Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

Green home and Puppies!

On Saturday, we had the chance to volunteer at a Habitat for Humanity build.  We were working on a home that is being built to LEED Platinum standards, with crazy insulation and an earth source heat pump.  Due to the early morning start and the forecast for rain later in the day, we drove instead of biking.  I was feeling rather guilty about this until the sky opened up about halfway through the day.  Our house did not have a roof on it yet, so being inside was no better than being outside.  For one of the only times in recent memory, I was glad to have that car.

After the build, we stopped by the EarthWays Center Green Home Festival.  I spotted two puppies on the street, a little beagle puppy and a slightly larger unknown puppy.  The beagle puppy was adorable, and the larger puppy obviously agreed, as he could not stop licking the beagle puppy’s face.  The cuteness was just too much, and I exclaimed, “I want to lick his face, too!”  I managed to restrain myself somewhat and settled for heavy petting.  Unfortunately, I did not have the camera on me, so I give you this alternate shot of a beagle puppy and a darling little red-head.

Sis and beagle pup

Economics of green

Will being green ruin the economy?  No, says Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman:

“So here’s the bottom line: The claim that climate legislation will kill the economy deserves the same disdain as the claim that global warming is a hoax. The truth about the economics of climate change is that it’s relatively easy being green.”

Click here to read Krugman’s entire op-ed in the NYTimes and be ready to share the truth with those bent on stirring up controversy and impeding the change we need.

Bike dreams

I woke up the other morning with the feeling that I had just been having an interesting dream, but I could not remember anything about it.  I dismissed it, because you know how dreams are — the harder you try to remember, the more they slip away.

As I was biking to work a bit later, I heard a dog barking, which was all the trigger I needed for the dream to come flooding back to me:

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There is a bike path through a park, or maybe a golf course, with a home close to the path.  The homeowners chained their large and energetic/aggressive (?) dog in the yard, but the chain was long enough that the dog could access the bike path.  I observed the dog chasing/jumping up on other users, but decided that I needed to use the path, as there was no other way to my destination.  I took my chances, and sure enough, the dog jumped up on me, jaws snapping, and tore a hole in my trusty sun shirt with his teeth.  At least there was not a hole in my arm!  I decided the best way to notify the owner was in person.

The owner comes outside and we talk in the yard.  I [somewhat angrily] recounted my encounter with his dog, and informed him that he needed to chain the dog so that it did not have access to the bike path, and furthermore, he owed me money to replace my shirt.
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Fortunately, I have not had any bike-dog encounters outside of dreamland, but I’m sure this dream was in part fueled by the stretch I ride past the humane society, where volunteers are out walking dogs that sometimes lunge at passing bikers.  All I can say is, “You better be paying attention and holding that leash tightly because I don’t think attacking a biker will do much for that animal’s chance of adoption!”

Soda pop

I enjoyed this post from Trailnet’s blog about taxing soda.  Except where I come from, we call it pop.  I particularly liked this bit:

“So in essence, the government is paying to make soda cheap and then taxing soda to raise money to solve the problems that soda contributes to, such as rampant obesity and type II diabetes. There’s a lesson in unintended consequences somewhere in there…”

Maybe we can settle this thing once and for all by calling these beverages what they are: corn syrup laden obesity delivery drinks.

Active living

I stumbled across this article in Time magazine last week about exercise and weight. Quick synopsis: Some research studies have shown that people who exercise to lose weight do not succeed in weight loss because 1) they reward themselves for exercising with food that has equal or more calories than they just burned and/or 2) they are less likely to be active in their daily lives (e.g., taking the stairs, doing work around the house or yard) after exercising.

What the article hints at, but does not emphasize enough, is the role that active living can and should play in weight control and overall preventive health. Instead of a set time for “exercise,” that people build into their schedules and check off like one more thing on the to-do list, active living makes routine physical activity a normal part of the day, not something that we reward with a trip to the bakery or make up for by spending hours on the couch later.

Suggestions for active living:

  • Walk or bike to replace car trips as much as possible. Start with short trips and errands and build up to longer distances.
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator. In some buildings, you may have to do a little work to find the stairs. Just look for the red, lighted “Exit” signs, a staircase is usually nearby.
  • Conduct a “walking meeting” at work.
  • Use a rake instead of a leaf blower.
  • If you have a multi-story house, or even a single story house with a basement, take advantage of opportunities to use the stairs.

If you engage in a variety of activities at different intensity levels, your daily life can provide a pretty good “workout.” Even if you are not trying to lose weight, physical activity can help lower your risk for a variety of chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.

If you do enjoy a regular exercise program, great! Keep it up! Just make sure you are not falling into the trap of rewarding yourself with food or sitting in front of the TV.