Sunday, December 21, 2008

$1000 per week?!?

WaPo has this story today about the Wheelock family in Alexandria, Virginia, not spending money for 2 weeks, including groceries (everything but bills and the mortgage). Apparently they didn't stock up beforehand, they just went cold turkey one day, which I think is impressive. Here's how it went:

One of the saving graces of the experiment, they said, was their decision to keep up with their prepaid weekly fresh milk and egg farm co-op vegetable deliveries. Other than that, they ate out of the fridge. Katy Wheelock took the breadmaker out of its box and began baking bread, substituting honey for sugar when the sugar ran out.

They dug through mysterious packets of meat in the freezer -- finding a leg of lamb that saved them one night when they had to entertain -- and finished all those dusty cans of black beans, olives and soup and packages of pasta, rice and weird taco seasonings stashed in the back of their cupboards.

"The first week was pretty normal," Austin Wheelock said. "But the second week was," he paused, "a little leaner."

But by then, they were hooked on not spending. Finding savings provided the same feeling of instant gratification that a little retail therapy does, Katy Wheelock said.

It was agonizing when, with the help of mint.com, a free money-tracking software program, she tallied the family's expenses. In October, the Wheelocks had spent $844 eating out. In November, $200. In October, they had spent $1,171 shopping, and for the life of her, she can't remember what they bought. In November: $224. And in the "personal care" category, they'd spent $313 in October. In November, $0.

By using mint.com to track their expenses (and non-expenses), the mom of the family estimates they saved $2,000 over the course of two weeks. This seems to me a little insane for a family of four...

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

I'm out.

Yeah, I've been eyeing several winter coats for a while now and there's this one I like-- classic but not boring, synthetic insulation, hood, long length, not too sporty and not too dressy, and age-appropriate for someone coming out of her 20s.



Anyways, the available sizes seem to be disappearing fast on several sites, which really had me worrying. So yeah, I bought it. Got a pretty good deal, and I also got something for Elliott so he wouldn't complain.

The way I see it, my current coat is too thin, too short, too "I'm in my early 20's," and someone else could probably use it this winter. I've had a good 7-8 years with it. So hopefully it'll find a good home.

Holiday Specials? Yes...?

So it occurs to me that if I do all my shopping in January, I'm just going to miss out on the great 2008 holiday deals. And then I'll just have everything 21 days later at a higher price. And that's a little upsetting considering how much I hate paying full price for anything. SO, the way I see it, if I'm allowed to buy these items in January, it doesn't really make sense for me to just pay more in 20 days, RIGHT? Plus all those grubby holiday shoppers will have bought up all the best stuff in the size I need.

Monday, December 8, 2008

So... close....

I've been doing a lot of online window shopping lately, gearing up for the big 1-1-09. My plan is to make a list before January 1st of things I may buy the coming year, and then stick to buying those items only. I think I started a list a while back; gonna have to update it soon. New items include:

-a swimsuit that allows me to be taken seriously at the pool

-swim cap and maybe goggles (other people seem bothered I'm not wearing goggles, not sure why. Swim cap, I can understand, but goggles seem like personal preference...)

-winter coat that reaches past my knees and doesn't make me look 18

-some base layer shirts/camisoles

-elliptical machine (used from Craigslist)

-maybe a Wii and Wii Fit, but current owners seem to be in consensus that you don't use it once you actually own it... (also ideally from Craigslist)

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Black Friday Indeed

The New York Times has this piece on Jdimytai Damour, the temp worker who was trampled to death at a Wal-Mart in Long Island. It's just crazy and senseless...

On Thursday as we were driving back from Thanksgiving I asked Elliott "what would happen if America didn't have Christmas?" It's such an odd atmosphere that is supposed to be of peace, goodwill, blah blah blah. Even non-Christians have fond childhood memories. We had a tree up every year. I mean, what would America look like without Christmas? Would our economy be the same? What would kids sing in music class? It's so ingrained in us, this bizarre creation of a holiday. I can't think of anything about Christmas that isn't manufactured, from the date of December 25 (to co-opt existing pagan rituals), to Santa Claus, to those crazy carols that now start after Halloween, to "Black Friday."

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Sarah Palin Single-handedly Jumpstarting the Economy

The AP reports that in September alone, the GOP spent $150,000 on "clothing, hair styling, makeup and other 'campaign accessories.'" I wonder how much those hooker boots cost...



And this crazy getup:

This is why Obama can afford to spend so much more on TV ads. He's not confusing the presidential election with a beauty pageant.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Why I'm Voting for Obama

This is a partial list:

* Obama won't have to "have my staff get to you" on how many homes he owns (Obama owns one, valued at $1.6M). McCain, so far, owns at least EIGHT homes valued at around $13M. Take a tour of them:


* Obama's wife didn't introduce him at his convention wearing a $300,000 outfit. I was about to type and $30,000 and still be outraged. Then I double-checked. It's $300,000. 3 followed by 5 zero's. Vanity Fair notes:

To most Americans, $300,000 buys ...

... one and a half houses, given the national median home price of $206,500.

... a year's worth of health care for 750 people.

... the full array of back-to-school supplies and clothes for 500 kids.

... enough gas to drive cross-country 543 times.

... 365 round-trip flights from Washington, D.C., to Anchorage, Alaska. (John McCain should have splurged on at least one.)

... a three-course steak dinner (at Mat-su Resort) and a movie ticket (for the Mat-su Cinema) for every man, woman, and child in Wasilla, Alaska.

... enough money for three Troopergate investigations.


Michelle Obama's convention outfit cost $1,500 and was created by an up-and-coming local Chicago designer.

* The Obamas own one car, a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid. The McCains own 13, and he lied about his fleet, saying, "I've bought American literally all my life and I'm proud." Actually he also owns a 2005 Volkswagen convertible and a 2001 Honda sedan, and he seriously can't remember whether or not they bought Meghan McCain's foreign made Prius. (Source.)

* Obama doesn't consider $250,000 annual income as middle class, whether you are a plumber or a fake plumber.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The great cork debate

We are still here, and more or less sticking with the plan (see last post).

Here is an article on corks for wines. Like many 'green,' issues, there is no simple answer.

"Traditionally, wines that come with a screw-top have carried the stigma of being cheap and inferior -- probably because most of them were freakin' terrible. These days, more respectable wine-makers are turning their back on the cork. While their marketing departments say that the screw-top protects both taste and the environment, many green-types think the switch is little more than a greenwashed cost-cutting measure.

According to Treehugger, corks allow a tiny amount of air to seep into most bottles. Up to 10% of these bottles get 'corked' (i.e. go sour) because to the inconsistency of the old-school method. Losing 1/10th of your product due to faulty packaging seems pretty wasteful. Others contend that amount of wine lost is more like 1-2%, and that the renewable cork forests of Europe contain one of the world's highest levels of forest biodiversity -- like the Spanish wolf. Restrict their usefulness, they say, and these forests will get plowed under by developers."
- Green Daily

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Half Way

Just a quick update at the half way point. Have not bought anything.

For the most part we have stuck with the rules, though occasionally the food purchases have, um, well perhaps not fit into the rules. Part of the problem is the lack of information on the packaging (yeah, that's it, it is not our fault). So far it has not been too bad, though there have certainly been some things (CDs and clothes) that I would have bought on impulse.

We may used the 'auto replacement' exception, which has become a bit of an issue. It does not help that AWD cars get poor mileage, but living in Maine (100 inches of snow last winter), I feel it is a requirement. And there is the new vs. used issue.

To be continued...

Monday, June 2, 2008

I can resist everything except temptation.

I think I learned that Oscar Wilde quote from CSI reruns on Spike last night. Or something else I was watching on TV. See? Not an idiot box.

Anyways there's this boutique I walk by every day on the way to work, and a few weeks ago they had this sexy little number in the front window (in purple, NOT orange):

...and lo and behold I had a wedding over Memorial Day weekend to go to. I tried it on (I know, BAD idea) and it was very very cute. I'm not going to say how much it was, but I will say that not shopping seems to make it easier for my brain to rationalize spending more on something I have to have. Anyways, I didn't buy it. But now I'm totally regretting the pact, because it would have made a really cute addition to my wardrobe.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Vermont catches up

It was good to see that Maine had already passed a law requiring it's public clothing purchases are sweat-shop free.

With the adoption of the sweatfree purchasing law, Vermont joins six other states (California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Jersey and New York). In addition, dozens of cities, counties, and school districts have sweatfree policies, totaling 180 in all.

The bill requires companies selling uniforms and apparel purchased with our tax dollars to respect workers' rights in their supply chains. Suppliers must follow applicable labor laws and respect workers' freedom of association. For transparency's sake, in order to qualify for a bid, companies must disclose the locations of the cut-and-sew factories.


- Sweat-Free Communities

We Are All Made of Corn



On Friday night we went to go see King Corn at Space Gallery. Unfortunately we got there about 3 minutes before start time and had to stand... for 2.5 hours. That sucked. But at least I was in the first row of standing people.

Anyways... on to the movie. King Corn is about 2 friends from Boston who move to Iowa, rent 1 acre of land, grow corn for a year, and see where it goes. At the start of the movie, they get their hair analyzed and find that their hair is essentially made of corn protein-- through eating high fructose corn syrup, corn-fed beef, food fried in corn oil, and everything else corn gets into (which is essentially ANYTHING processed).

So they find a farmer in Greene, Iowa to rent them the acre. They grow the type of corn that is not for human consumption-- it goes to livestock feed, ethanol production, and high fructose corn syrup. Mmmm! During the course of their experiment the boys find out all about farm subsidies and how they encourage detrimental farming practices (over-farming, use of fertilizers, etc.) and how farm subsidies, at the end of the day, subsidize the American diet of cheap CRAP food. We wouldn't get cheap soda, oil, and beef otherwise.

After the movie there was a Q&A session with one of the guys. He revealed that there were 400 hours of footage and many storylines/issues they had to abandon for the sake of time and flow. One was that the wife of the family they were staying with actually died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma during their stay, and they suspect it has to do with agricultural chemicals seeping into their well water supply. They also visited pig, cattle, and fish "CAFOs" to observe them firsthand. At the end of the day they focused on mainly on the farm subsidy issue, which has become a pet project of theirs. Overall, a great movie that exposes the disconnect Americans have between farm and food, and also the converse-- the disconnect farmers have with where their produce goes. I have to recommend you watch it seated though.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Start Making Sense, People

Elliott alerted me to this story a while back about truckers planning a convoy to DC to protest fuel prices. Well, apparently it's happening on Monday.


Chief organizer Mark Kirsch said, "We're now looking at participation from at least 26 states, with an estimated five thousand trucks and an additional two to five thousand protesters."

The planned convoy and protest is scheduled to begin Sunday night in Maine, where trucks will assemble and begin their trip to Washington, DC. As they roll, other convoys will approach from the West and South, until they converge on RFK Stadium. From there the protest will continue on foot to the Reflecting Pool area, where the protest is scheduled to take place.
What I didn't know was that Maine had the "honor" of being the start of the convoy route. Oh, and that "Requests to speak have been received from Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain, among others."

Scary. I mean, it'd make sense to me if these truckers took buses down to DC. Or maybe even rented cars, riding 4 per car. But driving 5,000 trucks to protest fuel prices?!?! Surely they aren't hurting that bad. According to the Press-Herald, 15 trucks are heading out of Maine. With some googling I found that big rigs get 5-6 mpg with freight. I can't seem to find the mpg without freight, so let's quadruple it, let's say they get 25 mpg. A straight trip from Lincoln, ME (where the route begins) to Washington, DC is 725 miles. So that means the Maine convoy is spending 435 gallons of diesel. At $4.34/gal, that's almost $2,000 just in fuel costs. For 15 trucks to drive to DC for a protest. That's 15 out of the predicted "five thousand" trucks.

You know what makes a lot more sense? Truckers slowing down to save fuel.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

More quizzes.... yaaaaayyyyy!!!

As an Asian female I feel the need to constantly assess my abilities through online quizzes. Not like the Cosmo kind, those are too subjective, but the MSNBC kind... the real kind.

Here's a Are You a Green Consumer? quiz from MSNBC. I only scored a 60% (some of my wrong answers were technicalities, I swear).

On a completely unrelated note, this whole eating food from the US thing is really wearing on me, and the sad thing is that most of my diet is still probably not from the US anyways. Like the chocolate in my Stonyfield Farm yogurt. Or the can of seitan that's been sitting in the cupboard since December that we ate the other day. Or anytime we get food from a restaurant. I mean, we've been checking for "product of USA" labels but I'm pretty sure this means that the item was "assembled"/cooked/frozen/packaged in the US, not that the raw materials are from the US. I got this email from Hain Celestial today (they own Arrowhead Mills, Ethnic Gourmet, Rice/Soy Dream, Imagine Foods, Bearitos, Garden of Eatin', and TONS of other brands):

Dear Ms. Tham,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding our Ethnic Gourmet Product. We apologize for the delay in our reply and appreciate your patience. We strive to maintain the highest quality products and we appreciate your patronage.

All of our Ethnic Gourmet products are made at one of our Facilites located in the United States.

The Hain Celestial Group purchases ingredients based on requirements designed to meet rigid specifications, food safety, and compliance with applicable regulations and certifications. The Company works with known suppliers who assure the quality and safety of their ingredients which are supported by signed affidavits, certificates of analysis, and analytical testing. Additionally, many of our food products receive independent certification from organic and kosher certification third parties.

Although there are no regulations requiring country of origin declarations at present in the United Sates, The Hain Celestial Group is diligently working with our suppliers to identify country of origin for all raw materials.

Based on information gathered to date we know that a limited number of our ingredients are sourced from China. Although ingredients are predominantly sourced domestically, it is sometimes necessary to source globally. This is due to the fact that some ingredients are not available domestically or the domestic sources are limited based on market demand.

We understand your concern and greatly appreciate your continued business and trust that we have outlined the measures that The Hain Celestial Group is taking to ensure that the ingredients used in our products are safe and comply with our specifications and overall quality standards. We also want to assure you that we are closely monitoring all FDA information and alerts on this matter.

Thank you for your continued support. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-434-4246, Monday through Friday from 7AM - 5PM Mountain Time.

Sincerely,

Gabe
Consumer Relations Representative

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Happy Earth Day!

I'm not against Earth Day, but it is just another one of those holidays that celebrates doing something on one day that you should be doing every day, like loving your spouse... or Jesus... or presents. Of course, you know what they say-- "Every day is Earth Day...blah blah blah..."

Anywho, Slate has this Q&A with Newt Gingrich (yay Georgia connection!) who apparently now thinks that the conservatives are not doing enough to stop global warming. Slate seems to take him at face value-- he honestly believes in anthropogenic global warming and wants the US to do more the curb our carbon emissions. However, I smell a wolf in sheep's clothing. Key phrases like,

"I prefer incentives to punishments because they work faster and with less distortion of the economy. For instance, I favor tax credits for dramatically reducing carbon emissions. I favor a tax credit for trading in old cars that are the most polluting. I favor a tax credit for nuclear power, solar, and wind."
Of course, an economic incentive is the EXACT SAME as a punishment, a tax break on the good guy is the same thing as a tax on the bad guy-- either way, parties pay more to pollute. At the end of the day, the government just gets less money with tax "breaks" over tax "penalties." Ahhhhh-- that's the trick. Less money for the government = smaller government = no resources to catch the polluters. Oh, Newt, when will you just GO AWAY.

On another note I can't remember if I've posted this before, but here's The Daily Green's "How Green Are You?" Quiz. Personally I think it's a little flawed-- like isn't someone actually greener if they keep their old car instead of buying new hybrid? I think so. That and I don't buy things, I don't eat meat, I compost my kitchen waste, I don't drive. Well, this is where I fall, although I don't necessarily agree:


I'm feeling very negative today and I think it's solely because on the way to work this morning I passed by Starbucks, which had a sandwich board outside proclaiming that they were donating 5 cents for every drink to Conservation International, which I guess is better than donating nothing but I really hate Starbucks for being the epitome of corporate greenwashing. See here.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Nalgene to phase out hard-plastic bottles

I have used these bottles for years, only recently switching to a glass jar to take to work. Also have tried avoid microwaving anything in plastic - though again, have been doing it for years, er, decades?

Hard-plastic Nalgene water bottles made with bisphenol A will be pulled from stores over the next few months because of growing consumer concern over whether the chemical poses a health risk.

Nalge Nunc International, a division of Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., said Friday it will substitute its Nalgene Outdoor line of polycarbonate plastic containers with BPA-free alternatives.
...
Citing multiple studies in the United States, Europe and Japan, the chemicals industry maintains that polycarbonate bottles contain little BPA and leach traces considered too low to harm humans.

But critics point to an influx of animal studies linking low doses to a wide variety of ailments — from breast and prostate cancer, obesity and hyperactivity, to miscarriages and other reproductive failures.

An expert panel of 38 academic and government researchers who attended a National Institutes of Health-sponsored conference said in a study in August that “the potential for BPA to impact human health is a concern, and more research is clearly needed.”

- msnbc.com

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

"6 Myths About Organic Food"

Yesterday Elliott took something that looked like a wrinkly potato out the fridge and asked me what it was. It was an organic mango I had bought at Whole Foods, no doubt spending extra for organic. Why did it look like a potato? Because all of the times I've bought organic mangoes, they're always rock hard when I get them, then I wait for them to ripen, and then they turn a little brown, and I think "crap-- I waited to long; I'll carve around the bad parts." And when I cut them open, they're rock hard and unripe, YET rotting. Somehow. Doesn't happen with un-organic mangos... just sayin'...

So this article on MSN caught my eye. Here's a summary of the "myths about organic food" and the evidence:

MYTH #1: ORGANIC FOOD IS ALWAYS BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
...modern high-yield farming has saved 15 million square miles of wildlife habitat, and that if the world switched to organic farming, we'd need to cut down 10 million square miles of forest. Less-productive farming could also lead to even less food for the world's undernourished.


MYTH #2: IT'S MORE NUTRITIOUS.
...Studies keep flip-flopping on this...what makes the biggest difference in nutrients is how long produce sits on the shelf. Spinach, for instance, loses about half of its folate within a week.

MYTH #3: IT TASTES BETTER.
Nobody has been able to tell the difference except in one study of apples, where organics came out ahead....Nothing is at its best when it's flown halfway around the world and waxed, then has to spend a week in the grocery store.

MYTH #4: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AS CAREFUL ABOUT WASHING IT.
All produce, whether purchased from a grocery megachain or your local organic farm, is susceptible to nasty bacteria.

MYTH #5: YOU'RE SUPPORTING SMALL FARMS OR ECO-COMPANIES.
General Mills owns the Cascadian Farms brand, Kraft owns Back to Nature and Boca Burger, and Kellogg's owns Morningstar Farms, to name a few conglomerates basking in organics' glow (and dough). And with such high demand (in the past year, the market for organic milk outstripped the supply by 10 percent), these giant companies are importing organic ingredients as cheaply as possible — often from other countries. Whole Foods sold roughly $1 billion in produce last year; only about 16 percent was locally grown. So with all the CO2 spent in transport, some organics have questionable eco-virtues. [this part makes me doubt the author's knowledge because Morningstar Farm and Boca are big on "veggie," NOT "organic" food, so I fail to see the relevance to the article]

MYTH #6: IT'S BETTER FOR YOU.
Not if it's organic chips, organic soda, or organic cookies. Cane sugar is still sugar and fried chips are still fried, no matter what kind of compost was or wasn't heaped onto the potatoes. Sorry!

OMG, this is (was) so me!

MSN has this article entitled "When bargain hunting is an addiction." I can't really say this article describes me to a T because the women (and 1 man) described in the article are certifiably crazy. Like, buying "full-figured adult size 16 uniform pants... for her tiny 12-year-old daughter simply because they were 80% off" CRAZY. But it does get at the reason I shop-- I get no joy out of spending money or even possessing new things unless I feel like I got a good bargain. Otherwise, I hate spending money. It doesn't matter if something is marked way up just to be marked down-- as long as it's some % off the "original" price, I'm happy. Or even if there's no percent off, I will comparison shop for something I already have in mind, which is why I love(d) Froogle (now less cleverly "Google Product Search") and Amazon because they allow you to compare prices from different sellers.

This whole not shopping thing has thankfully weaned me off of the high I get from a good bargain. Now it's like "yay, I have money!" instead of "yay, I have stuff I don't really need but got a REALLY good deal on!"

I had this (brilliant? crazy? crazy brilliant?) idea this morning that may or may not work: at the beginning of every year, I'm allowed to buy what I've already decided I need during the previous year. For instance, this year, I've decided I still need: a mini muffin pan, a black sweater to wear around the office, and a new formal dress, among other things. So come January 2009, I am allowed to buy only those things. Come January 2010, I am allowed to buy things I listed during 2009. That way, I don't impulse-buy things because they're a "bargain."

Monday, April 7, 2008

A Little Encouragement

Chris sent me this story a week ago and I've been meaning to blog on it since. It's got a completely non-accusatory title: "Did Your Shopping List Kill a Songbird?"

Basically it's about how food from south of the border is grown using pesticides that are either illegal or restricted in the US. Consequently, North American songbirds are being poisoned as they winter down south and populations in the US have plummeted. Two crops it notes as the worst offenders: coffee and bananas. So buy them organic if you care about the majestic bobolink.

It's a little scary to think if these chemicals are (a) banned/restricted in the US and (b) known to be killing off birds, what are they doing to us? I mean, this isn't like DDT where the chemical was weakening the shell of birds' eggs and their baby birds got squashed. These birds are actually being neurologically poisoned. Just something to think about...

I liked this article not because I really care about songbirds (they're nice, I guess) but because it supports the US/non-US line that we drew, although lately we've been including Canada as the 51st state. And Puerto Rico as the 52nd (rum).

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

One week without power?

Here is a girl who tries to go a week without power. Perhaps she could have planned things out a bit better - or planned at all.

"Which brings me to my first major predicament: can you be a journalist any more without power? Even if I could revive an old-fashioned typewriter (not a fancy electric model from the 70s), there ain’t no typesetter sitting around NOW willing to manually process my copy, no steam-powered flatbed press to churn it into a living, breathing newspaper. And even if I could afford 600 bucks for the kind of solar panel that can power a laptop, my battery will only run for two hours tops. Hardly a workday."- NOW Magazine
And no, we did not participate in the Earth Hour, though this Phoenix writer did, and wants to keep it up.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Confessions

So... last week weekend we went down to Connecticut to have Easter with Elliott's brother's family, and while we were there we went down to NYC too. Well, there's one thing I really can't live without since I discovered it-- Chinese veggie beef jerky. It's really a lot better than the American brands. I've tried Stonewall's Jerquee and Primal Strips (which is made in China anyways). Anyways, long story short, we spent like $13 on veggie beef jerky.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Sneaky "Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling"

Sounds like a progressive, pro-environment group, right? Yeah, not so much. They are "a group that includes seven plastic bag manufacturers, a plastic recycler in Texas and Kevin Kelly, 'a taxpayer, residing in the city of Oakland,' who also is the president of the California Bag and Film Federation." (Bag and Film? I don't know). They are fighting Oakland's ban on nonbiodegradable plastic grocery bags by claiming that the city should have conducted an environmental impact review for the legislation because

the ban will force consumers to use more paper bags, “which are more costly, generate more pollutants during manufacturing and require more energy to produce and recycle than plastic bags.” It also alleges that the continued use of biodegradable plastic bags, allowed under the ban, would “contaminate” recycling programs for disposable plastic bags.
Hmm... I find it odd that they consider the only alternative to plastic bags is paper sacks.
(Full story here.) That link also links to a "paper vs. plastic" interactive presentation (which requires audio, which I don't have at the office) but I hope the answer is "neither-- bring your own cloth bags."

Speaking of plastic shopping bags, the Portland Press Herald reports that "[t]he Maine Legislature passed a joint resolution to encourage the public to reduce the use of disposable plastic shopping bags by 50 percent by Earth Day, April 22." Unfortunately "encourage" basically means, well, damn little. But I was pleasantly surprised at this nugget: "An estimated 10 percent of Maine consumers bring their own shopping bags, according to the House Majority Office." (Full story here)

Monday, March 10, 2008

Offset* your air travel!

I have this specific recollection in college where I went to this musical concert alone (I think some plans to meet up with friends went awry... or I got stood up. Whatever.) I end up sitting next to this elderly gentleman who starts making polite conversation, asking what my major is, etc. I tell him it's environmental engineering, and he ducks his head down and asks me if I know what the biggest environmental cover-up today is. I say no (too many candidates come to mind!), and he replies "the airline industry. They put out 1/3 of the world's manmade carbon emissions." Now, I have a natural distrust of elderly folks as either senile or evil (I blame not having grandparents growing up). So I put it in the back of my head as something to google later. Of course, I never do, but sure enough a few years later this whole airline carbon thing starts really "taking off." Although 30% is waaaaay off. A quick google search revealed very little, except that he estimate is 3% in the EU and 5.5% in the UK. I also found this USAToday article on the growth of air travel and the potential impact on global warming.

I was hunting for airline tickets when I saw this on Orbitz.com:


Sure, it right above "add a magazine subscription," and I'm not sure what actually happens when you purchase the offset (does someone plant a tree? chain themselves to a tree? hug a tree?) but this seems like a good bargain for $5.50, right?

*Disclosure: I am not sold on the idea of anthropogenic global warming, and I'm DEFINITELY not sold on the idea of "offsets."

Monday, March 3, 2008

I blame a right-wing conspiracy

Here's a really interesting Op-ed piece in the NYT written by a midwestern farmer about how the federal government is stifling local-food production:


The commodity farm program effectively forbids farmers who usually grow corn or the other four federally subsidized commodity crops (soybeans, rice, wheat and cotton) from trying fruit and vegetables.

... [A] farmer who grows the forbidden fruits and vegetables on corn acreage not only has to give up his subsidy for the year on that acreage, he is also penalized the market value of the illicit crop, and runs the risk that those acres will be permanently ineligible for any subsidies in the future. (The penalties apply only to fruits and vegetables — if the farmer decides to grow another commodity crop, or even nothing at all, there’s no problem.)...

Why? Because national fruit and vegetable growers based in California, Florida and Texas fear competition from regional producers like myself. Through their control of Congressional delegations from those states, they have been able to virtually monopolize the country’s fresh produce markets.

Friday, February 29, 2008

One-sixth done! Yay!

Happy Leap Day! Today marks the 1/6th done stretch of our little experiment, and I've already started formulating a list of things I'd like to buy come next year:

* a mini-muffin pan
* jeans that I actually like
* black bean garlic sauce
* Asian noodles.... lots of nooooodles (rice noodles, chinese noodles, soup noodles)
* salt
* white t-shirts to wear under wool sweaters
* glass kitchen storage set (because of the scary plastics news coming out)
* socks
* one of those umbrellas that won't invert
* maybe something nice for the cats... if they're good

Here's a neat slideshow from MSNBC with user-submitted pics/videos of green projects in their homes. Most are pretty impressive-- solar panels, converting SUVs to run on waste oil, water-catchment systems, eco-friendly home renovations-- and then there are the few who submitted pics of their babies in cloth diapers.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Women Marketers, I Swear...


I bought some Luna Tea Cakes from Whole Foods the other day (mainly because I had a coupon). These things take marketing to females to a level that's just insulting to humankind, I think. Here's what they say on the back:

"Just like you, LUNA Organic Tea Cakes have a purpose in this world. Rich in antioxidants and nutritious ingredients, each delectable bite does its part to promote balance, health and beauty, from the inside out.

We invite you to cherish a LUNA moment of heart-healthy indulgence with our Mint Chocolate Tea Cakes. Made with Green Tea from The REPUBLIC OF TEA, they will nourish you with all the benefits of omega-3, oats and polyphenols from tea and chocolate. Say hello to true love. [bold in original]

-The Women of LUNA"

...Hey, I have a purpose in life akin to LUNA tea cakes. And now I understand true love. It's a red letter morning! (And apparently the Berry Pomegranate flavor will increase your lifespan... guess I should've gone with that instead.)

Sidenote: picture is from USAToday and is named "chickfoodsx-large.jpg"

Saturday, February 23, 2008

What's in Season?

I grew up in the South having no idea that fruits and veggies had seasons. Plus I was living in Houston when I started buying my own groceries in college. Everything was always in season. And dirt cheap. Now that I'm here in Maine, I have a much better appreciation of produce seasonality. That's probably because local tomatoes are $4.99/lb at the Whole Foods and fuji apples are $2.99/lb. I put one in the scale and it weighed almost a pound, which would make it a $3 apple. Which is insane. There was a piece in one of the local papers here titled "Whole Foods, Whole Markup" about how Whole Foods marks up local goods so that they can't compete with 365 brand. (PDF available here, skip to page 5 ).

Anyway, I found this really great site with what's in season by state. It doesn't have every state but I imagine you can approximate geographically. Also here's the Food Network's guide to what's in season complete with pictures. If you click on a produce item it'll lead you to more info on how to cook it, complete with recipe ideas. Woo hoo!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Water Water Everywhere

There's been a lot of stories lately about water shortages, so here's a summary:

In response to recent drought conditions, the Georgia legislature is moving forward on a bill to move the northern border of Georgia 1.1 miles north; or specifically, "to pursue a claim that the south side of the [Tennessee] river —at least— belongs to Georgia." Here's an excerpt from the AJC story (note the reference to my hometown):

In the Senate, lawmakers broke into a rendition of "This Land is My Land," as Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) stood up to speak. Shafer introduced the resolution, which has been mocked by Tennessee lawmakers and scoffed at by some folks who live in the small border towns that would be affected.

Lawmakers want to fix a problem caused by an inaccurate land survey from 1818 that improperly marked the Tennessee-Georgia border south of where it should be. Shafer's resolution would establish Georgia's real northern boundary about a mile farther north into what is now Tennessee —giving Georgia access to the massive Tennessee River.

(Source)

Speaking of drought, here's a really scary slideshow from Newsweek showing before/after shots of receding lakes from all over the world.

Here's a related story-- scientists estimate a 50% chance Lake Mead will run dry by 2021. The man-made lake supplies water for Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

And here's an article on how the "ethanol boom" is exacerbating water shortages in the West and causing water wars between families, neighbors, and states by driving up the demand (and cost) of corn. Just goes to show you what's touted as "green" isn't always (ahem, Starbucks).

Last but not least here's a story from MSNBC on the effects of trawling as a method of catching fish. Below is a Landsat satellite image of the Gulf of Mexico. The tiny white dots are fishing vessels or oil/gas platforms.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Adventures in Vermiculture


This is our composting bucket, which sits in the corner of the kitchen. We started it at the beginning of the year, using an old cat litter bucket for the bin and a container of worms from the good folks at F.W. Horch in Brunswick. So far it's been going pretty well-- no flies, no odor (other than when you stir things up). The only thing is that the composting is going really slowly-- totally should have listened to the other sites saying to wait until your worms have increased in population enough to handle your compose load. So I think we may have to start another bin soon and let the full one cook for a while.

As of a couple of days ago, the bin started producing compost tea, which is apparently a natural by-product of the worm "castings" (i.e. poop). You can kinda see it in the plastic tray in the pic. It's supposed to be really good for plants but I can't help but think of it as worm pee.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Pooping On Your Valentines Day

Here are two headlines I can't compete with:
Child labour, war or pesticides for your Valentine?
"Every Rose Has its Thorn"

The first discusses the major human rights/environmental issues with the Valentine's Day big three: chocolate (child labor), diamonds (did you see Blood Diamond?), and flowers (pesticides and labor conditions).

The second article (actually a photo slideshow) explains the environmental impact of roses from South America. On the production end, the issues are the use of child labor, sweatshop/low paying conditions, use of hazardous chemicals (indoors!), and the overall air/land/water usage for the industry. ("[F]lower workers experience higher-than-average rates of premature births, congenital malformations and miscarriages," and were subjected to 70- or 80-hour work weeks in high season.") For their transportation, flowers are dipped in more chemicals (preservatives this time), placed in protective packaging, and then must be shipped via air and are then transported in refrigerated trucks. Then the retailers swaddle them in all things pink and heart-covered.

Fortunately, there is a way to go green this Valentines Day:
Organic flowers, (find out more here and here)
Organic lingerie
Organic chocolates (and here too, list of brands here)

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Labeling Wars Part 2... the Battle Over Bottled Water

My friend Matt sends me this story about 2 Democratic House Members asking the GAO to investigate EPA's drinking water standards for contaminants (TCE and perchlorate), the labeling of bottled water, problems associated with bottled-water-container production, and the impacts of bottled-water consumption on landfills and the energy used for transportation.

Some key points:
*"There are a bevy of bottled-water varieties: artesian, artesian-well, ground, mineral, purified, sparkling and spring. Water can undergo distillation, reverse osmosis, absolute 1 micron filtration and ozonation."

*"About 30% of bottled water is sourced from a municipal system, according to the International Bottled Water Association, the industry trade association."

*"Dasani relies on about a couple dozen municipal water sources across the United States, according to spokesman Ray Crockett...Citing proprietary reasons, he declined to reveal the location of Dasani water sources."

This is my favorite: "'As a general business practice, we sell our products in the same communities where we produce them thereby minimizing the emissions generated from lengthy transportation routes,' according to Crockett."

Translation: "we take the communities' tap water, bottle it, and sell it back to them."

Dog Bites Man...

...blog covers non-news, thus continuing the insanity...

Here's a story from ABC news about a study which "found that feeling sad leads to self-centered thinking -- and this, in turn, can lead to a greater likelihood of dropping extra cash on something to make you feel better." The specifics:

"a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Stanford and the University of Pittsburgh showed volunteers either a video clip that showed grief following a tragic death or a neutral clip from a nature show. Afterward, participants had the chance to purchase an ordinary item -- a sporty water bottle. They found that people who'd watched the sad video clip offered an average of 300 percent more money for the item than those who had viewed the neutral clip."

Somehow it took researchers from 4 renowned universities to show 33 people a video clip and offer them a sports bottle for purchase. I think I'm going to go fill out some grant applications for this idea I have called the "wheel."

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Netflix for toys

Here's an article in MSNBC about a mom in Houston who's starting an online toy rental business called Baby Plays. She charges a monthly fee and kids get to keep the toys as long as they want. Parents set up a "wish list" and toys are sent out when old ones are shipped back. I think this is a great idea, given how fast kids outgrow toys. Plus she tests the toys for lead content and small pieces. At the same time, don't parents already do toy exchanges and freecycle.org? This seems to cut out the middle-(wo)man.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Word of the Day: Freegans

I first encountered this term in this NYT article, which describes freegans as

...scavengers of the developed world, living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism. They forage through supermarket trash and eat the slightly bruised produce or just-expired canned goods that are routinely thrown out, and negotiate gifts of surplus food from sympathetic stores and restaurants.
I really admire freegans... I mean, not only are they not buying things (including toiletries and groceries!), they're also vegan. (Actually it looks like in practice, most are vegan-- I'm guessing for animal rights reasons and because discarded meat is not an option). They make me feel like the CEO of ExxonMobil. I should also point out that it looks like most of them (a) live at home, and (b) do not work, as I'm guessing dumpster diving for the necessities in life can't be done on a part-time basis.

Click on their website for more info. You'll find the best use of euphemisms I've ever seen: "rent-free housing" (ahem, squatting), "waste reclamation" (dumpster diving), "Eco-Friendly Transportation" (hitchhiking). Here's their defense of "rent-free housing"

Freegans believe that housing is a RIGHT, not a privilege. Just as freegans consider it an atrocity for people to starve while food is thrown away, we are also outraged that people literally freeze to death on the streets while landlords and cities keep buildings boarded up and vacant because they can’t turn a profit on making them available as housing.

Squatters are people who occupy and rehabilitate abandoned, decrepit buildings. Squatters believe that real human needs are more important than abstract notions of private property, and that those who hold deed to buildings but won’t allow people to live in them, even in places where housing is vitally needed, don’t deserve to own those buildings. In addition to living areas, squatters often convert abandoned buildings into community centers with programs including art activities for children, environmental education, meetings of community organizations, and more.


Would you give this man a ride?

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Fast Food Nation: our second movie review!




















Premise: Exec from fast food chain "Mickey's" travels out west to Colorado, where the company gets its beef, to find out why the level of fecal coliform bacteria on their frozen patties is "off the charts."

Favorite line: "why do you think it costs just 99 cents?"

This movie isn't really eye-opening, and it tackles too many issues at once-- the plight of illegal immigrants (in crossing the border and once they're here), the Patriot Act, workers health/safety/rights, food safety, animal welfare, sexual harassment in the workplace, CAFO pollution of clean water, questionable consumer data "gathering," the encroachment of suburbia into farmland... I'm sure there were some other ones too. Some issues the movie weaves into the plotline very well, some issues it shows a group of college students sitting around talking-- basically a thinly disguised lecture.

I will say I really admire them for showing the actually killing floor. Thankfully I saw this coming since I had accidentally caught the footage while flipping channels one day and covered my eyes horror-movie style. I expected a little more overlap with "Supersize Me" but there really was none, so that was nice. The performance by Wilmer Valderrama was... better than I expected, Ashley Johnson (Chrissy from Growing Pains!) was great, and Avril Lavigne was just kind of there.

Overall, I'd say it was like watching Supersize Me, Thank You for Smoking, and A Day Without a Mexican all at the same time... not necessarily a bad mix.

Monsanto doesn't want you to eat rBGH-free ice cream

Here's an article today from MSNBC on the fight between Ben & Jerry's (and some dairies) versus Monsanto and some other dairies over whether milk producers can label their product rBST or rBGH-free. Unlike organics, the issue isn't whether the label actually fits the product. The issue is that anti-labelers think "rBGH-free" insinuates to the customer that it is safer than milk produced from cows injected with the hormone. The article notes that "The hormone, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to boost production in dairy cows in the early 1990s, was not approved in Canada, Japan or the European Union, largely out of concerns it may be harmful to animals."

Apparently legislators have taken up the issue on behalf of the anti-labelers, passing legislation making it illegal to label milk (and ice cream) rBGH-free. Frankly I'm appalled (but not surprised) that legislators would make it harder to know how your food was produced, and I'd hate to see this spill over into the "cage free eggs" labeling. I mean, the issues seem the same- that consumers should have the right know whether their food was produced using a method harmful to the animals.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Saving My $600

Here's a really scary article/interview on Newsweek with the author of "Going Broke: Why Americans Can't Hold on to Their Money."

The average household owes 20 percent more than it makes each year. The personal savings rate is in negative territory. Record numbers of Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure, and millions more are struggling to keep up with their monthly bills and obligations. And the nation's economy isn't in much better shape.

...If you have a consumer society where no one is saving—where no one is encouraged to save—and millions are in debt [and then] you hit them with a jolt to their income, they're instantly going to be in trouble.

The House and Senate have passed economic stimulus packages that include rebates to taxpayers, which the government is encouraging them to spend. That seems like an irresponsible message for taxpayers who have debt or no savings.

A number of financial advisers would certainly agree that it would be much wiser to save the rebate to protect against a future [emergency] or to pay down debt—neither of which is going to do what the stimulus package is designed to do. Individual consumers are basically being asked to do something that is probably not prudent for themselves for the sake of the larger "economy."

Thursday, January 31, 2008

File under WTF?

There must be more to this story (the article does suggest s0), but a City bringing a lawsuit because a guy does not need trash service anymore? I can understand the requirement for trash pick-up, but only to prevent unsanitary conditions - which if they can establish should just lead to fines.

A man who claims to have reduced his waste to nearly nothing out of concern for the environment now faces a lawsuit from San Carlos for canceling his garbage-collection service.

Eddie House, 53, says he was shocked when he was served with a lawsuit Sunday at his Cedar Street home.

The lawsuit, filed by San Carlos Deputy City Attorney Linda Noeske in San Mateo Superior Court on Jan. 22, seeks a permanent injunction forcing House to maintain garbage service. City officials are also seeking to recoup from House the costs of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims House broke the city’s municipal code requiring all residential, commercial and industrial properties to contract with Allied Waste for pickup at least once a week — a standard requirement in most cities, San Carlos Deputy City Manager Brian Moura said.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

I like food

I've been doing some research into how other people have done the whole veggie+locavore thing, and it turns out, they don't. I googled vegetarian locavore, veggie locavore, veggie localvore, etc. and got jack squat, other than one locavore blogger saying, "Being a Vegetarian-Locavore is really freaking hard. I really feel for Mike" and another saying "There is nothing easy about being a vegetarian locavore." Plus, most everyone doing the locavore thing and having a website about it seem to live in either California or the mid-Atlantic states. The farthest north I've found (or Elliott found, actually) are the "Upper Valley Localvores" in New Hampshire/Vermont who seem to be eating nothing but carbs and meat right now.

I have to say I'm a little surprised at how little overlap there is between the veggie people and the locavore people-- you'd think they're all cut from the same animal-loving hackysack-playing quinoa-eating cloth, right? Or is that just me?

We're quickly running out of non-USA non-organic food from before the contract set in and I'm really not looking forward to when I run out of rice noodles (I usually keep 3 kinds), or Japanese soup noodles, or curry powder, or any Asian sauce for that matter.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Salt

So.... we're running low on salt in the house. I don't normally use salt-- it's either soy sauce or vegetable bouillon, or I omit salt altogether. But occasionally that's not an option. Like, sweet potato fries. Anyways, this really causes a problem because, to my knowledge, there's no such thing as organic salt, since it's mined. And although there is "local" salt from the Maine Sea Salt Company, this stuff sells for $6/8oz bag, which is a whole lot more than Morton's. So I'm curious-- assuming they don't live on the coast, do locavores have to omit salt?

Friday, January 25, 2008

There are clubs for shoes now?

I was browsing the Maine Switch's website for something to do tonight and I found this below. Seriously?!?!

Hello Stiletto Shoe Club meeting
When: Friday, January 25, 2008 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Where: Wine Bar at Wharf Street; 38 Wharf Street Portland, ME 04101
Who:
207-878-0175
www.shoeclub.us/

Cost: Free

Category: Special Events

Description: The Hello Stiletto Shoe Club is a free social networking club for shoe lovers to meet and wear their favorites. Shoe contest will be held!

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Green-collar jobs?

I missed the last debate (uh, and most of them so far), but apparently "green-collar" jobs were mentioned as a way improve the economy and the environment. See here for what it all means.

Creating enough green-collar jobs to beat global warming and create real economic opportunity for those who most need it is a tall order. It will require a major transformation of the American economy, and we must be clear about the terms of this transition. Only then will we have a yardstick to measure real progress against exciting rhetoric.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Confessions, Round 1

Hmm, so time for some admissions of contract-breaking over the past week. First, I asked Elliott to drive me to work (<2 miles) on Friday morning after I ventured out, walked about 15 feet, and realized you can't see sidewalk ice when it's actively raining. Second, while at the Whole Foods we bought some halvah made in Canada. It's a middle eastern dessert made from Tahini and honey that my sister introduced me too. The pre-packaged kind sucked, which I serves us right for buying Canadian. Second, Elliott picked up Primal Strips veggie jerky which was (a) an impulse purchase, and (b) made in Taiwan!

Friday, January 18, 2008

Wood v. Oil

I like the contrast in these two headlines:

"Environment Be Damned, Oil Prices Spark Wood Sales" (Bloomberg, Nov 21)

Burned by high oil prices, Mainers warm to wood
(Portland Press Herald, lead story today).

The Press-Herald story starts with the line "The warm glow of a wood fire has rarely felt so good," and puts forth this novel theory:


"...wood does not contribute to global warming the way oil and coal do.

Burning wood does release carbon dioxide, a gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. But the carbon in trees is part of the natural cycle and is, in theory, taken up by new trees. Burning fossil fuels, on the other hand, releases carbon that has been buried deep in the earth."
Um, I'd like to see some evidence to back that up. Especially when the Bloomberg article states that "the typical wood stove emits as much as 350 times more pollution than an oil furnace."

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Nancy Pelosi does a little House-greening

Chris sends me this article from the NYT on the new cafeteria options at the four House office buildings. It's entitled "More House Salads, Whether the House Likes It Or Not," which I find to be a very combative title for an article about "revamping of the menus, to make them more local, organic and healthful." God forbid, right? Well, apparently healthier food = conspiracy:


But to some people here they represent an elitist misuse of public funds, and possibly a bit of anti-industry propaganda.

In newspaper articles and on blogs, the menu has been mocked for including sushi and brie, foods critics seem to regard as pretentious esoterica. Questions have been raised over whether the decision to stock a particular brand of organic yogurt was motivated by political donations. Writers have griped about allowing Ms. Pelosi to decide what they should eat. And some have expressed outrage at the notion that tax money is paying for all this frippery.

Whether or not sushi is too elitist for workers on the Hill, the cafeterias are not subsidized, said Perry Plumart, the deputy director of the House’s environmental effort, which is called Green the Capitol.

I wonder if that brand of yogurt is Stonyfield Farm--they might have a legitimate argument there!

Update: It is Stonyfield! (Source)

Progress Report: 1/24 done

So... yesterday was the 15th of January, or as I like to call it, "1/24th Mission Accomplished." The not-shopping part has been really easy, especially since the stuff I ordered pre-xmas is just now arriving. By far the hardest part is the groceries shopping- only shopping from a grocery list and the "must be from USA or organic" rule. I've been surprised at how few pre-packaged items state where the product is from (probably for the better since I should cut down pre-packaged food anyways). I've definitely been buying more organics just for the sake of not having to search a box for a "made in..." label. Unfortunately this rule has also cut down on shopping at the local corner grocery since none of the food origins are posted for produce (Whole Foods, on the other hand, is much better at this).

I swear stuff has been wearing out quicker in the past two weeks. Sheets that I've had since college sprung holes, suddenly the bottoms of my socks are worn through, and the heel on one of my favorite pairs of boots broke off. I blame the pro-capitalist gnomes- much akin to the underpants gnomes- wreaking havoc while we sleep.

Eaten to extinction

It's no longer news that worldwide stocks of fish (or "seafood") are crashing due to over-harvesting, but for some reasons the message just doesn't resonate. Yesterday the NYT published an article tracing the route taken by illegally-caught seafood from Africa to Europe. It's somewhat heartbreaking how easy it is to illegally catch and transport seafood as opposed to land animals. We can't set up and patrol fish "preserves" on the high seas, and fish aren't exactly charismatic megafauna that people will rally behind. It's like, most Westerners would never eat, say, endangered giant panda, or California condor eggs, but have little qualms about eating endangered (or soon-to-be endangered) fish. Why is that?

Speaking of endangered animals, there's a couple of interesting stories from MSNBC today and yesterday. The first is on the washing up of twenty endangered Olive Ridley turtles in Bangladesh, believed to be from the use of illegal fishing nets near the shore. Second, there's a story on the potential removal of dams along the Klamath River in Oregon which may or may not help endangered salmon (Chris- comments?). And 45 minutes ago MSNBC reported that the Bush Administration has signed an exemption from the Coastal Zone Management Act for the Navy to continue using sonar in its training off the coast of California despite evidence that it is causes marine mammals to, you know, die.

And I was really impressed yesterday when MSNBC has this as the lead story-- a article about the rangers of Virunga National Park in the Congo who are assigned the task of protecting mountain gorillas on the verge of extinction. The park rangers are no longer able to do their job because the Park has become overrun with armed groups and poachers who kidnap rangers to work as guides, kill them, or pillage their posts for supplies and food. This story struck me because these rangers are clearly risking their lives to protect the gorillas (and an unsteady paycheck). I think it raises an interesting question of whether a given number non-human lives can ever equal 1 human life, and does it matter if the non-humans are (a) endangered, and (b) closely related to humans? A few years back PETA has this billboard campaign comparing factory farming of animals to the Holocaust, and it raised a huge controversy.

Monday, January 14, 2008

My Stuff is Giving Me Nightmares

My dreams aren't usually cryptic and don't take a dream dictionary to figure out. If I lost something during the day, that night I'll dream about finding it (and wake up really disappointed). I also have a lot of dreams where I'm flying but that's just because I really like the sensation of flying, I think.

Anyways last night I had this dream I was moving out of some sort of dorm-type place. I'm not sure what the situation was because there were friends from law school and my ill-fated semester at grad school, and I think some other people my mind made up. My parents were there to pick me up but I hadn't finished packing before their arrival. And they kept hurrying me and tossing my stuff around trying to get it all boxed up so we could leave, and I just remember being on the verge of freaking out because no matter how much stuff we packed, there was always more stuff, and their tossing my stuff around was just stressing me out even more. It was an odd dream, especially since my parent's haven't picked me up from anywhere like that since maybe Nerd Camp '95.

So this morning I was thinking my volume of stuff is getting to the point of giving me nightmares. Then I remembered that I had watched the latest episode of The Real World: Sydney yesterday where they all pack up and move out. (Disclaimer: I got hooked on it while hanging out with my sister over Christmas.) If you haven't seen any of this season, you HAVE to go to mtv.com and click on the one entitled "The Grilled Cheese Incident" at the very least to watch Cohutta talk to his grilled cheese sandwich.



(I tried to find a picture of the insane amount of stuff the Real Worlders had to pack up but they haven't posted any stills from the episode, so this pic will have to do.)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Walking the walk, literally

As part of this plan, we are not driving to places less than two miles, with some exceptions. Living on the Portland peninsula, this is generally not a big deal (this one of the things I really like about living here). Though not everywhere on the peninsula is easy to get to, particularly when the weather is bad. I often have to go to UPS to drop off photo orders, and I needed to go today. As the photo below shows, today was not exactly sunny.

Generally Portland is pedestrian friendly (at least the peninsula), but the spot where UPS is located is in an area of fairly new development (last time I looked on Google Earth, most of it was just an empty lot). So there are not a lot of sidewalks in the area, or getting down to it.

But I can't justify driving to UPS to drop off an 9x12 envelop, despite the weather. Of course if I were really busy with work I might drive, considering it does take much longer to walk. If it were warmer and not raining, I would bike - and that can almost be faster than driving.




Thursday, January 10, 2008

I miss D.C. (sniffles)


This is only marginally relevant to this blog but I really wanted to post this picture and story courtesy of the Washington Post. These are all fake meats courtesy of Terry's Healthy Food Store in Rockville, MD. WP did a taste test of them that is somewhat funny. Unfortunately it looks like they're sold frozen so I'm guessing mail-order isn't an option. (Side note: If you right-click and "save image" from the WP website, the name of the picture is "art-fake_meat"... truly that lobster is a work of art. The "duck," however, looks like a misshapen challah.)

1=sausage, 2=duck, 3=chicken breast slices, 4=bacon (apparently), 5=lobster, 6=steak, 7=shrimp.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

More on the Candidates

The journal Science has a 10-page special report, 'Science and the Next U.S. President.'

How do the candidates view science? Sometimes it's hard to tell from the campaign trail, but they have offered opinions on topics from evolution to global warming.

The candidates are addressing issues, from climate change to how the next Administration should manage science, that will affect researchers next year--and for decades to come. Differences have emerged on embryonic stem cell research, on the urgency of combating climate change, and even on the teaching of evolution.

- via The Blue Marble

There's no such thing as 'away.'

That's a quote from that SF man who's been saving all his garbage for a year. I really like it. I’ve been putting off writing about this article on MSN because (a) it’s 6 webpages long, and (b) I can’t figure out why it’s been relegated to the "Lifestyle: Men" section. Anyways the article discusses how a garbage mass twice the size of Texas is floating in a vortex in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Basically the gyre is where air and water currents flow in a circle, collecting everything into the relatively still center of the vortex. (Interesting fact: this occurs in the “horse latitudes,” so-called because winds are so weak that back in the day ships would toss their horses overboard to lighten the load.)

(yellow dots = garbage)

This article discusses how discarded plastic is working its way into our bodies and causing obesity, infertility/reproductive problems, diabetes, cancer, memory loss, and liver and thyroid problems. Basically, every speck of plastic ever made still exists because instead of biodegrading, plastic photodegrades into smaller and smaller pieces, which then works its way into and up the food chain. That’s on top of the plastics exposure we get through the containers we eat/drink out of, through the carpet (and “new car”) fumes we inhale, or through the water we drink.

Yeah, it’s pretty scary. On page 5 there’s a discussion of something I’ve never heard of before- the problem of the lax handling of nurdles, the pellet-form of plastic before it’s melted and molded into something more useful. One study estimates that escaped nurdles account for 10% of ocean plastic debris.

Another fun anecdote about ocean debris— occasionally garbage will spin out of the gyre and make its way to shore. Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer has been studying the movement of ocean currents using data from cargo spills, relying heavily on the great Nike spill of 1990 (when about 80,000 pairs fell off the Hansa Carrier and started washing ashore 6 months later) and another spill in 1992 of tens of thousands of bathtub toys-- blue turtles, yellow ducks, red beavers and green frogs. Anyways, skim the article-- it's long but worth it.

Follow-up: Here's something you don't read everyday-- China at the forefront of an environmental solution. Apparently come June, stores in China will no longer be allowed to give away plastic bags for free and must start charging for them. (Link)

Monday, January 7, 2008

Who Owns Me? (Mostly) Food Edition

Hint: 4 of the answers are (a). Yay!

1) Organic Valley Inc.:
(a) Organic Valley Inc.
(b) Kraft Foods
(c) an organic food cooperative
(d) Hain Celestial Group

2) Burt's Bees:
(a) Burt's Bees
(b) Clorox
(c) L'Oreal
(d) Colgate-Palmolive

3) Horizon Organic:
(a) Horizon Organic
(b) General Mills
(c) Proctor & Gamble
(d) Dean Foods

4) Silk Soymilk:
(a) Silk Soymilk
(b) Unilever
(c) Dean Foods
(d) Cargill

5) Seventh Generation:
(a) Seventh Generation
(b) Kimberley Clark
(c) Colgate-Palmolive
(d) Unilever


6) Kashi foods:
(a) Kashi Foods
(b) General Mills
(c) PepsiCo
(d) Kellogg

7) Vitasoy:
(a) Vitasoy
(b) Archer Daniel Midland
(c) Kowloon Soy Company
(d) Kraft Foods

8) 8th Continent Soymilk:
(a) 8th Continent
(b) General Mills
(c) DuPont
(d) Unilever

9) Amy's Kitchen:
(a) Amy's Kitchen
(b) Hain Celestial
(c) PepsiCo
(d) General Mills

10) Cascadian Farm:
(a) Cascadian Farm
(b) General Mills
(c) Dole
(d) Kraft

11) Muir Glen (tomato products):
(a) Muir Glen
(b) Campbell Foods
(c) General Mills
(d) Unilever

12) Nature Valley (granola):
(a) Nature Valley
(b) General Mills
(c) Hain Celestial
(d) Unilever

This Seems Awfully Political for Yogurt

I'm sitting at my desk enjoying my Stonyfield Farm O'Soy yogurt when I see this.























It reads: "In politics, the cream doesn't always rise to the top.

Some of America's most capable leaders can't get elected, [sic] because they aren't wealthy or don't have access to big money. Public funding of elections would change this. Learn how to help send our best leaders to Washington at Stonyfield.com"
And there's a logo for Americans For Campaign Reform at the bottom. I'm all for campaign finance reform but seriously are we merging politics and food now? Are my teddy grahams going to start preaching to me about the danger of activist judges?

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Introduction from Jen

Hello All! I am so happy to have been invited to contribute to this blog, I think it is an incredibly worthwhile and inspirational project!

A few words about me: while I am not officially signed on to buy nothing but necessities this year, my family's current philosophical and financial states have caused us to do some radical reevaluating of our priorities over the past year. We've found that yeah, we actually can do a lot with a little. Less may just be the new more. I am also keenly aware that what we in this culture may view as a fairly radical shift in our consumption is still over-the-top for many.

By trade, I am an attorney specializing in animal and environmental law. In practice, I am on a little kid sabbatical and currently my days are spent mainly with my young son (though I do some legal work from time to time). As Michelle kindly pointed out, I am also smack in the middle of a multi-year project wherein I cook/bake my way through and review a set of three vegan cookbooks. I also enjoy the usual retro-hipster stuff, sewing, knitting, keeping it real, etc. I enjoy living in large cities but our family has recently relocated to a small town in the Pacific Northwest, so I am also getting reaquainted with small town life. Additionally, we are also in the midst of a significant budgetary makeover and so frugal is my new middle name. So my posts will really run the gamut, but I hope you'll find them precious gems of delightful inspiration and insight.

Cheers!

Friday, January 4, 2008

How Green is Your Canditate?

Since the state caucuses have gotten into full swing, I decided to post the link to Grist.org on the right. Click on it to find out where the candidates stand on key environmental issues! Not...that...I'm...partial...to...any...candidate...

If you're too lazy to navigate through Grist's Election '08 coverage, here are the candidates' positions in a handy chart form.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

"Voluntourism"

I saw this article today on MSNBC on the concept of "voluntourism." Voluntourism.org describes it as "A seamlessly integrated combination of voluntary service to a destination and the best, traditional elements of travel—arts, culture, geography, and history—in that destination." And apparently there's quite a few companies that specialize in organizing these trips. Next time you're planning a vacation, take a look at their site!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

What's Sucking Up All My Electricity?

Here's the best energy calculator EVER, courtesy of Nova Scotia Power. They also have great tips on saving on your heating bill plus quick/easy/free tips on increasing your energy efficiency.

The energy calculator is a little exhausting (Power Saws has its own section- maybe it's a Canadian thing) but it gives you a great picture of how your bill is divided among your appliances and also is great for comparisons.

For instance you can see that an old cathode ray tube monitor uses 228% more energy than an LCD monitor, but an LCD TV uses about 133% more energy than a CRT TV. Plasma TVs are the worst- they use 221% more power than CRTs. So it's also a great way to make your future appliance/electronics purchasing decisions more environmentally conscious!

Mmmm... Polybutene

Molly forwarded me a newsletter from Teens for Safe Cosmetics last week and it made me take a look at the this super shiny Victoria's Secret lip gloss I've been using (I got it free with a purchase a while back). First ingredient? Polybutene. Normally I read the ingredients list of anything that lists them-- bodywash, shampoo, toothpaste, and of course, food. So I was a little surprised to find an ingredient I've never seen before. I did a little Googling and found this from Answers.com:

(organic chemistry) A polymer of isobutene, (CH3)2CCH2; made in varying chain lengths to give a wide range of properties from oily to solid; used as a lube-oil additive, in adhesives, and in rubber products.
...and apparently VS lip gloss. I'm not saying it's dangerous or poisonous in any way, and I'll probably keep using my lip gloss. As I understand it, polybutene refers to a large class of chemicals covering a wide range of uses (Google search indicates it is in adhesives and home plumbing also). But I did come across this page from the Pesticide Action Network's Pesticides Database listing one use of one type of polybutene as a rodenticide.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

T minus zero: THE AGREEMENT

This Agreement (“the Agreement”) sets forth the obligations of any party (“party” or “parties”) choosing to sign below.

WHEREAS parties desire to lessen their environmental footprints and live more sustainably,

WHEREAS parties recognize that current consumption patterns are not in the interest of sustainability and diminish the ability of the planet to provide for other people, other creatures, and future generations of both,

WHEREAS parties wish to conserve both financial and natural resources,

WHEREAS parties recognize that labor conditions and environmental standards in developing nations are not always respectful of human rights and human health,

Parties hereby agree to the following:

1. Material Goods:

(a) Parties agree to refrain from the purchase of material goods.
(b) Categorical exclusions:
i. business expenses, as defined in 26 U.S.C. 162(a).
ii. pet supplies, limited to pet food and cat litter, and UV bulbs for the turtle,
iii. goods purchased for safety reasons,
iv. gasoline and fuel,
v. gifts for people who are not a party to this agreement,
vi. goods related to alleviating a medical condition,
vii. toiletries related to hygiene(i.e. not cosmetic),
viii. items related to not increasing the population of our delicate planet,
ix. items purchased to sanitize and/or clean- detergents, sponges, brushes, etc.

2. Food and Entertainment:
(a) Michelle will limit her purchase of food prepared at a restaurant to one breakfast (starting before 11:00am) OR lunch (starting between 11:00am and 3:00pm), and one dinner (starting after 3:00pm) per week.
(b) Parties will not eat at any restaurant which has locations outside of the state in which they are physically located.
(c) Parties will refrain from seeing movies at a movie theater, but video rentals are allowed.
(d) Parties may participate in (b) or (c) above if invited by a non-party and changing non-party’s plans would inconvenience others.

3. Groceries:
(a) Parties are limited to 1 (one) grocery trip per week by fossil-fuel transportation. Grocery trips by foot or bike are not limited.
(b) Parties may only purchase items grown and made in the United States of America.
(c) Parties may only purchase items from a grocery list written down prior to the grocery trip.

4. Replacing broken/worn goods: Parties may only replace the following items:
(a) computers,
(b) hand blender,
(c) lighting fixtures,
(d) toaster oven,
(e) cell phones,
(f) watches,
(g) cars.

5. Transportation: Parties agree not to use a car for trips less than 2 miles (as determined by Google Maps), excluding:
(a) trips to transport cargo that cannot be carried by hand,
(b) trips during inclement weather ONLY when items are being transported and cannot get wet,
(c) medical emergencies,
(d) moving the car on street cleaning nights.

6. Travel/Vacations:
(a) Parties agree to take in consideration environmental impacts when making choices about travel.
(b) Parties agree to incorporate a public service aspect to all vacation travel (i.e. travel not for the purpose of seeing relatives or specific occasions like weddings).

7. Water and fuel usage: Parties will take steps to minimize water and fuel usage, including but not limited to:
(a) Parties will limit showers to 10 minutes.
(b) Parties will set the thermostat at a maximum of 58 during the winter. Parties agree not to get air conditioning as long as they are living in Maine.
(c) Parties will set the hot water heater at a maximum of 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Garbage and Waste: Parties agree to
(a) buy food and toiletries with minimal packaging,
(b) compost food waste,
(c) and recycle any items accepted by the city of Portland.

9. Force Majeure: If parties’ goods are destroyed by natural disaster, fire (not caused by a party committing arson), or any act from a third party, parties may replace destroyed items only. Parties will hopefully not destroy other party’s goods out of spite.

10. This Agreement may be amended by the consent of all parties only.

11. Term of Agreement: These terms are in effect January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008.


Signed,

Michelle T (electronically signed) 1/1/08
Elliott T (electronically signed) 1/1/08


Amendment 1 (1/1/08): Section 3(b) is amended to read: "(b) Parties may only purchase items grown and made in the United States of America, or failing that, Parties may only purchase items grown and made outside of the US if items are organically grown."