Keen is Green

As we all gear up for National Trails Day next weekend, it’s always a good idea to pause and consider the ways we leave trails of our own while out hiking. Trail deterioration is one of the many issues for which National Trails Day is intended to raise awareness. Wilderness Press author and Yosemite National Park expert Jeffrey Schaffer provides some easy steps for having a highly enjoyable but still low-impact adventure into the wild:

Muir-Mist Connector Trail, Yosemite National Park

• STAY ON THE TRAIL: Seems simple, but deviation from established trails is not only commonplace, but mighty tempting for the adventurous type.
• STAY QUIET: Avoid traveling in large groups, and avoid making excessive noise.
• WATCH FOR HORSES: Yield the right-of-way to equestrians: step off the trail, downhill.
• SMART CAMP: Set up camp a minimum of 100 ft. from any water source, and on exposed dirt or rock surfaces (never on vegetation).
• BURN. DON’T CUT: Use only downed wood for fires, and use only existing fire rings. And, of course, always fully extinguish a fire before leaving it.
• BURY MINDFULLY: Bury waste 6 in. deep, and at least 100 ft. from a trail and 500 ft. from water sources.
• PACK OUT TOILET PAPER: or burn it in areas where fires are permissible.
• SMART COOK: Cook only enough food for single meal, to avoid disposing of leftovers.
• SMART WASH: Wash and rinse dishes, clothing, and yourself at least 100 ft. from water source; never wash in lakes or streams.

Be sure to check out the vast selection of hiking/camping guides from Wilderness Press & Menasha Ridge Press before embarking on your next wild adventure!

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This year, National Wildflower Week is from May 6 to May 12.

For those of us who suffer from seasonal allergies, the blooming of wildflowers is something to guard against rather than to celebrate. However, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center offers us some tips on how to enjoy Wildflower Week indoors, protected from those pesky allergens.

Van Gogh, 1888

Visit Local Art Museum

I dare you to find an art museum anywhere in the world that doesn’t somewhere house artwork dedicated to the beauty flowers bring to our many landscapes. Stroll over to your local art museum and find these gems! And don’t just look at them. Read the placards that describe the artwork. Learn about the artist. Educate yourself on why these flowers are some of nature’s finest artwork!

Pick Up a Book

Just like artists devoting their craft to wildflowers, numerous authors have, as well. The most obvious example would be the slew of wildflower guides available on the book market today. Pick up a book, and learn something new! Here are a few worth checking out!

Have a Wildflower-themed Snack

There are a number of ways to construct an indoor snack that reminds you of the beauty there is outside. How about a mixed greens salad? Or for the grown-ups, mix yourself a mimosa or other flower-themed cocktail. You can even bake flower-themed cookies or cupcakes.

Advocate for Endangered Flowers

Yes, flowers show up on endangered species lists, too! Learn which flowers indigenous to your area have become endangered, and write local officials expressing your concern for conserving these botanical beauties!

Start a Recycling Plan

These days, it’s no secret that at the center of any conservation plan is a sustained devotion to minimizing waste. Even a simple recycling bin for your home or office will show your appreciation for the wildflowers blooming in our gardens and parks.

Click here to see wildflower guides available from Menasha Ridge Press and Wilderness Press!

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Today is about celebrating what Mother Nature has given us! It is also about celebrating the people and organizations that work to protect the beautiful lands and waters we have. If you have forgotten some of the picturesque landscapes our planet has, the Mother Nature Network has gathered some stunning photos to remind you.

Photo via MNN: poorpoor/Flickr

I could go on and list ways for you to be green for Earth Day, but this year, I’m just going to urge you to get outside and remember that everything beautiful that you see must be maintained and protected. And documented! Make memories out there and really appreciate nature. The only way to guarantee our planet’s survival is to pass on the importance of appreciation of our surroundings to younger generations.

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This May marks the start of the five-month-long 2013 National Bike Challenge, put on by the League of American Cyclists. This year their goal is to log 20 million miles with 50,000 riders–a leap from last year’s numbers. Katie Omberg, the Events and Outreach Manager with the LAC writes that:

“The Challenge is a great opportunity for people who have been cycling for years to increase their riding and also a great place to start for folks just dusting off their bike seats for the first time in years. Not only does the Challenge encourage participants to make every mile count through individual riding. But by forming teams, awesome sportsmanship and friendly rivalries add a few degrees of excitement to your summer!”

To learn more about the National Bike Challenge, or to learn how your bike club can participate as a whole for this year’s challenge, sign up for the LAC’s Webinar on April 23 at 8:00 PM EST.

If you are a new cyclist looking to participate, but want to learn some hard facts and tips first, check out The No-Drop Zone: Everything You Need to Know About the Peloton, Your Gear, and Riding Strong from Menasha Ridge Press.

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Especially now that most places around the country are beginning to warm up, now’s as good a time as any to recharge whatever motivations we might have for keeping the car keys in our purses and pockets, and finding another means of transportation.

Now, if you’re experience is like mine, you’ll agree that one of the most surprising things about living car-free (I’m at about 4 months NO CAR at the end of April), is having to explain to people why I won’t just use a car. Driving is just so much easier! skeptics will say. Your commute is so much longer than it would be with a car…

I’m usually at a loss (at least at first) when I’m asked this question because, to me, it’s so obvious how the benefits of living car-free outweigh the costs. And then I struggle to explain this without sounding preachy or militant about it.

Wilderness Press author Nathan Landau (Car-Free Los Angeles & So. California, Wilderness Press 2011) breaks the reasoning down into three simple words, the 3 C’s of Being Car-Free:

Car-Free is Cheaper

This one might seem like a no-brainer, but for many it is easy to miss all the ways driving drains your wallet and eats your time. Let’s look at the simple example of taking a small vacation. Either you’ve already purchased, are still making payments on, or have rented a car. There’s also parking to consider (it’s almost never free, whether around the neighborhood or at your hotel). Don’t forget about the insurance law requires of every driver. And all of this before you even fill up your tank! In a city like Los Angeles, Nathan estimates that the cost of driving/parking is 12X that of purchasing Metro passes for the same period of time.

 Car-Free is Calmer

If you ever struggle with “road rage” — be it a mild or severe case — you’ll understand this one. Imagine someone else doing the driving for you! If you live in a busy, metropolitan area, you might also know how often bicycle (and sometimes even pedestrian) traffic moves faster than cars on the street. Whether your sitting on the bus, riding your bike, or simply taking a stroll, it will always be easier for you to breathe deeply and soak in your surroundings than it would be if you were driving.

Car-Free is Cleaner

There is no longer a debate over whether driving an auto emits greenhouse gases and other pollutants. But the percentage of mass transit systems that still burn fuel (more and more are already switching to full-on electric power sources) are running on compressed natural gas instead of oil. Aside from emissions, individual automobiles create loads of debris on the sides and shoulders of America’s roadways, and more and more automobiles are abandoned/scrapped each year.

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So next time you find yourself having to defend your decision to live car-free, just remember the 3 C’s.

Source: Car-Free Los Angeles & So. California by Nathan Landau, Wilderness Press 2011.

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For any yogis out there, Moksha Yoga is running the Grow Your Yoga campaign during the month of May. You can sign up with a $10 minimum donation, with all the money made this year being donated to the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Each week the program presents a new challenge for both on and off your mat.

If you’re looking for a jump start on the program, the first week’s off-mat challenge is to Be Healthy. It is suggested that you eat a vegan or vegetarian diet, but if you can’t do that, at least purchase your meats conscientiously from a local, organic butcher. I say this is a great practice to carry on far after the challenge is up!

To keep up with the rest of the program’s challenges, and to learn more about the prizes you can win by completing each challenge, please visit GrowYourYoga.ca and sign up!

If you want a very funny explanation of the program in video form, starring Woody Harrelson (played by Edward Norton), check it out on YouTube!

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Every year the American Heart Association does this great thing for everyone. They devote an entire day to raising awareness about the health benefits of using your feet. More specifically, using your feet to walk!

We at Keen are joining the parade with two giveaways to get people walking (see below for details)!

This year, National Walking Day is next Wednesday, April 3.

With this in mind, we here at Keen are putting our best feet forward and doing our part to get people walking with two different, week-long giveaways!

For years, Wilderness Press has promoted pedestrianism with the publication of its best-selling Walking series, a must for any inquisitive urban adventurer and walking enthusiast. And next week, you’ll have two ways to land a free copy of any book from this series!

HERE’S HOW TO WIN:

“Show Us Your Walk!”

Scenes around Covington, KY.

We want to see the scenery from your walks throughout the week! Using Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, post a photo boasting the great things you get to see while strolling through your neighborhood or neck of the woods. Your photos should tag Wilderness Press (FB: Wilderness Press, Twitter/Instagram: @Wilderness1967), and also include the hashtag #walking.

For every photo you post, you are entered into a drawing to win a copy of the Walking guide of your choice! Feel free to post tons of pictures every day, but there is a limit to one entry per person, per day (maximum 5 entries for contest).

“How Many Steps?”

Y’know the game where you guess how many M&M’s are in the jar? This is like that… only crossed with a pedometer. Pat — the newest addition to Keen’s marketing team — has volunteered to wear a pedometer everyday next week. Pat commutes by foot to work (and basically everywhere else) each day.

How you win? Be the one who guesses closest to how many steps Pat takes from Monday morning, April 1 until Friday April 5, at 5 PM. He will only wear the pedometer when he’s out in public and at work (i.e. not around the house), and, for helpful guessing hints, we will report how many steps Pat’s taken periodically on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram (be sure to follow us to stay up-to-date on Pat’s progress!).

Some info on National Walking Day:

Here’s a quick overview of the AHA’s and National Walking Day’s mission:

On this day, Americans are encouraged to lace up their sneakers and take at least 30 minutes out of their day to get up and walk. It’s a great way to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity and to give your family, friends and co-workers a friendly push toward a healthier life.

It’s hard to believe that something so (literally) pedestrian as walking needs a day of national recognition! The benefits of walking to the global environment and your body’s internal climate have been extensively studied and reported. Over and over again.

What remains surprising, in light of this, are some of the stats on how much — or really, how little – we actually get up and use our feet. The most shocking of these comes from a 2005 study published in Preventing Chronic Disease, which found that close to half (41%) of the trips we make each day stretch 1 mile or less, while only 10% of our daily errands are made on foot.

So get #walking next week for a chance to win!!!

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Tissues are recyclable, although most people discard them in the trash. The question is, can you dispose of a dirty, used tissue? While many people will squirm at this idea, the answer is YES! When you’re sick, I am sure you stock many tissues and go through almost all of them, leading to a lot of wasted compost. Who wants your snotty waste? Many people claim that the high temperatures during the composting process will kill your germs, while others believe they will fight through that tissue and land in your veggie garden. But, isn’t it the same as recycling your soda can full of backwash? As controversy continues, go with what doesn’t make you gag and remember to dispose of your tissues if you don’t want the risk of bacteria floating around your garden.

Check out Mother Nature Network for more on this topic!

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Many people do not know what hydraulic fracturing is until the sound of drills are puncturing their family’s farmlands. But, to all the fans of Matt Damon, his newest movie Promised Land sheds light on the environmental issue. Hydraulic fracturing, or colloquially known as “fracking” is the process of drilling fluids at high pressure into the ground to fracture shale rocks that will release natural gas. It has proved to be successful in providing economic benefits to participating societies.

However, the risks may outweigh the beneficial recovery of hydrocarbons which are nearly inaccessible without fracking. Workers’ health has proved to be a concern which has caused OSHA and NIOSH to release hazard alerts due to the amount of  respirable crystalline silica (dust) during the fracturing process. Water usage is a main concern due to the high amount each fracturing job needs in order to drill, which on average is 1.8 million gallons of water. There is also a chance of water contamination in towns that are undergoing the process. There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination in areas participating in hydraulic fracturing, which has caused sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage.

The environment is also in harms way. There have  been links of seismic activity relating to hydraulic fracturing such as the 4.0 magnitude earthquake that took place in Youngstown, Ohio (hitting us close to home here in Cincinnati) on New Years Eve in 2011. Also, the process of drilling leaves toxic fluid that is not biodegradable in the ground and the waste fluid evaporates, which releases harmful volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, leading to contaminated air, acid rain, and ground level ozone.

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Are you a crafty person, but sick of wasting extra supplies? Go Green! There are so many green alternatives to put your skilled hands to work. Here’s a favorite!

Instead of buying costly fabric in order to make that perfect throw-over-the-couch-blanket, use old shirts, sweaters, socks, and/or shorts to feel the warmth of an old memento. In fact, it can make the perfect gift. A newlywed, high school graduate, college graduate, and the parents of a newborn would love this to hold onto.

Material Checklist:

1.)  Old clothing

2.)  Old sheet or fleece; Hint: use an old baby blanket!

3.)  Sewing machine or needle and thread

4.)  Scissors

5.)  Chalk

The best part about this craft is that it = $0

Here’s an example of the end result to a perfect memory blanket using old baby clothes.

Check out maidenjane.com for more examples and tutorials on how to craft green!

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