ECA has blue ribbon winners
Fourteen members of the Neuse Extension and Community Association and one staff member from the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Service office attended the Southeastern District Meeting March 5 in Wayne County.
More than eight Lenoir County women entered local blue ribbon entries into the ECA District Day Cultural Arts competition. Five brought home district blue ribbons.
Lenoir County ECA District Day blue ribbon winners are Betty Davis, crafts; Marva Brown, creative writing, both poetry and short story; Anne Gaddis, chair bottoming; Katherine Pierce, flower arrangement or wreath, and acrylic painting; and Carolyn Sutton, knitting.
Home Solutions: Make your grilling greener
Many U.S. households — some estimate 74 million — own at least one outdoor grill or smoker, according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association. Traditional charcoal grills produce smoke and soot particles that can pollute the air, irritate the lungs and aggravate heart problems.
Catherine Zandonella, author of “National Geographic Green Guide Families,” shares some tips on how to go green with grilling and making barbecue better for your health and the environment.
To get the charcoal smoky flavor and reduce pollutants, avoid charcoal briquettes with conventional additives such as sodium nitrate or charcoal with self-lighting petroleum products. Use a natural lump brand of charcoal.
The charcoal briquettes — which can contain coal dust, sodium nitrate, sawdust, starch or limestone — can release toxic byproducts. Briquettes soaked in lighter fluid are the worst offenders, releasing volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that contribute to smog when burned.
Avoid using lighter fluid, which gives off petrochemicals that can penetrate food. Use a chimney starter, filled at the bottom with recycled newspaper and the top with wood briquettes. Light the bottom and in about 20 minutes the briquettes will be ready to add to the grill.
To keep backyard air clean, try an electric grill. It emits the fewest pollutants and is good for outdoor cooks whose communities have charcoal and gas restrictions. Electric grilling is probably the fastest and easiest method of outdoor cookery. However, nearly three-fourths of the electricity made in the U.S. comes from burning fossil fuels. Cooking on an electric grill for one hour creates about 15 pounds of carbon dioxide, because making electricity usually involves burning coal, gas or oil.
The gas-powered grill is the cleanest burning and most popular U.S. option. It runs on either liquefied propane gas from a refillable tank or natural gas piped from the home supply. The typical charcoal grill has a carbon footprint nearly three times larger than the gas grill.
Finally, ditch the disposables. Use reusable plates, cups and silverware instead of paper or plastic disposable ones.
Resources: Catherine Zandonella and care2.com
Trudy W. Pickett is extension family and consumer agent at the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Office, 1791 N.C. 11/55. Reach her at 252-527-2191 or trudy_pickett@ncsu.edu.