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January 30, 2005

Talk the walk or walk the talk?

One of my brothers was in the US Army's Delta Force when I first starting writing about green issues. "Do you walk the talk or just talk the walk?" he asked. (I wonder now what the Delta Force "walk" was.) In Rome, a city packed with gorgeous churches, heartstopping ruins, and an unbelievable density of cars and motorbikes, the contrast between talk and walk was intriguing. I saw many references to 'ecologia' and while stuck in traffic I noticed how many cars had stickers for the World Wildlife Fund and environmental causes.

What this suggests is not hypocrisy but a longing for ways to do things better, a love for the natural world that we are all too often pushed by advertising and circumstance to ignore. Here, for Americans who are unfamiliar with the concept of 'bottle bins,' the Italian version. It's so much easier, the way at home we put recycling out by the curb, rather than hauling it to a separate location. But the real question is whether there is truly a demand for recycled products; the most important thing you can is to BUY recycled.

Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:55 AM | Comments (0)

January 27, 2005

Global warning

The newspaper I picked up in London this morning announced that global climate change, or global warming, is now thought likely to be twice as bad as previously projected. This came from an article published in the very respectable scientific journal Nature, and got quite a lot of press in Britain (along with the woman arrested for driving while eating an apple).

What are we going to do about it? I'm in Rome, having flown here in a airplane that made a heavy contribution to greenhouse gases, and a food service operation that takes no account whatsoever of environmental issues. Later today I'm meeting a journalist from an Italian environmental magazine, La Nuova Ecologia. Here's my thought: there are a lot of us who care, and who see the dangers and are willing to do things differently. How can we unite? We especially need to find new ways to influence governments and companies, as well as our friends and families.

Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:43 AM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2005

Try being a Tree

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to put in a plug for yoga here. I'm lucky: I can walk from the office to Berkshire Mountain Yoga, and then walk home under the just-past-full moon. Tonight I had to bring a pair of snowpants to put on after class because the temperature is fast sinking below zero F. again. Low-tech anywhere exercise is certainly part of eco living, but yoga's got so much going for it beyond firm upper arms. Yoga--and similar physical training practices--matters because it puts us in our bodies, and our bodies are where we connect with the physical world. If you're like me, dealing with a hectic professional job, you probably lose sight of everything but that computer screen and telephone. Settle down on a mat. Stand in the Tree posture and feel your feet rooting into the floor, grounding you in a particular place and moment. Do a twist and feel your ribs lift and separate, the tissue around your spine pop with relief. I find that this internal movement and realignment, along with the sweat and heat, brings me back to solid ground. And that's no to mention the multitude of other benefits: stronger bones, improved mood, better digestion. There's no need for glam gear, in spite of the catalogues that keep pouring in. But a cute well-fitting outfit is a nice boost when you're struggling with that first downward dog pose!

Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2005

Old acquaintances

The holidays gave us time at home, cooking and baking, pulling out the dishes we always use for celery and baked squash, and figuring out where I left the other Christmas pudding. I've lived in this house for almost 10 years, far longer than I have ever lived anywhere, and during these inside months (we're expecting another 18 inches of snow this weekend) I've been noticing how many useful household items have become old friends.

This blender, for example. It's not a reproduction. It's an original 'osterizer' and god knows how old. It cost $2 at a tag sale a decade ago and still works perfectly. How long would a modern equivalent hold out? Secondhand shops, tag and jumble sales, and friends and neighbors are a great source of friendly furnishings, and a way to reduce consumption and waste, too.

Posted by Karen Christensen at 7:25 AM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2005

Your house or mine?

We did our first full-fledged home exchange last weekend, and it worked beautifully. Our exchange family have a house in Boston and were interested in a long weekend in the Berkshires. They contacted me through a website we’ve been members of for years. We found we had mutual friends so that did make the process of establishing bona fides easy. This is a terrific way to travel, as more and more people have found, and although it takes you well out of your armchair, it’s an environment-conscious choice, much better than hotels or holiday rentals in terms of resource use. It doesn’t encourage the excessive construction that is so much part of the tourism industry. And it connects us with place—neighbors, best local restaurants and playgrounds—in a way that fits the spirit of eco living.

The service we use is HomeExchange.com, based in Santa Barbara, CA, but there are many good ones. They have plenty of helpful hints on getting your home ready (for us, what a great incentive it was to get pictures hung, a wall painted, and chairs fixed!) and making arrangements with your exchangers.

Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:47 AM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2005

Greening your library (or office)

I'm at the American Library Association conference in Boston (visit my company's website to see what we're launching--our slogan is 'Thinking Globally'!), talking to librarians about what they can do to green their libraries and become environmental learning centers in their communities. Public libraries are vital social centers, and should be part of all community endeavors to make the world a better place! I remember how much libraries were involved in the first Green Book Fortnight, a major book promotion in the UK where I got my start in this world.

Here are the tips I'll be handing out to librarians. Many of them apply to offices (and homes) as well.

Posted by Karen Christensen at 4:48 AM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2005

A waxing party?

I started laughing when my son told me that my brother, who is a sports gadget and gear junkie, says in Seattle people have Barbour waxing parties. Now I wear a Barbour, even in depths of a Massachusetts winter, and I have indeed waxed it. But to organize a group activity?

My first thought was, 'some people have way too much time on their hands!' But on reflection, I'm starting to think that, silly as it sounds, maybe this is something we should all do more of. Not just get together to do chores (you can't really wax together, after all, like you can build a barn together), but to learn how to do the domestic tasks that lend grace to our lives. And, in the case of a Barbour, make things last much, much longer - and that's good for the environment, too.

Issues of environment and community are inextricably linked, so anything you do to build community is likely to improve the quality of life and decrease environmental impact. Why not think of something you'd like to learn to do, and find someone to practice with? I, for example, have a yen to teach everyone to bake bread, and I wish I knew how to make a picture frame out of scrap wood.

And next time you throw a waxing party, let me know!

Posted by Karen Christensen at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2005

How The Armchair Environmentalist got started

I have the same tired but true story as many women about getting interested in environmental issues when I first had a baby; parental instincts are powerful, and we want to think of our children growing up in a world that still has a little greenery and where they can drink cold water and relish summer breezes with pleasure and not with fear.

But I found that writing about Green issues as a young mum in London meant that everyone wanted me to stick with the domestic and be a cheerleader for even the most absurd suggestions. I tried to be a saint, for a while. But I never wanted to be a full-time activist or to compose recipes for homemade cleaners. I wanted to share the practical tips I came across (which did not include such gems as 'Write small to use less paper' or 'Squeeze a lemon into the final rinse cycle'). But it was the big picture that matters: our connection with the natural world, and how we could go about our business without damaging the things we love. How we could change our ways--as communities, a society, a world--and leave an environment that isn't just tolerable but welcoming and beautiful and intact to our children.

Of course when I write a book I have to behave myself, and not criticize supposedly environment-friendly products or organizations that are really out of touch with how we live. But writing a blog gives me a chance to be frank, to tell you what concerns me, and share my efforts to understand and work on issues at home, at work, and in the world at large.

Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:35 AM | Comments (0)

January 7, 2005

A wholesome loaf

If you are enjoying--or at least experiencing--snow and ice this weekend like many of us across the States, here's the easiest bread in the world, developed by Doris Grant in wartime England. The beauty of this famous "Grant Loaf" is that it requires only a few ingredients, there’s a single bowl to wash, and you don’t have to scrub the counter to knead or scrape up flour afterwards. And it is DELICIOUS. Organic, too: use the best quality organic flour you can find.

This is not a bread for mopping up sauces – but who’s eating bread with dinner, anyway, in these low-carb days? It’s a whole meal when spread with peanut butter. It makes nutty brown, fragrant toast and superb cheese toast, the British equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich and much lower in fat than the American sandwich. (Under the broiler, toast the bread on one side; turn it over and cover with thin slices of Cheddar, and tomato and onion if you like; broil till bubbly and beginning to brown.) And it’s perfect for teatime brown-bread-and-butter: thinly sliced, buttered, and cut into triangles.

Read on for the recipe.

Brown Bread (The Grant Loaf)

Makes 1 loaf - I generally make three at a time

2 t salt
1 pound organic wholewheat flour
1 packet or T instant yeast
1 to 2 T molasses (I don't use this at all)
1 1/2 c water, at blood temperature
butter to grease pan

* In cold weather, preheat oven to its lowest setting. Add the salt and flour to a heatproof mixing bowl and stir well. Put the bowl in the warmed oven (turn heat off). When both the bowl and its contents are comfortably warm, remove from the oven and stir in the yeast.
* Dissolve the molasses in 1 cup warm water. Add to bowl of flour, plus enough additional water to make a sticky dough (just too wet to knead).
* Immediately plop the soft dough into a generously-greased loaf pan. (I use butter, and sprinkle some sesame seeds inside and also on the top.) Set in a warm, draft-free corner to rise by 1/3, about 45 minutes.
* Preheat oven to 375F when the bread is nearly risen.
* Bake loaf until nicely browned, about 45 minutes. Remove, brush top of loaf lightly with water, and return to oven for another 5 minutes. Turn out onto a towel-wrapped hand and tap the bottom with a finger. It should sound hollow. You can also turn off oven and leave the decanted loaf on the oven rack for 20 more minutes to develop a crisper crust. (Or you can brush the top with milk for a softer crust.)

Posted by Karen Christensen at 4:10 PM | Comments (0)

January 5, 2005

Environmental studies, lesson 1

I remember one year when spring came far too early in London, daffodils and forsythia started to open in January. Environmental issues were getting a lot of attention in the press, and people were confused. “Funny weather, innit?" said an operator, "I think it must be that ozone you keep hearing about.”

Yesterday my brother flew in from the west coast. It’s unseasonably warm, and he mentioned this to the toll booth clerk. “One of those tsunamis, I guess,” the toll clerk said.

We laugh about public misconception, but those of us concerned about the environment could also dig deeper. I have a lot to learn myself, and hope you won’t mind my sharing some environmental science and history here, along with recipes and tips. An interesting place to start is with the hottest debate of recent years, between a Danish statistician and much of the environmental establishment, as well as leading scientific journals.

Scientific American (for those outside the U.S., I agree with you, that American magazines and organizations speaking to global issues should stop calling themselves The American Scholar. (Not to mention the World Series in baseball!)

This means jumping in at the deep end of the pool, but it’s an interesting place to be, and you’ll get a sense of the complexity of the debate. The argument, by the way, is not, between Bush White House and bioregionalist libertarians, both with fierce fundamentalist agendas, but between highly educated, serious people who are trying to understand the challenges that face us in the 21st century.

Start with this article from Scientific American*, A Response to Lomborg's Rebuttal.

Then take a look at the site of the Dane who started the discussion with his book The Skeptical Environmentalist: Bjorn Lomborg.

Posted by Karen Christensen at 6:52 AM | Comments (0)

January 4, 2005

Nix the nits

I’ve been reading Elizabeth David, the wonderful writer who brought Mediterranean food to England in the 1950s. (She's responsible, in a way, for the wonderful food you can get in England now.) My favorite cookbooks are packed with history, whether the author’s own or social history. The essay I read this weekend reminded me, though, of one of the least savory aspects of parenting-—green or otherwise.

No modern parent ever forgets when they first heard the word lice. Elizabeth David quotes a 17th-century remedy for a 'web in the eye': "take two or three lice out of one's head, and put them alive into the eye that is grieved."

It's hard to imagine, but people made love, raised families, wrote great works of literature, and explored the planet with lice in their hair. But for us, feeble modern parents, nits loom large as one of the worst trials of childhood. And the problem is even greater for those who want nontoxic solutions.

The good news is that chemical solutions don't work all that well. Lice are insects, which reproduce at mindblowing speed and mutate in ways that leave biotechnologists panting in the dust. So you could do the full scale thing with the recommended, at least somewhat toxic shampoo from the drugstore and still find your kid scratching the next week (yes, as the nits left behind hatch--awful, isn't it?).

You can Google a huge range of solutions to a lice infestation, many with nontoxic product guidelines. I was especially pleased to find a university site that reassured me, “Coconut and olive oils will kill lice.” Mechanical methods--combing, in particular--are essential, and this means getting down and dirty with the crawly things. Brace yourself. But there are solutions and eventually you'll even stop flinching at the slightest scratching motion. I laid in a store of special wood chips and coconut shampoo once and my children never got lice again.) Try this excellent Fact Sheet.

Posted by Karen Christensen at 6:55 AM | Comments (0)

January 1, 2005

Extreme weather events

We've all started the New Year thinking about the tragic loss of life and destruction of communities in Southeast and South Asia. No doubt you've found one of the many sites through which one can make a donation--I always think of the wonders of online fundraising developed during Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign--and I thought readers might like to read a few words from an article on extreme weather events, published in a wonderful work I had the pleasure of publishing in 2003, the Encyclopedia of World Environmental History. This is a balanced, scholarly work and not a campaigning publication at all, so I find its commentary all the more helpful. The author concludes by saying, "The fact that nature itself produces extreme weather has been used imprudently as an excuse to avoid rectifying human activity that could unleash more of it."

From the Encyclopedia of World Environmental History, edited by S. Krech, J.R. McNeill, and C. Merchant (Berkshire/Routledge 2003):

"Only a relatively thin crust of the surface of the Earth is solid, and this is divided into plates that float on a molten core and grind against one another. The hot, molten material from the interior explodes periodically in the form of a volcano, which can produce extreme weather. When earthquakes or volcanoes occur in the ocean, the sudden release of enormous energy displaces a huge quantity of water, resulting in a gigantic wave referred to as a tsunami. Societies exist in this vortex of autonomous dynamics and flux of energy transformations that we call nature. The effects of any of these depend on the geophysical and built structures lying in their path.

"Fortunately extreme weather is rare in most regions in the time span of a human life. There seem to be self-regulating mechanisms in nature that keep climate in a steady state and usually make change gradual over the periods of time that are pertinent to humans. Most of nature’s fluctuations, such as the seasons, day and night, and so forth, are regular. The tides, for example, are based on such astronomical regularity that they can be calculated two years in advance.

"The present steady state could however be tipped into one with characteristics that may not be as supportive of human society. Human activities may inadvertently produce a positive-feedback loop that disrupts nature’s balance. Climatologists do not have definitive evidence that human-induced global climate change will result in more frequent and intense extreme weather, but they argue the hypothesis is plausible. The fact that nature itself produces extreme weather has been used imprudently as an excuse to avoid rectifying human activity that could unleash more of it."

Raymond Murphy

Posted by Karen Christensen at 6:44 AM | Comments (0)