Steve Jobs, Thank you for a Green Apple

Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple have been striving since the beginning to produce an ecologically sound computer.  And they improve on the technology every year.  Much of the new MacBooks are recyclable!

Did you know that over 303.9 MILLION environmentally toxic techno babble units were dumped overseas in 2007 alone?

 Get this, Apple will recycle your old computer or mobile phone-- Locally! and give you a rebate for a new computer or a 10% discount on an I-pod. 

Make sure the recycler you choose is certified that they DON'T ship waste!! 

Visit e-Stewards to find a e-recycler near you!

 

Now for the statistics:  (U.S.A. 2007 statistics)

• 20.6 MILLION televisions
• 57.3 MILLION computers, printers, mice, keyboards, printers, fax machines etc etc.
• 126 MILLION cellphones

For complete details visit Electronics Takeback Coalition

The U.S. is not alone according to the Science Daily, China trashed 500,000 TONS of refrigerators 1.3 MILLION TONS of TVs, 300 TONS of personal computers in 2010.....and they have just begun to enter the digital age.  Can you imagine the impact in a few years?  

Think! Before you Throw! 

America Recycles Day! November 15, 2011

Yes! We have an Environmental Holiday IN the FALL!
It isn't all about Earth Day! It is about EVERY DAY!

Join a recycling event near you! Visit the America Recycles Day! and the  Earth911 !  websites to find out where you can go to recycle your waste!   Plug in your zip code and find the recycling center closest to your home or workplace.

Reduce-Repair-Reuse-Recycle
And don't forget these important cycles:

Pre-cycling--Buy no more than you need!

Free-cycling: Give away items instead of throwing them away. Post them on www.craigslist.com or www.freecycle.com !

Up-cycling: Make cool stuff out of materials you have. Prior to recycling them.  Like homes out of plastic bottles and tires!  FOR REAL!

Front Yard Vegetable Garden Illegal in Oak Park, Michigan?

Oak Park Michigan officials really need to take a look at Vegetable Gardening For Dummies and GET A CLUE about the importance of home vegetable gardens!  Officials have said that a nicely constructed raised bed in the front yard is not for 'vegetables' but  for "suitable plants" but does not list the exact plants you are supposed to grow. 
With the dangerous chemicals leaching into our food, the great recession we are in,  the lack of low-cost organic produce, and the fact that most kids don't understand where our food comes from.....I am worried that our 'leaders' just don't 'get it.'  Sign a petition CLICK HERE to tell the folks running Oak Park that they should actually be fining and jailing the people who vandalize property not those who grow food!

Oak Park isn't the only city that has had an issue with gardens.  Even in the environmentally rich city of Seattle, gardening anything other than a well manicured lawn in the public green space between the road and the sidewalk was illegal until last year when Seattle declared 2010 the year of Urban Farming and allowed land owners to garden the green space with vegetable patches.

We need to be able to grow our own food.  We need to be able to create gardens. We've cemented over too much of this Earth. 

WE NEED GARDENS EVERYWHERE!

FREE Fertilizer for your Garden!

You can create fertilizer out of materials that are in your trash!  REALLY!  Believe it or not gardeners have been spending thousands of dollars on nitrogen and calcium enrichment fertilizers while at the same time throwing out after their morning meal thousands of dollars of perfectly great sources of nitrogen and calcium !!

Ok.  So I have a apartment garden and it is constructed on cement out of reclaimed wood and potting soil.  How do I keep my soil healthy if it isn't actually "real" soil? 


 I add what other folks would consider breakfast, still others may consider 'trash,' or here in the Seattle what many consider something that goes in the yard waste container.  . . . Coffee & Eggs!


Coffee Grounds
Get this!  Used coffee grounds (minus the filter) are great as mulch on the garden AND it deters slugs!  It adds nitrogen to the soil and can either be added to compost, dug into the soil, or placed on top directly.  Vegetables and other plants that grow fast love this nitrogen-rich amendment!  check out this great article by the Seattle Pi on the benefits of using coffee grounds in the garden: Give Your Garden a Jolt. . .   I suggest getting organic coffee!  Chemicals used on non-organic food sources leech there way not only into your body but into the dirt!

Egg Shells
Clean, crushed eggs shells make the perfect amendment to soil that is lacking in calcium.  Tomatoes LOVE calcium.  See my previous post "Huevos! How to get More Out of your Breakfast!   for more details.  I use organic, free-range  egg shells only!  If you haven't tried organic, they are worth the extra cost!  The egg shells are thick and rich with calcium!

Here is to gardens everywhere!

Green Eco Wedding --Part 1-- The Ring

So, you want to ask that special somone to spend the rest of their life with you.  That is great!  Now to find the perfect ring!  Gold, platinum, silver, and  gemstones are all mined extensively and mining causes untold problems with the earth's environment. 

I would like to suggest going heirloom or consignment for your engagement rings.  Do you have a diamond in a different setting--ring, broach, or necklace?  Would a member of the family have a piece of jewelry for this most special of occasions?  These can be re-made to fit your loved ones style! Do some research in your area.  Ask your favorite local jeweler if they can refer you to a metalsmith artist who can melt down your jewelry and resculpt into a one of a kind piece that he/she is sure to enjoy. 

Great deals are to be had on Ebay and local jewerly consignment stores. 

Remember that items that last and things that can be re-used, generation after generation, represent a long and fruitful life!  Go Green for your wedding!

Update: Apartments about to go SOLAR/WIND?

I live in an apartment and I want to live "off-the-grid" while still living in the city.  How do I do that?
Well one enterprising designer Greenerator  has created a 'clip-on the balconey' solar/wind collector. 

Check out these great sites for more awesome ideas:

Claritan Power ---Looks like the idea is getting out there.  This company is creating a device we can use to create our own power and feed it into the grid.  Basically we would be turning the electricity dial backwards.  Do that often enough and you could make money on your sun/wind power!

Here are a few more sites:
Plug n Play-- this is a plug-in solar power inverter created by SWEA Solar & Wind.  Unfortunately as of today it appears to be out of stock.  I'll be watching this company!

Vibrant Solar -- (Denver, CO) and their sister company Helios Solar LLC (Canada) --are working on producing what they call a "Sun Cube." Check out the article in the Denver Post.

Or you could follow these instructions from Solar in a Box--A guy by the name of Josh is looking to share his information with everyone so that we can all make a difference.  ROCK ON!

Cities with URBAN FARMS!

Bringing back the ol' days.  YES we are bringing back agriculture.  Right into the middle of the city!  I couldn't find a website that listed all of the urban farms in the metropolisis of the USA so I started my own list!  If you have farms you would like to add please comment!  I'll add them in!  Please note these are a little different than community gardens.......urban farms are living, viable, sometimes profit, mostly not-for-profit businesses.  Some of them are located in lower income areas and provide training, education, and employment (not to mention fresh, organic produce!).

Here is a list of urban farms that I could find so far: 

 

Centralized websites on urban farming in general:

Urban Farming.Org --watch a video-- Gardening with Ellen! 

wiki's info on urban agriculture

Northwest --Washington/Oregon

Seattle

Amaranth Urban Farm --Right in the center of Seattle:

Seattle Urban Farm company

Portland

Zenger Farm

Northeast

Boston, MA
Revision Urban Farm

New York City
City Farmer News:  Let's put a farm in New York City!  Hell Yeah!

Washington, DC
Urban Agriculture list from the Department of Agriculture
Common Good City Farm  

The West

Denver
Denver's got an urban farm!
The Urban Farm at Stapleton  

The Southwest Desert has urban farms?  Yes indeed! 

Arizona/New Mexico
Phoenix, Arizona! 

Albuquerque, New Mexio
Rio Grande Farm


Midwest

GO DETROIT!  Detroit has several urban farms popping up all over the place:
Urban Farm online
Hantz Farms Detroit
Earthworks Urban Farm

Gotta love Chicago:
Growing Power -Chicago
City Farm

St. Louis, MO
New Roots Urban Farm

The South 
Texas
Urban Farms Thrive among  the manisions in Texas

Houston
The Last Organic Outpost  

Miami
Earth n Us Urban Farm

Atlanta
Metro Urban Farm  

How to save green by going green

I found this great booklet "Good Stuff" which discusses how to do what you do in life in a "green" way. Check it out! We can do simple things that will save the planet and help us save money!

Or check out the following website:

The Green Guide -By National Geographic

Check out some books on the subject from your local library:




photo found at Phoenix City Living Blog