CT Green Scene

Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner

by Eileen Weber
 
On a crisp, fall evening, I dined with some very dear friends of mine. Good wine. Good conversation. And some surprisingly good beef. Curious, I asked what kind of meat it was. Was it a special cut? Did it come from an exotic place? No, it was just grass-fed. Even more interesting, the slices next to the grass-fed beef were corn-fed. There was a distinct taste difference.
 
While the corn-fed was juicy, flavorful, and certainly had the beef taste I’ve grown accustomed to, it was definitely fattier. The grass-fed was leaner and had a cleaner, more concentrated taste. The grass-fed beef was less filling, too. With the corn-fed, I felt like I’d just downed a Thanksgiving dinner and needed to unzip my pants just to breathe a little better.
 
The health benefits of grass-fed beef are many. For one, it's high in Omega-3 fatty acids, the kind you find in certain oily fishes. And, grass-fed beef doesn’t come with a side of hormones or antibiotics. There’s no need to give them any. They’re not bulked up on grain to the size of a third world country to sell as quickly as possible. They graze on grass and gradually grow to a proper size. As John Morosani of Laurel Ridge Farm in Litchfield says, that’s what cows are supposed to do.
 
“Cows eat grass and they’re good at it,” he said. “Feeding cows grain is just a mad science experiment.”

Westporters Take Stand on Global Warming

by Monique Bosch

Westport residents ignored torrential rain and headed for Compo beach at dawn Saturday, October 24th, to participate in the International Day of Climate Action. It marked the largest day of environmental action in history. Westport was only one in over 5,000 events that took place in 181 countries around the world. A sudden unexpected clearing of the skies rewarded those who braved the weather.

Local musicians serenaded the group over coffee and donuts as beach towels forming 3-5-0 were arranged on the sand.  The number, 350 parts per million (ppm), signifies the level scientists say is the safe upper limit of CO2 in the atmosphere. We are currently at 390 ppm.

As 350.org organizer Bill McKibben explained, we now have a tangible goal, a number to strive for. “This number is attainable, but it will take a global effort to get there,” he said. McKibben is an author, educator and environmentalist spearheading the effort to bring the world together to solve the climate crisis.

Put On a Happy Face

by Eileen Weber

I admit it. I make a lousy girl. I don’t do a lot with my hair, besides wash it. I prefer a pair of fuzzy slippers to a slinky pair of Manolo Blahniks. And, it takes me thirty minutes tops to get ready in the morning. I also don’t spend a lot of time on make-up.

That said, I do own a tube of mascara, a little concealer and some lip gloss. I’ve had them for eons sitting in my top drawer. They’re probably riddled with bacteria. (I may, in fact, be personally responsible for the swine flu because I think my Chapstick may be its Petri dish.)

Where will all of these little trinkets end up when I finally break down and get rid of them? A landfill. All that plastic and glass will not get sorted like they should.

That’s where natural cosmetics companies like Origins comes in. According to their web site, the EPA reports that one third of landfills are taken up with cosmetic waste and other related consumer packaging. Most recycling centers will only take those materials that are easily recognized as recyclable. This includes soda and water bottles and other plastics that are classified as PET or HDPE. That leaves out a whole chunk of other materials that are recyclable, too.

So Origins decided to do something about that. They started a cosmetics recycling program. Bring your old or unused cosmetics—regardless of brand—to your nearest store and they’ll sort and recycle it for you. You got it, they want it.

Vegetarian What? (part II of at last II)

by James Simpkins

Last week I’m sure that there were more than a couple raised eyebrows or sighs of exasperation at my writing on the fake meat thing—and that’s fine. I actually didn’t realize I was so fired up about it until I read it again later. It’s funny how that works.

My personal truth about the whole fake meat topic is really “live and let live.” I don’t actually keep myself up at night worrying whether or not people should eat tofu shaped like a turkey. Honestly, though, I think it’s a little strange. Then again, if you saw the wildly un-hip sweatpants that I like to wear around the house, I should think to be understood at least as bizarre.

One of the comments on my previous article was by Julie Braun, of particular note as she mentioned something I don’t hear very often by folks trying to justify their weirdness. She pointed out the taste that she liked. Now here is the pickle that most of us are in: What costs the most in trying to eat (pick one) “green”, “organic”, “healthy”, “natural”, etc.—aside from perhaps succumbing to whim while shopping at Whole Foods Market—is loss of flavor. And meat tastes better than almost anything. Properly cooked meat is, gastronomically speaking, a much more pleasurable experience than most tofu, seitan (pronounced ‘say-tahn’) or tempeh I’ve ever had and you’ll waste your time trying to convince me otherwise. But, I regularly eat all of the meat substitutes listed above. I’ll get to why, later.

None Became Law

by Eileen Weber

Brendan Hanrahan thinks more should be done for the environment in Connecticut. He feels so strongly about it, CT EarthNet, an interactive, web-based network for environmental groups Hanrahan founded, has produced a summary of the 2009 legislation for environmental practices that were not passed this year. The summary also includes visualizations of the legislative session data such as issue heat maps, voting outcomes, and legislator similarity comparisons. The bills touched a variety of environmental topics from toxic chemicals to wetland management to energy efficiency and everything in between.

Thirty-six bills were presented about renewable, clean energy. None became law. Thirty-two bills were presented on various points of energy efficiency. None became law. With thirty-two bills on public transportation, only one became law. Out of the twenty-four bills presented for recycling and waste measures, two passed and became law.

And the list goes on. What this says, at least in Hanrahan’s eyes, is that Connecticut may give lip service to the environment. But when all is said and done, the state may actually fall a little short.

So are we just becoming a bit too complacent about the environment? Has “going green” become so mainstream that we’re not taking it as seriously as we should?

Greener Cleaners

by Eileen Weber

A candlelight dinner. A succulent dish of penne puttanesca. Chianti breathing in a Riedel glass. As you gaze longingly into your lover’s eyes, he slips a forkful of the saucy pasta into your open, waiting mouth…and it lands on your lapel.

I don’t know about you, but I dread having to take my clothes to the dry cleaners. In fact, I specifically buy clothes that don’t require it. It’s expensive. It’s inconvenient. And most of all, it uses hazardous materials that are harmful to the environment.

Studies have shown that the chemical perchloroethylene, or “perc” as it’s generally known, is not only harmful to the environment but also to your health. The chemical leaches into the soil. Certain cancers have been linked to the substance. For those who work in the industry, handling that kind of substance on a daily basis can be a major hazard. And for the customer, traces of perc still cling to those lovely blouses and crisply tailored shirts you drop off every week.

But in the last several years, the Environmental Protection Agency has mandated a change in the industry. Some dry cleaners, however, have heeded their own call on making a switch from perc to something much more environmentally friendly.

Race For Space

by Eileen Weber

There are some people who give a lot of thought to the open space available in Connecticut. One of those people is Karl J. Wagener, Executive Director of the Connecticut Council of Environmental Quality, an organization that objectively monitors the state’s environmental progress.

Last night at the Pequot Library in Southport, Wagener lectured that Connecticut may be doing a lot of things right when it comes to the environment. But when it comes to land conservation, we still have a long way to go.

“Land is one of those things that Connecticut can’t seem to do right,” said Wagener. “A lot of land conservation is unaccounted for. We don’t really know how much we’ve got.”

Wagener says the biggest problems center around a lack of money to fund the inventory of available land, a good strategy for better land conservation, and looking at the land acquisition as a unified whole rather than as a compilation of separate, individual acquisitions.

While the state does have a Green Plan to reach a land preservation goal by 2023, Wagener says it’s hard to get people excited about something that has no plan of attack and no way to pay for it.

Junk Mail: Return to Sender

by Eileen Weber

Most of us get a ton of junk mail. I don’t know about you, but I’m probably not going to use Mike’s Painting or Jimmy Bob’s Plumbing Services. I don’t care if I get $5 off my next large pizza. And the last time I checked, I didn’t need laser surgery or a lower APR on my Discover card. I don’t even have a Discover card.

Just moments after these little pieces of paper hit my doorstep, they’re in the trash. It would be one thing if we actually used the services or products that are advertised on them. But typically, there is only about a 2% return on direct mailing.

“We used to get so much direct mail and it was immediately put in the trash, it was such a waste,” said Margot Brown, co-owner of StopTheJunkMail.com, of why she and her husband got into the business. “We really liked the link between stopping junk mail, privacy, and saving trees. We plant a tree for each new membership with American Forests Organization.”

She said in a recent e-mail that the easiest way for any consumer to get on a mailing list is to order an item from a catalog. Once a consumer orders from that catalog, then the process begins. This is considered “opting in.” Another way for your name to get on lists is to buy a house. Your name and address is open to the public and marketers use these free services. She said “opting out” is a much harder job.

Sound plate program raided

For those of you who wanted to preserve Long Island Sound, your money may no longer support such a good cause.

Conservationists: Projects May End Up Underfunded
By Ken Dixon
Staff Writer, Connecticut Post
Updated: 09/12/2009 10:40:18 PM EDT

HARTFORD -- Sixteen years after motorists began paying premiums for special "Preserve the Sound" license plates, lawmakers have disbanded the fund that has invested nearly $5 million in a variety of education and conservation projects.

The Long Island Sound Fund, a dedicated pot of revenue that could not be used for any other reason, will go out of business Oct. 1, the victim of "sweeps" by legislative leaders desperate for money to balance Connecticut's precarious budget.

On that date, money collected by the state Department of Motor Vehicles that had gone into the fund will revert instead to the General Fund.

Twenty special funds within the state Department of Environmental Protection will be closed out, from the Connecticut Lighthouse Preservation account to the pool of money used to clean up oil and hazardous waste spills.

To read more of the article, please click here.

Giant garbage patch in Pacific Ocean's possible effect on marine life worries researchers

When more garbage dumps are being filled to capacity with enough plastic to sink a ship, it's disheartening to read about it in the oceans as well. And, with landfill issues in Connecticut as recent as the one in Franklin, where we put our debris is a growing problem. See the post below originally from the Associated Press.

MICHELLE RINDELS
Associated Press Writer
August 27, 2009

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A tawny stuffed puppy bobs in cold sea water, his four stiff legs tangled in the green net of some nameless fisherman.

It's one of the bigger pieces of trash in a sprawling mass of garbage-littered water, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where most of the plastic looks like snowy confetti against the deep blue of the north Pacific Ocean.

Most of the trash has broken into bite-sized plastic bits, and scientists want to know whether it's sickening or killing the small fish, plankton and birds that ingest it.

During their August fact-finding expedition, a group of University of California scientists found much more debris than they expected. The team announced their observations at a San Diego press conference Thursday.

"It's pretty shocking — it's unusual to find exactly what you're looking for," said Miriam Goldstein, who led fellow researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego on the three-week voyage.

While scientists have documented trash's harmful effects for coastal marine life, there's little research on garbage patches, which were first explored extensively by self-trained ocean researcher Charles Moore just a decade ago. There's also scant research on the marine life at the bottom of the food chain that inhabit the patch.