SuperForester Jackson On Kauai (Updated)

Good Morning SuperForest!!


Yesterday was a very interesting day. I woke up in Manhattan amidst flurries and scurries of snow, and two plane hops later I went to sleep in the greenest, freshest paradise imaginable.

This morning I woke to the singing of birds, the hum of the Wainiha river in the distance... and that's it. No cars, no horns, no planes, just the sound of the tangelo juicer making fresh juice for all.

As her surprise Christmas present to the family, my wonderful mother worked her butt off and installed an organic garden in the yard. Plus, since we lightly quarreled about it last year, she's begun composting!

So, I've got to go and plant some seedlings and turn a compost heap over.
Such incredible abundance.

I will post more soon.

Love to each and everyone,

Jackson

(Update)

Seedlings planted, compost turned.

Nature Mill Makes Indoor Composting Easy and Non-Stinky!

SuperForester Jesse just sent us word of this: the Nature Mill Indoor Composter.

If you haven't got the luxury of a yard, you put the Nature Mill in your kitchen, where it can turn up to 120 pounds of kitchen scraps a month into compost. That's super duper, y'all.

Watchy:



Can has for $299.oo plus S&H.

Luckily here in NY we have the farmer's market, where this wonderful lady stands and not only does she take food scraps, she sells worm compost and educates city dwellers about ways to better use their resources.

You rock, farmer's market compost lady.

Worms! Can ya dig?

Hey everyone!

Say you wanted to compost your organic waste for a while, but you live in an apartment, or don't have enough room for a traditional compost in your backyard. Well, with worm composting, now you can! The Can-O-Worms lets you have your very own composter right in your kitchen.



Please allow me to introduce to you some of my friends:



These little guys are the world's best recyclers. Vermicomposting, simply put, is the process of composting using earthworms. It is very similar to regular composting, but with a few differences. Let's take a minute to learn about these crazy crawlers, courtesy of Abundant Earth:

They can live for a long time (15 years or more!)
They have both male and female reproductive organs
They can be bred easily at home or school
They produce castings which have a neutral pH (around 7)
Their castings increase crop and pasture yields
They increase the level of essential microbial activity in the soil
They can consume their own body weight in food every day
They double in population every 2-3 months, in ideal conditions

Imagine eating your own body weight in food every day! Worms will eat just about any organic material (except meat), even the useless junk mail you receive. Not so useless anymore, eh? And the castings that your worms leave behind work as a great natural fertilizer!

The Can-O-Worms retails for around 120 bones. If you would like a cheaper, DIY alternative, try making your own!

Love,

Spoony

G Diapers, the modern answer to disposables!?!

Good Afternoon,

I've been thinking about this post and diapering, in general, for a long time now. To be honest, when my son was born, I was not ready to start thinking about cloth diapering. I knew it was probably the right thing to do and I have been feeling guilty about using disposable diapers for the last year. But why should I feel guilty? Really, I should. If you saw how many dirty diapers one child can produce in a week (let alone, a year), it makes you wonder why anyone is still using disposables, knowing what we know about landfills. I always rationalized what I was doing with the common excuses, "At least I'm using Seventh Generation diapers that are chlorine-free" or "I'm a new mom, I have a lot of things to deal with right now".
For the past few months, I've been doing some research to try and figure out what would make the most sense for us. We live in NYC and I don't have a washer/dryer in my apt. The thought of using cloth diapers and doing laundry every two days, still seems a little overwhelming. Yes, there are diapering services. That is an option that I may still look into. I can go on and on about the pros and cons of all the different ways to catch poo, but let me focus on what I have just tried: G Diapers.
Here's the low down: They are marketed as somewhere in between cloth and disposable. They are made of 3 parts: A cotton cover, a waterproof snap-in liner and a flushable insert. The plastic-free insert can be tossed, flushed or composted. Whichever way you choose to dispose of it, our environment is definitely better off. If you can compost it-it will break down in 50-100 days. Check out their cool video showing the different diapers breaking down (or not breaking down!).

So, here's some great news-If you live in NYC, I went to the Union Square Market yesterday, where there is a compost drop off, and they will accept the wet diapers! I just need to keep them separate from food scraps (and not use diaper cream with zinc or the poopy diapers). How awesome!

Some people have issues with their septics, but I live in a big building and the flushing has been no problem--totally easy! To be honest, I haven't completely switched over. Sleeping through the night and staying dry is not something I'm ready to mess with, but I will soon and I do believe that every little bit helps.
Let's face it, disposables are easy. I am always in a park, or on the go somewhere and disposables make life easier. But, G diapers are pretty easy too. I think there is a learning curve with getting the fit right and making sure the 3 parts are all where they should be, but I'm willing to figure it out. They are Cradle to Cradle Certified and they are trying to revolutionize the way we are dealing with poo!
Two thumbs up to G diapers! If you have a little one and have been hesitant to making the switch, try their starter kits-It is a great way to test them out!
Happy Diapering!
n

Green Building in Battery Park

Good Morning!

If you are moving to NYC or already living in New York and are looking for a new neighborhood, how about trying Battery Park? Many developers have been attracted to the area and there a couple options for cutting edge "green" buildings.

The Riverhouse and the Solaire.

By comparison:
They both have on-site water and air filtration systems for the purest air and cleanest water. Both use materials that are locally acquired and renewable. They use non-polluting emitting paints and materials (you know, all the nicey nice woods and flooring), Energy Star appliances and lots of other good stuff that has been carefully thought through to make your surroundings as environmentally responsible as one can expect from a luxury high-rise building in Manhattan.



They both also have Photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight to electricity.



Some differences are the Riverhouse seems to be more luxury and cater to the more posh crowd. Yes, this is the one that Mr. Dicaprio might be moving to.

The Solaire also has a neat water system. They use an in-building waste water treatment system that supplies toilet water and make-up water for central air conditioning. They also catch the rainwater from the rooftop garden for irrigation.

Neither one seems to address the issues of composting or recycling programs, but maybe in time...

These aren't new concepts or something that hasn't been done before, but they are novel for these urban environments. It is very forward thinking for developers to hop on the "green" trend and realize that just because we live in a loud, dirty, congested and polluted (but absolutely spectacular and inspiring) city doesn't mean our homes need to be that way.

We can look forward to going home at night and enter our own oasis amidst the chaos.

Nice progress New York!
Live well!
Niki

This is from The Solaire's website-I just think it's funny:

Clever Swiss

Apparently, Switzerland's trash situation is so together, they have specific trash cans just for batteries.

NYC needs these too.

Here's a great International Herald Tribune article about "waste collection" in Zurich.

Have a good Monday.

-Jackson



(Thanks to Andrew for the photo.)