If you simply like to meet new people, like to talk about things green, or want to change the world for the better, we have found a great opportunity for you: Green Drinks. Green Drinks is a program currently in 494 cities worldwide where you can meet up with local green doers just like yourself.

These are fairly informal sessions where once a month people from your area can meet up and discuss eco-friendly activities, government regulation, education, health, and anything else related to things green over a couple of drinks. Last night we met up with the Lowell, MA Green Drinks group at Lowell Beer Works. The group contained bloggers like us, people from the construction industry and auto industry, chemists, and simple green do-ers alike. The discussion last night was mostly geared to health and cleaning products, and it was great to see the opinions of people from so many backgrounds. We look forward to next month’s Green Drinks and we encourage you to join the green discussion in your community!

If you find that Green Drinks does not exist in your city, you can simply start up your own! To learn how to start your own Green Drinks and the code of Green Drinks check out their Start Green Drinks page.

Want a system that can even make your e-mails greener? GreenyMail.com is just that: a system that encourages e-mails to be more eco-friendly. How is this done? GreenyMail.com plants a tree for every 100 e-mails sent collectively from members and every 1000 e-mails sent collectively from non-members. Along with their tree planting initiative, GreenyMail.com includes a banner on the top of every e-mail to show that it is eco-friendly to all the recipients.

GreenyMail.com originated in Australia as an effort to save energy and paper. The developers realized how many e-mails people were printing and realized the great waste of paper that was occurring. Their efforts to help solve this problem include encouraging recipients to keep their e-mails on their computer, not in their printer, and to replace printed e-mails by planting new trees. GreenyMail.com supports the following programs: Trees for the Future and Carbon Neutral.  

Becoming a GreenyMail user is easy. You keep your own e-mail address, and you can use the application on both Microsoft Outlook and your typical web browsers. Start by going to their Get Started page. Joining is free. You can either simply just join and have 1 tree planted per 1000 collective e-mails, or become a member and purchase a GreenKey (sold in 1, 3, or 6 month increments). GreenKeys allow a certain number of trees to be planted from the start, and give you more options when it comes to the banner and sponsor link on your outgoing and incoming e-mails.  If you are a member, 1 tree will also be planted for every 100 collective e-mails sent by members.

We like GreenyMail, because it is not only a great way to develop forests and save paper, but it is also a great way for an individual or company to show the efforts they are making to be more eco-friendly. With GreenyMail you can share what you are doing with all of your e-mail recipients, and even spread word of the cause so others may join too! Green thumb up to GreenyMail!

Buying local is ideally the way to go as you are able to avoid long travel distances and you get to support your local economy. However, sometimes we just can’t buy local and have to have a product shipped, or need to ship out a product of our own. Shipping, although not so bad if items are shipped in bulk on a truck carrying hundreds or thousands of shipments, always leaves some sort of carbon footprint.

One website allows you to offset the carbon due to each and every shipment you make, for just pennies a package: GreenShipping.com. This option is great for individuals and businesses. For individuals, for each purchase you make that requires shipping, or for any package you ship to others, you can enter the tracking number (UPS, FedEx, and USPS) to see the amount of CO2 is released during this shipment, and how much it will cost to offset. For instance, we ordered our eco-friendly wedding invitations from a company in Seattle, Washington, USA (Wedding Paper Divas). Once we received the shipment, we entered the tracking number and found that our shipment started in Seattle, made stops in Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, before making it to our home. With the destinations, mode of transport, and weight of the package, GreenShipping.com calculated that our package released 8.12 lbs of CO2. To offset this package, the cost is only 11 cents. Thus, our package will have a net-zero impact, and our offset will go to the development of renewable energy. 

For businesses, using GreenShipping.com will allow your company to help the environment, and you can develop a new edge to help improve your sales! Your customers can see that their shipments are being offset to help fund renewable energy, and they can even track them through GreenShipping.com. What a great way for customers to see what actions their favorite green companies are taking.

Sign-up is free and only requires your name and e-mail. To offset your shipments, you must select the My Account option on the top right corner of the screen and then click Add Funds. Once you use your credit card information to add funds, you will be well on your way to offsetting any and all shipments you make.

We give GreenShipping.com a green thumb up for developing an initiative for all businesses and people alike to make greener choices in their daily activities, for pennies at a time.

The time is coming for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs to be in season, so we thought we would give you a glimpse into what they are and how they work. We think CSAs are a wonderful concept, as they not only benefit local farmers, but can be quite rewarding to the consumers as well.

A Community Supported Agriculture program is one in which the consumer can purchase a certain number of shares or a membership  to access  local farmers’ crops for the season. For instance many CSA programs work so that you pay for a membership in the beginning of the season, and you will be delivered “a box” of fresh local vegetables every week. For the farmers this is great, because they get customers up front, an up front income to help support the rest of the season, and a better relationship with their surrounding community.

For the customers, this program is ideal because they will consistently receive local and super-fresh produce every week. You won’t be able to get everything this fresh at your supermarket. CSA’s allow for consumers to have a better knowledge of the food they are eating, and they even open up doors of opportunity to try new vegetables or fruits! For instance, many farmers come from all over the world and even plant their own native fruits and vegetables along with the typical local variety in your own community. Consumers can support their local communities by joining a CSA program.

To find a local CSA in your area visit LocalHarvest.org and enter your zip code or state. A very popular program in our area (Lowell, Massachusetts) is the World PEAS CSA which supports local farmers in the Lowell area. Tufts University’s New Entry program helped establish World PEAS CSA to help immigrant and refugee farmers to sell their products for a better income and to establish a solid foundation for their future. Education and training programs are offered by New Entry to help these farmers improve their companies and their skills.

Do you participate in a CSA program? Tell us what you think about it!

We found some great DIY crafts for kids to make their favorite Mom’s this Mother’s Day at National Geographic Kids! Find instructions on how to make bookmarks out of uses file folders, tissue paper flowers out of used tissue paper, an herb garden hit for an at-home garden, or a reusable tote bag with their very own design!

Check out these great eco-friendly crafts and many more offered by National Geographic Kids. Kids can make a gift for their mothers and learn to be environmentally friendly! For other Mother’s Day ideas such as healthy organic breakfast-in-bed recipes, or fun games and activities, check out the main page for National Geographic Kids and start learning today.

As we approach the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo (celebrated on May 5th in America to recognize Mexican tradition and pride) the question is how to be green and celebrate this unique holiday at the same time. One of the great things about this holiday is that you can eat your favorite Mexican snacks such as chips and salsa all you want without feeling guilty. After all you are celebrating!

We have put together a couple of sources that should help you make green decisions on Cinco de Mayo. First, find some organic chips. We love the blue chips from Garden of Eatin’ (made from a field of blue corn). With many natural flavors and colors available, this company is green without compromising on taste. If you’re feeling adventurous, you should try making your own chips. Planet Green offers a green, tasty recipe that’s going to satisfy you and your friends.

Second, what’s a chip without salsa? Amy’s Kitchen makes great organic salsas that will not let you down. As with the chips, you can also make your own organic salsa with organic tomatoes and spices. Mother Earth News provides four easy salsa recipes that are easy to follow.

Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo holiday the green way!

If you can’t find a LEED certified or eco-concious hotel where you will be vacationing, or these places are simply just too pricey, Marriott is offering a great alternative by parterning with Spirit To Preserve. Marriott offers its guests a program in which they can offset their carbon emissions during their stay for $1 a day ($10 minimum donation will offset 10 nights of stay). Your carbon offset donation, along with the 2 million dollars already donated by Marriott, will help preserve the State of Amazonas in Brazil. By supporting these rain forests, Marriott is helping by preserving the health of our environment and preventing climate change. These rain forests help to release more oxygen into the atmosphere and keep carbon dioxide out. 

Out of the 1000 Marriott hotels around the world, 275 are ENERGY STAR certified by the USDA. Marriott had the first hotel in the US that was LEED certified, and they are continuing to LEED certify new hotels. Check out Marriott’s Rewards Program to save up for free nights at any of their hotels worldwide.

For more ways to make your vacation greener check out this article about Eco-Tourism. Travel green!

Need an extra incentive to reuse or recycle your old cell phone or iPod? This is the best one we can find. You can trade in your old cell phone or Apple iPod for an Amazon.com gift certificate with the Flipswap Trade-Ins program. This program will first try to reuse the phone or its parts, and it if is not at all functional, they will recycle the product and plant a tree for every phone recycled. Amazon.com and Flipswap Trade-Ins meet ISO 9001 and 14001 certified recycle standards, and will therefore make this trade-in as green as possible.

All you need to do is value your device  (our LG Dare phone is currently valued as a $97 Amazon.com gift certificate), send your device and confirmation (shipping is free to you, paid by Amazon.com) and in about three weeks you will receive your Amazon.com gift card via e-mail (saves on paper)! If your phone or iPod is so damaged that it retains no value, you are still being green by recycling your cell phone or iPod.

Tips:

• When sending your device, make sure you do not waste too much paper on packaging. Try using recycled products!
• Be honest when filling out the valuation form. The valuation form is only an estimate. You will receive a gift certificate based on their review of your device.
• Send multiple devices at once. You can even include accessories. This will require less shipping over time.

For other ways to recycle your cell phones and iPods check out these articles: How to Recycle Your Old Apple Products and How to Recycle Your Old Cell Phones. To learn how to package your cell phone correctly check out this article: Green Your Packaging.

Between having ties to Brazil and wanting to save our planet, we thought we should share this great project with you. It is a project called Plant a Billion Trees which was started by The Nature Conservancy. For every dollar donated, they will plant a tree in The Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

Why this forest in Brazil? The Atlantic Forest is now only 7% of its original size due to many problems such as illegal logging,  urban expansion, and coastal development. Many species are in danger, and our climate is too. Tropical forests such as The Atlantic Forest are responsible for containing enormous amounts of carbon dioxide and releasing enormous amounts of oxygen. What will happen if all of this carbon dioxide is released and the production of oxygen disappears? Check out this link for more facts.

How do we fix this problem? The Conservancy’s goal is to conserve millions of acres of land and plant a billion trees. While doing this, they will work with the local communities and the ruling authorities to make changes in their policy and help protect the forest through time. With these changes, The Conservancy states that the amount of carbon dioxide removed from our atmosphere every year will be the equivalent to take 2 million cars off the road! Not only will our atmosphere be cleaner, but watersheds for the people of Brazil will be plentiful again. For more on what the Conservancy plans to do follow this link.

What can you do? Act now! You can make a donation, a monthly gift, or give a gift of trees to someone else. You could also download a widget to support wildlife and show others what you stand for, post this program on your website, or even send e-cards. Spread the word: $1 to plant 1 tree!

The forests in Brazil are almost as important to you as they are to the people of Brazil. We rely on these large tropical forests to help sustain a healthy climate around the world. Help save the planet one tree at a time.

What are you going to be doing for Earth Day? Whatever it is, be sure to record it at One Million Acts of Green! One Million Acts of Green is a website started by Cisco that was made to encourage users to take green action, inspire others to be green, and see the change each green act will make in our world.

Each time you do something green, such as changing your incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lights, adding a ceiling fan, planting a tree, sending an e-card instead of a paper card, reusing, reducing, or recycling anything, you can record the action and show off how many greenhouse gases you have saved. If you want ideas on what green actions to take, check out their page called All Acts of Green for inspiration.

What a great way for each and every one of us to see how each and every little change we make affects the world around us. Start recording today!