Check out Green in BKLYN on Brian Lehrer’s CUNY TV show, “Brian Lehrer Live.”  Tonight from 7:30-8:30pm EST (for many folks, that’s Channel 75).

Brian Lehrer, the popular host of WNYC’s “Brian Lehrer Show,” hosts New York television’s only live ‘open phones’ call-in on CUNY TV, Wednesday nights on cable and online.

“Just like my WNYC show, we’ll be trying to get at the truth about life and politics in New York City, and give regular New Yorkers a voice through live call-ins and e-mail,” says Lehrer.  “We’ll also invite people to send in photos and original videos that say something meaningful about life in New York today.  And, as on the radio, we’ll find our ways to sneak in some fun!”

Hopefully you’ll think we’re part of the fun!

Oh, and if you want to call in, Brian’s number for the show is 212-251-0801

This week, Joshua Onysk (the president & founder of Pangea Organics), came to Green in BKLYN to talk about Pangea’s amazing facial & body products, as well as beauty products in general…

It got me thinking about the “Dirty Dozen,” twelve ingredients to avoid in personal care products (courtesy of the Green Guide).  None of the beauty products at Green in BKLYN contain the “Dirty Dozen,” of course.  And now, so you can make sure these products stay off the largest organ of your body, too…

The “Dirty Dozen”:

1. Antibacterials (use soap & water, organic alcohol & essential oils, instead)
2. Coal Tar Colors FD&C Blue 1 & Green 3
3. Diethanolamine (DEA)
4. 1, 4-Dioxane
5. Fragrance (containing phthalates)
6. Formaldehyde (diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea & quaternium compounds)
7. Lead & Mercury
8. Nanoparticles
9. Parabens (methyl-, propyl-, butyl-, ethyl- & isobutyl-)
10. Petroleum Distillates
11. p-Phenylenediamine (PPD)
12. Hydroquinone
    

Green in BKLYN was recently featured in “8 Cool NYC Shops that Specialize in Green Living (And Aren’t Absurdly Expensive)”.  LifeStyler’s reporter, Francesca Antonacci, wrote the story & mentions our website’s Green Tips as well as a bunch of our nifty products (flushable diapers, recyclable kitchen products & sustainable kids’ toys).

LifeStyler is a New York City-centric guide offering tips promoting financial responsibility & fiscally responsible lifestyle choices including where to find the cheapest beers in NYC, how to set up a retirement account & cool eco-friendly shops that aren’t ridiculously priced (that’s us!).

It’s a great site & a very lovely mention… Enjoy!

After our September collection of #5 plastics (along with batteries & cell phones), we are now shipping them off!

They’re going to the Preserve Collection Site to be turned into products (all made with 100% post-consumer #5 plastics)…

Then we’ll have said products (including bowls, cups, cutting boards, storage containers, razors & toothbrushes) returned to Green in BKLYN to be available to you!

The glorious cycle of reduce – reuse – recycle in perfect action.

If you missed our recycling drive or would like to ship stuff off yourself, Preserve will take your clean #5 plastics at their collection site.  Just box them up & send them off to:

Preserve Gimme 5

And, again, thank you to everyone who brought plastics, batteries & cell phones in for our September recycling drive.  We’re hoping to do it all again along with an e-waste (computers, appliances, etc.) drive sometime next year!

To everyone who brought batteries, cell phones & #5 plastics in to Green in BKLYN for our Month of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…  Thank you!

We’ll be sending the #5 plastics off to Recycline – the company that takes those plastics & turns them into bowls, cups, toothbrushes & razors as well as all sorts of other home treasures. We love their products (have them in the shop) & love what they do with plastic (reduce, reuse & recycle)…  And, if you buy a toothbrush from us, as long as they have them for us, we’ll send you home with a Recycline pre-paid envelope so you can recycle your toothbrush yourself.

The cell phones will be used for… art!  We have a fellow who’ll be picking them up & adding them to a series of installations he’s doing.  We’ll give you details when we know where & when.  And will include photos!  Our mystery artist’s work is fascinating.  Stay tuned.

Amazingly, standard alkaline batteries are now accepted in the trash…

Directly quoting from the Department of Sanitation for New York:
“Standard alkaline batteries are not considered hazardous waste, since they no longer contain mercury.  Place batteries with your regular trash, not in your recycling bin.

And – All household batteries are accepted at any NYC Department of Sanitation Self-Help Special Waste Drop-Off Site.”

So, since you brought us so many batteries, we’ll be dropping them off at the Brooklyn Special Waste Drop-Off Site at Bay 41st Street & Gravesend Bay, south of the Belt Parkway  & adjacent to the DSNY Brooklyn 11 garage.

If you’re looking for other Special Waste Drop-Off Sites, check out NYC WasteLeSS.

If you’re looking for additional ways & places to recycle stuff, check out the  NYC WasteLeSS list of Recyclers & Vendors.

And, finally, we’re working on setting up an e-waste collection in or near Green in BKLYN.  It may take a while but we are working on it!

We have new art & a late afternoon reception today!

The show – “Summer Revisited” – features photos by Jesse Untracht-Oakner & images of those last glorious days of the season that seems to have flown by this year.  In an effort to extend our summer just a little bit, Jesse’s photos are displayed at Green in BKLYN & a reception will be held this afternoon at 5pm.

Jesse, a local photographer, has shot ads & collateral for BBDO & Interbrand, editorial for MISBEHAVE, Chief, Lucky, Korean Harper’s Bizarre, Heeb & Rolling Stone magazines, as well as assignments for Time Out NY, publicity for Hass Avocados & reportage for the NFL & commercial shoots.

Jesse is a featured photographer on the French-based stock photo website, Readymade-Images.com, & was named as an up-&-coming photographer on Photo District News’ website, Photo Serve.  An all-around good guy with a great dog, Jesse will be at the reception this afternoon.  And, more of his photos are shown on this website, JUO Photography.

Just a reminder…

This Sunday (September 20th) a host from Pangea Organics will be at Green in BKLYN.

She’ll be answering questions & sharing all kinds of info about their amazing products:
• 5x Award Winning Face Mask

• Fabulous Facial Toner

• Serious Scrub

• Sensational Soap

• Luxurious Lip Balms & more…

If you don’t already know, Pangea Organics products do more than make your body feel good.  Buying them means you’re supporting sustainable agriculture and culture – everything from fair trade sourcing & organic farming to living wages & the use of renewable, recycled & recyclable resources.  In other words, good for you, good for every body.

Pangea products are (& always will be):
• Organic: Crafted by artisans in small batches, using pure, organic ingredients that replenish the skin
• Handcrafted: Hand-blended to soothe or stimulate your senses
• Nurturing: Preserved using the gentlest of methods to retain the nurturing properties of the botanicals in each customized blend
• Fair Trade: Intentionally sourced from organic farmers through fair trade practices whenever possible
• Cruelty-Free: Honest above all else: if it’s in their products, it’s on their labels

They’ll never have petroleum-based ingredients, sulfates or detergents, synthetic preservatives or artificial colors or fragrances.

And they’ll always be packaged in their recycled boxes with embedded seeds.  So you can plant the boxes after using the product, recycling the container & feeling fabulous!

If you haven’t already checked out “One Million Acts of Green”, now is a great time for an introduction.

Green in BKLYN is featured in an article titled Green Your Neighborhood Store on the One Million Acts of Green website.  The article beautifully explains why opening Green in BKLYN was so important to me, what it means for us to be a part of the Brooklyn & green communities & how we are part of the One Million Acts…

In October 2008, Cisco launched One Million Acts of Green in Canada to show that individual, organizational & community acts of green add up to something significant.  Today, they’re asking everyone in the United States for an act of green.  It can be small: take public transportation instead of driving, use a refillable coffee cup or a CFL light bulb.  Or something bigger, like covering your roof in solar panels.

One Million Acts of Green asks you to form a community, record your acts of green & share your ideas to encourage others.  It shows the power of people coming together & working toward meaningful goals—the power of the human network.

So, you can start at the One Million Acts of Green website & register your acts of green.  Their calculator on the site, designed by GreenNexxus, shows how our acts create a positive impact.  Very cool.

The Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) is sponsoring a full day eco-friendly fair in our neighborhood!

Green Brooklyn… Green City Fair & Symposium will be held on Thursday, September 24, 11:30pm-6:00pm at Brooklyn Borough Hall (209 Joralemon Street).

The free event, sponsored by CENYC, includes information from local experts about the many ways New York City is creating a more sustainable future including:

* The State of the Climate (12pm – 1pm) featuring Dr. Radley Horton, Columbia University & the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Hugh Hough, The Climate Project & Dr. William Solecki, Hunter College.

* Green Your Business (1:30pm-2:30pm) featuring Andrew Kimball, President of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a Representative from Green Depot & Vanessa Knight, Director of Sustainable Business Network of New York City.

* Local vs. Organic: And Why We Care (3pm-4pm) featuring Michael Hurwitz, Director of Greenmarket, Anna Lappe, bestselling author of Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet & Justone Bossert, Red Jacket Orchards.

Don’t forget to bring your textiles for recycling & reuse! They might even get turned into artwork during a day-long interactive art project by Derick Melander.

Every Sunday in September Myrtle Avenue becomes an active, pedestrian-friendly public space…
In other words, from 11am to 7pm every Sunday in September, Myrtle Avenue is closed to car traffic (between Clinton & Emerson Avenues) .  Very green, indeed!
There are all sorts of events & happenings on the Avenue hosted by local businesses & organizations.  For a full schedule, you can visit Myrtle Avenue’s website.

For Green in BKLYN’s schedule, just check it out below!

• Sunday, September 13th: Buskers (that’s music to our ears!) & a two-person bicycle with 9-foot tires (really!)
• Sunday, September 20th: Pangea Organics will stop in (from 12-4pm) with samples, demos & info… And we’ll have more buskers (more music!)
• Sunday, September 27th: We’ve got an art opening (“Indian Summer” at 6pm) & this time the band’s amplified (with a bicycle!).

AND… All three of those Sundays:
We’re collecting batteries, cell phones & clean #5 plastic for recycling!

Join us on Sundays in September for Move About Myrtle & a rockin’ good time!  We’ll see you on the Avenue!