8:30pm local time march 28, 2009, wherever you live on planet earth

Lima:

Toronto:

London:

Want more? Visit the Earth Hour group on Flickr - already more than 3000 photos posted!

green your spring cleaning

If you're planning to get down and dirty and clean house, your vinegar and water spray bottle may need some friends. Here are some of our recommendations...

Enjo's Kitchen Glove removes grease with cold water. Yes, cold water!

Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds is an all-purpose cleaner made from fir and spruce needle oils. Effective, yet totally biodegradable.

Nature Clean's Calcium, Rust and Lime Remover is phosphate free and septic-safe. Get it at grassroots.

Into homemade? lesstoxicguide.ca is by far the best resource we have seen, with fun and friendly recipes for every cleaning need you can think of.

think you could do it?

A month without plastic. A year without waste. Banning food that travels more than 100 miles. Read about some brave people who've done it and get inspired...

A reporter for the Chicago Tribune - plus her husband, 3-year-old girl and a 7-month-old boy - try to live without plastic for a week. From paper diapers to shampoo pucks, she learns that it's best to take this one step at a time.

If you can't imagine having no coffee, tea, chocolate, olive oil, or even sugar in your diet for 100 days, watch the The 100-Mile Challenge, premiering April 5 on Food Network Canada.

Inspired by the best-selling book The 100-Mile Diet by James MacKinnon and Alisa Smith, the series follows six British Columbian families who make the difficult, but rewarding, commitment to consume only food and drink produced within a 100-mile radius for 100-days.

And if you need more inspiration, The Story of Stuff is a good place to start.

expos & trade shows & exhibits, oh my!

For those of us living in the northerly regions, March is a time to put away the mittens and say hello to spring - regardless of how cold it actually still is.

It's also a time to mark our calendars for the myriad green shows and expos in bloom this year. Here's a non-exhaustive list contributed by some of our readers:

• Toronto, ON: Green Living Show, April 24-26 (thanks cathy)
  
• Ottawa, ON: Go Green Expo, March 21-22
  
• Atlanta, GA: Greenprints, March 25-26 (thanks b.r.)
  
• Edmonton, AB: Go Green Eco-Expo, April 4 (thanks mark)
  
• Toronto, ON: Canadian Environmental Tradeshow, April 20-21
  
• Peterborugh, ON: Green Expo, April 25
  
• St. Paul, MN: Living Green Expo, May 2-3 (thanks rich)
  
• New York City, NY: Go Green Expo, April 17-19 (thanks jan)
  
• Atlanta, GA: Go Green Expo, June 26-28 (thanks again jan)
  
• Boise, ID: Idaho Green Expo, July 18-19 (thanks john)
  
• Oaks, PA: PANTS09, July 28 - 30 (thanks kerri)
  
  

And for all you would-be exhibitors out there, Green Exhibitors is a must-visit.

starbucks hearts the environment

Your friendly neighbourhood Starbucks - known for double-roasted coffee, not for reducing waste - says its new roasting plant in South Carolina has been awarded a “silver” LEED certificate from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Company officials vowed to “significantly” reduce the company’s environmental footprint by 2015. At the new plant, 20 percent of building materials were from recycled content and more than 75 percent of construction waste was recycled, they said, adding that a portion of the plant’s power will be supplied by wind energy.

Clearly, they are serious about making money! “In this business climate, it’s more important than ever that we make the right investments in our business, while making sure we do it in ways that support our business, the communities we work in, the environment and our people,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

Now, let's see that team spirit by way of biodegradable cups and an end to the mermaid plastic 'spill-stoppers'...

green your love

Whether your gushing over your spouse or your dog, remember that Valentine’s Day ain't exactly eco-friendly. So ditch the waxy greeting cards and imported Cambodian roses, and find better-for-the-planet ways of expressing your love from divine.ca:

Find a card alternative - Valentine’s Day has the highest sales of greeting cards throughout the year, second only to Christmas. Opt for cards made from recycled paper, send a Valentine’s Day eCard or even a plantable Valentine’s Day card, embedded with wildflower seeds.

Toast with eco-friendly wine - What makes a wine eco-friendly? Anything from being made with certified organic grapes, to being made at a local vineyard, to being sold in aseptic packaging, which is more lightweight than bottles, making transport simpler and reducing carbon emissions. (Editor's note: we heart Frogpond Farm's Cabernet-Merlot)

Cook dinner together. Purchase some organic or locally-grown ingredients and spend some time together in the kitchen.

Read 'Giving Greener Love' from Treehugger. Our best tip? Stop buying stuff and start spending time ;)