Nothing like shock value to get a message across.

In new print and video ads for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Alicia Silverstone bares all -- lots of revealing skin shots as she exits a pool (or reclines poolside, in the print version). 

Silverstone is a longtime vegetarian advocate. “I wasn’t always a vegetarian, but I’ve always loved animals,” the actress said in a statement. “Physically the effect [of going veggie] has been amazing. Once I went vegan, I lost the weight.”

Remember when Silverstone's healthy body weight (though not so by industry standards, and tehre was the rub) was the talk of the town? Here, Silverstone is saying she's vegan, which is even more hardcore than vegetarianism. I know for myself that being a vegan would be difficult. I am a vegetarian (I eat eggs and cheese, though not gelatin-based products). I would really miss cheese -- it's my favorite food. Though most any food item these days has a vegan substitute -- vegan bacon, vegan cheese, etc. I personally just don't like foods that "simulate" other foods. In addition to my not wishing to contribute to animal cruelty, I don't like meat because of the texture and the taste, so I am not interested in eating anything that is going to simulate that taste.

But not eating meat or seafood is a healthy and caring choice as well, and, as Alicia contends in the 30-second spot, gives you more energy.

Alicia looks gorgeous, by the way! Brava to her for being cool and confident and socially aware!

The TV ad will air on Food Network, Lifetime and E! channels. Click here for more info.

~Jessica

The latest eco-friendly trend among foodies? Solar ovens!

A solar oven works by capturing the sun's rays in a heat trap (in most cases, an insulated box with a thermal glass lid), on which the pot is placed. Mirrors reflect as much light as possible into that area.

As long as the sun continues to shine, it takes only a few hours to cook a meal. The ovens easily reach a temperature of about 350 degrees and are perfect for slow-cooking techniques such as braising, stewing and roasting vegetables, and for soufflés and baked custards. Some people make their own ovens out of cardboard boxes or other materials (see below), while others purchase high-end versions ranging from $200 (the one above) to upwards of $600.

This isn't something you can get at Macy's, however. Your best chance is through stores that specialize in environmentally friendly products. Or try calling a nonprofit organization and have them point you to the right place.

Or you can make your own! See the homemade one in the pic below.

Check to see if your utilities company or your community offers a seminar on solar energy. Or contact an environmental organization like the Sierra Club to find out helpful info or perhaps to talk with a member who has a solar oven.

Let's work to solve global warming by going green!

~Jess

Sorry I've been away, guys! But the news of the tornado in Brooklyn made me feel compelled to post….

Sorry I've been away, guys! But the news of the tornado in Brooklyn made me feel compelled to post….

 

 

It took experts a while to confirm what many in southwestern Brooklyn knew had descended on their neighborhoods as a new workday dawned. It was a tornado - the first to hit the New York borough since modern record-keeping began - and it turned whole sections of Brooklyn upside down.

 

Roofs were torn off houses. More than 30 families were forced from their homes. Tall trees as thick as men were yanked out by the roots.

 

No one was seriously injured, but cars were turned sideways, awnings and aluminum siding shredded, and countless windows and windshields shattered, in a destructive rain of bricks and branches and water Wednesday.

 

Lanie Mastellone was drinking her coffee about 7 a.m. in her apartment on the top floor of her two-story house when she sensed that her windows were going to blow in. She went toward the front of the house, and as she passed from one room to another the ceilings collapsed.

 

"I passed my living room, I passed my dining room, I go to the bedroom," Mastellone said. "They were going one at a time. It was coming from the back forward."

 

Mastellone, a widow who lives alone, was more puzzled than terrified. "It was almost unemotional," she said. "I was still thinking, 'Maybe my roof is leaking?' I think denial is a wonderful thing sometimes."

 

Still, she knew she had to get out. "I grabbed my wedding ring and my cellphone," she said. She opened her apartment door, stepped out into the hallway and looked up. "That's when I realized I had no roof," she said.

 

She was not the only one. Two houses away, the roof looked as if it had exploded. Most of it was lying in the street.

 

[Meanwhile, three inches, or 7.5 centimeters, of rain in three hours brought the New York transit system to its knees, The Associated Press reported. Subway tracks were swamped, buses jammed and commuter trains held up for hours because of flooding Wednesday. Much of the mess had been mopped up by early Thursday, but the region faced the possibility of more storms within a day.]

 

The U.S. National Weather Service declared the storm in Brooklyn a Category 2 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with winds up to 135 miles per hour, or 215 kilometers per hour. It was the first tornado recorded in Brooklyn since record-keeping began in 1950, said Jeffrey Warner, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University .

 

WHAT ARE WE IN FOR THE REST OF THIS SEASON,  LET ALONE FALL, WINTER AND SPRING???????

 

 

So this has nothing to do with Earth Day initiatives, but I just love when pets get some refreshment in human spaces! My cat growing up, Buttons, once got his head stuck in a tall glass when he was going for the milk at the bottom of it! I freed him, of course.

You want to do your part for the environment, and beautify your surroundings? Plant flowers!

 

Not only are flowers about the prettiest things on the planet, but they also contribute to better air quality by decreasing carbon dioxide and increasing oxygen.

 

These tulips are currently beautifying the sidewalks near Lincoln Center. I was so taken with them, I had to snap a pic with my Treo!

Enjoy the sunshine!

~Jess

It's been one month since Ben & Jerry's introduced its partnership with Dave Matthews Band and SaveOurEnvironment.org to create the new flavor Dave Matthews Band® Magic Brownies™.

 

The new flavor is more importantly a jumping-off point for the Lick Global Warming Campaign, which encourages people to take action by reducing their personal carbon emmissions, writing to Congress and spreading the word. For more info, check out http://www.lickglobalwarming.org/

DMB is donating all the band's royalties from the sales of the flavor to their Bama Works Foundation, and half of that goes toward SaveOurEnvironment.org, an advocacy collective committed to combating global warming.

The flavor is described as vanilla ice cream with raspberry swirls and brownies.

 

For the nutrition information, go to http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/118856.html

Keep in mind that the serving size is only half a cup!

Hugs,

~Jess~

Yay!

My office got a dish rack!

You know what this means, people ... there is now more incentive to bring in reusable dishes!

I am so psyched about this.

See that coffee cup there? It's my global warming mug. When it's heated, the coastlines disappear.

Ok, I'm a nerd, but I'm trying to do my tiny part ;p

Thanks for reading, as always.

~Jess~

I don't know about you all, but May is the month that the summer season of weddings begins for me -- so many friends, so little time, and so much to spend on gifts!

I came across this great list of how to have a green wedding from sierraclub.com. I'll be posting tips all summer long, so check back!

Here are some tips on gift registries for brides-to-be, but if you're just an attendee like me, you can also get some good ideas from them:

-Ask for gifts to charity instead of material goods.

-Register with the I Do Foundation or another site that gives a percentage of gift purchases to your chosen cause.

-Register with stores that offer local, fair-trade, handmade, organic, or other ecofriendly products like Branch, Gaiam, Greenfeet, GreenSage, Ten Thousand Villages, UncommonGoods (I LOVE UncommonGoods!) or Viva Terra.

-Register for outdoor gear or contributions to an ecofriendly honeymoon

-Create a custom wish list of ecofriendly items like a fresh-produce subscription from a local farm, organic gardening supplies, organic linens, park and museum passes, gift certificates to organic restaurants, and subscriptions to green publications or memberships in green causes.

 

Fresh produce for a year? What bride and groom wouldn't want that?!

That's one off my list ...

;)

~Jess~

With so much talk about rethinking green energy at home and on the road, there are also changes you can make in your office life.

In the coming week, I'll focus on work life tips, so read on and set an example for your co-workers!

Eating and Drinking with Reusable Dishware

Change Your Bulbs!

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) are perhaps the simplest, quickest way you can do your part to help in the fight against global warming.

These bulbs cost significantly more than the kind we're used to (a case of 12 costs $32.99 on Overstock.com), but it burns 75% less energy and lasts years longer. According to 18seconds.org, if every US home bought just one CFL, it would be the equivalent of taking 2 million cars off the road!

18seconds' latest data shows that over 32 million CFLs have been bought since the first of the year. That means that figurartively speaking, 230,000 cars have been taken off the road. Way to do your part, America!