Independence

Yes, I know this is "Keeley's Green Blog" but something very exciting and nerve wrecking has been consuming my time this past month and I wanted to share. To fudge it as a work related blog I'm going to use the theme of "independence" as in "Nashville's Independent Radio." That works right? It also has to do with money, which has a greenish hue to it..!

So what's the real theme of the this blog? Gaining financial independence for the first time in my life and starting off by eradicating my car loan. By the way, if you're interested in a 2005 Pontiac Bonneville, check out craigslist.com and search for it! I'm still trying to sell. Until then, I've purchased a 1997 Nissan Altima through another craigslist poster and sure enough there is a world of things wrong with it. I've learned more about cars in the past two weeks then in my entire life! Fortunately all of the issues seem managable to fix. Heck, I even changed out the ignition rotor cap all by myself for only $8! Among other things my brake fluid is leaking, there may be something wrong with the timing belt, the check engine light OBD II sensor does not have power going to it (which means I can't read the code for the check engine light) and my ABS is malfunctioning... found that out when I almost crashed it on day two of ownerrship! Nonetheless, I'm determined to love this car and make it purr!

I'm also a math geek and keep expense sheets for evething, including my monthly budget and now I have one for the "Actual Value" of my 2005 Pontiac. I purchased the car from CarMax in 2006 with an original ticket price of $12,000. Since then I have done regular oil changes and have switched out the windshield wipers almost twice a year, replaced all four tires, had a sensor replaced in the computer, and put all new brake pads on. Since Oct 2006 my $12,000 car purchase has already totaled up to $10,431 with alsmot 3 more years still left on the loan payments! Paying $283.09 per month, I still owe $9625 on the lifetime of the loan, making my total value (not including future oil changes or maintenance) $20,062! That's $8,000+ more than I had bargained for! Don't get me wrong, the car is FANTASTIC and very comfortable, but I don't have any money. I wish I had understood finance a little better when I signed the papers on it! So, I'm selling it for $6500 and taking a $2500 loss on it. I'm still saving money in the long run. If I sell this Bonneville in the next month, I figured that I can put almost $5000 worth of repairs into my 1997 Nissan Altima in the next 3 years and still come out even! $5000 is a lot for repairs and I'm convinced it won't come to that. That is a HUGE financial relief and a HUGE step towards my financial independence.

My next step is to pay down my student loans and take on paying my own car insurance. After that... at age 24+ I'll FINALLY be able to say I don't rely on daddy anymore! Woo hoo!

Fuel Economy Website

I currently drive a 2005 Pontiac Bonneville, but have lately been seriously considering selling it for a cheaper car (in the $1500 range) just to get rid of my debt. While looking for alternative cars on Craigslist, I started to wonder about the fuel economy of these cars. I came across a neat site that I'd like to share:

www.FuelEconomy.gov

It shows the city and highway gas mileage of all model cars, including emissions and other helpful information. Check it out!

Booty Camp

This is me, as the hulk. Those are my real muscles, but my skin is not really green. I have been working out with the Lightning 100 crew for six weeks now. To be honest, I think my muscles are too big and I'd rather just take nap time while everyone else is working out, but a commitment is a commitment!

I've had a great overall experience with it! In fact, Team Green is now offering a Team Green exclusive Bootcamp this winter with Focus Fitness. Here's the pitch:

"Dates and times will be established by those who are interested. If you're one of them, email me at TeamGreen@WRLT.com to reserve your spot and let me know your availability. TEAM GREEN BOOTCAMP is an exclusive 10 week program, twice a week. As a group you will build strength, energy, awareness, and camaraderie. Make a one time payment of $300, which includes all equipment (kettlebell and restraint bands). This offer comes out to less than $15 per class!"

My only problem with the Lightning 100 bootcamp is that it's three days a week, and I get so worn out. This TEAM GREEN BOOTCAMP will be great, especially if it ends up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's so hard to get back Sunday from a weekend long Team Green adventure, then have to work out on Monday!

Recycling Center for Boys

I really apologize for taking so long to finally post a new blog! Yesterday I took my first day off in almost six weeks (seriously... seven days a week for almost six weeks)! This job has really trained me to be productive because I could not sit still. Everything around my house that has been neglected finally got some attention. It felt so wonderful to get so much done! Major projects included:

1. Taking reycling out to convenience center
2. Test homemade backpacking fire starter (see post below)
3. Screw kitchen trash can to wall so TG will quit knocking it over!
4. Create home recycling center for my roommates

My roommates (3 guys and 2 dogs) have made a mess of my recycling attempts. The guys don't rinse out their beer bottles before putting them in a bag, which brings flies indoor, and the dogs (well, mostly just my dog) gets into all of the plastic and chews it to shreds. So, here's what I did:

Dog Issue: I went to Walgreen's and bought some cheapo laundry hampers. They are 2 for $5. I bought one for paper and #1 & 2 plastic, one for all other recyclables and 3 for glass. The hampers are tall enough to keep the dog out, and for safe measure I placed a board over top of it so she can't stick her nose in there.















Boy Issue: The beer bottles tend to stay around the house for a long time because when it comes time to recycle, no one wants to stick their hand into the stinky bag and separate the three kinds of glass (brown, green, and clear). Some boys just don't learn and will never rinse out the glass, so I created an outdoor recycling center for them. Here's how I did it:

What You Need:
Scrap wood and bricks or cinder blocks
Drill
Hand Saw
Screws
Small hinges (3)
Pipe fixture (3)
Laundry hampers (3)

1. For some reason I have some scrap ply wood, cinder blocks and random wood pieces around my house (probably from a construction project over 10 years ago). I used a hand saw to cut off a 20"x45" plank of wood. I screwed this onto the hand railing of my patio. One side of the plank was proped up by house and the third side was proped up by two cinder blocks and a 4'x4' chuck.
   
2. The laundry hampers will line up underneath the wood plank. Cut a hole over each hamper. To keep the rain out, create a small door to go over the holes.
3. Using some of the left over wood from the ply wood, cut squares just larger than the holes you've made to drop bottles through. Preferably, make the squares larger than a glass bottle. These pieces will become the doors to each hamper. Using your hinges (just over $1 for two at Home Depot) attach the doors over the drop holes. If you want to be fancy (like me), purchase some pipe fixtures large enough to go over a glass bottle. You can then use one of each color bottle as the door handle to the correct colored bins.
4. I then used a second sheet of ply wood to place on the outside of the new recycling center so that wind and rain could not blow through the back side. (See photo above)

Viola! You have yourself a boy- (and girl-) proof recycling center for all your stinky beer bottles. If they can't put the right colored bottle in the right hole... I just don't know what I'm going to do about them!

Fire Starters: Perfect for Backpacking!

On the Team Green Frozen Head backpacking trip a couple weeks ago I over heard someone talking about how to make home made fire starters. It had rained the entire day before and most of the wood around us was wet. A fire starter really saved us because it was able to burn long enough on its own to dry out some of the wood and generate enough heat to burn the rest. You can buy fire starters pretty cheap at most outdoor stores, but they usually have chemicals of some sort in them. Here are step by step directions how to make your own out of house hold items.















What You Need:
Zip lock bag full of dryer lint (maybe even some wood chips or dry leaves)
Glass container
Two or three cheap wax candles (99 cents at Micheal's)
Boiling Pot
Match Box

1. Break the wax candle into pieces and removed the wick. Place the wax pieces into the glass jar or glass.
2. Fill a boiling pot 1/3 to half full of water. Place the glass container with wax in the pot and cover with lid. Boil water until wax melts
3. Stuff dryer lint into melted wax. Before wax dries completely, mold the melted wax and dryer lint into small balls (about the size of a doughnut hole). Make sure that dryer lint is well saturated with wax, but not much more than 50% of each.
4. Place match stick into dryer lint/wax ball and allow to dry for several hours.
5. Light one to test in an isolated area and see how long it burns. You'll want it to burn on it's own for at least 10 minutes.

I tested mine the other day and it lasted almost a half hour. The larger you make each ball, the longer it will burn. If you are a backpacker you can appreciate the need for things to be small and light weight. Customize each for your activity needs.

Radio Fit

Three weeks ago all of the Lightning 100 employees (minus about 3) enrolled in a 10 week bootcamp through Marathon Fitness, a fitness facility directly below our studio (in fact, most of the afternoon as we hear are grunts and groans from guys trying to lift weights). Each of us weighed in and determined our goal for the 10 weeks. Based upon our age, weight, gender, body fat, and goals we were each issued a meal plan. You can learn more about everyone's response to this experience on our blog Radio Fit. I discovered a very significant problem with my diet: I don't eat! I tried doing the bootcamp and eat more, but even then I wasn't eating enough. My over exherting my body through bootcamp three times weekly plus Team Green Yoga on Tuesdays and our outdoor adventures over the weekends I was starting to feel weak, negative, and tired. If you're interested in designing your own meal plan, here is an example of a meal for those of you who are active, want to mantain your weight but gain strenght:

7am
4 Egg Whites (I still only eat maybe one or two)
1 Yolk
1/2 cup oatmeal

10am
Meal replacement or yogurt

1pm
3 oz fish or chicken
Complex carbohydrate (rice, potato, pasta)

3pm
1 tbsp peanut butter

4pm
6 oz chicken
Veggie serving

7pm
6 oz chicken
Veggie serving

1/2 gallon of water (Really, I still only drink a couple glasses)

They are very small portions but they keep you full for the duration between meals.

Learn, Grow, Engage

Last night was the premier launch of Engage Green, Team Green's initiative to educate our listeners, Team Green members and the general Nashville community about simple ways to make your life greener. Engage Green was my brain child about two months ago and I am so proud to see it finally taking off, every First Tuesday of the month (except for in November, due to the election, when it is moved to the second Tuesday). This month's topic was Water Conservation and Preventing Storm Water Pollution. What perfect timing too! Yesterday and today it has rained for the first time since September.

Here is a recap of what we learned:

The historic stereotype of large drain systems pouring neon green waste into rivers with a plant off in the distance are now obsolete. The major form of water pollution today is waste from private property including pet waste, vehicle fluids, garbage, and construction debris. This waste rests on top of impermeable surface area (does not absorb water, such as concrete and asphalt), floods our streets and yards, and is eventually pushed into our water sheds, rather than being naturally processed through the Earth's filtration system (roots, dirt, rocks, and eventually making it to the ground water).

What is our solution? Councilwoman Evans explained that we can create permeable surface area on our private property. You can do this by replacing your impermeable driveways with crushed concrete, shredded tires (much like a running track), or other great options. We learned that the cost of crushed concrete compared to asphalt or regular concrete is minimal and lasts longer. The only maintenance it requires is to be "brushed" or cleaned with a leaf blower twice a year to remove sediment and other matter that clogs the surface. Metro Council is also implementing a fee per property (including government property, churches, houses, and commercial property) that will be added to our water bill based upon the estimated impermeable surface area we own. This fee can be lowered by creating more permeable surface area, including crushed concrete, rain gardens, rain barrels (rain water harvesting), green roofs, and more!

Margo Farnsworth also spoke about habits we can change in our daily lives to decrease the amount of water that we use. "It all goes back into the ground, right?" Wrong. It goes into the sewage system, which is pushed through miles of piping and eventually makes it's way to a water processing plant, which uses electricity and chemicals to purify the water for reuse. By saving water on our end, we save energy and other costs on that end. Here are some tips she gave:

1. When making coffee, only make as much as you know your household will consume. For example, I know that I will drink one cup and my roommate will drink one cup, so I only add 2.5 cups of water and a tablespoon or so (depending on how strong I want) of coffee grounds to my coffee maker. This will make exactly 2 coffee-cups full, and no extra coffee is dumped out.
2. Hamburgers require a lot of water (I'm not sure why, though), so if Americans learn to curb their diets and consume smaller portions (go from a 1/4 pounder to wopper junior), we will save water.
3. Turn the water off when brushing your teeth (duh!) and lathering your hands with soap. That water is not necessary to have on during the interim and will saves hundreds of gallons of water per year per individual.
4. Most of our water use is actually put into the ground. Silly, huh, that we pay to water the ground that mother nature does on her own! Many individuals and companies water even when it's raining! The best tip is to water your lawn or garden early in the morning or late at night and to use dip irrigation (soaker hoses, for example). Why? Because over half of the water used with sprinkler systems is absorbed into the air and never reaches the ground. Using a soaker hose, covered with mulch, ensures that the water only goes into the ground by the plants that you want watered, reduces the amount of water that is released per unit of time (because it drips out, rather than pours out), and the mulch prevents evaporation.

You can find more information about storm water pollution and ways to prevent it at Nashville.gov/stormwater.

We had about 15 people join us at Lipscomb University at their Institute for Sustainable Practice. Although Engage Green was a success for our first seminar (especially considering it was the same night as the debate at Belmont), there are things I definitely want to change for the next one. I had always invisioned these talks as a "How-To" discussion. I believe that many people get it. They understand that there is a problem; although they may not know exactly what the problems are, they get it and want to change. I want these discussions to be an opportunity for people in Nashville to come, learn an overview of the problem, and learn step-by-step how to make changes in their personal life. I want them to walk away with instructions in hand so that they can go home and make the changes over the weekend, and be confident in the process!

For this class, ideally we would have discussed the issue of storm water and the need for water conservation for about 20 minutes, then learned step by step how to create a rain garden, and how to install rain barrels, followed by a short discussion of simple things we can do daily (like the coffee advice above). Everyone would walk away with a handout including rain garden instructions and resources on one side, and rain barrel instructions and resources on the other. I will be sure to make the next seminars more hands on!

Our upcoming calendar will look a little something like this:

November 11th (Second Tuesday)
Location: Lipscomb University, Burton Building, Flex Learning room
Topic: Local Food Options and Composting
Learn about the benefits of local food and where to buy it. Also, learn a couple different ways to create your own composting system, especially with the holidays coming up. You'll finally know what to do with all that left over food (when you just can't eat anymore of it!)

December 2nd (First Tuesday)
Location: Lipscomb University, Burton Building, Flex Learning room
Topic: Energy Saving Options
Specifics TBA

January 6th (First Tuesday)
Location: Lipscomb University, Burton Building, Flex Learning room
Topic: Green Washing
If your new years resolution includes "Going Green," you'll need to know the difference between truely green products and what is simply advertised as green (known as Green Washing). Some products claim to be green because they are made of "all natural" ingredients, but these natural ingredients can still be harmful to you and your environment.

February 3rd (First Tuesday)
Location: Lipscomb University, Burton Building, Flex Learing room
Topic: TBA
Possibly we will discuss Green Building Options. Learn great spring remodling options that will preserve the environment and your money in the long run.

March 3rd (First Tuesday)
Location: Lipscomb University, Burton Building, Flex Learning room
Topic: TBA
Possibly we will discuss the topics missed during the storm water discussion, including step by step instructions how to create rain gardens, rain barrels, the benefits of trees, and other rain water conservation tips just before the "rainy season" hits.

If you have any topic suggestions, or are interested in presenting (all presentations must be non-political, and non-sales oriented), please contact me (kreed@tunedin.com). If you are interested in sponsoring an event (event sponsorship, product donation, food/beverage sponsorhip, or more) please contact Team Green Director, Laurel Creech (laurel@tunedin.com).

Her Nashville

Team Green is now featured in a new Nashville Magazine/Newspaper called Her Nashville. As it may seem, it is a Magazine/Newspaper geared towards women in Nashville. Articles include Her Style, Her Earth, and Her Adventures. Team Green director Laurel Creech writes the articles for Her Adventures and speaks of outdoor activities that are beneficial for women, especially adventures that are historically male dominated. The latest Her Style article focuses on Green Clothing tips, such as organic clothing and remaking your old clothing. Women, after all, specifically housewives, are the number one consumers in America.

Other neat things going on in the world of Green is Team Green Yoga. This weekly event is my own personal pride and joy, and I really hope to see it take off. We are working with Balance Bodywork until the end of 2008 for a trial weekly yoga that will be an introduction class. We will learn the basics of stretching, strenghtening, balancing, and cardio yoga in a great little studio that overlooks the setting sun. I'm thrilled!

Green Greed

This "green" topic is stretching it quite a bit, but I'm going to talk about money (it looks greenish, right?) This is more of a WARNING out there to all of you selling items online. One of my roommates tried to sell his camera over an online bidding site (ebay, craigslist, I don't know) and got screwed out of $1700+! He posted his camera as worth $3300. Someone from England bought it from him and paid in check. They mailed a check for $5000 and asked him to wire the remaining money after shipping costs (which came out to about $1700 in cash). Even though the whole deal sounded shady, he saw that huge check and went on with the deal. He waited to make sure that the check cleared in his bank, then shipped the camera and wired the cash through Western Union. Yesterday he got a call from his bank saying that even though the check cleared through his bank, it did not clear through the international bank. By then, the guy in England had already picked up their cash from Western Union... cash that was 100% out of my roommate's funds since the check for $5000 was a fake. (Didn't he read Catch Me if You Can?!) He contacted the shipping company and had the camera returned to our address. On the bright side he still has his camera, but he's out the $1700 in cash and whatever shipping costs he had to pay. Moral of the story? If he looks like a sham, it probably is a sham! My roomie didn't have that much money in his account to begin with, so now he has to borrow money from his parents to pay off debts. He claims he had some bad Karma building up over the years and just had that feeling.

Have Mercy on Percy

Team Green has had two great clean up this month! The first was the Nashville Clean Water Project: Percy Priest Clean-up on September 13th and the second was the Buffalo Canoe Float in Waynesboro, TN. The Nashville Clean Water Project is a group of representatives from various organizations including Cumberland River Compact, Metro Water, Team Green, Nashville Hiking Meetup, Army Corp of Engineers, the Mayors Office and Think Media. Our goal is to increase awareness of the problem facing Percy Priest Lake and create drastic preventative changes in order to preserve the integrity of Percy Priest and other local waterways. This clean up was the second this year. The first was the largest clean up in Nashville History, and still the shoreline and islands of Percy Priest lake are littered with tires, beer cans, and careless trash. The issue: people boat out to the islands, party, and leave everything there for the island fairies to carry away. This clean up was much smaller, but we used it to get the support from Nashville, Smyrna, LaVergne, and Rutherford County officials. With only 130 volunteers we cleared nearly 350 bags of trash, 40 tires, and numerous large metal items. We will have a significantly larger clean up in the spring, and the mayors have promised to hold a Summit this fall.

The second clean up was at Buffalo River. We launched from Crazy Horse Recreational Park and float down a 10 mile stretch of the river. Team Green had ten canoes, one kayak, and the support of everyone floating with us that day. The twenty one of us cleaned over 15 tires, a hot water heater, grills, Styrofoam coolers, and countless beer bottles and missing flip flops. Many of our canoes were so weighed down by the tires that we were unable to continue cleaning efforts for the last 3 miles of the river, which had more beer cans on the bottom of the current than I could count. Next year I plan to make an over night camping trip of it with a lunch break after five miles. This way we won't be in such a hurry to make it back to land before dark!

Oogle the Google!

Team Green's calendar is now available on Google Calendars!

Garden Poppers

I fried up some Jalapeno Poppers (fresh from the garden) the other day and made the mistake of bringing the extra ones to work, so now I have to blog about the recipe! It is very time consuming if you do it by yourself, but once all of the jalapenos are cut in half and seeded, it only takes a matter of seconds. Why do I call them garden poppers? Well, first to encourage everyone to have a garden, and second, this recipe can be used for any garden variety pepper, including bell peppers, but you will need significantly more cheese!

What you'll need:
PS. My recipes are rarely unit conscious... I don't tend to measure things before I cook them. That takes the fun out of it!

1. Between 10 and 50 jalapenos (depending on how many people you'll be feeding). Each jalapeno makes 2 poppers, and the average person can probably consume 10 poppers in one sitting!
2. At least one other person to help cut the jalapenos and scrape out the seed
3. Deep frier. A sauce pan and some metal utensil to remove the poppers works too.
4. One box (about 8 oz) of cream cheese for every 30-50 jalapeno halves (depending on how cheese you like them).
5. One bag of shredded cheddar for every 30-50 jalapeno halves.
6. Milk
   
7. Parsley, Basil, and maybe oregano would be good too!
8. Salt and Pepper
9. Flour
10. Canola Oil
11. Bread crumbs (this is pretty important. I tried making them without bread crumbs and, well, they tasted pretty crumby!)
12. Paper towel
13. 2 bowls
    

Step One: Halve all of your jalapenos and scrape out the seeds. The seed is by far the hottest part of the pepper and will not be very pleasing (no matter how hot you like your food).
Note: I of course recommend saving the seeds and composting them!

Step Two: Mix your cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Add a tablespoon or so of your herbs for every block of cream cheese. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Stir up really well.

Step Three: Lay out all of your jalapeno halves on a cookie sheet. Add a clump of cheese mixture to each half. I usually do not make the cheese bulge out of the halve, but you can.

Step Four: Put some milk in one bowl and your flour in a second bowl. Dip each stuffed halve into the milk, then into the flour. Make sure that the flour completely covers the halve. Lay them out on the cookie sheet again and let dry for at least 10 minutes. During this time add your oil to the deep frier or sauce pan. Heat oil to 365 degree F.

Step Five: Replace the flour bowl with bread crumbs. Dip the lightly coated stuffed halves into milk again then into the bread crumbs. Lay them out on the cookie sheet to dry for a couple minutes.

Step Six: Place breaded, stuffed jalapeno halves into metal strainer (that comes with a deep frier) or whatever utensil that will allow you to safely remove jalapenos from the scorching hot oil. Keep poppers in the oil until the bread crumbs turn a light to medium brown. Check to make sure that your cheese is not oozing out of the poppers (this can be messy). If your cheese is oozing out, the temperature is probably too high, or you left them in too long.

Finally: Remove the poppers and set them on a paper towel to soak and cool down. I recommend waiting a half hour to 45 minutes before serving (they are really really really hot, not kidding!)

What a Waste!

When I decided last month to rent out 3 bedrooms in my house, one of the most important things to me was that my tenants conserved water, electric and waste. So, I drew up a lease that outlined what should be recycled or composted and where the closest drop of centers were. The guys have tried, but I had to do an intervention. Since I started recycling and composting, I'm lucky if I get even 1/8th of a bag full by the end of a week. When I walked through their kitchen the other day, their trash can was brimming to the top, and I had seen them take out the garbage only 3 days prior!! So, one of my roommates (who actually got me to start recycling in the first place) went through their garbage with me and sorted everything that could be composted, recycled, reused, or worse... still worked! This is what we came up with: Seven grocery bags full of NON TRASH!

From left to right: recyclables (glossy paper and cardboard), compost-ables (non-glossy paper, and food), reusables (plastic cups, plastic forks, grocery bags, cloth sunglass holders, a large sheet of packing material, etc), and recyclable plastic bags (recyclable at Kroger).

From Left to Right: Clothes (mismatched socks and old t-shirts that can be used as rags), styrofoam (can be recycled at Publix), and recyclables (#1-7 plastic, tin, aluminum, etc)

I also found 4 pens and a highlighter that still worked. What we were left with at the end was not a trash can brimming to the top, but rather a trash can with only 1/8th of a bag full, as it should be! Items remaining in the trash can include mystery plastic and rubber items, candy wrappers made of unknown origin, a cd (which I'm sure can probably be recycled somewhere, and food soaked glossy paper (which can be neither recycled nor composted). How much of your trash are you wasting?

Say you take this challenge and sort through your trash, and come up with the same proportion of reusable, recyclable and compostable goods? What now? Well, don't throw them back in the can and say "that was fun!" If you do not have Metro Curby (curbise pickup) at your house, you can call Earth Savers Recycling at 481-9640 and pay only $48 every 3 months! They will pick up your recycling twice a week (compared to once a month through Curby). There are also drop off centers all over Nashville. Many of them are located at Metro Schools. There is even a place for your hazardous waste, large appliances, carpets, and more. Convenience Centers are available in three locations near Nashville.

Virtual Experience

Team Green now has a helmet cam... which I will be wearing on many of the trips. Below is a YouTube video of Team Green's Dragon Boat experience and an "Intro to Team Green" video. I also brought the helmet cam on our Ocoee White Water and Mountain Biking trip. It'll be interesting to see how that one turns out! Our plan is to add a video section to the Team Green website, so be sure to keep an eye open for that.

LEED The Way

Over the past weekend I went out to Len Foote Hike-Inn at Amicalola Falls on a Team Green Trek. We hiked in five miles, checked in, unloaded our daypacks, and regrouped for a tour of the facilities before heading off for dinner. Len Foote Hike-Inn is a Gold Standard LEED certified facility complete with composting toilets, vericomposting bins, rain water harvesting, wild flower gardens, and a no trash policy (anything you hike in, you must hike out. There are no trash cans on the property). At dinner they have a no waste policy and encourage us to only take what food we can eat, with the goal of only 4 ounches of food waste between all fourty of us plus staff! We reached that goal every time, and would have managed zero food waste if it wasn't for the kids!

Of particular interest to me was the rain water harvesting, vermicomposting bins, and solar panel water heating. Each of them are pretty simple (and relatively cheap in comparison to the energy and resources that we waste each year without them). I'll discuss each of them with a description of how to install them in your own home.

1. Rain Water Harvesting.

Of couse it is not a good idea to use rainwater to wash dishes, bathe in or drink, but it is a wonderful resource of water for the garden and yard. Ideally you will install a metal roof because it will last longer than shingles and can transport the rain water more easily than shingles. With or without a tin roof, you can install rain chains. First, make sure that your gutters are covered either with screen or you can purchase gutters that are already partially covered. This prevents leaves from clogging your gutters.

Note: Notice a bunch of mosquitos in your yard? Mosquitos breed every three days in standing water. Often they breed in gutters that have been clogged with leaves. Remove those leaves, cover your gutters, and you'll notice fewer mosquitos in no time!

Remove the piping that leads from your gutter to the ground. Instead, install a plastic chain leading from the gutter base opening to a large container. You have two options. You can either burry a large container in the ground (this keeps the water from freezing in colder seasons) and install a hand pump to remove the water, or you can have an above ground container with a spout (allowing the water to flow out by gravity rather than air pressure). Make sure that the container has a large opening covered by screen (again to prevent leaves and mosquitos). When it rains, gravity will cary the water down the chain links into the container. Even in the winter when water freezes on the chains, you can still see water making it's way down the chain! There you have it, your rain harvesting system is complete. To use it to water the garden, simply attach a hose to the spout.

2. Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting is composting of food and paper items using worms. Take this challenge.

• Get everyone in your household to place their paper products in a bin each day. Paper products include non-glossy paper, thin cardboard, kleenex, coffee filters and paper towels. Also have them put their food scraps in another bin. Food scraps include all food items and coffee grounds, excluding fats, meats, dary products, and animal feces.
• Weigh how much of your household waste is paper and food product. Take an average over a week. Multiply this number by 2, and buy that amount of worms! Works can eat half of their body weight in a day.
• Next build a composting bin. It should be wider rather than deeper. Mine is about 4 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 6 inches deep. Be sure to drill medium sized holes in the sides near the base (to airate) and small holes in the bottom (to drain). Cover the holes on the sides with screen to prevent worms from crawling out and flies from getting in.
• Next, shred or tear all of your paper and soak it in water. When the paper is soaked, add some crushed leaves and dirt to the mix. Squeeze most of the ater out and place it in the bottom of the bin as the "bedding." The bedding mix should be more than 2 inches deep, but less than 12 inches deep. Add your worms and let them get used to their new habitat for a couple days before adding food. When you add food, be sure to bury it. Cover your bin with a dark plastic bag (works like it dark and moist).
• Be sure to add your paper/food/leaf mixture in sections. Within a few weeks, harvest the wormanure in sections. To do this, remove a section of plastic. The light with drive the worms away, and the material will dry out. After a day or two, collect the dark rich soil-looking material (it's just worm poop!) and place it in a sifter. The fine material is great for the garden (in fact, it can hold moisture better than most manure and does not contain the harmful chemicals that most mature contains). Toss the larger chunchs of partially decayed food and paper product back into the bin.

3. Solar Panel Water Heating

I am not quite sure how to go about doing it, but here is the gist. Your water heating tank requires an absurd amount of energy to heat the water. Often, the water is heated and never used. Other times the hot water runs out and you require more energy to heat more water. Solar Panel Water Heating reduces the amount of energy used to heat the water. Solar panels are placed on your roof, and all water is sent through the solar panel system before going to the water heater. The solar panels will heat the water between 5 and 10 degrees, thus requiring less energy to reach the correct temperature. Another option is a Tankless Water Heater. This works on the same premise, but instead of using solar panels or a water heater tank, the water is passed through the tankless water heat and only the water that passes through it is heated. This reduces the amount of energy used to heat the water. Why? 1. Because it takes more energy to heat a huge tank compared to a small pipe full and 2. Because you are not spending energy on heating water that will not be used.

All Work and All Play!

I am busy, busy, busy, but the work all adds up to play! I have some really exciting Team Green treks coming up over the next six weekends or so and am not sure if I should consider them work or paid vacation! This weekend, Labor Day weekend, I'm spending three days and two nights at the Len Foote Hike-Inn at Amicalola Falls in Northern Georgia. The inn is only accessible by foot on a five mile trail and is named after Leonard Foote, a conservationist, biologist and nature photographer. He dedicated much of his life to teaching of conservation, oudoor saftey and preservation of the wilderness. The inn, therefore, is a tribute to him and exists as a completely green structure. The building is LEED certified (Leader in Energy and Environmental Design) with composting toilets, solar panels, rain water harvesting. The staff at the Hike-Inn will cook all of our meals for us, provide linens and hot water, so all we need to do is hike, relax, and enjoy our labor-less weekend!

The following weekend I could choose between the Oyster Urban Adventure Race or the Ocoee White Water Rafting Weekend Getaway. Since Laurel will be participating in the Oyster Race, I will be co-leading the white water rafting trip. We will leave Friday evening after work at car camp at the Big Frog Campground. Saturday we will raft the full Ocoee (Upper and Middle sections) and Sunday we have the choice of either rafting again for half a day or mountain biking... Decision, decisions.

The Upper section was apparently used during the 1996 Olympic Whitewater challenge! This will be my first time white-water anything! The tech department has equipt me with a helmet cam, which I used during the Dragon Boat Race last weekend. I will be mountain biking on Sunday, so if I don't fall in the water and completely destroy the helmet cam on Saturday, I'll get to catch any crazy mountain bike bloopers I may encounter!

On the weekend of September 12 through the 14th, Team Green is going on its always popular Pickett State Park Weekend Getaway for more camping and hiking. If we get a large enough crowd for that event, I will be joining Suzanne as co-leader, otherwise I will stay in Nashville and help out with the Nashville Clean Water Project:Percy Priest Lake Cleanup event on September 13th. I had to miss out on the last cleanup because family was in town and did not want to subject them to the horrible littering that has infested Percy Priest Lake islands. People boat out to these islands, camp, party, and leave all of their trash behind, assuming what? That the magical Percy Priest fairy will waive her magic wand and make all the garbage disappear? No. Instead volunteers from around Nashville, LaVergne, Smyrna, and all over come out do what they can to reverse the damage. Check out these articles from the Tennessean and Channel4 News.

Events to follow include the Buffalo River Canoe Float, in which we will take the lessons from Percy Priest and help collect trash as we float along the scenic Buffalo River, and Tsali Weekend Adventure at Nantahala Recreational Area in North Carolina. We’ll mountain bike at Tsali, hike the trails around Tsali and the Smokies, and paddle the Nantahala River. Because this trek is so far away and there are so many things to do, Team Green added a day to make this weekend adventure a four day trip. Again, I don't know if I should consider this work or paid vacations!

Off The Grid and Looking for Dirt Bags!

A few months ago I went climbing at the Obed with some friends. We camped over night at Del and Marte's. The Scruggs family has quite a remarkable story. They decided about 10 years ago to live entirely off the grid. What does that mean? They live a sustainable lifestyle by creating much of their own energy and using the renewable resources of the Earth to support themselves. A while ago they opened up their land to some of their climbing friends, allowing them to camp on their property; over time, the property became viral, and more campsites have been carved out. They now charge $5 per person and $2 per dog to stay on their land.

The Scruggs are a family of four: mother, father and two teenage children. All four of them live in a one bedroom cabin, that they built together, complete with wood burning stove and composting toilet. They live off their vegetable and herb gardens for many of their meals, collect rain water with their tin roof to water the garden and do dishes, and of course recycle what commercial waste they do generate. When their son became a teenager, they built a second one room cabin (no toilet or kitchen) for him to sleep in. They now make that the TV cabin, with a TV and laptop powered by a generator that they only turn on when those items are in use. Other neat features on their property include a hillbilly hot tub (a large metal feeding trough with a fire pit underneath!), rope swings, community fire pit, wood burning smoke house, and of course, the world's greatest swimming hole. On top of that, they installed a diesel engine in their VW.

Now that their teenage children are both in high school, the four of them are building a new home on their property... made out of dirt bags! They pack large sacks with dirt, compact it very tightly (so that with enough pressure the dirt becomes tough like stone), and once complete, they will mud the walls with a unique concrete-like mixture. This three bedroom house will have energy efficient windows, two composting toilets, a stone floor, tin roof and other eco-efficient features.

I found their email address today (after searching my random papers for the past month) and contacted them in hopes to organize a Team Green event in which we spend a weekend with them, help build their house, tour their property, and of course, swim at the world's greatest swimming hole. Is this something you, as a Lightning 100 listener or Team Greener, be interested in?

By the way, here is an update on my bruise!

I Fell in a Hole! and Garden Recipes

We'll start off this blog with a side note, because it's still singing! Today I finally got a chance to move my desk materials over to my new office next to Brian (website guy) and Laurel (well, her stuff isn't over here yet). The office is actually a loft above our conference table and bathroom, and for the past several years has been storage for boxes. We finally put some shelving units along the wall to store some of the excess boxes, and as I was hanging one of our Team Green banners, my entire leg went into a hole just above the bathroom! I have scratches and soon-to-be bruises on my elbow, calf, and thigh... oh well! I'm tough!

I had actually planned on writing a blog yesterday at home, but never got around to it. Saturday was a big day for Team Green. We had a Kayak Giveaway at Whole Foods Market, a Franklin 5K Pre-registration Party at Fleet Feet in Brentwood, Woofle Ball at Centennial Park, and to top it off, half the station went to Rodrigo y Gabriella at the Ryman. I took Monday off and spent half the day teaching myself how to make Garden Pesto! Here's an easy recipe I found:

Challenge: Try to only use items you have growing in your garden!

Ingredients
2 cups of packed fresh basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup nuts (pine nuts, walnuts or pecans all work)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
3 medium cloves of fresh garlic
salt and black pepper to taste

You'll need a food processor. First add the nuts to the processor and pulse. Next add the basil and pulse. Add your diced garlic, and while blending, slowly add the olive oil. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Salt and pepper should be added to taste. Finally add the cheese. If you plan on freezing the pesto for later use, do not add the cheese because it won't freeze well. To freeze, add the cheese-free pesto into an ice cube tray and cover with cling wrap.

Serve with pasta, over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices. In my opinion, the recipe is missing something. Maybe some lemon juice? Try it out and let me know what you do to make it just right!

I also made some garden salsa in honor of Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Ingredients
5-6 tomatoes (Romano are my favorite)
3-7 hot peppers (Jalapenos, Cyrano, whatever you have)
2-3 green peppers
Handful Fresh basil
Handful Fresh parley
1/2 to 1 Onion
Lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp Honey (preferably local honey!)

First boil the tomatoes for one minute, then place them in cold water. This allows you to peel off the skins. Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds and as much of the juice as you can (do this in a large bowl so you can then strain the juice and have some fresh squeezed tomato juice!). Then cut the tomatoes into smaller chunks. Next cut up an onion (whole or half). Dice the hot and mild peppers, making sure to remove most of the seeds (those are the hottest part!). Dice your basil and parsley as well. Place all of your tomatoes, half of your onions and a handful of your peppers into a sauce pan. Using a food processor, combine all of your basil, parley, and the remaining onions and peppers, plus your lemon juice and honey. Process for only a moment. Add the processed portion to the larger chunks and heat in a sauce pan to really soak in the flavor. Depending on how many of each item and how large your veggies are, this should make one 10 oz jar of salsa! Serve hot or cold.

Post from the Past: Part 5 (Dirty Business and Shower Curtains)

This blog content was originally posed on July 26, 2008 on my Myspace Blog. I wanted to share.
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I just started a compost pile today. I half ass started one a few months ago behind the garden, but it wasn't actually in a pile per se, and after almost 2 months nothing was turning into dirt. I attended a green meeting a few weeks ago and at the end they raffled off a "back yard composter." It basically looked like a small garbage can. I didn't win it, but I have a few spare cans at my house, so, I looked it up online. Composting is pretty simple. Here's the gist of it.

There are four key words to remember: Green, Brown, Air and Water.

Green and Brown: The ratio should be between 5:1 and 8:1 Brown to Green. Green is anything moist and quick to spoil. Examples include grass cuttings, weeds, kitchen scraps, etc. Brown is anything dried out, like leaves, that will become a good food source for the organisms that will decompose the green materials. If you have a thermometer, the compost should reach 150 to 160 degrees. If the compost doesn't heat up within 24 hours, then you need more green matter. To compost faster, be sure to cut up both green and brown items so that they can break down easier.

*Pet feces, diary products and meats/eggs should not be added to compost because of potential diseases or attraction of rodents.

Air and Water: The green and brown ingredients need to be moist and well oxygenated in order to break down. The trick is to add water (or other liquids that you would otherwise throw out: stale wine or beer, old soup, etc). You will also need to stir the compost every couple of days to ensure that new oxygen is reaching throughout. If you have your compost in a garbage can, you can also shake or roll the can instead of stirring.

That's pretty much it. I'm told that there are books out there on expert composting. They cover such topics as cold vs. hot composting, what items compost best together, etc. I'm not that ambitious to read up on it yet, but if I do, I'll be sure to share.

So, that was the Dirty Business... now what's up with the shower curtains? A friend heard on the radio that studies have been done on vinyl shower curtains. That horrible chemical smell you notice the first few days after opening a brand new shower curtain is actually toxic. Here is an article published by University of Tennessee Knoxville. There are several alternatives to vinyl, including bamboo shower curtains, waxed cloth curtains, and glass doors. If you can't afford those options, Bed Bath & Beyond sells "Eco-Friendly Non-Chlorine Vinyl" curtains.

Post from the Past: Part 4 (One Pitch Forkful at a Time)

This email was sent via Green Drinks listserv. If you aren't from Nashville, maybe something similar is happening in your neck of the woods as well!

_________________________________________

"There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 official community
gardens with more sprouting every day! If you want to garden, but
don't have the land or tools to do it (and would like to meet neat
people), join up with a garden!  Get good food and friends in return!
here's a list of some of them.

Check out this websites as well:
www.nashville.gov/community_garden


We're taking back our dinner one pitch forkful at a time! Hurray!"

Post from the Past: Part 3 (Aloe Vera Warning)

This blog content was originally posed on April 17, 2008 on my Myspace Blog. I wanted to share.
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While at the Wilderness First Aid training I learned a little something about sunburns and Aloe Vera: they do not go together!

"There is nothing good about the Aloe plant except for its intense ability to absorb junk." -American Red Cross Instructor

We've been taught to put Aloe Vera on sunburns; the cooling effect is supposedly a sign that it's working, and it feels good on the hot skin. However, the aloe is actually harming your skin. It is able to absorb quickly through the burnt layer of skin and even into the still healthy skin below it. In effect, it dries out both layers (ever wonder why your skin gets really sticky even though the Aloe Vera supposedly has "moisturizers?"). This is why no matter how much Aloe Vera you put on, you still end up peeling within a couple of days.

The aloe's ability to absorb is harmful because once you open your container of Aloe Vera, it immediately absorbs the germs, bacteria, and dirt in the air. The longer the container goes unused, the more germs are absorbed (How many of you have a container that you opened over a year ago?).

The best remedy for sunburn is cool (not cold) water over the skin (running water or with a damp cloth). You skin is hot after being in the sun because it continues to "cook." Cool water helps to lower the temperature and end the "cooking effect" sooner. Keep the skin moist so that it naturally heals on its own. If you feel that you need to use a lotion, use your regular body lotion (unless, of course, if it has aloe as an added ingredient).

With that, hope you all are able to avoid sunburns this summer... I, unfortunately, already have one!!

Post from the Past: Part 2 (Think Global, Act Local)

We can call this my Earth Day Resolution (Originally posted Apr 12, 2008 on my Myspace Blog). Here are some of the things I've been doing, and plan to start doing in order to do my part on this place called Earth (The list will be updated periodically). X'd items are things I have already instilled in my life.

(x) Refill ink cartridges
(x) Recycle plastic, aluminum, glass, and paper
(x) Do not throw anything besides wood in a bonfire
(x) Leave nothing on the trail that isn't completely biodegradable
(_) Use and re-use my material possessions until they are un-salvageable
(x) Carpool whenever possible
(x) Start a vegetable garden (and loving it!)
(x) Start a compost pile (See "Dirty Business and Shower Curtains")
(x) Turn off lights that I am not using
(_) Install energy efficient lights/windows (when I get a new house)
(x) Buy Organic
(_) Buy Local (this is actually better for the environment than Organic)
(x) Buy All Natural (cat/dog food too!)
(_) Ride a bike to work (gotta buy one first!)
(x) Help spread the word about changing our habits
(x) Use cloth grocery bags or no bag at all
(x) Use non-vinyl shower curtains (That strong smell you notice in most curtains is toxic!)
(x) Minimize use of microwave
(x) Use carpet sweeper as substitute for vacuum (but still vacuum sometimes)
(_) Use non gas powered yard tools (mowers, trimmers, etc)
(x) Reduce (and eventually eliminate) intake of High Fructose Corn Syrup (it's in sodas, syrups, candies... and is completely unhealthy)
(x) Turn off power strips and unplug electronic devices when out of town
(x) Buy Eco-Friendly soaps and detergents

Post from the Past: Part 1 (Into the Wild)

This blog content was originally posed on April 11, 2008 on my Myspace Blog. I wanted to share.
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"I want to just live away from society, without any material things; to just exist in nature. I want the freedom to truly see the miracles around me."

This is the concept behind Into the Wild (both the non-fiction book and the movie) and it was quoted by a 16 year old girl here in Nashville. Though I appreciate the ambition behind such a desire, this view worries me. It is a view that does not seek true balance. We must not forgot the importance of society; One can live a lifestyle emerged in nature with others; That is, one can be wild without being alone. Part of seeing the true miracles around us is seeing the miracle of human connection. Society doesn't have to mean THIS society. In its simplest form society means a "connection between people and an organized way of living." (At least that's my definition).

If Christopher had just had one or two other people with him, they could have survived off one another long enough to achieve the experience they were longing for (and together, have been able to make it back home if they changed their mind). "Happiness: only real when shared with others."

I may be more materialistic than some of my outdoor friends, but I believe I have a good balance. I love society, and economics, and systems (systems of thought, systems of laws, systems of customs) because they are what allow us to form connections with other people, and they allow us to learn from others experiences. Not every experience needs to be a completely new experience.

People that share Christopher's view also lack an appreciation for the very society that has given them the ability to think for themselves. They have to realize that their instincts have adapted to the society they were raised in. A person sick of city life cannot survive in the wild the way a caveman did. We have evolved into a greater form of human ability, but we have lost the instincts that cavemen were born with. Humans of the past were raised and taught to kill their own meals and use nature as their tools. We were raised and taught to use electricity, silverware, microwaves, and running water. A person with those technologies available to them in their youth cannot go back in time. Instead, people with the "Into the Wild" ambition must appreciate the Yin of Nature and the Yang of society to survive. Experience both. See the miracle of nature, and share it through the miracle of human interaction.

How I Became Green

It's difficult to love an escape to the outdoors without learning to love the natural beauty and necessity of the environment surrounding you. This, combined with my childhood, my recreational desires, and exposure to a growing green community, I myself became Green. I would like to use this blog as an opportunity to discuss (non-political) green issues and initiatives, Team Green adventures and how they impact me as an individual, and other health and environmental tid-bits that I learn throughout my career.

Nothing that I post is a reflection of the overall opinion of Tuned In Broadcasting, Lightning 100, Team Green, Music Business Radio or any other program within the company that I work for.

It has been an interesting 2 years here in Nashville! My name is Keeley and I am the Programs and Event Coordinator for Lightning 100's Team Green and Music Business Radio. I was raised as a Navy brat traveling from California to Washington DC to Manila, Philippines. When my dad retired in 1992 we moved to Michigan (where my mom's family was) and there we stayed until I graduated college. I never imagined settling in Nashville, or anywhere between Indiana and Florida, really; and I never imagined I would change the course of my life to stay here. Through high school and college I thought I was destined to be an attorney, but reality struck and I discovered how to make an old passion a new career.

I'm pretty sure there are more trees than people in all cities of Michigan except for maybe Detroit and Flint! As a result, I passed most of my childhood hiking through the woods in my backyard and going on Boy Scout trips with my mom and brother. When I decided to move to Nashville to "take a year off from school," I had no idea what sort of beauty existed in the landscape of Tennessee. My first hiking experience was at Fall Creek Falls. A new friend in Nashville and I drove down there for a weekend and hiked to every waterfall we could find within 2 miles of the main trails. My father was raised in Nashville, and we spent many many summers here, yet I had no idea a single waterfall existed in Tennessee! It blew me away!

From there I spent just over a year trying to find friends to hike, backpack, or camp with me, but to some (and I'll never understand why) the outdoors do not appeal to them. Finally in February of 2008 I discovered the Nashville Hiking Meetup and I was on the trails every weekend, sometimes several different trails a week. It was almost an obsession, but what I loved even more than being outdoors was having the opportunity to organize my own events and experience that hike or backpacking trip knowing how much effort and skill it took to get everyone there and back safely. This is how I met Laurel, Lightning 100's Team Green Director. She was looking for an assistant and I had the passion and ability she needed to move forward with Team Green.

While I was in the process of interviewing for the Event Coordinator position, I tried everything I could to become more appealing as a candidate. I took a Wilderness First Aid and CPR course and learned several ways to help sustain life using limited resources. Isn't that basically the purpose of the Green movement? It opened my eyes to several ways in which our environment can be used to help us in emergency. I also decided to attend Green Drinks meetings in order to "conveniently run into Laurel" and meet other people in the Green Business community. I didn't really understand until then just how far the Green movement had taken us towards sustainable business practices. It's amazing, really, how many people don't consider the benefits (and cost effectiveness) of becoming a green business. Around this time, the Discovery Channel launched it's satellite channel Planet Green. It has all of the same great shows that you'll find on HGTV, TLC, Discovery Channel, the Food Network, and more, only with a green twist. Each of these contributed to my eco-transformation.

So, here I am, doing what I love and loving what I do! I hope that this blog offends no one, inspires many, and entertains all.

I am Keeley.