better living

FLOW

2008-09-22T21:44:00.001-07:00

I saw an excellent documentary yesterday, titled "FLOW" (FLOW stands for "For Love Of Water). I thought to myself, man, I must be getting old if I'm voluntarily going to watch a whole movie just about water. But I'm really glad I did!

It was a compelling look at water systems around the world, and a call for action. I thought I would walk away feeling badly for all the people who live in third world countries without access to safe, clean drinking water. And I did. But I also received the rude awakening that our own water systems here in the US are not as safe or as clean (or as stable) as we'd maybe like to believe they are. As if to underscore this point, the AP ran this article today about rocket fuel in public water supplies.

The threat that is posed to people around the world if we don't reign in the power of some of the large global corporations is made clear. Coca Cola's actions in Plachimada, India is an issue that I've addressed previously. What I didn't know is that the Nestle Corporation has threatened and abused local water supplies right here in the United States (namely Michigan).

This is a wonderful film that I would encourage everybody to see if they have the chance. As alarming as the world water situation is, I didn't leave feeling despair. I left feeling that we haven't yet passed the point of no return. There is still time for us to fix what we've broken - and doing that will require, to paraphrase one of the interviewees from the film, for all of us to decide what we value, and to begin acting accordingly.

Reminder

2008-09-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Posts are due today for the second APLS blog carnival on the topic of affluence! Make your submissions to aplscarnival [at] gmail [dot] com.

The response last time was amazing; I can't wait to see what everybody comes up with this month!

Also, don't forget to check out the APLS blog to see if a regional group has formed for your area yet - it's a great way to connect with other APLS living near you. If a group hasn't formed, you can always start one! Just send us a note and we'd be happy to get you started.

give me a break...

2008-09-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not one who normally watches a lot of television, especially during the day. Every now and then, though, a good dose of Judge Judy can restore for us the illusion that we are far more normal than the rest of the population. So yesterday, I caved.

What horrified me most was not the woman who was fighting with her deceased fiance's mother over the property purchased with the income from his drug dealing business prior to his death, but an advertisement I saw during a commercial break.

The ad featured a bunch of kids playing in a park, with two moms standing by a picnic table. One of them starts pouring cups of some sort of red juice drink from a gallon jug. The other mom questions why she doesn't seem to care what she lets her kids consume, including high fructose corn syrup.

The mom pouring the crap responds by indicating that corn syrup is all natural, (made from corn!), comparable in calories to sugar, and fine in moderation. The other mom stutters and looks stupid before finally saying, "hey, that's a great blouse you're wearing."

I hate to break it to all of us, but this is America, and moderation is not something we're particularly good at.

Apparently the fact that a food is comparable to sugar is the new standard. The fact that it is devoid of other nutritional value is not relevant.

What bothers me about this commercial is that there are people out there who will see it and use it as an excuse to continue making poor dietary choices for themselves and their children. I guess that's kind of the point, though.

Did anyone else catch this commercial?

we should be scared

2008-09-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot these days about the connection between our ability to gather together to build community and our ability to create a better world. There is absolutely a link between our ability to freely exercise our rights as guaranteed under the constitution (freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly) and our ability to make a lasting change in the way we protect (or refuse to protect) our planet.

I'm beginning to doubt whether substantive changes will ever take place after some of the news out of Minnesota this week. We keep hearing about the gradual erosion of our civil liberties, but most people don't actually seem all that concerned. Why?

A journalist named Amy Goodman was arrested with two of the producers of her news show while they were recording protest events at the RNC, despite wearing their press identification and verbally identifying themselves as press. Do your own homework, but if you think this is wrong, consider contacting the District Attorney or other public officials and demand that they drop the charges against these journalists.

There were many other abuses of power and authority in St. Paul last week - this is an excellent editorial that looks at some of the arrests and the reasons behind them.

I'm disgusted and appalled. I don't even have the stomach to write more.

Affluence

2008-09-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

APLS stands for “Affluent People Living Sustainably.” The part of this acronym that consistently makes people cringe and consider opting out is the “A” for Affluent. Some may confess that they haven’t reached a totally sustainable lifestyle yet, and are still working towards it (which is true for almost all of us, by the way!) but nearly everyone protests at the use of the word affluent. “I’m not affluent” is very often the immediate reaction. Dictionary.com gives the following definition of the word: “having an abundance of wealth, property, or other material goods; prosperous; rich.” Within the context of one’s town, state, or even country, many of us could rightly claim that, relatively speaking, we are not affluent. As APLS, however, we recognize that a global perspective is crucial to healing the problems faced by our world today, like climate change. Taken from a global perspective then, there are very few people living in the industrialized world who are not affluent. Assume for a moment that you make $6 an hour. This is certainly not enough money to be considered affluent by US standards. But when looked at from the global point of view, that income still would place you in the top 12.88% of the world’s wealthiest people. Check out the globalrichlist and play around with the numbers. It’s scary and interesting at the same time. Let’s skip past the “wealth and property” section of the definition of affluence for a moment, and focus on the other aspects, which include having an abundance of other material goods. Most of us in this country, regardless of how small our incomes, have enough money to own more than one pair of pants, and more than one shirt. If we were honest about it, most of us probably own more shirts than we can readily list. We therefore have an abundance of clothing. Most of us also own many other material goods. For example, I don’t eat my dinner on the floor, because I have a table to sit at, and chairs to sit in. I eat baked items when I want to because I have an oven to cook my food in. I am entertained at the push of a button because I have a television. None of these items are markers of affluence in North American society, where I live, but they certainly would be in many parts of the world. Any travel to parts of the globe that are still industrializing quickly reveals that there are many, many, many, people today living without a change of clothes, even while the ones they are wearing are dirty and torn. Countless people live in shacks and huts that are too small to contain a kitchen table or chairs. Even if they somehow made space for an oven, electricity is not reliable and fuel is too expensive to run such luxury appliances. Even as communities, we are wealthy. We have no shortage of hospitals, schools, roads, police, fire departments, safe drinking water, and on and on. It seems hard, then, when we really consider our fortune compared to the rest of the world, to claim we are not affluent. Even those of us who are voluntarily leading simpler lives are still affluent in the global context. Yet there does seem to be some resistance still to this word. Is it a collective guilt? Does the idea of our being affluent somehow run counter to the ideals we thought we adhered to and lived by? Are we worried that assuming this label puts us in the company of people like Imelda Marcos and Kenneth Lay? If that’s the concern, it seems a bit unfounded. We don’t live in a black and white world. There are a million shades of color. Just because we aren’t Bill Gates doesn’t mean we aren’t wealthy. If we have a change of clothes, or a car, television, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, dvd player, or computer, we are affluent compared to most of the world. To deny that in some ways takes away from the experience of the person who truly does live in poverty. Living on very little money in an industrialized country is not really comparable to being poor in Sub-Saharan Africa, or southeast Asia, or many other places around the world. As APLS, what we must come to terms with is not whether or not we are affluent, but how to deal with our affluence. And that is the power of this community. With affluence comes choice – the choice to live sustainably or not. Looked at another way, if you are choosing to live sustainably, you are privileged in a way that many in the world are not. We are the privileged few in this world who can afford to live unsustainably. Yet we are choosing not to. Rather than deny our privilege, we must accept the responsibility to live our lives in the most sustainable manner possible, and to encourage others to do so as well, in whatever way is comfortable for each of us. What most of us are finding is that we are even more affluent than we thought after making the choice to live as sustainably as we can. Because the realization that we all keep coming to is that more money doesn't make us feel any wealthier, for the most part. A more sustainable lifestyle, however, frees us from the burdens of material things and allows us to spend more time having experiences and being with people rather taking care of things and acquiring new things. More sustainable means more living - and that makes us feel privileged beyond belief.

sometimes...

2008-08-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

sometimes it's our time to talk. and sometimes it's our time to listen. right now, I feel like it's my time to listen.

so no, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. but I'm listening, with not too much to say right now.

enjoy it while it lasts.

The First APLS Blog Carnival

2008-08-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

The big day is finally here - our first ever APLS blog carnival! I am thrilled to have the honor of hosting, and equally pleased with the absolutely amazing response we've received to the first topic - What does living sustainably mean to you?

The answers were surprisingly more varied than I might have expected - I encourage you to take the time to look at each and every post if time allows.

The highlights, in no particular order:

Lori at Life in Webster Groves starts us at the beginning, walking us through the various definitions of the word "sustainable" and and explaining, quite eloquently, how those of us who self-describe as APLS meet the criteria for each of those subtly varying definitions.

Green Resolutions uses the analogy of parenting to illustrate the point that the question of what constitutes sustainable living is one that has to be answered by each family based on their unique situation.

Farmer's Daughter approaches the question from a teacher's point of view and looks at personal sustainability through the textbook Four Basic Principles of Ecosystem Sustainability to share what sustainability means for her.

Green Bean very convincingly argues that a sustainable lifestyle is not the same thing as a self-sufficient lifestyle, but rather that the sustainable lifestyle actually leads to an embracing of other members of our community and building of relationships.

Eco Burban Mom explores how living in our disposable world actually keeps us busier than a more sustainable lifestyle, and opts to trade more stuff for more time.

Surely You Nest gives us permission to embrace (or at least periodically snuggle with) our inner junk food lover - and tells us why it's not necessarily incompatible with living sustainably - I for one appreciate that!

Arduous explores balance and compromise in relation to sustainability, and acknowledges the importance of recognizing what works for you and your lifestyle, so that the changes you make can be long-lasting.

Going Green offers pictures (and oh what pictures they are!) to answer the question - along with the now expected healthy dose of levity and humor, of course.

Simple-green-organic-happy answers the question in a delightful manner, couching her answer in the context of a wonderful children's novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - I've ordered a copy to re-read already!

Chez Artz reminds us that sustainability is a continuum and that walking down the road gradually is okay.

Fake Plastic Fish avoids almost all mention of plastic (or fish, for that matter) and discusses the importance of awareness while attempting to live more sustainably.

Civic Lessons discusses her history as a small "e" environmentalist, her desire to be a big "E" environmentalist, and the joys of being called a dirty hippy.

Mindful Momma explains that trying to keep up with the Joneses isn't always such a bad thing - especially if the Joneses are living more sustainable lives.

Going Green Mama explains how sometimes sustainability can be forced by circumstances beyond our control, but no matter the route, a sustainable lifestyle is often a much happier lifestyle.

One Size Fits All discusses the concept of "enough" and how a true understanding of what this means can help lead to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Heather at Simple Green Frugal discusses the importance of recognizing your place in the grand scheme of things, the fact that living more sustainably is a process, not just a decision, and acknowledges that the "why" of living sustainably may be different for each of us.

Melinda at Elements in Time challenges us to prove that we can change our unsustainable behaviors without being faced with a major disaster or crises, and to look at sustainability in all aspects of life, such as body, food, and products.

The Purloined Letter probes the link between justice and sustainability and provides an excellent analysis of Richard Heinberg's axioms on sustainability.

Greenfluencer makes an analogy between sustainability and dieting, and encourages us to consider whether our newly adopted behaviors can be continued indefinitely, and to make sure we ease into things at a pace that's right for us.

Greeen Sheeep illustrates how sometimes, when everything gives, we can be unexpectedly blessed with a more sustainable lifestyle.

Lynn at Organic Mania is striving to live more sustainably, even if her son does think she's a meanie, and even if it means a little more planning and organization.

What's Your Name, Mommy? reminds us that living sustainably is a practice, not a competition - and if it stresses us out, it's not sustainable.

Inner Monologue of a Madwoman explores sustainable living against the backdrop of Christianity and finds that the two are very compatible.

Crstn85 has been watching the Olympics and thinking about sustainability on a global scale.

Organic Needle offers a beautiful look at the ways in which sustainability has led to a happier life for her and her family - a life that is rich with both connections and experiences.

Simple Living in a Complex Society examines how small steps compound each other and can have larger impacts than we might have expected - but we must decide to take the small steps.

Bobbi at To Live Local walks us through the major phases of her life to share how she's arrived at her current state of synthesis between her economic, political, and social values.

Home Is... shares how her path to a more sustainable lifestyle began when she realized that she was a part of the problem, not the solution - and then began working to change that.

Will at Green Couple explores the differences between local and global sustainability, and looks at how a focus on money can lead us down that path via the king of the 3Rs, Reduce.

Green Arizona looks at sustainability through the lens of health concerns, and reminds us that education is the key.

IB Mommy wants to be a sustainable pirate (and yes, there is such a thing, as she shows us!)

VWXYNot outlines some of the changes she's made on her path to sustainability - and turns out to be a much darker shade of green than she gives herself credit for, in this APLS opinion!

Greene Onion also shares some baby steps being taken towards sustainability, recognizing that gradual change is most likely to be lasting change.

Ecoinhabitant looks at sustainability in the context of our alignment with nature.

Mother Earth shares with us some of the ways she is working to achieve sustainability in both her personal as well as her professional life, and reminds us of the importance of maintaining flexibility in how we define things.

and, last but not least, Kneedly Knots reminds us of the importance of a balance of giving and receiving, and ethics in our quest for sustainability.

That wraps up this month's APLS blog carnival - don't forget to check out the Facebook Group, and of course the APLS blog page to catch up on all sorts of other exciting activities going on! If you haven't been added to the Bushel Basket yet, please leave a comment letting us know that you'd like to be included, and we'll toss you in!

THANK YOU to each and every contributor who took the time to write such thoughtful posts - you've helped to make this first APLS blog carnival an overwhelming success!

CONGRATULATIONS!

2008-08-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

My little brother and his wonderful fiance will be married tomorrow! I couldn't be happier!

I'm not eloquent when it comes to serious life events, but congratulations to both of you, and welcome to the family to my new sister in law. Love you guys!

I'll be back for real, very soon!

come visit me over at the Blogging Bookworm!

2008-08-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

My review of Jonathan Raban's "Bad Land" is over at the Blogging Bookworm today. This book was a surprise green read for me, by which I mean that I didn't know it was about green issues until after I started reading it. I won't say much else about it here, because that would sort of defeat the purpose of posting it over there, wouldn't it?

Stop by and check it out - and if you're not a regular visitor over there, do browse through some of the fabulous past reviews and find some inspiration for your next green book! A lot of very bright, well spoken people have reviewed an incredible variety of books (even some for kids)!

Thanks again to the wonderful women who keep the Blogging Bookworm alive: Chocolate Crayons, Going Crunchy, Green Bean, and kale for sale.

Digging through the trash

2008-07-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

I was out exploring with my Dad today, and he took me to one of his favorite spots: an old trash dump! He's quite the treasure hunter!

It was amazing looking at what had been chucked. We weren't sure about the exact age of the site, but we're guessing it was not used after the 1950s, and we really have no idea when it started being used.

The most common items there were bottles, in every shape, size, and color. There were also a lot of pieces of broken dishes, a lot of shoe parts, many rusting out metal pots, buckets, cans, and even an old Model T Ford chassis, with the license plate still attached. Things were still recognizable, but were definitely well on their way to decay and decomposition. Nothing was bagged up. I guess garbage bags weren't invented back then.

I was thinking about all the plastic in our lives, and what one of our trash dumps might look like in a hundred years. I fear that it won't be evident whether our trash was left a year earlier or a century earlier. I worry that nothing in our landfills will be slowly returning back into the earth, but will be sitting there perfectly preserved as if in an Egyptian tomb.

It reminded me all over again just why it's so important to be cognizant of what materials the products I buy are made from. Sure it's great if I can recycle a plastic milk bottle when I'm done with it, but if a glass version is available, wouldn't I rather have that? Serving utensils in my kitchen will eventually break. When this happens, don't I want to worry about how to dispose of a piece of wood rather than plastic, even if that plastic has another use before it's finally thrown away? I know I'm not the first one to think about this issue, but sometimes we need our own experiences to make things hit home for us. Looking at a pile of somebody's relatively sustainable garbage made me realize that although I've cut my trash output drastically, what trash I do create isn't going anywhere anytime soon. That's not the kind of legacy I'm hoping to leave.

um, seriously?

2008-07-30T00:31:00.001-07:00

OK, I was flying today, and I never leave an airport without being irritated about something.

You know that rule they have at the airport now about no liquids over 3 ounces can be carried past the security checkpoint? Things like plastic water bottles are strictly verboten past the metal detectors these days. Well, if you've been in airport recently, you've observed the tossing of countless contraband bottles. Straight into the TRASH CAN.

Can somebody get the TSA a couple recycling bins? Please? I mean, they have these giant garbage bins there anyway for people to toss the bottles into. Couldn't they make it a recycling bin as easily as a trash bin?

Or is recycling some kind of a security threat now too?

Trim your waste (and your waist)

2008-07-29T00:54:00.000-07:00

I'm off today for a whirlwind tour - I have three weddings to attend in the next three weeks, for two great friends as well as my brother. It should be a lot of fun with a lot of opportunities to catch up with friends and family I haven't seen in a long time. I hope to be able to post over the next three weeks, but at best, it will be sporadic.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a quick tip. When eating in restuarants lately with the picky eater, we've noticed that we often don't need to both order our own entree. We'll start with an appetizer to share, then move on to one entree, and then if we're still hungry, we'll order something else. Sure, it takes a bit longer, but the point of going out to a restuarant with somebody else is often to spend quality time anyway, right?

This method reduces our waste and saves us money, in addition to giving us a little extra time to linger and chat - I can't complain about any of that.

Can't get enough APLS?

2008-07-28T00:37:00.001-07:00

If, like me, you've been loving all the activity of the APLS lately, you're going to love this! For those of you who are just arriving to the party, APLS stands for Affluent People Living Sustainably. There's been lots of good bloggy discussions on the subject, and we've even got a facebook group going with lots of great conversation and interactions. But the fun doesn't stop there!

Green Bean, Arduous, and I have teamed up to create the APLS Blog - a home base of sorts for a monthly blog carnival on issues surrounding being an affluent person and living sustainably (and if you're cringing at the use of the word affluent, or thinking it doesn't apply to you, I really encourage you to check out the global rich list, as well as some of the assorted blog discussions or the facebook group).

This blog is designed for anybody who is trying to live more sustainably. If you're trying, you qualify! You don't have to own a composting toilet, or power your home with solar panels to be an APLS (although if you do, that's awesome too!). You don't even have to have a green blog - or any blog at all. We want anyone and everyone who is interested to come and join us.

I'll be hosting the first carnival on August 15th, and am really excited to see what you all come up with. As we've all been learning, APLS are better together, and this is just one more way for us to share our knowledge, our questions, our inspirations, our concerns, and our hopes.

We also are hoping to eventually use this blog to organize some regionally based community building opportunities. There's been a lot of interest expressed in this area, and we think it's pretty exciting too - if you'd like to be involved in getting APLS organized in your area, send us an email. We'll definitely need your participation to make this work!

Hope to see you at the APLS blog!

pat yourself on the back day

2008-07-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Various bloggers, myself included, have recognized our green "failures" from time to time - we forget to bring our reusable bags into the store, we make an unplanned stop for coffee with friends and don't have our reusable mugs along, or we indulge in a can of soda even though we've sworn it off. Acknowledging these little lapses is an important thing to do so that we can move forward past them. We recognize that overall, our efforts and successes are more important than our slip-ups in the end, and we move on.

Today, though, I'm declaring an official "pat yourself on the back day" - a day to acknowledge one thing that you're proud of yourself for doing this week, or month, and to give yourself credit for it. As important as it is to acknowledge the little mistakes we make, I think it's equally crucial to reflect on the things we're doing right.

My pat on the back is for something pretty simple really. My book club meets at the biggest Whole Foods I've ever been in. They have two cafe / bistro areas in there. The first serves ice cream, pastries, coffee and such, and the second serves sandwiches, fries, wine, and more entree like items. I've figured that if I enter the building at the end near the ice cream, I can enjoy one scoop by the time I get to the bistro at the other end where we meet, just in time to enjoy a glass of wine over our book discussion. Mindful eating? Not really. Discretionary eating? Absolutely. But I really love their cardamom ice cream, and I haven't found anywhere else to get it, so I'm probably going to continue this little habit.

On the other hand, I remembered to bring along the (washed) disposable plastic cup they'd served it in last time, and when I ordered, I handed it back to the girl, who looked shocked for a second, then thanked me for bringing it, and filled it up for me.

It's a little thing, but I was very proud of myself, for some reason, of having remembered to bring that little cup along.

So let's hear from you - what's one thing you'd like to pat yourself on the back for? It can be a little thing or a big thing, but leave a comment and tell us what it is, and give yourself some credit!

well that was easy!

2008-07-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

I've given up microwave popcorn. Since I'm the one who does the shopping in this house, we've both given up microwave popcorn. It hasn't been a very popular decision around here, and it means I've spent more time than I'd like shaking a heavy pot with oil and popcorn seeds over a hot burner.

So today, I tried a little experiment. I reused a small brown paper bag (we get lots of these in our CSA share holding tomatoes, squash, and such) and placed about a quarter cup of plain old yellow popcorn kernels into it, and folded the top shut. I read online that one staple would be ok in the microwave, which I believe, since my tea bags have small staples that don't do any damage, but we actually have a cool staple-less stapler that I used just to be on the safe side.

I put it in for a little over 2 minutes, and voila! freshly popped popcorn, ready to be seasoned however I wish.

It's definitely a good way to save some money, and it absolutely cuts down on waste. Plus I've heard some concerns lately about commercially produced microwave popcorn, and this way I can be sure there are no nasty chemicals in there.

I'm glad I figured this out...it's way too hot to be shaking that pot over a hot stove today!

any volunteers?

2008-07-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

The 30-Day No Trash Challenge is looking for its next challengee. It's a pretty cool way to examine your habits, especially if you're just getting into raising your awareness about your impact on the environment.

They say it better than I could, so from their website:

Various authors embark on a 30-day challenge to be trash-free and blog about it along the way. You can be next!
In the end, it's not just about a 30-day challenge. That's just the beginning. It's about learning how to be mindful of the waste you create on a day to day basis and using the 30 days to pick up new habits, incorporating those changes into your daily life & hopefully making an impact in the long run. How It Started: One day, on a whim, Miss Dayva decided it would be interesting to challenge herself to go sans trash for a month. And so her quest to be trash-free began. Anything that cannot be composted, recycled or reused in a meaningful way, is considered trash that would end up in a landfill and that's what she wanted to avoid. She has since completed her challenge and has now passed the buck. Ashley is the latest 30-day No Trash Challenge participant but we hope there will be more to come.

So if you think you're up for it, check out the blog, drop Ashley a note and give it a try!

don't hate me because I'm basil-ful

2008-07-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

I've fallen in love, all over again. Basil is my new passion.

It started off innocently enough, with a simple pasta dish featuring goat cheese, grape tomatoes, zuchinni, and basil. Things started to heat up when I whipped up this lovely salad starring nectarines and basil.

This week, with the delivery of my CSA box, the fates seemed to be begging us not to let our love die, when I received another enormous bunch of the sweet smelling stuff. Tomato sandwiches, featuring just-picked tomatoes, local sourdough, a drizzle of olive oil, thick slices of mozzarella, and of course, basil, have been the featured item on the lunch menu for the past several days. The logical progression of our relationship led to some delectable bruschetta, featuring the same ingredients as the sandwiches, minus the mozarella, with a healthy dollop of garlic in its place.

I was on a roll at this point, and found so many recipes online for pesto that I couldn't help whipping up a batch to throw in the freezer.

I had some slightly sour blackberries from last week's farmer's market sitting in the fridge, and decided to introduce them to my new love...and with a little inspiration, was soon enjoying a delicious blackberry basil sorbet.

It's been a whirlwind few days, and I've enjoyed every moment that I've been blessed to spend with my basil. There's still a healthy sized bunch sitting in a vase of water, making my kitchen smell heavenly. Like all good food things, however, I know the season of the basil won't last forever. But until the season is officially passed, I plan to enjoy every minute we have together. And when we must say goodbye, I'll probably shed a tear or two, but I know that fate wants us to be together, and I am sure our paths will cross again around this time next year.

the (almost) zero waste watermelon

2008-07-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

Watermelon is in season here, and it's one of my favorites. Next time you enjoy one, though, don't throw the rind away...use it to make preserves! They're delicious (probably because of all the sugar), it's one more way to cut down on food waste, and it wasn't too much work at all.

The recipe is here - the only advice I would give is that although the finished product is quite soft, the rinds were still rather crispy for me until I let it cool and sit for a while. Then, however, they were wonderful and delicious. And now the first batch is gone. Guess I'll just have to eat more watermelon.

Enjoy!

today was a good day

2008-07-18T17:28:00.001-07:00

Do you ever have one of those days where everything just kind of works out really nicely? I know we've all had the other kind, where nothing works out, but I think it's important to stop and appreciate the days we do have where everything just flows.

I had some errands to run this morning, one of which included mailing a rather bulky, though not heavy box. I had some other errands to run afterwords that made walking out of the question, and I was a little nervous to try to balance this box and ride the bike, but I figured I'd give it a shot. So I did, and was so glad I didn't break down and drive, because it turns out I was able to finish all my errands in the strip mall where the post office is. So I decided to take advantage of the sudden free time and the fact that I was already out with the bike and go exploring.

There's a very cute neighborhood about 3.5 miles away from us with an adorable Main Street feel to it, and I've been meaning to go spend some time down there for about a year now. So I hopped on the bike and started pedaling. I didn't get lost, and I managed to avoid the expressway (a scary mistake I'd made once before!). I arrived at my destination a little sweaty but otherwise doing fine.

I immediately found an adorable little thrift store I'd never seen before. I popped in to see if ther was anything I needed. I found two wonderful books. The first, published in 1974, is titled "English Crewell Designs". I didn't really even know exactly what crewell was (it's a type of embroidery) until I opened the book, but I'd picked it up because the picture on the cover was so cool looking. I'm going to use this book for inspiration and guidance when I start designing my own patterns for hooked rugs. The other book I got is called "Homemade Bread" and is even older than the first, having been published in 1967 - but still in great condition. I was thinking I should buy it when I read on the inside flap "For everyone who is tired of 'instant living'", but I was convinced when I flipped open to a random page and found myself looking at a picture of the same Easter Egg Bread my mom used to make when I was little! There are a ton of other recipes in here, and I'm psyched that the book was written before bread machines were even invented! In total, I spent $1.62 on these two books!

I puttered around a while longer, popping into an independently owned bookstore that I try to support, having a snack at a small, locally owned deli, and finally hopping back on the bike and heading back home. When I was just over a mile from home, I noticed a sign I hadn't seen before, reading "India Mart" and I decided to investigate. Apparently they've just opened within the past month, and the woman working there was super nice! She was obviously very proud of her shop and took me on a tour of the small aisles, explaining all the items they planned on stocking in the future. They had a good assortment of all the basics needed for Indian cooking. She told me she wanted this to be a community shop and to please ask her if there were things we wanted her to stock that we didn't see and she'd order them for us. I bought a few things that I didn't necessarily need but knew we'd use eventually and went on my way, feeling like I'd made a new friend. I'll definitely be shopping there again!

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better today, I arrived home, and in my mailbox was sitting the copy of "New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant" that I'd been waiting for several months to pop up on paperback swap (if you haven't checked it out yet, I can't recommend it highly enough!).

Now I'm off to make some sorbet and continue enjoying this wonderful day. By the way, don't forget to check out the APLS group on facebook if you haven't yet. There are some really wonderfully interesting discussions happening there, and we'd love to have you chime in!

a blanket, some music, a bottle of wine...

2008-07-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

...and you've got yourself a great evening in the park! Where I live, there are TONS of free events in the summer time. Jazz on the Plazz, Concerts in the Park, Music in the Park, it's hard to keep them all straight! If I wanted to, I could attend at least two nights of free music every week (and yes, a lot of the parks around here let you bring wine, as long as you're responsible, whatever that means)!

I've always enjoyed these events, and have been attending them since we moved here over a year ago. It's a great way to spend time with friends without spending money, and also to get outdoors and enjoy the summer. I love sneaking peeks at what's inside other people's picnic baskets, and chatting with friends, running into people we weren't expecting to see, meeting new friends, watching kids running around and playing. Oh yeah, and listening to the music, too. Sure beats sitting home watching TV! (Besides, we have one of those recorder things, so when the concerts happen to fall on the same night as "So You Think You Can Dance" I'm not forced to make those hard choices. Now you know my guilty TV love).

This year, I've noticed a much, much larger crowd at these events each week than ever before. So many people that blankets literally overlap each other, leaving no space for people to pass in between. Is it the economy? Are people trying to find cheap entertainment? Or have the masses started realizing that the best things in life really are free?

What's great is that it's totally not focused on spending money. Sure, people bring food and drinks that they've bought, but we were all going to eat dinner anyway. A lot of people bring food that was obviously cooked at home, and even among those eating take-out, there's not a lot of chain restaurant food to be found in the areas around the parks. Where the jazz concert is, they don't even allow vendors into the park.

And I even get a chance to do my small bit of leading by example too. I make sure to bring my cloth napkins and my sigg, as well as non-disposable cups, silverware, etc. And this is California, after all, so of course they have giant recycling bins to collect the wine bottles and keep them out of the landfill.

Sure, I could meet my friends for a movie, and we could spend $50 in the process, but in the end, we wouldn't have actually spent much time together. And when I look back a year, or two, or ten from now, I know the concerts in the park will be much more memorable.

the silence is deafening

2008-07-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

Just an update on the situation with Coca Cola in India - after receiving a form letter response to my letter to them, I wrote back, as I didn't find their answers satisfactorily addressed my concerns.

It's been almost two weeks now, and they haven't responded. Either a real person is taking the time to write an actual well thought out response and actually address the issue, or they're ignoring me.

I have a guess which it is, but I certainly will be sure to post about it if I do receive a response.

The good news is, I think I'm over my love affair with Diet Coke once and for all as a result of this!

Come hang out with the APLS

2008-07-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

Carrying on with the theme that building communities of all sorts is an important part of living a more sustainable lifestyle, Green Bean today introduced the apple bushel. APLS was an acronym created a few months ago over on Arduous' blog to describe those of us who live an (at least relatively) affluent lifestyle and strive for sustainability (APLS = Affluent People Living Sustainably). Hence, the apple bushel is a place for us to introduce ourselves and to meet some new APLS.

As a continuation of the community building efforts, we've created an APLS group on facebook. It's an open group, so anybody can join. Come check it out! (And if you're not on facebook yet, it's probably time you got an account!)

EDIT to apologize for messing up green bean's name...it's not the apple bushel, it's the bushel basket. I knew it sounded wrong as I was writing it and now that I've had a nap, my head is much clearer. Sorry bout that!

rock the vote

2008-07-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

I've been fairly busy lately, in part because I've been participating in a few events for the Obama campaign (despite the controversy of the recent vote on FISA). I'm not trying to sway anybody to vote one way or the other, but rather to explain how being involved in a campaign has been a very positive experience for me.

Most of what I've been doing thus far has been registering voters. This isn't strictly campaigning, because we register anybody during these events, regardless of what their political leanings are. We usually have a little table of some sort set up, with the voter registration cards, and some buttons and bumper stickers for sale. This is done at places like free outdoor concerts in the park and at the farmers market. People stop by and chat while they browse and fill out voter registration cards. I've spoken to people of all different ages, and races, political afiliations, and nationalities.

Perhaps one of my favorite conversations I've had while registering voters was with a five year old girl. She seemed pretty bright, and asked me about what I was doing. I explained the presidency and elections to her as best I could, and told her the names of the two candidates. I showed her a picture of Obama and had to apologize to her when she asked me to show her a picture of McCain. I could tell she was still confused about something though, and, making a sweeping gesture that encompassed the whole table I was sitting at, she asked, "But why are you doing all of this?"

What a fair question, I thought. I explained that we really liked one person more than the other to be our next president, and that we just wanted to tell other people that and answer any questions they might have. But that's not really a reason, I thought. Why was I doing all of this?

What inspires me to be involved now, at this moment, is that for the first time, I feel like I really care about an election in a positive way. In the past, I've only really wanted certain individuals to not be elected (and yes, I am referring most specifically to Bush here, especially since I'm too young to have done any presidential voting before him), and have never felt passionately that I cared whether any particular person take office. This time, it's different. I really want this man to be my next president.

I'm sick of not caring, and sick of expecting the worst from our "leaders". I'm sick of being cynical and waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm sick of the apathy, and of expecting to be disappointed. I'm sick of the intolerance, and the institutional condoning of intolerance. This is not what I expect from my political system or from my country. It's not what I was taught to expect growing up. I realize that utopia is not just over the horizon waiting for us to elect the right leader, but I also realize that as a nation, we have a lot more potential than an outsider might think to look at us right now.

All this thinking about why I care now about the presidential elections in a way I never had before reminded me of a post by arduous, in which she stated "We can't resign ourselves to doom AND also believe in a brighter tomorrow" - I guess I'm not ready to resign myself to doom. Sure, this country is a big old mess in a lot of ways. I'm not so naive to believe that it's even just one big old mess. We've got lots of messes (Iraq, social security, health care, and of course, the environment, for starters). I don't feel a sense of doom about any of these things. I realized that what I've always felt in the past was a sense of fatigue with the status quo.

I don't believe in magic "president fairies" that wave a wand and make everything alright. I actually am one of those cynical people who believe that a person's electability as president automatically makes him or her a less than ideal person for the job. I also, however, recognize the reality of the world in which I live, and realize that the system we have in place now is what we have to work with. I do believe also that change is possible. I know it's what I want, and I know it's what a lot of other Americans want too. Whatever candidate you support, and in whatever election, be it local, state, or federal, I believe that we need to start becoming more involved in our political processes. By doing so, we are actively helping to shape our future rather than passively waiting for it to happen to us.

That, my little friend from the park, is why I am doing all of this.

(And no more politics for a while, I promise!)

please try not to lick the plate

2008-07-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

I was at a local farmer's market today to do some voter registration, and couldn't help picking up a few items. I had this thing about basil paired with either nectarines or blackberries stuck in my head. So I picked up a big bunch of fresh, local, organic basil and brought it home.

I wish I could take credit for the rest of the inspiration, but I must give credit where it is due. The name alone was enough for me to fall in love: nectarine and basil salad with goat cheese. I was lucky to have a goat cheese on hand already (although not the specific one mentioned in the original post, but it was local), and I didn't even know what Prosecco was, so I asked my friend wikipedia and decided I could make do with about a quarter teaspoon of white balsamic vinegar, which I did have on hand. The total prep time was under five minutes, and the only non-local ingredient was the balsamic vinegar.

This isn't one of those salads that you eat when you're really hungry. It's one of those salads that you make because you want to enjoy the flavors of the season. It's also one of those salads you can make if your spouse's boss is coming for dinner and you want to serve something local, yet pretty and fancy and impressive.

I'm not sure I've ever felt so happy eating local before. It was heavenly.

check it out...

2008-07-12T22:47:00.001-07:00

There's a cool site for all of you who enjoy reading the green sites...it's Alltop - it's like one big giant aggregator of a whole bunch of different green sites (and actually, they have lots of other topics too!).

You'll probably see some of your old favorites there, and you may even stumble upon a new gem or two.

Another great website to check out is WalkScore - it'll give you a score on how "walkable" your current or potential neighborhood is - just enter the address and it'll give you a map with results of all the different things that are within walking distance. It's a great tool to scope out a new neighborhood if you're considering a move in the near future, and it's also a neat way to find some hidden gems if, like me, you're still relatively new to the area you live in. One more way to help reduce car use and energy consumption!

Nordstrom, I'm voting you off the island

2008-07-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Nordstrom is a place that I'm officially declaring I won't shop at. OK, it's true that I can't really afford to shop there anyway (seriously...a Juicy Couture Baby 2 piece fleece set, on sale for $64.90, back up to $98 after the sale!?!?!?!? And girls jeans on sale for $86.90, back to $130 post sale!? Obviously somebody is buying this stuff, but man. I guess I'm cheaper than I thought!)

So anyway, I got this catalog because it was addressed to the woman who lived here 2 or 3 owners back. So I went on to catalog choice to opt out. Guess what? Nordstrom doesn't choose to participate in that program. So I called them and asked them to stop sending them, but it really irritates me that I had to take the time out of my day to do that - and then, of course, to complain about it here!

The irony is they are definitely trying to greenwash their customers, by putting a note on the back cover of the catalog stating how their catalog is 30% recycled content and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, but if they really wanted to help people be more eco-friendly, they'd make it easy for people to not get the catalog in the first place.

This is my first experience with a merchant not participating in catalog choice. For those of you who haven't found this little gem yet, go check it out. For those of you who are already using it to manage which catalogs you receive, have any other merchants refused your requests? How successful do you feel it's been in cutting down unwanted catalogs in your mailbox?

Potty Training

2008-07-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of potty training right now. No, I don't have any kids. I do, however, have a cat. For the record, I'm not one of those people who thinks of my pets as a substitute for children, and I don't dress him up in little outfits. Although he is pretty cute.

But yes, we are potty training the cat. Why, you ask? Well, many reasons, but basically, in the long run, if this works out, it will save me time and money, reduce waste, and is healthier for the cat. How? Well, let's take a look at cat litter. It requires that I clean a litter box every day or two. That takes time that I'd rather spend doing...um, anything else, really. Cat litter also costs money. It's not crazy expensive, but money is money, and I like to save it where I can. Of course, when I clean out the box, the used litter has to be disposed of (read: sent to the landfill), so cutting out the litter box will cut out this waste, and the waste of the packaging for the litter. Not to mention that cat litter is really heavy, so I'm cutting out all the energy of transporting it from wherever it is made to my home. Plus, another big consideration is that the method for extracting the clay used to make cat litter is strip mining. Not cool. Finally, there are reasons to think that the fine dust particles in cat litter is harmful to your cat, and possibly even you.

So yep, I'm potty training the cat. Well, I'm trying anyway. I'll save you the long drawn out details of how it all works, but somebody got me this wonderful little system as a gift...it's actually a pretty simple solution, wouldn't you agree?

If nothing else, I figure this is good practice for if we ever have kids.

Edit: One reader was right to point out that there is some concern that cat feces (specifically, the germ named Toxoplasma gondii, the same thing they warn pregnant women about when dealing with cat litter boxes) may be responsible for killing sea otters here in California. She is absolutely right, this is a concern, although at least one source mentions that things like a colony of 40 - 50 feral cats in Monterey and storm drain runoff contaminated by cats who do their business outdoors, are at least of equal concern at this point as household sewage. That's not really a good answer though - as long as we don't really know where the problem is stemming from, we can't just cross our fingers and hope it's not something we're doing. I checked the American Veterinary Medical Association website, and I'm no scientist, but I think this system will be safe for my cat, since he never goes outside, and he eats only packaged food. Here is what the AVMA has to say:

The most common way that cats become infected with T. gondii is from eating infected mice, birds, and other small animals.
For indoor cats, the most likely source is uncooked meat scraps. When a cat eats meat or other tissues from infected animals, it becomes infected with T. gondii and can excrete millions of oocysts in its feces each day. This release of oocysts can continue for more than two weeks. After the initial infection and shedding period, most cats will not pass oocysts in their feces again, even if re-infected.

Basically, I can't be 100% positive that my cat is not still excreting these cysts (this really sounds so gross; there's a good reason I'm not a doctor), but I can be fairly certain that he's "clean". If I had an outdoor cat, or lived in an old house where my cat was constantly killing mice, I would not find the risk acceptable. I think in this case, however, the small risk is outweighed by the benefits of another 8 - 15 years worth of environmental impact that would be caused by keeping him on the litter. What are your thoughts on this issue?

Sea Salt Scrub (in under 5 minutes, for under $5)

2008-07-09T00:55:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to write about some homemade health and beauty products for a while now, but the thing is, I like to actually try stuff before I write about it. And the problem is, I'm a bit of a hoarder. And, well, ok, I'll confess: when we moved to California (over a year ago), we were moving from a state with no sales tax. And what's more, we had a moving company, all paid for, to move whatever stuff we had. So, I headed over to Costco and stocked up. Like a crazy lady. I must have bought at least 100 rolls of toilet paper. Enough dishwasher tablets to stock a busy restaurant. So much lotion that the woman at the checkout probably thought I was filming another Silence of the Lambs movie.

Point is, I haven't needed a lot of cosmetic products since we've moved (and there's a lot that I still don't need - I predict that at current rates of consumption, I'll have celebrated my first and possibly second wedding anniversary before I need to buy more deoderant).

Finally, though, yesterday, I found a need for a product I didn't have stashed away! We were all out of exfoliating scrubs of any kind. I saw my chance and jumped on it, whipping up this batch of sea salt scrub super quickly - and cheaply.

Here are the directions:

Take 1 Cup of sea salt, and mix with 1/2 Cup of grapeseed oil (heads up on this one, I thought it came in a green bottle - nope, the oil itself is green! Which is a little odd, but now you know what to expect). Add 5 drops or so of essential oil (I used lemongrass). Mix it all together really well.

To use, just rub into skin, and rinse off (don't use on open cuts - that'll really hurt). It exfoliates and moisturizes! Also, I haven't tried it with this particular scrub, but I was at a spa with a friend recently and they used a salt scrub to clean her rings and make them all shiny and new looking.

And the best part is, I know there are no little plastic particles hiding out in there waiting to make their way down my drain and into the oceans. The packaging is reduced, because I'm buying stuff I'd either buy anyway, like the salt, or buying in larger quantities than if I purchased a scrub from a salon (to make 5 or 6 batches of this, I'll have one salt container and one grapeseed oil bottle to recycle, rather than 5 or 6 scrub bottles to recycle). The final cool thing is that the ingredients cost me about $22 - but I have enough left over to make a few more batches of this stuff, and the essential oil, which was the most expensive at $10.50, will last for many many batches. Plus I can use the grapeseed oil and the salt for cooking as well. I'm certain this is cheaper than buying a salt scrub at a spa, and I'm also certain it works just as well. Even if it is the color of pistachio icecream.

From zero to hero

2008-07-08T01:48:00.000-07:00

A lot of what I've learned lately has focused on failing. Failing at things is fine; it teaches us what not to do, so that when we try again, our results are even better than we may have initially expected. Or at least what we wanted the first time around. The only big problem with failing is that it often creates waste - and food waste at that, which is my personal least favorite type of waste.

I, like everyone out there, have experienced my share of failures. I've made tortillas so brittle they'd crack if you dropped them. Loaves of bread that can prop a door open. Last weekend I bought strawberries at the farmer's market, and got sidetracked when I got home - and didn't remember the berries until two days later, when I found that a huge bunch of them had already started to mold (despite my best efforts, yes, my house is often so messy that I can overlook a flat of strawberries for two days. Sad, but true).

Two weekends ago, my picky eater brought home a big bag full of plums - somebody on his cricket team had a tree in their yard and decided to share. Only problem was, there were too many plums for us to eat before they became worm food. No problem though; I knew what to do with these - make jam! We green bloggers are jam making experts.

I, however, am also supremely lazy. So I found a recipe for no chopping, no peeling, plum jam.

I followed the directions. Well, mostly, anyway. I didn't have a thermometer, but I cook enough, so I was sure I could tell when everything was ready.

Problem was, even after adding all the sugar I had in the house (literally) and boiling for a really long time, it never turned into jam. It was just a sort of sour, plum sauce.

Sour like rhubarb.

Wait a second...

Rhubard. I love rhubarb!

This stuff was runny though, so I needed to get creative.

I found this recipe for rhubarb cake. Instead of the rhubarb, I substituted half a pint (or so...I'm not exact when it comes to cooking, as you may have noticed....) of the plum sauce for the fruit, and baked this puppy up (minus the orange zest). Picky eater gave it the veto, but in my own mind, I went from zero to hero in sixty seconds flat...this was a winner for me!

The point is, we all fail sometimes. The challenge is not to beat ourselves up over how we fail, but to ask ourselves how we can turn these failures into something succesful. We all try to reuse other things in our lives, why not reuse our food flops to make something useful? Like that delicious cake. I'm going to go have another piece right now...

Monday Monday...

2008-07-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

I figured you might need a good laugh since the end of a long weekend can be a bit depressing, so I highly recommend that you check out the Farmer Love posts at Food on Food. It is some of the funniest writing I've come across yet.

Another one of my random frugality tips for those of you who don't always make your own butter: save the wrappers for greasing baking sheets. I fold them in half and seal them inside a ziploc bag, stored in the refrigerator until it's time to bake. Simply let sit at room temperature for a few minutes, and wipe across the baking sheet. It's something that would be thrown away otherwise, and it helps me avoid some of those mystery ingredients in those spray on products...plus it eliminates the waste of the spray cans.

Finally, as promised, a photo of my current project:

What would you choose?

2008-07-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

There was an interesting post the other day by Sharon Astyk entitled "Is Electricity Really the Lifeblood of Civilization?" She, like me, ultimately concludes that it isn't as essential as many of us might believe. Of course, right now, it's all theoretical, but there was much discussion about what our world might be like if we don't find a solid alternative energy source. In the course of this discussion, one commenter suggested giving up one appliance in each room.

I probably won't actually do this - mainly because I don't live by myself, and I think it'd be hard work to convince the other occupant of the house to give up any of his toys. I thought it would be a good self-reflection exercise, however, to come up with a list. Below, I go through each room and list what I'd be willing to give up, and which I couldn't bear to part with.

Living room: I could give up the tv and dvd. I'd have a pretty hard time giving up the "stereo" - which for me is my ipod attached to a portable speaker.

Kitchen: I actually think I could give up the refrigerator. A lot of what I keep in there is leftovers, which I only make because I know I can store them. Milk and cheeses would be tough, but I could put these in a cooler along with veggies that need cooling. Most of the condiments I have in there I have only because, again, the refrigerator is there, so why not store them? The freezer would be very tough for me to give up. I store a lot of veggies in there, as well as an assortment of beans and frozen soups and breads.

Bathroom: I've already given up all my electrical appliances in the bathroom. I freecycled my curling iron, and the hairdryer is on a top shelf in the closet for emergencies, but hasn't been used in over a year. That leaves nothing that I couldn't live without.

Laundry room: I'm already using the dryer an average of about once every six months. The washing machine, I'd have a pretty hard time parting with.

Bedroom: the only electric appliance is our alarm clock, which as Sharon's commenter mentioned, could easily be replaced by a wind up version.

Office: I could easily give up most of the stuff in this room, but most of it isn't mine. It's a lot of various games and other small electronics. The one thing that I use that I could maybe part with is the printer. I don't use it much as is, but if I had to bike the three and a half miles to Kinkos every time I wanted to print something, I'd probably make sure only to print really essential things. The one I couldn't part with? That's a no-brainer...the laptop!

What are your must-haves? What could you do without? What are you already doing without?

I'm either a genius...

2008-07-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

or the last one to the party. Either way, I wanted to share this little gem I stumbled on today:

If you are out of fresh fruit, you can mix jam with yogurt - and it's delicious!

I didn't have time to defrost any berries this morning, and I'd eaten all the fresh fruit that we had in the house, so I dropped a teaspoon or two of black cherry jam into a cup or so of plain yogurt, added my sunflower and flax seeds, and it was wonderful. Sort of like that stuff you buy in the store that advertises "fruit on the bottom" - except I know exactly what the ingredients were when I enjoyed this. And with a lot less waste. And it's a lot cheaper. I'm guessing kids would really like this, especially if they find regular plain yogurt with fruit mixed in not sweet enough.

In some ways it was better than using fresh fruit because everything was a more similar consistency. And there was no washing or chopping to do. I love figuring new stuff out!

I'm off to enjoy the rest of this long weekend - I hope you all do too!

Here's what I think about that.

2008-07-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

Below is the letter that I sent to Coca Cola today regarding the response they've e-mailed me. For any of you particularly interested in labor issues, you may also want to check out this site.

Also, as Organic Needle reminds us, the Coca Cola company owns countless brands. See a really big list of brands owned by Coca Cola here.

To Whom It May Concern:

I received your response to my inquiry regarding the village of Plachimada in India.

Your response was much what I expected, explaining how you hadn’t actually violated any laws. I understand that the court decided you have the right to use local aquifers, but that does not absolve you from your responsibility to do the right thing – and draining a community’s water resources to the point where they can no longer sustain themselves is not the right thing, regardless of what the court says.

Your argument that the water tables would not be adversely affected in conditions of normal rainfall is empty, as you yourself point out that the last few years have not been ones in which normal rainfall has occurred. Apparently your strategy in this case is to carry on as usual despite the fact that the conditions you’ve established to avoid negative environmental impacts have not been met?

I understand that a court ruling in your favor means you may never be held legally accountable for your actions, but I am not bound to judge in accordance with legal rulings, and I am holding you accountable for the damage you’ve done to the community of Plachimada.

Your contention that your biosolids are not hazardous is not comforting. Why were they distributed to farmers in the first place? Because it was the cheapest, easiest way for you to unload your waste? Do you honestly assert that the high levels of cadmium in these solids are not dangerous? If so, you’ve lost all credibility with me. I highly doubt that you’d spread this sludge in your own backyard and allow your children to play in it.

Your product quality information, although interesting, was not the focus of my concerns about your activities in Plachimada.

To reiterate the point of my original letter, which I do not feel has been addressed at all by your response, I would like to know what are you doing to clean up the mess you have made? Although I’m glad that you’ve figured out that in normal rainfall years, you wouldn’t be draining the water tables, and you’ve stopped dumping biosolids on people’s farms, I don’t see anywhere that you’ve addressed the fact that you’ve stressed community water resources in low rainfall years – what are you doing to remedy this? What are you doing to clean up the cadmium in the soil that you are responsible for?

You stated that you do "business around the world honestly, ethically, in compliance with applicable law, and with respect for the basic principles of human decency and justice." Excuse me for saying so, but I disagree. I'd say the only one of these you've got done perfectly is the compliance with applicable law, with some sort of misguided assumption that the rest will follow. Unfortunately, compliance with written law is not a guarantee of honesty, ethical behavior, and certainly carries no assurances regarding basic principles of human decency or justice - that is up to you, and in this regard, you are failing.

Corporate responsibility does not mean telling the world that you are doing the right thing, it means actually doing the right thing. Thus far, I see a serious lack of responsibility on your part.

Thank you for your additional time, and I await a response.

Sincerely,
Melissa

and the answer is...

2008-07-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Below is the response I received from Coca Cola. I'm working on a reply, which I'll post when I've got it done.

Thank you for your email to The Coca-Cola Company, Melissa. We take your concerns very seriously, and are glad you took the time to contact us. We want to assure you that the Coca-Cola system does business around the world honestly, ethically, in compliance with applicable law, and with respect for the basic principles of human decency and justice.
In connection with our operation in India, concerns have been raised about the amount of groundwater used to produce Coca-Cola beverages, solid waste disposal, and product quality. I want to assure you that we have one set of environmental standards that we follow throughout the world, including India.
Groundwater: An independent study commissioned by the High Court of Kerala found that under normal rainfall conditions, the Coca-Cola bottling facility would not adversely affect ground water levels. The High Court determined that the primary cause of the water shortage in the local Kerala area was reduced rainfall for several years and ruled that the Coca-Cola plant has the right to use water from the local aquifer. Additional steps have been taken throughout our operations in India for rainwater recovery systems and water efficiency gains in the production process.
Solid Waste Disposal: The Coca-Cola Environment & Water Resources Department has reinforced standards with our plant managers in India in connection with the generation, composition and management of biosolids, which are the organic and inorganic materials that remain after the wastewater treatment process. Even though our biosolids are not hazardous, since 2003 we no longer distribute biosolids for agricultural purposes to any area farmers. We also are furthering our work with industry associations and the Indian government to encourage the development of additional solid waste disposal sites and clear government policies regarding disposal.
Product Quality: Pesticides are widely used in agriculture in India, and if misused, have the potential to contaminate water sources and agricultural products. However, we constantly monitor our ingredients and products for quality control and continue to strengthen our processes and procedures to ensure that involuntary contamination by pesticide residues is reduced to a level well within safety limits. Water used in our products is passed through a multi-barrier water treatment system which includes an activated granular carbon filtration and purification process designed to ensure every drop is safe for use in our beverages. We test for traces of pesticide residues in water to the level of parts per billion, which is equivalent to one drop in a billion drops. Other ingredients used in our soft drinks are also safe and meet applicable regulations.
In closing, let us assure you that we are committed to ensuring the quality of our products, adhering to rigorous environmental standards, and responding decisively when our exacting standards are not being met.
Again, thank you for the time to contact us. If you have further questions, please visit www.cokefacts.org.
LesleyIndustry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company

Weeds for dinner!

2008-06-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

For all intents and purposes, Chile practically came to my house and made my dinner for me last night. OK, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I do have to say thanks for two fabulous posts that inspired dinner around here last night - the first was about how to make stock.

I was excited when I first saw this post because I love making soup. I gave up buying cans or boxes of stock a while ago - too package intensive. I switched to the little bouillon cubes. A lot less packaging, but check out the ingredients sometime - disgusting. Well, I don't know if disgusting is the right word. To be fair, I don't know what most of those things actually are - like silicon dioxide and disodium guanylate. I think I'll pass, thanks. The other nice thing about Chile's stock recipe is that it gives me a way to use up those onion bits that normally are the one bit of food waste in my trash (I've heard worms don't like onions). So I'd been saving up bits of onion, squash ends, tomatoes and such for the past week, I threw it all in the pressure cooker and made what is hands down the best veggie broth I've ever tasted in my life.

Making my own stock is great for a few reasons, besides the fact that it is delicious - I'm using something that otherwise would have been waste, I'm saving money (not tons, but a penny saved and all), and I'm able to reduce my consumption of prepackaged food items.

I didn't let the inspiration stop there, though. Chile also wrote about a veggie (weed) called purslane last week. Hm, interesting, I thought. I didn't run out to buy any though - but it showed up anyway, in my CSA box this week. A gigantic pile of it, in fact. I normally would have pushed this to the back of the fridge, not knowing what to do with it, and probably end up freezing it just before it went bad. But I felt encouraged yesterday, and found two great recipes yesterday: one for purslane and pea soup and the other for a rice and purslane melange. Both were relatively simple - especially the rice, which was super easy. They also both had a surprising creaminess to them (surprising to me anyway, because, aside from the small amount of butter used in the soup, they are both entirely vegan recipes). Lucky for me, they were also both pretty forgiving recipes - I substituted onions for leeks in the soup, and I had a lot less peas than what it called for. No matter. I also used brown instead of white rice for the rice dish.

The best part? I've mentioned before that someone around here (hint: not me!) is a picky eater. He's declared repeatedly how he finds brown rice disgusting and has no interest in eating it. Well, I gave him a spoonful of the rice with purslane, and he proceeded to polish off the entirety of what was to have been my lunch today. That's ok, it makes me happy when people like the things I cook - and I have plenty of purslane left, so I'll be making more of the rice today. I think I might try freezing some for the next time I have a lazy day and don't feel like cooking.

I liked this stuff so much that I am going to try to grow some in one of my containers. I figure if it really is a weed, I should be able to keep it alive. Has anybody grown it before? Where do you get seeds? I've never seen them for sale before. Any growing tips?

Creating Pause Points

2008-06-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

One thing that was interesting in my recent read, "Mindless Eating" was a discussion of creating pause points for ourselves as a strategy to be more mindful of what we eat. One example is taking a large bag of chips and, rather than eating straight from the bag, portioning them out into individual containers - creating a point at which we'll be forced to pause before eating more (the pause point here is the opening of a second container).

I didn't feel super psyched about this book because it was more of a diet than an eco book, but nevermind - our brains are amazing things, and I guess mine was working without my knowledge, because today I realized that we can create pause points for the other parts of our lives too. We've probably all heard the advice that if you want to stop charging things, put your credit card in a bowl of ice and freeze it. You're creating a pause point (a pause iceberg, more than a point, actually).

I realized I've done some similar things for myself in respect to my "green goals" - I made a rule that I only buy an item after I've placed it on a written list for a minimum of two weeks. I finally put the paper towels in a cabinet high above the refrigerator - I need to really want to use those before I haul out the stool and climb up to pull them out. I close, unplug, and move my laptop into another room when I'm done working so that it has to be worth the effort of retrieving it, plugging it in, and waiting for it to boot up.

My fellow Silicon Valley resident Pete Kazanjy had an "ah ha!" moment while dining out at one of my favorite spots, In N Out Burger, and noticed that virtually everyone there would grab a pile of napkins, not use most of them, and toss them in the trash when cleaning up their tables. He designed a simple sticker reading "Remember, these come from trees" to be affixed to paper towel and napkin dispensers, which, in effect, creates a pause point for us. Check out Pete's blog for lots more info about the project.

We all know that paper napkins and towels come from trees, just like we know we shouldn't eat an entire bag of potato chips. But not all of us are mindful all the time, and these stickers create a pause point for us - they provide a physical, visual cue which remind us to stop and think before proceeding with our intended action. These stickers have the potential to be incredibly effective - it is estimated that each sticker placed on a dispenser will save up to 100 pounds of paper each year!

I like the way the message is phrased; it's not saying "Hey, I can't believe you didn't bring your own cloth napkins, jerk, why are you destroying the environment by using these disposables?" Instead, it's just a gentle reminder to consider the resources consumed in the item about to be used.

There is a small fee for the stickers, to cover the cost of producing them, with any overages donated to the Sierra Club. I'm going to order some - I'll be asking permission before slapping them up, but I'm thinking about the libraries, grocery stores, and coffee shops in my area. Schools are actually offered the stickers free of charge!

I'd also like to encourage all of you to decorate your world, so if you'd like some stickers, I'd love to provide them! I'll place my order next Friday, so sometime between now and then, send me an email letting me know how many you'd like and your mailing address (my email is on the sidebar there). I'd also love to hear about your plans for where you'll be stickering - a lot of you are much more creative than I am, so you'll probably come up with all sorts of ideas I'd never think of.

Book Review: Mindless Eating

2008-06-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Since I'm still a bookworm, I've read "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" by Brian Wansink.

It's an interesting read, but when I think of mindfulness, it implies a connection between all things - myself, the environment, other people, and so on. This book seems to be focused strictly on how we mindlessly eat too much and how this leads to people being overweight. So I guess it's not really an ecologically focused book. It seemed like it could (and should) be from the title, but that was my big disapointment.

The research is still very interesting, and just because the author doesn't focus on the relationship between mindless eating for an individual and the impact that has on the world at large, doesn't mean I couldn't think about those issues as I was reading.

I have to question some of his research (I know, I'm not the one with the PhD, but still, bear with me). A lot of the research had to do with participants estimating caloric content of different foods. Maybe I'm an exception here, but I have no IDEA how many calories are in anything. I know what foods are good for me and which aren't, but I really don't know or care how many calories they contain. I care about whether they contain iron, protein, calcium, and other vitamins, but even then, I couldn't tell you how many of each of these are in any given fruit or veggie. So calories? Couldn't be less interested. Does this make me an anomaly? Can most Americans tell you how many calories are in a slice of pizza or an apple?

One very interesting point that he discusses is consumption norms - basically the idea is that when a product is in a larger package (and this applies to non-food items like shampoo, as well) we use or eat more because the packaging prompts us to. I think it's worth considering transferring some food items to smaller containers with this in mind. I actually purposely, for some time now, have purchased walnuts from the bulk bin in fairly small quantities (they're expensive, for one thing - about $10/lb.) and I find that I use less when I have less of them on hand - but it's still enough to make my salad plenty tasty.

There were a few things that I thought were pretty bad in this book, like his suggestion that if you're going to eat at McDonalds, throw half the fries in the trash before you get to the table. The idea is that we'll mindlessly eat whatever is served to us. Sorry, I can't sign up for this idea...how about realizing that McDonalds isn't exactly a great diet choice in the first place, but since you've chosen it, eat the fries, and enjoy them? Or order a smaller size? Being wasteful isn't, in my opinion, an acceptable response to the realization that we are mindless.

He has done a lot of research that shows that people do make mindless food choices all the time, but I guess the part that I didn't really like was the acceptance that we have to continue being mindless. It was an interesting look at how we make some of the choices we make regarding food, and it was an interesting subject to ponder, but I was underwhelmed and wouldn't consider this a must-read unless you're looking for suggestions on how to control your eating.

Next up on my bookworm reading list will be "The End of Nature" by Bill McKibben. If you haven't yet checked out the Bookworm Blog - thanks to everyone who organized that, it's great! Happy reading!

Coca Cola - tsk, tsk

2008-06-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

We all know that giant corporations are often not the most environmentally or socially responsible. I also have seen a lot of efforts of late from some of these large companies to convince us that they are more "green" than we may have believed.

Well, time to put your money where your mouth is, guys!

This article explains in detail how Coca Cola has behaved less stellarly than they would have us believe, polluting and destroying the water supply of an entire community. The irony here is that the Coca Cola web site actually goes to great lenghts to detail all the efforts they make to be socially and environmentally responsible. You can't have it both ways - either say you care about the planet and act accordingly, or don't care - but don't lie about your green cred just to boost sales. That's just obnoxious.

The other reason this bothers me, aside from the big, obvious fact that there are real lives being ruined through these careless actions, is that after reading "Fast Food Nation" I realized that large corporations really do have the power and the leverage to make lasting changes in the way businesses treat people - but they'll generally do so only if it is in their financial best interest.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I get upset by lots of things, but do very little to actually complain to the appropriate people about those things. So I drafted my first letter, hoping to convince this company that it is in their best interest to start carrying through on some of the promises they're making:

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to ask you simply to clean up the mess you have made in Plachimada, India.

I understand that there is a case pending with the Indian supreme court on this matter, but regardless of how they finally rule, I cannot absolve you of responsibility to attempt to repair the damage brought to this community by your actions.

Water is polluted, and toxic sludge has been dumped into the ground, and you are responsible. This seems ironic, given your claim that you “aspire to give back by supporting healthy watersheds and sustainable community water programs”. Faced with such a statement in contrast to the reality in Plachimada, I must wonder whether you actually aspire to these goals or whether you realize such statements will make you more attractive to your target markets.

I would appreciate a response detailing your plans to fix the problems you have created in Plachimada.

Until I have received such a satisfactory response, I will cease to purchase any of your products and will urge others to do the same.

Your consideration of this matter, as well as your time, is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Melissa

So if you have the time and/or the inclination, please cut and paste this letter, tweak as you see fit, and send it to Coca Cola directly - you can access the contact form here. It'll take less than five minutes, I promise!

It's time to let big business know that we mean business - being a responsible steward of the environment means a little more than slapping some content up on a website saying you care. I for one am ready to see some actual corporate responsibility.

Unite for Change

2008-06-26T00:39:00.000-07:00

I don't like to talk politics, and I'm not trying to turn this into an opinion poll on the candidates...

but I do want to say that I'm attending a Barack Obama Unite For Change event this weekend.

The reason I bring this up is because I think anyone who is unhappy with the city/state/country/world we live in has a responsibility to work to change that situation - and one obvious way to do that is to get involved with politics. Imperfect as our system may be, it's the one we have to work with, and I believe in doing the best with what one's got.

I've never done much before besides voting, and making a few get out the vote phone calls for state elections, so I'm kind of excited to be doing this.

This will not only be a good chance to work to ensure the election of my preferred candidate, but it will also be a good chance to build community with a new group of people, one with whom I share at least some fundamental political views that I probably wouldn't meet otherwise.

So whatever your personal politics, consider getting involved in the process. I used to believe that I only had a right to complain about the government if I had voted in the election. I still believe that to be true, but I've come to realize that I can't be disapointed with the way others vote unless I've actively worked towards the outcome I desire.

OK, no more politics today!

On the menu...

2008-06-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

I haven't written much about what we've been eating lately, but I've made a few good culinary discoveries of late.

First: Goat cheese, when mixed with hot pasta, veggies, and some fresh herbs and garlic, makes a wonderful sauce! The heat of the pasta should melt the cheese for a nice thick, creamy sauce. If the cheese is too thick, add some of the hot pasta boiling water to thin it a bit. We had this last night, using only basil (which smelled so good I almost ate all of it before it ever hit the pan), grape tomatoes, and sqaush (lightly sauteed first). I have a picky eater on my hands, so when he asked for a second serving I knew I'd done well! Credit for inspiration on this one goes to "Serving Up the Harvest" by Andrea Chesman.

Part of the aforementioned pickiness is a strong aversion to salad. This is balanced by a fierce love of any food that is Indian. So I thought I'd see which side of his personality would win by making this curried chick pea salad - the Indian food lover totally beat up the salad hater! Another victory! (Hint - my picky eater hates anything sweet in his meals, but the raisins really do add a nice touch in this dish. I used the golden raisins rather than the traditional dark ones...they blend right in with the chick peas and I don't even think he realized they were in there!)

I mention this salad not only because I am very proud that I have finally made a salad that somebody in this house besides myself will eat, but because it's a great example of how I've learned that recipes are suggestions, not laws. In this recipe, I substituted lemon juice for the lime, skipped the red peppers altogether, and used green onions instead of red. I also don't buy curry powder (this is sort of a made up thing, it's really just a combination of other spices) so I threw in some ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, and a touch of red chili and turmeric for good measure. Really, my recipe was fairly different, on paper, than what the site instructed - but the end product, I'd venture to guess, was substantially similar. What's more important, it was really good!

These culinary triumphs aside, what I'm surprised to find in the past few weeks is that I've run through my vegetarian repertoire, and since deciding to cut out most meat at home, I am scrambling to find more good vegetarian main course recipes. I guess I'd never realized how cooking meat once or twice a week really gave me a lot more variety of choice in my menu planning. I don't miss the meat itself, I miss the options it gave me in deciding what to cook, if that makes sense.

Breakfast and lunch are easy enough - I've never really eaten a lot of meat at breakfast anyway, and lunch is easy enough to eat salads with lots of nice eggs, nuts, and beans thrown in to make sure I'm getting enough protein so my mom won't worry about me. Dinner is where I'm struggling, though. I like a fair amount of variety in my diet, and I've made all the chili, tacos, eggplant parmesan, calzones, bean soups, and fritatta recipes that I know recently and feel like I've hit a bit of a wall.

I guess this is where I should confess I'm a bit picky too. When I eat meatless meals, I don't like to feel like I'm eating a large portion of a dish that should really be a side. I also don't like meat substitutes. Soy products really bother my stomach. So that leaves me with lentil or pea/bean based meals, for the most part.

So I need your help! My sister is sending along a recipe for black bean fritters, which sound awesome, but I'd like some other suggestions too. Please share! What is your favorite vegetarian main dish recipe that doesn't contain tofu? I'd love some creative ideas! Do you have a recipe laying around that you've been wanting to try but haven't found time for yet? Let me know...I'll test it out for you!

If you'd like to leave a comment with your favorite or just something you're curious to have tested, please do so, (or email me...the link is on the sidebar) and I'll try one each week and review it. I'm looking forward to everyone's ideas!

Drink beer, save the planet?

2008-06-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

We were in Colorado for a wedding until yesterday, and after all the wonderful festivities wound down, we had a day to poke around. We were staying about ten minutes from the Coors brewing company, it turns out, so we decided to go for a tour.

It was the typical stuff for the most part (not that I'm complaining - free beer is a good thing for me!) I certainly didn't expect to be too inspired while I was there, but I saw a quote on the wall that grabbed my interest: "Waste is a resource out of place."

The tour went on to explain the various ways in which the company minimizes waste creation - selling grain leftovers to cattle farmers for feed, selling "sad beer" to ethanol plants, and even using their cooling ponds to generate a small amount of electricity. I'm not writing this because I necessarily think this is the most environmentally responsible company in the world or anything, but because I really like that philosophy of rethinking waste.

The idea that all waste is just a misappropriated resource could fundamentally change the way we deal with our trash. Some of my fellow bloggers are already doing this: Chile is making stock out of veggie scraps. Heather is eating fruit scraps. They are doing what this philosophy asks us to - looking at "waste" and finding a place where it is no longer waste, but rather a resource. Freecycle does just that - although it can be tedious and tiresome at times - after we've decided we have no use for a resource, this site aims to help us find others who are eager to put it to use.

I'm going to be making a very conscious effort in the near future to re-think waste. In fact, I'm going to try to eliminate it from my life. Instead of seeing trash, I'm going to start looking at all those homeless resources and try to help them find their place. I think we need to start thinking this way on a larger scale as well. We need to start seeing the opportunities created by these orphaned resources rather than think of waste as something that is no longer useful, and in need of disposal.

After all, think about what the word waste actually means: to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander. The very definition of the word tells us that when we create waste it means we have not used something to its full potential. Why is our attitude towards trash so casual? If someone were to tell you that you were using your money in your retirement account uselessly or without adequate return, you'd make adjustments, right? Why should we not approach the resources of physical things with similar care?

The western world creates a lot of waste. Imagine if we were able to view all of it instead as a resource. I wonder if then we'd finally realize how much we truly have.

see you in a few!

2008-06-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

I'm off to the wedding of one of my best friends. I am very anxious to spend some quality time with her and share this exciting event in her life!

I'm not sure how much time or internet acces I'll have for posting during the next week, but I'll be mentally composing lots of great posts for when I return.

Enjoy the first day of summer!

It's the thought that counts...

2008-06-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

...and handmade gifts require a lot of thought.

My room mate from college came for a visit this weekend, and she brought me a wonderful gift. It is a tres chic handbag. It's a lovely deep pink, almost red color, knitted, with a super cool chunky cable down the middle. The inside lining is a very funky geometric pattern with several colors that match the outside beautifully. It is probably the best looking purse I own at the moment.

But the best part? She made it herself - from completely reused materials! The yarn was salvaged from a sweater that was taken apart for the purpose, the liner was a shirt that was no longer wanted, a piece of cardboard was saved from the recycling bin and sewn into the bottom to help it keep its shape, and the handles got their structure from a piece of old wine making tubing. It makes the gift that much more special to know that there was a lot of thought put into it, from the sourcing of the materials to the actual construction.

How cool is that? I'm not quite sure I have the level of talent required for this particular project myself, but it has re-inspired me to try to give more handmade gifts. Since the primary rule in gift giving is that it's the thought that counts, I'd say handmade gifts count for a lot.

New traffic laws

2008-06-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about my fellow bloggers the other day. I decided there was no good reason I couldn't do a 12 mile round trip (distance to the grocery store). So I hauled the beast out of the garage and started pedaling.

Heather, I've got a whole new respect for your commitment to getting around without a car now that the temperatures here have started climbing. And Green Bean, I thought about your beautiful sounding bike ride, wondering what I was missing, because mine wasn't that lovely at all. And I thought about Charles, and vowed that triahlete was never going to be a word to describe me.

To be fair, I was probably a little jaded yesterday. I had only gone about 1/2 mile, when I heard a car approaching behind me. I could tell it was moving pretty quickly, which I thought was odd since there was a clearly red light not far ahead. Next thing I knew, this guy was flying by me, leaning on his horn, and coming really really close to me. Like he wanted to scare me into thinking he was going to hit me.

Well, it worked. He scare the daylights out of me. I usually avoid confrontation like the plague, but I was MAD. So I did what any angry, overheated woman would do. He had come to a screeching halt after nearly sideswiping me, so I started yelling at him. Really loud. More like screaming, I guess. I think it went something like this "EXCUSE ME. EXCUSE ME. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? I SAID WHAT IS YOUR DAMN PROBLEM? HEY! HEY! YOU CAN'T JUST TRY TO RUN PEOPLE OVER BECAUSE THEY'RE IN YOUR WAY. JERK! HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING THAT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU NEED TO BEHAVE THAT WAY? HEY! JERK! HEY!"

Well you know what, he wouldn't even look at me, much less respond. After I tried so nicely to communicate and all that. I will admit that I have a bit of the proverbial Irish temper, and it was all I could do not to smash in the windows of his ugly ass fire engine red mini van, or let fly every curse word I know. And I know a lot. But I restrained myself - but I needed to retaliate in some way. I don't have a great ability to let things go right away. So I called the cops on him. I'm sure they didn't do anything - after all, a drunk lady smashing into my house with her gigantic SUV was a problem they "didn't have the manpower to deal with" so I'm sure this wasn't at the top of the pile, but a girl can dream.

At first I thought maybe I was over reacting, and although I will admit that my motivation was that I was really really angry, I actually believe this was an appropriate response. After all, a car is a deadly weapon if not handled responsibly. There's a reason that the term "vehicular manslaughter" exists, after all. Not only was this guy not driving in a manner safe for existing conditions (the condition being that I was also on the road), I consider what he did to be threatening with a deadly weapon.

Am I bit dramatic? Well, yes. But on the other hand, (mom skip to the next paragraph, please) there have been close to 200 bicyclists killed in my county in the past ten years. The problem is bad enough that there's going to be a Town Hall Meeting to Discuss our Bicycle Safety Crisis.

So without further ado, drivers, please follow the new traffic laws I've made up. Or I'll give you a fake ticket. And yell at you too. Here they are:

1. If you park on the street, open your eyes before you open the car door. Sure, bikes don't go as fast as cars, but we also need more than a foot of stopping distance. If you open a door into a biker you create a very dangerous situation.

2. Be aware of the bicycle rules in your area. It doesn't matter if you don't want to share the road, if the laws say that bikes need to ride on the road, that's the situation. Just like it doesn't matter whether you want to stop at a red light. That's what the law says. Deal with it. Or get off the road.

3. Don't intentionally try to scare people on bikes. It's not funny and you might get somebody hurt.

4. If there are just a few parked cars ahead that a bike is passing, don't squeeze yourself into the mix too. Slow down and let him or her finish passing the parked cars and pass the bike when you have a wider space to do so. It won't make you any later than you already are.

5. If you see a pothole, or a piece of garbage, or other crap ahead in the road, be aware that a bike can't just blow through/over/past that stuff like a car. We need to go around it, so if you see a biker ahead, don't assume he or she is going to keep to an arrow-straight path.

6. Right turn on red requires you to come to a complete stop first. Do so. You can't be sure of what is around you unless you do. This is for the safety of pedestrians too. I've seen several nearly taken out because various drivers were in too much of a rush.

I was thinking a lot yesterday about our human resource infrastructure (I made that up - basically I mean public employees like police and fire fighters) and how it needs to be overhauled to make it safe for people to be more environmentally conscious. Our city always talks about various green issues, but the vulnerability of the non-motorized vehicles on our roadways is a serious problem that needs to be acknowledged and addressed. Pedestrians and cyclists should be fiercely protected, as should public transport passengers, especially when it's dark outside. That's called putting your money where your mouth is, and it's time we start doing it.

After I finished writing this post, but before I actually posted it, I saw on the news that today in my city a 12 year old girl was riding her bike home from the last day of school and was hit by an SUV and later died at the hospital. I will be keeping her and her family in my thoughts, and hope you will too. I don't know the details, so I'll try not to pass judgment on the driver, but what a tragedy - and how unneccessary.

Secret Tip

2008-06-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here's one of my favorite food shopping secrets - if you want to buy more things in bulk, but don't have a bulk food store in your area, check out ethnic grocery stores in your area. In the past, I've had good luck with Indian grocery stores here in CA as well as in NH with a sort of hybrid North African / Lebanese / Indian store.

These stores can be a great source for things like dried beans, lentils, nuts, and spices. Although they will probably not be from a bulk bin, they will likely be in a much larger package than what you are used to finding in the grocery store. Larger packages mean a reduction in total waste. For example, I spent about $8 for a bottle of ground cumin in the grocery store a few years back. I found it at the Indian grocery store, in a bag with probably five to ten times the quantity of cumin, for about $3. You'll have to supply your own pretty bottles for storage, but just reuse one next time you run out of something.

Other things I buy at my local Indian grocery store, Kumud, include turmeric, cumin seeds, whole coriander, ground coriander, cinnamon sticks, cloves, whole black pepper, red chili powder, sesame seeds, peanuts, cashews, and fennel seeds.

Make sure to do your homework first, though. I find that prices on dried beans actually tend to be cheaper at my local Whole Foods, and the organic option doesn't exist at Kumud. The other thing that is helpful to know is if the item you are looking for, especially if it is something like lentils, has more than one name as things are often labelled as something you might not be expecting - urad dal, black gram, and minapa pappu, for example, are all the same thing, so if you're using a recipe that calls for something that's new to you, do a quick search to see if it's known by any other name.

It's also fun to poke around and see what they have for sale that might be new to you. For example, I found a packet of pre-mixed spices for tea (tea masala). Before, when I had wanted an authentic masala tea, I'd roast cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon, then grind them all together (meaning I almost never actually made it!). Now I can buy it all ready to go - this is one of my favorite finds, but there have been lots of others.

Finally, don't be afraid to ask for help! Whenever I go into Kumud, the same five or six people are working there. After I had shopped there a few times, they remembered me and are always more than happy to help me with any questions I have, as is very often the case with small business owners and employees.

All around, it's a great option! I save money, save on packaging, find foods I've never tried before, and I get to support a store that's not a huge national chain.

Send a letter to your mayor!

2008-06-11T10:54:00.001-07:00

Wall of water
Originally uploaded by fhemerick

If you live in a place big enough to have a mayor, send them a note asking them to support this resolution, encouraging all cities to phase out bottled water in city hall and promote safe tap water as the best source of drinking water.

The letter's already written for you, and there's a link on the page giving contact info for your mayor...does it get any easier?

The website is here, but here's the text in full:

Contact your Mayor
Ask him/her to support Resolution 70
The bottled water industry is up to no good, once again. For months, you have helped us turn the spotlight on the impacts of bottled water – from extraction to transportation to the way we all think about water – and you have encouraged your cities to take action.

Now, the industry wants to stop our mayors from protecting the environment, saving taxpayer dollars and promoting strong public water systems. This month mayors from across the country joined together to spearhead a resolution calling for a phase out of bottled water in city hall. The American Beverage Association, the trade group representing Coke, Nestlé and Pepsi, hired a team of lobbyists to oppose the resolution, concerned that it might further tarnish the industry’s image.

Ask your mayor to support city water and vote for Resolution No. 70 - here is the letter to send to your mayor - copy this into an email or mail it to him/her:

Click here to find contact information for your mayor: http://usmayors.org/uscm/meet_mayors/cities_online/

Dear Mayor:

I am writing to ask you to please support Resolution 70 at the upcoming US Conference of Mayors’ meeting. This resolution encourages cities to phase out, where feasible, government use of bottled water and to promote the importance of municipal water.

Bottled water has an impact: from extraction to transportation to the way we all think about water. I truly believe that this resolution is good for taxpayers, for the environment and for our public water.

I hope that you will join me in thinking outside the bottle. Please vote yes on resolution 70.

Thank you for your attention.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Resolution 70
Submitted by:

The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Mayor of San Francisco

The Honorable Michael Bloomberg
Mayor of New York City

The Honorable Thomas Menino
Mayor of Boston

The Honorable Laurel Lunt Prussing
Mayor of Urbana

The Honorable Martin Chavez
Mayor of Albuquerque

The Honorable Dan Coody
Mayor of Fayetteville

The Honorable Will Wynn
Mayor of Austin

The Honorable R.T. Rybak
Mayor of Minneapolis

The Honorable David Cicilline
Mayor of Providence

The Honorable Joseph A. Curtatone
Mayor of Somerville

The Honorable Richard M. Daley
Mayor of Chicago

The Honorable Marty Blum
Mayor of Santa Barbara

The Honorable Michael Nutter
Mayor of Philadelphia

The Honorable Manuel Diaz
Mayor of Miami

SUPPORTING MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEMS

WHEREAS, the United States' municipal water systems are among the finest in the world; and

WHEREAS, high quality, safe drinking water is already available at most public locations; and

WHEREAS, mayors are responsible for delivering safe and affordable water to our citizens; and

WHEREAS, bottled water is regulated by the FDA and municipal tap water is regulated by the EPA and has more stringent requirements for testing; and

WHEREAS, local governments invest approximately $82 billion a year to provide water and sewer services; and

WHEREAS, bottled water often costs more than an equivalent volume of gasoline, equivalent to 1,000 to 10,000 times more than tap water; and

WHEREAS, up to 40% of bottled water on the market comes from municipal water systems and the bottled water industry generated $15 billion in revenues in 2006 from U.S. consumers; and

WHEREAS, bottled water often travels many miles from the source, resulting in the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels, releasing CO2 and other pollution into the atmosphere; and

WHEREAS, plastic water bottles are one of the fastest growing sources of municipal waste; and

WHEREAS, in the U.S. the production of plastic bottles for bottled water currently requires the energy equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil per year – enough to generate fuel for over a million cars for a year – and generates more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide; and

WHEREAS, we applaud the US Conference of Mayors for its National City Water Taste Test, which recognizes all of the great work municipal water systems do for its residents on a daily basis, year after year; and

WHEREAS, the US Conference of Mayors, per Resolution #90 adopted in June 2007, has compiled much information regarding the importance of municipal water and the impact of bottled water on municipal waste.

WHEREAS, the evidence suggests that banning bottled water from government use highlights the importance of municipal water and decreases the impact of bottled water on municipal waste.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the US Conference of Mayors encourages cities to phase out, where feasible, government use of bottled water and promote the importance of municipal water.

I highly recommend...

2008-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

these organic cotton produce bags from Organic Needle - I'd been trying to reuse my plastic bags as much as possible in order to reduce overall waste, but when stuff would go mushy and moldy sometimes (even if just a little bit of lettuce slime) it became really hard to get them clean, they didn't dry properly, etc. I'll use up the ones I still have kicking around before saying goodbye for good, but these cotton bags are just lovely! I used them for fresh produce as well as dried beans from the bulk bins, and I couldn't be happier, plus I got to support a small business owner. The large ones were also great to put my empty milk bottles in when I biked to the store. It kept them from banging together in my backpack. Check them out!

My take on fair trade

2008-06-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Fair trade is a concept I want to embrace whole-heartedly. But I have questions, and I have concerns.

Wikipedia defines fair trade as “a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, which seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers - especially in the South. Fair trade organizations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.”

OK, sounds good. Sustainable development, rights of marginalized workers, securing rights, these all sound like good things.

Basically the way that it works is fair trade purchasers work with producers to figure what it actually costs them to produce the commodity in question, and then set that dollar amount as the starting point for sales of the commodity. So it ensures that farmers don’t have to take a loss if there’s a year in which prices drop. If it’s a year in which the commodity is in high demand, they can still make a profit.

This is important for many reasons, but the one situation that immediately comes to mind for me is the suicides of cotton farmers in India, most particularly in the states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. There were many, very complicated, reasons that farmers began killing themselves, but to oversimplify, it had to do with the costs of farming versus the small income farmers were earning while the global prices for their product was falling. This led to a cycle of debt and despair, in which it was ultimately more profitable for farmers to take their own lives than it was to continue farming, due to government compensation packages that provided cash payments to the survivors of farmers who had taken their own lives.

Clearly, at least to me, determining what the actual cost of production is, and promising to reimburse the farmers at least that amount should global prices plummet, is a good thing. Why should poor farmers all over the world be taking a financial gamble each planting season just to offer us the chance to buy (or not buy) their goods?

Some critics have argued this creates an artificial subsidy for these products. First, this is a non-argument in my book, as long as we’re subsidizing our own agriculture in this country, how can we criticize a voluntary subsidy undertaken by individuals who make the choice to pay that subsidy each and every time they purchase a chocolate bar or a pound of coffee beans?

The second, and in my mind, more compelling response to this argument of an artificial subsidy is that it’s not the fair trade price floor that creates a price distortion, but rather that the current free trade system is, and has been, creating price distortions for years because of the unequal balance of power between the purchasers (global conglomerates like Nestle, for example) and producers.

Some actually criticize fair trade practices for not going far enough to right this distortion of power, arguing that as long as fair trade continues to negotiate within the status quo, for example, by selling to multi-national corporations, no real change will take place. I’m not convinced that this isn’t true.

I am concerned that fair trade organizations, by implementing a power structure that still leaves farmers and small producers in a position of subservience, have the potential to permanently disenfranchise small producers. In effect, power is being shifted from purchasers (seen as evil, multi-national corporations) to the fair trade labeling organizations (which are seen as much more benevolent) but fundamentally, I’m not sure that from the farmer’s perspective, there has been any actual change in the amount of power they wield – they receive a more equitable price for their crops, but to me, it doesn’t seem that they’ve actually been much empowered.

I hope that the steps being taken now are just the beginning of a journey towards new global economic models in which small producers all over the world eventually learn to bargain and negotiate for themselves rather than always working through North American and European based labeling organizations.

It seems to me that the manner in which this relationship has been established works simply to preserve a relationship that is still, at its roots, imperial in nature. Who will stand up and question whether the best thing for farmers in Ghana to produce is cocoa beans, when almost no chocolate is consumed in Ghana? Why is nobody questioning why Guatemalans are producing tons of bananas, but not eating any?

Maybe I want too much too soon. Maybe I should be glad that there are alternatives out there. I think this is closely connected to larger issues of greenwashing though. Buying a brand new set of organic cotton sheets doesn’t help the environment at all if you don’t even NEED new sheets in the first place. The point is, as long as Ghana is producing cocoa beans and Guatemala is producing bananas, yes, they should be paid fairly for their products – but that cannot be the end of the story. We then have to ask ourselves why it is that we get to decide what these countries produce in the first place. Those of us who make an effort to shop for and eat locally produced items whenever possible are, I believe, taking a step in the right direction. If you’re like me, though, you make an exception for items that cannot be purchase locally – like coffee and chocolate.

Another concern that I have also ties in to issues of imperialism. One area with which fair trade standards are concerned is child labor and education. In my ideal world, children would never have to work to feed themselves or their families. They’d play and go to school and enjoy their childhood. Unfortunately, we live in a world far removed from my ideal. The fair trade standards state that in the production of fair trade goods, it is verified that “The participation of children (if any) does not adversely affect their well-being, security, educational requirements and need for play.”

I think the sentiment behind this idea is lovely. What concerns me is who is deciding what the educational needs of a child are when there are real choices involved between a child’s school attendance and a child’s working to buy food for a hungry family, or to buy medicine for a sick family member? It is appalling that these choices have to be made, but that is the world we live in. Until we have addressed some much more fundamental issues like global hunger, health care, and education, it seems patently naïve to assume that a regulatory body located in North America or Europe is at all qualified to weigh real life or death needs against a child’s educational requirements or need for play.

I also find it a bit too idealistic that they state that “fair trade means that women’s work is properly valued and rewarded.” Again, I think it’s lovely that that is what they are working for, but I don’t believe that there is a place in this world where women’s work is REALLY properly valued and rewarded. But I guess that’s another dissertation altogether, so I’ll leave that one alone for now.

Another concern I have is that fair trade producers don’t have to practice fair trade standards for everything they produce, just everything they produce to be sold under the fair trade label. I have fearful visions of women being sent to pick coffee from the non-fair trade coffee plants so that the farmers can get away with paying them less. I guess I really am cynical, but I don’t see the point in enforcing a standard like equal pay for equal work when it only applies to a portion of the total output.

Lest I sound like I hate the idea of fair trade, now that I’ve aired all my reservations, I will say that in the context of what is available on the current market, I will continue to purchase fair trade items. There are very few things in this life which are perfect, and there are a lot of things that are right about fair trade, not least of which is the sentiment behind the idea. In fairness to the spirit that first inspired the creation of the fair trade labeling system, however, I believe we must acknowledge what work we still need to do in pursuit of a more just and equitable world for all its citizens, and then do that work.

Fast Food Nation (continued)

2008-06-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Here is just one more reason why those of us living in this Fast Food Nation should be thinking very very carefully about where our food comes from these days - an outbreak of food poisoning linked to sliced tomatoes on McDonalds' sandwiches.

If you've read the book, you know that a precautionary measure means they're pretty sure it's their fault but instead of allowing the government to investigate and prove it, they'll take a preemptive measure. The tainted food has probably already been shipped backed to the distributors it was purchased from - since school is still in session, they may even re-sell the food to school lunch programs somewhere. Nobody dead yet doesn't mean that nobody will have long lasting health problems. And let's not forget the ultimate gross factor, which is that many of the germs that cause food poisoning, come from sh*t. On your food. You want fries with that?

Still a bookworm...

2008-06-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

So it's June, and along with Green Bean and the others who are Still Bookworms, I've been working on increasing my ecological IQ by reading an ecologically relevant book.

I just finished reading The No-Nonsense Guide to Fair Trade by David Ransom. I almost always buy fair trade when that option is available, but other than knowing that treating people fairly is a good thing, I don’t really know too much about the details of fair trade and what is actually involved. I also have a few questions and concerns about fair trade that I was hoping to have cleared up after reading this little book (stay tuned for more on this tomorrow).

But alas, no such luck. I guess I should have had a clue when there was no waiting list for this title on paperbackswap. Perhaps I’m not all that smart, but what I heard after reading this book was basically “Free trade is bad. WTO is bad. Structural adjustment programs are bad. Almost all big corporations are bad. The northern world takes unfair advantage of the southern world. Fair trade is good.”

What disappointed me about this book were two things. The first is that he sort of assumes that the reader already knows a fair bit about why free trade, structural adjustment programs, and so forth, unfairly benefit developed nations at the expense of countries in the southern part of the world. I’ve done a fair bit of prior reading, though, so I was able to fill in the gaps with my own knowledge.

The second, and perhaps more disappointing issue with the book, though, is that he never actually makes the link between fair trade and the problems created by free trade, and how fair trade will actually fix those problems. This may be in part due to the fact that he never actually defines what fair trade is in any detail.

The book is basically a collection of anecdotes about producers of coffee, cocoa beans, and bananas all over the world, accompanied by descriptions of how poor they are and how the prices set for their commodities by free trade markets are not enough for them to live on.

I left this book with more questions than I started with, and frankly, I wish I’d invested the time elsewhere on a volume that would have actually answered some questions rather than just giving me mini-bios of fair trade farmers around the world.

Thumbs down - but thumbs up for the challenge! Since June's not over yet, I'm still a bookworm, and I'll post a review of the next title as soon as I'm done with it.

Tin cans are made of plastic????

2008-06-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Since my decision to become a flexitarian a while back, I've been cooking slightly differently. We're still eating fish and seafood, but no more meat purchased for cooking at home. I’m so grossed out by what I read in Fast Food Nation that I frankly have no desire to buy, touch, cook, or eat meat anytime soon anyway.

The result, for the most part, has been great. I’ve made delicious eggplant parmesan, a spicy vegetarian chili, and this week, some wonderful tacos.

Part of the challenge for me has not been simply not eating meat, but what to eat in its place. I really don’t like tofu, or any of those other soy fake meat products. They hurt my stomach, for one thing. I never feel good after eating that stuff. Ever. Maybe I have some sort of intolerance, who knows? I also don’t care for the textures, or for the most part, the tastes. Beyond that, they just don’t seem like real food to me. I know lots of people really enjoy them, but for me, it’s just not a good option.

So I wanted tacos this week. Obviously ground meat was out. I considered fish, but didn’t really want the battery stuff with all the oil and fat involved. There’s fake taco meat out there (I think it’s called Smart Round or something), but that’s one of the worst on my stomach, so no way. That basically left beans – which is totally fine, except for now I’ve been reading about how cans may actually pose a danger to us because of the plastic (?!) lining, which contains potentially hazardous levels of BPA. BPA is the chemical you’ve probably heard of that can leach into your drinking water if you use plastic bottles. Bad news folks…it can also apparently leach into your food from tin cans! What’s really scary is that according to one site, one of the food items that is almost always guaranteed to contain BPA in the can linings? Baby formula. Scary isn’t it? See this article for more on BPA. It sort of makes me think that any health benefits of eating organic canned foods are probably cancelled out.

So anyway, I didn’t have any canned refried beans for making tacos, and I didn’t really want to go out and buy any after all I’ve been reading. I’ve also been trying to buy less canned food and more bulk items for environmental reasons - less packaging, less energy to transport, less waste. Cooked beans actually freeze pretty well, and although they take a while to cook, it’s easy to do large batches all at the same time.

Assorted varieties of beans account for probably 2/3 of the canned items I use. I’m a bit of a food snob, so I refuse to eat canned mushrooms, peas, carrots, etc. I do occasionally buy canned beets to throw in salads. I’ve been trying to get away from that, but this one is more of a pain. It takes what seems like forever to cook them, and it really heats up the house. The end result is a fair bit better, but I’m concerned about the energy costs of doing it this way. More research would be needed.

The other items that I eat canned are artichoke hearts, corn, and tomatoes. I’m not sure that there are any easy solutions other than a radical change in what I cook. I go through a fair amount of artichoke hearts in a year. I froze some from my CSA this spring, but it won’t be enough to get me through the year. Tomatoes will be the same issue. I use probably a can a week in sauces, soups, curries, etc. Unfortunately, according to Organic Grace, there is virtually no brand guaranteed to be BPA free. I’ll keep looking – does anybody know of any guaranteed BPA free brands out there? I know glass is a reasonable alternative for items that aren't sold in bulk. Although the lid may contain BPA as well, if the jars are stored upright, the lid shouldn't actually be touching the food, and it's a much smaller area than the entire container.

In the meantime, I’ll be avoiding canned items as much as possible. For my tacos (which were Delicious!) I made the following, super easy refried bean substitute:

1 C. (approx.) cooked chick peas
½ onion, chopped
1 T. (approx.) chopped fresh cilantro
½ t. red chili powder
½ t. cumin powder
½ t. coriander powder
½ t. salt
Olive oil for sautéing

Saute onions until just starting to get soft. Add beans, heat until warm. Add spices except fresh cilantro. Mix, and mash the peas a bit using a fork. Add water about 1 T at a time until desired consistency is reached. Add fresh cilantro just before serving.

This was barely enough for the two of us, they were that good! Next time I’m going to try making a double batch and freezing some for an even easier meal when I’m pressed for time.

I had previously tried making my own tortillas as well, but that was less of a success, so this time I just stuck with a pack of the pre-made from Whole Foods. One cooking adventure at a time!

gentle reminders

2008-06-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

I've seen this idea several times, and have always forgotten to mention it. Most email programs allow you to attach a permanent signature - why not use this for some info that goes beyond your name, job title, and phone number?

After all, a signature, as defined by dictionary.com, is "A distinctive mark, characteristic, or sound indicating identity" - don't you want your signature to say something about who you are, and what is important to you?

My personal email has a link to my blog...hopefully people may see it, click out of idle curiosity, and begin thinking about some things they hadn't before.

I've just added a signature to my work email (where I don't feel a blog link is appropriate) that says "Please consider the environment before printing this email." I totally copied this verbatim from somebody who sent it to me...sorry!

Burbanmom also suggests using your signature to give a "tip of the month" - she even gives step by step instructions for the technologically challenged on how to add a signature in outlook. If you use gmail, click on "settings" in the upper right corner, then the first tab says "general" - there's a box there that says "signature" - type it in, click "save changes" at the bottom, and you're good to go.

It took me about fifteen seconds to add this to my signature, and no ongoing maintenance required. Plus it's free. I like being able to do something good without spending money. So what if only two people ever decide not to print because of it? That's two less sheets of paper that we need to cut down a tree for, spend resources making, transporting, and later recycling.

More importantly, this can serve as one more reminder filtering into the subconsciousness of everyone I email with on a professional basis that we need to be aware of how we use resources. And these days, we can use as many of these reminders as we can get!

just wanted to say thanks...

2008-06-06T00:00:00.001-07:00

CFL lightbulbs…tires properly inflated…bamboo cutting boards…turn down the water heater…blah blah blah blah blah.

This is what my mind was hearing several months ago when I first realized I really wasn’t living a very sustainable lifestyle. I scoured the internet, searching for any tips and tricks to make the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle more bearable. I got so bored, that I almost decided that I had two choices: sell my house and all of my belongings, kiss my family and friends goodbye, and live inside of a hollowed out log in the forest, or resign myself to the fact that that’s just the way it is for people like me in this country.

Then I stumbled upon a blog that gave me reason to keep on going…horrifyingly enough, the post that pulled me back in was entitled All Natural Bush – it was a piece all about hair dye for “down there” – it, sadly enough, was what made me realize, like a smack in the face, that our society is compulsively drawn to buying crap…no matter what the product is designed for, you can find a market for it in this consumer culture.

I signed up for the Buy Nothing Challenge just a few days later, and it was a wonderful learning experience. Even more importantly, I was able to tap into a community of people who were struggling with similar issues, and dealing with them all with humor and grace, and without the holier than thou attitude I found so off-putting.

I learned the value of community – had I not been able to witness the successes and shortcomings of others undertaking the same challenges, I would have thrown in the towel.

Had I not been able to laugh and chuckle with others, and at myself, I would have found no joy in the process.

So instead of giving up on this adventure of going green, I find myself constantly looking for new challenges and ways to improve myself and the world around me. I’ve tapped into a network of likeminded individuals. And I’ve seen the bar set for what I’d like my blog to be.

Crunchy has recently been discussing taking a break from blogging...for reasons I would fully understand - but I hope she carries on. Whether or not Crunchy Chicken continues blogging for another week, six months, or years to come, I’m grateful for the thought-provoking and insight that’s been provided – thank you! You are an original!

Check out the tribute site and consider making a donation to help girls in Africa stay in school.

Keep your conventional hands off my organics!

2008-06-05T00:03:00.001-07:00

Fruit & vegetable market 2
Originally uploaded by SqueakyMarmot

While shopping the other day, I noticed the following sign in Whole Foods’ produce department regarding organic foods:
“Customer Responsibility
Although we at Whole Foods Market do all we can to protect the organic integrity of our products, once the decision is made to purchase an organic pear, loaf of bread, or pound of coffee, the product — and the protection of its organic integrity — passes into the hands of the customer. At this time, it becomes each individual customer's decision as to what steps they wish to take regarding their organic purchases. You may choose to:
• Bag and separate your organic produce selection from conventional produce prior to placing it on the produce scales, in the shopping basket or onto the register belt.
• Grind whole organic coffee beans at home since our grinders are used for both conventional and organic coffees.
• Please be patient when our team members need to clean their equipment before giving you a special cut of organic cheese or meat.”
I had never thought about this before, but it’s an excellent point. OK, the phrase “organic integrity” makes it sound a little too serious, but just as a vegetarian wouldn’t want their eggplant slapped on a grill right after a steak and flipped with the same tongs, I don’t want the organic produce I purchase rubbing up against produce swimming in nasty chemicals.

In addition to the above, I’d add:
- If you use re-usable produce bags, make sure to wash them between uses if they’ve held conventional produce – preferably with an eco-friendly washing soap.
- If you’re deciding between conventional and organic (maybe the conventional is the only local form of peaches available that week?) pay attention to where you’ve picked up any fruit you’re testing for firmness, and be sure to replace it in the appropriate bin.
- If you’re buying bulk, use the right scoop (this is important because of allergies too).
- When storing organic produce in the fridge, keep it in the bag or in an “organics only” drawer if you buy both organic and conventional stuff.

Are these measures over the top? Maybe for some, but not to me. Organic stuff costs a lot more, in general, at least where I live. If I’m paying for it, I want to keep it that way. Of course, then we get into the question of why not buy only organic, which gets into problems of whether organic trumps local. What’s funny is that I could actually get by on just the organic AND local CSA shares of produce almost all the time, I think, if they only had a bit more fruit. I love fruit…so until that day, I’ll be over here, trying to maintain the organic integrity of my veggies.

Adventures in Hooking

2008-06-04T11:40:00.001-07:00

So my resolve to spend les time online is going...okay. Problem is, I'm not really working all that much these days, and what work I do is from home for the most part. I'm sort of like a stay at home mom - with no kids. The idea of going into an office every day and wearing business casual clothes makes me feel like vomitting, to be frank. I could do it, if I had to, but I have absolutely no desire, and am lucky enough to have a significant other who doesn't think this is the end of the world.

In fairness, though, I thought I should at least make a token effort to bring my income above the official poverty level and contribute something to the household income. Hence my return to rug hooking. So far I've actually just spent money. I bought two hand drawn patterns ($32 each) from a fiber artist named Martina Lesar - I love the patterns I selected and can't wait to get to work on them. Plus I like that I got to support another artist in the process of my own creating.

I found a very heavy wool shirt/jacket at a high school rummage sale for $1 and purchased three pairs of pants for $3 each at Goodwill the other day. The wool content of the fabric has to be at least 80%, and a lot of clothes out there these days are all sorts of weird blends of synthetic things, so it takes some hunting to find the right stuff.

This past week, I've been dis-assembling the clothes with a seam ripper I purchased for $2.99. I can say with complete confidence, LL Bean makes some tough clothes. No wonder they guarantee them for life. I'd guess it took me close to five hours to take their shirt apart. I tend to have an overactive imagination, so the five hours went by pretty quickly when I found a Peace Corps button in the pocket - I spent the whole time imagining the fantastic adventures the shirt and its wearer had been on all over the world. Then I felt sad it had ended up in a heap at a high school rummage sale. Then I decided I was glad that at least I could give it a chance at a new adventure as part of a treasured piece of art in somebody's home (I told you I have an overactive imagination).

I have one and a half pair of pants to finish taking apart, then I need to go back to Goodwill and find some crappy old pots to do the dyeing in. And research how to do the dyeing. I want to use all natural materials rather than synthetic chemical dyes, but I've heard some concerns about how color fast they are.

What I've already come to appreciate, without actually starting the project in earnest yet, is that it's no wonder hand made stuff is expensive compared to what they have at Target and such places. It takes a lot of time to carefully source materials. It takes a lot of time to do quality work. And it's not cheap to do things well. I already have a new appreciation for the value added when a person makes an item versus when a factory makes an item. The funny thing is, I'm not new to this craft. The difference is, it's always been a hobby for me, so I've never dwelled on things like the value of the time that I put into it too much.

With that in mind, I'm off to buy those handmade produce bags I've been thinking about for the last two months. I'm sure they're well worth the cost.

Sorry, only for those in the Bay Area...

2008-06-04T00:37:00.000-07:00

check out GreenFair Silicon Valley if you're going to be in the 408 area code this weekend.

San Jose put on a great Earth Day event, so I'm hoping for good things from this event also.

Thanks to car(bon) free in California for the heads up!

Calling all scooter drivers

2008-06-02T22:10:00.001-07:00

Pair of "real" vintage beauties
Originally uploaded by Todd Baker << technowannabe

Does anybody out there drive a scooter? I'm considering buying one. I have the bike, but this city isn't quite set up for easy biking everywhere, and the public transportation has limitations, especially if you go out at night. But I really hate driving the car - even though I think we get close to 30 mpg, it seems wasteful, especially when I don't really need a car for the storage space or anything, it's just that I don't have the energy (or the interest) to bike 30 miles on a regular basis.

Plus biking still freaks me out a little. I'm not convinced that the cars are actually looking out for me, and I'm not convinced I won't tip over at any moment in front of a moving car. I'll admit that I often get off the bike and walk across intersections because I'm not ever too sure when I first get going that I'll be able to keep the thing in a straight line and not fall off.

So does anybody have any suggestions? I'm definitely going to get something used, but aside from that, I don't really know what I want. Have you owned a scooter? Did you like it? Hate it? What kind did you have? Would you recommend it? Would you buy one again?

...and that's the way it is

2008-06-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

I've never been a huge fan of mainstream media. I was curious what new state of chaos the election was in today, however, and since I'd decided to spend less time surfing the web, I switched on CNN while working on a relatively mindless project.

I won't make that mistake again anytime soon.

The election coverage was fine. Uninspiring and predictably dumbed down, but nothing I didn't expect. It was what came next that had me really irritated.

The segment had some stupid name like, "OH MY GOD GAS IS $4/GALLON!!!! AAAAAH! SOMEBODY, PLEASE BRING US BACK OUR CHEAP GAS.... PLEEEEEEEASE???? WE'RE REALLY ANGRY AT HOW MUCH WE'RE BEING FORCED TO PAY FOR GAS!"

My summary, (not verbatim), of the show, is as follows:

Rick Sanchez informs us that the government body that is in charge of stuff like commodities is investigating to see whether anything fishy is going on that could be causing oil prices to get so high. He is barely able to conceal the despairing tone in his voice as he asks expert after expert if some vast conspiracy could be responsible for the price of gas being so high. He points out that supply and demand seems like just such a "simplistic" explanation for why gas prices have reached the point they have. I nearly choke on my sandwich. Rick points out that since people are so angry about the price of gas, those guys better watch out when the government finds out who is responsible for all these high prices because boy oh boy, they are not going to be popular at all.

This is followed by a segment in which a field reporter goes for a drive with a guy who gets awesome gas mileage - almost double the miles per gallon than what the manufacturer of his Accord promised. All he has to do is certain "advanced techniques" like TURNING OFF HIS CAR ON THE FREEWAY when he is behind a large tractor trailer, and using the draft to coast a while. He cheerily honks his horn back at everyone beeping at him as they whiz past, as if he thinks he's being applauded for his efficiency. The field reporter admits that he's probably beyond help as he doesn't think there is much he can do to increase the efficiency of his YUKON that he drives in MANHATTAN. I am very close to choking again.

I'm sorry about all the yelling here, but these people have got to be kidding. Are they showing Candid Camera or something on CNN? Nope, there's more! They're actually serious about this crap.

They spend a short while making fun of an (unemployed) guy who drives a scooter, then make fun of a guy who has a pedal powered enclosed bicycle-type thing that he commutes in (who'd want to get around a city in a scooter when you can have a Yukon, hellooooo).

Hey guys, guess what, Rick Sanchez has some news that will probably solve all our fuel problems - there's oil off the coast of Latin America!!! Brazil, to be exact. Well, it is below like ten million miles of water, and a 40 mile thick salt crust below that, and it's under about 500 billion tons of pressure, and it's crappy quality, but there's definitely some oil there. At this point, one of the expert guests is actually asked if this will be "enough". I am so close to choking on the sandwich for the umpteenth time, I decide it is safer if I finish eating once this show is over.

They have a short bit on the dilemma faced by all those poor people who payed over $50,000 for trucks last year and now can afford neither to sell them (because they owe more than they're worth, and with gas prices being what they are, values on SUVs and trucks have dropped) nor can they afford to continue driving these trucks. Cry me a river.

I hear Rick mention to some woman on his show that we've all heard talk about red states and blue states, but this is clearly one issue about which Americans are united in anger.

Rick, I need to correct you here. I cannot let this go on any longer. I resent being lumped with everyone who is angry because they feel that cheap gas is their entitlement, some sort of basic human right along with food, shelter, and freedom of speech. Rick, I am angry because there are so many people out there who bought trucks and SUVs in the first place, for no reason other than that they thought they were cool looking. I'm not talking about people who need four wheel drive because they live on top of a mountain, or people who need trucks because they use them on their farm, or people who have a truck or SUV for any other number of legitimate reasons.
I'm talking about the people who like having an Escalade or a Navigator, and feel like it's the government's responsibility to make sure they can afford to drive those obnoxious things as much as they see fit. Rick, I'm angry because none of these people seemed to give a crap about how their driving choices might affect anybody else, but now we're supposed to be all concerned because they might have to actually give something up to continue being able to afford their choice. Don't look to me for sympathy. I'm all tapped out.

I think these high fuel prices are the wake up call we sorely need. I regret that these prices are causing healthy food choices to become unaffordable for many working class families in this country, and feel sad that it is the unemployed, underemployed, and lower middle class who will probably be affected the most. But I don't feel angry about gas prices. Anger is an illogical response to something like a market force such as supply and demand (simplistic as some may believe those forces to be).

Furthermore, it has become exceedingly clear that if something doesn't happen soon to force us to re-evaluate our lifestyles and habits in this country, we'll never do it. We've been steadily increasing our consumption of oil in this country for decades. If it takes us getting to the point of not being able to afford to drive to make us figure out another way to do things, fine. So be it.

Rick, you stand corrected. I am proud to count myself as one American who is not angry that my fuel costs more. Please excuse me if I don't tune in again any time soon.

EDIT: Apparently a Sunday Post Secret reader has the same sentiments.

Everything in moderation

2008-05-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy blogging. It's a great way for me to keep myself accountable, have interesting exchanges of idea, force myself to research things I'm wondering about, "meet" like-minded people, and a chance for me to be a little creative.

I also enjoy reading other people's blogs, and surfing the internet. The problem is that I've turned into a bit of a computer potato lately. I've never been much into watching tv for hours on end, but I've found I've fallen into the habit lately of getting up, turning on the water for coffee or tea, and sitting down to check my email. All three accounts. Then I read comments on my blog. Then I check out facebook for a while, read other blogs, check the news, pay bills, look at links in emails friends and families have sent me, and by that point I usually can start the whole process all over again.

The problem is, I end up spending waaaay too much time online every day, and way too little time actually doing things. It's a lot easier to justify too much time online than it is too much TV - after all, being online allows many benefits TV doesn't - staying in touch with people, educating yourself about new topics, even making some extra cash selling stuff - but it can also become a mindless way to disconnect with the world around us. So, I’ve decided I’ll have scheduled internet time for myself. It won’t be until later in the day, so that I’ll be much more likely to get carried away doing other projects and put off my internet time, rather than the other way around.

While we were away last weekend, we had no internet connection available (no phone either) and I was surprised to find that I didn’t miss it all that much. Somehow, though, when the computer is sitting there looking at me, I just have to crack it open and see what fun I’m missing out on. I think I’ll try something similar to what my parents did a long time ago – when I was really little, they kept the television in a closet, so that when they wanted to watch it, there had to be a conscious effort to pull it out and plug it in. I think that’s what I’ll do – physically put the laptop away until it’s time to pull it out to work on a blog or pay bills.

I’ve read posts from others thinking along similar lines lately – it’s not that I don’t have the time or energy to blog, because I do, and I’ll continue to do so. It just may not be every day, because I’m hoping to be too busy doing other things some days. I have a feeling that won’t be a problem, once I actually get off the couch and turn this machine off.

Fast Food Nation

2008-05-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

I read the book "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser this month for Green Bean's "Be A Bookworm" challenge. It was a very interesting read, with tons of facts, and was obviously very well documented. There is even an afterword where the author addresses some of the criticism the book received when it was first published. Every page I read convinced me of the wisdom of my decision to become a flexitarian!

It's sort of like Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" for the twenty-first century - a book he discusses at some length early on. Like Sinclair, he looks at the often appalling conditions for the workers preparing and packing meat, as well as the meat itself and various issues surrounding it, such as disease and poor hygiene.

Actually, what was interesting about this book was that it was as much an indictment of the meat industry as it was the fast food industry. It was told with fast food as the focal point, but honestly, I can't say I ever have any desire to eat meat again - whether it's from Wendys or Safeway is of no interest to me right now. My cat, I promise you, has never eaten fast food in his life - but this book made me finally cave in and start buying him organic cat food. I can't even go into the reasons why without feeling nauseous, but trust me. There's some gross stuff out there in our food supply - and our pets'.

Schlosser examines how the fast food industry has changed virtually every aspect of life in this country, from how we farm, to how we fund education, and even how we buy clothes. He examines how large corporations are often able to ensure compliance with food safety guidelines much more effectively than federal agencies. He examines the correlation between fast food restaurants and violence. There is an extremely wide array of topics he covers. At times, I wanted a little more depth on some of these, but the "big" issues, such as pervasive dangerous working conditions in meat packing plants and the health risks associated with eating improperly handled meat, are dealt with in quite a lot of detail.

I highly recommend checking it out - unless you really love Big Macs and Whoppers (although good news - my favorite place ever for burgers, In N Out, got a pass from the author, so I know there is one "safe" place I can go if I really need a fast food fix).

I often felt like I would have liked this book even more if I'd read it when it was first published close to a decade ago - even if the information is still relevant, something about reading a book full of statistics that are ten plus years old makes me wonder what has changed (for better or worse) since the words were written.

Unless you feel like reading about meat with "visible fecal contamination" will make you physically ill, check this book out if you haven't already.

In June, I'm going to Still Be a Bookworm - I'm reading "The No-Nonsense Guide to Fair Trade" - I'll let you know my thoughts at the end of the month!

who wants to wash dishes anyway?

2008-05-28T17:11:00.001-07:00

alex in wonderland 8
Originally uploaded by independentman

The answer to this question, I found to my surprise, is me...well, at least some of the time...

We went away to the ocean for the long weekend, and it was great - we had nice weather, beautiful scenery, and it was really nice to get out of the city and visit a part of the state I hadn't seen before. I'd forgotten how much work it can be to coordinate a big group of people to go away on an overnight trip, especially now that we have friends with kids.

Overall, I think we did some okay, and some not so great things on our trip, environmentally speaking. The destination itself was about 2 hours away, and since the alternative plan originally discussed involved "several" small day trips, I think our fuel use was not horrible.

We cooked all of our meals ahead of time and packed them up in a cooler, so we avoided the waste that is so often involved in eating in a restaurant (or takeout, as often ends up being the case when there are little kids involved).

What was not so great was to witness the amount of trash we created. We separated out glass bottles for recycling (it's California, after all...they must at least recycle glass, right?), but the rental office was closed while we were there and no information was left as to what else we could or could not recycle, so a lot of stuff got put in the trash that, at least in our house, would normally be recycled. I considered bringing it all home but we were packed in the car pretty snugly, and I'm 99% positive that I would have been voted down on that one.

A big part of this trash came from paper products. I have some paper towels left in the house from before I decided to give them up, but we've trimmed our use to the point where we go through a roll probably every three to four months (and a good bit of that use is by visitors). I was amazed then, to see that we went through almost one roll of paper towels every day. I still am not sure why...

The remaining bulk of the paper in the trash took the form of disposable bowls and plates. I still feel some guilt over this one, but to make a long story short, it kind of came down to me either volunteering to wash all the dishes for the whole trip, or agreeing to the disposable paper products. I would have gladly washed some of the community dishes, but I also didn't want to be solely responsible for the task.

Anyway, I'm writing this because I'm curious - how do you handle group situations like this where others may have different priorities than you? I was reminded how easy it is to control what goes into and out of my home, where only two of us live, but it's a lot more difficult to keep tabs on this sort of thing when the household population quintuples!

There's also an element of not wanting to be perceived as the crazy one in the group. I don't want to be seen as condescending or judgemental or an eco-nut job - especially since the people we spent the weekend are the friends I married into - my friends-in-law, if you will - they aren't people I've known since high school or kindegarten and can just say anything around.

What would you have done? Signed up for dishwashing duty? Agreed to the paper? Lectured everyone on the evils of everything disposable? Thrown a tantrum? Suffered silently? Feel guilty until the next vacation, at which time you volunteer to wash all dishes?

doh

2008-05-24T00:01:00.001-07:00

away for the weekend, so just a mini-thought to share... I got a call today from the phone book company, attempting to make sure I'd received the 20 pound pile of paper I'd had to haul to the recycling cart. yeah, I got it, but I threw it immediately for recycling. Cause, like, we live in Silicon Valley, so we look stuff up on the internet, duh? Actually, what I said was, "I did receive it, but I don't really want it. Can I unsubscribe anywhere?" The nice gentleman informed me that the information on how to do so was located on page 2 of the book that the recycling collector picked up a few weeks ago. Oops.

the following is presented without commercial interruption

2008-05-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

I read this post by Theresa at Pondering the Myriad Things yesterday, and I think it’s time I follow suit.

I believe in freedom of speech, so I don't like the idea of deleting comments, and will only do so very selectively, if ever, with the following short and simple caveats:

If you’ve commented here before, and you want to recommend a website or product because it’s relevant to the post and you use it or have tried it yourself and/or feel that other readers could truly potentially benefit from the information, by all means, please share.
If it’s your first time commenting, please don’t post a link to a commercial website. If you feel you have a case that justifies an exception, just email me. The sidebar has a place where you can do that.

I think this is a pretty fair policy. I don’t make any money off the blog, I do it because I enjoy it and it keeps me accountable to myself, and gives me a way to share ideas with others. At the same time, if I’m not making cash from my work, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect that others won’t either. Especially since a big part of what I’m working toward in my life is finding ways to consume less, not more.

That’s all. Happy Friday!

the bad news first...

2008-05-22T14:43:00.001-07:00

The world of water
Originally uploaded by Snap®

So I opened my mail today, and I found a water bill. I only get billed every other month, so I'd been anxiously awaiting this to see how much my bill went down this billing cycle.

Imagine my disappointment when I saw that we had used 2 CCFs more, and owed $5 more than the last bill! So the last bill, we used 3,740 gallons of water over a 61 day period, and this bill, we used 5,236 gallons over a 58 day period. What the heck. I give up.

Then I remembered something important...the last bill ran from 1/16 - 3/17. We actually were only at home for 26 of those days, and out of the country the rest. Let's redo some math...

OK, what this means is that our household was previously using 72 gallons of water per person, per day. I had previously forgotten to calculate our days away when figuring our daily water consumption, and therefore had mistakenly figured that we used 31 gallons per person per day. Oops.

So the bad news is that I wasn’t starting from as good a point as I thought, but the good news is that I didn’t somehow manage to increase my water consumption while trying to reduce it. That would have been a real motivation killer.

This month, our household used 45 gallons of water per person per day. I’ve proven that I’m not great with numbers, but I think that’s just shy of a 40% reduction for the two month period. Not too shabby, if I say so myself.

I’m still well above the 10 gallons of water per person per day considered sustainable according the riot4austerity calculator, but I’ll take an improvement like this for now. I’m the kind of person who likes measurable results, which is why I’m going through this perhaps slightly tedious exercise of calculating this sort of information.

So my lessons for the day are: 1. stop and do the math before panicking, and 2. It actually does make a difference to turn the shower off while soaping up, running the dishwasher one day less a week does matter, and it is worthwhile to turn off the extra rinse cycle on the washing machine!

It's the little things

2008-05-21T17:32:00.001-07:00

The Press : 046
Originally uploaded by memekode

First, I hate the new look of my blog. I liked the old one, and for some reason it went all funky and I had to change it. I feel less happy than I used to every time I look at it. I've seen other people use this same template, and it looks good there, but I don't like it here. Maybe I'll change it again. It bothers me because I am one of those people who chooses a book by its cover. OK, I'm done whining.

I was reminded the other day by this post that sometimes we are so busy making so many little changes in our lives that we sort of lose track of some of them. Today I was reminded of one such change I had made about six weeks ago.

I had a dress in my closet, tags still on, and luckily I still had the receipt. I really didn't need that dress for anything special, and was less in love with it than I was when I bought it eight months ago. Actually I was never really in love with it; it was kind of hideous, but it reminded me of Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan, so I bought it, thinking maybe it would make me that cool. Thankfully I came to my senses before I wore that thing out into public. If I ever decide to run for political office, photos of me wearing something like that would kill my campaign before it ever got off the ground. There are so many good reasons to buy less, and the fact that I frequently make purchasing decisions like this is a big one.

Anyway, I digress. I returned the garment for store credit. I'd bought it at Ross, and they sell home stuff too. I found a few glass food storage jars for $3 each, but the best thing I found was a coffee press...it was under $10, and small enough to make coffee one cup at a time. This is perfect, since I'm the only one in the house who drinks coffee. I'd always thought what a waste it was to haul out that big machine to make one beverage. The new press is basically just like making a cup of tea. Boil the water, pour over grounds, press, and pour!

If I'm ambitious, I blanch some veggies or something while I'm heating the water anyway, but most mornings, that's not the case. But I like that the only energy that goes into it is heating the water, and I like the simplicity of it. My coffee has never tasted all that great, and maybe it's only a placebo effect, but I think this has a better taste to it than it did with the machine. And my new little press certainly looks cooler than that dress.

Poolside

2008-05-20T14:23:00.001-07:00

Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort, swimming pool
Originally uploaded by Michelle Middleton Photography

We live in a condo, squished in amongst lots of other condos. One of the features we have is a community pool, open for about six months of the year. Until this weekend, I'd only made it there once. I was away most of last summer, so I never really got around to it. Recently I'd thought about it again, and the new environmentally conscious side of my brain pooh poohed the pool - full of nasty chemicals, wasting water, so on and so forth.

Then I thought about it again. We've lived here for over a year now, and the guy across the street just introduced himself for the seventh time. My husband just met the neighbor next door last week. We don't know anybody who lives around here! If I needed a cup of sugar, I'd get in the car and drive to the store, or do without it, before I'd ask any of my neighbors, for the simple reason that for the large majority, I don't even know their names.

I also thought about the environmental impact of the pool a bit more. It does get really hot around here in the summer, and I suppose it's better that a community of people share a pool rather than each of them having their own or driving somewhere every time they want to swim. Plus, whether I use it or not, it's there. I also have to give our HOA credit for deciding last year to pull out the fountain at the entrance to our community and replace it with some nice, at least semi-native landscaping (it's more native than a fountain, that's for sure).

So I packed my book and my towel and headed up to the pool. Actually, I packed my ipod too, but I didn't end up needing it. Although I wouldn't say I made any lifelong friends by hanging out in the sun and water for an hour and a half, I did get the chance to chat with people who live all around me, and learn a little something about a few of them.

It's weird, because I talk a lot and am very outgoing when I know at least one or two people in a group - but if I don't have that minimum safety blanket, I am pretty shy. I am sure that people will look at me funny and wonder why I am talking to them if I just strike up a conversation. Last weekend at the pool though, as is usually the case once I actually start talking with somebody, I found that they were all pretty nice, and I could find something in common with all of them.

It was nice to see the little kids having so much fun being outside, not watching tv or playing video games. I'll admit I could have done without the pack of scary pre-teenagers - they were making me blush with some of the things coming out of their mouths - but what was even nice about that was that a dad showed up with his daughter and was playing some games with her, and all the other kids flocked to him like rats following the Pied Piper. I guess they just wanted somebody to pay attention to them.

I've been to the park nearby my house a few times, but this was different. I think maybe it's because everybody hanging out at the pool knows for sure that these are their neighbors, so there's almost an implied introduction that's already been made, so it's not as scary to strike up a chat with a stranger.

It would be really easy to continue hiding in my condo - nothing would ever force me to come out and talk to anybody else ever if I didn't want to. That's not the kind of community I want for myself. I'd like to know a neighbor or two well enough to invite them over for a drink or a game night if we're having a lazy weekend, rather than staying home watching tv because my closest friend is a twenty minute drive away. I think I'll opt for knowing something about the people who live around me though - and if I ever need to borrow a cup of sugar, I'll have a door or two to knock on.

Eating local on a global scale

2008-05-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking and reading a lot lately about buying locally grown food, and making a conscious effort to eat more of it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easy it’s been to adapt some of my “tried and true” recipes to the ingredients coming into the house via our CSA box rather than going to the store to purchase the produce Betty Crocker deems necessary.

The quality of the food arriving each week is unparalleled in my culinary experience. The potatoes we ate for dinner yesterday were unbelievable. Picked about twenty-four hours earlier, they were so creamy and delicious that it actually led to a bit of inter-plate thievery when I got up for a glass of water.

This is not to say that I haven’t supplemented our farm share with non-local produce as I get used to this new way of feeding my household, but I’ve noticed how vastly inferior these items are in comparison, and they really are supplemental items more than the staple of my meals these days.

The quality of the food notwithstanding, I originally began making this switch for mainly environmental reasons. I wanted to support local small businesses that operated using sustainable methods. I wanted to decrease my carbon footprint by eating foods that had traveled fewer miles, therefore requiring less fossil fuel to reach my table.

These reasons are why I was totally irritated, but unfortunately not at all surprised, to read this editorial in the Washington Post. What was most upsetting to me were the following facts:

U.S. donations of food must be purchased from U.S. suppliers
U.S. donations of food must be shipped in U.S. ships
The U.S. spends 65% of its food donation budget on transportation & overhead

This is probably old news to everybody else, as the editorial is about two months old, but I’m really irritated. What this means, as far as I can tell, is that our already scant foreign aid is further eroded by these policies designed as much to continue the growth of our own economy as they are to feed the truly hungry around the world.

I visited a Habitat for Humanity project in Zimbabwe about ten years ago. They were building homes that resembled other homes in the area. They weren’t putting up pre-fab homes shipped in from the U.S., because that would make no sense. It would be a waste of valuable limited resources, and the aid would be ill-suited to the target population. In the same way, shipping food halfway across the world is a terribly wasteful way to use the embarrassingly small number of food donation dollars we have allocated.

I believe in the value of a strong domestic economy. I believe just as strongly in the right of every person on this planet to be well nourished – and I believe that we currently have the resources to accomplish this. What we lack is the willingness, as a nation, to “sacrifice” a bit of our current lifestyle or standard of living.

If we claim to give aid, we should give aid. There should be no questions of “what am I going to get out of this?” when we are supposedly being charitable. As an episode of Friends once pointed out, there is perhaps no truly selfless act, but we could aim for a bit of selflessness – even if that means giving our dollars to a farmer a little closer to the destination of the aid. My guess is that it’s not the small family owned farms in this country that benefit from our current protectionist policies anyhow.

It also seems that if we did purchase our food donations abroad, we could be doubling the power of our donating dollars. We’d be providing more much needed nutrition, but we’d also be supporting potentially struggling economies in these regions by supporting their farms.

Maybe I’m missing something…maybe there’s a good reason for doing things this way. The growing cynic in me seriously doubts it though. I think it’s just another way for us to continue doing business as usual, letting the rich get richer, with no substantial effort at changing the status quo, while patting ourselves on the back for a job well done.

Didn't really think this one through...

2008-05-18T18:57:00.001-07:00

23 March
Originally uploaded by carolyn.will

So I've grown stuff before, like tomatoes, and lemons - the kind of stuff that grows on a tree or a plant, right out in the open where you can see it. I know what a tomato or a lemon should look like when I eat it.

I am growing several things this year that I haven't tried before, including beets, radishes, garlic, and potatoes. What do all these things have in common? Well, the part that we eat from these plants is hiding under the ground.

Is it odd that it never occurred to me before that I'd have no way of observing the progress of these roots? I've looked online for instructions. They all tell me to harvest before they get too big or reach a certain size. Hmm. Except I can't actually see what size they have reached. Do I just dig them up and sacrifice the little guys if they aren't ready to eat yet? Can I replant them if they're too small?

I only have a small container of each of these things, so I don’t want to pull too many out trying to figure out if they’re edible yet. For example, I have exactly two garlic plants at this point. It looks kind of big, but I’ve never seen what garlic looks like except for in the white bulb form I buy at the store.

The websites I’ve found all emphasize how critical the correct harvest time is, explaining that radishes, for example, will be hollow and cracked inside, not to mention super spicy, if I wait too long to harvest them. I know if I wait for them to flower, it’s too late...

So, how do you know when to harvest root vegetables? Any tips or hints are appreciated!

Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days

2008-05-17T13:34:00.001-07:00

Refreshments
Originally uploaded by jpockele

This is the title of a book by Stephen Manes that I read probably close to twenty years ago at this point. It's a children's book, and the story is about a kid who finds a book claiming it can tell him how to be a perfect person in three days. (SPOILER ALERT!) In the end, the boy discovers that to be a perfect person, he would basically have to do nothing but sit around and sip weak tea - and although it may allow him to be "perfect", it wouldn't make him a very interesting person or allow him to lead a very fulfilling life.

I remember liking this book because it was wonderful to realize that perhaps perfection isn't such a wonderful goal to have. I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week. I was feeling guilty about neglecting my posts, traveling, a few recent purchases, driving too much…the list could go on.

I have also been thinking about perfection in the context of blogging…it’s easy and fun to write about all my experiments that turn out well, and pretend that I’m getting closer to perfection every day. I have a whole list of experiments that haven’t turned out so well though. Like the tortillas I made that were so hard, when I tried to roll them they cracked in half. Or the cream soda that, unlike my ginger ale, was not only not delicious, but looked and tasted like the pond water I used to collect in school to see what organisms we could see under the microscope. Or the loaf of bread that was so dense, I considered using it as a doorstop. The list goes on, but hopefully you get the point and I don’t have to own up to all my flopped projects.

The point of all of this is that, as I’ve reminded myself before, the goal is not perfection. The goal, for me, anyway, is improvement. I want to be living a better life, not a perfect life – which is good, since I don’t ever plan on doing nothing but sitting around sipping weak tea.

Speaking of tea, it’s been really hot here. I wanted some iced tea the other day. I pulled out the container of instant iced tea mix in my cupboard, noticed the plastic lid, foil lining on the inside of the can, thought about how and if this could be recycled, turned to the ingredient label, which listed sugar, citric acid, instant tea, caramel color, natural lemon flavor and red 40, and put it back on the shelf. It didn’t seem so appealing suddenly.

If I was perfect, I probably would have decided to have a glass of water. But I really wanted the iced tea. So I pulled out a couple of mason jars, filled them with water, floated three tea bags in each (one per cup of water) screwed the lids on, and set it on my balcony for a little over an hour. I let it cool down a bit, poured it over a glass full of ice, and added some honey and lemon slices. It was really easy, not to mention cheaper than the lesser quality stuff for sale in the stores.

I may not be perfect, but the tea was.

Hooking again

2008-05-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

It was great this past week to spend some time reconnecting with things that have been pushed aside for various reasons.

I'd been meaning to learn to knit for a while now, and my sister gave me an early birthday present which included a knitting lesson and some supplies to get me started. I can't believe I'm making things out of wool, because it was over 100 degrees here yesterday, and today looks to be more of the same. But I'm hoping I can start making some of those things that I previously would have purchased...my first project is going to be some cloths for washing the dishes with. All those little mistakes that I'm making won't really matter when I'm just using the final product to clean gunk off my pans.

My sister also gave me a sewing machine that had belonged to my grandmother. I'm very excited about this, especially since I need one to finish up a project that I've been working on for some time now...a hooked rug. It's a traditional wool hooked rug (when I first heard about this art, I was thinking of those little latch hook kits that you make a fuzzy Garfield wall hanging out of, but that's not it at all...see here for some examples).

About three years ago, I learned how to make the rugs from a woman who is very talented, and willing to share her knowledge - a rare combination. She shops at thrift stores for much of her wool...old pants, skirts, etc. are cut up and dyed, then further cut into wool strips which are then hooked into a burlap or linen backing. The hooked rug is the ultimate thrifty re-users art form in many ways. The rugs were originally made in the north east using old burlap sacks for the backing, and wool strips that were salvaged from all sorts of places. What is cool is that you can still stay true to much of the original frugal nature of how these rugs were made. Plus, it's fun to tell people you're a hooker and watch their reactions.

Life had gotten busy, and I hadn't worked on any of my projects for close to a year, but I'm going to be starting some new projects soon. I haven't done a lot of the background work before, such as sourcing my own materials or dying the wool, but I'm looking forward to learning and experimenting.

I can't lie, I was motivated to get back to work when I was told how much I could sell the finished rugs for. I've been working on my current project for some time now, and never really thought of it as an item of value to anybody but me - apparently this is not the case!

Hand hooked rugs also make wonderful gifts, so I'm thinking I'll be able to make some progress on the making all my own gifts front this way as well.

That's the update from here...I'm off to GoodWill to see if I can find some wool clothes to cut up!

a little nervous...

2008-05-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

I've been gone for a week, and tomorrow I'm heading home. I'm nervous because I hate flying. I'm a control freak. But aside from that, I'm nervous to see whether my worms and plants are still alive, whether the trash and recycling were brought out to the curb, and whether my house is a total mess.

It's been a great week...I've connected and reconnected with a lot of people...high school friends, college friends, all sorts of other friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. It's hard living away from everybody I know, so it's been really good to remind myself about what I value at the end of the day.

It's also been really nice in some ways to just be soooo busy catching up with people that I haven't even had time to think about blogging. It's been good to step back and reflect, ruminate, ponder, and just think about the changes I've made, the ones that I should have, but haven't yet made, and the ones I will make. It's also been a good reminder for me about how not really working all that much has actually been pretty valuable for me in a lot of ways. More on all of this in the coming days.

Now I'm heading back home though, so you'll be hearing from me more regularly again. And hopefully I'll figure out the mess with the technical stuff. Ugh.

experiencing technical difficulties

2008-05-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

I'm away from home with not much time to mess around with computer problems for the next few days...and all my "stuff" here seems to have been dumped...my links, sidebar stuff, etc.

I'll try to figure it out over the next few days, but till then, as Depeche Mode says, "Enjoy the Silence."

It's like riding a bike...

2008-05-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

I really hate when I find myself having to make decisions and choices based solely on the fact that I'm female. I'd been trying to ride my bike more since I don't live within walking distance of too many places. A couple weeks ago, I was out for a bike ride...I actually wasn't alone, but we'd wound up on separate sides of the streets because I'm kind of pokey.

Anyway, he stopped to mess with his brakes or something, and it was getting dark, so I decided to stop and wait too. While I was waiting, a group of five really big guys came walking down the sidewalk. I didn't think too much of it. Until they stopped. And decided to "chat" - "how you doing?" "where are you going?" "that's a nice bike" "why are you waiting here?" Then I noticed they were all drinking. And blocking the path. One of them decided it was appropriate for him to rub my back.

That was when I got really pissed. And nervous. And pissed because I felt nervous. Then I rode away, figuring my guy on the other side of the street, oblivious to all of this, would catch up. And that's pretty much the end of the story.

I wish I had smacked the guy who touched me. I wish I had said some bad words to them. But I felt too scared.

I actually live in one of the safest big cities in the whole country. That proverbial bad apple though, is the one I was thinking about when I restrained myself.

Because of those jerks I now have avoided riding my bike on several occasions because I wasn't sure I'd make it home before dark.

I did a woman's studies minor in college, and this was one issue that I could never really resolve satisfactorily. There will always be a physical power imbalance between men and women. Getting paid less and tolerating borderline inappropriate comments from co-workers is one thing, but things like being afraid of some idiot morons and making transportation decisions based on these idiots ticks me off because there’s nothing I can do about it.

I guess I could buy mace, but that’s not my style.

I could pretend these issues don’t exist, but I really don’t think that’s a prudent idea.

Anyway, I know this is only vaguely on topic, but it’s been bothering me since it happened. I’d like to say I feel better having written about it, but I don’t.

more thoughts about groceries...

2008-05-04T23:07:00.001-07:00

Rum & Raisin with a flake...
Originally uploaded by Tom Coates

Aside from the fact that it’s very alarming how much decent food costs these days, it’s one of the few line items on my monthly budget that I have any control over. Our mortgage payment is not going down anytime soon, car insurance costs what it costs, and although I’m cutting my electricity and water usage as much as I can, the monetary savings are a nice side effect – but those changes were primarily motivated by environmental concerns, not by any expectation that they’d fund my retirement account any time soon.

I mentioned yesterday how I bring a list to the store with me, with alternate meals ready in case any of the ingredients needed for my “first choice” meals are ridiculously expensive.

I’ve also taken the idea of mix and match out of the closet and into the kitchen. I don’t waste much food, but I would be lying if I said I never pull out a container of something and find it all covered with fuzzy green mold. So I’ve started doing mix and match meals. All this means is that I try to make sure that I can use ingredients that I’m purchasing (or making) for more than one meal. For example, if I have quesadillas one night, and serve sour cream with them, I’ll make potato torte or potato pancakes later in the week to use up the sour cream before it turns into a penicillin factory.

I’ve also started putting more thought into cooking. I’m not a super instinctive cook, but I do have a tendency to be lazy about it – I follow the recipe exactly rather than thinking about why it’s calling for each ingredient. I’ve been trying to break this habit. For example, a lot of soups call for veggies that are not all mandatory, when I think about it. Ok, for potato leek soup, you don’t want to skip the potatoes, but if you’re making a veggie soup featuring kale and chard, why not throw in the beet greens that you haven’t figured out how to use? Leave the carrots out if you don't have them. If I have all the ingredients on hand except one or two that are non-vital, I can skip a trip to the store…because too often, even with a list in hand, a trip to the store means I grab more than what I really need.

I’ve also been trying to find ways to use the bits I would have previously discarded as “scraps.” Those beet greens I mentioned above? I didn’t even know they were edible until recently. Hey, I paid for them, so why not use them? Heather suggests saving water from steaming veggies to freeze and use as soup stock…where I live, we pay for water, and I paid for the vitamins and minerals that leeched into the water…and more importantly, it saves me from having to buy a soup base next time I need one. When making butter, instead of pouring that milky stuff down the drain, I set it aside. I can use it in bread or pastry crusts.

Speaking of crusts, I made one today for a pot pie…I also threw an extra one in the freezer. It was just as easy to make a second one while I had the stuff out, and it’ll save me time on a busy day in the future. It’ll also save me from caving to the temptation of take out if I know I have an alternative that’s just as easy, and free.

Ironically, my effort to save on my food budget has necessitated a few purchases recently. I got a used canning and regular funnel on ebay. I’ve made the ginger ale a few times more, but I’m embarrassed to admit I was using a funnel I made myself from a yogurt lid and a stapler. That part would be fine, if it worked, but it doesn’t really. I’m not that handy. It kind of just makes a mess. Since I get bored drinking just water, and I think making the ginger ale myself is a good compromise versus buying sodas and juices, I figured a small investment was worthwhile in the long term rather than risking getting fed up with the messes I was making and giving up on the whole project altogether.

Finally, in line with Blue Collar Crunch’s challenge this month, I’ve realized one area that I need to be more present when I’m shopping…I get super irritated when somebody drives while talking on the phone because they’re usually swerving or sitting at a green light until it turns red. I realized today that the same effects happen whatever you’re doing while talking on the phone - including shopping. While on one level I appreciate the fact that my sub-conscious grabbed a pint of Rum Raisin Haagen Das and put it in my grocery cart while I was engrossed in my phone call, that’s not really being mindful.

And now I feel hungry…

Leeks, leeks, more leeks...

2008-05-03T23:46:00.001-07:00

Leeks
Originally uploaded by adactio

Something a bit unexpected has come up in the challenge to eat more local food. I had realized I'd have less of some things I normally eat, such as pears, red peppers, or bok choy, and I was okay with that.

What I hadn't quite counted on was just how much of some other things I'd be eating. Our CSA box is meant to provide a family of 2 - 4 with veggies (with some occasional fruit) for a week. We're only two, and I will say we have a hard time eating all this produce every week.

Salad greens and spinach there have been plenty of, but that's an easy one. I just make salads. Other things like chard and strawberries I've only received once and it was easy to use them up.

Three items in particular though, I've received lots of: radishes, leeks, and asparagus.

I've made a big batch of potato leek soup. I've pickled some asparagus - it's supposed to be great in bloody marys. The radishes are good chopped and put on bread with butter.

The problem is, I still have lots of all these veggies left...and I need to use them up. So I'm asking for your input...anybody willing to share a great recipe using leeks, asparagus, or radishes as the main ingredient?

Post it in the comment and I'll give it a try in the next few days. Thanks in advance for sharing!

If I only had a brain...

2008-05-02T14:32:00.001-07:00

koi fish
Originally uploaded by Swami Stream

Do you ever distinctly remember reading something about something but can't recall ANY of the details? This happens to me each and every time I'm at the fish counter in the store. I know I read something about tilapia, but was it that it was being overfished? No it was that it had high mercury levels. No, low mercury levels. Is wild better than farm raised? I stand there every time, trying to remember, but details about different fish species just isn't something my brain chooses to hold onto.

I found this great little "shopper's card" at The Green Guide, a site by National Geographic. I have a few issues with some of their suggestions...for example, they did a large segment on paper products in the home, and I couldn't see a single suggestion for handkerchiefs, just a detailed analysis about recycled paper products. I'm not perfect either though, and overall, they have some good info.

I'm going to shrink it down to a size that I can fold and fit in my wallet. The shopper's guide is nice because it indicates whether it is a "no" or "sometimes" fish for reasons of overfishing or mercury. I like knowing the reasons behind things.

It does make me wonder though...if the FDA doesn't allow dairy farmers to claim that hormone free milk is healthy for us, why do they allow us to buy poisonous fish?

I figure maybe if I feel more confident about which fish I can buy without feeling too guilty, I'll eat more of it - it's supposed to be good for the brain, after all, and maybe it'll help improve my memory so eventually I don't need to carry the shopper's card anymore!

I was disapointed that orange roughie was on the "no no" list because of high mercury content, since it's one of my favorites, but as many wise people over the years have said, it's not the only fish in the sea.

Would you rather...

2008-05-01T00:40:00.001-07:00

Eliminate hunger and disease, or be able to bring lasting world peace? OK, this is just a mental exercise, but it hopefully makes you think (and the rules of the game say you're not allowed to say "both"). I had a page-a-day calendar like this one year, and I find myself going through “would you rather” scenarios almost daily lately.

Would I rather…drive to the store and buy canning supplies to can the three bunches of asparagus about to rot in my fridge, or save the car trip, not spend any money or purchase anything, and toss the veggies?

Would I rather…buy a can of spray paint to re-finish the pink wooden chest I got for free, and use it as a tv stand, or buy environmentally friendly paint, convince myself that I’d do the additional work of sanding before painting, but run the likely risk that I’d never get around to actually doing the project and end up purchasing a new piece of furniture?

Would I rather…buy the organic bananas at Whole Foods that have plastic wrapped around the top, or the conventional bananas with no extra wrapping?

Would I rather…get my milk in a plastic bottle at the store that I can walk to, or drive to the store that is too far away to walk to, but has milk in reusable glass bottles?

The point is that this stuff isn’t always easy, and the right choice isn’t always a no-brainer. Sure, there are some things that are obvious…would I rather get junk mail that I can recycle or get none? Obviously, I’d rather get none. Most choices, however, once we’ve figured out the easy stuff, are not so clear, and require a careful analysis of what we think might be best for the planet, our wallets, and our lifestyles.

I hate throwing away food, so I bought the canning supplies. The packaging was minimal and recyclable, and I’ll be able to get many uses out of each of the jars. I also bought the spray paint. Probably not a great choice, but I hate painting projects and knew I would never actually get around to using the eco-friendly paint, so I made the choice that worked for me. Sometimes we’ll find a third option, like with the bananas…I did without, and bought pears and apples instead. The milk is a draw for me: if it’s the only thing I need, I walk, but if I’m out doing errands anyway, I’ll go to the store with the glass bottles.

I know these aren’t probably all the right choices, from a strict waste or carbon analysis, but just like my decision to go flexitarian, they’re choices that I can work into my lifestyle without making me feel so overwhelmed that I throw up my hands and say “forget all this” – because for me, the wrong choice is the one that I can’t maintain.

Please hold...

2008-04-30T19:05:00.001-07:00

1000 mobiles
Originally uploaded by Gaetan Lee

Hold off on buying a new cell phone, that is. A clever marketing ploy that my cell phone company uses is to “allow” customers to upgrade their phones every two years, at a discount over the full retail price. Since I’m a loyal customer, they let me purchase a new phone even sooner. In exchange for me paying them some cash, I get a new phone and the right to continue making monthly payments to them for another twenty-four months.

What I realized though, is that just because my company lets me purchase a new phone, doesn’t mean that I actually need one. I’m going to keep the one that I have until it stops working. The features on the phone that I currently own are more than what I need. I don’t need video or email on my phone, so as long as it keeps making calls, it’s doing what I need it to.

When it does finally die, I’ll recycle it. Aside from keeping waste out of the landfills, recycling a cell phone is an environmentally important decision to make because the materials used to make a cell phone include metals which can be destructive to the environment to mine. According to the EPA, less than 20% of cell phones are actually recycled. There are many ways to recycle a cell phone – Recycle My Cell Phone is a site I’ll consider. They only recycle phones from within the US (due to restrictions on import/export of hazardous waste), but they reuse as many phones and parts as possible, and only dispose of what is really “dead”. They dispose of what hazardous waste remains responsibly, and do not export it to developing countries. The other thing that is great about this site is that they accept any make or model of phone, pda, beeper, or charger. They even make it easy for you to save money by taking a tax deduction for the value of the phone you donate, including the postage you use to send it to them!

Until I’m ready to recycle my phone, however, there are things I can do to make it last as long as possible. The National Geographic Green Guide offers some great tips on how to save energy and extend your phone’s life, including:

1. Only charge as long as necessary – if you leave the charger plugged in after the battery is fully charged, the charger will continue drawing energy and will heat the battery, which shortens its life span.
2. Turn down the brightness – the more light your phone puts out, the more battery it uses, meaning it’ll have to be charged more often.
3. Unless you plan on answering the phone if it rings in the middle of the night, turn it off until you wake up.

Another thing that I'll investigate when my plan is up is switching to a company such as Credo Mobile, whose prices seem a tiny bit higher than my current provider, but allows you to donate a portion of your monthly bill to charity.

As a follow-up to things that should be recycled responsibly, I found out last week that Ace Hardware, at least in my neighborhood, also accepts used CFL bulbs for recycling. For many of us, we probably have an Ace closer than an Ikea…and I for one am a lot less likely to make an impulse purchase at Ace than Ikea!

Coffee

2008-04-29T12:03:00.001-07:00

Coffee
Originally uploaded by dyobmit

Lately, I've been thinking about picnics. Those nice baskets that have the reusable plates, cups, and napkins. Why shouldn't we bring a "picnic basket" with us whenever we are eating away from home? I have made an effort recently to be sure to pack my bag as if I'm going off into the woods for a meal. I realized that I've become way too reliant on the idea that if I stop for a drink or a snack, I'll be provided with (usually disposable) everything I need - napkins, paper towels, plastic utensils, straws, the list goes on.

I'd been carrying my own coffee cup for a while now. That one was relatively easy, provided I remembered to take it out of my bag and wash it before it started smelling really bad. Recently, however, I've noticed that even with my own mug, getting a cup of coffee generates a lot of waste - there's the sugar packets, the stirrers, and sometimes even the little plastic tubs the milk comes in.

Here's how I'm dealing with it: I have an old pepper tin that I've filled with sugar. That way, if the shop only has packets and no large shaker, I don't have to create the paper waste.

Just in case the box pops open, I've been keeping it inside a small cottage cheese container I had laying around...it doubles as a take out container if I need one. Even though we have a great recycling program here, we can't recycle styrofoam if it has food grease soaked into it - and take out containers made of styrofoam always wind up with grease soaked in.

If a coffee shop only has milk or cream in small plastic cups with the foil lids, I go for extra sugar and drink it black.

I've started carrying a spoon that fell victim to our garbage disposal in my bag. I won't be sad if I accidentally forget it somewhere, since it looks pretty beaten up already, and now I don't have to wonder what kind of tree the wooden stirrers are made out of or feel bad about the plastic waste created by using that little stick for less than 10 seconds.

I've also started throwing a couple cloth napkins in the bottom of my bag. I use them to wipe the spoon that I stir the coffee with, and to wipe my hands if I use a public restroom.

According to this source, one third of all trash in the US comes from packaging. Throw away paper cups are one of those forms of packaging...and they aren't free. Shop owners recognize this, and many offer discounts for using your own mug. Making less trash saves me money. That's hard to find fault with.

You can check out this handy Coffee Waste Calculator to estimate just how much waste you're creating each year if you use the disposable paper cups...even if you're like me and drink a coffee only once a week or so, less is always more when it comes to trash.

Flexitarianism

2008-04-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

Yep, this is what I am these days. Urban Dictionary gives a couple definitions for the word, but the one that I like (and have decided to apply to myself) is:

"some one who essentially eats just vegetables (as well as fish, eggs & milk) who's not too uptight about eating meat ocaisionally [sic] as a matter of convenience; a lenient vegetarian."

We talked about becoming a vegetarian household, but we realized that's pretty much what we do anyway. For the most part, the meals we eat at home are already vegetarian: chilis, soups, eggplant parmagian, veggie pot pies, tortes, and quiches, veggie fried rices, tacos and burritos, tons of Indian dishes, the list goes on. I don't cook much red meat at all...I can't remember the last time I bought pork (except bacon, which I love, I'll admit). I probably cook chicken or fish once or maybe twice a week, at most. Many weeks, I cook no meat.

So instead of setting a strict rule that we'd be tempted to break, we decided we'd become flexitarians. This just means that we'll begin cooking even less meat than we already do. When we go to a restaurant for dinner (for us, this is probably twice a month, on average), we'll order what we want. If we come to your house for dinner, we'll eat what you serve us.

Killing animals does kind of gross me out, but I'll be honest, the main reason for going "flexitarian" is a combination of health and environmental reasons. Neither of these necessarily requires an "all or nothing" approach - my health and especially the environment will be better off if I eat less meat. Obviously, the environment would be even better off if I ate none at all, but something is better than nothing, and what is more important than the extent of the changes I make is my ability to make them long-lasting changes, rather than short term ones. For a detailed explanation of some of the reasons why eating meat is not great for the environment, check out the GoVeg site - one of the biggest reasons for me is that it takes 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat (the chickens and cows have to eat before they become meat, right?) - at a time when there are food shortages all over the world, this becomes especially important for me to at least reflect on.

Eating quality meat can be very pricey, especially if your only option for purchasing it is a conventional grocery store. I think we'll see quite a significant savings on our grocery bills now that I've stopped buying meat - we'll finish up what we have in the freezer, since it's bought and paid for, and the resources to produce it have already been consumed. Normally when I'd clean out the freezer though, I'd do a big meat shopping to stock it again - that would always be a very expensive shopping.

Like so many of my other decisions about changes to how I'm living my life, this is ultimately a personal choice, as it must for everybody. Unfortunately, some people will decide that eating meat fourteen times a week is their right. It is their right to make that choice. Others may decide that they can go vegetarian, or totally vegan, or that they can go meatless once a month or once a week. Bean Sprouts was challenging readers in April to try a vegetarian meal - Whole Foods Spicy Vegetarian Chili is one of my recent favorites, if you're looking for inspiration.

Others may decide that they want to continue to eat meat once a day, but will decrease their portion sizes - for more on this, check out Blue Collar Crunch's Diet for Global Hunger Action. As this New York Times article from 1918 explains, Americans in the past have consciously cut consumption to help those in need. Now might be a good time to give that some serious thought once again.

For us, the flexitarian option is great...everything in moderation, after all. It's just that moderation is being redefined.

this and that

2008-04-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post a link to this site for a while: Replate is a movement that encourages us to share our excess with those who may really need it more than we do. We don't eat in restaurants very often, but almost every time we do, we have enough food to feed four people or more, instead of the two that we are. I also like the fact that it's open source, so there aren't any real rules - you can change it to suit your circumstances.

A friend of mine told me that she dried her sheets outside today, which reminded me of this link that a friend of mine had forwarded me: Project Laundry List. If you're not allowed to dry your clothes outside where you live, check this site out! Crunchy Chicken had posted about it a day or two after I first heard about it - it made me think of how when you learn a new word, you start hearing and reading it everywhere.

Speaking of new words, Free Rice helps you build your vocabulary and donate rice to those who need it at the same time. I am not sure whether they are actually a non-profit or not, but it doesn't get much easier than this. Not only do you get the warm fuzzy feeling of doing something good for a really minimal effort, but you get a bit smarter too (well, maybe...let's say you at least get the opportunity to get smarter).

India

2008-04-26T13:43:00.001-07:00

Charminar Hyderabad
Originally uploaded by JustABoy

Before I say anything, let me forewarn you that this is likely to be my lengthiest post yet…but it’s the weekend so you’ll have lots of time to digest, if you’re not too bored.

The time I spent recently in India delivered all the contradictions and ironies I had been promised. It’s a wonderful place to visit, and I truly enjoyed my stay there. It was the first time in ten years I’d been outside of North America or Europe, and it reminded me of just how different life can be in different corners of the globe. The number of trees I need to plant to offset my travel notwithstanding, I do think it’s important from time to time, if possible, to interact in a deeply meaningful way with another culture.

I was there for the first of my two weddings (we’re doing it again in the US this fall for all our friends and family here), and spent five weeks, mainly in Hyderabad. I don’t mean to claim that I speak about all of India, and want to just put out the disclaimer that this is just my experience and observations that I’m sharing.

I think my relationship with material things is what I’ve reflected upon most since my return. This really surprised me. I thought before I left that the poverty and unequal distribution of wealth would be most difficult for me to stomach. There certainly were days that I had tears in my eyes, when the poverty was just overwhelming. I felt like throwing up more than once (separate from the times I felt like throwing up from the three or four stomach bugs I contracted).

For some reason, however, I was really slapped in the face by how much STUFF we have in North America…and how much of it is absurdly unnecessary. I don’t know why I didn’t notice this on my past travels. I suspect it’s due to my lack of maturity at the time. For whatever reason, it’s been a very heavy weight I’ve been carrying with me ever since my return.

I believe that simple is best, so I’ll try to summarize as briefly as possible, the ironies, from a simplicity/frugality/environmental standpoint, that I witnessed.

Here’s what was not cool:

1. There is trash everywhere. Public trashcans were difficult to find or non-existent. I asked the driver of our car one day what I should do with a gum wrapper and water bottle I had, and he told me he’d take care of them. I found them later on the street in front of the house. Not quite what I meant. So I started saving my trash and throwing it out in the house. Then I realized that the man who took care of the house was burning it all every morning. Not sure that’s super healthy. There was a super smelly impromptu landfill that had sprung up about 2 miles from where we were staying. The trash that was officially collected from that side of town was being dumped here because the official landfill was too far away, and well, nobody had complained.

2. I didn’t see a single way to recycle anything the entire time I was there.

3. Air pollution is a major problem. It was often hard to breath, and I could never get my face to feel clean for more than half an hour at a time.

Here’s what was awesome:

1. Everybody eats local. There’s not really much choice. Most people still buy their produce from vendors on the side of the road, and those guys only sell what they’ve harvested recently. I’m worried that as the middle class grows, this may begin to change. Grocery stores are just starting to spring up everywhere, and the huge conglomerate is not something that only exists in North America (check out Tata or Birla). I was glad to hear my MIL say that she still goes out of her way to buy things from the local shop owner when she can because she knows it’s getting more difficult for them to make it with big corporate competition. I hope more people feel the same way.

2. Everybody eats a lot of vegetarian food. I know we’ve been hearing lots in the media about how the increased demand for meat from India and China are driving up food prices and causing grain shortages. I do not dispute the accuracy of this argument. I would stress, however, that “increased demand” doesn’t mean that Chinese and Indian folks are now eating meat three times a day. I don’t know what the case is in China, but I imagine it’s similar – increased demand means that a lot of people now eat meat once or twice a week rather than once a twice a month. A lot of people are still totally vegetarian for religious reasons. I think that if the US demand per capita for meat was equal to that of an average Indian person, we’d be patting ourselves on the back for a job well done.

3. Lots of people have electricity, but very few of them expect it to function all the time. There are frequent power outages of varying lengths, some announced, and some not. The funniest part to me, is that the conversation never skips a beat, even when the lights go out, it’s totally dark, and everybody is fumbling to find candles and matches.

4. Water is trucked in and stored in tanks. Everybody is cognizant that there is a very finite supply, and uses it much more carefully than we do in the US. Showers, for example, are taken by filling a bucket (maybe four gallons or so) and using a smaller bucket to dump the water on yourself to wash and rinse with.

5. Nobody uses toilet paper. Actually I’m not sure if this is actually awesome or not, because they use water instead, so I guess it’s a matter of “dueling resources” at this point. Either way, I wasn’t brave enough to try this method - although I probably should have, because good luck finding anything other than single ply. What is awesome is that paper towels and facial tissue are also virtually non-existent.

6. Each power outlet has an on/off switch. I’ve heard this is also the case in Australia, and probably other places as well, but it makes it really easy to ensure that appliances are really off and not sucking energy. This is important because electricity is super expensive - so much so that despite the fact that it’s hotter and muggier (at least for parts of the year) than anywhere here in North America, almost nobody has air conditioning. There are fans, and “coolers” that work by somehow circulating water through this big thing that has some hay (I’m not a real technical person, if you can’t tell) but these both use much less energy than an air conditioner. Life without AC is possible!

7. Everybody squeezes in – everywhere. Fuel is expensive, so a van for ten people will somehow manage to accommodate twelve to fifteen people for a six hour trip. There are small little vehicles called autos – sort of like giant motorized tricycles with roofs – that look like they’d comfortably seat three passengers and a driver. I’ve seen them packed with seven and more passengers. Safety concerns, I know…I’m just saying that I’ll think next time before taking a second car somewhere just so somebody doesn’t have to sit in the middle seat. Buses are another story altogether. If you’re claustrophobic, you just wouldn’t make it. People literally ride the bus with one foot on the step, holding on to the door frame, because the buses are so crowded.

8. Along with the squeezing in theme, growing up and getting married is not automatically a reason to get your own house. Again, I’m not sure I’d like to do this, but lots of people live with parents and/or in-laws.

9. Because electricity is so expensive, people make do with smaller refrigerators. Humans originally started using spices for a reason, and lots of spices in the foods help them to stay edible without refrigeration.

10. Clothes are always dried on a line. I don’t think dryers are even readily available for purchase.

11. Packaging is much more minimal. Bulk purchase of many items is the only option – you can’t buy a box of rice; it comes in a large sack or you scoop it from a bin. Leftover food in restaurants is packed in folded newsprint rather than Styrofoam containers. Nearly everything you will find for sale has little to no packaging – and almost always, there is less packaging than you’d find for the same item in North America.

12. Stuff gets reused…even when it’s not in pristine condition. I sent my laundry out one day in a bag whose handle was about to break. I figured I’d get it back in a new bag, but I got it back in that same bag – with the handle taped back on. There’s a value placed on things that seems to be lacking in North American culture.

What worries me is that the reason why we don’t do some of these things here in the US seems to be simply a matter of financially not being forced to. For example, we have clothes dryers because we have inexpensive electricity. When I stopped looking at things in terms of dollars is when I started being able to appreciate the true value of how things are done elsewhere in the world, and when I started wanting to live less like a “typical” consumer.

I can't believe it IS butter!

2008-04-25T00:04:00.001-07:00

Butter for Apple Crisp
Originally uploaded by madaise

I didn’t quite expect this news so soon, but wealthy, industrialized nations are running out of food. Japan has a severe shortage of butter – they’ve basically run out. This article explains some of the contributing factors. The scary news is, it seems like this is just further expansion of a trend we’ve seen in places like Haiti and Egypt in the past few weeks, and not an isolated incident to be brushed aside as irrelevant. In fact, as this article points out, Canada and the US are already seeing rationing and shortages, especially of rice (even Jay Leno mentioned it on his show tonight). I’ll admit we’ve been stocking up on 20 pound bags of rice, when we can. Each store will only allow us to purchase one or two bags at a time. We also haven’t been able to purchase fresh curry leaves (not related to curry powder, but still a staple of Indian cuisine) for over two months now. They’ve just become too expensive for the small shop where we buy our Indian groceries to even bother stocking them anymore.

So I’ll continue trying to grow stuff on my balcony, but this just reaffirms my belief that the more I can make and do for myself, the better able I’ll be to deal if and when I find myself facing a shortage of something more serious than curry leaves.

I was thinking about how I've been learning to make yogurt, sour cream, and assorted other dairy based products, and I realized that part of the problem with buying only processed, packaged, preservative laden foods is not just that they are unhealthy (which they are), but that they allow us to mentally separate from what we eat.

I was thinking some more today about chickens. I had to admit that if I ever had my own, I’m pretty sure they’d just be for eggs. I don’t know if I’ll explain this very well, but I don’t actually like animals all that much, to be honest. I have a cat that I adore, and believe to be the cutest feline ever born, but I don’t feel the need to pet dogs I see while I’m out walking, and in fact I go out of my way to avoid them. I don’t think I ever want a dog of my own, and I’m not sure I ever want another cat either. Anyway, point being, as much as I wouldn’t peg myself an animal lover, I also don’t think I could stomach killing a chicken. Buying the meat on a tray wrapped in plastic allows me to detach. This is the obvious, classic vegetarian argument.

What often gets overlooked, at least by me, however, is the mental and physical detachment we also have from other foods we eat. Like yogurt. As long as I’d only bought it in a tub in the store, I hadn’t really thought about what it was that made it yogurt. Now that I’ve made it, I actually understand what it is. I’ve made bread, and soda, so now I understand what makes the bubbles in each of them. It’s kind of like those cheesy public service announcements say: “The More You Know”…

Last week, I made butter! I know that the Japanese butter shortage is just a reflection of a general shortage of milk products, but I wonder if they’re still able to buy cream? Because that’s all that butter is!

I know that knowing how to make butter won’t help me in the event that my area experiences a serious shortage of milk products, but I think the more I know about how to make the foods that I eat, the better prepared I’ll be to deal with the sudden unavailability of products I’d previously taken for granted would always be on the shelves of my local store. I don’t know how it breaks down financially, but I’m pretty sure that if I don’t save money, it won’t cost me any more to make versus buying ready made butter…plus I’m reducing the amount of packaging I’m introducing to the landfill, and it's super easy for me to find local cream where I live.

I’ll direct you to Crunchy Chicken for the more specific instructions, but basically, it’s super easy, and goes something like this: put cream in a jar, making sure to leave plenty of air in the jar, and put the lid on. Shake like crazy till it solidifies (I shook for less time than Crunchy’s directions, I read others that said they shook longer…she describes the stages, though, so you’ll be able to figure it out). Use a spatula to squeeze the liquid out of the solid, pour it off (saving it for later use). Add a little salt, and enjoy!

Lost in a good book

2008-04-24T00:49:00.001-07:00

Books of the Past
Originally uploaded by Lin Pernille ♥ Photography

As I was halfway through writing the following post, I took a break to browse a few of my favorite blogs – and discovered that Green Bean is also blogging about books. More specifically, she’s given us a challenge! It’s a pretty accessible challenge, not too scary at all if you like to read: pick an ecologically relevant book, read it during the month of May, then share your thoughts. I’m totally in!

In the February issue of Harper’s, Ursula Le Guin wrote an article on books entitled “Staying Awake: Notes on the alleged decline of reading.” I’m not a fan of Ms. Le Guin’s books, but the article was interesting. In large part it laments big business and the destruction of the publishing industry, but she makes some good points about reading as well. Very relevant to Green Bean’s book challenge, she actually equates the publishing industry to Michael Pollan’s discussion of corn in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I also like her reminder that “For most of human history…Literacy…was power itself.” I think this is still true, albeit perhaps to a lesser extent. She also discusses the social bond created by those who read the same books. I do have to take exception to Le Guin’s contention that blogs have not yet developed aesthetic form, but that’s beside the point.

The most important point, in my mind, that Le Guin makes about reading is that
…reading is active, an act of attention, of absorbed alertness – not all that different from hunting, in fact, or from gathering. In its silence, a book is a challenge: it can’t lull you with surging music or deafen you with screeching laugh tracks or fire gunshots in your living room; [thank goodness!] you have to listen to it in your head. A book won’t move your eyes for you the way images on a screen do. It won’t move your mind unless you give it your mind, or your heart unless you put your heart in it. It won’t do the work for you.

I like this idea. After all, I’m doing lots of work on myself and my life lately. Books aren’t going to do that work for me, but they provide me with a tool that can help me do the work that I want to do. I also think this can be applied to many of the “green” changes I’m making in my life. Putting things in the recycling bin is good for the planet, but unless I give my heart and mind to what I am doing, this is really just another way of disposing of trash. When I give my trash my heart and mind, however (cheesy, I know, but bear with me, ok?), I find that just throwing it in the recycling bin is no longer good enough. I relate to it in a more active manner. I investigate composting, unsubscribe from catalogs, and think more carefully about packaging. It’s the same as watching a movie versus reading the book. The movie does the work for you; the book forces you to imagine what the characters look like, what their voices sound like, what sort of expressions pass across their faces as the plot unfolds.

But enough theory, back to the books…thank goodness I found paperback swap recently, because I’ve discovered I have a LOT of educating myself to do on all this green / simplicity / frugality business. Yes, there’s lots of info I can find online, but see arguments for books above. I am just about to cross the 200 mark on my wish list…but so far, I’ve restrained the urge to buy.

I recently finished The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. It was an interesting mental exercise to go through, but I can’t say it was life changing. It did highlight a lot of the ways in which we impact our planet, and the speculations were interesting, but I felt at the end like there was something missing. It was basically a long-term look at what would happen to the planet over the next few millenia if we just vanished tomorrow. He writes another shorter piece in last month’s Vanity Fair imagining the world a century from now (with us still here).

Before “Buy Nothing” month began I had ordered a book called Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll. I have to get back to this one. So far I’ve only read the intro, but it seems like it’ll be a fairly accessible book.

Currently, I’m reading The No-Nonsense Guide to Fair-Trade by David Ransom – I’m only a few dozen pages into it, but it’s a pretty accessible book so far. It gives some background about the economic theories behind free trade, and then investigates what fair trade is and why it’s so necessary in today’s world. I think it’s important for me to read books like this because although I have a general idea of what fair trade is and why it’s a good thing, I have big gaps in my knowledge and really need to take the time to make sure I am making well-informed choices.

Somebody recently reminded me of Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn, which is a wonderful work of fiction that forces us to rethink humans and our role in the world. I’m going to revisit it as soon as I work my way through the stack that I’ve yet to read once.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I still haven’t read Fast Food Nation, but luckily mom just finished it and is passing it along, so soon I won’t need to duck my head in embarrassment or change the topic every time somebody mentions it.

This is the part where I was going to ask you for your recommendations about your favorite books that have inspired or educated you; changed the way you look at the world; made you wake up and take notice…but instead, I think I’ll refer you to Green Bean’s Challenge. There’s a little button over on the side bar that you can click that’ll take you to her blog and the instructions on how to sign up. Check it out, choose a book, and share your thoughts with others. Of course if you’re not up for the challenge, I still want to hear what you think I must read next.

My selection for the challenge is Common Wealth (reminder: oldest younger brother, you are passing this on to me, remember?). I’ve heard good things about it, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the connections between individuals, not just in our neighborhoods, but around the globe, so I am really looking forward to this read.

So go join the challenge, my fellow bookworms!

All aboard!

2008-04-23T00:15:00.001-07:00

Train entering the new Don Bosco trainstation
Originally uploaded by theowl84

Hey…good news for the stupid drunk chick who hit my house with her gigantic SUV over the weekend (yep, that really happened). Ok, well, actually, the bad news first: hit and run is against the law, and you might have to go to jail.

I try really hard not to judge other people’s choices, but honestly, I have been thinking for four straight days now, and I cannot for the life of me imagine why somebody would need to drive a vehicle that large to go out and get wasted beyond belief. I guess the punishment does fit the crime; she should definitely lose her license. Forever.

As you can tell, I’m a little bitter about this whole thing. I'm too angry to even write very well. I mean, who hits a house hard enough to take a piece out of it, and then drives away?!?!?! She clearly should not have been driving, period...we're actually lucky that it was our house she hit and not another car or pedestrian.

I feel that somebody as blatantly selfish and irresponsible as this person has proven herself to be has lost some of her rights to make choices...maybe we should have a law that if you can't keep your giant SUV under control, you can't have one. If she’d been driving a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle, it wouldn’t have been able to climb the six inch curb in front of the house, it wouldn’t have been able to run over the three foot hedge between the house and the sidewalk, and it wouldn’t have been tall enough to take out the window sill in my office.

Even if she was running that thing on alternative fuels (somehow I doubt it), one source points out that the corn needed to produce one tank of biofuel is enough to feed a person for an entire year. That makes me feel sick to think about.

Anyway, I digress. The good news for stupid drunk chick who hit my house with her gigantic SUV is that we actually have public transportation in this area…so smile lady, because when you get out of jail, you’ll have a way to get around town.

I decided that to get to the Earth Day event today, I’d finally take the plunge and get on the train instead of driving. It’s only about four or five miles, and according to google maps (which now allows you to plan your trip using public transportation) it was going to take about forty-five minutes.

Well, to make a long story short, I walked for forty minutes, went to the first train station, found it was closed, walked to a second train station, which was also closed, and found out I had to take a bus before I finally was able to board a train. It took just under two hours total - I was exhausted! It was an ordeal, but in the end I was glad I did it. The trains were immaculate, it saves money over driving, and the Earth Day event was full of farmers, vendors, music, snacks, and booths with lots of info about how to help the planet. Getting home was an adventure too…but I made it.

I'd like to end by giving a tip of the hat, as Mr. Colbert would say, to Mom. She heard her local radio host talking about how his wife and kid picked up some trash off the street for Earth Day. The co-host commented something to the effect of "yeah, since it's still too cold to plant anything, I guess that's about all we can do." Instead of just thinking about how totally not true that is, Mom called up the radio station and, using her best teacher voice, I'm sure, educated them on various other things they could do to celebrate Earth Day, cold weather and all, such as bringing reusable bags to the store, and not drinking bottled water. Good job!

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T00:59:00.001-07:00

Blue Marble (Planet Earth)
Originally uploaded by woodleywonderworks

I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve never actually participated in any Earth Day events as an adult. I remember when we were in school, we would talk about things like planting trees and recycling…but that was a long time ago.

So later today, I’m going to go downtown (maybe I’ll finally even get around to taking public transportation…) and check out the goings on. It’s sponsored by the Environmental Services Department of San Jose (I didn’t even know we had such a thing, but it’s pretty cool).

The festivities include a bike ride with the mayor(!?), a tour of Adobe’s Green Headquarters, live music, a farmer’s market, and a bunch of other cool stuff. So I’m going to go check it out. I’ll restrain the urge to buy stuff, green or not, unless it’s something that I need – which I doubt. I’ll be sure to report back on what I see and learn.

In early celebration, I planted some seeds today. I should confess here that I often get carried away. Moderation is not a word I seem to be able to understand or embrace. So my idea to grow a tomato plant on my balcony has grown to sprouting sunflowers, garlic, kidney beans, red, green, and chili peppers, pumpkins, flax, mustard, cumin, and potatoes from stuff lying around the house.

I had a Meyer lemon tree from last year that I didn’t kill (also a Confederate Jasmine, but it is not meant for eating). Apparently these are both drought tolerant, since they survived my five week trip to India with no watering.

I planted seeds that I bought from the store for lettuce, radishes, beets, water melon, coriander/cilantro, and dill.

I bought seedlings of eggplant, tomato, oregano, and rhubarb. Also a catnip plant for the cat. I had to put it out of his reach, because he likes it too much.

I haven’t got around yet to the spinach, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, green beans, peas, cantaloupe, asparagus, carrots, strawberries, ivy gourd, corn, bok choy, basil, oh my goodness, can I get mini pear and orange trees? I have decided that it would be unequivocally unfair to try to keep a chicken on the balcony, and unsafe to start a beehive there. I’m not kidding though, when I say that the thoughts crossed my mind.

I’m not sure the “food” seeds will actually produce food. But it’s not really costing me anything to conduct this experiment, and the plants are at least soaking up some CO2, right? I am wishing I had more sunny balcony space…

It’s always fun to watch how super cool plants actually are. Every time I plant a seed and watch it sprout, I briefly entertain the idea of becoming a botanist. I realized that when a kidney bean sprouts, the two halves of the bean actually become the first two leaves of the new plant. IT”S SO COOL!!!!!!

I’ve been resisting the urge to go out and buy all sorts of cool pots and containers, and have pleasantly surprised myself with the solutions I’ve come up with. I had a bunch laying around, which I used, but I quickly ran out of actual planters.

We buy rice in 20 pound sacks. Side note: I’m actually not sure how long we’ll be doing that, since the stores around here have actually started rationing the rice to one bag per customer, per day. We’re stocking up while we can. There’s somebody in this house who would be very cranky if they didn’t have their rice (and it’s not me…).

Anyway, the rice sacks are made of a sort of woven plastic. I’ve been filling them with soil, punching a few holes in the bottom, and planting right in there. They’re lighter to lift than a heavy ceramic pot, and they seem to be working fine so far. And instead of buying new pots, with all the attendant resources that would be devoted to it, I’m keeping something which I don’t even think is recyclable out of the landfill, and using it to produce food, meaning I won’t need to buy my next eggplant from the grocery store, reducing all the resources required to produce and deliver that to me. I'll pause to remember that every time I buy less, I save money too!

Hopefully some of these little darlings will even survive my brown thumb long enough to give us some food!

Happy Earth Day!

Bits and pieces

2008-04-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

I don’t know enough about any of this to justify a full posting, but this is all stuff I’ve found while poking around and wanted to share, because I think it’s useful information.

Plastic Loose Fill Council: If somebody sends you a package filled with those nasty Styrofoam peanuts, this website can help you to find a place that will take them and reuse them.

Eat Well Guide: Have you been thinking you’d like to eat more local, sustainable, organic food, but don’t think there’s anything available? This website lists farmer’s markets, stores, restaurants, and more, based on your zipcode. You might be surprised what’s right around the corner!

US Department of Energy: Is renewable power available for purchase in my area? Sadly, no, but maybe it is in yours. Check out this website to find out.

Environmental Protection Agency: If you don’t have a well to obtain your drinking water, this website can help you determine what the quality of your municipal water is like.

A few updates…

I am still on the bottled water wagon. The stuff from the tap hasn’t killed me yet. Even though it often smells funny.

Still in the process of decluttering, but I’d just like to throw something out there for any freecyclers in the crowd: if you say you’re going to go pick something up, make sure it’s because you really want the item, not just because it’s free and you can’t beat the price. I’ve been stood up a few times by people who claimed to want my items. Most were apologetic and contacted me to let me know they couldn’t collect, but a few just never showed up. It made me start thinking that maybe it was too much work to give stuff away. Which seems ridiculous, but I’m taking a break for a while.

I’ve continued making my yogurt. Sometimes it’s more watery than others, but it’s always been edible.

For trash day after two weeks, we still didn’t have a full bag of garbage! I put it out anyway though because it was really starting to smell bad.

Buy Nothing Challenge is going pretty well…all of my “slip ups” I actually think are justifiable: batteries for the smoke detector, and stay tuned for more on my biking adventures and the worms in my garage!

I posted a while ago about the Riot 4 Austerity. I think this is such a cool concept. I also think it’s really overwhelming. But inspired by the small scale of Buy Nothing Month modeled after the Compact, I’m going to give the Riot a trial run. I’m going to pick only one of their seven categories to start with and see if, instead of reducing my consumption TO 10% of the average, I am going to see if I can reduce my current consumption BY 10%.

Anybody care to join me?

For those not familiar, the seven categories are:
Gasoline
Electricity
Heating & Cooking Energy
Garbage
Water
Consumer Goods
Food

I am going to start with water. Based on my last water bill, I am actually at 31% of average US consumption. Therefore, I will attempt to reduce my consumption to 21% by the time I receive my next bill.

Let me know if you pick a category to tackle. I like structure, so I appreciate the idea of having actual numbers to measure my progress, rather than the vague idea of just trying to do better. I’ll let you know how it goes!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

2008-04-20T12:35:00.001-07:00

I'm headed outside to enjoy this beautiful day. If you live somewhere that the sun is not shining, check out this series that NPR did called "Consumed" - it's an attempt to answer the question "is the consumer economy sustainable?" There are thirty-five different segments that look at all different angles of the consumer economy. You can listen to the broadcast or read the transcripts.

There's also a really cool game you can play that tells you how many of our planets it would take to support the earth's population if everybody lived the lifestyle that you do - I know I was surprised at my results. All that flying takes a toll!

Sour Cream

2008-04-19T00:42:00.001-07:00

Sour Cream
Originally uploaded by midnightcomm

Here's another thing I eat kind of a lot of, and figured out how to make for myself...sour cream. It's really good! It's not quite as easy as the yogurt, but if I said it was hard, I'd just be whining (which I tend to do sometimes...)

All you need is a pint of cream, and a quarter cup of buttermilk.

Rinse the bowl for a few seconds with really hot water, then let it return to room temperature (I think this is to kill any bacteria that might be lurking).

Pour the cream into the bowl; mix in the buttermilk. Let it sit in a warm place. I did the same thing as with the yogurt: heat the oven to 200 before you put the bowl in, then turn it off, and let it sit for about 24 hours or so.

The recipe I had said to strain it through a cheese cloth for a couple of hours. I tried this, but the one I had was too loose, and it all just slipped through. Basically, all this means is that the sour cream is a little more watery than what I buy from the store...but it still tastes great!

Less packaging, less waste, and I know exactly what's in it!

If you're into making bread, you can use the leftover buttermilk (it only comes in larger containers in my store) in place of regular milk for that. Or, you can wait for my next recipe secret to find out how to make your own...oh boy!

more on buying less

2008-04-18T09:46:00.001-07:00

IMGP2668
Originally uploaded by djlicious

This is sort of turning into my new obsession. I repeatedly cannot believe how much stuff I have and continued purchasing (until quite recently).

As noted by at least one other blogger, simply deciding to spend less is not a very effective way to spend less (huh?). It’s true. It’s too easy to justify $10 here or $30 there if we’re only thinking about our wallets. If we start to think about the actual cost of producing the item in question, however, in terms of the packaging, the raw materials, transportation costs, disposal, social justice issues for the workers involved in production, etc. etc. etc., it becomes a lot easier to decide not to make purchases. And for me, after making the decision not to purchase for several weeks in a row, I did start noticing that I too had more money.

My shopping list has helped - I’ve already taken the shower timer off. After letting it sit there for a while, I realized it’s just another gadget. I know if I’m standing in the shower letting the water run aimlessly while I ponder the meaning of life. I also know how to get in, wash, and get out.

Obviously, I’ll buy something again in my life. When I do, however, I’ll be thinking more carefully about my purchases, and I found a useful metric for helping me to make the decision on whether or not a purchase should be made, from a financial perspective. It gets broken down like this:

Can I afford this item? Have I:
-paid off all my debts?
-put something into my retirement account this month?
-paid all of my monthly bills?
-put something into a savings account?
-set aside enough money to purchase quality, healthy food?
-donated to a cause I support?

*If I answer no to any of these questions, it means I cannot afford the item in question.

This seems a little harsh at first glance, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. There is no priority given amongst the seven items in question, they’re just all things that have to be addressed before I consider purchasing something outside the list. I like that the focus is on an overall quality of life, not just the bottom line. I’m going to adopt this, even when “Buy Nothing” month is over.

I am also going to develop a metric to decide if the world can afford for me to have this item. It’s a work in progress, so please comment! Here’s what I have so far:

Is this item:
-Something that I will use many times, on a regular basis?
-packaged minimally, and with the best materials possible?
-produced by workers who are treated fairly, in a way I myself would be willing to be treated?
-produced as close to me as reasonably possible?
-durable, and made well?
-something that can be repaired, or at the very least, recycled, if it malfunctions or breaks?
-made of materials that are sustainable/renewable?
-produced by a company I am proud to support?

*If I answer no to any of these questions, it means the world cannot afford for me to have this item.

This seems like a lot of questions to have to answer before making every purchase, but again, it’s actually pretty easy if I look at it from the right perspective. Buying items used handles almost all of these questions, assuming I’ve addressed the first question, of whether I’ll actually use the item. Thrift shops have little to no packaging, their employees are afforded the same protections as any other employee in my state, the products come from local people who no longer have use for them, and I am proud to support any business that aims to divert waste from the landfills and find it a good home instead.

The question of durability and quality of construction, of course, are relevant any time a purchase is made, new or used, and will have to be decided on case to case. In my experience, plastic stuff breaks, for example. So I’ll think long and hard before buying it these days, whether it’s new or used.

In thinking about used items, sustainability, and renewability become, in my mind, slightly less important, although still worthy of consideration, when we consider that these items have already been produced and created. We’re not really creating new demand by buying used.

If I am buying a new item, however, I suddenly have a lot of research and thinking to do. I decided though, that this is exactly the point. I do not have a right to just mindlessly consume whatever strikes my fancy just because I have the cash to pay for it. I need to be thinking long and hard about what I consume, and why. My choices don’t just affect me. The more I remember this, the more I will make choices that are good for everybody.

Bueller...? Bueller...?

2008-04-17T18:02:00.001-07:00

IMG_0092
Originally uploaded by aymlis

So this article sounds very intriguing and interesting...but I just don't quite understand it. How about you? Care to explain this to me? Thoughts about its feasibility? Pros? Cons?

farm fresh

2008-04-17T00:24:00.001-07:00

morning water
Originally uploaded by stg_gr1

So last weekend, I picked up my first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box. A CSA is basically the community purchasing/investing directly from/in the farms that produce their food, rather than involving a middle man like a distributor and grocery store chain.

I found a great farm that does a drop-off near me. My best calculation is that between the trip from the farm to the drop-off and the drop-off to me is about 150 miles. Not super local, but a whole lot better (90% better) than the average 1500 miles a meal travels in this country.

But why does it matter where the food comes from? The main thing is that driving a truck, or a train, or a plane to transport our food takes fuel. Fuel pollutes. The less transporting happens, the less pollution that’s created.

Of secondary concern, but still very worthy of consideration, is the freshness of the food we receive. Much of what we eat, regardless of where it is grown, is shipped to distribution centers somewhere in the middle of the country, only to be shipped back to the same state or region where it was originally grown, making what should have been a journey of a few hundred miles one of over a thousand.

Because of the lag time involved with transporting food long distances, it is often picked before it is ripe, then artificially ripened a rapid pace using ethylene gas. Setting aside for a moment what this could potentially do as far as the nutrients of the food are concerned, the production of ethylene itself is “energy intensive”.

Last but not least, I like the fact that I can go visit the farm where my veggies are grown. It’s cool that I’m supporting local people and families who work really hard to keep their small business profitable and responsible. It’s really neat that I can call them up to say, “hey, I’ll be out of town next week, don’t bother packing up my veggies and transporting them.” Finally, I love that the produce they don’t use is donated to a local clinic for low-income women fighting cancer. (The grocery store buys the same amount whether I’m there to shop or not. If they buy too much, it’s trash, or, at best, animal food). For a more complete discussion of why local food is considered a better option from an environmental, societal, and health perspective, see here.

So I’m convinced I’m doing a good thing buying locally, how about my wallet? I’m pretty positive I’m saving money by purchasing a CSA box each week. The produce box costs $17 per week. Last week my box contained a large bag of spinach, two heads of lettuce, cilantro, radishes, carrots, broccoli rabe, green garlic, and asparagus. Considering these items are all organic, I am sure that I would have spent more than $17 if I had purchased all these items at my local market.

Living where I do, I’m lucky that we have some fresh produce available almost year round (the farm takes a break for only three weeks, from mid-December to early January). Not everybody will have this luxury. Pretty much everywhere in the continental US, however, will have some portion of the year where fresh fruits and veggies are available.

Best of all in this whole experience, is that the vegetables actually tasted like…well, vegetables. They are really, really good. I’ve had some each day since I brought them home. And it’s been fun trying new things. I’d never tried green garlic or broccoli rabe before. I can’t wait to see what’s in the box this week!

what's for dinner?

2008-04-16T00:26:00.001-07:00

South Indian Food
Originally uploaded by tracyhunter

I’ve been rather quiet on the subject of food. There are two reasons for this.

The first is the expense. I know it’s better for me to eat organic, and better for the planet for me to eat local, but it also seems really expensive. Buying in bulk definitely helps to alleviate some of the pinch, and buying local and in season helps with the produce expenses. I’ll have more to say on the financial aspect of eating organic and local later.

For now, I want to address the other struggle I’ve been having with eating locally and in season. It’s actually not an issue for me, but I live with somebody who spent the first twenty-one years of his life in India. He really likes (south) Indian food, including a whole variety of vegetables that not only are not grown in this area, but the English language doesn’t even have words for.

Most often, I buy these items frozen, and I have no idea how far they’ve traveled. But I am sure it’s pretty far.

So what to do? The short answer, thus far, is nothing. We often eat different meals anyhow. I don’t enjoy eating rice quite as many times in a week as he does. So he’ll sometimes make something for himself and I’ll do the same. I said at the beginning of this whole project that this was about me, and I did mean that. I’m not forcing my lifestyle changes on anybody, including my partner - I don't think asking him to completely change his dietary habits is a fair request.

It’s kind of a pain to cook two meals though, so we try to eat dinner together as often as possible. This means that sometimes he’ll eat quesadillas or eggplant parmigian with me, and sometimes I’ll eat sambhar, dal, and tindoor with him.

Since I do most of the shopping in the house, I’ve tried to provide better produce items for those items that can be gotten fresh, such as spinach, cilantro, potatoes, cabbage, and cauliflower. Others, I’ll keep buying frozen. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve started making my own yogurt from milk that’s local.

The thing is, the vegetables and the yogurt are just a small part of it. There are so many other spices, rice, lentils, pickles, and such that make up a well-rounded south Indian diet, and the majority of them have to be imported here.

On the other hand, a good portion of these items can be purchased in bulk. We get rice in 20 pound sacks, and just an fyi, but spices are much cheaper to buy a pound at a time in a bag at an Indian market than in those tiny bottles in the grocery store. I can usually get lentils, rice flour, some types of beans, and a few other items in bulk at the Indian grocery store as well.

I’ll confess to buying the pickles pre-made in a jar. Then again, I don’t actually know anybody in the area who can tell me how to make them. Even if I did, from what I do know about it, the tomatoes and mangoes sold in this country have a different enough flavor that if I tried to use them to make the pickles, I wouldn’t end up with the same end product anyway. The other produce that is used for making pickles in large part cannot be purchased fresh here.

I’m learning how to make more and more items, but it certainly is an art to make an entire Indian meal truly from scratch. It feels like I’m trying to write with my left hand every time I try a new recipe. This doesn’t mean it’s not worth the effort, it just means I really have to pace myself so as not to get totally burnt out on the whole thing.

This is certainly an issue I’ll keep reflecting more on. I think what is important for me, again, is setting reasonable, attainable goals for myself and being conscious of the choices I am making.

Tax day bonus!

2008-04-15T09:47:00.001-07:00

Did you overpay somebody besides the IRS and not realize it? Do you owe the IRS and not know where you'll find the cash to pay up? Take a few seconds to check out the missing money website.

I couldn't find any for myself, but I found that my mom was owed some money. Good luck!

Clutter clutter everywhere…

2008-04-15T01:13:00.001-07:00

Desk drawer - selective focus
Originally uploaded by kcdsTM

I had stopped seeing a lot of the clutter around my house, mostly because although I had lots of it, I have enough closet, drawer, and cabinet space that I could keep the clutter and keep the place neat looking. Finally though, I’d had enough. It wasn’t anything major that happened, it was just a growing realization that I have way too much stuff. So I decided to tackle it all. I’m certainly not done yet, but I’ve made a big dent.

I’ve freecycled a bunch of things, sold a few items on ebay, and set aside several large bags of stuff to donate to charity. I even found a few items that were still in the packaging that I returned to Home Depot to make over $20 in store credit! I’d always been in the habit of buying stuff I probably didn’t even need, because I knew I could return it if I didn’t use it. Except I never get around to returning a lot of it. I brought three items back, still in packaging, and now I have some “free money” to use on something I’ll actually need in the future.

Deciding what to do with things isn’t really the challenge though. The tough part is deciding what to get rid of, or where to start. Decluttering a whole house is a big project to take on, especially when that house is filled with the combined clutter from two previously single adult lives.

I did a bunch of poking around online to see how other people were handling their clutter. I found a few good ideas that, combined with a healthy dose of common sense, allowed me to really clear out the unnecessary stuff that’s been cramping my style.

1. Start small – but start: I began my project by picking a single drawer in my kitchen. It wasn’t even my junk drawer, but it was a drawer that I almost never opened. So I opened it, and I took everything out. This became one of the key factors that really helped me to weed out what I didn’t want. Looking into a drawer or cabinet, it was easy for me to say, yeah, I use all that stuff. But when I had to handle each individual item, I realized there probably wasn’t too much point in saving a dumpling maker that I’ve had for six years and never used once, or a piece of plastic with holes in it to measure out spaghetti portions – also never used. I made a box of all such items and freecycled them. Generally, I tried to use that same rule they tell us to use when cleaning out our closets: “Have I worn this in the past year?” If I haven’t used any item in the past year, I set it in a pile that I go through after I’ve put all the “keep” stuff away, and then I seriously consider whether I can live without it. I usually find I can. The best part is that now I can actually see what is left in the drawers and cabinets!
2. Pack it up – or pretend you’re going to: I read this online somewhere (and apologize for not being able to find the link, but I’m not taking credit for this as an original idea). The idea is that if you were moving across the ocean, you’d have to be very selective with the items you’d be able to bring with you, both for reasons of space and cost. So go through the house, room by room, and decide what you would bring with you if you were actually moving out of the country. Obviously, furniture is kind of exempt, but for me, this was a good way to gain some perspective on which of my possessions I really value (and clear out those that I don’t).
3. Close your eyes and memorize: Again, I found this somewhere and have since lost the link, but it’s a great idea even if it’s not mine: Look around a room in your house for a minute or two. Close your eyes, and try to remember every single item in the room. This can be scaled down to the drawer, cabinet, or closet level as well. This was a good exercise for me, because like the packing exercise, it made me spend some time thinking about the items that I forgot. Why did I forget them? In most cases, it was because they weren’t items that I particularly valued or used frequently. That makes them a good candidate for finding a new home.

In addition to no longer being surrounded by stuff I no longer used, or never used in the first place, all of these things were helpful because they reminded me of things that I did have already and could be using. There was a ton of stuff that I’d just forgotten about. Having a better idea of what I do have already will certainly help me to buy less going forward, leading to my two new favorite things, saving money and buying less / reducing my consumption.

What was really cool about this for me was some of the unexpected areas I was able to clean out. My food cupboards were a big one. I try not to buy stuff that I won’t use, but when I took each and every item out, I was amazed at some of the stuff I found that I know I won’t use. I know there are plenty of food pantries that will appreciate the bag of groceries I cleared out though.

The other thing that amazed me was that we had only moved a year ago. It was a cross country move, so we had done (I thought) a fair amount of cleaning out at the time. What I realize now is that having a packing service handle boxing everything up excused me from really having to evaluate what I needed or wanted to keep. Next time we move, I’ll make myself pack each individual item. I have a feeling I’ll end up deciding there’s a lot that I don’t actually need to hold onto, even after my recent round of de-cluttering.

Chill out!

2008-04-14T00:14:00.003-07:00

7.jpg
Originally uploaded by Andrew Butts

Just a few thoughts about how I’ve been trying to be more efficient with another one of my appliances: the refrigerator. I kept reading all these things telling me to clean my refrigerator coils. The EPA, among others, recommends this. Oddly, I couldn’t find any reliable stats telling me exactly how much money / energy it would save me to do this, but I figure that in the worst case scenario, my house is a little bit cleaner, so what’s the harm?

There are great instructions at e-how on how to actually clean them. I had no idea what I was doing, but following these instructions, it took me about ten minutes. I even put it on my calendar for six months from now so I’ll be sure to remember to do it again.

I don’t even know why I was surprised, but I did find that there are special gadgets out there specifically designed for cleaning the refrigerator coils. I did just fine with a vacuum cleaner and a damp sponge. I can’t see why I would need a special brush to handle this job. Plus, with my new attempt to focus on how much I’m buying and consuming, it seems a silly purchase when I know I’ll use it no more than twice a year.

The EPA also recommends double checking to make sure that the gasket seals properly – it’s the rubber part around the door that actually seals it shut when you close it. It’s kind of a no-brainer, but if the door’s not shut tight, cool air will leak out and it will have to work harder (ie use more energy).

Obviously opening the door let’s warm air in, so I’m trying to be cognizant of how often I do that (and then do it less when I can!)

Again, it may seem obvious, but if I put food away while it’s still really hot, it takes more energy to cool it down than if I just let it cool at room temperature for a while. The FDA says the maximum time to safely leave food out when it’s over 90 F is one hour, or two hours when it’s cooler.

I also looked up on the FDA website to see what temperature they recommend as safe for food storage. No sense in keeping it colder than needed, right? Apparently I can safely turn the temperature up to 40 degrees (F) in the refrigerator and 0 degrees in my freezer. Done!

As I keep being reminded, these small steps don’t even begin to match those taken by some. A perusal of some of the green blogs out there reveals several who have ditched the refrigerator altogether. Good for them. Clearly, they’ll be saving a lot more energy than I will. What I need to keep reminding myself, however, is that this process is not about making the most drastic, impressive changes possible, but making small changes that I can maintain for a long while to come.

Sold...to the highest bidder

2008-04-13T08:49:00.001-07:00

Television
Originally uploaded by dailyinvention

I’m so angry right now I can hardly see straight. It’s no wonder I often feel that the urge to BUY STUFF is so overwhelming. I saw this mention of the Mackenzie Blue book series on Fake Plastic Fish and felt like screaming. It’s a series of books, supposedly meant to help tweens “discover more about going "green," [and] learn about the "global" landscape.”

So, what’s wrong with these Mackenzie Blue books? They’re basically selling advertising space to the highest bidder. Yep, the books are accepting corporate sponsorship and will use product placement within their pages to push those brands that have the cash to pony up. That’s it for me. I’m not buying anything else from Harper Collins. I’ve cut back my book purchases lately anyway through paperbackswap, but this is just too disgusting to stomach.

Maybe if a book wants to focus on “going green” they can make their message about buying less stuff. I am just so appalled. I really cannot even believe that a book whose one focus is getting people to buy more is claiming to be having a positive impact on young girls and the planet.

What about the girls who cannot afford to buy the brand name shoes that her favorite character wears? What about her self-esteem? Seems to me that when literature becomes just one more societal reminder about how much you need to have in order to be cool and fit in, it just is one more way to beat down our young girls and give them more reasons to feel poorly about themselves.

What about the girl who never cared what brand of jeans she wore until she read this book? Is she going to be a happier, more well-adjusted individual because she realizes that she can’t realize her full potential without that label on the back of her pants?

Lucky for me, there’s one site that’s already written a letter to Harper Collins editor Susan Katz. You can edit the letter as you see fit and send with your electronic signature. The original press release from the publisher is available there as well.

I’ve been irritated for a while now about how advertising is like an annoying mosquito that no matter how much you swat at it, it just doesn’t go away. I remember a flight I took maybe a year and a half ago. The stupid tray table had been transformed into a mini-billboard that I had to look at it if I wanted a place to set my drink. How irritating. I was paying them to sit there, and they were taking advantage of my captivity to let somebody else try to sell me more crap.

That was irritating, but I almost suffered a serious case of air rage when, just as I was about to drift off to sleep, the flight attendant announced that they would be passing through the cabin to give us all the chance to apply for their credit card, offered jointly by the airline and some huge national bank that has terrible customer service. They’d give us something like a billion bonus miles if we signed up before the plane landed. I’m surprised they didn’t throw in a free gift if we used the card immediately to buy something from the Sky Mall catalog. Something about crossing the line from the more passive ad on my tray table to actually waking me up to force me to listen to this crap made me think homicidal thoughts.

I think my irritation with being forced to watch advertising began in high school. In one of the many poor decisions made by the school district in Manchester, NH (shame on you…and yes, I’m still bitter!), was the inclusion of channel one television in home room every day. For those of you who were lucky enough never to be forced to endure this ridiculous programming, it’s basically a way to force kids to watch advertising for a few minutes every day by hiding it in the middle of “news” programming and providing free televisions to the schools in exchange for them selling their students to the corporate sponsors. I think this is part of the reason I still hate CNN and The View…Anderson Cooper and Lisa Ling were both “reporters” on the moronic news program offered by channel one.

By the way, to any school officials out there, it’s illegal for one individual to make a contract promising that another individual will do something. A school doesn’t have the right to sell their students (this should be a no-brainer, shouldn’t it?). In my school, however, we were told that if we didn’t watch the programming, we would be given detention. We were specifically told that we were not allowed to use the time to study or work on school assignments. The more I reflect back on this, the more I feel angry all over again. Isn’t studying academic subjects the reason we were in school in the first place?!?

I suppose I could have staged a little civil disobedience, and refused to watch, making a big scene and sucking up the detention. I was not exactly outgoing in high school though, and basically spent most of the time there hoping nobody would talk to me or notice me. Plus I was afraid of authority figures and the idea of getting a detention would have made me sick to my stomach.

So I watched every bit of advertising they shoved down our throats – which, by my calculation, amounts to 360 minutes over a school year with 180 days. Over four years of high school, that comes to 1,440 minutes, or 24 HOURS OF COMMERCIALS MY SCHOOL FORCED ME TO WATCH! Of course, my math may be wrong here, but if so, I’ll blame it on the fact that I spent 24 hours watching advertisements when I could have been actually learning something. No wonder our country is behind the rest of the world in nearly every subject.

I apologize if this has been a bit long winded and ranting, but I believe that the barrage of advertisements we all have forced on us on a daily basis in nearly every situation we may find ourselves is one part of the reason we all feel compelled to purchase so much, which is a big part of the reason we waste so much. When our books and schools become just one more opportunity for big companies to push products, it does make me wonder what hope there is for us.

DIY Ginger Ale

2008-04-12T00:10:00.001-07:00

Wilkinson Ginger Ale
Originally uploaded by yoppy

I figured I’d continue on with the beverage theme. I’m not a big soda person. I’m originally from New England, so if you drink something called tonic, cola, or pop, we’re talking about the same thing here. I enjoy it now and then, and I’ll drink it if it’s in the fridge or sometimes if I eat in a restaurant. It’s a now and then thing for those times I don’t feel like water, coffee, or tea. I never thought about the impact too much, because unlike water, I can’t exactly turn on the kitchen faucet and have Diet Coke come out.

I did start wondering though, since I’ve been hearing so much about the environmental benefits of eating local, so I did some quick research. According to Coca-Cola’s own website, they use more than 2.5 liters of water for every liter of soda that is produced. Put another way, they waste more water than what ends up in the bottle. I’m not sure how they calculate these numbers, but assuming they’re painting the best picture possible, it makes sense to believe that this is a bare minimum. If I then consider the cost of transporting the finished product to the store and such, it starts to seem like there are a whole lot of resources being used to produce one beverage.

In addition to all that, I don’t really know what goes in to a bottle of store bought soda, but I imagine it involves lots of artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. Common sense kind of tells you that those things aren’t that great for you.

So I decided to see if I could make my own. There’s no additional packaging, no transport impact, and I use only the water that I put into the bottle, plus what I use to wash it after. I found a recipe to make ginger ale that seemed relatively easy on wikihow. They also have instructions for cream soda, root beer, and even “Open-Cola” (I didn’t even know that term applied to things besides software).

I made a batch using an empty two liter bottle I rescued from the recycling bin. A 2 liter bottle of ginger ale at the store costs roughly $1.35. To make it, the ingredients cost about 95 cents, by my rough estimate (10 cents for the ginger, 5 cents for the yeast, 50 cents for the lemon, 30 cents sugar, water, negligible). The savings aren’t very significant, but in addition to the other reasons, I’d say it is worth it for me to make rather than buy, especially since it was super easy and the results were pretty tasty (even my picky partner thought so). Here’s the recipe:

1C. Sugar
¼ teaspoon active yeast
1 ½ tablespoons grated ginger
Juice from one lemon
Tap water

Use a funnel to pour the sugar into your empty bottle. Add the yeast and shake it around to mix them together. (The sugar is what the yeast will react with to make the carbonation. Yeast won’t react with artificial sweeteners.)

Mix the ginger and lemon juice together in a bowl or measuring cup. Add it to the bottle, and then fill the bottle with water to about one inch from the top.

Cap bottle tightly. Tilt bottle back and forth to dissolve the sugar. Let sit for 24 - 48 hours (until bottle doesn’t dent easily when you press on it). Don’t let it sit for too long or it will explode because of the pressure that is building up. Once the bottle feels hard, refrigerate until fully chilled. Open carefully and enjoy!

PS: Somebody was kind enough to remind me that "open carefully" really does mean just that...the pressure inside the bottle can be dangerous and cause the cap to come flying off at a high rate of speed, similar to what can happen to champagne bottles when they're opened. So make sure it's not pointed at anybody when you open it.

Speaking of champagne, the pressure and bubbles in the bottle are created when the yeast and sugar react in a fermentation process. Fermentation is what makes alcohol. Although the research I did indicated that the levels will be minimal, it's not impossible that you'll end up with a slightly alcoholic beverage. So enjoy responsibly.

H2...oh!

2008-04-11T00:07:00.001-07:00

water bottles
Originally uploaded by habitatgirl

Water is the most basic of all beverages. It doesn’t need any prep, it doesn’t contain any calories, and we need it to survive. Our bodies are made up of two thirds water. So when I imbibe some, I’m doing something good, right?

But, as my wise mom has been asking herself, what’s up with all these bottles? Why have crowds of us become convinced that we shouldn’t drink the tap water?

There are some places in the world where it is unsafe to drink what comes out of the faucet. I certainly do not live in one of those places. My water is just fine. It tastes a little funny to me sometimes, but I think it’s at least partly because I’m expecting it to not be as delicious as that prettily packaged, well marketed stuff that I pay a whole lot more for. Let me remind myself once again, that just because there’s a picture of a mountain lake does not mean that’s where the water comes from. It could just as well be municipal water from anywhere on the planet.

The cost of transporting the water from the bottling plant to the store is tremendous. Then there’s the waste. The caps are often not recyclable at all, and the “recycling” of plastic bottles is really better described as “downcycling” – it’s not the same as recycling a glass bottle, which can be made into another glass bottle. Plastic degrades as it is recycled, and therefore a plastic bottle cannot be used to make a new plastic bottle…that requires new plastic. That's assuming that the bottles even get recycled in the first place, which most aren't according to this article from MSN. Plus there’s a label on each bottle, and the cardboard tray that the bottles sit in together, and the plastic wrapped around all of that…all this for something we can get by turning the kitchen faucet!

Most of us have heard something about plastics being not so great for our health either. Read more here if you want to get all the nasty details about the possible health problems resulting from excess plastic use.

Let’s not forget to look at the financial side of all of this. California is one of the three states that requires a deposit on plastic bottles. I always recycle, but using my curbside bin, not by returning them to the store. So I pay 5 cents extra for every bottle of water I buy. According to one source, the average American drinks 210 half liter bottles of water each year - that's $10.50 just in deposits! As far as the cost of the water itself, the stuff from the tap is significantly cheaper than the stuff I used to buy in the store. So much cheaper that it is basically free in comparison. What’s not cheaper is the bottle to carry it around in.

Alternatives to plastic water bottles are limited. I suppose I could carry around a glass jar that I reuse, but that seems potentially dangerous and messy. The other option I’ve found is aluminum bottles. Sigg is currently the accessory du jour for those who are hip to the problems of plastics, but the company has actually been around for over 100 years. The bottles are pricey, but they should last virtually forever, according to information on their website. Plus there’s the sort of invaluable health benefit of 0% leaching of chemicals from the bottle to your drinks. I like the fact that you can buy a replacement cap if you break or lose yours, and not have to replace the entire bottle. They’ve also not neglected to appeal to our desire for pretty packaging and have a huge variety of designs to choose from (you can even mix and match the caps and the bottles!). When buy nothing month is up, I’m going to think about this one here.

The one concern I have to research a bit more here is the cleaning tablets and brush that you are encouraged to buy (more packaging; plus, what goes in to those cleaning tablets?). It seems from the sites FAQs that this extra purchase is probably not necessary.

So another rule is born...no more plastic water bottles!

Extreme Green

2008-04-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

I’ve been writing about all the little things I’ve been doing to lead a slightly greener life. There are some who are taking some rather extreme measures, however. They've all recognized that to make lasting changes, we need to start by reducing: what we buy, what we throw away, and what we use. So next time I think that it’s too tough to take a really quick shower or make my own yogurt, I’m going to think about one of these people:

1. No impact man: Colin Beavan lives in NYC and is seeing if he, along with his wife and daughter, can live an entire year without making any net impact on the environment.

2. 365 Days of Trash: Dave has decided that in order to really be accountable for our impact on the planet, we have to first acknowledge how much waste we really do create. So he's saving all of his trash throughout the year.

3. Fake Plastic Fish: One woman in Oakland, CA documents her attempts to rid plastic from her life (this is a lot tougher than it might sound!)

4. Riot 4 Austerity: Based on the premise that for long-term sustainability, those of us in the rich world must cut our emissions by 90%. They have a group of participants who are actively working to do this in seven different categories and track their monthly progress towards this goal.

5. The Compact: The participants in The Compact have all pledged to buy nothing new for one year. They can beg, borrow, or buy it used.

6. Waste Wear Daily: This woman has pledged to wear only clothing she finds in dumpsters for a whole year.

Most (OK, all) of these efforts are far more than I am willing to undertake right now, especially since there are two of us in my home, but I think what I find valuable in all these sites is the example of people REALLY practicing what they preach. That is what I find inspiring.