Doing some cooking? Awesome. Do it efficiently!
For most dishes, microwaving is the most energy efficient option. Like, a lot more energy efficient. If your dish can be made in the microwave, let that be your default.
Not all foods can be done in the microwave, of course (hello, toast?). So plan ahead when using your oven and range.
Oven:
-Keep the inside clean. You want the heat to reflect within the appliance for the most efficient cooking.
-Don't open the door to check on your food. Turn on the little light. Opening the door lets out a lot of heat/energy (up to 25 degrees!).
-Don't preheat the over if you can get away with it. If you're making fish or something, by all means, follow the recipe! Most dishes, just stick it in from the get-go.
-Turn off your oven before the timer goes off. There's never any need to wait until after the food is out of the oven to turn it off. With the door closed, the temperature stays high for quite a while. Turn it off five minutes before the timer rings.
-Plan ahead and cook more than one thing in a row. I very often take the opportunity to bake a batch of cookies when the oven's already warm...
Stovetop:
-Cover your pots, pans, and skillets (unless you're cooking pasta or something). This keeps the heat in the pot and allows you to use less energy.
-Like the oven, turn off your burner before the timer sounds. Electric tops especially stay warm enough for quite a while.
-Keep the burners clean so your range can heat most efficiently.
-Plan ahead and use the same burner for more than one dish! While your pasta is draining, your sauce can be warming using just the residual heat of the warm burner.
For some additional tips, check out Microwaves vs. Ovens: What's the Greenest Way to Heat Your Food at Treehugger.
Happy cooking!
29 January 2009
25 January 2009
SwapItShop
All new from eBay, SwapItShop is a way to trade and barter.
TreeHugger says, "The system is simple - just pick something you no longer want, post it with a photo, description, and how many point you want for it, and other people bid on it. When your item is auctioned off, you send it off to SwapItShop, and you will then have points to go towards another item on the site you do want."
You can't stand to play Mario one more time, but you really need some jeans? Enter SwapItShop. It lets you get rid of things you don't need and, in return, find the things you do need.
Now, what a great way to simplify your life and cut down on the amount of "things" that have to be manufactured! Let me know what you think if you try it.
TreeHugger says, "The system is simple - just pick something you no longer want, post it with a photo, description, and how many point you want for it, and other people bid on it. When your item is auctioned off, you send it off to SwapItShop, and you will then have points to go towards another item on the site you do want."
You can't stand to play Mario one more time, but you really need some jeans? Enter SwapItShop. It lets you get rid of things you don't need and, in return, find the things you do need.
Now, what a great way to simplify your life and cut down on the amount of "things" that have to be manufactured! Let me know what you think if you try it.
20 January 2009
Breastfeeding Cover-Ups
I am 100% in favor of free and open breastfeeding in public and private places. How insulting is it that society has co-opted women's breasts as sexual objects instead of the shame-free mammary glands that they really are.
However, not all communities are comfortable with women's lifecycles as natural and normal. And sometimes, it's just plain cold! So, if you have a new baby you're breastfeeding and don't feel comfortable breast feeding openly in public (or it's winter!), consider a cover-up. Using a cover-up in a public place is a great "in between" step to help move society in the direction of feeling comfortable with breastfeeding as natural.
The one pictured here is from "The Undercover Baby." They offer cute and stylish designs in organic cotton. Check them out if you are or will soon be a breastfeeding mother or know someone who is!
PLUS: Through Jan. 31st, they're all 20% off!
Image from http://www.theundercoverbaby.com/assets/images/homepic2.jpg
18 January 2009
RECIPE: Orange and fennel salad; winter root veggie roast
A new feature from my friend Amy. I'll post her wholefood-based recipes on the blog with the subject starter "RECIPE." Use them as resources if you wish. If you're trying to eat more sustainably this year, you may find them useful. Bon appetit!
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(from Amy)
For those of us who don't live in perpetually summer climates like Florida, winter can be a hard time to eat healthily and sustainably. Lots of fruits and veggies are flown in from Chile or Mexico, but they tend to be expensive and kind of pathetic looking.
Fortunately there are some very tasty and very healthy winter produce options. Winter is prime time for citrus and root vegetables, as well as Brussels sprouts.
Here are some (fairly easy) winter recipes that I have tried this year:
Orange and fennel salad
-6 oranges, peeled, divided into sections, with membranes, pith(white stuff) and seeds removed
-1 cup of very thinly sliced fennel bulb
-1/2 cup pomegranate juice
-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Toss fennel and orange segments together. Bring pomegranate juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Let boil for 3 minutes or until reduced by half. Let cool. Whisk reduced juice together with olive oil and drizzle over orange-fennel mixture. Sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper.
Winter root veggie roast
2 large turnips
2 medium russett potatoes
1 large sweet potato
3 carrots
1 red onion
1 fennel bulb
3 sprigs rosemary
Olive oil
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Clean and peel all veggies. Cut vegetables into roughly 1-inch cubes/pieces.
Rub a small amount of olive oil onto the bottom of a baking sheet. Spread vegetables evenly over the baking sheet in one layer. Use a 2nd baking sheet if vegetables are crowded.
Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Place into oven and cook for 25 minutes, tossing vegetables occasionally to prevent sticking.
Remove rosemary leaves from stems and sprinkle over vegetables. Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
---------
(from Amy)
For those of us who don't live in perpetually summer climates like Florida, winter can be a hard time to eat healthily and sustainably. Lots of fruits and veggies are flown in from Chile or Mexico, but they tend to be expensive and kind of pathetic looking.
Fortunately there are some very tasty and very healthy winter produce options. Winter is prime time for citrus and root vegetables, as well as Brussels sprouts.
Here are some (fairly easy) winter recipes that I have tried this year:
Orange and fennel salad
-6 oranges, peeled, divided into sections, with membranes, pith(white stuff) and seeds removed
-1 cup of very thinly sliced fennel bulb
-1/2 cup pomegranate juice
-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Toss fennel and orange segments together. Bring pomegranate juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Let boil for 3 minutes or until reduced by half. Let cool. Whisk reduced juice together with olive oil and drizzle over orange-fennel mixture. Sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper.
Winter root veggie roast
2 large turnips
2 medium russett potatoes
1 large sweet potato
3 carrots
1 red onion
1 fennel bulb
3 sprigs rosemary
Olive oil
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Clean and peel all veggies. Cut vegetables into roughly 1-inch cubes/pieces.
Rub a small amount of olive oil onto the bottom of a baking sheet. Spread vegetables evenly over the baking sheet in one layer. Use a 2nd baking sheet if vegetables are crowded.
Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Place into oven and cook for 25 minutes, tossing vegetables occasionally to prevent sticking.
Remove rosemary leaves from stems and sprinkle over vegetables. Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
The Protein Myth
Moving toward vegetarianism is an excellent way to live more sustainably. Meat is an extremely inefficient use of grains, vegetation, and water. A diet including meat contributes much more to global warming through its carbon footprint than a vegetarian diet does.
If you're considering moving toward vegetarianism, you probably have some questions and concerns. How, for example, do you eat a well-balanced diet rich in all the different types of nutrients you need to be healthy? The article Getting Past the 'Protein Myth' That Keeps People from Quitting Meat and Dairy examines one common concern about vegetarianism: how vegetarians get their protein.
If you're considering moving toward vegetarianism, you probably have some questions and concerns. How, for example, do you eat a well-balanced diet rich in all the different types of nutrients you need to be healthy? The article Getting Past the 'Protein Myth' That Keeps People from Quitting Meat and Dairy examines one common concern about vegetarianism: how vegetarians get their protein.
15 January 2009
Yellowbook
You know what's one more source of waste that we don't need anymore? The telephone book! I mean, with Internet search engines available, who needs thousands of pages of useless paper thrown on their doorstep year after year? Luckily, it's easy to remove yourself from this source of waste.
As green is sexy says, "Simply go to the Contact Us page of the yellowbook website and choose 'Remove me from your delivery list' from the drop-down menu to be excluded from the next delivery cycle."
Even if you don't trust your search engine skills, you still don't need a paper copy of the phone book. You can simply visit yellowbook.com for all your typical Yellowbook needs.
As green is sexy says, "Simply go to the Contact Us page of the yellowbook website and choose 'Remove me from your delivery list' from the drop-down menu to be excluded from the next delivery cycle."
Even if you don't trust your search engine skills, you still don't need a paper copy of the phone book. You can simply visit yellowbook.com for all your typical Yellowbook needs.
Water filters
I recently wrote about the dangers of bottled water in which I implored readers to try to switch to drinking all tap water. Someone brought up a question I did not address in my posting: what about water filters?
For people who don't like the taste of the tap water in their municipality, water filters are an excellent option! MUCH better than bottled water!
But choose carefully. Some companies will take back their filters and recycle them, while others will not. A major environmental campaign called "Take Back the Filter" recently won a hard-fought victory. In the past, Brita took back and recycled their filters in other countries where Brita is sold (like European countries, etc.) but NOT in America. Now you can turn them in at Whole Foods or mail them in. A major victory that definitely changes the way the environmental community looks at water filters.
Also, you don't have to worry about BPA in Brita's pitchers or in Pur's. Make sure you check out the plastics used in other brands' pitchers when making a decision. Of course, you can avoid the plastics of the pitcher if you choose to use a filter attached to your sink faucet (here's a random example) or in your refrigerator.
For people who don't like the taste of the tap water in their municipality, water filters are an excellent option! MUCH better than bottled water!
But choose carefully. Some companies will take back their filters and recycle them, while others will not. A major environmental campaign called "Take Back the Filter" recently won a hard-fought victory. In the past, Brita took back and recycled their filters in other countries where Brita is sold (like European countries, etc.) but NOT in America. Now you can turn them in at Whole Foods or mail them in. A major victory that definitely changes the way the environmental community looks at water filters.
Also, you don't have to worry about BPA in Brita's pitchers or in Pur's. Make sure you check out the plastics used in other brands' pitchers when making a decision. Of course, you can avoid the plastics of the pitcher if you choose to use a filter attached to your sink faucet (here's a random example) or in your refrigerator.
12 January 2009
Home decor sales
Style Saves the World (original article here) says,
"I've raved before about the great organic and hemp linens that Amenity offers...now you can get 30% off the entire site (including sale items!). Enter 2009 at checkout. Expires 2/1/09.
"Need other sustainably made goodies for your home? Get 25% off at Branch by entering DCBRANCH at checkout. Excludes furniture and sale items."
Amenity has beautiful linens for the home and the nursery. Branch offers a wide range of things, including biodegradable/compostable disposable plates, bowls, cups, and silverware. So, if you need sheets, linens, home decor, party supplies, etc., consider these green options.
"I've raved before about the great organic and hemp linens that Amenity offers...now you can get 30% off the entire site (including sale items!). Enter 2009 at checkout. Expires 2/1/09.
"Need other sustainably made goodies for your home? Get 25% off at Branch by entering DCBRANCH at checkout. Excludes furniture and sale items."
Amenity has beautiful linens for the home and the nursery. Branch offers a wide range of things, including biodegradable/compostable disposable plates, bowls, cups, and silverware. So, if you need sheets, linens, home decor, party supplies, etc., consider these green options.
11 January 2009
This year, I will eat MORE!
Eating less meat is a very important step in greening your lifestyle. But, too often, "eating less" of something seems like a deprivation and makes you want to eat more of it in the end! Don't let that happen to your sustainable eating intentions.
Reword your new diet commitment into positive terms. Replace "I will eat less meat" with "I will eat at least five servings of vegetables a day." This is a small linguistic trick with huge psychological benefits. I, for one, get nowhere attempting to cut down on junk food in my diet. When I set a goal of eating n servings of fruit a day though, I automatically eat better. I am replacing the bad with the good. After all, a lifestyle, like nature, abhors a vacuum.
You don't have to make this change all at once. Try a progressive goal. This week, eat at least one fruit or vegetable serving a day. It's a reachable goal and will help you start a habit. Next week, make the goal of eating at least two servings a day. At this rate, in a couple of months, you'll probably be eating pretty healthy without effort! Alternatively, change your goal each month. By next winter, you'll be golden!
Reword your new diet commitment into positive terms. Replace "I will eat less meat" with "I will eat at least five servings of vegetables a day." This is a small linguistic trick with huge psychological benefits. I, for one, get nowhere attempting to cut down on junk food in my diet. When I set a goal of eating n servings of fruit a day though, I automatically eat better. I am replacing the bad with the good. After all, a lifestyle, like nature, abhors a vacuum.
You don't have to make this change all at once. Try a progressive goal. This week, eat at least one fruit or vegetable serving a day. It's a reachable goal and will help you start a habit. Next week, make the goal of eating at least two servings a day. At this rate, in a couple of months, you'll probably be eating pretty healthy without effort! Alternatively, change your goal each month. By next winter, you'll be golden!
08 January 2009
Choosing a dishwasher
A recent article from Green Is Sexy outlined a few things sustainability-minded buyers should look for when buying a dishwasher. I've added some links to make these tips more useful. Pay special attention to the last one! Here's why the article has to say:
1) Seek out the star. ENERGY STAR is a government-backed program that helps consumers identify the most energy-efficient products.
2) Compare wash cycle times - the shorter the better.
3) Try to avoid heated dry - air drying is just as good, greener and costs less. Some machines have the option of turning it off which is good but others leave it off the panel completely which is even better.
If you’re not a first time buyer make sure your old machine gets another life. Most dishwashers are made of recycled steel already so add yours to the heap. Check with the installers of the new one to see if they will recycle the old - they usually do.
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Consumer Reports hosts a "Greener Choices" website now. If you normally consult buyer's guides like Consumer Reports before major purchases, consider GreenerChoices.org. In this case, here is their Green Buying Guide for Dishwashers (published 9/08).
1) Seek out the star. ENERGY STAR is a government-backed program that helps consumers identify the most energy-efficient products.
2) Compare wash cycle times - the shorter the better.
3) Try to avoid heated dry - air drying is just as good, greener and costs less. Some machines have the option of turning it off which is good but others leave it off the panel completely which is even better.
If you’re not a first time buyer make sure your old machine gets another life. Most dishwashers are made of recycled steel already so add yours to the heap. Check with the installers of the new one to see if they will recycle the old - they usually do.
------
Consumer Reports hosts a "Greener Choices" website now. If you normally consult buyer's guides like Consumer Reports before major purchases, consider GreenerChoices.org. In this case, here is their Green Buying Guide for Dishwashers (published 9/08).
06 January 2009
Rent-A-Toy
It gets a whole lot harder to be green when you have kids. Even if you surround your children with good examples of sustainable living and commercial-free media, eventually their friends or billboards or something will convince them that the "need" a whole slew of material things. Of course, this is not true. And we adults can do a lot to help fight this mind-set through good parenting and community support.
Yet, there are battles we choose not to fight with children. Perhaps you'd like to satiate their undying desire for, say, a remote control car. Instead of heading out to the mall to buy one, consider the green alternatives:
-Borrow the toy from a friend, neighbor, cousin, etc. Kids lose interest in most toys very quickly. There's almost certainly a forgotten specimen of the toy you're looking for in the bottom of the toy box of someone you know.
-Buy the toy from a thrift store or Goodwill. These type of organizations do good in the community, too. If you support their work, support their retail fundraising.
-Buy the toy used online through eBay, Amazon, etc. This is an excellent way to keep unwanted toys out of the landfill and extend their lives.
-Forgo the carbon footprint of transporting the toy and get it in your community. Craigslist and yard sales are great options. You may even get lucky and find what you're looking for through a Free Cycle program.
-Rent your toys! Programs like Rent-A-Toy work kind of like Netflix, in that you can keep the toys as long as you want and even have the option of buying them if your kid gets really attached. The toys come to you sanitized, in working order, and with pre-paying return packaging.
Yet, there are battles we choose not to fight with children. Perhaps you'd like to satiate their undying desire for, say, a remote control car. Instead of heading out to the mall to buy one, consider the green alternatives:
-Borrow the toy from a friend, neighbor, cousin, etc. Kids lose interest in most toys very quickly. There's almost certainly a forgotten specimen of the toy you're looking for in the bottom of the toy box of someone you know.
-Buy the toy from a thrift store or Goodwill. These type of organizations do good in the community, too. If you support their work, support their retail fundraising.
-Buy the toy used online through eBay, Amazon, etc. This is an excellent way to keep unwanted toys out of the landfill and extend their lives.
-Forgo the carbon footprint of transporting the toy and get it in your community. Craigslist and yard sales are great options. You may even get lucky and find what you're looking for through a Free Cycle program.
-Rent your toys! Programs like Rent-A-Toy work kind of like Netflix, in that you can keep the toys as long as you want and even have the option of buying them if your kid gets really attached. The toys come to you sanitized, in working order, and with pre-paying return packaging.
04 January 2009
Hand Sanitizer
If you often use waterless hand sanitizer, consider switching to a green alternative. The following article from Tree Hugger discusses the Clean Well line of hand sanitizers. Here in West Melbourne, FL, you can find these products at Paradise Health and Nutrition. I'm sure if you have the good fortune of having access to larger natural food/products stores, you'll be able to find Clean Well easily where you live, too.
A Greener Hand Sanitizer for Cold Season?
Natural CleanWell hand sanitizers kill 99.99 percent of germs while being 100 biodegradable just in time for cold season. CleanWell’s kid-friendly sanitizers, soaps, and wipes are made with ingredients from renewable plants such as thyme that don’t require pesticides during their growing process.
CleanWell also doesn't include Triclosan, an ingredient that has gotten a pretty bad wrap. Triclosan, widely used as an antibacterial ingredient in household hand sterilization products, breaks down rapidly when exposed to chlorinated water and produces toxic chemicals including chloroform. According to a study published on the Environmental Science & Technology research website As Soon As Publishable (ASAP), many antibacterial products may not only be ineffective, but harmful.
According to Cleanwell's Web site, however, the product doesn't disrupt the eco-system. It's also free of toxins like Triclosan and cruelty-free (not tested on animals).
Lloyd previously discussed how hand sanitizers can do more harm than good. According to Scientific American, it appears that after spraying a counter with an antibiotic cleaner, some chemicals linger and continue to kill bacteria but don't necessarily get all of them. The ones that survive develop a tolerance. That's scary stuff. The jury is still out as to whether that's true of natural sanitizers.
The bottom line: people love hand sanitizer. So if you're going to use it, you might as well try a greener version.
03 January 2009
Bottled Water
It's time for us to have "the talk." The talk about water and its commodification. Selling water is the nadir of modern consumerism. Water should be a right, not a privilege denied to even a single human being.
Yet human rights concerns are not the only reason to avoid bottled water. For starters, there's often no difference between bottled and tap water. Some water bottling companies, like Pepsi's Aquafina and Coke's Dasani, literally take water directly out of the tap. Think Outside the Bottle says, "Up to 40% of bottled water comes from the same source as tap water, but is sold back to consumers at hundreds of times the cost."
And companies who do not get their water from public tap water are even scarier. The Think Outside The Bottle Campaign website says,
"Bottled water corporations spend tens of millions of dollars each year to convince us their products are safer and more pure than tap water. But studies have shown bottled water is on average no safer than tap water and can sometimes be less safe. Both tap water and bottled water are evaluated using similar standards, but tap water is tested far more frequently and has more independent oversight by state and federal environmental authorities (EPA and DEP). Lacking adequate capacity to regulate bottled water, the government relies on bottled water corporations to police themselves, which in some cases has resulted in bottled water contaminations that have lasted for weeks before the public was warned."
So forget it if you think there are taste or health issues at stake.
How does this fit into a blog on sustainablitliy? Well, the carbon footprint of bottled water is enormous. From Think Outside the Bottle:
"Producing bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required more than 17 million barrels of oil last year – enough fuel for more than 1 million U.S. cars for a year - and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide."
Even people who are aware of the hypocrisy, environmental devastation, and general unsafety of bottled water may still be making mistakes that are harming themselves and their families. If you find that you've ended up with a bottle of water, don't re-use it! PET plastics are thought to be leaching dangerous BPA chemicals into your drinking water. BPA has been proven to be an endocrine disrupter, which means it screws up your body's hormones. DANGEROUS.
Instead, look for a water bottle that is meant to be reused:
SIGG is an excellent option. These are stainless steel bottles, so they keep water cold for a long time. They may be slightly heavier than plastic options, but I carry mine in my purse and/or backpack every day. Ben and I each have one (thanks to my little sister's generosity!) and each use them every. single. day. EarthLust is a comparable brand of stainless steel bottles with lots of really chic design choices.
Platypus makes insanely lightweight, BPA-free, fully-collapsible "bladder"-type bottles that are tough enough to be frozen or boiled. Especially perfect for situations where you can't bring drinks with you (airport, amusement parks, etc.) but don't want to be stuck buying water bottles inside. Easy to stick in your pocket and fill up at a sink/water fountain. I have one of these, too, and like it a lot.
Nalgene bottles are now, due to great public pressure, BPA-free. If you have an old one, however, it has BPA in it, and you should consider retiring it in favor of a healthier alternative.
Love Bottle brand water bottles. They are reusable glass bottles that couldn't be cuter. The fact that they are glass means they are probably not the best choice for really young children. But for the rest of us, they make really good water bottles. They even offer little bottle carriers with straps to make it easy as pie to bring your water bottle everywhere. If fashion is important to you, check these out.
For other options, this is a pretty good review of some of your eco-friendly and HEALTHY choices out there. Just be careful that you get a bottle that is BPA-free!
Please check out the Think Outside the Bottle campaign to challenge corporate control of water. Take the pledge, and fight back against the commodification of a basic human right.
Yet human rights concerns are not the only reason to avoid bottled water. For starters, there's often no difference between bottled and tap water. Some water bottling companies, like Pepsi's Aquafina and Coke's Dasani, literally take water directly out of the tap. Think Outside the Bottle says, "Up to 40% of bottled water comes from the same source as tap water, but is sold back to consumers at hundreds of times the cost."
And companies who do not get their water from public tap water are even scarier. The Think Outside The Bottle Campaign website says,
"Bottled water corporations spend tens of millions of dollars each year to convince us their products are safer and more pure than tap water. But studies have shown bottled water is on average no safer than tap water and can sometimes be less safe. Both tap water and bottled water are evaluated using similar standards, but tap water is tested far more frequently and has more independent oversight by state and federal environmental authorities (EPA and DEP). Lacking adequate capacity to regulate bottled water, the government relies on bottled water corporations to police themselves, which in some cases has resulted in bottled water contaminations that have lasted for weeks before the public was warned."
So forget it if you think there are taste or health issues at stake.
How does this fit into a blog on sustainablitliy? Well, the carbon footprint of bottled water is enormous. From Think Outside the Bottle:
"Producing bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required more than 17 million barrels of oil last year – enough fuel for more than 1 million U.S. cars for a year - and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide."
Even people who are aware of the hypocrisy, environmental devastation, and general unsafety of bottled water may still be making mistakes that are harming themselves and their families. If you find that you've ended up with a bottle of water, don't re-use it! PET plastics are thought to be leaching dangerous BPA chemicals into your drinking water. BPA has been proven to be an endocrine disrupter, which means it screws up your body's hormones. DANGEROUS.
Instead, look for a water bottle that is meant to be reused:
SIGG is an excellent option. These are stainless steel bottles, so they keep water cold for a long time. They may be slightly heavier than plastic options, but I carry mine in my purse and/or backpack every day. Ben and I each have one (thanks to my little sister's generosity!) and each use them every. single. day. EarthLust is a comparable brand of stainless steel bottles with lots of really chic design choices.
Platypus makes insanely lightweight, BPA-free, fully-collapsible "bladder"-type bottles that are tough enough to be frozen or boiled. Especially perfect for situations where you can't bring drinks with you (airport, amusement parks, etc.) but don't want to be stuck buying water bottles inside. Easy to stick in your pocket and fill up at a sink/water fountain. I have one of these, too, and like it a lot.
Nalgene bottles are now, due to great public pressure, BPA-free. If you have an old one, however, it has BPA in it, and you should consider retiring it in favor of a healthier alternative.
Love Bottle brand water bottles. They are reusable glass bottles that couldn't be cuter. The fact that they are glass means they are probably not the best choice for really young children. But for the rest of us, they make really good water bottles. They even offer little bottle carriers with straps to make it easy as pie to bring your water bottle everywhere. If fashion is important to you, check these out.
For other options, this is a pretty good review of some of your eco-friendly and HEALTHY choices out there. Just be careful that you get a bottle that is BPA-free!
Please check out the Think Outside the Bottle campaign to challenge corporate control of water. Take the pledge, and fight back against the commodification of a basic human right.
02 January 2009
More green resolutions
Still haven't found the right new year's resolutions for you this year? Skim through this article from Low Impact Living. They've divided their list into two categories: light green "aspiring Jedi" (beginning steps) and green Jedi (slightly more challenging ones, to aim for after completing the light green ones). Yeah, it's nerdy. Gotta love it. Plus, it is full of links to tons of other resources to help you on your journey to sustainability.
Green New Year's Resolutions for 2009
For the Light Green, Aspiring Jedi (May the Force be with you!)
1. Put your outdoor lights on motion sensors. Do you need to light the night and burn all of that electricity? No, but you do want safety. Motion sensors are the answer. You’ll save energy and money, too. And if you want to go a step beyond this, you can get LED lights—which are ultra-efficient. Check LED lighting out here.
2. Wash your laundry in cold water. We swear it works! Washing machines are major power hogs in our homes and using cold water is a great, easy way to reduce your energy use. (If you want to go a step beyond this you can even start to air dry your laundry. This will help your clothes last longer and save even more energy. Find great drying racks here.)
3. Take reusable grocery bags to the store. This one is so easy and I still can’t believe how few people do it! Reusable bags will cut down on the use of over 500 plastic bags per person per year (and don’t forget plastic is made from petroleum) or save a slightly lesser number of paper bags. One 15-year-old tree only yields 700 paper bags! You can find reusable bags here.
4. Start using renewable energy at home. There are several ways you can get on board with green power. Many utilities now offer green power alternatives for a nominal monthly fee. Check with your local utility to see if this is an option. Click here to learn more about buying green power from your utility.
5. Make sure you’ve swapped out all of your light bulbs for energy-efficient models. Most people don’t realize that lighting accounts for 15-20 percent of a home’s energy use. So there’s a major opportunity to save money and electricity with better bulbs. Compact fluorescents use 1/4 of the energy and last up to 10 times as long as normal bulbs. And LED lights are 2-3 times as efficient as compact fluorescents. And they come in all shapes, sizes and colors–find them here.
For the Green Jedi
1. Join a CSA or plant an organic vegetable garden. Why not make this the year that you decide to eat the freshest, healthiest, most local produce you can? You can either join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program and get your produce from a local farmer, or you can go a step further and grow your own! Planting a vegetable garden will fill your kitchen with yummy produce and cut down on the carbon emissions from transporting the vegetables you normally buy. Click here to read our useful guide to starting an organic garden of your own.
2. Read your newspapers online. Or just convert to online for your weekday editions and keep your weekend papers to enjoy with your Sunday coffee. You’ll save trees, energy, and money! If only 10 million people in the US cancelled their Monday-Friday newspapers, we’d save almost 50,000 trees each year.
3. Find a way to drive and fly less and cut your carbon emissions this year. Can you bike to the grocery store? Can you walk to the bank? Can you talk your boss into letting you telecommute once a week? Better yet perhaps you can talk your boss into creating a telecommuting plan for your whole department? Or propose that you have meetings via teleconference rather than flying. Remember that the emissions from flying are a major contributor to global warming. Click here to learn about other ways to spread the good green word at work– Learn more about how to green your office.
4. Install a programmable thermostat. These nifty devices allow you to micro-control your home’s heating and cooling. One of these can help you shave 15% off of your energy consumption (and save you money!). It’s really quite simple to install—will take you only 45 minutes. Find programmable thermostats here, and learn how to install them here.
5. Really investigate solar and wind energy options for your home. Many of us have told ourselves that we simply can’t afford solar or wind energy. (And this certainly may be true.) But incentives have gotten much better in some parts of the country and costs have also come down. If a full solar electric system is too expensive, consider a solar hot water system—which can be $4-6K to install and reduce your home energy use by 20-30%. Learn more about solar hot water here. And to get a quote on installation costs, you can find solar installers near you here and wind system installers here.
01 January 2009
Looking Forward to 2009
As we make new year's resolutions, it is important to think about the environment. Each of us has a hundred different steps we could take in this new year toward a more sustainable lifestyle. You should challenge yourself, of course. But the key is not to become overwhelmed. Pick a finite number of goals to get started with and add more later in the year when you feel able.
These, then, are my own three green resolutions to start the new year.
1. Get over my shyness: It's honestly been difficult enough for me over the past year to ask every single cashier I've interacted with to not put my purchases in plastic bags. (It's such a deep-seated habit for most of them.) I don't like drawing attention to myself if I don't have to! But I commit to going outside of my comfort zone and learn to live more sustainably outside of my own home. For example, we eat out a lot. I'm going to get started on this resolution by getting a steel carry-out container to bring with me to restaurants and use when I have leftovers to bring home (most every time!)
This is an important goal for two reasons. First, it's vital that I don't undo all the environmental progress I make at home. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, forcing ourselves out of the green closet can help others learn to live more sustainably. It can raise people's consciousness and give them concrete ideas about how to live more green themselves.
2. Get serious: I have a bad habit of avoiding things that stress me out whenever I can. The desperate situation the environment is in is one of those things. This year, I'd like to suck it up and watch some serious environmental documentaries and read some serious books about sustainability. I'm starting with the Omnivore's Dilemma and Peak Everything.
3. Eat better: Although the majority of the food we eat is organic, most is also processed and pre-packaged. I'd like to start cooking for myself more and eat more whole foods. This one is going to be really hard for me, since I don't currently do any of the cooking in our house. Hopefully Ben will help me! If Ben'll let me in the kitchen with him, I'll make up the difference in effort that it takes to prepare whole foods versus the processed stuff.
Right now, all of these goals seem very challenging for me. But we each must look at where we are today in our journey toward sustainability and recognize that we have "miles to go before [we] sleep." Let's make a genuine effort to be leaps and bounds further by this time next year.
What are your eco-resolutions for 2009? Please tell us about them in the comments!
These, then, are my own three green resolutions to start the new year.
1. Get over my shyness: It's honestly been difficult enough for me over the past year to ask every single cashier I've interacted with to not put my purchases in plastic bags. (It's such a deep-seated habit for most of them.) I don't like drawing attention to myself if I don't have to! But I commit to going outside of my comfort zone and learn to live more sustainably outside of my own home. For example, we eat out a lot. I'm going to get started on this resolution by getting a steel carry-out container to bring with me to restaurants and use when I have leftovers to bring home (most every time!)
This is an important goal for two reasons. First, it's vital that I don't undo all the environmental progress I make at home. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, forcing ourselves out of the green closet can help others learn to live more sustainably. It can raise people's consciousness and give them concrete ideas about how to live more green themselves.
2. Get serious: I have a bad habit of avoiding things that stress me out whenever I can. The desperate situation the environment is in is one of those things. This year, I'd like to suck it up and watch some serious environmental documentaries and read some serious books about sustainability. I'm starting with the Omnivore's Dilemma and Peak Everything.
3. Eat better: Although the majority of the food we eat is organic, most is also processed and pre-packaged. I'd like to start cooking for myself more and eat more whole foods. This one is going to be really hard for me, since I don't currently do any of the cooking in our house. Hopefully Ben will help me! If Ben'll let me in the kitchen with him, I'll make up the difference in effort that it takes to prepare whole foods versus the processed stuff.
Right now, all of these goals seem very challenging for me. But we each must look at where we are today in our journey toward sustainability and recognize that we have "miles to go before [we] sleep." Let's make a genuine effort to be leaps and bounds further by this time next year.
What are your eco-resolutions for 2009? Please tell us about them in the comments!
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