My boss just lent me Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Anyone who’s interested in this topic will already know the gist of this book, if not the specific examples. But I think it’s still important to read because we periodically need to be reminded exactly why we have the convictions that we do. After reading this, I decided to be a shallow vegan when I don’t know if the milk, cheese, or eggs are from more humane farms. By shallow vegan I mean no obvious animal products, although I’ll ignore anything that’s baked in. Baby steps, right?

This book does offer two things that other books on the subject don’t. First is a personal explanation of the author’s food history and culture. Every family has these traditions that are considered an insult to abandon, and are a major reason (I think) why more people aren’t vegetarian. The possibility (really, probability) of being thought rude, inconsiderate, or difficult by friends and family is a struggle. It takes a while for them to move past that gut reaction and embrace a new tradition. I like that this book addresses that reality.

Secondly, the chapter breaks offer a graphic representation of the facts he’s presenting. I don’t mean graphic in terms of pictures of the conditions of factory farmed animals—thank you, Peter Singer, for that—but clever illustrations. For instance, a box across two pages shows the space allowed each chicken. (Trust me, it’s smaller than an actual chicken.) A tiny slice taken out of a word shows that only 1% of animals raised for meat in the U.S. come from family farms. For those who are right-brained—or just have heard these facts so many times that they can become background noise—the illustrations serve as a shocking reminder.

Despite all my praise, there were definite problems with this book. It’s longer than necessary, continuing to pontificate long after the point has already been made. And well-researched it may be, but not well-organized. Foer leaps from idea to idea in a not-always-logical manner. Overall, I get the sense of strong emotion justifying itself with facts. That definitely has its place in the conversation, but it’s not my ideal book. Is Jonanthan Safran Foer this generation’s Peter Singer? Maybe. But I’d still suggest that everyone go back and read Animal Liberation.

Gap is offering 30% off to people who bring in their old jeans to be recycled into insulation. Seriously—insulation. That’s pretty cool. I wouldn’t do this with perfectly good jeans that just don’t fit (that’s what the Salvation Army is for), but it seems like a good end-of-life for the jeans I can’t even patch anymore. Thanks for the tip, Lesley!

The news varies this week from international to just down the street. Enjoy!

• Old TVs Spark Environmental Dispute – Boston Globe. The National Resources Defense Council alerts the Indonesian government that a Brockton recycling company is shipping them illegal e-waste. This is why it’s so important to make sure that electronics recyclers are e-Steward certified.
• USDA Issues Final Rule on Organic Access to Pasture – Chews Wise. Starting next year: a minimum of 120 days of pasture and 30% of nutrition from grass.
• Rulings Restrict Clean Water Act, Foiling EPA – New York Times. Supreme Court decisions suggest that the Clean Water Act is only applicable to “navigable” waters.
• You Must Get a Home Energy Assessment – Slate. This is the sort of thing that the Cambridge Energy Alliance offers. Homeowners should really take advantage of it.
• Why the Anti-Urban Bias? – Boston Globe. An economics professor argues that recovery spending on highways and subsidies for home ownership encourage unsustainable sprawl.
• What Are Soap Nuts? – Making This Home. I’ve always wondered about soap nuts but never had the guts to experiment. Do they even work in a front loader?
• Toyota Prius Greenest Car in 2010? – Pays to Live Green. Consumer Reports loves our car. I love Consumer Reports. Win/win.
• Central Square Retail Tide Turning? – Cambridgeport Blog. A vegan cafe just blocks from my house? I’m so excited!

Elsewhere, my green makeup post was featured in the Carnival of the Green at the Ethical Superstore. As always, if you see anything I might find interesting, send it my way.

Ironically, we converted our toilet to dual-flush before we switched to a low-flow showerhead. Changing showerheads is one of the easiest things people can do to save water and energy. According to the EPA, showers represent 17% of indoor water use. And it’s heated water, too.

I’d thought all this time that our showerhead was low-flow, until I realized that 2.5 gallons per minute was now the legal maximum flow for all showerheads. Truly low-flow is now 1.5 gpm. At least that was the lowest we could find at our local hardware stores.

I was worried that water pressure would be a problem, so I chose a showerhead that advertised itself as high pressure. Too much pressure, in fact. I felt like I was being assaulted every time I took a shower. I tried to get used to it for a week, and then got another. This time the pressure was more reasonable. I actually think it’s better than my old showerhead. And it was only $10.

It's a little utilitarian-looking, but it works for me.

As important as the flow rate is the off switch. With it I can warm up my water and then turn it off if I need to, without it changing temperature. I can even shut off the water while I lather up. Navy shower, anyone?

Unfortunately, now I have an extra showerhead. Does anyone like forceful showers and want to give it a try? I’ll be happy to mail it to you.

This weekend we participated in a weatherization barnraising organized by the Cambridge Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET). No, we weren’t weatherizing an actual barn; neighbors from all over Cambridge got together to help make two homes more energy efficient. We worked on things all over the houses, from installing aerators and low-flow showerheads to insulating. I was on the team that installed programmable thermostats, and Jason helped to insulate electrical outlets and caulk.

My team leader, Lilah Glick from the Cambridge Energy Alliance, was great.

It was a great experience. I’d always been intimidated by the idea of installing a programmable thermostat myself, even though I’d read how easy it was (and cheap!). And it really was. It was as easy as detaching two wires from the old thermostat and reattaching them to the new one. (Remember to shut the furnace off first.) Depending on the house, they were either red and white or black and white, and the red/black wire attached to the R terminal and the white wire attached to the W terminal. If this system had included cooling, there would have been a wire for that, too—and the instructions included with the thermostat told us how we’d hook that up—but because it was just heating it was as simple as could be.

At one point we thought we’d done something wrong, because we couldn’t hear the furnace coming on. In frustration, we went to work on the other house, and when we came back later the house was warmer. We’d done it right; the furnace was just so efficient that we couldn’t hear it come on!

At the end of the day, the blower door test showed an improvement of more than 10 percent.

By the way, old thermostats contain mercury, so be careful taking them off the wall. And make sure to recycle them afterwards. In Cambridge we don’t have to wait for hazardous waste disposal days, just drop them off at the recycling center.

We already have a programmable thermostat in our current apartment, so I can’t apply my newfound skills there, but if anyone wants help installing one, just let me know!

One thing we can apply to our apartment is Q-lon weatherstripping. The foam weatherstripping we tried last winter seems to have compacted, and we’re feeling drafts around the doors again. This stuff seems more permanent. I can’t wait to see the difference it makes.