Be Black And Green

Guess who's biz-aack

2009-07-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hey all -

I've been gone for a while and I apologize.

I've had major writing block.

While I am NOT going to make all these promises about how I'll never do it again and how I'll be a better blogger next time I WILL tell you some of the things that piqued my interest while I was away.

Other black and green people:

Van Jones - I want to be like him when I grow up
Bryant Terry - The Grub Movement is one that people who call themselves GREEN should be familiar with!
Black and Into Green - This woman has been blogging for a while about black and green issues.
EcoSista - Another black and green blogger! Yay!
DNLee at Urban Science Adventures - This woman is a scientist with knowledge for days about science and biology. She touches on green issues every now and then.

I'm always on the quest for getting to know more black and green people so if you know of anyone I should know more about please put me on!

My Anti-Green Daddy's garden.

I think I'm going to name him Mean-Green for the sake of this blog because for someone who doesn't stand for the green movement, he sure does have a healthy backyard garden where foot long zucchinis grow like weeds. I saw a clothesline when I was visiting this past weekend, and he even is carrying Klean Kanteens now to work - or at least a generic equivalent. Last weekend we had a mess of green beans and potatoes. Onions, strawberries and canteloupe weren't too far away but I digress. More on that to come ...

So although I haven't been writing I've been paying attention to all that's been happening around me. I'll have lots of ammo and most importantly the desire to write and chronicle the journey to being black and green.

Later.

Greening Your Soap

2009-03-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to green my soap. And about 80% of my personal care products as well. HERE's a start. I'm looking forward to experimenting.

Dirty Food - ugh

2009-03-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

Been gone for a while now, but just had to post this list. Here you can find the fruits and vegetables most likely to be saturated with pesticides in the grocery store. Follow the links to find more about the study, the pesticides and reasons to go organic.

Gross (and scary) yet, informative.

Resource for the Responsible Recycler

2008-11-17T13:01:00.001-08:00

Ever wonder what to do with those old phones, single-use batteries, wire hangers, extra materials from some building project, anything that you know doesn't belong in the garbage? Well there's a resource that can lead you to the answer, and it may be right in your neighborhood.

Earth 911 is a search engine that helps you find recycling resources in your state, city, and zipcode.

Now there's no excuses for not recycling and leaving all those pounds of reusable things in your trash. Get to it!

Earth 911. Enjoy.

Singing the praises of the Klean Kanteen

2008-11-13T07:50:00.000-08:00

My 17-month old daughter has been using the same cup for about six months now.

You might think of it as gross, neglectful even, but I beg to differ. I think it's one of the smartest things I could do as a mother.

This cup is free of hormone-changing BPA, doesn't break down or leach chemicals when warmed or washed, and it is virtually unbreakable.

She uses the Klean Kanteen, and no I'm not getting paid for this post. (I wouldn't mind it, though.) The APEX sippy lids are swappable so if they get gross I can get new ones, but I am pretty thorough when washing it, so I don't have to do that.

I am writing this post because as soon as I get a chance to shimmy on down to Park+Vine (because I just found out they have them) and I am going to get myself one, so that I may avoid even being tempted to buy a bottle of water. What a waste.

Maybe I'll even get my coworkers a Kanteen for Christmas/Kwanzaa... Hmmm...

Books I've been meaning to get around to.

2008-11-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

My brother once told me this story about something called a 'Roundtoit.' He said one day while at his childhood friends' house they were in the garage playing and they showed him one; a 'Roundtoit.' His friend explained to him, just as he explained to me that it was a very special item, very hard to find. A lot of people would never see it.

Get it?

I know I'm corny. LOL. Well, the point of the story is, is that I have several books that I'd recommend/love to read based on their reviews and topics and if anyone has read them I would love to hear their takes. Here's my shortlist:

Green Collar Economy by Van Jones
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Slow Food Nation, by Carlo Petrini
In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
Hot Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

So this is just a shortlist, but once I get a 'roundtoit' reading one of these, that is, (or scanning the pages as my daughter screams to use it as a coloring book) I will definitely post a review.

In the meantime, have you any recommendations? Reviews?

I wish I was a little bit greener...

2008-11-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

Anybody remember that song, "I wish I was a little bit taller?" That was my jam way back in the day.

In the song, the rapper talks about all the things he wishes he could do or have. When I think about transitioning my life to being green, I start to wonder if the little baby steps I take (recycling, reducing energy use, changing light bulbs) make a difference. Many environmentalists would say, yes. Honestly it just makes me feel better to do certain things.

Anyhow, I always think about what my life would be like if I were 100% green.

Each morning I would get up, from the sound of alarm --powered by an outlet in a home powered by solar and/or wind-- untangle myself from my organic cotton sheets and blankets and take a very short shower using my low-flow showerhead.

I would clothe myself in organic cotton (and/or other sustainable material-clothes) from the underclothes to the fancy scarf that would grace my natural shea butter-moistened hair. Business casual dress, of course.

I would then proceed over my bamboo floors to my recycled-material countertop to pick up some goodies and then to my bamboo kitchen/dining table and chair to eat my breakfast made from seasonal fruit from my own garden. Before tossing the scraps in the compost I'd pack a lunch of fresh veggies from my garden tossed with homemade pasta (If I go all the way, I gotta go all the way).

Next I'd be off to work on my bicycle, (no driving!); burning calories as I frolic through traffic and I'd arrive at my destination rejuvenated. (or exhausted)

Then I'd fulfill work duties on recycled paper. Whether I be a professor or a writer in my green life, I haven't decided, but I'd be sure to cut any unecessary carbon emission.

Going home would also be rejuvenating. On the way I'd think about the fresh homemade bread I'd bake from all organic ingredients. (No meat, because that's not green! It takes loads of carbon emission to slaughter animals).

I'd read by the fireplace used to heat my home. Listen to radio, perhaps and then get some peaceful rest in my no-voc painted, nature-ally decorated, organically insulated home.

Wouldn't that be nice.

Am I forgetting anything? I wish I were a lot greener. I'm like one thousandth (.0001) of the way there.

Does anybody watch '60 Minutes' or am I just old school?

2008-11-10T12:57:00.000-08:00

Anyhow, whether you (my fictional audience) watch 60 Minutes or not, last night I watched a horrific investigative news story on there about where some of our E-Waste really goes.

If you do not know what E-Waste is, it is basically the electronic junk (tvs, phones, cpus) that's too old, broken or simply out-of-date that nobody wants. The reporter referred to this place as the innovation age's dirty little secret. As I stare at my iphone waiting for quitting time to pop up, I would agree. I didn't know.

Any guesses?

The answer is some place called Guiyu, China. A little town where all the water is contaminated with toxic chemicals formerly in your Dell, where the women struggle carrying children to full-term, and where the men run gangs to maintain the wasteland and jump reporters and crews who try to expose them.

In addition, what bothered me is that my fear of being green for nothing has come to be. My father, who is the skeptic of all things green, claims that the recycling company doesn't recycle. He thinks they just dump the stuff they collect somewhere in the trash. Well in essence, this is exactly what happened in the story.

A company called Executive Recycling basically held an E-Waste event in some neighborhood and made people think they would recycle these goods, which I do believe they were paid to host.

Long story short, when 60 minutes followed the crate of stuff that was supposed to be recycled, all the stuff ended up in China. This wasteland of a place is only there because people thought they were doing the right thing and someone lied to them. I hope the green movement isn't all about lies. I know some of it makes me feel better as a person because I am less wasteful, but this is a little discouraging.

Read the story, here.

Good counter to alternative energy

2008-10-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

I read this article on The Root this morning and I had to take a minute to think about how green issues/energy is being put in front of troubles the black community faces (and have faced for years). Do I agree? I don't think so. Do you agree?

It Takes Green to Go Green

Simply Stated

2008-10-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

Do people of color care about the environment?

2008-09-18T04:51:00.001-07:00

I do. Check out this blog. I knew I wasn't the only one.

Weekend Ups and Downs

2008-08-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend was great for two reasons. Not only did I get to spend a great deal of it with my family; I also got to educate some of them about being green. I even convinced one of my aunts to recycle.

My brother, who turned 33 last week decided to host a shin-dig at his home in Columbus. Let me just first say that my family loves to celebrate. Even if we only have a little money to do it, we just tell everyone to BYOB and we get it poppin'. So while 'politick-in' by the trash can telling everyone about my daughter's Klean Kanteen, I decided to start a trash bag for recycling. I am so different now, that when I see glass I just think of it being here when nothing else is. It will be an artifact...artifact times 1 trillion. So while talking and encouraging the folks, my recycling bag even caught on for a while. People were throwing their cans and bottles into the recycling bag. After a while it seemed like I didn't have to stand around and tell them for them to do it. However, after more than a while, the little trash got full and people started throwing their food trash into my recycling bag. At the end of the night when I was helping....excuse me... I mean watching everyone clean, I noticed that my recycling efforts had been virtually unsuccessful and that I'd have to spend the rest of the night continuing to make my brother feel guilty about hurting the environment.

"You have to teach your kids that when you throw things away, they never really GO AWAY!" I fumed. "Take them to a landfill," I said, "and explain how it works. GLASS NEVER BREAKS DOWN!!!" I hope I got through to him. I know that I got through to my aunt who said she only recycles newspaper. Now I'm thinking of getting shiny new recycling bins to every relative whose address I have, even if they become dog baths, I still feel like I gave it some effort.

Sunday was 20 times better than Saturday. I got to see my grandmother, I got recruited for designing the family reunion t-shirt, and I had a meal, in my mother and father's home that came entirely from their garden. I was blown away because my father is the same man who denies anything is happening to polar bears and denies global warming entirely. "You're greener than you think!" I tell him. The food tasted excellent and felt extremely good going down because I knew exactly where it came from. We had red potatoes, red cabbage and chicken (which did not come from the garden, but we'll get there...lol). I was extremely proud. I think I'm wearing the folks down, guys!!!!!!!!

While I'm sure that people do this all the time, I'm honestly not sure how many of my people do this all the time, which is why I am so excited about it.

Turn up that AC!

2008-07-22T05:46:00.000-07:00

Here's an article worth reading about green air conditioning technology.

While I'm on this recycling kick...

2008-07-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to the Story of Stuff. It's pretty interesting.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

My adventures in almost not recycling.

2008-07-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

When I moved to Cincinnati, I had no idea how to green my living because I live in a large apartment complex. Now in East Harlem, recycling was readily available in front of the Pathmark on the corner. I remember when I got there I used to see all these people just recycling for the good of the earth! I was so intrigued. Then I looked a little closer and I saw that these people were getting paid to do this and all over the city I would see the same people digging in the garbage for recyclables. It was apparently a profitable career for some! Anyhow - back to Cincinnati -while I knew that recycling bins were available to people in houses, I did not know that I would have to share one with my aunt that lives across town, or find a recycling center in my neighborhood. Because my will to be good to the earth affects the way I sleep at night, it wasn't long before I found the City of Cincinnati's Recycling program and directions to a recycling center near me. So the S.O. and I loaded up a pamper box with all of our cardboard soap and graham cracker boxes, our aluminum and our plastics #1, 2 and 3 but when it came to taking out the recycling, no one wanted to do it. Our dumpster is right behind the complex, so that's easy. But shuttling the trash, sorry, recyclables in the Kia and to a recycling center was a chore we both ignored. So it piled, and it piled and we had a few unwanted visitors enjoying the remnants inside the box. It was then that I begged the S.O. to take it to the recycling center near us and dump it. Reluctantly, he loaded it up and hauled it all to the market but when he got there, he said no one around knew what he was talking about. So for about three days, we rolled around with recycleables in the trunk and backseat. I thank God that none of my friends came to visit or needed a ride anywhere because I didn't want to have to explain the smell and the inconvenience it had been to recycle. It meant a lot to me, however, so I did not give in to dumping it all in the dumpster behind the building. In the end I found the little Rumpke Recycling Center next to the downtown library and Voila! We are one step greener.

Now if I could just get the S.O. to bike to work.... and take the recyclables with him! LOL

I'm a terrible influence...but I'm back and greener than ever

2008-07-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

Sooooo......I'm back!

I have to be honest and say that the reason I wasn't blogging was because I was not being as green as I thought I should be to be running a "green blog," but now I am living greener than ever and convincing others to be green, too.

For instance, my momma is now inquiring about putting solar panels on her roof; my S.O. - who now refuses to use plastic grocery store bags and growls with anger if a clerk forgets to use our bags; my anti-green-but-doesn't-know-how-green-he-really-is Deddy, who is growing a beautiful garden full of veggies; my brother who has stopped paper towel consumption and anybody else in the grocery store who sees me with my assortment of canvas bags and my baby with her Klean Kanteen. TOGETHER WE'RE GREENIN' IT UP YALL.

Since college, I was always a firm believer in changing my little corner of the world. Some call it grassroots, or think global act local, or just word-of-mouth; but whatever it is, I am on the track to doing that and I couldn't be prouder. I am currently in Cincinnati and would like to make the black and green connection with this little corner of the world. With my blog this time around I plan to localize topics. I would also like to highlight black issues AND green issues and the two together.

For today, I want to leave you with the most simple green practice, which I just learned how to do appropriately as an apartment complex resident: Recycling.

Most cities have websites that tell where recycling sites are and how to get a bin for your home. Cincinnati's is http://rcc.org/pubsrv/pages/-10147-/ It's important for us all to remember that trash is never really 'thrown away' it is tossed into a landfill and homes and parks are built on top of it. It contaminates our water and drains our resources. Most cities and businesses even have electronics recycling, CFL recycling, computer recycling. Just about anything you've used can be recycled. Pay attention.

Everbody wants to be green this week...

2008-04-21T05:21:00.000-07:00

Earth Day is this week, so now everybody wants to pretend that they care about the earth. Well, yall knew that I cared since way back, so I'm not one of those fakers. The fact that I'm getting back to blogging this week is not coincidental, there's just a lot to talk about... I could no longer stand by and keep all these black and green thoughts to myself.

I've been watching the Today show and although 60% of the information given in the four hours is useless, they have been talking about the harm in using certain plastics. Now, I knew that plastic was terrible because it takes forever to break down in a landfill. I also knew that bloggers all over the world are getting rid of all the plastic in their homes and consulting others on how to stay away from it. [Here's just one] I also knew that plastic is not natural and made of chemicals that could potentially be damaging. I didn't know that it's almost impossible to avoid at home, in the kitchen, in the car, EVERYWHERE. I also didn't know that although NBC is in bed with other companies that sell plastic products, I didn't know that they would maintain that Bisphenol A, one of the harmful chemicals in plastics 3,5,6 (don't quote me, read the story ppl) is indeed harmful according to more than a few stories and more than a few experts. I didn't know that different types contain different chemicals that can do different things, especially to children. This is where my concern lies.

One of the studies claims that this BPA could be the reason why girls reach puberty earlier and this chemical also heightens some cancers. And I thought it was the hormones in the chicken! That's enough for me to stop using it; the plastic that is. How about you? I just have to find some glass sippee cups. I also have to do some research. This is TV we're talking about, and just like blogs, I don't believe anything I haven't seen twice.

This one's for Joe

2008-01-22T11:37:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what it would be like to run your laptop from solar power?

Well, here's your chance!

Thanks TreeHugger

My bad yall.

2008-01-22T07:22:00.000-08:00

Please bear with me. I'm transitioning right now.

Before I decided to move, I'd spend 8-10 hours of the day staring at a computer screen and trying to find all the black and green news I could (while working, of course). Now, I'm spending up to 24 hours chasing an 8-month old, starting a business and driving back and forth from some Ohio town to another. Yeah, that's right, I decided to move from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a nicer, quieter, loving-er place. I would say cleaner, because aesthetically it is but in terms of carbon emissions it is not. (I think) New York to Ohio. Which would you choose? Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about things I could be writing as I wipe spit peas off my shirt, like:

...how organic baby food comes in plastic packaging (So what?) and
...how I could get this small town to ban plastic bags like San Fran. If they can do it, we can too! , or
...how I want to put a solar panel on the old family house I may rent; Can I do it myself? , or
...why my father still doesn't believe global warming is real hmph, why was it like 60 degrees the other day, pops?! , or
....how there's a lake flowing in Antartica is that normal? or
...how we decide our next leader will have a real effect on the planet. When you find one link for that let me know. Until then, I'm busy researching each one!

So for now, meditate on these things and I'll be brainstorming some more during Sesame Street. Until next time...

Yeah, I'll get to that....

2008-01-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

This has been my 2008 motto so far for putting off my blog and putting off beginning a healthier lifestyle. I mean Kwanzaa break was delightful, but to extend it another week would be just unacceptable. So here I am and I extend my apologies.

So because last week everyone was talking about resolutions, perhaps I should also begin the year talking about resolutions (that I'll keep for a month or two), or not. While it seems quite ambitious to offer a green tip everyday or promise to do something green in my life everyday and tell you about it, I don't really roll that way. I am a fan of the gradual change process. What do you think? How do you make changes that stick? Do you plan to make any green changes?

I made a resolution one year to take everyday as it is new. This advice has proven to be the best advice I'd ever taken from an overheard conversation or someone on the radio or on some website --I still can't remember where I heard it. However, in addition to that advice, I have made the promise to myself this year, to remove JUNK from my life. This means JUNK food; old JUNK that cannot be reused or made into anything else; JUNK music/tv/entertainment that is not good for my family (it will be hard to give up Divorce Court :( JUNKy personal care products (not natural), plastic JUNK that I don't need, I am going to stop buying unnecessary JUNK --just junk altogether disgusts me. You know sometimes when I am in a greeny mood I go to the mall and just think all this JUNK is just future trash. Because America has this fashion thing, we know how to make stuff old, undesirable, unfashionable and it ends up in a landfill. Think about it. I hope you can feel me on this one. While old habits indeed die hard, I feel that if I make a commitment and stick to something so simple yet meaningful I can indeed do it.

I have done this with paper bags and I will soon move to reusable ones. I am working toward keeping a full organic pantry. It will be a while before I can buy a hybrid, but I know that's what I'll get if I can't find one of those electric car dealers in Ohio by the time I'm ready. I know I have many more changes to make and stick to like reusable water bottles, faucet filters, compost piles and getting the entire family to recycle, but if I just did it all at once I wouldn't have anything to blog about.

Stick with me and we'll figure out all this green stuff out together...

Happy New Year

Merry Christmas to all....and to all a good hot dog!

2007-12-25T18:06:00.000-08:00

*Cue Donny Hathaway* This Chrismas, instead of a traditional turkey or ham or vegetable lasagna for the lone vegetarian, my family grilled out. We called it a July dinner for Christmas, you know, like Chrismas in July but reversed. And yeah, I'm one of the corny ones who made it up, partly because I wanted my family to pay attention to the warm(er) weather for Ohio this year and partly because I was assigned to cook and I kind've got to weasel out of it because all I eat is turkey products and no one else does.

But really, what other year (here in Ohio where I'm from anyway) has it been 50 degrees and/or up, not snowing or sleeting and warm enough to stand outside to wait for food to cook. I mean, I grew up in Ohio and I'm used to the cold. I acutally miss the cold. I sleep better when it's cold. And while my father still doesn't believe that global warming is real, there we were grilling out. It was sunny too. The food was divine. BTW, is grilling a green thing to do? Probably not...hmmmm..... I'll have to check the science of it and get back or if you are out there reading and you know, leave a comment and enlighten me. I'm always looking to be better.

Grilling out this Christmas gave me some hope, too, that old habits maybe don't die hard, even for the folks. We still were chomping on mac and cheese and greens like always, but we're working on extending our culinary choices and options. Especially to the good organics. But anyway, the day is coming to an end and I think, although I procrastinated too long to get the green goods/reusable bags/reusable aluminum water bottles before Christmas (I got yall for Kwanzaa though), I think I raised, and continue to raise, the issue enough to show the fam that I take gifts seriously, especially the gift of the earth (more importantly the God that gave it to us).

Yeah, call me corny or whatever, I already told y'all I was.
Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

Just a few things...

2007-12-20T08:15:00.000-08:00

Hey folks. I'm working hard today, so I just wanted to share a few items of interest with you.

Now, while I think some of the things this girl does are wacky, she has taught me a lot.
This might be a little tricky. But please wrap my Kwanzaa gifts like this. Or like this. Thank you.
Good thing I'm getting an I-PHONE for Christmas/Kwanzaa. It's a very green decision.

Hey, holler at me if you find anything cool!

Paper or Plastic?

2007-12-18T11:37:00.001-08:00

I choose paper when I can/when I'm not walking a mile to the train or bus. What about you?

Each year, Americans use more than 100 billion plastic shopping bags, consuming an estimated 12 million barrels of oil. After a very short working life, these bags retire to landfills where they take 500 or more years to break down, or become litter that clogs storm drains and threatens marine wildlife. City governments that have passed or are considering plastic bag bans include Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Portland, Oregon, California cities San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Monica, Boston, and both Annapolis and Baltimore in Maryland. Consumers in these cities must use paper or bring their own bags.

I pulled this from an interesting article on E, The Environmental Magazine's website. Read it!

Organic...or not?

2007-12-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

You know, I love my mama and deddy. They raised me to look out for things. I don't always know if they're serious or joking, but they talk an awful lot about how in everything there is a conspiracy against black people. So when I started mentioning the benefits of eating organic and the unknown dangers of genetically modified food, they were like, "Awww c'mon, they do anything they want and slap that green sticker on that so you'll pay more for it."

I read this article today and it really made me think about what I'm buying when I think I'm buying organic food. It gave some validity to what they were saying when the organic food boom hit and I was all over it. I'm sorry I jumped on the bandwagon, but I learned a bit about genetically modified food while in college and I must say that I am more afraid of what's in the food we eat than I am of ... just about anything else. (FYI, if you are not hip, google genetically modified food, but don't read anything by monsanto -- they make the stuff, so they wont say anything bad -- and read up.)

From my understanding --correct me if I'm wrong imaginary audience-- in the last century scientists have been making and farmers have been using genetically modified seeds that are resistant to certain organisms, insects, temperatures and any other natural distractions that could wipe out crops/their $. Some are even genetically modified to sit on the shelf in the warehouse or grocery store longer. This wouldn't be so bad if it didn't disturb the natural order of things, or if we knew exactly what these foods did to our bodies but we are the test subjects and the lab rats. There's a whole lot of money behind the politics of GMFs so we can't even get labels to us what we're eating like the European Union has. We can only hope that the food the USDA says is organic doesn't have these GMFs inside. Again, think about the ingredients of the foods we eat. That high fructose corn syrup is most likely derived from a corn stalk that in not 100% real/natural. It probably has been genetically modified.

Let's not even mention toxic sewage sludge fertilizer. Yes, I do mean $%^! all over your vegetables.

So what do ya do? Well, as soon as I can afford me a house with a backyard, or even a windowsill and a pot, I plan to grow my own food. This industry is disgusting. I went to see I am Legend this weekend and I am convinced that we're destined for some kind of scary strain of something that will be resistant to everything and wipe us all out....just wait.

Let's Start Slow...

2007-12-13T06:38:00.000-08:00

You know, I get really upset when I see people litter. It just doesn't make sense not to put trash in the trash can. It's lazy. I can say that I've never done it intentionally. I've worked hard to prevent people around me from doing it. I think it's absolutely disgusting. I used to live in Harlem, on the east side. In the early days it was a pleasure to walk from the train stop at 125th and Lennox to 125th and Lexington. I used to marvel at all the vendors and busy people. I used to count how many shoe stores and salons versus how many bookstores there were (soapbox). I bought some funky scents and some nice shirts for fam from the Underground spot. I loved every tourist-y minute of it. Then a few months rolled by of me living there and I started noticing something else.

The trash.

You know, most people who talk about being *bendy quote fingers* green talk about reducing the amount of trash we produce. They talk about reducing plastic bag use. Why, you ask? They talk about sustainable neighborhoods and renewable energy. Me, I want to talk about all that stuff, but I'm going to start slow and talk about putting trash in its place, people. It bothers me a whole lot to know that the trash we 'throw away' is actually being buried beneath us. But to live in it ... ? Maybe you're leaving it there, lady I saw this morning, as a reminder to everyone else that if we don't reduce the amount of trash we use, that's exactly where it will be, swirling swimming around with us.

Maybe not.

How much extra energy from you does it take to put your wrappers or napkins or bottles or cans or whatever you've got, into the can?

Trying to understand the 100 Mile Diet

2007-12-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

Last night I was talking to my mother about how I really wanted to read the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle because it talks about a family's quest to live only off of what they can eat locally.

I think this is amazing for several reasons 1) because having been a victim of some still unnamed digestive disease, I am very concerned about what's in the food I eat and how it affects my health. 2) If you grow your own food or if you can have a conversation with the person that's growing your food you'll know that the seed is not genetically modified to prevent grasshopper loitering or something. 3) Sure, like mom says, there won't be strawberries to eat in Ohio in the winter (maybe some strawberry jam, though) but it forces one to be creative and crafty with what is available and 4) It would save the world from all the gas that it takes to drive/fly those strawberries to Cali or wherever they're being grown to me.

Think about it. What did you eat for breakfast or lunch today. Out of all the things you ate, can you name all the ingredients and better yet, do you know what they are? I know I can't. I had a cookie out of the vending maching and all I know is that it had no trans-fat and it tasted good. Probably had some flour... dark chocoalte... sugar I'm sure, but the point is that I don't know. We don't know. All this sickness and disease plaguging our race has some kind of connection to what we're eating, and what we're exposed to, but we can control one of those things. We can choose to make better choices for us and the environment.

The option has always been there for me, in my hometown in Ohio, to eat local. I can even tell you the name of the popular year-round farmer market. The challenge is to try.

No black people left behind.

2007-12-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

There's a lot going on in the *bendy quote fingers* green world this week and there's a lot that I'd like to share, but please beware that I am not consistent, so if you are tuning in to this blog everyday (like me, hoping that something would manifest itself) but have been disappointed, don't completely knock it off your morning list of blogs to read. Just because I am not consistent, I am not a quitter. Enough about me, (not really) though, in just a week of being dedicated to delivering and commenting about green news, I have found a number of great blogs, magazines and articles online that we can take full advantage of.

Before I get to that, I'd like rant about black people being left behind.
NOTE: Please don't be mad at me for throwing us all into one category because it's wrong but everyone does it for the sake of conversation. The other week I was watching 'Kid Nation' (yes, I'm a TV Junkie) and the youngest kid there won a gold star worth $20,000. The first thing he said, or it may have been the last thing he said is that he wanted to save it because the price of gold was going up. There are so many things wrong/right here. Sure, 8-year-olds should know about the price of gold, yes, but when I was 8, I was thinking about Barbie and how many people were/were not coming to my birthday party. (Shoutouts to Wendy, my life-size doll and the only one there...lol) Seriously, do you know any black kids, how bout we say, black or latino kids that know anything about stocks/bonds or the price of gold? If so I want to meet her/him. How many black kids do you know that have a bank account? (Shoutouts to mom, becaus I did) Everytime I watch that show I think about how mature, well-spoken and serious these 8-14 year-olds are. It's not something that's hard to believe (kids can be smart), just something that's hard to swallow because I think about myself at that age and kids I worked with in a recent afterschool program. We're not on their level and it's scary. It may not necessary be a race thing, it could very well be a class thing and a school-funding thing, but that's another blog for another day.

My point is that while I could be blogging about race issues, womens issues, music, books, art, fashion, children or crime or lots of other things that are important to me and keep my mind racing, I choose to discuss *bendy quote fingers* green stuff and how to conserve energy and renewable sources and these other things because I don't want to be left behind and I don't want others to be left behind. I can see my auntees and cousins now talking about wind turbines in their back/front yards because the gov't put them there and they don't know why. Let's learn, let's be on top of these things because the truth is that a lot of this information can save us money, time, health, well-being and etc. if we pay attention.

So back to the biz, while looking up stuff last week to help me on this quest, I found Envirowoman, who is trying to live without buying, using or keeping anything plastic because of its harmful effects on nature. Check it out. Think about how much plastic you use. What would you do without it?

I also found a Canadian woman who does something green everyday. She's turned her thermostat down, despite the chill of the North; she doesn't have a refrigerator; she's chosen greener household cleaners and green taxis; she's ditched processed food, plastic grocery bags, tape, shaving her legs; and these are just the recent changes. She's witty about it too, and that helps. I'm still stuck on the refrigerator thing...

This site is like the ultimate source for green/sustainable planet/recyclable goods news. It is where I was inspired to begin this blog and where I get a lot of information. Although I don't like to call myself this...

That's all for today, folks. Just a start. I hope you are inspired (lol) Stay tuned for more and remember what I said. I am learning here, too. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions.

I mean there's a lot of things to concern yourself with these days...

2007-12-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

...Especially if you are black in America. And s0metimes I have that whole "what different does it make" attitude about the earth and fighting for any cause. But something keeps me going. Something inside me knows that when I die, this earth is going to my daughters' grandaughters' daughter and she's going to curse me for the mess that I left.

To me, starting this blog and learning all that I can about sustainablility, recycling, green goods, renewable energy and the things I have yet to know is the same reason I fight against misogyny and racism and bigotry and ignorance and other ugly behaviors. It's just going to get worse and worse if we don't stop it.

So this blog is not for you. It's a learning experience and a project for me. I don't plan to only write about green stuff, but I would like to report on it and learn as much as I can. So here goes.