Virescent

Last night, in a meaty post, I flippantly eliminated red meats from my diet. That’s not going to work. I like red meat. It tastes very good, especially when undercooked. My fondest memory of food is that rare filet mignon I had on a patio in Ponce with several Tempranillos and good friends: chewing that steak was like making out, the good way. And some weekends, Five Guys is a necessity.

Realistically, though, I can cut the red meat down to twice a month. That’s good enough for the environment, and it will keep me from having odd cravings. I’ll also set a goal of having meat at all in one meal per day.

I’m fine with flirting with vegetarianism (especially if I can get some recipes for those fantastic-smelling things my vegetarian officemate eats), but I’m keeping some meat. And environmental plans that make sense late at night often don’t hold up in the harsh light of day: I want to set goals that I can keep.

Are you a vegetarian? Why? Do the stats on food production I posted yesterday make you want to eat less meat? Want to try and cut down red meat to twice a month with me?

Starting with seeds, I’ve grown romaine lettuce, spearmint, cilantro, chives, shelling peas, lavender, and basil to eat- then morning glories, cardinal creeper, and sweet peas to look at. In a couple weeks, I’ll inherit peppers and tomatoes (thanks, dad!). I definitely made mistakes during planting, but my sprouts have turned out to be very forgiving.

To improve in the future, I need to separate seeds when I plant them to make transplanting them less traumatic (for me, anyway), and also to have a better idea of what’s what, and what’s where. For instance, it appears that spearmint has invaded three of the pots, and there are two things growing in the lavender pot, and I have no idea which one is lavender. I’d also like to turn my garden towards more substantial food production, but I’m glad I got herbs and garnishes in now.

One happy side effect of this was getting introduced to a big, supportive group of garden bloggers. Thanks for the comments and suggestions from all of you! Typically when I wrap up a monthly goal, I only post sporadic follow-ups. Gardening being what it is, I’ll continue posting about it frequently, even though I’m shifting focus now.

In May, I’m going to practice local activism. I’ve got the Eco-Summit on Saturday, and I need to become more informed about local politics and sustainability groups, to see how and where I can get involved to advocate my cause- and what kinds of causes are good to advocate.

I’ve never been much for causes. I’m typically quite content to educate myself independently about an issue, decide my own course, and only discuss it with close friends or when somebody else brings it up. I don’t get out and try and change things much, I don’t join groups, and this blog is really the furthest I’ve gotten in trying to convince others to reexamine their own lives. See now, I don’t even talk about that here- I just offer examples of my own changes, and don’t make the leap to advocacy.

Leadership by example is well and good, but I need to start taking bigger leaps. Plus, in order to actually live more sustainably, I can’t just change the way I do small things. I need to work to change the way wasteful systems around me work. A group at MIT published a study on carbon footprints of Americans recently, and concluded that even if you’re doing all you can to reduce, you’re still, on average, emitting so much more than any other country- because of the way our lifestyles are arranged at all levels.

“There’s a certain amount you can do as an individual,” said Timothy Gutowski, the MIT professor of the mechanical engineering class who lead authored the paper, “but if you recognize this is a system-wide problem, you need system-wide attention to the problem.”

That’s going to mean cleaner power, say, solar concentrating power plants plus wind. Better transportation options need to speed to market, probably smaller electric vehicles and smarter mass transit options. Materials like cement and plastics need to be made with far less energy. Cities will have to be redesigned to reduce the need for commuting. More efficient ways of transmitting, storing and using energy at the grid and home levels need to be mainstreamed. What we eat will have to change; the challenge will be making the future food taste as good as the corn-based delicacies that populate our menus now.

Now greenhouse gases aren’t the only measure of sustainability, but they’re a good, quick reference. So if I’m gong to do this right, I need to try and change somethign else besides me, personally. Activism it is.

I’m going to start tonight by having a sit-down with my house mates about how much electricity we use. Wish me luck.

I started March’s goal with three listed projects. I only finished two things, and I started a bunch more.

Original:

1) Scarf, knit. Progressed ~6 inches, but have succeeded in carrying it around with me, so I’m getting more done these days.

2) Quilt, sewn. No real progress, though I looked up quilt making, and found a new stack of squares.

3) Weighted Companion Cube, wood and fabric. Bought all the fabric, which is now buried under other items in the Gentleman Friend’s apartment.

Added:

4) Flower, sewn. Finished!

5) Nuno-zoris, woven. I’ve marked a stack of teeshirts for dismantling. I’ve also begun debating whether to use a cord base, or try something less bulky, like another teeshirt strip for a base.

6) White Dress, alteration. I’m using the unnecessary waist ties to replace the uncomfortable shoulder straps. I’ve chopped off the straps and the ties, and now I just need to fit it and sew it back on.

7) Lampshades, watercolor. Got some lampshades for practicing from my gentleman friend’s lovely mother.

8 ) Plate, painted. I had a ratty old plate- glass with a shiny paint showing through- but the paint was chipping. I fixed it up with a dark green underlay. I hope it chips more, or maybe I should chip it more, because I wish the chipped pattern looked cooler. Plus, if it chipped more, I could add a third color. But for now, finished!

Ok, so I started more projects than I had, finished two projects I hadn’t started, and mostly just gathered supplies. But I have been finding more ways to work making things into my day, and it’s been very satisfying to plan out how to remake and refurbish my stuff so it works better. All in all, relaxing and refreshing, and woo.

So, April! I had this one planned out already, and it’s partially started. In April, I’m gardening. Since forever, my parents have gardened, and I tried deck vegetables last year. This year, though, I have a bright, sunny deck, with areas of partial shade, a composter, and a plan. Well, not really a plan, but I have a hydrangea, a kalanchoe, and a rosemary bush somewhere about. I killed a couple of houseplants this winter, and  I’ve got the remnants of the pots from last year’s latent peppers, so I have a few empty planter spaces. Plus, my mother informs me that my father, who shows his love through vegetables, has already got a few tomato plants started for me. She’s packing up some herbs, and there were strong hints at a geranium. I am told that geraniums are difficult to kill. We’ll see!

I want to plant some vegetables and flowers in my garden, with a view to both edible harvests and beauty. I need a bigger planter for the hydrangea, so that I can grow that to a viable bush. I’ll also need to get the composter going again. Biking Person was kind enough to give me two spaghetti jars of dirt, so I can get the cultures started, as soon as I find an outdoor plug for the unit. Because it should probably stay outdoors, to isolate it from the housemates, just in case of smells. I’ll also need to build it a tiny hut, since we have a tiny, curious dog (Ruby), and its lid doesn’t latch shut.

Plenty to do, and I’m psyched by the prospect of veggies and hydrangeas (my favorite flowers) and creating things from dirt, sun, and water all summer! And possibly fall. It is DC, after all, the summer lasts. I am slightly nervous, given my tendency to kill plants, about how this will work, so I’ll probably be calling my mother for advice pretty often. I wish there was some sort of gardening reference for total deck garden beginners. Actually, there probably is. Hm.

It’s Wednesday, and you deserve my monthly goal. While fretting on the topic, I came up with some great ones for April and later, but this month is a hard fix. First, it’s almost half over, second, I’m so busy with work and school and home that I don’t have much time to really get into anything and not make a shambles of it. But there have been signs pointing me in a happy direction, and today was the last (fortunately for my imposed deadline).

Another good friend is putting her skills to pretty use- I’ve linked her etsy store above, also- and I almost stepped on my knitting for the fourth time this week, and thus March is handcrafting month. It started out that way anyhow, at least in my dreams. I’ll be finishing the projects I’ve started, and definitely planning grand new ones. And you’ll get pictures. And I’ll get something to relax with, in between all the time I spend eating toast and being at work all the time.

Here’s the sustainability part of it, and it’s got very little to do with the environment, *gasp!*, handmade and repurposed bits aside. My life is unbalanced of late, and some knitting (and perhaps figuring out how to crochet, once and for all? and doing something with those 50 dead cds? and designing that shelf and wine-glass rack for our living room?) and quality time with my fingers busy and the rest of me relaxed is absolutely necessary. I alway have plans and project ideas in my head, and relegate them to last priority (pushy homework and greedy paychecks elbow their way to the top). There my clever plans fester and wilt my mind with their noxious fumes of wasted potential. In pursuit of world health, I will first look to my own: Sanity, meet our yarn collection! Shambles, begin.

Handmade update: Have all the necessary fabric for the Weighted Companion Cube. Gentleman Friend is rejoicing. Found an empty bobbin and the instructions for my nemesis, machine bobbin winding, and I can already smell victory (no lie like the cake, I hope.)

As of March 5th, this blog was six months old. As of September, I’ve started packing my own lunches, biking to work (when I wasn’t riding the bus), made a shopping bag and “audited” my plastic use, tried out some resolutions to make my holiday season sustainable, culled my belongings, and attempted composting a few times- all in an effort to live better, whatever that means. Biking and culling were the biggest successes. I haven’t started a good composting culture yet, and I have still have an odd relationship with plastics.

The biggest change I’ve made, though, wasn’t due to a monthly goal at all. By moving to Old Town (necessitating the culling and negating the biking to work), I’ve decreased my footprints of all kinds (except the kind that I actually walk with). It’s allowed me to sleep more, get more exercise, and use stairs at home instead of the elevator. After the flurry of move-driving, my car sat unused for almost a week: barring some specific errands and classes, it’ll stay right where it is. Since it’s been sitting, the price of gas has gone up 15 cents a gallon. The closest grocery stores- Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Giant, MOM’s, and the farmer’s market- are all well stocked with organic and/or locally grown foods. Now I have to pay utilities separately, and I can have more direct control over how much energy I use- since I’ll know how much it is. And I have three house mates who are wonderful, and wonderfully tractable, and whom I’m secretly (not very secretly) hoping to inflame.

Inflame with sustainability, that is. Anyway. A while back, I took myself to task for not having defined what sustainability means. I’ve worked on that a bit, and I’ve come up with something round about but better than nothing.

One definition of sustainable living isn’t going to pertain to everyone- and it shouldn’t. Everyone’s got a different pet “green” issue- no plastic vs no cars vs global warming doesn’t exist because it’s cold out vs no nukes, etc. I’m not a zealous environmentalist. I don’t think this problem can be solved with one fix (no oil!). In order to live sustainably, I must first and foremost be an open environmentalist, willing to consider differing points of view, and informed enough to determine which makes sense. Next, I must live practically and thoughtfully, with a view to finances and the human, environmental, and moral costs of my actions. Under this all, though, I must be able to live- work and play and learn and all that stuff. So much of sustainability is seen as limiting- we can’t do this because of those whiny polar bears, we can’t eat that because of the toxic wastes. I think the emphasis should be on how much can we do, individually and as humanity, while still living within sensible boundaries- how much can I do with how little?

The unanswered question there is, how little is little enough? I’ll leave that hanging for now. I suspect it has something to do with “little enough so that everybody can use the same amount”, but given the different ways to measure that (carbon footprint? resource use?), and that merely by living in the US I’m using way more than my fair share, it’s intractable. The answer to climate change and sustainable living is not “move to a developing nation and start subsistence farming”.

I think large environmental issues will only be solved through meaningful government and industry action, and only after we make some big technological innovations. I’m not holding my breath for government or industry help, though, and I’ll do my small part to vote with magic machines and my money (for all it’s still worth) in the meanwhile.

That’s what I’ve got. Muddled, but let me know what you think. I appreciate discourse, after all- that’s first!

Odds and Ends: I never did hang up that biodegradable plastic bag from Harris Teeter outdoors (I forget where I promised this, but I did, and someone asked a while ago, and I still haven’t done it). When I find one, I’ll hold onto it until I get some duct tape, and fulfill my promise. Also, remember that debate I was having with the conservative blogger? It’s been so long since she called environmentalists Nazis and cited the Heartland Institute as a more authoritative body than the IPCC on the question of climate change that you’ve probably forgotten- I had, hurrah for archives. I pointed out certain factual and logical inaccuracies, she responded with silence, so I’ll take the Godwin’s Law victory and let it lie.

Thanks for your time, and your comments, and I’m excited for the next parts.  Keep coming back, but, oh ho, you’ll have to, since I cleverly told you all about the last six months without revealing March’s goal!  Mua hahaha.  Ha.  I’ll let you know once I think of it, or by Wednesday.

Handmade update: Knit scarf, three inches done, one completed stripe.

It would appear that moving is going to keep me from posting as often as I’d like for a few weeks, but there’s a progress report due.

Reducing is going slowly, but it’s still going. Last weekend I took my gigantic pile of random stuff to the Salvation Army, and since then I’ve gathered another pile of stuff. Progress, but not enough, plus I’ve still got caches in 3 or 4 corners. Fortunately, moving is going to force me to finish this all in the next few months. Besides the Salvation Army, anybody have any advice on places to donate things?

While I was cleaning out, I found my (plastic) bag of useless plastics from the Nov. goal. It was apparently stuffed in a box in a fit of guilt, and not discarded.  I finally tossed it- I didn’t get to the pillow stuffing idea, and I’ve made my peace with that.  “Reducing plastic intake” was another goal that didn’t go well- but I have made progress on it since I last reported, actually.  I’ve stopped getting plastic grocery bags almost entirely (maybe 2 in the last month?), I try to buy food and objects with no plastic or the smallest amount of plastic wrappings, and I’ve also given up the thinner plastic vegetable and fruit bags from the supermarket- I just put food in my basket loose now, and wash them at home.  They need a washing anyway.  Reassuring to find myself working on goals after the month is up, but still a long way to go on that one.

Next goal for the month will be composting. I’ve already fired up my unit, with the dirt and the brussels sprout leaves and baking soda and such. Ok, it’s not actually going to be composting, so much as figuring out how to compost successfully with the Naturemill Plus. Twice I’ve had to unplug my unit and leave it on the porch, because the smell is too much to handle. This is either because a) the unit is not as smell-isolated as it claims to be, or b) because I’m doing it wrong. I have a horrible feeling it’s the former (seriously, how could I be doing “put the food scraps in the top part” wrong?), but I need to dig out the instructions again and do some experimentation.

I would have included a picture of what the stuff looks like now for you as a special treat, but I checked and it looked pretty gross, so I’ll wait for a less gross, more successful dirt batch. The last porching of the composter was this morning, since I had invited my future housemates over for brunch and bonding and didn’t want to start our relationship with a noseful. I did show it to them, though, and waft a bit their way- none of them seemed overly concerned. Let’s see how they do when it’s in their kitchen…or, more likely, on their porch.

Happy New Year! Now’s apparently the time to look back on 2007 and reflect on how far I have, sustainably, come. Seeing as I do that about once a month anyway, and I’ve only had this deal going since September, I’ll spare you the complete recap for now. I hear tell that others also use this time to make resolutions. That’s not how I roll, but I’ll go ahead and at least make another monthly goal.

After a 3-state Christmas tour, this eco-tryer was done. Mostly. Done enough to write about it, but not done enough to stop playing that Christmas music yet. I’m hoping my loved ones will stage an intervention soon, because I’m getting sick of it.

There were some pretty sustainable aspects of my season. I purchased no wrapping paper or boxes, but I did use wrapping paper left from last year (it’s not metallic, so it can be recycled). Once all that stuff is gone, I’ll reconsider how I wrap gifts. I padded all my shipped gifts with my shredded papers. Bows and gift bags were saved for reuse. Most of my decorations were left over from last year- I only purchased two strands of LEDs. Since they were a funny color, I didn’t use them on my tree, but I did use them. I did use strands of inefficient lights, but I plugged them in infrequently (It helped to not be home very much for the holidays).

I worked hard to make the gifts I gave as low-impact and useful as possible, and it paid off. Talking with folks kept my list guess-free, and for far-flung relatives my mother was an invaluable source. Since the number of places selling eco-friendly/fair-trade things is still limited, the shopping was pretty simple for me, and I was done much more quickly than last year: that added sustainability of a non-environmental kind. I am especially proud of giving my very conservative grandfather Gingrich’s “Contract with the Earth” for his Dec 26th birthday- excellent compromise. As for my haul, well: my indoor composter will arrive any day now! Soon, I’ll be reducing “up to 120 lbs” of food scraps a month to useful garden crud! I also received a wonderful movie, The Day After Tomorrow (tagline: This year, a sweater won’t do), which is sort of a documentary of climate change occurring, only it’s entirely made up. I also got The Core (We killed the planet), which might not be about climate change, but certainly involves ridiculous weather. Everything else was pretty, useful, and appreciated, especially the abundance of soups.

At the same time, I did a lot of driving (three states worth!), and I threw away much more than usual (wrappings for new things, fast food containers, staying in a home without recycling access). The LED light experiment was disappointing, and I need to work on that more wisely next year. Also, my Christmas tree started to smell funny a few days ago, sort of like inappropriately aged cheese, but I dumped in some lemon juice in the tree water and then an large amount of vinegar, and either I’ve gotten used to it or the vinegar did the trick.

So, new goal for the month: I was going to do something with my composter and food waste, but since that’s not together yet, I’ll wait on it. I have a bunch of stuff, and I just got more stuff. I’m going to spend the new few weeks reducing the stuff I own- clean out my closets. Appropriate for the new year, and necessary if I’m going to be able to put any of my new stuff away.

It’s been a while, but I haven’t forgotten about my plastic goal.  Just, it hasn’t gone very far, either.  My pile of “reusable” plastics keeps on growing, and I’ll get them into a test pillow one day.  I’ve got a few balls of plastic yarn ready for a slow afternoon.  I’ve got a great reusable grocery bag, and I’ve remembered to bring it to the store most of the time, or take my things without a bag.  Except at Target a few times- their bags fit my trash can exactly.  And the number of styrofoam containers from takeout and restaurant leftovers surprises me.  I don’t eat out that often, really, it’s just even two or three of the boxes look bad all stacked together.  They’re #6 plastic, generally, but with the food residue and Alexandria recycling rules, they’re not recyclable.  I’m going to start bringing my own Tupperware to restaurants and asking if they’ll pack it in that, instead.  I predict that this will make me a popular dinner companion, but I promise to let the innocent wait outside or take a powder break while I ask the waiter, if they can’t handle the envirolove.

So, I’m going to declare that done, and here’s the new goal for the month: since I’ve already started, let’s make it working on a sustainable holiday season.  Consider the gift guide the opening salvo, and I’ll be taking a trip to my helpful Biking Person’s grandparent’s organic tree farm.  Plus, there’s food to make for Thanksgiving, decorations to find, and wrapping to do.  Then, afterwards:  Thank you notes.  So this will probably stretch beyond the month, but if I get what I want for Christmas, I’ll start off the New Year composting!  Here’s hoping you’re as excited about my food scraps as I am. 

I’ll declare it official. I rode in today, did not injure myself in the slightest, and figured out what all those gears are for: now, I am a person with a bike. My nice Biking Person even fully secured my crate, so I’m in business! Specifically, the business of riding my bike around for no money. I’ll keep it up- and declare a new (goal for the month) now. I’m going to work on cutting down on plastics: getting and using my own grocery bags, examining food packaging, finding recycling options, perhaps even committing some crafts- whatever I can think of (or YOU can think of. Tell me! I’ll do it!) to not have to throw away plastic stuff this month. I use the term “month” loosely, of course. I am aiming for “life” here- but I’ll start with this month.

This week, The Economist’s environmental topics column green.view is on the Prince of Monaco and his environmental efforts (one example: environmental taxes on the annual yacht show: oh, the life!). But he is being criticized for not having done more already. Skeptical Columnists: “If you care so much about the environment, Prince Albert, why aren’t you offsetting the entire country’s carbon outputs and being the first country to go carbon neutral? Kvetch Moan Judge.” Can princes, or even people, who care about the environmental impacts of their actions still do non-environmental things? Or do they have to abandon all unsustainable ways of life immediately and huddle in fields for warmth, moving every 15 minutes so as to not disturb the plants beneath? I bet you know what I think the answer is. An earlier green.view presents the arguments of the people who think that population reduction is the only way to save the planet. Scary, hunh! Both of these columns go on to point out that a balance between humans and nature must be struck (and that rising population is not tied to increased environmental destruction, so we don’t need to kill anyone off). Moderation is a good answer- it’s worked since at least the Greeks. Our current mode of life is unsustainable, yes. Changing our lifestyles and developing the technologies that reduce our impacts on the earth is going to take time, and much more combined effort than Monaco raising yacht taxes.

Some groups are encouraging lifestyle changes by taxing each other, and trading their own carbon credits in groups of 15 or so. It’s a start. People are encouraged by group meetings, “confession”, and occasionally fines to keep their emissions below a certain level, and to reduce them steadily. So yes, Skeptical Columnists, we’re not all sustainable yet, but take a (short) cold shower and change out your own lightbulbs (CFLS, please!). Then start encouraging concrete, discrete changes, lead by example, laud good faith efforts, and stop throwing the first stone at your own glass house because of the log in your eye. And Monaco will get there.

One last thing: Monaco can’t be the first carbon neutral country, since The Vatican already is. Thanks to a donation from Hungary, their carbon emissions for the next few years will be offset with the planting of a forest. The Pope is teaching respect for the environment as a gift from God. He’s also focusing attention on the issue since environmental changes disproportionately impact the world’s poor: his efforts are paying off in the Philippines. Talk about leading by example.

This month’s goal is progressing pretty well. I’ve been packing my lunch in this convenient and attractive rocket ship lunchbox, and keeping track of the things I still throw away in order to make/eat it. I’m wrapping my sandwiches in aluminum foil, since it’s easier to recycle (toss it in with the cans) as long as it’s clean- plus if you fold it gently, you can reuse it once or twice, so that’s cut down on plastic bags. The oatmeal creme pies are a constant source of package waste, as well as the granola bars, so either I need to find unwrapped snack foods, or snack foods with recyclable packaging. Apple cores I generally toss also, but as soon as I start composting I can start bringing those home, too.

Once I got used to the idea of thinking about lunch before 11:30am the day of, and procured a lunchbox, packing lunches was a lot simpler than I thought it would be. The food tastes a lot better than the frozen dinners I used to bring. I have spent more time cooking, but that’s not altogether a bad thing, though it takes a lot more thought at the grocery store. The nice thing is I can make a few things on Sunday (some chicken, some pasta, some other type of pasta) and have enough to combine in various containers throughout the week, so by “more time cooking” I mean “I have to cook one night.” This is a very large change for me. I feel like it might be building character, and now I finally have something to do with my cookbooks besides display them in an attractive manner.

I’ll have the final update (will she continue to purchase oatmeal creme pies?) in a couple weeks, but in the meantime, (goal for the month) I’ll be gathering the necessary equipment (bike, helmet, other things are also involved, I am led to understand) and starting to bike to work. This is more of a challenge than last month, since I like food, but I don’t very much like biking. The thing is I probably like jogging less than biking, so by biking to work I will feel compelled to jog less often. Expect photos of the ford I will have to cross on my way (yes, I will ford a stream on my ride to work) and my bicycle basket/rocket ship lunch box launch pad.