Archive for Green
I’m Back, People!
It’s been weeks since I last posted, and my stats are showing it, so it’s back to the Blue-Green Grindstone, baby!
This morning as I was fighting the necessity of actually getting out of my delicious bed, NPR had a segment on Food, INC. (trailer), a new documentary about where our food really comes from. Now I know I’m a tad prone to conspiracy theory, but seriously–this is not the first place I’ve heard that there are meat industry lobbyists trying (and succeeding in some states) to make it illegal to say/show anything negative about the meat industry (beef in particular). First Amendment, anyone?
How to save the world – or at least feed the hungry
My main reason for being vegetarian is that a loathe the concept of factory farms and the condition in which animals live.
But if you’re not as much of an animal softy as I am, here’s another reason to consider reducing or eliminating meat from your diet:
“[I]t takes 8 or 9 cattle a year to feed one average meat eater. Each cow needs 1 acre of green plants, corn, or soybeans a year. Thus, it takes about 9 acres of plants a year for the meat one person eats rather than the half acre needed if the plants themselves were eaten. The amount of grain needed to provide meat for one person is enough to feed about 20 people for a year. [...] A reduction of meat consumption by only 10 percent would result in about 12 million more tons of grain for human consumption. This additional grain could feed all of the humans who starve to death each year–about 60 million people! Furthermore, about 26,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 2 pounds of beef, whereas 2 pounds of wheat require only about 120 gallons.”
–Marc Beckoff, The Ten Trusts
Earth-friendly Errand
Walking to work was out of the question, but as part of the Twin Cities Bike Walk Week (May 10-16), I walked to the grocery store instead of driving. Cage free eggs and Morning Star Farms meat substitute for my [soon-to-be]famous hash recipe.
Intak Water Bottle
This is, quite possible, the coolest thing ever.
Want to know how much water you’re drinking in a day? Thermos makes the BPA-free Intak water bottle with a rotating tracker that counts the number of times you’ve filled and emptied it. It only counts up to 6, but it holds 24 ounces, so 6 should be plenty in a day.
Don’t P on [Our] Lawn
On Saturday I took my beagle, Lucy, for a long Sabbath walk. She’s still an adolescent by dog standards, and she needs a ton of exercise (i.e. has to be exhuasted) before she’ll behave.
I’m trying to train her to heel–even when she sees something/someone of extreme interest to the huntress buried in her genes. She’s all nose, so it’s an uphill battle. I expect squirrels to send your ranting, raving and roving to the grass. But in said grass, I’ve discovered something troubling:
Now, don’t get me wrong: I do appreciate being made aware of the fact that the lawn is chemically treated. At the same time, though, I’m bothered by the fact itself.
I grew up in the country, barefoot most of the summer, and it’s foreign to me that I might have to wear shoes just to avoid chemical transfer onto my skin, into my home, into my dog, etc.
Lucy is the epitome of a goat-dog. She swallowed a dead bird whole yesterday; she’s not the sensitive tummy type. But her built-in immunity to bacteria found in naturally occurring, dog-ish scavenging doesn’t protect her against chemically treated grass–which she treats like salad. (You know, she wants her greens before her entree of bird carcass. She’s healthy like that. 
)
LawnToLake.org has a lot of resources and info for lawn care that don’t involve so many risky chemicals, which can end up in the water supply because of the run-off. Their current headline is “Don’t P On Your Lawn!” (P=phosphorus), and you gotta love that. Check it out if you have control over the grass around you.
