GREENFEST IN SEATTLE

It is the time for all things green to be shown, discussed, sold, sampled, volunteered and displayed. It is the annual Seattle Green Festival. I will be there on Sunday, June 6th in the S.C.A.L.L.O.P.S. (Sustainable Communitys ALL Over Puget Sound) Booth from I think 1-5PM- so if you have nothing better to do, stop buy and say Hi! I have word that Crunchy Chicken will be there on Saturday with those imps from Mission:Sustainable as well.

WHAT: SEATTLE GREEN FESTIVAL

WHEN:June 5-6, 2010

Saturday – 10am – 7pm

Sunday – 11am – 6pm

WHERE: WA State Convention & Trade Center; 800 Convention Place Seattle, WA 98101

ReCycling Styrofoam!

A post that would make Fake Plastic Fish Cry tears of joy! While reduction would be better, there is now a business that recycles styrofoam! We now have a place to recycle Styrofoam! IKEA SEATTLE has a recycling center, and they accept Styrofoam. Very convenient- they are about 1 mile from work. The Styrofoam is recycled next door at StyroRecycle, where the styrofoam is ground up, compressed and densified into blocks, which are then manufactured into plastic products such as: picture frames, TV & computer cases, office equipment and other plastic products. Nice to know. Would be even better if they picked up the styrofoam in our recycling, but hey, I'm all for the baby steps. Here is hoping the StyroRecycle makes a go at it, proving once and for all that green economics work.
Click here for a PDF of their brochure!Another great thing at
IKEA is purchase a SUNNEN Solar powered Lamp, and Now at IKEA stores worldwide, for every SUNNAN solar-powered lamp sold, one lamp will be given to UNICEF to light up the life of a child. The first shipments of donated lights are destined for Pakistan, helping children in camps for people who had to flee their homes, and remote villages in Balochistan and the North West Frontier province. This unit will enable children to play, read, write and study at night, even if their homes have no electricity. Millions of children can’t draw, write or read after sunset, limiting their horizons and possibly their futures. IKEA hopes these lamps are a small but important contribution to improving the lives of children in developing countries.
These lamps are so cool- set them in a sunny window in the morning, and at night they give light. How cool is that? I support companies with a sense of community and responsibility, so yes I do support IKEA. Lovable little swedes!

Easy Enviormental Choices

I would not call myself an environmentalist. But I would call myself cheap. Or rather Thrifty. It’s funny how the two can intertwine. Many things I and others do to help Mother Earth are done not so much as for their so called “green” effects, they are done because we are cheap.
Ed Begley Jr. Likes to talk about starting by picking the low hanging fruit as a way to “green” up your life, by Low Hanging Fruit he means the simplest things to do to save money and energy. The underlined words being saving money.

10 “Low Hanging Fruit Suggestions” that are painless, simple and even a 5 year old can do:


1. Take a commuter mug or a reusable water bottle everywhere. I take my “muggsly” everywhere; can use it for coffee, water and any beverage. I figure I have not thrown away over 1,000 paper cups and plastic lids in a year’s time this way. Romeo even has his own “Kleen Kanteen” type water bottle, kept on his leash as well as a portable water bowl- Savings: I drink at least three mugs of water a day, which are 16 oz so on a 365 day X 3 calculation- $456.25 over buying bottled water at work. And as Condo Blues points out there are many alternatives to “Kleen Canteens” out there. Cost of a mug or water bottle- $0- $20 depending on the mug. Muggsly is priceless but you can find his brothers and sisters on ebay for around $45-50, I have had him so long that I figure he cost $13 when I bought him. You gotta love a commuter mug that appreciates in value! Many places give commuter mugs for free, and as for water bottles, old jars are free. Or check the thrift stores- I have seen acceptable water bottles and commuter mugs for as low as .69 cents. BENEFITS- some coffee shops give you a discount for using your own mug, less waste
2. 5-Minute Shower- I get wet, turn the water off. Lather, shampoo my hairs (both of them) then rinse.
Save the shower warm up water in a bucket, and reuse for watering plants or flushing toilet. Estimate savings-120 gallons of water a month or 1440 gallons per year Cost to do- Nothing, Benefits- Lower energy and water bills and usage
3. Take my own bags to the store- I have many shopping bags but that’s okay as I use them- I keep two in every car, and one on Romeo’s leash. Cost- 2.95 and up, but many stores have them for as low as $1. Or you can make a donation to to your local NPR fund drive and probably get one. My KPLU Premium Bag cost me a $45 donation- but I would have made that anyway. And I refuse the premiums as a rule. Benefits- lower prices (some stores give you a nickel to a dime discount for using your own bags, less plastic in the waste stream
4. Plan your trips wisely- Chile would suggest getting on a bike and parking the car at home. Nice thought and even though public transportation is all the rage, the true fact is that it is not usable for all of us. One little trick I do to save on gas is plan where I need to go- then park at one central location and walk to the rest. I have been seen parking the car (or truck) and walking all over Burien for things like trips to the post office, restaurants, the farmers market, the grocery and the pet supply stores. Cost to park and walk- Nothing, Lower gas costs, lower carbon emissions
5. Buy local produce- of course a “Farmers’ Market” is the easy way to do this- but most stores and green grocers are getting in on the Buy Local campaign and at least telling you were your produce is coming from. Pick local apples over Chilean apples, for example. Local means Local, within 200 miles at best. And if possible, pick organic local produce. The savings are the petroleum used to ship the produce; organic means that pesticides where not used to control bugs, etc. Cost to implement- nothing, maybe a few cents more for organic local produce, But I find it costs the same or less Benefits- better produce, lower carbon emissions sue to lower gas useage to deliver goods
6. REUSE - reuse those glass jars. They make great containers for leftovers for lunches, I even take the one quart jars and make Sun Tea, by the glass. The advantages to making sun tea in smaller jars is you can drink out of them as well! Cost to Re-use contaniers- nothing- benefit - Less trash, less plastic
7. Turn Down Your Hot Water Thermostat- despite what you think there is very little difference between 120 degree water and 140. Turn it down- you will save a great deal on your electric or gas bill - Cost to do- $0 Benefit- less energy costs

8. Heating and cooling - 65 is a great warming temperature. A/C can be kept at 80 or higher. And try using fans to re-circulate your air. Ceiling fans are a great way to do this. And try a programmable thermostat. I have two, making a poor mans attempt at "zone" heating- 1 in the dining room/kitchen area, one in the living room (since I have “electric” fan forced wall heaters) and it lowers the temperature setting automatically when I go to work or go to bed.Usually leave the heat off in the bedrooms. Cost to lower the thermostat- $0, Benefit- lower heating costs! Cost to add a programmable thermostat- $45-100, depending on the thermostat. And yes, they have them for baseboard heaters now, too! Benefits- lower heating cost, automatically controls the temperature of your house.

Motion Detector on my laundry room light

9. CFL- Compact Fluorescent Lights- a great way to save on electricity. LED lights are better but damn they are expensive. Another energy saving trick to lighting, if you are like me and have areas where CFL’s just wont work is to install motion activated light timers- I have one in my Laundry room that just screws in to the socket, turns the bulb off after a few minutes, or in the bathroom a wall motion activated timer will work fantastically Cost to add CFL's the cost of the bulbs which are coming way down- probably as low as $2 a bulb although I have gotten my last four free from City Light at different functions, motion activated timers- $20- $50 depending on the timer. Benefits- lower electrical bills
10-Wear a Sweater- Mr. Rogers cant be all wrong- well minus that pretend neighborhood- since fall is upon us and the temps are starting to drop, you feel a chill- Put on a sweater. Or wrap up in a snuggy blanket. Cost- A sweater or a sweathirt bought a thrift store costs a couple of bucks- payback- warm body. Benefits- warmer body, lower energy bills

There now I can step off my personal soapbox- what low cost tips do any of you have for greening up your life?

Check Your Carbon Footprint

As a service to the readers of this blog, I have installed a Carbon Footprint Calculator for your use and enjoyment- It is also on the side blog so you can check your footprint anytime! Have fun!



Oh yeah here is my Footprint:

So what is everybody else's "footprint"?

Riding the Rails

I had a great day I went in to work early as I had tickets to the Mariners (You know the Baseball Team in Seattle). The tickets were a bonus from work. I decided to try the NEW Light Rail system to get there. The first challenge (or What I thought would be) is the ticket system. They have had trouble with it freezing up and such. I went up to the Kiosk and no problems! Usually if there is a computer system involved I have a host of troubles the first time. I purchased a round trip ticket to Stadium Station- the name of the station where the Safeco Field ( Mariners) and Qwest Field (Seahawks) are. The ride was smooth and quick- less than fifteen minutes-a perfect evening for baseball- not too hot, no rain and a Mariners Win- The M's beat the dreaded White Sox 1-0 in 14 innings!

Nice new Clean Train cars

Nice scenery!

You Even get Life Advice!

A little video to give you a taste of the ride!

In defense of carbon offsets

My Pick-Up displaying its carbon offset

Today Crunchy Chicken had a post about purchasing offsets for travel. She used Terrapass. There is terrapass for cars, for your home, for travel, for college dorm life, even for weddings. I am familiar with terrapass, I saw it first on Living with Ed, and I have been buying offsets from them for my cars, in particular the Suzuki and the Tacoma Pick Up for a couple of years now. I would use the bus sytem to work, but working a late shift (2- 10:30pm) makes that near impossible-So i figure if I must drive why not make some good out of it? The Suzuki is really inexpensive to drive, gets a good rating from the EPA and is very inexpensive to buy a Terrapass offset for - Under $25 annually. The truck while being more comfortable (Think A/C, CD here folks) costs a bit more for it's offset (about $75). My low prices for offsets are due to the fact I don't drive much. And I think it is important to state that if I drive, I want the most for the $$$, and using an offset at least helps give back something. Terrapass invests the money received for the offsets into "green" energy- wind farms, manure methane, etc. etc. If I am going to drive and I am, I will use a carbon offset. There are a lot of carbon offsets out there- Terrapass, Native Energy, Carbon Fund.org to name a few- Of course a lot of times, like now I choose to drive my Honda scooter to work. It is the most efficient form of travel I own. Well that is not true- I do own a bike. But that ain't happening. So I drive the scoot, and I just watch out for the bugs at night. And never smile. And hope they come out with an affordable electric car soon. And if Terrapass is good enough for Ed Begley Jr., it is good enough for me!

Safeway going green????

The usual plastic fare at my local safeway

Talk about shock value! Tell me it isn't true. Tell me they made a mistake! I was getting lunch at the Safeway Deli, and they put my delicious Chicken Gizzards in a brown paper bag! No plastic, no "Aluminum Coated bag", just a plain simple brown paper bag. Then I ordered jo-jo potatoes, and they put them in a paper bag! Is Safeway finally getting that we don't need a plastic container or plastic lined insulated foil bag every time we order some food? I will be asking around next time I go in. I was too shocked that I didn't have to ask for a brown paper bag to begin with! And yes I know Safeway is a big box food retailer! Do you think food giants can change their ways and become greener- voluntarily?

Bookworm Review- Fresh Food From Small Spaces

This here is my book report for The Blogging Bookworm:
Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting by R.J. Rupenthal

I won this book on a giveaway at the Crunchy Chicken blog.
A first glance my thoughts were “Jeeze- another end of the world scare book”. I was soooo wrong. This is just a delightful easy to read book that shows how everyone- Apartment dwellers with no outside space to folks who have room for gardens can grow food. This book rekindled my love of sprouting! In particular interest to me, was the section on making your own SWP (Self Watering Planters) Very similar to making an earth tainer, except he shows how to make one with using only one roughneck style container instead of two. One of those moments you slap your head and shout "why didn't I think of that? Another thought he has that I can whole heartedly agree with is if you have no outside space you can grow sprouts. He writes a very good section on sprouting, very concise and very easy to read. Let’s face it- sprouting is hardly an interesting topic, except to people like me who haven’t let go of their hippie ways. I usually yawn my way through garden books, but for some reason I could not put this one down- Mr. Rupenthal makes you want to get out and start growing! And he has a writing style that keeps your interest.

This is not a garden book with pretty pictures of unattainable garden ideas- this is a no nonsense book on using your space to grow things!


All in all- this book is very good to read, an easy read, and it makes you want to get out and grow something! I give it two green thumbs up! I was very glad to win this on Crunchy’s blog, but am afraid I will have to order another copy as I promised to Gift this one on!

My New Favorite Thing- Lunch-Bots

That Fake Plastic Fish woman introduced me and the rest of the world to a great find! LunchBots- a stainless steel alternative to plastic in your lunch bag. I ordered them and I love them- The lunchbot uno is the perfect size to pack a sandwich or burrito in. The Lynchbots Duo is great for taking some salad and/or chips or a little dessert in. And after going through Crunchy's Food waste reduction challenge and taking more leftovers in my lunch these are great. Stainless steel tins and powdered coated tops make these the best thing for taking lunch in. I highly reccomend them. And I know Beth does too- she is giving away her Lunchbots Duo . So i would head over there and sign up if I were you. Also, she has a coupon code for free shipping! (Code is FREESHIP09 -No secrets here!)And as you can see in the pics above I was able to get two sloppy Jose's in my lunchbot uno!

GIVEAWAY: THE WONDERS OF SPROUTING

Ok I mentioned a giveaway on Friday and here it is... The Wonders of Sprouting by Lucie Desjarlais. This is a pretty good little booklet on sprouting your own sprouts, only 27 pages and quick to read. There is a detailed sprouting table in the middle, with varieties, descriptions, hints , how to eat them etc, etc.

The basic rules apply, to enter the giveaway, just post a comment to this post. Winner will be selected by my old friend, Random Integer Generator on random.org; giveaway closes on Friday, Feb 27th, 2009 at 5pm.

Good Luck!

Hookey day at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show

Who wouldn't love a fiddle playing frog? I would!
I took the day off to go to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, like I do almost every year. I drove to my mom's to park the truck and took the bus (well two busses actually) to the Convention Center. As usual, when I got there it was like spring had sprung!
This year was bittersweet as the promoters have announced this is the last year for the show, the 2nd largest indoor Flower and garden show in the country. It always helps to jump start spring for me. Anyway I had a good time perusing the display gardens. I always like the "Funky Junk" display, a display were local teens make some unique "junk art" out of found and discarded items like an old janitor sink as a pond- Unfortunately my pics of the funky junk were a tad, well, funky and didn't turn out well for posting..
Speaking of Junk art, I got to meet and listen to Beth Evans-Ramos, a local blogger and co-owner of The Salvage Studio, give a talk on her junking career, what gives her inspiration and a slide show on many of the things she has created (Beth inspired me to make my birdbath) lots of inspiration that I am afraid y'all gonna be reading about. I also met her co-hort and partner in the studio, Lisa, who makes the greatest clocks out of dominoes and silver trays, and also makes cool things out of old forks. I am gonna have to get their book, "The Salvage Studio: Sustainable Home Comforts to Organize, Entertain, and Inspire " Lots of good stuff.
This years show, more so than other years, really seemed to emphasize greener living. I saw lots of folks with totes, re-usable water bottles, looking into more sustainable gardening practices. That is really cool. And of course I bought more Seed Ballz, so maybe a giveaway in the near future. Actually I will maybe have a giveaway tomorrow, but not Seed Ballz so stay tuned!

A new choice for lawns? This actually would be cool- drought tolerant, nice to look at, you only mow it once per season!

As usual, I find building inspiration- Like this Pergola. This show makes my life so difficult!

Somehow I always seem to find Classic Cars- this 60's era Mustang was featuring the Shed, and the pavers. It made a nice statement.

Speaking of classics that catch my eye- The Turf Bug would be so cool to drive around in- this display was by Dream Turf- the VW- a 1974 Super Beetle covered with dream turf- A neat new "astro turf" that even Ed Begley Jr let Rachelle put in his yard (first place I ever saw it on their TV show "Living with Ed") The Turf is really cool and while putting plastic Turf may not initially seem to be a Green option- No mowing, no watering and no fertilizing certainly makes it so!

Red-Icculus’s Vegetarian Lentil Burgers

No peoples- I haven’t gone vegetarian on you- I just believe that we should be kinder to earth and not eat so much red meat. Guess it is kinder to the cows, too.
I saw this post on Red-Icculus’s blog, and I knew I had to try them. I was going to boil the lentils in Beef stock, but thought that would be cheating now. So I bought Vegetable stock- so I thought. Turns out I bought Chicken stock. I said “Aw the hell with it” and used water. Good old H20. Out of the tap. (Who the hell is so scattered brain the mistake the word “Vegetable” with the word “Chicken”?) Anyway, unusually for me, I followed Red’s recipe to the letter- except I used green pepper instead of red – I had green pepper in the freezer, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper flakes in the beans. I topped mine with homemade catsup and some hot sauce.
I am giving them one enthusiastic thumb’s up, A tad bit starchy, but otherwise delicious! Now I know what to serve Ed Begley, Jr, when he comes over for a Barbeque!

Red-Icculus' Lentil Burgers

Lentils

Red Pepper

Onion, About half

Red pepper, Chopped about half a pepper

garlic, to taste

black pepper, to taste

salt, just a bit

an egg or Bob's Red Mill egg substitute

Oilve Oil

Boil a cup of lentils until all of the moisture is cooked off ( I used about 2 cups of water)Then add red pepper, onion, garlic, black pepper, a bit of salt, and an egg. Bob’s Red Mill egg substitute can be used for vegans. The mixture is formed into patties and placed on medium-low heat with a little olive oil in the pan. They are flipped GENTLY after about 5 minutes. Cook for an additional 5 minutes

Our city workers are ANIMALS!!!

Nom Nom Nom!

Goats- they have those horizontal pupils that just charm the pants off you. They make pretty good milk too. Now they make pretty good yard laborers!
Goats work for the city of Burien. Following a local trend started by SeaTac airport, Burien, my fair city, happily is jumping on the band wagon. They hired goattrimmers to rid Mathison Park of blackberries (apparentley their favorite food) , ivy and a whole bunch of invasive weeds growing in the park. It works. I can say that the park is cleared out. This should be the best advertising for using goats as trimmers. Now if only they would rent me two goats for a day or two. I promise that the dogs would not get near them! Here is a video form the b-town blog on the goats. The goats do all this fast for a fraction of the cost! It is good to see the city using it's brains on an old problem. Goats do the work, get fed, the parkland gets cleared- Hey, it's a win-win for all! Now if I could lure a goat or two to clear the blackberries out of my yard!!!
Here is a video from the b-Town blog on the goats working

All the poop thats fit to print

Picture- Freund's Farm Market
Yes, you may groan now- this is yet another post on poop.

I am a plumber, so poop IS my business!

Continuing the discussion on compostable starter pots for your veggies, after reading the comments, Abbie made a comment on poo pots, an episode on Dirty Jobs. I googled "poo pots", I eventually found the video on you tube from the dirty jobs series(discovery networks asks that their videos not be embedded so the link is the best I can do). I also found a link to where poo pots or "cow pots" are sold. What we have here is another example of eco-capitalism. Just like Terra Cycle worm poop products, this here farm takes cow manure, and has figured out how to make a money making product from this. The important thing is also, as "E" pointed out, that peat is mined and processed and probably wont be around for ever. I know there is a big concern over that in England. So that makes poo pots even more important because they should be able to be made as long as there are farm animals making manure. I also found this link, for a tool to make your own starter pots, but I personally think using a small bottle or such will work just as well... just follow the instruction on the link at the end of yesterday's post. So sorry about another poopy post, I just think that anybody who figures out another use for shit and makes money at it, should be rewarded! As for me, I think I will make starter pots out of newspaper or toilet rolls next winter, but I will probably order a dozen poo pots to see how much better they are!

Good things and bad things

Ever notice how you think something must be good and it turns out bad? Bonnie Plants sells their Tomato plants, peppers etc in peat pots which in itself is a great thing- you plant the plant in its pot in the ground and the pot composts itself, fertilizing the ground around the plant. Just throw away the little plastic collar around the pulp pot. BUT- Bonnie plants are in Alabama. I think unless you live in the south, this would make the carbon footprint of the plant something awful.
Now I am not faulting Bonnie plants at all. They have come up with an ingenious answer to an old problem- the plastic starter packs. And for that they deserve a truckload of credit. But it makes me wonder why other plant nurseries don't do the same thing. I have a hard time believing that the plastic starter pots are that much cheaper. And what about the disposal costs? But I suppose they don't have to throw them away so they don't pay disposal costs.
You can make these at home your self by starting plants using Diy starter pots or toilet paper tubes or even egg shells!

My Nuts Are Clean...

...and wash my laundry! I thought since all I posted about the last couple of days are slugs and worms I needed something cleansing to post about,so naturally I had to post about my nuts! Maggie's Soap Nuts laundry soap that grows on trees! Soap Nuts are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree. They contain saponin, a natural cleaner used for thousands of years to clean clothes. I must admit the smell is not great, but it doesn't get in the clothes. So far my clothes look all right, so maybe there is something there! The website is okay, there is a FAQ section that explains why it is necessary to package soap nuts in plastic and with a silica gel packet, and questions that you can have fun with like "My Nuts have turned black and sticky! What’s up?" really there is an answer for that- not my answer but a good answer!

SHAVING AND OTHER THOUGHTS

I always chuckle to myself when I see another blogger wonder what to do about personal hygene products like shaving and hair washing. Not having the hair washing gene, I generally just shave it off. Not like Stewie here, but my head. Easy answer for me. But not for others. Now my beard is another story. How do I shave my beard and still subscribe to green practices? I know Beth at Fake Plastic Fish uses a safety razor she bought at a thrift shop, but safety razors are not the norm since disposables came out. So I went on a search of better shaving methods- I bought a bar of General Ichabod Conk solid shave soap, a shaving foam bowl which I already had and a boar's bristle shaving brush which I also already had, and I know you can get them online. But no safety razor! Online sure, but like the chicken lady knows I have a 'I want it now' attitude. I have enough disposable blades to keep me in check until the end of Chicky's challenge, But I will continue to look for a safety razor. So anyway I get home and lather up with the boar bristle brush and the shaving soap. I was not disappointed in the amount of lather. And the shave went pretty smooth. I generally use shaving creme from Trader Joe's but get disappointed in the lather and the plastic tube it comes in. This solid shaving soap stuff is great and I found online I can buy in bulk and it comes in a cardboard tube with no individual wrapped bars. I have also seen it in the co-op with good wrapping! I can't say how it does for underarms, legs or other body parts but for my he-man solid beard it works fantastic. And no bad waste! I highly recommend!

LIFE LESS PLASTIC BLOG/ IKEA LIVING ROOM MAKEOVER

Found yet another great blog- LIFE LESS PLASTIC This gal makes real sense especially her argument on paper towels. Nice to see so many like minded peeps out there! Also, looking around blog land today at Ikea hacker had a great post about a Denise, who set out to makeover her boyfriends apartment living room and did so using primarily the furniture that was there already and items from the AS-IS department at Ikea- the living room turned out fabulous- thrifty and green! gotta love that!

GREEN DAY

not the music group- my day has been a succesfull green day- 1- I went out and took car of the compster, adding stuff to it and strirring 2- I RE-USED a 5 gallon bucket at work today- Made a tool box out of it- the Seattle Times gave me a tool organiser for a bucket at the NW Garden and flower show- I look at it- it was sturdy enough for my tools- I found a five gallon bucket destined for the trash and now have a nifty tool bucket! 3- I went crazy recycling today. 4- I have been re-using containers instead of buying them (like ziploc containers) I also found a use for pill bottles- I have been using them to sort my small nails, and put those pesky little screwdriver bits in. They are so handy!