For Mother’s Day/Marc’s Mom’s birthday, we decided we would make her a rain barrel.  Marc’s parents live near South Carolina, in a flat farmland area near Monroe, and the garage Marc’s Dad built is perfect for collecting tons of water to keep Bernice’s garden well hydrated.  My sister and her husband found this great couple in Asheville who sells the barrels, and you can make your own.  They, I believe, have made six of their own barrels thanks to this supplier.

Turns out we just got the supplies and Marc’s parents had them make it themselves ~ I did not realize this, but making your rain barrel requires knowing exactly where you will want it set up so it is configured properly.

Marc’s Dad had it set up in no time, and within a single rain, the barrel was full, as well was all of their overflow tubs.  Dan and Bernice decided they would like another barrel.  So, done.

Rain barrels can be purchased at a variety of places, already made.  For about $100 you can pick one up, ready for the flowing, from Earth Fare, Whole Foods, and maybe even places like Home Depot and Lowes.  Also, if you check your local craigslist, Iwanna, or newspaper, you are apt to find some great local guy who makes them and sells them from his home.

If you are hands-on and live somewhere like Asheville, you may be able to find someone like this great guy who sells only the barrels for about $15.  You go purchase about $15 worth of hardware, and you can make your own.

Happy rain-barreling, and sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

A colleague of mine recently had me meet Pete Pagano of Green Planet Catering here in Raleigh, NC.

NBC 17 covered the company recently, and though the catering company has only been catering for about half a year, but the concept has been growing much much longer.

I have to admit, the “greenie” in me is deeply suspicious anytime someone mentions to me a business claiming their “greenness”. I agreed to meet and told myself I would keep an open mind, but truthfully, I expected very little as we met at Tir Na Nog’s “The Cottage” room.

Pete quickly wowed us, however, with sharing that Green Planet Catering uses as much local and/or organic produce as possible. They use spudware and compostable materials. They create their own bio-diesel and work with a farm, headed by Ben and Charles Keefer here in Raleigh. “We work to be as sustainable as possible,” Pete says.

Green Planet Catering, a team comprised of six members with over a 100 cumulative years of restaurant experience (at least a decade under each of their belt’s), also collaborates with other area partners for composting events. Partnerships for composting and events they’ve covered include Burt’s Bees (headquartered in Durham), NCSU, UNC, Matchbox 20, the Cary Wine Experience, Southern Energy, weddings and private parties.

While the company is already taking impressive strides to show their dedication to a healthy environmental philosophy, Pete’s own education and passion is what sold me.

Referencing Native American philosophy, the Weston A. Price Foundation and movement toward traditional food and knowledge of pesticide and chemical use in mainstream American food industries, I found myself enthralled with Pete’s passion and mission. And I liked that he was not one to put down other companies and their efforts, or arrogantly praise all of their own implemented environmentalism. He is about encouraging the movement by spotlighting positive steps of each company.

Pete explained the importance of educating yourself and making your own decisions for your health and beliefs, saying that eating better and taking care of the environment can go together beautifully. “You’re not twisting your arm. It’s not a New Year Resolution. It’s a way of life.”

“Some people say ‘green’ is a fad. It’s not a fad. It’s a necessity,” Pete says. “We have to do something. We have X amount of resources, and we have a growing population.”

Pete furthers his point, explaining “Seventy-thousand new chemicals have been added to our daily lives in the last 50 years.” Put that together with dramatic increases in unexplained diseases such as autism, ADD and Alzheimer’s, and I myself am asking (more…)

The wildfire last week had Raleigh (and other parts of the state) looking like Houston in the late 1980s.  My girlfriend from the VA beach area said it covered them last week as well.

The smoke lifted by Friday, but in case you missed it, were out of town, or just want to know what Raleigh could look like if we don’t pursue alternative fuels, here are some pics from last week as well as a rockstar live stream (live at the time) from my pal Wayne Sutton on his way into the station that day.  (more…)

I’m guessing unless you’ve sat in your home the last day, you’ve also inhaled the warm smolder lingering in the air.

Both Durham and Raleigh are feeling the effects of the 42,000 acre wildfire burning in Eastern NC.  Which is a huge ordeal, and with rain levels lower than average, the fire could continue burning and smoldering for months. 

I ponder what further consequences this fire has.  What else is burning besides the soil and trees?  What toxins are becoming a further aspect of our atmosphere?  How many animals will lose their homes, forcing them to evacuate into unsafe territories, like our sprawling road system?  How many animals will lose their lives, and how will that affect the balance of our local ecosystem?

I remain positive, however, that no human injuries have been reported, and that this was caused by nature (lightning), thus stopping me from feeling angry at someone who threw out a cigarette or was irresponsibly burning leaves or garbage, or even worse, simply wanted to be an arsonist.  Just keep the firefighters in mind as they continue to fight this mess.

As for the current haze and stench, it should lift from the Triangle in time for the weekend… so long as wind patterns don’t bring it back again, I suppose. 

Until it lifts, avoid spending time outdoors or performing vigorous activity outdoors if you have any allergy and respiratory sensitivities.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

Welcome to The Carbon-Free Home, where you can recycle your water and end your home’s dependence on oil, all while composting your own poo!

On May 31st, this Saturday, at Common Ground Green Building Center and Kitchen Design (326 W Geer St), the Durham authors will be signing their newly published book, The Carbon-Free Home.  The book is their lessons learned from their own purchase and renovation of their 1930s Durham residence. 

If you can’t make this Saturday’s signing, check them out again at The Regulator Bookstore on Durham’s 9th Street on June 6th at 7 pm.

Here’s a bit about the authors, Stephen and Rebekah Hren, according to Chelsea-Green publishing:

Stephen and Rebekah Hren live in Durham, North Carolina, where they are both actively involved with renewable energy, natural building, and edible urban gardening. Rebekah works with Honey Electric Solar, Inc., as a professional designer/installer of photovoltaic systems and domestic solar hot-water systems. Stephen is a professional restoration carpenter, focusing on antebellum houses. He teaches natural-building classes and workshops at the local community college, and in any spare time works with Bountiful Backyards, an edible-landscaping cooperative.

I generally steer clear of global warming arguments… so why am I promoting this?

Obviously, besides the cool factor of a Durham couple being so environmentally passionate that they sought out to accomplish the house and the book, I love Common Ground. Forget Home Crappot and go here, the BEST home improvement store in the Triangle ~ seriously! Plus, using recycled products and energy efficient products, not to mention sustainable flooring and cabinet options, all equal a healthier home. A home free of toxic fumes and residual poisons. THAT is really important to me no matter what your stance on greenhouse gases.

So check out this local couple and absorb the awesome mission they took on.  Get to your locally-owned bookstore, buy The Carbon-Free Home, and get to the book signing!  Then get your booty cooking on oil-independence!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

My friends Jake and Anna have done an AMAZING job looking through NC Assembly laws, on the books or in the works, and highlighted the top 20 on greening our state responsibly.

Check out their finds across four separate posts: NC Assembly Part 1, NC Assembly Part 2, NC Assembly Part 3 and NC Assembly Part 4

My favorites from the posts are:
 

18. Senate Bill 948 – Small Dairy Sustainability
This bill would allow for consumers to contract with local farmers to become partial or complete owners of dairy animals. The original edition of this one was just to allow for people to contract with local farmers to buy fresh milk, but it turned into the current bill that would allow consumers to buy into a local farm to get fresh milk, it now would also require a health warning of the dangers of raw milk, but the nature remains the same. It would allow for small dairy farmers to stay afloat, and for people to support and take part in local agriculture and give themselves a local food source.

17. House Bill 618/Senate Bill 671 – Eat Smart…Move More Initiative
This would provide a budget of $3,000,000 for the next two years for to promote community environments that would support physical activity, healthy lifestyles and personal well-being.

3. Senate Bill 927/House Bill 1073 – Green School Construction Loan Fund/Program
This basically allows for schools to get no interest loans for the purpose of green constructions or renovations. With the number of schools going up in the state every year (especially Wake County) there is no reason why they shouldn’t be building as green as they can, and this would help them cover a lot of those costs.

10. Senate Bill 1149 – Use of Biodiesel on School Buses
This bill would allow $5,000,000 for grants to NC public schools for production of biofuels to be used to run school buses.

11. Senate Bill 141/House Bill 1117 – Topsail Beach/Beach Renourishment funds
This would provide $2,000,000 to the town of Topsail Beach for use in beach renourishment.

All in all, it’s really interesting to see what our state is working on, and for the full 20 that the Green Home HQ picked out, check out the posts!

Planning a wedding can be difficult, but if you want to be a bit more eco-friendly and have a “green” wedding, your headache in finetuning the details may just be starting.

The Green Life has a whole slew of tips for your big day…  Some suggestions are reasonable, and some are a bit too… er… “granola” for me. 

Cheers to choosing locally grown, organic flowers for your day, and everyone can find beautiful vintage jewelry for the day, but I’m not down with lab-created diamonds (though that’s better than conflict diamonds, no doubt), and I think wooden wedding rings are a complete joke (aren’t the rings symbolizing “forever”?).

Hemp wedding dresses or borrowing a friend’s dress is lousy (sorry, just not my thing), and in all honestly, not many guests are going to understand (or bother) to (more…)

From Durham to Raleigh to Pittsboro to Chapel Hill to Clayton to Wake Forest, the entire Triangle is getting down and getting dirty to celebrate Mother Earth this Saturday (April 19th).  Here are some of the Rockstar events going on THIS weekend, as well as which ones you are apt to see me! (more…)

So, in addition to this weekend’s West Durham Urban Hike, check out “Slow-Flow, Warm Glow”, an AWESOME energy, water and conservation event at Watts-Hillandale.  All you have to do is show up at Oval Park on W. Club Blvd on Saturday morning (THIS SATURDAY, 12th April) at 9 am, and then you can pick what you want to do when!

In case you hadn’t heard, Raleigh banned sink garbage disposals, but after outcry and various town meetings, Raleigh is now repealing the ban and ALLOWING garbage disposals.

No $25k a day fines.  No need to gripe.  No issue for builders.

I’ll stick with my buddy, Doug, on the final sentiment I have:

My debate was cleared up once the Mayor touched on the fact that greasy meats and bones produce 20% of the city’s grease blockage. I was not aware of this and the argument does make more sense now that information has been divulged.

I do urge Raleigh residents to think twice before pouring grease down the drain and disposing of bones and greasy meats in their garbage disposals. It can cost us several thousand dollars in repairs and can cost us on the back-end, as taxpayers, when the city has to repair blockage in the lines.

I still think they’re crap.  Wish I didn’t have my own… anyone want mine?

Photo provided by abc11.com.