Category: Our Green Life

Evidently, David and I are even hotter than we thought because we’re ecosexuals.

“Ecosexual: n. A person who’s into hybrid cars, low energy lightbulbs, and recycling. Now that environmentalism is hot, ecosexuals are getting increasingly fashionable.” (Defined by Wired Magazine; learn more at Treehugger and SF Magazine.)

You know you want to be one too.

+ Switch to recycled
Recycled toilet paper, toothbrushes, aluminum foil, computer paper, garden hoses, pencils, clothing, mouse pads, printer supplies, crayons, trash bags, etc. If you are adverse to cloth towels, napkins, and handkerchiefs, buy recycled paper towels, napkins, and facial tissue.
“If every household in the U.S. bought just one four-pack of 260-sheet recycled bath tissue, it would eliminate 60,600 pounds of chlorine pollution, preserve 356 million gallons of fresh water, and save 988,000 trees.” [via link]

+ Bring your own grocery bags
Many grocery stores will even credit you 5 cents for each bag you bring in!
“This is common practice in virtually every other country but our own. The U.S. uses 100 billion plastic bags annually, consuming about 12 million barrels of oil [with] less than 1% of plastic bags are ever recycled, using a sturdy reusable bag will eliminate hundreds to thousands of plastic bags over its lifetime.” [via link]

+ Encourage plants to clean up
Certain plants can help remove air pollutants like formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide and are excellent at cleaning up indoor air pollution. The top 10 plants most effective in removing these toxins from the air are: Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea Seifritzii), Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema Modestum), English Ivy (Hedera Helix), Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera Jamesonii), Janet Craig (Dracaena “Janet Craig”), Marginata (Dracaena Marginata), Mass Cane/Corn Plant (Dracaena Massangeana), Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (Sansevieria Laurentii), Pot Mum (Chrysantheium morifolium), Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum “Mauna Loa”), and Warneckii (Dracaena “Warneckii”). [via link]
Don’t have a green thumb? Golden pothos, English ivy, and peace lilies are all easy-to-grow toxin fighters.

+ Double up on printing
Configure your printer so that it prints on both sides of the page or simply put your printed pages back in the printer to reuse the other side. Download these signs to post in your office around copiers and printers to help reduce paper use.

+ Unplug it
Unplug your cell phone charger and hairdryer when not in use. They continue to guzzle energy even when plugged in and turned off. Alternatively, plug everything on a power strip and use the switch to turn it off instead of manually plugging and unplugging things).
“If 10 percent of the world’s cell phone owners did this, it would reduce energy consumption by an amount equivalent to that used by 60,000 European homes per year.” [via link]

+ 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth
+ Save Our Planet: 750 Everyday Ways You Can Help Clean Up the Earth/25th Anniversary
I was ten years old when I read these books and they changed my life. Through them I learned that being environmentally aware is easy and that it doesn’t take much to make a difference on a local scale. They also set the stage for my decision to become an environmental scientist… If you haven’t already, read them!

+ Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
“Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better–say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete.” I haven’t read this book yet, but I’m on the waiting list at our library.

+ An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It
The companion guide to the movie that made global climate change front and center in America.

+ The Healthy Home Workbook: Easy Steps for Eco-Friendly Living
I really like this book. It is organized by room and for each area it lists a variety of environmentally conscious changes for 1. instant gratification, 2. greater commitment, and 3. a truly healthy home. So you’ll feel good if you make just a few simple changes and helps you set goals for more long-term eco-friendly projects.

+ Silent Spring
This book by Rachel Carson launched the global environmental movement. Required reading.

Should things continue not to go well, there is always The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Extreme Edition… But let us hope it doesn’t come to that.

“Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.” – Cree Native American Proverb

In celebration of Earth Day, I’ve decided to little “save the earth” features this week. So, let’s start off with easy ways to do our part.

+ Decline your ATM receipts
“Receipts from 8 billion ATM transactions every year are one of the biggest sources of litter on the planet. If everyone left their receipts in the machine, it would save a roll of paper more than 2 billion feet long—enough to circle the equator more than 15 times.” [via link]

+ Use cold water
“About 90 percent of the energy used for a load of laundry goes to heating the water. While you may want to wash bed linens in hot water to kill dust mites, opt for washing all other loads in cold — and save up to $300 and 330 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year.” [via link]

+ Switch your light bulbs
Replacing just one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year [via link] and now you can purchase a variety of different full spectrum and natural looking CFL bulbs. “If every family replaced one bulb with a CFL it would be like reducing carbon emissions from 800,000 cars.” [via link]

Stay tuned for lots more tips over the next few days…

“In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” – From the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

There has been so much press about Earth Day and hype about green living recently in the news. All I can say is it’s about time! My passion and commitment to protecting our planet began in nursery school when I declared that I no longer wanted to eat meat and has grown exponentially since then. I’ve been waiting over twenty years for an eco-conscious identity to develop here in America and I really hope that day is upon us.

Today is Earth Day. Because David and I feel that honoring and caring for the earth is important every day–not just on Earth Day–we decided to begin, rather than end, our Earth Week today. This week we shall present you with practical tips designed to show that being eco-conscious is really easy. As far as we are concerned, there is no excuse for not looking forward…

I love this post by Felicia Sullivan featuring 25 ways to save money. In our house we do most of these already (except for #2, go through people’s dumpsters, which I’m not sure I could ever do) and that made me feel good. I especially like Felicia’s emphasis on cutting down on the crap in our lives (like cable and magazine subscriptions), stretching the life of clothing and household goods, and reusing everything from plastic bags to water bottles.In an earlier post in this series, Felicia talks about Alex Beauchamp’s method for allocating her money so that she can live the good life. Put those two posts together and you have us. We spend our money on quality goods that we feel strongly about (such as organic produce or Oakley sunglasses with UV protection that I have worn every day since 2002) and save for things that really matter to us and enrich our quality of life, such as our organic mattress (above) or David’s mountain bike. To some people, those items may seem extravagant, but to us they are essential to our lives and our health and our wellbeing. And if that means we don’t buy the latest gadgets and wear the same clothes and continue using our older computers, etc., that’s just fine with us. It makes sense to us both fiscally and environmentally.