super crop

         You can eat it in seed, flour or oil form, you can make clothes and rope out of it as well as biodiesel fuel, paper and building materials.   Meet hemp, the old/new super crop.   Pretty much the only thing you can't do with hemp is get high on it because it's not the same as marijuana, although they both belong to the cannabis family.   It's a super plant and super food that withstands drought, thrives in poor soil, and grows fast.

            Hemp oil is extremely rich in essential fatty acids, and according to David Wolfe of Superfood fame "the only known food with ideal ratios of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids."  The oil is also used in body care products.  Hempseed is a complete protein, the leaves are edible and you can make tea out of them.  The seeds can be made into butter, bread, beer and milk, similar to a nut milk.  Hemp's fiber is one of the strongest fibers on earth, hence its use for rope.  But it can also be made into clothing.  Hemp clothing is better than cotton in every way - warmer, more absorbent, stronger and more resilient, accepts dye better, extremely durable and it becomes softer and more comfortable the longer you wear it.   Hemp can grow pretty much anywhere in the world and yields 2.5 times the fiber the same area planted with cotton would yield. A biodegradable plastic can be made from the stalk as well as building materials like insulation, fiberboard, and hempcrete, all non-toxic and non-off-gasing.

             Hopefully, the silly hemp ban in the US that dates back to the 1930s and was engineered around political and monetary interests will be lifted soon as people become more aware of this super crop.  

going sustainably

             We tend to bury our burial wishes because we don't really want to think about death and dying.  My husband and I decided quite a while ago to be cremated and our ashes thrown into the wind - from whence we came.  Perhaps it's a bit more sustainable than embalming the body in all kinds of chemicals for an open cask viewing, which I personally find kind of creepy, spending all kinds of money on a casket that takes 25 years to rot, and both, body and casket leeching all kinds of yucky chemicals into the soil (and our ground water!).  But even the burning is a toxic and energy intensive process.

            Did you know that embalmers have to wear full body "armor" while embalming because of the toxic fumes associated with the preservation chemicals?  There are more sustainable burial practices than cremation, from the weird (we saw the Jain funeral towers in Bombay from afar many years ago, where the bodies are laid out in the open on the top of the towers and the vultures take care of them) to the simple (wrapping the body in a shroud and burying it without casket and chemicals).

            Better yet may be this method.  One of my faithful blog readers (thank you, Alice) reminded me of this 2011 TED talk by MIT trained artist Jae Rhim Lee.  Lee has created a mycological burial suit embedded with mushroom capsules that assist in the quick decomposition of the body and digestion of toxins, as well as mushroom spores allowing mushrooms to grow and use the body as feeding ground while composting it all completely and sustainably.  Cheap and non-toxic!  Watch the talk on her website Coeio.

            I think I'll change my mind about cremation now that I know about the mushroom burial suit.

library of things

            Perhaps a better way to understand the new sharing economy than using Uber or Airbnb's services (after all these businesses are for-profit) is through a "library of things." I really like the idea.  A similar principle already exists in the form of seed banks, from which you can obtain seeds as long as you bring back seeds from your harvest at the end of the season to replenish the seed bank.

            Libraries of Things go beyond lending books, movies and magazines, as a recent NY Times article explained.  They lend tools, equipment or things to community members.  The benefits are multifold.  For one, you as an individual won't need to invest in the cost of say an expensive 3-D printer to experiment with, or buy a pair of snowshoes for that once-in-a-while winter hike.  The investment happens at the community level, for which we all chip in via our local taxes.  At the same time an economy in manufacturing develops because less stuff needs to get made.  Moreover, access to such a library reduces the stuff you need to store and upkeep.  It is likely that you only use your hedge clippers or power drill a few times a year.  Why not borrow one from a tool library instead of buying a brand new expensive tool that sits idle most of the time, collects dust and takes up real estate in your garage?

            Along similar lines there are hour exchanges, where you get time, help and experience from others for services you need against time for your expertise, as well as babysitting services.  All neat ideas to explore sharing and meeting new people.

windy power

       While solar has been all the rage for a few years now wind power is following close behind.  The Paris Climate Summit was a clear success, even though it comes a bit late in the game.  So now we have to hustle.  We are putting more solar panels on our house in the spring so we can be net zero and the solar energy covers our entire energy consumption - our current array covers 45%.

            According to the Scientific American it was announced yesterday that the highly appealing 30% tax credit for solar and wind installations (on parts and labor!), that was supposed to run out at the end of 2016, has been extended through the end of the decade for now.  This is a huge incentive in combination with state tax credits and NYSERDA credits (for those who live in NY, as each state has different incentives).

            Wind power will now be following in solar's foot steps for homes, small businesses and farms.  The NY Times just reported that small rooftop wind turbines are being installed along the same model as residential rooftop solar panels, many of them in leased deals.

            Go for it, whether solar or wind! 

valuable vegetable scraps

We eat lots of vegetables, and especially lots of greens, which goes hand in hand with tons of vegetables scraps. But stop - no need to throw them away and waste them. In fact, calling them scraps indicates that we think of them as lowly. Here are some ideas of what to do with your valuable raw vegetable leftovers, nose-to-tail in vegetable speak:

• Wash them and put them all in a big pot, cover with water, cook for a few hours - voilà, a beautiful vegetable stock you can use for making soup or adding cold to your green smoothie instead of plain water. More minerals to you. The stock freezes well in big glass jars or freezer bags for more soup on a cold day.
• Juice your stalks, stems, roots, outer leaves, cabbage cores, apple cores too, and benefit from all those beautiful minerals and trace elements (your veggies will have more if they are organic or homegrown).
• Use all your "other" greens - beet greens, carrot tops, celery leaves, radish greens, kohlrabi greens - like you would spinach, chard, collards or kale: sautéed, raw in salad, added to a smoothie, making pesto from them (i.e. carrot top pesto), added to soup, or juiced.

  

• Broccoli crowns are delicious, but my family loves the broccoli slaw I make from the stems: mix the shredded broccoli stems with a vinaigrette of olive oil, a generous amount of lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and lots of finely chopped parsley (I am partial to curly). Better the next day, but you might need to reseason - more salt and pepper, more lemon juice so it's got some kick.

nose to tail

Growing up I loved eating split pea soup with smoked pig's tail. I remember seeing pigs' ears on display in our butcher shop, and we regularly ate liver and kidney. I also liked sliced beef tongue on a sandwich. Later on when we lived in France I had sweetbreads and brain (both very delicate and creamy tasting), in China duck tongues (a bit tough) and chicken feet (didn't like those at all), and I still love eating head cheese on buttered German black bread with a slice of pickle on top.When we eat lobster I collect everyone's discarded lobster heads and enjoy the innards (and that creamy green stuff) with a big glob of homemade mayonnaise at least as much as the tail and claws. Indigenous people consume every part of an animal, nothing goes to waste. In foodie countries like France and China every part of an animal is turned into a signature dish (ris de veau aux morilles - doesn't that sound delicious?). But more recently in this country, and with increasing affluence, we have turned our noses up at organ meats and somehow have come to think of them as eeeewwwww and yuck.

In reaction to that the nose-to-tail movement has sprung up and with it the art of butchering is being resurrected. In contrast to supermarket butchers, who are not trained to take a whole animal carcass apart and seldom see its innards, many young butchers are interested again in learning this craft with attention to all parts of the animal, and what to make with them (not only sausage). Organ meat (only from grassfed animals!) is densely packed with nutrients. As a matter of fact, predators first go for the organs of a fresh kill. My acupuncturist, who is versed in Chinese nutritional principles, always reminds me to make bone broth (please reread an earlier post on bone broth) in the wintertime and eat organ meats.

bamboo socks?

Yes, bamboo socks. There are a lot of new and old cool natural fibers out there that are still crowded out by the cotton lobbies and what not. But as we explore alternatives to the oh-so-last century petroleum based nylons and polyesters (please, people, make some better gym shorts!) we find that many of these fibers are more drought tolerant than our beloved cotton, organic or not, can be grown in poorer soil, and thus require far less water, chemical pesticides and fertilizers. These fibers tolerate broader weather imbalances and many of them grow fast. And, not unimportant either, they are natural and comfortable to wear.             I had no clue that you could make fiber out of bamboo until I found these socks, which are incredibly soft and comfortable to wear. Although I later learned that the process is not so eco-friendly compared to some other natural fibers out there.

Better alternative fibers are hemp (poo pooed for years because of the supposed marijuana connection - but it is a non-psychoactive member of the cannabis family), which is drought tolerant and easy to grow, as is flax (currently mostly grown for its omega-3 rich seeds). Lyocell or its tradename Tencel, which doesn't sound very natural and has its detractors because it goes undergoes a lengthy industrial process, is a fiber made from eucalyptus trees. Something really exotic is SeaCell fiber made from cellulose and seaweed (mmh, maybe better to eat the seaweed), and also SoySilk, made from the leftovers of the tofu industry (now that's a good one, what with all the tofu we now eat).

So many new fibers made from natural materials to explore.

trash free?

San Francisco diverts 80% of its trash from landfills. Its goal is to become a zero waste city by 2020, meaning that no household garbage goes back into the waste stream, but instead will be entirely recycled or composted (industrial and commercial garbage are a much greater challenge yet).

If you live in a single family home take a look at your own garbage and recycling cans. What size are they? Which one is bigger? If your garbage can is the same size or bigger than your recycling can there is room for improvement. If you live in an apartment and bring your garbage and recycling to the communal building cans you may have less of a gauge of the quantities of waste you produce, and the ratio between recycling/composting and garbage. Still, become aware of which you empty more often, your recycling or your garbage, and where you may be able to improve.

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I must confess that I currently don't compost, although that will change come spring. My composting can is waiting out there, deeply buried in the snow. Other than that, we recycle everything we possibly can. Besides the obvious, such as newspapers and glass jars, it includes toilet paper and paper towel rolls, yogurt cups, aluminum foil, all recyclable plastic bagging or packaging, gift wrap, paper tags and what not. In an average week (meaning no parties) our family of four produces about one big 13 gallon (biodegradable) garbage bag full of waste. That includes what ought to go onto the compost pile (tea leaves, produce scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, tissues and paper towels). Once we compost again our waste output should be about half a big trash bag full per week.

Please return to previous posts on the environmental trash mess, recycling more, buying less and producing less waste. Then become inspired to waste less.

less (household) waste

And now for the last installment on reducing waste. It is better for the environment and our landfills if we keep as much waste out of them as possible.

freecycle

The first tip to reducing household waste is to buy less stuff (especially stuff of the plastic kind), and to buy more carefully. We live a life of luxury and abundance (even if it doesn't always seem that way), are tempted by the many bargains and sales that pressure us into buying, and often make spontaneous purchases that we don't need or even like (hence buyer's remorse). With regard to quality over quantity my dad used to say that he "can't afford to buy cheap." What he meant was that cheap stuff breaks faster and therefore needs to be replaced faster, and so ultimately costs more (and creates more waste).  Better to buy good quality items even if they are more expensive upfront. They will last longer and are a better investment in the long run.

Next tip is to recycle and buy recycled, aka second hand. This also reduces the amount of things that need to be manufactured, and the amount of things going into the waste stream. I buy a lot of clothes at second hand shops (I find more interesting things there, and I do hate mall shopping with a passion), donate unwanted furnishing items to a local shelter coordinator, and unwanted books to my local library. You can also resell your books on cash4books.net, as a friend recently pointed out. There are second hand shops for furniture now, and then there are whole organizations, such as Freecycle.org, that do nothing but help people shuffle their unwanted stuff around. Check it out, they have local chapters everywhere.

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Repair, repair, repair is my mantra. Recently, I had a pair of 20-year-old leather boots repaired that was still in good condition and which I really like. The repair was not inexpensive, but I prevented the boots from filling the landfill some more and I supported my local cobbler. Unfortunately, many appliances and electronics are inexpensive and have what they call "built-in obsolescence," and are often impossible to get repaired. It is frustrating. But I spent a few hundred dollars more on a new washing machine recently, which is supposed to last 15-20 years, instead of another one I was considering with an 8-10 year lifespan.

And lastly, I use www.ourcommonplace.com/yourlocation quite frequently for either donating and selling items, or requesting things I need. A while ago I needed reusable name tag holders for a local non-profit and found them for free from someone who had a box of them stashed away they no longer needed. More recently, we were looking for a ping pong table and I asked the local commonplace forum whether anyone was selling a used ping pong table. Lo and behold, a kind neighbor offered us one for free.

less (paper) waste

Since we take (too many) trees down to make paper, it makes sense to become more aware of the amount of paper we use and be diligent about it. Let's try to reduce its use, save it, reuse it or at least recycle it. Paper can be recycled multiple times before it becomes unfit for another cycle.

Reading your paper online, your books on an e-device, and sending emails and e-cards (and who writes paper thank-you cards anymore?) helps to reduce the amount of paper that needs to be manufactured. Although tedious, unsubscribing from catalogs you don't want is an important action. I save and reuse paper gift bags if they are in good condition. And in general, I am a dedicated, bordering on obsessive, recycler of all household paper and cardboard, such as cereal and other cardboard packaging, newspapers and magazines, Amazon shipping boxes (if I can't reuse them for sending out something else), envelopes, toilet paper and paper towel rolls (if I find them in the garbage I will take them out).

Since I get me eggs from friends or local farms I always bring the egg cartons back for reuse. Books you no longer want can be donated to your local library, or be given to friends who have not read them.

In my home office I make double-sided copies or print-outs, or print on back pages (the kids generate tons of one-sided school related paper I print on).  I also use shredded paper as packing material instead of the terribly environmentally unfriendly styrofoam peanuts or bubble wrap (I shred everything with a name and address on it, which makes for quite a bit of packing material).

If you do need to buy paper and paper goods, and we can't get around basics such as toilet paper and paper towels, paper napkins for the occasional party, or copy paper, consider buying products made from 100% recycled paper. But even I have my limits - I don't buy tissues made from recycled paper because I find them scratchy.