I hope your New Year’s and Earth Day resolutions are well on their way to being successful! One new thing I’m trying this year, in addition to my food paradigm shift toward healthier eating, is finding new and creative ways to lesson my footprint and track it. While I am pretty happy most of the time knowing I’m doing better than average, I still like to run a check and balance on myself. Is it masochism? Probably not, just more incentive to show folks that it’s possible. Maybe a little masochism. Just for good measure.

Anyhoo, I am intrigued by carbon footprint calculators, but have joked about how there needed to be a Weight Watchers for carbon consumption, so that you had more tracking in real time.

One place I found is the website brighterplanet.com. Named the Smallbusiness of the Year by Treehugger.com, Brighter Planet gives you a place to track your behaviors that cut your carbon emissions (drip dry your dishes! eat local food! ride share!) while at the same time tracking how often you do them (once, thrice/week, all week) in order to get precise calculations. While I’m new at it, I hope after a while I can start noticing habits I can improve based on their trove of tips an ideas, some that I hope to try and share here.

I initially went to the site to vote for a friend of mine’s solar panel project (full disclosure) which is competing for funding this month. After I registered (you have to in order to vote) I started looking around and thought it was a site worthy of mention. Check out their full list of projects to vote for here, and you get three votes to spread around any way you choose! I was impressed they have (non-voting) projects in the works building methane digesters and wind turbines– two solutions that can be part of an overall smart energy strategy.

I’ve already started seeing what I can add to my carbon footprint log to reduce what I’ve contributed in 2010 (twentydime)!

BB

As we quickly approach Food Independence Day, I ask what you’ve considered about your own food consumption habits?

*I spent last weekend in lovely Manchester, TN at the Bonnaroo Festival. Bonnaroo does more than most festivals in trying to lessen its footprint, which got me thinking about what a little citizen action could do at ANY event!

1-Separate bins for trash, recycling, and compost throughout the grounds.
2- A person called a “trash talker” posted at trash stations to help tell you whether you needed to recycle, compost, or trash. (I do wish they’d been dressed like scarecrows so the pointing would’ve been more theatrical…)
3- Water refilling stations throughout the venue that encourage the use of reusable bottles.

How easy would it be to incorporate these small steps into any community festival or even outdoor concert facility? How can we make this happen? Public events are monsters for trash generation, and I would argue the implementation of the “trash talkers” made a significant difference in making sure disposables got placed in the right container… just some thoughts.

**Do you eat soy? (tofu, edamame, soy milk… chances are you eat soy whether you know it or not!)

Our pals at the Cornucopia Institute have provided this guide to help navigate which companies are giving you the goods, and which ones are giving you the runaround. (Personally, I love their use of the word “charlatans.” Grrrr!)

Soy Report and Scorecard

[while you're there I also recommend checking out the "Who Owns Organic?" chart... it will make you choke on your wheatgrass to see how the food system is structured!]

***Want something to look forward to on Mondays?

Sir Paul McCartney (my third fave Beatle) has announced his MEAT FREE MONDAY campaign– just one day a week can help reduce world carbon emissions, your own carbon footprint, and with the recipes provided on his website, your waistline, too!

MEAT FREE? PASS THE TWO VEG!

**** And if you’re just looking for some healthier substitutes in your regular diet, MomCentral compiled this list of easy substitutes that improve your nutrient intake… frequently with yummier substitutions. (Admittedly, I’m biased– most days I’m convinced I could live on sweet potatoes and avocados.)

Mom says eat right!

Be delicious!
BB

The Eat the View campaign is mobilizing to get governors’ mansions across the U.S. to plant gardens instead of using the entire lawn for grass/landscape. Why not dedicate these spaces to food production for your family and neighbors? Even planting veggies and herbs in place of flowers can increase the environmental value of your property while reducing your carbon footprint. The Eat the View Campaign’s parent organization, Kitchen Gardeners International, has declared this July 4th “Food Independence Day,” encouraging folks to consume meals made from local and sustainably grown food. And they don’t forget to tell you how delicious it is.

Vermont was the first state to follow the lead of the White House and USDA, and this morning, Pennsylvania becomes the second state to plant its garden.

More research is emerging that organic agriculture stands to make a significant impact in efficient carbon sequestration– effectively aiding in management and mitigation of greenhouse gas production.

Here are stories:
Pennsylvania
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/prnewswire/2009/05/21/prnewswire200905211404PR_NEWS_USPR_____DC21214.html

Vermont :
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090515/NEWS03/90515013/At+Vt.+Statehouse++even+the+thumbs+go+green+

If you haven’t yet declared your food independence, please do here:
http://foodindependenceday.org/

For the latest in research regarding organic agriculture and carbon sequestration visit:
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/global_warming

Happy eating, friends!

BizzyBoots

“The $150 million stadium can house 55,000 spectators and can power 80% of the surrounding neighborhood if it‘s solar array is connected to the grid during days when the stadium is not being used.”

$25 Million for wind blade testing center: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iP0VtrYpf4MzX_npoxZx3a285ZWQD984VF4O1

Solar panels that are clear glass – How nice would this be, could you imagine large skyscrapers adorned with this?

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/05/transparent_solar_panels_for_windows_and_more.html

Some challenges associated with the power grid as we add more and more electric vehicles to it.

http://www.physorg.com/news159201760.html

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Pictures from my train ride:

The Sonnenschiff by architect Rolf Disch in Freiburg, Germany:

Video Interview with architect Rolf Disch (German with English subtitles)

Video: Sonnenschiff report from Deutsche Welle (English)