From The Workbench - Alternative + Renewable Energy Blog Valuable information for do-it-yourselfers interested in the latest in alternative + renewable energy

Hello and Happy Friday!  You did it, yet again, made it through a work-week and now get to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of the first weekend in December!  To cap off a great week, I thought it’d be wise to open our eyes to something on a global scale.

I just stumbled across this video from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries that does amazing things to show not only the food crisis Japan might be facing, but the way it could be for almost any nation, anywhere.  This video very quickly and even a bit entertainingly shows things that can be done to have healthy food for the future, not just tomorrow, but in the years to come.  A dangerous combination of decreasing farmland, farmers aging, unhealthy eating habits and a great deal more food imports is creating a situation that could be dangerous in the years to come.

The question is, what happens if we Can Not produce enough food to live?  What if the population exceeds the supply?  These are all questions that need answers, and this video is a great, small indication of that.  Check it out, and enjoy your weekend!

Tomorrow, as you well know, is Thanksgiving!  The day for eating, laughing, sleeping, watching sports or early Christmas shows, eating more, and then sleeping again.  We all know the holiday, we love it and we love the food that always accompanies it.  I for one, look forward to the holiday MONTHS in advance.  Now, I want to find a way to “Green” our Thanksgiving a bit, and I found a perfect way to do so.

That’s right, I found a perfect way, and it’s a bit unconventional and actually only will work if you live in an area that is somewhat conducive to the idea.  Nevertheless, the idea is cool and it actually is pretty simple:  Forage for your Feast!  That’s right, there are a great deal of wild, organic fruits and vegetables out there that are completely forageable.  The article I just read mentioned that the following foods can be found, snatched up and later feasted upon:

• Birds
• Berries
• Nuts
• Mushrooms
• Flowers
• Fruit

Not in an area that really would allow you to forage like the olden days?  How about doing the very same foraging at a Farmer’s Market or Organic Market?  The same quality foods can be gobbled up from there without the dirt, plane ticket and bug spray to actually trek into the wild.  Nevertheless, it brings up a perfect point:  Thanksgiving this year can be so much more organic, healthy and environmentally friendly if we just all take some steps to “Green” it up a little.  This is a DIY project I can fully get behind!

Image by Hendricks_NY via Flickr

Hello, Happy Monday and here’s hoping you don’t have 200 cavities and a stomach ache from the Halloween festivities!  It’s officially November now, and with the start of this week, I’m hereby issuing you a full-on challenge.  Whether you decide to undertake it or not is up to you, but I think the more people that jump on board this challenge, the better off we’ll all be.

The Challenge, is called the No-Waste Challenge and it basically involves exactly that…going this entire week without generating or creating any waste.  By waste, I mean garbage that can’t be recycled, reused, or biodegraded.  It’s not going to be easy, but lucky for all of us, I found a pretty awesome article that offers a few very amazing, and very simple tips that can help you get through this entire week as waste-free as possible.  Remember, your goal is 100% waste-free, but as close as you can get to that as possible works for me too.  Every little bit counts, and when it comes to saving this planet, I could not mean that any more.  At any rate, here are the tips, check out the full article for more:

1.  “Cut the convenience foods. While convenience foods might be, well, convenient, they also come with a ton of packaging. Those prepackaged mash potatoes come in a plastic carton. That box of Chinese takeout comes with loads of Styrofoam trash, plastic forks, and paper napkins. Takeout boxes and convenience foods can fill up your trash can super fast. Instead, take your canvas bag to the farmers’ market or grocery store and fill it will tons of wholesome foods like fruits, vegetables, fresh bread, and grains.
2.  Compost all your used food matter like veggies and fruits. This week, skip on the foods that you can’t compost, like meat and eggs. You can drastically reduce your waste by turning your waste into nourishing soil.
3.  Stop the consumption. Only buy what you need and don’t buy excess. If you do buy something, buy it locally instead of having it delivered—you’ll save the miles and and the packaging, the waste.“

Recycled bags at the grocery store, fresh foods, cooking foods you already have in the fridge and cupboards, start a compost pile, mulch, and whenever you can, Walk, don’t drive.  Waste is such an integrated and sad part of our society, the more we can do to stop the trend, the better off we’ll all be.  Waste-Free Week, Start NOW!

Image by House Of Sims via Flickr

Hello, Happy Monday and here’s to you and hoping that you had an amazing weekend.  It’s officially Fall now, Summer has come and gone, and with Fall comes the promise of not only less fresh produce grown locally and organically at my Farmer’s Market, but also, higher energy bills.  Yikes.  When it comes to fresh, organic produce, I can’t tell you how much better for my body, my pocket book, and the Environment to buy Organic whenever possible.

Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that not everyone, everywhere has direct access to organic food.  Some people Never do and as such must eat non-organic food year round.  I just read an article about a study done in 77 different community areas of Chicago; the findings were scary and disappointing.  The findings showed that organic food is much harder to come across and locate in more urban areas, and surprisingly, those with a high concentration of African-American citizens.  Here are some of the findings:

- “Ten percent of stores in black communities carry organics, compared to 24 percent in Latino communities and 63 percent in white areas.

- The population of the white neighborhoods was less than one-third of the total population of the communities examined, but were home to nearly two-thirds of the stores that carried organics.”

Clearly this is an uneven distribution of what are rapidly becoming Vital resources.  These “food deserts” are located in nearly every major city across the United States and unless something is done to revitalize every one of these areas with the resources and at least availability, it’s never going to take off as it should.  Going Organic is a simple way in your every day life to start helping a lot more than just your diet.