Causecast

ABOUT ME:

“Amy, you are a walking Google”, this is the response I have received from a friend from doing what I love to do. I love to spread information about everything that is useful and productive from ways to go green, to eating more organic foods and vegetarianism, to reasons why you should clean up your dog’s poop. So if you have never met me before here’s a few fun facts about yours truly.

I’m that girl, walking around with the earth-saver canvas bag, while sporting my olive green TOMS (which are vegan by the way! Can you say AWESOME!?). My next step is to turn my whole wardrobe organic.

I’m the girl that for Christmas last year gave her girl friends Peacekeeper Eco-friendly chapstick and two books: Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano and It’s Easy Being Green by Crissy Trask. My brothers, on the other hand, received bamboo and stainless steel BBQ utensils, and a Multeepurpose T-shirt. Cool gifts right? I thought so. Everything I bought was aiming towards sustainability, health, and an open door to gaining more knowledge and open up new options for buying products.

My love for the environment has extended outside the online world as well. I took a marine biology class in college that made me passionate to know more about the ocean and marine life. My class and I did field studies on water pollution, the health and well-being of the birds located at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, and research on whether bays are more polluted than the open ocean (the bay won this hands down if you’re curious).

On Wednesdays, a few fellow Causecasters and I have spent our nights at the Santa Monica Library taking a free Sustainable Works workshop. I can’t tell you how excited I got when I received my first low-flow shower head and CFL light bulb!!! (What? Why are you pointing and laughing at me?!)

Anyways…besides being blessed with the nickname “Tree-hugger” by my friends, I have dubbed myself the “Water Waster Police” at my bartending job. When fellow bartenders leave the water running to wash out blenders or martini shakers, better believe I am following close behind to turn off the faucet! I usually follow up with a nice little rant about how we can’t waste water, or how there are families in Africa who live off only 1 1/2 gallons of water a day. I can’t help but think about all the water we’re wasting from “burning the ice” in wells, or paper waste from constantly printing out receipts and updating tabs. This reminds me of a post on the Keep Kingwood Green site, “Americans’ total yearly waste would fill a convoy of garbage trucks long enough to wrap around the earth six times or to reach half-way to the moon.” Definite “WHOA!” factor right?!

All this is on my mind while taking thousands of drink orders and guiding people away from the normal Coors Light to something more exotic. “What is my favorite beer you ask? Its gotta be the Maredsous 8.” How I crave thee!!!

OH! And have I told you about my love for art? Yes, I love to draw, watercolor paint, and collect random stuff to create things. (My BA in Art can vouch for this). Now I have focused my creativity in ways which may benefit the environment (you will get a sneak peak into one my of art projects later!). Art is all around us, and in my opinion, art is anything that is created from our unique minds. But even creating art can be wasteful and toxic. But on the flip side, art can promote activism and be useful when integrating recycled materials.

Want some more Tanaka you say? Well keep following T&T and you will surely get a wonderful array of useful blog posts and funny stories of first hand experiences as we try to green the Causecast office. Go Green!!!