Green Living

The reusable Wrapsack uses the Track-a-Sack system, so you can see how your gift bag keeps giving and giving.

Growing up, my mom kept every gift box we ever received in the attic so we could reuse them. Now I do the same, but I don’t have an attic. Instead, piles of salvaged boxes, ribbon and tissue paper have taken over an entire closet. It’s one of the ways I try to wrap a little greener.

I won’t have a computer, an iPod or even a cell phone on my nature trip. So don’t e-mail, voicemail, Facebook or even try to call me. Don’t even phone me on a landline. I can’t be reached. When I travel, I purposely sever all lines of communication with my everyday life. I think you should, too. Because when you don’t, I get annoyed.

Being green isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Sure, I’m healthier now that I eat better food and reduce my exposure to pesticides. I ride my bike, which makes me not only healthier but happier. I’m wealthier now that I make much of my own cleaning products, use less gas, cold-wash and hang-dry my clothes, and eschew AC for open windows.

As I hiked with my dog through prairie open space on a recent morning, we were both captivated by the wild creatures around us. In his case, it was the prairie dog colony; in mine, a long V of geese honking overhead. The swallows have left, and I haven’t heard a meadowlark since early September.

Artek's 10-Unit System Chair raises the cool factor (and wow factor) of sustainable design.

Think of sustainable home furnishings, and the words bamboo, recycled soda bottles and FSC-certified probably come to mind.

Makes sense. I mean, the material of a product is the easiest eco-criteria to evaluate. But lately I’ve been curious about the not-so-obvious qualities of a product that could make it a more sustainable choice — things like function, transport and recyclability.

What motivates you to exercise? Is it weight loss? A healthy heart? A clear mind? Some jeans hidden in the back corner of your closet? All are viable and helpful motivators for exercise. And the more motivators you have to stay active, the more likely you may be to stick to your routine.

Here’s another motivator to add to your list: save the planet.

Yellowstone National Park, of which I’m a huge fan, recently launched a really exciting venture. Its Mammoth Hot Springs General Store has been re-created as an interpretive center to educate the public about climate change and the implications of consumer purchases, recycling, conservation and more. The store’s products are identified accordingly as fair trade, organic, renewable, locally-made and so on. Consumers can then make their choice based on a true understanding of the product’s value.

“After” photo: ship is gone; more highlights (see the “Before” photo below). ©Candice Gaukel Andrews

It looked perfect through the lens. I had the shot all lined up: blue mountain in the background, a rocky trail winding through the middle, and wildflowers in the foreground that made up two-thirds of the composition. I rotated the polarizing filter just enough so that I had a bright blue sky. Click.

A few weeks ago, I taught my Core Immersion Training at the Century City Equinox in Los Angeles, Calif. Each day, we valet parked our cars before entering the club. Those who live outside of Los Angeles may have to re-read the prior sentence: Yes, we VALET PARKED our cars to go to the gym, as do thousands of other Angelenos all around the city, where valet parking is an unfortunate fact of life in a city where the car is king, and vast distances separate us from getting here to there.

Only about 400 Spirit Bears remain. ©Candice Gaukel Andrews

It almost sounds mythical.

But there’s truly a place on the far western edge of our continent where a rare animal — a white black bear — can still hunt, fish, gather berries and raise cubs unbothered by humans. There are no roads here, no cut trails, few settlements and even fewer trappings of civilization. It’s a good place to be a bear.