Paper Recycling

Good Morning Folks - It has been a long time, again. My apologies, again. I have spent the past year entrenched in the waste paper industry learning how to obtain materials for a mill that makes 100% recycled paper products. Obviously, it has been a real treat for me work in an industry so close to my heart.

Paper is a trade able commodity. The price rises and falls just like other commodities in our economy. A lot of times, those that produce quite a bit of waste paper, know what the material is worth. Sometimes, those ideas are a bit inflated. And, most times, I get to divert materials destined for the landfill. Diverting those tons is the most rewarding.

America Recycles Day is November 15th, and is fast approaching. There will be many events around your community providing opportunities to recycle various materials. Most events will provide a paper shredding event. Fear not, that material will make it to the recyclers!

Are you recycling at home? Does your office or work place recycle? Please post a comment telling us how.

My Oil Spill Rant

Oil Spill -

I know everyone is tired of hearing about the BP oil spill. Forgive me for the cynical view: This spill won't get us to change our habits or dependence on oil.
Even people who think it is awful and are willing to boycott BP, won't change their habits in a way that will drive less, buy less plastic, eat locally, depend less on climate control (a major convenience), moving toward natural gas is not going to help us… we need independent energy solutions that are renewable and safe.
Fact: Wind energy does not pollute; Solar Energy does not pollute; S&W energy are affordable & safe

On the other hand, oil & natural gas cannot claim those same points. Is the claim to fame tradition, cheap energy, & money changing hands behind the scene (big biz - gosh, I hate big biz)

What is the problem people? I just want to scream it at the top of my lungs. We are so dependent on convenience? Myself very much included in the direction of my disdain. I drive a cross over, commute more than 25 miles to work, forget my reusable shopping bags, and don't always have the forethought to buy locally grown food (especially meat, which we are trying to cut back)

Politically this is really pissing me off. I absolutely cannot believe Obama hasn't stepped up with demands about climate change, energy independence, and our way of life. He promises so much HOPE and it has really been disappointing. He just spent crazy amounts of money and hasn't really changed anything. I know change takes time, but I am an environmentalist. That is my passion & claim to fame. That was the main reason motivating my presidential vote. I am disappointed.

We have to deal with the spill even though it is inconvenient. We have to keep it top of mind even if we are tired of hearing about it. It is tremendously sad and heartbreaking. I wish we could turn back the clock and enforce regulations (that may or may not exist) that would prevent what is nothing short of an indelible catastrophe.


82 days since the spill. 82 days of oil spewing. Spewing! Into the gulf. The body of water I grew up visiting, enjoying, and playing in. In my family we don't call it the ocean. When your parents grow up on the gulf, you become a snob about the gulf. (surely, some sociological/antho theory can explain that) It is currently being PERMANTENTLY destroyed! Just heartbreaking & sickening.

What can we do? How are you willing to change? How am I prepared to change my life to lesson or eliminate (gasp) our dependence on fossil fuels?

My Green Goals

I originally started this space to chronicle my adventures as a tree huggin' event planner. It has morphed into a catch all space for my journey to greeness, event planner aspirations, and goal setting. Today, I have goals on my mind. I would definitely classify myself as a good Capricorn, a goal setting, ambitious, and forward thinking individual.

I have so many goals to become more sustainable & self sufficient that I end up getting completely overwelmed. So, let's break it down to this week.

This week/weekend:

1. Start lasagna composting w/ newspaper & cardboard boxes. This will expand my garden space for the fall and spring of next year.
2. Clean out garage: take recycling to the center, organize my "tools" (gardening, storage, etc), donate whatever clutter we don't need, and use what we can in our projects.
3. Blog about my gardening challenges, with pictures. This is a good promise for better blog posts w/ examples of the bugs/issues we encounter.
4. Explore LLC filing procedures & take atleast 1 step forward.
5. Turn compost pile.

I once ran across someone that gives herself 3 goals per day. They were as simple as laundry, work, and make dinner. With this idea in mind, I have decided to make the list shorter than all the things running through my head. Even as I finish up this post, I am thinking of things to add. Keeping it short, though, will help better set me up for success.

What are your goals for this week to live a more sustainable lifestyle? And how will you be enjoying the weekend?

How were you green today?

Everyday I try to be conscious of my actions and the impact those actions have on my immediate environmental surroundings and the whole planet. I try to eat locally grown foods (easier in the summer). I try to drive slower and less aggressively. Although, I cannot cut my miles, I can carpool with my husband (when I wake up on time), and use less gas getting to and from work. Today, we skipped the meat in dinner, I brought my own reusable shopping bag, planted pumpkin and spinach seeds for our fall crop, tended to my garden. I drank tap water, and brought my breakfast in a reusable container.

I fell short in many ways today. I shopped at a chain store purchasing toiletries in plastic bottles, laundry detergent in plastic, and picked up dry cleaning..... Obviously, I have quite a bit of room for improvement. Now, I am a big fan of perfection, but understand that perfection is not possible 100% of the time. Hopefully, making an effort is more important than being perfect.

How were you green today? Do you fall short sometimes, like me?

Reading List

A couple months ago, I obtained a library card. I checked out a ton of books, and ended up reading a few pages of each, non too happy. I didn't return them on time and had to pay a small fee. Well, I decided to give it another shot. I just happen to be driving by my local library one evening on the way home from work. Likely to happen on the ONE DAY I want to stop by the library and get a short list of specific reads, the system was down! I searched for a couple titles for about 1/2 hour and picked up some other interesting or pretty books. Some more vain than others, like Skinny Chicks vs. Food Rules.

The list: Food Rules, Michael Pollan. Eat Drink & Be Gorgeous, Esther Blum, A Green Living book, based on the Fine Living tv show, Skinny Chicks, (author). Not so ambitious this time, for sure.

Food Rules is probably the most informative with simple ways to eat better and in doing so lessen environmental impact. It is amazing how much energy goes into processing food that isn't even that good for our bodies. His tag is, "Eat food, not too much, and mostly plants." Simple, right? Trying to get away from processed food, not made by corporations is hard. It is even harder, in our sustainably glam lives, to do this while on the go adding in local, fresh, and things our great grandmother would recognize. That is the ultimate goal in sustainability, though. Eat things that come from the Earth, are locally grown, which in turn means, seasonal. Go-gurt is his example of a foreign food. In my other readings of Pollan (a couple assigned chapters of Omnivore's Delinma) he basically points out the science of how we, as humans, have digested our food since the beginning of time coupled with the point, now our food comes from corporations that market enhanced, processed food based on marketing packaging. For instance, tomatos are best digested with olive oil. Or better said, there are nutrients in each that work together to absorb more good stuff better. (eloquent, huh).

Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous: I am several pages into it and looking for nutritional facts that are going to make me feel better. Life, how to get protiens without eating meat. My goal there is not to be accomplished, other than animals I have found 2 sentences that provide this info. One on whey protien, and the other on mixing legumes with brown rice. Hmm.. I could use some recipes for the latter, and may have to get another book on my next trip to the library. I am really looking forward to the section on supplements, but also plan on doing my research about different companies. Rumor has it (listening to rumors is always a bad idea) that some vits have lead in them.. Def need to research that!

The Seven Stones of Simpler Living | Lighter Footstep

I ran across this article/blog a while ago... It really describes my priorities, and somewhat my goals. When I go out into the world, these are the things on my mind...good stuff, if I do say so myself.

The Seven Stones of Simpler Living Lighter Footstep: "The Seven Stones of Simpler Living"

Simple living reduces your ecological footprint. In addition, peace of mind can hold infinite value.

Eco Local Vendors - 790 The Zone Music Festival

Part of being good to the planet is finding stuff locally. I am in NE GA, and love it here. Yesterday, I went into the city (ATL, locals call that ITP-inside the perimeter) to help the Sierra Club, Green the Governor campaign. There was a green zone and 2/3 of the vendors there were environmentally conscious in some way. I found home made soaps, bottle caps re purposed as earrings, buttons re purposed into rings, vintage broaches re purposed into rings & earrings. Purses, clutches, and make-up cases, made of wrappers and organic cotton. Some really cool stuff.

Well, since I believe local is better, I am going to plug some of these vendors. I haven't necessarily purchased from them, but I have held their products and plan to support them. Couture Recycle: She makes T-shirt w/ sweet sayings like, recycle air..plant a tree, recycle pets, adopt an animal, etc. Check it out! http://www.couturecycle.com

Freshwater Gardens, an Atlanta based body care company, gave away sample soaps. I grabbed the oatmeal, milk & honey body bar. The ingredients are listed as: Coconut oil, palm oil (they assured me it was the "good" palm oil), rice bran oil, olive oil, Castor oil, Shea butter, glycerin, ground oatmeal, fragrance, ground cinnamon. Hmm. Castor oil? Fragrance? Could those be bad? Are any of these petroleum products? I will have to do my research to find out. http://www.freshwatergardens.com/members/freshwater