Archive for March, 2010

Eco-Friendly Organic Cotton Blankets

We snuggle in them.  We keep warm with them over and under our bodies.  We even derive emotional security from them well into our pre-pubescent years.  Think Linus van Pelt of Peanuts fame.  We are talking about blankets, of course.  Well, did you know that even the choice of blankets must be eco-friendly and health-friendly, too?  After all, your beloved family members, especially your babies come into contact with blankets every time they sleep and, hence, it makes sense to protect their health first and foremost.  Environmental protection comes in a close second. Environmental Issues Arguably, non-organic blankets serve their purpose very well.  You are kept warm throughout cold days and nights, not to mention that blankets also add beauty to the bedroom.  However, you have to be aware of the health risks and environmental damage that these blankets pose. On one hand, you have polyester chenille fiber blankets.  The chemical compound used to manufacture these blankets is similar to the one utilized for plastic water bottles, which us called polyethylene terephthalate.  And to produce polyester, petrochemicals are derived from crude oil.  Additives, catalysts and heat are then added to the petrochemicals to form the basic materials for polyester fibers and plastic water ...

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Soap - How it effects the Environment

It’s surprising that the very product we use on our bodies to keep ourselves clean could actually be causing so much damage to not only the environment and aquatic systems, but also to our own skin. When we bathe, most of us use a regular bar of soap bought from the store.  After lathering up your body and cleaning away daily grime, you rinse away the soap to run down the drain.  The object of this ritual is supposed to keep us clean and smelling nice. Unfortunately, most commercial soaps contain harsh chemical additives to make them lather properly.  They contain perfumes and fragrances that are known to cause irritation in some people.  These lovely smelling fragrances aren’t extracted from naturally aromatic pretty flowers from out in the field.  They’re produced chemically using cancer-causing chemicals so we can smell good. Soaps hold their nice bar-like shape because of ingredients like animal tallow, paraffin wax and other crude oil derivatives.  Studies have also shown that some of the chemicals used in soap fragrances can cause skin diseases, birth defects and even liver damage in animal testing. Another chemical found in commercial soaps is TCC or triclocarban, which is known to disrupt endocrine production and promote ...

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Ideas to Help you Plan an Event Greener and more Eco-Friendly

Green Event Planning Events such as parties, conferences, and weddings often have a large impact on the environment.  They produce a sizable amount of waste, including everything from plastic eating utensils to name badges that are then disposed of after the event.  However, there are many easy ways to make your next event a much greener one.  As an added bonus, some of these ideas will also save you money in the process.  Here are some ideas to help make an event greener and more environmentally friendly. Before the Event When sending invitations; consider choosing an option that does not create waste or use up resources.  Instead of thick, paper invitations that are mailed in envelopes (and delivered using fuel-consuming trucks), consider other invitations options.  Email can be effectively used to invite people to an event, either by sending an email with the details or using an online invitation service such as evite.com.  Another option for small gatherings is to call each guest and personally invite them. Ask that people RSVP to the event ahead of time.  This will prevent you from over ordering and throwing out wasted, unused food. Choose a location that is near public transportation and provide that information ...

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Eco-Friendly Home Economics for the Working Class

Not long ago I was talking to someone about going green and they actually told me that they had gone through 30 different tubes of caulking.  They used it to plug the gaps and holes that were through their home.  They put the caulking around the cracks, around doors, windows, and more.  While I'm not sure how the job was that they did, since they used quite a bit of caulking, more than likely using the 30 tubes of the caulking actually do quite a bit of good.  No doubt it helped them keep the home comfortable while saving money by increasing the energy efficiency of the home. There have been times when I've been working on homes that had huge leakage areas.  After having energy audits done it came out to several meters or area that were leaking, which is just as bad as having a huge window that is always open, even during the winter months.  More than likely you wouldn't keep your windows open in the winter months, but many homeowners accidentally do things that are almost as bad because they have a lot of leakage areas. For a nice tube of caulking, you'll only pay about $6, although ...

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How Home Building may affect Wildlife

Two scientists, Heidi Kretser and Michale Glennon, who are part of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Adirondack decided to find out how building a home can impact wildlife.  They came up with a study that would show them this.  They would look at small mammals, large mammals, and amphibians and reptiles.  This study was done at three different stages during the process of building, which included the stage before construction was done, the time while the construction was being done, and then the stage that was after the construction had been completed. One study that they did was set up at the home site for the Kraft family.  They were working to build a home that was energy efficient in the Upper Saranac Lake area.  Now these scientists are in the second part of the surveys, bind done at a control site as well as at the site of construction.  They reason they have decided to use a control site is so that they can see the differences in changes in population that is due to phenomena that may be region wide and those that are actually due to the impact of construction. To learn a lot more about this study being ...

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