Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

For a Fun Night Call….360 Vodka!

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by Starre Vartan · 08/21/07

As those who know and love me are aware, I love vodka. And though I:

-eat organic, local food (except for my unfortunate pineapple habit, which I’m twelve-stepping my way through….did you know to get 1 lb. of pineapple to our plates, it takes 40 lbs of CO2! Serious bummer.)

-don’t drink bottled water unless there’s an emergency (I love my Sigg bottle!)

-never, ever throw my cigarette butts in the street (I know, smoking’s a disgusting habit, but I only smoke 4-5 a week)

-keep my house at near-freezing levels in the winter to conserve energy

So even though I do all these things, and more, I’ve been slow to buy organic spirits. But once I tried 360 vodka, I vowed to change my ways. Not only is it excellent both chilled straight up, but it make a fabulous mixer. And it wears it’s eco-friendliness on its sleeve, literally:

(Click here to see a blown up version of the label)

I brought my bottle over to my good friend (and vegan chef extraordinaire) Pauline’s house and we made gingery cocktails (see recipe below) from the 360, and enjoyed an awesome meal of hummous and fresh bread, arugula, pear and almond salad, summer zucchini risotto with fresh tomato tapenade, with a hand-picked blueberry turnover for dessert. Talk about enjoying the harvest!

Pauline’s Ginger Limey

1.5 shots vodka
1/4 cup organic limeade
1/3 bottle ginger beer
Fresh lime wedge

Pour ingredients in glass with plenty of ice, mix with finger, garnish with lime wedge.

For more cocktail ideas, check this page out.

Yes, our glasses are very empty in this picture…

Many thanks to my friend Pauline Dean, dedicated vegan animal LOVER, Willie Nelson devotee, and polka-dot popularizer.

bottled water, cocktails, Eco-Chick, Energy, farm, Food, local, local food, Organic, plates, recipe, sigg, summer, vegan, Vote, water, Zoo

Ewwww…..This is Why You Need a Water Filter!

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by Starre Vartan · 07/23/07

On the left is the filter that was replaced, on the right is the new filter.

Bottled water sucks, we all know that (if you don’t know why, read this article and you’ll know everything): Here are my top 5 reasons for eschewing the bottle….

–It wastes fossil fuels during transportation (especially when it comes from ridiculous locales like Fiji!)

–Bottled water isn’t any cleaner and may actually have all sorts of bad stuff in it because bottled water isn’t regulated by any outside testing agency, whereas all municipal water is tested every day for contaminants and chemicals.

–All those plastic bottles leach toxins into the water (especially if left in the sun or subject to temperature fluctuations)

–Only about 20% of all plastic bottles are recycled; that goes for water receptacles too

–It’s a scam; why spend money on something that should be free? When you do, you’re only supporting the privatization of our natural resources, which should be available to all. Just because you can afford bottled water doesn’t mean that everyone can. By expecting, as citizens, to have access to clean water, we force our government to invest in and maintain water supplies.

At the same time, I know, I know, our municipal water isn’t as good as it could be (some areas have great water, some not so much). I live in a very populous area next to Long Island Sound, so our water is pretty low-quality and it’s chlorinated, which is not something I want to be drinking tons of or showering in. Instead of spending hundreds a year and contributing to massive amounts of plastic waste, I bought a this whole-house water filtration system from Gaiam. They have other types here. I bought a whole- house filter because I wanted to make sure I was showering and watering my garden with non-chemicalized water too.

Also, I carry my cool Sigg water bottle with me wherever I go, and fill up in bathrooms and water fountains when I’m on the go. Even though that water isn’t filtered, most of my agua is, so I think it’s worth reducing waste and energy use to subject myself to unfiltered water a small percentage of the time.

Make sure you dispose of your filters properly, though! They don’t belong in the regular garbage as they are now mini toxic-waste holders. By shipping them off to the landfill you’re taking all the now concentrated wastes you’ve removed with the filter and adding them right back into the environment. Drop those old filters off at your municipal toxic waste collection area.

bath, bottled water, car, contaminants, Energy, farm, filter, garbage, garden, local, Long Island, magazine, plastic, plastic bottles, recycle, recycled, resources, sigg, sport, Tea, Toxins, transportation, waste, water, Water Bottle

Lets Be Clear

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by Katie Kish · 11/23/06

Canada has been dealing with some rough water issues lately, and the David Suzuki Foundation is taking note of it. Since late last week residence of Vancouver have been facing mudslides over taking their resevoirs where the city gets their water. The extremely high level of turbidity has caused an advisory for Vancouver residents to boil all of their tap water.

Water contamination is something Canada has faced in the past with over 200 different contaminations. But why? One would think that after like 80 contaminations we would be looking to the causation of this. David Boyd answers this question.

Canada’s water quality guidelines are actually voluntary. There are currently no legally enforced rules to protect our water. Mr. Boyd says the Federal government should step in and establish mandatory standards that meet or exceed those of other countries.

No really?

North Americans in so many areas have been given a horribly skewed sense of security. At a young age in geography class we’re told that 70% of the earth’s surface is covered in water, that’s a lot of water. But then we have to factor into that how much is actually drinkable. Most of it, 68.9%, is trapped up in glaciers and another 30.8% is in groundwater. That leaves us with a tiny 0.3% of our fresh water resources in lakes and rivers.

It’s only going to get worse as global warming gets worse. The Great Lakes will decline greatly and most of the water that melts from glaciers is going to go into the oceans, which isn’t drinkable. Our alternative – bottled water – isn’t so awesome either.

Health Canada’s website on bottled water reports that there’s no evidence to support this. In fact, Professor Rolf Halden of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, had this to say about water in U.S. cities. “The truth is that city water is much more highly regulated and monitored for quality. Bottled water is not. It can legally contain many things we would not tolerate in municipal drinking water.”

Not to mention it’s really expensive. Rock on water shortages in Canada. But what can we do? The solution is the same for everything – educate people. We all know that “educate people” over simplifies to the point that it hurts. Luckily, David Suzuki is a bit more optimistic than I am and offers a few ways that we can all help out a little bit, and keep track of what water supplies.

Water conservation starts at home. Here are some things you can start doing at home right now to protect our water for the future.

* Low-flow shower heads can cut your water use in the shower by more than 30%. You can also reduce your water use by installing a, low-flow toilet that uses less water.
* Household cleaners are flushed away then go through treatment facilities, but trace elements become part of the water cycle. A lot of household cleaning can be accomplished with good old white vinegar and baking soda. (Really!) For ideas visit H2Ouse.
* Shower with a friend! It saves an average of 200 liters of water and it’s lots of fun. You’ll have a helping hand scrub those parts of the back you can’t reach on your own.

Learn more:

* This blog has links to find out what’s happening with the world’s water.
* Environment Canada’s Conserve water page.
* If you want to see how much water you’re using, and aren’t afraid of giving your e-mail address to the government, check out Environment Canada’s water use calculator.

Turns out, I use a lot of water…

Your daily average water usage: 478L

Your province’s daily average: 425L
Canadian national daily average: 335L

baking, bottled water, cities, cleaning, conservation, dress, drinking water, giving, Global Warming, health, Home, Lush, News, oceans, oil, reduce, resources, soda, water

Fishtale

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by Jennifer Veilleux · 09/08/06

This week in DC, concern over a scientific study that found “intersex fish” in the Potomac resonated only briefly around my office and circle of friends. I have tried impress my concern upon them that we are, in fact, drinking Potomac River water here in DC (and in some of the surrounding suburbs like Arlington). The question of course is: if this is happening to the fish, what could it mean for us? These intersex fish are male bass, both large and small mouthed, who are developing eggs in their reproductive tissues. They were first discovered in 2003, but the news is that their numbers have increased.

This hermaphroditic phenomenon is thought to happen because of endocrine disruptors, pollutants or chemicals that promote estrogen production, present in the water. The EPA, though conducting ongoing studies on endocrine disruptors, has yet to issue any guidelines to water treatment plants about allowable levels of estrogen in drinking or evacuated waters. This discovery is not limited to the DC area. Elevated levels of endocrine disruptors and estrogen have been detected in U.S. waterways throughout the country by the U.S. Geological Survey (you can read the report through this link). This estrogen appearance can be linked with birth control pills, pharmecuetical company waste water, sewage, or a combination of several pollutants causing unpredictable effects upon our environment and the beings residing in it.

“Experts” have made public announcements that there is no evidence to indicate our drinking water is unsafe.  They attribute this to the fact that fish are at a higher risk for these mutations due to their body size and because they are constantly in the water. I am drinking bottled water.

bottled water, drinking water, epa, estrogen, fish, health, News, Plants, waste, water