Green Goodness: a Grounded Look at Being Green

Here in the Triangle, the housing market isn’t our biggest financial woe.  Energy costs is.

As the price of energy goes up incrementally every day, we are less concerned with foreclosures (though some do face this nightmare, we are significantly lower in foreclosures than the national average) and far more concerned with the cost of going to work.

My own commute, as hypocritical as it may seem, is often over 60 miles a day. Nope, I’m not willing to bike that. That’s a price I pay to live where is convenient to Marc’s work (Raleigh) and me work in the city that I love and dream of (Durham). The extra kicker is that Marc drives for a living sometimes (UPS).

My sister and I were on the phone last week and joked how we’re tag-teaming to kick the Ozone’s butt, letting it know we will all do our part to destroy it a quickly as possible. Joking is all we can do to rid ourselves of some of our guilt in an action so contrary to the lives we *want* to lead and the values our hearts carry.

Then we lightened up and agreed we do our part in other areas. We try to shop and eat responsibly. We try to keep the lights off, and to use CFL or LED lights where they make sense (don’t use them in closets… that doesn’t make sense). We wash dishes only in a full dishwasher and laundry in cold water most of the time.

We are big proponents of alternative energy ~ smart research and application of alternative energies ~ here at Green Grounded. Wind is one of our faves, so far, along with solar, and even switchgrass. And there are no definitive answers right now, but by God, the current situation is bleak and getting bleaker. At the current rate, some Triangle residents will have to choose between gas to get to work and healthy food for their families, or their rent, or Read the rest of this entry »

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

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.

After having quite a debate in a recent post (see comments) about the importance of third-party testing of products, we can all conclude that companies must be accountable for their products and actions. 

Green Daily (a while back) shared The Six Sins of Greenwashing… and in my opinion, it works two ways.  The comments section is pretty alive with one poster on a more than self-righteous ground, feeling that if you don’t move into use only a bus, stop buying anything at all and make your own food, cleaner and clothing, then you can’t make a difference.  She says some relevant stuff but then follows it by saying that only a select few actually care about the environment. 

That, to me, is greenwashing ~ the type that SCARES off people from making any difference in altering things along the way in their everyday lives; the type that teaches people that no matter what they do, they are irrelevant in the big picture ~ unless they foresake everything they know, as they have known it. 

I, inspired by those that lead in this movement of social and environmental responsibility, believe that positive encouragement leads to great change.  On the flip, gloom and doom motivates very few.

Mark Twain said (and I’m not the only one who LOVES this quote): 

Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.

The sin she (the aforementioned commenter) commits is as bad as driving a 1985 Suburban and throwing your cigarette butts and Mickey D wrappers out of your window ~ she implies ‘You are not good enough and your difference Read the rest of this entry »

GOV. EASLEY ANNOUNCES GREEN BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

$1 Million Fund Will Help Companies Develop Cutting-Edge Green Technologies

Gov. Mike Easley announced that small business owners and entrepreneurs can apply today for the new North Carolina Green Business Fund grants. These competitive grants will help small businesses develop promising green and alternative energy technologies to bring cutting-edge, environmentally-friendly products and services to the marketplace.

“The Green Business Fund helps encourage the growth of North Carolina’s clean energy economy,” Easley said. “These grants will tap our state’s entrepreneurial talent and help North Carolina’s small businesses develop innovative technologies that are critical to our future growth.”

The General Assembly approved creation of the Green Business Fund last year and directed $1 million for the first round of grants. North Carolina-based small businesses with 100 or fewer employees can apply for grants to pursue original, pioneering ideas that are both good for the environment and good for the economy. A company can receive a maximum of $100,000 per grant. Deadline for grant applications is April 30, 2008.

The N.C. Board of Science and Technology, a division of the state Department of Commerce, administers the Green Business Fund. Detailed information on applying for grants, requests for grant proposals, eligibility criteria and other guidelines are available at the Board of Science and Technology’s website: www.ncscienceandtechnology.com.

Trying to get your last minute holiday-groove on?  NBC 17’s own Page Crawford talked to Danny Seo about truly fresh ideas on last minute gifts, gifting and decorating in an eco-cool style.  Nothing blah blah bland about these nifty-neat ideas that fit into ALL lifestyles and ALL budgets!

And don’t forget you can still find AMAZING gifts that are fairtrade and unique and beautiful at places like Ten Thousand Villages in Cameron Village or gifts that are locally-made and one-of-a-kind beautiful from a plethora of local artists!