Articles by Sarah K. Burkhalter

U.K. club builds sustainable football stadium

I was at the pub the other day watching Man U with my husband (whom I realize I talk about entirely too much -- but, in my defense, not as much as caniscandida talks about Little White Dog. But she does sound delightful.). Anyway ... Andrew was lamenting his mediocre showing in his fantasy soccer league, which he blames on his integrity for avoiding the hated Arsenal and Chelsea players altogether.

I suggested that his integrity would be more intact if he only employed players who were environmentally conscious. He deftly sidestepped the issue by suggesting that I write a blog post about said environmentally conscious English Premier League players.

Not a bad idea, in and of itself, but I've run into a minor problem: My internet search has turned up nary an eco-friendly Premier League player. If I've missed someone, do feel free to point out my error.

While I'm waiting for all you hooligans to chime in with how Becks makes Posh buy organic bustiers, or how Brian McBride constantly sends letters across the Pond to urge his homeland to support Kyoto, check this out.

Coffee giant may be involved in deforestation in Indonesia

For being a big-ass chain, Starbucks Coffee at least has a reputation as a socially responsible big-ass chain.

They've partnered with Conservation International for their Conservation Coffee program, "to encourage environmentally sound coffee-growing practices and to improve farmer livelihoods" in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, "and other Conservation Coffee™ sites around the world" that apparently don't warrant mentioning.

They recycle "at 1,544 of our stores, of which 61 percent have a recycling program." (Side note: I'm spoiled here in hippie Seattle, but it's depressing that there are Starbucks stores "located in communities where commercial recycling facilities are not available.")

They've got a composting program, Environmental Footprint Team, and green thoughts about store design and operations.

But then there's this (it's from April -- you know, I've been busy):

A new group that’s not afraid to get its, um, shirts dirty

Things I loved as a kid, and not-so-secretly still love: rubber duckies, bubbles, and dirt.

My love for the latter is apparently shared by the founders of More Dirt. Why More Dirt? Glad you asked:

From Cooling to Cooing

Burn, baby, burn The Nevada desert is hot. So, coincidentally, is the planet. Enter Cooling Man, an online carbon calculator for this week’s Burning Man arts festival (which features such sweet creations as the electric cupcake-mobile.) “We think Cooling Man is pretty cool,” says one overbaked burner. And of course, by “overbaked,” we mean “sunburned.” […]