Green Book Week - In Defense of Food giveaway

If you aren't submitting your name to this giveaway of the book, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto you:

1. Already own and have read the book
2. Have a copy from the library and are reading it
3. Have a copy on loan from a friend and are reading it
4. Are completely insane

From Publisher's Weekly:

Examining the question of what to eat from the perspective of health, this powerfully argued, thoroughly researched and elegant manifesto cuts straight to the chase with a maxim that is deceptively simple: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. But as Pollan explains, food in a country that is driven by a thirty-two billion-dollar marketing machine is both a loaded term and, in its purest sense, a holy grail.

The first section of his three-part essay refutes the authority of the diet bullies, pointing up the confluence of interests among manufacturers of processed foods, marketers and nutritional scientists—a cabal whose nutritional advice has given rise to a notably unhealthy preoccupation with nutrition and diet and the idea of eating healthily.

The second portion vivisects the Western diet, questioning, among other sacred cows, the idea that dietary fat leads to chronic illness. A writer of great subtlety, Pollan doesn't preach to the choir; in fact, rarely does he preach at all, preferring to lets the facts speak for themselves.

Enough said. Add your name to the comments for a chance to win this fantastic new book from Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma.

The contest ends Friday, May 2nd, at 6:00 pm PST. I'll announce the winner on Saturday! Time's up!

Green Book Week - Affluenza giveaway

Have you been following along with the Affluenza book club discussion posts, itching to get your grubby paws on a copy but didn't want to buy it for yourself because it goes counter to the whole message from the book?

Have you been dutifully participating in April's Buy Nothing Challenge and want to read more about how consumerism affects us all?

Did the reader submitted interview with David Wann (one of the authors of Affluenza), make you desperate to read his seminal work before diving into Simple Prosperity?

Are you ready to read more from this life-changing book? Are you ready for me to stop asking so many goddamned questions?

Well, now's your chance to get a copy of the book, guilt-free. Sure, it's a mildly used copy (I'm real gentle on my books), but isn't that better than buying it new?

All you need to do to enter the giveaway is add your name to the comments section of this post. The contest ends Friday, May 2nd, at 6:00 pm PST. I'll announce the winner on Saturday! Time's up!

Green book week!

Since my husband starts his stem cell transplant chemo today (three days of super high dosages), I'll be pretty busy and won't have much time for in-depth posts. So, I'm designating this week as Green book week! Hopefully, a little book fun and merriment will break up the excitement of twelve hour infusions, hair loss, nausea and vomiting...

Anyway, last week we finished off the discussion posts for the book, In Defense of Food, and next Tuesday I'm hoping to put up the final discussion post for Affluenza. As such, today there's a poll about the book club.

The rest of the week will be green book giveaways! If you are participating in Green Bean Dream's Bookworm Challenge in May, now's your chance to get the book you're signing up for for free!

Here's the book club giveaway schedule:

Tuesday: Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, by John de Graaf, David Wann and Thomas Naylor

Wednesday: In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan

Thursday: Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle, by David Wann

Friday: Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style, by Christie Matheson

All giveaways will be randomly chosen. You can enter one or all of them by adding your name to the comments for the book you are interested in on the day I announce the giveaway (in other words, don't enter them today). The contest closes for all the giveaways on Friday, May 2nd, 6:00 pm PST. I'll announce the winners on Saturday, May 3rd.

The following poll is multiple choice, so you can pick your top 3 or whatever you want.

Sunday confessional - Week 4

Holy moley, I can't believe there's only a few days left of the Buy Nothing Challenge. For me, the first week was kinda tough, the second one a little easier and the last two have been no brainers. Our credit card bill is vastly smaller than usual.

Of course, I've spent a lot of the last two weeks at the "cancer spa" where shopping opportunities are rather minimal, but still. I can honestly say that I haven't purchased anything besides food, necessary sundries and an occasional coffee. We didn't even eat out this week!

I suspect the next week will go by without a hitch. I am concerned a little about some of you who are "saving" your purchases until May. I hope you don't blow a hole in your credit cards making up for holding off on purchasing things for a month.

The idea was to have you focus on things you didn't really need, not in the hopes of staving off the desire for a few weeks, but in convincing you that you didn't actually need that item. Hopefully, for some of you, having to wait a few weeks has lessened the desire.

But, enough about me, how are you doing with the challenge?

Five brand new Divas

Thanks to all of you who have signed up for the DivaCup Challenge 2008. There's still time to add yourself to the growing list of women who are finally taking the plunge and giving the DivaCup a try.

For those of you who pledged to do the challenge up until yesterday, you were entered in a drawing. Five lucky women are winners of a brand spankin' new DivaCup:

1. S.N. of the blog, Saidlian Nataly
2. JenRob of the blog, Greening Middle America
3. ANewDay of the blog, With a turn...
4. FrugalNut of the blog, Frugal Nuts are Green
5. Gsgranola of the blog, Garden State Granola

Winners, please email me at crunchychickenblog@gmail.com with your mailing information and what size you want.

There are two choices:

Model 1 - for the tight and tiny
Model 2 - for the double wide

The rule of thumb is, if you are under 30 and haven't had children, choose Model 1. If you are over 30 or have had chitlins, then choose Model 2. The length of the cup is about the same with both models it's the girth that's different. For more information on choosing your size, please check with the experts.

For those of you who have signed up for the DivaCup Challenge and are still looking to buy one and/or can't find one locally, I'm in the process of setting up a discount for DivaCups through Lunapads. So stay tuned!

Congratulations winners! You are about to begin a journey toward menstrual freedom!

Boob ball winner

The winner of the fabulous flip & tumble sack ball thingy is:

artbystrongheart of the blog, Learning to Step Lightly

Congratulations! You have one pink 24-7 bag coming your way!

I'll be announcing the winners of the five DivaCups for the DivaCup Challenge 2008 tomorrow, so stay tuned!

I'll also be doing at least one more product review and giveaway next week, so do not despair if you didn't win the boob ball, there will be other opportunities soon!

Flip & tumble review & giveaway

Well, after Monday's screed, I thought it was great timing to review some green products. And I might as well give something away while I'm at it.

I am regularly contacted by companies hawking their new, improved green products or books, most of which I generally ignore. This one, however, caught my eye. I mean, any company that has a tagline of, "for those oh #@*! moments at the checkout line" should at least be given a chance, no?

The flip & tumble is a bag that is designed for those of you who constantly forget to bring your reusable bags to the store. This little number can be stashed in your purse or backpack. It has a stretchy pouch that conceals it into a small ball when, in fact, it is a full size bag. It takes a few minutes to figure out how to origami it bag into it's compact, ball-like shape, but once you do, it's a cinch.

It reportedly holds 25 lbs, although I haven't yet tested it to that weight. It has a little felty shoulder pad that really doesn't do much and makes the strap look a little hokey, but I would imagine it would be uncomfortable without it. The stretchy pouch doubles nicely as a small cell phone holder and it really does hold a lot. When the bag is unfolded it measures 12" x 14" x 5". In it's origami shape, it's about 3" in diameter.

My big problem with the bags is that I generally don't carry a purse and so I don't actually have anywhere to stash the balls. But, as you can see from the photo on the right, I have found the perfect place to store them. Plus, they serve a dual purpose - no disfiguring plastic surgery required. I'm sure you men out there have an equally suitable area for enhancement, I mean, storage.

Anyway, once the bag reaches the end of its life, you can even send it back to the company and they'll recycle it for you.

Since I know you aren't buying anything this month, I'm having a giveaway! If you are interested in trying out the flip & tumble, you can enter to win a pink one by adding your name to the comments. I'll have a random drawing on Thursday. Time's up!

In Defense of Food book discussion (Part III)

This week's book club post is the fifth installment of the In Defense of Food discussion posts. This week's post wraps up the longest book club for the shortest book ever!

Chapter 1. Escape from the Western Diet - This chapter recaps what has been covered in the earlier sections of the book and sets up what we are to read in the remaining chapters. The main concept is reiterated: People eating a Western diet are prone to a complex of chronic diseases that seldom strike people eating more traditional diets. No matter what infighting occurs between scientists, the take home message is to stop eating a Western diet.

How do we go about doing this? Pollan isn't expecting us to truly go back to a "traditional" diet because how can you define traditional for each person? The genetic makeup of each individual and their ability to process certain foods relies tremendously on the environment in which their ancestors adapted to the local foodsheds.

So, what is he recommending? Well, to start off, choose whole foods. But how can we determine if that whole food is really unadulterated? Is that CAFO beef really a whole food? What about vegetables grown in nutrient depleted soil under a host of chemical pesticides and petroleum fertilizers? Is that a whole food?


Chapter 2. Eat Food: Food Defined - What the heck should we be eating then? Here are some rules of thumb:

Don't eat anything your great-grandma wouldn't recognize. Squeeze yogurts, cheese food products, Twinkies, non-dairy creamers - all of these can be readily identified as something not "whole".

Avoid foods containing unfamiliar or unpronounceable ingredients or high fructose corn syrup. This doesn't mean so much that the ingredients are inherently harmful, but they are good indicators of food quality.

Avoid food products that make health claims. This is a big neon sign screaming "processed". Generally, only big food companies have the wherewithal to secure FDA-approved health claims for their products.

Shop the peripheries of the supermarket. You know what's lurking in the middle - packaged, boxed, processed foods. Stick to the outside where produce, dairy, meats and bulk items live.

Get out of the supermarket if you can. Farmers markets generally don't sell highly processed foods, neither do farm stands or U-pick farms. Shop from your garden and you're assured of getting whole foods.

Do you focus on buying mostly whole foods or are you more concerned with buying healthy or organic even if it's processed (like cereals, crackers, soups, etc.)? There are a number of highly processed foods that are marketed as "healthy" - do you think they are? Do you really need to eat whole foods or are products found in the natural foods section okay?


Chapter 3. Mostly Plants: What to Eat - Okay, so we're supposed to eat whole foods. Any more words of wisdom?

Eat mostly plants, especially leaves. Plants are chock full of nutrients, vitamins, fiber and antioxidants all delivered in a format that our bodies are evolved to uptake most effectively. Antioxidants help us get rid of toxins and the rest are necessary for health and function. Enriched foods just don't get processed the same way and plants supply us with these necessities.

You are what what you eat eats too. WTF? In other words, the diet of the animals we eat has a bearing on the nutritional quality, and healthfulness, of the food itself. The same thing can be said for plant based foods - poor soils make for nutritionally poor plants.

If you have the space, buy a freezer. If you can buy foods at the height of the season and store them for year-round consumption, you are ensuring that you are getting the most nutrition from your foods. Eating those anemic tomatoes in February just doesn't cut it.

Eat like an omnivore. If you eat a wide and varied diet, you are more likely to get the full range of nutrients that these foods supply.

Eat well-grown food from healthy soils. Again, soils rich in organic matter produce more nutritious food: higher levels of anti-oxidants, flavonoids, vitamins, etc.

Have a glass of wine with dinner. I love Michael Pollan.


Chapter 4. Not Too Much: How to Eat - First of all, focus on quality over quantity. Shake off the idea of supersizing your meals or trying to maximize the food you get for your dollar. Instead, spend more money on less. You'll find the quality of the food and it's improved taste will satisfy you with less.

Second, eat meals. No more eating in the car, at your desk, in front of the TV or computer, standing at the sink or sitting on the toilet or wherever you grab your meals. Sit down at the table for crying out loud and enjoy your food. Preferably with family and friends.

Thirdly, eat slowly and listen to your belly. Don't hoark down your food so fast that your brain doesn't recognize that you ate so much that you have to unbutton your pants. Or, worse yet, you're so full that you can't stand up and walk upright without discomfort. It takes your brain about twenty minutes to catch up with your gut, so give them time to communicate with each other.

Lastly, become a cook and grow a garden. Doing both gives you an appreciation between the plants and the soil and between the ingredients and those you are feeding.

How many meals do you eat at home? How many with your family? Are you so overly busy that you don't have time to cook or eat with others?

Well, that concludes the In Defense of Food book club posts. How has reading this book changed the way you think about food and eating?

Jumping on the environmental bandwagon

What will you be doing tomorrow for Earth Day? Over the years, this annual event has turned into just a gesture, punctuated mostly by green marketing rhetoric. Even at the biggest green events, like the Green Festival held here recently in Seattle, the focus was on consumerism. "Over 300 eco-friendly vendors!"

You can't buy your way to sustainability, no matter what the manufacturers tell you. Sure, you can replace things with more ecologically sound products or you can choose to buy the environmentally friendly item over the conventional one and I'm certainly behind that. But...

This Earth Day's events include many a commercial bent rather than an environmental one. Sure, there are educational elements to them, but most of the focus is on purchasing items to save the environment rather on good old wholesome conservation. What happened to the Earth Day activities where you get together and plant a tree and discuss current issues and how to resolve them?

Yet, it all comes back to buying. What happened to just being? Back before everything was dirt cheap, there was a focus on quality over quantity, enjoying what you had and not buying stuff just for the sake of having it. We've discussed the slippery slope of consumerism in the Affluenza book club posts, and most of the people reading this blog have only experienced the age of Affluenza, not WWII conservation.

I suppose over the last year, I've matured from focusing on doing green things that tend to be product based, to really focusing on the necessity of products in achieving a greener lifestyle. It is extremely easy to get sucked into buying into a new lifestyle and there are tons of products and companies out there to help you purchase your way into greener living. But, when you step back, it's not really an improvement if you're still just purchasing stuff you don't really need. Even if it's environmentally friendly, you don't need those new bamboo clothes, the hemp shoes, the gadgets, appliances, tools and other things.

For the most part, with many products, even so called "green" ones, the environmental cost of manufacturing (energy, oil, mining, shipping, water and industrial waste) outweighs keeping your carbon-unfriendly version. And when that product goes teets up, you should really be considering whether you actually needed it in the first place.

Where am I going with this? Well, let's just say that I'm getting a little sick of seeing all the "eco" friendly products and articles in magazines, in the papers and on TV. These vendors are selling you the idea of green, but in actuality, you are just getting sucked in. Again. The message is a feel-good, placation of fears of global warming and all it's scary antecedents.

If you really want to do something for the environment, stop consuming. I don't mean stop eating or buying the basics for clothing and cleaning, just stop buying crap you don't need and end up having to get rid of later. If you really want to do something for the environment, pledge to Stop Buying. You'll find it a lot easier than you thought and with all the money you save, you can spend it on spending time with your friends and family instead of working hard to pay for your green, product driven lifestyle.

Sunday confessional - Week 3

It has been 7 days since my last confessional and I haven't spent anything except for food and a bottle of wine. The wine isn't exactly essential, but after reading In Defense of Food, I'm gonna argue that it's a medical necessity. Well, maybe not.

I got my two books from the library and that has sated my interest in buying something. My daughter is asking for new dresses as she's outgrown last year's spring/summer dresses but we didn't find any at the second-hand store, so no purchases there. I have been drooling over a food mill but will wait and most likely the desire will pass.

Other than that, I've gotten into the groove of not purchasing crap I don't really need. I can't say that my husband is following suit, but I have little control over that.

How was your week?

Eco Hottie of the Week #4

Whew! It's been a few weeks and now it's time to get back on track. This week's eco-hottie is a "regular" person, but I'd say there's nothing regular about him.

Who: Guillermo Payet

What: Founder of LocalHarvest

Why: Although I must admit, I have certain prejudices against LocalHarvest only because it directly competes with my project Puget Sound Fresh on a local level (okay, so it's not exactly my project, but I've worked on it for seven years). Anyway a little competition is good, no? But I digress. El Sr. Payet muy guapo es el fundador del sitio web que promueve comprando alimento de granjas locales.

LocalHarvest is America's #1 organic and local food website. They maintain a public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources.

Their search engine helps people find products from family farms, local sources of sustainably grown food, and encourages them to establish direct contact with small farms in their local area. Their online store helps small farms develop markets for some of their products beyond their local area.

Quotable: "I wash my hair with handmade soap. Sometimes I even brush my teeth with it. I like to keep chemicals away from my body."

"I've had girlfriends who wear a pair of jeans once and wash them immediately. I'm like 'You're polluting the water and wasting electricity.'"

---

Who knew that imports from Peru could be so tasty? No carbon food miles here!

If you would like to nominate someone as an Eco Hottie, email me.

Busting Brita's balls

Fake Plastique Fish has taken on a new effort to force responsibility back on Brita for recycling their enormously wasteful water filter cartridges. I'm pretty sure I haven't discussed water filters on my blog since I don't really use them.

I'm more of a tap water gal, even though we have filtered water through our refrigerator. Either way, I'm appalled at the fact that Brita doesn't have a recycling program in the U.S. yet they have one in Europe. This is a point that has always ground my crackers and I'm surprised I never got around to bitching, I mean, blogging about it before.

Anyway, Brita is the #1 water filter in the U.S. and Canada and I'm sure between both countries we blow through tons of water filters that head directly to the landfill to ooze out their chemical goodness.

For those of you who do use water filters, I urge you to reconsider whether or not this is truly necessary. Have you had your water tested? Does it taste bad enough to warrant so much waste? Either way, git on over to the Take Back the Filter site to sign the petition.

Ms. Plastique has also set up a way for you to send her your used filters. It is my understanding that at this time she is only accepting filters from Brita. I'm not suggesting that you switch since you'll have to do something with your old system, but this is a start.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can try to refill the disposable filter. I don't know how easy or safe this is, but thought I'd let you check it out for yourself. I, personally, wouldn't feel comfortable doing this, but that's just me.

This sounds like a great time for a poll! Or two.

DivaCup Challenge 2008

It's been almost a year since the first DivaCup Challenge started. I love, love, love my DivaCup and cannot imagine going back to disposables.

To be honest, I was completely abhorred by the idea of this little piece of silicone at first, but once I took the plunge (so to speak) I was immediately enamored. I only hope that other women will try it for themselves. It's been totally life changing. And I don't say that about just anything.

At this time, about 43% of the almost 500 people that answered my latest poll used the DivaCup or the Keeper. The total for reusable menstrual products is 57%. First of all, I must say I am astounded that the percentage is as high as it is. It is probably due to the crunchiness of my readers, but even still. That's wonderful! Consider the savings to the environment, the sewage treatment plants, the landfills and to your bodies!

If I had any influence on the number of DivaCups being used I would be quite pleased, yet I'm not sure if I can take much credit in these numbers. Either way, I hope to increase that number even more if I can.

As such, I'm holding another DivaCup Challenge and giveaway for those who do not want to risk spending the money on something they are not sure about. But I'm not giving away just one DivaCup but five.

What's the catch? Well, to sign up to win a DivaCup you must pledge to use it for 3 months regardless of whether or not you win one. (For those of you participating in the Buy Nothing Challenge, since this replaces a whole bunch of disposable "necessities", it's an acceptable purchase.)

The challenge starts May 2008 to coincide with the Extreme Eco Challenge for those trying to eliminate their usage of paper products. To join the challenge, sign up in the comments. To enter the giveaway, you must have signed up by April 25th.

Affiliate links
Here's the DivaCup I use. Aside from loss or mystery melts, it should (honestly) last a lifetime:
DivaCup Medical Grade Silicone Cup

Extreme Eco Throwdown

Last month I ran a poll regarding what people were willing to give up in order to be able to afford increased prices in food, energy, oil, etc. We are definitely looking at tightening the belt in many ways as food and energy prices climb.

One common comment on the post was people saying they couldn't do such and such or that it wasn't realistic. Well, since I like to push your buttons, I want to show you that, in many cases, it's not a case of not being able to do something, but not wanting to do it.

I want you to try to do something you otherwise thought would be impossible. In order to help you commit to this I'm running a new challenge. It's not until May, so you have a few weeks to prepare yourselves, both mentally and otherwise. You can choose to do one or more of the following suggested changes for a week or for the whole month.

For those of you who want to try a variety of things, you can do a different one each week or keep adding a new one per week. In any case, you have to go cold turkey on it. No halvsies, partial attempts or whatnot. What you do get, however, is a day of rest each week (if you want).

Here are the challenges. They get increasingly harder the higher the number:

1. No plastic - Don't buy or consume anything (purchases, food, etc.) that is encased in plastic. I don't care if it's recyclable. If you want to go all the way, this will include your shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. In other words, when in doubt, ask yourself, WWFPFD?

2. No paper products - This encompasses the obvious: no newspapers, paper towels, toilet paper, pads or tampons, paper plates, paper or coffee cups.

3. No driving - This one is pretty straightforward. Check out your public transit and bus routes, get yourself a monthly bus pass, get your bike tuned up or dust off those walking/running shoes.

4. Local food only - Depending on where you live, this may be fairly easy or quite difficult. For those of you with plenty of farmers markets to choose from and tons of different foods coming into season, it won't be too hard. Local bakery items (unless Sara Lee is local to you), local organic or sustainable dairy products, eggs, meats and wineries and breweries are all acceptable. Don't be afraid to forage for those dandelions!

5. No garbage output - You should only be producing waste that is compostable and it should go into your compost pile or your municipal food waste pickup.

6. No excessive water usage - Now, I'm not expecting you to dehydrate yourselves. What this one is about is conserving water. That means, very little water for showering, bathing, washing. Try to use the least amount of gallons of water you can. Pretend like there is a severe water shortage. Drink as much as you need to, just imagine you have to retrieve all your water in buckets from a stream 1 mile away.

7. No electricity - For some of you this may be easier if you rely on gas for heating and cooking. But for the most case, this will give you an idea what it will be like to not rely on power for a period of time. If you only want to try this one out for a day or a week, that's fine. It will be like a self-imposed power outage. For those of you who want to do this one, but don't want to clear out your fridge/freezer, you can leave it running - I'm not expecting you to go off the grid.

Are you crazy enough to try this one? Remember, you can take one day off per week. Think about it and if you're up for it, sign up by leaving a comment with which changes you are thinking about making and I'll add you to the sidebar. Like the Buy Nothing Challenge, I'll be having weekly check-ins to see how people are surviving.

Let it all hang out

No, I'm not talking about going commando, I'm talking about National Hanging Out Day on April 19th. Promoted by Project Laundry List, NHOD is an effort to get people to hang their clothes out on a line rather than using their clothes dryers.

For some, hanging laundry out to dry poses a big challenge. Clotheslines are banned or restricted by many of the roughly 300,000 homeowners’ associations that set rules for about 60 million people. The very act of hanging clothes out to dry becomes one of subversion, with people sneaking around in their yards and trying to hide their illicit lines. It's really a pity when you look at some stats:

Electric dryers use five to ten percent of residential electricity in the United States

There are 88 million dryers in America, and if everyone converted to lines 1/2 the year it could reduce residential output of CO2 by 3.3%.

Clothes last longer when air dried

Indoor racks can humidify your home in dry winter weather

Clothes dryer fires account for about 15,600 structure fires, 15 deaths, and 400 injuries annually



For those of you who don't believe you have enough space to dry your clothes inside, consider the fact that very few Parisians and Europeans living in densely populated cities rely on clothes dryers - they line dry their clothes.

Sunday confessional - Week 2

Okay people, I have not spent. It has been 7 days since my last confessional.

I actually didn't buy anything this week except for essential food items. Well, that and a few cappuccinos during the week with my husband on his last day of work and while at the cancer center. But other than those, that's it!

Because of the scheduling of all my husband's appointments gearing up to his stem cell transplant, I didn't end up going to the Seattle Green Festival. Since it was 76 and sunny yesterday (the first time since last September) I chose to spend the day with my family at the park and playing with my kids. Oh, well. At least I wasn't tempted to buy anything.

How are you doing? What did you end up buying?

Head shavin' update

While this donation drive is going on, I'll be regaling you with pictures of the bald and the beautiful.

Anyway, for those of you trying to donate to get me to Shave my Head and are having problems with the donation site, you can now donate via my blog.

See the donation button on the right navbar...

What's the difference? Well, if you donate from this blog, I'll be acting as the middle man, but I don't charge any handling fees (the donation site charges a certain percentage for handling).

How does it work? I've set up a separate account in PayPal, so after May 10th I'll directly donate the money to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. I'll update the counter here and on the donation site so there's a running total in both places.

Also, if you want to send me a check instead, drop me an email at crunchychickenblog@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who had such a hard time trying to donate yesterday. Please let me know if you run into any problems again.

Cleanin' up Questionnaire

Last summer I asked a few questions about personal cleaning habits, mostly out of curiosity but also because there is such a huge focus in our culture on bathing and bath products and sterilizing everything.

One thing that stuck in my mind the other day was the commercial from the late 1970s for Mitchum anti-perspirant. The ad's tagline was "so effective, you can even skip a day." Back then, the concept of not showering everyday wasn't such a big deal.

Well, there's no way in hell you'd see the same sort of ad campaign today. What has changed in the last 30 years that people are so averse to appearing not up to "standards"? That is: showering, shaving, shampooing and getting all gussied up every. single. day?

Here's a new questionnaire for you.

What are your personal cleaning habits?

1. How often do you shower/bathe?
2. How often do you wash your hair?
3. How often do you brush your teeth?
4. How often do you floss?
5. How often do you get your hair cut?
6. Do you use "natural" products or conventional ones?
7. Have any of these habits changed as you've tried to live a greener lifestyle? If so, which ones and how?

Green Festival + free ticket giveaway!

I'm planning on attending the Green Festival this weekend, which just so happens to be coming to Seattle this year. It is the nation's largest green living event and is a two-day deal that features tons of great speakers (more than 125 renowned authors, leaders and educators), how-to workshops as well as more than 300 eco-friendly businesses.

I'll be meeting up with John de Graaf, author of Affluenza and filmmaker extraordinaire, on Saturday. On Sunday, I'm planning on going to the viewing of King Corn, which is followed by discussion with the filmmakers and local experts on food and agriculture.

The hard part will be planning what else I want to go to. Beyond that, the rest of the time I'll be drooling over representatives from supercool vendors and magazines. Did I mention that I get in free?

So, expect a whirlwind of reporting from me next week on the array of things I explore.

Anyone else planning on coming? If you are going to be there, let us all know which presentations you will be attending in case people want to meet up and be all friendly like. I'll be the one carrying around a Crunchy Chicken tote bag. If I can find the damn thing.

The first person who emails me after 12:00 p.m. PST Wednesday 4/9/08 gets a free admission ticket to the Seattle Green Fest.

Protection of a different sort

Not quite convinced yet to try a DivaCup? Still unsure of using cloth menstrual pads?

Well, you're in luck. There's a new kind of environmentally friendly feminine protection that's now available. Check it out!