Here comes the bride, all dressed in hemp
Carmen Abrazado and Mark Tedesco looked at inns, parks and farms. So whyd they end up getting married next to their eight-of-an-acre West Milford potato patch?
Its who we are. Its just the way we live our lives. I would not feel good about doing a normal wedding, one that would cause so much extra environmental stress, Abrazado said.
Guests brought plants to the bridal shower. Abrazados wedding gown was handmade by her mom out of cotton silk and hemp. The lace overlay, not natural, was one of a few compromises. The table covers were made of recycled Kraft paper which will be used in their garden afterwards. The bride made placemats of shredded paper, decorated with fallen palm leaves. After dinner, the plates were tossed into the compost heap. The utensils were made from biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA), a corn plastic that can be disposed in a commercial composting facility.
The stemmed wine glasses for 90 guests were trickier, but Abrazado found a company in Australia that manufactured strong PLA goblets. By chance she has a friend down under who shipped her a case of the glasses.
Even the music was earth friendly. Solar Jam Productions from Connecticut came with a solar paneled truck to run the microphones and amps.
Could your car run on garbage?
Anyone who composts knows that garbage has value. Goshen is planning to tap that energy source by heating solid waste to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and turning it into gas power.
The proposed $145 million Taylor Biomass Energy facility is expected to be up and running in Montgomery by 2013. It will process only organic waste; non-organic waste will be recylced or go to a hazmat landfill. Most of the energy produced will be sent to the Central Hudson Gas and Electric grid for consumer use, the rest will be retained to run the facility.
The hydrogen the plant will produce is one of the cleanest gases that could be used as transport fuel in the future, according to James Rollins, vice-president of business development at Taylor Biomass Energy.
Michael Edelstein, president of environmental group Orange Environment, is an outspoken skeptic. Taylor may emerge as a major polluter, he said. Goshen needs to do its homework before they hitch themselves to a risky process.
Good enough to eat Youll never go hungry on South Street in Warwick. The eight planters that lend that village charm are filled with edibles this year, to complement the nearby Sunday farmers market, according to Sally Scheuermann of Warwick in Bloom. A brand new ornamental edible popcorn will be surrounded by dill, rainbow-stemmed Swiss chard, golden sage, red mustard, lavendar, kale, and Nasturtiums.
A dangling question A mama bear and her cubs dangle away a hot afternoon in Highland Lakes, near Wawayanda State Park. Theyll be all over the news soon. New Jersey is planning another bear hunt for December, after 590 were killed in last years hunt. What do you think? Well discuss it in our next issues debatable.