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June 25, 2005
Herbal harvest
This is the perfect time to harvest herbs from the garden, but I never think of it because summer seems barely to have arrived. But Rachel happened to ask about mint tea, which inspired me to locate, under some boxes of books, the drying rack I picked up at a tag sale last summer.
We've been pleasantly surprised by just how many things we have to dry, and we'll be pleased next winter when we're using our own herbs instead of buying them in bottles. We have thyme, two kinds of mint, lemon balm, and oregano. There's also a lot of cilantro and dill, which reseed themselves and turn up everywhere in the flower beds now. But cilantro and dill, like basil, don't retain much flavor when they are dried, so I freeze them instead (not nearly so energy efficient).
If you grow herbs, this is the time to pick them, before they flower. Pick the leaves, or tips of branches, early in the morning after the dew has dried. For specifics, here are tips from the University of Illinois Extension (which, by the way, contradict some of the advice I gave above--we don't have any problem drying lemon balm, and I don't like dried dill!).
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:15 AM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2005
Green (or greenER) solvents
Another intriguing article in New Scientist, this time on Clean Solvents. Get this: "Because to make medicines, cosmetics and bathroom cleaners, as well as paints, inks, plastics and lubricants, you need vast quantities of solvents to dissolve the chemical reagents. For every little pill, for example, you may produce 25,000 times its volume in solvent waste." What matters here isn't just the welcome fact that there are some improvements in the works. I'm struck by how ignorant I have been--even working in this area for quite a few years now--of the sheer scale of impact. We've been living in such blithe denial of how dependent we are on inefficient, dirty industrial processes. I feel quite certain that this fact is going to be front and center very soon, and my goal here is to figure out--for myself and my readers--how we can make a transition to a sustainable way of life at a pace that'll enable us to avoid an intervening disaster. Keep reading, don't be afraid. We can work it out together.
How about doing one new thing today to lighten the pressure you place on the earth?
Posted by Karen Christensen at 4:23 PM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2005
Paying for the simple life
I was looking through a pile of green magazines and clippings and came across some things about "simple living." I have mixed feelings about that whole movement because it's so much a product of, and dependent on, privileged Western economies. But I started writing in an anticonsumerism vein in my very first book, because there's no doubt that a lot of the environmental crises we face could be solved by an approach to material goods very much along the lines of the weight loss approach proposed in the bestselling French Women Don't Get Fat: Appreciate what we have, choose new things for their beauty and utility, find more rewarding and healthy ways to spend free time (rather than shopping), and be creative.
If you'd like to explore this topic, there are endless resources online. They vary a great deal, but they all seem to have the oh-so-worthy-and-more-enlightened-than-thou attitude I find so off-putting. The Simple Living Network amused me by suggesting I start with their "Web of Simplicity" section where, it turns out, all the information has to be added to my shopping cart--nothing is free! ($50 in publications on that page alone.)
One organization worth checking out is the Center for a New American Dream.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 6:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2005
Reader writers
I love hearing from readers. Every author does. But write an environmental book and 90% of the letters will be from crackpots—people obsessed with one specific cause that for them looms larger than the big issues I’m trying to help readers focus on.
There was the person whose worry was the chemicals used in mushroom farming, and the one who told me sharply that home schooling was the only green form of education. The list goes on.
Here’s are five tips to refer to if you find yourself thinking of writing any author (including me):
1. Give her a little praise first thing. Tell her one thing (or even two or three) that you liked about the book.
2. Read the text on the cover and maybe even the introduction, so you know what she meant to do when she wrote the book (don’t criticize us for not doing something else—but you’re welcome to suggest a hot subject for a new book).
3. Think about how relevant your particular concern is to a broad community of readers. Go ahead and write even if it's narrow, because most authors are passionately interested in their subjects, but show your awareness that it is a narrow issue.
4. Lighten up. How about showing that you have a sense of humor?
5. If there's something specific--and easy--she can do and might actually want to do, explain just what it is--succinctly. Then she'll be able to pass on the tip to others.
And thanks for writing!
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)
Reader writers
I love hearing from readers. Every author does. But write an environmental book and 90% of the letters will be from crackpots—people obsessed with one specific cause that for them looms larger than the big issues I’m trying to help readers focus on.
There was the person whose worry was the chemicals used in mushroom farming, and the one who told me sharply that home schooling was the only green form of education. The list goes on.
Here’s are five tips to refer to if you find yourself thinking of writing any author (including me):
1. Give her a little praise first thing. Tell her one thing (or even two or three) that you liked about the book.
2. Read the text on the cover and maybe even the introduction, so you know what she meant to do when she wrote the book (don’t criticize us for not doing something else—but you’re welcome to suggest a hot subject for a new book).
3. Think about how relevant your particular concern is to a broad community of readers. Go ahead and write even if it's narrow, because most authors are passionately interested in their subjects, but show your awareness that it is a narrow issue.
4. Lighten up. How about showing that you have a sense of humor?
5. If there's something specific--and easy--she can do and might actually want to do, explain just what it is--succinctly. Then she'll be able to pass on the tip to others.
And thanks for writing!
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)
June 11, 2005
Eco Living sports tips
I've been in California all week, driving and in meetings, and falling into bed at night. I have a travel yoga mat and CDs, too, but I just wasn't getting to it. This morning I looked on the web and to my astonishment there was an Iyengar studio only blocks from my motel; even better, one of the directors is someone whose book on back care I bought a couple years ago. She wasn't teaching today but I had a wonderful class with Ruth Owen (this was at the California Yoga Center in Mountain View, BTW), and was reminded afresh of how yoga practice connects me with my body. And that takes us to environmentalism. Just as we live in our physical bodies and need to pay them attention, take care of them, and recognize that we are physical creatures (I forget this when I'm working intensely), we need to see our place in the physical world. The way we care for our bodies says a great deal about how we care for nature.
I wrote about sports--and yoga--in my 2000 Eco Living and thought I'd share a little of that text here:
Sporting Tips
**Get a book or go to a sports centre or gym to get started. A perfectly adequate strength programme can be done at home, but you may want guidance and support to get started (if you have health concerns, do check with your doctor).
**There are running clubs all over the country, many with support for novice, older and female runners.
**Don't wear headphones. They are a safety hazard (you won't hear cars or other dangers) and also disconnect you from the outside world - eco living is about tuning in to your world.
**Drink plenty of water - plain tap water, filtered if necessary, rather than bottled water or sports drinks - before, during and after sports, to avoid cramp, muscle strain and fatigue.
**Wear the right shoes for impact activities and try to run on grass, dirt paths or a track.
**Warm up and cool down with five minutes' walking or even jogging in place.
**Wear the right clothing, shoes and reflective gear if you're out in the rain or after dark.
From Eco Living (2000)
Yoga
Yoga is an ancient Indian system of physical and mental practice. It came to the West in the 1960s and has become increasingly popular since then. Originally it was seen as a rather introspective activity focused on stretching and meditation. In the 1990s, the picture changed as well-known actors and performers, including Madonna and Richard Gere, took up more vigorous new forms of yoga and announced that it was the best exercise they'd ever done. What has remained consistent is that most practitioners feel that they benefit spiritually or psychologically, as well as physically, from their practice.
Yoga is about as low tech as exercise gets. You simply need comfortable, loose clothing and a mat or towel. It can be learned from a book, but you'll get most benefit from going to a class. If you want gentle toning, try Hatha or Iyengar yoga (both systems can be practised to an advanced level, too). If you're interested in a more aerobic workout, look for Power or Astanga yoga.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi is characterised by simple and graceful circular movements that are performed in a continuous flow and at a slow, even pace, and also by a strict composition in which lightness is integrated with firmness and tranquillity with solemnity. Along with other Chinese and Asian martial arts, it focuses on self-development and discipline, not competition. It is extremely hard work, though, much like some types of yoga, and highly fit people find themselves aching after their first session. You'll need to learn it from a teacher, but it can be practised anywhere with a little space and privacy.
Pilates
Pilates is a physical training system developed in the 1920s by Joseph Pilates (1881-1967) and long used by dancers and actors because of the way it builds strength and shapes the body without adding bulk. Like yoga, which it is based on, Pilates develops a long, lean look and works a lot with the spine and stomach muscles.
Traditional Pilates is done in private lessons on special Pilates machines. It is very expensive. The system has become much more popular in the last couple of years, because proponents have developed exercises that can be done without expensive equipment, at home or in small classes.
ENDS
Posted by Karen Christensen at 12:30 AM | Comments (0)
June 7, 2005
Starbucks considered
I moved to Great Barrington in part because it had a nice coffee shop, and we are a long way from the nearest Starbucks. But I've long been intrigued by Starbucks as a business, especially because of the community angle: plenty of people argue that chains destroy the sense of community and local economic interdependence, yet Starbucks becomes a community center, too (as do many Barnes & Noble stores).
The larger economic impact of chains remains a truly important issue, but as Starbucks has become my office on the road--thanks to T-Mobile wi-fi--I find myself thinking about smaller issues of plastic and paper, for example. I'm in a Starbucks on the mesa in Santa Barbara right now but last week I was in one in Boston and heard a student lecturing his friends about how evil the company is (as he drank his mocha latte, naturally) because they don't buy Fair Trade coffee.
I guess it's not so obvious that we need to campaign for Starbucks to walk the talk as it was in the campaigns against McDonalds, but corporate responsibility is, surely, even more important to a company like Starbucks. (Please don't get the idea that I keep track of every campaign like this or am up to date on progress: if you have information and suggestions, please add them here!)
Starbucks Fair Trade CampaignStarbucks site
Posted by Karen Christensen at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)
June 5, 2005
UK sources
I occasionally get enquiries about where to purchase items--like the Fuchs replaceable head toothbrushes I mentioned recently. I live in the U.S. now, and there do seem to be more sources here (it's the consumer society, right?). But I can recommend a couple of prime sources in the U.K. for environmentally-responsible products:
Out of This World shops, mostly in the north of England
The Natural Collection
I would love to have other suggestions for your favorite European, Australian, and other suppliers.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:22 AM | Comments (0)
June 2, 2005
Dishwashing mania
The first book I wrote about environmental issues was called Home Ecology, and was published in London in 1989 and in the United States in 1990. In it, I was something of a hairshirt environmentalist, critical of microwave ovens and also of dishwashers--neither of which, you'll not be surprised to hear, I had in my tiny basement flat in London, where the kitchen was really just a little entrance hallway cramped with a stove and sink.
Since then, I've lightened up. Microwaves are astonishingly energy-efficient, and are not simply for the reheating of prepackaged meals. I use ours (my husband's!) all the time for melting butter, toasting nuts and tortilles (yes, this really works), and reheating leftovers.
It's hard to believe now that I, who love to cook and entertain, survived without a dishwasher and even proposed that others should, especially since my partner in London was not included to share in household tasks. Our dishwasher gave up the ghost recently--hardly a surprise, as it was here when we moved in in 1995--and my daughter's conclusion is that washing dishes by hand is fun for two days.
The good news is that less water is used, in general, by using a dishwasher than by handwashing. That's of course because when we do wash by hand we leave the tap running and are wasteful overall. But you can salve your conscious by becoming highly skilled about filling the dishwaster and then running it on the lowest energy setting.
For more, just put "water usage dishwashers" into a search engine: you'll find plenty of information of what to do, and buy.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 7:11 PM | Comments (0)