Start A Green Living Now!
Author Archive
Have An Eco-Friendly Football Sunday
Every year when football rolls around, people spend their Sundays and Mondays glued to the television either at home or in a sports bar watching their favorite teams play. For those that like to think green, football season is typically synonymous with a lot of waste and excess. There are ways to reduce your carbon footprint when it comes to watching football. Avoid bottled water, plastic cups, and make sure to recycle. People tend to drink a lot while watching football games, whether its beer or soda or water. If you are drinking beverages that are in cans or glass bottles, make sure you recycle them. If you are having friends over, use real glasses instead of disposable ones. Avoid serving bottled water by getting a filtration pitcher or faucet filter. Cut back on fast food and take out. Most football gatherings typically involve chicken wings and pizza from a favorite local restaurant. Unfortunately, take out food has a big carbon footprint that includes the packaging of the food and the fuel required to pick up the food and then bring it back home. Rather than give up the tradition of take out food on football Sundays, take a trip to your favorite restaurant ...- Bookmark :
- Digg
- del.icio.us
- Stumbleupon
- Redit it
New Year’s Resolution Ideas for Green Living, Part II
Check out some more tips for making eco-friendly New Year’s resolutions: Learn about composting. Create a bin for composting, and find out what type of items can be composted. You’ll discover that much of what you used to throw away can be reused to help the environment. Buy products from local grocers and shops. Support local business rather than wasteful corporations. Driving to bigger stores for goods is a definite way to make your carbon footprint larger, so do your best to buy products from around your community. Be knowledgeable about what products your purchase. Just because a product claims to be green, natural or organic, doesn’t always mean it is. Greenwashing and organic fraud are real problems and one way to combat them is to be knowledgeable about the products you purchase. Try to limit food waste. The average American family wastes 14% of the food that it purchases each year. Be more responsible about purchasing what your family needs, and make sure to store leftovers so that they don’t spoil. Cut out meat consumption once a week. Many people are reluctant to transition fully to become a vegetarian or vegan to help the environment. Another option is to cut your meat consumption just once a week, which will ...- Bookmark :
- Digg
- del.icio.us
- Stumbleupon
- Redit it
New Year’s Resolution Ideas for Green Living, Part I
Check out the following tips for making eco-friendly New Year’s resolutions: Reconsider your showering and bathing habits. Ask yourself if you really need to shower twice a day because water conservation is one of the most important aspects of going green. Take shorter showers or shower with a friend. Turn off the water when you are not using it. Start paying more attention to how often you run your tap water. Whether you leave the water running while you brush your teeth, or you leave the water in the shower running for a while before you get in, both instances are great opportunities to cut back on water usage. Try to run the shower as little as possible before getting in, and always remember to turn off the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth. Dishwashing is another typical instance where water is wasted, so do your best to turn the water off as much as possible when scrubbing the dishes. Make an effort to recycle. Call your local utility to find out how to get recycle bins at your house. If your community does not participate in a recycling program, look into finding the nearest recycling center that you can bring your recyclables to. Recycling makes ...- Bookmark :
- Digg
- del.icio.us
- Stumbleupon
- Redit it
The Green Car Of The Year
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt was awarded the title Green Car of the Year at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. The Chevrolet Volt is the first electric car to win the prize, which has been handed out every year since 2005 by the Green Car Journal. Additionally, Chevrolet announced that the company is donating $40 million to local environmental projects across the United States. Their goal is to help reduce carbon emissions by 8 million metric tons, which is about the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted in 1 year by the 1.9 million Chevrolet cars that expect to sell in the next year. General Motors vice president for environment, energy, and safety believes that the program is the first of its kind for any automaker. Chevrolet did this to distinguish their brand and encourage consumer confidence in their car. General Motors vice president of marketing in the United States claims that it will take another couple of years for projects to be chosen to receive the donation dollars. Organizations will be able to apply for the grants for projects like putting up small-scale wind energy projects or weatherizing schools. General Motors will determine whether they will extend the program as it ...- Bookmark :
- Digg
- del.icio.us
- Stumbleupon
- Redit it
Green Holiday Parties
Holiday parties can yield an alarming amount of waste. Thinking ahead and taking time to plan your party is a good start to having a green party. Follow these tips for a successful green holiday party: Make Smart Plans * Make a guest list so that you know how much food and supplies you need. * Use Evites or Facebook Invitations on the Internet instead of printed invitations. You’ll save money, paper, and other resources. Both services will keep a running tally of the guest list for you. If some guests do not use the Internet, give them a call instead of a paper invitation. Travel Green * Suggest to your guests that they think green when making travel plans for the party by carpooling with other guests or taking public transportation. This way if they drink, they won’t have to worry about driving home at the end of the night. * Offer rewards for the guests who do travel green, like a bar of fair trade chocolate. Decorations * Opt for nature inspired decorations instead of paper or plastic store bought decorations that usually get thrown out the next day. Use flowers, foliage, branches and rocks to make centerpieces on the dining tables. * Add pinecones or lemons ...- Bookmark :
- Digg
- del.icio.us
- Stumbleupon
- Redit it
