it's good to be the 'burbs!

green living in the 'burbs? yeah, right? all that driving, big houses to heat, yadda yadda yadda.

but wait, check out levittown, nassau county -- they are going green!

from my personal bible, the grist list, i read that levittown (our nation's first suburb) is getting green.

tom suozzi, the county executive, rolled out their mission to make it easy for the citizens of Levittown to save money on energy costs by providing special discounts on energy efficient products and services, and their goal to make America’s first suburb into America's most energy efficient suburb with the cooperation of Levittown residents, Nassau County, Citizens Campaign for the Environment and concerned corporate partners.

i hope this initiative has some real meat to it, not just the usual greenwashing, pr junk. stay tuned...

meanwhile, do your part when you shop around town, grab a tote & send an effective message, like becky redman's angry f*** recycle bag.

G R E E N Y O U R C L E A N

can you clean & stay green? i stopped buying those crazy-smelling, eye-burning toxic cleaning products and started to look for alternatives in my local health food, organic store. but what will really clean the grime in the tub and on the counter tops?

the green guide offers this handy list on what to buy that's an all-purpose cleaner but gentle for the environment.

also check out this handy product, simple green (i first discovered it while living in san francisco in the 90s).

from ideal bite:

• Simple Green is qualified under EPA and OSHA guidelines as nontoxic and biodegradable; rescue workers have even used it to clean animals after oil spills.



• Simple Green has donated 1 mil gal of its products to disaster and humanitarian relief projects.



• Except for a few ready-to-use products, the formulas are concentrated, so you can use less of them than other cleaners - it also means there's less packaging waste and energy use for shipping.



• Its EGBAR Foundation funds community cleanups and environmental education programs, which more than 1.5 mil kids have participated in.



• Uses easily recyclable, PVC-free packaging.
  

gee, why didn't i think of that?!

now i love paris & all things parisian as much as the next person... and i had a dreamy 2 year experience living there. but this is just plain silly. luxury living from today's NYT urbaneye. $39 bucks for some cotton straps to make a pile of stuff? genius!"From Paris, a New Use for the 'Must-Read' Pile The Book Stool, created by the Paris-based industrial designer Arik Levy for a new French company called Eno, can be any size you like. What you buy is a set of cotton and nylon straps; what you fill them with — a stack of old magazines, catalogs or books — is entirely up to you. Mr. Levy’s solution for turning unruly piles of reading material into extra seating is part recycling tool, part home organizer, part storage and part furniture. The Book Stool, which costs $39, is available at the Conran Shop, 407 East 59th Street (First Avenue), (866) 755-9079 or conranusa.com"

Green Thoughts for a Better World

take this quick & easy test to determine your ecological footprint. i'm proud to say my footprint is 11 (the average US resident's is 24) but i can't do much gloating. the site calculates how many planets we'd need if everyone lived like me... 2.4 planets to support my lifestyle! makes ya think. i'm counting the days til the jersey fresh farmer's markets open, to shop locally...

take the test at: http://www.myfootprint.org/

find a jersey fresh market near you at: http://www.state.nj.us/jerseyfresh/searches/urban.htm

and after you take your test, check out what one portland, oregon based sandal company does with their excess materials! http://www.sijournal.com/recycledmarkets/7237386.html

blissful! website of the week

my nostalgia for the few years i spent in san francisco led me to the fabulous work of jill bliss, an artist and designer based in northern california. her "few-of-a-kind" goods are made from recycled or sustainable materials. my favorite purchases so far? the small pocket pouch (style: picnic) and the farm life 2007 calendar. go shopping and encourage that blissful feeling of more thoughtful consuming! jillbliss.com