Category Archives: Cool Things

Planning Your Summer Vacation? Check Out an Eco-Adventure in Mount Hermon Treetops

Posted on May 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’m dangling from a branch of a California live oak, looking down on the ground 40 feet below.

Technically, I climbed here, though not by shinnying up tree trunks and playing monkey bars across branches. This was a page out of the old arborists’ book, a straight vertical ascent using ropes and friction knots.

It’s part of a new ECO Tour offered by the Mount Hermon Adventure Center, a branch of the Mount Hermon organization that was founded in 1906 as the first Christian camp west of the Mississippi.

Today, the adventure center is best known for Redwood Canopy Tours – zip-lining – in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but since October, a new pair of educational programs has been added.

The four-hour ECO (Education. Conserve. Outdoors.) Tours grew out of courses that teach visiting fifth-graders about sustainable stewardship, says Suzy Clark, the director of Mount Hermon’s outdoor science school.

And it starts with a bird’s-eye view earned through tree climbing.

“There isn’t a recreational tree climbing program in California,” Clark says as she gathers her rope and harnesses, “so this is about getting the word out and showing people what an enjoyable experience it is.”

Indeed, a healthy sense of adventure is more important than physical strength. You’re clipped into a harness at all times, and it takes only a moderate amount of sweat to pull yourself up thanks to a rope system – and particularly, the Blake’s hitch knot – that uses friction and your body weight to ascend and descend.

Planning Your Summer Vacation? Unique Hotels with and Eco Twist

Posted on April 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

In honor of Earth Day, Laurie Isola searched high and low for unique hotels, resorts and lodges that celebrate their natural surroundings – and show Mother Nature some love through sustainable practices.

So kick back, relax, and let us transport you to far-out locales — from luxe bungalows on a private island to rustic roosts above the Pacific — where the stars shine bright, the air is sweet and tranquility is a guaranteed amenity.

See photos at: http://blog.sfgate.com/getlost/2013/04/22/unique-hotels-with-an-eco-twist/

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Cool Things: Zero Waste – This Family Generates Only 1 Quart of Trash a Year

Posted on April 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

Bea Johnson sees through you. She sees through the hemp shopping tote where you slipped that plastic bag of fair-trade bananas, BPA/phthalate-free container of kombucha and organic Gorilla Munch that’s packaged in a bag inside a box. Johnson sees, as you get into your new electric Leaf, that you’re trying to live more sustainably but maybe you could use a little guidance. She’s just the one to offer it.

Will this lower your taxes since you are not using the city’s trash service? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your property tax questions.

The Mill Valley resident, her husband, Scott, and their sons Max and Léo generate just one quart of trash a year. Johnson, who details her family’s efforts to live more sustainably in the popular blog www.zerowastehome.blogspot.com and recently released book of the same name ($17; Scribner) lives by the five R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot – in that order. “Don’t take what you don’t need, even if it’s free,” she told Chronicle contributor Anh-Minh Le.

To learn more about how she and her family cut their consumption and reduced spending by 40 percent, go to bit.ly/11tqsCw. For a taste of the Zero Waste lifestyle, check out Johnson’s quick and easy tips. (Oh, and Johnson also sees you rolling your eyes at No. 6: “This is what I do,” she told The Chronicle. “If it works for you, too, great. If not, that’s fine. Figure out a system that works for you.”)

Simple ways to go trash-free

Bea Johnson’s recently released book, “Zero Waste Home” ($17; Scribner), shares her experiences, as well as the expertise she has developed in attempting to create a trash-free household. Here are some simple yet effective ideas she and her family have implemented:

1. Shop in bulk and bring cloth bags, mesh bags, glass jars and bottles to the store. They can hold different types of foods – such as grains, fruit, meat and olive oil. Bring totes, too, to carry all of your groceries home in.

2. Many beauty and bath products, including liquid soap and lotions, can also be purchased without packaging and some can be homemade. In Johnson’s case, she makes her own tooth powder (instead of toothpaste) and bronzer; the recipes are included in her book.

3. When it comes to housekeeping, again, Johnson goes the homemade route. She uses a vinegar mixture in lieu of a range of other cleaning products.

4. In the kitchen, she reduces food waste by employing various tricks, including freezing