livingdeb: (Default)
I like to remove labels from wide-mouthed glass jars when I can. (My favorite is peanut butter jars.) If I can't then use the jars myself, I donate them to Austin Creative Reuse. (Before they existed, I donated them to Goodwill.) Here's how I do it.

Removing the label

1) Try just peeling the label off. Sometimes this works! First I scrape up a corner with a fingernail, then try to peel it as slowly as possible to minimize glue residue.

2) If that doesn't work, I soak it in water for a while. Sometimes the label will just float away!

3) If that doesn't happen, I might scrape it a bit with a fork to give the water more access. Then sometimes it's quite easy to just scrape up the label with a fingernail or even with the fork.

4) If it's stuck pretty good, I'll try my metal spatula.

A friend of mine recommends Goo Gone for non-plastic labels. She says to spray it on and let it sit. Also, she says you can use razor blades on glass.

Removing the adhesive

When a small amount of adhesive remains, it can often be removed with alcohol. I put some on a piece of paper towel and rub it on the jar. The adhesive might just dissolve right off. Or it might take some elbow grease. Or it might kind of just move around, so sometimes I use the spatula again. And sometimes I just give up and toss the jar.

A friend of mine thinks lighter fluid works better than alcohol. The kind for refilling lighters, not the kind for lighting charcoal (assuming they're different). That scares me, plus I don't keep it on hand.

If you have additional strategies, I'd like to hear them!

Link of the day - Grumpy Rumblings' About that anti-price gouging policy — economists don’t actually hate it (it’s just not been explained well in the press) - Kamala Harris's policy is actually an anti-trust thing, not a price-fixing thing.
livingdeb: (Default)
The Rebel Badge Club has an Environmentalist badge which I originally blew off because I didn't want to do the first two requirements which are a) to keep track of all your trash for a month and b) do it again while actively working to reduce your trash. I have already (especially after reading No Impact Man) made a lot of changes in my life to reduce trash. Here are some I can think of off the top of my head:
* Use a sponge instead of a paper towel for most things.
* Use cloth hankies instead of tissues.
* Use a metal water bottle instead of buying water.
* Use cloth bags for shopping.
* Buy some things in glass jars instead of plastic (like peanut butter).
* Use a silicon mat instead of parchment paper or waxed paper except when making pie crust. (It is possible to pat pie crust into the pan like with a graham cracker crust, but now that I finally figured out whole wheat crust needs more water than regular, I'm back to rolling it out. Hmm, maybe I could roll it out between silicone mats.)
* Recycle and compost--my city has a great recycling program including glass, paper, cardboard, metal, and hard plastic. Though I now only recycle #1 and #2 plastic because I've heard the other numbers are really a mess. And I bring my plastic film to the grocery store for recycling. My city also has a composting program and I finally got a replacement bin after my last one went missing. So there's a place for egg shells, banana peels, etc.
* Buy in larger packages when possible (one big container makes less trash than several small containers, in cases where I can keep things from spoiling).

But it turns out I like the rest of the badge, so I've decided to make a go of it. I tried to keep track of all my trash for the month of September (though I'm sure I forgot a few things). I'm not counting recycling here, though some of that (most of that?) is also problematic. I didn't buy anything big or do much decluttering, so this is probably a below-average month. And now I will try to brainstorm ways to reduce, though I don't expect to get any new ideas. (Skip to the bottom to see what I came up with.)

Here goes:

* dental floss - plenty. I did find a new floss that comes in a cardboard container rather than a plastic container inside a bubble pack, but it has "sponge" floss instead of "glide" floss. It's supposed to be more effective, but I don't like it and of course the most effective floss is the floss you actually use. I'm going to try to finish it anyway. Currently I'm rewarding myself with the floss I like for my second flossing of the day, so that's actually good.

* receipts - plenty. Receipt paper is known to be kind of toxic especially if you're touching it with wet (sweaty) hands. I could join the modern world and get my receipts electronically. However, I like having them on my desk when I enter the information into my financial spreadsheet. Maybe I could try it next month when I have options. Mostly I shop at HEB, where you just get a receipt automatically, but I'm not sure if you have to get one at Trader Joe's. Some places I shop do ask whether you want a paper receipt.

* toilet paper - plenty. Some people use "family cloth" (like hankies) and then wash them like diapers. Some use it only for #1. I don't wanna. I have already experimented with finding the minimum amount to use that keeps me happy.

* sweepings - plenty. After sweeping, whatever's in the dustpan goes in the garbage. A bunch of it's probably compostable, but there are probably bits that are not. I will not worry about this or stop sweeping.

* yogurt container - 2. I was trying several new flavors and only wanted to get a small container of each. I like Skyr. And I like the plant-based yogurts--it turns out they are based on coconut milk, which I like. Especially after mixing in some pineapple (even from a can). I'm back to buying only big yogurt containers.

* restaurant items 1 sheet of paper, 1 cardboard tray, 3 plastic cups holding butter and jelly, 1 holding ketchup - One day I tossed paper and a paper tray from crispy tacos (from Taco Shack). (Yum!) I actually had way less trash than the folks I was sharing a table with, who both had giant styrofoam containers full of food plus multiple little plastic containers of extra ingredients. In the future, I will want to try other things at that restaurant that come with more trash, but I do also like just getting their crispy tacos.

In another restaurant (Monument Cafe) we got biscuits. Delicious complimentary biscuits. And we like the butter, though may say no on the jelly in the future. We will continue getting these in the future. Another place gave us ketchup.

* salad bags - 4 big bags + 5 packets. I buy spinach in plastic bags, pre-washed. I could buy it in bulk, held with a twist tie, and wash it myself and store it in a re-usable bag, but I'm not willing to go through the trouble. I don't eat many vegetables, and anything that encourages me to eat more vegetables is a higher priority for me than reducing trash.

I also buy chopped salad kits that have chopped cabbage plus packets of dressing and packets of other toppings. I mix this with plain spinach. I could instead just buy dressing in a glass jar that I could recycle except for the lid or I could make dressing and then also buy extra toppings (like seeds) in bulk. But again, my current strategy makes it much more likely that I will actually eat salads.

* TV dinner container - 7. I like to buy paneer tikka masala (vegetarian Indian food) and palak paneer (creamy spinach) (paneer is a soft cheese) and mix them together with a can of chick peas and then put some more cheese on top (weirdly, I'm enjoying cotija, which is a Mexican cheese that is often compared to parmesan though it is milder and less dry and also way more affordable where I live). So, this is yet another way that I'm eating vegetables, so I won't be changing this.

I also like Trader Joe's macaroni and cheese. There are no health reasons for me to keep buying this, but when I make macaroni and cheese myself, I cannot make it this yummy. This is a special treat and I will continue buying this. This tray is now paper instead of plastic, but it's still sealed with plastic that tends to partly stick to the tray, so I don't try to recycle or compost any of it. When in doubt [about what's recyclable], they say to throw it out.

* cream cheese wrapper - 2. I get my cream cheese in a foil wrapper. I have seen recipes for cream cheese but have not tried any. As one recipe writer says, it would 'not contain commercial stabilizers or preservatives.' I don't generally go through cream cheese very quickly, so that would probably be a bad plan. But it might be worth trying if I'm planning to make a cheesecake.

* bread wrapper - 1. For bagels. I'm not making my own.

* candy bar wrapper - 4. I actually snack on chocolate chips as often as candy bars. They're cheaper and tax-free where I live, but I do also like candy bars, especially when they are on sale or on clearance.

* paper napkin - 3. I sometimes end up with paper napkins from restaurants. I could try harder not to (and just wash my hands in the bathroom afterwards).

* straw and paper from straw - 3. I don't even use straws, but sometimes restaurant staff give them to me. Usually I tell them I don't want one, but sometimes I don't have the energy--it feels like making more work for them. Okay, I can definitely make more of an effort to refuse straws next month.

* disposable cup - 3. Sometimes I end up with a plastic cup from restaurants, even though I just drink water. I try to remember to bring my water bottle with me and use that instead--I can try harder next time. (I also bring them to parties, but I didn't go to any parties last month.)

I also got a paper cup from the blood donation place where I get juice. I like getting juice, but it occurs to me they would probably happily pour it in my own cup if I brought one.

* snack packet - 6. I got two packets of snacks from the blood donating place. I could bring my own snacks; it's not like I even love theirs (except for the juice), but I also like getting free snacks, so I won't.
I think I was gifted 2 more snack packets later. And I got a box with 4 breakfast cookie packets on clearance. Yes, I can be bought.

* bandages - some bandages and wrapping tape and other medical garbage were generated by my blood donation. I will not be changing that.

* food sample containers - 2. I will eat food samples from grocery stores. This definitely results in trash (tiny cups, napkins, tiny cupcake liners), though at least it's tiny. For a while I was trying to bring my own little silverware with me, but then I had trouble remembering to wash it when I got home.

* wrapper from plastic bottles - 1. Some plastic bottles have a plastic wrapper on them with all the printing. It doesn't seem like those should go in the recycling with the bottle, nor am I confident that it counts as plastic film, so I just take it off and throw it in the garbage. Okay, brief googling was unhelpful, so I'll continue doing this. I got one from a stain-remover bottle and the rest were from some protein drinks I inherited from my mom (they were just going to be thrown away if I didn't take them). I'm using the protein drinks to flavor milk--normally I make chocolate syrup to do that (1 part cocoa, 1 part sugar, 1 part water, boil 1 minute).

* A/C part and packaging - 2. Our air conditioner broke, so we bought a couple of new parts, which came in a package and we threw away one old part.

* chocolate chip wrapper - 3. I can buy chocolate chips in bulk from a place that lets you bring your own container, but they cost more, they don't taste as good, and I don't go to that particular store very often, so I will continued generating this waste.

* tortilla wrapper - 1. I have successfully made my own tortillas, but the ones I buy have more fiber, taste better, and have better preservatives. I will continue generating this waste.

* butter wrapper - 1. The box the butter comes in is recyclable, but not the wrapper. I've also made butter myself and I do not want to do that. Hmm, per Zero Waste Butter (Meridith Tested), sometimes you can get the folks at farmer's markets to give you butter in glass jars. She also says you can buy ghee in glass jars--I'm sure that costs way more; maybe I should check it out. (She also says you can recycle Kerrygold wrappers by washing them and crumpling them, but I don't want to use that much hot water and soap.)

* cheese wrapper - 1. This is from a package of sliced cheese--there were also some papers between the slices. I've heard of people going to delis with their own containers and asking them to use those containers and then, after getting a lot of weird looks and maybe going to speak to their managers, they will let you do it. I will not be doing that, though.

* bits of moldy cheese - once. Yep, I went too long without using that kind of cheese. I saved most of the cheese but not all. Usually I'm good about using up my food in time. It helps that I try to store things in the same place so I know where to look for things. But I fail sometimes.

* rice packet - 2. I'm trying to eat less rice since I found out that conventionally grown rice is as bad for the environment as eating chicken, so I'm getting this rice made from vegetables and flour. It comes in smallish plastic bags and is not available in bulk.

* old sheet - 2. We had two bottom sheets that were just so old and worn that patching no longer makes any sense because the fabric itself is just too fragile. It's not too fragile for hankies, so I cut some squares out of the edges for that and will sew them up during craft night, but the rest is finally gone.

I'm looking for ways to buy just bottom sheets instead of whole sets. I've already tried making top sheets into bottom sheets but that has turned out, shall we say, unsatisfactory. I've also tried just tucking in top sheets to use as bottom sheets like hotel maids have to, and that doesn't last very long. Of course top sheets are easier to find in thrift stores.

* book - 1. I acquired a paperback cookbook with severe water damage. I finally got all the recipes I wanted to try from it and tossed it.

* ant poison - 1 plastic bottle + many saturated pieces of cardboard. - I have tried many non-trash ways to beg the ants not to come into the house, but they just don't understand.

* ant trap pieces - 4. When that bottle ran out, I had to get a different kind of ant trap, and each one is a little plastic house. I cut the ends of 4 of them off to set out.

* bakery wrappers - small bag x 5, small metal tray x 4, paper tray x 1, cup x 2, box x 1 - My favorite Asian bakery (85 degrees) sells everything individually wrapped. It was already pretty bad before covid, but at least then you could ask them to put several things in one bag. Now we can get the egg tarts in a box of 2, but the rest is all individually wrapped. I will continue generating this waste. (Um, at least it all goes into a re-usable grocery bag I bring from home.)

* frozen food bag - 2. I buy vegetarian sausage patties in a plastic bag. Googling because of this badge, I found a recipe for easy vegan breakfast sausage patties that I might try (but without the maple syrup). I won't try it next month, though, because I still have another bag.

I've also started buying vegetarian fake fried fish that I love, I get it every time a restaurant worker insists on giving us ketchup we don't want. I do like ketchup on fried fish.

* glass jar label - at least 3. I like to try to get the labels off wide-mouth jars and bring them to our local craft re-sale shop (Creative Re-use).

* paper towel - 1. One of the labels came off a spice jar from a company where the label usually comes off cleanly, but this time I could never get the glue off, even with alcohol. I'll keep trying, but for these spice jars, if the glue doesn't come off again in the future, I won't waste a paper towel again.

* air filter - 1. I change the air conditioner filter every month during the hot months, even though we have 3-month filters. This is supposed to be good for the air conditioner. There are re-usable filters, but they look like a real pain to wash, especially the ones that are really good at filtering. Plus it's not like clean water is an infinite resource either. So I will continue generating these. At least I do recycle the paper and film it's wrapped in.

* wrapper, block cheese - 1. For cheddar, sometimes I get the 16-ounce block to minimize plastic. But sometimes I still get 8-ounce blocks for grass-fed or other fancy cheese or if it's on sale.

* yogurt tube - I was gifted a plastic tube of yogurt.

* cough drop wrapper - Um. Apparently you can make your own cough drops, but no, she's not convincing me.

I have heard that cough drops don't actually work, or maybe only as a placebo effect. I like to get the reward of cherry candy when I'm sick sometimes, though. So I suppose I could think of a trash-free treat for when I'm sick. I don't like tea, but I do like chicken broth, and even just plain hot water is good.

* plastic from bananas - 1 set - There's a strip around the bananas so cashiers know they're organic and another bit at the top for freshness. I'm just going to be fine with this. I have seen banana trees in my neighborhood, but I don't know if they actually make bananas.

* business card - 1. I found this in the yard and it was all dirty, so not recyclable, but also looked plastic-coated, so I assume also not compostable.

Well, I did manage to come with a few takeaways for the future, though they don't add up to much:
* Check out prices for ghee in glass jars.
* Refuse more receipts.
* Try making vegan sausage patties.
* Try rolling out pie crust between silicone mats.
* Make my own cream cheese for cheesecake.
* Be more consistent in refusing straws.
* Bring cup for juice when I donate blood.

As usual, suggestions are encouraged! In fact, another Rebel posted an idea I could make a huge improvement on which is deleting old emails I don't want. See Digital Cleanup Day for more information.
livingdeb: (Default)
I just read NPR's "How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled", 9/11/20, thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Grumpy Rumblings.

Summary: since at least 1974, those in the oil and plastics industry knew "There is serious doubt that [recycling plastic] can ever be made viable on an economic basis." Admittedly, they hoped it would become economically viable with lots of people working on it. Or maybe they didn't, because they wanted to sell virgin plastic. Either way, they spent millions telling us to recycle so we'd feel better about plastic. They even lobbied states to require the recycling symbol to "appear on all plastic — even if there was no way to economically recycle it," and most of the public did not use this information to sort plastic but to assume it was all recyclable. Unfortunately, plastic degrades "during the initial fabrication, through aging, and in any reclamation process" and the different kinds can't just be melted together but must be sorted, which is not cheap.

You've probably heard most of this. So how do we fight the manipulation?

Here are some things I've heard:

* Single-use plastic is more of a problem than buying plastic things that you actually want to use. If you've ever tried to do a no-plastic challenge, you know that practically everything you buy comes in plastic. And that's not counting disposable dishes and silverware. So you can a) try to minimize this and b) encourage companies to give you more plastic-free choices.

* #1 and #2 plastic actually is recyclable--go ahead and throw that in the recycling bin. Put the others in the trash. It feels bad to make this much trash, but you are not the one making it. You are just refusing to be manipulated into thinking it's recyclable anymore.

* When you do use plastic, larger containers use less plastic per unit volume than smaller containers.

In an ideal world, I would sift through my trash to see what all kinds of plasting I'm tossing, then organize it by source from most to least volume or most to least dangerous to sea life, then prioritize any changes based on the highest volume. Yeah, I'm not that good.

Treehugger provides "A Beginner's Guide to Plastic-Free Living".

Below are some of my experiences with their categories.

Grocery Shopping - Bring Your Own Bag

I bring my own bag most of the time. Becoming a person who does this required several steps for me: 1) Get bags. 2) Remember to bring them to the store. 3) Remember take them with me into the store. 4) Remember to hand them to the bagger (if the bagger is not me). (Also, remember to wash them regularly.)

I do not bring my own produce bags at this time. Mostly I just don't use produce bags at all. Robin has some fancy ones, but he weighs the produce before putting it in the bag.

Grocery Shopping - Buy in Bulk

I bring jars (favorite: peanut butter jars) to Wheatsville for bulk purchases. You weigh your container empty and write that weight (aka "tare") on a tag, then fill the jar and write the product number on the tag. I also refill my Dr. Bronner's soap container there and used to refill my conditioner container there before I stopped using that sort of conditioner. They did not allow this during the height of covid but are allowing it again. I have not tried this at Whole Foods.

For bulk spices at HEB, I'm still using their plastic bags.

Grocery Shopping - Opt for a Produce Subscription Box

No, I'm way too picky. This is where the author also recommends mesh bags or no bags at all for produce. I usually do no bags at all. Robin sometimes uses mesh bags, and he'll weigh the produce and get the sticker first, then put the produce in the bag.

I do buy loads of produce pre-packaged in plastic because organic produce is more likely to be packed in bags than loose. Pluse I buy bagged salads, mushrooms, frozen produce.

Grocery Shopping - Refill Your Milk Jars

No. I do not know how to do this.

I have switched from plastic gallon jugs to cardboard half-gallon cartons, but because I can buy them only in the smaller size, it costs more. I also buy yogurt and cheese in plastic. Um, at least my butter is in paper. I leave one stick in a butter dish on the counter to stay soft. I use salted butter which can handle this treatment better than unsalted.

Grocery Shopping - Buy Your Bread From Bakeries

Nope. I buy it in plastic. At least I make my own quick breads, mostly from flour bought in paper bags.

In Norway I would do this. They had plain bread in the grocery stores, and you could put it into a slicing machine and then slide it into a paper bag. So cool!

Grocery Shopping - Buy Your Meat From Butchers

Nope. I'm trying to buy less meat to fight global warming, but I still buy sliced turkey in plastic, tuna in cans, and other meat as part of things in cans or frozen food.

I have heard of people successfully requesting that deli staff at ordinary grocery stores use the containers they brought instead of plastic bags, but I am not that brave. I know that just asking can help encourage businesses to change, but I am usually not that brave or charismatic.

Grocery Shopping - Other dietary staples

I get my peanut butter, mustard, salsa, spaghetti sauce and lemon curd (from Trader Joe's) in glass jars; candy bars in foil and paper; and eggs in cardboard.

But I get my (no-sugar) mayonnaise in a plastic jar and chocolate chips in a plastic bag.

Bathroom Products - Buy Bar Soap

We have switched back from liquid soap to bar soap. It lasts way, way longer. You do have to take some care to keep it from getting soggy, though. In the shower I use Dr. Bronner's--I refill my big plastic bottle at Wheatsville food coop.

I still get dish soap, laundry soap, and the vinegar I use in the laundry in plastic bottles, though.

Bathroom Products - Shampoo Alternatives

I've switched to Ethique's Pinkalicious shampoo. It supposedly has the same pH as hair, unlike most shampoos. That's probably why I (almost?) don't need to use conditioner. I love it and will never go back.

You just get your hair wet, rub the bar against your head in three strokes and then maybe down your hair a couple of times if you have long hair, then rub it around like regular shampoo. (It does take a few more seconds than using liquid shampoo.) I store it in a drawstring bag hanging on the shower curtain hook at the end of the tub opposite the shower head to keep it from getting gloppy.

I do the same for The Guardian conditioner, though I might be allergic. I've also just poured plain vinegar over my hair as a conditioner. I do buy this in a large plastic bottle and then store it in a re-usable bottle.

I also find their deodorant to work better than my old favorites. I have the heart-shaped solid that looks like a soap bar--I like it best when my underarms are still a bit damp from the shower. But they now have a stick version that I'll try next.

Bathroom Products - Moisturizers

My only moisturizer is also sunscreen and it comes in a plastic bottle, but I use it only on my face. My other sunscreen also comes in plastic, but I use it only when I'll be out in the sun a lot. So I don't use much of these.

Bathroom Products - Other Staples

My toothpaste and dental floss come in a plastic containers, but last a pretty long time. I've tried permanent razors where you just buy new blades, but they actually broke before I could get new blades. I just buy plastic razors now, but they last a long time.

I've looked into Who Gives A Crap toilet paper packed in paper, not plastic. The wrappers are super cute (stripes and polka dots, not poopy blobs). But I'm settling for HEB's new and affordable Field and Future recycled toilet paper which comes in huge rolls.

I don't use many cosmetics, but when I do, they come in plastic. Even the Vaselline that I sometimes use for lip balm.

Food on the Go - Pack Your Own Food

I do this to save money sometimes, but I do like to eat out and during covid, I did order take-out with all the piles of resulting plastic. We did ask them not to give us silverware, ketchup packets, etc.

Everything I like at McDonalds does come in paper, but I try not to eat there anymore for health reasons.

I do have a big metal water bottle that I bring lots of places with me.

Food on the Go - Keep a Kit in Your Car

We don't do that, but if we're getting take-out to eat in the parking lot (still as fresh as possible), we do bring our own silverware and cloth napkins.

We did recently get this (admittedly plastic) silverware set from IKEA. Robin has a set at work and a set in his bag. I have a set in my suitcase (they let you bring plastic knives through airports, and they are so handy).

I do not ask them if they will put the food in my own container, like No Impact Man does, because I am not brave and I assume they will think it's a health code violation.

Food on the Go - Dine in Instead of Taking Out

We do this when there's no covid. I prefer not to have a straw but sometimes I don't tell the wait staff in time and am too lazy to tell them after they already dropped one on the table for me.

Other Strategies I Like

I use permanent containers for leftovers. Admittedly, these do not squoosh down smaller as you eat the contents; on the other hand the sturdiness helps keep the food inside from getting squooshed. I am famous for bringing containers to restaurants, though sometimes I forget or am caught off-guard.

I sub paper sandwich bags (from Wheatsville) for plastic ones most of the time. I still use plastic baggies to store some things, like game pieces, where I want to see what's inside. At least that's not single-use. These are not waterproof like zipper bags, but they're fine for giving away cookies.

I try to start at thrift stores for some things--those things tend to have less packaging (plus they're cheaper and anything I buy was on its way to a landfill).

I tell myself to write letters thanking companies that switch away from plastic--I want to thank Trader Joe's for switching their frozen macaroni and cheese from plastic to cardboard, for example.

I have friends who have found thin, stackable (admittedly plastic) plates for parties that they can have a million of and put in the dishwasher afterwards instead of using disposable plates. I love that!

Treehugger also has 10 Tips for Living With Less Plastic, more appropriate if your goal is to reduce your own exposure.

Any tips or concerns you would like to share?
livingdeb: (Default)
(Scroll to the bottom to see final recommendations.)

To grow cocoa conventionally, you hack down some rainforest, grow cocoa on it for three years until the soil is ruined, and then hack down some more rainforest and start again. When I learned this I was appalled, especially considering that cocoa is a luxury item. (What I've seen during today's research is that it actually takes 20 - 25 years to destroy the land. Still, not good.)

Fortunately, I learned that there are ways for me to have chocolate without being an accessory to rainforest destruction, and that is to buy only shade-grown cocoa.

I have never seen cocoa products labelled as shade-grown. However, I've previously learned that the following certifications all require that the cocoa be shade-grown:
* Organic - You can't grow cocoa in the sun without a lot of disallowed additives.
* Rainforest Alliance certified - This is not a big surprise.
* Fairtrade [International] - I thought this was all about treating the workers nicely, but they also require that cocoa be shade grown.

And recent research shows the following additional products:
* Probably Fair Trade Certified [aka Fair Trade USA], which apparently used to be part of Fairtrade International, but has split from them because of differing perspectives how to achieve their common goal, after which they "launched pilot projects to extend certification to groups in the coffee industry who were historically excluded by FLO standards" - wikipedia I think to include co-ops, independent smallholders and farm workers (rather than to weaken the standards) - Fair Trade USA.
* And probably Fair Trade Federation (never seen this), Fair for Life (e.g., Dr. Bronners and Equal Exchange), and Fair Trade America - Ohio Fair Trade Network

So what about UTZ certified foods? I first noticed on a bunch of items at Aldi's, and now it's also on the label of Nestle Artisan Collection single-origin chocolate chips. (I know, Nestle. I wouldn't even have noticed, but there was a big coupon.) The answer seems to be probably yes.

All I could find at UTZ.org was "UTZ promotes the appropriate use of shade trees."

But I also found this: "All four standards [Rainforest Alliance, organic, Fairtrade, and UTZ] uphold labor standards and include measures to reduce the negative impact of primary production on ecosystems. Beyond this, Rainforest Alliance requires maintenance of at least 12 native tree species per hectare, two strata and canopy density of 40% (SAN 2010); organic requires the maintenance of wildlife habitats (IFOAM 2014); Fairtrade requires activities enhancing biodiversity buffer zones (FLO 2011); and UTZ requires at least 12 shade trees per hectare (UTZ 2015a). Fairtrade is the only standard to guarantee minimum prices and premiums to farmers. Organic does not allow the use of synthetic inputs and encourages farmers to implement ecologically sound production practices. Rainforest Alliance and UTZ contain compliance criteria on traceability, while Fairtrade includes provisions on democratic governance of farmer organizations (SAN 2010; FLO 2011)." - Taylor & Francis Online

Yet the actual chocolate that you buy does not have to have been shade grown. "Under the mass balance system, when you buy a volume of UTZ certified cocoa, this gives you ‘credits’ which can be used to sell on a volume of conventional cocoa as UTZ certified." - UTZ.org But then I also learned that "all major international sustainability initiatives use mass balance in one form or another." - (a href = "https://utz.org/what-we-offer/certification/products-we-certify/cocoa/massbalance/">UTZ.org So if you just want to support this practice, this may be good enough. But if you want to also make sure that you, personally, are not eating pesticides or whatever, you may need to stick with organic.

In other news, UTZ is now part of the Rainforest Alliance. Currently the two certifications are running in parallel, but the UTZ label will be phased out gradually. - UTZ.com

What To Look For

In conclusion, when buying chocolate, you can minimize environmental destruction (and maybe even worker poverty) by choosing things with any of the following certifications:
* organic
* Rainforest Alliance certified
* anything that says Fair Trade or Fairtrade
* Fair for Life
* UTZ certified

What I Buy

Chocolate chips are cheaper than chocolate bars, so they are my main staples. I have enjoyed the following:
* Guittard Acoma organic semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz, 55% cacao) (organic) (~$4.00+ at HEB, old favorite)
* Guittard extra dark chocolate chips (12 oz, 63% cacao) (Fair Trade Certified) ($3.18 at HEB) (darker and tastier than above, my current go-to)
* Nestle Artisan Collection Single Origin Extra Dark (10 oz, 61% cacao) (UTZ certified) ($3.28 at HEB) (new, tasty, smaller package)
* Equal Exchange (organic) (pricy, but delicious)

[I did not like Whole Foods organic mini chocolate chips ($3.99). And I was not as impressed with the ingredients in Lily's dark chocolate (9 oz, 55% cacao, stevia-sweetened, Fairtrade, pricy at HEB).]

Cocoa powder is also a staple and I now get Trader Joe's organic Fairtrade cocoa powder. Previously I got whatever was cheapest at Wheatsville Food Coop or, when available, Dagoba at HEB.

But sometimes I want some candy. I have enjoyed:
* Chocolove - they have a couple of candy bars that are organic
* Chocolove almond butter cups ($2.48 at Central Market, not a bargain)
* chocolate covered almonds in the bulk section of Central Market - not organic, but the fine print shows some other kind of shade-grown certification that I no longer remember
* Trader Joe's organic dark chocolate PB&J minis (peanut butter cups with raspberry jelly in there, too) (3.5 oz)
* Trader Joe's dark chocolate baton (other flavors are good, too) (organic, Fairtrade) (1.25 oz, $1)

I also like Trader Joe's organic hot cocoa flavored toaster pastries (they also have fiber in them, but they are seasonal, available right now!)

And I eat chocolate at parties without worrying about where it came from. And I accept store samples. In restaurants I try to remember not to order chocolate, because I assume it's not shade-grown. But sometimes I forget. And sometimes I forget and buy some other chocolaty thing at the store. And sometimes I buy Trader Joe's chocolate babka on purpose anyway, even though it's not polite. Mostly I make my own chocolate things--chocolate chips cookies, chocolate cake and frosting, chocolate syrup, hot chocolate. Ask if you want a recipe.
livingdeb: (cartoon)
Trump signed an executive order allowing the Dakota Access Pipeline to go through after all.

So what will that mean? And what's the big deal about anyway? Is the pipeline really just a big scheme for slimy profit-hungry rich guys to ram through another job (before demand gets so low that no one will pay them)? Is the protest just a bunch of whiny law-breaking anti-energy liberals and Native Americans who refuse to accept that they lost?

First, here are my biases:
* I am against adding infrastructure for fossils fuels when we should be switching to clean energy ASAP because of global warming.
* I am against anything that profits Trump.
* I am pro the Sioux protesters and their allies. Although the pipeline would not go through Sioux territory, it would go under the lake/river upstream of their territory. Any leaks into the water would affect them.

And, on the other side:
* I am pro-Canada. They're so nice!
* I drive using fossil fuels, and I buy goods that are transported to me via vehicles that use fossil fuels. Lower fuel prices mean lower prices on almost everything.

Today I found an interesting pro-pipeline site, Dakota Access Pipeline Facts that sure makes it look like the pipeline will be built of state-of-the art materials and that it will be buried pretty deeply (95 feet!) under the water. So that might mean that chances of a leak are actually small. I like that idea.

They also say that pipelines are safer than transport by truck or train. Which certainly makes sense. "[F]ederal statistics show that underground pipelines transport crude oil more safely than rail (3.4-4.5x safer), or trucks (34x safer). The Dakota Access Pipeline can replace rail and truck transportation of crude oil with less impact to the environment and statistically greater safety." Does that just mean that spills are less likely? Or does it also mean that even when you add up all the damages of all the spills, the damages per gallon-mile transported are smaller for pipelines? I can't tell.

I mean, Wikipedia has a List of Pipeline Accidents, and there are quite a few of them and, more importantly, the leaks tend to be very, very big, in spite of any 24/7 monitoring. So I'm glad they're at least trying to build a high-quality pipeline.

Interestingly, in an e-mail I received today, Duncan Meisel of 350.org says:

[President Trump] did *not* approve Keystone XL or Dakota Access. He briefly succeeded in confusing a lot of people on this point (including me, I will admit).
* On Dakota Access, he told the Army Corps of Engineers that the pipeline is in our "national interest" and told them to "consider" revoking the environmental review placed on it by the Obama Administration.
* On Keystone XL, he invited TransCanada to re-apply and if they do, mandated a final decision on the pipeline within 60 days and waived input from environmental agencies.
* And when TransCanada does re-apply, they no longer have permits in Nebraska, and their permits in South Dakota are being challenged.
* Trump also placed conditions on approval of the pipelines -- like limiting oil exports, and determining where the steel comes from -- that the oil companies might not accept.


Meisel's sources are the National Resources Defense Council's Significant Obstacles Remain in Building Keystone XL and Earth Justice's The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Litigation on the Dakota Access Pipeline.

I saw an interview (Cornyn: We'll Confirm Trump's SCOTUS Nominations 'One Way or the Other') with one of my Senators. He tries to seem very reasonable. For example, he says to do the environmental reviews and if they pass, start building the pipeline already. But he also said the Native Americans "presented their case in a court of law, and to my knowledge, the court sided with the Core of Engineers and those who wanted to build the pipeline. So everybody's going to have to comply with lawful court orders and the law of the land. They're entitled to their day in court, but once they lost, they need to go ahead and go along with the court's order."

However, according to this timeline, it looks like the case has not yet been decided. What they lost was their request for "a preliminary injunction" which they wanted because the pipeline was "already under construction and would be finished before the case could be formally decided." That is quite different.
livingdeb: (cartoon)
Even though I don't like crowds, I decided to check out today's Earth Day celebration, my excuse being that I've been wanting to walk the trails over at the old airport anyway now that it's spring time.

The flowers on the trail along I-35 did not disappoint: Indian blanket, black-eyed susans, several other yellow flowers including a lemon yellow one, blue bonnets, pink evening primroses, and something purple. The carefully manicured portion was nice, too, though the purple watering pipes were exposed. I especially liked the mounds of pink scullcap.

The trail bordering the Cherrywood neighborhood, however, was shocking. There was a little bit of pink evening primrose, but otherwise it was covered in nothing but beggar's lice. (This is a pretty white flowering plant that produces millions of tiny burrs and, even worse, apparently takes over the planet.)

The one thing I found interesting at Earth Day was Slow Money, which I'd never heard of. Their booth had stacks of copies of the book Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered. And they were handing out bookmark information sheets with a list of six local entrepreneurs we could meet who were seeking investments. They were going to show videos they had made in a conference room in the building next door.

The conference room did not have seating--it had tables lining the walls, one table per company. I felt like Darryl Zero in "The Zero Effect": "Talk? To people?" Fortunately, they have an online presence, so I watched all the videos there. Fascinating. Watching these is so much more fun than reading about too-big-to-fail companies and other evil politician-buying companies.

Note: there are several local branches of the Slow Money organization. Most of my readers would be most interested in Slow Money Austin; some in Slow Money Boston. (I don't see any in Canada.)

East Side Compost Pedallers - For $4/week, these guys will set you up to collect your kitchen scraps and other compostables and then pick it up weekly--on their bicycles--to make compost to distribute to local growers. Their bicycles are pretty cool--I got to see one at the festival. But I wish I could deliver my own compostables to a central location on my own bike for free.

South Austin Mushroom - They use sawdust and coffee grounds to grow edible and medicinal mushrooms, then provide compost to local farmers. They sell their mushrooms to local restaurants, one of which I have been to (Olivia).

Great Bean Chocolate - A lover of raw vegan food started making her own chocolate. I tasted the vanilla one, so I guess I'm super happy now. She was selling bars for $6 at her table--I'd rather get an herb-free version for a lower price. Tasty, though, if you like dark chocolate.

Ten Acre Organics - This is a hippie/geek's dream company, if it works. It starts with aquaponics - raising vegetables and fish together. It's like how Ben and Jerry's cows are fertilizing their own hay. But that's just part of it; the full plan for the ten acres seems quite ambitious. And/or hilarious.

Bona Dea - This company makes gluten-free grain blends which they then sell as mixes at Whole Foods but also for restaurants. I now want to try Hopdoddy's just to taste their hamburger buns. At the festival, I got to taste a cookie--it was ugly but tasty. But basically, anybody who encourages restaurants to use whole-grain hamburger buns is a friend of mine.

Coyote Creek Feed Mill - My favorite thing about this video is the Texas twang of the first speaker. Also, you get to see a herd of chickens.

Those were the winners of the video competition. I'm not sure you should judge local food companies by how good they are at making videos, but hey. Actually, I'm guessing the business plans of the losers seemed less organized or fleshed out, but their videos were no lest interesting:

Eco Chic Floral - A florist wants to start a distribution center for locally and sustainably grown flowers. The video is informative and I like her little dance at the end.

Hortaqua Agrihomes - Another one for the sci fi writers out there. "What if people could own a home that produces enough food and energy organically to insulate them from toxic GMOs, global warming, recessions, and depressions and frees them from debt slavery? That home is buildable today." The first half of this video is just words on a screen, though the speaker's accent is not as strong as Coyote Creek's speaker's. The second half is just pictures of plants.

East Side EcoHomes - can't see the video.

Util LLC (pronounced You-TEEL LLC) - They promote energy conservation and clean technology. This one is my favorite video because it is so out there. One product showcased is airborne wind energy via kite arrays. Another is mooonboxes(?), kits made from recycled corrugated plastic such as from old election signs, to make bike panniers (with shoulder straps) to help you do bike shopping. Also, learn what a shuckle is.

Thunderheard Bison - This video just says that when you are eating meat, you can taste what the animal has consumed. Some people can even tell what kind of grass the animal has been eating.

**

Unfortunately, it's not easy at all to figure out how to invest. The Austin branch has an investment club which will help you form your own investment club. There is other information on the national website--nothing looks particularly exciting (for example, you can earn 0.4% on one three-year investment).
livingdeb: (Default)
A couple of weeks ago, I went on a Volksmarch. I first learned about those things when I lived in Georgia a couple of decades ago, and I went on a couple there, but haven't been on any since. But when they had one at the old airport, I decided to check it out and see what kind of trail they were able to put together.

Right near the beginning I met a lady who wanted a walking companion and it was nice. She'd written a book about how to travel by just moving from place to place to learn about the places, the politics, and yourself. So we talked about different places we've both lived.

Here was the start of the trail.



I learned there was a small waterfall.



It was at the end of a whole lake I hadn't seen before. Autumn is pretty much at its peak here. And you can see the old air control tower in the background.



There was a rather large spider over the trail.



Rather than one 10K walk, the Volksmarchers had put together two 5K walks. I ended up only doing one of the walks--the other, called the "retail" walk, seemed to cover more familiar territory. But today, I tried to combine the two and ended up walking for almost 2.5 hours. Here is an old airplane hanger as the backdrop of an urban landscape.



Here are some pretty big houses.



I saw those escaped parrots.



I leave you with birds and berries.



Quote of the Day - paraphrased from our waitress, when she came to refill the drinks and the notorious drinker still had a full glass: "I don't know you anymore. This is awkward."
livingdeb: (Default)
This month's No-Brainer at Oil is Dumb is to cancel catalogs you don't want using the nonprofit organization Catalog Choice. I recommend this to anyone receiving catalogs that you don't want.

The first step is to collect the actual catalogs so you can find the customer numbers. This no-brainer is the follow-up to November's mini-brainer to start saving the catalogs you receive that you don't want, so I had a stack of 14 catalogs from 11 companies. Alternately, I bet you can find a few in your recycle bin.

For each catalog, search for the company. All 11 companies I searched for were there, even the ones I'd never heard of before receiving the catalog.

For each company, enter the name to whom the catalog is addressed, the reason you are canceling it (optional), the customer number (if available) and the key or source code (if available) and whether you want to cancel all the catalogs or, for some companies, just some of them.

I couldn't do this for one company because apparently the mailing label was on a plastic bag that I didn't think to keep.

Two companies required an additional step: either sending an e-mail or filling that all out on their own web page instead, but this was superbly handled to make it very easy.

After ninety days (in most cases), we will stop receiving catalogs from these companies.

Meanwhile, Catalog Choice maintains a list of all the companies I entered, and for each one I can see the current status and even change my mind and start requesting catalogs again. I really like that list because I can see whether I have already canceled the catalogs or not. In addition, there is a link to each company's web site, so if I want to see what's new or am in the mood to drool over a particular type of consumer good, I can easily do that.

This was perfect timing, because although I have been quite enjoying getting some of the catalogs, the thrill is wearing off. In some cases (Crate&Barrel, LL Bean), there are just way too many catalogs and I get updates via e-mail. In some cases (Sur la Table, The Container Store), my occasional visits to the actual store are enough. And in some cases (Lehman's, Williams-Sonoma), I feel like I'm just looking at the same fabulous things but not getting anything. And of course many catalogs arrived unsolicited and are of no interest.
livingdeb: (Default)
It's getting to be that time of year again when I decide on what charities to support financially. This year I've decided to put all my contributions toward environmental causes.

My first question is: What are the most important environmental concerns? Here are my guesses.

* global warming - said to be dooming us to live as we know it to oblivion within our lifetimes. Eh, maybe that's one.

* ocean health - I think there's so much noise in the oceans that whales always have headaches, and people fish by scraping the geography off the bottom of the sea and now the mass of trash in the oceans is greater than the biomass in the oceans. We're not talking about some hick-town pond where the locals dump the refuse from when they clean out the garage, we're talking about the oceans.

Or maybe a better answer is pollution: atmospheric pollution, air pollution, water pollution, genetic pollution, nanopollution, noise pollution, light pollution. Sometimes it's too much of a good thing; sometimes it's actual bad things.
livingdeb: (Default)
Today the fine folks at La Madeleine sent me an interesting e-mail from which I learned:
* The La Madeleine nearest me (Lamar and 38th-ish) is closing down this Sunday. And here I thought they had plenty of guaranteed business being located just outside the hospital. La Madeleine food is always good, but after eating hospital food for a stretch? Yummm.
* La Madeleine now has a "Chocolate Cherry Melt" which reminds me of those whipped-cream-on-a-bun things I loved from Belgium only it looks like the buns are made from bread with dried cherries and chocolate chips and the filling is probably milk chocolate hazelnut ganache (perhaps aka Nutella).
* La Madeleine has provided a recipe for milk chocolate hazelnut ganache, which is great because you can easily turn it into dark chocolate hazelnut ganache, but which I am unlikely to ever make because it looks time-consuming, has some weirdo ingredients, and requires cleaning out a food processor full of Nutella afterwards. Ugh.
* This weekend is the Austin Chocolate Festival at which you can taste this new Chocolate Cherry Melt.

That festival looks a bit pricey to me ($21.65 for the cheaper day), so I probably won't go. Even though you can get $5 from the folks at Oil Is Dumb ("Get paid to live greener") if you show evidence of having arrived by bus or bicycle. (The evidence would be a bus transfer ticket or your bicycle.) I would actually be more likely to just walk, though it looks to be ugly walking distance from my house.

I'd never heard of Oil is Dumb, but if you're right on the edge of doing things a little greener and can be talked into stepping over the line with silly-small amounts of money, you might want to check out their monthly challenges called "no-brainers." This month's challenge is to check the air pressure on your car's tires and, if it isn't ideal, to make it so. If you accept this challenge and provide evidence, they'll give you $5. Some of the challenges are worth $10.

And from there I learned about another organization called I Live Here I Give Here where you can look up non-profit organizations doing work in Austin.

What a bunch of lovable weirdos. I love this town, even if they are closing down the best, most convenient, most central, and easternmost branch of La Madeleine.
livingdeb: (Default)
Not only did Exxon get out of paying for the damage that occurred in the Exxon-Valdez spill and not only have they put off paying their fine for almost ten years, but the Supreme Court just reduced that tiny inadequate fine by 80%. I am so angered by this that I decided want to do whatever it takes to make sure that company does not get any of my money.

I know that means don't buy gas at Exxon and don't buy gas at Mobile. It probably also means to avoid HEB and Walmart because I don't know who they buy their gas from.

But then I wondered whether any of the other gas companies are any better? Or are they all equally slimy but less spectacularly newsworthy? So I decided to do some research.

This turned out to be not so easy. But I did find the Sierra Club's Pick Your Poison: An Updated Environmentalist's Guide to Gasoline. According to them, they are all slimy. Getting gas is inherently a little slimy, and companies can't help being at least a little slimier than they have to be. They are just so huge, they are bound to include some slimy elements. So reducing gas consumption is, of course, the best strategy.

But gas companies are not all equally slimy. Based on what I learned there, I decided I should favor gas stations owned by Sunoco. I don't think there are any in my town. Sunoco stations are also called Utra and APlus, and I don't think we have any of those, either.

The Sierra Club likes BP also, but I think I like Shell second-best. Both are responsible for some nasty atrocities, and Shell's seem slimier (more on purpose). But then I like that Shell has significantly reduced its greenhouse gas emissions, is working on how to maintain biodiversity in oil and gas development, and has been developing alternative fuels since 2000.

But then the linked article, the earlier Pick Your Poison: An Environmentalist's Guide to Gasoline, has nice data on refining records. Shell's looks horrible. The best-looking ones to me are Sunoco and Chevron (which has since merged with Texaco, which looks not so great).

I think I have seen BP and Shell gas stations in my town. I'm not sure where a BP station is, but there is a Shell right near my house (although the local Texaco is much nicer).

Any thoughts on these issues?

Wild Roses

Mar. 2nd, 2008 04:04 pm
livingdeb: (Default)
wild rosewild roses

I like wild roses.

These are growing in front of Moonshine.
livingdeb: (Default)
I just finished reading Martin Cruz Smith's Polar Star, a bestseller I'd never heard of before. I enjoyed it. It is exciting, and I'm keeping it to read again later.

My favorite thing about it is that the main character answers questions in ways I'd never think of. I am very lucky to live in such a way that if someone asks me a question and I know the answer, I just blurt out the answer. And this does not endanger my life in any way. This character does not have that freedom. So he has learned many question answering skills.

**

I always like hearing about the psychological side of financial questions. That's addressed in The Frugal Law Student's On Not Shopping at Walmart. "I think just as important as the weekly specials though, is that not shopping at Wal-Mart makes you a more careful shopper. When you shop at Wal-Mart you shop with the mindset that everything is a bargain (although this is not true). So you are liable to throw more things into your cart that you hadn't planned on buying. But now we carefully plan what we need to get and are not tempted by 5 acres of other goodies."

**

If you want to see lots of money saving ideas in one place, I recommend this. Warning: it's Austin-centric, so less ideal for people in the cooler climates or outside the US.

**

Personal Finance Advice has an article called Get Passport Now to Get Great 2007 Vacation Deals to let you know that new US passport requirements could catch people off guard, thus reducing demand for vacation services in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda at the beginning of the year and thus providing an advantage to those who are prepared by already having a passport.
livingdeb: (Default)
Remember how I promised I'd check my tire pressure regularly? R. just found a new tool for that, and I bought it. For $5.00 at Target, you can get a thing called "4 tire pressure valve caps." They look sort of like these. Or cheaper versions of these.

First you get all your tires to the proper pressure in the way you normally do. Then you replace your regular valve caps with these things. They have a button that pops out. If your tire has enough pressure, you can see a green edge. When it gets low, you can see only a red line.

So, it's no good for helping you adjust a tire's pressure, but it might be good for checking the pressure regularly. I'm hoping it will be more sensitive than visually noticing that one's tire looks a bit flat.

And they insist that you need to check for air leakage right after you put on these caps. "Cover the valve cap with soap and water and look for bubbles or movement in the soapy water." They show a paint brush in the picture. I think I will use a paper towel. If there's a problem, they say the valve stem may have gotten damaged. So I wonder if you need the soapy water test every time you add air to the tires and then put this cap gauge back on.

At Target a set of four is sold in a red box about five inches square located on, as it says right on the packaging, "Automotive Gift Endcap." So I guess they are intended to be stocking stuffers. The problem is that you have to know the recipient's car's ideal tire pressure. There are two options. One is 32 pounds per square inch, for "cars" and for "22 PSI to 32 PSI." The other is 36 for "SUV's, Vans, etc." and for "26 to 36 PSI." R's truck tires, like my car tires, prefer 32 psi, so I would have guessed wrong, were I to have guessed.
livingdeb: (Default)
Today I saw "Flushed Away," an Aardman film, which I hoped I would like as much as Wallace and Gromit. But no. I didn't really like anyone except the mime. I also may have liked some of the other French frogs and the slugs, but I didn't really get to know any of them. Our hero was fun at first, but as soon as the second big character appeared, ick.

R. liked both of the main characters, especially that they weren't helpless or idiotic. True.

I also did some "gardening." I watered my newish plants and yanked over two hundred helpless baby plants out of the ground.

I also started the Carbon Footprint Challenge. I don't really like the timing--I should be spending my time on fixing the house, the weight, and the job, but this looks really cool.

You start off with a pretest of the carbon emissions you use. My results show me using only about half as much as the average American, which isn't saying much. For example, I still use half again as much as the average French person.

Then there are suggestions for each week for ten weeks. I got through the automobile ones and promised to check my tire pressure monthly. All my tires have 25 pounds per square inch right now. I looked up the pressure I'm supposed to have in the car repair book I bought for my car, but it just said to look in the manual. I don't have a manual. So I looked in the driver's side door jamb and on the tires. Nothing. But since I just got new tires and they all are at 25 psi, then that must be right. Right?

Wrong. R. said cars like mine usually want 32 psi. He found the specs inside my glove compartment. Brother. So I'll be filling those up soon.

I wouldn't promise to check my air filter monthly. I just change it when I change my oil. (Actually R. does.) But I did get R. to show me where it was. It's a tiny rectangular thing on this car with three screws on the sides of the compartment rather than the big round thing with the big butterfly nut I'm used to.

I also wouldn't promise to drive 25 fewer miles per month. I've actually decided that since my car gets better mileage, when R. and I go somewhere, we should take my car. Now that we don't need AC so much, R. can stand it. And since he loves his truck and I really don't like me car, it means my car will wear out quicker, and that's good, right?

I'm sure I can learn to like my car more as I get to know it. I've had it a while now (2 years?) but haven't driven it much. We'll see.

Next on the Carbon Footprint Challenge is home energy use. Actually, I think the Challenge is in its fourth week or so now. I'll catch up.

Meanwhile I'm still reading the archives of the Questionable Content cartoon I linked to earlier.

And we also went and visited a friend and had another wonderful Thanksgiving dinner outside on the porch with candles. And watched "Zatoichi" which I remember really liking but which is really just another bloodbath swordfight movie. It's just that the hero is an old, decrepit-looking blind guy (I love that) and there's lots of superfluous (to me--I'm probably missing some important cultural symbolism) percussion that I really like.
livingdeb: (Default)
I had a lovely day today. I went for a jog. (The first time since last time I wrote about going for a jog--I lasted eighteen minutes. My thighs already ache.)

I caught up on dishes and laundry.

I played sudoku.

I trimmed my nails.

I went to the wildflower center's plant sale and actually found some things. Not a parking place--I had to park a couple of minute's walk away. Then I wasn't motivated to buy stuff. But I did get three perennials:

* Blackfoot daisy - a small daisy that doesn't even like water or fertilization or soil amendments. A sea of them make a great ground cover, especially surrounding a prickly pear. But I bought only one and I didn't get a prickly pear. This daisy is actually native to the rocky regions across the highway, not the clay region where I live, but it loves to live in my yard.

* Flame acanthus - a small bush with orangish-red flowers and bright green leaves that I first noticed in Zilker Park. Thousands of brilliant beautiful flowers! And it loves to be out in the middle of the hot, hot sun.

* Barbados cherry - a small shrub with pink flowers. I don't know why I like it, but it has a delicate elegant look to it that I like. It likes shade, so I'm going to try it in my planter on my front porch and see how it likes that. I've tried planting this on the shady side of my house before, and it didn't work, but probably I should have watered it more at first.

I brought the plants back to my car and then though to myself that I really should go back and look for some trees. It would be nice to get some new deciduous shade trees (which I did not find) and some more small evergreen trees for the back of the yard to hide the fence without getting tangled in the telephone wires. I already have:

* Afghan pine - obviously not native to my part of the world. Also tall, but I think I planted it far enough away from the telephone lines. It's one of the few pines that likes the alkaline soil, but apparently some horrible mildew likes to attack it when you grow it in clay soil like I'm doing. Oh, well, it was one of my first trees--I really wanted a pine and didn't know any better.

* Texas mountain laurel - a low glossy-leafed plant with wisteria-like blooms in the spring that smell something like grape gum. Possibly my favorite native tree. Interesting--the link above says that I am growing narcotics; previously I'd only heard the seed pods referred to as "poisonous."

* Yaupon holly - a tree that is covered in a ridiculous number of red berries in the winter. That link shows that I am also growing caffeine. I feel so just-outside-the-law now, producing my own drugs. (And you've got to love the scientific name for this plant: Ilex vomitoria.)

I know you're not supposed to plant all different plants for good garden design because it is pleasing to the eye to have some repetition. However, it's better for disease protection and general diversity issues to have different trees, so I looked for some more. Plants with the height I'm looking for are often referred to as "shrubs," but they are trees to me. I found two:

* Cenizo - a silvery-green-leafed short bush, supposedly, but I've seen eight-foot tall ones everywhere. My favorite one is near campus, planted so close to a blue plumbago that the two plants intermingle like one, and usually one or the other or both are blooming. The plumbago is drought tolerant but not native to my area. I still have one in the front, though because I think they are so beautiful. And long-lived!

* Wax myrtle - dark green, evergreen, short, native, perfect, but this isn't a plant that really grabbed me until today when I smelled the leaves of one. They have a really nice herbal aroma to them, not as strong as my rosemary bush, but nice. Supposedly the bayberry scent in candles comes from this plant, but I don't like that smell. (The same thing is true for lavender--I really like the scent of the actual plant, but not the soap or candy).

I dropped these plants off at home (I need to plant them tomorrow) and went off to La Madeleine to meet my sister. I tried something new there: a turkey sandwich. It comes on a croissant! Not a soft one, though, so sad.

Then we went to Borders books and I got her some birthday presents she wanted. We never did find the "unpleasant activities" because we got distracted by one of my sister's friends for a couple of hours, but apparently it involved word finds and other children's activities.

Then we went to Marie Calendar's for pie. Expensive, but huge. Also, false advertising. We got the triple chocolate cheesecake, but there were actually six kinds of chocolate.
livingdeb: (Default)
Work was surprisingly good and then surprisingly bad, and it will be worse tomorrow. I mean I got angry at one of the best employees. And I brought work home. Me. I.

I fantasized about just quitting. I read stories all the time about people who quit or get laid off with no job lined up, and then they find the perfect thing and their lives are so much better blah blah blah. Of course the ones who quit and then spiral downward into homelessness probably don't have internet access and don't get interviewed for self-improvement books. Maybe I'll hold off a bit longer.

But then I have Friday off. Ha! My excuse is that the Wildflower Center is having its semi-annual plant sale. This should be an excellent place to get plants because they sell only native plants. Of course there are three geographies around here, so you still have to make sure to pick the right plants (I should get the kinds that like clay soil rather than the kinds that enjoy growing in rocks), but they all can live with very little water, but also handle flooding, and can live through very hot summers and intense sun, but also an annual freeze.

And then I'm picking my sister and for her birthday I am taking her out to eat and then to experience unfortunate events at Borders Books. ("The End is near and Lemony Snicket has saved the worst for last. You probably shouldn't join us for this special event featuring some unpleasant activities to celebrate the end of the Baudelaire orphans saga. See store for details.")

Updates

Sep. 30th, 2006 04:48 pm
livingdeb: (Default)
Parking on game day update - today we found that a parking garage north of campus was available to the general public and, although charging more than the usual fee, it was $8 as opposed to the $10 at the places we saw last week.

Our instructor said something about parking nearby, so I asked him about it (yea! social skills!). There's a lot just north of the building that charges, but he said he told the person "I have a guitar class from 1:00 to 2:00," and the person let him in for free. So we'll try that next time there's a game.

Toilet update - I no longer have a cutting-edge toilet. The Niagra Flapperless uses 1.6 gallons per flush, and the toilets identified on my city's list of Water Conservation Program Toilets Eligible for Rebate as an HET (high-efficiency toilet) average only 1.28 gallons per flush.

I still love my toilet, though, so I'm going to waste 0.32 gallons per flush from now on.

No-added-sugar update - I'm still doing fine, although tempted (cereal, pancakes, dark chocolate). Also, for future reference, it's best not to handle items that you are not allowing yourself, even just to research the nutrition. Tempting.

I woke up with a headache today, which is evidence that my headaches are not all due to sugar withdrawal.
livingdeb: (Default)
Today I attended a meeting of the transportation committee of my neighborhood association. We had a guest speaker from an adjacent association who described some changes they are trying to push through.

Problem: After the last highway improvements, traffic backs up so far on the access road to the freeway that people don't want to wait until they get to the light, so they turn earlier into the neighborhood. Seriously, one resident has had four separate incidents of cars crashing into the yard or even the actual house.

Plan A: Block access to the neighborhood. This plan was worked on and revised and perfected for four years until suddenly the city decided on a new policy never to pay for blocking roads.

Plan B: Add another lane that goes under the bridge instead of through the light for those who want to get on the freeway. Of course this probably won't get approved because it will mean too many entrance ramps in too short a space, which is why the old entrance ramp got yanked out in the first place.

Still, I said I liked the second plan better and explained my philosophy: if you don't anger the drivers on the main roadways, you don't have to calm them in the neighborhoods. Yep, this group is a big fan of "traffic calming" designs, which are just the kinds of designs that anger me such as road humps, traffic circles (especially the ones with big, beautiful trees replacing visibility), and closing down road entrances. I didn't explain my philosophy that if you want a safe place for your children to play, you should build sidewalks and parks, not road humps. Nor did I explain that you should prosecute people who drive into houses rather than punish everyone. But they did let me vent, and I did like all the current ideas under discussion.

The other idea was to do to 51st what they're also proposing for Cameron: Turn a four-lane road into a two-lane road plus a center turn lane plus bike lanes plus places for buses to pull off to pick up passengers. I think I like that idea.

I went to this meeting because it seems wrong to complain about traffic without doing anything about it. I left the meeting feeling that it's not worth it to me to bang my head against this issue for years and years, all perhaps for naught. There might be better ways to spend my time, like finding a place on the other side of the freeway, with less stupid design. Of course my own neighborhood used to have, well, very poor design, but less stupid than what it has now.

No-sugar update - I did fine again today. I felt a hint of headache, but it ran away on its own. No sign of any other withdrawal symptoms. I am running out of pretzels and was quite tempted to have a sugary snack bar, but I didn't. I also resisted melty, delicious dark chocolate that was stored too long in "the warm place" on top of the fridge. It's much easier to resist things when I know it's only temporary.

I did feel a little depressed at times, but that's because I insisted on reading a book titled Simple Things Won't Save the Earth. The author feels we need to reduce our population, reduce our use of resources, and use technology to fix as much as we can. If you read this book, you can get more details of course, and also learn an astounding amount about rubber. Sadly, producing rubber is not environmentally good the ways it's currently done, nor do people want to work at the associated tree-tapping jobs, and synthetic rubber is still not as good and it requires large amounts of petroleum products.

I also went to a brown-bag meeting on chemicals in the home and how to make your house less poisonous. I thought it was going to be about using vinegar and baking soda for cleaning and oxygen bleaches for bleaching, and they did mention that. They also gave us a list of additives used in creamy, gooey things like shampoo, conditioner, and hand lotion to retard the growth of bacteria and give the item a longer shelf life, but which turn out to also not be so great for us larger life forms.

Also they went on about plastics. Yes, I did get the memo a while back, but do you know what my reaction was? My reaction was that I was sick of everything turning out to be poisonous, therefore, everything can't really be poisonous, therefore I'm not going to worry about plastic. I had the exact reaction that so frustrated the author of the book I mentioned above: that even when we know there's a problem, we pretend it isn't really a problem. Sickening. Americans are especially good at this head-in-the-sand way of life, and then we get all shocked that someone would want to run gas-filled airplanes into heavily-populated and -symbolic buildings of ours.

The reality is that we hear about many fewer things than are really problems, and so whenever we do hear something, it should have all that much more impact.

But back to there relatively minor of slow self-poisoning. You are supposed to carry your drinks in aluminum or steel or glass bottles instead of plastic (even neoprene) ones. What should I carry my sandwich in? A wasteful succession of pieces of tin foil or wax paper? What about my yogurt? It's hard to think that every time I buy something and half the time I use something I am damaging myself or the earth. I just have to settle for doing less damage than I would do if I didn't know.

In case you're wondering, other suggestions from the class include using nylon or natural shower curtain liners instead of cheapo plastic ones, leaving the house for at least two weeks after installing new carpeting while the bulk of the poisons outgas, deterring ants with paprika or chili powder rather than ant poisons, replacing gooey things containing known toxins with safer versions or doing without, avoiding scented items except for "essential oils," and never burning candles. (But I like smelly vanilla candles, especially in that spot next to the mirror in the bathroom during parties because the light switch is hard to find.)
livingdeb: (Default)
Yesterday I made some progress on my plan to "fix" the house by reducing one of my piles of stuff in the office. One thing about piling things up and then letting them sit there is that some of the things (like coupons and catalogs) then expire and are clearly garbage. Other things I realize I don't have the energy to read through and can throw away with very little anxiety. I also filed some things and even made a couple of new file folders. I really love filing cabinets for storage of so many things. Shelves and filing cabinets are the best furniture of all time.

I also found some things that require action on my part. One of those things was a brochure from Whole Foods describing their offer of a gift card to people who buy wind energy credits from the same organization they use.

I've been thinking about doing this for some time. Officially I already direct my utility company to use green energy instead of their regular source for electricity (mostly or all natural gas, I believe--not actually all that scary) by having signed up for their Green Choice program. But I use plenty of other energy (natural gas, petrol, etc.) and even if I didn't, other people do. So I think of it the same way I think of making charity donations--as voluntarily doing something with money to make the world a better place. The IRS won't let you deduct them, but that's not what matters to me.

So how this works (to the best of my knowledge) is that unless you are producing your own electricity (say, with a generator or using solar power), then you are probably getting it off the "grid." Energy gets into the grid from all kinds of power sources, so you have no control. Green sources of energy currently cost more to produce than traditional sources, which is why we still use so much coal, natural gas, etc. By paying a company that provides green energy the difference between the open market price and their cost of production (including profit), you make it feasible for them to provide energy to the grid. So that's basically what's going on when you purchase "energy credits."

Energy credits are also a way for polluting companies to make up for their pollution by supporting just as much nonpolluting energy production. Sometimes this is cheaper for them than building their own cleaner power plant, or it can be a way to keep using their system until it breaks down. Slate has a great article (more fun than this journal entry, that's for sure) on this issue called Got SUV Guilt? Peace of mind can be yours for $274, by Daniel Akst. "For a yearly fee of around $80, a company called TerraPass will offset the damage your SUV does to the atmosphere by spending your money to reduce industrial carbon emissions and to promote the spread of clean energy. They'll also send you a decal and a bumper sticker, so everyone in the neighborhood will know that your gas guzzler has been sanctified." Hee hee!

I've seriously thought about TerraPass before, but never quite got around to it. I just feel like it would be so tempting to sell a bunch of hippie freaks expensive pieces of paper, you know?

But if I use the same company as Whole Foods is using, well, Whole Foods is big, and they're all about not poisoning stuff. So if they ever found out that these guys were becoming fraudulent, we'd hear about it. So I feel safer.

Also, Whole Foods is offering an incentive in the form of a gift card. Even if you don't shop at Whole Foods because you'd rather pay 1/10 the money for your groceries, a gift card from them is still nice. They have, for example, wonderfully soft cotton items of various kinds, and lots of pretty kitchen toys. If you set up an individual plan for $5/month (for at least a year), you get a $20 gift card. If you set up a family plan for $15/month, you get a $50 gift card. The former offsets 250 kWh of energy usage per month, the latter, 750. I read somewhere that the average household uses 10,000 kWh of energy per year (I'm sure that's just for their home, not their car, airplane trips, etc.), which comes out to 833 per month, so that gives you an idea of where these numbers are coming from.

The company they use, Renewable Choice Energy, works only with wind power. Wind power creates no pollution whatsoever (except in the manufacture and transportation of the windmills, I assume). The only bad things I've heard about wind power are that the windmills are too unsightly and tall and expensive for backyard use (dang! because I want one!) and that they kill birds (accidentally, of course). Nowadays they are made with larger, slower-moving blades and are safer for birds.

So I did it. I signed up for the family plan. I will be getting the big gift certificate. And also a little packet of stuff including a bumper sticker, so I can sanctify my car, too. Actually, I'm more likely to stick it to a magnet and use it to sanctify my refrigerator.

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