A twice-weekly sharing of eco-shwag.

Today’s freebie is a copy of Girls Gone Green, a book by Lynn Hirshfield written for preteen girls eager to shrink their own carbon footprints and become environmental activists.

Published by Participant Media, Girls Gone Green’s uber exuberant tone and brightly busy design is really, really meant for upbeat young girls for whom “Green Is the New Black!” doesn’t yet sound trite. Celebs like Alicia Silverstone, Michelle Branch, Mischa Barton, Ellen Page, and other famous women dish out green tips — as do many less famous women with stronger environmental creds. I like how the book goes out of its way to highlight the great work done by women environmental activists, who often get overshadowed by bigger-name male activists.

Comment by Thursday to get into the drawing, which’ll happen Friday (more info on freebies here). US addresses only.

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A twice-weekly sharing of eco-shwag.

Today’s freebie is a copy of Naturally Clean: The Seventh Generation Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-Toxic Cleaning — a book written by Jeff Hollender, president and chief responsibility officer of Seventh Generation itself, along with Geoff Davis.

Lest you think Naturally Clean’s simply a bookish infomercial of sorts for Seventh Generation cleaning products, rest assured that the book’s really about cleaning green and keeping your home free of unnecessary environmental dangers. In fact, you’ll be happy to know that Naturally Clean provides a bunch of make-it-at-home-on-the-cheap cleaning product recipes!

You also get tips for cleaning up indoor air, learning which ingredients and products to avoid, and finding out what the 35 greenest cleaning products on the market are. Yes, many Seventh Generation products are on this creme de la creme list — as are products from Life Tree, Ecover, Bi-O-Kleen, Earth Friendly, and more. Unfortunately, the list’s rated only for safety, not effectiveness — but at least you’ll have a well curated list to begin your search for the greenest and most effective cleaners.

Longtime green LA girl readers already know green cleaning will improve your health; switching to green cleaners has certainly helped reduce my allergy attacks. Naturally Clean’s short chapters will give you a quick grasp of the history and current status of conventional cleaning products, and a handy glossary will give you definitions of chemicals and other ingredients you may have wondered about.

Comment by Tuesday to get into the drawing, which’ll happen Wednesday (more info on freebies here). US addresses only.

Earlier: Green cleaning made cheap and easy

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Nearly 10% of L.A. County residents need food assistance — yet perfectly good food gets thrown in dumpsters around our city every day — which has environmentalists and freebie seekers alike dumpster diving for free food.

Freeganism’s not new news anymore — but a film about freeganism is! It’s called Dive!. Watch the preview’s below (via MNN):

Dive! is screening in L.A.-area venues this month:

>> Thurs., March 11 at 7 pm Conscientious Projector screening at Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. FREE.

>> Sat., March 13, 6:15 pm at the 15th Annual International Family Film Festival, Raleigh Studios, 5300 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. Tickets cost $10 each.

>> Mon., March 15 at 7:30 pm as part of 7 Dudley Cinema at The Talking Stick, 1411 Lincoln Blvd., Venice. FREE.

More screenings will happen in April and May, if you can’t make these. I like the idea of freeganing, but I tend to be very afraid of food-borne illnesses, since recalls even on food still on supermarket shelves seem to happen every month. The L.A. Times recently reported that food-borne illnesses really cost you:

A new consumer research report released Wednesday has found that the health-related costs of food-borne illnesses total $152 billion a year, including the costs of medical bills, lost wages and lost productivity.

Get ill and you could end up spending a lot more than you saved on your freegan food. So to freegan more safely, read Leah Koenig’s dos and don’ts of dumpster diving.

Freeganing not adventurous enough for you? Try being a frugan — a frugal vegan, according to one Katherine Fairfax Wright, who dumpster dives for her animal-product-free eats and resells salvaged trashed goods at a profit. She blogs at Frugal Living.

Earlier:
>> Dumpsters get popular: Freegans and junk yard tours
>> Book Review: The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved

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A twice-weekly sharing of eco-shwag.

Today’s freebie is a beautiful hardback copy of Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green From Traditional Japan by Azby Brown.

Just Enough takes a close looks at life in Japan during the Edo period about 200 years ago — and draws lessons on how we could live happier and more sustainable lives today. The book’s organized in 3 sections to look at 3 ways of life — for the farmer in the village, the carpenter in the city, and the samurai — illustrated with simple line drawings and described in storybook fashion from the perspective of an imaginary traveler visiting Edo Japan.

Each section’s followed by a number of lessons people today can draw from these lifestyles of the past. Of course, we don’t want a simple return to this past period — when class divisions are extreme and infanticide’s a common method of population control. But other takeaways from the book are valuable and applicable — like the suggestion to “rethink the meaning of comfort”:

Our notions of comfort have led us to expend far too little physical energy in the course of our daily lives and to consume fuel for reasons that are difficult to justify on the basis of health or well-being. Walking and biking are healthier than driving or riding, and they consume little or no fuel. A simple increase in these activities, which would mean increasing the pedestrianization and bikeability of our communities, would go a long way toward reducing our already dangerous obesity levels.

Just Enough offers an interesting and engaging perspective on Edo Japan for those who enjoy reading about cultural history, alongside sustainable ideas relevant today. Comment by Tuesday to get into the drawing for Just Enough, which’ll happen Wednesday (more info on freebies here). US addresses only.

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>> Take a FREE Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Garden Class on Wed., March 10 from 6 pm – 9 pm at Hostelling International Santa Monica, 1436 Second St., Santa Monica. RSVP required; contact oceanfriendlygardens@surfriderwlam.org or 310.694.8351 with first and last name, phone number and email address.

>> Co-opportunity’s also having a Free Gardening Event featuring Darren Butler and Margaret Oakley on Thurs., March 11 from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm at the Santa Monica Main Public Library’s Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica.

>> Just in time for World Water Day, catch a free screening of Tapped — a film that “examines the role of the bottled water industry and its’ effects on our health, climate change, and our reliance on oil” — on Thurs., March 11 from 7 pm – 11 pm at Santa Monica College’s AET campus, Room 235, 1660 Steward St., Santa Monica. Here’s L.A. Creek Freak Joe Linton’s review. (via The Daily Ocean)

>> Join me at The Organic Center’s 7th Annual VIP Benefit Dinner — themed “Dirt + Water + Sun” — featuring Andrew Weil and other eco-foodie luminaries. The Organic Center’s a fantastic nonprofit that does scientific research and education about organic food and farming — and this party will feature a cocktail reception with organic hors d’oeuvres, live jazz from Mattson Two, and an organic family-style dinner from Pace Restaurant. The party begins Fri., March 12 at 7 pm at the Platinum Ballroom of the Anaheim Mariott Hotel in Anaheim. Cost: $175 per person.

>> Celebrate World Water Day a few days early at World Water Day Los Angeles, a FREE all-day event happening Sun., March 14 from 9:30 am – 3:30 pm at the Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles.

>> Tour the L.A. River with Friends of the Los Angeles River! See the waterway up close, find out about its revitalization plans, and get a lesson on L.A. eco-history. Meet up Sun. March 14, at 9:30 am at the River Center, 570 W Ave. 26, Los Angeles to form carpools and caravan around until 4 pm. Cost: $25, or $20 for FoLAR members. RSVP required to Shelly at mail@folar.org or 323-223-0585.

>> Come hear me speak on BREATHE LA Green Salon panel — “AB 32.0 and the Rise of Green Digital Media” — on Tues., March 16, 9 am – 10:30 am at the California Endowment Center, 1000 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles. Free with RSVP.

>> Did you win tickets to see a free screening of LIFE? Then I’ll see on on Tues., March 16 at The Landmark!

>> Catch a free sneak preview of Dirt! The Movie on Tues., March 16 in the Silver Screen Room of the Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. The event will kick off with an organic reception at 7 pm, followed by a screening at 7:30 pm and a Q&A with the filmmakers. RSVP’s required at KCET.

>> Happy St. Patrick’s Day on March 17! Here are 11 green ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Los Angeles.

>> Weigh in on Metro Westside Subway Extension’s Optional Crenshaw Station. Should the purple line have a stop at Crenshaw or not? Weigh in while the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report’s underway. The meeting happens on St. Patrick’s Day, Wed., March 17 from 6 pm – 8 pm at Wilshire United Methodist Church, 4350 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

>> Fight the threat of offshore oil drilling with Surfrider Foundation and Environment California. Get to an educational meeting where staff from Surfrider Foundation and Environment California, as well as environmental activists and local community members, will come together to discuss what the threats associated with drilling are, and how communities can fight them. The meeting happens on St. Patrick’s Day, Wed., March 17 from 7 pm – 8 pm at Santa Monica Library – Fairview Branch, 2101 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica.

Image via tappedthemovie.com and kcet.org

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>> Re-envision the gas station — and draw or create what a typical fueling station will look like in the future for GOOD’s contest. The good news for not-so-great drawers: GOOD says “a bad drawing of a great idea will be better than a beautiful rendering of something uninspiring.”

The winner will get $1,000; second and third place winners will get $500 and $200, respectively. You gotta act fast though, because the deadline for submission’s tomorrow, March 10.

>> Design an Earth Day T-shirt for organic clothing company bgreen Apparel, whose comfy clothes I’ve reviewed here. The winner will get a $150 bgreen gift card, a free T-shirt, design credit (a printed bio inside the T-shirts), and the happy knowledge that all proceeds from T-shirts sold with the design will be donated to Los Angeles-area environmental nonprofits. The submission deadline’s Fri., March 24.

>> Get a cushy internship with the Sierra Club. One lucky intern will be chosen to “travel around the country hiking, rafting, and enjoying the outdoors with the Sierra Club’s youth programs” while vlogging his or her adventures during the 8-week internship. Plus, the intern will get a $2,500 and $2,000 worth of gear from The North Face and Planet Explore. You must be at least 18 years old, and get your application in by March 31.

Photo by vrogy

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Thanks to the high price of organic arugula at Whole Foods, green living still makes people think of an expensive lifestyle. In reality though, living green — which mostly means living smartly and efficiency — saves green. Green LA girl readers who pack homemade lunches in reusable containers, vanquish vampire power, and shop pre-loved fashions save money through efficiency, not green sacrifice.

But for those who missed those posts — or simply want all the money-saving green tips in a neatly bound format — there’s a new book called Shift Your Habit: Easy Ways to Save Money, Simplify Your Life, and Save the Planet. Written by Elizabeth Rogers, who also co-authored The Green Book, Shift Your Habit’s basically a book chock-full of money saving eco-friendly tips, organized into neat sections for the green frugalista.

With sections on the home and garden, work, kids, pets, and even fashion and beauty products, Shift Your Habit tries to cover all bases — and to show you the money. Pack waste-free lunches, for example, and you could save up to $400 a year. Grow herbs on your windowsill, and you can shave $50 off your annual grocery bill. Shut off your computer after you finish reading this post — and you’ll see the difference on your electricity bill.

The biggest money-savings tips will be most useful for people who own their own homes. After all, while planting a shade-providing tree can cool off your home sans energy-sucking AC units, most apartment dwellers don’t exactly have the freedom or room to give a fruit tree a place to set down roots. And for renters like me whose utility bills are included in the rent, the money savings from energy-efficient living won’t show up in your wallet — though you’ll still be doing the planet a lot of good.

Longer-time environmentalists will likely be familiar with most of the tips, but a few creative new ideas still shine through — like picking lip colors that can double as blush and organizing collective walk breaks at work for a fun socializing-meets-exercise habit (plus savings on a gym membership). All those tips are interspersed with helpful charts like one that explains different green certification logos, quick tips on everything from picking out green luggage to getting clothing stains out, and recipes for DIY products like homemade green cleaners and organic facial scrubs.

What struck me while reading Shift Your Habit is the fact that green living, in many ways, has to do with shifting away from working so much to living more. Right now, many of us work long hours and skip vacations to earn money — a habit that leaves us so tired that we use the hard-earned money to buy short-term conveniences. Shift Your Habit hints at a different kind of lifestyle where you might work a little less — while doing things you can enjoy that require less cash. Wish you had more time to try new recipes? Then forgo the styrofoam-encased, unhealthy takeout dinners — and the overtime worked to pay for it — and learn to cook a whole chicken — down to boiling the remains for broth — that can feed you for days!

Shift Your Habit lands on bookshelves tomorrow, March 9.

Image via shiftyourhabit.com

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What exactly does it mean to have a green career? That’s one of the first questions tacked in Green Careers for Dummies, a newish book for would-be participants in the new green economy. Instead of simply jumping into how much money you could make in this growing job market, Green Careers for Dummies begins by explaining the nebulous definition of green jobs and careers — since after all, almost any career can be made greener than it is now.

Written by Carol McClelland, Green Careers for Dummies takes a careful eco-minded thinker’s approach, encouraging readers to take a more whole-person approach to the job search. In contrast to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Careers — which mostly focuses on providing a big list of jobs, their descriptions, and expected salaries — Green Careers for Dummies is low on salary figures but heavy on reflection, encouraging readers to reason out why and what exactly they’re seeking in a green job.

Its sections, in fact, are organized by motivating desires, like “managing natural resources” (careers range from wildlife biologist to irrigation engineer to recycling programs specialist) or “rebuilding the infrastructure” (from architects to smart grid standards leader to freight broker) or “shaping the green economy” (from lawyer to urban housing planner to grassroots organizer). Each of those sections include a general description, an overview of the industry’s current status, anticipated future trends and sample jobs — as well as lists of relevant industry associations and web links for further exploration.

With an introductory section explaining global warming, an overview of green job trends based on current policies and emerging fields, and informative sidebars explaining hot green topics like cap and trade, Green Careers for Dummies also gives newly-green job seekers some helpful beginners’ ed on green issues. And for those new to the job market as a whole, the book explains how to organize and conduct a job search, covering everything from prepping your resume to using social media networks.

I did find the extended section on how to use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook too laboriously detailed — but if you’re really clueless about how to use these sites, Green Careers can help. Green Careers for Dummies is available in bookstores now for $19.99.

Image via dummies.com

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If you read green LA girl by email only, you opened up your inbox this morning to discover that, alas, you missed your chance to attend the advance screening for Discovery Channel’s LIFE on Mach 16!

Despair not: Another green documentary’s screening that day — and it’s free and open to the public, as long as you RSVP quickly for this opportunity. Get to a Community Cinema Screening of DIRT! The Movie.

What’s DIRT! about? According to KCET, ITVS, Bioneers and Youth Service America, the organizers of the screening:

It’s under our feet and under our fingernails, but what is it? And how did it get there? Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, find out how industrial farming, mining and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods and climate change. Dirt is a part of everything we eat, drink and breathe. Which is why we should stop treating it like, well…dirt.

Watch the trailer below:

The screening happens Tues., March 16 in the Silver Screen Room of the Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. The event will kick off with an organic reception at 7 pm, followed by a screening at 7:30 pm and a Q&A with the filmmakers. RSVP’s required at KCET.

Image via kcet.org

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Loved Planet Earth? Now the Discovery Channel’s come out a sequel of sorts: LIFE. And green LA girl readers can win tickets to an advance showing of the premiere episode — “Challenges of Life” — on March 16! Here’s your chance to experience LIFE on the big-screen in HD format [Update: Tickets are now all gone!] — before the series premiers on March 21.

But first, about LIFE: Narrated by Oprah Winfrey, LIFE takes a closer, more intimate look at different animal and plant groups, showcasing amazing scenes from the natural world in all seven continents.

For example — Remember those fun falling scenes in Avatar, when Jake Sully and Neytiri break their falls by dropping onto a series of leaves? I just found out there’s a toad that does exactly that to escape from its enemies.

That would be the waterfall toad, which happens to have opposable thumbs like humans! Watch the frog break its perilous fall in this short clip from LIFE:

The first two of LIFE’s 11 parts — “Challenges of Life” and “Reptiles and Amphibians” — will air Sun., March 21 on the Discovery Channel. But if you’re in the L.A.-area, you can win a pair of tickets here to see “Challenges of Life” on the big screen on Tues., March 16, 7:30 pm at The Landmark, 10850 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles.

Simply email me at greenlagirl@gmail.com with your full name, and you’ll get a pair of free tickets — until I run out. I’ll put up an update once all tickets are given out — which means unless you see said update after this sentence, tickets are still available — so email me now! [Update: Tickets are now all gone!] Winners will receive an email confirming their tickets.

Here’s a couple more clips from LIFE’s first two episodes to pique your interest. Watch cheetahs hunt ostrich and Komodo dragons hunt buffalo!

Image via Discovery Channel

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