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November 2008 archive
Chickens in the Snow
My kids never used the adorable, wooden playhouse in our backyard. Usually there would be a single afternoon in the spring when they would go in there and pretend to cook up some pancakes on the little play stove—this would be the day after I swept it out and cleared the spider webs and dreary old wasp’s nests, and hung up a decoration or two. But by and large, the playhouse was a space waster.
No more! The playhouse is in the process of becoming the new winter quarters for my chickens. With the help of our friend Pablo, a criminal lawyer with a weakness for building things, we are insulating walls and blocking off windows to make a safe hen house. (Right now, the four salmon Faverolle hens remain in their summer home, the chicken tractor, a mobile coop we move around from place to place in our backyard.)
Mary, the woman who brought us the hens when they were tiny chicks seven months ago, was visiting this weekend. She owns three dogs, but has come to the conclusion that chickens are perfect pets. They’re intensely cute, not demanding, and they give you something valuable in exchange for your providing food and shelter.
And they’re trendy! How about all this press on chickens lately? Check out WBEZ’s recent report on chickens in Chicago, for one example.
Posted on Nov. 23, 2008 at 7:17 p.m. by Jill. Discuss (8 comments)
Lights Out Green City
We're wasting $1.5 billion per year on excess lighting, much of it just leaking out into the sky. Here's another great documentary film, "The City Dark," on light pollution, one of the few environmental problems for which the fix (turning the lights off) promises a relatively satisfying and relatively viable return to a pre-industrial natural state (darkness).
Watch and wonder.
Posted on Nov. 20, 2008 at 4:27 p.m. by Shane. Discuss (0 comments)
Our Home Grown Melamine Problem
My solution to all scary agricultural news is to buy local and to buy organic. I understand that this is classicist, but my guilt is outweighed by my belief that it offers me a modicum of safety from things, like, the melamine scare.
The New York Times had an Op-Ed piece on melamine yesterday. This has been on my mind recently because 1. I wrote a blog on it and then 2. I got an inbox full of WARNING: LACED HALLOWEEN CANDY soon after regarding candies imported from China found to contain melamine.
But, as usual, I found myself on one hand an advocate for policy change (I signed the MomsRising petitions, wrote the aforementioned blog, and righteously upped my strident dedication to Family Farmed), and on the other hand I just assumed that I was safe. I had thrown out my melamine plates, forced my child to accept honey sticks and raisins instead of Halloween candy, and, well, I eat local and organic.
Then I read the NY Times editorial by James E McWilliams who warns us that even if we eat local, organic, and grass-fed we are still at risk (though, he does point out, we are at less risk).
Why are we at risk? Because China isn’t the only one tossing melamine all over the place. Fertilizer companies commonly add melamine to their products and the government doesn’t regulate how much. The melamine accumulates as salt crystals in the ground and can be absorbed into food. Melamine can also end up in our chicken, beef, and pork that we consume. The article suggests that melamine-tainted animal feed is more common than we would like to believe and harder to track. Indeed, the US has known about melamine-tainted meat that it has chosen not to recall.
The FDA has set legal limits for melamine in food at 2.5 parts per million. This is considered a relatively conservative standard for adults weighing at least 132 pounds. Yet, as the article points out, what about children?
McWilliams writes: “First, while adults eat about one-fortieth of their weight every day, toddlers consume closer to one-tenth. Although scientists haven’t measured the differential impact of melamine on infants versus adults, it’s likely that this intensified ratio would at least double (if not quadruple) the impact of legal levels of melamine on toddlers.
This doubled exposure might not land a child in the hospital, but it could certainly contribute to the long-term kidney and liver problems that we know are caused by chronic exposure to melamine.”
Melamine is considered relatively safe for adults in low doses, however it can combine with cyanuric acid to cause BIG problems. The irony is that cyanuric acid can end up in food as a response to melamine in animal feed, and thus the two can easily occur together. This can even happen with organic meats which could have received tainted feed (most wheat gluten comes from China and it is all poorly regulated), grass-fed meats (grass is often the victim of fertilizers which aren’t well evaluated for safety), and I suppose even organic produce might end up with some remnant melamine crystals.
This news doesn’t mean I will give up eating local and organic—reduced risk is still reduced risk. It does mean, however, that I will stop assuming NOT ME when I hear about food scares from now on. Hopefully, this will force me to be a better advocated for things like testing on fertilizer and reduced imports from China. If nothing else, I will at least plant a bigger garden next year.
Posted on Nov. 18, 2008 at 5:08 p.m. by Green Mama. Discuss (1 comment)
For Thanksgiving think local foods
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It is not generally about mass consumption of stuff (just stuffing), nor is it exclusive to a certain religious group. Instead, it is about sharing food and thanks: a holiday that celebrates some of the greatest parts of our country, including our immigrant heritage, our food, and our tenacious survivor instinct.
Adding local foods connects us to the tradition of Thanksgiving. Sweet potatoes from your CSA, pie pumpkins from the farm the next state over, maybe sage from your own garden, and a free range Turkey from the farmer’s market. It reminds us of the connection between food and earth, between labor and sustenance, between wanting and receiving. What can you add from your region to your Thanksgiving meal this year?
Even Consumer Reports’ publishers, the Consumers Union, is encouraging us to eat local. It will reduce your carbon footprint, they tell us. Sustainable chef, Ellen King, told the Green Mama Café-ers this week that eating foods grown on small, local farms is far better for health and the environment than buying food labeled organic, but produced on huge farms in California. Luckily, in Chicago, we can often have both family farmed and organic.
Find out more about the Consumers Union Local Food ChallengeIf you live in the Midwest, find locally-raised food or a CSA that delivers to your Chicago-area neighborhood.
Check out this Eat Well Guide for additional resources of local and organic food near you.
Posted on Nov. 13, 2008 at 9:33 p.m. by Green Mama. Discuss (3 comments)
The End of the Big Spend
"It would be silly to insist that a few terrible moths meant the end of American consumer culture. But it would be equally silly to assume that culture could never change. It might be changing right now."
The front page article in the New York Times where this quote comes from wasn't about the environment. Like practically every other front page article of the past several weeks, it was about the economy: "Consumer's Buying Binge Slams to Halt."
For years, decades even, American environmentalists have wrung their hands over their fellow countrymen's ravenous desire for material objects. That gung-ho, no-holds-barred, no expense spared approach has suddenly stuttered, and quite possibly, stopped. "Sales of new vehicles have dropped 32 percent in the third quarter. Consumer spending appears likely to fall next year for the first time since 1980 and perhaps by the largest amount since 1942."
I'm sorry for the economic trouble we're in, and worried, too. But if ever there were a silver lining to the economic crisis, its potential for improving the environment surely is it. When more people experience what it's like to NOT shop and NOT to buy everything that we are capable of buying, it's possible some of us may find we like that feeling. More people learning we can get by with a little less means fewer raw materials coming out of the earth, and less robust plumes of pollution leaving smokestacks. Getting by with two cars instead of three in a household means consolidating car trips, which leads to less output of greenhouse gases.
It's possible the failure of Lehman, AIG, Washington Mutual and the rest will have a more positive impact on the environment than any governmental regulation.
Posted on Nov. 12, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. by Jill. Discuss (4 comments)
6 Cents a Bag, That's What They Pay Me
New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg is proposing a 6 cent depost on plastic bags to discourage people from taking them. An article in the New York Times says that in Ireland, a 33 cent bag fee led to a 94 percent drop in their usage.
But is money the best solution? A personal essay from Susan Dominus suggests that New Yorkers value their time more highly than they do a nickle. Making people wait in a longer line if they need a plastic bag could lead to greater reductions in plastic bag use.
Posted on Nov. 10, 2008 at 10:06 a.m. by Jill. Discuss (0 comments)
Elevator Pitch to Obama - - What Would You Say?
Grist asks various environmental activists what their elevator pitch would be if they happened to find themselves in an elevator someday soon with the President-Elect.
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/11/4/211442/450
You might think this scenario is farfetched, but in fact, I actually HAVE been alone in an elevator with Barack Obama. Of course it wasn't in the past two days; he was a mere Senator at the time, and we were leaving a building on Southport after dropping off our daughters at a birthday party for one of their classmates. We passed the 60 seconds discussing our daughter's mutual love of pink party dresses--perhaps in retrospect, a missed opportunity.
Don't mess up like I did if this happens to you! Decide now -- what is your pitch? What is the environmental issue Obama should tackle first?
Out of the Grist list, most of the activists are far too long-winded and wonkish. Vinod Khosla, a Silicon Valley investor, comes closest to a concise and meaningful answer, which is for Obama NOT do all things green but to tackle one major thing, like getting an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions from our vehicles, and making the technology low cost enough so India and China will use it, too.
Posted on Nov. 6, 2008 at 6:31 a.m. by Jill. Discuss (8 comments)
What Does Barack Being President Have to Do With a Greener Chicago?
Okay, so there were too many Connie's pizza boxes and plastic American flags thrown out in Grant Park last night, but beyond that, what does Senator Obama's promotion to "President Elect" Obama mean for the environment in Chicago?
Once Obama is President, it will be unseemly for him bring home pork for his hometown. However, it’s unlikely that Chicago will fare unfavorably during Obama’s tenure, environmentally or otherwise. Urban America is part of an Obama agenda, and thank the good Lord for that.
Olympics and Mass Transit
Obama’s election increases the chances that Chicago will win its bid for the 2016 Olympics. Though the environmental impact of the Olympics won't be great for specific locations—think Washington Park, where an arboretum, ball fields and open space will be all be smashed under by a stadium and thousands of people—the Olympics WILL lead to an investment in mass transit that is crucial to decreasing Chicago’s carbon footprint and air pollution levels. Reliable and safe public transportation was a definite weak point in Chicago’s bid package. Chicago has been forced to provide grand (and possibly overstretched) assurances to the Olympic committee regarding upgrades. Government investment in Chicago’s aging infrastructure is critical to the city’s future, and not just from an environmental standpoint. Having Obama as President won't hurt things here, and can only help.
3rd Airport
Long fought against by open space preservationists and others, the proposed third airport in the distant southwest suburbs could be revived if Jesse Jackson, Jr. steps into Obama’s senate seat. For the moment, economics are against it; around the country, airports with construction projects for new gates are meeting great resistance from the airlines who are forced to pay for them. But the economics of air travel could change in the next four years as Jackson (or someone) serves out Obama’s term.
Investment in Alternative Energy
The brightest potential point of an Obama presidency for the environment is that investments in alternative energy and higher fuel efficiency standards for cars are likely to continue and possibly expand. Even if the government is not directly subsidizing those industries, agency policies will encourage the market’s expansion. This issue affects much more than Chicago; our atmosphere is global and no region is immune to climate change.
Other
As for our other greatest global environmental crisis, the rapid loss of biodiversity, we have no idea really how an Obama presidency might have an impact, positive or negative. It’s easy to attach all our hopes and dreams to a politician; yet it all depends on who Obama appoints to Cabinet positions like the Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, and the head of EPA. What will be their levels of support for the Endangered Species Protection Act? For less polluting and more sustainable agricultural practices? For where the Bureau of Land Management or Forest Service will or won’t allow drilling, grazing, or lumbering?
What Else
Let’s hear it – what other environmental issues are you hopeful or concerned about with the new Prez-Elect? What hasn't been covered? What do you know about the man or his posse of close advisors that might give us some insight? What are you concerned about for your own city?
Posted on Nov. 5, 2008 at 6:02 a.m. by Jill. Discuss (4 comments)
Recycling Redux
Recycling seems like it should be simple. Garbage collection works like magic. Drag your trash to the curb and presto chango-it disappears, from the alley anyway. Given the number of Little Green Inquiries we get about recycling, it is clear that Chicago's system is not entirely user friendly. Do blue bags still work? Why can we only recycle plastic bags at the grocery store and not in the recycling bin? What about plastic bags for vegetables? Is styrofoam a no-go?
Here are a few of those answers in no particular order, knowledge courtesy of our on-call recycling czar, Chris Sauve. Keep in mind these rules apply to Chicago. Outlying suburbs live by their own rules.
The Great Plastic Bag Dilemma:
You can recycle plastic bags at grocery stores but not through the city's recycling program. This is primarily because the recycling process for plastic is very sensitive to color, density and grade. Mixing plastics can be like mixing oil and water, so it is easier to collect bags from a store because they are more likely to be the exact same type. Essentially it cuts out the middle man, streamlining the process and making it more cost effective. The primary recycler of bags in this region (used by Jewel) is a company called Trex. They turn bags into deck lumber and fence material.
The issue of plastic bags for peeled carrots or frozen food relates to the first. The grocery store can't collect those bags because they are not the same grade, and the city doesn't recycle them yet. The general rule of thumb for your personal recycling bin is toss in your harder plastics numbered 1-5 or 7, and skip cling wrap, films and light bags. This may change in time, but we're not there yet.
Unavoidable Styrofoam:
As for styrofoam, unless you have a truckload of it, you're out of luck. Some shipping companies will accept donated packing peanuts, but not the formed styrofoam that comes with a new appliance. If styrofoam is unavoidable and you don't have a burning list of craft projects, you can drop off or mail your foam to the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers. There is only one listing in all of Illinois, but there are several in Indiana. The last time this city dealt with recycling styrofoam was for the movie The Weather Man, starring Nicholas Cage. Apparently there is a very snowy scene that required several truckloads of styrofoam.
We're a long way from 100% recycling in Chicago, but I can offer a tiny glimmer of hope. A new ordinance going into action November 1 will require more food retailers to offer plastic bag recycling. That means you won't have to travel outside of your normal grocery route to see that someone gets a nice, recycled porch.
Blue Bags:
Unofficially, there is a chance your recyclables will get separated from your trash if you haven't given up the blue bag system. Your odds are better if you bring it to one of the city's depots. You might also want to pester your alderman about getting blue bins. A little nag now and then never hurts.
Keep your questions coming and we'll muddle through together.
Posted on Nov. 1, 2008 at 3:31 p.m. by Christie. Discuss (2 comments)
