It's Easy Being Green

I just wanted to take a minute to plug one of my favorite places to visit in Flagstaff, The Arboretum. They have more than 2,500 different species of plants that grow great here in the high altitude of northern Arizona and they have great collections of the native plants that grow here on the Colorado Plateau. I like to make a trip out there once or twice a year and see what all is going on. It’s quiet, peaceful and best of all they have a bunch of different demonstration gardens including a killer greenhouse. I envy the greenhouse because eventually I want one similar to it. Anyway, if you live in the area and are looking for a great volunteer opportunity, you should check out the Arboretum. They’re currently looking for volunteer docents to lead the daily tours of the garden. If you’re interested head over to their website to find out more on volunteering.

If you happen to be in the area and want to learn more about gardening with native plants of the Colorado Plateau, stop on in!

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I’m glad to see this morning that the National Resources Defense Council has gained some ground in federal court against the White House and the Navy.  NRDC has gone to court against the government because of a decision by President Bush to allow the Navy to use high powered sonar equipment in a “no sonar zone”.  The zone is known to be the home of large groups of whales and several studies have shown the sonar in question can cause mass death in whales.  According to the NRDC, the high-intensity sound waves can travel vast stretches of the ocean and are so intense that marine mammals experience bleeding in their brain before they die.

In January, President Bush argued that the high powered sonar was vital for our nation’s military preparedness exercises and granted the Navy an exemption so they could ignore a court ruled injunction to stop the practices back on January 3rd.  U.S. District Judge Florence Marine Cooper released a 36 page ruling stating that the Navy must abide by a previous order which outlawed the sonar use in that particular area of the Pacific.  What’s even better, Cooper suggested our President’s attempt to go around the previous ruling was “constitutionally suspect”.

I’m glad Cooper made what seems like a sound ruling both in favor of our environment and in favor of the people who tried to stop it.  Our government, and our lame-duck President for that matter, need to learn they just can’t run around doing whatever they want.  The people are watching….power to the people!

The NRDC produced a really great 5 minute long video on this issue.  It’s called “Lethal Sounds” and is narrated by Pierce Brosnan.

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We’ve been hearing a lot about genetically modified produce these days. “GM” produce is the end result of bio-technology tinkering with the natural world. Scientists discover traits and genes that do certain things like protect a plant from herbicides or a particular insect or predator that might devastate the crop. They then take these traits and genes and in the lab, breed them into whatever plant they’re trying to genetically modify. According to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in 2006, a total of 252 million acres of transgenic crops were planted in 22 countries by 10.3 million farmers. They also suggest that bananas producing human vaccines against infectious diseases like hepatitis B, fish that mature more quickly, cows that are resistant to mad cow disease, fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier, and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties are currently on the horizon as scientists are tinkering with them.

Now I don’t know about you but the idea of genetically modifying natural plants and animals, especially ones we’re going to eat is pretty bothersome for me. I think it’s as bothersome as cloning. It could reduce bio-diversity or the natural distinctions between different varieties of a plant and animal. On top of that, the foods have only been in our markets since the 1990’s so we don’t know if there are any long-term health risks from eating “GM” food. Avoiding them in the produce department is as simple as looking at the little static stickers stuck to every piece of produce these days.

A four digit number on the produce static sticker means it’s conventionally grown. A five digit number beginning with “9″ means it’s organically grown. A five digit number beginning with “8″ means it’s genetically modified produce. I will now be paying close attention to those little stickers the next time we’re shopping!

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So our huge winter storm is in the process of moving into the mountains of Arizona this morning.  We got about an inch of snow and now it has switched over to rain.  It’s all part of what’s expected to be a gloomy day here.  I’m already considering plans for dinner tonight and I think one of my favorite bloggers, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, triggered my desire for a nice warm roast enjoyed by the fire tonight.  If you’re not sure how to cook a really good pot roast, check out her recipe.  That’s the technique we use and always seems to generate the best results.  You could pair the roast with some of her Buttery Thyme Bread too.  Yum!  I’ll have to see if there’s any bison roast left at the natural food store when we run into town today.

Why not just buy beef you’re saying?  Well, bison meat is better for your heart because it’s low in cholesterol and fat but high in protein.  It’s also high in iron and other essential minerals or vitamins your body requires.  And, if it’s grass fed bison that’s even better because the meat wasn’t fattened on nasty fillers and feed lot grains.  If you Google search for natural buffalo meat or natural bison meat you’ll end up with several different web suppliers.  Your local natural food store should also carry a selection of bison meat in the butcher department.

Ok, time to get ready for the slow, slushy drive into town.

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It looks like we’ve got another massive round of winter weather heading our direction here in the mountains of Arizona.  The sun has been out the last two weeks but temperatures have been super cold and we still have a ton of snow left on the ground from the last storm!  It’s good though.  Our parched streams, rivers and lakes all need water and it will help to delay wildfire season a bit this year.  I knew it was going to be a good day…even a good week though when I opened the blinds in the bedroom to see the ice crystals forming feathery art on the window.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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While I can’t wait to put up the Christmas tree each and every year, I also can’t wait to take it down once it starts getting crispy and dropping needles all over the floor. Usually I’ll try and restrain myself from touching the tree until New Year’s (I feel obligated to keep the tree up until that time for some tradition unbeknown to me). But sometimes I just can’t help it. Once the tree comes down though, many wonder what they can do with the darn thing besides just throwing it out. The answer to that is pretty simple: recycle it!

The easiest way is through a curbside recycling program with your local city or municipality. If you haven’t already received info from your city on where to leave your tree or drop it off for recycling, you can check out the National Christmas Tree Association’s website. It’s as simple as punching in your zip code to find local programs. Some cities like Newburgh, New York have gone as far as making a family event out of tree-cycling by supplying hot apple cider, munchies and a bag for families to take home fresh mulch (courtesy the freshly chipped trees) for their garden beds.

This next idea may sound silly but it has some great benefits to the feathered friends hanging around your bird feeders this time of year. Simply take your tree outside and place it in the garden or backyard near the feeder. The tree will provide some shelter for the birds braving the winter cold. If you don’t have a bird feeder out yet, you can also turn your tree into a giant feeder. Hang orange slices from the branches and spread peanut butter onto pine cones and sprinkle with mixed seed. Don’t forget to remove all the tinsel before doing this! The birds will eat the tinsel which is very harmful.

If you happen to have a pond on your property, you can also sink the tree to the bottom of your pond. It’s a great habitat for fish and provides them with nooks and crannies to feed in. This year don’t just throw out your Christmas tree, recycle it!

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This last weekend proved to be a big one as we picked up about a foot and a half of new snow out of a four day long storm. It’s been fun trying to dig ourselves out of this one, especially with a gravel driveway. Challenges aside, the snow is beautiful to look at and goes a long way to stave off fire season in the spring and summer months.

The county doesn’t use any de-icers up here because there’s a lot of people who are against their environmental impacts. There have been a lot of meetings and outcry lately because the city and the county would like to use de-icers on most of the northland roads. I think it’s a great idea. I would rather be driving on safe roads then to be dealing with extremely icy hills and slide offs. As long as we don’t see trees dying off and wildlife croaking on the side of the road, it seems okay to me.

There are some ways to deal with snow and ice and be a little more environmentally cautious too. It has been shown that salt can damage soil, plants, crumble concrete driveways and sidewalks, contaminate ground water supplies, rust cars and even be tracked into the house where it can be a problem for pets and children. Obviously, the best way to avoid all that danger is to just use some good ‘ol fashioned backbreaking work and shovel and scrape your driveway. The best time to get out and do it is actually during the snowfall before it becomes hard and icy, freezing to your driveway. I’ve also found tackling it during sunshine is another great trick because the icy chunks are beginning to melt and will usually scrape easily after just a few minutes of sun exposure.

If you happen to be in the process of building a new home or renovating, think about your driveway placement and the sun exposure it gets. I’ve seen plenty of south and east facing driveways ice free a day or two after snow. But a ton of north and west facing driveways that look more like a skating rink a week after a storm. If you do need to use ice melter, there are some safer alternatives to salt-based deicers. One product is called Safe Paw and is apparently pet, child and environmentally friendly.

Another fun tip I learned is about avoiding those chemical laced windshield cleaner/deicers for your wiper fluid. Apparently you mix one part water to two parts plain ‘ol vinegar or rubbing alcohol, whichever you happen to have on hand. Supposedly it doesn’t freeze and helps keep the ice from building up on your windshield while you’re driving down the highway. I’m going to have to try that one out myself!

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