Recently while shopping at my local Sprouts Farmers Market I came across an ad for Full Sail Ale and the ad said Full Sail is “a sustainable brewery making great ales and lagers since 1987.” I have to admit that I have been slow to make greener beer and wine choices and tend to stick with a few favorites. I decided to try it and selected the Full Sail Pale Ale. This beer was really enjoyable. It had a great flavor, no funny aftertaste and wasn’t too heavy or too light but what most impressed me about the beer was the company that stands behind it.

Full Sail Brewing Company is an independent, employee-owned company located in Hood River, Oregon that works very hard to be environmentally responsible. Earlier this year, they were named Best Green Small Scale Brewery 2010 by Treehugger.com and with good reason. Full Sail operates on a 4 day work week and as a result, has reduced power and water use by 20%. They operate their own water treatment plant and have reduced water consumption by 3.1 million gallons each year. With each gallon of beer produced, they are using only 3.45 gallons of water, compared with 6 – 8 gallons of water used by many other breweries.

Additionally, Full Sail distributes their spent grain to nearby farmers, uses 100% recycled paperboard in their packaging and 75% recycled glass in their bottles. So before shopping for your 4th of July cookout, consider adding Full Sail to your shopping list. You won’t be disappointed in the flavor and you’ll feel better about making a greener choice for your celebration.

For additional information about Full Sail Brewing company’s sustainable practices view the video below or visit http://www.fullsailbrewing.com.

School is out for the summer and if you’re like most parents you’re looking for fun ways to occupy their time. All parents know that it’s important for kids to spend time outdoors, but many may not know just how important it really is. Today’s kids spend much less time outside than previous generations and many suffer from nature-deficit disorder. According to author Richard Louv, nature deficit disorder is responsible for the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression in children. His book, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder” indicates that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. There are strong indications that children who experience nature also do better academically, because they are better able to focus. Additionally when children are exposed to natural environments at an early age they are likely to develop more environmentally responsible behavior.

Summer is a great time to get the kids outdoors in a variety of ways and help them develop a love of nature and the environment. Below are a few steps you can take to get your kids outside for a daily dose of nature:

1. Have scheduled outdoor play time. If your kids are school aged, they are used to going outside to play at a set time everyday for recess. So rather than trying to force them outside because you think they’ve watched enough television for the day, instead have a scheduled time for outdoor play each day. If they know that every day at 9 they go outside, there will be fewer battles. Additionally, the structure of a daily schedule is great for younger kids because routines are so important to them. Try for the mornings shortly after breakfast, before the sun and temperatures get too hot or after 2 p.m. when the sun isn’t as strong.

2. Plan some fun outdoor activities. Kids don’t need to have a lot of outdoor toys to have fun outside. Let them go out and have their own adventures. You can also set up a scavenger hunt where they search for things all over the yard, such as leaves, pine cones, flowers etc.  Or have them find something that is every color of the rainbow. Additionally, you can also invest in a good pair of kids binoculars to help them explore nature up close and perhaps do some bird watching too. If you are looking for a few outdoor toys, there are some more eco-friendly options these days. One that our kids love is the PlanToys Twisted Tossing game. It can be used indoors or out and is made from earth-friendly and replenishable rubber wood.

3. Help your kids plant something. Kids love to plant seeds and watch them grow. Find something that grows well in your climate during the summer and help your kids plant it and let them be responsible for watering it. Each day, they can go outside and measure the progress of the plant’s growth. They can also take pictures, draw pictures of the plant and document how the plant is changing each day.

4. Enroll them in an outdoor day camp. Many local youth organizations offer some type of nature or garden camp for kids as young as three. They can participate in activities like hiking, exploring nature, outdoor scavenger hunts, crafts make from natural items, and other outdoor educational activities.

5. Visit a National Park. This is a great opportunity to enjoy nature as a family and explore something new and exciting. Most Americans live within a few hours’ drive of a national park, so planning a visit can be an inexpensive trip. Additionally, August 14th and 15th are fee-free days at over 100 national parks, so it’s a great time to explore nature and save a little money too.

6. Use family outings as a fun way to educate kids about the environment. Whether you’re going to the beach or a park, there are plenty of opportunities to educate your kids about the importance of taking care of the environment. This can be especially true over a holiday weekend when so much trash is left behind after celebrations. You can teach your kids about how trash and plastic can adversely affect our lands, oceans and animals and how taking a few simple steps can make a big difference.

Yesterday in a close vote, the California State Assembly passed AB 1998, legislation to begin a phase-out of all single-use plastic grocery bags at supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience and liquor stores in the state. The bill is now headed to the California Senate and Governor Schwarzenegger’s office has already indicated that he supports and is planning to sign the bill.  The ban’s goal is to get rid of unsightly plastic bags that often wind up in urban rivers and the ocean, as well as reduce the number of bags heading for landfills.

If the bill is signed in to law, effective January 1, 2012, stores will be prohibited from providing single-use carryout bags to customers at the point of sale. Stores will be required to make reusable bags available for purchase and will be authorized to provide reusable bags at no cost. Stores will also be able to offer recycled paper bags made of 40% or more post-consumer recycled content for a small fee, around 5 cents.  California would be the first state to impose a statewide ban on plastic bags.

Plastic bags, even when disposed of properly often become litter because they can blow out of trash cans, garbage trucks, and landfills. In addition to becoming unsightly litter which pollutes our land and oceans, plastic bags pose a serious risk of entanglement, suffocation, choking or internal damage to marine animals and wildlife who mistake plastic bags for food.

California currently spends approximately $25 million annually to clean up plastic bag waste, and municipalities collectively spend $300 million annually.  And, according to Californians Against Waste, plastic bags, which are made from natural gas or oil, consume an energy equivalent of thousands of barrels of oil a day just to meet California’s consumption.

What happens next?

It will be another few months of building support to get the needed votes in the Senate. If you are a California resident and would like to show your support for this bill to ensure it passes the Senate, click here. Additionally, the following groups are actively working to support this bill.  Join their mailing lists and follow them on Facebook so you can be kept up to date on any news related to the bill as well as any email or letter writing campaigns over the next few months.

Plastic Pollution Coalition
Environment California
Surfrider Foundation

Great Pacific Cleanup Update: Bill to ban bags passes Assembly from Environment California on Vimeo.

For more information about this bill visit:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_1951-2000/ab_1998_cfa_20100601_191130_asm_floor.html
http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org/2010/06/ca-plastic-ban-bill-wins-assembly-vote-goes-to-senate

For more information on the problems and costs associated with plastic bag use visit:
http://www.cawrecycles.org/issues/plastic_campaign/plastic_bags/problem