The Red, White, and Green

Photo via Twitpic: Urbanbaby

Just 12 days to go till baby arrives (or sooner; that’s just her “guess” date), so I was glad to have a bit of R&R last weekend at my favorite green getaway: El Capitan Canyon in Santa Barbara, CA.

Camping isn’t easy when you’re nine-and-a-half-months pregnant, so glamping at El Capitan is the next-best thing: Cabins and tents with real beds inside, a rustic canyon setting that’s a short walk to the beach, and an adorable on-site market that serves up yummy eats if you don’t want to cook your own over your own personal fire pit.

Real-deal campers may scoff at such a cushy vacay, but I say that any way you get your dose of nature is good for you and for the planet: A recent series of studies from the Journal of Environmental Psychology, for one, found that being in the great outdoors makes people feel measurably more alive and energetic.

The only thing that wasn’t so eco about the trip was the half a bag of marshmallows (the junky kind, sorry; those kosher ones just don’t taste the same) I roasted and ate while sipping in the stars.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Photo via Flickr: Dierk Schaefer

This time next year, you could be saving gobs on gas money — not to mention cutting your carbon footprint — on your summer road trip: Rental car company Hertz will be adding the new, all-electric Nissan Leaf to its offerings in early 2011, along with plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt and Prius PHV.

While the electric vehicles won’t be available everywhere — major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, will get first dibs — my guess is that Hertz and other rental car companies will be quickly expanding their EV offerings to other markets. Provided that the rental rates aren’t significantly higher than for a standard car, who wouldn’t want to fuel up for practically free?

When my husband and I rented a car for a one-way road trip up the coast from Los Angeles to Seattle last fall, we were upgraded to a Prius, and it was almost magical: We spent about $75 on gas for the entire trip, and we only had to refuel twice. Sure, it may have felt more festive to cruise the coast in a Ford Mustang convertible, but it would have also cost us $100 more in gas (according to the AAA Fuel Cost Calculator) — not to mention 600 extra pounds of CO2.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Photo via Flickr: Ugg Boy

Planning a trip this summer? You don’t have to go camping or splurge on a fancy eco resort to travel green: The Environmental Protection Agency has just released a helpful online database that allows you to search for hotels that have earned the Energy Star rating. Energy Star–labeled hotels perform in the top 25 percent of hotels nationwide, and use at least 35 percent less energy and emit 35 percent less greenhouse gases than other hotels.

I know — who would have thunk that the EPA would be doling out travel advice? But it makes sense to encourage Americans to support hotels that help reduce our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels — especially in light of the BP oil disaster.

And curbing energy consumption in the US hotel industry could have a tremendous impact: Reducing energy use by just 10 percent overall could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 million tons a year.

A search of Energy Star–certified hotels in my area (Los Angeles) revealed only two chains by the airport and a Comfort Inn that’s not even in LA proper (not exactly suitable lodgings for out-of-town family), but hey — it’s a start.

In the meantime, if  you can’t find a green hotel option for your vacation destination, at least stick to a few energy-saving tips while you’re lounging about in your spa robe and slippers: Turn off the lights and adjust the thermostat when leaving your hotel room, open the curtains to take advantage of daylight, and reuse your towels in lieu of requesting fresh ones.

Already have a vacation spot in mind? Click here to search for an Energy Star hotel.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Photo via Flickr: Nexeus Fatale

This post was originally published on 11.17.09, but I thought about it yesterday en route to Chicago for the weekend: I left my stainless steel reusable bottle sitting on the dish rack at home and had to buy a $4.39 plastic bottle of water when I got to LAX. I know I should feel guiltier about the 965 lbs of CO2 emissions from my flight than about a plastic water bottle, but still…

I sometimes wonder if the TSA ban on liquids is a secret ploy to encourage the sale of bottled water at airport shops. OK, so I don’t really believe that. But for those of us who have become dependent on our Kleen Kanteens et al, there aren’t really a lot of options for a decent H20 fill-up at the airport.

This, I realized, after three weeks of traveling that took me through five US airports. It was heartening to see that recycling bins for cans and plastic bottles have now become commonplace, but if I didn’t want to cave and purchase a $4 bottle of Aquafina, my only options were to either: a) fill up my reusable bottle from the sink at the airport bathroom (fine at O’Hare, with its top-ranked tap water; pretty gross at LAX); or b) go to a restaurant/bar and ask to be filled up (usually met with weird looks).

I realize that green airport is an oxymoron — after all, the flights I took over the past few weeks emitted 2.5 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere — but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to eliminate waste whenever possible. A lot of airports now have green initiatives that include recycled building materials, energy-saving lighting, and even miniature wind turbines to generate electricity; why not install filtered water stations by the gates where passengers can fill up reusable bottles before their flights? The airlines could even conceivably get behind such a measure, since less passengers requesting water on board would reduce their costs.

I’m not reinventing the wheel here; these “water stations” used to be a common sight in this country before advertising agencies snookered millions of us into paying for what is essentially free tap water in a plastic bottle. They were called drinking fountains.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Before filtered water stations become a reality, check out EcoUsable’s Ech2o stainless steel (and BPA-free) reusable bottle, which has a built-in filter.

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Photo via Flickr: Penningtron

Swapping the treadmill for the track may help curb energy consumption, but here’s another green reason to consider canceling your gym membership: It turns out that exercising in the great outdoors can greatly improve mental health.

The best part is, you don’t even have to find the time for a full-fledged wilderness trek; a mere five minutes in a green space like a park or garden can help eliminate stress and improve mood, report UK researchers in the latest issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

From the BBC News:

The research looked at many different outdoor activities, including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding, and farming in locations such as a park, garden, or nature trail.

The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes.

With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were clearly apparent but were of a smaller magnitude, the study found.

Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes — physical and mental — were particularly strong in the young and the mentally ill.

Interestingly enough, the most beneficial setting for exercise may combine a bit of blue with that green; even more of a brain boost was found to take place in an area with a body of water, like a lake or river. Paddle boating, anyone?

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Need some gym-free exercise inspiration? Check out tonight’s episode of The Lazy Environmentalist on the Sundance Channel, which features a green workout with my friend and trainer-to-the-stars David Shamash.

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Photo via Flickr: Seattle Municipal Archives

I was going to save up and write one big Earth Day post for this Thursday, but I’ve heard so many fabulous ideas for marking the occasion that I’ve decided to make the whole week about my favorite holiday. (Alright, so Halloween is a close second.) It is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, after all, and I’m thrilled that everybody from Walmart to The White House seems to be making a big to-do about April 22 this year.

To kick off the week, I’d like to feature a story that’s near and dear to my heart: Celebrating Earth Day with kids.

One of my most profound childhood memories is of receiving a copy of 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth (the original; a new version was released in 2009). I really think that book was the beginning of my eco-activism; I carried it around with me for years, and memorized nearly every tip it offered.

When I decided a few years back to transition from a career as a performer to one as an environmental journalist, the memory of how I loved that book — sentimental as this sounds — was partially what motivated me to take the leap.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, I guess I’m just a firm believer that the earlier we plant the seeds of sustainability, the earlier we encourage a love for nature, the better. (After all, the youngest citizens of our planet are also the most malleable.) That’s why I love the National Wildlife Federation‘s list of ways to celebrate Earth Day with children.

A few of my faves:

Cultivate your child’s green thumb. Plant a garden with your children and encourage them to take care of the fruits and vegetables. Add wildlife-attracting elements to your yard, like a water source and native plants, and watch your kids be wowed when wildlife actually shows up.

Introduce your children to bird-watching. You don’t even have to know the names of the birds; just buy a good bird guide (or check out the WildObs iPhone app) and have fun looking up your sightings together.

Make a worm compost bin. What kid doesn’t love worms? Red wigglers will devour banana peels, apple cores, lettuce, and leftovers-gone-bad, leaving behind rich black castings that you can then use to fertilize that garden you just planted.

The other reason this story is a personal one is because, as HuffPost readers may already know, I’m expecting my first child in August. But of course, you don’t have to have your own children to do these activities; we all have kids in our lives — students, nieces and nephews, children of friends — who could benefit from a good green mentor. Not to mention a little fresh air.

For more of NWF’s fun Earth Day activities for kids, click here.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Old-growth redwoods in Redwood National Park. That insect-sized creature at the bottom of the frame is me; the height of the photo was cropped by over two-thirds and I couldn't even get the tops of the trees in the original shot.

With all the focus on buffoons like Donald Trump (lauded climatologist that he is) pointing to this winter’s nonstop snow storms as evidence that global warming isn’t real, I’d like to reiterate that what we’re really talking about here is climate change. In this sound bite–driven world, semantics matter; the term global warming, while it describes what is likely happening to our planet, doesn’t paint a clear enough picture of the more visible changes in weather patterns that may be occurring as a result.

Case in point: California’s ancient coastal redwoods may be threatened due to declining summer fog levels, according to a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In the study, fog levels were found to have diminished by nearly three hours a day over the last century, increasing the likelihood of drought stress and eventual loss of trees.

From Reuters:

“Fog prevents water loss from redwoods in summer, and is really important for both the tree and the forest,” biologist Todd Dawson of the University of California Berkeley said in a statement.

…Dawson and colleagues estimated the frequency of fog by looking at weather records, especially airport records dating back to 1951.

“Since 1901, the average number of hours of fog along the coast in summer has dropped from 56 percent to 42 percent, which is a loss of about three hours per day,” said Berkeley’s James Johnstone, who led the study.

The researchers aren’t certain if the cause is natural climate variations or human activity (they’ll be looking at that in a future study), but I think we can all agree that the loss of these trees would be absolutely devastating, not just to the organisms that are part of this unique ecosystem, but to humanity as a whole.

I had a chance to visit Redwood National Park in October, and at the risk of sounding hokey, it was one of the great experiences of my life. To walk for hours among the very trees that had been there since before Christ was born — had stood in this same place at the time the Incas built Machu Picchu, and when Mozart wrote his first symphony, and while John Adams signed the Declaration of Independence…well, there are no words to describe it. I get choked up even trying to write about it.

The bright side is that these trees are incredible survivors: Coastal redwoods (or their very close relatives) existed as far back as the time of the dinosaurs, and goodness knows the climate has undergone myriad changes since then. But with just 5 percent of the world’s ancient redwoods left standing, it remains to be seen whether there will be enough to withstand the climate change we may be facing in the years ahead. We can only hope.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Send a donation to the Save the Redwoods League, which has been working since 1918 to protect and restore our redwood forests.

Related posts:
The ultimate green Christmas: Rent your tree
Put a (real) cork in it

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Photo via Flickr: Pylon757

Leave it to the innovative folks at Southwest Airlines to develop cutting-edge environmental design and initiatives for its fleet while most cash-strapped carriers are charging for checked luggage and making passengers flush before they fly. The company announced yesterday that it’s currently testing a “green” plane that reduces emissions and makes use of eco-friendly interior materials.

I’ve never actually flown Southwest — I’ll be taking my first trip with them this November — but I have to say that I’m pretty impressed with the eco features in the “green” Boeing 737-700 now in beta. (I put green in quotation marks because it’s pretty ridiculous to put that word in the same phrase as something that emits, on average, 2.4 tons of CO2 on one round-trip flight from New York to Los Angeles; still, I applaud Southwest for its efforts.)

Some of the new plane’s features:

• 100 percent recyclable carpet that can be installed and removed in sections, eliminating the need for full replacement
• Two different seat cover materials – e-Leather, made from discarded leather shavings, and IZIT Leather, a long-lasting synthetic alternative — that will reduce weight by nearly two pounds per seat
• Lightweight foam fill in the seat backs (supposedly more comfortable, too)

All told, the new initiatives will save a total of nearly five pounds per seat, which will help cut fuel costs and thereby reduce emissions.

Until Branson perfects his biofuel, the name of the game for reducing air travel emissions is efficiency. There’s so much that can be done with inventive design and flight plan optimization — all it would take is for more airline executives to think outside the cabin, so to speak. I’m amazed it’s taken this long for anyone — including Southwest — to start working on these things. What’s good for the environment is also good for the bottom line.

To read more about Southwest’s environmental initiatives, click here.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: It’s not something that people like to talk about, but you know what else is adding to the carbon cost of flying? Americans’ expanding waistlines. All the more reason to keep yourself fit and healthy!

Related posts:
Stopping deforestation five times more effective than carbon capture technology
Eco-friendly road trip: Just follow Nathan

Photo via Flickr: Gidsicki

I thought this would be an apt follow-up for yesterday’s post about carbon capture and storage. Why should we waste billions of dollars on developing and deploying a technology that is, at best, a stop-gap measure with the potential for unknown and catastrophic consequences when we can utilize the natural resources we already have? To wit: A report issued today by WWF-Sweden that says preserving natural forests is five times more cost-effective than CCS:

Stockholm, Sweden – WWF Sweden is urging its government — holding the current EU Presidency — to get behind an effective international agreement on halting forest loss as a key and highly cost effective measure on climate change.

“Sweden should follow the examples set by its northern neighbors in developing systems to halt deforestation,” said WWF CEO General Lasse Gustavsson. “One Swedish krona to stem deforestation results in the same emissions reductions as five kronor for the controversial carbon capture and storage technique.”

Gold in Green Forests, a report issued today by WWF-Sweden, says that next to energy efficiency halting forest loss and degradation is the most cost-effective method for mitigating climate change.

Alright, so the report is in Swedish, but you can read the summary here.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Deforestation is responsible for 2o percent of annual CO2 emissions. One of the most important things you can do is to only buy paper products made from recycled materials (or use a cloth alternative, when possible). The National Resources Defense Council estimates that if every US household swapped out just one four-pack of traditional bath tissue (made from virgin fiber) for the recycled version, it would save nearly 1 million trees a year.

Related posts:
Green wedding: Give up the gift wrap
Sustainable reading

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Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park; Photo: Jennifer Grayson

Looks like you better hustle up and plan that camping trip: Thanks to his blue-pencil veto authority, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut an additional $6.2 million from the California state park system on Tuesday — in addition to the $8 million already designated by the legislature — which is expected to result in the closure of more than 100 state parks. (The original estimate was for 50 closures; no small potatoes, but still considerably easier to swallow than the prospect of shutting down over one-third of the state’s 279 parks.)

It has not been revealed yet which parks and beaches will be shut down; in the meantime, state park officials and nonprofit organizations are working to secure private funding in order to keep them open. 

At this point, I’d be grateful to see a corporate sponsor step in (Coca-Cola Canyon?) if it meant stopping the devastating snowball effect — lost jobs and admission revenue, decreased tourism, increased wildfires — that is sure to result from these closures.

Hey, here’s a novel idea: Since Gov. Schwarzenegger’s poor fiscal decisions are largely responsible for the state’s economic crisis, why doesn’t he host a Hollywood fundraiser to come up with the $14.2 million? I’m sure he could even cough up his own sizable (and tax-deductible) contribution. 

Since this isn’t likely to happen anytime in the near future, here’s what you can do:

• Through the California State Parks Foundation, send a letter to your legislators urging them to keep state parks open (you can do this even if you live out of state). 
• If you work for a large company, spread the word about the need for corporate sponsors.

–Jennifer Grayson

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