If You Know a Restaurant Owner...

We just found out about this company called Upstate Wine Co., wholesalers of NYS wine (there's some good stuff out there, in fact you can get some at Greenmarkets across the city). Their mission is to only carry wines harvested, produced, and bottled in Upstate New York, to minimize environmental impact, and to choose only the highest quality, award winning wines for patrons in New York City. Currently we are representing Thirsty Owl Wine Co. and Atwater Vineyards, and will be picking up more wineries in July.

So if you have a friend that owns a restaurant, why not recommend they start sourcing locally (cuts down their carbon footprint and supports regional agriculture!)

Learn More.

For You Birds Out There...

Sheri Ann Richerson, expert gardener and co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening (ISBN: 9781592579709, February 2010, $19.95) will field gardening questions live from her garden via a video Twitter chat Thursday, May 27 at 11:00 am CT. Log on to Twitter and search #AskCIG to participate. Please include #AskCIG in all questions. Take an early look at the live feed of Richerson’s garden at Experimentalhomesteader.com.

Have fun and keep up the gardening!

Onward.

Help Out Gowanus Canal Conservancy This Saturday!

"Please join us for our next event on Sunday May 23 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. We will be located on Degraw Street @ Bond Street (west side of the canal). We will be cleaning up trash, debris, weeding, pruning, planting, and mulching GreenStreets beds and beginning work on a small sidewalk garden project. We recently received 100+ plant donations from Pleasant Run Nursery located in Allentown, NJ which we will be installing around the canal throughout the season! We hope that you will join us as we work to Clean & Green the streets of the canal and the community...

You must wear closed shoes; we suggest you wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt. Tools and gloves will be provided but if you have heavy-duty work gloves or specific clean up/gardening tools that you'd like to use, please feel free to bring them (make sure they are labeled with your name). Please bring drinking water for yourself. To volunteer for the May 23rd event please email: volunteer@gowanuscanalconservancy.org or call us at (718) 541-4378. Volunteers under age 18 must have a parent or guardian on site to sign a release and available to supervise them (please call if you need more information)."

Urban Garden Challenge Dispatches

From our friend Micki J., co-founder of UFT Green Schools Committee. Check out her blog.

"I'm trying to garden in my backyard in Flatbush (got the compost cooking at least, but the squirrels are totally tormenting me by digging up whatever I plant!!)... but even better I have my 9th graders gardening at our local nyrp garden in Williamsburg. We have okra, peppers and tomatoes growing in reused yogurt containers reclaimed from the Park Slope Food Coops Plastic Recycling Shift (we drilled holes in the bottom)..."

Attention Williamsburg Garden Enthusiasts

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN. The North Brooklyn Gardening Club - launched by Town Square Inc. - just had its first meeting and will be dedicated to nurturing budding plant and flower enthusiasts as well as a place for experienced gardeners and designers to share their knowledge. Whether your garden is big, small, or simply a window box, and whether you know a lot, a little, or nothing about gardening and flowers, all are welcome.

Future events may include garden tours, seed and plant swaps, a fall harvest contest.

Learn More.

One Bag One Earth

These guys' business cards have been sitting on a Brooklyn Green Team desk for about two months. this company One Bag One Earth makes bags similar to chico-bags, but here's how they difer

"We're trying to get to a place where all the materials we use are either recycled from other waste (like RPET, a fiber spun from recycled plastic bottles) or made out of existing materials that are sitting there doing nothing or on deck for the trash dump. We've come up with a new quest that is truly looking for mileage: go find premium materials that already exist so we don't light the fires of manufacturing to create new ones. This ultimately keeps us (and you) treading lighter on our precious resources. While the creation of materials has its impact, it doesn't do anyone any good if what was created just winds up in the dump, especially if it's not recyclable.

So here's our deal: we're currently combing through textiles and fabrics that some factories aren't using. The materials we choose are only of the finest quality. Then we apply a healthy dose of love, sewing them into something that looks good, and that people should use every day, instead of churning through disposable bags that serve no one in the long run."

very cute bag, they fold up very small. we probably all have more totes than we can use but if you or someone you know is using plastic at the grocery store, a couple of these in your purse/messenger bag/man bag/fanny pack/wagon wouldn't hurt to have on hand.

learn more about one bag one earth.

Duane Reade Gets Into the Act

So NY based drug store chain Duane Reade has wised up to demand for better options. We recently spotted some eco-friendly products at the store like method laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, recycled tp, ecostore brand lotions, organic cotton tampons, recycled aluminum foil (which we ALL should be using) and organic snacks. So while we of course think it's best to either make your own cleaning solutions or to refill your shampoo and lotion at the 4th St Co-op, it's still nice to know that when you're in a bind, you can get something that won't pollute the river when you rinse it down the drain!

The World's First LED for the World's Most Common Lightbulb

Philips Unveils the World’s First LED Replacement for the 60 Watt Incandescent Bulb – The Most Common Household Light Royal Philips Electronics unveiled today the world’s first LED replacement for a 60 watt incandescent light bulb. For the first time, consumers will now have an alternative to replace their most common household light bulb with a viable LED replacement that will deliver up to 80% energy savings and last 25 times longer. The new lamps will be available for sales in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of this year.

Why should we care?

• Replacing 60-watt bulbs (when they run out we suggest) with LEDs will help eliminate 5.6 million tons of carbon emissions annually.
• The new lamp will give the same soft white light and similar shape they are accustomed to with an incandescent bulb.
• Latest technology will deliver up to 80% energy savings and could save households $120 per bulb in electricity costs
• An LED Bulb can last 15-20 years based on average use (4-8 hrs per day)

good news.
click here to watch the video.

Green News Round-Up, compiled by Rebeccah Welch

How “Transit-Oriented Development” Will Put More New Yorkers in Cars [Gotham Gazette]

Lead Poisoning - A Stubborn Nemisis [NY Times]

Trial of Officer Accused of Assaulting Cyclist to Begin Today [NY 1]

Population Boom Clogs Staten Island Roads [Staten Island Advance]

More Than 200,000 a Day Now Cycling [NY Times]

Alewife Herring Found in Bronx River [Daily News]

Borough President Calls DOT Commissioner a Bike "Zealot" [Daily News]

Spending Freeze Deals Another Blow to Ailing Roads and Bridges (Gotham Gazette]

PlaNYC at Three: Time to Include the Neighborhoods [Gotham Gazette]

Plan to Make 34th Street More Pedestrian Friendly [NY Times)

Flip the 'Switch' [Game- Gotham Gazette]

An Index of Open Space [Report- New Yorkers for Parks]

PlaNYC 2030 Progress Report [Report-PlaNYC 2030]

Gillibrand Wants More Grocery Stores [Crain's]

New Laws Would Expand City’s Recycling Program [NYT]

Don't Trash Your Corks!

According to our friends at GrowNYC, you can drop your wine corks (only the natural cork ones) to any Whole Foods store! They will be made into new products by Jelinek Cork group. Good news.