EcoPerks

A couple of years ago, my lifestyle seemed to necessitate my taking at least one international or domestic flight each year. I had stopped using a car, but somehow I hadn’t faced up to the fact that each flight added up to a few months’ worth of typical car travel. My carbon footprint was a few sizes too big for my feet, and my partner Barbara and I decided to take action. (more…)

I am always glad to get the email invite from an earnest collection of friends in Malibu, who cast out a call to a group of us online about weekly nature hikes, full moon picnics and midnight meteor shower gatherings. “Yes!” I cheer to myself. “THIS is why I left the whirlwind life of New York City; to jog along our breezy ocean boardwalk, and glide a kayak over the undulating kelp beds of Pt. Dume.” (more…)

Shocking how kids grow, isn’t it? I remember going to Baby Gap after my daughter, Averill, was born, and telling the saleswoman that I needed to return a newborn baby gift as it was too big. The woman, a mother of three, laughed and told me that in a week or two my newborn would fit that 3-6 month romper just fine. It was hard to imagine, but she was right. (more…)

“It’s a phenomenon you’ve created!”

These were the opening words in my e-mail to Edwin Datschefski.

It is called “Green Drinks.” Imagine a happy hour for the environmentally conscious. This informal, self-organizing network typically convenes monthly at a set date, time and venue. Breaking in is easy: simply approach someone and ask “Are you green?” and you will be made to feel welcome. (more…)

Not long after my daughter Samara’s birth, her toys seemed to lay siege to our small house. It wasn’t the clutter that drove me crazy, but the incessant noise that some of these things made. Push a button, make the pig “oink,” push another and hear a “moo.” What happened to using your imagination? In my day (and now I sound like my parents), we gave voice to our baby dolls and “vroom” to our matchbox cars. Toys didn’t scream at us all day long, and they didn’t need endless double As. (more…)