foto av dagen 06.20.09

my first attempt at growing vegetables: a little photo diary…

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seedlings popped!

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slow bolt cilantro looking excited to have found the light.

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the vegetable garden plot.  i had to relocate 7 roses: not fun.

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mexican spice basil!  so pretty.  sadly, they died when i was away for 5 days.

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royal purple beans.  i was afraid i was going to have a hard time distinguishing between the beans & the weeds…turns out they are quite distinct.

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this is about 6 weeks after planting the seeds.

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Roebson & Chadwick tomatoes.  yum.

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tomatooooes.

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trying again with the mexi spice basil.

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teeny tiny basil leaves!

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i had no idea my royal purple beans were going to sprout royal purple flowers!  pretty!!

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beans growing quite tall.

i just planted the tomatoes out in the garden, so i shall have more updates soon.  i hope they make it!!

Posted: June 20th, 2009
at 2:32pm


Categories: DIY Green, agriculture, foto av dagen, green, green art, green living

Comments: No comments


BikeWise

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BikeWise is a great new interactive resource for bicyclists to report incidents of crashes, safety hazards & thefts.  The idea is that anyone who is involved in or witness to an incident logs a report into the BikeWise database.  BikeWise then records & organizes those incidents by city, state and country and displays them on an interactive google map.  You, as a cyclist can pull up a map for any area or view a list of incident reports. From Worldchanging:

Although the site’s creators are based in Seattle, this tool is available for cyclists everywhere. The site (with about 90 percent accuracy) can sense your location, and will pull up information for the city you are surfing the web from. I think it’s great that Bikewise has created a space for people to talk to each other about how to make their city a better place. The trick will be getting enough users to generate reports to make the data useful for people like city planners, analysts and public policy officials. So, if you’re a cyclist, head to Bikewise and get the conversation started!

That last point is critical – as of today, there are only 11 states reporting any accidents, 18 reporting hazards and incidents, and in total there are maybe a few dozen incidents reported for 2009 in the whole US.  Hopefully word will spread so this tool can be put to use.  If the BikeWise developers are correct in saying that over 75% of cycling crashes go unreported, then no wonder city planners keep ignoring our pleas for bike-safe roadways.

It looks like the site is still a work in progress.  The interactive maps are pretty user-friendly, but the incident reporting could use some organizational improvements, like organize by date, incident type, etc.  It would be especially useful to planners & city officials to be able to download the database info into an excel spreadsheet of some sort.  Maybe this is in the works.

So…let’s start reporting!

Posted: June 14th, 2009
at 10:26pm


Categories: DIY Green, green, green living, mass transit, whips

Comments: No comments


Skate Study House: The Waste is the Best

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Skate Study House is the furniture design child of duo Pierre Andre Senizergues and Gil Le Bon De LaPointe who, in their work, mix a tribute to the post-WWII Case Study House project with modern skateboarding culture.  Just added to their collection are a few limited edition pieces made entirely from scrap and second-hand skateboards.

Keeping with Senizergues’ skateboard flare from his world champion days, but daring into the unknown, together these two skateboarders shed new eco light on green design and waste with three new limited edition pieces from Skate Study House.  An organic collection, The Waste is The Best gives homage to waste, made 100% of throwaway materials and is constructed from excess skateboard cutouts of laminated wood.

The new pieces feature a “Cobble Chair”, “Spine Table” and “Space Shelves” to add to the Skate Study House collection.  Inspired from Senizergues’ creative vision and designed with Gil Le Bon De LaPointe, The Waste is The Best is the next generation of green design and adds an organic twist to the Skate Study House collection.

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I’ll take the spine shelves, please.  Thanks.  I also like several items from their main collection.

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.::Skate Study House

Posted: June 14th, 2009
at 9:48pm


Categories: clean businesses, eco-friendly products, green, green art, green living

Comments: No comments


KnittaPlease! in BK Heights

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KNITTA PLEASE

Posted: May 5th, 2009
at 9:18pm


Categories: DIY Green, current events, eco-friendly products, fo' real?, green, green art, landscapes, my ninjas please!

Comments: No comments


Pear Tree Worms – Let’s Try This Again

An adventure in vermicomposting…round two.

It has been just over a year since the unfortunate death of our Savage Worms and the mourning period is over.  Now that our apartment has begun to thaw from the winter chill, I have had a hankering for a new herd of worms.  I know that Pear Tree Worms does not have quite the same ring to it as Savage Worms, but I feel like calling the project Savage Worms II is a little like naming a new pet after a recently deceased one.  Fido II?  Sad!  Besides which, Andrea, founder of the original vermicomposting adventure, has moved across the globe to Papua New Guinea (and has also been on a mission to find a Melanesian breed of food-loving worms!).  Feeding the worms will not be quite the same with out A though.  Remember this?

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So anyway, here we go again with the worms!

First things first, I had to gather the equipment.  I couldn’t find a bin quite as good as our original (A, where the heck did you find that bin?), but I settled for a standard Rubermaid.  I spent a couple frustrating hours drilling holes – lots on the top and upper sides, fewer and smaller on the lower sides and bottom.  Several stuck-in-plastic drill bits and one snapped-in-two drill bit later, I finished (obviously, I am a novice with the power drill).

Next, order worms!  After perusing a couple vermicomposting sites and not feeling strongly about any of them, I remembered having read and referenced Red Worm Composting several times during the Savage Worms days.  Vermiculture enthusiast & blogger Bentley has oodles of great vermicomposting advice on his site, so I figured I might find some worm-buying recommendations.  Well, as it turns out, Bentley actually sells worms!  And at a cheaper rate than the other two sites I was considering!  So that made my choice easy.  So far, the choice has proven to be an excellent one – great customer attention and a nice full sack of healthy worms.

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Step 3, food & bedding.  I started collecting food scraps & setting up the worm bin about a week and a half before the worms were to arrive.  For bedding I used a mix of shredded newspaper, egg carton and trimmings off one dead & one dying branch from one of our palm plants.  I mixed the materials together and wet them so they were damp but not dripping.  By the time I got all of that in order it was Tuesday.  Then I waited for the post!  The worms arrived, as promised, on Thursday.  I was a little concerned that I had not given the bin enough time to equilibrate, and i wanted to give the worms some time to settle after their cross-border journey (Red Worm is located in Canada), so i left the worms in their sack, left the sack in the opened box, and left the box sitting in the worm bin over night.  Overcautious, perhaps, but so far there have been no casualties.  I had wondered if any of the worms might crawl out of the sack during the night – it was tightly sealed, but there were a few worms peeking out when I opened the box.  Sure enough, Friday morning as I parted some bedding to leave a pile of food, there was a lone worm squirming around in the bedding.  Anyway, I opened the sack and burrowed it into the bedding, with the opening facing a nice pile of ripe food scraps so that the worms could venture out at their leisure.

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Can you spot the adventuresome wiggler?

So far, so good.  I have checked on the worms a couple times, trying not to be over-disruptive.  They seem to be adjusting well and have a healthy appetite.  Not one left in the sack, a few wanderers crawling up the sides, but no escapees.  I’ll do a full-on check up and feeding later this week, so stay tuned.

Posted: April 9th, 2009
at 7:18pm


Categories: DIY Green, fo' real?, green, green living, mnp is for the aminals, my ninjas please!, savage worms

Comments: No comments


Urban Spectacles ‘Badassitry’

Our favorite optical craftsman is at it again.  Scott Urban has released a set of images of his latest Urban Spectacles of Wood creations, and they are truly badass.  Here’s a taste:
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Rumor has it that USW will be developing a small scale boutique line of frames.  No doubt Urban will come up with some classy, unique & quality-assured designs for this.  It will be 6 months to a year before the line is released, but we’ll have our spectaclely-clad eyes out.

.: check ‘em –> Urban Spectacles of Wood

Posted: April 4th, 2009
at 9:21am


Categories: clean businesses, eco-friendly products, green, green art, my ninjas please!

Comments: No comments


foto av dagen 04.04.09

Canary Project Photos: The Landscape of Climate Change
Artists: Susannah Sayler & Edward Morris

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[Reforestation and Land Restoration, Niger, 2007]

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[Drought and Fires: Umatilla National Forest, Washington State, 2006]

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[Extreme Weather Events: Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, 2005]

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[Dyke on the North Sea, The Netherlands, 2006]

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[Disrupted Ecosystems: Great Barrier Reef, Belize, 2006]

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[Renewable Energy: Palm Springs, California, 2007]

The photos in this collection are a stunning visual exploration of the effects of climate change.  The Canary Project is an organization that creates art and supports artists with the intention of engaging viewers in the realities of global warming.  For Canary Project Photos: The Landscape of Climate Change, founders of the Canary Project, Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris, have collected images of landscapes around the globe directly impacted by a warming planet and have documented communities that are working proactively to conserve their endangered lands.

In their own words:

Correcting misconceptions about climate change and mobilizing society to build a more sustainable future will require a concerted effort from all sectors of society. We believe art has an important role to play in this process, particularly when executed in collaboration with other disciplines and when benefiting from the organizational strengths of an entity such as The Canary Project. Art has the capacity to penetrate received notions, generate media attention and create lasting visceral impact – all of which can be a more effective catalyst to action than mere rational apprehension.

To see more of the Canary Project Photos, read the stories associated with each landscape and to learn more about The Canary Project and its many programs, visit their website, canary-project.org.

Posted: April 4th, 2009
at 8:24am


Categories: foto av dagen, green, green art, landscapes

Comments: No comments


Sustainable St. Patty’s T’s

The greenest of green holidays (other than Earth Day) is coming up – March 17 is St Patty’s Day!  What better way to show you are truly green than showing up to the pub in a sustainable St. Patty’s T!  Get your limited edition gear from our ninjas at Duality T’s – available in organic cotton & hemp.

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Also tons of other fun non-leprechaun designs!
.:check ‘em out -> Duality

Posted: March 5th, 2009
at 7:00am


Categories: clean businesses, current events, eco-friendly products, green, green living

Comments: No comments


D2E Boston 2009

YouTube Preview Image 

Boston’s premier conscious consumer convention returns!  Down:2:Earth Boston is back for its second year with three days of exciting eco events not to be missed.  There is a “Local Bites” kick off party Friday night, the D2E Video Project returns and this year there is a new contest in partnership with the City of Boston called Pitch the City:

WHAT:
Down:2:Earth Sustainable Living Expo
Build a better future by learning how to eat, work & live sustainably!
A marketplace for eco-friendly products, a public stage for community initiatives, and an educational forum for learning about sustainability issues.

WHEN:
Friday, April 3 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday, April 4 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday, April 5 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

WHERE:
Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02115

HOW:
Tickets can be purchased online at www.d2eboston.com
Adults: $8.00 ($10.00 at the door)
Students & Seniors: $6.00 ($8 at the door);
Weekend Passes & “Local Bites” Preview Party (includes weekend admission): $20.00
Children 12 and under are free.
 

“Local Bites” – Friday April 3

A festive preview party and artisanal grazing event built around local sustainable chefs, local food producers and sustainable wine.  D2E co-founder Betty Fulton says, “We’re excited to have some of Boston’s best chefs – from The Fireplace, Upstairs on the Square, New England Aquarium’s Harbor View Café, and Henrietta’s Table, among others – sampling their culinary creations at Local Bites.   A special thanks to sponsor Kunde Winery, who among others, will be providing sustainably produced vintages.”  A portion of the evening’s proceeds will benefit Mass Farmers‘ Markets and New England Aquarium’s Sustainable Fisheries Initiative.

Pitch the City

A contest sponsored in partnership with the City of Boston that seeks creative ideas to make Boston a greener city. Four finalists will present their proposals to a panel, including Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino at D2E, on Sunday, April 5.  According to D2E co-founder Lorelei Grazier, “We want D2E to be a catalyst for community engagement around issues of sustainability – a forum for public and private, profit and non-profit sectors of our economy to come together to build a greener future.” http://changents.com/d2e

D2E Video Project

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[Click on flyer for full size]

D2E invites students, artists, activists, and everyone in between to submit original three-minute digital videos focused on themes of sustainable living and natural landscapes in New England. Your videos should be visually compelling and can explore any related theme, in any style: narrative, montage, animated, documentary or experimental.

Selected entries will be presented on the main stage at D2E. The most effective and creative entries will be recognized at D2E’s Kick-off Event on Friday, April 3.

Video topics could include:
Environmental consciousness in everyday life, volunteerism, nature walks, poetry as a subject, outdoor activities with a message, profiles of people living sustainably, Artists impressions, consumerism, etc. It’s up to you! Video entries must follow the simple rules listed below and must be received by March 20, 2009.

See you there!

.: gettcha tix -> down:2:earth an exploration into sustainable living

Posted: March 4th, 2009
at 11:49am


Categories: DIY Green, clean businesses, current events, eco-friendly products, green, green art, green living

Comments: No comments


foto av dagen 03.03.09

From the coal protest yesterday at the Capitol Power Plant:

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.: More fotos @ -> Grist

Posted: March 3rd, 2009
at 3:21am


Categories: coal, current events, fo' real?, foto av dagen, green, my ninjas please!, news

Comments: No comments


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