Keurig Takes Over the World... and All the Landfills

There is one recent American consumer-based fad in particular that sufficiently demonstrates just how lazy we have all become. Let me introduce you to the Keurig, although I highly doubt you need introduction. Have our personal and professional lives really become that urgent that taking an extra five minutes to brew a pot of regular, old-fashioned coffee is out of the question? To me, coffee is more than just a means of kicking my body in gear for the day. It's a ritual. I cherish taking those first thirty-or-so minutes of my day to sip on a mug of freshly brewed coffee and savor a hearty breakfast. It's the one part of the day that I happily allow to transpire in slow motion. Do we honestly need our lives to happen at fast-forward like speeds for every waking second?

North American consumers go through roughly 2.5 million Keurig singles daily... daily! And almost 2 billion cups have been brewed since the company first started doing business in 1998. You can listen to them boast and brag about these statistics right here in their corporate profile. Also adding to the carbon footprint left by Keurig are the production and shipping processes that are required to deliver the machines and single coffee cups to households around the nation. 

In comparison, old-fashioned ground coffee can be composted, along with those paper coffee filters. Coffee beans make an excellent addition to compost for acid-loving plants like hydrangeas, blueberries, and azaleas. By reverting back to old fashion brewed coffee, you're not only saving on grocery bills but preventing thousands of those plastic-squandering Keurig cups from making homes out of landfills.

Green Tip of the Day

It's no secret that we Americans consume far more sugar than is needed or healthy. I make no strides to hide my unrelenting sweet tooth, but I try my best to keep it under control and to choose the more sustainable options when choosing sweeteners. Sugar production is responsible for more loss in biodiversity than any other crop, and America and Europe are the two biggest culprits for excessive sugar production. Sugar farms use harmful amounts of pesticides and are accountable for the resulting polluted wastewater.

In my opinion, honey is the most sustainable option when it comes to natural sweeteners because it can be purchased locally almost anywhere. Honey produced from clover and wildflowers leave essentially no trace on local ecosystems. Clover is actually beneficial to the environment because it naturally fixes nitrogen in the soil. Although honey is higher in calories than white sugar, it is sweeter so you don't need to use as much of it. It also has added health benefits such as improving immunity, blood sugar control, helping with allergies, and is effective as a cough suppressant.

Next time you run out of that bag of white sugar sitting in your pantry, stop by your local farmer and pick up a jar of honey and use it to sweeten your tea, stir into your oatmeal, and substitute in the kitchen when making baked goods.

Other (more) sustainable options:

1. Coconut palm sugar
2. Brown rice syrup
3. Maple syrup
4. Agave nectar

Just keep in mind that most of these sweeteners are not produced locally for most of us, so the fuel it requires to have them shipped all around the country leaves a pretty hefty carbon footprint. It's not necessarily the process that makes them less sustainable options than honey, but the need for them to be transported after they have been produced.

IKEA's Mini Greenhouse

IKEA is now making it even easier for those city-dwellers to exercise their green thumbs... indoors. The new SOCKER mini greenhouse offers the perfect environment for starting seeds and housing established plants, with a mod-chic visual appeal. These little plant dwellings are decorative, functional, and economical... and only $19.99! Triple whammy. Here are some ideas for what you can do with a SOCKER greenhouse.

{images via IKEA website}

brooklyn grange rooftop farms

I recently came across these rooftop farms which have sprouted up (pun intended) in several cities like New York City and Philadelphia. Brooklyn Grange Farms is a one-acre rooftop farm located in Queens, NYC that grows organic produce and sells it to local community and restaurants. They hope to inspire others to install rooftop gardens of their own and their goal is to "improve access to very good food, to connect the city more closely to farms and food production, and to make urban farming a viable enterprise and livelihood."Brooklyn Grange grows a wealth of different tomato varieties as well as salad greens, herbs, carrots, fennel, beets, radishes, and beans nine months out of the year. 

Pretty neat, huh?! I only wonder why people didn't think to do this sooner.

5 ways to celebrate Earth Day

Hope you're all having a joyful Earth Week! I couldn't be more excited for this weekend for two important reasons- 1. my birthday and 2. Earth Day

I was not born to hippy parents. In fact, I haven't a clue where my tree hugging tendencies derive from. I seemed to just innately love the earth and want to protect it. I attribute this to being born the day before Earth Day. Spring is my favorite season and I think April is the perfect month to be born in. To celebrate these two important events, the plan was to go camping up in North Carolina for the weekend. However, the weather gods do not seem to be on my side and there are severe thunderstorm warnings all weekend, so camping is going to be postponed until next weekend.

Here are some realistic ways that you can show Mother Nature some lovin' for this year's Earth Day.

1. Visit your local farmers market

Produce tastes so much better when it's fresh, local, and in season anyways. Give back to both the environment and your local community by ditching the grocery store for the week and shopping local instead. Round up a group of friends, check out the free samples, and take the time to catch up on life. Most farmers markets also sell locally made art, gifts, and trinkets.

2. Cook a great meal

Now that you've got all this fresh produce, get your friends together and cook an awesome meal together. Here are some great recipes that use produce that's currently in season.

Side: Spring Egg Salad

Main Dish: Sauteed Chard and Gruyere Grilled Cheese

Dessert: Apple, Cherry, and Blueberry Crisp

3. A repurposing project

A great way to use old glass containers is to remove the label and repurpose them as holders for makeup brushes/ pens/ lip gloss/ whatever your heart desires. I filled up an old glass jar, filled it up with colored sand and stones, and now use it to hold my makeup brushes. It's a unique, pretty way to display my makeup brushes.

4. Go camping

Nothing makes you appreciate the environment more than basking outdoors in its greatness. Round up some friends and camping gear and head out for a weekend of camping. Just made sure you clean up after yourselves while you're on the trails!

5. Travel lightly

Ditch your car for a day and bike, walk, or take public transportation wherever you need to go. My campus employer Outdoor Recreation hosted an event this week called "Travel Lightly" to reward students that biked, walked, took a shuttle, or carpooled to campus that day. We had a bike parade and held a raffle, and made the front page of the newspaper the next day. It's a really simple concept that can make such a profound impact on the environment.

What else will you be doing this weekend to celebrate Earth Day?

{hippy read} animal vegetable miracle

 

This book changed my life.

Or at least the way that I eat in it. 

Calling all hippies, vegans, carnivores, and cookie monsters alike- no matter what you may call yourself, you should really pick this book up and read it from front to back.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle tells the story of a family that decided to eat only what they could produce on their very own farm in rural Virginia. Rather than preaching benefits of a vegan/paleo/pescetarian, etc. diet, AVM promotes a "locavore" way of life- eating whole, unprocessed foods that are organic, local, and in season. Barbara Kingsolver enlightens you with overlooked facts about America's food industry while keeping you entertained with her witty recaps of life on the farm. The book also contains tons of really awesome recipes, all of which are available on their website.

Rather than making self-promises to shun all animal products, I have vowed to be more conscious of what I eat. I now think about what it took to get my food from its place origin to my plate. 

And sadly, that means no more bananas. 

...okay one banana per week won't kill anyone, right?