I received the chance to walk around the Iowa City CSA Fair when I was volunteering there at the Local Foods Connection booth more than a month ago. I was most interested in finding a local source for eggs and chicken meat, but when I found the booth for Grass Run Farm I was instantly hooked. I've been avoiding nearly all meat products since November 2007. My reasoning is that too many Americans eat meat in huge quantities. The production of that meat consumes much more resources than vegetables and other food products. Therefore, I can reduce the total amount of meat consumed in my house by cutting meat out of my diet, and reducing it in children's diet. Aaron was on board, and he too started eating the vegetarian and vegan meals I prepared.

As a complement to that idea, I also started planning my garden (look for updates on my garden tomorrow or later in the week) with the eventual goal of getting at least 70% of our food from our own backyard.

As soon as I noticed the booth for Grass Run Farm, I visited it. Through talking with Kristine and Ryan, I learned that each piece of beef coming from Grass Run Farms was pasture-raised and one hundred percent grass-fed. The pork is also pasture-raised.

While I still have not visited the farm itself, I do believe that the way in which Kristine and Ryan are raising their animals coincides with my own beliefs on the way a farm should run. I, of course, reserve the right to change my opinion at any time based upon new information about their set-up or farming and agriculture in general.

Best of all? We ordered a CSA share a little over a month ago, and we love it. It tastes wonderful, and it is an easy way to determine how much meat we should eat. Simply - I only eat the meat that comes from our CSA share. May's share included 3 pounds of ground 100% grass-fed beef, 1 pound maple sausage, 1 pound Grandpa Restuccia's Italian Sausage, 1 package round steak (tenderized), 1 pacakge sirloin tip steak (tenderized), and 1 100% grass-finished beef roast (which made an amazing sauerbraten). It was around ten pounds. Now, ten pounds divided by four people divided by 30 days? That's definitely reduced meat consumption for our household.

Labels: environment

There are two things that I like that will be highlighted in this post: 1) baths and 2) nature-inspired goodies.

When I still lived in Des Moines and went to college at DMACC, I took a human biology class from a woman named Donna Julseth. I thought she was a really nice, interesting, and intelligent woman. By the end of the class I learned that she had her own business called Prairieland Herbs. Donna and her daughter grow a wide variety of herbs and flowers which they then turn into herbal products such as bath teas, lotions, chapsticks, shampoo bars, massage oils and more. I hadn't actually tried any of her goods until we went to Living History Farms a week ago. While I was there, I bought a lavender and mint bath tea. It was fabulous! It colored the water just like a tea you'd drink, and the smell of lavender and mint wafted through the air as I relaxed. Now I really want to try more of her products, or perhaps learn to make a few of my own.

Already I buy soap from a local soap maker. She doesn't have a webpage (what a shame!) but you can buy her products, Plant Me A Garden Soaps, at Indian Creek Nature Center. Her soaps smell wonderful and get me squeaky clean. She also sells lavender cookies from her herb garden at our local farmer's market. They are amazingly good and fragrant.

One of my friends, Julie, is currently working on her social work masters degree. She works at a gift shop that uses mentally disabled individuals to create soaps, lotions, and other products. Shamefully, I don't know much about it because my big trap never closes long enough for her to get a word in edge wise. I'm working on it. This shop sells their products at Living History Farms as well, and I picked up a luffa lavender scrub. I have no idea how they made it, but at a wild guess I'd say they took a cross-section of a luffa fruit and filled it with lavender scented soap. It works as an excellent exfoliater as the luffa is a little scratchy and coarse. I wouldn't use it on any delicate parts.

Of course, for the past year since I watched a gardening show about the luffa plant, I've wanted to grow my own. I'm also interested in growing all my own herbs and drying them. So, perhaps some day in the future, I'll be making my own luffa soaps and herbal lotions. Wouldn't that be fun?

Labels: crafts, environment, gardening

I keep thinking that I want to move out to the country, get 40-50 acres of land, and maybe start up a CSA Farm. I want to be self-sufficient and maybe even supportive of other people in our community.

After Melinda posted this article in her blog, I started thinking about what I really want. I want to have local sustainably farmed chicken that was humanely butchered (and I want to watch it happen at least once), I want local eggs, I want local milk (be it goat or cow) that I can then make other products out of, I want to have horses, and I want to have my own space for growing my food.

What do I have now? I have a CSA Farm down the road that sells local chickens and eggs (I'd have to do research to see if they are humanely butchered and such), I could probably find local milk somewhere already, Miracles in Motion would love to stable a horse that is sponsored by me that they can use in their programs, and I already have space for growing my own food.

When I started looking at this house, a few voices said that the backyard was too small to have a large garden. I chimed in that there was a city park not even two blocks away. If I stand up on something and peer over my privacy fence, I can see the playground equipment. Right now there is more than enough space for my children to run around and play on the old metal swingset that someone left here when they sold the house. And as I expand my backyard into a garden landscape, they will grow older and need more space, and scamper right up into that playground with kids from the surrounding areas. They'll be part of the community.

Voices also said that there wasn't enough storage space in the house. My response was that I didn't need to have so much "stuff!" I buy sparingly, although still more than people living in severe poverty, and I weed stuff out occasionally to send to Good Will or garage sale. I buy things only when I need them or they'd make a significant difference in the quality of my life. I buy with an eye for long-term durability, the best sustainable materials I can find, a surviveable cost, and usability. It can be argued that some of my purchases aren't perfect or ideal, but neither am I!

Voices in my head tell me that I need to have cable so I can watch Food Network and some good movies. The reality is that I watch movies on Netflix, whose "play now" movies are free and the selection is getting larger, and all the spare time I have from not playing World of Warcraft and not watching cable is allowing me to work on my garden, read books from the library, and attend Creative Gardening lectures (future post on that). I'm probably the youngest member of our small town's Garden Club, choosing to learn from women (and men) in the community instead of that one channel on television (see, I don't even remember the name).

I can get the things I need from my community, without needing to isolate myself. I need to know where to look, sure, but that isn't too hard. There are two CSA Farms in the area, and I'm sure within thirty minutes I could call and leave messages asking about their chickens and eggs, and how they manage them. If they aren't willing to answer me, there are many more CSA Farms that deliver to the Iowa City Farmer's Market, and I could easily make a trip down there once or twice a month to get food.

The lesson to be taken from this, I think, is that I don't need to strive for more land and more space for me to do everything on my own. My community is here, welcoming me, and it has a wealth of resources. Yes, some things are not readily availble in my community (like 100% grass fed beef), but they may be available within a few hours, and perhaps they might even deliver to Iowa City restaurants and be willing to allow me to pick it up in the parking lot of said restaurants (whaddya know, they do!).

I was talking to someone at the psychology lab, where I work. They mentioned that they were morally outraged by what goes on in slaughter houses and the environmental damage, but they were too lazy to do anything about it. Too... lazy. I remarked, "You know you can find another source that isn't as bad, right?" They just shrugged.

What do you think? Do you ever think about what goes on for you to get the food that you eat? Or do you just shrug it off? Do you buy locally (which isn't necessarily the solution, as many people have pointed out)? Have you even thought about it?

Do you look within your community first to solutions to your problems? Do you feel isolated from your community? I know I did, until I started attending more community events. I'm starting to recognize faces from the library's story hour to the easter egg hunt to the town park. Soon, I think I might be browsing the vegetable selection in the local family-owned grocery store and be able to say hi and ask how their children are doing.

And that's a nice feeling.

Labels: environment, gardening

Living in a Toxic World just posted a blog regarding how animals impact the environment. This was something that I was just talking about with Aaron the other day. The conversation went something like this:

Jen: Aaron, you know how I've been working really hard to eliminate a lot of animal products from our diet because of the environmental consequences?
Aaron: Yeah, how could I forget...
Jen: I had a disturbing thought. Maybe I'm just becoming really weird, instead of just kind of weird. ...but, you know, Ra-ra eats commercial cat food. That has meat in it. So, even though us humans are trying to get off the CAFO food... Ra-ra is still eating it.
Aaron: Don't worry, he's only eating the downer cows and sick horses.

I laughed heartily (because I have a screwed up sense of humor like that, and often laugh at inappropriate things), and then started wondering about how I could reduce all of my animals' dependence on commercialized products, just as I'm reducing my family's.

I have three pets, currently.

Lord Kai Ramzeez Ta'Rkais was my very first pet. I had other pets as a child through my parents, but I purchased Kai for my birthday back in 2001 (January 27th, to be exact). He was named for a couple of people I really liked from an online game I played at the time. Kai is a bearded dragon, which is a desert animal from Australia. Beardies are extremely friendly and playful, although I never take Kai out of his tank. Before I had kids and a huge house, I'd let him run around in the living room, but now there are too many places for him to hide and things to eat or hurt him. Beardies do get stressed when their habitat changes, too, so while I'd like to get him a larger tank (he's in a 55 gallon right now), for now he just stays in his. He eats a combination of crickets and lettuce/vegetable mix.





Timothy was purchased when I was pregnant with Nate, in late 2003 or early 2004. Red-eared slider turtles can be found all over the southern United States. He is probably the favorite of people who come to visit, because he eats comets, a type of gold fish, which swim all around the tank. Whenever we are eating dinner, Timothy is trying to as well, and it is highly entertaining to watch. He eats a mixture of lettuce/vegetables, comets, snails, and red wigglers.



Our third pet is Ra-Ra Alexander, our cat. Ra-ra was purchased when Nate was turning a year old as a birthday present. Nate and Sammi both love Ra-ra, and pet him often. The only two words Sammi says? Hi and "mauw," which is her version of meow. Ra-ra is now a fatty mcfatterson cat, although he used to be a cute little fluff ball.





I've had a variety of pets over the years, but I've pawned off most of them (or they've died), and I really don't want any more. I don't know what I will do when the three I have die, because I love them all so incredibly. But I don't want to add to the mix at all.

So, what measures am I taking, you ask? And please, feel free to add any comments on my choices, suggestions or criticisms. I'm still learning, here.

Kai:
Part of my lettuce project of growing lettuce indoor this winter was aimed at feeding Kai and Timothy. I have learned from the project: I need a lot more space to grow any amount of lettuce that would be capable of feeding them; Kai does not like frozen vegetables/lettuce. I had mixed up a blend of veggies and lettuce, shredded them in a food processor, and then frozen them. Timothy (and the comets) love it, but Kai hates it. I would like to grow a huge amount of lettuce this growing season for them, and then I need to learn a way to preserve it for the animals for the winter, or make a larger area to grow lettuce indoors. Any suggestions here?

Kai also eats crickets. I have tried to raise these, but unfortunately I am unable to remember to water them, so they end up shriveling up unused. I think I will try again in a couple years when I have less responsibilities on my plate, or at least less stressful responsibilities. (Does that ever actually happen? Less stress?) Currently I buy them from the local Petsmart in just the right amount for Kai to eat before they kick off.

Lighting and substrate. Kai's last light broke, so I just switched him over to a compact system. He has a compact flourescent-like bulb for his spectrum and another bulb for his heating. They all operate on less than 45watts for about 10-12 hours a day. We put a cover on top of his tank to try to keep the heat in for him. He also has a small undertank heater to try to keep the heat up in his tank. I don't know of any way to reduce these energy costs, although we are moving to more and more renewable energy sources. Kai's substrate is crushed walnut shells. This has been shown to cause impaction in some animals, but he's been living on it for seven years with no problems. I prefer it to the sand because it is renewable, but I haven't researched it, so that may be faulty logic.

Timothy

Timothy eats a variety of foods.

Petsmart has a problem with invasive baby snails growing all over their tanks. They get shipped in with the plants and then take over. We get our snails for free from Petsmart. If someone doesn't come in to take their babies, they throw them away. I also have a small tank set up on the kitchen counter which receives sunlight and that's all (no energy costs whatsoever) with some snails in it. I'm trying to grow some to put in Timothy's tank for eating purposes.

The lettuce project.

Red wigglers. I started my worm composting system with the idea that I'd be able to take the extra (bred in my system) red wigglers from the system to feed to Timothy. I think this is a great idea to help sustainably feed Tim.

Currently, Tim eats comets. Once I get the red wigglers up and running, I'd like to remove comets from the system as much as possible, and only feed them as a treat.

Lighting/substrate/water needs. Timothy has a low wattage light to add some heat to his basking spot and to light up his tank. He also has a water heater to heat the water temperature. He has a gravel substrate which is cleaned, but never removed. (I did have to purchase this recently, as I had removed all the gravel out of his tank to use in a fish tank awhile back. Now I have all that gravel back [the fish died and we didn't replace them] and I don't know what to do with it. I think I'll clean it and line plant pots with it.) The biggest problem with Tim is his water usage. He has carbon filters which need replaced every so many weeks and water is constantly evaporating. Any ideas here?

Eventually, again I've done no research, I thought it would be neat to set up an aquaponics system with Tim to use that water for better reasons. I have no idea if the water would be too strong for plants, since turtles are extremely dirty and give off a lot of ammonia. I need to do research.

Ra-ra

Ra-ra eats commercialized cat food, currently. I just switched his litter over to Yesterday's News from clay litter. He doesn't have many toys, and I don't purchase him new ones. I'd like to see if there is a better way to feed him.

This post got reaaaaally long, eh?

Labels: environment, gardening

I have been reading EcoSherpa | Sustainable Living, Compost Guy | Turning Wastes Into Resources, and Red Worm Composting for several months now. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am interested in starting a compost bin near my garden. This bin would be my first foray into outdoor composting (my parents certainly never composted), and Bentley lives in Canada, and thus he experiments with winter composting. As my recent snow pictures show, I also have to be concerned about temperatures dropping in the winter.

For the past six months or so, I've been looking at worm systems for interior composting. I also have absolutely zilch experience with this, but I never let that stop me from doing something. As can be seen by my Lettuce Project, I am interested in finding ways to feed my red-eared slider turtle locally and for cheaper. Red wrigglers, a source of food for my slider, are the worms used in worm composting.

I have no idea if it is a good idea to use red wrigglers from the interior bin to feed my turtle or not, but I figure if I'm "feeding" the wrigglers organic food left-overs from my garden and newspaper or cardboard not sprayed with paint or some other harmful substance, they shouldn't be able to harm my turtle, right? And apparently, if you get a bin set up really well, they will reproduce. Of course, I need to keep enough worms in the bin to compost the bin, but I think they could provide a nice snack for Timothy. Follow my reasoning?

Last night, I set out to make a deluxe bin as instructed by Bentley. Aaron found a set of tubs at Wal-Mart that are made of 75% pre- and post-consumer plastic, I placed quite a bit of cardboard and newspaper (mixed about equally and shredded into small inch x inch pieces) into my bin and now I'm starting to cover it with food waste. In a few weeks, after my bin has quite a bit more food waste and bedding layered into it, I will order some worms. I'll keep you updated on how it works!


I didn't make this picture pretty at all, just snapped and uploaded. Sorry - didn't have the time! :)

Bentley's Deluxe Worm Bin Video

Timothy and Kai having a little chat:

Labels: environment, gardening

Each day at work while I eat my lunch, I hop on Slashdot and see what the latest buzz is in the IT world. I think I read the tech news because it's more interesting to me and less depressing than the real news. Today I ran across the results of a competition that I hadn't yet heard of and the contenders that made it to the top two positions really caught my interest. In classic Miss America form, I'll proceed with the runner-up first, then the grand prize winner:

Second Place

http://www.core77.com/competitions/greenergadgets/projects/4306/ (Hit Ctrl+A to read the description)

Behold the stunning Gravia!

The Gravia is a concept floor lamp (around 4 feet tall) that uses a falling weight to turn a generator that produces the electricity to give off light equivalent to about a 40 watt bulb. Once the weight reaches the floor (after 4 hours), you place the weight back at the top and you have another 4 hours of light.

This is one of those concepts that I wish was a reality and I wish only cost $20 so I could buy one. Because it has a beautiful design, I think this product would do very well if reasonably priced since appearance is so key in a decision to purchase. Stepping past its attractive looks, I'm impressed by the mechanism that converts the potential energy of the weight to the kinetic energy of the weight dropping, then to the electrical energy that powers the LEDs. While I would have imagined the weight falling much faster than 4 feet in 4 hours, the machine is designed to use gearing and resistance to slow the fall as much as possible.

Make me one. Now.

And speaking of making me one, a DIY project made:

First Place

http://www.core77.com/competitions/greenergadgets/projects/4621/ (Hit Ctrl+A to read the description)

This is a homemade product that plugs into your wall outlet that you then plug your electrical devices into. The display shows the amount of energy your device is consuming at any given time, i.e. if you plug in a lamp that uses a 40 watt light bulb you should, theoretically see "40" on the display. Making sure that your light bulb is consuming its proper amount of energy is not very useful but the value of the EnerJar becomes much more apparent when monitoring more complex devices such as your computer, a DVD player, a TV, etc.

Anyhow, I'm not trying to sell this thing...I'm just so excited to get started on building my own! I've been wanting a power monitor for quite some time but haven't been able to justify the cost. Now that these plans are available, I have a low-cost project that won't require as much time as if I'd sat down and engineered the circuits from scratch. Plus, not having to design the circuits gives me a bit of additional time to see if I can shrink everything to fit inside one of the hundred-or-so baby-food jars we have sitting around.

I plan to post pics of my progress once I get started on my EnerJar so check back in a couple of weeks or so!

Labels: environment, product reviews

This video might interest some of you.

"The Tensas River Reforestation Project will sequester over 450,000 tons of
carbon dioxide, expand wildlife habitat in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, and
help bridge the gap while we transition to a clean energy future." - Carbonfund.org

What do you think of the reforestation projects and offset projects? I haven't invested any money in it yet, but when I exit school, I may very well put a small portion of my income towards a project like this. I'm still looking at all the data about the programs.

Labels: environment

143 million pounds of beef were recalled on Sunday, according to CNN. One hundred forty-three million. 143,000,000.00 pounds of beef. Why? The slaughter house is not supposed to allow cows which cannot stand on their own to be slaughtered for our meat. But they were. Not only were they allowing these health-risky cows to enter into our food supply, but they were abusing them as they did it. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I don't care about the "animals are people too" claim of most vegetarians. Animals are a part of our food supply, they just happen to be part of the food supply that I avoid as much as possible. On the flip side, I firmly believe in respect for all people and things. Circle of life - but with respect. These animals were not being treated with respect.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/18/beef.recall/index.html

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4305151&page=1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7249911.stm

I'm grateful that Aaron doesn't complain about my desire to keep meat not tended with respect and sustainability out of our diet. I just finished the meal plan for this week and we have one pound of meat in all of our meals (excluding Aaron's fastfood, which he does on his time and dime). One pound for one week. How many Americans eat far more than one pound a day, per household? And, I won't even be eating that one pound of meat. It's Aaron's "free day" meat (I'm in class on Thursday nights, so he cooks whatever he wants that night).

News like this reminds me of why I started a new lifestyle last November. News like this makes me glad that I have stuck with it*.

I realize that the cows probably aren't affected with anything as no health claims have been made yet- but does that really matter? This slaughterhouse, which could be one thousand or more miles away from you, wasn't abiding by the rules. You never would have known if it wasn't for an undercover video by the Humane Society. How many other places are practicing unsanitary and cruel practices? Considering I don't even like the practices that are allowed under law, I'd rather not think about how many unlawful acts are being committed too.

Are you thinking about growing more of your own food? Are you thinking about reducing your meat consumption? If you are, I can help with good recipes that taste great. I can't help with the mindset that meat is a cornerstone of a meal. You have to change that yourself. Not thinking about any of these things? I wish you'd at least think about growing some vegetables in your back yard, window box, or interior of your house. (Remember my lettuce project? That is growing completely indoors, by a window, with a grow lamp for supplemental light.)

* I have eaten some meat since November. For my birthday I had 1/4 of a new york strip. When I visited Jory I had a piece of steak. I've had probably a total of two pounds of hamburger. I've eaten probably a pound of deer (which I don't have anything against as deer are not "farmed" and are overpopulated). I've had chicken from a local sustainably farmed chicken. I think I had two pieces of bacon, too. It smelled good. :\

Labels: environment, news

Today, my son and I took a side-trip to Target while we were in town. We very rarely get to spend time alone together, at least not since I met Aaron. (Yes, I was a single parent for one year and seven months.) I rather miss the sound of his bright and happy chatter as we look at all the colors and shapes together in the store. Since the last time we shopped alone, nearly two and a half years ago at a guess, he wasn't able to talk, this trip seemed a little different. He pattered on about the numbers on the checkout lanes and the colors of the peaches.

While he was seemingly impressed by everything in the aisles, I was struck by one object. Now, this teapot was not expensive. If it is a brand name, it is one I've never heard of before (although this would not be unusual as I've never kept up with trends, but I'm going to go way out on a limb here and say it isn't). However, this simple little teapot is beautiful. It's elegant, even. So, what's a girl to do when she finds a teapot with a glass infuser (which she's been searching for over the past several weeks)? Well, buy it, of course. And as soon as I get my birthday present, I'll be sure to take several (hundred) pictures of it.

What other products do I have to share? Well, I've got the pot, but I'm still waiting for my tea to arrive. Jory, my friend of ten years for whom I have ridiculous nicknames like Mein Joryschnitzel, or Jorykins, introduced me to genmai cha from Adagio. I like. I like a lot.

Last, when a girl is sipping tea that makes her tastebuds sing from her beautiful elegant teapot, she must do it in style. My mother procured a $50 gift certificate to Uncommon Goods and gave it to me for Christmas. Wow. What a gift. (No, really. I love it.) It took me two months, but I found something I really wanted. And then something else I really wanted. But what I actually ended up getting... well, that's this. (The blue and green earrings, only, although I really like that necklace too.) What I love the most about Uncommon Goods is that a lot of their products are hand made by crafters using recycled materials. Pretty neat!

Wrapping up my product highlights, all I have to say is 'Th-th-th-that's all folks!"

Labels: environment, product reviews

Local Foods Connection caught my eye about a month ago. I've been looking for a good place to volunteer after not enjoying my time with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the one day I put in at Miracles in Motion (how I loved the horses). LFC uses volunteers to earn credits on local CSA Farms, gets cash from families and some grants, and then turns around to donate shares from the CSA Farms to local low-income families. In short, they support the local agricultural economy while simultaneously helping low-income families receive fresh fruits and vegetables most likely grown in an organic sustainable manner.

How cool is that?

I know that I plan to spend a lot of time helping LFC in any way I can. Helping on the farms? Sure - it'll help me gain insight on how to manage my own backyard garden. Helping in the office? Why not - I am bored most of the day. I was even told if necessary I could bring my kids with me. Score! Right now I'm volunteering from home, helping update some of the website.

And once I get some cash on the side, I will definitely be donating to this organization.

Does anyone else know of any organizations like this in their local community?

Labels: cooking, environment, volunteering

Living in a Toxic World recently made a post about PLA made by Nature Works. The article being discussed was written by Elizabeth Royte for the Smithsonian. PLA is a plastic polymer currently being made out of feed-grade corn for the use of packaging. (Please, read the article!)

One of the complaints is that the packaging cannot be broken down in a home composter because PLA requires certain temperatures for ten days straight. The article also mentions that PLA breaks down into an acid which makes the compost mixture too acidic and wet without the addition of a higher amount of material.

Another complaint is that the packaging is creating larger demand of recycling facilities when the facilities can't actually handle the packaging with their current system. This is apparently because a lot of facilities aren't picking up PLA from the recycling company for composting or recycling.

I don't have a huge grasp on this topic yet since this is the first I've heard of PLA, but it is interesting to note that there are large apparent benefits for PLA. It can be composted under those correct conditions, the process of making it emits less greenhouse gases, it is made from a renewable resource, and apparently it is cheaper to make than our traditional plastic (PET?).

I went to Nature Works site and found this page which lists the company's partners. They have several different ways to search up their partners, which they classify as everything from retailers who carry PLA packaging to brands that use PLA packaging to manufacturers who make the equipment from which PLA is produced. Pretty cool that one of their partners is Naturally Iowa, LLC, although not very surprising since Nature Works is in Nebraska!

Labels: environment, news

This is an interesting watch - leave a comment and let me know what you think!

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Labels: environment

This year we switched from Christmasing* in my grandma's small retirement lake home to Christmasing in a historical museum. It has a lot more space for the kids to run around (and be kids), as well as a nice large kitchen. We started several new traditions this year and retired a couple old ones. Hopefully next year we'll revamp some of these traditions, as I'm not a big fan of one of them. I'm getting ahead of myself...

Every year, as we're mostly a low middle-income type of family, each child (under eighteen) draws another child's name. The parents are responsible for buying a gift for the children whom their children drew. I like this tradition!

We retired the old tradition of playing Bingo for prizes. Every year, Bingo transformed from a nice relaxing game where once a Bingo is called, a gift is taken by the Bingo-winner, to an evil cutthroat game. You see, once all the Bingo gifts are off the table, a timer starts and when a Bingo is called, a gift is stolen by the Bingoer. Ah, this was fun. Of course, the gifts were cheap random prizes that really aren't environmentally sound as the person receiving the gift probably didn't want it. That was my one complaint against the Bingo game. Otherwise, it was a hell of a lot of fun. The new tradition is to do adult and child grab bags. I have the same complaint about this - since you aren't buying for anyone in particular, a bunch of junk is bought and given away that the person probably doesn't want or need. What a waste of resources! And, in my opinion, not nearly as much fun as Bingo. I would much prefer doing a "Secret Santa" where everyone takes a blank scratch sheet of (recycled, of course) paper and writes a list of things that they need or would like, and then we draw randomly. This way people are getting what they want, it is fun, and people aren't stuck with things they don't want or need.

Another new tradition is the soup contest. My sister, Christa, was just medically discharged from the air force. She'd given away quite a few of her things before she'd left for basic training, so when she came home she didn't have much. Malinda (my aunt) and I were planning on co-hosting a party for her to give her a bunch of "extras" we all had in our houses. Unfortunately it was snowed out. So, Christa's Welcome Home Cookoff was rescheduled during our Christmas party. Since all of our parties are pot luck, this is an excellent way to ensure we get main dishes, and it adds a little fun to the party. The trophy? A cutting board with the winner's name engraved on it. Apparently there is even space for several years' winners! This year I only came in second (such a bummer). But, that just means that next year I need to try even harder!

All in all, I had a really good time. My major complaints? We ate on styrofoam and paper plates with plastic forks and spoons. Yuck! Let's see what alternatives I can come up with to sway my family to a different type of eating utensil...

*Did I just make up the word Christmasing? I believe so!

Labels: environment, random

Why won't the EPA allow the states to set their own emission standards? In my general and limited understanding of the way our government works, the federal law is the baseline for all laws. The states are allowed to make stricter laws, but they cannot make laws that contradict or lessen federal laws. In this case, California and sixteen other states were asking to make stricter requirements. Not weaker ones.

Automakers praised the decision.
[...]
Mr. Johnson, the E.P.A. administrator, cited federal law, not science, as the underpinning of his decision. “Climate change affects everyone regardless of where greenhouse gases occur, so California is not exclusive,” he said.
~ John M. Broder and Felicity Barringer
NY Times Article

Well of course automakers are going to praise the decision. Now they won't have to a) go back to the drawing board and create cars with higher standards b) have to make different versions of cars in order to sell their vehicles in different states and c) lose their friendship with the industries that don't want the standards to raise.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Stephen L. Johnson denied the state's request to implement its own landmark law, noting that an energy bill signed by President Bush earlier in the day would go a long way toward reducing emissions throughout the United States. The bill provides the most significant increase in vehicle fuel economy standards in more than three decades.
[...]
State officials and environmentalists said the energy bill, although helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions nationally, was no substitute for California's efforts, which would go further and achieve results faster.
~By Richard Simon and Janet Wilson
LA Times Article

Exactly! If California had pushed forward with those requirements, they would be bettering ALL of the globe. L. Johnson stating above that California is not exclusive is the point.

Labels: environment, news