Walking: Good for you, and good for St. Joe

 

By Cassie Kerner

Why, you might wonder, would we run an article about the benefits of walking on our Joe Green page? I’m guessing some of you would argue that the topic would be better suited to a health section, and perhaps further, that the benefits of walking are already fairly obvious. I don’t disagree, but I’d like to talk about walking in a broader sense today and hopefully convince you that: A) Doing something good for the environment can be really simple, and B) What’s good for the environment can have a positive impact on the rest of your life as well.

Yes, it is well documented that walking is good for your health. Regular exercise can help you control your weight and lower your risk for glaucoma, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer, among many other health problems. It has been associated with improved sleep, lower levels of stress and better moods. People who get regular exercise, as a whole, live longer, healthier, happier lives. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, August 22nd, 2008
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Is telling your mpg like telling your weight?

I thought I was doing well. I thought I was on top of it. I thought I got great gas mileage.

 

I drive a Pontiac Vibe; they aren’t known for being racecars by any account but the name used to be dropped frequently when talking about good gas mileage. My ’03 gets nearly 30 mpg in town and well over 35 mpg on the highway. So that’s impressive, right? Well, maybe back in ’03 but the times are continuing to change my friend. And we’re about to be left behind by the racecar speed in which our fuel world is adapting.

 

This could easily stray to being more about the price of gas than the utility. And while I want to say, “Holy crap, gas is outrageous,” I don’t want to delve into the fundamental issues of our gas prices. So for now let’s leave the politics behind and just look at this from a greener soapbox.

 

I felt good about my

Pontiac’s mpg. And I felt even better when I would cruise down a hill and let the momentum pull me up the next. Sure, the driver’s behind me didn’t feel so good about it. But in their gas hogging SUV can you blame them?

 

So life was moving along well. That is until

Toyota released the Prius. At 51 mpg it made me look like the gas-guzzler of the early 80’s. So I pacified my discomfort with the reality of that hybrid being unattainable; it was not priced for, nor made readily available to, mere mortals like you and I. No, only celebs and other oddly famous folks were privy. Again, I felt better. But that too was short lived. Priuses were popping up all over. And alas, me and my Pontiac, at 35 mpg, was a sad sight.

 

Now, the plot thickens. Recent web-rumors claim that the newest Prius, not yet out will boast mpgs of 110 and better. Well, this may not be entirely true. With a little more research it was learned that the amazing figure was reported by the

UK’s AutoExpress. So? So, the mpg was figured on kilometers. Oh, thank goodness! We can go back to driving our fuel hogs with innocent glee. But wait, even transferred to miles the new Prius could be getting 94 mpg!!

 

So what is this? A sales-pitch for

Toyota? A guilt trip to get a ten-speed? No, it’s nothing like that. It is simply an attempt to keep us all aware. A car that could get 94 mpg is worth knowing about even if you are the one driving it. This is the direction our industry is going. There have been headlines recently of completely battery powered cars, cars that run producing only water vapor, and so on.

 

I am car shopping now, well I always am, but this time I am actually considering a purchase. Will I purchase a Prius? Honestly? No. Our growing family needs more than a four-seater and let’s be honest the Prius is expensive (maybe it’s all of those magical batteries). Does that mean I should run straight for a full-sized SUV that would top out at 11 mpg? No, but it does make me pay more attention as I look at some of the other hybrids, mid-sized SUVs and the smaller cross-over vehicles.

 

Being a smarter greener shopper does not necessarily mean going without or spending out the wazoo; it simply means being more aware to make better cumulative choices.

Posted by: admin on Thursday, July 10th, 2008
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Soapmaking: The Fragrant Personal Craft

by Sheila Mayer Textures, colors and lovely fragrances are often combined with botanicals to create

America’s easiest, yet fastest growing craft of soapmaking. When cutting and trimming hard bar soap, the exquisite feel of the fragrant stuff in your hands is an undeniable delight.  Crafting high quality soap is easy and surprisingly simple. More and more home soapmakers are stirring up pots of soap each day, sniffing the fragrant stuff and using it for personal gifts or use in their own homes.  When many people think of soap, they think of the rough textured bar soap such as Ivory or Coast. Those corporate soaps are created using animal fats and coconut oil with huge towers of automated machinery. Air bubbles are stirred into them so that they float in water. Silicates and other chemicals are added to keep the soap particles from sticking so that it will move through the extrusional machinery easily. Often those chemicals can be unfriendly to skin. Often the user feels coated, as if the corporate soap has not been all rinsed off. 

But with handcrafted soap, since none of that is necessary as the batches are small, the soap that is created is cleansing and nourishing to skin depending on what oils are used to create the soap. They can be unscented, especially if the intended user has difficulty with scent or fragrance of any kind. Or they can be scented with fragrance copies such as watermelon, peach or green tea, since nature did not provide us with those scents, or if desired, one can use plant derived essential oils to achieve an aromatherapeutic effect.  Your own personal soaps can be crafted by you in different ways. 

There are those who enjoy taking premade batches of either clear or white plain unscented soap, shaving it down into slivers, and adding distilled water to cook it a bit. Scents, grains and other botanicals can then be added to make what is called milled soap. Milled soap tends to be harder and can last longer with daily use. It does not take as much of a potentially expensive scented oil to make it fragrant. Others like to measure out their oils separately from their lye solution and combine the two to start the chemical reaction called saponification. This is the part that feels so magical, seeing the fats and lye thicken up in the pot and then pouring the thickened batch into molds to finish out the chemical reaction.  

The thickening up is what is called tracing. Tracings do not jump up and down to call attention to themselves, but simple tests for it can be done often; simply drizzle a little of the soap mixture on the top of the mix. If you make a circle or a star and it stays on the top, you have what is called tracing. The soap can then be poured into the molds. Though many people are afraid of lye, they should be no more afraid of it than bleach or toilet bowl cleaner. Don’t drink it. Use precautions and treat it with respect and care. Things should go well. Search out Lye Safety Precautions.  (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, June 26th, 2008
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Paper, Plastic or Reusable?

by Cassie Kerner

I mentioned in my previous column that The Regular Joe is looking into printing some reusable grocery bags. Over the last couple of weeks, I have researched some of the available options. I have also heard a lot of feedback on the idea. I’d like to share one of the letters we received, which brings up some good questions and points:I read the Green Team article in your last issue. I thought to myself, every time I walk by the reusable bags at Hy-Vee I think I really should be using them. I have not seen them at our local Wal-Marts as of yet, but at another location they were selling them for $0.99 a piece. I overheard the lady in front of me and she told the teller, “Why should I buy them, when you guys give us sacks for free?” I thought, Good Point. I know I should be doing more for the environment but today’s society makes it too easy to be “bad”. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008
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Regular Joe “Green Team” Goes To Work!

by Cassie Kerner

My dad really suckered me in when he asked me to write a “green” story for The Regular Joe. He knows how I feel about this kind of stuff, and that even though I’m still on the East Coast, I couldn’t resist sounding off on how a “bottle bill” might benefit my hometown. Then he forwarded the emails, both pro and con. I was really surprised by how many people took the time to respond.

Now, dear old dad calls again and asks, “How about editing the Joe Green page every issue?”

I’m sure there are many better qualified candidates out there, but maybe no others that are willing to work for free. So, in spite of the old adage, “you get what you pay for,” I will use my minor in Environmental Policy for something after all, and do my best. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, April 17th, 2008
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Join The Regular Joe Clean Team!

by Jay Kerner

Ok, so if you read my column on the inside cover you already know. But for the savvy reader, who thumbs past my face on the way to their favorite section, let me bring you up to speed. We’re starting an informal group, whose sole mission is cleaning up trash.

 

I’m sick of my town being so trashy. I’d love it if we could convince everyone out there, to stop making our roads and parks their personal waste baskets. Or worse yet, their toilets. But I realize I can’t control everyone else. (Hell, who am I trying to kid, I can barely control myself.)  What I can do is pick up trash. It’s not rocket science but at least the results are immediate. (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
Filed under: Joe Green, Jay Kerner, General | 2 comments

Its raining money

by Erin Eddins, Source Publications

Recently it seems all you hear when you turn on the news or stand next to the coffee machine at work is about the rising cost of, well, just about everything. Most agree it stems from the rising fuel prices and then trickles down to basically all other goods and services.

Now we add to that the fact that energy costs are expected to skyrocket. What does that actually mean? Well, I asked Dan Rather that very question. The trouble is he cannot hear me through my television set. So I am left in the same boat you are. I sit and wait. I appreciate when something isn’t rising in price and cringe when it does, yet I do little to either prevent it or to modify my behavior when it does.

To further complicate the increasing demands on my pocketbook, I am really trying to “be green.” And let me tell you, Kermit was right; it’s not easy being green. My poor daughter is forever standing with some small piece of trash in her hand, looking at the three trash bins in the pantry wondering which bin should receive her wrapper. It’s not a can, does it burn, could it be compost? (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Friday, March 21st, 2008
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St. Joe Recycling Center Moves to New Temporary Home.

 by Jay Kerner  One of my jobs at The Regular Joe is to take the leftover copies to the  Recycling Center after every new issue comes out. I’m a little  embarrassed to admit that I had never been there prior to that.  Maybe it was my own laziness, maybe it was just habit. But for whatever  reason, I had always been someone who just tossed everything in the  trash, and counted on our friends from Deffenbaugh to make it all  disappear. It was a great system.  I would have been content to do the same thing with our papers, if it  wasn’t for a couple of tree huggers in the office that insisted  otherwise. I made the first of my twice monthly visits in October when I  followed the instructions on the sign and pulled to a stop next to a long row  of commercial dumpsters. Even before I got the door open, four guys  came running up with shopping carts to help me unload. They had me out of  there in no time and I remember thinking, “Gosh that was easy, why  haven’t I been coming all a long?”  On each of my next regular visits, I always saw other people dropping  stuff off. Some of them have materials sorted into paper, glass,  aluminum and plastic. In some other communities this is mandatory and curbside  recycling is provided. I’m guessing St. Joe isn’t quite ready for  that. Heck, we were outraged at the idea of mandatory trash service.  So, at the urging of the ladies in the office, as well as internal  pressures from home, we’re going to try it at my house. We’re setting up  some separate containers for each material and we’ll see how it goes. It  won’t be easy. I’m a bit of a dinosaur and I resist change like  everybody else. But I think I can do it. The recycling center sure makes it  simple.   Oh yeah! That reminds me why I started this piece several paragraphs  ago. The Recycling Center has moved. Maybe you heard how the city sold  the property downtown for the expansion of another business. The new  location is just temporary while the city finalizes its plans on a  permanent home, but in the meantime, the new location is in the south side of  the Riverfront Park parking lot. I made my first visit this morning and  I found the same setup, and the same energetic workers. I never had any  issues at the old location, but I bet for a lot of folks this new spot  is easier to find and even more convenient.  They are open from 7:30am to 6pm Wed-Sat. Again, this location is only  temporary until the permanent home is found. But in the meantime, why  not throw some stuff in the back of your car, truck or van, and give the  recycling center a try. Even we old dinosaurs can do it!

Posted by: admin on Saturday, March 8th, 2008
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Bottle Bill Makes Sense for St. Joe

by Cassie Kerner, Independent Writer

 

I suppose I look at St. Joe from a somewhat unique perspective. Like many of my childhood friends, I was born and raised in the city, but eagerly left to explore greener pastures after high school. I spent four years attending college in Des Moines, IA and then moved to Washington, DC, where I’ve lived for the past five years. I embraced the opportunity to experience life in other parts of the country, but unlike a lot of my peers who moved away, I plan to return to St. Joe.

My reasons for wanting to return are many and varied. I want to live closer to my family, the cost of living is exponentially more affordable, traffic isn’t a problem, people are friendlier…I could go on and on, but for now it will suffice to say that, for me, St. Joe will ultimately win out over life in the “big city.” (Full story)

Posted by: admin on Thursday, February 21st, 2008
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