Pingree Green Report September 26, 2010
-On Thursday, September 23, there was a reduced impact day for transportation. There were 25 fewer cars on campus and 45 members of our community biked to school. Nice job Pingree!
-Kudos to Paul Sampson and his staff for using multi-use cups, bowls, and silverware and less disposable plastic and paper products.
-Composting in the commons is a success with lots of people putting their food scraps and paper napkins in the green bin which is picked up weekly and brought to a local farm.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Pingree Cold Testing my Goals!
Since late summer, I can proudly say that I've used almost no disposable paper products. My exceptions have been T.P. and paper towels in my classroom. Other than that, I've stuck with rags for cleaning, dish cloths, cloth napkins, and a handkerchief (sp?) for blowing my nose occasionally.
But now... I've caught the Pingree cold that's going around. My nose is running like a faucet, and my poor handkerchief is just not keeping up. Last night I rolled over in bed and thought that I'd started a raging bloody nose, only to discover that it was my nose draining. In desperation, I've had to turn to paper tissues. I feel awful every time I grab one, and I try to use them at least twice before tossing them, but that's hardly justification for abandoning my goals.
I guess I need to get a few more handkerchiefs, but I in my attempt to consume less resources, I've become uncomfortable with purchasing new things. What's a low impact girl to do?!
But now... I've caught the Pingree cold that's going around. My nose is running like a faucet, and my poor handkerchief is just not keeping up. Last night I rolled over in bed and thought that I'd started a raging bloody nose, only to discover that it was my nose draining. In desperation, I've had to turn to paper tissues. I feel awful every time I grab one, and I try to use them at least twice before tossing them, but that's hardly justification for abandoning my goals.
I guess I need to get a few more handkerchiefs, but I in my attempt to consume less resources, I've become uncomfortable with purchasing new things. What's a low impact girl to do?!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Car of the Future!
Imagine going over 1,000 miles on one tank of gas. Don't believe it? Well, check out this car. It is an electrical three-wheel car that gets 200 MILES PER GALLON! Check out this video, you may drive this car in the future.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Hey Dude, "Cool" Roof
Do you know that one of the best things you can do for the environment is paint your roof white? It's true! By painting your roof white, you can actually reduce the temperature inside your home by 15 degrees in the summer! But don't worry about winter, it actually has little impact on your home in the winter, since your house is covered in snow anyway. Don't believe me? Check out this website!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Smart House?...more like GREEN House!!
Check out this interactive site about a new "green" style home. Not only is it hip and modern, but it is awesome for our planet. Take a tour through the home with Joe Wheeler and take a look at all of it's interesting features. Just click on the link!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Global Air Traffic
The 48-second video below shows 24 hours of global air traffic during the northern hemisphere's summer. The US and Europe (as well as India and China) are teeming with activity! For a detailed analysis, visit this website.
Video from: http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/flight-international/2008/12/24-hour-air-traffic-control.html
Thanks to Mr. Olson for contributing this video!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Personal Goals... have you formed any yet?
As I read--no, devoured--my copy of No Impact Man, I felt personal goals forming deep in my brain. It wasn't a conscious process, but it felt like an inevitable consequence of reading about Colin's experiences; so much of the life philosophies he pondered resonated with me.
Above all others, two major personal goals rose to the top for me:
1) Stop treating resources as disposable.
2) Make my diet more sustainable.
I've already posted about how I began making my own yogurt at home. (If you've yet to try it, you're missing out.) I also started making my own bread from scratch. Now, making yogurt is EASY! I discovered that making good bread is NOT! It seems that success or failure mainly lies in kneading the dough. There are TONS of different "ways" to knead bread dough and the truth is, none is better than another (many people will vehemently disagree with that). Do a youtube search on "how to knead bread." You'll get a thousand videos. Chose a technique you like the looks of and use it. The real trick--the difference between success and failure--is learning what the dough "feels like" when you've kneaded it long enough. Most of the youtube videos will tell you what to look for and what to feel for, but I will warn you that you will be very, VERY tempted to quit kneading before it actually happens. Why? Because your arms are going to feel like they're about to fall off and you'll curse having ever tried this. Don't quit!! It might take you 10 minutes before the dough "transforms," or (if you're weak like me) it might take you 20 minutes, but KEEP GOING!!
It took me several attempts before I got a light, nicely risen, delicious tasting loaf, but now that I've figured things out, I don't think my family is ever going back to store bought bread. I use the recipe for "Milk Bread" taken from the Joy of Cooking. If you don't give up in the kneading process, it will be so worth it to try this for yourself! You can brag that you successfully made a delicious, all natural, non-digestively-toxic loaf of bread.
Okay, my second goal was to stop treating resources as disposable. You'll see me with my nalgene bottle for my TAP water around school this fall. I am consciously abstaining from drinking the Poland Springs water that was trucked to Pingree. I have my metal fork, spoon, and knife tucked into my desk drawer at school for days when plastic utensils are put out at lunch. I might even add a plate, but haven't decided about that yet. I made a whole bunch of cloth napkins for my family so that we could stop using paper napkins and paper towels at home, and I have one tucked away with my metal utensils at school that I will TRY to use every day with my lunch. Here's a pic of my cloth napkins, by the way.
Above all others, two major personal goals rose to the top for me:
1) Stop treating resources as disposable.
2) Make my diet more sustainable.
I've already posted about how I began making my own yogurt at home. (If you've yet to try it, you're missing out.) I also started making my own bread from scratch. Now, making yogurt is EASY! I discovered that making good bread is NOT! It seems that success or failure mainly lies in kneading the dough. There are TONS of different "ways" to knead bread dough and the truth is, none is better than another (many people will vehemently disagree with that). Do a youtube search on "how to knead bread." You'll get a thousand videos. Chose a technique you like the looks of and use it. The real trick--the difference between success and failure--is learning what the dough "feels like" when you've kneaded it long enough. Most of the youtube videos will tell you what to look for and what to feel for, but I will warn you that you will be very, VERY tempted to quit kneading before it actually happens. Why? Because your arms are going to feel like they're about to fall off and you'll curse having ever tried this. Don't quit!! It might take you 10 minutes before the dough "transforms," or (if you're weak like me) it might take you 20 minutes, but KEEP GOING!!
It took me several attempts before I got a light, nicely risen, delicious tasting loaf, but now that I've figured things out, I don't think my family is ever going back to store bought bread. I use the recipe for "Milk Bread" taken from the Joy of Cooking. If you don't give up in the kneading process, it will be so worth it to try this for yourself! You can brag that you successfully made a delicious, all natural, non-digestively-toxic loaf of bread.
Okay, my second goal was to stop treating resources as disposable. You'll see me with my nalgene bottle for my TAP water around school this fall. I am consciously abstaining from drinking the Poland Springs water that was trucked to Pingree. I have my metal fork, spoon, and knife tucked into my desk drawer at school for days when plastic utensils are put out at lunch. I might even add a plate, but haven't decided about that yet. I made a whole bunch of cloth napkins for my family so that we could stop using paper napkins and paper towels at home, and I have one tucked away with my metal utensils at school that I will TRY to use every day with my lunch. Here's a pic of my cloth napkins, by the way.
That's a piece of zuchinni bread in the background.
My point in writing about all of this relates to No Impact Man in this way: I've decided to try to change MYSELF, MY behaviors. Rather than trying to get everyone else to "do the right thing" as it were, I'm going to choose my own goals and try out some solutions for myself. I urge everyone who read this book and felt it resonate to do the same. Don't wait to see what other people are doing. Brainstorm your own solutions and try them on to see how they feel.
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