Sustainable Travels

What would you do with 50,000+ beer cans? One man turned them into his house.

When you think of the Midwest you may not immediately think "hip vegan cafes." I certainly didn't. The truth is some of my Midwest dining experiences have been challenging as someone who doesn't eat any meat or poultry. When I found out I would be spending a significant amount of time in Cleveland, Ohio I wondered what a veggie loving lady was to do... Cleveland offers an impressive restaurant scene with big-time restaurateurs like Michael Symon of The Chew and Rocco Whalen each providing several four star restaurants. But, during my time in this city I've noticed that they loooove their pig - and put it on everything from greens to fish.

I spent this past weekend blissed out listening to the vocal stylings of some of my favorite bands at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. There's not many things I love more than live music so it was one those ideal summer getaways. The lineup included Passion Pit, Santigold, The Black Keys, Of Monsters and Men, Jack White and Philly's Dr. Dog. So, how did the festivals green efforts fare? Click through to find out!

Over the past few weeks I was very fortunate to enjoy a blissful vacation in Hawaii. I fell in love with surfing, the unbelievably fresh local food and the incredible landscape. The combination of the crystal aquamarine ocean and the huge, expansive mountains was in a word, gorgeous. We visited Maui, Kauai, and Waikiki - and enjoyed a bit of a different experience on each island. I was so excited to take advantage of the terrain in our first stop, Maui, I immediately booked a hike through the rain forest. Equipped with backpacks filled with water, lunch and bug spray our friendly tour guide led us to wilderness. I anticipated it would be interesting but I had no idea that we'd learn so much. Here's some of the learning and findings from our Hawaiian rain forest experience...

A few weekends ago, I found myself in Pittsburgh for my friend's wedding and had time on Saturday morning to explore. Wanting to find Pittsburgh's green side, I received recommendations from Twitter friends Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project and Ali Shapiro for Phipps Conservatory. Dating back to 1893, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is set in Pittsburgh greenspace Schenley Park, right in eyesight of University of Pittsburgh (and the Cathedral of Learning). All of the exhibits are... (Find out more about Phipps, after the jump!)

Welcome to our new monthly series, City Spotlight, where we feature green goodness in cities across the nation and globe. Here you'll find ideas for great vegan and veg restaurants, cool eco-sites and shops, and other worthy attractions for when you venture beyond Philly - and the Jersey Shore ;) My recent and upcoming travels have prompted me to share some of my favorite haunts, and we hope you'll share yours as well whether in the comments or via email. Today let's talk about NYC - the city where you can get anything you want anytime of day. And, that includes off the charts vegan dining options. I enjoy a lot of vegan restaurants when I'm in Manhattan including Blossom, Peacefood Cafe, Pure Food & Wine (all raw!) and v-note. However, my first choice go-to picks are sister restaurants Candle 79 & Candle Cafe. They focus on local, seasonal vegan fare and use organic ingredients whenever possible. Click through to find out what makes these spots special!

Ever since I read the eco-thriller "Eye of the Whale", I've wanted to see whales in the flesh. The fictional novel is fascinating, as it’s full of true whale facts and habits. And I knew I HAD to see a little blowhole sooner than later... When I saw a Philly Dealyo deal for Whale Watching in Cape May, I was almost suspicious that whales wouldn't cross the dirty jersey seas. However, I was quite pleased to find out they did! Five of my friends from an Avalon shorehouse and I decided to embark on the 2.5 hour tour from Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center at 9:30 on Saturday morning. (Find out more & see sweet sea pics, after the jump!)

Crazy Brits - How England Entices to Recycle: Could it work for Philly?

Only 7% of Americans have tried to measure their carbon footprint, according to the Sacred Heart University Polling Center. Use this handy calculator to measure your carbon footprint: Get the CoolClimate Carbon Footprint Calculator widget and many other great free...