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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Super Suds Score Healthy and Eco-Friendly Points at Parties

For healthy eaters, Super Bowl parties’ bent toward rich, calorie-laden foods compete with our desire to shed some holiday pounds and return to regular diet regimens. Whether supplying eco-beer selections for guests or bringing refreshments to a gathering, armchair players can score green points both in terms of natural ingredients and supporting the domestic economy and environment.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s plant in Chico, California, uses 10,000-plus solar panels and a large onsite water treatment facility for recycling and conserving water. “It’s the number one ingredient in brewing,” says Sustainability Manager Cheri Chastain. “You can generate more energy, but you can’t make water.”

Other American microbrews deploy varied eco-solutions. Dave’s BrewFarm, in Wilson, Wisconsin, for instance, obtains most of its energy via a wind-powered generator. Goats “mow” the grass outside the Anderson Valley Brewing plant in Boonville, California.

Odell Brewing Company, in Fort Collins, Colorado, practices waste reduction and recycling and utilizes renewable energy sources. The 100 percent wind-powered brewery also encourages employees to bike to work and/or carpool, and uses biodiesel-powered delivery trucks (the biodegradable fuel emits 78 percent less CO2 than standard fuel).

Five of the 2014 Good Food Awards’ winning beers—exceeding the criteria of recycling water, local sourcing and banning genetically modified ingredients—are Port City Brewing Co., Alexandria, Virginia; Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Oregon; Bear Republic Brewing Co., Healdsburg, California; Victory Brewing Co., Downingtown, Pennsylvania; and Ninkasi Brewing Co., Eugene, Oregon (GoodFoodAwards.org).

ChasingGreen.org offers information on many other U.S. craft breweries that operate in sustainable ways, including the Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, New York; New Belgium Beer, Fort Collins, Colorado; and the Great Lake Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio.

If none of these brews is yet a current favorite, seek them out at a specialty beverage retailer that stocks from multiple regions in order to score a touchdown for yourself and the Earth. Some just may become part of a first-string beverage “team” after the game is over.

 

Eco Tip
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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