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Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in can linings and hard plastics. It’s been around for a while and is widely used. And chances are, you have it in your system as we speak. With such common usage of the chemical, what are people making such a fuss about?

As it turns out, the chemical has been linked to cancer, diabetes, developmental damage and heart disease in animals. It is also known for leaching from can and bottle linings into foods and drinks. With such widespread use, 90% of Americans tested by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had traces of BPA in their urine.

So we know that it is a harmful chemical. What does the FDA have to do with all of this? Well, the FDA has long claimed that its assessments show that the chemical is “safe.” This stance, along with recent events have investors applauding. Recently the FDA has decided to reassess BPA using independent, rather than industrial, science and data.

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With Earth Day around the corner I wanted to write a few articles focusing on promotional items with a bent towards education.

The one thing about large events, any large large event, is that they are going to produce a lot of trash. That trash can be an educational tool in the hands of the right Ecopreneurist - the way it is planned for and the way it is disposed of speaks volumes to how green your event truly will be.

The folks at Tranter Graphics Inc help events start their event planning correctly by providing a wide selection of biodegradable and compostable cups, plates, napkins, utensils and bowls. My favorite items from Tranter are their line of GreenWare cups.

These clear cups come in sizes from 9oz - 16oz and are made of materials like sugarcane and corn starch which are 100% compostable. They work best for cold beverages and are a perfect solution for all those event booths selling beer, wine and sodas. End result, less trash in the landfill.

Events have 100s sometime 1000s of staff and volunteers. A great new way to identify them is the new #5 recyclable staff vest from Debco Solutions.

These vest are made from 25% recycled material, they are biodegradable, but they are also sturdy enough to be reusable. They are a great alternative to the polyester vests currently used by most in the event industry.

Other basic ideas for events?

• Print your tickets, flyers, maps, etc., on recycled paper.
• If you are selling t-shirts make them organic cotton, perhaps even with soy or water based inks.
• If you are using give-away bags make sure they are biodegradable materials or recycled paper.
• Use signage printed on nonwoven banners, a #5 recyclable material.

All these ideas are excellent ways for an event to demonstrate their practical commitment to hosting eco-friendly events. For more information on these items please contact info@proformagreen.com.

As I try to add more living foods to my diet, I’ve tried eating salad with just about every meal, eating raw snacks like trail mixes and fresh fruit, and making more food from scratch. One way of incorporating raw foods into my diet that has been really easy is making fresh juices and smoothies. With the help of gadgets like my Green Star juicer and Vitamix blender, I’ve made many a healthy and scrumptious snack.

One word of juicing wisdom that I’ve learned is that you don’t want to overdo it with fruit juices. Because of their high sugar content, fruit juices can raise blood sugar levels. It’s healthier to drink vegetable juices, or a blend of fruit and vegetable juices. Juices are best in moderation because they deliver many nutrients but since the pulp is removed, they don’t have much fiber. Smoothies, on the other hand, use the entire fruit or vegetable, so the fiber is included. Both juices and smoothies are a great way to get digestible nutrients and add more raw fruits and vegetables to your diet.

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Fresh Peach Spritzers

6 fresh peaches, quartered (I leave the peels on, but peel them if you prefer)
2 Tbsp honey, or to taste (I like raw honey)
1 bottle inexpensive white wine, chilled
1 liter sparkling water, chilled
Sprigs of fresh mint and peach slices for garnish

Combine honey and peaches in a blender or food processor and puree well (or use a juicer, if you have one.) Pour through a sieve into a large pitcher and chill thoroughly. Add wine and stir to combine. Add sparkling water to fill pitcher and stir gently.

To serve: Pour into tall glasses (over ice if desired) or large wine glasses and garnish with a slice of peach and a sprig of mint. Serves six.

More summery drinks:

• Summer is the Season for Sangria
• Drink Local: Keeping Cool With Rhubarb Cocktails
• Think Pink

Image credit: Cary Bass via a Creative Commons license

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

I bet you and your friends have a few summertime traditions. An annual 4th of July BBQ? Maybe a no-excuses-we’re-going-to-the-beach-the-same-weekend-every-year outing? Or perhaps a camping trip instead? A group of my friends, who have long scattered across several state lines and life stages (singles, newly weds, divorcees, and new parents are all among them), come together one night a summer to sit under the same tree in a big back yard, drink a lot of beer, play horseshoes and pretend for a little while that we’re still carefree and 20.

Quite frankly though, I’ve outgrown what little taste I had for a keg of lager beer. So, this year I decided I’d try a taking along the ingredients for a cocktail. Spurred by my success with the Lavender Lemon Soda recipe, I thought I’d try another simple syrup infused with a fresh herb that would add a little somethin’-somethin’ to my cocktail. The rosemary plants in my garden called out to me immediately.

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Who’s thirsty?

Between the barbecues, national holidays and beach vacations, cold beers become a necessity in many households over the summer months. As we pay more attention to the way our food is grown, harvested and transported, perhaps we owe it to the environment to be as vigilant with our beer. But how easy is it to find environmentally-conscientious breweries?

Beer brewing is not the most environmentally-friendly of activities, particularly regarding water usage. On average, six gallons of water are required to brew one gallon of beer - a ratio that must be drastically reduced in dry areas. Wastewater, carbon emissions and huge energy generators also contribute to the environmental sins of the industry.

But more breweries are taking notice of the eating public’s environmental awakening. While the biggest multinational breweries are beginning to make structural changes that promote sustainability, most of the greenest beers are (unsurprisingly) local and regional ones. Microbreweries are great agents of change because they interact with the communities that surround them. Their smaller size and community feeling make them more amenable to change, so it is easier to petition them and request more sustainable practices. Below are the top five eco-minded, North American mid-sized breweries:

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Editor's note: Green Brews is a new biweekly series in which Green Options writer Clayton Bodie Cornell explores a passion unrelated to biofuels: organic beers and green nightlife. Enjoy!

Have you ever felt guilty after a night at the bar? Not the guilt associated with spending all your hard-earned cash on overpriced drinks, or wasting a day of your life nursing a hangover — that happens. What I'm asking is whether or not your green conscience extends into the realm of alcohol…

I won't be surprised if you answer 'no' — I did too (generally speaking). But a completely new trend could be on the horizon: the 'eco-nightlcub':

…Mark Klemen['s]…new venture, Butterfly Social Club,…makes eco-consciousness and healthful living as easy as ordering a drink. Located next door to Klemen's diverse, socially conscious nightlife mainstay Funky Buddha Lounge [in Chicago], Butterfly offers an array of alcohol, juices and tonics that are either certified organic or grown and produced in an eco-friendly environment."

Consistent with the general trend in organic food and drink, Klemen claims organic alcohols taste better and are healthier. This is an attractive concept; whenever I consume something to excess I like to make it as healthy as possible. But he's probably right. Just like a top-shelf liquor, organic products tend to be more refined and contain fewer byproducts and pesticide residues. Anyone that's had a 'cheap-wine hangover' knows what I'm talking about.

Ingesting fewer pesticide residues is never a bad idea, though I'm sure someone out there is thinking 'healthy alcohol' is a pretty stupid concept. In terms of personal well-being, this may be true (drinking too much by any other name is still, well, you know…), but don't forget the term 'organic' involves a whole set of farming practices that are healthier for farmers and their land. It's not just about your brain cells.

Besides organic spirits, the Butterfly Social Club has a lot more eco-savviness to offer. The whole club is designed around green concepts:

Everything about Butterfly exudes an organic quality–even the artistic facade looks like a living thing, a hobbit hole growing out of the urban landscape. Inside, natural builder Miguel Elliott used a mixture of sand, clay and straw to hand sculpt curving walls and trees that double as seating nooks. Klemen calls the space comforting and cave-like, adding that the mud mixture helps keep temperatures cool.

Klemen says he's trying to offer customers "an opportunity to have a better tasting and better feeling experience."

Atmosphere, they say, is everything. At least that's what we tell ourselves when we pay $8 for a martini. But like the best of green innovation, Butterfly takes takes something most of us do anyway, makes it eco-friendly, and increases the quality and enjoyment of the experience:

What about drinkers loyal to not-exactly-beneficial brands? "I'm not asking anybody to give anything up," he says. "I'm asking somebody to get something better."

Klemen also says he's not asking you to save the world–just to spend your hard-earned cash on something more environmentally friendly. If there's some aspect of what he's doing at Butterfly that "makes people a little more aware," he says, it's a step in the right direction."

Hell, I'd drink there.

If you're off to the bar this weekend, Klemen offered some eco-conscious drinking tips to keep in mind:

Ditch: vodka and Red Bull
Do: Rain vodka, made from organic Midwestern grains, and Steaz certified organic energy drink; or Chopin vodka, from organic Polish potatoes, and Butterfly's housemade energy drink, made with spring water, and rainforest-sustaining roots, herbs and teas

Ditch: draft cider
Do: certified organic, unpasteurized Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouche Brut de Normandie (Klemen says he carries this cider to support the family that's been producing it for hundreds of years)

Ditch: Captain and Coke
Do: Navan cognac, which features natural black vanilla from Madagascar, and Steaz organic root beer

Ditch: Bud
Do: Wild Hop Lager and Stone Mill, Anheuser-Busch's beers made with certified organic barley malt; for a more enzymatic, organic option, try Wiesen Edel-Weisse, which ferments in the bottle up until you crack it open

Ditch: supermarket chardonnay
Do: organic and biodynamic wine from Frey vineyards (Klemen says the grapes are grown in "awesome soil")

Originally reported by Karen Budell:
Eco-lixirs: Can cocktails have a conscience? Butterfly Social Club thinks so. (May 9th, 2007).