By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Planning a low-impact, money-saving Halloween is so much more rewarding than trying to turn some other holidays green. You don’t have to argue with relatives about whether or not to have a turkey, or disappoint the kids with gifts to humanitarian causes in their names at Christmas. All you really need to do is think creatively, get holistic about your pumpkin, maybe dust off the sewing machine and take it easy at the store.

Here are our best nine ideas to help you get started.

Halloween Chico Bag

[Read more →]

By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now

As you sort through which Disney character your child will be and find the candy of choice for the trick-or-treaters, add some green to this year’s Halloween. From candy to pumpkins, there are many ways to make this holiday eco-friendly.

[Read more →]

By Tom Kessler
Green Right Now

Adam Archer thinks the world would be a much better place if people would only spend more time playing games on their computers and mobile phones. And he may just be right.

Archer, the founder and CEO of GamesThatGive, has a simple but compelling proposition: You sign on to play casual games on the site, designate a charity you want to support, and then sit back and have 70 percent of the revenue from advertising on those games go to your charity.

[Read more →]

By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

They’re soft and cute with big round eyes, lamb-like faces, long necks and semi-fixed smiles. Bigger than a dog, smaller than a horse, an alpaca has all that, plus it may be the most environmentally correct animal on the planet.

[Read more →]

By Clint Williams and Sommer Saadi
Green Right Now

Sustainability and nature appreciation walk hand in hand. But surprisingly, there are still just a few U.S. vacation venues lodged lightly in nature’s embrace. If you want to “go green” you can camp out all over North America, but you can’t necessarily find a hotel that hugs the woods (or the beach) and boasts full green credentials and white linen service.

Here are a handful of green getaways that nestle nature, but don’t necessarily involve nesting with nature. We set the bar fairly low, requiring that these hotels have mattresses, hot food, indoor showers, and a LEED rating of some sort. We begin with Callaway Gardens, a great place to enjoy a respite from urban hustle amid botanical delights.

[Read more →]

From Green Right Now Reports

The USL First Division’s Minnesota Thunder presents the “Thunder Goes Green Night” Thursday with discount tickets for those people who bike to the game. Also, the first 750 people will receive a Blue Sky Guide, a coupon book that has $3,000 in discounts to sustainable businesses in the Twin Cities Metro area. The soccer club will be handing out info about the Minnesota Energy Challenge and the Minnesota Center for Energy and Environment.

Game begins at 7:05 p.m. at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn. Fans who bike to the game get $2 off tickets. There will be eco-friendly activities and information. Anyone who pre-orders tickets with the promotion code ECO also will receive $2 off. There is only 1 discount per customer and fans must call in to get the discount: (763) 390-8324. It’s also Thirsty Thursday with discounted beers for 15 minutes after a Thunder goal.

[Read more →]

From Green Right Now Reports

Fashion Institute of Technology student Jessica Velasquez can soon cycle in style, her own style, after winning a contest to design a jacket, poncho and bag suitable for fashion-conscious bike commuters.

Her winning designs for the “Bike in Style” contest were unveiled this week as the city launched its Summer Streets program, which promotes biking and walking.

[Read more →]

From Green Right Now Reports:

The New York Botanical Garden, historically green by nature, is helping New Yorkers cultivate ever greener ways. This summer it is featuring “edible evenings,” a celebration of home-grown food with tips from chefs and help for getting kids involved in gardening.

[Read more →]

By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

Golf courses and environmentalists have had – and still have – a rather rocky relationship.

The land that courses are built on and their impact on habitats has been fiercely debated. As huge users of pesticides, fertilizers and water, golf courses have faced criticism for fouling the environment with chemical-filled runoff, potentially harming humans and wildlife and wasting huge quantities of precious water, even in drought-plagued areas.

[Read more →]

By John DeFore
Green Right Now

Somewhere in between the sleep-away camps, beach excursions and baseball games of summer, kids and parents alike generally see the appeal of the sand-free floors and refrigerated air of a good museum. Institutions across the country know this is a great time to squeeze some education into kid-friendly, entertaining exhibitions; here’s a list of some of the best nature-oriented attractions for vacationers who’ve felt a bit too much heat this month.

[Read more →]

By Christopher Peake
Green Right Now

Aquariums are wonderful places to spend a summer day: if the weather is cool you can stay outdoors, if it’s hot there are indoor exhibits. Menacing sharks, beautifully-colored fish, gliding sea turtles, manta rays, sea snakes, sea horses, penguins and birds and river otters and performing orcas and porpoises all represent what is most beautiful and exciting about the waters of Planet Earth.

But they also represent a world that is disappearing quicker than we thought possible, and this is where aquariums hold a key to the future of water creatures.

Aquariums have realized that they must conduct research and they must also show us what is alive, what is dying and what we can do to balance it all. And so they tie their exhibits and their activities back to conservation, and tell us how we can help.

[Read more →]

By John DeFore
Green Right Now

This June may have given New Yorkers an unseasonably rainy stretch crummy enough to keep them inside whenever possible, but it has also delivered a novel way to exploit the rare sunny day: A new park built upon industrial ruins, sustained by both citizens and government, and (to judge from its opening week) enjoyed by all.

Known as The High Line, the park sits upon a long stretch of elevated train track running down the west side of the city’s lower end. The nearly 80 year-old tracks once carried freight through industrial areas, running straight through some warehouses to allow for easy loading and unloading of goods.

[Read more →]