Time for a Pantry Raid

Pantry raid
(Find this article here or in newsstands at www.c-ville.com/Abode

Take a moment and consider how much coffee, chocolate, and flour you go through every week. Unfortunately, from farm to cup and bean to bar, chocolate and coffee (along with other staples) both involve an intense process to reach our mouths. This new year, green-raid your pantry and replace accordingly!

Coffee
Fair-trade, shade-grown, organic. It’s hard to keep track, and it’s about to get harder with the recent split between certifying organizations Fair Trade USA and Fairtrade International. For now, these labels are the best way to protect against land loss, help smaller producers have access to resources, promote sustainable practices, and ensure a fair wage. Significant acreage of rainforest is lost every year due to cheap, monoculturally-grown coffee. Bird- and forest-lovers (isn’t that all of us?), look for the Smithsonian Bird-Friendly and Rainforest Alliance labels. The good news: Locally roasted coffee is readily available.

Chocolate
Again, fair-trade organic chocolate is best. Divine Chocolate is 45 percent owned by the Ghanaian farmers who supply its cocoa beans.

Sugar
I recommend agave nectar, honey, stevia, or organic varieties like Florida Crystals.

Flour
Virginia has its own mill: Wade’s Mill, sold at local markets!
Tea and spice
The same designations are important here. What better time to make the switch? The new Spice Diva at Main Street Market is offering a 30 percent discount to folks who bring in their spices to exchange.

Want to know more about specific brands or other food producers? I love these two websites: www.localharvest.org and www.greenamerica.org. Find local sources of sustainably grown food in your area along with green brands and companies.

6 ways to shop local

6 ways to shop local! Check out this article here, in newsstands or online at Abode

This season, Betty helps you think outside the gift box. Don’t fall into the Amazon trap; instead, give the gift of patronizing local businesses!

1. Couch shoppers, head to a cool new online gift shop created by Kate Bennis, Redbud Gifts, which offers local gifts, goodies, and experiences as well as charitable giving opportunities. Purchase a massage or language class, or have a local filmmaker “make your movie.” Everything in the shop originates within 100 miles of Charlottesville. See redbudgifts.com.

2. Visit the Craftacular, a favorite venue of mine for unique hand-made gifts featuring local artists and designers, held this year at Cityspace on December 10 and 11, 10am-6pm.

3. Check out the great selection of upcycled clothing at Firefish Gallery, on Second St. NW just off the Mall.

4. Choose a book written by Virginia authors at Crozet’s Over the Moon Bookstore and Gallery or at one of the many used bookstores in town.

5. Support the local live-performance scene with tickets to a show at the Jefferson Theater, The Southern, Paramount or Live Arts.

6. Bring your holiday host a fine Virginia wine, or Red Rocker Candy (I’m addicted) made in Troy.

Happy Holidays! Betty

Find this story online at Cville Weekly or in local newsstands!

This month, Betty highlights two local artists/creative recyclers, sure to bring out the green giver in you!

Bill Hess, a glass sculptor/artist, and Andy Faith, a mixed media artist, are both archaeologists of sorts with a love of found objects. Both have been known to “dumpster dive” as well as scour junkyards in search of treasures. With all the wonderful materials, textures, colors, and “stuff” available for free,who needs to go out and buy new?

Hess, who is also an engineer, loves reclaiming bits of glass (I once took him a broken vase) and embracing the design challenge of transforming it into something useable like counter tops, tiles,houses, and lamps. Hess’s latest project actually combines recycled glass and activism via a glass greenhouse in Mongolia.

Faith is a woman after my own heart –a collector of ALL things. The City thought she took it a bit too far a few years ago, telling her to clean up her backyard of “future art” (scrap metal) or serve jail time!

She says that “Street trash just isn’t what it used to be,” so she’s thankful that people keep giving her “junk”— broken jewelry, Brillo pads, you name it. Her specialty and a popular holiday gift item are her infamous “overaccessorized” objects. People bring her shoes, chairs, anything really, to have her add recycled/found flair to it. Remember the Barbie Christmas tree at the Consignment House? That was Faith’s. She likes to tell stories with her art–the tragedy and comedy of life and sometimes social commentary–while enjoying the play and the process.

Hess’s work can be found at Vivian’s Art to Wear, Muses, and Etsy, and Faith’s can be found at McGuffey Art Center. Other great places to access local, hand-made art are Cville art, Bozart, and other local art galleries, as well as Etsy shops, where you can search by “recycled materials.”

Go on now, green givers and support the local art scene...

BWB

What's on Betty's Bookshelf?

Starting off the Sunday slow with some great reads, so I thought I'd share!

I feel remiss that some of these are still on the shelf, but hey, I need to give myself a break. Starting a non-profit, or any ground-up endeavor for that matter, as well as being a single-mother of two active boys doesn't leave a whole lot of free time, ya know?!

Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken. With the recent kick-off of the Better Business Challenge I was excited to get inspired by the pioneer of sustainaiblity in business. This book will continue to inspire change for generations...

Same can be said of Cradle-to-Cradle by Cville's own Michael Braungart and William McDonough which I feel totally embarassed admitting this publically: I'm still not finished with this important work. (Points for honesty?)

The Better World Handbook Small Changes That Make A Big Difference by Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler and Brett Johnson I found this book ten years ago and refer to it often. Instrumental in creating the vision for Better World Betty.

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky. A bunch of great ideas on turning vision to reality and creating action-oriented methods for making ideas a reality.

The Nonprofit Board ANSWER BOOK. Borrowing this from Center for Non-Profit Excellence. Next 18 months Betty's transitioning from an advisory board to a governing/working board. Betty's growing up!

I just cracked open: Getting Things Done by David Allen. A friend of mine says this one's a must for busy multi-taskers like myself.

Fostering Sustainable Behavior by Doug McKenzie-Mohr. Read this several years ago - relevant, helpful, inspiring.

Always on the shelf: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Nothing short of life-changing.

Just purchased: highly recommended If the Buddha Dated by Charlotte Kasl. that's for a different blog...

Still want to read: LOADS of books! Including...

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus

Better Bylaws (yawn) I'm sure it has important infomation

and with a name like Betty, how can one go wrong with this humorous guidebook:
Backcountry Betty by Jennifer Worick. A "Tongue-in-cheek wilderness manual for women who appreciate nature but prefer to maintain their coiffure while interacting with it" I'm pretty OK with an unshowered do, but could be funny!

Best,
Betty

Fridge and Freezer Tips from Betty

A greener cool
Read this Abode article here or on Cville Weekly's website...

What is the one appliance in your home that is on ALL the time, and yet is absolutely essential even for the carbon tiptoers? Your refrigerator/freezer. This month Betty helps you reduce costs on the biggest loser in your kitchen.

First, if your fridge is older than 10 years, you should really replace it with a newer EnergyStar model, which can be as much as 40 percent more efficient. Remember: a top/bottom style is good and freezer on top is the best. Ditch the auto ice-makers and through-the-door dispensers, which increase energy use by 14–20 percent.

Keeping your existing model? Here are some considerations for placement, maintenance and usage. Place away from stoves or direct sunlight, areas where your fridge has to work harder. Vacuum the coils every six months or less. Set the fridge temperature at 35-38 degrees. And please, remember to close the door! According to Home Energy Magazine, door openings account for 7 percent of your fridge energy use.

Now here’s another “cool” tip: place a dollar bill in the door of the fridge and see if it holds. If it falls out easily, you need to fix the seal.

As for freezers, most new models self-defrost, but older models require regular defrosting. A friend recently confessed that she changed her garage freezer when she finally realized it was heating their garage instead of keeping food frozen. Also, keep your freezer packed, so that it doesn’t have to work as hard. You can do this by even filling plastic milk jugs with water (allow for expansion).

Finally, make sure you dispose of your old refrigerator properly by taking it to Cycle Systems where refrigerants can be drained and the scrap metal re-used.

Hope that helps!
Better World Betty

Betty's Top 5 Beach-Inspired Tips for a Greener Summer

Summer time and I'm blogging to you from the beach today. Seeing people with mounds of plastic water bottles, smelling charcoal briquettes, and picking up litter from fireworks left on the beach inspired this blog topic which I shared with you on 106 the Corner this morning...

1- Can charcoal grilling be greener?? There actually are alternatives to the traditional charcoal grilling with less deforestation, fewer gas and soot emissions, and healthier food. Look for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label. They have stringent guidelines in six key areas which require, among other things, the use of sustainably harvested wood. At Lowe's and Whole Foods, you should be able to find a couple of brands - one being Cowboy lump charcoal. There is also "Green link" and even one made of coconut husks.

2- Sunscreen: go to the Sunscreen Database at the Environmental Working Group's website. They rate sunscreens on a scale of 1-10 according to hazardous ingredients. My column in next month's Abode magazine comes out this Tuesday about personal care products for more information. You may not realized that cosmetics in this country are not regulated. Unfortunately there are many unsafe chemicals in our shampoos, shaving creams, and sunscreeens. Lead (in lipstick), formaldehyde, benzoate,parabens,BHA, etc - harmful chemicals are rampant so check out their extensive website. And think about donating 5-10 dollars to keep the website funded.

3-Disposables: Plastic cups, foam and paper plates, paper napkins. You've heard the familiar family mantra: "We don't want to worry about dishes, let's just use paper plates." Wrong. Why not feel great about protecting Earth's resources and do some serious family bonding by asking everyone to BYOF - bring your own flatware - and rinse your dishes after the meal on-site. Invest in a couple of tubs - one for washing and one for rinsing or wash when you get home and your family is well on its way to a lower waste or zero waste event (if one of you composts).

4-Water bottles: We consume 160 million water bottles a day in America. The problem according to back2tap.com:

•Picture a disposable water bottle ¼ full of petroleum. That is how much petroleum it takes to make and distribute a single plastic bottle of water.
•It takes THREE bottles of water to make and distribute ONE disposable plastic bottle of water.
•120 grams of greenhouse gases are generated by a single disposable plastic bottle of water.

Encourage family and friends to carry their own reusable water bottle containers and/or invest in a cooler for those big family summer barbeques.

5 - Seafood Choices: Help keep our oceans alive and well by being a smart consumer of fish. Buy sustainable fish. But how? I use the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Card: to download your seafood wallet card.

•Blue Ocean Institute
•Environmental Defense Fund
•Marine Stewardship Council
•Monterey Bay Aquarium
•KidSafe Seafood Program From SeaWeb

Summertime is free and easy and beautiful. Let's keep it that way by being conscious of our choices. Best, BWB

Cooling off in the summer... less is more

Find this article at C-ville Weekly newsstands, online, or right here!

Who doesn’t remember splashing in a sky-blue plastic wading pool, flopping onto a vinyl yellow slip n’ slide, or running through the sprinklers? Nothing beats the hot summer sun like the cold splash of water. But can we have fun without all the plastic paraphernalia and water waste? Here are Betty’s secrets.
Mother Nature: Wait for a summer rain to play.
Share: Join a community pool instead of purchasing your own plastic pool or splash equipment.
Two birds: If you absolutely need to water the garden or your flowers or a brown patch of grass, turn on the sprinkler but avoid the hottest hours of the day: post-lunch to 4pm.
Save the leftovers: Use plastic milk jugs with their tops removed, recycled yogurt containers or big buckets, placing them to catch the water. See how much you can collect.
Awareness raising: Americans uses 100 gallons of water a day compared to much of the world consuming 31 gallons or less per day. So each summer our family celebrates “water week.”
We track our water use, using online water calculators. There’s one that takes less than 10 minutes at wateruseitwisely.com. This tool from Siemens and Facebook shows your water use compared to other friends AND to other countries.
We borrow water books from the local library (check out our fave: A Drop of Water by Walter Wick). We study where our water comes from. And we play in the rivers and lakes. Naturally, water-saving actions arise and we have fun doing it.
Increasing drought conditions and our local water plan controversy help us realize that there is no resource more precious than water. So let’s use it wisely!