To compost or not to compost?
When living in an apartment, this question can reach epic proportions. I feel guilty every time I throw away organic waste. However, I don’t exactly have a back yard in which to house a composter (nor a garden to deposit my compost on). I was excited to find a composter buying guide in a recent issue of Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine. Not only do they have tips about composting, they’ve found a few attractive, porch-worthy tumblers. Now, I’ll just have to buddy up with a gardener to find a home for my “black gold.”
Eco-tastic Food Dictionary
Here’s a great resource from SustainableTable.org: a sustainable food dictionary that defines and demystifies many of the food terms about which so many of us have been curious. While you’re at it, check out the Eco-Label Center from Consumer Reports where you can search by a term or product. You’ll discover what terms like “natural,” “free range,” and “grass-fed” really mean (or don’t).
A green Superbowl?
This weekend Superbowl, hyped to be the greenest Superbowl in history, will be played in Arizona. Although the NFL has been incorporating green practices into the Superbowl for 14 years, this is the first year that all the energy powering the stadium for the Superbowl will be from renewable sources. One such renewable resource was human power, as people biked to create enough energy to power the pre-game show. I applaud the NFL and the Superbowl Committee for integrating green practices. However, I wish this greener Superbowl had extended into the community. For example, public transportation and recycling programs could have been promoted in area hotels to inform visitors. Or, the game announcers could have informed the estimated 90 million viewers about the green practices at play. Maybe next year.
Relax eco-style
With the stressful holiday season approaching, it may be just the time for a relaxing spa day. Or you could give a guilt-free spa package as a holiday gift. With green spas cropping up throughout Arizona, you may just be able to find one near you.
The newly launched non-profit Green Spa Network promotes sustainable practices throughout the industry. Located in Scottsdale’s Waterfront District, Moss Spa is one of the GSN’s founding members. According to Moss’s Web site, they use eco-friendly products in all their treatments.
Many destinations in Scottsdale (spa-Mecca) are incorporating green practices, such as energy and water conservation, non-toxic cleaners and organic products. As part of the FireSky Resort, the Jurlique spa employs 40 eco-friendly strategies. The downside is the ingredients for their spa products are grown in New Zealand, meaning they must be shipped here.
The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa is becoming an all-organic resort. It grows an organic garden and uses these ingredients in its delicious dishes. During your stay at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort and the Willow Stream Spa, be sure to request a “recycling” room, which has recycling bins.
A brief word of warning – with businesses eager to jump on the eco-chic bandwagon they may advertise practices without actually backing them up. For a true green experience, be sure to ask a few questions before you go. Here are a few things to inquire about:
- What energy and water conservation methods do you use?
- Do you use non-toxic and/or organic cleaners?
- Do you use organic products that use locally-grown ingredients? (Some spas will create ingredients grown right here in Arizona.)
I’m thankful for…green
I didn’t mean for my blog to become so food-centric; however, with Thanksgiving coming up, I just can’t resist. Here are a few tips compiled by little ol’ me to host a greener celebration:
- Scavenge for decorations. In any other state I’d tell you to walk right outside and grab some orange, rust and yellow leaves to make a lovely tabletop centerpiece. With our unseasonably warm weather, you might be better served to stick with locally grown pumpkins and gourds. For a little inspiration, check out this slideshow from Rachel Gray.
- Take it down a notch. As a recent podcast from Sierra Club Radio suggests, turn off stove burners and/or ovens a few minutes early. The residual heat will keep your dishes cooking but use less heat. They also note that reheating food requires less energy than cooking food in the first place – bring on the leftovers!
- Embrace Tofurkey. I know the mere mention of tofurkey will turn up almost anyone’s nose; however, eating a vegetarian meal is the greenest way to go. If you just can’t bring yourself to forgo the staple meat of Turkey Day, be sure to buy an organic, free-range turkey. Aim to incorporate locally grown, organic ingredients into as many dishes as possible. Check out Treehugger.com’s 100-Mile Thanksgiving Challenge for a little motivation.
- Recycle your turkey fat. That’s right. I said it. Recycle your turkey fat. You can donate your “yellow grease” to Tucson-based Grecycle, which will turn it into biodiesel to power vehicles. Here’s the details.
- Hoof it. If you can, walk to your Thanksgiving meal destination. It may take a little longer, but you’ll be grateful for a chance to stretch your legs after your second piece of pie.
For a few more tips, check out Suite101.com and AboutMyPlanet.com as well. Have a happy, and green, Thanksgiving!
Finding the green art scene
The saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is never truer than in contemporary art. Artists are some of the best environmental visionaries; they see beyond ordinary objects, like macaroni noodles, keyboard keys and bits of twine, to create an aesthetic statement. Scottsdale’s legendary galleries showcase countless artists, a few of whom find artistic inspiration from “found objects.” It’s recycling at its best. For more info on found art, check out this glossary of art terms.
Occasions by Design gallery, for example, displayed Don Vernay’s sculptures fused from recovered metal. Vernay says he actually prefers using this medium. “Much of my current work is constructed with found metal, which creates an aesthetic of its own. Rather then creating work ex nihilo and then obtaining materials, which is the common place notion of artistic ‘creation,’ it is the detritus of our industrial society that defines many of the parameters of my work, which can be both a frustrating and liberating experience.”
Scottsdale’s public art program also encourages green aesthetics. An important element of environmental art is creating a symbiosis with the environment. According to the Environmental Excellence Awards presented by Valley Forward, the public art piece “Cactus Mirage” by Norie Sato does just this. Inspired by the grooves a barrel cactus, the sculpture “celebrates the changing quality of light and atmosphere in the Arizona desert – shadows, reflections, the sparkle of water, sun cycles and movement of air.” The sculpture was eligible for the award because it doesn’t use any energy and requires relatively little upkeep.
These artists are crafting eye-pleasing, thoughtful designs that also protect the Earth – I bet I’m not the only one seeing the beauty here.
Green TV
Green is growing like a weed. From an “Inconvenient Truth” to Live Earth and now primetime TV shows, the environmental movement has reached a tipping point in the U.S. Oprah Winfrey even had a show about going green. You know something or someone has made it big when they’re on the Oprah Show.
Most recently, the reality show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” filmed an episode in Pinon, Ariz. In the episode, the team builds a new, greener home for the Yazzie family. Here’s how the Reality TV Magazine blog described the home: “On ‘Yazzie Family,’ at least 50% of all materials used were taken from a landfill within 500 miles of the building site and wood certified from FSC forests…Solar panels will be used for water heating, and interior temperatures will be boosted by terminal heaters — rather than large gas or electric tanks — through heated coils installed in air ducts…All appliances have been Energy Star rated, and the family will even have a “utilize energy block” to help them track their energy consumption.” The family-friendly show highlighted green building solutions in a non-threatening and, dare I say it, enjoyable format. KNXV, the Phoenix-based news affiliate sent Jenn Burgess, a reporter, to the scene to document the build.
That the environmental movement has penetrated pop culture could be interpreted as a positive sign. In social movements, the first hurdle is always awareness. And, presumably, greater inclusion in popular culture should raise the public’s consciousness. But, does this lead to substantive change or, eventually, overexposure and apathy?
On a recent episode of show “Ugly Betty” (also by coincidence on the ABC network), the character Willemenia says, “People will buy anything if they think they’re saving the Earth.” First comes popular awareness, then comes merchandizing, then comes…? I hope for one that next up is “actual change.” But, I have to wonder: In the fast-paced world of trends, is green on the way out before the message has had a chance to permeate Americans’ daily habits? I certainly hope not.
Driving Green, or at least trying to
In this blog, I try to direct my focus to arts, culture and travel. Today, however, I’m digressing a little into America’s distinct and iconic car culture.
I recently totaled my car. “Molly” was my first car, and I loved her. She and I traveled thousands of miles together across the country as I belted out Britney Spears songs to keep myself awake. Now, sadly, I find myself in the market for a new travel companion and preferably one that won’t run off the road on its own accord when my singing voice first fills its interior.
Don’t get me wrong- I walk to work/school three days a week and take the bus when I can. But, sometimes, I just need a car.
As a green girl at heart, I understand the merits of buying hybrid. Treehuger sponsored a discussion of the advantages and realities of owning a hybrid. It’s simple – a more fuel efficient motor means less carbon emissions.
I would like to march down the street to the Toyota dealership, purchase a Prius and thus, don my official allegiance badge to the environmental movement. I would also like if my environmental convictions could outweigh the monthly concern of a car payment, but on a student’s budget, buying a new hybrid car just isn’t an option. The up front costs are prohibitive, even taking into account a one-time tax credit and long-term fuel savings.
What frustrates me is that buying an expensive (to me) hybrid car is practically the only option for fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly transportation. Now that we have the technology, why haven’t fuel efficiency standards increased? (And, no I don’t count increasing requirements a few miles per hour over the next two decades as an adequate improvement.) Now that we have the technology, why aren’t all newly manufactured cars built as hybrids or alternative fuel vehicles?
Because of the auto manufactures and the lobbyists they employ. That’s why.
It frustrates me to no end that we, as Americans, as concerned citizens and as discerning consumers, let lobbyists with sort-term monetary interests control the long-term welfare of our environment. It also frustrates me that as a nation known for innovation we aren’t embracing technology that will ensure our collective future.
Until that time, I guess I’ll do the best I can with my two feet, my handy bus pass and a somewhat small selection of greener cars.
Sleep soundly at a green hotel
If you want to stretch your wings around Arizona and beyond, consider staying in green lodging during your travels. To find a green hotel, start with the Green Hotel Association. However, because any hotel can join, this association is just a place to start. Environmentally Friendly Hotels, which documents the hotel’s eco-practices and ranks them accordingly, is an even better resource for domestic lodging. Sustainable Travel International (STI) created a global eco-certification program to grade (and legitimize) green lodging and tour providers. National Geographic’s Travel Blog, Intelligent Travel, recently noted the green practices STI encourages.
If your favorite hotel spot isn’t listed on any of these sites, here are a few features and practices you can ask about: Do they use energy efficient lighting throughout the hotel? Do they have automatic lights and temperature gauges in the rooms? Do they have low-water-use fixtures in the bathrooms? Do they use natural landscaping for that area? Do they use eco-friendly cleaners? Do they recycle?
If your lodging of choice isn’t as Earth-conscious as you’d like, you can take your own measures to conserve. For example, ask for your linens to be replaced only every few days instead of everyday to decrease water-use. Turn your in-room thermostat up or down (depending on the season) to expend less energy. With a few of these practices, you’ll sleep soundly knowing you’ve been a little less harmful to the Earth.
Harvesting Green
With the summer temperatures cooling down, Arizona’s Farmer’s Markets are just heating up. As Helena Horberg-Hodge observes in her commentary about locally grown foods, “A key feature of local food systems is that ‘food miles’ are relatively low. This means that local foods use far less energy, and produce less pollution and greenhouse gases than food from the global system.” Although it may be convenient to be able to buy grapes any time of the year, is it really worth the convenience if those grapes have been flown in from Chile? Probably not.
Besides, buying fresh, crisp local produce supports Arizona’s farmers. The Worldwatch Institute hosted a great discussion about the merits and complexities of farmers’ markets.
