Green Options

Yesterday our leader here at Sustainablog, Jeff, let us all know about an interview he did on the Green Talk Podcast. If you haven’t listened to it yet, I encourage you to download it now. It’s informative and entertaining.

There are a lot of environmental podcasts out there. Grist has one. Treehugger has one. NPR has one. Even the EPA put out a few podcasts around Earth Day (don’t bother). And while these more prominent ones can give a lot of good information, sometimes they leave me feeling flat. When I’m listening, I prefer a podcast with personality.

If you’re like me, and demand to be entertained as well as informed before you’ll download a podcast, try one of these green, fun options.

More Hip Than Hippie - This is my all time favorite podcast. The hosts, Val and Dori, have a blast while they discuss the environment, beer, chocolate and how to determine your porn star name. This is not your run of the mill green podcast. They make every green action they discuss sound appealing. A few weeks ago, they interviewed a guest about canning, and now I’m looking forward to planting even more tomatoes next summer because I’m excited about canning. And did I mention the beer and chocolate?

The Little Green People Show - This podcast is hosted by Laurene von Klan and Jill Riddell and is dubbed “sound advice on green living in the big city.” Their big city is Chicago, and they answer listener questions and give lively commentary about environmental issues in their city and beyond. They tackle a variety of issues from foraging for food to solar cookers to green fashion. Good stuff.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at GreenFest Philly, and I took public transportation from South Jersey to get into Philadelphia. I then walked about 12 blocks to get to the festival. I wavered back and forth on taking the public transportation. Since I live in the suburbs it’s not usually how I get places because there isn’t a good system in place, but there is a high speed line station in my town that takes people between here and Philadelphia so I decided to use it.

When I got to the train station, my first thoughts were “it would be so much faster just to drive over the bridge.” But I wanted to do the right thing. Then the stupid ticket machine kept spitting out my dollars and gave me only a two second window to ask for a receipt which I missed. I was rather annoyed by the time I sat down to wait TWENTY minutes for the next train. Again I thought, “I could have driven and been there before the train even arrives.”

By the time I actually got to the festival, however, I realized that my whole attitude had changed. The environmental benefits of taking public transportation are well known. Less cars on the road mean less pollution. Less fuel used by individual motorists means less of our natural resources consumed. But I realized by the time I hit Headhouse Square where the festival was being held that there are other benefits to taking public transportation.

1. Time to be alone with your thoughts - Sure I would have been alone with my thoughts in my car, but my thoughts would have been different. They would have been thoughts about navigating the Ben Franklin Bridge or the crazy city drivers or where to find a parking space. Instead I got to actually think through things like ideas my pastor had brought up during the sermon earlier that morning. Taking public transportation can take the mental stress out of a commute.