Green House

I get a ton of e-mail pitching green products, some actually eco-friendly, some not.

Here's two of the ones that fell flat.

One cosmetics company touted allegedly eco friendly products that sounded high-priced for me and the earth. The boasted that the were made of products long prized for keeping the faces of Sudanese woman looking young. Seriously?
First, that makes me think it's being shipped from the Sudan, which uses a lot of carbon. Secondly, the situation in Sudan is not amendable to skin-care products. I'm going to guess there isn't much shade or sunscreen in a refugee camp. The 2009 life expectancy for a woman in the Sudan is 52.4 years. Maybe the "old" women look young not because of their cosmetics but because their version of a 100-year-old is actually a 60-year-old.

AngryGreenGirl.com sells itself as the "new must-see web portal" promoting "environmentally conscious ways of living. In these short (1-2 minute) webisodes, Angry Green Girl delivers straight talk on how to Green Up, Dumbass! on topics ranging from global warming to water conservation." Seriously. That's how they are selling this. From what I could stomach, it's a vaguely hot chick delivering insults to boys while telling us things every idiot who gives a crap already knows. It's clear from the negative comments that it's geared toward college boys who, if they're smart, will hit mute so they can tolerate this woman. They'll learn nothing.

Oswego's ECO Commission is hosting its twice-yearly Reuse & Recycle Extravaganza from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Oswego's not that much of a hike, and for one-stop recycling like this, you can not feel that guilty about the carbon. The event is at Oswego's Public Works Facility, 100 Theodore Drive, Oswego. For cheater directions from Will County, check the bottom of this post.

Plus, if you want to be extra good (and you do), you can volunteer to greet participants, answer questions, direct traffic, unload, sort, and organize all of the items that will be reused/recycled. Even if you stay for just an hour or so, ECO organizers would appreciate it. For info on volunteering, call Alison Giangrasse at (630) 554-3622 or e-mail her t agiangrasse@oswegoil.org.

If you can't work at it, consider this your notice to load up the car. They're taking tons of stuff, including paint, electronics, paper for secure shredding, videos, books, etc. Some of the stuff will be re-used, not just recycled, and you know that's even greener. Plus, if you stop by, you can peruse the books, videos and some other items previous visitors have dropped off. Mmmmm, free and green.

Go to ECO's site to click on the 2009 accept list for a complete list of everything you can take over there. Here's the best part: You load up your car and drive-through to various stations, stopping at the ones that apply to you. Pop the trunk and the volunteers will take items applicable to their station. You don't even have to get out.

The Active Transportation Alliance has declared Sept. 22 Chicagoland Car-Free Day.
Residents are encouraged to use public transportation, bikes and their own two feet instead of cars.
Sept. 22 is a Tuesday. I'm thinking that's not going to work.
Don't rush to tell me that as a suburbanite I love my car too much.

My stove is homicidal. My AC is suicidal over hitting the big 3-0. If I
don't get a dishwasher, the skin on my hands might actually fall off.

But help is on the way. The feds are launching a Cash for Clunkers-like
program (wow, that phrase was a clunker) for appliances.

The states will administer the program. That means Illinois may not
participate, or could restrict the program to Cook County or something.

If it is offered to us though, you'd save $50 to $200 on the purchase of
Energy Star appliances -- and you don't even have to haul the old one in.

It's seen as a way to get people spending (and get appliance manufacturers
hiring) and to cut energy use at the same time.

For me, it means I might be able to get a dishwasher. I already have my eye
on a sweet little Whirpool Energy Star one. The AC will probably have to
wait because they are EXPENSIVE, but I feel bad using my energy guzzler.

My stove is actually leaking gas, so I had to break down and get one that
won't kill me. But there's no such thing as an Energy Star stove, so I had
no qualms about getting one now, other than spending the money.

Expect announcements in November or early next year about how the program
will work in Illinois.

Does anyone in the area drink or make kefir?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a drinkable protein dairy majobby (that's the technical term) that is described as tasting like buttermilk, or alcoholic yogurt, depending on who is doing the describing.

You get kefir grains, pop 'em in milk and they ferment it for you. The grains grow over time and you can split them and give them to others or dry them until you have a use for them.

I'm wondering if this is something I should try or if I'd hate the taste or the work. Any kefir fans or haters want to weigh in? Or to offer up some free grains? There are many sources for free grains since they reproduce and you can only use so much, but I can't hack driving to Chicago to pick up something I might despise.