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Tue Mar 4 16:45:48 EST 2008
He also suggests you join a community-supported agriculture group, and
establish relationships with your supermarkets and grocers, to ask about
where the food they sell comes from.
"Be specific. For example, ask, 'Can you tell me where the beef you sell
comes from? Do you know how it was raised?'
"Support those markets that offer sustainable choices," he says. "Let the
management know that you shop there because they offer sustainable choices.
Request organic and cleanly raised foods at your markets."
Inspired by the earth
Earth Pledge is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote a
sustainable lifestyle and demonstrate the connection between architecture
and agriculture.
The group is based in a 1902 New York City town house that belonged to
Abraham Lincoln's granddaughter. Its kitchen incorporates recycled
materials, and its rooftop garden is part of its Green Roof Initiative.
"Green" roofs help to keep buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter
than conventional materials do, the group explains.
Earth Pledge also offers sustainable-cuisine cooking classes, focusing on
seasonal menus and how to make the best use of specific items such as
grass-fed beef, organic vegetables and wild-caught fish.
Earth Pledge publishes books on sustainability, including "Sustainable
Cuisine White Papers." They also offer a virtual farmers market,
www.farmtotable.org, which puts consumers looking for fresh local food in
touch with organic farmers in New York State.
Natural Home magazine offers readers information on what it calls
"earth-inspired living."
Robyn Griggs Lawrence, the magazine's editor-in-chief, has these suggestions
for homeowners:
. Vacuum the coils on the back of your refrigerator every six months. This
will keep the compressor pump from having to work so hard.
. Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. They will use
only three-quarters as much electricity to produce the same amount of light
and last four times as long as incandescent bulbs. They will pay for
themselves in 2 years.
. When boiling water for pasta, put a lid on the pot to bring it to a boil
more quickly. Save the water in which you boil pasta or corn to water your
plants.
. If your stove has burner pans, keep them clean so they will reflect more
heat.
. For your refrigerator to be most effective, keep it three-quarters full.
. In the morning after you make coffee, pour it into a thermos to keep it
hot, and unplug the coffee maker.
. Buy chemical-free products. Use your grandmother's techniques, such as
baking soda to clean, borax to disinfect, and vinegar to cut grease.
. Don't use anti-bacterial products, to avoid building up super-strains of
germs.
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