The perpetual ideal is astonishment.

-- Derek Walcott

Photography by Gabriel Szoke

THE VIRTUOUS CONSUMER

It gets complicated. Buying food, for example.

Once, food choices were based on want alone and pricing.
Nowadays, as consumers increasingly strive to be environmentally
conscious, so many more considerations come into play when
selecting food.

Is it GMO? Is it locally produced as opposed to being imported
and shipped from halfway around the world? What additives does it
contain? What are all those ingredients in it that you can't even spell,
let alone identify? Is it fair trade? Organic or conventionally grown,
in which case what is its level of exposure to pesticides and
insecticides? Should you buy canned or bottled or packaged?

And here's something else worth paying more attention to:
packaging. Is the product packaging wasteful? Does it squander
resources? Does it promote the use of non-recyclable materials?
And if so, should you buy those products?

Take single-serve portions which cater to convenience but actually
may be a bad idea for the environment. A snack seen recently at a
local supermarket targeted consumers who evidently can't spare
the few seconds it takes to slice a piece of fruit. This apple treat
consisted of apple slices packed in many small, individual plastic bags.

But what looks like a simple solution, is actually a wasteful idea
because of all those little plastic bags that will end up in landfills.
Moreover, why would anyone want to eat apple slices that were
cut who knows when and have been in transit for who knows how
long.

Another example is the tiny, single-serve coffee pods sold in
conjunction with certain coffee-making machines. A recent column
in rodalenews.com, noted that most of these coffee pods are made
out of non-recyclable, non-biodegradable material.

The environment is ill served by products that are obviously
taxing the capability of landfills, already stressed to the point that
a lot of waste produced by the United States ends up being dumped
in poor, third-world countries. It is up to consumers to lead the way
and use the power of the purse to move the food industry towards
more environmentally savvy packaging and less packaging waste.

                       

THE ART OF THE CARD


Art delights the eyes and decorates walls.
But what if you don't have the money
 to buy real works of art? 
Consider the art of the card.
The lowly card is an amazingly
versatile art object and one
that easily lends itself to adding
a touch of color and gaiety to any
corner of the house. Cards can be propped against 
books or vases, placed inside glass cabinets or
mounted in frames.
Some cards you can buy for a couple of dollars, 
others can be had for free like the beautiful cards that art
 galleries in cities like New York or London print
in conjunction with their current exhibitions.
Printed on excellent paper stock, these
cards may feature images or words. Either way, they
are almost as desirable as the real work of art.

☛  A SIMPLE TIP  Old socks never die, in fact you can
easily extend their utility but putting them to use as rags for
dusting and other housecleaning duties. Even better, your
hands will be protected, much as if you were wearing gloves.
And when they get too soiled, just toss in the garbage.

Photography by Denise Blasor

Why are you stingy with yourselves?
Why are you holding back?
What are you saving for?
Another time?
There are no other times.
There is only now.
Right now.

--George Balanchine

ⓒ 2014  Lorraine Blasor All rights reserved