sustainability

Source: Positively Cleveland

This weekend was the unofficial start of summer! Which not only means we can wear white (does anyone actually follow that rule?), but also enjoy fresh, locally grown produce in Northeast Ohio. One of my favorite things about summer is all the fresh fruits and vegetables that are available everywhere, especially at Farmer’s Markets. If you work/live downtown like me, besides going to the West Side Market, there’s no better way to get fresh fruits, veggies, and other food (including my favorite, Ohio City Pasta!). Some downtown Farmer’s Markets I’m looking forward to frequenting during lunch breaks include:

Public Square: Fridays from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. through October, opens June 10th
Cleveland State University (in front of the law school on Euclid between E 18th and E 21st): Thursdays 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. through November 17th, opens June 9th
East 9th Street Pier: Thursdays 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. through Labor Day, opens tomorrow (June 2)

Not lucky enough to hit one of the downtown spots? A full listing of NEO markets can be found here.

Where’s your favorite place to find fresh produce? Do you have another favorite Farmer’s Market?

Is 2010 the year you’re going green? Have you vowed to help the environment, start recycling more, use reusable grocery bags, drive a hybrid car, etc? If that’s the case, then social media can help. Social media offers a variety of resources that help you make greener choices, find environmentally friendly solutions and meet like-minded environmentally conscious folks.

Some places to check out if going green is your goal for the new year:

Bringing new meaning to reduce, reuse, recycle

Freecycle: Hate throwing out things? Wish you could find someone who needed your old stuff? You’re not alone – the Freecycle Network is for you. It’s a grassroots movement of people throughout the world who are donating and receiving stuff for free in their hometown. Freecycle is an online community of more than 4,800 groups and nearly 7 million people worldwide, all devoted to recycling and “keeping good stuff out of landfills.” To join in the movement, go to freecycle.org, type in your location, and the site will take you to local group’s homepage (sponsored by Yahoo Groups) where you can browse current listings of free stuff or post your own.

Making greener choices throughout your life

Sustainablog: So you made the commitment to living a greener lifestyle. But where do you even begin? If you’re looking for information on how to make your home or business more sustainable, Sustainablog provides a huge database of products designed to help you live a greener lifestyle, including products in or a variety of different categories, such as home & garden, bed & bath, health & fitness, eco child, clothing, cleaning and food. Sustainablog has it all – where else would you be able to find eco friendly staplers, green bedding, eco laundry products and a fair trade basketball all in one place?

Get informed and take action

Treehugger is another great resource if you’re looking to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. It’s a green news site with daily newsletters, blogs, videos, an online community and more. If going green is a completely new concept for you, visit Treehugger to get educated on all the issues and trends, from green fashion to sustainable energy. Nielsen rated the site the best sustainability blog in 2007.

Connect with people, organizations and causes

Care2 is an online community devoted to those who want to make a difference in the world. The site has four main sections: causes and news (with info about causes such as global warming, animal welfare, etc.), healthy and green living, take action (where you can find causes that need volunteers, create and sign petitions) and an online community. If you’ve decided to live a more sustainable lifestyle this year, consider joining this social networking site to learn about what you can be doing and meet others with similar goals.

And there’s more:

Not satisfied yet? Here are some other sites to check out:

Terrapass: site provides tips on how to stop global warming by reducing your carbon footprint. The website even has a cool carbon footprint calculator.

WikiaGreen: Launched by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, WikiaGreen is an open-source online community for the environmentally conscious. Think of it as the Wikipedia for green-minded people, with its content written from an environmental focus and featuring a call to action.

Skin Deep Cosmetic Database: Very specific site, but one of my favorites. One of my best friends from college showed me this site – it provides a database of all the cosmetics, creams, lotions, etc. that you could use and ranks them by how many chemicals they have, testing on animals, etc. You can search by product, ingredient or company and learn more about if the makeup you’re using is just as sustainable as you think!