A dear friend gave me quite a treat. Beautiful new towels for a surprise house warming gift and they are “green”. Let me explain, because actually they are a gorgeous blue-gray Nantucket seaside color. They are energy saving “Quick-Dri Linden Street Bath Towels“. They have a reduced drying time of 33% over regular towels.They are soft, have a nice feel, easy to wash and very absorbent. I love them. You can get these 100% cotton towels at JCPenney!

 I am not the only fan of these towels, Linden Street towels have been around for a long time, and have improved and gotten even better.

Deforestation, clear cutting, slash and burn… all have serious consequences to our watershed, rivers, fisheries, topsoil, farming, drinking water, oceans and so much more. To learn more about this issue check out National Geographic, which explains it very well. And if you would like a graphical reminder, here is a great picture (I can’t give credit to the creator because I don’t know who did this, but “Good Job”  to the Photoshop wizard!)

Have you been cooped up all Winter? Need a new vista? Try out my favorite “secret” place. The Cool Cafe on the Stanford campus is an oasis in a busy place. You have everything you need right here: a well tended huge green lawn, Rodin Sculptures, free museum, picnic benches, a cafe with outdoor and indoor seating. – Not just “any” cafe either! Jesse Cool has been a leader in the organic food movement in the Bay Area since the beginning. Her cafe is worth the trip, not a large menu, but always good food. You can get there from the bus on El Camino Real or Cal Train (University stop), and walking distance from Stanford Shopping Center. Parking is easy on weekends, and tough all other times.
Location:
328 Lomita Dr.
Stanford, CA     phone: 650-725-4758
Hours: they close around 4 p.m. so go for lunch and lounge around after.

If you love the Cafe, then you’ll love Flea Street Cafe (nearby in Menlo Park) too. It has a complete menu and more variety in ingredients and preparation. (But the lawn and art are missing. )

Do we always have to be so serious?

There are BIG problems, and we can keep solving them, but take a little break. Look at this, you can keep your virtual + digital world on a duck billed platypus. I love this. I can’t help it. And rather than PRINTING all that stuff, just take it with you. (There had to be a green component to this post!)

MORE: To learn more about the Duck billed platypus , Australia has the most incredible animals, take a look at Echidnas too (my personal favorite) from down under.  The San Diego Zoo is a great place to visit and learn about many amazing animals, and much closer than Australia.

http://www.greenfestivals.org
This is always an amazing show, so much to learn! Besides the interesting people and events and food, there is always the opportunity to have a flash of great insight. Afterall, with all the new ideas there is room for one more (many more). GO and Be part of the Green fun. Speaking of NEW and COOL , take a look at ecoReserve.org they will be there!
Concourse Exhibition Center
635 8th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
$10 day, $15 for the weekend

Part of “being green” is building a community and supporting small green changes. It means sharing information, thinking with purpose, making improvements and for me…. BLOGGING. There is always room for improvement, here is a list of 11 ways to get the green word out in a better way.  Here is the info:

11 Characteristics of Highly Influential Blog(ger)s

BOUNTIFUL SPRING – MEDICINAL PLANTS OF CALIFORNIA

• Tellur Fenner
  Saturday, April 3, 2010
  10:30 – 5:30
  $65

As the rains begin to recede and the days lengthen, we are reminded that spring has arrived. All around, lush carpets of green span the horizon as many plants begin their annual ascent towards the sun. Join us as we explore the diverse array of medicinal plants found growing throughout this vibrant landscape. Roots, barks, and the succulent edible “greens” of the season will be the primary focus of our study. The morning session will consist of a lecture/slide-show highlighting the basic taxonomic and chemical characteristics of selected medicinal plants. After lunch we will carpool to a nearby natural area in order to observe, experience, and discuss many of the medicinal plants found growing there. Medicinal uses, identification tips, preparation methods, harvesting ethics, and botanical safety issues will be addressed on our walk. Anyone curious about the healing potential of our local flora will find this class not only insightful, but self empowering as well.

Registration: http://bountifulspring.eventbrite.com or call 650-493-6072
Bring: lunch, water, notebook, camera, warm clothes and hat.

About Common Ground: Located in Palo Alto just off El Camino, they give classes all year long. Parking is difficult, but there are many side streets in this residential area  and you’d be best off parking a few blocks away and walking.  Plan to get there a few minutes early.

About the Instructor: Tellur is a clinical herbalist/educator and has traveled extensively throughout the U.S while studying, collecting, and using plant medicines from all the major bioregions. He is an herbalist of the “generalist” persuasion, and believes in the importance of an interdisciplinary practice which integrates the study of botany, pharmacy, physiology, and other medical sciences. Tellur is the owner/director of the Blue Wind Botanical Medicine Clinic located in Oakland, CA. You can be a FAN on FaceBook and hear more about what they do.

Have you became a wild and loose recycler? Do you say, ah, who cares? Throw it is the Bin! The participation rates are going up with single-stream recycling, but some stuff does NOT go in the bin! Please check with your curbside recycling company for specifics. Single stream recycling has some No No items and other things can be recycled with various other groups. Also, remember groups like Goodwill and Salvation Army for furniture, books, clothes, household items, dishes etc.

First let’s highlight the Scuzzy Six

1. No Plastic Bags
2. No Recyclables in Plastic Bags
3. No Shredded Paper
4. No Scrap Metal
5. No Hazardous Waste
6. No Bio-hazardous waste including diapers and needles

And here are six more….

1. No Vases, dishes, mirrors, light bulbs, window glass, drinking glasses
2. No Plastic lids, foam containers
3. No foil drink pouches
4. No tires, batteries, appliances
5. No glossy papers or Tyvek envelopes
6. No paper towels or paper plates, wrapping paper, tissues, stickers

Certain items are compostable, lots of picnic ware (spudware) can be composted. Shredded paper falls through the cracks of the sorting machine and /or sticks to the conveyor belts and becomes paper mache. One hint is don’t shred non-sensitive paper, the other is shredded paper can be recycled as paperboard along with low grade papers, so gather in in a paper bag so that it cannot fly away and recycle.

A BIG YES to

paper, cardboard (flatten it) plastic bottles, phone books, blueprints, glass bottles and jars, clean balled aluminum foil (2 inches or larger), pie pans, cans, magazines, empty aerosol cans (no lids), milk and juice paper containers, paperback books, egg cartons, loose metal lids and bottle caps.

For more information, google “ZERO WASTE” or check Cal Recycle.

There are so many labels and it is often hard to tell which label will indicate the best product or practice. This local company, Coyuchi, has three videos that explain what is happening, why and what we can change. They are compelling, each video is about 10 minutes long and the issues are clearly spelled out. Take a look.

1. The Conventional Trap
2. Growing Back to Organic
3. Hope and Luxury

To learn more about labels like Organic, 100% organic, fair trade and ”naturally grown” etc.  check here for  more info: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/Food-Label-Decoder-451003#ixzz0j9DUCTKE

Location of Coyuchi: It would be fun to visit them, because Pt. Reyes Station is a little bit of heaven, but the easier method is to look at the Store Locator on the site, and pick a store near you that is selling these fine products. There is a store in Berkeley and other better bedding stores carry this line of products.

Coyuchi Headquarters
11101 State Route One, Ste.#201
Pt. Reyes Station, CA 94956

Customer Service 1.888.418.8847    info@coyuchi.com

Local honey is an amazing food. Actually, all honey is an amazing food, however, I want to buy local.
Did you know?  >>Bee Pollen contained in raw honey contains 22 amino acids, 27 minerals and a spectrum of vitamins. Raw honey contains over 5000 enzymes including amylase, a digestive enzyme for carbohydrates.

You can find locally produced HONEY at these places (I’m looking for more hives in the SF Bay Area! Leave me a comment)

1. Common Ground (Palo Alto) -Gets honey from Los Altos
2. Filoli Gardens (Woodside) – Has hives in the orchard and sells this honey at the store.