the greener side

Sustainability, classified

Some accuse Craigslist of wiping out the income for struggling independent newspapers. But Craigslist's free classified ads have more fans than haters. Where else can you find a sweet apartment and furnish it for free in an afternoon? Apartment listings and recycled furniture are merely the point of entry for the no-frills, freaks-friendly community site. Craigslist has become a global phenomenon--hooked people up with homes, husbands, and heartbreaks; and inspired a movie that will show you so I don't have to describe what may be your own lifestyle, especially if you're a green-minded city-dweller.

Maybe you tap into Craigslist to find raw foodists to cart off your dusty food dehydrator, or to locate a stuck-in-the-90s taker for those shameful Girbauds, without lumping your junk into landfills. You might rely on the site to trade up, like founder Craig himself did, from some old Saturn to an eco-friendlier Prius. Of course it's where I met and then parted with a biodiesel 1981 Mercedes 300D (RIP).

Like eBay or the newer Freecycle, Craigslist can help you live a less wasteful lifestyle outside of the mall matrix. Not only that, but as an empire of 21 employees, Craigslist itself is a sustainable enterprise.  Craig expresses no desire to cash in on the multimillions he could earn in days by popping up a few text ads and he seems driven by altriusm, according to this News.com interview.

tags: craigslist

Veganism with legs

No cows: that's the culinary message of Tanjareen, Sky, and their fellow cleavage-busting SoCal vegan sisters. I just ran across the Vegan Vixens' show, which promotes organic cuisine and clothing. There are few better examples of people trying to sex up an eco-friendly lifestyle. (The joy of public access in the Bay area, as you never know how cable channel 29 might warp you. But this silly show is more fun than that weekly 9/11 conspiracy documenary, no matter how certain feminists might scowl.)

On their low-budget broadcast, this group of veg-obsessed models and actresses mouth kisses llamas and kitchen-dances in threesomes while frying tiny soy sausages. The vixens' brand of dairy-free cheesecake aims to convert men to beat their meat-loving ways. Their antics air in California, New York, Madison and Iowa City, and have earned them entree into the Playboy mansion and onto the (yech) Howard Stern show. However, the ladies should really promote more almond or rice milk instead of all that soy, which has estrogen mimicking compounds that might be just as bad or worse for women as drinking

hormone-loaded milk. Disclaimer: I ate a salami sandwich yesterday and don't give a *@&$.