another great holiday gift idea

And this one is absolutely free. Give the gift of carbon neutrality! In fact, it's so easy I'm giving it to you right now.

Click below to claim your gift of from Brighter Planet's One Day of Carbon Neutrality:



Don't forget to pass it on to your family and friends!

last minute local shopping

This weekend at the Brooklyn Lyceum (227 4th Ave), get all of your last minute shopping done at their 1st (and hopefully not last) Artisans' Craft Market. Over 65 vendors will be peddling their goods. Plus, there'll be refreshments and tunes to keep you in the holiday spirit. Here are the deets:

DATES: SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20 AND 21, 2008

TIMES: 11:00 AM until 7:00 PM

LOCATION: BROOKLYN LYCEUM + CAFE
227 4th Avenue, between Union and President Streets, Park Slope
Click here for a street map, showing subway station too.

TRAIN: R train at Union St, in Park Slope. We are right atop the station.
15 minutes from Lower Manhattan! So easy. Click here for a subway map

SPECIAL SHOPPING PROMOTION: Shoppers, spend $100 or more at the market, and receive 2 comp tickets to one of a choice of future Lyceum events. Grab a coupon when you enter the market.

More info here!

save endangered species

You can help stop Bush's last minute attempts to destroy habitat critical to the survival of endangered species.

Donate to the Center for Biological Diversity to help them meet their goal for a grant that will aid them in their efforts to protect animals from extinction.


Read on...

• Eleventh-hour Bush Policy Tries to Gut Endangered Species Act
• Saving the Polar Bear
• Watchfrogging Political Corruption

new roads = new pollution

This just in from Friends of the Earth...

President-elect Obama and Congress are working to pass a green-jobs economic stimulus package—but it is in danger of being hijacked by the road-building lobby, which wants billions of dollars for unnecessary new roads that would increase global warming pollution.

Transportation is responsible for 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 70 percent of our oil consumption. By investing in clean transportation solutions including public transportation and smart growth, the stimulus package can create green jobs and reduce our dependence on oil.

Sign the petition to block this new road scheme.

See also
A similar letter from Green for All

sustainable stocking stuffers at let's go green

Get everyone on your list some really useful stocking stuffers -- low-flow shower heads, anyone?
Let's Go Green has all the eco efficient goods.

for the bees

Q. What do cows, goats, and bees have in common?

A. None of them can be legally kept in NYC.

But you can help change that -- for the bees at least. How? By signing the petition to make beekeeping legal in NYC at the Just Food website. According to Just Food,

Honeybees are garden heroes! Honeybees help gardens grow more fruit and vegetables and produce sweet honey. They are nature’s best pollinators and contribute to productive harvests in community gardens, public parks and nature centers.

So make beekeeping legit and sign today!

save now at nau

Today's the last day to save big time at nau (one of my favorite eco clothing designers). Get 30% off purchases with offer code 'GIVE' and get free shipping on all purchases over $150 -- it's an incentive to get you to ship via ground, a less carbon intensive method versus air. Plus, via their Partners for Change program, they're increasing their donation amount from 2% to 10% on all purchases made today.

Here are the details:

We'd hate to have you miss out, so we're just going to say it one more time:
Order before midnight tonight and you'll save 30% on all our Men's and Women's styles. Just enter promotion code "GIVE" at checkout, and you can save 30% on everything we make.

Take advantage of these savings and you won't just be doing a good thing for yourself: Remember, for the rest of the day, we're donating 10% of every sale - up from our usual 2% - to the Partner For Change of your choice so it's a great opportunity to get a great deal and do a lot of good in the process.

And with free ground shipping on all orders over $150, ordering by December 15th will get that gift there on time with the least impact on the environment. Air shipping isn't only more expensive; it generally uses six times more energy than sending it by ground.

Share the "GIVE" code with your friends! Act now, and you'll enable them to take advantage of significant savings and help generate much needed donations for change.

make fun: holiday gifts diy

Are you the crafty sort who likes to make gifts instead of buy them? Well here's your chance to put that personal touch into your holiday presents. It's Make Fun, the holiday gift making party. Check it out!

MAKE FUN

This holiday season, don't buy anything. Make everything. Give your loved ones something brilliant and beautiful that you made yourself, from the Make Fun studio.

Make Fun is a creative workshop for anyone who wants to sew, glue, experiment and build with fabric. We provide sewing machines, thread, fabric, scissors, glue and a variety of material to help you make any gift imaginable for anyone and everyone on your list. Please bring food, drink, any specific gifts or materials you wish to use or decorate, half-finished projects, and inspiration.

House of Yes
342 Maujer Street, at Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn
L train Grand Street station
7-11p; $10 covers supplies
kaeburke@gmail.com

[via Nonsense NYC and Brooklyn Based]

more philanthropic gift giving

Here are some more ideas for giving charitable donations in place of gifts that will end up being returned, exchanged, regifted, or -- worse -- thrown away this holiday season.


A gift of $25 or more entitles your recipient to full membership benefits, including a year long subscription to the Friends of the Earth news magazine, the right to vote in our annual election, invitations to special events, and the knowledge that they are part of the fight to build a healthy and just world.


Another gift membership opportunity, this time for the clean energy gurus who support "natural capitalism" at The Rocky Mountain Institute.


Let your friend or family member choose the micro-loan they'd like to give with Kiva e-gift certificates.

Redefine Christmas
Give or request a donation through this site that's looking to bring back the true charitable spirit of Christmas.


Related post
eco holiday gift guide: for the philanthropist

bush isn't out yet... and it's scary

I think we're all still riding the high of the Obama election and holding our breath until he gets into office (and at least for the first 100 days after that). In the midst of this rollercoaster of emotions, it's easy to want to forget about ol' Bushy and his scary environmentally destructive policies. The bad news is he's still in power and still doing damage.

He's set to push through some 11th hour rulings that don't bode well for the planet. Some of the biggest dirty dealings involve mountaintop removal coal mining, handing out wilderness areas to the oil and gas companies for drilling, and eased emissions limits for coal and chemical plants. It's scary stuff.

Wanna know more? Check out this article by Ben Jervey (NRDC, SustaiNYC) in GOOD about the political "tradition" of last-minute deregulations. Here's a snippet:

On November 4th, while most of the American public’s attention focused elsewhere, the current administration was working on another gift to Big Oil. Bush’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced a plan to lease huge swaths of public land—over 6.4 million acres—to oil and gas drilling companies. Much of the area is in pristine Eastern Utah wilderness adjacent to or near national monuments and parks, like Arches and Canyonlands, as well as vibrant towns like Moab.

The auction on the tracts starts on December 19. “Once you get rid of wilderness, you can’t get it back,” notes Bobby McEnaney of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). It’s not just the lands that are at risk; many fear that drilling will damage air quality. The BLM has since, in response to massive criticism, removed some controversial areas from the plan, but the vast majority remains on the block.

“The BLM didn’t just try to slip the audacious Utah lease maneuver past the American people on an historic election day,” railed actor and activist Robert Redford. “It actually hid the ball from its sister agency, the National Park Service (NPS), and then rejected the Service’s request for more time to review the scheme.” Michael Snyder, a regional director at the NPS, which is normally given three months to respond to such leases, said, “This is the first time where we have not had sufficient opportunity to comment.” The NRDC’s McEnaney bluntly sized up the maneuver: “They’re destroying the whole process that is designed to protect these lands.”

the festival of (eco-friendly) lights

Celebrating Hanukkah this year? Break out the menorah and be sure to light up responsibly with beeswax candles. As I've mentioned before, beeswax is healthier for you, better for the planet, and helps the imperiled bees. Paraffin wax is petroleum derived and polluting, and some conventional candles have lead in their wicks.

Here are a few options:



Big Dipper Wax Works Hanukkah Candles
$20
45 hand-dipped tapers burn for 75 minutes each.


Natural Beeswax Hanukkah Candles
$11.95
Go au natural with these lovely honeycomb beeswax candles.


Chanukah Hannukah Festive Beeswax Candles
$19.99
Or get more festive and go for a rainbow of candle colors.

Create Your Own Hanukkah Beeswax Candles

$11.95
Get the kiddles together and have a menorah candle making party.

real or fake?

And hopefully what popped into your head was, Christmas tree, right? It's an age old debate -- okay, maybe only since fake trees entered the market -- which is better, a real or fake tree?

If you've already purchased a fake tree, or have had one for years and it still looks decent, stop reading.



But if you're contemplating whether to go to:

a) Tar-zhay or Treasure Island (do those exist anymore?) to pick up a plastic tree
or
b) a tree farm or nursery (or street corner like we do in NYC) to get a fresh cut or live tree

here are some of the pros and cons of both.

Fake Trees
Pros: can be reused over and over again; seemingly cheaper than a real tree
Cons: (most) made from PVC, an evil cancer-causing plastic; (most) made in China, burning lots of CO2 to get here; may contain lead

Real Trees
Pros: renewable resource; absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and release oxygen during growth; can be mulched, composted, used for beach erosion prevention; farming of trees preserves green spaces
Cons: may be treated with pesticides, which end up in the waterways during farming and after disposal

If you've got a yard to plant it in, a live rooted tree is a great option. Or if you don't have a yard and are feeling ambitious, you can try to contact someone who will plant it for you (more info).

In our home, we choose the real tree every year. I despise PVC and just love the pine scent of a fresh cut tree. I also love finding all of those fallen needles in the crevices where the vacuum doesn't go -- it always reminds me of happy Christmases past.

[Sources: ChristmasTree.org, EarthTalk]


When the holidays are through, be sure to recycle your real tree

Live in NYC?
Check with the NYC Department of Sanitation to find out when they'll be picking up trees for recycling.

Don't live in NYC?
Go to Earth 911 for information on recycling in your area.


And what about the trimmings?

LED Holiday Lights save energy ($26.99 at Amazon)



Safari Wool Animal Ornaments (set of 4) are handspun, handknit,
fair trade, and adorable (on sale $35 at VivaTerra)

Gourd Ornaments (set of 3) are each unique, hand carved and engraved in Peru ($18 at Global Exchange)



Connect and Reflect Ornament fair trade and handmade in India ($11.95 at OriginalGood)

holiday craft fairs

What's better than unique handmade goodies for your nearest and dearest this holiday season? Okay, maybe a trip to Bali would be nice -- but I think this is the next best thing: a gift from an NYC craft fair. [via Brooklyn Based]

SAT 12/13: 11am-5pm
Designer Holiday Trunk Show

At the new Union Hall/Floyd-creators' brainchild, The Bell House, shop for local designer gifts with drink in hand and music in ear. A taste of some of the designers involved: Hable Construction / Areaware / Oeuf / Deadly Squire / Perch! / Judy Ross Textiles / Berin / Mast Brothers Chocolate / Tracy Watts / Sesame Letterpress / Lotta Jansdotter / Eyespy Baby / Whimsy And Spice / and more!

Dec. 14 and 21, 11am-6pm
Gifted: A Holiday Market. You've only got two more Sundays to shop to your heart's content with the folks who brought you the Brooklyn Flea (Time Out New York has a part in this, too). Just across the street from the usual Brooklyn Flea, a warmer venue awaits in the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, 317 Clermont Avenue.
[Image, right: Elephant toys by Acorn]

Dec. 14, 10am-7:30pm
BUST Holiday Craftacular. Handmade jewelry, vintage duds, and delicious edibles are just some of the things you'll find at the craftiest of fairs in the land. At the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

Dec. 18-23, noon-6pm
New York Creates’ Fourth Annual Holiday Crafts Fair. Pick up fashionable wares like clothing, pottery, or beaded jewelry from more than 25 juried artisans at the Brooklyn Historical Society. 128 Pierrpont Street.
[Image: Toshie Otsuka's coffee cup]