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 9th, 2008
Spring is here, the ice has melted, the flowers are blooming, the birds are returning... and so are those damn ants, marching their way right across your kitchen floor. The issue with many commercial insecticides is the toxins they are made of. Raid, for instance, "kills bugs dead" but also contains the synthetic pyrethroid, cyfluthrin which might take out a few things you didn't want dead. Whether you're a practicing Buddist, suffer from myrmecophobia (fear of ants) or just don't want to share your sugar - there's an easy, non-toxic way to nip those ants in the bud. Simply squeeze lemon juice into a spray bottle and squirt your windowsills, door frames and any holes ...
Posted on May 2nd, 2008
Want to make a difference while making a living? The next time you’re invited to a large staff meeting, ask the meeting organizer to request that all attendees shut off their computers and monitors while they’re away from their desks. That’s one hour or more when you and your fellow employees won’t be sucking up useless energy. It won’t hurt your computer to turn it off and back on, but it will help your company reduce its impact.
Posted on April 24th, 2008
Do you wish your favorite market labeled its local produce, that compost was accepted at your curb that your local pub offered organic beer? All you have to do is ask...and maybe ask again. It sounds a bit simplistic but a good company will give the customer what they want. It worked on Enterprise Rent-A-Car. A recent ride with one of Enterprise's managers led to an interesting conversation. Mr. Rent-A-Car admitted the company had been holding out on adding the hybrid to its fleet of available vehicles in hopes that the car was nothing more than a trend, a fad, a passing fancy. No such luck - he was plagued with requests to ...
Posted on April 19th, 2008
Because you're sexy, you don't waste anything -- especially food. Right now you have at least one container of leftovers in your fridge waiting for round two with your palate. Whether you brought food home from a meal on the town or because you cooked more than you could eat last night for dinner, use your microwave, not your oven or stove to reheat. Microwaves use less than half the power of a conventional oven and cook food in about one-fourth the time. Toaster ovens and slow cookers are also a great way to cut energy use in cooking, but the microwave is still the energy conservation winner in the kitchen.
Posted on April 12th, 2008
U.S. magazine production uses more than 2.2 million tons of paper per year and are printed almost exclusively on papers made from virgin fiber, resulting in more than 35 million trees being cut down each year. It’s true: less than 5% of magazine paper has any recycled content, and even these recycled content papers generally contain only 10-30% recycled fiber. Almost all magazine papers have been bleached with chlorine or chlorine compounds, which produce extremely toxic dioxin. To make matters even worse, only about 20% of discarded magazines are recycled. Want to make a difference without giving up your favorite mag? Try sharing a subscription with your friends or coworkers. Splitting a yearly subscription ...
Posted on April 8th, 2008
What’s black and white and red all over? You guessed it, your daily delivered newspaper. Though well read and a staple at the breakfast table, this comforting activity is not necessarily a green way to stay in touch. The average newspaper can cost up to 6 ounces in carbon emissions when you factor in logging, production and delivery. The wood pulping required is a pretty dirty business giving petroleum, coal and primary metals industries a run for their money and more often than not, that stack of info has come from a very old tree opposed to a new one. While the verdict is still out as to whether on line ...
Posted on March 16th, 2008
For those of us working hard for the money in an office each day, there are lots of ways to
make a difference by lessening our impact on the environment. One super easy way to reduce your use is to save those little “Sign Here” stickers that crop up on documents. When someone sends us something to sign, we sign it, take off the sticky and press it to the base of our computer monitor for easy access when we need something signed later. We’ve been using the same packet of removable flags for years! This tiny example of reduce and reuse might not save the polar bears, but it will help lighten your ...
Posted on March 15th, 2008
The time has come to revive the lunch box! Pack a lunch to bring to work and/or send one with the kids school, and save money and disposable packaging everyday. Be the envy of all your friends (or colleagues!) when you bust out organic chocolate covered almonds, heirloom tomato salads, tasty sustianably-caught tuna, and other green goodness from home.
Get creative as to how we define lunch box- skip the brown paper bags and vinyl plastic lunch boxes, and instead flaunt your eco-chic ethic by using a cotton canvas bag or a retro metal lunch box, reusing glass jars instead of ziploc bags, and wrapping your sandwich in biodegradable parchment paper instead of aluminum foil or plastic wrap. ...
Posted on March 10th, 2008
Create a green bulletin board at work to keep your colleagues in the loop of all things green. Post info on local tree planting events and volunteer opportunities, cell phone recycling, community gardens, farmers’ market days, carbon offsets, charity donation drives for secondhand furniture, clothing, bicycles… The sky’s the limit! Even your city’s waste management poster on what can and can’t go in the recycling bin is a helpful reminder of ways that people can be active environmentalists at work.
Include tips for how to green your office space- here are a few to get you started!
-Ride your bike or take public transit to work, or carpool
-Bring a plant for your desk to improve indoor ...
