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So what exactly is "Going Green"? It is
ensuring that one's impact on the environment is as minimal (or as positive) as possible.
Simple!
Fun, helpful green living tips:
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Bay Area Green Resources
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ECOLOGY CENTER - www.ecologycenter.org
This is your one-stop ecoshop for green resources in the Bay Area. Want to know
how to convert your home to solar power or learn how to compost, garden, or use
nontoxic pest control? The Ecology Center has answers and classes. Want to go
biodiesel? Visit the Berkeley Biodiesel Collective, one of the center's
sponsored projects. The center also runs Berkeley's curbside recycling program,
prints Terrain magazine, and publishes an eco-calendar of green events and
classes in the Bay Area.
2530 San Pablo, Berk. (510) 548-2220
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GREEN ZEBRA -
www.thegreenzebra.org
"We started the Green Zebra as a way for consumers to start enjoying nearby
environmentally conscious businesses," founder Anne Vollen says of Green
Zebra's coupon book, which offers 300-plus pages of discounts on green
restaurants, spas, travel, cultural activities, and much more. "But we've
had such an enormous response from businesses and buyers alike that it's become
a virtual directory of all the green-minded things the Bay Area has to
offer."
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GREEN CITIZEN - www.greencitizen.com
Don't let your used electronics go to e-waste. Green Citizen recycles
obsolete and unwanted computers, CDs, cell phones, batteries, printers, and TVs
(among other media-related things) and helps you hook up with institutions and
programs in need of them. Can't lift that antique monitor? Green Citizen also
offers pickup service.
591 Howard, SF (and various locations). (415) 287-0000
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PLAN-IT HARDWARE - www.planithardware.com
Buildings consume a third of the country's energy; substantially reducing
that usage amount is possible through mindful construction and design.
Plan-It Hardware is a green-focused, San Francisco–based hardware and home
improvement distributor with hundreds of products and ideas for making your home
greener, including environmentally conscious paint, weather stripping, flooring,
gardening tools, and plumbing fixtures.
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BAUER'S WORLDWIDE TRANSPORTATION - www.icars.cc
Eco-friendly limo. Sounds like another term for "VW Vanagon full of
hippies going to the prom," doesn't it? But in the case of SF-based
Bauer's, it isn't anything close. Bauers' 120 electric, biodiesel, and
compressed-propane-powered shuttles and cars may be the largest fleet of
eco-friendly vehicles in the U.S., but they aren't lacking for luxury. Stretch
and hybrid limo-style vehicles, including the 2007 Lexus RX 400H SUV hybrid,
come equipped with leather seats, Wifi, high end CD and DVD systems, LCD
monitors for presentations, and even ports to plug in your iPod or phone. That's
a long way from van benches soaked with bong water.
Pier 27, SF; (800) LIMO-OUT
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TREE FROG TREKS - www.treefrogtreks.com
Pry your rug rats away from those glowing screens and aim them at something
natural. With Tree Frog's programs, kids can go tide-pooling at Duxbury Reef,
take a nature hike on Twin Peaks, and get creepy-crawly at Frog Hall with
"Ross's Ravenous Reptiles!" program. There they'll meet Bully the
bullfrog, Sid the snake, and Cletus the three-toed box turtle.
2112 Hayes, SF. (415) 876-3764
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THIMMAKKA -
www.thimmakka.org
Wanna eat green? Thimmakka's Resources for Environmental Education, a
registered nonprofit, helps restaurants and bars get green certification — and
also helps consumers find them through its comprehensive Web site.
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WORLD CHANGING -
www.worldchanging.com
World Changing's Web site presents itself as a forum for figuring out how
technology can be used to preserve and improve our world rather than destroy it.
Read about and comment on digital houses; the 200 shared bikes of Barcelona,
Spain; and state-of-the-art hydroturbines.
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SCRAP - scrap-sf.org
Pablo Picasso once declared himself "king of the ragpickers." Some
of his most amazing art was made from found objects — other people's trash.
Since 1976, SCRAP (the Scroungers' Center for Reusable Art Parts) has been
helping ragpickers get art materials. The center operates a store and offers
workshops on basket weaving, lamp rewiring, and other useful recyclables skills.
834 Toland, SF. (415) 647-1746
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BEDBUSTERS - www.bedbusters.com
Don't just throw your old mattress on the street, leaving it to collect
rainwater, dirt, fleas, and other unsavory grime. Bedbusters guarantees that
your mattress will avoid the landfill, its steel springs and other materials
will be recycled, and your conscience will be clear, for a reasonable fee.
(415) 516-5865
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NATURE IN THE CITY - www.natureinthecity.org
Think you have to go to Yosemite or Point Reyes to commune with nature? Think
again. This organization is all about teaching San Franciscans how to recognize
and care for the indigenous plants and animals living in our urban landscape —
or as some call it, the Franciscan bioregion (from San Bruno Mountain to the
Golden Gate Bridge). Check out the Web site to learn more, join a stewardship
effort, and find green events.
(415) 564-4107
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GARDEN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT - www.gardenfortheenvironment.org
Realize whirled peas (and carrots and broccoli) with help from Garden for the
Environment, a nationally acclaimed program that teaches organic gardening,
urban composting, and sustainable food systems at community workshops, the
Gardening and Composting Educator Training program, outreach programs for local
schools, and a one-acre urban demonstration garden. Plus, most classes and
workshops are free.
780 Frederick, SF. (415) 731-5627
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LIVABLE CITY - www.livablecity.org
Everything you ever wanted to know about living car-free in the city. Part
resource, part activist organization, Livable City hosts workshops on walking,
biking, and using public transit, as well as advocates for parking reform,
better street planning, and the creation of a landscaped greenway to connect
parts of the city.
995 Market, SF. (415) 344-0489
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SF ENVIRONMENT -
www.sfenvironment.com
An extensive and well-designed green resource guide for the city, this
government Web site has information on everything from where to recycle toner
cartridges and mercury thermometers to how to dispose of asbestos and
biohazardous waste. (Choose the item in the easy "ecofindeRRR" box or
search through resources one by one.) This is also the place to join Green
Connect volunteer events, learn about green-leaning celebrations and meetings,
and find links to news stories about the environment.
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PLANTSF - www.plantsf.org
PlantSF is a grassroots program that provides information on permeable
landscaping and urban farming and works with the city on land-use conversions.
If you've ever wished the expanse of concrete outside your house were a little
less paved and a bit prettier, these are the people to talk to about making that
happen.
11 Grove, SF. (415) 355-3700
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TRANSPORTEDSF -
www.transportedsf.com
All aboard the ecobus! This organization takes Das Frachtgut, the veggie
oil–fueled bus Jens-Peter Jungclaussen uses as a mobile classroom, on an
ecofriendly party tour. Movie nights are all about watching modern classics and
then doing some kind of relevant outdoor activity (e.g., see The Big Lebowski,
then bowl outside). Dance nights turn the bus into a mobile DJ booth and an
instant, impromptu club. It's fun, safe (no drunk driving, kids!), and above
all, Earth friendly.
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GREEN KEY REAL ESTATE - www.greenkeyrealestate.com
There was a time when real estate was all about making money – and realtors
were like the characters in American Beauty. Thankfully, times they are a
changin’. Now you can buy or sell your house through Green Key Real Estate,
the first (and only) green real estate brokerage in San Francisco. Green Key
runs a sustainable business (minimizing office waste, donating a portion of
profits to green building organizations, running the office on wind power) while
encouraging sustainable building and remodeling. Most importantly, though,
it’s experienced real estate agents linking like-minded people to each other
and to the services they need.
28 Clayton, SF; (415) 750-1120,
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GREEN HOME - www.greenhome.com
This online superstore is like Target (or Fred Meyer, for you Pac Northwest
transplants) for environmentally sound products. We’re talking organic soy wax
candles (since paraffin pollutes the air), recycled glass tumblers, picture
frames made of reclaimed wood, super efficient refrigerators, all-natural
hardwood furniture (since pressed wood products use formaldehyde and synthetic
adhesives), household cleaners, baby clothes, and so much more. Plus, the
Richmond-based (but exclusively online) store maintains a list of useful
articles, news, and tips about living green, as well as a directory of green
service providers, from dry cleaners to long distance phone companies. 877-282-6400
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A LIVING LIBRARY - www.alivinglibrary.org
Based on the principle that if we learn about our local surroundings, we
learn about our world, this non-profit strives to turn barren, ugly, or
otherwise underutilized public spaces into beautiful, relevant, useful parks and
gardens, called living libraries and thinkparks, using local resources –
human, ecological, economic, historic, technological, and aesthetic. The public
can visit one of the SF sites in Excelsior or Bernal Heights, take kids to a
Living Library in- or after-school program, or get involved in a free adult
green skills job training class specially designed for low income adults (and
especially immigrants). (415) 215-5992
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS ALLIANCE - www.sustainablebiz.org
Green business is good business – at least, that’s the philosophy behind
this membership organization linking companies committed to sustainability. This
networking and resource group hopes to educate members about sustainability and
then strengthen their businesses through involvement with each other through
meetings, workshops, seminars, a green business directory, and events such as
East Bay Drinks, a monthly meetup on third Wednesdays at Triple Rock Brewery in
Berkeley.
PO Box 11944, Berk. (510) 931-6560
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Local Resources