Category: Giveaway
Posted by Leslie Rotan on Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 1:51 PMEnter to win 'Green Christmas'
The Green Life is giving away a copy of "Green Christmas: How to Have a Joyous, Eco-Friendly Holiday Season" to one lucky reader. Enter to win by e-mailing your favorite green tip to lrotan@detnews.com, with GREEN LIFE GIVEAWAY in the subject line, by Dec. 1. We'll post your name and tip in our Green Life Tips blog and draw at random to determine who wins the book. Please include your home address in your entry e-mail so we can drop the book in the mail to you if you're the luck winner!
Category: News
Posted by Leslie Rotan on Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 12:27 PMPost-election purgatory and the environment
The Bush administration is racing to cement environmental rules that favor private industry and lift environmental regulations before President-elect Obama takes office in January. Once in place, the rules can only be undone via a lengthy bureaucratic process.
If you would like to comment on the suggested changes, contact your lawmakers:
- Contact the White House: whitehouse.gov
- Contact your state representative: house.michigan.gov
- Contact your state senator: senate.michigan.gov
- Contact your U.S. senator: www.senate.gov
- Contact your U.S. representative: www.house.gov
Category: News
Posted by Leslie Rotan on Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 1:42 PMEnvironmental reporting in Michigan takes a hit
I received a disturbing e-mail from Dave Poulson, of MSU's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. Dave raised the alarm about buyouts being offered by the Booth newspaper chain in Michigan that will juggle staff and consolidate operations. In Dave's words, here's what it means for environmental reporting in Michigan:
"Booth has long had a tradition of exceptionally strong environmental coverage. Even in the recent years of massive downsizing, this chain has recognized the beat's importance when it allocated increasingly scant resources to the beat. Part of this is a function of audience - this group of papers serves a readership living near or strongly interested in the Great Lakes. Much of it is a function of hiring excellent reporters committed to the beat. At one time the chain had full or part time reporters covering the environment from Washington, Lansing and the dailies in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Flint, Jackson, Kalamazoo and Saginaw. Even the chain's Detroit business bureau would hit environmental stories out of the park.
"That effort has eroded because of huge changes in industry structure and technology reported in agonizing detail elsehwere and with fallout that is certainly broader than the environment beat."
Category: Events
Posted by Leslie Rotan on Thu, Nov 6, 2008 at 12:50 PMFilm festival focuses on environment
Green on the Big Screen: An Environmental Film Festival and Fair will take place Nov. 13-16 at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The event features films on sustainability, wildlife conservation, global warming, oil, alternative energies and more. There also will be exhibits, speakers, prizes and special screenings for kids, who get in free if they are 12 or younger. All-access passes for everyone else are $15, or you can buy tickets just for the films you want to see.
Category: Events
Posted by Leslie Rotan on Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 2:58 PMOakland University to host green-living expo
The Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions will be held this weekend at Oakland University in Rochester Hills. The conference will address energy, housing, transportation, food and activism issues. It's open to the public, but late registration is a bit pricey. Luckily, there will also be a FREEGreen Living Expo from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday. The expo will feature exhibits and presentations highlighting sustainable local choices. The expo's Web site boasts that exhibitors include, "local farmers, green builders, organic/vegetarian food groups, DTE's renewable energy program, community groups, home improvement companies, sustainable household products, renewable energy system providers, a carbon offset company, environmental organizations and educators, book sellers and green transportation services."
Category: Nature
Posted by Leslie Rotan on Sat, Oct 25, 2008 at 8:50 PMWhy do leaves change color?
Each fall, Mother Nature puts on a spectacular show when green leaves turn to fiery red, rich orange and cheerful yellow before spiraling to the ground, brown and brittle. But, why? The changing colors are trees' way of reacting to shorter, darker days and storing up energy for the long winter ahead. Basically, the tree's leaves help it to produce food by collecting sunlight, which reacts with chlorophyll to produce energy and the leaves' green color during the spring and summer. As the days get shorter and there is more darkness, the tree senses winter is coming and begins to suck the nutrients out of its leaves to store up for the cold, dark season, causing them to change colors, dry up and fall to the ground.
Category: Eat
Posted by Leslie Rotan on Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 10:55 AMHarvest dinner: Savor the season, connect with the community
Earthworks Urban Farm invites the public to attend a harvest dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The fundraiser runs from 4:30-8 p.m. and will feature a social hour, garden tours and dinner made with locally produced meats, vegetables, cheese and fruits. Speakers will include Ron Doetch of the Milwaukee Urban Agriculture Network and Malik Yakini, chairman of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network.
To register, print and mail in a registration form to 1264 Meldrum, Detroit, MI 48207 by October 24. Checks should be made out to "Capuchin Soup Kitchen" with the number of tickets and "Harvest Dinner" noted in the memo line.
Category: Eat
Posted by Cindy Jacobs on Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 9:59 AMDrink and support green!
Looking for an alternative to college football this Saturday? There will be plenty of outdoor keg tapping off campus!
Metro Times and Eastern Market are sponsoring their first Ale Fest on from 1-5 p.m. Rain or shine, the event will take place in Shed 5. 21+ welcome.
An eclectic range of 50 beers will be available for your sampling pleasure until the kegs run dry. Sponsors are promising a great time to be had by all, so expect a sell-out crowd. Tickets are $20 at the door. Arrive early.
So how is beer sampling on a beautiful fall day an exercise in green living, you ask? A portion of the profits will go back to Eastern Market to support their efforts to provide us with locally grown produce. Efforts have been made to provide Earth-friendly barware as well! You will be sipping suds from disposable cups made from PLA plastic, derived from corn. They will decompose organically.
Huzzah! Cheers! Go green!
Category: Energy
Posted by Danielle Kaltz on Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 12:19 PMGo Solar Michigan!
The US. Department of Energy has created a Solar America Initiative to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional electricity by 2015. But, why wait until then to learn about it? Get started now!
Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association is offering free informational seminars this fall. These seminars highlight individual homes being supplied with energy from solar panels or wind turbines. The seminars also include tours of local businesses including an architectural firm, a church, a food co-op and an ecological center, depending on which seminar you attend.
You can also find out about solar energy through the long-standing American Solar Energy Society. ASES is a nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of solar energy in the United States. Their Web site offers tips on everything from how to go solar in a condo to finding a solar installer and information on an upcoming solar conference in Buffalo, N.Y.
Category: Eat
Posted by Leslie Rotan on Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 12:03 PMBioneers conference a chance to learn, network
This weekend, the fourth annual Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Conference will be held at Marygrove College in Detroit. The event, which kicks off Friday, will tackle a slew of environmental issues, including food justice, edcuation, building sustainable communities and more. The public is welcome to attend and registration is still open.
