Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A Winter Day at the Zoo

OK, the holidays are over, the relatives have returned home, but the kids are still out of school. What to do when everyone is climbing the walls - how about a trip to the zoo?



My boys and I went to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle yesterday and had a great time seeing all the animals. We went in search of red pandas, armadillos, snakes, and penguins. Along the way, we also enjoyed the porcupines, flamingos, elephants, night monkeys, and the fat-tailed gecko that we got to touch! The best part is that the zoos are relatively empty this time of year so you get a front-row view of all the animals.



We learned a few interesting facts too... Fat-tailed geckos (who looked two-headed to us since their tail looks a lot like their head) can drop their tails if they are under attack and the tail will grow back. Flamingos sleep on one leg to keep the other one warm (I thought they were just showing off their amazing balance on those teeny, tiny legs). We also learned there is only one armadillo that can roll completely into a ball to defend itself. That just so happened to be the Three-Banded Armadillo that we were looking for in the Night Exhibit, but we're fairly certain that tan-colored ball on the ground was him.



Our zoo is open 364 days a year - and I would imagine most others are as well since the animals and their keepers are always there so don't miss out on a chance to miss the crowds and get up close with the animals and their keepers.

Billions and Billions...

I remember as a child watching Carl Sagan on PBS as he talked about "billions and billions" of stars or miles or whatever the topic was for that show. Those big numbers were hard to grasp as a child - and even still as an adult today.

So much of what we hear about the Earth these days is in statistics - how many tons our carbon footprint is, how many plastic bags we consume in a year, how many acres of forest are lost every day... It's hard to truly understand the magnitude of it all, regardless of whether the numbers are in the thousands, millions, or billions.
A recent visit to the Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers exhibit at The Pacific Science Center in Seattle offered an amazing visual representation of all those numbers. Chris Jordan is a photographer from Seattle who depicts the vastness of our consumerism in striking images. When we walked into the exhibit, we encountered what initially looked like one of Georges Seurat's famous paintings with his signature pointillism technique. Upon closer examination, we realized it was actually a compilation of miniature pictures of 106,000 aluminum cans - equivalent to the number we use in the US every 30 minutes. The exhibit poster shows the picture below, but you need to see it in person to really grasp the magnitude.
The art of the photography really gets you to take a second look because most of the pictures look very different from afar and up close. What appears to be a beautiful image of Denali, the highest mountain in North America, morphs into 24,000 logos of the Denali SUV that were sold during a six month period.
Other interesting things represented in the photographs:
* The 426,000 cellphones we discard each day.
* The 2 million plastic beverage bottles we use every 5 minutes
* The 1.14 million brown paper supermarket bags used every hour (this was 2007, hopefully this number is going down)
* The one million plastic cups we use every six hours on flights
* The 380,000 kilowatt hours of electricity we waste every minute through inefficient energy use
The exhibit will be at The Pacific Science Center until January 3rd, 2010 and it's just upstairs from the Cartoon Network Animation exhibit, which was another big draw for my kids. The show is also currently in Boston and will travel to Haverford, PA; Austin, TX; Santa Cruz, CA; Charleston, SC; Eugene, OR; and Bellingham, WA in 2010-11.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Recycled Trees, Lights, and Packaging

The holidays tend to be a time of excess. In case you suffered some of that in your own household, here are some ideas for recycling your way out of the mess!

What to do I do with...

The tree? If you had a real tree, remember that it is biodegradable and can easily be recycled back into the Earth. In my neighborhood, the Boy Scouts come around every year and for a nominal donation will recycle it. If you're not so lucky, you can either put chop it up for your own yard waste or look for a drop off location at Earth911.

Broken or old lights? Rather than storing away the lights that no longer work for another year, you can drop them off at participating Ace Hardware stores. They were originally offering 15% coupons for the new energy-efficient LED lights, but those are actually marked down 65% now, so you can even get a bargain on next year's lights.

All that packaging? It is a few days past Christmas, so hopefully those messes are already cleaned up, but just in case here are a few thoughts. Save the boxes and bows for reuse next year. I just stack the nice gift boxes inside each other and then toss them down in the crawlspace for next year. Remember that in most cases, those horrendous plastic clamshells that encase many children's toys cannot be recycled. Unfortunately, those must be tossed. Did you get any styrofoam peanuts in packages that arrived by mail. Most packaging stores will gladly accept those for their own reuse.

Holiday cards? Recycling is an option for the cards that don't have foil or glitter, but another possibility is to reuse them for next year's gift tags. You can have your children cut out the designs and then pack them away with the decorations until next year. If your kids really like cutting out the penguins, snowflakes, and Santas, they may even turn it into a craft project to keep them busy while they're out of school this week. Ask them to create a winter scene from all the cutouts or have them make up a story to go with it.

What about you? What sort of excess is your home suffering from after the holidays? Feel free to post your own tips in the Comments.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Dark Days Challenge Week Five

Meat and potatoes... That's what the local meal was all about this week. My husband picked up some beefalo at the store and that was the inspiration for the meal. Local eating can be adventurous, but sometimes you just want the basics.

Of course, the first question my children asked was, what is it? Beefalo is a combination between bison (also commonly known as buffalo) and cattle. According to our source (Beefalo Meats in Ellensburg, WA), beefalo has up to 6 times less cholesterol, half the calories, and four times less fat. All I know is that it was gobbled up in moments by my children who loved the flavor!

The beefalo was grilled on the barbecue and we had potatoes (Oregon) and veggies to go with it. I had some kale and cabbage in the fridge, so I did a quick Internet search and found something to accommodate my ingredients. I have never cooked with kale before and my husband refers to it as the vegetable that decorates most salad bars, so I needed a little help. I ended up with a Kale-Cabbage Saute recipe adapted from Cooking Light. The beefalo, potatoes, and vegetables were all local. The spices and oils were not. Most importantly, both kids tried a little kale and cabbage - not their favorite vegetables, but at least they tasted them!
Kale-Cabbage Saute
Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
5 cups chopped kale
2 cups presliced green cabbage
2 tablespoons water

Preparation: Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds; cook 1 minute. Add ginger; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in jalapeño and the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until kale is tender; stir occasionally.


Thursday, December 17, 2009

Earth-Friendly Wrappings

Today is the 7th day of Hannukah and Christmas is 7 days away, so if you have children, there's a good chance you are wrapping presents right about now. I'm trying to get mine wrapped and under the tree before the kids are out of school for 2 weeks! Here are my Good/Better/Best ideas for Earth-friendly gift wrap. Feel free to share your own ideas in the Comments below - anonymous comments are always welcome too if you don't have an account to log in.


Good: Buy wrapping paper with a high recycled paper content. I confess I succumbed to the Innisbrook gift wrap drive from my children's school so I do have a stash of brightly colored paper. It isn't perfect, but the paper is recycled and they have improved their dying process by moving to 100% water-based dyes and recycling the leftovers.
Better: Use butcher block paper and tie it with string or yarn. The plain paper is cheap, dye-free and your kids can decorate it. A friend mentioned that she always uses raffia for ribbon, which I assumed was really green since it is a natural product. It is sustainable, but, if you use raffia, you may also want to check where it comes from. My quick Internet search showed that raffia comes from palm trees in Madasgcar (which seems a little far to source ribbon), but I'm sure there are other more local sources as well.


Best: Reuse!
* Find a new use for those countless kid drawings you have! (Note: you may need to ask your children for their approval on this so you don't induce tears when you reuse that special world map drawing they did in preschool). The polka dotted package below comes from an old art project and is tied with colorful telephone wire which we picked up long ago on a trip to Creation Station.
* Wrap the gift in another usable item - a cloth dishtowel, keepsake box, reusable grocery bag, cotton napkin, or silk scarf. Make the wrapping part of the gift itself.
* Reuse part of the newspaper, magazines, or catalogs. Be creative in which section you pick - Sports, Comics, ...

Don't forget to get the kids in on the action. Ask for their creative ideas for boxes, wrapping, or adornment (pinecones, acorns, etc.) and you may be amazed at what they come up with.

When the unwrapping part comes along, see if there is anything you can salvage for the next holiday. The gift bags are my favorite because they still look good when you reuse them and can be stored flat.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Dark Days Challenge Week Four

Now that I'm into week four of this eating local Dark Days Challenge, I'm finally taking some steps to having more local food on hand. If I'm going to cook one local meal a week in an effort to shorten the distance my food travels before it gets to my plate, I definitely need more advance preparation. For starters, I received my first delivery from a Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) local farm. On the recommendation of a friend, I chose Klesick Family Farms in Stanwood, WA. If you're interested in finding a local farmer near you, check out Local Harvest.

I purchased the all-Northwest box of food and received tuna, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, Pink Lady Apples, Concorde Pears - and a jar of enchilada sauce as a gift for my first order. The potatoes and leeks made it into a soup for my weekly meal (see below).

My next step was to spend a leisurely amount of time (i.e. no children with me!) at my local co-op browsing the aisles and seeing exactly what they have and where all the food comes from. I ended up with local chicken stock (which is good if you're not one of those cooks that has a lot on hand!), vegetable stock, tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, butter, and cream. I also scored a jar of miso that wasn't local, but does meet my kids' recent request for homemade miso soup.

For my meal this week, I actually borrowed a Potato Leek soup recipe from a fellow Dark Days participant who blogs at Married...with Dinner. Thanks for the recipe! It came out well and was perfect for a cold winter day. I'm happy to report that the soup elicited a "That's pretty good," from my 9-year old. My 7-year old is still a harder sell on new foods, but he was okay with it dipped in bread. Baby steps... The best part about it was that my husband played sous-chef and cut up all the vegetables for me. He still can't figure out how his wife ended up in a challenge that involves cooking!

Potato-Leek Soup - adapted from Emeril Lagasse
1 pound leeks
2 bay leaves
20 black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 T butter
2 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken stock
1 pound starchy potatoes, peeled and diced
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup cream
2 T finely minced green garlic, chives, or tender leek greens

Tie together bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme into a cheesecloth bundle or infusing ball. Cut the white part of the leeks lengthwise and rinse well under cold water. Slice crosswise and set aside. Discard the greens, or save for making stock.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat; when melted, add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is soft and has rendered most of its fat; do not brown. Add the chopped leeks and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add bouquet garni, chicken stock, potatoes, salt, and white pepper, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart.

Remove the bouquet garni and puree the soup with an immersion blender (or in batches — carefully — in a standard blender; then return to pan). Stir in the cream and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately, with minced chives or green garlic sprinkled over each bowl.

All was local, except for the bacon and a few of the spices. The potatoes and leeks came from Klesick Family Farms. The chicken stock was from Pacific Natural Foods. The butter and cream came from Organic Valley.

Friday, December 11, 2009

The 4th Grade Perspective

I recently had a chance to talk to my son's 4th grade class about global warming. What a great experience! My basic talk centered on separating what we know from what we're trying to understand. I explained that global warming is real - regardless of your beliefs on the causes, 5 of the warmest years on record have occurred in the past decade. I also shared that the Earth can warm for a variety of reasons - volcano eruptions, changes in the sun, and increases in greenhouse gases.

Talking about greenhouse gases showed just how complicated it gets, though. "Are greenhouse gases bad?" I asked. "Yes, no, maybe," were their responses. True enough. I explained that these gases (everything from CO2 to methane to water vapor) are what allow Earth to soak up the warmth of the sun as it has for millions of years. Have we put the delicate system out of balance lately with all our production of these gases? Probably.

"Who is the country that produces the most CO2 each year?" I asked. "Canada? Russia?" Partly right, but we're right there too. Whether we're looking at total emissions or per capita emissions, the US is one of the top 3 producers. For total emissions it's China, US, Russia. For per capita emissions, we share that distinction with Australia and Canada.

"Should we limit our production of greenhouse gases?" I asked. "Yes! Definitely!" Ahh... the enthusiasm of children!

"Are you willing to live in smaller houses? walk to school? take less airplane rides?" I asked. "No! Never!" Ahhh.... the spoiled Americans that we are. We want everything to be better, but we also like everything just the way it is.

Of course, there aren't any immediate answers, but I'm excited that today's kids are at least studying these issues. After all, they are the leaders, consumers, and scientists of tomorrow.

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Whole Truth

Today is the first day of the 2 week climate summit in Copenhagen. I have hesitated to blog about it because lately it seems more politically charged than scientifically motivated. First, there was the debate about which sessions President Obama would attend (on his way to Oslo to accept his Nobel Peace Prize - another politically charged discussion), then there was the debacle of the leaked emails from the British scientists. In case you haven't heard, the emails refer to things such as "tricks" in how the data is presented. All in all, it did not show the scientists in the best light.

The summit has only just begun, but here is the one thing I think we have already learned: we need the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on this issue. Climate change science is muddy right now because we're trying to spot present-day trends that are best viewed from a distance (meaning hundreds, thousands, and millions of years from now).

Research studies don't always come out the way you expect. I learned this on a simple level when I was teaching Junior Achievement to a group of 2nd graders last month. We did an exercise that was supposed to show why assembly line production is much faster than individual unit production. Great concept, except it didn't work out that way. That's okay - I didn't fudge the data, I just used it as a chance to teach the importance of communication and how that may have impacted the results of our exercise. The research on climate change isn't going to be perfect and likely won't all point to the same answer - and that's okay. It's all part of the bigger picture we need to understand what's going on.

Just as we need to teach our kids the value of honesty, we also need to expect it in our leaders, scientists, journalists - everyone. Let's not lose sight of the issue just because we want to be right. Do I believe in climate change? Yes, I do, but I also know there is a lot we still don't know. Did I change my opinion after hearing about the email scandal? No, the fact that some people want to bend the data to make their case more compelling is disturbing, but it doesn't change the science behind it.

And, what do I say to those who don't think there is any scientific proof to back up climate change? To them, I say, let's look at this from a common sense perspective. Does it seem like a good idea to be releasing all these gases and chemicals into the air? Even if we don't know the cause, do you think we should be worried about the icebergs melting? From a common sense perspective, I would say we should be worried and be doing our very best to get the best scientific answers we possibly can - regardless of whether that science proves or disproves current theories.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Dark Days Challenge Week 3

Ok, it's Sunday evening and I haven't made my local meal this week (the deadline for getting included in the weekly blog about the Dark Days Challenge is Sunday so this is a problem). I've learned that most of the participants in the challenge are waaaaaay more versed in the locavore world than I am. This week's email dialog has been full of debates on canning, freezing herbs, and finding local grains - all topics I know nothing about.

Ah well, I do have local cabbage in the fridge and would love a nice salad, so here goes. This recipe is adapted from the Firecracker Slaw recipe from The Fast Track One-Day Detox by Ann Louise Gittleman. It's not something I do regularly, but I did try the detox a few years ago and it introduced me to a lot of organic veggies I'd never thought of eating - daikon radish, dandelion greens and raised some interesting questions about what happens to our bodies when we fill them with chemicals.

Firecracker Slaw
1/2 small green cabbage
1/2 small purple cabbage
1 c. mixed peppers (red, green, yellow, orange)
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 tsp. flaxseed oil
Cayenne Pepper - season to taste

The cabbage was fresh and local; the peppers were frozen and leftover from the summer farmer's market. I usually use them for cooking, but was unsure how they would hold up in a salad once they were defrosted. It turns out they work just fine and even maintain a little crunch. The oil, vinegar, and cayenne were my non-local ingredients. I'm sure I could find apple cider vinegar since I live in the land of apples, so I'll have to think about that for the future.
Now, if only I could convince my kids to eat cabbage!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Getting it Right the First Time

Last week, a nice young man rang our doorbell and asked if we would like a free window inspection the next day. While I haven't been thinking about replacing my windows, I was intrigued when he said they would measure the efficiency of my current windows so I signed up.

Glass WindowsImage by Vardhana via Flickr



I wouldn't recommend the experience unless you're truly in the market (sort of reminded me of used car shopping), but I did learn some interesting things:

* 70% of the heat loss in your home is through the windows.
* Double pane windows do virtually nothing to keep the heat inside in the winter or outside in the summer.
* The important thing is what is in between the panes - krypton, in this case. Wow - I thought that was just for Superman.
* The test to "measure the efficiency" of my current windows involved shining a light bulb outside my sliding glass door and feeling the heat through the other side. Hmmm... I probably could have managed that on my own.
* And, finally... replacing windows is incredibly expensive.

When we finally got to the part about how it would cost nearly $50k to replace all the windows in my house, I was left wondering, why is it that we don't build things right the first time around? While they guaranteed I would save 40% in energy costs instantly if I replace all my windows, it would take a lifetime to earn back that huge replacement cost. No, I did not sign on the dotted line.

If we have the knowledge to build more energy-efficient homes, why don't we? I know there are exceptions to this rule, but the norm still seems to be to use the cheapest parts. Is it simply because we, as consumers, always want the lowest price?