Hello, FilterForGoodians. Composting is something I’ve blogged about before here on FFG. It’s also something I’ve wanted to do for years, but for some reason, the start up costs always seem to be prohibitively expensive (specifically buying the big bins). I need to be composting because we cook almost every night at my house, and everything I make is fresh. We consume tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, and it breaks my heart to throw all those scraps away. So, for your post today, I’ve discovered a company that is doing something good with all that waste. The company is EcoScraps.**

The story starts on their homepage, “Americans throw out nearly 30 million tons of food every year—27 million of it from supermarkets, restaurants, and convenience stores. This is 25% of all food produced. All of this wasted food can be turned into a fully organic, nutrient-rich soil amendment.”

They talk about how chemical fertilizers offer the soil high nutrient values, but little organic values. They also mention that traditional compost offer high organic values, but low nutrients. Enter EcoScraps. What makes their product different is through a completely organic process they produce high quality soil conditioner that has the same nutrient values as chemical based soil amendments and is 100% organic. This is the only soil amendment on the market that offers the best of both worlds.

Their Web site doesn’t really tell the whole story, so I had to do a little digging to find about more about this story. In an interview with the Standard-Examiner,** I discovered that they company was founded by a young guy named Daniel Blake. Apparently, he was eating at an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet when he noticed how much food was being wasted by patrons. He started developing his product by dumpster-diving, and experimenting with composting in his apartment complex’s dumpsters. He finally found the right combination, and his business was off and running.

This story is so inspiring. It makes me want to start something like that here in New Orleans. We have so many restaurants, that I think it could be very successful. I also want to interview this guy, and learn more about what they’re doing.

Hi, FilterForGoodians. I’ve got a delicious post for you today. I always love coming across a story that combines my passion for the environment and my love of food. And, do I have a doozie for you today. I’ve discovered Otarian,** a restaurant that goes beyond being merely 100% sustainable. They also reward their patrons (with karma points) for eating and participating in their green movement.

Now, I blog about it all the time here on FFG. I love it when businesses create easy ways for consumers to do good for the planet without even thinking about it. For instance, Otarian enables us to do good and go green by simply ordering something off of their menu. Speaking of their menu, you’ve got to check it out!**

Feast your eyes on the Tex Mex Burger below. It’s vegetarian, and although I’ve never tasted it, it looks pretty darn good. Beyond the food, take a look at the right side of the photo below. They list carbon comparisons on their menu where they compare their menu items to more conventional (meaty) fare. Neat.

Here’s a synopsis of how they describe themselves:

Otarian is based on its creator’s dream of a fully sustainable planet, and her hope in the intelligence of human kind to understand, accept and adapt to a more sustainable way. One of the main contributors to global environmental degradation is the livestock industry. The effects of large-scale meat production are wide-spread and impact unsustainably on almost all aspects of the environment whilst creating other economic and social costs.

Greenhouse gas emissions, inefficient utilization of resources, deforestation, water pollution, land degradation, unfair trade, ill health and obesity are just some of these costs. The Otarian menu is completely meat-free, a delicious range of vegetarian options that eliminate the negative effects of livestock production whilst providing nourishment.

Otarian also focuses on evolving sustainably in its social, economic and environmental endeavours. After years of creation and development, Otarian takes its first steps, launching 4 Otarian restaurants in New York and London this year. A first step on what I hope will be a very successful path.

Each and every individual consuming an Otarian meal makes a small but meaningful difference to the planet and all its inhabitants. Otarian’s goal is to provide guests with delicious vegetarian alternatives and, in so doing, to empower them to make a positive impact on the environment one meal at a time. This is why Otarian has undertaken ground breaking research and provided the first ever comprehensive CO2e footprint for every item on its menu.

Have you eaten at Otarian? Comment below and tell us about it!

Alas, Otarian is only located in NYC and London currently, but here’s hoping we get one down here in New Orleans soon. Hey, we did just get a Pink Berry.**

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Hello, FilterForGoodians. I hope you’re being good ‘Goodians, and  not smoking. Smoking is very bad for you. For the rest, and the smokers among you, I have a little green story. I won’t kick your butt for smoking, but Green Butts** might.

First, some knowledge. According to Wikipedia,** “as of 2000, smoking is practiced by 1.22 billion people. Assuming no change in prevalence it is predicted that 1.45 billion people will smoke in 2010 and 1.5 to 1.9 billion in 2025. Assuming that prevalence will decrease at 1% a year and that there will be a modest increase of income of 2%, it is predicted the number of smokers will stand at 1.3 billion in 2010 and 2025.” That’s a lot of people smoking a lot of cigarettes. Many of you may not realize that just like drinking water out of a plastic water bottle, smoking leaves behind a lot of waste – namely, cigarettes butts.

Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em

Ok, so if we can’t get smokers to stop smoking, let’s at least try to get them to clean up their act. Green Butts is creating a truly all-natural cigarette. With additive and chemical-free tobacco and natural biodegradable filters, smokers are now able to responsibly discard their spent cigarette filters or use them to grow an assortment of plants.

All smokers need to do is collect their Green Butts in a planter instead of an ashtray and watch them grow. Their filters are made with an all-natural hemp and cotton blend that can be combined with a variety of seeds including grass, flower, fruit, herb or even trees.

4.5 Trillion Cigarette Butts

Like we say all the time on this blog, every little bit counts. Again, this is yet another way that a business is making it easy for consumers to go green without having to change a consumer behavior. They don’t have to stop doing anything other than switch brands (admittedly, a barrier). According to their site, “most cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate. Although technically biodegradable, these traditional filters can be resistant to degradation depending upon environmental conditions. The duration of the degradation process is cited as taking as long as 10–15 years. It is estimated that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts become litter every year.

In the 2006 International Coastal Cleanup, cigarettes and cigarette butts constituted 24.7% of the total collected pieces of garbage, over twice as many as any other category.  As the filters slowly degrade, the cellulose acetate and other chemical particles, suspected of causing harm in humans, can leach into the ground and water supplies.”

Are you a smoker with an opinion? Comment below.

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Hello, FilterForGoodians. Any good blogger writes attention-grabbing, eye-catching post titles like the one for this post. Do I have a story for you today. It’s a story of chocolate, guilt-free indulgence and, yes, saving the planet. Feast your eyes on, Le Whif.**

If the name didn’t give it away, this creation hails from France, and those people know chocolate. I’m sure to some, Le Whif is confectionery blasphemy, but for us, it’s an interesting story of curious consumerism meeting the green movement. I’ve blogged about ideas like this before. I think the thinking green is easiest when it involves an every day activity like (in this case) eating chocolate.

Think of the Le Whif invention as sort of a chocolate cigarette. By sucking on the cylinder, you inhale the vaporized chocolate. Admittedly, I haven’t been lucky enough to try this breathable chocolate, but the premise seems plausible. I’m dubious, however, when it comes to the experience of enjoying chocolate.

We all know that sexy little fact of chocolate’s melting point being the same as the average human body temperature, and that whole melting-on-your-tongue thing is a big part of why I love eating chocolate. I can savor it. It lasts. That’s what’s got me scratching my head on this one. How can breathable chocolate compete with the real thing?

Real Chocolate vs. Le Whif Showdown

Round 1: Nutrition

Well, one way is the calorie thing, or the lack of calories thing. Each Le Whif “hit” contains less than a calorie. It’s apparently minuscule, not even worth calculating. In other words, if scientists and dietitians can’t find the fat, neither will your belly or  your bottom.

Round 2: Flavors

Another way it competes is on flavor and flavor combinations. Currently, Le Whif comes in three flavors: Pure Chocolate (rich, deep, organic), Raspberry Chocolate (tart and sweet) and Mint Chocolate (icey and sweet). I’m most interested to try the Mint Chocolate (one of my favorite flavor combos), but I would settle for any sample Le Whif would send me.

Round 3: Green!

The little Le Whif cylinders are made of biodegradable poly-lactic acid (PLA). They use particle engineering to form natural food substances, like chocolate, in particle sizes that are small enough to become airborne, but too large to enter the lungs. I did a little checking on PLA, and Wikipedia confirmed it’s greeness with the following excerpt:

Polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable, thermoplastic, aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch (in the U.S.) or sugarcanes (rest of world). Although PLA has been known for more than a century, it has only been of commercial interest in recent years, in light of its biodegradability.

So, there you have it, a guilt-free chocolate story that also just so happens to be green. Are there any Filterforgoodigans out there that have tried Le Whif? Is it awesome? Is it nothing like chocolate? Know of any other green chocolate producers? Comment and start a conversation!

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Hello, FilterForGoodians. My name is Blake, and I have a problem. I’m addicted to Amazon. Now, before you get too concerned, the truth is that I’m not really addicted to Amazon. I just happen to have some disposable income, and I like spending it on Amazon.com. Plus, they make it so darn easy to order things (in 1-click) from my cell phone, iPod touch, computer and even my TV. It was only recently, however, that I realized just how many boxes were being used as a result of my Amazon Addiction. Well, I’ve found a company trying to offset the environmental impacts of all those shipping boxes.

The Life Box** company has invented a corrugated cardboard box that, when buried, sprouts seeds that our embedded into the cardboard. Imagine, getting something delivered from any online retailer, and to throw it away, you’d go out in the backyard and bury it. I suppose you could this with a cardboard box now, but you wouldn’t get the same payoff.

I understand that most of you aren’t going to be grabbing your shovels, and heading out to the backyard any time soon, but that’s still ok. When you throw something away, it more than likely ends up in a landfill where it will eventually get buried. Picture a landfill. Not too much going on. Just tons of dead garbage. But then, a few specs of green start to appear. Fast forward ten years, and that landfill is a forest. The Life Box product could make that happen.

I think retailers will be all over this one, especially if the government gives them an incentive to use these boxes. Retailers get a little green halo, and customers get a little green halo. It makes perfect sense to me.

I received one of these boxes from the company, and am going to start the process of germinating the seeds. It takes a while, so I’ll drop in little updates at the bottom of my future posts. I’m also interested in getting an interview with the company founders, so expect that in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’m sure you have tons of questions about the product, so I’ve copied the FAQs from their site** below (enjoy and stay tuned!):

1) What about the potential problem that the Life Box™ could introduce non-native or invasive species?
The Tree Life Box™ is only for sale within the continental U.S. and Canada. This is because the tree seed mix consists of species that are native to the bioregions of the continental U.S. and Canada. The tree species have all been approved by the state Departments of Agriculture as non-invasive, and we have obtained the necessary permits and licenses in states where movement of tree seed is regulated. The Life Box™ has also been cleared for export to Canada by the USDA.

2) Will the tree species within the Life Box™ survive in my climate?
Most likely, except for extremely arid regions. As always, tree seedlings need care and adequate water for the first years. Once they become established (after 5 years), they will need little care aside from the occasional watering during extreme heat and/or drought. The species mix inside the Tree Life Box™ contains species that are native to the majority of bioregions in the continental U.S. and Canada. Because the Tree Life Box™ is embedded with approximately 1 seed per square inch, a 20+% survival rate is possible, given your seedlings receive proper care early on. The symbioses between the tree roots and mycorrhizal fungi (that is also embedded within the Life Box™) help your trees to survive rapid changes in temperature and during times of water scarcity. That being said, your loving care of the baby trees improves their probability of survival.

3) When will the Life Box™ be available internationally?
At this point in time, we are evaluating what it will take to create native tree seed mixes specific to various regions of the world. This is a very large project that we hope to tackle as we move along with Life Box™ development. Please keep checking our website as we are frequently updating it. You can also request to be a member of the Life Box™ email list and receive updates on the Life Box™ development by email. If you want to be notified of updates, tips for planting, etc., please send an email to info@lifeboxcompany.com** to enlist.

4) Can the Life Box™ be recycled?
Yes, it can. But before you recycle it, we recommend finding someone (a teacher, friend, family member, neighbor, etc.) who might be interested in planting it!

5) What is the maximum amount of time I can store my Life Box™?
Ideally it is best to plant your Life Box™ within the first 6–8 months, based on the planting directions. We recommend storing your Life Box™ in a cool, dry place for no more than 3 years after the seed collection dates. To find the seed information specific to your box, please look at the bottom of your box, go to our website, select the Seed Information Tab and enter in the lot code to find the species information specific to your Life Box™.

Send this post to your favorite online retailers and ask them to consider using this product!

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Hello, FilterForGoodians. Do you remember the name of your childhood electric company? I do. It’s CLECO, and it stands for Central Louisiana Electric Company. I call it my hometown electric company, and I know that implies that it’s a little mom and pop business. In reality, they are a massive, publicly-traded company that delivers power to hundreds of thousands of Louisiana residents, and they’re going (a little) green.

Cleco has created an interactive map that illustrates the “ecotrail“** they have created here in Louisiana. I pasted the map below, and below it, I’ve shared some of the great projects Cleco’s got going. Visit the map yourself to see all their eco projects.

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge Observation Tower (from site)

The tower is adjacent to a cypress and tupelo gum wetlands area that supports an abundance of wildlife and waterfowl. the tower is also handicapped accessible. Black Bayou Lake is one of over 540 national wildlife refuges. The primary objective of a national wildlife refuge is to provide habitat for the conservation and protection of all native wildlife. the lake also provides great fishing, hunting and wildlife observation opportunities.

Northwood E-Cool School (from site)

Through the E-Cool school program, Cleco partners with schools in its service territory enhance the natural ecosystem of schoolyards and provide outdoor learning for students. Teachers, students, staff and Cleco employees planted trees for beautification and energy efficiency and developed a walking trail made of bottom ash for the near-by power plant.

Louisiana Black Bear (from site)

The Louisiana black bear is considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. A bear was adopted and introduced to a refuge with four cubs. This project is part of a larger effort to protect this species in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and create a contiguous area for bears to live.

Happy In Louisiana

Stories like this make me really happy because it’s some good, innovative news about my state. We’ve got a wealth of creativity and resources in Louisiana, and we could use all that to save the state, and maybe even the planet.

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Hello, FilterGorGoodians. I wish I was writing to you under cheerier circumstances, but, alas, I am not. As you should know by now, I live in New Orleans, and hopefully you’re also aware of the tragedy besetting our delicate coast and wetlands. A couple of weeks ago, a large oil drilling platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. It, like hundreds of other platforms, was drilling for oil through the sea floor which in most cases is over a mile below the surface of the water. When the platform exploded, the well began to leak oil into the water. It’s been leaking ever since. This is a post about the oil spill, but it’s also a post about a plate of raw oysters that I ate just before this tragedy, and one I’ll be eating a year from now.

Like many people who live near water, seafood is a staple of my diet. I’m not talking about a square, breaded, fish-like block from your nearest fast food establishment. Nope, the seafood I’m referring to is the kind I know best here in New Orleans. Namely, oysters and crawfish. A few weeks ago, again before the oil spill, I woke up with a hankering for half a dozen raw oysters. Our oysters here are sublime. You can taste the Gulf in them. They have a murky, salty taste, and I mean that in a good way. They’re not salty-salty, just mildly briny. The place I go is about a mile from my house. When you walk in, there’s a guy behind a counter to the right. There’s a guy like him in every oyster joint in South Louisiana.

The oyster man wears a long, black rubber apron. One of his hands is gloved, that’s the hand he uses to hold the oyster. The other hand holds an oyster knife. His knife has a rounded tip, and is incredibly sturdy. He sticks the tip of the knife into the space where the oyster’s top and bottom shells meet. Then, with a grimace, he plunges the knife into the oyster, trying to break its seal. He twists the knife back and forth. His massive arms bulge and flex. Sweat accumulates on his forehead. The ritual seems to last for minutes, but really only a few seconds go by. The oyster puts up a noble fight, but its fate is inevitable. The oyster man lines his prizes up on the counter in front of him. He is very careful not to let their juices (liqueur) spill out.

A waitress stops by with a round, plastic tray. She carefully places 12 oysters on the tray, and brings it to the table. I am sitting at the table. I’ve got a stack of crackers waiting, along with cocktail sauce, some extra horseradish and a few lemon wedges. I take a cracker, and place a dripping oyster on top. I squeeze a little lemon juice on top, and then plop a nice dollop of the cocktail sauce. I dip a single prong of my fork into the horseradish, and dot on a few white specks. Then, I eat it.

Now, to some this may sound disgusting, and others may find it cruel. Although my wife and I are work-day vegans, we are good foodies. We just don’t like good food, but we respect it. I respect the oysters that I eat. They serve a purpose and are precious to me.

This is New Orleans to me. I would have never eaten a raw oyster before I moved here. Now, I can’t live without them. Imagine if someone had told me that last time I was eating those oysters was going to be the last time I would eat oysters this year, or ever. My heart breaks just thinking about it, but it’s not my meal I’m crying over. These oysters represent an eco-system and way of life that is delicate and significant and important. Thousands of people will lose their jobs because of this. Millions of animals will lose their lives because of this.

It’s important that you know what’s going on, and that you try to help any way you can. We are desperately seeking ways to help. I hope to bring you updates on the positive progress that is made. Even if you can’t wrap your head around the severity and scope of this disaster, just remember the oyster and the ripples that have been created.

Hello, FilterForGoodians. I work in a great big office building with great big office chairs, great big vending machines and great big fast food restaurants just around the corner. I’ve often thought how successful a simple little food truck would be parked right out front.

I was watching an episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution when I first discovered Green Truck.** Green Trucks make fresh, sustainable, local and organic meals from a mobile catering truck.

At Green Truck, serving healthy, gourmet organic food in a fast and efficient way is not enough. They believe that a healthy environment is tantamount to living a healthy life. They have taken every measure to ensure that their organic food is good for you and our planet. They use only certified organic ingredients, which protect your body from harmful pesticides and keeps pollutants away from plants, animals, and waterways. They also buy locally grown ingredients whenever possible.

So, I think this would be a great idea for the people that work in my building, but I also think that it would be a hit among the production companies that are making movies here. Those Hollywood types would get a big hit out of an idea like this.

What about the food? After all, it is a food truck. Well, it only gets better when it comes to the food. Think it’s all tofu and sprouts? Think again. (From site)**

Hello, FilterForGoodians. I blogged about some yummy yellow-eyed peas** a little while ago, and since it was so well received, I thought I would whip up something new for you to taste. Filter For Good’s not just about doing good for the planet. It’s also about doing good for yourself.

I am in the middle of my latest battle of the bulge. I call it a battle, because the war is far from over. I call it a battle, because I’ve fought it several times before. This time, however, I’m trying to use my powers of good food to my advantage, so I invented this simple, guilt-free salad snack. I call it Ginger & Mary Ann Salad Snack.

Ok. So, what you’ve got here are three ingredients: strawberries, bananas and ginger snaps. For the fruit, it’s up to you as to how much of each you want. I would recommend keeping the proportions equal, and although I chopped the strawberries in the picture above, it probably would have been better to slice them like the bananas for continuity and balance. That’s your basic strawberry and banana fruit salad, but that’s a little boring.

I’ve learned that boring food rarely holds my attention. If it can’t be triple-fudge chocolate cake, then it better be something with flavor and texture and leaves me wanting more. Hello, bag of ginger snaps. I’ve discovered that I love ginger snaps, and in moderation, they’re a great little trick for satiating an abominable sweet tooth.

I dusted off my old mortar and pestle, tossed in three cookies, and pummeled them lightly. Now, you may want a fine, ginger powder in your salad, but I wanted big, crunchy chunks, so I barely broke them up. I sprinkled them over the fruit mixture (and garnished with a whole ginger snap…:)…what? who are you to judge me! lol!).

I LOVE this little salad, and suspect we’ll be making it a couple of times a week. It wasn’t until I took the pictures of the dish that I came up with the name. Something about the sweet, innocent berries and the spicy cookies mingling together made me think of Ginger and Mary Ann, characters from the TV show, Gilligan’s Island. You may think they’re a little naughty, but they’re really just there to make you happy. Soft and supple, there’s no better way to cheat. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Call it what you will, I’m certain you’ll call it delicious!

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Hello, FilterForGoodians. Now, now. Before you go calling 9-1-1, my wife’s feet aren’t actually green. At least, not green from any fungus or dread disease. Nope, her tootsies are green from ecoSNEAKS** by Simple Shoes.**

You may eat organic, recycle and filter your own water, but when you slip on your shoes and skip out the door, do you think about your shoes and how they could be an opportunity to save the planet?

The thing I like best about the Simple story is that they say HOW they make their shoes is just as important as WHY they make their shoes. They say they’ve make a gazillion shoes, and making them sustainable means they can make a gazillion more. Making them sustainable means making them out of some rather unorthodox materials, including:

• Recycled Carpet Padding
• Eco-Certified Suede and Leather
• Hemp
• Recycled Car Tires
• Recycled Wool
• Certified Organic Cotton
• 100% Post-Consumer Recycled Paper