Crafting a Green World!

http://craftingagreenworld.com/

This website is really cool. It's basically about being able to do fun things at an eco-friendly level! I think that you should visit this website and try out some things! Especially the vegan treats. They taste really great and have a good eco standard to them!

Healthy Spring Eating!

The sun is out and the weather is warming up; spring is finally coming! With a new season comes new clothing, a new semester and bursting buds on the trees as well as sprouts on the ground. In order to celebrate the season of new life, why not try a new, healthier diet as well? If you're looking for a lovely, colorful dish to cook up in a pinch, this easy orecchiette (otherwise known as "belly-button" or "ear" pasta) recipe takes just over 30 minutes to make. 

All you need is one bunch of broccoli, pistachios, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, some ricotta and, obviously, orecchiette. With 22 grams of protein and delicious greens, this pasta dish is sure to satisfy. You can find the whole recipe here. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/orecchiette-with-broccoli-rabe-pesto-recipe/index.html

Photo Courtesy of the Food Network. 

Interesting Ways to be Eco-Friendly

The green technology industry is booming, there is everything from recyclable earrings to a banana coffin!
Here are some very interesting products, that are also good for the environment.

Eco-friendly Burial

A Colorado company sells caskets made from banana sheaves, bamboo or pandanus that decomposes together with the body as a way of promoting ecologically-friendly burials. The so-called Ecoffin, short for eco-friendly coffins, of Ecoffins USA takes six months to two years to biodegrade. The company's  director, Joanna Passarelli, said the Ecoffins is better for the environment than cremating bodies. 

Eco-friendly Remote Control

This unique creation is called the Sony Conductor TV Remote. It's a wand shape kind of remote that needed to be swayed side to side to power it on and the green LED light fire up to indicate its power level. To start navigating, one can wave the conductor left and right to change your TV set's volume, up and down to change channels and in a circular motion to switch your TV set on or off. Sounds really tiring to me. 

Eco-friendly Moss Carpet

They say walking on fresh grass increases your blood circulation. This is a reason to get going to the nearest park, remove your expensive Jimmy Choo's and prance around. The Moss Carpet, created by Nguyen La Chanh, looks at getting the grass to your feet, and that too in your loo! Made from imputrescible foam called plastazote, the mat includes ball moss, island moss and forest moss. The humidity of the bathroom ensures that the mosses thrive. And that's why you need to place it there and not anywhere else. Little gnomes not included. 

Mindful Metropolis

http://www.mindfulmetropolis.com/ is a website that helps being communities together across the city of Chicago in eco-friendly and conscious ways that bring people out of their houses and help them become an active part of their community. Their goal is to find sustainable ways to enjoy and build on each individual community in the city. They work with the arts, design and green culture by bringing citizens together through various activities. They serve as an inspiration for hundreds of people across Chicago. 
"We are eco-active, enviro-sensitive and socially involved. We are connecting Chicago’s conscious community. WE ARE MINDFUL METROPOLIS" Mindful Metropolis says on their "about" page.
If you live in the city and are searching for ways to reach out in your neighborhood or the Windy City as a whole, you can check out their page which is linked to at the beginning of this blog post. 
If you want to be active, be inspired, or to go out and do something, you can start with this amazing page. 

Chicago Flower and Garden Show

For Chicago natives who may be reading this or for out-of-towners who are planning a spring break getaway to the Windy City, the beautiful Chicago Flower and Garden Show is up and running at Navy Pier! Over 100 flower vendors, a flower fashion show and 25 (or more) vibrant gardens will be featured there until the 18th of March. There are also various seminars that you alone or with a group can attend on topics such as how to create a rooftop garden and how to plant in an urban environment. There are also potting parties which tend to be a lot of fun! 

Tablescapes will also be featured at this year's Flower and Garden Show. Eye-catching flower arrangements from Chicago's hottest clubs, restaurants, hotels and other indoor attractions. Watch Chicago's most celebrated florists work in their best environment! The Flower Show is by far one of the best ways to celebrate spring. Loads of fun and flowers await at this year at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show! 

Visit http://www.chicagoflower.com/ for pricing. You get a $2 discount on tickets when you buy online! Otherwise, they're available at the Navy Pier Box Office. 

Tips on being more Eco-Friendly

This is an interesting, and relate-able tip, because our clothing has so many buttons :)




Use Eco-Friendly Buttons!

Tree Buttons:

TreeButtons are hand-crafted wood buttons that are made from cross sections of Cherry, Birch, Oak, Maple and Apple tree branches. The buttons are dried in a kiln, retaining around 6 to 10% of their moisture so that they don’t warp or crack.

The buttons are hand-finished with sandpaper, and then preserved with an exotic nut oil to leave a smooth and fashionable eco-friendly button. Using wood-based buttons avoids the need for any plastic-based buttons and is a completely sustainable product.

You can see all these tips, and more at: http://www.dailyecotips.com/

Chicago Weather is Crazy, and it's All. Our. Fault.

This picture was taken from the Chicago snowstorm last year.





The varying heights of city buildings increase the lifting of air over urban areas.
As this rising air is carried downwind of the city, it cools, condenses and forms clouds. These clouds can often become rain producers for suburban and rural areas downwind of a city's center. Chicago of course, is no exception. In fact, increase is due to the fact that Chicago leaves one of the largest carbon footprints on earth, and it's our fault. We can reduce this though, but being more conservative with our electricity, power, and even building size! So next time you are complaining about the weather being crazy, remember, it might just be your fault!

Video on Water Conservation!

Here's a short video I made on water conservation. Sorry for calling both the dish-washer and the washing machine the washing machine! Sorry if it confused anyone; that's just how I say it. Sorry!

Nike Reuse a Shoe: The Cool Way To Recycle Shoes!

http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/
      The project linked above is a cool idea by nike started in 1990 called "Reuse-A-Shoe". The goal of the project is to take shoes and separate the 3 main parts of the shoe and use those parts to build tracks for running, tennis courts, and basketball courts. EVERY part of the shoe is used! This is Nike's way of using the 3 "R"s (Reducing, Reusing and Recycling) in their business. Bring your tennis shoes to any big. even flagship, Nike store in your city or town in able to be a part of this project!
     Sports fan or not, Nike will take your shoes in ANY condition to be recycled! If your space is cluttered by old shoes with holes in them or that are worn out, this is a perfect way to get rid of them INSTEAD of throwing them away. In order to find a store, you can use the Nike Store Locator right here!
http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nike/en_US/storelocator
Please consider this awesome project, instead of sending your old shoes to landfills by throwing them away. Thank you so much for reading and please tune back in later for another post!

How to plant trees!

http://www.kidsface.org/pages/plant.html

Planting trees are very important because it excretes oxygen which helps us humans live! It's very important for life as we know it and this link will teach you how to do it. I personally think that planting a tree would be great and fun also!