Giveaway: Enviro-Friendly MacBook Sleeve

Posted on by Sacha Cohen
We’re giving away a fashionable, eco-friendly MacBook sleeve from ColcaSac. It’s easy–just follow us on Twitter, retweet the tweet below from Tuesday March 30-Wednesday March 31st, and you’ll be randomly entered to win.
Giveaway Details:

* PRIZE: A ColcaSac MacBook sleeve in black. (Total value $39.95)!
* TO ENTER: Follow us on Twitter and retweet the giveaway tweet on Tuesday March 30, 2010.
* MUST ENTER BY: Wednesday March 31st, 2010 at 5pm EST.
* NUMBER OF WINNERS: One.
* PRIZE SHIPS: From GoingGreenDC to U.S. address only.
* ETC: One entry per person (duplicate entries will be deleted). Winners are selected using random.org.  Winner will be contacted via email after contest has ended.  Good luck to all!

About ColcaSacs
ColcaSac Sleeves are made by hand with all-natural environmentally friendly fabrics such as hemp and jute and lined with soft, 100% polyester sherpa fleece that provides protective padding and is secured with a durable, easily accessible velcro closure. Each sleeve has  a pocket that can carry a power adapter, mouse, USB Flash Drives, DVDs, or CDs, etc. One percent of all sales are donated to purchase land in environmentally sensitive areas.

Earth Day-a-Palooza: April’s Best Green Events

Posted on by Sacha Cohen


April 6

Social Media & Green Marketing Panel

Learn how to use social media to drive growth for sustainable products. This lively panel discussion will be moderated by Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones and will take place from 5:30-6:30 followed by a cocktail reception at Helix Lounge featuring drink and food specials.

Panelists include Adam Shake, Jennifer Kaplan, Diane MacEachern, Lynn Miller, and Sacha Cohen.

RSVP to this FREE event!

April 7

Organic Wine Tasting & Local Treats [SOLD OUT!]

The Eco Luxe Life, grassfed media, and GoingGreenDC.net present an organic wine tasting at Weygandt Wines from 6:30-8. The event will also feature local and sustainable treats from Dino, Divine Chocolate, and Firefly Farm. Part of the proceeds will go to the DC Farm to School Network.

RSVP/Tickets ($15 in advance/$20 at the door)

April 17

The Green Rush

Live Green invites you to an action-packed, fun-filled scavenger hunt adventure from 2:30-5:30 where you race against the clock to explore DC’s most eco-friendly spots. The Green Rush will kick-off at the Green in the Circle Festival in Dupont Circle with entertainment, speakers, and lots of green exhibitors.

Details:

Start: Dupont Circle’s Green in the Circle Festival; Registration open from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

End: The Reef, after party and awards from 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Registration: $25 per person, $20 for Live Green members and includes admission to after party and free give-aways during the Green Rush. Register online.

April 22

Green Hours

All three Busboys & Poets locations will be hosting Green Hours on Earth Day 2010, April 22nd, from 5PM to midnight. Stop by to celebrate Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary with special eco-cocktails (delicious and environmentally-friendly!) featuring sustainable spirits from VeeV and Leopold Bros.

2021 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009

4251 South Campbell Ave, Arlington, VA 22206

1025 5th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

More “Green Hours”

April 25th

Climate Rally on the National Mall

Earth Day Network and partner organizations will organize a massive climate rally on The National Mall to demand Congress enacts climate and clean energy legislation in 2010.

When: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

Where: National Mall

Food and Sustainability at Arlington Reads

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

This year, the Arlington Public Library’s Arlington Reads 2010 program is all about food and sustainability and will feature appearances by urban farmer/author Novella Carpenter and literary legend, poet, and farmer Wendell Berry.

Events include:

Sunday April 11, 3 p.m.
Shirlington Branch Library, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington
Panel Discussion: Eating Local
A panel of area farmers and naturalists will look at simple ways to eats foods that are safer, healthier and geared to the bounty of each season. It’s all part of the sustainable, consumer-supported agriculture movement that has built a following in groceries and restaurants around Arlington. Moderator: Samuel Fromartz, author of Organic Inc. Panel: Hiu Newcomb, co-founder of Potomac Vegetable Farms (an organic/eco-ganic CSA and active in area farmers markets); Matt Szechenyi, owner of Briar’s Farmstead (pasture raised beef, pork, chicken and turkey); Rob Miller, owner, Distillery Lane Ciderworks: (heirloom apples for cider-making and eating); Chris O’Brien, beer activist, author of Fermenting Revolution.

Saturday, April 17, 2 p.m.
Arlington Central Library Auditorium, 1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington
Film Screening: “A Community of Gardeners” (2010)
A work-in-progress screening of “A Community of Gardeners,” produced by local filmmaker Cintia Cabib. The documentary explores the vital role of seven community gardens in D.C., not only as sources of fresh, nutritious food, but as outdoor classrooms, places of healing, centers of social interaction, and oases of beauty and calm in inner-city neighborhoods. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Cabib.

Thursday, April 29, 7 p.m.
Arlington Central Library Auditorium, 1015 N. Quincy St.
Author Talk: Novella Carpenter, Farm City: The Education of An Urban Farmer
Novella Carpenter has restaged the American agrarian dream in an abandoned Oakland, CA, lot, raising fruits, vegetables, bees, and even pigs and goats in a neighborhood known as “GhostTown.” Her critically acclaimed Farm City—featured on “best book lists” from Oprah to the New York Times—spreads the gospel of home-grown food and the empowerment it brings.

Tuesday, May 4, 7 p.m.
Arlington Central Library Auditorium, 1015 N. Quincy St.
Featured Author Talk: A Conversation with Wendell Berry
In a rare public appearance, literary legend, essayist, poet and Kentucky farmer Wendell Berry visits Arlington Public Library to discuss his life’s work and vision of people honoring and reconnecting with the soil. It was Berry who declared “eating is an agricultural act,” inspiring today’s movement toward safer, healthier, locally produced meals and sustainable living. Berry’s classic novel The Memory of Old Jack is this year’s Arlington Reads featured title.

The Country’s First Green Ballpark

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Guest post by Alison Drucker

The Washington Nationals may have disappointed a few fans last year, but at least their stadium’s a winner. Nationals Park was the country’s first major league ballpark to be certified under the LEED green building rating system.

With the new season around the corner, the Nats have a fresh start – and you have another chance to take a look at the small placards throughout the stadium pointing out its green features. For example, efficient lighting uses 21% less energy than typical field lights and water-conserving plumbing fixtures use 30% less water, saving enough each year to fill five and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Recycled materials were used in construction, and 5,500 tons of construction waste was recycled rather than dumped in a landfill.

The park has a 6,300 square foot green roof, and other areas of the roof use highly reflective materials – both features minimize heat gain, which you’ll appreciate on a scorching hot August day at the park.

A unique water filtration system prevents debris and pollutants from entering the sewer system, which is good news for the Anacostia River. The stadium also earns green points for redeveloping a brownfield and being close to public transportation. To top it all off, in 2008 the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission offset 70% of the electricity use at Nationals Park with a purchase of renewable energy credits.

Across all sports and at all levels of play, other facilities are following suit. A search of the U.S. Green Building Council’s list of LEED-registered projects reveals more than 30 stadiums, arenas, and ballparks that high schools, universities, and professional teams around the country are looking to get certified.

Nationals Park led the way in adapting the LEED rating system – more commonly used for office buildings and schools – to the very unique needs of a professional sports facility. Sustainably speaking, at least, the Nats have hit a home run.

3 New FRESHFARM Market Locations

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Finding local products and produce just got more convenient for DC-area residents. FRESHFARM Markets is opening three new markets: Crystal City, VA; Bethesda, MD; and at the U.S. Department of Health & Human  Services (HHS) in Southwest DC.

The Crystal City FRESHFARM Market will  open on Tuesday May 18 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the Bethesda FRESHFARM  Market will open on Saturday, June 19 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and the HHS FRESHFARM Market will open on Wednesday June 2 from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM.  All of the markets will be open weekly through the end of October.

“FRESHFARM Markets is delighted to bring more  farmers and artisan producers to neighborhoods in our greater metro DC  area,” said Bernadine Prince, co-director of FRESHFARM Markets.  “This is a win-win for consumers who want to eat seasonally and locally and for our farmers who bring the freshest farm-raised foods to our producer-only farmers’ markets.”

The new markets will showcase the best seasonal products that local farms in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Pasture-raised meats, eggs, artisan cheeses, yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables, breads  and baked goods, fresh flowers and plants will be available.

Each week the markets will also host chef demonstrations using products from the market. The demos will illustrate the health benefits of eating fresh, locally grown foods and will inform shoppers on how to make simple recipes using seasonal ingredients.

2010 FRESHFARM  MARKETS SCHEDULE

Crystal City FRESHFARM  Market
Dates: Tuesdays,  May 18 – October 26
Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Crystal Drive between 18th and 20th  Streets
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

Foggy Bottom FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Wednesdays,  April 7 – November 24
Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: I Street, NW between New Hampshire  Avenue and 24th Street, NW
Opening Day Chef at Market: Steve Badt,  Miriam’s Kitchen, 4:00 PM

Health & Human Services FRESHFARM  Market
Dates: Wednesdays, June 2 – October  27
Time: 2:30 PM –  6:30 PM
Location: 200 Independence Avenue, SW
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

Penn Quarter FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Thursdays,  April 1 – December 23
Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
8th Street, NW between D and E  Streets
Opening  Day Chef at Market: Bryan Moscatello, Zola Wine & Kitchen, 4:00 PM

FRESHFARM  Market, By the White House
Dates: Thursdays, May 6 – November  18
Time: 3:00 PM –  7:00 PM
Location: Vermont Avenue, NW between H and I Streets, NW
Opening Day Chef at Market: Jaleo/Think Food Group GIANT PAELLA, 4:30 PM

H Street  NE FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Saturdays, May 1 – October 30
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00  PM
Location: 625 H Street, NE (parking lot across from H Street Self Storage)
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

Silver Spring FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Saturdays,  April 3 – December 18
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Ellsworth Drive between Fenton Street and Georgia Avenue
Opening Day Chef at Market: Pedro Matamoros, 8407 Kitchen & Bar, 11:00 AM
The April 3 market will be held in Gateway Plaza at the corner of Colesville and Georgia Avenue due to an event at the regular location.

St. Michaels FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Saturdays,  April 17 – October 9
Time: 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: Muskrat Park in the  harbor
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Sundays,  April 4 – December 26
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: 1500 block of 20th Street, NW between  Massachusetts Avenue and Q Street and in the adjacent PNC Bank parking lot.
Opening Day  Chef at Market: David Varley, Bourbon Steak, 11:00  AM

Annapolis  FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Sundays, May 2 – November 21
Time: 8:30 AM – 12:00  PM
Location: Donner  Parking Lot in downtown Annapolis
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD