Green Monkeys and The Survivor Oak
Sunday September 20th 2009 the survivor oak, located in the field on the corner of bud st. and saul st. was the location for the survivor oak fundraiser concert. The goal of the concert/benefit was to bring together different groups which celebrate surviving against all odds. In the early 1900’s a hurricane knocked over a massive live oak tree which in turn grew a new tree from one of its branches and stands as a monument for perseverance and the indomitable spirit of life that refuses to end.
The Green Monkeys in attendance were John Pastor, Kent Labrey, Jason Doucet, Leah Abshire, Philippe Treguier, Charissa Borque and Johnny Miller. We spent the day in the sun with Frisbee throwing and dancing. The Drew Landry Band was playing their original songs of a easy melodic harmony and the crowd of blankets and festival chairs all swayed to the beats.
It was an amazing event for support and networking of everything from dragon boat racing to trees acadiana. Booths were set up on the parameter raising funds and awareness for all sorts of good causes.
The Louisiana Urban Forestry Council www.louisianaurbanforestry.org
Gulf Coast Restoration www.healthygulf.org grace@healthygulf.org
Le Dock sur le Bayou ledock@cox.net and www.ledock.com
Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise melissa@lite3d.com
Cajun Invasion Dragon Boat Team www.cajuninvastion.org or call Sharon Vernetti @ 337-984-7657
Trees Acadiana www.lsuagcenter.com
Written by John Pastor
Restaurants and the Environment
It was a Sunday and the television was on the saints game. The television had a bar right down the middle like the whole game was filmed from behind a goal post. The green monkeys met at Texas Road House on Johnston street at about 1pm. The place was buisy as usual and we were fortunate that the bar top was free. John Pastor, Johnny Miller, Leah Abshire, Kent LaBry and Philippe Treguier gathered to have lunch and have fun.
Stephen the manager, otherwise known as the teddy bear of the restaurant greeted us with a smile and made sure that everything was well taken care of. He is an unassuming person with a warm smile and not a bit of mean in his entire body. He has been a friend of the green monkeys for many years now. Working in the restaurant industry from adolescence his management skills are fine tuned and he is a venerated warrior of the lunch and dinner rush.
We were watching the saints game the evisceration of the eagles brought smiles to our faces and good times to all. We shared stories with the bartender and she told us about the boots for sale. The boot is a collectors item that you can purchase for $3 with a beer. However the ketch was that the boot was 12 ounces and you pay full price for refills while the normal mugs are 22 ounces. We figured it would probably be in our best interests to go with the 22 ounces and be more economical. We asked about the bar on the T.V. screen and she told us that the owner didn’t want to replace it until it was completely broken. Funny but I can see the point. The t.v. still works.
A sudden sound of clapping happened behind us and we were amazed to see a row of servers doing a line dance. Apparently on the hour every hour they do a cute little version of the boot scoot n boogie. We were so entertained and caught off guard that we started clapping with the crew. I know that pride and humiliation are all parts of any job and some people are hams for attention, but in a way it was kind of cruel. Still it added to the environment and it stuck in my memory. I asked Stephen what that was all about. He said that they do it on his command. Of coarse the idea hit me to have the green monkeys join in on the line dance and take pictures. He winked and said that he would do what he could. After we finished our food the sound of clapping began and came all around us… Stephen, you’re my hero… We jumped up and made the crew laugh at our poor rendition of their dance and had a blast doing it.
I pulled Stephen aside and told him who we are and what we do. He kind of shrugged about the notion that restaurants do anything environmental. Then it hit me. Restaurants produce more than 100 pounds of waste oil a week. All of the food you know and love from fries to chicken wings are cooked in vegetable oil. The question is where does the oil go? Hopefully not in the ground, I imagine. He nodded in agreeance that the oil is in fact recycled. Companies like mallard environmental. These companies do their best to use the recycled frying oil in an eco friendly way. They have huge oil trucks that come behind restaurants to the box called the grease trap. The oil gets transplanted to a huge processing plant where it is processed and filtered. Once filtered it is put into containers and sold. Most common uses are for fuel for lamp oil and also to fuel bio friendly engines.
Remember your fries and chicken wings are all part of the environment and when you eat them you are actually helping to fuel the world around you.
Written by John Pastor
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Green Monkeys of Louisiana Abita Education
Green Monkeys of Louisiana take Abita Environmental Tour
The green monkeys of louisiana took their august service trip to an amazing place. Attending were, Johnny Miller of New Iberia, John Pastor of Lafayette, Kent Labrey of Abbeyville, Leah Abshire of Lafayette, Philippe Treguier of Normandy France, Tony Smith of Lafayette. The trip was schedueled as a combination event as with and educational and exploratory stay at tickfaw state park.
Tickfaw is an amazing green and lush getaway for anyone who likes nature and water. Cabins at tickfaw are extreemly comfortable and inexpensive. Kitchens come stocked with pots and utinsils and towels in the bathrooms as well as sheets for the beds. Cable television and even a working fireplace. There are two rooms, one is a master suite which is perfect for "mom and dad" while the other is a perfect "kids"room with two sets of bunk beds. There is also a pull out couch. The cabins can comfortably sleep 8. What suprised me was how clean and well kept they were. Fire pits outside and the guy that lives right outside the entrance to the park that sells 26 pieces of wood for 10 dollars. (good luck understanding him though). Cabins rent for 90 a night.
The first trip was an amazing success. We had called a month in advance to advise that we were going to be taking the tour and writing an article in hopes that we might be able to educate the public about the truth of abita brewing and their striving for green friendliness. When we arrived august 28th at 10am we ran in with an awesome group of other environmentalists and of coarse made a new group of friends! Based out of Baton Rouge, Jason E. Jones was a extreemly friendly and welcoming person. He and his group represent the U.S. Green Buliding Council Chapter. Emerging Green Builders-Br (USGBC - Louisiana Chapter). Thier group represents a baton rouge group of young professionals that are interested in preserving nature through better building and architecture. Another interesting fellow we met was Chris Schlechte. He works with fusion architecture out of baton rouge. We discussed all the possibilites of joint trips and further colaboration opportunities.
Jason E Jones EGBBatonRouge@gmail.com 225*229*4854
Chris Schlechte (aia,ncarb,apc) Chris@fusionarchitecture.com 225*235*6305
The beginning of the tour started with an educational video which was interesting and extreemly informative. Abita is a Green Brewing Plant, and thats why we came. Green brewing means that Abita is committed to preserving the environment through conservation of resources, energy efficiency and corporate social responsibility. The brewery is located in the beautiful piney woods north of New Orleans. They draw the clean, pure water from the natural artesian well to make our great tasting beer. Protecting and improving the environment is a responsibility to take very seriously. Conserving energy and water, reusing by-products and waste, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, driving greener vehicles and using recycled materials are some of the ways the Abita Brewing Company is working to keep our part of the world green and clean.
The abita brewing company also makes great strides to help the community around them by donating to community service projects and charitable organizations. They are pleased to donate products and merchandise to non-profit groups to aid in their fundraising efforts whenever possible. They have a very easy form to fill out online that they would be happy for you to know about (http://abita.com/donate/donation_requestform.php) Due to the heavy volume of inquiries, please allow up to 4 weeks for a response to your request.
We learned much about the difference between brewing and "green brewing."
1. Abita was the first brewery in North America to install the energy efficient Merlin Brewhouse. The Merlin system reduces boiling time and carbon dioxide emissions and actually improves the brewing process. This new technology uses 70% less energy than traditional brewing methods. A vapor condenser also captures and reuses steam from the process. Its a really cool cone looking heating device that is applied directly to the bottom instead of just boiling a pot.
2. The Abita Brewing Company also operates its own industrial wastewater treatment plant. They use wastewater to generate its own energy. A Bio-Energy Recovery System (BERS) anerobically, (meaning treated in the absence of air), treats the wastewater reducing its strength and volume, while creating a renewable "bio-gas" that we use to fuel the boilers.
3.The glass bottles used by Abita Beer are endlessly recyclable and use less glass than traditional long-neck beer bottles. The Abita Brewing sales force drives gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. Every 18-wheeler in the Abita delivery fleet is equipped with an energy saving Auxillary Power Unit (APU) that takes over engine operation when a truck is parked. The APUs decrease engine emissions and time spent idling.
4.Even the spent grain and hops from the brewing process don’t go to waste. Local farmers use the end products of the brewing process as feed for their cattle.
Everyone at the Abita Brewing Company is committed to preserving the environment. In fact, our most recent television commercial, "Recycle & Renew", features only brewery employees, the real people who work hard to make Abita Beer. We think beer tastes better when the world is clean. We’re proud to be a good neighbor…a good neighbor who makes great Abita Beer.
Written By: John Pastor of Lafayette Louisiana. Cheezpastor@hotamil.com 337*349*8528
The green monkeys of louisiana took their august service trip to an amazing place. Attending were, Johnny Miller of New Iberia, John Pastor of Lafayette, Kent Labrey of Abbeyville, Leah Abshire of Lafayette, Philippe Treguier of Normandy France, Tony Smith of Lafayette. The trip was schedueled as a combination event as with and educational and exploratory stay at tickfaw state park.
Tickfaw is an amazing green and lush getaway for anyone who likes nature and water. Cabins at tickfaw are extreemly comfortable and inexpensive. Kitchens come stocked with pots and utinsils and towels in the bathrooms as well as sheets for the beds. Cable television and even a working fireplace. There are two rooms, one is a master suite which is perfect for "mom and dad" while the other is a perfect "kids"room with two sets of bunk beds. There is also a pull out couch. The cabins can comfortably sleep 8. What suprised me was how clean and well kept they were. Fire pits outside and the guy that lives right outside the entrance to the park that sells 26 pieces of wood for 10 dollars. (good luck understanding him though). Cabins rent for 90 a night.
The first trip was an amazing success. We had called a month in advance to advise that we were going to be taking the tour and writing an article in hopes that we might be able to educate the public about the truth of abita brewing and their striving for green friendliness. When we arrived august 28th at 10am we ran in with an awesome group of other environmentalists and of coarse made a new group of friends! Based out of Baton Rouge, Jason E. Jones was a extreemly friendly and welcoming person. He and his group represent the U.S. Green Buliding Council Chapter. Emerging Green Builders-Br (USGBC - Louisiana Chapter). Thier group represents a baton rouge group of young professionals that are interested in preserving nature through better building and architecture. Another interesting fellow we met was Chris Schlechte. He works with fusion architecture out of baton rouge. We discussed all the possibilites of joint trips and further colaboration opportunities.
Jason E Jones EGBBatonRouge@gmail.com 225*229*4854
Chris Schlechte (aia,ncarb,apc) Chris@fusionarchitecture.com 225*235*6305
The beginning of the tour started with an educational video which was interesting and extreemly informative. Abita is a Green Brewing Plant, and thats why we came. Green brewing means that Abita is committed to preserving the environment through conservation of resources, energy efficiency and corporate social responsibility. The brewery is located in the beautiful piney woods north of New Orleans. They draw the clean, pure water from the natural artesian well to make our great tasting beer. Protecting and improving the environment is a responsibility to take very seriously. Conserving energy and water, reusing by-products and waste, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, driving greener vehicles and using recycled materials are some of the ways the Abita Brewing Company is working to keep our part of the world green and clean.
The abita brewing company also makes great strides to help the community around them by donating to community service projects and charitable organizations. They are pleased to donate products and merchandise to non-profit groups to aid in their fundraising efforts whenever possible. They have a very easy form to fill out online that they would be happy for you to know about (http://abita.com/donate/donation_requestform.php) Due to the heavy volume of inquiries, please allow up to 4 weeks for a response to your request.
We learned much about the difference between brewing and "green brewing."
1. Abita was the first brewery in North America to install the energy efficient Merlin Brewhouse. The Merlin system reduces boiling time and carbon dioxide emissions and actually improves the brewing process. This new technology uses 70% less energy than traditional brewing methods. A vapor condenser also captures and reuses steam from the process. Its a really cool cone looking heating device that is applied directly to the bottom instead of just boiling a pot.
2. The Abita Brewing Company also operates its own industrial wastewater treatment plant. They use wastewater to generate its own energy. A Bio-Energy Recovery System (BERS) anerobically, (meaning treated in the absence of air), treats the wastewater reducing its strength and volume, while creating a renewable "bio-gas" that we use to fuel the boilers.
3.The glass bottles used by Abita Beer are endlessly recyclable and use less glass than traditional long-neck beer bottles. The Abita Brewing sales force drives gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. Every 18-wheeler in the Abita delivery fleet is equipped with an energy saving Auxillary Power Unit (APU) that takes over engine operation when a truck is parked. The APUs decrease engine emissions and time spent idling.
4.Even the spent grain and hops from the brewing process don’t go to waste. Local farmers use the end products of the brewing process as feed for their cattle.
Everyone at the Abita Brewing Company is committed to preserving the environment. In fact, our most recent television commercial, "Recycle & Renew", features only brewery employees, the real people who work hard to make Abita Beer. We think beer tastes better when the world is clean. We’re proud to be a good neighbor…a good neighbor who makes great Abita Beer.
Written By: John Pastor of Lafayette Louisiana. Cheezpastor@hotamil.com 337*349*8528
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