Miomarmo tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1621860 2009-09-25T08:55:44-07:00 Miomarmo is Italian for My Marble. And we think it rolls off the tongue nicely in English as well. But there’s more to it. Earth from space shows purity, innocence, unity, vulnerability, hope and wonder. We do indeed live in a paradise. And it’s all yours and mine and ours. As a good citizen of Earth, you have the right to call it “My Marble.” Perhaps, above all, the image inspires a sense of everlasting stewardship. As one famous environmental activism poster of the 1970's put it, "Take care of it. It's the only one we've got." TypePad MioMarmohttp://feedburner.google.com Free day at National Parks tomorrow! tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e551aea90f88330120a5f05a7f970c 2009-09-25T08:55:44-07:00 2009-09-25T08:55:44-07:00 Tomorrow, September 26, is National Public Lands Day when entrance to all 391 National Parks is free. What are you waiting for? Plan your hike/picnic/getaway now! Elena Nazzaro <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Tomorrow, September 26, is National Public Lands Day when entrance to all 391 National Parks is <strong><em>free</em></strong>. <br><br>What are you waiting for? Plan your hike/picnic/getaway now!<br><br> <object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FE8y3PPpky0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FE8y3PPpky0&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object></div> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MioMarmo/~4/-iOpinlxSSs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/09/free-day-at-national-parks-tomorrow.html Kids quote contest from Earthbound Farms tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e551aea90f88330120a579ef84970b 2009-09-22T08:15:00-07:00 2009-09-22T08:15:00-07:00 Organic growers Earthbound Farms are having a great contest for kids! Complete the sentence "Thank you for choosing organic. It matters to me because... " The winners will see their quote on a label of Earthbound Farm's organic salads, receive... Elena Nazzaro

Earthboundfarms Organic growers Earthbound Farms are having a great contest for kids! Complete the sentence "Thank you for choosing organic. It matters to me because... " The winners will see their quote on a label of Earthbound Farm's organic salads, receive a $500 savings bond, and have $500 donated in their name to the nonprofit environmental organization of their choice (there are eight to choose from). Sounds like a great way to educate and capture the wonderful clear way children have of getting right to the heart of things.

If you and your family would like to enter the contest, click here to check it out!

And while you're on the site, test your knowledge of organic farming and you could win coupons good on Earthbound Farm's products. (Don't worry, they give you reading material!) We did this and the coupons arrived almost the next day - just in time for our trip to the store!

http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/09/kids-quote-contest-from-earthbound-farms.html Go bento! tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e551aea90f88330120a5d0699f970c 2009-09-17T08:14:38-07:00 2009-09-17T08:14:38-07:00 Sophie's very excited about having LUNCH at school. We are going bento to have as little waste as possible. No plastic baggies, no paper, and apart from this special lunch, she'll be eating leftovers from (planned ahead of time) dinner.... Elena Nazzaro

Sophiesushi

Sophie's very excited about having LUNCH at school. We are going bento to have as little waste as possible. No plastic baggies, no paper, and apart from this special lunch, she'll be eating leftovers from (planned ahead of time) dinner.

I'm excited too - it's a chance to get creative in the kitchen and make sure they're eating healthy at school. Plus it's fun!

Sophie's lunch, clockwise:
Watermelon balls
Purple cabbage salad
Little container of soy sauce
Veggie sushi rolls with carrots, cabbage, cucumber, and avocado
Annie's bunny grahams

Not pictured: Her water bottle and chopsticks (she wants to bring them!)

Angela is bringing her own container of sushi rolls for a snack (again, she wants chopsticks too, but she's actually pretty expert with them)

Peter wants pretzels and goldfish crackers today. Tomorrow they've all requested roasted chickpeas for snacks.

Anyone want recipes? :)

 http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/09/go-bento.html Exercise Your Right to Hang Out tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e551aea90f88330120a573f828970c 2009-08-25T14:26:41-07:00 2009-08-25T19:14:42-07:00 I've written about this before here, but I just saw a trailer for a new documentary called Drying for Freedom. I air dry my clothes. I prefer it outside, but when that's not possible, I dry them inside. I LOVE... Dany Petraska

I've written about this before here, but I just saw a trailer for a new documentary called Drying for Freedom.

I air dry my clothes. I prefer it outside, but when that's not possible, I dry them inside. I LOVE hanging my laundry. When I'm outside pinning my clothes to a line, I am happy. It's like I'm transported to another world. A world where pinning a t-shirt just right is the most important thing you can do at that moment.

I realize you may not feel the same way. But you too can air dry your laundry, yes, I know you're busy and there's no room and it makes your jeans and towels too stiff and it's winter, but here goes:

  • You can hang your laundry outside in the winter, even in the cold northeast (down to about 20 degrees, or hang the laundry indoors to add moisture to dry winter rooms).
  • For apartment dwellers, there are many new lines you can adapt to out-your-window hanging (or just hang it indoors). Here are some more tips.
  • For those without adequate lawn space, there are wall-mount lines. 
  • Teeny tiny apartment? Check this one out, or this one if you have a balcony.
  • At my last apartment (no laundry room, no yard) I used one of these pulley systems and loved it. 
  • If you live where hanging your laundry is banned, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Twelve states have banned condo and homeowner associations from banning clotheslines. Check out Project Laundry List to find out more about what you can do to change these rules in your state.


And, if you balk at the cost of any of any of these, get this:

  • 6-10 percent of residential energy consumption goes towards the electric clothes dryer.
  • Clothes dryer fires account for about 17,700 structure fires, 15 deaths, and 360 injuries annually. The yearly national fire loss for clothes dryer fires in structures is estimated at $194 million. (via laundrylist.org)
  • You can make a difference with just a small step.

Do you hang your laundry outdoors? Indoors? Is it something you'd do if it was easier somehow?

 http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/08/exercise-your-right-to-hang-out.html Crafting on the cheap tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e551aea90f88330120a4c97f58970b 2009-08-05T09:25:41-07:00 2009-08-05T09:25:41-07:00 As a mom of three small artists-in-the-making, I am always on the lookout for good craft ideas. I just discovered Dollar Store Crafts, a website that shows crafts you can make with, well, stuff from the dollar store, as well... Elena Nazzaro

Dollarstore
As a mom of three small artists-in-the-making, I am always on the lookout for good craft ideas. I just discovered Dollar Store Crafts, a website that shows crafts you can make with, well, stuff from the dollar store, as well as loads of recycled and free projects from things you probably have around the house. They show how you can take something simple and/or cheap and turn it into something absolutely lovely. The categories make for interesting searching as well. Some of my favorites, which all can be made from recycled stuff and even trash:

 http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/08/crafting-on-the-cheap.html Resetting to Zero tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e551aea90f8833011571ed406e970b 2009-07-10T08:15:02-07:00 2009-07-10T08:16:08-07:00 I recently made a purchase at Gaiam.com (like I need more yoga DVDs!) and noticed in the checkout that I had the option of offsetting the environmental impact of my order. What a great idea! I live pretty remotely so... Dany Petraska

GoZeroImage I recently made a purchase at Gaiam.com (like I need more yoga DVDs!) and noticed in the checkout that I had the option of offsetting the environmental impact of my order. What a great idea!

I live pretty remotely so do a lot of online shopping when I can't find what I need locally. I've often worried about the impact this has as far as the materials used for shipping, transporting the merchandise, etc. so the offer to offset my impact was answered with my resounding "YES!". The button I pushed said "goZero my Order." I love it.

Gaiam is offering this through a program called Go Zero which is part of The Conservation Fund:

"The Conservation Fund is dedicated to advancing America's land and water legacy. With our partners, we conserve land, train leaders and invest in conservation at home. From our headquarters in Arlington, Virginia and our field offices across the country, we've saved land in all 50 states—over 6 million acres of wild havens, working lands, vibrant communities and more."

The Go Zero program makes it simple and economical for individuals, corporations, or even entire communities to first measure their carbon dioxide emissions, learn helpful ways to reduce those emissions, and then offset the remainder by planting trees.

The Philadelphia Eagles worked with the fund to calculate and then "zero out" the carbon emissions associated with team travel on Delta Airlines for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. As a result, The fund has planted thousands of trees in two locations: the Eagles Forest, located at Pennsylvania’s Neshaminy State Park and Red River National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana.

The Go Zero site also has a calculator where you can determine your estimated annual carbon dioxide footprint, which is the sum of the carbon dioxide that is produced by your home energy use, auto transportation, and air travel.

My Gaiam order (one DVD plus one "gift" for me) cost me $2 to offset it. A small price to pay, I say.

 http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/07/resetting-to-zero.html Life-Cycle Assessment and How to Apply it to Your Buying Habits tag:typepad.com,2003:post-68127911 2009-06-15T09:17:39-07:00 2009-06-15T09:17:39-07:00 Life-Cycle Assessment, or LCA, as defined by the the EPA is "a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service, by: compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental... Dany Petraska

Header_logo Life-Cycle Assessment, or LCA, as defined by the the EPA is "a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service, by: compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases; evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with identified inputs and releases; and interpreting the results to help you make a more informed decision."

Sounds confusing, but you might be reading between the lines already. It's difficult to know, as a consumer, what impact a product you buy has on the environment, humans, and other animals. Most of the products we buy and use today were invented a long time ago, the process used to make each of these products were determined by how much it cost the manufacturer and not how much impact it had on the environment. That's because we were in the dark about the potential dangers of manufacturing, and today we need to basically reinvent pretty much everything.

New industrial ecology is using LCA to take a product and tear it down into it's various components. What it's made of, what process is used to make each of those components, how it's transported, how it's used, how we dispose of it, and how the company treats its employees and its community ... every thing we buy has a hidden price tag on our lives and environment. Making decisions on what to buy, or if to buy at all, can be daunting for those of us determined to make a difference. By remaining uneducated on what we buy, we're creating potential dangers for our futures.

So what can you do?

I've been doing my best to research what I buy. As some of you know, we're building a house and one example, recently, is our search for a sealer for our wood floors. We did some research and found some soy-based products that were looking good. We ordered samples and tried them out and were ready to purchase the product. Then, we found a newer one recently that uses a by-product of cheese making: whey. We liked this, not only were the ingredients all natural, they were using something that was being thrown away. And, it's made locally (in our state). We love supporting Vermont-made products whenever possible.  Bonus: It actually works better than anything we tried! This took a lot more time than walking into Home Depot and asking for a floor sealer ...

Another example, when we put in our plumbing, we decided to go with PVC pipes. Copper is a nonrenewable resource, and other products were less durable so using them meant having to replace them over and over rather than buying PVC once. It's a tough choice when none of the choices are perfect.

The research is time-consuming, but worth it. It's hard to know what information to trust. The manufacturers are using all kinds of phrases to get us to think they're green such as "all natural" and "wholesome" but what is really behind the product and the company that makes it?

In researching about LCA I came across an amazing resource: GoodGuide (now in beta). Rather than rating on how well something may work, they're rated based on an LCA for that product.

So, I went to GoodGuide and looked up a common product: Cheerios. Its GoodGuide rating is 8.5. They based this on:

  • Health/Nutrition Performance: 10 "This product has a good nutrition score."
  • Environmental Performance: 8.1 "This company has minimal or no community-related controversies."
  • Social Performance: 7.4 "This company that makes this product has an above-average score in use of resources."


But it also gives a lot of deeper information and not just an overview. I looked into the Environmental Performance and found that it rated very well in Energy Management, but not as well for Compliance and Toxic Waste. For Social Performance, Cheerios rated "Best in Category" in Working Conditions & Benefits and Philanthropy, but less well (though still not part of the "Worst in Category") in Quality & Safety, Workplace Diversity, and Labor & Human Rights.

Check out GoodGuide's information on their Ratings and Methodology. And their blog.

And please check out what you're buying and maybe you'll find something better? I know I'll be spending a lot of time on this and from my initial look-through, will be replacing a lot of what I buy with something better.


 http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/06/lifecycle-assessment-and-how-to-apply-it-to-your-buying-habits.html We Can Now (Will) Make Our Own Independent Power! tag:typepad.com,2003:post-67123223 2009-05-21T14:33:01-07:00 2009-05-21T14:33:01-07:00 After years and years of knowing that someday we'd have our own independent power at our new house (which is still not done), we picked up everything we need to make it happen. Last Saturday, we drove to New England... Dany Petraska

Solar After years and years of knowing that someday we'd have our own independent power at our new house (which is still not done), we picked up everything we need to make it happen. Last Saturday, we drove to New England Solar in Massachusetts to pick up our system and solar panels. With this, we'll be able to add wind and micrhydro power as simply as plugging it in!

In case you're one of the many (which included me) that doesn't know what's entailed to get off-grid power working, for just over $16,000 we got all this (and yes, we still need to add more power via wind/water/solar, as needed):

  • Wall mount racks for the solar panels
  • MC connector cables
  • Outback Array combiner box
  • Outback Array circuit breakers 10A
  • Watertight connectors
  • MidNite Solar MNE175STM-240-L AC/DC disconnect (pre-wired)
  • Magnum MERC-50 remote control (needed for inverter settings)
  • Set of 10' 2/0 inverter cables.
  • FlexMax60 60A MPPT Charge Controller
  • Delta LA303DC lightning arrestor
  • 60A circuit breakers
  • Trojan T105 batteries (24)
  • 2 Ga. battery cables.
  • Battery anticorrossion rings
  • 12V battery vent fan
  • Lightning arrestor (for AC)
  • 8 Sharp 170W solar panels
  • Magnum MS4448AE 240/120 VAC inverter

Yes, this is a daunting list, what the heck is all this? Now, if you were to add solar or wind to your current grid-tied system, this list would be much shorter. Before all this, we had an electrician in who wired our house just like he would anyone else's house, except that it doesn't connect to a city-supplied electric source.

We first will need to mount the solar panels. Then mount the pre-wired inverter (the last item in the list above) that they so nicely put together for us, and build a wooden box to house the batteries, including the vent fan. And then we'll get our electrician in again and he'll hook it up! I can't wait to plug something in and see it turn on!

The picture you see is all that I've listed above, it all fits in one 6' truck bed. I'll definitely post pictures of the finished product.

 http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/05/we-can-now-will-make-our-own-independent-power.html Bike to Work Day tag:typepad.com,2003:post-66728097 2009-05-13T09:17:49-07:00 2009-05-13T09:17:49-07:00 This year's Bike to Work day is Friday, May 15 - although some sources are giving it as Thursday, May 14, so you have twice as many chances to saddle up! If that weren't enough, according to the League of... Elena Nazzaro <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a style="display: inline;" href="http://miomarmo.typepad.com/.a/6a00e551aea90f8833011570849fe3970b-pi"><img class="at-xid-6a00e551aea90f8833011570849fe3970b " alt="Shutterstock_19165729" src="http://miomarmo.typepad.com/.a/6a00e551aea90f8833011570849fe3970b-500wi"></a> <br><br>This year's Bike to Work day is Friday, May 15 - although some sources are giving it as Thursday, May 14, so you have twice as many chances to saddle up! If that weren't enough, according to the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bikeleague.org/index.php">League of American Bicyclists</a>, May is <strong>National Bike Month</strong>, and this whole week is<strong> Bike To Work Week</strong>. Get the picture? There are plenty of days to take your bike out for a spin and get a great workout besides.<br><br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.bikeleague.org/resources/why/">The League says</a>, <br><em><br>People ride bicycles for all sorts of reasons, from better health to saving money on fuel. Additionally, bicycling helps the environment, allows you to escape from the endlessly clogged freeways of America, and is a lot of fun!</em><br><br>Although I have the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/16-10/st_essay">shortest commute ever</a>, I do have a hankering to take my bike out for a ride this afternoon and run some errands. Have you ever biked to work, and would you give it a try tomorrow?<br><br>To get you in the mood:<br><br><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GugsCdLHm-Q&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GugsCdLHm-Q&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br><br><br></div> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MioMarmo/~4/X0-7MvrLtLE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/05/bike-to-work-day.html It's Mom's Month! Celebrate, Remember and Cherish! tag:typepad.com,2003:post-66255237 2009-05-01T12:37:37-07:00 2009-05-01T12:37:37-07:00 Most of all other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world. ~ Kate Douglas Wiggin Nichole Chobin

Most of all other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world.
~ Kate Douglas Wiggin

 http://www.miomarmo.com/2009/05/its-moms-month-celebrate-remember-and-cherish.html