The state of Wisconsin has long served as the national focal point of all things dairy.  However, Wisconsin is also the epicenter of another American food culture niche, and that is alcohol.

My oh my, do people in Wisconsin love to drink. I live the capitol city of Madison and, at least once every weekend, I see snapshot of that state-bred love, either through an embarrassingly sloshed University of Wisconsin undergraduate or a too-tipsy townie. When I found out the actual statistics— that Wisconsin has the highest percentage of drinkers in the population and that, person for person, the state has three times more taverns than anywhere else in the country—I hardly blinked.

Still, I’ll admit that sometimes I find Madison’s hyper-boozing culture to be intimidating. At a lot of college parties, my three-drink limit is everyone else’s warm-up drill, and I’ve met more than a few Badgers whose Thirsty Thursday extends through Wednesday night. However, I’ve never tried to keep up with the crowd. I’m sure some of my peers think it’s lame that my personal bar time is midnight, and not two a.m., but I bet I look a lot cooler the next morning when I haven’t succumbed to their same fate: the head-stinging, stomach-churning, regret-inducing experience that is the hangover.

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Rainharvest Systems and Five Seasons Brewing teamed up to create a microbrew made from 100% on-site captured rainwater!

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Shaq Wants Your Leftover Beer and Wine for Making Ethanol

First, who ever has leftover alcohol except maybe these guys? The Shaq-backed MicroFueler is a 250-gallon tank for organic feedstock, such as waste wine and beer, that converts it into pure ethanol. It also doubles as a fuel pump and the only waste product is distilled water.

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Portland, Oregon is a beautiful city, known for its roses, organic food, environmentally conscious citizens, and its beer.  It has truly become a destination for Oregonians and travelers alike searching for locally made micro brews and craft beers.

It’s hard to walk two blocks in Portland without encountering a brew pub, ale house, or beer bar, but there’s one that stands out as being truly exceptional.  Located in downtown Portland, Bailey’s Taproom is a cozy, modern facility that specializes in Pacific Northwest microbrews and craft brews.  They serve up everything in every imaginable style from a “brutally hoppy IPA, a clean lager, a sour Belgian, a thick stout, or a boozy barleywine”.

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An “American” story of race and class, the arrest and aftermath narrative now seems to have settled comfortably into a hackneyed old gender stereotype; namely, that there is no better way for three “guys” to sort things out than over a beer. We know what the chatter will be about, and Cambridge’s local reports that it will be conducted over Blue Moon if Sergeant Crowley does the choosing, which leads me to ask:

What’s on the agenda for your beer with Obama?

I’ll post my top three items below, but I’m most interested in your comments. You can tell me what you would be drinking if you like, but I’m more interested in your talking points. What are the two or three key messages you would deliver to the White House on energy and environmental policy?

360,000 Tons of Watermelon Spoil Every Year in the U.S.

Almost 40% of all watermelons grown here in the U.S. never make it to market due to imperfections, bad spots, or for being oddly shaped (um, haven’t these farmers seen the square ones). But waste not, want not. The watermelon juice could actually be used to produce ethanol.

Truck Runs on 100% Recycled Coffee Grounds

The truck above is powered by a wood gas generator, except it runs fully on coffee grounds. The Cafe Racer is a 1975 GMC pickup that essentially burns used coffee to create a combustible gas. The gas is filtered on its way to the engine. I hope it’s fair trade coffee.

The Innards of 45 Million Turkeys Turned in to Fuel

On Thanksgiving–which is just around the corner–Americans will gobble down over 45 million turkeys. But we don’t eat the whole turkey so slaughterhouses are left with rotting heads, feet and all those innards. So a factory farm in Carthage, Missouri is turning all that waste into fuel using a thermal conversion process from Changing World Technologies.

Guy Builds Engine that Runs on Mountain Dew

Inventor Paul Patone has created the GEET (Global Environmental Energy Technology) Fuel Processor. A mod that allows you to run your car on about 80% water. Or possibly, just a nice cold Tab. He prefers Mountain Dew.

5,000 Miles Traveled Using 80,000 Chocolate Bars

A chocolate powered Ford Iveco Cargo lorry traveled for almost an entire month through France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and all the way to Timbuktu and doing so while facing the unforgiving Saharan Desert. The whole trip took about 80,000 chocolate bars.

Farm Saves More Than $700K Using Onion Juice for Energy

Gills Onions has saved a whopping $700K off their electricity bill by using onion juice to power most everything on the farm. They saved an additional $400K just on disposal costs alone. Using an anaerobic digester, they convert onion waste into biogas which is then conditioned and finally turned into methane.

Like this article? Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/07/27/your-beer-with-obama/feed/ http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2009/06/08/how-to-throw-an-eco-chic-event-advice-from-expert-green-event-planner-dvgreen/ http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2009/06/08/how-to-throw-an-eco-chic-event-advice-from-expert-green-event-planner-dvgreen/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:12:25 +0000 Rachel Venokur-Clark http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2009/06/08/how-to-throw-an-eco-chic-event-advice-from-expert-green-event-planner-dvgreen/ dvGreen designs sustainable events without sacrificing style. They show clients that they can reduce their ecological footprint while still throwing a beautiful party - one that just happens to be Green. By featuring organic food, flowers, and table linens; tree-free paper invitations; donating or composting leftover food; purchasing carbon offsets, and more, dvGreen creates incredible events that you can be proud of forever.

Danielle, founder and CEO of dvGreen spent several years as Event Director and later General Manager of L’Olivier, one of New York’s premiere floral design houses. The driving force in Danielle’s event work has always been her belief that parties are important. They are essential celebrations of life that allow us to freeze time and honor meaningful milestones. If we don’t mark these moments, then they risk going away forever.

It is this belief, coupled with Danielle’s very parallel feeling about the environment (if we don’t take care of it, the planet as we know it will also go away forever), that led her to launch dvGreen in 2006, a company that combines excellence in event design with the latest in sustainable practices.

Here’s is some great advice from dvGreen on how to go green for your next event.

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Beer drinking is supposed to be a social action. Some of mankind’s earliest artwork show one clay amphora with two straws in it, the act of drinking beer tied to the meaning of friendship. And who is man’s best friend? Why the dog, who also appears in most of mankind’s earliest artwork as well.

Regardless of what goes in the bowl, these new biodegradable pet bowls from QuickPoint are sure to be a hit with any Ecopreneurist focusing on goods for our four legged friends (cats too for that matter).

The bowls are one of QuickPoint’s Bio/Ad products, and are designed to “biodegrade naturally over a period of one to five years in a standard landfill environment”.

QuickPoint’s website states BIO/Ad products will last a lifetime under normal use with the biodegrading process only beginning when the products finally reachs the landfill, activating the biodegradable properties. In addition Bio/Ad™ products from QuickPoint are FDA approved, Proposition 65 compliant, and  manufactured in the USA.

EQP on the bowl is $2.19 and QuickPoint does offer them inside of their next day production program for EQP $3.09.

If you are an ASI member Tina VanHoogstraat is the contact to talk to at QuickPoint. Tina can also go into greater detail about the nature of the Bio/Ad™ plastic. If you are interested in these items to promote your own business contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.

360,000 Tons of Watermelon Spoil Every Year in the U.S.

Almost 40% of all watermelons grown here in the U.S. never make it to market due to imperfections, bad spots, or for being oddly shaped (um, haven’t these farmers seen the square ones). But waste not, want not. The watermelon juice could actually be used to produce ethanol.

Truck Runs on 100% Recycled Coffee Grounds

The truck above is powered by a wood gas generator, except it runs fully on coffee grounds. The Cafe Racer is a 1975 GMC pickup that essentially burns used coffee to create a combustible gas. The gas is filtered on its way to the engine. I hope it’s fair trade coffee.

The Innards of 45 Million Turkeys Turned in to Fuel

On Thanksgiving–which is just around the corner–Americans will gobble down over 45 million turkeys. But we don’t eat the whole turkey so slaughterhouses are left with rotting heads, feet and all those innards. So a factory farm in Carthage, Missouri is turning all that waste into fuel using a thermal conversion process from Changing World Technologies.

Guy Builds Engine that Runs on Mountain Dew

Inventor Paul Patone has created the GEET (Global Environmental Energy Technology) Fuel Processor. A mod that allows you to run your car on about 80% water. Or possibly, just a nice cold Tab. He prefers Mountain Dew.

5,000 Miles Traveled Using 80,000 Chocolate Bars

A chocolate powered Ford Iveco Cargo lorry traveled for almost an entire month through France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and all the way to Timbuktu and doing so while facing the unforgiving Saharan Desert. The whole trip took about 80,000 chocolate bars.

Farm Saves More Than $700K Using Onion Juice for Energy

Gills Onions has saved a whopping $700K off their electricity bill by using onion juice to power most everything on the farm. They saved an additional $400K just on disposal costs alone. Using an anaerobic digester, they convert onion waste into biogas which is then conditioned and finally turned into methane.

Like this article? Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.

]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/04/22/eco-is-going-to-the-dogs/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/17/amid-simmering-legalization-debate-peru-begins-export-of-beer-made-with-coca-leaves/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/17/amid-simmering-legalization-debate-peru-begins-export-of-beer-made-with-coca-leaves/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:45:26 +0000 Levi Novey http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/17/amid-simmering-legalization-debate-peru-begins-export-of-beer-made-with-coca-leaves/ A Peruvian company that makes beer from coca leaves now has plans to export its product to countries like China, Venezuela, and South Africa.

The company making the beer is a supporter of the National Confederation of Coca Farmers, a group that advocates for more organized production of coca plants. The beer is named Apu, and is already sold in southeastern cities of Peru like Cusco, the well-known gateway city to legendary Machu Picchu.

But wait… don’t draw any conclusions yet. According to the source of this information, the online news source Living in Peru, spokespeople for the group say “The goal is to demonstrate that coca leaves are not cocaine…the plant should be industrialized to avoid the production of cocaine.”

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Americans age 21 and older go through about 5 pints of beer per week. That adds up to over 30 gallons of beer per year! We spend $4 billion dollars on beer just on St. Patrick’s Day alone. That is a lot of beer! Imagine the difference it would make if we stuck to brews from these folks, who are doing their best to produce a low-impact, tasty pint?

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Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and E-Fuel Corp have joined forces to create a high-grade, inexpensive ethanol fuel.

They plan to make fuel from discarded beer yeast using the Efuel 100 MicroFueler. The first-ever home ethanol systems will be housed at the brewery in Chico, California.

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This week, Oregon’s Full Sail Brewing Company received the Governor’s Sustainability Award for small business in recognition of the company’s ever increasing commitment to the community and the environment.

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Using beer or red wine marinades reduced the level of heterocyclic amines in pan fried beef by up to 88 per cent. Heterocyclic amines, formed during the browning of meat and fish, are reported to promote carcinogenesis in humans. So marinading possibly has the potential to reduce the risk of cancer in barbecuing.  More research is underway to more comprehensively define the benefits and marinade recipes.

Image credit: by combust on Flickr under a Creative Commons License

360,000 Tons of Watermelon Spoil Every Year in the U.S.

Almost 40% of all watermelons grown here in the U.S. never make it to market due to imperfections, bad spots, or for being oddly shaped (um, haven’t these farmers seen the square ones). But waste not, want not. The watermelon juice could actually be used to produce ethanol.

Truck Runs on 100% Recycled Coffee Grounds

The truck above is powered by a wood gas generator, except it runs fully on coffee grounds. The Cafe Racer is a 1975 GMC pickup that essentially burns used coffee to create a combustible gas. The gas is filtered on its way to the engine. I hope it’s fair trade coffee.

The Innards of 45 Million Turkeys Turned in to Fuel

On Thanksgiving–which is just around the corner–Americans will gobble down over 45 million turkeys. But we don’t eat the whole turkey so slaughterhouses are left with rotting heads, feet and all those innards. So a factory farm in Carthage, Missouri is turning all that waste into fuel using a thermal conversion process from Changing World Technologies.

Guy Builds Engine that Runs on Mountain Dew

Inventor Paul Patone has created the GEET (Global Environmental Energy Technology) Fuel Processor. A mod that allows you to run your car on about 80% water. Or possibly, just a nice cold Tab. He prefers Mountain Dew.

5,000 Miles Traveled Using 80,000 Chocolate Bars

A chocolate powered Ford Iveco Cargo lorry traveled for almost an entire month through France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and all the way to Timbuktu and doing so while facing the unforgiving Saharan Desert. The whole trip took about 80,000 chocolate bars.

Farm Saves More Than $700K Using Onion Juice for Energy

Gills Onions has saved a whopping $700K off their electricity bill by using onion juice to power most everything on the farm. They saved an additional $400K just on disposal costs alone. Using an anaerobic digester, they convert onion waste into biogas which is then conditioned and finally turned into methane.

Like this article? Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.

]]> http://ecoscraps.com/2009/01/18/wine-and-beer-marinades-improve-barbeque-cancer-safety/feed/ http://sustainablog.org/2009/01/15/how-sustainable-is-your-six-pack-new-belgium-beer-answers/ http://sustainablog.org/2009/01/15/how-sustainable-is-your-six-pack-new-belgium-beer-answers/#comments Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:32:01 +0000 Pamela McLeod http://sustainablog.org/2009/01/15/how-sustainable-is-your-six-pack-new-belgium-beer-answers/

New Belgium Brewing Company already topped lists of sustainable beers.  Its reputation and practices earned Chief Branding Officer Greg Owsley a talk at last June’s Sustainable Brands Conference.  And now, the Colorado-based company has released its first sustainability report, which includes a life cycle analysis of a Fat Tire six-pack.

Triple Bottom Line

New Belgium’s sustainability report highlights what sustainable businesses call their “triple bottom line” - people, planets, and profits.  With companies from different sectors starting to embrace sustainability (e.g., Toyota and GE), New Belgium’s market share success provides more evidence for green business as good business.  The new report describes New Belgium’s ongoing and planned environmental and social initiatives, including renewable energy use, green building design, increased brewing efficiency, and a philanthropic bike festival (Tour de Fat).

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Colleges have always been a primary point of rally for green initiatives.  Now, a threat to malting barley has created a new call for support as the price and availability of beer is being threatened by climate change according to a study conducted and released in 2008.

The potential for the alcohol industry to be effected by climate change has been a concern for some time, but it is hitting a feverish pitch and garnering support and calls to action from campuses across the country.  In Lawrence, Kansas, Greenpeace volunteers held a recruitment event called “Save the Ales” earlier this week to tackle how global warming effects college drinking.

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Hydrogen fuel cells have long been hailed as the next big thing to replace petroleum in cars, but there is one major problem: hydrogen is usually produced from fossil fuels. Fortunately, a multitude of companies are looking at alternative hydrogen sources— including sewage and dough.

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360,000 Tons of Watermelon Spoil Every Year in the U.S.

Almost 40% of all watermelons grown here in the U.S. never make it to market due to imperfections, bad spots, or for being oddly shaped (um, haven’t these farmers seen the square ones). But waste not, want not. The watermelon juice could actually be used to produce ethanol.

Truck Runs on 100% Recycled Coffee Grounds

The truck above is powered by a wood gas generator, except it runs fully on coffee grounds. The Cafe Racer is a 1975 GMC pickup that essentially burns used coffee to create a combustible gas. The gas is filtered on its way to the engine. I hope it’s fair trade coffee.

The Innards of 45 Million Turkeys Turned in to Fuel

On Thanksgiving–which is just around the corner–Americans will gobble down over 45 million turkeys. But we don’t eat the whole turkey so slaughterhouses are left with rotting heads, feet and all those innards. So a factory farm in Carthage, Missouri is turning all that waste into fuel using a thermal conversion process from Changing World Technologies.

Guy Builds Engine that Runs on Mountain Dew

Inventor Paul Patone has created the GEET (Global Environmental Energy Technology) Fuel Processor. A mod that allows you to run your car on about 80% water. Or possibly, just a nice cold Tab. He prefers Mountain Dew.

5,000 Miles Traveled Using 80,000 Chocolate Bars

A chocolate powered Ford Iveco Cargo lorry traveled for almost an entire month through France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and all the way to Timbuktu and doing so while facing the unforgiving Saharan Desert. The whole trip took about 80,000 chocolate bars.

Farm Saves More Than $700K Using Onion Juice for Energy

Gills Onions has saved a whopping $700K off their electricity bill by using onion juice to power most everything on the farm. They saved an additional $400K just on disposal costs alone. Using an anaerobic digester, they convert onion waste into biogas which is then conditioned and finally turned into methane.

Like this article? Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook.

]]> http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/12/14/fat-tire-turns-things-upside-down-promotes-bicycle-use/feed/ http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/12/05/75-years-of-conspicuous-consumption/ http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/12/05/75-years-of-conspicuous-consumption/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:53:53 +0000 Stuart Stein http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/12/05/75-years-of-conspicuous-consumption/

December 5th is Repeal Day. That day back in 1933 that ended those dark days of “The Great Experiment” that failed. For those who where sleeping during American History class, the Volstead Act was repealed by the Amendment XXI to the US Constitution:

AMENDMENT XXIPassed by Congress February 20, 1933. Ratified December 5, 1933.

Section 1.
The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2.
The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or Possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

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The WHC is a twenty-year-old partnership between corporations (A-B was a founding member) and environmental organizations (the American Farmland Trust, Izaak Walton League of America, National Wildlife Federation and World Wildlife Fund). The organization was founded in order to “…[help] large landowners, particularly corporations, manage their unused lands in an ecologically sensitive manner for the benefit of wildlife.” The Wildlife at Work program not only certifies wildlife restoration programs, but also provides step-by-step training for companies interested in making unused lands more friendly to animal and plant life.

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I like beer. I like pubs.

I guess that is why I am still talking about eco-friendly coasters. As I mentioned before we are doing some research on eco-friendly coasters for Intrepid Travel and now that research has lead me to cork coasters.

And this is the thing, cork has been around forever. According to the dictionary the origin of the word itself dates from between 1275–1325 AD.

This is an old material, but how many of us think of it as a green material? Hemp and Jute have also been around for a long, long time and they are considered green. Why not cork?

The thing that got me thinking about this are these core coaster from Americanna. When I asked Americanna if they had an eco-friendly coaster they immediately came back with cork.

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