In the Dumps

Good news, everyone! (Yes, you're supposed to read that in Professor Farnsworth's voice. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, go watch some Futurama immediately!) Today's New York Times contains an article about that most pressing of dilemmas—how to safely dispose of unwanted electronics.

Sounds like the time is indeed ripe for that 4th bin, huh?

-Kaitlen

Design It Greener, Design It Better!

This might just turn out to be a great resource: Designitgreener. The site boasts green design tips for architects and designers, a green design gallery, a discussion forum, a news section, a green glossary, etc. Sounds pretty useful.

Thanks for pointing it out, Anna!

-Kaitlen

Meat Free Monday

If going meatless every weekday is too much of a commitment (or not practical, for whatever reason), why don't you participate in Meat Free Monday instead? It's a campaign led by Paul McCartney (and his famously vegetarian daughter, designer Stella). Or, if Mondays are bad for you (they're not great for those of us who have weekly Monday marketing meetings!), go for Tofu Tuesday. Or Healthy Humpday. You get the picture. (And yeah, I'm making these up as I go.)

Sure, cutting meat out of your diet only one day a week won't have the same impact as abstaining every weekday, but it's a start. And it does add up.

Thanks for the suggestion, Angela!

-Kaitlen

Challenge: Meat-Free Weekdays

How's this for a challenge? Per TreeHugger's suggestion, try eliminating meat from your weekday diet. If enough of us went weekday-vegetarian, we could reduce climate change mitigation costs by up to 70 percent. That's worth saving meat for the weekends, isn't it? Also, in this economy, think of all the money you'd save by not buying meat most days!

-Kaitlen

Sixteen and Super-Green

So here's some good news: Daniel Burd, a 16-year-old high schooler in Canada, figured out a way to make a plastic bag decompose in only three months. Yeah, as opposed to thousands of years. He isolated the bacteria that breaks down plastic. Burd (quite deservedly) won the top prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa, and snagged a $10,000 prize, a $20,000 scholarship, and a slew of other awards.

And I thought I was an overachiever in high school. Psht.

-Kaitlen

Suggested Viewing: Food, Inc.

If you have time this weekend, you might consider taking in a showing of the film Food, Inc. It's an examination (one might say exposé) of "America's industrialized food system and its effect on our environment, health, economy and workers' rights," according to the official website. It's been getting fantastic reviews (see David Edelstein's unqualified endorsement in New York Magazine) and sounds quite informative, if potentially frightening.

-Kaitlen

Kitting Out the Kitchen—Responsibly

Perfect timing! I need some new pots and pans, and Slate just published an article about how to choose the greenest cookware. (I already knew I wanted a cast-iron skillet, but the rest is pretty helpful.)

-Kaitlen

Droolworthy Indeed

Check out TreeHugger's slideshow of 10 Droolworthy Eco Structures. Most are just concepts, but they're quite interesting. They range from totally gorgeous to a little, well, fugly. And #6, the Helix Hotel, makes me hungry for a tall stack of pancakes.

-Kaitlen

Make It Green

Yahoo and the Everyday Edisons TV show are sponsoring Make It Green, a contest where the goal is to submit an idea for an eco-friendly product that both improves consumers' lives and helps the planet. If your product is chosen for production, you win $2,500 and a percentage of the sales. Not too shabby. (Well, I guess that depends on just what percentage of the sales you get....)

-Kaitlen

Green and Clean

So it's a little late for spring cleaning, but whatever. Here's a super-helpful roundup of editors' and readers' picks for green cleaning products and tactics. I can personally recommend Method's Le Scrub (which smells so fabulous I actually enjoy cleaning the tub!), newspaper on sink handles and other metal, and plain ol' vinegar and water on glass and mirrors. (Via Re-Nest.)

-Kaitlen

Vacation Nation

We all love our vacation days, but fabulous trips to far-off lands aren't always in the cards. The economy is tanking...and let's face it—travel (especially by plane) is often an environmentally unfriendly option.

However, check out organizations like Ecovolunteer. It's essentially a travel agency for volunteers interested in conservation; you can choose by locale you'd like to visit or species you'd like to work with. It sounds like a fair mix of work and play, plus the chance for some up-close interaction with rare and/or endangered animals. (I vote for hanging with the river otters in Brazil!)

-Kaitlen

Let the Greening Begin!

Welcome to Greenspace, the blog about all things green. While this is targeted, of course, toward Two Twelve employees, all are welcome. Have suggestions/links/useful info? Contact one of the Green Team members and we'll whip up a post. Here's to keeping the planet a vibrant, viable home for ourselves and future generations!

-Kaitlen