EcoMonday: Greening Your Skiing

We are totally taken by the snow.
And we saw something lovely recently at the Philly Green Blog, where there was a good informative post about greening your skiing. Cos, you know, skiing can be very hard on the environment.
Downhill skiing requires snow grooming, and electricity for ski lifts, and new poufy clothing, and all sorts of other things (you didn't think the trees on your favorite ski hill just managed to grow in run-like formation, did you?) that might be unsavory to the green-minded.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Check out some green ski areas. Here on the east coast, Smuggler's Notch in Vermont and Jiminy Peak in New Hampshire boast high marks for their sustainability records: Smuggs' boasts some great sustainable architecture, and Jiminy's built a wind turbine to contribute to power. If you're aiming to ski outside of the east coast, take a look at Sustainable Slopes, the National Ski Areas Association's charter for the greening of skiing. It'll tell you which areas are in compliance with the initiative.
Consider alternate activities. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are two truly green activities that require very little by way of equipment and travel. Any existing wide-open area, like a park or a golf course, is open for both of these activities if there's enough snow cover. Pluses include a higher rate of aerobic activity and a fatter wallet: both of these activities are free.

Recycle your togs. As our pals at Philly Green Blog say, Patagonia's Common Threads program can and will recycle your used clothing. But you can also go one step further: repair a popped zipper instead of buying a whole new coat. Buy merino wool underlayers and socks from a company like SmartWool, which practices sustainable harvesting. (Merino wool is a natural fiber that'll keep you warm even when you get sweaty.)

What are your favorite tips for staying active and green in the winter?

EcoMonday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Really? On the holiday that's all about consuming, we want you to think about being eco-friendly? Guess what? Planning a greener Thanksgiving event is easier than you think. Try these tips:

Invite more people over. You almost always have leftovers, don't you? And some of those get tossed in the rubbish bin pretty quickly. So try and plan for more people, so that you get fewer leftovers. Fewer leftovers means less waste. That's pretty green.

Try to buy locally. There are few things more pleasurable than finding out about a great apple orchard nearby, taking a stroll there, and picking your own apples. Take the idea and expand it to all your food: Wouldn't it be nice to know where your pumpkins, yams, collard greens, and turkey came from? Buying local means you have less travel for the food, and that means fewer carbon emissions. This year, we'll get our coffee from La Colombe and our wine from the Brandywine territories.

We like to show off our local treasures, like Brandywine Valley wines. Thanksgiving is the right time to do it.

Go for a walk. A nice stroll with friends and family means one more half-hour that the TV is off, and it's fabulous for your digestion, too. Hey, we love the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving too, but we think we might forego it just once this year for some good brisk air and some stellar conversation.

Go on, go for a walk. Charlie Brown won't mind.

Shop Black Friday sparingly. A good deal is hard to turn down, but while you're riding the glow of all that family and friendship, really think about what you're buying for people you care about. Choose things you think they'll really use, and we think you'll end up with a sparser shopping list, less time spent in lines, and more time to gorge yourself on the leftovers we know you'll inevitably end up with, anyway. Who wants some turkey sandwiches?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hub Day: The Power of Play

At The Hub, we love to play. Or maybe that should be, Wii love to play.
Okay, rotten puns aside, we just got a Wii installed in our Cira Centre location, and boy, are we thrilled.
It seems our clients, are too. Although The Hub is already a pretty friendly place to be, we knew that there's more to great ambiance than just cool music (we favor classic rock) and comfy chairs. There's a real sense of joy to our offices, and since we're all for creative solutions, well, we bought a Wii. And now, instead of just classic rock, you might hear the melodic bip-boop! of a Wii tennis ball being lobbed across the net, or the rattle of a bowling ball as it gutters.
What's the point? We bought it because we're firm believers in the value of play. Peter Chun, our director of operations, calls it our coffee replacement, and likens it to taking a quick walk during lunchtime, or any other time you might feel slow and slumped. It's true--a little brisk activity definitely gets the blood moving, and that's always a good thing.

We'd rather be playing WiiSports at The Hub.

The National Institute of Play has another take on it. On its web site, researchers cite a study in which enrichment (or play) greatly stimulated the area of the brain that serves the highest cognitive function. More obviously stated, it just means that the brain that gets the most play also performs the best, comes up with the most creative solutions, and gets the most exercise.
Other studies have looked at the fact that productivity and play are inextricably linked. They talk about how rough-and-tumble play helps develop a sense of fair play, and how physical play and movement help you to really know yourself and how you'll react to specific circumstances.
Finally, we know for a fact that a little playtime can defuse even the worst situations.
We're not claiming that our Wii will solve everyone's work problems, but we have noticed our clients walking out of their meetings looking crestfallen and tired, going two sets with the Wii, and looking as if they feel much better for it.
Pretty good results. We think we'll keep the Wii.
This article lists ten good reasons that we're going to keep our latest office tool. Go forth and read, and then come on over and play with our Wii.