Green Up Your Driving Habits

So I have to drive sometimes. Like to take advantage of Home Depot's plant warrantee (they replace dead plants within a year.. oopsies)... I just can't walk or bike, and there aren't busses to go there. I can, however, make the best of things. Behold, top 5 do-able driving best practices to save gas - reducing costs and carbon emissions.




1. Go the speed limit. Herky-jerky stop and start means more gas. Plus, it makes the herky-jerk car behind you delightfully angry, especially here in California.
2. Have good directions and/or call ahead. No aimless driving around!
3. Windows instead of A/C.
4. Keep the tires full and go for regular tune ups. This means your car is operating most efficiently and you'll use less gas.
5. Take as much stuff out as you can. A heavy load means more gas.

Find out more from TreeHugger's How To Green Your Car.

Junking Your Junk Mail

Something for all you who live out there in the Mini-Apple, or St. Paul too: The Twin Cities Green Guide. Information on co-ops, tips for sustainable beer drinking ("Drink locally produced beer to reduce resources used in transportation.") and upcoming green events provided for your Minnesotan edification and delight.


The Green Guide also offers tips for any American to cut down on their junk mail. The Green Guide cites the EPA figures: 5.2 million tons of junk mail are shipped every year; .98 million of those are recycled and 4.2 million of those are trashed. That's 31 pounds of junk mail per person going into the garbage each year. The good news is, you can stop this mail before it even gets in the postal truck! Start with these three easy steps.

1. To stop getting Val-Pak coupons (you know you'll never get that carpet cleaning or those personalized checks!):
Send an e-mail to valerie@valpak.com with REMOVE FROM MAILING in the subject line. Include your address, city, state, and zip/postal code exactly as it appears on the Val-Pak blue envelope or mailing label.

2. To register with a Do-Not Mail Service:
Send a postcard with your name and address to:

Mail Preference Service
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512-0643

3. To opt-out of credit card applications:
Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688)
(You will have to share your social security number.)

Buying Local

Two happy things happened this Sunday:

1. I bought bread from a bakery (Village Bakery, 1445 Town and Country Dr).
2. I bought pumpkins from a local farm (Frey Rd, off Highway 12).



The nice thing about buying things straight from the source is that I know more about the size of the carbon footprint my purchase makes, because I transport the product for 100% of its journey (or.. at least its final journey in finished form). And it gives me the chance to support local business & economy (I'm being turned into a republican, help! Quick, go look at the BALLE Project and leave me to wrangle with my growing conservative woes).

I mean, not like that makes any significant carbon difference, when I still continue to buy imported cheese from England with Wallace and Gromit on the packaging (shhh), but it gives me leeway to act smug and tout my $1.50 pumpkin with pride. I mean, I need every chance I can get to be smug. My carbon footprint is huge.

Calculate yours here. Especially if you travel abroad.. yikes. You're in for it.

Recycline Preserve Toothbrush

I found a toothrbush in Mill Valley today that is made from recycled yoghurt containers. Wohoo!


The Recycline Preserve toothbrush can even be returned and they will grind it up again. Nice!

Acorn Squash stuffed with Pilaf

As fall approaches, why not enjoy some seasonable vegetables? After all, in-season produce is less likely to be flown in from Chile and more likely to have been grown locally.



Here's vaguely what you do:

Grease shallow pan.
Cut squash in half.
Clean out seeds (save for roasting!).
Placed squash open side down and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cook brown rice - Uncle Ben's goes fastest, admittedly. You can throw some carrots in here for cooking.

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil. Add diced apples. Stir in lentils.

Stir cooked rice/carrot/onion/apple/lentil mixture together. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Here is your pilaf!
Spoon this into your finished squash. Top with grated cheese if you're not vegan.

Then, turn the oven down to 300 and remove flesh from the seeds. Salt them and cover them with olive oil. Make sure you remove the covers from your stove burners as this is where the moisture vents out - I once broke an oven roasting pumpkin seeds with the stove burners left covered.

Hempz Pomade

Made of beeswax, Cannabis sativa (Hemp) seed oil and extract, and castor oil, my new hair pomade from Hempz isn't telling you that it actually includes PARABENS!

Aaah!

What a bad, uninformed purchase on my part!

Green Breakfast

So I've finally replaced daily trips to Starbucks or the bagel shop with green tea and a protein smoothie. I like to re-use POM tea glasses or Acher Farms juice bottles to take them along to work with me. Saves money, time, a car trip and empty calories.


Here is my protein shake recipe:

1 banana
1/2 c vanilla yoghurt
1 c orange juice OR milk
1 c frozen strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, peaches, or blueberries
OR 3 tbsp. almond butter (use milk instead of orange juice. ew. also, freeze your banana ahead of time)
1 scoop protein powder

This packs about 30 grams of protein for breakfast overall, more if you use milk & almond butter. Not bad, eh?