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Now playing: Sherwood - Home
via FoxyTunes Like my friend Lauren, I'm branching out, learning and trying new things. I'm not doing this to celebrate my 25th year (although I think that's a great idea and that anyone with a bit of a quarter century crisis should try doing one new thing per day). Instead, I'm doing it because I'm tired of just yapping on and on about being green and making a difference--I'd be some kind of hypocrite if I preached it and didn't practice it.
So yesterday I bypassed the dryer and put my clothes out on the line. With the temp at 81 degrees, it seems that this would be easy, but I had to contend with the lack of a basket, the lack of clothespins, a lawn covered with attack plants and vicious mosquitoes. Still, I draped the line with an assortment of colors and sat back in the armchair, thinking that the clothes dancing over my jungle looked about as close to Central America as I can get.
Another new step is that I've joined a CSA. For 18 weeks (except in August, when it will likely be every other week) I'll receive a nice big box of produce --seasonal, fresh, and being grown just 74 miles from my neighborhood. The challenge of joining a CSA is just like that of deciding to eat as locally as possible: you have to be flexible in your cooking. Using the goodies of your CSA requires a change of mindset, just as moving toward locavorism does. Instead of pulling out the cookbook to find an appealing recipe and then jotting down the necessary ingredients, you start with the ingredients and then find recipes to accommodate them. Or you simply improvise and create the recipes as you go along. That's not so easy for me as a fairly new cook, so this veggie box will challenge me in many ways.
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Now playing: Copeland - I'm A Sucker For A Kind Word
via FoxyTunes
Showing posts with label Green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green. Show all posts
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
standing straight while the world is reeling
Van Jones needs to be offered a post in the Obama cabinet--according to analysts, Gore won't accept a post, so let's move on to a different visionary, one who recognizes the links between poverty, racism, and environmental degradation.
Living in New Orleans, I have obviously witnessed the effects of natural disasters. On one hand, we can say that hurricanes don't see color, they don't see poverty. After all, the affluent community of Lakeview was devastated in much the same way that the low-income Lower 9th ward was leveled. But now, nearly three years after the storm, Lakeview is thriving--homes are being rebuilt, schools are open, even Robert's Supermarket has re-opened. But a drive through the L9 still shows wrecked homes, overgrown streets, and an average of one occupied home per block.
Perhaps natural disasters don't see color or income level, but the fact remains that those that are impoverished have a harder time putting their lives back together after such a disaster. When most of your equity is tied up in your home, and then your home is swept away after the breech of a levee, suddenly you're struggling even harder to survive. Add to that a lack of access to groceries (as a resident of the Upper 9th, I have to travel five miles for groceries), an inefficient transportation system, and a lack of well-paying jobs. Can we really say that natural disasters affect all income levels in the same manner?
Van Jones understands this concept, and he is at the forefront of a movement to include all income levels in the greening of the United States economy. He insists that the most vulnerable in our communities be given protection against disasters, but more than that, he insists that they be given access to jobs created by the green sector--Green Collar Jobs. This involves training mechanics to fix electric engines, or construction workers to install solar panels, or helping individuals develop the skills needed to work in renewable energy. These are jobs that will remain local, and give people the ability to stay in their community rather than leave in search of work.
Of course, what stands out to me in Jones' remarks at the Dream Reborn conference in Memphis are his reminders that the green tide must lift all boats--and that this includes providing equal access to healthy, local, sustainable, organic agriculture. That's what our mission is with the New Orleans Food Cooperative--to make sure that the groceries provided are not priced in such a way that those in the community cannot afford to buy the local, organic foods that we will provide.
Living in New Orleans, I have obviously witnessed the effects of natural disasters. On one hand, we can say that hurricanes don't see color, they don't see poverty. After all, the affluent community of Lakeview was devastated in much the same way that the low-income Lower 9th ward was leveled. But now, nearly three years after the storm, Lakeview is thriving--homes are being rebuilt, schools are open, even Robert's Supermarket has re-opened. But a drive through the L9 still shows wrecked homes, overgrown streets, and an average of one occupied home per block.
Perhaps natural disasters don't see color or income level, but the fact remains that those that are impoverished have a harder time putting their lives back together after such a disaster. When most of your equity is tied up in your home, and then your home is swept away after the breech of a levee, suddenly you're struggling even harder to survive. Add to that a lack of access to groceries (as a resident of the Upper 9th, I have to travel five miles for groceries), an inefficient transportation system, and a lack of well-paying jobs. Can we really say that natural disasters affect all income levels in the same manner?
Van Jones understands this concept, and he is at the forefront of a movement to include all income levels in the greening of the United States economy. He insists that the most vulnerable in our communities be given protection against disasters, but more than that, he insists that they be given access to jobs created by the green sector--Green Collar Jobs. This involves training mechanics to fix electric engines, or construction workers to install solar panels, or helping individuals develop the skills needed to work in renewable energy. These are jobs that will remain local, and give people the ability to stay in their community rather than leave in search of work.
Of course, what stands out to me in Jones' remarks at the Dream Reborn conference in Memphis are his reminders that the green tide must lift all boats--and that this includes providing equal access to healthy, local, sustainable, organic agriculture. That's what our mission is with the New Orleans Food Cooperative--to make sure that the groceries provided are not priced in such a way that those in the community cannot afford to buy the local, organic foods that we will provide.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
But really, I gotta get myself out of this scene
So thoughts on my mind today, at t - 22 hours until good-bye time. I'm trying my best to keep my mind off B running off so that I won't focus on how strange it's going to be.
The first thought was once again brought to me by Auntie A. Again it has been mentioned..."I try to go green, but it's so much more expensive." Let me say at the beginning of this that I am not trying to tell anyone what to do, whether it involves eating habits, voting practices or shopping tendencies. I definitely don't presume to tell parents how to spend their money. But what I am trying to do, with this blog and hopefully with Gracefully Green as soon as it is up and running, is to get others to think about their habits, and, more specifically, how looking at our accepted practices through the lens of faith might cause a change in our accepted habits.
"Going green" doesn't always have to be expensive, although, yes, if all that changes is that we replace our cleaning supplies with green supplies and conventional meats with free-range. The idea of going green is that it's an entire shift in the way of thinking...that our imprint on the earth is reduced. So if we buy organic cotton, we also reduce the amount of new clothing we buy in general. But the point is that we do all that we can, even if it's a slow going process. My clothing habit is certainly a slow going process. But the little changes are fairly straight forward. Turn off the lights. Unplug your appliances. Take a cloth bag to the grocery store (or lots of them). Dig up a little patch of earth for some veggies. Shop the farmers' market for local produce.
Speaking of cloth grocery bags, this site is another topic on my mind, and I wanted to share with you. It's a mission to eliminate the use of plastic bags (and hopefully paper, too) in grocery stores. Anyone who's shopped much outside this country knows that free bags are not a given. Why should they be here? This site has instructions for making your own morsbag, but more than that, it's about coming together socially to make the bags and then distribute them to those who do not yet have reusable bags. Now, I have no sewing machine so I can't really make one, but the instructions seem simple enough, and now if I can just find someone to make one from my old t-shirts...
And now I have class, which I need to have on my mind, considering the amount of work I have over the next few weeks. But the goal is to get through tonight and tomorrow morning and then start focusing on my workload...
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Now playing: Paramore - Miracle
via FoxyTunes
The first thought was once again brought to me by Auntie A. Again it has been mentioned..."I try to go green, but it's so much more expensive." Let me say at the beginning of this that I am not trying to tell anyone what to do, whether it involves eating habits, voting practices or shopping tendencies. I definitely don't presume to tell parents how to spend their money. But what I am trying to do, with this blog and hopefully with Gracefully Green as soon as it is up and running, is to get others to think about their habits, and, more specifically, how looking at our accepted practices through the lens of faith might cause a change in our accepted habits.
"Going green" doesn't always have to be expensive, although, yes, if all that changes is that we replace our cleaning supplies with green supplies and conventional meats with free-range. The idea of going green is that it's an entire shift in the way of thinking...that our imprint on the earth is reduced. So if we buy organic cotton, we also reduce the amount of new clothing we buy in general. But the point is that we do all that we can, even if it's a slow going process. My clothing habit is certainly a slow going process. But the little changes are fairly straight forward. Turn off the lights. Unplug your appliances. Take a cloth bag to the grocery store (or lots of them). Dig up a little patch of earth for some veggies. Shop the farmers' market for local produce.
Speaking of cloth grocery bags, this site is another topic on my mind, and I wanted to share with you. It's a mission to eliminate the use of plastic bags (and hopefully paper, too) in grocery stores. Anyone who's shopped much outside this country knows that free bags are not a given. Why should they be here? This site has instructions for making your own morsbag, but more than that, it's about coming together socially to make the bags and then distribute them to those who do not yet have reusable bags. Now, I have no sewing machine so I can't really make one, but the instructions seem simple enough, and now if I can just find someone to make one from my old t-shirts...
And now I have class, which I need to have on my mind, considering the amount of work I have over the next few weeks. But the goal is to get through tonight and tomorrow morning and then start focusing on my workload...
----------------
Now playing: Paramore - Miracle
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
But ordinary's just not good enough today
So as you may have noticed, the greenie in me is getting greener by the day.
But one part about being a dirty hippie that has always bothered me is the...well, the dirty hippie part. I like pretty. I like clean hair. How to reconcile? I've been thinking about this a lot lately, considering how much I like to shop and have new pretty things. I realize this doesn't fit well with conservation. Can I still be green and preen in front of the mirror?
Turns out, yes:
These are from the new H&M organic cotton collection.
These are Mavi's organic cotton Mona jeans...which for the life of me I can't find on the website. Maybe they're out?
Pretty things underneath are always nice, like these earth-loving knicks from greenknickers.
But in the end, I think it will be the shoes that get me--I like nearly all the shoes in Simple's women's collection. My flippies are wearing out...might be time to buy the ones made with recycled car tires.
Did anyone click on the sites and notice anything? Only one of the companies, Simple Shoes, is based in the US. H&M is Swedish, Mavi is Turkish, and Greenknickers British (or they just really enjoy the use of the pound sign in front of their prices). Once again, the US is not at the forefront of sustainable, eco-conscious consumer alternatives.
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Now playing: Motion City Soundtrack - Fell In Love Without You
via FoxyTunes
But one part about being a dirty hippie that has always bothered me is the...well, the dirty hippie part. I like pretty. I like clean hair. How to reconcile? I've been thinking about this a lot lately, considering how much I like to shop and have new pretty things. I realize this doesn't fit well with conservation. Can I still be green and preen in front of the mirror?
Turns out, yes:
These are from the new H&M organic cotton collection.
These are Mavi's organic cotton Mona jeans...which for the life of me I can't find on the website. Maybe they're out?
Pretty things underneath are always nice, like these earth-loving knicks from greenknickers.
But in the end, I think it will be the shoes that get me--I like nearly all the shoes in Simple's women's collection. My flippies are wearing out...might be time to buy the ones made with recycled car tires.
Did anyone click on the sites and notice anything? Only one of the companies, Simple Shoes, is based in the US. H&M is Swedish, Mavi is Turkish, and Greenknickers British (or they just really enjoy the use of the pound sign in front of their prices). Once again, the US is not at the forefront of sustainable, eco-conscious consumer alternatives.
----------------
Now playing: Motion City Soundtrack - Fell In Love Without You
via FoxyTunes
Friday, February 29, 2008
Like Yellow Does on Blue
Green is good, just like Em and her matching tank and sheets.
But how do we balance? How do we work toward saving the world, one reusable bag at a time, without losing our sense of self? How do we not alienate friends and family, causing them to roll their eyes and plug their ears (and maybe their nose) whenever we come around?
The answer, as found over at Green as a Thistle, is to keep both a sense of humor and a balance. Many who give the environmental movement a bad name take themselves so damn seriously. I probably do too, when I get earnest about sustainable agriculture. But the point is to not beat ourselves up over every choice that we make that might create an additional waste or produce just a bit more CO2.
I'd love to write a blog like Vanessa's at Green as a Thistle. She made one "greenifying" change each day, and stuck with it until today, the last day of her experiment. Can I be that green? The point is, though, just how green we can go. I've been focusing more and more on energy use, recycling, composting. It seems the more I do the more I want to do. So this might be a worry experiment--if I could keep such a sense of humor.
But for now, I leave you with this, from her blog:
3) Lastly, and again, this really is nothing new, but seriously people: Stop buying crap. You don’t need it. In fact, you don’t even want it — you think you do, you want to be like that pretty girl in the commercial who has it, but it’s crap, it’s all crap, and you’re better off without it. I’m not a Luddite, I’m not an anarchist and I don’t support Buy Nothing Day because I’m all for creating a steady, strong economy, but if we don’t start turning the consumerism down a notch we are majorly screwed. There is absolutely no reason why anyone would ever need disposable Tupperware, a Swiffer anything, Glade PlugIns or yogurt in individually packaged tubes.
I've been saying this for years--we don't need the Swiffers or the individually packaged portions or to be keeping disposable cups in our offices. Tiny changes, baby steps, and we can find our ourselves going green. Buy a sturdy mop, invest in a cute coffee mug, and pay attention to the amount of packaging on your purchased items.
Stay tuned for more greenery.
----------------
Now playing: We Shot The Moon - Waters Edge
via FoxyTunes
But how do we balance? How do we work toward saving the world, one reusable bag at a time, without losing our sense of self? How do we not alienate friends and family, causing them to roll their eyes and plug their ears (and maybe their nose) whenever we come around?
The answer, as found over at Green as a Thistle, is to keep both a sense of humor and a balance. Many who give the environmental movement a bad name take themselves so damn seriously. I probably do too, when I get earnest about sustainable agriculture. But the point is to not beat ourselves up over every choice that we make that might create an additional waste or produce just a bit more CO2.
I'd love to write a blog like Vanessa's at Green as a Thistle. She made one "greenifying" change each day, and stuck with it until today, the last day of her experiment. Can I be that green? The point is, though, just how green we can go. I've been focusing more and more on energy use, recycling, composting. It seems the more I do the more I want to do. So this might be a worry experiment--if I could keep such a sense of humor.
But for now, I leave you with this, from her blog:
3) Lastly, and again, this really is nothing new, but seriously people: Stop buying crap. You don’t need it. In fact, you don’t even want it — you think you do, you want to be like that pretty girl in the commercial who has it, but it’s crap, it’s all crap, and you’re better off without it. I’m not a Luddite, I’m not an anarchist and I don’t support Buy Nothing Day because I’m all for creating a steady, strong economy, but if we don’t start turning the consumerism down a notch we are majorly screwed. There is absolutely no reason why anyone would ever need disposable Tupperware, a Swiffer anything, Glade PlugIns or yogurt in individually packaged tubes.
I've been saying this for years--we don't need the Swiffers or the individually packaged portions or to be keeping disposable cups in our offices. Tiny changes, baby steps, and we can find our ourselves going green. Buy a sturdy mop, invest in a cute coffee mug, and pay attention to the amount of packaging on your purchased items.
Stay tuned for more greenery.
----------------
Now playing: We Shot The Moon - Waters Edge
via FoxyTunes
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