Category — Good Earth

Looking for a summer project that’s fun, economical, and kid-friendly? Try growing your own herbs.

Fresh herbs add flavor and personality when sprinkled over any dish and can be used in pestos, sauces, dips, green smoothies, or herbal teas. What’s more, having a pot of fresh herbs on your windowsill is cheaper and more convenient than buying them at the market.

Getting started is easy. All you need is a pot or container with sufficient draining (try terracotta, metal, or plastic), potting soil, and some seeds. Some of the most oft-used herbs include basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary, tarragon, cilantro, sage, or mint. However, you could also try less traditional flavors, like lemon basil, chamomile, or lavender. Other small plants such as stevia (a natural, calorie-free sweetener) or wheatgrass (a young grass that is said to have numerous health benefits) are also great choices.

Kids can help plant seeds, as well as take charge of watering duties. Once the herbs have grown, children can choose and gather herbs for cooking.

Check out Territorial Seed Company at www.territorialseed.com for organic and heirloom seed varieties. Don’t feel like going through the trouble of planting? Visit Eggling.com, which has a selection of pre-planted herbs in cute, egg-shaped pots.

-Marygrace Stergakos, Editorial Intern with KIWI Magazine

Who’d have thought that to help increase the population of some dwindling species, all we have to do is eat them?!

That’s the premise behind Renewing America’s Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the Continent’s Most Endangered Foods, a new book by Gary Paul Nabhan (Chelsea Green Publishing, $35).

The book takes readers on a journey across North America, introducing them to more than 1,000 edible plant and animal species, most of which they probably have never seen on the shelves of the grocery store.

But that’s exactly the point of the book. Because these items aren’t an everyday part of our diets, their numbers have dwindled over the years, as they’re not being cultivated for our consumption.

It’s all about supply and demand.

If there’s a demand for a certain food product, inevitably, a supply will be produced to best meet that demand. Nabhan hopes that his book, filled with cooking tips and recipes, will create a demand for food stuffs that once were part of our American culture. With a new interest in incorporating native foods into the American diet, farmers and ranchers will once again have a reason to cultivate the plant and animal species that have long been forgotten.

So don’t be surprised if sometime soon, you see Makah Ozette potatoes, Ojai Pixie tangerines, or Tennessee Fainting Goat meat on a menu near you! It’s all just a part of the plan to create a resurgence in native North American species.

-Jena Parise, Marketing Coordinator for KIWI Magazine

Parenting kids reminds me of preparing a deliciously satisfying but complicated dish! It is often daunting to search for the right healthy recipe with natural ingredients to make the dish wholesome with just the right amount of kick. What a relief when guests rave about the dish… even better when the dish creatively stands alone. What pride you feel at getting the recipe right.

True, the stakes are much higher when trying to get the recipe right when the dish we are tending is a child. As parents we search to find the ingredients to provide the right foundation for our children’s healthy development and growth. In my practice, and as a mom, I have researched many resources looking for helpful evidenced-based parenting information. I enjoy knowing that the “recipe” has been through a test kitchen before experimenting on our own kiddies. One such resource I often recommend is Search Institute.

Search Institute researched 40 developmental assets for helping children grow up “healthy, caring and responsible” including empowering children, setting boundaries and the importance of instilling values. In the mix of raising yummy kids there needs to be a fair amount of improvisation and cooking without a recipe. However, having a staple of ingredients such as, things you can do to help your child succeed (assets), may be worth stocking up on. But, who knew there were 40 of them! (For a complete list visit Search-Institute.org)

Lastly, combine cups filled with fun, love, patience, understanding and a dash of “thyme” for seasoning and you are bound to have a great dish of a kid!

-June Grushka-Rosen M.Ed. is a Life Coach, Educator, Psychotherapist and mommy of two. To contact – June@URextraordinary.com

Hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles are a great example of rapidly evolving technology that will improve our lives. The question is, does it pay to be an early adopter? Environmental concern and cost savings are typical purchase motivations. Hybrids can also provide a means of publicly projecting that environmental commitment. Flex fuel vehicles (many larger domestic vehicles that can run on 85% ethanol, or vegetable based alcohol) and diesel vehicles (all of which can burn biodiesel, or refined vegetable oil) are also increasingly common.For hybrids, every analysis has come to the same conclusion: they don’t pay for themselves. That $3-$5,000 premium will never come back in fuel savings. Flex fuel vehicles may not cost a dime more than standard (many people don’t realize they drive one), and the fuel costs the same as gas, but ethanol provides less energy per gallon. Thus, flex fuel vehicles actually get lower fuel mileage. Biodiesel, even with a $1 per gallon Federal subsidy, is still more expensive than petroleum diesel. Still, with no cost savings to be had, isn’t there yet a large environmental benefit?With both flex fuel and biodiesel, farm subsidies artificially lower the cost of crop-based fuels and disguise their environmental impacts. Farming consumes LOTS of petroleum, for everything from operating equipment to transporting crops to making the fertilizers and pesticides that are applied. Much of that fertilizer and pesticide ends up in rivers and lakes, too. The tailpipe emissions from flex fuel and biodiesel are better than their petroleum equivalents, but overall it’s unclear that there is currently any net environmental advantage with eitherHybrids are expensive not so much because of the additional design work and electronics, but because of the increased material content of the vehicle, the electric motor/generator and the battery array. The batteries in particular are typically heavy and made of expensive and toxic materials that are processed in phases around the globe. The hybrid premium goes primarily for dirty industrial manufacturing and transportation, rather than clean design engineering in an office. Plus, if you really compare apples to apples, hybrids only get about 20% better mileage overall.What is a budget-minded and/or environmentally conscious driver to do? Until progress is made on the real promise of alternative fuels, such as growing oil-rich algae in sewer water, we need to remember the basics: keep your tires properly inflated, drive slower, carpool, take public transit, buy the wagon rather than the SUV, etc. Later this year Volkswagen will introduce the cleanest running car on the planet, a turbo diesel Jetta that will get 40/50 miles to the gallon, or 30% better than its gasoline equivalent. Superior mileage, cleaner emissions and apparently more powerful than a hybrid: Wow! But will it draw the proper approving glances in the Whole Foods parking lot? We shall see…–“Tech Dad” John Svoboda is a consumer electronics enthusiast, manager and business owner since the time of the 8-track, and holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications

(the Emerald City of Seattle, not the Emerald City of Oz)

A HUGE thank you to all those who visited us at the First Annual Seattle Green Festival! It was a great weekend, and now that I’ve finally adjusted back to east coast time, I thought I’d share the experience with you.

If you have never been to a Green Festival, you must get to one! They are fantastic! I was a little unsure of what I had gotten myself into by volunteering to work this event, but once the show began, I loved every second of it! It was great to meet so many loyal Kiwi readers and chat about upcoming projects and to introduce our magazine and our philosophy to those who were unfamiliar with us. When I got a chance to escape from my booth for a few minutes, I was in awe as I walked down aisle after aisle of fascinating “green” and “eco” stuff. The food samples were tasty and the people were friendly and eager to answer any questions I had about their products and company. There were so many great companies there, but a few stuck out in my mind as my favorites.

My absolute favorite was Mr. ElliePooh. If you haven’t guessed from its name, this company makes stuff out of elephant poo! My first thought was “ew, gross,” but when I learned more about the company, I loved the idea (and bought lots of paper and notebooks to prove it)!

You can read Mr. ElliePooh’s entire story on their website, but basically, by making various paper products from elephant poo, this company is allowing people and elephants to live in harmony in Sri Lanka. Cool, huh? I’m all for saving elephants, especially if it’s as easy as buying some really nifty paper!

Kathy’s Climate Kits also stood out in my mind as being really different. Recipients of the Climate Kit are provided with helpful tips and tools to lessen their impact on the climate and environment. What a great way to introduce your friends and family to the eco-friendly lifestyle!

Also worth noting is the group Women’s Voices for the Earth, which was promoting its new campaign, the Green Cleaning Party. When you order a Green Cleaning Party Kit from the group’s website, you’ll receive everything you need to host a get-together where you and your guests can concoct your own safe and effective cleaning supplies from ingredients you already have in your home. I’m thinking this is probably more fun than the typical handbag or candle demonstration, because you actually get to dirty your hands and make stuff!

There were many more exciting happenings at the Green Festival, but I don’t want to give away any surprises! Check out the upcoming Green Festival in Chicago in May, and then in November in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

See you next year, Seattle!

-Jena Parise, Marketing Coordinator for KIWI Magazine

Are you still hanging on to those old sneakers from 1985? Sure, they’ve probably taken you to great places, but come on, you know you’ll never wear them again. Why not give them a new life?

Donate your old sneaks to Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe Program. Your old sneakers will be ground up into a rubbery material and used for playgrounds and sporting surfaces. Cool, huh?

All brands of sneakers are accepted, but cleats, shoes containing metal, and wet or damp shoes are definite no-no’s.

Just drop off old sneaks at one of dozens of drop-off locations around the country or send them directly to the processing facility.

And who knows, maybe your old kicks might make their way to a playground near you!

-Jena Parise, Marketing Coordinator for KIWI Magazine

One edamommy attempts to cut meat out of her life.

My limited exposure to vegans included a co-worker who used to special order vegan jelly beans (without animal gelatin). He also patiently explained the notion of Tofurky to me (tofu-turkey). He was skinny and pale and, let’s just be honest here, no poster child to join Team Vegan.

But, I have been noticing more and more vegan cookbooks, diet books and even articles in the mainstream media about vegans. MLB pitcher Roger Clemens was asked by Congress in February 2008 during the steroid hearings if he was a vegan since he was receiving B12 injections (prompting a well known pro-vegan organization to send him an animal-free snack pack). NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez was featured in a January 2008 article about going on the vegan wagon (vagon). And, the lovely Natalie Portman has teamed up with té casan for an animal-free shoe line (these will be Edamommy – free since the prices are in the hundreds, unfortunately).

I think the increasing interest and action to be embrace the environment has made veganism very vogue. There are lists of celebrities on the internet who claim to be vegan (and I am sure the paparazzi are trying their best to catch them with a burger or milkshake).

Holy Buf-faux-lo Wings! I think there is a paparazzo rifling through my recycling right now to see if my yogurt containers are soy or not.

False alarm. Just a raccoon.

-”Edamommy” Mary Talalay is a writer for KIWI Magazine

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

On January 21, 2008 we acknowledge and celebrate the late great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King is recognized as being one of the main leaders of the American civil rights movement. Originally a Baptist minister, his interest in the growing epidemic of violence towards black Americans led him to become a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and helped found the Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. All of his efforts led to the highly publicized 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. In 1964, Dr. King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violence means.

Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King Day was established as a national holiday in the United States in 1986.

To get involved in this important celebration, introduce your children to Dr. King through books featured in the Kiwi Bookworms Club such as Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Additionally, there’s great resources on the web including FamilyEducation.com and or the Holiday Zone which even has the complete text of Dr. Kings famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Also, there are many local activities that can be found online. For example, as a part of Philadelphia’s annual “Dr. King: A Day of Service” proceedings, I’ll participate in several commemorative events. As alumni of Penn State Abington I will be on campus helping to organize students who will volunteer at several organizations throughout the Montgomery, Bucks, and Philadelphia county areas, including The Attic and the William Way Community Center.

Also at Penn State Abington, is a one-man play written and performed by Michael Fosberg, called “Incognito.” The play addresses diversity and stereotyping and is scheduled on January 21 from noon to 1pm in room 108-109 Lares Building.

Later this evening I’ll attend the African American Museum in Philadelphia (701 Arch Street), where their Day of Service Tribute to Dr. King’s life and work will include music, dancing, a laser show, a community service project to aid the homeless and more. These activities are scheduled to run from 11am-5pm, for more information call (215) 574-0380, or visit www.aampmuseum.org.

I hope that you will take the time to honor this great man who has helped make our country a better place to live for all of us.

–Shaneka Holliday Dawsonia, Promotions and Special Events Manager, KIWI Magazine

What can you get someone at the last minute? Running around getting gifts for Bobby, Suzie, Aunt Lilly, Uncle Joey and Grandpa Ed, you have simply forgotten cousin Debbie. What to do? Gift cards are good way to give a thoughtful gift in a short amount of time. Here are some of KIWI’s recommendations for gift cards:

-A great way to give the gift of music without the bulk of CDs:
-Plenty of organic and natural options for the eco lover in your lot: Amazon.
-Target’s organic and eco conscience products options are growing: Target.
-Search for an local or organic restaurant, a dinner out is always appreciated: The Eat Well Guide.
-Let your loved ones buy whatever they want: Visa Gift Card.
-Nordstrom has a gift card for every occasion (a late Hanukkah gift, Christmas or Kwanzaa): Nordstrom

So hurry up and click away! Last minute gifts do not have to be bad gifts!

It is the season of giving. So why not go all the way and give a gift that your little one will love and so will the environment? Changing the Present allows you to adopt a penguin, feed a hungry child, and much more. They want to “change the present, one gift at time.”

So for this holiday season, why not adopt a penguin in your loved ones name? Your gift to Adopt A Penguin will enable Defenders of Wildlife’s work with automakers and members of Congress to raise the standard fuel efficiency of cars and trucks. This gift will help save the penguins, among other animals.

Available at Changing the Present, $50.

Do you have a teen that loves to write? Maybe someone you know is going on a trip and needs a great journal to travel with? If that is the case, KIWI has just the journal gift for your loved ones.

These beautiful journals are Vintage Sari. They are handcrafted by Rajasthani artisans and filled with 100% heavyweight recycled cotton paper. Available in three color patterns: Merlot with Silver, Taupe with Floral Design and Purple with Floral Design. Sure to be a hit with the writer you know.

Available at Nubius Organics, $19.50

It’s almost winter time, but it has already snowed here on the East Coast. Sweaters, mittens, gloves, boots and scarves are an everyday need now. That is why today’s gift is perfect for the chilly weather.

This adorable sweater from Oeuf is well too cute for words. Seriously, just look at it! It has built in mittens! No more telling your tiny kittens that they may have no pie.

Made with 100% alpaca wool for warmth, and of course comfort, this sweater just cries HUG ME. And what a coincidence, that the name of this adorable– the Hug Me Sweater!

Available at Arte Bebe, $88.

Since our database was down this weekend, I didn’t get to share with you my recommendations for some great gifts. Today I am going to write about 3 great gifts, so it’s 3 gifts in 1 day! Woo!

Our first gift is so adorable. He is a Wee Ninja, master of the Stealth Hug, the Tickle Fists of Fury and the Sneak Snuggle. He is handmade in Chicago by Shawnimals. He stands about 9″ high and is a resident of Ninjatown, along with the Pocket Wee Ninjas and the Micro Plush Wee Ninjas. Quirky and cute!

Available at Shawnimals.com and Elsewares.com, $20-$22.

The next gift is the very definition of lovely. But, really it is! This is the definition necklace. Each pendant is printed on white and set in a silver bezel. It is made in Vermont by D-Licious and comes in definitions like lovely (pictured to the right), sauce, character, happiness, home, mine, balance, mate, kin, lucky, spoon and spirit.

Available at Elsewares.com and to find a store near you, check D-licious’s site, $90.

Today’s final gift is something for the All-American male. Designed by Turk + Taylor for their Autumn ’07 collection, this shirt is sure to be a hit with any fashionable and red blooded American man (or woman!). The tee is a gingham patterned USA map on beautiful organic cotton.

Available at Turk + Taylor, $46.

Today’s gift is very unique. It is a pair of TOMS Shoes. I mentioned TOMS in my previous blog about Hanson. This shoe company is doing something to make a difference in the lives of children all over. So you need a great gift that will make you & the person you are buying them for feel absolutely wonderful, TOMS is the way to go.

Pictured to the left are a pair of TOMS shoes. I find this pair so adorable I can barely stand it (Mom? hint, hint ). Anyway, this pair in particular is the Gold Stripe Woven TOMS. This upper part of the shoe is woven fabric and the insole is soft leather. The sole has a textured bottom for traction. Plus every pair you buy, a pair of shoes goes to a child in need. Priced at $48, you are truly getting 2 pairs of shoes for the price of 1. And on top of scoring an awesome present, you are helping someone less fortunate. Truly a fitting shoe for the holiday season.

TOMS come in a variety of colors and patterns. They are available in Mens, Womens, and even Tiny TOMS.

Available at TOMS shoes, $28-$48.

Have an elegant party to attend? Or perhaps someone on your gift list is particularly hard to shop for. This handbag from World of Good is perfect for a night out or it is a wonderful gift idea! (I won’t tell if it happens to be a gift from you to you!)

The Square Deal Handbag is handmade from buffalo horn, beads and silk. It is made by men and women of the Nam Dinh province in Vietnam. This aesthetically pleasing purse is crafted under fair trade conditions. To top it off, some of the profits go to care for handicapped orphans in the community. This handbag is truly a gift that gives back, over and over.

So if you want your recipient’s face to shine as bright as the freshly fallen snow, the beautiful Square Deal Handbag is just the gift!

Available at World of Good for $39.95.

Can an evergreen tree get any green-er? Why, yes it can.

This year, the famed [tag-tec]Rockefeller Center Christmas[/tag-tec] tree is receiving the green treatment. Instead of old fashioned lights, the tree will be decked with energy-saving LEDs. The towering tree will be lit up with 30,000 multicolored LEDs (although, they are all green at heart). This simple replacement of lights takes the electricity consumption down from 3,510 to 1,297 kilowatt hours per day.

Also, one of the buildings in Rockefeller center is topped with 365-panel solar energy array that will generate electricity from the top of the building. This is the largest privately owned solar roof in Manhattan.

To top it all off, when the tree is taken down in January, it is cut and used to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. That’s a whole lot of green for one tree. Good thing it’s 84 feet tall!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

- President John F. Kennedy

So, I know this has happened to everyone. Here it goes: After running from work to practice to dinner, you are standing in the check out line and you realize you left your trusty canvas bag at home. Now you are stuck with the dreaded plastic bag. Of course you didn’t bring your canvas bag with you. At the beginning of your day, stopping at Whole Foods to grab milk and bread was not on your list of things to do that day.

And so the story goes. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. My purse is too small/stuffed with things to carry what I am purchasing and my canvas tote is all too conveniently located in my kitchen. What to do?

A new company flip & tumble has the answer to the plastic bag predicament. flip & tumble have designed a reusable bag built to carry anywhere. In four easy steps, the bag becomes the size of hand-held ball. The 24-7 bag is so compact, it can be carried with you 24-7, hence the name! You just scrunch, flip, flip and tumble away until your bag is the size of an orange. In their words, they “are committed to making the everyday a little less so.”

Convience and eco-friendly can rarely be found in the same sentence, but the 24-7 bag fits the bill. According to their website, one reusable bag can “easily save 1000 plastic bags in its lifetime.” What’s even better? Send your 24-7 back to flip & tumble, and they recycle the bag for you.

For more information, visit flip & tumble’s website.

Congratulations to Jenny Bowen and Half the Sky! Jenny will carry the torch in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, helping to share the Olympic spirit with China’s orphans. She was selected as one of the 8 foreigners living in China who were picked to carry the Olympic Torch.

According to China Daily “262 people from 47 countries and regions vied for the eight available slots and another 245,000 voted with their mouse. Altogether, 1.5 million people comprising 156 nationalities visited the campaign webpage.”

Many of you may recall that Jenny Bowen was KIWI Magazine’s first “Mom with a Mission” in our September 2006 issue. She’s the executive director of Half the Sky, an organization she founded in 1998 in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects of orphaned children in China. I began to support HTS when I returned from China with Maylee in 1999. Jenny and her group have been an inspiration to me and to all adoptive parents. She is doing what we wish we could have done—helping the children that we weren’t able to bring home with us.

Jenny is hoping to have 8 children from HTS programs from 8 provinces run with her. She said in a recent email to her supporters:

“I do not yet know if I will be permitted to run with the children. That
will be up to the Olympic Committee. But you can be sure of one thing:
Whether or not I am allowed to run WITH the children, the world will know
that I am running FOR them.”

We now have an extra special reason to watch the Olympics. Jenny, we will be cheering for you and all of China’s children!

-Maxine Wolf
CEO & Publisher

We love when the good is pointed out- that’s part of our job here at KIWI. With so much bad news from day to day, good news is sometimes hard to come by. That is why I choose Forbes.com’s Top 15 Green States for this week’s pick.

Using a scoring system of 50 based on carbon dioxide emissions per capita (or “carbon footprints”), strong policies to promote energy efficiency and high air quality and the amount of green buildings with the LEED certifications. There are some surprises on the list, like New Jersey, usually jokingly referred to as the “armpit of America.” (KIWI is based in NJ and NY, so we’re pretty thrilled! Both of our states made it into the top 10. )

THE TOP 15 ARE:

1. Vermont
2. Oregon
3. Washington
4. Hawaii
5. Maryland
6. Connecticut
7. New Jersey
8. Rhode Island
9. New York
10. Arizona
11. Massachusetts
12. Idaho (pictured above)
13. Colorado
14. California
15. Minnesota

We would like to thank Forbes for such a great list! Also a huge congratulations to the states for their rankings and their efforts to save energy and the environment.

I spent this past weekend in the lovely city of Chicago at the Naturally Healthy Children’s Expo. I met lots of great, new (and some seasoned) green parents and, of course, adorable kids! We gave away lots of magazines and KIWI Care Packages. It was a great time. There are many reasons, like the NHCE, why the Windy City is our Pick of the Week.

• City Hall has a 20,300-square-foot rooftop garden.
• The city has 2.5 million-square-feet of green roofs planned or already in use.
• They host a Green Festival. Next year’s fest is in May!
• On the city’s website, has a Center for Green Technology that is set up to help business and home owners learn about green technology.
• Chicago’s Green City Market, the Windy City’s sustainable farmer’s market.
• Chicago’s architecture is getting a green makeover.
• They even have a guide for building green roofs!

Need we say more? Chicago is a great city, but when you add in their green initiatives, it really soars!
Chicago’s City Hall before the garden (pictured above).
Chicago’s City Hall after its great green makeover.

October is the beginning of fall and the time of ghouls, ghosts, and goblins. It is also “International I Walk to School Month.” In this month, 42 countries will participate in the month dedicated to walking to school– wow!

Why? The meaning of this month varies in each community. Some communities focus on the development of healthy habits, like the exercise walking to school allows. Other communities choose to focus on the environmental friendliness of walking to school.

Below is a list from www.iwalktoschool.org of activities to celebrate the wonderful act of walking to school.

Examples of Walk to School activities:

• Designate “Walking Wednesdays” to encourage walking one day a week and potentially extend the event to a month or a year-long activity
• Develop walking themes for each day of the week: bright, highly visible colors day, “walking hat” day, bring a healthy lunch day, etc.
• Set up a competition with awards for the classes with the most walkers
• Offer an option to students who ride the bus or carpool to walk once they arrive at school.
• Organize a walking school bus from nearby neighborhoods. For information on how, visit www.walkingschoolbus.org
• Plan a school-wide event to recognize the day such as a picnic, an assembly, an awards ceremony or a pizza party for the class with the most walkers
• Fill the month with activities throughout the day that pertain to staying physically fit, eating healthy and caring for the environment.

Check out their website for more information and how to get involved.

As a college graduate, I understand the stress of finding THE SCHOOL. It is tough to choose among hundreds of schools which one will suit your academic, housing and extracurricular needs. Now add in environmentally friendly to your already growing lists of “must-haves.”

It is a growing trend among high school seniors to make their school decisions based on their environmental leanings. But how do you know which school is green? How will you be able to tell if the campus is LEED certified? And which school recycles and which school has clean-up days? Does the campus hold regular eco lectures?

Now KIWI has the perfect resource for parents and students looking to broaden their academic, as well as their eco horizons. The KIWI Green College Report is a list of the 50 greenest colleges and universities in the United States. Also, there is no hierarchy (meaning there is no number 1 green school) to KIWI’s list, so each school is as eco-friendly as the next.

Also KIWI has featured each of the schools that signed American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. 300 Presidents of various colleges and universities signed this pledge stating their move toward to achieving carbon neutrality.

Interested? (Well, who wouldn’t be?) To download your free copy, please click here.

While we here at KIWI prefer canvas bags (like the EcoBags one feature to the right), sometimes you cannot avoid the dreaded plastic bag. What do with them all? They seem to multiple like rabbits!

Thanks to realsimple.com, we now have 10 inventive ways to resuse and not get the plastic bag blues! You can use plastic bags in the following manners:

1. As knee pads.
2. As hand protectors (for those dirty dog deeds!).
3. As paint preservers
4. As makeshift rain hats
5. For easy kitchen clean-ups
6. As wrapping paper
7. As wet umbrella holders
8. As shoe protectors
9. As cookbook protectors
10. As plant fillers

For the more in depth instructions on ways to reuse your plastic bags, visit here.

This Saturday I dare you to try something. Go carfree! I mean it– walk, ride a bike, take public transportation. It’s not that hard!

Every September 22nd, the World Carfree Netwrok celebrates “World Carfree Day.” This day urges “people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighbourhood blocks to remind the world that we don’t have to accept our car-dominated society.” OOh, we’re on board!

The World Carfree Network is also holding a “Street Conversion Design Contest.” This is a challenge to architects, artists and well, everyone to come up with ideas for all the streets we will not need when we are “carfree.” The deadline is November 15, so get thinking!

What is the “carfree movement”?

World Carfree Network uses the term “carfree movement” rather broadly, to refer to:

• those promoting alternatives to car dependence and car culture, including alternative modes such as cycling, walking and public transport;
• those promoting carfree lifestyle choices, within either a car-dependent, car-lite* or carfree local context;
• those promoting the building of (usually mixed-use) carfree environments^# on either brownfield or greenfield sites (usually sited to ensure easy access to a variety of non-automotive transport modes);
• those promoting carfree days, using the events as tools to bring about long-term on-the-ground change in infrastructure and priorities (example: Bogota); and
• those promoting the transformation of existing villages, towns and cities (or parts of them) into carfree environments.

To learn more about the Carfree Network and the World Carfree Day, click here.

“Kids are so powerful, and the biggest power they have is access to and influence on their parents. They can say, ‘Hey, what kind of car are we buying next– a hybrid?’ ‘Why are we driving an SUV, Dad?’”

-Laurie David, when asked “What can kids do with information about global warming?” in the latest issue (Sept/Oct 2007) of KIWI.

I think it has been made abundantly clear that I love TV and movies. And I love it even more when TV (like NBC) and movies (like Evan Almighty) go green. But lately I have been viewing all the green hype with a little bit of skepticism. Sometimes I feel like the “green” label is slapped on and there is no real environmental effort behind it. For instance, what exactly made the Emmys green? Well, like any good blogger, I did my research. This year’s Emmys were chock full of recycled paper, hybrid cars and bio-diesel fuel. Yay!

My favorite efforts of the green Emmys can be seen here, in a FOX in-depth look into the eco-friendly Emmy Awards. It’s a short video, but very cool inside look into the eco backstage of the awards. A couple of things the small screen did to help reduce the footprint of the golden statues.

1. Solar panels were used to power the whole red carpet.
2. The red carpet will be recycled.
3. The stage’s blue rug was made from recycled plastic bottles.
4. The wood room where the stars went to relax (“the green room” haha) was made from old high school bleachers.
5. The coveted swag bags were made of canvas.

Of course, there were more green efforts, but these five are so cool. I love that the green room was made from high school bleachers. That is just too cool. And just because we all need a little more of The Office in our lives…

I really hope that environmentally friendly practices become a way of everyday life! Let’s keep it coming!

-Stacey

Everyone knows the three r’s of the green movement- reduce, reuse, recycle. One question that arises from this mantra is what can I actually recyle, reduce and reuse? Sure, we all know paper and glass, but what else? Thanks to Co-op America, we now know more! Co-op America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982 whose mission is to harness economic power to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

According to Co-op America, here is a list of of “21 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Recycle” (or reuse!).

1. Applicances
2. Batteries
3. Cardboard boxes
4. Cds/DVDs/Game disks
5. Clothes
6. Compact fluorescent bulbs
7. Compostable bio-plastics
8. Computers and electronics
9. Exercise videos
10. Eyeglasses
11. Foam packings
12. Ink/toner cartridges
13. Miscellaneous
14. Oil
15. Phones
16. Sports equipment
17. “Technotrash”
18. Tennis shoes
19. Toothbrushes and razors
20. Tyvek envelopes
21. Stuff you just can’t recycle– Co-op America recommends that when practical, send such items back to the manufacturer and tell them they need to manufacture products that close the waste loop responsibly.

For complete instructions on how to recycle and reuse these 21 items, go to Co-op America’s site right here.

One of the oldest cities in the world, London is doing its part to be eco-friendly. That is why we choose it for our Pick of the Week. London has many environmental initiatives that make us Yanks a green with envy.

First, London is one of the greenest cities in the world– literally. Two-thirds of the city is covered in water or green space, including homes to a variety of animals and plants. The city includes the following wild habitats: ancient woodlands, chalk grasslands, parkland, rivers & streams, and wastelands.

Also, on London’s official website. They list ways for the everyday Red Coat to make a difference in London’s environment. Click here to see their list of ways to help the environment.

And London doesn’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk. On June 1st, the entire city went dark for Lights Out London. For one hour (9 pm-10 pm), an estimated 2 million light bulbs went out around the capital, saving roughly 750 MWh of electricity– enough to run 3,000 televisions for a year. Pictured here is the iconic Big Ben clock tower and the Houses of Parliament in their dark glory.

On top of programs such as this, London now testing hybrid buses on routes in Central London, they introduced a plan for “Low Emission Zones,” and the buses have routine emissions checks to ensure they are within standards. Plus London has one of the best public transportation systems around. With easy and convenient ways to get around without a car, London definitely has parts of America topped.

So to London we say, “Cheers Mates!”

We know this sounds a little silly, but it is true!

The average dairy cow burps 100 to 200 liters of methane a day! That is a lot of gas contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions. A UK based environmental research company, Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, is working to develop new diets for cows.

The new diet aims to reduce the burps of cows using new plant-breeding methods to develop foods that are easier for the cows to digest. Agriculture is responsible for about 7% of UK greenhouse gas emissions and a large proportion of two of the most potent gases with 37% of methane and 67% of nitrous oxide.

Here’s hoping the cows’ new food allows them greener manners!

To read further, check out the Yahoo article.

Endangered Species Chocolate has been known for their commitment to the eco community and well, delicious, chocolate. They use all-natural and organic chocolate to create awareness about the plight of the environment, and more specifically the fight for endangered species.

Not only do they provide the world with better for you chocolate, Endangered Species Chocolate is getting everyone in on the act! This wonderful candy bar company is not handing out Golden Tickets with a lifetime supply of chocolate (shucks!). They are offering visitors to their newly designed website the chance to pick the new animals to appear on the Endangered Species label!

Until July 20th only, head on over to www.chocolatebar.com and enter up to 3 of your favorite endangered animals. Stumped to think of an animal? Try looking looking for ideas at the IUCN Red List.

Up to five new milk and dark chocolate bars are being developed, so start thinking of worthy animals!

After pretty much every question posed (Why is the sky blue? What is Will Ferrell’s full name? What are the greenest cities?), someone responds with “I’ll google it.” Who hasn’t google themselves? Google has become our go-to for information. The search engine is used so much that it has become a verb!

So, besides being the most used search engine, Google is now hopping on the eco bandwagon. They plan to be carbon neutral by the year’s end. How do they plan on reaching this fabulous goal?

Google has devised a three step program for themselves:
1. Increasing the energy efficiency of their operations.
2. Aggressively pursuing clean and renewable sources of energy.
3. Purchasing carbon offsets for the emissions they can’t reduce directly.

Over on the eco side of the fence, we couldn’t be more happy to have them. With Google maps, email, images, video and standard search, it is great that they are going carbon neutral. For more information on Google’s goals, click here.
Now we can google all we want and with a free conscience.

We, here at KIWI, decided that we need to highlight different things all around the eco world. Certain objects or people need recognition for their work in the organic and natural movement, thus KIWI’s Pick. Every Monday, we will debut a different product, person, movement, or in this case, a state.

Kiwi’s pick this week is California!

California is a state that is leading the way in green and eco friendly options. Recently, Yahoo has released its Top Ten Greenest Cities in America. While Hastings, Nebraska tops the list, California has the most cities with three. These cities include San Carlos, Mill Valley, and Walnut Creek.

On top of having three of top ten greenest cities on Yahoo’s list, California’s other cities are paving the eco way. One of the cities on this road to environmental recovery is San Francisco. In a recently revealed plan, San Francisco is hoping to have 51% (now 13%) of its electricity provided by renewable energy sources, like geothermal, solar, and wave energy.

So, congratulations California! You are KIWI’s Pick of the Week! Keep up the excellent eco efforts.

Everyone who thinks giving blood is scary, say I. I! Or at least, I used to think so.

This week, for the first time, I gave blood. I was surprised to find out that it is actually relatively painless and quite quick. My friends and I donated through a local radio station’s blood drive and even though the wait was long, it was worth it. I found out that one pint of your blood can save up to 3 lives.

Think about that- giving up about one hour of your time can save 3 people’s entire existence! Also, 60% of Americans are eligible to donate, but on average only 5% of Americans actually give blood. We should change this statistic!

There are four steps to giving blood:

1. Registration
2. Health History & Mini Physical
3. Actual Donation
4. Refreshment- free cookies and juice!

Visit www.redcross.org or www.givelife.org for more information on how and where to give blood.

Fun Fact: The Red Cross calls your bandage “a badge of honor.” Donate and wear it proudly!

Here is my badge, along with my friends!

-Stacey

It seems like everyone has a Myspace– from bands to writes to everyday people. Now the earth has one. Huh? Well earth awareness now has its own page. OurPlanet is the site that allows everyone on Myspace to express their hopes, ideas and goals about the environment. The site includes forums with topics that allow everyday Myspacers the ability to discuss growing problems.

It also features other profiles with different environmentally friendly non-profits and causes– right now it is the MUSE campaign and TreePeople. There is also an incredible widget with “Go Zero Tips.” This features different ways to cut back on your energy uses. Bonus, it can be added to anyone’s Myspace profile.

What I really think is great about OurPlanet is its location. Myspace is visited by so many young people everyday, not to mention the over 100 million registered profiles. This website could be the beginning of awareness for the “techno-tots” and well, pretty much everyone else. Because, who doesn’t have a myspace?

Let’s hope OurPlanet is just the beginning of this “eco techno” revolution.