Guess What?! May is Bike Month!

Hello everyone!

A recent Media Article that I read on http://vienna.patch.com/articles/bike-to-work-week-begins

Explained that May is Bike Month. It was really cool to ready this article because I also recently heard a couple having a conversation at breakfast about how they planned on biking to work.

The article explains that ," May 16 marks the start of Bike to Work Week, a celebration that will culminate in Bike to Work Day on May 20th."

I also really liked how the author explained the benefits of biking to work, "Aside from the mental and physical health benefits, cycling to work can save you money. I’m guessing you've probably noticed that gas prices are climbing. Do the math and think about how many gallons and dollars you can

save by riding to work, even a few times a month. Now also think about how often you find yourself stuck in one of our many traffic jams where you sit and fume about not getting anywhere. On a bike, you rarely have to contend with such snarls, since you can generally navigate your way around them more easily than in a car.

Finally, not to preach, but we could all stand to tread a little more lightly on the planet, and use a smaller share of the Earth’s resources. Bikes don’t really pollute, and their carbon footprint is pretty darned small."

Sustainable Living

Hey everyone!

Sorry that I couldn't be in class on Wednesday. I heard that Desiree' gave a great guest lecture:)

My article for the week was on Sustainable Living. The link to the article is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wel

lness/sustainable-living-gurus-guide-to-

life/2011/03/23/AFR8iQqC_story.html

The article mainly talked about a man named Jeffery Hollender. He is one of the co-founders of Seventh Generation which is one of the earliest brands of environmentally friendly and socially responsible household products.

Hollender just wrote a new book called Planet Home, where he addresses many aspects of sustainable living. The book "details everything from eco-friendly condoms to fair-trade coffee while also serving as a call to arms to adapt a higher consciousness about sustainable living. His message is this: “What you do at home can impact the world around you, and the world around you can impact what you do at home.”

I thought it was really interesting how a person would create a wholeistic approach of sustainable living. I like the idea that it is a life style and not just something you do.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Hollender even touched on the issue that we have discussed in class.

If someone can do only one green thing in their home, what should it be?

Buy less stuff! It is more important to buy less stuff than to buy green stuff. We as a society consume way too much, and the planet simply can’t bear the impacts. Try this: Go for 30 days and, other than food, toothpaste and gasoline, don’t buy anything new. You’ll see how addicting consumption is. Buying less stuff is something that everyone can participate in, whether you’re 8 or 80.

This answer was also interesting to me.

What have you discovered about cleaning products that would surprise people?

The dangerous effects of the chemicals in these products that we don’t think about, like chlorine, can be shocking. When you mix a chlorine-based cleaner with an ammonia-based cleaner, it produces a gas that will quickly send you to the hospital and possibly kill you. Products are way overpowered for the job they have to do, but we want immediate results so we pull out the heavy guns and don’t pay attention to the collateral damage. It’s like having a bazooka to kill a fly!

See you in class,

Sarah

Minty Clementine-Infused Vodka :)

This is a recipe for the girl who doesn't know how to use organic stuff haha. Whoever could that be?

So, I found a nifty website that has quite a few recipes. http://www.organicauthority.com/

I really like the website because it has photos,videos

and comments from website users. Look at this cool picture of organic carrots! -------->

I found this one and chose it to share because we all need something to drink with dinner and because I love Clementines!

Minty Clementine-Infused Vodka
Ingredients:
750 ml vodka (organic, if you please!)
4 clementines, peel on, quartered
1 small handful fresh mint, roughly chopped

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a jar; seal well. Place in a cool place until flavors develop, about 3 to 4 days, shaking gently every day. Strain and store in a well-sealed container. Will keep for months.
Serving suggestions:
• Makeover the screwdriver: add infused vodka to fresh citrus juice and ice.
• Make a wintry spritzer: shake infused vodka with ice; top it off with spritzer of choice.
• Make a seasonal sparkler: mix infused vodka with champagne and a splash of juice for the high life

Have a great week!

Sarah

Port Arthur native wins environmental prize Continent-best award for work vs. Port Arthur 'dumping ground.'

My article for this weeks media assignment was about the United States Recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize (sometimes called the Green Noble). Hilton Kelley is a native of Port Arthur, TX. He grew up surrounded by oil refineries that polluted the air with toxic chemicals.

Many of the refineries are located next to housing project that are homes of lower income Americans. With many of this Gulf Coast town's poorest residents suffering from asthma, skin irritations and cancer, he has neither forgotten nor forgiven. So, Kelley intends to change the situation and by many standards he has.

Kelley fought for 10 years to get the state and county to set more strict limits on oil refineries toxic ommissions. He has been successful in this area but he does not believe the fight is over.

Matthew Tresaugue of the Houston Chronicle quoted Kelley, “Port Arthur has been a dumping ground for years because this was the area of least resistance,” Kelley says. “But this is a new day.” in his April 11,2011 article (http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Port-Arthur-native-wins-environmental-prize-1331276.php)

I was very interested in learning about the Goldman Prize. I am glad that people throughout the world are rewarded for effort of keeping this Earth a safer (and cleaner) place.

Below are pictures of Port Arthur, TX. The reason Kelley is concerned seems obvious.

Until next time,

Sarah Fowler

oh P.S. Kiva and I will be victorious :)

Locally Grown Foods

Hello again!

After Dr. Ferrer's talk on Wednesday, I wanted to find out more about local NC Farmers markets and CSA's. I went to a really cool website that is similar to Locallygrownnews.com. It is localharvest.org. On the site, it gives you the option to look fro local farmers markets and CSA's. Here is a picture from the region.

I looked up some of the CSA's because they are something I had never really heard of before this class, and some of the prices are reasonable. Some consider a year membership from April to October, after that I guess you would just go to the market? The prices ranged from $250-$700.

One of the local farms that seem awesome is called Snow Creek Family Organics. I love this farm because when you click on their link on the website they explain their process and how they value being considered organic! What is also interesting about the website is that when you look at specific farms, they offer a diagram of what they grow and when. Here is the Snow Creek Family Organics chart:

I was glad to see they grow organic corn. Corn is among my favorites and I was very upset when I found that it is right behind soy in the leading GM foods in the US.

I hope someone from this area can take advantage of this option. I'm thinking of going and visiting the farm one weekend just to see what it's like.

On another note, I hope everyone replied to their survey sent my Anna Galimore about having a farmers market in Old Salem. I think it is an AWESOME idea! The survey takes about 5 minutes and from what I've heard, Old Salem is really considering having it.

I think that would be such a good opportunity to grow greener and more organic as a community.

Have a great night :)

Sarah

DC is Where I Need to be

Hello everyone!

I went to Washington D.C. on Thursday to a rally at Capital Hill. I won't talk about that rally in this, because I'm sure some people don't care or don't want to know, so instead I will discuss the FABULOUS bike culture in D.C.

Soooo many people were on bikes and they were everywhere! I felt weird walking. They had bike rental stations like the one below everywhere. It was really awesome to see that type of metropolitan bike culture.

I set up a meeting with the people in charge of the rat to talk to them about buying organic and local. I just want to go in and hear them out. Sorry I couldn't report on that today!

I walked probably 5 miles and have been able to track my food in take. I like the online option but it just isn't doable all the time. I'm writing my in a personal journal and in my phone.

See ya!

Sarah

The Moore's Spring Trail Family

Hello everyone,

I went on a short bike ride this week ( I forgot my chap stick again). I was out for about 45 minutes.

Its been quite the busy week! However, I was able to go out to Moore's Spring Trail on Sunday. The drive only took me 30 minutes! I was really excited because today was my first trail build. There were 7 people out there and we got 45 feet finished. It was hard work but a completely positive experience. Tony was really good at explaining everything to me regarding soil and why we clear what we do. There is method to the madness! I met a group of totally devoted individuals. Steve and Randy helped me a lot too.

It was unbelievable that we made a trail on the side of a mountain completely by HAND! It took us 4 hours but we did it! It was so awesome to see the process and the steps to creating a legitimate trail.

I would love to show you all picture of the trail but my camera died right when I got out there. I took a few pictures on my phone but my phone is now broken... Bad luck? Probably. I'm just glad I didn't fall down the side of a mountain.

See you all tomorrow,

Sarah

FDA Bans Some Food Imports from Japan

Hello all:

My media article this week was about the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) putting bans on imports from Japan that it would "halt imports of dairy products and produce from the area of Japan where a nuclear reactor is leaking radiation." The food would be detained at entry and would not be sold to the public. Which made me wonder, why they are wasting the money to export dairy products in the first place?

Japan actually makes up less than 4% of the US imports. The most common imports from Japan to the United States are seafood, snack foods and processed fruits and vegetables.

The article also explained that they would be testing any seafood that comes from Japan to see if it was radio active. I never found anything wrong with the seafood from this area, so that isn't a big deal to me.

The article can be found online here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/business/23fda.html

Not My Week...

Hey everyone,

I am so sick. I wasn't about to go out to the trail build for MST on Saturday, nor was I able to go riding. I'm going on week 2 of feeling this bad but, luckily, I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. Hopefully, I will get on some medicine that will kick this sickness out. I am so jealous of people who were about to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather. I was really encourages to hear that a lot of Salem students rented the bikes for the weekend. We aren't the only ones who care!

I was very thankful that Nick came to class on Wednesday to show us around some of the camera's. I'm excited to learn more about how to properly shoot moving objects (like mountain bikers)

I'm not sure if I will see you all tomorrow, but I will try my hardest.

Until then,

Sarah

Reflections on the Week

¡Hola!Bonjour!Hallo!Olá!!

I hope your weekends are going well. This week was CRAZY busy and I wasn't able to get out into nature and bike. I had to do a stationary (booooo) totally NOT as fun. What-so-ever. I'm 100% positive I burned more calories on the stationary bike but it was quite the different experience. It did not bring the same tranquil, peaceful feeling that biking outside does. I think I will get back to biking outside next week.

I'm really excited because I'm going to Pensacola for Spring Break and I will be able to bike there anytime I want (assuming the weather is as fabulous as it usually is this time of year).

<---- This is a bike trail in Pensacola!

Reflecting on This Week's Discussion

I really liked hearing about everyone's articles in class on Wednesday. It was great to see people speak with passion about environmental issues. My group, Lane, Tia, Shannon and myself, discussed a few different things, but the issue that we talked about the longest was the oil spill in the gulf. Lane brought in an article about baby dolphins and it was so sad! (Below is a picture of a marine biologist taking samples from a baby dolphin that was found on the Alabama coast) It literally pissed me off. So, I went home and I called my state representative in Florida and told him that I didn't think the problem was solved and that just because media coverage was gone didn't mean that it wasn't still on the mind of Florida residences.

It was quite a short conversation, especially, since, I had to leave it as a message with his secretary. At any rate, I think it is important that we never forget what happened and that we personally try our best to monitor how the Gulf is being effected.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I will see you Monday!

Mountain Bikers are a Little Crazy

Hello again,

So for my service project, I have decided to work with Tony and Moore's Spring Trails. A group of 6 of us went out yesterday and it was awesome. The people out there were really nice and really passionate about the sport. It was refreshing to meet such nice people. After our 3 hours tour, we came back to the parking area and got to know a few of the bikers more personally. A large group that we took video and photos of were from Greensboro. We also met the owner of a cycling store called Re:Cycle. He would be an awesome speaker for events or for other peoples projects. He takes parts off of old bikes and creates something new, hence, the name of his shop.

I was really interested in the other service opportunities offered but I think that this would be the best pick for me. The trip really isn't that far (maybe 45 minutes) and if a group of us all wanted to go a carpool would be a great option.Professor Allen also said she would be willing to join us on Sunday's if she didn't have prior engagements.

If anyone has any questions, Shannon and I can share our experience in class today.

Happy Volunteering :)

A Tour of Old Salem

Hello Everyone!

I was not really in the distance biking mood this week so, my friends and I went on a tour of Old Salem and rode briefly on Salem Lake Trail. I've actually never been on a tour and it was really interesting to see things that I never knew were there. If you haven't gone a tour, I strongly encourage you to go before you graduate. I've found myself trying to make up for lost time a lot lately. Next on the to-do list is going to a Vineyard and pick Blue Berries.

If you have any suggestions for my must-do list, please let me know :)

"This bike was not meant to go up hills"

Hello Again!

This week was fabulous and there was ample opportunity to get out and do stuff (including bike).

So, my friend, Jenny and I rented bikes from Salem and went on our way again to Salem Lake again.

We did not get as far as I did last time. First of all, the bike I rented was very comfortable but not very athletic. I wanted to spare my butt this time, so I got the cruiser bike. Mistake, mistake. I'm thinking of buying a seat cushion for the athletic bikes because their seats really hurt the caboose, but the cruiser is hard to get up hills.

These bike rides are really giving Jenny and I the opportunity to bond a lot too. She has been my closest friend since my first year and I will miss her a lot when we graduate. I've also learned some stuff about Old Salem.

I love the various picture opportunities that are along the trail and I love photography so I think I will use some of them to shoot later.

One thing that I think would really improve the trail are solar powered lights. It got really dark around 6:30 so we couldn't ride very much of the trail. I don't really know how much the solar powered lights would cost but they would be most appreciated by all types of people.

We passes a few bikers but more walkers. It was nice to see other people using the trail.

Sublime, Sunshine and Bike Trails; the LBC

Long Beach, CA

#23 on the top 50 list of Bike Friendly US Cities

Let me start by explaining the title of this blog. I chose Long Beach, California (LBC) to research because I am in love with the band Sublime and the Long Beach-Huntington Beach area in general.

Sublime originated in LBC in 1988 and because of my awesome older brother, John, this ska punk sound was/is a big part of my life.

I dedicate this blog to my fellow Sublime lovers and ska heads everywhere :)

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It is no wonder Long Beach, California is on the top 50 list. The area (including LA) offers over 30 bike trails totaling over 400 miles. The longest trail (that I could find) was 89.9 miles and ran from LBC to San Diego, CA. (Note the Picture below)

Here are some facts about the Long Beach area:

The city's green lane project in Belmont Shore (sharrows, bike boxes) earned an award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers for best innovative project of the year (2010). In an effort to provide sustainable transportation alternatives to the community, as well as a safe route to several neighborhood schools, the City of Long Beach is also installing a “bike boulevard” on Vista Street, extending from Temple Avenue to Nieto Avenue.

New bikeway signs can be found throughout Long Beach to identify designated bike routes and provide wayfinding information for cyclists. Generally you will find even numbers assigned to east/west routes; odd numbers assigned to north/south routes; and route numbers increasing as they progress from south to north. The signage was funded through a grant provided by Metro, and they include new route numbers that have been assigned to all bike paths, bike lanes and bike routes that correspond to the City’s new bike map.

Population Size: est. 492,653

Sprawl: Long Beach is located at 33°47' North, 118°10' West, about 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown Los Angeles. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 65.9 square miles (170.7 km2), with 50.4 square miles (130.5 km2) of its area being land and 15.4 square miles (40 km2) of it (23.42%) is water. It is important to note that there is some ambiguity in where L.A. bike trails end and LBC trails begin.

Demographics: According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey,the racial composition of Long Beach was 44% White (Non-Hispanic Whites: 30.0%), 40.2% Hispanic or Latino (of any race), 15.4% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 11.2% Asian, 0.8% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 4% from Two or more races, and 24.1% of some other race

Below you will find a city map that is often posted for bikers and walkers.

Here are some pictures of the LBC Bike Trails:

Biking with Friends: An Adventure to Salem Lake

Hello, Hello, my Salem sisters and fellow leaders of today!

My first experience biking was nothing less than interesting. I went on the trail to Salem Lake with two of my dearest and nearest friends. Not to my surprise, we had a lot of fun.

We rode for about an hour and a half (45 minutes there and back) and we stopped along the way to look at wild life, nature and to take various pictures of our surroundings (BELOW). The only time I had been on the trail before was in biology lab when I so gracefully slipped in mud. It reminded me of when I was a kid when me and my mom would go on bike rides to get from place to place. I think that was more out of necessity than pleasure, but I always thought it was fun. It gave me a chance to get outside, get fresh air and to bond with my friends in a new way.

Some people bike for sport, but, for now I think I'll bike for pleasure. My friends and I have arranged a time that we are going to go biking every week now. I'm excited to explore new green ways and watch the seasons change in a very new kind of way.

Oh! It was FREEZING, which was not so fun. This week's biking trip will include some nice chap stick.