Boston Green Drinks Meets Tonight

Despite Sandy, it looks as though there is going to be a good crowd at tonight's meeting of Boston Green Drinks! 

When: 6 pm - 8 pm, Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Where: Kingston Station, 25 Kingston St., Boston, MA 02111

What: Join the conversation with sustainability professionals and hobbyists.  Enjoy a Drink at Kingston station and build your connection with our green community!Boston Green Drinks  builds a community of sustainably-minded Bostonians, provides a forum for exchange of sustainability career resources, and serves as a central point of information about emerging green issues.  We support the exchange of ideas and resources about sustainable energy, environment, food, health, education.

RSVP here. 

Unfortunately, I can't make it - heading up to a show at the North Shore Music Theater! But have fun and make good connections!

Green Hurricane Prep

Sandy is about to hit hard, so its time to do some last minute preparations in as eco a way as possible.

image courtesy of livescience.com

1. Skip bottles of water. Fill up your brita, a pitcher, and fill a pot of water on the stove. No need to buy jugs of water at the store, its  a waste of plastic and gas.

2. Small leaks? Don't use paper towels. Use washable rags made from old bath towels or thick clothes.

3. Make extra ice. Before your power goes out, stock up on ice so you can keep your perishable food cold for a while after you lose power.

4. Use soy or beeswax candles. Candles made from paraffin pollute your indoor air and are made from petroleum derived materials.

5. If you're replacing batteries in your flashlights, make sure to dispose of old batteries properly - do not simply throw them in the trash! Look up on your town hall website how to dispose of batteries in your neighborhood.

Event: Sustainable Development at the French Cultural Center

To celebrate la Fête de la Science, the French Cultural Center is thrilled to welcome Paul Colonna, teacher at the prestigious College de France. Professor Colonna, also known as le Pape de la Chimie Verte, will discuss our energy needs and how this represents an important challenge for sustainable development, focusing on the point of the sustainable bioenergies in developed countries. Since the turn of the century, global interest in the production and consumption of biofuels (essentially ethanol and biodiesel) has been growing. In fact the topic encompasses wood energies, biogas and biobased chemicals. The interest has been caused on the one hand by environmental concerns, the need to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and on the other hand physical limitation of fossil carbons, interest in diversifying the energy mix, and reducing ecotoxicity of chemicals. Professor Colonna will consider questions that have recently arised about potential impacts of bioenergies, such as competition with food supply, risks of losing biodiversity, reduction of water quality and availability. To create an interesting exchange of ideas, Professor Robert Kaufmann, Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University will also present his views on this subject. Talk will be followed by a reception.

WHAT: Sustainable Development: Challenges and Issues
Celebrate la Fête de la Science with a talk on American and French approaches to sustainable development.

WHERE: French Cultural Center
               53 Marlborough Street, Boston, MA
               www.frenchculturalcenter.org

WHEN: Tuesday, October 30, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Members and students with valid ID: $7 Non-members: $12
RSVP Required: 617.912.0400

Alternative Transportation: ZipCar

One of my favorite things about Boston is that it is such a walkable city. Why pay for a cab when you can easily get to your destination in a quick bike ride, or a relaxing walk? The only problem: winter. Boston's bike sharing program, Hubway, shuts down in the winter, and walking becomes less relaxing if you have to do it in freezing temperatures. The T is usually a good option, but the green line can be awfully slow sometimes, and lets face it, there are a lot of places the T doesn't go! This is where ZipCar comes in. ZipCar is a car sharing program that is great for people that can't (or don't want to) have cars in the city.

Zipcar is committed to providing members with socially responsible, sustainable alternatives that support the global environment, their communities and city livability. According to a recent Zipcar survey, there was nearly a 50% increase in the use of public transportation after becoming members – in addition to a 10 percent increase in cycling and 26% increase in walking. According to Frost and Sullivan, vehicle miles traveled per driver is reduced almost 50% when car owners switch to car sharing, which reduced CO2 emissions. They also report that, on average in North America, each car shared replaces at least 15 cars on the road.

Zipcar currently has over 1,200 vehicles in more than 325 locations in the Boston/Cambridge area; which includes environmentally friendly vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, hybrid and Altima hybrid, along with useful utility vehicles like the Ford Escape and Toyota Tacoma.

image courtesy of Blast Magazine

Green Tea on the Go: Teas' Tea

I recently tried sample of Teas' Tea half & half green tea. It is delish! As many of you may know, I am a huge tea fan, but I am often discouraged by pre-bottled teas because they are often very sweet and are much more caloric than brewing it at home. I was pleasantly surprised with Teas' Tea because it wasn't too sweet and the flavors light and refreshing. It is still about 100 calories per bottle, but it can be a nice treat. My favorite was the half & half green tea with peach and my least favorite was the half and half green tea with coconut (but I'm not a huge fan of coconut water - if you are, you'll probably love this tea.) 

The company that produces Teas' Tea, ITO EN, has a detailed portion of their website dedicated to their corporate social responsibility initiatives. They have both environmental sustainability and human health and community goals. Even though I try to avoid purchasing single-serving beverage bottles, it is good to know that this is at least a responsible option. 

Required Reading: Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano

Not unlike Starre Vartan's Eco Chick Guide to Life, Gorgeously Green is a fun, girly, and informative guidebook to making your daily life as sustainable as possible without giving up style or little luxuries. The 8-step guide is a great resource, I want to carry a copy with me whenever I go shopping! It has lists of chemicals and products to avoid, product recommendations, and even recipes. The book also corresponds with Sophie's website Gorgeously Green - which has countless more green lifestyle ideas. The book and the website have checklists and quizzes to test your progress (like a girls-only version of Practically Green). 

Gorgeously Green is a New York Times Bestseller and has been recommended by many of the world's most stylish women (I mean, come on, the foreword is written by Julia Roberts!). Its easy to see why people love this book - it is super user friendly. I highly recommend checking out a copy from the Boston Public Library or surfing the website. 

Solarizing Mass Communities

All across Massachusetts, homeowners and business owners are making the decision to install solar PV systems. Many of these projects are sponsored by programs like Solarize Mass and Renew Boston as part of Governor Patrick's goal to have 250 MW of solar PV installed by 2017.

A great way to learn about these projects and to learn about upcoming educational events is by subscribing to the Solarize Mass newsletter. Sign up here. Since Solarize Mass is a program of Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the newsletter is also a great way to learn about other clean-energy happenings (like wind and biogas projects).