Greener Thanksgiving!

Would you like to have your kids help you create a green Thanksgiving centerpiece? It's easier than you might think. SustainLane Lifestyle Editor, Reenita Malhotra Hora shows you how. For more tips on green living ideas, visit Greener Milwaukee's Community Site HERE

National Geographic Green Guide & Turkey Tips...

The real history of Thanksgiving isn’t quite as simple as Squanto feeding the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony. Throughout early American history, colonists declared thanksgiving celebrations to mark safe landings in the New World, political and military successes as well as successful harvests. Thanksgiving Day didn’t become a national holiday until 1863 when President Lincoln proclaimed a day of thanks, not for the harvest but for the stability of society in spite of the Civil War.

Despite the history, the simple story we should be teaching to our kids is that Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful for the harvest—the local harvest that takes place right near our homes. We should be thankful not just for the delicious food on our tables but for all the benefits that local growers contribute to our lives and our country. The health of our nation and each one of us rests on the wellbeing of small family farms. When those prosper, our environment, economy and families all share in the good fortune.

Ninety-seven percent of Americans serve turkey as the centerpiece of their Thanksgiving meal, and although there are scores of recipes for roasting a whole turkey, there really isn’t as much variation as you might expect. The variety on our tables comes from >>>MORE

Milwaukee Green Map & Links

Whether you're a bicyclist who wants to locate interesting bike trails, or a resident looking for a natural clothes cleaner with water-based alternatives to chemicals for dry cleaning, Matthew Groshek's Green Map of Milwaukee has a site for you.

For two years, Groshek, a graphic designer who operates the Education / Design Link on the east side, has been developing a Green Map of Milwaukee County. In this case, green isn't just a color on a map, but a symbol of ecological awareness and conservation.

The Green Map highlights about 400 environmentally or ecologically significant places, such as community gardens, farmers markets, recycling centers, green stores and nature paths. HERE

The greenest line of notebooks?

How to Put Bike Chains on your Tires

(Milwaukee, WI)
Putting chains on your tires is illegal just about everywhere but rural American because of the damage snow chains can do to paved roads. No such restriction exists for bicycles, nor will you likely find a bike with enough weight to do any damage with chains on the tires! If you're braving a commute or keeping up a fitness routine via bicycle this winter, there is an excellent tutorial at cycling enthusiast blog Mountain Bike Riders to help you chain your tires and keep going strong through the winter. A quick trip to your workshop bins or the local hardware store for braided chain, wire and zip ties will get you started. The tutorial's author spent a scant $13.66 to outfit his bike, a significant savings over the cost of your average ER visit. For more season-appropriate biking tips, check out more articles on the original post, here.

Green Resource: Milwaukee's Office of Environmental Sustainability

Milwaukee
Office of Environmental
Sustainability

The Milwaukee Office of Sustainability was created by Mayor to Barrett to position Milwaukee as a leader in environmental sustainability and performance in the 21st Century. The Office is charged with coordinating efforts to improve Milwaukee's water quality, reduce energy consumption, and stimulate economic development in the green technology sector. The Office of Sustainability emerged from the community input received from the Milwaukee Green Team, commissioned by Mayor Barrett in 2004. Visit today!

President Elect Promises Green Jobs

President Elect Barack Obama's Historic first You Tube address speaks about change and green jobs totalling up to 5 million jobs or more.