Happy Earth Day!!!

Well like many of you when I got up this morning I flipped on the lights in my room, took a nice hot shower, flushed my toilet, ran my hairdryer and then turned on the TV to check the weather. And the first story I see is Jones Soda (based right downtown Seattle) has gone off the grid for the day! The lights are out and the power in the whole office is totally off…with one exception: The office staff are taking turns riding bikes to generate power for bare essentials (mainly phones and computers). You can check out their site here and watch the employees pedal their hearts out for power.

And then my daughter walked in and said “MOM! It’s Earth Day, why are all the lights on!?!?!” I immediately ran around and turned off all the lights and finished getting ready for the day in the slight darkness of my condo. Her school is going off the grid today as well and we are now off the grid at home. Everything is off and staying off (except the fridge) for the next 24 hours.

How can you contribute on this Earth Day!??! There are so many easy things to do! First, check out (and subscribe) to PlayGreen’s blog at http://www.play-green.blogspot.com/ for lots of useful tips. Or check out this article from PlanetGreen for a quick and easy list for Earth Day Resolutions. For those of you really curious….you can check on your Carbon Footprint here and then find out many ways to reduce it or you can purchase carbon offsets with them as well.

For those of you with iPhones, there is now a “Dirty Dozen” application for your phone.

Along with Earth Day, today is also payday!!!! Check out the attached email for information on going paperless for those of you with direct deposit. I must confess, up until this morning, even I hadn’t signed up yet.

Try going Vegan today! It has been stated that if every American gave up meat one day a week, it would be the equivalent of taking 8 million cars off the road!!! Up for the challenge today? Check out the following restaurants:

• Subway: Veggie Delite on Italian bread, minus the cheese & mayo
• Halong Bay Restaurant (Bella Bottega): Order a noodle or rice dish & substitute meat with their faux-chicken, or just order it with no meat at all (warning: they only have meat broth available for their Pho here). Ask that they not bring the Nuoc Mam (pronounced: nuk MOM) on the side (which is fish-based).
• Thanh Brothers (Redmond): Their pho IS Vegan, using veggie broth.
• Flying Saucer Pizza: Order the Dr. Zaius, which is their veggie Thai Pizza with sweet, but spicy peanut sauce, Pineapple, Carrots, Sprouts, Red Cabbage, Basil, Chopped nuts, and Sesame Seeds
• Momoya Japanese Restaurant: Ask Ben to make you all-veggie sushi rolls (indicate “no cream cheese”). He makes the best veggie sushi around.
• Teapot Vegetarian House (Redmond; 15230 NE 24th St): Check out the menu! http://www.teapotvegetarianhouse.com/menus.htm
• Tommy Thai: Order anything without fish sauce & meat, and you should be good to go.
• Café Happy (downtown Kirkland, near the Marina; 102 Kirkland Ave): Chinese meals & sandwiches. Vegan bubble-tea!
• Nature’s Pantry (Bellevue, 10201 NE 10th ST, same building as University Book Store): deli has Vegan & RAW options
• PCC (Redmond or Kirkland locations): The deli section will clearly label which items are Vegan. They encourage sampling!
• Mysore Masala Cuisine Of India (16650 Redmond Way): The staff here is happy to tell you which options are dairy-free & vegetarian.
• Taco Del Mar (Redmond & Kirkland): They have a Vegan burrito. I swear, you will not miss the meat in this monster.
• Nick’s Grill (Kirkland; 11613 124th Ave NE): Have Kiki make you their veggie burrito, which they throw on the grill for an extra-special touch. Add sliced avocado while you’re at it.
  
  Last, but certainly not least…Disney’s Earth starts today nationwide. If you purchase a ticket for this movie this week, Disney will plant a tree in your honor! See the trailer here, purchase tickets here.
  
  
  And remember, Earth Day is everyday!!