Good being green

From my inbox (thanks to WakeUp Wake County) to you, a recap on last week’s Triangle Transit forum:

TRANSIT FORUM HUGE SUCCESS!

The June 26 forum Transit: Is Wake County Ready for it? attracted almost 300 attendees, and the enthusiasm in the room was palpable!   Transit is an issue clearly gaining public support, and this event hopefully ignited the spark needed to bring a bold transit plan to our county and region.

Keynote speaker Carol Coletta CEOs for Cities, commented that our region has many assets that make a great city, minus one important component - transit. We risk losing what is great about our home if we fail to plan for future growth.  Transit and coordinated land use planning must be a priority for our community.

Other speakers talked about Charlotte’s success story, and the new proposal for regional transit recommended by the Special Transit Advisory Commission. Elected officials from across Wake County attended the event, as did representatives of community organizations, business leaders and local government staff. Forum panelists were engaging and explained what opportunities transit can provide for economic development and a better quality of life. To view tv press coverage, go to www.wakeupwakecounty.com.  WakeUP plans to work with community leaders and organizations to build public education and support for transit in Wake County and the Triangle.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS of the Forum:
Capital Group Sierra Club, Raleigh Wake Citizens Assoc., NC Conservation Network, Downtown Housing Improvement Inc, Society of Women Environmental Professionals, WTS-NC Triangle Chapter. 

I wish I had been there to round out that 300…

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

A colleague of mine recently had me meet Pete Pagano of Green Planet Catering here in Raleigh, NC.

NBC 17 covered the company recently.  The catering company has only been catering for about half a year, but the concept has been growing much much longer.

I have to admit, the “greenie” in me is deeply suspicious anytime someone mentions to me a business claiming their “greenness”. I agreed to meet and told myself I would keep an open mind, but truthfully, I expected very little as we met at Tir Na Nog’s “The Cottage” room.

Pete quickly wowed us, however, with sharing that Green Planet Catering uses as much local and/or organic produce as possible. They use spudware and compostable materials. They create their own bio-diesel and work with a farm, headed by Ben and Charles Keefer here in Raleigh. “We work to be as sustainable as possible,” Pete says.

Green Planet Catering, a team comprised of six members with over a 100 cumulative years of restaurant experience (at least a decade under each of their belt’s), also collaborates with other area partners for composting events. Partnerships for composting and events they’ve covered include Burt’s Bees (headquartered in Durham), NCSU, UNC, Matchbox 20, the Cary Wine Experience, Southern Energy, weddings and private parties.

While the company is already taking impressive strides to show their dedication to a healthy environmental philosophy, Pete’s own education and passion is what sold me.

Referencing Native American philosophy, the Weston A. Price Foundation and movement toward traditional food and knowledge of pesticide and chemical use in mainstream American food industries, I found myself enthralled with Pete’s passion and mission. And I liked that he was not one to put down other companies and their efforts, or arrogantly praise all of their own implemented environmentalism. He is about encouraging the movement by spotlighting positive steps of each company.

Pete explained the importance of educating yourself and making your own decisions for your health and beliefs, saying that eating better and taking care of the environment can go together beautifully. “You’re not twisting your arm. It’s not a New Year Resolution. It’s a way of life.”

“Some people say ‘green’ is a fad. It’s not a fad. It’s a necessity,” Pete says. “We have to do something. We have X amount of resources, and we have a growing population.”

Pete furthers his point, explaining “Seventy-thousand new chemicals have been added to our daily lives in the last 50 years.” Put that together with dramatic increases in unexplained diseases such as autism, ADD and Alzheimer’s, and I myself am asking Read the rest of this entry »

Want to win a $10,000 US Savings Bond (I wouldn’t mind it myself)?  Three Durham students of the NC School of Science and Math each received a $10,000 bond (as well as the pleasure of meeting with Bill Nye the Science Guy) for their project-winning proposal for CHIRP, a new renewable and biodegradable alternative to petroleum-based plastics that would help usher in a new era of environmentally friendly bioplastic materials.

The students see practical applications from consumer goods to medical practice, including life-saving devices.

Check out the full story on MyNC.com to watch the video where they and Bill Nye explain the competition and how they won out of 4,500 project submissions!

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

I figure my money talks, so when I had to have a recent meeting at Starbucks, I chose to let them know I will only use my money for their fair trade and organic coffees. 

I walked up to the counter where two pleasant young women greet me and ask what I would like.

“A regular coffee please, but make it your fair trade or organic option,” I say.

One looks a little stumped and says, “We have so-and-so medium roast, so-and-so french roast and so-and-so decaf brewed today.”

I repeat, “Are any of your coffees today fair trade or organic, please?”

They both look a smidge stumped before one speaks up.  “No, the coffees we brewed today are not, but we can make you a french press of one.  Here are your options…” she rambles off.  I choose the one of the three fair trade, organic options that she says is her favorite.

I do apologize to them for seeming complicated and explain that my money needs to go to coffee I can feel good about since Starbucks carries so few.

The two ladies are very nice and gracious, agreeing that when you pay money, you should get what you want.

My $3.40 got me a carafe of two large cups of somethinanother tasty brew that I can feel OK about.  Not great.  I was still at Starbucks afterall. 

But I can feel at least OK because I voiced where my money would go.  And my money will go to appropriately paying farmers for the work they do… to making sure coffee farmers and families are not living in pesticide-laden lands… to making sure I help someone else live in a humane way.  At least, that is where I try to put my money.

Despite playing somre really great tunes while I was there, I will not go to Starbucks (I call them Starcruds) by choice.  And the fact that I had to make them brew a special pot for me is exactly why. 

Starbucks… you change your policies, and I’ll change mine.  And you’ll make even more money.

I visited Twig this week, a unique store here in the Triangle (Chapel Hill) that sells sustainability, community and eco-awareness at sustainable prices, and this weekend (May 17) they are partnering with local non-profits, but more on that later.

I loved talking with the staff. The owner shared that everything in the store has a story, and the staff will enthusiastically share the stories with you.

Some items are practical, like the smart strips that reduce phantom power usage in your home, the LED lightbulbs that will one day replace CFLs, the Envirosax for fun and stylish shopping, stainless steel water bottles and Dynamo rechargeable radio and flashlights.

Some items are beautiful, such as the garden tools, the Bambu kitchenware, the Reinbarnation pieces by Roger Dinger, a Chatham County Artist, and the salt rock lamps from the Himalayans that help reduce allergies.

Some items are child friendly, like the cooperative games (lets play together, not against each other), organic and locally-made baby clothing and USA-made wooden toys.

Some of the toys (like the cars in the slideshow below) are for the kid in ALL of us… or the jewelry, which is fun, sustainably made and sophisticated.

Mainly, I walked away KNOWING that Shawn Slome (the owner) and his staff know that sustainability is not a catch phrase du jour. It isn’t about carrying all “organic”, or all “local” goods. It isn’t about novelty. And it certainly isn’t about being a crunchy granola or extravagantly priced. Sustainability is about supporting your local community through a harmony of ideals. That’s pretty amazing.

Check out the invitation to you all from the owner:

Dear Friends and Associates:

I would like to invite you to a Fundraising Festival “Twig” is launching on Saturday, May 17 to benefit local non-profits. For those of you who don’t already know, Twig is the Triangle’s new eco-friendly shop focusing entirely on sustainable, organic and fair trade products.

The Festival is a celebration of our community and particularly of the many organizations that work to protect our environment, nurture our children and make our community a safe place for everyone to thrive.

The event will take place at Twig from 8am to 8pm:
Village Plaza (next to Whole Foods)
99 S. Elliott Rd. • Chapel Hill 27514
(919) 929-8944

Most of our non-profits will be on hand with information tables so you can stop by and say howdy. Twig will donate to our partners 20% of the revenue generated from the event.

We will have live music for most of the day, several door prizes and some tasty snacks provided by Whole Foods.The list of participating non–profits:

Eno River Association NC
Museum of Life and Science
Haw River Assembly
NC Audubon Society
Piedmont Wildlife Center
Triangle Land Conservancy
Toxic Free NC
NC Community Shares
Rainbow Soccer
Bonjour Africa
The Abundance Foundation
American Civil Liberties Union
Orange County Rape Crisis Center
PTA of Chapel Hill
Emerson Waldorf School

I hope you can join us in the fun and make some connections with those that contribute so much to our quality of lives. I would appreciate it if you can help spread the word about this special day.

My advice… check out Twig this weekend. You will LOVE it. Trust me.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

Get biking!! Especially Wednesday and Friday of this week!!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue!

A couple listservs and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) of Durham are publicizing this coming week is National Bike to Work Week. 

Monday, 12 May through Friday, 16 May, get your fanny on a bike to get where you have to go.  More info is at www.bikewalkdurham.org.  Also know that you can stop at Mad Hatter’s on Friday the 16th from 7 am - 9 am and get free food, coffee and prizes for cyclists!  REI will be there too handing out water bottles and 15% off coupons as well as giving free bike inspections! 

Do any of you bike to work?  My Grandma just brought me my AutoBike last week (I have a chronic phobia of changing gears), which I have never ridden despite having it for nine years.  I guess Marc and I will put some brakes and new tires on it and see how that goes.  But I will not be biking from Raleigh to Durham, I can say that now.

If only I had the ability to bike to work!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

I just wanted to drop off some AWESOME Saturday greenery for those of you in Hillsborough, Durham (Parkwood) or Orange County at all!

NEW Farmers Market Openings, Flea Market Awesomeness and a Rockstar Green Tour ~ oh my!

Hence, you better hit up Orange and Durham Counties this Saturday!

**********

NEW SOUTH ESTES FARMERS MARKET GRAND OPENING MAY 3

Chapel Hill/Hillsborough, NC - The Grand Opening of the new South Estes Farmers Market located at University Mall will take place Saturday, May 3, 2008 from 8am-12pm. The new market is presented by The Farmers of Orange and is sponsored by A Southern Season. 

The Market, which has enjoyed steady traffic since its soft opening on April 3, is located Read the rest of this entry »

My friends Jake and Anna have done an AMAZING job looking through NC Assembly laws, on the books or in the works, and highlighted the top 20 on greening our state responsibly.

Check out their finds across four separate posts: NC Assembly Part 1, NC Assembly Part 2, NC Assembly Part 3 and NC Assembly Part 4

My favorites from the posts are:
 

18. Senate Bill 948 - Small Dairy Sustainability
This bill would allow for consumers to contract with local farmers to become partial or complete owners of dairy animals. The original edition of this one was just to allow for people to contract with local farmers to buy fresh milk, but it turned into the current bill that would allow consumers to buy into a local farm to get fresh milk, it now would also require a health warning of the dangers of raw milk, but the nature remains the same. It would allow for small dairy farmers to stay afloat, and for people to support and take part in local agriculture and give themselves a local food source.

17. House Bill 618/Senate Bill 671 - Eat Smart…Move More Initiative
This would provide a budget of $3,000,000 for the next two years for to promote community environments that would support physical activity, healthy lifestyles and personal well-being.

3. Senate Bill 927/House Bill 1073 - Green School Construction Loan Fund/Program
This basically allows for schools to get no interest loans for the purpose of green constructions or renovations. With the number of schools going up in the state every year (especially Wake County) there is no reason why they shouldn’t be building as green as they can, and this would help them cover a lot of those costs.

10. Senate Bill 1149 - Use of Biodiesel on School Buses
This bill would allow $5,000,000 for grants to NC public schools for production of biofuels to be used to run school buses.

11. Senate Bill 141/House Bill 1117 - Topsail Beach/Beach Renourishment funds
This would provide $2,000,000 to the town of Topsail Beach for use in beach renourishment.

All in all, it’s really interesting to see what our state is working on, and for the full 20 that the Green Home HQ picked out, check out the posts!

This video totally has your answer for why you should love CFL bulbs.  Three minutes of “CFLs in Plain English”.  All lessons should be this cool.

Note, not all CFLs are created equal.  It pays to buy a $4 name-brand bulb instead of a cheapy version which will turn yellow-colored ~ In fact, Lighter Footstep explains it best. 

You get what you pay for. CFLs are not all created equal, and the no-name bargain units are cheap for a reason. The difference is usually in the quality of the ballast — the bulky part between the CFL’s light tube and the screw base. Junky ballasts can mean flicker, buzz, and a short service life.

Choose a quality brand: Sylvania, Phillips, and GE are among the most widely available.

That clippet is from the post, but check out the full article anyhow:  “How to Live With CFLs”.  If you don’t listen to Lighter Footstep, trust me, you’ll buy cheap bulbs and be unhappy with the result, and in an age where more countries are BANNING incandescents for CFLs and LEDs, you can jump in now to be ready then!

And if $4 seems like too much for one bulb, you obviously haven’t watched the above video yet.