August 24th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that it will become increasingly fashionable, practical and accepted to do away with your perfectly coiffed green velvet, water-sucking, chemically dependent lawn…and replace it with…a vegetable garden!

I’m not saying the neighbors will rush into your newly composted, tomato and potato plot with tambourines or anything, just that they might not file a homeowner’s association complaint.

There are just too many trendsetters in this arena for the concept of literally laying down roots to not take hold.

Remember the Eat the View campaign? A modest kitchen gardener in Maine and his like-minded buddies pushed through a petition with some 100,000 signers convincing the Obamas to convert some turf to veggie gardening at the White House. The presidential garden, although still surrounded by fields of grass, has been warmly watched by veggie gardeners and struck just the right note in this year of economic hardship.

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May 1st, 2009

By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

Is there any more emotional moment on TV than when you hear the words “Driver! Move that bus!”?

Admit it, you love it. That’s host Ty Pennington’s climactic moment on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition every Sunday, when a family in need sees – for the first time — the beautiful, brand new house that has replaced their dilapidated, crowded or otherwise inadequate home.

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April 8th, 2009

By Harriet Blake

Going green” may be all the rage these days, whether it’s at a school, hospital, office or municipality. At Solomon Schechter School in Westchester County, N.Y., “green” has been part of the philosophy from the start.

Founded in 1966, the conservative Jewish day school serves nearly 1,000 students. It incorporates the environment not just in the curriculum but in every day life, says chief operating officer Rahel Rosner.

“Our philosophy is based on the Hebrew expression “Min Ha’ Aretz,” meaning “with the earth,” she says.

“We’ve always lived with the earth, “ says Rosner, explaining that it is part of the Jewish culture. The K-12 school has two campuses – one located in White Plains for K-6; the other located in Hartsdale for 7-12. Each site is comprised of about 24 acres that are heavily wooded and well-maintained for nature walks.

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