For those in the greater Nashville area, I'd like to let you know of a group that has been around for over 20 years, but has just gone online, the "Cumberland Greens Bioregional Council". It's a good group of folks that have been instrumental in several environmental and social issues in the area. Check us out here. It's free to join, hope to see you there.
Doug
23 February 2008
21 February 2008
Safely disposing of CFLs:
By now most of us have at least heard of CFLs: Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs.
These bulbs are environmentally friendly because they use less energy than a standard light bulb and have a much longer life span. When broken these bulbs do release small amounts of mercury vapor into the air, the same as other fluorescent bulbs. As a result special care should be taken in disposing of both broken and burned out CFLs.
The EPA has issued guidelines for disposing of CFL waste, for more information go here.
These bulbs are environmentally friendly because they use less energy than a standard light bulb and have a much longer life span. When broken these bulbs do release small amounts of mercury vapor into the air, the same as other fluorescent bulbs. As a result special care should be taken in disposing of both broken and burned out CFLs.
The EPA has issued guidelines for disposing of CFL waste, for more information go here.
20 February 2008
Wake County Community Meeting to discuss drought February 23rd
For more information visit Raleigh Eco News.
Raleigh facing water restrictions in face of continuing drought:
According to this press release from the city of Raleigh in North Carolina, the lake that supplies most of the water for that city and 8 surrounding counties is 8.65 feet below full. Water restrictions have been put into place and there has been a 24% reduction in water usage in the area.
In other drought related news, the city of Atlanta has decided to allow public pools to go ahead with regularly scheduled fill-ups and openings even though the city is under level 4 water restrictions. For more information, check out the Atlanta Water Shortage blog.
The Middle Tennessee area hasn't had any water restrictions placed on it to date, but we are still at a level 4 (Exceptional Drought) on the drought monitor in the middle of our "rainy season". Hopefully local government will take the necessary steps to conserve water in our area, too.
In other drought related news, the city of Atlanta has decided to allow public pools to go ahead with regularly scheduled fill-ups and openings even though the city is under level 4 water restrictions. For more information, check out the Atlanta Water Shortage blog.
The Middle Tennessee area hasn't had any water restrictions placed on it to date, but we are still at a level 4 (Exceptional Drought) on the drought monitor in the middle of our "rainy season". Hopefully local government will take the necessary steps to conserve water in our area, too.
19 February 2008
What Is Your "Food Print"?
Following on the heels of a new study by Cornell University researchers, a new buzz word has emerged in the English language ... "food print."
A "food print" is measured by calculating the amount of land that it takes to produce the food that you eat.
In the Cornell study, researchers discovered that a low-fat vegetarian diet needed the least amount of land. This diet only used 0.5 acres per person whereas a diet high in meats and fats used over two acres per person. Yet, these same researchers argued that the most "efficient" diet was one that incorporated small amounts of meat and dairy as these diets used low quality pasture lands more productively. A diet with a little meat and dairy, approximately 63 grams per day, would only require 0.6 acres of land per person.
Now, perhaps that doesn't seem like a big difference to you, but, taking the state of New York as an example, the switch to a low-fat vegetarian diet by all New Yorkers would allow the state's agriculture to support 50% more of the population. Additionally, this would mean that 32% of New York's food needs could be met with harvests produced within the state, as opposed to the current amount of 22%.
Jennifer Wilkins, one of the co-authors of the Cornell study, stated their conclusion quite succinctly, "The key to conserving land and other resources with our diets is to limit the amount of meat we eat and for farmers to rely more on grazing and forages to feed their livestock."
Yet, a true conservation ethic includes more than just tabulating how much land is needed to produce your food. It is also crucial to understand how your food was grown, where it was grown, and how it was processed, packaged and transported. Wilkins emphasized this point, "Consumers need to be aware that foods differ not only in their nutrient content but in the amount of resources required to produce, process, package and transport them."
So, a true "food print" should consider the total impact that your diet has on the environment. This total impact would not only include how much land is required to the produce the food, but also how many petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides may have been applied, how much energy was required to raise those crops and create those chemicals, and how much energy was expended in processing, packaging, and transporting the food.
These are only a few of the factors that must be considered in calculating your "food print."
I know that this seems quite overwhelming. In the United States, the majority of our food supply is dependent on industrial agriculture, which creates a tremendously negative impact on the environment and is extremely inefficient in its production. It is difficult to opt out of this system that has taken over our country's food supply thanks to corporate lobbyists and years of misguided agricultural policy.
Yet, I hope that this discussion gets you thinking when you next visit your grocery store or farmer's market. Do not turn off your brain and follow that shopping list blindly. Begin to question your food. Sure, you might get some strange look from folks as you interrogate that apple, "Where did you come from? Chile?," but isn't it important to know more about the items that you are putting into your body? It is your body and it is your right to know.
You can make a great difference not only to your health, but also the health of the planet, if you educate yourself about the food chain, buy local products whenever possible, and really think about what you eat.
The fate of the planet is on your fork!
(Cross-posted at Life has taught us ...)
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A "food print" is measured by calculating the amount of land that it takes to produce the food that you eat.
In the Cornell study, researchers discovered that a low-fat vegetarian diet needed the least amount of land. This diet only used 0.5 acres per person whereas a diet high in meats and fats used over two acres per person. Yet, these same researchers argued that the most "efficient" diet was one that incorporated small amounts of meat and dairy as these diets used low quality pasture lands more productively. A diet with a little meat and dairy, approximately 63 grams per day, would only require 0.6 acres of land per person.
Now, perhaps that doesn't seem like a big difference to you, but, taking the state of New York as an example, the switch to a low-fat vegetarian diet by all New Yorkers would allow the state's agriculture to support 50% more of the population. Additionally, this would mean that 32% of New York's food needs could be met with harvests produced within the state, as opposed to the current amount of 22%.
Jennifer Wilkins, one of the co-authors of the Cornell study, stated their conclusion quite succinctly, "The key to conserving land and other resources with our diets is to limit the amount of meat we eat and for farmers to rely more on grazing and forages to feed their livestock."
Yet, a true conservation ethic includes more than just tabulating how much land is needed to produce your food. It is also crucial to understand how your food was grown, where it was grown, and how it was processed, packaged and transported. Wilkins emphasized this point, "Consumers need to be aware that foods differ not only in their nutrient content but in the amount of resources required to produce, process, package and transport them."
So, a true "food print" should consider the total impact that your diet has on the environment. This total impact would not only include how much land is required to the produce the food, but also how many petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides may have been applied, how much energy was required to raise those crops and create those chemicals, and how much energy was expended in processing, packaging, and transporting the food.
These are only a few of the factors that must be considered in calculating your "food print."
I know that this seems quite overwhelming. In the United States, the majority of our food supply is dependent on industrial agriculture, which creates a tremendously negative impact on the environment and is extremely inefficient in its production. It is difficult to opt out of this system that has taken over our country's food supply thanks to corporate lobbyists and years of misguided agricultural policy.
Yet, I hope that this discussion gets you thinking when you next visit your grocery store or farmer's market. Do not turn off your brain and follow that shopping list blindly. Begin to question your food. Sure, you might get some strange look from folks as you interrogate that apple, "Where did you come from? Chile?," but isn't it important to know more about the items that you are putting into your body? It is your body and it is your right to know.
You can make a great difference not only to your health, but also the health of the planet, if you educate yourself about the food chain, buy local products whenever possible, and really think about what you eat.
The fate of the planet is on your fork!
(Cross-posted at Life has taught us ...)
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Drought Resistant Plant #2: Black Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta has many common names: Black-eyed Susan, Blackiehead, Brown Betty, Brown Daisy, Brown-eyed Susan, Yellow Ox-eye Daisy and many more. These beautiful flowers grow in most of North America, the ones pictured were photographed by me growing wild on a remote mountaintop in North Carolina.
The plants can reach up to 3 feet in height and depending on what area you are in they are annual, perennial or biennial. In Middle Tennessee where I do my gardening they come back year after year, but if your winters get colder than ours they may not make it through each year without some extra effort (mulching works well).
The USDA classifies it as being "medium" in drought tolerance, but as with the coneflower I find plants native to our area can at the very least live through even extreme drought, even if they don't produce copious amounts of flowers. And at the height of the drought last summer that was good enough for me!
I typically buy Black-eyed Susans in seedling form from a local nursery, they can be divided in a similar manner to other perennials after a few years.
Do you have other drought tolerant plants that work well in the Southeast? I'd love to hear about them!
18 February 2008
Bar 100: Asheville, NC
I found this restaurant while reading She Who Eats and let me tell you I am jealous. I do get to the Asheville area quite often to visit a dear friend and will check this place out next time I'm there for sure.
The premise is that all the ingredients at Bar 100 (opening February 28, 2008 in the front room area of Market Place Restaurant) are found within 100 miles of the location! A locavore's dream come true. I'll be sure to post my own review once I try it out!
The premise is that all the ingredients at Bar 100 (opening February 28, 2008 in the front room area of Market Place Restaurant) are found within 100 miles of the location! A locavore's dream come true. I'll be sure to post my own review once I try it out!
Dogwood Alliance tackles deforestation in the Southeast
This morning while scanning my Bloglines RSS feeder I came across this story from Treehugger about the paper mill industry and its affect on the ecology of the Southeastern U.S.
Apparently the Southern U.S. is the largest paper producing region in the entire world! I had no idea how many millions of acres of our forests are cut down each year to produce paper until I read this article.
For more information visit the Dogwood Alliance.
Apparently the Southern U.S. is the largest paper producing region in the entire world! I had no idea how many millions of acres of our forests are cut down each year to produce paper until I read this article.
For more information visit the Dogwood Alliance.
03 February 2008
Drought Resistant Plant #1: Coneflower
This year in the garden I plan to "prepare for drought and hope for rain." The weather was so brutal last summer and although I lost quite a few plants and didn't have overwhelming production from many of my vegetables my garden survived surprisingly well. By doing research on drought resistant plants I can educate myself beyond the "oh that picture looks pretty, I'll pick these tomatoes for this year's garden" and also move one step closer to my goal of working with nature more closely, starting in my own backyard.
One plant that I absolutely love (and that is a native of the Southeast) is the Coneflower. Most common in our area is Echinacea Purpurea. I've never successfully started this plant from seed so usually depend on a local nursery for seedlings. The good news is that a two or three year old plant can be (and should be!) easily divided into many more plants. The clump shown in the picture above were planted last year and hadn't had a chance to establish themselves before the drought set in, I am hoping that this year they will produce more flowers.
Bees and other pollinators love coneflower, and as a native plant it typically does very well in a Southeastern garden without too much fussing. The flowers are beautiful and long lasting in bouquets and on the plant.
02 February 2008
It's that time again.....
time to start thinking of the garden!
I was reading one of my favorite "frugal" websites today and have to say: I just can't get behind this!
Putting a monetary value on gardening just DOES NOT WORK.
You just can't put a dollar amount on reconnecting with nature. I understand where he's coming from (I really do!) but gardening is so invaluable to me I can't imagine plotting it on a spreadsheet.
I was reading one of my favorite "frugal" websites today and have to say: I just can't get behind this!
Putting a monetary value on gardening just DOES NOT WORK.
You just can't put a dollar amount on reconnecting with nature. I understand where he's coming from (I really do!) but gardening is so invaluable to me I can't imagine plotting it on a spreadsheet.
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