Eating Green...Not the Vegetables

Spring is in the air, and it's time to purchase your share...of a CSA farm. Eating local and organic is one way to green your eating habits.

One way to eat local and organic is to become a member of a Community Suppoted Agriculture (CSA) farm. So here's how it works:

-buy a share of the farm for set fee, essentially investing in the farm
-then, each week head to a pick-up location to get a week's share of locally, grown, organic produce

In Fort Collins, the main CSA is Grant Family Farms. It was the first farm in Colorado to be certified organic. Located in Wellington, the farm grows an array of herbs,root crops, traditional vegetables, and even flowers. These are the items to epxect in the pick-up box. The pick-up dates for Grant go from June-December. That's 26 weeks of fresh produce!

CSA farms are not the cheapest option ($725 for a family share). But, you get what you pay for. Along, with quality, CSA farms also ensure socially and environmentally responsible practices. Fewer pescticides, fewer food miles, and fair wages are just a few benefits of CSA's.

I can't wait to get my share; or rather my portion of my parent's share.

Every Day is Earth Day

Watercolored blobs of blue and green painted on a paper bag....maybe a little chat about recycling. This is what Earth Day meant to me as a child. But over the years I have learned the true meaning of Earth Day.

Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson in a series of movements in the 1960s leading to the first official celebration in 1970. The thought was more attention needed to be directed towards environmental issues. Earth Day is a day to celebrate Mother Earth and create conversation concerning ways we can preserve it.

One way people can practice preservation is with their consumption practices. With "green" being the latest trend, there are plenty of resources and entire web sites dedicated to educating consumers on how to lessen their impact. Here's a few resources:

1.) Treehugger: I frequent this site. There's news on green events, green products, green vacations, green celebrities. Treehugger is all about the earth.

2.) Ecologue: This site is less newsy, and has more general information on living the green life. For example, there are sections on how to save energy, conserve water, and reduce waste.

3.) GenGreen: First off, it's a Fort Collins-based company! Pretty meat....anyways, they provide info on how to be green in your specific community. You can find a job with a green company, learn what local businesses are green, or perhaps find a recycling center.

With a little education, its easy to be green not just on Earth Day, but every day.

Would You Like Your Groceries in Paper or....Your Pockets?

Like small children awaiting the arrival of Jolly Ol' St. Nick, hippies and environmentalists are abound with anticipation for the arrival of Earth Day, just one week away.

Some people may choose to ride their bike on Earth Day. Others may attend an Earth Day Event. If you're Whole Foods, you may decide to no longer offer customers the plastic-bag option.

Last year Whole Foods celebrated the holiday by handing out free cloth bags to customers. This year, they will celebrate Earth Day by no longer giving customers the old-age option, "paper or plastic."

The decision to no longer offer plastic was announced by Whole Foods in January. Ten million bags will be kept out of the environment as a result of this move, said a January article in USA Today.

I wonder how many paper bags will end up in landfills. How many trees will be cut down to accomodate the paper demands of Whole Foods?

Save the Poudre

Audio Lab Assignment #2

http://www.box.net/shared/mf959f0g0c

Enjoyers of Beer, Beware of Global Warming

Mother Nature has finally started to retaliate against humanity. First the price of hops went up, now the price of barley is set to go up. And it's all because of global climate change...

According to a story posted on Treehugger.com, Jim Salinger, a climate scientist at New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, says that climate change will affect barley crops in New Zealand and Australia.

Although Salinger only speculates about the beer prices in the land down under, beer prices could rise worldwide as a result of barley prices and climate change.

Beer companies in the United States have already seen the effects raising prices for hops, according to Treehugger. Some companies have sold their share of hops to other copanies for profit.

According to Fox 12 in Portland Oregon, "the shortage of hops caused the price[of beer]to shoot up two to five times what it was in 2006."

One place has found a way to make the most out of their climate's warming. In Greenland a brewing company began brewing beer using water that's melted from the island's ice cap, according to National Geographic. The beer supposedly has unparalleled freshness.

When life hands you lemons...

VIP: Hybrids Only

We may see a rise in obesity in environmentalists.

According to an article published in today's Denver Post, the Sunflower Farmers Market location in Denver has six new VIP parking spots for customers driving hybrid cars.

These new parking spots are of aimed at promoting hybrid cars. But, I would like to ask Sunflower Market, what about all of us who can't afford to buy our dream, cherry-red Prius?

I can't wait until VIP spots show up at Fort Collins Sunflower Market. Each time I go to Sunflower I can be reminded as I walk by the VIP section that I'm not part of this elite social group. Not by choice, but because I'm a college student and I have no money for such luxuries. Oh how I'd love to have a car that doesn't guzzle gas.

I doubt this VIP parking spot craze will encourage shoppers to buy hybrids. I can imagine it; a lady walking to her car thinking, "If only I had a hybrid I wouldn't have to walk that 20 extra feet."

I commend Sunflower for supporting hybrids. Keep on supporting hybrids. But don't privelge them.

Also, I contend that bike racks will always be superior to hyrid-only parking...a closer spot and no obesity threat.

No Lights, No Effect?

Last Saturday night from eight to nine, my friends I crowded around my living room table...in the dark. A few candles allowed us to locate our wine glasses, but that was the only light source.

Million and maybe billions of people participated in Earth Hour last Saturday night. The event's purpose was to make a statement about global climate change by collectively not using electricity for one hour, one night of the week, one week a year.

This left people wondering, what was the effect? In Sydney, Australia it was expected that energy use would go down five percent that night, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

It's been criticized that the event has no real impact in terms of energy use reduction. But, really it was more of a social movement. It allowed socially conscious citizens to feel like they had an impact.

While it was fun, and my roomates and I continue to hang out by candle light for amusement purposes, I can't help but feel that the whole event was a bit pointless. Those who care about the environment participated, those who don't care didn't participate.

Earth Hour was more a statement of personal beliefs than a statement of societal, political, and economic change. Our society and economy is structured in a way that we will continue to degrade the environment. It makes me wonder, was it more symbolic that we turned off the lights for an hour, or more symbolic that we turned them back on for the remainder of the year?

Material Girl Fails as Image of Green

Spring is here. Daffodils are pushing through the ground and Vanity Fair's third annual "Green Issue" is just hitting news stands.

I enjoyed the past "Green Issues" which on focused environmental issues and included bits about green celebrities. But after seeing the cover and reading the cover story of this years issue, I am unimpressed.

At first glance I noticed the lack of the actual color green on the cover.

-The 2006 issue featured Al Gore, Julia Roberts, Robert F. Kennedy, and George Clooney in green attire nestled amongst mossy rocks and vines.
-The 2005 featured a quite possibly photoshopped Leo DiCaprio standing on an iceberg. Green appeared in fonts on the cover.
-This issue features a small green leaf hanging off the title.

I guess the silver statue of the earth which Madonna poses against is somewhat an image of the environment. But, the statue has more to with Madonna "taking over the world" than her eco-friendliness.

The cover story titled "Madonnarama" soley focuses on Madonna's career. I anticipated learning what makes the "material girl" green. It never happened.

I was left wondering how this story not only made it into the "Green Issue," but also how it became the cover story.