Green Your BBQ

School's out. Work's slow... Summer is fast approaching and for BBQ fanatics, there is no better way to spend a Summer Sunday than flipping patties and dogs on the grill.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and that means no Moody Monday. As we all keep our fingers crossed for good weather, we could also be thinking of how to make the BBQ in the backyard a little bit more green.

There are many things you can do that will lower your footprint and most of them will likely result in a better BBQ flavor. BBQs are also great because not only can you enjoy them with your closest friends, but you also get to enjoy them outside, whether that is on your patio, balcony or backyard.

The first thing you will need to do is get yourself a grill and all the corresponding chachkis for mastering the art of the locally grass fed ground beef burger (not frozen Kirkland Signature patties...riiiiiiiight??). One thing to consider is the quality of the grill itself - a better-built grill will last longer and therefore create less environmental waste because it will need replacement less often. So don't feel bad splurging on that higher-end model (provided you're actually getting what you're paying for) - splurging in this case might just help the environment. Test various models before you buy to see how sturdy they feel, and don't buy a "starter" model thinking you'll just upgrade later. That's just a plan for creating unnecessary waste.

Using gas is the most resource-efficient means of powering a grill. It is also the least carbon polluting method.

But if you simply must have that traditional charred flavor that only charcoal can provide, Whole Foods Market and other retailers sell charcoal made from either recycled scrap wood (in Whole Foods' case, discarded furniture and wood flooring) or from sustainable forests. You can find some interesting info on Whole Foods' charcoal, along with reviews of other sustainable lump charcoal makers, at Green Link Charcoal. So don't feel bad if you're a hardcore grilling purist - you can still grill in environmentally-friendly ways.

Since green inventions are very stimulating for the imagination, and this product might actually work, check out this Solar BBQ Kit. This device will allow you to BBQ your goods with ZERO carbon footprint.

If you are looking for a few BBQ odds and ends, check out Sprig.com and see some of their suggestions for an environmentally friendly BBQ.

Check out this simple guide to green grilling found on Ideal Bite.

When it comes to what food you will put on the grill, you can definitely buy grass-fed beef or you can also get slightly less expensive beef that is produced without pesticides or hormones. The same thing goes for chicken and pork.

When it comes to vegetables or tofu, you can pretty much put whatever you want on the grill and the environmental impact is more or less the same. However, if you can afford it, buying local and/or organic vegetables taste much better in addition to aiding your planet's food chain.

And don't forget to save me a burger...I prefer it Medium Rare, thanks.

A Carbon Clean Slate

As I reach the end of my college career, I find myself reflecting on the past 4 years...on how fast it went and what I shoulda/coulda/woulda done...the classes I should have taken, the clubs I should have joined...the office hours held too early to attend, the Tuesday's Trivia was far greater a priority than Wednesday morning's midterm and the best thing about AirBears was for high-speed facebook stalking on the go.

But no time for regrets. There is no use dwelling on your past; there is however, a way to clean up it's carbon consumption!

This graduation season, Worldchanging is proud to offer its major donors appreciation gifts that really make a difference: Carbon Clean Slate certificates.

Growing up, few kids have the power to transform their surroundings into a bright green life. That power generally only comes as one grows older. That doesn't mean that kids don't recognize (and feel guilty about) the ways in which their lives have helped make climate change and other planetary problems worse.

The Carbon Clean Slate gifts lift that guilt by offsetting their childhoods. They can go forward in life knowing that their emissions have been balanced by your gift, and they are free to make their own way in the world, unhampered by the past.

How it works: for every major donation above certain levels, Worldchanging will buy a major carbon offset in the name of your favorite graduate.

For $6,000, they'll offset all the climate emissions that grad racked up until he or she graduated from high school;

For $7,500, we'll offset their childhoods and their university years;

For $25,000, we'll offset their youth, college and working careers.

The offsets themselves will come from TerraPass, the gold standard company in carbon offsets. TerraPass uses independent verification (including a complete voluntary independent audit), direct sourcing of their offsets (so they know they're for real) and immediate investment (to create offsets now not later)... as well as offering full transparency about their projects. You can't find a better offsetting program than theirs.

Your grad will get a handsome certificate announcing that their slate's been wiped clean, climate-wise, along with a personalized note and a copy of the Worldchanging book. You get the satisfaction of knowing that you've made a real, demonstrable difference and honored the graduate's commitment to changing the world.

Everyone wins: Your grad gets to head out into the world with the moral weight of their personal choices lifted from their shoulders, you get to show your love and respect, the climate gets a bit of a break and Worldchanging gets the funds we need to continue our prize-winning work exploring the solutions that will create real, lasting change. Half your gift is even tax-deductible!

To buy, or to simply make a donation to support our work, please click here.

Worldchanging's Carbon Clean Slate: Because there's no better present than a better future.

RESOURCE GREEN @ ART MURMUR

It's that time of the month again...

Time for Oakland Art Murmur! And this time it's going to be bigger, greener, and better than ever!!

Resource Green presents Sustainability Through Fashion!

Tonight. Friday, May 2, 2008.
7-9 pm
Telegraph and 25th street.

It's hip to be green and it's hip to be seen.

Special Guest Performance: Tear It Down

Resource Green- Art, Earth, and Each Other
Oakland Art Murmur
Tear It Down