A Handful of No-Fly Travel Options for the Holidays

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. However you celebrate during December, you don't need to fly to do it. Think about it. No airports. No delays, or overpriced foods, or announcements that you can't quite make out, or sitting next to someone you'd rather not. How about getting stuck with the middle seat? Convinced? Try these five green holiday trends on for size, via Greentraveller, with five no-fly holiday ideas.

The list, published recently on the Reuters Business Traveller site, puts an emphasis on the carbon emissions you'll keep out of the atmosphere. But you don't need to be a greenie to appreciate these. Greentraveller calls them Five Green Holiday Trends for 2012.

1. Trips to the Mediterranean, by train and ferry. Although the site originates in the U.K., an idea like this can be done stateside, too. See a previous PlanetGreen trend post on Traincations.

2. Ride a bike. The Summer Olympics are coming to London next year, so get started early, Greentraveller advises. This one probably applies best to those living in warmer climates, and not Michigan, where this post is being typed. Kayaking also is an Olympic sport, along with swimming. Again, for warmer climates, unless you enjoy a Polar Bear Plunge, a popular semi-sport in winter country.

3. Look at the stars. You don't need to be an astronaut (although NASA is hiring) to do this. Greentraveller suggests a train trip to a ski resort. You also could make plans for the Northern Lights, which made a Must-See list earlier this year.

4. Hire a bike. That is, find a rental bike and tour your favorite city (especially handy when your car doesn't have a bike rack). The U.K has an electric bike network, too. Places like San Francisco also peddle electrics.

5. Hoof it. Take a foot tour. You can find a few ideas via another Planet Green post, on Atlas Obscura.

Whatever you do, have a great end of 2011. And get planning now for 2012.

More on Vacation Ideas
The Top 10 U.S. Cities for Public Transportation
The Top 7 Healing Destinations on Earth
Vacation Alongside Your Favorite Wild Animals

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World AIDS Day: A Photo Journey of AIDS' Impact in Africa

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Planet 100 Presents: Is it Time to Solar the Sign?

The White House may have plans to reinstall solar panels on its roof but across the country another of the world's iconic landmarks is perfectly positioned to harness the energy of the sun.

WATCH VIDEO: Planet 100 Presents: Is it Time to Solar the Sign?

Situated high in the Hollywood Hills, the Hollywood sign has been a cultural landmark since it's erection back in 1923. Now a group of environmentalists are hoping to light the sign using solar energy.

Mike Bonifer of Solar the Sign says: "The Hollywood sign is one of the most recognized landmarks in the entire world and its not lit at all right now. The opportunity to light it with renewable energy could be one of the most powerful symbolic statements that we could make in support of sustainability."

As putting solar panels on the sign itself is not practical, and with nano solar cell paint technology still a couple of years away, the group hopes to light the sign using LEDs powered by a solar grid.

While the ultimate aim is to light the sign every night, in consultation with the community, Solar the Sign wants to start by lighting it one night of the year. Ideally that one night would be the night of the Academy Awards, when the whole world has its eyes on Hollywood.

The iconic Hollywood sign will always represent the glitz and glamour that Tinseltown has to offer—but will it also light the way to cleaner, greener tomorrow? We'll have to wait and see.

Read more about Hollywood:
McMansions Endanger Native Species and Hollywood Icon
Hollywood Donates Big to Rescue an Icon, Stars Flaunt Green Fashion at the Oscars, and More
10 Hollywood Hunks and Their Hot Green Cars (Slideshow)
7 Hollywood Hotties and Their Hot Green Cars (Slideshow)

Credits:
hollywood-sign-1935.jpg ?Getty Images
hollywood-sign-1975.jpg ?Getty Images
hollywood-sign-modern.jpg ?Thomas Del Brase/Getty Images

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Sex-Drive Boosting Bites w/ Benefits

You're ?not in the mood?? again. Instead of reaching for some chemically-concocted pill, faking it, or simply ignoring him, do something to help the situation? Eat! Yes, there are Bites with Benefits that act as aphrodisiacs. This is the list of foods to get her in the mood (another one will be posted soon to get him in the mood too).

Wine?it?s the antioxidant resveratrol that increases estrogen levels in a woman, leading to heightened arousal. Make sure it?s organic!

Filet Mignon?Maybe she is worth the steak dinner. Protein increases levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, causing you to be more alert and assertive. Again, organic, grass fed is the better option. Vegetarian? Try a veggie chili filled with beans and tofu. The point is the protein, not necessarily the meat.

READ: ANOTHER NATURAL WAY TO GET TURNED ON? A QUICKIE WORKOUT IN BED!
(yes, a real workout... just on a bed)

Chocolate?It?s TRUE! Chocolate does a body (and sex life) good. A study has found that women release four times as many endorphins after eating chocolate than after a passionate kiss. So let the chocolate work for you!

Bananas?More than looking slightly phallic, bananas http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/emerils-grilled-banana-splits.html are filled with potassium and Vitamin B, both essential for hormone production.

Mustard?What?s more romantic than a date at the ballpark? Maybe what goes on after chowing down a mustard-slathered hot dog http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/future-food/beer-bun-sauce-recipe.html during that date at the ballpark! Mustard has been shown to stimulate sexual glands.

Pineapple?Pineapples http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/emeril-grilled-pineapple.html are rich in vitamins essential to a strong libido. You?ve also heard about eating a LOT of them right?? If not, let?s just say that eating a lot of pineapple changes your body?s scent.

Ginger?Particularly revved up after a Sushi date? It may be the Ginger, which is a powerful circulatory system stimulant, sending blood to the sexual organs. Ginger is also a great immune boosting bite with benefit.

Caffeine?Who knows what your coffee date might lead to. Not only does it boost your energy levels, but Caffeine also increases blood flow to the sexual organs.

Garlic?Just remember the mints, and you?ll be able to reap the benefits of this food on your sexual stamina, without causing a stink.

Keep it natural and you?ll have her revved up in no time. If not, at least she will have eaten really well.
READ: 4 WAYS TO MAKE SEX MORE ORGASMIC

xx
Laurel

Laurel House is a Fit Living Expert, 3x published author, and believer in living a life of balance. See more of her "Quickie Tips" on her website QuickieChick.com. Her 4th book- "QuickieChick's Cheat Sheet to Life, Love, Food, Fitness, Fashion and Finance on a Less than Fabulous Budget" (St. Martin's, May 2012) is available NOW for PRE-ORDER.

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Know Your Electric Car Trivia?

The first "horseless carriages," as these vehicles were known as in the 18th and 19th centuries, were propelled by steam, which was the high-tech propulsion method of its day. However, the idea of making a carriage that was driven by electricity originated with a Scottish inventor named Robert Anderson, who built a crude battery-propelled carriage sometime between 1832 and 1839.

More on electric cars:

Who Created the First Electric Car?

Electric Cars Charging the Future (View & Vote)

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10 Earth Day Ways to Save the Planet, Your Health, & Money!

You don?t have to be an Extreme Greenist to Go Green! Just one Daily Green Decision can go a long way.

The average person decides to Go Green for one of three reasons:
-The Environment (*)
-Their Health (+)
-Save Money ($)

Choose one of the 10 green actions below to help the Earth today. Then select something different tomorrow, and the next day??.

1. *$-STOP Vampire Electricity Leaching is responsible for 10% of your electric bill. Keep that 10% for yourself by unplugging unused appliances and electronics when not in use (ie: toasters, hairdryers, printers, electric toothbrushes, dust busters, cell phone chargers, coffee grinders, etc). 2. *$- Shorten your Showers. Every minute spent in the shower wastes approx 2.5 gallons of water. Cut your showers down from 10 minutes to the recommended 4 and cut your monthly water waste from 750 gallons to 300 gallons. Don?t forget that using less water means spending less on your water bill!3. *+-Say No to Paper AND Plastic and choose Reusable. An estimated 900 million trees are cut down each year in order to serve the US paper industry. Between 500 million and 1 trillion plastic bags are used each year worldwide- many of which become ?Urban Tumbleweeds? littering our streets or piling up in landfills. (Some stores are now charging per paper or plastic bag used at checkout). Stop the insanity and choose Reusable Bags.

4. *+$-Buy Local Ingredients. The average fruit, vegetable, meat, or fish traveled 1,500 miles before finally finding its way to your mouth. More than carbon emissions collected, ever wonder how many chemicals those once clean ingredients were exposed to en route? Picking up produce at your local farmer?s markets is both less expensive and chemical free.

TRY THIS SIMPLE GREEN FRY RECIPE (filled with any veggies in your fridge)

5. *$-Store Leftovers in Glass Containers. About 48 million tons of food is tossed each year. It is estimated that as much as $31 billion worth of perfectly good food finds its way to landfills instead of your (and every other American?s) stomach. Boxing leftovers in glass (instead of plastic) containers will help minimize the waste and save money.

6. *$-Wash only full loads of laundry to save between 300 and 800 gallons of water a month. 7. *+-Plant Trees or Support Tree Planting. One single mature tree can absorb as much as 48 lbs of carbon dioxide each year and release enough clean oxygen into the atmosphere to sustain two people for a lifetime.8. *+$-Green your Exercise Routine. You actually burn more calories and save electricity by getting off the treadmill and taking your workout outside thanks to natural (even if minimal) inclines and declines. More than changing your angle, when you are on the treadmill you have an electrically propelled belt pushing you forward. No treadmill but want to workout inside? Do a QuickieWorkout in Bed! Outside, you?ve got no belt so you have to work harder for every step. Just think of all of the money you will save by cancelling your gym membership! 9. *$-Save Paper-The average office employee goes through 10,000 sheets of paper a year- the same amount of paper that one tree produces. If you have an office of 200 employees, there?s a good chance your company kills 200 trees a year. Save virgin paper by choosing recycled stock, them implement these printing procedures: 10. *$-Decrease your Margins. You don?t need an empty inch and a half on either side of a document. For multiple page documents, decreasing your margins will reduce your page count and save paper. *+-CELEBRATE Earth Day by Drinking Organic Wine! According to a recently released report, wine and table grapes are charged with expending more agricultural chemicals (nearly 60 million pounds per year) than any other crop in California. Need even more reason to drink organic? Organic wine has fewer sulfates in the red wine- which translates to less wine headaches.

DO YOUR PART TO HELP GREEN THIS PLANET... SHARE AND FORWARD THIS POST TO YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND CO-WORKERS!

xx
Laurel

Laurel House is a Fit Living Expert, 3x published author, and believer in living a life of balance. See more of her "Quickie Tips" on her website QuickieChick.com. Her 4th book- "QuickieChick's Cheat Sheet to Life, Love, Food, Fitness, Fashion and Finance on a Less than Fabulous Budget" (St. Martin's, May 2012) is available NOW for PRE-ORDER.

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10 Craziest Moments in a Wildlife Officer Career

The Operation Wild officers have to deal with some pretty crazy stuff while on duty. Officer Steinmetz is a 22-veteran officer, and he's seen just about every kind of wild action. Catch a clip below, and find out the top 10 things that have happened to Officer Steinmetz during his career.

The son of a dive shop owner, this 22-year veteran was born and raised in the very area he now patrols in the Florida Keys. Protecting Florida and its resources is literally in his blood. He drives his boat through the dangerous Keys shallows and coves like most people drive cars through their own neighborhood. This funnyman has never shied away from a good joke or a dangerous arrest. He is a self-proclaimed "Big Case Magnet", as he has an uncanny ability to attract the Big problems of both Man and Beast.

Here's the kind of thing Officer Steinmetz deals with on a daily basis. Today, it's lobster poaching:

TOP 10 CRAZIEST MOMENTS IN AN OFFICER'S CAREER

1. Being shot at over a case of beer during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew

2. Being accepted to the former Florida Marine Patrol (which has since combined with the Florida Game and Fish Commission to become the FWC)

3. Being asked to be on Operation Wild

4. Boarding a shrimp boat over the stern at night and scaring the crew so much that they started to jump overboard

5. Saving a man?s life just moments before he died

6. Being sent to bust a large narcotics case off Key West on my first day out on my own -- the 2 tons of narcotics almost sank my patrol vessel by overloading it.

7. Being sued for allegedly running over a man in my patrol vessel. It never happened and, after dealing with the situation for three years, we proved it.

8. Being deployed to help during each of the hurricanes that hit Florida over the past 20 years

9. Being on President Bush Sr.'s protective detail. One night, after a day of protecting him while he was fishing, I was even invited to have dinner with him.

10. Being named the Coastal Conservation Officer of the Year

Watch some of the most wild moments with us.

Erik Steinmetz, aka The Magnet—Florida Keys:

Unbelievably Wild Content
Officer Outdoor Emergency Handbook
Meet the Fearless Crew
Catch the Crazy Moments on Tape

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