Get in the Green Groove

Friday, November 23, 2007

I'm Full from Food and Time to Shop!

Well Happy "Day After" Thanksgiving Everyone!

Gotta say that I'm truly grateful for the food we ate yesterday. In relation to our last post - this year I really sat down and considered where our food was coming from, said a silent prayer to the farmers who produced the food, and to our turkey for giving it's life for a meal for the family to enjoy. I really considered HOW much we take so many things for granted. Well...once I packed away the last dish, I went to bed early so I could get up and take advantage of the sales on "Black Friday". Have to say... NEVER have done that before! Got up at 4:00 a.m. But I set my frame of mind that I would relax, enjoy the moment and if I found something to cross off the list it was a bonus. :-) I'll tell ya..."bonus" I did! Landed 8 gifts in 1 hour! A record! But as I stood in line, I was also happy that I had a list and thought a few things out ahead of time. Especially since my awareness in taking care of the planet is stronger these days.

You know, all the talk of being "green"...turn that off, recycle this, unplug that, etc. All terrific ideas...all great things. But have you considered that less is more? That "less" can help the planet as well? Time is tight and being "green" is not easy in a time of convenience, however, there are moments, such as Christmas shopping that we can consider not just purchasing "stuff" to accumulate in the back of someone's closet. This year I am looking at gifts that bring a family together (e.g. movies, games, food items, etc.) and stuff that people can really use (e.g. organic soap and bath gels, soy candles, comfy pjs, et.c) rather than things that will no longer be used in a year or just takes up more "space" on this planet. Let someone else pick out vases for their homes. Besides, your taste isn't always theirs... I've also spoke with family members on shortening the lists and being a bit more practical in helping to save the planet. (Great excuse eh?!?!? ;-) Reducing "stuff" can help cut down on the planet. Have you seen kids closets lately?!?! (or mine a few years back) Look... I'm a VERY busy gal as much as the rest of you are, but if you have to go shopping ANYWAY, why not draw up a list with a terrific mug of organic tea or coffee ahead of time and consider the "stuff" you are going to buy and really think about what a person wants or needs. Or consider accumulating a pile of items to donate for each item of a new gift that you recieve...my mantra this year has been: I got a new shirt, now I must give one away!

By the way, I saw a great deal for wrapping paper at Walgreens (Buy 2 get 1 for free), ripped out the coupon and then thought, hey...how much paper do we use just to wrap presents? Oh man...here I go again! Hmmm...how can we dress up newspaper for wrapping gifts? ;-) Got any ideas? Newspaper isn't exactly "holiday" but there has to be something you clever crafters know out there...Let us know!!! I have a ton of newspapers that I recycle weekly. It would be great to wrap some gifts in it AND save some money.

One final thought during these next busy weeks: Remember, take being "green" a step at a time and just adjust what you are doing on a daily basis anyway. Baby steps.

GG Jaims

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Local Thanksgiving!

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to celebrate it with the harvest from your local community!

It doesn't matter whether it's from your own garden, the CSA you belong to or your local organic market or bakery. It all helps in getting you connected again to your food.

When we start to make this connection we start to get a real appreciation for the true goodness of it all! We should all be blessed and thankful for all the food that is able to be grown within our local communities. It is what makes each community strong and healthy.

Fast food is too assessable to us nowadays and we have lost the true value of good food. We are so busy with everyday living that we don't take the time to even think about what we are eating, where it came from or how it was produced.

Try to change that this Thanksgiving and Christmas. Get in your kitchen and cook up an awesome meal. See it, smell it, taste it! But, most of all LOVE it! Yumm Yumm.

Watch this great video from our friends at Food And Water Watch! Good And Local


Happy Thanksgiving!!! Gobble Gobble.

From both of us at Green Girl T-Shirt Co.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Look for the 3

I just ran across this neat video about the toxic plastic PVC. Take a look at it. I didn't know that it's mark was the number 3. I also didn't know shower curtains were made from PVC. I always hated that smell!



Speaking of all those numbers you find on the bottom of all your plastic goods. Do you know what each one means? It's all confusing to me, but I found this nifty handout that you can print out and save for future reference. Resin Codes. Just remember though, these numbers do not tell you how to use the product they are only used for recycling purposes.

Also, ran across this article from Greenpeace. It also talks about PVC and gives you the plastic pyramid. From bad to worse, I guess. Pyramid of plastics. Plastic, plastic, plastic it's everywhere!! Oh, and don't think that just because you recycle your plastic that you are saving the landfills. That is only a temporary fix and it will find it's way there eventually. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but, it's true. Most of the plastic recycled is turned into 2nd unrecyclable products, not into another container. Bummer.

See:

Misconception #2: Curbside collection will reduce the amount of plastic landfilled.

Not necessarily. Since most plastic reprocessing leads to secondary products that are not themselves recycled, this material is only temporarily diverted from landfills. Furthermore, if collecting plastic for recycling makes it seem more environmentally-friendly, people may feel comfortable buying more of it (and therefore increase the production of virgin resin)!

Find all 7 misconceptions here.

We all just need to limit our use of plastics and stop being so dependent on that stuff. I know, it's so hard though because they make it so darn convenient!

Well, hope you are having a plastic free day today. Yeah, right.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

A little Delay plus a little Moo!

Hey all!!

Just wanted to update you as to why our kids shirts aren't posted yet. I guess, since Halloween was last week, we just fell behind. If you have kids in school you know how time consuming it is to get the kids ready plus do your duties as room mom! Parties, Parties, Parties! Yikes! It also doesn't help to get sick. Hopefully, we are back on track!

As soon as we get the pictures done we will load these puppies up so you can take a look. They will make cute Christmas gifts!

Let's see. I'm trying to think if I have any "green" news to share. Oh, I did find out that the reason why cows produce more greenhouse gases than cars is not necessarily the poo ( that causes a whole host of other problems! as in contaminated water) it is all that belching they are doing. It seems, since the start of the Big AG movement they have been switching cows over to a sort of fast food diet plan. Like eating at Micky D's everyday. Have you seen Super Size Me? We all know what happened to him! He did do a lot of belching.

Well, cows were created to eat a variety of natural grasses (not grain, and not fast food grass). They have a special digestive system that contains 4 compartments. The rumen, reticulum, omasum and the abomasum. Cows and other ruminants, such as goats and sheep are unique in that they can convert grass into protein. No other animals can do that.

The rumen is like a 45 gallon fermentation tank that allows resident bacteria to convert cellulose into protein and fats. Cool. They were designed a certain way! I think someone knew what he was doing.

Well, in all our invite wisdom (or, wisdom we think we have) we, as people, thought that system wasn't good enough (as in most cases, think of GMO's) We needed cows to grow bigger and faster. We will do this by any means possible even if it means going against creation/nature.

So, the cows natural pastures that consisted of a variety of grasses and flowers was now changed over to the Micky D's of grasses, the perennial ryegrass. This grass grows quickly and in huge quantities. Remember, no time to waist! But, it lacks in nutrients so the cows aren't getting what they need, just a lot of belching!

Now researches are trying to come up with more "ideas" to solve this problem. They want to mix the old way, natural grass, with the new way, cheap grass. They want to bring in genetically engineered plants to help trap airborne nitrogen to improve the soil. They even want to give the cows a pill that will reduce their belching, I guess.

When will we realize that there are no shortcuts in the way animals and plants have been designed. Our creations yes! Cars, buildings, airplanes and all electronics. Yes! tinker with that stuff all you want. But please leave our food, animals and plants out of your "fix it plan". That plan was long ago perfected. What audacity we have to think we can make something better when we don't even possess the original blue prints. I'm talking about the system as a whole. Nature and how it all works together. Synergy

Bottom line. Cows were designed to eat natural grass. Let's not try to convert them into something that is beyond their capabilities just to satisfy our desires. If this concerns you find a farm that rotates it's herd from pasture to pasture to get a balanced diet. I think you will find less gassy cows! As Michael Pollan said. " We are what what we eat eats too."

Cool site for grass fed facts. Eat wild

Speaking of Michael Pollan. Read this article he wrote. It is a great look into the problems of grain fed cows. Power Steer

I found a little diagram of a cow. Just to show you the parts. Cow parts 101.





Have a great day!! Moo to you!

GG Amy