Stop number two on the farm tour was Earthworks Urban Farm. Earthworks strives to promote sustainable agricultural practices and nutrition in the Detroit area.  The city of Detroit does not have any chain grocery stores. They have all packed up and left, leaving residents to find food at corner stores and small markets.  Access to food has become increasingly difficult.  Earthworks believes in showing people how to build a relationship with nature and grow their own food.

A new term I’ve learned is Community Food Security.  ”Community food security is a condition in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice.”

–Mike Hamm and Anne Bellows
From Community Food Security Coalition’s website

Now who doesn’t want to get behind that?  Taking back control of our food system! Find out more about Earthworks on their website.

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Backyard chickens are catching on.  I had city chickens for a couple of years and they were great.  While some say, “that’s crazy,” I say “it’s so awesome!”  The benefits of having chickens were plentiful.  They are probably one of the most helpful animals for being green and sustainable.  Chickens hunt and peck all day long.  That means less bugs for your yard.  They lay eggs.  That means you get fresh organic eggs at no cost to you. Don’t like composting, use your chickens.  I threw my kitchen scraps in the run area and they went to town.  It’s a little sustainable farm of your very own. (more…)

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I don’t like single use plastic bags, but this guy has taken an even bigger stand by turning himself into the Bag Monster and going on tour.  It’s one thing to hear the number of plastic bags used, but it’s another thing to quantify it by seeing them.  A single person will consume 45,000 plastic bags in their lifetime.  Are you ready to take a look at what that means?  The Bag Monster website has all the facts and figures, and you can also see the tour schedule to see if he’ll be visiting your city.  You can also take the pledge to eliminate plastic bags from your life.  Visit Bag Monster’s facebook page and pledge today!

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Hybrid cars have become quite popular over the last few years.  Now some are taking it a step further and converting their vehicles to run on vegetable oil.  I read an article on one automotive shop in particular that is dedicated to vegetable oil conversions and educating people on how to maintain their cars.  Portland based Green Drop Garage offers many car care classes and education on making the switch to veggie oil.  Their site alone makes you want to be their new best friend.  These guys have stepped out of the box as an automotive shop.  Teaching people about their cars is an oxymoron.  But these guys are truly supporting the idea of community.  Building relationships with people and a trust that most do not, and probably never will, have with their auto shop.  I hope this type of auto shop isn’t just a gem in Portland.  I want one of my very own!

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Mexico City stores are outlawed from giving out plastic bags that are not biodegradable.  Plastic bags are the largest form of litter to our oceans.  With Mexico City’s 9 million plus population, this plastic bag ban will prevent millions and millions of bags from becoming litter.  It will also reduce plastic bags being produced which means less oil used.  The domino effect of green!

San Francisco enacted an ordinance in 2007 giving supermarkets and pharmacies 6 months to phase out the bags. California recently passed legislation prohibiting pharmacies, grocery and liquor stores from using plastic bags. Customers could begin being charged a bag fee from stores.  The goal of these bans is not to inconvenience customers, it is to reduce litter and the damage these bags cause.  Thousands of aquatic life are harmed or killed from these plastic death traps.  It’s time to go reusable!  Help the bill pass, click below and tell your state representative today!

CLICK HERE TO HELP BAN PLASTIC BAGS

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