Ten Tips for Going Green on Your Date

It seems these days everyone and everything is ‘Going Green’, so why should dating be any different?  Its summer, everything’s officially “Green” so why not make the most of it?  Here are ten tips and dating ideas for “Going Green” on your date:

  1. Ride bikes together.  Biking is incredibly Green (so long as you don’t drive 100 miles in your SUV with the additional weight of bikes and bike racks on your vehicle).  Meet up somewhere on your bicycle and tour the city together by bike.
  2. Work your local Community Garden together.  What’s Greener than a garden?  Exactly.  Imagine getting dirty with Chris Hemsworth’s look-alike, his hands filled with rich black earth as you sweat beneath the summer sun pulling weeds and … (whew, had to take a break for a second).  You get my point, though.  Getting dirty and sweaty together in an activity that is both good for you and good for your community can be an incredibly fun day together.
  3. Hit up the local Farmer’s Market for produce to make your own healthy meal.  Local farmers mean that the food hasn’t been flown in from China, they are usually better tenders of the Earth, and you’re also supporting your community tax base.  Plus, it’s fun walking through stalls, handling fruits and vegetables and getting to know people.
  4. Go for a walk in the park, or even just down the street together.  Walking is not only green, but is relaxing and allows you to talk.  The leisurely pace of a walk enables you to freely dialog about things that come to mind.  And by walk, we mean “stroll”, “meander”, “traipse along”—not, speed walking with weights and water bottles.  You can’t really talk that way.
  5. Cook food on a wood grill.  Cooking is always an enjoyable way to pass the time with someone, and the end result—the eating—is even better.  Wood grills don’t use electricity and wood is a replenishable resource.
  6. Go camping.  Ignore the earlier snarky comment about SUVs and take a trip to the mountains for the weekend.  Camping allows you to detox from modern life, doesn’t use electricity (well, the gas to get there), and the traffic to the National Parks helps to fund them and keep them going for everyone.  Plus, who doesn’t want to snuggle up in the quiet of outdoor life after an evening of ghost stories or urban tales?  Just remember the rule of camping: leave it better than you found it.
  7. Whenever possible, buy local.  If you are going to eat out then eat at a local restaurant rather than a chain.  Chain restaurants have foods shipped in from all over the world, wasting energy.  Besides they don’t really contribute that much taxable revenue to your state or region and the food never tastes as fresh.
  8. Drive together and use the car with the best gas mileage.  Wherever you go on your date, see it as a commuting opportunity.  Whoever’s car has the best gas mileage wins.  An alternative to this is public transportation.
  9. Don’t purchase bottled water if you can use water off of tap.  Yes, yes…but Fuji water looks so much fresher and healthier.  Fuji, Ethos…all of those great spring water brands still come in petroleum-made plastic bottles and are shipped in from other countries.  Local water is just as good.
  10. Arts in the park.  Attending Shakespeare in the Park, concerts in the park, or anything else outdoors put on by your city or community not only saves in lighting costs, but also supports locals.  It’s also pretty and romantical and all that good stuff.  Watching Mark Anthony’s speech at the Forum under a mantle of stars is ten times as romantic as seeing this as the Kennedy Center.