Green Thanksgiving

I may be a little late on this one considering most people probably already have their plans for Thursday set in stone, but no matter -- have a green Thanksgiving!

Here's the thing about Thanksgiving: it's a giant mass of contradictions. Thanksgiving has all sorts of lovely myths surrounding its origin. I won't go into all of them here, but let's just say it wasn't all party-time for the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Although Thanksgiving was originally religious, the day has evolved into secular American holiday. And of course you have the most basic contradiction, the name "Thanks-giving" is given to a day of almost universal gluttony.

Despite all that, we love Thanksgiving. Family, fun, good food -- you can't beat it. So how do we enjoy all the pleasures of Thanksgiving without succumbing to the wastefulness and self-indulgence?

I've pulled together a couple of good resources here for going green on Thanksgiving. My family gathering will be somewhere between 35 and 40 people, and will probably emit a carbon footprint the size of Bonnaroo 2008. How do you even get your arms around all of that? Check out a few of the links here:

12 tips for a Green Thanksgiving
How to Go Green: Thanksgiving Day
Green Thanksgiving - Eco-Friendly Tip

It's no surprise that all the usual suspects are there: eat local and organic, reduce/reuse/recycle, reduce meat consumption, compost your leftovers, etc. Really the most important and simple step might be to think about what Thanksgiving could and should mean, and take that to heart when you're planning your feast.

Happy Thanksgiving!

An Eye on Midnight Regulations

A Midnight Regulation are regulations pushed through in the last three months of an outgoing administration. President W. won't be the first outgoing president to push through Midnight Regulations, but he's legacy could be among the most damaging. According to this ABC News story, the outgoing administration is poised to push through more midnight regulations than previous administrations.

In the case of the Bush administration, what we could be faced with are de-regulations, many aimed at removing environmental protections. Check out this synopsis, courtesy of the New Yorker:

The Administration has proposed are rules that would: make it harder for the government to limit workers’ exposure to toxins, eliminate environmental review from decisions affecting fisheries, and ease restrictions on companies that blow up mountains to get at the coal underneath them. Other midnight regulations in the works include rules to allow “factory farms” to ignore the Clean Water Act, rules making it tougher for employees to take family or medical leave, and rules that would effectively gut the Endangered Species Act.

The Bush Administration wants to leave a legacy, and considering what they've done up until now, that's a scary thought!

Green Expo Here in Boston

The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, a three-day conference run by the non-profit US Green Building Council, kicked off yesterday in Boston, with 26,000 attendees.  By comparison, in 2002 there were just 4,000 attendees. (Nice work, Boston!)

Greenbuild's theme for 2008 is "Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability."  The focus is on social equality and bringing people into the green movement.  If you get a chance and you're in Boston, check it out! 

Find good food

I'm sure all of you out there in internet land are focusing full-time on the presidential election. As am I. But you may need to take a break between now and the end of the day tomorrow to get something to eat. And when you do, I'd like to suggest you check out this website.

It's the Eat Well Guide. You can use the website to search for organic and sustainable food in your area (as long as you live in the U.S. and A. or Canada).

I found butchers, caterers, farmers' markets, restaurants, stores, co-ops, CSAs -- all told there were 139 listings within a 20 miles radius. It even has a "plan your trip" feature that helps you find the best local/sustainable/organic food even when you're on the road.

It's easy-to-use, and you may be surprised at some of the places that serve organic food. Happy eating!