Last night, I enjoyed a lovely evening out for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Planet Earth Live show at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Images of wildlife, seasons, Mt Everest, and the tundra were beautifully accompanied by the Orchestra’s music. Some of the most beautiful scenes were of caves (who knew you could skydive into some of them?!?) and the polar bears playing were definitely drawing ‘oohs & ahhs from the crowd. Composer George Fenton set up each piece by previewing why each location was significant and what we’d be seeing next.
What was more fitting was that this show took place in the open air Mann Center on a beautiful summer night… and the Mann recently launched a new green initiative to celebrate 75 years of music in the park!
Green changes the Mann has implemented include:
The recent heat waves have me humming Will Smith’s “Summertime” and The Lovin Spoonful’s “Hot Summer in the City” embarrassingly often…
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest it’s time to share some summer appropriate bbqing advice…
Grill wisely : Choose a electric or clean-burning propane grill over the charcoal variety. Charcoal is a major cause of poor air quality. If you must use charcoal go for brands harvested from sustainable forests.
Feast on earth-friendly eats…
Books from childhood (some read by teachers) have the power to stay etched in our memories forever. For me it’s books like Where the Wild Things Are, the Amelia Bedelia series and Little Women to name a few that I can still quote lines from to this day.
The Greenzys by the reputable children’s author Danielle Mentzer just hit shelves on Earth day 2010 and is a story with a message worth remembering. Greenzys is an “eco-friendly, literary-based brand” that parents and teachers alike should be happy to promote.
When GreenPhillyBlog was given an advanced copy of Greenzys to review I was pretty stoked. I love reading – kids book included! My take on the Greenzys book?
When I spotted “Confessions of an Eco-Sinner” at the local library, I was wary of a green-washing book However, I skimmed the brief summary and gave this book a read – I’m quite glad I did! Although my friends & family may be sick of me continuously spouting things I learned, I can’t get enough.
Fred Pearce is a British author who decided to track down where various items he uses originate, how they’re created and what the impact is on both the local inhabits & environment. For example, he follows the birth of his wedding band into the gold mines of Witwatersrand, Africa (by Johannesburg). He checks to see if his ‘Fair Trade” Coffee and cotton are actually “fair trade” – (which is quite complex).
Here are just a few fascinating takeaways I learned:
Who would have guessed she has a “Big Love” for the environment too?
“Being eco-friendly makes you feel good about yourself. Who cares if people call you a hippie?”
-Chloë Sevigny, of Big Love Fame
That’s not all – she lists her green habits as…
Sunday is Hollywood’s biggest night of the year: Academy Award time! 
Here are a few of the films with an environmental message to watch out for:
The Skinny Bitch herself came to Philly to talk about the “V” word. 
Kim Barnouin, author of Skinny Bitch, discussed Veganism and her popular best-seller last evening at the Free Library of Philadelphia. She brought up some interesting topics including: the often controversial tone of Skinny Bitch (She & co-author Rory talk like that in ‘real life’. Plus, America’s in a food crisis: we need “Tough Love”, not babying); the increased awareness of Veganism (the book came out 4 years ago and we’re now seeing veganism popularized by Kind Diet and more); organic foods and protein to name a few.
Kim also brought up the environmental impact of animal-based food. The carbon footprint is huge:
I can’t believe I haven’t gushed about this book yet!
Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet hit shelves this past October and it’s on my list of top five reads (and cookbooks) of last year. Silverstone’s candid yet gentle tone makes it an enjoyable read. And, it’s packed with delicious, vegan recipes.
The book discusses what Alicia calls “nasty “(think dairy, meat and sugar) foods and explains why they’re harmful to the body. Her approach isn’t as
Get Social With Us!
