Go Vegetarian. .. Even If Only for One Day

Thursday, October 1st is World Vegetarian Day and October is Vegetarian Awareness Month. Are you a vegetarian? If not, maybe you should try to become one, even if for just one day a week.

Why? A few years ago, I was sitting at Great Sage, my favorite vegetarian/vegan/organic/green/local restaurant in Clarksville, MD. I saw a statistic from the Worldwatch Institute that read:

It takes 25 gallons of water to produce one pound of wheat while it takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat.

If you haven't already heard, we are running low on water and the raising and slaughtering of meat wreaks havoc on our environment.

Compared to grain/pasta, red meat is responsible for:

• 20 times the land use due to cattle grazing
  
  
• 17 times the common water pollution due to animal wastes
  
  
• 5 times the toxic water pollution and water use from chemicals applied to feed grains and water for irrigation and livestock and
  
  
• 3 times the greenhouse gas emissions from greater energy use

The book Skinny Bitch says:

• According to the EPA, animals are the largest polluters of U.S. waterways and
  
  
• The amount of land, food, water and energy used to raise 10 billion animals a year for slaughter could be used to grow food for all the starving people in the world

I've been a vegetarian for nearly 6 years. I don't eat anything with a face, so that means no beef, chicken or seafood. I do occasionally eat eggs and I eat cheese daily. My family and friends back home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania - aka Amish County, aka Land of Cows - don't understand why I make such a sacrifice, but to me, it isn't a sacrifice at all. With heart disease and cancer running in my family, it was a logical decision. Vegetarians have few instances of both of these diseases. But another reason I made this decision was to protect the environment.

The switch for me was easy because I rarely ate red meat or seafood, so all I was giving up was the occasional chicken or turkey breast. If you think it might be too difficult for you, try for just one day a week. And then move to two and see how far you can go from there. If you are worried about how you will get your daily dose of protein, trust me, you can get plenty of protein with a diet of fruits, vegetables and legumes.

Try it. For a day.

A Report from the Polar Bear Plunge and Eco Friendly Pens

I cannot thank you enough for supporting me in the Fourth Annual Polar Bear Plunge! It means the world to me. Attached are some photos. I'm the gal in the black bathing suit with the toboggan, the black boa and pink gloves.

I'm happy to announce that I raised over $1,305 thanks to the generous donations of 40 family, friends, colleagues and clients.

About 200 people and dogs of all ages plunged. Despite the call for rain or snow, we had great weather. It was sunny and in the mid 30s and the water temperature was about 35 degrees. Last year, the air and water temperature was in the 40s (we also held the plunge in December).

I have to confess that as soon as I got in the water this year, I felt immense pain as my feet went numb and started to tingle in a scary way! It was all I could do to run into the water and quickly turn around and head back to the beach. All I could thing about was getting OUT of the water and putting socks ON my feet which felt like a block of ice! The whole water experience lasted probably 30 seconds or less. This was much different compared to last year when I went back in a SECOND time since I felt I hadn't spent sufficient time in the water.

Nonetheless, this year I had a great time and plan to do it again next year! I'm eternally grateful to the following companies who helped me make this a green event!

Rick Erber from Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company provided the coffee and tea and all the fixings, including soy milk for the vegans! They are a local roaster (support your local economy and buy coffee that isn't shipped cross country) that offers fair trade/grown coffee/organic coffee (better for the Earth and the workers in the fields). They also contribute proceeds to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Dale Ball from New Leaf Vegan Society got up at 4 a.m. to make vegan applesauce oat muffins, corn muffins and chocolate chip cookies. The food was a hit (there were no leftovers!) and she proved to us that vegan food can be tasty and not scary! My non vegan boyfriend Jeff, who is a chocoholic, ate about ½ dozen of the chocolate chip cookies!

Peter Grazzini from Perfecting Settings provided me with beautiful, ocean-water colored, shimmery linens for our food buffet as well as recycling bins. Yes, if you place an order with them, they'll rent you recycling bins, too! They also take back the hangers and plastic wrap that linens come with and reuse the hangers and then bale and recycle the plastic wrap as well as the shrink wrap that is wrapped around their rental items.

Keith Losoya from Waste Neutral Group is composting all of our waste. We were able to compost the food waste as well as cups, wooden stirrers, napkins, etc. We had 2 bags of compost, a small bag of waste for the landfill and 1 PLASTIC bottle was placed in the recycling bin (I guess everybody else knew better than to bring plastic to an environmental event!). By composting your waste, you reduce the amount of waste that ends up in our already over extended landfills.

Our after party was at The Rockfish Restaurant, a green restaurant in Annapolis which offsets its energy consumption with wind power. They also recycle, utilize sustainable seafood, and have an organic herb and vegetable garden on their roof!

I hope you'll support these folks who have gone green.

Thanks again for your help and I hope this inspires you to live and work green!

Lori

Hear Lori talk about her plunge experience on NPR affiliate WAMU! Click here and listen to "Environmentalists Participate in Polar Bear Plunge".



Green Tip:
Eco Friendly Pens

When purchasing disposable pens (I prefer non-disposable Cross pens and just purchase refills) for the office or a special event, use a brand that is made of recycled content. The ECOAd^TMBio Pen is 95% biodegradable and will produce no toxic residue. The bio-polymers used in molding come from renewable U.S. grown resources such as soy proteins or starch from potatoes, corn, wheat, tapioca or beets (I just got hungry!) versus evil, traditional plastic. It is reinforced with less than 5% synthetic polymers and the plastics are 100% biodegradable.

Join Me at the Fourth Annual Polar Bear Plunge! and Green Scissors

I'm doing it again! I'm taking a cold plunge to fight global warming.

THIS SATURDAY, JANUARY 10th, I'm going to jump into the icy Chesapeake Bay for a cause I am extremely passionate about: the fight against global warming.

I'll join hundreds of other crazy folks in the Fourth Annual Polar Bear Plunge.

The event, organized by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), is meant to raise awareness about the growing crisis of global warming and to raise the funds needed to continue the fight against it.

The basics are right below.

The Basics
Last year, I had a blast plunging AND I raised over $1,200. My goal this year is $2,000, but I'm only at $980! Help me out! Last year, my friends and family pledged anywhere from $25-$100 each. I realize that with the current economy, you may not be able to pledge that much, so GIVE WHATEVER YOU CAN GIVE! $5, $10 or $20 is fine by me. Give up one of your vices for a week and put it towards a good cause! Contributions are tax-deductible.

Also, I'm donating my event planning services to ensure that the plunge is a green event!

How to Make a Pledge
It takes about TWO MINUTES to make a pledge! IF you pledge, I promise to email you photos of me plunging!

Credit Card
Donate via secure webpage.

If you pledged last year, you'll be happy to know that it is MUCH EASIER to pledge this year!

Check
Make your check out to "CCAN" and mail to

P.O. Box 11138
Takoma Park, MD 20912

On the memo line, write Plunge/Lori Hill on the memo line, so they know who your pledge is supporting.

Watch Me on the Video!
Watch the video of last year's plunge. That is me at the 1:40 mark – the gal with the toboggan.

Thanks in advance for your interest and support in the fight against global warming - and for supporting me while I turn a little blue in the process!

If you're not busy, please consider coming out to join me I the plunge or cheer me on this January 10th - it's a really fun event!

Thanks for helping CCAN save the world!

Warmly (but not in the global sense),

Lori

Green Tip:
Green Scissors

The folks at Ideal Bite sent me this tip about scissors from Klean Earth that have handles made of 70% recycled plastic and cost from $6-$14.

Join Me at the Fourth Annual Polar Bear Plunge! and Wine Cork Recycling

I'm doing it again! I'm taking a cold plunge to fight global warming.

In less than one month, on January 10th, I'm going to jump into the icy Chesapeake Bay for a cause I am extremely passionate about: the fight against global warming.

Yes, I, Lori Hill, the one who is ALWAYS cold in the winter time (I'm sitting in my basement office right now wearing 3 layers of clothing and fingerless gloves as I write this!), will be plunging right into the water near the headquarters of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation which happens to be one of the greenest building the country!. I'll join hundreds of other crazy folks in the Fourth Annual Polar Bear Plunge.

The event, organized by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), is meant to raise awareness about the growing crisis of global warming and to raise the funds needed to continue the fight against it.

The basics are right below. To read more about CCAN, see further below.

The Basics
Last year, I had a blast plunging AND I raised over $1,200. I'd like to nearly double that this year with a goal of $2,000. In addition, this year I'm donating my event planning services to ensure that the plunge is a green event!

Last year, my friends and family pledged anywhere from $25-$100 each. I realize that with the current economy, you may not be able to pledge that much, so GIVE WHATEVER YOU CAN GIVE! $5, $10 or $20 is fine by me. Give up one of your vices for a week and put it towards a good cause! Contributions are tax-deductible.

How to Make a Pledge
It takes about TWO MINUTES to make a pledge! IF you pledge, I promise to email you photos of me plunging!

Credit Card
Donate via secure webpage.

If you pledged last year, you'll be happy to know that it is MUCH EASIER to pledge this year!

Check
Make your check out to "CCAN" and mail to

P.O. Box 11138
Takoma Park, MD 20912

On the memo line, write Plunge/Lori Hill on the memo line, so they know who your pledge is supporting.

Watch Me on the Video!
Watch the video of last year's plunge. That is me at the 1:40 mark – the gal with the toboggan.

Thanks in advance for your interest and support in the fight against global warming - and for supporting me while I turn a little blue in the process!

If you're not busy, please consider coming out to join me I the plunge or cheer me on this January 10th - it's a really fun event!

Thanks for helping CCAN save the world!

Warmly (but not in the global sense),

Lori

*More About CCAN and How I Got Involved with the Plunge

Not too long after I saw "An Inconvenient Truth", I went to a clean energy open house at the home of CCAN's executive director Mike Tidwell. That was the impetus that began my quest to be as green as humanly possible.

By making a pledge to support my playful suffering, you'll help CCAN fulfill its very serious mission of educating and mobilizing the citizens of Maryland, DC and Virginia to take concrete steps to protect our climate. We are particularly at risk of the effects of climate change – Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington, DC and cities in Virginia could be under water if we don't act soon.

CCAN is an extremely reputable, nonprofit organization with an emphasis on community-based, grassroots organizing. They have been central to every major fight on global warming in the Maryland/Virginia/DC region, and are currently leading the charge for comprehensive global warming legislation in Maryland, for no new coal in Virginia and, as part of 1 Sky, for strong federal legislation in 2009. You can learn more about them at www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

Green Tip:
Wine Cork Recycling

Instead of pitching your wine corks in the trash (who would dare do such a thing?), send your corks to Yemm & Hart Ltd.

They are collecting wine cork stoppers with the goal of converting them into a useful self sustaining product (Y&H are all about converting recycled materials into something new).

Another alternative is to make your own cork board. Hot glue corks to a piece of plywood and attached photos, notes, etc. You can place the corks round side up and/or cylindrical side up.

Rental Recycling Hero and Eco Friendly Office Calendars for 2009

Peter Grazzini of Perfect Settings in Landover, MD really gets it. While the party rental industry is inherently green since equipment is used over and over again, it still has wasteful aspects such as all the plastic - shrink-wrap, bags and sheeting) and cardboard.

Peter now offers a service where he picks up plastic and cardboard from clients which he bales and then sends to a recycling center. He also offers recycling containers that his clients can rent and use for recycling cans and bottles.

To read more about what Peter and others in the event industry do to be green, read the November 2008 edition of Special Events magazine, Event Industry Adopts Greener Practices.

Green Tip:
Eco Friendly Office Calendars for 2009

You can be Earth friendly while planning out 2009! The House of Doolittle has been a manufacturer of desk pads, calendars, and appointments books since 1919. Currently the paper used for their products is recycled with 30% to 100% post-consumer fiber. I get my Weekly Appointment Planner from them as well as my Yearly Planning Calendar.

Turning Our Communities Green and Stainless Steel Water Bottles and Water Cooler Covers

A few days ago, I attended an event hosted by Bethesda Green, an organization that works to sustain the current and future development of Bethesda, Maryland by reducing the community's environmental footprint, attracting environmentally-conscious consumers, and promoting an environmental ethic.

The event, called the "Be Green" Showcase, was open to everyone in the community and showcased local initiatives, partners and ideas and featured over 25 information tables from local, green businesses and organizations.

Baltimore and Washington, DC have also hopped on the green bandwagon. What about your community? If it hasn't started a green movement, why don't you start it for them?

Green Tip:
Stainless Steel Water Bottles and Water Cooler Covers

CynerGreen, a member of Meeting Professionals International and the Green Meeting Industry Council, offers stainless steel water bottles that can be branded for your meeting, provide sponsorship opportunities and act as a take away gift for your attendees. They also offer 5-gallon water cooler covers that can share your message and logo during your meetings and events. These are high quality cooler covers that may be used event after event sharing your green message or company's logo.

Educating Your Guests about Green Initiatives and Fuel Efficient Vehicles for Your VIP Clients

A few weeks back, I attended Eventworld, the annual ISES (International Special Events Society) conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Building upon last year, we had a list of green initiatives that we engaged in - or should I say "planned" to engage in? One initiative was to eliminate the use of "to go" coffee cups and utilize good old ceramic coffee mugs instead. There was a minor mutiny on the first day, and the ISES staff, being the customer oriented crew that they are, immediately had the banquet staff bring out the "to go" cups.

I was disgusted that my fellow event professionals put up such a stink in order to have their precious "to go" cups. Was it a status symbol to have one or did they really think they couldn't take their ceramic mugs into the meeting rooms? I would have thought they knew better.

I was also upset that we caved so easily; however, I can understand the need to keep the customer happy. But when incidents like this happen, should we give in so easily? This made me realize that not only do we need to train ALL of our staff to utilize the same party line when implementing new green initiatives, we also need to educate our attendees. Had we provided a sign in place of the "to go" cups that read "In consideration of the environment, we have eliminated the use of 'to go' cups. Please feel free to take a ceramic mug to your meeting room." the ISES staff would have had some ammunition to fight back. Citing statistics such as how much money and resources will be saved stresses your efforts even more.

Green Tip:
Fuel Efficient Vehicles for Your VIP Clients

If you normally book sedans or limos for transporting guests, use a company that offers fuel efficient vehicles.

Here in the Baltimore/DC area, Enviroride offers Toyota Camry Hybrids, Toyota Hylander hybrids and the Mercedes E320 for very reasonable prices.

Nationally, All Occasion Transportation offers Prius Hybrids. In fact, I had the opportunity to utilize one myself and it was a very pleasant ride.

Treating Earth Like Our Living Room, Not Our Community Trash Can and Asking Your Attendees to Keep the Earth Clean

Since the weather has been pretty darn nice lately, I decided to replace my usual cardiovascular workout via the Elliptical trainer at the gym for power walks around my neighborhood. Being out in nature makes me happy, but that quickly sours when every time I go out for a walk, I find myself picking up trash -- lots of it. Just two days ago, at the beginning of my walk, I found 2 plastic bags. My initial reaction was fear of animals getting caught in them, so I picked them up and proceeded to fill them with recyclables as well as items for the landfill. Then I found a third plastic bag and filled that up fairly well, too. I ran into a neighbor who I've seen on my walks before and she said, "Thanks so much for doing this! I do it, too." She went on to explain that she had spotted another resident who cleaned up after our fellow residents. I was grateful to hear that because all of that trash, unless picked up, would end up in our treasured Chesapeake Bay.

We agreed that some of the waste we picked up had been blown around on trash day. However, some of it was just plain laziness... people treating Earth like a community trash can. When I see someone throwing a cigarette butt out their car window or dropping an ice cream wrapper on a sidewalk, I'm tempted to say, "Would you drop that trash on the floor of your living room at home?" Perhaps some people would, but I think the majority of us would not. We need to think of Earth as our living room. If you wouldn't throw it away on your living room floor, why dispose of it on Earth's floor?

Green Tip:
Asking Your Attendees to Keep the Earth Clean

When planning your next conference, ask your attendees to participate in your event's green initiatives including picking up a piece of litter each day. This is exactly what Cisco Systems did for Cisco Live 2008. In addition to asking attendees to participate in the hotel's linen reuse program, lowering their thermostat, reducing water and light usage and unplugging their phone chargers, Cisco encouraged attendees to pick up a piece of litter each day.

If we all made the effort to dispose of our waste appropriately (and making the landfill the last option), perhaps one day, we won't need to use the term litter.

Useless Tschaches and Useful Tschaches

My apologizes to those in the promo item business, but if I receive one more useless gift/favor/tschache, I'm going to send it back to the provider with a friendly note encouraging them to think of the environment the next time they purchase a plethora of these things.

Not too long ago, I received a stress "ball" in the shape of a dollar sign from a not-to-be-named vendor encouraging me to contact them if my dollars were feeling squeezed. Cute. Original. But what am I going to do with this after I've used it a few times (I think I've used it once so far). How do you recycle these things? I'm confident all of these dollar signs will end up in the landfill. What a shame. In the meantime, I'm researching a way to recycle mine...

Green Tip:
Useful Tschaches

When thinking of a way to promote your business or event or to thank your guests, think of the Earth first. Ask the following questions:

• Is it useful?
  
• Is it made of recycled materials?
  
• When the time comes to dispose of it, can you recycle or compost it?
  
• Is it being shipped from a location nearby or halfway around the world?
  
• What kind of packaging is used to ship it?
  

If you are looking for an Earth friendly item, contact my friends at PromoVision who gave me a bunch of great gift ideas that are easy on the Earth

• tote bags made of hemp and/or cotton
  
• t-shirts made of organic cotton
  
• pens made of biodegradable corn or recycled material
  
• pencils made of actual tree twigs (fallen twigs or agricultural waste)
  
• a greeting card that comes with a 2-way envelope with pre-paid return postage so that when the recipient is finished with the card, they can send it back to the manufacturer for reuse in creating new cards
  
• biodegradable and compostable cups with logo
  
• flash drive made of 100% recycled plastic
  

Flood Annapolis and If you can't recycle at home or your office, make it happen!

On Thursday, January 17th from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., I'm joining a group of activists to descend on Annapolis and demand that our elected officials find solutions to global warming. Maryland is one of the most vulnerable states when it comes to the effect of global warming. We need to demand that something is done now!

Green Tip:
If you can't recycle at home or your office, make it happen!

Don't be afraid to speak out! If you are unhappy with the recycling program for your jurisdiction or office building (or lack thereof), write your local officials and ask for change! Organize a petition within your neighborhood or office! There is no reason why we can't ALL recycle and reduce the amount of waste that goes into our overflowing landfills.

For information about recycling in your area, visit www.earth911.org.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle and Make a resolution to recycle more in 2008!

I feel that we are so overexposed to these words that we no longer think about what they really mean. We live in such a disposable economy and as a result, our landfills are filling up entirely too quickly. My goal each day is to NOT put items in the trash and figure out a way to

• not use it as much (reduce)
  
  
• reuse it if I can
  
  
• recycle it when I can no longer use it anymore

Reduce - the concept behind reducing is to reduce your overall consumption of EVERYTHING. Do you really need the item in the first place OR if you do need the item, can you get away with 100 vs. 500 of the item? Think of this when it comes to any document you print, the amount of food you serve at an event, or the number of guest gifts you provide your attendees to cite a few examples.

Reuse - is it something that can be reused? From vases and stones and sand for floral arrangements to signs to informational brochures to beverage napkins that have been untouched by human hands.

Recycle - if your jurisdiction has a recycling program, use it to the max! If it doesn't, write your local officials about starting one. There is no better time than now to talk to your local officials about green initiatives! Before you thrown ANYTHING away, ask yourself, can this be recycled? Check out the list in my Green Tip of the Week provided by Co-op America . Another great site is www.earth911.com.

Green Tip:

Make a resolution to recycle more in 2008!

Co-op America has a fabulous list of 21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle. From appliances and batteries and cloths to technotrash, toothbrushes and razors, you'll find it all here!

Getting Cold to Fight Global Warming and What To Do With Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays

On Saturday, December 8th, I jumped into the icy Chesapeake Bay for the Third Annual Polar Bear Plunge. The event was organized by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network to raise awareness about the growing crisis of global warming and to raise the funds needed to continue the fight against it.

Thanks to supportive friends and family, I raised over $1,300! I had the best time the day of the plunge. Over 200 men, women, children and dogs took the plunge in 49 degree water on a partly sunny 40 degree morning.

View a completely fun, totally inspiring two minute video of our Plunge (keep your volume turned up!)

I hope you'll join me next year!

Green Tip:

What To Do With Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays

Don't leave your Christmas tree for the trash collector (unless your jurisdiction has a special pick up for trees).

Cut it up and use the needles as mulch, the branches as kindling and the trunk as firewood (after it's dried out).

If you don't have a wood burning fireplace, give your wood as a belated holiday gift to your friends and family!

Source: ehow.com