Fresh Peppers Stored in Glass

Recently, a work colleague sent around a "meme" type email warning of the dangers of plastic containers. It was written by a regular "housewife" type persona, writing about watching Dr.Oz inform her of "GASP" the dangers of plastic. It finishes with a story of a "friend of a friend" who had breast cancer and how potentially plastic food containers played a part, urging us to tell all our friends.

(storing my schoolhouse granola in a glass container is great for freshness AND to keep those pesky icky wheat bugs away...)

Now, typically I'm not a fan of these 'manufacturing fear' rumour emails, but what's interesting is that they can work. Not longer afterwards, a colleague asked me where she could get glass food containers and non-plastic water bottles. 

(Glass storage also LOOKS really classy. ps- that bit of plastic wrap sticking out? We tried the clay circle dealy but the only thing that really worked to keep our brown sugar soft was a bit of plastic wrap on the top. A small bit that has never been replaced...)

The switch to glass storage is a gradual one, and although heavier and a bit more cumbersome for storage, they are much more convenient for cleaning and smell (especially since we're lazy and sometimes there are unpleasant surprises... ick!). 

(Our cat food is stored in two large glass containers that we'll also be picking up a few more for our flour and sugar storage!)

The biggest change in how I store food without plastic, though, has been storing vegetables in the glass containers. I grew up storing vegetables in plastic ziplock bags. I had always thought that it was the best way to store vegetables....

I was so wrong.

(pepper all ready to be eaten!)

Peppers in glass containers result in:

• Longer lasting peppers. They don't get weird and slimy or dry out. It's perfect!
• One pepper generally fits in one glass anchor container.
• Having to cut out of the middle also results in a longer lasting pepper.
• If you have a few peppers you can mix them together in one larger glass container!
• After the pepper is all eaten up, the container is easily washed and quickly ready for another.
• Instead of eventually having to buy more plastic ziplock bags (as they don't wash well), the containers will eventually pay for themselves by their longevity! 

An easy, classy, change to decrease your addiction to plastic :)

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Eco Yoga Mats Don't Suck

A little birdie over on another yoga blog site created some discussion regarding the usefulness of investing in an 'eco' yoga mat. The perspective was really two-fold: that eco yoga mats are of poor quality compared to pvc and thus won't last long and that owning an eco yoga mat is an empty eco-gesture.

I claim false on both accounts.

Let's take a closer look shall we?

Myth 1: Eco Yoga mats are of lesser quality than pvc.


Firstly, I'd have to say that those yogis who report cycling through their 'eco' yoga mats within a few months or under a year of practice have a few things they should elaborate. Stating what type of 'eco' mat is important. There are some poor quality rubber mats out there (just like there are some crappy pvc mats). Also, exposing your rubber mat to the sun will further increase the breakdown of the rubber. TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) yoga mats aren't even truly 'eco' (check out 'My mat is made of copolymers' for more deets on TPE greenwashing), also accelerated flaking from sun exposure and are of lesser quality.

However, Jade Harmony (and my prAna revolution mat) are both higher quality and if cared for properly should last the length of your yoga practice.

Further, for the most part they're yoga instructors who partake in a full daily practice (or even several times of day). Hold up your hand if you practice a vigorous, hand gripping, foot sliding and body jumping asana 5 to 7 days a week (or more). Keep your hand up if you're a yoga instructor. Although becoming a yoga instructor is becoming the new 'it' thing, they remain a small percentage of yogi practitioners and do NOT represent the typical yogi.

The slippery complaint really just has to do with the first few practices and use. It fades away and I only ever notice a bit more 'slip' after I wash my mat- it goes away after the first post-wash practice.

Myth 2: Eco Yoga Mats are an empty environmental gesture and don't really make a difference.

According to different sources (most recently npr) between twenty and thirty MILLION people practice yoga in the United States alone. If we're conservative and add another 10 million for Canada, maybe another 10 million globally and take the lower USA number- that's 40 million people with a yoga mat. 40 MILLION YOGA MATS. (and that doesn't include studio mats and those people who have two, or three mats)

The Manduka black mat weighs 7lbs.

That's 280 million pounds or 127 005 metric tonnes of PVC. 

Polyvinyl chloride (pvc) yoga mats last forever because of just that- plastic lasts FOREVER. By this I mean not one piece of plastic ever created that hasn't been burned (releasing toxic flames into the air we breathe) since the 1960's has yet to disappear from this world. Every single piece of plastic is still in existence, either in complete original form leaching chemicals into the soil where it rests, off gassing into the inhabitant's home or has been transformed into tiny plastic bubbles (nurdles) that are being ingested by aquatic life and thus eventually humans (The World Without Us, Alan Weisman).

Since as far as we can tell plastic will last forever, and pvc is one of the most difficult plastics to recycle (Greenpeace) many pvc mats will end up in the landfill. Often landfills catch on fire, and once pvc burns it releases an extremely toxic chemical called dioxins. These chemicals have been found to be extremely dangerous to humans (known carcinogen) and bioaccumulate- discovered in the majority of American women's breast milk (wiki and Ecoholic 2006).

Your pvc yoga mat will continue to pollute this earth after you and your yoga practice move on to the next part of your spirit journey.

During her amazing lecture at Dalhousie University on Monday, Dr. Vandana Shiva spoke of the social culture of 'individual vs community' in response to the question: "How can we make a difference?". She answered that the competitiveness and corporate culture of the western world has encouraged the false belief that we are alone. That we are individuals.

This isn't true. We are not single individuals; as a social being we interact, we communicate, we create change. We are part of a community of ever increasing circles in this pond we call our home.

280 million pounds of toxic pvc isn't insignificant. Making the decision to bring your yoga practice into alignment with ahimsa (non-harming) of our planet and our health isn't insignificant.

Instead of fostering a feeling of helplessness, or isolation, we need to start recognizing our amazing ability to connect and foster change. 

And that's why Eco Yoga Mats Don't Suck.

article and photograph copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Soap Bars: An Easy Way to Decrease Plastic

I am a recovered body-wash addict. All things body wash, I loved the yummy smells, the ease of squishing it out onto the wash cloth, did I say the awesome smells? Similarly, I was a huge fan of pump soap to encourage people to wash their hands after they use the bathroom. (It's been my experience that certain people will be more likely to wash their hands if there's pump soap, gross but true).

Sadly, they come in plastic. I thought I'd had this one figured out by simply making my own liquid soap from soap ends.... of course it was an epic fail. Who knew that the soap ends would harden in the glass bottle? (umm, I should have).

As a result, Andrew and I have been buying only soap for "body wash" and hand soap for over a year and a half now. No more plastic bottles of liquid body wash.

Now I wonder why I ever thought I needed it? We're able to find the most delicious smelling and long lasting locally handmade soap at our farmer's market. With options ranging from coffee-mint to my all-time long lost love Aveda favourite- Rosemary Mint, what is there to miss?

We put our soap ends into a glass dish to be used as our kitchen soap. You could also crochet (or purchase!) a lovely soap saver, like this one. Getting a really nice soap dish is key. Like this fabulous recycled wine glass dish (I'd break it) or a beautiful round clay one like this.

There are a few things to keep in mind when purchasing soap bars:

1. Stick with local and handmade. You're decreasing your soap's carbon footprint and supporting someone locally.

2. Avoid palm oil at all costs. It's the world's second largest crop after soy with around 83% of it coming from Malaysia and Indonesia. One study found that 18,130 square kilometres of rain forest was lost to palm oil plantations between 1982 and 1999 alone. This continued destruction of our planet's natural air filter also decimates thousands of animal and insect species. On top of that, you can add heavy unregulated pesticide use and soil erosion. (Ecoholic, June 2006).

3. Only buy when ingredients are listed. Avoid anything with a whole slew of unrecognizable chemical-y sounding ingredients. Guess what? Soap can be made with relatively simple ingredients that don't need to be identified by their chemical name.

4. Try to stay away from essential oil-heavy soaps. Many essential oils are synthetically made. If the soap smells like a Lush store, it's probably a bit on the heavy essential oil side. Synthetic essential oils can have respiratory and skin reactions and are processed heavily.

5. Get to know your soap maker if possible. Write them with any questions or concerns, chat with them about the ingredients they use.

Our favourite soaps? Free Spirit Farm sold at the Seaport Farmer's Market. This lovely couple make their soap from pesticide free, certified organic oils and herbs. Their soaps last a long time without losing shape or getting mushy and smell delicious without leaving a weird residue. They also carry Acadian Forest Stewardship certified wooden soap dishes that they hand mill themselves. We love them!

I'm telling ya, Eco-Yogis, make the leap to soap bars and never look back!

Blessings!

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Replacing Ziploc with Glass: Oil Independence Steps

Plastic. It's so ubiquitous and such a horrendously large part of our lives. We're surrounded by petroleum in the form of plastic, from our nylon clothing to our plastic containers.

Quick stats as to why you should care (beyond the ridiculous oil gushing into our precious ocean):

• plastic products last forever.... or minimum 1000 years. At least.
• plastic is made from toxic petroleum, which we destroy our oceans and earth in order to extract followed by spewing out tons of chemicals to refine.
• We had a nice big Pacific Garbage Patch the size of Texas hanging out in our ocean.
• food kept and heated in plastic containers have been shown to take on chemical properties of said petroleum plastic. 
• According to CBC documentary 'The Disappearing Male', research is starting to point to plastic (toys, containers, shower curtains) as the culprit for a decrease in sperm numbers and ultimately number of male births.

Another step in our 'Oil Independence Plan' was to decrease plastic food storage in our lives. Which was deceptively difficult.


Long Term Goal: Eliminate ziploc bags as food storage.
Short Term Steps: 

1. Get used to storing cheese in a ziploc container instead of a bag. This took some time, but we finally figured out the perfect size container- score! 
2. Buy glass storage containers. We started with three glass anchor containers. Eventually, as I realized we would use them, we slowly bought more glass containers, some of different sizes. 
3. Start storing veggies in glass containers. This actually was easier than I thought. I always cut the center away from peppers and such so squeezing them in was no problem. Just had to figure out how to fit them in the fridge. 
4. Stop buying ziploc bags... when we run out, we run out. I don't even remember it being an event when it happened! I only realized when a guest asked for one that we were out!).

Canadian peppers in a glass container

 

Current Status: We no longer use ziploc bags for storage! We're still phasing out the plastic containers and are reusing non-recyclable yogurt containers though. Surprisingly, glass containers are WAY easier to clean. Even for those icky non-identifiable substances that have populated new furry cities can become squeaky clean with no residue smell. Unlike the plastic containers that small scratches and nicks result in icky gross food smell and discolouration.

Our cluttered container cupboard

 

The downside? Lunch. I have my nifty stainless steel lunchbox, but should I want to bring something extra it needs to go in a glass container. Which is heavy to walk with to work... even though I can microwave the food once at work sans plastic ick seeping into my lunch. Which is nice. Also, the blue hard plastic tops of the anchor containers have mostly all cracked... which sucks. I still use them, but had to buy the flexible plastic tops- and they're more expensive.

Do you have some ideas to help you go ziploc, plastic food storage free?


article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

The Part we Played: La Marée Noire and our Yoga Path

I just read a tweet (on twitter hehe!) from Connie over at Dirty Footprints: "Everytime I read about the oil spill I feel like I'm going to throw up. My heart is shattered". Yep, I can pretty much agree 100%. Dear BP: You suck.

My first reaction for the past 36 days has been to put my fingers in my ears and sing "lalalalala" as loud as possible. Andrew didn't really appreciate this happening in the middle of his sentence.

It feels pretty darn hopeless, what can we really do while millions of gallons of oil are polluting and devastating our ocean? We spend our time blaming BP, blaming the American President's supposed "laissé faire" attitude and lack of leadership. Pointing fingers can be lots of fun... but perhaps similar to my 'finger-in-ear-lalalala' strategy; avoiding the fundamental message.

Oil containers and refinery in St John NB- thought they contained ice cream as a child... what? I was a gullible kid.

If we take a moment, breathe deeply and remove ourselves from the emotional reaction of fellow Fern Gully fan peeps, we can see the *Hope* in this catastrophe.


Why were BP drilling oil? Cuz it was fun and they really love doing oil-runs on crazy carpets? We, 'affluent' (comparatively) global community are each responsible. Perhaps we're dedicating our yoga practice to the healing of the ocean, while we use electricity to light our homes and studios, cook our food and oil in the form of the plastics we surround ourselves, the plastic of our mats, clothing and props, our cars we drive and our heat.

A fraction of what is locally called 'Gotham City' in the fog and smog... 

It's not like BP (and other oil companies) are simply going to stop drilling for the good of our planet- as long as we continue to buy oil (in one form or another) we're supporting practices like drilling for oil that have led to this disaster.


Of course, we all know that simply purging our lives of everything oil-petroleum is unrealistic at this time. At the same time, if we truly value the planet we live on, which supports us and gives us Life, recognizing this catastrophe as an opportunity to make significant changes will bring us closer to living in Harmony with Earth.


Take a breath, mindfully step back and accept a small token of responsibility for the oil that is destroying thousands of beings habitats and lives. Make that first step to change;

• Buy a bicycle and bike or walk as often as possible.
• Avoid plastic. Recycling isn't enough, we know that now.
• turn off the lights, tv, computer, air conditioner.
• turn down the heat by 5 degrees.
• Need a new mat-clothing? Buy local and sustainable (ie not made in China).
• Choice of two food options? Choose the locally(est) sustainably harvested.
• Buy used or second hand. It's called previously loved.
• Vote! Voting is so essential and the majority of voters are over 40 and male. The government's interests reflect theirs, not yours.
• Each person can make a difference- don't believe how our 'tiny' choices make a difference? Read on... how 30 million people each day doubt... and the consequence.

 Just a few ideas, there are so many more! We can all begin (or allow to grow) our path of connection to our community and the life force we call Home. If we allow a small acceptance of responsibility.


Blessings and Happy Flower Moon!


article and photograph copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Yogurt Making Sans Plastic: DIY!

You know how I had said earlier that I wanted to learn how to make my own yogurt, cuz I hate the #5 plastic containers?

Well, here's one instance where I'm really glad that I created an email for this blog... because a wonderful reader, Theresa, sent me an email with her awesome recipe! Also, Jen at Funemployment DIY had recently made some yogurt with success, so I felt emboldened. Also, I know that Yoga Spy has asked previously about how to have yogurt sans plastic... so maybe there are others :)

(ps, head on over there, she's having a really cool bloggy giveaway!! go enter!)

First- preface: I am not really a fan of yogurt... even flavoured yogurt. The texture always made me nauseous and well, it's not so great on my digestive system. However, who knew that walking 70-80 minutes a day (to and from work) and keeping up a regular yoga practice would result in weight loss. Which, if you know me isn't a good thing. At all. I also am not a fan of breakfast (due to digestive issues) but since it's the only meal I can reasonably increase, I started eating yogurt and homemade granola. A lot.

Now I have accustomed myself to regular-fruity yogurt. How I thought I'd be alright with homemade I have no idea. (there's some foreshadowing for you!).

Anyhoo, Theresa was so kind to not only send me her recipe, but it's a SLOW COOKER recipe. Ouuuuu! This means low maintenance. It does take longer in some ways than regular recipes (or what Mr. Alton Brown from Good Eats did- don't know who that is?? Seriously best cooking show ever), but it requires less babysitting. 

Theresa's Slow Cooker Yogurt Recipe

Yogurt creation:
- 2L of homogenized milk (organic would be best, less chemicals and hormones added to the milk. And yes Homogenized is best since the yogurt needs that much fat, not 1 or 2% but 3.25%)
- half cup of plain yogurt with active live cultures (make sure to check for the active live cultures part- it's the source of those yummy bacteria!)
- probe thermometer (my addition... if you don't have one follow the times)

Post Yogurt creation:
Frozen fruit (local farmers market may have some local frozen fruit)

Maple Syrup or honey

Vanilla extract (I forgot to use this) 
Chia seeds (optional.. I forgot these too)

1. Pour the milk into slow cooker, set to low for 2 and a half hours
2. Unplug slow cooker and let cool for 3 hours (or until milk has reached between 115 or 120F, bacteria dies above 120, optimal growing is between 115-120).
3. While the milk is cooling, take your yogurt starter out of the fridge so it can slowly reach room temperature.
4. Once the milk has reached optimum bacteria time, scoop out 2 cups of warm milk and slowly mix in the yogurt starter. 
5. Add the mix to the milk in the slow cooker and stir.
6. Cover the slow cooker with several blankets from top to bottom (seriously, several!) to keep the heat in, and let sit (unplugged) over night. 8-12 hours.
7. In the morning it should have thickened.
8. Scoop into jars or containers and place into the fridge where it should continue to thicken.

It made four jars worth (two mason jars and two washed 650grams yogurt containers). Which is a lot (for us). Theresa indicates that it should last two weeks. (poorly wrapped slow cooker)

She recommended scooping your amount of yogurt into the container-bowl, adding a bit of honey and a bunch of frozen fruit.

A few notes on the experience:

I LOVE that this is so low maintenance. We left the milk in the slow cooker and went apartment hunting- no worries! Unlike other methods where you kinda have to be there if it's cooking. 
Having a probe thermometer is actually pretty darn handy!

Thoughts for our next attempt:

• Confession, Andrew had to scoop out the yogurt in the morning cuz the visual sight of the weird texture was making me gag. I am a wimp.
• Our yogurt is now the weird consistency of a Yop, pretty runny. Most likely because: a) we probably waited too long to add the starter yogurt, b) we may not have wrapped it enough
• Ways we'll try next time to thicken it: a) using skim milk powder (which weirds me out, but we have some here) b) Theresa highly recommends using chia seeds and husks to help thicken their yogurt.
• Next time we are halving the recipe, we don't eat a lot of yogurt!

Final verdict: the yogurt itself, once I got past my weirdness with consistency, actually tastes really good! And I think the consistency was more an issue with us and less with the recipe. Especially when I put a bit of honey and a whole bunch of fruit and let it mingle for a few hours in the fridge pre-eating, it was YUM. (note the lady doing a yoga pose on the Liberté Yogurt... not Yoplait Asana... but pretty close!)


Also, it was extremely low cost and low labour... and no plastic!! YES.


Anyone have some yogurt-using recipes??


Article and photograph copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

My Ultra Cool Lunchbox: A lesson on impulse buys

A few of you commented on my pretty stainless steel lunchbox and were wondering where I got it and what the company was. Really, I didn't elaborate much because if I could have a 'do over' in the lunch box department (geez, how weird is that) I totally would. But, in the sense of honesty and spreading the lunchbox WORD, let me clarify :)


First off, WHY did I choose a stainless steel lunchbox instead of plastic or glass? 


We all know that plastic is terrible. It's made from petroleum, lasts forever, breaks down into tiny 'nurdles' which are eaten by fish and then us, leaches toxic chemicals in our food and causes a crap-ton of pollution. I wouldn't even say that plastic containers are convenient; in that they NEVER get rid of the food smell (ick), are gross to clean and I never heat my food in plastic. The only aspect of plastic that is nice is it's lightweight.


Glass would be a wonderful alternative if it came in stackable and attached lunchbox forms. We use a lot of anchor glass containers for food storage (fridge and freezer) and when I have extra foods I bring for lunch. They require less energy to create, are made from renewable and are a completely recyclable resource. Plus you can heat your food in them. The downside- they may break, and I haven't found attachable 'lunchbox' forms yet.

So- stainless steel it is. You should know that stainless steel does require quite a bit of energy to mine and form. Depending on where and who, the steel could have been mined in a destructive manner (think razing mountains). So, in order to get your environmental benefit from this lunchbox, you need to use it.


Alright, down to the nitty gritty. This is where I wish I had done some research before my impulse-buy at P'lovers. My lunchbox is a Zebra. I LOVE the convenience of having something that holds my lunch and is ONE unit with a handle. It's SO easy to clean and displays my 'Plastic Bags Blow' sticker very well.


However. I *wish* I would have bought a different lunch tin. Therefore I will tell YOU about my wish list lunchbox (sigh).


Life Without Plastic. The company is Canadian and they do quite a bit of research on all the products they carry. They carry a variety of options and there are some pretty similar lunchbox containers to mine. They also carry this AWESOME wool insulated bag that Beth Terry from Fake Plastic Fish reviewed glowingly. Seriously, how cool would that be? 


My favourite by far, the 'To-Go Ware 2-tier Tiffin'. If you're in the states, you could order directly from the To-Go Ware company. 


Why it is so beautiful:


- It's stackable with a handle, made from high grade stainless steel.
- BEST: each container can function on it's own! (Currently my lunchbox only shuts with BOTH containers attached. I need an elastic to only bring one section). Seriously, you have no idea how convenient it would be to have the option to bring only one.
- It has a plate and little sauce-nut-extras tins and is dishwasher safe (if we had one that would be cool... currently we have 'Dishwasher Andrew').
- According to the To-Go Ware website, the top section can hold liquids!! (Currently, mine leaks all over the place...).
-Also according to the To-Go Ware website, these tins are made in Mumbai India, is certified ISO for human rights and environmental protection.


Lessons learned from using a stainless steel lunchbox:

• Consider whether you could actually use each section separately. You're not always going to have two different foods to bring for lunch.
• Stainless steel doesn't keep things hot or cold, BUT having a cover would help.
• If there isn't a plastic-rubber seal around the edges, really check the tightness of the closure. If you like liquidy things, find something with a really tight seal.

The biggest lesson: you can't reheat steel in the microwave... so you'll need to remember to bring a bowl or plate as well. Although this 'may' seem like an extra step, I actually really like eating my lunch out of a bowl from home. If I'm lazy, I'll just bring my reheatable stuff in my glass anchor containers.


I heart my lunchbox, and have used it consistently over the past year. Once you get through the 'new habit' stage it's just as convenient as gross icky plastic.


There you go! I hope that was helpful and that you'll take the leap into the ridiculously awesome world of stainless steel lunchboxes. :)


Happy Weekend! (upcoming: an update on my community yoga group!)


article and photos copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Yes-Attachment; Why Recycling Doesn't Cut it

I think that our biggest road block on this sustainable path is/will be our disposable lifestyle. We are so imbued with everything around is being easily replaced, the "convenience" of our throw away lives that the concept of stepping back is treacherous. It's so tempting and easy to buy products that require less preparation, less maintenance and can be replaced.

My reusable hemp tea-bag filled with yummy organic fair trade tea in a handmade ceramic mug... on handmade cloth table settings... lol I am a geek

These products aren't really going "away"- there is no real, fairyland "away", instead they are all slowly accumulating in landfills and dumps a few miles from our homes. 

Cue recycling. How awesome does it make you feel, you're preventing plastics and paper from going to the landfill! I used to feel like an environmental superhero- I was recycling paper, plastic and glass and composting. Buying more plastic was fine, since I tried to only buy what was recyclable here in Halifax (#1,2 only...). Until I read what Beth had to say over at Fake Plastic Fish. Here's a quick synopsis of why recycling isn't enough:

1. Plastic is forever, literally. All plastic ever created (bar what was burned) still exists today on Earth. A large bunch of that plastic is floating in the pacific garbage patch (a ginormous plastic blob in the middle of the ocean). A huge percentage has broken down into tiny plastic beads called "nurdles" that are being ingested by fish and other organisms in the ocean...subsequently killing them. Creating virgin or new plastic requires toxic and carbon emitting petrochemicals. For a fantastic account of Alan Weisman's (A World Without Us author) experience read "Polymer's Are Forever".


2. Most plastic containers and products are made from virgin plastic. So by buying that plastic yogurt container you're essentially supporting a new "forever" plastic into our world.

3. Most of recycled plastics are made into non-recyclable objects such as patio furniture, car bumpers etc. So although they don't go immediately to the landfill, after their use as plastic furniture they are no longer recyclable... and end up there anyway.

4. Recycling is downgrading... and with each process the plastic is less stable and less "usable" or marketable. Essentially, most of what you buy is adding to the amount of plastic in our world, recycling it just puts off the inevitable.

5. Recycling companies ship their plastic to others countries to process. Countries that may not have as stringent health and safety policies that we do here. According to Beth's article, much of the UK's and US's plastic is shipped to China, where people are paid low wages to work in toxic conditions... sorting our plastic. Although there is no mention of Canada, where the US goes, Canada is sure to follow. Please check out the video... and see for yourself.

For further info check out Fake Plastic Fish- an awesome site and check out the Ecology Action Centre's "7 Misconceptions about Plastic Recycling".

Obviously, recycling is better than simply throwing everything into the landfill. What I came to realize, however, was that by continuing to purchase plastic and disposable items by assuming that recycling was somehow a closed loop system, I was deluding myself as to my continued contribution to waste in our world.


Now is the time to begin changing the way we view our lives and making those changes to separate ourselves from a non-attached lifestyle. In this one area, the yogic concept of non-attachment doesn't apply, I say YES to attachment. Although Non-attachment could help us purchase less, we do still need to recognize the importance of what we have. 

Even simple things like disposable tea-bags, disposable j-cloths, swiffer mops, paper towel, food in plastic containers (i.e. rice, yogurt, juice) or getting your coffee in a cup. We need to view our lives as a process to be cherished, with a commitment to take a few extra minutes for something reusable.


Small steps are the way to go, and I have to admit this whole "reduce" concept was HARD. We were paper towel buyers (recycled content though!), and ziploc bags and containers... non-bulk food people.


We have now officially moved to glass containers, no paper towel or napkins, reusable dishcloths and buying rice/flour/granola stuff in bulk (in my awesome lioli bags). I have a reusable hemp tea bag and have started to buy fair trade bulk tea leaves. We still have far to go, but it seems realistic now, doable. All of a sudden, recycling doesn't make me feel good anymore. Reusing does.


The next few posts will tackle a few of the steps we've taken- paper towel, plastic containers with a few that we're still trying to make (with a quick post on how to reduce waste during Yule...).


Blessings!


article and photo copyright of EcoYogini @ ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Decrease Stagnation; Glass water bottles rock!

My friend H. came across this awesome company this week and I thought I'd share it with everyone here! We all know that plastic bottled water is a terrible concept, both ethically and environmentally. Clean water should not be a commodity to be bought and sold, nor should our local water sources be controlled by huge corporations bent on sucking it up and selling it.

We know that the plastic leaches chemicals into the water and as a result into our bodies. No matter how much we recycle, each bottle is made from virgin plastic which means more petrochemicals. Recycling plastic also downgrades the plastic, making it less viable for reuse each cycle. For more information on plastic recycling, please visit Beth's Fake Plastic Fish.

What is an eco-yogi/ni to do? Obviously a reusable water bottle is the ticket. Since nalgene is plastic (and all plastic actually leaches BPA) stainless steel or aluminum it was. However, aluminum requires a coating, which SIGG has recently demonstrated could contain BPA or other chemicals. Klean Kanteen was our choice and we adore our stainless steel water bottles. (image from here)

However, stainless steel is quite energy intensive and not always great for the environment. All stainless steel bottles are manufactured in China which is not ideal, what with carbon from shipping and manufacturing. Although Klean Kanteen seems quite transparent on their website, I would prefer less mileage on my bottle... Also, just the process of mining steel is quite damaging to the environment, along with the actual manufacturing the steel into bottle shape (please read here for more details). Although the end result of amount of plastic bottles saved by using the stainless steel bottle a few hundred times balances the scales, I have wondered if there was a more gentle approach.

Enter glass. Glass is a fantastic product, easy to produce and extremely versatile in recycling with virtually no downgrading of the product. I've seen glass water bottles at Chapters, but they seem so fragile and thin... not exactly something I'd want to actually carry around. I am a hand talker and pretty darn clumsy... might be a messy situation.

Tap Water Bottles , on the other hand, look pretty fantastic! They appear to be made from thicker glass and have a more practical bottle shape. I also love the nifty, attached stopper which is perfect for a missed-placed type gal like myself. It would seem that they are made in Canada as their retailers are all in Toronto and they were created by a Canadian... but I'm not entirely sure as their website doesn't say. They would make a pretty snazzy holiday eco-gift though :) (image from here)

My favourite quote from their site:

"Tap water is constantly moving, staying fresh and never stagnating."

I do believe that if you're a periodic, or gentle water drinker (i.e. you like to bring water with you to work, the park or to the library) than a glass water bottle would be much less environmentally damaging than a stainless steel water bottle. I much prefer glass it requires much less energy and chemicals and hasn't scoured our Earth in mining. However, if you bring your water hiking, bicycling or are extremely clumsy and might drop the bottle... and you know you'd save hundreds of plastic bottles, a stainless steel might be best.

Thank you very much for the link H.!! :)

Happy Weekend and many Blessings!

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Greenwashing: "compostable" coffee cups

Mmm Sunday coffee, how I ADORE my fair trade, organic moccaccino from JustUs! a local coffee roasting company/cafe. I started drinking coffee out of necessity while in grad school; studying until midnight on a Friday night in a local coffee shop away from all the distractions in my apartment. If I was going to sit there for hours, I better drink something, and the most non-coffee/coffee order was a chocolate laden espresso heaven. YUM. Of course, they are ridiculously expensive so I gradually moved to daily cup of coffee, home ground and french pressed with a twice a week "fancy" coffee allowance.

JustUs! is a fantastic company, extremely community oriented and firmly entrenched in the fair trade and organic coffee/coffee accessory industry. The owners began importing fair trade beans by driving themselves down to Mexico, purchasing directly from the farmers and roasting them here in Nova Scotia. They now sell fair trade organic sugar, chocolate, teas and serve only local vegan/organic food.

When we come to drink coffee here (like we are today!) we usually order our coffees for here, even if it's only to drink in five minutes. According to "Sustainable is Sexy" 23 BILLION coffee cups will be used in 2010... most created by cutting down precious trees (9.4 million to be exact) and dumping them in the landfill. There is nothing more frustrating than walking into a coffee shop and seeing every single consumer sitting down, sipping their coffee out of a "to-go" container. I don't need my coffee to be the cause of felling more trees, using more water and spewing out more carbon. I get my coffee for here.

That being said, there are many times where I would like to drink my coffee while on the go, and a cup just won't cut it. This brings me to the "compostable" cup issue. JustUs! has been touting a "compostable" coffee cup for the past several months. They used to have a sign (no longer up), their staff pushes the cup as such and I've seen them several times dumping their compost bin filled with cups for city pick up. The hitch- these cups aren't "really" biodegradable.

This is the issue with supposedly biodegradable single use products, many of them cannot be processed in a backyard compost nor are they accepted by most municipal composting facilities. So... they all get tossed into the landfill. The liner is most likely made from bioplastic such as a corn-based polymer which requires those special processing facilities. According to Climate Change Corp, only 1% of bioplastics in Europe and the US were actually composted, the rest were sent to the landfill to release toxic methane gases. We also need to consider the corn-soy issue: by supporting bio-corn/soy plastics we are also supporting a ridiculous toxic industry where monocultures of genetically engineered corn/soy are grown using polluting pesticides and machinery.

Biodegradable/compostable products will NOT break down buried under piles of plastic bags without oxygen or sunlight... i.e. in the landfill.

When I asked for a "to-go" cup several months ago and voiced my guilt of getting it "to-go" the worker announced: "Oh, but these are compostable- so no worries!". To which I replied: "Yes, but are they compostable in HRM?" and he responded with a sheepish "no". Seriously? I do NOT need to be misled about the environmental choices that I make. How many other coffee drinkers think that they don't have to invest in a reusable mug as the compostable cup will do just fine?

Although the idea is fantastic, unfortunately Halifax's organics system definitely does NOT accept these (or any other single use "biodegradable" product) cups. For a short period of time several local businesses made a (completely impractical) decision to simply ignore this fact and to serve their coffee in bio-plastic, bio-containers (Smiling Goat Cafe and Pete's Frootique) in the "hopes" that the system will cave under the pressure. Right. Instead they misled hundreds of consumers into thinking they were making an enviro-choice while all the while continuing to add to our ever-increasing landfills. At the same time these companies could have been lobbying WITH it's consumers, educating their community and rallying petitions and letters to encourage HRM to improve it's recycling and composting facilities.

I finally decided to write JustUs! to voice my disappointment on their obvious "greenwashing" of their cups. The response although somewhat hopeful was also a disappointment. I'd like to point out that it seems unlikely that the sales manager had no idea about HRM's policy when the staff at the cafes informed me about (with their: "ya we just had a meeting about that") at least six months ago...

Thank you very much for your letter. I was recently made aware that the HRM does not actually compost coffee cups, but that the VWM in the Valley does. We have been talking about the possibility of pulling the cups as part of a petition campaign to HRM. Firstly though, I will contact the proper authority at HRM on this matter and determine the appropriate steps from there. I appreciate your interest in the issue and will let you know how things unfold.

I eagerly await to hear about how they are shipping the cups to the "Valley" (Annapolis Valley, about two hours away from Halifax). In the spirit of transparency, however, I would prefer if JustUs! would no longer advertise their cups as being compostable when they are in fact NOT (in HRM) and instead advocate for change through petitions, information sessions and rallies. I'm not sure how pulling cups that are already being sent to the landfill will result in a petition campaign against HRM... In the mean time, I get my coffee for here, or in my reusable mug.

My take home message: instead of continuing our habits in this disposable life, encouraging consumers to move toward reusable lifestyle is a more sustainable and environmental goal. I will choose glass, paper or plastic I know is accepted over "biodegradable" products that will simply end up in the landfill.

Blessings!

Article and photos copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

A Plastic Documentary Must See!

Happy Friday Eco Yogi/nis! After my little "blip" (ok ok, rant) on Wednesday, my Thursday solitary practice was NOT up to par... but I did it. Of course part of this extra negative vibes could very well have been helped along by the documentary Andrew and I watched Wednesday evening.


The Disappearing Male.

Of course, at first glance the title irked me (especially after a long rant about feminism). Dalhousie University was having a film viewing and expert panel discussion for FREE Wednesday night as part of a local organization trying to bring science to the community. Did I ever want to go. Sadly, I was feeling like poo and Andrew got home from work too late. Sigh.

Instead, we watched the documentary online via doczone cbc. Wow. Ever feel like you needed a little push as to why we're all very "green"? Perhaps you need a little extra incentive to move from recycling plastic to decreasing plastic in your life.

The documentary sheds some light on just what all these plastics and chemicals are doing to our bodies and reproductive systems. Specifically linking Bisphenol A (thank goodness I have a Klean Kanteen and not SIGG), phtalates, parabens and pesticides (and others) to a SHARP rise in infertility in human males. Yep- quick stat; did you know the world's human male births have declined by millions over the past few decades? Or that international criteria for male infertility (specifically sperm count) has drastically decreased over the past few decades to account for decreasing levels?

Although scary and in your face, it's a fantastic reminder that Andrew and I were cutting out plastic for a reason. It re-affirmed why decreasing our chemical exposure is important. I know that often I don't watch clips posted on blogs as I couldn't be bothered, but this one is a must. Grab a beer, some nachos and take 45 minutes out of your day to re-affirm or affirm why chemicals, pesticides, pollution and our health are immediately connected. CLICK HERE TO START WATCHING

***Greenspell has alerted me to the fact that perhaps some people may not be able to open the link (maybe outside of Canada?). She found THIS alternative on google video! Thanks Greenspell!!

Afterwards, do you feel motivated to DO something? The doc doesn't really give lots of glimmers of hope so I thought I'd offer some ideas and perhaps you'd like to discuss your thoughts here!:

1. Blog about it! Awareness is the first step to personal (and ultimately political) change.
2. Write your local MP or governmental rep requesting that strong regulations be in place to protect its' citizens from the toxic substances pumped into our air, baby bottles, children's toys etc.
3. Trade your plastic food containers and water/coffee bottles for stainless steel/glass versions.
4. Switch your beauty routine up for chemical-free alternatives such as Green Beaver, No poo Shampoo, Eminence, Miessence (for those Aussies!)... (NB: check labels carefully, many supposedly "green" brands such as Aveda are loaded with chemicals. Even Lush has many sketchy ingredients depending on what you buy... research first!).
5. Campaign and write officials to have medical facilities change their IV's and medical equipment with premature and fragile babies to non-toxic plastic alternatives.
6. Visit Fake Plastic Fish for more phenomenal inspirations on how (and why you should!) to decrease the plastic and chemicals around you.
   

What do you think? (my stainless steel lunchbox with a "Plastic Bags Blow" sticker given to me by a coworker lol).

Blessings! (Global Mala blip to come soon!)


Copyright: EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Showers; Sans Doomsday Devices

Yoga, for me, makes me sweat. A lot. As my only form of real exercise... I should hope so. When an irate doctor asked me what form of exercise I got, and my answer was yoga, her answer was: "no I mean REAL exercise". My answer was: "It is REAL exercise". Dr: "Well, does it even make your heart rate increase?" .... lol "It sure does, I even SWEAT". Sigh, some family doctors are interesting. (pretty purple flowers at our cottage that I like).

In any case, a shower is important, at least the following morning or... eww, if I don't shower prior to morning yoga... (ack!). Taking a nice, cleansing shower after an invigorating practice, with Green Beaver eco-body wash and shampoo, breathing in the wonderful particles of Polyvinyl Chloride...Mmmmm. PVC yummy goodness wafting up into the steam being breathed in from the shower curtain. The majority of people have a shower curtain liner and have spent at least 10 minutes a day breathing in the wonderful chemical treatment of polyvinyl chloride.

Polyvinyl chloride or PVC is the third most common polymer used and according to Wiki, will amass to 40 million tonnes in 7 years... The most common way to make PVC is via suspension polymerization.

 

Here's a quick run-down for non-chemies like moi:

Ingredients needed: monomer vinylchloride, water, chemical additive soup mix

Supplies: polymerization reactor and polymerization initator or "Doomsday mixing device".

Instructions: mix ingredients into "doomsday devices", continuously mixing with water addition to cool resulting "doomsday" product. Degass (inappropriate giggle), pass through centrifuge to remove access water and blow dry with giant hair dryer. Tah Dah! PVC created by a hugely energy intensive process. (wiki)

PVC requires plasticizers, phthalates to keep the the plastic soft and flexible. Able to move and fold like a shower curtain. These phthalates have been found to mimic human hormones and react with fish and amphibian biochemistry. Depending on the type of phthalate, risks range from cancer, birth defects to hormone disruption. Also, other nasty chemicals like fungicide are often added to shower curtains to help prevent mildew growth (as if that would ever work anyway). That new shower curtain smell (similar to new car, new rug or new couch smell) is the doomsday chemicals evaporating and "off gassing" into the air and being inhaled into your lungs and bloodstream. (hemp field in Manitoba)

According to the David Suzuki Foundation, as many as 100 harmful chemicals are released into the air from a PVC shower curtain and vinyl plastic waste accounts for 1.23 million tonnes in the U.S. alone (and remember, plastic lives forever!)

Okidoki, after detoxifying and cleansing my body with yoga, filling my lungs with hormone disrupting doomsday chemicals is not really the way I want to complete my experience. So what are the alternatives out there and do they really work?

1. Hemp Shower Curtains:

These are ALL the rage and you'll see them touted as THE most eco-friendly option. All industrial hemp grown in Canada is GMO-free. Hemp has also been found to be resistent to mildew and is a strong, sturdy fiber (Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance). It is also pest resistent and requires little to no pesticides to grow and has been found to reduce 

pests in other crops when grown in rotation. Check out the Ontario Hemp Alliance for more information on the eco-benefits of hemp.

These shower curtains are beautiful, but pricey and cost on average 80-100$ per curtain... Currently in Halifax P'lovers carries hemp shower curtains and they are around 95$. I definitely cannot afford one of those. Also, I have read that despite claims, they will grow mold and require frequent cleaning. Since we use coin laundry, filling an industrial washing machine and paying another 1.50$ to wash my shower curtain just isn't practical. If you do have the money- please make sure to check where the hemp was grown (Dream Designs shown here is made in Canada and is 89$ on the site).

2. Bamboo Shower Curtains:

Now these are paraded as similar in values as hemp; supposedly "sustainably" grown (but we know that a TON of chemicals goes into changing bamboo into a cloth fiber) and mildew resistent. Same issues apply here; the high cost and need for frequent machine washes with the added greenwashing "sustainable" aspect.

3. EVA plastic shower curtains:

Ethylene vinyl acetate, or EVA, is a form of plastic that has little to no odor which is the result of less off-gassing of harmful chemicals such as phthalates. Although still a plastic, this shower curtain is easy to clean with a quick scrub, won't release the above mentioned chemicals and is CHEAP (think 2-7$). This was my stop-gap until I can figure out how to justify saving 100$ for a shower curtain. However, these "eco" options are still plastic, will still last forever and have a long scary, sludge spewing life before they grace my zen bathroom space. (our EVA shower curtain, had to sit waaay back on the counter to get far enough away to take the picture. Our bathroom is TINY).

4. No shower curtain liner...

Ok- I need a liner. I am sure, however there are others that are less type A than myself and will be fine (as they should) without one. I admire your strength.

So next steps for eco-fying my shower include: taking shorter showers, placing a little bucket to keep me company and save some plant-water and find the perfect "eco" shampoo. I am on a mission.

Blessings!

Tap Water+Scuzzy Taste= Brita Filter

Growing up in a tiny village probably created my love affair with Nature. My mom tells me she used to point out and gush with me at all the trees, grass, flowers etc etc when I was little, instilling a deep love for our Mother Nature.

Living in such a small community (think no sidewalks and population 500) also meant that I had a different relationship with water. Our family has a well (at our cottage and our house) and we always, always drank water straight from the tap. Our well only went dry once that I remember and the water tastes fabulous. No chlorine or fluoride in our water and my hair is always happiest after being washed at home. (River near our cottage at the end of the summer)

Whenever we went to restaurants in "town" all the "villagers" (giggle) always grumbled and snarked at the "townie" water that tasted so disgusting. Poor townies that had to drink gross, municipal water with the zippy chemical taste. 

It wasn't until I moved out into various cities on my own that I came to realize that most city/town dwellers never drank from their taps for that very reason. My hair and skin changed from being exposed to the hard water. No way was I going to drink that chlorine flavoured water. I bought my first Brita Pitcher pre-University move and kept it in a fridge in my tiny dorm room and still have the same Pitcher in our apartment today. 

Carbon based filters like Brita use carbon, a porous substance, to absorb and filter specific impurities like lead, PCB's, chlorine by-products, certain parasites, radon, pesticides and herbicides some bacteria and some VOC's (National Geographic Green Guide). Fortunately city water systems are tested and treated more rigorously than water bottle companies or well water. However, there is that taste... the city water taste. So even though I know that tap water is safer in Canada to drink than bottled water (especially with all the 

phtalates leaching in from that plastic AND the fact that water is a human right... ok off the soap box lol), I hate the taste. (Atlantic ocean and view of windmills just off the shore in front of my parents house)

Unfortunately carbon filters also come with their own eco-issues like their packaging; a box containing plastic wrapped filters made of plastic going in a plastic pitcher. All these years of using a Brita I have been throwing my filters every three months into the garbage. Take away summers spent at home during University, and that leaves 27 filters over the past 8 years. Blegh. 

After spending lots of time looking through Preserves' website for my fun recycled toothbrush I discovered something awesome: Preserve in partnership with Brita Filters are now fully recycling all plastic Brita filters in Canada and the States!! WOO!! So no longer do any more Brita filters need to pile up in the landfills! Here's how to recycle your Brita Filter in Canada:

1. Dry the filter by shaking off excess water and setting it aside to dry for at least three days.

2. Wrap the filter in a plastic grocery bag (hmm wonder if there's an alternative for that? I would keep the plastic wrapper it came in) and pack it in a box (both plastic and boxes will be recycled). Send multiple filters at a time to save on emissions and packaging.

3. Mail filters via ground shipping at:

Brita Canada Corporation

PO Box 140 STN LCD Malton

Mississauga Ontario

L4T 9Z9

(similar process for the states, just different address)

Not sure about international recycling, but on Take Back The Filter they report that U.K. vs U.S. filters are made differently allowing them to be recycled in the U.K. but not as easily in the U.S. Also, that Brita was initially a German company that had recycling plants in the U.K. but the North American division was sold to Clorox in 2000. According to Brita's UK website all filters used in Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, France and Switzerland can be sent to the dealers and then recycled by Brita. I guess it's just North America that's falling behind on the recycling boat... no surprise there! (picture curtosy of Take Back The Filter)

One other tiny anecdote about tap water city vs country:

While in Montreal I visited an Aveda store (pre-break up) and was trying to problem solve with a consultant on how to get my hair back to it's smooth beautifulness it used to be at home at the "village". When we started talking about water hardness, I said that I wasn't sure as we had a well. She looked at me like I had four heads... "A WELL?? Like a hole in the ground?"  Me: "well, essentially yes".  Her: "Like in the movies?? Wow that must be so difficult, you have to turn the crank and bring the bucket up every time you need water??"   Me: "......."     LOL. I'm pretty sure rural Quebec has well-water communities and that not all city dwellers view well water this way, but it was funny nonetheless. 

Blessings and love that Tap Water :)