As the warm weather approaches, so does the availability of fresh, locally grown produce. This is a great opportunity for many obvious, and some not-so obvious reasons. First and foremost, locally grown produce is fresher and tastier. Also, by definition, locally grown food doesn’t need to travel so far. The average meal travels over 1200 miles by truck, ship or plane before it reaches our plate. Cutting down on that mileage, buts down on carbon dioxide emissions. Thirdly, buying locally is supporting a local business. Most local farmers run smaller farms and can choose greener agricultural practices (choice of crops, fertilizer, pesticides, etc.). This has the dual benefit of giving us healthier food and healthier farms.
The Outreach Board has a short list of places to buy local produce: Chip-In Farm, Arena Farms, and the Lexington Farmer’s market. Please send us your ideas for other places to buy locally. (e-mail alison_weaver@yahoo.com).
In January and February, we became more aware of our heating and electricity bills. Lowering our energy bills will also lower the carbon dioxide that is added to the atmosphere. Big things — like replacing old windows, and little things — like turning off the lights when leaving a room, all add up to make a difference. There are several resources that rate products for their energy efficiency. One is the Energy Star program that is part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy. (http://www.energystar.gov/ - 888 782-7937). This program has several worksheets to help consumers analyze and lower their energy usage though buying more efficient appliances and light bulbs or improving the insulation their house or several other ideas. NSTAR (http://www.nstaronline.com/residential/ - 781-441-8720) also has some good references for lowering energy usage and therefore energy bills. We should be using our resources with care and deliberation. Even small decisions matter.
The best way to recycle old electronics is to find other people to make use of what you don’t want or can’t use anymore. There are multiple organizations that will happily take donations. The Bedford Police Dept. uses donated cell phones to help domestic violence victims. Outdated computers (I can’t bring myself to call them “old”!) are being channeled to extended usefulness by several organizations in the Boston area, which were listed by Scott Kirsner in the Boston Globe. World Computer Exchange, a nonprofit based in Hull, is one of the largest charities in North America that sends used computers overseas, to connect young people in developing countries to the Internet. It has drop-off sites in Boston and Hull. More information is on their website at: worldcomputerexchange.org, including links to sites which help you erase your personal information from your hard drive--important no matter where you’re donating.
TecsChange in Roxbury uses older computers for computer repair courses. They’re looking for Pentium III and IV desktops, and will take laptops older than that. More info at tecsvchange.org/donations/donation.faq.html. WasteCap of Massachusetts is a public/private partnership to promote recycling, with a list of organizations that accept computer donations. More information is at:
wastecap.org/wastecap/commodities/computers/compdonations.htm. Locally, the Salvation Army will accept old televisions, computers, and other electronics; Goodwill will not.
