The Brat Goes Green

Thanksgiving dinner: 11 at the table, 2 don’t eat meat

Meredith Hansen — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:45:32 +0000

Thanksgiving at my house is always hectic. The kitchen is a no-go zone unless you’re my mom. You can offer and even try to help, but chances are you’re doing it wrong and my mom would rather do it herself. This year, however, the preparations got a little more complicated.

We had a full house: my family of five, my aunt’s family of three, my dad’s friend from work, and two of my friends; both of whom happened to be vegetarians.

The emails from my mom started coming in mid-October. What should she make? Will they eat butternut squash soup if it’s made with chicken broth? How will she make my Nana’s famous green bean recipe without bacon? Does she need to buy tofurkey? And what even is tofurkey?

Lucky for my mom, my friends are easygoing and weren’t craving fake turkey. The butternut squash soup was a hit, plain green beans were just fine and the other sides were all veggie-friendly.

My friend Eve Burchfield, a native Australian, was experiencing Thanksgiving for the second time in her life and the first time as a vegetarian. “I didn’t mind not eating the turkey because there was so much else to choose from. I suppose it was a little weird, though, because of the tradition surrounding the holiday.”

Did anyone else do turkey dinner sans turkey?

Ecorazzi publishes 10 Celebrity Vegetarian Recipes for Thanksgiving

Meredith Hansen — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:22:47 +0000

Credit: Ecorazzi

Are you bored of the usual turkey-stuffing-cranberry sauce dinner? Try eating something different. In fact, why not go vegetarian? The holiday season is a time for overeating and feeling guilty, so do yourself a favor and make something guiltless.

Ecorazzi posted a slideshow of vegetarian recipes from stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul McCartney.

PETA ad will not appear during the parade

Meredith Hansen — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:20:11 +0000

Surprise, surprise, another PETA ad is banned. NBC told PETA that the commercial did not fit NBC standards and therefore would not be aired during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I watched the video and I don’t see anything wrong with it. I think it’s pretty funny. What do you think?

Condoms for Climate Change

Meredith Hansen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:04:56 +0000

When this article came up on my reader, I almost fell off my chair laughing. At first, I thought TreeHugger was advertising some sort of eco-friendly condom. What they’re actually talking about is the impact of population growth on the earth’s climate. They’ve touched on it before and it makes sense, less children means less consumption.

The UN Population Fund has published a report citing that in order to combat climate change, we should limit population growth. They don’t plan on raiding your house and taking away your children, though, they recommend contraceptives.

One contraceptive that caught the eye of TreeHugger is ObamaCondoms. They’re definitely a conversation piece; and they’re pretty popular.

Wine: the bottle or the box?

Meredith Hansen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:00:07 +0000

If you’re a college student, you’re probably an advocate of boxed wine. It’s cheap, it comes in large quantities and it’s fun to play games with. But how green is it?

Jackson-Triggs, an Ontario winery, uses slim boxes to minimize their environmental impact. These 3L SlimCasks use less material than bottles and are transported more easily than bottled wines.

Adding to the mix of wine containers, Yealands Estate in New Zealeand uses PET plastic to store their bottles. Yealands Estate prides itself on being the most sustainable winery in the world. Yealands says that the PET plastic bottles generate 54% less greenhouse gas emissions and use nearly 20% less energy to produce than glass bottles.

Credit: Yealands Estate

So what will you chose this weekend: the bag, the glass or the plastic?

Sea Pure skincare

Meredith Hansen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:15:33 +0000

For those of you who have never tried H2O Plus Skincare, it’s time you do. The products are a combination of marine botanicals, plant extracts and sea minerals. I first encountered H2O Plus in a hotel in Spain and I’m now a huge fan of their Milk Body Lotion.

Credit: H2O Plus

Stress and overindulgence in food and alcohol during the holiday season mixed with nasty winter weather can leave your skin dehydrated. Sea Pure, H2O Plus’ new skincare line, is a perfect remedy. They’ve partnered with Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a ship built to educate passengers on environmental matters, in their official launch of the line. All proceeds from the sale of H2O Plus’ limited-edition Sea Pure t-shirt will be donated to the non-profit organization.

Need more motivation to shop? H2O Plus is now offering free shipping with any $50 purchase.

Organic alcohol, saving trees one bottle at a time

Meredith Hansen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:44 +0000

Photo Credit: © Shannon Graham

As the weekend approaches, I encourage you to incorporate some environmental friendliness into your celebrations. TRU Organic Spirits uses 100% organic American Wheat and plants one tree per bottle produced. They use lightweight bottles and recycled and renewable materials. Also, their shipping boxes convert into shelf displays for the product. Pretty cool, huh?

The vodka comes in three flavors: straight, lemon and vanilla. TRU also makes organic gin for those of you gin and tonic lovers. Costs usually run between $20 and $40 depending on where you buy it and what sales are going on.

Cheers!

Starbucks changes its bulbs

Meredith Hansen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:37:37 +0000

As part of its goal to become more globally responsible, Starbucks has announced that it will change conventional bulbs in 8,000 of its stores to LED bulbs. According to its website, Starbucks also announced its entrance into the construction phase of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED^® Volume Certification pilot program.

The goal is to reach LEED certification for all new company-owned stores worldwide beginning in late 2010. Check out the video about their green construction:

I guess I don’t have to feel so guilty the next time I spend $4 on a cup of coffee.

Vampires care about the environment, too

Meredith Hansen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:41:53 +0000

photo courtesy of tengossip.com

True Blood star Stephen Moyer has been in New Zealand filming his new adventure film, Ice, in which he plays the Minister of Environment. The flick takes place in 2020, a time when global warming has gotten the best of us. He spoke with The New Zealand Herald about his passion for recycling:

In what ways do you look after the earth then? Do you recycle?

Yeah, I’m pretty obsessive about it actually and I have been for quite a while in a very boring way. I think what we need to do is be more exciting about our recycling because I think everyone thinks of it as a chore instead of something that is possibly saving the world.

He’s not the only blood-sucking environmentalist. I’m sure you’ve all seen the PETA commercials with the naked celebrities. Twilight star Christian Serratos has been added to the list of bare beauties.

Take a look at what she has to say about stripping down:

Bidet versus toilet paper, may the cleanest and greenest win

Meredith Hansen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:23:12 +0000

When my roommates and I moved into our apartment in Spain last fall, we thought the bidet in the bathroom was a joke. Most of us had never seen one and we had definitely never used one. We though it was just a weird European thing, not something that people actually used.

The other day I was watching Wife Swap, one of my new favorite shows, and one of the families used a bidet to save paper. I looked into it to see how much it actually saved, because I thought it wasted water. I was wrong. According to EcoTech Daily, the process used to create paper uses more water than bidets use to clean.

Lea Lane from the Huffington Post wrote a how-to for using bidets for all of you who are interested in trying.

Would you be willing to trade your Charmin for a bidet?