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Home > Building Environmental Community in the Nation's Capital > True Cost of Food/True Cost of Homes Campaigns - Local Outings True Cost of Food/True Cost of Homes Campaigns - Local Outings
The True Cost of Homes: A campaign to promote educated "green" choices for home construction and design, renovation, weatherization, appliance selection and pesticide-free lawn and garden care. Join us! Every month, Washington DC-area Sierra Club members and friends visit local restaurants, farmers markets, family farms, and each others' homes to learn about ways we can make a difference in our local community while enjoying delicious new foods and learning about earth-friendly products to "green" our homes, yards, and gardens. Be sure to join us this year at the variety of events we will be hosting! 2009 Calendar:
July 11, Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ------------------------------------------------- “True Costs” of Food & Housing: What are they? What do they look like? Previous Events in 2009:Friday, January 16th at 6:30 pm True Cost of Food Pre-Inaugural Dinner & Discussion Sunflower Restaurant (at Seven Corners) 6304 Leesburg Pike, Tel: (703) 237-3888 Join us to discuss Obama’s USDA picks and the implications for local, organic farm policy and healthy food. With the new administration we have many opportunities to set policies that promote small, local, organic farming; healthful nutrition for our children in “local farm to school cafeteria” programs and other environmentally friendly programs that encourage careful stewardship of the earth, and revitalize regional economies. Linda Burchfiel, Program Chair of the Sierra Club Great Falls Group, will be our host at the new Sunflower Restaurant at Seven Corners in ------------------------------------------------- Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 6:30 pmAroma Indian Restaurant 1919 I Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 Tel: 202-883-4700 http://www.aromarestaurant.com/
Closest Metro: Farragut West (Orange) or Farragut North (Red) Try some of the finest Indian cuisine in D.C. at a reasonable price to beat the winter blah’s in February. You do not have to be a Sierra Club member to attend, so please invite your friends.
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March 19, Thursday, 6:30 pm Directions: Across from Ballston Metro (Orange Line) ------------------------------------------------- April 16, Thursday, 6:30 pm Rated one of the best Chinese restaurants in northern Virginia and reasonably priced. The restaurant owners will provide a smorgasbord of vegan entrees which we will share, family style. Cost of meal approximately $15. ------------------------------------------------- April 18th, Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Freedom House is a unique, completely self-sufficient package of integrated sustainable technologies, including power, potable water, waste treatment -- Zero Earth Impact – no utility bills, no septic field, no well, and not a drop of contamination back into the earth. The house is a stand-alone, sustainable unit. No digging up the earth for utility lines, cracked water pipes, leaking sewage overruns. The purified wastewater goes to a greenhouse bog for horticulture; alternate use for on-site "algae oil" biofuel production is currently under development. ------------------------------------------------- Sunday, May 10th from 2-4:00 pm What better way to spend Mother’s Day than at the home of Sierra Club member Paul Kovenock in Arlington. (Paul participated in the Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE) Green Homes Tour last year.) In preparation for the blow-out native plant sale at Green Spring Gardens Park,* we will begin with a discussion of how Paul planned his home and plantings to maximize passive solar energy. Afterwards we will walk through his terraced yard rich with native Virginia plants and shrubbery. Think native plants are dull? There are 900 varieties here in northern Virginia in every color and shape imaginable! Going native is the best way to avoid pesticides and live in harmony with the earth. Native plants - unlike lawns and roses - are entirely self-sustaining, and are "care-free" once established. --------------------------------------------------- Ahead of its time, Blueberry Hill was designed in the 90’s as a sustainable cohousing community with a geothermal system for heating and cooling to reduce its carbon footprint. Jack Wilbern, the architect who designed the community, will lead our tour. Mr. Wilbern is a member of Blueberry Hill Cohousing and President of Cohousing Collaborative, LLC. The first part of a tour will be an introduction to the history and process of establishing a cohousing community; geothermal design, installation and coordination issues. Mr. Wilbern will include the basics of how geothermal works, to include operational and repair issues. Next we will tour a typical house and possibly the shared commonhouse, which also uses geothermal. We will conclude with a summary of how Blueberry Hill practices fit into community-based sustainability, allowing time for Q&A. McMillan Park: Losing DC’s Last Greenspace? McMillan Park, the largest remaining greenspace in the District, was once the main filtration site for DC's water supply AND a magnificent community park designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. Currently developers led by EYA and Jair Lynch are vying for building rights. Plans include 1,200 housing units, a hotel, supermarket, retail shops, several 8-story office complexes -- and a small central "community park." No environmental impact or land value assessments have been released for the 25-acre site. Although McMillan is registered as a National Historic Landmark, no historic preservation reviews have been completed or released. EYA is seeking over $60 million from District taxpayers to offset “infrastructure improvement” (largely demolition of historic structures) needed prior to construction. Those interested in preserving this space will be asked to remain to develop a strategy and action plan. Robin Buck has agreed to lead this effort. TAKING ACTION TO PRESERVE McMILLAN PARK ------------------------------------------------- June 20, Saturday, 3:00 – 6:00 pm Want to learn the secrets of Asian spices, herbs, and cooking styles? Want tips on picking produce from local markets? We thank Aashish and his family for offering this popular cooking class as an annual event! Because we are again expecting a large turnout, we ask everyone to contribute to the food being served by bringing a vegan (without animal products) side dish to serve six people. See recipe ideas at: www.vegcooking.com and www.sierraclub.org/sustainable_consumption/recipes/. ------------------------------------------------- More Information:What: The TCOF/TCOH Sierra Club National Campaigns, sponsored by the Sustainable Consumption Committee have local "legs" in our area, to teach about "eco-friendly" food and product choices and how we, as consumers, can have a positive impact on the planet through everyday acts like grocery shopping, gardening, home renovation and repair. We meet in each other's homes, at local restaurants, farmers' markets, and in communities pioneering energy-efficient techniques to help expand the marketplace for earth-friendly new services and product ideas. Why Important?TCOF Campaign: The average meal travels 2,000 miles from farm to table. All the energy expended in harvesting, processing, packaging, storing, refrigerating, and transporting our food is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. Buying food that is produced locally not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions, but has many additional benefits. Shopping at farmers' markets, roadside stands, pick-your-own operations, and joining CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture programs) helps keep dollars in the local economy, allows you to learn more about where your food comes from and how it is produced, keeps small family farms in business, and provides a regular opportunity for a community gathering (in the case of farmers' markets). For more information, including a downloadable discussion guide and short animated film, visit the TCOF home page at: www.truecostoffood.org TCOH Campaign: Energy use in homes in the Sierra Club's True Cost Outings are organized by leaders of the
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The True Cost of Food: A campaign to promote sustainable food choices. We, the consumers, through our food choices, can stop the practices that harm our health, our planet, and our quality of life. The True Cost of Food (TCOF) Campaign is sponsored by the Sierra Club National Sustainable Consumption Committee.