Sustainable Government?

is it something in the water? seriously, this region is having trouble sustaining governors! NY, NJ & CT don't seem to be able to hold on to governors, and they go out in such glorious public humiliation - governor elliot spitzer being the most recent.

while his wife silda looks utterly miserable, and who wouldn't be in her pumps, it amazes me that there is already a feminist backlash against her for standing by her man. i can't say i would be so gracious. my man would be doing his resignation speech with black eyes at the very least, but i can say that it is an intensely private and intimate issue gone wildly public. i feel terrible for their kids. no doubt beyond his painfully public shame that will cast a nasty pall over them all for a while, there are other legal considerations that may impact the entire family and cause new york's former first lady to show up near the podium on such an odious occasion.

there is fodder for late night monologues for months. i'm already sick of hearing men ponder what one gets for the amount of money mr. spitzer paid for his call girls. if another guy says, "i'm client #10" i'm going to apply a swift boot to their tantalized private thoughts where they live.

okay, all bad metaphors aside, who is running the state? all these escapades are not only costly in terms of ineffective way of operating a state, but also in terms of credibility and the last shred of the public's faith in our current form of governance.

it will take a team of therapists to figure out why mr. spitzer, the butt-kicker of wall street, man of seemingly strident ethics, gave way not only to some questionable moral behavior (perhaps a sexual addiction?), but blatantly illegal activity! he was the head law enforcement official before being governer. he probably broke several laws - ones he helped to enforce. what's up with that? a friend surmised today that spitzer probably wanted to get caught and it is hard to believe otherwise when you really think about it.

i guess lt. gov. david paterson will be sprung into the governor's place in albany. i thought spitzer had some good green-leaning policies and i was impressed with the enthusiasm he displayed at the farm aid event that took place in ny at randall's island last year. i don't live in ny, but i was kind of hopeful on new yorker's behalf having heard him at the press conference prior to the event. he seemed quite committed to helping bring together the farmer's of ny state and the consumers of new york city through the development and support of additional farmer's markets and other farmer-friendly programs.

hope gov paterson will think and act along the same lines!

:)

meg

What's in The Water??????

are you taking drugs every time you drink water from the faucet?

okay, not ilicit drugs, but those of the pharmaceutical variety.

i've been aware of this issue for a couple of years. when i first heard about it, it made perfect sense that it could be happening. scary to consider what else is getting into our drinking water that we just don't think about!

we filter our drinking water, but i've always wanted to get a good reverse osmosis household system to clean up the shower water, because our skin, being the largest organ and all, does absorb a lot of whatever is in the water. yuck.

living in the pharmaceutical capital of the world - NJ of course - i feel in far too intimate contact with this stuff anyway! i'm not a fanatical anti-pharma person, but i do feel that while they absolutely save lives and can be extremely helpful at times, they are being far too widely marketed and developed for purposes beyond what i consider to be safe. of course, this is purely opinion on my part.

the AP story that came out today only underscores the concern that left unchecked, even lifesaving chemicals can become a problem!

it really goes to an even broader issue of needing to be vigilantly aware of what we are doing to our environment. it is fairly obvious that our culture has gotten way out of natural aligment by focusing so heavily on material gain, growth, capitalism. call it what you will, but we seem to forget that for every action, there is a reaction and the ripple just doesn't end - in this case at the toilet.

if our soil is destroyed by pesticide chemicals, and our water becomes undrinkable, and our air continues to get more polluted - folks, these are the basics - how do we survive?

some say the bees are the canary in a coal mine of our eco-system. while these minute amounts of drugs may not have immediate or noticeable effects on humans (that we are aware of - YET), what might they do to the tiniest of creatures in our already fragile eco-system?

so, do i need to boil my water now? would that even help?

some scary thoughts for a monday.

please let us know what you think!

:)
meg

PS
if you haven't taken our little poll, please do it!

What Does Sustainable Mean to You?

this is an ongoing discussion with us. jen and i both feel strongly that this word is used so loosely today and that the definition varies depending on an individuals personal needs or beliefs at any given time.

we talked with woody harrelson, willie nelson, daryl hannah, and a few other folks @ the hard rock cafe in times square ny last fall at a sustainable biodiesel event.

see what they said:



we want to hear from you now!

please take our poll

right here, right now. quick, easy, free! scroll down.

it is down on the right side.

:)
meg

Sustainable Lawrence Event

Just fcund out about what sounds like a great event happening tomorrow, Saturday, March 8th in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. It's a Green Building Expo and it's FREE. Check it out:

Green Building Expo - FREE and Open to ALL!
Keynote: SANDY WIGGINS, Chairman US Green Building Council Date: Saturday, March 8, 2008 from 10:00am to 4:00pm Place: Irwin Dining Center, The Lawrenceville School off Route 206
Learn the latest environmentally smart ways to fix up your home or small business, add a room, handle repairs, paint or refinish any surface, do ordinary maintenance, and save money. Discuss your needs and plans (with no obligation) with architects, designers, builders, home repair specialists, hardware vendors, and more at this day-long event.
Architecture & Green Design
Green Building Materials
Working with a Green Contractor
Energy Alternatives
Green Home Appliances
Peak Oil – The Challenge of Running Out
Home Energy Auditing
This event is for you regardless of your skill or experience. The day will kick off with a keynote presentation by the Chairman of the US Green Building Council, Mr. Sandy Wiggins. Other presenters on topics including energy use, green building, landscaping, and more will follow. Exhibitor displays open all day. No reservations – just come. Bring friends and neighbors. For more information, call Sustainable Lawrence, 895-1629.
10:00 am Keynote AddressSandy Wiggins, Chair, United States Green Building Council
11:30 am PresentationsSimultaneous Presentations by Experts on Key Aspects

The Power of Pete Seeger

"participation.
that's what's going to save the human race."

pete seeger

watching peter seeger on stage at age 84 singing with passion alongside arlo guthrie and his son-in-law or standing in the cold protesting the war, or making maple syrup at his home in the woods in NY state, or singing with a classroom of children, or cleaning up the river . . . all of it beautiful. all of it incredibly inspiring. all of it makes me feel very lazy.

listening to him talk about being black-listed for 17 years because of the insanity of mccarthy and those that fostered and fed on sent an eerie chill through my already cold body with thoughts of how close we are to that today, but instead of talking about communists, they talk about islamic terrorists. he sang, "if we could heed these early warnings, the time is now quite early morning."

but, in the spirit of hope, he also said,

when three people discover a harmony they

never knew existed . . . then they know

there is hope for the world.

pete seeger

i highly recommend either renting or ordering the DVD or keeping an eye out for it on your local PBS station.

How Green Are They?

not sure about you, but i'm trying to wade through all the various planks of hillary and barack's presidential platforms and while there are differences, in the end, the goals seem so similar. my head spins with it all.

i was trying to read through their energy & environmental plans and by the end, i couldn't remember who wanted what and how any of it was really going to get done. everyone wants to reduce carbon emissions. they both want to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. very few of us will be around at that time to see how that worked out, but it is a nice direction to go in. it feels good.

grist has done a pretty good job of narrowing down their shades of green pretty well. i highly recommend going there to get some concept of how green they are or at least what their green dreams are.

at this point, i believe we ALL agree on the direction we need to go in and on several major key issues, including reduction in oil dependence, increase in alternative energy sources and R & D, reduction of carbon emissions, etc. it is HOW we get there and who will be the most effective in creating the foundation of change that will take at least a generation to begin to show significant results.

if you figure it out or have a strong opinion, please let us know. we are interested.

:)
meg

Sustainable Kitchen - 1

jenifer and i are both foodies. one of our favorite sections of the magazine/website is relevant delights where we share all kinds of recipes and information relating to food mostly.

if we had our way, i think we would focus more of our attention on this aspect of our practical sustainable lifestyles!

in our last eNews, in our 'fresh ideas from the Green Divas' section, we started what we hope will be an ongoing series of easy ways to get greener in the kitchen while still enjoying all the fun bits of kitchen duty.

in addition to simple ways to be more sustainable in the kitchen, we have literally hundreds of great, healthy, delicious recipes that work for family, friends, and even catering events! we always try to incorporate locally produced food and ideas on how to use that wonderful share of produce from the CSA (community supported agriculture). i feel a book coming on . . . would anyone want yet another cookbook to add to their collection?

meanwhile, please check out some of our latest recipes - the last one posted and shared through the eNews was my mom's famous, award-winning chili.

try it and let me know how you like it!

:)

meg