I’m not a big drinker, but sometimes after a long day, I like to open a beer and relax. Being a noncommittal person, I don’t like to tie myself down to one beer, and with so many options out there, it doesn’t make sense to always buy the same thing. Lately my quest to try different beers has led me down a greener path – and there are a lot of green beers down that road! 

Not all USDA organic-certified beer is made with organic ingredients. Beer is traditionally brewed from hops, and hops are a delicate crop. They’re highly susceptible to pests, mildew and fungi, making it difficult to grow hops in a damp, northern climate. Most organic hops are grown either in New Zealand or on small-scale farms in Wisconsin, the Northwest, Western Canada and England. This makes it difficult to get organic hops for brewing, which is perhaps why the USDA has allowed certified organic beers to be made with non-organic hops. 

Despite this, finding a beer made with organic hops isn’t too difficult. Here are a few I found: 

Stone Mill Pale Ale: Most organic beers come from microbreweries, but this one’s straight from beer giant Anheuser-Busch. Brewed at an organically certified brewery in Merrimack, New Hampshire, this beer has a fruity aroma and is distributed nationally. 

Peak Organic: This brewery currently offers seven different types of beer made with organic ingredients, including some interesting flavors. Peak Organic distributes nationally, and a six-pack costs about $8. National Geographic’s Green Guide labeled Peak Organic products as the greenest beer available.

The Fish Brewing Company makes four different types of organic beer. Photo Courtesy  The Fish Brewing Company    

Fish Tale Ales: The Fish Brewing Company, located in Olympia, Washington, offers four organic ales for about $8 a six-pack. Unfortunately, the company only distributes its beers in Alaska, Northern California, the Pacific Northwest (including parts of Canada), Wisconsin and Florida. 

For a listing of more organic beers, check out Natural Geographic’s Green Guide beer buying guide or Mother Earth News magazine's home brewing page

Local and home brews 

From the brewing process to cross-country transportation to keeping it cold before you can buy it, beer consumes a lot of fossil fuels before it gets to you. Buying beer locally and brewing your own beer are two ways to cut back on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions your beverage creates. 

Buying beer from a local brewery not only cuts back on these emissions but is also a great way to support your local economy. In Lawrence, Kansas, where I live, Free State Brewery is a popular local restaurant and bar. Free State offers seven different beers, all brewed on site, including the Ad Astra Ale, the Oatmeal Stout and my favorite, Wheat State Golden. Free State also offers the Growler, a 64-oz reusable jug. Although these beers aren’t organic, at least I know my beer isn’t consuming unnecessary energy to get to me. 

Brew your own beer at home to cut back on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions your beverage creates. Photo By ahockley /Courtesy Flickr 

Brewing beer at home is also a good way to make your beer greener – and cheaper. I’ve never attempted it myself, but I have a friend who frequently makes his own. Good luck to you if you try! 

If you know of any good organic beers, post a comment and let me know! I’m always on the lookout for something new.

Each year when the Fourth of July rolls around I get ready for one of my favorite summer traditions—packing up a picnic dinner and heading down to watch fireworks by the lake. But this summer, I’m going to try to make my picnic as eco-friendly as possible.

One of the biggest problems with picnics is the amount of trash they generate. By cutting down on waste and packaging I can make a meal that’s good for the earth as well as for me.

• Instead of buying a bunch of water bottles, juice boxes, or soda cans, most of which will wind up in the trash by the end of the day, try filling up a thermos with your favorite drink at home. Not only will your drink stay cold, but you are more likely to recycle the bottles or cans at home instead of putting them straight in the trash at your picnic site.

• Picnics are made for finger food, which can get messy. But instead of bringing a bunch of paper napkins to wipe your sticky fingers on, try using cloth napkins instead. They can be easily rewashed and used again, eliminating a lot of paper waste.

• Paper plates and plastic silverware seem like an easy option because you don’t have to worry about them getting broken or lost, and you can just throw them away when you are done. But they do generate a lot of needless waste. Try investing in some inexpensive plates for picnics—I have a set of fun and funky plastic plates that are hardy enough I don’t have to worry about breaking them and have the added benefit of not getting soggy from a juicy slice of watermelon! Even more eco-friendly are plates made of recycled plastic. Old or mismatched silverware is also great for picnics, since if you do lose a piece here or there, you don’t have to worry about breaking up a set.

• Eliminate plastic bags. Although it is tempting to just put your food into sandwich bags, it generates a lot of waste. Reusable containers not only store food just as well, but they can actually protect it better on the journey to your picnic location. Thus your strawberries will remain unbruised and your sandwiches unsquashed until you are ready to eat them.

Photo by  Crystl / Courtesy Flickr 

While tossing around a Frisbee and lounging in the hot sun, there is nothing more refreshing than chowing down on some cold fruit. This fresh fruit salad with a honey-lime dressing is a staple for picnics in summer. It’s also a breeze to make and tailor to fit your tastes.

Cut up a bunch of your favorite fruits. I like to include strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew, apples (granny smith are particularly good because the tartness contrasts with the sweet flavors of the other fruits), blueberries, and nectarines. However, just about any fruit will taste good in this mix.

To make the dressing, combine 2 parts of honey to 1 part of fresh lime juice. The amount of dressing will vary depending on the size of your salad, but a good rule of thumb would be to use ½  a cup honey and ¼ cup lime juice for every 8 cups of fruit.

Pour the dressing over the fruit and toss to coat it all evenly. If you like, you can sprinkle a little grated lime peel on top to add a bit more flavor and texture. This sweet and tart salad will tantalize your taste buds while you wait for the sun to go down and the fireworks to begin.

Meat doesn’t rate high on my list of favorite foods, but I make an exception for barbecue. There’s something pleasant and a little nostalgic about gathering together good friends on a humid summer evening and lighting up the grill. Barbecuing is a staple of summer, but like many of our favorite activities, it could stand to be greened.

Fueling the flames

Although there’s something rustic and appealing about using a charcoal barbecue grill, propane will burn cleaner than coals. Charcoal releases volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air when burned, emitting 100 times more CO2 than propane. Lighter fluids will worsen the effect of burning charcoal and can contribute to smog. If you already have a charcoal barbecue griller, however, save some green (cash that is) and invest in eco-friendly coals.

Wicked Good Charcoal makes 100 percent natural charcoal barbecue briquettes from five types of FSC-certified Brazilian wood that are held together with cornstarch. They produce less ash than normal charcoal barbecue briquettes and you can reuse them.

Cowboy Charcoal’s natural lump charcoal is made from wood-mill scraps in an environmentally compatible, non-polluting wood-retort plant. Cowboy Charcoal is available at Lowe’s and Whole Foods.

Greenlink offers two types of charcoal barbecue briquettes: one made from waste coconut shells and one from natural wood. Both types of charcoal barbecue briquettes use a natural food grade binder. Greenlink’s charcoals come in the traditional “pillow” coals as well as charcoal barbecue logs.

Gather some friends together this summer for an eco-friendly barbecue. Photo By gomattolson/Courtesy Flickr 

Other eco-friendly charcoal barbecue briquette options include Kamado lump charcoal and coconut briquettes, Lazarri Fuel Company mesquite lump charcoal and Nature’s Own chunk charwood.

During the meal

Whether you choose to use a charcoal barbecue or a propane barbecue, it’s going to be messy, so you’re going to want napkins – and a lot of them. Instead of going for the cheap paper napkins that will shred and end up in the trash, use cloth napkins or set out damp dishcloths for guest to wipe their hands. As always, eat off of reusable plates and silverware instead of using disposable ones.

Clean-up

After you’re done grilling, use natural products to clean your grill. SoyClean BBQ Grill Cleaner and Eco-Green Oven, Grill and Barbeque Cleaner are safe options for removing char, grease and burnt-on barbecue residue.

It’s always best to make only as much food as needed, but if you do have leftovers, divvy them up between guests so they won’t go to waste.

A few months ago I was scouring the Internet for concerts I could take my boyfriend, Nick, to for his birthday. A few years ago Nick introduced me to soul singer John Legend, and I immediately fell in love with his music. Although I knew our chances were slim, I had my heart set on seeing him live, even if it meant traveling a few hours for the concert.

A quick look at John Legend’s website told me it wasn’t going to happen – the closest concert was several states away (and I certainly wasn’t going to make it to Dubai) – but as I searched further, I uncovered a bit of news that made me glad John Legend was touring, even if I couldn’t go.

John Legend has taken his summer concert tour green. He will neutralize carbon emissions from his tour, sell eco-friendly merchandise and support an online ride-sharing site to promote carpooling. Photo By studio08denver/Courtesy Flickr 

For this summer’s tour promoting his new album Evolver, John Legend has given a “green light” to sustainability and teamed up with Reverb, a non-profit environmental group that works closely with the music community, to make his tour as green as possible. To date, Reverb has greened 70 tours, reached more than eight million fans and has worked with well-known artists such as Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, Ben Folds and even the Blue Man Group.

Musical tours can put a lot strain on the environment. Fans burn petroleum getting to the venues, and the concerts themselves consume a lot of electricity and produce a lot of garbage. For John Legend’s tour, Reverb calculated the total carbon footprint from the flights, hotels and energy use at venues. John Legend will neutralize these emissions by financially supporting the construction of new renewable energy projects. On its website Reverb says that 80 percent of a concert’s carbon dioxide emissions come from fans’ commute to the show. To offset this, John Legend will support an online ride-sharing website to encourage fans to carpool together. In addition to that, he will offer eco-friendly merchandise at his concerts.

Now that’s something to "get lifted" about!

It’s June. That means it’s high-time I hit the pool to soak up some rays and relax. While sunshine and vitamin D are naturally beneficial, too much of a good thing can be bad – especially when it’s the sun. Before I go outside for a relaxing summer afternoon, you can be sure I’ll slather on the sunscreen.

Finding a natural, healthy sunscreen can be difficult. Many sunscreens contain chemicals that can irritate and even damage the skin. Instead, look for sunscreens that contain zinc and titanium dioxide, natural minerals that reflect light.

If you didn’t apply sunscreen as thoroughly as you should have, you’ll probably be in for what is, in my opinion, one of the most painful physical ailments ever – a sunburn. Lucky for us, Mother Nature has some natural remedies we can use to reduce the pain and burning.

Aloe vera: Aloe is perhaps the most common treatment for a sunburn because of its cooling and healing properties. Instead of treating your sunburn with the diluted aloe gel from the store, try using the gel straight from the plant. Personal experience has taught me that this will sting worse than gel from a bottle, but you won’t need to keep reapplying it. One application was enough to soothe my burn!

The gel of the aloe vera plant is a good natural remedy for treating your sunburn. Its natural cooling and healing properties will speed up your recovery. Photo Courtesy Powerhouse Museum.

Black tea: The tannins in tea will treat your burn and take away some of the pain and redness. Brew several tea bags together to make a strong pot of tea. Once it has steeped, add some ice cubes to make the water warm and more tolerable for you skin. Then, soak a towel in the tea and place the towel on your burn. Alternately you may also fill a tub with water and throw in several tea bags. If you have a small burn, an easier way may be to just wet a tea bag and place it on the burn.

Apple cider vinegar: Dab some vinegar on a cotton ball and apply it to the burned skin. If you have a large sunburn, pour a large glass of vinegar into a lukewarm bath. If you don’t like the smell of vinegar, add some lavender essential oil or lemon juice to mask the smell. Lavendar essential oil has cooling and soothing properties and works well as an anti-inflammatory on sunburns. The lemon juice acts as a disinfectant and will help heal the burn.

Cornstarch: I’ve also heard that cornstarch is soothing for burned skin. Combine cornstarch and water until it has the consistency of paste and apply it to your burn.

Do you have any natural remedies you use for treating sunburns? If so, please share them in the comments section.

With warmer temperatures in the forecast, I have plans to spend my weekends lying by the pool, soaking up some rays. My current bathing is a few years old and has seen its fair share of use, so recently I’ve been in the market for a new one. Bathing suit shopping — like any kind of shopping in my world — is no small task for me. I want a high-quality suit that looks good, will last me for years, isn’t too expensive but is still eco-friendly. I did some research and found a few good swimsuit lines that are fashionable but still environmentally friendly.

Eco-Panda

This summer Eco-Panda launched its first line of eco-friendly swimwear. The debut collection’s suits are made of recycled nylon collected from discarded fishing nets. The swimwear also incorporates Xtra Life Lycra which Eco-Panda claims will make its suits last twice as long as ones made with chlorine-resistant spandex and ten times longer than suits made with regular spandex.

Eco-Panda’s suits are available in bikinis and fashionable one-pieces (a hard task to accomplish), and they come in a variety of colorful prints with fun names like Jungle Beat, Leopard Love and Tokyo Beat. The suits cost either $68 or $76.

This style from Eco-Panda is called Mandalay. Eco-Panda is just one of several designers who make environmentally friendly bathing suits. Aaron Chang and Rogan Gregory also have sustainable lines. Photo Courtesy Eco-Panda 

Aaron Chang

Well-known action photographer and legendary surfer Aaron Chang launched the world’s first eco-friendly swimsuit line in 2008. Since then he has created several collections, all made from 100 percent recycled polyester sourced from plastic soda bottles.

Aaron’s photography inspired the designs for his collections. His suits come in vibrant colors and feature natural elements such as flowers, sunsets, elephants and indigenous designs from Panama. All suits are reversible as well, adding another dimension of usability to them.

Aaron also has a line of swimsuit cover-ups — such as shorts, tops and dresses — that are all made from 100 percent organic cotton. Aaron’s clothing is available on his website.

Rogan Gregory

Gregory already has a line of eco-friendly clothing at Target called Loomstate, but this summer he’s also delving into a sustainable swimwear line. All cotton used in the suits is 100 percent organic cotton, and the tags are printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. The suits come in a variety of bizarre prints and styles and are sold in most Target stores. Select styles are also available online.

If you know of any other eco-friendly swimwear lines, please leave a comment!