Did you make it to one of the People's Climate Marches? The one in Washington DC was GREAT! Perfect weather and great turnout! Here are a few of the sights:
There were animals:
There were representatives from all religions, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hari Krishnas, and Unitarians:
Are you headed to a Climate March this weekend? Register here, so you'll have the schedule and they'll know how many to expect. Be sure to take pictures and send them me -- I'll post next week!
Yesterday was the big March for Science, where we encouraged our elected officials to use science as a basis for policy decisions -- including environmental policies! Scientists and science enthusiasts from all disciplines attended. It was rainy, cold, and lots of fun! Let's hope we were heard! Did you attend any of the marches? How did it go?
It's Earth Week, so let's talk about an environmental decision that everyone makes, every day -- what to eat. Should you eat vegetarian? vegan? local? Fair Trade? organic? Well, it all depends. In an environmentally-friendly system, food should be:
produced sustainably, meaning that producing food today won't affect future generations' ability to produce food
produced using as few resources as possible -- how much habitat does the crop require? how much water and energy was used to produce the food? how many resources were needed to transport the food?
produced causing as few externalities (ie. pollution) as possible
So what to eat? The answer is different for each person, because we all have different dietary restrictions, budgets, and places that we live. Here's an interesting article from CNN on the trade-offs and individual choices.
As stated previously on greenmomster, diets that are low on the food chain (that would be primarily plant-based) are most sustainable. Whether that means eating vegetarian once a week or going totally vegan, you're helping the environment to feed 7 billion (soon to be 9 billion) people sustainably.
But here's the other area in which we all can help to decrease our food-based environmental footprint -- food waste! By buying more frequently (so food doesn't go bad in your house), composting, and being willing to buy less-than-perfect-looking food, greenmomsters can help to reduce food waste. Save food, save money, save the environment!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- I love giraffes! There's big news on the giraffe front -- April had her baby! They're looking for names for the giraffe, and I think they should stick with the month theme -- I vote "Augie" for the new giraffe's name!
It's gotta be eggs for meat-free Friday this week!
Onion Quiche
I've adapted this recipe from Family Circle Magazine (photo from PinkBites.com), and boy was it a hit at my house!
Ingredients:
1 frozen pie crust
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups chopped onions
5 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tblsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
Instructions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees (but just for a couple of minutes!)
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until browned and soft (stir once in a while), about 30 minutes.
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and nutmeg. Remove pie crust from freezer, and sprinkle cheese evenly on bottom of crust. Spread onions on top of the cheese. Pour egg mixture over cheese and onions. Bake quiche for 45 minutes or until eggs are set. Enjoy!
I've written before about the proposed border wall with Mexico. Here's a video summarizing the problem for biodiversity -- they even explain Section 7 of the ESA (which the government can get around using a security loophole).
