Elisa's Green Scene

What's in season now?

ONe of the ways we can reduce our impact is to eat local, eat seasonal. Not only do you support your local economy, but you reduce the amount of energy and waste required to get the food from where it was to where you are.

So, what's actually in season as summer has most definitely ended and fall is heavily upon us?

The Daily Green is here to help with their What's in Season at the Farmers' Market?

Luckily I am a big fan of a lot of what's in season now.

The list includes winter squash like butternut and acorn squash, sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. And they even include some recipes for your dining pleasure.

Let me tell you how I like to cook winter vegetables:

I chop up anything I've got in the pantry...squash, potatoes, brussels sprouts, leeks etc. I put 'em in a baking dish and toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and (here's the secret ingredient) cinnamon! I bake for 30-40 minutes, et voila! Yummy baked vegetables full of rich nutrients.

If I'm feeling extravagant I cook up a rich mushroom gravy, thickened and flavored with nutritional yeast, to pour over the vegetables.

What's your favorite way to prepare this season's favorites?

Extending your car's life

My last few times around the auto-acquiring block I decided to go with a lease, including my Honda Civic Hybrid I drive now, but it's hard to argue with the contention of Mashable blogger Sean Aune that "...it’s very likely that people will be holding on to their cars far longer than they have in the past."

So to help us with that, he publishes this fine list of 18 Tools to Track Car and Fuel Maintenance.

Seriously, I'm glad there are bloggers who exist to dig this stuff up, because I would never be able to find the time for that kind of research, you know?

Looks like seven of them alone are iPhone apps!

There are apps for tracking gas mileage, tracking driven mileage (for tax deduction purposes I assume) tracking maintenance schedules and visits.

It is fairly indicative of my own laissez-faire attitude that I've had this link open in a browser tab for at least a week but haven't visited a single site or downloaded a single app. I'm fascinated by the research and by the concept, but uncompelled by the act of being anal about this particular thing in my life.

Is this because I have a short-timer's, leaser's mentality?

What about you? How long have you had your car, and which of the Mashable recommendations appeal to your anal retentive soul?

Which labels mean what...or more to the point: which labels mean squat!

The Daily Green share 6 Food Labels That Could Deceive You. Given how much we in the veg*n and green blogosphere are talking about California's Proposition 2 it's important to note that "Free-Range or Free-Roaming" is first on the list.

But there are other things as well...like the term "all natural", which it turns out basically means nothing.

Of course this isn't new news, bloggers have been covering this little problem for quite some times.

Some other posts on the subject:

According to 5 Minutes for Going Green, even the term "hypoallergenic" in our cosmetics and skin care products is, you guessed it, meaningless.

Project Green Girl points out many of the same misleading labels that The Daily Green does, but also lists some labels that actually do mean something, like the difference between "100% Organic", "Organic" and "Made with Organic Ingredients."

I guess the sad, but true point is that reading labels is step one, but researching what labels actually mean is a necessary step 2.

Fun, fun, fun.

So, are you an obsessive label-reader? I only am for animal ingredients. What about you?

Oprah alert: She covers factory farming tomorrow

Factory farming is an ethical issue, a health issue and most definitely an environmental issue...which makes it a green issue, don't you think?

Tomorrow, according to Vegan.com and Vegan Soapbox, Oprah is covering how we treat animals being raised for food.

I'm not a regular Oprah viewer, but when she covers something, it has impact. I have no doubt she will create some vegetarians and vegans tomorrow.

Will you watch?

A few links debunking eco-myths

First, Earth First seeks to debunk the idea that there actually is any such thing as "clean coal."

Second, Treehugger seeks to debunk the idea that Arnold Schwarzenegger actually is the "green governor." (I'm not sure that moniker was ever fully bought into by anyone given his cigar-tent and Hummer-loving ways, right?)

Finally, Consumer Reports has a fun little quiz where you try to match the green-sounding think tanks with the real description of who and what are behind them.

We all know it's cool to be green these days. But look out for greenwashing.

A new site for the blog roll: EcoSalon, and a bonus link for the weekend

Just added a new site to the blog roll that you might want to check out. EcoSalon is about all thing stylish AND sustainable. Exactly what I like.

Just on today's home page I found a new vegan shoe site and learned about a Virtual March to stop global warming.

Bonus link for the weekend: EarthFirst has the video of a CNN look at Sarah Palin's environmental record in Alaska. I always experience serious cognitive dissonance when hunters reference their hunting as proof about how much they care about the environment. I just do. Is it just me?