Clean Plates

New York City is famous for its restaurants and fine cuisine. Clean Plates is your guide to healthy and sustainable eating in the Big Apple. Whether you are a vegan, raw foodist, localvore, or carnivore, it is a must-have dining companion.

The Man with the Plan

T.Boone Pickens discusses America's lack of an energy plan on The Daily Show.

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The Situation teams up with The Green Garmento

I confess to an incredible fascination for Jersey Shore (because of this, if they were sitting beside me right now, my sisters would probably be inching away from me and pretending they don't know me), which is why I know about the guido way of life: GTL, or Gym, Tan, and Laundry.

The show has propelled the cast to stardom, with Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino being one of the more popular cast members. Personally, while he's not my favorite one in the show, I applaud his cooking skills and, now, his team-up with The Green Garmento, too. Of all products endorsed by the Jersey Shore cast members, this has to be the one I approve of most of all. To green up the L part of GTL and eliminating the use of plastic bags, the Situation GTL Green Garmento can be used in three ways: as a hamper bag for your clothes, as a duffel bag for carrying them to the laundromat, and finally, as a hanging garment bag for your clean clothes.

You can get the official Situation GTL Green Garmento for $11.99 over at thegreengarmento.com and, amusingly enough, will also soon be available in gyms and tanning salons all over the country.

A year in trash

How much non-biodegradable trash do you accumulate in a year? That's what Brennan Bird sought to discover when he made a resolution to save all the non-biodegradable waste he accumulated in 2010, which he will use for building projects. The result: He now has 188 pounds of trash to work with. (From Tiny Green Bubble)

The power is yours!

Wise words, Captain Planet. If any of you remember this entertaining 90s cartoon series, you might be pleased to know that season one is finally, finally coming out on DVD on April 19! And Captain Planet himself would approve of the set's packaging, which is made from 100% recycled paper.

Bright Bin

People want to eat good, healthful food nowadays, food that's organic, cruelty-free, and free of any chemicals and dubious substances. But that's not all you need to think about; you should also pay careful attention to the containers that hold your food. If you've got kids, you might want to think about an alternative to plastic lunchboxes, since they contain BPA and phthalates.

The Bright Bin, which is the brainchild of teacher and marketing executive Stephanie Stiller, calls itself "the new generation lunchbox," and takes pride in the fact that it doesn't contain any harmful substances. It's microwave- and dishwasher-safe, and it also has different compartments for food so you don't have to spend money on plastic sandwich or food bags anymore. Sounds like something that would be a good thing to take to work, too!

Incandescent lights are no more at IKEA

Well this is pretty big news: IKEA is no longer selling incandescent light bulbs, as the company promised in August 2010. This is a huge step, leaping way ahead of the 2012-2014 deadline set by The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 for the phase-out of the energy-sucking bulbs.

"IKEA is committed to integrating sustainable practices into our range and business practices. As the largest home furnishings store, we are constantly looking at ways to help support our customers with every day environmentally responsible solutions that will improve their lives. Eliminating incandescents is just one simple way for IKEA customers to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases," commented Mike Ward, US IKEA President.

Green heating issues

A family living in a home in Jerome Way, in the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in England had their heating system switched to a green one three years ago, when the community made the change to ground source heating. Today, however, they're complaining that their house is just not getting warm enough.

Mr Chennells said: “Every since they put the system in, the central heating has not been working properly.

“Engineers have come up to look at it, but they report back that it is working fine.

“It produces a tiny amount of heat, and leaves the house really cold.

The comments section yielded some interesting insights, however, with visitors pointing out what the family could have been doing wrong with the system. It would have been nice if the Oxford Mail got feedback from all the residents of the community.

On having a green wedding

Vanessa over at Green As A Thistle posted this question, well, months ago in October, really: "How important do you think it is to make an eco-friendly statement on your big day? Does it matter if nobody notices?"

My take on it? It doesn't matter if people don't notice that everything about your wedding is green. The important thing is that you're having your wedding the way you want it, and that you're doing something good for the planet (though it's definitely understandable if you want people to be amazed when they see that green can be really gorgeous!).

Get fit at the Greenasium

Since getting fit and losing weight is on a lot of people's list of New Year's resolutions, you might as well do so in a healthful, eco-friendly location. Fortunately for residents of Encinitas, California, a new fitness studio has opened its doors: the Greenasium, which offers everything from personal training, cardio workouts, yoga, and circuit classes.

So how green is it? First of all, it sets itself apart from other gyms by not having air conditioning; the sea breezes make the place pretty cool and comfortable. The wooden floor is made from bamboo and rubber mats were created out of recycled tires. Another bonus is the stationary bikes, which generate electricity for the place.

The Greenasium also has a no-plastic policy, so unlike other gyms that provide people with plastic cups in case they forget their own drinking bottles, you can have a drink of water from the gym's ceramic mugs. Keep in mind that they also don't sell energy drinks and bottled water.

My green resolutions for 2011

Happy new year everyone! I made some green resolutions for 2008 and 2009, although curiously not for 2010, though that may have been because I'd forgotten to post. So what are my green resolutions for 2011?

1. Eat less! This will do wonders for my weight and at the same time, keep me from generating waste from the food packaging.
2. Go online for shorter periods of time. This hasn't been easy to do thanks to the distraction that is Tumblr, but I'll certainly do my best. Great way to reduce energy bills and use, and allows me to play a more responsible role in staving off the energy crisis that always rolls around here every summer.
3. Get more household, beauty, and personal products from stores like these two.
4. Continue bringing my reusable bags everywhere, and buy a couple of bigger ones for big trips to the supermarket.
5. Change the incandescent lights by the front door. Just found out that there are CFL bulbs that come in warm white, which give off a warm, yellowish glow.
6. I will forever be a meat eater, but I will also try more vegan fare.
7. Cook at home more frequently.

What changes are you planning to make to green up your lifestyle?