They’re turning D.C. lobbying culture upside-down.Photo: Lululemon Athletica

Yogi activism isn’t as frou-frou as you might expect. Last year, Off the Mat raised $18,000 in a single day for Paul Farmer’s health and social justice organization, Partners In Health; a future leadership training event is focused on at-risk L.A. youth. One of Off the Mat’s partners, the Give Back Yoga Foundation, funds yoga teachers in disadvantaged areas. And the consulting group behind Off the Mat, The Engage Network, previously partnered with the Slow Food movement and Van Jones’s Green For All to take online activism into the real world.

Downward-facing dog jokes aside, it’s actually pretty awesome to turn the stereotype of rich, self-focused yogis on its head and convince sweaty yuppies to work for social change.

Public transit is an aphrodisiac.Photo: Martin Strobl

Did you hear about Patrick Moberg, that dude who found the girl of his dreams on the New York subway? Like a twee Wes Anderson hipster-man, he drew a picture of her in full rosy-cheeked glory, set up a website (NYGirlOfMyDreams.com), and struck gold when a friend of hers saw it and put him in touch with her. Dreams come true! Don’t stop believing! Take the midnight train going anywheeere! (Ahem.)

Perhaps you too want to find love on a subway (or train or bus). As a Philadelphia Daily News romance columnist recently wrote, “How many people fall in love driving home in their cars? The only social interaction you get in a car is road rage.” (This is not totally true, as once I was driving on I-5 and a dude held his phone number up to his Jeep’s window, and then we went to the aquarium together.  But I digress.) It’s much easier and safer to check out the hotties at your bus stop or on the subway.

Grist columnist Carla Saulter met her now-husband on a Seattle bus — no surprise, as she’s our city’s reigning Bus Chick. Brace yourself for this adorableness:

I’m not proud of this, but it’s time I came clean. I wanted to sit by Bus Nerd so badly that that I regularly (and intentionally) committed a minor bus foul: I saved him a seat.

I used the standard tactics: leaving my bus chick bag on the seat next to me (a shocking transgression by a woman who prides herself on her impeccable bus etiquette) and pretending to be busy digging through it each time new people boarded. Sometimes I even resorted to feigning sleep to avoid being asked to move it.

Le sigh. How cute is that?

If you want to pull a Before Sunrise and find your own true love on transit, here’s a tasty stewpot of tips from real-life couples, WikiHow, and this sketchy website I found:

• Skip your headphones. They make you look unapproachable. Let’s face it, NPR is never going to make you heart-shaped grilled cheese and rub your feet.
• Carry a conversation-starter. Having a book, magazine, My Little Pony, or the latest iWhatsit is like throwing a magic conversational buoy to shy types. Or upgrade to a snowboard or ambiguous musical instrument case. Seriously, bigger is better: transporting a thrift-store papasan chair by bus got me more looks than forgetting my pants ever has.
• Waste no time. Don’t assume you have your entire bus ride to screw up your courage — nothing worse than mentally crafting the perfect comment about someone’s paperback, only to have them hop off before you’ve made a move. Plus, then you have more time for exchanging digits and staring into each other’s weary bloodshot eyes.
• Ask a question … Massachusetts residents Lauren Richey and Scott Miller met and married on the commuter rail. Richey noticed that Miller often brought a fold-up bike on the train, mentally dubbing him “Bike Man” and even writing a short story about him (cute … and kind of creepy). Their romance started the day she tapped him on the shoulder and asked why he sometimes got on at different stops (observant … and also kind of creepy).
• … but don’t be a creeper. If the object of your affection isn’t, uh, affectionate: no lurking. Hopping off a stop or two after any failed flirting is ideal (although not always feasible).
• Take a bet. Hey, it worked for the woman whose friends bet her $40 to kiss the next person who got on the bus — whom she ended up marrying. Naturally, he proposed on the bus and they had their wedding pics taken on a bus.

If your pre-caffeinated bus-stop brain is blank, here are some bang-up conversation openers:

• “I think our bus driver looks like an old shriveled apple / is the perkiest person alive / is gonna give me a heart attack from skidding through those orange lights.”
• “I love/hate that there is/n’t an app to track when the bus/subway’ll get here.” (Some places with arrival-time apps: Boston, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Brooklyn, D.C.)
• “Did you know that in Norway, there’s an app that lets you can leave notes for other people at your bus stop?”
• “Do you have a map? Because I just got lost in your eyes.” (OK, I kid.)

Perfect. Now you are in love.

If you want to get hitched on a train, get in line, sucka! Krisy Plourde and Tom Golden beat out other hopefuls in a contest to get married on Philadelphia’s “Love Train” this past Valentine’s Day. Watch Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter marry them:

Awww. Listen to “Love Train” and share your own bus crush or L train love story in the comments.

Something in the water.Photo: Google Maps

Even if you aren’t feeling blue about your jeans, 30 public-minded businesses and organizations are. From H&M and Wal-Mart to the EPA, this group — called the Sustainable Apparel Coalition — wants to slap every last T-shirt, sock, and unitard with a number indicating how green it is.

It would be a comprehensive score: Each item of clothing would be evaluated on a number of factors (like water use, energy efficiency, and labor practices) for each step of its creation (including cotton growth, dye, and packaging).

But it will be tricky: Giving each garment a score will be a hefty task. “[T]he various pieces and parts of any single garment … often come from such a diverse multinational chain of fabric mills, dye operations, and assembly plants that quantifying the environmental impact of a single item is nearly impossible,” says the Times.

Help for designers too: In addition to a consumer-facing number, the short-term goal is a database tool to help designers make greener choices. “A clothing company designer could then use the tool to select materials and suppliers, computing an overall sustainability score based on industry standards,” says the Times. Designers could use the tool to fiddle with designs until clothes were green enough for their company’s standards.

Maybe not anytime soon: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition “plans to focus, at least in the short term, on the supply chain tool, [so] consumers might not see a sustainability label in stores for some time.” Translation: It’ll be a while before someone in the dressing room asks, “Does this make my carbon footprint look fat?”

Read a Q&A with two architects of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

So take your beaker …Original photo: John Mira

The New York Times fails to mention the best part: NatPo’s concern about reusing excess waste actually predates high school. As a youngster, she talks about recycling trash and backup-dances in the video for “Recycle It!,” a be-boppin’ tune by the World Patrol Kids. “Today, we are going to investigate the growing garbage problem the world is facing and try to find some solutions,” a tiny version of herself says earnestly. Oh, the cuteness. Watch:

Since her crew sock days, Portman’s gone from vegetarian to vegan, worked on a documentary about endangered gorillas, and asked Lisa Jackson to limit mercury pollution. Even her Oscar-winning turn as a crazy ballerina was green, as plastic water bottles were forbidden on the set of Black Swan. Recently, she’s even been sporting a recycled, conflict-free engagement ring.

The pregnant Portman said in her Oscar acceptance speech that motherhood will be her most important role, which I’m sure is only because someone has already invented a way to use dog poop to power streetlights.

You just got poked by the sun.Photo: diogo dubiella

One such company, Sungevity, already has cred with the hip green kids, so its embrace of social media is no surprise. The company partnered with Bill McKibben and 350.org in an attempt to put solar panels on the White House, one of its cofounders was a Greenpeace activist, and it’s been dubbed the Dell of solar for selling cheap solar panels. Earth2Tech writes that Sungevity’s new chief marketing officer, Patrick Crane, previously worked at LinkedIn, and he explains in a video interview on Sungevity’s “Solar Social Network” YouTube channel why he’d leave the social media space at such an exciting time:

Really I see this as a continuation of what I’ve been doing for the past four years [at LinkedIn]. When people install these systems, it becomes something the whole community finds really interesting. It becomes that conversation piece … So for me, it’s just a great continuation of what I’ve been doing. You might even say that solar is a social network.

Tell that to the vitamin D-deprived coders at Harvard. What?

Earth2Tech also highlights One Block Off the Grid as “another solar startup that has been leaning heavily on social media. The company … has a YouTube channel with solar user testimonials, a Facebook page, and over 300,000 followers on Twitter.” Zow! One Block Off the Grid (1BOG) is already inherently community-based, as it enables neighbors to go in on solar panels together, so social media is a natural fit for it as well. (Unlike, say, those cereal boxes that say “Find us on Facebook!”)

Whether the solar industry’s efforts will actually poke profits upwards is anyone’s guess, but we’ll be following closely.

Portland’s swanky Sapphire Hotel.Photo: Sarah Gilbert

Can you think of a greener city than Portland? Nope, didn’t think so. The City of Roses occupies a warm, squishy spot in the hearts of many a biker, climate hawk, and nature-lovah. We asked you to share your fave local breweries, organic cafés, and green hangouts, and compiled your best ideas into a car-free guide to a great green weekend in Portland.

Friday night

Click to enlargeFrom the Amtrak or Greyhound station, arm yourself with $2.05 and follow these directions to the Portland Hawthorne Hostel (they work if you’re coming from the airport too). You can nab the private room with a porch (about $60/night) by calling ahead. The uber-green hostel has a green roof, harvests rainwater, and rents bikes. (Hostile to hostels? Stay at the adorable Bluebird Guesthouse nearby, with themed rooms like the Elliott Smith and Gabriel Garcia-Marquez rooms; or the hipster-approved Jupiter Hotel, which rents bikes and also boasts a restaurant and bar.) Ditch your bags and head out!

Ready for dinner? Khun Pic’s Bahn Thai, deemed “the best Thai food in town” by Grist reader Flicka, is a 10-minute walk northeast. “They can do vegan and everything is just spectacular,” raves Flicka, adding that the occasionally slow service is worth it.

In the mood for margaritas instead? Head about 17 blocks east of the hostel to Por Qué No?. Walk or hop the 14 bus for an eight-minute ride to this taqueria that uses local produce and local, hormone-free meats — Grist reader Michael Aylward recommends the fish tacos and the guac.

After dinner, head three blocks east of Por Qué No? for drinks at the sexy Sapphire Hotel, recommends Grist reader Monika. (Fun fact: It used to be a brothel.) They use local produce and meats from the Northwest, and one Yelper notes that it’s “a woman-owned business that supports local nonprofits.” Delicious.

Hustle and bustle at the Portland Saturday Market.Photo: voodooangel

Saturday

Stroll eight blocks west of your hostel to Jam, a small, funky spot with a decidedly Portland groove — not to mention local, organic fare and Stumptown coffee while you wait. A vegetarian wrap called the JD Massacre is scrumptious, or go for the chai pancakes or oft-recommended lemon ricotta ones.

Click to enlargeWhile you let breakfast settle, wander through the farmers market across the street. Thrift shoppers should walk east 11 blocks to House of Vintage, an amazing, sprawling collection of kitschy finds. (Three blocks further east are more thrift havens like Red Light, Buffalo Exchange, and Crossroads.)

Spend the rest of the morning biking! If you’re sticking to the Hawthorne district around the hostel, “take SE Salmon or Harrison,” advises Grist reader Sarah Bobertz. “These are bike streets that parallel the car-infested Hawthorne Blvd.” On the other side of the river, Grist bike columnist Elly Blue recommends Portland Bicycle Tours, with a two-hour green bike tour at 11 a.m. (call ahead). Portland travel writer Kim Dinan advises, “rent your bike from Kerr Bike Rentals and do a lap around waterfront park before heading over the Hawthorne Bridge to Mt. Tabor, an inactive volcano within Portland city limits that provides great view from its summit.”

If you’re a DIY type, fixer-upper, or treasure-hunter, point your bike toward Northeast Portland so you can dig for gems like bamboo coasters or a stained-glass window at the ReBuilding Center, suggests Tom Watson. Crafty types should also pedal to SCRAP “for a HUGE selection of donated thingamagigs,” recommends GreenDainard.

Late-morning pick-me-up: Grist readers suggest checking out People’s Co-Op or the Alberta Co-Op. “While you’re on Alberta [St.], hit Back to Eden, a great place for vegan, organic pastries and locally roasted, fair-trade, organic coffee,” says Flicka. Adds reader Sarah Bobertz, “If you’re in NE and biking, taking people up to 33rd and NE Going (a great bike street) to see the new cycle track is fun. There is also some really cool bike infrastructure on Broadway going up through Portland State University.”

Lunch:

• For a tasty, Grist reader-recommended lunch spot in Northeast Portland, Laurelwood serves local, sustainable, organic fare when possible (“great food AND great beer,” raves Bobertz. “The Workhorse IPA is a classic Portland brew”).
• Flicka praises Blossoming Lotus: “[It's] the best restaurant — organic, vegan, incredibly delicious — and it’s open every day [for] breakfast, lunch, dinner.”
• Saraveza dishes up homemade sausage, beer, and pasties made with fresh, local ingredients.
• Or the Tin Shed Garden Café is a dog-friendly, slightly more hippie-ish spot with an outdoor fireplace (their renowned breakfasts are served til 3 p.m.).
• Since it’s five o’clock somewhere, sample some local beer at Upright Brewing or fill your growler for “later” (wink). Make sure you have cash/checks, as they don’t take plastic.

Photo: Sarah GilbertNext, head across the river to Portland Saturday Market, an eclectic outdoor market with handmade arts and crafts (take the 12 bus from Laurelwood, the 8 from Blossoming Lotus or Tin Shed, or the 4 from Saraveza). The city institution — kind of like a beloved, hippieish Etsy shop — kicks off its 38th season on March 5 (it’s also open Sundays). And the Portland Farmers Market starts March 19, with “a large variety of local farms selling everything from seasonal produce to mushrooms to milk and eggs to meat,” says Monika. Another outdoorsy idea from reader judithmoran: “the Japanese Gardens should not be missed by any green-loving visitor to Portland. Absolutely beautiful.”

More of an indoor cat? If you haven’t been to the epicness of Powell’s Books — a full city block downtown of new and used tomes — get yourself there posthaste.

When you’re ready for dinner, head back to Southeast Portland and hit up one of these spots:

• The Farm: With fresh, local, organic fare and chickens on their homepage, The Farm is straight out of Portlandia. It’s in a converted house, and Dinan says they’ve got the “best veggie burger ever.”
• Portobello Vegan Trattoria: Its organic cuisine is inspired by Italy, Spain, and France, and the potato gnocchi and beet tartare get loving reviews on Yelp. Raves reader Maggie Schirack, “I’ve only visited once, but that place would be worth a return trip in itself!”
• Ken’s Artisan Pizza, a 15-minute walk from the hostel, features local, seasonal produce, and Grist reader Michael Aylward deems its European-style, wood-fired pizza “unbelievable.”
• Bamboo Sushi, super-close to Ken’s, boasts “the first certified, sustainable sushi restaurant in the world” and earns Grist reader Randi Grahn Moore’s recommendation.

For drinks, Hopworks earns several reader endorsements. It “features tasty organic beers and a refreshingly sustainable approach to the business of brewing!” says Wisegal. (Saturday late-night happy hour starts at 10 p.m.) Or head up to Le Happy in Northwest Portland for crepes and wine. It’s “Portland’s late-night hidden treasure,” according to Dinan.

Bubba Bernie’s food cart with Southern comfort food at 12th and Hawthorne.Photo: robjtak

Sunday

Click to enlargeMmm, Sunday brunch. An 11-minute walk south from the Hawthorne Hostel is Detour Café, which uses organic flour, cage- and hormone-free eggs, and local ingredients when possible. Reader Michael Aylward recommends The Mini (“the most slammin’ breakfast sandwich in the PNW”). Aylward also suggests Simpatica, which uses fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, serves hearty stuff like waffles ‘n’ chicken, and claims to have the best brunch in town. “I take friends to Paradox Cafe on Belmont,” says reader Sam Marvit; the café — also a short walk from the hostel — has affordable vegetarian/vegan comfort food.

Then head out for a hike:

• “Eagle Creek in the Gorge is the best hike in the area,” says reader Brad Nahill.
• Looking for a four-mile trek? Try the 4T (Trail, Tram, Trolley, Train) Hike [PDF], says commenter Randi Grahn Moore.
• “Take the MAX to the zoo and hike the Wildwood Trail to the Pittock Mansion, or beyond. It’s wonderful to experience a forest in the city!” says Monika.
• Kim Dinan’s hike advice: “If you aren’t up for a strenuous hike … head over to Washington Park for a stroll through the world-famous rose gardens and a walk through the Hoyt Arboretum.”

Grabbing lunch before leaving town? Two words: food carts. Portland’s got over 200 of them — most in little clusters — leading CNN to say the city has the best street food in the country. “All the weekend carts go to the farmers markets in the morning for their supplies,” the proprietor of foodcartsportland.com told Grist last year. Hit the clump of food carts on 12th and Hawthorne, or cross the Morrison Bridge and stop at the food carts at 9th and Alder or 3rd and Stark (here’s a map) on your way out.

Or stop at the uber-green EcoTrust building (it’s a converted warehouse really close to the train station) and get a burrito at local chain Laughing Planet. “For an inexpensive and healthy vegan meal, [it's] a fantastic choice,” writes Marvit.

Make your way back to the train or bus station and savor the delicious memories (and burps) from your green Portland weekend.

A “hegan” in his natural habitat?Photo: ekornblut

Then a year ago, The Boston Globe attempted to coin the term “hegan.”  The reporter describes the unbelievable!! conversion of a guy who liked fried stuff but then talked to a vegan friend and decided to totally change his lifestyle. What follows is dramatic narration more fitting for Morgan Freeman than the Globe: “They are hegans. They are healthy. And they are here to stay. While no one was looking, guys were stepping up to the wheatgrass bar.”

The Globe admits, “There are no hard numbers on how many hegans exists.” As Salon snarked, “This is unfortunate, because when promoting arbitrary trends, it’s often useful to have hard figures.” (Number of “Manly Vegan” Tumblrs: 1.) Still, that doesn’t stop the reporter from generalizing about the group she can’t quantify: “Like most hegans, Atkinson, a single father, taught himself to cook.”

Which brings us to this week, when the Charleston, S.C., Post and Courier resurfaced “hegan,” even attempting to coin the term “power vegan”: “Many ordinary, carnivorous guys becoming ‘power vegans’ to eat healthier,” proclaims the subtitle. The reporter claims that factory farming and obesity “may start breaking up the marriage between ‘the guy’ and his monster burger.”

The subtext of all three stories is essentially, “See, veganism isn’t gay!” The Post and Courier piece is most explicit on this point, spotlighting “high-profile alpha males” who’ve given up most animal products, including Bill Clinton, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, and a handful of professional sports stars. None of the articles mention the Long Island man who was “mercilessly mocked, labeled ‘a homo’ and canned for not eating meat.” God forbid the pieces actually examine the complex issue of masculinity in our culture.

How about instead of “hegan” trend pieces, media outlets publish stories that don’t confine men to rigid, outdated gender stereotypes?

Welcome to TreeShagger, our new column on green dating. If you’ve got green dating questions, send ‘em our way!

So Valentine’s Day came and went, and you’re in the doghouse since you couldn’t get a reservation at Olivebee’s Factory? Cheer up, smuckers! Lean in close for some non-obvious, mostly cheap green date ideas, many of which I’ve tested for you myself. These aren’t “green” in the sense that you’re eating hummus and watching An Inconvenient Truth outside on a blanket made of stars — boooring! — but they’re low-impact, legitimately fun things that don’t require buying crap. Bonus points if you bike, bus, or walk! Ready?

• Hit up an arcade. It’s my go-to first date: cheap and super-fun. Grab your lucky lass or lad, get a roll of quarters, and crack those thumbs. For Seattleites, I recommend the Waterfront Arcade (a stroll by the water afterwards is perfect for seaside snogging) or Full Tilt, where you can get cheap, generous portions of ice cream when your eyes start to cross.

• Hang out in the library. Get the weirdest play script you can find and whisper the lines to each other. Synchronize your watches and give each other five minutes to find the book with the best title (hint: probably An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles). Sneak a picnic basket up to the stacks (but no celery; too noisy). Some bigger libraries may have musical practice rooms where you can dink around on the piano.

• Go pet some cats. Live in an animal-free box of sadness? An animal shelter or cat adoption center like Cat City, where furry buddies roam free, gives you something adorable to focus on (in addition to each other, I mean). Dogs work too — the Seattle Animal Shelter lets trained volunteers walk the dogs. Or walk a friend’s dog, or find a dog park to lurk at (but don’t be a creeper).

• DIY junk food. Cupcakes are burps of an angel, so whip some up with an easy recipe like this one. Make your own garlicky fries, crazy popcorn toppings, or food god Mark Bittman’s fluffy popovers. Vegan types can blend up soy milkshakes or craft a vegan pizza. (Like Michael Pollan said, “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.”)

• Get artsy. “She’s crafty; she’s just my type!” Dude. The Beastie Boys were on to something. Check out an art museum and pick your favorite pieces, then make your own versions with kiddie paints and popsicle sticks. If you’re daring, use found objects (read: litter) to make a messy collage. Garbage art is hip — and as any 5-year-old will tell you, eating paste is where it’s at.

• Go outside, I guess? I’m no nature girl, but some people dig hiking (and even meet their honeys out in the woods). The less-crunchy can wander around an arboretum or public garden. Or for the 21st century version of a treasure hunt, go geocaching.

• Photo scavenger hunt. Grab your cameras, give yourself a starting and an ending location, and photograph things on the way that start with each letter of the alphabet (in order). Pasting the photos in your love scrapbook is optional. (If you have a love scrapbook, let me know in the comments so I can punch you in the face.)

• Use your noodle. “The only thing sexier than someone who will dumpster dive with you is someone who can out-Scrabble you, IMHO,” wrote former Grister Kate Sheppard. You can always make it Naked Scrabble if you need some, uh, excitement. Or stay fully clothed and flaunt your brain at a local bar’s trivia night.

• Find the best cheap view of your town. From riding a municipal elevator to climbing the winding staircase inside a water tower, you can usually find a great view of your city or town without paying Statue of Liberty prices. Plus, sneaking up a fire escape can make your glands squirt out adrenaline, giving you a nice natural high.

• Get random. Take a cue from the couple that “ate pancakes and then went to Teddy Roosevelt’s house and then watched the first season of Miami Vice.” Brilliant.

Now you know my secrets. Go forth and use them responsibly … and let me know what I forgot down below in the comments.

No raid for you.Photo: Dhini van Heeren

On average, women breathing the highest amounts of piperonyl butoxide, or PBO, had babies who scored 3.9 points lower on a mental development test at age three (85 points and above is considered normal).

These changes are about the same as those seen in kids with low-level lead exposure, according to Megan Horton, a researcher at Columbia University who worked on the study.

If you’ve got a bun in the oven but bugs in the rest of your, er, kitchen, skip the bug spray in favor of caulking cracks and cleaning up food, said a doctor quoted in the article.

PBO (which isn’t an insecticide itself but a synergist, helping other poisonous ingredients work better) is found in about 1,500 registered products, including bug sprays like Raid and its “Earth Options” version, flea and tick sprays for pet owners, and treatments for crabs and lice. (Another tip for pregnant women: Don’t get crabs.)

The Pesticide Action Network’s database, sort of an ugly version of the Cosmetics Safety Database, lists piperonyl butoxide as a possible carcinogen and suspected endocrine disruptor.

You know you love it.Photo: megaul

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