As the beloved Kermit the Frog once said, "It's not easy being green." Although the spindly, sweet-hearted toad was referring to the color of his skin, it's also true in an environmental sense. It takes new thought patterns and a tweak in behaviors that might have been taught to us as children.
No doubt about it, bring green isn't easy, but if everyone takes a hop in the right direction, the earth as we know might not croak. (Too far with the frog theme?)
On a lighter note, OnMilwaukee compiled a list of 100 green things in Brew City. The staff took great liberty when compiling this list – many are "green" in the eco-friendly sense of the word whereas others are actually green in color or green-ish. They are in no particular order.
1. The roof of the Rockwell Automation building, the Downtown Public Library, the Milwaukee Public Museum and more
2. Strange Town bar and restaurant featuring plant-based meals
3. The lacks of straws at many local eateries.
4. Great Lakes Distillery's Absinthe Verte
5. The Harbor District neighborhood project
6. Bucks face masks
7. Archives of the "Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener" WNOV radio program
8. The FIX, a four-story green structure in Walker's Point
9. A bowl of Real Chili left on the counter for 10 days or more
10. Port of Milwaukee wind turbine
11. Milwaukee Public Museum's stormwater initiative
12. The rebooted Green Sheet in the Milwaukee Journal
13. Wisconsin Bike Fed
14. Irish Fest (the 2021 fest is gonna be better than ever!)
15. The Pedal Tavern's foot-powered vehicles
16. Paddy’s Pub
17. Victory Garden Initiative
18. "The big green limousine" (aka Milwaukee County Transit System)
19. Our neighbor to the north: Green Bay
20. Our neighbor to the southwest: Spring Green
21. Kopp's Mr. Fudgie custard (mint custard, cookies and plenty o’ fudge)
22. The nourishing food at Bowls
23. The dome of the Basilica of St. Josaphat
24. Robert Greenstreet (dean of the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning)
25. Milwaukee Bucks' theme song, "Green and Growing" (circa 1978)
26. Greenfield
27. Greendale
28. Bobby Greenya, owner of Champions Pub
29. The Green Kitchen in the Milwaukee Public Market
30. The lower grandstand seats at the old County Stadium
31. Urban Beets Cafe
32. City Green condos on Marshall Street
33. The putting greens at the Milwaukee County golf courses
34. Packers gear (well, the part that isn’t gold)
35. Habitat For Humanity's ReStore
36. The screens behind local meteorologist
37. Milwaukee street signs
38. O'Lydia's Irish bar and grill
39. American Family Field’s grass/turf/roof
40. The color of Chicago’s envy for Milwaukee
41. The turf inside Nine Below Mini Golf Tavern
42. "Green" realtor, Toni Spott
43. Art and architecture writer Mary-Louise Schumacher’s eyes
44. Tom Green, the late Elvis impersonator
45. The Wisconsin Green Party
46. The CBD buds at CBD stores like "Erth" Dispensary
47. Milwaukee River when the Bucks went to the finals
48. Admirals president Jon Greenberg
49. The Tropical Dome
50. City of Milwaukee garbage carts
51. Community Building & Restoration: Thoughtful Craftsman
52. The pea soup, among many other dishes, at Beans & Barley
53. Orchard Street Press, a sustainable screen printing/design company
54. Color of the mohawk on the guy who hangs out in front of Fuel Cafe
55. Tables made from a bowling alley floor at Braise
56. The pot at the end of the Wisco legalization rainbow
57. The pesto at Pasta Tree
58. Milwaukee Hurling Club
59. BelAir Cantina's guacamole
60. The olive in a Hi-Hat martini
61. The Tandem (formerly the Wally Schmidt Tavern)
62. A grasshopper at At Random (and the trim on the outside of the building)
63. The Urban Ecology Center
64. The tables made from yard sticks at Art Bar
65. Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin
66. The top of the North Point Water Tower
67. Oriental Pharmacy’s green river drink (RIP)
68. The sky before the city’s most severe tornado on Aug. 4, 1980
69. A Naked Juice Green Machine drink from Outpost
70. Boerner Botanical Gardens
71. The Bucks' dashing new Earned uniforms
72. The coleslaw on a fish fry plate at Kegel's Inn
73. (Some of) the peacock’s feathers at the Milwaukee County Zoo
74. The exterior of The Newport
75. Environmental artist and water advocate, Melanie Ariens
76. Culver's french fry oil-fueled vehicles
77. Menomonee River Valley initiatives
78. Milwaukee’s 121 miles of boulevards, 59 green spaces, 20 designated municipal properties and 20 above-ground planters in the Downtown area
79. The Milwaukee Urban Water Trail
80. Johnathan Green, former WTMJ radio announcer for "The Greenhouse"
81. Colectivo at the Lake
82. The Department of Public Works Field Headquarters
83. The Sigma Group building
84. CG Schmidt headquarters
85. Gathering on the Green
86. Milwaukee Rowing Club facility
87. Lloyd Street School's Bioretention Project
88. Milwaukee Scrap, LLC
89. UW-Milwaukee Great Lakes WATER Institute
90. Highland Gardens Public Housing Facility, Milwaukee's first green public housing facility
91. Miller Brewing Company's parking lot
92. El Rey's salsa verde
93. The plants in the windows at Goodkind
94. Not the plants at Conejito's
95. The fresh salads on Cafe Lulu’s menu
96. A pickle-on-a-stick at State Fair or Summerfest
97. Fondy Food Center / Farmers' Market (and all farmers' markets!)
98. The mint jelly served with Pandl’s lamb
99. All Earth Day events
100. Milorganite
