Don't Recycle!

As we become more aware of how long it takes for our waste to return to a state found in nature, we come up with new ways to lessen our impact.  We save bottles and office paper from landfills, bring our own bags to the grocery store, and even buy electric vehicles.  Businesses are noticing the trend and creatively adapting more environmentally friendly solutions.  Have you noticed the new reusable, dishwasher-safe containers at KFC?
Sure, the thought's nice, but is it enough?  How likely are fast food consumers to bring their dirty dishes home?  Even if the containers are recycled, recycling typically uses more energy than creating new materials.  Though it can help conserve woodlands in the case of paper products, there is a better solution.  It's a rarely-used, dirty little word.  We all live the way Lloyd Dobler warned us not to:
"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that." 

If we all depend on trade, how can anyone afford to say "less"?  Yet, it's the simplest, cheapest way to save the world.  One way to start?  Less driving.  Some estimates say that up to 40 percent of our driving is within 2 miles of our homes.  Of course it's often inconvenient in very hot or cold weather, with heavy bags, or with children.  However, the world seems to slow down when you walk or bike, and I've begun to notice the sweetness of Macon's brick streets and many parks and have been inspired to sit down with history books to try to figure out who once had the confidence to build such a lovely city.  As a bonus, Newsweek just published a story stating that 45 minutes of walking 3 times a week can improve brain function. 
 In conclusion, you probably should recycle, but try to remember the first parts of the slogan first:  Reduce, Reuse.

City Farm

Mike, a cousin of a friend who had lived in my apartment the year before me, had grown a bountiful vegetable garden in the tiny strip of land that lies beside the building.  In a space no more than 5' wide and maybe 12' long, he had grown enough watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, onions, and herbs to feed his family and extra to share.  When I heard about this harvest, I wondered whether I should continue his work.  The advantages of growing your own food are personal (you know whether it contains pesticides or has been genetically modified and save money on produce) and universal (food is transported to one less person and your kitchen scraps can go in the soil instead of a landfill).  However, is it safe to eat something grown in the most populated area of the most populated city in central Georgia, or will the trash and emissions of 100,000 people impact my food so that it is more contaminated than what I can buy at Kroger?

Plants use their roots to absorb nutrients from the soil, but the plants can also absorb other, more sinister compounds.  For example, the Oct/Nov 2010 issue of Organic Gardening, aluminum, cadmium, chromium, rubber plasticizers, softeners, accelerators, and zinc are all listed as leachates of tires as they break down. The New York Times 1000 Gardening Questions and Answers provides another source of concern: advertisements.  Though newsprint is usually made with safe, soy-based inks, bright ink on shiny paper can often release dioxin, a carcinogenic poison.   Motor oil, animal waste, and storm runoff from roads and pesticide-loving neighbors can ruin your best efforts to grow healthy plants.  Therefore, 1000 Gardening Questions and Answers recommends a professional soil test and yearly home testing with a kit.

One solution to pollution is presented in the Dec/Jan 2010/2011 issue of Organic Gardening:  If you have only a small area for cultivation, and dubious soil, then use "A Layered Approach."  This involves building a 18" nutrient-rich stack to base the garden. As listed in the article:

1. Water the soil well.
2. Dust with bonemeal and bloodmeal, or b & b. (Wear a respiratory mask!)
3. Layer coarsely shredded newspaper, then more b & b.
4. Apply 4" of alfalfa hay (1 bale for a 4' by 8' area) and dust with more b & b.
5. Apply 8'' of bedding straw (1 bale for a 4' by 8' area), repeat b & b.
6. Apply 4" of compost (preferably homemade so you know what's in it), add b & b.
7. Finish with 1/2" mulch.  Keep plants moist.

For more information on layered gardening, read Esther Deans' Gardening Book.  This approach will also increase your yield because the soil will be so heavy with what plants crave.

When choosing plants, remember that Macon falls on the boundary between Zone 7 and 8 .  This is based on the lowest expected temperatures in the area, and is a guideline for choosing which plants will thrive best in the region.  Good winter crops are collards, kale, Brussel sprouts, and Swiss chard, according to Beth Trigg in "Ask Organic Gardening," Organic Gardening Oct/Nov 2010.

For local vegetables without all the work, visit the city market on the green at Poplar St & Third St, Saturday 9 am - 1 pm.  There's only two more chances before it shuts down for the winter!

Sustainable Holidays 2010

Some great gift ideas that allow you to Reuse unwanted items:

1. T - Shirt Blanket

Great for: friends with lots of T-shirts, grandmothers

Materials: 

• a minimum of 5 rarely-used T-shirts
• clean old blanket (stains ok but permanent wet dog smell is not)
• scissors
• needle and thread or sewing machine
• ruler

Use the ruler to mark squares on the T-shirts or draw shapes that fit the shirt design.  Cut out the parts you plan to use.  Lay the blanket out on the floor.  Arrange the T-shirt squares to cover holes, stains, or ugly patterns.  If the blanket is a mess, you can use extra fabric to sandwich it, thus creating a quilt.  Pin or baste the squares to the background.  T-shirt fabric doesn't easily unravel, so a simple blanket or zig-zag stitch is ok to sew them on.  Sew additional fabric or a pretty ribbon around the edges to add a polished touch.

2. CD Tree Ornaments

Great for: music lovers, shiny-object enthusiasts, grandmothers

Materials:

• old cds and dvds that no longer play or skip too much
• glitter, stickers, ribbon, construction paper, old christmas cards, googly eyes, etc...
• scissors
• glue

Spit-shine the cds. Use your creativity to decorate them. To make a snowflake, take a white piece of paper.  Fold it in half, then fold that in half.  Then fold at a 45 degree angle, so that if you unfolded your paper it would be sectioned into 8 triangles.  Cut out simple shapes from this triangle. Unfold to see your symmetrical snowflake design.  Glue this to the unshiny side so that the spokes of the snowflake stick out and frame the cd.  You can also glue a picture of a loved one in the clear center of the cd.  Stick a magnet to the back to make a fridge ornament.

3. Grocery Bag Bag

Great for:  pet owners, grocery shoppers, grandmothers

Materials:

• handfuls of plastic bags (people with pets always save these to clean up their pets' emissions)
• knitting needles, crochet hook, or loom
• scissors

Arrange a bag so that it is flat on the table.  Cut off 1'' from the bottom and the handles, so that basically you're left with a tube top.  Try it on (this will help stretch out the plastic).  Now put the bag flat back on the table.  Cut it into 1'' inch strips.  Because these strips are from a bag, they should be circles when you pick them up. Loop one circle to the next to create a chain.  Stretch the plastic in the chain to make it thinner and longer.  Now you have something like yarn that you can knit, crochet, or weave into a more durable, reusable shopping bag.  The tan bags look like twine in the end.

4. Cardboard Soup Maker

Great for: people who rarely pay their utility bills, outdoorsmen, hoboes, grandmothers

Materials

• medium-size cardboard box that still has its top flaps
• pane of glass that can fit into the box (check abandoned homes)
• aluminum foil
• metal pot, smaller than box

Line box with foil, taking care not to wrinkle it.  Tilt flaps so they are angled to reflect the sun's rays onto pot.  Make sure the edges of the glass are either sanded smooth or covered with masking tape so no one will get hurt.  Insert pot into box and cover with glass pane.  The box can be folded in and placed with the glass pane into a Grocery Bag Bag for easy portability.  To make soup, place water and vegetables into pot.  Leave outside during daylight for 7+ hours, and Presto!

This post was inspired by my two heroes: my crafty Ukranian mother and Amy Sedaris.