Serge the Concierge

Old Denver Airport Runway finds Second Life as Kitchen Countertops

In the Remake Remodel sphere, a couple of Denver based companies are finding a Second Life for concrete from the runway of the now defunct Stapleton Airport.
Immix turns it into countertops as for Recrete Materials they recycle it into new buildings and projects.

Calling itself the earth surface, PaperStone is described as (I quote) "made from cellulose fiber (paper) and a non-petroleum phenolic resin  derived in part from a natural phenolic oil in the shells of cashews."

Wonder where some of that recycled glass goes, look no further than Vetrazzo whose products are 85% made from it and turned into stylish kitchen tops.
These beer bottles you sipped on warm Summer days could turn into the Alehouse Amber surfaces (pictured below).

A few examples of how we can be earth friendly and practical at the same time for Green Day # 35

Related piece: Picnic and Party Plates that Don't Trash Nature thanks to 'VerTerra' 

Car becomes Burden of Suburbia, Will America call Car Pooling to the Rescue?

Paul Harris in America's love affair fades as the car becomes burden of suburbia (Observer, Guardian UK, July 6th) paints a rather bleak picture of the future of America's landscape as it is now.
He reports from the Inland Empire once farmland, now home to subdivision after subdivision.

He states that "as Americans enjoyed the 4 July holiday weekend, increasing numbers of them were staying at home rather than hitting the road. Newspapers were full of tips for staycations, not weekend breaks away. Customs once scorned, such as car pooling and cutting out trips to the mall, are now commonplace. The fact is, the vast majority of Americans cannot give up their cars altogether. Too many cities lack any reliable public transport".

By the way, Time Out New York gave its Guide to Staycations: Exciting weekends for two, starting at $105! in its July 6, 2006 Issue.

Amongst the gloomy assessments in the article are those by Chris Fauchere, a Denver-based film-maker who feels that 'Suburbia has been unsustainable since its creation'... He is producing a new documentary on the issue called The Great Squeeze.

Also quoted is Professor Bill McKibben, whose most recent book is Deep Economy,The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future (cover above  is my illustration).

He thinks that "Distance is now an enemy...There's no question that the days of thoughtless driving are done".

One of the best short term solutions might be car pooling.

The end of Driving Alone for Green Day #34

Previously: Travel, Don't Tour and Please, Slow Down: Eco Friendly Vacation Tips

MyFarm and Your Backyard Farmer turn your Backyard into an Organic Garden

You might like the idea of walking into the garden to pick up some greens and tomatoes for a salad or fresh herbs to compliment a fish or meat dish.
For a fee, residents of San Francisco who want the garden but lack the time can rely on MyFarm to turn their backyard into an Organic Garden.
Basic installation can be from $600 to a $1000 (depending on the size of the project) and weekly maintenance costs run from $20 to $35.
You can choose between two options: Personal where you consume all your produce and Owner Member where some of your crop can be sold to others.

Ariel Schwartz shares more details on the company in Capitalist Dream: Company Designs and Maintains Organic Garden in Your Backyard (On Green Options, July 1st).

Tara Duggan calls MyFarm a "throwback to the Victory Gardens, a World War II government-sponsored program in which as much as 40 percent of the country's nonmilitary produce was grown in urban and suburban backyards" in her piece S.F. firm harvests potential of unused land (SF Chronicle, June 23).

The City of San Francisco actually launched a pilot program named Victory Gardens 2008+

Another option on the East Coast is Your Backyard Farmer with projects in and around Portland (Oregon) as well as on the East Coast according to the video below.

They've been around since 2006 and are booked solid for this year but taking applications for 2009.

Know of similar projects and endeavors, share them with us.

Related: Water is for Plants, Wine is for People

Travel, Don't Tour and Please, Slow Down: Eco Friendly Vacation Tips

While picking up a few things at Whole Foods, I noticed a new magazine on the racks, Green Guide.
I did not buy a copy.
I did like the cover story, 'Green on a Budget' (with matches my Consumed to Thrifty thread) so I checked Green Guide online and realized that it was published by National Geographic.

They have a very timely story in the second issue Going for Green: Eco-Friendly Family Vacations   by Kathy Shorr.
Her most sensible tip is Travel, don't tour as she reminds us "Vacations give us a chance to do something our daily lives don't: slow down. By choosing one spot and staying there for your whole vacation, you can become absorbed in the experience".
Second is Get on The Train, the least polluting transportation and besides that you can see the scenery in between places. I also like the rhythm of the train on the tracks.
Third Propel yourself "Instead of driving a hundred miles a day, why not try walking 5, or biking 15, or paddling even just 1? " Helps you clear your head as well as the toxins in your body.

A short Green Day #33

Related: In Europe, Drop Plane for Train with 'The Man in Seat 61'.
and Greek and Green: the Levendis Estate on a Ionian Island

 

On Bees and Strawberries: Are both threatened? Time to Make a Buzz?

Carolyn Lochhead wonders "could strawberry ice cream disappear from our lives? What about vanilla Swiss almond?" in Un-busy bees a disaster for almost everyone (SF Gate, June 27).

She says that the people at Haagen-Dazs and other companies are alarmed at the "decline of honeybees and other pollinators of strawberry plants, almond trees and the rest of the roughly 90 percent of terrestrial plant life that needs pollination".
On the East Coast, she quotes Edward Flanagan, of Jasper Wyman & Son, a wild-blueberry grower in Maine who confirms "No bees, no blueberries".

Back in 1999, the NY State Agricultural Station at Cornell University explained that Honey Bees Deliver Beneficial Fungi to Strawberries and Increase Yield.
Rainy weather also added to delays in seasonal crops as Bainbridge Strawberries Slow to Hit the Stands highlights.

Melissa Waage on Switchboard (National Resources Defense Council) was one of the first to raise the bees and strawberries question (alarm?) in Does a world without honey bees mean a world without Haagen-Dazs? (February 26, 2008).
Jennifer Sass on the same Switchboard says That Bees need us to make a buzz for them! on June 27.
In a nutshell she reminds us that honeybees make the world go round.

What are your thoughts?
More alarmist news?

Picnic and Party Plates that Don't Trash Nature thanks to 'VerTerra'

How much garbage all our summer parties and picnics generate, god only knows?
A little company that could, VerTerra (from New York) has come up with a solution inspired by India.

They offer a line of plates, bowls, cups, and platters that they describe as "100% renewable and compostable plant matter and water. No chemicals, waxes or dyes, like those found in disposable paper and plastic options". They suggest that theses single-use products can be used "to reheat in the microwave, bake in the oven, or cool in the fridge".

Made in South Asia from fallen leaves, after collecting these leaves they "apply steam, heat and pressure to transform the leaves into durable products that will naturally biodegrade in 2 months".

At about $1 a piece, responsibility you can afford.

Kudos!

First read about VerTerra on Springwise.

Want to discover other earth friendly products, the California Waste Management Board offers a list of Compostable Products.

Related: Wanna Compost? 'The Daily Dump' can help

Wind and Solar Powered 'Charge Station' for your Mobile at Glastonbury Festival

For the second year in a row, Gotwind will provide a solar and wind powered Recharge Station for your mobile devices (commissioned by Orange) at the Glastonbury Festival (UK) on June 27 to 29.

The station generates enough power to charge as many as 100 phones per hour.
And it glows in the dark as their illustration shows.

As for the music, Johnny Sharp says I still love Glastonbury. Here's why.

The Guardian site also offers its Free Glastonbury Album which includes bands from as near by me as Yeasayer of Brooklyn (don't know them, they play on Sunday ) and as far as Australia with Operator Please.

Did notice that Lightspeed Champion which I saw in concert at South by Southwest plays on Friday.

More Batteries: Charge your Tech Toys (Mp3, Cell Phone, PDA) with Solar power by using Solio

Edible Estates turns Front Lawns into Food for Thought

That perfect manicured lawn in front of many homes requires a lot of work, pesticides and water.
This home green is one of the thirstiest things besides corn.
A fellow named Fritz Haeg turns front yards into Edible Estates .
He came to my attention thank to Turf Wars (by Simon Busch, FT Week End).
It starts with a humorous quote from Stan Cox, one of the participants in the project:

"Say, your yard’s looking mighty fine lately, Jim,” Stan Cox imagines commenting to a neighbour. “Everything OK with your wife?” The amount of energy devoted to lawn care in the US, he believes, is frequently in inverse proportion to the amount devoted to the bedroom."

The article also mentions Michael Pollan from his book In Defense of Food as saying that "lawns have “as much to do with gardening as floor waxing or road-paving. Gardening [is] a subtle process of give and take with the landscape.” Lawns, he says, are “nature under culture’s boot”. When Pollan mowed his own he “ruled a totalitarian landscape”. “Lawns,” he concludes, “are a form of television.”

A book Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn (Metropolis Books, cover is my illustration) documents the project which is not merely planting fruits and vegetables in front of your house but arranging the plots in a way that both makes sense and is visually appealing.

In Turning lawns into salad bars, Andrea F. Spiegel (Baltimore Sun) showcases one of the participants, Clarence Ridgley "whose red brick and clapboard home is now behind fruit trees, tomato cages, berry bushes and vegetables".

Makes you stand out from the crowd and in these days of high food prices might help your budget, good for the Consumed to Thrifty.

Outdoors for Green Day #32

Related: Basa, Dab or Vietnamese Clams, Sustainable Fish from A to Z

Basa, Dab or Vietnamese Clams, Sustainable Fish from A to Z

Do the right thing is the mental message we get when buying fish and shellfish at our local store or ordering it in a restaurant.

Instead of giving us a lengthy expose Sophie Morris offers us an A to Z list of seafood that is healthy and not at risk of extinction in Where's the Catch? (The Independent UK, June 14).
Each choice is followed by a short, clear description and its country of origin.

I did not know of Basa , a Vietnamese catfish which she describes as "light, flaky white fish native to the Mekong river delta and available all year round".
I tasted Dab (which I knew as 'Limande' in France). It is "the smallest of the flatfish and cheaper than halibut or turbot. Avoid during the April to June breeding season".
Gurnard (also known as sea-robin) sounds intriguing and "Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall suggests pot-roasting with leeks, celeriac and a slosh of white wine".
It seems it could be used in bouillabaisse as well.

Some of them might not be found in your corner of the world but in any case this is a place to start.

Along the same line, Ratha Tep (Food and Wine) attended a Sustainable Fish Think Tank on June 6 where chef Rick Moonen highlighted some lessons learned in fish buying and recipes from his cookbook Fish Without a Doubt such as Grilled Dorade with Hoisin Glaze which he shared with NPR.

I hope this helps on your next 'fishing' expedition.

Related: Staying Alive...Eat a Guilt Free Fish

Pedal Powered Baristas: Green Bean Machines in Copenhagen and the UK

You know from previous stories we posted that Copenhagen is big on bicycles.

A fellow named Ole Skram has combined green ambitions, entrepreneurship and his love of good java with his 'coffee chariot' an espresso machine mounted onto a three-wheeled carrier cycle with a specially designed frame reports Springwise in Coffee Chariot Caffeinates Copenhagen.
They had previously spotted Bike Caffe and its Green Bean Machine tricycles in the UK.

In another twist on coffee on wheels Bike Portland Showcased Joel Domreis of Courier Coffee (in 2007).
A more rudimentary version of a cart can be seen on This Week in Bahia.

To conclude you can check where your java taste stands on the Coffee Flavor Wheel shared by Roughstock.

Percolating for Green Day #31

Related: Cycling in High Heels, Green and Stylish the Copenhagen Way