An organization called Reward Volunteers wants to encourage people to volunteer for good causes. So even though doing good is its own reward, Reward Volunteers sweetens the pot by offering incentives to encourage people to do more, and do it more often. Plus, Reward Volunteers helps people find local volunteer opportunities. I’ve teamed up with Reward Volunteers to let you know about the program so you can get involved, and maybe even help get a group you volunteer with in on the benefits.

Volunteering at Miriam’s Kitchen

One of the groups I volunteer for is Miriam’s Kitchen. Miriam’s Kitchen provides delicious meals to primarily homeless men in Washington, D.C.

“We strive to show our guests dignity” by providing restaurant-quality meals produced by professional chefs, says Miriam’s Kitchen on its website. “This is the foundation for our guests to build trusting relationships with the case management team and get connected to a range of services aimed at helping them to find housing.” The kitchen is open Monday through Friday all year long, serving breakfast from 6:30 – 8:00 a.m. and dinner from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m.

Miriam’s is committed to making all of its meals from fresh, healthy ingredients. As a volunteer, I can help by working at my local farmer’s market to collect food at the end of the market that the farmers can’t keep because it won’t stay fresh, or because the farmers just want to make a donation.

Here’s how it works:

Miriam’s parks its van near the Takoma Park farmers market. The market closes at 2 p.m. but around 1:30 pm, MK volunteers distribute bags and crates to the farmers who want to donate. At 2 p.m., we’ll start wheeling wagons around to the farmers to collect their donations. Farmers also bring bins of food they’ve filled up to the center of the market. 

Once all donations are collected, we fill up the Miriam’s Kitchen van. Then,  a Miriam’s staffer drives the loaded van down to the kitchen where the food is unloaded and later prepared into delicious salads, soups, entrees and more.

I am always amazed at the abundance of food the farmers donate. It includes crates of fresh fruit, huge bags full of bread, mountains of greens, pickled beets and green beans, whatever vegetables are in season, and anything else the farmers generously contribute.

In addition to benefiting the kitchen, gleaning food at the farmer’s market reduces food waste. This is especially true for “seconds,” fruit and vegetables that might be bruised or past their prime and difficult to sell. Give it to Miriam’s and the chefs will turn it into applesauce, fruit compote, spaghetti sauce, and more.

It never occurred to me to get any particular reward for volunteering, but now that I’ve signed up for Reward Volunteers, I can log in and register my hours and Miriam’s Kitchen can earn benefits, as well.

I can also find additional organizations to volunteer for.  For example, I live in the Washington, D.C. area. Currently, a wonderful group called Bread for the City is looking for help at its food pantries, rooftop gardens and in their clothing room. The Lincoln Memorial (yes, THAT Lincoln Memorial) also needs volunteers to assist park rangers in answering questions, providing directions, and leading tours of the Memorial. Local charter schools are recruiting volunteers to help tutor adult students seeking to obtain their GED/State Diploma. It’s easy to connect with these opportunities on the Reward Volunteers website.

Here are a couple of other benefits to volunteering: If I can’t or don’t want to make a big financial contribution to an organization, I can still help out by contributing my time. And I love the camaraderie I gain from volunteering. Let’s face it: volunteers are “do gooders” – and those are my kind of people!

How Reward Volunteers Works

Reward Volunteers is a web-based initiative that allows you to log your volunteer hours and keep a record of your good deeds. You register and log the hours you volunteer. Depending on how many hours you log, you might also win a prize. Organizations also benefit when they register on Reward Volunteers. In same cases, they may earn financial grants. In other cases, they get connected to more volunteers. Either way it’s a win/win for the volunteer as well as the organization.

Registering couldn’t be easier. Once you do, you’ll get to a dashboard that is very easy to use. If you are looking for new opportunities, you just put in your zip code and then search according to who you want to serve and the kind of volunteering you want to do. Options range from disaster relief to environmental preservation to mentoring to working with animals. You can also decide if you want to volunteer regularly or for special events.  

I encourage you to check out Reward Volunteers, especially now, during April’s #NationalVolunteerMonth.

Please follow Reward Volunteers on Facebook

NOTE: Partners like Reward Volunteers enable us to bring you accurate, unbiased information so you can live the greener, more rewarding life you want. Our editorial opinions remain our own. Thanks!

The post Earn Cash, Points from REWARD VOLUNTEERS When You Pitch In appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Isn’t the best thing about summer all the incredible fresh fruit everywhere?

Isn’t the worst thing about summer that the fresh fruit is gone so fast?

Not anymore! I’ve recently discovered how easy it is to freeze fresh fruit so it can be enjoyed all winter long. True, it won’t have exactly the same consistency, but for making smoothies, compotes, cobblers, and crisps, or for adding to muffins and scones, frozen fruit works perfectly. Plus, when it comes to flavor it’s all there.

Here are seven summer fruits your can freeze with very little fuss or muss. Remember to use wide mouth glass jars and leave at least some space at the top to allow the fruit to expand as it freezes.

Love this infographic on summer fruits you can freeze? Please share it by
clicking on our social media icons below, or
copy and paste this link  Just give credit to www.biggreenpurse.com. Thanks!

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Food waste is costing you, and America, a lot of money.

As a nation, we waste 40% of the food produced.

As consumers, we throw away at least 30% of the food we buy at the grocery store.

Here’s what that means: if you spend $100 on groceries, you’ll end up throwing $30 worth away.

EcoScraps believes that’s wrong, and they’re right! That’s why we’ve teamed up with them to introduce you to the smart way they’re turning wasted food – including bananas – into potting soil and other garden products. They’re also offering a $50 WalMart Gift Card to one lucky Big Green Purse reader so you can purchase your own EcoScaps stuff. But more on that later!

Disclosure: This blog post includes links sponsored by EcoScraps and their preferred distributor, Wal-Mart.

How Many Bananas Do You Waste? What About Lettuce? Grapes?

You may be so used to throwing away food that you don’t even think about it anymore. But you should. Consider this*:

Food Waste Causes Climate Change

All this food waste takes a big toll on our pocket books. But it’s also contributing in a major way to climate change.

At the front end, think of all the fossil fuels (and water) used to produce, harvest, process and get that food to your shopping cart or dinner plate. Burning especially oil to operate farm machinery and transportation systems generates tons of carbon dioxide that are adding to global warming.

But on the back end, all the food that’s thrown away – enough to cover 4,444 football fields a year – ends up in landfills.

As landfilled food waste starts to decompose, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that’s 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide (CO2).

EcoScraps to the Food Waste Rescue

Since 2010, EcoScraps has been working to be part of the solution by reusing food waste and keeping it out of landfills. “We want to make sustainability mainstream,” says the company.

And that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Recycling 15 million pounds of food waste is equivalent to keeping 500,000 cars off the road for an entire day.

Between 2011 and 2015, EcoScraps recycled 75 million pounds of food waste, and they project recycling another 75 million pounds in 2016 alone. 

What are they doing with it?

Turning it into potting soil, compost and other garden products, including:

All Purpose Plant Food

Azalea, Camellia and Rhododendron Plant Food

Compost Accelerator

Potting Mix

Raised Bed Garden Mix

Rose & Flower Plant Food

Tomato, Herb & Vegetable Plant Food

Moisture Retaining Garden Soil

All Purpose Liquid Fertilizer

Moisture Retaining Compost

I used EcoScraps’ Moisture Retaining Potting Soil to pot up the impatience and begonias I keep on my porch. Don’t they look beautiful?

What Can You Do to Reduce Food Waste?

√First and foremost, buy less food! Rather than buy as much as you think you need, realize you can buy 30% less – if you eat it all. Be smarter about what you buy and keep track of it so you eat it all.

√That goes for restaurants, too. When you dine out, order smaller portions, or share one large portion so you waste less. Bring home the leftovers so the restaurant won’t toss them in the trash.

√Change your shopping habits. Bagged salad, for instance, is one of the number one foods wasted. Buy bagged salads only on the days you plan to use them.

√And of course, choose products like EcoScraps that are made from food waste that’s been recycled.

What other ideas do you have for reducing food waste? Please share!

NOTE: Sponsors like EcoScraps enable us to bring you expert content at no cost to you. Our editorial opinions remain our own.  

*Source – Packing News

WIN A $50 GIFT CARD!

EcoScraps wants to make it easy for you to try their product, so they’re offering one lucky Big Green Purse reader a $50 Gift Card, which you can use at any WalMart store. For a chance at winning the card, please leave a comment in the comments section below telling us what you are growing in your garden this year and why you think gardening organically is so important. The winner will be chosen at random.

Please leave your comment below by Noon ET on June 28.

The post Why Does EcoScraps Turn Old Bananas Into Potting Soil, Plant Food? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

One of the best ways to save money on food and reduce waste is to buy in bulk. But not all foods are equal when it comes to bulk buying. Some could spoil, others can take up valuable storage space, and still others you might never consume, whether you buy a little or a lot. Do you know the best foods to buy in bulk?

Why Buy in Bulk?

⇒ Buying in Bulk Saves Money – Pretty much all food costs less when you buy a larger size or choose from bins that allow you to package up your food yourself. See for yourself the next time you go shopping.

Compare the price of a pound of loose fresh carrots to a bag of peeled and washed baby carrots. The fresh carrots may cost one-third as much as the bagged ones. The same is true of packaged paper goods, like toilet tissue and paper towels. The more you buy, the less each one costs per unit price.

⇒ Bulk Foods Cut the Cost of Organic Groceries – Organic bulk foods on average cost 89% less than their packaged counterparts.

Compare the unit price of the foods you buy to find the best bulk deals. You can usually locate the unit price in the top left corner of the shelf label that gives the price for the product. Though you will pay less for the small size, you’ll probably pay more per unit price.

⇒ Bulk Foods Produce a Smaller Footprint on the Planet – Pre-packaged food comes wrapped in plastic, polystyrene, paper, and cardboard. All this wrapping takes its toll on the water and trees that are used to produce them. Plus, manufacturing all that packaging generates air and water pollution, along with climate-changing carbon dioxide that’s emitted when oil and coal are burned to produce paper and plastic.

It’s estimated that $1 out of every $11 we spend at the grocery store goes not to food, but to the throwaway packaging it comes in. That means, if you spend $100 on groceries, you’ve waste $11 on plastic and paper you just throwaway.

⇒ Bulk Foods Can Cut Waste – Buying in bulk allows you to buy just the amount of food you need so you’ll throw away less. It lets you stock up on items you might otherwise run out of frequently.

According to BulkIsGreen.org, 260 million pounds of foil packaging could be diverted from landfills per year if all Americans purchased coffee beans from the bulk bins. 

⇒ Bulk Foods May Be Fresher – There’s often greater variety in the bulk bins than what you would find packaged on the shelves. And often, bulk food is fresher, as it has to be replenished more frequently than food that is packaged to have a long shelf life.

If you are buying packaged food, you can still buy in bulk by choosing the largest package you can consume in a reasonable amount of time. For example, buying one large bag of chips saves more money and creates less trash than buying a box of ten small bags of chips.

What Bulk Foods Will Save You The Most?

√ When buying in bulk, choose primarily foods that have a long shelf life (see our list below).

√ If you’re buying perishable foods like meat or chicken, buy in bulk when you can cook some and freeze the rest.

√ Planning to can fruits or vegetables? Buying them in bulk will save you a lot of money over buying them pre-bagged. [/box]

What About Storage?

Store bulk foods in air-tight containers at room temperature or slightly cooler, or in the freezer if appropriate. Unless you can see through the containers, label each one with the contents and date they were stored.

Need storage containers? The ones we offer in the Big Green Purse Amazon store will give you an idea of what to look for.

What Are the 10 Best Foods to Buy in Bulk?

› Dried Beans and Pasta – Dried pasta can last up to two years in a sealed container; dried beans can last about a year. Buy them either in large containers at warehouse clubs, or bag them yourself at your local grocery store or food co-op. Consider lentils, peas, garbanzo beans, black beans and navy beans, among others.

› Rice – White rice can last about a year; brown rice about six months. Store it in air-tight containers and use it until you need to replenish it. The idea isn’t to buy it and not use it!

› Pepper, Salt and Spices – Whole peppercorns can last as long as three years, though ground pepper only lasts about 6 months. Salt seems to last indefinitely. Spices vary; this handy guide from StillTasty.com lists expiration times for almost any spice you’ll have in your pantry.

› Snack Foods – A large bag of chips costs significantly less than individual bags packaged together, and generates a lot less waste. If you need snack sizes to take in your lunch or send with the kids to school, buy reusable snack boxes and refill those from the large bag.

› Popcorn – Popcorn kernels seem to last forever. Get the largest size you can find on the shelf, or buy in bulk by the pound. Popping your own popcorn is definitely cheaper than buying microwave popcorn, which comes in a serving bag as part of a box or package that’s additionally wrapped.

› Chicken – Large packages of chicken wings, legs, breasts and thighs are always cheaper than smaller servings. Buy the bulk size, then divvy up into smaller portions when you get home. Wrap in aluminum foil, then put into a reusable plastic freezer bag or other reusable storage container, along with the date. Use within 3 months.

› Meat – Like chicken, most meat is cheaper when you buy more of it. Buy large packages of steaks or chops, then divide into portions, wrap, date and freeze. Do the same with ground beef.

› Candy – Most hard candy has a long shelf life, especially if you keep it cool. Hard candy is better in bulk than chocolate.

› Condiments – Mustard, ketchup, and hot sauce usually have so much salt in them that you can buy the largest size you can use and not worry about it going bad. The same is true of relishes and pickles.

› Dried Fruit – Skip the little boxes of raisins in favor of a big bag or box; if you need snack-size servings, dole them out into small reusable containers or lunch bags. The same goes with dried apricots, cherries

› Toilet Paper and Paper Towels – These aren’t foods, of course, but they really make sense to buy in bulk. If you have the storage space, buy a 12-pack rather than a 4- or even 8-pack. [/box]

Buying in bulk can make organic food more affordable. See our post on the Top 10 Organic Food $$$$ Busters to learn more.

RELATED

Top Ten Ways to Afford Going Green

13 Steps to More Earth-Friendly Food

The post What Are the 10 Best Foods to Buy in Bulk to Save Money & Reduce Waste? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

We’re right in the middle of zucchini overload season. The long green vegetables are pretty much everywhere – overflowing in farmers’ markets, filling up the produce bins in our grocery stores, maybe even growing all over the place in our own vegetable gardens. Here are my ten favorite ways to take advantage of all this abundance and turn the nutritious zucchini into a delicious ingredient that can be included in almost everything you’re cooking right now. Bonus: You’ll save money and reduce waste, since this vegetable is inexpensive to buy and you can eat pretty much all of it except the vines it actually grows on.

Note: The bigger zucchini gets, the less flavor it has. Choose zucchini that are 6-8 inches long, around an inch or inch and a half wide, and deep glossy green in color. If you buy organic, there’s no need to peel the thin outer skin, which is good, since that’s where so many nutrients are. Organic or not, it’s always a good idea to wash zucchini before eating them. Just hold them under running water for a minute, then shake them off and cut them up.

Zucchini Recipes

1)   Don‘t cook it  – Could anything be simpler?  Cut the ends off the zucchini, then cut each zucchini in half, then in quarters lengthwise, and so on, until you have zucchini sticks that you can use for dipping into yogurt and dill or a thick creamy salad dressing like ranch or bleu cheese.

2)   Add to spaghetti sauce – Chop or dice zucchini then throw the chunks in the sauce during the last ten minutes of cooking. Alternatively, dice them and sauté separately in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, then either add to the sauce at the last minute or serve as a garnish. They retain more flavor that way and you can cook them exactly to your liking.

3)   Layer it in lasagna – Slice the zucchini into rounds no more than a quarter-inch thick, season with a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper, then layer the rounds into the lasagna along with the cheeses and sauce. You should not need to increase cooking time for the lasagna.

4) Make  Ratatouille – This is one of my favorite recipes because it uses so many delicious vegetables and tastes so good. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice the halves into crescent-shaped pieces about a quarter-inch thick. Separately, chop up eggplant, white onions, and green peppers. Sauté each of the ingredients in olive oil, salt, and pepper separately, then add them to several cups of canned or chopped fresh tomatoes, along with garlic, some basil and oregano, and a little red wine vinegar. Yum!

5)   Toss it into salad – Most green salads will benefit nicely if you add a dice of zucchini to the lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and red onion. Use one zucchini per bowl of salad and toss with your favorite salad dressing.

6)  Grate it into  Pancakes – Grate 2 medium zucchini (use a box grater or the grater function on your food processor). Add some minced red onion and 3 large eggs, lightly beaten. Mix together a half-cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp kosher salt. Add to the egg-zucchini mixture and stir. (If the batter is thin, add more flour, a little at a time until the mixture is thick enough for the griddle.) Heat a griddle or large sauté pan and a little butter or oil to coat. Drop tablespoons full of batter on the griddle, using the back of the spoon to flatten out the batter slightly. Cook until one side is browned and crispy; flip and cook on the other side. When done, remove to a warmed plate or put in the oven to keep warm.

7)  Substitute it for bananas – You know that favorite banana bread recipe you have? Substitute the zucchini for the bananas and add chocolate chips. Yum! Alternatively, try this recipe for dark chocolate zucchini cake.

8)   Stuff it – Cut zucchini in half length-wise and, using a melon baller or sharp knife, remove the zucchini pulp. Chop the pulp, then sauté with onions, garlic,  and chopped tomatoes. Add some Parmesan or goat cheese. Drizzle the zucchini “boats” with olive oil and salt and pepper and put them in a lightly greased casserole pan. Fill the boats with the stuffing, top with breadcrumbs, and pop into a 425 degree oven for around 15 minutes.

9)   Grill it – Cut zucchini into thin strips length-wise, as pictured above. Brush each side with vegetable oil and season with salt, pepper and a sprinkle of oregano. Grill for about a minute until slightly charred but not burned. If you want more of a salad, skip the oregano. Grill, then drizzle with a mustardy vinaigrette and let marinate for 15 minutes or so. Serve with a hard shaved cheese like Romano and dash of parsley.

10)  Saute it – Slice zucchini into rounds a quarter-inch thick. Sprinkle with salt, fresh-ground pepper and a bit of garlic powder. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan, add the zucchini, and cook over medium-high heat just a few minutes. Zucchini should be firm and somewhat crisp on the outside, but soften on the inside. Add additional herbs to complement whatever else you’re serving. Sauted zucchini seasoned with parsley, oregano and basil is a perfect complement to almost any Italian dish.

What’s your favorite zucchini recipe? Please share!

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Meatless Monday: Zucchini Frittata

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The post 10 Zucchini Recipes to Help You Conquer Zucchini Overload appeared first on Big Green Purse.

What Makes You Green When You Buy in Bulk? 

For starters, buying in bulk is one of the best ways to save money on groceries. Why? Larger sizes deliver the same amount of product using less energy and materials than the equivalent number of smaller packages.

The next time you go shopping, browse the snack aisle and compare the difference for yourself. When you buy one large box of cookies, all you pay for are the cookies and the one box. But if you buy a “snack pack” of ten or twelve small bags, you end up with all those individual bags, plus the display box they came in and the cellophane wrapped around them. That’s a lot of excess packaging – and all that extra wrapping costs you more money.

At my local grocery store, one 15 oz. box of cookies runs around $3.99 or $.27/ounce. The package of 12 snack bags costs $5.79, or $.34 ounce. By some estimates, a family of four can save as much as $2,000 per year just buying in bulk. If you need snack packs for yourself or your kids, it’s much cheaper and more eco to buy reusable containers you can easily refill from the larger bag. Bonus: The snack containers will do a better job of protecting the snacks from getting crushed in a lunch bag or backpack.

Here’s how I saved $20 buying cat food in bulk.

Still not convinced? Take a look at these stats from a cool infographic BIG has on their website:

* If Americans purchased all of their coffee from the bulk bins for 1 month, we’d save 20 MILLION pounds of foil packaging, the equivalent of almost 8,000 compact cars

* If we purchased oatmeal from the bulk bins, we’d save 5 times the waste of its packaged equivalent

* If we purchased all of the almonds we buy in bulk just for one month, 6 MILLION pounds of waste would be saved from landfills, the equivalent of 522.5 elephants!

HOW TO BUY IN BULK

You’ll find the larger sizes of bulk food in the same section as the smaller containers. If you’re packaging up bulk food yourself, the bulk food section will probably be in a specific section of the grocery store. Put food in bags or other containers, weigh it on the spot, write down the weight and perhaps the product code on a tag or tape, affix the price to the container, and take it to the check out. Don’t be put off if this sounds like it takes too much time. It won’t add more than a few minutes to your shopping schedule.

You’ll probably find plastic bags to use for your loose bulk purchases. But why not bring your own bags and jars? I use mesh bags like these that I can fill up and then put right in my refrigerator or pantry when I get home. If they get dirty, I just toss them in the washing machine with my towels.

I also use glass or stainless steel containers with tight fitting lids. You will want to weigh the containers before you fill them with food so you don’t pay for the extra weight.

NOTE: You don’t need to buy tons of something to take advantage of what bulk buying has to offer. Whether you buy a lot or a little from the bulk bins, you’ll be saving money because you’ll be paying for less packaging and more actual food.

This week when I go shopping, here’s what I’ll be buying from the bulk bins:

* Loose leaf tea

* Popcorn

* Almonds

* Walnuts

* Cereal

* Apples

* Pears

* Brown sugar

* Rolled oats

* Sesame sticks

* Bagels

What about you?

Need bulk food containers?

Before you buy anything new, check your cupboards for containers you already have that will make bulk shopping easy and trash-free. But if you need anything else, we’ve combed through the offerings on Amazon to find mesh produce bags and glass and BPA-free plastic containers that can help. A one-time investment in some reusable containers now will end up saving you hundreds of dollars over the long term. (Remember that we earn a tiny commission on any purchases on our Amazon store, which helps us continue to bring you expert advice for free. Thanks!)

 RELATED POSTS:

The Truth Behind Buying in Bulk

Buying in Bulk Just Saved Me $20!

The post Want a Discount? Buy in Bulk to Save Money, Cut Trash, Shop Smart appeared first on Big Green Purse.

#1 – Shop Smart

The first trick is to buy what you actually will eat. I’ve gotten pretty good about taking stock of what’s still in the fridge before I go to the store. I never get around to thinking about recipes before I grab a shopping cart, but I have finally stopped buying double or triple of something, just because that’s what I always buy.

Plus, I try not to be motivated by what’s supposedly on sale. Would I buy it if it weren’t on sale? If the answer’s no, I still skip it.

Timesaver Tip: No time to even make a list? Take a picture of what’s inside the fridge or in the pantry with your smart phone.

#2 – Cook Smart 

I usually try to make a bit more than I and my family can eat at a sitting, just to save time when prepping another meal. I’m a big fan of leftovers, either reheated or combined with other ingredients. And if I find stalky veggies, like celery or rhubarb or even carrots, wilting, I just pop them in a glass of water. It only takes an hour or so before they’re revived and ready to eat.

Timesaver Tip: Make twice as much as you need for one meal, then freeze the leftovers for a later date. Check the freezer regularly so you don’t lose track of what’s in it. At our house, I pull out the leftovers  Friday night to eat on Saturday when everyone is busy with household chores, sports, and other family activities.

#3 – Compost Smart

Many communities are dealing with food waste by encouraging people to compost more. Ideally, people would compost their food waste in their own backyards, where they can turn their food waste into beautiful soil like what is pictured here.  If that idea appeals to you, here’s a quick guide to how to get started composting at home.

Timesaver Tip: Using a composting barrel or bin spares you the need to make your own, and it’s pretty quick to spin a barrel rather than have to dig compost into a pile.

If you just don’t like the idea of composting your own waste, maybe you’re lucky enough to live in one of the 180 communities that have started picking up residents’ compost and treating it in an industrial compost facility. My town is going to start picking up our food waste for composting in 2014. I’ll let you know how that goes. You can also check out this directory to see if community composting is available where you live. UCan Products has produced this nifty kitchen compost bin, along with biodegradable bags to put the compost in to keep everything tidy.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people waste about 30% of the food they buy. That means we’re wastinge 30 cents of every dollar we spend on food. By shopping, cooking and composting smart, you’ll save all that money – and do the planet a little favor, too.

Want more ideas? King County in Washington State has started this Facebook page offering creative tips to help people waste less and recycle more. Why don’t you add your own suggestions to theirs? They’ve also pulled together a terrific list of resources on their web page here.

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The post Three Best Ways to Reduce Food Waste: Shop Smart, Cook Smart, Compost Smart appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Why We Care About Climate Change

Karen warns at Best of Mother Earth that “we can look forward to extreme temperatures, super infectious diseases spread by insects that thrive on warmer temperatures, poor air quality and more. This is frightening!”

Sounds stupid, right? That’s what Beth at My Plastic Free Life thinks, especially after reviewing the film “The Age of Stupid.” “Set in the year 2055, after the effects of global climate change have basically wiped out most of humans and other animals on earth, a lone archivist records a message, illustrating it with a handful of the billions of stories he’s collected in a massive database he calls the Global Archive, before transmitting the entire collection into outer space as a cautionary tale to future civilizations,” reports Beth. “The big question: Why didn’t we save ourselves when we had the chance?”

Lisa of Retro Housewife Goes Green is wondering the same thing, especially since she lives in Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley, that part of the country that has seen a significant uptick in tornadoes and other extreme weather events over the last few years. “Oklahoma was a poster child for extreme weather last year, we had a record drought, broke the state record for most snow to fall in 24 hours, broke the record for coldest day, had the warmest July on record for the whole U.S., record windspeed, record wildfires, the largest earthquake reported in the state, and more.” Writing while facing another possible tornado just a few days ago, Lisa says, “This all hits home with me as I listen to the thunderstorm outside that has rocked the state and even dropped some damaging tornadoes. And I also think back to last year and all of the extreme weather, including the horrible drought that hurt the state so very much and caused me some sleepless nights worrying about the wildfires my dad, a volunteer firefighter, was out fighting.”

On the Big Green Purse blog, I highlight impacts that directly affect my kids – like worsening poison ivy. Most people don’t realize that poison ivy and its nasty cousins poison oak and sumac, are all getting much more dangerous because the plants are growing faster and bigger, and the toxic oil in their leaves is becoming more intense, thanks to hotter global temperatures. I offer some ways to avoid poison ivy and to deal with it once you get it, since in the short-term we’ll have to contend with it showing up more often in our yards and parks.

Lori at Groovy Green Livin’ sounds the alarm on an impact I care about almost as much as poison ivy: the availability of chocolate!

Chocolate is a heat-sensitive crop, Lori’s research shows. Even a small increase in temperature will affect the crops. A report Lori cites shows why there are big problems to come for the cacao tree:

…an expected temperature rise of more than two degrees Celsius by 2050 will render many of the region’s cocoa-producing areas too hot for the plants that bear the fruit from which chocolate is made, says a new study from the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

“Warming temperatures and changes in the precipitation pattern will mean rapid declines in growing conditions over the coming decades. Not good news for the cacao tree and in turn bad news for chocolate suppliers and lovers on a global level.”

Abbie at Farmer’s Daughter reports on the impact climate change is having on another beloved food: maple syrup. “In my lifetime alone, the maple sugaring season has moved from March to February. Maple sap runs when it’s below freezing at night and warms up during the day. If we wait to tap trees until March we will have missed our chance. It is clear that spring has moved to earlier in the year and we have to adjust, tap early, or risk not being able to make maple syrup for a whole year…It’s a New England tradition, my family’s tradition, and yet I worry that some day we may lose it entirely.” Abbie is especially concerned about projections that indicate we could lose maple trees and maple syrup entirely by 2100.

Chocolate and maple sugar are two foods we may not be able to produce any more if climate change worsens. But what about the impact producing some foods has on making climate change worse? Katy of Non-Toxic Kids and Moms Clean Air Force identifies three significant ways factory farming contributes to global warming and suggests some very simple yet highly effective choices you have that can make a real difference.

Tiffany at Nature Moms loves traveling but worries that climate change could destroy some of our most beloved national parks before her family has a chance to visit them. “Climate change is melting the glaciers that make an appearance in some (national parks), which not only affects the beauty of these areas, it also means less water is making its way down to lower areas. Plants and animal life that rely on this water start to become endangered or extinct. Water sources that hikers need to survive start to dry up, making the area inhospitable. Scenic waterfalls dry up earlier and earlier and may eventually be gone for good. Can you even imagine Yosemite without its grand waterfalls???”

Do you have pets? Ronnie at Moms Clean Air Force does, and she thinks climate change is making them sick. “I’m worried that my pets (two dogs and one cat) are gravely suffering because our planet is getting too warm for them.” Ronnie reviews some of the available scientific research, but her own observations are most convincing. Her dogs are thirstier, hotter, and getting ticks much earlier than usual. She’s pretty sure her cat has contracted feline asthma as a result of the increased air pollution associated with climate change.

Stephanie at Good Girl Gone Green bemoans the impact climate change has on much bigger animals: polar bears. “When I think of polar bears, I picture a piece of ice with one stranded on top,” she writes. “Some might say it is a depressing way to think of them, but what is even more heartbreaking is that polar bears may not be around in 50 years. Extinct. Poof. Gone.”

What can we do?

Given the reluctance of some people to accept that climate change is actually happening, it’s important to be able to explain why it occurs. Dominique Browning’s Moms Clean Air Force interview with climate scientist Dr. Heidi Cullen provides a clear explanation and offers suggestions on how you can deal with so-called climate “deniers.”

Harriet of Climate Mama works with the Climate Reality Project to raise awareness. For Climate Impacts Day, she’s organized family and friends to visit the proposed site of a natural gas pipeline that would carry gas derived through hydraulic fracking through a state park. She and her colleagues are also holding a “teach in” on fracking to raise awareness between this controversial practice and links to earthquakes and water pollution as well as climate change.

Anna at Green Talk admits that in her household, wasting food is one way her family contributes to climate change. She’s not alone. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “The amount of food waste generated in the US is huge. It is the third largest waste stream after paper and yard waste. In 2008, about 12.7 percent of the total municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in America was food scraps. Less than three percent of that 32 million tons was recovered and recycled. The rest – 31 million tons – was thrown away into landfills or incinerators.” Why does it matter? “The decomposition of food and other organic waste materials under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills are the largest human-related source of methane in the United States, accounting for 34 percent of all methane emissions.” Her solution? Only buy what you intend to eat. And compost!!

For more ways to reduce food waste, check out the suggestions in this guest post from Aviva at The Scramble. Making a list and labeling left-overs are two simple steps that can lead to big savings and far fewer throw-aways.

Mary at In Women We Trust acknowledges that, in the face of overcoming a challenge as daunting as stopping climate change, it’s easy to feel like you’ve hit a “great green wall.” Mary is inspired by people in eleven nations in Africa who are working together to stop the Sahara Desert from creeping further south and turning all of Africa into an arid wasteland. “They aren’t doing it to lower Green House Gases,” acknowledges Mary. “They are doing it to survive, but at the same time, it is helping to lower GHG levels. Even the most die-hard denier can’t argue with the saving of a continent – especially when it’s producing such quickly appreciated results.”

At Big Green Purse, I’ve focused on the many ways consumers can use less energy as an important way to generate less carbon dioxide. They range from smart energy-saving driving tips to the top ten ways to save energy and money at home.

Never let it be said that, despite the seriousness of the challenges we face from climate change, we don’t keep our sense of humor! Deanna at The Crunchy Chicken offers a tongue-in-cheek run-down on the top five benefits of climate change. My favorite? #3: “Tropical weather without vacation prices.” Says Deanna wryly, thanks to climate change, we’ll have tropical weather all year long wherever we live – no need to tough out ten months of dreary winter or spend a fortune on a Caribbean vacation in January!”

Finally, thanks to Moms Clean Air Force for this cartoon and reminding us that the carbon emissions from our vehicles contribute significantly to climate change. In case you can’t commute in a toddler-mobile, here are some other ways you can burn less gas!

What impacts worry you? What solutions do you have? Please take a minute to let us know. Thanks!

The post Climate Change Impacts on Our Health, Our Homes, Our Families and Our Future appeared first on Big Green Purse.