First it was reusable grocery bags that went from eccentric hippie status to cool. Now it's taking the bus. I keep reading stories by reporters about their experience with taking public transportation. The latest is today's column by Los Angeles Times business columnist David Lazarus (who does great work), about his week of taking public transporation to work, experimenting each day with different bus lines and the subway to find out which is quickest and easiest. (As a sidenote: Sadly, each article I read has a higher gas price. His begins, "With the price of gas creeping toward $5 a gallon ...")
I agree with most of his observations, except when he says he arrived home exhausted on the first day. Sure, it's tricky at first when you don't know the routes, but I think he should have mentioned that after you get the hang of it, it's actually more relaxing than driving. Maybe that wasn't his experience, but it's been mine. But I'm glad he wrote it as a way to get more Angelenos thinking about taking public transportation, at least one day a week as he suggests. To quote: "Baby steps."
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
A landfill of energy bar wrappers
Have you ever wondered if you could recycle the wrappers from energy bars? I have, and I know I'm not alone because it's a topic among my coworkers whenever someone eats an energy bar (which is often). Considering how popular these bars have become (remember when the chewy Power Bars in misleading chocolate and funky banana were all we had to choice from), I'd feel better knowing all those wrappers -- 20 billion according to one statistic I read -- don't have to go to a landfill.While on vacation I've decided to make it my mission to find out if these wrappers are recyclable. A few weeks ago my coworker gave it her best shot by e-mailing the makers of Luna Bar, but alas, they never responded. Yesterday I called the Long Beach recycling department and the woman on the other end answered my question by reading from a list I had already seen on their website. Yes, I know you can recycle bottles and cans, but what about the trickier stuff that isn't mentioned? So she guessed. She said that since the wrappers have foil, they aren't recyclable. I also asked about egg cartons (since I had her on the phone) and she thought they are recyclable since they're made of cardboard. I'm glad I went to an "expert" source.
Oh I know, just Google it, right? But that's so easy. I wanted to do it the official way. OK fine. A Google search for "Can I recycle energy bar wrappers?" turns up this sentence: "Every year millions of non-recyclable energy bar wrappers end up in our landfills." Damn. But wait, I click on a link to a program for recycling wrappers. Aha. I've found the Holy Grail!
The website http://www.terracycle.net/cbb/cbb.htm explains that TerraCycle, Clif Bar and Balance Bar have started a program to "upcycle" wrappers by making them into other things, like purses. They'll send you bags to put your wrappers in and after you've collected 200, you send them back. And the program is FREE. Where do I sign up? Screech ... my excitement grinds to a halt. After I sign up to be part of the Energy Bar Brigade (ain't that catchy) I get sent an e-mail saying I've been put on a waiting list. Despite the plethora of press they've received, it's a trial program with only 500 spots. (Although later I got an e-mail saying they're in the process of expanding.)
My search continues, while energy bar wrappers collect in my room ...
Today I returned to my Internet search. The website http://www.lime.com/blog/greenlagirl/2008/06/09/oh_things_you_can_upcycle%20says provides addresses where you can send wine corks and used Brita filters. But that's all I find. It appears the answer to my question is a big fat NO.
I know that the best solution is to eat less energy bars. I'm opposed to them for dietary reasons too. Every time I buy one I hear Michael Pollan's voice saying, "eat what your grandmother would eat," meaning simple, whole foods. But it's too hard to always have a whole food snack on hand when you're gone all day at work and exercising after work. Sometimes I just gotta have an energy bar.
So until I get my TerraCycle bags in the mail, I will try to buy fewer energy bars and eat more whole food snacks instead. That'll be easy while I'm on vacation. It'll get trickier when I go back to work.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
But global warming doesn't take vacation
I'm writing this while on vacation. For two weeks I can sleep in, be carefree, see family and friends and make a long list of things I will only partially accomplish. As I've been deciding how to spend my time, I've also been wondering how far I should go to have a "green" vacation. I'd only give myself a C.
The thing is, some changes are easy and don't require much sacrifice, like toting around reusable bags and recycling. Even taking public transportation to work is only a slight inconvenience. I'm still going to work -- that part hasn't changed -- I'm just leaving earlier (while arriving more relaxed and spending less money, so maybe it's actually slightly convenient). But what about changes that require a sacrifice? Should I be using public transportation while on vacation, instead of driving places? Should I even be going on a road trip to Palm Springs and Las Vegas (but of course I will)? Should I be using my bike more, since I have more time to get places?
On Monday a friend and I drove 40 miles to the Getty Villa, but how the heck would we have gotten there without driving? The bus would have taken ages. That's the frustration with ditching your car in sprawling LA -- it really limits you to what you can do. And even if getting there using public transportation is doable, I'm not yet comfortable with taking the train back to Long Beach at night.
Today during my leisurely breakfast, I read an article in the Times that said the effects of global warming from developed nations, including the U.S. (the largest producer of greenhouse gases), will be felt in Africa, which doesn't produce nearly as much pollution. I knew that already, but it was a reminder that global warming will hurt others before it hurts us. And yet here I am, resisting change because it might cause a little pain to my lifestyle. (I'd also recommend the Times' series on congestion. Yesterday's article featured a woman whose commute is five hours a day!)
I'll report back after my vacation with how I feel I did overall. As for today, I'm still average. I've driven a little bit around Long Beach, but later I'm going to bike to the gym, which I don't have time to do when I'm working. After a spinning class, biking back I'm sure I will be feeling a little pain ... literally.
The thing is, some changes are easy and don't require much sacrifice, like toting around reusable bags and recycling. Even taking public transportation to work is only a slight inconvenience. I'm still going to work -- that part hasn't changed -- I'm just leaving earlier (while arriving more relaxed and spending less money, so maybe it's actually slightly convenient). But what about changes that require a sacrifice? Should I be using public transportation while on vacation, instead of driving places? Should I even be going on a road trip to Palm Springs and Las Vegas (but of course I will)? Should I be using my bike more, since I have more time to get places?
On Monday a friend and I drove 40 miles to the Getty Villa, but how the heck would we have gotten there without driving? The bus would have taken ages. That's the frustration with ditching your car in sprawling LA -- it really limits you to what you can do. And even if getting there using public transportation is doable, I'm not yet comfortable with taking the train back to Long Beach at night.
Today during my leisurely breakfast, I read an article in the Times that said the effects of global warming from developed nations, including the U.S. (the largest producer of greenhouse gases), will be felt in Africa, which doesn't produce nearly as much pollution. I knew that already, but it was a reminder that global warming will hurt others before it hurts us. And yet here I am, resisting change because it might cause a little pain to my lifestyle. (I'd also recommend the Times' series on congestion. Yesterday's article featured a woman whose commute is five hours a day!)
I'll report back after my vacation with how I feel I did overall. As for today, I'm still average. I've driven a little bit around Long Beach, but later I'm going to bike to the gym, which I don't have time to do when I'm working. After a spinning class, biking back I'm sure I will be feeling a little pain ... literally.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The farmers market
My recent bounty from the farmers market. Aren't those mini tomatoes adorable?
When the Los Angeles Times recently devoted its Food section to the topic of farmers markets, I can't say I was surprised that it left out Long Beach. It may not be as big and well-known as Santa Monica's farmers market, but I consider the Sunday farmers market in Long Beach to be solid, with its mix of fruit and vegetable stands, along with sellers of grass-fed beef, seafood, nuts, bread, dates and herbs, along with a crafts fair in the same parking lot. All it needs is a table of cheese and it could rival the wonderful farmers markets in Geneva where my sister lived for two years (that and an espresso cart!).
As part of my effort to be more conscientious of my consumer habits and how they impact the environment, I've tried to shop more at the farmers market because the produce is grown locally, or at least in the state, which means less pollution in shipping it here. A lot of the produce is organic, and even if not, it's grown on small farms I'd prefer to support over mega agriculture. And it's a blast. It turns the boredom of the weekly trip to the grocery store upside down -- the selection is more diverse (sweet oranges, giant Pomelo grapefruits, a colorful assortment of mini potatoes, bulbous eggplant) and the samples abound (by the time I left on Sunday my stomach hurt a little from all the natural sugars in the oranges, apples, cherries, strawberries and date I sampled).
I was surprised the other day when a friend had never heard of it. Still, the market is doing well, if my visit this Sunday was any indication. At noon the parking lot was full of cars from shoppers, bicyclists and boaters. It runs on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Alamitos Bay Marina off Second Street near PCH, across from the Whole Foods.
It's small enough that just a few trips makes you feel like a regular. I've gone enough times that I recognize the regular vendors, like the woman who is more aggressive about inviting you to taste-test her strawberries. A few weeks ago I overheard someone asking where the "spice guy" was and actually knew the answer. I told her he had shut down his stand and moved inland.
My strategy is to buy what I see, making a mental shopping list on the fly and putting together a meal depending on what's in season. So this week when I spotted a bag of three zucchini for $1 and then a $1 bag of yellow squash, a tofu stir-fry seemed an obvious choice. In the same bargain-hunter's paradise, I picked up a bag of three onions and a small head of cabbage, each $1. I added sugar snap peas from another stand to the mix (a pricier addition at $2 for a small green basket). Earlier at the herbs stand when I smelled the mint, contemplating making a fruit salad, the seller handed me another kind of mint to smell. It was a sweeter version called chocolate mint. I don't turn down chocolate, even in mint form, so that went into my bag too. I didn't feel like buying a lot of fruit so once I decided on stir-fry I figured I could add the mint to it, making it Thai-style with low-fat coconut milk. It sounded like a plan. After buying broccoli (which I cooked that night and I'll be damned, it tasted much fresher than broccoli from the grocery store), a tomato, adorable mini tomatoes on the vine, sweet oranges and adorable mini plums -- I was ready to head out, having spent a mere $16.
Now that I've gotten used to shopping at the farmers market, my next goal is to ride my bike there (it's about three miles).
Here's a link to the Times story on shopping at farmers markets: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-cooking7-2008may07,0,6612313.story
As part of my effort to be more conscientious of my consumer habits and how they impact the environment, I've tried to shop more at the farmers market because the produce is grown locally, or at least in the state, which means less pollution in shipping it here. A lot of the produce is organic, and even if not, it's grown on small farms I'd prefer to support over mega agriculture. And it's a blast. It turns the boredom of the weekly trip to the grocery store upside down -- the selection is more diverse (sweet oranges, giant Pomelo grapefruits, a colorful assortment of mini potatoes, bulbous eggplant) and the samples abound (by the time I left on Sunday my stomach hurt a little from all the natural sugars in the oranges, apples, cherries, strawberries and date I sampled).
I was surprised the other day when a friend had never heard of it. Still, the market is doing well, if my visit this Sunday was any indication. At noon the parking lot was full of cars from shoppers, bicyclists and boaters. It runs on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Alamitos Bay Marina off Second Street near PCH, across from the Whole Foods.
It's small enough that just a few trips makes you feel like a regular. I've gone enough times that I recognize the regular vendors, like the woman who is more aggressive about inviting you to taste-test her strawberries. A few weeks ago I overheard someone asking where the "spice guy" was and actually knew the answer. I told her he had shut down his stand and moved inland.
My strategy is to buy what I see, making a mental shopping list on the fly and putting together a meal depending on what's in season. So this week when I spotted a bag of three zucchini for $1 and then a $1 bag of yellow squash, a tofu stir-fry seemed an obvious choice. In the same bargain-hunter's paradise, I picked up a bag of three onions and a small head of cabbage, each $1. I added sugar snap peas from another stand to the mix (a pricier addition at $2 for a small green basket). Earlier at the herbs stand when I smelled the mint, contemplating making a fruit salad, the seller handed me another kind of mint to smell. It was a sweeter version called chocolate mint. I don't turn down chocolate, even in mint form, so that went into my bag too. I didn't feel like buying a lot of fruit so once I decided on stir-fry I figured I could add the mint to it, making it Thai-style with low-fat coconut milk. It sounded like a plan. After buying broccoli (which I cooked that night and I'll be damned, it tasted much fresher than broccoli from the grocery store), a tomato, adorable mini tomatoes on the vine, sweet oranges and adorable mini plums -- I was ready to head out, having spent a mere $16.
Now that I've gotten used to shopping at the farmers market, my next goal is to ride my bike there (it's about three miles).
Here's a link to the Times story on shopping at farmers markets: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-cooking7-2008may07,0,6612313.story
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