Dishwasher versus Handwashing

Surprising results. Check it out here:Treehugger.

Bottled Water=BAD CHOICE

One of my favorite posts from No Impact Man is this one:Bottled water isn't the answer. You can get the lo-down on and all of the great links from the original post. But just to entice you to follow through on this, I have included the reasons why you should NOT purchase bottled water.

* 40% of the bottled water sold in the United States is tap water anyway.
* The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires hundreds of tests each month on municipal water supplies, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water, requires only one test a week on bottled water.
* Only 40% of bottled water--that which is sold across state lines--is regulated by the FDA in the first place.
* Plastic bottles in the United States require some 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture each year--enough to power 100,000 cars.
* 86% of plastic bottles in the United States never get recycled.
* Tap water costs about a penny a gallon and bottled waters costs up to $10 a gallon.
* Chemicals that leach from plastic water bottles may affect our health.
* If people abandon the use of municipal drinking water, then there will be no political will to ensure that we invest the necessary resources in the water infrastructure.
* The United States has some of the best drinking water in the world and we must keep it that way.

The Ripple Effect

So far, my approach to having less impact on the earth has been to make one choice everyday that reduces my carbon footprint. Some of my choices have been seemingly small, while others will obviously have a profound, hopefully positive, impact. 'Small' choices might include walking to work, unplugging my entertainment center, buying cloth napkins. Choices that seem 'larger', harder to implement, might include cooking all of our snack foods instead of buying packaged goods, not purchasing a yearly trash decal so that I will have to pay a higher rate per bag(major incentive to reduce our trash output)and installing alternative energy systems. But I'm sure you already know where I am headed- every decision, 'small' or 'large', has an impact. What you might not have considered in this equation is the impact on my emotional and spiritual well-being. Being conscientious of my actions has made me so much more aware of the wonderful resources I have in my community. And I am more present in the moment when I am actively searching for the most environmentally sound approach to daily living. It's so much more fun to pick strawberries and make jam with my daughter than to drive to the closest mega-mart and buy jam. So, start small- the benefits will be big!

Cleaning Up

A sad picture of what lies on the Rivanna Trail as it winds through the city. And a picture of the beauty of the Rivanna. Still, you can see some trash sticking out of the dirt. If everyone took one day a month to help, we could clean this wonderful place up. Or, even better, don't make a mess in the first place!

A Little Goes a Long Way

I have put off blogging about my daughter's field trip because I can't remember for the life of me what park we visited. I know- crazy. But I can't wait any longer to post these links because I think that they are very important if you live in Central Virginia.
The first link is http://www.ccs.k12.va.us/programs/give.html- Teens GIVE Program. This group teaches the value of volunteer work to Charlottesville students and matches the kids to volunteer-based groups. Very cool.
The second one is http://www.rivannariver.org/home.html- Rivanna Conservation Society. This is a very dedicated group of volunteers working to safeguard the Rivanna River which is a watershed eventually contributing to the Chesapeake Bay. I learned so much in just 45 minutes. And we actually accomplished a few things too. Some kids learned to test the water's ph levels, some cleaned trails, while others cleaned and restocked the information kiosk.

Cluck Cluck

Lorena, my neighbor, does it all- grows food, has a beehive, her husband brews beer and soda, on and on. But the thing she does that I love best is raise chickens. The girls, as I call 'em, are so funny! They constantly escape the backyard, just to run around front and peck on her door. But the coolest thing is that they lay easter eggs. For real. The eggs are pink and blue-green. Completely different than store-bought, the yolks are day-glo orange and super rich. Makes you feel cheated when you get a mega-farm store-bought egg.

Also, I want to include this link to a site that I think everyone should check out. Let me know what you think: http://www.worldchanging.com/

Belmont Barn Raising

My husband had an idea for a group that organizes neighbors to lend a hand. Basically, if one neighbor needs his roof repaired this weekend, we help out. Next month, if we need a window replaced, they help us. Also, the elderly or disabled people in our neighborhood should be able to count on us for help.
I have been inspired by this project to try and facilitate a kind of barter system in our neighborhood. So many of us in Belmont grow our own food, raise chickens, bake bread, etcetera. But one person can't do it all in this age of work-til-you-drop and run the kids to 15 different extracurricular activities. Soooo..... it makes sense to choose a couple of things to DIY and trade with someone else for their goodies.
I know that these aren't new concepts ( hence the reference to Amish barn raising), but it is still a good idea. "Think globally, act locally"!
We've been talking to some really great people about this idea- getting the word out, getting advice. I would love some feedback from my fellow bloggers. Oh, and the blog dedicated to Belmont Barn Raising should be up shortly.