Posted on February 26th, 2008
Trying to quit smoking? Good for you! That’s one tough New Year’s resolution… We all know that smoking is bad for your health, but did you know it’s bad for the environment too? Yep. Those sneaky cigarette companies aren’t just throwing in additives that are harmful to you, but are harmful to nature as well. Each time you light up, you’re sending up to 4,000 chemicals into the atmosphere – things like formaldehyde, benzene and hydrogen cyanide, which are all air-polluting, smog- inducing VOC’s. In addition to the toxic smoke, tobacco farming is pretty shady too. Almost 500 different types of pesticides are used to protect U.S. crops from bugs, and ...
Posted on February 22nd, 2008
The next time you're at the Doctor, be mindful of the seating arrangement. If you're just there for a throat check or a chat about lab results, ask you Doctor if you can sit in the extra chair in the room instead of on the table. Seem weird? Every time a patient lays a finger on the exam table the paper on top needs to be tossed. We guess the average paper strip is 4 feet long, so if you multiply that by all the patients seen in one day by all the Doctors around the world, that's a lot of wasted paper! Do your part and reduce your use by skipping the exam ...
Posted on February 21st, 2008
Every year, millions of pairs of athletic shoes are thrown away, clogging landfills and wasting a lot of good material. Before giving your beat up trainers the old heave-ho, try recycling them instead! In the past 5 years, Nike has recycled over 20 million pairs of athletic shoes through their Reuse-A-Shoe program. The program takes worn-out athletic shoes of any brand and recycles them into material used in sports surfaces like basketball courts, tennis courts, athletic fields, running tracks and playgrounds for young people around the world. Yep -- your old favorites can help build new places for you to play! To find out where to send your kicks, check out the
website.
Posted on February 14th, 2008
American and British consumers purchase approximately 9 billion greeting cards each year, enough to stretch around the world 54 times laid end-to-end. While some greeting card manufacturers try to use recycled paper and non-toxic ink, they are the exception. Most cards are produced using virgin paper, toxic printer inks and fixing agents. Add in the energy and fuel used to produce, ship and send cards plus the inevitable landfill clutter and suddenly Grandma’s birthday wishes seem more like hate mail. While electronic greeting cards may be the greenest option, nothing beats receiving personal letters from the postman. Consider reducing your impact by making your own cards! Does your boyfriend think Frosted Flakes are the ...
Posted on February 13th, 2008
Cut flowers are kind of like crushes: they’re fun, fleeting and usually end up nowhere. While flowers are pretty, the flower industry is not. Most cut flowers are grown in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in large greenhouses where underpaid, non-unionized workers spray them heavily with pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, including those that are banned in the US, like DDT and methyl-bromide. These nasty performance-enhancers and bug-chasers wreak havoc on the health of flower industry workers and on the planet. If you’re going to buy flowers, consider buying organic, or at least locally grown varieties (think of the fuel used to ship flowers from their homeland!). Better yet? Buy a ...
Posted on February 12th, 2008
While flowers are pretty, the flower industry is not. Most cut flowers are grown in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in large greenhouses where underpaid, non-unionized workers spray them heavily with pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, including those that are banned in the US, like DDT and methyl-bromide. These nasty performance-enhancers and bug-chasers wreak havoc on the health of flower industry workers and on the planet. If you’re going to buy flowers, consider buying organic, or at least locally grown varieties (think of the fuel used to ship flowers from their homeland!). Organic flowers are certified as such when their growing practices aims to improve the quality of farm working conditions, minimize damage to ecosystems, conserve biodiversity, and ...
Posted on February 10th, 2008
Planning to give sweets to your sweetie this Valentine's Day? Sending the kids to school with candy for the class? Keep the planet in mind and shop for organic and fair trade candy! This will not only help prevent expensive dentist bills due to refined-sugar overload, but will also help create sustainable ecology and economies all over the world.
Look for these alternatives to the usual synthetic loot:
Yummy-gummy goodness: Try Surf Sweets Gummy Worms or Organic Classic Gummi Bears from Surf Sweets or Let's Do Organic, both made with organic natural sweeteners and sans artificial colours and flavours.
The new chew: Look for Glee Gum, a natural gum (no synthetic plastics) in cinnamon, peppermint and tangerine flavors, ...
Posted on December 31st, 2007
Before you can truly make a new start in a new year, you probably have some old business to tend to, like disposing of your Christmas tree. If hauling your Christmas tree out to the trash is part of your New Years Day ritual, make recycling your tree your first New Years resolution for 2008. Recycled Christmas trees end up doing a lot of good in 5 major categories: chipping (chippings are used for various things from mulch to hiking trails), beachfront erosion prevention, lake and river shoreline stabilization, fish habitat and river delta sedimentation management. Why throw your tree in the trash when it has so much potential? The best part? ...
Posted on December 25th, 2007
Santa came - now play this game: turn off your outdoor holiday lights early. Save energy by enjoying holiday lights indoors tonight. Chances are good that most people will be in their homes enjoying the holiday rather than looking at your lights, anyway. Have a green, safe holiday!
Photograph by Jesse Hove
Posted on December 22nd, 2007
Jewelry is pretty, but creating it is often pretty ugly. In addition to the harsh conditions workers (including small children) endure, the environmental impacts of jewelry production are less than sparkly. Gold mining is a dirty industry: it can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments. Gemstone mining often has serious environmental ramifications including: siltation and sedimentation of waterways, direct deforestation to access soil for mining, stressed water supplies and the abundant use of oil powered pumps, drills and other machinery which causes air pollution and contributes to global warming. Still dreaming of stuffing someone’s stocking with a little hinged box? Buy vintage pieces instead. Vintage and antique jewelry is ...
