Someone approached me at the farmer’s market today asking if KatonahGreen would set up a rating system that would reward restaurants for steps they take to green their operation. Another person suggested I write what they can do to economize on home heating that actually works in our area. Two teens suggested having other teens write for KatonahGreen.com, about issues teens will be interested in.

So I thought I would ask you what you want from Katonah Green? Do you want to more information? Do you want to hear from me or KatonahGreen.com more often, less often? More local and green calendar updates? More resources like a guide to local farms and CSA’s, or store coupons for organic foods or solar conversion info? Do you have an idea for an interview with someone who is doing good for the environment locally or a local person working to make change around the world? Do you want local politics covered as relates to our water supplies?

What is your pet eco-project or issue?

Write to me at editor [@] katonahgreen.com (remove the brackets and spaces) or post your reply below in the comments. Or send a tweet @katonahgreen.
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Upcoming Green:
Sunday, Nov 8th: E-Waste Days: Electronic Waste Days for disposing old TV and computer monitors.  Westchester County will be at the Town House Campus for E-Waste (electrical waste) 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. South Salem Townhouse, 10-3.

Tuesday, Nov 10: 6pm. Kingston Library, Free screening and discussion of a new documentary film, Clearwater Nation, by Pamela Timmins that features musical performances from Pete Seeger and looks at his forty year involvement with Clearwater. Timmins, an accomplished landscape painter, photographer, and video artist/filmmaker, will lead a Q&A following the showing of the film.

Wednesday, Nov 18th: GreenDrinks Westchester at Bedford Post Inn, 6-? Join us for a night of networking with people working in green tech and people who simply care about making change that benefits the environment.

Monday, Dec 14th: 7pm, Brains vs. Brawn: The Future of Water – John Cronin, director and chief executive officer of the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries; former Hudson Riverkeeper Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems but what we’ve done to them in general – and to the Hudson River in particular – has damaged a traditional source of high quality, local, sustainable food and water. That is one of the unfortunate legacies of the Clean Water Act. But with cooperation instead of finger-pointing, there’s still time to make the Hudson sustainable again. Monday, December 14, 2009, 7 p.m. Warner Library, Tarrytown. Part of Westchester Land Trust Series.

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A Blessing Song for the land from Hudson River Revival 2008:

Happy Halloween from KatonahGreen

Green Halloween Tips:

Make Your Own Lead-Free Face Paint

Give coins instead of cheap, pancreas damaging, non-organic candies

Buy ORGANIC and LOCAL! It’s the last weekend for several local farmer’s markets. Get out and buy organic squash’s, pumpkins and apples! Kids love apples, consider buying each child a whole bag of their own!

Green Halloween Tips from TheDailyGreen.com

Friday, October 30th, 9-3 Alternative Vehicle Tech Conference, Oct 30, NYC
The Road to Energy Independence, Lehman College, Friday, October 30, 2009
Lehman College, Friday, October 30, 2009 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Friday, Oct 30th, 3-7pm. Last week of the Ridgefield Farmer’s Market!
Get over there and grab up some great local produce, bread and more. While you are there head on over to Cellar XV and ask for some organic wines.
http://ridgefieldfarmersmarket.org/

Saturday, Oct 31, South Salem Harvest Fest, Come to the Harvest Fest at Gossett’s Farm Market this weekend!
(Rain or shine, market indoors when raining)
Featuring:Katonah Green’s Local Food-Local Chef Series, Antique Apple Peeler demonstration, Food samples from the Market, Kid’s activities and more!

Saturday, Oct 31, meet at Bylane Farm, Lighthouse Pt Park Hawkwatch, Oct 31, New Haven. Field Trip to the Lighthouse Point Park Hawkwatch, New Haven, CT With Arthur Green Saturday, October 31. Carpool from Bylane Farm at 8 a.m. Return around 3 p.m. depending on the hawk flight.

Saturday, Oct 31st, NYC: Meetup: Foraging with Naturalist “Wildman” Steve Brill in Central Park, Oct 31, 11:45 am, The Metro NYC Environmental Meetup Group

Saturday/Sunday Oct 31 & Nov 1: Garden of Ideas Farmstand daily through the end of November. This weekend: Last weekend to visit the art gallery, stroll the intriguingly landscaped natural areas!

Sun, Nov 1 Hilltop Hanover Farm:  Yorktown Something Good in the World presents monthly “Farm to Table” cooking classes as part of their Backyard Farmer Series.  This month is “Fall Harvest,” Sunday, November 1, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in Barn F.

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It’s not too early to start ordering Organic Turkeys for Thanksgiving! Click here for local resources.

Support Katonah Green: post a link to this post to your Facebook page, or tweet it. Be sure to follow me @katonahgreen

post comments below to add your green event, and be sure to keep me updated so I can add your event to our calendar! send an email to editor at katonahgreen.com

Watch this video which includes photographs by South Salem photographer J Henry Fair, founder of the Wolf Conservation Center.

If mountain top coal mining was about to take place in Westchester County you can bet it would be stopped in its tracks faster than most people even heard about such an outrageous project that would rip apart our landscape, ruin our water supply and destroy crucial ecological systems. In his blogpost today, South Salem resident and enviro-photographer J. Henry Fair writes

“The Appalachian mountains in West Virginia are home to some of the most beautiful and biodiverse forests in the world. The destruction of these mountains forests and streams is one of the most egregious examples of our short-sighted demand for energy: a folly that is being repeated ad nauseum around the planet. Like children we want what we want and ignore the consequences. So that we can drive our SUV’s and leave our lights and air conditioners on, we blithely sacrifice the systems that sustain us with clean air and water.”

Garrison resident Andrew Revkin, NY Times Dot Earth writer blogs about problems with coal mining, including mountain top coal removal, water contamination, climate change and issues effecting the planet worldwide. Read more here

What can the rest of Westchester residents do today to show your support for people a few states away facing destruction of their backyards and water supply? Click here to call your congress members asap. Then tweet, email or post this to your Facebook pages. Get your friends to make the call. That’s the power of social media at work.

Local Westchester residents care about the fight West Virginians are facing as they battle to save their mountains, water and health.
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You can follow me on Twitter @KatonahGreen
You can follow J Henry Fair @jhenryfair
You can follow Andrew Revkin @revkin
Be sure to check the Green Calendar on the left hand side of KatonahGreen.com regularly to see how you can get involved.
Tonight: Westchester Green Drinks at Bedford Post Inn
This Saturday: Harvest Fest at Gossett’s Farm Market, including chef demo and antique apple peeler demonstrations.

Thursday, October 22, 3-6:30pm

Environmental Symposium: 3 pm,  South Salem’s J Henry Fair will present an environmental symposium in the college’s Lougheed Library entitled “Fill Her Up: Getting the Gas, but at what cost?” A reception and viewing of Mr. Fair’s work follows in the Azarian McCullough Art Gallery until 6:30 pm. Check out his Industrial Scars photos. On display through November 4th.

Saturday, October 24th, 9-1 and 11-1

Harvest Fest at the Market, 9-1. Kid’s activities, scavenger hunt, live music, pumpkin raffle, food samples, organic and locally produced foods for sale! 1202 Rte 35 at Gossett’s Nursery, South Salem. WEATHER DEPENDENT. INDOOR activities if raining!

Local Food-Local Chefs Series, Gossett’s Farm Market, South Salem
Heather Flournoy will be cooking, laughing, talking and sharing some local food in honor of 350.org. Buying local helps to reduce food miles and the carbon impact of food transportation. Buying organic helps reduce the extremely destructive impact of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides on the planet. Commit to Local Weekends, sign up at the market. Visit www.KatonahGreen.com for a list of local markets. INDOORS THIS WEEKEND!
Katonah Green’s Local Food-Local Chefs Series, Gossett’s Farm Market, 1202 Rte 35, South Salem, NY. 11-1. Free Samples!

Local Markets: Ridgefield Farmer’s Market, Fridays, 3-7. Katonah Farmer’s Market, John Jay High School, Saturday 8:30am-2pm. Muscoot Farmer’s Market, Sundays, 11-3.

Saturday, October 24th: 350.org Area Events

If you hear bells in North Salem on Saturday, it’s the Residents of North Salem’s Wake-up Call to Action on the environment. More here

Seven Bridges School, Chappaqua will honor 350.org Day of Action: Lights Out

October 25th, 10:30 AM, Perks, Katonah

Tweetup with BeTheMedia.com Creator David Mathison. It’s a Tweetup: an gathering of Twitter users in real life. This one invites the ‘Twitter-curious’ as well! If you want to get your message out to the world as widely and rapidly as possible, you need to be using social media, microblogging and more. One of the leaders in this field is David Mathison, author of Be The Media ( www.BeTheMedia.com ) CLICK HERE TO RSVP

October 27th, 6 pm, Bedford Post Inn

Westchester GreenDrinks. The next GreenDrinks event will be on October 27 from 6-? at the Bedford Post Inn, 954 Old Post Road in Bedford. In The Barn. GreenDrinks is an informal meeting for people who work in the environmental field.

October 27th, 7-9pm, Daisy Hill Farm, Bedford Corners

Natural Awakenings Network Gathering. meet readers and advertisers of Westchester/Putnam Natural Awakenings Magazine.

October 29th, 7PM, Ridgefield Library

SUSTAINABLE LIGHTING with LEED certified lighting specialist Sara Schrager: www.raceforetheearth.com

Taking my family's health needs to heart while balancing my care for the environment is key to planning low-impact shopping

You want to do right, but you are watching your budget? Me too. I realize that even on a budget, my purchasing dollars are voting for or against the earth. I’ve really tried to simplify my thinking around this issue. If I buy lettuce that was trucked from South Carolina after being heavily sprayed with chemicals that damage the soil and water it was grown on, then I’m endorsing that practice. I’m also subliminally telling my daughter that I believe that the chemicals are harmless, and am willing to experiment on her to find out if there will be cumulative negative health impacts.  On the other hand, cost is a major concern. If I buy a lightbulb that is cheap and not energy efficient, is it really a cost savings, and again, I’m voting with my purchasing dollars to support inefficient lighting sales. Over the coming months I will be sharing tips and my finds to balance out budget with health and lowering the eco-impact of the items I consume. To start, here is how I prioritize like:

NEEDS: this is where I put basic foods, basic personal care items, medicines, school supplies, household ‘necessities’

1. What does my family need to maintain optimal health?
2. What items do I need to purchase now?

WANTS: this is where I put items like a new shampoo I’d like to try, or a jacket, curtains or a pet.

1. What items do I want to purchase in the next month?

COSTS: this is where I do a little research online and by phone if I don’t know a store’s prices, and assess my finances. One key to budgeting is tracking what you spend, from there you can better consider changes. I constantly explore both local and online ordering options, and will be sharing what I find over the coming year.

1. What can I spend this week?
2. What do these things cost within 15 miles? Within 30 miles?
3. What can I order online?
4. Do a cost comparison

IMPACT:

1. What impact do these items have on the environment? If high, is there a better alternative, or could research help me find a way around it?
2. What are the fuel costs related to my shopping options?
3. What are the time/efficiency costs related to my shopping options?

PLANNING: this is where I figure out the shopping logistics, and look for ways to cut down on the carbon impact of my shopping. This is increasingly a focus of carbon impact studies. The results of a recent study found that there isn’t a simple answer of whether or not home delivery and online ordering had a lower carbon impact than driving to a store, but is very clear that with a little planning you can significantly lower your carbon impact with a little planning.

Is there one destination where I can get everything on my list? Can I plan a logical route that would get all shopping for the week done on one loop? Often shopping locally will make more sense than driving the extra 15/30 miles to a box store.

1. Are there stores along the route I take to work/school/meetings where I can find what I need?
2. Do my neighbors or friends need to go to the same stores, is there a carpool possibility?
3. Are there items I can buy on sale and stock up at home efficiently? Would this require a freezer? More storage space?

Join me over the next weeks and months as I share my shopping finds that save money while getting the best quality items and the food, personal care items, household supplies and even cars that help us to reduce our carbon impact. I’ll be exploring regional sources as well as online options and evaluating them.

All of this comes down to a few things: how aware am I of my impact, how willing am I to make change, how aware do I want to become? It is a process, and every step we make towards conscious spending makes a difference. Let me know how it is going, post your questions and comments below, forward this to friends and family, post the discussion to Facebook and see what your friends say.

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Check out the KatonahGreen Calendar of Events on the left-hand side of the blog for  upcoming local green events, seminars, contests and more.

Please don’t print this article, and when you must print, use both sides of every sheet.

If you use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Ning user sites, Meetup, YouTube, Flickr, or are reading this blog post, you are using Social Media, or online sites for social interaction and user-generated media. You can bet that people all over the world are using these sites to promote their philosophies and businesses, and often use social media for the unconscious proliferation of their cultural and political messages through seemingly meaningless chatter, and innocent posting of slick and attractive advertiser funded media. But can it be used to make positive change? I’m on a mission to try.

The numbers of people using social media, and their impacts on the relay of information and purchasing decisions are astounding. By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers….96% of them have joined a social network. *

Bringing this down to how it affects you and me, the very fact that you are reading this

blog is a sign that one voice in a small town can get your attention, if only for a moment. (if you have read this far, I have captured your attention for longer than many social media sites suggest, and may also suggest that you still have an attention span longer than 140 characters). If you are reading this blog, you are probably looking for support, connection to the community and like-minded people, or for information that you don’t have time to go out and find for yourself. And you may even like to hear from me. The topics I choose to cover, the people and places I profile, and the ideas and information I share has some impact (albeit likely small) on your need for connectivity, your purchasing decisions, and possibly your offline communications.

Social media and user-generated content gives us all a chance to make change, and influence people, even when we have a $0 budget. Social media has such immense potential that Al Gore, MoveOn.org, The Daily Green, No Impact Man, TreeHugger, our local NY Times Dot Earth Writer Andrew Revkin, local writer and researcher Jim Motivalli from E/The Environmental Magazine, Michael Pollan, local writer Seth Leitman, author of MacMillan’s Green Guru Guides, are just a few using social media full speed ahead to make change, and level the playing field of social change that has yet to be taken over completely by corporate media.

How can you take this information, and other information that we gather, and use it to change people’s habits in relation to their effects on the sustainability of the planet? I’m on a mission to find out. I don’t have the answer, but am hopeful and want to share everything I learn. Join me in the journey.

GET STARTED

1) JUMP IN: Sign up for a Facebook account and a Twitter account.

2) FOLLOW ME on Twitter @KatonahGreen and I’ll introduce you to Twitterers who will share great information with you on how to use social media. Just check out who I follow to get a prescreened list of good twitterers in the environment and social media fields.

3) SIGN UP for my blog by going to www.KatonahGreen.com and clicking on “Subscribe to KatonahGreen by email” on the left hand side of the page.

4) CHECK OUT ALL THE LINKS and see how they work. Check out the Meetup link, the YouTube videos, the Twitter updates, the sponsors links and the Blogroll. Open the links, comment on them, post the ones you like to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Do the same with the blog posts.

This is just a start. Soon you will be refining your message (if you haven’t already) and finding your own way to get it out there.

Join me on October 25th for a Tweetup with David Mathison, author of Be The Media. Event details here.

*http://socialnomics.net/2009/08/11/statistics-show-social-media-is-bigger-than-you-think/

Luc from Pika's Farm Table talking about how his business reduced plastic bag usage by 75%

The purpose of my blog is to lightly remind and encourage people to consider the choices they make every day and how they impact the environment, our health, and the future health of the planet.  That said, I’m regularly annoyed at myself and others for forgetting to bring shopping bags to the store!

Bringing your own bags may be only a small part of what we can each do to take care of the land we are living on, but here are some statistics from reusablebags.com that might surprise you:

• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.

• Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistake them for food.
• The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store.
• Each high quality reusable bag you use has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.

I spoke with Luc from Pika’s Farm Table about bag usage for his business. His quiches, soups and appetizers are sold in 24 markets around the Hudson Valley, and this past year he has seen a nearly 75% reduction in bag usage simply by implementing two very simple strategies.

• First he asked all of his sales people to stop automatically handing out a bag with purchase. They now pause, and then if the customer looks lost, then ask if they need a bag.
• Secondly he stopped putting the bags on the table near the register. The bags are now kept in a box under the table.

75% is a huge percentage, so please say congratulations to Luc at John Jay High School’s Farmer’s Market next Saturday as you hand him your re-useable bag. Even better, suggest his techniques to local stores you shop at and refer them to this article.

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Check out the KatonahGreen Calendar of Events on the left-hand side of the blog for  upcoming local green events, seminars, contests and more.

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By the way, a note to the gentleman who this past Thursday suggested that my blog has an angry edge, there you go…I came out with it. It was the bags. 

Heather Flournoy Drinking An Organic, Fair-Trade Americano at Ross's Bread Shop

If you live in Westchester, it’s worth the drive to Ross’s Bakery in Ridgefield to get fresh, organic bread and awesome coffee. And if you are into bread baking, try to catch a moment with Ross to about how he got started baking and the mystery of working with the live organisms that make bread rise perfectly. The coffee is wonderful, is fair-trade and organic. The breads are 90% organic, meaning that the flour is organic, but not all the other ingredients like olives for the kalamata bread, or nuts for the walnut loaves are organic.

Ross and Valerie Scheidermann have made a great little shop, and I’m glad to see the follow-through on organic and local and eco-friendly practices. The juices in the self-serve cooler are organic, and there is agave and local honey at the coffee amendments bar, and recycled, unbleached napkins. I’m looking forward to seeing more cafe’s go this way!

They  have free wireless, which is not so eco-friendly, but seems to be a necessary evil for bloggers like me! Perhaps humanity will soon come up with a  way of communicating that doesn’t pose the health and environmental risks of wireless technology.

Ross’s is in Copps Hill Plaza at 109 Danbury Rd., Ridgefield, CT www.rossbread.com

Ross with fresh-from-the-oven bread

While you are there, stop in at Ironwood Gallery to see some fantastic art and high-end crafts by local artists, and pick up some produce at Ridgefield Organics, the fresh vegetable and fruit shop next door to Ross’s. Ridgefield Organics usually has a nice selection of organic produce, though you need to look through and really check to see what is and isn’t organic.

For those of you who don’t eat wheat or gluten, you won’t find a bread here to eat, but I suspect if we keep asking that Ross will start making one. So ask him!

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Thank you to everyone who came to the Katonah Eat-In! We had over 50 people and enjoyed some delicious, local foods, and had the opportunity to talk with everyone about the importance of healthy school lunches. Here are some pictures of the event and the drawings made by the great young people who attended: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24126689@N05/sets/72157622319521016/

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UPCOMING

Check out the upcoming Katonah Green and Beyond Meetup to EcoFest, Oct 4th

Find me every weekend at Gossetts Farm Market from 11-1 at the Katonah Green Chef Demonstration Series!

I’m really getting psyched for the Katonah “Time for Lunch” EAT-IN, this coming Monday, September 7th from 2-4pm! If you are in town, bring your friends and family and a locally-sourced dish to share and come celebrate Labor Day with us in downtown Katonah. Together with Slow Food Westchester, Katonah Green is coordinating a publicly staged potluck on the lawn of the First Presbyterian Church to gather support for improved school lunches nationwide.

Kids are getting ready to go back to school and this EAT-IN is a great way to get them back to thinking about their school and community, and a great way for us to re-connect with each other after the summer.

REAL FOOD LUNCH ART CONTEST

To add to the fun, at least 5 local stores and markets have donated gift certificates to sponsor a REAL FOOD LUNCH Art Contest! Bring artwork, or come make it at the potluck. Winners will be eligible to win a gift certificate and homemade goodies, and will be featured on Katonah Green! All ages may participate! Click here for details.

We’re really looking forward to sharing a meal with you!

Many thanks to:

• Independent Film-Maker Christopher Roberts for helping to organize this event.  Find him on Twitter: @bewildia
• Dr. Susan Rubin Better School Food and Slow Food Westchester
• Slow Food Westchester’s dedicated volunteers

and these stores for Gift Certificates:
• Charles Department Store
• Community Farmer’s Markets
• First Presbyterian Church, Katonah
• Gossett’s Farm Market
• Mrs. Green’s Katonah
• Nature’s Temptations
• TABLE Local Market

Chef Liz Gagnon of Nature’s Temptations Deli in Ridgefield, Ct takes us shopping at the market, selects what looks best, and comes up with a fabulous Moroccan meal: Scallops with Lamb Sausage and Spices, Cucumber and Cippolini Onion Salad, Sprouted Red Lentils with Eggplant, Corn and Lemon.

She gives us some quick lessons on cutting onions, sprouting red lentils, Middle Eastern spices, and the secret to sauteing scallops.

Many thanks to Gossetts Farm Market for hosting Katonah Green’s  Chef Demo Series, and to this episodes food contributors:  Seatuck Seafood for the scallops, Madura Farms for the eggplant, onions, corn and cucumbers, and New England Farms for the lamb sausage.

The Chef Demo Series is coordinated by Heather Flournoy for KatonahGreen.com
Check out the market every Saturday year-round in South Salem, NY: GossettsFarmMarket.com