Lifestyle

Whether you're spending Valentine's day with your buddies, your significant other, your couch and some booze, and chocolate today I bring you some ideas to make this red themed hallmark-holiday a bit greener. Cards are sweet, and these days most drug stores offer a decent selection printed on recycled paper. But why not up the thoughtfulness ante, and create a homemade card from scratch. Use recycled construction paper or the back of some paper you have lying around the house. Surely, your Valentine won't mind the chicken scratch list on the back side when you've put so much effort into a cute homemade card. ( I did this for my husband one year and he said it was his favorite card I've given.) Red roses are traditional, a little boring and not the most sustainable choice as they often carry a big carbon footprint from being flow in from afar. Instead of flowers treat your Valentine or yourself to a house plant. They clean household air and last MUCH longer. What's valentine's day without chocolate?  If  you or your Valentine is a chocoholic like me choose fair trade options like Endangered Species chocolate or Alter Eco. Skip the tacky and cliche box o'chocolates; You never know what you're biting into in those, anyway! Feel like baking?

Today is the infamous Fat Tuesday, where we gorge ourselves with Jambalaya, Muffalettas, King cake and beignets. And obviously, we guzzle lots of booze in the New Orleans tradition. This day traditionally prepares Christians to start their Lenten season on Ash Wednesday, where they make major sacrifices like no meat on Fridays. (Huge, I know!) Regardless if you're Catholic, Jewish or Buddhist, you can create a challenge yourself for a more sustainable behavior for 40 days. "What can I do?", I hear you ask. (Yes, I can hear your thoughts readers! But not always, which is why we encourage comments.) (Find out more about the 40 day green challenge and what I'm doing, after the jump!)

Happy weekend! Here's a few quotes on sustainability and being green to lighten up your Friday. (Or, you know ... just get you thinking about the state of the planet.) There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.  ~Robert Lynd, The Blue Lion and Other Essays Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticided grain,  For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. America, America, man sheds his waste on thee, And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea. ~George Carlin “People 'over-produce' pollution because they are not paying for the costs of dealing with it.”   Ha-Joon Chang, 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism

I recently found myself in North Carolina on a cool weekend in January to see the sights with my companion. Although it was the midst of a southern winter, the desire to get outside and do something athletic (and obviously sustainable) was high as ever. After searching for a few options, we found Zipquest Zip Lining. (Find the full story and tons of pictures (AND video) after the jump!)

Hosting a Super Bowl Bash on Sunday? Here's quick tip that will save you money (and help out the environment!)

After embarking on our ‘plastic bag reduction’ journey, I wanted to dig deeper on plastics. After a quick search of the Google, Beth Terry’s “Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and You Can Too” landed on my Kindle. Terry has a very challenging mission: She wants to live plastic-free. At first, it sounds simple – stop buying water bottles, disposable crap, DIY or find natural versions. But then you realize that EVERYTHING is plastic. I didn’t think of my shiny Macbook Laptop as 'plastic' (it's a miracle!), nor the Pyrex lids on my containers. Not clothes I wear, seats I sit in, airplanes I fly in…  Plastic is EVERYWHERE. Terry does a great job at (Find out more, after the jump!)

During cold and flu season it's important to be especially diligent about washing our hands.  But are the often touted antibacterial soaps really better when it comes to preventing germs? Some experts say that plain ol regular soap and water do the job just as well. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has made statements that hand washing with regular soap is as effective at removing germs as antibacterial soaps, and they don't necessarily endorse antibacterial soap. So what's the key to cleanliness and germ-fighting?

We lead busy lives and with places like HipCityVeg, it's easy to grab a quick snack or meal out. But what about all those plastic utensils they give for free? Isn't there an alternative to more disposable crap? (Find out, after the jump!)

Are you still staring at the wall, thinking you need to buy a new calendar for 2013? Do you love composting? The Ladies of Manure Calendar may just be the one... This calendar pledges to 'rethink all your waste, even your daily #1's and #2's. The Fertile Earth Foundation made a calendar full of beautiful women, with an end goal (as stated on their website):