Quick updates:

At the beginning of next week, I should be posting a contest to win a $50 Earth Fare gift card! Yay! Who doesn’t adore Earth Fare’s delectable, healthy, conscientious grocer selection and body care?! I know I have been thrilled to familiarize myself with Earth Fare! So keep an eye out for that NEXT WEEK!

Until then, for today (Friday, 26 June 2009), you can print out this coupon to visit your local Earth Fare and receive a FREE PRE-MADE DELI SANDWICH! I personally am excited for the coupon, so feel free to bump into me at Earth Fare!

Also, I attended the third annual Mountain Green Conference at Warren Wilson College ~ and I have a true plethora of information to share. From sealing your thermal envelope of your house, reducing air leaks and drafts, greener automechanics, building science, owls, local foods, beekeeping, the groundbreaking historic measures of WWC, NASCAR, and some generally nifty (albeit common sense) knowledge, posts are coming!

Bonus: posts of my Pisgah National Forest retreat will be coming too!

Lastly, HUGELY, I will spend part of this weekend and next week doing a MASSIVE overhaul of this website layout.  I have a lot of issues with the functionality and aesthetics of this theme, so I will be designing a CSS to make it better suited for (g)g and my purposes.  So get excited about that ~ I am!  This is LONG overdue change!

Hoorah!

Cheers to you all ~
See you at Earth Fare today!

Sustainably yours,
Ashley Sue

About two years ago, someone I consider a friend (a new friend albeit, but long-time acquaintance) accused me of secretly eating meat and denying it.  I scoffed.  Anyone who knows me - at all - knows I have not eaten any semblance of a land animal since 1996.  When she persisted she has seen me eat a sausage, I was livid.

The truth is she was hammered at the party where she says she witnessed me devour the piggy.  I know the party, I remember the instance, and others back me up:  she saw me eat a soy brat.  She refuses to believe it wasn’t pork, and made it quite obvious she gloats at the opportunity to rip me apart a little bit.  This explains why we had been long time acquaintances and not friends:  I had always felt she wanted chances to tear me down.

I hashed all my frustration out on my MySpace blog back then, but since then, I have a better grip on the situation.  After all, “friend” or not, my ultimate lesson is to remember I have no control over what other people choose to think or say about me.  I can only decide I know the truth and move on.

Why do I share this story?

Marc pointed out to me last night that I am a meat-pusher.  Though I will not eat it and witness for what going veg can do for you and how misunderstood the diet is, I apparently do not embrace that same wonderful philosophy when I feed others.

I recently returned to Raleigh to straddle the state as I seek my next career move.  After living solely in Asheville for several months with Marc living alone in our Raleigh apartment, we are finally under the same roof again.  Hence, I have been happily cooking dinner for Marc in the evenings.

Then, Marc pointed out he has eaten significantly more meat since I returned than he did for the period I was gone.

What?!

As he pointed out, when he fixes his own dinner, his concern was not to incorporate a meat.  His focus was always to create a healthy dinner.  A few nights a week, that would also include chicken or deer, but most nights it was a vegetable combo.

Ahhh… student in now teacher.

I had to realize that all my years of vegetarianism, and yet, I was afraid that he would not consider dinner a complete meal unless I added a meat to it.

Now, I know better.  So tonight, he ate salad, wild rice with a great herb seasoning, and quesadillas.

Think about what is important to you and what life you want your decisions to support.  Then, think about if you are living your life consistently.  The truth may surprise you.

Now you have a starting place to move forward… and forget what anyone else has to say about it!  You can NOT please everyone, so live to fully please yourself.  Then you draw people to you who appreciate that and do the same.

Sustainably yours ~ Ashley Sue

Shaving is another territory where our daily actions can have an immediate and huge impact on the environment.  Such a small choice, you would think, but consider all the people using razors and shaving products daily.  What if everyone used plastic disposable daisy razors and cheap, canned foam?

I’ve had this draft saved for over six months, but it took seeing Tiny Choices post on swapping razors to finish this up.

I’ll keep this easy… check out the Tiny Choices post.  Check out Allie’s post.  These two will be super comprehensive.

My vote?  I am a HUGE fan of Recycline’s Preserve razors.  My sister bought me a pack so we could get off our Gillette Sensor addiction.  I relate to Tiny Choices and her Gillette:

I have a Gillette Sensor lady’s razor and I dare say I’ve had it since the early 1990s - it’s been with me through high school and college, for sure, and ever since then. It’s served me well, and more so because it isn’t a disposable (the USEPA estimates that 2 billion disposable razors end up in landfills every year).

But Preserve has a great product, made of recycled plastic.  The double razor replacement heads can be a little rough, and you will notice the difference in quality if you had been using Gillette.  Spring and get the triple blade replacement heads.  You’ll totally dig them.

Or, just get really hairy when your razor is done, and save the water and waste.

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue Allen

Browsing through various news on green life on the grounded “every American” level, I found a blogpost from the NYTimes showing a Gallup Poll this month indicating that, for the first time in over two decades, Americans feel considerations for the economy trump environmental concerns.

According to this post, another recent Gallup Poll shows that the majority of Americans believe global warming threats are greatly exaggerated.  People ask me about this constantly.

A friend and mentor on Twitter pointed out that polls can be “useless” and “confusing”.  That is true.  The mere wording of a question can greatly alter how people respond to it.  The source also has to be considered because, as I have heard many times, anyone can find the result they want if they try.

I can easily see where Americans would feel that environmental issues need to be overlooked for now if it could mean saving our flailing economy.  Too many Americans are in daily survival mode.   Spending large amounts of money and time on more expensive alternative energies, organic foods, and other “green” endeavors seems unjustified to many.

If you couple the “economy v. environment” debate with the “is global warming a farce?” debate, you can truly see why people would choose economic stability initiatives at the sacrifice of environmental efforts.

These either/or arguments are short-sighted and highly deficient, however, and stem from a mix of media chaos and one-way thinking.  

Traditional news media love to propogate/slam global warming, economic fears, and right-wing/left-wing rhetoric.  If we stay afraid, if we pit against each other, if we only hear the extreme perspectives, we will cling to the news media for more information that confirms what we want confirmed.

Feeling that the economy can only be saved at the sacrifice of the environment or that the environment will only be saved at the sacrifice of a sound economy is simply a lack of knowledge regarding history and economics.

Whether you personally want economic stability, a healthy family, farmers who are paid well, a thriving city life and career, or a lush yard in the country, each of these comes down to environmental welfare.  

While moving into a “green” lifestyle or environmentally-minded decisions requires cost analysis and consideration, the forethought to know saving a dime right now can cost us exponentially in the near future is what will thrive in the new economy.  

Capitalism will reward careful thought and implementation of environmentalism in the economy.

So decide if you actually need to watch that extra half-hour of news media, consider the source of the information you receive, take a giant breath in, exhale, and know somehow, someway, we can all be OK, including our environment.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

The list of companies claiming natural and green efforts grows every day, and often, unfortunately, these companies have little to offer.  Two national companies, however, showing progress in their sustainability practices are Reynolds and Kerr Drug.

What do these two companies have to offer?

Reynolds finally caught on to recycled foil.  For an Earth Day promotion, they gave away coupons for a free roll of their 100% recycled aluminum foil.  I am partly excited by this because I do think Reynolds foil is often better quality than many off-brand foils.  Plus, Aluminum, which can be recycled countless times, is a great way to practice your Rs.  When you finish with using foil, you can recycle it or reuse it yourself.  No matter what, make sure you clean off the foil.  Any foil with residual grease and oil cannot be used by recycling facilities, and you certainly do not want to reuse sticky foil.

Kerr Drug, which I never thought I would be giving thumbs-up, sent a “Naturally Kerr” flier in the mail this week.  Claiming to carry “over 3,000 natural and organic products for a healthy lifestyle”, I opened the paper and gave it a look.

Honestly, I was thrilled to see how many legit products they stock.  From organic groceries such as sugar, Late July brand crackers, FEED granola, JASON and Avalon Organics toiletries, natracare tampons and organic cotton pads, Seventh Generation products, Amy’s Organics, gluten-free foods, vegan foods, and even Pirate’s Booty snacks (I wonder if they carry Tings), Naturally Kerr by Kerr Drug is setting a standard for what a chain pharmacy/store can provide for their communities.  Who knows where this chain can go and where they are headed!

If you have not noticed, I rarely give chains a shout-out, so this post is a big deal for me.  Naturally Kerr, which is located at Harvest Plaza, 9650 Strickland Road, Suite 105, Raleigh, and 1124 Patton Ave. in Asheville, even had an Earth Day celebration today.  They gave away free reusable tote bags filled with natural and organic goodies.  The store also had drawings for a free mountain bike, as well as gift certificates to my absolute favorite Raleigh restaurant Irregardless Cafe and Flying Biscuit (never been).  I love the local aspect of this.

So, Kerr and Reynolds, cheers.  Keep up the amazing progress and set even higher standards.  Ready, set, go!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

In honor of Earth Day, I figure I should share a completely beautiful and inspiring video of David Gottfried and Van Jones discussing what we are working toward and how this transformation is happening.

You could certainly say I am drinking the Van Jones kool-aid.  After all, he’s beautiful, he’s a humanitarian, he’s intelligent, he’s positive, he’s insistent.  Why would I fight that?

Truly, take a few minutes to fall captive to the video on urban renewal and environmental progress for a new world.

And take a minute to smile.  Take a deep, rejuvenating breath, exhale, and smile.

Happy Earth Day!

Sustainably yours ~ Ashley Sue

A friend nicknamed me Q-tip last year; a nickname earned during an unexpected run-in at a warehouse store.  Needless to say, I have a massive stock of Q-tips.  But I will only use a certain brand.

It is not that I am particularly loyal to a particular brand or that I am a label-snob ~ especially not regarding my cotton-swab provider.  I have noticed, however, that as wasteful as these swabs are, paying attention to one tiny detail makes a teeny difference to the environment:

Buy cotton swabs that are not made of plastic.  I know my method of ear-cleaning is wasteful regardless, but I feel better knowing that my all paper-and-cotton swab can eventually break down.  Swabs made with pretty plastic rods will never disintegrate in nature.  I was reminded of this upon seeing one on the sidewalk.

Also, you could purchase organic cotton swabs.  Or check out this link for creative reuses for your swabs, even post earwaxed.

Or ultimately you can clean your ears without swabs, either for the environment or to avoid death by swab, by pouring a bit of hydrogen peroxide in your ear, letting it sit a few minutes, then rinsing out.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

In the quaint, beautiful North Carolina city of Durham, an incredibly inspirational couple lives off the grid in an effort to have The Carbon-Free Home.  This couple, the Hrens, released a book in 2008 named “The Carbon-Free Home”, which is a practical, easy-to-use guide for 36 different remodeling projects that will help you reduce your own carbon footprint.

Sunday, 17 May 2009, the Hren’s invite you to an OPEN HOUSE from 10am-4pm.  From edible landscaping from their housemates of Bountiful Backyards to their exciting renewable energy installations, you are guaranteed to walk away with fun, creative ideas on how you can save both the planet and your wallet!

What? You are questioning how legit these cats are and why you want to spend your Saturday at their house?  Simply check out all of the media coverage of the Hren’s book and lifestyle (including a full-hour radio interview on The State of Things, magazine coverage in Ode and Preservation magazines, and more).

Other sustainable ideas while in Durham:

Durham Farmers Market

Durham Central Market Coop Grocer

Guglhupf (a personal FAV locally-owned restaurant and bakery)

Eno River (BEAUTIFUL walking along the river)

…Waft the Eno, too! Boo on DPR… But Tree Camp is great too!

Make the trip, enjoy Durham, learn how to help the environment (and your wallet)!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

230 W. Trinity Ave., Durham, NC 27701, corner of Trinity Ave. and North St., just north of downtown.

http://www.thecarbonfreehome.com/?q=node/31

Few topics are as loaded in current affairs as sustainability.  With factors such as economy, lifestyle changes, personal finances, and political agenda (to name only a few), conversations about sustainability quickly digress into arguments over semantics and misconceptions.

The Scientific American wrote a great article in their March 2009 issue on what they consider to be the 10 sustainability myths of current times.  As author Michael D. Lemonick points out, even the movement’s advocates harbor misunderstandings of what “sustainable” is.

My favorites are #2 (that sustainability is all about the natural environment) and #4 (that “sustainability” and “green” are interchangeable).  Numbers 8, 9, and 10 are really great too, but if you want to check out the myths regarding population, government, and others, you need to read the article.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

Last week, one of my beautiful colleagues and I walked up to a local bakery for something yummy.  This locale offers scrumptious cakes, cookies, treats of all sorts, and a wonderful coffee to enjoy as well.

A little financially strapped, I knew the day was beautiful, my friend is amazing, so I was happy to walk up and buy a coffee and cookie to support this local company.

I carted the coffee away in a disposable cup, having left my own travel mug at home and not knowing I might be stopping somewhere for coffee that day.

When we returned to the office, I realized my disposable cup, which looked like it was a heavy paperboard material, was actually styrofoam covered in a thin sheet of paper-looking veneer.  What?  Why would a company buy cups that seem like such an obvious “lesser of an evil” greenwash?  Styrofoam, as I see it, is evil!

Just as I start to ridicule this local company for purchasing these cups, my two colleagues pointed out that the economy is difficult.  Small businesses have to make some tough decisions right now in hopes of staying open.  We do not know what financial decisions had to determine such purchases such as that cup.  We are in no place to judge them.

One colleague took it further and said the government has to be the one to ban styrofoam use, as these changes happen from the top down (I disagree with that, but to each, their own).

I felt a little bit of a sting, but instead of taking it personally, I knew they had a point.

I have noticed the economy is tough.  I know independently-owned restaurants usually have a harder time than any other business.  Even with the unfortunate to-go cups, this company is still a local treasure in so many ways.

Ultimately, I can only be mad at myself ~ I have a travel mug, and I failed to bring it.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue