The Green Truth

Take a virtual tour of the VCU Rice Center

2010-10-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

If you weren't able to take the VCU Rice Center Tour this past Friday during VCU's Day of Sustainability, you can still see this LEED Platinum building through this great video tour.

First Broad Street Rapid Transit Meeting Tonight!

2010-10-19T13:35:00.005-04:00

The first of two identical public forums on GRTC's plans for a rapid transit line running from Rocket's Landing to Willow Lawn is tonight, 6-8pm at the DMV near the Science Museum. The forum I went to last year on this topic was great, and they made a huge effort to listen to the public's suggestions and concerns. If it is anything like last year there will be posterboards set up with their plans, and the relevant people involved in the planning standing next to the boards to field questions. The presentation on the plan will begin at 7pm, and will be followed by a question and answer period. (See more details below).

The transit trip time from Rocket's Landing to Willow Lawn currently takes about 30 minutes, while the same trip by car takes about 10 minutes. Rapid transit will transform Richmond City, cutting down on the transit trip time, and encouraging more people to use transit instead of driving. Rapid transit would help ease congestion on problematic Broad St., making it easier for both drivers and non-drivers to get around the city. Please this fantastic opportunity at the meetings or online to have your voice heard, and keep the momentum going for rapid transit.

I also hope that the idea of the Main Street transportation hub comes up at the meeting. Main Street Station seems like the ideal location to have centralized train, bus, bike, and taxi service, but there has been some opposition to this idea in the past. Let's help make this city more interconnected, help improve the quality of life for people who use alternate modes of transportation, and help ease traffic congestion for all. Speak up for rapid transit and centralized transportation in Richmond!

Study website: http://study.ridegrtc.com

Public Meeting Reminder

Please join us to improve transit service and traffic conditions on Broad Street. Public information meetings are scheduled for October 19 and 20, 2010. The study team will show you several ways how Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) can use a combination of enhanced transit services, stations, and roadway improvements to provide faster, more efficient transit service in Richmond and Henrico County.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV-Beside the Science Museum)

2300 W. Broad St., Richmond

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Main Street Station

1500 East Main St., Richmond

Limited free parking available on west side of building- West Lot at 15th and East Franklin.

These informal meetings are identical and will be held from 6 p.m. –8 p.m. with a presentation at 7 p.m.

Can’t make the meeting? Please send your comments by November 19, 2010.

Visit the study website to learn more http://study.ridegrtc.com. We encourage you to review the Public Meeting Handout found on the Documents page of the website or under Quick Links below before completing this form. You may send your comments in one of the following ways:

· Electronic Comment Form

· Printed Comment Form

· Mail: Larry Hagin, Director of Planning; GRTC Transit System; 301 East Belt Blvd., Richmond, VA 23224

Quick Links:

Study Web site

Public Meeting Handout

Study Corridor Map (More detailed version, showing potential bus stations)

Learn About Bus Rapid Transit (Federal Transit Administration site)

GRTC Web site

DRPT Web site

Deck & Patio Water Solutions (Part II)

2010-10-04T07:00:00.003-04:00

In this 2nd installment of efficient and money-saving irrigation methods, I tackle the problem of deck and patio irrigation. If your deck or patio has easy access to tap water, one of the simplest methods may be traditional drip irrigation. If you don't, keeping your patio plants from wilting in the summer heat can be a time-consuming chore. Watering by hand can require many trips to the tap, and is not the best use of water. The large quantities of water delivered all at once can't be absorbed fast enough by plants before water is wasted down the drain holes. I have a few simple solutions that are easier and use water more efficiently.

1) Pop bottle drip irrigation
Why not put the extra pop bottles or milk jugs you have lying around the house to good use? Just punch a small hole with a nail in the bottom of your plastic bottle, and bury it 1/4 - 1/2 way in the soil next to the plant. For greater water flow punch a few more holes. Then simply fill the jug with water and replace the cap. This will help limit water evaporation and keep the bugs out. Try adding some fertilizer to the jug with a teaspoon, to feed your plants while watering. Not only is this the cheapest method, but it can be used in containers or in the garden. For more info check and here.

2) Syphon watering system

All you need is a large container of water, some flow control valves, some tee joints, and you standard drip irrigation tubing, all of which can be found at your local hardware store. Or you can substitute typical drip irrigation tubing with aquarium air line tubing and two-way flow valves found at pet stores, which may be a bit cheaper. The key point with this system is that the water source needs to by elevated above the plants you're watering. I used painter's buckets for my containers, which could be hung on hooks if you have a wall nearby, or simply elevated on a table or cinder blocks. One end of the hose is placed in the water source. A main line of hose runs from the water source, and branches off to water each plant. Each branch is made using a tee joint, and between the tee joint and the plant is a flow regulator. Alternatively, you could skip the tee joints and run a separate piece of hose to each plant with a flow regulator. This system will need to be monitored for a week or two to make sure plants are each getting the proper amount of water, so give yourself plenty of time if you are using this for vacation watering. To get the system started, you will need to immerse the entire length of tube in water. If your container ever runs completely out of water, you will need to immerse the hose again to get the water flow started again, or you can use a suction bulb to suck out the air from the watering end.

3) Solar pump watering system

Similar in set up to the syphon watering, this system can work over longer distances by using a pump powered by the sun. The water flow is improved if raised above the height of the plants they are watering. The nice thing about this watering system is that the water flow will increase on sunnier days, when your plants need it most. You will need tee joints, and either flow regulators or drip water emitters.

For more information on efficient patio and deck watering try:

VCU Day of Sustainability is October 15th!

2010-10-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

VCU's first ever Day of Sustainability is taking place October 15, 2010 from 11am to 3pm. There will be tons of free stuff to do and see, including a recycled sculpture competition, a showcase of sustainable modes of transportation like Segways (with free tours!), Biotaxi, and To the Bottom and Back Bus, and trips to the LEED Platinum Rice Center.

CargoTrike Cupcakes will be on the scene doling out some tasty treats, biodegradable balloons will be flying high, and Backyard Farmers will be on hand to help guests compost and recycle, reducing the event's waste by up to 80%! Lucky participants may get a limited-edition custom designed VCU Sustainability Day t-shirt.

From the Facebook event page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150043245031910&ref=ts :
This day is intended to promote, educate, and make going green fun!

Come and be a part of something NEW and HAPPENING at VCU!

Music!
Free Food!
Free Segway Tours!
Electronic Recycling Drive!
Bus tours to the Rice Center by 2BNB!
The Farm to Family bus!
Tips on going GREEN!
and FUN!!!

Sign up for FREE Segway tours:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y6PPK3M

Sign up for FREE Rice Center tours:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3DY6FQF

How Boulder Fought for Bicycle Traffic and Won

2010-08-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Check out this awesome video on how Boulder, CO has made their city one of the top bike-friendly cities in the United States:

Zipcars cruise into Richmond

2010-08-24T18:52:00.004-04:00

Richmond community members and Virginia Commonwealth University student, staff, and faculty members now have access to Zipcar, the world's largest car-sharing company as of this Monday, August 23rd. For individuals affiliated with VCU, as a special introductory offer, the $35 annual fee will be used as a credit towards rentals in your first month. To get an additional $25 worth of driving credit, click here to sign up with a special promotional code. Under "are there other ways to join" search for VCU to get the cheaper university registration rate if you are a faculty, staff, or student. There are currently 2 cars available at the MCV campus bookstore, and 2 cars at the Monroe Park campus Cabell Library. With a $50 total driving credit and 30-day money back guarantee, why delay, try Zipcar today!

Carsharing is similar to rental cars. The main difference is that you can rent cars by the hour ($8/hour on weekdays, $9/hour on weekends) or by the day ($66/day on weekdays, $72 on weekends), and that gas, insurance, and maintenance are included. After you register, you should get your zipcard within 3-7 days. When you book a car through the Zipcar website, the Zipcar application on your iPhone, or the WHERE application on other smartphones, your zipcard will be able to unlock the car you reserved at the time of reservation through the windshield card reader. You can request extensions of your rental times (if the car is still available) through the Zipcar website, Zipcar iPhone app, WHERE app, or 1-866-4ZIPCAR. Sign up for Zipcar text alerts, and not only will Zipcar text you when your reservation is about to end, but you can also extend your reservation through texting!

You can sign up for Zipcar as young as 18 years of age if your University has a partnership with Zipcar (21 years for the general public), and parents of students can even decide to foot the bill. Zipcar is also great for traveling - as a member you'll have access to cars in cities like Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, Toronto, Vancouver, and even London!

Educational Outreach at VCU New Student Orientation

2010-07-28T21:03:00.000-04:00

MCV Green Unity is working to integrate sustainability into new student orientation on MCV campus at Virginia Commonwealth University this year. Part of VCU's Climate Action Plan, this educational outreach effort aims to show students what VCU is doing to be green, and let them know what small, easy behavior changes they can make to help reduce their own environmental impact and CO2 emissions.

MCV is a medical campus consisting of five different academic schools (Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Allied Health). The Schools and groups participating in this sustainability initiative so far include:

Student Commons & Activities: Information table at the MCV Orientation Fair
VCU Card Office: Information table, various dates and times
Nursing: Information table
Medicine: Information table at SOM organizational fair
SOM, Dept. of Human Genetics: Sustainability presentation
Pharmacy: Sustainability information in orientation packages
Dentistry: Sustainability information in orientation packages, information table, recycling facilitators at luncheon events
Allied Health, Dept. of Anesthesia: Sustainability presentation, sustainability information in orientation packages

For dates and times of events, please see our Google Events Calendar. If you would like your department or school to include a sustainability component in their student orientation or staff/faculty orientation let your administration know and/or contact us. We are also willing to give short presentations to your group, department, or school.

Recycle Your Printer Cartridges & Cell Phones To Support Green Unity

2010-07-21T18:02:00.000-04:00

MCV Green Unity is collecting ink jet cartridges, toner cartridges, and cell phones (working or broken) to raise funds to support our sustainability efforts at VCU and the surrounding Richmond community. Your old printer cartridge or cell phone will be recycled or repurposed through Planet Green, which will then provide us with much-needed funds. Recycling drop-off locations are currently located at Sanger Hall (5th, 6th & 11th floor main elevators) and Biotech I (Room 1-146 at Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics). Please email MCV Green Unity to request recycling bins for your VCU building, or for your local business.

You can also support MCV Green Unity by purchasing quality remanufactured inkjet cartridges (100% satisfaction guarentee by Planet Green) . Just visit the MCV Green Unity page at Planet Green (http://www.planetgreenrecycle.com/mcvgreenunity), and click on "Buy Recycled".

Green Unity wins: By receiving a 15% donation of the price of every inkjet cartridge purchased
Your win: By saving up to 70% when purchasing high-quality, remanufactured inkjet cartridges vs. the original brand
The Planet wins: By buying remanufactured inkjets which reduces landfill and helps the environment
American wins: You are supporting an American Remanufacturer

First MCV Green Unity General Meeting A Success!

2010-07-16T17:50:00.002-04:00

Thanks to all who came out for the first general meeting for MCV Green Unity. We had students, staff, and faculty from all over MCV campus, as well as from Monroe Park, and recent graduates. Some of the main ideas that came out of the meeting were to try to start a campaign for turning off lights/printers/computers, making sure people have contact information to request repair of the many leaky faucets on campus (Plant Ops, service calls, 828-9444 for Sanger Hall, but they can also direct your call for the appropriate building), getting all campus buildings assessed for energy usage and waste output, etc., and trying to get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) drop point established at MCV campus.

The next general meeting is planned for the week of August 30th. I hope to see you all there! In the meantime, feel free to email MCV Green Unity with any comments/ideas/concerns you have about sustainability at MCV campus or the surrounding community. We are especially looking for new members to get involved!

The minutes from this meeting will be published on this blog in about a weeks time. In the meantime, fell free to browse through the MCV Green Unity general overview presentation below.

Keep Your Plants Happy & Lower Your Waterbill (Part I)

2010-06-28T06:00:00.004-04:00

With record-breaking temperatures many gardeners are looking for ways to keep their garden from wilting in the heat and keep their water bills low. While mulching reduces the need for watering and rain barrels reduce the amount of municipal water you're using, you can reduce your dependence on municipal water even further by watering more efficiently. This involves using systems like drip-irrigation, soaker hoses, and water timers. In the first part of this series I will go over the basics of drip irrigation.

Drip irrigation is probably the most efficient watering system for the small garden. In involves delivers small amounts of water (drips) at a time right to the roots of the plants. This minimizes water loss due to run-off and allows the plants to take up the water slowly and effectively without flooding. Drip systems may seem complicated, but are actually easy for the first-timer to install with a minimal amount of instruction.

The basic components of a drip watering system are:

Pressure reducer: needed to reduce the amount of water pressure from your tap, so your low-pressure drip watering system isn't overwhelmed

1/4" or 1/2" hose: connects the components of the drip system

T joints: allows you to run hose from your main line(s) to the individual plants

In-line drippers or sprinkler heads: delivers water to the individual plants. Some plants require only one dripper or sprinkler head per plant, some plants may require multiple, depending on water consumption needs.

Drip irrigation can be used for gardens, containers, or a combination of both. Just be sure to follow the instructions for the maximum distance the hose can extend from the water source - because this system is operating on low pressure if you try to cover to much distance the plants furthest away will get little/no water. This method of irrigation is great for using with rain barrels, where you can skip the pressure reducer, since rain barrels are low pressure to begin with. The only caveat is that the rain barrel water level must be higher than the plants you are trying to water - raising them on cinder blocks helps.

Drip systems can be purchased in kits, or in individual components at hardware stores. To make watering completely effortless you can add a water timer, which allows you to automatically water your plants for a specified length and time of the day. Timers will allow you to water early in the morning or late at night, which helps prevent water loss due to evaporation and helps minimize plant disease. Remember to check to see if your water timer goes off as expected and for the appropriate amount of time before you go on vacation. Start with 5-10 minute watering times. Yard soil should be damp about 2" below the soil surface, and containers should be damp without water running out of the bottom. For more information on drip watering click here.

My First Farmstand!

2010-06-26T02:50:00.000-04:00

With my garden having increased 5x in size since last year I have finally ventured into urban agriculture with my own farmstand. It just made sense - it allows me to grow and sample more varieties of vegetables, and planting a few extra vegetable plants doesn't increase my garden workload significantly. I'm located in Churchill (Richmond, VA) which doesn't have a proper supermarket, and corner stores either completely lack vegetables or have very poor selection and quality. I am grateful to be able to share organic, locally grown produce with the surrounding community in the hopes of improving nutrition, improving exposure to vegetable varieties not found in stores, and encouraging others to grow vegetables as well.

I'm selling tomato plants to start with, and have many varieties which are suitable for yards and/or containers. Determinate tomato plants reach a fixed height and produce fruit all at once, which makes them suitable for yards or containers. Varieties this year include: Totem Hybrid, Razzleberry Hybrid, and Container's Choice. Indeterminate keep growing in height as long as the season lasts and produce fruit over an extended period of time. Because of their large size and high nutrient demand they are not suitable for containers and should be planted in the yard. Varieties available this year include: Jelly Bean, Cherry, Rite Bite Hybrid, Yellow Pear, Better Boy Hybrid, Early Girl Hybrid, and Roma.

Small plants are $1 each or 4 for $3
Medium plants are $2 each or 2 for $3
Large plants are $4 each or 2 for $6

10-12pm every Saturday

12-2pm every Sunday

871 N 22ND ST (22ND & Carrington in Churchill)

View Tomato Plants in a larger map

Green Spaces Competition

2010-06-03T06:00:00.005-04:00

This year, the James River Green Building Council held their annual green spaces competition for the design of 34 acres of a 44 acre plot of land just East of Shockoe bottom and South of Church Hill. The competition event kicked off May 27th with a competition community forum, and will continue for the entire month of June as the entries will be on display at Gallery 5, starting this Friday, June 4th for Art Walk.

The vision for the Accessible Sustainable Integrated Community (ASIC) designed by myself, Jordan Starbuck, Leyla Peachy, and Jia Yan was a mix of recreational, retail, and mixed-income housing space. The focus was on a space that would be accessible and usable to all regardless of physical ability, income, ethnicity, or age. Key features include LEED certified buildings, with rain water and compost collection that would feed and water the surrounding urban farm and community gardens. The space would be an attraction for all ages, with many outdoor gathering spaces, nature trails, outdoor exercise equipment and activities, a community center, skateboard park, and bike rental/repair/storage/showers. We wanted to leave as much in-tact natural forest as possible, taking care to build structures in areas already open and cleared of trees. We wanted a space that people could feel proud to call home, which would be accomplished by involving them in the building of their own homes (through organizations like habitat for humanity) and community gardens. This would foster a sense of belonging and self-ownership of the space, which would help to improve space maintenance, reduce litter and graffiti, and reduce crime in general.

Check out the plan and written summary for our design below, and let us know what you think!

Community Meetings this Week to Decide the Fate of Churchill

2010-06-02T14:00:00.000-04:00

The first of four community meetings will take place tonight at 5pm at the Robinson Theater that will change the face of Churchill as we know it. These community meetings, called a Charrette, are intensive planning sessions which will condense meetings between the community, city planners, city officials, and community leaders which normally take months into one week. While I definitely agree with the principle of bringing all of these individuals together to plan the future of Churchill, one wonders how much effort the city has really put forth to make this an event truly open and accessible to all. Advertising the event as a Charrette is the first mistake. I have a Master's degree, and I don't know what the heck a Charrette is. If you want to reach the public you shouldn't use any language above a 8th or 10th grade level at the most. When you use fancy words when simple ones will do when advertising these events, it's off-putting and intimidating to the people you're trying to reach. That being said, I hope everyone reading this with an interest in Churchill, and even Richmond in general, will attend. Forward this to as many people as you know - let's make sure our voices get heard!

The main focus will be on the 25th Street/Nine Mile Road corridor in Churchill. This area has great potential, but is currently run-down, with many vacant houses and businesses. I myself am going to strongly push for mixed income apartments on this stretch, with the first floor available for retail space. Many businesses currently exist along this street, and I feel we could meaningfully add to what already exists to create a thriving "Main Street" in Churchill. The location of Churchill, being so close to Shockoe Bottom and MCV campus of VCU, lends itself well to mixed income housing. Many of the city's working poor currently call Churchill home, and rising middle class professionals are also starting to call it home. Rather than forcing lower income residents out of homes that their families may have lived in for generations, lets provide a place for all. The benefits to this arrangement are many, including:

Decreased segregation in communities and schools
Lower wage workers are able to live closer to where they are employed, which helps keep wages down while improving quality of living
Higher income housing is able to offset the cost of building and maintaining the lower income units
There are many government grants available to offset the cost of mixed-income communities
Rent-to-own opportunities for lower income residents allow them a chance to better their life circumstances and get on the property ladder
Higher income residents are able to make a secure investment in the community that will maintain the same property value as comparable housing that is not located in a mixed-income community

Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development
For more information on mixed-income housing, download this informative PDF.

Hay Bale Gardening

2010-05-25T06:00:00.003-04:00

Want to grow vegetables or flowerings, but not keen on digging around in the dirt? How about if you have a bad back, or use a wheel chair? Hale bale gardening may be the answer for you. The idea is simple, all you have to do is properly prepare the bale, then plant your veggies and/or flower right in the intact hale bay, keep it well watered, and watch them grow!

Choosing a bale
Any straw or hale bale will do fine. Oat bales tend to sprout less. If your bales do start to sprout, you can pull the sprouts by hand, give them a 'haircut' with pruning shears, or pile mulch (hay, leaves, bark mulch), over the sprouts you wish to smother. You can often find spoiled bales not suitable for animal feed on craigslist for cheap. Bales aged 6 months or more and left in the rain are best, but even new bales can be used.

Find a home for your bale
Find a permanent home for your bale, near a water source, with drainage flow away from the house, in a place that can support heavy weight. Decks, driveways, patios, in the yard - anywhere with at least 6+ hours of sun if you want to grow vegetables. Bales work best when resting on their narrow side, so that the string doesn't rest on the ground and rot. Try stacking bales 2 deep to minimize water loss. You use as many or as few bales as you like, just make sure you leave generous room to walk between rows of bales. Once they are wet and planted they will be extremely heavy and impossible to move, so choose your space well.

Preparing the bale
Thoroughly soak your bales a few times a day for 5-10 days. Try adding some organic fertilizer, compost or manure tea to soak your bales in nutrients. During this time the bales will heat up and start to decompose. Don't skip this step, or you will end up cooking and killing your plants! After 5 days, reach deep into the middle of the bale and check the temperature, to make sure it's not still hot before planting.

What to plant?
In each bale you can fit one selection:
2 Tomatoes
3-4 Peppers
3 Squash/Zucchini/Melons
12-15 Beans or Peas

Try adding companion plants such as herbs, marigolds, petunias, nasturtiums, or alyssum. You can tucks these in between the larger plants, or why not tucks some of the trailing plants like nasturtiums or alyssym in the sides of the bale?

Planting time
Mature plants can be planted directly into the bales, just pry the bale apart with a trowel, and pop the plant in! You can add a bit of compost around the plant to get it started. Seeds can be planted by removing a few inches of a small area of the bale, and replacing it with potting soil or compost. Plant you seeds in it and watch them grow!

Maintaining your bale garden
Water every 1-2 days, maybe every day when really hot. A drip or soaker hose watering system will cut down on water waste. Add a water time, and don't worry about forgetting to water again! About every 1-2 weeks, add some supplemental liquid or water-soluble organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizer may not have as high of nutrient content as non-organic, but the nutrients are released more smoothly and evenly, to get the best prolonged plant growth.

MCV Earth Day a Big Hit!

2010-04-23T18:02:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all of you who made it out to celebrate Earth Day yesterday at VCU MCV campus! The event was a huge success with a large turnout and plenty of enthusiasm in the air. Our plant give-away (thanks to Stranges Garden Center) was a big hit, and we were able to give out 200 plants to encourage people to garden at home. There was a huge variety in the amount of plants that Stranges was able to donate, so that we were able to cater to people who would be growing their vegetable in the garden, or in a container. Goes to show that you don't need much room to have a garden - even apartment dwellers can try it!

The Farm 2 Family bus was there with it's pet chickens, and live jazz music was on the stage. Many a person was walking away with their new veggie plants, a scene described by one person as a walking garden. MCV Green Unity had a great response for signing up for their email contact list, encompassing between 250-300 people! If only 1 in 10 people choose to become active in sustainable activities with this club in the Fall, I'd say we're off to a great start!

Bayscaping at VCU this Saturday!

2010-04-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

This Saturday, April 24, 2010, volunteer gardeners like you will be completing the first of three projects designed to improve water quality of the James River and Chesapeak Bay in Richmond, Virginia. Every time it rains in Richmond, VA (and many other cities worldwide) the storm water treatment system is overwhelmed, discarding untreated waste water into nearby rivers, lakes, and bays. This means that every cigarette butt, every piece of litter, all of the oil slick and asphalt chemicals, and all the pesticides and fertilizers used in yards citywide are being dumped into the James River and Chesapeake Bay.

Bayscaping (Chesapeake Bay + Landscaping) helps reduce, slow, and treat storm water run-off being discarded into local waterways. The idea is to replace select areas of turf, ivy, cement, asphalt, etc. with native plants, which are able to absorb a significant amount of the runoff, reduce the flow rate of waste water, and filter the waste water before the water makes it into the storm drains. Native plants are adapted to their specific climate and environment, making them tolerant to the water conditions or droughts of the local area. Besides less watering, they require less maintenance, little to no fertilizer, and little to no pesticides, making them an ideal choice for economical and chemical-free landscaping.

You can be a volunteer gardener at VCU! Come out for an hour or two, or stay the whole day.

Day: Saturday, April 17, 2010
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Location: Trani Life Science Building
Street: 1000 W. Cary St.
City/Town: Richmond, VA

MCV Green Unity Makes It's Debut

2010-04-21T19:09:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, April 21st from 11AM-3PM is the 1st annual Earth Day celebration on MCV campus at VCU, and I hope you will all come by to say hello! My friends and colleagues Jia, Leyla, and I will have a table at the event promoting the new MCV chapter of Green Unity, a student sustainability club. We are looking for students, staff, faculty, and community members who want to improve sustainability practices at VCU and the community to put their thoughts and ideas of a sustainable future into action. Whether you have been a long time environmental advocate, or are new to sustainability, MCV Green Unity is the place for us to dream and scheme together to make our world a little better one step at a time. We are giving out one free vegetable plant: tomato, pepper, or cucumber, to the first 200 individuals to sign up for our email list and fill out a bicycle survey.

Special thanks to Strange's Garden Centers for their generous donation of vegetable plants!!!

We will also be doing free face painting for anyone who signs up and fills out a survey. You can also enter for the chance to win one of four Green Unity T-shirts, made of recycled cotton!

MCV Green Unity wants to follow in the footsteps of the Monroe Park campus club, and take on exciting projects like Bayscaping (more on this later), rain gardens. green roofs, and increasing access to recycling on campus. We also hope to partner with the other club to establish a Green Mile between the two campuses, which would be a trash-free corridor with a bike path and Bayscaping. Email me or ask me in person about the Green Mile project to learn more! Have a great idea of your own? Now's the time to put it into action by joining Green Unity.

Monroe Park Celebrates Earth Day with Style

2010-04-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

Come out for the huge Earth Day celebration that VCU Monroe Park campus is holding this Wednesday, April 21, 2010. There will be free food. Live music. An Eco-chic fashion show. Free games and prizes. And of course, many educational vendors. Come on, how many reasons do you need to go to one event anyways? The real question is, why would you NOT want to go? Earth week at VCU kicks off with a free movie screening (with free snacks!) of the movie Food Fight, a documentary about local, sustainable and organic food. Don't forget to visit MCV campus' Earth Day event on Thursday, April 22nd too. I'll see YOU at Earth Day!

Food Fight Movie Screening
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Rodneys, Shafer Dining Court
VCU Monroe Park Campus

VCU Monroe Park Campus Earth Day
11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wednesday April 21, 2010
Compass Point & Shafer Dining Area

Eco-Fashion Show: Re-fashioning the Future!
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Wednesday April 21, 2010
Compass Plaza, Shafer Dining Court

Why Everyone Should Garden

2010-04-11T06:00:00.007-04:00

Have you every tasted garden-fresh food? Did you notice that the taste bears almost no resemblance to store-bought varieties? Peppers from the garden seem to be an entirely new and different vegetable. They are crisp, sweet, and so packed with flavor you wonder that one vegetable can contain it all.

Everyone can garden at home. A garden need not be large, complicated, or a lot of work. A garden can be a single potted tomato plant, a window box, a window farm (more on this in a future post) a few peppers on a balcony, or a small plot of land in your yard. Gardening doesn't have to cost a lot of money - you can get many materials for free or cheaply on craigslist, at thrift stores, or from a local garden club.

The trick is to start small and do your research. By starting a small garden and adding to it gradually, you can learn to take good care of the few plants you have now without getting overwhelmed. You don't need to buy fancy books to learn gardening either. There are many gardening books available at thrift stores and used book stores, or you can take advantage of the huge wealth of information on the internet, on websites like Garden Guides. Many garden clubs, like Tricycle Gardens, offer free or low cost workshops to help you get started. Learn which plants grow well in your area, and in the space and lighting you have available. Vegetables generally need 5+ hours of direct sunlight a day, but if you are growing indoors you can supplement this with fluorescent lights.

Gardening is a relaxing and rewarding hobby, and can be great exercise too. Growing vegetables and herbs can save you money, and can allow you to try different varieties that would otherwise be too costly or simply unavailable in your supermarket. If you grow organically you can have fresh food free of pesticides, preservatives, and artificial appearance enhancers, such as wax on apples. So why not give gardening a try this Spring? Because who wouldn't want their very own produce stand in their own backyard?

Effects of Global Change on Human Health

2010-04-10T06:00:00.001-04:00

Nationally renowned speaker, Dr. Ricky Sinha will speak at Earth Day at Virginia Commonwealth University on MCV campus, April 21st at 4PM in Sanger Hall 1-044. His presentation, Effects of Global Change on Human Health, will be followed by a reception celebrating Earth Day.

Dr. Parikhit (Ricky) Sinha is a Technical Associate at O'Brien & Gere where he leads the greenhouse gas (GHG) program and GHG projects for industrial and institutional clients, development of baseline carbon footprints, estimation of project-specific GHG emission reductions, and forecasting of future GHG emissions from the operation of new facilities.

As a former study director at the National Research Council’s Board of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Dr. Sinha has led studies relating the science of climate change to federal policies for carbon mitigation and management. He has served as a member of the Pennsylvania Climate Change Roadmap Working Group and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Carbon Management Advisory Group.

Dr. Sinha has authored numerous technical papers in the areas of climate change policy, air pollution, environmental statistics, and risk assessment. He is a board member and former chair of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association. He has a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a B.A. in environmental engineering from Harvard University.

First Annual MCV Earth Day

2010-04-09T06:00:00.003-04:00

MCV campus at Virginia Commonwealth University has been a little behind Monroe Park campus in terms of sustainability. And with one sustainability coordinator and a small group of dedicated staff spread between the two campuses it's no wonder! But all of this is beginning to change, and the first annual Earth Day at MCV campus is a sign of these positive times we live in.

MCV Campus Earth Day
11AM - 3PM
Thursday April 22, 2010
Kontos Medical Sciences Plaza
(outside Medical Sciences and Egyptian buildings)

Part of the Year of the Environment initiative, MCV Earth Day will feature live music, free food, prizes, and about 15 exhibitors including Dominion Power, William Byrd House Market, Farm to Family, 2nd Solutions, VCU Physical Plant, VCU Student Government Association, VCU Parking and Transportation, and many more.

You will also have an opportunity to meet me, your favorite blogger, at an exhibit advertising the new MCV chapter of the student sustainability club, Green Unity!

No Work & All Play Garden

2010-03-30T10:00:00.009-04:00

How would you like to spend less time and money on weeding, watering, and fertilizing your garden this year, and more time enjoying it? No, I haven't been eating the mysterious mushrooms growing in my yard...All this and more can be yours with a mulched garden using the Ruth Stout method. Ruth Stout (1884-1980) is known as the person who made the magic of mulch famous among gardeners. This method is fairly easy to start small and build upon. Not only can you often find freely available materials for mulch, but this method could actually save you money, by having to water and fertilize less!

The Basics:

Find a source of spoiled/moldy hay or regular hay, straw, leaves, pine needles, sawdust, weeds, or garbage (any vegetable matter that rots) to use as your mulch. You can save your own leaves from fall cleanup, or get someone else's for free on craigslist. Here are a few links for leaves in the Richmond, VA area: http://richmond.craigslist.org/zip/1656071675.html
http://richmond.craigslist.org/zip/1646916697.html
http://richmond.craigslist.org/zip/1639013853.html

Also, Dominion Power has shredded plant material (twigs, leaves, etc.) available for free with free delivery in batches of 8-10 cubic yards (will cover 320-400 sq. ft. 8" deep) . http://www.dom.com/dominion-virginia-power/customer-service/your-service/shredded-plant-material.jsp

Many city dumps offer free mulch as well, although I doubt they deliver for free. East Richmond road landfill has free mulch, and will likely help you load it if you call ahead at (804) 646-4706. For spoiled hay you could try calling any hay supplier (many are on Craigslist) or large horse stables to see if they have spoiled hay unfit for animals (but perfect for gardens!)

You can used any of the above materials as mulches alone, or in combination. If using bark/tree/leaf mulch I would combine it with some other material like hay, because it may be pretty acidic on its own and some plants won't like this. Save your kitchen scraps (vegetables, egg shells, etc., no meat) to tuck under your mulch piles. No more composting necessary. For a 50' x 50' garden you will need about 25-50 bales of hay to get started (1-2 bales/100 sq. ft.), and should consider have another 25-50 bales in reserve to add as the existing hay composts over time.
If your soil is poor, consider adding some compost, horse manure, or chicken manure first. Try to get enough for 1/2"-2" inches thick. Horse manure is usually available for free on craigslist - delivery may be available for a fee. Word of caution: do not use manure from horses that feed on pastures where herbacides are used. This can poison your soil and prevent plants from growing for up to 2 years. Aged (at least 2-6 months) manure is best, because most disease-causing organisms and weed seeds the animals have eaten have been destroyed by then. Here are some craigslist links for manure in the Richmond, VA area: http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/zip/1637503451.html
http://richmond.craigslist.org/zip/1653678745.html
http://richmond.craigslist.org/zip/1633769715.html
http://richmond.craigslist.org/zip/1632186079.html
When first starting out, fresh hay, leaves, and grass clippings may use up more nitrogen from the soil than they give back. You can either leave these mulching materials out in the rain for a few months before putting them on your garden, or supplement the soil with cottonseed, soybean meal, or another organic fertilizer underneath the mulch, whether or not you add manure.
Mulch between garden rows, and around plants once they're established. Start with about 8 inches thick of hay or another material. Rains and/or foot traffic will eventually compact this to 2-3 inches. If weeds start to come up, just throw on more mulch. When you want to plant seeds, push apart a section of mulch and keep it aside until the plants are well established, then push the mulch back around the plants. You can plant potatoes by putting them on top of the soil, and covering them with 8" of hay! This will allow you to harvest a few potatoes at a time without killing the plant.
Using this method you should be able to water a lot less and still have enough moisture retained to allow plants to thrive. Ruth Stout claimed that after mulching year-round for several years she no longer needed to water her garden at all! But this would probably depend on the specific climate you live in. After mulching year-round for a few years, your soil will no longer need to be worked, tilled, or hoed, and will remain soft and pliable.
Want to plant a new garden without digging the first year? You could try the no-dig method (links below). I imagine that your yields won't be huge the first few years until successive plantings loosen up the soil deep down. But if anyone has tried this method with great success the first year, let me know!http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/build-a-garden.html
http://video.about.com/organicgardening/Build-a-No-Dig-Garden.htm

For more info on the Stout method check out these articles:

http://www.homestead.org/barbaraBambergerScott/RuthStout/RuthStout%20-TheNo-DigDuchess.htm
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2004-02-01/Ruth-Stouts-System.aspx
http://www.fieldstoneorganicfarm.com/gardens/2003_season.htm

Or better yet, try to find a copy of one of Ruth Stout's many books!
How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back
Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy, and the Indolent

Be Heard at the Earth Day Climate Rally

2010-03-29T12:21:00.003-04:00

Sunday, April 25th there will be a chance to have your voice heard at Washington, DC to tell politicians that we need to take a more aggressive stance on climate change. As a nation, the United States continues to be dependent on fossil fuels, without putting enough time and money into developing alternative energy sources. Whether you believe that climate change exists or not, the fact remains that fossil fuels are not an unlimited resource. They are running out, and we are increasing our reliance on foreign fossil fuels, and are having to develop new ways to extract remaining local fossil fuels using methods that are often both more dangerous to the workers harvesting them, or have significantly more environmental impact.

It is time for us to stop seeing ourselves as separate from the environment in which we live. If we pollute the air, we are the ones that have to breath it. If we pollute the water, we are the ones who have to drink it, and deal with reduced harvest from fisheries. And if we rely on just fossil fuels to provide jobs, we are the ones who will become unemployed when they run out. If we start the transition now to jobs in the green energy sector, we will not face a sudden economic crisis in the future, when the fossil fuels become exhausted.

I hope to see you at the climate change rally on April 25th. Come to make a difference, stay for the inspirational speakers and live music!

When: 11:15am - 11:15pm, Sunday, April 25th
Where: National Mall, Washington, DC
Why: Because we want a better future!

Earthday.org

Publish Your Own Seed Catalog

2010-03-27T12:05:00.001-04:00

Are you lost on how to organize your seeds? Try using an old 3 ring binder and 3.5" x 5" photo holders! I picked up a 3.5" and 4" binder from the thrift store for $1 each, and after about $12 for the photo holders I had a storage system for all of my seeds for under $15. The photo holders allow you to store and view up to 8 packets of seeds per page. Organized alphabetically, by plant type, or by planting season, this system allows to quickly find the seeds you're looking for. And when your seeds are well organized you will be less likely to buy extra seeds you don't need. Try using coin envelopes to keep your partially used seeds sealed up and safely stored.

Darkness Falls for Earth Hour

2010-03-26T23:45:00.005-04:00

Saturday, March 27 from 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. is Earth Hour, when hundreds of millions of people from around the world will turn out their lights and unplug appliances. In 2009, over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off during Earth Hour to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative (EarthHour.org). This event gives people the chance to reflect on their personal energy usage and the large impact we can make on the environment with conserving energy for just one hour. Toronto, Canada managed to save 900 megawatt-hours of electricity, which is a 8.7% decrease if measured against a typical March Saturday night (Wikipedia).

Just remember, small changes can make a big difference! You can follow these tips every day to be sustainable every day:

Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones.
Recycle paper and plastic, instead of using the trash.
Read news online, instead of buying paper copies.
Grow vegetables during the summer.
Bicycle or walk to work or to run errands instead of driving.
Take the bus or train, instead of driving long distances.
Unplug appliances when they are not in use.
Lower the thermostat to cut back on heating during the winter.
Insulate and eliminate drafts to get the most out of your heating and cooling.
Plant a tree to help filter your air and to provide shade.

House Bill to Kill Renewable Energy Jobs in Virginia

2010-03-10T17:25:00.003-05:00

Received an interesting email from Conservation e-Action Virginia today. Apparently trying to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for doing their job to protect Americans from the harmful effects of CO2 emissions wasn't enough for Virginia (more on this later). They had to also try to squash the renewable energy industry in the state as well. This new law would put current jobs and future jobs in renewable energy in serious jeopardy, and would reinforce the near monopoly that Dominion Power holds over Virginians. At 10% unemployment, haven't we lost enough jobs already?

If you are a voting citizen of Virginia, contact your legislator today to prevent him/her from making the mistake of supporting house bill 92 when in comes to vote tomorrow. It's easy to have your voice heard. First, find out who your local governor is here.
If you have the time or inclination, you can read the actual house bill 92 here. Otherwise read the summary of the implications of the bill below. Next, phone or email them ASAP to make your opinion known. Feel free to use the summary below directly in your email, or as an outline for a phone conversation. Try to customize your message in order to increase the impact your email will have.

Contact your Senator and ask him or her to vote NO on House Bill 92!

The Coops are claiming that selling renewable energy on the retail market is "an experiment that has failed, and is simply not viable in Virginia." To the contrary, numerous renewable energy businesses are investing money in creating a viable renewable energy industry RIGHT NOW!

HB 92 would stifle Virginia's expanding green energy industry which has the opportunity to create clean jobs and clean energy all across the Commonwealth.

Problems with House Bill 92:

HB 92 is anti-competition. It will eliminate competition for electric cooperatives by prohibiting generators of 100% renewable energy (whether solar, wind, biomass, waste-to-energy or other providers) from attempting to sell their product directly to consumers.
HB 92 will harm the fledgling renewable energy industry in Virginia - costing jobs and hurting our competitiveness. The Senate has heard directly from several producers of renewable energy who are operating within Virginia and have expressed a desire to enter the retail market to sell renewable energy. These businesses will be severely hampered by HB 92 and will prevent them from making necessary investments to establish a viable and thriving renewable energy business within the Commonwealth.
HB 92 will allow electric coops to buy out-of-state Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), mix them with brown power, and sell it as 100% renewable power. If the Coops are allowed to call the purchase of RECs "100% green power," they will qualify as an allowed monopoly by state law. This bill will do nothing to foster the development of a renewable energy industry inside of Virginia. RECs produce green power somewhere in the U.S. but they won't create new clean energy jobs right here in Virginia.

TAKE ACTION:

Email your State Senator NOW to urge him/her to vote NO on HB 92!
Allowing renewable energy businesses to compete will improve our economy by producing jobs and clean energy all across Virginia!

Please take a moment to customize your message and increase your effectiveness.

Conservation E-Action Virginia is a project of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.

VCU Anti-Discrimination Rally

2010-03-10T00:00:00.005-05:00

Make sure to attend the anti-discrimination rally this Wednesday, sponsored by the Students for Possibilities Party. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome to attend this event. Let's stand united and show VCU and Virginia's state government that we will not support policies and laws that violate human rights.

12pm-1pm, Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

VCU Commons Plaza (907 Floyd Avenue)

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=347726437231&ref=mf

Update: More than 1000 people showed up at Monroe Park campus to march to Capitol Hill, for a chance to speak with their local representative about anti-discrimination law. Apparently this demonstration, along with community forums and the multitude of individuals who contacted state and university leaders had the intended effect. Late this evening, according to VCU President Rao, and several news sources, Governor McDonnell released an executive directive:

“Discrimination based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation or parental status violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Therefore, discrimination against enumerated classes of persons set forth in the Virginia Human Rights Act or discrimination against any class of persons without a rational basis is prohibited.”

This comes after a house bill was defeated earlier this week, that would have included sexual orientation and gender identity as protected groups under state anti-discriminatory law. In the end, Virginia went two steps backwards, and one step forwards towards equal rights for all. It is up to Virginian voters to follow through with this human rights issue next year, when they will have a chance to voice their opinion to their local representatives to change the law in the next session of the General Assembly.

Courtesy Richmond Times-Dispatch

Forums Showed Support of Diversity by VCU

2010-03-09T20:22:00.014-05:00

Community forums were held today at Virginia Commonwealth University in response to the advice of Virginia's Attorney General that VCU (and all other state universities) remove sexual orientation as a protected group from their anti-discrimination policies. Many people spoke up in support of keeping university policy the same, to protect the gay community from discrimination. There were concerns raised that unless VCU made it known that they were strongly supportive of including sexual orientation as a protected group against discrimination, that they would lose top staff, faculty, and students, and that VCU and the state in general would receive negative publicity that would severely damage the reputation of the state and university. A few voiced the potential concern that the state may try to pressure state universities to revise their policy by threatening to cut funding to the university, which currently comprises 75% of the university budget funds. Some voiced confusion as to what the federal legislation was, as they had heard of a supreme court ruling supporting including sexual orientation in anti-discrimination law.

According to Rebecca Glenberg, the ACLU's legal director,

"In Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), the United States Supreme Court held that discriminatory laws based on sheer animus toward lesbian and gay persons violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Later, in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003), the Court ruled that consensual, adult sexual relationships are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, notwithstanding societal views regarding the morality of such relationships. Consistent with these principles, courts have repeatedly held that public employers may not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation..."

With federal backing on the side of human rights, it looks like the state of Virginia may need to have the supreme court force their hand to help end discrimination against the gay community. Interesting that the supreme court also had to pressure Virginia into ending discrimination against the Black community, and people with disabilities. Third time's a charm Virginia, I hope you don't need any hand holding this time when it comes to upholding human rights.

Below follows the response to the community forums held today at VCU from the Provost:

To the VCU Community:

I’m pleased to report that more than 1,000 VCU faculty, staff, students, alumni and several members of the General Assembly attended the forums held today to discuss Attorney General Cuccinelli’s advice that the boards of visitors of the Commonwealth’s public universities and colleges consider rescinding policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The discussions were productive and, I believe, overwhelmingly reflected the VCU community’s passion for diversity, inclusiveness, acceptance and equality. Our statement of nondiscrimination is a core value of our University. And let me assure you, VCU’s policy on nondiscrimination stands until and unless it is altered by the Board of Visitors.

We will continue to collect comments and opinions from our faculty, staff and students and will share those with others of the University’s administration and the Board of Visitors. If you were unable to attend one of the forums and would like to share your opinions, please send an email to provost@vcu.edu or simply reply to this message. Many thanks to those of you who have shared your thoughts – the president and I have received hundreds of emails already.

We will hold additional forums in the near future and give you ample notification. However, we pulled today’s forums together on short notice because of the extraordinary concern being expressed by our University community.

Additional resources for information on VCU’s commitment to equity and diversity are available online:
-- VCU Code of Ethics: http://www.president.vcu.edu/ethics/
-- VCU Creed: http://www.vcu.edu/vcu/creed.php
-- VCU 2020: Vision for Excellence: http://www.vcu.edu/cie/pdfs/VCU_2020_final2.pdf
-- VCU’s Five Year Diversity Plan: http://www.diversity.vcu.edu/diversityplan/
-- VCU’s Diversity Web site: http://www.diversity.vcu.edu/

Finally, I want to assure you that diversity and equality are embedded in the VCU community. Our University culture is based on the integrity of the academy and on our pursuit of knowledge, understanding and mutual respect.

Sincerely,

Stephen D. Gottfredson
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

The Provost and President of VCU have both encouraged the VCU community to contact them with any comments and concerns that they have. Here again follows contact information for them, as well as the state Attorney General and Governor:

Michael Rao

President, VCU and VCU Health System

president@vcu.edu

(804) 828-1200

Stephen Gottfredson

Provost and VP Acad Affairs

sdgottfr@vcu.edu

(804) 828-1345

Ken Cuccinelli

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KenCuccinelli#!/KenCuccinelli?v=wall

Email: http://www.vaag.com/ContactUsForm/ContactForm.aspx

(804) 786-2071

Office of the Attorney General

900 East Main Street

Richmond, VA 23219

Bob McDonnell

Governor of Virginia

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Governor-of-Virginia/61634046094

Email: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/TheAdministration/contactGovernor.cfm

Phone: (804) 786-2211

Fax: (804) 371-6351

Office of the Governor

Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor

1111 East Broad Street

Richmond, Virginia 23219

Cuccinelli's Defence

2010-03-08T21:42:00.004-05:00

Here's a useful Facebook group page that highlights actions you can take to fight against discrimination in Virginia (see below). Especially important is to contact your legislative representative or governor by tomorrow (Tuesday, March 9, 2010), so that they can revive a bill that would include sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws.

Came across a newscast on CBS6, and one on WSLS10, with Cuccinelli's explanation of his letter sent to state universities. He states that he was just giving legal advice to several clients, who then chose to share this information. Who were your clients? And what explanation did they give for wanting to share this "information/advice" with every single state university? I'm sorry, Mr. Cuccinelli, I don't buy it. The letter sounds suspiciously like you are pressuring Virginian universities to remove anti-discrimination policies. Using scare tactics to make universities think that by enforcing anti-discrimination policies they could be inviting lawsuits is a low blow. You state that you don't have the power to change the law to protect the gay community. Well, I'm calling your bluff. I don't think you have the power to force state universities to comply with your request.

And since when do universities need "specific authorization from the general assembly" to change any one of it's policies? I don't think cheating on tests is illegal in the state of Virginia, do we need special permission to put this in university policy? Why now, and why comment on this specific issue? Your letter may be carefully worded to try to protect your back, but we all can read between the lines, and can see that you have more than "advice giving" in mind. You say that "changing public policy of the Commonwealth is within in the purview of the of the General Assembly and therefore...is unconstitutional". Well I say that any anti-discriminatory law that the General Assembly upholds that does not include the gay community as a protected group is unconstitutional! The universities of Virginia are just trying to do you a favor, by correcting this major oversight on the part of the General Assembly.

Legislators of Virginia: you can't have it both ways. You can't say that including the gay community as a protected group under anti-discrimination law is unnecessary in this day and age, and then turn around and demonstrate the opposite by your actions. If unnecessary, why all the effort towards defeating bills that ban discrimination against the gay community? Why would the Attorney General, and his unknown backers, take the time to draft a letter trying to undermine gay rights and send it to all state universities? I leave these questions in your hands, intelligent readers, and hope you will come to your own conclusions as you read Cuccinelli's letter, and when you attend one of the public forums tomorrow, the rally on Wednesday, or when you email or phone a university or state official.

5 ways to make a difference right now

1) Contact the governor this Monday & Tuesday (3/8 & 3/9) and press him to act on bill SB66 before Tuesday, after which it can't be revised for this General Assembly session. A link to the bill itself is at the bottom of this page.

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Contact.cfm

2) Find your legislative reps on the "Legislator Finder" and contact them Monday and Tuesday, pressing them to revive the bill (which already passed in the Senate) before the Tuesday deadline.

http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

3) Sign the Equality Virginia petition.

http://www.petitiononline.com/orderno6/petition.html

4) Email VCU's President Rao and other Va. college & university presidents and ask that they and their Boards of Visitor uphold their university's policies.

http://www.president.vcu.edu/

5) Voice your opinion to Attorney General Cuccinelli.

http://www.oag.state.va.us/

.................................................................

Bill SB66, passed by the Senate, tabled by a subcommitte, and eligible for revival, with a Tuesday 3/9 deadline:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=101&typ=bil&val=sb66&Submit2=Go

Forums to Decide Whether Human Rights are Upheld at VCU

2010-03-08T16:38:00.010-05:00

This is your chance to voice your outrage at the 'advice' of the Attorney General of Virginia that will allow discrimination against the gay community at VCU, and universities in the state of Virginia in general. Before attending one of these sessions, try to make time to read the letter from the Attorney General, to better inform yourself about the issue. You may want to make a short list of key points you want to raise at the forums. There are four different forum times/locations that students, staff, and faculty can attend:

On the Monroe Park Campus

-- 9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. -- University Student Commons,
907 Floyd Ave., Richmond Salons I-IV

-- 2:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. -- University Student Commons,
907 Floyd Ave., Commons Theater

On the MCV Campus

-- 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. -- George Ben Johnston Auditorium,
305 N. 12th St.

-- 4:30 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. -- George Ben Johnston Auditorium,
305 N. 12th St.

Let's show VCU and the Attorney General we stand united on the issue of human rights, by attending the community forums! Click read more to view the letter from the Attorney General...

Click page to enlarge:

Virginia is for Straight Lovers?

2010-03-08T12:15:00.013-05:00

It looks like Virginia will have to change their state slogan "Virginia is for Lovers". What they really mean is Virginia is for lovers, but only if you're straight. I was indescribably upset when I received an email from the president of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on Friday evening, which contained the following:

"Virginia Commonwealth University received a letter from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli requesting that the Commonwealth's public universities and colleges rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation".

Someone please remind me, what year are we living in? 1980? 1960? 1865??? What I take from this, is that Ken Cuccinelli think's we should be able to discriminate against the gay community. What's that? You're gay? Well, you can't work here. No, of course, you can't go to school here either. And don't think you can go whining to the courts either, because the Attorney General is on our side.

Based on what Mr. Cuccineli is saying, I thought I should remind him of some famous American sayings:

"Liberty and justice for all" Pledge of Allegiance
Apparently "all" doesn't include the gay community.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" Thomas Jefferson
I'm pretty sure that the gay community didn't consent to be discriminated against. Now where does it say that only men of a certain sexual orientation are created equal. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? I don't think so. Those are only for straight people.

"You can judge a nation by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens" Aristotle
I am sore disappointed in the governing bodies of Virginia that this would come to pass. In Virginia, a state that above all else should have learned the consequences of slavery and discrimination against the Black community. Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. You have my attention, Virginia. How I judge you will depend upon whether you choose to live in the past, or walk into a future of true equality for all.

And VCU? You are an institution of higher learning. Let us lead by example, and not cave into the whim of a persecutor of human rights.

"Provost Gottfredson is planning forums to provide students, faculty and staff an opportunity to discuss the implications of the Attorney General's request." Excerpt form Dr. Rao's email

"The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men" Plato

The fact that VCU is even going to consider the unethical treatment of the gay community galls me. If you are a member of the VCU community, don't stand by and let this happen. Attend any and all meetings regarding this outrage that you can, and speak up, call, or email to let VCU's senior leadership know that we won't take this lying down. If you discriminate against one of us, you discriminate against all of us. I'll post more updates on my blog when I know more about what's going on. There is more information in these articles:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/virginia_ag_to_state_colleges_scrap_protections_fo.php?ref=mp
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/03/virginia_ag_colleges_cant_ban.php
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/03/08/qt/virginia_colleges_told_not_to_ban_anti_gay_discrimination
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/03/post_630.html

Actual letter Ken Cuccinelli sent to Virginia's universities on Thursday, March 4, 2010:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/Cuccinelli.pdf

Until then, you can email or call these individuals to let them know what we think of VCU's consideration of the violation of human rights that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli would have us perpetrate. Please keep your communications polite, short, and to the point. After all, we are upset at the gay community not being treated with respect and humanity. Let's not stoop to their level.

Michael Rao
President, VCU and VCU Health System
president@vcu.edu
(804) 828-1200

Stephen Gottfredson
Provost and VP Acad Affairs
sdgottfr@vcu.edu
(804) 828-1345

Ken Cuccinelli
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KenCuccinelli#!/KenCuccinelli?v=wall
Email: http://www.vaag.com/ContactUsForm/ContactForm.aspx
(804) 786-2071
Office of the Attorney General
900 East Main Street
Richmond, VA 23219

Bob McDonnell
Governor of Virginia
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Governor-of-Virginia/61634046094
Email: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/TheAdministration/contactGovernor.cfm
Phone: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351
Office of the Governor
Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Do Good While You Walk Your Dog

2010-03-01T16:42:00.006-05:00

There is a huge abandoned/feral pet population in Richmond, many of which have no shelter during the cold winter months, have little food to eat, and are at the mercy of illness and wild animal attacks. Saturday March 20th you have a chance to change all this at the 8th annual Dog Jog and 5K run, hosted by the Richmond SPCA. Last year's event raised $108,000 to help orphaned pets housed by this no-kill facility. You can run, jog or walk the 5K, walk with your dog in the 1-mile Dog Jog, buy a raffle ticket, or just show up to attend the vendor fair from 9am to 1pm. Participants may register individually or as part of a team, and have the option of raising donations to benefit the SPCA. As an added bonus, the SPCA will be offering a walk-up microchip clinic for $20 the day of the event, where you can have a small microchip placed under the skin between your pets shoulder blades. The insertion is nearly painless, and as most vets and animal shelters now carry microchip scanners, this can help identify and return your pet to you if they ever become lost.

In addition to keeping animals off the street, the SPCA offers free spaying/neutering for owned cats and dogs for students and low income families in the Richmond area. They also have Pet Pantry and a Wellness Clinic, to provide pet food and medical care to pets from low income families, and a Feral Clinic, where they fix feral cats for free, through the trap-neuter-release program. As socially conscious individuals we owe it to our animal friends to take responsibility for their welfare. Please consider participating in this event, or making a donation. And get your pet spayed or neutered, because the best solution to prevent animal homelessness is to prevent unwanted litters.

Badda Bing, Badda Bloom Box

2010-02-25T14:22:00.002-05:00

"It's about seeing the world as what it can be and not what it is" K.R. Sridhar, inventor of the Bloom Box says. Any company who starts with that kind of philosophy has my backing. Originally designed for NASA, the Bloom Box was re-engineered to be a stand-alone power plant in a box. The goal is for consumers to be able to purchase a single Bloom Box for about $3000 for their backyard or basement, which could then power an average American home. Bloom Energy, the manufacturers, estimate that customers could make up the initial purchase cost in 3-5 years with money saved in energy production by the Bloom Box.

The Bloom Box takes in oxygen, and combines it with a fuel of your choice to produce electricity. Fuels can be fossil, like natural gas, or renewable, like gas produced from landfills, or solar power. I'm still a fan of the Bloom Box even when using fossil fuels, as they use half as much fuel to provide the same amount of energy as conventional methods. See the full story on 60 minutes here.

Viva la Transit Revolution!

2010-02-24T09:00:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited about bus rapid transit for Richmond, VA! GRTC wants to put in a rapid transit line on Broad St. starting between Rocketts Landing and Willow Lawn, eventually expanding to Short Pump. There are also plans to establish a transit hub with train, bus, taxi, limo, airport shuttle etc. at Main St. station - sweeeet! The first public meeting is tonight:

Public Meeting #1: Will introduce the project to the public, explain the study process, and introduce the concepts that are being studied.

6-8pm, February 24, 2010

Children’s Museum of Richmond

2626 W. Broad St.

There's also an identical meeting at the same time Thursday evening:

6-8pm, February 25, 2010

Thomas Jefferson High School

4100 W. Grace St.

Even for those of you who will still need to use your car on a regular basis to commute, this will mean in the long term:

1) Reduced traffic volume, less traffic jams, potentially less accidents

2) More time saved during commute to spend with your family and friends

3) Less CO2 emissions into the air from vehicle traffic, less smog, better air quality

4) Less traffic means less wear and tear on the roads, hopefully better quality roads with less necessary maintenance and less taxes spent!

If you live in the Richmond area make your best effort to attend, even if you don't currently use transit. You have no idea how rapid transit has revolutionized Vancouver, British Columbia (where I lived for 10 years) - the city would fall apart without even one of it's rapid transit lines. I am confident that if this went through, it would encourage a substantial number of people to use transit for the majority of their transportation needs. The increase in student ridership alone would make it worthwhile (Richmond has a huge population of students from multiple colleges in the area).

And for those of you who commute to Washington, DC? Think of how nice it would be to have regular trains leave from Main St. station, instead of just once or twice a day. That's right, GRTC will be working with Amtrak to increase trains leaving from Main St. So you may be able to leave your car at home and relax (or even work!) for 2 hours on the train.
More details on the rapid transit study can be found here. If you can't make the meeting, you can still let your voice be heard:

Electronic Comment Form: Use this version to submit comments online.
Print Comment Form (PDF) : Use this version to print and mail or email your comments.
Public Meetings: Leave your comments in the comment box.
Mail: Send written comments during the public comment period to:
Larry Hagin, Director of Planning
GRTC Transit System
301 East Belt Blvd.
Richmond, VA 23224

Seeds of Suicide

2010-02-23T19:13:00.001-05:00

Disturbing exposé on the plight of cotton farmers in India: Seeds of Suicide. Many farmers are persuaded to buy genetically modified (GMO*) seeds, which haven't been properly tested for ease of growing and crop production. These GMO seeds can cost more than five times the amount of traditional cotton seeds, and require costly pesticides, fertilizers, and more water than non-GMOs. GMO seeds are patented, and are not allowed to be saved by farmers for next season's planting. Most farmers are forced to borrow money to buy GMO seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers. When crops fail and the moneylenders come knocking, some farmers are shamed and desperate enough to look for a way out: suicide by drinking their own pesticides.

Some are now turning to organic cotton. Organic methods produce lower yields, but much less risk to the farmer, because they often don't need to borrow money to start their crop, and can save seeds to plant for the next season. For more information and background, go to Frontline.

*Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are plants or animals that have had genes (heritable material) permanently added to them to produce desirable traits, like disease resistance, drought tolerance, or increased size of fruit. GMOs are akin to gene therapy, introducing genes into living human cells to cure disease, in which there can be great benefit, but also risk if not carefully planned out and monitored. Watch my blog for an upcoming post with a more in-depth description of GMOs, and possible risks and benefits.

Glossy Goodness

2010-02-22T19:17:00.000-05:00

I think I'm in love. With a lip gloss. I've been having an affair with Tarte lip gloss for nearly two years now. And why would I ever want to stay away from something this good? Free from parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, phthalates. Your lip gloss does end up in your mouth eventually, and I don't know of anyone who likes to snack on petroleum products. It comes in three pretty colours, as well as a set of 15 mini-glosses, which you can give as gifts or keep all to yourself (I'm very possessive of my lip gloss lovers, so naturally chose to keep them all). They all have subtle, pretty scents, are very moisterizing, and long-wearing. They are also great to layer - a little for a sheer look, a lot for bombshell. While each full-sized gloss is $21 at Sephora, they are always having site-wide sales, and it ends up being a good bargain, as the tubes last quite a long time. Plus, if you sign up with a site like ebates, you get 4% back from your purchases. Oh l'amore.

Energy Vampires

2010-02-19T18:39:00.000-05:00

Unlike large appliances that have become more energy efficient in recent years, many small appliances have not. Your TV, DVD player, and coffee maker, for example, are costing you money even when you aren't using them! According to the California Energy Commission, nearly 20% of energy used by small appliances is used when these appliances are plugged in, but not in use. Check out their website for the low-down on these energy vampires:
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/appliances/small_appl.html

Here are 3 different kinds of stakes to put in the heart of these energy vampires...

Staples 12-Outlet 4350 Joule EcoEasy Surge Protector, $49.99

Has 1 master, 6 energy-saving, and 5 normal surge outlets. When the device plugged into the master is in standby or turned off, the power shuts off to the 6 energy-saving outlets. So you could plug your TV into the master, and DVD, gaming console, stereo, etc. into the energy-saving outlets. When you aren't watching or playing games using the TV, the other non-essential items would turn off too!

Belkin 8-Outlet 1000 Joule Surge Protector with remote, $33.63 with free shipping (Amazon)

Has 2 outlets that are always on, 6 that you can switch off with included remote. Also comes with a cable management system!

Staples 7-Outlet 2250 Joule EcoEasy Surge Protector, $29.99

Has 1 master, 4 energy-saving, and 2 standard surge outlets

Alternatively, you could just shut off the surge protectors you already own when you leave for the day. Either way I wish you luck in the fight against this energy-sucking army of darkness!

Veggie Grow Op

2010-02-18T23:16:00.001-05:00

Planted my seedlings yesterday...finally! Next year I'll try to start at the beginning of February. Our frost date in Virginia is about half-way through April. I mixed 1/3 organic seed starter, 1/3 store-bought manure/humus, 1/3 generic potting soil, a small scoop of blood meal and a small scoop of organic fertilizer. Last year I used 100% seed starter mix and it was really hard to water it thoroughly, because the water just beaded on top of all that peat!

Here's a google spreadsheet of the seedlings I planted in plastic, reusable trays:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Aqvu0HFKFzwGdGZzczdJVGZXMEdzdjI2VVVrbDJLS3c&hl=en

I tried a number of new tomatoes this year, including jelly bean, a type of grape tomato, and yellow pear. I also tried Early Girl, an early fruiting variety that worked well for my neighbor last year. Of course, if all of my seedling grow I won't know what to do with them all - how would I ever use 72 tomato plants?!? But I figured I could sell some of the plants, and maybe plant some extra tomatoes this year, again to sell. After all, if I'm going to keep rescuing feral cats, I have to fund my efforts somehow (more on this later!)

Black Gold

2010-02-15T18:45:00.003-05:00

Here's a useful youtube video on how to make your own black gold - compost! Compost can be used as a mulch to keep down weeds, and as a natural fertilizer to help enrich your soil for growing vegetables, flowers, or grass. I think I may follow the tips in this video to make myself another compost bin. I bought a compost bin August 2008 that you could use for anything, including meat (which you can normally never put in compost). It has worked well but is now completely full, and never had enough room for all of my yard waste.

Nifty Thrifty

2010-02-12T23:00:00.017-05:00

I wish there was a map of all of the thrift stores near Richmond, Virginia. Oh wait a minute, now there is! Using the fantabulousness of Google Maps, I was able to combine various maps that other people have made for thrift stores in the Richmond, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, and Washington DC area into one super-map! Now you can easily save money and the environment, all in your own backyard!

View Virginia and DC Thrift Stores in a larger map

To combine your own maps is easy, just follow these simple steps...

1) Right click on the "view in Google Earth" link on the upper-right hand side of the screen for the map with the locations you want to copy, and click copy link address.

2) Open the map you want to add the new locations to. Click on the edit view.
3) Click import. Hit Control V to paste the link you just copied. Click upload.

The new locations should now appear in your map. Sometimes you have to refresh the page, or reopen your map in a new window for the new locations to appear.You can combine as many maps as you like. Just be aware that your map will load more slowly the more locations you add. Eventually Google caps the amount of locations visible on a map page at any one time, and you need to hit next page to view the rest of your locations. I found this a pain in the ass, so I looked up a way around this. Follow step one with your new map. Next, open a new window with Google Maps. Paste the link into the search box for Google Maps. Your map should now appear with all locations on one map page. To save this new map, click the "Save to my maps" link on the upper left-hand side of the page. Now you can make your own map of thrift stores in your area, or whatever! Happy mapping!

Really Really Free Yourself From Consumerism

2010-02-12T20:30:00.001-05:00

Richmond, VA's "Really Really Free Market" is a new found phenomena for me, and something I will be sure to start visiting! Held on the last Saturday of the month, rain or shine, everything you find there is free for you to cart away. Expect to see books, movies, toys, furniture, food, clothes, anything! You can bring your own things to give away, or just come to reap the free goodness. I've heard there are often free workshops by community members, such as how to change a tire! And as the weather gets better there is sure to be free music as well.

Not only do events like this save you money, but they also allow items to find new homes, reducing the amount of new materials and items being made, and keeping old items out of landfills. Plus, I seem to remember a few of you resolving to get organized and clear out your clutter, hmmm? So stick it to the man, and make it out to the next Really Really Free Market:

RVA Free Market
Saturday, February 27, 2010
12:00pm - 5:00pm
Monroe Park
Corner of Laurel and Main Streets
Richmond, VA
Contact Phone: 804.300.0026

If anyone knows of any similar free markets in their community, let everyone else know by posting a comment!

Potatoe Loco

2010-02-11T23:46:00.003-05:00

This year I will trying to grow potatoes. I don't know why, but they just seem more intimidating to grow than other vegetables...so I did my homework. As usual, the first place I went was gardenguides.com, and I wasn't disappointed. They had a great article to get me started, plus some instructional videos, with two slightly different methods...

Planting Spring Gardens: Potatoes - Courtesy of GardenGuides.com

How to Prepare Potatoes for Planting - Courtesy of GardenGuides.com

Start Your Garden Right with Tricycle Gardens

2010-02-11T23:19:00.002-05:00

Tricycle Gardens, a local, non-profit, community gardening organization in Richmond, VA is holding a Seed Starting & Soil Preparation workshop Saturday, February 27th:

Learn how to grow your own vegetables and flowers by starting them from seed. We’ll discuss everything you need to know to successfully start seeds for your garden, how to prepare your garden soil and how to care for your young seedlings. We’ll also discuss popular vegetable varieties that will grow well in this area!

Location: Bryan Park Greenhouse
Time: 10am- 12pm
Cost: $20

Please email learn@tricyclegardens.org to RSVP.

Green Power Turns Me On

2010-02-11T11:52:00.008-05:00

I had just moved from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and was living in Richmond, Virginia for 6 months before I discovered that my electricity was being generating by coal. And here I thought coal power was reserved for 3rd world countries! I guess I just took it for granted that people in North America don't burn fossil fuels anymore. My bad. So I was pleased to see that Virginia Dominion Power offers a program to purchase sustainable energy.
Aptly enough, it's called Green Power. For $0.015 / kilowatt-hour you can buy a combination of wind, solar, and other similar energies to power your home. For me, this amounts to an extra $10-$15 on my monthly bill average bill of $120-$160. For those of you who aren't quite willing to spend the entire amount to completely switch over to green energy, you can purchase green power in $2 blocks.

If you purchase $10 of green power per month for one year, you will have reduced emissions equivalent to removing one car from the road.

Ooh La Lavanila

2010-02-10T20:06:00.003-05:00

I am constantly using this body butter from Lavanila to keep my hands from drying out this Winter. It's free from any nasty chemicals, which I love. But it also actually works! It's nice and thick, but also fast absorbing. And you can see an instantaneous improvement in your skin after you put it on, as well as long-term benefits. My favorite is vanilla coconut, but vanilla grapefruit is also a great scent. Sephora has a smaller 2.75oz size for $12, if you're unsure about spending $25 for 8oz. Or better yet, try the 3 x 2.75oz sample pack for $30, and get the 3 best-selling fragrances!

Composted Goodness

2010-02-10T19:36:00.001-05:00

Whether you realize it or not, composting saves green. Trash pick-up is included or subsidized by the taxes you or your landlord pays. The more often and the greater the quantity and/or weight of trash collected, the more the city is charged for this service. And the city is kind enough to pass that charge along to you.
And as the trash piles up and more landfill space is required, the city has to purchase more land for landfills. Which means an increased number and amount of space taken up by landfills. Why waste land on landfills!?! By composting you can keep tax costs down, and save money on your gardening needs by producing your own high-quality compost instead of using store-bought fertilizers and manure.

Residents served by the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority can take advantage of a 30% discount offered by Covered Bridge Organic on their composting bins. Plus, get free delivery! Composting never felt so good. Try these websites to learn how to get started:
http://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/452/452-231/452-231.html

http://www.cvwma.com/recycling_programs/yard_waste/composting.wbp

Build Your Own Rain Barrel

2010-02-10T18:20:00.005-05:00

Here is a YouTube video by Lowes that helped my husband and I build our rain barrels. We didn't end up using the exact parts they did, but it was useful none the less. We combined the ideas from the Lowes video and this website to come up with the cheapest, most effective design for our needs. There is also a video that shows how to make one using the parts on that website.

You may also find this video helpful:

Sprouting into Spring

2010-02-10T17:56:00.003-05:00

I'm really excited for Spring to arrive, and gardening to begin! Right now I'm in the planning stages. This year I plan to grow cucumbers, zucchini, radishes, peas, beans, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, squash, potatoes, watermelon, cantelope, carrots, and pumpkins. Plus many varieties of herbs, and a cut flower garden. This is in addition to my currently growing strawberries (of which I need to add more plants), raspberries, and blueberries. I've never tried to grow squash or potatoes before, so it should be interesting. And now, readers, you may begin to understand why I have so many rain barrels!

Unfortunately, I have misplace the great majority of the seeds I saved from my garden and purchased on sale last year! So I may have to start nearly from scratch :-( But I do have some seeds I can start indoors now. And I'm contemplating turning my balcony into a mini-greenhouse to germinate my seeds and grow young plants, as my indoor rooms don't get nearly enough light. I found a great article on the Home Depot site that should help you start your own seeds indoors this spring:

http://www.homedepotgardenclub.com/Dimensions/Article.aspx?contentid=2968&cm_mmc=hd_email-_-021010_GC-0210-Wed-_-0209-GC02-_-seedsstart-28G

Warm Up to Savings

2010-02-10T15:21:00.007-05:00

If you live in an older house or apartment, you know the pain of Winter heating bills. It's either freeze or starve. Until now. You could try wearing of a ridiculous amount of winter layers...Or you could try a space heater!

Space Heaters
By turning your thermostat down and only heating the room you're in, you can conserve mega mula this Winter.

Lasko 754200 Ceramic Heater, $22.95, Free Shipping (Amazon)

For small rooms, an economical heater like this would do the trick.

Lasko 6410 Designer Series Oscillating Ceramic Heater, $40, free shipping (Amazon)

For larger rooms, this oscillating heater will keep your toes warm. For $15 more you can get a version with a remote. This stylish heater is actually cheaper than similar models that are the traditional eye-sores that we come to expect from heaters.

Plants need friends too!

2010-02-10T00:53:00.004-05:00

Like high school, plants often separate themselves into natural cliches. Some individuals get along and work altruistically together, while some covertly gossip and sabotage other plants behind their backs. The art of planting groups of plants together that work well as teams, while separating plants that are natural enemies, is called companion planting.

Companion planting isn't hard to learn, and their are many great websites that can help...

http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

http://www.seedsofchange.com/enewsletter/issue_55/companion_planting.aspx

http://www.gardenguides.com/410-good-amp-bad-companions-vegetables.html

The first site provides a comprehensive list of companion plants, and explains the properties of many of the plants. Qualities that useful plants may have include:

Trap crops: Attract bad insects. Either poison the bad insects, or entice bad insects away from your prize crops. Examples are sunflowers, larkspur, and nasturtiums
Attract good insects: Many good insects feed on bad insects. Preying mantus, lady bugs, and parasitic wasps don't harm humans, but dine on bugs that may damage your garden. Chamomile, cosmos, and dill are examples.
Deter bad insects: May have an odor that bad bugs dislike, or secrete a substance that repels bad insects from their roots that neighboring plants can suck up to become more pest resistant themselves. Marigolds, petunias, and many herbs have this property.

Benefits of companion planting include improved vegetable flavor, increased plant growth, decreased weed growth, healthier plants, less need for pesticides.

Green Police

2010-02-10T00:30:00.001-05:00

I nearly died laughing when I saw this commercial...Honestly, sometimes I want to go out and bust people's asses for not recycling like the green police! But when I read the comments on youtube I did a double-take. People are FREAKING out about this video. Why is it so controversial? I guess many people are sick of every company putting the 'green' label on their products to increase sales (never mind that many of the sustainability claims they're making are not backed up by fact, and there is often no regulatory body overseeing these claims). Or I guess maybe people think that this could actually happen in the foreseeable future. But honestly, people, asking you to be more sustainable is not an infringement on your rights. It will save you money, and cause less shortfall in the long-term of renewable resources. What's the point of owning a gas guzzling car if there will be no gas to make it run in 20 years?

There has been resistance to many movements, like sustainability, that are ultimately for people's own good. Smoking bans in public places, seatbelt enforcement, and health care reform, to name a few. Yes, change is scary. But comparing the 'green movement' to Nazi Germany is a little over the top, don't you think?

The Quest for Rain Barrels

2010-02-09T18:58:00.001-05:00

Many of us have probably seen rain barrels at our local hardware store, but these probably represent the most expensive option out there:

Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Navigation?storeId=10051&N=531673+90401&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&cm_sp=c3cc8e7f-b971-405e-be30-05235d8dffdf

Lowes:

http://www.lowes.com/SearchCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&Ntt=rain+barrel&x=0&y=0

Another option would be to search your local paper or Craigslist for rain barrels people have made from 50-60 gallon plastic food/cleaning supply barrels, which usually run from $45-$60.

Sometimes you can also purchase 50-60 gallon barrels that you can make into a rain barrel yourself, which is the option I chose. Unfinished barrels will usually run between $15-$25. Don't forget to haggle for a discount if you are buying multiple barrels. Cola bottling plants and car washes used to give barrels away for free, or for a small fee. Many are not doing this any more, because they have starting reusing them themselves. With the supplies needed to make a rain barrel you will probably end up paying about $25-$35 per barrel, so unless you are making a few it may be worth it to buy a premade barrel.

Here is a great place near Richmond, VA that sells finished and unfinished rain barrels, and will even deliver for free locally! http://barrelresources.com/Barrels.html

Let me know about rain barrels for sale in your area, and I will post them on my blog!

Rain Barrel Bananas

2010-02-09T18:43:00.002-05:00

I went a little crazy last year with the rain barrels...I currently have 4 hooked up (but not in use over the winter), and 3 more assembled, but waiting to be hooked up. Wait a minute...you don't know about rain barrels? What you don't know could be costing you money!

In a nutshell, a rain barrel is any kind of container that holds water that you hook up to a downspout on your house, that collects water when it rains. The water can then be used to water plants, water your lawn, wash your car, etc. Cities charge you more money the more water you use, so it stands to reason that if you use rain water instead you will save money!

You can use a number of different kinds of containers as rain barrels:

1) Large, 50+ gallon plastic barrels that originally held food or cleaning products

2) Large, thick-walled trash cans (without wheels, as water will leak from where the wheels are attached)

3) Pre-made rain barrels from online stores or hardware stores (most expensive option)

When my entire rain barrel system is hooked up it will hold a total of 427 gallons. Pretty amazing if you ask me!

How to recycle anything?!?

2010-02-09T18:37:00.000-05:00

Awesome article on how to literally recycle anything from A for Aerosol cans to Z for Zippered plastic bags!

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/tips-techniques/recycle-anything-00000000006117/index.html

Send Junk Mail to Junk Hell

2010-02-08T14:56:00.000-05:00

Stupid junk mail, having to sort through mountains of mailings to get to more important memoranda! What's that you say? There's a solution? Stop junk mail before it starts?

Visit: http://richmond.bbb.org/article/6373

In under 10 minutes, you can be virtually junk mail free! By visiting four websites you can stop the majority of junk mail, and guard your sanity against the endless sorting through mail. You can also tell your mail carrier to stop delivering flyers and coupon books. Businesses that participate constantly update their mailing numbers, so if less people receive flyers, less will be printed! And don't forget to recycle those errant straggling junk letters that still get through.

P.S. For those who value their privacy and don't like being interrupted during dinner, put yourself on the 'do not call' list for telemarketers at https://www.donotcall.gov/

Fluorescent Potpourri

2010-02-08T14:39:00.002-05:00

In the past few years, the variety of fluorescent bulbs has skyrocketed. Chances are, if you use it, you can find it in fluorescent. Best of all, fluorescent equivalents can be much brighter than incandescents. Many also come in natural daylight varieties.

Check some of these out...

Encased fluorescent vanity-style bulbs

Halogen replacements

Encased fluorescent bulbs, suitable for bulbs that will be highly visible.

Fluorescent Bulb Mythology

2010-02-08T14:27:00.001-05:00

Ever notice how hot incandescent bulbs can get? You would have if you ever tried to change a bulb without letting it cool first. Well, that heat is costing you money! The energy that should just go into producing light in incandescents is actually being wasted a good deal as heat...But most of us know that fluorescent bulbs are cheaper to light our homes with. The cost of buying the bulbs seems to be what's stopping most of us from switching.

What many don't realize is that besides being cheaper to run, fluorescent also last for about 5 years with standard use - about 2-3 times longer than incandescent!!! How can you get around footing the big bill to switch?

1) Consider buying fluorescent as your incandescents burn out, so that you only have to buy a few at a time.

2) Try switching all your bulbs to fluorscents after you get your income tax refund

3) Participate in bulb swaps, where local organizations or businesses will sometimes trade a fluorescent bulb for each incandescent you bring in

4) Put fluorescent bulbs on your birthday/wedding/baby shower registry

5) Look for good old-fashioned coupons in your local newspaper

Green beginnings

2010-02-08T14:17:00.000-05:00

If I had a bumper sticker it would read "Recycle or Die". When a group of us decided to dress up this Halloween, I was the obvious choice for Captain Planet. And I have been known to dig through trash cans to 'save' recyclables. All very good reasons why I should start posting my adventures in recycling in blog-form. Keen on green at an early age, I have now progressed to the state of obsession where I'm a member of the sustainability committee at Virginia Commonwealth University, garden organically, and compost nearly everything. So while I won't actually physically harm someone for not recycling, I want to help make sustainability easy for anybody.