Green Your Sole: Eco-friendly Footwear July 2, 2008

A shoe is a shoe is a shoe, right? Not necessarily. We all need shoes. But, we don’t have to be pedestrian adj. COMMONPLACE, UNIMAGINATIVE pedestrians. There are a growing number of footwear companies that are offering environmentally friendly footwear. Some of those companies along with sample shoes and materials they use (or don’t use) in making their shoes (and we’ve included the links to give you an idea of the look — not as a recommendation to buy from any of these vendors, since there are quite a few vendors that offer these shoes and it’s best to comparison shop):

• Vans Mesa- hemp and premium textile upper, bamboo charcoal lined midsole, and water based inks
• Ethletic Flip Flop- fairtrade, biodegradable, 100% FSC-certified rubber soles, no animal glues, PVC, or EVA
• Nike Trash Talk basketball sneaker- upper sole is leather and synthetic waste, midsole is scrap foam, and outsole is Nike Regrind material made from footwear manufacturer scraps
• Simple Sno Tire- organic cotton canvas uppers, organic cotton linings with PET (recycled plastic bottles) laces and pedbeds, and the outsole used to be a car tire
• Keen Ventura- natural canvas uppers, recycled aluminum eyelets
• Chaco Hipthong Ecotread sandals- outsole is made from 25% recycled rubber
• Patagonia Pau- natural wool lining, sustainable harvested 70% hevea-milk latex outsoles that are stitched, not glued
• Teva Lennox sandals- straps are partially made of PET canvas, outsole is made of 50% post-consumer recycled rubber
• The North Face Creede- spun bamboo textile lining, plant cellulose fiber foam sock liner, 40% recycled rubber outsole
• Adbusters Blackspot Sneaker V1- 100% organic hemp, rubber sole and toe tip is 70% biodegradable
• Timberland has gotten creative with their industry first nutritional label that allows the buyer to see the Environmental Impact (energy used to maker per pair, renewable energy used), Community Impact (hours served in our communities, % of factories assassed against code of conduct, and child labor usage- always %), and where the shoe was manufactured. Their Mountain Sneaker has a lining made from sustainable, biodegradable merino wool, organically tanned full grain leather and fast growing hemp, and an outsole made with 30% recycled rubber.
• Po-Zu USA- offers a shoe called the Flynn that is made of un-bleached, un-dyed, organic tannec leather and pur vegetable rubber made from the silky sap of the Lectae Hevea tree. They also sell an edible shoe cream made from 100% coconut oil that is described as an ‘all-in-one’ beauty product that can be used as lip balm, skin moisturizer, hair conditioner, etc… and yes, you can even spread it on your toast!!! Does it get any better than that?!

These companies are not only environmentally friendly, but creative and innovative, as you can see from their products. Let’s hope that more and more footwear companies get into the eco-friendly shoe business- the more green choices we have, the better!

Balcony Gardening: Have Your Green Space and Eat It Too June 25, 2008

There are few things in the world that are better than taking a big bite of a freshly picked home grown vegetable salad. The taste of a tomato that has been ripening on the vine up until only minutes before you eat it is worlds beyond anything that you would find in the store. This goes for basically any produce. Unfortunately, for many of us, having a garden in the backyard is simply not a possibility. Fortunately, vegetables cannot tell if the dirt that they are enjoying is part of a grassy expanse or five stories up on the balcony of an apartment. I know that many of you are currently pondering the pros and cons of filling your outdoor space with dirt, mud, worms, and plants, but before you start putting down that layer of manure based compost, consider for a moment the joys of container gardening.

Container gardening is pretty much just what it sounds like. Instead of growing vegetables in a garden, plants are grown in containers. There are several advantages to container gardening. First of all, you can have a container garden wherever the containers will fit and you can bring your garden indoors should inclement weather threaten your budding packets of nutritious deliciousness. Second, the only requirements for the containers are that they are big enough to hold adequate soil and that there is a hole in the bottom to allow for proper drainage. This means that you can recycle things from around the house, which will keep your waste production down. One thing to keep in mind is that you want to avoid using containers that previously held chemicals. Third, potting soil is less likely to contain weed seeds and pests, which means less time that must be spent weeding and grooming your garden.

One drawback to using “traditional” containers is that they will require watering about once a day. Luckily, the gardening industry has looked kindly on those of us who are too busy to let our green thumbs grow and has come up with the self-watering container. A self-watering container is a container with a water reservoir. The water reservoir supplies your plants with water for several days, which means that all you have to do is refill the reservoir.

Now that we have the dirt, one of the two most important factors to any successful garden, taken care of, we can move onto the next topic. The second, but equally important ingredient to your growing produce aisle, is the sun. Most balconies are going to be at least partially covered spaces, which means that there will be differential light distribution. To make sure that all of your growing green friends are fed and happy, the arrangement of your plants will have to conform to your light availability. While it is possible that plants as large as corn and squash can be grown in containers, it is more likely that the larger end of the spectrum will be in the range of eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers. It is very possible to grow all of the aforementioned plants in containers, but it is important that these containers are placed in full sun. For the shadier corners of your garden, try things like spinach, lettuce, bok choy, and other leafy greens.

With this new found knowledge, it is possible for even the busiest apartment dweller to scratch their green itch and grow some garden goodness. All it takes is a place to put some dirt and some sun. Container gardening is a great way to have your green space and eat it too. For more info on balcony gardening, check out this blog too. Happy gardening!

Make your office product purchases wisely June 16, 2008

For anyone who has ever worked in a typical office setting, you know that office supplies and products tend to pile up and conservation doesn’t tend to be an important issue. Office products frequently come with enormous amounts of packaging, aren’t made of the most environmentally safe materials, and a good amount of them are produced thousands of miles away. Realizing that it takes certain office products to run a successful business these days, there is another framework within which we should be considering our purchasing practices when it comes to office products. This framework involves realizing the impacts of our office product purchases, reducing waste, and stressing conservation.

There are many benefits to greening your office products, including creating a stronger market for green products, saving money, and reducing the stress on our planet’s natural resources. The first step we’d recommend for trying to green your office product purchasing practices is to examine what your current needs are to make your business run. Chances are that when you conduct this “audit” of sorts, you will realize that you have much more than you could get by with. Once you have the list of office products you need, it is time to create a set of criteria for purchasing future products, as well as disposing of current products when they are no longer needed or usable.

A good starting point for purchasing criteria can be found on the EPA’s website through their Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines. The best way that I have found to think about the way we produce, use, and dispose of products is an idea called Cradle to Cradle. The idea is that we should model our manufacturing and consuming practices on nature. In nature, there is no such thing as waste. One process’ waste becomes another process’ food, so that there is a closed loop cycle in which ‘products’ are reincorporated into the material stream and reused in some way.

A few good websites that I have found that offer a variety of green office products are The Green Office, and Green Home Inc.

Paper

Office paper products include everything from printing paper, notepads, binders, memo pads, notebooks, post it notes, envelopes, folders, dividers, and labels. The options for green paper products have become much more plentiful in the last ten years. There are now options to buy paper that is made from recycled content (100% being the most preferable), sustainably harvested wood (FSC Certified is the most preferable), or even made of alternative materials that don’t include traditional forms of paper at all. Try to purchase paper products that meet a third party certification such as the above mentioned FSC label, or the Green Seal label. Because there are so many different paper products available which have less of an environmental impact than traditional paper, there should be no reason not to be purchasing and using greener paper products in your office. In some areas, it may still be a little more expensive, but the more that people create a market for greener paper products, the more the price will become competitive with traditional paper products.

A few products to check out are reusable envelopes from EcoEnvelopes, business cards with options of FSC- certified paper, recycled paper, soy ink, and chlorine free manufacturing, recycled binders, folders, dividers, labels, and CD cases from Sustainable Group, and for information about a process that creates tree-free paper called Banana Paper visit EcoPapers website.

Desktop Accessories

We all know that our desks get cluttered up with desktop accessories such as pens and pencils, pencil holders, staplers, tape, white-out, rulers, hole punchers, staple removers, calculators, scissors, and other products. So if you really need to have these products to function in the office, at least start thinking abut buying products that are more sustainable than the typical models and brands tend to be. Try to avoid buying products with a ton of unnecessary packaging, and look for items that are made of renewable, natural, or recycled materials. Decor Craft Inc. offers two interesting products: a wooden stapler and a cork memo pencil holder. Take a look at Green Earth Office Supply for recycled and refillable pens, recycled paper clips, and other green office products.

Furniture

When it comes to office furniture, a lot of offices would be surprised to find out just how much furniture is scattered around the office. The main furniture that is found in offices are desks, tables, chairs and couches, bookshelves, and file cabinets. The majority of these products are made out of non-sustainable materials and place an incredible stress on the natural resources of our planet. You don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics or comfort to be able to get office furniture that is more eco-friendly. There are many manufacturers now producing green furniture for the office.

Take a look at an example of a more eco-friendly filing cabinet which is made of recycled steel and doesn’t use any VOC’s. As for office chairs, some sustainable choices are Haworth’s Zody Chair, and SteelCase’s Think Chair, both of which are Cradle to Cradle Certified. EcoWork also designs and manufactures eco-friendly furniture.

Computers, Printers, Phones, Fax Machines

When it comes to the more technical equipment that most people need for their offices, it can be a little bit tougher to find green products. Since the technology used to manufacture these products is a little tougher to use natural and renewable materials for, two of the most important things to consider when purchasing computers, printers, phones, fax machines, etc. are whether : a) they are energy efficient; b) the manufacturer has a program that takes back the products when they stop working; and c) the products contain any toxic materials that could cause human health problems. Consider buying used equipment from a company like MicroStar that will save you money and keep the products out of the landfills. When it comes to these types of products look for energy efficient models, and consider purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s) to provide the power for these products. If you buy new products, don’t forget to choose products that are Energy Star certified!

Eco-Friendly Televisions June 6, 2008

Shopping for a new television? There are several things to look for when incorporating green practices into your television purchase.

Things to Consider:
Size:
Broadly speaking, the larger the TV, the more power it consumes. Regardless of the kind of TV you have (plasma, LCD etc..) If you’re really looking for giant images, projection screens are actually more eco-friendly then you would think. Consider downsizing your television size needs, or opt for a movie-style viewing system.

Chemicals:
Avoid toxic components, including flame retardants known as deca-brominated diphenyl ethers (deca-BDEs) which can be released from TVs onto surrounding surfaces where they may be inhaled. Look for electronics made in flame-retardant products (Toshiba and NEC are leaders in this field). In addition, all Sony and Panasonic products are PBDE-free! Samsung and Sharp, two other popular television manufacturers, do not add flame retardants; however there may be remnants of the materials in the recycled plastic used in making new products.

Consumers should also be sure to avoid heavy and neurotoxic metals such as lead and mercury as well as carcinogenic chromium and cadmium. All of these can eventually leach into the environment when machines end up in landfills.

What to Look for:
The quickest way to pick an energy-saving television is to opt for a small screen, preferably a liquid crystal display (LCD) since these not only consume less electricity, they also contain less lead than cathode ray tubes (CRTs). If you’re looking for ratings of energy consumption, you should note that Energy Star only checks consumption rates when the TV is in standby mode. For more accurate consumption metrics check current CNET energy use ratings.

Some Good Models to Consider:

Philips’ Flat TV 42″ – “Eco TV” , about $1,399;

Sharp’s 20-inch LC-20B8U-S LCD, about $650;

Viewsonic’s 32-inch N3250W LCD, about $945; and

Panasonic’s PT-AE900U projector, about $2,300;

Overall, start thinking smaller when it comes to televisions, and make sure to avoid harmful chemicals!

Happy watching.

More Simple Steps to Save Paper… May 27, 2008

At work and at home there are easy things to do to save papers!

• Instead of writing lists on sheets of paper, invest in a blackboard (you can write with a chalk and just erase your list with a rag; moreover it is vintage so it is fashionable!)

• When you buy notebooks, choose 100% recycled-paper ones and use both sides of the paper(no steno pads
  

• When you have to print a document, try to print 2pages per sheet (we call that “printing two up”)

• Use the “double-sided” / “duplex” option on your copier or printer (I know you’re heard this one before, but it’s another thing to do it… so start now!!)
  

• If this double-sided option does not exist on your computer you can do it manually by yourself: 1/ print the odd pages, 2/ flip the printed pages over and put them back in the printer, 3/ print the even pages! It not as hard as it seems, and you only need to allot a few extra minutes for it
  

• For regular/non-official documents use the “draft” option of your printer instead of “normal” or “high” quality

• For your scratch papers write on the back of the sheets that have already been used. You can even collect the obsolete printouts and create a scrap paper notepad by using a clipboard or stapling them altogether.

• Don’t print your mails if not truly necessary and enjoy the opportunities that computer and mail boxes offer: finding a mail by keywords in few seconds (impossible with sheets of paper), collecting and saving a great amount of information (that you can copy on CDs), or transmitting information and documents to your

  

  colleagues - before a presentation for example (they will have everything on their computer before you start the presentation, and you won’t have to print unnecessary handouts)

• Sort out your waste and don’t forget to recycle your paper!

Kitchen gadgets for the home chef May 19, 2008

Cooking your own meals at home, instead of always going out to eat, is considered an effective strategy for reducing your own personal environmental impact, as well as creates healthier meals for you and your family. So once someone has decided to make the effort to begin cooking at home more often, one tends to realize that without a fully equipped kitchen, it can be difficult to make the meals you would like to eat. But wouldn’t going out and purchasing all these fancy kitchen gadgets and tools (most of which aren’t very environmentally friendly products for various reasons) reduce how eco-friendly your home cooking processes will be? Not necessarily, there are plenty of ways to green the gadgets and tools in your kitchen.

Aside from some of the major environmental impacts of our cooking practices, such as energy usage of our appliances, amount of water used to prepare food, and products to purchase when remodeling into a Green Kitchen, I am interested in what types of products are out there specifically for the act of cooking that take into account their environmental impact in the design and manufacturing of these products. Some of these products are more commonly known than others to the general public, but every day there are more and more sustainable kitchen gadgets and tools entering into the market.

Before looking at specific products and comparing them to one another, there are some key steps to consider that relate more to your behaviors and lifestyle that can have a big impact on reducing your environmental impact. These include:

1) Only buying the kitchen gadgets and tools that you really need to keep from ending up with drawers and cabinets full of gadgets that never get used. Take some time to consider what types of foods you usually cook and what tools will be needed for getting the job done.

2) Explore the options of sharing kitchen gadgets and tools with neighbors, friends, or family. If somebody else already has the tool you need, why go out and buy another one. This also helps to create an environment where you can share recipes, and even food every once in a while.

3) Be creative in thinking of ways to use gadgets and tools that you already have in the house. This way you don’t need to go out and buy so many specialty tools that only serve one purpose. Many tools and gadgets will get the job done even if they weren’t meant for that specific purpose.

4) Get used to the practice of maintaining your gadgets and tools so that they last longer and can function properly over time. This will eliminate the need to purchase new items every so often because tools are breaking or malfunctioning.

Now that you have your list of gadgets and tools that you will need to operate your kitchen cooking endeavors successfully, let’s start to examine what makes one product better than another. We can create a set of criteria with which to evaluate kitchen tools and gadgets so that you are purchasing the products that have the least environmental impact. To get you started on a criteria of sustainability issues that is important to you, consider the following:

Does the product have multiple purposes?

You want to look for products that can be used to serve many useful cooking and food preparation techniques. Why purchase ten different tools when you can find one that does the same job as the ten separate tools. An example is the adjustable measuring spoons or cups which adjust to measure all the amounts you could need. Another interesting item is the Eco-Cook pot. Purchasing multi-purpose tools will save you money, as well as cut down on the amount of material and packaging you bring into your kitchen.

What is the product made out of? Are the materials that were used to produce the product renewable, natural, or produced locally? Does the product contain recycled materials, or reused materials?

Products made of metals and plastics are very common when it comes to kitchen gadgets and tools. While it may be tough to eliminate all products made of these materials, consider purchasing items made of materials such as bamboo and other renewable or natural items when these products are available. It is generally even more difficult to find products that are renewable or natural and are produced locally, but finding products that are produced nearby will cut down on the transportation impacts on the environment of getting this product to your kitchen.

Examples of some interesting products available are Soapstone cookware, 100% recycled Aluminum Foil, hemp tea bags , Bamboo cutting boards, Recycled glass dinner plates and an extremely unique teapot called Sorapot that is made out of all recycled materials, and all parts, including packaging, are totally recyclable.

Does the product require energy to make it work? If so, what kind of energy is required?

Look at purchasing manual tools that are powered by your own effort rather than electricity, such as a manual blender, or a manual slicer which uses a hand crank. Or if you really want to take it to the next level consider products that run on renewable energy such as solar ovens.

Are there any known health concerns associated with using the product for cooking?

Some products contain chemicals known to adversely affect human health. Since some of the products we use are exposed to a wide range of temperatures, there are some materials that will off-gas when subjected to repeated high temperatures. You want to avoid these products and look for alternative products that don’t contain any of these chemicals. One such example is a newer line of cookware called Greenpan which uses a unique type of non stick technology to replace the typical technology which has been shown to be toxic over time.

A good website to visit with lots of sustainable kitchen items is Pristine Planet. Good luck and happy cooking!

Home and Office Gardens, and a little compost too! May 9, 2008

Is your thumb in need of some greening? Get in touch with your inner green by designing a small and simple garden for your home or office. Consider growing a few herbs and vegetables in that small plot in the yard or on the roof-top of your office building. Such a project can benefit involved individuals, function to build communities and connect all to their dependence on the environment through food.

A garden produces food, but the act of planting and maintaining a garden has green advantages besides local, homegrown veggies. The garden in your home or office can be a community-building activity that encourages environmental awareness. It is relaxing hobby as well as an educational tool. Your family or staff can work individually or collectively on the garden, which itself can convey a connection between ourselves and the environment. Also note that gardens can positively contribute to the LEED certification of a building (make sure they meet LEED requirements for greenroofs though!).

To begin your garden:

1. Determine location: This will most likely depend on what space you have available and what type of plants you’d like to grow. Don’t worry if only a partially shaded spot is available because many plants thrive in those conditions. To determine what plants will do best in what conditions, whether you have a place in mind or have a plant in mind first, simply look at the facts provided on seed packets or tags.

2. Check your soil: Measure the pH of the soil and determine the type of soil you are working with such as sandy, rocky or clay. Match these soil conditions with the plant specifics on tags or seed packets. Soils can be improved with organic matter like compost.

3. Prepare the plot by either smothering or removing the pre-existing grasses and weeds. Consider constructing a raised-bed if you are designing a garden on a roof-top or another place where ground space is not available.

4. Plant: The plants can be started from seed in small pots indoors and then transplanted or grown strictly outside depending on the local climate of your area. Water your plants thoroughly when first planted.

5. General maintenance: Water (about 1 inch a week unless it rains), weed, remove old blossoms and ripe fruit promptly, and undertake general maintenance on a regular basis.

While you’re at it, homemade compost would go quite nicely with a newly planted garden. Compost can add nutrients in the form of organic matter that improve soil quality. Make the food cycle in your home or office full-circle by producing food and then turning your food waste into nutritious compost for your garden. No, it doesn’t have to be smelly. Just keep a tupperware container in your kitchen in which you and your family or staff can throw food scraps. Food items that are best included in compost are uncooked foods and non-meat items. When full, simply empty the compost into a larger heap or enclosed bin. If the compost is warm (between 90-140 degrees F) and moist (40-60% moisture content) then food waste is being degraded efficiently. The decomposition process requires oxygen so turn or mix the pile on a regular basis. When decomposed, apply the compost to your garden. For more info, check out these sites: howtocompost and The Compost Guide.

Good luck with your garden and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Make Your Food Purchase a Little Greener (go on a low-carbon diet) April 24, 2008

I think that we can all agree that food is a pretty big part of our lives. Because food plays such a large role in our existence, it’s not hard to imagine that the production and transport of our food is a big contributor to our overall carbon footprint. Being a conscious shopper and consumer of food is a great way to lessen your impact on the globe. Here are a few things to consider the next time you are in the grocery store or eating out.

1. Transportation - Transporting the food that we eat is one of the biggest contributors to the food’s carbon cost. When thinking about the carbon cost of a food, it is important to take into account not only the distance that a food has traveled, but also how that food traveled. That is to say, it most likely takes far less fuel to ship French wine by sea to the east coast of the US than it does to ship the same amount of wine from California by land.

2. Ingredients - A product that uses many different ingredients will most likely be far more costly than a food that uses fewer ingredients. This is because in addition to the fuel it takes to gather and transport all of the ingredients to a central production site, it takes even more energy to put the ingredients together into the final product.

3. Energy - Consider the environmental cost of the food. For example, beef is a more costly source of protein than beans for several reasons. First of all, the beef accrues the carbon cost of the feed that it eats, while the beans get their energy from the best know renewable energy source, the sun. Secondly, beef has the negative environmental impact of its methane production, while beans have the positive impact of photosynthesis. Third, the production of beef has many more steps and by products than does the production of beans. Finally, the run-off from feedlots is far more harmful than any by-product of bean growth (so, if you eat less beef, you will also be helping the planet).

4. Size of operation – Generally speaking, food that is produced by smaller operations will have a smaller carbon cost than food that is produced in larger businesses. We will use the example of vegetable growth to illustrate this point. Larger operations will most likely use more large machinery in the growing and harvest process than will smaller operations and this means that larger operations will use more fuel. Larger operations are also more likely to use larger and more general applications of things like fertilizer and insecticides than will smaller operations. It is also important to think about the size of the provider. Large grocery store chains usually send all of their products to a central distribution site where it is stored and then redistributed to regional branches. Smaller groceries most likely do not have redistribution centers and this cuts out a leg of transportation, which ultimately saves fuel. In addition to added fuel costs, keeping produce cool and fresh while in storage uses energy and chemicals.

While it is true that no one factor is a good benchmark for judging a food’s greenness, using what information you know about a product, you can make informed choices that will help to decrease your carbon footprint. Generally speaking, food that travels a shorter distance, uses fewer total ingredients in its production, and is produced and/or provided by a small organization will be a good choice. If you want to get a rough idea of your food’s carbon footprint, check out this UK calculator. There are also plenty of ecological footprint calculators out there if you would like to determine your overall footprint.

An entirely different concept for business conferences April 18, 2008

There are so many business conferences being held every day around the world. They are a great way for people to network, share ideas, and educate themselves about the latest and greatest going on in their fields of interest. Generally attendees come away from the conferences feeling like they have met some amazing new people, learned valuable information that they can use to help their company or organization, and with lasting memories in tow. But what about the ecological impact of the conference?

I remember attending a conference about a year and a half ago and an announcement was made that one of the featured speakers and renowned professionals in the field was not going to be attending the conference because he stated that a conference on sustainability shouldn’t involve hundreds of people flying and driving in from all over the world to sit around and talk about sustainability. He was making a statement that he thought it was wrong to impose such a negative impact on our environment just to attend a conference. While one half of me found this somewhat admirable, the other half of me thought that it was a bit sad that we can’t find a way where people can come together to share ideas and thoughts and learn from one another without destroyed our natural world. There’s got to be such a thing as an ecologically correct conference, right????

If only a business conference could be like one of my favorite toys, the Buddha Board, we could all feel better about our participation in conferences. The Buddha Board is an artistic drawing board that uses water as its medium. Once you use the brush to create your artwork, it stays for just a few seconds before it fades away and you are left with a blank board once more. It is created under the principle that we should appreciate things while they last and then when they are gone, be OK with them being only temporary.

Now forget the way we think about typical business conferences today, and imagine a conference that is unlike any other conference you have been to before. Imagine that while you are at the conference you have the most meaningful and incredible experience of your life, but when it is over there is no trace of the conference other than the non-physical elements such as ideas, relationships, and memories. There was no waste, there was no pollution, there was no social inequity, and there was no negative impact to the environment. Of course it might be quite difficult to put together a conference such as this with the current restraints of our lifestyles, technologies, and social structures. But lets just assume it could be done and see where it takes us.

What if everyone coming to the conference had to walk or use some other form of human powered form of transportation to get to the conference? I would imagine that everyone who came to the conference would then have some pretty interesting stories to tell about their travels and would have a much better appreciation and sense of place about where they came from, where they arrived, and what was in between. We so often miss out on the details of the places we zoom by while we are in our cars or on airplanes.

What if the conference were held on a farm or other venue where the food being served was grown on site? This would eliminate the need for transporting the food from miles away, would help the conference attendees appreciate and connect more profoundly with their source of food, and would allow any leftovers to be kept for later meals.

What if the conference were held outdoors to eliminate the need for all that artificial lighting, heating, and cooling? We just eliminated all the energy impacts associated with a conference event. We are longer using fossil fuels to provide us with electricity, all we need is the sun to provide all our needs. Not to mention that the conference participants would continually feel the presence of the natural environment instead of being cooped up indoors all day.

What if part of the conference involved a restorative nature project where attendees created a positive net impact on the environment? This goes beyond just thinking of conferences as trying to have zero net impact on the environment. Why not go one step further and leave the area the conference was held in a better state? This would also give conference participants a hands on connection to the biology, and ecology of our planet.

How does all that sound? Would anybody be interested in this type of conference? I’m guessing yes!

Saving the World One Meal at a Time April 9, 2008

As spring approaches and the ground thaws, people around the country are starting to dust off the grills, put out the patio furniture, and some of us are starting to think about what delicious things will soon fill our summer gardens. For those of us that are not planning on having a produce aisle in a sunny section of the yard, the next best thing is the farmers’ market. Farmers markets are great for several reasons. First of all, the food found in the local market is often as fresh as it is going to get and fresh always tastes better. Secondly, supporting the local farmers’ market is always a good idea because it helps to support the local economy (only about 4 out of every 10 dollars spent at a chain store remains in the local community, versus 7 out of 10 for local businesses).

In addition to tasting great and being good for the community, farmers’ markets are good for the environment. Chances are that the food found at your local farmers’ market did not travel any great distances, which helps to keep carbon emissions down and your carbon footprint small (admittedly, there is still debate over the efficiencies of all local production, but efficiencies have been found to exist in many cases, though there may be exceptions). In addition, because producers in farmers markets are generally small operations, they are less likely to use large scale applications of fertilizer, insecticide and other chemicals, which is always an environmental plus. Not to mention that one of the great things about local farmers’ markets is that you get to eat what likes to grow in your area. This is a good thing because it means that a smaller amount of fertilizer and extra energy input was required to make the plant grow, which keeps the overall environmental cost of the plant low.

Now that we can all agree that farmers markets are great, we can all sit back this coming spring and summer and enjoy our locally grown dinners or lunches while saving our wallets and helping the world. There are farmers markets all over the country. Check out one near you. Happy eating!

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