Beth Fiteni

Canadian Tar Sands + Peace Poets Make for an Interesting Day

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Sr. Margie Swedish and the Peace Poets
Margie Swedish and the Peace Poets

This weekend’s event for Homecoming Farm in Amityville, NY (http://homecomingearth.org/), a CSA on the land of the Dominican sisters, focused on our inter-connectivity with nature and the debate of oil mining for our immediate needs versus awareness of its broader impacts. Speaker Margaret Swedish, author of “Living Beyond the End of the World: A Spirituality of Hope” and the blog http://www.ecologicalhope.org/category/blog/ showed profoundly moving photos and videos from her travels to Alberta Canada where boreal forests are being clear-cut for the mining of sand containing bentonite that can be converted into fuel oil. In her interviews of locals, she discovered that people are generally split on whether or not they support the mining since it has been a large boon to the economy but they, including some native tribes, also see beautiful areas of their homeland being destroyed and the work itself is dismal.

The mood was lifted to a more hopeful one by an incredible performance by the Peace Poets, a group of young Bronx men that “spits” positive messages about peace, caring for family, and personal responsibility, in an artistic form of rap. See https://www.facebook.com/ThePeacePoets.

Tapped: The Case Against Bottled Water

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I thought I knew what I needed to know about bottled water, but I found out some new things from the documentary “Tapped,” shown this week at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Shelter Rock. Bottled water is usually filtered municipal water that is sold back within state at a much higher price than tap water. The plastic bottle is made in a petrochemical plant and though PET plastic #1 is usually considered safe, this film pointed out that it can sometimes be contaminated with benzene, a carcinogen. Plastic manufacturing is an environmental justice issue, causing health issues in communities surrounding the factories. One thing I hadn’t thought of was that bottled water companies have tried to bad-mouth municipal water (this is documented in the film), and yet expect municipalities to pick up the tab for recycling their bottles, and have usually fought against the bottle return bills that have now passed in only 6 U.S. States. Since many U.S. communities do not have curbside recycling, the rate of bottle recycling is still only at 20%, so many bottles end up being landfilled, incinerated, or unfortunately, as litter in our oceans and beaches. For more info see http://www.tappedthemovie.com/, or watch it free here: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/tapped/.

Slow Food Huntington Dazzles with Film and Local Food Event

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SlowFoodSlow Food Huntington pulled off an amazing sold-out night of film and food at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY last night, which I was so proud to be a part of.

After showing a film called “Growing Farmers,” about local farmers right here on Long Island and the Peconic Land Trust, we were treated to a brief presentation by Scott Chaskey, the farmer of many years of Quail Hill Farm in East Hampton.

Volunteers dished out 117 bowls of vegan miso vegetable chowder, followed by a film “Letting Salt Just Be Salt” on locally made sea-salt from Amagansett, with a serving of sea salt braised roasted vegetables. This was followed by a film on the truth about beef, “The Secret Life of Beef “ and a film on local pickles called “Divine Brine”, and a serving of veggie sliders with the pickles from the film.

The fourth course was a film on fresh pasta-making, called “A Pasta Story” followed by a dish of fresh locally made radiatore pasta described by a local pasta maker, and the final course was a film, “Greyston Bakery,” with desserts made by the Bronx bakery of the same name, whose mission it is to provide jobs for people who might otherwise have a hard time getting hired due to a checkered past.

It was a unique and fantastic night, combining education, film, and sustainable food. For more information on Slow Food Huntington and it’s upcoming activities, see slowfoodhuntington.org

Greening Your Keurig Coffee (Part 2)

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Last post I mentioned 2 alternative ways to green up your Keurig coffee by avoiding disposable plastic k-cups. Here is a third alternative—a refillable BPA-free pod in which you use your own coffee grounds. When your coffee is ready, you just dump out the grounds in the garbage or use them for compost. Either way you reduce the plastic waste, and still get the convenience of a quick cup of coffee. Also works with teas. Available on Amazon.

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New Year’s Resolution: Make Your Keurig Coffee Better for the Earth

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Terrace Cafe Biodegradable Kcups
Terrace Cafe Biodegradable Kcups

I just found a great new innovative product that can help you meet your new year’s resolution to be more green. Keurig coffee makers are convenient and offer a selection of individual coffees, teas and cocoa. However, a “side effect” of these machines is that millions of plastic coffee pods or “K-Cups” become waste in landfills or incinerators. Also the plastic used is often #7, which can be different types of plastic, some of which may contain the hormone disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA).

So to my pleasant surprise I just encountered an eco-friendly version of the Kcup, called Terrace Café Cups, made by a local New York company. It uses only a ring of plastic with a biodegradable filter.

Another alternative is to have a fully biodegradable pod, much like a tea bag, that you use with a washable pod holster that you use each time. These are made by several companies including New Hampshire Roasting Company.

Fill your cup with an organically grown beverage, and you are well on your way to being greener in 2014!

I Love New York – for Going Green

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The Empire State Building is my favorite building in the world, and now I have even more reason to love it. During a recent visit, I learned that over the last few years, the owners partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative, NYSERDA, Johnson Controls and The Rocky Mountain Institute to do some major green renovations.

They made numerous improvements to the building’s outer shell and interior lighting and equipment to become more energy efficient. They also updated the chiller plants, and installed new air handlers (fans) that only run when needed.

This alone will reduce CO2 emissions by 50,000 metrics tons over the next 15 years. This, matched with tenant education and energy management systems, is saving the building $6,000 per day.

To learn more, visit the educational display gallery on the bottom floor of the Empire State Building next time you’re in NYC, and see http://www.esbnyc.com/sustainability_energy_efficiency.asp