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FUROSHIKI HOW-TO – IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK

December 23rd, 2012
By Christa

It suddenly struck me that in a post about green gift wrap options, everything
sounded easy and fun except for furoshiki. That kind of thing happens when you
refer to something as “the Japanese art of” because if it’s an art, it must be
complicated, right? Nah. Basic furoshiki is totally within reach of unpracticed
hands, which means you could be on your way to a greener Christmas if you
haven’t already wrapped your gifts. And if you have a few sizable bandannas, or
charming scarves handy. Here are two tutorials to get you started:










Posted by Christa in Green Giving | | 3 Comments »



GREEN TIPS FOR THE BRIDE

March 17th, 2011
By Christa

As I mentioned a while back, green topics have actually come up pretty
frequently at the other two blogs I author: Manolo for the Home and Manolo for
the Brides. In the last post, I shared a list of eco-friendly posts from Manolo
for the Home, and today I want to share a similar list taken from the archives
of Manolo for the Brides.





Green Tips for the Bride:

 * A suggestion for those looking for green wedding rings: GreenKarat
 * Eco-friendly wedding dresses? NtB likes Tammam White, for one
 * A certified green wedding? Apparently, it’s a thing
 * How about a bunch of sweet (and easy) green wedding tips?
 * Green and gorgeous sustainable wedding dresses are just an Etsy click away
 * Many people don’t realize there are cruelty-free silk wedding dresses, too!


Posted by Christa in Green Giving, Green Holidays, Green Living | | Comments Off
on Green Tips for the Bride



DEATHS OF BABY DOLPHINS AND THE HEALTH OF THE GULF

March 16th, 2011
By Christa

Since the start of 2011, twenty-four dolphin calves have been found dead on
shores of Alabama and Mississippi – about ten times what’s normal. Scientists,
as you might imagine, aren’t happy about what that number says about the health
of the Gulf of Mexico. No one’s shouting BP! BP!, but the folks investigating
the circumstances behind the dolphin deaths aren’t ruling out after-effects of
the oil spill as a potential cause. Make of that what you will, since the jury
is still out.

> The IMMS said it has been able to perform full necropsies on a third of the 24
> calves. The majority of the calves were too decomposed for a full examination,
> but the institute has taken tissue samples for analysis.
> 
> “In a world when we wouldn’t be dealing with oil-spill protocols, we’d
> typically get results in about three weeks to a month,” [Blair Mase of NOAA]
> said. “We aren’t going to see results as quickly as we’d like to. We will be
> making sure these samples are collected, taken back and analyzed, but it could
> take several months.”
> 
> While none of the 30 dolphins were found with any oil on them, Mase said the
> agency is not ruling anything in or out on the cause of death.

There are plenty of possibilities. Six of the bodies were found intact enough
for dissection, and were found to be a mix of stillborn, premature, and
full-term calves that died shortly after birth. Marine mammals like dolphins are
particularly sensitive to algae blooms, diseases that spread through pods,
temperature and environmental changes, and of course, human impact. Which means
that it could be anything.

But when we’re seeing 10 times the normal number of dead dolphins washing up on
shore over in an area large enough to indicate multiple pods may be involved and
scientists are calling the numbers “unprecedented,” something weird is probably
going on. Right?


Posted by Christa in Animal Issues, Nature, Pollution | | Comments Off on Deaths
of Baby Dolphins and the Health of the Gulf



10 WAYS TO ENJOY THE GREAT OUTDOORS AT WINTER’S GNARLY END

March 14th, 2011
By Christa

So, March. Where you live, March may be totally delightful and filled with
sounds and scents of springtime. Where I live, there is still ice blocking quite
a few of the sidewalks. Dirty, gross drifts of snow still line the edges of
parking lots and block access to walkways. At the same time, said snow is
melting, which means lots and lots of mud everywhere. And sand, too. Plus it’s
not exactly warm out.

But I want… no, I need to get out of the house! My toddler also needs to get out
of the house, though her idea of what constitutes good mid-March fun differs
somewhat from my own. She’d like to have full access to all dirty puddles and
mud, which may or may not be your notion of fun. On the grownup side of things,
here are 10 ways I am getting back outdoors while the weather is still cold:

1. Get out and just walk – be careful of the ice

2. Plant your bulbs (and enjoy the fruits of your labors in the springtime)

3. Put out suet and birdseed for birds who may have had a long, lean winter

4. And then watch the birds go crazy

5. Shovel a maze through the remaining snow in your yard, then run the kids or
the dog through it until maximum exhaustion levels have been reached

6. Alternately, look for animal prints in the remaining snow

7. Go to the park and find a sunny spot to just sit and meditate on winter’s
decline

8. Or maybe the beach, where the sand is finally peeking out from under the snow
when the tide’s not high

9. Pull all the dead plants from last year’s garden that weren’t pulled before
the snow set in

10. Break in your porch swing or deck chairs early and read a book under a big,
warm blanket

No matter how you celebrate the fact that it’s almost starting to warm up and
the snow is almost getting to manageable levels, just remember those snow or
rain boots since it’s wet out there! (And maybe a scarf, too.)

How do you enjoy the outdoors when it’s still cold and gross – but slightly less
gross and cold – outside?


Posted by Christa in Green Living | | Comments Off on 10 Ways to Enjoy the Great
Outdoors at Winter’s Gnarly End



INSULATION: FIRST THE BODY, THEN THE HOME

March 13th, 2011
By Christa

In light of last month’s post about lowering the thermostat to lose weight, I
was totally jazzed to happen upon a really fascinating article about how
clothing impacts comfort indoors in Low-Tech Magazine.

> There is another way to reduce energy consumption for space heating that does
> not have any of these disadvantages: lowering the thermostat and putting on
> more clothes. Although room temperature is hardly ever mentioned as a factor
> in energy use, it is a decisive factor in the energy consumption of heating
> systems…The insulating properties of clothing can be expressed in “clo”-units,
> where one “clo” equals the thermal insulation required to keep a resting
> person (for instance, a couch potato) indefinitely comfortable at a
> temperature of 21° Celsius (70° Fahrenheit)…The clo is an interesting unit
> because it allows us to precisely calculate which clothes we have to wear to
> feel comfortable at any given indoor temperature. According to the
> “Encyclopedia of occupational health and safety”, the required clo-value to
> maintain a neutral thermal sensation rises to about 2.7 at an indoor
> temperature of 10° Celsius (50°F). When the indoor temperature drops to 0° C
> (32°F), the required thermal insulation rises to 4 clo…The energy savings
> potential of clothing is so large that it cannot be ignored – though in fact
> this is exactly what is happening now. This does not mean that home insulation
> and efficient heating systems should not be encouraged. All three paths should
> be pursued, but improving clothing insulation is obviously the cheapest,
> easiest and fastest way.

I don’t know about you, but it’s nice to hear some advocating the wearing of a
little more clothing over jacking the thermostat. Particularly since I’ve got
myself pretty well trained to reach for another layer when I feel a chill
instead of bumping the numbers. Now that I read the article I linked, I’m really
excited to get some awesome high-tech, slim-fitting thermal gear for next
winter. What about you? Are you rocking the long undies?

Neckwarmer by Cushy Company


Posted by Christa in Green Living, Housing, Technology | | 2 Comments »



FUR STILL NOT DEMONSTRABLY ECO-FRIENDLY DESPITE ADVERTISING TO THE CONTRARY

March 10th, 2011
By Christa

I first read about Furisgreen.com at Treehugger, and I have to admit, the web
site is compelling. Animals breed, making the main component of a fur coat a
renewable resource. A fur coat in good condition can be repurposed into other
accessories, which is a form of recycling, and maybe even composted. Kept well,
fur garments are durable, which could translate into fewer new garments for fur
enthusiasts. And the Furisgreen.com folks, aka the Fur Council of Canada, argue
that fur is humanely trapped and farmed, super non-polluting to process, and
provides a much-needed livelihood for indigenous peoples in the north.





On the other hand, the Humane Society tells a different story:

> Mink, foxes, raccoon dogs, rabbits and other species with the misfortune of
> having attractive fur are raised in wire mesh battery cages on fur confinement
> operations, described euphemistically as “fur farms,” to account for 85% of
> the world’s production of animal fur.3 The animal wastes contain high
> concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus.
> 
> A 2003 Michigan State University study in the Fur Rancher Blue Book of Fur
> Farming states that “the U.S. mink industry adds almost 1,000 tons of
> phosphorus to the environment each year.”
> 
> The 2003 European Commission Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control
> Bureau “Reference Document on Best Available Techniques for the Tanning of
> Hides and Skins”
> recognizes the tanning15 industry as “a potentially pollution-intensive
> industry.”
> 
> The Industrial Pollution Projection System rates the fur dressing and dyeing
> industry one of the five worst industries for toxic metal pollution to the
> land.

Personally, I don’t wear fur, but I’ve always found it a bit difficult to accept
the OMG FUR IS SUPER GROSS argument from someone wearing a leather jacket made
of leather that came from who knows where. Tell me, is leather more acceptable
because it’s made from a big dumb cow while the fur in a fur coat is made from a
majestic wild animal?

As for whether fur is green, I think the arguments on both sides are clothed in
shades of gray.

Furisgreen.com claims that fur in general is fair trade, non-polluting, and
sustainable – in other words, quite green – but provides no actual evidence to
back up its claims. But while processing and dyeing fur requires some gnarly
chemicals and can lead to industrial pollution of waterways when factories are
less-than-careful about disposal and containment, so can the processing of
leather – which happens on a much larger scale. The same goes for energy
consumption and whether it’s good for the primary producer versus the
manufacturer who sells a fur or leather product for hundreds of bucks.

Do I think that some fur (and leather) can be produced in a green way?
Absolutely. Do I think the fur and leather on an average pair of boots made in
China and sold at the department store has much chance of being green? No. With
regards to Furisgreen.com, my greenwashing detector is going off in a big way.


Posted by Christa in Fashion, Green Living | | 3 Comments »



COULD YOU GO A YEAR WITHOUT A CLOTHES DRYER?

March 9th, 2011
By Christa

Annie Hintsala did, after her dryer broke one day and her handy husband
pronounced it dead. Rather than buy a new one, she swapped her dryer for two
clothes lines… and she liked it. The bonuses were a lower electricity bill, no
need to run a humidifier in the winter, and clothing that lasts longer. Oh, and
a little family time.

> ….as the days went on and we thought about giving up and just buying a new
> dryer, we found that the chore became a chatting time to catch up on the day.
> Our son would often help, and it turned into less of a chore. It became a
> routine that simply was part of the daily set, like doing dishes and cooking.

Not that there haven’t been downsides. A line of laundry does take up space,
especially when you’re a family of three. And a clothes dryer gets rid of lint
and stiffness and a certain amount of static electricity. But if you have the
space for it and don’t mind dealing with some fuzzies on your clothes, ditching
your dryer is not a bad way to live a little greener.

My own answer to the question of whether I could go a year without a clothes
dryer is sure, probably. Here in Massachusetts it wouldn’t be ideal in the
winter, but it would certainly be doable in our particular house. And when I
lived in Costa Rica, I went without a dryer or a washer – that’s right, for four
months, I washed all of my clothing by hand in a great big tub, stomping on it
with bare feet and ringing it out in the shower. Ever tried ringing out a
soaking towel all by yourself? Not fun, but again, doable.

Could you go a year without a clothes dryer?

Image: Tabitha Blue


Posted by Christa in Cleaning, Energy, Green Living | | 3 Comments »



THINKING IN TERMS OF NEEDS VERSUS WANTS CAN GREEN YOUR LIFE BY DEFAULT

March 8th, 2011
By Christa

What do you think when you hear the word ‘downsize’? Or ‘simplicity’? It might
not be the most popular way to go green, but it’s often the easiest: Buy less
crap. Especially crap you don’t need and crap that’s not going to add any beauty
or positivity to your life. I got to thinking about this topic after reading one
woman’s account of returning to the U.S. – specifically, New York – after
residing in Mexico and what she felt upon visiting a common Target store.

> I walked through the automatic doors, took a deep breath of that familiar,
> Target-scented air, and accepted a cart from an overly-enthusiastic
> 50-something with really bad makeup. Above her was a huge sign that perfectly
> represents what I believe to be one of the biggest downfalls of our culture.
> It read, “Are you sure one cart is going to be enough?”
> 
> According to Sharon Beder, a professor of social sciences who researches the
> “power relationships” between corporations and consumers, “Advertisers spend
> 100s of billions of dollars a year worldwide encouraging, persuading and
> manipulating people into a consumer lifestyle that has devastating
> consequences for the environment through its extravagance and wastefulness.”
> Psychologists are paid big bucks to determine how to most cleverly convince
> the human brain to want what is being sold.

I don’t even live in Mexico *sniff* and that’s how I feel pretty much every time
I set foot in a Target. I’m even fairly good at getting in and out without
needing that second cart because having a budget or practicing simplicity can
make a person’s life greener by default. For example, I don’t buy a lot of goods
that recently came off a less-than-stellar from a human rights and environmental
standpoint factory production line in Chine that had to be shipped to the U.S. –
but that’s because I don’t buy a lot of goods in general.

Which isn’t to say I’m some holier-than-thou minimalist who never buys anything
that wasn’t produced by a well-paid local artisan. There’s that budget,
remember? I’m living squarely in the culture of stuff, just like everyone else.

Remember this?





If you’re not living on a budget – lucky lucky you! – then you can still go
green by default by faking it. Just make an effort to analyze your consumption
habits and make a habit of asking yourself if what you’re buying is a want or a
need before grabbing that second cart. Buying less crap won’t make you mega
green, of course, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction!


Posted by Christa in Green Living, Green Politics, Re-Use, Simplicity | | 1
Comment »



CANDY WRAPPER CHIC

March 7th, 2011
By Christa

Nahui Ollin designer Olga Abadi discovered the ancient Mayan technique of
binding everyday materials into handbags at a cultural festival in Mexico. She
turned her discovery into a green business by creating fun designs for bags and
accessories (headbands, keychains, for example) that are produced by individual
artisans under Fair Trade and sweatshop-free practices in Mexico. Where do the
candy wrappers for the Black & White and other lines come from? They’re
essentially discards that would otherwise end up in landfills – not every candy
wrapper comes out good enough to pass quality control.

For those who aren’t so sure how a candy wrapper handbag would hold up to daily
use, folded and twisted candy wrappers are actually surprisingly durable. We’ve
had candy wrapper bowls crafted in Nepal for years now, and they’ve stood up to
use and abuse by us and a toddler.


Posted by Christa in Fashion | | Comments Off on Candy Wrapper Chic



ARE MOCK MEATS GREEN?

March 6th, 2011
By Christa

I would never argue that a person can’t eat meat sustainably, though I’ll
certainly argue that most people don’t. Which makes sense, because for a lot of
folks, organically farmed meat and humanely raised meat are cost prohibitive. So
sometimes the easiest way not to be a part of the abuses and pollution that are
the hallmarks of the modern factory farm is to eat less meat or even no meat at
all.

The only problem is that meat is totally tasty, and it’s familiar, too. Which
means that a lot of us vegetarians and sometimes vegetarians gravitate toward
faux meats or fake meats or meat analogs or veggie meats. But is switching to
meat analogs better from a green standpoint?

Obviously the greenest way to be a vegetarian or ‘flexitarian’ is to eat fewer
processed foods and more whole foods, not to replace meat with meat analogs.
According to a 2008 study:

> In conventional production, a kilogram of raw [soy] beans generates about 150
> grams to 300 grams of carbon-dioxide equivalent, as opposed to 2,500 grams for
> the equivalent quantity of edible chicken meat.

But since faux meat can also be totally tasty, people are going to eat it. And
let’s not forget tofu, which some people use in place of meat and even eggs or
cheese in their cooking. Speaking of, back in 2009, Slate’s Green Lantern looked
into how green tofu et al. is compared to various meats. While tofu naturally
beat out factory farmed beef by a mile, it performed only slightly better than
chicken and fish.

> Last year, the Dutch government commissioned a study of the environmental
> effects of vegetarian “meat substitutes,” including veggie burgers, Quorn and
> tofu. According to the analysis, a kilogram of tofu sold in the Netherlands
> produces about two kilograms of carbon-dioxide equivalent from the farm to the
> supermarket. That’s only a little less than Dutch chicken, at 3 kilograms of
> CO2-equivalent per kilogram of meat. Mackerel, herring, pollock and mussels —
> some of which the Lantern has already championed as low-carbon options for
> seafood lovers — scored about the same or better than tofu. That’s a much
> smaller difference than the Lantern would have expected.

Full disclosure: I love Grillers Prime veggie burgers. I loved them before I
became a vegetarian. Meat analogs have always been on my menu. But green they
are not. My veggie burgers come wrapped in plastic in packages of two inside a
cardboard box. My veggie meatballs are sealed inside a non-recyclable plastic
package wrapped in a cardboard sleeve. Some of my favorite mock meats come
individually wrapped inside even more packaging.

Plus various sometimes-not-so-nice chemicals are used in the processing of all
these delightful treats, they are chock-full of sodium and additives, and
they’re often manufactured in Asia or some other faraway locale. Consequently, I
don’t kid myself about how Earth-friendly they are and, because of that, they
ARE treats, not food for every meal. *sigh*

BUT I should add that the fake meats you make at home from scratch are an
entirely different… ahem, animal. We’ll occasionally make homemade seitan (from
the recipe in this book and there are tons of great burger recipes out there. Do
you have a favorite veggie burger recipe? How heavily do meat analogs feature in
your diet?


Posted by Christa in Animal Issues, Food and Drink, Green Living | | 3 Comments
»


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RECENT COMMENTS:

* Fur Still Not Demonstrably Eco-Friendly Despite Advertising to the
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