Check out a thought-provoking book on food, Ominivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan here:

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We are “givin’ it up” for our Earth Day contest winners today.

Thanks to all of the people who selected favorite photos from the LoveEarthAlways Gallery in our Earth Day Contest. It was gratifying to hear the feedback and see which ones generated the most interest. Congratulations to the following people won prizes such as LoveEarthAlways tote bags, water bottles, note cards, Olivia’s (Vermont) Croutons. Taylen, Patti, Stephanie, Jennifer, Judy, Marlena, Peggy and Tara. The favorite photos were  ’Addison Meadow’, ‘Malletts Bay’, ‘Field & Stream’, ‘Mt. Mansfield’ and ‘Outstanding in the Field’. You can find these photos on our Vermont Scenery Note Cards.

You can find all of these green Earth-friendly products in our store!  Make a difference by reusing our 100% natural cotton cloth tote bags instead of plastic that ends up in the ocean. Make a difference by carrying your own filtered water in our classy BPA-free water bottles instead of buying bottled water. Get ‘em now, all the cool kids use them!

Hovering Kitties!

Who doesn’t love kittens? Well, maybe chipmunks, mice or baby birds or bunnies. But most people can’t resist a kitten. Please take this 5 second quiz. Double-click on the picture below. What is your first impression? Is it cool or creepy? Please leave a comment!

So here I am cruising along on a Sunday morning looking for early spring photo action and I come upon a colorful band of intrepid kayak jocks, plying the rapids of the raging New haven River in Bristol, Vermont. Keep in mind, the air temps are in the low 20′s and the water temps, running off the snowpack are 32 F, if that. And here come, one at a time, these kayakers blasting though walls of water, enduring ice crystallizing on their faces, gloves and gear, winding through the rocks and roaring water with skill. Man, these guys are good.

Just above the rapids you can see the approach.

As he approaches the chute he reads the rocks by the way the water flows.

Blasting down through the chute, the river takes over now!

Steady as she goes! Woo Hoo!

Recovering, back under control!

Ahhhh, home free!

Meet the dude who did the deed. Notice the river water frozen on his helmet and gear as he stops to chat.

Impressive? Yes. Is shooting rapids for me? I have other priorities right now, but it is definitely cool. I imagine it is like rock climbing. You are living on the edge. Life becomes clearer. Slows down and the details come into focus better.

If you love the outdoors be sure to check out our products, contribute to our community blog, and share our Earth-loving products and information in our activities/events page! We love new submissions for activities or our blog. Email us!

Earth Day 40

If you would like to save plastic bags and buy our natural cotton  tote bags on this Earth Day, get them here. If you want to save plastic water bottles and buy our BPA free stainless steel water bottles for as little as $ 9.99 here. Happy Earth-loving Earth Day!

Recently my smarter and hipper friends were talking about how excited they were about their upcoming Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) “shares” or shipments.  These are bulk orders of food that are grown locally and sold to people like you and me. Mary, who splits a share of fresh-from-the-garden fruits and vegetables with a neighbor, finds that it is just enough food for her and her partner. After all I have heard about factory farms, pesticides, fertilizers and unsustainable practices I was definitely interested. Why does Mary go to the trouble of buying a CSA share instead of one-stop shopping at the local supermarket?

Mary replied, “First, it is incredibly fresh and because the food is fresher, it is vastly more delicious than what most people are used to. The potatoes and tomatoes taste like candy they are so sweet! Second, the food is from only a couple of miles away, not from across the country so it saves energy. Because I buy organic, I believe it is safer with less pesticides and artifical fertilizers too. Finally, it supports local agriculture and people who are keeping the land open by farming it.” These all sounded like good reasons to me, and all together they sounded compelling.

I mentioned to Donna that we might want to consider buying shares from a CSA such as Pete’s Greens in Craftsbury Village. Donna did some research and it looked like the smallest share size at Pete’s Greens might be too big just for the two of us and we couldn’t find anyone nearby to split a share with us. Another friend, Matthew mentioned Paul Mazza’s CSA in our town. Donna checked into them as well. They had two share sizes and it sounded like the smaller one would suit us fine. Another selling point was that Mazza’s will allow us to pick 2 quarts of strawberries to substitute for one quart that has already been already picked. In addition, a small share, for $350 includes:

June Delivery:

1 quart strawberries or voucher for 3lbs PYO berries (about 2 quarts)
1.5 lbs rhubarb (about 3 cups)
1.5 lbs hydroponic tomatoes (about 2 large)
radishes or scallions
1 lb sugar snap or snow peas
1 head lettuce
2 cukes
Coupons for money off biscuits and whipped cream
Recipes

August Delivery:

1 pint blueberries or 1 voucher for 2 lbs PYO blueberries (about 3 pints)
1 head lettuce
1.5 lbs tomatoes (our own), or 1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cuke
6 ears of corn
2 of the following 4 options:
3 lbs new potatoes
2 lbs zuchinni or summer squash
2 lbs peppers 1.5 lbs green or yellow beans
Fresh basil or parsley
Coupons for money off Pennsylvania peaches and PYO raspberries
Recipes

October Delivery:

1/2 peck macintosh apples or voucher for 1 pint PYO fall raspberries
5 lbs red or white potatoes
5 lbs winter squash or 8 ears corn or 2.5 lbs squash and 4 ears of corn
2 of the following options:
2 lbs carrots
2 lbs beets
2 lb peppers
2 lb rutabaga
Fresh sage
Coupons for money off canning tomatoes and honeycrisp apples
Recipes

But these aren’t the only shows on the Vermont CSA scene. There are 24 CSA’s in Chittenden County alone! The rest of the state is full of them. Vermont also has a chapter of the National Orgainc Farmers Association (NOFA-Vt) that funds shares for families who cannot afford it on their own. Often, the poorest families ironically live close to farms but don’t take advantage of the better food quality from local food. This can result in eating processed foods and possible malnutrition instead of eating very high quality local food. All in all, CSAs are good for farmers and good for people.

Are you hungry yet? Or  interested in finding out where the closest CSAs are? Check out LocalHarvest.org which has listings and a search by state and products of where you can find your own high quality organic local food no matter where you live in the U.S..

As a high school teacher I have seen a lot of bizarre things in my life. I watched a kid tie a human hair around the neck of a house fly in study hall, creating a leash to tether the insect as it flew around in circles. A few years later I looked up from taking attendance to see one student pummeling another student in the face during an Earth Science lab, blood gushing out of the victim’s nose, running down his face and shirt. On the other hand I have seen teams of students win national awards for outstanding projects and others who have grown up to become celebrities. But none of these experiences could have prepared me for how to deal with cell phones in my classroom.

Nowadays I see kids with cell phones, smart phones and handheld computers, able to verify lecture notes, real-time, online, or take pictures of exams and send their buddies in a few seconds, or communicate during quizzes. In the eyes of some, cell phones pose a threat worse than bad cafeteria food.

Cell phones have become a major issue of debate in many schools. They are as ubiquitous as students, who have learned to keep them hidden when they are outlawed in class. An alert teacher who sees the hands slip into backpacks or into the lap under the desk, or in the desk,  knows what’s going on. But why should distracted students be anything new? Many years ago my faculty advisor at Colorado State did research and found that at any given time during a class, high school kids were more likely to be thinking about cars, sex, food, or the weekend than they were to be focused on the teacher lectures!

My solution? Ban teacher lectures! With no lectures there would be less activity to distract students away from their phones!

Frankly speaking, smart phones have given kids the opportunity to easily record images and even video surreptitiously, for better or worse, harass and bully other students, and also have a conversation with someone on the other side of the world, quickly check online resources, satellite, C-SPAN, weather and other data, and collaborate with others, and, let’s not forget, be in touch with Mom, all during class. In our faculty debates about cell phones, many educators see them as educational aids, not necessarily deterrents. The anti-phone crowd sees them as nothing more than a nuisance and distraction from real learning. The idealistic pro-phone crowd sees them as potentially useful learning tools. What do you think is the answer to students having cell phones in class?

Does your smart phone or cell phone die at the wrong time? Do you like to go on excursions where you wont be near an outlet to plug it in for a recharge? The Brunton Freedom is the latest and greatest charger! Why is it cool? it is engineered right to give you a solid charge for your devices through a USB adapter. It is small, light weight and durable. It even has a power meter on the unit to show how much charge it has left. It is the perfect gift or self-indulgence. Find out more and buy it here: Brunton Freedom.

Geothermal Won’t Get You In Hot Water!

The Geothermal Ground Source Energy Forum in Burlington, Vermont Saturday 4.17.10. Senator Sanders flanked by Deputy Energy Secretary Cathy Zoi and Congressman Peter Welch at Contois Auditorium.

The ground is one energy source that doesn’t get much respect in colder climates that aren’t sitting on geothermal hot springs. Even though several dozen ground source heat pumps (GSHP) have been installed in Vermont during the past year. Thanks to Senator Bernie Sanders, Assistant Secretary of Energy Cathy Zoi and Congressman Peter Welch GSHP could become much more common in Vermont. That’s because until 2016, GSHP heating units will get 30% tax credit funding, for projects with an unlimited cost! And GSHP have shown to be a very clean, effective, energy-efficient source for heating homes and commercial sites, with well-insulated envelopes. Our two congressmen have fought hard to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and replace the $350 billion a year we spend on imported oil with sustainable, homegrown sources. As Assitant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Zoi’s office is working hard to bring GSHP to speed and scale and believes we have a “JFK moment” similar to President Kennedy’s call to action in the race to the moon. Several examples of GSHP energy in Vermont were described at the forum.

David Pill, an architect who built an award-winning carbon-neutral geothermal house in Charlotte commented that after 3 years his house is actually energy positive. His backyard wind turbine and solar panels generate enough electricity to power the GSHP, with water supplied from two drilled wells, and then sells some surplus electricity back to the utility company!

Mike McCardle from the State of Vermont described two state buildings using GSHP for heat, including the Sharon Visitor’s Center and a Bennington Office Building, saving $20,000 and $14,000 a year on heating. The geothermal systems have payback times of 7 and 4 years respectively. Another expert, Jim Ashley from Danville commented that on average one million BTU’s of GSHP energy costs about $10 to produce.

With savings like these, using clean energy, why aren’t there more people using GSHP technology in Vermont? Some said it is counter-intuitive for homeowners to think that they can take cold water out of the ground and heat their homes with it. Others said that there is not much publicity about it, there is a status quo with fossil fuels and wood heat here in Vermont. Others said that when people think of geothermal heating they think of hot springs and geysers,  and we don’t have too many of those in Vermont.

Can GSHP work for you? It works best on new buildings that are super-well insulated or older buildings that have been energy audited and have been retrofitted to be very tight. You also need a good water supply from the ground to use for heating and cooling, often two wells per house. One thing is for sure, a lot more people could be using it even in cold climates like Vermont, and tax credits could heat up demand for this technology. So how does it work?

Want to learn more? Check out Efficiency Vermont’s website on Ground Source Heat Pumps and see if they are right for you

Every year it happens. The waxing sunlight seems to awaken everything from hibernation. The snowpack and soil thaws, melts and runs off to form rivulets, brooks, streams, rivers and eventually into the lake. Over-wintered birds become excited, foraging food and nesting for the mating season. Deer venture out of the deer yards to browse on tender young shoots. Small mammals venture out of their tree-homes to smell the air, very different than a month ago. Flowers sprout up as is to proclaim “SPRING!” to the world.

Indian Brook, flowing in Essex, Vermont

A female Cardinal sitting in the sun.

White Tailed Deer browsing in Colchester, Vermont.

A forest home for a bunny or raccoon family.

Spring flowers growing on the forest floor in Ferrisburg, Vermont.

If you like what you see, please support us. Whether it is local beeswax candles, cotton tote bags, water bottles, energy-saving Smart Strips or solar or hand powered devices, we have quality products and support cold and hungry people. Buy our Earth-loving products here at LoveEarthAlways.

In a place like Vermont with a mile-wide green streak you would think that carpooling would be common-place, right? Lots of crunchy granola-people sharing rides, saving gas, money, carbon, and possibly feeling some intrinsic warm-fuzzies. But alas, almost every car on the road has a single-driver, and usually chatting on a cell phone. That’s why I agreed to join last week when one of my colleages, Amy, offered to drive three of us from the same village to work and back home. Each one of us has an average commute of about 25 minutes. So why in this green paradise do we see so few people sharing rides?

Here are a few reasons:

1. Privacy: Nosey colleagues now have more access to your personal information.

2. Personal Safety Issues: What if one of your carpoolers is really a serial killer?

3. Increased Pollution: Overloading a car decreases gas mileage.

4. Too Much Shop Talk Leads to Mental Imbalances: Enough said.

5. Tardiness: Invariably, the person driving is late, or the riders are late and then everyone is late and they lose their jobs.

6. Personal Hygeine Problems: When you are sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in a Corolla, all of a sudden that garlic sandwich you had for breakfast doesn’t seem like a great choice. Or maybe it’s the mouth watering, windpipe-clogging chemical bath disguised as exotic parfum. Anyway, you get the idea.

So, by now you are wondering how did it go?

Well, it was very uneventful. Everyone was ready to depart and ready to return on schedule. No one asked any embarrassing questions, there were no serial killers to be found, mental imbalances that I could see and even though I was ready to breathe through my mouth at the slightest hint of “Eau de Toilette”, I didn’t detect any poisonous odors. It was a success. There you have it. I think we might try it again! Do yu car pool? If not, what would it take to get you to give it a try?