Filed under: Green Life, Green Products | Tags: biodegradable, College, detergent, laundry, school, seventh generation, summer, vegetarian
So, I’m headed off to college in a week. I am trying to be the greenest college student I can be (I haven’t used air conditioning all summer!) I’m going to keep updating this blog through out college, hopefully to find a new target audience of college students just trying to be green! I did my college shopping and was seriously upset with how many plastic bags they wanted to use. The tote I brought was not nearly enough. One thing I bought was biodegradable and organic laundry detergent, made my Seventh Generation. They’re a great company; my family has used there products for many years. Now as I begin the journey of living alone, I will continue to live a green life. One big change I made in my life is that I recently became a vegetarian.
I’ll be posting more, and will be looking for more things to post about. Please, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Filed under: Green Life, Green Tip, Green Websites | Tags: donate, everything, how to, lime.com, packing peanuts, prom dresses, recycle
I stumbled across an article on lime.com. This article explains how to recycle everything you never know you could recycle, from makeup to toothbrushes. Want to recycle your packing peanuts? Just take them down to your local UPS and they will take them from you. How about a formal dress that you will never wear again? Well, those you can donate to the Salvation Army, or to the Glass Slipper Project. You can even get rid of furniture effectively, by either selling it on craigslist or a number of other ways to recycle.
Go to the article for the complete list on how to recycle everything everynting.
Filed under: Green Food, Green Life, Green Tip | Tags: agriculture, community supported agriculture, CSA, environment, farms, food, fruit, harvest, organic, vegetables
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is becoming more and more popular each day. CSA is new socio-economic model of food production, sales, and distribution. Its goal is to increase the quality of food coming in and the quality of the land its grown on. CSA farms are small. A community can pledge to recieve a share of its food each week. Starting in June, my family joined a CSA farm on the North Fork of Long Island. Every Thursday, we go to the community center in our neighborhood and pick up a box of freshly grown organic vegetables. Its pretty fantastic. The contents of the box vary from week to week, depending on what is in season. Every thing is organic and pestiside free. An example of what we’ve gotten from our CSA farm so far: arugela, romaine, peaches, apples, raspberries, zuccini, cucumber, kale, and many many others. To find a CSA near you, visit localharvest. You can search farms, markets, restaurants, grocery stores, or farm shares. Just fill in your zip code.
Most CSA shares are closed now, but I encourage you to look into the 2009 season.
Happy Harvesting
Filed under: Green Tip, Green Websites | Tags: environment, green website, healthy, hipster, lime.com, living, recycle
That is the slogan for LIME. This website is fantastic; it is more than day to day tips on green life, it really is how to live green life. They teach you how to incorporate eco-living into your everyday life, and have interesting articles (like how to recycle everything), and they recognize that the eco-world is becoming more and more hipster each day. After about two hours on this site, I have distinguished between what is important and what has recently become hip. I plan to use a lot of these tips, and as I find great ones, I will share them with you.
Greenscream is back, and now I’m never going to shut up.
Filed under: Green Products, Green Websites | Tags: bracelet, everybodygreen.com, green jewelery, jewelery, no-plastic, reycle, website
The beads are 100% cornstarch based resin. It gets its color from natural herbal teas. The charm is recycled brass. Even its packaging is all recycled materials. For $10, this can be yours. For $10, you can help move towards a greener society. This is just one of the perks of visiting the everybodygreen website. The No-Plastic bracelet is the perfect way to show how you want to be green. But remember, recycle the non-plastic packaging when you are done!
Filed under: Green Life | Tags: amazon, cds, digital, environment, itunes, music, packaging
I recently came across a blog with the argument that old school CDs were the way to go. It said that there was nothing better than holding a physical CD in ones hand, which to some extent I agree with. But what about from the point of view of the environment? Look at a CD’s packaging. The plastic case, the CD it self, the paper to make the sleeve. And one you obtain the CD, it is loaded right into iTunes, and then never really pay much mind to the CD again. So instead, buy your music on iTunes or another legal internet music database. So why not put your own 5 seconds of enjoyment aside, and just go digital!
Filed under: Green Life | Tags: bake sales, brats, buddies, eco-school, green roofs, Kids, pre teens, recycle, school
This morning was very unusual at my school. The first two periods where used for something called “Buddy Activities”. Normally, these activities include drawing pictures with the 2nd and 3rd graders, or playing games like tag and knockout with the 6th graders. The Juniors always have the 7th grade, something I was not looking forward to. I thought they would be too cool for us, and not participate. I thought we would be doing some kind of activity like “board games” but this morning was different. It was a conversation about how we could make our school a more sustainable place. I was so happy that this was what this morning was devoted to, but I was still worried that these 7th graders would not be interested in it. We split into a small group, there were four Juniors and four 7th graders at my table. It took the kids a couple of minutes to warm up, but soon they were contributing to the conversation. I (of course) had a lot to say, and I noticed that these kids had as much to say as I did.
They came up with great ideas, and they agreed that our school needs a green roof. They said that we needed more recycling bins, and the ones that are already there need to be more visable. They said we should have a “green sale” once a month, where we raise money either for green organizations or for our schools own “green funds”.
I must say I was very impressed with the conversation. I can’t say I was passionate about anything when I was 7th grade. The only thing I cared about was boys and what I was wearing. It definitely set a very good tone for my day.
One thing bothered me, and it wasn’t the juvenile comments or horny middle school boys. It was the snack. We had a snack after the discussion, and I ate a very good brownie. But the had HUGE paper plates AND napkins! I saw both 7th graders and 11th graders walking by with a huge napkin, a huge plate, and on that plate one little donut hole. This bothered me, and I actually said something about it. It seemed a little hypocritical to me.
Other than that, it was a great morning that made me have a really good day. I think that more kids (or are they pre-teens?) should be enviornmentally involved. I am really happy with the steps my school is taking to be green.
Here’s a list of things people don’t normally pay attention to, but that you should for a more eco-friendly household.
(1) Dishwasher- Dishwashers can waste so much water if you run it when it is not full. A way to prevent this is to wash your dishes without use of the dishwasher. If you do need to use a dishwasher, make sure it is completely full before you turn it on. If you can buy a new dishwasher, invest in an Energy Star or other energy efficient dishwashers.
(2) Brushing Teeth / Washing Dishes WITH the Water Running- DO NOT keep water running while brushing your teeth/ doing the dishes. When you brush your teeth, wet the toothbrush first and turn the water off immediately. And use a natural toothpaste, like Tom’s of Maine. Only use the water to rinse. Same for dish washing. Scrub the dishes without the water on, and then turn the water on to rinse off the soap. I hope you are using a Biodegradable Soap, like Seventh Generation. These soaps are made %100 naturally, and help the petrolium levels in the air. This is what is used in my house, and it makes me feel good about doing the dishes.
(3) Shaving (Men)- Men, you do not need the water running when you shave. Fill the sink up a little less than halfway, and use that water to rinse your blade.
(4) Shaving (Women)- When you shave in the shower, do you really need the water running? Turn off the water while you shave your legs. I put conditioner in my hair, fill cup with water, sit in the bathtub and shave, with the water off, while my hair is being conditioned!
(5) If Its Yellow, Let it Mellow. If Its Brown, Flush it Down- Some people are bothered by this, but it is essential. Every time you flush the toilet, you waste 10 gallons of water. So why not just flush when necessary?
(6) Car Wash-This may be hard for us city folks, but if you have a lawn, Wash your car on it! Use Biodegradable soap, like Simple Green’s Car Wash , and a bucket of water. Only turn on the hose for the final rinse. Your car will be clean, your lawn will be fed, and by doing this you know you did a lot to help the environment.
(7) Leaky Toilets / Leaky Faucets-If you notice a leaky pipe, faucet, or toilet, get it fixed immediately. A leaky toilet, for example, can waste up to 200 gallons of water a DAY. So please, fix your water problems.
(8) Bathtime! Bathtime is no longer Funtime. It wastes an unnecessary amount of water. an average shower uses 1/5 the amount of water that is needed for a bath! Teach kids to take showers early on. It all really adds up. So please, take a shower not a bath.
(9) Using the Toilet as a Garbage Can- Do Not Do This! Throw out everything in a garbage can, even if it is tempting to just throw it in the toilet. Tissues, Hair, and Bugs are things that people generally throw away in the toilet, but they will be disposed if thrown away in the garbage can as well.
(10) Hot Water-Only use hot water when absolutely necessary. Hot water uses a lot more energy, and it isn’t always necessary. So think about what is needed before turning that hot water knob!
