Green up your Online Social Networking

Where have we been, you ask. What could be sucking up so much of your time that you can no longer post on Green is the New Pink? If you guessed Facebook...you're right. Recently, we both took the plunge and joined Facebook, that mecca of online social networking, and have found any previous free time we had whittled down to nothing as we spent hours finding friends, writing on walls and creating Dogbook pages.

So in honor of our newfound hobby (addiction?), and for all you Facebook fanatics out there, we wanted to take a moment to investigate the "Green" Applications on Facebook, specifically (Lil) Green Patch.

(Lil) Green Patch is an application that allows you to send (virtual) plants to your friends. Here's what's cool about it:

1. It's free

2. The developers of (Lil) Green Patch use the sponsorship/ad money to make donations to Adopt-An-Acre, a program that "provides critical funds for rain forest protection and restoration." If you've forgotten why rainforests and trees are so important in the fight against global warming, click here for more info.

3. It's kinda fun. You send plants to your friends, which encourages them to send them back to you. The more you send, the better plants you can send. And the whole time, there's a ticker on top, letting you know how much square footage of rain forest you personally have saved.

Of course, the more people who are on the application, sending plants, the more (Lil) Green Patch can attract in ad revenue which translates into more money for donations. In January, (Lil) Green Patch made their first donation to Adopt-An-Acre in which they were able to save 2,487,426 square feet of rain forest in Costa Rica. Due to increased activity by (Lil) Green Patch users, they are poised to make an even better donation at the end of February.

Okay....that's all the time we can spare. We have new friend notifications and pokes and Superpokes to get to...and to all of you not on Facebook (yet)...yes, we are aware of how crazy this post must sound!

Seasonal Winter Produce

Just a friendly reminder to eat your vegetables, but to also make sure you buy ones that are naturally in season right now. Out of season produce is grown in far away lands and shipped to you at a high cost to the environment! Here's a list of what's in season right now, look for it when you do your grocery shopping....






Winter Fruit
Grapes
Meyer Lemons
Blood Oranges
Mandarin Oranges
Tangerines
Grapefruit
Limes
Avocados

Winter Vegetables
Winter Squash
Parsnips
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kale
Spinach
Beets
Fennel
Leeks
Escarole
Brussels Sprouts
Mushrooms
Walnuts
*** availability and seasonality changes by region***

For the recipes in the pictures and other wonderful winter vegetable recipes check out these from Bon Appetit magazine's February issue. Remember to also buy the fruits and vegetables grown in YOUR area to downsize transportation costs and CO2 emissions.

For more information and facts on the environmental benefits of seasonal eating, read our past post on the issue.

Spring is just around the corner so take advantage of the winter bounty while it lasts!

Recycle your Cell Phone. It's an Easy Call

Recycle your cell phone. It's an easy call. Okay, we can't take credit for that fantastic little pun. It's actually the work of the EPA who have launched a new initiative to get more Americans to recycle their cell phones (and PDA's and cell phone batteries and other accessories). Here's the deal....while we all realize that our cell phone is the bloodline to our entire lives and feel deeply incapacitated if we forget it at home for even an hour (how did we ever survive before texting?!), most of us don't realize that there's a dangerously toxic side to your best pal, the cell, as well.

As the EPA explains: "Cell phones and accessories are made from valuable resources such as precious metals, copper, and plastics - all of which require energy to extract and manufacture. Recycling cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions, keeps valuable material out of landfills and incinerators, and conserves natural resources. Recycling just a million cell phones reduces greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 1,368 cars off the road for a year." As of now over 80% of cell phones are NOT recycled properly, instead being trashed and ending up in landfills where they leach toxins into the air and water. However, If Americans recycled 100 million phones, we could save enough upstream energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households for a year.

The good news? The EPA, along with 11 other companies (AT&T, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile), has started this nifty little program to make it super easy to recycle your cell phone. Here's how:

DROP IT OFF: Drop it off at any AT&T, Best Buy, Office Depot, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, T-Mobile or LG Electronics store. For more info about Drop-off Spots, click here.

You can also MAIL IT IN to various companies such as Nokia and Samsung who will recycle it for you. For more info on where to mail it, click here.

Yes, we're saying that recycling these phones is as easy as a 5 minute errand at Staples. So if you've decided 2008 is your year to trade up to the iPhone, don't leave your old BFF cold, alone and scarred as it lies rotting in a landfill. Your old phone did a lot for you, it was there for you when others weren't. It always listened to you... Now it's your turn to give back.