Dirty coal – part deux

So, I can’t type “dirty coal” without thinking of the N’Sync song “Dirty Pop.”  I would just as soon not think of any N’Sync songs, with the exception of JT’s “Sexy Back” (which is not technically an N’Sync song).  I feel like the brainwashed Derek Zoolander when “Sexy Back” plays, except that instead of being programmed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia, I am just programmed to dance.

Anyway, to get back to the topic of dirty coal, StL Green Drinks‘ November event will be a showing of the documentary Coal Country this Tuesday, November 17th.  If you’re in the area, click on the link above to get the details.  And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some dancing to do.

People doing cool things

Today I attended a talk by Robert S. Lawrence, the director of the Center for a Livable Future, focused on food production, diet, environment, and human health.  I can’t help but love it when lots of research supports my dietary choices.  The talk caused some squirming among those in the audience who might have different relationships to meat.

Nosing around the CLF website led me to their blog, which features a “Resource” list on the right side of the page.  I found The Green Fork and the Eat Well Guide.  You can use the Eat Well Guide to find local/organic/sustainable food in your area AND (my favorite part) is that you can use it to plan a trip and it will show you all of the food options along your route!  I will definitely be using this in the future.  I also look forward to checking out some of the other cool resource links when I have more time.

No love from the vampires

I scheduled the appointment for early in the afternoon, ate a big lunch, and drank lots of water.  I also refrained from taking the pain reliever that I really wanted for my mysteriously tight and sore neck.

I realized as I approached the donation site that a mobile unit meant that a diesel engine would be running constantly to power the thing.  I was less than thrilled about the prospect of breathing diesel fumes while donating blood — I’d had enough problems with being light-headed during my previous donation, no fumes required!

In the end, despite my best efforts to be in great shape for donating blood, my efforts were foiled by an iron count that was just a wee little bit too low.  Ever so slightly.

Lessons learned:
1. Choose a fixed donation site, not a mobile unit, unless you have a special fondness for breathing diesel fumes.
2. If you’re in fairly serious pain and want to take medication, it may be better to take it and reschedule your blood donation than suffering (which in this case was needless since I was unable to donate anyway).

Green bookworm

Worm

Are you looking for a good book?  A green book?  I used to be a strictly fiction-only gal, unless I was reading for class. Reading for pleasure should be fun and relaxing, not serious and thought-provoking, right? Well, now that I’m out of school, I’ve found myself gravitating to nonfiction. It’s amazing how getting to pick the topic and not being required to read a book changed my perspective.

I recently completed two great reads:

Affluenza
Everything I Want to do is Illegal

I still don’t have a lot of time to read, so I am amassing an ever-growing list of books:

Simple Prosperity
Radical Simplicity
Cradle to Cradle
Just Food
American Idle
Worms Eat My Garbage

My local public library carries all of these, so it’s just a matter of time.

Then there are the books on the, “I want to read eventually, but not relevant right now,” list, much to my mother’s chagrin:

Your Best Birth
Birthing from Within
Guide to Childbirth

Have scissors, will cut

A couple of years ago, I bought a pair of hair shears and started trimming my own hair.  Even the uber-cheap hair cuts that I opted for would add up over the course of a year.  At the time, I simply visited a beauty supply chain and bought a basic $10-$15 pair.

A bit over a year ago, I changed my hair care regimen drastically when I stopped using shampoo and styling products (mousse was my big addiction).  I can’t remember which I quit using first, but the combination creates a vicious cycle — use styling products which build up in hair, thus requiring shampoo to remove build-up; shampoo strips hair of natural oils so hair gets frizzy, thus requiring styling products.  Rinse and repeat.  In the process, I was unnecessarily exposing my body and the environment to all sorts of nasty chemicals (just because you rinse them down the drain, doesn’t mean they’re gone) and creating waste in the form of all of those empty shampoo bottles and mousse cans.

Despite the fact that I am perfectly happy with my product- and poo-free hair*, I imagine most stylists would be less than enthusiastic and would have a long list of things that were “wrong” with my hair that their amazing products could fix.  Uh-huh.  This made it even more imperative that I cut my own hair.

Unfortunately, my hair shears grew dull and were doing more bending the ends of my hair than cutting. Options: buy a new pair or get them sharpened (which may not even be an option with low end shears). Sharpening is by far the greener option, but in this case, sharpening (~$20) would cost more than buying a similar pair of scissors.  Instead, I shelled out a bit more dough and purchased a pair of hair shears that are able to be sharpened, are worth sharpening, and should last pretty much forever. This option is by far greener than buying a new pair every two years, and cheaper in the long run.

I am very excited to try my fancy new shears, but I must reign in my enthusiasm or I may end up totally hairless!

*Let me know if you have questions about going shampoo-free.