One of the most memorable parts of what was my absolute favorite holiday growing up, was decorating our house and tree for Christmas. Over the years, we accumulated 2 large speaker boxes as tall as we were, full of decorations that got dragged out and used year after year. Often my mom would try to swiftly discard some of the older members of the decoration box and update them with trendier and more stylish versions, but some strong sense of tradition in my brother and I always made for a good protest. Decorating is fun and seems to give new life to our homes, so here are some tips for doing the holiday home transformation in an eco-friendly way:

1. The Tree. Skip the artificial tree versus real tree conundrum and go for a living tree that you can enjoy year-round. A nice potted pine or even a fig tree is easily decorated, and has life beyond those two weeks of holidays. Decorate with old jewelry like long earrings, bracelets or restring old necklaces together for a classy and unique look. …read more of Decorating Green for the Holidays here

With rising gas prices, carbon-guilt and the knowledge that alternative transportation is the more sustainable approach to getting from here to there, many of us are looking for ways to do so in a viable way.  When it is just one body to move around, a bike, bus or light-rail train are usually convenient and workable. A whole other experience is alternatively transporting kids and the accompanying backpacks, snackpacks, toys, diaper bags, strollers and the rest of the provisions. Getting all of this in a self-contained vehicle is often trying enough, let alone taking it all to a public space like a bus.

Recently I’ve come across a concept that at least takes care of the kid’s school commute, provided you live within walking distance. The “walking school bus” gets together a regular group of kids and adults living along the same the route to the school and simulating a bus: a “driver”, a route with scheduled stops, and “riders”.

Pretty simple, yet it has explosive results. With statistics revealing that …read more of Be The Bus here