Forty-Five Weeks!

We are at forty-five weeks with the one car household, and we are going strong.  We are now trying to decide how to celebrate the upcoming one year anniversary, and this week’s Change the World Wednesday Challenge from Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints is to park the car for twenty-four hours.  With our household, the car normally doesn’t get parked that long unless we are out of town.  My hope is that we can both use alternate means of transportation at least three times in the upcoming calendar week.  The humidity and no showers at work make this difficult, but if we ever hope to have a better public transportation system we have to use what we have and demand better.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

The current (almost over) Change the World Wednesday challenge is to replace at least one incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb.  I can pat myself on the back with this one as when we rented we changed the bulbs, and in our second place we actually left them for the next tenants.  Last year or so we reduced most of our fixtures down to one bulb (e.g., the bathroom vanity lights and the ceiling fans) as we really didn’t need all the excess light.  Over the several years we’ve been using them we have replaced (due to burning out) less than five; I do have a complaint: in the winter our outdoor lights take several minutes to warm up to full luminescence.  However, their operating cost and environmental benefits well out weigh this complaint.  Just a note that all fluorescent bulbs contain mercury so take care when disposing.  In our area, the local fire departments will accept fluorescent bulbs, and I believe Home Depot will do the same nationwide.

Local Food Failure

I thought the local food challenge was going to be easier, but alas I was not able to concoct a meal that was completely local without changing my shopping habits more than I was ready to.  I love Hickory Nut Gap Farm eggs, but I wanted to avoid animal protein for both its ecological repercussions and my changing diet.  I found locally fermented tempeh and locally milled flour, but they both cost more than three times their non local options.  The French Broad Food Coop did have some fava beans from either Jake’s Farm in Candler or Gladheart Farms in Asheville, along with local shiitakes from the Mushroom Co-op, Jake’s Farm’s romaine heads, and Gladheart’s local broccoli crowns.

Although I did not complete the challenge as I wanted to, I did try fava beans for the first time.  I love them (even if you have to twice shuck them), and I devoured my fava shiitake dish (garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil being the non local interlopers).  The next step is to either commit to a CSA share, more homegrown food, or to tailgate market shopping.  Last year we did so well with all our victory garden herbs, arugula, kale, and tomatoes, but we completely dropped the ball for this year.

Congratulations to Small Footprints at Reduce Footprints for once again challenging me to see past my own greenwashing.

Lost Infrastructure

lost sidewalk

Originally uploaded by eemilla

This is the end of the first portion of the lost sidewalk, and it two blocks down only to disappear at the next block. The lost sidewalk from Blake has been restored, but the streetlights are still out of commission.

Happy Fourth!

Please take the time (or some extra time) this week to contact your elected representatives about an issue you care about or to thank them for a vote well done.  I’ve called Senator Kay Hagan, Senator Richard Burr, and Representative Shuler to voice my support for a public healthcare option.  Governor Purdue, Senator Nesbitt, Representative Whilden, Representative Fisher, and Representative Goforth all received thanks for their support of the Healthy Youth Act.  Next week I guess I’ll bug someone about more sidewalks and bus service.

Summertime equals Ice Cream

Actually I don’t care what time of the year it is, I always love ice cream, but summertime means that Two Spoons is open later so it’s easier for me to get there.  Our first encounter when they opened last year made me a fan upon my entrance.  The smell of waffle cones greeted me, and my mouth started watering.  I don’t remember what I ordered on the first visit, but on a recent visit I did Cup of Joe and a chocolate flavor (I believe the KMA).  My husband ordered Strawberry and Ginger; my next visit I’m going to deviate from my normal chocolate requisite and order Chai and Ginger.  Two Spoons uses Ultimate Ice Cream, and the flavors are so spot on.  The Ginger was so fresh and clean without being too sweet or spicy, and my Cup of Joe hit my coffee craving right on the head.  As stated previously though, the killer is the homemade waffle cone; I haven’t ever enjoyed waffle cones before so I don’t have a peer to compare Two Spoon’s version but just a whiff will be all the persuasion you should need.  At this time, I haven’t tried any other than scoops and cones, but they also have sundaes and several toppings for build your own gluttony.  Before you smother the ice cream try it plain; ultimate is an appropriate title.  In fact, I’m so spoiled with Ultimate Ice Cream that I don’t even like Breyer’s anymore.

There is a little atrium out back, and the interior has plenty of kid friendly chalkboard painted walls.  Parking is on the street, but the neighbors aren’t that busy so it isn’t a problem.  The hours run from 1 to 9, I think for summertime, but a call might be the best bet.

Change the World Wednesday Challenge from ReduceFootprints

This week the challenge is to be a locavore for at least three (or one full day if you eat min meals) of the twenty plus meals that make up your dining week.  In this town many a restaurant makes it easy; Laughing Seed Cafe has a farm that they source many things from, and many other restaurants either do the same or use local farmers.  Even though my fair city makes it much easier than other places, it is summer, and I love mangoes, which don’t grow in zone 7.  I am embarrassed to say that I don’t know exactly what is in season throughout the year, but thankfully, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project has a friendly chart for the area.

Many a critic of eating local will argue that it is too expensive, and I agree that it can be pricey; however, the trick is to grow it yourself or make friends with someone who does.  My co-worker rents, and she still grows zucchini, red peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, basil, parsley all in containers.  Although this year some unexpected family emergencies gave us a pass on planting our victory (against corporate agriculture) garden, we have big plans for next year.  Alternatively Community Supported Agriculture shares are a great thought for those without the time or the inclination to grow their own vegetables (or the space to raise chickens, cows, goats, etc).

I will post some photos of our local meal, as its content will depend on what Mom has ready for harvest and what the Coop has in stock.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Last week’s Change the World Wednesday challenge from Reduce Footprints really got me thinking about how many plastic bags I use without even noticing them.  I hate getting them at the store but only at the checkout line; when I’m in the produce or bulk section I think about how much I need to get reusable bags, especially for the mushrooms, but week after week I use one or two new bags.  I do save and reuse the old ones, but those thin produce bags tear if you look at them wrong so I usually only get one or two uses.  I do better with the zip top sandwich bags that I put herbs in, and for the heavy bulk (rice, beans, tofu, etc) I bring some plastic storage containers.

Single use bags are just plain bad.  Americans waste about 12 million barrels of oil annually in the production of plastic bags, and if you use paper, we harvest about 14 million trees each year.  Aside from being a waste of a valuable, finite resource, plastic bags are here to stay.  Like the bag scene in American Beauty, they float and fly and land in trees and in the water.  Once in water they can resemble prey causing some obvious issues for the unlucky predator.  Even if the bags don’t retain their original shape, once they get into the water they flock; the Northern Pacific Garbage Patch is bigger than Texas.  To help protect their seascapes, several coastal North Carolina counties are thinking of joining the growing global ban (as reported on Morning Edition last week or so).  A few of the local green grocers (Earth Fare, French Broad Food Coop, and with Greenlife leading the way) began to charge for plastic bags this year, and even if the stores didn’t want to charge, couldn’t they give a credit like Earth Fare used to that the shopper can donate to a charity (which both decreases single use bag usage and gets the company a tax deduction).

Paper at least breaks down when thrown away, and all of our textbook covers were repurposed grocery bags.  However, paper still wastes plenty of resources.  Some of those trees may be old growth stands while others could be from GMO tree plantations, but either way a whole bunch of trees go down.   The GMO trees for paper production are being selected for less lignin which makes them easier to process.  The issue is that lignin makes trees strong (literally it fills the spaces between the cells’ walls), and it also helps the tree conduct water efficiently (sounds like a recipe for more less efficient water usage and increased pesticides).  On the carbon side, it also plays an important role in carbon sequestration.  Even if you recycle your bags a great deal of energy is used to do so (in both transporting and processing).

My organic cotton bags have another one up on plastic and paper: they hold pounds more.  Two bags can easily handle a week’s worth of groceries (I usually keep the delicates, like bread & fruit, in their own bag).  On the downside, baggers at the Ingles are so used to flimsy plastic bags that might hold ten pounds, I bag my own groceries which saves Ingles on labor costs (I avoid the stupid robo-checkouts) as they will invariably use half the bag then resort to plastic.

This weekend I will make or buy some reusable bags for my bulk items so I cut the plastic bags out all together.

Weekly Green Challenge (aka Change the World Wednesday)

Small Footprints over at Reduce Footprints has targeted one of my numerous pet peeves with this week’s Change the World Wednesday Challenge; a more informative (and ranty!) post is forthcoming on why the question shouldn’t be paper or plastic at the check out line.  Our household will be striving to remember to bring the reusable bags to every trip to the store.  Hope you’ll do the same!

Do state legislators really deserve free healthcare?

With the budget crisis looming for counties, cities, and states across the country, cuts are being proposed to mental health services and education among other things.  To their credit they did cut their own pay just like the state employees down the chain, but in the middle of this crisis our state legislators are wasting time with bills to amend our state’s constitution to deny rights.  

As healthcare isn’t that important for the weakest members of society, I bet the state legislator’s could save much more money by cutting their own health insurance.  Most of them are older and are probably prescribed a plethora of pharmies, which as well all know (especially those without health coverage or with only basic major medical coverage) cost a lot. Additionally, being a state legislator isn’t even a full time job, and how many of their constituents have health coverage working either a full or part time job?  I have never worked a part time (or even a full time job) in which my health care was provided free of charge.  Even if one does have health coverage, it certainly isn’t free, and I would wager one month’s premiums that it isn’t as good as what the legislators provide for themselves.

I’ll be sending this to my elected officials, and I hope you will join me.  I will also bring them to task for wasting time on a stupid Constitutional amendment to deny citizens’ rights and trying to break down the proud tradition of the separation of church and state.