America Recycles Day - Monday, November 15th

Old Electronics. Paper. Plastic. Aluminum Foil. Old Pots & Pans. Plastic Bags. #5 Plastics. Old Clothes. Old Towels. Old Sheets. Used Brita Filters.

Collect them all this weekend and I'll tell you how you can particpate in America Recycles Day on Monday, November 15th...take the pledge!

Plastic Sandwiches and Drumsticks

When I found out there was going to be a green event at Biz Bash (the yearly special events expo for event and meeting planners) I felt like banging on a drum. Literally.

Fortunately, this turned out not to be a problem.

A group of percussionists were promoting their business at the expo. They would come to your place of business and lead you in some sort of rhythmic activity. It seemed like it was Stomp meets The Office.

They handed out drumsticks to everyone who came by and invited them to play on chairs, drums or whatever was in their path. It was fun. It was cool. But I couldn't wait for the green session.

Or so I thought.

It was called "Do You Measure Up? The New Measurement Standards for Green Events." Not the sexiest title, but hey - green measurement standards are my favorite kind of measurement standards.

I arrived early to get the best seat, eager to absorb all of the innovative green concepts.

The head of the conference came in to introduce our speaker and mentioned that because it was a green event, all their presentations would be available as downloads only . . . no paper handouts!

The speaker stepped up to the mic. She was from Wisconsin. "Oh, good" I thought. Wisconsin must be green, with all its mountains and cheese.

Then she began speaking. In initials. CMP. MPI. ISES. These were the certifications and organizations for event planners.

I began to get twitchy in my seat. This was not interesting. What about the measurement standards?

"Event planners all over the world are moving towards greener events."

Yes! Here we go.

She said London's Olympics would be the greenest ever. Canada was creating an official green certification process for event planners. And the U.S. was doing . . . nothing.

She then thanked us and left the stage.

That was it? The greenest thing I had experienced since getting there was the carpet.

I moved on to the showroom which was filled with caterers, florists, and entertainers. There had to be something green in there.

The first caterer I stumbled upon was the DJ Caterer. This was a guy who played music while serving BBQ pork sandwiches on non-recyclable CD jewel cases. I gave him credit for his creativity. I hesitated as I took the sandwich and wanted to give it back when I realized how wasteful this was going to be, but I had already touched it. So I took the jewel case and tucked it in my bag and recycled it when I got home.

Lunch was next. A plastic container had a sandwich wrapped in plastic, plastic forks wrapped in more plastic and several plastic condiment packets. I don't know which had more plastic, the sandwiches at lunch or the sandwiches on the DJ's CD boxes.

As lunch ended, I watched as all this plastic was being thrown away. Trash cans full of brochures, lunches, food. It was their own mini-landfill.

To take a break from it all, I went back to the percussionists. They were a great group and a lot of fun.

After they gave you the drumsticks, you could keep them as souvenirs. Or you could throw them in the trash. Which is where I saw them. Dozens! Drumsticks that could have been left for others or donated to someone who wanted them. But these drumsticks had been tossed aside like . . . toothpicks.

My head was spinning and I started to see spots. Not green ones. These planners were all buying into this wasteful culture.

I left feeling disappointed. But rather than be defeated, I went back to the office (with my drumsticks) and started pounding out my own plan. To reduce waste, incorporate recycling and bring green awareness to our events.

I realized that you don't need a green measurement standard event to go green. It would have been nice, but if you use a little creativity, like DJ Wasteful Plastic and Pork did, you can always measure up.

Confessions of a Farmers Market Shopper

A confession: I am a recovering non-healthy food shopper.

Before I went green, I avoided healthy places like the plague (if you can call a health food store a plague). I wasn't used to them and didn't trust them. When John and I lived in L.A., our apartment complex included the Erewhon health food supermarket, one of the best in the country. It scared me so much I forbade John to shop there. (He told me later that he used to sneak in and buy one or two things so I wouldn't find out.)

Now I do as much organic shopping as possible, but old habits die hard. When we lived ten blocks from Union Square, we almost never went to the farmers market, even though we loved it. Now that we live way uptown we go even less.

Three weeks ago, however, we fell in love with all the delicious locally grown food we bought at a Farmers Market in . . . New Jersey (we were visiting friends). I decided if I could bring vegetables back from the Jersey shore, I could get on the subway and go back to Union Square.

So this past Saturday, I went back and found . . . it was still an ordeal. While I love being surrounded by all the fresh fruits and veggie, I still hate the crowds. Every square inch is covered with lettuce, potatoes and people. And I'm not sure all the people are organic.

In the past I've never been sure exactly what to buy at a farmers market. Or even how much for that matter. Each stand is filled with crazy looking, root-type veggies with names like celeriac or rutabagas. I thought a rutabaga was something people drove in the 30's.

But Saturday, I had a different experience. I decided to embrace the process and conquer my inner non-organic shopper.

I took my time, took in all the sights and smells and patiently made my way over to each stand. I picked things up, smelled them, thought about what I might do with them and found myself standing with a parsnip in one hand and a bunch of kale in the other.

With no idea of how I wanted my food to taste, I decided to go for how it would look - I went for amazing colors. I grabbed red onions, blue potatoes, rainbow carrots! If nothing else, my plate would look like there should be a pot of gold at the end of it.

I took all my beautiful finds home and spread them out on my counter. I took a photo. And then I panicked. What had I done? How was I going to eat these visuals?

My friend Jules had taught me some recipes, so I pulled out my cutting board. I started to chop and slice, throwing everything into a bowl. I took out two chicken breasts, drizzled agave on top and laid them in a casserole dish. I scooped in all the veggies around the chicken - the rainbow carrots, the parsnip, the bright red onions and garlic. I coated them with olive oil, masala and curry powders and then roasted it for an hour in a 400 degree oven. What came out of the oven surprised me. It was like getting a delicious, fragrant, pat on the back from the farmers market!

The next morning, I used some more of my farmers market ingredients for breakfast. I sliced up blue potatoes, diced the most tear-jerking onions ever and roasted those babies for an hour. Then I took my farm-fresh eggs, some more onions and peccorino cheese and made a kick-ass omelet that was so healthy a doctor would prescribe it. Everything was so fresh! I declared my lifetime membership in my local diner over.

I couldn't remember what I had been so afraid of. Loss of convenience? Greater expense? I didn't experience either of those. I realized what I was afraid of was leaving the comfort zone. But I had found something better. And tastier.

As I looked I my plate, I realized that I really did get my pot of gold...not one filled with coins but one filled with good health for me!

How Much Water Are You Wearing?

Water.

That's the topic of today's Blog Action Day -- an annual event in which bloggers from all over the world post about the same issue to raise awareness and trigger discussion about a topic that affects all of us.

Water is already one of my favorite topics.

So today I decided to wear 400 gallons of it.

How, exactly? A big bowl that fits over my head? A dress with special compartments filled with the clear stuff?

I don't have to get that complicated. I just have to throw on a plain, cotton t-shirt.

Yep...according to Treehugger, that's about how much water it takes to grow the cotton to make one cotton t-shirt: 400 gallons.

Hard to believe, right?

Between my husband and I, we have over 40 cotton t-shirts, which means we have used 16,000 gallons of water. Never mind drinking, brushing our teeth, flushing the toilet or cooking. This was just for souvenirs from old Dylan and Duran Duran concerts.

I freaked. This is me we're talking about. The one that yells at the people in the bathroom for running the water. The one that complains about guys hosing down sidewalks on a rainy day. And here I am with a chest of drawers that holds enough water to fill over 33 hot tubs! [Note: avg. hot tub holds 475 gallons]

And it's not just our clothing that's a problem.

According to the Blog Action Day website:

-38,000 children under the age of 5 die from unsafe drinking water all over the world.

-A lack of water contributes to poverty, with parents and children too ill or too busy collecting water to go to school and work.

-Nearly one billion people lack basic access to safe drinking water.

-Even though people in the US have access to clean water from their taps, they drink an average of 200 bottles of water per person each year. Over 17 million barrels of oil are needed to manufacture those water bottles, 86 percent of which will never be recycled.

We take water for granted. It's something that is always there for us and we use it as if it were an unlimited resource...but it's not.

So the next time I go to a concert and want to take home a Simon LeBon T-shirt, I'll think, do I also need to be taking home all that water? Instead, I'll save the $35 and invest it in more H2O-friendly fabrics like bamboo or hemp.

Water makes up 60% of our bodies. It doesn't need to make up that much of our wardrobe.

Join me in taking inventory of our closets and see whether you have a pond, a lake or an ocean.

Let's Be Fair

October is Fair Trade Month!

Fair trade? What on earth is fair trade? A Mickey Mantle card for a Sammy Sosa? A Sponge Bob Silly Bandz for a dolphin one?

Not quite.

Fair Trade makes sure that farmers work in the best, safest conditions, get the best price for their goods and encourages them to protect the environment.

From the Fair Trade USA website:

"Fair Trade Certification empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace.

Fair Trade is much more than a fair price! Fair Trade principles include:

Fair price: Democratically organized farmer groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farmer organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.

Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions, and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited.

Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.

Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues.

Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement trainings, and organic certification.

Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations."

You may have seen the label on coffee as that is one of the most popular items that is sold Fair Trade, but you'd be surprised how many products in your daily use you should consider buying Fair Trade: Fruits, vegetables, juices, chocolate, tea, nuts, spices, cotton, flowers and even soccer balls!

I've become much more conscious of Fair Trade products. It's better for the workers, better for the enviroment and better for us.

Let's be Fair!

Two Years & Gazpacho

John and I recently went to New Jersey to visit friends and found ourselves in Long Branch at the beach. I love going to the beach off season -- cool sea breezes with that amazing ocean air and not a lot of people around.

We walked the boardwalk with our friends and their baby. I told John if this community weren't a zillion miles away from NYC, I'd beg him to move there.

As we were walking, I spotted a green awning that served as the roof for... a farmers market. Hooray!

We made our way over. It was small, but full of brightly colored fruits and vegetables. Add in the smell of the earth from the veggies and the salt from the sea, I was in sheer heaven.

I wanted to buy everything, but what stood out were the most incredible heirloom tomatoes. Huge, crazy-shaped, edible objects that looked more like art than food.

John yelled out, "Gazpacho!"

"Yes!" I shouted back as everyone stared at me.

The first time I ever had gazpacho was at John's parents' house. His mom made this amazing cold soup concotion that had chunks of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, fresh from his brother's garden. It was almost like a salad.

I tried to make it once. Mine was turned out more like salsa. I watched John eat it.

"How do you like it?"

"It's good," he replied.

"Does it taste like your mom's?"

"Uh... It's different."

I learned early on never try to re-create a recipe that his mom makes perfectly...you won't win.

This year I had found another gazpacho recipe from Mariel Hemingway's cookbook. I'd wanted to try it but was afraid to. This was the perfect opportunity. If it turned out well, then I could claim it as my own. And with these gorgeous tomatoes, I knew this was going to be special.

I pulled out our reusable bag and carefully chose my favorite ones, trying not to go overboard since heirlooms are not only known for their big shapes but their big pricetags.

Heirlooms at the farmers market in our neighborhood are $9 a pound!

I asked the owner the price and braced myself for impact.

"$2 a pound."

Was this possible? Without asking again, John and I immediately began putting more in the bag.

We gathered a few more items like cucumbers and peppers. Cucumbers...three for $1! My itch for wanting to move there got stronger.

We got home and I carefully removed each tomato from the bag and began making the gazpacho.

I took the first tomato and make the cut. The colors inside were even more spectacular than the color outside! Yellow, orange, red!

I couldn't wait to try it. My concoction!

This recipe was chunkier than the last time, yet soupier than John's mother's. The coloring was different, too. Less red and more... brownish red. Or reddish brown. No...it didn't look gross!

Once again, I watched John taste it. My nerves were on edge. He swallowed the first spoonful and I looked for a wrinkled nose or slight smile.

Silence.

"Wow!"

Phew!

"You like it?"

"Oh my God! This is incredible!"

Hooray! Success!!

"It's completely different from my mom's."

Uh oh. Was that a bad thing?

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No. I love it!"

Then I tried it. I loved it too! This was definitely a keeper.

Local. Organic. Delicious. What could be better?

* * * * *

For two years I have been writing about my experiences in going green and it's been a lot like the gazpacho.

I've learned that you don't abandon an effort just because one recipe didn't work out or the ingredients didn't blend the way you thought they would. Greening your life -- like gazpacho -- can take some time to get just right. But even gazpacho that isn't quite there is still gazpacho.

Going green is not about perfection. It's about a willingness to try, to make mistakes, and to run the risk that someone might wrinkle their nose or laugh.

Even one small step can make a huge impact.

Thank you so much to all of you who have been with me from the beginning and those of who are just joining me on my journey.

To use one more gazpacho analogy, we're all in this bowl together.

Family Beach Clean-up

A couple of weeks ago, my sister, niece, nephew and I went to the Ron Jon resort in Cocoa Beach, Florida. It's a great place for families with a big pool, a lazy river and a water slide. But the best part is that it's a only a short distance to the beach.

On that Saturday morning, the kids and I set out to check out the waves and do a little seashell hunting.

We were quickly disappointed when we found very few seashells but plenty of trash.

Straws, bottle caps, plasic bags...all lined up neatly where the foamy water met the dry sand.
I pulled the kids aside and explained how dangerous all of this waste is to the sealife and how the fish can choke on the small pieces of plastic, often mistaking it for food.

Theresa, who is fourteen, had heard my lecture the last time she and I were on the beach a few weeks earlier. Once I started talking, she gave me the classic teenager eye roll and continued down the beach.

Robert, who at eight hasn't had time to hear all of my lectures, listened closely and began to help me pick up trash. Our blue sand pail filled up quickly.

"Is this bad ,Auntie?" he would ask as he held up an unidentifiable piece of plastic.

"Throw it in!"

When Robert found an unopened water bottle, he couldn't believe it.

"Why would someone do that?" he shouted.

I wished I had an answer. I could only hope it fell out of someone's bag and the person didn't notice. I hated to imagine that someone deliberately threw it there.

We walked farther down the beach, picking up trash and the occasional seashell, which was now even more of a treasure. We made a lot of headway and decided it was time to head back.

In the distance, we saw Theresa coming toward us with huge handfuls of seashells. When she got closer, we saw that she, too, was carrying trash.

I was touched that, beyond the eye roll, she had heard me.

And I was so incredibly proud of both of them!