Okay, so these are technically Sunday green links. Jason and I were in Maine this weekend, so this was the first chance I got to share.

• Wind Resources and Transmissions Lines – National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Here’s a cool map that my nephew found showing wind power potential in the U.S. Thanks, Lucas!
• We need real bike paths for real bike transportation – Grist. Bikes and pedestrians just don’t mix safely.
• Food exchange gets farm products to market – Boston Globe. A distributor helps organic companies get their products to store shelves.
• Vegan Shoe Store Opens in Cambridge – Cambridge Chronicle. So exciting! Has anyone been to Sudo Shoes yet?

I haven’t had much time to find new stuff this week. So be sure to send me anything interesting you find.

This is the time of year that companies start hounding people with piles of catalogs, and I’ve definitely seen an uptick. Catalog Choice makes it easy to be removed from mailing lists. For a $20 donation you can sign up to be removed from all traded mailing lists, or you can look up individual catalogs and request to be removed from their mailing lists yourself for free. Just make sure to keep the catalogs you receive so you can enter your customer number and the source code from the labels. It can take up to 90 days for the request to take effect, but if you’re still getting mail from them after that time, Catalog Choice helps you file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

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What about all that other junk mail? There are a lot of sources to help you out (check out Eco-Cycle, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, or Practically Green for a full list), but here are a few highlights:

• Credit card offers – OptOutPrescreen is the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry site. Sign up with the three credit bureaus to stop receiving credit card offers.
• Grocery circulars – Valassis is the origin of lots of grocery circulars and RedPlum coupons. Select “Consumer,” then “I would like to be removed from your mailing list.”
• Valpak coupons – Cox Target is the company that sends out ValPak coupons.
• Yellow pages – Submit your zip code to find yellow pages publishers in your area.

One year ago: Steam Radiators? Here’s How to Improve Your Boiler’s Efficiency.

More squash?  Hey, as long as my CSA keeps giving them to us, I’ll keep looking for new recipes. This one’s from Local In Season. It even includes the rest of those chestnuts I got for the Brussels sprouts recipe.

Isn't it pretty?

Roasted Acorn Squash with Onions and Chestnuts

2 acorn squash, cut in half and seeded
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup chestnuts, chopped
5 tbsps butter
1 1/2 tbsps fresh sage, chopped
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Rub inside of squash with 1 tbsp of butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until soft and golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tbsps butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Add half of the sage and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Raise oven temperature to 375º. In a bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, chestnuts, sage, 2 tbsps melted butter, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Spoon onions into squash, then sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on top. Bake until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.

I think when I cook this again I’ll make some changes. While I liked the taste and the presentation of it, I didn’t like how much work it was to eat. (Jason compared it to eating grapefruit.) Next time I’ll scoop out the squash innards and mix them together with the rest of the ingredients before filling the rind. And maybe double the amount of chestnuts and halve the bread crumbs.

Look at me modifying a recipe. It’s like I’m really cooking.

One year ago: Reduce Indoor Air Pollution with No-VOC Paint

The Mother Jones article seems especially appropriate on the heels of my computer myths post. Seriously, people, use your energy savings settings.

• Should You Shut Down Your Computer or Put It to Sleep? – Mother Jones. Shutting off computers is important, but making sure they’re programmed to sleep after 30 minutes idle is more important.
• Green Medford: Reverse Trick or Treat Bewitches Columbus School Neighborhood – Energy 2.0. This is a great idea! Mike and Sharon should totally do this when Adam gets older.
• Is Energy Efficiency Blue, Red or Both? – New York Times. Massachusetts comes in at #2 on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy score card.
• Conservation slowing animal extinctions, study shows – Salon. The rate of extinction would have been 20% faster if not for conservation efforts, according to researchers.
• A Safety Kink in Hair Relaxing? – New York Times. Ew… hair straightening formulas contain formaldehyde.

That’s all, folks. As always, if you see anything interesting this, send it my way.

It’s been really cold biking lately, and I’m prone to earaches—especially on windy bridges. So I asked around about how people wear hats with their helmets. My friend Dave wears a headband-type-thing that covers just his ears. He says his head gets too hot under his helmet for a hat. My friend Elisabeth wears really thin hats under her helmet, and she recommended a woolen one, so that it’ll be warm even if it gets wet. Actually, she specifically recommended an Ibex hat, and since an Ibex store had just opened up down the street from where I work, I popped in one night.

Don't I look like a thug?

I ended up getting a skull cap and liner gloves, and they’ve been working just fine the last few weeks. My helmet definitely feels tighter than it does without the hat, but it works. And my head and hands have stayed pretty warm. My neck on the other hand… Time to break out the scarves.

On the plus side, cold weather means fewer people out on the bike path, so I can go faster. I’m not a speed junky, but it can be pretty exhilarating!

One year ago: The Single Most Delicious Potato Leek Soup Ever