Paradoxes of Whole Living

Video about 350.org events

2009-10-28T21:12:00.002-04:00

Check out this amazing, inspirational video about 350.org events on Saturday:

Support Michelle Obama's Organic Garden

2009-04-11T20:48:00.000-04:00

Subject: Tell Pesticide Peddlers: We support Michelle Obama's organic garden.

The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) has a bone to pick with Michelle Obama. MACA represents chemical companies that produce pesticides, and they are angry that Michelle Obama isn't using chemicals in her organic garden at the White House.

In an email they forwarded to their supporters, a MACA spokesman wrote, "While a garden is a great idea, the thought of it being organic made [us] shudder." MACA went on to publish a letter it had sent to the First Lady asking her to consider using chemicals -- or what they call "crop protection products" -- in her garden.

Michelle Obama and has done America a great service by publicizing the importance of nutritious food for kids (she's growing the garden in partnership with a local elementary school class) as well as locally grown produce as an important, environmentally sustainable food source.

I just signed a petition telling MACA's board members to stop using Michelle Obama's garden to spread propaganda about produce needing to be sprayed with chemicals. I hope you will, too.

Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/wh_garden/?r_by=3454-1078229-AbXbJLx&rc=paste

Thanks!

2009-04-04T15:14:00.002-04:00

We're $200,000 Climate Change Finalists!

Please Vote Before 4/7 to Help TrueMajority, VEIC, and Spring Hill Solutions Solve Climate Change:

Harnessing the Power of Individuals and Communities to Solve Climate Change

TrueMajority, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, and Spring Hill Solutions are in the final round for a $200,000 climate change grant from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters - and we need your help one more time. We have a concept that is competing against other ideas in an online voting competition. There were nearly 100 ideas in the first round. Now it's down to four finalists and we're one of them, so our chances are very good.

Please vote now. When you get to the JustMeans web site click the 'Support it' button on the upper right side of the page. Registration on their site is quick and free, and JustMeans promises not to spam you.

Voting ends Tuesday, April 7th - but please don't wait until then!

Our idea in short: We're developing a comprehensive employee- and community-based program that will empower individuals everywhere to visualize, understand, and reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using the essential elements of communities, workplaces, incentives, and social networking. Our idea will change the world one person - and one community - at a time.

If our project receives the most votes it will greatly help our chances of being funded. Please vote now and provide your thoughts and ideas in the comment section - those help a lot, too. Please help us make the work of solving climate change personal and powerful.

VOTE NOW

Concept Summary:

The Vermont Energy Investment Corporation - a nonprofit energy efficiency and renewable energy business of 170 people - recently adopted a "Big Hairy Audacious Goal" (BHAG) to offset their carbon footprint by 10,000-fold in 20 years! By 2027, they will avoid 10,000 pounds of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for every pound they contribute, and they'll avoid 20 million tons annually of GHG emissions by 2027. Harnessing the power of individuals, we want to help every organization and community to set and achieve similar GHG reduction goals.

We live in a world of workplace communities similar to VEIC. We believe that community carbon footprints and reduction strategies must leverage the power of the individual. The personal decisions we make (the foods we eat, where we go on vacation, the cars we drive, how we heat our houses) have huge impacts. We're building a comprehensive and portable suite of tools and incentives for empowering individuals - singly and collectively - as members of communities that want to better understand, manage and reduce their carbon footprints and impacts on the shared environment. We'll use the campaign to help workplace communities everywhere to track emissions and progress, use social networking and incentives from businesses to inspire and motivate, and embrace ideas like internal carbon trading, games, incentives, and challenges. As we develop, test, and refine these ideas, we'll promote our results widely with the help of TrueMajority and other partner organizations - while making our open-source ideas and toolkit free to organizations and communities around the world so that they can use and continually improve the toolkit to help change the world one person at a time.

Please help fund our project by clicking here now.
http://www.justmeans.com/competitionidea/7885/promoteidea.html

Thanks for your support!

Health articles: Radon, Incense, Cancer, Palm Kernel Oil

2009-03-28T12:52:00.004-04:00

For too many reasons, cancer and other issues of health have been on my mind recently. Below are a few articles I came across recently that I'd like to share here. More to come...

Radon is the Second Leading Cause of Lung Cancer in the US
Radon is a radioactive gas released from the normal decay of uranium in rocks and soil.
Radioactive particles from radon can damage cells that line the lungs and lead to lung cancer.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and is associated with 15,000 to 22,000 lung cancer deaths each year.
Studies showing a link between radon and lung cancer in humans include studies of underground uranium miners and of the general population exposed to radon in their homes.
Testing is the only way to know if your home has elevated radon levels. Health authorities recommend radon testing and encourage corrective action when necessary.

***I've been experiencing a slight addiction to pretzels covered in a sweet yogurt coating that I can buy in bulk at the local food coop. One of the ingredients is fractionated palm oil, so I decided to look into it... What I discovered has turned me off from my little tasty snacks.***

I've noticed an influx of "health" foods containing fractionated palm oil. How is this different from regular palm oil and from palm kernel oil? Is it healthier?

A Answer (Published 10/18/2002)
Updated on 3/30/2005

You've asked a good question about a rather confusing subject. The African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) or its American hybrid variety (Elaeis oleifra) is widely cultivated in tropical areas and produces a fleshy fruit from which two oils are extracted: (1) palm oil from the fruit and (2) palm kernel oil from the pit. Both contain a lot of saturated fat, but of the two, palm oil is the healthier, both because it has less saturated fat and because it has high antioxidant activity from a significant content of natural vitamin E (including both tocopherols and tocotrienols). It can also be extracted gently by pressing the pulpy fruit.

Rees Moerman, product engineer at Spectrum Naturals, a California company, which sells high quality expeller-pressed oils, tells me that unlike palm oil, palm kernel oil can't be obtained organically. Instead, the oil must be extracted from the pit with a gasoline-like hydrocarbon solvent. In short, palm kernel oil is a cheap, unhealthy fat, and I recommend avoiding food products containing it.

Fractionation is a further phase of palm oil processing, designed to extract and concentrate specific fatty acid fractions. Fractionated palm oil, as found in food products, has a higher concentration of saturated fat than regular palm oil and is used for the convenience of manufacturers who like its stability and melting characteristics. The healthful aspects of natural palm oil are largely lost in the process. I've noticed that fractionated palm oil is a common ingredient in many power bars sold in health-food stores.

The bottom line is that of all these oils, organic, minimally processed palm oil is the healthiest, followed by conventionally processed palm oil. Palm kernel oil is less healthy still, and fractionated palm oil is the least desirable.

***Andrew Weil, M.D. answers a question I've often wondered about: incense and lung health***
<Q
Is it true that incense can cause cancer? I was told that it is very bad for your lungs.

A
Answer (Published 10/17/2008)

New research suggests that long-term exposure to burning incense does present a danger to the respiratory tract including increased risks of nasal/sinus cancers and malignancies of the tongue, mouth and throat. While this new study, from Denmark, didn't find any increased risk of lung cancer, the American Lung Association (ALA) has decided to list incense as a risk factor for all respiratory disorders. A spokesman for the ALA said that burning incense isn't as big a risk to the lungs as smoking, but is still hazardous, because incense smoke contains known carcinogens such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbonyls, and benzene.

For this study the Danish researchers interviewed more than 61,000 Singapore Chinese between the years of 1993 and 1998. All of the participants were 45 to 74 years old at the time and none had cancer when they were first interviewed. The research team then followed the participants through 2005 and found that 325 of them developed respiratory tract cancers associated with incense use. The risks increased both in smokers and in individuals who never smoked indicating that smoke from burning incense has an independent effect on the respiratory tract. The study was published in the October 1, 2008 issue of Cancer.

Earlier research from Taiwan showed that burning incense in a badly ventilated temple produced PAH concentrations 19 times higher than they were outside and slightly higher than they were at a local traffic intersection. Levels of the PAH benzopyrene, thought to cause lung cancer in smokers, were as much as 45 times higher in the temple than they were in homes where residents smoked tobacco. Concentrations increased dramatically during major ceremonies when more visitors than normal were present and hundreds - even a thousand or more - sticks of incense were burned simultaneously.

Whether or not you burn incense at home, you should be aware that any smoke can be a significant source of indoor air pollution, including combustion products from candles, which can emit varying amounts of soot and pollutants. If you must use candles, keep wicks trimmed to 1/2 inch, make sure there is no debris in the wax and don't burn candles in a draft.

Al Gore's good news on climate change

2008-11-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

Al Gore's good news on climate change

Posted: 10 Nov 2008 02:00 AM CST

In case you missed Al Gore's OpEd in yesterday's New York Times:

... Here is the good news: the bold steps that are needed to solve the climate crisis are exactly the same steps that ought to be taken in order to solve the economic crisis and the energy security crisis.

Economists across the spectrum — including Martin Feldstein and Lawrence Summers — agree that large and rapid investments in a jobs-intensive infrastructure initiative is the best way to revive our economy in a quick and sustainable way. Many also agree that our economy will fall behind if we continue spending hundreds of billions of dollars on foreign oil every year. Moreover, national security experts in both parties agree that we face a dangerous strategic vulnerability if the world suddenly loses access to Middle Eastern oil...

... What follows is a five-part plan to repower America with a commitment to producing 100 percent of our electricity from carbon-free sources within 10 years. It is a plan that would simultaneously move us toward solutions to the climate crisis and the economic crisis — and create millions of new jobs that cannot be outsourced.

First, the new president and the new Congress should offer large-scale investment in incentives for the construction of concentrated solar thermal plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots that could produce large amounts of electricity.

Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used...

Third, we should help America’s automobile industry (not only the Big Three but the innovative new startup companies as well) to convert quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run on the renewable electricity that will be available as the rest of this plan matures...

Fourth, we should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit buildings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting...

Fifth, the United States should lead the way by putting a price on carbon here at home, and by leading the world’s efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen with a more effective treaty that caps global carbon dioxide emissions and encourages nations to invest together in efficient ways to reduce global warming pollution quickly, including by sharply reducing deforestation.

Of course, the best way — indeed the only way — to secure a global agreement to safeguard our future is by re-establishing the United States as the country with the moral and political authority to lead the world toward a solution...

Read the whole piece here.

Buy a t-shirt, make a difference

2008-10-23T12:21:00.010-04:00

I've been using this blog mostly as a place to dump all the environmental and health news I find interesting. I enjoy sharing important information with anyone who might happen to stumble upon paradoxish.com or receive my blog emails. I generally don't take the time to put in much of my own comments because I usually feel the article or video I'm linking to speaks for itself. But today is different.

While the information below is self-explanatory, I still wanted to put in my own plug for this bicycle organization project in Cape Verde (Africa) that my friend Ross started. A great west-coast company called Sonadei is supporting Ross' organization focused on helping people in Cape Verde raise money to buy helmets, learn basic bike maintenance and get out cycling more often. Sonadei has made cool t-shirts with a Cape Verde design (you can even get them made out of recycled cotton! they're really soft!), the proceeds of which benefit the African organization. Sonadei also makes it really easy to make a donation to the organization through Paypal.

Click on the image below to check out the Cape Verde t-shirts. You can click on "recycled t-shirts" once you're on the site to find the Cape Verde recycled t-shirts in many colors and sizes. Please consider Sonadei's Cape Verde t-shirt as a great gift for someone this holiday season - and get out there on your bikes before the snow starts!

Here's some info from the Sonadei website:

SONADEI is proud to announce our Cape Verde Bicycle Organization project!

Our new Cape Verde Bicycle Organization (CVBO) project allows us to support cycling accross the world! The goal of our company is to help spread a positive and active lifestyle. We give back to our community by donating a portions of all our sales to the American Cancer Society, and the National Forest Foundation. Apart from these donations we have taken steps to support the growth and awareness of cycling in Cape Verde, the island Republic located off the west coast of Africa. The country consists of ten islands (and several islets) located roughly 500 miles off the coast of Senegal in Western Africa.

We are focusing our support on the island São Nicolau.

To help us with this project we have partnered with a member of the Peace Corps. Ross Guberman from New York is currently in his second year of volunteering with the Peace Corps. You can read Ross's blog here: Trials and Tribulations.

"My main function as a volunteer here is working with Parque Natural Monte Gordo , one of two national parks that are being funded by the United Nations. As Peace Corp volunteers, many of us have secondary projects aside from our main work. Outside of my work for Monte Gordo, I have held English classes for my community in Cachaço, organized a children’s soccer tournament, and conducted trash cleanup campaigns in various communities. I am most excited about organizing a Bicycle Safety and Awareness event for the island."

"During a weekend, two separate bike races will be held in the two main towns of the island, Ribeira Brava and Tarrafal. These bike races will be organized and sponsored by the Camara Municpal of each conchelo (and perhaps along with other local organizations such as the Centro de Juventude and ETMA). The race in R. Brava will go from the town center to Juncilhno and back. In Tarrafal, the race will go from town center to Praia Branca and back. It is my wish that the two winners receive new bikes."

"The need for this project stems from recent bicyclists being killed by motorists and from children dieing after falling off their bikes without helmets. Further, as the prices of oil soar and it becomes more expensive to travel by public transport, the bicycle is becoming a more viable option of travel for many of the island inhabitants. Thus, it is important now to provide information about how to be safe while riding and how to maintain a bicycle."

"I hope that with the visibility of the bike races and with the monthly bike repair workshops, those who currently bike ride will be encouraged to organize together for more events, which in turn may spur more locals to take up bike riding. Further, I hope that drivers on the island will become more aware that they must share the road with bicyclists thus increasing their safety. "

SONADEI is helping to raise money for this project by selling a unique T-Shirt design. We created this design to help raise awareness of Cape Verde and their cycling program. The image is of a Cape Verden girl riding her bicycle with their flag in the background.

Proceeds from the sale of these shirts will help in the following ways:

- Bicycle Awareness Training - Bicycle Helmets - Bicycle Tools - Patch Kits - Tubes -

"At the events, all will be welcome to signup for free bike repair workshops which will be held on the last Friday of each month (in line with Critical Mass). These classes will be taught by knowledgeable persons on the island (If enough funding is available, I would like to hold a training of trainers. A Cape Verdean with expert knowledge of bike repair from another island would be invited to teach the trainers beforehand.) Depending on funding or items donated, bike tools will be dispersed to trainers for the workshops."

"Taking into account the seasons here (Rainy season begins in July and ends in December) along with other factors, I foresee the event taking place in May 2009 in conjunction with Bicycle Month in America. Using this as a catalyst, I hope that bicycle organizations in America will be more likely to add their support for the event, supplying donations of any kind or simply helping create a dialogue with bicyclists here, giving them additional resources"

Please help us reach our goal of selling 100 shirts! This will raise enough money for hundreds of new bicycle helmets, bicycle repair classes, bicycle saftey posters, and bicycle races around two local towns!\

If you or your company would like to donate bicycle parts or supplies please contact us so we can work together.

We sincerely appreciate your support, it truly makes a difference.
- The SONADEI Team

I leave you with Ross' advice. After you buy a Cape Verde t-shirt, "And then, since you are already on a roll, take a walk, ride a bike, put yourself back into the cradle of nature that we have left behind when we built our little empire. Pick up one piece of trash; make the world we all share a better place. If we don’t love one another, who will?"

Happiness in cycling to all,

~Melissa

(PS- sorry if the formatting looked strange for some of the text; not sure how to get around that; believe me, I tried!)

Urge Brita to take back the filter for recycling

2008-10-02T20:41:00.001-04:00

Quick little "subvertisement" - subversive advertisement

An easy worm composting system

2008-10-02T09:45:00.001-04:00

Watch the video on an easy worm composting system:

Are You Registered to Vote?

2008-10-02T09:20:00.001-04:00

Friends,

Our attention has been consumed with Wall Street drama and the comedy event of the season -- tonight's vice-presidential debate -- but many people don't realize that in most states if you're not registered to vote by Monday, you cannot vote for president in November. In some states, the deadline is as early as this Saturday!

Will you do me a favor? Beginning right now, will you start asking everyone you know if they are registered to vote? Before you say hello, will you ask, "Hey, are you registered to vote here in (name of town)? 'Cause the deadline is Monday, and you have to be registered where you live." (Click here to find out what the deadline is in your state and click here to find out what the procedures are to sign up and vote. If you are a college student and want to find out where your vote counts most, click here.)

For the next couple of days, each of us has to do whatever we can to get people registered. Especially people who have recently moved, or students who are at college (students can vote where they go to school). Obama's two strongest bases -- young people and African Americans -- are traditionally the two groups who have the lowest voter registration and the lowest voter turnout. For Obama to win, this must change -- and it has to change today or tomorrow, not next week.

So send an email to everyone in your address book and attach this link so they know how to register and what the deadline is. Call the local Obama headquarters or the NAACP or black pastors or student Dems and offer your time to register people this weekend. It's called "the ground game," and it's where we always lose to the Republicans. Each of us need to commit to doing something in the next 48 hours to get the unregistered registered.

The more enlightened states allow you to register the day you vote. But in most places the deadline to register is this Monday, October 6th at 5pm.

Thanks for taking the time to make sure everyone you know is registered, and for helping them out if they're not.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. Tonight, the Senate passed an even worse "bailout" bill than the one the House defeated on Monday night. Only 25 Senators (and most of them for the wrong reasons) voted "No." It now moves to the House for a vote, possibly on Friday. Why did Obama and Biden vote for it? I think we all know the answer. Let's keep our eye on the ball of removing the Republicans from the White House, but let tonight be our first reminder that our work is not finished on November 4th when Obama wins. The struggle between what is best for the people and what is best in order to line the pockets of Wall Street will continue. 150 million Americans combined can't even match the wealth of the richest 400 Americans. All we have is our vote. And there will always be more of us than them. We will all need to become more politically active if we are going to get our democracy back.

P.P.S. Bill Maher's new film, "Religulous," opens tomorrow. It's hilarious and it raises some important and controversial questions. Go see it if you have a chance. It's directed by Larry Charles, the director of "Borat."

Join Mike's Mailing List | Join Mike's Facebook Group | Become Mike's MySpace Friend

VICIOUS: Sarah Palin's War on Wolves

2008-09-12T09:46:00.002-04:00

Vicious: Sarah Palin’s War on Wolves

September 11, 2008 |
by Marybeth Holleman
Anchorage, Alaska

This past June, on a cool morning in southwest Alaska, fourteen wolf pups were pulled from their dens and shot in the head, one by one, by state biologists sanctioned by Governor Sarah Palin. At a month old, these pups had opened their eyes and ears less than two weeks earlier. They had ventured from the dark safety of the den once or twice. They had grown into rolling, tumbling, play-fighting puppies for whom their only care was, when would they next get to nurse?

They still depended entirely on their parents and their packs for food, shelter, protection. But every single adult member of their packs had already been gunned down from above by the Alaska state workers who shot them. These pups did nothing to deserve such a malicious early end to life other than to be born a wolf in Alaska in the era of Sarah Palin.

To most Americans in this day and age, this is atrocious. But to those of us who have watched Sarah Palin at work for the past two years, it’s not at all surprising. As Governor, Palin has expanded Alaska’s aerial hunting further and faster than any predecessor, since anything seen since territorial days, when=2 0all predators were targeted for extermination as worthless vermin.

I’ve lived in Alaska for nearly 25 years, long enough to see the on-again off-again cycles of predator control. But never has the killing of wolves and bears in order to inflate the numbers of moose and caribou been so widespread and mean-spirited as under Palin’s reign.

Under Palin, private citizens kill wolves from planes under the guise of predator control. They run the wolves to exhaustion, and then shoot them. Under Palin, for the first time in 20 years, wolves are also gunned down from state-chartered helicopters. Palin authorized $400,000 in state funds for advertising to persuade Alaskans to vote against a ballot initiative that would have curtailed aerial hunting. Her propaganda was successful; the ballot measure failed.

Under Palin, for the first time since Alaska’s statehood in 1958, it’s legal to do land-and-shoot killing of bears and their cubs. Under Palin, predator control has spread from one to five regions of Alaska, to over 60,000 square miles, more than at any time since statehood. Nearly 800 wolves have been shot from planes, and some 2,000 are killed every year by other methods. And that’s just the reported deaths. Palin even went so far last year as to put a bounty on wolves—she wanted to pay $150 for a foreleg of each dead wolf. Thanks to Friends of Animals, Alaska Wildlife Alliance, and Defenders=2 0of Wildlife, her wolf bounty was ruled illegal by the courts.

Wildlife scientists from around the country are dismayed at Palin’s predator program, noting it doesn’t meet the standards recommended by the U.S. National Research Council to justify, implement, monitor, and evaluate. Last year, 172 scientists wrote to Palin, warning her that if she did reach the “unsustainable historically high” moose and caribou numbers she sought, it would ecologically backfire in a huge way: not only would she put at risk the long-term health of Alaska’s wolves, but of the very moose and caribou she sought to increase.

Palin would have the rest of Americans believe that this massive slaughter is acceptable, indeed necessary. She points to fifty years of statehood in which wolves have not become extinct. But the extent of the kill now far surpasses anything we’ve ever seen.

Even many Alaska hunters have grown outraged over Palin’s out-of-control wolf control. Most recently, she’s tried to give even more power to the Board of Game—the one that she appoints. This, wrote Alaska Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, would give her Board “more leeway without any scientific input to do whatever the hell they basically wanted.” This program has been a true black eye for all hunters in Alaska, and for our state.

Contrary to what Palin would have Americans believe, only 14 percent of Alaskans hunt. Of those, a small percentage are true subsistence hunters. Palin wants wolves and bears scraped from the landscape so it’s easier for urban hunters to get their kill in a weekend.

Don’t let her fool you: Wasilla has just as many big-box and fast-food stores as any place in America, and just as many opportunities to make money to buy food. Alaskans haven’t paid income tax for decades, and instead get over $1000 a year—for every man, woman, and child—in oil dividends. It’s not economic necessity that drives the killing of wolves.

During Alaska’s gubernatorial debates, Palin spoke with such passionate hatred about the need to kill wolves and bears that it sounded like we were thrown back into the dark ages of wildlife management, when bounties were paid for the feet of bald eagles, the fins of seals and sea lions, the skins of fox, coyote, wolf, and bear. Yes: bald eagles. They were blamed for eating too many salmon.

I was raised Catholic. I learned early on that if someone persecutes one group that’s different from them, they also persecute others who are “different.” It has taken the national media spotlight and her vicious statements on national stage to show Alaskans what we didn’t know when Palin ran for Governor—to expose her disdain not only for non-human life, but also for those of different races, nationalities, and religions.

As a Catholic, I also learned that we have a responsibility to all living things. Not just human life, but all life. Which is, as we all now know, inextricably linked to all that we need in order to survive. Food, air, water, shelter. Safety. All that those wolf pups wanted from life. And all that was taken from them.

Check out the trailer for Michael Moore's new film

2008-09-07T12:27:00.000-04:00

God's Pharmacy

2008-08-24T08:49:00.003-04:00

This email forward courtesy of mom seems worthwhile to share here. Similar parallels exist throughout nature, not just with food. We are what we eat.

God's Pharmacy

It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw.

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

No Impact Man: What's Wrong With Domestic Drilling

2008-08-18T10:36:00.003-04:00

Drill here, drill now, get nothing but an opinion poll point or two

The Democrats are caving on offshore drilling.

As reported by the Christian Science Monitor (emphasis added):

"... In a shift on Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the House will take up comprehensive energy legislation next month that includes partially lifting the 1981 ban on offshore drilling...

"... On Friday, Senate majority leader Harry Reid said that the Senate will also examine lifting the ban, which now covers all but central and western portions of the Gulf of Mexico and some parts of Alaska...

"... Until Saturday, Speaker Pelosi called the notion that more drilling would lower prices at the pump a hoax and said that there would be no votes on this issue on her watch.

"With the US controlling some 3 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, drilling in protected sites won't solve the problem of high gas prices in the short term, if ever, Democrats said.

"... In a bid to force an offshore drilling vote, GOP senators blocked votes on all other elements of an energy plan, including a popular measure to extend tax breaks for renewable energy."

What's happened is that the Democrats are losing political ground on this issue and the Republicans are holding to ransom the rest of the Democrats' energy agenda. For reasons of politics, therefore, the Democrats have decided to let the offshore drilling slide.

Over on ClimateProgress, Joe Romm, for whom I have great respect, has written repeatedly about how offshore drilling is a crock and won't make gas cheaper, but he has also written that he thinks the Democrats may as well compromise with the Republicans on this point.

I disagree. And this is not a party political point I'm making. It's not even a savvy policy point. This is a plain old disappointed citizen's point.

The disappointment comes from the fact that politicians on both sides of the aisle still don't really get that climate change is a planetary time bomb. They still think it's a political football.

The Republicans are using offshore drilling to score political points. The Democrats are relenting in order to avoid those Republican points being scored.

Neither party is exhibiting the type of leadership needed by the people of the United States and the rest of the world on this offshore drilling issue. It's a simple repeat of the gas tax pandering from earlier in the present election cycle--except that this time we can't be proud of the outcome.

Here's the thing. There is no question that high gas prices are killing people at the pumps and that this is awful. But what we absolutely don't need are false solutions that do nothing but perpetuate the illusion that we can continue to depend on fossil fuel.

When does a leader who cares about climate change draw a line in the sand? If not offshore drilling then where? Do we let the debate proceed next to shale oil extraction and coal liquification or do we begin the battle for hearts and minds now?

Instead of pandering to short term opinion trends, we need to expand on the vision of a better life for Americans and citizens of the planet that doesn't depend on oil.

A vision where our city kids don't suffer from asthma, where our lakes and rivers don't die of acid rain, where we preserve the great heritage of our beautiful land, where we aren't forced to spend upwards of 15 percent of our incomes on owning and fueling our cars, where we are independent of foreign oil and where we don't allow our planet to literally melt.

What would leadership towards that kind of vision look like when it comes to offshore drilling?

It would look like our Democratic and Republican politicians siding with the truth and with the people. It would look like leading from principle instead of leading from opinion poll figures. It would look like drawing the line in the sand on climate change now instead of later.

A principled political leader on this issue would say that high gas prices make life hard, but that offshore drilling won't help and explain why. A principled leader would do the right thing and use the opinion polls to help them figure out what needs to be explained to the people rather than what direction the policy wind should blow.

We are going to have to face some hardship on energy. And the reasons they are going to be difficult is that we didn't heed the warnings sooner which would have allowed us to make the transition smoother.

But the good news is that, if we don't get diverted by political hoaxes like trying to squeeze a small amount of oil out of our coasts and instead invest in renewable energy and efficiency, we will soon have an energy system that is clean, long-lasting, independent of foreign oil, and will save the planet for our grandchildren.

What's happening today, with Pelosi's decision, is that the politicians of both parties have exhibited their lack of faith in the people's ability to understand the issues and the possibilities.

If the politicians pander on offshore drilling then all they do is postpone the conversation, allow it to move one step closer to shale oil and liquified coal, and confuse the voters with their double-talk. They forgo their responsibility to lead.

That's sad. It's disappointing. And it's wrong.

Photo courtesy of Socius in Daejeon.

Frances Moore Lappe on World Hunger

2008-08-11T21:28:00.001-04:00

NPR Misses Real Story, Plants Wrong Seeds
by Frances Moore Lappe

Too bad.

I depend a lot on NPR, so my heart sank as I listened to Morning Edition's recent series on the world hunger crisis. Using Honduras as its case study, the four-part series reinforces dangerous myths that actually block us from seeing the real solutions to hunger all around us.

We're told that "across the globe .... [f]ood is expensive and there's not enough food to feed empty stomachs." No. In fact the world produces enough to make us all plump. True, today an estimated 100 million additional people are, or will soon be, facing hunger as food prices exceed their budgets, but the deeper lack they're experiencing is not food itself. It is power.

Drawing the distinction between lack of food -- a symptom -- and lack of power -- a cause -- is essential to seeing solutions. Yet this series portrays as progress examples that do nothing to correct, and in fact worsen, the underlying power imbalances at the heart of hunger.

In the broadcast, we hear that Wal-Mart is a solution because it provides a market for poor Honduran farmers who otherwise would have no way to sell their produce. But if access to a market is, in itself, farmers' salvation, here at home each year more than 10,000 farmers would not be going under. The question is who controls a market: Where the answer is a few monopsony buyers -- what Wal-Mart represents in the NPR case study -- power remains with them. They set the terms and they decide whether to stay or to leave.

Fortunately, in Latin America and elsewhere some rural communities are beginning to free themselves from distant, monopoly power. Imagine this: In what may be the pesticide capital of the world, the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, pests developed insecticide resistance and genetically modified (GM) cotton failed to live up to Monsanto's promises. Farmers faced catastrophic losses, triggering thousands of suicides, and many then began to move in another direction. Now, almost two thousand villages are embracing community-managed sustainable farming using natural pest controls, not purchased chemicals, and are enjoying improved incomes and health.

Yet, the NPR series ignores such hopeful examples. It notes gloomily that most small Honduran farmers will cut back on production this year, despite higher prices for their crops, because "prices for fertilizer and pesticides have gone up even more than food prices."

In a disturbing disconnect, the series still promote as solutions not only purchased farm chemicals but genetically modified seeds; yet the cost of these seeds puts them out of reach of many poor farmers, as acknowledged at the tail end of the second piece in the series. Worse, and not acknowledged, are the documented, serious environmental and health risks linked to GM seeds.

NPR misses the real story: On every continent one can find empowered rural communities developing GM-free, agro-ecological farming systems. They're succeeding: The largest overview study, looking at farmers transitioning to sustainable practices in 57 countries, involving almost 13 million small farmers on almost 100 million acres, found after four years that average yields were up 79 percent.

NPR chose to reinforce the myth that the only hope for poor rural people is dependency on concentrated economic power when, all over the world, poor farming communities are discovering their own power to work with each other and with nature to build healthier, more secure, and more democratic lives.

What a lost opportunity.

Frances Moore Lappe of the Small Planet Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the author of sixteen books, most recently Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad.

Vote for the Project Porchlight Doc Martin

2008-07-23T19:04:00.003-04:00

Click on the boot to vote for this new Doc Martin design from Project Porchlight. Better yet, check out the Project Porchlight website to learn more about energy efficiency and how we can all make a difference by changing just one lightbulb.

Just click on the boot and then click "Love it" when you are taken to the site that opens.

66 Ways To Save Money on Gasoline

2008-07-07T13:56:00.003-04:00

From Treehugger.com - some great tips for saving money while traveling.

66 Ways To Save Money on Gasoline

by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 06.23.08

While the rising cost of oil has the price of gasoline skyrocketing faster than global warming is melting glaciers, people everywhere are preparing for cross-country road trips to Grand Canyon National Park and summer camps in Maine. We can't really argue with that innate desire to get closer to nature and out on the open road, and whether you're a die-hard cyclist or a still driving an SUV, chances are you plan to get in a car to go somewhere this summer. So whether you're packing up the Prius for some close-to-home camping, towing the boat to far-away shores, or merely fighting the crosstown traffic, these money- and gas-saving tips are designed to help you squeeze every last bit of power out of that precious petrol--and cause fewer CO2 emissions, too. It's a comprehensive list--several tasks should be done before even starting your car; others require minor adjustments to your driving style. All of them aim to help you drive a little greener.

Gas-Saving Tips: Questions to Ask Before You Turn on the Engine

1. Is your engine tuned up? Fixing a car that is out of tune (or has failed an emissions test) will boost gas mileage, so be sure to give your car regular tune-ups. You'll also want to watch out for worn spark plugs. A misfiring spark plug can dramatically reduce a car's fuel efficiency.

2. Is your body in good shape?
Inspect suspension and chassis parts for occasional misalignment. Bent wheels, axles, bad shocks, broken springs, et cetera create engine drag and are unsafe at high traveling speeds.

3. Is your air filter clean?
When the engine air filter clogs with dirt, dust and bugs, it causes your engine to work harder and your car becomes less fuel-efficient. Replacing a clogged air filter could improve your gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. It's a good idea to have your engine air filter checked at each oil change.

4. What grade is your oil?
You can improve your car's gas mileage by using the manufacturer's recommended grade of motor oil. Opt for motor oil with the words "energy conserving" on the API performance label; this oil contains friction-reducing additives.

5. Got shade?
Buy a good windshield shade. A windshield shade blocks sunlight and helps to keep heat out of the inside of your car. This will help reduce air conditioning use in the summer.

Ways to Save Money on Gas at the Pump

6. Don't overfill 'er up. Avoid filling your gas tank to the top. Overfilling results in sloshing over and out of tank. Never fill gas tank past the first "click" of fuel nozzle if the nozzle is automatic.

7. Use the lowest octane you can.
Buy the lowest grade or octane of gasoline that is appropriate for your car; pricey premium fuel won't boost your car's fuel economy. [some readers say premium is premium, see comments mjo]

8. Tighten that cap.
Gas will evaporate from your car's gas tank if it has an escape. Loose, missing, or damaged gas caps cause millions of gallons of gas to evaporate each year.

9. Wait until you're near empty.
Don't fill up until your tank is near empty; this will extend your gas because you are hauling a lighter load as the tank nears empty.

10. Find credit card discounts.
Some credit cards offer gas savings when you use the card for purchases. This works in much the same way that some credit card companies give you frequent-flier miles when you use their card for purchases.

11. Membership has its privileges.
Some gas stations offer membership benefits. There are also department and grocery stores that give discounts at the fuel pump when you use their store membership cards.

Click here for the other 55 tips

Naps are good for you!

2008-07-07T13:49:00.002-04:00

Naps are good for memory, concentration, altertness, lower blood pressure, etc. etc. etc.

If the image is too small to see, see it here: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/

Fluoridation in water is a problem

2008-07-03T10:25:00.002-04:00

Videos from dentists and environmental professionals about the health effects of fluoridated water.

Sustainable Living in the Suburbs of Burlington

2008-07-01T16:44:00.005-04:00

My friend Tim was recently in the paper - he's modeling sustainability in Burlington - and inspiring others to do the same. Keep it up, Tim!

Sustainable living in the suburbs

By Sally Pollak • Free Press Staff Writer • June 21, 2008

Tim Nitz and his sons generate one kitchen-size bag of garbage a month in their home in Burlington's South End. They drive about 50 miles a week, most of that distance a weekly trip to Underhill for tae kwon do. The four chickens in their backyard produce six eggs a day. The birds, who eat kitchen waste, appear healthy and content in soil-building mode in Nitz’s garden.

Like live little tractors, they’re turning and tilling the soil as they grub and dig in it. Their excrement contains nitrogen, part of a cycle that fertilizes the garden. They eat the weeds. To add to the green properties of these Rhode Island reds, their coop, made from used materials, is insulated with recycled “Stop Global Warming” signs from environmentalist Bill McKibben’s Ripton-to-Burlington walk of a few years back.

Nitz, a 32-year-old software developer, has developed a name for this kind of living: Suburban Sustainability. It sounds easy and fun (and important) to do when Nitz talks about it in his straightforward, nonpreachy way.

The roots of Nitz’s lifestyle can be traced to his Nebraska upbringing and the state’s agricultural heritage; the Boy Scout ethos of zero-impact camping and his Zen Buddhist philosophy. He is committed to sharing resources whenever possible — giving away garden vegetables, renting a room in his house because it would be a “crime against nature” to have empty housing space in Burlington’s South End.

“I think we’re headed for some real hard times and headed toward major resource constraints,” Nitz said. “So, teaching the kids how to do things on their own, how to do more with less, I think is a lesson that everyone’s going to have to learn real soon.

“We buy everything used. You can get by more simply, and you can be just as happy, or happier, without stuff.”

Nitz has two boys, Rowen, 9, and Petey, 6, who live with their father half the time.

Last spring the boys helped plant and nurture hundreds of seedlings that lined the windows sills, waiting to be transplanted to the big garden out back. The garden helps the boys learn how to raise their own food and eat in a healthful way. Perhaps more important, Nitz said, it teaches them the value of delayed gratification.

“You start in March, and you don’t finish ’til winter,” Nitz said.

The boys have their own plots in the garden where last year they did all the work themselves. (This season, working to improve the soil, they’re doing smaller-scale gardening in buckets.) Rowen grew his favorite garden foods — kohlrabi and cherry tomato; Petey planted and harvested peas and beans. Both boys helped with the mini-greenhouse that produced kale and broccoli well into the winter.

“Enthusiasm is contagious,” Nitz said. “I absolutely love nurturing things. To me, it is so amazing to see a seed become a plant that every time it happens, I am surprised it works.”

Subscribers to the neighborhood e-mail newsletter, the Front Porch Forum, in Nitz’s part of town will recognize him as the person who gives away tomatoes; the father interested in starting an after-school child-care co-op; the minimalist driver looking to share a car; the principal organizer of this weekend’s neighborhood yard sale — and creator of its Web site (www.fiveavenues.org/).

“We had 120 tomato plants last year and gave away tomatoes like crazy,” Nitz said. “People came. It was great. I don’t care if I eat any food out of the garden. It’s just so fun to grow the plants. It’s really a joy to grow food and give it away.”

South End residents who awoke one day last fall to find their bags of leaves gone from the greenbelt might not know that Nitz was the probable leaf thief. Using a friend’s pickup, he cruised the neighborhood the night before the city was to collect the bags, gathering loads for garden compost.

In the fall, he’ll give away more than 200 empty paper leaf bags he has stored in his garage, recycling them to rakers in need.

Before going green was fashionable, Nitz was thinking about these things: Growing grass in his boyhood bedroom, drawing space stations that ran on solar energy.

He moved East to attend Dartmouth College, where he majored in philosophy and religion. He taught himself Web design and computer programming as a college student, when he started an online record store to sell 3,000 used CDs he bought in New York City. (He planned to open a shop in Dartmouth, but rents were too high in Hanover, N.H., so he went digital early.)

Nitz works from home in a corner of his bedroom, where he keeps his computer. He runs a Web development company called Panther Internet, acting as the producer who puts a plan and a team together to make Panther’s projects work.

His company has evolved into a kind of consulting business, in which Web development serves as an inroad to helping organizations become more internally consistent and strategically focused, Nitz said.

Nitz and his boys keep the thermostat at 60 in the winter and wear hats in the house. They bike to the grocery store. The family has little furniture and few possessions. Nitz says he was always repulsed by consumerism.

“It always seemed unnecessary,” he said. “I’ve always pushed back against that.”

There’s more to do: He wants to make an electric bicycle for three passengers, use a refrigerator that relies on cold winter air as opposed to electricity, and build solar hot-air heaters.

And these are only his Burlington plans. There’s an underground bunker, on the plains, coming to life in his imagination.

“The idea that you use every possible resource around you, without exhausting it, so you survive, was very powerful to me,” Nitz wrote in an e-mail. “So my dream is to some day own an underground house in western Nebraska, collect power from the wind, heat with the sun, collect rain water in underground storage tanks, and grow my own food.

“I try to approximate that here, living in town, as much as I can, and still be a responsible parent and provide opportunities for learning for my kids.”

Scientists predict more extreme weather as the climate changes

2008-07-01T16:40:00.001-04:00

Scientists predict more extreme weather as GHG builds

June 24 -- The United States and North America likely will see more weather extremes including floods, droughts, intense hurricanes and unusually warm weather in the years ahead, government scientists recently warned.

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program, which consists of scientists from 13 federal agencies, issued a report June 19 warning that as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases build in the atmosphere, North America will see greater incidents of extreme weather.

They made public their predictions as President Bush prepared to announce plans for making about $2 billion in federal aid available to victims of devastating floods in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

Occurrences of extreme weather already are on the increase, said Tom Karl, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration´s National Climatic Data Center and one of the report´s authors.

"We are now witnessing and will increasingly experience more extreme weather and climate events," Karl said.

Contact Waste News senior reporter Bruce Geiselman at (330) 865-6172 or bgeiselman@crain.com

Nutrition information from Care2.com: 5 Keys to Balancing Your Metabolism

2008-06-25T21:56:00.003-04:00

I really enjoy articles by Annie B. Bond on Care2.com - a great resource for information about nutrition, environmental toxins, green cleaning techniques, and tons more. Care2.com is also a web-based community of environmentally-conscious and health-minded folks - my kind of people! This recent article appeared in my inbox today right after I ate a huge meal and felt my metabolism s l o w i n g down to digest the food. I'd much prefer to eat light healthy meals in the summer; I find it's always good to listen to those cues from your body about what, when, and how much to eat.

5 Keys to Balancing Your Metabolism

posted by Annie B. Bond Jun 24, 2008 9:00 am

filed under: Health & Wellness, Diet & Nutrition, calorie-burning, diet, digestion, metabolism

add a comment

Adapted from The Slow Down Diet, by Marc David (Inner Traditions, 2005).

Think of these five keys as ways to come into better balance with your eating habits and your relationship to food. Nutrition and metabolism are intimately regulated by natural rhythms. Living a rhythmic life can bring us back into balance physically and emotionally.

By bringing the power of rhythm into our relationship with food, the body finds its rightful place. Rhythm grounds the soul in the world.

The five keys:

1. Alignment with the rhythms of life brings our metabolism into its fullest force.

2. Digestive and calorie-burning metabolism are strongest when the sun is highest in the sky (lunchtime) and weakest in the late evening hours.

3. Skipping breakfast and lunch or not eating enough at these meals slows down metabolism and inhibits weight loss.

4. Eating at irregular and unpredictable times each day causes our digestive and calorie-burning metabolism to fall out of sync.

5. Excessive consumption of refined carbohydrates out of rhythm with the seasons makes the brain think it’s summer and signals the body to store more fat.

More on Diet & Nutrition (60 articles available)
More from Annie B. Bond (3189 articles available)

Cell Phone Radiation

2008-06-12T14:27:00.003-04:00

A few studies about potential dangers of cell phones (linked to brain tumors, and potentially harming developing fetuses, for instance) have been released recently, one of which in The New York Times prompted me to now regularly use my hands-free device when talking on my cell phone.

I'm really happy to have found an up-to-date list of cell phones and their radiation levels, maintained by CNET. I'm unhappy to see that mine is one of the highest radiation levels allowed by the US government. Click on the link below to search for your phone's model to see the radiation levels and how it compares.

Cell phone radiation levels

By CNET staff (updated May 23, 2008)

Ten highest-radiation cell phones

	Manufacturer and model	SAR level(digital)
1	Motorola V195s	1.6
2	Motorola Slvr L6	1.58
3	Motorola Slvr L2	1.54
4	Motorola W385	1.54
5	RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint)	1.54
6	RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Verizon Wireless)	1.54
7	Motorola Deluxe ic902	1.53
8	T-Mobile Shadow (HTC)	1.53
9	Motorola i335	1.53
10	Samsung Sync SGH-C417	1.51

What it all means
According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), specific absorption rate, or SAR, is "a way of measuring the quantity of radiofrequency (RF) energy that is absorbed by the body." For a phone to pass FCC certification, that phone's maximum SAR level must be less than 1.6W/kg (watts per kilogram). In Europe, the level is capped at 2W/kg while Canada allows a maximum of 1.6W/kg. The SAR level listed in our charts represents the highest SAR level with the phone next to the ear as tested by the FCC. Keep in mind that it is possible for the SAR level to vary between different transmission bands and that different testing bodies can obtain different results. Also, it's possible for results to vary between different editions of the same phone (such as a handset that's offered by multiple carriers).

It's important to note that in publishing this list are we in no way implying that cell phone use is or isn't harmful to your health. While research abounds and some tests have shown that cell phone radiofrequency (RF) could accelerate cancer in laboratory animals, the studies have not been replicated. Cell phones can affect internal pacemakers, but there is not conclusive or demonstrated evidence that they cause adverse health affects in humans. Conversely, there is not conclusive or demonstrated evidence that they don't cause adverse health affects in humans. So, in short, the jury is still out, research is ongoing, and we will continue to monitor its results.

If your phone isn't listed here (U.S. customers) and you've purchased it within the last few years (the FCC Web site currently does not provide information on models certified before 1998), you can request the SAR information from the manufacturer or your carrier. You'll need the model number and FCC ID number, which is usually but not always listed in your owner's manual or under your phone's battery (you must pop the battery out). For links to the FCC's Web site, please see the More Resources section below. We'll continue to update the list as new phones are announced. To be the first to know when we've added more phones, subscribe to the On Call Newsletter.

--

My beloved phone, the Motorola v360, ties at the same level as the 10th highest SAR level (1.51) - which is almost as high as you can go under US regulations. In general, Nokia and LG seem to have lower radiation levels. I now rely entirely on a hands-free ear-bud device (NOT a bluetooth, which may possibly amplify the radiation absorbed into your body). I found the hands-free headset to be really easy to adapt to, and it actually fits in my ear rather comfortably! I encourage everyone to use hands-free headsets whenever possible!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2008-05-20T17:50:00.002-04:00

How Does Your Garden Grow? (from e magazine's newsletter Eco-Logical)

Organic Gardening is Great for You, Your Family and the Planet

Spring is definitely in the air. That means warm breezes, longer days and thawing ground. It’s also the start of gardening season in most parts of North America. Gardening is often described as the world's most popular leisure activity, and it's not hard to see why. There’s the ease of entry; the educational, psychological and physical benefits; the rich history; the family friendliness; and the generally low cost (despite that book about the $64 tomato). In fact, a number of observers have speculated that gardening actually grows in popularity during economic downturns, since people are likely to spend more time closer to home.

Naturally, gardening can produce beautiful blooms and delicious fresh produce for you, your family and your neighbors to enjoy. By growing your own, you can control exactly what goes in your food, so there is no question about the food or flowers’ organic status. Conventional flowers, for instance, are raised with tremendous amounts of pesticides (since they aren't consumed), but it's easy to get great results at home, even if you only have room for a couple of containers on a deck or balcony.

And don't forget that every plant you nurture takes a breath of carbon dioxide out of the air, helping to fight global warming. Greenery also helps naturally cool your outdoor space, reversing the heat island effect. It can shield your home from noise and prying eyes, and absorbs air and waterborne pollutants. Gardens also provide valuable habitat for wildlife, from bees to birds to larger creatures.

Some tips to help you fight frustration, and green that thumb:

1. Pull weeds instead of spraying chemicals. Conventional herbicides are usually poisonous, so you don't want your pets or kids wallowing in the residue or tracking it inside. Weeding is great exercise.
2. Cultivate good soil and compost. The soil is your foundation, so take care of it. There are entire books about how to get the richest compost, no matter where you live or how much room you have, but all you really need is a place to keep clippings and table scraps moist.
3. Water often, and in the morning if possible. You'll cut waste to evaporation and promote healthy plants.
4. Choose native and heirloom plants. You're likely to get great results with natives, and support the most wildlife. Heirlooms can be tricky because they often are susceptible to disease, so research the variety first. You may have to get creative to prop up their defenses, such as planting complementary crops or sterilizing your soil first with the sun.
5. Try organic treatments. Going organic doesn't mean leaving your garden to fend for itself. There are a number of plant-derived sprays showing up, even in conventional nurseries, to control wilts, insect pests and nutrient deficiencies. Get a book on organic gardening and start experimenting!

Gardening can be extremely rewarding. Don't get discouraged when you hit a bump. Some years you'll seem to get nary a tomato, but then the next you'll be blessed with so many of the sweetest, most glorious beefsteaks that you won't be able to give them all away.

---
I know my garden is growing just great down at Burlington's Intervale. We just planted the tomatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, peppers, basil, potatoes, watermelons and the following seeds: carrots, beets, peas, beans, and turnips... and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I'm so excited for the whole gardening process!

Why do Americans think they deserve to eat more than Indians?

2008-05-19T10:35:00.001-04:00

Why do Americans think they deserve to eat more than Indians?

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.14.08

Food & Health (food)

George Bush in Missouri May 2. Full speech transcript here

On May 2 George Bush was asked about food prices, and he responded with a common complaint of those in America who think that the rest of the world has too many people and that they are getting to be too middle class, having money to buy cars, electricity and better food. Bush said of India's growing middle class "when you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food, and so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up."

Indians were appalled. According to the IHT, Americans eat 3,770 calories per day on average, whereas Indians average 2,440 per day. Americans also eat by far the most beef, the most energy intensive food source. They ask "Why do Americans think they deserve to eat more than Indians?"

The graph shows that people in India don't each much of the same stuff Americans do, almost no meat and little corn.

Indian politicians and academics note that arable land in the US has been diverted to ethanol production, and that the dollar has declined preciptitously.

The United States is responsible "many times more" than India for the world food crisis because of its higher food consumption, said Ramesh Chand, an economist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which advises India's government on farming policy, in the International Herald Tribune.

Pradeep Mehta, the secretary general of CUTS Center for International Trade, Economics and Environment, says:

If Americans were to slim down to even the middle-class weight in India, "many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates," Mehta said. The money Americans spend on liposuction to get rid of their excess fat could be funneled to famine victims instead, he added. ::International Herald Tribune

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-23T22:44:00.002-04:00

Pete Fehrenbach of industry journal Waste News summed up his feelings on Earth Day yesterday in his typical sarcastic yet hopeful way. I tend to agree with much of what he says - about the greenwashing of everything, and of the 'gloomers-on' coming out in force this year, but I too am hopeful, nay, confident, that the world is moving in the right direction. Happy Earth Day (a day late)!

Waste News editorial follows:

Hello, Inboxers. I hope everyone received a lot of nice Earth Day presents this morning.

Seriously, sort of, the Big Day is upon us. Not just upon us, but all over us, through and through us, in one end and gurgling around and getting ready to jump straight back out the hole it came in from. Here at Waste News we have been so inundated with stuff about Earth Day that we´re all ... if I were in a diplomatic mood I´d say we´re numb to it. But frankly this deluge has brought on an acute case of ad-nauseam nausea. And that, friends, feels nothing like numb. Numb would be a welcome change for the better.

A colleague who requested anonymity -- his initials may or may not be JT -- suggested this idea for a column headline today: "I Hate Earth Day -- There, I Said It."

I don´t hate Earth Day. I just wish the event produced a higher percentage of genuinely useful ideas and a lower percentage of me-too glomming-on. The glommers-on are out in force this year like never before, and it may be months before my e-mail "reading" routine recovers. I wonder how many good ideas I´ve accidentally deleted whilst wading through the daily flood.

(The state of spam-blocking software deeply disappoints me. Some day some young e-geek is going to invent a sophisticated, user-nonhostile spam-blocking program, and he or she will be buying a mansion in Bill Gates´ neighborhood in no time.)

This annually growing throng of Earth Day bandwagonistas remind of the people -- we all know someone like this -- whose hearts grow three sizes on Christmas, then shrink back to normal size for the rest of the year. Let´s make Earth Day every day.

Funny, in the end I think the glommers-on serve a useful purpose. They pile up a critical mass of white media noise that actually helps nudge society -- industry, consumers, all of us -- up the green mountain we´re slowly climbing.

At the summit, I think, I hope, is sustainability. A future where none of us have to worry about what type of diminished planet we´re bequeathing to our grandkids.

Pete Fehrenbach is managing editor of Waste News. Past installments of this column are collected in the Inbox archive.

Recycled homes

2008-03-31T11:27:00.002-04:00

Dan Phillips builds homes. But, as the Texas Country Reporter notes, there is something a little bit weird about Dan's work. The design is a bit unconventional, and so are the materials. In fact, Dan's houses are built almost completely out of discarded materials of all kinds, from picture frames to dishes.

"Every town has a crushing need for affordable housing, all across the country!" says Dan. And when he says affordable, he's not talking about a $140,000 house - but a $20,000-$50,000 house. His "Homesteading Initiative" is helping the working poor in Huntsville, Texas achieve the American dream by helping them build their own home in a way that they can afford. According to his calculations, enough good, usable materials are thrown out in his town to build one small house every week.

The only criteria for prospective new homeowners - $500, no bad credit and a steady job. As for his building philosophy: "Use mostly recycled materials. Hire only unskilled labor. And keep it small.”

Check out the video above or his blog, Brigid's Paradigm and his website here.

The top 12 most pesticide-laden foods - Buy them organic!

2008-03-28T15:51:00.002-04:00

The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Foods to Eat Organic

Check out the top 12 foods you should buy organic whenever possible

Not all of us can afford to go 100% organic. The solution? Focus on just those foods that come with the heaviest burden of pesticides, chemicals, additives and hormones. Whenever possible, deploy your organic spending power to buy organic versions of the following foods (in no particular order). Can't find organic versions of these foods? In some cases, we've listed safer alternatives that contain similar valuable vitamins and minerals.

1. Meat. Contrary to a widely reported "fact," meat typically contains less pesticide residue than plant-based foods, according to Debra Edwards, the director of EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.

That said, raising animals with conventional modern methods often means using hormones to speed up growth, antibiotics to resist disease and pesticides to grow the grain fed to the animals. As the EPA puts it in an Ag 101 feature, "Antibiotics, pesticides, and hormones are organic compounds which are used in animal feeding operations and may pose risks if they enter the environment."

Consumers looking to avoid meats raised with these substances can seek out certified organic meat. To meet USDA standards, this meat can come only from animals fed organic feed and given no hormones or antibiotics.

Publications as varied as the Wall Street Journal, in its 2007 When Buying Organic Makes Sense and When It Doesn’t, and Consumers Union, in its 2006 Tips on Buying Organics Without Breaking the Bank, recommend seeking out organic meats when possible.

2. Milk. Pesticides and other man-made chemicals have been found in human breast milk, so it should come as no surprise that they have been found in dairy products. While any residues detected have been rare, and of low concentration, milk is of special concern because it is a staple of children's diets.

Organic dairies cannot feed their cows with grains grown with pesticides, nor can they use antibiotics or growth hormones like rGBH or rbST.

3. Coffee. Many of the beans you buy are grown in countries that don't regulate use of chemicals and pesticides. Look for the Fair Trade Certified Organic label on the coffee package or can; it will give you some assurance that chemicals and pesticides were not used on the plants. It will also mean that fair prices were paid for the end product in support of the farm and that farm workers are treated fairly.

4. Peaches. Multiple pesticides are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: watermelon, tangerines, oranges and grapefruit.

5. Apples. Scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: watermelon, bananas and tangerines.

6. Sweet bell peppers. Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're often heavily sprayed and victim to pesticides commonly used to keep them insect-free. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: green peas, broccoli and cabbage.

7. Celery. Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals that are used on conventional crops. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: broccoli, radishes and onions.

8. Strawberries. If you buy strawberries out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that use less-stringent regulations for pesticide use. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: blueberries, kiwi and pineapples.

9. Lettuces. Leafy greens are frequently contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

10. Grapes. Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's thin skin. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: blueberries, kiwi and raspberries.

11. Potatoes. America's popular spud ranks high for pesticide residue. It also gets the double whammy of fungicides added to the soil for growing. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: eggplant, cabbage and earthy mushrooms.

12. Tomatoes. A tomato's easily punctured skin is no match for chemicals that will eventually permeate it. Can't find organic? Safe alternatives: green peas, broccoli and asparagus.

If the cost of buying all organics isn't within your budget, fear not. Check out The Daily Green's top ten list of fruit and vegetables you don't need to buy organic, with tips for buying and how to clean, store and use them in delicious recipes.

The information for this article in regard to pesticides in fruits and vegetables is based on The Environmental Working Group's analysis of federal pesticide testing data for commonly eaten fruits and vegetables.

Nontoxic Spring Cleaning

2008-03-25T12:55:00.002-04:00

This is a good comprehensive guide to nontoxic cleaning. Spring's here! -Melissa

DIY Toxin-Free Cleaning Guide

Save money with safe, time-tested natural cleaners

Photo: Howard Grey/ Getty Images

By Brian Clark Howard

We love all the new nontoxic cleaning products on the market. But did you know that baking soda, vinegar, borax, salt, citrus and even ketchup can be effective, nontoxic cleaners? Your grandparents did. They are cheap, readily available, and you don't have to worry about potentially harmful fumes.

Spotless Kitchens

Countertops and Sinks
Baking Soda and Water: Keep counters clean by sprinkling with baking soda, then scrubbing with a damp cloth or sponge. If you have stains, knead the baking soda and water into a paste and let set for a while before you remove. This method also works great for stainless steel sinks, cutting boards, containers, refrigerators, oven tops and more.

Kosher Salt and Water: If you need a tougher abrasive on sinks and cast iron pans, sprinkle on kosher salt, and scrub with a wet cloth or sponge.

Natural Disinfectant: To knock out germs, mix 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of liquid soap and 20 to 30 drops of tea tree oil. Spray or rub on countertops and other kitchen surfaces.
Ovens

Baking Soda and Water: Coat the inside of your dirty appliance with a paste made from water and baking soda. Let stand overnight. Then, don gloves and scour off that grime. Make spotless with a moist cloth.
Fruits and Vegetables

Baking Soda: Worried about toxic pesticide residue, germs and dirty fingerprints on your juicy peaches and crisp carrots? Just sprinkle a little baking soda on wet produce, then gently scrub and rinse.

Beautiful Bathrooms

Porcelain and Tile
Baking Soda and Water (with kosher salt): To keep bathroom surfaces clean and odor-free, dust with baking soda, and scrub with a moist sponge or cloth. Kosher salt can be added to the mix to help with tougher grime.

Lemon Juice or Vinegar: Attack stains, mildew and any grease streaks by spraying or dousing with lemon juice or vinegar. Let sit a few minutes, then scrub with a stiff brush.

Disinfectant: Instead of bleach, make your own bathroom disinfectant by mixing 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of liquid soap and 20 to 30 drops of tea tree oil.
Mirrors and Windows
White Vinegar, Water and Newspaper: No, your mother-in-law isn't a vampire; you just need to clean those mirrors. It's simple: mix 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with a gallon of water, and dispense into a used spray bottle. Squirt on, then scrub with newspaper, not paper towels, which cause streaking.

If you can't stand the smell of vinegar, you can substitute straight lemon juice or club soda (don't dilute either in water).
Clogged Drain
Baking Soda and Boiling Water (vinegar if needed): Feeling plugged up? Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the problem drain, followed by 2 cups of boiling water. If that isn't doing it for you, chase the baking soda with a 1/2 cup of vinegar and cover tightly, allowing the vigorous fizzing of the chemical reaction to break up the gunk. Then flush that with one gallon of boiling water.

Underfoot

Wood Floors
Oil and White Vinegar: You've heard that wood floors are more hygienic than carpet, but you aren't sure how to keep that gorgeous glow all year long. Just mix equal parts oil and white vinegar, and apply in a thin coat. Rub it in well to bring out the best in the grain.
Carpet and Rugs
Club Soda: If you do have carpet, or even just some area rugs, it's inevitable that someone will spill something colored. Your best defense is to clean it up immediately with club soda. Here's how: First, carefully lift off any solids. Then, liberally pour on club soda. Blot with an old rag until all the color from the spill is absorbed by your cloth. The soda's carbonation should bring the spill to the surface, and the salts in the soda thwart staining.

Cornmeal: For big spills, dump cornmeal on the mess, wait 5 to 15 minutes, and vacuum up all the gunk.

Spot Cleaner: Make yourself a spot cleaner by mixing 1/4 cup liquid soap or detergent in a blender, with 1/3 cup water. Mix until foamy. Spray on, then rinse with vinegar.

Just Beat It: For routine cleaning, take rugs outside and beat the dirt out of them the old-fashioned way.

To Deodorize: Sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch on the carpet or rug, using about 1 cup per medium-sized room. Vacuum after 30 minutes. Or mix two parts cornmeal with one part borax, sprinkle it around, and leave for an hour. Then vacuum.

Think Globally, Eat Locally

2008-03-14T09:46:00.001-04:00

March 14, 2008
Have Fun And Save The Planet
Think Globally, Eat Locally

We all know that our planet needs our help right now, but we often feel unsure about what to do, where to make an effort, and what will really help. The good news is that we can heal the planet on a daily basis simply by buying and eating food that is grown locally. Food that has been transported long distances doesn’t contain much life force by the time it gets to your kitchen. Making a commitment to shop, buy, and eat locally is not only a very important part of creating positive change, it can also be delicious fun.

One of the best places to begin the adventure of eating locally is a farmer’s market. Stalls brim with fresh fruits and vegetables grown on nearby farms. Not only is this good for the environment, it’s good for the farmers since they benefit from selling directly to the consumer. The consumer benefits, too, from the intimate experience of buying food from the hand of the person who grew it. In addition, the food is fresher and more diverse. In supermarkets, particular varieties of fruits and vegetables are favored due to their ability to survive transport to a far destination. Alternately, at a farmer’s market, you will find versions of the fruits and vegetables you know that will surprise and delight your senses—green striped heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, white carrots, and edible flowers, just to name a few.

Make an effort to buy as much of your food as possible directly from local farmers. You will become one of a growing number of people eating delicious food to save the planet and having fun doing it

Article from Environmental Leader - (Dis)Orders of Magnitude

2008-03-13T11:05:00.000-04:00

(Dis)Orders of Magnitude

Dave Douglas
Vice President of Eco Responsibility
Sun Microsystems

Human beings are good at numbers, but only within a small range. Most of us can imagine how big “One Hundred” is, and even have pretty good sense of “One Thousand.” But if asked to imagine the number “One Million” (a thousand thousands), or worse yet, “One Billion” (a thousand millions), our minds have a hard time understanding the scale of these large numbers.

With the earth’s population approaching 7 billion, whenever we think about sustainability we have to learn to work at these scales. In addition to the number of people, the part that is both exciting and scary is the number who are improving their economic lot. According to Moises Naim, editor and chief of Foreign Policy, “While the total population of the planet will increase by about 1 billion people in the next 12 years, the ranks of the middle class will swell by as many as 1.8 billion.”

So lets look at the next 1 billion humans to join the middle class. We’ll start by giving them each a 60-watt incandescent light bulb. Each bulb doesn’t weigh much (roughly 0.7 ounces with the packaging), but a billion of them weighs around 20,000 metric tons, or about the same as 15,000 Priuses.

Now lets turn them on. If they’re all on at the same time, it’d be 60 thousand megawatts (MW). Luckily, our new middle-classers will only use their bulbs four hours/day, so we’re down to 10,000 MW at any moment. Yikes! Looks like we’ll still need 20 or so new 500 MW coal power plants!

Clearly we need to be more sustainable, so let’s try solar power for our light bulbs. If we use current, commercial solar technology, we’ll need roughly 50 square kilometers to handle our new light bulbs, or over 1/3 of the land area of either San Francisco or Boston. Or let’s try wind power…we’ll still need 1/10 of all of the wind power produced in the world in 2007.

So we’re having trouble delivering a single light bulb sustainably, and clearly that won’t be enough for our future additions to the middle class. They’ll want stoves, refrigerators, TVs, computers, cell phones, radios and cars. They’ll want street lights and stop lights, low cost air travel, hotels and restaurants.

These are the scales when we have a billion of anything. Thousands or millions of tons of material. Thousands or millions or megwatts. So these are the scales of problems we need innovation to address.

We need the innovation of the compact fluorescent bulb, which lowers the number of new power plants required from 20 to 4 or 5. But we also need innovation in solar and wind power which makes it cheaper and easier to not build those plants at all. And we need innovation in usage and behavior, which allows people to get the light they need but to have it on fewer hours a day. Only when we innovate in ways which can scale to billions can we hope to advance the well being of the bulk of the world’s citizens.

The number of people on the earth is so big its hard to fathom, but we absolutely need to be able to work at these large scales. There’s 7 billion good reasons to get this right.

Data :

Weight of incandescent light bulbs

0.7 ounces * 1B = 700M

700M / 16 oz/lb / 2,200 lbs/metric ton = approx. 19,886 metric tons

Prius = 2,890 lbs = 1.3Mtons

Demand Better - By No Impact Man

2008-03-12T12:30:00.003-04:00

The following was written by No Impact Man, Colin Beavan. I may have even posted this same post previously as I do find it so inspirational to see such unabashed optimism!

I am not realistic. I never want to be realistic. God save us all from realism, especially if it means we have to limit our vision for the world.

Most of us love our children and want to be polite to our neighbors. Most of us, unless we are diseased by terrible living conditions or alcohol or drugs, would rather give than steal. Most of us, in our hearts, want peace and harmony for ourselves and for the rest of the world. Most of us, too, believe that we should take good care of the planet, just because it is the right thing to do. In other words, in the depths of our hearts, most of us are not “realistic.”

When I was child, and I first heard of war, I was appalled. My mother had taught me hitting was wrong. I categorically understood that people should not hurt each other. Then I grew up and I became realistic. Peace, feeding the hungry, a healthy planet, an end to war, these things just aren’t realistically possible, a mature mind understands. Well, when it comes to these things, I’ve been both an idealistic child and a realistic grownup, and I think I was a better person when I was an idealistic child.

I believe in the goodness of human nature. I believe we can get distracted by many things, but that, ultimately, we all want to do what is best. Because that is true of people, I believe we can make the planet better for all of us, that we can have peace, feed the hungry and end war.

I believe too that every action each of us takes makes a difference. Every time each of us rejects a disposable bag brings the world one step closer to being the kind of place where sea turtles don’t die from eating plastic. Every time each of us sacrifices a car ride brings us the world one step closer to being the kind of place where there is no global warming. Every time one of us tithes our income brings us one step closer to ending world poverty. Every time one of us calls a member of congress brings our representatives one step closer to caring more about voters than campaign contributors.

Perhaps people will think I’m too optimistic. But this is for certain: these things can’t be true if no one takes the chance of believing they’re true. Because if we don’t believe they are true, we won’t act as though they’re true. And if we don’t act as though they’re true, they can’t come true. That’s why realism does little but protect the status quo.

Being optimistic, on the other hand, is the most radical political act there is.

All we have to imagine something better. And then insist upon it.

Frances Moore Lappe on Climate Change, Courage & Celebration

2008-03-06T21:10:00.003-05:00

Below is an inspirational article by one of my personal heroes, Frances Moore Lappe. One of the stats from this article that stuck with me is that only 6 percent of the material extracted and processed actually ends up in products we use! The rest is waste!

Article from Yes! magazine: http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2117

Commentary: Climate Change, Courage & Celebration
by Frances Moore Lappé

I'd been preparing for a speech by devouring literature about the global environmental catastrophe—50 species disappearing daily and ice caps melting way faster than experts had predicted.

The messages were tough: Hey, you Americans, the party's over. Be more responsible and less greedy. Give up your toys and wake up to the disaster happening around us. “Power down” and stop trying to get your status from acquisition. Remember, you've had it easy compared to the rest of the world.

Inside I'd felt tight, frightened, and guilty.

Then I got a call from Helen Whybrow, host of the Mad River Valley, Vermont, event at which I'd been preparing to speak. All she really wanted was reassurance that I understood the nature of the event. “Each fall our Center for Whole Communities puts on a Harvest and Courage Celebration,” she explained.

That was it. All it took were these few words, and my body eased and heart lifted. In my mind's eye, I could already see hundreds of Vermonters (among whom I will always count myself, having been one during the '90s) filling a huge barn to share steaming bowls of soup, homemade bread, and pies. Together, we'd dig deep for answers to our global crises and take strength in our common search.

I've spent much of my life focused on learning that, in regard to world hunger, fear and guilt don't truly motivate systemic change. Sometimes they have the exact opposite effect. Telling people “no” can intensify our craving, our grasping for even more before it's all gone.

Yet many impassioned, well-intentioned environmentalists believe that now we must sound the shrillest possible alarm, for Americans are asleep—unaware of the now near certainty that unless we cut carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 or earlier, the consequences of climatic disruption will be catastrophic.

But what if many of our messages are themselves trapped in mechanistic and moralistic thinking that helped get us into this mess in the first place? And what if, to make this historic turn seem possible—even compelling—we changed the way we talk and think about it?

Instead of scolding people for being wasteful, we encourage ourselves and others to shed a belief system that denies us power and happiness, and keeps us on a treadmill wasting the Earth's plenty. In that inefficient system, only 6 percent of the material extracted and processed actually ends up in products we use. Rather than “power down” we can offer ways to “align with the Earth's answers.” After all, the sun provides daily doses of energy 15,000 times what we currently use from fossil sources. The message might also shift from “simplify” to enrich and diversify as we make new connections in our heads and in our communities, as we learn new skills and ways of being. The challenge becomes less about restriction and more about trusting our common sense and curiosity.

For its event, the Center for Whole Communities links “harvest” with “courage” with “celebration.” For me, the three words capture it all: We can harvest the abundance that is our home if we have the courage to break away from the dominant culture of waste and destruction and to walk with our fear of the unknown and of being different. These natural fears are the dark side of our beautifully social nature; but we can tame our fear of separation as we make new connections in communities of common purpose—instead of common purchases. Then we can celebrate. For—who knows—we may just be able to make this historic turn.

Frances Moore Lappé is a YES! contributing editor and author of many books, most recently Getting a Grip.

Adbusters: What kind of world do we want to live in?

2008-02-28T12:20:00.002-05:00

Every time we cut down a forest, the GDP goes up. Every time a cancer patient is diagnosed, the GDP goes up. Is this the kind of world we want to live in? Watch this short video from Adbusters asking this question...

True Majority: The Oreo Cartoon

2008-02-05T14:47:00.000-05:00

Click on the picture for a short cartoon that makes it clear where our government's priorities are and how easily they could be fixed!

Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler - from the NYT

2008-01-29T10:15:00.001-05:00

Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler
Mark Bittman for The New York Times
Published: January 27, 2008

HERE’S THE BEEF This feed lot in in California can accommodate up to 100,000 head of cattle.

A SEA change in the consumption of a resource that Americans take for granted may be in store — something cheap, plentiful, widely enjoyed and a part of daily life. And it isn’t oil.

It’s meat.

The two commodities share a great deal: Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, meat is subject to accelerating demand as nations become wealthier, and this, in turn, sends prices higher. Finally — like oil — meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, as the toll exacted by industrial production increases, and becomes increasingly visible.

Global demand for meat has multiplied in recent years, encouraged by growing affluence and nourished by the proliferation of huge, confined animal feeding operations. These assembly-line meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute water supplies, generate significant greenhouse gases and require ever-increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains, a dependency that has led to the destruction of vast swaths of the world’s tropical rain forests.

Just this week, the president of Brazil announced emergency measures to halt the burning and cutting of the country’s rain forests for crop and grazing land. In the last five months alone, the government says, 1,250 square miles were lost.

The world’s total meat supply was 71 million tons in 1961. In 2007, it was estimated to be 284 million tons. Per capita consumption has more than doubled over that period. (In the developing world, it rose twice as fast, doubling in the last 20 years.) World meat consumption is expected to double again by 2050, which one expert, Henning Steinfeld of the United Nations, says is resulting in a “relentless growth in livestock production.”

Americans eat about the same amount of meat as we have for some time, about eight ounces a day, roughly twice the global average. At about 5 percent of the world’s population, we “process” (that is, grow and kill) nearly 10 billion animals a year, more than 15 percent of the world’s total.

Growing meat (it’s hard to use the word “raising” when applied to animals in factory farms) uses so many resources that it’s a challenge to enumerate them all. But consider: an estimated 30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which also estimates that livestock production generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than transportation.

To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days.

Grain, meat and even energy are roped together in a way that could have dire results. More meat means a corresponding increase in demand for feed, especially corn and soy, which some experts say will contribute to higher prices.

This will be inconvenient for citizens of wealthier nations, but it could have tragic consequences for those of poorer ones, especially if higher prices for feed divert production away from food crops. The demand for ethanol is already pushing up prices, and explains, in part, the 40 percent rise last year in the food price index calculated by the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization.

Though some 800 million people on the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition, the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens. This despite the inherent inefficiencies: about two to five times more grain is required to produce the same amount of calories through livestock as through direct grain consumption, according to Rosamond Naylor, an associate professor of economics at Stanford University. It is as much as 10 times more in the case of grain-fed beef in the United States.

The environmental impact of growing so much grain for animal feed is profound. Agriculture in the United States — much of which now serves the demand for meat — contributes to nearly three-quarters of all water-quality problems in the nation’s rivers and streams, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Because the stomachs of cattle are meant to digest grass, not grain, cattle raised industrially thrive only in the sense that they gain weight quickly. This diet made it possible to remove cattle from their natural environment and encourage the efficiency of mass confinement and slaughter. But it causes enough health problems that administration of antibiotics is routine, so much so that it can result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten the usefulness of medicines that treat people.

Those grain-fed animals, in turn, are contributing to health problems among the world’s wealthier citizens — heart disease, some types of cancer, diabetes. The argument that meat provides useful protein makes sense, if the quantities are small. But the “you gotta eat meat” claim collapses at American levels. Even if the amount of meat we eat weren’t harmful, it’s way more than enough.

Americans are downing close to 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish per capita per year (dairy and eggs are separate, and hardly insignificant), an increase of 50 pounds per person from 50 years ago. We each consume something like 110 grams of protein a day, about twice the federal government’s recommended allowance; of that, about 75 grams come from animal protein. (The recommended level is itself considered by many dietary experts to be higher than it needs to be.) It’s likely that most of us would do just fine on around 30 grams of protein a day, virtually all of it from plant sources .

What can be done? There’s no simple answer. Better waste management, for one. Eliminating subsidies would also help; the United Nations estimates that they account for 31 percent of global farm income. Improved farming practices would help, too. Mark W. Rosegrant, director of environment and production technology at the nonprofit International Food Policy Research Institute, says, “There should be investment in livestock breeding and management, to reduce the footprint needed to produce any given level of meat.”

Then there’s technology. Israel and Korea are among the countries experimenting with using animal waste to generate electricity. Some of the biggest hog operations in the United States are working, with some success, to turn manure into fuel.

Longer term, it no longer seems lunacy to believe in the possibility of “meat without feet” — meat produced in vitro, by growing animal cells in a super-rich nutrient environment before being further manipulated into burgers and steaks.

Another suggestion is a return to grazing beef, a very real alternative as long as you accept the psychologically difficult and politically unpopular notion of eating less of it. That’s because grazing could never produce as many cattle as feedlots do. Still, said Michael Pollan, author of the recent book “In Defense of Food,” “In places where you can’t grow grain, fattening cows on grass is always going to make more sense.”

But pigs and chickens, which convert grain to meat far more efficiently than beef, are increasingly the meats of choice for producers, accounting for 70 percent of total meat production, with industrialized systems producing half that pork and three-quarters of the chicken.

Once, these animals were raised locally (even many New Yorkers remember the pigs of Secaucus), reducing transportation costs and allowing their manure to be spread on nearby fields. Now hog production facilities that resemble prisons more than farms are hundreds of miles from major population centers, and their manure “lagoons” pollute streams and groundwater. (In Iowa alone, hog factories and farms produce more than 50 million tons of excrement annually.)

These problems originated here, but are no longer limited to the United States. While the domestic demand for meat has leveled off, the industrial production of livestock is growing more than twice as fast as land-based methods, according to the United Nations.

Perhaps the best hope for change lies in consumers’ becoming aware of the true costs of industrial meat production. “When you look at environmental problems in the U.S.,” says Professor Eshel, “nearly all of them have their source in food production and in particular meat production. And factory farming is ‘optimal’ only as long as degrading waterways is free. If dumping this stuff becomes costly — even if it simply carries a non-zero price tag — the entire structure of food production will change dramatically.”

Animal welfare may not yet be a major concern, but as the horrors of raising meat in confinement become known, more animal lovers may start to react. And would the world not be a better place were some of the grain we use to grow meat directed instead to feed our fellow human beings?

Real prices of beef, pork and poultry have held steady, perhaps even decreased, for 40 years or more (in part because of grain subsidies), though we’re beginning to see them increase now. But many experts, including Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, say they don’t believe meat prices will rise high enough to affect demand in the United States.

“I just don’t think we can count on market prices to reduce our meat consumption,” he said. “There may be a temporary spike in food prices, but it will almost certainly be reversed and then some. But if all the burden is put on eaters, that’s not a tragic state of affairs.”

If price spikes don’t change eating habits, perhaps the combination of deforestation, pollution, climate change, starvation, heart disease and animal cruelty will gradually encourage the simple daily act of eating more plants and fewer animals.

Mr. Rosegrant of the food policy research institute says he foresees “a stronger public relations campaign in the reduction of meat consumption — one like that around cigarettes — emphasizing personal health, compassion for animals, and doing good for the poor and the planet.”

It wouldn’t surprise Professor Eshel if all of this had a real impact. “The good of people’s bodies and the good of the planet are more or less perfectly aligned,” he said.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, in its detailed 2006 study of the impact of meat consumption on the planet, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” made a similar point: “There are reasons for optimism that the conflicting demands for animal products and environmental services can be reconciled. Both demands are exerted by the same group of people ... the relatively affluent, middle- to high-income class, which is no longer confined to industrialized countries. ... This group of consumers is probably ready to use its growing voice to exert pressure for change and may be willing to absorb the inevitable price increases.”

In fact, Americans are already buying more environmentally friendly products, choosing more sustainably produced meat, eggs and dairy. The number of farmers’ markets has more than doubled in the last 10 years or so, and it has escaped no one’s notice that the organic food market is growing fast. These all represent products that are more expensive but of higher quality.

If those trends continue, meat may become a treat rather than a routine. It won’t be uncommon, but just as surely as the S.U.V. will yield to the hybrid, the half-pound-a-day meat era will end.

Maybe that’s not such a big deal. “Who said people had to eat meat three times a day?” asked Mr. Pollan.

Mark Bittman, who writes the Minimalist column in the Dining In and Dining Out sections, is the author of “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian,” which was published last year. He is not a vegetarian.

Random interesting news clips today

2008-01-24T08:30:00.000-05:00

Earthships in NM - Earthship Biotecture, based in Taos, NM, USA creates amazing EarthShips - housing made from readily obtainable materials including recycled items such as car tires. Earthship houses utilize passive solar heating and cooling, photovoltaic power systems, rainwater catchment, solar hot water, gray water and black water treatment systems.

You may know that I visited an earthship in Canada in 2006 - These phones are from that trip. See more photos here

Water Filtering Bike - Clean water from our taps is something that many of us take for granted. In some parts of the world, the collection of water, is a daily task that requires a great deal of effort and resources - and often the water still isn’t fit to drink. The award winning Aquaduct bike seeks to improve water transportation and safety for people faced with such challenges.

Largest Residential Solar Electric System - The US Department of Energy cites that the Earth receives more solar energy each day from the sun than the total amount of energy the planet’s inhabitants would consume in 27 years.

Tapping into this abundant source, EBM Consulting Services recently completed the largest residential solar electric project in New York State. The project was a milestone in renewable energy and makes strides forward with a vision for sustainable living on a grand scale.

King Corn

2008-01-23T13:17:00.000-05:00

The next documentary on my list is certainly King Corn. Check out this short video trailer and you'll want to see it too!

Pitting Jobs Against the Environment - It's not true!

2008-01-23T12:19:00.001-05:00

With the "R" word being spoken for weeks now and presidential candidates all talking about how to "fix" our economy, I think it's important to remember the dichotomy between jobs vs. the environment is FALSE. As Colin Beavan (No Impact Man) says in today's post (reprinted below), maintaining human health, happiness and security by taking care of our planetary home can actually create jobs. What politicians should be talking about is the triple bottom line: not just economic success but social and environmental success as well.

More ranting and raving to come, when I have time...

Pitting jobs against the environment

Posted: 23 Jan 2008 02:00 AM CST

I've been reading Heather Rogers' excellent book Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage. In it, she points out that it has long been industry's strategy to pit labor against what the industrialists say will be the negative economic consequences of reducing resource use to keep safe our planetary home.

Rogers writes, "The common refrain--that reduced consumption necessarily meant declining production triggering inevitable job losses--veiled manufacturers' real concerns: lower profits."

I suspect we are going to hear more and more of this argument moving forward, especially since we are hearing that a recession is starting. But the fact of the matter is, far from causing the loss of jobs, maintaining human health, happiness and security by taking care of our planetary home can actually create jobs.

The real question is whether money in the economy is spent on things like fossil fuel, which harms our health and allows money to go into shareholder pockets, or on human labor, which spreads the money out more evenly.

Rogers points out an example of this false jobs/environment dichotomy in her discussion of our country's first ever bottle bill, passed in Oregon in 1972. Beverage and container producers argued that the environmental effects would be nil and that it would cause economic meltdown--job losses.

In fact, according to Rogers, a year after the bill's enactment, auditors found that "roadside litter was down 35 percent by volume; 385 million fewer beverage containers were consumed due to increased reuse and recycling; energy savings were sufficient to heat 50,000 Oregon homes..."

And guess what else? Jobs increased.

The biggest trick the industrialists have is to falsely pit the well-being of the people against the health of our planet. But the truth of the matter is this, with proper motivation and good planning, even when it comes to jobs, a happier planet makes for happier people.

www.thestoryofstuff.com

2007-12-05T11:06:00.000-05:00

The Story of Stuff

2007-12-05T11:03:00.000-05:00

Funny video about how to save energy in a typical home

2007-10-19T13:25:00.000-04:00

SOS: LiveEarth Concerts

2007-07-08T10:32:00.000-04:00

It would have been prudent of me to have posted about the LiveEarth concerts prior to the event, so as to encourage you all to check it out, but ah well, time ran away with itself again and here I am on July 8th telling you about an event on July 7th. Please feel free to mentally reconstruct the sentences below to account for the time lapse in my posting (ie. they were written prior to the event taking place).

What is Live Earth?
Live Earth is a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis.

Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by the Alliance for Climate Protection, The Climate Group and other international organizations to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve global warming. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is the Chair of the Alliance and Partner of Live Earth.

With support from the U.S. Green Building Council, creators of the LEED Green Building Rating System, Live Earth will implement new Green Event Guidelines. All Live Earth venues will be designed and constructed by a team of sustainability engineers who will address the environmental and energy management challenges of each concert site, as well as the operations of sponsors, partners and other Live Earth affiliates. Each venue will not only be designed to maintain a minimum environmental impact, but will showcase the latest state-of-the-art energy efficiency, on-site power generation, and sustainable facilities management practices.

~~
I signed up to host a gathering of people at a friend's house to watch the concerts last night. Great music was heard, great food was cooked and consumed, and new friendships were formed. What more could someone want out of an evening?

This show helped to bring the global climate crisis even more into the public consciousness, while spreading practical information about how to make small but important changes in our lifestyles to help the planet. Some ideas: Turning down your thermostat just 1 degree can cool your heating costs by 3%; Using compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) can reduce energy usage and costs by 70%; Computers use up to 70% less electricity when you put them to sleep instead of using a screensaver.

See links below for more info.

I was struck by how politically charged many of the musicians were - specifically Melissa Etheridge, who sang a song about a world where soldiers are not killed for the profit of the wealthy, people rebel against injustices, Bush is out of office, and we have a woman president. I'd love to find the name of that song - I'm sure it will be on You Tube soon enough.

http://www.liveearth.org/news.php
- Climate Change Tools and News

http://www.liveearth.org/crisis_solutions.php - Climate Crisis Solutions

http://liveearthpledge.org/answer_the_call.php - Take the LiveEarth Pledge

Progenitorivox

2007-07-02T17:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know I'm going a little You Tube happy these days but I just have to share this one about the prescription drug industry... After watching, click here.

CO2 in the 802

2007-07-02T12:21:00.000-04:00

Maybe you saw the NYT piece about the kids who rapped about Vermont, a song called "802" - Vermont's only area code. Their new song is about global warming "CO2 in the 802." It is based on the fact that Governor Douglas has vetoed global warming legislation in Vermont. Enjoy their fly rhymes.

Here's the original rap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL7uW4TYqbs (802)

And the follow up about C02 in the 802:

The history of gastronomy

2007-06-22T18:48:00.000-04:00

Supporting WalMart

2007-06-18T19:36:00.001-04:00

I shopped at WalMart today. It was not something I wanted to do. Then again, I do lots of things I don't want to do. I didn't want to eat meat last week but unwittingly consumed sausage in chili that I believed to be vegetarian. But while the chili incident was an accident (one which my stomach was hesitant to forgive), the decision to spend money at WalMart was indeed my own. Though I didn't feel I had much of a choice. You see, I failed the DMV eye exam (the first time I think I've ever failed a test!) - and WalMart proved to be the cheapest option for an eye exam. Unfortunately, my financial situation at the moment required it.

To be honest, I almost drove the 7 miles from my apartment to the big box area one town away. I had a number of excuses, I mean reasons, for considering driving, not least of all is that my tank is now filled with (an admittedly low content of) biodiesel fuel. So at least I'm polluting 5% less. (I plan to get B20 for the next fillup.) But in the end I decided I would voice my opposition to consumption heaven through the blasphemous act of biking. Besides, justifying driving to my appointment so that I could make it back in time for a yoga class didn't hold up against the argument for bipedal means of exercise today and saving yoga for another day.

I didn't see any other cyclists on the road within the shopping complex, and certainly got some strange looks. Not a single bike rack was available at the store, forcing me to lock my bike to a signpost. Ironically, I did see several people purchasing bikes at the store, but obviously those are to be ridden elsewhere, not on store property.

After my eye exam -in which I was told I don't actually *need* glasses to drive (but I'll probably get them anyway just to be cool)- I wandered the gargantuan fluorescent-lit store, originally in search of the organic food products I heard had begun sneaking their way onto WalMart's shelves. While I didn't see any organics in the food section, I did find an interesting (and horrifying) product feigning as maple syrup called "Vermont Maid." In plastic containers similar to those from Aunt Jemima and other syrup products, and with an image of a blond-haired-blue-eyed woman on the front - the "maid" I assume - this product is one more commodity made from nutritionally cheap 'high fructose corn syrup'. Given that the average American consumes about 142.6 pounds per year or a little more than 3/4 of a cup per day of added caloric sweeteners, the last thing people need is one more fake sweetener. Especially in the number one maple syrup producing state! Pure maple syrup at least contains trace minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium) and does not wreak havoc on blood sugar as high fructose corn syrup does. I particularly took offense to this product's reference to Vermont as it does not contain one drop of real maple syrup and is produced in New Jersey!

So, I did see some organic cotton clothing for sale, reasonably priced, though more expensive than the non-organic counterparts. Of course I understand why organic products are more expensive, but does the average WalMart shopper understand? Does the average WalMart shopper value organic products and wish to pay more for it? My guess is no. I've read that WalMart is closely monitoring sales of 'environmentally conscious' products like organics and compact fluorescent lightbulbs to report on consumer interest in these products. Of course the results will be skewed by the fact that they are only tracking interest in WalMart shoppers. And I believe WalMart shoppers' decisions are, by and large, dictated by price. I thought about putting in my two cents (or twenty dollars, whatever it was) by purchasing eco-friendly products today, and may have actually done it had I found items I would actually use. I do believe it is important to show consumer support for "green" products, though of course consumption will not save the world, even if it is conscientious consumption. We cannot buy ourselves to salvation from a world quickly losing access to cheap natural resources.

Anyway, I wanted to share a bit more info and resources about the evils of WalMart, and encourage everyone to support independent shops over big box chain stores wherever possible.

From an article in the Indypendent: WalMart ships good-paying jobs overseas to countries with lax labor laws (ie. sweatshop labor) while paying poverty wages at home, costs taxpayers billions of dollars to subsidize its workers, fights unions, hurts local businesses and isn't fair to women. And their prices aren't even that low. http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A25541

According to a 2004 study by the Democratic Staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, federal taxpayers spend an average of $420,750 for each Wal-Mart store, because of the high level of public assistance needed by Wal-Mart workers. http://www.coopamerica.org/takeaction/walmart/

If I never step foot in another behemoth box store it will be too soon - but I concede it may happen again. I hope next time they have bike racks.

Berry Berry Good

2007-06-14T22:04:00.000-04:00

My back aches, my clothes are dirty, and I'm getting up before 9am every day. I have at least a dozen mosquito bites and my hands feel raw. I also have the omnipresent 'farmer's burn' - sunburn along a strip of my lower back where my shirt doesn't always cover. I'm exhausted and don't think the dirt under my nails will ever leave. And... I love it!

Those of you reading this probably know that one of the reasons I moved to Burlington was the food. The local food - the support of local agriculture. The thriving urban agricultural project known as the Intervale.

I have the great fortune of working for Adam's Berry Farm at the Intervale this summer, and I could not be more excited about how I am spending my days. Several of Adam's 10 varieties of strawberries are now in season - which means they have to be picked - fast! Ripe strawberries on the vine quickly go from juice-running-down-your-chin-perfection to mushy and moldy, so workers are harvesting berries for several hours each morning to gather ripe ones for sales to grocery stores, restaurants, and, as of today, farmers' markets.

Several days a week I will spend my mornings picking berries (strawberries for now - blueberries and raspberries later in the summer) and will spend afternoons either weeding or bringing berries to one of the local farmers markets. After the months of long grey winter days in Vermont, people are ecstatic to see the fresh local foods at farmers' markets. I'm excited to be at the market - selling, talking, meeting new people, arranging the berries 'just so' in the boxes to look presentable - and the people shopping are excited to be there as well - happy to be supporting local agriculture and buying freshly picked produce directly from the farmer (or close to it, in my case). And of course we are both happy to be eating plump ripe pockets of strawberry goodness.

So, I deal with the mosquitoes and spiders, the well-camouflaged frogs jumping out of the rows of berries startling me and the occasional sharp sting from stinging nettle and milk thistle plants... all for that perfect mouthful of (almost) summer happiness.

My Letter To the Editor: Promote reuse options to decrease waste

2007-06-11T14:15:00.000-04:00

Promote reuse options to decrease waste
Published in the Burlington Free Press, Sunday June 10th

All across the country, communities surrounding colleges and universities suffer from increased "waste" this time of year. Much of the waste is perfectly usable items: couches, books, clothing, and more. Having just moved to Burlington -- and being a scavenger at heart -- I happily furnished my apartment with discarded items on curbs near UVM throughout May. While many items on the street can find new homes quickly, countless others are literally trashed -- either in dumpsters, toters, or garbage bags -- or sit out on the curb through poor weather rendering them unappealing.

I applaud the Spring Move Out Project held on May 25 on Loomis Street, a collaborative effort by the City of Burlington, ReCycle North, area schools, and more. While this event was well-attended both by those moving out and others coming to scavenge, the volume of discards on surrounding streets even on that day indicates that many either didn't know about the event, were unable to attend, or didn't feel compelled to attend.

Burlington is lucky to have many resources for reuse -- from ReCycle North, Junktiques, Salvation Army, and others -- in addition to online resources such as Craigslist and, my personal favorite, Freecycle. Freecycle is a Web-based materials exchange where items are offered for free, truly living up to its motto: "where one person's trash is another person's treasure." My hope is that Burlington will continue to promote reuse options to residents and especially to students, so that discarded usable goods will always be guaranteed new homes.

MELISSA MEECE
Burlington

Vermont facts

2007-05-29T15:49:00.000-04:00

Some facts about my new home:

-There is no Vermont law that prohibits public nudity, unless you're a flasher.

* Vermont is the nation's second least populated state.

* Montpelier is the nation's smallest populated state capital, with only a little more than 8,200 residents.

* Vermont was the first state to outlaw slavery.

* Vermont is the number-one producer of maple syrup.

* Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonalds.

* Vermont is the only state that recognizes the Grass Roots Party as a political party on the election ballot.

From www.dumblaws.com
- Women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth.

- Whistling underwater is illegal.

- At one time it was illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole.

Scary cell phones...

2007-04-18T08:45:00.000-04:00

from daily grist:

Buzz Light Year
Could cell phones be the culprit in honeybee disappearance?

Apiarists in the U.S. and Europe have been scratching their heads for
months over rapidly waning honeybee populations. Now some scientists
who have combed through the data are all abuzz with a new theory: cell
phones. In bad news to mobile-attached ears, British researchers are
suggesting that phone radiation could be disrupting bees' navigation
systems. Research has shown that bees act differently around power
lines, and a recent study found that up to 70 percent of the little
stingers failed to return to hives that contained cordless-phone
docking units. The implications, of course, go beyond bee welfare;
Albert Einstein -- if not a bee expert, a relatively smart guy -- once
said that in the absence of the busy crop pollinators, humans "would
have only four years of life left." Ooh, that stings. Other theories
for the bees' departure have included mites, pesticides, global
warming, and genetically modified crops, but so far, none has been
definitively proved.

****************************************************************
THE INDEPENDENT (U.K.)17 April 2007
Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?
Scientists claim radiation from handsets are to blame for mysterious
'colony collapse' of bees
By Geoffrey Lean and Harriet Shawcross

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But
some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause
massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail.

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile
phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the
more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt
disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some
bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then
spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees'
navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from
finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there
is now evidence to back this up.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants
suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature
workers, like so many apian Mary Celestes. The vanished bees are never
found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife
and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when
a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all
American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of
its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East
Coast.

CCD has since spread to Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy
and Greece. And last week John Chapple, one of London's biggest
bee-keepers, announced that 23 of his 40 hives have been abruptly
abandoned.

Other apiarists have recorded losses in Scotland, Wales and north-west
England, but the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
insisted: "There is absolutely no evidence of CCD in the UK."

The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops
depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the
bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides,
global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.

German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power
lines.

Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to
return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen
Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a "hint" to a
possible cause.

Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and
mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: "I
am convinced the possibility is real."

The case against handsets

Evidence of dangers to people from mobile phones is increasing. But
proof is still lacking, largely because many of the biggest perils,
such as cancer, take decades to show up.

Most research on cancer has so far proved inconclusive. But an official
Finnish study found that people who used the phones for more than 10
years were 40 per cent more likely to get a brain tumour on the same
side as they held the handset.

Equally alarming, blue-chip Swedish research revealed that radiation
from mobile phones killed off brain cells, suggesting that today's
teenagers could go senile in the prime of their lives.

Studies in India and the US have raised the possibility that men who
use mobile phones heavily have reduced sperm counts. And, more
prosaically, doctors have identified the condition of "text thumb", a
form of RSI from constant texting.

Professor Sir William Stewart, who has headed two official inquiries,
warned that children under eight should not use mobiles and made a
series of safety recommendations, largely ignored by ministers.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece

The big move...

2007-04-16T21:20:00.000-04:00

Many of you know that I've left the concrete jungle of New York City and the surrounding 'burbs to make my way north to Vermont. I moved into a great apartment in the "city" of Burlington (I don't know if it will ever be a city to me: No skyscrapers, no screeching taxis, and a population about equal to my hometown on Long Island).

My apartment is within four blocks of almost everything that brought me to Burlington in the first place: the downtown shopping/social hub of the city, the locally-owned coop grocery store where I will be stocking up on all basic eco- and health-friendly necessities in bulk, the bike path that runs alongside Lake Champlain, the waterfront area of said lake, and an awesome thrift shop-type store / building materials reuse center called RecycleNorth. The Intervale, 350+ acres of farmland and trails, (with one farm in particular that I will get to know closely) is two miles away. I have a view of the lake and the Adirondack mountains out my window! Everything is within bike riding distance, leaving me to figure out what to do with my 1980 diesel station wagon purchased on ebay a few months ago. Should I decide to go the veggie diesel route, there are plenty of people here to help me learn about the process!

Burlington is really a hub of social consciousness, with the perfect mix of students (there are five schools nearby) and aging hippies for me to fit right in, falling somewhere in between those two categories. I find the downtown area to be the perfect size, with music and culture at my fingertips instead of a 45 minute subway ride away. Okay, I'm not knocking NYC (well, sometimes I am), but I'm so happy to live where I can go to a lecture or event, meet up with friends for dinner, and listen to live music all within walking distance of my home!

I haven't spent much time socializing yet as I've been pretty consumed with getting settled into the apartment, and working remotely for my jobs in NYC. I'm sharing what is basically a three bedroom apartment with a nice guy and a nice, though skittish, kitty. My south-facing room gets tons of natural light, and has enough space for yoga. (plus there are many yoga studios nearby!) The huge empty kitchen appeared to have been a bit neglected, but I've quickly made amends, whipping up big meals of... well, nothing much yet, but soon!

While it's still rainy and snowy right now, this is really the best time for me to come as I want to get involved with farms up here. I've already connected with an organic berry farmer at the Intervale (http://www.adamsberryfarm.com/) and will be running his market stand at the farmers market one town south of here. Yep, all summer I'll be surrounded by organic berries, and you know what that means: berry pies!!! Place your orders now, ladies and gentlemen! = D Speaking of summer, I hear it is just an amazing time in Burlington - with everyone spending time outdoors on the waterfront, canoeing on the lake, bike riding, etc. I can't wait!

My transition to a Vermonter has been an interesting process. I wake up smiling knowing a 1.5 hour commute to Harlem is not in my immediate future, I walk around town at a slower pace than I ever would consider on NYC streets, and friends have said I seem more at ease. But it will take me a while to get used to some of the differences - The strangest thing happened to me the other day: I was waiting for traffic to pass so I could cross the street, and the cars just stopped. No light, no stop-sign, no crosswalk even, just a person waiting to cross on the side of the road, and the traffic stopped. I could get used to this!

And the Color of the Year Is... GREEN

2007-01-23T12:09:00.000-05:00

Very important Op-Ed from the NY Times about the tipping point we've reached as far as "green" being mainstream...

Read the article below or at: http://eco-chick.com/?p=674#comment-35340 - where you can also view my comments in reference to others' comments about WalMart.

December 22, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist
And the Color of the Year Is …
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

I know that you should never generalize about global warming from your own weather, but as a longtime resident of Washington, D.C., it’s hard not to, considering that it’s been so balmy this winter season I’m half expecting the cherry blossoms to come out for Christmas. In fact, my wife was rummaging through her closet the other day and emerged to tell me she needed a whole new wardrobe — “a global warming wardrobe,” clothes that are summer weight but winter colors.

For this, and other reasons, had I been editing Time magazine I would not have opted for the “you” in YouTube as Person of the Year — although that was very clever. No, I’d have run an all-green Time cover under the headline, “Color of the Year.” Because I think that the most important thing to happen this past year was that living and thinking “green” — that is, mobilizing for the environmental/energy challenge we now face — hit Main Street.

For so many years the term “green” could never scale. It was trapped in a corner by its opponents, who defined it as “liberal,” “tree-hugging,” “girly-man,” “unpatriotic,” “vaguely French.”

No more. We reached a tipping point this year — where living, acting, designing, investing and manufacturing green came to be understood by a critical mass of citizens, entrepreneurs and officials as the most patriotic, capitalistic, geopolitical, healthy and competitive thing they could do. Hence my own motto: “Green is the new red, white and blue.”

How did we get here? It was a combination of factors: Katrina, Al Gore’s terrific movie, the growing awareness that our gas guzzlers are financing the terrorists, preachers and rogue regimes we’re fighting, the real profits that major companies like G.E. and DuPont are making by going green, and the fact that even the Pentagon has given birth to “Green Hawks,” who are obsessed with powering our army with less energy.

The most telling sign was the last election, when “being green became pragmatic,” said the Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. “No one thought that running an ad on alternative energy was something for an elite target audience anymore. The only debate we had was whether it was one of the three things a candidate should talk about or the only thing.”

And now, Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has earned its black eyes for labor practices. But the world’s biggest retailer lately has gotten the green bug — in part to improve its image, but also because it has found that being more energy efficient is highly profitable for itself and its customers.

Wal-Mart has opened two green stores where it is experimenting with alternative building materials, lighting, power systems and designs, the best of which it plans to spread to all its outlets. I just visited the one in McKinney, Tex. From the big wind turbine in the parking lot and solar panels on key walls, which provide 15 percent of the store’s electricity, to the cooking oil from fried chicken that is recycled in its bio-boiler and heats the store in winter, to the shift to L.E.D lights in all exterior signs and grocery and freezer cases — which last longer and sharply reduce heat and therefore the air-conditioning bill — you know you’re not in your parents’ Wal-Mart.

Other big companies are now sending teams to inspect the green Wal-Marts, and customers are asking the manager how they can adopt these innovations at home.

“When I started having people stop me in the aisles and say, ‘How do I do that?’ or ‘Can I do that?’ that’s when we really started realizing that this isn’t just a small thing, this can be really large and can be very rewarding to the planet,” said the store’s manager, Brent Allen.

Hey, the more energy-saving bulbs Wal-Mart sells, the more innovation it triggers, the more prices go down. That’s how you get scale. And scale is everything if you want to change the world, but to achieve scale you have to make sure that green energy sources — biofuels, clean coal, and solar, wind and nuclear power — can be delivered as cheaply as oil, gas and dirty coal. That will require a gasoline or carbon tax to keep the price of fossil fuels up so investors in green-tech will not get undercut while they drive innovation forward and prices down. The U.S. Congress has to stop running from this fact.

Because while our embrace of green has finally reached a tipping point, the tipping point on climate change and species loss is also fast approaching, if it’s not already here. There’s no time to lose. “People see an endangered species every day now when they look in the mirror,” said the environmentalist Rob Watson. “It is not about the whales anymore.”

Updating the blog...

2007-01-07T23:15:00.000-05:00

I'll be spending a little time updating this blog over the next few days. It's made much easier now that Blogger.com has updated some template features, but I'm sure I'll find it easier to do exactly what I want if I teach myself a bit of html. Anyone want to help me learn? : )

Enjoy!

My Vision for Humanity

2006-12-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

http://videos.netscape.com/story/2006/11/12/my-vision-for-humanity/

I don't agree with all of it - like cloning ourselves, I don't know.

The funniest part are the images of the Rolling Stones after they talk about respecting your elders.

Happy Holidays to all!

2006-12-25T22:53:00.000-05:00

from the sierra club

Switching from driving an average car to a 13mpg SUV for one year would waste more energy than if you…

Left your refrigerator door open for 6 years

Left your bathroom light burning for 30 years or

Left your color television turned on for 28 years

Recycling Propaganda

2006-12-18T20:55:00.001-05:00


Recycling Propaganda

Back in New York!

2006-12-09T19:13:00.000-05:00

I'm now back on Long Island after having spent the past few days in Albany at an environmental conference and with my dear friend, Monika.

With my 10-week northeast trip now 'over' I feel the need for closure, to recap the trip, to somehow conclude this travel blog... But before that, let me say that I do plan to continue writing to this blog with the hopes of continuing to share inspiration with the those in my world. What started as a strange concept - writing notes to myself and posting them out there in the virtual world, is now in some ways part of my identity. You may say I've become attached to the blog (ah attachment, there you are again, with your many lessons!). So please continue to check it out!

So... looking back over my random blog posts over the past two+ months, I realize there is so much I didn't say! At times my posts resembled a laundry list of what I did, planned to do, or wanted to do. Peppered throughout were some thoughts on environmentalism, traveling, and living consciously in general. Which, of course, are the major topics of conversation I love to share with others. And boy did I share! Before hitting the road I never could have guessed how many amazing people I would meet over the course of my travels, and how much they would teach me about myself. To those of you reading this, please accept my wholehearted thanks for being a part of my trip! I hope to stay in touch with you all and cross many of your paths again in this crazy world.

One interesting thing I learned about the logistics of traveling was that it got easier with each transition. Taking the first step is always the hardest, and the second is pretty darn hard too. But after that, moving from place to place, from experience to experience, became part of the adventure, and I welcomed the connections I knew each change would bring. I learned how to let go and give into the flow around me. You know the whole "go with the flow" idea? I feel I finally know how to live it now! And equally important to moving onward when the universe tells you to, is not pushing to make something happen whose time isn't right. I'm still working on a poem about this concept, and about a very specific event that happened in Burlington, which I will post when complete...

In the meantime, I will share a different work-in-progress: A haiku about traveling.

Open traveling
meeting new patterns of life
energies flowing

Connections abound
sharing experiences
making new friendships

Learning many things
internal and external
life lessons are taught

Time to move on now
letting go of attachment
new meetings await

...

Saving energy in Burlington

2006-12-04T11:44:00.000-05:00

For the past few days I've been the temporary sixth housemate at a sustainable-challenged testosterone-filled house in South Burlington. My new friends include Matt, Pat, Bill, Shane, and two Phils - for whom I am thankful for being so hospitable and welcoming me into their home and lives. As with most homes I've stayed in, I am thankful to find the time to cook for myself and I enjoy providing nourishment for others in the house as well. From the first night I was here I've been comfortable picking on everyone about their (sometimes poor) eating habits. Perhaps I've been having an impact, at least temporarily, in providing healthy foods to those who partake in my cooking and in educating about vegetarian eating. Bill's Atkins diet is new for me to try to accommodate but I was even able to bake something that he could (we think) eat without a problem - so called "fun nuggets"!

The biggest challenge I've faced is trying to change this house's energy awareness and usage. I will give them credit for already using many CFLs, having energy-saving appliances, and, this being a new house with a good building seal, good thermal insulation. The major issues are with electronics being left on continuously (there must be at least eight computers and an equal number of big screen TVs throughout the house)! In between running around the house shutting off lights everywhere I go, I ask others to do the same, and well, hopefully there has been some adjustment of behavior that will last longer than just my time here. But even if only temporarily, I figured I've saved several kilowatts of power during my time here.

Some of the random fun things I've done this week: Visited Recycle North, a thrift shop and building materials reuse center that offers training programs on fixing electronics and appliances and sells them to the community at low cost; Listened to some great musicians in Montpelier and Burlington, including many of the guys in this house (great job at Radio Bean, Matt!); Watched a local late-night TV show directed by Bill; Became hostess for an office holiday party (GE of all companies!); Heard Laurie David, producer of An Inconvenient Truth, speak at UVM and had some great conversations critiquing her un-inspiring statistics-filled talk; Took a great meditative walk along a nearby river and walked through a bird sanctuary.

Burlington is really beautiful, peaceful, community-minded, and a lot of fun. I'm especially enjoying the first snowfall that actually stuck to the ground today, with more coming down right now as the sun sets. I'm ever in awe of nature's beauty...

Check out the new pics I've added to my album, including this one out at the Vermont Pub & Brewery.

Make new friends and connect openly with everyone you meet! Synchronicities in life afford many amazing experiences!

Enjoying the WARM weather in VT

2006-11-27T14:24:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else think something strange is going on when it's 52 degrees in Burlington, Vermont, with three days to go until December??? What am I doing about it you ask? Continuing to educate myself on global climate change, and spreading the word...

Tonight in Burlington there is a free screening of An Inconvenient Truth at the University of Vermont. Other climate-related events this week include a screening of "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil" tomorrow, and Wednesday a talk by Laurie David, producer of An Inconvenient Truth and wife of Larry David, entitled "Stop Global Warming."

Climate change is very scary business, when you consider the fact that the climate is not only expected to warm, weather patterns are likely to become more unpredictable. What does this mean for our life? Specifically I am concerned about what this means for food? Growing seasons in some places will be longer (I've met many Canadians who are happy about this benefit), while it will be shorter in others. Storms, floods and droughts are said to become more common. Food for Thought: The Farmer's Almanac has been a useful tool since 1792 for predicting weather and astronomical occurances during the year that would likely affect food growing. It predicts a cold snowy winter this season, one that we have yet to feel - we'll see.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T13:11:00.000-05:00

I am thankful to be here, right now, in the present moment of my experience
I am thankful that I have amazing friends and family
I am thankful to have had the opportunity to take this trip
I am thankful to have made new wonderful friends along the way
I am thankful for the beauty and wonders in the world around me
I am thankful there are concerned active people who speak up about the injustices in the world
I am thankful that I am not alone and will never be alone, in my journey toward making the world a better place, even if in some small way
I am thankful to have the opportunity to cook and eat healthy locally-grown organic food today
I am thankful for everything and everyone who has played a part in my journey of over 1,000 miles over the past two 1/2 months

I am very thankful to have the opportunity to share a Thanksgiving meal tonight with a family near Burlington, after having met the wonderful matriarch of the family, Susan, at a yoga class this morning. Yep, Burlington, VT is where I've been for the past few days and I plan to be here for another week. Sophia, an awesome girl I met on Couchsurfing.com has generously allowed me to stay in her apartment while she spends the holiday with family. As she said, travelers need to support each other on their journeys - and I am so thankful to have seen this support in action throughout my trip!

I will share my thanks on this day and will strive to be conscious of all aspects of my experience today, especially as relates to my intake of food.

Respecting your food = Respecting your body

Hanging out in rural VT

2006-11-17T18:41:00.000-05:00

I'm now in South Royalton Vermont, spending time with my great friend Jes who is a law student at Vermont Law School. The past few days have been fairly relaxing, spending time in a nice old house with two cozy kitties, cooking local food from the organic coop in town, checking out school events, etc. Oh, and checking out options for natural bridesmaid dresses as I will need one for Jes' wedding in 2008! :)

I'm getting very excited for the upcoming holidays and for trying to put into practice some of the techniques for sustainability i've been learning. One idea is to get an energy audit of my mom's suburban Long Island house, not only for us to learn what improvements can be made to reduce heating bills this winter and make the house more energy efficient, but also for me to see some energy technologies first hand that I have until now only seen in slideshow presentations. Technology such as thermal imaging of a house to see how much heat is being lost due to poor insulation, and the blower door technique which sucks in air through the house to see how much unwanted airflow gets through. In a house over 80 years old (William Gibson created the "Gibson" area of Valley Stream in the 1920's), many improvements can be made, but at what cost? I hope to find out and to share the info of course. Will keep you posted!

Here's an infrared imageof a home losing a lot of heat (red and yellow areas) due to a poor building envelope:

(Courtesy: www.atv-infrared.com/residential.htm)

Eco-Trip / Sustainability Tour

2006-11-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

I'm in Boston right now after having spent the past few days checking out some amazing places in Quebec, Vermont, and New Hapshire.

I'll write out some specifics of the trip soon, but for now I'll leave you with the following: Meet good people, travel, learn, and always be honest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In limbo between Canada and the US

2006-11-07T21:49:00.000-05:00

I've spent the past few days with Jeff, a friend I made at the inspirational Sustainable Living Workshop a few weeks ago. Jeff is a student at Bishops University in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and I've been learning about all the environmental issues and initiatives here, such as the student-run community garden, the sociology club's community kitchen initiative, the controversial issue of a highway being built through the school's property - property that could be used for growing food or taking classes out into the fields for exploration and adventure, and the proposal for a greenhouse to be built on campus - to bridge the town/gown communities as well as provide an intellectual and edible resource for students on campus.

I've watched two amazing documentaries since I've been here. I highly recommend everyone watch: Why We Fight about the US military industrial complex and I Know I'm Not Alone by Michael Franti (an awesome musician and peace activist), both of which show the true cost of war, in sometimes depressing but overall inspirational, ways.

We're heading off to Vermont and New Hampshire for the next few days to check out some cool examples of sustainability including a cob house, ecovillages, farms, and the University of New Hampshire's garden/farm program.

I'm not sure how much email access I will have at the time, so don't expect updates for a little while! In the meantime, take care of each other and the land. Don't take anything for granted. : )

Montréal: big city, lots of churches, Le Chateau stores and French people!

2006-10-31T21:29:00.000-05:00

Nov 3rd:

Bonjour!

I'm spending a few days in the city of Montreal, trying to remember the few words of French I learned traveling in Paris a few years ago. I`m staying with a wonderfully friendly French girl, Farah, who lives about 10 minutes by subway outside of the downtown area. Her apartment is one of the most colorful, vibrant, and culturally-diverse dwellings I`ve ever been in. Farah has traveled a lot and we've had so many great conversations about all the important things: traveling, food, social consciousness, love, and life-work.

My first day here I walked around much of the city - from the old port Montreal area, with its cute expensive shops lining old cobblestone streets a la France to the very gay Village area to Little Italy for some fresh produce at one of the largest markets in town. Walking around I couldn`t help but whistle the first song from Beauty and the Beast all day!

Tues night I went out to Green Drinks Montreal: a small group of about 10 as it was Halloween, and met some interesting folks as can be expected at most Green Drinks events. Some of you may know that I've been giving more and more thought to getting a diesel vehicle sometime soon and driving `cross country on vegetable oil from restaurants - I met someone at Green Drinks who will share some info with me about students at a university up here who drove from Montreal to Mexico on straight veggie oil. Connecting with people and sharing ideas/resources, that's what it`s all about, eh? (by the way, "eh" has entered my vocabulary at this point!)

I also checked out the biosphere, an environmental education center geared toward teaching kids about water: water pollution, water ecosystems, water as a natural resource, etc. especially as relates to the St. Lawrence River. Among some interesting facts, the St. Lawrence is the world's longest deep-draft inland waterway, and only the polar ice caps contain more fresh water than the Great Lakes. Water pollution is so obviously an important environmental issue when you consider the fact that of all the world's water, only 3% is fresh water and of that, 75% is locked in the ice caps. Despite the fact that the ice caps are melting, which will of course comes with its own environmental concerns, we cannot access or create more clean fresh water. It is imperative that we start using water wisely - and the biosphere tries to teach kids this through interactive games and activities.

[I wanted to include a photo of the biosphere here but Blogger is giving me trouble, so you'll have to go here to see it.] The geodesic dome structure was designed by Buckminster Fuller for the Expo 67 in Montreal, after he failed at previous engineering inventions. According to wikipedia, the geodesic dome appealed to Fuller because it was extremely strong for its weight, its "omnitriangulated" surface provided an inherently stable structure, and because a sphere encloses the greatest volume for the least surface area. Fuller had hopes that the geodesic dome would help address the postwar housing crisis. Geodesic domes are also much more efficient uses of materials than traditional building techniques.

Speaking of architecture, Farah and I checked out an exhibit about the environment at the Canadian Center for Architecture and found it to be very interesting. One exhibit was on Third Landscapes, a term coined by the artist I believe, to refer to transitional/underused/unused areas of land found anywhere from abandoned parking lots to the strip of grass alongside a highway. At least that is my interpretation. In one exhibit he picked up everything he found in one Third Landscape near the museum and created a chandelier with it. Much of what is inside the sphere is "trash", but as the text along with the chandelier explains,
Each plant and animal is connected to all the others, and thus to a behavioral system that has evolved over time. In the same way, each found object produced by human industry is connected with a habit of use, an ancient practice preceding its presence on the site, a use in fact connected to the site's very existence. Take together, these object arrayed in the Chandelier reflect societal behaviors as much as the urban environment, and invite reflection on the notion of the 'citizen gardener' who assumes a cooperative and participatory role in the maintenance of the urban ecosystem.

An interesting take on urban ecological systems - because, of course, you cannot take the human out of the environment to look at their ecosystems separately...

Off to Sherbrooke by bus to meet up with a friend Jeff, whom I met at the Sustainable Living Workshop.

Ottawa: Parliament buildings, canals, live music and halloween parties!

2006-10-30T00:10:00.000-05:00

October 29th:

I`ve spent the past few days in Ottawa - I have to say I didn`t expect much from the capital city at first but I`ve really enjoyed my time here! After my first night at Jeff`s parent`s house in the suburbs of Ottawa (so nice to rely on the kindness of strangers!), we went out to the agricultural museum at the experimental farm and learned about this working farm right on the outskirts of the city. See my pics for some happy and some probably not so happy animals at the museum. Jeff took me on a bit of a walking tour of the city too where I saw the Parliament buildings, the Prime Minister's house, the most well protected building in Ottawa: The American Embassy, and more. I was told I had to try a BeaverTail - an Ottawa classic. Here I am eating this unhealthy pastry with cinnamon and sugar:

The following few nights I stayed with Pam and her boyfriend Adam from CouchSurfing.com in Gatineau, Quebec, which is just over the bridge from Ottawa (about a half hour walk). During my days here I spent a bit of time walking around the Parliament buildings, went up to the observation deck of the Peace Tower for some nice views, walked around the city, and checked out the shops at the Byward market.

So, instead of heading to Montreal as originally planned on Friday, I stayed two extra nights to have some fun with Pam and her friend Julia. For the past few nights we went out to some èast-coast`bars with live music where we danced the night away and closed out the bars at 2am. `East coast`of course refers to the eastern Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, so the bands we heard were from those areas. One band played mostly 80`s American music (oh how I love Jon Mellencamp!) while one on Saturday night played more traditional east coast songs - they were great! I stayed in Ottawa to celebrate Halloween by going to a pagan event with Pam and Julia Saturday night. Thanks to some lovely thrift shops I found a lion mask, an animal-print shirt, and a brown skirt, to which I added a brown braided yarn tail and some face paint. Pam went as a leprechaun and Julia dressed as a fire element, complete with a fire-red wig. Here's pam and I at the halloween party:

Check out more pics on Picasa Web!

Ottawa seems like a good place to visit in the winter, maybe before it gets unbearably cold, as their long canals/rivers turn into a 'skateway' where people can ice skate for miles through the city. Some people even commute to work this way in the winter. I hear there are also nice ice sculptures in a park in the winter! I just may be back to check it out!

In Ottawa

2006-10-25T12:05:00.000-04:00

I hitched a ride with Jon's friend Jeff to Ottawa where he put me up for the night at his parent's house. Jeff took me on a night tour of Ottawa - we walked around the gothic buildings of Parliament hill (see below - not my pic, my camera sucks at night - credit: http://gregrob.ca/640x480/parliament.shtml), drove past the experimental farm (http://www.friendsofthefarm.ca/), and hung out with some good people at the Honest Lawyer bar in the Byward market.

Today: More touring around, eating a 'beaver tail' (an Ottawa tradition: http://www.ottawaplus.ca/portal/profile.do?profileID=44684), and meeting up with the Couchsurfers who will put me up for the next two nights. I may or may not make it to the Carp Ridge EcoWellness Centre (http://www.ecowellness.com) as originally planned as it would be difficult without a car.

I never thought I'd be back in Toronto so soon!

2006-10-22T13:20:00.000-04:00

At the time I realized I wanted to leave Life Spring a bit early, a friend from Toronto whom I had met my first night there at GreenDrinks offered come to the farm to say hi on his way back from a kayaking trip. I took him up on his offer and hitched a ride back to To with him Friday night.

After about four hours of sleep we left the apartment by 6am yesterday morning to get to the CN Tower where his girlfriend Adele was participating in a breast cancer fundraiser - running up all 1776 stairs of the tower! I considered signing up for the run, but instead I took the elevator up to the observation deck - for half price - and got to see the sunrise over Toronto - not an experience many will have as the tower usually doesn't open until 10am.

I spent the day with Jon and Adele yesterday and was going to head out with them to finally experience Toronto's night life a bit, but a migraine set in (from lack of sleep?) and instead I opted to sleep for 12 hours.

I'm now here updating my blog- finally!

I'll likely be heading to Ottawa with Jon's friend on Tuesday - and hope to stay with globalfreeloaders for a few days there before heading to Montreal. There are ecovillages and things I want to check out near Ottawa, but other than that I don't have much planned out yet.

~Enjoy the day~

Oct 15-20: WWOOFing at Life Spring Farm

2006-10-22T12:42:00.000-04:00

Originally I had planned to work at LifeSpring farm in Janetville, about an hour from Toronto, for two weeks, but I've realized there is so much I want to do during my travels that I cut it short - 5 days. And what a crazy five days it was!

I arrived in the midst of chaos, and it didn't exactly calm down during my time there. On the afternoon that I arrived, one of their four gorgeous dogs, Kody, got into trouble with a porcupine - apparently the #1 killer of farm dogs! I became a veterinary assistant, holding him down while Ken and Anastasia pulled out the quills one by one. They estimated there were over 500 quills in total from his face and especially inside his mouth. One of my jobs during my time there was to give him a salt and water mouth wash 4x a day and feed him several homeopathic medicines, as well as to watch for stray quills that make their way through his cute slobbery face and pull them out. It's scary because the poison from the quills can make its way to his brain, so we were watching closely for any behavioral changes. Kody was a bit tired during my time there, but overall he was still a happy playful doggie - here he is playing with Ken:

In the meantime, one of Ken and Anastasia's beautiful Highland cows gave birth prematurely (we think) to a small calf. One afternoon was spent frantically cleaning out the chicken coop for mama and baby calf to spend time there. Neighboring farmers have been shocked that the calf is still alive, being so small and weak, but I'm sure Ken and Anastasia's intense love for animals and meticulous providing of milk and homeopathic medicine will help it to survive and thrive. There are three other baby calves on the farm, all born within the past month or two, and they were so cute playing with each other and jumping around. These cows are not meat cows - as Highland cows tend to be small - so they are used for show and some, especially males, will eventually be sold to be with other Highland herds (you can't have more than one bull).

I've enjoyed spending time with Ken and Anastasia and especially learning about their respective careers in holistic health fields, and their interest in farming and animals. They put a lot of work into the farm but unfortunately do not get much financially out of it right now. They do not participate in local farmers' markets, so they only sell produce to people who come to the farm to pick it up. And their produce is so good! From squash to beets to monster-sized carrots to leeks to various herbs, the produce in season right now was delicious, as was the food I ate while there. I never actually got used to eating late breakfast and really late dinner, but I did learn a bit about food from Anastasia (who used to be a vegetarian for 20 or so years, but they now eat their meat chickens). We finally got to enjoy the borscht soup that simmered on the stove for three days - wonderful!

I was WWOOFing with Hiromi, a Japanese woman who has been WWOOFing for over 6 years in the USA and Canada, to improve her English. During the day, Hiromi and I performed numerous chores including cleaning up horse and cow manure, feeding the baby cows, providing water to all animals, cleaning up the chicken coop (before the cows were put in that building), picking tomato plants to be hung up and dried in the basement, mulching the garlic and asparagus to protect them from winter's frost, painting fences, walking the dogs, cleaning the house, drying herbs, and various other tasks. I was hoping WWOOFing would allow me the balance of learning about farming as well as personal down time to perform some computer work, read and write in my journal. The structure of the day at this farm unfortunately didn't leave much "me" time separate from the meditative time during repetitive farm tasks (which I actually quite liked). This, combined with the fact that I've decided to cut my trip short by a week or two to get to NYC for the Small Planet Fund Fundraiser meant I couldn't spend two whole weeks at the farm... where next? Read my next blog entry!

Oct 10-15: Sustainable Building Workshop

2006-10-16T23:09:00.000-04:00

The Sustainable Buildings workshop through the Algonquin Tea Company was exactly what I was looking for- I can say for certain that it changed my life. Most people at the workshop were young twentysomethings at transition times in their lives, trying to figure out how to live a sustainable lifestyle: sound familiar? If they're anything like me, what they took from the workshop was not just invaluable specific information about everything from earthships to strawbale houses to biodiesel generation to forest foraging, but a push in the 'right' direction toward a healthier, more holistic, life. Here's a brief look at some of the things we learned:

Earthship - An earthship is a building that takes into account various sustainable building techniques such as passive solar design, thermal mass heating, using discarded 'waste' for wall construction (typically tires), rainwater capture, and more. We visited the home of Lisa and Erol Francis in Killaloo and spent the day learning about their earthship, eating a great lunch and then helping them with some projects including building a spiral staircase up to their daughter's lofted bedroom and building a wall for a rainwater cistern that will add to the thermal mass and help insulate the building even more. We also got to listen to Erol play some music (he's a Juno winner - the Candian equivalent of a Grammy) and be filmed for a student documentary on sustainable living.

Their 7,000 sq ft off-grid home and recording studio is built into the side of a hill to use the warmth of the earth for heat. They have never had to light a fire at night even in the freezing winters. The walls were constructed with over 7,000 discarded tires (free from the city dump - though they probably could have gotten paid to take them, if they had the time) and I don't know how many used soda cans. Not all walls were completed, so we were able to see the tires and cans in some walls but the idea is that items that would otherwise be waste products are built into the walls, covered with cement (in this case a mixture of 3:1 sand to cement) and act to insulate the house. This pic is in their front entranceway and shows how the tires are honeycombed on top of each other (after being filled with cement) with cans in between.
The thermal mass of tires and cement heat up from the sun's warmth and slowly release that heat into the home, which allows them to not worry about heating their home with traditional means. They are also able to have a tropical garden with bananas, avocados, peaches and pineapples all year long!
None of us at the workshop had ever seen an earthship before and it definitely was an intreguing way to start off the week. I would love to build one some day!

Strawbale House & Passive Solar Design: The following day we visited two more off-gride houses: Skye's strawbale house as well as the passive solar house of Frank & Cheryl on the neighboring property. Frank assisted in the design and building of Skye's house, so he showed us some slideshows of strawbale construction as well as green building design in general. Frank and Sheryl's house below generates more than enough solar power on sunny summer days for their energy needs, and their freestanding wind turbine generates power on windy days. You can see the greenhouse attached to their home, the solar generator below it (it makes sense to have a solar generator on ground level so the hot water will rise rather than having to pump it down from a generator on the roof), and the cantilever structure of the house - a passive solar design that allows the sun to heat up the bottom floor in the winter, and keep it cool in the summer.

Biodiesel Steve: On Friday, Big Steve came to the Algonquin Tea Company to show us how to make biodiesel. He receives large quantities of used cooking oil from nearby restaurants and turns it into biodiesel, which individuals and companies can purchase from him. I've made biodiesel before (waaay back in Brian McAdoo's OIL class- anyone remember?) but it was fun to learn more about the process being done up in this area of Canada. The climate is a concern of course, as biodiesel and straight veggie oil tend to harden at colder temperatures. This is why most biodiesel tends to be a blend of B5 to B20, with 5 or 20% biodiesel and the rest petrolium diesel, to prevent congealing.

While not his specialty, Steve answered our questions about SVO (straight veggie oil) as well. Most people using SVO will set up a separate tank of petrodiesel to start the engine, and once it's warmed up, switch to SVO. This is definitely something I want to look into for a cross country trip next year!

One of the best parts of the workshop was our lunch discussion with Steve about the problems of society and the climate of change he sees everywhere, especially in young people today. We all spoke about our feelings of connectedness with each other, the universe, god, whatever you want to call it. Discussions like this, which sprang up many times over the course of the workshop, were some of the most intense, important and introspective events during the week. I feel so thankful to have connected with everyone at the workshop, and to have had the opportunity to open up and share our thoughts, knowledge and resources in such a comfortable environment.

Foraging, Baking, Preserving: Over the weekend we went out on the Algonquin Tea Company property with Steven, who started the tea company about 10 or so years ago. He spoke about so many medicinal herbs and plants growing everywhere, some of which had been planted, some of which were growing wild.

Steven's partner Megan, who had been cooking all the amazing meals for our workshop, taught us how to make sourdough bread and kefir, a live bacteria similar to yogurt or sour cream that replenishes the good bacteria in your gut. I'd definitely like to experiment with sourdough bread - anyone up for trying some?

Steven and Megan also instructed us on preserving/canning foods and we spent an afternoon washing, coring and cutting apples and pears to can them. Somewhere along the way we had the idea of making dessert, so a yummy pear/apple crisp was born! And there was still leftover fruit to preserve some!

By Sunday afternoon we were all brimming with new information on sustainable living but knew we had to get back to the 'real world'. For me it was time to move on to my WWOOFing experience at Spring Life Farm.
~~
Thank you to all of you who who played a part in making this workshop so enjoyable - I want to continue building on this knowledge and to that effect I am excited to visit some ecovillages and take more classes on subjects of self-sufficient living. I'm not convinced yet how exactly I will make use of this knowledge, but I only know that I will.

Goodbye to Toronto

2006-10-10T14:30:00.000-04:00

It's time to leave Toronto and head toward Algonquin Park for the workshop on sustainable building. I'm glad I was able to do so much while I was here, but of course there were other things I didn't get to, like the cemetary/arboredum, Casa Loma, Roncesvalles, and the Rouge area. I'll just have to come back to Toronto one day!

Went to see one of Monique and Victor's favorite bands last night, Giant Sand, at the Horseshoe Tavern. They were awesome!

Not sure when I'll have internet access again, so I'll post again when I can!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-10-09T16:58:00.000-04:00

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada, which makes it a three day weekend as compared to the US 4-day weekend for this holiday in November. Because the holiday falls on a Monday, people strangely choose to celebrate either Sat or Sunday with their families. The holiday is not nearly as consumer driven as our Thanksgiving, and of course nothing like "black friday" exists on the day after as it is still so far from Christmas. But the celebration is still the same: cook all day with family/friends, watch sports (soccer) and eat a HUGE meal. We did just that yesterday.

Monique and I settled on five recipes to make: herby stuffing, kale salad, potato dill casserole, stuffed squash, and pear strudel! I had already made a tofu pumpkin pie, and there was chicken and grilled eggplant and peppers courtesy of Victor. Monique and I shopped for food at local organic markets in the morning, and cooked all afternoon while the boys (Victor, Monique's cousin, and his friend) watched soccer. By 7pm the five of us were eating a delicious feast! I didn't partake of the chicken, but I did partake of some wine and LOTS of food. Monique and I ate until our stomachs hurt, and then crashed early.

Here is me trying one of our delicious creations:

Today is leftover day! And later tonight we'll be going out to see a band called Giant Sand that is a favorite of Victor's.

Tomorrow is my last morning in Toronto and then I head to the sustainable buildings workshop for a week. I haven't gotten to see everything I wanted to see in Toronto, so I'll just have to come back one day!

Art and chocolate and solar powered laundromats

2006-10-07T18:28:00.000-04:00

I can't even remember everything I've done over the past few days!

I volunteered with Jillian of the Sustainable Living Network again, inputting peoples' info from contact sheets who wanted to sign up for her mailing list. She has over 4,000 contacts and says she rarely sends info to people as it's actually somewhat stressful (many of the email addresses bounce back, etc etc). She's trying to set up a real network of people who are interested in sustainable lifestyles so they can share info and really make a difference. If she doesn't overwork herself in the process, she could set up a really great network! It reminds me of the Sustainable Hudson Valley network, which I turned her on to - perhaps it will provide some inspiration for her work.

Jillian hooked me up with ChocoSol, the local chocolate producers, to help them at their farmers' market at Duffern Grove Park. I met Graham and Mike, the cofounders of ChocoSol - they worked in Mexico with local small ecologically-sensitive cacao producers and then decided to bring the product up here to sell. The cacao is solar roasted in Mexico and shipped up to Canada using the least 'food miles' as possible. They grind it using a human-powered bike grinder and make all different kinds of chocolate. At the market I was in charge of answering questions and selling hot chocolate. The vanilla amaranth hot chocolate was amazing!

Then I went to the "Art Walk" at the Distillery, a former distillary I mentioned previously that has shops and art galleries and restaurants in it now. For the "art walk", the art galleries and some other shops stayed open late and had wine/cheese receptions, meet the artist events, and the like. I munched on some food, wandered around, took photos and talked to people. It was a very beautiful night, and the architecture of this former industrial site is beautiful for art exhibits. Many of the shops kept the old machinery in the rooms and put art around it and on it. I was very inspired by the art and the great conversations - it was a wonderful way to end a wonderful day!

Since then I've been riding my bike around to see things I haven't yet seen, including this solar powered laundromat on Queen Street in the Beaches and other sections of Toronto including Cabbagetown and Wellesley.

On Saturday I said goodbye to Lynda and Emaline, their two cute kitties and the new stray cat they are trying to find a home for. I'm now staying at Monique and Victor's home - I feel so welcomed and am thankful to have a bedroom (complete with prayer flags, a skylight, and plants).

More to come, especially about Thanksgiving! Pics will be posted when I have wireless access again!

Sustainable Buildings Workshop - I'll be leaving Toronto Tuesday

2006-10-06T12:31:00.000-04:00

Sounds awesome, eh?

The Sustainable Building and Technologies Workshop Schedule:

Tuesday the 10^th arrival in the afternoon evening-tour- dinner- opening circle.

Wednesday spend the day with Frank and Cheryl (of Living Sol) and Sky Ferris, looking at Strawbale building, passive and active solar, alternative building and heating methods, composting toilets.

Thursday we will spend the day at the Earthship (tire house) with Errol and Lisa, learn how they constructed their structure from recyclable materials, and about self-contained gray water systems. Hopefully we can get working too and help them finish their project.

Friday is our biodeciel day with the BioDeisel Grandaddy of the Ottawa Valley Steve Anderson.

Saturday and Sunday will be spent focusing on traditional food and medicinal technologies such as canning, drying, fermenting, and tincturing and making infused oils and salves.

We should also get a few root digging and foraging sessions in during the week.

The secret life of bees

2006-10-04T10:43:00.000-04:00

Written yesterday, Oct 3rd:

Went out for lunch with my friend Monique that I met at the yoga workshop and then again for kim chi on Sunday. We had a raw vegan lunch at a place called Live Organics. We sampled all of the raw dishes over a great long conversation about food, farms, love, and bees. Afterward we rode our bikes over the Don Valley and through Riverdale Park to the Riverdale Farmer’s Market, where Monique knew a lot of the farmers from the Dufferin Grove Market. I found another local organic chocolate store! Got some great free samples of food and bought some local pears. Monique introduced me to everyone - it was a beautiful day for friendly farmers!

After riding to Monique’s apartment where she let me sample five different types of honey, we rode over to where the Toronto Urban Beekeeper’s Coop currently meets – along with Food Share - an abandoned warehouse on the East side of town. Unfortunately both groups have to move out as it’s being torn down to be a new condo development (condos are being put up ALL over the place!). There are about 20 people in the coop who all work to take care of the bees and harvest the honey. They then share the honey – today’s share was 13 pounds! Over the whole season they harvested 1500 pounds of honey.

The bees will likely be moved next weekend to someone's property north of Toronto. Currently they’re outside in 20 wooden hives in the back of the building – check out my pics! Today’s coop meeting was for the purpose of cleaning up some of the hives after their big harvest a week or so ago. I joined in the fun and started scraping empty crates free of beeswax, honey and propolis. (Eating excess honey along the way). They had some good food and snacks, in addition to the vitamin B-packed honey, so we didn’t need dinner. Monique is actually on a detox this week (which means we won’t be going out partying unless she gives it up for a day!), and honey is always an important part of her diet – detox or not. The Coop has been around for 6 years or so, but things are a little up in the air now that the bees have to be moved. The City of Toronto doesn't want the liability of keeping bees for beekeeping in the city, though they did seem interested in supporting the project at first. A recent meeting at City Hall left the coop feeling rejected however, and they may just have to resort to guerilla rooftop beekeeping like that in NYC (http://www.cityfarmer.org/beekeepNY.html).

Monique took me out to meet the bees – I put on the face mask but no other protection – whereas others walked in there with no protection. I was a little nervous but it really wasn’t bad! The bees were all around us as they were returning home for the night – it was close to sundown – one landed on my camera as I was holding it out and I got to examine her (all the bees out getting honey are female) – so fuzzy and cute! I took a few videos and pics!

At the end of the cleanup session Monique had two containers of honey, about 20 pounds in total, to carry home on her bike. Again, check out the pics!

Today was such a great day: I’ve learned so much about beekeeping today and nourished myself with great raw food and made a new friend in Toronto! : )

I promised more info on biking in Toronto... and other transportation

2006-10-03T10:43:00.000-04:00

One thing I noticed immdiately in Toronto is that everyone waits until the light is green to cross. Pedestrians and cyclists alike. There is little J-walking. Even during rush hour, people are not rushing around the streets much or running to cross the street when they shouldn't. And certainly no one is waiting in the street for the light to change (they wait on the sidewalk) nor do they step off the curb until the red hand disappears and the white light says it's okay to cross. Perhaps one thing that contributes to this relaxed pedestrian atmosphere is that traffic lights change much quicker than in NYC, so as a pedestrian or cyclist you don't feel that you have to run to make the light or risk waiting at the corner forever - it's never a long wait.

I've had to re-learn how to cross the street, as well as learning how to bike around such a non-hectic city. Which isn't to say that it feels entirely safe to be biking on major roads during rush hour. There are many bike lanes, but they have a tendency to disappear, or to be shared with taxis and buses during rush hour. But overall I have felt very safe biking, and I believe cyclists are respected by drivers. It has felt so good to wake up every morning and know exactly how I'm going to get out into the world - by bike. I've traveled on foot a good deal as well, but obviously I can cover so much more ground by biking. There are many greenways, especially along the harborfront, to go riding.Today's the first day I actually don't have a bike as it was the third day I had a loaner from Bike Share and decided to return it last night and I'll borrow another one later today.

Here's a pic of my first Bike Share bike on one of Toronto's famous bike posts. They can fit two bikes fairly conveniently. The myth is that these were designed in a bar when the planners were sitting around discussing how to stop cyclists from locking bikes to parking meters. The rim of a glass formed the circle and a stirrer was layed down on top of it to form the post.

When those bike posts aren't available, trees are the next option in some parts of town.

I still haven't ridden the buses or street trolleys, commonly called street cars by Torontonians. There are electric street cars throughout all of the downtown area and a bit further east and west of the city. Sometimes they go underground so you can connect to them from the subway system easily. Most of the street cars' tracks are in the lanes of traffic - I think it would take some getting used to as a driver to be driving next to or behind a street car, that can't, for instance, swerve out of the way if need be. Cars often get stuck behind the street cars when people board the trolley, and often people have to cross a lane of traffic to board. A little strange!? But I suppose it reduces pollution having an electric system, and drastically cuts down on maintenance costs as compared to a bus sytem. Supposedly Toronto was a real street car city but many of the old tracks have been torn out and the bus system is now used in many of the areas outside of downtown Toronto. The good news is that all 1,700+ buses are biodiesel (only B5), and many buses are hybrid, which reduces pollution further. Unfortunately, the bus/train system isn't very useful for many people sprawling out further from the city center and it is typical for people to drive in to work everyday from up to 100 km away!

What else did you folks want me to write about? Pickles? I haven't had one pickle since I've been here - I suppose that will have to be rectified!

Recovering from the weekend!

2006-10-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

I didn't finish explaining the Green Energy Home Show in the last post, but basically I met some very interesting people and plan to volunteer to help Jillian again before I leave.

Yesterday I went out with a naturalist friend I made my first night here at Greendrinks, Kevin, who knows a lot about the local ecology and geography as he's a 9th grade science teacher. We went to the Wychwood Tree Festival at 'Wychwood Park', which is actually not really a park but a gated community of old houses on the north side of Toronto. An arborist gave a tour and explained about all the different trees (do you know how to tell the difference between a red oak and a white oak? hint: the differences are in their bark and leaves. Red=devil=pointy leaves). On a small field of grass next to a former street car service station, nonprofit groups had tables set up to explain community projects, one of which is turning the former service station into an arts community building. I found some amazing locally produced organic fair trade vegan chocolate! I bought some with quinoa in it - she also has it with kamut and puffy cereal pieces inside. Great texture and amazing taste! I'll buy more before I leave (and maybe ship some to New York!)

I also bought the most recent issue of a great magazine about public space issues called Spacing (http://spacing.ca). I have only read three pages so far but have found everything I've read so interesting and inspiring. Another great inspirational magazine out of Toronto is Green Living Magazine (http://www.greenlivingmagazine.ca) - it's unfortunately preaching to the choir as I've only seen it at green events, but a lot of useful info is packed into that little thing!

After the Wychwood festival we went to the Brickworks, a former industrial site where most of Toronto's pre-1980 bricks were made. (check out some beautiful artistic pictures here: http://invisiblethreads.com/potd/collections/2004_brickworks/index.php?cc=1) Located in the Don River Valley, we hiked down into the valley from a path to the north and found stormclouds overhead by the time we got to the valley's wildflowers. Once at the Brickworks it started to pour, and pour, and pour - for about 30 minutes. We were technically there to take a geology tour with Nick Eyles, a geology professor at the University of Toronto, to learn why the Brickworks' North Slope is one of North America's most important geological sites. During the rain delay, the tour group discussed all things geological and Professor Eyles made it clear that he believes that global warming, if it even is occuring, is not due to humans' changing their environment by releasing greenhouse gases into the air. Needless to say there was a bit of a debate about this and I now have some 'sources' of information about the 'global warming myth' that I want to look into further for perspective.

I think the point I've always been more concerned about, rather than the question of whether humans are to blame is, what can and are we going to do about it? If humanity wishes to survive it's pretty clear we're going to have to change our habits as far as energy supply and consumption. Not to mention all the other toxic habits of our society...

Anyway, when the rain stopped we joined the tour for just a short while and then hiked back to the car. Kevin drove me to my kim chi workshop where I met up with Monique, the holistic nutritionist I met at the yoga workshop a few nights ago. She's part of the Weston A. Price Foundation group in Toronto. I hadn't know much about the food philosophy of Weston Price but I got to watch a video about some of his work and it was very interesting. His philosophy is based on his findings from scientific analysis of indigenous cultures that were eating non-westernized diets in the early/mid twentieth century (?) basically goes against a lot of what modern doctors recommend, including diets high in fat, low in protein, low on grains and many vegetables, high in cholesterol, etc. I want to read more as I didn't learn much yet, but after talking with Monique we agreed that some Weston Price followers are just a bit too extreme for our tastes. Regardless, the kim chi workshop was fun and I now have a jar of organic cabbage, garlic, onions, and carrots fermenting on the counter. It should be ready in two days! Monique and I are getting together again tomorrow -I want to learn more about bees and honey - she's a beekeeper!!

Today I took time to rest and reflect as I needed a break after my busy weekend! Check out my new pics uploaded yesterday!

Volunteering at the Green Energy Home Show

2006-09-30T21:04:00.000-04:00

Today I got up at 6am and biked over to a woman's house by 7am to volunteer at the Green Energy Home Show at the Kortright Centre (www.kortright.org). She couldn't pick me up because her 18-year old car that rattles like crazy when going 45 mph (yes, miles per hour, it's an American car) was loaded to the brim with boxes of books. The woman, Jillian, is the organizer for the Sustainable Living Network, which runs Sustainable Living Books. It's a volunteer-run not-for-profit organization that seeks to promote sustainability by getting these books out to the public at eco events and shows. Jillian was happy to have me along to help, and I was happy to have a ride to the event as it's not easy to get to by mass transit (an environmental center that you have to drive to!).

I got to see a few presentations and green tours, but missed most of them as I was volunteering at the book table. So many great books! And she actually only brought a small sampling of the 4,000 titles currently stored in her basement (the organization is run out of her house, as many grassroots orgs do!)

Some of the interesting random things I learned today:
-Some wealthy Canadians living in the suburbs have electrically-heated driveways so they dont' have to shovel snow in the winter
-The world is projected to have 600 million cars by 2040, more than double what we have now
-For every gallon of new oil we discover, we consume two
-The average 50-year home loses 1/3 of its energy to poor construction/insulation
-The Mercedes Smart Car (which is not available in the US to my knowledge) is safer than the safest other Mercedes' cars - Canadian police supposedly want to nominate it for the safest car on the road! (interesting article here: http://www.mcuniverse.com/The_Smart_Car_Comes_to_Canada.1325.0.html)

I toured a LEED Gold facility at the Kortright Centre - the Earth Rangers building. Saw all kinds of cool technology including "Zee Weed," a 'hollow fibre membrane' water filtration unit - the company is now owned by GE, and the Discovery Channel will feature a tour of this facility.

I'm exhausted now and will be going out early again tomorrow morning for another full day - I'll write more soon!

More environmental events and RECYCLING info

2006-09-29T20:57:00.000-04:00

So, I checked out an environmental event today and met up with some of the same people I've seen at previous events. Learned that Toronto has some good 'clean air' initiatives, probably to compensate for the horribly polluted air they have. One of the programs is that they will take old polluting cars from people, give them a tax rebate and a discount on a new vehicle (with better pollution controls, etc). Toronto's air quality is supposedly so bad partly because it is upwind from New York and Detroit.

I learned more about the recycling programs here too. The residential program has expanded it's single stream collection recently to now take cardboard canisters (like the frozen buns from Pillsbury dough, etc) in addition to the TONS of plastic containers already accepted that NYC doesn't. For instance, yogurt and tofu containers are accepted. They have a green bin program to take compostables including diapers, soiled paper plates and bags, and the typical food scraps. The green bin is picked up weekly, and recyclables and other 'trash' are every other week. On streets they have various bins including a "megabin" with separate sections for recyclables (single stream, remember), cigarettes, and other 'trash'. I'll upload pics soon! Compost and recyclables are dealt with locally - I don't know all the facts - and trash is trucked almost 400 miles to Michigan. Toronto just purchased a landfill in London, Ontario,(much closer) which they will begin using next year I believe.

Recycling in other public places such as parks is also pretty good. Bin types/styles are not always consistent, but are typically well placed. Not always used all that well, but overall very good!

Supposedly recycling in commercial buildings isn't very good. I haven't spoken to many people about it, so I'm not sure of the specifics. Supposedly paper AND bottles/cans are required by law in commercial buildings, but we all know what that means.

After the event I went back to the yoga class - it feels so cleansing!

Later that evening, before the sun went down, the clouds that had lingered all day disappeared and it became beautifully clear. I rode down to Exhibition Center (where the wind turbine was located), which I had passed many times but never ridden through as I wanted to wait until the weather was nicer. I took lots of pics of the turbine, which hasn't actually been working since I've been here. Either the wind is not consistently above 8.6km/hr or it's undergoing maintenance. There were educational signs set up around the turbine about wind power and a hydrogen power station nearby with info as well. Pictures forthcoming!

Tomorrow I'm volunteering with the Sustainable Living Network at the Green Energy Home Show. I'm excited to meet people from the Sustainable Living Network and volunteering for the day (which involves getting up at 6am) is the only way to get there as the train doesn't go!

Goodnight! : )

Milan Design Exhibit, Buddhist Talk and Live Music

2006-09-29T10:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a lazy morning - grey and chilly outside (though not as bad as today - it's 8 degrees Celcius right now!). I had promised Lynda that I would make this bread recipe I got from Monique at the food talk - I had already purchased all the ingredients to make a modified version, so I did that in the morning. It came out really really well I think. Here's a hint, it includes: walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, dried apricots, bananas, applesauce, tahini (I never would have thought to include tahini!), honey, maple syrup, buckwheat flour, whole wheat flour, brown rice flour, wheat germ, oats, and much more! I will post the recipe if anyone wants and promise to make some when I return to NY!

I eventually went out to the Design Exchange, an art/design museum inside the historic Stock Exchange building. Here is a pic (don't know why they're all blurry) from the Milan exhibit currently going on at the Design Exchange. Kinda psychadelic, eh?

Afterward I rode around the University of Toronto and then went to a talk at a Buddhist meditation store called Snow Lion (some of you might have heard of them? Snow Lion publishes a lot of meditation books). The talk was on karma - and it left me with a lot of thoughts and questions about the purpose of life, reincarnation, selfishness vs. selflessness and the like.

After that I rode over to Cameron House for some live music - some rock/folkish bands. Pretty good! Cameron House appears to be an old hotel or something that has beautiful murals painted on the ceiling. The back room is where the stage was, and it was a very nice atmosphere.

I'm going to bundle up with all the clothes I have and go to the outdoor environmental festival before it fains later today. Tomorrow will likely be a rainy day so I'll probably write more. I've uploaded more pics, and organized the pics and some previous posts as well. Feel free to add comments!

Namaste,

List of Green goings on in Toronto

2006-09-28T14:29:00.000-04:00

This list is partly for my benefit as well as I'm having trouble keeping track of it all!

Events I'm planning to go to:

Friday:
Green Toronto Festival - An outdoor event, hope for good weather! http://www.toronto.ca/greentorontofestival/

Saturday:
Green Energy Home Show - Event this weekend at the Kortright Centre (www.kortright.org). I plan to volunteer there with the Sustainable Living Network(www.sustainablelivingnetwork.org).

Nuit Blanch (see previous post) - http://nuitblanche.livewithculture.ca

Sunday:
I'm going to these two events with a nature tour guide friend I made at Greendrinks:
-Wychwood Tree Festival - http://www.planetfriendly.net/calendar/item.php?id=5244
-Talk on the Geology of the Brick Works - http://www.planetfriendly.net/calendar/item.php?id=5257

Then, I was invited to a workshop on making kimchi (chinese fermented cabbage) at 3:30.

Oct 10th-15th - Sustainable buildings workshop
http://algonquintea.com/03_shops.html - I'd like to go to this week-long workshop on sustainable buildings - it sounds so interesting. From their website:
"The flaring beauty and crisp nights of the fall brings us back to home, and our physical needs for sustenance and warmth through the winter. The first half of the week will be spent learning about sustainable building and technologies. We'll visit Ôoff-grid' homes, including strawbale, cob, tire house or earthships, and year-round greenhouses. We'll make bio-diesel from used french-fry oil, for direct use in oil furnaces & diesel engines, and learn about other sustainable living technologies such as; passive and photovoltaic solar, wind generators and geothermal heating."

Alternative Energy
http://view2.fatspaniel.net/FST/Portal/TorontoHorsePalace/ - The solar array at the Toronto Horse Palace at Exhibition Place. Check out the webcam and live data to see how it's doing right now! (it's cloudy now so not much solar power going on!)

http://www.explace.on.ca/ - Click on "environment" for a list of environmental initiatives including the wind turbine, green roofs, PV, geothermal, and more.

http://www.enwave.com/enwave/dlwc/ - EnWave's Deep Lake Water Cooling System. Cold water from Lake Ontario is used to cool office towers, sports & entertainment complexes and more.

Conferences
http://www.iidexneocon.com/ - Design, Knowledge and Sustainability conference currently going on. I'm not planning to go though some of the presentations sound really really interesting. I'd love to learn more about design!

http://www.escarpment.org/leadingedge2006.htm - A conference put on by the Niagara Escarpment Commission, Leading Edge is Canada’s pre-eminent conference on sustainability, environmental monitoring and biosphere research. Expensive event outside of Toronto next week.

Awesome art festival

2006-09-27T17:08:00.000-04:00

I just found out about this awesome all-night art festival going on Saturday night called Nuit Blanche - "White Night". From sundown Sat night to sunrise Sun morning, there are over 100 art exhibits to see in one of three zones throughout the city. Art galleries will be open all night, as will some food establishments and various independent art spaces. Performance artists will abound, as will random spontaneous street art. http://nuitblanche.livewithculture.ca/ I'm excited to stay up for some of it at least!

I haven't done much today - another heated yoga class - I learned the room is 105 degrees, with 35% humidity. I feel great but exhausted from it.

Heading out to a veggie restaurant with Lynda and Emaline soon - The Toronto Vegetarian Association offers a discount card that you can use at tons of establishments (grocery stores and veg restaurants, etc) and I'm going to try to make use of Lynda's card before it runs out at the end of this month!

At some point later I want to write more about biking in the city...

: )

Heated yoga and bike rides

2006-09-26T18:13:00.000-04:00

The weather's been strange here - Yesterday it was cold in the morning, hot and sunny in the afternoon, rainy in the evening. Yesterday I was out in the downtown area (pretty far from where I'm staying) by the time I realized I was cold and would actually have to buy a jacket if I wanted to survive the next few months in the northeast, so I caved and bought a "4-in-one" heavy winter jacket from Sears for 1/2 price (still way too much money). Since I had already gotten myself into shopping mode (which doesn't happen very frequently), I went to a camping store and bought a lightweight long-sleeved capilene-type shirt. It suits me well and I realize now I didn't need all 300 shirts I brought as I've been living in the same two outfits for the past week! Finally I went back to Kensington Market to check out the vintage shops. I found another great winter jacket for 1/3 the price of the Sears on, and bought that as well. So now I have 3 long sleeved shirts, two winter jackets, one fleece sweater and a partridge in a pear tree. I'll return the Sears jacket which doesn't have nearly as much character as the Columbia one from the vintage shop. Sorry, I'm sure that story doesn't interest anyone but it's part of my trip so it's part of my travelogue!

Later in the day yesterday I went to a Bikram yoga class (http://www.bikramtoronto.com/) as I found that they had a special for a full week's classes for only $20. Bikram yoga, as I found out, is yoga in a heated room, almost as hot as a sauna, so that by 10 minutes into it you have sweat pouring off you. The philosophy behind it is that your skin is your largest organ, and sweating is a great form of detoxification. You're also more flexible in the heat, and spending time in a heated room, like a sauna, is great for your immune system. People who do it regularly say they never get sick.

As a beginner (and being prone to fainting spells) I didn't do all the poses but I did spend the full time (90 minutes) in the room, which was an accomplishment in itself. I tried to stay very hydrated but I probably didn't drink enough to replenish all the water I lost through sweat as I felt tired later. I think it was a big shock to my body as I haven't done yoga in a long time - I'm a bit achey from it today. I plan to go back several times this week!

After the yoga there was a talk at the yoga studio on the philosophy of food. The young woman giving the talk, Monique, is a holistic nutritionist whose main point throughout the talk was that food=energy and we must take the time to appreciate that fact in order to absorb all the energy and nutrients from the food. At the end the group of us got into a discussion that touched on organics, food politics, and food combining. Monique relayed a story that I liked... she related eating to meeting someone new. When you meet someone at a party and you shake their hand (or in Europe you kiss both cheeks), it's a way of opening yourself up to sharing energy with the person. If you are around someone that you haven't officially 'greeted' by introductions, you will feel strange being around their energy field. It's the same with food: We should take the time to 'greet' or thank our food before sharing energy with it. I like that idea. Monique and I are staying in touch and I plan to hang out with her before I leave Toronto.

Afterwards I checked out a cool jazz/blues bar where they have two or three shows every night. I'll definintely have to go back sometime soon - there are tons of other places for good music it seems as well.

Today was a big biking day. It's supposed to rain for the next two days so I wanted to spend the day outside. I rode to High Park, which is on the West side of Toronto and down to Humber Park marshland area. Had a nice picnic at High Park and watched the birds for a long time. Hiked and biked through the trails and took tons of pics. It's a bumper year for Monarch butterflies and I rode through butterfly conservation areas where there were tons of them. I'll post pictures tomorrow. I was able to get within inches of the butterflies when they were on flowers. I'd never been so close - they're so beautiful! I got a bit lost at the end of the ride but trusted my sense of direction (and the position of the sun) and found my way back to Lynda and Emaline's.

This really is such an international city! I saw many restaurants of the following ethnicities: Portuguese, Maltese, Indian, Ethiopian, Greek and others I can't think of, in addition to the usual Italian and Chinese (Toronto has three "Chinatowns").

After I got back here, Emaline and Lynda took me out to a health food store called "The Big Carrot." It was okay - pretty small and expensive. They've complained that Cananda doesn't have the great health food stores like the US, especially the big ones like Trader Joes' and Whole Foods and I am starting to miss those stores!

Time for dishes and maybe some reading. I've been so busy I haven't been reading at all and I need to get rid of some of these books to fit everything back in my bag when I leave here! I guess I should stop buying winter jackets as well...

To end the night, for now, I want to relate a quote my yoga instructor said yesterday. "Life is not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself." Have fun creating!

Sitting at Starbucks

2006-09-24T22:30:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting at a Starbucks - I never thought I'd actually do it, but I really felt the desire to spend some time online tonight and the girls I'm staying with really need their internet with all the moving/packing/selling stuff they're doing right now. Starbucks didn't have any organic or fair trade decaf coffee so I'm drinking herbal tea. Turns out Starbucks' wifi isn't even free! But there are two other wireless free options in the area so I'm able to tap into that while sitting here.

It's been a little rainy all day - which made me opt to spend a lot of time indoors. I did eventually venture out to "The Distillary"(www.thedistillerydistrict.com/frameset.html) - formerly the largest distillary in the British Empire, now a historic pedestrian only village of art shops, restaurants, and some days, farmers' markets. I checked out the chocolateir and some art galleries before venturing out into the rain to ride to a movie theatre called Cineform. It's actually a theatre inside a guy's house - really funky. I watched Siddhartha - a movie based on a novel by Herman Hesse. It didn't appear to be based at all on Siddharta Gautama's life, but I don't think that was the point. It was a beautifully shot movie, but the plot and acting left a little to be desired. Interestingly it was the first movie made for an American audience with a fully Indian cast, and the first movie from India to have a love scene in it! (this from the people who invented Kama Sutra!)

After the movie I bought some food from one of the MANY health food stores in the Kensington Market area with GREAT selections of bulk and organic foods. I got wet riding back to the girls' place - the first time I've ever ridden in the rain! I don't recommend it! Lynda and I then made a wonderful feast together - they have a great garden outside with the most beautiful swiss chard I've ever seen and amazing dill among many other things. We had also cooked great omelets this morning (I'd been eating vegan the entire time until the omelets)

I uploaded more pics tonight - check them out!

Bike tour of Toronto Islands

2006-09-23T23:54:00.000-04:00

I went on a bike tour of the Toronto Islands this morning - an event sponsored by the Toronto Bay Initiative (www.torontobay.net). A 10 minute ferry ride takes you to one of three spots on the Island, a car-free island inhabited by about 650 people. Many smaller islands were formed from sand drifts from the mainland years ago, and they have now been connected by landfill. The Islands still maintain separate names and identities despite being connected now. The Toronto Island historian/archivist Albert Fulton took us to different spots throughout the islands and explained the history - an amazing 4 hour tour. We saw the beaches, a lighthouse a church, a school and children's ampitheatre and cute little residences - some of which are the original wooden cabins from 1905. At the end of the tour we spent time looking at archived materials at Albert's house/the historical society. I received a much more in-depth understanding of the island than I ever could have gotten riding around on my own!

The women from the Toronto Bay Initiative had some gifts to give out at the end of the tour - thank you gifts for being a part of the tour. They called two names out of a hat - one of which was mine! I received a bike bell and light, and a man named Paul got gloves and a map. He already has bike gloves that he likes so he gave me the gloves. So now I'm all geared up for biking wherever I go!

The coolest thing on the island was the "Boutique" - a little red cart that functions as a materials exchange! People from all over the island (it's not very big) bring clothes, books, magazines, and other small items to the cart to leave for others who may want them. If people have larger items to dispose of/give away, they post a note on the bulletin board. It's so small and functional - I took tons of pictures of it but can't upload pics until I have a wireless connection again.

Me at the Boutique:

~~
My bike is from Bike Share (http://www.bikeshare.org/) -I became a member ($30) and now have access to bikes at any one of their 16 locations all over Toronto. I can rent a bike for 3 days and then have to return it to re-rent it or get another one when I need it. The concept works so well when people take the bike out for the day and return it each night. You can then check which locations have which bikes and take it out the next day as needed. The bike has a bit front basket so I don't have to schlep stuff around on my back and comes with a lock. There are so many bike rides I want to do so I'll have to rent a bike that fits me well - the handlebars on the one I had today were a bit too low.
~~
I'm now staying with a couple from Globalfreeloaders. They're very nice though slightly stressed as they're planning to move to Vancouver in a month and don't have anything sorted out yet about where they're going to live or work. Their two cats are adorable (one looks like Calvin!) and the futon they've let me sleep on is comfy. I continually find it interesting to share space with others - to quickly try to adapt to others' schedules, eating habits, etc etc etc and espcially quirky neuroses! I'll probably be leaving here soon to give them space to pack up and deal with their move; I'm considering renting a hostel room for a week, or even renting an apartment on a short term basis for 2 weeks or so. (PS - they just asked me to stay until Friday! I'll definitely take them up on the offer as this allows me much more space, alonetime, and a nice home with cats to come home to! They also have a garden with veggies and herbs that I can help myself to and free laundry! Not too shabby!)

I took a long, long walk this evening - found lots of cute bars and restaurants. I eventually ended up at a little cafe in Little Italy (a block from where I'm staying).

Some other thoughts from today...
I think our lives are always changed by every new connection that is formed, every new energy we come in contact with, and some naturally have a stronger effect than others.

When we are thinking about a long lost friend or acquaintance the universe is trying to tell us to get in touch with them for some reason. I reached out to a friend from Vassar that I haven't spoken to since graduation and found out that she just recently quit her job and is out in Hawaii traveling and WWOOFing with her boyfriend - New Zealand next! I love hearing about other people following their hearts and connecting to the world in passionate ways! Keep it up!

Sitting in a cafe on "car free day"

2006-09-22T14:15:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting in a cafe in the downtown area of Toronto after having walked around for a few hours. Needed a little break, some water, a bathroom break, and wireless internet and I found it all at a cute little cafe with good veggie food options.

Today is "Car Free Day" in part of downtown Toronto, sponsored by the Sierra Club - I happened upon it accidentally - or, more likely, I heard it calling out to me when I headed out this morning. There was cheesy music with environmental lyrics that I wish I could recall and some booths set up with info from all sorts of organizations. A small event overall, but they shut down some of the major roads around a main mall in the center of town, so I hope it did something to inspire people to lose the car for at least a day or even consider walking/biking somewhere that they didn't before.

I haven't yet rented a bike but I just found out about bikeshare.org where I can sign up and have access to bikes stationed all over the city - I'll check that out later if it's not raining. I'm all set to take a historical bike tour of Toronto Islands tomorrow if the weather's nice, otherwise I'll check out some museums, etc.

It's kind of strange writing all this out as though I'm talking to myself, or rather, I'm talking to all of you who may or may not read it at some point - I'll have to find some people to hang out with so I can fulfill my daily need for human interaction otherwise you'll have a LOT of posts to read!

Several things I've noticed about Torontonians: #1: They walk very slowly, and if I, walking at my rushed NYC pace, accidentally bump into them, THEY apologize. Very friendly. I've slowed down my pace considerably since arriving here.

#2: They recycle very well. My notes on their recycling program will have to come later but overall it seems very successful and people do it really well, both residentially and in public spaces! Yay recycling!

First email - sent Sept 21

2006-09-22T14:13:00.000-04:00

Brief little update for you from Toronto: I arrived yesterday afternoon after a 12 hour bus ride from NYC. Had a bit of a hard time at the border - they don't seem to understand people who are coming to Canada for an undetermined amount of time to do "environmental stuff". But eventually they let me in and since then it's been a whirlwind of meeting new people, walking around and just generally learning my way around this city (apparently named "the most international city" by some travel magazine at some point).

As planned, I jumped right into the 'green scene' here by going to Green Drinks last night and a conference on sustainable development today. Everyone has been so friendly and the enviro folks have offered such great advice about everything I should check out before I leave. Like this wind turbine in the center of Toronto on the harbor (interesting article about it: http://www.wind-works.org/articles/TorontosWindShareCoop.html), a design center/museum that has a focus on sustainability and tons of great places for day hikes.

Some of my ideas for the next few weeks: kayaking on the harbor, bike riding around the city (very bike friendly city), taking art classes, going to the theatre and museums, checking out farmers' markets, taking day hikes, and possibly taking a buddhist photography class.

The weather's a bit colder than it was in NYC when I left - Been wearing 3 or 4 layers each time I go out.

I'll send a more interesting update after I've done more interesting stuff!!

I've started a blog!

2006-09-22T14:07:00.000-04:00

A wise friend suggested I start a blog of my travels. So here it is!