• Five vegetarian entrees for the Thanksgiving table

• Don’t run afoul on Thanksgiving, buy humanely raised, veg-fed turkeys

• Thinking turkey: Don’t panic, there’s still time to buy organic

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

It’s been a little over a year since I went to see the smart fortwo at a Dallas stop on the traveling road show that preceded its sales in the U.S.  I was wowed by the brightly painted, road-hugging micro cars with their cozy seats, wide-view windshields and buggy like demeanor.

More significantly, I remember the wide range of people in line for the test drive: a neurosurgeon who wanted a commuting car; an avid golfer who wanted to make sure his irons fit in the trunk; a mother shopping for her teenager and a mechanic from the Mercedes service department across the parking lot who was looking on behalf of the entire crew with whom he worked.

The Mercedes mechanic thought the smart fortwo, manufactured by Daimler AG, would be affordable (it is) and reliable (it’s got a track record in 37 countries).

Apparently, Americans agree. A new report on the Smart shows that it sold 20,000 units in its first 10 months on the ground in the United States. Those sales were helped, no doubt, by those who signed up on waiting lists in 2007. And the economic derailment this fall probably didn’t hurt the smart fortwo, which retails for $12.000 to $17,000, the way it kick-boxed expensive SUVs and other gas guzzlers.

The strong sales mean that the U.S. is now the third biggest market for the European-style car, behind Germany and Italy.

The smart fortwo gets terrific gas mileage at 41 mpg, of course it is just a two-seater, and it has won EPA designation as the most energy-efficient non-hybrid car. But its reliance solely on gasoline means it carbon emissions can only go so low. Will there be a hybrid version for the U.S. (a micro hybrid drive is available in Europe)? When we asked Smart USA president Dave Schembri last fall, he didn’t rule it out.

The “Smart” folks, fortunately, are aware of their potential for even greater greeness. The news release today announced that a fleet of 100 electric smart fortwos are being tested in London.

Copyright © 2008 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

The Thanksgiving feast. It evokes such fond food memories. Even vegetarians and vegans are often pleased with the variety of veggie sides that cover their plate on this commemoration. (Not to mention the pumpkin or pecan pie that precedes the well-deserved, holiday nap.)

Still, this is a meal firmly and conspicuously arranged around a meat. Vegetarians aren’t necessarily getting a well-rounded dinner. Not to carb about it. Chances are they like whipped potatoes as much as the next person. But there’s a lot more a home chef can do to accommodate non-meat diners at the holidays by simply putting a veggie dish on the table that packs more heft, and a little more protein (not that we want to resurrect any debates over protein at this time).

So to accommodate the vegetarians and/or vegans at your holiday buffet, here are five hearty, seasonal dishes that rely on locally grown veggies gathered from real chefs around the country. (The first four are vegan.)

For those of you who want to try eating a more plant-based diet, these recipes will work on the day after T-giving as well. In fact, they’re just good fall and winter entrees. [Read more →]

By Tim Sanders
Saving the World at Work

Here’s an excerpt from my new book, Saving The World At Work:

Many employees spend their entire work life under artificial lights. This situation can affect their moods as well as their performance.  A landmark 2003 study for the Environmental Protection Agency by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute found that natural light improves an employee’s vision, function, and productivity, but most important, mood — it wards off depression and alleviates job stress.

In their book Cradle to Cradle, William McDonough and Michael Braungart talk about a new Herman Miller furniture factory that was redesigned with bigger windows and skylights, allowing sunshine to pour into the entire workspace. The employees’ mood improved immediately, and so did productivity. [Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

There’s science, and there’s applied science. Here’s some interesting applied science: Nanobamas. OK. We get that everything’s Obama right now. Obama-drama. Obama-rama. But nanobamas?

The scoop: John Hart, an assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department at the University of Michigan wants to expand our understanding of nanotechnology, which could be vital to developing better solar cells and batteries, disease treatments and the continuing perfecting of computer processors. Solar power could benefit from nano-thinking and already is, with experimental fabrics and even spray-on solar particles under development that could collect the sun’s energy wherever they go.

So who better to raise the profile of nanotech than the latest president elect?

Each tiny Barack Obama is smaller than a grain of salt. The images were based on Shepard Fairey’s red, white and blue poster of the president-elect. Scientists used lasers, glass plates and silicon wafers to miniaturize the picture, then grew the nanotubes on the pattern. Then they photographed the results under high magnification with an electron microscope.

And yes, that’s weird and a little scary that nanotubes grow.

Every portrait contains a mind-boggling 150 million carbon nanotubes “stacked vertically like trees in a forest,” according to a statement on these presidential electrons and protons. And the construction is drum-tight, with each carbon nanotube being very strong — and small, about 1/50,000th the width of a human hair.

That’s nano nano. Sure, jokes come to mind. Let’s just say we hope this is more foreshadowing of a mighty, new energy future, and not a metaphor for our shrinking economy.

(To read about nanotechnology see the U.S. government website, National Nanotechnology Initiative.)

Copyright © 2008 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now

The benefits of a rooftop garden are not only environmental, but extend to the human spirit. At the Ulfelder Healing Garden atop Massachusetts General Hospital’s Yawkey Cancer Center, those benefits are realized.

The 6,300-square-foot foliage-filled healing garden gives cancer patients and their families a much-needed retreat and helps the hospital conserve energy at the same time. It is just one of the many Boston sites included on tours during this week’s GreenBuild International Conference, a large annual gathering of builders and remodellers sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Bringing green design into health care and hospital building is a growing trend across the U.S.. At Dell Children’s Medical Center, which opened in Austin, Texas in 2007, green has been the focus from the ground up. In fact, says spokesperson Matilda Sanchez, the hospital is waiting to hear if they have achieved “platinum status” in the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program sponsored by the USGBC. Among the many green elements at Dell is a four-story interior healing garden with a waterfall that starts on the top floor, as well as a three-acre healing garden with a labyrinth that can be seen from many of the hospital rooms.

“Dell is setting the bar for hospital buildings,” says Sanchez. “While we were still under construction, many other hospitals looked at what we were doing. There was even a delegation from Australia who came to get ideas.” [Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

If you’re planning a traditional Thanksgiving, you’ll be needing a bird. This year, organic and pastured turkeys are more available than ever. Check your local grocery now, and get on a list if need be. If you really want to try something new, reserve an heirloom variety bird or try one that’s been pre-soaked in brine.

Here are some places to look for a turkey that’s been raised on organic feed, and allowed a more humane existence.

• Local Harvest — If you’re into local heirloom turkeys or other pedigree varieties you may be too late! But don’t beat yourself up over it, local farmers in Texas have told us that many connoisseurs place their orders months ahead of time. Still, there’s a flock of healthier birds waiting. You can order free-range, pastured, organic turkeys online and have them shipped. You’ll pay for the privilege of all those hormone-free, pesticide-free certifications — from $150 to $250 a bird. But these are BIG birds, and they’re freer of chemicals than you are, having been fed organic foods, no additives and animal byproducts. Local Harvest can also direct you to local farmers that sell direct to the public. The online marketplace also offers a panoply of pesticide-free fruits and veggies, including the requisite Thanksgiving cranberries.

[Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler

Wildlife habitats might not have the same impact on global warming as electric cars, but they help hold down corners of nature that are threatened by climate change, human development and the contamination of outdoor spaces.

So raise a toast to Anheuser-Busch, which has been supporting wildlife conservation for many years and can now boast of hosting ten wildlife habitats certified by the Wildlife at Work, a program of the Wildlife Habitat Council.

The St. Louis-based company touted this benchmark in a news statement this week that outlined the ways in which its wildlife refuges support nature: They provide alligators a place to hang out at the brewer’s farm ponds in Jacksonville, Fla. (employees have adjusted); support pollinators at a garden in a Georgia rice mill and allow peregrine falcons to roost atop a malt house in Manitowoc, Wisc. [Read more →]