Written on
January 23, 2009 by
SusanC
Here are some of our favorite posts from around the greenosphere that had us thinking this week, to help start your weekend a bit greener.
Monday Dot Green featured an audiovisual slide show centered on “A Planet in Flux.”
Andrew C. Revkin began exploring the human impact on the environment nearly 30 years ago. An early stop was Papeete, Tahiti. This narrated slide show describes his extensive travels.
Tuesday was a historic and momentous occasion, no matter who you voted for in November. Want to know what’s on the green docket during President Obama’s administration? Tree Hugger has a post highlighting the official White House policy on energy and the environment.
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Written on
January 21, 2009 by
SusanC
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the environmentalist’s charge to “eat local?” Think the term “slow food” means “not McDonalds?” Intimidated by the 100-mile diet, or clueless when it comes to constructing weekly menus that highlight in-season foods from your neck of the woods? (Seriously, who has the time to plan menus?).
Then breathe easy, because you are most certainly not alone.
We are all the products of more than one generation of industrial food conditioning. (Example: As a child, I once asked a grade school friend where the apple she was eating came from, and she said, “the store”).
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Written on
January 19, 2009 by
SusanC
Why is it that beauty products are seldom packaged in recyclable containers?
Even when their containers are plastic, they seldom have recognizable recycling symbols on them. Sometimes they have what I assume are European symbols on them.
Did you know that this symbol:
The German ‘Green Dot’, has no environmental significance at all? It only means that the manufacturer has paid a fee towards the packaging recovery system in Germany.
Is the beauty industry too upmarket to put the little triangle on the bottom of their packaging? Do they think their little packages would make the symbol too tiny to read?
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Written on
January 15, 2009 by
SusanC
Don’t you just love purchasing handmade goods, that on the by-and-large are naturally green and eco-friendly by the fact that they are created with love in peoples’ own homes and workshops? Especially those cute toys and custom accessories and apparel that can be found on such fun sites as Etsy.com and Hyenacart.com?
Well, as of February 10, 2009–less than a month away–nearly all such shops manufacturing hand-made toys will be forced by law to close their doors due to unreasonable third-party product testing mandates Congress passed this past August.
It is called the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, and at its heart it has good intentions: to monitor mass-produced children’s products to ensure they do not contain lead or phthalates.
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Written on
January 14, 2009 by
SusanC
In an article that came out last week on ScienceDaily and many other places around the blogosphere, researchers from Baylor University in Texas used coconut fibers taken from the husks to create molded composite board similar to the polyester version used on door bottoms, in trunks, and on floors of some cars.
Why, though, would you use coconut instead of polyester? We will do a comparison with a few simple questions and equally simple answers:
Where do they come from?
Polyester is an inexpensive, man-made fiber and can be made anywhere. Coconuts are inexpensive seeds that come from trees in the tropics.
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Written on
January 9, 2009 by
SusanC
Here are some favorite posts from elsewhere that had us thinking this week, to help start your weekend a bit greener.
Monday Doreen at Mom Goes Green posted on ridding our respective mailboxes of copious amounts of junk mail, and her post features multiple organizations who will help you do that easily and affordably.
Tuesday EcoGeek published an article on a new and unusual use for cocunut husks.
Is this really practical on a large scale? For those of us living in parts of the world where coconuts are limited to the grocery store, it’s hard to imagine. But in more equatorially located countries, coconuts are everywhere.
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As we make strides to green our home and our lifestyle, we wanted to share our enthusiasm with the preschool where we send our two sons.
After noticing that the school did not have any recycling bins and the amount of paper scraps in the trash at the end of each session, I started thinking about how to reduce the waste and teach the kids about recycling.
Thankfully the head mistress and teachers have welcomed my suggestions about adding recycling bins in the classes. By allowing me to start with my sons’ classes and the office, it will quickly demonstrate how easy it is while providing an opportunity for the kids to learn about conservation.
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Written on
January 2, 2009 by
SusanC
Here are 5 posts from elsewhere that had us thinking this week, to help start your new year off a bit greener. Happy! 2009.
Monday CNN ran an article discussing the business and potential profit (both economically and for the planet) of sustainable farming and green industry. Here’s an excerpt from the article, though the full length version is definitely worth a read:
But a complex mix of push and pull factors are making environmental business practices increasingly attractive to investors and with that, some say, providing fresh hope for a planet in trouble.
Not only are the emerging markets for alternative power booming — and corporate efficiency initiatives looking more attractive — as fossil fuel prices rise, but many companies are also increasingly aware that there are real costs associated with doing nothing.
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Written on
December 31, 2008 by
SusanC
When entertaining for the holidays – or any occasion – consider using your regular dishes or reusable dishes bought to last through years of parties. We host large gatherings of friends a few times throughout the year, and always use our everyday plates and silverware. The aunt who hosts our huge family Christmas Eve meal has a special set of snowman-themed dishes that she breaks out each December 24th. Nary a paper plate is wasted, and it’s a very good (and green) feeling.
For cups, we do use plastic Solo party-ware, but our friends write their names on the cups with a Sharpie, and we wash them after each gathering and put them away to use next time.
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As the end of the year draws near, we all get inundated with the “Best of 2008” programs, lists and commentaries.
Well, as I am a junkie for montages that reflect on what happened over the past year, and how it impacted one’s daily life, I thought I would share my own!
The Best Eco Friendly Changes I Made In 2008:
1. Used Miracle Mulch (eco-friendly coconut)
2. Added weather stripping to conserve energy.
3. Used motion sensors for outdoor lights to save energy. Turned off the porch light whenever we could.
4. Installed ceiling fans throughout the house. Never turned on the AC in 2008!
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