Why Not Lime?

Making Green the Hip Scene1

Living the lime life is not an easy change.

Consider some of the most obvious edits that we can make to our daily lives:

 - Changing our light bulbs and turning off the lights

 - Carpooling to work

 - Starting a garden (and composting to fertilize it!)

 - Um, recycling?

 - Riding your bike for short distances instead of driving

 - Unplugging all unused electronics

 - Turning down the heat or air conditioning in your home

The only way to motivate all of us to make such simple changes, and possibly dozens of others, is to help people find a reason, their own personal reasons. People only do what they want to do, right?

This article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine by Michael Pollan suggests a few reasons for living a greener lifestyle, and he also addresses the most basic question: why bother?

Pollan suggests that perhaps it is a matter of personal virtue. Virtue, defined as moral excellence and rightousness, is certainly one motivator. As many people feel anger over watching someone litter (you can see the result immediately), there are others who would feel the same if their neighbors weren’t recycling.

Pollan also suggests that perhaps each individual could influence others to become more conscious of living a sustainable lifestyle, that it isn’t such a lonely effort after all. That perhaps it could become cool to NOT have things, instead of having everything. I think this as a viable possibility. This type of infectious cultural movement is seen in many places - otherwise how could we have such a difference in sustainable living habits in communities from, say, Portland, OR to Omaha, NE?

And, once we find our reasons - whether to feel better about our personal values, to join a hip cultural green trend, or to preserve the earth for our future generations - all it takes is that one bold but very difficult move to make a change, and just maybe join your local carpool or learn something about gardening. Once you start a garden, you never know what challenge you might feel like tackling next. Solar panel roof? You go.

Posted: Recycling, Why Go Green, Getting Started Green

Earth Day Omaha Live Blogging0

5:50 PM

The Pendrakes are just wrapping up their set, and the crowd has grown quite a bit since this morning! While it’s been a good turnout all day, visitors were definitely more apt to come out later in the afternoon.

There are a couple more speakers and a couple more bands left. Vinx is singing right now. It’s really quite beautiful. He has been working with HIV awareness in Mozambique. He’s supposed to be speaking? I’m sure that’s coming next. Omaha’s Son, Ambulance will be performing after Vinx at 6:10, and Steve Thyberg will be the last speaker of the day at 7:00. Sarah Benck and The Robbers will be closing the Earth Day Festivities at 7:10 and playing until 8:00.

In case you haven’t heard, it has been announced that Omaha will now accept recyclable plastics #3 and #5, besides the #1 and #2 that are currently accepted. The crowd cheered and clapped for that. Glass is still not accepted (again), but one step at a time!

I will write more about the Earth Day Omaha soon! Tomorrow, if I can. But for the rest of the night I think I’m going to kick back and enjoy the show.

It’s been a GORGEOUS day - I’m so grateful for that.

Another thanks to Brian Smith and his wife Kelly (who works for Nebraska State Recycling Association) for asking me to blog for Earth Day Omaha, and more thanks to Sprint for providing the Wireless Internet card! It worked SO well. Jake, the Sprint rep, has been trying to switch me to Sprint all day. We’ll see Jake, we’ll see!

Had a great time! Hope you can make it out for the rest of the day, too!

4:30 PM

Bear Country is performing right now, and they sound amazing! Whoa - I’ve been here for over 5 hours, and I think I now have enough news to share with you for at least the next four years.

I picked up my free compact fluorescent lightbulb from the Sierra Club and my free kitchen towel with 10 green tips from the Omaha Green Coalition.

I spoke with Andy Hoig from Metro Magazine about their renovation project this year. This year they went green with their remodeled house, which you can read about in the Metro Magazine special edition. You can also read about it at www.designershowhouseomaha.com, which also provides info about viewing the house for yourself. I’ve asked Andy to send me some favorite green, organic, and local vendors that the designers used for remodeling the house. Will have to have that update later!

You also might want to note that there are free massages being given at the Universal College of Healing Arts booth. And, Omaha Health Expo has been giving demonstrations all day. When I walked by there was a group of people doing Tai Chi, and I believe that Tango Omaha is going on right now. The Omaha Health Expo is an event that will be held at the Omaha Civic Auditorium NEXT weekend, April 26th & 27th. 

I think I might visit the beer garden and talk to the New Belgium rep. Did you know that New Belgium is an environmentally friendly beer??? www.newbelgium.com

2:45 PM

Linda Lovegren is speaking about the Omaha Sewer Overflow program and the sewer upgrades that have to happen in our community in order to comply with federal water regulations and the Clean Water Act. Apparently the improvements will cost almost $1.5 billion. WHOA. More construction for Omaha?

The Friends of the Environment Award is presented to one individual and one corporate nominee every year. The Friends of the Environment Awards were presented by Brian Smith, chairman of Earth Day. The individual winners were the middle school class from Jesuit Middle School in Omaha, with their instructor Mike Mansour. The children set up the website called www.greenmonkeyschools.com. Please check it out!

The corporate Friends of the Environment Award was given to HDR. Apparently they have a very large list of green practices and environmental activities that they’ve completed this year.

CONGRATS to the winners of the Friends of the Environment Awards!

I also spoke with Brian O’Malley, who is an instructor at Metro’s Institute for the Culinary Arts about his message to Omaha. As a chef, Brian tries to teach his students about the value of using local food in their creations, not only because it’s valuable to support local growers, but because the food tastes so much better. Brian pointed out that food is the only unifying factor between all people, in all cultures, and it’s much more satisfying to understand your food and its energy and where it comes from. He asks that we engage our local food scene and that we engage our cooking skills so that we don’t forget the origins of our food, and to teach our kids those skills so that they aren’t ever lost. Very inspirational!!! I’m off to check out the Nebraska Food Co-op booth.

The Black Squirrels are next!  And the beer garden is officially open!

1:55 PM

Yay for the sun! Let me say again - it is PERFECT outside - unless you hate 70-degree, sunny, slightly breezy weather, this is a great day to be outside for Earth Day Omaha. People are bringing their blankets and their lawn chairs and just chilling in front of the stage.

The Southpaw Bluegrass Band is performing right now, and I’m eating a YUMMY veggie pita from the Institute for the Culinary Arts. They also have smoked meat sandwiches  that I see a lot of people snacking on, and some fresh citrus juice with oranges, limes, lemons, and honey. They’re right next to the stage. A must-stop when you come down.

Cammy Watkins with Earth Day Omaha spoke for a few minutes giving “thank yous” to all the organizers. She mentioned that the theme of this Earth Day is “The Power of One” (love it!) and that you can pick up a free energy-saving lightbulb and a coupon at the Sierra Club booth.

Then the Wildlife Encounters group showed a few beautiful animals that they will have available for interaction in the children’s booth. They presented an adorable fennet fox (the world’s smallest fox), a Eurasion Eagle Owl (the world’s largest breed of owl), the European Barn Owl (so pretty!) and a two-year-old North American Alligator.  You can come see the animals in the children’s area now!  

Next to speak will be Shata Bakheit with the Darfur Community Organization at 2:40, Friend of the Environment Awards Presentation, and then Brian O’Malley with the Metro Community College Institute of Culinary Arts.

THEN my good friend Kat and The Black Squirrels will be playing. A lot of good stuff lined up for this afternoon!

12:55 PM

Earth Day festivities are under way! It’s getting warmer, too - the perfect day for being outside and giving the Earth some love.

Right now the Side Effects are rocking hard, and they sound awesome. Cammy Watkins from the Sierra Club is speaking next, and then Wildlife Encounters will be speaking after that. I hope they’ve brought some fun animals with them! Wildlife Encounters is like a traveling zoo. Very fun.

I’ve been walking around to the various vendors, and there are a lot of green initiatives going on around our area. You can stop by here for some cool buttons (they’re everywhere!) and information about what’s going on here in Omaha.

My buddy Maureen works at the Lauritzen Gardens, and they are giving out cute little soybean seed necklaces that sprout a soybean plant, and information on how to take care of it.

The Octopus Garden Art Alliance is here and providing painting and craft activities for the kiddos. There are tables full of art supplies and some kids are painting big white trash cans that will be used at the Summer Arts Festival. You can learn more about their organization at www.octopusgardenart.org.

I talked to Jason Smith at Omaha Streetcar, too. This is an initiative that I fully support, both for green reasons and for economic purposes in our city. Here’s a quick fun fact: For each mile traveled, fewer pollutants are emitted by transit vehicles than by a single-passenger automobile. Buses emit 80% less carbon monxide than a car; rail, almost none! Learn more about public transportation in Omaha at www.OmahaStreetcar.com.

OH There’s a climbing wall, too. I’ve been info-gathering and haven’t gotten a chance to try it yet. Let’s hope I do! Get down here!  

11:20 AM

I’m at Elmwood Park, and it’s gorgeous outside! About a week ago, the weather reports said that it was going to be rainy, but this is such a refreshing change from the weather we’ve had the past couple of days. Bikers are everywhere, everyone’s got their sunnies (sunglasses) on, and I see a lot of white arms and legs ready to see some sun!

THANK YOU to Sprint! Jake Ludacka at Sprint hooked me up with a Novatel Wireless Internet card so that I can blog for the activities here at Earth Day Omaha. It works super fast. It’s honestly like using my computer at home. You’ll have to talk to Jake if you’re looking for something like this - it’s seriously sweet. I asked him how much it would be if I wanted to pay for the service on my own - $59.99 a month. FYI.

ALSO of course a big THANK YOU to Brian Smith, co-chair of Earth Day Omaha, whose idea it was for me to live blog for this event! He also helped me to get the Wireless Internet card from Sprint.

Stay tuned to the blog today. I’m going to add to and update this post all day.

Thanks for reading!

Posted: Recycling, Local Support, Green Politics, Recommendation, Green Groups

What’s Green Omaha doing lately anyway?1

Um, hello!!! Earth Day Omaha is this Saturday! From 12 PM to 6 PM in Elmwood Park there will be a schedule of musical performances and guest speakers who know a thing or two about being green. From 6 PM to 8 PM, Omaha can enjoy a beer garden, live music, and food. Nice start to a fun Saturday! (Yes, I said “start”. I know you crazy Omahans aren’t going to quit there! You’re going to go straight home and change your lightbulbs to energy-conserving swirly versions.)

One great way to know how to become involved with Omaha’s green initiatives is to visit the Green Omaha Coalition website. The Green Omaha Coalition is working steadily toward a larger membership with more participation from the community. Their goal is to make Omaha one of the greenest cities in the country. Remember this article, about the 50 Greenest Cities? We can be a part of that list, too, especially by partaking in events like Earth Day Omaha.

The Green Omaha Coalition has five subcommittees which include Public Agency, Green Education, Green Neighborhood, Green Business, and Design and Construction. You can contact any of these committees here.

Right now, the Green Neighborhood Council is working on a Green Neighborhood Scorecard - a way for neighborhoods to measure their environmental health. They hope to implement this Scorecard within the next month. The Scorecard would be used by neighborhood leaders to call attention to specific environmental concerns. Hey - if we don’t know there’s a problem, how can we fix the problem, right? These scorecards will help to shed some “lime-light” on the situation. (Tee-hee.)

The Green Business Committee aims to develop a Green Business Directory that would serve as a resource for Omaha area businesses to contact for recycling and green education assistance. (This is something that I’d love to have as a resource for the small business that I work for! Can’t wait.)

ALSO, if you’re looking for Green Tips, I have found a jackpot! The Nebraska State Recycling Association’s website features a lot of green-focused articles. These articles are also categorized according to your needs as a citizen, as a business, as an educator, and information about how our government is helping. Here you can find a list of recycling locations, interesting facts, a list of state nature areas, and more.

Interesting fact from the Nebraska State Recycling Association: The average person produces five pounds of trash PER DAY. Whoa! Of course, you’re not average if you’re like my friend Mimi, Pro Recycler! We’ll have to learn more from her soon.

Posted: Recycling, Green Politics, Green Groups, Getting Started Green

What Gabby Wanted to Know2

My good friend Gabby has been reading my blog, and she had an awesome question the other day.

Gabby wanted to know what she needed to do to start living a greener lifestyle. She wanted to know what the first steps are to living the LIME life.

Alright, so there aren’t any rules for starting. In fact, I’ve just started focusing on living a greener, more organic lifestyle since I’ve started this blog. This blog is my journey, and I’m inviting everyone else to join.

I’ve learned a lot the past few months. So. Here are three basic principles that I would recommend keeping in mind. While they aren’t necessarily specific practices, the big picture should help to guide you in making greener lifestyle choices.

1. Consume less. This is easy to imagine if you’ve had a parent or grandparent (or maybe you?) who lived through the eras of The Great Depression and of the World Wars - rationing, saving, and reusing products were so important then, and these practices still are now. The word “consumer” seems to have a positive connotation, right, because we’re all consumers, and we like new things. But click on the link to the definition of “consume” and you might rethink the word. Wherever and whenever you can, find joy in buying less and requiring less. Less is more.

2. Recycle and reuse more. Recycle the things that you don’t need, and keep around something that you think you could reuse. Don’t keep too much stuff around, though, or you’re going to end up on that TLC show Clean Sweep, arguing with your family about whether you have valid reasons for keeping your large collection of plastic bread wrappers and teen romance novels from the 80s. Try not to throw stuff away if you can 1) reuse it in a short period of time, 2) recycle it, or 3) give it away to someone who would use it.

3. Support green companies. Hey, you have to consume, so if you’re going to do it, try to buy from a company that is trying to support our environment as well as your health. Look for companies that are using all-natural ingredients, giving back to the community, using less packaging, or supporting green practices in their production process. The little bit extra that you might pay for these details will come back to you in a positive way.

What inspires you to live a greener life? Remember, I’m always learning, too, so I love to hear what you all have to say.

Posted: Recycling, Organic Shopping, Why Go Green, Organic Health, Green Health, Getting Started Green

Some of My Favorite Ways to Recycle11

Creative ways to recycle - ready, set, go!

1. Give stuff away for free through an online network like The Freecycle Network or Craigslist.

2. Start giving away your books - the ones you’ll never read again - to your friends and encourage them to continue the trend. Or, take your old books to a coffee shop. Those places always seem to be in need of something funky laying on a coffee table or bookshelf.

3. Save water from half-empty water bottles and water your plants.

4. Not sure what to do with your old cell phone? Find a recycling center. Those old phones often go to charity.

5. Feeling creative? Want to try something new? Are you a paper freak? Try making your own paper.

6. Old sneakers weighing you down? Have some time on your hands? Tie the laces together and throw them over a power line. (A joke, by the way, but why do people do this??? I’d like to hear from someone who has an answer!)

7. Have a favorite useless collection? For example, championship t-shirts, old CDs (or cassettes, sorry!), or coins from Africa from your trip in 1972? Turn them into art. O’Leavers’ walls are completely covered in classic record sleeves. Very cool.

8. Take old magazines and shoeboxes to elementary schools. The art teachers might put you in their will. (If the mags are a little… off color… take them to a college! Those college art profs are crazy!)

9. Recycle stuffed animals! Apparently drummers could use them to dampen the sound inside their drum? Or give them to your pets or an animal shelter if they’re a little too worn, minus hard plastic pieces.

10. Handy with the sewing machine? Recycle cool clothing materials and make a quilt! YES sewing is cool again. Pfff.

 Alright! You got 10. I’ll probably have more later. What kind of recycling tips are up YOUR sleeves?

Posted: Recycling

Learning from My Friend Mimi3

This is a picture of me and Mimi.

(Here, you can see that we are in disguise. I am hippie Cher, and she had these awesome 50s housewife glasses. Although we would have done this just for the blog, we didn’t. It was Halloween.)
I am bringing Mimi into the picture because she is a recycling queen, and she is very environmentally responsible.
And here, you can see that I am a model Why Not Lime? model, a.k.a. “Tree Hugger”:

… or tree leaner, as it were.

(Mimi told me to do it.)

I went to Mimi’s house the other night, and she shared a great deal of tips for recycling. Because I would like to interview Mimi for you at some point via video, I am going to share just a few of my favorite green tips that I learned from Mimi.

#1. She uses Seventh Generation and Method cleaning products, although she thinks that Seventh Generation is probably better. I think this would be a fairly simple switch to make. Just choose the environmentally safer brands instead of the not-so-safe brands. I’ll have to delve more into that topic later.

#2. She has stopped using plastic and paper bags at all stores - not just grocery stores. Yes, when you see Mimi in the mall, she will be carrying reusable cloth bags, just ready to be filled with… whatever it is she gets at the mall.

#3. Mimi has stopped using plastic bags in her smaller trash cans. Her goal is to use no plastic in her trash cans, except for the recycled ones in her tall kitchen garbage can. I just bought some Seventh Generation ones today. I’ll have to Consumer Report them for you.

#4. Mimi’s mom likes to take in soda/pop cans, so she sets them aside for her. Mimi’s mom also collects them at work. Apparently her mom makes a killing at the grocery store. If you’re not redeeming cans for nickels, like Iowa cans allow, there are “Golden Goat” locations around Omaha where you can collect money for non-nickel cans. I copied them from the Keep Omaha Beautiful website and pasted them below.

#5. Mimi’s whole family recycles. There are separate bins for different types of recylables. It is a smooth system that she claims has taken years to create, but they are diligent recyclers. After the system is down, it’s easy. So the lesson learned is to take one step at a time towards becoming more of an earth friendly consumer - don’t let it overwhelm you and your buying decisions.

THANKS to Mimi for being my star today, and I’m sure we’ll see more of her lime-savvy tips later - hopefully in a video blog.

Golden Goat Machines - 13 locations (24 Hours)20th & Vinton (Bag’N Save)51st & Harrison (Bag-N Save)107th & M (Bag’N Save)86th & West Center(Center Plaza)770 N. 114th St. (Cub Foods)30th & Ames (Phil’s Foodway80th & Blondo (No Frills)1402 Harlan Dr., Bellevue (No Frills)601 Galvin Road So., Bellevue(Shopko)90th & Fort(Shopko)144th & W. Center (Shopko)30th & Weber (Shopko)

Posted: Recycling, Getting Started Green

Mission Possible: Recycling at My House!0

I’ve been thinking of ways that I can make my house more green - or “lime” - the freshly squeezed version of green.

Like Spricket 24 suggested in the video yesterday, I could change all the lightbulbs in my house. I could start a compost pile (gross). I could even unplug everything that I’m not using. All of these steps are easy and could save me money. Or, they could save you money when utilized in your home.

But I’m in a unique situation. I have a roommate, and I don’t pay for electricity, or heat, or water. My roommate is also my landlord and owns the house. I rent a portion of the house and pay a flat fee every month. Money will not be my motivating factor in this situation, as it possibly could be for most others. Maybe even you.

My first lifestyle change: learning what to recycle, and how to recycle it. This is the current state of the recyling bin at my house.

 

There is a lot of sand in this bin. You can see the trail of sand from where I dragged it out of seclusion against the wall. There are also several other items that I dare not touch. It’s a man’s garage, and I don’t want to screw anything up.

I came home the other day, and my roommate was cleaning out his magazines. He had a stack of magazines nearly as tall as me, balancing against the wall. Outside of my bedroom door, there is now a pile of magazines waiting to be picked up on Thursday morning.

According to Keep Omaha Beautiful, I need to put the magazines in paper bags, and according to me, I need my roommate to do something with all that sand.

Keep Omaha Beautiful’s website provides a list of various items that are recyclable. Basically, clean paper. Newspaper. Paper books. Phone books. Magazines. Also, aluminum and steel cans, and plastic jugs and bottles… even my yogurt cups? Really? You have to check out this list! Apparently they don’t want my pizza boxes though. Hmm.

Good thing I stopped eating pizza yesterday. Again. Next time I’m at the grocery store, I will have to ask for paper bags instead of plastic. I need to stock up!

Posted: Recycling, Getting Started Green