Green Living Stories of the Last Week (or So)

OK, one more wrap-up this week. And perhaps our last weekly wrap-up, period. As I am thinking I will switch to daily wrap-ups instead. (Let me know if you have any objection.) As the title says, this wrap-up is of good or cool green living stories.

Biking

Biking is one of the greenest things you can do. Here are some cool stories to help get you into it.

National Bike Summit Coming Up

The League of American Bicyclists reports that the 2011 National Bike Summit is coming up, discussed how attending the summit can make a difference in your community, and highlighting the story of how one Colorado resident proved that.

Portlandia [Funny Video]

“Portlandia is a new TV show spoofing the self-righteously urban culture of Portland,” Tim Halbur of Planetizen reports. “In this clip, a hyper bicycle rights activist zips around the city decrying the evils of automobiles.” Hilarious.

In UK, Bicyclists Putting on Helmet Cams

Having troubles with careless or even abusive drivers on the road (as a bicyclist)? Perhaps stick on a helmet cam. That’s what some cyclists in the UK are doing, and looks like it is helpful. Here’s a video, read more on BBC.

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3 Ciclovias in Los Angeles in 2011

Los Angeles is going to have Ciclovia in April, July, and October this year. For more info, check out… Ciclovia.

5 DIY Accessories for Your Bike

Missing something on your bike? Or just in a crafty mood? Maria Dryden of our sister site Crafting a Green World recently had a good post on 5 cool DIY accessories for your bike.

“Bicycle Studies” a New Possible Minor at Lees-McRae College

Yes, that’s right, if you go to Lees-McRae College in North Carolina, you can now minor in Bicycle Studies. Oh, how I wish I could have done that…

Telecommuting

Another great way to green your “transportation” and improve your overall life is to telecommute, as a guest blogger on Planetsave recently highlighted. Concerned that your job doesn’t fit that option? Check out Ambrose Desmond’s piece on telecommuting as as a counselor. It might open your mind a bit.

Going Vegetarian

As we’ve covered a number of times on here, going vegetarian is one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do, if not the most. Zoe Blecher-Cohen of Ridgewood High School, writing on the Alliance for Climate Education ACE), recently went into detail on why she was switching up her eating habits and her shift towards a vegetarian diet.

Green in the Kitchen

Other than eating green, there are a number of other things you can do to green life in your kitchen. Check out 11 tips from Rob Jones of the BuildDirect Green Blog via the link.

Recycling

Ever wonder how we compare to other nations when it comes to recycling? Probably not… but if you’re a little curious now, it looks like you might not want to know. Germany, apparently, recycles about 70% of its waste. We recycle about 33%. However, it should be noted that Germany actually leads Europe on this topic. For an extremely extensive piece on how it does so, check out the Earth911 link above.

Snowboarding

OK, this one is a bit of a stretch. But thought it was interesting enough to be included here (and there is actually a green living connection here). Professional snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, who has won 4 X Games gold medals, recently talked about the lack of snow at the 2010 Olympics, pollution from dirty energy in Chile, and her and her husband’s efforts to go green — they’ve even started their own sustainable products company. Check out more, including a short video, on ACE.

Going Deeper

Jeramy Lemieux recently pointed out on Food & Water Watch that “efficiency is measured by the performance of the whole, not the parts.” An important thing to remember. While Lemieux covered this in a completely different way, worth a read, this made me think of something that crosses my mind from time to time. If you save a ton of money and cut your environmental footprint by bicycling or walking or riding transit or telecommuting or carpooling, but then you spend the money you save on an extremely polluting international flight, how much are you really living green? (Something for me to consider these days as I live in Europe, have my whole family and most of my friends in the U.S., and have to decided whether or not to visit them each year…)

Photo Credit: Chic Cyclists

3 thoughts on “Green Living Stories of the Last Week (or So)”

  1. Hi Zachary!

    Thanks very much for referencing my 11 ways to go green in the kitchen post – very much appreciated. And thanks for this post of yours that gives me a lot to think about too.

    Cheers!
    Rob.

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