July 2008 Archives

If you know all about Colony Collapse Disorder--the plague wiping out commercial bees faster than you can say honey-- and  want to go beyond eating Haagen Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream in solidarity, you can watch a Nature doc on PBS to get the full scoop.

Other actions you can take to help promote local bees a buzzing?  The National Resources Defense Council has some ideas: plant natives to attract and feed wild bees; don't use pesticides; support local, organic agriculture; and, for a gold star, build or buy your own beehive to draw some honeybees to your backyard.

Bees pollinate a good deal of what we eat, like almonds, raspberries, apples, and oranges, so the more we can do for them, the better off we'll be.

  

Reviving the old ways of bartering with objects is not such a bad idea.  And in a climate of just plain too much stuff while there are still people who need it--why not just throw it their way?

Throwplace makes it easy, giving you tools to find places to throw your stuff, places other than the landfill!

You can find a good home for unwanted belongings at charities here and abroad and with individuals looking for just that thing.  All you have to do is sign up.

 

I couldn't resist posting this lovely, natural-fibered dress that just might take a girl through summer into fall and be right back over her head in May or June.  I'm enjoying how drapey, soft, and classic it looks.

It's made of Tencel, a material made from wood cellulose and made by Stewart and Brown in the U.S.

It's no longer bottles, cans, and paper we need to recycle, it's also ipods, cell phones, and TVs among other digital gadgets or so called e-waste (electronic waste). In fact, e-waste is the fastest growing component of municipal trash (Earth 911).

For many years, e-waste was simply shipped off to other countries where villagers, often very young ones, would sift through the toxic materials, burn it while inhaling horrible pollutants, and sell the remains--copper and other heavy metals--for some cash.  While this still happens, there are outlets who are beginning to deal with this stuff more humanely and safely.

So, if you're not getting a digital converter box--which the government will help fun--when things go that way in '09 (I tried one with my antiquated TV, but to my disappointment, it didn't work) and are opting for a new TV, it's imperative to recycle it.  There could be a huge influx of lead, cadmium, and other scary stuff to landfills if we all don't. Read more on that from Utne here.

Earth 911 can help you find a recycling center that takes TVs here.

The art of letter-writing is more than faltering.  It may even be dead in most circles.  And, yes, that saves paper.  But while I love writing and receiving letters, even without them there are still times that real, tangible mail must be sent--be it rent check or query letter or invoice or some such thing.

By opting for 100% recycled, non-toxic paper items in your office or home office--from the envelopes to the printer paper--you're saving trees, energy, and all of us from chemicals. 

Here are some of my favorite basic green office supplies from The Green Office:

These envelopes (for fun or business letters) are totally recycled, contain 40% post-consumer waste (it does matter when you fill your blue bin!), and absolutely no chlorine.  The EPA likes them, too.  Buy a box of 500 (10.59 plus carbon-offsetted shipping) here.

This amazing multi-use paper is 100% post consumer waste!  That means that all of it comes from paper you and I have recycled to be reincarnated in the same form.  Buy 5,000 sheets (for around 50.00) here.

And who doesn't need some kind of sticky-note once in a while?  These little lifesavers are bona fide recycled. Get some (1200 for around 12.00) here.

If you're interested in going the distance and offsetting your office's carbon, you can learn how to do that here. 

Even if you don't or can't go solar, I think starting a recycling program, planting some trees outside, coordinating carpooling, or organizing an office-wide e-waste recycling drive are pretty great environmental, community-building efforts on their own, too.

Designed for camping, but useful in the house, too, this handy gadget allows you to forego electric power in favor of good, old fashioned muscle.  (And since I saw the BodyWorlds exhibition today, I've got muscles on the brain.)

It's got two speeds so you can go easy to mix batter or baby food or kick into high gear to crush ice for margaritas or smoothies.

I love the idea of human-powered machines that come with tall, refreshing rewards.  You will never be stranded in the woods without a smoothie again.

The economic doom bell has been sounding a while now and we've all felt the pinch of certain prices going up. And while I don't like to dwell in doom, I also like to save a buck while living simply and saving the planet (in a teeny, tiny way) at the same time.

So, I've been keeping up my vow to buy vintage clothes (or sustainably made or sweatshop free items) all year.  I have a favorite second hand store where I recently got two marvelous dresses for seven bucks each.  Shopping at thrift stores certainly saves money, keeps you in the habit of selling back/donating what you no longer need, and buying perfectly great recycled clothes.

Here's a list of online stores should you be looking for something virtual and vintage.  Watch out, you just might spend hours browsing through wild finds.

You can check out the 60s shimmery brocade number pictured (it has a matching dress as part of a duo) from Swank Vintage (165.00) here.

If you or some school kids you know are at home for the summer and need to get out of the sun for a while, there's nothing like some good old-fashioned creativity to pass the time indoors.

I biked to my local, independent art supply store today to pick up a frame and hunted down some environmentally-friendly options while I was there.

Here are some to keep an eye out for:

Aquabee tree-free hemp paper is made totally of hemp, over half of which is recycled.  It has not one wood fiber in it and hemp has loads of actual advantages: it's durable, doesn't need to be treated with chlorine, and can be recycled over and over again.

Get a tree-free artist sketchpad (starting at 6.99) here.

Strathmore, the grandparent of drawing paper companies, now has wind-powered paper options.  In other words, the process of making this 30% post-consumer waste product is powered by windmills.  Love it.

You can choose from a number of drawing pads (starting at 2.97) here.

For artists who aren't quite coloring inside the lines yet, you can go beyond drawing and get away from chemical play-doughs at the same time--try modeling clay made from beeswax! Or, make your own play dough with these recipes from Creative Kids at Home (I'd skip the ones with food coloring--maybe try beet juice, berry juice or a spice like turmeric instead--just don't forget the smocks!).

One more: generic crayons are made from petroleum products.  Not these.  They're crafted from soybean oil and are non-toxic and biodegradable.  They're rumored to glide better, too.  We'll just have to wave goodbye to the nostalgic smell of paraffin wax.

I've bemoaned here before that my landlord recently put in grass in the front and back yards of my apartment building.  In Los Angeles.  During a worse than the usual drought. Luckily, there are lots of people out there doing something different.

Lawns have some very good qualities, like soaking up runoff and providing a place for wee ones to roll around, but they don't in any way measure up to planting native plants or fruits and veggies.  

Consider this from Eartheasy:

30% of water use on the East Coast goes to watering lawns.

On the West Coast, it's 60%!

Suburban lawns get way more chemicals dumped on them than farmland, up to 10 times more.

Lawn tools emit more carbon that automobiles (the worst offender, the leaf blower, dishes out 34 times as much).

If you already have grass and want to keep it, you can always use a push mower, water less, and use techniques like grasscycling to make it more environmentally-friendly.  Read more on that here.

But if you want to tread the road less often traveled, you can go beyond grass and actually have your yard space certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a bona fide Wildlife Habitat.  It involves planting native plants and providing water and cover for critters in your neck of the woods--an adventure, but a manageable one, for sure. And the payoff is that you get to provide a sanctuary for wild things that are struggling to find mates and homes in the face of a changing climate and more and more development.  You also get to watch them frolic.

Start your own Wildlife Habitat certification process here.

Tis the season for lavender, that lovely soothing stalk of blossoms.

You can buy some dried bundles from Local Harvest that come straight from organic farmers.  You might even be able to find a farm within a hundred or two miles of you.

Put some on a table or hang it from a ceiling or use it in sachets to keep your undies smelling fresh.

more (free fruit)

Until then, the farmers' market is my best bet.  Unless, as every so often happens, I spy a recently fallen avocado outside of a particular cafe or in the alley behind my acupuncturist's office.  Those are very good days.

Fallen Fruit is a project devoted to mapping out the prime spots for scoring edible delights.  What started in Los Angeles and now consists of just a handful of maps there and one in Santa Fe, can spread to cover the whole continent.  That is, if you go on an expedition of your neighborhood and make a map.  (The reward is whatever juicy goodies you find while you're out.)

See what I'm talking about at fallenfruit.org.

According to 350.org and, more importantly, former NASA scientist James Hanson, 350 is a magic number.  It is the number of parts per million of carbon dioxide we need to get to in order to, literally, save the planet and curb global climate change.  

Yes, we've already tipped the scales past that.  Yes, this org. thinks we can get our weight back down.

We know some of the nitty gritty we can do around the house to help.  But I'm starting to think that while I will continue to step up efforts on the homefront, real change will happen with a loud voice and leaders who take action and listen.

But why not have some fun getting there?  350 is sponsoring a crafty contest to get the word out.  You design something, anything, with 350 on it and submit it during the month of August.  (You might even win a craftilicious prize!)

Find out more here.

Watching more television isn't exactly my biggest endorsement for a more balanced life. But, if you're going to (and I am addicted to mine for the sake of its ability to work with a DVD player and show me films), why not watch one powered by the sun?

Sharp unveiled the first solar powered TV at the G8 Summit last week and while it's still the only one and it was designed for people without easy access to an energy grid, I still love the idea.  

Finally, if you're in the market for a new one (perhaps because, like me, yours is ancient and will phase out when things go digital next January), find an energy star model here.

You may have heard (here or elsewhere) about the North Pacific Gyre, a trash island comprised of mostly plastic that is twice the size of Texas.

Sea turtles, birds, and other marine mammals eat bits of plastic and end up washed ashore.  It's pretty much a bad situation all around.

Even Time Magazine is talking about the dangers of plastic for those of living on dry land--after all, it's in our food packaging, lotion bottles, cell phones, computers, baby bottles, dinnerware, storage containers and all manner of things.  Read more here.

To feel that you're doing your part and to make a small difference in your patch of home, whether inland or coastal, you can take Oceana's Plastic Pledge.

It's as simple as toting your bag and drinking container and not littering (for extra pledging, you can even pick up other people's litter).

And read more plastic-freeing tips from one Chicago plastic maverick's Life Less Plastic blog.

I have nothing against wheat, but it's so widespread in so much that we consume, it's probably a good idea to get away from it once in a while and try something a little off the beaten path.

I've recently been using organic spelt flour as a replacement for whole wheat flour in my baked goods.  Though it's not gluten-free as many people think, it is more nutritious with higher protein and more B vitamins than regular whole wheat, and the kicker is that I like it a whole lot better.  I thought I'd be in for less taste and less texture, but there's actually more--no worries about cardboard.  Also, I could swear that spelt tastes and smells like cinnamon!

Find out more about spelt here.  And buy some, if you like--even better if you can scoop some into a jar at your local bulk bin.

Here's my favorite all-purpose, delicious, so, so easy muffin recipe that I make almost every week, often mixing it up with seasonal fruits:

Mix together (all organic, of course):

1 1/2 C oat bran or almond meal or a combination

1 1/4 C rice milk (or soy or apple juice)

1/4 C oil (I use almond or rice bran)

1/4 C (or less) agave syrup (or 1/3 C maple syrup)

Mix together:

1 C spelt flour

1 T baking powder

Combine.  Then add your choice of fruits or nuts or both.  A handful of blueberries work great, as do diced peaches. But almost anything is delish.

Bake at 390 F for around 20 minutes.  (I usually double or triple this as it doesn't make that many.)

Bon appetit!

more (action)

The first, Blue Vinyl, the story of the filmmaker's parents replacing the siding on their house with vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) for its durability, cost, and promise to stand the test of time, and the filmmaker subsequently gathering information from all over the world, with a strip of the blue vinyl siding in hand, on why it's not such a good idea in hopes of getting them to replace it.

She visits Lake Charles, Louisiana where a large PVC factory pollutes the air and water and visits with a lawyer there who works on behalf of factory workers who've died of rare cancers associated with PVC and to Europe, where the same thing is happening, and where a scientist first figured out why.  

It's not just Louisiana workers who have to worry though.  Dioxin, a chemical released from PVC is showing up all over the environment and in our own bodies as PVC has been considered a wonder plastic for the last forty years.

As is this filmmaker duo's trademark, they combine irony, serious research, and hilarity with action.  

You can buy a copy of Blue Vinyl to support them.  Or, visit My House is Your House and join the green building, consumer action revolution.

(The Center for Environmental Health and Justice has some great information on PVC and ways to help, too).

The second, more recent film, Everything's Cool, is a must-see if you want to know some history on global warming findings, find out how it's been made into a faux debate and covered up for too long, and what a handful of truth-tellers and everyday activists have and are doing about it

Buy Everything's Cool here.  Or, find out how to get involved.

If you're already on the go as a cyclist (or motor or scooter type) around your town, then adding another step like using a solar charger for any gadgets you've got with you is a natural next step.  And it may be something you've thought of doing already.

The solar rider allows you to do your thing, riding to work or errands or coffee dates, but also allows you to roll out a flexible panel, affix your cell phone and the like to it, and let the sun work as hard as you do.

With a minimal investment, you just might be able to eliminate all those charging cords and plugs and electricity burned. (I really want to take one of these for a spin!)

That's right, it's official.  July is National Blueberry Month.  Don't just take it from me, here's the USDA proclamation to back me up.

Yes, they're full of antioxidants and yes, they're little exploding bursts of flavor and yes, they're in season.

What better way to celebrate than with pie, muffins, or a handful thrown into your oatmeal?

And, here's some advice on growing them yourself (from someone who lives in Minnesota).  I've got two different varieties--one Misty--growing in pots outside my window and they're doing beautifully.  If you want information on types to grow in CA, look no further.

Remember Smokey the Bear?  Well, he's still around, but he's been updated a bit.  However, the message is still the same: 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by humans and only you can prevent another one from sparking. 

With droughts across the map and sever fires blazing in Northern California, the message is prescient as ever.

Check out Smokey's site here. There's a great section for kids to explore, too.

What has more antioxidants than blueberries and pomegranates and hails from the Brazilian rainforest?  You guessed it, acai (pronounced ah-SIGH-ee).

And now they're in more than smoothie powders. 

To add to all the buzz acai berries have gotten, Veev has blended them with citrus and alcohol for a spirit that has all kinds of kick.

Veev also donates a dollar for each bottle sold back to the rainforest from whence it came, and offsets all of its manufacturing emissions. Read more on its environmental commitment here.

It's highly probable that your grilling will continue beyond July 4th weekend.  Grilling, even just for you or yours on a weekday evening, can add a little sizzle to the week and the meal. (Do remember that grilling can cause the production of cancer-causing heterocyclic amines, especially when grilling meats.  Read more in a previous post here.)

more (mindful kitchens)

So, if you're looking for a tray for serving, breakfast in bed, or teatime, look no further than Pacific Merchants' array of them made from acacia wood.

Its acacia is harvested legally from privately-owned land and from trees, known as "monkey pod" in Hawaiian, that are naturally fast-growing. It's naturally water-resistant and won't take stain, so it's pure wood, without chemicals. Even so, you can wash it with soap and water.  

more (mileage)

And the winner? Another Toyota, the Yaris.

It's not the most ambitious goal, but it's a start.

You can read more about what those folks have been up to here.

LIM(B)'S FIRST GIVEAWAY:
Send to a Friend

more (blooms in your cup)

Chrysanthemum, beautiful dried yellow and white flowers, is one such tea.

Heralded in China for actually ridding the body of heat, as in a fever or illness and detoxifying the liver, it is a perfect summer treat--sweet and full and a little bit tingly.  Traditional Chinese Medicine also says that, like green tea, it's excellent for dispelling tension headaches.

more (connection to faraway places)

Werner Herzog's (of Grizzly Man fame) latest documentary, Encounters at the End of the World, is mesmerizing.  As in many of his films, here Herzog finds a wild place with quirky characters, this time traveling to Antarctica to answer questions about why people go there and how what's going on there tells us about world history and the future of our species.

For me, it further convinced me that artists are scientists, scientists, artists, and that they are my favorite kind of people.  Linguists, geologists, philosophers, travelers, glacierologists, and deep sea divers all converge in this most amazing, frozen place where they study, play music, explore, discover new species, figure out the origins of intelligent life, and eat frozen yogurt.

It also reminded and deepened my connection to the creatures and systems that exist so far South and how even though I surely never plan on going anywhere quite so off the beaten path, we are all in this together. For a while longer anyway.

And if it's not playing in a theater near you, I believe it will be airing on the Discovery Channel someday soon.

more (outdoors)

The Pacific Outdoor Equipment ECO sleep pad is a natural-fiber solution to sleeping on dirt and staying comfortable doing it.

Outside: undyed bamboo.

Inside: bamboo fiber fill.

Pump valve: recycled aluminum.

So, so smart.

It's eco-friendly and still the things you want a sleeping pad to be--water, fungus, and bacteria-resistant, and warm for at least three seasons of camping.

It's won a few awards and is still only a little over a hundred bucks.

Or, if you're looking for a women's complete bag that's insulated with post-consumer waste material and made from all-natural Cocona fiber from coconut shells, check out the Sierra Designs Dejavu (178.95) here.

The word is really beginning to get out there about how our menu choices affect the world.  And while it can be dizzying to make choices between two goods (local and organic) or the lesser of two bads (pesticide-sprayed or trucked 2,000 miles) in a pinch, being conscious about what we put in our mouths and its connection to the wider world is always a good thing.

Check out this carbon diet calculator to see how your food picks impact global warming.  Don't feel guilty--just gather information and assess whether there's anything you'd like to change.

It's not the most user-friendly, but I played around with the "Make Your Own Meal" feature to put together combinations of things I typically eat at a given sitting (unfortunately, no specifications like cage free chicken versus factory farm are included).  The calculator tells you how many carbon points (one gram of carbon is one point) add up with each new menu item.

Happy carbon counting.

One of my favorite summertime treats is throwing a handful of fresh spearmint in my teapot, letting it steep a few minutes and enjoying an afternoon of sipping (hot or cool) fresh, tingly tea.

It tastes even better when it comes from your own garden.

In recently buying what looked and smelled like chamomile flowers from my farmers' market, I got to thinking: What else can I grow for my teapot?

Enter Herbal Tea Gardens.  It goes beyond mint and chamomile to help you design healing tea gardens to suit your needs.  Marietta Marcin includes growing and brewing recipes for herbs to help with headaches, colds, arthritis, and a multitude (100 to be exact) of pains (and pleasures!).

What's one of the best materials to soak up oil after messy, environmentally-disastrous spills?  Hair.  Human hair.

Just like when we neglect shampooing for a few days, we  (I anyway) end up with greasy tresses--that stuff is absorbent.

There are thousands of oil spills every year, not any as extensive as the Exxon Valdez in 1989 (which recently got wrapped up), but damaging nonetheless.

Matter of Trust partners with hair salons who sweep up their customers' brittle ends and send them to a facility that makes the hair into oil-soaking mats for clean-up efforts (creating green jobs while it's at it).

It's such a great idea, and the perfect opportunity to pass on to your stylist or barber next time you're in for a new do.  According to the organization, hair salons end up with about a pound of hair every day.  At over three hundred thousand across the country, that's a lot of lovely locks doing more than going to the landfill.

You can also sweep up your own and send it their way in an envelope.

The Whit Mcleod wine barrel folding chair is versatile, practical, well-designed, and made from discarded wine barrels from California wineries, thousands of which are tossed every year and 20% of which end up in the landfill--all that beautiful (grape-infused) oak gone to waste.

This chair gets those barrels out of the waste stream-- it's 90% recycled--pretty great for a chair.

It really moves beyond the beach, too, and is a perfect seat for a patio, yard, front porch, kitchen nook, or living room.

more (live-in dresses)

Plus, the designer literally fashions it out of sustainable fabrics right in the back of her store--no sweatshopping or factory-ing here.
Send to a Friend

If you've seen the excellent documentary, The Future of Food, or are a member of the Organic Consumers Association, then you've heard of Monsanto.

Monsanto is a huge company and the maker of herbicides and the engineer and peddler of genetically modified seeds.  Roundup Ready soybeans are genetically modified to resist the very herbicides Monsanto sprays, those sprays being the kinds of chemicals that are toxic not just to weeds but to you and me and especially farmers.

Now, there's a film on DVD that explores what Monsanto has done, how, and how it's gotten away with it.  There's some pretty shocking stuff in here about what goes wrong when profit is the driving force of agriculture.  And, no it's nut a summer fluff film, but at least it's fodder for changing fall harvests.

And, buy the DVD here.

less (plastic)

Our easy-to-use plastic bags (and all kinds of other forms of the stuff that was hailed as the future in The Graduate) are a big culprit in the deaths of sea turtles, birds, and other marine creatures as while plastic almost never biodegrades, it does break down into little, easily ingestible bits.  Americans use 380 billion plastic bags every year.

more (time spent on two feet or two wheels)

And if you're still not on board, try this car cost calculator to see how much you spend on your car every year and how to put that money to good use elsewhere. After all, the average American spends 17% of his/her income on a car--that's the second highest percentage behind paying rent or a mortgage.

more (healthy glow)

I recently got some deep red Yolo for a dark corner of my apartment that needs some serious life, and a backdrop for the marvelous, detoxifying, feng shui-ing corn plant I recently put there.  (And, at my local paint store, it cost roughly the same as a can of paint at a big box store.)

more (leafy greens)

If you want to get away from the same old vegetable rut, and you're a fan of broccoli, bok choy, and kale, your are delivered.  Chinese Broccoli has a slight bitterness, along with a kind of meatiness to it.  I've been enjoying it steamed and the stalks might be my favorite part (I'm sure stir-frying is delish, too.)