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The Daily Green’s Stingy Dad Guide to Father's Day- Nice.

2008-05-30T23:43:18Z

This morning, as I was compiling a daily report of NRDC’s media hits, I came across the aforementioned feature on The Daily Green. I smiled. I laughed. I thought of my father. The piece entitled: “The Stingy Dad Guide to Father’s Day; Dad Was Right (and Green) When He Told You To…” contains numerous Father’s Day gift tips that far surpass what I had come up with so far (.. ahem… nothing…) and runs the gamut from well-justified-gifts-of-nothing, to beer, car tune ups, and other things dads like.

The article begins:

Remember all those little nuggets of wisdom Dad doled out over the years? ("Turn off the lights!" "Stop driving like a maniac!" "Go outside and play!" etc., etc., etc.)

Ah, the advice you hated to hear... Have you noticed that these are the same sage tips recommended by the architects of the new green movement? Gasoline at $4 a gallon and a world turned upside down by global warming have made Dad's attention to every watt of energy seem smart, even (gasp!) trendy.
Impress Dad this year by saving all that energy you might otherwise spend driving to the mall. Dads are notoriously hard to shop for, and notoriously stingy. This Father's Day, celebrate Dad's wisdom by recognizing just how green he really is (even if he doesn't know it).
So skip the gift and tell Dad he was right. Tell him he's always been right. Tell him he keeps getting more right all the time. (Just do it. Father's Day is only one day a year.)

I like the way they think.

I’m tempted to add a few things to their tips: i.e. Don’t stop with organic beer, throw some love to the locals and give dad organic beer from your home town---and then follow the suds with stats on the fuel and money wasted on importing foods from fancy-schmancy places (like France, Fiji, and…Canadia?). But instead, I think I’ll embrace the truth: it’s probably time for this tip-writing-blogger to bow to The Daily Green and give props.

Oh yea, and props to my Dad too: Dad, you were right, eating all my brussel sprouts (from the garden), growing our own vegetables, and walking to my friend’s houses instead of getting a car ride is better. Thanks dad. You’re the best.

Mother’s Day Gifts for the Mindful Buyer

2008-05-05T15:16:28Z

Now I’m not a mom yet, and my mom lives on the west coast (leaving me pretty much off the hook when it comes to Mother’s Day) but that’s not to say that I don’t have plenty of ideas about what I would want if I was a mom, or better yet, what I can still do for my mom from 2,851 miles away.

To begin with if your mom lives in far away like mine, you should definitely utilize the internet. The warehouse-to-door nature of online purchases makes the long distance mother-daughter-relationship a bit less… distant… Internet orders also come with added perks, like ground shipping (which saves cash, carbon and creates a little bit of that “hrmm I wonder what’s in the box?” excitement for the receiver of gift).

Anyway, the point is, in celebration of the coming holiday (and as a reminder to myself that Mother’s Day is May 11th) I came up with a handful of sustainable gift ideas. Please enjoy:

What to do if your mom lives far away:

1. Three words: Organic cotton sheets

Most moms work hard, and sleep is probably one of their most valuable indulgences. And for many, her bedroom is her sanctuary—it is a restful peaceful place. Any gift that you could give her to make it more comfortable, more restful and above all more healthy, is worth it.

If you decide to go the “organic sanctuary” route, you can find standard organic cotton linens online at prices similar to standard sheets, and considering the pesticides you’d be saving [one pound of herbicides pesticides and fungicides for every three pounds of processed cotton] they’re more than worthwhile.

Or if you’re willing to splurge, go for a high thread-count set (400+ is luxury). They’ll cost a good deal more, but they’re durable, softer with each use, and are so nice she’ll still be using them come Mother’s Day 2010.

2. Flowers

In many large cities there are a good number of farmers markets and at least one or two organic florists. Buying flowers locally helps avoid the carbon footprint of shipping the buds from the far ends of Ecuador in a refrigerated truck, and buying organic helps avoid growing conditions that possibly involve the nerve gas sarin. But unfortunately after decades of care, for many of us sending mom a card with 20 bucks and a message saying “go buy yourself some nice local flowers” doesn’t exactly cut it.

Instead doing a little online research helps a lot. Look into the price differences, and then make the choice that’s right for you: buy organic flowers online from a warehouse and have them shipped to her doorstep or call one of her local organic florists and have them hand delivered. (If I find a third option I’ll be sure to let you know).

What to do if you’re still under the age of 12:

1. Pancakes!

If there is one thing that moms love, it’s when their kids cook for them. This could mean taking her out to a local organic restaurant, or it could mean making a sustainable breakfast in bed.

If you go for the latter, foods that are in season can be found on NRDC’s Food Miles minisite, and we can suggest a few recipes that include rhubarb, asparagus, wild leeks, spinach and other in season food too.

2. Make her something

For example: Silk or organic cotton eye pillows are great for time to relax. They’re also easily handmade/ homemade with some soft recycled cloth or organic yardage filled with organic flax seeds and dried lavender. You can find instructions online, just google it.

3. Give her a night off

For an overworked mom, sometimes some time off is the best Mother’s Day present of all. A home drawn bubble bath or organic salt soak is a good way to start, particularly if you top it off with some bees wax candles.

If she likes home pedicures, treat her health with a “phthalate-free” version of her favorite hue of nail polish. And don’t shy away from incorporating the family (and photo opportunities) into the evening—there are plenty of organic face mask recipes online that can be made from common kitchen ingredients. Look one up and then try it out—at the very least it will keep the kids busy while mom gets some rest, and in a best case scenario the application photos will take a prominent place in the family photo album.

What to do if you’re a husband:

Buy a book on foot massage and some organic oils. Then read it and use them. Low emissions. Low cost. And above all, it’s a gift that keeps on giving.... think of it in terms of the proverb “if you teach a man to fish”... only replace fish with "rub his wife's feet"

Organic vs. Local vs. Your Sanity…

2008-04-27T17:48:06Z

Yesterday I was confronted with a question facing many shoppers today: should I buy the organic granny smith apple or should I buy the locally grown apple?

Only to be honest the organic apple (Washington State) was “more local” than the conventional apple (Chile), and they both cost the same. The only thing that created an illusion of dilemma was that the Chilean apple was shiny, picture perfect and *looked healthier* while the organic apple that was slightly bruised and contained random shades of rose. Both apples came from places I’ve never visited. Neither was a good option. And my stomach was demanding food. Now.

I reasoned that I’d be mostly paying for the plane ticket and chemically-enhanced body image of Chilean apple, while the Wash State apple was priced as such due to its quality; value; organic-ness. And as I brushed aside the thought “don’t they grow conventional apples some place closer than Chile?” I grabbed the organic apple and happily placed it in my cart, thinking that maybe I just got a good deal (organic for the price of conventional—at least for certain foods organic is the way to go, right?)

I was wrong. The apple was sub par.

Later as I consulted the inflated prices on my receipt I realized I had just paid $1.55 for a disappointing (albeit organic) apple. And, even if I bought the other apple I would have still paid the same. The conclusion was clear: the wise choice is to buy a $0.75 (possibly organic) apple from the farmer’s market passed on the way to health foods store.

Apparently I am not alone in that conclusion. Recently CNNMoney.com discussed a food trends survey that revealed that many “organic shoppers” are abandoning the costly habit in the face of rising food prices. But they are not turning back to grocery stores (or conventional Chilean apples)—they are, instead, b-lining for the cost-value benefits of locally-grown foods at farmer’s markets.

The clear moral of the story is that if one wants to save one’s sanity and/or wallet it’s time to start observing which fruits and veggies are in season locally, and time to start making friends with one’s local bearded apple/carrot/flower/vegetable grower.

Their produce tastes better anyway.

Resources:

IN SEASON NEAR YOU (and written by us)

http://www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles

FIND A FARMER

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

EAT YOUR LAWN (a tale of sorts)

http://www.chow.com/stories/10995

WIKIHOW: Save Money at Farmer's Markets

http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Money-at-a-Farmers%27-Market

Cake for Breakfast

2008-04-08T23:17:11Z

During the winter I had this brilliant idea: sign up for a weekly delivery from an organic foods co-op of sorts and never have to walk through the snow with groceries ever again.

The idea was great. Only there were two hitches: 1) over the course of the entire winter there were maybe two major snowfalls in Manhattan and 2) they always delivered carrots (I hate carrots).

But salvation was not far off: I love eating carrot cake for breakfast.

I am not a baker—I’m lazy with measuring things, and like to taste as I go along—so it was not without mishaps that I developed the recipe that follows.

This specific recipe is made to be flexible and “seasoned to taste” (in fact in my apartment, most of the raw batter is consumed well before the liners hit the muffin tray), it is delicious, moist, and above all, healthy enough to eat in the morning, while sweet enough to taste… guilty.

According to NRDC's Food Miles website most of the ingredients in this recipe (carrots, carrots, more carrots) are in season year round in California and even in North Dakota are available in a nearby state 9 months out of the year. In short, this recipe is useful year round, and particularly appropriate for celebrating the last two weeks of carrot season on the East Coast (which FYI ends mid-april for hot-house carrots).

(and for those of you that don’t believe me that this is actually an acceptable form of breakfast, I beg you to check out the nutritional content as estimated by an online calculator and compare it to say… the nutritional information of a bowl of cereal or a bagel)

[Recipe]

Makes about 24 muffins (they go quick)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup oat bran

1 cup sugar**

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp your choice of spices (I usually use a mixture of cinnamon/ clove, or pumpkin pie spice)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tbs ground flax seed whisked with 9tbs water **

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

4 cups grated carrots

1 ½ cup dark raisins

1 ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Get out two non-stick muffin pans, and if you want, line with cupcake liners.

Mix together the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl (the dry ingredients), then slowly mix in the oil, flax mixture, apple sauce and carrots (the wet ingredients) until you achieve an even consistency. Taste. Adjust spicing/ sweetness/ ratios as necessary. Add raisins and walnuts, as many or as little as you want. Taste.

Scoop batter into muffin trays, filling each muffin well until it is ¾ full. At home this recipe makes about 24 muffins. Leave the remaining muffin wells empty.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Muffins are done when toothpick inserted in the center comes back mostly clean, and/or when centers spring back when gently pressed.

Let cool for 5 min on a wire tray (if you have one). Can be stored at room temperature on your countertop, covered in aluminum foil.

Serving suggestions:

Serve plain, with butter, cream cheese, with your favorite yogurt, or paired with a second muffin.

NOTES/ TIPS

** Organicness

All ingredients can be found organic for not much extra $$. The only thing that’s not consistently organic in my recipe is the flour and the oil.

** Sugar

The measurement above is inexact. I usually start at a half cup and then just add more as needed. Depending on the sweetness of your applesauce/ carrots/ palate you may need less than a full cup.

**For those that want to go super local

If you live anywhere outside of Hawaii, Florida or Louisiana, sugar is probably not a locally produced product. In this recipe the use of apple sauce reduces the need for sugar, and I always use organic… but if you still feel guilty or feel that you can do better, try switching the sugar out for the appropriate amounts of Maple syrup, or if you live near Mexico, Agave.

**Ground Flax

First of all, grinding your own flax seeds in a food processor until they look like a coarse flour before mixing with the water produces a moister muffin. Pre-ground flax meal makes fluffier dryer muffins. And as a third alternative you can replace each tbs of ground flax with an egg, but frankly the muffins don’t taste any better, and adding egg reduces the ecological benefits of avoiding refrigerated animal products.

** Apple Sauce/ Oil Ratio

You can mix and match the quantities, so long as it adds up to 1 cup you’re good. (the ratio here is my favorite)

** Eat the Batter

Taste it before you pop it into the oven, if you like the flavors great, but if not add a little more of whatever’s needed. Or just eat raw. It tastes good!

RESOURCES:

http://www.localharvest.org/

http://www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles

http://www.chowhound.com/ (can help you find local organic restaurants and connect with local foodies)

Greening your Fantasy (Baseball League)

2008-03-11T17:49:49Z

Some tips for the virtual sports tycoon who wants to follow the lead of major-league baseball's just-announced greening initiative:

Stage 1: Research

Avoid bedside piles of player-stat baseball magazines this year.

Go Online and skip the mags. Simple internet search functions mean less time, less money, and less trash.
Put your computer to sleep and kill your screen saver during research breaks. Screen savers keep your computer running at full speed even when you’re no there. Killing the screen saver can cut your electric bill by at least $50/yr.
Or as a last resort, if you can't give up your catalog fix, choose the recycling pile instead of the trash can when it's time to toss them out.

Stage 2: Draft

When meeting with your Fantasy Baseball guys for the draft consider:

Location: Reduce your commute, choose a central location for your draft party. (If all the guys in your league work in your office, and the 9th floor conference room is open after 6.30pm, and no one is there to hear it, does it matter if you use it for the draft?)
Carpooling: This includes giving rides to your friends who don't have cars.
Do an online draft: They work just as well, and as an added perk you can look up stats online at a moment's notice when faced with an unexpected draft choice.

Stage 3: Party

Beer: Choose local mirco-brews, they’re tastier, express local pride, and they don’t travel as far keg to cup…
Choose reusable plates, cups and silverware (in other words, your regular daily stuff) for your game day party. Or at least choose recyclable or compostable.
Buy the Jumbo size: When your buddies are coming over, grab the bulk size instead of 16 single servings. Less packaging, less trash to drag to the curb, and bulk = discount, leaving extra cash to spend on tickets to the real game.

Stage 4: Gameday

You've got tickets, you've got beer, you've got...

Public Transportation? Hey, there's no arguing about who's the designated driver when there is no car.
Or carpool with your friends: Planning ahead to travel with your fellow tailgaters is actually the ecofriendly choice. You can also make your friends pitch in for parking and gas.
Or choose a Park and Ride service: Any and all of these choices will help decrease post game traffic, and simultaneously reduce your obligation to have to deal with it.

Stage 5: Go Mobile

Rarely does an environmental group make the suggestion that you should use or buy a new suped-up cell phone — but in the case of Fantasy Baseball, it makes sense.

Turn off your computer, use your cell: Almost any cell phone with internet access can be used to check stats AND leave the house. And cells use less electricity, and free you up to do other activities, like watching the local game in the bar with friends.
Use a laptop: Mobile and designed to use 50-75% less energy per year than a desktop and monitor -- in the long run, they'll save you $$ on your electricity bill.