My Green Conundrum

The Birthday
Towards the end of summer, my youngest son attended a birthday party for a boy from our church. Seeing as the birthday boy was 7 and the other attendees were that or older, I figured I'd stay to help keep an eye on my 3 year old. Fun was had by all. I knew that going to the party would mean trying to find a way to politely decline the use of any disposable tableware - but I felt up to the challenge. Even though paper plates and plastic cups/forks/spoons were in abundance, I was amazingly able to commandeer a ceramic bowl and metal spoon for my son. I think my excuse was something about not trusting him with ice cream on a plate. Which is true, by the way, but I was stretching it a bit. I declined all food and drinks because I didn't want to have to throw anything away.

But something occurred before my eyes that I just couldn't believe. One of my sweet, dear friends (who was also there watching her kids) actually refused a reusable cup - she said she felt bad about it! I guess because it meant that the homeowner would have to wash it instead of just throwing it out. The homeowner pushed for her to take the reusable, but she insisted on the throw-away. How warped we've become that we'd rather use something for literally five seconds and trash it rather than wash it and put it back in the cupboard for use on another day?

The Reunion
As for accumulating "unnecessary" trash during a party, this exact same thing happened to us at a family reunion this summer - but we weren't prepared. We were drowning in a sea of styrofoam and plastic, and the hosts hadn't even set out a bag for recycling cans, either. I wanted to stand up on the tables and scream about it to try and wake people up. But I took the wimpy way out and didn't say a thing - and used the styrofoam and plastic to boot! This was the first reunion for my husband's side of the family in almost 20 years. There were probably about 75 people there and I only knew a handful of them. Everyone was having a pleasant time, and I just didn't want to rock the boat.

The Consequences
But these two stories do show how the vast majority of society still could care less if they're putting needless waste into the landfills. One idea I recently read about is to keep a small stash of plates & utensils in the car for times such as these. I can't think of any other way to deal with it - other than using the "bad stuff" or possibly eating only finger foods. I don't want to ruin everyone else's time by getting up on my soapbox, but I also don't want our family adding anything unnecessary to the dump. Or the ocean for that matter. Ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It's basically two large (and I mean the size of Texas or bigger) floating trash piles (made up of about 90% plastic) that pollute the North Pacific Ocean and take no prisoners. But that's a post for another day.


A wonderful post over at Towards Sustainability discusses this exact topic - how do you broach the topic of creating less waste with friends/neighbors/coworkers/family without seeming crazy? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! - Carrie

[Editor's note: For those loyal subscribers thinking to themselves - "Why does this post seem slightly familiar?" - well, that's because it is. I committed the ultimate blogging faux paux, not once, but three times! This post has already run three times, but in incomplete form. I think I caught it within the first 30 minutes of being posted each time, but it is embarrassing to say the least. So, my sincerest apologies - thanks for sticking with us!]

Addicted to Oil: Petrophilla and the Like

Hi, my name is Jason.

Reader: Hi Jason.

I have an addiction, several actually. I didn’t really feel like it was a problem at first, but as soon as I became aware of my habits, I couldn’t stop myself. I looked on the internet for the proper names of my addictions, and since I can’t find them, I’m going to have to make their names up.

We’ll start first with my admission that I’m a McDonaphile. This one I hate to admit the most. I’m not a heavy user, and if it’s any consolation, when I do use, I keep to the dollar menu. But if I find myself on a hot day and the conditions are right, I’ve been known to pay three and a half bucks for a cold coffee. This condition is usually the result of my desire to get something quick and easy to eat with the absence of a competitor who serves veggie burgers on their dollar menu. It sits right there with Tacabellaphile. Old habits die hard, and I’ve had this habit since I was 17 when I ate there five or six times a week. I might exasperate these conditions once in a while with my love for a sweet soda. Anyone know what the name for that one is? I’d love to say colaphile, but I think the root name would be highfructosecornsyrupaphile. Say that three times fast.

After I satisfy my hunger for food, or sometimes in the process of satisfying it, I’ll drive off to wherever I was going in the first place which brings me to my next obsession. Autophilia is the love of the automobile. This isn’t quite the sin though, since actually loving the car doesn’t pollute the environment, but my love of cars begets my love of petroleum which leads to my next condition… petrolphilia?

I’m currently typing on a keyboard made of plastic, (ever heard of a computer with wooden keys?), using a mouse with the same material, and currently own about a bazillion things in my house which are made of this petroleum based material. So, and I’ve done some research on this, this may make me a polymerphile, vinylophile, polyvinylchloridiphile, polystyrenaphile or nylonaphile (to name just a few) which all depends on what I’m “jonesing” for at that particular moment.

I’m happy to say that I’ve dropped some of my previous loves which I won’t go into at this particular moment. Be it safe to say, I’m nowhere near where I want to be with my addictions, but knowing that you have a problem is half the battle.

My name is Jason, and I’ve been clean for the past nano-second. –Jason

Self-Sustaining, Green, Crunchy, Locavore, and….Obese?

The Problem
This is a hard post for me to write but one that I can’t put off any longer. As our family continues this journey towards a more sustainable way of life, the one aspect of our lives that sticks out like a sore thumb is – me! I never guessed that I would be one of “those women” who "let themselves go" after getting married. But I've become a textbook case! I've gained almost 40 pounds in the five years of our marriage (20 in the first 1.5 years & 15-20 since having my son in 2007). My BMI (Body Mass Index) today stands at 31.9 - for me, 11 pounds into the obese category! Me - obese! The word makes me cringe. And while I don't think of myself as obese, I am certainly overweight. It's time to take action.

I've always enjoyed food. However, in my younger, unmarried (and no kids!) years I was usually able to exercise when I wanted, for as long as I wanted. This helped to keep my weight down to a more acceptable range. It doesn't help that I'm a stress eater. My cousin, on the other hand, is a stress non-eater. Under stress she gets sick enough to her stomach that the mere thought of food makes her queasy, whereas under stress I get sick enough to my stomach that I eat to make it feel better, which then makes me queasy! It's a vicious cycle.

Upon our marriage I became an instant full time mom (with a full time job) to two children under 6 and within a few months we were crazy enough to both quit our jobs and start a new business. A year after our marriage I became pregnant with our youngest. Needless to say I was stressed. New marriage stress, business stress, money stress, and kid stress. So I ate.

The Ramifications
About three weeks ago I woke around 2:00AM with fairly intense pain & tingling running down my left arm. I never got back to sleep and it had only slightly lessened by daybreak. To say this freaked me out would be an understatement. I went to a walk-in clinic a few hours later and my blood pressure was completely fine. Thankfully, no heart attack (which of course I figured but I didn't know if anything else unsavory was going on). I did request a basic panel of labs drawn since I hadn't had any in over three years. Fortunately the results came back with fairly flying colors. No more blaming my weight on a possible thyroid problem or diabetes (both issues in my family). Even my cholesterol was 198, the lowest it's been over the last 15 years (again, my family has a tendency towards high cholesterol).

But there are other reasons to lose the weight that have nothing to do with the medical side of things. For instance, I don't really like to go out in public. I think I probably hide it well, but I could think of a million other things I'd rather do than be seen in this body. I've become much less outgoing than I used to be. I don't usually strike up conversations with people I don't know because I don't want to draw attention to myself. I'm so sick of wearing the same two pairs of jeans (even to church!) and 3 or 4 shirts because I haven't fit into my "cute" clothes that I've had in a box in the closet for the last 4 years. My self esteem can be low at times and this effects our marriage. Then there's the cost of purchasing more food than I need. Another thing that has really been on my heart recently is the fact that here we have this "healthy living, sustainable lifestyle" blog, and while we live and breathe everything we write about, I can't get a handle on my eating. It's hypocritical and embarrassing and I don't want to be that person any longer.

The Plan
I need to lose about 50 pounds. I truly can't remember the last time I weighed 50 pounds less than I do today. Even on my wedding day I was only 35 pounds under what I am now. Losing 50 pounds would still put me at a BMI of 23.0, in the higher range of normal. However, I have never been a bean pole and I don't expect to ever be one. Now, just how quickly can I lose 50 pounds? When I “did” Weight Watchers a few years ago (twice, actually) I almost always lost exactly 1.2 pounds per week after the initial higher weight loss of the first few weeks. Dividing 50 pounds by 1.2 pounds/week, that means it will take me approximately 42 weeks to lose that much weight. 42 weeks – to the end of June, 2011 - almost 10 months! Ugh. That sounds like a really long time. It’s hard in this culture of instant gratification to accept the fact that it may indeed take that many months to lose this much weight. But it took me a while to put it on, so it should take me a while to take it off. Plus I do not want this to be a diet. It is a lifestyle (both mental & physical) change that I must sustain for the rest of my life. And I’m OK with that. I want to see my kids grow up, and I want to be able to retire with my husband. And consuming more food than I biologically need in theory takes away from those who are truly hungry.

What I Will Do to Keep Myself Accountable

• Write down what I eat for each meal and snack, every day. I find that I am so much more "present" with my eating when I follow this simple rule.
• Weigh myself once a week.
• Exercise at least 5 days a week. I've been having trouble with plantar fasciitis since about April, but on the days that my foot hurts too much to walk, I will do a Pilates video or the like here at home.
  
• Do a quick blog update once every two weeks so you guys & gals can follow along with me.

If you want to join me you are more than welcome! Feel free to post something here even if you have less or more weight to lose. I know I'm not the only person going through this right now. We can encourage each other - celebrate the milestones and perhaps give ideas to work through the setbacks. Losing the weight will be better for our health, our family, and the environment. Are you in? -Carrie

Extreme Measures in Micro Environments

You may have heard of a New Yorker named Colin Beaven. Beaven set out on a mission to, over the course of a year, live a life of zero carbon impact. His experiment was documented in a book and movie of the same title: No Impact Man.

It was fascinating watching this little family take steps toward a greener lifestyle. Little by little, their creature comforts were removed until they were living without electricity. What an extreme measure and without a doubt you could label him an extremist. Here’s the thing though; Napoleon was an extremist with little tolerance. Jim Jones, David Koresh, Marilyn Manson, Bin Laden, and Hitler were all extremists who made and changed history. What would America look like today if Lincoln hadn’t taken that extreme position on slavery without waiver? What would it look like if he had negotiated his morals? The same could be said of Martin Luther King.

I’m not saying we should all be extremists, but perhaps by being someone willing to go out on a limb every once in a while we can all change our little world around us. -Jason

North Texas Windmills

I love a bit of irony. The photo above was shot on our way to Ancient Ovens (read more here), to contrast the old oil rig next to the newer windmill. Back in the day, Texas was into oil in a BIG way. Texas tea, Texaco, and The Houston Oilers (The old Houston team) are all synonymous with Texas. You may even remember Mr. J.R. Ewing, the big oil man from the TV show Dallas.

We still produce a bit of oil, for now, but a new energy producer has moved into town. Shown here are the windmills of Muenster, TX. Located a stones throw north of Dallas, there are now some 75+ windmills sending power back into the grid and down to Dallas.

Each windmill is 256 feet wide and produces enough energy to power 250 homes. The windmills do make a light humming sound, which is a turnoff to some residents, but that wouldn't deter me from allowing them to put one in my backyard. I like seeing them and call it progress in motion.

Here are some more pictures of these gentle giants for your viewing enjoyment. -Jason

Green Watchers

I had a profound thought yesterday which I feel I need to share with all of my readers. If you’ve ever gone on a diet, you know it’s infinitely easier to do when you have other people on board with you. There’s a social aspect to dieting which makes it easier, hence why Weight Watchers is so popular because of the encouragement you receive.

If you are lucky enough to have a partner in your house to diet with, then the ease rises another notch. Why? Two reasons. 1) Accountability to the other partner. 2) You mutually agree not to bring temptations into your home.

A green lifestyle is a diet of sorts. You abstain from petroleum, paper, or electricity on a regular basis and commit to using more of the good stuff.

As with dieting, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Keep a track of the number of gallons of gas you use on a monthly basis. Review your electric bill and watch for opportunities to reduce. Count the number of paper towel rolls which make their way into your house. Commit to reducing these numbers and increasing the earth friendly things you are already doing. Find someone else who is committed to the same ideals you hold about the environment and keep each other accountable. Now go hug a tree! -Jason

Slow Mo

Do you think we are too busy as a society? I’ve noticed over the past couple of weeks, that I tend to use my car when I try to fit more into my day. I wonder if God meant for us to live like this. Should we be so busy that there’s no time to reflect and ponder things like grandpa used to do, sipping tea on the back patio in the evening. It seems in our culture, the faster you go, the less green you get.

Think about it… what is the expected wait time for an order at a fast food restaurant? What is the mileage of your car when you speed versus sooth travel at 60 mph? How much time do you trade to grow your own veggies as opposed to just purchasing them? Preserving food when in season, cooking food using solar power, watering plants using rain barrels all qualify as slower means of managing our daily lives, but better options for the environment AND more importantly us.

Any way you slice or dice this issue, it all comes down to living a different lifestyle. But here’s the kicker… living that different lifestyle isn’t the hard part. People around the world do it every day. The hard part is living that lifestyle in the midst of a radically different culture. -Jason

I Finally Understand the Value of Edibles in the Landscape

About three and a half years ago, Jason designed and installed a complete landscape for a customer. During the design phase, the customer reminisced about how she’d love to have some persimmons and figs in the backyard like her grandfather used to have. Upon coming home and explaining this to me, we kind of looked at each other and rolled our eyes. Wait! Hold the presses! Yes, you read that correctly - we actually rolled our eyes at the idea of planting a fruit tree in the back yard. When I remembered this about a week ago, it nearly knocked me off my feet! Our eye-rolling episode was basically a product of lack of education and lack of exposure to fruit bearing plants. On the exposure side, we definitely know more about home food production than we used to – all from self-education. But back in 2007 we had operated the business for nearly two years, and this was the first time anyone had asked for ANY fruiting tree, shrub, or bush (or vegetable for that matter). On the formal education side, Jason can attest to the fact that while they talk about “sustainability” in Landscape Architecture graduate school, home food production and how it can fit into a more formal landscape is a non-issue (in their defense, they are often learning about commercial landscape design, and one could argue that including food producing plants in these settings begets its own set of dilemmas that are hard to overcome).

However, while it is slow in coming, I believe that we as a society are doing a commendable job incorporating more sustainable activities in our lives. As an example, my parents had a fairly large garden until I was about 6 or 7 (nearly 30 years ago!). Eventually this was demolished and in it’s place went a lovely landscaped sitting area that was used perhaps once a year for pictures. Upon retirement within the next year, they plan on moving to some acreage in the country, and Dad has been reading up on solar panels and starting a small home orchard, among other “homesteading” activities.

In the same vain, one of the initial questions Jason now asks during his consultations with new customers is if they would like some type of edible landscaping or garden bed design added to the property. A surprising number now want help with this. Landscape design wise, we definitely are seeing more people interested in all sorts of aspects that come with living a sustainable lifestyle – composting, rain barrels, vegetable gardens, and urban orchards. Fortunately we’re on that path as well, so we’re very eager to discuss these matters and help customers (and anyone that will listen for that matter!) incorporate sustainable practices and food production into their landscape. What could be better than walking out your door to pick a warm peach straight from the tree that grew it? I can’t think of much – except maybe warm tomatoes off the vine, locally produced mozzarella, fresh basil, aged balsamic vinegar & olive oil, and a touch of sea salt….but that’s another post! –Carrie

Green Blitzkrieg

Meet Martha. Martha is a mother of three and loving wife. Martha lives in a bustling suburb of a major city which she commutes to five days a week. She works as vice president of a major plastics corporation which manufactures everyday household items. Her three children, a little boy of 2 years, another boy who just turned 8, and daughter who is 12, live equally busy lives.

A typical day for this young family involves getting up at 7 and out the door by 7:30. A quick stop a burger joint for some breakfast sandwiches and then the two older kids are dropped at school and the younger one at the daycare. Martha then drives her tank of a car (a fancy import) 14 miles (26 minutes) to work to join the rat race with the rest of America. During lunch, she dives into her gym and runs 2 miles on the treadmill before warming up her frozen meal and then going back to work. She hits the door running at 5:00 and rushes to pick up the little one before heading home. Oops, forgot about stopping at a pricey “dinners-to-go” restaurant so she’ll have something to feed her family. After a dinner and a few hours of relaxation in front of the TV, she sends the older two to get ready for bed, changes the little one's diaper, and finally gets some free time where tonight she will read a book she’s been meaning to read for some time.

That was yesterday.

After reading her “Green Living” book last night, Martha was so convicted by her actions and sins against the environment, she called up her boss and tendered her resignation immediately. She then placed an ad on the internet for her truck at a price only a blind man could ignore, and 10 mouse clicks later, purchased at hybrid and bicycles for the family. That morning she made a couple of calls and was lucky to land a job as a consultant (for a green company lobbying against plastics) working from home. She donated all of the old diapers the little one was using (who is currently wearing a napkin she received as a wedding gift 15 years ago and is getting its first use!) and headed to the second hand store to look for cloth diapers and cooking supplies.

Later she and the tot made their way to the grocery co-op and signed up for shares of crops from local farmers. While there she purchased some of their excess produce and a $22 12/oz jar of local organic honey…

You get the idea, right? Today on my way home from meeting a customer I felt kind of guilty for putting so many miles on my car. A deadline pushed me to my limit and had a fast food meal for lunch (either that or starve) but that is a rare occurrence, and I felt guilt for that too. But I did come home to my family and the a/c was off and windows open. The air wasn’t chilly but it wasn’t hot either. There was rain coming and the air was quite clean. I had an edamame snack and some homemade canned salsa on chips and jelly made from fruit we gleaned from a neighbor. Earlier in the day I had a two minute shower which was lukewarm at best. Yes, the TV’s been off for the better part of the day. These things made my happy because I knew we made those steps already.

I hate to use the words “baby steps” but that is exactly what we’ve done. I try everyday to examine the impact I have on my environment and make changes which I can keep. It hasn’t been an overnight transformation like Martha and her family, but you show me a Martha and I’ll show you someone who needs to write for my blog. We could all use heroes like that! -Jason

Does it Take a Radical?

I’ve never been the greatest fan of handouts, but I believe hand-ups to be very beneficial. I’ve tried to recollect some of the people who have made a difference in my green evolution. Some of these people went off of the deep end, but I’ve learned that radical people change the world and so if they evoke change for the better, I’ll go off the deep end with them! I would like to encourage you to post and tell us of that special person, book, or movie which spurred you towards sustainability.

SUPERSIZE ME

Morgan Spurlock’s movie: Super Size Me was my first step into living a healthier lifestyle. Wanting to demonstrate the impact of fast food on the American Diet, Morgan turns himself into a living experiment. Mission: Live off of nothing but McDonalds for 30 days. He does a really good job of demonstrating the effects of fast food on the body as well as the fast food culture. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390521/

JOEL SALATIN

Owner of Polyface Farm, Swoope, VA- Joel is my hero!!!! I first learned of Joel’s plight in the book Omnivore’s Dilemma. Polyface Farm is a model for sustainable agriculture. Joel refuses to use synthetic fertilizers to boost the production of his farm. Instead he opts for maintenance intensive farming. Example: He moves cows to pasture which eat the grass right at the pinnacle of its growth cycle. After the cows move out of the pasture, the chickens move in to pick the larvae out of the cow patties.

His book, aptly titled Everything I Want to do is Illegal, explains how tight government regulations control how his business is run. He can sell a live pig from his farm, but not a dead one. Slaughtering is not permitted in areas zoned agriculture. One might think you can simply send him out for processing and bring him back, but retail sale is not a function of agriculture either. It’s important to note that processing an animal in a slaughterhouse doesn’t make the food any safer. OR

You can slaughter a chicken on your farm in Virginia but crossing over into the D.C. area somehow makes the chicken unsafe unless a federal inspector looked at it first. That’s right… If you live 1 miles from the state line, you can move your produce 200 miles to the other side of the state put not 10 miles into the next metropolitan area.

Joel is an advocate for local farming. He would encourage each one of us to find and support local farmers. www.polyfacefarms.com

THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA

I gained a wealth of perspective out of this book and it’s a must read for every American. If you learn nothing else, you will understand how important fossil fuels are to our food supply production, how much we rely on corn, and how little we understand about how to feed ourselves if that time ever comes. http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278126560&sr=8-1

JORDAN RUBIN

In his book, The Maker’s Diet, Jordan, a Jewish expert on nutrition, explains how modern science backs the diet God laid out for his people in ancient days. http://www.makers-diet.net/

JAMIE OLIVER

An advocate for healthy eating, Jamie’s lessons impacted me by letting me know what was making it’s way into school lunches. I made my kids watch his message and my daughter opted for plain milk over chocolate the rest of the school year! You can see his very important message here: http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

FOOD INC.

A 2009 documentary on a wealth of topics centered around the industrial food supply, it’s lack of accountability, and the havoc it wreaks on the American landscape.

MASTERS PROGRAM IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON

Most people believe that a landscape architect’s place is on a rich man’s land placing roses and patios. Contrary to that belief, only a small number of architects can make a living like that. Parks, school campuses, libraries, malls, and cities are laid out and designed in part by this profession. The great thing about landscape architects is that they have one foot in science and one in art. They truly have the best of both worlds. The more time I spend with my professors and colleagues, the more I understand a landscape architect’s first responsibility is not to the client, but to nature. These people are one of the first to advocate for green areas such as drought mitigation, storm water runoff, rainwater harvesting, green building, and sustainable developments to name just a few. -Jason