Hello GenGreenLife Blog Readers!
The GenGreen Team has returned, worn but successful, from a 10-day tour of two of the nation’s biggest Green Business Festivals and Conferences. My desk is overflowing with business cards and info sheets from some of the coolest sustainable businesses and organizations in the country- and I can’t wait to share them with you. Make sure to check the GGL Blog daily in the coming weeks to get the inside scoop on the greenest movers and shakers around.
Beth Buczynski, The GenGreen Team
The holiday season provides an ideal time to reconnect with friends, family, Mother Earth, and with those in our communities who make every effort to nurture the foods we will be enjoying on these special days.
Some green terms to be on the lookout for while shopping for your holiday meals include USDA organic, sustainable, vegetarian/vegan, fair trade, free-range/free roaming, grass fed, local, native, and heritage.
“Heritage” is one of the lesser know of these green terms and is an important one when exploring your holiday food options. Heritage foods are derived from rare and endangered breeds of livestock and crops. Heritage animals are purebreds; a specific breed of animal that is near extinction. Production standards are not required by law, but true heritage farmers use sustainable production methods. This method of production saves animal breeds from extinction and preserves genetic diversity.
Heritage turkeys are gaining in popularity and there is renewed interest in preserving these genetically diverse breeds that trace their lineage back hundreds of years to the primogenitors of the original American breeds.
So why choose to go with a heritage turkey this holiday season? Not only are you preserving the genetic diversity of the turkey population, heritage birds also provide big benefits when it comes to flavor. They have a longer “growing” period than commercially raised turkeys and, as a result, have an extra layer of fat.
They also have a higher proportion of dark to white meat because they get considerably more exercise than those that spend their time in conventional cramped quarters. Their varied diet makes them more flavorful as well, as their native organic feed is supplemented with bugs and fresh grasses (www.thedailygreen.com).
If “heritage” isn’t on your holiday menu this year, check out your farmers’ market or natural food store for local, fresh products that may be just as reasonably priced as their conventional counterparts. As with any food you eat, it’s best to know exactly where it comes from and how it was grown.
For more information about making your holidays green, visit GenGreenlife.com for a comprehensive directory of farms, markets, products, businesses and services to serve your green holiday needs.
By Matt Olson, GenGreen Content Intern
Depending on where you live in this country…we are all experiencing the effects of global climate change in different ways. I remember being a kid and wallowing in snow drifts from November ’till March. Now winter precipitation is sporadic and unpredictable in many parts of the country that used to enjoy four definitive seasons.
Sensing, observing and recording our thoughts, feelings, and theories about the changes our planet is going through is one of the most significant things we can do as its inhabitants. And although scientists and critics have the loudest voices when it comes to global warming, now you have a chance to add yours to the mix.
The Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Classics — along with bookstores across the country — are encouraging all aspiring writers and photographers to submit their personal stories and images about global warming for publication in a new online book, to be published in 2009, Thoreau’s Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming.
The submission process is open to anyone in the United States through November 15, 2008. A panel of judges will select the top essays and photographs to be included in the book. Writers and photographers whose submissions are selected for publication will receive a limited edition printed copy of the book and will be invited to participate in book promotion activities.
Visit UCSUSA.org right now to read the guidelines and learn how you can submit your story!
Submissions must be received by November 15, 2008.
Please email any questions to bookeditor@ucsusa.org.
Refugees United is a non-profit organization that helps refugees relocate family and friends through the use of the internet.
Refugees United provides refugees with an anonymous forum to reconnect with missing family. By registering with nick- names, scars, former locations and other markers only identifiable to family and close friends, everyone can remain ‘invisible’ to all but relatives.
* All refugees are welcome, regardless of conflict, place or time.
* Refugees United is an independent, non-political, non-religious NGO.
* No third party is involved. No official papers need to be filled in.
* The service is free of charge, easy and safe.
The Refugees United search engine is the first of it’s kind. Visit Refugees United to see how it works and to learn more about the work that Refugees United is doing.
If you’ve ever wished for an easy way to compare colleges based on their levels of sustainability, your wish has been granted.
Published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the College Sustainability Report Card assesses the performance of 300 U.S. public and private colleges and universities across 43 indicators in nine main categories, including green purchasing policies, energy efficiency, recycling, and composting.
Only 15 schools nationwide received an A-, the highest grade awarded this year.
The Report Card is currently the only independent sustainability evaluation of campus operations and endowment investments available, and is meant to serve as a tool for high school students in selecting a college and for college students in improving sustainability on their campus.
And the best part? Information contained in the Report Card is freely accessible on GreenReportCard.org, which is the first interactive website to provide in-depth sustainability profiles for hundreds of colleges in all 50 U.S. states and in Canada. The site allows you to view side-by-side comparisons of up to 10 schools, make donations to help keep the Report Card fee-free and a whole section about how you can get involved and use the Report Card to encourage sustainability practices on your favorite campus.
By Beth Buczynski, The GenGreen Team
Sophie Uliano of GorgeouslyGreen.com is hosting a recipe contest! The criteria for entry is simple:
1. Good for Your Health
2. Good for Your Pocketbook
3. Good for the Planet
and of course, it must be delicious!
All entries should be sent to recipe@gorgeouslygreen.com by November 15th, 2008, so start baking, simmering and roasting today!
Grand Prize
* Your recipe will be featured in Sophie’s upcoming book!
* 7 piece cookware set from Chantal
* Sophie will cook your recipe on eatdrinkordie.com
Runner’s Up (2)
* Full bakeware set from Chantal’s new Pure line
* Sophie will cook your recipe on eatdrinkordie.com
Everybody
* Your recipe will be shared via the internet on GorgeouslyGreen.com and EatDrinkorDie.com for everyone to cook, try and comment on.
GorgeouslyGreen.com is a great place for green women to meet and exchange tips, ideas and more! And don’t forget to check out the book that started it all: Gorgeously Green: Eight Simple Steps to an Earth-friendly Life by Sophie Uliano.
By Beth Buczynski, The GenGreen Team
It’s official, we lowered our Premium membership prices to $9.99/month. It is important to us to have as many green business on our site because that only creates an amazing resource for our users who need those green businesses. Since economic times are hard, we lowered our price to make it easier for you to join.
You can sign up at the bottom of this page: http://gengreenlife.com/new-signup-compare.php
To the future,
The team at GenGreen
It’s the time when little ghost and goblins (and some big ones too) will venture out in to the night collecting treats and playing tricks. Like all completely commercialized holidays, Halloween represents a flurry of extraneous purchasing and sugar consumption. Here are some ideas for a more sustainable night of fright.
Take Advantage of the Dark
If you’re into accelerating the heartbeats of neighborhood trick-or-treaters, nothing is freakier than a whole house swallowed up in shadows. So save some energy by giving your inside and outside lights a rest, and and increase the adrenaline rush at the same time. If you’re afraid of people passing your house by without lights on, consider adorning your porch with an orange or purple strand of LED lights or a jack-o-lantern illuminated with a soy or beeswax candle.
Speaking of Pumpkins
If you haven’t purchased one already, use GenGreenLife.com to search for a local farm where you can pick your own, or a farm stand that’s selling organic varieties. And when you’re done slashing it with a frightful face, be sure to make the most of its guts: make a healthy snack by scooping out and separating the seeds from the juicy membranes and roasting them at 300 degrees with some salt, garlic, or other seasonings for about 30 min. Don’t forget to compost the rest of the flesh you remove as well.
Low-impact Loot
Instead of loading the candy bowl (and neighborhood children) with tons of sugar, corn syrup and artificial flavorings, think of fair-trade and organic treats instead. Kettle Valley organic fruit snacks (not actual fruit), organic chocolates, animal crackers, Yummy Earth organic lollipops, mini-boxes of raisins, and homemade honey and sesame seed candies, make great alternatives. Also consider non-edibles like stickers, crayons or bubbles.
Thrifty Treats
If you’re like me and waited until the last minute to think about a costume, remember your local thrift store. Thrift stores are a treasure trove of unique, vintage and bizarre clothing that can be transformed into creative (and cheap) costume ideas. In fact, thrift store chains like Arc and Savers, conveniently collect and organize pieces especially suited to costume creation in special Halloween sections, along with discounted accessories like face paint, masks and wigs. Search for these and other thrift stores near you on GenGreenLife.com.
By Beth Buczynski, The GenGreen Team
Note: This interview was conducted and written by Sagan Schultz, a GenGreen Ambassador from St. Paul, Minnesota. Ambassadors are highly motivated, eco-conscious individuals across the country that promote awareness of the mission of GenGreen and GenGreen Life.com and help educate themselves and others about ways to live a more locally-focused, sustainable lifestyle.
Interested in becoming an Ambassador? Click here to learn more.
Interviewee: Wanda Davies
Title: Director of Development, Midwest Region
Company: Navitas Energy (Northern Alternative Energy)
Q: What is the mission of your business?
A: We are a wind energy development company. We deal with everything that is necessary to develop a wind field, but we don’t do the building. We lease land, get permits, make connection agreements, and get everything in place for the builders to do their side of the job.
Q: What is the most important thing for people to know about alternative energy?
A: It is very economically competitive right now, as well as in the long run. Since there is no cost for fuel, it will be more affordable than current energy sources, assuming fuel prices continue to rise. Eventually wind power will be more economical.
Q: What is an easy way for people to conserve energy or utilize alternative energy that they might not know about?
A: They can sign up for the wind source program offered by Xcel Energy, which gives you a fuel cost adjustment. You pay them a certain amount to get some of your power from renewable sources, and they give you the adjustment on your bill. Right now, prices are very similar.
Q: What current projects are you working on?
A: We have about 20 projects throughout the midwest, some of which are being actively developed right now. I estimate that in about 5 years, southwestern Minnesota will be covered by wind fields.
Q: Is there anything you personally would like people to know regarding alternative energy or more sustainable living?
A: I would say people should start taking small steps. You can start with compact fluorescents, the wind source program, riding your bike, having your kids take the school bus instead of picking them up and dropping them off. There are basically just a lot of small things that can be done that will equal up to making an impact.
Learn more about Navitas Energy here.
