Peter's Eco Lunch. Homemade 100% canvas, REUSABLE, lunch bag featuring stainless steal cutlery and reusuable containers.
I’ve noticed lately two things: 1) there are a lot of tips to show you how to build a green lunch and 2) there is a lot of talk about how organic food doesn’t hold any more nutrition than conventional food. The discussion that could happen based on these trends is amazing, and I would like to add a few points to hopefully further the discussion. Read the rest of this entry »
Some time ago, I posted a link about United Solar Ovonic and its new plant in Greenville, Michigan, my home town. Well, the piece finally aired: NBC Nightly News & United Solar Ovonic. It’s a short piece that describes how former Electrolux employees are being trained and employed at the new solar-cell plant. The company will manufacture solar panels that stick on roofs, and will then be distributed across the world, especially Europe.
I love to hear that my home town gets to partake in the reinventing that is needed given the current economy and how awful it has been for folks living there. But, caution is the word that comes to mind when I hear stories like this. Sometimes, it seems we become so eager to jump on any bandwagon that screams new jobs when so many are hurting for lack of work, we then forget to ask questions to see if it is truly a good idea.
In my previous post, I wrote about how Greenville has a history of smokestacking to attract industry and how that has contributed to the situation Greenville now faces with no industry where industry once flourished because the jobs have all fled to places that offer cheaper labor, such as countries in Asia or south of our borders in Mexico.
I suppose, the only thing I want to offer to anyone reading this blog is to consider the 3 Es of sustainable development, economy, equity, and the environment. So, even though the new plant boasts green energy, how is the product manufactured? Is it done with the 3Es in balance with each other? Does it reach the Triple Bottom Line? Are the folks working the line being paid a decent wage, with adequate time off so they can spend time with their families? Is the company borrowing on borrowed time to pay for its venture, or do their own books balance?
I just hope those questions were asked before this deal was brokered. I do hope the Green can be put back in Greenville, both monetarily and with the environment in mind.
If we really want to consider all aspects of sustainability, we must consider our economic contributions. I’ve been thinking green for many years, and now is the time (more than ever) to continue to refine how I act green.
So, if for example, natural systems should produce and decompose to produce again, then we need to be thinking very locally. If mulching is important in gardening, then what better source than truly local – mulch from your neighborhood or your own yard.
The City of Portland was trimming tree branches near electrical wires this week, and we saw the sign, “Free Wood Chips.” So, we told the gentlemen we would like to take them up on the offer. Friday, 10 cubic yards of wood chips were dropped on our driveway, the same spot that hosted 4 cubic yards of screened dirt three months ago. Being able to sieze opportunities like this is crucial when thinking about going green. How can we use what we have? What options are within our reach that won’t cost us out of pocket anything? Not only have we not paid for these, I’m comparing this to all the $3.50 bags of cedar-bark mulch we purchased from Lowe’s last summer; but we also got them delivered for free too! Just think about it.
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