Archive for March, 2009

Plastic Bag Alternatives

Plastic bags are one of our icons of convenience culture.  Some people say that the tossable plastic bag is the most common consumer item out there, with trillions of examples loose in our waste stream and our environment.  The hazards of the plastic bag start with its production, since they're made from petroleum products (with all the impacts of using fossil fuels) and the inks used in some bags contain lead and other toxic colorants. Then the bags have to be transported to stores, using fuel on the way, and purchased or given to customers.  Each year in America alone, over a hundred billion plastic bags are tossed.  Some of them have only ever carried one small item - it's standard for anything you buy to be placed in one of these bags, and you'll get one unless you request otherwise.  Throwing away that many bags is the equivalent of throwing out about twelve million barrels, all full of oil. Only about one percent of the bags we use are recycled, if you look at world numbers.  For the US by itself, that number rises to ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it

Guaranteed Ways To Go Green At Work

Reduce your carbon footprint while at the office in order to save the natural resources and energy while you are working.  Consider the way you use lights.  Turn off lights in the office when you go out for lunch and when you leave for the day.  Tack a note to the inside of the bathroom door reminding people to turn off the lights when they leave. Artificial lighting in the workplace can account for almost 45% of the electricity bills in your office building. Turning off the lights must become a daily habit as soon as you leave a room for 10 minutes or more.  Use natural light whenever possible.  Make it a policy to purchase energy star rated fixtures and bulbs.  Consider installing motion sensors or timers in order to automatically shut off lights when nobody is around.  Maximize your computer efficiency by making it a habit to turn off the computer and it’s accessories when you leave for lunch, meetings, and at the end of the day.  The computer is still using energy when it is plugged in regardless of whether it’s in ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it

Reasons to Skip Bottled Water

The bottled water consumed by people worldwide has increased so much in the last several years; it generates billions of dollars a year in the U.S. alone. The craze of drinking bottled water for the dietary benefits as well as the taste have had an effect on the amount of water that people purchase. The years between 1997 and 2005 have seen the amount of water being consumed more than double nationwide. When facing the facts about the amount of plastic this puts into the landfills and waste centers we are slowly taking over our planet with trash. There are many ways to skip the bottled water and help the environment and our future generations. Here are a few ways you can do this and after you find out why bottled water is not quite as good for us as we think, you may decide to opt for one of these methods: - Find a reusable and washable bottle to take your water in. Put it in the freezer the night before and it will be ready to go when you are. - If not, try a thermos. They ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it

Switching to Organic Pet Food

If you are constantly trying to eat the right food, you should extend this concern to what your furry friends eating. The wisest choice is for you to go for the organic pet food. This type of food will provide your pet with all the essential nutrients, while not pollute the environment during the manufacturing and transportation processes. The organic pet food comes along with plenty of benefits for you and your pet. Your little friends overall health will be improved while you begin to take a proactive role in improving our environment. The life span of your pet will also be increased. No hormones, chemicals and pesticides are to be found in the organic pet food. Such elements may have negative and long term effects upon the health of your pet. The environment is likely to be affected by the constant production of non-organic pet food as well. Organically made food can have a very positive impact upon the environment and this is true in the case of the organic pet food. ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it

Organic Beer for St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and that means there will be a number of parties celebrating the holiday. Of course, many will enjoy the holiday by taking part in their favorite tradition: drinking beer! The more health conscious may cringe at this notion, but there is a way to be a little clean living opening up that bottle of suds. When people bring up the topic of beer, most people do not equate the beverage with healthy living. But, believe it or not, there are alternatives out there to the traditional brewed beer found on store shelves. Yes, there is such a creature as organic beer and it is quite a better option that its processed “cousin” sold at the local bar. The difference between organic and non-organic beer is relatively significant. Namely, the natural ingredients in the beer such as barley do not go through the same farming process as other types of beer. Specifically, organic ingredients are spared exposure to numerous toxins such as insecticides and herbicides. Yes, the same toxins used to protect the barley can be very harmful when ingested by human beings. Drinking ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it