| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2008 4:58 pm |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Green thumbs, it seems to me, are often more in tune with the earth than the average, brown-thumbed Joe. Digging around in the dirt, being outside, tending delicate seedlings and working with — not against — Mother Nature often does that to a person, especially gardeners who go through the Master Gardeners training program, which offers a practical approach to sustainability. Unfortunately, not all gardeners are thinking green when it comes to the health of the local environment. They dump weed-and-feed products on their lawns in a quest for better grass, effectively overfeeding and overweeding, which causes harm to local water and animals. (There is no better definition of overkill than misapplied weed-and-feed products.) There is good news, however, according to a recent survey sponsored by the Garden Writers Association Foundation. TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, a national consumer polling organization, asked gardeners: "When making purchases for your lawn or garden, how concerned are you about the environmental impact of the products you buy?" Sixty eight percent of household respondents with a lawn or garden said they were either very concerned (34 percent) or somewhat concerned (34 percent). Households that expressed a neutral stance totaled 21 percent while 5 percent said they were not very concerned and 4 percent said they were very unconcerned. Pardon me, but how chemical happy or blissfully unaware do you have to be to be in that last group, “very unconcerned” about the environmental impact of the products you buy? Do you want to find alternatives to insecticides, pesticides and weed-and-feed products? Check out this page from the King County hazardous waste department today. You can read the entire 2008 Late Spring Gardening Trends Research Report here. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
What's your baby's carbon footprint? Here’s a fascinating look at the ultimate microcosm of American consumption, the great American infant, courtesy of Mother Jones. I highly recommend you visit the site for the entire list, but here are a few highlights. *72 percent of American adults have children; *A typical baby goes through 3,800 disposable diapers in his or her first 2.5 years; *Over his or her lifetime, each American born in the 1990s will eat 1,654 chickens, 74 turkeys, 25 pigs, 11 cows, 2 sheep and 18,675 eggs; *One American child generates as much CO2 as 106 Haitian kids; *Zahara Jolie-Pitt will produce 45,000 lbs of CO2 yearly, compared with 221 pounds if she still lived in Ethiopia; *Only 45 percent of SUV owners in the United States have two or more kids; *It would take up to 223 trees to offset the CO2 produced by a child watching three hours of TV every day for 18 years. Discuss: Comment below or write me here. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Yesterday’s Greendex survey raised some interesting questions for me. It asked not only how much local food do I eat, but also how much food I eat that I grow myself. It was a tough question to answer. Most of what I grow myself is seasonal and fresh — lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, peas — which made me realize I don’t do any food preservation. It doesn’t have to be that way, of course. People have been preserving food for ages and the tradition is still going. You can learn all about it at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, at Third Place Commons in Lake Forest Park as part of a free class called “Local Food Year-Round: Simple Methods for Preserving Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.” Master preserver Jessica Dally will offer her expert advice on various methods of preserving fresh fruits and vegetables, including jam and jelly making, fruit canning and dehydrating fruits and vegetables. Cool! Click here to read to the full details on the class, which is part of a free series by the WSU King County Extension. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Greendex reveals your eco-status on a global scale I usually don’t make time for online questionnaires, but this one is pretty cool. It’s called Greendex and it comes from National Geographic and the international polling firm GlobeScan, which recently completed a survey of 14,000 consumers in 14 countries with an aim to measure consumers' progress toward environmentally sustainable consumption. Though the study is done, you can take part by filling out a survey. You'll receive a score that tells you where you fit in with consumers in other countries on the Greendex. You’ll have to divulge your energy use and conservation, transportation choices, food sources, the relative use of green products versus traditional products, attitudes towards the environment and sustainability, and knowledge of environmental issues. I scored a 52. I was brutally honest about my excessive driving and not-so-green tendencies, so I was pleased with that number. That puts me on par with folks in Russia, who averaged 52.4, which is far better than the United States, which came in at the worst rate of all 14 countries at 44.9. Consumers in Brazil and India tied for the highest Greendex score at 60 points each, followed by consumers in China (56.1), Mexico (54.3) and Hungary (53.2). Consumers in wealthier countries, Great Britain, Germany and Australia, came in at 50.2, followed by Spain (50), Japan (49.1), Canada (48.5) and France (48.7). Take the survey and share your results and thoughts by clicking on the comments section with this blog, which is below. You can also email me personally, with your musings, but contributing to the comments section is better because we want to get a good discussion going! Good luck, Greenzos! ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Don’t miss Green Drinks May 13 Going green in Everett just got a little bit sexier. Next week Greening Properties, a small, locally owned independent real estate company, will host Snohomish County’s first-ever Green Drinks, an informal evening gathering with drinks, plus social and, perhaps, professional networking opportunities for local greenies. Green Drinks, a European-born, international movement, including meetings in cities from Billings, Mont., to Delft, Netherlands, is meant to attract a lively mixture of people, including folks from academia, government and business circles and, of course, their friends. It is an “organic, self-organizing network,” according to the central organization’s sparse Web site. Drink up from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 13 at 2817 Rucker Ave., Everett. Write mary@greeningproperties.com with questions or call 425-252-7601. Read a story from The Herald about Greening Properties here. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
We know fish is good for us, right? It’s one of the best proteins around if you’re a meat eater. Fears about mercury, however, often detract from the glory of seafood. Today, however, I have what I think is some pretty good news: Top Food & Drug and Haggen Food & Pharmacy stores have become the first supermarkets in the Northwest to offer Safe Harbor Certified Seafood. Micro Analytical Systems Inc. of San Rafael, Calif., founded in 2002, offers its Safe Harbor Certified Seafood seal of approval only to fish that meets standards stricter than those set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Until Haggen and Top’s 33 stores in Washington and Oregon were added to the Safe Harbor program, MASI's program was pretty much limited to a handful of California grocers. Safe Harbor Certified Seafood isn’t necessarily mercury free, but it is, according to MASI, certified to be consistently among the lowest in mercury around. Not bad. Read more about seafood and mercury from the EPA here or from the FDA here. Finally, for a totally awesome guide on how to buy environmentally friendly seafood, check out the handy pocket guide from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program here. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Green Power Baby Shower Expo set for May 3 Green living and bringing a brand-new baby into the world can often go hand in hand for new parents. That’s the concept, anyway, behind the inaugural Green Power Baby Shower Expo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel in downtown Seattle. Sponsored by www.GreenforGood.com, a new Edmonds-based Web venture designed to encourage green lifestyles and values, this new event is a showcase for about 50 eco-friendly exhibitors. Numerous baby retailers are on the exhibitor list, such as Cozy Baby Boutique of Kirkland, plus diapering companies such as Punkin-Butt, a cloth diaper supplier out of Tualatin, Ore., plus other businesses and organization such as Pure Air Duct Cleaning and the American Lung Association of Washington. Admission is free. Dr. Alan Greene, author of “Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care” is not going to be speaking as previously planned. He had to cancel because of a family emergency, according my Green for Good sources. Get all the details on the rest of the event here. If you go, please comment below or write me here if you make any interesting discoveries. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Do you save your wine corks? I do. I have a bucket in the garage with the idea that I’ll use them for something, someday. Fortunately, Eco Geeks, there is a way to simply recycle corks in the United States instead of reusing them or sending them abroad. You can now mail them — they’re light, after all — to Missouri, where Yemm and Hart Green Materials of Marquand will turn them into cork tiles. You can even see what a cork harvest looks like in a picture on the company’s Web site. You might even start a collection program in your neighborhood. Cool, huh? If you want the long version of the story on cork, check out my friend Umbra’s take on the topic here. Do you have any creative uses for corks that go beyond trivets and bulletin boards? Please comment below or write me here if you do. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
‘Two Angry Moms’ comes to Kenmore When you think of school lunches, you probably don’t think of fresh, local food. That’s exactly what more school kids will be enjoying someday soon, however, thanks to a little-known bill called the Local Farms, Healthy Kids Act passed this spring by the state legislature with an aim to connect local farmers with schools. It makes perfect sense: Washington has a bounty of wonderful local food and schools have a demand for it. This new law could remove some of the previously insurmountable barriers. Of course, it isn’t going to be easy making the legislative dream of local food a reality. Fortunately, there’s already a movie and a movement afoot that caters especially to parents who are worried about what’s being served at public schools. It’s called “Two Angry Moms.” It’s a documentary offering strategies for bringing “nutritious meals and fresh local food into public school cafeterias.” This week the national “Angry Moms” momentum will merge with the local farm-to-school movement when Bastyr University, Whole Foods Market of Redmond and Washington State University’s King County Extension Farm-to-School Connections program host a free screening and discussion of the film at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 1 at the Bastyr University campus in Kenmore. Read the full details here. In the future, you’ll be hearing a lot more about farm-to-school initiatives, thanks to the statewide law, which could be a very cool thing indeed. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
‘Bio-plastics’ get a bashing I’ve never had much faith in ‘biodegradable plastics.’ Then today, one of my deep, dark eco-sources – green maven Gary Burk of Olympia – shared this link from The Guardian about the downsides of biodegradable plastic bags, which I noticed PCC stopped using last fall. It turns out there are eco-issues with even bio-plastic bags, which are often made with corn-based ingredients, leaving consumers with a single answer to the paper or plastic or bio-plastic question: “None of the above, please!” Tomorrow, April 29, check out The Herald’s Living section for reviews of the top reusable bags for grocery shopping, brought to you by yours truly, the Eco Geek. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
If a new Seattle-based business called Cascadian Edible Landscapes has its way, that’s exactly what an increasing number of people will be doing this summer. Entrepreneur Michael Seliga started his company to “transform underutilized private and public spaces” into areas of food production and community growth. Seliga, a licensed, bonded and insured contractor, designs and builds edible landscapes for people at all income levels using a sliding scale. This spring, as an off-shoot of his business, Seliga is offering a “community supported plant start” program or CSPS, modeled after farm-based community supported agriculture programs or CSAs, using extra plants from his private greenhouse stock. Though he’s off to a bit of a late start this year, he hopes to expand the program in future seasons. “People get a flat of mixed veggies — ready to be planted according to the Northwest planting calendar — for a wholesale price, $12 to 15 per flat,” Seliga said in a press release posted by the Cascade Harvest Coalition. “I can even deliver plant starts in Seattle if there is an order of four flats or more.” Community groups can purchase the plants for fundraisers, too. See www.eatyouryard.com or write food@eatyouryard.com for more details. If you want to learn more about eating local in your own front yard, check out the new-in-2008 “Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn” with contributions from many writers, including Michael Pollan. See also this 2006 release: “Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community.” Cool! ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Happy Earth Day, everyone! Of course, we all know by now that every day really is Earth Day, now that green is most definitely the new black. It’s funny. Back when I was in high school, we used to joke every year that every day was Earth Day, but we had no idea what it really meant. Back then — it was the early 1990s — I thought it was hilarious to throw garbage out car windows anytime I saw an Adopt-a-Highway sign. Ahem. I’ve grown up a bit since then, thank goodness, and learned a lot, too. During my past year or so as Eco Geek, I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that we could save the Earth a little bit faster if we all bought less stuff, which is a very hard thing to do when we are constantly bombarded with advertising messages and retail experiences. That’s why I’ve reserved this lovely little gem from Gawker for Earth Day. It’s a short story about the Anti-Advertising Agency, a New York-based project that has launched an anti-ad campaign based on simple little stickers that say, "You don't need it." How true! How true! We don’t need it. Consumers can use the little stickers to, um, decorate, annoying ads out in the world. To get your own free stickers, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: The Anti-Advertising Agency, c/o Eyebeam, 540 W. 21st St., New York, NY 10011. BONUS: In honor of Earth Day, I also urge you to check out the recent green extravaganza from the New York Times online. It’s pretty cool, offers a fun online interface and is full of great ideas to kick-start your Earth Day, Earth Month, Earth Year. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Nalgene, a longtime maker of reusable water bottles that have been hugely popular among Northwest hikers, is going to stop making its hard-plastic, polycarbonate bottles because of concerns about BPA. BPA, also known as bisphenol A, is a manufacturing chemical that mimics the hormone estrogen. BPA can, according to some scientists, leach from bottles into food and water at levels unsafe for human consumption. “By eliminating containers containing BPA from our consumer product mix, our customers can have confidence that their needs are being met,” Nalgene said a press release. Nalgene will introduce a new Everyday line, an assortment of bottles manufactured with copolyester, a new-wave plastic that does not contain BPA. “The new Everyday products are already available in stores and will be available through www.nalgene-outdoor.com next month.” The Food and Drug Administration has said repeatedly that polycarbonate is food safe and that BPA leaching levels are miniscule, far too low to affect human health. In Canada, however, government officials are considering banning BPA from baby bottles. I’ve been a fan of Nalgene and other polycarbonate bottles for many years now, but have fallen out of love with them lately because of the BPA issue. My husband and I donated all but our newest bottles to Goodwill, keeping a few newer ones for our backcountry travels. Most polycarbonate bottles that contain BPA have a No. 7 recycling symbol on the bottom, which makes them easy to spot. We’ve switched our regular household water bottles to Swiss-made aluminum SIGGs and they have worked out wonderfully, frankly, better than our Nalgenes. Even after months of use and no real washing to speak of on my part (ahem), they still make water taste great. We couldn’t be happier. Plus, there are all kinds of cool designs to express your personal style. What have you done in response to the news about BPA and polycarbonate? Please comment below or write me here. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Unload odd items at 2Good2Toss Have you ever heard of 2Good2Toss? It’s a groovy little recycling Web site that’s allows people to get rid of things that just can’t be recycled or that have some life still left in them. Read all about it in Julie Muhlstein’s Herald column, which explains how the “online garage sale” is working out for local residents, including an Edmonds man trying to unload a 1956 Buick Special. Could this be the weekend you finally clean out your garage, perhaps with the aid of this free service? I think so. Happy recycling! ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Every once in a while, as part of my duties as a writer for the Home & Garden section of The Herald, I stumble upon a cool green product that seems to be truly green, not just greenwashed. Bamboo, as all good Eco Geeks know, is a great choice for going green in your home because it’s a fast-growing more sustainable wood crop. EcoTimber of San Rafael, Calif., however, has taken bamboo to the next level with a new woven bamboo flooring line. Made of bamboo strands pressed together with a durable resin, it can be sanded and refinished just like hardwood. It is significantly harder than most tropical hardwoods, making it ideal for high-traffic settings. It comes from sustainably harvested, renewable bamboo grown on plantations without pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers, according to the company. EcoTimber’s bamboo reportedly reaches maturity in five to seven years, which is speedy compared to woods of comparable hardness, which can take 50 to 150 years to mature. Here’s my favorite part: Unlike many other wood-resin products, it does not contain urea formaldehyde, a common indoor air pollutant, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. EcoTimber also offers a variety of other Forest Service Council-certified wood flooring made with formaldehyde-free and “zero-VOC" adhesives. I spotted numerous cool floor options on the Web site, including solid bamboo, hand-scraped hickory and oak and exotics such as Brazilian cherry — available as prefinished engineered floors in most cases — plus reclaimed wide-plank rustic products such as antique northern yellow pine and country oak. Woven bamboo costs $5.99 per square foot. Installation is not included. See www.ecotimber.com for a full list of retailers, mostly in the Seattle area. Do you have any kind of bamboo flooring at home? How is it working out? Please comment below or write me here to share your stories. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Joel Salatin coming to Bremerton June 4 If you’ve read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan, you might know the name Joel Salatin. It was on Salatin’s idyllic, amazing, pasture-based, closed-loop Polyface Farm in Swoope, Va., that the ideals of sustainable agriculture became clear to me, thanks to Pollan’s wonderful writing. Salatin, who raises grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, rabbits and more in the Shenandoah Valley, will speak from 6 to 8:30 p.m. June 4 at Olympic College in Bremerton. Salatin’s “beyond organic” methods include not just organic and sustainable farming and ranching but also the use of sustainable forestry. I can’t believe what a treat it will be for him to visit our state with its own locavore movement taking shape and the many farmers I’ve met who say they’ve been influenced by his work and his "Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-lunatic farmer" writings. “He is really great,” said Monty Mahan, who heard Salatin speak in January and who is helping organize the event. “I’m getting calls from all over. I had someone calling from Minnesota the other day.” Salatin is the author of “Salad Bar Beef,” “Pastured Poultry Profits,” “You Can Farm” and “Family Friendly Farming.” I highly recommend a look at his 2003 essay, “Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal,” for a sample of his style. Salatin’s public appearance will follow three strategic planning sessions with him and leaders and citizens of Kitsap and Pierce counties. It’s all part of a collaborative effort led by the Pierce Conservation District to help landowners protect natural resources and support local farming. "If you wonder where your food comes from, have a backyard flock, maintain a back-40 herd or are just interested in supporting local agriculture, the public event featuring Joel Salatin is geared towards you," Mahan, district manager with the Pierce Conservation District, said in a full press release available on Mahan’s blog. It will cost you $5 to hear Salatin speak, plus that pesky trip to Bremerton, but I bet his talk will be inspiring and most definitely worth it. Space is limited and advanced registration is required. Contact Monty Mahan at 360-710-1506 or write montymahan@gmail.com to register. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Greetings, Eco Geeks! Today I bring you great news regarding fresh, local food. The new 2008 Puget Sound Fresh Farm Guide, available online or as a paper guide at various local libraries, farmers markets and grocery stores, is out now and is brimming with great ideas for how to hook up with local farmers this spring and summer. The guide from Puget Sound Fresh, an arm of the nonprofit Cascade Harvest Coalition, features extensive lists and maps of local farms, all searchable by geographic area or by food type. You’ll also find lists of local farmers markets, and restaurants, grocery stores and cooking schools that sell or work with locally grown food. There is also an easy-to-read harvest schedule chart and relevant recipes, plus a list of upcoming fairs and farm festivals. Be sure not to miss the 2008 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Directory on the Puget Sound Fresh page (PDF), ideal for families who want to work with a single farmer for a local harvest delivery every single week. If that’s not enough, you can sign up for a free weekly newsletter from Puget Sound Fresh with details about what’s in season when and how best to cook it: Simply write Mary Embleton at mary@cascadeharvest.org and ask to be signed up for “What’s Fresh Now” or read it online at Puget Sound Fresh. If you need a little local-food inspiration, check out my 2007 yearlong series on local crops and the farmers who produced them last season. It's called Get Fresh and it's right here. BONUS QUESTION: Did you all check out the Green Festival this past weekend in Seattle? I was unavailable to attend, but I’m wondering how was it? Did you learn anything cool? Please comment below or write me here. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
 |
| View all Top Cars |
 |
|
|
 |
| Classifieds |
| Jobs |
| Cars |
| Homes |
| CONTACT THE HERALD |
Elaine Helm, New Media Editor
ehelm@heraldnet.com |
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|Contact Us
|Advertiser Services
|Home Delivery
|Newsstand Locations
|Classifieds
|Feedback
|About the Company
|Work@the Herald
|Site Map |
|