Earth Hour: Sign Up and Participate!

Earth Hour is our new favorite green event, plus it's the easiest one yet. This Saturday, Earth Hour — a worldwide sustainability campaign that boasted 50 million supporters in 2008 and is shooting for a whopping 100 million this year — asks you to simply turn out the lights for 60 minutes. Cast your planetary vote in "the election between Earth and global warming," the results of which will be presented at the 2009 Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Just flip the switch, step outside, and look for some new stars as New York fades to black — or at least gets a little darker than usual. Plus, check out the New York Times article on the other two upcoming lights-out projects in the city!

Composting Indoors

A few weeks I did something I've been meaning to do for the longest time . . . I bought a worm condo! For those of you who are laughing/confused, let me explain. In the interest of cutting down on garbage (since at least half of it is biodegrable food) and time (I live quite a distance from the nearest farmers market/community garden compost drop-off), I decided it was time to invest in my own personal compost system. Enter the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which is a great local compost resource. They sell "worm condos", which includes a large breathable container and a pound of worms. If you call to reserve one, you can pick it up at the Union Square Farmers Market on Saturdays. After you get it home, tear up a bunch of newspaper, make it damp, and voila! your worms have a bed. Dump the worms on top and watch them burrow underneath. Now for the fun part - feed your worms any natural food waste (bury it underneath the bedding) and watch them make vermicompost! Worms are the best pet - they take very little maintenance, but they are 100% effective at their job - making you a sustainable urbanite! For more info on how to take care of your worms, check out the LESEC page.

Eat Well Guide

Last weekend I discovered a great online directory for all things green and sustainable! The Eat Well Guide is a database integrating the service industry, sustainable living, and technology. The simple website is easy to navigate and includes seasonal food guides (i.e, the only things in season in New York right now are apples and cabbage) as well as hormone free dairy maps that help you find the best quality moo-products anywhere in the US and Canada. They also run a blog for green news, rate establishments on how water-conscious they are (hint: don't sell bottled water!) and even help you eat sustainably when you're traveling. Bookmark them now and reference them often!

Details: www.eatwellguide.org

GreenYour.com Launches

We're always looking for new ways to be eco-chic, so when we heard about GreenYour.com - the first search-based site for eco-friendly living - we had to let you know about it too. Just in time for Earth Day, sustainable business strategist GreenOrder launched the beta version of their new project, which includes 2,000 pages of green tips, facts and guides, all navigable through a simple search-tool on the front page of the site. Whether you're looking to find an eco-conscious hotel or an energy-efficient dishwasher, the open-source site offers you well-researched and up-to-date products and solutions for every aspect of your lifestyle. Check it out now and pass along to friends and family!
Details:
GreenYour.com
Search-based eco-lifestyle site

The Biodegradable City

For many of us New Yorkers, composting is a foreign concept; even recycling is a rare occasion. Luckily, there is a pocket of urbanites who have dedicated their time to making composting an easy and accessible endeavor. The NYC Compost Project offers ongoing workshops and events for worm bin novices, as well as continuing education for those in the know. Their site also explains the decomposition process (yum yum). For those of us who don't want to get our hands dirty, the indispenable green map from the Lower East Side Ecology Center shows all the public composts locations in Manhattan, and includes a helpful list of foods destined for the garbage and the garden. Print it out and take your compost out to the site nearest you!