musings of a gluten free runner

Posts Tagged ‘green’

My tribute to the ethanol rage… but seriously, I was searching for a picture of myself to use for a profile. And I came across this on the website of a photographer I worked with a little while ago. Obviously photoshopped… It reminds me of Oz- of a Kansas cornfield dropped in the middle of Oregon.

This is definitely set up to the biggest-hyped Earth Day ever. “Green” is now an adjective used everywhere, for everything… and recognizable by everyone. It’s definitely great to see how even large companies are realizing that they need to at least be seen as making an effort. I guess the skeptical side of me just wishes they spent as much cash on actual scientific innovations and solutions as they do on letting us know about it. Walmart is now on the “green” bandwagon and sells organics. I suppose it should be good news, it just seems like the “green washing” is more about PR and advertising these days than it is about the principle and doing what’s best for the planet. Maybe it’s impossible to separate the two. And maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe I’ll just always be suspicious of the biggest players. We have reason to be. It just feels weird to suddenly find them on our side.

On a happy note, the printer I use (Greener Printer.com) just announced that they are giving away 200 free business cards to celebrate Earth Day and their new thicker 100% recycled card stock. They use soy ink too and have done beautiful work for me.

We should all take a moment tomorrow and celebrate any changes we made this last year to decrease our footprints on our planet. (My favorite is that Ian and I were able to lower the electric bill for our house to $20/month). It’s also a good time to reflect and think about Spring Cleaning- inside and out.

Some Celebratory Ideas:
Go Veggie or Vegan for the day
Drink a green smoothie
Make an Organic Feast and toast with a glass of biodynamic wine
Take a walk
Read a book (like the Food Revolution)
Don’t shower! (you know you shouldn’t be washing your hair every day anyways!)
Screw in a CF lightbulb
Turn down your thermostat (yes- it is still FREEZING in Oregon)
Turn your hot water heater temp down a few degrees
Bike to work

And on the commercial side of things:

Sign up at idealbite.com for daily tips. This is a fun site.

How about a green cell phone? No kidding. Credo Mobile (formerly Working Assets Wireless) has the greenest phone on the planet! I wish I hadn’t renewed my contract last fall. I’ll be switching when it runs out.

And there’s always carbon offsets, but do some serious research before you buy. There have been many reports of bogus companies just collecting money and doing nothing.

Yeah- same old stuff… but a little does help a lot. It’s got to.

Wishing you peace & balance, Dana

I’m once again sitting in my “office” (ladybug coffee) this morning, putting off going to the gym. I haven’t been able to muster the desire to run every day since the rib thing. It just seems like my body wants a break. So this last week I’ve been cross training every other day and lacing up the Skylons in between.

Last Sunday, after running 3 times in two weeks- Ian decides that he should run to bank and deposit a check. Being 34 degrees (and snowing!) and not really wanting to run by myself, I beg to go too. The hitch in the plan is that since we moved in June, our joint account is housed at a bank about 8 miles away. No big deal. I must have been well rested or something, because I surprised myself a little being able to make it back so quickly.

The rest of the day, consequently, all we managed was to walk to coffee (Ian hates coffee, but drinks chai), play on the computer, and fix dinner. Not a bad Sunday really…. and I wish I could say that life was generally more exciting than that, but not having many free days together in a few months…. I LOVE those times.

I think the light- or lack of light- is getting to me. The mornings are SO dark… and then by 3:00 I start thinking it is getting late. Last night we actually ate dinner at 5:00….!

Anyways- last week we saw “What would Jesus Buy” at the Mission. It was definitely disturbing on many levels. In fact, I don’t know which was more disturbing: the disgusting state of the typical over-extended American consumer; the advertising culture that we subject our children to and the greedy monsters they become; the way we equate money with love; or the struggling band of misfits that is the “Church of Stop Shopping.”

I will give Rev. Billy credit for one thing: I wouldn’t be surprised if Mickey Mouse did turn out to be the Anti-Christ.

Better get to the gym. cheers.