A Deeper Green

Many times when people are faced with buying organic produce they may ask if it’s worth spending the extra money that organic products command. Now the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has made that decision easier for all of us.

They have put together a great printable cheat sheet. You can download the PDF of it here.

The great part about this cheat sheet is that it lists the 12 foods that you should typically look for the organic version of, and also gives you several foods that carry lower pesticide loads and can be bought conventionally. I really like this guide because it takes the guess work out of buying produce.

Take a minute and download it, print it out, and take it to the store with you next time. Your body will thank you

So, we’ve all made it to 2010. Yay!

I spent the last couple weeks running around like a crazy person, visiting with all of my family and all of my boyfriend’s family.  I love the holidays, but they can be pretty stressful.

In similar news, project “Make Christmas” was a resounding success. Everyone seemed to like their baked goods and I’ve only heard good things about my mix CDs. The one think I will probably change for next year is to spread out the baking. I fit all of my baking into one 24 hour period, and it was pretty crazy.  I think making Christmas is an idea that will work well for every year from now on though

Now with that recap of the year in place I would like to get to the meat of this post. I recently became aware of this great blog, Green Mama’s Pad. Some of the most recent posts are looking back on green goals for 2009 and creating new goals for 2010. As the whole point of this blog is to illustrate my journey to a greener lifestyle, I thought that maybe setting some green goals for 2010 here in this blog might be a good idea. I also encourage you, my readers, to make a green goal or two for yourself this year or to put a link in the comments about green goals you’ve made and worked for in the past.

So without further ado, my green goals for 2010:

~ Shop the farmer’s market, co-op and organic delivery first. I’ve been doing pretty well with this lately, but want to make more of an effort.

~ In line with that, try to phase out some of the prepackaged frozen foods that me and my boyfriend rely on so much for lunches and quick meals. We love those Amy’s frozen burritos; why not make more of our own!

~ Do better at food preservation. Freezing was fine for last year, but this year I am canning, no excuses.

~ To expand my small and successful container gardening operation to include actual vegetables, not just herbs and flowers. (I’m thinking peppers and tomatoes!)

~ And lastly, to do a better job documenting my efforts here. Last year was my best year yet with this blog and I want to keep pushing upward!

Share your green goals with me in the comments! I’d love to know what others are interested in and maybe even try to help

originally posted on examiner.com

So, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and a lot of thinking about the Asian Carp problem over the last few weeks. There are so many different aspects of this problem and so many people trying to place blame that even bringing the subject up seems akin to stepping into an ideological minefield.

Now that we are in the process of poisoning the Illinois River and the State of Michigan is considering re-opening a court case against the State of Illinois to force a closing of the Sanitary and Shipping Canal I found myself facing the question of blame. How did we get in this mess? Why was it necessary to poison miles of river over the last couple days? Why, 10 years later, are we still battling these two fish species? Who is to blame for this situation?

The questions seem practically endless when it comes to this situation. And there seems to be more than enough blame to go around. Should we blame the USDA, who first allowed Asian Carp to be imported on a permit? Should we blame Southern fish farmers for not insuring that the fish could escape into the Mississippi? Should we blame the Chicago officials who 100 years ago, to insure the health of their citizens, reversed the flow of the Chicago River? The answer of course is no, and yes.

Yes, we all carry some blame and some responsibility. Problems like this are made up of millions of small decisions made by hundreds or thousands of people over many years. It’s easy to assign blame in the short-run. We can all point our fingers at the Army Corps of Engineers saying that they implemented a flawed system that needs regular maintenance without properly accounting for how to handle doing that maintenance. We can all point our fingers at every other person who had anything to do with Asian Carp, or shipping, or anything. But what we should be doing is examining ourselves in the mirror. We are ALL responsible for the Asian Carp problem. Just as we are all responsible for any invasive species that created a problem in the Great Lakes.

As always, the past is behind us, we can’t do anything about what’s already been done. But as a region we can take responsibility for what needs to come next. We can support the people who are doing what they can to control the problem. We can make sure that we are fully considering every option on the table.

What would be the consequences to all parties if we temporarily closed the locks between the Illinois River and Lake Michigan and ran a full study of exactly what is happening? Can Chicago work to find a different way to handle waste?

If we all work together and accept the responsibility for this problem progress can be made. Controlling the spread of Asian Carp is in everyone’s best interest, so I say we start from this day forward with a strong plan for helping each other to address this very pressing problem. It means that everyone shoulders some blame and lets go of the past, but I honestly believe that its possible.

So as it is December I know many of us are starting to get into crazy gifting mode. I previously did a green gifting post, but decided that I wanted to do something a little different this year. I won’t be buying much in the way of gifts as I really don’t have the income to afford gifts for all my many many family members.

But I will still be giving presents and I thought I would share some of my thought processes with you, my lovedly readers. These thought processes are not to give you a “guide” to anything, but are an effort to encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to green holiday-ing and gift-giving.

Since the holidays can always be a little overwhelming for me on the money front, and I really can’t foresee not giving gifts to the special people in my life (especially when they are always going to give me nice gifts) I spent a lot of time this fall thinking of alternatives.

In my gift giving in general I have tried to move away from stuff based gifts to a more experience based gift giving philosophy. It’s worked pretty well, and honestly its made gift giving easier for those few people in my life who seem to already have everything. But the problem with experiences as gifts is that they tend to add up in price. Which is something I can’t really handle financially this year.

So, after spending a lot of time thinking about my best solution, I decided that I should move to a more “create-a-gift” approach for this year. Lately, I’ve been flexing my baking skills (made a pumpkin and apple pie from scratch for thanksgiving this year with stuff from the farmers market!). And I always like a good excuse to be crafty. So with those powers combined I think I’ve managed to come up with some really good gift ideas.

I will be baking mini breads and cookies. I’ve also concieved of an idea to make scented and colored bath salts (Epsom salts and essential oils, combined!). I will be making mix CDs and using old wrapping paper and cards to decorate. I’m using my creativity to put together the best gifts for everyone that I possibly can.

Will I still buy a few things? Yes, of course. I plan on buying baskets and probably a few crafty materials. The farmer’s market also has some great local honey and bee wax items that will flesh out my gifts nicely. But despite these purchases, I am feeling really good about the thoughtfulness, environmentally friendliness  and tastiness of my holiday gifts.

What kind of gifts might you be able to give that reflect your personalities and views while still being exciting to your… um… giftees (?)? What changes can you make in your holiday routine that will help you to be a greener and happier person this holiday season?

I know that if I came up with some ideas you can too. So think about it, and feel free to share your ideas here.

Also, in the green community there was a nifty push last week to celebrate Buy Nothing Day as a counterpoint to “Black Friday”. This fits nicely in with this post, so I gathered together a couple posts I saw about “Buy nothing day” for you to read at your leisure:

Boycott Black Friday and celebrate Buy Nothing Day, via Twilight Earth

Thanksgiving, Buy Nothing Day & my travel mug, via fakeplasticfish

Have a great day

So yesterday I made the trek out to Medaryville, IN. The town is pretty special to me because it’s where my mom grew up. Every year growing up we made several trips to the town to visit my grandparents, and I always really enjoyed the flavor of life there.

Yesterday I went down there with one of my jobs to go to the Jasper-Pulaski County Fish and Wildlife Area. This fantastic wildlife area is a great viewing site for migrating Sandhill Cranes in the late winter and in fall. November is typically peak viewing time for the cranes.

Yesterday the numbers were not as great as we might have expected, but the experience was still marvelous beyond belief.

Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures, so I can’t share those with you, but I can share this great Chicago Wilderness article about it with you.

Yesterday was one of those great experiences. For about an hour there were cranes flying in over our heads in droves. They all landed on the field in front of us, some just resting, some eating, and some taking naps. It was really a very magical experience. For those of you who live in the area, I fully recommend taking the trip. If you can’t make it this fall you can go again in March, or simply wait until next fall. Luckily these cranes seem to be here to stay as we have provided them with some pretty good habitat.

Also, some people have been lucky enough to see the endangered Whooping Crane while visiting the viewing tower. We didn’t have the pleasure yesterday, but one of my co-workers mentioned that she got that pleasure last year. That alone seems like a good enough reason to try to make it out there.

But then again, I am a huge nerd for stuff like that

I just found out today that my local farmers market (the Logan Square Farmer’s Market) will be going on all winter long!

For those of you who remember my post about preserving local harvests, you know that I was a little bummed about the end of farmer’s market season, but now with this great news I can’t wait for next Sunday.

It is actually really interesting, because the market will actually be meeting in a theater that is much closer to my apartment that the outdoor market, making it even easier for me to go and share in the local bounty.

Hopefully the next time I go I will be able to take and share some great pictures with you guys!

Until then, have a great day.

I remember a fairly recent trip to visit a friend in Madison where I was very jealous to see her show off the co-op (just blocks!) from her house.

But now, I can proudly say that soon there will be a co-op just down the street from me and I can barely contain my excitement! With a planned open date of mid-November I am sure I’m not the only one who is getting excited to have such a fantastic resource in the neighborhood.

I can only hope that it is a fantastic success and that other neighborhoods are inspired. And that the idea of locally owned and sourced grocery stores continues to gain traction throughout the entire country

To learn more about the Dill Pickle Co-op visit http://dillpicklefoodcoop.org

Also, I will admit that I haven’t signed up a member yet, but I fully plan to and encourage you to sign up as well

Originally posted on examiner.com

Whether its invasive carp coming up the Illinois River or E. Coli breakouts closing beaches in the summer, its no secret that Lake Michigan is facing some devastating problems.

This article by Adrianne Appel places the blame for these stresses squarely on climate change. While I will never argue that climate change does not have an effect on ecosystems, I have a hard time fully supporting Appel’s assertion that all of Lake Michigan’s ills can be traces exclusively to climate change. Even within the article there are several other reasons for many of the ecological disruptions brought up.

The biggest example of this is Appel’s discussion of invasive species. Yes, invasive species are a huge problem in the Great Lakes, and their negative affect on Lake Michigan is well documented, but there is no clear link between invasive species and climate change. Appel makes some attempt to connect the two stating that as our climate gets warmer, invasive species may be more suited to thrive here, but that leaves out a big piece of the puzzle.

Zebra mussels, one example used in the article, have been in Lake Michigan for almost 20 years already, and they were brought by commercial traffic. Climate change did not introduce zebra mussels to the Great Lakes. In fact, the climate where the zebra mussel originates from (Eurasia) is remarkably similar to our climate here. They are not invading from a warmer climate, but enjoying the similarities of our climate to their native climate.

Appel seems to be making the argument that because of climate change, animals like the zebra mussel are more successful at invading Lake Michigan. While I suppose there is a possibility that this is true, it seems unlikely, and Appel certainly doesn’t make a very convincing argument.

That being said there are many other ecological problems facing Lake Michigan that do have a link to climate change, and the article is still worth reading. I just caution you and other readers to not shift the entire blame to climate change. Yes climate change plays a role, but so do many other factors, like agricultural run-off, poorly maintained sewer systems, and the human introduction of invasive species.

So, I had a great and inspiring time at MEEC. I didn’t have internet in my hotel room, due to a router issue, so was not able to update like I was hoping too, but hopefully this little round-up post will be sufficient.

At MEEC I was able to attend a variety of sessions on everything from becoming a beekeeper, to keeping middle school kids optimistic, to wind energy. I honestly can’t pick a best or most interesting session, but I can tell you this: I have so much more to learn!

The presenters at these programs were phenomenal, and brought so much of themselves and their knowledge to the conference. I found myself being challenged by them in every session. Challenged to become a better educator, challenged to become a better co-worker, and challenged in my current understanding of environmental issues.

One of the biggest things that I was confronted with at this conference was how many people have real reservations about the effects of wind energy on wildlife. These concerns go beyond bats and birds, but also to animals like salamanders and turtles. I was also amazed to realize that there is still so much that we don’t know about these effects that wind energy might have. This will probably become a separate post after I do some additional research on my own.

Basically, what I would like to leave you with is how energized and excited I am after this conference. The people I met, and the people I talked to gave me a great rush of enthusiasm for the work that we all do, and made me all the more determined to be successful.

Thanks MEEC!

So to start off the day at MEEC, we were treated to a great and inspiring speech by Chad Pregracke, the driving force behind Living Lands and Waters. He spoke of his fantastic journey from a 17 year old kid who wanted to clean up the Mississippi River to the creation of Living Lands and Waters and on to what may even be a TV show on the Discovery Channel.

I was totally inspired and was so glad to be reminded that there are people out there that have accomplished things like this. People who are interested in making our world a better, cleaner place. People who are making a difference every day.

I don’t even think I can describe how fantastic it was to hear Chad speak today, but I can leave you with a link to his book From the Bottom Up: One man’s crusade to clean America’s river.

I have not read the above book, but I am planning on buying a copy of my own and providing a review here if there’s no room on your reading list right now.

Basically, just know that this is an organization with a great story and a great spokesman who is out there making the case for cleaning up our rivers, one piece of trash at a time

Some links to info about Chad and Living Lands and Waters:

~ You Should Know… Chad Pregracke, Chicago Magazine

~ Chad Pregracke: Garbage man of the Mississippi, MSNBC

~ Dude over troubled Water, Outside Online

~ Lending a Hand, Living Lands & Waters, Big River Magazine