That's Fit

Today, I made the change. I said "no, thanks" to my grocery store bagger when he offered me paper or plastic and instead allowed my new green totes to shimmy up to my cashier where she promptly handed them over to Mr. Bagger -- who then shared with me a few facts about my eco-bags.

Bagger Boy told me the tote trend makes life a bit hard for baggers because they hold so much darn food. Typically, like foods are stashed together and with plastic, this works well. The bags are small and it's not a big deal to use a pretty good stack of them if necessary (well, it is a big deal, environmentally speaking). But the roomier alternatives often lead to food cramming. Un-like foods sometimes end up together -- think bread with eggs with cereal boxes -- and this is well, problematic, said the guy strategically placing my kids' popsicles with my few crates of strawberries.

Bagger Boy also told me these planet-safe bags aren't doing customers any favors. With the high cost of everything nowadays, people like to believe they're getting a lot for their money. You get a lot with plastic. Not so much with totes -- I have six, for example, and will rarely use that many -- so buyers feel they're getting less for more.

On April 20, in celebration of the April 22 Earth Day, families nationwide will celebrate our great planet by participating in the Green Apple Festival. If you live near one of these eight cities, you can plug into the music and environmental awareness that will be powering these simultaneous festivities.

Chicago: Lincoln Park Zoo
Dallas: Fair Park
Denver: City Park
Los Angeles: Santa Monica Pier
Miami: Bicentennial Park
New York: Central Park
San Francisco: Golden Gate Park
Washington DC: The National Mall

If you can't attend, do something instead to honor our Earth. Mix it up, like this post recommends. Enjoy a picnic in your favorite local park. Engage in a little eco-running -- tote a trash bag along on your neighborhood jog and pick up any litter you come across. Plant a fruit tree. Start our own compost pile, send a free e-card to friends and family, or simply get outside and marvel at the world around you. And by all means, eat a green apple. It's a Super Food, you know.

April 22 is Earth Day. What will you do on this day to celebrate the diversity of life on our planet? What will you do promote a healthier environment? My mom thinks I should start a compost pile. Our local Home Depot is selling compost bins for $35. This would be a pretty affordable way to make a difference by cutting down on yard and kitchen trash and nourishing the soil in my yard.

Publix GreenWise Market magazine recommends I honor Earth Day by putting together a tropical snack mix with ingredients from around the world. Each yummy item listed below comes from a crop grown in ways that protect the rain forest.

• Dried papaya, diced (Mexico)

• Dried pineapple, diced (Phillipines)

• Dried banana chips (Central and South America)

• Flaked coconut, unsweetened (Philipines)

• Macadamia nuts, chopped (Hawaii)

• Cashews, raw (India)

For more Earth Day inspiration, visit earthday.net.

I love my little boys' magazines. Their National Geographic Kids just arrived today and already I'm diving into the good stuff this publication has to offer. Stuff like human footprints.

Every time you eat a snack, ride in a car, or take a shower, you leave a mark on the world -- that's your "human footprint," say the National Geographic experts who go on to offer 10 ways we all affect the Earth. One look at these incredible facts, they say, and we'll realize how using less really can save the planet.

In our lifetime we will:

• Chow down on 5,054 slices of pizza or 632 whole pizza pies.
  
  

• Snack on 14,518 candy bars, enough to fill about 12 shopping carts.
  
  

• Eat an amount of hamburger meat equal to the weight of a family car.
  
  

• Consume 12,888 oranges. A stack of the fruit would be taller than two Eiffel Towers.
  
  

• Throw away enough trash to fill up about five garbage trucks.
  
  

• Own eight microwave ovens, 10 TV sets, and 13 cars.
  
  

• Use more than 1.2 million gallons of water. This would overflow two Olympic-sized swimming pools.
  
  

• Gobble down 9,917 pounds of potatoes. That's the weight of about eight average-size racehorses.
  
  

• Scrub up with 656 bars of soap. If stacked, these bars would stand taller than a five-story building.
  
  

• Drive about 627,000 miles or 25 times around the world, using enough gas to fill three fuel tankers.
  

Clearly, cutting back can save our planet. It many respects, it can also save our waistlines.

So you want to make a commitment to being green so you've started taking public transport to work -- or maybe you bike or walk. You've also started to make sure you turn off any electrical equipment when it's not in use and you're taking shorter showers to save water. You reduce, reuse and recycle too.

But what about your beauty products? If you're interested in going green with your face, hair and skin products as well, you should check out this piece that offers suggestions for 10 Eco-friendly beauty products that will help you look good and save the planet.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy

My guest this week is the very excellent athlete and adventurer Will Gadd. Starring on Discovery Channel's Fearless Planet, Will guides us through the world's most spectacular natural wonders to teach us how these land formations were created. The show is really so gripping that as I lay sick and exhausted in bed a few weeks ago, I refused to fall asleep. I couldn't miss his journey through and lesson about the Sahara. (No.....I don't have TiVo.Yes, I know I'm a nerd.) I was wishing this show was around when I was back in school learning about geography. If it was.....I think I would have actually been interested in the subject and learned all of the things I was supposed to learn back then. Totally entertaining!

From Canmore, Alberta, Will has won every major ice-climbing competition in the world and holds the distance world record in paragliding. He's one of the most successful outdoor sports athletes in the world, as well as an award-winning film-maker and writer. He has flown his para-glider over the Grand Canyon, climbed icebergs in the North Atlantic, won the X Games, written a best-selling outdoor instructional book and regularly writes for the New York Times and other international magazines and newspapers.

As I interviewed Will, we giggled a lot as he was totally down to earth (when not hanging from it). He's a new Daddy and considers that his most exciting, yet rewarding adventure. He's also the real deal when it comes to healthy living. He has some especially unique insight on food, which I think we could all learn from.

Fitz: You're the ultimate outdoor sports guy....in amazing shape. You're world renowned for excellence in ice climbing, mountain climbing, paragliding, kayaking , caving and skiing; a bit of a lunatic. How did you get started with all of this?

Will: I actually began my escapades in utero. My Mom was hitting the mountains while pregnant with me. My Dad's a climber too. I grew up with it.

Fitz: What does your wife think about you dangling upside-down from ice all the time?

Will: She totally gets it. She's (Kim Csizmazia) also a champion ice climber.

Fitz: That would probably help! And now you have a daughter?

There are loads of people out there who do not believe in Global Warming. Or, to be more specific, there are plenty of people out there who do not believe that human beings and all of our nasty, wasteful habits are the cause of the accelerated warming trend that is currently occurring on the planet (after all Earth has heated up and cooled down throughout its existence). Plenty of folks also don't think that this warming will cause the sort of catastrophic events illustrated in Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth".

Whether or not you're a believer, it's a fact that our global home is a fragile place that exists in a delicate balance, and we need to take better care of it. When I say "we" I mean everybody, including kids. As Tanya Ryno at DIY Life mentions, Gore has made his handbook on the subject kid-friendly, offering tips on how your children can help look after the planet. Remember that educated, Earth-conscious kids will become educated, Earth-conscious adults, so now is as good a time as any to help teach your kids healthy, planet-friendly habits.

For those who love the open road and exploring the best (and often the weirdest) that North America has to offer, road trips are often one of the best possible ways to spend a holiday. The problem is, gas costs continue to rise making things much more expensive for road warriors, and long auto excursions are definitely not great when it comes to aiding our damaged environment.

For those who are concerned about the planet (as well as their cash flow), but for whom a road trip is still the only way to travel, this article lists a few ways to help make your time in the car both more Eco-and wallet-friendly. Suggestions include renting a hybrid or, if that's not possible, a vehicle that is very fuel-efficient. Road-trekkers should try to ensure their own car is as fuel-efficient as possible by making sure the air filter is clean and that the tires are properly inflated.

Other ideas include shortening the amount of overall miles covered in order to focus on the most impressive and interesting parts of a journey, or ditching the vehicle altogether in favor of a more-unique cross-country trip by train.

As it's summer, it's natural to want to spend all of your time outside. Few things feel better after a freezing cold winter than thawing out in the warm summer sun. Loads of people are about to embark on holidays that will allow them to spend as much time as possible enjoying the great outdoors. It's important though, to remember that our planet is in a pretty precarious situation and so it's a good idea to keep the 5 tips listed here in mind in order to leave as little evidence of your presence behind as possible.

Outdoor enthusiasts need to remember to bring reusable containers for food in order to keep campsites as tidy as possible and it's always a good idea to admire local wildlife from afar. Not only can they be dangerous, but human presence can disturb their mating season as well as their regular habits. And always remember not to feed wild animals. In addition, there are some other great ideas listed in the article for those about to take off on an outdoor adventure, so make sure to check them out before you go.

It's no secret that one of the biggest health problems facing humanity right now is the health of the planet on which we live. Whether or not you believe in global warming (and there are plenty of folks who don't), it is hard to ignore that the Earth is not receiving the kind of treatment from its inhabitants that it rightly deserves.

Many are slow to begin making even small changes like the three R's - reducing, reusing and recycling for those not in the know. Mother Earth has got some pretty big guns on her side though, as loads of incredibly famous celebrities are making sure to do their part and also making sure that people know about it.

While the efforts of a few, or even a few hundred, celebs may not be enough to turn things around, they can certainly generate a bunch of publicity and awareness. And as we all know, what's popular among the beautiful and famous tends to become trendy across the globe pretty quick. So check out this list of stars who are doing their part to save the planet and think of what changes you can make to do yours.