Good being green

Have you made your grocery list for your Super Bowl party (or Anti-Super Bowl party, as it may be) yet?  Here’s an idea if you want to be greener:  buy in bulk.

That’s right, folks.  I’m advocating Costco (or BJ’s if you prefer) as a source to keep the Earth more green and to keep more green in your wallet. 

Buying in bulk is a super easy way to keep the packaging down.  Entertaining a hungry crowd can mean bulk trash, but if you buy bulk, you can greatly reduce your outtake.

Go get a five-pack of avocados to make your guac (yum!), or for that matter, just buy their big tub of premade guac (the tubs at Costco are actually fantastic and affordable!).  Buy one giant box of your jalapeno poppers, your taquitos, your spanikopita.  One giant box is better than buying eight boxes (stuffed with plastic wrapping) that only have a handful of your favorite treats.

Instead of buying six bags of shredded cheese, get one three pound block of your favorite cheese and shred it yourself, or buy one of their jumbo bags of shredded cheese.  Trust me, these bulk retailers carry a massive variety of cheeses ~ you’re guaranteed to be happy.

Buy two giant 60 oz. cans of baked beans to heat up instead of tons of cans from your nearby grocery chain.  It’ll be cheaper and be one can to recycle instead of a bunch.

Get one gigundo container of cashews or mixed nuts instead of the nine jars you planned on.

Check out the fantabulously large bags of chips ~ tortilla, vegetable chips, cheesey poofs, kettle cooked, taro chips… whatever your heart desires, they’ve got a bunch o’ brands and flavors in ginormous sizes.

Barbequing?  Grab a 6.5 lb bag of hormone-free antibiotic-free boneless skinless chicken from the frozen section.  It’s less than $12.

You get my point, and even if you’re having a swankier fiesta for the game, I promise they’ll have cheese and vegetables and such that you can cube up and make uberbeautiful.

If buying in bulk for your Super Bowl throwdown isn’t one easy way to make somewhat of a difference for Mama Earth, I don’t know what is.

Plus, I promise, your wallet will approve too. 

~Sustainably yours, A*Sue

In prepping for your Super Bowl XLII shenanigans, I know you want to know how to “green” up all the partying that is classic synonymous with cheap beer, cheap chicken wings, genetically-modified corn chips, cheap melted cheese (cheese stuff, in some cases), and chili (pumped full of beef from cows in South America). 

Today’s tip is to greenify your Read the rest of this entry »

Pulling out the seven-layer dip recipe and deciding what chomps to make, I’m happy to share that the NFL is taking consistent steps toward a greener, more sustainable future.  Yep.  That’s the side of the game you aren’t going to hear much about this week.

While you cheer for the underdogs or cheer for breaking history, my friends at the Greenwash Brigade shared some *super* cool info for me, an NFL fan getting ready for Super Sunday (who needs Super Tuesday, right?).

Under the leadership of Jack Groh, the NFL Environmental Program is, for the third straight year, reducing the carbon footprint of the big game. While federal policymakers drag their feet, the NFL is fighting climate change next Sunday by offsetting 500 tons of greenhouse gas emissions through support of wind, solar, geothermal and landfill power as well as planting dozens of acres of trees in the host state of Arizona.

Further, they’ve got the arena ready for recycling and using a number of locally-sourced goods. 

Yes, I’m not stupid ~ I know that the cheap beer, the brats, the excess amounts of cheap, Chinese-produced beads and souvenirs are far from the “green” we dream for.  But it’s another step, and that’s all I can push.

As Dennis over at Green Brigade says:

The more we can make all big events climate responsible, the more we can grow a culture that transforms our country.

Sounds about right to me.

And Jeffrey over at Fun Times points out

This year is actually the 2nd year in a row that the SuperBowl will run on 100% renewable energy. Wow, chock that up to yet another fact I didn’t know.

In fact, Jeffrey explains how the NFL’s going green better than I can, so check that out.

Until then, I’m going to reminisce over Super Bowls past…

…and dream of the sustainability of Super Bowls to come.

Yum yum, eat ‘em up ~ I love cheese. 

Gouda.  Colby.  Monterey Jack.  Pepper Jack.  Jarlsberg.  Muenster.  Traditional Irish.  Extra Sharp NY Cheddar.  Amesterdam Reserve Goat Cheese.  Brie.  Havarti. 

You get the message.

Needless to say, being a vegan makes my cheese fixation Read the rest of this entry »

In case you’ve been hiding from media for the last few days (thanks to Toastie, then Johann and then Doug, all of whom keep me in the loop), Wholefoods has announced that by this April’s Earth Day, the grocery chain will no longer offer plastic bags for toting your goods.

What?!  But I want my plastic!  Paper emits so much more pollution into the atmosphere!  And I can reuse the plastic bags for doggydoo and my bathroom q-tips and trash!  Those PR-hungry jerks!

OK, so that’s not my stance, but that’s part of the conversation going on over at my buddy Doug’s blog.  In fact, one commenter states:

I doubt this is done purely out of the goodness of the Whole Foods heart — it’s just marketing in tune to helping folks thing they’re doing something good for the world. And of course, expect any increased cost of those 100% recycled paper bags to be reflected somewhere on grocery receipts.

OK, so this commenter (Lee) has some points on the pollutions emitted from recycled paper bags.  And I sincerely give Lee props for finding ways to give his plastic grocery bags another go.

My issues with the plastic, however, reach deep into the petroleum used in creating them.  Nonrenewable, environmentally polluting (via drilling and export), nonbiodegradeable petroleum…

…Petroleum-based plastics, made with toxic chemicals that slowly leach into our ground… 

…Plastic bags that end up all over, and I do mean all over… in parking lots, streams, Lake Jordan (and every other lake), roadsides and even up in trees.  I see it ALL THE TIME.

For God’s sake, academy award winning American Beauty devotes a whole poetic scene to that glorious piece of litter ~ a plastic bag dancing in the wind.  Here’s a great recap by Meanie Greenie:

If you really want to get in on pedestal-standing soapbox-ranting, get a canvas totebag(s) like Babyrific to lug your groceries home. She says:

My immediate reaction was frustration for having to buy a resuable bag to lug our picture frames and shelves to the car. But now, I love my very handy bright blue reusable IKEA tote for carrying detergent to the laundromat and groceries up and down the stairs. It definitely beats having to use those annoying plastic bags that create more harm than convenience… So, the next time you hear paper or plastic, the greenest answer would be neither. Reuse, reuse, reuse.

According to the Wholefoods website, reusing your own bags is their ultimate goal anyhow:

When you come to shop, bring any bags you have on hand. Really, any bag will do – old, new, paper, plastic, fabric, even backpacks or woven baskets!

And, let’s not forget that Wholefoods has a long-standing policy of discounting your total grocery bill for supplying your own bags instead of using theirs… and their reimbursement price just went up!  They reward you for the ultimate in reusing! 

So.  If you want to use plastic… feel good about not emitting the air pollution associated with paper bags while you can.  Your time will soon be up, as all retailers will stop having them (tick tick matter of time), no matter how solid your argument for choosing plastic.

If you use paper, feel good about the lack of chemicals and petroleum used in your bag.  Just remember that that bag likely won’t biodegrade (you’ll need to recycle it too essentially).

If you spend the $10 and invest in great reusable canvas bags (that you won’t have to reinvest in for years (if not decades)), cheers to you. Double kudos if it’s organic material.

And use some corn-starch plastic if you must have wastebasket liners and poobags.

In case you missed this past Sunday’s CBS 60 Minutes, “The Age of Warming” (and here), a number of environmental bloggers, experts and watchdogs have shared a plethora of feelings about the presentation.  Most of them say CBS presented it as hysteria and one-sided… or worse.

I have to say, however, I didn’t feel that way. 

For the record, I’m not someone who you’re going to hear spouting about global warming and Al Gore and whatever other foreseeable rhetoric these rants tend to have.  And there’ll be no insane ranting like the antics of… nevermind, I don’t even want to give him yet another media mention, as the chap that I was about to refer to as a bit polarist and extreme in his information-sharing ideologies should have never become as famous and revered as he has managed to become… I digress.

Anyhow, yes, CBS talked to scientists and experts that conclude and show that the government changed papers that document the increase of global warming… perhaps that was the big hype and “hysteria” perceived by critics.

I watched however, and thought, “hmm… the government may be tampering with evidence of some sort to either help or damage an argument…”  I wasn’t shocked (maybe I should be) and I wasn’t incredibly perplexed.  I guess I just see those tactics as standard in many big business/government practices (note: I said standard, not ethical). 

I saw amazing video as they stood on the glacier of Greenland and watched the ice deteriorate before their eyes (new resolution: go to Greenland asap… and btw, how green is it for these chaps to take private helicopters onto the glaciers ~ fuel consumption and all… just wondering…).

 (Photo from UK Greenpeace)

I saw video documenting the Polar Bears’ demise, obvious already from watching the amazing BBC’s Planet Earth.

Instead of anger and incredulousness, I thought “wow… it’s indisputable through science that glaciers are moving and the ice caps are melting, some of which is Earth’s natural cycle and some of which man has progressed… but many of us (as a human force and as individuals) are working to slow down the damage we did while we didn’t know our actions could be so damaging.”

Why are everyone’s undies so jammed in uncomfortable places, and all over what could have (and I think intended to be) yet another educated perspective (despite perhaps one-sidedness) to use as a personal and business guide?

Brought to you via Terry at Irregardless Cafe, I turned here to find out about tonight’s Science Cafe presentation on the drought… 

Drought in NC — Outlook for 2008 and Beyond

Tuesday, January 15, 2008
6:30–8:30 p.m. with discussion beginning at 7 p.m. followed by Q&A
Location: The Irregardless CafÉ, 901 W. Morgan Street, Raleigh, 833-8898, www.irregardlesscafe.com
Speaker: Dr. Ryan Boyles, State Climatologist and Director of the State Climate Office at NC State University
A record-breaking drought has gripped much of North Carolina since early in 2007. The lack of rain has forced local communities into adopting increasingly stiffer water consumption restrictions. Join us for a discussion about the drought situation and what we can do as a community to conserve our water resources.

Dr. Ryan Boyles is the State Climatologist and Director of the State Climate Office at NC State University. The State Climate Office is a public service center with a mission to provide weather and climate research, extension and education services for North Carolina. Ryan is a native of Durham, NC with undergraduate and graduate degrees from NC State University.

RSVP to katey.ahmann@ncmail.net. For more information, contact Katey Ahmann at 919.733.7450, ext. 531.

Whilst surfing the eco-blogs that make me happy, I realized that Starre is right and that Beards are the New Hotness.

Yeah yeah, yadda yadda yadda… I hear all this and that about how “facial hairs tells people you have something to hide and to be wary of you”, but hey, remember how clean cut Jeffrey Dahmer was?  And Ted Bundy? 

Younger-middle-aged, clean-cut, white-collar men make up the majority of serial killers… How’s that for having something to hide.

And look at John Lennon… Paul McCartney… and George Harrison… and even Ringo. 

The Beatles were hairy-faced men with a story of compassion and humanity. 

Perhaps they were even ahead of the trendy “green” and “eco-friendly” movement that now benefits from you men sporting your facial scruff!  Yep ~ you can save yourselves 10-20 minutes a day AND do your part to save the world!  Ha!

So rock on with your bad beard!  Our own NBC 17’s Chris Cowperthwaite is a bearded Rockstar ~ as was my (once) yeddi-looking beau.  And as weird and old-man as I thought it would look…

It worked.

Beards ARE the new hotness, I guess.

Durham’s drought is out of control, but so is the rest of the state’s… let’s learn from the Bay Area (yep, from those crazy Californians) and be a Water Saving Hero!

Thanks for the great post, Alex.

Straight from my inbox (thank you Advance Energy!) to you:

The 2008 NC Sustainable Building Design Competition has been launched! Student teams from universities and community colleges across the state will be designing a green duplex to be built by Carolina Meadows, a Chapel Hill, NC-based continuing care retirement facility. The design will include sustainable approaches such as energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy, building science, indoor environmental quality, material selection, universal design, community preservation, hazard mitigation and affordability. This competition is being held in conjunction with the Emerging Green Builder Natural Talent Design Competition.The statewide competition will take place Saturday, April 19 at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences as part of a larger downtown Raleigh Earth Day event. For more information please visit our web site at, www.sustainabledesigncompetition.org. CHAMPION SPONSORS Advanced Energy Architectural Energy Corporation BuildingGreen Calloway, Johnson, Moore & West Carolina Meadows Duke Energy Emerging Green Builders N.C. Electric Membership Cooperatives N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences     Progress Energy
designcompetition@advancedenergy.org     919 857-9000 [phone]  |  919 832-2696 [fax]  |  909 Capability Dr., Ste. 2100 Raleigh, NC 27606