Green Goodness: a Grounded Look at Being Green

A press release today told me a giant shopping cart with a Chevy engine on it is back, racing around the Triangle this month.  It’s the “Got to Be NC Big Cart”, which I remember seeing at the 2007 N.C. State Fair.

This cart is showing off for the NC Dept of Ag “Got to Be NC” campaign, which is the first official marketing campaign of “Goodness Grows in North Carolina” (like the pretty sign at the Fairgrounds animates).

Apparently, this giant Chevy-powered cart is “an effort to support NC farmers and food producers by increasing consumer awareness about the availability and benefits of buying locally grown or produced foods”.

Is anyone else as confused by the sponsorship as I am?

What in the world does Chevy have to do with locally grown foods?  I mean, I know they have all their commercials about having the first hybrid SUV and longer running electric cars, but is this all about the money of sponsorship, or am I missing a link somewhere (which is possible)?

Just humored, and honestly, slightly annoyed.  But aren’t most of us “treehuggin’ liberals” considered cranky pants cynics anyhow? 

Well, in case you’re in need of seeing a gigundo shopping cart with a big honkin’ car engine, check it here and then.  If you want to question the sponsorship tie-in, email the NC Dept of Ag.

May 9 - Wal-Mart in Zebulon @ 11:00 am
May 12 - Durham Bulls @ 10:00 am
May 16 - Kroger in Apex @ 11:00 am
May 23 - Whole Foods in Raleigh @ 11:00 am
May 24 - Carolina Railhawks @ 4:00 pm
May 30 - Food Lion in Garner @ 11:00 am

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

I spent yesterday at Herbfest in Wake Forest before heading out to downtown Raleigh for the last half of their Earth Day celebrations. 

Let me just say, Herbfest ~ you are cool.  No wonder Sierra Club named Wake Forest one of America’s coolest cities!

Further, Raleigh, I got there at 530 for an event that was supposed to be jamming till 7 or after, and you were LAME!  Most the booths were already empty, the crowd was gone, my favorite band (The Rosebuds) had come and gone (and you never bothered to list the line up so fans like myself knew until we got there), and all that was left was a bluegrass band and children running around in garbage bags.  Bah! All I can say is I hope it was rocking the first hours (and it seemed mostly geared toward kids).

Regardless, here’s a bit from my Herbfest experience, and I hear next weekend (April 26th and 27th) is when it’s going to ROCK with Bull City Syndicate jamming the crowd! That will only add to the awesome herbs, plants, community, music, presentations, beekeepers and such that are already making Herbfest a LOT of fun ~ trust me!

Do you want to be a smidge greener ~ try being 100% vegetarian one day each week.  Easy enough, I promise.  Just don’t fall victim to relying on pastas and cheeses to survive on those days.  Lots of great and healthy and even super tasty foods will get you through that day, and major green points for you if you focus on locally grown foods (TONS are around here ~ like these butternut squash).  

What can Vegetarian Wednesday do for You?

It fights global warming.

You’ll get your daily vitamins at least one day a week.

It makes you look better.

It’ll make you feel better.

It reduces our reliance on foreign oil.

My friend over at Beloved Binge / Binge Cafe has great suggestions for tasty foods for your weekly adventure.

Sounds great and green(er) to me!  By changing your diet only one day a week, you can still make an impact, and still enjoy the foods you regularly love.  And who knows, you might be surprised by the yummy foods you stumble upon!

Paul Joseph Watson says that by not saving the bees more quickly, we are headed toward full blown Ecological Apocalypse.  In fact, Watson says humanity will perish much faster from the demise of the honeybee than from the much-hyped and documentarized man-made global warming.

Who am I to say he’s wrong?  With CCD claiming bees to the extent that it is, greenery may become a thing of the past within our lifetime… meaning the end of all life essentially.

But also, who’s to say this isn’t another distorted scenario?  I frankly don’t know, but I can say that most people I know are sick of reacting to fear-mongering in media.

Another argument I’m hearing: “organic bees” are the answer.  From what I gathered, “organic bees” means they themselves are not sprayed with pesticide (varroa mites), given antibiotics or fed synthetic sugars and pollens. 

Kudos to farmers relying on bees to do what they do best and how they do it best.  Just like factory farming, by pushing the limits of nature, we only destroy that nature in time ~ but they try anyhow because they seek that mythological money tree.

With this, though, I have a warning regarding economic adulteration.  Don’t fall for “organic honey”.  Honeybees travel for miles and miles in the course of a day, grabbing pollen and nectar to produce their honey and maintain their hive.  The odds of a farmer being able to guarantee and prove that those bees visited only organic plants… slim. 

Also beware of “natural” or “raw” honey.  I mean, if it cost the same as another local honey not using those words, whatever, but all honey is “natural” and most fall into the category of “raw”.  A number of groups use these hollow buzzwords, however, to jack the price up 50% or more.  I’ll get more into all of that later, so I digress.  Just don’t fall victim. 

Back to my point, we all seem to get too quickly hung on one aspect of a situation (one certain reason that in honesty is only a possibility, or the possible result to a possible extreme).  And usually, that situation is a very sticky complex situation… 

Overall I have to say, Watson is right.  CCD needs a solution, and in a hurry. 

Perhaps the only time we have, however, should be spent making changes to see if they work rather than continuing the parasite prevention, antibiotic drugging and corn syrup feeding for the bees.

Back to basics… that’s food for thought.

In case you hadn’t heard, honeybee colonies are dropping dead (or missing) because of some mysterious and international culprit. Rob Kanter from the Environmental Almanac explains…

…this past year has marked a dramatic turn for the worse. Beginning last winter, a phenomenon that came to be called “Colony Collapse Disorder,” or CCD, has led to steep losses of managed bees in more than 20 states…

which we can all agree is a huge problem.

Not a problem, you say? You don’t care? What?

Even if you are not a fan of honey itself, much less bees, let’s consider a few facts that may help you end your bee-based prejudices. I personally think you are mixing honeybees with wasps, who are very different creatures.

Our beloved honeybees are the lovely creatures with fuzzy, bubbly little bodies who pollinate flowers for our immaculately landscaped yards. They more importantly pollinate trees and vines for the very foods we love to eat (try eating strawberries, apples, squash, watermelons… or any other fruit or veggie without honey bee colonies!).

For the record, the wasp family (including hornets) are more sting-happy, with overly segmented bodies and an easily aggrevated personality. A hundred other differences exist, but you can study that on your own. Anyhow, I am not a fan of wasp relatives.

Honeybees, on the contrary, are truly only sting-happy when their territory (or life) is endangered. That bee that stung your foot in the 2nd Grade was only protecting himself! Sadly, sweet little honeybees are often victim themselves to the cruel antics of the wasp family. But that’s another story.

So why am I lecturing you briefly about honeybees on a “green” blog?

When something is going obviously wrong in our ecosystem, we must ask: why are the honeybees in such turmoil?

Are they plagued by a virus? Mites? Cellphones? Or is this further degradation of our environment and ecosystems due to pesticide use ~ aka “protecting” our crops from plant-eating insects by permeating our own fruits and vegetables with toxins that may pollute the bodies of innocent consumers (honeybees and perhaps even humans)?

The mysterious loss of these bees is major cause for alarm. As Michael Graham Richard explains,

We must reconsider our approach to agriculture fast before more irreparable damage is caused. Brute force doesn’t work for long; what farmers consider “pests” are killed along with nature’s most useful workers, but the poison doesn’t disappear after doing that, it stays in the food chain for a long time.

Alongside pesticide concerns, Gina Covina says in this post (along with discussing a variety of other honeybee enemies):

Everyone agrees the honeybee buzzed into the 21st century carrying a heavy load of stress. Colonies were weakened by mites, perhaps by chemicals used to kill the mites, and probably by at least some of the 25 different viruses carried by varroa mites. Add in a fungus, nosema, that’s tolerated by healthy bees but a problem for already weakened hives. Then there’s the stress of long-distance truck travel, longer distances for more bees every year…

Further, honey (a natural antibacterial and fat-free food) that is locally produced (as it should always be) will be in short supply, meaning an increase in imported honeys from South America or China. Imported honey equals an increase in burned non-renewable fuels, not to mention, more questions regarding what we are actually consuming.

Avoiding imported honey may also be a puzzle piece in solving the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) mystery. Commercial beekeepers increasingly move their bee colonies from state-to-state for large scale pollinations. This is known to stress the bees. Further, bees use their honey to feed themselves… but, in the name of commerce, many of the large-scale beekeepers are feeding their bees corn syrup instead.

Corn syrup? What? The exact ingredient we humans are told to avoid in order to stay healthy? I agree a Conspiracy Theory may play a deeper role here. Seriously, how does it make any sense to give stressed-out bee colonies processed sugars for their main nutrition? Then we have them pollinate genetically modified and pesticide-sprayed crops.

Yet we are baffled that something is tragically wrong in the honeybees’ world.

Regardless of how you feel, the flavor of local honey is always better. The cheap stuff you get in that bear-shaped plastic bottle at your chain-grocer is like substituting instant coffee for your morning joe (no offense if you drink instant). North Carolina-produced honeys are abundant if you pay attention (aka read labels), and they taste great.

I like Orange Blossom honey or Water Tupelo honey~ yum. Marc likes Sourwood honey (not sour at all). Get these at your local farmers market or Whole Foods, or at Harmony Farms if you live in Raleigh.

And in the process, you may be taking a step toward saving the bees (as well as all the crops you enjoy).