Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Plastic Straws - We don't need them!



March 2017 Blog

The seedlings have sprouted.  I have a dozen white lavender plants on their way and several Padrone peppers started.  With the help of a plant light and a heat mat, things are progressing nicely.

This month’s blog is about “Plastic Straw Pollution.”  A plastic straw with a cold beverage seems innocuous enough, however they are used once and disposed of all too quickly.  Americans use 500 million drinking straws every day according to the “Be Straw Free Campaign” organized by the National Park Service. That is enough straw waste to wrap the circumference of the earth 2.5 times or to fill Yankee Stadium over 9 times in a year! Now imagine that magnified by global consumption! (https://www.nps.gov/commercialservices/greenline_straw_free.htm)

It’s worth googling “Plastic Straw Pollution” to see the different groups that have organized to address this nuisance.  I am on board.  I have purchased stainless steel straws that are reusable and I also have paper straws which are not an ideal solution but are still better than plastic ones.  I am still searching for a local source of paper straws and would love some feedback on that if anyone knows where to get them.  I purchased some online but that method seems to have too big of a carbon foot print.

I am in the process of reading “The Food Babe Way” by Vani Hari.  I am enjoying the book despite the many critical book reviews that cite Hari’s lack of common chemistry knowledge.  The book has gotten me back into healthy green juicing which I have neglected for the past 2 years for no good reason.  Another healthy exercise behavior that I have discovered is the singer, Adele’s, 5 daily planks.  Easy to fit into the daily schedule and oh, do you feel them.

The exciting news for this month is that we are in the process of purchasing a house next to our vineyard and lavender farm.  I hope to have a short term rental available this summer for visitors to Finley Point who come to enjoy our spectacular summers and wander throughout the vineyard.  And if you want to help prune, that can be arranged at no extra cost (lol). 

Here’s to the arrival of spring!  It has been a long winter.