BlogHer - carbon footprint - Comments

you haver compileed some

midnightbliss — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:40:12 -0500

you haver compileed some informative sites here. At home, I usually recycle home decors or furnitures that are no longer used and make them into something useful or trendy, in that way, we no longer have to buy new decorations evrytime we decide to recorate or renovate. With a little creativity you can make old unused things into a new piece of decor or furniture and there's no need to buy a new 0ne.

Green, important issues

melaniej99 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:51:50 -0500

Green, is an important issue, since the world facing global heat and others critical environment problem :)

http://ohiowriters.net Learning

http://ezinementors.com Business

Re: connections

Elana Centor — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:05:20 -0600

A couple of thoughts/questions.

Do you want to talk to businesses as a concerned citizen of the world/as a business person trying to pitch business?

Regardless, I would recommend that you start "meeting" some of the green bloggers by visiting their blogs/commenting and getting to know them. Ask your question to the "green" communmity.The more specific you can be about your concern or what your busines offer, the more helpful they can be.

Good luck.

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness

Re: connections

Elana Centor — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:04:35 -0600

A couple of thoughts/questions.

Do you want to talk to businesses as a concerned citizen of the world/as a busines person trying to pitch business?

Good luck.

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness

Connections

hisglory8 — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:09:58 -0600

Hi,

How do you find companies to talk to them about going? I find it hard to get in the door of companies to talk to them about going Green. Can you give me some ideas?

Thanks

Sally

As Everett Dirkson So Famously Said...

Elana Centor — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:56:31 -0600

A billion year and a billion there and so you're talking about real money. Thanks for sharing, Mary!

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness

Green Schools are turning the market

Mary Clare Hunt — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:22:24 -0600

Elana - I just posted a blog on this topic. Mainstream consumer goods are having issues, but not green building products and materials. The Los Angeles Community College District has $6 billion to put up 50 new buildings and greenerize hundreds of others. The LA Unified School District (K-12) added 7 billion to their base to do the same thing.

http://inwomenwetrust.typepad.com/in_women_we_trust/2008/12/women-the-connective-tissue-for-a-green-culture-.html

At the same time, both are reworking their curriculum to not only act green but ingrain it into your thinking as much as democracy or capitialism is embedded. It's VERY exciting. One company that WAS a roofer, switched to installing solar and had to hire more people. Companies that SHIFT products and services to meet this new market head on are the ones who won't feel the green downturn.

Everyone is doing a happy dance on this one. LACCD alone will employ 48,000 people to put up 50 buildings, then they'll teach green job training to 226,000 students. That's how you transform an economy.

A good salmon option

paulag01 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:37:31 -0500

Thanks for all the great comments & stories. I am pretty passionate about the food topic! I saw a documentary on Sundance on Chinese Tea. It was long & involved but what was interesting is this guy showed how conventional and chemical based growing methods literally kill the soil. You can tell the health of a soil by the presence of copious amounts of worms (aka "life"). And of course that translates directly to the healthiness of your food.

While certainly not local, I have found a sustainable and wild source of salmon in Vital Choice www.vitalchoice.com I have been using them for a year plus and been VERY happy. At first glance it may seem really expensive, but I have to say, the 2 of us will take 2, 6oz salmon fillets. In the past I'd look at that size & think - you're kidding, that's not "enough". Well, it is SO satisfying that we literally end up with a leftover. That means we're actually eating & enjoying the recommended 4oz serving and feeling totally satiated. Quality does matter.

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

www.thepaulagcompany.com
www.coaching4lesbians.com

So important

Candelaria Silva — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:10:09 -0500

I am sucking it up and figuring out ways to buy local. I'm too late for CSA this year but am signing up to be on the list for next summer.

Thanks for the suggestions. Reading The Ominvore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food have made me even more concerned about what I eat because it's not longer a matter of eating veggies and using olive and canola oil, etc., it's knowing where your food comes from and eating things in season.

After an article in the paper today, salmon is pretty much off my list.

Oy vey!

blog.candelariasilva.com

Good and plenty!

Get even more local

Themommylife — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:02:18 -0500

I absolutely agree your post is all too true with the increasing food prices and contamination scares. I consider myself lucky that we have a number of farmer's markets to choose from within our small city in the middle of VA. I too have noticed different prices for different venues. It is so nice to speak to the person who is growing your food and ask questions. They often have great recipe suggestions as well.

One way I've been trying to save money, reduce my carbon footprint and have great veggies is to grow my own. I don't have a large garden, but its enough space for a couple of tomato plants, a pepper plant a cucumber and an eggplant. I've done this successfully in containers as well for those without the luxury of a yard. They really require very little tending.

The Mommy Life www.TheMommyLifestyle.blogspot.com

In Australia, I still

kazari — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:58:58 -0500

In Australia, I still haven't found a CSA near us - in fact, via google, I can only find one in Brisbane : (

But on the other hand, we have a great local farmer's market (local, in typical Australian fashion, is defined as within 100km or so. with extra leeway for the fishermen from Bateman's Bay).

I think I have a recipe for that...

Good information

paulag01 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:44:53 -0500

Thanks for the lively discussion!

Interesting points Alanna - it is true, some of the groceries can be local. We have a nice local one here that is smaller and locally owned. I try to go to that one vs the biggies as they seem to take more care with what they offer. That being said, it would be swell if they offered more locally grown stuff vs shipped in. We live within 20 miles of a bunch of farms. Perhaps it isn't feasible, not sure...

Farmers are businesspeople too... the fixed costs of booths, etc certainly play a part. The local farmer's markets simply draw more people to 1 place vs driving here for produce, there for dairy, another place for poultry, another yet for beef.. you get the picture.

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

www.thepaulagcompany.com
www.coaching4lesbians.com

Excellent point --

Alanna Kellogg — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:30:28 -0500

-- perhaps one that's not emphasized enough. A couple of points I've noticed while watching/shopping farmers markets for as long as I remember.

> The farmers often drive 100-200 miles to get to a city market with enough population to sell their good at prices that make the trip worthwhile. So the dollars might stay "in state" or "nearby" but they're not necessarily entirely local.

> Because the farmers can get 4x the revenue by driving to the city, it makes fresh produce REALLY hard to find in small rural towns.

>Who owns your local grocery stores? It's worth thinking about. In St. Louis, three of the four largest chains are locally and privately owned - they're still family businesses. They may be "big" but they're still local.

> Because I shop several markets, I've become quite aware how the same farmers will charge different prices at different markets. When I ask, there are two factors. One is the price of admission at the market, the booth fee. The other is outright potential: in communities with higher average incomes, the prices are higher because the market will bear it.

> Local Harvest is a great way to learn about nearby local resources.

PS I'd love for this post to be cross-linked to Food & Drink!

Alanna Kellogg
Kitchen Parade &
A Veggie Venture

It's easier than most people think...and cheaper

froggemom — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:07:54 -0500

We are very lucky becauye we live within blocks of a local and sustainable foods market. Make that super lucky. We can get all our produce, dairy, meats and even pantry items through one place. Sure, some of the stuff is pricey, but it makes up for expense in taste, quality, and feel-good factor. Plus, we just eat less meat and dairy than we used too and get more veggies and fruit in our diets. And actually we probably eat a little less because we just don't have tons of food in the house.

I still have to make trips to the grocery store, but its really for things like kitty litter and soap.

Living in a large metropolitan area that is surrounded by farms makes this easy for us in southeast PA, but I think with some effort and conviction more people could eat local.

Also the Resistance Factor

paulag01 — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:57:54 -0500

Unfortunately things are set up to make it more convenient and perceived cheaper to just buy whatever in the local big bulk store. And the key with anything - and I know this as a person and a coach -- people need to have a desire and a willingness to do something different.

That being said - it would be great if it were more readily available to all. Thanks for sharing the additional link as well. I know there are some great farmers markets in the city as well (having stumbled across one once in Union Square while in the city on business).

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company