Sun & Shower

It’s been exactly one year since I gave up my car and I don’t miss it one bit.  Sure, it’d be nice to have when I need to go to the grocery store or I need to see someone in the suburbs.  But in exchange for buying less groceries per trip and having someone drive me or pick me up from the train station, I don’t worry about a car payment, car insurance, gas prices, emergency car repairs, finding parking in my neighborhood or someone breaking into my car.  Even though I have to plan ahead and occassionally bum rides off people, my life is much less stressful without a car.

In addition to the financial benefits, I can sleep well at night knowing that I’m not adding to the harm carbon emissions are causing to the planet.

So how do I get around without a car?  Being in the great city of Chicago, I have many public transportation options using the elevated train, buses and metra trains to the suburbs.  I can also walk to places within a mile or two, ride my bike to places within about 5-6 miles and take a cab if none of the above options are suitable.

“That’s great for you.  You live in Chicago,” you might say.  People do live without cars in less urban areas though.  How To Live Well Without Owning A Car provides practical ideas for people without the luxury of public transportation, so you too can live without a car.

It’s been just one year.  I’m looking forward to many, many more.

It’s true. I like Granny Smith green apples best. But those aren’t the kind of apples I’m talking about. I’m referring to the company that brought us one of the two greatest inventions of the 21st century – the iPod. (Tivo is the other, for those who are wondering)

Greenpeace recently released their Green Electronics Guide and ranked Apple last among the leading mobile and PC manufacturers in the world. Rankings were based on global policies, how the companies eliminate harmful chemicals and what they do with their products after customers discard them.

With the surge in Apple’s popularity and customer loyalty, it is important that they take responsibility for their actions. But what can we do? The folks at Green My Apple are leading the charge. To date, over 45,000 Mac users have told Steve Jobs to go green. You can too.

April 22nd is Earth Day.  Check the below sites for ideas about what you can do today to help the environment of tomorrow.

International Earth Day

Earth Day

Government Earth Day Site

EPA Earth Day Site

The Wilderness Society

Want to learn more about the green economy?  Green Festivals bring together people and businesses to share how they are contributing to a sustainable community.  This year, Green Festival will be at McCormick Place in Chicago April 21-22.

Chicago Green Festival will feature over 300 exhibits and more than 150 speakers on 5 stages.  There will also be music, art and organic food from local organizations and businesses.  Admission is just $10 per day.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, polar bears are losing their homes and their lives to global warming.

“Over the past three decades, more than a million square miles of sea ice — an area the size of Norway, Denmark and Sweden combined — have disappeared. Scientists predict that 80 percent of the summer sea ice that polar bears depend on for survival could be gone in 20 years, and all of it by 2040. As a result, the world’s polar bears could face global extinction by the end of this century.”

 Click here to read more and learn how you can help.

“This year, the Academy, the Oscar telecast producer Laura Ziskin and the entire production team endeavored to select supplies and services with a sensitivity toward reducing the threats we face from global warming, species extinction, deforestation, toxic waste, and hazardous chemicals in our water and food. With guidance and assistance from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-partisan environmental and advocacy organization, we learned that it was easy (and often cost effective) to make simple changes to reduce Oscar’s ecological footprint.”

The Oscars go green!