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I had a recent bout of ‘green guilt' that got me thinking … I just got back from a trip to beautiful Los Cabos (don’t hate me!) - The trip, scenery, company and Mexican hospitality were off-the-charts awesome. The downer…the hotel was not eco-friendly. As in, NO recycling. (I am a strong advocate of checking into hotel policy prior to vacationing. But this time was out of my control. ) Why do I bring this up? The more conversations I have with sustainable minded people, the more I realize most of us experience a little ‘green guilt’ from time to time. It’s tough to act 100% eco-minded. Unfortunately, we’re bound to be in situations now and then where we feel uncomfortable. I felt really guilty knowing my bottles of dos equis weren’t headed for the recycling bin... The truth is harping on this mindset and feeling unworthy because I couldn’t exercise control is counter productive. What’s the best way to overcome these feelings?

Arcadia Boutique is every fashionable green girl's heaven (aka mine). Selling anything from fashionable dresses and tops, jeans, shoes/boots, bags, belts, accessories, vintage, gifts and much more - You'll definitely find something for your wardrobe. Arcadia offers a variety of sustainable finds from designers around Philadelphia and beyond. Want to 'green' the men or babies in your life?

Hungry for some local & fresh produce? Good news - The Piazza at Schmidt’s has an annual Saturday afternoon Farmers Market! The Piazza Farmer’s Market imports local farmers to Northern Liberties to showcase the best local produce, meats, poultry and dairy products available in the city of Philadelphia. Kicking off last Saturday the Piazza Farmer’s Market has

Guest Blogger Bill Hawthorne is representing maacenter.org, a leading web resource for asbestos exposure and mesothelioma cancer information, dedicated to raising awareness of terrible health consequences of asbestos exposure. How buildings are created - using sustainable green products - are crucial in avoiding asbestos and mesothelioma as well as improving existing structures. Enjoy! Going green used to be considered expensive and a luxury for those who could afford the trend. Now it appears that we are learning that not only is adopting more environmentally-conscious attitudes good for our wallets, but is also important to our health? If we dig a bit deeper, we can see that dirty industries and backwards policy is actually harming the health of the earth, our children and the health of her inhabitants today. There are two levels of health consequences associated with dirty industry,

Looking for new eco-friendly ways to trek across Philly? Philadelphia Electric Wheels opened this past fall in West Mt. Airy, apprx. 12 mins from Center City. Philly Electric Wheels is the first store in the tri-state region to sell and service electric bike exclusively. Electric bikes are one of the new hot trends in personal transit – including electric tricycles, models that fold and generate their own energy as you pedal. Easy on the wallet (they cost just one penny per mile to operate!), electric bikes travel up to

Brrr it’s cold outside! Stay toasty and reduce emissions this winter… Keep energy costs at a minimum. It’s easier than you may guess. Simply insulate your windows with plastic window film (for example) to keep the cold out – even hanging...

Need some eco-conscious events to warm you up in this frigid weather and start 2010 off right? Here are a few local events: Tuesday, January 12th: New Whole Foods opening in Plymouth Meeting. Warm up with this cook-out event and free hot chocolate o n the roof, delicious samples of Whole Foods Organic foods & free gifts. (Plymouth Meeting Mall, 500 W. Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 (610) 832-0010) Wednesday, January 20, 6-9 PM. Celebrate natural, eco-friendly beauty products at Juju Organics' launch party of their online retail store. RSVP by Friday, Jan 15th - RSVP@paigewolf.com (Juju Organics, 713 S. 4th St, Phila, PA) Thursday, January 21, 7 PM: Celebrate honey & natural creations with your honeybee at the National Honeybee Bicentennial. This free evening of the national launch of the Bicentennial for the Father of American Beekeeping celebrating Lorenzo Langstroth includes lectures by Carl Flatow of Science Friday Initiatives, Barbara Ceiga of the Academy of Natural Sciences and Marc Hoffman; Busy Mountain beehive raffle, and ice cream provided by Haagen-Dazs’ Help the Honey Bees project. (Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Drive, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia) Saturday, February 6th: Drink, eat and dance the night away by donating to a fantastic charity at the Liberty Ball hosted by Penn State's Philly Alumni Chapter. All proceeds benefit PSU's THON, or Dance Marathon to fight pediatric cancer. Buy tickets on Libertyball.org (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts - 128 N. Broad St, Phila, PA)

Additional dates and neighborhoods have been added to help Philly area folks recycle their trees! Don’t let your Christmas tree contribute to needless waste. Philadelphia is not collecting Christmas tree at the curb. If you dump your tree at the curb - it’s headed for a landfill! Treecycling drop off dates this weekend (updated):

2010 is here... Need ideas for New Years Resolutions? Why not take some time to enjoy sustainability? Here are some ideas: