CSA (aka bringing the Farmers' Market to you)

Community Supported Agriculture = the best way for busy people to get local, fresh, organic produce into their kitchen. If you're anything like me, sometimes motivating to go to the Farmers' Market on a dreary Sunday morning is a little more than you're up for. However, if you join a CSA, the Farmers' Market comes to you. That's right...according to LocalHarvest.org the definition of a CSA is as follows: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

Eric and I have recently joined a CSA called Eating with the Seasons here in the Bay Area. Now, every Thursday (starting in December) we'll get an extra small box (6 types of produce for $17) of super fresh fruits and veggies delivered from the farm to a pick-up location a few blocks from our house. In addition, we can add extras like eggs, granola, and olive oil if we choose. Quite a deal, right?

And CSAs are so hot right now. In fact, my friends Jillian and Christina recently started an awesome blog called Farm and a Frying Pan that was inspired by the huge amounts of unusual vegetables brought to them by their CSA (think kale, celery root, and leeks). They are learning how to cook and eat these fabulous local, sustainable items, and with their blog, they are sharing their adventures with all of us. As they put it, "this blog is our attempt at uncovering what you can really do when you have access to a FARM and a FRYING PAN."

If you need additional recipes for out-of-the-ordinary vegetables, there are plenty of great vegetarian cookbooks out there. The Everything Vegetarian Cookbook is one great example, and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest is another. Happy veggie cooking!

Climate change and wildfires

An interesting and relevant tidbit from Earth2tech:

Climate Change and Cali Wildfires: “To the average person a 1-degree rise in average spring and summer temperatures may not seem like much. But for residents of the western United States—including California, which is fighting at least eight fires right now—it could mean a staggering increase in the extent and cost of fires.” — Climate Progress

No Brainer

Libraries, people! Libraries!

It's books for free. What else is there to say? Sure you have to give them back in the end, but how many books do you read more than once anyway? Save trees, save money...go get a library card.

Also, the excuse that "they never have what I'm looking for" is no longer valid. Most libraries now allow online book reservation, and you are notified by email when your request shows up at your local branch. I picked up two last night that were available a mere five days after I posted my requests (though a third is going to take a while to show up, but it's a new release). In the meantime, I'll keep myself busy with less popular but equally as satisfying oldies but goodies.

Kindle Goes to Princeton

Also in the NYT today:

"In May, Amazon introduced the electronic book reader Kindle DX, touted as a new way to read textbooks, newspapers and other large documents. This fall, six colleges and universities will test the technology in a pilot, which includes making the textbooks for certain courses available online.

The Kindle DX (for “deluxe”) is searchable and portable, a plus for students accustomed to toting heavy backpacks. But there is another reason that some institutions jumped at the chance to try it out: the technology could substantially reduce their use of paper.

“Sustainability is the driving force behind Princeton using the Kindle,” said Lauren Robinson-Brown, the assistant vice president for communications at Princeton University, which is participating. She explained in a telephone interview that the Kindle pilot project was part of a Princeton initiative to use less printed paper."

I'm very interested to see how this turns out...

My Favorite Kind of Recycling

Raise your hand if you love Craigslist...my hand is most definitely raised (and even waving around a little bit. You know, like that brown-noser from your freshman econ class?). Having spent the last few weekends trying to furnish my new apartment in both the cheapest and greenest way possible, I've realized that "recycling" used furniture is most definitely the way to go. Not only do you save large pieces of wood/metal/plastic from going to the landfill, but you can find some really great stuff for almost nothing. We got a giant, wooden, and very attractive bookcase/shelving unit for $43 because the previous owner had to get rid of it immediately (if not sooner). I also ended up with a great futon-type-thing that was originally $400 at Cost Plus...guess what I got it for? $60!!! Not only did I save $340, but I avoided consuming virgin materials. Not bad, eh? So next time you're looking for new end tables or a bed frame, don't head to Ikea. Hop online and with a little persistence, I promise you won't be disappointed.

PS I tried hard to find things at garage/estate sales here in SF, but speaking from experience, it's pretty much 100% junk at those things. I haven't tried any of the flea markets yet though.

Get (Online) Coupon Crazy

Looking for an eco-friendly way to save money on all those things you just can't live without? Quit wasting paper on coupons that can be redeemed online. According to Simmons Market Research Bureau, currently more than 40 million people nationwide are printing online coupons. While coupons are a great way for YBGers to save money, paper coupons equate to a staggering amount of wasted paper. Instead of printing and clipping, go green by visiting free online coupon code and deal site Coupon Craze (www.couponcraze.com) before you shop.

If you need more convincing, check out Coupon Craze’s top 5 reasons why you should stop clipping and start clicking instead:

BE A SAVVY SHOPPER: If each of the 40 million people printing online coupons replaced one paper coupon with an online coupon code, 80,000 reams of paper would be saved!
SAVE TREES: 500,000 trees must be cut down to produce each week's Sunday newspapers, including the massive coupon section. Why? When only 0.5 percent of coupons inserted in Sunday newspapers were redeemed in 2008
BE GREEN: The average household throws away 13,000 pieces of paper each year, most of which is junk mail consisting of printed coupons and promotions. Reducing paper use reduces greenhouse gases and using 40 million pieces of paper translates into 3,000 acres of pine forest absorbing carbon for a year
CONSERVE WATER: Who knew? It takes more than 1½ cups of water to make one sheet of paper – meaning that the 40 million people who have printed coupons have wasted 3.75 million gallons of water.
STOP WASTING: The United States alone, which has less than 5% of the world's population, consumes 30% of the world's paper. As if that were bad: Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper is thrown away every year in the U.S

So, visit Coupon Craze to find online deals and coupon codes that can easily replace those paper-wasting printed coupons. You can also shop the newly launched Coupon Craze Green category to find deals and codes for eco-friendly products.

PS - Yes, this is a press release from my friend Bailey at SHIFT Communications. How cool is it that I'm getting pitched by PR firms (even if it is by my friends)?

Dishwashing by Hand or Machine

In honor of the new apartment I will be moving into at the end of the month (that has a dishwasher!!!), I want to educate my readers about energy and water-use involved with hand-washing dishes versus washing your dishes in the dishwasher. A scientific study done at The University of Bonn in German thoroughly explored the age-old question of hand vs machine, and those inquisitive Germans discovered the following: the dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than washing by hand. The study also rated the level of cleanliness achieved by both methods, and again the washing machine won. Don't you just LOVE when the lazy method is also the better method? I do! I do! So, next time you have a dinner party and your guests try to wash the remainder of the dishes in the sink after the washer is full, tell them to DROP THE SPONGE. You can load the rest of those dishes into the machine in the morning. Sometime even the best intentions aren't the eco-friendly ones.

Last note - be sure to use eco-friendly soap and always wait till the d'washer is full before running it. Have a great weekend!

Back Away from the Bottled Water

When was the last time you bought a bottle of water? How much did you pay for it? $1? $2? $5??? Well, did you realize that, by purchasing and carrying around a Klean Kanteen or a Nalgene water bottle, you not only significantly reduce the resources required to quench your thirst (plastic bottle, shipping, etc), but after only a few fill-ups, your reusable bottle has paid for itself! It's a no-brainer. For example, I brought my beat up Klean Kanteen with me to SXSW this weekend. Not only did I fill it up twice in the airport(s) during both days I spent traveling, saving myself about $20 in expensive airport water...but it also went with me to Waterloo Park on Saturday afternoon and kept me and my friends hydrated in between adult sodas. All in all it probably saved me $25 this weekend, which is more than it's original $17 cost.

So, save some money, oil, and energy, and buy yourself a durable reusable bottle...and if you have an emergency and absolutely HAVE to purchase a regular bottle of water, at least save the bottle for a bit of reuse before it reaches the end of it's lifespan and must be recycled. You'd be surprised at how convenient it is to have a few extra bottles around.

Meet A New Favorite Website: Green Loop Apparel

I discovered Green Loop today, and I think I'm in love. Green Loop is "a style conscious, eco-retail company, specializing in sustainable apparel and accessories for men and women, grounded in good design." See that everyone! They are style-conscious and grounded in good design! No fuddy-duddy beige hemp bags or recycled patchwork skirts/shirts reminiscent of the trust-afarians lining Haight St in San Fran. No, no, no...Green Loop has really cute clothes and accessories for both men and women from designers like Simple, Grace and Cello, and jack&marjorie. While they don't always fit into the YBG budget (no, I can't afford that $1000 Vegan Queen hobo bag...but I can wish), their sale section has tons and tons of great stuff on it, like this great men's Loomstate jacket that's %50 off. Also, if you sign up for their e-newsletter, you get a coupon for %15 off your first purchase...only $850 to go on the hobo bag...

Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Like I Tweeted last night, I have an hand-me-down hand-me-down mattress that was originally owned by my aunt circa 1956. Needless to say, it sucks. It is currently make somewhat bearable by the pillow top that I randomly inherited from my best friend's ex-boyfriend after college...but even with a few pillowly inches of synthetic cotton, I need a "ticket to a better night's sleep."

There are two green options for a nice but affordable mattress (cause a decent bed is expensive! and mattresses are resource intensive). Either you can look on Craigslist, or the like, for a lightly (and hopefully cleanly...ew) used mattress, thus avoiding both the consumption of resources and paying full price. Alternately, you can get a new, green mattress from Keesta without breaking the bank. According to the company, "Keetsa is committed to presenting a line of sleep products that has a minimum impact on your pocketbook and on the environment." They also get GREAT reviews on Yelp. Using organic and recycled materials, Keesta mattresses start as low as $439. Heck, and if you can get a nicely used Keesta mattress...well, then you're really in business.

I know where I'm headed this weekend.

Being Used

Who here knows about half.com and/or the used book option of amazon.com? Did you know that you can get books for half price while using none of the natural resources?! While borrowing from the library (or a friend) is obviously the greenest choice for readers, everyone has books that they have to own for one reason or another. For instance, I bought a used copy of "The Writer's Market 2009" last night because I didn't think the library would appreciate me writing/highlighting all over their copy, and I knew I'd need the book for more than a few weeks. Therefore, I searched Amazon and found a used copy of the book for 25% off. Who doesn't like a deal, and we can feel great about saving trees, water, and oil.