Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Sorry for the hiatus. Lots of year end activities closing out a busy 2007. 2008 will certainly be an interesting year. Very interesting. More on that later.

I received an excellent book about a month ago; "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver and I'm about half way through it. The book chronicles the author's family's attempts to consume all food grown locally. Everything from chickens to cucumbers. I love the book. The author does a wonderful job weaving in recipes and facts about US agriculture and really ties all the culinary pieces together. If you like to read, if you like to eat well, and you're interested in the truth about US agriculture then you most definitely should pick up this book.

Ever since joining a Community supported farmer back in Virginia I find it extremely difficult to buy "produce" from stores like Safeway. Take a tomato for example. If you've tasted one from a local farmer's market or you've grown some yourself and compared it to one from Safeway which one would you take home? Hell, tomatoes at Safeway don't taste like tomatoes! If you've never bought produce from a farmer's market you ought to, not only are you missing out on seriously delicious nutrient packed produce, but you're also not putting money into the hands of someone who CARES about the land they are farming on and CARES about their customers. Check out localharvest.org for farmers in your area.

My family and I are joining a CSA again this year and we're looking forward to taking home the wonderful products the local farmers bring to the market. We've also been buying almost everything organic especially meat and diary. You should too. It is truly the patriotic thing to do. Not only is supporting local organic farmers better for you and the farmer it is better for the land. The very land our kids will be living on for the rest of their lives.

Speaking of farming, I am disgusted and find it disrespectful to animals what the large agri-business corporations put them through to feed humans. It's one thing for us to eat animals, but it's another for us to jam hundreds even thousands of them into a dark warehouse sitting in their own excrement and injected with hormones and antibiotics to keep them growing and "healthy" so we can enjoy a steak.

Come on people, do you think this is beneficial to us? The only ones benefiting from this are companies like Monsanto. Beef from a free range cow with no antibiotics or growth hormones is more tender, tastes better, has MORE nutrients, and has LESS bad cholesterol. Why wouldn't you choose meat from a free-range cow? I know this, I've had both (yes, back when I didn't know better I would buy whatever meat I could find in the store). My family and I exclusively eat meat from free range animals and try to do from local farms as well. It is the right thing to do.

Recently, I heard some people are worried about eating meat from cloned animals. Which is already creepy as it sounds, but why isn't there this kind of concern with meat from animals experiencing the kind of conditions I just mentioned? Why do we allow this kind of meat into our households? I guess it's true, ignorance is bliss.

Anyway, if you are interested in the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" I've included a link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Vegetable-Miracle-Year-Food/dp/0060852550/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200781982&sr=8-1

Be healthy! Eat and drink local!

Zero Waste

Shortly after I moved to Colorado I become more active about saving energy and water and doing a better job of recycling. Starting this blog has made me read more about issues, ideas, and shifts relating to ways to slim down our waste footprint. The more I read and research the more I realize how much I am NOT doing. It's one of those things; you begin to read a topic which leads you to another topic and another. I've learned a hell of a lot, but I am realizing how much I don't know.

The other day my colleagues and I headed out to lunch (I typically bring my leftovers in to work. Not only is it more cost effective, but I waste less). I noticed on our way out of the restaurant this little newsletter "eco-cycle times". You can find their website here. The newsletter is naturally printed on post-consumer recycled paper and is less than 10 pages, but it is packed with incredible insights, ideas, and initiatives. One powerful concept is the idea of Zero-Waste (ZW) which describes the practice as a circular process of reusing waste as much as possible. Zero Waste actually goes beyond just recycling.

Ecocyle.org is currently geared toward the Boulder, Colorado region but the ideas presented are ones anyone can use anywhere. The site also has a list of links other Zero Waste websites that may serve your area.

A more in-depth description on Zero Waste can be found at wikipedia.org. The article mentions the first mention of Zero Waste in the form of a company's name. The founder (Paul Palmer) authored a book "Getting to Zero Waste". I found it on Amazon, but I'll check it out at the library. Hopefully, they carry it.

The Zero Waste International Alliance lists communities around the globe that have adopted the Zero Waste plan. Communities as far as in the Philippines are Zero Waste. That is awesome!

Getting to Zero Waste is by no means an easy feat, but it is in all of our interests to make a serious effort. The world's population is expected to hit 9 Billion very soon and we are digging ourselves deeper and deeper into a hole by continuing with our disposable lifestyles. Zero Waste appears to be an answer, if not the answer.

FU H2

One of my friends told me about this funny site. A dedication of sorts to the Hummer (H2). Check it out at http://fuh2.com/. Thousands of people have died in wars for oil so inconsiderate, selfish, self-centered, spoiled brats can drive vehicles like the H2. I just don't get it.

Anyway, on to more progressive things. Check out an interesting article I found at seekingalpha.com about Electric Vehicles (EV). I love the idea of not having to worry about $4 gas! The article mentions IMiev from Mitsubishi. It looks pretty cool and makes me wonder what is taking so long for the main stream to really get on the hybrid/alternative band wagon. I'm not talking about the 18 MPG Chevy Tahoe "hybrids" either (Those are not hybrids.) What does it take?

So, what about those Flex vehicles? I'm not sold on those yet, especially if they run on corn based ethanol. It's not clear to me that end-to-end growing, processing, consuming corn based ethanol is actually better for the environment than simply using gasoline. See articles from a Cornell scientist, an article from Seattlepi, and the Economist.

Given all that we know about the drawbacks of corn ethanol, why isn't Sugar cane ethanol being considered?

Clean Energy Bill

Congress is soon going to vote on the upcoming clean energy bill and there's a chance a couple of critical items may fall through. Two things that really must make it in there is requiring auto makers to average 35 miles per gallon and requiring utility companies to produce 15% of their electricity from renewable sources by the year 2020.

Seriously, the fact that Chevrolet is proud of their new Tahoe with 50% increase in mileage is laughable. The non-hybrid Tahoes get 12 MPG, so a 50% increase is 18 MPG. This is a joke!

European auto makers already average 35 MPG! So, I don't see why doing this by 2020 for US automakers is so difficult. Come on people! It's high time we make our voices heard. Please write to your congressmen and senators as soon as you can. Spend 60 seconds and click onhttp://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/Energy_Bill_Global_Warming3_nsb to do this.

Please write now...

Algae, Green Fuel?

So, let's talk algae. What is it? Isn't it that slimy stuff that makes river rocks slippery? Well, yes, but there's a whole lot more to algae. Taken directly from wikipedia.org:

Algae are usually found in damp places or bodies of water and thus are common in terrestrial as well as aquatic environments. However, terrestrial algae are usually rather inconspicuous and far more common in moist, tropical regions than dry ones, because algae lack vascular tissues and other adaptations to live on land. Algae can, however, endure dryness and other conditions in symbiosis with a fungus as lichen.

Algae thrives in sunlight AND CO2! So, what's the point of all this? Well, the other day, I read about Green Fuel Technologies (http://www.greenfuelonline.com) based out of Cambridge Massachusetts and GreenFuel actually runs algae farms located near smoke stacks to soak up the CO2 being emitted. Not only that, it turns out the algae can be turned into biodiesel.
You can read more about GreenFuel's technology here and an article from fastcompany.

How cool is this? I think this is awesome and I am excited there are companies out there thinking outside the box on solving the climate crisis. Who would have thought? Algae? The small guy? Packs quite a big punch! I hope this is a true technology that will help solve the increasing Global climate change problem. It looks like GreenFuel's technology has been used successfully in a couple of major facilities such as the APS Redhawk power plant in Arizona.

We need to spread the word and support and invest in companies like GreenFuel as they are paving the way for a better tomorrow. If you're interested in investing in other clean technologies, check out www.cleanedge.com for more information.

Can we handle the truth?

My last post dealt with tips on saving water and along the way I mentioned a couple of tangential topics one of which I want to talk about briefly.
Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' brings a few questions to mind; what can we do to help? why isn't more being done to help? How was he not elected president? Alright, this is another tangent I don't really need to get into as we all know the disaster the past 7 years have been.

Al Gore's presentation was thoughtful and well layed out. He managed to convey the scientific facts and findings in a way the audience can understand. Again, I urge you to watch this movie as it is quite eye opening. Below are a few very useful resources if you're interested in joining the growing environmental movement (well, it's actually more than a movement):

www.lamprecycle.org (recycle light bulbs)
earth911.org/recycling/battery-recycling/ (recycle batteries, your local Best Buy will do this)
www.climatecrisis.org (from the movie)
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls (energy star light bulbs)
www.localharvest.org (locally grown super delicious organic produce)

Here are some tips on saving energy at home:

1. Use Energy Star qualified light bulbs, they cost a little more up front, but will save you $$$ over time and last a lot longer. The GE ones have a 10,000 hour life span. Not bad.
2. Turn off lights when you leave the room. I was brought up doing this and am amazed that people will leave lights on for hours while no one is in the room.
3. Use fans instead of central AC so you're only cooling what is necessary
4. Don't heat/cool rooms rarely being used. If you have a dining room only there for show, close the vents in there. Of course, I would ask why you have a room being used just for show?
5. Take public transportation or car pool. I know this may be hassle for some folks, but imagine the hassle when you're having to wear masks over your face so you're not inhaling smog. You could also try to bike to work. Biking has close to 0 emissions.
6. When you're looking at cars, look at buying smaller. Possibly hybrid. Although, I've noticed a Toyota Corolla gets close to hybrid-like mileage and costs less. Plus, it won't cost you over $100 to fill up.
7. Keep you car maintained; check tire pressure and keep it well oiled. A well maintained car will get better mileage.
8. Unplug unused electronics. Even when they're off they're still sucking up power. (Notice my correct use of "they're")
9. Don't charge your phone over night. An empty phone will take about 3 hours to charge.
10. In the summer, when you leave the house you can set the themostat higher, say to 79 degrees. In the winter, you can set it lower to say 65 degrees.
11. Zip-loc bags are great, they're even better when you wash them and re-use them!
12. Be creative and make toys out of used yogurt cups and cardboard boxes. No need to buy those lead covered plastic toys from Walmart!
13. Watch less TV or get off the computer and read a good book. The only energy used here is in the creation of the book and the brain power to re-create the images conveyed by the author.
14. I've noticed many bathrooms have 6 - 10 light bulbs above the mirror. Consider unplugging 2 or 3 of them.
15. Buy organic and local produce. I say organic because organic means environmentally friendly fertilizers and pesticides are used. I say local because the produce hasn't travelled thousands of miles to get to you. You can find great local produce at a farmer's market near you. Check out www.locolharvest.org.
16. Another form of recycling may not be as obvious is the art of buying used funiture. We went to a wonderful flea market where we bought multiple beautiful pieces for an excellent price. Check out http://www.frontrangefleamarket.com/ for directions.

I would love to hear more from the good people out there! This was going to be a short post, but I got a little carried away. Stay tuned...

Mind that water!

$100 oil? Who cares! Everyone is concerned with $100 oil and whether or not there are enough reserves to handle the demand. The media plays this up every day and it is getting old. I am glad it is reaching these levels. I wonder where civilization is headed when I see someone gas up their 80 gallon tank and fork out $200 every week. Seriously, it is disappointing to see someone drive their kid around in a bus-sized SUV. It gives me the impression of self-centeredness and inconsideration for everyone else on the road.

Anyway, I digress I think there is a more ominous and imminent threat to life as we know it. That is, the availability of clean water. Consider this, the body is made up of about 70% water and it will not survive more than 3 days without it. Oil? The body doesn't need oil!

One strong reason for concern over clean water supply is the rapidly melting glaciers throughout the globe. And we all know why the glaciers are dwindling. Please take time to watch Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth". Before I digress again let's get one with the main point of this post.

The recent drought in the South East US, the 6 year one in Australia, and I'm sure scores more, scare me. We, as in everyone, need to take action now to conserve more of this precious resource. You can start with simple things at home. Here's a short list of 10 things I've been doing:

1. Fill a cup of water while brushing your teeth and only use what's in that cup. Don't let the water run while you're brushing. Assume you take 1 minute to brush your teeth and you've left the water running, you've just lost about 1/2 gallon of water. Also, assume you brush your teeth twice per day. In 30 days you've lost 30 gallons of water. You could use that water to make yourselves 240 16 oz coffees and teas.
2. You can take showers instead of baths. You can use slow flow shower heads, or even better, use one of these:A low-flow showerhead by Real Goods (from treehugger.com). One of my friends has one of these and it is awesome.
3. Don't linger in the shower. If you're all done, get out.
4. If you give your kids baths, don't fill the tub all the way up. Consider filling it up a quarter of the way. I know, it's less fun, but it'll be way less fun when you have no running water.
5. You can do some hand-dish washing instead of using the dish washer (often times you have to rinse the dishes anyway for it to actually get all the grime off). If you hand-dish wash consider using a small dish washing tub filled with soapy water. You can use this tub to soak and wash your dishes
6. When rinsing dishes you don't need to blast the water out, you can turn the faucet on low and still rinse. Yes, it'll take you a little longer, but it is said patience is a virtue.
7. Water your lawn and outdoor plants in the evening. Don't do it in the middle of the day while the sun is in full force. If you don't know why, you need to go back to school. If your area is experiencing severe drought, forget watering your lawn period.
8. Consider flushing your toilet after every other use (Use common sense here, if you went number 2 then most definitely flush). Also, if you have an older toilet consider placing a brick or two in the water tank to reduce the amount of water needed.
9. Consider collecting water from your drain pipes during rains and using the rain water for more coffee or tea.
10. Don't wash your car every week. In fact, don't wash your car period. Does it really make a difference if you have some bird poop on your car?

Feel free to add more! It would be great to expand this list with all sorts of ideas.