Storm Update

Well, with the 12 inches of snow outside covering up all of the good places to detect, as well as the bad, I've remained inside, except for yesterday. Inspired by this monumental amount of snow, me and my family set out to build an igloo. Taking a total of six hours to complete, the igloo has a 12 foot diameter, and height of about 6 feet. So here are a few scenic winter shots of our yard in Asheville, under 12 inches of snow! Enjoy!

It Really Snowed Here....And That's Not An Understatement!

Today we received, and still are, 7+ inches of snow! This is a record for Asheville, for most snow received in one day. The previous record was 3.6 inches in one day....back in 1917! It has just made a winter wonderland out there, and I just wanted to share some of my photos with eveyone! Hope you enjoy!

The Week in Review...

Well, this week we had our first "Official" snow up here in Boone. Needless to say everyone was out in full force sporting the winter attire and lunch trays. Numerous sledders attempted Suicide Hill, and I ran a papermaking program instead! It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. There were a lot of creative ideas from everyone, and here are a few pics from the event--everyone enjoyed it!

After that, me and my friend Everett made a snowman at the bottom of our hill, called Frank. Unfortunately, this masterpiece only lasted 1hr and 30min thanks to some jerks. I was walking behind one of them when they did it. The head was already gone and this idiot slammed his elbow into the mid part of the snowman, cracking it in half. I figured that it was right for me to say something so I said: "Thanks for destroying the snowman I made, I put a lot of effort into creating him." Well, fair enough, the jerk whined about his elbow as he was walking away. (He didn't know that Frank had a six pack!)
Other than that, the week has been spent preparing for exams; one more day of classes, then Reading Day, and Final Exams. I will be spending a lot of time in the coffee shops!! Happy Holidays!

The Twelve Green Days of Christmas

Here's a version of a holiday classic, gone green. Hope you enjoy it as much as I had coming up with it!

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: A Prius in the driveway.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Two CFLs,
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Three rain barrels,
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Four solar panels,

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Five Canvas bags....

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Six pounds of tofu,
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Seven compost bins,
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Eight Earth Fare gift cards,
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Nine handmade toys,
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Ten lords recycling,
On the 'leventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 'Leven Fairtrade chocolates,
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Twelve saved acres of Rainforest,

Happy Holidays!

It's the most.....carbon consuming time....of the year!!

Christmas--It's right up there with the Fourth of July in how green the holiday actually is. To help bring this point across, here is a little video about just Santa, and how green he really is. (I recommend watching it twice!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZGyEoqqEQQ


So, with this in mind....how exactly can we green our holiday season this year? Let's start with the presents...have you ever considered saving the wrapping paper, or the bow? try folding the paper in a way that makes it unnecessary to use tape, that way, the paper can be used for a couple more years! Or, if that is not feasible for your household, just make sure you recycle it!

Another way to be green is in the actual presents themselves. Is that toy you are buying for little Jimmy made locally, or in Malaysia, or China, or Taiwan? Try to find gifts that support local artists, crafters, and cooks; nothing says Merry Christmas like some handmade paper or jars of spiced peach preserves!

Also, it has been researched and the dilemma of Fake Tree vs. Real Tree has finally been resolved. The best solution is an organically grown, local tree. Fake trees have toxins in the PVC and other plastics that can fall down onto presents and cause problems, especially among the asthmatic community. And remember, take that tree to be mulched locally so that the carbon and other elements in the tree can be recycled back into the environment, not just thrown away in a landfill.

My last tip for tonight is to try and force yourself to have a local, organic Christmas dinner this year. Consider the turkey: Is it Free range or did it grow up within fractions of an inch of other turkeys? Try to buy products from within the USA; during the winter this is generally harder, but you can still find US cranberries, potatoes, and green beans most likely...you just have to put forth an effort to find them. If cost is an issue, do you really have to buy that $1.00 soda out of the vending machine, or could that dollar go towards supporting local organic growers? Happy Holidays!

The 5lb Chunk of Halite and Four Plates of Turkey

Well the weather up here in Boone has been pretty miserable lately, so detecting has been out of the question. However, we did have a couple of nice days, one of them being the last home game of the season. We played Western Carolina and beat them (Did I really just have to say we beat them? We have now for the past 8 years!) 19-14, and that stadium was full!

Earlier that day I went down King Street looking in shops for P-R-E-S-E-N-T-S...and I stumbled into The Looking Glass. This is a neat little shop with rocks from everywhere, and so I paroosed the shelves, marveling at all of the neat crystals, fossils, and minerals. One that especially caught my eye was what I believed to be Rose Quartz, with a lightbulb inside. As it turned out, it was Halite, or salt, and as the light heated it up, it purified the air! So, trying to rid my room of any VOCs, I decided to buy it. It was a very reasonable $18, so I didn't mind. It has a beautiful orange glow to it, and makes the room look really neat at night. Here is an okay shot of it, I will try to get another up of when it isn't lit up so that you can see more detail.





Then, Sunday, I participated in a sustainable and not so sustainable activity. We were green by carpooling to this event. It was a turkey dinner at a friend of mine's church. The deal was to bake something, and bring it to share, so basically the function was a massive pot luck Thanksgiving! Yum! While there I ate three plates of every part of a Thanksgiving meal you can imagine, and stuffed to the brim, came back to Frank. I don't consider this event sustainable because of eating lots of meat high up on the energy pyramid, but they were recycling, on a better note. Maybe for Christmas I can get my family to have a sustainable meal by buying all food locally, and supporting free range turkeys. (Happy Meat) So, after our massive dinner at the church, we came back to our turkey.

Now, you may be wondering why our turkey didn't make it to the function, and here's the tale: We went out and got a turkey earlier in the week and put it in the freezer downstairs. Then, a few days later, we checked and the turkey was gone! Who manages to steal a 13 lb turkey, in the middle of a college dorm?? So, we went back and got another turkey, and tried to defrost it in time to take it to the church. However, this was not feasible, so we cooked this turkey, and had our 2nd Thanksgiving at 11:00. Needless to say, I was completely stuffed...but waking up this morning I was ravenous! :^D Well, that's pretty much it from the land of rain and snow! Happy Thanksgiving!

How To Make Your Own Metal Detector/Stud Finder

I thought this was a neat thing I saw on another metal detectorist's blog: How to Make a Metal Detector Out of A Calculator and a Radio!

http://www.howcast.com/videos/25387-How-To-Make-a-Metal-Detector


As a side note, I just thoguht of how green this is! While not all entirely practical, this is a great way to demonstrate reuse of items and their creation into other functioning goods. Especially for Elementary School kids, this would be a very neat project. Not only will you be recycling and reusing, but once you go try it out, you'll be removing debris from the ground! Enjoy!

Pulaski's, Roots, and an Encore!

Well this weekend I joined five other members of the Living Green Community to go out and re-route a leg of the Appalachian Trail. We went out at 8, armed with Pulaski's, Shovels, Fireman's Rakes, Hoes, Loppers, and determination; arriving at the site, the directors told us that the old leg of the trail was too steep and dangerous anymore for backpackers, so we were going to make another way around the mountain, following the contour of the topography a little more. At first, the going was slow and tough, but soon things picked up and by 12 we were all ready for a break! The side I was on was right in the middle of a Rhododendron Hell, and plenty of jokes were made...(This stuff guards the gates down there....and since everything is engulfed in flames, guess what the fumes are, toxic!) :^D The roots were a pain to dig through, but we just had to keep reminding ourselves that there were no rocks!

By 3, our side had completed 100 something feet of the trail, with the other side completing 200+ feet, (They were on the flat side). All totaled we had 380ft of new AT! This part of the AT was very beautiful, following Watauga Lake for a little bit. I'm definitely considering going back, there are a couple of old homesteads in the woods, as well as campsites and shelters for a good backpacking trip!

Then, today, (A little tired) I set out in search of some arrowheads that a friend told me about. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any; I really wish I lived out in Missouri or the Southwest! So I then ventured over to another lake that had a swimming area and sandy beach. In less than 2 hours, I pulled 104 coins for a total of $3.21. I consider this my encore for last week. Do I see another, next week......? We'll find out!

Latest Metal Detecting Trip tied in with Green Activity

Well, yesterday afternoon, I decided to take off for a little bit to go hunt a new park I've found that is HUGE! I mean, this place is everything from a greenway, to a sports complex, to a tot lot extravaganza! This place is literally teeming with people losing money/jewelry. So, I pulled out my 5.3" coil, thinking there would be quite a lot of trashy signals amongst the goodies, but I was pleasantly surprised. I actually ended up switching back to the stock coil to cover more ground.
So, my total take was $5.05, my new highest amount of money collected in one hunt, about 3 hours. My area is not very populated, so this is good for me! Then, contributing to this total, was my other first--a dollar coin! A 2000 D Sacajawea Dollar coin coming in at a solid +86 VDI on the trusty M6.

Then, as I headed out of the park, I wanted one more good target, and Gollum nearly tackled me as I removed this from the ground:

You see, this was the one that was thrown into the volcano, but actually survived the magma, and ended up in my park! :^D

Well, determined to break my new record of $5.05 from Friday, I headed out this morning at 7:30 to the same park and hunted for two hours, getting just over $2.00. This is where I found the watch, button, and Civil War musket ball?...this is a pretty historic area, but seeing as the park itself is modern, I was pretty surprised to pull it out of the ground at only two inches! So, after taking a lunch break at Subway, I headed off to a nearby town that was established in 1889 and found their City Park, right smack in the middle of everything. (Definition of Everything: In 2008, The town's population was 1490) Since this park was amidst all the action, all the action enjoyed watching me and whispering...for those that were courageous enough to come up to talk to me, (I bite) I gladly showed them my finds and explained just what exactly a METAL Detector finds. There was the occasional nutjob, but for the most part, these folks were wonderful people. Anyway, blah, blah, blah, longer story somewhat shorter, I found 100 coins (My first 100 coin day!!) totaling $6.27! Thanks for looking!

So, my green tact on all of this was that I removed quite a bit of trash from the ground. I don't know what happens to the surrounding soil in an environment where there is quite a bit of metallic trash, but it can't be good!

The main, long term green activity I wanted to point out was my step towards saving cups at the local coffee shop, BeansTalk. In an effort to cut down on their "To Go" cups of coffee, this shop is encouraging customers to either use one of their regular mugs, or bring their own. So, washing out one of mine, I went over last night and gathered 'round the laptop with a nice mug of Colombian coffee for .40 cents less than what everyone else would have to pay. Winter here I come, I'm set!

Playing "Catch" with My Dear Friend "Up"

Please excuse my leave of absence, I was walking along one day and all of a sudden the Pig hit me. I came down with a nasty case of H1N1, and then it transitioned into Lower Left Lung Pneumonia. Needless to say, this left me out of action for a week, running my temperature up to 103 while I lay pitifully on the couch. However, before I knew that I had H1N1, I had an Eagle Ceremony to pull off; so, putting my best face forward, I went through the ceremony while trying to stand up. This was a great hit and everyone enjoyed it very much. Even though I attained my rank back in August, this was the final piece of the puzzle that had to be snapped in for it to fully register to me that I was indeed an Eagle Scout.

Green activities I inadvertently participated in during my ailment included saving water, electricity, and overall energy in general. I took a shower every other night, saving water, I wore only a couple pairs of clothes the entire time, and I didn't turn on very many lights as I was situated right next to a southeast window, I had plenty of it provided for me. Also, during my better days down in Asheville, I went to Earth Fare where I got a pair of Canvas Bags to take to the stores whenever I stock up on fruit and snacks.

Another way I displayed my "greenness" (Other than in my face) was through the purchase of a used coil for my metal detector. Rather than buying a brand new one for $119.99, I found a member on the Friendly Metal Detecting Forum that had one he was willing to sell for just shipping! Today I went and tried the coil out and it performs great! This small 5.3" Coil is great for trashy areas, and numerous times I was able to cherry pick a penny or dime from right beside a piece of trash, whereas on the 10" Stock Coil, the good target would most likely have been masked. All in all, I got .86 cents today, not bad for the combinations of coins that I found. So, other than making up all this work for my professors, my life has been getting better since last week! :^D Happy Hunting!

Fall Break with a Hint of Dave Barry

Well, this past Thursday I had fall break up here at App, so I went back down to Asheville to finalize some Eagle Scout Ceremony plans, and also finish a couple green projects. One of my main accomplishments was the construction of my coin clock. This a clock made from recycled paper, which was put into a waffle iron over Labor Day Weekend; this weekend I was actually able to finsh it. It was a lot of fun to make with the help of my mom, and an enjoyable way to spend a couple of my days down in Asheville.

I also was hoping to find a chest/cabinet for my room to house my arsenal of snacks. We (Me and my Mom) headed out Saturday to go yard sale-ing around Asheville to find one and were not able to find a reasonably priced unit, so we headed over to the great Target--> (Pronounce this the way France would) to see what type of chests they had. As it turned out, they had a nice variety of drawers and cabinets, you just had to make them yourself. So, becoming Trilingual for a couple hours, I read the instructions forwards, backwards, upside down, and sideways, trying to make head or tail of anything they were trying to convey. (My big gratitude to China here for making this easier for me...) But I digress--I eventually put the dang chest together, and I eventually screwed something up with the directions, and inevitably I had to fix the problem later on down the line. However, challenging as this project was, it got me to thinking about the average consumer in America, and whether or not they consider factors that go into making pre-made products, versus the do-it-yourself kits, such as the one I attempted.

How much energy does the manufacturer save by making the consumer put the chest of drawers together, rather than a machine, or underpaid worker? Should all products be this way? Or, if not all products, just a few of them? I can see it now: "General Motors introduces the latest in their line of car products, the: Car in A Box. Buy it now for only ten easy payments of 19.99!! Tools not included. Item subject to frequent technical difficulties such as, but not limited to: broken axles, missing wheels, engine misfires, squeaky fan belts, missing windshields, entire frame of car not in box, and spontaneous combustion." Father: "Gee kids look! Now you can have a car when you turn 16, who wants to help me build it?" The kids, jumping up and down excitedly, wave their arms in the air, ecstatic for their newly acquired possession.

Needless to say, some aspects of the idea would be more ridiculous than others, but I feel that we could minimize the energy output on a majority of our products if we would put together more, do-it-yourself kits.

Yosef and the Fruit on the Bottom of the Viaduct

Well lately I've been in hyperdrive trying to complete our residence hall's float for the theme Solid gold. For this, our pitch was a 100% recyclable, reusable, compostable float; as per Kevin's suggestion at hall council last week, we built our 7 foot tall Yosef out of a classically Scout-built framework comprised of logs and lashings. Tyler on the third floor generously donated his yellow and black striped overalls for the occasion, making Yosef look quite distinguished. For Yosef's upper clothing, I set out in search of a black XXL long sleeved shirt, for his abnormally large arms. Unfortunately, Goodwill only had XL shirts, so I settled with two XL navy blue shirts.

Next was the construction of Yosef's head. This was a tricky one seeing as it had to be light, but sturdy at the same time. Settling on paper mache using flour, water, and sugar instead of glue, I slowly but surely watched my eco-friendly fellow grow before my eyes. By Friday, all that needed completing was the final sawing of his various nubs, sewing up of his special shirt, painting and mounting of his head, and final assembly. With all of these parts nearing completion, my inner clock started to tick louder every waking second that I wasn'y in the second floor study, working on my creation. Fortunately, I had Alex help me with the building of Yosef's solid gold with brown specks vest; for this we collected yellow Rhododendron leaves on Thursday, which, by the time Saturday rolled around, were starting to look like week old bananas. Nevertheless, the effect and message was still the same. Also in construction during this time period was a disco ball for Yosef to hold made out of newspaper and crumpled up aluminum cans. (I won't say soda cans because that wouldn't be entirely true.)

Staying up til two on Friday night, Yosef finally stood before me, a finished man...as was I! Physically exhausted from the ordeal, I went to bed for four hours, only to have to wake up and go take Yosef from a rainy Stadium parking lot to Raley Lot--we didn't want Charlie's truck to get towed! Taking a raincoat to throw over Yosef's doughy head, I lay him down in the trailer, praying the rain would go away at least until the judging. Getting back up at 8:30, I dashed over to Raley Lot to inspect our small float. The rain held off, much to our good fortune, and allowed the judges to inspect our Disco-Ball-Holding-Yosef long enough to decide we were FIRST PLACE!!! After many rounds of hoorahs, hoorays, and I-can't-beleieve-its, we trudged off onto Rivers street to start the parade.

After that, I went to the football game where we beat North Carolina Central, 55 to 21!! Go Mountaineers!! Then, with a raspy voice and a tired body, I went to bed early to get a good nights sleep. Today I awoke to a pleasant temperature outside with fog topping the mountains. When I went to exclaim my staisfaction, I merely uttered a wheeze; my voice had been taken from me in the middle of the night. So, every time I talked to someone today, they thought I was sharing a secret, or just plain nuts. By eleven, I set out on the good ol' Blue Ridge Parkway in hopes of getting my first glimpse of the Viaduct. Much to my dismay however, there were clouds everywhere, blanketing the mountains and road in a thick fog. So I hiked up to Rough Ridge to get a nicer view of the fog, and found lots of neat new areas to hike and show other people. I even spotted some Wintergreen in full fruit so I walked along munching the minty fruit of the wonderful plant. I then went down to a stream after narrowly avoiding some idiot tourists taking photos in the middle of the road!!

While on this pleasant little hike, the sun finally decided to come out, so I scrambled back up to my car in hopes of finally getting a view of the Viaduct and what a view it was! PErsonally, I feel today was the peak of the leaf season, as nearly every tree in sight was in full color--they were absolutely spectacular!! Finding a rock where others were taking photos of the Viaduct, I stood where professional photographers have stood while capturing this beautiful part of the parkway in the fall.

Coming back from my wonderful day on the parkway, I stopped by Ingles to do a little shopping and thinking. Seeing Fruit on the Bottom yogurt got me to thinking about the production of foods and how simple things could save energy in ways not thought of before. Fruit on the Bottom yogurt, for example, does not use machinery to mix the fruit with the yogurt; this most likely saves the company a good deal of money, and requires less energy use on their part. So, I got to thinking, what if other products were treated the same way. Could we have frozen meals that you could assemble yourself at home? Or how about a station to bag your own ice--heck, you could even bring your own reusable bag for that, save packaging and money! Because it seems to me that we are reverting back to a time early in the world's history where fresh markets were abundant and items such as packaging were not even heard of. So, basically, what I'm trying to say, is that in order for our world to sustain the populations being reached, we must first revert back to the ways of our ancestors. It seems the only logical way.

Water and the Road Unintentionally Taken

This past weekend I spent the rare lovely days of Fall outside by hiking and metal detecting. At a house I had hoped would yield some silver coins, I only managed to pull some pennies from the 70s and 60s... To cheer myself up, I took a hike behind my residence hall, and marveled at the emerging fall color. The maples in their reds, yellows, and oranges, and the sourwood in their vivid red livened up the forest, dotting the mountains like beacons.

Then, to tie in my new duty to a sustainable life, I did my laundry. One might be thinking, how is doing the laundry sustainable? And the answer is: By waiting for the full load! You see, I let it go for a few days longer than I normally do, and so, I was saving water by doing a fuller load now, than a regular load later. I also have been monitoring my shower length; by cutting a minute or two off of the entire time, I can save around 5 gallons of water per minute taken off. That would average out to around 1500 gallons a year!

On Sunday, I took a 6 hour hike with one of my friends to Hebron and the Flat Top Mountain Home. The vistas were great and the colors still like they were from Saturday. We hiked a total of 5 miles...even though we didn't mean to. It was quite a workout, but definitely well worth it! Here are some photos from our journey:

Fall is here! And with it, Peace!

Last Monday, my Contemporary Green Living class participated in the International day of Peace by parading around downtown Boone celebrating peace. This was a very neat event because it really brought people together, and also promoted other ideas. Peace not only encourages unity of purpose, mind and cause, but also sustainability. By bringing individuals together over something they can agree on, we can increase our awareness of the world around us, and in turn, create a positive lifestyle to live by.

Well, the Boone Monsoon of 2009 has finally ended. After a cumulative +/- 8 Days, the rain has finally stopped and fall is bursting forth with all its might! This past weekend was parent's weekend up here at Appalachian, so they came up and we took a hike to Hebron. Unfortunately, since the Monsoon hadn't ended yet, we had to hike in the rain, and had to pass up on climbing to the top of the falls. However, the views were still great and the river was running high...(In some spots, climbing to the falls became a little tricky due to this rise!).

We then attended the football game against Samford, who was defeated 20-7....Go Mountaineers! And after the game, I did my best to pick up all of the trash in my area, recycling what little I could. One of the biggest environmental pet peeves of mine is Styrofoam. There at the game, since it was cold and wet, everyone was getting hot chocolate and coffee in these cups, and when the game was over, the trash cans were overflowing with this indestructible refuse. If only we could find a way to take old Styrofoam and recycle it into something useful...I can not count the number of times I have been traveling on a trail or paddling down a river and spotted Styrofoam wedged into places it shouldn't be. I just want to yell at all of the people getting take out boxes from the cafeteria made of Styrofoam....why can't you just put it on a tray and a reusable dish??

So, I try to compensate for that by always picking up bottles and paper along the street, to ensure its safe voyage to a nearby recycling bin. That's pretty much it for the weekend, but I will have a post coming later tonight about the event of today...

A Little Bit of Everything

This past week I spent my energy towards green activities that I could do indoors. We are in a constant cloud up here in Boone, and things aren't looking like they'll be improving anytime soon! So, wandering to the Student Union, I sought out a nice cup of coffee to clear away the fog that seeped into my mind, but not just any old cup of coffee, Shade Grown Coffee. At Crossroads, they sell Shadegrown coffee that is sold in 100% compostable cups made from recycled paper and lined with a plastic made from corn. So, after enjoying that nice cup of Guatemalan coffee, I was able to relax into the rest of the day.

The next day, I meandered on up to the Beanstalk to poke my head around, noting the Regular's coffee mugs hanging up on the ceiling, and letting Parker fill my head with that wonderful jazz. Walking on down Kingstreet, I stumbled into the Bead Box and their Grateful Grounds coffee shop where they sell FairTrade coffee. (The Mocha Java is excellent!) So, after that, I brought my cup back to recycle it properly, and noted that we now have a glass recycle bin in our dorm...as long as someone takes it to Trivette to recycle it! I then took all my recyclables to the bin, anything to keep busy on the first of many rainy days!

Today's Forecast: Rainy with a 100% chance of Gloom

Since the weather has postponed most of the outdoor events and activities for the latter part of this week, I thought I'd brainstorm a few indoor green activities to keep oneself occupied during the drizzly days of fall.

Want Extreme Makeover Home Edition to come renovate your house? Now you can do it all on your own to create a greener, safer, living environment for you and your family. One of the new hot items out on the market are the low flow energy saving toilets; because by saving water, you're saving electricity, energy, and money! Some of the models include two way handles to flush liquids down with a smaller jet of water, and solids down with a stronger burst of water. Also, don't forget the faucets and shower heads! It's documented that simply by switching to an energy saving water head, a family can save up to $300 a year!

Another way to minimize your energy consumption is by shutting off doors to rooms you don't enter frequently. This allows for a smaller area of the house to be heated/cooled quicker, rather than the entire house, therefore reducing the time your AC unit is running; and guess what, more saved money! Something we practice at my house is lowering the air temperature during the weekdays when we are not in the house. Say someone (Family I) is keeping their AC at 65 degrees in the summer, 24/7. While the family next to them (Family II) only has their air at 70 degrees while they occupy the house, mainly from 5pm-7am, weekdays. Imagine the savings, especially if Family II then raises the temperature to 75/76 when they are not home! Also, check your house for any air leaks that may let unwanted air temperatures to enter your house, every little bit counts!

In the summer, another way to reduce your bill is to leave the windows of your house open at night, allowing the cool air to blow through, and shutting the windows during the day, trapping the cooler air in. This what I'm doing in the dorm room; even if I'm not directly paying for the energy bill of my residence hall, I still like to live up to the growing green standards of the Twenty-First Century.

Finally, I want to discuss the poster child of energy savings, the Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb.

These have become more and more popular as the Green Revolution has swelled with each coming year. Wal Mart who originally refused to sell the bulbs, now has an entire row of light bulbs, just devoted to the CFLs! In my room, my lamp has a CFL in it, as well as my roommate's. All the lamps in my home have them, and millions of Americans are now starting to make the switch. Like all green products, the bulbs can be a bit pricey, but just think int he long term: Would you rather buy one CFL that will last for 7+ years, or would you like to buy a regular bulb almost every year? It's decisions like these that can be made not just on rainy days, but any day of the year! So I encourage you to start making the switch to green products, renewable energy, and sustainable development; because we want this planet, our only planet, to last another 4.5 billion years!

Sustainability Plan

Personal Sustainability Plan
· Over the course of the semester, I will minimize my usage of cardboard cups, and instead use the glass cups provided by the cafeteria.
· I will also become more selective in the products I purchase at local stores. In Earth Fare, I might look for brands of food advertising their commitment to sustainability, such as Back to Nature, which prints on 100% recycled paperboard and utilizes inks made from vegetables.
· I am also conscious of the energy my residence hall puts out, so to reduce the cost/electricity usage, I leave the window open at night, allowing the cool air to come in, so that the AC unit stays dormant.
· Other purchases besides food are important to monitor as well; for instance, stores such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Habitat for Humanity provide items of clothing, furniture, and housewares that are fully functional, and at a good price. By circulating these “Trash-to-Treasure” finds, not only does an individual save money on normally expensive articles, but they save extra packaging of goods and the items themselves that could have been sent to a landfill instead.
· When spring rolls around, I will find a plot of land to farm and grow my own herbs, vegetables, and fruits, so that gas and labor spent on harvesting and importing other fruit will be diminished.
· And most importantly, I will promote these habits throughout the community by example and education, so that others can lead a sustainable lifestyle, and through working together, we can make this world a better place to live.

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day, after a four hour drive due to misguided thinking, I was finally able to spend time with my family and relax. On saturday, I spent the day making paper with my mom. That was a blast because I'm making a black waffle clock, based on my metal detecting finds, for my dorm room. It should be nice and dry by fall break, so I'm excited to finish that!

On Sunday, I went with my parents to the Apple Festival in Hendersonville, NC. There, we got to see a great Jazz ensemble of retirees, and we also met up with my aunt and uncle from Spartanburg, SC. The air was filled with the smell of apple fritters and and spiced apple slushes as we paroosed the streets of Hendersonville. I found an apple baking dish that I really liked, from one of the historic makers of North Carolina potters. What you do to prepare the apple is to core it, and place it on the spindle in the middle of the bowl. Then, you can add whatever you want to the dish: cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, butter, brown sugar, blueberries, filo dough, the possibilities are endless! Then, after this step, you bake it in the oven. So, as you can tell, I'm really excited about making something in this dish.

On Labor Day, we went hiking at Black Balsam to pick blueberries. That was amazing like always! Venturing away from the well picked beaten path, we discovered a wonderful patch, or group of patches, that were unpicked, and just waiting for our eager fingers to pick the juicy berries. After spending a good while picking, we got around 1 1/2 gallons, all told. Hiking out, we got to see nature's bounty flourish right in front of our eyes because of a burst of rain. This was a beautiful way to end my weekend break from the hustle and bustle of college life, and nature did a wonderful way of sending me off:

Embarking on my green living adventure

Well, today after class, I started to look more critically upon my life, and how certain actions could guide me in the path of a more eco-friendly life. At dinner, I ordered pasta with pesto, tomatoes, onions, and red peppers, trying to stay low on the food chain. (Counteracting my lunch which consisted of Chik-fil-A)! In Biology, I type my notes instead of write them down on notebook paper, and at the Trivette Market a few minutes ago, I found another bizarre way to classify myself as "green".

Buying an overpriced box of Nature Valley Granola Bars, I noted the small box-tops for educcation on the front of the box. The box itself is made from 100% recycled paperboard, and after eating all the bars, I will recycle the box, at our local dumpster--emptied every morning promptly at 6am-8am, by a loud, clattering, beeping, dump truck. With the box-top for education, I will send it home to a local elementary school thus promoting education; I will have recycled the box thus promoting recycling, so, one can make the assumption that I am promoting the education of recycling!! Ha! ;) Just a little late night tangent that I wanted to get down, goodnight all!

First Post Bio and Introduction

Hello all,

My name is Ashby Gale; I am a freshmen attending Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and I've created this blog as a part of a college seminar class, Contemporary Green Living. I grew up in Hilton Head Island, SC and moved up to the mountains of Asheville in August of 1996. My hobbies include coin collecting, cooking, botany, jazz saxophone, camping, hiking, fly fishing, biking, backpacking, and metal detecting, which will influence much of what I will discuss on this blog, occasionally tying it in with green living.

Yesterday I visited a beautiful part of the mountains here in WNC by hiking along a section of river on the Hebron trail. About 1/2 mile in, you'll come to a set of beautiful cascades, twisting throughout a sea of boulders. On our ascent up to the top, I spotted a harmless water snake, sunning himself amongst the rocks. What a beautiful creature that can be at peace on a square foot of land, overlooked by numerous hikers until a pair of observant eyes spots him among the detritus thrown about the rocks!

Then, today, I awoke to a drizzly cold morning, desperate to put a damper on my day.