Het moet moeiteloos zijn om een milieuvriendelijke uitgelijnde levensstijl tijdens de zomer. We besteden elk moment mogelijk in openlucht. We slapen onder de sterren. Grassprietjes zitten vast in onze haren, de zon heeft ons naakt vlees kuste, onze tenen wiebelen beneden in de koele aarde. In de zomer zijn we één met de natuur.
Our favorite vacation plans are usually outdoors, but not necessarily in a bonding-with-nature way.
Petroleum to joyride on jet-skis or ATVs.
Throw-away plates for picnics and BBQs.
Chlorine in pools and bug spray with DEET.
Does the ‘anything-goes’ attitude of summer relax our ethics-guided lifestyle as well?
It doesn’t have to be hard to stick to our principles. January rings in resolutions that fade by March. June’s the time to start new eco habits to last through all 3 summer months.
What is important about summer to you?
Right now I’m on a college campus at finals time, and for students summer means no more books, papers, or tests. Here’s an easy one:
Summer means ________________.
a.) Eten
b.) Sun
c.) Pret
d.) All of the above
We’ll be tackling everything from 4th of July grilling to fake bakes and road trips in future posts.
Gelukkig, summer also means heat.
It’s late May in Minnesota, and I’m still wearing tights underneath pants and a fleece over a sweatshirt. We’ve been waiting for warm weather for 9 maanden. Our reaction should be to run outside and soak up the sun to replenish our depleted supply of vitamin D.
In plaats daarvan, many Minnesotans can never take off their sweater. For offices and malls, the first response to summer warmth is cranking up the air conditioner. I think it’s ridiculous to be appropriately dressed for outside weather, in shorts and a tank top, and shivering inside buildings because of their arctic AC.
Clearly the solution is to turn down the thermostat and just eat more ice cream!
To kick off our June topic of summer food, here are three make-your-own hot weather snacks to help cool down both your body and the planet. These produce less waste and are more nutritional than conventional freezer treats.
When you want to suck on fruity Popsicles
photo credit
Instead of: Rood 40 sugar water of cloying artificiality and total lack of nutrition, poured into a throwaway plastic tube
Proberen: make your own fresh fruit mixes
Blend whatever fruits are ripe (stay tuned for future posts on seasonal eating and farmer’s markets). Blackberries and raspberries, strawberries with peaches, the combos are endless.
Pour into used yogurt cups and pop in a reused Popsicle stick. Just keep washing and reusing all summer long.
When you want to bite into something more substantial
photo credit
Proberen: freeze two graham crackers with chocolate pudding or two Vanilla wafers with banana pudding. Nothing to throw away before or after eating.
When you want to crunch on something cold
Instead of: snow cones with fluorescent corn syrup, dripping artificial coloring and flavor all over a throwaway waxed paper
Proberen: grate frozen coconut milk and top with sliced banana, papaja, or mango. A more authentically tropical treat than Hawaiian ice.
How do you beat the heat? Share your icy secrets with us as we approach 80-degree days.
OVER DE AUTEUR
Carrie is een milieu-opvoeder, antropoloog, en vertaler. Ze nam haar passies voor ecologische, gezondheid, en vrouwen rechten belangenbehartiging vanuit de kantoren van Washington, D.C. naar de straten van Zuid-Amerika. Nu in Colombia, ze is langzaam open de ogen van vrouwen om de wonderen van "la copita de luna" (Maan Cup) en Keepers.
[…] that I’m out of the tropics, Mijn suggestie voor zelfgemaakte Hawaiian ijs met kokosnoten, banaan, papaja, en mango is opeens niet meer van eigen bodem. Nu een zeer bessen ijs, […]