Birdgirl's World: February 2010

It is my belief that we do not have a fundamental right to pilfer and plunder our natural world, and that what we do have is a fundamental responsibility to do what we can to protect our planet's waters, soils, air, and the diverse wildlife that we share these resources with. The former does not ensure economic prosperity for all; the latter does. When one learns that certain actions have consequences--say, that morning coffee ritual from a business that heavily uses styrofoam cups, a product that simply and effectively trashes the earth--is there not only one ethical and moral thing to do? To start buying coffee from a business that does more for the environment? Change is necessary if we care about all the generations behind us--human and wildlife alike. But change is a complicated thing.

Therein lies the conundrum.

My pledge: to embrace change, and to find solutions to the conundrum.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Got Links?

The following tried and true list is the first in a series of collected websites that I suggest you peruse in your quest for green resources (by all means, a partial list!)

Personal & Home:

Find out how consequential YOUR consumerism is:
http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/

Eat right! (aka, your dollar counts!): http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/resources.html and http://www.slowfoodseacoast.org/ and http://gimmetheknife.blogspot.com/

Co-Op America’s (now known as Green America's) Responsible Shopper link: http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/rs/

Ever heard of freecycling? http://www.freecycle.org/ Or Craigslist? http://www.craigslist.org/

To stop receiving all those ValPak coupons, fill out their removal form online at: www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm and for specific removal of all unsolicited mail, go to: https://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/mailpref1.php?consumerid=35499&status=

Reusable cloth tote bags made from Ecospun® (post-consumer, recycled plastic soda bottles) or unbleached, 100 percent cotton canvas can be purchased at http://www.clothbag.com/ All of their bags are made in the USA!

Use a water filter to reduce plastic water bottles. This is an excellent reference for comparing prices and features of water filters: http://www.waterfiltercomparisons.net/

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

How to Choose Sustainable Fish and Shellfish

A few months ago I completed a comprehensive interactive on-line course in sustainable seafood choices designed by Blue Ocean Institute and Chef's Collaborative for chefs in the restaurant and other large culinary worlds. It never hurts to get refreshed on certain principles! Keep reading and you'll get some great tips on what to look for and when to look for it!

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