Earth Day Extravaganza

On this Earth Day Eve, "eco," "enviro," and "green" have become common parlance in almost everyone's vocabulary. Pick up almost any magazine this month - my personal favorites are the Discover Magazine issue and this week's New York Time's Magazine - and you can read about the latest environmental news and find easy ways to become more eco-active. One of my favorite new how-to resources is National Geographic's, Green Guide, which is a quarterly publication dedicated to "consuming wisely." You can even subscribe to the full magazine online - yup, that's definitely green.

Perhaps a bit too enthusiastic

Of course, Tuesday, April 22nd is Earth Day, and I admit that Earth Day festivities make me kind of giddy because of the many opportunities to raise awareness, take some action, and have a good time. Yes, I fall into the category of another new environmental buzzword - eco-geek.

However, you do not need to be "eco-anything" in order to join the Earth Day fun. Here are five easy ways to get involved:

1. Visit the Earth Day Website to locate events, get informed, and find ways to take action. Be sure to join the Earth Day Network campaign tomorrow in which thousands of people (you!) will call their representatives and senators and ask them to enact fair climate change legislation.
2. Plant a tree. If you live in the NYC area, visit Million Trees for more info about how to enjoy more greenery and clean air pronto!
3. Check out Earth911 for "Eight Ways to Green Your Earth Day," or the Green Guide's "Earth Day Tips 2008." For the record, these two articles offer a total of 15 tips. Challenge yourself to try out at least 5 suggestions for the rest of the year. Let us know how it goes...
4. Watch TV - Check out The Discovery Network's new Planet Green, or The Sundance Channel's The Green. Thanks to one of my readers, who turned me on to the Planet Green show, Wasted. The show's first stop? A fraternity house, but not for the reasons you might think. Definitely a must-see.
5. Talk to your friends tomorrow about what you, and by association they, can do about climate change.

What exactly does that V Stand For?

I am not really a fan of Valentine's Day. I understand that this is not a novel idea, as many people also dislike the category of holidays that come with expectations of consumption, manufactured affection, and inevitable feelings of exclusion for those who find themselves without a significant other.

Rather than boycotting Valentine's Day altogether, I offered to spread the love on my own terms - by volunteering at the V-Day benefit at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.


New friends at V-Day!

For those of you not familiar with V-Day, it is the organization founded by Eve Ensler. While I have been a fan of Ensler since the early days of The Vagina Monlogues, I really had no idea how influential she has become until I started doing a bit of research about her organization.

The woman of the hour - Eve Ensler

The goal of V-Day is to end violence against women by providing safety, helping women to reclaim their lives, and working to educate and change the practices currently threatening women all over the world.

To date, V-Day has raised over 15 million dollars. It is a true grassroots organization; money raised through benefits and performances of The Vagina Monologues is kept and used in the community where the money is raised. V-Day is empowering women and men all over the world to take a stand against violence.

This is the tenth anniversary of V-Day, and each year Ensler focuses on a certain area of the world. This year, Ensler centers the V-Day lens on New Orleans, and in April, V-Day will bring Superlove to the Superdome and will celebrate their 10th anniversary in style with their V to the Tenth Celebration.

Superlove will take place April 12-13th in New Orleans. The V to the Tenth performance will feature performances of The Vagina Monologues, V-Day activists from all over the world, and of course, celebrities - Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Jessica Alba, and Rosario Dawson to name just a few.

Consider attending the event or buying a ticket for a gulf coast resident to attend in your stead. Help to end violence against women all over the world - that's a "V" we can all stand for.

8 Reasons to Love '08

Thanks to many of your efforts, a lot of the issues explored in Weekly Way '07 blogs have been addressed by increased awareness and action and/or new legislation. Here's to continuing to support positive change in environmental, humanitarian, and political issues in '08!

It's a new year and twelve months of growth, education, improvement, and adventure lie ahead. Here are 8 reasons to get excited about '08, and the best news is that this is just the start!

1. There will be a presidential election! Please remember to register and vote.

2. You can join the Free Hugs campaign. At the very least watch the video. Trust me.

3. Thanks to organizations like Cross Cultural Solutions and Globeaware, you can can spend a week or more volunteering in countries all over the world.

4. President Bush just signed the the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act (SADA) into law. There is still much more to be done to stop the genocide, but this is a very good start.

5. Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dilemma, just published another book, In Defense of Food, with gems like, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

6. Almost every bill you can create (credit card, electricity, mortgage, phone etc.) can be payed online. What are you waiting for, paper hog? Go to their websites and switch to e-bills today, and while you are at it, don't forget to switch to electronic bank and investment statements too! You might even be able to save some money. Got a college loan to pay off? Sallie Mae offers interest rate reductions from .25-.375% on many loans if you change to electronic payments. That little bit pays off in big savings over time.

7. It is easier than ever to live in a cool city. Check out Sierra Club's list to see if your city made the grade. Either way, see how you can get involved and help keep your city cool.

8. The 2008 Smart Car ForTwo just became available in the United States.

Giving Back on a Day of Thanks

It will be Thanksgiving in less than a week, and it is my favorite holiday because it is all about gratitude and giving to those who need our help. We remember what we are so grateful for, and we make offerings, (often in the form of delicious food both to loved ones and also to those that we don't even know). I know from emailing with many of you that you will be volunteering your time at homeless shelters or soup kitchens this holiday. There is still plenty of time to plan a way to give back on this upcoming day of thanks.

Need inspiration? If you are interested in volunteering this holiday season, and have not yet found a place to do so, check out Volunteer Match. You can search by geographic location as well as areas of interest to find a volunteer opportunity that matches your skills. For more ideas, look at the thousands of volunteer opportunities on Idealist.org. You can also inquire with your local community centers and churches to see when and where they will be serving meals and what help they need. You can often prepare meals or dishes the day before and drop them off Thanksgiving morning. Consider dropping by your local food bank on the way back from your holiday shopping to share a few items of food that will surely make someone else's Thanksgiving a bit easier and sweeter.

If you want your efforts to be felt a bit further afield, consider making a donation to the Vitamin Angels. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to "providing vital nutrition in the form of supplements, to developing countries, communities and individuals in need." For example, $1 provides enough Vitamin A to prevent blindness in a child. Just $1 provides sufficient funding to preserve the sight of one child. On a day when many of us have so much, it is important to remember that 30% of the world's population suffers from nutritional deficiencies.

As for me, I can take no credit for my plans this week; they are all the product of the generosity and ingenuity of my friends and teachers. Thanks to our dear friends in Seattle, we will be making our annual trek out West in a few days where we will stock up on local fare, (check out the Puget Sound eat local pledge here, and visit local harvest.org to find your local and organic food purveyors). We will be cooking some dishes on Wednesday to drop off at the Plymouth Housing Group, whose mission is to "eliminate homelessness and stabilize homeless and very low income housing by preserving, developing, and operating, safe, decent, and affordable housing, and by providing opportunities for homeless and very low-income people to improve their lives." After dropping off our food at Plymouth on Thursday morning, I will go to the "Spirit of Gratitude" practice at Seattle Yoga Arts, the proceeds of which will be donated to Pasado's Safe Haven. Each of these upcoming celebratory moments will serve as reminders of how fortunate I am both to be with loved ones and to be of service to others.

Wishing you all a day filled with celebration, loved ones, and gifts of thanks.

The Bounty of Local Harvests: Part Two

Please pardon the length of time it has taken me to follow up with you about my farmer's market findings. It turns out that the New York City area is even more of a cornucopia than even I anticipated. My journey to find local bounty began at Stone Barns, located in Pocantico Hills, NY. stonebarnscenter

Here, I was greeted with the scents and sounds of a working farm. The scents were surprisingly fresh and crisp considering that I grew up next door to a working farm, and the scents coming from that farm were definitely more odoriferous in the most unpleasant sense of the word. I have a feeling this has to do with the fact that the farm's beneficial symbiotic practices extend to all of the flora and fauna that have the privilege of living at this location.

I entered the herb gardens where the market is held and was greeted with the smell of an herbal medley and tables loaded high with different varieties of salad and Asian greens, garlic scapes (yes, I found them!), herbs, several varieties of meat, and, of course, the vegetable that started this all - bunches and bunches of tasty, "I was just in the desert and happened on this oasis of taste," CARROTS! No time to rejoice though; I had more markets to visit, and these carrots would give me the energy I needed with their ample helping of vitamins A, K, C, and B. I found out the nutritional information about carrots incidentally from a very useful website called The World's Healthiest Food. The purpose of this site is "to provide consumers with unbiased scientific information about how nutrient-rich foods can promote vibrant health and energy and fit personal needs and busy lifestyles." The website includes recipes and nutritional information and health benefits of different foods.

Finally, some real carrots!

My tasty bounty

On Saturday morning, I visited the farmer's market in Pleasantville, NY. It is one of 19 markets run in the NYC area by Community Markets. Their three driving ideas are "to make fresh produce available to all people, to support local agriculture, and to strengthen local communities." A visit to a market with these values ensures that one can have the opportunity to speak to the person who is growing the food, which is in fact just what I did.

In fact, I met an entire family from Claverack, NY who farms using "local, humane, sustainable farming and use organic/biodynamic methods." The Cowberry Crossing Farm sells a variety of vegetables and also raise a variety of free-range, organically-fed farm animals including bees, horses, chickens, and rabbits. Their farm was clearly a family affair, and each member was helping out at the market. I found more organic produce including radishes, salad greens, onions, and garlic at the Butternut Valley Organics farm stand.


The Cowberry Crossing Farm Crew:
Richard, Cecile, Grace, and Reese

In addition to produce and eggs, I also found two purveyors of organic bread and cheese. The Bobolink Dairy and Bakeyard sells grass-fed raw milk cheeses, wood-fired rustic bread, and pasture-raised meats. A highlight of their website is cheesemaker Jonathan White's "bookshelf" with a listing of recently read books on topics not just about food, but also about the entire ecosystem including Oxford zoology professor Richard Dawkins' book The Ancestor's Tale and On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee. Jonathan's Bookshelf

My second bread supplier, Bread Alone, makes European style organic artisan breads and pastries. I tend to offset my Saturday morning yoga class with a healthy dose of organic sugar and carbs at their stand, where I often indulge in a croissant or fruit muffin. Their wide selection provides sweet and savory tastes for every palate, and they also have cafes in Woodstock and Rhinebeck, NY. Looking for someone to make your organic wedding cake? They do that too.

There's nothing better than fresh bread

I rounded out my food for the week with fruit from the Mead Orchard stand. Because it is July, I was able to get two different kinds of cherries and a quart of blueberries. Mead Orchard is located in Red Hook, NY and depending on the season, also offers strawberries, cherries, blueberries, peaches, apples, and pumpkins. Mead Orchard

We feasted for several days on our farmer's market food, and we even drew on some of the seasonal recipes from the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle website. When Wednesday rolled around, I got a call from one of my friends reminding me about a dinner we had planned for that evening. Since we did not have much left from my previous farmer's market trip, and I wanted to remain true to the project, I decided to check out the Greenmarket in Union Square in New York City. The markets are run by The Council on the Environment of New York City and take place all over the city. The Union Square market is open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. There are vendors selling produce, plants, meats, dairy products, pickled products, jams, breads, and desserts. You can easily find all you need for full meals here, especially during the summer months.

I bought everything I needed for the evening at the stands operated by Tello's Green Farm, Hydro Garden Farm, Evolutionary Organic, Hawthorne Valley Farm, and Keith's Farm, which is where I found this enormous head of organic lettuce.


State Fair, here we come!

I am spending the next few weeks in the Pacific Northwest, and I certainly plan on eating locally while there. When I return at the beginning of August, there will be many new fruits and vegetables to enjoy, including one of my favorites, heirloom tomatoes. Stay tuned, this report on the joys of eating locally and sustainably produced food may turn into a trilogy.