Green Options

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Let’s see, how to introduce a list of my favorite green crafting blogs that aren’t us? Hmm.

“More ways to spend time on the internet instead of working.” Probably true, but slightly too cheeky.

“More ways to spend time on the internet instead of crafting.” Again, probably true, or maybe I’m just projecting my personal issues?

How about: “These are cool, you should read them!”

Slightly dull, but honestly I’m a bit tired today and that may be as good as it gets. So without further ado, here are some of my personal favorite green craft blogs, big and small. Check out our blogroll for more, and feel free to add your suggestions in the comments!

Ever wonder what fashion bloggers are really like? We have! While it would be difficult to try and analyze ourselves, we jump at the chance to chat with other eco-minded online writers to get their perspective on sustainable fashion and its place in the entire green movement.

Launched a month and a half ago as part of the new EcoGeek blogging network, Wearing the Future is all about “straight talk as much as style, so you won’t have to worry about fluffy, PR-soaked, greenwashing nonsense.”

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the blog’s chief editor and head writer, Kyeann Sayer (pronounced like “cayenne” pepper). As a long-time writer for Treehugger.com, Kyeann has an impressive media resume - she has been featured on CNN, MSN, I.D. Magazine, Domino, Spin, Outside, and Women’s Wear Daily … just to name a few.

In our lively conversation, Kyeann and I talk about the beginning of Wearing the Future, her favorite eco-fashion brands, personal style’s place in the world of green living and more - read on for all the juicy details!

Victoria Everman: How did you get connected with Hank Green of EcoGeek? Did the two of you come up with the idea for Wearing the Future together or was he on the look-out for an editor and writer already? 

There are a number of regional blogs about green building that I follow, more or less, regularly.   Some of them are already in our blogroll (at the right), and we’re working to expand that list.   One of the best, in my opinion, is Green Bean, which covers green building in Chicago and the surrounding counties.  It’s tight in its focus because it deals only with the Chicago region, and it is focused on building projects that have been built or are under construction.  Each article is a case study of a green building in a few paragraphs.

Right now, its founder and editor, Erik, is looking for someone (or, more likely, several people)  to take over the blog for him.  Green Bean is clearly a labor of love but Erik has announced that he has some big changes coming up that are going to take him away and he is not going to be able to keep GreenBean going by himself.  He writes, that, because of a new job,  he is “…relocating to Stuttgart, Germany for 6-12 months, then to New York City.   In addition to this, we’re expecting our first child in April.”

Wei Wenhua, a 41-year-old construction company executive and blogger, was beaten to death Monday when attempting to film a protest on his cell phone.  Villagers were protesting the disposal of waste near their homes in the central Chinese province of Hubei.  According to CNN,

A scuffle developed when residents tried to prevent trucks from unloading the rubbish, Xinhua said.

When Wei took out his cell phone to record the protest, more than 50 municipal inspectors

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This local blog first came to my attention via an article in the local paper about a University of Michigan medical student and his daughter who are operating a blog together that is encouraging people to eat vegetarian meals one day a week (on Wednesdays). The Vegetarian Wednesday blog began just this past summer. Originally founded by Josh Mugele and his daughter Eleanor, there are now a few other writers

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The Gaiam Community site is a great resource for information on not only green living, but also health and wellness, mind-body fitness, and even spirituality. The site contains articles, discussion forums, and videos, but no blog… at least, no blog yet.

In October, Gaiam Community will launch it’s blog, and, judging from their plans, it will quickly attain the status of a "must-read." They’ve already lined up yoga guru Rodney Yee, and Gaiam Real

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Photo credit Scott Beale

Jay Dedman and Ryanne Hodson are an example of the new media- independent, grassroots reporters and news. The couple runs Ryan is Hungry, a videoblog that interviews and features green gurus, tips, and information. They look for “stories that don’t get covered in the mainstream media worlds of television and newspapers,” and they bring that news to us.

Their medium, video, is powerful

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As many of you know, Green Options is not my first foray into the world of green blogging: I started sustainablog in 2003, and have written for Treehugger for about 14 months. Since Green Options launched, I've had to curtail my blogging a bit — I cut back on my Treehugger schedule, and put sustainable on hiatus at the end of May.

Things change, though, and during a recent discussion with TH

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Most of us have a fairly narrow view of what it means to recycle: we gather materials (aluminum, paper, glass, plastic) in blue bins and either leave them on the curb for a pick-up service, or take them to a drop-off point. British site How Do I Recycle This? takes a much broader view of the concept — essentially merging reuse and recycling — and provides a forum where users can submit there

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We've been thrilled by the recent pick up in blog comments and discussions going on at Green Options: we're glad many of you feel comfortable participating in discussions here. Ninety-nine percent of those comment have been constructive, thoughtful and informed. The other one percent… well, we're making some changes to address spam (which has picked up also) and uncivil behavior.

After deleting a ton of spam yesterday, I asked our developers to turn

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Cleveland, Ohio doesn't get a lot of respect. It's been the butt of countless jokes, an environmental scapegoat, the "City whose river caught on fire," and a symbol for the declining cities of the "Rust Belt" of the American midwest.

But that doesn't mean that there isn't a green heart in the Cleveland area. Even a city in the middle of the rust belt can be

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