Happy World Elephant Day!

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To celebrate World Elephant Day, here’s a repost with lots of links for you to enjoy and learn about elephants. 

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(photo from David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust)

Who doesn’t love elephants?  At greenmomster, we’ve had several posts about elephants:

• you can take an elephant quiz
• learn about elephant poaching and illegal trade
• find out if elephants have emotions

We’ve also listed many ways you can help in elephant conservation, including:

• NEVER buy ivory or other elephant products
• Read and learn about these fascinating creatures.  An easy read on elephants that I really enjoyed was “Echo of the Elephants” by Cynthia Moss and Martyn Colbeck.
• Support elephant conservation.  Two groups worth looking into:Save the Elephants and The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Now there are two new ways to learn more about the issue of elephant poaching and ways you can help in elephant conservation:

1. The Diane Rehm radio show just had an informative hour on elephant conservation.  
2. CBS Sunday morning just presented a great program on the fight against elephant poaching in Africa.

Take some time; read and watch.  Then decide how you’re going to help out.

Questions I’d still like to ask the candidates

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Well, the first Republican debate has come and gone, and not a single question about climate change.  Thus, I’m reposting from earlier this year – maybe we can get a few of these questions included in the next debate? 

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Everyone has issues that he or she hopes the candidates will address. I’m hoping that the candidates for President/Senate/Congress can put down their single smart phones (with only one email address), drop the snowballs, and stop decorating their offices “Downton Abbey” style long enough to answer my questions.

1. What is your plan to move the U.S. economy toward a sustainable energy supply that decreases our carbon footprint significantly?
2. How do you plan to work with other nations, particularly India and China, to decrease the global use of non-renewable energy?
3. How do you plan to support and encourage U.S. industry to innovate to become a world supplier of green energy technology?
4. Now that we’re in the middle of what scientists consider to be the 6th global extinction event, what’s your plan for protecting global biodiversity?
5. What is your “national water strategy”, including maintaining supplies of freshwater in the U.S. and abroad, and dealing with refugees from areas affected by sea level rise or drought conditions?
6. Are you actually planning to support the crazy idea of drilling for oil off the southern U.S. Atlantic coast, particularly off the coast of Virginia?

Greek Spinach and Orzo Soup

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This week’s recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, A Beautiful Bowl of Soup, the best vegetarian recipes, by Paulette Mitchell. This particular soup is a vegan recipe and always a crowd-pleaser. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups vegetable stock
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
6 cups coarsely shredded spinach
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup orzo
1/4 cup lemon juice

Instructions:
1) Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).
2) Add the bell pepper and garlic. Continue to cook until the bell pepper is soft.
3) Add the vegetable stock and tomatoes with juice.
4) Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Stir in spinach, parsley, and orzo. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the spinach is wilted and the orzo is tender.
5) Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I usually double this recipe for my family of 5.

The Clean Power Plan–and that’s no bull!

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Congratulations to President Obama for grabbing the bull by the horns on the issue of climate change! (yes, I know it’s a cow……)

The White House and EPA today announced new regulations to combat climate change called “the Clean Power Plan.”  Check out this short video introducing the plan.  The Washington Post published a great article summarizing the ins and outs of the new plan.  Be sure to read this short article by Chris Mooney to learn about the costs and benefits of this plan that’s centered around EPA enforcement.  You might be wondering what happened to the carbon tax or cap and trade?  Well, we can thank congressional gridlock for the loss of those two strategies.  As stated in the Washington Post article:

“These proposals might be more popular than an EPA-centered approach — and they might also be harder to challenge legally (everyone expects lawsuits over the final Clean Power Plan). But gridlock in Congress has prevented the passage of legislation to curb climate change.”

This plan is a welcome step in the right direction, hopefully preparing us for the climate talks in Paris this fall. It shows the world that we’re “acting locally and thinking globally.”  Many folks say the plan will be too expensive, but they’re not taking into account the cost of doing nothing – the costs of increased sea level rise (talk to folks on Smith Island, Kiribati, Miami, or Bangladesh if you think it’s not important), higher rates of infectious disease, and increased losses of biodiversity.  Renewable energy is a worthwhile and attainable goal.  Did you know that the tiny state of Bavaria in Germany has more solar energy generation capacity than the entire U.S.?  Yes, the Bavaria that’s known for the snowy Alps – if they can do it, so can we!

  The Bavarians – their  beer is better than ours and now they’re beating us when it comes to solar?!  We’ve got to catch up!

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Got zucchini? Try stuffing it!

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Zucchini-palooza continues!  Here’s a great recipe I found in the June 2012 issue of Cooking Light.  This recipe isn’t for a busy weeknight – it takes a little time, but it’s well worth it!  Make extra, because your family will really like the unique flavor!
Persian Rice – Stuffed Zucchini with Pistachios and Dill


Ingredients
6 medium zucchini
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tblsp olive oil
3/4 cup jasmine rice (I used brown rice)
6 cardamom pods (or the equivalent in ground cardamom)
1 cinnamon stick (I just used about 2 tsp of ground cinnamon)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (I used a little extra)
1 1/4 cups water
8 dried apricots, coarsely chopped (about 1/3 cup – I added more because I love dried apricots)
1/2 tsp grated orange rind
2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
2 tblsp fresh orange juice
1/3 cup chopped shelled dry roasted, unsalted pistachios (I used salted and didn’t chop mine, because I like lots of pistachio crunch and taste)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out pulp, leaving about 1/2 inch thick shell.  Chop pulp.  Place zucchini halves, cut sides up on an oiled baking sheet and sprinkle with 1/2 of the salt and pepper.  Bake for about 15 minutes.
3. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add 1 tblsp oil.  Add rice, cardamom, and cinnamon, and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add 1/4 tsp salt, cumin, red pepper, and 1 1/4 cups water (I usually use double the water as rice, so if you have 3/4 cup rice, use 1 1/2 cups water)  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.  Cover and let stand 10 minutes. 
4. Discard cardamom (if you used pods) and cinnamon stick (if you used a stick)
5. Spoon rice mixture into a large boil.
6. Combine remaining 2 tblsp of oil, remaining salt and pepper, orange rind, and juices in a small bowl.  Stir with a whisk.  Add dressing, reserved zucchini pulp, pistachios, and remaining ingredients to rice mixture and mix.
7. Preheat broiler to high (I set mine at 450 degrees)
8. Spoon rice mixture into each zucchini shell and broil for about 6 minutes or until lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Summertime stream monitoring

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Walking through the woods is always nice.  Walking through the woods next to a stream is even better – just ask any dog!  It’s nice to listen to the stream gurgling along, cool your feet in the water, and look for salamanders and other critters.


It’s also easy to find a stream – no long drive necessary.  But that proximity comes with some problems.  Runoff from roads, lawns, farms, and hard surfaces such as roofs and parking lots can really cause problems for our local waterways.  Most of us assume that our local streams are relatively clean, but that’s a bad assumption.  My family and I have learned, as stream monitors for VA Save Our Streams (VASOS), that our local waterways are badly impacted by development.  A few of the everyday pollutants that negatively affect our streams include:

• fertilizers from lawns and gardens
• oil from our cars, washed onto roads and then into streams
• pollutants from our roofs and sidewalks – when it rains, they end up in our streams
• soil from construction sites (often carrying phosphorous with it)

In the Chesapeake Bay region, the biggest source of non-point source pollution (pollution that comes from sources like fields, yards, roads, rather than from one spot. like a pipe) is agriculture.  But the fastest growing source of nonpoint source pollution is urban and suburban stormwater runoff – roads, roofs, lawns, etc.

Yesterday, our family completed our “summer” monitoring at our assigned stream – Difficult Run in Great Falls VA.  We found a bumper crop of small clams, but not too many invertebrates that require very clean water. 
   
Our stream isn’t in the best of shape, even in this area which is heavily wooded with light development. 

So what does VA do with the data we collect?  Here’s the scoop from the VASOS website:
“Virginia, like all states, is required under the federal Clean Water Act to report information on water quality to Congress. This information is published in the 305(b) Report, which is issued every two years by the Department of Environmental Quality.
The report identifies impaired or polluted waterways. If waters are listed as impaired, funding and other resources become available to clean them up. Volunteers can augment the report by monitoring streams that state agency staff do not have time or resources to monitor. These volunteer efforts ensure that any stream that is impaired is documented, and resources are made available for cleanup.
When a waterway is impaired, the state is required to develop a plan for cleanup. The plan includes a pollution diet, or Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) that states how much of each type of pollutant is permitted in the stream on a given day. The plan then details how pollution will be reduced from each potential source to meet that pollution diet.”

Thus, volunteer stream monitors play an important role in flagging streams that might need more attention from state regulators.  Want to help?  If you live in VA, just check out the VA SOS website.  If you live in another state, just do a quick internet search.  I was able to find monitoring programs in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington, Michigan, Maryland, and North Carolina in just a couple minutes of searching!

Happy wading!

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Got tomatoes? Fry ‘em!

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I’ve got WAY too many unripened tomatoes this year.  What to do?   Fry them, of course – fried green tomatoes are one of those summertime treats that you just have to enjoy NOW!  No fancy recipe; it’s pretty simple.  Set up 3 bowls – one with flour, one with beaten egg, and one with panko bread crumbs.  Slice some green tomatoes.  Roll the tomato slices in flour, dunk in egg, and roll in panko.  Heat canola oil in a frying pan and fry the tomatoes until golden brown.  Enjoy with a nice cucumber yogurt or tsatsiki!

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