Home > Blogs > Living Green (Skip to blog navigation.)
By Matt Cunningham
| Friday, July 4, 2008, 10:37 AM
Fairfield Echo/Liberty Twp. Pulse-Journal reporter Eric Schwartzberg got me thinking about today’s topic with a comment he made in the newsroom two days ago.
What would 7/4/08 be like if, rather than referring to it simply as “Fourth of July,” we went back to calling the holiday “Independence Day” and observed it as such?
It’s a good thought-provoker, the more you think about it, and I say it has everything to do with what we try to achieve through environmentally sound and sustainable living practices.
Continue reading "Independence Day thoughts"...
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Post your comment
More:
General green living
By Matt Cunningham
| Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 12:37 PM
I am proud of myself; Monday night, I turned one chicken into about two weeks’ worth of meals.
The organic-raised chicken I bought a week ago from Gravel Knolls Farm was sitting in my freezer, patiently waiting for me to figure out the best way to use it. Sure, it would have been easy enough to throw the thing in the oven, bake it up and toss the bones and leftovers after a dinner or two, but that just didn’t feel right.
I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about food, because I think it’s a critical key to sustainable, environmentally responsible living. Sustainability, in its essence, means making the resources we have go as far as they can.
That applies to food, too.
Continue reading "Satisfaction"...
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Post your comment
More:
DIY food
By Matt Cunningham
| Tuesday, July 1, 2008, 08:56 AM
I got to work this morning to learn that one of my fellow reporters had the gasoline stolen out of her truck last night. The thief apparently slid under the vehicle and punched a hole in the gas tank. Thankfully she and her husband found the giant puddle of gas under the car before anyone did anything that could have caused a fire, but they’re now spending the morning finding a tow to a repair shop and checking with their insurer to see if the damage is covered.
Welcome to the future, folks.
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Post your comment
More:
sustainable living
By Matt Cunningham
| Monday, June 30, 2008, 11:23 AM
Sorry, no recipe to follow the title, but I did discover an entertaining aspect of community supported agriculture this weekend:
Sometime, you don’t know what you’re going to get.
I picked up this week’s bag of produce Saturday at the West Chester Farmers Market. I didn’t stick my nose too deeply into the brown paper bag brimming with green until I got home and laid it out on the kitchen counter.
Wow.
Continue reading "Vegetable surprise!"...
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Post your comment
More:
DIY food
By Matt Cunningham
| Thursday, June 26, 2008, 08:46 AM
I spent part of last night listening to a telephone town hall meeting hosted by U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Ohio congressman and a West Chester Twp. resident.
The topic of conversation was energy: the price of oil, oil imports, nuclear energy and domestic oil drilling all got attention in the Q and A session, and I thought the congressman’s reponses provided insight into both the situation in Washington and his own take on America’s energy crunch.
Officials with Boehner’s officer told me 300 to 350 households phoned in to the conversation. Only a few asked questions; the vast majority listened.
I’m posting some of the questions and answers here, so anyone who didn’t call in to the meeting can have a sense of what went on and what was said.
Take a look, got to Boehner’s web site to learn more about the conversation, then come back here and post a comment with your thoughts.
Continue reading "John Boehner talks energy with constituents"...
Permalink
| Comments (1)
| Post your comment
More:
environment and politics
By Matt Cunningham
| Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 06:33 PM
I learned about this recent settlement between Florida and in-state sugar cane growers today.
Take a look at the New York Times article here, then comment and let me know what you think of the move. Is it a good thing for the environment? For business?
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Post your comment
More:
environment and politics
By Matt Cunningham
| Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 02:16 PM
A good deal of my inspiration for the “DIY food” posts the past month has come from reading “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Virginia based writer Barbara Kingsolver and her family. The book is a memoir of her family’s year-long experiment in only consuming food made or grown within 100 miles of their farm.
The book is a very readable mix of commentary, recipes and even suggestions through description of how one might go about changing to a more locally focused lifestyle.
I’ve heard there are other books worth reading, if “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” is of interest to you. A friend recently suggested writer Michael Pollan’s books “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and In “Defense of Food” are worthy reads on the subjects of food quality and the nature of food in modern culture.
If you’ve read either of these books, let us know what you think of them. I have a few “must reads” I’m working through, but plan to read one or both in the near future. Once I do, I’ll post my thoughts here.
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Post your comment
More:
DIY food
Back to top
More entries...
Latest comment
Many places and things do say Independence Day. I have two calendars at hand, one from the bank and