August 11th, 2008 02:37am
Jennie Pollock
thanks to the (lil) green patch application on facebook, i have this “reservoir dogs” soundtrack song in my head — “little green bag.” almost the same words….
at least one person thinks this whole green patch concept is silly window dressing. basically, you send plants to your friends and help them tend their gardens. the more you do, the more you fight global warming and save the rain forest. i think i’m up to 9 square feet. apparently there are more than 4 million users. i guess it can’t hurt.
August 8th, 2008 01:44am
Jennie Pollock
to take a page from applesauce: this just in!
the 2008 clean air green tour will stop in rockford from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. aug. 21 at lowe’s.
the press release says the tour’s centerpiece is a state-of-the-art 40-foot biodiesel motor coach equipped with solar power charging.
ok, cool enough, but you can enter to win a 2009 smartfortwo, the itsy bitsy car that gets 41 mpg on the highway.
also of note, there will be a green model kitchen full of bosch appliances (with a 10 percent discount available) and free samples of salada green tea (one of my faves — logli, why did you stop selling it!?). gee, wonder who is sponsoring this tour? those two, plus indy racing league (danica!) and americans for balanced energy choices (maybe the biggest surprise of all: the coal people).
August 7th, 2008 07:44am
Jennie Pollock
maybe my magazines are really hitting their target demo right in marketing to me, but it seems like every company, even budweiser (which i don’t drink), is running with the green theme.
one great example of editorial and advertising pulling together on the green theme was dropped off for me by hokumboy (thanks!). volume one, an alternative bi-weekly in eau claire/menomonie/chippewa falls, wis., devoted 12 pages to “green means go,” full of recycling resources, quizzes, tips, profiles and products. it was nicely done.
note: the rrs did its own “go green” section this year, too. i hope for future opportunities.
August 6th, 2008 06:53am
Jennie Pollock
this phrase is what i want to say to my kids when they bicker.
but it also applies to two local-food events at klehm arboretum and botanic center in rockford next month. the first reminds me of dilly beans while i was growing up. the second sounds yummy: salsa!
Preserving Local Foods: Home Canning Update, 9 to 10:30 a.m. Sept. 17, $10
JoAn Todd, University of Illinois Extension, Nutrition and Wellness Educator will be leading a program for those of you interested in learning how to preserve and can your garden harvest. This program is also excellent for those you who have been canning a long time but want to learn the latest methods and tools available to you.
Salsa Making Class, 9 to 11 a.m. Sept 24, $25
Todd will be conducting a salsa making workshop using ingredients grown locally. Everyone loves salsa! Learn how to make fresh, nutritious salsa using locally grown ingredients and preserve it so that you can enjoy salsa all through the winter months. Canning equipment, jars and ingredients will be provided. Each participant will leave with their own jar of salsa.
to register, go here, call 815-986-4357 or e-mail mbowe@illinois.edu.
p.s. i just tried this salsa fresca recipe. pretty good.
August 5th, 2008 02:19am
Jennie Pollock
i’m horrible with plants. it’s only under the watchful spirit of my grandma that there is but one plant surviving in my house (the peace lily i got when she died two years ago).
but many in the rock river valley are great in the yard (my neighbors on both sides included).
for those who are interested in “green” strategies, the general public is invited to attend the university of illinois extension state master gardener conference sept 11-13 in lombard. thanks again to margaret larson from the local extension office for the tipoff.
the master gardener program is pretty cool. there are more than 3,000 volunteers in the state committed to helping people “learn how to grow.”
August 4th, 2008 06:46am
Jennie Pollock
dear go greeners, i didn’t mean to abandon you. i was on vacation last week. normally, i work in advance or through vacation to keep up my blogging. because i was dealing with other stuff, i let the blog slide. sorry.
while i was away, my husband saw an ad for this and asked me what it was. i never heard of it before. i’m not sure i’d go there. but apparently this concept has been around since the 1930s. the green argument is here.
(in defense of my spouse when he found the ad, he was reading my rachael ray mag and found a guinness float recipe. i don’t see it online but see this one …. and this one.
July 27th, 2008 09:44pm
Jennie Pollock
this isn’t the national enquirer, people. this is the gray lady.
Allegations that granite countertops may emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation have been raised periodically over the past decade, mostly by makers and distributors of competing countertop materials. The Marble Institute of America has said such claims are “ludicrous” because although granite is known to contain uranium and other radioactive materials like thorium and potassium, the amounts in countertops are not enough to pose a health threat.
Indeed, health physicists and radiation experts agree that most granite countertops emit radiation and radon at extremely low levels. They say these emissions are insignificant compared with so-called background radiation that is constantly raining down from outer space or seeping up from the earth’s crust, not to mention emanating from manmade sources like X-rays, luminous watches and smoke detectors.
But with increasing regularity in recent months, the Environmental Protection Agency has been receiving calls from radon inspectors as well as from concerned homeowners about granite countertops with radiation measurements several times above background levels. “We’ve been hearing from people all over the country concerned about high readings,” said Lou Witt, a program analyst with the agency’s Indoor Environments Division.
July 25th, 2008 02:41am
Jennie Pollock
time did its own article. (and it tipped me off to one woman’s blog. she’s way more serious and committed than i was in a week.)
a few facts stood out for me.
The U.S. produced 28 million tons of plastic waste in 2005 — 27 million tons of which ended up in landfills.
Plastic makes up nearly 12% of our trash, up from 1% in 1960.
July 24th, 2008 12:15pm
Jennie Pollock
for those concerned about plastic baby bottles: a european study finds the level of bisphenol A “safe.”
i know at least one mom who opted for glass bottles because of fears over the potential harmful effects to the human reproductive system. i personally used plastic bottles when i wasn’t nursing. not sure what i’d do given the concerns today.
July 24th, 2008 02:29am
Jennie Pollock
dear tractenberg & co.,
for years you have sent me press releases to promote products from flip flops to lip gloss. and for years i have dropped the envelopes, unopened, into the circular file. please save your time, energy and paper by no longer mailing me. i work for a local newspaper, not glamour. odds are, i’m not going to write anything about your clients.
i’d e-mail you this request, but you don’t list your web site or e-mail.
sincerely,
jennie pollock (who hasn’t even been the features editor for three years)
i’m dashing off a version of the letter above, in an effort to cut down on junk mail at work. i already saw my junk mail go down at home a while back when i signed up to opt out of credit card offers. (here are way more tips, but this guy says don’t call it junk mail!)
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