The Green Life

Movie Review Friday: Ponyo

Escape to the movies with one of our Movie Review Friday selections. Each week we review a film with an environmental theme that's currently in theaters or available on DVD. Seen a good eco-flick lately? Send us a short review and look for it in the next Movie Review Friday.

Ponyo (2009)

In theaters now

Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of Princess Mononoke, Ponyo is an animated film about a magical goldfish who gets stuck in a piece of trash stirred up by a bottom-trawling fishing boat and is rescued by a little boy named Sosuke. After licking a cut on his finger, she becomes human and they fall in love.

Ponyo’s transformation, however, creates an imbalance in the natural world – a violent storm rages, flooding Sosuke’s village and threatening his parents. The moon draws closer to Earth. Sosuke's and Ponyo’s love is tested as the fate of the planet hangs in balance.

Ponyo's environmental message is clear: The world's natural balance must be respected. The beauty of the ocean, teeming with life, is juxtaposed against pollution's ugliness. Ponyo’s grumpy wizard dad is repulsed by humans and their trash.

But the misanthropy ends there. Ultimately, the movie exudes a childlike cheerfulness by focusing on the relationship between Ponyo and Sosuke. The art is bright and bold, with wild images such as the one of Ponyo racing atop waves shaped like giant fish. For those who enjoy fairy tales with a green twist, Ponyo is a fun pick. 

 -- Année Tousseau

Green Your Wedding: Food

Weddings inspire and delight us, but these sacred events have grown into resource-sapping affairs. If you're wondering how to pull off your dream celebration without a huge carbon footprint and an empty bank account, refer to this week's tips to help you work some ecofriendly wedding magic.

Tip #4: Serve Sustainable Cuisine

Reduce your wedding's environmental impact by serving organic food and wine. Ask your caterer about meals featuring seasonal fruits and vegetables that can be sourced from local farms. Some caterers even specialize in ecofriendly cuisine or vegan wedding cakes. Keep in mind that vegetarian dishes tend to be less expensive and more ecofriendly than meat courses.

Share your tips: What are your suggestions for serving an ecofriendly wedding meal on a budget?

Green Your Wedding: Gifts

Weddings inspire and delight us, but these sacred events have grown into resource-sapping affairs. If you're wondering how to pull off your dream celebration without a huge carbon footprint and an empty bank account, refer to this week's tips to help you work some ecofriendly wedding magic.

Tip #3: Give Back

Let your wedding gifts do some good by registering for ecofriendly products or requesting charitable donations. Register with the I Do Foundation and up to 10% of the price of your guests' purchases will be donated to the charity of your choice. If you already own a complete set of dishes (or you're perfectly happy with your mismatched thrift store plates), consider asking guests to give to the Sierra Club and sponsor a wild place in your name.

Share your tips: What are your ideas for ecofriendly wedding gifts? 

Fighting Frog Decline: Romance and Reproduction

In fairy tales, they can turn into princes with just a little attention from an oblivious princess. But in the real world, frogs aren't faring too well. According to the International Union for Conservation for Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), 32 percent of amphibian species are known to be threatened or extinct, and at least 42 percent of amphibian species are declining in population. Possible causes for the frog decline include habitat destruction, predation, global warming, pesticides, disease (such as chytrid fungus), and a lack of leaves on the forest floor. Needless to say, the wide range of potential threats makes conservation efforts difficult.

Green Your Valentine’s Day: Rethink Romantic Gifts

Trying to impress your sweetie for Valentine’s Day but don’t want to break the earth’s heart? This week we’re letting you know how to be romantic and green.

Tip #3: Rethink Romantic Gifts

We know, we know: Valentine’s Day is a consumerist holiday invented by greeting-card companies, jewelers and chocolatiers. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed responsibly and in a giving spirit. This year, consider giving e-cards instead of paper cards, antique or recycled jewelry, ethical chocolate, organic (or home-grown) flowers, and digital playlists instead of packaged CDs. If you must wrap your gift, consider planet-friendly options.

Green Your Valentine’s Day: Plan An Eco-Friendly Date Night

Trying to impress your sweetie for Valentine’s Day but don’t want to break the earth’s heart? This week we’re letting you know how to be romantic and green.

Tip #2: Green Your Date Night

Valentine’s Day is essentially a collective date night, so if you keep these green-dating tips in mind while planning your outing on February 14, or on any other night, you’ll make the planet smile just as much as your significant other. 

When going out to eat, choose a restaurant that uses local, seasonal, organic ingredients and has lots of vegetarian options. If you’re planning a multi-day getaway, consider a staycation, camping, or a green hotel. Wherever you go, coordinate to take public transit – or a bicycle homebuilt for two.

Green Your Valentine’s Day: Learn What Love Does

Trying to impress your sweetie for Valentine’s Day but don’t want to break the earth’s heart? This week we’re letting you know how to be romantic and green.

Tip #1: Learn What Love Does

Take the Sierra Club’s slightly naughty "How Green is My Love" quiz to find out how the emotions that impact you can end up impacting the planet. After taking the quiz, send it to your friends and loved ones along with a lovely e-card.

Then, to show Congress why we want global warming slowed – because of the people and places we love, of course – go to this clean-energy website and help them build a “Wall of Love.”

Tip #2: Plan An Eco-Friendly Date Night

Tip#3: Rethink Romantic Gifts

Green Your Date -- Special Occasions

Whether you're celebrating a one month anniversary with your new sweetie or commemorating twenty years of togetherness, some green dates have more significance than others. Turn up the romance with our tips for special occasions.

What to wear: For eco-friendly dresses that don't look like burlap sacks, check out Passenger Pigeon. Bagir offers stylish suits made from recycled PET plastic bottles.

Where to go: Dine green at an environmentally sustainable restaurant; the Green Restaurant Association's guide will help you locate the eco-eateries in your area. Find vegetarian restaurants at Vegdining.com.

What to give: Think outside the diamond and give jewelry made from recycled glass, metal, or paper. If the occasion calls for something shiny, find ecologically responsible gems at greenKarat.

Green Your Date -- Activity Ideas

Green dating shouldn't break your bank. Woo a new crush or surprise your steady with these three inexpensive, earth-friendly date ideas.

Shed some stuff: Ask your date to bring a bag of old clothes and visit a Goodwill or Salvation Army. Before donating, peek inside the bags; share stories about each item and laugh over misguided fashion choices.

Plant some love: Instead of presenting cut flowers, give your date a potted plant and a spade. Make like green rebels and bond over some guerrilla gardening. Watch the plant grow as the relationship progresses.

Green a feast: Meet at a local farmers' market, stock up on fresh veggies, and create a feast. Enjoy the outdoors by choosing a picnic-friendly recipe. GoVeg.com lists some rumored aphrodisiacs to spice up the meal.

Do you have a creative date idea? Please share!

Green Your Date: Online Resources

Between hiking, biking, gardening, recycling, composting, and saving the world, the green life tends to keep a person busy. Who has the time to look for love? Speed up the process by mining the online community. Let your computer play matchmaker with these eco-themed dating sites.

• Green Passions is a free dating and social networking site. Search for singles with interests such as alternative energy or organic farming. Looking for someone who'd love to share a salad? Check out Vegan Passions or Vegetarian Passions.
• Green Singles started as a paper newsletter in 1985, moving to an online forum in 1996. They donate five percent of their profits to a variety of earth-friendly non-profits. Members can also place free ads to promote green businesses.
• Date for Trees is a unique combination of a tree donating service and dating site. They donate a tree to American Forests each time a client upgrades to a paid membership.
• Care2 Singles allows you to combine social networking with environmental activism. This site provides options to sign petitions, donate to good causes, look for green jobs, and volunteer.

Have you tried internet dating? Tell us what you think!