Cardo's Farm Project, Other Local Produce, and Local Businesses Big Draw at Denton Community Market

Yesterday, the Denton Community Market had an exceptional turnout, with 23 vendors and hundreds of attendees.  It is increasingly becoming a weekly event to meet friends, buy local produce, and visit booths of local businesses and community organizations. There is also local music; with bands, musicians, and singers from the thriving Denton music scene.  The Market is a sustainable source of local food and products as well as an economic incubator for new businesses since it offers relatively low start-up costs and affordable vendor fees.  It is also in the downtown area and helps draw customers to the area as well as benefit from other activities, such as downtown festivals.

This Market is an example of how a farmers/artisan market can be a planning tool and economic development catalyst for downtown areas.

The Market is also getting publicity within the DFW area.

Edible Dallas and Fort Worth, in its Summer 2012 edition has a feature article on a farmer vendor, Cardo's Farm Project, from the Denton Community Market.  The Denton Juice Company is also mentioned in the article.

No Impact Week: The Green Lifestyle Challenge

What's Your Tree, created by Julia Butterfly Hill, has organized a No Impact Week based upon the No Impact Project. On a conference call with Julia, she discussed the importance of really thinking about what one really needs in life. As we get rid of items and aspects of our lives that we don't need, we make rooms for new things in our life. This concept can apply to anything that we buy. Though it's not possible to have "no impact," we can strive to have less of an impact on the environment and be mindful of what we use and purchase.

The No Impact Week for What's Your Tree is from September 19th to September 25th, 2010.

New Basic Book on Green Living: Green Chic

Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style is an easy-to-read guide for people who want to start living green without sacrificing their quality of life or personal style.

Christie Matheson, a food and fashion critic, writes this green guide for the masses because she believes everyone needs to take steps to save the planet. She is concerned about carbon dioxide levels, general pollution, and the waste of valuable natural resources.

She begins the book with relatively easy steps the reader can take to start living green, from taking shorter showers to replacing bottled water with refillable, stainless steel containers. She advocates that everyone replace items as needed, rather than running out and immediately replacing everything with green items.

She offers seven other detailed chapters on green homes, food, beauty products, fashion, daily transportation, occasions and holidays, as well as the "big green things" to do. She also includes an appendix of her favorite green things. Each chapter is a very good introduction to taking steps in every aspect of the the reader's life. She advocates using natural cleaning products, opting for organic clothing, driving the speed limit to save gas, as well as other smart tips for green living.

A few links from her favorite green things appendix are:

Gomi NYC: an ecofriendly boutique in New York City

Stewart and Brown: eco-friendly clothes

White Dog: cafe in Philadelphia prepares food with sustainable ingredients


This book is definitely a great addition to any library on green living.

Green Living Getting a lot of Attention for Earth Day: NBC on toxic living test and NY Times on Green Living

Green living is in the news more than ever before tomorrow's upcoming Earth Day. Over the weekend, the New York Times Magazine featured a Green Issue . The issue focused on steps everyone can take to reduce their carbon footprints. Solar energy, walking, green building, and organic clothing were among the topics discussed.

Also Dateline NBC compared toxins in two families, one living green and one that does not. Both families took a body burdern blood test. Both families had over 40 chemicals out of 76 tested, but the levels were different for each family.

The non-green did not do well in terms of levels of chemicals for daily products: PFCs from cookware were very high in the non-green family (3X), parabens from body products (4X) in the women, phthalates from plastics very high in the boys of the non-green family, and triclosan (anti-bacterial) was much higher for the non-green family as a whole.

The green family did not do well in two catogories: bisphenol A (metal cans and baby items) as well as lead. It was higher in the parents, possibly from their childhoods.






Links for further information on product ingredients:

toxic ingredients links from Dateline

Local News Stations and the Green Living Movement

I've been noticing lately that green living is getting dramatically more attention in the media. The major national television networks have green living campaigns, such as NBC's recent "Green Week," which included green tips on commercials and shows throughout the week. The "Biggest Loser" even had a green show with challenges featuring green living topics, such as household waste.

I decided to investigate this further to see if local news stations around the country are also providing green living websites and news stories. My local station, WFAA, now has "Project Green," a Dallas guide to living more ecologically, saving energy, saving water, and saving other natural resources. The website even provides an online calculator for calculating one's carbon footprint.

I found several other sites as well. WGNTV in Chicago offers many videos on recent green living and green building news stories. I was surprised to find that the green fire station in my town, Denton, Texas, was also featured in one of their website videos. Charlottesville; Seattle; Washington, D.C; and El Paso were some other cities as well with green living videos, tips, links, and articles. I am sure there are many more, but it is refreshing to see that green living ideas are getting more attention and becoming more mainstream. A few years ago when I would mention green living tips and ideas, most people were not even aware of the concept or ideas.

Eco-Friendly Gifts for the Holidays

As all of us think about gifts for the upcoming holidays, it's also possible to think about using some of that money for ecologically-minded or environmental causes. Not only can you help a cause and feel good about your purchase, but also the recipient can appreciate the gift of supporting green causes.

Here are few of my favorite sources of eco-friendly gifts:

1. The World Wildlife Fund Gift Catalog
Support the crucial habitat of an endangered species by adopting a single animal, family of animals, or supporting research and the preservation of habitats. The recipient will receive a certificate explaining the purpose of the donation.

2. The Heifer International Gift Catalog
This catalog offers sustainable gifts of tree seedlings, livestock, honeybees, and other items for farming families and individuals in developing countries.

3. The Gaiam website for natural and organic products as well as sustainable gifts. Christmas ornaments from pine needles produced in Nicaragua with a living wage, recycled glass catchers, and more.

4. The NRDC Green Gift Giving Guide

A list of recommended green gifts--national park passes, solar radios, and more.

5. Local craft fairs and health food stores: buy locally-produced items as well as natural and healthy gifts. You can create your own gift baskets of natural soaps and local crafts.

Tips from The Lazy Environmentalist

NBC's Green Week and iVillage featured Josh Dorfman, host of The Lazy Environmentalist radio talk show and author of a new book.

Here are a few of basic tips for going green:

1. Select organic food as well as organic materials in items purchased--from shoes to clothes.
2. Select furnishings made from renewable materials, such as bamboo.
3. Refuse receipts from ATMs, gasoline, and other machines. This saves paper and trees.
4. Use a BRITA water filter (or other water filters can be used) and refill reusable hard plastic bottles instead of buying bottled water. This reduces waste in landfills and the use of plastic.

He has more tips in his book The Lazy Environmentalist: