My Green Life

Day 9: We hopped aboard another shuttle that took us around curvy roads and scenic overlooks until arriving at the beach about two hours later. Manuel Antonio is a very small, tourist driven town near Quepos on the Pacific Coast.  Here, we took a day to soak up the sun, which was still elusive, and try our hand at surfing the Costa Rican waves. We started with fish sandwiches at a fun restaurant across the street from the beach and then rented a long board to test our skills. James was able to get up without too much difficulty, but I was not quite able to ride a wave like I hoped. After a refreshing shower, we headed back to the beach for a romantic dinner with views of the sunset over the beach. Not a bad day. But I think James’ favorite part was capping the day off with some NBA playoff action (in Spanish of course!).

Day 10: Our only free day at the beach and we wanted to make the most of it, so we woke up with the sun around 6:00 to walk the beach before the temperatures started to rise. We wandered back to the hotel (about a quarter mile) for breakfast of fresh fruit, pastries, and juice. A group of white-faced monkeys joined us navigating the ropes across the street that led them to the tree right above our table. The morning was then spent relaxing, enjoying the sun while trying not to get burnt, reading, body surfing, and eating burgers-which we found out are very popular among Costa Ricans. We thought it was just available for the tourists, but it turns out the Ticos are big fans as well! We had to get our surfing fix in, so even though it was raining, we decided to go for it. I got up this time, but then the thunderheads rolled in, and we decided to evacuate the water, but not everyone was as easily chased out. A group of about ten surfers continued surfing through a massive storm, but it made for good waves! So, we got enough surfing in to whet our appetites (for now) and we showered, ate dinner, and watched a movie before slumbering.

Day 11: We rode two hours down to Sierpe where we hopped on a boat that took us to Drake Bay and the resort we splurged on: Aguila de Osa. The boat docked right at the resort and the manager quickly ushered us to the restaurant for complimentary drinks followed by lunch. The resort was very community oriented and all the meals were family style with all the guests staying there (usually 8-14). We were upgraded to the larger suite where we enjoyed the views and a siesta. Then borrowed a kayak and headed up the river then out to the sea to discover a small, secluded island not too far away. Then headed back to clean up for appetizers and dinner. Appetizers consisted of guacamole and chips which were both amazing, and I don’t usually care for guacamole. Dinner was wonderful as well with good conversation flowing among the 6 couples (3 of which were on their honeymoons too). Then an early night to bed to rest up for our big day!

Day 12: We had breakfast then met our guides who were to take us snorkeling and diving on Cano Island, one of the premier reefs in Costa Rica. We loaded up our gear then headed out on the hour boat ride to our first dive stop. The day was clear and sunny, increasing the already decent visibility. James snorkeled while I dove with the guide. We both saw white tipped reef sharks, barracudas, lobsters, eels, parrot fish, and other schools of fish. We then resurfaced to the boat to head to the island for lunch at 10:30 and then relax in the sun. Afterwards, we headed back out with another tank to a new location for similar marine sightings. Overall, I was pleased with the sightings, except for the lack of turtles which I did not expect to see, but I was still hopeful. We were returned to Aguila for a free afternoon which we used to experience the local culture. There was a womens’ soccer tournament in the small town nearby, so we headed down to watch and take part in the excitement. It was a typical small town match like you would see in the movies with people standing around a field with no out of bound lines (there was a hill on one side and a fence that people sat on at the other side), no nets on the goals, and very few wore shinguards, but the crowd of about 150 people were enthusiastic and the women were fearless. It was great to watch the community come together in that magnitude. After the game, we headed back to get ready for dinner and play a little ping pong. Dinner, as usual, was amazing with fresh caught bass, steak, and veggies.

Day 13: Another full day of sightseeing and activity. We were shuttled by boat after breakfast to Corcovado National Park-San Pedrillo for a guided tour where we witnessed tapir tracks, scarlet macaws, agouti, wild turkeys, and lots of mosquitoes. We then had a snack of fresh fruit to re-energize before the big hike to the waterfall which led us up a large hill then back into the rain forest where we saw a group of spider monkeys leap from branch to branch as they made their way over our heads. At last, we arrived at the falls for a dip to cool down before spotting two poisonous snakes on the short hike back to the ranger station for lunch. There, we spotted a crocodile sunning across the stream before heading back to the resort for another relaxing afternoon followed by ping pong and dinner.

Day 14: A sad day. We have to leave our resort. We enjoyed our last breakfast at the resort and loaded up the boat to take us back to Sierpe where we caught a shuttle to the domestic airport. We climbed into the 18 passenger plane to take us the short (40 minute) trip back to San Jose. Once we got to San Jose, there was a misunderstanding, and our shuttle was not there to greet us like normal. So, we were resourceful and with the last bit of cash we had, hired a cab to return us to hostel Bekuo, coming full circle to where we started our adventure. We had a very lazy afternoon at the hostel, and ordered in casados for dinner to satisfy our craving for one last meal of chicken, rice, and beans. Then we played some more Wii, watched the NBA playoffs, and headed to bed.

Day 15: Long day of airport hopping to arrive back home in the United States. Overall, it was an amazing trip and James and I can’t wait to go back for our surfing trip!

For pictures, please click here.

Day 5: James decided just driving to La Fortuna was not adventurous enough for us, so instead, we went by horse, boat, and van. We met our caballero who did not speak ANY English. Almost everyone we encountered while in Costa Rica spoke some English, but not our cowboy! So, we acted out enough objects to communicate and started on our trek along the beautiful Arenal Lake. Unfortunately, it rained almost the entire ride so the views were not quite as easy to enjoy. But we made due, and survived until lunchtime where we stopped for pineapple and watermelon while joined by three little pigs from a nearby farm. Then we continued on after lunch until arriving at a very random boat in the middle of nowhere. We hopped on and were shuttled across the lake to meet our shuttle that took us to our Casa Luna Hotel. Then we took siestas, relaxed, and walked about 35 minutes into La Fortuna for dinner at 4:30. We, once again, had delicious casados and headed back to Casa Luna to watch some tv and head to bed early.

Day 6: Dined on omelets and cereal for breakfast at the hotel, then we were picked up by our canoe guide, Marcos, to head out to the river for some wildlife viewing. We had a leisurely float down the Penas Blancas (White Cliffs) River when James did all the work while I got to enjoy the views and take pictures. We saw lots of animals including basilisks (otherwise known as Jesus Christ lizards because they can run on the water), a group of about ten howler monkeys, two crocodiles, and a lot of birds. Of course it rained almost the whole trip until we stopped for some veggies and wraps then headed back to dry off at our hotel. On the way, Marcos stopped suddenly and pulled off to the side of the road. James and I looked quizzically at each other as Marcos was tossing pineapples from a harvested field to our driver as by-passers honked their horns. It was quite entertaining! Then we made one other unexpected stop at a little open air restaurant where Marcos told us to grab our camera. We went to the back and there were about 50 iguanas sunning in the sun. Marcos fed them papaya and cabbage which they devoured with pleasure. Then we headed back to the hotel until our evening at the hot springs. Eco Termales hot springs were naturally heated with about six different pools. We had a very relaxing evening with dinner included.

Day 7: Another beautiful morning on the Penas Blancas River, but this time in a raft where I had to do even less paddling! Another honeymooning couple joined us and the guide as we viewed a sloth (which actually looked more like a termite nest), monkeys, and a poisonous frog (wearing “blue jeans”). We had a snack of fruit after our float then headed to the La Fortuna waterfall after dropping off the other couple. We climbed about 450 stairs to get down to the bottom where the view was amazing. Then we headed back to town for lunch then joined a 2:00 tour to the Arenal Volcano where it was so wet and rainy, we did not get to go too far due to safety concerns. Then we headed to another Hot Springs, Tabacon, which was even nicer than the first and had a delicious Asian buffet for dinner where James tried one of everything. It was a very fun-filled day of adventure!

Day 8: We got to sleep in!! Victor arrived to pick us up at 10:00 for our day of canyoning and rappeling. We arrived, put on our gear, had a very brief lesson on rappeling ourselves down, and started on our first mini rappel. Our guides had a lot of fun with us, splashing us, having us cannonball into small bodies of water, and pose for the photography was we headed down the stream. We had two large rappels of about 200 feet each which were a little scary at first, but once you were descending it was such a rush. We took a short side track to a waterfall, then headed up the hill to lunch before heading back to town for a lazy afternoon and packing for the BEACH…

Target stores are banning plastic bags! Unfortunately this trend has not made it to the US yet, but at least Australia is doing their part.  As of June 1, 2009 (today!) 283 Target stores in Australia will no longer have plastic bags available for free. They are not leaving the customer in want, however, and instead they are offering reusable bags for a dollar and corn based compostable bags for 10 cents that will then be donated to a children’s charity. It’s good to see a retailer doing their part to encourage reducing the use of those plastic bags.

For our honeymoon, my husband and I wanted to go on an adventure somewhere neither of us had been. James planned everything, but we both wanted a trip that would involve eco-tourism: hiking, canoeing, kayaking, scuba diving, surfing. So, we headed off to Costa Rica to support a country that is protecting 25% of its land from development and hopes to protect even more in the future.  The following is an account of the first section of the trip (there will be three total).

Day 1: We left Dulles airport at a brutally early time of 6 am, but this meant we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica in the early afternoon which meant time to do some exploring and research. Our first challenge after arriving at our hostel was to find food. James speaks very little Spanish, and I speak just slightly more than that. But, we found a “soda” that sold cheap casados (chicken, rice, beans, fried plaintain) and were able to make it by on what we knew. Then the typical wet season rains approached and we hunkered down for the afternoon to get our bearings. We got some food from the supermarket then played some Wii soccer to round out the evening.

Day 2: We woke up for an early 7:00 pick up to trek by van through the very rough mountains where we learned that drivers are a little loco. They are very aggressive, but there seem to be very few accidents (surprisingly). We arrived safely in Monteverde late in the morning and checked into the Don Taco Hotel. We exchanged about $80 to 55,000 colones at the very well guarded bank at which point James was spoken to in Spanish and returned a stunned, blank stare at the security guard with a large gun at his side. He proceeded to piece toghether the fact that he was not able to take our backpack into the bank. We wandered around the small three-block town, had some ice cream, explored some art shops, and took a siesta (we do that a lot you will learn). Then it was dinner at the Tree House Restaurant which is literally a restaurant built around a living tree. You had to duck your head to avoid the large tangled branches. Dinner was tasty and since the nightlife in Monteverde is pretty nonexistent, it was early to bed.

Day 3: We had a leisurely morning with breakfast at the hotel. Then walked about 45 minutes to get to the Childrens’ Eternal Rainforest. Here we saw a snake in the tree, toucans, great views, and the section we were in was only 80 acres of the total 55,000 acres the Childrens’ Rainforest contains. We headed back for lunch at the supermarket then in the afternoon we went on the Don Juan coffee plantation tour. A couple of fun facts we learned about coffee harvesting: from berry to coffee, it takes one year. It’s quality not quantity for Costa Ricans whose coffee was voted fourth best in the world. A lot of manual labor is required to ensure the quality with very few machines utilized. Workers make 10,000 colones (about $20) a day, and most are Nicaraguan. The ox cart is a national symbol of CR because it is how they transported coffee originally. One unprocessed green coffee bean has the equivalent amount of caffeine as 5-6 cups of coffee. Coffee was discovered in Ethiopia by a goat that ate the beans than acted a little crazy. Roasting of the beans was also accident-the silo holding the beans burned down and the people liked the smell of the cooked beans.

Day 4: Another early morning then off to our canopy tour. We went on the Sky Walk with several hanging bridges to see the canopy of the forest. We saw a quetzal which is the symbol of Guatamala and its threatened status makes it a rare sight to behold. We learned that if you get lost, you should find a group of monkeys and eat what they eat since our digestive tracts are similar. Then we joined a group of about 15 (mostly American) tourists and rode the gondola to the top to begin our zip line adventure. We climbed up about 100 stairs to a very shaky platform with some pretty fierce winds to start our fist line. Once you were clipped in and on the line, the ride was smooth and enjoyable, lasting close to 30-45 seconds. I got stuck once and had to pull myself about 30 feet to the end with my arms. We had some great views of the canopy on these lines! Then we returned all the gear, rode back to our hotel, relaxed, and had another dinner of casados before we packed and headed to bed. Then in the morning it is off to La Fortuna of San Carlos…

Green weddings are becoming more of a trend and gaining popularity, the Christian Science Monitor reports, and my husband and I just helped to perpetuate the trend. Although we could have done more to make it even more environmental friendly (reused a dress, offset the carbon used, had organic/local food), we did what we could to raise awareness among our guests and reduce our footprint. To do this at our outdoor wedding we used compostable plates and cups (http://www.worldcentric.org) when not using rented china, we handed out potted seeds for our guests to take home and plant themselves, and we had the ceremony where the majority of our friends and family lived to cut down carbon emissions.The wedding was a big success, and hopefully the environmental focus will rub off onto our guests.

I love it when my office manager position at a CPA firm ties into my interests. Today, my boss had me do some research on energy efficient appliances that qualify for tax credits. So, for all of you out there looking to update your homes, here’s what you should know about the new stimulus bill and what appliances do and do not qualify:

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed a stimulus bill (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) that made some significant changes to the energy efficiency tax credits. Tax credits for qualified energy efficient home improvements are available in 2009 and 2010 for 30% of the cost, up to a combined $1,500.

The products that are covered by the tax credit in 2009 & 2010 include:

• Insulation
• Windows (including storm windows)
• Skylights
• Doors (including patio & sliding glass)
• Roofs (metal & asphalt)
• Central air conditioners
• Air source heat pumps
• Geo-thermal heat pumps
• Gas, Oil, or Propane Furnace or Hot Water Boiler
• Advanced Main Air Circulating Fans
• Biomass stoves
• Water Heaters (Gas, Oil or Propane, Electric Heat Pump, and Solar Water Heaters)
• Photovoltaic Systems (solar panels)
• Fuel Cells
• Wind Mills

Products not covered by the tax credit included:

• Refrigerators
• Dishwashers
• Clothes washer
• Room air conditioners
• Ceiling fans
• Programmable thermostats
• Electric storage tank water heaters
• Electric Tankless water heaters

For more information on products covered by the tax credit, visit www.energystar.gov/taxcredits.

(Author’s note: In my opinion, there needs to be a stimulus bill that WILL include and provide an incentive for the purchase of more common energy efficient appliances that are purchased more frequently like fridges.)

What would happen to the earth if humans were to be suddenly removed? Alan Weisman’s book, “The World Without Us” provides some insightful predictions about how the world would look in this scenario, and I am both heavy-hearted and uplifted at the predictions. Many objects we have created in this world will disappear quite rapidly if humans were to suddenly disappear altogether from the planet. Floods would quickly erode buildings while rain and wind disintegrates the roofs that used to keep us dry. New York would flood especially quickly without all the man-power required on a regular basis to constantly pump the water out of the city after heavy rains in order to prevent flooding. Without fires being fought, lightening would cause other man-made construction to quickly be returned to ash. The world would be fairly unrecognizable to us within a short period of time.

However, one item would remain for thousands of years. Plastic. It is everywhere. And it is not going anywhere. These polymers don’t just end up in landfills unexposed to the air or sunlight necessary to break them down. They primarily end up right in the middle of our oceans, huddled together like penguins trying to keep warm. The North Pacific gyre, or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch as it is affectionately nicknamed, alone is roughly the size of Africa and it contains 10 million square miles of collected debris from every continent. Since the creation of plastics during World War II, plastic has been thoughtlessly discarded. Everything from plastic bags (that are easily replaced with reusable bags) to ubiquitous plastic pellets known as nurdles to get this… plastic exfoliants in body washes! Those little pellets that help your skin feel soft and smooth are little tiny balls of noxious plastic. These plastic pieces are carried down the shower drain into the ocean for marine life to consume the seemingly harmless yet dangerous material.

The faint ray of hope gleaned from all this knowledge is the fact that nature is very smart when humans aren’t busy interfering. Microorganisms will most likely adapt over time to be able to break down plastic. Nature is resilient and has proven time after time that it will adapt to a changing environment in order to survive. In Africa, the magafauna has lasted much longer then the large mammalia on other continents due to the animals’ ability to evolve simultaneously with humans. On every other planet, humans have simply intruded and exploited the large fauna. Let’s look at New Zealand for a moment. The moa is a very large flightless bird that looks very much like an ostrich on steroids. There were thousands of them successfully living and breeding until humans came along unsuspectingly with little warning and even less time to adapt. That story as you might have guessed, ends with the rapid extermination of the moa. However, in Africa, humans were evolving AND the mega fauna were adapting as humans gained more knowledge and tools. The mega fauna had time to adjust and react to a growing human civilization, and they were intelligent enough to evolve essential adaptations in order to survive.

The animals and the world will adapt and it will heal itself. The large scar we inflicted upon the world that is also known as the Panama Canal is another example of the self-healing power the earth possesses. It took some 6,000 men seven years to create this canal, and it requires constant human care and attention to assure that the world does not heal this wound. Without human interference, the canal would not remain a canal for long.

So, it appears, at this moment in human history the world would recover from our large footprints left all over it in time. But, I do not suspect that the human population will vanish tomorrow, or that it will suddenly live in a sustainable manner. Therefore, this book serves as our “two-minute warning” that with all the expansion and human population growth taking place, we all must become better stewards of the land. The world is a great self-healer. It will heal itself, and all its beauty will endure. The only question that remains is whether we will be able to stick around and enjoy it.

When it comes time to cast my vote, I have generally found myself disagreeing with multiple aspects of politicians’ platforms. I have always figured there is no alternative, so I choose who I feel is the lesser of two evils. Although I still feel this way to some extent, James has opened my eyes to some promising options that exist outside the Democrat/Republican canopy. The Green Party has caught my interest lately and although their chances of winning the election are close to zero, their environmental stewardship sparked my interest. I’m sure the Green Party and their “hippie” nature has it’s fair share of opponents, but their Earth-loving, anti-war, pro-equality, pro-life platform resonated with me. (Click here to see a comprehensive breakdown of key issues where the Green Party strays from the mainstream parties).

The Green Party recognizes the need for citizens to take responsibility for the Earth. “Green parties are the first parties to recognize that our role in the world is stewardship of Earth’s natural resources rather than domination and unrestrained consumption of the goods of the Earth,” the party said in its proposed platform for the 2008 election. Obama has mentioned an eye opening fact many times that is worth repeating. The US provides 3% of the world’s oil, but accounts for 25% of the oil consumption. This is not ecologically wise or sustainable.  One of the Green Party’s ten key values is Ecological Wisdom.

Ten Key Values: (#2) Ecological Wisdom

Human societies must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our planet. We support a sustainable society that utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must have agricultural practices that replenish the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.

Several other notable issues the Green Party opposes is corporate agriculture, loose standards on the use of GMOs, nuclear energy production, and the privatization of the FED. Instead, the party endorses family-scale farms that promote sustainiblity and organic methods. They back extensive testing and strict regulation on GMOs (genetically modified organisms). And, without a safe way to dispose of nuclear waste, they conclude that nuclear energy is not a viable option at this time. They also want the Federal Reserve nationalized and designated as a Section or Department within the United States Treasury under the direction and supervision of the Secretary.

The Green Party has a lot to offer, especially for those voters that don’t fall neatly into the Democrat or Republican bin. Whether or not they get my vote this year, only November 4th will tell!

Visit http://www.gp.org/index.php for more information on the Green Party including candidate Cynthia McKinney and runningmate Rosa Clemente.

I, in no way, consider myself a political expert, but with the importance of the upcoming election, I feel it is necessary to take a stance. I have never associated myself with a political party, but always seemed to side with the Democrats due to their reputation for their environmental policies.  And with the upcoming election, I will continue to side with the Dems. An interesting and helpful head-to-head comparison was published by Environment Oregon (a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization) that clearly breaks down the candidates’ voting records on environmental issues. They found that Obama voted “correctly” 86% of the time, whereas McCain either missed the vote or voted “incorrectly” 27% of the time.  Obama voted “Yes” on eight clean energy bills to provide tax incentives for solar energy, to reduce tax breaks to oil and gas companies, and to not include fossil fuels in the list of renewable energy allowed in the Renewable Electricity Standard. What did McCain do? Nothing. Obama voted to raise the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standard for cars to 40 mpg by 2016. McCain voted against it. McCain also received a 0% score from the League of Conservation Voters. Why so dismally low? He just didn’t vote… at all… on any of the 15 important environmental pieces of legislature the League used to judge individuals. Obama scored a 67%.

Palin’s record is no better. She is pro-drilling and pro expansion into ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). Palin serves as the Chair for the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, which works to promote the expansion of oil and gas usage. She also opposes adding polar bears as a species threatened by global warming. Gov. Palin does not believe that global warming is human induced. Together, Palin and McCain are Big Oil left with little motivatoin to encourage progressive clean energy policies.

Now, a tangent…The above issues are only the tip of the iceberg for my political stance. As a woman, I feel very manipulated by McCain in choosing such an inexperienced VP. With the nomination it seemed that McCain actually believed that women would be so shallow as to vote for him simply because he had a woman by his side regardless of the policies they support. Maybe McCain thought he could get some mens’ votes simply because she is an attractive “hockey mom” who also likes to hunt. Whatever, the reason, I do not believe in any way that she was chosen because they honestly believe she is fit to run the nation. The Republicans are playing games with the public, doing whatever it takes to get into office. They are on a mission to get to the white house and will stop at nothing on the way. The publics’ best interest is no longer the central priority. McCain is not making decisions based on what is best for the common man, so what makes anyone think that he would shift his views to cater to the well-being of the nation once given the presidential nod?

Maybe the third party nominees are looking more and more promising after all…

Ever wondered whether it is more energy efficient to get your hands dirty scrubbing those dinner plates by hand or to take the easy way out and employ the dishwasher? Well, it turns out that in this case, the lazy way is also the most energy efficient method.  The dishwasher uses just 4 gallons of water each cycle saving 5,000 gallons a year compared to hand washing the dirt away. You not only save water and hours of your life, but the dishwasher saves you $40 a year in energy costs.  Save even more by only running full loads, skipping the pre-rinse (unnecesary for most washers), and utilizing the air dry method.

Ever get fed up trying to peel that sticker off the peach you are so anxiously waiting to devour? Well, those stickers actually are more beneficial than just informing the clerk about the price. They actual indicate how the produce was grown.  Conventionally grown fruits have a four number PLU code that begins with a 4. Organically grown fruits have a five number code that begins with a 9, and genetically modified foods begin with an 8. So, next time you are struggling to detach that fiesty sticker, try to appreciate its deeper value.

Ever gone to the gym and thought there should be a way to harness all that energy you exert? Well, In Portland, OR, one of the finest cities on this earth, a man named Adam Boesel has brought this idea to fruition. Green Microgym is the first of its kind in the U.S., but follows Hong Kong’s California Fitness gym where fitness buffs power the lights. The treadmills at Green Microgym are 30% powered by the people sweating on them. Stationary bikes hooked up to a generator will produce 200 to 600 watts of energy an hour that can fulfill other energy needs throughout the gym.  There is also a yoga room with cork floors, solar panel awnings, and no showers to save on heating costs. Green Microgym hopes to reach the goal of creating 100% of its energy, but for now it produces about 25-40% of the energy required for daily operations. Want to know more? Click here to see a concise list of 15 other ways the gym is practicing green initiatives.