OUT: Conning friends into paying for your locally grown food.
IN: Bringing friends (and paying nothing) to attend FoodCon on March 5 at the Harrison Center for the Arts. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Harrison Center and Indiana Humanities Council, everyone has the opportunity to enjoy, learn about, and be immersed in the total sensory experience that is food, while also taking in art exhibitions, poetry, films and lectures, and hand-on activities. Sample the goods while mingling with local farmers, urban gardeners, and other fascinating foodies.

OUT: Cramming whole pies into your piehole, watching your waistline grow.
IN: Cramming knowledge into your noggin’ about how food grows. Prior to FoodCon,the Indiana Humanities Council (located across the street from the Harrison Center) will host a pre-party event from 5-6 p.m.  This event is in conjunction with Food for Thought, a statewide program developed by the Indiana Humanities Council to address issues like hunger, nutrition, food production, obesity, food security, and safety.

Bon appétit!

Now, we realize that you may not have a fleet of unwanted wheelchairs tucked away in your garage, but perhaps your orthopedist’s or physician’s office does. Or your church, community group, or school. DAO is also accepting blankets to donate to Haiti. To donate, simply drop off supplies at DAO’s eastside or westside facilities. Or email contactdao@aol.com or call 632-1919 to arrange a pick-up. Even if you don’t have items to donate, you can volunteer to help sort three semi-truck loads of medical supplies (call 242-9077 for details).

And don’t forget DAO when it’s time to recycle appliances, mattresses, pallets, and about 50 other hard-to-recycle things.

An earthquake may have ravaged Haiti, but it hasn’t devastated the human spirit. We say this without reservation: Never has a recycling drive been more important!

Myth: Only homeless people ride the bus.
Truth: People from all walks of life - rich and poor, young and old, black, white and Latino - ride the bus. Our favorite reasons to ride are concern for the environment and it’s a relaxing way to commute. Those who take the bus often use the downtime to read, listen to their Mp3 player, or text with friends. Now doesn’t that sound better than navigating snowy conditions or battling road rage?

Myth: Riding the bus doesn’t really save money.
Truth: It does, and it also reduces pollution since it gets your car off the road. A one-way pass is only $1.75 (or $0.85 for seniors and kids). When you factor in the cost of wear and tear on your car, plus parking for downtown commuters, it’s easy to see why riding the bus is a more budget-friendly choice. Even better: Riding the IndyGo Green Line from the Indianapolis International Airport to downtown is just $7…way cheaper than a cab ride.

Myth: Planning a bus trip is about as complicated as doing one’s own taxes.
Truth: Let IndyGo’s Trip Planner help you plot your next destination, whether it’s the Children’s Museum, Conseco Fieldhouse, Eagle Creek Park, your place of employment, or a combination of these. The Trip Planner serves as a GPS of sorts, telling you at exactly what time to walk to the bus stop, what time to board, and so on.

Traffic driving you crazy? Get on the bus, Gus. Forward this GPI to at least three friends and we’ll randomly select a winner to receive an IndyGo Day Pass.

Reason #1: Even in a city known for its pork tenderloin sandwich consumption, anyone can become a lean green machine.
Learn to lower your carbon footprint, reduce energy bills, and reduce your impact on the planet at an upcoming Living Lean & Green workshop. Upcoming five-week workshops begin Feb. 18 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church (4600 N. Illinois St.) and March 10 at Christian Theological Seminary (1000 W. 42nd St.).

Reason #2: The housing market may have gone bust, but green building in Indy is booming.
LEED, follow, or get out of the way at the Indiana Building Green symposium, taking place March 10-11 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Early bird registration ends Feb. 28.

Reason #3: People are movin’ downtown and participation in recycling is movin’ on up.
More people living and working downtown simultaneously means less CO2 generated during commutes. Public recycling bins in Broad Ripple, on Mass Ave, and in the Mile Square mean more opportunities to do your part. Special electronics recycling events like those taking place this month at Simon Malls means more convenient ways to responsibly dispose of TVs, VCRs, computers, and more.

Speaking of convenient ways to recycled your electronics, Rush Hour Recycling, our award-winning recycling program gets back into gear starting March 5. Stay tuned for details.

Instead of: Watching Peyton Manning spend too much time on the bench.
Try: Asking your neighborhood association to spend a little on an eco-friendly bench for neighbors to enjoy. Recycle Design, an Anderson based company, makes park benches (as well as recycling bins, trash cans, planters, and other products) out of recycled materials.

Instead of: Raining on the Saints’ parade (c’mon, it’s their first Super Bowl title)
Try: Learning about rain gardens at the upcoming “A Landscaping with RainGardens: The ABC’s of Design and Construction” workshop, taking place Feb. 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Registration fee: $50 (way cheaper than a ticket to the Super Bowl)

Instead of: Painting the town blue
Try: Painting your home with low-VOC or zero-VOC paint. (VOCs are volatile organic compounds and have been linked to health and environmental hazards.) Better yet, hire Green Brush Painters, a locally owned company, to do the work for you.

Until next NFL season arrives, we encourage you to team up for Planet Earth. Because nobody comes into our house and pushes us around.

Green Piece Indy has been named a finalist for an Indianapolis Sustainability Award for our Rush Hour Recycling program. The winner will be announced next Tuesday, February 9 at a downtown luncheon at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. Wish us luck!

Join Green Piece Indy at 6 p.m. in studio 213 of the Murphy Building. As part of IDADA’s First Friday Gallery Tours, we’re teaming up with People for Urban Progress, makers of the Dome Handbag (cute wallets, clutches, and messenger bags made from the former roof of the RCA Dome; proceeds from the sales benefit the Indianapolis Parks Department), for a fun event. While in the Murphy Building, you can also visit Indy Swank, purveyor of vintage (read: reused) clothing, including (you guessed it) Dome handbags.

And since you’ll already be downtown, you might as well stop in for the grand opening of Flame Art Studios. Based inside the Circle City Industrial Complex (1125 Brookside Ave., C-15), Flame Art Studios specializes in metal, glass, and silver artwork, jewelry, and other treasures. Many of the items that will be on display are made from recycled materials.

Remember: Don’t let cabin fever get you down. Get out this Friday for a green gallery hop and tell Old Man Winter to shove it!