pots of mold

Cue cheesy Irish music.

This just in... time for St. Patrick's Day: "Changing Shades of Green," a report published by the Irish American Climate Project in which Kevin Sweeney, director of the project argues, "The lush greens could turn to brown and the soft rains that people talk about as a blessing -- 'May the rains fall soft upon your field' -- those soft rains could turn harsh."

In short, less rain means less potatoes and brown grass. Emerald Isle "will look and feel and be different. And that's the subtlety we want to explain here. We don't want to project that this is a catastrophe. What it is, is it's heartbreaking."

Reuter's

junk mail

It's the end of the day and you have yet to decide what you want to change. You aren't ready to take on the challenges of a drastically different lifestyle, but the guilt weighs in, you know something needs to happen.

5 Steps to a Greener You:

1. Stop the Junk Mail, Opt Out!

2. Paper You Can Plant.

3. Save the Turtles, Eliminate The Choking Hazards.

4. Compost it

5. Turn off Lights - yeah it's that simple.

alcohol or chocolate?

I don't partake in Lent, and I don't particularly like to discuss religion. However, I can't help but wonder, "What will you give up today?" Maybe, instead of caffeine you will make a conscious effort to improve the environment. Maybe today you'll say, "it's the little things that count;" and you'll change a light bulb or ride your bike. Maybe you'll dare to try no impact living. Maybe, just maybe, you can have your cake and eat it to.

banana pancakes

Writer's block. Wait, I'm writing about writer's block? Well, that's a whole new blog. Anyway, censoring and editing myself has led to less than inspired posts for the last couple of days. I don't think I've been able to truly communicate the environment and pop culture's relationship. "Going green" maybe be like buying Ugg boots, but I want to believe it is more than an image. I want to trust that celebrities adopt this policy because they genuinely feel it has profound effects.

Even as I sit here sipping my tea, my cup reads "----bucks is committed to reducing our environmental impact through increased use of post-conumer recycled materials. Help us help the planet." The media perpetuates "their" image, but it also helps bring to light those who seriously want to change their lifestyles. It's a catch-22. Can you really judge an issue like environmentalism? If people are going green, because they want to convey this persona, the envrionment still wins. I'm not writing to compare and contrast. Is the media helpful or hurtful? Why do people adopt an environmentalist mentality? You can make that decision for yourself.

So now the real reason for today's post:

Jack Johnson.

What does he have to do with the environment? His album Sleep Through the Static, released today, was "recorded in Hawaii and Los Angeles using analog tape machines powered by solar energy."

gRossellini?

How's this for entertainment? Even movies are attempting to go green. Liam Lacy writes, "Sundance ha[s] been pushing the environmental themes strongly for the past six years." This film definitely pushes the envelop. Oh you don't know what I'm talking about?

Well it is Isabella Rosselini's new short film, "Green Porno." Debuting Tuesday, this film received mixed reactions. Lacy writes, "porn surfers with an interest in Isabella Rossellini may be startled to find themselves getting a bracing education about the copulatory habits of earthworms and snails."

I find it a curious and playful illustration. However, to conjure up the idea is twisted. I have an appreciation for the arts so I, myself, have different emotions about these films.

15

15 for 15

I've finally made a decision. 15 Green Chefs. Sounds like the start of a joke. Anyway, this is Grist's list of what they call, "15 eco-conscious chefs". I found it fitting. For more 15 "greens" click here.

So I was wondering, "what does it take to make this list?"

After reading this list, it seems to me, you must not only turn to locally grown produce, but begin to rethink consumption. It takes innovation. It requires our "fast food nation" to revolutionize, like Dan Barber, cooking as an expression of the surrounding countrysides.

For this Friday, a recipe from number 6. I'm a "psuedo-atkin-er" so I would substitute the puff pastry for a lower carb alternative.

My Old Man’s Superb Chicken

I recommend pairing with simple spinach.

For more recipes check his website.

We can learn from others. You can go green yourself

In the midst of research I stumbled upon a blog. At first glance you might think Colin Beavan is insane. You might even call his experiment impossible. I know I doubted him. But with his "year-long plan" ending this past November, a new movie and book set to release this year, I'm anxious to hear what he has to say. He seems to parallel McKibben and I think it will be interesting for research. Please take the time to read his blog and news article about his "no impact living."

No Impact Man
Extreme Green Living
A Year Without Toilet Paper

Ode to Rachel Ray

The Mission (impossible): Get Rachel Ray on the radio.

If only I could accomplish this task...

Work is a breeding ground for good blogs. That is once you get past how much your job sucks and how your boss is such a bastard. And then I think, "how about a teaspoon of sugar for this cup of tea"... It's not enough to just work out. We aren't thinking about the "junk" we are putting into our bodies anymore. We aren't listening to them.

So on this Friday, with the cleansing theme and the bitter cold weather, I give you... health improvement.

Belgian Waffles

• 1 cup soya powder
• 2 tablespoons granular sugar substitute
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon sugar-free vanilla syrup
• 1/4 cup ice water

1. Heat waffle iron per manufacturers instructions. Whisk together soya mix, sugar substitute, baking powder and salt. Add cream, eggs and syrup and stir until well blended. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until batter is the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
2. Spray waffle iron with oil spray. Pour in batter mix. Cook until golden brown. Serve with strawberries and whip cream (optional).
   

yoga fridays

5:45 am - Wake Up Call
6:30 am - Yoga
somewhere around 7:30 am all my negative energy escapes.




It was probably somewhere between
the Natarajasana (King Dancer Pose)




and the Dhanurasana (Bow Pose).

With all this purged space, creativity flourished.

"If I am going to blog about the environment, why not fully embrace all that is 'green'?" And while Yoga may not precisely fit into this so-called "green" movement, it is to the body and mind, like technological advances are to environmental structures. It requires one to look beyond the shallow surfaces.

Maybe you're one of those people who are intimidated by the "flexibility" factor. Or maybe you're like my friend Lindsay, who thinks yoga isn't challenging enough. If you aren't sweating, you aren't working out. Whatever the case may be, I hope to shed some light on the secrets of yoga. Stay tuned.

is recycling a "dyeing" trend?

Being a college student I don't have the space to recycle properly. Yes, I typed space. Not time. I tried to recycle. I figured all I needed to do was separate my plastics from my glass, but I was wrong. Apparently you must further separate your glass by color. This means that Coronas can't mix with Bud Lights. I don't have the space to have twenty different bins in which to separate my trash.

So, I can't help but wonder, with all these rules and regulations, "is recycling a dying trend?"

In the outstanding schools systems of America, I managed to learn, like everyone else, the 4Rs. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... uh, Pass the TAAS test? See that's what's wrong with our schools. We get a watered down education. So maybe there are only 3Rs. Maybe we're just lazy. Maybe?

I believe environmental problems, along with a handful of other issues, should be addressed first, at the private level, then the local level, then the state level, and only as a last resort the federal level. Environmental policy should be based up on the protection of the individual and private property. We can see what happens when the federal government gets involved...



Curbside Recycling

College Station