Category Archives: Green

Greening my blog (and my dog)

Hope you’ve had a fun St. Patrick’s Day

Rory Dog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve been Dublin over with laughter!

Did I really just say that?

(Yes, I O’Reilly did.)

This ad makes me feel lazy

What have you accomplished today?

A billboard in Lima, Peru converts air into purified water for drinking.

Let’s hear it for the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) and ad agency Mayo Publicidad. Thanks to their ingenuity, families in that desert community have access to over 25 gallons of purified water a day.

I think I can add a couple of things to my to-do list…

Save the salt for our chips, please

When I arrived home last night, light snow was falling on New York City. The street was quiet. My footprints (and luggage tracks) were the first to disturb the sidewalk snow. It was a welcome scene.

This morning’s cityscape was very different.

sidewalk saltBuilding superintendents and doormen had arisen early to litter the sidewalks with salt, which burns the paws of  dogs and can make them sick if they lick it. Plus, the chemicals in the melting ice can contaminate the soil and ground water.

And yet building owners continue to spread it quite liberally, every snowy morning.

Safe T Pet Ice MeltI’m not saying leave sidewalks untreated — simply use a safer melting alternative.

Our good friends at Morton Salt make an ice melt that is salt free, chloride free, and organic.  It doesn’t irritate dog paws or tummies and melts below 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Does it cost a bit more?  Like most green-friendly products, it is a bit more expensive.  But stacked against the high price our pets and the environment pay, I’d say it’s well worth it.

I’m going to talk to my building super today.

“You say traction; I say corrosive chemicals.  Let’s call the whole thing off!”

A slip up

If a recipe or menu says ‘banana,’ I’m there.  But the banana peel?

bananaskin

I’ve always treated like compost.

Well, it turns out the peel contains more potassium and soluble fiber than the fruit.  Plus, it can put you in a better mood because it reacts with the serotonin in your brain.

But if you just can’t get past the flavor of the peel, rub it on your skin.  The peel is a near-miracle drug; it can reduce skin inflammation, stop itching, remove warts, smooth out wrinkles, and even get rid of acne!

Who’s the monkey now?  Me for not knowing this years ago!

If a tree falls

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, What’s next for you we should discuss.

You grace our homes with twinkle lights,  Then hug the curb — that’s just not right.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Plus, my dog pees on you.

A lot.

Buggin’

I’m okay not knowing everything.

For instance, I had never heard of the Asian long-horned beetle. Then I saw this poster in the subway.

Now I not only know what the gnarly bugs look like, but that they’re killing our trees. And we need to stop them…and never move firewood.

Never move firewood?  Okay.

Hardwood trees in my adopted state of New York have been destroyed; trees in Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey, too. Trees in forests and cities all across America are at risk.

I went into the subway for a ride, not an education on scary bugs.  But unfortunately, you can’t erase unwelcome memories Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-style in real life.

So, if I have to have this tree killer’s image in my head, so do you.

If you see one, report it to 866-702-9938.  Better yet, they recommend you catch a few in a jar and freeze them, or take digital pictures.  Both will aide officials in identifying the beetles.

Got it?  Good.  Now go de-bug your brains.  Pet a warm, fuzzy puppy…or read celebrity dish in US Weekly.

That’s my plan.

Next stop

Today on Twitter, there’s a trending topic called:

ThingsNotToDoOnPublicTransportation

This is a subject near and dear to my heart, because public transportation has been a way of life for me since I moved to Boston way back in 2000.

I took one look at the parking situation, sold my car, and vowed to walk, take the subway or hail a cab for all my transportation needs.

I’m in New York City now and haven’t regretted a day.

That being said, public transportation does put you ‘up close and personal’ with people — some you want to meet, some you don’t.  It doesn’t bother me overmuch, but for the people on Twitter today, their comments have some recurring themes:

  1. Don’t sit next to me.  Let’s face it — sometimes you don’t have a choice.  But when the bus or subway is empty, and a person sits right next to you?  Yeah…that’s creepy.
  2. Don’t play loud music. I feel this one.  And we’re not talking the guy with the big boombox or the singers panhandling for change.  We’re talking the folks with their iPods on and earbuds in… and it’s still too loud.  Future deaf people.
  3. Don’t stink up the place.  Uh, yeah.  Washing before boarding? That would be great.
  4. Don’t take up two seats.  Sometimes that is a simple matter of girth. But when the train is crowded and you’re using seats for your backpack.  Rude.
  5. Don’t make eye contact.  Hate to admit it, but I am a serious violator.  I like to look around at people.  If I catch someone’s eye — and they don’t scare me — I smile.

Perhaps I should start a new trending topic:

ThingsSouthernersDoOnPublicTransportation

Travel tips

Have you spent the morning after the 4th perusing your friends’ vacation snaps online?

I know I have.

I stayed in Manhattan this year, but many folks left the city to find their bliss.  The question is: how did they decide whether to drive or fly?

I found a nifty calculator on BeFrugal.com that helps you compare the cost and time of both modes of transportation, so you can make the best choice for every trip.

Just enter your starting and ending destinations, the length of your stay, even the estimated price of hotels along the way if you were to drive.  The calculator will show you the relative cost of the trip by car and plane in dollars and hours.

It even tells you the carbon footprint for each — my, they’ve thought of everything!

Well…not everything.

Which is why I would like to propose my own travel calculator….which I believe simplifies things quite a bit.  You only have to answer two questions.

  1. Who is paying for the trip?  If the answer is “me,” proceed to TRAIN  or BUS.  If the answer is “someone else,” proceed to PLANE.
  2. How long will it take to drive?  IF the answer is under 2 hours, proceed to TRAIN.  If the answer is more than 2 hours, proceed to PLANE.

I hope this has been helpful.

In the noodle

Would you take a punch for some pad thai?

It is yummy.

Stir-fried rice noodles, eggs, bean sprouts, and any combination of shrimp, chicken or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and lime juice.  When I’m at a Thai restaurant, I find it hard to order anything else.

But would I willingly get in a fist fight for my fav?

Two ladies in a Manhattan Trader Joe’s did.

The altercation started when one woman’s son ‘interfered’ with the other’s husband’s attempt to pick up a pad thai in the produce section.  Words were exchanged, followed by a slap.

Now the two families are continuing the clash in court, contesting an attempted harassment charge.

All over a package of pad thai — and vegan pad thai at that.

And I here I thought vegans were all about peace and love and serenity.  Just goes to show you…

Eating all that tofu makes you testy.

Boxing day

It was the head bonk heard ’round the world.

I was in the first grade.  Thor*, a boy in my class, hit me in the arm…hard.  So I hit him back. In the head.

With my red plaid metal lunch box.

He ran home and cried to his mother.  She called my mom — damn small towns — and said, “Thor only hit Carla because he likes her.”

And that’s when I learned what a hit in the arm really means.

Love pats like that got metal lunch boxes banned in the 1970′s.  But they’re making a comeback today, thanks to some clever local green initiatives.

On Earth Day, Lulu’s Noodle Shop in Kansas City introduced a pinto pail program for to-go orders.  (Pinto pails are stackable metal lunch boxes used in Thailand.)

For customers who agree to a one-time $30 fee (to cover the cost of the pinto, which is shipped from Thailand), meals are packed and delivered in the pail, which keeps food hot for about an hour.  Customers must then return the pinto — washed, rinsed and dried — in exchange for their next order which will be delivered in another pail.

The press release from Lulu’s encourages guests to participate and “cut down on landfill waste of traditional packaging, thus saving the Earth one meal at a time.”

Looks like it could do some damage, too.  Watch out, Thor.  I know where you live.

* Name changed to protect the guilty