It's So Easy Being Green

Gone fishing...

2007-10-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately but I am currently traveling around Argentina. It's time to *disconnect* from the world of computers, so please check back in a few weeks!

Death to the oversized t-shirt!

2007-09-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's not a great idea to take scissors to fabric after midnight and/or a couple glasses of wine, BUT I think I'm on to something here...I've repurposed 3 oversized t-shirts into tank tops! Problem 1: I have a gazillion XXL t-shirts that I only wear to sleep in or to exercise. How do we end up with so many free t-shirts that get consigned to the sleepwear/exercise/bum around the house category? (I want to see companies/events start to give out shirts in women's sizes and if they're too small for guys, tell THEM to deal with it--give it to a girlfriend, use it for when you dress up in drag on Halloween, whatever. I'm tired of men's sizes hegemony. Hmph.) For some reason I brought 3 of these offending shirts with me on my trip to Argentina, ostensibly to sleep in. I mean, these are bad--so unflattering that I would probably not even wear them around my own family. Problem 2: I need tank tops for my upcoming travels to other parts of the country and don't want to spend the money on cheap, poorly made ones. So now I've killed 2 birds with 1 stone and have 3 tank tops that I would actually wear out of the house, and 3 fewer unflattering sleep-only t-shirts. The sample shirt pictured was actually my dad's around the time I was born. It's quite sentimental because the Univ of Arkansas is both his and my mom's alma mater. I hesitated to cut into it, but I'm pretty sure they would rather me actually get good use out of it and "represent" the Razorbacks in public, even if it means altering its original shape, right? Let's hope so. Here's what to do to make your own original (albeit, quite "funky") tank tops.

1) Find a "real" tank top with a shape you like to use as a pattern. Place it over the t-shirt so that you can visualize the shape you want, and start cutting. I do the neck first, and you can get creative with that shape. So many choices: v-neck, crew, zigzag, whatever! I've been cutting the necks out of shirts for years because tight necks happen to be terribly unflattering on me. A word of caution: On your first pass, cut less than you might assume you should, unless you're going for the Flashdance look.

2) Cut the arms off. This is the point of no return, and results in a look that I can only describe as "all-American dude barbequing on a speedboat". Yes, the arm holes will extend well down your ribs. But don't worry, you can fix it if you move on to the next step...

3) Sew the arm holes together. Try on the shirt and pin the arm flaps together. This is your chance to get creative with the stitching.

4) Optional: For a more fitted look, gather the fabric at the center of your back add a few stitches. This is what I call the Gap mannequin phenomenon: You know how their shirts always seem so well fitted on the mannequins, and then you feel misled when you walk around to the back and see that they are clipped? Well, there's nothing stopping you from doing this to your own shirts with a few stitches. Maybe it's the wine talking but I like the way this one turned out. Sorry about the bad shadows--the lighting in this room is not so great.

Here's the new and improved Razorbacks shirt. I don't have a "before" pic, but trust me, this is a big improve- ment. It's settled...I'm never buying another tank top again. Oh, and the scraps from the neck band? Headbands, of course.

Repurposing junk mail

2007-09-19T13:24:00.000-07:00

Bulk mail. Perhaps the most annoying daily reminder of useless waste and pathetic, uninspired advertising. I just always wonder, what percentage of the population actually pours through these mailers and runs out to snap up the bottles of Miracle Whip for the bargain price of $1.89? Undboubtedly, most pieces of junk mail travel a short distance from mailbox to trash can. A while ago, I spent the few minutes it took to stop the various bulk mail bundles from arriving at my apartment--If you haven't already done the same, the info is here. The good news is it worked, and fairly quickly. But I moved into a temporary housesitting situation for a couple months and was faced with the massive amounts of "fresh boneless meat flaps!", "2 for 1 cans of creamed corn" announcements all over again. I finally got around to submitting my friends' address to the companies' "do not send" lists, but in the meantime, for weeks the mailers piled up. I refused to throw them away, vowing to find some use for them, damnit. Running late to a birthday party one day, I ended up wrapping the present with some grocery store's weekly specials, and I must admit I was incredibly pleased with the way it turned out. The same glossy, pandering ads for pork chops and bell peppers that made me cringe at the mailbox actually looked pretty cool around sharp corners. And as my friend Tracy says, wrapping is all about the ribbon anyway (so save every ribbon you get and reuse those too). I was so pleased with the result that I found myself looking forward to the next opportunity I had to wrap something--anything--with salvaged bulk mailers. I have enough just from one month's worth of mail to wrap every present I'll ever give out. So first things first, get on the "do not send" lists. But while the flow of waste is still coming, find a use for the bright colors. They'd make great matting behind photos in a frame...you could cut them into thin strips to make bookmarks, or make them into unique envelopes...What else?

And the winner is...

2007-09-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

So I got 30 entries with the correct answers: The Lunapads kids are Aiden, Genevieve, and Garrett. In case you're wondering, I wrote all of your names on strips of paper, and did the old fashioned thing--pulled one out of a hat. And that lucky name was...EMILY B. from L.A.!! Congratulations, Emily! And thank you so much to everyone who participated. The best part was reading about why you're interested in trying reusable menstrual products and your experiences of trying them already. It was so encouraging to hear from all of you, so thanks for sharing your thoughts! And, for all those who participated but didn't win, I hope this is just the beginning of your relationship with Lunapads...Order some now! Remember, while the initial cost is a little more than what you pay for disposables, after a few months you will actually be saving money by using them. And we know all the other benefits, of course! So thank you, spread the reusable word, and let me know how you like your new Lunapads...

Read the original Lunapads post here.

Last day to enter Lunapads contest

2007-09-15T15:20:00.001-07:00

I'll be drawing for the winner tomorrow, so send me your answers before the end of the day! If you haven't already entered, read about Lunapads and the contest here.

WINNER WILL BE POSTED MONDAY...

Read it: "Plenty"

2007-09-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Right before I came to Argentina, I read “Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally", the book by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon that has brought much recent attention to eating locally grown food. It was a great, fast read, and details how the authors spent one year eating only foods whose origins they could trace to within 100 miles of their Vancouver apartment.
While cynics might dismiss their experiment as just another gimmick in the “let’s try something sustainable for one year and write a book about it” trend, it’s clear from the opening pages that this was anything but that. “Plenty” is an authentic and heart-felt attempt by one couple to wrestle control back from our highly flawed, destructive, polluting and wasteful agricultural system. Ok, this is starting to sound like a newspaper book review, but bear with me. They trace how an impromptu feast from all local ingredients illuminated their lurking suspicions that something just isn’t right with how we eat, and that they could do better. The book details their journey from subsisting primarily on potatoes for the first month…to educating themselves about what is grown around them and the satisfaction of knowing precisely where each apple and onion came from…enjoying the abundant months of farmers’ markets...to discovering how grounding and enjoyable some old-school culinary arts can be: Think canning tomatoes for winter, turning cabbage into sauerkraut, and making cheese. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?!

By now you’ve probably heard the statistics. The average ingredient in any given North American meal travels at least 1500 miles--and often many more--to get to our plates. Think about all the fossil fuels used up and burned just to bring you a tomato that never gets ripe in December. And why? Somewhere along the way we’ve gotten spoiled, expecting oranges in january and tropical bananas year round. Does anyone actually recall the days of seasonal fruit? I am not old enough to have that memory…And as any foodie will tell attest, it’s a gastronomic crime to eat out of season, mediocre, unripe produce that is a poor imitation of its seasonal counterparts. On the other hand, eating locally can be as gourmet as it gets, like at Chez Panisse, the original regional foodie restaurant in Berkeley. A couple months ago, I got treated to one of the best meals I've ever had...Just look at that dessert!

But Alisa and James didn’t just eat locally grown produce. We’re talking grains, eggs, fish, and dairy products too—their entire diet. That meant honey instead of sugar, and they went without any wheat products for almost the entire year until they found one lone wheat farmer at the edge of their 100 miles. But they discovered other grains, and other ways of making balanced meals. Obviously, their experiment automatically ruled out supermarket food, chocked full, as it is, of a medley of ingredients and “flavors” of whose origins are unknown (and disturbing to ponder). Eating locally necessarily means eliminating processed, factory made foods, which is not only healthier, but also makes a statement for a smaller, healthier, and more connected food production system.

What’s most illuminating about "Plenty" is that Alisa and James discover that eating locally is not any kind of deprivation or punishment. On the contrary, they found eating a more joyful experience and became not only more connected to what they put in their bodies, but also to the very specific place they live and to the conditions that make their food possible. When a toxic spill killed the area’s salmon supply in a nearby river, they felt it deeply, and went without salmon for the year. I suspect that if we were all eating more locally, we would more quickly see how dependent we are on the delicate balance of nature that makes our nourishment possible. If we knew where our food came from, we would undoubtedly be more alert to the early signs when something is off balance, and we would hopefully be inclined to react more quickly.

So what to do? The easiest step to eat locally is of course, visiting our farmers’ market regularly. Most have way more offerings than just scrumptious produce—at mine I can get eggs, honey, the best cheese in the world, milk, hummus, bread, nuts and dried fruits. I’ve yet to try the grass-fed bison, but I bet it’s juicy. Discover what your area has to offer! (See below for how to find local food). Host a local-foods potluck, which will be a good excuse to hunt down some local wine or beer. As summer comes to a close, get crazy and can some fruit to enjoy in the winter. I can already see it—canning parties becoming the newest hipster pastime...And be sure to check out the 100-mile diet website and get inspired by how many people are taking on the local eating challenge, at some level or another. Eating as locally as we can is one crucial step towards creating a more sustainable way of feeding ourselves.

P.S. Eating in Argentina has been an adventure. On the one hand, out of economic necessity, everything is much more local—I’m pretty sure most of the food I’ve eaten comes from within a couple hundred miles, because they just can’t afford to truck food thousands of kilometers. But on the other hand, there’s not much diversity—tons of pizza, pasta, meat and bread, and not many “whole foods”, as we would call them. So I’ve found myself almost obsessively searching for decidedly unlocal foods like, peanut butter (I’ve heard tales of its existence in at least one store in Buenos Aires, but have yet to find it), which is somewhat legit because I need protein. A little less justified was my quest for salsa, simply because I’ve been craving some spice and in my normal life I subsist on Mexican food. When I finally found some “Newman’s Own Chunky Salsa”—I know, not even the good stuff--in the “Imported Foods” aisle of a huge supermarket, I unthinkingly snapped it up. Yikes—I can’t imagine the thousands of miles that jar traveled! Woops. Ironically, far from being the satisfying and familiar explosion of flavor I was anticipating, eating it has been a reminder of why it’s a good idea to eat locally. You see, you just can’t find good tortilla chips here.

Check out this great resource to find locally grown food near you, at farmer’s markets or through CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture): Local Harvest. Just type in your zip code...You can even search for specific foods and it will tell you if there is anything in your area!

The 100-Mile Diet.. Has lots of fun features and lets you find your own 100 miles.

Ask your local bookstore to order "Plenty", or order it from Powell's.

Pop your own: DIY popcorn

2007-08-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

Scrolling through Treehugger today, I was reminded of one of the many tasks on my blog to-do list: Spread the word about making your own popcorn!
A few months ago at work this became my favorite mid-afternoon-slump snack when some bulk kernels and paper bags surfaced in the kitchen (I think a coworker was trying to avoid the caloric-rich microwavable stuff). We should all be avoiding it, and not just for our own health. You've probably heard by now that the "butter" is well, quite artificial--its real name is diacetyl, and that workers who handle the stuff are developing a kind of lung disease. Definitely not something I want to be contributing to, or ingesting. Besides, the real stuff tastes so much better. It's easy: Get some bulk kernels at your favorite health food store (another point for ye 'ol bulk bins), and put them in a small paper bag. You pop it for about the same amount of time you would do a pre-bought bag, but stay close to listen for the pops slowing down. Treehugger suggests adding a slab of butter at the beginning, but I prefer to melt the butter separately and pour it over once I've transferred the popped corn to a bowl. That way you can save the bag for the next popping, and there's something delightfully gluttonous about pouring melted butter over, well, anything. An alternative, as one smarty-pants commenter noted on Treehugger, you can avoid the paper bag by heating some oil in a pan and cooking your kernels that way. I've yet to try it the slower way, but I do have vague memories of my dad popping corn over the stove, and I'm sure it doesn't really take that much longer. Add some salt and it's a totally delicious snack (and low-cal if you forgo the melted butter). Not only are you avoiding a nasty "butter-like" chemical that I can't even pronounce, but anytime I replace food from a factory with something I "make" myself, things feel a bit more right in the world.

Here's an incredibly sad Washington Post article about a worker with "popcorn workers' lung". The stuff still isn't regulated.

And here's Treehugger's take on DIY popcorn.

This post is about women's periods. Read on.

2007-08-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is ridiculous. For a couple months now I've been trying to write about my experience of starting to use reusable menstrual products, and for some reason, I just can't do it. The problem is, when I've broached this issue with friends, the reaction has been less than enthusiastic. There seem to be really deep-seeded assumptions that women's periods are "gross", something to just suffer our way through every month--and that the last thing we'd want to do is reuse anything associated with them. There's quite a duality when it comes to our thinking about our nether regions, isn't there? They have their acceptable functions (sex), and the gross ones (peeing, periods). Of course, as we know, sex can also be lumped into the "dirty and gross" category, and has been historically for many cultures.

But we are postmodern and it would be sexist to classify women's sexuality as dirty. We know better than that, and indeed, in popular culture, the female orgasm has lately become synonymous with feminist empowerment. But while the covers of women's magazines are plastered with headlines about achieving the perfect orgasm and helping your partner find your g-spot, we never question the assumption that menstruation is something dirty that needs to be sanitized. At least, I didn't give much thought to the assumption, until I started using reusable menstrual products--specifically, Lunapads products. I'm not saying that I wish my period was all month long, but my relationship with it has completely changed over the last year since I began using reusable menstrual products. A dissertation could be written on our fixation with sanitizing menstruation (and I'm sure plenty have been), but for now, I'll just talk about why I no longer use tampons and why this post isn't titled "Girls only! No boys allowed!" Let's grow up, folks!

A couple years ago my sister told me that she had started using a cup to catch her menstrual flow, which at the time, seemed like the most crunchy granola thing I’d ever heard. I had never given much thought to what might be wrong with tampons or pads (besides maybe that one "dangers of tampons" email that went around a few years ago), and I definitely didn’t know there was an alternative. Then last year, as most of you know, I started swearing off all things disposable: bags, silverware, bottles, cups, chop sticks, you name it. So one day when I was browsing the aisles of my local health food store and came across The Diva Cup--a reusable alternative to tampons, suddenly the idea of a reusable menstrual product didn’t seem so far out there—it actually made a lot of sense. So, I made my purchase and haven’t looked back since. (Full disclosure: I was a guest blogger on Lunapads' blog and they sent me additional products to try out. But I would still be raving about their products even without the free schwag--I swear!)

Here are the stats on disposable menstrual product usage: The average woman will use about 12,000 tampons or pads in her lifetime. In the U.S. alone we use--and of course throw away--around 20 billion tampons and pads a year. That's a lot of waste, and doesn't even count all the individual packaging and boxes. And don't forget about all the pollution caused and resources used in the manufacturing of single-use products. Switching from disposable to reusable in as many areas of our lives as possible is an important piece of the sustainable puzzle.

If the waste issue doesn't convince you, maybe the health angle will. Turns out there seems to have been truth to that email touting the dangers of tampons. To start with, contrary to the pure, white image Tampax and others would have us believe, tampons are chock full of chemicals and bleach. They're not even 100% cotton! Synthetic fibers are added to increase absorbency but also amplify toxins of a certain bacteria and that’s what can cause the dreaded Toxic Shock Syndrome.(Remember, tampons actively absorb the flow, they don't just catch it naturally.) So in the last few years, when people started realizing that these synthetic fibers weren't really the best thing to have inside us, they've phased out all but one kind--viscose rayon. Manufacturers say it’s harmless, but the FDA relies on testing by the manufacturers themselves, and we all trust what companies say about their products, right? Also, while tampons are no longer bleached with chlorine, the "chlorine-free" bleaching process can still generate dioxin, aka, a scary, known carcinogen. Then there are the chemicals that are sprayed on the cotton in the farming process, etc. etc. Funny what we let inside our most intimate areas without questioning the origins, isn't it? :) Here's more info on tampon safety.

Enter Lunapads. Founder Madeline Shaw--a former fashion designer from Vancouver--was having health problems associated with her periods and sought an alternative. She started using cloth pads, then created her own product that turned into her own company. Not only did she start a thriving company with a great product, but she also created a great model for running a sustainable business--good for the earth, good for our health, and good for the workers (kids are welcome in their office). All in all, it seems like a totally rad company that I am happy to be supporting, and the kinda warm and fuzzy place I only dream of working at.

So, what is the Diva Cup? It's a small cup made out of medical-grade silicon, which means nothing will leach into your body. (This is the same kind of silicon used in baby bottle nipples and joint replacements--NOT in bad '80's boob jobs). It catches the flow, and you empty it every 12 hours. You wash it and store in a little pouch. It's that easy. Here's more info on the Diva Cup.

The Diva Cup did take some getting used to after a lifetime of tampon usage. Difference #1: You actually have to touch yourself. Scandalous, isn’t it?! The only thing I can say about that is, if you let others touch you there, you should be comfortable in the area also! Difference #2: Using the cup, you get to see your flow. Amidst our hide it-clean it-bleach it culture of female “hygiene”, this is a radical moment. Not only is it simply cool to see the amount of flow, but there’s also something totally liberating about it being visible. It’s not something to be hidden away like a dirty little secret. Anyone who’s been in psychoanalysis knows that it’s what we keep hidden that is what really traps us, so taken on a cultural level, as long as our periods are something to be hidden and cleaned up, as a culture we’re ashamed about the essence of our womanhood. So, without question, using The Diva Cup has made me feel much more connected to my femaleness, and has brought me face to face with the sexist presumptions lurking in my unconscious.

In addition to the Diva Cup, Lunapads also sells actual Lunapads (pictured above). I'm not a huge pad person, but these are amazing for night usage. They come in great bright colors, and you simply rinse them after using them, then wash them in a normal load. Oh, and they also have really cool products like Lunapanties which are underwear with a thin liner sown in for backup purposes. You can tell this is a company run by women.

I can say "it's not gross" until the cows come home, but it's a bit of a catch-22: Using the Lunapads products is what has caused the paradigm shift in my thinking on this issue. All I can say is give them a try. And, since I was a guest blogger on their site, Lunapads is offering a special contest for my readers! Check out their website and send me the names of the owners' children. The winner will be drawn randomly from those who send me the correct responses. The winner will receive a package of sample Lunapads products...woohoo, who can resist schwag?! DEADLINE: September 15th, so check out their page and email me your answers!!

Lunapads

Also, I'd love to hear why you guys think we've collectively swallowed the "periods are gross" pill...

UPDATE: Here's the link to my post on the Lunapads blog...and a big picture of my head!

Make your own... Sweatbands!

2007-07-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, someone had the audacity to steal my gym bag out of my car. I actually can't complain too much because the lock on my passenger door has been broken for months, and I've neglected to fix it. You could say I have a lackadaisical approach to non-essential car maintenance, so it was just a matter of time until someone benefited from my laziness. Luckily, my running shoes weren't in the bag, so said person made off with some pretty valuable booty: an old sports bra, sweat pants, and t-shirt that had been demoted to the exercise wardrobe. Annoying that I'm down one rotation of workout gear BUT, the worst part of the incident is that they got my headband. Now, THAT pisses me off. I've only been a serious exerciser for about a year, but I've learned a couple important things since then: A) I am a much happier person after a good run, and B) I sweat profusely and am miserable without a headband. The ladies with long hair know what I'm talking about here. Nothing ruins a good workout like your sweat acting as an adhesive between your bangs and forehead. The point is, the headband--yes, I only had one--was exceedingly valuable and I needed to replace it immediately.

I realized that instead of a headband, what I really needed was a sweatband that does double duty--keeps the hair back and absorbs the sweat. Just as I was about to dash off to American Apparel and pony up $8 for a piece of fabric that had been given the "cool" stamp of approval, I thought better of it. The headband/sweatband is such a basic shape that surely, I had something that could do double duty. That's right, it was time for a little DIY fun, folks! (For those readers not in their 20's, DIY is hipster-short for old-fashioned "do it yourself". The term has gained mainstream popularity in the last few years--there's even a DIY network and a magazine (Ready Made).) Since we are so completely dependent on huge corporations for the majority of the "things" in our lives these days, the idea of refashioning and repurposing--doing anything yourself instead of buying it--is a radical act. And of course, when we reuse something we already own instead of buying a new product, we avoid using up more resources and energy. Read more about DIY culture gone mainstream on Wikipedia.

Turns out I had several headbands just waiting to be cut out of the waistbands of old tights. This has to be the easiest DIY project ever: Cut the waistband out and, voila, you have a semi-absorbent headband. Since mine were ballet tights that I'd been carting around for, oh, 10 years, my headbands are now black and ballet pink. I'm the least crafty person EVER, but this tiny accomplishment has inspired me to scour my closet for any bits of clothing that can be repurposed to a better use. Second discovery: scraps of cut-off t-shirt necks give a boring ponytail pizazz! Also, I've declared the next few weeks "Make do with what I have month", as I'm attempting to spend as little money as possible before my sabbatical. It's interesting how creative you can get out of necessity. Next step: Make potholders out of the rest of the nylons, like my sister and I did as kids, and deplete all the food in my kitchen before I buy more.

Oh, and among its varied headband offerings, American Apparel is selling a style that is undoubtedly the cut-out waistbands of tights for $3.50.

UPDATE 6/9--Ok, now this is a real coincidence. What are the chances that within a couple days, I happen upon two totally distinct styles of DIY sweatbands?! So I was cutting a pair of old sweatpants into summer running shorts, and as I trimmed them down to get the right leg length, noticed that I had two totally perfect ABSORBENT sweatbands!!

Now, unlike the bands featured above (which I still totally heart, don't get me wrong), these can handle some heavy-duty sweat. Just make sure you use a thinner part of the sweatpant leg, such as the area close to the knee, so that the band fits tightly. And, as tempting as it might be to have your very own unique sweatband, please don't take scissors to a perfectly good pair of sweatpants. Only use worn ones that don't serve full-leg coverage well anymore. And use the rest of the leg material for something else...I'm saving mine for some yet unforeseen purpose. I think I have enough sweatbands for now.

Squeeze your own

2007-06-27T01:11:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, I made the best purchase I can recall in a long time: a stainless steel hand citrus squeezer for a whopping $5. In no time, I was in the habit of squeezing my own orange juice several times a week, which felt downright luxurious.

More accurately, it felt simultaneously indulgent--given that fresh-squeezed OJ is a favorite of the yuppie set-- and thrifty for exactly that same reason. It felt like I was bucking the system--like haha, see if I ever pay $4 for a glass of fresh-squeezed OJ at brunch ever again! (I use 2-3 organic oranges for a glass, which according to my calculations, is about a pound...which I paid $1.40 for today at Co-Opportunity). That being said, I do appreciate the labor involved--some serious elbow-grease is necessary. But I've come to quite enjoy this little morning ritual--both the amazingly fresh, tasty result and the squeezing process itself. There's something so satisfying about squeezing every last drop out of each orange half. I must admit I've found the whole process quite grounding and invigorating. It's like a whole new juicing world has opened up to me! Of course, an added bonus is that you save a carton or plastic bottle every time you squeeze your own. And if you aren't a failed composter like me (no negative self-talk, no negative self-talk), then you compost the rinds and are totally zero-waste!

I was recounting my recent citrus adventures to a coworker the other day, and his response was "Cool, but I would never do that because it takes too long". Well, yes, it takes a few minutes, depending on how many oranges you use. You have to wash, cut and squeeze them. It takes more planning and energy than grabbing a Naked Juice from the store. On the other hand, I know I've gained a tiny bit more of a connection to my food supply and that fleeting sense of satisfaction that settles in when you are present for a few moments, concentrating on a task. Perhaps if we had a few more moments of presence rather than convenience throughout the day, we would all be a tad more grounded.

At any rate, I'm hanging onto citrus season as long as I can. My farmer's market is still selling some wonderfully juicy blood oranges, which also make for amazing mimosas, as I discovered a couple lazy Saturdays ago. This year, I luck out because I'll be catching the citrus season again in the southern hemisphere in a couple months. Woohoo! Until then...can you juice nectarines?

Late-night breakage

2007-06-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

Does anybody have suggestions for ways to clean up large, chunky spills with something other than paper towels? I just shattered a full bottle of salad dressing and found myself using a massive amount of paper towels. But it's 1 in the morning, and the thick dressing was all mixed in with shards of glass...I guess I could have used a rag? But what about the glass shards? To add insult to injury, it was a full bottle of Annie's Goddess Dressing (you know, nectar of the gods) that I got on sale. Boo!

Long time, no...

2007-06-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

The other day, a friend confronted me with the question I've been dreading for a while now--why had it been 1 month since my last blog post? My answer was..."I don't know--I think it's the worms." Yes, folks, ever since the worm incident, I must confess I've lost--or rather, misplaced--my green mojo. First, a quick update about the compost bin.

A couple weeks ago, I moved into a temporary housing situation for the summer before I spend some extended time abroad. My new digs are not "worm-friendly", i.e., there is no outside area, and since the little guys had been escaping, methought locating the bin outdoors was a must. So, unsure about how many were still living, I was hoping I could give them to a more experienced composter who could integrate the ones I hadn't murdered into his/her well-balanced, thriving bin. Luckily, a friend's father knew someone who was looking for a worm bin and was ok taking it "as is". So my no-nonsense friend Heather came over one night, noticed the odd make-up of the bin ("Is there supposed to be that much newspaper in there?"), loaded it into her trunk and off the worms went. It was a bittersweet goodbye: I was relieved to have their fate out of my hands, but also guilt-ridden that I had been so irresponsible with life. Especially when that life arrived on my doorstop in a clump of dirt in a cardboard box.

I don't know why "the worm incident" has left me feeling like such a failure. Although I think I now understand what former Catholics feel when they hear "confession" or "hell" because the word "compost" suddenly causes me to question the very essence of my character. Perhaps the melodrama was heightened because several years ago I adopted a Siberian Husky, loved her mucho for a year, but ultimately realized I was in no position to have a 70-lb dog in a studio apt when I was 23 and never home. I found a good home for her yet have still been riddled with guilt ever since. I'm sure the worm incident compounded the lingering feelings of guilt about being a bad steward of life. And since then, I haven't been able to muster the enthusiasm to cheer others on in their own greening.

Maybe the problem is that I can't always be the cheerleader. A lot of the time I'm actually more like the kid who snuck out of the pep rally to go smoke and criticize "the system". Wait, I WAS that kid. And hey, I had good points to make--all that school spirit crap WAS really creepy, after all. So perhaps the point is, some days I like wearing my green, pleated skirt to chant "Go G-R-E-E-N!". Other days, I'm overwhelmed with how almost everything seems to be the opposite of the way it should be, how did we arrive at such a staggering mess, and who the hell ever thought it was a good idea to make kids go to pep rallies?

Worms gone AWOL

2007-05-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

The honeymoon was short. After our initial rocky start (documented here), I thought we had an understanding. I chopped up my banana peels and leek leaves, fed them every few days, and sprayed the bedding when it seemed too dry. And in turn, they behaved and stayed alive.

I won't say I totally overcame my fears of their sliminess, but we were cohabitating, or so I thought. Then, last week, I got back from a long weekend and found a grisly sight on my balcony. I shudder to think of it now. Eek. There were a few dozen carcasses strewn all over my balcony. At first glance, I thought they were plant droppings, but within a few seconds, the disturbing truth set in: My worms were escaping, dying and shriveling up on my balcony. How horrible is that?! I mean, first of all, that can't be a pleasant death. And so dramatic! What it said to me was that the conditions in the little world I created for them were so bad that the better option was to fling themselves out of the air holes I had drilled. Agh! I took on the responsibility of life and clearly was a terrible steward of nature. For the last few days I've been walking around with a cloud of guilt above my proverbial head. I finally mustered the courage to check out what was going on in the bin (sounds lame, but remember how long it took me to open the box they came in?) and although I saw some live worms, I also saw uneaten food, which is not a good sign. I've been convinced that the worms that didn't jump to their deaths must have just resigned themselves to a less dramatic end, kind of like that old couple in "Titanic" that stays in their bed (that was the one scene that got me in that movie). Anyway, today I finally did what I should have done a few days ago and actually did some research. There's lots of composting troubleshooting info out there. The good news is, I might not have killed all my worms in a few short weeks. But now, I have to figure out exactly what was wrong in the bin. From the symptoms and my own guess-work, I've surmised that I let it get too acidic (too many coffee grinds and orange peels), and that because the weather has gotten hotter, I should have been keeping it moister. So...I'm going to buck up, figure out what I can do, and attempt to salvage the rest of my little friends. If there are any composters reading...help! (Practical advice and moral support both greatly appreciated!). I'll keep you posted...

Earth to recycling

2007-05-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Ah, remember those halcyon days when you recycled your bottles and cans and could feel good about doing your part? The world made sense back then, didn't it? Actually, I admit I'm idealizing the good old days. If I'm honest, I always had a lingering suspicion about whether my milk jugs, aluminum cans, and paper--all mixed together, mostly rinsed out--were actually making it from my curbside to anywhere other than a landfill. I mean, come on. Were workers really paid to sift through and separate my colored paper from my cans of black beans? As we often do to get through the day, I squelched those doubts and continued to go through the motions of "doing my part", not really knowing what could or couldn't be recycled in my area. And in the last several months, I've steered clear of even mentioning the "R" word, well, because we know we need to be focusing our efforts on the first 2 Rs--Reducing and Reusing, of course.

But, we obviously shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. After I've reduced and reused, I still have plenty of materials that can be recycled. So I was thrilled to discover an exhaustive, invaluable resource-- Earth 911. Ever wanted to know exactly what types of plastic and glass your curbside recycling service accepts? If you can mix newspaper with white and colored paper?

This site is amazing because you simply enter in your zip code and get a list of the curbside services in your area and what materials they accept. THEN, if you have still have materials that they won't pick up--like packing peanuts, or green glass, you can search for drop off centers in your area. But the most invaluable aspect of this site is that, in addition to the basic items we all know we should be recycling, it provides recycling/reuse information for all those miscellaneous materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill or rotting out on your curb. Metal clothes hangers, inkjet cartridges, old telephones, musical instruments, mattresses, floppy disks, cooking oil, magazines...that's just the beginning. Remodeling your house? There are sites that will accept your old carpet, ceramics, linoleum, and roof shingles. What a revelation! Check it out and forward widely. This site should be at the top of everyone's bookmarks. Go forth and recycle everything!

Earth 911

UPDATE--5/23
Maybe because of all the attention they got on Oprah's Earth Day special, Earth911 has totally revamped their website in the last couple weeks, so much so that I thought I had the wrong site when I needed to look something up today. Unfortunately, it is much less user-friendly. You can still get the info you're looking for, it just seems to be a little more obscured.

Self-medicating

2007-04-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Symptoms: pasty skin, buggy eyes, coffee breath, muscle atrophy, slack jaw, prolonged staring out of windows. Diagnosis: office-itis.

A couple of weekends ago, I was suffering from an advanced case of office-itis. I couldn't remember the last time I had been outdoors, breathing air... not counting, of course, the 30 second walk from apartment to car, and then car to office. I was answering my cell phone "Thank you for calling Market Wire, this is Rebec -- DOH!"

So I dug my hiking shoes out of the back of my closet and headed for the Malibu Creek State Park. I picked an amazing day to go -- not a cloud in the sky, warm, with a slight breeze. I'd never been there before, and I couldn't get over the fact that just a few miles from the smog and traffic and concrete of L.A. there was all this nature. Just sitting there! Every few minutes I would stop and go, "WOW. Wow. This is so beautiful!"

After a relaxing afternoon filled with real, live oxygen, I headed back to the parking lot where I saw something that got me really excited. It was a sign for the ParkLINK shuttle. Apparently, the parks department offers a FREE shuttle to the Malibu Creek recreation areas, and it circles all around Malibu Canyon on weekends. There are park and ride lots, or you can catch it from a couple of different metro buses. This is fantastic because it means next time I'm itching for a hike, I can hop on a bus -- and no aggravating traffic or extraneous fossil fuel usage will bring me down from my natural high! Take THAT, office-itis!

Celebrating the ripples, big and small

2007-04-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Earth Day (a couple days late--that's how I roll), allow me to indulge in some old fashioned sincerity, Oprah-love, and at least one metaphor. In the last few months it seems that the whole world has "gone green", doesn't it? Frankly, it's hard to keep up. Numerous major magazines have put out their "green issue", giving various advice about what we can all do to lessen our footprint, and several green-themed tv shows are debuting. There's no doubt that green has gone mainstream, which is what we want! On the other hand, I've been noticing a little voice in my head that fears what's on the other side of this trend: over-saturation, backlash, and worst of all, an unthinking substitution of extraneous "eco-friendly" products rather than a deep look at our consumption habits. You know, "green" shopping. So it was with conflicting feelings that I watched Oprah's Earth Day special the other day. Was she simply going to tout green weddings, carbon offsetting, and biodegradable water bottles? Much to my surprise and elation, Oprah opened the show by advising people to say "neither" to plastic and paper and to bring their own bags! She proceeded to give out reusable bags to every audience member--produce bags as well as larger grocery bags. Woohoo! The rest of the episode was--ok, I'll say it--what I would have written if I worked on Oprah. With the help of Treehugger's Simran Sethi, Oprah moved on to the cover all the basics--refillable water bottles (she even gave out Sigg bottles, like the one I use!), non-petroleum based cleaning products, CFLs, using fewer paper napkins, refillable coffee mugs, buying recycled paper, reducing packaging, and stopping junk mail. Simran even mentioned that she tries to take her own container for take-out!! It truly was "Going Green 101", and I was pretty ecstatic...can you tell?

As much as people poke fun of Oprah's influence on our culture, it's extremely heartening to think of the ripple this is going to create. The however-many millions of viewers she has will at least think a little bit differently the next time they're at the grocery store and are considering buying a cup of noodles wrapped in styrofoam, cardboard, and plastic. The most exciting element of the show was that she highlighted "What families like yours are already doing". We got to see that there are mainstream families (read: not liberal-looking Californians) out there who have recently been inspired to move towards more sustainable habits. It was refreshing for me to be reminded that underneath all the media hoopla and the trends, the "basics" are sinking in on a very grassroots level. It was also very cool to see how excited the audience got when they got an insane amount of green swag--reusable bottles, bags, smart power strips, CFLs, green cleaning products. So maybe they were just excited to get free stuff. But those couple hundred audience members undoubtedly left psyched about everything Oprah taught them and will go home and give the reusable bags and refillable bottles a try. And they will influence their friends and family and so on. Today, I am grateful for the small ripples that all of our actions are making, and the huge ones, like when a big rock hits the pond.

What ripples have you noticed lately? Talk to me!

Get out! (updated)

2007-04-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

So you've been making some changes in your daily routine -- you almost always remember to BYO bag, coffee mug and water bottle. Maybe you're driving less and/or eating less meat. You know that all the little things you're doing add up, and that you're becoming more a part of the solution and less a part of the problem. But still, there's a faint, nagging disappointment in that you don't really get to see the impact of your efforts, not in a very concrete sense, anyway. You want to be changing the world! With your own two hands! Well, my friend, you are in luck.

April offers an incredible number of opportunities to get out into your community and get your hands dirty in the fight against global warming. If you are in need of some environmental instant gratification (instant grassification?), check out all the events happening this month...

STEP IT UP *** APRIL 14

Step It Up is a nationwide campaign made up of hundreds of different groups with one unified message: they want Congress to pledge an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. On April 14, people in cities and towns all over America will get together to show their support for these efforts -- it's very grassroots, and the activities vary depending on who is organizing the local "action," as the web site calls it. You can visit their "Join an Action" page and enter your zip code to find out what people near you are doing, and how you can join in.

Some of the bigger Actions in Los Angeles that sound cool are:
Earth Day on the Promenade in Santa Monica. It's an all-day, free festival that sounds pretty fun, and they promise that it's carbon neutral.

A Convenient Truth - It's Easy to be Green is a forum and resource fair happening at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies. The National Resources Defense Council will be offering ideas for greening your home, car and garden, and the California Food and Justice Coalition will provide information on making sustainable food choices.

EcoArt is an art show consisting of eleven active eco-artists who are confronting core environmental issues at the Barnsdall Junior Arts Gallery on Hollywood Blvd.

EARTH DAY *** APRIL 21/22

Earth Day began in 1970, and it came out of the "power of the people" vibe that the Vietnam protests had created. Inspired by the influence that large anti-war demonstrations were having on political policy, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson sought to harness that power on behalf of his own cause -- conservation. He mobilized an incredible number of Americans, 20 million, to participate. Nelson says of his efforts, "The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political arena. It was a gamble, but it worked." Um, yeah, you could say it worked -- we have that inaugural Earth Day to thank for the formation of the EPA, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

No subsequent Earth Day has matched the scope of the original, but the legacy lives on. With increasing public concern over environmental issues, the social temperature might be just right for a revival.

If you live in Los Angeles, EarthDay LA is where you can find all the various enviro events happening during the weekend. I've highlighted a few below, but there are tons more on their site:
L.A. Works Earth Day Hands On Schools Transformational Project. This is one of those instant grassification opportunities I was telling you about. Volunteer at a South L.A. middle school to plant a butterfly garden and a literacy garden (don't know what those are, but they sound awesome, right?) as well as paint environmental conservation-themed murals.

California State Parks Restoration and Clean-Up. Check the site for projects at a state park near you. Last year, over 4,500 volunteers planted 2,159 native trees, removed over 3,000 bags of trash from parks, beaches and waterways, restored close to 15 miles of trails, and that's just the beginning.

Some "fun for the whole family" options are the L.A. Zoo's Earth Day Expo (Rascal the Recycling Raccoon! paper made from elephant poo!); the Trash to Treasure ECO ART Exhibit (recycled-material sculptures made by Studio City 4th and 6th graders; Ed Begley, Jr. to speak); STAR ECO Station Children's Earth Day (rescued wild animals as well as an educational, entertaining carnival-type event).

[UPDATE] Saturday, 4/21, Create:Fixate is presenting a night called "Down to Earth." It's an art and music event that happens periodically, and this time several eco nonprofits are involved. I found out about this via Flavorpill, which means there will probably be hipsters a-plenty.

BIG SUNDAY *** APRIL 28/29

BIG SUNDAY is an annual volunteering day co-sponsored by the Los Angeles mayor's office. It's non-denominational and non-political -- a day when Angelenos of all walks of life come together to improve their city. Donate an hour, donate your entire weekend; it's up to you. I counted close to 100 different opportunities in the "environment" category alone, but there are several other categories including "health," "arts & culture" and "literacy."

Search their site for a project that sounds good to you: paint a Head Start pre-school, plant some trees, clean a beach.

If you aren't in L.A. but want to get out and get greening, http://www.volunteermatch.org/ is a great resource for finding local volunteer opportunities in areas you're passionate about.

Now, get out!

Notes from an unlikely vermicomposter

2007-04-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

The second post on composting in 2 days! For as long as I can remember, my dad has had a back-yard composting bin. This is yet another one of his habits that I must admit I wasn’t always a willing participant in (like the reused wrapping paper), since he made us trek out to the yard and dump the stinky scraps.

But, not surprisingly, with age I realized how amazing it is that we can “close the loop” on at least some of our trash—not only keeping some of our food scraps out of landfills, but also turning them into super-rich soil. Eventually I started to long for the day when I have a house/yard and can build my own composter (will go nicely with that laundry line I’m waiting for, too). I assumed there was no way I could compost in an apartment. But, my sister has had a long-time interest in composting (see below!) and started nudging me about worm composting. For a while I resisted, because, well…as “treehugging” as I may appear, I’m really not a creepy-crawly kinda person. I was never one of those kids who was all cool with letting bugs and worms crawl all over me, ya know? And to have them in my apartment? Ewwwww…But, a few weeks ago I decided that keeping a portion of my waste out of landfills was more important than my personal phobias. It was time to grow up, face my creepy crawly fears, and set up my own worm compost in my apartment.

So this is what I did, and what you can do very easily too. I ordered one pound of red wiggler worms. I got mine from Happy D Ranch. If you live anywhere near a farm, you can just go and ask for some red worms and they will probably accommodate, which is cheaper and less energy-sucking than mailing. Just make sure you get red worms (Eisenia fetida) or red wigglers (Lumbricus rubellus) because other worms are not suited for composting. I couldn't find anywhere near me that has red worms, so I paid $38 (including shipping) for my pound. Happy D also threw in a "Promote Global Worming" bumper sticker...how very clever.

I got a wooden box, and drilled some holes in it for air and drainage.

I made the bedding, out of newspaper, cardboard (I knew I’d been saving those toilet paper rolls for something), a little sawdust from drilling the holes, and a couple handfuls of dirt. All the websites I read instructed me to get the newspaper strips wet, like a wrung-out sponge. I was super-paranoid about the level of moisture (what if it's too wet and they drown, too dry and they dehydrate?), but I think I eventually got it right, and after all, worms are hardy. Only use black and white newspaper--put those "adult ads" at the back of the Weekly to good use.

So there was only one thing left to do. Open the worm box. Perhaps I shouldn't be admitting this publicly, but I almost had a nervous breakdown before I opened it. See, throughout the week, I started to realize that I was filled with dread every time I approached my door at night, for fear that they had arrived. Although I was anxious to get my composting going, I was secretly grateful each day that they weren't there. I figured, by the time they arrived, I would have done some mental strengthening exercises or something to prepare myself, right? So then, Friday night, I get home following after-work drinks, and there it was. I rationalized that they'd be ok for a few more hours until I was in a better state to deal with them in the morning, and after all, the box wasn't totally ready yet.

The next morning, after much hand-wringing and pacing, I finally approached the box. Although severely irrational, I was afraid that as soon as I cut the tape on the top of the box, worms would start pouring out, crawling all over my hands and covering my body. First cut. Nothing. Open flaps. Instructions from the ranch. Remove paper. A cloth pouch. Ok, I can deal with this. Unless they're all dead. I saw no movement. What if I've killed them before I even started? What if it was those few extra hours that killed them? I can't be going out for drinks now that I have life to sustain. Ok, I hovered over the bin, cut the pouch open and dumped the contents into the bin. It was a clomp of dirt. I saw no worms. After stepping back and realizing the worst was over, I approached the bin and used a wooden spoon to break open the dirt. Worms came cascading out. By this time, my fear of vermi-infestation had been replaced by vermicide, so I was just relieved to see life. I hadn't killed them before I started, after all...hoorah!

The rest was cake. I fed them the scraps I had been saving for the past week. Banana peels, apple cores, wilty leek leaves, and coffee grinds. I covered the layer of scraps with another layer of moist bedding, and covered the bin. In case you're wondering, there is no smell, since the food is buried. Per Molly's suggestion below, store to-be-composted scraps in the freezer to prevent odors before they get buried.

It's been a week now, and I've checked on them every day or so just so see what's going on in there, but I actually can't see much other than wiggling, which is always a relief. I'm just about to add my second round of food.

They can eat up to thrice their weight in food every week, which means three pounds for now. (Eventually they'll reproduce and I could feed them even more than that.) I still am unsure about how I sustain the moisture level going forward, so I'll be doing some vermi-research going forward. After a few months, I'll be able to start harvesting the worm castings--the super-rich compost that the worms poop out. Since I don't have a garden, I'll be doling out this rich, natural fertilizer to friends who do grow things. Want some?

Btw, unlike the city-wide San Francisco program Molly describes below, for your own home vermicomposting, you can only include the following food scraps:
fruit and vegetable scraps (chopped up as small as possible)
crushed egg shells
tea bags
coffee grinds and filters

I'll keep you updated on how my wormies progress. Moral of the story: In nature, nothing is waste--even what we consider trash has a vital role in the life cycle. Composting is an essential we can get the balance a little bit more right. Vermicomposting is an easy, viable option for urban dwellers. If the biggest wimp in the world can allow worms into her home, anyone can. Maybe I'll even let them crawl on my hand one day soon.

More specific info on making your bin:
City Farmer
Good Wikipedia article
How to make a worm bin
Worm woman

My chemical dependency

2007-04-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for beauty products. You know all those commercials for products that promise shiny hair, bigger lips, smaller pores, mile-long eyelashes and basically a first-class ticket to the Miss America crown? Those commercials are made for people like me. I "ooh" and "aah" and instantly slink off to Target to get myself some pretty.

This habit of mine has created an enormous amount of clutter -- every available surface in my shower is taken up by various sizes, shapes and colors of plastic bottle. Do I use half of this crap? Uh, no. I'm a huge waster.

My beauty regimen needed some major greenification, so I consulted Treehugger's very thorough Women's Personal Care Guide. (Even if you're a dude you should still read it -- most of the info applies to both genders, and not to fear, the word "tampon" is only mentioned a couple of times.)

It's a really useful article, but their diatribe against certain chemicals sent me into freak-out mode. Number one and number two on their list of chemicals to avoid are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and parabens: they link them to cancer and various other scary words. And they're in every. thing. I. own. Every single day I was rubbing evil, cancer-making devil juice all over my unsuspecting body.

Excited by the packaging-free offerings from Lush Cosmetics, including their awesome natural deodorant, I scoured the ingredients on their solid (no plastic needed!) shampoos. SLS was in eeeeverything. It made my heart hurt, because I'd really believed in their lofty declarations on using organic ingredients, making things by hand, not testing on animals, and being people- and earth-friendly. So I wrote them a letter (like the giant dork I am), expressing my concerns about their use of SLS and parabens. Completely restoring my faith in them as one of the "good guys," Lush wrote me back within a day. They assured me that the FDAs in both Canada and the U.S. have approved all of their ingredients, and that they perform their own independent tests for safety as well. Their stance on the use of parabens (preservatives) is endearing: "We understand that preservatives are designed to kill life, and are therefore unsavory, which is why we make so many of our products in solid form." (Liquid products require preservatives because of the potential for bacteria growth.)

But I was still wary of these chemicals, and decided to research them further. Snopes, the urban legend site, has a very informative article on the (largely unfounded) SLS scare. Yes, it can potentially irritate sensitive skin -- but it's not actually associated with cancer. What really convinced me was the American Cancer Society's article "Debunking The Myth." They also set the record straight on parabens. If the American Cancer Society isn't too worried, neither am I.

Lush is still the only cosmetic company I know of that offers so many packaging-free options. Even beyond their earth-friendliness, they're really quality products -- they make my hair and skin feel, well, lush-ous. So now I'm replacing all my plastic bottles with Lush's solid shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and body butter. (Links are to my personal picks!) Their solid shampoos were actually designed for backpackers -- they can be used for washing hair, body, dishes and clothes. AND, if you buy 2 solid shampoos at once, Lush will throw in a free shampoo tin that you can keep reusing instead of amassing the little plastic bags they try to give you. Added bonus to solid beauty care products -- you can take them in your carry-on luggage when you travel!

2007-04-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

City-Wide Composting

Hi, my name is Molly, and I am pleased to be living in a city where:

I don’t need a car (can get by walking and taking the bus)
They’ve just passed a law prohibiting plastic bags (see Sara’s earlier post with her appropriate concerns about replacing these with other disposable items).
There is city-wide composting!

If you guessed I live in San Francisco, that blustery coastal bastion of liberalism and yes, hippies, you're right. But once again, this hippie haven is leading the nation to greater environmental and consumer awareness.

City-Wide Composting!!

It’s true. The city provides complementary plastic bins where you can put ALL food scraps. This includes usually-unorthodox items for compost like meat, cheese, grains and even brown paper! I think this is because these items do biodegrade and relatively quickly, but they emit a bad odor, which is why they’re not recommendable for household composting systems.

So San Franciscans dump their food scraps into these green bins, which get collected along with the garbage, and all this compost is shipped off to one of three locations, all less than 70 miles away, where organic farms dump all the compost into these long bags and pump them with oxygen.

This aeration speeds up the decaying process. When you compost in your backyard, the matter goes through the same process, just more slowly. Because the aerating machines require energy, I see this as a slight kink in the system, but it's still far better than other systems that do not productively use this delicious, carbon-rich matter! The thoroughly converted matter—having spent but two short months in the conversion process—is then used as top-notch fertilizer for organic farms! One lucky farm in particular, Jepsen Prairie Organics, facilitates this whole composting process and sells the compost to other organic farms. I’ll say that’s a sweet deal they’ve got! These organic farms then sell their goods to, hopefully, San Franciscans and other locals. In theory, this is a closed-loop local food production system, and proponents claim it is. For more info., check it out:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/04/san_francisco_c.php

http://www.sunsetscavenger.com/composting.htm

www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/plants/pdfs/cafeteriaware/macy.pdf

If you do NOT live in San Francisco or a city with a composting system, do not despair! You, too, can compost! You have a few options:

Set up a worm composting system. This is a great way to deal with your household food scraps. Stay tuned for more on this! If you are simply too squeamish about wormies, though:
Find your local community garden and ask if you can compost your food there. I bet they say yes!
If there’s no community garden, pool together with friends and neighbors to start a common compost pile where someone has a garden. Set up a rotation, and I bet you only need to tend it a couple times a year. Depending on how much fresh produce you eat, you could probably last a while, too, before taking your food scraps to this common place. In other words--It's easy and low-maintenance!

Here’s a tip that I’ve learned from my fellow San Franciscans: Keep your in-the-meantime compost bin in the freezer so you don’t smell the decaying food. (And for household and community garden compost piles, avoid composting meat and dairy products because of the stench).

Hot or not?

2007-04-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

The first of a recurring series where I implore you, the reader, to evaluate whether a certain action is a sensible step in the direction of sustainability, or is barking up the wrong, crazy-person-making tree. Several weeks ago, fed up with how many paper towels I was using at work, I brought my own hand towel from home and hung it up in the bathroom.

Let me back up. I ran the idea by my coworkers first as a joke, then as it became a recurring lunch topic, I started thinking seriously about the viability of the idea. My theory was this: You only need a towel if your hands are wet. Your hands are only wet if you have washed them. Maybe I'm naive, but I assume that most people do wash their hands with soap, or would be prompted to if they're using a communal towel. And yet, the idea of sharing a towel freaked some of my coworkers out-namely, the men. (We have a unisex bathroom, and believe me, it's not nearly as cool as it was on Ally McBeal.) All the men were grossed out by the idea, but eventually some agreed to use it with provisions. One said he would use it if got washed every weekend. Fine. Another would if there were 5 towels, for each day of the week. Ridiculous! Some said straight-up that they would never use it. So I ended up bringing a towel in one day, hanging it on a hook that just happened to be in the bathroom, and putting up a sign inviting everyone to use it after washing hands with soap. I noted that it would be washed every weekend, and to please, not be afraid. The results have been...well, mixed. I know for sure that at least one other person uses it regularly. Better than nothing, right? One other colleague admitted to using a dry corner of it, once. Others have welcomed it when we run out of paper towels. However, I can't help but notice how many paper towels there still are in the trash, so I'm not claiming a major victory here. At the same time, I hold strong in my beliefs that in recent years we have become an overly germophobic society, which has fueled our disposable addiction. I think we obsess about germs way more than we need to. I should add that it's a small office, I don't think anyone has questionable hygiene habits, and heck, I have and would take sips out of their drinks at happy hour. So why not share a towel? My question to you is: Would you use the towel and why/why not? Hot or not?

On becoming a veggiebuffalowingatarian

2007-03-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

This is going to make me sound like a loony, but at the start of the year I had a really intense nightmare that seemed to have a very clear message: stop eating meat. In reality, I think it had much more to do with the giant beers and platefuls of buffalo wings I had before going to bed than any sort of cosmic communication from the universe. My body was whimpering "must... have... leafy greens," and I decided to listen -- I swore off meat the very next day.

At first my reasoning for not eating meat was shaky to say the least... I had a dream that told me eating meat was wrong? Okay, crazy lady. Since I have all the willpower of a wet noodle, I needed a better reason than that if I was going to stick with vegetarianism. I did really well the first week or so -- no desire for meat whatsoever. But then I started to feel like my options were kind of limited... maybe quitting meat cold tofurkey wasn't for me. I decided I would start eating fish again, since fish are not particularly cute and in fact, I've always thought they were a little creepy. I realize that "high creep factor" is a terrible justification for eating something, so I came up with other reasons, too: fish is much lower in saturated and trans fat than other meats, plus we're always hearing about the benefits of omega-3 acids.

But one day as I sat staring longingly at the tantalizing orange-ginger chicken my boyfriend had ordered from a local Chinese place, I remembered that chicken? It's delicious. And I love it. I began to panic a little as I realized how difficult it was going to be to keep up a meat-free diet. This radical life-change stuff couldn't be done on a whim.

Over the last several months, I've become much more aware of my relationship to the environment, thanks to some general waking-up I've done on my own and a lot of inspiration from Sara. And as I considered my personal impact on the environment more and more, I couldn't help but begin to apply that same critical thinking to other facets of my daily life. Like, where did my food come from? I had always disassociated the end product on my plate with the journey it took to get there. I started to think long and hard about the implications of being a carnivore. I did a little internet research, and after seeing some pretty disturbing stuff on PETA's web site and reading Sara's post about the effect of unsustainable agriculture on the environment, I had some compelling reasons to go veg.

But anyone who was raised on a meaty diet knows that deciding to be veggie is a huge deal -- and you're confronted with it three square times a day. Even though lots of animal rights organizations and environmental groups urge vegetarianism, and it's a highly commendable lifestyle, I know it's not for everyone. And it's not entirely for me.

Factory farming seriously gives me the willies for what it does to the animals, the environment and our health -- but there are alternatives. Lots of farmers, grocery stores and restaurants employ methods that respect animals and the environment. Sustainabletable.org is a great resource for learning what exactly sustainable food is, why it's important and perhaps most helpful of all, where to buy it. This handy feature allows you to enter your zip code and find all the places near you offering earth-friendly foods.

Obviously my "no meat" policy has undergone several revisions in the last couple months, but I think I've finally settled on something I can feel good about. My plan is to only eat meat that is sustainably produced. Sustainable meat isn't available everywhere you go -- you kind of have to seek it out. That works really well for me, actually, in that my meat intake is already being limited just due to availability. It's great in terms of health (I have a med-student friend who completely stopped eating red meat after dissecting a couple cadavers and seeing what it does to the body... umm, ew) and it also means that my contribution to greenhouse gases from unsustainable agriculture is seriously reduced, too. AND, when I do get to eat meat (yay!) I don't have to feel guilty because the entire process has been as kind to the animal and the planet as possible. Plus, it makes me more creative when preparing non-meat meals. I've discovered all kinds of delightful foods I've never had the motivation to try before. I've included some recommendations and tips below:

-- Trader Joe's has tons of organic, meat-free and animal-friendly foods -- and they're cheap! I'm totally obsessed with their veggie buffalo wings, as you can probably tell from the picture above.

-- The Audubon Society has prepared this pocket guide to knowing which types of fish are most eco-friendly.

-- There are some great imitation ground beef products out there -- I like Smart Ground. It tastes fantastic and is a great meat substitute in tacos, enchiladas, shepherd's pie, and pretty much anything you'd normally put ground beef in.

-- Go out for Indian food. Most of India is vegetarian, so Indian food restaurants have tons and tons of veggie options. The flavors are mind-blowing, and you'll experience mouth-watering dishes you'd never dreamed of.

-- I'm going to say with 99.9% certainty that if a restaurant/grocery store/etc. doesn't explicitly state that their meat is organic, free-range or in any way sustainably raised, you can bet that it's not eco-friendly. Establishments that sell sustainable food are proud of that fact, and they'll definitely tell you about it up front.

San Francisco bans plastic bags!!

2007-03-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's not often that I do a double take while scanning the Yahoo news before logging into my email. But today there was actually some news of consequence. Yesterday, San Francisco passed the long-awaited plastic bag ban. This is a happy day, folks! My only concern is the focus in the articles I've read is being placed on biodegradable bags, which as we know, are NOT the solution. They are resource intensive to make, and what's the point, when we have such a viable solution in reusable bags? Hopefully future coverage will focus more on reusable bags, and in the meantime, it's still as step in the right direction.

The Yahoo article is not great...this LA Times story is better.

Kinda like my own milkman

2007-03-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, while perusing my new favorite grocery store, Co-opportunity in Santa Monica, I was reminded that it's still possible to buy at least one beverage in a refillable container here in the U.S.
Yep, the picture doesn't lie: It's 2007 and milk can be bought in a glass bottle, folks. This is no revelation--I've definitely seen the bottles in natural food stores before. But for some reason I never considered taking the plunge-- I must have always assumed it would be too much trouble to remember to return the bottle. Isn't it funny how we remember the sub-plots of long-cancelled TV shows but fear we'd never be able to remember to take an empty a milk bottle to the store? Well, I can assure you that the process is quite simple. I bought the milk, paid an extra $1.10 for the bottle deposit, enjoyed its freshness--it really does taste better in glass!--rinsed the bottle and returned it tonight. I wasn't quite sure what to expect on this end, but was pleased to receive my $1 back (don't know what happened to the 10 cents...). No more throwaway cartons for me! They even have a pricier chocolate version, which I'm already fantasizing about. Added bonus: The milk company--Broguiere's--is in Montebello, which is just about as local as a dairy farm can get. Can't beat reusable AND local. Ooh, a quick google search reveals that their choc milk is divine and seasonal egg nog is a fav among foodies...has even been profiled by our man Huell Howser. More on Broguiere's.

Cha-cha changes

2007-03-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

Now and then we all get over-extended, don't we? (That's me in a much happier space... Mexico... mere weeks ago. Que paso?) Well, instead of reaching the point of no return where I snap, say f#*k trying to do anything productive in the world, and wile away my life under a nice bottle of scotch, I've decided to call for some backup. So that I can pursue some related projects, keep my job, and hopefully my sanity, I have invited two "guest bloggers" to join me for the time being. May I introduce you to my guest blogging lasses: Molly, my 'lil sis (known here for her dumpster diving college days, video-making skills, and general backbone to the operation), and my friend Becky, (all-around lifestyle inspiration, commenter extraordinaire with her own blogging chops--remember her call to "Feck driving"?). They'll be adding their voices to the mix as they report from the front lines of their own efforts to make their lives more sustainable. Welcome, lasses!

Also, just cuz I'm feeling feisty, there won't always be a "tip of the week". Yes, it's paradoxical: the tips of the week will be occasional. There will sometimes still be broad general themes, but we might focus more on shorter entries, such as the one about the Lush deodorant, below. And aw heck, I might start getting a little philosophical on your arses from time to time. You know, talk about how backwards things are these days. Y'all can handle it, right?

Next post...coming soon!

2007-03-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

Work has been particularly crazy lately...sorry for the neglect! Check back soon!

Be Unpackaged

2007-03-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

Isn't it affirming when you see an idea you've had (but weren't sure about the viability of) put into action? Over in Clerkenwell, England a woman recently started a company called Unpackaged--which sells food and other necessitities, well, without the packaging. The idea is simple: You show up at the weekly market with your own containers, and fill them up to your heart's content. What's really cool is that in addition to the usual bulk offerings like beans, rice, nuts, teas, and grains, they've also found a way to sell package-free household cleaners, liquid hand soap, and toilet paper. So there IS a way--I knew it! I also love the section of their website titled "Evil Packaging", which is worth quoting extensively:

"The Problem with Packaging--Waste: Unnecessary packaging is a waste of resources at every level: to produce, store and transport, remove and to dispose of. Pollution: The two main methods of disposing of this packaging – landfill and incineration – are major pollutants for humans and the environment and release greenhouse gases. What about recycling? While some packaging is recycled, most ends up in landfill sites and some packaging is just difficult and often impossible to recycle. Recycling is certainly part of the solution, but it will only work if we use less packaging in the first place and adopt more reusable ways of doing things- it is this ethos of reuse that Unpackaged is based on."

Sigh...Why do all the cool things seem to be going on in the UK? Anyone interested in getting the idea going here? Hmm? In the meantime, remember, we've got a viable unpackaged option too: the bulk bins of your local health stores/Whole Foods. Just remember to bring your own produce bags, or reuse the plastic ones over and over...

Unpackaged (via Treehugger)

Smell good AND be plastic-free

2007-03-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago, I reported on a Canadian chick who's going "plastic-free in 2007". She's finding ways to shop for groceries and other necessities without feeding our plastic addiction. I got inspired to follow in her footsteps and try to keep myself fresh and dry without the use of plastic.

She offered the tip that Lush peddles deodorant not cased in plastic, so like an addict, I headed to the closest Lush store with much anticipation. I was not disappointed--I had never been inside one of their stores, and was super-psyched to see that most of their products are sold with no packaging! Yes, these are the things that excite me these days, people. The soaps and various "moisturizing bars" are stacked on top of each other, which gives the store an amazing aroma--surprisingly, not in an overwhelming way. The salespeople wrap your purchases in a little paper or small plastic bag, which I tried to refuse, but they convinced me that some of the products would crumble in my bag if left free-floating. (Next time, I'll bring my own). The point is, for the last couple months, I've been using this product, (pictured above), which is not only plastic-free, but also actually works! The added bonus is that it's also a natural deodorant, not a creepy, aluminum-based antiperspirant. But unlike the experience I've had with other natural deodorants (think Toms of Maine) that I have buried deep in my bathroom after failed (smelly) usage attempts, I didn't find myself alarmed halfway through the day. Although, I have found that there has been a week here or there where it seemed to work not quite as well. According to my knowledgeable "skin care coach", Nina Curtis (email me if you're in LA and are want to have the most amazing facial of your life--I'll give you her info), as women, our body chemistry changes throughout our cycles, so it is likely that a natural deodorant will work less well the week before your period. Not sure if guys' chemistry ever changes. So, my plan is to use my Lush bar most of the time, then resort to the old standby antiperspirant at certain times in my cycle. It cost $7.60, but has been going strong for 2 months and looks like it's going to last for several more, so seems to be a good value. Check here to see if there's a Lush store near you. Or, check out your local natural foods store for similiar products that aren't cased in plastic --such as the well-known "Rock" deodorant.

What to do with Fido's Poop WEEK

2007-03-12T23:47:00.001-07:00

Of late, my nightmares are not made up of the usual, expected villains (you know--people chasing me, strange animals, old boyfriends, etc.), but rather are comprised of a chorus of voices asking one piercing question: "But what about my dog's poop?".
The question inevitably arrives at the end of a reusable bag pitch and is especially devastating because it's only asked after someone is totally on board with the reusable bag issue, but has one very real, smelly problem. Up until now, I've only been able to give lame, wishy-washy answers, like "Um, I'm still working on that one..." So I figured it was high-time to confront the issue straight on and do some serious research. And I'll just say it now: There is not one, easy, monolithic solution. But like many challenges we face, the answers are more like patchwork that take a bit more effort and thought what we've been used to (in this case, using the "free" plastic bags from the grocery store). Here are some ideas, with the goal of still reducing our overall disposable bag intake. They are listed in order from least to most radical...For those of you who aren't dog owners, please pass this info along to friends who are!

BECOME A BAG COLLECTOR
I'm learning that, like me, lots of well-intentioned people have been stashing plastic bags away in a drawer because it just didn't feel right to toss them. These already-in-circulation bags are a gold-mine for dog-owners! Tell everyone in your office that you're willing to take all those unwanted bags off their hands. If even a few people have a stash like mine, you'll be set for months...or who knows, years! And you're doing others a favor by making use of their saved bags, so that they can feel free to go reusable.

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR PLASTIC

While many people are religious about reusing plastic grocery bags for various household purposes, we tend to overlook the other kinds of plastic bags that we end up with. Think newspaper bags, the plastic liners inside cereal boxes, the bags that wrap junk mail, bread loaf bags, toilet paper packaging. Lord knows we could probably heat our homes with all the packaging we end up with just after a trip to the drug store, so start salvaging those less-utilized nuggets of plastic gold. Reuse everything!

BIODEGRADABLE/COMPOSTABLE BAGS
There is an emerging industry of "bioplastics" attempting to address the petroleum-based (polyethylene) plastic problem. These bags are made out of various vegetable starches, oils, and soy. Their usefulness is that they biodegrade in a landfill, thus offering a solution to our more ubiquitous never-biodegrading plastic friend. The problem that "bioplastics" doesn't solve is the one of resource-intensive production. Like their polyethylene counterparts, they still seem to require large amounts of water and energy in their manufacturing. They might also increase mono-cropping and use of toxic fertilizers. And, just as we're seeing with the emerging bio-fuel trend, using food for non-food production purposes tends to drive up the prices of crops. Are the problems associated with them worse than with regular plastics? Probably not, but with all this in mind, I can't offer biodegradable bags as "the" solution for our poopy problem. But as a part of an overall "patchwork" strategy, they could ease your polyethylene burden. They are available at many natural food stores and can be bought here.

MOVE BEYOND THE BAG
Remember I said these ideas are moving toward most radical, so with that in mind, what about using non-bag pooper scoopers? This is especially for those of you with yards who don't have to tote the poop with you on a long hike. What about newspaper, old magazine pages, cereal boxes? If it's going straight from your backyard to an outdoor trashcan, there should be no problem utilizing some other piece of household garbage that was headed for the trash anyway, right?

COMPOST IT

This one if for those seriously committed to addressing the problem of animal waste. Yes, you can compost dog poop, but not with your food compost and not to be used on any plants you will actually be eating from your garden. Learn all about it here. On a side note, I need to point out that leaving poop on the ground wherever your baby happened to go is NOT an environmentally safe option. It will get absorbed into soil via rain or simply time, and we definitely don't want those microbes mixed into our water supply. Remember, this is just a local version of how e. coli gets spread by farm animals into our food and water supplies. But, composting it IS a good and simple solution, so let me know how that goes.

ADOPT ANOTHER DISPOSABLE ISSUE
As we've seen, there are definitely viable alternatives to using plastic bags for our poopy problem. But for most people, there will inevitably be some plastic bag usage involved. So while dog owners may not be able to go totally reusable on the bag front, all the more reason to get reusable in other areas. You could have a strict "no plastic water bottles" rule or be religious about always getting coffee in your refillable mug...Offset your plastic bag usage by reducing your eco-footprint in other ways, like drive 10 fewer miles a week. The possibilities are endless! (Check my archives for other ideas!). Let me know how these ideas work, and if you are taking other measures to address the poo problem.

Want to know more about "greening" your pet? Read Treehugger's ideas. There's info for you cat people too.

UPDATE: Here's what my dad has to say about his solution (that's his pup Ruthie, above--adorable, ain't she?): "What I do---in case you want to know---is on my runs, I am on the lookout for bags, and believe it or not, I always find some that are blowing around, stuck in fences, trees, ands so on. I therefore pick up Ruth's poop and take a tacky bag out of circulation at the same time." Go, Papa! Also, just read on No Impact Man's site that he picks up something off the top of a trashcan and uses that to do the business. If he can be "No Impact Man" and still have a dog, we can all find alternatives ways to scoop the poop!

Bolsas, bottles, and mangos

2007-03-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

My trip to Mexico was by no means "eco-friendly". I took a variety of planes, buses, cars, vans, boats, and taxis to get to and around the rainforest and ruins of Chiapas. Travel is becoming increasingly recognized as a huge contributor to global warming, for obvious reasons. And I'm sure this is what people say about their Hummers, but damnit, traveling makes me happy like nothing else. Visiting other cultures invigorates me, rejuvenates me, and enriches my perspective on the world. Isn't that important? If I'm good the rest of the year, can I please keep my one international trip a year? Please?! As much as I've been skeptical about carbon offsetting--(I'm still not convinced it does much more than assuage guilt about our privileged lifestyles--please, someone convince me that it's worth it!)--I'm going to look into it to, well, assuage my guilt about my travel pollution. The other thing I have to come clean about is that for the first time since October, I drank out of plastic water bottles. Unfortunately, there was really no other choice. We had no means to boil our water and I'm not sure if it would have been wise to drink iodine-enriched water all week long. But a couple of the places I stayed had water available for tourists, so I was able to refill my bottles several times. OK, now on to the good news. While I was feeling travelers' guilt, I was simultaneously heartened to see some local practices that we could learn a thing or two from. Mexico gets it right in a lot of ways. For your consideration:

THEY USE COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHTBULBS

Lots of them. I would constantly look up and see them in hotels, bathrooms, and in the most random places, like this fruit stand near a popular waterfall. That's my traveling companera Lori eating a glorious Mexican mango. Why is CFL usage so widespread down south? Because they last longer and undoubtedly save much-needed dinero. It just makes sense!

THEY HANG-DRY THEIR CLOTHES

Clothes dryers are extremely rare in Mexico, as in other countries. In fact, even well off families hang-dry their clothes. It's so much fresher and adds some color to the backyard.

THEY RETURN BEER BOTTLES TO GET REFILLED

This is a huge one. The bottles don't get recycled, they actually get REFILLED (yes, after extensive sterilization). Refilling beverage containers used to be a common practice in our country too (more on this soon), and still exists in other countries out of economic necessity. People place a deposit on the bottles at purchase, and must return the bottle to not lose the deposit. This exists in some states in the U.S., but none that I've ever lived in...Gee, when I think of fall the beer bottles, over all the years...I would feel better about my own amount of imbibing knowing they had been reused again and again, wouldn't you?

THEY SEPARATE THEIR TRASH

I saw this all over--trash separated into "organic" and "inorganic" or paper and plastic. Presumably they compost the organic matter (food and paper), instead of sending it to a landfill. I'm going to look into this further to see what this program is all about. That's the remains of a mango going into the organic side of an airport trash bin. (BTW, that wasn't even my last mango before leaving the country. I actually cut one open right on my tray table before we landed in L.A. The flight attendants thought I was a crazy person).

THEY BRING THEIR OWN BAGS

Perhaps my strongest memory of visiting Mexico as a child is of women carrying their colorful bolsas at the markets. And while I did notice a plastic ubiquity encroaching on the country this time, I was relieved to see that reusable bags are still alive and well. Women visit the market every morning, and fill their bolsas with some of the freshest produce in the world. The platanitos, nopales, and yes, mangos definitely wouldn't deign to rub skin with plastic.

Are any of these practices a huge inconvenience on people's lives? Would any of them catapult us back to the dark ages? I don't think so.

Treehugger's Convenient Truths Contest

2007-03-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

Just got back from Mexico...saw some amazing stuff, including many basic "green" practices that we, their northern neighbors, could learn from. I add the parenthesis because I'm sure most of the energy-saving practices I noticed are done out of economic necessity and because they just make sense, darnit, rather than out of any conscious environmental motivation. Will be reporting on those observations and my attempts to tread lightly while traveling shortly...

In the meantime, check out a video that my sister and I (that's us!) entered in Tree- hugger's Convenient Truths contest. It's a quick and simple exultation of--what else?--the virtues of reusable bags. If you like it, give us some love and rate it. And be sure to check out some of the other videos...Treehugger wanted to know what people are doing to fight global warming, and there are lots of great responses. It's encouraging to see how many people took up the call. Thanks to my sis Molly for doing most (read: all) of the work!

Me on Treehugger

Gone fishing...

2007-02-24T09:53:00.001-08:00

I'm off to Mexico for a week. Into the jungle...no internet access. Check back in a week!

Public flogging

2007-02-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

After weeks of enduring lunch-time conversa- tions (lectures?) about the merits of reusable bags and evils of plastic bottles, my coworkers have called my BS. For a while now, I've been resolving to bring tupperware with me to lunch so that I can avoid whatever nasty disposable container I'm given. I even bought some nice, new containers this weekend for exactly this purpose. Yet I continue to forget to bring them, and yesterday was faced with the choice of wasting half of my delicious ramen, or accepting styrofoam. I went with the styrofoam and my friendly coworker Paul offered to capture the moment for the purpose of my blog. Maybe now that my shame has been exposed publicly, I will remember the freakin' tupperware!

Coal mining in Appalachia

2007-02-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago I was pleasantly surprised to hear from one of my long-lost cousins, who is all grown up and in college now. It's always great to reconnect with family members, but I was saddened by the news she had to report. Out in her neck of the woods, (Arkansas), she's involved in organizing efforts to stop coal mining via mountaintop removal in the Appalachian Mountains. I was totally ignorant about this situation, but my cousing Hannah clued me in. Here's what she has to say:

"The facts about the dangers of using coal for electricity to the degree that we do in the U.S. are becoming more and more well known. What is still hidden from the public eye are the horrendous effects that the coal mining industry is having on the residents of the Appalachian Mountain area which is where the industry is almost completely contained. Hundreds of families who can trace their lineage back for generations in the mountain valleys are being bought out of their homes every day to make room for more construction sights. Children sit in schools covered in dust from coal which is boosting asthma and other respiratory diseases tremendously. To mine the coal, the workers literally remove the peaks of the mountains which put a huge amount of wildlife out of their homes and then they put the thousands of pounds of hazardous residue from the filtered coal into pockets of land in the valleys that used to be homes and communities. The way the world can help is to buy energy efficient light bulbs instead of incandescent light bulbs. Another way to help is just to let your voice be heard: write to Senators and Representatives about how you feel about coal mining in the U.S."

It's definitely important for me to remember that there is always a local face to the problems we're facing on a global scale. Countless communities across the world are being polluted very locally by our unsustainable energy practices. To learn more about what's going on in Appalachia, check out the End Mountaintop Removal Action and Resource Center. And buy more compact fluorescent light bulbs. Speaking of CFLs, did you hear that Australia is banning incandescent bulbs and replacing them with CFLs? Read about it on Treehugger.

Breaking plastic bag news

2007-02-20T22:56:00.000-08:00

Ikea has made an incredibly forward-thinking move and has become the first major US retailer to start charging for plastic bags!! (Yes, I busted out with the double exclamation points--sadly, I can't remember the last time I've been so excited!) They just announced that beginning March 15th, you'll have to cough up 5 cents per bag to get those bulk tea candles and bargain wine glasses from storefront to car in plastic. Well, YOU won't have to, because bringing your own bags is soooo old news, right? Since debuting this program in Britain just last year, plastic bag reduction has been 95%, and they estimate that the 70 million bags used by U.S. customers will be cut in half in the first year. If you forget your bags, you'll be able to take home their "big blue bag" for a reduced rate of 59 cents. What a deal! The great thing is, it's only a matter of time before other retailers begin to follow suit. Visiting Ikea is never quite a pleasant experience, but I'm actually looking forward to my next trip to check out the operation. Read more about the announcement and what they're going to do with proceeds from the program on Treehugger.

And from the mega-multinational to the locally owned... a shop owner in England declared February "Plastic Bag Free Month", and stopped giving out disposable bags to her customers.

Here is a really hip reusable bag designed by fashion designer Anya Hindmarch that is debuting at London's Fashion Week. Looks like it's still only available in the UK, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Leo, Cameron, et al are donning them. Anybody know a fashion designer? I've got some ideas of my own...

Speaking of making reusable bags stylish, another UK designer, Sarah Mower, complains that plastic bags should be banned, if nothing else, for their fashion violations. "To be perfectly shallow about it, on aesthetics alone, plastic carriers are unconscionable, and fashion ought to be pointing that out." This is a great read, on the Telegraph. Seriously, why bother fussing over finding the perfect outfit if you're going to ruin it with a gaggle of plastic bags as you shlepp around town? Answer: Keep the outfit, bag the plastic bag.

Hmmm....This sure is a lot of anti-plastic bag momentum for one week. I smell a revolution, how about you?

Where's the beef?

2007-02-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

Don't let the anthropo- morphic cow picture scare you. I'm haven't forgotten my promise that I won't guilt you into going vegan. But I have been thinking a lot about meat lately. About this time last year, I visited the Texas ranch of a certain rock legend who’s better known these days for his advocacy of hunting and outspoken conservative politics. And although I probably disagree with him politically across the board, I did leave the experience convinced that he’s got one part of the equation right—that it’s a heck of a lot healthier, more humane, and more ecologically sustainable to hunt your own food than to buy it packaged at the supermarket. Unfortunately, most of us don’t own land with deer and other game roaming through it (btw, how can I get some of that?) and must rely on an agricultural system that is deeply flawed and unsustainable. There are many problems with the way our food is grown/raised that have huge implications not only for our personal health, but also for the planet. I will focus in coming weeks on the impact of eating locally (perhaps most important of all!) and organic. But in honor of Fat Tuesday and my own cultural heritage which starts observing the season of Lent tomorrow(traditionally marked by a meat-free Friday), I thought it appropriate to propose a meat-free day or meal per week. You don’t even have to be Episcopalian or Catholic to join the fun!

CUT OUT ONE SERVING OF MEAT A WEEK
Why? Here are just a few reasons.

* Over a third of all raw materials and fossil fuels consumed in this country are used in animal production. That means you get way more than your beef’s worth of global warming-causing greenhouse gases for your buck.

* Producing one hamburger patty uses the same amount of fuel as driving 20 miles does. Yikes!

* 40% of land in the U.S.—800 million acres—is used to graze livestock. This staggering percentage means that the habitat alteration, water and air pollution, greenhouse gases associated with animal production are on an enormous scale.

* 4.8 pounds of grain are required to produce one pound of beef. Is this an efficient use of energy and resources?

* 2 billion tons of wet manure are generated every year. This is ten times the amount of solid waste generation in our country (which is already an enormous amount!) and has catastrophic implications on our water safety. According to the EPA, animal wastes pollute American water supplies more than all other industrial sources combined! Where do you think e. coli outbreaks originate, folks?

* Poultry is less polluting than red meat, but still contributes its fair share. Poultry waste comprises 34% of animal waste, while red meat claims 45%. Pigs account for 12%, leaving the remaining 9% to turkeys, goats, and other livestock.

* A pound of beef requires around 2500 gallons of water to produce, compared to 60 gallons for a pound of potatoes. According to John Robbins in his seminal book, "The Food Revolution", you’d save more water passing on one pound of beef than not showering for a whole year! And you'll likely keep more friends along the way, too.

Reducing my own beef consumption is definitely a challenge. After almost 5 years of vegetarianism, I started (literally) dreaming about hamburgers about 3 years ago and have since enjoyed my fair share of them. I don't even really like other kinds of lower-impact meat--beef is where it's at for me. But with all the above figures weighing on my mind, I'm going to cut out at least a serving of meat every week. So enjoy your Fat Tuesday, and tomorrow, go Catholic!

photo by pikaluk

Things learned after 2 hours in the Apple store

2007-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

After a close call with a hard-drive breakdown, and an evening spent at the "Genius Bar", I'm feeling the Mac love at the moment and am going to ramble a bit off-topic. The fact that they provide free, in-store technical support to rescue my failing hard drive is truly refreshing in this world of dwindling, lackluster customer service. They're not worried about the few who might take advantage (there are some folks who do show up every day-mostly for social interaction, I learned), but hey, no big deal. And, most importantly, did you guys know that you can send your computer off to Mac for a week and they'll fix basically everything for a flat rate of $300? This is astonishing! The "genius" who was assisting me assured me that they melt down the used parts to reuse in some way. He also clued me in to a little secret: If you're getting a new ipod, bring your old one back to the store for recycling and they'll give you 10% of the new one! Apparently, they realized how ridiculously wasteful it is to encourage people to constantly upgrade to the newest model and throw away the old one. I have no idea if they advertise this program, so spread the word...

Important: TP update!

2007-02-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

You know, it's been way too long since we talked about a super-riveting topic, like, say, toilet paper. Well, I have breaking news, folks! How I missed this, I do not know (guess I've had my head up my arse--har har). As one commenter from the original TP post pointed out, Trader Joes' toilet paper is 100% recycled! And 80% post-consumer product, for that matter. The best part is that a 12-pack costs $3.49, compared to that approximate price for a 4-pack at Whole Foods and other favorite over-priced natural food stores. My sincere apologies for leading you astray and making you cough up the big bucks for over-priced arse-wipe. I know I looked at it in the store and thought it was only partially recycled. Or did they recently increase their recycled content? Either way, it's a relief to know that we can count on TJ's for non-forest-killing, bum-wiping tissue.

E-waste recycling at Amoeba

2007-02-14T07:53:00.000-08:00

In the last couple weeks, a few of my favorite blogs have announced that Amoeba Music is now accepting e-waste for recycling. This is the latest green effort from Amoeba--if you've been there lately, you've probably noticed the large signs giving tips on how to fight global warming, and their compact fluourescent lightbulbs for sale.
I wanted to check out the e-waste recycling scene before I posted about it, so I grabbed whatever seemed like e-waste around my house, which turned out to be just a few old software CDs, and stopped by to check it out. I have to admit, I was expecting something really big. Like, maybe at the door there would be a huge flashing sign alerting everyone of their new, forward-thinking addition to the store. When I saw no such sign, I inquired at the bag check desk and the guy looked at me like I was crazy. He eventually realized what I was talking about and said he thought it was "over in the back, by the stairs". So, I found my way to the box atop a glass cabinet that you see above (indeed, by the stairs). So, it turns out you can recycle just what it says on the box: batteries and small electronics, like cell phones, walkmens, and MP3 players. One of the friendly Amoeba employees told me that people can also bring larger electronics, like VCRs and stereos, that wouldn't fit in the box. Just give it to a cashier and he/she will take care of it. My software cds were a no-go, so it looks like I'll be returning with batteries and a broken mini-DV rewinder. If you don't live in L.A., look into your local options for e-waste recycling, probably through the city. More on L.A. e-waste recycling soon...Just found out that for a year now, it's been illegal in California to throw alkaline batteries in the trash! In the meantime, kudos to Amoeba for yet another step in the right direction. Now if I can just get them to stop giving out so many of those yellow bags...

Air (dry) that dirty laundry WEEK

2007-02-13T08:10:00.000-08:00

It's no surprise that the laundering of clothes is extremely energy-intensive. All that water and hot air doesn't exactly scream "eco-friendly". According to life-cycle analysts, 75% of the energy consumption in the life of a piece of clothing is in its washing/drying. Since we know manufacturing is an extremely energy-intensive experience, the fact that it only accounts for 25% of all energy used indicates that our laundry habits are a little, er, dirtier than we would like to think. Here are some tips for cleaning up the mess.

AIR DRY
If you have a house or access to a yard, there's nothing stopping you from air drying your laundry the majority of the time. Hang a line and buy some clothes pins! You'll get the real sun-kissed smell that all the detergent brands are trying to market. I long for the day when I get to hang my very own laundry line in my own yard! Unfortunatly, for the moment I'm stuck in an apartment so I had to get creative. I asked my landlord if I could hang a line in the back of the building and that was a no-go (He thought it would look tacky, even though it wouldn't be visible from the street--unlike his cooler, bbq, and chairs that ARE. Sigh...). But, I've found a decent alternate solution. I got the rack you see above from Target. It's good for socks, undies (not pictured), shirts, and workout clothes. I put jeans and other bulky items on hangers that I distribute around my place. I've had it for a couple months and the only loads I've had to machine dry are towels and sheets. Even with the cold and damp weather we've been having, I've been pleasantly surprised that most pieces dry within a few hours. And supposedly, even if you only air dried during spring and summer, you would save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 a year. So give it a try. In addition to the model I have that folds up tidily, there are lots others out there--just Google "laundry rack". Avoiding machine drying will also make your clothes last longer. And remember, until just a few years ago, air drying was what everyone did-so we can make it work too!

WATCH THAT WATER
According to Energy Star, between 80 and 85% of energy used for washing clothes is in the heating of the water. So steer clear of using the hot water option. Just switching from hot to warm cuts your energy usage in half, per load, and warm or cold should be ok for most of your laundering needs. If you own your own machine and have choices about where to put it, try to get it as close as possible to the hot water tank so that heat isn't lost in long pipes, and then insulate those pipes. And obviously, if your machine has the option, use the least amount of water needed for each load.

GOOD SOAP
The mainstream detergent brands are yet another petroleum-based product full of chemicals you probably don't want anywhere near your skin. Buy non-toxic, phosphate-free, non-petroleum based detergents, found at any natural foods store, or Trader Joe's. Treehugger also has this to say about laundry soap: "Buy powered detergents. Don’t pay for someone to ship the added water, in liquid detergent, around the country. Why use a greenhouse-gas-emitting 18 wheeler, when you’ve already got water plumbed into the washing machine!...On the same premise use roll-on pre-wash stain removers, rather than squirt bottles or aerosol options. End up with the solution on the stain, not half in the air."

IF YOU MUST DRY
I'll be following these suggestions when I dry my linens, or on the occasion when I need jeans dry ASAP...until I get that laundry line (or a tree, like my dad's).

* Try to avoid keeping your drier in a cold or damp location, because it will make the machine have to work harder.
* Use the high spin option on your washer to get as much moisture out before you start drying.
* Dry similiar fabrics together--this will maximize drying time. Especially avoid drying towels and heavy cottons with normal, light-weight clothes.
* Use the permanent press option. I always wondered knew what this function was! You probably already knew this: it blows cool air at the end of the drying process to cut down on hot air usage. Genius!
* Check to see if your machine has a moisture sensor that will automatically shut off when the machine when the clothes are dry. If it does--use it!
* Dry loads back to back to maximize the residual heat that is still in the machine.

There it is, people. Go forth and launder gently!

Path to Freedom

2007-02-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

Ever had fantasies about packing up, moving to the country, and trying to live off the land? Very '70s, people. Today, you can do it without ever leaving the city! At least, one family in Pasadena can. The Dervaes family lives on normal lot in Pasadena (1/5 acre) but has transformed that area into a model of attempted self-sustainability and fossil fuel independence. On the 1/10 of an acre that is not the house, they grow 350 varieties of edible plants, which yields 6,000 pounds of produce a year, and are steadily marching towards going off the grid, right in the middle of the city. They produce 80% of their own food in the summer, and 50% in winter! And they have all kinds of cool features like a wood stove and home-brewed biodiesel for heating...and a bike that powers the blender (I'm sure they had theirs before Ed Begley, Jr.) Anyway, I've been following the Dervaes family for a bit now via their website, (hey, it's always helpful to know how to incubate eggs!) and they've been getting a lot of press lately (NPR, LA Times), so I figured it's a good time for us all to remember that there ARE sustainable alternatives, even in the middle of urban sprawl.

Path to Freedom

Worth the trip?

2007-02-06T21:34:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we learned that, not only is there no guarantee that bottled water is any safer than tap water, but also that its production (and disposal, of course) are extremely problematic. Well, a guy who knows what he's talking about, Pablo Päster, a Sustainability Engineer and MBA, has calculated just how problematic the whole enterprise is, specifically by estimating what it takes to produce one liter of Fiji water and get it to the U.S. Taking into account production of the plastic bottle and transportation "just" from China to Fiji to San Francisco (not including additional transportation to Anywhere, USA), the results are mind-blowing. I'm a little rusty on my metric to standard conversions, but luckily Treehugger did that work. Producing that one liter bottle uses up 26 times the amount of water it provides you with--7.1 gallons to be precise, and .26 gallons of oil, and 1.2 pounds of greenhouse gases. Read about it on triplepundit (via Treehugger). Another reason to refill your own bottle.

Green pig-skin?

2007-02-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl was the most recent major sports event to go "carbon neutral", following in the footsteps of last summer's Olympics and World Cup, and the Indy 500. In case you haven't heard, going carbon neutral is pretty much the new black. Everyone's doing it--the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, "Syriana", agencies CAA and UTA. It's the ultimate extension of carbon offsetting--which allows anyone and everyone (you, too!) to pay to offset the amount of CO2 their activities pump into the air. Numerous companies will help you calculate how much CO2 was emitted on your flight to Prague, or on your tour around the country in a rockstar bus, as the case may be. The offsetting is achieved by a combination of "energy credits"--basically investment in renewable forms of energy, and tree-planting. Yes, tree-planting. You know, because trees absorb CO2. And while much has been made of this new kind of environmentalism, I remain skeptical. Can we really just continue along our merry little way, driving, flying and emitting as many greenhouse gases as we want with the assurance that we can pay for our sins? On the one hand is the "it's better than nothing" argument, which I can totally get into. And, hopefully with such high-profile events, bands and movies publicizing their efforts, normal people will start to take heed of the need for action. Perhaps the Super Bowl's "carbon neutrality" will help legitimize the need to do something about global warming to the general public. Hey, no doubt the event probably is a more credible source to many Americans than scientific consensus. (BTW, was there even acknowledgement of their neutrality during the game? I was not in attendance...) But, on the other hand, I fear that ultimately carbon offsetting will serve as a distraction from the primary issue--that we need to stop consuming so much oil and other natural resources. It's quite American to hope for some easy answer that doesn't effect our lifestyle in any serious way, isn't it? And while it's great that investment is being made in renewable energy, that should be done on a large scale, preferably by our government. (Also, the science behind the benefits of tree-planting is questionable, which you can read about on Grist's discussion of the Super Bowl issue, here.) So I guess my hope is that "carbon neutral" bands, movies, and events will use their offsetting as a stepping stone to urge people, first and foremost, to cut down on their consumption. Unfortunately, we can't buy our way out of this problem, folks.

Please Mr. Postman, stop sending me junk WEEK

2007-02-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it: I get slightly excited about checking my mail every day. There's always the possibility of something unexpected and fun, right? A postcard from a friend, a magazine, some article clippings from mom. But most days, instead of anything remotely personal, our mail simply reminds us of our position in the world, financially: How much money we owe, that there are unlimited opportunties (pre-approved!) to spend money we don't have, and that there are numerous worthy organizations we could donate to, if only we had more money. Worst of all, of course, is the bulk mail. It really boggles my mind that advertisers actually pay for that--what a waste of money! And of course, of paper and other resources. Think about all the unwanted mail you get and multiply that times the 300 million people in this country...Bottom line, we all get way too much unneccessary mail and it has a monumental effect on our environment. Here are some ways to cut down on the annoyance factor AND save some trees, energy and pollution along the way.

CREDIT CARD OFFERS
Isn't it ironic that the more debt you're in, the more credit card offers you get? Suffice it to say there was a time when I was a prime candidate for those sharks, and I was getting at least 2 offers for new cards every day. Fortunately, those days are behind me, and so are the credit card offers, because I took my name off some creepy master list several months ago. There is a number on every credit card offer that you can call, and it's worked so well that I actually can't find one so I can provide you with the number! But look for that number at the bottom of the offer, or try this opt-out site, which should also do the trick.

JUNK, AKA BULK, MAIL
More than 100 million trees' worth of paper is sent every year as bulk mail in the U.S., according to New American Dream, an organization that is fighting this huge waste. They also estimate that "The production and disposal of junk mail consumes more energy than 2.8 million cars." That ain't peanuts, people! Here are some tips, which I stole from GreenLAgirl's list. (Notes are hers). I just did the online steps and will make the calls tomorrow, so I'll be watching to see how fast each one goes into effect.

Valpak coupons: Go here.

Pennysaver: Call (800) 422-4116. They have odd service hours, but you can leave a message with your address info for removal.

ShopWise (big weekly tabloid-size clump of flyers, and the “Have you seen us?” postcards): Go here, and fill out the online form to be removed in 6-8 weeks.

Money Mailer: Send an email to jlimon@moneymailer.com, requesting to be removed from the mailing list and specifying your snailmail address.

Bed Bath & Beyond: Call 800.462.3966 and hold still till you get an operator. Tell her/him your name & address — you should be off the list in a couple weeks.

Also, (this is me again) demand legislation that would create a junk mail opt-out list, just like the one for telemarketers, through New American Dream's campaign.

BILLS
You might already pay your bills online anyway, but still receive paper statements. Next time you're logged into your various accounts, find the "stop paper bills" function and liberate yourself from paper bill bondage.

PERIODICALS
Do you receive newspapers, magazines or newsletters that you never get around to reading? Stop subscribing and read them online when you get the urge, or buy one occasionally from a newstand. After college, when I was living alone for the first time, I got suckered into receiving the New York Times every day! (Those salespeople sure are convincing..). I'm pretty sure I liked the idea of appearing intelligent and informed much more than the reality, because I just ended up feeling guilty about the waste and my tiny apartment was always covered in newspaper that I never had time to read. If you don't read it, be smart and stop the madness.

CHARITY SOLICITATION
There are so many great organizations out there doing important work in the world. And I'm pretty sure I get a really compelling letter from each of them every month asking me for help. I'm flattered that they think I'm the kind of person who wants to support them (I am!), and when I hit it big, I will! But for now, I wish they would spend their limited resources in other ways, and save some paper along the way. I think the only way to stop this kind of solicitation is to contact each organization and ask to be taken off their list. I'll be saving this one for a really rainy day...

Say goodbye to sweaters?

2007-02-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

A little comic relief for your Friday. Sarah Silverman looks to the future and likes what she sees in this clip from the Jimmy Kimmel show. I think this is pretty funny. But the one person who had posted a comment (when I viewed it) unfortunately doesn't seem to see the brilliance of satire. Personally, I think we need more humorous takes on the issue that point out how ridiculous it is NOT to be on board...What do you guys think? Do you think this piece helps or hurts the cause?

The Official Word

2007-02-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

The Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the UN has released its long-anticipated report in Paris today. It is the most definitive scientific consensus yet (and probably the most we'll ever get from those cautious scientist types) telling us what we already knew: that unfettered usage of oil, coal and other fossil fuels is causing global climate change. Wow, this is a shocking revelation!

For people who've been waiting for some sort of "official" announce- ment warning us that we must act now, this is it. In this century, global temperatures are going to rise at least 3.5-8 degrees, if not significantly more. (Remember that a warming of even a couple degrees can effect catastrophic changes on life as we know it.) And certain parts of the report are even being considered conservative by many experts, such as estimates regarding rising sea levels. The report estimates 5-23 inches, but there has been much coverage this week about 2 major factors that were not included in the report: The surprisingly rapid rate of melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. Apparently, scientists haven't yet figured out a way to include this melting in their computer models because it's such a new development. So many scientists are saying sea levels are likely to rise more like 20-55 inches, effecting coastal populations much sooner than was previously expected. Read more about this issue in this Washington Post article.

As depressing as all this is, the panel did throw us a bone: Action can still be taken to curb the warming if we act NOW. I'll leave you with a pertinent quote from the NYT article on the report:

"Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, which oversees the I.P.C.C. along with the meteorological group, said SOCIETY NOW HAD PLENTY OF INFORMATION ON WHICH TO ACT (my emphasis)...The implications of global warming over the coming decades for our industrial economy, water supplies, agriculture, biological diversity and even geopolitics are massive,” he said. “This new report should spur policymakers to get off the fence and put strong and effective policies in place to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.” And remember, "policymakers" are only going to take action if we demand it, by calling for mandatory emisisons cutbacks, like the 80% reduction by 2050 that many organizers are calling for. One such group is Step it Up which is focusing on a nationwide day of action to get Congress' attention on April 14. Check it out.

One more quote from Mr. Steiner (via Grist):
"Anyone who would continue to risk inaction on the basis of the evidence presented here will one day in the history books be considered irresponsible." Ewww, I don't want to be called irresponsible, how 'bout you?

The great cloth napkin manifesto

2007-01-31T12:58:00.000-08:00

Since I've started this site, the most satisfying aspect has been to hear my friends get excited about one particular disposable problem, or to hear about things they were already doing to make their lives more reusable. My friend Megan has been a long-time user and champion of cloth napkins. And now, I have received her much-anticipated manifesto on the subject! I've been using a kitchen towel as my home dinner napkin, so now I'm totally inspired to go to a thrift store and attempt to make my own...Thanks, Megan! (That's her and said napkins at a little house gathering, and her buddy Tasha with her own napkin below).

MEGAN SAYS:
"I have a lot of habits that are bad for creation, but I have one that is good. I always use cloth napkins at home, and I almost never use paper towels. It makes me crazy that we use so many trees to make napkins, tissues and paper towels, when almost all of the uses for these items can be done easily with reusable cloth.

Cloth napkins are cool. First of all, they are like an accessory for your table, but not a dorky one, like placemats. There are hundreds of kinds of cloth napkins. I have some that I bought on sale at Anthropologie (striped corduroy, $1.25 each), some that I bought an estate sale in Washington DC (cotton, 25 cents each); and some fancy Irish linen ones (gift from my godmother). If you are really out to be a stellar re-user, you could buy some material at a thrift store and cut them up into napkins. That would be really cheap and very environmentally aggressive of you. So - cloth napkins - stylish, and easily obtainable. How can you resist?

Secondly, they are easy to care for, unlike, say, a biodiesel car. At my house, we use them for about a week (longer if we are lazy, shorter if we are eating a lot of messy food) and then throw them in with our regular wash. I keep some in reserve for when company comes over, but our everyday ones look, shall we say, loved. They have little faded stains and whatnot, but they are napkins. Not clothes.

To me, using cloth napkins is a no-brainer. It saves trees, it is (potentially) stylish and it is easy.

As for paper towels? I have one word. RAGS. This has to be the craziest thing corporate America has invented. Paper towel. Seriously. What is wrong with a torn up T-shirt to wipe your sink, or to clean your floor or toilet? How about a washcloth for a kid's face? Obviously, not the same piece of cloth for all those tasks. That would be gross. But you get the idea. If you have to clean up dog vomit, however, I think a paper towel is OK. I understand. That is nasty. The occasional paper towel can be a good thing. But the over-paper-towelfication of America is just stupid.

On the tissue front - I do actually have handkerchiefs, and I have used them when I have a runny nose. It's amazing - using cotton on your nose instead of crazy lotion-laden tissues (how do they do that, anyway?) is much gentler on your skin. The only thing is, if you have a really gross snotty nose you do need several handkerchiefs. Or you can be like me and hold out for a while and then cave and hit the Kleenex. But you are probably a better person than me and would never do that.

And do I really need to say anything about paper plates? I think not."

I heart the bulk bin

2007-01-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

This weekend I got the chance to put my produce bags--AKA the best invention EVER--to use for non-produce items. Technically, they are made for grains too, so it's not like I'm going too far outside the box here. But it was quite satisfying to think about all the packaging I was saving by eliminating the middle man (the cereal box, plastic pasta wrapping) by bringing my own bag. Just like with produce, when I got home, I transferred them to a pre-existing plastic bag. I need to upgrade to those glass jar containers which I always thought were so old fashioned, but now I totally get. The bulk bin world is so exciting! I can't wait to return and fill my bags with more cereals, dried fruit, trail mix, beans upon beans...Get your produce bags (they're cheap!) and go bulk!

Reams and reams of trees WEEK

2007-01-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

Back in "Let's stop flushing forests down the toilet WEEK", we learned that the paper industry is one of the biggest contributors to global climate change and environmental degradation in general. The problems are (at least) three-fold: First, virgin forests that help absorb Co2 and that support complex, biodiverse ecoystems are ravaged. Once that biodiversity is gone, it's lost forever--we can't just create a simulated perfectly balanced ecoystem by planting new trees. Secondly, the pulp-making process is highly polluting--releasing greenhouse gases, and poisoning water and air. According to the NRDC, in many countries the paper/pulp industry is both the biggest consumer AND polluter of water. Third, of course, is the problem of what happens to our disposable paper products after their short lives of usefulness to us. Again, according the NRDC, "Americans use an average of 741 pounds of paper, per person, each year." Most of that ends up as trash in our ever-expanding land-fills. We can't keep putting our rubbish in holes in the ground forever. (Funny, I wonder what the ratio of landfills is to in-tact forests these days. Has our refuse for unwanted, single-use items already surpassed the resources that gave birth to these disposables?) The ridiculous thing is, we can get so much more usage out of our paper products. You guys probably do a lot of this stuff already, but here are a few basic tips for reducing, reusing, and recycling our copy and writing paper at home and at work.

1. REDUCE
One of the gifts of the electronic age is that we can communicate, create, and stay on schedule without ever having to make hard copies. Take a second to think before you pull the trigger and print only what you really need! Too many times I've printed out a whole page for one small piece of information, like an address. If you mapquest something, write down the directions in your planner or on the back of an already used piece of paper. On a related note, did you know you can refill your printer cartridges for half the price of buying a new one? Visit Cartridge World (thanks, Green LA Girl) instead of throwing that cartridge away. They have Pasadena and Westside locations...if you're not in LA, they might have one near you because there are 400 locations nationwide. Yipee for saving money and not creating more plastic trash!

2. REUSE
This is a real revolutionary one! Instantly cut your paper usage in half by using BOTH SIDES of a piece of paper! That goes for notebooks and loose paper. At work, write on both sides of that legal pad. Fill your printer with paper that has only been printed on one side. Many businesses are designating a drawer in the copier and printer for this purpose. If you ever need to print something "official", just put in a blank piece on top. Also, make a stack of half-used paper that has been folded or is otherwise unsuitable to go through the printer, and use that as a writing pad. For years I've kept such a stack on a clipboard to use whenever I need scratch paper around the house. These stacks last so long, that I never have to buy pads of paper to use at home. It's also a fun jaunt down memory lane to flip through the used side--old college papers mixed with bank statements and drafts of cover letters for jobs I never got. I've also taken to saving envelopes in the same way, because I always end up writing on them anyway, so i might as well gather them on a clipboard.

3. BUY RECYCLED

When you do have to buy paper, buy 100% recycled with the highest post-consumer content you can find. I just paid Staples a visit and they have quite a variety of recycled paper in practically every form you can imagine. Reams, spiral notebooks, legal pads, file folders, envelopes, post-its (although the latter is suspect because nowhere on the package does it say what percentage is recycled--the better option would be to just stay away from post-its altogether and use pre-existing scratch paper, see above). From what I saw, the recycled stuff is a tad bit more expensive than the generic Staples brand, but pretty equivalent to other brands. And, since you'll be reducing your paper usage via steps 1 and 2, it will surely even out over the long term. Also, try to get unbleached paper when possible.

What are some other ideas? I know I'm forgetting stuff on this one...

New and improved!

2007-01-29T18:50:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to some site maintenance and would like to point out a few new features, added for your convenience. First and most importantly, I brushed up on a little HTML code (I'm feeling quite techy about this) and figured out how to actually link to other sites within my posts. A whole new window even opens up for the link! I went back and fixed all the old posts, so if you were avoiding copying and pasting the URLs into the browser, you can go back and check out the links you might have missed. And of course, going forward, it will be easy to follow links, like a real, legit website. Very exciting. Next, as you probably noticed, I added a handy-dandy little counter that gives you a running tab of how many plastic bags are being consumed around the world RIGHT NOW! That's right, folks, we're talking real time. It's pretty crazy--even since I downloaded it yesterday, it's gone up 2 billion bags! I guess that makes sense, if you imagine all the people across the world at a grocery store at any given moment, and all the bags they each carry home with them (and then promptly discard). The third new feature is the sidebar "Search by topic", where you can do exactly that. If you want to go back and refresh your memory about all the tips of the week, for example, you can do it with a click of a button. Or look at all the posts that deal with plastic, that too. I'm still working on naming the categories and labeling each post, but it will be a handy little feature. That's all for now. As always, I'd love to hear any feedback you have about the site and about any changes you're making in your lifestyle.

Driving diet update: Get to know a coworker!

2007-01-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, so after a week of feeling at a loss about how I can cut down my commuting miles without spending 5 hours a day on the bus, another option has presented itself: Carpooling! My lovely coworker Traci lives fairly nearby (Eagle Rock) but strongly believes in the cause and suggested that we give it a try. She doesn't mind swinging down a bit out of her way to Los Feliz to pick me up and the best part is, she drives a Prius! Not only are we taking one car off the road, but I get to share in her lower emissions glory. Geez, I couldn't ask for a better carpool buddy! So far she's graciously done all the driving since my MPG doesn't even come close to hers, but she says it helps alleviate her guilt about working on the westside. We've ridden together twice this week, and we're hoping to do it 1-2 times a week. It's much less of a hassle than you might think, (we just talk the day before and see if our schedules sync up) and chatting makes that hour go by faster and takes the edge off fighting the traffic. See if any of your coworkers live close or along your path to work and give it a try! Now if only there was an actual carpool LANE on the 10...

BYOB, San Francisco

2007-01-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

In 2005, San Francisco was considering imposing a 17 cent tax on plastic bags (like many other countries and cities have done, including Ireland, which reduced usage by 90% after imposing theirs). Grocery chains opposed, and brokered a deal to voluntarily reduce plastic bag usage by 10 million bags. Well, saying please didn't work, and the grocers aren't cooperating by submitting vital info such as how many bags they actually do go through every year. So, now local law-makers have introduced legislation that would force stores to substantially reduce plastic bag usage. It's not really clear what that would entail other than the vague mandate to use "recyclable, biodegradable or reusable bags". Nonetheless, it's super-exciting that this issue is finally picking up steam so close to home! I say we beat 'em to it and get L.A. to ban plastic bags before they get around to it in July. This could be bigger than, er, the Dodgers vs the Giants! Who's on board?

Go here to read about what's going on in SF.

Could you go plastic-free?

2007-01-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

Just as I was starting to feel perhaps a teeny-weeny bit smug about my disposable bag/bottle-free months, I came across a chick in Vancouver who is going completely plastic-free in 2007. This is hardcore: Nothing that contains even a plastic wrapper can make the cut. Think about that! Most packaged food is out, as are most toiletries, toilet paper and other essentials. And no, she's not going to starve or not wash her hair all year...she's seeking alternatives, which, thankfully, do seem to be out there. One of my next steps is going to be buying cereals, pasta, rice, snacks, etc from the bulk bin of my local nature mart (Whole Foods has them too), with my cloth produce bags, of course. Now I'm going to follow her lead and seek out plastic-free products like deoderant from Lush. Very inspiring! Check it out and follow her journey.

The morning after--SOTU Address hangover

2007-01-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

Well, he finally uttered the words "global climate change", although as Grist has pointed out, somewhat grudgingly and as an after-thought following the more important issue--"energy security". On the bright side, at least he's not denying its existence any more. And while a significant portion of the speech was devoted to energy issues, unfortunately the underlying myth remains the same--namely, that "technology" will save us. There are going to be big-time subsidies for ethanol production, which is not by any means an answer to our waning oil supply. Ethanol and other bio-fuels have major drawbacks. First, the corn that ethanol is made from is obviously still dependent on a fossil fuel platform--think fertilizers, pesticides, tractors, trucks for transport, etc., so that doesn't really get us very far away from oil dependency. And, because of all the fossil fuels involved, the process is far from carbon-neutral. Science magazine has reported that ethanol fuel emissions are only 13% less than traditional gasoline, once all the fossil fuel inputs are taken into account. And as for cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass and other biomass, not only has it never been made on a huge scale, but we also don't have anywhere near enough land to support our agricultural system and an the amount of biomass inputs we would need to fuel our cars. Also, there are apparently major caveats written into the administration's proposals, which you can read about here.

Even middle-of-the-road NYT is skeptical about how much any of this amounts to:

And here is the Washington Post's take.

All in all, we're still in the same position as we were yesterday. Technology is not going to curb global warming or figure out how we're going to get by with waning oil supplies. We must continue or efforts to stop consuming so much freaking oil and other natural resources by changing our lifestyle, not just by substituting one kind of fuel for another. Boring, but true.

Set your Tivos

2007-01-23T14:03:00.000-08:00

It's been widely reported that Bush is expected to address oil consumption and energy security tonight in the State of the Union Address. Normally I can only listen to our fearless leader in short soundbites but I'm quite curious to hear what he has to say on these issues as his approval ratings continue to drop. Hey, maybe he'll actually encourage people to drive less, stop buying gas guzzlers, and start being aware of how our consumption patterns deplete natural resources! A girl can always dream...

This is what Grist expects of the occasion.

Disposable water bottles blow WEEK

2007-01-21T21:31:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, the impetus for this blog was the discovery of an obscene amount of plastic water bottles in my car. I had been grabbing one at work almost every morning, even though there was a 5-gallon dispenser right next to the personal plastic bottles. And, I had a mug on my desk. Yikes! I knew I should be just filling up my mug--I really did feel a pang of guilt every time I got a bottle. But for some reason, grabbing my own personal bottle always just seemed like a much nicer, fresh, pure start to each day. Know what I'm talking about? It was all mine, bottled just for me at the source of some font of pure mountain water, right? Not exactly, but the good news first: I'm happy to report that since that day, almost 3 months ago, nary a disposable water bottle have I consumed. And only 1 disposable cup, for that matter. It has been really easy to get in the habit of bringing my own bottle wherever I go. People, we are proving little by little that bad habits can be reversed, and quickly, for that matter!

But I'd like to dwell on the psychology behind that easy, breezy justification for grabbing a disposable water bottle every day. These handy little portables have been marketed as a symbol of health, and their ubiquity needs no explanation. They might have started out as a yuppie indulgence, spotting yoga classes and gyms initially, but now you can barely order water at a café or bar without having to pay for a bottle. Indeed, many people only drink out of disposable bottles. There is a perception that bottled water is healthier and pure, free of any scary toxins that may exist in tap water. We hear about arsenic, nitrates and other chemicals in tap water and turn fearfully to bottled water. The water bottling industry has capitalized on that apprehension and has grown exponentially in the last decade. We can now choose between an increasingly expanding number of brands, each cleverly named and packaged to evoke the image of purity and the peace of mind that accompanies it. Fuji, Arrowhead, Sparkletts, Dasani, Everest, Penta, and old-school Evian, which I blame for starting the water bottling craze and the accompanying cultural indicators that it evoked. (Wasn't it the first "designer" water brand that made the kind of water you drink a class indicator?) And of course they all must distinguish themselves from each other, so there's constantly a purity one-uping with each new brand that hits the market. Penta calls itself "ultra premium" and claims to be arsenic and chlorine-free, which ingeniously and instantly calls into question what you're getting in every other brand of bottled water, not to mention from the old-fashioned kind that flows through pipes. So we buy into it, and we pay heavily for that peace of mind. Americans ponied up an estimated $11 billion in 2006 for bottled water, a rate that seems to grow about 10% a year.

I'm starting to feel like Debbie Downer folks, but, alas, there is no guarantee that bottled water is any purer than tap water. The key issue here is regulation. It turns out that city (tap) water is regulated by the EPA, while bottled water is monitored by the FDA. For obvious reasons, the government has stringent guidelines that outline how often city water must be tested for various bacteria and chemicals. And across the board, these requirements are much more far-reaching and strict than those the FDA has for bottled water.

And the real kicker is that the FDA exempts water that is packaged and sold within the same state from their rules, so 60-70% of the water sold in the U.S. is NOT REGULATED by the federal government. States regulations vary. If that wasn't enough, anywhere between 25% and 40% of bottled water is just tap water that may or may not have received treatment or minerals that don't necessarily have additional health benefits. And there is nothing on the bottle that tells you where it's really from, so for example, according to U.S. News & World Report, "Aquafina is municipal water from spots like Wichita, Kansas...Coke's Dasani (with minerals added) is taken from the taps of Queens, New York, Jacksonville, Florida, and elsewhere." This is a complex issue but if you would like to know more of the details, check out NRDC's analysis of the water bottling industry. A few years ago they did a 4-year study on bottled water, testing over 100 brands, and concluded that bottled water is no safer than tap water.

Now that we know we're not necessarily getting any health benefit from bottled water, let's look at the enormous environmental footprint our little "healthy" habit is causing. Remember, the primary problem with plastic products is their production in the first place (i.e, it doesn't matter if every plastic bottle was recycled--the manufacturing of them uses up a ridiculous amount of resources and causes massive pollution). According to the World Wildlife Fund, 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to make the bottles every year, which is made from an equivalent 1.5 million barrels of oil. Funny, I thought we trying to decrease our dependency on oil...Apparently, with that amount of oil, we could power electricity in 250,000 homes for a year, or fuel 100,000 cars, also for a year. And, as in all manufacturing, an enormous amount of energy is used, releasing Co2 and other pollutants and toxins. All that happens even if we DO recycle our bottles, but mostly we don't--at least 85% of plastic bottles end up in the trash. And as we know, plastic doesn't really ever biodegrade--it just breaks down in tiny toxic particles that seep into the ground, ironically, polluting our water. Additionally, bottled water is often transported long distances by various forms of transportation that all burn lots of fossil fuels.

So, what's the solution? Drink out of real glasses when you're at home or at work. Fill up your reusable bottle before you go work out. Encourage the folks in your office/yoga class/kickball league to do the same. Take your bottle with you in the car so you don't have to pop into a store for a disposable one. A little planning goes a long way. I even take mine with me to lunch because some restaurants will still give you a disposable cup even if you're dining in…Grr! I've tried a few different reusable bottles, but the one I've settled on is the stainless steel one above. I am super-attached to this little thing! It really is just a glorified canteen disguised as a piece of art, but that makes me actually want to carry it around. I recommend metal canteens over plastic reusable bottles, because they stay cleaner, and are safer to drink out of than plastic. You can get this and other stainless steel canteens from reusablebags.com for $20--probably less than you spend on disposable bottles every month.

On that point, I have encountered one little snag in what I thought was a perfect solution to our water imbibing problems. As you've probably heard, there are reports that certain types of plastic are not safe to drink from. I always thought this was a conspiracy from the water bottling companies to get you to buy more bottles, but it turns out there is truth to it. Unfortunately, I have discovered that the one kind of plastic you really want to stay away from is #7 made from polycarbonate. And disturbingly, this is the kind of plastic the 5- gallon Sparkletts bottles delivered to my house are made from. Before that discovery, I was going to brag about how easy it is to just refill your reusable bottle from the water cooler at work or at home. So, my next task is to figure out what I'm going to do about my personal water situation. For now, I'm still drinking practically all my water from those 5-gallon bottles, but I'm going to do some more research. If bottled water isn't even safer and it's being housed in the worst kind of plastic, maybe I'm better off drinking tap water and buying a filter. Any ideas?

One last thing. For me, the water bottle issue is emblematic of the major problem we are facing as a planet right now--the emphasis on the personal versus the collective. Our worldwide water supply is polluted. Billions of people do not have access to clean water, period. The water in this country is increasingly polluted, but buying bottled water is not a long-term solution. We need to figure out how to stop polluting our water supplies and focus on making clean, free water available to everyone. As the NRDC puts it, "The long-term solution to our water woes is to fix our tap water so it is safe for everyone, and tastes and smells good."

Flex those democratic muscles TODAY

2007-01-17T13:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm asking you to contact your congr- essperson. Tomorrow the House will vote on a bill that would cut subsidies and tax breaks to the oil companies (think about how much you spend on gas--they're the last folks who need help from the government!!!). This money would create a $14 billion fund to promote renewable energy sources and energy efficiency programs. It's a step in the right direction. Please take a minute right now to send your representative a note.

UPDATE: The bill did pass 264 to 163, with some Republicans even joining in the fun. Now let's see what happens when it goes to the Senate, and ultimately to Bush. Speaking of him, look out for a focus on "energy security" in Tuesday's State of the Union. How we will get there will without emissions caps (Bush still opposes) is another story...

BTW...

2007-01-16T09:02:00.000-08:00

I was asked a question yesterday that I think is worth mentioning. Someone said, "So about this global warming thing...if it's real, why is it so cold today?" Yes, we are having unusually frigid weather in LA, and I know usually temperate Austin is covered in ice right now. The answer is that weather is different than climate and that you can't take the temperature of one day in one place as evidence for or against global warming. And remember, what's actually happening is global CLIMATE CHANGE. Because of the interconnectedness of what we call "biodiversity", we are just beginnning to understand all the ways that the climate is changing due to human activity, which includes unusual cooling in some places. For more on this issue, check out that trusty "How to talk to a skeptic" guide, specifically, this entry.

Driving diet update

2007-01-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s been two weeks since I started the driving diet and I have both encourag-ing and slightly frustrating reports. On the one hand, I drove a little over 200 miles each week, which was much less than my target goal of 275. But, I only took the bus to work 3 times in those two weeks. Because, well, the bus is not quite as convenient as the train is. In fact, it’s downright difficult. The first time I took it was first day of my new job. Big mistake! Well, the morning was ok—it only took about an hour and 15 minutes to get there, and driving takes an hour. But it was an unusually late night—I was there until midnight—and after looking online to see what bus to take home, realized that I wouldn’t have made it home until almost 3am, and would have to ride 3 buses. Probably not a smart proposition at that hour. So I asked my new coworkers if anyone happened to be going in my direction, then the whole bus riding thing came out. These people don’t know me and they clearly thought I was a bit off. Anyway, no one was heading in my direction and they all insisted that I take a cab--the owner of the company went so far as to give me money for one. So, I did, and I felt like a total public transportation loser. How pathetic is that? Failure on my first serious bus-riding attempt. Since then, I’ve discovered that one bus on my morning route has been late 2 out of the 3 times I’ve taken it, leaving me waiting for half an hour at the stop. I will have to take it more to see if this truly is the norm. Then, much to my chagrin, it turns out that getting home is much more complicated than my morning ride. Seems that after 7pm or so, the buses come really infrequently, like every half hour. And I have to take 3 of them, so if I hit it wrong, I could potentially spend an hour and a half just waiting, plus the hour or more of driving. Luckily, so far it’s only taken 2 hours, but combined with the 2 in the morning, that doesn’t leave much of a day left. Which brings me to my first lesson in this experiment. If I spend 4 or more hours a day commuting, that doesn’t leave me with much energy to do anything but plop down in front of the tv, or go straight to bed, leaving no energy to work on this blog or any other efforts to curb global climate change. How does taking one car off the road weigh against having little energy to devote to other efforts? And, as I sit on the bus surrounded by people who don’t have the luxury to take the bus voluntarily, I can’t help but think that maybe my privileged position in society could be used in a more productive way. I’m sure my fellow riders dream of what they would do with those extra 4-5 hours a day if they didn’t have to take the bus. I’m reminded of hearing about my sister and her college friends at one of the most prestigious schools in the world dumpster diving Trader Joe’s trash. Good intentions, but what if they put those efforts and their high-level education toward addressing the problem of excessive food waste and unequal access to healthy food in our society, for example? My point is that I think we are all called to figure out the most effective and efficient ways we can each contribute to the problems we are facing. For those of us privileged enough to have choices in our daily lives, I think our biggest challenge is to very intentionally explore where we are most needed. So, I’m not going to stop taking the bus, and I hope you guys won't give up on it either, especially if you have a reasonable commute. But because it is such a time-consuming endeavor to and from my current job, I will likely only take it only once during the workweek on this current job. I will focus on continuing to reduce my weekend driving and will resume taking the train in several weeks when I’m back at my old workplace. In the meantime, I vow to maximize my non-commuting time by exploring new avenues to green my life and get others on board! How have you guys been doing? I want to hear your transit, bicycling, walking, skateboarding, scootering, or whatever stories!

Auto-shop 101 WEEK

2007-01-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

While we're on the topic of driving, here are some super-fast ways you will instantly lower your carbon dioxide footprint before you even cut any miles out. (But I am still waiting to hear what people are pledging for the driving diet...come on-buck up, folks!)

1. KEEP YOUR TIRES INFLATED
Apparently, by checking monthly to make sure your tires are appropriately inflated, you will save 250 pounds of CO2 a year and over $800 because your gas mileage will be that much better! I have no idea what the proper amount of inflation is, so I'll be asking a friendly mechanic for guidance on that one.

2. CHANGE YOUR AIR FILTER MONTHLY
I'm always skeptical at EZ Lube when they tell me I need a new air filter, but perhaps they weren't just trying to rip me off. Maybe they were even trying to help me save money, because you will save an estimated $150 annually and, most importantly, 800-1000 pounds of CO2 a year! My car knowledge is in the sub-zero range, but apparently, a functioning air filter improves horsepower and gas mileage by getting rid of the bad particulates in the air before they hit the engine. And you don't even have to pay the guys at Jiffy Lube to do it--here's an article on how to change it yourself:

3. CLEAN OUT YOUR TRUNK
If you're carrying around your life in your backseat or trunk, your gas mileage is not as good as it could be. Obviously, extra weight lowers fuel efficiency. And cleaning out clutter from your car will just make you feel better anyway.

4. DON'T IDLE!
Clearly, when you idle, your MPG is 0. Apparently, even on a very cold winter day, 30 seconds of idling is the most you need to warm up your car, and according to the Department of Energy, "The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it." If you frequent drive-through restaurants, banks, pharmacies, or whatever, turn off your engine while waiting.

5. SWITCH FROM AAA TO BETTER WORLD CLUB
I can't even count the number of times AAA has bailed me out in my 10+ years of driving. Ah, the memories...There have been the innumerable keys locked in the car, the poor judgement leading to empty gas tanks on the freeway (yes, more than once), and numerous mysterious mechanical failures. I hate to always be the bearer of bad news, but it is now widely reported that AAA uses its members' dues and popular name to lobby against clean air regulations (they pretty much deny that cars even pollute), FOR more highways, and against public transportation. Geez, they even oppose bike paths! They are basically highway lobbyists...and you are too, if you pay them dues! But there is fortunately an alternate auto club that is actually FOR the environment (thanks greenLA girl for the tip). Better World Club donates 1% of their revenue to environmental cleanup and advocacy. They support environmental legislation, alternative transportation and cleaner air. They give discounts to hybrid owners and for hybrid rentals, offer roadside bicycle assistance, help you offset your CO2 emissions, and give you $40 gas coupons for joining. All that, and they provide the same basic services as AAA--roadside assistance, towing, those cool "triptix" maps, and discounts on hotels and other travel services. The cost of membership is the same or less than AAA, and they use many of the same local towing companies, so the response time is also around 30 minutes. You can still have the peace of mind that you will be rescued off the side of the road without unwittingly being a part of an anti-environmental lobby! I'm making the switch!

Driving, you're sooo 2006

2007-01-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome, 2007! Whether you're for or against making resolutions, it seems obvious that the first day of each new year is a convenient time to reflect, evaluate, and make a fresh start in various aspects of our lives. Many of us have already been making small but significant changes towards a more sustainable, less disposable future. And it's like a snowball, isn't it? Once you start remembering to bring your own bags, you can't help but notice how much packaging surrounds your crackers, cds, and running shoes. It always seems like there's so much more you could be doing, doesn't it? So...(can you tell I'm leading up to something big here?), let's start the new year off with a bang by attacking the biggest, baddest monster of them all: DRIVING. I don't think I need to convince you on this one--we all need to be driving a lot less, period. So, I've decided to put myself on a driving diet. Yes, a diet--a staple of the American lifestyle. We can all be very disciplined people when it comes to counting calories, resisting carbs, sticking to a monthly budget, or saving for retirement. But one area of our lives that seems to be totally lacking discipline--or any thought at all--is how much we drive. Our president even admitted that we are "addicted to oil", and as addicts, we unthinkingly rack up hundreds of miles a week and can't even account for our actions. Quick: How many miles do you drive per week? Don't know?

On average, I drive 375 miles a week, due to a long commute. The starting goal for my diet is to drive 100 fewer miles per week. To do that, I'm going to take the bus to work 2-3 times a week. (I was gleefully taking the train, but am starting a new job outside the range of the rail system, so I'll be discovering the world of the L.A. bus system!). I challenge you to join me on this diet! I'm not asking you to drive 100 fewer miles...I've already gotten used to public transportation and know that 100 miles is doable for me. Pick a number that seems like a realistic starting point for you, like driving 10 fewer miles a week. Then get creative to figure out how you can reach that goal. First, figure out how many miles you drive to work every day. Could you take the train or bus to work one day a week? Even if it's far, it's not unrealistic. I'm going to be going from Los Feliz to Santa Monica, and although it will take a little longer on the bus, I'll be able to read and enjoy all the benefits of not having to pay attention to the road. Do you live close enough to work that you could bike a couple days? Does a coworker live nearby whom you could carpool with?

Next, look at your non-commuting driving. Most of us in LA have grocery stores, banks, and other essentials within a reasonable walking distance. (If you're trying to shed those holiday pounds, you'll be killing two birds with one stone, right?) And don't assume that driving less will cut into your social life. Figure out a way to meet up with friends for drinks using public transportation--it will be an adventure! An added bonus--nobody has to worry about being the designated driver. Figure out what bus route can get you to your BFF's place for Saturday brunch. Another option is to observe a driving "sabbath" on Saturday or Sunday. Get all your errands done on Saturday, and don't touch your car on Sunday. I've been pretty faithfully observing a "no-driving Sundays" rule, and it has been great! It's amazing how relaxing it is to not fight traffic all weekend...

Although the L.A. rail system is limited, it serves some areas really well, and there's a chance you live or work near a stop and might not even know it. Check out this map. Even if you're not near the train, there are definitely buses that serve your area. Go on an urban adventure! And remember, there are millions of people in L.A. who have no choice but to rely on public transportation. There are even a few who voluntarily live without a car. If you are somewhere else, even in suburban sprawl, I bet there are stores that are within walking distance, even though you never see anyone walking to them. Your presence will remind people that, even in suburbia, there are ways to get around without a car.

So pick a number--10, 25, 50 miles, whatever is realistic yet challenging for you, and pledge to join me on this diet. Just like if you were losing weight, as you meet your goal, create another one for yourself. It's a learning process: If this 100 mile thing turns out to be easy for me, I'm going to cut my original number in half. Please let me know what you are pledging, etiher by posting a comment or by emailing me. I don't want to do this alone!! And I want to know what other people are doing! Start logging your car trips (as if it were your checkbook) so that you know exactly where your mileage is being spent. Please forward to friends and encourage them to join you on the diet. I am convinced that everyone can easily cut out at least 10-25 miles a week, and imagine if we all do more!

Walmart goes fluorescent

2007-01-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

For better or worse, whatever Walmart does causes huge ripples in the world economy and American culture. The behemoth has recently "gone organic", and in another attempt to green their reputation, is now pushing compact fluorescent lightbulbs. A lofty goal--it wants to sell 100 million of them this year. As horrific as their labor practices are, it seems that the CEO's pledge to reduce American energy usage is legit. Check it out...This article is a part of a New York Times series on "The Energy Challenge". (NYT gets lots of mileage out of the word "challenge" to soften tough issues...remember "A Nation Challenged" after 911? What if they were to come out and actually call it an energy crisis? Hmm...)

Photograph by Jared C. Benedict

When I was a kid...

2006-12-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

If anybody is actually reading this week, please help me out with my next post. I'm trying to remember what life was like before we drank out of plastic water bottles. Especially for you guys in the 30-plus crowd...can you recall what vessels you used to bring H2O to mouth? Give me specifics here...at work? At the gym, or were there gyms back then? On the run? I need help here, because for some of the kids these days, pre-plastic water bottle days are as hard to imagine as life without the internet. Anyway, please help me out with the water bottle question by postiing a comment!

If you haven't already bought wrapping paper...

2006-12-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

Check out Umbra's advice on using "found paper" to wrap your holiday gifts. She asserts that in making a gift attractive, more important than the actual paper used are crisp, tight folds and creative garnishes like ribbons and glitter.

And this year, designate a bag for wrapping paper/bows/gift bags that still look as good as new and can be saved for next year. My dad is a master at this. For years my sister and I have seen the same bags and bows surface year after year, most likely outliving many of the presents they housed. And while we used to give him a hard time about what we perceieved as extreme thriftiness, I now totally appreciate the path he forged for us. (That's us last Christmas. I'm pretty sure that bag dates back to at least 1997.) It's all about changing our orientation. Once you stop seeing wrapping paper, gift-bags, bows, newspaper, envelopes, copy paper, ziplock bags, etc. etc., as single-use disposables, a whole new world opens up! Don't cut their lives off prematurely after one use...Get creative and save a bow from a landfill. It wants to be a part of the family.

Got a skeptic?

2006-12-14T19:03:00.000-08:00

Ah, the holidays. You know what that means: Food, drink, a little vacation time...and testy interactions with family members who hold widely varying social and political views. Unless you grew up in the artsy, activist household of my dreams, you know what I'm talking about. No matter how much you vow to avoid the "hot topics", after a few drinks they inevitably surface. I've already heard reports of a Thanksgiving fight breaking out over the merit of reusable bags (Thanks for the effort, Sean!). And while the issue of climate change is NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE, unfortunately for some of our family members, it might be. Because of, you know, Al Gore and all those crazy Hollywood types who drive hybrids. And as much as we all might fantasize that our elderly family members will see the light about global warming when they witness our passion for the issue, I'm afraid sometimes they see our "passion" as "craziness". Such interactions might even reinforce their previously-held beliefs about what happens when their grandchildren move to California (sorry, getting a little personal there.) And one thing we definitely want to avoid is the perpetuation of the idea that caring about the future of our planet is a "liberal" issue. SO...it's always best to go into battle armed with some cold, hard facts, right? I thought this would be a good time to share this fabulous resource:

How to talk to a global warming skeptic

It's quite an extensive compilation, but try starting with the "Global warming is a hoax" section, where the author lists various organizations that all accept that the earth is warming because of human activity. Real "left-wing wackos" here, like the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Meteorological Society. Heck, even oil companies Shell and BP admit that global warming is being caused by the burning of fossil fuels. If the oil companies say it's true, it must be, right?

And remember, a little sugar always helps the medicine go down. :)

Fun with home electricity WEEK

2006-12-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

First of all, sorry for the delay in posting this week's theme. It won't happen again. And then I bring you such a compelling topic...I know, I know. Home electricity isn't half as exciting as reusable bags or recycled toilet paper, but it's an essential stop on our journey towards a greener lifestyle. The facts are pretty basic on this one, but we often forget that electricity has to actually be generated, don't we? Where do our computers, ipods, tvs, phones, electric can openers, treadmills, hair dryers, electric screwdrivers, waffle-makers, etc, etc....get their life-force? You guessed it--mostly from fossil fuels! According to the Department of Energy, at least 70% of our electricity is produced by the burning of fossil fuels--coal (52%), natural gas (16%), and oil (3%). Only 2% of our electricity is powered by renewable resources, such as solar and wind power. (The rest is from nuclear (20%) and hydropower (7%), in case you're wondering). So there's a pretty simple solution: Use less electricity, burn fewer fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases. Easy, right? Actually, there are some really basic measures we can all take to drastically reduce our electricity usage, and I don't mean walking around the house in pitch-black. The first 2 are one-time actions...can it get any easier than that?

1. Sign up for "Green Power". If you live in LA, this is so easy. Just call LADWP at 800-342-5397 to make the switch and voila...your electricity will now come from solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass energy. Isn't it more pleasant to imagine one of those cool windmills (wind turbines, I guess they're officially called) working hard to brew your cup of coffee, rather than some nasty coal factory emitting black plumes of smoke to help get your day going? Call DWP with your account number and make the switch today! Read more about the Green Power program here. (photo credit: Wagner Christian).

If you're not in LA, there is a chance that your area has a similar option, so look into it! And if not, start a campaign for one!

2. Replace your most frequently used incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. (Or go crazy and replace all of them!) Here's another one of those handy "If every American household replaced an earth-hating product..." facts, from Energy Star, the government's energy efficiency-promotion program:

"If every American home replaced just one light bulb with (a compact fluorescent bulb), we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars." I'm convinced!

I'm going to continue quoting Energy Star here, because last night was a late one and my brain is fuzzy...

Compact fluorescent bulbs:
"use at least 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light, and last up to 10 times longer...Save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb's lifetime."

I bet some of you have considered buying a compact fluorescent bulb, picked it up, but have been dissuaded by the price, which is slightly more than standard bulbs. But now you know that you'll undoubtedly make that initial investment back by saving on your electricity bill, and by rarely having to replace these amazing bulbs. Now that I think about it, I have NEVER replaced a fluorescent bulb...don't know exactly how long that's been, but I know I have a couple that have outlasted at least 4 apartments! Funny...the one constant in my life: fluorescent light bulbs. A word to the wise: When you sign up for Green Power, they say they will send you 2 fluorescent bulbs, but don't wait around for those to make the switch, because I still have never gotten mine, and it's been about 6 months. Also, compact fluorescent bulbs make great stocking stuffers!

3. Reduce your electricity usage. We all know we could be better on this front.

--Just like Dad insisted, turn off lights when you leave a room. A good rule of thumb I use when I'm cleaning or doing something between rooms is turning the light off I leave the room for more than a minute. Also, I know this is home-energy week, but PLEASE turn off your office lights when you leave work. I drive through downtown cringing as I see floor after floor of office bldgs lit up all night long! Who are they leaving the lights on for?! The cleaning service will undoubtedly turn on the lights as they reach each room, so I don't buy that argument. Don't these companies know they could save thousands of dollars a month in energy bills? And of course if they're leaving the lights on, the computers and copy machines are probably not being turned off either. It's enough to give me apoplexy....If you work in a building like this, start a movement to turn off the lights at night. You'll be simultaneously doing your employer a favor AND starting a revolution!

--Turn off your computer when you're not using it. This includes laptops too. Somehow a few years ago a rumor started circulating that it takes more energy to turn the computer on and off, so you might as well leave it on all the time. This is wrong! And nonsensical if you think about for more than a few seconds.

--Unplug cell phone, ipod and other chargers when they are not in use. Yes, they are still drawing energy even if the device is not connected. (Photo at left is not staged. Scene found in real-live coworker's office.) Also, make sure your ipod isn't wasting energy getting tossed around in a bag--that's what the lock switch is for.

--This one is new to me, but I'm getting pretty good at remembering to do it. Apparently, your TV is still drawing power even when it is off! That's what enables it to be turned on by a remote, which makes sense. Likewise, if you have a stereo like I do that can be turned on by a remote or still has lights on when it is "off", it too, is sucking energy even when not "on". So...and I know this is going to sound extreme to some of you...unplug them when not in use. An easy way to do this is to plug your TV, DVD player, and stereo into one surge protector (which they likely already are all on) and just power that off when you leave the house in the morning. The exception is your TIVO, which, of course does have to stay plugged in to do its job. Ah, TIVO, I knew someday I'd see your warts...

--I rent an apartment, as do most people I know, and as my dad recently reminded me, there's a whole world of house mainentance that I'm oblivious to. But if you are a homeowner, there are several other measures you can take...such as buying energy-efficient appliances when it's time to replace yours. Lots of lists exist for reducing energy-usage in a house, so look it up.

--Think. Just start noticing how you might have become accustomed to leaving random electronics on unnecessarily. Start changing your habits, little by little. I've started turning off my internet router when I'm not home. It doesn't need to sit there waiting for me to come home all day. Of course, the added bonus in using less electricity is that you'll be saving a few dollars on your bill every month--money better put towards movies, coffee (in a reusable mug, of course), cheap Trader Joe's wine...just about anything beats paying to burn fossil fuels!

Let's go places together

2006-12-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

Meet my new favorite reusable bag that now has a permanent place in my purse. This one's got game, folks. Witness its transformation from tiny and totally transportable to sturdy and stylish.

Comes in a pouch that's sewn to the inside of the bag, so you can't lose it. Amazing! Fits easily in any purse, so you'll never have to worry about getting caught without a reusable bag again. (The newest social faux pas, people!) Guys, you can stow it in your backpack, man-purse or just your car!

Friendly Bristol Farms worker is totally in awe of the transforma-tion he just witnessed and thinks we're only slightly weird. (Sorry for the blurry representation).

I could take this one anywhere, even to the finest boutiques, if I went to those kinds of places. Although this pictorial journey records a mere grocery store outing, this bag is actually ideal for non-food shopping, given its sleek look. Just unload your goods, stuff it back into its pouch, and return it to your purse/backpack/car.

Also comes in black, "moroccan blue", and "burnt orange"...ooh la la! from reusable bags.com, of course.

Victoria's Secret catalog goes green-ish

2006-12-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

You can now enjoy the air-brushed babes of the "lingerie catalog" (come on, we all know it's borderline porn), without feeling guilty (at least, about what trees were used in the making of, that is).

Grist reports today that Limited Brands, (which owns Victoria's Secret, The Limited, Express, and Bath and Body Works) has announced some really important changes in the way they do business. A huge user/waster of paper (apparently Victoria's Secret alone sends out more than 1 million catalogs a day!!), they have agreed to stop using virgin pulp from the Boreal forest--yes, that same place your plush toilet paper comes from. They have also agreed to a number of new forest-friendly policies, including using at least 10% post-consumer recycled content for their catalogs. Just goes to show that we can put pressure on corporations to do better, and that many of them are starting to listen!

While we're on the topic of corporate responsibility, for those of you who have been inspired to switch to toilet paper made from recycled paper, take the extra step and send Kimberly Clark an email to help pressure them to do what Limited Brands has done.

Becky says "feck driving!"

2006-12-03T23:37:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I've been living it up on the train a lot lately, taking the long journey between Los Feliz and Manhattan Beach regularly, which has caused a few people to question my sanity. I try to explain: An hour and twenty minutes of care-free, "me time" versus 45 minutes fighting traffic? Duh, no-brainer! And well, I've come to enjoy...ok, absolutely LOVE everything the train has to offer. In my dreams I've written numerous "odes to the train", paying homage to all the life lessons it has taught me already in our short relationship. Seriously, folks! But, alas, time has not allowed such a litany of gratitude yet. So thank goodness I discovered my friend Becky's blog which is all-around fabulousness. Most exciting, she has written her own ode to the train, and an accompanying "Letter to Driving". Check it out. It's quality, LOL stuff.

Let's stop flushing forests down the toilet WEEK

2006-12-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

Alright, people. So far, we've been easing into this whole "saving the planet" thing. You've been asked to make some small changes and you've risen to the occasion. Many are now proud users of reusable bags, and you haven't even been laughed out of the grocery store yet! Several of you have reported refusing numerous unneeded plastic bags, remembering that we can still carry objects without the use of a handle. Hoorah! This week, something a bit more...intimate is being asked of you. But first, the facts:

Did you know that most of our toilet paper, paper towels, facial tissue and paper napkins come from ancient, endangered forests inhabited by trees that are (or rather, were) 70-180 years old? That's because Kleenex, Scott, Viva, Cottonelle, Charmin, Bounty, and Puffs, among other brands, are all made from virgin trees in virgin forests--forests that, until now, have been left largely untouched by humans and our destructive ways. Imagine: 150 years of perfect sun, rain, soil and fresh air all working together to grow magnificent oxygen-producing, CO2-absorbing beauties...All so that you can savor the moment of wiping your bum with something soft and fluffy, then--quite literally!--flush it down the toilet. Somehow, I don't think that's the end result nature intended. I mean, come on: Do we really want future generations to know that we cut down the few remaining in-tact forests for the sake of some really comfy arse-wipe? I don't think so...

But let's backtrack a bit. Many of us find it difficult to envision how things were done "back in the day"--before the advent of all these fine disposable products we can't imagine living without. What were the precursors to our flushable friend? How did people survive?! Modern-day toilet paper wasn't even invented until 1857. Before that, according to Wikipedia:

"Wealthy people used wool, lace or hemp for their ablutions, while less wealthy people used their hand when defecating into rivers, or cleaned themselves with various materials such as rags, wood shavings, leaves, grass, hay, stone, sand, moss, water, snow, maize husks, fruit skins, or seashells, and cob of the corn depending upon the country and weather conditions or social customs.

In Ancient Rome, a sponge on a stick was commonly used, and, after usage, placed back in a bucket of saltwater. In some parts of the world, the use of newspaper, telephone directory pages, or other paper products was common. Old Farmer's Almanac was sold with a hole punched in the corner so it could be hung on a nail in an outhouse. The widely-distributed Sears catalogue was also a popular choice until it began to be printed on glossy paper (at which point, some people wrote to the company to complain)."

Now THERE'S a use for all those unwanted catalogues that have been piling up! Kidding, kidding. And don't worry: What I'm asking of you will be much less painful than wiping with seashells.

These days, by Charmin's estimates, Americans use, on average, 8.6 sheets per trip to the loo, or 57 sheets per day, which turns out to be 20,805 sheets a year...or 52 rolls annually. How convenient--1 roll a week per man, woman, and child in America. That's a lot of trees flushed down the toilet. The NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) and Greenpeace are trying to convince paper giant Kimberly Clark (which owns Kleenex, Scott, Viva, and Cottonelle brands) to start making their products out of recycled paper. Kimberly Clark's paper comes from trees in the Canadian Boreal forest, which represents 25% of the old-growth/virgin forest left in the world. NRDC cuts to the chase in their campaign slogan: "Keep forests from become toilet paper".

On Kimberly Clark and its subsidiaries, the NRDC says: "Instead of making better use of materials such as post-consumer recycled fiber and agricultural residue to meet the escalating demand for toilet paper, paper towels and other disposable tissue products, these companies buy virgin pulp from suppliers that reach deep into North American forests for timber, from northern Canada to the southeastern United States...Kimberly-Clark -- one of the largest tissue paper producers in the world, with offices, factories and mills in 37 countries -- uses more than 1.1 million cubic meters of trees from Canada's boreal forests each year to produce some 465,000 metric tons (equal to 512,575 tons) of pulp."

Go here to read more about the ecoystems being destroyed on behalf of our arse-wipe.

Fortunately, a solution exists. Numerous paper companies have adopted more sustainable practices by incorporating some percentage of recycled material into their pulp. There are many brands of toilet paper, paper towels, facial tissue, and napkins available that are now 100% recycled. Look for ones with high post-consumer recycled product.

Here's a guide for brands to try and ones to avoid. It covers facial tissue, paper towels, and napkins too. (For the sake of time, this post focuses on toilet paper, but by all means, please start replacing your paper towels, facial tissue, etc. with recycled versions. In the future we'll also explore cutting down on the usage of these disposables as well.)

I've been using Seventh Generation toilet paper for the last few weeks, and it really isn't bad. My favorite part is the back of the packet, where they provide several facts that make you feel all warm and fuzzy--(even if the TP itself doesn't)--see pic at left. Wow, check it out--1,450,000 trees could be saved just by every household replacing one virgin four-packet of TP with recycled TP. Amazing!

Ok, full disclosure: Recycled paper products are not as soft as virgin products. There, I said it. Apparently there's a legitimate reason for this, not because the companies want to punish you for buying recycled, but because it's a different kind of pulp. So far, I can report no injuries or irritations. Still, I can already hear the complaints rolling in. You like your 2-ply, 1000-count aloe-enhanced friend. I understand. And if you have a compelling argument for why the comfort of your own nether-region is a more important cause than preserving the few remaining pristine forests of our planet, then I'm all ears! Until then, enjoy your recycled arse-wipe, and relish in the thought that it's not corn on the cob. :)

We haven't even gotten to the water bottle week...

2006-11-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

But my friend Heather couldn't wait to banish disposable bottles from her life! She got this reusable one at Target for $5.99 and is quite pleased with it so far. She says, "It doesn't retain odor or taste and is dishwasher/microwave safe." She plans on using it at work and at the gym. Yay! Thanks for the inspiration, Heather!! You, too, can exist in cyberspace...send me pics of yourself with your new reusable bottle, mug, bag...fill in the blank. Get excited, folks.

On posting

2006-11-26T23:42:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be posting more regularly than I first thought. In addition to the weekly tips posted on Sundays, I'll also be updating about lifestyle changes I'm making and random tidbits of eco-interest. So check back often!

'Tis the season...to consume less

2006-11-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, as much as I try to block it out, the commercial "holiday season" is now upon us, and the Santa towel sets and holly garlands at Vons won't let me totally ignore it. (Heck, even the entertainment at the Thai restaurant I ate at last night was singing strictly Christmas carols). We are entering the month-long Super Bowl of over-consumption and waste. Ideally, of course, we would all reject the consumerist elements of our respective holidays, and get in touch with the true meaning behind them (love, peace, the survival of a culture, etc.) without lining the coffers of the companies that up the ante each year for appropriate gift-giving. But your family might not be ready for that, and neither is mine just yet. However, I also know that my dad doesn't need any more ties or books on fishing, and just like Buy Nothing Day, the holidays are a great opportunity to reclaim the reigns of consumerism and bestow our friends and family with some gifts that are more from the heart AND that don't contribute to needless consumption.

Here are some recommendations for having an eco-friendly holiday:

--Gifts that help people consume less (reusable bags, mugs, bottles, wooden laundry racks, etc.)
--Gifts made out of recycled materials (For you LA people, I just found an amazing little shop in Eagle Rock called Regeneration I'm pretty sure you can get recycled cards and wrapping paper there too.)
--A massage, facial, pedicure, acupuncture...some extravagance or service that mom and pop wouldn't buy themselves. One year my sister and I got our mom a couple months of a cleaning service, and it made such a difference in her life that she has kept the service since then!
--A night's getaway at a B&B, or some outdoor adventure like a snowboarding day-pass, horseback riding outing, or rock-climbing lesson (thanks, Grist)
--Tickets to a concert/musical/play
--A meal, cookies, festive bread, or pie. Holiday cooking is fun! Especially with red and green sprinkles...
--Get crafty! Spend a saturday doing that knitting/painting/jewelry-making project that you've been wanting to do...then share your creativity with friends. (Some of you say this cries out "I'm cheap!", like those years you substituted framed pictures of yourself for "real" presents...but I think, needless to say, we would all be impressed and touched if a friend put the time and effort into making a piece of art.)
--Recycle books/clothes/music you don't need anymore. Again, I think we need to reorient our perspectives on the giving of "used" items. Since when does the amount of money we spend on someone reflect how much we love them? We all know that how much a guy spends on a piece of jewelry isn't always equivalent to his love for his lady...So why do we turn this philosophy on its head when it comes to our own gift giving? I know at some point we've all gotten insecure that our loved ones will speculate that we didn't spend enough money on them. What's so wrong with, "I read this book. Yes, this exact one. Thought you would enjoy it too"...?

Here are some more ideas and links for alternate eco-gifts.

--And for those of you whose friends and family are already down with the anti-materialism thing: Donate money in their names to a cause they care about. Or, be a real trend-setter and help them offset their carbon emissions.

One last word: The added bonus in giving "alternative" gifts is that you have an opportunity to help convert friends and family over to the eco-cause. Add a note explaining why you're giving them something a little different this year...

UPDATE: Slate's Green Challenge is also doing a holiday theme this week. Quite extensive coverage of all the ways you can cut down waste (albeit a depressing reminder that pretty much every element of my own holiday tradition is ecologically terrible, from the trees to the lights...sigh). Check it out.

Wake up and smell the...reusable mug! WEEK

2006-11-26T21:05:00.000-08:00

Ah, coffee. One of our worldwide addictions we can still feel mostly ok about. Of course, we all know too much caffeine can be harmful, but one nice cup of joe a day is nothing to feel guilty about, right? As long as it's not in a paper cup...

I'd venture to say that until the mid-90's, most American coffee consumption was done in the home or office, brewed in ordinary coffee makers. You know, Folgers and stuff. Unlike Europeans and others, we didn't really have a culture of buying coffee and drinking it in public. Then came the juggernaut of Starbucks. Slowly but surely, town by town, Americans were exposed to a whole new caffeinated world: mochas! americanos! double non-fat lattes with hazelnut! So, an entirely new coffee culture was born, but with an American twist. While in many other cultures coffee drinking is a central social activity--where friends of all ages can be found sitting in cafes for hours--our American version is a decidedly individual, disposable affair. Coffee on-the-go has become the norm, as have $3.95 frappuccinos, for better or worse. And as my friend Ruth pointed out, even when you do drink your coffee on location, many places STILL give you a to-go cup!

Starbucks alone goes through an estimated 2 billion paper cups annually! On top of that, imagine how many cups all the Peets, Coffee Beans, and few surviving independent coffee shops use, even daily. That's a lot of trees. In 2004, Starbucks bought 27,400 tons of cup stock made from virgin trees (i.e. fresh trees deflowered just for that purpose). And, as we saw with paper bags, the problems with paper cups are three-fold. A: Trees are cut down, reducing a natural counterbalance to global warming; B: fossil fuels are used in production, thus emitting greenhouse gases and other pollution; C: The enormous amount of trash created from these single-use products ends up in our landfills.

Starbucks has taken steps to lessen their environmental impact, as they should. This year they started making their cups out of 10% post-consumer recycled fiber. According to their own estimates, this will save 78,000 trees and reduce landfill content by 2,740 tons, or about 5.5 million pounds. This is a good step, but it's hard to see the 10% as little more than symbolic. Even if they eventually make their cups out of 100% recycled materials, there will still be the problem of all those wonderfully recycled cups being tossed in the garbage after one use.

The solution is simple: Bring your own coffee mug. There is a financial incentive as well: At Starbucks you get a 10 cent discount when you bring your own, and many other companies and cafes only charge you for a small size when you have your own mug. Most coffee chains and many independent cafes are now selling their own plastic and stainless steel mugs. (Or you can find some really sturdy ones on reusablebags.com--I swear I don't get a commission from them, they just have really great products!).

I've been using a plastic mug, which has been fine, and I just ordered a stainless steel heavy-duty one, so I'll let you know how it compares. Get in the habit of keeping it with you, and just remember to rinse it out after use! So easy.

Buy Nothing Day

2006-11-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

Happy (late) Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you are all surrounded by friends and family (if you want to be, that is) and have enjoyed lots of good food and rest. Wanted to remind you guys that today is Buy Nothing Day.

For 14 years now, more and more people have been declining to participate in "the busiest shopping day of the year". Instead of fighting the crowds for that $49 dvd player, let's all bow out of consuming for one day. Take the day to relax, be with family/friends/yourself, or do what I'm doing--sorting through clothes/random crap I don't need, and making a trip to the Goodwill. It's funny, we have a nice long weekend, and instead of relaxing and taking the time to rejuvenate, people feel a compulsion to fight traffic and crowds to take advantage of "the sales". Of course, that's because corporate America has done an excellent job of convincing us that we are morally obligated to make today the biggest day of the year for "retailers". What's great about BND is that we have the opportunity to send the opposite message on this day of over-consumption: That what's good for our country/the world is for us to be doing a lot LESS consuming, not more. So sit back and relax--if you needed an excuse, you now have a legitimate moral reason to avoid the malls today...

Here's more info on BND.

BYOB: Bring your own bag WEEK

2006-11-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Plastic bags are just bad news all around. And paper bags are even worse (but we'll get to that).

PLASTIC BAG FACTS:
Worldwide, we consume between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags annually.
Americans use and trash around 100 billion plastic bags a year, which are produced by an estimated 12 million barrels of oil.

Yes, plastic bags are made out of petroleum...that's right, oil! We all know the double-whammy problems with oil: Namely, the fact we are quickly running out of it, and that its usage emits CO2, which is a major cause of global warming. So, we can look at our unthinking use and disposal of plastic bags as just another manifestation of our addiction to oil. Get this: The manufacturing of just 14 plastic bags uses the same amount of oil as it takes to drive one mile!!! And with that come the same problems--global warming emissions and more dependency on the countries that control the dwindling amounts of oil left in the world (the exact countries we want to be extricating ourselves from).

That's just touching on the production of plastic bags. They also pollute our environment as trash, killing hundreds of thousands of sea animals who end up mistaking them for food. And, not only do they not biodegrade, they actually photodegrade into tinier toxic particles that get absorbed into soil and water. Bad, bad, bad...

PAPER BAG FACTS:
Have we forgotten that all paper products are made from trees? 15 million trees are cut down every year to supply our addiction to paper bags--around 10 billion a year. Again, there's a two-fold effect here: Trees help absorb greenhouse gases, but only if they are still alive! So by cutting so many trees down, we are simultaneously reducing our capacity to absorb CO2 and other greenhouse gases, then, of course, the elecricity used in the production of paper products emits more greenhouse gases!! On top of that, the production process of turning the tree pulp into paper (like all manufacturing) creates tons of toxic pollution that contaminates our air, land and water (which we end up breathing, eating, and drinking).

Not convinced yet? Yes, the manufacturing of practically every modern convenience is problematic in terms of resources used and pollution created in production. But what makes plastic and paper bags worse than say, a plastic telephone and a wooden table, is that we get so little usage out of them compared with all the problems involved in their production.

They are disposable products that are usually used no longer than 20 minutes from store to home. And, most importantly, a super-easy alternative exists....

TO DO:
1. BUY SEVERAL REUSABLE BAGS. My favorite site is www.reusablebags.com--lots of cheap and stylish choices--but there are many others out there, easily found. (Many grocery stores are also now selling their own reusable bags very inexpensively.) So far, my faves are the black acme totes because they are discreet and don't have that corny white tote-bag look. I've had mine for a week, and it's amazing how easy it's been to get in the habit of just keeping them with me, in case I need to stop by the store. If you already take your own bags every time you go to the store, there's always more you can do. My best find has been the produce bags on reusablebags.com. They're great, because those flimsy plastic produce bags have even fewer uses than the thicker ones given at checkout.

This week, I used the produce bags at the market and once I got home, transferred the produce into some plastic bags that I already had. I can just keep reusing the same plastic bags for refrigerator storage, and use the cloth produce bags for new produce, so I don't have to keep accumulating more plastic ones. Also, as the holidays are approaching, these bags make great gifts! I'm convinced that once people have them around, they will get in the habit of using them (especially after you inform them of the evils of paper and plastic bags). And to all the guys who have expressed to me that they will look, um, unmanly taking their cloth bags to the store, I guess all I have to say is...get over it. We are adults. Real men bring their own bags.

2. FOR SINGLE OR SMALL ITEMS, REFUSE A BAG. Ok, I understand that even after you get set up with your reusable bags, the time may come when you run into the store for a single item and find yourself without them. You're buying a salad at lunch or a bottle of shampoo on the way home...Do you really need a bag for one or two items? No! Part of our job is also training the baggers to not automatically give people a bag for 1 small item. We might have forgotten how to, but we ARE able to carry things that don't come with a handle, after all. Same goes for double bagging...if you find yourself without your reusable bags, don't let them double bag! Even at a supposedly socially-conscious store like Trader Joe's, they automatically double bag. I have worked in grocery stores and I know this habit came about because customers end up complaining because the bag broke and their eggs cracked. So the stores want to preempt any whiney customers. But it is unnecessary and is yet another reason to BYOB...because reusable bags are not going to break!

3. USE YOUR REUSABLE BAGS FOR NON-FOOD PURCHASES TOO. Ok, so this may seem extreme to some of you, but it's just the logical extension of using resuable bags for groceries. Start thinking about all the other places you are given plastic bags...well, in every other store, too. And given our level of consumption, we all end up with a ton of Best Buy, Target, Gap, etc. bags. Guess what? You can take your reusable bags to those places too. Yes, the cashiers will look at you like you're crazy...but who cares, we're starting a trend!

Last weekend, I did a little clothes shopping (at a totally un-socially conscious chain store that will go unnamed), and I put my purchases in my "shopping bag" (I do have a different one for non-grocery purchases, see pic at left), and I was good to go. It's funny, maybe this has happened to you: You're at a book store and you might have a purse or backpack with you anyway, and yet feel self-conscious about putting your purchase in your own bag...it is somehow more satisfying--perhaps the completion of the consumption process--to walk out with a fresh plastic bag advertising that, yes, you are a dutiful consumer. But I think it will be a lot more satisfying to to leave one plastic bag behind.

4. As for all those excess plastic and paper bags you have at home....REUSE, REUSE, REUSE...THEN RECYCLE. Some of us girls have a stash of beautiful, sturdy paper bags from department stores or boutiques. Yes, they are pretty...so reuse them until they fall apart. You can even take them back the next time you shop there...you'll be saving them money, which any locally-owned store will appreciate. Then recycle them. And next time, BYOB.

But you say: I use my plastic bags as trash liners, or to clean up dog poop. I'm sure you will occasionally forget to bring your reusable bag and have to get a plastic bag, and if you have a use for them, you will be in no short supply. But a quick search found this product. As they put it: "Stop mummifying your dog's poop in plastic bags that won't biodegrade...now there's truly no reason to use plastic". I'm sure there are many other products out there, maybe even available at Whole Foods. I need to investigate biodegradable trash bags, but I think we've learned enough for one day. Phew.

One last word on recycling bags: It's not the panacea we think it is. Read more here.

If you already BYOB, please post tips or experiences you've had. For those of you who start, let me know how it's going! Please post a comment!