I’m surprised at how hard it is to find nonleather hiking boots. You’d think vegetarians and hiking enthusiasts are two groups that would have a lot of overlaps. But when I went into the North Face on Newbury Street, the salesguy actually laughed at me. (The Eastern Mountain Sports salesman was much nicer, but still couldn’t help.) I’m looking for a high-ankled trail boot that isn’t too gigantic and heavy for me to walk around in for a long time and isn’t made out of animal skin. It seems like there are currently only two brands on the market that fit my criteria and I can only find them online: the Sabino Trail Mid GTX by Montrail and the Outbound Mid by Merrell.

.

I’m not really a hiker, so this issue has never come up before. But Jason and I are planning on hiking Mount Katahdin in July, and I’m freaking out about it a little. I don’t want to break a leg because my shoes don’t have enough tread, or twist one of my weak ankles. And I want the stupid boots to get here in time for me to break them in a little bit before the 10-hour hike. Is that too much to ask?

Have you tried either one of the boots? Do you know of any other vegan hiking boots on the market? I’ve made my decision and I’m (im)patiently waiting for it to arrive, but maybe it’ll help the next person.

Now I’m all in love with Tufts, so the first two links are news about research done by students and faculty.

• Tufts UEP Students Report Findings – Green Streets Initiative. Self-reporting on the Green Streets Initiative Walk/Ride Days show that many of the people participating would have used a car otherwise.
• Somerville residents near 93: What are you breathing? – Boston Globe. This makes me wonder about the black dust that gathers on our windowsills…
• Clean Air Act Controversy – In Her Own Words, Lisa P. Jackson – Green Lifestyle Consulting. I want to be Lisa Jackson when I grow up. She’s so knowledgeable and articulate!
• MassBike Releases New “Go By Bike” – Boston Biker. A newly released brochure from MassBike advises first-time bikers (and reminds those of us who may have gotten lazy about safety).
• Maine offers “PACE” loans for home energy upgrades – Green Homes America. Any Mainers in the house?
• A City Prepares for a Warm Long-Term Forecast – New York Times. Chicago really seems to be on the forefront with this.
• Review copies of upcoming books go digital – Boston Globe. You have no idea how many review copies used to go unread at Partisan Review. Used book stores will generally take them, but they say they shouldn’t be resold.
  
• E-Business Is the Buzz at Book Fair – New York Times. People who buy ebooks buy more books. This has definitely been borne out by my buying habits.
• Artists try farmers’ tactic, selling community shares – Boston Globe. I think this is a great idea. Why can’t I be a patron at $20 a month?
• My Cat Eats Plastic – My Plastic-Free Life. My cat eats plastic, too. I swear he’s suicidal.
• Fostering Sustainable Behavior – Energy 2.0. The event seemed great, but it’s the site itself that’s a useful reference.
• Pilgrim nuclear discussion post Fukushima – Boston Globe. I’m torn. Nuclear power is troublesome. But more troublesome than coal? Oil? We’ve seen many disasters from them, too.

That’s all for now. As always, if you find anything interesting this week, send it my way.

Sharon’s claim that a cherry tomato plant was a really easy way to grow fresh veggies sounded so good, I added cherry tomatoes to my porch container garden, previously all herbs.

She also sent me instructions on how to make a homemade Earthbox, which is a self-watering planter. You fill the reservoir on bottom once a week or so and the soil wicks up the water continuously. Just the thing for a truly lazy gardener.

It's a pretty simple design, really.

Of course, I’m so lazy that I couldn’t bring myself to actually make one, so I bought it (two, actually). I’m glad I did, because they came with instructions as to what soil and fertilizer to use, as well as placement suggestions for different kinds of plants. I’m sure this was all info I could find elsewhere with a little research, but it was all right in front of me. In fact, I kind of wish I’d bought the kit with all the soil, fertilizer, etc. already included, to make it even easier.

I definitely need to make it as easy as possible. I thought I’d finally grown a green thumb last year, when my herbs took off like crazy, until the day I saw my landlady watering them when she watered her flowers. Apparently I had some help.

So what am I planting this year? Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, basil, chives, and sage (my new favorite herb). This is far more ambitious than I have been in the past, so I hope it turns out well.

When we first planted them.

They perked up overnight.

I specifically planted the tomatoes and basil together, because this piece on companion gardening suggested that it enhances their flavors.

Since I ended up with more tomato and basil plants than will fit in the Earthboxes (they came six to a container), I put the extras in the pots I used last year, as a bonus little experiment. I’ll be interested to see if the Earthbox plants turn out better than the regular pots, and if the front porch or the back porch is a better location. I’ll keep you posted.

So Planet Police only picks up food waste from larger organizations who can’t compost themselves, but there are a couple good services for residential customers in the Boston area, both of which use bicycles to pick up your food waste. SoilCycle and Bootstrap Compost offer services starting at $25 and $10 per month, respectively.  Has anyone tried either one of them? How do you like it?

I may have a hard time keeping to my posting schedule in the coming weeks, because I’m starting classes in the Tufts Urban Environmental Policy and Planning program. Writing and Public Communication is the first one, starting this week, and I’m really looking forward to it.

I’d originally been planning on enrolling at Lesley University, but they changed their curriculum—after the deadlines for most other programs had passed. I was not pleased, but now I think that the Tufts program will be more rigorous and better for me—if harder to juggle with work. The nice thing about the UEP program, at least for me, applying late, is that I can start taking classes through the certificate program (4 classes) and transfer them into the master’s program next year. So I can start taking classes immediately. The admissions office and UEP Department have been really helpful in getting me signed up for classes in time for the summer session.

Not surprisingly, there are quite a few environmental master’s programs in the Boston area. Here are the few I looked into. These are M.A., not M.S., degrees, because I’m less interested in doing environmental research (biology, etc.) than in communicating sustainability information to the general public.

• Tufts, Urban Environmental Policy and Planning – This is all about urban planning, with a focus on sustainability. Electives are mostly at night, but the 5 core classes are generally offered during the day. It culminates with an internship and a thesis.
• Lesley University, Urban Environmental Leadership – This is focused on environmental citizenship. It’s a low-residency program, with intensive classes one weekend each month and one week during the summer/winter. The program is being revamped starting in July 2012 and renamed Ecological Innovation.
• Boston University
  • International Relations and Environmental Policy – This seems to be more of an international studies degree with a concentration on sustainability.
  • Energy and Environmental Analysis – This seems more focused on research, with courses like “stochastic hydrologic models.” I’d probably need more of a science background.
• Harvard Extension, Sustainability and Environmental Management – To be honest, the Sustainable Development concentration seems pretty perfect, but I think I’d feel bad explaining to people “Not Harvard, but Harvard Extension.” It’s silly, but true.

Have any of you tried any of these programs? What do you think of them? Have you tried any other master’s programs in the Boston area? Do you have any advice for me? I have to admit to being a little nervous about the workload.