The Green Life

Book Roundup Wednesday: Books About Green Business

Every Wednesday, we review a selection of new and upcoming books addressing a specific aspect of environmentalism. This week we’re recommending books about green business, careers, and economics.

Green Careers (by Jim Cassio and Alice Rush, $20, New Society Publishers, 2009) For students and those looking to change careers, this book is a good resource. It provides an overview of key industries, gives predictions about what jobs will be in the demand in the future, and explains what you can expect to be paid in different industries. There are also useful interviews with people working in various green jobs.

Greening Your Small Business (by Jennifer Kaplan, $20, Prentice Hall Press, 2009) Whether you already have a business you’d like to make more environmentally friendly, or you’re looking to start a new business, this book will give you tips on how to go about doing it. There are chapters on topics such as water conservation and office supplies, and case studies of businesses that have already implemented green initiatives.

The Great Christmas Tree Debate

Christmas is just over a week away. Have you gotten your tree yet? If not, which option is greener: artificial or real trees? If you’re working to minimize your carbon footprint this Christmas, consider both the pluses and minuses for both options.
 
The National Christmas Tree Association vows that fake trees are worse than real trees. Real trees are now grown on farms so there is less deforestation and use of pesticides and chemicals are controlled on these farms. The association also argues that fake trees are often made in China with harmful plastics that are non-recyclable, while real trees are usually picked up and recycled into mulch.

On the other hand, artificial trees tend to cost less in the long run because many of them come with lights and stands meaning you don’t have to keep buying lights and decorations each year. Real trees require a stand, skirt, decorations, and regular watering. All these items can add up in the end. Not to mention, with an artificial trees you won’t be cutting down a real tree each year. You can keep the plastic tree for years, minimizing the driving done to pick up a real tree as well.

Green Gifts Week: Buy Green

The holiday season is the time to celebrate family and friends by exchanging gifts. This week's tips will help you reduce your environmental impact while honoring this holiday tradition. 

Tip #3: Support Green Businesses

You can help fund green jobs this holiday season by purchasing goods or services from sustainable businesses. Gift certificates to local vegetarian restaurants, green spas, or nearby eco-hotels make thoughtful, low-impact presents. Need stocking stuffers? Check out Sierra magazine's gift guide to find a range of ecofriendly products.

Share your tips: Which local, green businesses will you be supporting this holiday season?

Daily Roundup: December 15, 2009

Money Trees: Climate negotiators in Copenhagen are expected to approve a program that would compensate countries for preserving forests. New York Times

Creative Reuse: Detroit's artists are turning the city's abandoned buildings into art projects. Associated Press

Original Sin: Pope Benedict XVI asked industrialized nations to take responsibility for the climate crisis, but added that developing nations "are not however exonerated from their responsibility." AFP

Cash for Caulkers: President Obama announced his new plan to provide incentives for energy-efficient home renovation, telling an audience at a Virginia Home Depot store that insulation is "sexy." Los Angeles Times

Can You Hear Me Now? A controversial new proposal by San Francisco's Department of the Environment would require cell phone retailers to provide information about the amount of radiation emitted by the devices. San Francisco Chronicle

--Della Watson

Camping When It's Cold Out

Ahh, winter. It's dark, cold, wet, and miserable outside -- the perfect time to go camping!

This might sound counterintuitive if you're primarily a summer camper, but cold-weather camping has its own brand of invigorating magic. State and national parks are less crowded and more peaceful. Hiking trails are yours alone. If the idea of a leaky tent doesn't sound like paradise, know that some park campgrounds have yurts and cabins that can make chilly temperatures a bit more tolerable.

For more about cold-weather camping, check out tips here, here, and here. Remember that hypothermia and frostbite are real dangers, so make sure to read up on safety information too.

Tell us: Are you a fan of winter camping? Where do you like to camp when the temperature drops?

-- Année Tousseau

Maldives President Reminds World About 350 in Rousing Copenhagen Speech

After a relatively quiet first week, things are just starting to heat up at the Copenhagen climate summit. After a hoax on Canada and a five-hour walkout by developing countries on Monday, the busy day ended with an exhilarating speech by President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives. The man whose election last year ended a three-decade dictatorship is a heavy advocate for the environment, particularly as his low-lying islands are one of the most immediately affected by rising sea levels.

To highlight the kind of excitement his arrival in Copenhagen (the first head of state to do so) drew at the Klimaforum, he announced in March the Maldives would become the world’s first fully carbon-neutral nation and in October, held an underwater cabinet meeting to address climate change.

Green Gifts Week: Sponsor a Wild Place

The holiday season is the time to celebrate family and friends by exchanging gifts. This week's tips will help you reduce your environmental impact while honoring this holiday tradition. 

Tip #2: Protect the Planet

Whether it's a hiking buddy, an eco-activist grandson, or a birdwatching aunt, chances are good that you know someone who cares about the environment. Donating to a nonprofit like the Sierra Club shows eco-minded friends and relatives that you share their priorities. So this holiday season, sponsor a national park and help protect the places they love.

Share your tips: Which wild place would you like to protect?

Daily Roundup: December 14, 2009

Vanishing Vineyards: Research predicts that climate change could reduce the size of U.S. wine regions by up to 80 percent by the end of the century. Corn and other cash crops are also expected to be affected by more pests.  Science Daily

Bikes Belong: Buildings with freight elevators in New York City now have to allow cyclists to bring their bikes up on the elevators thanks to a new law meant to encourage bike commuting.  Mother Nature Network

Packs Well: A business hopes mushrooms will overtake polystyrene peanuts as the go-to packaging material.  Instead of creating waste when no longer needed, they’re compostable. NPR

Better than Coal: Mayor Bloomberg, visiting wind farms in Denmark, said he would like to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm near New York City. Green, Inc.

Momentary Walkout: African countries led a walk out of today’s Copenhagen talks in protest of the way talks were being conducted. The talks then resumed after developing countries received assurances about their demands. ENN

--Kyle Boelte

Video: New York Cyclists Defiantly Repaint a Removed Bike Lane

Sometimes the best way to accomplish something is to do it yourself. That was the attitude of several distraught individuals who, after losing 14 blocks of bike lanes along Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn,  proceeded to make a short video of them taking back the streets.

While the bike lanes, which had been in place since 2007, were sandblasted for “bike network adjustments," many bikers saw this as a violation of their safety. So, at night, they returned to the road to repaint a section of the bike lane. The video sends a strong message about the importance of bike safety and proves that bicyclists will resist future lane adjustments. They say, "Do not try to remove them, or we will put them back for our own safety."

According to the New York Post, two “hipster Brooklyn cyclists” were caught by police officers and charged with criminal mischief charges and defacing the street.

--Michael Mullaley

Green Fashion Monday: Charitable Tees

On Fashion Monday, we highlight a hip, green fashion item. Got a stylish eco-friendly product to recommend? Tell us about it and look for it in an upcoming blog post.

Globally conscious trendsetters will love these tees from One Tribe. For each one sold, half of the purchase price is donated to charity. This particular shirt benefits the Global Village of Beijing, an organization that encourages villagers to make and sell reusable bags. All of One Tribe's shirts, which come in a variety of men's and women's designs, are 100 percent organic and printed with water-based, nontoxic dyes. Another plus: The tees are shipped in cereal boxes collected by schoolchildren. $39.

--Julie Littman