The Green Life

Foiled Again

Energy bars are convenient, sure, but what about the 800 million wrappers discarded each year? Now they and other selected junk can be sent to a company that's making big business out of household garbage. The plastic/foil composite wrappers, along with empty juice pouches, will be reincarnated as bags and backpacks on the shelves of Target. Next, old plastic yogurt containers will reappear at Home Depot as planter pots. The formula belongs to TerraCycle, which entices schools and others to collect castoffs in return for a charity donation, then refashions the items for sale in big-box stores. terracycle.net

Green Feels Good, Tastes Better

Friday is still a few days away, but with all the prep work required for responsible revelry, it’s best to start early. So while you’re working for the weekend, check out the Vegan Booze List to see if your favorite brew is animal friendly. And don’t forget to cross-reference your drink selection with our list of light-on-the-carbon Green Beers. Once you’re good and thirsty, take a moment to check your feet--you’ve got to have the right shoes to get to the bar, after all!

Stop Global Warming or Dessert Gets It

Okay, now we really need to worry.

Ice-cream maker Haagen-Dazs is looking for a piece of the eco-sweet action, too. The company relies on honey bees for ingredients like strawberries, raspberries, macadamia nuts, and of course, honey, and it recently announced plans to fund research into bee Colony Collapse Disorder.

Hurray for research. Now if only they would cop to the fact that their own suppliers might be a factor.

BusinessWeek editor Heather Green put it this way:

[W]hile it’s great that Haagen-Dazs is contributing $250,000 to research the problem, one of the bigger underlying issues is simply the monoculture farming. It means that you have to truck in bees to farms in California and Florida so that they can pollinate hundreds of thousands of acres of fruit plants and trees. It weakens them and provides a huge petri dish for exchanging diseases.

And this is the theme that keeps coming across in so many of the environmental issues we have, whether it’s sprawl, or highways, or ethanol, or the pecans that Haagen-Dazs uses in it’s popular ice cream flavors.

Green Beer for St. Patrick's Day

Go ahead and enjoy a brewskie that's been dyed green for St. Patrick's Day, but then check out these beers that are even greener because the companies that make them are working to lighten their carbon footprint. If you know of any others, we'd all love to hear about them.

Then maybe we can enjoy a green-green beer!

New Belgium, maker of the ever-popular "Fat Tire" beer and many other Belgian-style beers, is based in in Ft. Collins, Colorado. In 1998 it became the first U.S. brewery to source its energy from wind power. Employees dipped into their bonus funds to help fund the switch -- very cool.

Using sun tubes and daylighting throughout the facility, they reuse heat in the brewhouse, and continue to search out new ways to close loops and conserve resources. Recycling at New Belgium takes on many forms, from turning "waste" products into something new and useful (like spent grain to cattle feed), to supporting the recycling market in creative ways (like turning keg caps into table surfaces). They've installed motion sensors on the lights throughout the building and evaporative cooling in their new packaging hall.

Meanwhile, over at Sierra Nevada in California, they've installed four 250-kilowatt co-generation fuel cell power units to supply electric power and heat to the brewery. This produces most of the brewery's electrical demand, and the co-generation boilers will harvest the waste heat and produce steam for boiling the beer and other heating needs. And get this: Their fuel cells use the waste methane generated at the wastewater treatment plant as a fuel source.

And hey, they're recycling fools! In 2006, Sierra Nevada kept 33,738 tons of materials --97.8 percent of their total waste, out of the landfill. They continue to earn a WRAP Award (Waste Reduction Awards Program) from the State of California as they have every year since 2001.

The natural fermentation process produces CO2, a greenhouse gas, but these guys installed a system to recover and recycle most of this gas for use around the brewery and during the bottle-filling.

You've heard the saying "It's the water" in regards to beer production. Well, Sierra Nevada continually audits the process to minimize wasteful practices, and have reduced their water usage to almost half of what's typically used by breweries.

They also encouraged and reward employees for reducing their emissions by riding their bikes to work, to run errands, or just for fun.

Cleveland, Ohio, is home to the Great Lakes Brewing Co., where you can climb on board their beer delivery truck and shuttle bus (called "The Fatty Wagon") that runs on straight restaurant vegetable oil! They've cut their trash removal fees in half by recycling the usual stuff, plus brewer's barley. They print newsletters, menus, beverage napkins and promotional items on 100 percent recycled paper. In addition, all packaging (i.e., 4-packs, 6-packs, 12-packs and the unbleached "eco-carton", which holds a case of beer) consists of recycled content.

In the brewery there's a cooling system that brings in cold air during winter months to cool the beer. Skylights and light sensors have been installed in the Tank Farm and cooler to allow in natural light and minimize the use of electricity. An "air curtain" is in place in the brewpub to keep warm air from escaping when patrons enter and exit.

Hats off to the Brooklyn Brewery which, in 2003, became the first company in New York City to switch to 100 percent wind-generated electricity. Community Energy, which manages the 20 wind turbines that produce electricity for the beer house, estimates that Brooklyn Brewery's green power stops 335,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 1,500 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 500 pounds of nitrogen oxide from being emitted into the atmosphere annually.

And, finally, a shout-out to Orlio, which makes 100% organic beer.

Got a beer-lovin' friend? Spread the word before St. Paddy's!

Trendsetter

Michael Oshman, age 36
Executive director, Green Restaurant Association

It takes more than organic food to make a restaurant green. From the lighting to the linen service, even the most eco-minded owner would have a hard time keeping up with all the best practices. Enter the Green Restaurant Association, which Michael Oshman founded 18 years ago. Since then, he and his team have assessed, helped upgrade, and certified hundreds of dining establishments, leaving the restaurateurs free to do what they do best--feed us.

Q: What is a restaurant's biggest environmental impact?

A: Most people think about whether the waste is recycled or if the coffee is organic, not about the motors in the refrigerators. But the biggest thing restaurants could do to go green would be to reduce their energy use.

Q: What do customers notice when they walk into one of your certified restaurants?

A: Hopefully nothing. If we're successful, they're not going to know that their food is being cooked in a more efficient oven or that healthier cleaning supplies are being used.

Q: How do restaurant owners respond to the changes you propose?

A: In general there's been a major shift in attitude, from "Should we do this?" to "How do we do this?"

Bordeaux by Boat

Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, is working to develop a system of carbon labels for each of their 70,000 products. You might assume that you can easily calculate the carbon footprint of your favorite item by analyzing how far it might have traveled to land in your basket, but to really determine the carbon footprint you need to go further.

For example, if you live in New York, it would create less carbon emissions to drink Bordeaux instead of Californian wine. Although your Bordeaux is traveling from a further distance, it comes by boat, which creates less carbon output than the California wine which travels by truck.

For more information, check out Terri Gross' interview with Micheal Specter, a New Yorker Journalist who explains the idea of putting carbon footprint labels on our food. For a great article on the subject, read his story in the New Yorker, "Big Foot: In Measuring Carbon Emissions, it's Easy to Confuse Morality and Science".

Cut Fat and Carbon at the Same Time

It turns out that fighting global warming is good for the waistline. If every American spent 30 minutes a day walking or cycling instead of driving, the citizenry would collectively cut carbon emissions by 64 million tons and shed 3 billion pounds of excess flab, according to Paul Higgins of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Trim even more by trading in that T-bone for tofu--livestock production produces 18 percent of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organization.

-—Dashka Slater, Sierra Magazine

You Were Probably Just Wondering......

Whether fresh orange juice has less environmental impacts than frozen orange juice. Slate.com to the rescue, with their "Carton vs. Canister" article in their Green Lantern feature. Check it out.

Sunflower Seed Walls

Now when you grab a yogurt at Oko frozen yogurt in Park Slope, Brooklyn you can feel good about supporting a business that has integrated solar panels and sunflower seed walls into the design of their shop. The New York Times reported yesterday that along with considering the menu and wine list, new restaurateurs are also considering the environment in their launch.   "Some do it to save money and others to tap into a popular trend, but many do it because they believe in it," said the Times.

Are there restaurants in your neighborhood that are taking steps to make their businesses more sustainable? Tell us about them in the comments.

Read the full New York Times article here.

The PB&J Solution

Livestock create a beefy portion of all greenhouse-gas emissions: 18 percent, according to the United Nations. Could the answer be as simple as two slices of bread and a slathering of peanut butter and jelly? Perhaps. Compared with a burger, this classic sandwich saves as much as 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide, 280 gallons of water, and 50 square feet of land--even more if you wash it down with a glass of soy milk. "You don't have to change your whole diet to change the world," says the PB&J Campaign. "Just start with lunch."

Able Labels

For savvy shoppers, there's a raft of new reasons to look at labels: REI's ecoSensitive tag (right) ID's clothes made of materials like organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, or recycled synthetics. Stickers on all new U.S. vehicles now estimate the annual cost of fueling up. (In New York and California, they'll soon include information on greenhouse-gas emissions too.) U.K. manufacturers are adding carbon-footprint data to food ingredient lists, and a new California law will require the source of bottled water to be disclosed on the label.

Good Eats

Looking for ways to save money--and energy? Try making your next meal in a pressure cooker. In this recipe, fire-roasted crushed tomatoes add extra zing.

Shiitake Lentil Soup
2 1/2 cups dried shiitake mushrooms
1 1/2 large sweet onions, shredded or diced
5 carrots (4 shredded, 1 sliced)
3 celery stalks, sliced
28 oz. can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
2 heaping tablespoons garlic powder
1/4 cup uncooked wild rice
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice, basmati or long grain
3/4 cup dried lentils
3/4 cup red wine
7 cups chicken or vegetable broth

The day before you make the soup, cover the mushrooms in two and a half cups of water and soak them overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, slice the mushrooms and trim off the stems (reserving any remaining liquid). Saute the onions, carrots, and celery in a few tablespoons of canola oil in the pressure cooker with the lid off. Once the onions have turned clear and the vegetables are getting soft, add the rest of the ingredients, including the mushrooms and remaining soaking water. Seal the lid and turn the heat on high. When the pot starts whistling loudly, lower the heat until it produces a low, steady hissing. Cook for an hour, then turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Let the soup sit for at least 15 minutes, or until the pressure button drops. Stir and serve. For a thinner soup, add a little water. Makes about three quarts. --Wendy Lyons Sunshine

Still cookin? Try the author's recipe for Coq-a-Barley Soup.

New Year, New You

Eight ecofriendly resolutions for a happier, healthier 2008

1. Bring camaraderie to your commute
Carpooling saves gas and turns traffic delays into socializing opportunities. Find fellow riders at goloco.org and zimride.com.

2. Be an informed eater
If you're torn between the trout and the halibut, text 30644 with the message "FISH" and the type you're considering to learn which is the more sustainable choice (fishphone.org).

3. Junk the junk mail
Inundated by catalogs but too lazy to call and get off their mailing lists? Just register with catalogchoice.org, which will do the legwork for you. (Services like greendimes.com and 41pounds.org stop other kinds of junk mail too--for a fee.)

4. Become a mix master
DIY kits make it easy to blend up your own nontoxic household cleansers, skin products, and pet-care items (all from eco-me.com) as well as all-natural baby food (freshbaby.com).

5. Learn to share
At neighborrow.com and borrowme.com, you can find neighbors willing to lend you books, tools, or other things you'd rather not buy.

6. Give back on your next getaway
Count whales or plant trees in exotic locales--opportunities abound at greenvolunteers.com and in The Ethical Travel Guide (Earthscan) and The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life (National Geographic Books).

7. Just say no to bottled water
If tap water is good enough for some of the country's top restaurants, isn't it good enough for you?

8. See more meaningful movies
Sick of Hollywood fluff? Subscribe to a socially conscious film series at earthcinemacircle.com or ironweedfilms.com and get cinematic conversation-starters delivered to your door.

What's your green new year's resolution? Share it with us in the comments section.

(Illustrations by Josef Gast)

Good Eats

In the January/February issue of Sierra magazine, freelancer Wendy Lyons Sunshine exults in the joy of pressure cooking--a time- and energy-efficient way to whip up a meal. This bonus recipe is for a surprisingly thick and hearty soup that has an almost beefy flavor, although it contains no red meat. And the chicken gets so tender you needn't cut it up before cooking. For a lighter, vegetarian version, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth.

Coq-a-Barley Soup
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
4 stalks celery, sliced
2 leeks, sliced in 1/4-inch rounds
7 medium carrots, sliced
1 1/4 cups pitted prunes, quartered
3/4 cup uncooked pearl barley
3/4 cup dried lentils
10 cups chicken broth
1/2 bay leaf

Sauté the chicken, using some canola oil, in the pressure cooker with the top off. Once the chicken is lightly browned, add the rest of the ingredients. Seal the lid and turn the heat on high. After the pot starts whistling loudly, lower the heat to get a low, steady hissing. Cook for 55 minutes, then turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Let the soup sit in the sealed pot for at least 15 minutes, or until the pressure button drops. Stir and serve. If you prefer a thinner soup, add a little water. Makes approximately three quarts. --Wendy Lyons Sunshine

Top Turkey-Day Tips

Enrich your Thanksgiving festivities--and give the planet something to be thankful about too--with these ecofriendly ideas:

• Opt for an organic turkey from a family farm.
• Buy fewer processed foods and more local and organic ones.
• Incorporate seasonal vegetarian dishes like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, winter squash, and root vegetables.
• Take the 100-Mile Thanksgiving challenge and join other "families and individuals [who] have committed to generating one dish, or even their whole holiday meal, from sources within 100 miles of their homes."
• If your table settings are in need of replacement, look for organic cloth linens and napkins.
• Uncork a bottle or two of organic wine.
• After the feast, do full loads of dishes instead of hand-washing and skip the drying cycle.

For next year, consider reducing your travel impact by carpooling or taking the train to your destination and holding your family get-together in a place that's central to the most guests. If you must fly to see the family, look for a direct flight, which minimizes both emissions--since a huge percentage of fuel is used on takeoff--and holiday hassle.

Elemental advice on fire and water

In the November/December 2007 issue of Sierra, Mr. Green figures out the most ecofriendly way to feed a fireplace and debunks beliefs about bottled water.

Curious, concerned, or just generally confused about environmental issues of all stripes? Send your thoughts and questions directly to Mr. Green, or weigh in in the comments section.

Meals to be Thankful For

Need some inspiration for your Thanksgiving feast? Ideal Bite readers are sharing their scrumptious-sounding menus for locally sourced holiday meals. Roast turkey with homegrown-sage stuffing; horseradish mashed potatoes; butternut squash, apple, and onion gratin; wild mushroom pie; olive bread; cranberry-pear crisp... mmmm.... seriously, don't click over there on an empty stomach!

Cutting Out Corn

Think you could go an entire month without eating any processed corn products? The co-stars of the amusing, engrossing new documentary King Corn (that's them clowning around at right) have taken up that surprisingly tricky challenge. Due to the prevalence of its byproducts in processed food and its use as feed for animals, no corn means no soda made from high-fructose corn syrup, no fruits or vegetables coated with a corn-derived wax, and no eggs or milk from corn-fed chickens or cows. Check out the duo's running commentary on their blog and sign up to join them if you're up for the challenge.

Trendsetter

Scott Pactor, age 36, owner
Appellation Wine & Spirits

On a sabbatical in South America, accountant Scott Pactor decided his passion was wine, which he began studying when he returned to New York City. After working as a sommelier, he opened Appellation Wine & Spirits, where nearly 70 percent of the wines are ecofriendly and employees use public transit to make deliveries. appellationnyc.com

Q: Why did you decide to focus on earth-friendly wines?

A: I was looking for wine with a sense of place and personality, and I kept coming back to the bottles that were organic or biodynamic. The fact that they're good for the environment is a bonus.

Q: Organic wine hasn't always had a reputation for excellence. Why was that?

A: In the past, a few producers marked their wine as organic, but they weren't necessarily making good wine. Others weren't storing their bottles properly. If the growing area has a propensity for rot, making wine organically does become more difficult.

Q: What regions should consumers look to for good organic wines?

A: In France, the Loire Valley, Alsace, and the Burgundy region, and Oregon and California in the United States. And from Austria, we have a liter bottle of organic Gruener Veltliner for $10. People can't believe how good the quality is at that price.

Fast Fact

A biodynamic vineyard must be chemical free and almost entirely self-sufficient, requiring little to no outside inputs.

Fast Fact

Nearly 30 million pounds of pesticides are applied to fields of conventionally grown California wine grapes each year.

Adios, Aquafina

Perrier is so passé. With top restaurants now serving tap, bottled water is poised to go the way of acid-wash jeans. And given the environmental costs of pumping, packaging, and transporting all that water, it's none too soon.

If you pledge to break the bottled-water habit before the witching hour (11:59 p.m. EDT) tonight, you can win a chance at an outdoorsy getaway or other great prizes. Switching to reusable bottles is the Carbon Conscious Consumer action of the month from the Center for a New American Dream. Previous challenges have included eating locally, going car-free once a week, and junking your junk mail, actions that the Center estimates have collectively reduced more than 2.6 million tons of carbon dioxide thus far!

Now You're Cookin'

They say a watched pot never boils, but a covered one boils extra quickly, saving cooking time--and energy. Using smaller appliances, like a microwave, toaster oven, rice cooker, or crock pot when appropriate to the task; choosing the right size pan and burner for meals prepared on the stove; and keeping the oven door closed while baking are other great ways to conserve energy in the kitchen. It also doesn't take as much energy to reheat food as it does to cook it in the first place, so make enough for leftovers!

When buying new appliances, look for the Energy Star label. And when picking out new pots and pans, skip the nonstick ones. Teflon is made with a chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), that is a "likely carcinogen" (according to the EPA) and a major polluter of air and water near where it's produced. Old-fashioned cast-iron pots and pans are a safe alternative, as are those made out of anodized aluminum and stainless steel (unless you're allergic to nickel).

Opportunity Knocks

It's easy to tire of kids hawking candy bars and magazines--even for a good cause. Fortunately, there are more-innovative, ecofriendly ways for schools to get their hands on much-needed cash. Students can collect used printer cartridges for recycling and sell fair-trade stationery, natural body-care products, or, in Wisconsin, locally made cheese. Mmm, cheese. Where's my wallet?

Illustration by Christoph Hitz

Eating in the Outdoors

There's more to camp food than gorp and s'mores. And even though it sounds like a natural way to cook, in most places, ecofriendly campers shouldn't rely on campfires for preparing their meals. Before your next outdoor experience,

• learn to leave no trace
• buy bulk organic foods and cook them on the greenest stove that meets your needs. For backpacking, Sustainable Travel International recommends the Sierra stove from ZZ Manufacturing, a lightweight, superefficient model that can burn pine cones, wood chips, tree bark, charcoal or any other solid fuel
• see if your multi-fuel stove can burn biodiesel
• consider a pollution-free solar oven if you're going to be car camping
• pack some biodegradable soap (or none at all) for cleaning up
• up your culinary game with Campfire Cuisine: Gourmet Recipes for the Great Outdoors by Robin Donovan
• and be ready for bad weather by packing a good book to curl up with, perhaps A Leaky Tent Is a Piece of Paradise: 20 Young Writers on Finding a Place in the Natural World.

Green Biz

To many drinkers, green beer means adding a few drops of food coloring to a St. Patrick's Day pint. But for a growing number of brewers--micro- and major--ecofriendly brewing is a year-round obsession.

In Chico, California, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is installing solar panels that, along with hydrogen fuel cells already in use, will generate 75 percent of the company's electricity--and heat for the brewing process.

The New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, captures methane gas released while treating wastewater and uses it to produce 10 percent of the brewery's power--trimming $18,000 off its 2006 energy bills. Along with running its local delivery trucks on biodiesel and awarding bicycles to its workers on their first anniversary, New Belgium was the first U.S. brewer to buy wind power for all its needs.

In pursuit of producing zero waste, the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland shares its spent grains with an artisan baker (who makes cracked-barley beer bread and pretzels from them) and a local farmer who uses them as a substrate for growing organic mushrooms. Leftover veggie oil from the brewpub fuels the Fatty Wagon, a shuttle bus that carts patrons to baseball games. And in winter, the owners shut down the refrigerator and blow in cold air to keep the beer chilled. All that effort hasn't hurt the bottom line, either: Business was up 30 percent last year. --Andrew Becker

Advice on cooling beers and cooking out

In the July/August 2007 issue of Sierra, Mr. Green weighs the benefits of a new energy-efficient refrigerator against the environmental costs of replacing the old one and contemplates the campfire.

Curious, concerned, or just generally confused about environmental issues of all stripes? Send your thoughts and questions directly to Mr. Green, or weigh in in the comments section.

Sun for Your Supper

When I spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle recently about "green grilling," the reporter expressed some skepticism about the idea of cooking with a solar oven. Admittedly, the concept does sound a little wacky. But the paper's food editors were apparently willing to give it a whirl, buying their own Sun Oven (pictured) and devoting four pages to the joys of off-the-grid cooking, including tantalizing recipes (with instructions for solar and conventional preparation) for shrimp and lemon skewers, buttermilk cornbread, and a baby beet salad.

A new title from Stackpole Books, Solar Cooking for Home and Camp, offers even more recipes, along with author Linda Frederick Yaffe's instructions for making your own box cooker out of cardboard and aluminum foil. Seriously. It doesn't even look that hard. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm in favor of any weekend project that results in eating. If you've done any solar cooking, let me know what you think and what your favorite recipes are.

Art You Can Eat

At the height of World War II, hundreds of victory gardens were thriving in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Artist Amy Franceschini is rekindling her city's self-sufficient spirit--and getting her work on gallery walls. She's designed and distributed gardening starter kits, which were featured in a recent museum exhibit along with photographs of the plots planted so far and playful, yet functional, sculptures like this bicycle-wheelbarrow hybrid. futurefarmers.com/victorygardens

(Photograph by Amy Franceschini)

Tapping Into Water Trends

In San Francisco, the bottled-water backlash has already begun: hot local restaurants are taking the expensive, environmentally damaging item off their menus and replacing it with house-carbonated tap water, while Mayor Gavin Newsom has banned the use of city money to buy bottled water. Now New Yorkers are being blanketed with ads promoting the city's tap water as a "cool," "healthy" drink with "zero calories" that's "great on the go."

If this campaign works, how about similar ads touting the benefits of other green behaviors like taking the bus ("you + a good book = a happy commute" and "kiss road-rage goodbye") or hanging out laundry on a clothesline (a "meditative," "free" way to "get a tan while taking care of chores")? If you had a big ad agency--and budget--at your disposal, what ecofriendly habits would you promote and how?

Fender Blender

It's probably too late to order one for your Fourth of July fest, but thanks to the geniuses over at the Juice Peddler, you can have your drink and burn it off too. Their pedal-powered blenders range from the dedicated (and stationary) "Fender Blender" to the Mini-B3 (pictured), which fits on any bike that can carry a rear rack--even an Xtracycle. The site doesn't say how many calories you'll expend, but sadly, it's probably not as many as are in a margarita. And if you're riding while blending, better stick to smoothies.

Art Crops Up in Kansas

If you like artichokes, figs, honey, almonds--or tequila--you have pollinators to thank for your favorite treats. According to the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC), pollinating animals (mostly insects) "contribute to one out of every three bites we eat" and help 85 percent of wild flowering plants reproduce. Like other wild creatures, pollinators are at risk from habitat destruction and pollution, but bats and bees don't draw the same kind of sympathy as penguins and polar bears.

To help promote the plight of these small, but essential animals, earthworks artist Stan Herd is creating a living installation (shown here in a preliminary sketch) depicting one of the most charismatic pollinators--the butterfly. The 50-foot Southern Dogface butterfly made out of squash, sunflowers, and other crops planted on a Kansas farm is based on one of four pollination-themed stamps being issued by the U.S. Postal Service this Friday. The NAPPC is providing tips for gardeners, cooks, and anyone else who wants to help celebrate and protect pollinating species. Tequila sunrise (tequila [bat] + orange juice [bee] + cherry [bee]), anyone?

One Ticket for Farmer John, Please

The quirky, entertaining, inspiring food flick The Real Dirt on Farmer John has been making the film-festival rounds for a while, but today's show times in New York City mark the start of its wide release this summer. Watch the trailer below, look for the film at a theater near you, and be sure to tune into Sierra Club Radio tomorrow for an interview with the documentary film's star, Farmer John Peterson. I'll also be on tomorrow's show talking about some good green books for summer reading.

A Tip a Day...

...keeps global warming at bay. (And other environmental problems too!)

Want to start living a lower-impact, higher-quality lifestyle? Not sure where to begin? Sign up for our new Green Life newsletter and receive an easy tip every day about a small change that can make a big difference. Simple steps like replacing conventional lightbulbs with more efficient ones, keeping your car tires properly inflated, or adjusting your thermostat a degree or two can save you money, reduce waste, and help save the planet. Don't delay, sign up today!

Talk Radicchio

I'm not much use in the kitchen, but even I can whip up something tasty from my favorite cookbook, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. Recipes like "African Pineapple Peanut Stew," "Beans and Greens," or "Asparagus with Fried Eggs and Cheese" are simple and delicious. (Though the Ithaca, New York-based culinary collective focuses on veggie fare, some recipes in this book include fish.) So I'm looking forward to hearing Mollie Katzen, Moosewood Restaurant cofounder (and author of the first Moosewood cookbook) on Sierra Club Radio tomorrow. Tune in at 3:30 pm (PST) Saturday on the Quake (960 am) in the San Francisco Bay Area, or listen online, for a fresh view on vegetarian cooking.

Get Your Grill On

With the weather heating up, barbecue season has officially begun. And while a little backyard grilling isn't going to ruin the environment, when 60 million people hit the BBQ at once--like they do on Fourth of July--the impacts can add up. To grill greener, try these tips:

• Opt for a cleaner-burning propane or electric grill over one powered by charcoal, which contributes more to poor air quality. If you've got time to spare, a solar oven or stove avoids emissions altogether.
• If you do use charcoal, look for lump brands (briquettes may contain coal dust or other additives as binders) made from invasive tree species or harvested from sustainably managed forests, and switch from lighter fluid, which releases smog-forming VOCs, to a chimney starter.
• Grill organic, hormone-free meat and mix it up with fish, veggies, even fruit.
• Minimize health risks (from carcinogenic substances that can form when meats are grilled or broiled at high temperature) by choosing lean meats and trimming fat before cooking.
• Set your picnic table with reusable dishware and silverware and cloth napkins. If that's not feasible, look for biodegradable or recycled-paper dinnerware, unbleached cups, and recycled-paper napkins.
• Clean up green with a natural cleaner like Orange Plus (made with orange oil) or SoyClean.

For more information, check out the Sierra article "P's and Q's of BBQ" and the magazine's resources for an earth-friendly cookout.

TGI (almost) F

Hopefully you, like me, have the day off on Monday. Here's some tips for good green fun this holiday weekend:

• If your plans include a picnic, the San Francisco Chronicle suggests packing reusable (and lightweight) bamboo tableware, biodegradable forks, and recycled-paper napkins.
• Skip the lighter fluid and fire up your grill with a charcoal chimney starter.
• Take a hike! The online trail directories at American Trails, GORP, Trails.com, or TrailSource will have you enjoying the out-of-doors in no time.
• Planning a longer trip? Make sure you have the greenest gear.
• If you're hitting the road, improve your mileage by keeping your air filter clean and your tires properly inflated, driving the speed limit, minimizing the cargo you're carrying, and following our other gas-saving tips.
• How does your garden grow? A lot better with some good compost. So dig in!

Green Gifts for Your Grad

With the school year drawing to an end, high school and college seniors are getting ready to begin the next phase of their life. Celebrate your grad's achievement with a green gift that will ease (or at least honor) the transition:

• For the gadget-loving grad: A sleek and sturdy Solio solar charger, will juice up their ubiquitous cell phone, MP3 player, or portable game player on the go. Its fan-blade design collects a lot of energy, but folds up nice and compactly.
• For the grad on-the-go: A solar backpack or messenger bag from Reware, Voltaic Systems, or Clear Blue Hawaii will charge the same kinds of small accessories as the Solio, and hold lots of gear too. The fabric on some of the Reware bags is even made out of reclaimed soda bottles.
• For the cyclist grad: A CD rack or picture frame made from old bike parts.
• For the grad that likes to wear their passions on their sleeve: A special accessory. Tarma's recycled stainless-steel wristbands and pendants are great for sporty types (both male and female), while aspiring writers might cherish cufflinks or earrings made out of old typewriter keys.
• For the not-so-neat grad: A basket of green cleaning supplies.
• For the urban grad: A year’s membership in a local car-sharing service, or a green city guide (e.g. the Greenopia guide for San Francisco or Los Angeles, The Big Green Apple for New York).
• For the grad who’s moving far away: A train ticket for a visit home or some recycled stationery  so they’ll write more often (maybe).
• For the grad who might otherwise live at McDonald’s: A set of bamboo cookware (durable and easy to clean) and a good cookbook for cheap and healthy food.
• For the grad on a budget (and aren't they all): A green coupon book with discounts and free offers at environmentally friendly businesses in their new home (e.g. Green Zebra in SF, Chinook Book in the Pacific Northwest, Blue Sky Guide in the Twin Cities).