Let it be known to the local restaurants that a challenge has been issued. This challenge is a challenge of sustainability, a challenge of economic responsibility. The non-for-profit organization, St. Louis Earth Day, has formed a super group of Eco-heroes in the Green Dining Alliance initiative.

The Green Dining Alliance, GDL, sounds more like a cartoon super hero group than a group of advocates to reduce the environmental impact of St. Louis area restaurants and diners. Although they are not super heroes, they do have some super goals for their first full year in 2012. By the end of the year the GDL hopes to build its membership to at least 80 local restaurants but also to reduce landfill waste by 800 tons. That’s right 800 tons! This is fairly ambitious platform for success but with the support of area restaurants and consumers this goal is more than achievable.

To become a member of the GDL a restaurant must go through and evaluation process in which they are graded on a scale of one to four stars. The grade is based on seven different categories. These categories include; recycling and waste reduction, water conservation, energy conservation, sourcing, chemicals, awareness and innovation. If the restaurant fails to meet these guidelines they will receive recommendations on how they can improve their standing in the green community. They also give the restaurant patrons a way of voicing their concern to their favorite restaurants by leaving little printed nudges toward a greener approach in the form of little flyers.

I was relieved to find out that some of my favorite restaurants are already members of the Green Diners Alliance. Schlafly Tap Room and Schlafly Bottle works were two places I already loved going to because of the food and atmosphere but knowing at what lengths they went to reduce their waste and energy use gave me a sense of pride knowing that my money went to such establishments. It is now up to us to reward these local businesses for the effort they put into making St. Louis a better place to live in the future. It’s up to us to pressure our favorite places to eat to adopt the practices of their more eco friendly rivals in order to maintain their current level of business. This is what is best for the consumer, best for the city, and best for the planet as a whole.

To find out more information on the Green Dining Alliance, including a list of their current members, visit their website.

Written by Ryan Farrell

Each year on February 14^th, the American consumer feels the need to show their affection with an excess of flowers, expensive purchases and cards. Thanks to tradition and, in large part, consumerism, this is considered the norm – but have you ever stopped to think about how much your loving contributions to your significant other might be hurting the environment?

According to a study in 2011 in the UK, simple purchases on V-day add up to a huge carbon footprint. Statistically, 77,000 lbs. of CO2 are created by growing just 12,000 roses. Over 165,000 tons of CO2 is produced from gold miners each year. And the paper industry alone is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions.

So now you ask yourself what you can do to lessen your carbon footprint this February. For flowers, choose locally grown or organic flowers instead of mass produced red roses. Instead of new jewelry, give pre-owned jewelry a try or maybe try something really unique and earth-friendly like wooden jewelry. And before you rush out to get that last minute V-day card, try to find cards that are made with recycled paper, or better yet, make your own card from scratch. Nothing says “I love you” like taking the time to make something for someone. Remember, you don’t have to be an artist to say I love you. For more ideas like these, you can visit Green living tips here.

If you have any other ideas on ways to make this Valentine’s Day greener, please let us know!

By Myranda Harnage

Environmental advertising is one of my favorite ways to advertise. Sometimes you need to liter- ally get in people’s faces to make your point, which is exactly what I love about environmental graphic design. When done well, an environmental advertising project is clever and is supposed to make you stop and think. Projects like the one in the photo below do just that. As the person drying off their hands takes a paper towel, they are reminded that they are contributing to waste and the destruction of trees and forests.

 
Now when I say “environmental advertising” I don’t necessarily mean the subject has to literally be about the environment. Any advertisement that is within the environment and off of the page or computer screen falls under this category. I came across one on this website where you can find many more of a Mr. Clean advertisment where the white lines along the pedestrian crosswalk were all dirty and dingy except for the one with Mr. Clean’s picture which was a clean bright white. To come across something in public like that can be surprising and eye catching, which is the whole point and is why this type of advertising is so effective.

 
It’s one thing to design a great advertisement that will be featured in a magazine or catalog, because although it may be the greatest composition you’ve ever seen, the reader is expecting it, therefore lacking the shock-factor. An ad that uses the environment as a tool can be simple, and actually tend to be better when they are just clever and to the point. It is all about where the ad is placed and how the designer uses the environment in a way that people would never expect when just walking down the street or through a building. So let us know, did you ever come across an environmental ad in public like the one described above? If so, how did you react, and if not, do you think it would effect you if you did?

Written By: Jen Ebenrick

Did you know that we Americans have 5% of the world”s population but we”re consuming 30% of the world”s resources and creating 30% of the world”s waste? Here at Trileaf Designs we are environmentally conscious and that we want you to realize that we have to take action in order to save our planet.

“The Story of Stuff” is a 20-minute documentary about the lifecycle of material goods. This documentary is not new – it has been around from 2007 – and probably many of you have already seen it or at least heard of it. This film has already been translated into 15 languages and had been viewed by over 12 million people. For those of you who still don’t know what I am talking about, here is the video!

Please give us your opinion!

Written By: Mauricio Medina

When I heard about hundreds of jobs opening in Missouri I couldn’t help but be curious as to what the buzz was about. Emerald Automotive has plans to open a Hybrid Van plant in Hazelwood, Missouri. I see this as a good opportunity for several reasons. Hybrid cars are on the rise and are good for the environment. Hybrids combine clean energy of the electric motor which results in lower emissions. Hybrid cars are also much cleaner cars with lesser greenhouse gas emissions. Also, working for the plant will bring lots of “green” to the unemployed who have been waiting for jobs. Although Emerald Automotive will not be up and running for 3 years, it is a step in the right direction for a cleaner and greener environment. What are your thoughts?

It seems Kellogg’s is using the old saying, “good things come in small packages,” in a literal manner with their new packaging strategy in which they are reducing the inner package lining of several of their products. Yet, this is not the first step the Kellogg’s company has taken in an attempt to reduce their carbon footprint. Last year the company announced that its CSR (Corporate Sustainability Report) has shown significant results since instituting additional sustainable policies in 2006, including reduced packaging and increased recovery of post-consumer recyclables. One of the results has been a 26% decrease in the package to product ratio. In return, Kellogg’s has reduced the amount of fossil fuel used to deliver their products across the US, along with the amount of post-consumer waste. In addition, last year Kellogg’s began reporting it’s water usage data to the Carbon Disclosure Project to further its progress toward its’ sustainability goals. What a great step towards a better environment! Now if only other large companies could follow Kellogg’s lead! What are other companies doing to reduce their carbon footprints?

Written by: Karly Poole

Europe has apparently taken action to decrease the noise in their environment. Anywhere from the way they construct roads, the tires they use to reimbursing residents who live near airports and want to make their home sound proof. Why you ask? Because loud noises raise blood pressure and can do damage to your health, this in turn causing shorter life spans. Although Europe finds this risk to be important enough to take action on, the U.S. on the other hand gave up trying a long time ago. According to this article Ronald Reagan closed what was called the Office of Noise Abatement and Control in 1982 due to budget concerns. So what do you think? Is regulating noise for health purposes an overreaction, or should the U.S. take it a little more seriously?

Written by: Jen Ebenrick

According to an article I read, the Department of Agriculture has a new environmentally friendly label they allow products to use if they meet certain standards. The products have to be made “wholly or significantly from renewable agricultural ingredients, i.e. renewable plant, animal, marine and forestry materials.” The label is called the BioPreferred label and one product that gets to proudly show off this label is a hand soap made by the Lighthouse for the Blind-Saint Louis, a local nonprofit organization located in St. Louis county that helps provide people who are blind or severely disabled with jobs. For more detailed information, please visit the link above and let us know what you think!

Written by: Jen Ebenrick

What May be Causing Your Workers Not to Work

Not getting stuff done? Maybe it’s the office. Seriously. I always thought it was just a preference of mine to work near open windows with lots of light and open spaces but it turns out it really does improve my productivity. A recent study shows that ventilation, temperature and light may all play important factors in the different levels of employee productivity. Workers with a window office are more likely to stay on task than those who are not while open windows show an even bigger increase. Similarly, an increase in productivity has been seen when the temperature of a room is raised from the standard 69 degrees up to a surprisingly 75 degrees. To me this makes sense, good weather seems to make me want to do more. What do you think?

Written by: Craila Nixon

Everyone has a place that is special to them, that is almost sacred ground to them. I am not talking about a home or anything like that what I am talking about a place where you are by yourself in nature. More like what do you see in your minds eye? For example I see myself in a forest clearing next to a weathered rock face with moss on the ground so thick that you can feel it between your toes. My place is where the trees stretch out above you with the canopy providing you with shade no matter where you stand. The place that I write of is a national forest in southern Illinois. I spent part of my youth there and it never really does leave you. What I ask of you is to tell me what your special place is? What do you see in your minds eye? Think about it and let me know.

By – Will Stoeber