There’s no shortage of advice out there in cyberspace for anyone seeking to green up the Thanksgiving holiday — and the holiday season in general.

Green OC has rounded up a few tips lists with the help of web editor Jit Fong Chin. While linking to these lists should not be considered an endorsement, many do seem down to earth. And which holiday is more down to earth than Thanksgiving? Ok, maybe Earth Day. But which other one?

ORGANIC BIRD: The Planet Green Web site says you really can have a sustainable turkey. The first step is a “fresh, organic turkey,” preferably purchased from a local organic farmer. Slices of orange and lemon, as well as onion and rosemary, might replace traditional stuffing. You get the idea.

LOCAL MENU: The Treehugger Web site appeals to competitive Thanksgiving revelers. The site suggests, based on a 2006 contest, creating a Thanksgiving menu entirely from food grown within 100 miles of your home.

SERVICE WITHOUT WASTE: The Best Green Home Tips Web sites breaks it down into a top 10 list:

• Use “real dining ware” (not plastic forks and paper plates), cloth napkins and tablecloths.
• Serve organic food and drink, such as fair-trade coffee and organic holiday cookies.
• Going with 100 percent vegetables means a smaller impact on the planet. (Green OC question: does this mean topiary tofu?)
• To scent your home, use earth-friendly spices and oils.
• Use organic flowers in your arrangements.
• Compost your meal scraps.
• Take a nature walk after dinner, instead of watching the big game. (Green OC: this sounds like a tough sell.)
• Decorate with recycled material.
• Skip black Friday, the big shopping day after Thanksgiving, to reduce the use of gasoline (the site points out that in this case, just living, and doing nothing, is “living green.”)

RECYCLE YOU GLASSES: Modern Eco Homes goes them three better, offering 13 tips for a greener Thanksgiving. Among them: bring reusable bags on your shopping expeditions, use recycled glasses for drinking, buy carbon credits if you’re flying somewhere for the holidays, and plant a tree.

GOVERNMENT AID: Even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is getting into the act (with more on the EPA’s Greenversations blog) :

• Place recycling and compost containers where guests can easily seen them – soda cans, bottles, paper, even compost food scraps.
• Send e-vites, instead of paper invitations.
• Use Energy Star lighting for holiday displays, and put them on a timer.

CARBON COST: The Washington Post outlines your Thanksgiving carbon footprint.

BETTER BIRD? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests buying a Heritage turkey (pictured; photo by Cindy Yamanaka), which are raised outdoors and are bereft of added hormones and antibiotics (and also cost more money). They also refer readers to Sustainlane.com, which offers “lighter green” holiday tips, such as decorating with gourds or beeswax candles.

EAT LESS: U.S. News and World Report’s “Fresh Greens” blog, by Maura Judkis, offers simple tips even Green OC can understand: store leftovers in reusable containers, ”buy less food,” use smaller plates.

Related links:

• VIDEO: Attempted whale lift
• Life stirs in burned Chino Hills State Park
• Long Beach aquarium opens new “green” building
• Air pollution kills more people than car accidents in Southern California, OC researchers say
• Death of a cowboy: goodbye to OC’s Bob Fraser
• Will Obama be good for climate science? Prominent UC Irvine scientist weighs in
• Yard wars: Naturalist threatened with jail or fine
• Yard wars: Neighbors nettled by nature gone wild
• Researcher: human-driven global warming evidence strengthened
• UCI bound for South Pole to study human impact on the atmosphere
• From coral to corn, climate researchers chase carbon to understand environmental change
• Ice loss accelerates in Antarctica
• Santa Ana Mountains provide local global warming lab
• Research tracks arctic warming’s correlation to ‘dirty snow’

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.