Tree Theory Bags 'Harvested From the Urban Landscape' : Opening and on-sale this Friday!

This spankin' new company: Tree Theory Bags, addresses the topic of waste streams, reuse and revitalization of used materials with their new messenger bags and satchel designs.

They create their bags from materials 'harvested from the urban landscape': the tons of billboard vinyls lying in dumps and by ripping out old seat belts from the junkyard cars.


This product design concept is popping up more and more on the smaller production scale, and its so refreshing! Tree Theory Bags are made in Chicago, my backyard! Why rip those precious materials from Mama earth when there are plenty of usable materials lying all around us just waiting to be discovered. It ties right into the movement of only buying used items, but repurposed new items are ok in my book.

Revitalize! Reuse! Design! Their opening is this Friday too! Check it out!

Announcement! Crystal's going to grad school

So, beginning in August, I will be writing from Karlskrona Sweden, where I will be attending the Blekinge Institute of Technology.  Yay!  I'm joining their masters program for a really long title...'Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability'.  I should be learning buckets of stuff for exciting new posts.  

Ocean wind turbines: good, bad or both?

Imagine slender white windmills grazing the ocean's horizon.  They produce a steady flow of power to the land nearby letting you cook your dinner and wash your clothes with power generated by the wind.  It's not just a dream anymore, although it isn't quite a reality yet either; as these are more expensive than the turbines on land).  

While harnessing ocean's current and it's constant wind patterns may seem like a good answer to our energy dependency concerns, there are a few things we could think about (that I haven't really heard discussed yet, let me know if you have!)  Would these wind farms affect aquatic life?  They must stretch deep into the bowels of the ocean to anchor, perhaps disturbing the ecosystem.  What material would they be made of?  Would it leach into the water?  Some folks are concerned about 'views'  and that is a valid point too.  We already see so much of our land cluttered with buildings, sidewalks, infrastructure, do we want our oceans teeming with it too?

I'm not trying to knock wind turbines on the ocean, I think its actually a fantastic idea.  But I wonder ... if those who put in the first roads saw what our landscape is today, would they have done things differently?  

Its just as important to design for today as it is for tomorrow.

keeping clean

Along with Crystal I have been working to develop some household cleaning recipes that are non-toxic with a reasonable half-life. I've tried a variety of concoctions, most resulting in some form of sticky or sludgy product that doesn't really work out that well. Through all of this experimenting, I have come up with a system: I buy white vinegar and baking soda in bulk - The biggest packs they have at Costco, I keep a spray bottle of diluted vinegar on hand for surfaces, and I add baking soda whenever I need to scrub something off. These ingredients work fantastic on counters, stove tops, as a laundry boost, as a drain maintainer, as a pest deterrant, and then some.

Unfortunately, sometimes all of my scrubing and experimenting go nowhere, and I'm still not satisfied with the cleanliness of my tub, or my clothes. If I feel like I have to have something from the store I go here:
www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/formpartc.htm

happy cleaning!
Gisele

Craigslist, what a sharing world

My friend Linsey directed me to one of the nicest craigslist ads.  This ad is an endearing example of how we thoughtfully make the world better: less stank in your fridge after vacation and healthy food in anothers tummy.  This particularly looks like a sweet arse veggie soup finished off by a grilled pineapple dessert.  Yum!

local food: in illinois legislation!

Did you know that Agriculture is Illinois' largest industry but 95% of that is exported? Now a days it seems everyone is sucking in that deep expansive breath and focusing a little more on what's under our noses. The Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force is promoting legislature that will help keep 20% of the Illinois' food consumption LOCAL! With the local food network well underway on niche buyers, this will expand the focus on prisons, universities, and mental health centers.
This is going to help Illinois farmers have more diverse thus sustainable farms, reduce oil used for transportation and encourage awareness of what local foods are!

Revitalized Objects

I am in love with slash jealous of Sarah Cihat's work. So beautiful! Its all found ceramics from resale shops/thrift stores, and she gives them a new identity through glazing techniques.

This brings me to discuss: I don't get the 'Going green! Getting rid of everything!' ad's on Craigslist. I totally support if you need a new table, buying a new bamboo table (rapidly renewable material) and I also support buying something that totally exists and updating it (a la Sarah's rehabbed plates). But come on, getting rid of everything to buy all new 'stuff' is a point missed.

Let me digress, I found these on craigslist, so these people aren't landfilling their old things by any means. I simply think this shows how the 'green movement' is being marketed in such a way that reduces this movement to consumerism and a way to sell us more schtuff, and more labels to sort through: low fat/ organic/ green.

Where we choose or choose to not put our cash is one of the most impactful votes we can give, daily. I totally appreciate Sarah's work and the new value she has given to old things!

What's your footprint?

So, I know you see these things all the time, but it's always good to get a little reminder. Here's a really fun carbon footprint calculator from earthday.org:

http://http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.html

I used all the advanced options and, even though I think I'm doing a really great job, I'm consuming 3.5 planets. Although, they don't give you extra brownie points for composting, rainwater harvesting, or having your own garden.

Green How-to

This is a really great website with every kind of project imaginable. You kind find every kind of green home project imaginable - and those you never even considered.

I really love this modular water jug shelving. (Not that I recommend buying all that plastic for water.)



Happy browsing!

www.instructables.com

Better shower curtains

Dilemna:  My shower curtain liner needs to be replaced, but I'm so tired of buying new vinyl liners.  I have tried washing the liner but it still has little spots  and its now ripped. Plus, these vinyl liners, however monetarily inexpensive they seem at the time, we do end up paying for them in the long run.  And not just by buying many throughout our lifetime, but paying for the time it takes them to decompose in the landfill...and since they are typically PVC, well, they don't really decompose, at least not in our lifetime.

Solution:  a hemp shower curtain

These don't even need a liner!  From what I have read (I am saving up to buy one now) they will get wet like any fabric but Hemp is naturally antimicrobial, durable and machine washable.  It also is PVC and VOC free (vinyl liners off gas so much!  Not good for you, and the manufacturing process is not good for the ozone.)  

When you are in the market for replacing your vinyl liner, think hemp!

There are many products out there...try to get something organic and made in the USA.

 

Sustainable Chocolate

Chocolate makes you feel good, yes?

The chocolate industry's back of house operation may not make you feel so cozy. Chocolate, like coffee, is grown in more exotic climates. With population, thus demand (of everything) constantly increasing, so does the amount of space it takes to grow things and effort it takes to produce them.

Growing cocoa, if done irresponsibly, can encourage rainforest deforestation, child labor, unfair wages, and heavy use of pesticides. This is a sad that chocolate can't help go away!

We can help choose better chocolate practices by choosing organic and fairtrade chocolate. So look for these symbols:

USDA Organic: help ensure your cocoa isn't grown with herbicides, pesticides, and other nasty things that can pollute water ways, the air and your body. It promotes more sustainable farming practices.

Fair Trade Certified: Ensures that fair labor practices are used, and that the farmer gets compensated an honest and livable wage. Also supports good labor practices (no child labor)

The Rainforest Alliance: helps promote saving the rainforest, and not cutting it down irresponsibly to grow crops. Its very hard to get what we cut down back!

These organizations can't change things on their own though! It will take consumer awareness to ensure that these organizations are making the difference. They have helped us with the first step, which is identifying good practices! Now we have to take their cue, and support these practices. Consumers unite! YOUR DOLLAR CAN EQUAL THE DIFFERENCE!

Lets turn on Disposable Culture

We are a disposable culture. Can you find room to disagree?

While it can be a pain to bring with you everything you might need in one day, its our responsibility to at least try to be aware of the things we are throwing away, that really we don't need to be using or tossing in the first place.

Eating out is a large instigator of this culture: aluminum foil, plastic/styrofoam containers, wax paper, plastic sporks, paper/plastic bags all for one meal? Well, lets turn our daily coffee and lunch into a saving grace.

Things like To-Go Ware can make this choice easier; as this cute as a button flatware set, simply rolls right up and slips into your bag. The cutlery is made from bamboo, and the pocket is made from post consumer recycled plastic bags. This company has other things to reduce the impact of our to-go culture as well, like stainless steel containers and cotton carriers.

What else can we do to be plastic free? I had a list of my own, but I found another blogger who agrees.

Remember, reducing our impact on the earth can certainly be a feat. If you take little steps every so often, you can begin changing our collective not-so-awesome way of doing things and make it a better place. Drop by bit, everyone, drop by bit.

Mini Greywater

I ran across these kits the other day when I got distracted in my job hunting.



You can attach them to your existing plumbing and divert the water to flush your toilet. The great thing about these is that they are so simple. You don't have to go through some massive ordeal to reconfigure your plumbing - it just installs in your bathroom.

The downside - these kits run over $400, and the estimated savings is only about $25 annually. The other potentially fatal flaw; they're hideous. I don't know how many people will install them under their Kohler pedestal sink. Maybe in an enclosed vanity . . .

check it out here:www.watersavertech.com

Tata Nano, the $2500 micromobile

Its teeny, its cheap, it gets 50mpg, its $2500, its the Tata Nano.

Yes, it still takes fossil fuels to make this baby go. But for everyone buying gas guzzling, fume emitting cars, this is a great option...Right now its only available in India, so stay tuned.

Its small scale relates to our massive auto population, bigger is bye bye and smaller gives the roadways a chance to breath and for the auto scape to not be (so) imposing (if that is possible). So for anyone that is going to buy a cheap beater that won't get good mileage and will off gas a ton, this is your option!

Its just what the doctor ordered in the name of personal transportation.

Sidenote: I am also seeing an emergence of 100% electric cars (think Tesla). Even though this is a fossil fuel source too, you can purchase alternative energy to charge your vehicle. This is the way I hope to go in the future, if I ever buy a car. As a whole, we need to keep telling the government we want more alternative energy sources, like wind power, for our homes.

But lets not forget about the beautiful bicycle and public transportation. They should be our first go-to modes of transportation. The more we support them, the more their networks will grow and the easier they will be to use for everyone.

Resolutions

This year I sat and pondered a whole list of things that I wanted to change about my life and improve. The list turned into a long, meandering one that ranged from petty hopes like “improve my body shape” and “make more money” to more altruistic things like “save the planet” and “achieve world peace”. Of course there is no one, best, course of action. So, I took a look at it big picture and came up with this one: Live Moderately.

Simple, right? At least it seems so on the surface. But applying this concept, across the board, to my life, and the attitudes of this country as a whole, we could begin a wave of change. Think about it. Here’s the first citation for moderate at m-w.com:

1 a: avoiding extremes of behavior or expression: observing reasonable limits b: calm , temperate

So, think, what would happen if, as a culture, we all started behaving moderately? What if we were moderate spenders? Moderate drivers? Moderate meat eaters? Where would we be if everyone drove the most fuel efficient vehicle possible, only spent the money they earned, and only ate beef once a week?

I’m going to try it. Our house is increasing the number of vegetarian meals on the menu, eliminating expenses on electronic entertainment and sticking to our one-teeny-car that doesn’t hold the car seat and a passenger at the same time (this doesn’t sound like much of a feat when you live in Chicago, but in the California Exurbs it’s near impossible). We will also work on the little things like; checking out books from the library instead of buying disposable paperbacks, not picking up printed literature that we will just dispose of later, checking the thrift store first when we’re looking for clothes, and shopping on Craigslist instead of at IKEA.

How about you?

Plastics: Micro scrubbing beads

I love to exfoliate like the next lady...but do you know that many exfoliating face washes have little plastic beads that you are rubbing all over your face and then pouring straight down the drain and into the water way? Oh yes, its true. And more often than not they don't get filtered out of the water system because they are so small, and they go right into the ocean fills as described into the post below.

So one small thing we can do is not to buy these products, and instead buy products with natural exfoliants.

Its ashame that consumers even have to watch out for this...these companies should not even be allowed to sell plastic beads that are meant to go straight down the drain. They know they don't decompose, they know that wildlife are feeding on them, which means we are feeding on them too. In the closed loop world we live in, they are basically permitted to contaminate us in a law abiding way. Oy times a million.

Plastics: the never ending story

Kind of disturbing? There are so many petroleum based products in our lives: most of them in the form of plastics: and many we don't even know or think about! So how can we take care of the massive amount of throw away products that consume our lives, the land fills and the ocean fills if we really aren't aware of how much they define the way we live?

Many of these plastics end up in ocean fills, which are humongous tide pools of current that draw in so much trash that there is a huge floating piles of it thousands of miles wide. The most well known is The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I read about this in The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman. In one terrifying chapter Alan describes that the plastic problem will not solve itself, as they have only been around 50 years or so, will most likely take thousands of years to disintegrate (into what we do not know), and knowing their outcomes is impossible because they will far out last us.

Saran wrap, laundry detergent, grocery bags, chip bags, shampoo bottles, food containers, packaging material, trash bins, cd and dvd cases, records, toothbrushes, micro scrubbing beads in your face wash, toys, pens, cups, bowls, furniture, building parts. so. many. things.

So what to do? It can be kind of overwhelming trying to figure out how to live symbiotically with the earth, when our society is set up on the basis of a disposable culture. My advice is to take care of one thing at a time. First, I did away with plastic grocery bags by getting the Baggu.

Next Step: plastic bags at the grocery store that you put produce in. You can try something like this, or I am sure you can find your own bags at home! Most of the time, I don't even use any bag when getting produce. Sometimes the checkout clerk won't so happy, but do you really need the bag?

What do you do to reduce the plastic in your life?