Happy America Recycles Day!

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All of us at Live Green Be Green are proud to celebrate America Recycles Day.  This holiday was started in 1997 to promote awareness of the need to recycle.  This is a day of celebration and recognition of everyone who has done something along these lines.  A recycling effort could be as small as sorting trash so as not to put plastics in the garbage, recycling used printer cartridges or donating no longer used clothing to charitable organizations.  We all are getting pretty good at this; however, we still have a long way to go.

Over the years since recycling promotions have begun, we have witnessed the institution of both voluntary and mandatory practices put into place by local and federal legislative bodies to enforce recycling.  These include fines for littering, deposit taxes on returnable bottles and cans and supervises use of landfills.  As a result, many recycling practices have become habitual to most us.  Also, we now reap rewards from recycling.  These include rebates on ink cartridges and tax credits for donations of electronics that we no longer want but still are useful and are accepted by charities.

Over the ensuing year, let’s try to take our recycling efforts at least one step farther.  In addition to recycling plastic bottles, we can purchase reusable bottles.  Also, we can downsize our purchases of clothing and household goods.  Let’s learn to live with less.  When making purchases, especially for the home, do some research and purchase products, such as flooring, tiles and even paper products made from recycled materials.

We hope everyone who recycles will give themselves a pat on the back today for taking that extra step to save our planet.  We applaud your efforts to live green, be green!

English: Recycle logo

English: Recycle logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have Yourself a Green Christmas

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Nativity scene at Sacred Heart Catholic Church...

Nativity scene at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, in the historic Barelas neighborhood, Albuquerque, NM, Jan 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Black Friday is approaching fast, and with it comes the official start of the Christmas shopping season, which we hope will culminate into a great green Christmas.  Now is the perfect time to put into place a game plan to ensure that this hectic time of our lives can proceed as smoothly as possible.  Also, with some planning, we can have an enjoyable holiday without disrupting our commitment to live green.

A great place to begin with our holiday planning is in the selection of retailers to shop for holiday foods, gifts and decorations.  A good source to make this determination is Newsweek Green Rankings.  This website provides several listings, including the greenest retailers in America, the World’s greenest companies, as well as the least greenest companies.  Additionally, listings per industry, such as food and tech companies also are provided.  In reviewing these entries, the savvy green shopper can see how publically traded companies in the United States are globally rank “based on their actual environmental footprint, and sustainability communications“.  These rankings have been produced by Newsweek in collaboration with Trucost and Sustainability, two leading environmental organizations.  Making this list is not a matter of choice, and companies cannot opt out of inclusion.  These evaluations provide green-minded consumers an excellent resource to make informative decisions on businesses worthy of their dollars.

Perhaps the second largest area of importance to consumers during the holiday season is decorating.  Starting with Christmas trees, it is important to remember that there is nothing green about an artificial Christmas tree.  Even the color is not natural.  Generally, they have been imported from China, and they are made from petroleum-based chemicals and often contain lead.  Most importantly, they cannot be recycled.  On the other hand, a real Christmas tree provides a beautiful and fragrant decoration for the holiday season, and it can be recycled into mulch or purchased with a ball root that can be planted.  Imagine a grove of trees representing past Christmases celebrated by the family.  Another point to mention is that the purchase of live trees often can be made from local harvesters, thereby providing economic support to the community.

Tree lights and decorations also are important.  This year, please try to use LED lights.  They burn 10% of the energy of older incandescent bulbs, and they are safer because they run cooler in temperature.  LED lights can be used indoors and outdoors.  When purchasing other greenery, try to avoid plastic wreaths and garland because they contain harmful compounds.  Visit local nurseries and buy natural products that can be recycled.

When it is time to shop for gifts, try to break out of the box this year.  Support local holiday fairs and fair trade bazaars to purchase unique gifts while simultaneously supporting these artisans.  With the popularity of online shopping, please consider online gift cards and email Christmas cards.  These items reduce the need for paper and transportation for delivery, thus reducing the carbon footprint.

Christmas is a beautiful time to celebrate life and family.  It also is an excellent opportunity to recognize the beauty of our Earth and the need to preserve it for future generations.  To that end, let’s use this time to renew our commitment to live green, be green.

Sources:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/08/green-rankings-2012-frequently-asked-questions.html

http://greenliving.about.com/od/thegreenfamily/tp/green_christmas.htm

 

Veganism and Vegetarianism Produce Better Consumers

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As we enter the second week of Vegetarian Awareness Month, hopefully green initiates are using this period of awareness to take a look at their nutrition and using the abundance of information found on green websites to tweak their diets.  Having done this myself, I conclude that veganism and vegetarianism produce better consumers.

One of the first thing I learned from studying the veganism and vegetarianism is that decisions regarding the purchase of food should be addressed prior to going to the grocery store, rather than while walking up and down the food aisles.  With research at home, the consumer is better prepared to decipher and understand food labels and, most importantly, to recognize a real deal.  Prepackaged foods full of chemicals and preservatives then will be recognized as not deals at any price.  Also, the consumer learns that often it is a better deal to visit local farm stands to take advantage of fresh vegetables and fruits grown locally as opposed to those on the store shelves that were shipped from distant warehouses and are not fresh.

Veganism and vegetarianism also focus on education.  Most of the people and organizations committed to this movement are more than happy to share interesting and helpful tips and suggestions with interested consumers.  Even some stores, such as Whole Foods, have available books on the values of healthy eating, including cookbooks with recipes to prepare healthy and appetizing meals, which they will loan to consumers.

Some of the concerns voiced by consumers who question vegan and vegetarian diets are noteworthy.  One of the principal issues raised is the cost of vegan and vegetarian diets, which can be expensive.  The important thing to consider here is that there is a happy medium.  It is possible to study the benefits of a vegan or vegetarian diet and then to introduce more fruits and vegetables into meals, along with meat, seafood and dairy.  The vegetables and fruits can be made the centerpiece of the meal and the meat or seafood the side dish.  Another concern mentioned is the need to satisfy the necessary dietary requirements for protein, fat and vitamins derived from meat.  Research into nutritional values of vegetables and fruits, along with the addition of beans and legumes is mandatory to guarantee a healthy diet.

Healthy living mandates healthy eating.  Moderation in all areas of life also is key to healthy living.  Learning about vegan and vegetarian diets offers the opportunity to become better consumers and reinforces the need to live green, be green.

Let’s Learn to Be Green Consumers

 

Why Go Green?

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Now we know many ways to go green.  Most of us have incorporated some of these steps into our personal lives, either by personal choice or by government mandates.  For this movement to be successful and widely embraced, it is important that each of us feel a sense of empowerment from a decision to go green.  In order to sustain a green movement, there must be an immediate payoff.  We realize that in some areas, particularly those of climate change and clean energy, change will be slow, cumbersome, expensive and embroiled in politics.  However, there are some simpler areas of green causes to endorse that bring a more immediate sense of payoff.  These include health and wellness, frugal living, minimalism, spiritual environmentalism, and self-sufficiency.

1.  Health and wellness.  Perhaps this is the subject area that is of utmost importance to most people today.  Scientific evidence has associated several diseases and adverse health conditions to environmental pollution and use of harmful products.  Many cancers are linked to the use of chemicals in cleaning products and fertilizers used to grow food.  Cancer incidence rose significantly from 1950-1998.  Presently it is estimated that 1 in 2 American men and 1 in 3 American women will develop cancer in their lives.  Secondly, with the increased rate of air pollution, the diagnoses of asthma in adults increased 75% between 1980 and 1994 while the same diagnoses in children increased 150%.  Thirdly, the incidences of autism have shown an alarming increase of 56% since 2002.  Other statistics note higher rates of reported infertility problems, along with more reports of birth defects in newborns.  Tests of breast milk samples consistently have shown the presence of pesticides, herbicides and household and industrial cleaners.  Obviously our transition from a natural to an inorganic style of living has caused our cells to mutate, breaking them down and polluting our bodies with toxins.  Adopting green standards in the selection of food and cleaning products goes a long way to protect our bodies.

2.  Frugal living.  At first glance, a walk through the grocery store gives the impression that organic foods and products are more expensive than non-organic products.  However, upon close inspection, this is not necessarily the case.  Local farmers and farmers’ markets are a great source to purchase fresh foods and vegetables.   Local merchants often are available to answer any questions regarding fertilizing and growing techniques of their crops, as well as freshness of the products available for purchase.  When eating out, the new trend of local farm-to-table restaurants offer an opportunity to get well-prepared food that supports local farmers and merchants.  Frugal living also involves (1) purchasing reusable containers and cleaning materials as opposed to disposable paper and plastics; (2) walking, biking, carpooling or taking public transportation to get around town; and (3) even choosing to live in planned urban developments with parks, restaurants, shopping and entertainment facilities and schools strategically located in close proximity to residences and/or the provision of clean-energy public transportation to travel around our communities.  Frugal living enables us to save money, time and the environment while going green.

3.  Minimalism.  A major complaint often voiced today by many people is that life is so complex.  We often are so over-committed to work, social activities and chasing the American dream that we have cluttered our homes and minds to an unhealthy degree.  A minimalist lifestyle urges us to slow down, eliminate distractions, reconnect with family, friends and the universe and to feel less stressed, rushed and exhausted.  By necessity, minimalism incorporates frugal living.  We avoid wasteful consumerism, using only what we need, thereby being able to downsize our living spaces, possessions and activities.  This truly is a green concept with an immediate payoff.

4.  Spiritual environmentalism.  Perhaps the first known environmentalist was Henry David Thoreau.  His recognition and embracement of the environment was from a spiritual perspective.  Thoreau recognized that “in wilderness is the presentation of the world”.  Thoreau was an extremist regarding man’s need to coexist with the planet.  A study of his writings reveals his understanding of the need to wisely manage all resources, including, but not limited to time, money, work, talents and health.  For living space, Thoreau states:  “[e]ach town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest, of five hundred or a thousand acres, where a stick should never be cut for fuel, a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation”.  Thoreau Journal, October 15, 1859

Finally, on the need to protect the environment Thoreau writes:  “[w]hat is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”  Familiar Letter, Thoreau to Harrison Blake

And finally, “[a]t the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplainable, that land and sea be infinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable.  We can never have enough Nature.”  Thoreau, Walden, Spring

Spiritual environmentalism is a very personal journey for many people, and provides a response to the recognition that the Earth does not belong to us, but rather is on loan.  We are the stewards of the Earth and are responsible to preserve it and pass it along to future generations.  Another great reason to go green.

5.  Self-sufficiency.  The foundation of green living is self-sufficiency.  We cannot expect private businesses to promote individual self-sufficiency as this is contraindicated to their main goal, to increase the bottom line.  Also, we cannot afford to wait to break through government gridlock to enact laws mandating use of renewable energy, sustainable care of land, and protection of natural resources or to enforce the ban of harmful chemicals in foods and other products of daily living.  Self-sufficiency affords us the opportunity to prepare for natural disasters and potential catastrophes through education; become savvy in recognizing political corruption and using our vote to repudiate it; maintain awareness of flaws in the present social structure which heavily relies on over-consumption and waste and to take pride in adopting a satisfying lifestyle that promotes a healthy balance of work and family life.

These are just a few reasons to go green.  The list goes on and on.  There is so much that we can do to reduce our carbon footprint and protect our environment.  Let’s live green and be green.

An excellent source for environmental articles and statistics can be found at http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/environmental-articles.html.

 

Live Green With Sustainable Snacks

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Preparing homemade snacks for work, home, or outings is a great way to ensure that you are eating healthy while on the run and also saving money. As an added bonus, storing your snacks in reusable containers reduces your contribution to the ever-growing packaging waste problem. For this to work, it is important that the snacks you prepare are appetizing and not too labor intensive to prepare. Today we will take a look at some good, low-calorie snacks that the entire family will enjoy.

First is homemade granola. There are many variations for this nutritional staple with the basic two being rolled oats and honey. Then any recipe can be customized according to individual tastes and dietary needs with chopped dried fruits, nuts, flavors such as vanilla extract, and raw sunflower seeds. Granola bars are great snacks to curb the appetite and boost energy.

An interesting veggie snack to try is sea salt fennel chips. These are simple to make with the only ingredients being fennel, olive oil and sprinkles of sea salt. Instructions for these chips can be found at www.afullmeasureofhappiness.com.

A great snack to enjoy when entertaining or relaxing at home is vegan ice pops. The recipe includes roughly chopped berries of your choice, fruit juice, such as orange, grapefruit or mango, milk or a milk substitute, and the option of non-dairy yogurt. These popsicles have less sugar and fewer calories than store-bought brands. Additionally, reusable ice pop sticks serve to reduce packaging waste.

Finally, homemade hummus with fresh vegetables is a perfect skinny-waist snack. Hummus is made with chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, which are low in cholesterol and rich in protein. Several recipes for hummus are available online.

There are many delectable options to store-bought snacks. Do-it-yourself preparation of snacks for work and play presents an excellent opportunity to save money, eat healthy and customize your food to individual taste. Let’s snack green, live green, be green.

Green Office Furniture: Could the Idea Catch On?

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I recently came across an innovative work desk setup that helps to harness its own energy, effectually producing and using its own recycled energy in a self-sustaining cycle.  (Although the setup does not yet produce enough energy to completely power its many electronic vices, the idea is that it will one day be completely self-sustainable, and therefore, completely unplugged from any power source other than itself.)  The desk design, appropriately called “Unplugged,” was designed by Eddi Törnberg, and is meant to generate all the energy it needs from everyday office activities of the person sitting behind it.

The desk setup has outstanding features, such as the ability to harness power from the heat energy transferred from the user’s computer to the desk top, and even from the user’s back to the back of his or her chair.  The floor mat or rug that is also part of the design has been constructed with technology that allows it to harness energy from the pressures applied to its surface, from walking over it or sitting upon it.

While the idea is still far from mass development or even complete sustainability as an independent workspace, it carries with it a tremendous amount of integrity as an engineering feat.  I recommend you look a bit further into this truly intriguing design.  It may very well be the precedent necessary to slowly reconstruct the future as we come to imagine and realize it.  These green, eco-friendly designs can come to change the world someday, and it could happen in fewer more beneficial areas than within the workplace.

Green– Practical to Extreme

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After spending a considerable amount of time browsing the Internet, reading magazines and researching “green” initiatives, I am convinced that most people are aware of measures they can take to promote a greener life.  I also believe that most people do some things, either voluntarily or as a result of demands made by employers, neighborhood associations or government mandates that impose taxes or even penalties for failure to comply with environmental regulations.  However, I have noticed some extreme practices or procedures that are being investigated through experiments now but may become a reality.

  • Some scientists have proposed putting a ring of sunlight-scattering particles around the equator to reduce the radiation effects of the sun hitting the planet and thereby reducing greenhouse gas effects.  This idea would be tried in the most extreme circumstances and would cost trillions of dollars.
  • Other research has focused on the ocean and includes the manipulation of plankton growth through fertilization to create larger growth to suck up excess carbon dioxide or even “stirring” up the ocean with large pipes to bring rich nutrients to the surface to feed and produce huge algae blooms that would in turn suck up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and bury it on the ocean floor.
  • Some local jurisdictions, such as the city of Los Angeles, have worms in bins in eating areas.  The worms eat discarded food particles and turn them into compost that is used in gardens.  Imagine worms becoming a kitchen staple.
  • Researchers have consistently emphasized the impact of changing our diets and exercise regimens. Statistics from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization indicate that the meat industry is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse emissions through the use of fertilizer, animal manure, energy used to transport food.  If all Americans between 10 and 74 walked a half hour a day, carbon emissions in the U.S. would be reduced by 64 tons.  Eating less red meat also would help.
  • Most jurisdictions are looking towards banning the use of plastic bags and incandescent light bulbs.  We all are becoming accustomed to the transition to fluorescent light bulbs.  Also the use of paper bags or reusable cloth bags is gaining momentum in most communities.
Going green ranges from practical to extreme solutions to protect the environment.  Maybe if we all read the Live Science countdown to craziest ideas, we would be more motivated to incorporate practical green measures to avoid resorting to extreme measures down the road.  Let’s be practical– live green, be green!
 
 

Learn Green to Live Green

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Starting a green regimen can be a rather daunting task.  Even browsing the Internet yields so many “hits”, making it  difficult to determine where to begin on this journey.  Attending a green expo is a great way to get educated on green programs and products.  These events feature green commodity manufacturers who showcase their goods in a central location while permitting consumers to view these offerings thoroughly and ask questions.  Demonstrations at these events are both informative and entertaining.  

Green expos can be found in different regions of the country year round.  With a little research, it is possible to find an event in most areas.

One such upcoming event is “Greening Up at the Expo” in Central Point, Oregon this weekend (June 30 through July 1, 2012).  This expo will feature greater than 50 exhibitors and 27 sponsors and will include presentations on many areas of green living, including jobs, financing, entrepreneurship, eco-nature tourism, home building and remodeling, gardening, transportation and energy.  Further details about this expo can be found at theoregongreenexpo.com.  

A second noteworthy upcoming green expo is the “Living and Eating Green Expo 2012” in Cleveland, Ohio.  This event will feature several keynote speakers on topics such as plant-based diets, women, sex and food, food selection and cancer risk, breaking food seduction, and the impact of living green.  There will be several vendors available, who will distribute information and product samples.  Also included is a Vegan Food Fest.  The “Living and Eating Green Expo 2012” will be held on September 8-9, 2012 at Lakeland Community College.  Further information can be found at http://thejourneymag.com/living-and-eating-green-expo-2012/.

A third newsworthy upcoming green event is the Natural Health and Products Expo presented by Green Events LLC.  This expo will be held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in January, 2013.  It will feature organic cuisine, how-to workshops, and health screenings, along with a marketplace of eco-friendly businesses selling a variety of products from natural body care items to organic cotton clothing and Fair Trade gifts.  The venue for this event is the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh.  Additional information can be found at http://thejourneymag.com/living-and-eating-green-expo-2012/.

There are abundant opportunities to educate ourselves on living green.  There are numerous expos, workshops and demonstrations available to learn all facets of green living.  So, let’s educate green, live green, be green!

Go Green with Eco-Fashion

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Eco-fashion is a term that denotes the commitment of designers to produce and promote the use of sustainable, ethical and environmentally-conscious products.  The term is contemporary; however, a green relationship between fashion designers and environmentalists has existed for centuries.

The major concerns of green fashion are the following:

  • Recycling of materials
  • Origin of material (fair trade concerns)
  • Textile dying and production
  • Quality of craftmanship
  • Fair labor practices
  • Humane treatment of animals

Eco-fashion has evolved further to include reducing consumption and recognizing the need to be stylish while being fashionably green.  This movement focuses on centering a wardrobe around the basics, i.e., the little black dress or basic suit, and then accessorizing with scarves, jewelry and shoes to transition a look for different periods of the day or various events.  Magazines, television shows, You Tube videos now feature helpful money-saving and style-enhancing techniques to look nice and be green.  Also, there are several books available on the market that provide great tips on everyday and specialty and seasonal dressing, all accomplished in a tasteful, frugal and green manner.  An excellent place to start is with Katy Tsui‘s blog on the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kaity-tsui/10-fashion-resources_b_1609629.html?utm_hp_ref=stylelist&ir=Stylelist.  Katy provides great multimedia references on the subject of fashion.  Her dialogue on green responsibility is refreshing in its simplicity.

There are so many ways to go green, and eco-fashion is a fun way to get involved.

Let’s dress green, go green, be green!

 

 

Thinking Twice on How We Shower

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While most of us take something as simple as showering for granted, others in the third world live without this luxury due to the dearth of available running water. If only there was a way to adequately shower without expending this valuable resource!. Thanks to South African innovator Ludwick Marishane, the paradigm has shifted in the way we look at showering.

Inspired by his lazy friend who saw too much effort required to shower in his rural village of South Africa, Marishane took it upon himself to develop an agent that would replace the need for showering with running water. His patented invention, called “DryBath, helped him win the 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year, Award, and is an odorless and biodegradable gel applied to the skin that creates soap suds. In this way, nations are able to reduce water waste that result from showering.

As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention” and none is more apropos than the example of DryBath. Rural South Africa, with its lack of running water nationwide, facilitated the idea of showering without water. And while DryBath will help similar nations preserve the precious resource of water, it has also revolutionized the way we think about showering here in first world nations. The savings associated with using less water with showering is staggering. An average shower uses 2.5 gallons of water per minute, which multiplied by the average family unit of four people and 15 minutes per shower is 150 gallons of water per household per day. Multiply that number, which is for showers only, by the number of households in a nation and you can start to see the irony in the size of the spring on the Poland Spring water bottle.

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DryBath, if it is safe, which is a pretty large assumption we are making here, would be a huge win for sustainability, and would completely alter the way we maintain our personal hygiene. While not a necessity to adopt such technology, utilizing such an innovation would help to preserve this natural resource, and would be another way where we can both live green, and be green.