All electronic devices emit radiation and numerous studies are showing that the non-ionizing radiation that is emitted from these everyday devices are potentially harmful.  The World Health Organization, European Commission, FCC and  Environmental Working Group have all found strong evidence of potential risks from exposure to radiation including birth defects, genetic disruptions, miscarriages, autism, childhood leukemia and cancer.

Similar to smoking or sun exposure, many of these risks occur over time. Given the dramatic increase in radiation exposure over the past decade – due to the increased use of cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, computers, wireless networks, power lines, cell phone towers and more – we’re starting to see the impacts.

Belly Armor, by RadiaShield, has found a simple, easy way to protect pregnant women as well as female and male reproductive areas.  Their blankets are made with lightweight and breathable RadiaShield fabric. This fabric is lined with a very thin textile made of 82% silver and its silver ions neutralize incoming radiation, which protect against 99.9% of harmful radiation.

If you try the Cell Phone Test – note your level of cell phone signal, then wrap your  phone in the Belly Armor blanket – after 30 seconds, the phone’s signal will go down significantly or totally disappear. And, even though Belly Armor is lined with a silver fabric, it’s completely machine washable.

This is why we love Belly Armor at Green in BKLYN. And why we now carry their awesome blankets in the shop.

Earth Day (Friday, April 22nd) celebrates its 41st Anniversary!

• In celebration of this Earth Day anniversary, Green in BKLYN will have a 41% Off Sale on specially marked items.

• In addition, the President of the Brooklyn Beekeepers Club, Michael Hegedus, will be in the shop from 3-4:30pm.  Michael, also known as the Naked Beekeeper on You Tube, will talk honey, hives & urban beekeeping.

• Plus, we’ll be handing out free samples & selling raffle tickets for our Tsunami Relief Gift Basket with proceeds going to support the Red Cross in Japan. Spend $1 for a ticket & the chance to win an extra SodaStream CO2 cartridge, Erbaviva beauty products & much more!

Earth Day – an awesome day spanning decades, political parties & the earth…

To quote from the Earth Day Network:

The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, CA. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes as national coordinator.

As a result, on the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. “It was a gamble,” Gaylord recalled, “but it worked.”

To celebrate National Poetry Month in April, New York City is hosting the 9th annual Poem In Your Pocket day (PIYP) on Thursday, April 14, 2011.

Write your own poem or borrow one from your favorite poet, just make sure to join in the excitement by carrying a poem in your pocket to share with your friends, family, classmates & colleagues.

And, if you show us your poem at Green in BKLYN, we’ll give you a page from our “Chalkboard Quotes” – those groovy daily quotes we put on that chalkboard outside the shop.

Stop in, show us your poem or drop us a quote & we’ll show you ours!

The Lower East Side Ecology Center is hosting a whole bunch of E-Waste Recycling Events this month.  In celebration of our glorious Earth, LESEC will celebrate Earth Day (April 22) all month long with electronic waste recycling events throughout the city.

This is the month to clear out all your working & non-working computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, cables, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, phones, AV equipment, cell phones & PDAs.  LESEC will take them.  Where?  When?  Check the schedule below:

• Saturday, April 2 (10am-4pm) @ Staten Island Mall, Parking Lot F (near main entrance) – 2655 Richmond Avenue, Staten Island
• Sunday, April 3 (10am-4pm) @ Union Square Park, North Plaza – Broadway at East 17th Street, New York
• Saturday, April 9 (10am-4pm) @ Queens Library at Broadway – 4020 Broadway (btw. Steinway Street a 41st Street), Queens
• Saturday, April 9 (10am-4pm) @ Poly Prep Country Day School – 9216 Seventh Avenue (btw. 92nd Street & Poly Place), Brooklyn
• Sunday, April 10 (10am-4pm) @ Sephardic Community Center – 1901 Ocean Parkway (at Avenue S), Brooklyn
• Sunday, April 10 (10am-4pm) @ Morningside Park, Morningside Avenue (btw. 113th Street & 114th Street), New York
• Saturday, April 16 (10am-4pm) @ Tekserve, 119 West 23rd Street (b/w 6th Avenue & 7th Avenue), New York
• Sunday, April 17 (10am-4pm) @ Van Cortlandt Park, Broadway (btw. Manhattan College Parkway & Post Road), Bronx
• Saturday, April 30 (10am-4pm) @ PS 29 Schoolyard, Baltic St (btw. Henry St. & Clinton Street), Brooklyn, NY
• Saturday, April 30 (10-4pm) @ Sunnyside Community Services, 39th Street (btw. Queens Blvd & 43rd Avenue), Queens

And if you have questions, call 212-477-4022 or email lesecologycenter.org.

The longer I’m around, the more I notice the cyclical nature of, well, life. What goes around does, indeed, come around.

The question of recycling, where, how & why is often asked. And so, the question is revisited with the hopes that it will help make “reduce, reuse, recycle” an easy, fun, frequent activity. Plus, isn’t that part of going around & coming around, too?

Here are a few great on-line resources for reducing, reusing & recycling. Some serious & some just serious fun:

• earth911.com & 1800recycling.com (All Kinds of Recycling): For all kinds of info on where to recycle what, when & how in your neighborhood. These are a couple of those go-to sites.
• batteryrecycling.com (Batteries): For rechargeable & single use batteries, check out Battery Solutions.
• habitat.org/env/restores.aspx (Building Stuff): Habitat ReStore accepts leftovers in good condition from construction & remodeling jobs & uses the proceeds to fund affordable housing projects.
• dressforsuccess.org (Business Clothing): Donate wearable women’s business clothing to Dress for Success & they’ll give them to low-income women searching for jobs.
• ncadv.org (Cell Phones): Donate old cellphones to help raise money for your favorite charities. NCADV (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence) is one that’ll take them.
• delforte.com/rejeaneration (Del Forte Jeans): Return old Del Fortes back to the company. They’ll give you 10% off your next purchase. And make some things you might end up purchasing with your jeans.
• swapadvd.com (DVDs): Post ten DVD titles to receive credit on the site. Each time you mail a movie, you accumulate more points. Then trade for new old DVDs with those points. Who needs cable!
• myboneyard.com & venjuvo.com (Electronics): PCs, MP3 players, cameras & more can be traded online for cash at these sites. AND…
• radioshack.com/tradein & officedepot.com/techtradein & staples.com (Electronics): Those items can also be traded online for store credit or for a small fee.
• buymytronics.com (Electronics): Recycle broken or used electronics in exchange for cold, hard cash. They’ll pay dollars, reuse the working parts & recycle the rest.
• www.usps.com/green (Electronics): A pilot program with Clover Technologies Group & the USPS is available a select post offices. Where it’s happening, you can ship stuff for recycling for free through the Mail Back program. So cool.
• patagonia.com/recycle (Fleece): Drop off or mail fleece garments (of any brand) to Patagonia & they’ll recycle the old fabrics into new clothing for future seasons. Everything old is new again!
• reecycle.org (Free Stuff): Join your local Yahoo! group to search for free stuff in your ‘hood. Everything’s free & you can rid yourself of the clutter you no longer want.
• swapnstuff.com & swaptree.com (Fun Swaps): Trade CDs, DVDs, books & video games at these to groovy sites.
• recycleplace.com (Ink/Toner Cartridges): Not only will you recycle those cartridges, but they’ll give you cash for them.
• gimmeyourstuff.blogspot.com (International Swaps): Swap stuff with someone from another country. Think souvenirs & cultural kitsch!
• proquo.com (Junk Mail Reduction): Register your name & address to remove yourself from mailing lists for all those offers, catalogs & coupons you never wanted in the first place. Down with junkmail!
• recycleoil.org (Motor Oil): This site will help you find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state. Oils meant for recycling, not gunking up our water supply!
• plasticbagrecycling.com (Plastic Bags): Find a local spot for recycling plastic bags – think bread, produce, shopping & even Ziploc bags. Bags begone!
• oneworldrunning.com (Shoes): Shoes in still wearable condition will be sent to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America & Haiti.
• playitagainsports.com (Sports Equipment): Resell or trade your sports equipment with Play It Again Sports. Croquet, anyone?
• nike.com/nikebiz/reuseashoe (Sports Shoes): Send worn out athletic shoes to Nike & they’ll make ’em into “Nike Grind” (even if they’re not Nike shoes). This stuff’ll be donated to children’s organizations & used in sports surfaces.
• greendisk.com (Technotrash): For a small fee, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of technotrash including CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio & video tapes, cell phones, pagers, batteries & so on & so forth. Awesome!
• videofitness.com (Workout Videos): Yes, you can even swap exercise videos on line. Om that’s good.
• recycline.com (#5 Plastics): Send your Preserve products, yogurt containers & other #5 plastics back the Recycline & they’ll make them into more groovy BPA free products. Here’s the address: Preserve Gimme 5
  823 NYS Route 13, Cortland NY  13045.

For additional recycling info, do a Search in our Blog (i.e., type “Recycle That” for some local resources).

In celebration of Earth Day, Green in BKLYN is offering a discount on the entire line of Pangea Organics – my favorite skin care products!

For the whole month of April, all Pangea Organics products are 25% off!

That includes facial cleanser, scrub & toner, soaps, masks & eye creams!  A veritable cornucopia of treasures.

Pangea Organics are always nurturing, organic & fair trade, handcrafted & cruelty-free.  And never use petroleum-based ingredients, detergents, sulfates, synthetic preservatives, artificial colors or fragrances.

If you love ’em already or haven’t tried ’em yet, it’s a great time to celebrate your natural beauty!  As well as Earth Day & Green in BKLYN’s second anniversary!

PS – Their boxes are plantable!  Put them in dirt & the seeds embedded in them grow into plants.  Way earthy & way green!

On Saturday, April 30th from 2-4pm, the lovely, talented & super eco-friendly Tiffany Threadgould will be at Green in BKLYN signing ReMake It! – her brand new crafty book – as well as sharing a free bonus crafty project to make & take with you.

Tiffany’s groovy book is jam-packed with 95 do-it-yourself “Recycling Projects from the Stuff You Usually Scrap”.  So you can transform outdated CDs into a lampshade, empty cereal boxes into a magazine holder, bottle caps into a game of checkers & a whole lot more!

Join us joining Tiffany & make something awesome with something scrappy.  Bonus crafty project included!

Recent events in Japan have left the island country reeling.  Photos & stories from the area are devastating.  And although events around the world are challenging to many, Japan’s needs are immediate & life effecting.

Green in BKLYN is now collecting cash donations for the Red Cross Japan rescue efforts. We’ve got a big old jar on the counter in the shop for your pocket change.  Toss it in!

In addition, we’re hosting a raffle with proceeds from ticket sales also going to the Red Cross. Buy a $1 raffle ticket & be entered in the drawing for basket of green gifts,including a Spare SodaStream CO2 Cartridge!

For folks who have a SodaStream Seltzer Maker, these cartridges are vital for continued access to freshly made seltzer.  Buy a ticket for yourself or someone you know who loves bubbles.  Heck, buy a bunch!

We’ll be hosting the drawing through the month of April.  Buy a raffle ticket, make more bubbles & help lighten the weight of Japan’s heavy load!

Spring must truly be here… ‘Cuz there’s a new Free Tree Giveaway going on!

On Saturday, March 26th at 10:00am, 300 free trees will be given away for people to plant on private property anywhere in NYC.  The Giveaway will be held at the Putnam Triangle in Clinton Hill (at Fulton Street & Grand Avenue).

The Free Tree Giveaway held last year at the Triangle was originally planned as a two day event. But demand was so high that 200 trees were given away in just over an hour.  So this year, they’re giving away 300 trees!

Trees will be distributed one per person on a first-come, first-serve basis until supplies run out with a limit of one tree per person.

Limited quantities of the following species of trees are expected to be available: “Cherokee Brave” dogwood (pink flowers), Kwanzan cherry (pink) & Yoshino cherry (white to pink).  Horticulture specialists will be on hand to answer questions & provide species selection recommendations.  Simple planting & tree care instructions come with each tree, too.

The event is made possible by the generous support of Put Down Roots tree giveaway sponsor American Express, MTNYC lead sponsors BNP Paribas & Toyota & major donors, Bloomberg Philanthropies & David Rockefeller & hosted by Green Fort Greene & Clinton Hill & the FAB Alliance in partnership with New York Restoration Project & MillionTreesNYC.

NOTICE OF EVENT TO BE RESCHEDULED:

The lovely & charming, talented & super eco-friendly Tiffany Threadgould will NOT be at Green in BKLYN on Saturday, March 19th signing ReMake It! – her brand new crafty book.

The event will be rescheduled in the future.

Tiffany’s groovy book is jam-packed with 95 do-it-yourself “Recycling Projects from the Stuff You Usually Scrap”.  So you can transform outdated CDs into a lampshade, empty cereal boxes into a magazine holder, bottle caps into a game of checkers & a whole lot more!

We’ll let you know when she’ll be here!