Dede's Green Scene: Leonardo Dicaprio's Greenception!

Leonardo Dicaprio usually makes big headlines with his films, including this summer’s big blockbuster smash, “Inception”. What people may not realize is that Dicaprio also makes headlines for his environmental activism. He’s not only a big movie star, but a big, passionate advocate for being green. He first learned about global warming from former Vice President Al Gore and has truly made it a priority since, saying to Parade Magazine, “What I definitely feel a need for is to make my life about more than just my career...What I want is to be known as someone who stood for something.”

Extreme Locavore or Only in New York (and possibly Berkley)

I called a halt to the farm basket this week, as we're taking the Accidental Locavore on the road for a week, and going to Maine. Time for lobsters, crabmeat rolls and tiny blueberries (which means we need to talk my mom into a raspberry-blueberry pie recipe on Friday). So I'm trying to clean up not only my refrigerator, but also my e-mail before we leave. One of the many e-mail newsletters I get is from Grow NYC - they run the Greenmarkets in the city. What caught my eye in the August newsletter is an event to be held at the end of September that seems extreme, even for a city like New York...are you ready?

Designing Green with Robin Baron: Eco-Friendly Paint Guide

One of the most important aspects of green design is paint. Think about it: if all of your walls are painted, a change to a more eco-friendly paint can make a substantial movement toward a greener home. It is important and easy to find paints that are low VOC or no-VOC, making for healthier surroundings.

Top Ten Ways to go Green in College!

The green movement is taking over the world. Businesses are opting for alternative energy, shoppers are buying organic and people are becoming more aware. Despite this, many college students believe that opting for a sustainable lifestyle is impractical, as they cannot afford to buy local, organic products, or pay a few extra dollars a month for alternative energy sources. For example, when faced with the option of buying a dozen sustainably raised eggs for $5 from the local farmer, or a dozen industrial eggs for $1.50 from the local grocery store, college students will more often than not choose the latter. They also will more likely settle for coal and oil powered electricity, which is cheaper than wind or solar energy. Despite these two examples, there are many other cheap, affordable and eco-friendly changes students can make to go green. Here are 10 easy swaps college students and young adults can make to reduce their ecological footprint:

Dede's Green Scene: Celebrities' Heroic Roles in the Gulf

Summer is known for its release of movie blockbusters: big action movies filled with adventure, a villain and a hero to save the day. This year, there is a real tragedy happening in our gulf. On April 20, 2010, a Deepwater Horizon drilling rig by British Petroleum exploded causing an oil gusher to leak oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill is a heartbreaking tragedy and even though a cap has been placed on the well, which has completely shut off the leaking oil as of July 16, 2010, the ocean and ecosystem won't fully recover for years.

Prior to that, an estimated 1.5 million gallons of oil a day were being released into the gulf and covering about 2500 miles. PBS News reported that as of July 12, an estimated 91,005,735 gallons of oil have leaked, making this the largest oil spill in history. Eco-conscious celebrities are using their fame to give aid to this tragic disaster. They are acting as heroes off-screen to not only save the day, but our planet!

Designing Green with Robin Baron: Make Your Home Function Eco-Consciously

While I write and talk about using sustainable materials in home design quite a bit, it is also important to make sure your house runs efficiently. In every green-conscious home, appliances are eco-friendly, plumbing is water-efficient and light bulbs use as little energy as possible. Here are a few companies that I suggest to design clients for stylish, water-conserving and energy-saving products.

A Responsible Sugar Fix

Got a sweet tooth? There’s no need to be ashamed. After all, candy isn’t just for Halloween. Like other products, however, there are some manufacturers that are more responsible than others. Considering where your candy comes from and how it’s produced is one step towards being a more responsible consumer.

Leaving My Mark....in a Good Way

Working at a restaurant, you witness a lot of waste. In the nearly six years that I’ve been a manager at Bonfire restaurant, I’ve used my position to try and make its footprint less noticeable. Bonfire started as a family-owned business about fifteen years ago before recently evolving into a corporation. Regardless of our new ownership, my superiors are very open and supportive of making our business more environmentally-friendly.

Chryso's Beauty Buys: Eco-Friendly Bar Soap

Welcome to my beauty column! We will devote this space to a different product category for the month, be it body wash, nail polish, or bath salts. We’ll let you know which brand outshined the rest in the categories of safety, environmental responsiveness, packaging, practicality, and results so that you can make informed choices about what you slather on, dust on, and lather up with. This month we take on bar soap…

Accidental Locavore: The Locavore Challenge 2

If you could only pick 5 things to cook with and/or eat that weren't local, what would they be?

There are way too many things I like to eat that come from more than 100 miles from NYC -- or even Dutchess County. And eating local would get pretty tough/boring come January. That's why I consider myself an accidental locavore. But there's plenty to eat that's great and local, especially in September: corn, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, squash, lots of other good foods!