It is the anniversary of super storm Sandy and we here in New Jersey are still not fully recovered — primarily at the shore, but there are some folks inland that had some pretty big changes as the result of Sandy’s wrath. I personally had two cars totaled by one of the neighbors trees and as a result, my husband and I have been sharing a car. The other result is that I’ve been doing week-long (sometimes longer) test drives in some awesome cars. This year’s focus has been on plugin hybrids and EVs. So far, I’m impressed with all the great green technology going into these cars, and I’m quite convinced I’m a good candidate for an all EV car, based on my driving habits (well, the Green Diva Studio is in my home after all). Read the full Nissan Leaf review post, and . . .

Enjoy the latest fun video of us playing with the most recent ride, the Nissan Leaf . . . 

We had some great folks from Surfrider Foundation in the studio to talk about Sandy — a year later — and learned about the many wonderful programs they have going on here in New Jersey and all over the U.S. coastlines. To find out more, listen to the whole show here or keep reading for links and resources . . .

Green Dude: Paul Miller on Community Organizing & Creating a Farmer’s Market

It was really fun to have Green Dude Paul Miller back in the studio — in our new studio for the first time! He’s our favorite community organizing super green dude and he’s super busy making the town of Morristown, New Jersey more sustainable. This was the first of a few great segments we did with him. We can all learn a lot from Paul, so we intend to! Listen to this fun Green Dude podcast featuring Paul Miller on Community Sustainability and Farmer’s Markets.
 

Green Diva Foodie-Philes: Hearty, Healthy Fall Soups

Green Diva Gina did an excellent post this week with recipes for her 4 favorite fall soups plus my borscht recipe and another great pumpkin soup recipe from Green Diva Lisa. Check out her post for all the recipes, but also listen to this great Green Divas Foodie-Phile podcast on Fall Soups.

Green Diva DIY: Using Seashells or Wampum to Make Hair or Tie Clips

Green Diva Mizar stated that she wasn’t fond of using shells for decorating in the house, but she has a bucket of shells and shell pieces and did make some great hair clips and tie clips out of them. Read her post for a detailed tutorial on exactly what she did, but also listen to this fun, short Green Divas DIY podcast on making hair clips from seashells.
 

Green Diva Feature Interview: Surfrider Foundation

John Weber and Christina Bell from Surfrider Foundation came to the studio to talk to us a bit about what they are doing here in New Jersey and the mid-atlantic region, and of course around the world. We wanted to focus a bit on what has been going on at the New Jersey shore since Sandy and understand what role we can all play in protecting the shoreline from future devastation (or at least minimizing it). Surfrider runs so many great campaigns that everyone and anyone can get involved in. Whether it is a local dune grass planting event at the New Jersey shore to help build up those important and protective dunes; or their Rise Above Plastics campaign to help raise awareness about the harmful effects of all the plastic that ends up in the oceans; or the Ocean-Friendly gardens program; Surfrider is doing a fantastic job of educating us and giving us the tools to participate in protecting our oceans, shorelines and the many creatures that depend on a healthy ocean environment (including humans!). Right now, you can participate in the Rise Above Plastic’s One Foot At A Time campaign, which is a fun and creative way to get involved.

Each year, up to one million seabirds and one hundred thousand marine mammals die from ingestion of or entanglement in plastics?

 

Let’s get busy people. Lots to do. Surfrider is making it fun and easy! Listen to this great podcast to learn more about Surfrider and the NJ shore and much more!