Backyard chickens are catching on.  I had city chickens for a couple of years and they were great.  While some say, “that’s crazy,” I say “it’s so awesome!”  The benefits of having chickens were plentiful.  They are probably one of the most helpful animals for being green and sustainable.  Chickens hunt and peck all day long.  That means less bugs for your yard.  They lay eggs.  That means you get fresh organic eggs at no cost to you. Don’t like composting, use your chickens.  I threw my kitchen scraps in the run area and they went to town.  It’s a little sustainable farm of your very own. (more…)

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Hybrid cars have become quite popular over the last few years.  Now some are taking it a step further and converting their vehicles to run on vegetable oil.  I read an article on one automotive shop in particular that is dedicated to vegetable oil conversions and educating people on how to maintain their cars.  Portland based Green Drop Garage offers many car care classes and education on making the switch to veggie oil.  Their site alone makes you want to be their new best friend.  These guys have stepped out of the box as an automotive shop.  Teaching people about their cars is an oxymoron.  But these guys are truly supporting the idea of community.  Building relationships with people and a trust that most do not, and probably never will, have with their auto shop.  I hope this type of auto shop isn’t just a gem in Portland.  I want one of my very own!

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Mexico City stores are outlawed from giving out plastic bags that are not biodegradable.  Plastic bags are the largest form of litter to our oceans.  With Mexico City’s 9 million plus population, this plastic bag ban will prevent millions and millions of bags from becoming litter.  It will also reduce plastic bags being produced which means less oil used.  The domino effect of green!

San Francisco enacted an ordinance in 2007 giving supermarkets and pharmacies 6 months to phase out the bags. California recently passed legislation prohibiting pharmacies, grocery and liquor stores from using plastic bags. Customers could begin being charged a bag fee from stores.  The goal of these bans is not to inconvenience customers, it is to reduce litter and the damage these bags cause.  Thousands of aquatic life are harmed or killed from these plastic death traps.  It’s time to go reusable!  Help the bill pass, click below and tell your state representative today!

CLICK HERE TO HELP BAN PLASTIC BAGS

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by Drummond Lawson

Known for its eco-friendly formulas and eye-catching, minimalist containers that are attractive enough to be displayed on countertops, Method products can be found in North America, the United Kingdom, France and Australia at retailers ranging from Safeway, Target and Whole Foods to Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

The privately held firm made the leap from startup to widely know brand in just a few years. In 2006, Inc. Magazine ranked Method seventh in a list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

Drummond Lawson, the company’s director of greenskeeping, writes about Method’s method for success and shares lessons from the firm’s decade in business with GreenBiz.com to help mark our 10th anniversary. (more…)

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Jessica and I met with an amazing and talented cinematographer last night. He’s mulling over material and dates, so we’re crossing our fingers he’ll join us.  He had great ideas and ways to really tell this story.  While we were initially only focused on urban farming, we’ve now widened the focus to include community efforts and showing how farming is a crucial part of a sustainable life.  Once I began speaking with a few of the urban farmers, I realized their goal is so much larger than just growing food. Many of them are involved with larger community efforts.  There was an article last week in the New York Times about Detroit that is definitely worth reading.  Click HERE to read it, but not until you finish reading my post!

This next step also means we need some help from you.  We want to pay this very talented cinematographer at least a little something.  So any monetary contribution you are willing to throw our way will go toward that.  We are trying to reach a goal of $2000. That will cover shooting and editing and bringing this awesome documentary to you. You’ll see your donation at work right away, as we start shooting next weekend, and an end product in 2 months. No waiting 6 months or a year!  Now I sound like an infomercial, but you get what I mean.  For all donations you will receive a “thank you” credit in the film.  For donations of $20 and above you will also receive Jessica’s album.  We’re working on some goodies for people that donate in larger denominations, but it’s not quite secured so I don’t want to get your hopes up just yet. So direct your cursor over that little “donate” button on the right of this screen and help us out!

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