Posts filed under ‘recommended’
Read This
I got this book as a christmas gift and it’s turned out to be the best present I ever received. It’s called The Urban Homestead, and it was written by an LA couple -Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen – who have a real knack for sustainable living in the urban environment. They cover all sorts of things, from making your own homegrown booze to city bike travel, but my favorite parts of the book are the sections on growing food. These guys have a full-fledged food forest in their back yard, and have also cultivated all sorts of crops on the road median out in front of their house. The book offers a slew of tips on mulching, container gardening, irrigation, and is a great place to start if you’re interested in growing some food but don’t have tons of experience. It’s been a pleasure to read this time of year, while I make decisions about what seeds to buy and daydream about digging in the dirt.
The authors also have a blog, which I recommend checking out, too – the web ads a layer of interactivity and accessibility to the authors that I can really appreciate. These guys are real pros – and they can write, which is always a plus. And they have chickens, which I’m kind of jealous about (for some reason I’m finding myself increasingly draw to animal husbandry – unfortunately I think my cats would torture and perhaps even kill a chicken if given the chance).
Big props to Kelly and Erik – you’re an inspiration! And if you ever find yourself in Brooklyn, you’re welcome to stay at my house and help me make my yard into an urban oasis.
Second-Hand Reads
I just wanted to take a second to make a shout-out to a long beloved but oft overlooked entity: the used book. In a time of economic and environmental woe, the used book is a cheap and green way to entertain yourself and reward others throughout the holiday season and beyond.
Yesterday I picked up my mail and was pleased to discover that my expected delivery from Amazon.com had arrived. Just a week earlier, I went online and paid $3.50 for the book ($7.50 with shipping), which happens to be a 1977 paperback edition of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath“. This is a classic piece of American fiction that I’ve never read before, but have recently been compelled to pick up after reading another book, “Stuffed and Starved” by Raj Patel.
“Stuffed and Starved” gives an informative and well-researched overview of our ailing global food system, and although it’s not as artfully written as some other works in its genre, particularly those authored by Pollans, Schlossers and Lappes, it is a must-read for anyone who cares about food, nutrition, environment and social justice. But more to the point, Patel’s book regularly quotes Steinbeck, and inspired me to read “The Grapes of Wrath” (which I will, starting today).
A new copy of “The Grapes of Wrath” will run you at least ten bucks, so I really scored with my $3.50 copy. Plus, my copy has a nice yellow coloration and some lovely coffee (or maybe chocolate?) stains on the cover, which give it character and a light fragrance. I am a strong believer in judging books by their covers, and I can tell that this is going to be a good read. And new books are tainted with carbon footprints and the blood of happy young forests, which is simply awful.
So if you’re planning to buy a book (or anything else, for that matter), try and get it used. I promise it will be better for your wallet, better for the planet, and it will look cuter on your coffee table.
Clean Coal Reality Check
Al Gore’s Reality Coalition just put out this new ad campaign – it’s funny, because it’s true.
Guilt-Free Sneakers
It’s been over a year since I wrote this post about my old sneakers. They were good shoes that held up for a long time, and my only regret was that they weren’t even the slightest bit green. So when the time came to get a new pair of shoes a few weeks ago, I remembered the stabbing guilt that tortured me after last year’s shoe purchase and made a point of getting something green to sink my feet into.
I settled on these:
These sneakers are made by Simple, a shoe company that makes a great product and is working to attain “100% sustainability”. The company does make leather and suede shoes (from environmentally-friendly tanneries), but most of their products are vegan, made of green materials like recycled paper, hemp, organic cotton, recycled rubber and plastic, and even coconut shells (for buttons).
My sneakers are comfortable, attractive (although they’re getting dirty – I should have known better and gotten a darker color!), and they were affordable, to boot. I highly recommend visiting the Simple website if you have feet and care about the environment.
Tuna Test
The New York Times published an article last week about some new research that showed really really high (scary high) levels of mercury in tuna found in sushi restaurants in New York. For those of us who love sushi, tuna, and fish in general, this is bad news. My personal recommendation is just to stop eating tuna, especially bluefin tuna, because aside from being mercury-laden, it’s also over-fished.
But, if you just can’t live without it, and want to find out the maximum amount of mercury tuna that your body can handle safely, check out the Environmental Working Group’s Tuna Calculator. As a woman of child-bearing age, I am basically told not to eat any tuna at all (boo). Apparently, mercury has this nasty habit of causing brain damage in fetuses. Pretty lame.
Also, if you want some more info about the mercury-in-fish situation, Consumer Reports provides a decent overview. It even answers the question “how the heck does mercury get into fish in the first place?” (here’s a basic answer for those of you who are too lazy to click on the link:
1. coal and other fossil fuels are burned up to make power for our TVs and cuisinarts and whatnot
2. the smoke from the power plants contains mercury, and blows all over the place – including into the ocean
3. here the mercury gets absorbed by plankton and other tiny organisms at the top of the water, then fish eat those little guys, then bigger fish eat those fish
4. the mercury gets caught up in the fish’s fatty tissue and never comes out until that guy with the funny hat and the super sharp knife slices it up and puts it on a plate in front of you).
The End. Watch out for the fishies.
People Power
Isn’t this a sweet new alarm clock? I bought it for myself the other day, after the cheap plastic one I’d been using for three years self-destructed. I didn’t want to get another cheap one, because I need an alarm clock that will be with me for the long-haul, so I looked for a sturdy, metal model that could put up with my morning crankiness, as well as being repeatedly knocked off my night stand by my cats.
So this is the clock I found. I bought it at a small local appliance store and it’s nice and sturdy, which is great, but it has one more feature that I think is totally cool: it’s people-powered.
Now, many of us may look at the back of this alarm clock in confusion and perhaps mild disdain, because it’s quite old-fashioned. I, however, see it as a symbol of the future. (more…)
Story of Stuff
I highly recommend checking out this video and passing it along. It’s about 20 mins long, so you should set a little time aside to watch it, but it’s highly worthwhile and very informative.
Green Skincare
I just want to take a second and give a shout-out to Dessert Essence for making this super facewash. It’s made of tea tree oil and other natural, non-toxic ingredients. It keeps my skin looking smooth and clean and I totally recommend it.
On a similar note, I think it’s time we give up these plastic scratchy body wash thingies and instead switch to loofahs. Like tea tree oil, loofah is a natural, non-toxic, biodegradable and totally effective skin care option. Next time you’re shopping for skin scrubbing devices, go with loofah and forget the plastic. It’s better for you and its better for everybody else, too.
New Year, New Opportunities
Happy New Year!!
I must say, most New Years come and go with little significance for me – usually it just means I have to remember to write a new number on checks and whatnot. But 2008 is a year I’ve been waiting for for a long time – nearly 4 years, in fact. And I don’t want to get too political here, but I don’t think you have to be political to realize that it’s time for our current president to hit the road and make way for somebody that actually is up for the job of leading our country.
Aside from the upcoming regime change, 2008 also offers us each a chance to make change on a small, less national level. I’ve never had much success with the New Years Resolution. In fact, if I remember correctly, last year I promised myself to do 10 push-ups a day, and so far I’ve completed about 25 of them (total). But that doesn’t mean that I should give up. I’ve managed to integrate lots of positive changes in my life over the years, all it took was time and determination.
As a child, for instance, I had trouble giving up my finger-sucking habit (similar to thumb-sucking, only weirder), and ended up carrying around a ragged blanky at an embarrassingly old age and growing in some petty gnarly teeth. Some might have predicted at the time that I would never grow out of this 10-year phase, but with support (and nagging) from my family, I managed to overcome the habit and now I only occasionally dabble in chewing on my appendages.
This year, my resolution is simple, small, and inspired by a Christmas present that Boyfriend gave me:
Hankies!
Yes, I’m going to give up disposable tissues and use hankies instead. I actually started the new practice yesterday, and it went pretty well. Depending on how runny my nose is, I think I’ll probably go through about one every two days, and wash them with my laundry every weekend. I’ll let you know how it goes -the upcoming Jan/Feb cold season will certainly put the hankies to the test so I’ll be certain to share with you stories about inevitable and embarrassing subway snot fiascoes.
And if you’re looking for something green to add to your life this year, you might get some good ideas by reading what people on Wisebread are resolving to do. The little changes we make can really add up big, so picking something that’s easy to integrate into your daily routine is probably a better choice than making a bigger change that you’re less likely to carry out. Good luck and happy New President Year!!
Armed and Ready to Cook
I must have been pretty good this year, because Santa brought me some sweet presents. Two of my favorites: the Atlas Pasta Maker, and the Cuisinart Food Processor. Pretty much as soon as I got home from Massachusetts last night I took them out of their packages and put them to work.
The meal: Ravioli with Cheese and Veggie Filling
Ravioli is fun to make but can be a bit time consuming. I recommend making a bunch on a slow weekend or when you’ve got some time to spare, and freezing some. It’s also a fun meal to make with kids. When I was little my mom would make home-made pasta (usually lasagna) and it was always a fun cooking event for the kids to participate in. Cooking with your kids is a great way to get them interested in food and nutrition, and also to encourage them to eat new foods that they haven’t tried yet. (more…)
