Posted on July 4th, 2008
It’s summer, and it’s hot hot hot! Keep cool and tap into your inner Steel Magnolia by purchasing a fancy hand fan. You’ll feel glamorous and breezy as you keep yourself comfortable. Mint julep anyone?
Posted on July 2nd, 2008
Whether from being sick, having allergies, or generally being a snotty person, chances are you've needed a Kleenex sometime in your life. Think of the waste created by all those wads of nose TP you've used over the years. One greener option is the trusty handkerchief. Not only is it reusable, but it provides a sturdier and stylish alternative to disposable tissues. Prove your fashion-forwardness with a chicly patterned kerchief, or show your love for the Earth and make it green. Just be sure to throw it in the wash every once in a while; being green needn't be diametrically opposed to being clean. Handkerchieves: a classier, greenier way to dispose of phlegm.
Thanks to Dylan Romero for suggesting ...
Posted on July 1st, 2008
Hose responsibly.
In the summer, lawn watering and other outdoor uses can account for up to 50 percent of home water use. Studies show that as much as half of this outdoor use is wasteful. As a general rule, 2 to 3 cm of water per week is adequate.
Don't overwater your landscape. It can cause yellowing leaves or poor plant health. Give plants only the amount of water that they need.
Use low-angle or pulsating sprinklers that produce large fat droplets of water. Sprinklers that spray the water high into the air or produce a mist or fine spray lose much of the water through evaporation.
Set sprinklers to water the lawn, not ...
Posted on June 18th, 2008
If you’re headed to a tourist hot-spot at home or on vacation this June, consider taking the bus instead of driving there. More than 15 million fans attend major American sporting events games each year. If only half of them drive to the game, that’s still one massive amount of gas and carbon emissions. Imagine if you add all the amusement parks, museums, zoos, aquariums, fairs and monuments to those sporting events. Holy cow! That’s a heckuva lot of cars! Don’t miss the experience, miss the traffic and the parking instead! The nice thing about touristy venues is that they’re often easily accessible by bus or rail. Hit the ...
Posted on June 12th, 2008
Lavender essential oil! Perfect for an all natural quick and refreshing perfume, a great natural remedy to help you relax and sleep on the plane, a great tincture to get rid of pimples, a fantastic bug repellent (and yes you smell gorgeous!), a flea remedy for your furry travel companion, a natural remedy for ear infections (or even yeast infections, ladies), a great anti-septic for cuts and scrapes – lavender is one of the most important items for your suitcase. This one little bottle will save you lugging a plethora of other products, making your suitcase lighter (less work for your airplane = less CO2 emissions), and also making more room for sustainable souvenirs!
And for a fantastic ...
Posted on June 11th, 2008
Wet wipes certainly are convenient for your travels, but aren’t so great for the environment- chlorine bleached, full of nasty chems, and made to be thrown in the garbage gets them a big thumbs down from the planet. But there’s a much simpler solution that’ll keep you cool and clean and still on mother nature’s good side: take a face cloth (bonus points if it’s unbleached organic cotton!), wet it, ring it out a bit, add a drop of your favourite essential oil if you like, and place it in an airtight freezer safe container, and freeze it until you’re ready for it. Ziploc bags work well (but only if you promise to reuse them!), or you ...
Posted on May 31st, 2008
It’s almost bikini season – is your car ready? According to AutoZone, extra weight decreases gas mileage. Since every 200 pounds of unnecessary weight shaves one mile per gallon off your fuel mileage, you may want to reevaluate what’s sitting in your car. Do you really need to haul that snow-blower you borrowed from your Grandpa around all summer? Helping your car shed some pounds will increase your gas-mileage (more money in your pocket) and reduce your impact. Remember: every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, so every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference. In this case, lean is green -- keep your car ...
Posted on May 30th, 2008
Today, May 30th marks the annual Drive Nowhere Day. The online organization, Environmental Action has deemed this the day to walk, run, bike, skateboard, surf or take public transit around town (or play hooky - we won't tell) and leave the car at home. Annual consumption of gasoline is approximately 7,637,900,000 barrels, expenditure is $485,312,166,000 and the pollution caused in metric tons is about 2,579,000,000 and that's just in America alone! So if you can, pitch in today, save yourself some money, give that engine a rest and join a growing collective that choose to cruise another way. If you want to take one step further and make a pledge with the Environmental Action group ...
Posted on May 29th, 2008
dunk it in milk. If Grandma's heirloom china is starting to crack, give it a facelift with good, old fashioned Vitamin D. Place the plate in a pan and cover with milk (powdered or fresh or a little less than fresh but before the chunks set in) and bring to a boil. Once it hits boiling point, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. The protein should mend most fine cracks and the dish can keep on dishing.
Posted on May 27th, 2008
Relive one of the stranger parts of childhood — those creepy Pink Panther commercials on TV. If you were too busy ogling that suave cat to digest what he was selling, consider yourself reacquainted: he was hawking insulation, the kind every attic oughta be stuffed with, even in the summer (those fuzzy fibers stifle air conditioning bills the same way they trap in heat during the frigid months.) A well-insulated attic can reduce greenhouse gases by a half ton per year. If it's good enough for Jacques Clouseau, it's good enough for yeau.
There are lots of eco-friendly alternatives to the pink stuff too these days- check out CFC and HCFC-free soy-based spray foam insulation, as well as blown in ...
