Two weekends ago, Richmond celebrated Arbor Day in the first Celebrate Trees! sponsored by Richmond Tree Stewards. Stuff hosted tables at the festival in the Carillon in Byrd Park, providing a creative activity for the children. Our Stuff ladies and volunteers helped young Richmonders paint the pots and plant tree seeds in each. Additionally, we created cool recycled magazine trees. There was plenty of sunshine and fun. But no worries it is not too late to show your love for trees - this year Arbor Day is April 24th!

Arbor Day originated from J. Sterling Morton’s love of nature in the latter half of the 19th century. Morton was an American pioneer and journalist that moved to Nebraska in 1954. Recognizing the natural need humans and our planet have for trees, Morton encouraged many individuals and community groups to plant. Morton highlighted how trees help prevent soil erosion, provide building materials and fuel, and can also supply shade. Eventually Morton was able to organize and designate the first “Arbor Day” holiday, in which an estimated one million trees were planted. Since then, Arbor Day has spread out from Nebraska and become a national event.

Every Richmonder can still celebrate this holiday, just plant a tree, adopt a tree in your neighborhood, or just enjoy the outdoors. The Arbor Day Foundation has many more ideas for how everyone can celebrate.

Photo Cred: Lynne Marie Parson

Here is a quick introduction (or review) of some eco-terms important to Stuff and our mission. It's important to know some of the basics in the movement to "go green"! Look for more "Eco Buzz" posts coming soon!

1. “Close the Loop” or “Zero Waste” To produce and/or buy a product which has been remanufactured, reprocessed, or reused on more than one occasion in an attempt to totally eliminate waste. Making art from aluminum cans is a perfect example of “closing the loop”!
2.  “Downcycling” A term used for the process of recycling; which is seen as "downcycling" materials into lesser products, a plastic computer housing becomes a plastic cup, which then becomes a park bench, eventually becoming waste. Even if a product is made of recycled material, it will still eventually become waste (its life is just longer!). 
3. “Environmental design”
Designing physical environments that are socially and ecologically sustainable. It takes a variety of factors into account, including the urban and natural landscape, noise and acoustics, aesthetics, air quality and natural light, ergonomics and accessibility, historic preservation and vernacular design in an attempt to create environmentally and eco-friendly homes, offices, and other manufactured environments.  
4.  “Greenwashing” Manufacturers, corporations, and/or government agencies who make false claims that their products are eco-friendly, sustainable or organic. Be wary of products claiming to be something they’re not – use your best judgment!
5. “Sustainable living” A lifestyle that seeks to reduce individual and societal use of natural resources by changing the way everyday products are purchased, used, and disposed of. Donating materials to Stuff would certainly apply!
6. “Upcycling” Waste materials are used to create new products, reducing the amount of waste in landfills and giving the items greater value. For example, making jewelry from found objects or art from trash are forms of upcycling.  
7. “Waste hierarchy: Reduce - Reuse -  Recycle" The aim of this hierarchy is to extract the maximum benefit from products while generating the minimum amount of waste. Most importantly, we should reduce the amount of waste we are generating in the first place, then we should focus on reusing what we have or what others have, and finally we should recycle.Generated by Emma

As die-hard fans of ABC’s Lost learned in the first season, building a boat from recycled materials may not be as difficult as one might imagine. All it requires is a little ingenuity and what some may see as ‘trash.’ In San Francisco TV fiction is becoming reality, as a navigable boat is being built out of recycled materials. David de Rothschild, an adventurer that has traveled both polar ice caps, has taken it upon himself to create a vessel made almost entirely out of plastic bottles. Once the boat (named Plastiki) is completed, it will travel more than 11,000 miles from California to Australia through the open seas. The voyage is estimated to take over 100 days, with 4 sailors, scientists, and de Rothschild taking permanent residency on the boat with several other crew members rotating throughout the journey.

So what are the mechanics of this fantastic vessel? How is it being formed? (Kevin Costner’s Waterworld comes to mind). The boat Plastiki will be made from 90% recycled materials, the majority being 12,000 to 16,000 plastic bottles that make up the twin hulls. The label is removed from each two-liter plastic bottle, which is then washed, filled with a dry-ice powder, and resealed. The dry ice turns into carbon dioxide gas after it is heated, creating pressure in the bottle and keeping it rigid. After the hulls are completed, they will be wrapped in another recycled plastic - PET or polyethylene tephthalate (the same material the bottles are made out of). The PET panels will envelope the hull and the four-person cabin into a watertight space. The other 10% will be new materials for parts of the boat like the masts, which are metal. The power source will be drawn from solar panels and two wind turbines that will charge a mass of 12-volt batteries.  

De Rothschild wants to draw attention to the possibility of transforming consumer waste into a resource, ultimately focusing on the profitability of ‘cradle-to-cradle’ products instead of dead end products that only add to landfills. To further illustrate this concept, Plastiki will be disassembled after its trip and recycled, where it may turn into more bottles, plastic bags, or containers. 

Plastiki, a boat made of discarded plastic bottles, is certainly entering ‘unknown territory’ and the journey has the potential to be very dangerous, but the media attention it attracts will bring much needed awareness to consumer waste and recycling. We look to them for inspiration and wish them luck!

Elisabeth

Hasn’t this warm weather been wonderful?! I adore springtime in Virginia and, of course, there are so many places in Richmond to spend beautiful days outside, from Maymont Park and Belle Isle to walking around Carytown or Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Having some outdoor fun with family or friends not only allows us to appreciate our natural environment but also get some exercise too! I recently came across a non-profit called Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (www.railstotrails.org) which is a perfect weekend activity or perhaps an opportunity for a future summer adventure!

Rails-to-Trails’ goal is to create a nationwide network of trails from abandoned railroad lines and connecting corridors; in a sense, recycling deserted land for a new purpose: outdoor recreation and physical fitness! Since its founding in 1986, Rails-to-Trails has assisted with the building of nearly 13,935 miles of rail-trails, giving Americans the tools they need to build these multiuse trails in their own urban, rural, and suburban communities. The trails are usually low-incline and can be used for walking, running, cycling, mountain biking, inline skating, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and even wheelchair accessible! There are even trails being built in other countries – rails-to-trails is a large-scale recycling and reuse project gaining steam around the country and the world!

There a lot of ways to get involved with Rails-to-Trails on their website, including taking a pledge to “Burn Calories, Not Carbon” by walking and biking more than driving, learning how to get a project started in your community and also donating to the cause. However, I think the most exciting aspect of Rails-to-Trails is the accessibility of the project to us here in Metro Richmond. There are four trails within 50 miles of Richmond, including one in Chesterfield County in Chester. While it is a short one mile trail of crushed stone, reviews say it is a beautiful walk and worth checking out. Another nearby trail with a fascinating historical context is located in Prince Edward County, in Farmville. Opening in August of 2008, the four mile trail boasts High Bridge, built in 1853, which is more than 2,400 feet long and 160 feet above the Appomattox River.

Check out TrailLink (www.traillink.com) to search for other beautiful trails in Virginia (there are thirty!!) and around the country. Take advantage of the beautiful weather, spend some time with your loved ones, and experience a unique form of recycling and reuse at the same time.

- Emma

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/entertainment/mashup.html

STUFF was interviewed by the folks at MashUp (inrich.com).  Check it out!

The latest headlines in the mobile industry was happy news for all. Recently on NPR's "All Things Considered" I heard that all the major cell phone manufactures (LG, Nokia, Motorola, etc) agreed to an universal cell phone charger interface for the majority of cell phones by 2012. The winning technology is the Micro-USB chargers. The advantage of this agreement is twofold: first, it will reducethe number of discarded cell phone chargers in landfills and secondly, it will reduce consumers' costs when purchasing a new phone. Additionally, the elimination of the high cost of packaging, shipping, and disposing of the numerous types of chargers will save in greenhouse gases and landfill space. However, there are already some obstacles in this endeavor, the most important being that this agreement is a voluntary measure. Should we as consumers push the world association for the mobile communications industry - GSMA - to make it an obligatory requirement of being a member or contract? Another controversy has been the significant absence of a major cell phone manufacturer: Apple. Why has Apple abstained from joining in this agreement?

We want to start a discussion of these issues and to hear YOUR point of view. Please share your knowledge and opinions, you probably will know something from your own experience we don't know. For example, I have a Nokia cell phone (which I am sadly very dependent on). A benefit of having a Nokia which many non-Nokia cell phone users may not know is that Nokia cell phones beep once they are completely charged. This is a great reminder because it saves battery life as overcharging your cell phone will cause it to overheat and eventually damage your battery. Also keeping your charger continually plugged into the wall will continuously draw electricity into the adapter, which can be extremely wasteful when the majority of us who use cell phones do this.

The convenience of technology saves in human labor and time, but it also has created a number of new environmental issues. What other solutions or issues do you see in our daily use of technology and the habits we have cultivated? Is this agreement a step in the right direction? Do you know an environmentally conscience way currently of disposing of our many unused cell phone chargers? What about the energy efficiency of our cell phone chargers - is the science there? Should we expand the universal charger to other electronics - such as digital cameras, mp3 players, PDAs, my awesome Nintendo DS?

Elisabeth

There are 12,547 active members in the Richmond chapter of Freecycle with more joining everyday - I joined yesterday! Freecycle is a wonderful concept that combines aspects of eBay and craigslist, and shares a similar grassroots mission with Stuff. We wanted to share this exciting opportunity so you can join the Richmond chapter and work individually to avoid filling landfills with valuable and functional STUFF. With everyone's budget tightening in our economic recession, this is an amazing opportunity to give to your community and find things you need without having to shell out cash. It's all FREE!

Here's the basic concept (and check out the video from Freecycle):
1. You sign-up on Freecycle's website and join a local group in your area. I joined the Richmond group.
2. After approval from the group (to filter out the freeloaders, spammers, and people who abuse the system), you are allowed to post on the message board. You only post stuff to offer, when your stuff is taken, stuff you want, or stuff that you have received to fulfill a want.
3. Once you find something you want or someone wants something you have from the listserv, you communicate via personal email/number (not on the message board). You two will arrange pick-up or drop-off of the item, foster a sense of community in Richmond, and someone gets stuff for free.

The exciting part about Freecycle is that it's not just local or national, it's a global movement!
Elisabeth

    I LOVE food! I'm not sure that it is entirely healthy to be constantly thinking about food. If thinking about food caused weight gain, I would be morbidly obese with all my pork chops and root beer daydreams. I love all types of food: Korean (what I grew up eating), Jamaican, Indian, Afghan, Latin, and many many others. But, what I don't love is American food. Don't get me wrong, the idea of mac-and-cheese, sweet potato pie, or a juicy burger gets my stomach juices stirring, but only when they are made out of fresh ingredients. It is really hard for us to understand what we are missing until we live in a immigrant household or even travel to foreign destinations. Before I traveled to Peru, I thought OJ was okay (as long as there was no pulp). Surprise! I discovered America's version of OJ is not pure OJ despite what Tropicana says on its label. I had freshly squeezed OJ and nothing but OJ - with pulp - in Peru everyday and it was delicious! I was in love with OJ there; it wasn't too sweet and syrupy like OJ here and it was fresh, which made all the difference. (I imagine I could have experienced that here, but it was more magical in Peru :D)

    People are always saying use FRESH ingredients, Emeril, your grandma, the yuppies who live next door, vegans and vegetarians, and me! Please please believe us this time.

    Think about this: the majority of our "fresh" foods at grocery stores come from foreign countries and then travel miles to reach us...do you really think that food is still fresh? Food on average travels 1,500-2,500 miles from the farm to get to your table. I won't bore you with a horde of other reasons you should eat local, fresh foods. But if you won't do it for your community, for your environment, for the economy, at least do it for your TUMMY!

Going to market in Peru was also an experience that I wished we had back home - we do! Please take the fresh ingredient challenge and go to the local markets:
>> Sprout Richmond: Richmond's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group
>> 17th Street Farmers Market
>> Ellwood Thompson's - a daily, local market in Carytown
>> A real butcher! - I am so impressed at our resources
>> Good Foods Grocery - in Stony Point's Shopping Center
>> Goochland's Farmers Market
>> Byrd House Market
>> A pdf List of Virginia's Farmers Markets

Happy President's Day!
Elisabeth

How do you show your lover your true feelings? How do you share your love of the planet with your sweetie? Will a diamond, chocolates, flowers really prove your love?

Maybe these are questions you are asking yourself...maybe not. But, every Valentine’s Day in the United States, the materialism and consumerism that pervades our culture is corroborated in the name of love. With continued evidence of human caused climate change and our wallets suffering, maybe this year is the chance for you to show your love a different way.

Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day ideas:
>> http://www.treehugger.com/green-valentine/ a whole day of love
>> http://alittlehut.blogspot.com/2008/01/recycle-project-no-11-egg-carton-turned.html easy, crafty project

For those of us that are not too crafty or don’t have the time, consider trading for/purchasing a green gift.
>> http://www.swaptree.com trade your stuff for someone else’s stuff without having to empty your wallet!
>> http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9100081 longest lasting bouquet ever
>> http://www.etsy.com/category_top.php?top_tag=vintage handmade vintage items
>> http://www.etsy.com/gift-guides/environmentally-friendly/102
>> http://www.alchemyboutique.net/ local! in carytown
>> http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/home.php fair trade, also has store in carytown
>> local farmer’s markets

If your hunnybunny really wants that pink diamond, those yummy chocolate truffles, or fragrant roses, PLEASE go ahead and make your boo happy! We don’t want our suggested Valentine’s Day gifts to be the cause of a break-up. But, just consider another gift that shows you put time and effort into it, and you can always find eco-friendly chocolates, diamonds, or flowers.

...isn’t it the thought that counts?