Living and thriving in an eco-friendly, sustainable manner requires a great deal of innovation, creativity, and courage in the modern, industrial world. Two people that embody this way of thinking are the owners of the Inn Serendipity Bed and Breakfast in Browntown, Wisconsin. Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko don’t just talk the talk about eco-living. They also walk the walk and it doesn’t look like their shoes will be wearing down any time soon.

They are strong proponents of including the role that nature plays when doing business (and have written books about the subject) and thus refer to themselves as “ecopreneurs” and “bioneers”. Perhaps the best (and certainly the most comfortable) way to learn more about their ideas and strategies for living and working in such an eco-conscious manner is to stay at their bed and breakfast.

The place may look like other small, quaint, country inns but beneath the surface, this is one seriously green endeavor. Everything in the hotel is powered by renewable energy sources, the food is vegetarian and mostly comes from their organic garden, and they are always coming up with new, green ideas to improve their inn.

One of their latest projects has been changing an old granary into “an active solar heated straw bale greenhouse”. The hoped for end result of this project probably has such a long descriptive name because it’s the first of its kind. They hope to use it so they and guests of the Serendipity Inn can enjoy tropical fruits like papayas and carambola as winter snows blankets the surrounding countryside.

Even if one doesn’t stay at the inn, it sounds like it would still be a worthwhile destination to see what will hopefully be the wave of the future in action. The inn is described as a “demo home” for sustainable living so the owners would probably be willing to show visitors how they converted an old farm house into a carbon neutral dwelling.

The residents of Portland, Oregon have been longtime proponents of the “DYI” or “do it yourself” philosophy which adheres to the idea of making things rather than buying them. Recycling, reusing, bike riding and other eco-friendly activities and endeavors also fit nicely into this self-reliant, no waste creed and have helped this northwestern city become recognized as the most eco-friendly or greenest city in the United States of America.

This is one community that has made efforts to live in a more sustainable fashion and is a model for the future. For example, half of the city’s power needs come from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, more people ride their bikes to work in Portland than in any other American city, and it has over 30 buildings that have been certified as “green” by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Portland should also win a prize for the support it has shown to people who opt for using their bicycle to get around town. The bike friendly services and facilities that the city provides earn it one of the highest rankings of bike-friendly cities in the world and the home grown Bicycle Transportation Alliance doles out prizes to commuters who bike the most often and farthest to their places of work.

The city is also literally quite green when ones takes into consideration the large number of parks found within its borders. In addition to thousands of acres of development-free green space occurring in ecologically sensitive areas that have been purchased by the city, there are such parks as the Mills End (which being a circle just two feet in diameter is the world’s smallest), the much larger and beautiful Tom McCall Waterfront Park found along the Willamette River in downtown Portland, and the Tryon Creek State Natural Area (which features a creek still used by Steelhead Trout).

Perhaps the greenest way to explore Portland is with your own two feet. Here is a good book you can get from Amazon that looks at 20 explorations on foot in the Portland area.