The Red, White, and Green

[Watch video of the devastation on YouTube]

With the horrible news that over 100,000 people may have been killed in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday afternoon, we’re reminded of how small and powerless we humans are in the face of Mother Nature. But with hundreds of humanitarian workers already pouring into the flattened capital of Port-au-Prince, I’m also reminded of the incredible generosity and selflessness of people coming to the aid of others in a crisis. It’s times like these that I’m particularly proud to be an American; the Obama administration is coordinating a massive military response that includes ships, helicopters, transport planes, and a 2,000-member marine unit.

How you can help:

Doctors Without Borders. With nearly every hospital destroyed in the earthquake, DWB teams are working to provide medical care to the thousands of injured people who have nowhere to go. Click here to donate.

American Red Cross. The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,00 to provide immediate needs for the Haitians, like food, water, shelter, and medical services. Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief for Haiti.

Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund. This is Haitian-American Wyclef Jean’s grassroots organization, and 100 percent of funds raised will go directly to the earthquake relief operation. Visit the website to donate, or donate $5 via cellphone by texting “YELE” to 501501.

Our hearts go out to those affected by the earthquake, and godspeed to all those on the ground helping them.

–Jennifer Grayson

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While it now appears that we won’t be able to count on Jay Leno’s 10 pm time slot, there’s at least something else we can depend on the famed talk-show host for: his continued devotion to sustainable automotive technology.

WATCH: Leno profiles the 2011 Chevy Volt

Most people know that Leno is a car nut — his personal collection of 150+ cars and motorcycles is housed in a 17,000-square-foot custom-built garage, complete with its own team of mechanics — but it was only recently that I heard about Leno’s Green Garage initiative, which is profiled on Jay Leno’s Garage website. And it’s not just the vehicles that are green, though Leno does have a smattering of some truly drool-worthy eco-minded models, like his E85 Corvette and BMW Hydrogen 7; the garage itself is outfitted with solar panels and a wind turbine that have taken it almost completely off the grid, as well as a host of other cool green garage solutions, like using microorganisms to clean auto parts, an aerosal system that eliminates single-use cans, and a foaming waterless hand soap strong enough to take the grease stains off your hands.

It may seem a bit hypocritical for the owner of so many cars to talk about going green. But, as Leno said when he introduced the Green Garage, it’s not like they’re all running at the same time. Cars are here to stay (for the meantime, anyway), so we may as well be realistic about finding innovative solutions that can reduce their footprint — both in and out of the shop. We’ll be looking to Leno’s Green Garage to fill us in on the latest and greatest in green automotive technology.

And if this second round of late-night switcheroos doesn’t pan out, maybe there’s a future for Jay on Planet Green.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Looking to purchase an alternative vehicle or install solar panels on your home in 2010? Check out what tax credits you may be eligible for on the DOE site.

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So you pledged to “go Meatless Monday” for your New Year’s resolution — that’s great news for your health and the planet, and you’re no doubt rarin’ to go with all of the amazing recipes on the Meatless Monday website. But going meatless — even for just one day a week — isn’t always easy if you’re used to the typical American diet. I’m a lifelong healthy/organic eater who knew how to press tofu long before my Meatless Monday days, but even I’ve run into a number of challenges in my eight MM months so far that could have derailed my efforts if I hadn’t discovered a few clever workarounds. So to help you in your Meatless Monday meal planning for the year ahead, I offer up troubleshooting tips for five fall-off-the-wagon scenarios.

1. I think meat substitutes like tofu dogs and veggie bacon are gross. I agree; I’m of the opinion that the best-tasting and healthiest way to go veg is to stick to foods that are inherently meatless. There are cultures around the globe whose diet is either completely or largely vegetarian, and the staples of those cuisines have evolved over thousands of years, sustaining people’s appetites and nutritional needs all the while. So look to the Italians, with their hearty pasta e fagioli and savory frittatas; the Indians, with their luscious dals and fresh-baked naan; and the Israelis, with their crispy falafel and creamy hummus.

2. I’ve tried going meatless the whole day, but I feel ill/shaky/tired, despite eating balanced vegetarian meals. There are just some people who, no matter how carefully they plan their vegetarian meals, still feel crappy after an entire day of meatless eating. If this is the case for you, then go ahead and have meat at dinner, but swap out another lunch later in the week for a vegetarian one. Voilà! — three meatless meals each week.

3. I’ve got company coming over for dinner, and they are NOT the vegetarian type. While you could use strategy #2 in this scenario, I say why not prepare a fan favorite that they won’t even realize is vegetarian? You could do a homemade pizza margherita with a gorgonzola salad on the side; a pot full of veggie chili and a pile of homemade cornbread; or eggplant parmigiana with white bean crostini as an appetizer.

4. I can’t eat vegetarian because I’m gluten sensitive/allergic to soy/on a low-carb diet. While it’s arguably more difficult to eat meatless if you already have a restricted diet, it’s not impossible. With a little advance planning and the help of resources like the Gluten-Free Goddess, a gorgeous blog with a whole section devoted to GF gastronomy, you’ll soon have a repertoire of vegetarian favorites that you can recycle every Monday (remember, we’re only talking about one day a week here).

5. My husband/wife/partner isn’t into Meatless Mondays, and I don’t have time to prepare two meals. My husband has been supportive of our Meatless Monday dinners, but even he on occasion gets a little sick of fried tofu and rice (the only meatless dinner that really satisfies him) and says he needs a week off. When that happens, we use it as an excuse for a night out and go to a place where I can order veg and he can eat whatever. We do it on the cheap, too: the Kogi truck that’s created a foodie frenzy in Los Angeles, for Korean BBQ tacos (he’ll have the chicken, I’ll have the tofu); Thai Town for homemade noodles (his with pork, mine with veggies); or our favorite Mexican stand at the famous LA Farmers Market (cheese quesadilla for me, oh wait…look who decided that quesadilla looked good, too?).

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Have you run into any particular challenges in your quest to go meatless? Tell us how you dealt with them by posting in the comments section below.

More Meatless Monday posts:
Meatless Monday: Special diets
Meatless Monday: Think Mediterranean

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Photo: Orion Energy Systems

There’s been a lot of debate as to what the real technological breakthrough is when it comes to eco-friendly lighting. Compact fluorescent bulbs are massive energy savers, but are pretty darn ugly, no matter what color temperature I’ve managed to test out. They also have the nasty problem of containing mercury, which can pose a serious health hazard if the bulb accidentally breaks or isn’t disposed of properly once it’s toast. With LED lighting, there remains the issue of prohibitive price; it’s also been speculated that widespread use of LEDs could worsen light pollution, harming wildlife.

Without risk of sounding like an infomercial, what if there was a solution that actually looked great, didn’t use a drop of electricity, and was free of harmful contaminants like mercury and lead? There is: It’s called a solar light pipe.

It’s basically the same concept as a skylight: A hole is placed in the roof of a building to allow natural sunlight to light a room, but the solar light pipe, or light tube as it’s also called, uses light refraction technology to focus that light to a specific area. When installed in large numbers, the effect is a lot like recessed can lighting (see photo, above).

Why I, wonder, aren’t more greenies talking about this incredibly efficient type of solar lighting? Maybe I haven’t heard a lot about it because many of the big-time green lighting developers, like Orion Energy Systems — who yesterday received a utility patent for its Apollo light pipe system — are focusing on commercial use. (Disclosure: I have a family member employed by Orion; he in no way promised to give me his Prius in exchange for writing this post.)

It seems kind of redundant to put solar panels on a building to help pay the electricity bill for your fluorescent bulbs, when in a lot of sunnier climates you could just skip that step and harness the sun directly.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Are you one of the few not-broke Americans who’s in the process of renovating her home or building a new one? Check out these solar tubes for residential use.

Related posts:
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Photo via Flickr: Brandi666

When I was on the East Coast last week, I realized something was missing from nearly every public bathroom I visited: toilet seat covers. “Yeah, I think it’s a West Coast thing,” lamented my slightly germ-phobic cousin, who exclaimed that she hadn’t seen a single one since touching down at JFK.

Now, I suppose I’ve become a bit pampered since moving to the West Coast. Los Angeles has a level of cleanliness in most public places that New Yorkers could only dream of, what with its letter grading health code system that lets me undauntingly dine in even the diviest-looking East LA taco joint. (I can only say this, of course, because I’m a former New Yorker.) I had forgotten until this recent visit that even nice restaurants in NYC often have repulsive bathrooms.

I do feel guilty about using those toilet seat covers on occasion. I’m not sure anyone’s bum is worth all those trees. But what about the consequences of squatting and potentially spraying all over the seat, and then having to wipe it down with extra toilet paper as a courtesy to the next bathroom-goer? I figure I’m wasting less paper by sticking with the seat cover.

I’m back in LA now, and lo and behold — a pleasant surprise to alleviate my green guilt (and possibly yours): As I walked into a public restroom today, I glanced at the custodian’s cart  placed outside the bathroom, which was stocked with packages of toilet seat covers from The Sugar Cane Paper Company. Evidently, the company manufacturers its paper products from recycled sugar cane bagasse, which is the fibrous residue left over after sugar extraction. That’s right — no trees harmed in the process. Happy sitting!

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Work in an office where there are paper toilet seat covers in the bathroom? Put in a request with the building’s management to order eco-friendly ones.

Related posts:
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I was cleaning out my wallet yesterday after my trip to Boston over the holidays (personal disclosure: my brother got married on New Year’s Eve and I was, ahem, the best man), when I noticed the plastic key card from The Lenox Hotel still tucked away in my billfold. Oh, darn it! I know it’s just a tiny piece of plastic, but it still annoyed me that I hadn’t returned it to the hotel before I left so it could be reused — now I had no choice but to throw it away.

That’s when I turned the card over and noticed in small print on the bottom of the card:

In an effort to protect our world’s resources, this key is 100% biodegradable.

Wow, how cool! I’d never seen one of these cards before. Not a surprise though, that it would be from The Lenox, which was recently chosen one of the five greenest luxury hotels in America by U.S. News & World Report. (The hotel was indeed green, from the wicker basket in our room compartmentalized for three different types of recycling, to the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices next to the Bible in my nightstand drawer. I was not such a fan, however, of the endless supply of bottled water in the hotel gym — sustainably sourced though it may have been.)

There’s an Ingeo stamp on the key card, which is a bioplastic made from field corn–derived dextrose. It’s important to note that while these types of biopolymers lessen our reliance on fossil fuels because the “plastic” is being manufactured from a vegetable source, rather than petroleum, the cards are not truly biodegradable unless they’re composted. In a closed landfill, devoid of oxygen, they will decompose at the same rate as traditional plastic.

Still, it’s a step in the right direction. And while a biodegradable key card may seem like a tiny little thing, there are a lot of plastic cards out there beyond the standard hotel key card — stores’ gift cards, membership cards, credit cards. Imagine if they were all made from sustainable materials, and properly composted.

Reminder to myself: Call the Los Angeles Department of Public Works to find out if it accepts bioplastic in its green composting bins.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Those biodegradable clamshell containers from Trader Joe’s are worthless unless you have access to composting. Call your local department of sanitation to find out if there’s compost collection in your area, or click here to learn how to compost yourself (even if you live in an apartment).

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Photo via Flickr: Leandro's World Tour

The world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa (formerly called the Burj Dubai), opens its doors to the public today. Stretching 2,716.5 feet into the sky — that’s half a mile — and boasting 900 private residential apartments, an Armani Hotel, and a fountain extravaganza that makes the one at Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel look like a squirt gun, the architectural marvel is a symbol of the capitalistic superfluity Dubai has represented for over a decade.

But the world has changed drastically in the past couple years, both from an economic standpoint and an ecological one. With Dubai facing a debt crisis and a severe recession, and resources like water and oil growing ever more precious, you have to wonder how the electric bill is going to get paid for the monstrous Burj. Dubai has year-round hot, sunny weather; why wasn’t the darn thing completely blanketed in solar panels?

A look at the Burj Khalifa’s massive environmental footprint:

• Water: Around 250,000 gallons of water a day
• Electricity: At peak times, roughly 40,000 kilowatts — the equivalent of 500,000 100-watt light bulbs burning at the same time
• Raw materials: Nearly 40,000 tons of steel — enough to stretch a quarter of the way around the earth if laid end to end
• Wasted space: The upper 30+ floors are so tiny, they can only be used for storage

Still, the building does manage to have one green feature: Condensation produced by the structure during Dubai’s hot and humid summer months will be collected and used to water the tower’s plants and landscaping.

–Jennifer Grayson

Related posts:
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‘Green’ architecture harming wildlife

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