Compost Again

I stopped composting over the winter. Not only was the feet of snow covering the bin a little bit of a problem, but I don't think I ever really got it going right. Also, we had mice in the house, and I wanted no food of any kind exposed in any way, and even though the kitchen compost has a lid, I didn't trust it.

Compost is supposed to be hot. It's supposed to steam. A really good compost would be hot enough to keep going through the winter.

But mine never did. Stuff deteriorated, but I think I might as well have buried it in the dirt. In fact, when I went back out after 3 month of inactivity, most of it was still whole. Because the temperature was cold enough so that there were entire carrots and potatoes out there. I could have kept the stuff in the fridge and they would have rotted faster. I wish the mice had attacked the compost instead of my kitchen utensils.

Anyway, I moved the bin. I think a big problem was that the spot I chose didn't get enough sunlight. I overestimated how much would reach it.

Now I have moved the bin to a spot that get much more sunlight. I mixed everything up, and I started the kitchen compost once more. This year, I'll get it right. I know I will.

Typical

Check out this link from National Geographic.

It's part of a series on globalization. I found it oddly touching and informative. Kind of like finding your center again in the middle of a yoga class.

What got to me was the part that mentioned choices, and that each choice we make has a huge impact when multiplied by 7 billion.

Good Garbage

Here's a link to another blog post on the Seventh Generation site.

It's actually Good News, kind of. Apparently, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a lot smaller than people were led to believe.

This doesn't mean that you should go out and start buying more plastic. It just means things are not as horrible as you thought, and that the planet as we know it might have a few more years.

Green Jeans

I am, at heart, a blue jeans kinda girl. If it were up to me I would wear them every day.

But I hate paying a lot for my jeans, which means I don't often buy them. I mean, why pay fifty dollars for a pair of pants grown with poison, dyed with poison which is them dumped into drinking water, transported here from China (free Tibet!) which is horrible for both our economy and the environment, only to wear them twice before accidentally spilling bleach on them?

I mean, it just doesn't make sense.

Also, no one makes jeans that fit me. They are either too long or too big at the waist.

Here are some Jean Rules:

1 - Wear the jeans you own. When they get worn, wear them anyway. Torn? Wear them. If you can't stand the rip, turn them into shorts. Wear them until they are so unwearable you can't stand it. Then donate to goodwill or use the fabric for sewing projects.

2 - wash jeans in cold water and line dry. Saves the jeans, less energy, more cost effective.

3 - when you do buy jeans, check out second-hand shops - I've gotten some cute ones there, and since they cost five bucks I wasn't upset when they ripped and stained.

4 -OR go for the hefty price tag organic cotton or look for something called "Better Cotton." It's not organic but focuses on the farming of the material, and that is important.

I got my information from this article.

Thanks!

Green Genius

So, I use plastic bags.

I try to remember my shopping bags, of course. I'm talking here about trash bags. The big plastic bags I put my food scraps and wrappers and all of the other stuff - a lot of it plastic - into so that it can leave my home.

How does this make sense? PLastic sticks around forever, right? Why am I using it?

Well, I've started buying Green Genius trash bags. They are supposed to be biodegradable, which is better. They may not be as strong, but we don't usually lug our bags that far, so I don't think it will be a problem. And it's worth it if they work. There are other brands of biodegradable trash bags and also food storage zip locs and such, out there. They are hard to find because Hefty and Glad take up most of the shelf space for some reason. Take a look and see what you can find.

Tapped - bottled water is bad

I just watched Tapped, a documentary about bottled water.

If you aren't sure just how evil bottled water is, take a look. My pulse is still racing.

It's A "Return!"

OK, so I've been away for a long, long time. I guess I got carried away with life.

But the environment continues to be a concern for me. I still get wound up about it, especially when I see people doing things I believe are harmful, but that they probably don't think twice about.

So... here I am. I will give it my best. I will use this as a kind of a catalog of actions, products, films, etc. If anyone wants to stick with me, I am always looking for feedback or encouragement or ideas... read a book? Did you catch me doing something harmful? Let me know.

For now, I'm working on two big things: No bottled water, no beef. OK, then less beef. But no more small bottles of soda at the grocery store. I'm really going to make an effort there.