Wordless Wednesday

As If We Aren't Cantaminated Enough

A Satellite has literally fallen out of space and is expected to hit earth in late February or March. The hazardous material could explode and contaminate that part of the earth. The following is a snippet of the full article you can read from the Associated Press.

As for possible hazardous material in the spacecraft, Pike said it might contain beryllium, a light metal with a high melting point that is used in the defense and aerospace industries. Breathing beryllium can lead to chronic, incurable respiratory problems.

Fantastic (sarcasm). All we need is more debris and more respiratory problems.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Do you remember Bill Nye the Science Guy? Head over to Treehugger to read their interview with him and learn how he is helping the new eco revolution.

Get Fresh (and recycle) with Sara Snow

Many thanks to Patrick and his coworker, Lily, for bringing my attention to the young green goddess, Sara Snow. Snow is just 31 and has already lived a lifetime of being green. She was brought into the world by parents who ran an organic grocery out of their apartment and who taught her that living organically and locally is the only way to live.

On her Discovery Network program, Get Fresh with Sara Snow, Sara brings us insight on recycling, eating local and organic food, saving energy and more. The first thing she said on the episode I caught yesterday was, "It still surprises me when people just choose not to recycle". My reaction to that was, "EXACTLY!!!". Why is that? Snow also goes on to say that maybe those people don't realize what a difference it makes. Maybe they need to see a picture of our dumps and landfills in order to understand what our impact is.

Do you know people who don't recycle? What do you do to help them understand that recycling is critically important?

In the meantime, try to catch Get Fresh with Sara Snow on Discovery Home and/or Discovery Health for great insight and tips in living ecologically sound.

Hormone Free at Starbucks

There are a lot of hormone laden dairy products out there. Thankfully, you don't need to worry about that when you buy your latte at Starbucks. As of this month, the company has vowed to use suppliers of dairy without the hormone rBGH. You can read the official press release and an interview regarding the change through the Starbucks website.

I also feel it is my duty to point out that Starbucks is no longer using organic milk. However, I am grateful that they are making sure the milk they do use is hormone free.

Now if only they'd switch to all shade-grown coffee. Right now they only have one organic, shade-grown coffee on their list. You can help by mentioning that you'd like to have more shade-grown options when you visit their store for your daily brew.

Clorox Attempts to Go Green

I've been following articles about Clorox's new Green Works line of cleaning products and I'm torn. I'm skeptical that a major corporation that creates some of the most toxic cleaning products on the market is now trying to be eco-friendly (yet not pulling their toxic products off the market). On one hand, it's nice to see any company take a step in the right direction. On the other hand, what is their motive? I'm sorry to say I honestly believe it's just a marketing ploy.

Clorox recently purchased Burt's Bees, maker of one of my favorite natural lip balms. When this happened, an alarm went off in my head that told me Clorox was trying to improve their image but that it might not be all good. Then a few weeks later I heard about Green Works and again, an alarm went off telling me something just isn't right. Yes, the new line is 99% natural, which is great, but what about the other 1%? And more importantly what about the other TOXIC products that make up the bulk of their business? I do sincerely hope that if someone is going to purchase a Clorox brand cleaner that they opt for one from the Green Works line because that will show that consumers want to be green. However, I'd rather support a more ethical company like Method who only distributes non-toxic, biodegradable products.

What will you do? What do you currently use? Will you try the new Clorox products? If you do, please let me know how they work.

Ya Gotta Love Rachael Ray

I've had a subscription to Rachael Ray's magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, for over a year. I love the recipes, the travel section, the centerpiece of the month, and all the articles. I am happy to report that they've recently switched to printing on recycled paper.

So if you are a Rachael Ray fan, I recommend her magazine for you. You can feel good knowing you aren't contributing to chopping down more trees but most importantly, you'll be able to put yum-o food on the table for your family.

As Seen On Oprah's Green Episode

Oprah aired a terrific show on being green earlier last year. It was repeated the other day. Here are many of the tips and facts that were shared by guests and experts on that program.


Things to Keep in Mind When Grocery Shopping:
- Look for minimal packaging. You don't need fancy wrapping. It doesn't make the food any better.

- Instead of buying plastic or paper plates, use reusable dishes

- When and if you absolutely must buy plastic, look for 100% recycled/recyclable plasticware

- When and if you absolutely must buy paper, look for 100% recycled products

- Use 100% recycled aluminum foil. It requires 1/20 of the energy to produce traditional foil

- Recycle your foil!

- Organic produce = no pesticides = less energy to harvest and healthier for you and the planet

- Bring your own bags - including produce bags



Things You Should Know About Drinking Water:
- It takes five liters of water energy to make one liter of bottled water - USE SIGG!

- If you must use a plastic water bottle (and you really shouldn't), please use a refillable one and make sure it has a number 2 on it so you know it's safe for drinking water. Also, if you need to throw it away for any reason, RECYCLE it!



Paper Waste:
- An estimated 100 million trees are chopped down each year and 28 billion gallons of water are used to produce America's junk mail

- Check out http://www.greendimes.com/ for ways you can help

- We use an average of 2200 napkins per year, per person

- Use one less napkin a day to help save a billion pounds of paper waste from going to landfills each year


- Better yet, use cloth napkins!

- Opt out of your ATM receipts to help save 2 billion feet of paper



House Cleaning:
- Many common household cleaners contain chemicals that can cause asthma

- Real clean doesn't have a scent - no pine, no bleach, no chemical smells

- Real clean won't make you cough, sneeze or wheeze

- Try products like Method, Seventh Generation or Shaklee or try making your own with vinegar and borax

- Use microfiber cloths when cleaning instead of paper towels. You can wash them and use them again and again.



Daily Living:
- Use the same cup or glass all day

- Only run the dishwasher when it is completely full

- Never throw away clothing. Donate it to a charity, friend or family member

- Shop at thrift stores. You never know what you can find.

- Plug all electronics into power strips. Turn the strip off at night to reduce standby power.

- Use CFLs (Compact Flourecent Lightbulbs). They are 70-75% more efficient than traditional bulbs and will last longer. You will see the savings the very month you make the switch.

- Wash your clothes in cold water

- Take shorter showers

- Install an energy efficient shower head


- Clean the lint trap on your dryer after each use

- Take a reusable mug to the coffee shop

- Install a ceiling fan to circulate the air in your home

- Keep your water heater temperature at a maximum of 120 degrees

- Install gaskets behind your electrical outlets to reduce drafts coming through

- Check the caulking around your windows to be sure you are properly insulated

Something to Ponder:

Throwing something away doesn't really make it go away. Away is a place - a landfill. Visit a landfill to see the impact of your trash.

RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE:
- It takes 100 years for glass to break down in a landfill - recycle it!

- Recycle all aluminum cans, containers and foil

- Recycle plastic containers but check the number on the bottom and make sure your municpality recycles those types of plastic

- Recycle your newspapers. One 4ft high stack of newspapers = one 40ft high fir tree.

- Donate packaging peanuts to a local packaging store like the UPS store

- http://www.earth911.com/ will tell you what you can and cannot recycle in your area.

What is Organic?

When refering to organic food and products, Merriam-Webster defines organic as , "relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides "

From Wikipedia - "Organic foods are produced according to certain production standards. For crops, it means they were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.[1] For animals, it means they were reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified."

So what does that mean? Simply put, organic food and products are all-natural. They are healthier for you and for the earth. The production of your organic shampoo, for instance, did not involve the use of any chemicals not naturally derived from the earth.

Why Buy Organic?

It's not just about trying to be healthy and it's certainly not about spending a lot of money on high-end, fancy products just because the labels say organic. It's about taking care of our environment and not destroying it for our future generations. Through the use of standard non-organic pesticides, chemicals seep into the ground and then into our water. It creates a vicious cycle. The EPA says that agriculture is responsible for 70% of pollution to the country's rivers and streams caused by chemicals, erosion and animal waste run-off.

Buying organic will help prevent this pollution thus keeping you and your family healthy and preserving land and water for future use.

Sweeter than a Sweater

I've been gathering my old sweaters into a pile in my closet. I've read about various projects using old sweaters and decided I should give one a whirl. These are some of the ideas I have:

Sweater Pillow

Sweater Quilt

Sweater Bag

Granted, my finished project will probably not look as good as any of these but I'm going to try my best. I'll let you know when I choose which one to do.

New Green Books

There is a Borders store near my house that is closing (to my dismay) so everything is on sale. Istopped in yesterday and the prices were even lower than they were last week so I simply HAD to take advantage of that. I walked straight to the nature section and found more than an armful of books for both me and Patrick.

Here's the list. Let me know if you've read any of these and what you thought about them.



1. It's Easy Being Green










2. The Lazy Environmentalist












3. The Green Book










4. Green Living












5. The Complete Idiot's Guide: Green Living












6. Beekeeping For Dummies








7. Of a Feather









8. Fifty Places To Go Birding Before You Die












9. Pigeons












10. The Last American Man

Organic Skin Care by Origins

Origins has a new line of Organic skin care. I haven't personally tried any of the items yet because, frankly, I have more than enough skin care products that I need to use up before I buy more. I do want to share the info with you, however, because I'm happy to see affordable organic products that are readily available at most malls.



Origins Organics are USDA Organic Certified so you know you can trust that they are truly organic, good for you and good for our earth.



You can learn more about what it means to be organic and what Origins is doing to help make it mainstream at the Origins Organics website.

I Got a New Sigg!

A late Christmas present arrived on my door today. Patrick got us each a Sigg water bottle. In case you haven't heard, Sigg makes THE BEST REUSABLE BOTTLES.

Known as, "The World's Toughest Water Bottle", Sigg bottles will not break or even chip if they are dented on the outside (but it takes A LOT of force to dent one) and the inside won't absorb the taste or smell of your beverage. Most importantly, they won't leach any chemicals into your beverage, unlike plastic water bottles.

Sigg bottles are also eco-friendly. The following was taken directly from the Sigg website:

Using a premium reusable bottle like SIGG greatly helps reduce unnecessary environmental waste caused by plastic PET water bottles. Sadly, Americans add over 30 million plastic water bottles to our nation's landfills – everyday!

While not everyone is ready to purchase a hybrid vehicle, we believe every little bit helps. And thinking "reusable" instead of "disposable" is a great place to start. So, Rise Above Plastic – and consider the advantages of hydrating with a SIGG.

Sigg is charitable, to boot. The company donates 1% of all sales to environmental causes.

These bottles are awesome and at approximately 20 bucks a pop (depending on the style) they are well worth the investment for something that will likely last the rest of your life. So stop polluting the earth and your health with those plastic water bottles and get yourself a Sigg. Thank you, Patrick!

PS - Sigg makes travel mugs, too.

Five More Energy Saving Tips

Back in the summer I gave you Five Energy Saving Tips. Here are Five more.

1. Run the dishwasher at night with the auto-dry function off. Let the dishes dry overnight and empty the dishwasher the next day.

2. Use power strips for your entertainment center. Turn off the switch when your TV, DVD player, stereo and other home entertainment electronics aren't in use. This will save what is called "phantom power"...appliances consume 80% of their full energy by just being plugged in...even when they are turned off.

3. Use a programmable thermostat. Set the heat/air conditioner to turn off when you're not home.

4. Use a water saving shower head. A low-flow shower head will save you gallons of water for each shower session.

5. Speaking of showers: Cut your shower time by one minute. You'd be surprised how much water we waste by dilly-dallying. Yes, it's relaxing but a cup of tea is relaxing, too and only uses a cup of water.

Today Matters

My lovely sister-in-law and handsome brother-in-law gave me some wonderful gifts for Christmas. One of those is the book, Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways to Make a Difference by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza. Made with recycled material, this book is an inspirational weekly read which guides you through a year of improving your life and the world around you.

I thought it would be nice to blog each Monday about what I read in the book and what actions I'm going to take to follow through. Then I realized if I do that, you will have no need to buy the book. I want to support these authors so I encourage you to check it out on your own. It's worth it. You can take a look at the website here and decide if you'd like to invest in a copy.

PS - I saw that at least one major bookstore is giving away a canvas bag (hint: reusable grocery bag) with the purchase of this book. Take advantage of the deal and make a positive difference at the same time.

Santa Gave Me a Bread Machine

A while back I shared with you that I wanted to make my own bread. I gave it a try and I had some trouble getting the right consistency. Apparently if you want true whole wheat bread, it takes a lot more kneading and a really good recipe to get it just right. Well, my new bread machine takes all the work out of the task and leaves all the fun. It came with a little recipe book and simple, user-friendly directions. In 3 hours and 43 minutes (but no work other than throwing the ingredients in the machine) I had a delicious loaf of whole wheat bread.

There is a rapid bake option on the machine so I decided to give that a whirl the other day. The bread came out even better! I will continue to play with the recipe until I have my own signature loaf of 100% organic whole wheat bread.

I highly recommend investing in a bread machine if you like sandwiches and toast and all things bread. The cost of ingredients is minimal. You most likely already have everything you need in your pantry. The time investment for each loaf is five minutes, max. The bread machine does all the work for you. Plus, it makes the kitchen smell yummy.

Healthy, inexpensive, fun....what are you waiting for? Get a bread machine!

A Green Resolution - Be Part of the Statistic

I read somewhere recently that half of American adults will be making a green resolution this new year. So, being part of that 50%, I thought I'd share my resolution with you.

I would like to transition to all organic cleaning supplies, including hand soaps. That famous brand you can find in the mall with all the yummy scents are, unfortunately, not earth friendly. We have so many choices these days that look, smell and feel good. Whether cleaning the floor or cleaning your face, why not give an eco-friendly brand like Method a try? Or better yet, make your own. You can find lots of DIY cleaning solutions out there.

What is your green resolution?