Do you go out of your way to support local farmers and/or buy organic?

Obsessed with what’s in our air?  soil?  water?

Interested in global warming or your carbon footprint?

Care about sustainable items or eco-living?

Then we have a place for you at Growers & Grocers.  Why not join our team?  We currently have openings for writers and would love to talk to you.  

Interested in joining us?  Drop Cate a line at info@wellfed.net.

In a recent issue of Vegetarian Times, the authors of Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Non-Pompous, Non-Preachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day gave a few suggestions for easy ways to start small:

1. If your car is idling for longer than a minute, in traffic or waiting for that chronically late carpool member, turn the engine off and restart. Karma points: Over nine minutes, an idling car will emit double the pollutants of a car that’s turned off and restarted.
2. Kick off your shoes and shop online. Karma points: Shipping a 10-pound package by overnight air - the most energy-intensive delivery mode - uses 40 percent less fuel than the average round-trip drive to the mall.
3. Wash in cold water. Karma points: Up to 90 percent of the energy used by washers goes toward heating.
4. Attach aerators to all your faucets. (These widely available wire-mesh faucet ends are easy to install, but may need occasional rinsing when clogged.) Karma points: Aerators can cut gallons-per-minute water usage by up to 40 percent.

Photo: Biberta/MorgueFile

Now Whole Foods is back in the news, as this week they are unveiling the newest FEED bag designed by Presidential niece and former model Lauren Bush.  Similar to its $59.95 counterpart, this one is $29.99 and is made from 100% organic cotton and sustainable burlap.  For every FEED bag purchased, you are providing school meals to 100 children in Rwanda.  Go to www.wholefoods.com to find the nearest retail location.  Go get ‘em!

Photo from Amazon.

So we can keep our nail polish?  Yes!  Just find nontoxic polish, which is readily available, and non-acetone remover.

How bad is dry cleaning?  The chemicals can be carcinogenic.  I prefer wet cleaners, who give the garment a proper wash but in a delicate manner.

Should we always buy organic?  Pick one thing to start.  If your family drinks a lot of milk, then go with organic milk.  You’ll feel empowered.

How green is Julia Roberts (her pal Julia wrote the forward in the new book)?  She started a compost.  She packs a no-waste lunch for her children, and she takes reusable bags shopping - she has 15 of them.  She’s like, “Tell me what to do and I’ll do it!”  We’re entirely like-minded.

The pots last up to 10 years and are available in a wide variety of colors (8), shapes (6) and sizes (16).  Visit ecosourceonline.com for retail store locations.

Picture from Ecosource.

• Pedals for Progress takes your old bikes and gives them to charities in other countries where they are given to those in need.
• Have an old digital camera?  Operation Homefront donates them to military families so they can stay in touch with their loved ones while they’re away from home.
• CDs, DVDs, floppy disks and videos?  Send them to ACT Recycling.  They provide jobs to people with disabilities and help them in refurbishing the items for sale.
• Soles4Souls would love your gently worn shoes … they give them to those in need in 60 countries worldwide.
• Just upgraded your cell phone?  Give your old one to Call to Protect.  They sell them and use the proceeds to aid victims of domestic violence.
• Have musical instruments that your kids aren’t using anymore?  Operation Happy Note will gladly take them and send them to soldiers deployed overseas.
• One Warm Coat, which sponsors coat drives around the country, will gladly take your winter coats.
• Are you updating your computer hardware?  If you have a computer with at least a Pentium III Processor, The On It Foundation would love to have it.  Donated computer equipment goes to low-income families.
• Even your old sneaks could breathe new life again.  Reuse-a-Shoe takes the rubber to make play surfaces for kids worldwide.
• Cleaning out your home library?  Send your old, unwanted books to The International Book Project, who will distribute them amongst schools, orphanages and libraries in need.

After thirty-seconds to register your name and address, you can select which catalogs you would like to stop coming - it’s as easy as that.  You can get started right here.

Here’s what she had to say about her undertaking of the whole process:

What has the greening entailed? It’s been a three-phase project. First we tackled basic energy reduction—from unplugging appliances that aren’t in use to replacing all the kitchen equipment. We’re putting in Energy Star refrigerators (we use some big fridges). Next we switched from fossil-fuel power sources to solar. The third phase is about lifestyle, like eating locally. The ultimate goal is to cut the home’s carbon footprint by 50 percent.

The property hasn’t seen so much activity since Nelson Rockefeller built a pool there in the 1960s. Tell us how it all began. My husband and I were chatting with Judith Enck, deputy secretary for the environment, who jokingly suggested we green the mansion. We looked at each other and said, “We could green the mansion!” For me, the idea resonated deeply because I’m not a conservation expert. I’m just like everyone else, acknowledging that I need to do something different but not knowing where to start.

Solar panels on a Queen Anne? Isn’t that a tough fit? The exterior is landmarked, so we couldn’t put panels on it. They fit very well stylistically with the Rockefeller pool house, though. We also plan to put them on the state-police structure, and on the carport, which will power a little electric car that goes around the property. It’s going to be very cute.

Sounds as if it’s been a pretty smooth process. Any snags so far? I have trouble throwing out a lightbulb that’s still good! I want to wait until it dies before replacing it with a CFL, but I realize it’s better in the long run to just take it out.

How is the switch to CFLs working out? This has been a tough one. To be honest, there are a couple of spots where we didn’t change the bulbs because the light would have been too inconsistent with the historic interior. I hear fluorescents are getting better, though.

The staff has now adopted eco-friendly household products. Notice any difference? This change has been great—the mansion has never been so clean! There was a period of experimentation, but now our staff sticks mostly to Ecover, Seventh Generation and Biokleen. Also, we found this wonderful environmentally friendly deicing product, Safe Paw, that doesn’t hurt dogs’ feet.

The modifications you’re making at home are commendable. But your husband is in a position to make a difference for the environment on a much larger scale. What’s he doing? He set an ambitious goal to reduce the state’s energy consumption 15 percent by 2015. We believe it’s important for making life more affordable for New Yorkers. Incentives for homeowners are a key component. Our renovations are expected to cost $650,000 (it’s a big house)?approximately $200,000 of that came from state energy-efficiency grants available to all New Yorkers. For example, the renovations will cut our $86,000-a-year electric bill to less than $60,000. In less than 20 years, that investment will be paid off.

Want more?  Check out the video here on the whole process.

Photo from Domino magazine.

• Arrive early - before everything’s been picked over - if you want the choicest goods.
• Walk the place before purchasing.  The selection changes each week, depending on what’s in season, and you need to see who has the best stuff.  If the early birds are buying red-leaf lettuce at one stand and bell peppers at another, follow them.  They know what they’re doing.
• Ask questions.  Everybody around you cares about food in a big way, and is happy to talk about how things are grown and how to cook them.  Don’t ignore other shoppers.  Local chefs are a great source of new, interesting recipes.
• Only shop where you can pick out your own stuff.  Generally, the best vegetables are heavier than they look and firm - without any mushy spots - two things you can’t know until you touch them.  Everyone understands the touching/smelling rule and if you’re at a booth where it is discouraged, be suspicious.
• Bring plenty of bills.  Farmers markets are cash operations, so small denominations are best.  Don’t expect the cheese monger to take a credit card or break your $100 bill.  Same with bags.  They’ll be available, but bring your own to show eco-support.