Happy Earth Day Earth!
Today I am making several commitments to save the earth.

1. I’m giving up Whaling! It’ll be tough, but I’ve heard it’s bad.
2. I will shut down 2 of my coal plants. Completely.
3. No more Oil. For today, unless it gets cold, or I need to go somewhere.
4. I refuse to touch plastic, let alone use it.
5. I will save the life of 3 seals.
6. I will breathe less, thus emitting less Carbon.

What will you do?

But seriously, I feel like I need to plant a tree or something. It’s Earth Day! On Mother’s Day we make our moms cards and give them big hugs. On Father’s Day we BBQ (bad for the ozone) and give each other man-hugs, but for Earth Day, EARTH DAY what do we do?

Awesome post by Brooke in Seattle. Some great ideas in this short video.

I met Jim Woods, Brewer of MateVeza Beer about six months ago at Green Drinks. He had brought a keg of his beer to this particular bar and shared a glass with David Anderson and me. We talked about his beer, while sipping away, and let me tell you, both the story and the beer are awesome. I asked Jim to retell his story about how he got started and what his yerba mate beer is all about.

Jim Woods: Yerba Mate Beer
Officially I started brewing the day I turned 21… so I guess that would mean that I “started” brewing while at UCSD.

I stumbled upon the idea of MateVeza a few years ago - I was nursing a pale ale betwixt sips of yerba mate (a cousin of mine introduced me to this wonderful beverage when I was in college) and noticed the way the flavor of the mate and the cascade hops complimented each other; the earthy, herbal, grassy notes of yerba mate paired quite well with the crisp, citrusy flavor of the cascade hops. I later realized that the effects might be another selling point in light of a growing trend of caffeinated alcoholic beverages.

A home brewer for years, I set out to brew a yerba mate pale ale. After experimenting with different recipes, methods, and quantities, I brought a formula and label artwork to Butte Creek Brewing Company in Chico, California because I was a big fan of their beers and their pioneering in brewing organic. We structured a joint venture and brewed the first batch in November of 2006.

Mateveza is brewed with EcoTeas organic yerba mate from a family farm in North Eastern Argentina. The coarsely chopped yerba mate leaves are added during the mash. The yerba mate provides a refreshing herbal finish and a natural source of caffeine equal to about a half cup of coffee per beer.

I decided to brew MateVeza organic because I was committed to using the very best ingredients and having a environmentally responsible product.

MateVeza is brewed with 95% organic ingredients (everything but hops). The USDA has placed hops on their exempt list due to the commercial unavailability. This means that brewers can label beer with the organic seal even if the hops are not organic. Here’s an article from the LA Times if you’re interested in the details.

Keep in mind that organic hops are extremely difficult to source (especially with the current hop shortage). There aren’t any farmers in the US who produce organic hops and the farmers in New Zealand have most of their crop committed for the next few years. Hopefully things will change and organic hops will become available. We will continue to look for a source.

Business has gone really well. Getting approval at Whole Foods and BevMo has been great. And we have expanded our distribution to CA, OR, and WA. We haven’t had much of a budget for advertising or sales support (it’s still a one-man team), so the main challenge is getting the word out and educating people about the product.

We’ve gotten a lot of good press (Mateveza press), which has been awesome. A part of me was worried about how the craft beer community would respond to a caffeinated beer, but they have really embraced it. Most really appreciate the fact that the yerba mate contributes positively to the flavor profile of the beer. The mate buzz is just a bonus (but for some a huge selling point).

I’m currently working on some new packaging and making a big push in the markets we’re currently in. So stay tuned…

Another video for you to watch. This one much shorter then the last. Pretty crazy, pretty disgusting.

Brooke sent me this link. It’s a video about where “stuff” comes from and where “stuff” ends up.
storyofstuff.com

What is green? What is sustainable? What makes me sustainable? These are questions I have been asking myself and a few of my friends in the past year or so. I’ve done some reading, I’ve talked to some people, and I’ve started to make changes in my own life. As I watch the green movement taking shape around me, I often wonder how I can actually help make a change. Like my good friend Emlyn says, the change isn’t going to come in buying new green items, it’s going to come in limiting our consumption.

David, who I featured the other day and works for Green Options, drives an older car and when questioned about why he drives it instead of a hybrid he gives a similar answer. It’s because the car isn’t dead yet, it has thousands of parts that are going to end up in a landfill, so why not use it until it can’t be used any more?

How are you green?

I’m motivated best by my peers. When a good friend that I trust tells me that my car has better gas mileage if I drive it at 60mph instead of 75mph, I change my driving habits.
I try to set examples for the people around me. I know my peers are going to make decisions on their own, but if I can show them a comfortable green lifestyle about which I’m passionate, and prove that I myself can maintain it, I may be able to get a small group of people to change their habits. If they do the same, they pass it along to their friends. We all know this works.

What I/we do.

• I try to hang-dry clothes instead of using a drier as often as possible. I’d say 1 in every 3 loads we hang.
• Buy local organic food that is delivered to Claire’s office building, where other people people have food delivered as well.
• Turn off the water while soaping my hands and brushing my teeth, and consider my water usage in general.
• I’m lucky enough to get to take a bus to work—living in a city really helps lower my emissions.
• I wear out my clothes. It’s hard to do in a materialistic society, but I feel strong about repairing and re-wearing my clothes.
• I don’t drink out of plastic bottles, and avoid using paper plates and plastic utensils.
• I try to buy beer out of tap because it tastes better… Oh yeah, and no bottle plus less shipping generally. Local beer whenever possible.
• I don’t eat meat except fish, and the fish I eat is on a Seafood Watch List made by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Sustainable fish.
• I don’t use plastic bags from stores.

What makes me worse then most people on earth.

• I fly more than the average human. This is probably the worse thing I could do for the environment besides opening a coal plant just to watch the pretty black smoke.
• I have my computer almost constantly plugged in and on.
• I over-consume. Maybe not more than the average American, but more than I need I’m sure.
• Electronics for 2 people: 4 cell phones, 3 computers, 1 projector, 7 hard drives, 3 iPods, 2 speakers, N64, Gameboys, 2 video cameras, 2 digital cameras, 3 still cameras, 1 VCR, 40ish tapes, 1 DVD player, 100 DVD’s (not in cases).

If you have a moment check out the Scarsdale Challenge and video. I was blown away by some of our consumption as a country.

What do you do?

I’d love to hear from you by Seesmic video—you can copy and paste the code in the comments. Or just leave a comment.