To Buy ... or Not to Buy ...

Well, on the first of October, the answer will be ... not to buy!

It's No Buy Month again! Yaay!

In 2008 I experimented with No Buy Month in January -- a post-Christmas time of consumer celibacy in which I did not buy any non-consumables (food and entertainment were OK).

I liked it so much, that this year I started 2009 with a resolution to celebrate non-consumerism with No Buy Month every third month -- even though Obama probably wouldn't enjoy the way I'm refusing to support the economy.

Why do I like No Buy Month?

A few reasons ...

1. It increases intentionality. Living deliberately is a richer way of experiencing life, I find. I realize this is in opposition to the "Be Spontaneous" ethic. I often wish I was more spontaneous, but I tend to process slowly. I overthink. And for overthinkers, deliberation is enjoyable.

2. It calms life down. So, sometimes when I'm driving home and I feel a little restless, I think, I'm going to go to Target ... I spend money out of boredom. It's the American way! Michael Moore would probably back me up. I LIKE to buy stuff. Don't get me wrong. I am not anti-buy-stuff. I might wish I was. But I'm not. I just think I might be able to find better ways to use my time.

3. I save money, duh.

Do you want to have fun and not spend money? Do you want to participate in No Buy Month? Join in!

Not Easy, or: In Which Andy Gets His Promised Shout-Out

This is a blog about easy ways to be greener.

Lately, however, I haven't found it easy at all. In fact, just call me Catfish the Grouch. Notice that I haven't been blogging much lately. That's because I'm a little ball of negative energy. Maybe it started with the announcement that Canadian geese aren't migrating, because it never gets cold enough in Alaska to make all the effort of flying south worth it. Or maybe it was because my new office, despite being filled with socially-responsible types, has only plastic forks and cups and spoons, and not a re-usable towel in sight. Or maybe it's because my neighbors decided to throw away all the recycling that they've been saving, instead of simply waiting until Tuesday to put it on the curb.

Grump.

Argh.

Blergh.

To top it all off, my A/C is busted which just makes me cranky -- I know that using air conditioning is not green, but it's pretty necessary to make life in Houston bearable. We've been having a run of 90+ degree days.

Boo.

Hiss.

Frown.

It's time for an attitude adjustment. Or, as we said at the camp where I worked, whenever things went awry: "That's the best." So, I'm going to give props where props are due, and give Andy the shout-out he's been waiting for, in hopes that pondering his kindness will turn my frown upside down.

It all started last weekend, when my friends and I rented a beach house. We brought massive amounts of food and beverages, and had a grand ol' time. There was, however, no recycling available at the beach.

"What should we do with all of the bottles and cans?" someone asked. (In case you were wondering, they were milk bottles and soda cans, obviously). "Should we try to recycle them?"

Now, I know I should have jumped up and revealed the big "S" on my chest for Super-Recycler, but I just didn't see myself having time the following week to make it to the recycling center. To top it all off, someone said, "You're the green blogger. Shouldn't you take it?"

I am a contrary Mary, if there ever was one, and that is the sort of statement that makes me want to scream NO! It's a character flaw, I know, but it's my character flaw.

That's when Andy got all gallant and noble and said, "I WILL TAKE THE RECYCLING."

And I admit I was relieved. Because, yes, I am the green blogger.

But did I mention that I am cranky?

Grumble.

Harumph.

Humbug.

Andy turned to me and said, "I better get a shout-out on the blog." He was kidding, but he does deserve a shout-out, because really, this whole green living thing isn't going to work if every person has to go it alone. Sometimes, when we get green burn-out, someone else has to take the recycling.

But I promise, I'm working on my attitude. No-Buy Month is coming up -- woohoo! -- and maybe some of you will want to join me in eschewing non-consumables for 30 days. Sounds depressing, I know, but actually, it's a spirit lifter.

The Green in GREENwash

Have you heard about the 8th Deadly Sin?

It's called greenwashing, and Satan is busy at work, building a new ring of hell just for those who perpetrate this act. In that ring of hell, your punishment will be to be chained to a tree for all eternity, to be forced to listen to folk music and drink matcha.

At least, that's how it seems when you read some of the eco-blogs out there. Read a few of these commentators, and you'll start realizing that greenwashing is everywhere.

So, what is this sin? What does greenwashing mean?

Greenwashing is the practice of spending money to market products or services as green, when the products either a) aren't that green; or b) spend more money on marketing than they do on greening their industries.

Greenwashing is not nice. On the other hand, IS IT SURPRISING? Basically, the constant cry of "Greenwasher! You advertisers are greenwashers!" is kind of like saying, "Advertisers! You are advertisers!"

Advertisers' jobs are to leverage the zeitgeist to get folks to buy crap. When I was a kid, there was a cereal called Sugar Pops. Today, you can't find Sugar Pops, because no one wants to admit they are feeding their kids a bowl full of sugar. Now we call it Corn Pops. (And it's super-yummy by the way). When a critical mass of people realized, hey, sugar is not a good breakfast for my 7-year-old, the advertisers realized that a "re-branding" would be necessary. Hence, the name change.

That's why I, as a glass-half-full kinda gal, see the green in GREENwash. We have reached the point where it PAYS to market green. Industry is paying money to find out how to leverage our zeit and our geist. And the spirit of our time is getting a little greener every day.

Do we know how to best circumvent that greenwashing and make the smartest consumer decisions? No. We haven't yet figured out yet how to see the truth of greenwashers' claims without doing tons of research. And honestly, I don't think we have clearly defined what it means to be "green."

Personally, though, I think it will be time to be afraid when greenwashing disappears, and advertisers don't care what environmentalists think, when trying to get a mom in Duluth to buy a "green" detergent doesn't pay and they go back to only talking about its Mighty Stain-Fighting Power. And still, let's try to do better and demand more of ourselves and industry.

Coming up: What's our consumer responsibility in a world of greenwashing? I weigh in, because, obviously, I am the best person to ask about that. Also, Andy gets his shout-out, and I wax rhapsodic about vinegar, once again.

Sweet Dreams are Made of ...

... my new organic cotton sheets.

It was time to retire the old ones, but I'd been resisting for awhile because they were pretty, purple with a chrysanthemum pattern. When it could not be denied any longer, I hit Target, hoping they would have something environmentally-friendly and affordable.

Finding goods made from friendlier fabrics has proved to be more challenging than converting to greener cleaning products or foods. Not only are they harder to find, they often cost more than I can afford. However, these sheets were around thirty dollars. There was not a huge selection of colors, but they had neutrals and pale colors that should fit with most decorating schemes.

Best of all, these sheets are delightfully soft - and for someone who likes to sleep as much as I do, that's a must-have.

There were also a selection of bamboo fiber sheets, but before switching to bamboo, check out Eco-Yogini's post on why bamboo isn't as green as you think it is.

True Blood = True Green

This summer, like everyone else with HBO and half-a-brain, I was totally obsessed with True Blood. And yes, I was obsessed for many of the reasons everyone else was:

Eric and Sam and Bill and Jason are hot.

Sookie is adorable.

Maryann is scary.

The scripts contain humor, gore, sex, and theological questions. The Southern gothic setting is lushly gorgeous. And Alan Ball has created the greenest show on TV.

What? you might ask. Green? As in, environmentally-friendly?

Yes.

Before you dismiss me, I ask you to think about this: we live in a culture that is saturated with media but which discourages deep reading of that media. Yes, it's okay to think deeply about books (as long as they aren't sold in grocery stores), but try to discuss the subtexts of a TV show (never mind a TV show which involves bare boobies in almost every episode) and you're seen as some prancing dilettante who has nothing better to do than pretend that pop culture has deep meaning.

Pop culture has deep meaning.

(Just read the columns of Grandpa Pop Culture, Stephen King, in Entertainment Weekly, if you want to further explore the concept of deep pop culture.)

In school, we never learn to critically read TV, pop music, or video games. In fact, most teachers I know deny the significance of pop culture however they can. And when we don't read pop culture, we miss out on the fundamental mythologies which are shaping our modern ethos.

So back to True Blood, and why it's greener than that show with Ed Begley Jr. putting windmills on his roof.

One of the themes of True Blood this season was nature -- and how we bring destruction upon ourselves when we deny nature. That includes denying it in the common sense, as in cutting ourselves off from the natural world around us:

Sam: Cities bring out the worst in people. They lose touch with nature ... where they come from.

Daphne: People do that here too.

Sam: Not in the same way.

(Except they totally do, because Daphne wanted Sam to understand that he had cut himself off from his own nature ... ah ... that was some pretty obvious metaphorical dialogue...)

As the above dialogue indicates, cutting ourselves off from nature also includes cutting ourselves off from our deeper natures, our true selves (which are, ultimately, connected to the first type of nature). When we destroy nature, the subtext read, we actually invite trouble upon us. Throughout the season, people were running around, trying to deny who they were and failing, learning that they were ultimately connected to something deeper, and either using that knowledge to bloom, or refusing it and perishing. When things got really wild, nature responded, filling Sookie's house with vines and leaves and the darkness of nighttime woods. Refuse nature, the house seemed to say, and she'll make her presence known.

I know of no other show that takes so seriously the fact of our embodied-ness, the fact that we are inextricably tied to this planet, this earth, and that we will never be the ones in charge of that. It's no coincidence, I think, that True Blood is set in the South, because here, nature is constantly rearing her head in the form of hurricanes, heatwaves, and humidity. It's hard to ignore nature, here. But we try. Boy-howdy, do we try.

I think, then, the message of True Blood, is not to ignore nature. Live in it. And don't go buck-wild either. You don't have to totally abandon yourself to running naked through the woods and eating raw bunnies ('cuz, we see where that gets Maryann). You just have to acknowledge nature, and do your best to be fully a part of it.

Oh. And recycle. Because Vampire Bill recycles.

Note: If you want to really get into a deep reading of True Blood, I suggest you head over to Television Without Pity, and read the recaps. It's kind of like the world's most fun college class, with the most fun text.

Cute Cat Pictures

As I was ironing my beautiful new red faux-pashmina the other day, I fed the yard or so of fabric over the ironing board. As it reached the floor, Wily approached.

He was a bit curious ...


So he rolled himself up like a burrito ...


... snuggled in and got all cozy ...


And had to be extracted by force.

The scarf was a bit worse for the wear after that (his claws hadn't been clipped for awhile). Ah well. These things happen.

'Tis a Gift to be Simple - Peanut Butter

The more I get into this enterprise of greener living, the more I realize my parents knew everything all along.

When I was a kid, we used to keep our peanut butter in the fridge. Until I was ten, I thought everybody kept peanut butter in the fridge. I would go over to other people's houses, and while we were making peanut butter sandwiches (as kids inevitably do), I would go to the fridge and say "Where's the peanut butter?" And the other kid would get it out of the cupboard and look at me like I was crazy.

"Why would you put peanut butter in the fridge?" my little friend would say.

Well, let me answer that for you.

You put peanut butter in the fridge when it has an ingredient list of 2 things: peanut butter and salt (or 1 thing - you don't even need the salt). You have to put it in the fridge, because peanut butter, when made of only two ingredients, naturally separates into oils and solids. You stir it up, and then you put it in the fridge to keep it stable.

The peanut butter that you can keep in the cupboard, which is so delightfully spreadable, is stabilized with chemicals and sweetened with sugar or corn-based sweet stuff. Here's the ingredient list from a leading national brand: MADE FROM ROATED PEANUTS AND SUGAR, CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES AND SALT.

And if you want reduced fat: PEANUTS, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SUGAR AND SOY PROTEIN, CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), SALT, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, MOLASSES, NIACINAMIDE, FOLIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, ZINC OXIDE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, AND COPPER SULFATE

Huh?

All of that, so that we can spread our peanut butter without stirring it first?

Here's the big secret: that natural, simpler peanut butter, the kind that you have to stir? It tastes better. It's completely different than the imitation product we usually eat. In fact, if you've been eating regular peanut butter, you probably have no idea what peanut butter actually tastes like, smells like, or what sort of consistency it is. It makes me feel a little frightened that big industry can totally warp our sense of what a particular food is, until we wouldn't recognize the real thing if we put it on our toast and took a bite out of it.

Try it. You'll like it. I did when I was a kid.

Note: And yes, I know I've been incommunicado for about a week, and all 15 of you who actually care might have been a bit irked. Well, I'm back and I've got a bunch of posts I'm working on for this week.

Zig Zag to Ziggy's

Last weekend was a feast - a feast of food, as I ate at many of Houston's amazing and affordable restaurants; a feast of friendship, as I got to spend time with the loved ones in my life; and a feast of good conversation, as we chatted up a storm on topics ranging from educational equity to the pimp/ho dance number in a light show we saw.

For brunch with my friend Karima, we went to Ziggy's Healthy Grill, just down the street from my house. For years Ziggy's has been serving Houstonians food to fit any dietary need, even before phrases like "eat local" and "gluten-free" became buzzwords. And while there are many Houston restaurants who are now jumping on this bandwagon, I think Ziggy's does it best, with a wide variety of menu items, a charming, casual atmosphere, lovely staff, and some of the yummiest sausage a flexitarian can hope for.

Take a look:

My neighborhood Ziggy's is situated in this Victorian house. Retaining the dark woodwork inside, and a cozy, home-like vibe, it just says "neighborhood." Plus, I can walk there from my house, so hooray!

A sign out front announces that at Ziggy's, your food is not going to be a mystery:

Meat and eggs come from Georgia's Texas Grassfed Beef. I love knowing where my food comes from. I also love that because these types of words now are buzzwords, this sign is sure to bring in customers.

We like to start off brunch with a Bloody Mary. These spicy, yet slightly-sweet versions are some of the best Bloody Marys I've ever had. Ziggy's is also famous for cocktails which use fresh juices rather than the mass-produced syrups (I wrote about the mystery ingredients in cocktail mixers here). Nothing beats a margarita with fresh lime.

And how's the food? Well, I have to say, I'm a sucker for the basic restaurant breakfast - eggs, hashbrowns, toast. And sausage. I love sausage but I don't get to enjoy it very often, since I don't eat mammals, and I'm trying to avoid processed soy. Ziggy's turkey sausage is spicy and flavorful, and a welcome treat for me. (Click here to read their menu and your mouth will start to water)

To top it all off, the staff has always been nothing but fab. Friendly and chatty (but not unctuous), they always seem generally glad you're there, and you can hear them say "See you next Saturday" to the regulars.

All in all, I love Ziggy's because it's an antidote to so much of what makes America crazy. It's neighborhood-centric, as opposed to generic; fresh as opposed to mass-produced (hand-cut fries!); transparent with information as opposed to secretive. So, Houstonites, next time you're feeling hungry head on over. You can tell them I sent you (they won't know what you're talking about, but you could tell them anyway).

Do you have a favorite green dining experience where you live? Share in the comments section.

'Tis a Gift to be Simple

As loyal light greenies know, I've been trying to cut back on foods with unpronounceable chemical ingredients. Therefore, I was psyched to find Haagen-Dazs five ice cream. Boasting only five ingredients (cream, milk, sugar, eggs, and whatever flavor -- they have mint, chocolate, ginger, brown sugar, passion fruit, coffee, and vanilla), this is a delicious treat that makes you wonder why ice cream needs anything else.

My changed eating habits have re-introduced me to the pleasures of foods like ice cream -- foods which have been labeled "bad" by our "health" establishment. For years I'd been eating low-fat "ice cream" (all of the quotation marks denote that so much of what we considered true about healthy eating is really just smoke and mirrors) which is full of the unpronounceable. Manufacturers reel you in with claims that you can eat a whole "ice cream" bar for only 150 calories, adding endorsements by folks like Bob Greene, Oprah's wellness guru (his website even bears a border of green leaves, making you think that the foods he's endorsed are somehow natural).

But what you're eating really isn't ice cream. It's more like the contents of a chemistry set. Here's the ingredients list for one low-fat ice cream bar:
skim milk, sugar, corn syrup, water, polydextrose, cocoa processed with alkali, cream, stabilizer [microcrystalline cellulose, cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, locust bean gum, calcium sulfate, polysorbate 80, carrageenan]

Yes. Low-fat. But healthy? Who knows what all of those chemicals will do to us? The truth is, noone does know. We're living in a world-wide experiment, treating ourselves with big batches of lab-produced goodies that seem to be making us sicker and fatter. Nevertheless, we continue to be told that we can eat all we want as long as the things we eat are imitation food items that have been cooked up by mad scientists.

So what if you can't eat all you want when you eat natural foods which contain natural ingredients like fat and sugar. These are the ingredients are bodies evolved to process. We were never meant to eat all-you-can-eat buffets. Food was scarce for our ancestors, and so our bodies are meant to cope with that reality. I admit, I love food, and I'll always be someone who struggles to eat healthy amounts, but a quarter cup of real ice cream, with real flavors, rather than lab-invented flavor simulators, is more satisfying than a whole box of imitation, low-fat, frozen dessert bars.

Recipe - Honey Lemon Drop a la Gustav

I love entertaining.

When I have a cocktail, I tend to drink the favored drinks of a 65-year-old English professor who smokes a pipe in the library every evening: gin martinis, Irish whiskey, stout. However, when I get the girls together for a ladies' night, I want to show off my mixology skills and create a pretty presentation.

I'm constantly creating and revising recipes for our cocktail evenings. When I was in Portland recently, I ate at Gustav's, a German pub and grill. They had a Honey Lemon Drop on their summer cocktail menu. I had one of those "I can do that" moments.

Cocktails mixers, however, contain lots of "fake foods" - high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes and colorings, and unpronounceable ingredients. The same goes for those rimming sugars you can buy. The challenge, then, became to re-create this drink and make it greener.

Honey Lemon Drop a la Gustav

You're going to need:

Lemons

Honey

Hot water

Vodka

Sugar in the Raw or other sugar with large crystals

Cut the lemons in half. Carefully, with a sharp knife, peel off a strip of rind. You'll need one of these for each glass.

Squeeze the lemons and save the juice. You'll need about 1 oz. per drink.

In a separate container, mix 4 parts honey (make sure that you have honey rather than artificial honey, which is much more common at the grocery store) to 1 part hot water. You'll need about a 1/2 oz. of this honey syrup for each drink.

Get your glasses ready. In one plate, pour a mixture of water and lemon juice. In the other, pour your sugar.

Dip the rim of each glass in the water, then twirl the rim the glass in the sugar. Drop a twist of lemon rind in each glass.

In a shaker filled with ice, shake:

2 oz. vodka

3/4 - 1 oz. lemon juice

1/2 - 3/4 oz honey syrup.

Pour into your beautiful glass and serve.