Blog Posts by Diane MacEachern

If you're still grilling with charcoal, I've only got one question for you: Why?

Sun oven Most grills use either natural gas, propane, charcoal, or electricity. Of these options, charcoal emits more carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and soot than any of the others.

"Charcoal grills and lighter fluid also contribute more to ground-level ozone [smog]", says Ana Gomez, of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, not exactly the ambience you're looking for when you invite friends over for a cookout.

Eco-Friendly Alternatives?

• Go solar. A solar stove like the Global Sun Oven pictured love cooks more slowly and won't get you the same grilled flavor. But it can't be beat for an environmentally-friendly, clean-cooking cookout, and you'll never buy charcoal or other cooking fuel again. Cook casseroles, veggies, tofu, and maybe a few marshmallows. Of course, you'll need direct sunlight for the time it takes to cook your food. Read the cooking directions that come

What should you NOT do on Earth Day?

You've probably already received hundreds of tips on what you should do - and maybe they're now a big mish-mash in your brain. Here are ten things you SHOULDN'T do. So don't.

Teen driver 1) Don't drive like a teenager, speeding up and slowing down and weaving in and out of traffic. Such aggressive driving can lower fuel efficiency by 33%. Accelerate gently and stay with the traffic to save gas and money.

2) Don't use cleansers and personal care products that contain triclosan or other antibacterial agents. Public health officials worry that antibacterials (in cleansers, window cleaners, and soaps are causing us to become resistant to antibiotics. Use simple soap (like Dr. Bronner's castile soap) and hot water for cleaning, and body soaps and lotions that do not say "antibacterial" or "fights germs" on the label.

3) Don't go shopping without a list! According to the U,S. Department of Agriculture, people waste about 30% of their household food

Low Cost:

1) Go outside. Take a walk, sit on your porch, have lunch in the park, eat a picnic dinner with family or friends. Looking outside doesn't count. Get out there and just...relax.

2) Plant something. If the idea of relaxing drives you a little bit crazy, do something useful. Plant a tree, sow vegetable seeds in your garden, transplant seedlings, fill your porch pots with flowers you'll enjoy the rest of the spring and summer.

3) Look out your window. Okay, for all you people who want to be "eco" but really hate the idea of digging dirt or lunching en pleine aire, pull up a chair to your favorite window and take a gander outside. Notice the birds in your yard, the buds on the trees, the clouds in the sky. Sound sappy? Maybe. Try it, just for half an hour. Let me know what it does for you.

4) Go see a movie. AFTER you've connected to your own backyard, connect to the world. "Nature," the new Disney movie, offers stunning cinematography of some of the most

This is not a hypothetical question, at least in my neighborhood. And no, I don't live in the woods, or on some out-of-the-way country back road.

Gun guy I live in a suburb of Washington, D.C. And someone who lives around the corner from me is actually learning how to shoot a gun so he can "protect" his family in case someone else decides to steal the vegetables he is planting in his backyard.

A long-time environmental activist, the guy has concluded that society is moving too slowly to stop climate change. As a result, he says, we all may be facing widespread food shortages and general chaos. If he were part of the Godfather's era, my neighbor might say, "it's time to go to the mattresses." His response today isn't far off. He's replaced the bolts on his doors with padlocks, is planting his own food, and is learning how to fire a weapon. Armed, and dangerous?

The neighborhood is now very jumpy. People don't want to walk down the street where this guy lives. Will we be taking

Red roses For Valentine's Day, birthdays, anniversaries or other special occasions, giving flowers often seems like a gift from Mother Nature herself.


But when flowers are doused in pesticides and transported long (i.e., energy-intensive) distances, their eco-appeal quickly evaporates. The health impact conventionally-grown flowers has makes them even less desirable.

Consider this: Seventy percent of U.S. flowers are imported from Latin America, where growers in Columbia, Ecuador and other countries use pesticides that have long been banned in the U.S. A 2002 survey of 8,000 Colombian flower workers revealed exposure to 25 carcinogenic or highly toxic pesticides that are not used in the United States.

Often, women flower growers suffer impaired vision, asthma, and miscarriage or give birth to babies marked by lower birth weights and higher blood pressure. Thirty-five out of 72 Ecuadoran children tested by the Harvard School of Public Health experienced organophosphate

PenguinTis the season for snow and ice - only fun if you're a penguin or like to walk with an ice pick.

For the rest of us, the big challenge is dealing with frozen precipitation once it hits the ground, especially if we want to be 'eco friendly.' These tips will help.

What's wrong with rock salt? Many consumers use rock salt to clear a path through the snow around their homes. But this is not ideal for the planet.

* Excess salts build up in the soil, just as they do with chemical fertilizers.

* Salt residue prevents plants from absorbing moisture and nutrients.

* Salts can leach heavy metals, which eventually make their way into water supplies.

* Salt on grass or sidewalks close to roads can attract animals, which may be hit by cars if they're licking the salt from the ground.

* Plus, salt can burn our pets if it lodges in their paws.

Yes, salt does effectively melt snow. But is there a better way?

Top Ten To Do's

Snow shovel • Minimize snow and ice by shoveling,

In the wake of the atrocious shootings in Arizona this past weekend, it seems essential that we turn our thoughts, not to revenge or retribution, but to love. In this powerful guest post excerpted from her new book Love For No Reason: 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditonal Love, New York Times best-selling author Marci Shimoff offers an inspiring vision for using love to protect the world in which we live.

Marci Shimoff 2011 photo "The global transformation we're in the midst of today is being powered by love. What's unusual about this shift is that it's not coming from the top down-the world's established leaders aren't dictating laws that force people to live in love. Instead, this shift is coming from the hearts of a large number of people like you and me. Each day more of us are contributing our heart's energy to the giant wave of love that's enveloping the planet.

When you live with an open heart, you treat the world as your family and the earth as your mother. Your unconditional love

Pondering woman What environmental lifestyle shifts are you planning for 2011? If you still haven't been able to make up your mind, take a minute to read about the folks below. In the last couple of weeks in December 2010, they all answered the question, "What's Been Your Biggest, Coolest, Eco-Friendliest Change This Year?" Some people switched to greener cleaning products. Others started their own organic gardens. A few launched their own companies. One person is even building a house from scratch. Hope they give you some great ideas for 2011!

Saving Energy

Reader Bonnie installed a programmable thermostat. It cost her $35, but she expects to easily recoup the cost on her heating and cooling bills. StudioJMM of http://profile.typepad.com/studiojmm put solar panels on her roof. Ann started a "no idling" campaign to get buses to turn off their engines when they're waiting to pick up kids at school. Saves energy AND keeps the air cleaner.

Cleaning woman Green Cleaning

Hana, aka the Green Granma