by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC

Sometimes I feel so lucky. Not only did I get a chance to celebrate my recent green wedding to my beautiful lady, on a goat farm, with good folks all around, but when it came time to give us gifts, we realized that our friends really know us. So many people spent both time and love thinking up gifts to celebrate our marriage in ways that made sense. Many items were handcrafted, others local, and many were even created by the gift givers themselves. Two gifts in particular stand out, both for their originality, their appropriateness and their downright sweetness.

The first of these I will touch on only briefly, as I am sure that Jerry and Tracey are heartily sick of the attention that they are receiving for their decision to further offset my honeymoon flight (having already purchased a TerraPass) by foregoing air-conditioning for the month of June. As Jerry says, it feels weird to get noticed for doing something that just makes sense. Nevertheless, given the fact I had previously sworn I would never fly again and then finding myself in love and in North Carolina, I was supremely grateful for Jerry and Tracey’s loving and thoughtful gift. I’m now considering asking them to forgo eating for the next year so I can buy that Hummer I’ve always wanted~

The other gift that stood out as being ‘so us’ came from Jenni’s sisters, Sarah and Laura, cousin Jessica, and Sarah’s boyfriend, Andy. We knew they were spending a day building something for us, but what that something would be we had no idea. Then it arrived – a 3ft x 4ft wooden cage, with ‘crack house’ scrawled on the side. At first I was a little mystified - was this the groom’s new sleeping quarters? All became clear when I noticed the baskets attached to the back of the structure. They’d made us a chicken house, and had even bought three little chickens to live in it. Both Jenni and I have secretly harbored dreams of owning chickens one day, but had both been putting it off until we got our own place (at least that was our excuse). This gift spurred us on to take the plunge and what a joy it’s been!

Henrietta, Agatha and Martha are now firmly entrenched as part of the family. They are yet to start laying, though they should reach ‘womanhood’ soon. They are already providing a steady stream of future compost, and an endless source of amusement. Even Bela, our cat, loves to sit near them and keep them company (he licked his lips a few times when they first arrived, but he’s never really seen them as lunch). And in terms of hassle, we never should have worried. They roam free in our yard, coming in at night to their comfy coop. We occasionally fill their food and water bowl and throw out a few scraps from the kitchen to supplement their diet. They’re not exactly the geniuses of the animal world, but there’s something calming about watching a chicken scratching around for bugs. I had wandered what I’d make of chicken-keeping, but I admit that I’m definitely hooked. Maybe we’ll get a goat for our anniversary…

Anyhow, as I say, sometimes I just feel so lucky. Getting someone a gift is so often thought of as just ‘going shopping’ – we’re so pleased to know folks who can think outside of the box and beyond the basket.

by Peter Eichenberger, Raleigh, NC, Idle Patrol

EMISSIONS VIOLATION - Vehicle has been cited for violating atmosphere and laws of common sense.

1. Air Pollution

Gasoline exhaust contains soot, benzene, xylene, toluene and many other additive, CO and other petrochemical substances that can lead to emphysema, reduced breathing ability, asthma and cancer, especially iin children. Scientists say that 10 percent of all lung cancers were caused by fossil fuel combustion such as that found in vehicle exhaust.

2. Expense

Idling wastes fuel. Idling for 10 minutes burns around 0.025 to 0.040 gallons of gasoline. Idling for only 10 minutes/day uses an average of 26 gallons of gas a year.

Idling can damage engines by creating a fuel-rich situation that leads to reduced viscosity and lubricity of oil. Residual acids left by the process of incomplete combustion contaminate the oil and begin to slowly erode the internals, the cylinder walls, bearings, cams and lifters, piston rings and skirts, valves and valve guides.

3. Risk to self and others

If someone steals your vehicle while you have left it idling, you could be held responsible in Civil Courts for any and all damages, injuries or deaths resulting from negligence.

If you sit in your car while you are idling for any reason, you are emitting unnecessary pollution into the environment which puts you and others at risk for just about everything.

The penalty for idling is $100. Send your payment to Sierra Club 85 Second Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC
Upon returning to yoga class after the first few weeks, my new students often would come to me with a despondent look, saying, “I don’t know if yoga is for me - it’s very difficult.” My response always began in the same way: “If yoga was not difficult for you, you would not need to be here. The struggle is what makes it meaningful.”

Viktor Frankl said,

“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.”

Viktor Frankl, M.D., Ph.D., was a neurologist, psychiatrist, author and Holocaust survivor. One of his over 32 post-war books, “Man’s Search for Meaning” (1946), describes his psychotherapeutic method of finding meaning in all circumstances and situations.

Viktor Frankl once recommended that the Statue of Liberty be complemented by a “Statue of Responsibility”. There are plans for construction of such a statue on the West Coast of the U.S. by 2010.

Back to Work. See you there.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I’ve been dwelling on the plastic bottle thing. After all, many things - equally unnecessary - are packaged in plastic bottles besides water. Dish soap, laundry soap, hand soap, floor soap…then it hit me - this is all just soap! If I can use one soap that can clean everything, then I can cut down my bottle use significantly, right? Yep, and the answer has been staring at us for about 50 years. Dr. Bronner’s Magic Castile Soaps can and will do it all, organically, safely and spectacularly.

Castile is actually a term for any vegetable oil-based soap. Dr. Bronner’s soaps are made with olive, hemp and palm oils (instead of animal fat) and coconut oil for lathering. Their cleaning strength and therapeutic properties are enhanced with pure essential oils, making this product nature-friendly and 100% biodegradable (great for both indoor and outdoor use). Coming in liquid and bars, this soap can be diluted to varying ratios to clean just about anything. Super-economical, you can use just a few drops full-strength in the shower and just one drop for brushing your teeth. (For hard-surface cleaning, choose Sal Suds, Bronner’s all-purpose cleaner made from plant-based surfactants.)

Hold on, it’s gets even better.

Dr. Bronner’s bottles are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic and Bronner’s gives generously and regularly to social and environmental causes. Certified in the practices of Fair Trade, employees enjoy profit-sharing, bonuses and excellent health benefits. If that’s not enough, you can enjoy the label…

“The over 30,000 words spread across all the soap labels were Dr. Bronner’s life work of searching every religion and philosophy for “Full Truths” that can be summed up in two beautiful sentences:

1. CONSTRUCTIVE CAPITALISM IS WHERE YOU SHARE THE PROFIT WITH THE WORKERS AND THE EARTH FROM WHICH YOU MADE IT!

2. WE ARE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND WE SHOULD TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER AND SPACESHIP EARTH!”

It sounds like Dr. Bronner’s does it all and says it all. Read the full story here.

For more information on specific uses and ratios of dilution, see the web site or look for “Clean House, Clean Planet” by Karen Logan.

by Tao Oliveto

We gotta talk. Yes, again.

According to the NY Times article, bottled water sales now exceed coffee nationally. Water, something that flows freely from our U.S. taps (some of the safest and best in the world) is instead being sucked from the earth thousands of miles away, bottled and shipped - turning it into an expensive and unnecessary luxury - as well as a kind of environmental monster.

No matter what the exploding bottled water industry will tell you , the sad truth is that most empties end up in the trash instead of recycling bins. (I could dig up some of the statistics I’ve seen, but all you need to do is look in any public trash can - go ahead, take a peek.) Bottled water is wastefully shipped to the U.S. from all over the world, burning fuel and spewing carbons in the process and, according to the Earth Policy Institute, using up 1.5 million barrels of oil /year just to make the #x!* PVC-filled plastic it comes in.

Fortunately, growing almost as rapidly is the momentum to get plastic bottles off the shelves, out of restaurants, and out of the waste stream. The Big talk started sometime last year, when Mayors of San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and NYC came out of the closet, encouraging their citizens to choose tap water over plastic bottles.

Anti-bottled water campaigns are also trickling into workplaces and online, most often from employees or citizens, who have caught on to the logic. Some people even think bottled water should be “banned”. Do I think this is an all or nothing proposition? I somewhat reluctantly, have to say no. Although I only drink from my filtered tap and carry my own reusable stainless steel drinking container everywhere I go (really - it feels natural now, like a wallet or keys), this problem seems more like many in the U.S., where we tend to think if a little is good, more is better. I’d like to see bans on sodas first, which hurts our health as well as the environment.

Speaking of our health, don’t forget that the chemicals in plastic end up in our bodies, during the manufacturing process and through consumption of the water or food that it contains. Another reason to come clean and kick the habit.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Back in October of 2006, National Research Council reported that bees, bats and other pollinators are disappearing from North America. At that point, shortages already existed, putting crops and other plants at great risk and further disrupting an already out of balance eco-system. Recent information shows that things are not improving, with mites and other maladies continuing to kill off bees in large numbers.

More mysterious, is the development of widespread CCD or Colony Collapse Disorder, where bees abandon their hives almost overnight. Studies and speculation of causes point towards pesticides, GMOs and even cell phone use. Bottom line? No bees, no food. The End.

Studies on bee populations and research on solutions has continued. Scientists are developing a food supplement for bees, made with essential oils of lemongrass and spearmint, a formula that helps bees resist the pathogens carried by mites - an immune booster of sorts. Other solutions are being explored, such as the breeding of wild bees. The government will hopefully become involved (better late than never, we may say) in response to a bill recently introduced to Congress by Senator Barbara Boxer of CA. The proposal would give funding for research to protect the bee population.

What can we do to help? Plant gardens with bee-friendly plants, such as Beebalm/Buckwheat and Clovers, to ensure food supply for bees in your area. Educate your friends and neighbors about the importance of Honeybee preservation. Love the health benefits of local honey? Bee-farming at home is not as difficult as it may sound. Convince friends and neighbors to co-operatively manage a few hives and reap big rewards with shared efforts. My co-housing community just had our first honey harvest last week, collecting enough honey to fill 50 jars of “Arcadia Gold”. It took just 2 bee suits and 6 people a half day to complete the job. Fun - and no stings - were had by all.

Apartment dwellers and other non-bee types can pitch in by making sure to purchase only organic and non-GMO products, keeping pesticides, and other chemicals out of the food supply for both people and pollinators. Learn more about bees, here.

Let’s give Bees a chance.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Remember GoodSearch.com, the search engine that gives back to the charities of your choice with each use? You’re remembering to use that occasionally or more, right? Good. Search. Go. There. Now.

‘Cause here’s another one to consider. Blackle is a search engine developed by Heap Media and powered by Google Custom Search, that has a black screen and white letters. According to some recent calculations, if Google’s search engine screen was black instead of white, “750 mega watts/hour per year would be saved.” This theory will most likely be debated until the end of time, so I can’t say whether it is accurate or not. However, I do like the idea that seeing a dark screen is another daily reminder to say, turn out the light in the bathroom…?

I’ll give it a try since they at least deserve “A” for effort and it reminds me of a great dog I once knew. (Seriously.) As I include Blackle in my Round Robin of search engine use, I’ll let you know how I like it and what else I hear about potential energy savings.

In the meantime, share the Google Love - remember GOODSEARCH - the Big Engine that Could and Is - giving back.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I’ve seemed to have caused a stir in this area regarding my Summer with less A/C. That’s right - not zero A/C, just less. It started as some readers know, as a way to “offset” a friend’s flight to Paris for his honeymoon in June. And yes, I went all of June without turning on A/C. This never felt particularly heroic to me - June still provides cool nights here in the somewhat South and I have a shady yard to spend time in. I’m betting there were many other people keeping windows open that month.

July quickly turned hotter and although I rationed my hours of A/C use, I ended up significantly over my original goal of 8 hours per week. We’re having 100 degree temps. right now for August, so I’m closed up with shades drawn. I’ve had the A/C turned on every night so far, though I’ve still been able to get through most of the day without it. With the thermostat set on 85, it usually comes on around 4 or 5pm. Still, under the ceiling fans, 85 degrees is kind of nice - that much I learned.

I’ve told and retold the story as above, yet my supposed valiant effort to help save the planet has been escalated to unreasonable proportions. In the last week, it’s been written up in the city newspaper and yesterday I was called in for an interview for NPR’s “The Story” (broadcasting Friday, 8/10). Today, our local TV news station sent a camera to my house.

I’m starting to feel awkward about all this attention. The questions continually posed at me seem aimed at some dramatic consequence, as if I set out across the Sahara. No matter how many times I tell them how easy this has been, they want to hear about the blood, sweat and tears. In reality, I’ve suffered very little and gained a lot by challenging the status quo of “comfort”. This wasn’t a radical action in any sense, nor just a temporary experiment. This is simply me learning and growing and doing my best to be comfortable yet be conscious of my actions and their effects on nature. It’s also me protecting my future - not an entirely selfless act.

Yes, I do want people to look at A/C as a privilege and not a right. After all, I hesitate to consider how many people are enduring this heat wave in NC without that choice of whether to flip the switch. But I want it to represent much more than that. I want people to live every day with awareness of how much energy and other natural resources they consume and how much it costs the environment. I want everyone to gain perspective on what we perceive as absolutely necessary in our lives - not just to cut carbon emissions and save energy, but to relearn what it means to live with nature rather than against it and possibly, remember a way of life where we worked with our hands and, yep, our blood, tears - and sweat.