Weekend Extravaganza

There's a reason why people don't typically move into a new apartment in the middle of December. I mean, have any of you moved during that time? I guess usually it's in the middle of the school year and finals week, Christmas break, and all that, but still I don't think I know of anyone that has moved in the middle of the winter...because it's too cold!

Your fingers freeze carrying boxes, you have to keep shoveling the sidewalk, and it's icy. To make it easier to move things in and out, you usually keep the front door open, which makes it cold inside. There are many battles to moving in general, but December is not a good time. Now that I'm not confined by the school schedule, I said, "Hey, this is a great place. I'll take it!" Without thinking this through. I don't recommend moving in the winter if it can be avoided.

But, one things for sure: If your furniture wont make it up the stairs, get a little creative and string it up with your climbing rope and haul it over the balcony!

Switch 'Em Out!

One of the ways to green up your life a little bit (and would make a great New Year's resolution) is to really think about and start saving some electricity. There are many ways to do this. One is to switch out all your light bulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's). The easiest way to do this is to buy a pack of CFL's and replace your incandescents as they burn out, and then vow to never buy an incandescent light bulb again!

CFL's cost more than incandescent light bulbs do up front, but they also last about ten times longer. And the energy that they consume is about 75% less than incandescents as well. According to livescience.com, replacing one incandescent bulb with a CFL reduces CO2 gas by about 500 lbs. per year. CFL's use the electricty that is pouring into them to produce light, while incandescent light bulbs expound a lot of heat while also producing light. Most of the energy that is used by incandescent light bulbs produces heat, instead of light, which is why CFL's are so much more energy efficient.

The trick with CFL's, however, is how to dispose of them. Never throw them away!! In order for CFL's to be so energy efficient, they must be made with small amounts of mercury. If they are just thrown into the landfill, this murcury can accumulate and seep into the earth and pollute ground water. So use some caution when handling CFL's and when disposing them, always take them to a recycling center. If you live in Salt Lake County, you can take your spent CFL's to these "hot spot" Salt Lake County Libraries:

• Bingham Creek, 4834 W. 9000 South, West Jordan.
• Calvin Smith, 810 E. 3300 South, Millcreek.
• Whitmore, 2197 E. Fort Union Blvd. (about 7000 South), Cottonwood Heights.
• Draper, 1136 E. Pioneer Road (12400 South), Draper.
• Hunter, 4740 W. 4100 South, West Valley City.
  
• Magna, 8339 W. 3500 South, Magna.
• South Jordan, 10673 S. Redwood Road (1700 West), South Jordan.
• R.V. Tyler, 8041 Wood St. (55 West), Midvale.
• or if you don't want to head over to your local library like the ones above, you can recycle them at the Salt Lake Valley Solid Waste Management Facility, 6030 W. California Ave, or the Trans-Jordan Cities Landfill, 10873 S. 7200 West, in South Jordan

Another option, and this applies nationally, is to take them down to any Home Depot or Ikea store. Both franchises have the facilities to recycle CFL's properly. To find out where to recycle CFL's in your area, visit the EPA's website. To check out some safety tips on how to clean up broken CFL's and how to recycle them properly, check it out here.

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Christmas Tree Debate

It's that time of year when Christmas trees are going up or, like my family, have been up for weeks. Heated debates about whether fresh-cut trees or artificial trees are more sustainable abound. And, I admit, I'm not sure of the whole thing myself. Everything has its pros and cons.

My coworker, Andree', put up a nice post on my work blog, Green Fork, that offers some intriguing arguments both for and against both Christmas tree options. I encourage you to check it out, and think about it.

I think Andree' sums up a lot of the debate nicely:

"Bottom line... Whatever you choose, remember to keep in mind what is important to you and what is good for the environment. Awareness is key! If you feel strongly to keep on the tradition of the live tree, do it, there are good arguments for it. If you love Aunt Hilda's fake pink tree that was passed on to you, kudos for reusing. If you don't mind being nontraditional, inventory what trees and shrubs you'd like in your yard and have your Christmas Tree serve two purposes."

But I also think that the comment we received at the end of the article includes a nice point. Remember the conversations about paper or plastic bags? Well, as Ron points out to us, the "paper or plastic" debate over the Christmas tree is similar to the paper or plastic debate for grocery bags. At the grocery store, we should really be bringing our own reusable bags every time we shop. So what does that mean for the Christmas tree? Well, you tell me. I'm thinking a little creativity and starting some new traditions might be good places to start, but there are pros and cons for everything.

Turkey-Day

Before the holiday weekend I was thinking about how great it was going to be to get in some extra time to put up some great posts...and well...you can see how that one went. The long weekend got going and I found myself spending a lot of time doing all types of fun things, but not posting. Here is a Turkey-Day recap:

I am a vegetarian. I have been so for about two years. My reasoning is not generally based on animal cruelty (though that is an added benefit) but more on environmental impact. The idea is to eat lower on the food chain. My decision also comes with various health benefits and, as it turns out, is much cheaper too. But for this Thanksgiving my family bought a free-range organic turkey from a farm not too far from where I live as a special treat. So I decided to go for it and honestly, it wasn't as exciting as I was expecting it to be. We did our own brine-ing (a process where the whole turkey is essentially marinated in our own concoction of spices and other good-li-ness) and it was very tasty, but after two years I thought it would be more of a to-do.

As the day went on, though, I remembered that when I did eat meat all of the time, turkey wasn't my favorite on Thanksgiving. Sure, it was good, but I was much more happy eating my grandmother's rolls, my step-father's green bean casserole, and delving into my mom's mashed potatoes. The only thing the turkey was good for was the leftover sandwiches (only made with white bread of course--the only time of year we had white bread) for days to come. And as this Thanksgiving, complete with Turkey, went by with plenty of delicious white bread turkey sandwiches.

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Day 9

So I have been trying to get a little more exercise, get back into shape, and all that jazz. I was talking with a friend of mine who helps out coaching some high school teams around the valley. With beginning athletes he always challenges them to the 100 Day Challenge. And he challenged me. Before even thinking about it, I said, "Sure, okay."

Well, I just completed Day 9. For 100 Days I have to get some type of exercise on my feet. (Running, Elliptical, and I'll probably throw some x-country skiing when there's more snow.) I can't skip any days, or the challenge is over. So today was Day 9 and I'm doing really well. The nice thing about the challenge is that the amount of time doesn't matter. It could be 15 minutes or 4 hours. Every day can't be 15 minutes, but there will be those days where time just doesn't allow for more than that. And if you do a crazy 3 hour work out the day before, it doesn't carry over. The point of the challenge is to teach you that some exercise is always better than none, and that you can always fit in a work out, no matter how busy you are. More often than not, once you get started you will keep on going.

Anyway, the day I complete my 100 Day challenge is February the 22. Awesome! Completely doable and I am very excited to be in better shape so I can crank harder on my bike and pull harder on the rocks up in the mountains next spring and I can't even wait. Anyone else want to join me?

Hooray!

A surprise video message from President-elect Barrack Obama was delivered to the Bi-Partisan Governor's Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles earlier this week. He shared his thoughts about the challenges ahead facing climate change and his plans as president of the changes he is going to make in the face of climate change and the environment when he takes his place in the oval office. His full remarks are:

"Let me begin by thanking the bipartisan group of U.S. governors who convened this meeting.

Few challenges facing America -- and the world -- are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear. Sea levels are rising. Coastlines are shrinking. We've seen record drought, spreading famine and storms that are growing stronger with each passing hurricane season.

Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil, if left unaddressed, will continue to weaken our economy and threaten our national security.

I know many of you are working to confront this challenge. In particular, I want to commend Governor Sebelius, Governor Doyle, Governor Crist, Governor Blagojevich and your host, Governor Schwarzenegger -- all of you have shown true leadership in the fight to combat global warming. And we've also seen a number of businesses doing their part by investing in clean energy technologies.

But too often, Washington has failed to show the same kind of leadership. That will change when I take office. My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process.

That will start with a federal cap and trade system. We will establish strong annual targets that set us on a course to reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them an additional 80 percent by 2050.

Further, we will invest $15 billion each year to catalyze private sector efforts to build a clean energy future. We will invest in solar power, wind power and next-generation biofuels. We will tap nuclear power, while making sure it's safe. And we will develop clean coal technologies.

This investment will not only help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil, making the United States more secure. And it will not only help us bring about a clean energy future, saving our planet. It will also help us transform our industries and steer our country out of this economic crisis by generating 5 million new green jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced.

But the truth is, the United States cannot meet this challenge alone. Solving this problem will require all of us working together. I understand that your meeting is being attended by government officials from over a dozen countries, including the U.K., Canada and Mexico,
Brazil and Chile, Poland and Australia, India and Indonesia. And I look forward to working with all nations to meet this challenge in the coming years.

Let me also say a special word to the delegates from around the world who will gather at Poland next month: Your work is vital to the planet. While I won't be president at the time of your meeting and while the United States has only one president at a time, I've asked members of Congress who are attending the conference as observers to report back to me on what they learn there.

And once I take office, you can be sure that the United States will once again engage vigorously in these negotiations, and help lead the world toward a new era of global cooperation on climate change.

Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response. The stakes are too high. The consequences, too serious.

Stopping climate change won't be easy. It won't happen overnight. But I promise you this: When I am president, any governor who's willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that's willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that's willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America. Thank you."
---Barack Obama

I must say, it sure it a breath of fresh air to be hearing this type of language coming from the White House...or at least what will be coming in January. Cheers!

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Save Some H2O

A great way to start saving some water is by installing low-flow toilets in your home. However, sometimes this is not always feasible, or maybe even the best option. In terms of consumption, both the water that is used and the materials that make the toilet must be taken into consideration. If it's not broken...don't fix it, right? I think it is wise to operate on the assumption that it is much better for the environment to simply consume less, rather than going out and buying products that you don't need just because they are "green" or "environmentally friendly."

So, if you're toilet is working just fine, or maybe you live in an apartment and are renting, but you would like to save a little H2O here is a great alternative: Take a one liter plastic bottle and fill it up with water (so it doesn't float) and place it in the tank of your toilet. The space that the bottle takes up in the tank offsets the amount of water that flows through your toilet every time you flush it. Depending on the toilet, you could experiment with different sizes of containers, too. Like using a plastic half-gallon milk jug, for instance.

I have heard that some people use bricks to put in their toilet tanks. I would advise against this, however, as bricks can become corroded over time. As pieces flake off they can get into the toilet's system and affect it negatively.

Wanna take this one step further? Find out if there are low-flow toilets installed at your work. If not, suggest this easy-fix. Your employer may save a little on the water bill, and everyone will benefit from this simple way to conserve water.

Save some Green by Being Green

Speaking of winterizing your home the other day, here are some tips I found to help keep the warm air in and the cold air out. By making sure that your home is more energy efficient, you can save some money on your gas bill and reduce your ecological impact. Here are some great ways to do this:

1. Find the leaks. Places such as windows, doors and piping entering the building are hot spots for leaks. Seal leaks around doors and windows with weather stripping or caulk, and check around piping and other entries into the building for other leaks to seal.

2. Update your windows! If you can, invest in a new set of insulating windows. If you have older
windows, a good way to insulate them during the colder months is to cover them with clear plastic sheets (inexpensive kits can be found at most hardware stores) or even blankets.

3. Get in the zone. Are there some areas of your home that are not used as much during specific times of the day? If you have multiple thermostats in your house, turn the heat down when you leave an area, or when you leave for work in the morning. Or even better, install setback thermostats. These are thermostats that contain a timer. You can set your heat to turn down when you go to work or are snug in your bed at night.

4. Check if your insulation is adequate. Attics that are not properly insulated are responsible for a large amount of energy loss. Check it out: if you can see your ceiling joists, you need more insulation in your attic.

5. Inspect your heating system. Have your heating system inspected. This should also include vacuuming your vents/ducts and replacing the furnace filter if needed.

6. Walk around. Check the foundation of your house and your roof (use binoculars) for cracks and gaps.

7. Keep it hot. Insulate your hot water heater by wrapping a blanket around it. Also, you can wrap your water pipes in foam pipe covers.

8. Keep it clean. If you have a chimney, have it swept annually and inspected for leaks. Make sure that damper or wood stove doors seal tightly and are closed (except when you have a fire!).

But don't forget that while you are keeping all of the warm air in and the cold air out, it is important to keep the air inside your homes clean and free of harmful particles and toxins. For some tips on how to do that, check out yesterday's post by clicking here.

Keeping Fresh Air During Winter

The snow has already flown here in Salt Lake City. Though I missed out on the winter wonderland while I was on vacation in New Hampshire experiencing some chilly weather of my own, it's still time that we all start thinking about and making those preparations to start winterizing our homes. While keeping all of the cold air out by sealing up our houses, we are also keeping keeping air in and not allowing for much fresh air to come in. This can lead to a very unhealthy environment. Here are some great tips of how to keep the air in your home a little fresher and freer of unhealthy indoor particles that I found on Seventh Generation's blog.

• Open a window every once in a while and let in a good dose of fresh air. While it's not the most energy-efficient action, it means a big difference for indoor air quality.
• Consider getting some houseplants, which excel at removing airborne chemicals. Particularly effective varieties include Boston fern, areca palm, lady palm, bamboo palm, rubber plant, English Ivy, ficus, and peace lily.
• Place large mats at all your entrances to remove particles and other pollutants tracked indoors on shoes. Clean and vacuum these mats frequently so they don't become a source of trouble themselves. And encourage guests to remove their shoes when entering your house. A basket of slippers kept by the door can ensure that everyone's feet stay cozy.
• Conventional cleaners create a barrage of chemical fumes and invisible aerosol particles when used, all of which can be easily inhaled. So if you haven't already, stock up on cleaning products made from natural and non-toxic ingredients and use them instead.
• Use a chlorine-free dishwasher detergent. Dishwashers vent about six liters of air into your home per minute during certain cycles, and the very hot water they use can turn as much as 100% of a detergent's chlorine into a vapor that's released as they work.
• Use warm rather than hot water when you clean so that whatever you're removing from household floors and surfaces doesn't volatize into the air your family is breathing.
• During warmer months, don't use mildewcides or fungicides, poisons it will be hard to rinse out of your home during winter. Instead, eradicate mold and mildew with a solution of two tablespoons of tea tree oil in two cups of water. Spray on the affected area, let sit for half an hour, and then wipe clean.
• If air seems stale or malodorous and it's just too cold to open a window, resist the temptation to use commercial air fresheners, deodorizers, and other similar products. Instead make your own by adding 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil to a spray bottle filled with two cups of water.
• If you've stored clothing or other items in mothballs, give them a thorough airing out followed by laundering to remove toxic paradichlorobenzene residues. In the future, use natural cedar to protect your vulnerable textiles instead. By the same token, let dry cleaned items air out in the garage before you bring them inside. They, too, can emit unhealthy fumes.
• Although winter's many idle hours may seem like a good time to do some annual maintenance cleaning, resist the temptation until spring. Without open windows and an ability to clean things outdoors, you'll just be stirring back into the air a lot of the dirt and contaminants you're trying to banish.

Photo: Mallory Platt

Sunrise

No matter which candidate you voted for...

Today is the beginning of a new tomorrow.

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It's A Big Day!

So no matter what else you do today...

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Get out there and VOTE!

Paper or Plastic?

For some time now I have been learning about different sustainable choices that we can make in our everyday lives. Some are easier than others, but mostly I have found that sustainable choices often begin with simply taking a little time to think about your choices and plan a little bit ahead. Sustainability is a journey where there are always more challenges ahead, new options to choose from. As I make one life change, I am on to another and often forget that even though I may have made a certain choice years ago, not everyone is on the same page. The most poignant of examples is the question of paper or plastic. Which one is better, which one should you choose?

The answer is neither. Though paper bags can be and are recycled more than plastic bags, millions of trees must be cut down every year to produce them. The majority of paper bags are not recycled (only 10-15% of paper bags are recycled.) Plastic bags are made from oil and oil drilling has many negative environmental effects from habitat destruction to the release of pollutants. Litter is also a problem as millions and millions of plastic bags float around the earth and often end up in the ocean, where marine life often swallow them up, mistaking them for prey, and choke to death. Both paper and plastic bags must be transported from their respective factories to the stores that distribute them to carry groceries and other consumer products. And both options require tons and tons of resources to produce them in the first place. How do you avoid this grocery store dilemma?

Bring your own bags to the grocery store! Do you have any old canvas bags sitting around the house? Stick them you trunk and bring them with you to the store. Or if you ride your bike or walk to the store, fold 'em up and put them in the bottom of your regular bag or backpack so that you will always have them with you for that "Oh yeah, I need to stop by the grocery store" quick trip. If you don't have any bags around to use, you can easily make your own. Try and use materials that you already have around the house, rather than going out and purchasing new materials. An old pair of jeans works nicely, or you can even make a sturdy bag out of plastic bags that you may have saved over the years.

The hardest part about this plan is remembering to bring your bags into the grocery store with you. One way is to strategically place a sticker or note somewhere in your car or home where you will see it to help remind you. Or, at many of the grocery stores in my neighborhood the grocers have put signs up in the front windows reminding you to bring your bags in. If your grocer doesn't already do this, ask to speak with the manager and ask them if they wouldn't mind doing something like that as well. Chances are they will thank you for the idea.

For more information about the debate about paper, plastic, or bringing your own bags, for the photo credit, and for some hard facts about all this, please click here. Another great idea is to make reusable bags for gifts for friends and family. Last May I made two of these puppies for my mom on Mother's Day:

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My mom loves her bags and has been using them religiously ever since. This is an inexpensive and great made-with-care way to start making some sustainable choices!

2nd bird photo credit.

Environmental Literature

Every person who has studied or has interest in environmental science has undoubtedly read several books on the matter. I have compiled a list of environmental literature that I have read over the years. Each has contributed to and affected me in forming my own opinions about environmental issues that confront us everyday. Here are some of my favorites:

• Getting to Scale, by Jill Bamburg
• A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
• Desert Solitaire by Ed Abbey
• Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
• Bargaining for Eden by Stephen Trimble
• The Health of the Country by Conevery Bolton Valencius
• Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Frazier Nash
• Changes in the Land by William Cronon
• Locust by Jeffery A. Lockwood
• An Unnatural Metropolis by Craig E. Colten
• Plan B 2.0, by Lester Brown

I will be adding to this list periodically as I finish more books that fit into this category. I have started a column about what I have been currently reading to keep my blog a little more current with what I am doing in my life. As I finish more books that fit into the Environmental Literature category, I will be updating them here. Have you read any of these books before? What are your thoughts about them? Do you have any recommendations for other pieces I might explore?

Plant Anatomy 101: Pumpkins!

I thought this one would be appropriate for the season. However, I have already posted this idea on my work blog, so if you would like to check that one out, here it is. I like the Plant Anatomy series. I get a lot of pleasure in looking up all of the information about the different kinds of plants. In college I worked in a botany lab where I did research on the tomato plant family, Solinidae. This includes tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

My time was split between growing and taking care of the plants up in the greenhouses where I would pollinate the plants and then plant the seeds that came from those fruits. Then in the lab I would record my findings, run DNA tests on my plants, and otherwise coordinate with the other lab researchers. It was a great job and my advanced interest in plants directly springs from that.

I never had a garden growing up, but being in the greenhouse everyday was really a treat. The greenhouses were located up on the roof of one of the university's biology buildings. I was usually the only one up there. It was always so quiet and peaceful. I loved the days when it snowed. It would be snowing all around me, the flakes falling down on the roof, but I was inside a tropical wonderland. It reminded me of being in a reverse snow globe. And all of the bays were filled with such amazing plants. Some were from our own backyard and some were from foreign places. There were a lot of different plants up there. My favorite were the "living stone" plants. These are succulents that grow in Africa where they blend in with the rocks and soil by actually looking like rocks! They live in an arid region that has little water, a short growing season, and by looking like rocks they can avoid being grazed.

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But since this is supposed to be about pumpkins. Here are some links of fun recipes to try with pumpkins:

Cocoa Pumpkin Brownies

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds in 3 Ways

Homemade Pumpkin Pie (from a real pumpkin)

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Tacos!

In an effort to reduce my impact on this earth, I decided to become a vegetarian. The amount of resources it takes to create one pound of beef is amazing. Stats vary depending on your sources, but watering the grain so it can grow to feed the cattle to live and "beef up" to eventually make it to your plate requires thousands of gallons of water and gasoline. The idea of eating lower on the food chain essentially cuts out the middleman, or middle cow, pig, or chicken so to speak, and greatly reduces the environmental impact that the food you eat produces. So, for almost two years now I have been meat free...well, almost. I actually still eat certain kinds of fish. Fish, as it turns out, can turn grains and carbohydrates into protein much more efficiently than we can. The amount of resources it takes for a "vegetarian" fish to live and thrive is less than if I were to just eat those carbohydrates myself. That's the idea behind my reasoning so far.

One of the first steps I took in my vegetarian quest was to buy a good veggie cookbook. I picked up something that contained basic meals that could be cooked quickly, but used yummy ingredients. The first thing that I tried from my cookbook was vegetarian tacos, and so far they have been my favorite. I made them on Sunday night for dinner (and lunch left overs for the rest of the week) and they were as good as they always are! This has become a staple among my family and friends, so if you'd like to give them a try, here's the recipe:

Saute one chopped small to medium onion in olive oil and garlic
Add one chopped bell pepper (all of the colors are good, so you can pick this one!)
When the onion and pepper are cooked, add
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup of frozen corn
and chili powder and cumin to taste (I don't use the recipe anymore, but I'd say about a tablespoon of chili powder and maybe a teaspoon of cumin. I love these two spices, so I tend to be pretty generous with them.)

These are good topped with chopped lettuce and tomatoes, or even some avocados, but the original recipe doesn't call for them. I think they are good either way and I usually decide just depending on what I have around. Cheese is a must as far as I'm concerned and sour cream is good too. I usually substitute the sour cream with plain yogurt to keep the meal a little more healthy.

Oh and don't forget to wrap them up in your favorite tortillas!

I hope you love these babies as much as I do! They're perfect when you need something simple, healthy, and really delicious! Enjoy!

This is just sad...

It has been almost two weeks since my last post! Sorry all of you blog-friends, I guess my life has been a little bit crazy lately. And I suppose that is bound to happen as well when you are writing for two blogs. A lot my creative ideas come to me during the working hours, especially in the morning, so all of those blog ideas get poured into Green Fork. And for some reason, even though I have done it before and will probably do it again, I feel a little guilty when I cross post from my work blog on to this one, no matter how applicable the subject.

And now, as I come to the realization that it has been almost two weeks since my last post, which was a cross-post, I find I am out of creative energy at the end of the work day. Why am I out of energy? Well, I have been running around trying to maintain my busy life and even now all I can think about is why I don't have creative energy instead of a topic to post about.

So, in the past couple of weeks I have been working, house sitting, trying to study for the GRE, thinking about big decisions like what, exactly, do I want to study when I go to grad school? where should I go to school? who should I talk to to see if I can be part of their research team? (I'm leaning toward ecology.) And then on top of that I am thinking about moving again. So where, with whom, if anybody, and what can I afford? I spent the weekend at a friend's cabin in the mountains, which was so peaceful, but put me behind in these big decisions. But these are just my excuses for why I have neglected my blog for so long. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more inspiration and energy to display to the world. Until then, happy blogging!

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Plant Anatomy 101: Strawberries

The thing about having two blogs (one for work, and one where I feel I can express myself a little more freely) is that there are some things that I do for one that completely applies to the other, and vice versa. So when I posted the potato-blog the other day, my boss wanted me to put it up on my work blog. I'm not sure what the etiquette is on getting double-duty on a post, but I guess that's just the way it's going to have to be. So with out further ado, I'm double-posting again for plant anatomy 101, only substitute potatoes with strawberries. (This post originally appeared on Green Fork Utah.)

Plant Anatomy 101: Strawberries

Have you ever wondered why strawberries have their seeds on the outside of their fruits? When I worked at Red Butte Garden, this was a point that we brought up frequently with the first graders. We mostly just pointed this fact out and never really talked about why, other than a quick suggestion of possible seed-distribution benefits. Well today I was thinking about strawberries for whatever reason, and now I want to share what I've discovered!

As we learned in the potato post, there is a big difference between what botanists classify as fruit and what we regular ol' plant eating people define as fruit. Here I will be talking about strawberries as defined by the botanists. Let's back up a second: a true fruit is a fruit from which all tissues are derived from a ripened ovary and its contents. Simple fruits, such as oranges, develop from a single pistil and are true fruits. True berries are also simple and true fruits in that they develop from one ovary. Blueberries, cranberries, grapes, tomatoes, and even bananas fall into this category. It seems that there are a lot of definitions for basically the same thing.

Strawberries, on the other hand, are not true fruits. They are called aggregate fruits which means that the strawberry is formed through many ovaries ripening. The "seeds" on the outside of the strawberry are actually individual little "fruits" that have ripened in their own separate ovaries. These little "seeds" are called achenes (ah-keens) and inside each achene is a little seed. Sunflower seeds are also achenes where the hard shell is the outside of the fruit and the seed is inside the hard shell. Since an aggregate fruit forms from many ovaries, it is also known as a complex fruit. Other complex fruits include blackberries, raspberries, and mulberries. These fruits however, because they lack achenes, are not aggregate fruits.

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But what about the bight fleshy part of the strawberry that we eat? Strawberries are not only aggregate, complex fruits with achenes, they are also accessory fruits. Accessory fruits are fruits that contain a significant amount of other tissue in addition to the ripened ovary and mature seeds. Apples and pineapples are accessory fruits. In the case of the strawberry, the extra tissue that we are consuming is the enlarged end of the flower's stamen. Because of this, strawberries must be picked at full ripeness, otherwise they wont ripen after they have been picked.

Random strawberry factoids:

• Until the mid-nineteenth century, strawberries were considered poisonous in Argentina.
• Native Americans had already been cultivating strawberries when European colonists arrived. They would crush the berries and bake them into cornmeal. Colonists adapted this practice and made it their own by making the first strawberry shortcakes.
• Medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and on the tops of columns to symbolize perfection and righteousness.
• In Ancient Rome, the strawberry was the symbol for Venus, the God of Love.

Who knew that strawberries were so complex and had such rich histories!

Strawberries Photo Credit

Medea

Today I ventured up to the University of Utah with my friend, Deborah, to see the yearly Greek play. Every fall the Theater Department has a Greek Theater Festival, the only one in the United States, where students perform a Greek play, usually a tragedy, and for the past two years I have attended. In Ancient Greece, plays were performed at sunrise. Luckily for me, the play was at 9:00 this morning, instead of the traditional 6:00 sunrise performance. (The University used to perform at sunrise, but have changed that tradition in that past couple of years due to weather and attendance issues.)

The Greek play is traditionally performed outside in front of Pioneer Theater where the stage is the arched sidewalk and broad stairs that slope downward toward the grass where the audience spreads out on blankets and lawn chairs with their breakfasts. Last year, my dear friend Deborah was in Euripides' Helen. It was freezing cold that morning, with frost on the grass. The blanket that I brought to sit on was soaked through well before the half way point . The sun was out for most of the performance, but the air was crisp and you could see the breath exhaling from the viewers. As I proudly watched my friend display all her talents and the show was beginning to wrap up, clouds loomed and the last ten minutes were completely encased in an all out blizzard. The audience was freezing, and the minimally clad cast even more so. But it was an experience that I will never forget.

Deborah, Stacey, and Ruth

photo credit Ruth Jones

Today, however, was a beautiful September day, full of light, color, and warmth. Medea was the Greek play this year. Also by Euripides, Medea is about a mother, married to Jason, who along with her two children are banished from Corinth. Jason is getting another wife, the daughter of the King Kreon. Jason sees this as a political move, one that will be beneficial for them all as he gains power by marrying the Princess and thereby makes better prospects for his two sons, even though they are banished. Medea is of course outraged and in her quest for revenge poisons the Princess and King. But in order for her revenge to be completely felt by her husband, she slays her two sons with her bare hands, determined to leave Jason with nothing. It is tragedy at it's finest. They say pictures speak louder than words, so here are some scenes from the play:

"Goddess of Midnight" Medea
Photo Credit: Ruth Jones

"Nurse Fetch Her" Medea Chorus
Photo Credit: Ruth Jones

Ending Scene: Medea at top with two dead sons, Chorus with dragon, Jason in front.
Photo Credit: Ruth Jones

Plant Anatomy 101

Potatoes. Potatoes are one of those things that tended to come up during my field trips that I used to teach when I worked at Red Butte Garden. The first grade field trip curriculum is based on teaching and discussing with kids the different parts of plants and which of those parts we eat. We talked about the roots (carrots, beets, turnips) the stems (celery, broccoli - "Right, most of the broccoli plant is the stem while the dark green parts on the top are what? Flowers, that's right" - asparagus, sugarcane) the leaves
(lettuce and salad - "Right, salad. What else? Have you ever herd of kale or Swiss chard? Those are different kinds of lettuces that people eat. What about spinach? Raise your hand if you like spinach! Yeah, I love spinach, too") and the fruits of the plant (tomatoes, watermelon, peaches, raspberries, strawberries - "Now where are the seeds on a strawberry? Right, the outside!" - bananas, pineapples, carrots - "Are carrots a fruit? Remember when we talked about those during the root section? That's okay if you forgot, that was a little while ago. What about peppers? Are they fruits? Well, they have seeds inside them, right? So if something has seeds inside of it, what does that make it? Exactly, a fruit" - apples and oranges.)

But what about potatoes? They're a root right? Well, not exactly. Which brings me to the point of this post. Today at work a co-worker, Andree', and I had a tabling event at Bend in the River, where we were doing an outreach event geared towards teachers. A teacher, who had just been to Red Butte Gardens with her first grade class last week, wanted to know if we knew what potatoes were. Are they fruits? Because you can plant a new potato plant from the actual potatoes. But they're not seeds, so technically, not fruits. And the potato plant, just like every other plant in the Solanaceae family which includes tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants as well as potatoes, flowers when conditions are right and gets pollinated by honey bees. But when the flowers are pollinated, what kind of fruit ripens in their place? Can we eat these fruits, or would they be poisonous like Deadly Night Shade (which is also in the potato family)?

Are they a root? Well, no because actually they are tubers. But what is a tuber? It stores energy for the plant for use at a later date, maybe during the winter for energy in the spring. That is why potatoes are so starchy and full of energy in the form of carbohydrates. And is a tuber a root, or what is it? No, a tuber is something different. A potato tuber is a type of subterranean stem. This differs from a regular stem as plants use stems for the transport of water from the roots to the leaves of the plant and for the downward transport of vital sugars (chlorophyll) from the leaves to the roots that provide energy for the plant. Besides potatoes, bulbs such as onions and leeks are also subterranean stems. You can tell this from the way the bulb is in between the stem that is above ground and the actual, smaller roots.

photo credit

Potatoes. Potatoes are a subterranean stem. I think with a little patience and some really fun pictures of potatoes, (or even better, use an actual potato plant that you can dig out of the ground to explain this all, and make something yummy later. You would be amazed at how many kids don't know that our food comes from plants that live in the ground!) a first grader might be able to grasp this concept...maybe.

Success!

The US House of Representatives passed the No Child Left Inside Act! The act received bipartisan support and was approved with a vote of 293 to 109. This is only one step in the long process of getting the Act approved, but it is a major step that provides strong momentum to keep working to pass the Act in the months ahead. What a victory for all of us who support efforts to continually incorporate environmental education into our schools and communities.

In light of this victory, please take a moment to write your representatives about your support of environmental education and to thank them for their support as well. In Utah, you can thank Jim Matheson (who voted for the act) and notify Chris Cannon (who voted against it) and Rob Bishop (who did not vote) about your support for environmental education. You can find their contact information here.

Field Day 1 - Brighton Lakes

Over the weekend, my organization hosted its annual Environmental Education Conference. Maybe we'll have more on that later. But, because we all worked so hard leading up to and during the conference, my boss closed shop Monday and Tuesday. Sounds like fun to me!

I spent Monday getting lost in the woods; hiking in the Wasatch Front, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Brighton Lakes. The trail to the Brighton Lakes begins at the basin of the Brighton Ski Resort. I have been hiking this trail basically since I can remember when my mom needed to hear the wind breathing through the pines, whispering in quaking aspen. My sister and I whined and complained the whole time (but we trudged up that mountain just the same) and by the time we got to the lakes we were just as happy to be out in our mountains, as sunshine-pine glided into our noses, as our mother was.

The trail goes up a pretty steep grade to the first lake, Mary. Mary is a beautiful lake with a large rock island in the middle, where a shaky, makeshift stepping-stone path connects the island to shore. It is muddy just beyond the shifting rock path, but the boulders above provide ample room to spread out and read a book, have lunch. The water is a deep iridescent blue.

On beyond Mary is Lake Martha. Nearly as clear, but smaller and I hardly visit. We cordially exchange glances before I move on. There is another lake ahead on which I have my sites set.

Lake Katherine is, and has always been, a yearly destination for my family. I have neglected my visiting rights these past years throughout college, and my return is well past due. Lake Katherine, of the three, is by far the most beautiful. It is not the biggest, nor the smallest, but it is the most remote. People there are few and far between. Indeed on this Monday I was alone but for the trees, fish, and occasional horsefly. There is a constant breeze that whips from high ridges above and down into the bowl of the icy glacial lake where it fans out across the rippling water. Everywhere is the raw beauty of alpine.

Lake Katherine has been waiting for me, and it is a happy reunion. She has changed but little in those subtle ways that mother nature cyclically gives and takes, where I have changed much more. A college graduate, no longer the girl I once was, but still am, where only my reflection gives me away. A survivor of trials, life-changing decisions, and joys, too. Does she realize my new stories of accomplishments and defeats? I can't tell, but she embraces me with open arms just the same.

As I say my good-bye and start making my way down the mountain, a Cooper's Hawk skims the space between us. Her belly is lightly speckled, her tail a striped fan. The trail descends, over and over. I can feel the sun beating on the backs of my ears and neck, as my toes cram further into my shoes and cry out for release. Close to the slope, it seems sundown is coming as the sun slants through the trees making long shadows before me, though it is only four o'clock. Fall's flirtations are all around and some vines have blushed in response. A peaceful feeling encompasses me, like the knowledge of a lost friend returned, as if nothing has ever changed. This, my friends, is happiness.

On the Lighter Side

When I was younger, all the way into high school actually now that I think about it, I never wanted to make my bed. I hated making my bed. When my mom would tell me to make my bed I would get so mad and nearly refuse to do it. Eventually, I started reasoning with my mom, and myself, that making your bed is pointless because you're just going to mess it up when you go to bed again anyway.

Now that I am older, my reasoning has changed. Making your bed is the best! It is the best way to make your room look better. I mean, think about it, all of the pillows and blankets that are carelessly strewn about when you clear off your bed to finally crawl into a hopefully deep slumber. They cause a large mess. But then in the morning, with a little effort of less-than-five minutes, the tornado that had hit the evening before had never been. Presto change-o, insta clean room!

Unfortunately, with as easy as it is to clean your room by making your bed, it doesn't necessarily mean that making your bed will keep your room clean.

Food Irradiation

There is always two sides to every story. That is what I've been telling myself as I have been reading articles about the latest piece of news that I have unearthed. Now this may be old-news to some people, but for me, it was one more blow to my already skeptical view of this nation's food suppliers. Did you know that the FDA just ruled to allow spinach and iceberg lettuce to be treated with irradiation? This new treatment of some of our leafy greens is to prevent e. coli. My initial instinct is to be incredibly worried about this new legislation, and I think I remain in a state of alarm about the whole thing. However, I looked up some other articles about the issue, following a stream of links leading from one question to another, and I came up with some interesting discoveries.

The first side of this story comes from the standpoint that food irradiation is bad. Chemicals called furans, which are often toxic and may be carcinogenic, are found in food that has been irradiated. Another chemical family called the 2-alkylcyclobutanones are not found naturally in foods, but are found in food that has been irradiated. This is alarming if 2-alkylcyclobutanones are not found in our food naturally, and therefore not part of our digestion processes and immune defense mechanisms, then the side effects of exposure are relatively unknown. I can't help thinking about Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the impacts that the world is slowly recovering, but still suffering, from DDT. There are also labeling issues about food that has been irradiated. For instance, spinach and iceberg lettuce that is unpackaged and fresh in the produce section must say "Treated with Irradiation" or be marked with the Radura symbol:
On the other hand, some say food irradiation is okay, as it provides a necessary service that is the only way in the production process to ensure a "pathogen-free" product. Strains of E. coli and Salmonella can usually be washed clean off of the surfaces of fruits and veggies. So unless you never wash the produce you are eating, you usually should be okay. That isn't where the problem lies, however. Food irradiation is being used to get rid of "internalized bacteria," or bacteria that can't be washed off. The irradiation breaks up water molecules housed in the plant's cells, releasing free-radicals that damage cell walls and any nearby bacteria DNA. Other defenses of food irradiation include the points that furans naturally occur when food is cooked and studies of 2-alkylcylcobutanones are found in very low levels and have produced different results. Some studies have found that 2-alkylcylcobutanones damage DNA, while others have found they do nothing of the sort.

In all of the information that I read about this issue, not one shred of evidence, either for or agains food irradiation, was done by independent analysts. One thing that all articles were in agreement on, however, was the knowledge that irraditing food destroys vitamins and minerals in the vegetables we eat, especially Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Thiamine, and Folate. Though irriadiating our food could significantly cut down on internalized bacteria, there is no way that 100% of E. coli and Salmonella strains would be destroyed. An important point to also realize is that while it takes thousands and thousand of E. coli bacterium to make a person sick, it only takes a handful for a person to become ill from Salmonella. Is this treatment really even effective? What are we sacrificing?

The largest problem of all that concerns me the most is the fact that none of the arguments presented thus far are addressing the main issue. What is the main issue? E. coli and Salmonella strains are bacteriums that are classically defined by their presence in raw meats. What on earth are they doing showing up in the flesh of our fruits and veggies? The agricultural industry, FDA, and food porduction agencies should not be looking for substututes for CLEAN FARMING PRACTICES. If bacteriums are causing health crises in industries where shouldn't even be present, then the logical answer would be to take a serious look at the food industry and clean up our farming, processing, packaging, and handling practices.

So how do we even go about changing this? Especially as citizens? What are your thoughts on this matter?

No Child Left Inside

Today's post has a little more to do with my work than anything. It is, however, something that I've been thinking about all day long so I might as well share it with you all. The No Child Left Inside Coalition (NCLI) is an organization that is working to bring strong education about our natural worlds to kids in school. NCLI's focus is to pass the No Child Left Inside Act. This federal legislation, if passed, would provide major funding for states to be able to provide high-quality environmental education.

There are over 600 organizations that are members of the NCLI Coalition and they range from education centers, businesses, outdoor recreation groups, environmental groups, and to public health agencies. The organization that I work for, The Utah Society for Environmental Education (USEE), is also a member of the NCLI coalition and the NCLI Act basically embodies a lot of what I do at USEE.

Today, I received an email from the NCLI Coalition notifying me of a very important event. The date has been set for Congress to vote next week on the No Child Left Inside Act. This is a chance for me to get the word out! I contacted my representative, Jim Matheson, and sent him an email asking him to support the NCLI Act in next week's House vote.

Do you want to make a difference in Environmental Education? Well, contact your representatives and ask them to support this important piece of legislation. It was a piece of cake for me to do this, and I was very surprised how simple it was. Just quickly fill out some information and presto, NCLI already has a letter prepared with all of the details! You can even edit the email so that it says exactly what you would like it to. (I have heard it said that for every person that a representative hears from is considered to represent 1,000 other people who haven't said anything. We'll see how this goes, I guess...) For more background information on NCLI, check out the post on Green Fork's blog.

And now, after all of this, one of my favorite things that the NCLI Coalition has done is a movie entitled Get 'Em Outside. It is about the importance of environmental education in all of our lives and is only about five minutes long. Definately worth it. I highly recommend this movie (as I have watched it several times myself), especially if you have kids. And so, without further ado:

A Random Extension

Hello!

Welcome to my blog, Eco-Logical Adventures! The creation of this blog was all at once a little random but also still seems part of a naturally occurring chapter in my quest to become Eco-Logical. This is technically my second blog-creation as my first blog, Green Fork, was made for the organization that I work for. I have really enjoyed creating and writing for Green Fork, but due the nature of the organization Green Fork represents, I find myself wanting to say more. I work for the Utah Society for Environmental Education (USEE) which is strictly a non-advocacy non-profit organization. Though Green Fork does not directly represent USEE, I still don't feel at liberty to quite express myself on all subjects in the manner in which I would like.

So here it goes, a new way to reach the world. To say what I think is important and to get my messages out there. So why should you read my blog? Well, as times are a changin', environmental awareness is coming together with the public at large in ways it never has been able to before. This blog is a quest in environmental literacy, and I am anticipating to learn as much from you as I hope you may learn from me.

And who am I? I am a recent college graduate from the University of Utah. I received my degree in Environmental Studies in May of 2008, and I am ready to take on the world...one blog post at a time, of course. ;-) I am the product of four parents (my mother and step-father, and my dad and step-mom). I also have two younger half-sisters that live with my dad in Tennessee, and one other younger sister, whom I am very close with. I can usually be found spending my leisure time hiking, bike-riding, reading, or rock-climbing. I enjoy cooking and spending time with my family and friends as well.

My interests also include environmental education, issues of sustainability, food choices, climate change, environmental literacy, ecology, alternative energy, environmental awareness, gardening, and basically anything else dealing with the 'green movement.' This is life-long learning that I am talking about here. With this blog I am hoping to provide a space for respectful discussion where topics include the impacts that our everyday choices have on our own individual health and the greater world around us, using my own life stories as a platform. It is the choices that we make every day and the culmination of these decisions that interest me the most. So please, join me on this journey of ongoing Eco-Logical literacy.