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

Greased Lightning: Veggie Greasecar

Recently, my family has been considering going veggie at the pump. We are thinking we can help a few restaurants in our neighborhood by providing waste management for their used veggie oil!

At Greasecar you can learn all about running vehicles on vegetable oil. In their classifieds you can pick up a used diesel vehicle that is already converted or, if you are mechanically inclined, you can buy a kit and convert an existing diesel engine to SVO/WVO (straight veggie oil-made from crops- or waste veggie oil-used oil from restaurants) yourself.

It’s a pretty simple process you can do in your garage and once its done, all you have to do is filter the oil, and you can run your diesel vehicle FOR FREE on recycled fuel. In these times, when many are trying to get off the crude, this is a viable alternative. Most restaurants are happy to give you their used oil because they often have to pay for disposal.

There is some mixed information and controversy out there regarding SVO, WVO, and bio-diesel emissions. Greasecar maintains that using SVO/WVO that has been filtered is still better for the environment than straight diesel or gasoline. On their site they address this:

There is no sulfur content in vegetable oil which eliminates the first major carcinogen associated with diesel fuel. Vegetable oil plants absorb more carbon dioxide from the air during their growing cycle than is released when the oil is burned, this means that vegetable oil does not produce excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (this is referred to as carbon neutral). Due to a slightly cooler burn some studies have shown NOX reductions when burning vegetable oil. More studies are underway and results will vary depending on engine and tuning. As a sulfur free, bio-mass fuel vegetable oil emissions are less harmful to the environment and less toxic to people and animals.

There are some veggie systems that allow you to just pour oil right into the car with simple or minimal filtration, but this is ill advised, as it usually does harm to the engine and shortens the lifespan of the vehicle. Using dirty fuel can also increase emission output. Filtering the oil is a bit labour intensive, but to ensure smooth travels, it is worthwhile. Greasecar offers home and on-board filtration kits, depending on what is most convenient, and their motto is “FILTER, FILTER, FILTER.” The cleaner the fuel, the cleaner it burns and the longer your vehicle lasts.

The guys at Greasecar are very knowledgeable and helpful with any questions you may have. Business is booming for these alternative energy systems right now. There may be a bit of expense up front to get your vehicle up and running, but to avoid paying $4.59 a gallon, or anything for that matter, is worth investigation. You may smell like a french fry, but you’re smiling all the way to the bank, and maybe even minimizing that carbon footprint a little bit.

Liveblogging from Live Earth!

—Giants Stadium, 2:45 PM EST
I’m here at Live Earth in New York, which is the last show in the worldwide music celebration so we can Save Our Selves (SOS).

KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall is up first, after a lackluster intro by Mr. Six-Degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon. Are you watching? If not, you can tune in online here. What do you think so far? KT is wearing some really cute metallic leggings under black shorts.

A Tip form uber-tan Carson Daly in the press room:
“I’ve learned when I stay in hotels and I leave for the day to unplug my blackberry and cell. And when I go to work I’ve started taking a mug for my coffee….or beer!”

Thanks Carson. Always a fount of useful information and pithy comments! NEXT!

4:05 PM EST

Checked out the musical stylings of and Keith Urban and Alicia Keyes, Taking Back Sunday, and Ludacris. Personally I’m waiting to hear Dave Matthews, Smashing Pumpkins and The Police.

When asked about what she does at home, KT Tunstall came to talk to the press and had some smart things to say (the girl really knows her environmental issues!) A couple comments:

“I do a lot of little things at home, but I’m rarely at home. I’m getting my flat in London renovated, and I’m using sheep’s wool insulation, reclaimed wood, and solar panels. As a touring musician I have to fly, but…I’m offsetting my carbon with Global Cool.

With this (concert), I thought god, six other massive events are going on just like this. I think everyone is aware of (global warming), but not that many people know what to do about it. Short films, and information available on the Live Earth. For me the best thing about it is promoting respect for other people on the other side of the planet. It’s about creating a relationship beetwen us and people in China and India and showing that we’ll help eachother and are connected to eachother.”

4:45 PM EST

And the music just keeps coming!! I feel like I can barely keep up with these 30-minute sets!

Taking Back Sunday photo by Brian Clark Howard

Backstage, Taking Back Sunday had this to say about their ‘greenie’ ways, which were surprisingly comprehensive. What was most interesting to me about them was that it seemed that Fred Mascherino, was the most environmentally-oriented of the group, and he in turn got the rest of the band, and then their team and their fans, involved in being eco. See how it only takes one person to make change?

“I’ve been passionate about this issue for years. But ever since an Inconvenient Truth, it’s helped me learn all the things I’m not doing. I recently purchased a vegetable oil burning 1982 Rabbit. I’ve also switched to wind energy in NJ, which only costs me about $3-$5 a month. ” (He’s referring to the option that most U.S. utilities have that offer alternative energy programs, for just a few cents more every year.)

My favorite quote from the group?

“(Global Warming’s) not just hippie folklore anymore, it’s mainstream.”

AFI

The band AFI, which admittedly, I don’t know very well, endeared me with a few cute statements, though they also kinda pissed me off when they mentioned that they weren’t polticial. WHAT? If there was a time to take up politics, it is NOW.

We are apolitical,” said lead singer Davey Havok. But when asked if he would date someone who’s not green, he said, “I’m vegan, so I can only eat green.”

LOVE IT!!

Dave Matthews Band, by Brian Clark Howard

Dave Matthews said (in his endearing, rambling way) that he sometimes feels like what he’s doing is insignificant, or not enough even though the band has been involved in green initiatives for years.

” I could turn cynical pretty quickly, I hop on planes and ride buses, and we’re aware of a certain amount of hypocrisy in that.”

He redeemed himself when he said,

“I grew up camping and can see that the world is finite. It doesn’t seem like it’s absurd idea that it can run out of gas. The idea of the well drying up doesn’t seem that far-fetched. In the end, what kind of world we leave for our children or grandchildren? I think it’s an effort we should make.”

And then he got apocalyptic when he said, “I’m not saying we can save the planet, but we may as well grab for straws as we go down.” Dave, where’s the positivity, enthusiasm and love for which you’re known?

When asked if he supports Al Gore in a run for president, Dave said, apolitically (BOO!!), “I want to see my Mom run for president!”

9 PM EST

I was up front and center (very up front, and very center) for Smashing Pumpkins’ set, which was musically amazing, though I’m disappointed Billy Corgan didn’t take the opportunity to plug anything other than the Pumpkins’ next album. EWWW. I’m a big fan of theirs, and was dancing like it was 1997, but why didn’t the alterna-god make a statement about what he is doing to alleviate the climate crisis? Billy, where were you?

OK, more tomorrow…Sting’s new passion, Randy Jackson’s domestic disputes over water consumption, Anne Curry’s inexcusable ignorance about green and Roger Waters’ enviro-inspiration from his fathers’ WWII war service (??)

But until then…what were your impressions? I LURVED Melissa Etheridge’s amazing speech about why we should all be in the streets to change the world (not to mention our current administration), and Robert Kennedy’s plea for us all to get involved. So I’m an issues dork. But also got into the Police performing “Roxanne”, and Roger Waters doing Pink Floyd’s “Money”.

What were your favorite moments?

How Good is Good Enough?

Cartoon by John Darkow

A few years back, in the middle of a cultural studies seminar that sidetracked into a tag-team Wal-Mart bash, the woman sitting next to me rolled her eyes. “This argument is so last year. Can we get over Wal-Mart already?” she said. I’m one of the few Americans left who’s never been inside the warehouse-sized stores, so I couldn’t say anything. I’ve never been able to contribute to the rhetoric as anything more than a theorist and the arguments against the chain do seem insurmountable.

With the chain’s new campaign to showcase themselves as environmentally friendly, they’ve opened an experimental store in Texas run by renewables, taken to carrying organic food products, and, at the same time, added more fodder for the anti-Wal-Mart activists. Frankly, I’m not sure how to feel about the whole thing. On the one hand, Wal-Mart exists already, so I should perhaps applaud their eco-friendly tactics (since the US doesn’t require them to do this stuff and people buy from them like crazy). On the other hand, they’re exploiting something I believe strongly in for a market gain and while they do so, they may water down the meaning of organics and environmentalism while still contributing to the unquenchable demand for consumables – itself un-environmentally-friendly. (Check out this previous Eco-Chick post for more on this argument.)

The Christian Science Monitor recently published an interesting two-sided argument on Wal-Mart’s newfound environmental ethics that included these new-to-me facts about the company’s future plans:

They’re talking about doubling the fuel economy of their fleet by 2015. They hired a consultant to go through their dumpsters and figure out what could be recycled and what couldn’t. They found out that 80 percent of the stuff in the dumpsters could be recycled and the CEO said, “Great, we’ll recycle that. We’ll tell our suppliers that we’re not going to accept the other 20 percent anymore. And we’ll get rid of our dumpsters.” They’ve adopted something called “the precautionary principle” for chemicals. If there’s a chemical that is suspected of being toxic and if there are safer alternatives that can be used, they will stop selling products that contain the potentially toxic chemical. That’s a 180-degree turnaround from the standard way of doing business in America.

Unfortunately, though, the rhetorical question concluding the discussion is the same one that repeatedly floats through my brain: “How good is good enough?” When I first moved to Germany and saw a McDonald’s refrigerated delivery truck that advertised itself as running on vegetable oil, I was both excited and appalled. Excited by a company using low-oil transportation. Appalled that McDonald’s had co-opted something green for their benefit (I mean really, isn’t it immensely cheaper for them to recycle the vast quantities of veggie oil than to use diesel?). Then I wondered: is altruism a necessity in the environmental movement or am I being too demanding?

I live in a country that successfully voted against Wal-Mart by spending their Euros elsewhere (though one study suggests it may have also been an inability to work with labor unions that provided difficulty for the Arkansans), so I still don’t have to personally worry about the Wal-Mart argument. Still, I wonder about the power of companies buying into the eco-movement in whatever ways they see fit. Does buying organic from a discount shop instead of a co-op dilute my choice? Is solar power really better if the panels are purchased from an oil company?

Beyond Milk Crates: Q&A with Deana Bracken

Not too long ago, Starre asked me if I would do a Q&A with Los Angeles-based green interior designer Deana Bracken. Honestly, I felt a little skeptical at first—if only because I consider milk crates furniture. (As long as I can set my book or my beer on it, what does it matter?) But then I checked out some of Deana’s work and I have to admit that I’m warming up to the idea of “home,” especially if that home is green. Plus, I discovered that Deana and I share an affinity for Johnny Cash and, if you ask me, an appreciation for Henry David Thoreau’s idea of “living deliberately.”

Q: Here’s a cream puff question to start off with. How would you describe your work and what has led you to it?

A: I would say my work is the marriage of high style and sustainability for homes big or small, sleek, glam, gothic, mid century – whatever. As I design, I never, never stay within one era or “established” style – that’s a total yawn. And I infuse as much eco-friendliness as my client will allow. Some clients come to me knowing that protecting the planet is one of my greatest concerns. Some don’t initially consider the “sustainable” side of my work relative to their project, but in the end I think each has walked away with a greater understanding of and respect for our environment.

I’ve always been drawn to design elements from the past. I grew up in Chicago surrounded by the feats of Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and David Adler, so pretty early on I was exposed to some of the best modern, traditional, and downright revolutionary works of architecture and furniture. That’s not to say there aren’t some brilliant contemporary architects and designers forging their own exemplary paths today—Philippe Starck, for one—but I’ve always cozied up to seasoned pieces. My passion is to restore heirloom or even discarded items – and once I got hip to eco-friendly finishes, everything seemed to fall into place.

Q: It seems like one of the environmental movement’s handicaps is that people associate it with deprivation and guilt. If you buy a new pair of shoes, Al Gore will haunt your dreams. What are your thoughts on that and how does your work challenge that notion?

A: Al Gore doesn’t haunt my dreams—though, that is quite an image!—and I live a fairly “glossy” lifestyle. I think it’s all about making responsible, informed choices. A lot of us walk around in a haze not knowing or caring about what we consume, where it’s coming from, and who it might be harming in the process. It’s willful ignorance – and it drives me crazy! I’m bent on proving that any lifestyle or aesthetic—except for those few who enjoy being absurdly toxic and wasteful—can be achieved while still being environmentally mindful. If a bike or electric car, used Levi’s, and Patagonia aren’t for you – the highest of the high-end department stores sell some organic and fairly-traded goods, convenient stores are stocking organic snacks, lexus makes a hybrid… I mean, come on! It’s out there. And once we create a solid market for responsible retail, more and more companies will turn to “greenifying” their goods.

Personally, I prefer to re-use – especially furniture and home décor. Most of what’s in my home originally had a life somewhere else, but I do totally support those who are pioneering new sustainable goods and methods. In fact, I’ve designed a pillow line that employs gorgeous, organic textiles from Mod Green Pod contrasted with hemp fabrics, kapok inserts, and are hand-crafted by my neighbor and artisan, Elizabeth O. And if I do say so myself, said pillows are pretty darn chic!

Q: Along those same lines, I laughed out loud when I read on your website that your mother thought nothing of driving 45 minutes to recycle a sandwich bag full of AA batteries, but I think that it also goes to show that we all live with contradictions. Any thoughts?

A: I guess I did phrase that carelessly…I don’t think my mother ever made a specific trip to recycle batteries – she would carry them around until she was in the vicinity of the area’s only drop box.

Anyway… yes, my mother, myself – we do all live with contradictions. I encounter them more in my work than anywhere. The majority of my clients are not as eco-focused as I am, so I consider a large part of my job is to present them with environmentally sound options. Every one of them has taken to using earth-friendly paints – which is fantastic. I buy for them as much vintage & antique furniture as I can, my upholsterer uses kapok filling, rather than synthetic, we use organic textiles when possible, but do they always go for the “green”?… No. Does it kill me a bit when a client insists on new leather sofas rather than recovering a thrift store find with a deadstock fabric?…Yes. But as long their decision is made after assessing other, more “thoughtful” options, and in the end their living space looks and feels incredible – I have done my job.

Q: Los Angeles has this reputation of being an environmental black hole. Do you think that’s valid? How is your work informed or influenced by the city? Or, how does your work inform and influence the city?

A: If I understand the question—black hole referring to “sorry state of” rather than “vacuum”—I disagree that Los Angeles is a black hole. In fact, I would say some of the greatest green design pioneers are based in L.A. When I first learned of the work of architect David Hertz—6ish years ago– I was blown away. His buildings are so stylish and responsible at the same time – truly inspiring. And Marmol-Radziner is creating ground-breaking sustainable pre-fabs. These people are the “Schindlers,” “Neutras,” and “Lautners” of today. Not to mention THE “ecohome” is a handful of blocks from my house.

Also, I am a true eastsider – I’m surrounded by people driving vegetable oil cars & hybrids, farmers markets, community gardens – and incredible music—which is in it’s own right—totally inspirational. That’s not to say there isn’t major room for improvement in my neighborhood, but being around progressive, environmentally-focused people, who, by the way, are pointedly non-hippie-ish, seems to resonate positively.

That being said, the down-side to Los Angeles would definitely include ridiculously oversized houses, the obscene amount of solo people driving gargantuan SUVs … and the massive amount of consumption overall. I’m personally embarrassed for those who brag about having 60 pairs of the latest jeans or 25 current handbags. Collecting is one thing, consuming another.

The irony is that a solid portion of what inspires me visually comes from the bravado of that Zsa-Zsa Gabor/Ira Gershwin/Edie Goetz-type westside style. It reminds me of my grandmother—my style icon. It’s an elegant, yesteryear approach to living (let me remind that I’m waxing nostalgic visually, not socially.)… when entertaining was an art form and mixing aesthetics was thoughtfully executed. I’m obsessed with well-designed vintage furniture, china & pottery, textile patterns, and landscaping. Los Angeles has historically drawn risk takers in every capacity and their imprints are not only prominent all around the greater area (from the Watts Tower to the Chateau Marmont), but the physical evidence of their style still exists. In scouring the thrift stores, auctions, and flea markets around here, I find an incredible wealth of brilliant – and discarded—pieces. I’m a great proponent of “re-use” and my clients reap the benefits of the style-driven Angelenos from the past.

Q: Let’s talk about Johnny Cash.

A: When I boil it down, I realize that what truly draws me to Johnny Cash is the texture of his voice (and the power of his conviction – whether it’s with humor, tragedy, or love. I then realized he was at his best when he shared the stage, harmonizing that booming, gritty voice with others. One of the best songs he ever recorded is a duet with/written by Will Oldham called “I See A Darkness.” It’s so beautiful. Another song of his I particularly fancy is “Jackson” which he sang with his beloved, June Carter. Another, “I’m Leaving Now” with Merle Haggard…I’m all about juxtaposition.

Snowboarders Do It Greenly

My favorite snowboard-culture magazine, Snowboarder, is now even better; they are proudly (they tout it on the November, 2006 cover) printing on recycled paper! Not only that, but there is a decidedly environmentally-minded slant to quite a bit of their coverage in various departments; in the photo section they encourage folks to go digital, and the cover story is all about the “Green Not Gas Tour”. In true rider style, the article opens with:

Last winter, thirty snowboarders found out what it takes to tour the United States of America for FREE in an RV fueled by recycled waste vegetable oil. We took filthy emissions, fuel payments, petroleum consumption, and comfortable conventional life archetypes and shoved them up the crooked asses of all those who dare to stifle growth and hope for future generations.

Yeah! The tour hit lots of hardcore snowboarding locales, and makes the connection between petroleum consumption, global warming, and every snowboarder’s worst nightmare: less snow. There’s a video you can buy (that covers both riding down mountains and the details of all the trip’s eco-friendliness) at the Grease Not Gas website.