Clippings from the NYTimes: The Green Party
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 11. 4.07
Photograph by Dwight Eschliman
In the special Style magazine: The agony of environmentally conscious entertaining. There is always the nagging feeling that one should be doing more, which in this case often means less. “We buy these plates and cups from the Park Slope co-op,” said one popular Brooklyn hostess ruefully, “that are eco-correct and dishwashable. Of course, then you have to use heated water to wash them.” Even worse, she goes on, “if we eat meat at all, it’s kosher and grass-fed. We then have to drive to Queens to get it or have FedEx drive it to us. So you really can’t win.” ::The Green party
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And here we have yet another article in the ongoing series of "only rich people can live green, and even they have to do all this complicated crap that might be counterproductive, anyway".
You do not have to have grass fed kosher beef FedExed to you from 10 miles away in order to throw an earth-friendly party. Walk or take public transit (or a bike!) to your nearest Greenmarket. Buy the organic, humanely raised, sustainably farmed, seasonal, and or local food of your choice. Haul it home and cook it. This can be kind of a pain if part of your purchase is a 5-lb pumpkin, as I discovered last week. In that case, oh, what the hell, splurge on a taxi, at least to the subway. Or bring a friend!
If you keep kosher, and it's hard to get meats that are both sustainable and religiously acceptable, make your party vegetarian. It is possible to have an enjoyable gathering without beef, you know.
You also don't need special Park Slope Co-Op washable plates. You can use your own regular dishes, or bust out the good china. If you keep kosher, you probably have multiple sets for different kinds of food, a separate set for Passover, etc. If it's a big party, you can always head to Whole Foods for recycled paper cups, plates, and napkins. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a compostable option available. Also, you do not need to use heated water to wash most dishes, if you're especially concerned about that (and I assume you take hot showers, etc. so really, I mean come on...). This is especially true if you aren't serving meat.
God, the Times is clueless...