carbon footprint with fuel – cars, trains, ships, racecars, but 40% more greenhouse-gas emissions are coming from livestock raised for food.

PG: What’s you favorite Practically Green action?

Leilani: I’m a big supporter of MeatFree Mondays. I love the one-day-a-week approach. It’s really not so hard to make the change. I love cooking for people using fake meat. People come over to my house and they’re shocked! What appears to be a grilled sausage with grilled onions on top, is not!

Plunge into mouth-watering recipe database to find meatless recipes, like this Savory Roasted Orange Tofu & Asparagus from EatingWell.com

Leilani echoes NYTimes “Eats” writer Mark Bittman when he says, “My point here is to make semi-veganism work for you. Once a week, let bean burgers stand in for hamburgers, leave the meat out of your pasta sauce, make a risotto the likes of which you’ve probably never had — and you may just find yourself eating ‘better.’”

Try Mark Bittman's "Recipes for the Semi-Vegan" — this collection appeared in The New York Times on 1.29.11

PG: What tips to you give people who are interested in shifting to a more plant-based diet?

Leilani: People always ask me, What new cookbooks do I need to get? My answer is You don’t! There are so many great meat substitutes out there, just start trying them. You do not have to change everything in your house! When a recipe calls for ground beef, use vegan ground meat. When It calls for milk, try almond milk. People say, You mean I can have white-wine mushroom chicken risotto? And I say, Of course you can! Just use a chicken substitute! I have people over and cook them Tofurky tacos and they say, WOW I’m eating tacos! It looks and tastes like meat!

Find out more about Leilani at CarbonFreeGirl.com, follow her on Twitter @LeilaniMunter, and check her out on Facebook and YouTube.

Blog PotLuck! Please share your favorite meatless dishes, recipes and ingredients…. Chef Bittman raved about Savage River Farms “real fake chicken” in the NYTimes yesterday.

Bittman was fooled by this “chicken” wrap from Savage River Farms.

Part of living sustainably is knowing what’s IN things, and on Practically Green that means house-paint, crayons, milk, furniture, mascara, bed linens, toothpaste, teddy-bears, and on and on.

If you're going to hug a teddy bear all night long, best it's an irresistible & organic one like this guy from NunoOrganic... but does he have a label to tell you what he's made of?

By now we’re accustomed to squinting at tiny ingredient labels–on tubes of sunscreen, on wine bottles; on chocolate bars, coffee, jars of strawberry jam–because it turns out there can be some pretty unsavory items included in normal everyday products. Usually, those ingredients are remarkable for their many syllables and acronymic or otherwise unpronounceable chemical-sounding names: Polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs), Bisphenol-A (BPA), Methylparaben, you know… that sort of name.

Major players are finally beginning to make this easier for the consumer:

• Walmart has a new “Great For You” icon to “help customers instantly identify food options that are better for them” — e.g., with reduced sodium and added sugars. Watch for this in April:

Items with the “Great For You” icon must meet rigorous nutrition criteria informed by the latest nutrition science and authoritative guidance from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Institute of Medicine (IOM). Developed in consultation with food and nutrition experts from the public and private sectors, as well as leading health organizations, the icon represents a collaborative and transparent effort to develop a trusted and reliable system for consumers.

• Chevy is introducing an enlightened label for its 2012 Sonic and plans to affix to 2013 Chevrolet vehicles later this year.

This new Ecologic label from Chevrolet includes info about fuel-efficiencies, end-of-life recyclability, and responsible manufacturing... not just horsepower and cylinders!

More on both initiatives and others as they roll out.

For today, try this new action: find inspired labels on any three items and tell us what they are!

Hint, we already blogged about Levi’s customer-care tag a few months ago, Conscious Shopping: When Blue Jeans are Green.

Levi's partnered with Goodwill on this tag to keep billions of pounds of unwanted clothing out of landfills. Kudos!!

Is there a Home You and a Work You? Do you tend to recycle more at your house, or at your office? If you’d like to green up your working environment, consider this action:

Use Eco-Friendly Office Supplies

Offices don’t tread lightly on the environment. Think of a conventional, cubicle-filled setting and all of the paper, computers, phones, printers, pens, pencils, and lighting involved. Imagine the resources and electricity needed to keep it all running.

Can you find the 10 items in this office that could be more eco-friendly? (Thank you @GreenisUni for excellent photo archives!)

While there are broad changes that can be implemented in any office to reduce this impact—minimizing electricity use, purchasing only the greenest electronics, instituting a recycling program—smaller changes are important, too. Buying eco-friendlier and recycled office supplies can help.

Most of us have a sense of why virgin paper has such a heavy impact—the harvested trees, the manufacture, the bleaching and dying, and eventually the staggering amount of paper that never gets recycled at the end of its useful life—adding more waste to our already overstuffed landfills. But have you ever considered what you’re writing with? By some estimates, more than 14 billion pencils are produced every year—many made from wood from ancient forests. Add to that the billions of pens, highlighters, crayons, and markers used in offices–and never recycled. That’s a lot of resources.

Are your office lights on all night long, when nobody's there?

Ask your office manager to switch to greener supplies, including recycled content notebooks and printer paper. These are widely available. Form a green committee to advise if need be.

Add reusable plates to the office kitchen—or at least paper plates and napkins containing recycled content.

Pens and pencils made from recycled materials can be purchased. There are also pencils manufactured from FSC-certified wood. Some pens only require refills rather than entirely new pens when they run out.

Remove extra weight from your car to increase fuel economy

Have a car? Do you also have certain objects that “live” in the car? Or ON the car? They’re weighing it down and reducing fuel economy. Today’s action encourages you to have a good look!

Thule makes great cargo carriers, easy to remove when you don't need them!

Most of us keep numerous items in our cars—trunks are handy little storage units!—and rarely consider the impact the extra weight our clutter has on gas mileage. According to the Department Of Energy, 100 pounds of extra weight in your trunk could reduce your gas mileage by 2 percent.

It’s not just what’s in your trunk, it’s what’s on top of your car. Those Yakima and Thule roof racks sure make you look outdoorsy, but they create serious drag, which will further reduce your gas mileage. According to Cartalk.com, an empty rack mounted on your vehicle can reduce your gas mileage by 5 percent. Other sources put that reduction as high as 12 percent!

Ultimately, a vehicle’s gas mileage is dependent upon many variables; some are out of your control while others are easily managed. Reducing the amount of weight inside of and on top of your car is completely in your control. You’ll use less gas, create fewer emissions, and save cash, too.

Once you've got your golf gear packed efficiently, you might forget to remove it! TY Planet9.com for the photo

Love this photo of Dad/junior & accompanying how-to article from SCJohnson at rightathome.com

Remove any extraneous stuff you have lying around in your car.

If you have a roof rack, only place it on your car when you need to haul something or are going on a trip. Take it off when you’re not using it.

To gild the lily and make sure your car is performing its best, make sure your tires are properly inflated.

• FuelEconomy.gov: Gas Mileage Tips
• CarTalk.com: Guide To Better Fuel Economy
• PlanetGreen.com: Does My Roof Rack Affect My Gas Mileage

Our most recent Twitter party was such a blast, with so many great comments and stupendous participation, that we want to share 2 minutes of the conversation with you. Literally, 2 minutes. Here we go with the Bonus question our moderator Elise Jones of @Mommybites posed at the tail end of the party — followed by 120 seconds of fast answers and links to more info on Practically Green.

(NOTE: For the full party transcript, which goes from 9pm EST on 2/28 and is still continuing, please find hashtag #PGLeapYear.)

10:00 P.M. EST Q7 What new efficient/healthy/sustainable routine are you ready to begin.. right now today! #PGLeapYear

10:00:01 to 10:02 P.M. EST, 2 minutes of answers:

Here’s how Practically Green can help, @LLLSummer: Walk to work regularly and Switch to a reusable water bottle

Buy organic beef regularly

Green Fitness Badge

Walk or bike to do your regular errands

Inflate your tires

Plant containers for herbs or vegetables

Plant a vegetable garden

Compost kitchen food waste

Find out what food you buy regularly that contains artificial sweeteners

Replace bottled water with filtered water (tap or jug)

Try the Frugalista badge!!

Turn thermostat up by 4 degrees in warm weather

Compost yard waste!!!

Try these “I Heart Organics” actions!

Walk or bike to do your regular errands

WHEW! That was 2 minutes!

Hope you’ll follow @practicallygrn and join us at the next Twitter bash — and please post your positive changes.

Buy a Pre-owned Car: 150 points!

Eyeing rising gasoline prices week to week, and thinking about CARS more than usual — and with the super memorable Cars.com Superbowl commercial still in our minds — we’re wondering about used/we mean pre-owned cars.

Why exactly are pre-owned vehicles such a green choice? And how would we go about finding a good one?

Cars.com brings out the Confident You, gets you ready to haggle an amazing deal with your local dealer

Car manufacturing is a resource and energy hog! So much so that—this might come as a surprise—buying a used relatively efficient car can be better for the environment than buying a new car. According to the sustainability engineer Pablo Päster it takes 113 million BTUs to make a new Prius. Only after 46,000 miles do the energy savings begin to catch up.

By opting to buy a previously owned vehicle, you avoid both the energy use and the resource consumption—not to mention the financial depreciation you get by just driving a new car off the lot. Keep an eye out for a used Prius when shopping; they’re pretty high on the sliding scale of green cars.

Found LOTS of used Priuses (prii?) within easy range, Cars.com

Used cars aren’t what they used to be. Many now come with warranties that last several years and thousands of miles, particularly if you buy from a dealer. And there are so many ways to pre-shop online before you test drive.

Hmm... located this Porsche 911 on CarMax.com... it looks ready for a test spin!

If you’re purchasing from a private party, keep in mind that while the original warranty will survive ownership change, you can’t get an extended warranty from an individual.

Once you’ve made a purchase, give your new-to-you car a deep cleaning with natural cleaning products. And don’t forget to make all accessories as green as possible. Look for PVC-free mats and skip the air freshener, which is actually an air polluter.

• EcoGeek.org: Is Keeping Your Old Car Better Than A Hybrid?
• Wired: Don’t Buy That New Prius! Test-Drive A Used Car Instead
• Bookmark This Site: CarFax.com

Buyer fraud protection tips from AutoTrader.com (partial list)

Do rising gas prices have your attention? Take charge with PG’s Green Car actions: 8 ways to control your gas-tank expenditures.

Today’s highlight: Drive the speed limit

Uh-oh: sometimes guilty of this! Let’s find out why is this such an impactful action, worth 50 points…. and check it off! After all, even NASCAR is going green!

We all like to get where we’re going as quickly as possible. Less time spent on the road is more time spent at our final destination. Unfortunately driving the usual 5 miles an hour over the speed limit is costing you more than you might think. According to the EPA, gas mileage for most cars decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 miles per hour. For every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph, it’s like paying an additional 24 cents per gallon for gas! That can really add up, especially on long trips. Better fuel economy will also mean fewer greenhouse gas emissions for the miles you drive.

If you drive a hybrid, e.g. this Chevy Volt, you get another point boost!

If you have trouble keeping the same speed, use cruise control. Set it to the speed limit.

You could also employ a back-seat driver to keep an eye on your speed and help you resist the temptation to keep up with others as they zoom past. Use your savings for a latte?

• FuelEconomy.gov: Driving More Efficiently
• EPA.gov: The Effects Of Raising Speed Limits On Motor Vehicle Emissions
• Treehugger.com: Our Radical Gas-Saving Tip–Drive 55 (Or Whatever The Speed Limit is)
• Edmunds.com: What Really Saves Gas? And How Much?

Choose Safe Seafood. Back in the day if you craved seafood, the conundrum was: salmon or tuna? Now it’s: wild vs. farmed, is it sustainably caught, and crucially—is it safe? How much mercury (a neurotoxin) and PCBs (chemicals deemed probably carcinogenic by the EPA that persist despite being banned in 1978) do you want to serve for dinner?

Salmon from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch

The bad news: our waterways serve as a sewer system for our environmentally destructive behavior–chemical runoff, factory dumping, plastic waste, garbage, settled air particle pollution, and even what we pour down household drains contaminate fish and aquatic life. Some hormone disrupting chemicals have even managed to feminize wild male fish; they’re able to grow eggs.

Give your sushi choices a grilling at blueocean.org!

The good news: there’s no need to give up on lobster rolls! There are still safe, environmentally ok, and tasty choices to be had. The best is wild, sustainably caught, low contaminated, and local (if your waterways aren’t too polluted). Farmed fish is trickier; it may be fed hormones, antibiotics, feed containing animal byproducts, and flesh-coloring dyes.

There is presently no USDA organic certification for seafood. Consulting a safe seafood guide is a must. The best of these blend sustainability and overfishing concerns with government seafood safety advisories. Remember: the pregnant and the young are most vulnerable.

Avoid imported fish from China and countries known to have contaminated waters and unsustainable fishing methods. Check country of origin labels.

Shop where you know and trust your fishmonger. Buying off a boat is ideal. For supermarket counters, consult Greenpeace’s helpful yearly scorecard.

Check the Greenpeace Supermarket Scorecard: easy!

From the Food & Water Watch Smart Seafood Guide

Greenpeace’s Sustainable Seafood Supermarket Scorecard

Supermarkets play a big part in the future of our fragile oceans, so Greenpeace has rated popular supermarkets in terms of their seafood sustainability. Find out how your store stacks up and shop accordingly.

Blue Ocean Institute’s FishPhone

Ensure that your seafood purchase is sustainable by dialing Blue Ocean Institute’s FishPhone. Text 30644 with the message FISH and the name of the fish in question, and they’ll send a text back with their assessment and recommended alternatives. Great for standing in front of a fish counter or texting while reading a restaurant menu. There is also an iPhone app available.

Greener Choices Seafood Buying Guide

Published by the people behind Consumer Reports, this online guide provides recommendations on how to avoid buying contaminated fish and tips on how to buy seafood.

The Environmental Defense Fund’s Pocket Seafood Guide

Your seafood choices matter! Many popular seafood items are fished or farmed in environmentally destructive ways, this handy pocket guide helps you make smart choices about the seafood you buy. It also considers health hazards.

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide

Another great pocket guide that you can download to keep on hand the next time you head to the market. They have a comprehensive list of ‘Best Choices,’ ‘Good Alternatives,’ and fish to ‘Avoid.’

Food & Water Watch’s Smart Seafood Guide

Food & Water Watch analyzed over 100 different fish and shellfish to create a guide that assesses not only the human health and environmental impacts of eating certain seafood, but also the socio-economic impacts on coastal and fishing communities. Download the pocket guide.

• NRDC: Mercury Contamination — A Guide To Staying Healthy
• EPA: Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
• Practically Green Book Pick: The Conscious Kitchen by Alexandra Zissu
• NPR: Author Paul Greenberg On The Future Of Wild Fish
• The New York Times: A Seafood Snob Ponders The Future Of Fish
• Ted.com: Dan Barber — How I Fell In Love With A Fish
• The New York Times: Another Side Of Tilapia, The Perfect Factory Fish
• Consumer Reports: Mystery Fish–The label Said Red Snapper, The Lab Said Baloney

What’s with all the plastic bags caught in trees and bushes lately?

Why not recycle them instead?

(Why not bring reusable shopping bags and stop using these altogether, as many places now require…. Seattle, Long Beach, San Francisco, Washington, Hawaii, New Delhi, Italy, France, China, Tanzania….)

From an illustration by Ben Katchor for "Bags in Trees" in The New Yorker, Jan. 12, 2004

Nearly 1 million bags are used each minute worldwide. Recycling rates of plastic bags hover near 10 percent (only about a third of paper bag recycling). Suffice it to say that we have a long way to go to reduce the number of plastic bags that are thrown in the trash and wind up in our waterways as well as our overstuffed landfills.

In 2010, D.C. businesses began seeing a drastic reduction in bag usage; environmental clean-up groups witnessed fewer bags polluting regional waterways

Unfortunately many curbside recycling programs don’t currently accept plastic bags. If this is the case where you live, seek out a grocery or retail store near you that will accept them for recycling. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to recycle them curbside, make sure your bags are properly secured within the bin. They won’t get recycled if they blow away.

Reduce the amount of plastic bags you need to recycle by not taking them at stores in the first place—use a reusable bag instead. You can even bring reusable produce bags to go inside your shopping bags! Reusing the plastic bags you do have stretches the considerable resources that went into making them.

Our friends at Blue Avocado ease the switch BYO bags, with zippy design & a passion for reducing plastic bag waste.

Check with your town or municipality to see if they recycle plastic bags. If they don’t, ask them to start.

Look online to find a store that accepts plastic bags for recycling near where you live. Double check to see what kind of plastic your bags are; some stores only take back plastic #2 and #4 bags. See if they take produce bags as well as shopping bags.

Keep in mind these guidelines from Waste Management:

Clean plastic bags are accepted in recycling containers at many grocery stores. However:

• Plastic bags are a major cause of litter and waste. It is much better to use a durable shopping bag.

• Plastic bags cause litter, slow sorting and jam machinery at recycling centers. Empty recyclables out of bags and boxes, and put them loose in recycling containers so that they can be easily identified and sorted.

From SimpleHuman: Mount this slim profile storage bin in pantry, under sink, or on wall to keep plastic bags organized & at the ready.

Earth911 makes it super easy to find a plastic-bag recycling drop-off.

At Earth911, choose an item, type your ZIP code...

… and presto! You get info on where to go and how to get there.

Or visit PlasticBagRecycling.org.

We’re not the only ones who see bags in trees everywhere; check out Beth Terry’s blog My Plastic-Free Life, or Windy, the story of the plastic bag caught in a Pennsylvania tree in 2008 (and disappeared during the freak snowstorm of October 2011).

• The New York Times: Taking Aim At All Those Plastic Bags
• YouTube: The Dangers Of Plastic–Interview With Charles Moore
• YouTube: The Plastic Bag–A Mockumentary
• Rodale.com: You Pay $88 A Year For Free Plastic Bags
• Rodale.com: 8 Ways To Reuse Plastic Bags (Until They’re Banned)

If you’re interested in clean energy, here’s a simple one-time action: Sign up for green power from your local utility.

Click here for a map that shows you what’s available in your region – wind, solar, hydro.

Here’s another map showing the states that offer significant grant programs to reimburse your adoption of renewables—FYI some of these grants are quite significant, i.e., use the $ to take a nice vacation!!

One of many useful (and free) maps at DSIREusa.org

“It’s the simplest thing someone can do to change the dynamics of the electric power grid,” explains Larry Chretien of MassEnergy.org. “It’s the stroke of a pen. Once you sign up, you just enjoy having clean energy power.”

Wind Turbine at Portsmouth (RI) high school feeds into regional power grid

“The average American family uses 500 to 600 kilowatt hours of electricity every month. Our New England GreenStart mix of renewables costs 2.4 cents extra per kWh, so it’s an add of $12 per month to your bill. That extra amount is 100% federally tax deductible. “

According to Larry, the vast majority of Americans have access to green power.  If you already take advantage of a program, don’t forget to add a nice fat 200 points to your score!

Purchasing clean and renewably generated power is one of the most effective actions you can take to minimize the environmental impact of your own energy use without purchasing a renewable-energy system for your home.

When you sign up for green power, you are telling your utility that they have to buy your annual usage (if you signed up for 100%) from a renewable source (wind, solar, etc). While the power delivered to your home may not be directly from that source, you have driven up the demand for that clean power, which in turn makes it more economically viable for large-scale renewable projects to be built.

What's powering the lights at your house? (TY Truex Cullins, Burlington Vermont)

Contact your energy utility or utilities (electric & gas) and inquire about purchasing 100% clean, renewably-generated power from them.

Ask as well about the additional cost of buying green power — it’s most helpful to speak with your utility service provider(s) in terms of additional cost, as a percentage based on what you’re paying right now for energy.

To find out which utilities in your state offer green power and what the price premium is for it, visit: http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/buying_power.shtml

Avoid idling your car. We know: It’s cold, you’re waiting to pick someone up, they’re late, and you don’t want to turn off the car and get out, or you can’t park it, or both.

Credit: Slate.com

Sometimes it seems easier to sit in that car with the motor on. But the next time you’re tempted to idle, keep this action in mind. That’s all we ask: avoid idling. Not: don’t idle your car under any circumstances! Simply think twice about it, even if you don’t own a car but use one sometimes. Even if you ride in a taxi or an airport shuttle occasionally—and, for example, you notice the driver has the engine running in seasonable weather, with his window open. This way, you’re informed. And you can add 20 points to your score!

Of course, if you have an electric car you can idle all you want. Right?

No gas: no fumes! Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept

Idling is a common—and unfortunate—practice among drivers, although there is little evidence that it has any benefit. Some people claim that idling in the winter is good for warming up your vehicle, but gently driving your vehicle will warm up it up much faster than letting it idle.

Others claim that it takes more fuel to start your vehicle than to let it idle for a minute. This is a myth; according to the Department of Energy, the fuel used to start your vehicle is equivalent to amount of fuel your vehicle uses when it idles for a few seconds. When your vehicle idles, it gets zero miles per gallon.

Idling also pollutes. There are schools that have adopted idle-free zones for dropping-off or picking-up kids so they won’t be inhaling that much exhaust—both inside and outside idling vehicles.

Did you know that children breathe in twice as much air for their body weight as adults? Here's a sign that's available from the Portland (Oregon) department of transportation.

In London, a new campaign urges drivers to 'make a small switch' to help deliver cleaner, healthier air... see www.tfl.gov.uk

Reduce unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions by turning off your car if you’re going to be stopped for more than ten seconds.

During winter, try idling for ten seconds, then start gently driving to your destination.

Consider asking your school or local business district to adopt an idle-free zone.

• California Energy Commission: Idling Your Car
• SierraClub.org: Green Your Driving Habits–Don’t Idle
• Portland Bureau Of Transportation: Please Don’t Idle Near School
• FuelEconomy.gov: Many Factors Affect MPG

Why is Eating a Vegetarian Diet worth a whopping 200 points on Practically Green?

Why is this a super-score action, as impactful as Sell a car and don’t replace it and Buy a pre-owned home instead of building new? Eating your veggies is good for your innards, and it’s usually great for your wallet―you know this already―unless your idea of veggies is truffles (see photo please) and Gianduja at Le Bernadin. Here’s why it’s also a top action for Sustainability.

A favorite veggy recipe: White Truffle Grilled Cheese (you only need a drop of truffle oil!); TY Food52 & KarmaCucina

Remember, you’re in charge! You can ease away from your juicy sirloin habit just one day a week, or decide to eat meat only on weekends.

Mark Bittman: "In the USA we eat almost 10 billion chickens, pigs, cows, turkeys each year. And that’s just us! That kind of settled it.... with the Food Matters Cookbook I’ve proven to myself (and hopefully to all who cook from it) that {it} doesn’t feel like a sacrifice & leads to incredibly inventive, delicious food.

A vegetarian diet is an environmentally friendly one. The conventional production of meat–from feed to slaughter to transport—is energy intensive. By not eating meat, you basically eliminate that entire footprint from your personal consumption.

Not all cows are for eating... these Brown Swiss beauties at Shelburne Farms help make award-winning cheddar

The global demand for meat has risen dramatically in the past few decades, leading to an increase in factory farms. The average family of four consumes between 500 to 800 pounds of meat yearly. This kind of mass production consumes enormous amounts of energy, pollutes the air and waterways, and requires increasing amounts of corn, soy, and other grains—often genetically modified and intensively sprayed with pesticides. This has led to the destruction of vast plots of the world’s tropical rain forests. There are many studies comparing vegetarian and meat-based diets. One often quoted stat: a meal of fruits, vegetables, and grains generates 24 times less greenhouse gas emissions than 6 ounces of conventionally raised beef.

Get inspired with tasty veggy recipes at EatingWell.com, like Elise's Sesame Noodles!

If you’re eating conventionally produced dairy, you’re still involved with the factory farm system. Dairy from local, pastured animals—preferably organic–will have a lighter footprint.

The health benefits of being vegetarian depend largely on what you eat–processed packaged foods don’t have the same nutrients as whole foods. There has been some concern about the health effects of highly processed soy. Also, for people interested in eating local foods, soy might not be grown locally.

There is no single type of vegetarian. A classic vegetarian avoids eating animals, even fish, but there are certainly vegetarians who maintain a bacon or a chicken exception.

• Scientific American: How Meat Contributes to Global Warming
• Greenbiz.com: A Meat Eater’s Guide for Easing Climate Change Impacts
• The Guardian: Eat Less Meat/Dairy Diet?
• Practically Green: Vegetarian Cooking And Eating–Try The Weekday Veg Plan With Spring Pesto
• ADA Journal: Production Of Red Meat Should Be Curbed In Order To Conserve Natural Resources
• Bookmark This Site: HappyCow.net
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Effects Of Soy On Health Outcomes

The eagerly awaited update on this classic has easy-to-read tables, figures, menus & food guides to help you determine how to meet your daily nutritional requirements. The book also suggests what plant-based dietary components and factors play active roles in both prevention & treatment of chronic illnesses.

Taking a break for the holidays? Power down before you leave your office/dorm/apartment/house!

The lights are on... but is anyone there to use them?

Here’s a super handy checklist from the University of Chicago’s Sustainability office, complete with links to Practically Green actions for more info, tips – and points to boost your PG score.

What You Should Power Down and Unplug

*   *   *   *   *

Holiday lights and other decorative lights

Computer monitors

Laptops, computers, and chargers* (or put into sleep mode)

Computer speakers

Printers, copiers, scanners, and fax machines

Office AV equipment

Phone chargers

Coffee makers, microwaves, and other kitchen appliances

Clock radios

Televisions, DVD, and CD Players

We’ll add 3 ideas to the list:

Adjust your thermostat so it’s not needlessly heating/cooling your space

Close your window shades so you keep heat in (or out)

Install smart power strip to turn off electronics completely

Ilsa Flanagan, the University of Chicago’s founding Director for the Office of Sustainability

The Power Down program targets “anyone who’s going anywhere for the holiday break,” according to Ilsa Flanagan. “We have students in dorms and off-campus, post-docs and professors from all over the world, and many of them travel at this time of the year. It’s so simple and easy to take a few steps before you head out.”

With over 35,000 faculty, staff, and students at the University and the Medical Center, the energy savings can be impressive! Almost all electrical devices continue to draw power when plugged into an outlet. For example, any device with a remote control draws power while on “standby.” Any charger with an adapter, such as a laptop or phone charger, also draws a small amount of power even when the device is unattached. These small electricity drains add up when aggregated across the campus.

UChicago’s comprehensive green campaign targets plastic water bottles, recycling, and year-round energy usage. More info here: http://sustainability.uchicago.edu/ and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uchicagostudentsagainstbottledwater

Signage promoting tap water