America, wake up.

If you are not in debt, if you carry no credit card balance, if you have not been facing job insecurity… then you are not experiencing middle America, and you can skip this post.  If you answered “yes” to any of the above (much less multiple), I cry out to you:

WAKE UP.

Many of you are awake, or waking, but some still are biting at every credit offer that comes across the table.  Easy way to get stuff without getting arrested?  Get a credit card.

American Express sent me a “pre-approved offer” (puh-lease) regarding their Black Card.

Their pitch?  “The Black Card is not just another piece of plastic.  Made with carbon it is the ultimate buying tool.”

WHAT?!  What wad of absolute pure lazy, thoughtless, consumerist drivel are they asking us to buy?

“Limited to only 1% of U.S. residents, Black Card members are ensured the highest caliber of personal service.  Cardmembers enjoy a 24-hour Concierge Assistant, Exclusive Rewards Program, and Luxury Gifts from some of the world’s top brands.  Made with carbon, the Visa Black Card is guaranteed to get you noticed.”

What does it take to be apart of that Elite 1%?

$495.00 US annually… and you get a 13.24% variable APR for your money.

Wake up.  Do not be a chump.  Maybe I should be saying these words to American Express and not the public.  Frankly, I do not know who needs a bigger wake up call.

Just remember… credit card companies give you no favors.  Their one mission is to get you to buy what you cannot afford.

Now, I will not get into the whole spiele regarding how to manage your credit.  Pick up a Suze Orman book if you need that kind of advice.  I do want to warn, however, to pay close attention to any credit card offers you do get.

No matter what your credit currently looks like, make sure every single month you pay every single last bill on time.  This will save you bundles in the long run, and I am not talking late fees.  Those are only a blade of grass in a meadow of problems when you try to avoid the bills.

Stay grounded.  Live within your means.  And if you have already made some financial mistakes, take a deep breath.  You can ALWAYS get back on path, starting today.

And avoid greenwashing junk like the Black Card.

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

Marc and I have not picked a church in which to marry, nor have a caterer, musician, or rentals in contract, so we have in no way started a registry.  Frankly, I am not sure how I feel about wedding registries at all, but when speaking with my future sister-in-law, registering for plates and such popped up in conversation.

See, Marc’s twin brother is also planning a wedding to his longtime girlfriend (and no, we are not having a double wedding).  Stacey is so excited about registering for Fiesta dinnerware, something I had never heard of or noticed.  Her excitement regarding their quality and USA-made craftsmanship got me intrigued, though.

I checked out Fiesta dinnerware, and while it is very much not for me, I do like that it is made in America.

Which got me thinking, what other dinnerware companies are still made in America?  Who knows… maybe I will register for plates.

I found a few interesting websites.  Still Made in USA, Made In USA, and Americans Working all inspire me to research whatever we do choose to register for very carefully.  Anything we can do to support Americans staying employed seems socially-conscious to me, since kitchenware is something we need anyhow.

No decisions on a company or style now though.  We have much bigger concerns to tackle first.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

If you struggle to make greener decisions, sometimes the battle within yourself is if the green you need to save most is the green in the world or the green in your wallet.  With the holidays zooming toward us, temptation to shop “big sales” and get “huge savings” can bear upon you.

Black Friday sales woo tons of shoppers annually and mark the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season.  I understand that retailers need shoppers in order to make profit, which in turn means sales associates keep their jobs and can pay their bills.  I get it, I get it, I get it.

I beg you to consider, however, the kind of purchases you make when you shop these stores, these sales, these “giant blowout” events.  I yearn for you to realize that big box stores want you to get caught up in the whirlpool of low numbers, shiny vases, plush blankets, sparkly dresses, and jingling toys.

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These sales want you to spend beyond your means.

These stores want you to buy now, and pay later.  Like still paying it off in September 2010.

These “shopping holidays” want you to feel like whatever you give, it has to be big to prove it is given in love.

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… to fear that no matter what you give… that the receiver might give you something that even bigger.  Now you wouldn’t want to look like a cheap shmuck, right?

… to continue handing over that plastic-fantastic credit card, blissfully ignoring the poisons in those toys (every child should chew on some lead and phthalates, right?), slave labor in that jewelry, and child labor and questionable labor practices in… well, just about everything, right?

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Now, is that the backstory you want for gifts you give?

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Perhaps you’ll say no.  If so, consider a handmade holiday.  Or consider a no-gift holiday.  Or the challenge of a “Made in America” only holiday.

Just consider that the holiday is really is about spending special time with the special people in your life.

Whatever you choose to do, make the most of your Thanksgiving weekend.

With much love, tremendous thanks, and sustainable thoughts,

Ashley Sue

A little while back, Earth Fare asked if I wanted to give a $50 Earth Fare gift card to one lucky (Green)Grounded reader.  With a landslide of holidays coming, a $50 gift card is exactly the stimulus package we each could use!

A happy Earth Fare gift card, valued at $50, is waiting for your happy, warm wallet.  I would love for each of us (myself included) to receive one, but only one winner for this giveaway.

So how do you win?

1.)  Leave a comment with your favorite tip for living green in a grounded way.  You know… how do you live a little greener without feeling a tremendous pinch?  A tip that perhaps someone else could use as they and their families are heading into this holiday season.

Me?  I started buying hand soap in the refill pouches and bottles instead of always getting the pretty little container to go by the sink.  Now I just refill the cute soap bottle and keep the giant refill stash under the sink.  Less packaging is a great thing, plus it saves me money!

2.)  Want a second way to enter?  Twitter fans have the advantage here.  All you have to do is tweet this (or something similar):

Living greener & tastier is easy with a $50 @EarthFare gift card giveaway via @AshleySue at http://idek.net/eQa!

Then, come back and leave a second comment with your Twitter @ handle.

One comment on being green = one chance.

One comment on being green + one separate comment about your tweet (with @yourname) = two chances.

I cannot wait to hear all the different ways you live greener and more grounded!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

(Contest runs Tuesday, 10th November 2009 at 930 A.M. EST until Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST. Winner will be selected on Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST.  Winner will be contacted via email.  Once winner acknowledges winning and replies with physical address, gift card will be sent via USPS.  Winning comment number will be selected via Random.org.

Also, many of your comments may be held for moderation.  Do not worry, I will daily approve comments, so they will appear within 24 hours, and in the order received.  Thank you for your patience as I fight spammers.)

On October 8, 2009, North Carolina found itself amidst two conflicting news stories of a national caliber regarding technology manufacturing:

DELL is laying off 905 employees by January 2010.  Boo.

CREE is creating nearly 600 jobs in the green tech LED industry.  Yay!

On Wednesday, DELL announced they are closing the North Carolina plant in Winston Salem, laying off around 600 employees in November and retaining the last 300 employees until January 2010.

Well, a huge happy holidays to you and yours, courtesy of DELL.

For the record, I want to say how opposed I was about granting DELL any tax breaks, grants, and incentives back in 2005 when North Carolina leaned over and kissed their shiny hineys in order to get the plant here.  Not that “I told you so” ever does any good, but I cannot help myself.

So, here we are, four years and two days after it opens, and they announce they are closing down and leaving a thousand families without income and burdening NC with more than $3 million added in unemployment spendings.

DELL says they will repay everything paid to them by the state of North Carolina.  Hmmm… did Exxon not say the same thing 20 years ago regarding the Valdez?

On the other hand, Thursday afternoon, CREE (LED Technology) held a planned press conference to announce the creation of 275 North Carolina jobs before the end of 2009, and another 300 jobs by the end of 2012.

Yes, friends, that means North Carolina company CREE is manufacturing LED technology right here in our state, creating 575 jobs.  Durham, yet another score for you!

Why do I support CREE?  The North Carolina-based company has impressed me with their commitment to such a huge environmental undertaking from the beginning.  Add to that how North Carolina State University has a role in CREE technology (a personal victory! They are so underrated), not to mention how our state, at 11% unemployment, needs a company who will invest in the educated and eager workforce in our state.

I support CREE because LED is significantly superior to CFL, which is known as the energy-friendly choice among mainstream America.

• One LED lasts 50,000 hours and consume only 500 kilowatt hours in the course of its life.  That would take 10 CFLs.  Plus, trust me, I am simplifying the numerous benefits of LED.
• LED lights are bright, are infinitely more reliable and warmer looking than the CFL bulbs currently living in my home.  The LEDs give a true color, unlike what I get to experience now.
• One LED can cost only $.16 a year to operate in your home — that is 16 cents!  Thus, the initial cost may be higher than CFL or incandescent bulbs, but the savings far outweigh the initial cost difference.
• LED bulbs are far more robust than CFL or incandescent bulbs.  This even leaves out the fact that CFL bulbs contain mercury.

Bora and I were able to talk with CREE CEO Chuck Swoboda, Social Media Specialist Ginny Skalski, and Product Marketing Specialist Kyle Rogers.  Here, Rogers walks us through a few of CREE’s current major products, as well as discusses with us a few future products for residential use.

If somehow are are asking yourself what LED and CFL light bulbs are, I wonder how you have missed that incandescent bulbs emit 80% or more energy on creating heat, thus creating an issue where you spend more money creating heat in your home than light, and then you have the costs of increasing air-cooling methods to counteract the heat in our sweltering NC summers.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

For raw clips of the press conference with CREE CEO Chuck Swoboda and Governor Beverly Perdue, you can watch:
Part 1 (CEO Chuck Swoboda introducing CREE and green jobs announcement)
Part 2 (Governor Beverly Perdue)
Part 3 (CEO Chuck Swoboda talking LED as our future)

I have to revive the garbage disposal controversy, as spawned a year and a half ago when Raleigh, NC government banned garbage disposals in homes (and quickly caved under scrutiny from lazy, self-absorbed, financially-influential people who worship their disposals).

A while back, I saw this great article by Raleigh Eco News regarding how “the quality of Falls Lake — Raleigh’s main water supply — is suffering while officials with the power to do something are failing to act”.

Reading it reminded me how ill I am that Raleigh renegged on their garbage disposal ban.

Why do I feel they should be banned?  Well, I do not feel like these sorts of kitchen scraps belong washed down our drain.  Besides killing your plumbing (yes, most of the people I know have to get their disposal repaired or unclogged, which we have never done since we toss our scraps), composting is the optimal option.

Despite Insinkerator’s claims of using the disposal being “green”, I have interesting consensus that it is the worst, most financially costly, most energy and environmentally-inefficient choice.  You pay the plumber, we all pay in higher taxes to come as the burden grows, and the natural waterways pay.

Plus, I see all the time that people who rely on their garbage disposal (usually absent-mindedly even) also are regulars at pouring grease and cooking juices down their drain, which is actually illegal in many states because of pollution.  Don’t believe that many people feel that way?  Just look at this one forum and how people tug-of-war over being able to.

Next time you have potatoes and squash to peel, grease to empty, and plates to scrape off, head to your compost bin or trash bag.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

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

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

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

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