Couple's magazine offers readers simple, low-cost ways to be environmental

By Jack Broom
Seattle Times staff reporter

	BETTY UDESEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Lisa Farino and Peter Luyckx, a Green Lake-area couple, publish The Frugal Environmentalist, a quarterly magazine that offers Earth-friendly ways of doing things without spending a lot of money.
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But how about one that's "like having hundreds of grandmothers around"?

A Green Lake-area couple say that's one way to view The Frugal Environmentalist, a quarterly magazine (well, stapled newsletter) that explores Earth-friendly ways of doing things without spending a lot of money.

Lisa Farino and Peter Luyckx, who moved to Seattle from Vermont in November, are working on the 20-page magazine's sixth issue, which will offer advice on staying cool in the summer, reducing your contribution to smog, and cooking with summer crops such as the blessed tomato and ubiquitous zucchini.

What's that got to do with hundreds of grannies? Luyckx (pronounced "Lucks") used the analogy to describe the magazine's goal of circulating bits of advice, including some tried-and-true practices from generations ago.

On the Web See www.frugalgreen.com

Example: Add a small amount of vinegar to the rinse cycle of the washing machine to cut excess suds and make clothes come out softer without using a fabric softener.

Example: Collect wax from candle stubs and make new candles.

	Lisa Farino and Peter Luyckx use a glass jar to bring home pumpkin seeds purchased in the bulk-food section.

"Nobody really wants dirty air and polluted water and unhealthy food," said Farino, the magazine's publisher, editor and lead writer. "But they're really not sure what they can do, and they may not be willing to make big changes. We're trying to allow people to make incremental changes."

Old-timey advice is just one part of what's offered in the magazine, which sells for $5 a copy or $17.95 for a year's subscription.

Just this week, the magazine landed at its first Seattle-area newsstands, Bulldog News on Capitol Hill and in the University District. No fancy, slick publication this. It's printed in black on plain white paper, with touches of green showing up only on the front and back covers. It has a paid circulation nationally of 500, with the bulk of subscriptions delivered by mail.

The two 33-year-olds, who met at a youth hostel in Budapest in 1996, at first seem a study in contrasts.

He, soft-spoken, gazes calmly through small oval lenses as he speaks with careful precision. She talks not just with her voice, but with dark eyes flashing, smile beaming, arms and hands carving the air to make a point.

	Lisa Farino and Peter Luyckx make food for their cats from scratch and refrigerate it in recycled yogurt containers.

He, born in Belgium, has degrees in English and Dutch linguistics. She, a Connecticut native, holds degrees in biology and writing.

But they share important priorities and practice what they preach.

To accomplish their mission, they need to live cheaply. For now, every cent that comes in from the magazines and nascent film festivals covers costs such as equipment and supplies. She works on the projects full time; he has a temporary job with Cascade Bicycle Club.

Eventually, they hope to associate with a nonprofit group, allowing them to seek grant money to strengthen their efforts and possibly draw salaries.

As part of their frugal style, they go grocery shopping together by bicycle to the PCC Natural Market on Aurora, making sure not to miss precious member-discount days. They bring glass and plastic containers to purchase bulk food, and carry things home in metal-and-canvas baskets alongside the bikes' rear tires.

Tips for being green and cheap • Make an all-purpose cleaner by mixing one part water, one part white vinegar, and a few drops of tea-tree oil in a pint-sized spray bottle for about 25 cents. You'll save enough to pay $4 for 32 ounces of an all-natural citrus-oil-based cleaner for the toughest jobs. • Take glass jars or plastic containers to restaurants to carry home your leftovers. Don't be self-conscious; you're on the cutting edge of "glass-jar chic." Jars last forever and don't affect the taste of the food. • Bury cut-up banana peels around rose bushes for an organic source of potassium, an essential nutrient. • When waiting for running water to heat up or cool down, catch the water in a bucket and use it to water plants — or even to flush the toilet! • Invest in cedar shoe trees to greatly extend the life of your shoes. They absorb perspiration, minimizing damage to shoes from excess moisture, and they help shoes maintain their shape. • Reduce your junk mail by 70 percent or more. Write to Mailing Service Preferences, P.O. Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512, and ask to be taken off of all direct mailing lists. Source: Lisa Farino, publisher of The Frugal Environmentalist

Farino makes her own cleaning supplies with vinegar, baking soda, olive oil, borax and other simple ingredients. And she makes food for the couple's three cats from ground turkey, eggs, carrots, cornmeal, bone meal and soy lecithin.

In addition to their magazine, Farino and Luyckx are spreading the environmental message through film festivals. They held two in New England and have one scheduled May 7-9 at The Oracle Theater in Port Townsend. One film to be shown was the audience favorite from a festival the couple did in February in Northhampton, Mass. "Divining Mom" explores the ancient art of dousing (aka water witching.) True believers use the practice not just to choose where to dig a well, but to help make important life decisions.

Farino said her first encounters with "the environmental culture," in the 1980s, made it seem "like a middle- to upper-middle-class movement."

Debates about saving forest or park land, while important, didn't directly connect with her need for practical information on topics such as getting along without a car (they have one but rarely use it and plan to sell it) and maintaining a simple, inexpensive and eco-friendly lifestyle.

Her solution was extensive research into everyday-life issues. The magazine was created as a way to share what she learned and recruit tips and advice from others.

In February, the publication drew a mention in the "Street Librarian" column of Utne magazine (formerly the Utne Reader). The column's author, Chris Dodge, said he recommended The Frugal Environmentalist because of its basic advice on "how to shrink one's environmental footprint" and the fact that it's "simple, straightforward and ad-free."

The decision to publish no advertising preserves the magazine's independence but cuts off a potential revenue stream.

Although the environmental movement is rife with books, magazines, newsletters and journals, Luyckx, The Frugal Environmentalist's marketing and publicity director, believes there's still a spot for what the couple hope to accomplish.

	BETTY UDESEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Biking is a green way to get to the grocery store for Peter Luyckx and Lisa Farino, publishers of The Frugal Environmentalist.

"Most environmental publications focus on the problems, everything that's going wrong. There definitely is a need for that, but there also need to be an element that says, 'What can you do?' "

"And then," adds Farino, "what can you do that's affordable?"

Simply switching from major-brand foods and cleaning supplies to ones touted as organic and environmentally sound can carry a significant boost in price. Farino buys organic produce but avoids products labeled organic if they strike her as using too much packaging material, as in the case of frozen dinners or individual-sized juice boxes.

As much as possible, she opts for produce in season locally. Using jet fuel to bring in fruit from South America and other far-flung locations, she said, doesn't seem environmentally wise.

Some Earth Day events Bitter Lake Earth Day cleanup Come and help pick up litter, 4-6 p.m. today, Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave. N., Seattle (206-684-7524). Earth Day planting and picnic Learn about forest ecosystems, hike through the woods, help with forest re-vegetation project and have a picnic lunch, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Camp Long, 5200 35th Ave. S.W., Seattle; $6.50, register by noon tomorrow (206-684-7434). Earth Day beach cleanup Come and help clean up the beach, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Discovery Park, 3801 W. Government Way, Seattle (206-386-4236 or www.discoverypark.org).

Still, Farino and Luyckx want to avoid hard-and-fast rules that could intimidate the audience they hope to reach.

To that end, Farino has recruited her mother in Connecticut to help test some ideas.

At first, her mother was reluctant to switch from her tried-and-true commercial spray cleaner to Farino's combination of water, vinegar and tea-tree oil. Gradually, she found she could use the solution on many jobs but kept the old cleaner to avoid using extra scrubbing on tougher messes.

Now, says Farino, her mother is open to trying a natural citrus-oil-based cleaner on the tough jobs, further reducing her use of the chemical spray.

"People are willing to experiment with something," Farino said, "if they're approached in a nonconfrontational way."

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com

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