More Hip Than Hippie #282 - The Buzz on Bees

As people become more concerned with healthy eating and self-sufficiency, there's a nationwide surge of interest in beekeeping.

Do you fancy yourself an apiarist? If you're intrigued by the idea of keeping beehives and collecting raw honey, you're certainly not alone. Dori and Val chat with beekeeper/Hipster Rick Kennerly about his passion for pollinators. Oh yes, there will bee puns. Also, Dori prepares to meet the Spice Girls, Val pops her cork, and we all learn a new word: graupel.

Beer and Chocolate:

Beer: Remember when Val's family found themselves locked inside Eel River Brewing Co.? Now we know why. Their smooth Organic Porter is tough to put down Dori: 5 hips; Val: 5 hips

Chocolate: We may need to bring sleeping bags to the TCHO Chocolate factory in San Francisco. That Fruity 2.0 bar is hovering near the Hall of Fame. Dori: 5 hips Val: 5 hips.

Hip News and Finds

Finds:

• HOPE floats. Singer Brandon Boyd of "Incubus" will lend some of his watercolor-and-ink drawings of sea life to surf clothing brand Hurley, all benefitting the HOPE chartity. Did we mention that he's hot too?
• Come together. Passionate about the planet? It's time to apply for your TogetherGreen Conservation Fellowship or Innovation Grant. If you'd rather have an internship, the Sierra Club has the best one on Earth.
• Divine wine. Our favorite sustainable winery is Fetzer, right here in NorCal. But please, dump the plastic cork!

Hip News

• The good news. Yet another investigation exonerates those climate researchers whose emails were leaked in 2009. This time it's the Commerce Dept. who found no evidence of wrongdoing.
• The bad news. New research claims that a new organism cropping up in Monsanto's Roundup Ready seeds can cause miscarriages in farm animals.

Teenie Weenie Greenie™

Disconnect from the Yellow Pages! If you're using the internet to find the numbers you need, hang up on that big paper phone book. We know, it's too late this year, but be sure to opt-out of next year's phone book before it darkens your doorstep.

The Buzz on Bees

Bees are in the news these days, and the news isn't good. With the advent of Colony Collapse Disorder, our little pollenating pals are facing serious threats to their survival. What can we do to help? Keep backyard bees, that 's what! Dori and Val turn to Charter Hipster Rick Kennerly, a longtime beekeeper who's buzzing with information about this unique hobby.

• Rick recommends Beekeeping for Dummies and Backyard Beekeeper as good guides for beginners.
• Since about 60% of the fruits & veggies nationwide are pollinated, everyone should be concerned with keeping honeybees healthy.
• You'll need a few pieces of equipment to get started. Dadant is a popular supplier.
• The most popular type of hive is the Langstroth, but the Top Bar is gaining fans.
• You don't need a big backyard to keep bees. Urban beekeepers maintain hives in the middle of major cities.
• Rick suggests finding a local group to mentor you as you start out. He belongs to the Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia.
• Avoid Killer Bees.

Listener E-mails

You can't save the world all by yourself! Join the More Hip conversation by sending us an email at hip@greenfeet.com. Check out our blog and our mention on Open Forum!!

• Sarah in New York City awaits her teenie weenie greenie with a gift registry on Wishpot. She also got some tomato seeds from our buddy April Davila, and needs some Hipster help to make a hanging planter. Anyone? Bueller?
• Kevin in Dallas extols the virtues of making butter in a food processor, as shown in Butter Rocks. Easy indeed, but unlike Dori's butter maker, it requires electricity.
• Jessica in North Carolina shares a cool article about the Treasure Coast Re-use Center. Hey, we've got a cold Sierra Nevada Ale waiting for ya!
• Chris in Montana finds that Clorox is disclosing its products' ingredients, including the "Green Works" line. It's a start.
• Liz in Pennsylvania wants to put Val's double-dangs to work as generators. Glad you enjoyed your neighborhood brewery!
• Patrick in North Carolina reminds us that when you phase out the incandescent light bulbs, you can choose LEDs instead of CFLs.

Show the world you're More Hip Than Hippie! Grab some merch for Mardi Gras or any day!

Twitter goes green on #EcoMonday! Follow Val on Twitter: GrnDiva, at your service! Add us to your friends on Facebook!

More Hip Than Hippie is sponsored by Greenfeet.com.