Green Gal

Just wanted to share a quick anecdote from my day: This afternoon on my way home from school, I had to wait at an island in the middle of a major intersection near my high school. When I rode up to the island, there was already one other student on a bike and two on their feet. The light took an unusually long amount of time to grant us permission to cross, and during that time, two more kids on bikes and two more pedestrian students arrived. That island was full to the brim with kids taking alternative transportation home. I almost laughed because of how strange it seemed to have an island filled with students going home. But then I realized that it should be like that everyday. If enough kids rode or walked to school, we'd have a serious space/traffic issue (seeing as younger teens tend to use sidewalks and crosswalks and thus traffic islands rather than the street). It would be great to see the sidewalks overflowing with students walking or biking, and while there are a great nu...

One of the most annoying things I've found about reducing my consumption of resources is forgetting my travel mug or reusable grocery/shopping bag and having to use up another cup or bag at the store. The reusable grocery bag issue has been addressed all over the internet: leave the bags in the car. Reinforcement is key to remembering this, though. When you're finished unloading the groceries, go right back to your car and stick them into the little flap on the back of the front seats. Do it every time, or else you'll forget them, guaranteed. Another awesome way to remember the bag is to buy one of those foldable bags that closes in on itself into a little ball. They fit easily into purses, backpacks, glove compartments and some have little clips so you can attach it to the outside of bags (or key rings if you wish!). The two my mom owns are from Whole Foods, but more and more stores are selling them. I got mine at a hair salon! I've never seen the mug issue addressed b...

Image via Wikipedia Since last Wednesday, I have avoided paper towels almost 100%. I did so because of Reduce Footprint's Change the World Wednesday for last week: This week, for the entire week, refuse to use paper towels. Yep, 7 days ... no paper towels. I was in, so starting Wednesday I became very cognizant of paper towels and avoided them at all costs. I was home sick Wednesday and most of Thursday, so I always had a dish cloth/hand towel close at hand to use in place of the paper towels. On Friday, though, I had to remember not to pull a paper towel from the dispenser in the restroom. I had forgotten to bring a cloth napkin to use, so I had to dry my hands on my sweatshirt. I had a rehearsal for drama after school on Friday and my team was working outside, under some trees by the lunch tables. One of the biggest fears people have in common at my school is the fear of being pooped on by those ridiculous sea gulls (hello, we do not live near a beach where are you com...

Image by Simon Miller via Flickr Long time no posts, eh? Well I'm going to try and post more regularly--how's once a week sound for a starting challenge? I've got a bone to pick with a lady at my local Noah's New York bagels. She won't let me reuse a Noah's bag that once held other bagels. I know it isn't her fault that there are regulations to protect companies from getting sued for contaminated food, but she's the only one at that store who follows that rule. Every other employee lets me reuse my bags and they've come to accept it (at first they couldn't understand why I wouldn't just want a new one, but now they see the point). Of course I understand she wants to follow the regulations, but here's my issue: How is reusing a bag any different than bringing my own mug and filling it with coffee? I could just as easily contaminate my cup and then turn around and sue them (which is utterly ridiculous and should not be allowed) as do...

I promised to blog about the discussion I had with Bill Radulovich and others about the new internship program I am going to be involved in, so here it is: After school this afternoon, I rode my bike down the street to Starbucks. I was to meet with Bill Radulovich and Mark Jones (who is the web designer) at 3:15, and when I arrived a few minutes early, they were in line for their drinks. We sat at a large square table there and discussed what schools I'm interested in for next year and began to briefly enter the topic of the internship and the Climate Prosperity Citizens organization that Mr. Rad (what a great nickname!) is heading. My close friend (and fellow actor in the theater department at our school) Taylor arrived just as Mr. Rad was beginning to discuss they big why of the organization. People have been living with their "stuff" and in having this "stuff," they drain the environment of its resources and basically trash the land, he said. The idea behind ...

It's always encouraging to see mainstream evidence of environmental concern. Real Simple magazine 's Daily Finds email newsletter has lately been encouraging meatless meals. While they are also trying to support a healthier diet, there is of course the environmental sensitivity aspect . Here are some articles from their website: 3 Reasons to Cut Down on Meat 6 Meatless Meals (for Meat Lovers) 25 Vegetarian Main-Course Recipes Are You Scared of Tofu? And, of course, they have a countless number of meatless (and vegan!) recipes on their website . --- This Wednesday I'm meeting with Mr. Bill Radulovich to discuss a "Green Student" internship. I'll post more about it after Wednesday. I'm riding my bike there after school and I've invited the other students who are attending to ride along with me. I'll let you know if anyone joins me :) Have a great Labor Day! Green Gal

With school starting, I've been so busy lately that I have again neglected my blog. For this post, I just have some quick links and factoids that you may find interesting: -- Check out the WILD Foundation's World Wilderness Congress: Also known as WILD9 ( http://wild9.org/ ), [the WILD Foundation's World Wilderness Congress] is the longest running environmental forum and occurs once every four years. This year's conference will be held the week of November 6th in Merida, Mexico, and will feature speakers Jane Goodall, Stephan Harding, and Pav Dukhdev...it will address the first ever international agreement on Wilderness between U.S., Canadian and Mexican agencies. Sounds informational, inspiring and very much along the lines of what I write about here on Green Gal. For more information, please visit their website at http://wild9.org/ . -- Need another reason to reduce, reuse & conserve? Look no further: Pacific Ocean garbage patch worries researchers -- I'm in ...